10 - Missing Friends

Sorry, this is kinda late. If you want to know why this was delayed, keep reading the italics. Otherwise, enjoy the chapter 3

I didn't have a posting schedule but I had been posting kind of weekly for a while… Then the August 2020 CZU fire complex in California forced me and my family to evacuate our home. We spent the next 4 weeks living with my dad's mom and brother in my dad's childhood home.

Family is always… fun to deal with at the best of times. However, with COVID over our heads and watching the fire line approach Highway 9 from the West, always keeping in mind our house is only just to the East of 9, we were very tense. Don't forget my sister, dad and I were sharing a room with 2 twin beds (I got an air mattress since I'm the youngest and a really heavy sleeper), we had an interesting time dealing with my (now late) elderly grandmother (in her 90s!) and my… interesting uncle.

Don't forget that the Bay Area also got a heatwave during all this, and Grandma's house has no AC. Yeah, and my sister and I were beginning our first week of school literally the week the fires hit, so we were struggling to attend zoom classes and everything with the Wi-fi at Grandma's place. We're both full-time students at different colleges.

Our house turned out fine, besides all the ash covering everything. Some people couldn't return to their homes right away due to the water not being safe. We were able to return to our home almost exactly a month after we left. It's sad to go around and see the spots that burned. At least the firemen were able to protect the main town, as well as our house/street.

After that mess, online classes really picked up, so I didn't get much writing done until after Christmas, because I also had projects/gifts to make for the holiday. And then the Spring semester began and I was taking 5 classes so… editing is pretty slow. Good news though, I'm ahead by a few chapters so I might go back to a schedule this Fall 2021 semester because my school load is a bit lighter. Again, my apologies if you waited a year for this.

Ok, I guess my rant is over, thank you if you read this :) please enjoy this chapter 3

April 25th, 2017 (2 weeks later)

Ayano was annoyed.

Izuku was flaking on her almost every day after school. He said he found a mentor to help him get into UA, but wouldn't say who. The change was odd since he used to share everything with her, if usually through his muttering.

Speaking of his muttering… One day in class, Izuku's muttering got everyone's attention. He was writing in his journal, whispering about workouts and muscle groups.

Their sensei used his quirk to extend his arm, most likely to smack Izuku out of his train of thought. Instead, Ayano poked the dark-haired teen's back, hard enough to make him jump. He blushed and covered his mouth in shame as the class laughed at him.

Sensei retracted his arm, "Midoriya! I know you had a run-in with a villain, but pull yourself together, man. If you really wanna get into UA you might actually need to know something." Ayano glared at their sensei for mocking Izuku's trauma while the rest of the class laughed. She wished she could retaliate, but she knew if she spoke out nothing good would come of it. She had gotten in trouble for 'talking back' on many occasions. People are assholes.

Speaking of assholes… Ayano looked over to where Katsuki was sitting as the class quieted down. He hadn't spoken to either Ayano or Izuku since the sludge villain attack. On one hand, not having to deal with Katsuki tormenting Izuku was nice. But on the other, Ayano was missing hanging out with her friends.

Izuku had become hyper-focused on reaching his goal with his new mysterious mentor. While Katsuki completely cut off his old friends, he made no effort to reconnect with Ayano and Izuku.

Izuku's condition only worsened. He would doze off in class and Ayano would have to wake him up before Sensei noticed. After watching him spend a whole day going through the motions, Ayano stopped him after school.

"So what the hell is your problem?" Ayano raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, making it clear to Izuku he was in trouble.

"Wh- pro-problem? What problem? I don't ha-have any problem-" It was the first time she had heard him stutter while talking to her in years.

Ayano's eyes rolled as her mind ran through all the times he had brushed her off to train with his mysterious new mentor. He seemed obsessed with this guy. She could almost say he was more obsessed with this guy than his all-time favorite hero, All Might. "Bullshit. You've been blowing me off for 'training' ever since the sludge villain. I get that you're trying to get into UA, but you don't have to cut me off completely!"

Izuku had a guilty look on his face, but he was bouncing back and forth and kept glancing behind Ayano. She glanced back and caught sight of a thin blonde dude in clothes at least 4 sizes too big for him. As soon as the man caught her eyes, he looked away, pretending to be very interested in the tree next to him.

Izuku defended himself, "If I want to get into the best hero school in Japan, I'm going to have-"

"'To work harder than anyone else', I know. We've known since you first decided you wanted to go there for hero training. But there's a difference between working hard and burning yourself out. If you keep up the direction you're going, you'll sleep through all your classes. There's no way you'll be able to pass the written exam without studying, and then all your secret training-with whoever that guy behind me is-won't matter!"

When Ayano acknowledged the man Izuku had been glancing at, his fidgeting stopped. He straightened and gave all his attention to Ayano. He gulped before speaking, "If you know why I have to work so much harder, why can't you understand what I'm doing?"

"Because it makes no sense! You're wrecking your chances at UA for some muscles!" Ayano threw her arms out, exasperated. "Everyone but you can see it! I bet even Katsuki noticed and he's been more MIA than you!"

A rare sight, Ayano saw Izuku's face twist with anger, "The only one wrecking their chances is you! Did you think I wouldn't notice that you didn't list UA on your list of schools? Sensei called Kacchan and me out in class, why weren't you mentioned?"

Ayano hesitated. The brunette had no defense. It was true, she hadn't listed UA as any of her options on the form they were given about a month prior. She had struggled in her decision, but couldn't push herself to write the name of the top school as one of her choices. Instead, she chose three other schools, mainly focusing on proximity to her home.

"I… I…" She was at a loss for words, she couldn't explain her reasoning to him, mostly because she didn't understand it herself. If she looked a bit deeper, she might've found that she didn't believe that Izuku would truly make it to UA. She didn't want the off chance of her getting accepted while he wouldn't coming true.

Izuku looked down at the sidewalk and took a few steps away from her. "…I should get back to training."

Any other day, she would have called out to him, told him to have fun, or some other feeble attempt at communication. Yet, when she looked up to see his slumped shoulders as he walked away, she couldn't bring herself to stop him.

Ayano felt more alone than she had in years.

Her walk home was quiet; she forgot her earbuds in her locker. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had said something wrong, but how could her concern for her friend be bad?

Ayano's confusion remained even after she walked through the front door to her home. "I've returned from my journey!" The mediocre joke was met with pin-drop silence. I guess they're both still working then… She made her way to the kitchen to make a snack after dropping her bag by the stairs.

"What to make, what to make…" She checked the fridge for any easy-made food but came up empty. Her eyes searched the cabinets but the chips and crackers didn't jump out at her. With her expectations lowered, she went to check the fridge again when there was a knock at the door. She turned to look at it with furrowed brows. Mom or Nari would just use their keys or the spare… Who dares disturbeth me while I'm trying to provideth myself with sustenance...eth? She slowly made her way to the door to check the peephole.

Her eye lined up with the glass circle to see an annoyed blonde boy with his fist raised. Katsuki pounded his fist on the door again, hard enough to make Ayano jump back a bit. Damn, do you own a single ounce of chill?

She opened the door to glare at him. Her arms crossed as she leaned on the doorway. His fist was raised to knock again; he lowered it slowly after Ayano opened the door.

"What do you want?" Despite how lonely she had been feeling, she was still angry at the blonde. Why is he here?

He opened his mouth, but then closed it. Apparently, he didn't think this through very well. Then again, does he think anything through? "The bubble you made-" He stopped, then started again, "I don't know if I-" He interrupted himself again.

Ayano was getting impatient. "Spit it out already!"

He cringed but didn't get angry as she expected. "I wanted to say, I mean… You did it even though you were hurt and-" A deep breath, then a rather quiet, "Thanks for helping me."

Before she could react, let alone respond, he was bolting down the street faster than she cared to follow. Instead of pointlessly chasing him, Ayano just smirked and pulled out her phone to send a quick text.

you're welcome :) She followed up the text immediately, next time you visit you might actually make it through the door.

His reply came while she was finishing homework, after eating dinner with her parents: shut up. She snorted at his response, and a few minutes later, she laughed at the next message: only if you're offering food.

I'll see what I can do, your majesty

After sending that text, she got ready for bed. For the first time in a while, Ayano was excited for the morning.

あきら End Chapter 10 あやの