A/N: So, the last chapter of this story got overwhelming support! I'm really glad you all enjoyed it! I hope this chapter will be just as successful with you and that you enjoy it just as much!
Izuku was one of the first to been seen by Recovery Girl since his injuries were by far the most severe. Other students of Class 1-A also suffered injuries like cuts, grazes and some fractures, but Bakugo definitely pushed his luck in his fight with Izuku.
"Hey, there you are! I was startin' to worry about you." Mina smiled as Izuku made his way out of Recovery Girls office.
The injury on his head was most serious but for her, it was easily fixable. His head was now bandaged up to protect the still fragile spot, covering his left eye and the once large cut on the back of his head. Then injury that caused him to cough a little blood was still from the trauma of the, but Recovery Girl gave him a warning to be careful in the future.
She'd taken the precaution to bandage up his mid-riff and give it some more projection. Now he had even more to worry about; not only were his arms on the verge of destruction, but he hated to wonder what would happen if he took another hit to the stomach.
"Oh... Mina. I wasn't expecting you to be waiting. Are you alright?" He responded, a puzzled but pleasantly surprised look on his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm more worried about you. You did hit me pretty hard though; I know I told you to 'not hold back' but I wasn't expecting that." She replied jokingly, stepping forwards and bringing Izuku into a hug.
"I-I'm really sorry... I really didn't want to hurt you." Izuku muttered, his face guilt-ridden and apologetic.
"Awh. It's okay Midori, really. I know you'd never hurt me intentionally." She responded reassuringly. "Are ya still meeting Tsu today?" Mina asked curiously as the two started back down the all, hand in hand. Izuku didn't mind this, in fact, he quite enjoyed it. He didn't mind if people saw the two of them holding hands, because the happy feeling it gave him overpowered the anxiety easily.
"Yeah I am... I hope you don't mind." Izuku muttered, a small smile on his face. Mina wafted her hand at him with a smile.
"Naah! Of course I don't mind, so long as I get to see ya again tomorrow, I'll be happy." She replied, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "So where is she waiting for ya?" She asked as they headed down the last corridor and out of the school into the sunset.
"Midoriya!" Tsuyu called, standing down by one of the ash trees that lined the path leading down to the gates.
"Oh. That answers that." Mina muttered over to her greenette boyfriend, who chuckled back.
"Hi Tsu!" He called back, waving down at her as he and Mina strolled over.
"I'll see ya tomorrow 'kay? I love ya." Mina beamed, quickly pecking Izuku on the cheek before starting off down the path, alone.
"I love you too!" Izuku called after her, a violent blush on his cheeks and he quickly used his adrenaline to respond. To this, Mina span around and beamed up at him, waving enthusiastically before turning back around and disappearing out of sight.
"You two are a really cute couple." Tsuyu perked up, staring up at Izuku with honestly in her large eyes.
"Y-You really think so?" Izuku asked, looking away from where Mina had been and down to his friend with a curious expression.
"Yeah. I didn't expect that honestly." She responded.
"That isn't very reassuring." Izuku said seriously as the two friends started down the path and towards the gates.
"I'm glad your both happy though. I think you'll be good together." She replied. Izuku didn't respond to this, but smiled to show he respected her words. It was a good feeling to hear that from someone as critical as Tsuyu.
"Sooo, any ideas what you want to do?" Izuku asked, hopeful that she'd had a few ideas instead of him being the only one.
"I'm not sure. I've never really done anything like this before. What do you think we should do?" She asked, looking up to him curiously.
"Oh... Well umm... I'm not really sure... We could always just go get dinner or something. Did you tell your parents you'd be out?" He suggested, before turning to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I did. I wouldn't mind going to dinner if you don't mind." The Frog Quirk user responded with a smile.
"Okay then! We can do that." Izuku beamed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as they left the school grounds and headed down towards the train station.
Izuku felt a little more awkward with Tsuyu that he did with Uraraka, Mina, Iida or his other friends. This was mostly because she was so critical. He felt like she'd not enjoy what it was he'd suggested because it was a last-minute decision and he didn't know her as well as the others. He didn't know the kind of stuff she enjoyed, what she was interested in, what she did with the other girls of their class when they met up together, it was all foreign to him.
"What sort of stuff do you like to eat then?" He asked, doing his best to make relevant conversation.
"Anything really. I'm not a huge fan of meat though, but I don't mind it every so often." She replied calmly.
"I see. How about a noodle bar then? That could be fun." Izuku suggested with a smile.
"Really? yeah okay, it sounds great. I've never been to one before though." Tsuyu responded.
"I have. It's a lot of fun, don't worry." The One For All Quirk user smiled back.
"I'll take your word for that Midoriya." She replied, smiling too as the train station came into view.
"So, if you don't mind me asking. What do you and Mina do when you go out together?" Tsuyu perked up as the two of them made their way off the train and out into the city streets. The journey there hadn't been an eventful one. Izuku introduced her to Mina's favourite genre of music, Lo-Fi. But other than that it had been relatively quiet.
Tsuyu seemed like she was feeling as awkward as he was because since they'd gotten on the train, neither of them had really looked at each other. Izuku was questioning whether it was because she was just nervous about doing something she'd never done before, but then he wouldn't know that for sure.
"W-Well, we do this sort of stuff. Just hang out, do something fun like... Like bowling or... Going to a restaurant. I-I'm not really sure what couples are meant to do together." Izuku explained, racking his mind as he did his best to explain to his blank friend.
"I see." She responded with a thinking tone. Izuku slowly nodded and looked down at the floor. This was much more nerve-racking that when he first hung out with Mina. He wasn't quite sure what to make of how she was talking. It sounded like she didn't really want to be there. Then again, Tsuyu was almost always like that, so he shouldn't be overthinking it.
"Oh. Momo told me to tell you that the class study session starts after school tomorrow. She said we're all welcome to stay over too so we won't have to cut the session short." Tsuyu suddenly spoke up, shocking Izuku a little.
"She did? When?" He asked, his single, visible eye full of curiosity.
"When you were being treated." She replied simply. "Speaking of which, does your head hurt?" She added curiously.
"Oh... Well... It's still pretty sore... But it's not as bad as earlier." He responded, tracing the bandaged and padded wound on the back of his head.
"I can imagine. How long do you have to keep them on?" She asked. Still looking his bandaged face over.
"Till Friday." He responded simply.
It was kind of inconvenient when he really thought about it. His handwriting had already gotten a bit scruffy since he damaged his hands and arms, but now was temporarily using only one eye, it was going to be even harder. His biggest concern was the study session tomorrow. If he wrote down notes that he can't read, it'd be a total waste of his time.
"Does your mother know? I can imagine what she'd said to you." The Frog Quirk user said with a smile.
"She does, yeah. I messaged her whilst Mina and I were heading out of school." He replied, tracing the scars of his right hand absently. Tsuyu giggled at this and smiled up at him.
"I'm glad you're okay." She said softly, looking up at him with her large green eyes, full of admiration.
"H-Hey looked... The restaurant is right here! I hadn't even realised." Izuku pointed out, quite abruptly, holding the back of his neck awkwardly and laughing.
"Oh, so it is. Shall we go in?" Tsuyu asked, waiting patiently for the blushing greenette to compose himself before going in.
"Y-Yeah." He replied with an embarrassed tinge in his cheeks, heading past the shorter girl and into the restaurant.
"Do you already know what you want?" Tsuyu asked, quickly catching up to her friend and walking beside him as the made their way up to the queue of the bar.
"Mm-hm. Ramen noodle soup. It's got eggs, chicken, sweetcorn and a few other things in it. It's really good." He replied, subtly pointing up to the screen menu hanging above the bar.
"Oh, I'd like to try that then, please." The greenette girl replied, smiling up at Izuku innocently.
"Of course!" He stuttered, firing her a big toothy grin.
"Good evening you two. What can I get for you?" A black-haired barman asked, smiling up at the two students as the approached.
"Can we please get two bowls of the ramen noodle soup?" Izuku asked timidly.
"Yeah sure. Would you like the couples bowl instead?" The male asked with a big smile. To this, Izuku completely locked up. *C-C-C-Couples! He's got it all wrong!*
"Yes please." Tsuyu said suddenly. Izuku turned to her and stared, his expression completely in awe.
"You got it. Any drinks with that?" He asked, glancing over to the silently stunned Izuku, then back to the Frog Quirk user.
"Just a jug of water please." She replied swiftly.
"Coming right up. Grab a table service number and we'll get it sorted for you." The barman beamed, finishing jotting down their order before quickly making his way to the kitchen.
"Come on Midoriya." Tsuyu instructed, taking on of the white and orange, plastic stands with the number '62' printed on it and started off towards the back of the establishment.
Silently Izuku followed her, still stunned at what she'd said.
"W-W-Why did you get the couples one?" He asked frantically.
"Not for the reason you might be thinking. I saw the size of the portion on the menu. You get more for less if we get the couples bowl." She replied with a calm expression.
"O-Oh... That's actually quite clever Tsu." Izuku praised, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck with a mixture of embarrassment and admiration on his face.
"I bet your glad I said something now, huh Midoriya." She smiled, sitting down at the table closest to the huge fish tank.
"I think you fought really well today." Izuku muttered, smiling up at her as she gazed into the fish tank.
"Really? That makes me happy. You did really well too. I can't believe Aizawa and Cementos allowed Bakugo to go so far." The girl responded turning away from the exotic coloured fish and looking at Izuku with a serious expression.
"It's alright, really." Izuku responded, glancing around the restaurant before looking back at her. He knew people were staring at him; a teenager with bandages around his head and sterir strips on his left cheek. However, this didn't bother him, unlike other things. If anything, he quite enjoyed the small amount of attention it got him.
"I'm glad you beat him though. The whole class was rooting for you." Tsuyu smiled, sitting on her hands and looking across the table with honestly in her eyes.
"They were? That's a little worrying, I-I was concerned I might have lost." Izuku chuckled back, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"You are one of the strongest fighters in our class. I mean it when I say that at no point, did any of us doubt you. Your really amazing Midoriya. Kirishima was great too, he fought really courageously." The Frog Quirk user smiled, admiration in her eyes.
"Thank you... That really meant a lot. And I agree, it's safe to say that without Kirishima, I definitely would've lost." He beamed.
"But... I feel really bad for hitting Mina. I know I shouldn't because she told me not to hold back, but I can't help it." Izuku added, an expression of guild coming across his face.
"You shouldn't. I can tell Mina holds nothing against you. She just wants to be like you in how you think of this course." Tsuyu replied.
"She does? How do you mean?" He asked looking confused.
"She wants to be like you. I don't think I'm lying when I say the whole class wants to be like you. Your so serious in your studies, you aren't afraid of anything, you try and try so hard to get where you want. She wants to be like you because she loves you and admires you." She explained, leaning on the table a little. Izuku began to smile uncontrollably and quickly turned his face to the floor to hide his massive and goofy smile.
"That means the world to me... But your all incredible people in your own means. I don't want you to all be like me, I just want you to be the best you. That's what I admire most about you all." Izuku replied honestly. looking up to her with sparkling mint eyes.
Tsuyu was taken aback by this a little, but it was a very 'Izuku Midoriya' thing to say because if the rest of the class had heard it, it would've been the boost they needed to get through their exam. Everyone thought so much of the young boy and admired him as if he were All Might.
"Thank you Midoriya. For everything." Tsuyu smiled before a well-dressed waiter brought both their attention to their large Ramen bowl.
"Couples bowl of Ramen Noodles?" The waiter asked, glancing between the two teenagers, although it was easy to tell he was more concerned with Izuku that Tsuyu.
"That's us, thank you." Izuku smiled. The waiter proceeded to lay the large bowl in the centre of the table, bow and leave.
"This actually does look really good." Tsuyu spoke up, picking up her chopsticks. "May I?" She added, looking up to Izuku for approval.
"O-Of course." He responded, a small blush developing on his cheeks. "You don't have to ask me for permission Tsu." He added quietly.
"Thank you for the food." She muttered, ignoring what he'd said and grabbing a bit of everything in her chopsticks, before finally tasting it. "Mmm, it is really good. Thanks, Midoriya." She smiled before continuing on the floor.
"That's okay. This was kind of both our idea so..." He replied with a goofy grin, picking up his own chopsticks and tucking into the large bowl.
"Oh, it is really good. I wonder if they've added any new spices. No that wouldn't be it. Maybe it's a different kind of noodle, it's a subtle taste change but it's perfect-."
"Midoriya." Tsu cut in. "Your muttering again." She added, looking up at him with her eyebrows raised from the bowl of noodles.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry Tsu." He replied quickly, bowing his head in apology.
"Don't worry about it. Do you do much cooking Midoriya?" The girl asked, continuing on the bowl.
"W-Well, a little. My mum's been teaching me some dishes, but I mostly just experiment." He replied timidly.
"Oh? Does Mina know?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I haven't told her. I-I guess I just never really saw a reason to." He replied, looking down at the table as he ate.
"I'm curious, are you good at it?" The Frog Quirk user continued.
"I... I don't really know... I guess?" He replied with a shrug.
"You should cook for the class when we got to Momo's if you get the chance at least. I'm sure they would all appreciate it." She suggested. Izuku quickly looked up to her, slightly unnerved.
"A-Are you sure! What if I'm not good at all?" He asked. He had tasted his cooking and, although it was A-Grade material, it definitely wasn't bad. However, that wasn't to say it tasted the same to everyone else.
"Even if you aren't good, they'll appreciate the effort. You should try it tomorrow." She urged.
He was conflicted. It would be fun to cook for his class, but he didn't want to be ridiculed if it wasn't good. He knew his classmates weren't the kind of people to do that to him, but he couldn't help but feel like they'd be thinking it if the didn't say it. It would be good feedback for improvement on it.
"Well... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try." He replied cautiously.
"That's good." She replied simply. "I'm quite excited to try your cooking in all honesty." She reassured him, a small smile on her face.
"I'm glad, but don't get your hope up to high." Izuku joked, glancing up at her with a cheeky grin. She giggled in response and shook her head at the table.
"You know, you and Mina are becoming more and more alike." She commented, poking around the Ramen bowl before having another mouthful of the noodles.
"You really think so? I didn't think it was really affecting me." He replied, looking up to her with a curious expression.
"I do. It's nice though, you seem more confident in yourself than before. Mina has that effect on people though, I think." She replied with a thoughtless expression.
"I suppose I see that too. There's a lot I own to Mina. She's done a lot for me." The greenette responded, a fond smile on his face.
"She would never see it that way. That is something the two of you have always had in common. You do so much for everyone, but you never expect anything in return. It makes you really amazing." Tsuyu smiled.
"Thank you, Tsu." Izuku beamed across the table. She really was as great a person as he thought she was.
The dinner he and Tsuyu had shared was quite the experience. It was one of the only times it seemed Tsuyu had really spoken her mind and it was quite meaningful to the boy. He saw it as her really putting her trust in him, and that was a reassuring feeling.
"So, is there anything else you'd like to do Midoriya? I don't mind if not, I had a lot of fun even so." Tsuyu smiled as the two friends made their way out of the restaurant and into the darker city streets.
"Are you sure you don't mind? I don't really have any ideas of what else to do. I also want to prepare for the study session on Thursday." Izuku replied quietly.
"Tomorrow, you mean." Tsuyu corrected.
"R-Right." He replied awkwardly.
"No, I don't mind. There are a few things I want to prepare as well. I need to find a sleeping bag to bring with me. Are you going to stay the night too? I know a lot of people would like you too." Tsuyu asked a little hopeful sounding, which peaked a little suspicion in the greenette.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt. I'll talk to mum about it when I get home." He replied with a smile as they began making their way back towards the train station.
"That's good. I actually live here." The greenette girl replied before pointing out a row of quite small but clean and cute houses behind the station.
"Oh right. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Izuku smiled, stopped and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as Tsuyu came to a stop outside one of the houses.
"Okay, thank you Midoriya. Take care on the way home." She smiled, before turning on her heel and starting towards the home. He stood watching her until she was safe inside before heading up to the train station.
Thankfully it wasn't a massively long wait until his train arrived, only five minutes, which was lucky because if he missed it, it would be another hour until the next. He still felt bad that he'd left Mina to get the train alone, but remembered that before the two of them were talking, she got it alone all the time, was comforting for him. The five-minute wait he had went by quite quickly thanks to the birds in the sunset that were distracting him.
"The train to Masutafu is now boarding. Please mind the gap." The automated announcer spoke over the tanoid, scaring Izuku a little.
Grabbing his bag and double-checking he had everything, he swung the rucksack onto his back and made his way onto the train. It was lonelier on the train without Mina there, but he didn't mind, it'd be nice just to sit and relax on his own. Then, a buzz in his phone finally gave him something to do during the journey home; The group chat was live again.
*Group chat*
Momo: Hey everyone, I just wanted to remind you all that the study session happening at my house will be taking place tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so we'll be able to cover a lot of ground. You are welcome to stay the nights too.
Izuku: I should be able to stay and I'll definitely be at the study sessions. Thanks Momo.
Mina: I'll bring some games for later on in the night!
Todoroki: I'm not sure if board games are an important factor of a study session Mina. Sorry.
Mina: You'll thank me later ;)
Todoroki: Also, Momo, I will be attending every session, and if you don't mind having me, I would like to stay.
Momo: Of course Todoroki! I look forward to seeing you!
Todoroki: :)
Tokoyami: I will also be able to attend.
Aoyama: Luckily for you, I shall be there!
Tokoyami: Right...
Momo: Is it safe to assume everyone is coming?
Kaminari: Kirishima is out with fam rn, but when u asked in class he said he'd be there. I know Bakugo is coming too.
Momo: Alright. If anyone can't make it, let me know tomorrow in class.
Izuku: Thanks for this Momo, I'm excited :3
Momo: I'm glad you can make it Midoriya, it'll be a huge help!
*End of conv*
That was something Izuku was looking forward to most about the study session tomorrow. He wanted to have a chance to share his knowledge with people who would respect how important it could be. He also liked the thought that he would be able to help so many people he was close to, achieve their dreams. It would be really helpful too since he'd been contemplating becoming a teacher as well as a hero. The thought of being able to nurture the new generation of heroes was something that he found really appealing. However, he was worried he would be too soft of a teacher to be able to do anything major for them.
Something else that'd been on his mind recently was talk of hero teams. He'd thought a lot about becoming a Solo Hero, the Symbol of Peace, just like All Might. But, he'd never thought of working alongside another hero as a team. He did want to talk to Mina about it because if there was anyone he wanted to be a team with, it was her. He also wondered how it would work out with Uraraka and with Iida. Then again, thinking about it now, he and Iida weren't massively compatible. As for Uraraka; her Zero-Gravity wouldn't work well alongside One For All. Mina's acid, however, there were factors of her Quirk that he knew would work.
If he was able to adapt his hero costume with a sort of acid proofing, he would be able to fight alongside her without the worry of being affected by her Quirk. Then again, it would be better for him to learn how to fight and avoid her acid. It would also benefit her by helping her train her aim, instead of the 'spray-and-prey' tactic she was using at the moment. He knew they would work together well because the two of them had good chemistry. Izuku had very little knowledge on what this really meant, but he knew that his awkwardness made her smile, her smile made him laugh, his laugh made her laugh and it was just an endless loop. There was nothing about her that he didn't love and he knew she felt the same way because she told him. That was why they would be a great team.
A Hero Team. It was definitely a factor of hero work he was willing to look into. He wasn't going to focus on it mainly, however, because if it didn't work out, he would want to be able to go into Solo Hero work and dominate in that area. He wanted to strive to be the best no matter the scenario he was thrown into and the conditions he might have to work with. He had to become the number one hero. That was what All Might would want him to do and that's what he himself, wanted to do.
He was going to achieve greatness, but on his journey, he wanted to assist everyone he cared about. He wanted to help them reach that point too. It was survival of the fittest when looking at the bigger picture. At least that was how a lot of Class 1-A viewed the course. A race to stay ahead of the pack. But Izuku didn't want to see any of the incredible talent and amazing people in his course, fall behind and lose their chance. They deserved a chance at becoming a hero just as much, if not more than he did. Then, in turn, it would help him become the hero he always dreamed he could be.