A/N: I'm back again! Sry for the wait. Finally we're meeting some more of Masha's classmates and also All Might. Really gotta say that I had a lot of fun writing this one. I feel like maybe I've played and messed around a bit too much, but for me that was definitely worth it. I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. As always, thank you very much for reading!
Chapter Five: Byakko Meets All Might
In the morning Masha has to endure regular classes. Math, English, Science and History. Bored to death she sits in the classroom and yawns for the umpteenth time and what's even worse... She glances to her side to look at Bakugo who's sitting right next to her. "What're you lookin' at, damn cat?" he mocks noticing her glimpse. The white and black haired girl turns to him slightly and shows him her mischievous cat-like grin. "Oh well... nothing much, I suppose..." she counters calmly meaning every word she just said quite literally. "I swear, I'm gonna kill you!" the blond explodes immediately, so he got the hint. Unfortunately their teacher interrupts them entering the classroom, so Bakugo slumps down on his chair again gritting his teeth. At least he's wide awake now. Unlike Masha who barely bears up until lunch break.
In the cafeteria she waves enthusiastically at Izukyun, Ochako and glasses Iida who sit all together, but ends up meeting Kirishima and Kaminari while lining up to get herself some food and being dragged along by the boys to another table where two other dudes are waiting for them. One of them has black hair and kinda weird elbows which is probably because of his quirk and the other one is very small and has purple balls on his head which could actually be a quirk as well or just a strange hairstyle.
The electric blond is nice enough to introduce Masha to the black haired Sero Hanta and the little Mineta Minoru from whom she can sense quite a hormone flash as he looks up to her starting to drool. Nevertheless her playful cat side can't help but to think the tiny boy's super cute. Like a cat toy. "Oh my gosh, you're so damn cute! Can I hug you please?" she blurts out exhilarated leaving all four guys gazing at her flabbergasted. Especially Mineta himself looks like his brain has just decided to quit the service. His jaw has dropped to the floor, his enlarged eyes seem like they're about to bounce out of his head and his whole body is shaking violently.
Masha backs off a bit. "Ah, Kaminari, seems like I've just quick-frozen your friend. Sorry!" And then the purple haired boy literally starts to cry his eyes out, sobbing loudly. The young tigress begins to panic. "Oh no! I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry. I really am so sorry! Please don't cry! I won't touch you, I promise!" With flattened ears Masha tries her best to soothe the boy who's drenched in tears. "Don't promise me something horrific like that after raising my hopes like crazy!" Mineta suddenly screams with tears still flowing down his face. "Never before in my life has a girl with such a magnificently built body bestowed the great honor upon me to call me cute, let alone wanting to embrace me! I am beyond overjoyed right now, so please go ahead as much as you want! Do not bother to hold back! I'm all yours! For all eternity!"
Before the purple head has the opportunity to continue with his hysterical outburst, shouting through the whole cafeteria, a long pink tongue smacks into his face shutting him up. "...Eh?..." Masha blinks. Her mind has gone blank. What the hell...? "This boy is a perv! You should be careful around him", a cute frog like girl who's the owner of the weapon-tongue informs her with a ribbit. "...Huh..." Masha blinks again. And while the cat girl's still speechless, which is a very rare occasion, Kirishima, Sero and Kaminari burst out into laughter, holding their stomachs. "Oi Masha, you're awesome!" the red haired states and Kaminari nods along. "That was so hilarious!"
Mineta only breathes heavily after being so close to suffocation. "Eh... But I was actually serious", the teenage girl pouts playfully winking at Kaminari. Now that she has noticed in which direction the intentions of the ball headed guy really lead, her sneaky smirk returns to her face. "He's so tiny, he could easily be my toy" She says that with a slight singsong to her tone. Mineta restarts to tremble besides her. "T-t-toy..." he aspirates. "Hey, I can be your toy, too!" The electric blond winks right back at her, participating in her little game. Masha snickers while Sero and Kirishima share a short glance and lower their heads suppressing their smiles and looking at their food instead.
"Nah, you're too tall. That won't work. I can't pick you up properly", the young girl responds lightheartedly and rests her chin in the palm of her hand. "You know, like a pet or something" The purple haired boy almost stops breathing having turned into a stone statue. "P-p-pick up...? P-pet...?!" he forces out. "Y-you sure are into some advanced stuff!" Now Masha honestly has problems to stifle her laughter. "Pffft!" she hears Kaminari at the same time, but Mineta doesn't even seem to notice. Or to care. "Well, I am a cat", the young tigress clarifies. She puts one hand on the table and shows the boys how long and sharp tiger claws grow from her fingers, glistening in the artificial light of the school's canteen. All four of them watch the process astonished. She locks her amber eyes with Mineta's again as they widen more and more at her performance. "I like to play it rough~", she finally blows him the last strike, causing the poor little boy to explode in a heavy nosebleed. The group starts laughing together again.
"Geez!" Kirishima exclaims. "I'm glad I'm not your target" Masha smiles sweetly at him. "Who says you're not? You're kinda cute as well" But the crimson head only grins back. "Thanks, I'm takin' this as a compliment" Masha giggles. "It is!" she assures him.
After wiping away some tears of laughter, Kaminari shows the cat girl a smug grin. "You can take me on next, I'm already used to it after all" She raises her brows and his red haired friend next to him starts coughing. "Getting sassy, are we?" The tone in her voice turns low. "Hmm... So full of confidence again... Still haven't learned your lesson, have ya?" she begins to tease the blond. "After the last time you're actually the last one who should dare to challenge me like that, Kaminari. Or could it be... You've enjoyed it so much that you can't get enough of me now?" At the electric blonde's dumbfounded reddened face Kirishima besides him almost spits out his coke again. "Dude, you're so screwed!"
In all that chaos Sero seems to be quite amused and interested rather than to be wondering about how weird his classmates really are. "Getting to know you certainly means it'll never be boring, huh? That's kinda nice", the black haired tells Masha with a wide grin and the young girl chuckles about such a matter of fact statement. "Oh, I'm very pleased to meet you, too", she answers him genuinely. "Hi, I'm Masha and I like to mess with people" Sero nods trying to look serious. "Yeah, I can see that..."
With Mineta completely knocked out the group goes on to chitchat while eating their lunch together and Masha finally gets her chance to ask Sero about his elbow quirk which she learns is cellophane tape. "Whoa, that's just perfect for capturing villains, cool!" she cheers causing the black haired to be the next one to blush a bit, but with a proud and happy smile on his face.
After lunch break the first time of true hero training has finally come. "I am here!" a very familiar voice booms. "Coming through the door like a hero!" Masha facepalms again. Does he know that he's actually implying that entering a room through a door like every ordinary sane human being would do is a heroic act? The cat girl seriously considers taking the window next time. Only to see his reaction. Of course she's nevertheless very excited about the mighty number one hero being their teacher. The whole class starts cheering as the huge blond pro hero enters the classroom with his bright characteristic smile.
"Welcome to the most important class at U.A. High. Think of it as Heroing 101. Here you will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight in the name of good, let's get into it!" All Might explains with his hands on his hips. "Today's lesson will pull no punches!" he continues, holding up a note card with big block letters. BATTLE, it reads, but Masha's way too distracted to recognize all that.
In sheer horror she stares at the smiling hero with golden hair. Her face grows pale and her amber eyes widen in realization. All Might is sick. Like critically ill. The symbol of peace that keeps the world together is dying, fading away very slowly right in front of her eyes. For Masha it feels like watching someone bleed to death drip by drip. His enormous powers seem to leak from his muscular body from second to second. Of course the bulky hero still is the most powerful being Masha has ever seen or sensed, but that doesn't change the fact that it's only a matter of time that his era will come to an end very soon.
The tiger girl faintly notices how Bakugo is excited about real combat training and how All Might and her other classmates continue to talk about their assignment and about looking good as a hero in their costumes which are ready now, but her mind has already gone blank. What will Izukyun say? Did he notice? He'll definitely be shocked to the core.
The teenage girl glimpses at her childhood friend as another strike of awareness hits her. Same! Her inner tigress tells her without doubt. Izuku and All Might are the same. She doesn't want to believe it. How? How are they the same? How can this be? Masha knows that her instincts never betray her, but she's so deeply shaken and confused that she can't trust her own senses right now.
"Young Shirogawa!" All Might's deep voice rings in her sensitive ears and she jumps from her chair standing abruptly only to recognize that she's the only student left in the classroom. "Is something the matter?" Masha hesitates for a second, but that short moment is enough for the blond pro hero to notice the tears and the desperation in the young girl's strong amber gaze. "Y-yes, Sir", she begins to stutter and avoids his eyes looking at her desk instead. "Please forgive me my rudeness in your classes, but I'm actually... uhm feeling very unwell right now. Would you please be so kind and grant me permission to go to the infirmary?" The white and black haired girl bows politely after her request catching her teacher by surprise. After a minute of thinking the bright smile reappears on All Might's angular face. "No need to apologize", he assures her friendly. "The health of our students is always our top priority!"
The pro hero signs a document and hands it over to the cat girl who accepts it with slightly trembling hands still trying not to look at him directly. "Thank you very much. I-I really am sorry", she mumbles with a weak voice. "No sweat young Shirogawa", All Might says. "Well, I will have to go to Ground Beta now, but I'll make sure to come and check on you as soon as classes are over" Masha's head jerks up. "O-oh, don't bother..." But All Might bursts out in loud laughter. "It doesn't bother me at all to care for my beloved students whenever they are in need", he explains with total conviction as he exits the classroom.
"Geh!" The young tigress grimaces and sticks her tongue out. Beloved student, my foot! Nevertheless she leaves the classroom as well and drags herself down the hallway to the infirmary. "Oh my, young missy! You look pale like a ghost. Have a seat", Recovery Girl declares looking at Masha's face worriedly and taking the document signed by All Might. "You don't have any serious physical issues", the small elderly woman with the gray hair bun on her head says after a close medical examination. "However if you still feel sickish you may rest here for a while. A nap sometimes works wonders" Masha nods along gladly accepting the offer and bowing her head in respect. "Thank you very much" The school nurse smiles at her, pulls a curtain in front of Masha's bed and leaves her alone in this room with her own thoughts.
She sighs and lies down on the bed with the white blankets. At least the feeling of shock and maybe having to throw up at any moment have vanished. Only the circling thoughts in her head still remain and worry tugs on her heart. Her recent awareness that the number one hero's mighty power has begun to decrease significantly enough for her to sense it with her tiger instincts is certainly not a very good piece of news. Not for herself and not for the rest of the world. Of course this doesn't seem to be official, so her noticing it wasn't intended and could be a problem. Besides no one else should be able to notice as long as their quirks won't allow it. The importance of keeping a crucial secret like that from the public and also from the students is obvious. But do the teachers know? Maybe some of them.
And Izuku? What kind of weird uneasy feeling was that earlier? Masha's senses showed her that All Might and her childhood friend are the same. She could clearly smell a very similar scent from both of them even though they're not father and son, not related by blood in another way and Izukyun is obviously not living with the blond pro hero, so it doesn't make any sense. Also their shiningly bright and kindhearted auras kind of radiate the same vibes, but what's most bewildering is the fact that their power levels looked comparable. And that's nonsense! No one's power could possibly be comparable to All Might's. Not to mention that the green haired boy had been quirk less and no matter which quirk he got before the entrance exam it could never be...
Masha gasps. The secret! And this ominous other person he shares that secret with! Right before the entrance exam there had been this incident with Bakugo, Izukyun and this sludge villain and All Might had appeared out of nowhere to solve the case. Then her childhood friend had made it into U.A. with her, but at that time he already had changed and Masha had been able to detect an incredible power from him. Izukyun had told her that his new quirk is a power-type one, but also that his control is bad and that he breaks his bones, so his body isn't able to keep up with the quirk power. And on top of that there is someone who doesn't want Izuku to tell other people about his quirk and how or why he got it. While All Might's strength is dropping little by little without being noticed by others, quirk less Izukyun has gained an overflowing amount of energy that puts a heavy strain on his own body. So could it be... By any chance...? One of them weakening, the other one developing powers that are almost equal. Way too much to be a coincidence. "I trust this person with my life! And I am very grateful..."
"Damn, Izukyun!" Masha whines. "I know you wanted to be the number one hero like All Might one day, but did you really need to take it this literally?" Tears of concern for both of them, the pro hero and her best friend, start to flow down her face. How the heck would she be able to help them? Keeping their secret goes without saying, of course, but what else? As she keeps thinking and worrying like that, Masha's consciousness begins to fade away until she finally falls asleep. However her sweet slumber gets interrupted quite violently as someone pulls the curtain that disguises the bed away in one fell swoop.
Squealing in surprise the young tigress is wide awake and blinks at the light blond spiky haired Bakugo who scowls down on her with his red eyes. He seems to be equally puzzled to see her here as well as he seems to be beat up and utterly pissed off. "Bakugo!" Masha exclaims and jumps off the bed to push him down on it so he can have a seat. "What the hell happened? You okay? Well, I think since you've come to the infirmary you're certainly not okay. Just wait a sec, I'm gonna go call Recovery Girl to treat you" With that said the teenage girl runs out of the room to call the school nurse leaving behind a slightly confused Bakugo who stares after her questioning her nice attitude towards him all of a sudden. He makes a huge effort to get that picture of her lying on that bed right in front of him out of his mind. What a shock to look in her big amber eyes so unexpectedly. And he made her squeal like a little girly... How the hell would he be able to ever forget that?
Returning together with the small elderly woman Masha decides to wait outside of the room. The treatment doesn't take much time and soon enough the light blond boy takes his leave again. He glares at the cat girl leaning against the wall next to the door he just came through. "How the hell do ya know that damn Deku nerd?" he strongly demands an explanation from her. She shrugs actually surprised he even cares. "We met at the age of five. We've been friends since that time although I didn't attend the same Middle School like you guys. But we always stayed in contact" His eyes widen a bit at her response, but his facial expression remains grim. "So ya know that he used to be that quirk less lil' loser! Why weren't you surprised when he threw that damn softball and broke his finger?" Bakugo clenches his fists, his usually red eyes looking even darker now.
Masha sighs. "First of all, he's never been a loser, quirk less or not and I'm pretty sure that you actually know that very well, so don't make me tell you the obvious for God's sake!" she counters irritated. "Besides that I have the instincts of a tiger which surpass average human ones, so I'm able to sense stuff like that. And almost everyone had actually heard about him crushing the zero pointer during the entrance exam, so the only thing I was surprised about was seeing him in action for the first time myself" The spiky haired boy grits his teeth. His anger increases even more as the two of them talk to each other in the hallway. "So where the hell does that stupid quirk come from all of a sudden, goddammit?!" he shouts and continues cursing Izukyun in several ways.
The cat girl rolls her amber eyes at the aggressive outburst. "Who knows? My quirk's not clairvoyance and to be honest I couldn't even care less. I believed in Izukyun before he had that quirk and I'll continue believing in him until the very end. 'Cause we're friends and I love him and at least I'm not such a coward that I'm not able to admit that openly", she explains the light blond almost sluggishly, still leaning against the wall. "Maybe he just late developed because a small child would've died holding that power. He's fifteen now and he still breaks his bones, right? So even his built up body can't keep up properly"
Simply the word coward seems to be enough to drive Bakugo up the wall. His red eyes are blazing with rage. "How'd ya just call me, damn cat?" he yells and the young tigress exhales slowly. What an idiot! "Who the hell talked about you, Mr. Wannabe-alpha-male? You're not that interesting!" she shoots back at him still being calm on the outside, but suppressing an amused grin. "Drop dead!" Bakugo fumes and stomps away without looking back at her. Masha chuckles as she watches his back, his shoulders being obviously tense.
Shortly after Bakugo's arrival at the infirmary, also Izukyun is brought there with a completely broken arm. The young girl winces at the sight and stays by her friend's side until All Might enters the room to check on him as well. She leaves the two of them alone and waits outside again having a déjà vu. A few minutes later a bandaged Izuku steps out into the hallway and Masha hugs him very carefully. "You okay?" He nods and smiles at her. "How about you? Do you feel better? We heard that you were feeling sick" The young girl waves one of her hands. "I'm fine, I'm fine. No worries" She smiles right back at the young Midoriya. "Oh I'm glad", he responds. "Such a shame you missed our first hero training. I wish I could've seen you fight. I'll tell you everything later. All Might said that he wants to talk to you first, so I'll go to the classroom and meet up with the others" Masha agrees with the green haired teen to catch up with him later after she's talked to the blond pro hero.
Masha tries to prepare mentally before facing her teacher again. It would be strange for her to react with staring at him all the time with an expression that clearly signals that something's not right. So she inhales deeply, puts a friendly little smile on her face and then enters the room again. "Sir, you wanted to speak with me?" All Might awaits her already standing there in a heroic pose as always. "Ah, there you are young Shirogawa. I am certainly relieved to see that you are back on your feet and energetic again" The young tigress mumbles her thanks and tries to apologize again for suddenly spacing out in the classroom earlier, but she doesn't get the chance.
"I think I'm the one who should be apologizing to you", her teacher says suddenly being very serious. Masha twitches her ears in disbelief. Why would the number one hero go to the trouble to apologize to her? "According to the expression on your face after seeing me for your first time and after I've closely checked on your school file with your personal information again, I suppose you might have sensed something very unpleasant from me with your quirk's power, am I right?" Feeling somehow caught the teenage girl looks at the floor. "That must've been scaring you, I'm very sorry that I didn't check my student's quirks more carefully before entering a class. I should've taken into consideration that someone would be able to see through things like physical conditions"
An awkward silence develops between the two and the white and black haired girl decides to be honest. "I've not only sensed something from you, Sir, but also from Izukyu... I mean Midoriya Izuku. We are childhood friends since the age of five years and I know that he used to be quirk less, but now I can clearly feel a huge amount of energy coming from his body and it radiates exactly the same aura as your power does, even if it has begun to decrease" All Might sighs and nods understandingly. Smoke starts to rise from his body and with a slight puff the bulky guy who's usually big as a truck shrinks down to a very skinny and unhealthy looking blond dude. Masha flinches, one of her hands covering her mouth.
"What you can see here is my true form right now", the skeletal man announces and sits himself down on the bed. "I can only maintain my muscle form a few hours a day, but up until now very few people are aware of my situation" Masha forces herself to breathe. "I will not ask for an explanation, Sir", the young girl assures the pro hero, but he shakes his head. "No, this is my responsibility. After you've found out so much on your own and have gone through such a heavy emotional reaction it's my duty to not leave you behind with frightening half-truths. That might be even worse than explaining myself to you"
Hesitantly the cat girl walks over to the bed and sits besides All Might. The number one hero begins to tell her an unbelievable story about his quirk called One for All and how he has passed it down to former quirk less Izukyun. Masha exhales slowly. "So this is why he didn't want to tell me his secret so desperately. It actually does make so much sense now" Tears start to fill up her feline eyes again. "Will he end up like you did?" she asks with a trembling voice. "I mean I know that being a pro hero puts a great strain on your body and that there's always the danger of permanent damage when you have to fight villains, but... This is already breaking his bones. He just got the quirk, but it has hurt him so much in such a short time. I don't want to see him all worn out and suffering. I-I mean I don't want to see you like that either, but unfortunately it's already too late for you, so I really don't want to lose my best friend. He's the only friend I've ever had!"
All Might watches Masha wiping her tears with a very soft and moved expression on his face. "Young Shirogawa, I am truly grateful that young Midoriya has a wonderful friend like you. I promise you that I will give my best to be his teacher and his guide until the very end. Once he gains a better control over One for All he will be able to use it without hurting himself, but this will also take some time, so I have to ask for your patience and for your support. Do you think you will be able to stand it a little bit longer?" The young tigress smiles at the blond pro hero. She had always admired him. Not for his strength like most of his other fans, but for his kind heart, for his friendly smile and his encouraging words. For Masha the number one hero had always been the brightest, but also the warmest light to shine down on human society.
"I'm a terrible friend", she admits. "It's his biggest dream to be the number one hero like you, so I should be happy and cheering for him that he's a step closer to this dream now. But I'm scared and full of doubt instead. I should believe in him more" All Might smiles right back at her although in his skeleton form it looks a bit weird and pats her shoulder. "You'll make a splendid hero in future and an even better best friend for young Midoriya. Where have you met him?"
Without thinking twice the teenage girl starts talking. After the secret the pro hero just shared with her, she feels like making it up to him with her own life story. To her big surprise and also to All Might's, they notice that they share another good friend except Midoriya. "So you are Aizawa's goddaughter. He never told me", the number one hero pouts. "And it's even more surprising to me that you know Tsukauchi. He's an old friend of mine and he knows about One for All, too. Honestly, what are they thinking? I feel completely left out on your case. Maybe I could have been of any service back then" Masha giggles amused about the fact that a grown up man like him sulks like a little child. "I've never seen myself as a hero, but both of them kept pestering me about enrolling into U.A. along with my mom, so here I am" The blond laughs and stands up from the bed. "Well, I'm glad they did", he says and the cat girl jumps down the bed as well to hug her teacher tightly.
"Must've been tough for you too to shoulder this entire burden by yourself over so many years. So who comforts the hero if he's feeling down sometimes? Maybe I'm able to do at least that much for Izukyun. And if you'd like, for you as well, All Might" With turning back into his muscle form the number one hero tries to hide how much all of this has touched his heart. He ruffles Masha's hair affectionately and leaves her behind in the infirmary.
A/N: So this was it. Very sorry for all of you who hoped for Masha to participate in the hero training, but honestly speaking I just didn't want to do the same thing almost everyone else is doing in their MHA fics. I mean Masha could've entered a team of three instead of two or with her power she also could've fought alone, but somehow I thought that'd be unfair and kinda not logical 'cause teachers wouldn't really do that. Besides that I didn't want her to ruin Izuku's and Katsuki's as well as Izuku's and Ochako's important moments and I wanted her to have her own development a little bit. Anyways with her quirk I would've had to explain why she didn't notice All Might's problem if I hadn't done it the way I have here. You see... I've thought a lot about this chapter before writing it and at the end I really love it like it is now. Especially my fun parts. So, I hope you guys enjoyed it as well!
Thank you very, very much for reading!
And thanks to all of my favs, follows, reviews and reads. Really saves my day every single time! :-)
Stay healthy guys! Wish you all the best!