-x- Shoto -x-
The three teens were not sitting together in the bus on the way to the field trip location, USJ. Izuku knew about it and was gushing the whole weekend. Shoto listened to him, even if it didn't sound nearly as exciting to him. He stayed engaged in the conversation, truly paying attention even if he wasn't as interested.
He wanted his best friend to be happy, and wasn't going to shoot down his topic if he felt so strongly and positively about it. But he was in his own row and had quickly fallen asleep on the bus. He was a near silent sleeper, always had been, so nobody noticed he was sleeping for awhile since he didn't talk much when awake.
The vampire only awoke when they arrived, and Jiro, who was sitting behind him, nicely woke him up. He thanked her, stretched his arms and got off the bus to sit in the back. They were in their hero costumes, and all filed out of the nicely sized but kind of strangely designed bus. It was comfortable, fancy, but still oddly designed in Shoto's opinion.
He had the little braid in and was fiddling with it. Nobody else could see it, as it was the hair directly against the back of his neck near his ear, and completely out of view. He knew Mineta at least would laugh at it, but it wouldn't change anything. He had already made himself immune to his insults, because they were petty and he felt nothing personal.
After all, he'd done nothing to piss him off, he just seemed like an asshole. Oh well. Though Bakugo didn't tolerate it, and so he hadn't said anything near him.
Thirteen met them out there, and briefly explained about them all needing to be careful with their quirks, because they could unintentionally harm or even kill others. Shoto knew this, but it seemed to be a wake up call for some. Though many couldn't easily kill others. Those like Bakugo, well, it would be easy for someone to die from one of his explosions if he was careless.
But those like Koda, where he could talk to animals despite being more silent than Shoto, wouldn't easily kill. Shoto looked at his right hand. How could he kill people on accident? The only thing he thought was a realistic opportunity for the worst to happen was if somebody slipped on his ice and hit their head.
The speech was an important one to hear for those who'd never thought about it before. Izuku was a human right now, so he wouldn't be too hurt by the sun if something happened. Shoto was glad of that, he was in less danger. And his fire could no doubt do more harm unintentionally than his ice.
He didn't even spare a glance to his left side. They were ready to go in and practice different types of rescuing from natural disasters. Not things like a burning building or a car crash. These were new things to Shoto, to probably everybody. They were excited about it, and when he saw what awaited them, he thought it was pretty neat, too.
All Might was supposed to be there, as he heard easily from Aizawa, but wasn't. He didn't sense him in the area either. Was he flaking out? That would be odd. They were all distracted by this when something black and misty appeared from deeper inside, near the middle of the place, below the stairs and right in view.
It was a portal as there was a rush of new scents and different air all of the sudden, the moment that appeared. People started to come out, and he could smell a lot. "Are those the opponents we're gonna deal with?" Kirishima asked.
Aizawa said, "No. Those are villains. Stay here."
Thirteen had them stay close together as more villains came out. The homeroom teacher jumped down, putting his goggles on, planning on taking them all on at once. The students disagreed with this approach, but couldn't do anything to fight before the portal guy came to them. It was still open behind, but the quirk user seemed to be made out of the substance.
It was clear his intentions were bad even before he spoke out loud that he and the villains still flooding USJ were there to kill them. Kirishima and Bakugo jumped out to attack. It did nothing, didn't even anger the portal man. He stunk of alcohol. The whole place stunk of alcohol, along with the scents of all those new people. Some of them stunk in their own ways.
Glancing at Izuku, he looked frightened. He was going to hurry over before the portal man, the faceless, formless person, exploded that black substance, both seeming to be not solid but also being able to touch them physically. Shoto was thrown far away, far from both of his best friends. And he landed in his area on his own.
There were none of his classmates with him, meaning he could go all out just fine. And he could heal up without seeming weird. Though the fabric of his costume was thick and hard to rip easily. But he landed lightly on his feet. More villains came his way. He froze the ground all around, and had it climb up everything it came into contact with.
All the villains in the victiny were trapped. "What are you here for?" he asked. They refused to answer. "You tissue is already dying. Soon you will have frostbite and you will lose your fingers and toes."
But before he could say anything more, or hear any explanation, there was a loud blast of air and sound nearby. Shoto winced as his ear drums ripped apart. He grit his teeth, holding his hands over his ears. Fuck, he was deaf. They'd heal on their own, but for now he couldn't hear. He felt so vulnerable.
He still had one extreme sense, though, his sense of smell. It didn't help him know what was going on around him, but knew where people were, and he was able to fight for himself, despite the silence. Despite being deaf and useless. He could smell people, where they were and moving.
Even deaf in both ears, he managed to fight off all of the enemies. By now, though, those he froze first were already screaming from the burn as their cells froze and died. But he only saw them with their mouths open, he couldn't hear them. Still. It was taking too long for his liking. He decided he wanted to help someone, he had classmates that were in trouble, too.
If he saved classmates he disliked, who treated him like shit, then he could save the classmates who, until now, seemed to try to accommodate his closed off personality. He followed them by scent, able to tell Izuku was pretty far from where he was, the same with Bakugo. He trusted them to take care of themselves.
He found Jiro, Kaminari and Yaoyorozu. "YOU OKAY?!" he asked, too loud but unable to hear just how loud. Apparently it was very loud, as the three looked started. But they nodded. Yaoyorozu saw how heavily his ears were bleeding, and started fussing, but Shoto had no idea what she was saying. "I can't HEAR YOU."
Shoto also couldn't read lips. But he smelled Izuku, and decided he wanted to find him. "I'M GONNA FIND IZUKU." He didn't know if they called after him, of course, and went running towards the scent. He found him facing a monster with an exposed brain. Kirishima and Bakugo appeared.
Still no idea what anyone was saying, he stopped focusing on that. When Izuku used his full force to punch it, nothing happened. He was in shock as the creature was unaffected by the hit. He'd meant to kill it, but it did nothing. Shoto formed a spear, and chucked it at the thing's exposed brain. Then he shot after it, and used his own strength to slam an ice dagger down into its brain. He stabbed over and over, arm covered in blood. He froze it with his coldest ice, and then Izuku used his strength to shatter it into pieces. Bakugo used a large explosion to completely fry the remaining bits.
The guy, skinny with gray hair and hands grasping his limbs and even face, stared at them in shock. Shoto's ears were slowly healing, and he couldn't tell if the enemy was speaking with the hand latched to his face, only showing his heavy lidded eyes.
"Are you okay, Shoto?" Izuku asked, his voice sounding like he was hearing through water. Shoto could smell Aizawa's scent, and the strong scent of blood. But he was not in the area. The hand guy started to run at them, but then Shoto smelled the addition of teachers, the heroes he knew the scent of.
He hadn't memorize them, but it was easy to figure out Cementoss and Midnight's scents. And All Might. But with the teachers arriving already, it was game over for the villains. Shoto froze the ground rushing towards hand guy, but the portal user appeared behind him, and sucked up only one person. Abandoned everyone else.
"Shoto, are your ears okay?" Izuku asked, voice still muffled, touching both sides of the taller teen's face.
"Yeah, sound is coming back already," he said. "What was that thing?"
"Don't know. It beat up Aizawa pretty badly," Bakugo said darkly. "I don't know why he didn't target the exposed brain. Though it had super regeneration."
"It's brain was the weak spot, then," Kirishima said. "You guys were so cool!"
"'M just okay you two are okay," Shoto said with a sigh. His first time ever fighting villains. It was draining, and he felt the adrenaline leaving his body, a light layer of tiredness blanketed over him as it faded away. The teachers and authorities collected the students and villains. Busses came for the villains, as there were so many.
Shoto could see those he'd frozen had their legs in shambles. They were heavily injured, perhaps disabled for the rest of their lives in prison. He felt no guilt, nothing. They were enemies, they were just lucky he didn't kill them. He'd killed before, unfortunately.
Where had All Might been, anyways? Shoto didn't notice him anywhere. He also wondered how the teachers found out things were bad. "Let's go back," Izuku said, and they headed for the entrance.
"Listen here, Shitty Hair," Bakugo said. "Shoto is deaf in his ears. Understand?" he growled threateningly. Since Shoto's ears should not have healed that fast. Kirishima seemed surprised before he nodded, vowing to play along. "Whoa, really?"
"Yeah! I mean, clearly something is up and I don't want to mess anything up for you, so I'll pretend. It's no big deal," Kirishima said in his always positive voice.
"You're a fucking weirdo, Shitty Hair," Bakugo said, and the redhead just laughed. This was the kind of person everyone should have part of their life. Shoto's ears still looked injured since he hadn't wiped the blood away. It was very obvious, especially in his white hair. Everyone looked tired, some injured but not too bad. Nobody was cut up or with broken bones, and by then Aizawa was out. Shoto hoped he was okay, he had no idea what had happened.
"Shoto-san," Yaoyorozu said in worry. Jiro came hurrying over. Since they thought he couldn't hear still, Jiro signed a thank you. Shoto knew the sign language alphabet. He nodded in response. "Oh, you can read it, thank goodness," the smart girl said. She was wearing a t-shirt because her costume shirt was hanging by her hips in tatters.
He was fine but for a ton of blood on his arms from stabbing the head of that thing. It took on a direct punch from Izuku. That was crazy, it was only teamwork that offed it. And if Bakugo hadn't roasted it, the thing could have reformed. Izuku was hanging off of Shoto's arm.
"Whoa, what's all that blood?!" They killed that monster. What if- what if it was a person's quirk?! Would they get in trouble? But it didn't smell human, that was why Shoto didn't hesitate to stab its brains out. That made him feel a bit better. All people, regardless of quirks, had a human scent. Impossible to describe, and different between Izuku and Shoto. But this thing was something new, not human or vampire. Not an animal, either. It was a true monster. But they'd killed it. Shoto the most violently. He hoped none of his classmates saw that, it must have been scary or disturbing.
With the excuse that he was deaf, he didn't need to answer to anyone where all the blood came from. Pretended not to be able to hear. Izuku took off his glove, his skin covered in sunblock even after being protected by the sun, and he used it to wiped the blood off that was on Shoto's face.
He'd like to think he wasn't phased by it because he was so in control, but he knew it was because it was not human smelling. It smelled rotted if he focused on it. Shoto took his hand. "I'll wash it off later, don't ruin your gloves."
"They're just gloves…"
"What?" Shoto asked. "I can't hear you," he lied. Then Uraraka came hurrying over and hugged Izuku.
"I was worried when Tsu and Mineta came back, saying you were fighting."
"Oh, I was okay. Shoto, Kacchan and Kirishima showed up to help! We defeated that thing together." Shoto didn't smell blood. It wasn't strong, at least. All of the teachers were there, eyeing him. After all, he had presumed to have human blood all over him. All that was left of the creature were charred and wrinkled bits of skin and organs.
"I'm glad everyone is safe," Izuku said in relief.
"Shoto-kun," Midnight called. He was supposed to be deaf. He didn't answer, didn't act like he'd heard. Jiro said his ears were bleeding, and he couldn't hear. She got Shoto's attention with sight and pointed to Midnight. "Recovery Girl should be here soon," she said. The vampire was sure she had to know he could hear, but was putting on an act because he needed to. He was human to these people.
Recovery Girl did indeed come in a car and helped out the injured students. She kissed Shoto and sped up his lingering regeneration. He could hear fully again. "Thank you," he said politely. He turned and saw Izuku sitting against the building. Detectives and police were everywhere. Shoto heard his short breaths.
He went to him, and crouched in front of him. "We're okay, everyone is okay."
"We killed that thing," he said. "I killed something-"
"I stabbed its brain out, you just destroyed what was left. We both know that thing wasn't human," he added in a more quiet voice. "I'm sorry. I upset you. I was the one to stab it first." He looked down at his bloody hands and sleeves. He didn't shake, feeling no guilt, it was a monster and hurt their teacher.
Izuku looked guilty. "No, you protected me, I was frozen in shock. My power did nothing against it."
"That handsy mother fucker said it was built to fight All Might. Of course it could withstand punches. All Might fights with blunt force, not sharp objects. Stabbing it was probably the only way to kill it," Bakugo said. "The fuck, where was he?" The others had no answer. "That thing was the final boss. But the shit head who amputated accessories was probably the ringleader, since he was the only one to be evacuated."
"But the rest of the class did really good! We're all so strong! I bet-"
"They were lucky," Bakugo cut him off. "All of us were lucky, everyone. If Aizawa got one shotted in the end, then the only way we won - let alone fucking survived - was because luck was on our side," he said seriously.
"I thought you would brag about winning," Kirishima said, sounding interested.
"I'm being level headed! We should have been fucked."
"But we weren't! Even if we survived on luck, luck is a talent, too!"
"Not a very original one if all of us have it, Shitty Hair." Kirishima just laughed it over. Bakugo seemed annoyed and unsure how to respond. It was kind of funny. Uraraka came over, and looked at Shoto with unease, at the blood on him. Looking down, he kind of hated it. Hated seeing himself covered in the blood of any creature.
He felt awful, and scary. Someone walked up behind him, and he turned around. "I can take you back inside to wash that off." He was a detective. "My name is Tsukauchi. I have questions for everyone, but let's take care of that first." Shoto nodded, and they headed back inside the trashed interior of USJ. Everything was in ruins. It was a mess and would need to be completely torn down and rebuilt.
When they made it to the water's edge, Shoto looked down and saw there was blood smeared on his face. "What happened?" Tsukauchi asked. Shoto honestly explained about the monster as he washed the blood off. His suit's fabric was water resistant just based on how tightly the fabric was woven, so it was easy to wash off. Luckily, none of it was white.
"I'm a vampire. The only reason I killed it was because I knew it wasn't a human. The only reason I'm completely unaffected by so much blood on my body is because it was not human. We left nothing behind. Sorry… Are we going to jail?"
"If everyone that killed someone today went to jail, half of your class would be removed by tomorrow morning." Shoto turned around sharply. "Multiple villains have blunt force trauma to their heads. Six are already dead. Three villains drowned to death. You're only the three that saw your opponent die. The only one with blood on your hands. But that's only physical, many of your classmates killed today," he said firmly. It reinforced what Thirteen had told them just before the villains arrived.
But he felt better. He didn't kill any humans, others did. But he was glad for them that they didn't know the long term effects of their self defense. "Now, let's get you back to everyone else. What are you doing?"
Shoto dumped the blood powder into the water and stuck his face in the red pool, drinking up the blood. Then he washed his face off, roughly splashed the blood around until it dissipated, and stood up to join Tsukauchi. "Thank you. Your words… made me feel more secure," he said honestly, voice quiet but sincere. They left, and he returned to the bus feeling much better, and looking much better.
"Wait!" Tsukauchi said. Shoto turned around, surprised. He moved forward, and Shoto stiffened when he lifted the back of his hair, exposing his nape. He wondered if he'd burnt and somehow didn't notice.
"What's wrong?"
"There's a… bar code on your neck. Come with me." Shoto was confused.
"A bar code? Like… what you shop and buy things?"
"That's what it looks like." They headed outside to the rest of the students, and Tsukauchi had them search their bodies if they could see. Since many had body suits, not everyone could see. But there were six others who found the marks on their skin. They looked like tattoos. "And none of these were on your before?"
"Of course not! Why would I have a shitty tattoo like this on me?!" Bakugo raged. Everyone was ushered back onto the bus. It was silent. Izuku had one under his arm.
"We'll need to interrogate the villains and find out how this happened."
"But there's like, a hundred of them!" Ashido shouted, breaking the silence. They met up with the principal at the school and the teachers. Shoto kept rubbing the bar code on the back of his neck, but felt nothing. It really was like a tattoo. It had no texture, and it didn't hurt. He prayed that the villain who did this wasn't a dead one or they'd never have any idea what it was.
School was out by then, so only class 1-A was still there. They gathered in the cafeteria, getting some food; left over food as lunch was long over. Shoto was feeling sick. He felt violated, some mark on his back he didn't even know he got. He didn't know what it was but it as awful, and they all felt the same.
The places seemed random. Poor Tsu apparently had hers right in between her legs, so that would be much worse feeling than the nape of his neck. Each one of them were taken to do test. Like a normal physical. Then they were sent back to the cafeteria. Nobody was allowed to go home, not knowing what was wrong. If even there was something wrong.
But there were so many villains to question, and some weren't in any shape to get interrogated.
Shoto needed blood by the time it got dark, and they were brought to what seemed to be the basement. Only it was fully furnished. Sleeping bags and futon mats were everywhere. No privacy. But Shoto left to go to the nurse's room. He knocked on the door, and opened it.
"I was expecting you. I have what you need," Recovery Girl said. She went into a closet and came out with a whole tub of blood powder. It came in the containers like protein powder, and had a small scoop. He liked this kind the most, and got water from the tap, drinking all he needed to for the night.
He sighed, glad to be full. He had started to get thirsty, his throat starting to burn. Now he felt better. "Recovery Girl, are we all going to be okay?" he asked quietly, kind of afraid of the answer.
"Well, so far there isn't anything medically wrong with you. But the quirk may have not taken affect." There was also no clue of what the bars were for, not just what they did. The school had brought in a barcode scanner, but none of the pinged as anything. They were all in the dark. "I can't say you'll all be fine, but for now, nobody is ill or dying. It's the best we can hope for at this stage."
Shoto nodded, and left. He went back to the basement, and he could practically taste how low the morale was. Nothing happened, but the waiting was horrible. Waiting for something to happen to them, to go wrong. It lasted too long.
-x- Izuku -x-
Izuku woke up before Shoto and Bakugo. Others were already awake. Shoto had asked for him to wake him when there was the perfect chance to go put his contacts in. They weren't the type to sleep in, so he'd gone to the bathroom after everyone was asleep, and took them out. He counted on the darkness to hide his eyes if anyone was still awake. After all, they could see fine in the pitch black.
"Shoto," Izuku said softy. Awake students were gone to get breakfast, as he could smell food being made, while the rest were asleep. "Shoto, wake up, it's your chance." The permanent vampire woke up, red eyes sleepy. Izuku wished he didn't need to hide them, and wished the other vampire could have kept his normal eye color like he had.
He walked with his head down to the bathroom, container with contacts in his fist. He hurriedly put them in, Izuku standing watch outside. "Izuku-kun, how are you doing?" Uraraka asked, sounding tired. All of them were.
"Fine. Nothing feels off." He pulled up his sleep shirt and looked at the mark. It look unchanged completely. "We defeated the villains, but now we're left floundering and scared. We lost," he said, dropping his shirt with a sigh. "How about you?" he asked.
"I don't feel anything, either. I wouldn't have noticed unless Tsukauchi saw Shoto's mark. We would have found them eventually, but still. I don't feel a thing," she answered quietly. "I want to go home." Izuku nodded, agreeing. He missed his mom, missed his bedroom. He'd never spent the night somewhere he didn't want to. Only in his room, with his family or in his friends' houses.
Pitching a tent outside in Shoto's backyard was more comfortable than sleeping in that room with nineteen other people. All who hadn't showered after a stressful day. It had stunk like BO all night. Still did. Shoto walked out, looking tired. "Did breakfast start yet?" he asked with heavy eyes, no longer the vibrant, pretty red.
"Yeah. Lunch Rush made berry pancakes and waffles."
"They'll have something, I'm sure," Izuku said when Shoto drooped a bit. He didn't like foods made from mixes. Ever since he'd had pancake mix when he was young, before he was a vampire, he never ate them again. He'd never said what was so wrong about them to him, and Izuku never pressed.
Kacchan had, but Shoto refused to explain. Really, they had no idea what the issue was. "What's wrong with pancakes and waffles?"
"Nothing," and Shoto walked away. He was cranky, he hadn't had his morning blood. Izuku was very grateful he was a human right now. Though he had to make sure to look out for Shoto. But he was going in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. Recovery Girl had enough blood powder for him, so that was most likely where he was headed.
Suddenly, Izuku's body seized up, tensed and he slammed down, Uraraka the same. Izuku could hear shouts and thuds from everywhere. All of the students had collapsed. Uraraka was staring at him in fear, eyes wide and mouth tight. Izuku reached a hand out to hers, and held it tightly.
"We'll be okay," he said. It felt like all the energy was leaving his body, and his friend's eyes got sleep as well. But both were still awake, still alive. They were just crushingly exhausted. The sounds of thudding feet filled the halls, shouts for the students names. Cementoss was the one to find Izuku and Uraraka.
"Are you alright? What do you feel?"
Both of them replied, "Tired."
"Are you in any pain?" They weren't, it only felt they'd been awake for five days with no break or food. He managed to pick both of them up, over his shoulders, and rushed them to the infirmary. The other students were all being brought in, adults flittering around helplessly. Izuku saw Shoto was sleeping. Some others had their eyes shut, too.
There was no gasping, no panting. They were asleep. Everyone was tired, that was it. "This fucking- sucks," Bakugo groaned. Kirishima was next to him, all of them on the beds that were already there and more that were brought in. There weren't nearly enough, so some were sharing a bed with another.
Unfortunately for Shoto, he was laying beside Mineta. Urakaka was beside Izuku, still holding his hand, clenched tightly. He started to doze off, and woke up what felt like moments later. Everyone had been moved to their own beds, some on mattresses on the floor, others on infirmary beds. He looked up and saw Shoto touching his face, applying sunblock. His arms were already covered. "Sorry, I couldn't really not wake you up doing this," he said quietly. His hands lifted Izuku's head up a bit and rubbed the sunblock on the back of his neck.
"What… are you awake… for?"
"Everyone else keeps passing out. I've passed out about six times, but it eventually stopped. I want," he yawed, "to help, but being a victim too… not much I can do. So I thought I'd do your sunblock. Even if you probably won't go outside anytime soon."
"Thanks…" Izuku said. "Where's… Kacchan?"
"Vending machine. Kirishima shattered the door for him. He needed a Snickers."
"Is that a joke?" Izuku asked with a light, tired smile. Shoto looked confused. "The commercials. Someone's angry, and then… someone says 'calm down, man, you need a Snickers'. Then they're better." Shoto shook his head, and leaned to the side, picking up a Snicker's bar wrapper, as if inspecting it. He lightly chuckled.
He asked if there was any news, the taller teen wiping his hands off on a paper towel, capping the extreme sun protection. It was true, Izuku probably wouldn't need it today, but it felt like doing something, so he wouldn't complain.
"Villain that did this is in a coma. Principal Nezu said doctors are working hard. Sato fought the villain, punched him in the head. He feels awful about it." Izuku frowned. "Doctor said emitter quirks usually fade with death. We're stuck until he dies or wakes up."
"But what's wrong with us?"
"Symptoms are just completely losing all energy. That's why everyone keeps falling asleep," he explained. His eyes started to flutter, but he forced them open.
"Sleep, Shoto," Izuku said.
"Don' wanna," he whined.
"Too bad, I said so." He sighed and nearly sleepwalked to the nearest empty bed, collapsed on it on his stomach, and started to doze. Izuku looked up at the ceiling, and could hear that the campus was quiet. It was a Tuesday, so there should be classes. Did they cancel school for this? Were they in the news?
None of the students went home, surely someone - maybe a sibling or something - had to have said to somebody somewhere that their family member never came home after the attack at USJ. Poor Sato. But Iuzku didn't blame him, he was defending himself. Quirks could be a mess, god.
He fell asleep again, and when he woke, it was so soft fingers on his face. He assumed it was Shoto when he opened his eyes, he saw it was Uraraka. He moved his head to the side a bit, uncomfortable with the way she was caressing him. "Sorry, I saw Shoto doing it, so I thought you liked the feel…" she said in embarrassment.
"He was just rubbing sunblock on me."
"Why, you're inside?" she said in confusion, but Izuku was glad she wasn't touching him anymore. If not all of them were awake and not all asleep, then there was no pattern or they were all in their own cycle.
"We have sensitive skin to the sun, it's like a ritual for us both," he explained simply, and sat up. "I need a shower," he commented.
"We all do, but the showers are across the campus at the gym building. Nobody can make it there. You're not alone, everyone wants a shower," Uraraka explained. He felt more awake now, not so sleepy. There were only a few students inside. He asked if school was out. "It was canceled. Still don't know what will happen to us. Can't expose and endanger the other students," she sighed.
Izuku ran his hands through his hair. Bakugo walked in, dragging Kirishima by the scuff of his shirt. He was knocked out. The blond easily picked him up and put him on the bed to sleep. "You should eat."
"A Snickers?" Izuku asked, trying to joke.
"Sato inhaled them all. You can have a Milky Way, that's the only type that's left. And its the dark chocolate kind, deal with it," Kacchan said. He sat down. "We killed that thing, the villains were stopped, yet we're just fucked with no direction when things will get better," he groaned, grabbing at his hair. "Damn it, damn it."
Izuku frowned, looking at his hands. "We… just have to be patient?"
"We've done too much to just end up like this. It's like we're cripples! Can't control our own bodies!" Izuku gave him a pointed look.
"Trust me. Be patient," Izuku said firmly.
"Izuku, we don't have nine months or six weeks," Bakugo said. Uraraka was understandably confused.
Shoto woke up from the arguing. "You both know this is nothing like then. The circumstances are completely different," he mumbled. "We can only wait until he wakes up or dies. It's not up to us. This is completely out of our control." The other two knew this was true, and sighed. Kirishima woke up, and saw the tense atmosphere. Uraraka was really confused, lacking any and all context.
"I'm getting some food," Shoto said. Izuku agreed, knowing what he meant when he gave him a look. He offered to go, too. Both were annoyed when the gravity girl went with them, as Shoto was not going to get food, but blood. "I'm going to change," Shoto added, and grabbed a new shirt and pants from a pile for them all. Like the clothes they had at rehab all those years ago.
"Me, too," Izuku said.
"I guess I should, too."
"Stop fucking following him around like a puppy!" Bakugo snapped. She froze, and then glared. She was embarrassed, her face red. While Izuku did agree with Kacchan's sentiment, it was unnecessary to say that.
"What about Kirishima following you around?" she challenged.
"Whoa, guys. We're stressed, but let's not mutiny on each other!" Kirishiam said.
"Shitty Hair is fine to follow since he's actually okay to be around, and treats my friends with respect," Kacchan barked. Izuku rose his brows at the admission that he liked Kirishima following them around.
"Guys, let's not fight. Please, we don't need the added stress," Izuku said in a pleading voice.
"Then tell her to lay off and be done with it." Uraraka looked at him, brows drawn together. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but also didn't want to lie.
"Let's not do this now. We're stressed and exhausted, physically and mentally," Izuku insisted.
"Do you not want me around?"
"Well… no touching, please," Izuku said awkwardly. "I understand your intentions, but I don't like people touching me I don't know well, or at all." He was being honest, as her stroking his face while he was asleep felt like a violation. She turned redder, and apologized.
"I just thought, with Shoto doing it, it was fine."
"Shoto's my best friend. I'd let him touch me over a new person," Izuku said reasonably, not cruelly. "I'm not angry, I promise. I just was uncomfortable. I know you had good intentions, I'm really not mad." Shoto walked into the back room, taking advantage of the distraction, and went to the powder tub, and downed a shit ton of blood quickly. Izuku could hear him chugging down serving after serving.
When he came back out, he looked less exhausted, but it was hard to tell with his expression. Uraraka finally left, looking upset. Izuku didn't follow. "Kacchan, that was unnecessary," he said in slight annoyance. Bakugo didn't respond. Kirishima changed the subject.
"You're really okay with me hanging out with you?!" Bakugo snapped at him to shut up. "Haha! I'm gonna go get more candy!" But right then, he passed out and Kacchan caught him.
"What a fucking handful of a person," he grumbled, and once again put the red head on the bed, not too gently but also not throwing him. Izuku shared a look with Shoto, who gave a half shrug. Well, the freckled one was glad that Kacchan made a friend. So had Shoto. Was Uraraka a friend? Did she want to be more, touching his face like that?
His face turned red at thinking anyone would like him like that. He was a freak. But then he felt awful. If he was calling himself a freak, then he was thinking of Shoto and his foster family as freaks, too. He thought back to the kiss on the bite mark, and wondered why Shoto had done that.
It was the next day, after much sleeping, and much eating, nobody talking much but nobody wanting to be all alone, that the barcodes all disappeared. Energy flooded into all of them, droopy eyes widening, head fog clearing away to give them normal thoughts, fully coherent.
There were loud cheers, as they all knew they at least had a break. Izuku flopped onto his back with a deep sigh. Shoto was asleep right now, and didn't wake up. Kacchan shook him awake, and he opened his eyes, still looking sleepy. "Is it over?" he asked, sitting up, popping his neck to the side.
Midnight hurried in and told them all the villain had died. They were free for good, everyone rechecking their bar codes to make sure they were gone. Some didn't cheer, not trusting it yet. Not wanting to get excited only to be crushed, no doubt.
"Can we go home now?!" Ashido asked.
"You'll stay here a few more hours to monitor, but then you can all return home." Aizawa was still in the hospital, and everyone were worried over him. They had only been there two weeks, a little under two weeks, but he'd fought all the villains to save them before the students were all scattered.
Izuku looked at his hands, the ones that killed that monster. He still hadn't really gotten over it. Shoto and Kacchan looked fine about it, though Bakugo didn't want to talk about it. Shoto seemed unbothered, and not just by his expression. He'd killed worse before, and this monster had attacked his friends, had hurt his teacher.
He'd acted on instinct, as he'd lunged in an instant, didn't have time to think or hesitate. He looked to Urarka who was brightly celebrating with Tsu. He should talk to her, but didn't really want things to be awkward when he should be happy. So he put it off to do later.
After a few hours of monitoring impatient teenagers, they were able to go home after three days. Izuku ran to his mom to hug her tightly. She was crying and he was shedding some tears, too. "I was so worried!" she cried. He nodded, and pulled away. "Are you okay, do you feel okay?"
"Yeah. I feel fine. Not tired anymore," he said with a bright smile. "I'm okay."
He looked to the side and saw All Might talking to Shoto. He listened in. "I'm very impressed that you were able to sleep in the same area as everyone else and be fine." A look of hurt crossed Shoto's face, but it disappeared. Oh, Shoto. While All Might was trying to be nice, it came across a much different way.
It came across as him basically admitting nobody thought he could truly control himself, and so were surprised and proud that they were wrong. Shoto didn't respond, just went to Mikaela's car, and got in the backseat. Of course the vampire foster mother heard it, and sighed. "Did I say something wrong?" All Might asked, not smiling, realizing he'd made some mistake.
"You just insinuated you're surprised he can control himself. Meaning you didn't fully trust him," she said honestly, openly. It would be useless to not answer and have them make the same mistake. All Might insisted he didn't mean it like that. "I'm sure you didn't. Try to think before you speak more. I'm not trying to be rude, but rarely is anything the same for vampires and humans," she said nicely, and left to take Shoto home. Izuku could see him slouched in his seat in the car. Poor Shoto. Though Izuku could be in the same boat.
He knew he wasn't. He was part human at least, and that made him seem safer. There was also the fact that the teachers knew that Shoto had been quite unstable once. Izuku had a squeaky clean record. Poor Shoto. Izuku felt so sad for him.
CHAPTER 18
-x- Shoto -x-
The students got the rest of the week off to decompress. Shoto spent it moping. "Shoto, are you still upset about what All Might said?" Mikaela asked. He nodded. "He didn't mean it how it sounded."
"Yes he did." She sighed. "They don't trust me. Not even to be around my classmates for longer than six hours at a time. They should have never gone digging how they did. It wasn't right or fair or probably legal."
"It was not okay, but we can't do anything about it now. You don't need to prove yourself to anybody. They'll see with time regardless." Shoto still wasn't happy. All Might had messaged him an apology, but he hadn't know what to say, so he'd sent a simple "ok". The hero didn't press, which he was both glad and upset about.
Why couldn't he be normal, or at least half normal, like Izuku? He looked down at his burnt arm, and wrapped both around his knees. Mikaela knew words probably wouldn't work, and headed into the kitchen to make him a treat.
He went up to his room and decided to write a letter to Rei, explaining what had happened. He went into detail, and was only done when two full pages were filled with his neat handwriting. He folded it up, put it in the envelop, and put the bird postal stamp on it. He took it to their mailbox and set it inside, putting the flag up to show there was mail to be sent.
Walking back inside, he got some blood brownies. They were good, but didn't cure his mood. He didn't know what would.
-x- Izuku -x-
Everyone was buzzed about the announcement that they would be having the sports festival, though it was pushed back a week due to what happened with the first years. It was nerve wracking, after the villains and that one who left lingering issues. But it was a UA tradition, they did it every year.
Izuku had watched it at home so many times. Since he was young and still powerless. But now, he was going to take part in it. He hoped to go up against Shoto so he could go all out and know there would be no permanent damage or death. And Shoto could go all out as well. Show off to the best of their ability.
Aizawa was back, and covered in bandages. He'd been severely injured, and his eye sight was a bit worse than before. But he came anyways, and apologized for not being available when they needed him. Of course, the class forgave him. He was more hurt than they were, after all. Much more hurt.
Izuku was glad he'd moved on after that so he didn't need to think about when he had been unable to help, hadn't gotten there soon enough to help. Nobody had, he'd faced the monster alone. And since it was dead and gone, nothing left, there was no way to figure out what the heck it was.
At lunch, though, Izuku had something he needed to do. He took Uraraka aside, and she looked like she was uncomfortable. "I wanted to tell you I'm not mad at you, or dislike you. It's not personal, I don't like most people to touch me." This was not true, as he'd never had anyone he didn't like touch him like that. Not that he didn't like her, he just didn't know her enough, hadn't known her long enough, to have her do something like that. Maybe it was stupid, he wasn't sure.
"Okay… I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable," she said. "Can we still be friends?"
"Of course," Izuku nodded. She smiled brightly, and they headed back to the table. Shoto was still bummed about All Might's words. He picked at his food, even though Izuku heard his stomach growl. He was in a deep funk.
When Aizawa came into the room and called him over, the current human listened in. The conversation was the homeroom teacher assuring him that they did trust him. Why would they have let him in if they didn't? All Might just worded it wrong. "You're welcome here, just like anybody else," he said firmly.
"Okay…"
"And we trust you to not be too rough with the students in the sports festival. Both you and Midoriya."
"Okay. We know how to control ourselves. Though going against each other would be more ideal."
"We don't know who we're pitting against one anther yet. That will be decided that day once we find out who is left. Have you seen it on TV before?" Izuku assumed Shoto nodded. "Then you should be prepared for the battle segment. I'll remind both of you to be safe and careful then. I expect you to do so."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, go back to lunch." Shoto left and came back. When he sat down, he ate his food. Hopefully that helped.
After school, Iida came up to Izuku on his way out. "Midoriya-kun, will you help me train?" He was surprised. "You have speed with your quirk, and I would like to race you and perhaps battle."
"Well, sure. Kacchan and Shoto don't know what to do to practice, so it would be fun to get everyone together!" Izuku said brightly. Some others came over, hearing this, and thought it would be fun to do group training as well. "We'll plan soon. We have this week off to practice." So much time off. Only the third week and they'd had a whole week of it with no school. Of course it made sense, but still. It felt they were missing out.
At least they all knew the reality of fighting villains. Bad things could happen after doing seemingly good deeds. Nobody blamed Sato for the situation, as it was in the past, hopefully for good. But Izuku did think they learned a good lesson through experience, even if it was an unfortunate situation for sure.
When he told his two friends, Kacchan was fine with it, but Shoto seemed hesitant. Izuku understood why, as he couldn't go full out around other people. Maybe it was rude to plan it anyways. "We're gonna be opponents. Showing off our moves might be bad for us."
"We won't be showing off all our moves. I'll keep my air force secret. You can keep the extent of your ice powers secret. Kacchan-"
"I'm gonna show those irrelevants that they should be scared to fight me," he said with a sadistic grin, punching his fists together. Izuku smiled and nodded. So, they all planned to meet in the back field behind the main building to train.
The next day, they did all meet, and the fighting began. Izuku did indeed fight Iida, race him. He ended up kicking too hard and denting one of his engines. But at least his leg didn't break. Izuku fixed it, pulling on it to pop it back into place like you could to dents on cars. Shoto was fighting long range and short range, only he was dodge practicing.
It was Tokoyami fighting him, using his awesome quirk to attack him. When he ducked down, he bent backwards until he was on and upside down bridge, and then brought himself back up with a flip, perfectly in breath.
"Whoa, that was awesome!" Kaminari shouted. It was nearly everyone there. It did feel that they grew closer based on the shared suffering. All supporting one another, taking care of those that passed out, catching them or at least getting them somewhere comfortable. Distributing food to those who were too weak to leave the bed.
It felt nice. Felt like a big family. Extended, of course. They weren't close enough to be considered similar to how he felt for his best friends and his mother. Even Shoto and Bakugo's families felt close to him, especially Shoto's, as they'd helped him when he wasn't able to control his strength.
"Where'd you learn to be that flexible?!" Kirishima asked.
"Myself," he said simply.
"Can you teach us?" Hagakure asked.
"No. It takes months or years to learn," Shoto replied honestly. He turned back to Tokoyami, who helped him dodge. Then he went to Sato to dodge short range dodging. He ate a shit ton of candy and cakes to get strong. Izuku watched in interest, glad Shoto was taking part in it. He still was awkward and quiet, but was participating.
Shoto ended up missing a dodge, and got nailed in the face, knocked down. He got right back up, and formed an ice club in his hand. It wasn't fancy in any way, but didn't have a sharp edge. He slammed it into Sato's side, knocking him down. "Ugh, you're pretty strong, jeez."
"Lots of training," he replied, which was true, but not the whole truth in any way. Then he went to Aoyama, whose naval laser was much faster that Dark Shadow. Shoto get hit by it in the arm, but had formed an ice cast around it. He was lathered up in sunblock, and was wearing short sleeves with wraps on them to protect him but not get in the way.
"What's with the wraps, Midoriya?" Mineta wondered.
"He has sensitive skin," he replied. Izuku was fine with more revealing clothes since he was in human form right now and all, and had sunblock on. He wouldn't die from the sun like this. He went back to training, but with Ojiro this time, whose tail was powerful. It knocked him back a bit, and Izuku was careful with hitting too hard and breaking his extra appendage.
It seemed like it would get in the way a lot. With sitting especially. Izuku was lucky his power had no real physical drawbacks, functionality or appearance.
After it started to get late, and all the onigiris were finished, they all headed home. The three headed to Shoto's house. When they got there, Izuku and Shoto went all out, beating the shit out of each other, blood flying, bruises healing over. "Shit, you better not fight that way at the festival if you're picked against each other."
"We can pretend Recovery Girl helped us," Shoto said as a front tooth regrew.
"Still, you'll come across hella violent."
"Or physically tough," Izuku said, his broken nose righting itself. "It's not like you ever hold back with your explosions, even when it's not against us. You're as brutal as we are."
"Hah, guess that's true." His phone beeped, and he looked at it. Shoto asked if it was Kirishima again. "Yeah. I don't get why he wants to hang with me," he said honestly.
"Maybe he sees through your angry attitude. Sees the good person," Izuku said with a smile.
"Shut up," Bakugo said in annoyance, and probably a bit embarrassment. "That bitch is just crazy and stupid."
"Maybe," Izuku said.
Shoto sat down on the back deck, resting his arms on his thighs. "I'm surprised they're letting me participate. Everyone will have their blood pumping, and no doubt students will bleed." Kacchan reminded him that they let him in for a reason. They did trust him. "Okay." He'd shut down, but Bakugo didn't stop for once.
"How long are you going to keep moping? All Might fucked up his speech. You shouldn't stay mad at him."
"He was right, though."
"To praise you?"
"To not trust me." Bakugo sighed in annoyance, and rubbed his hands down his face. "When I got home, I realized just how bad my throat was hurting. I didn't notice it from the stress. If I didn't even notice it, couldn't I have just freaked, unprepared?" he explained honestly, brows furrowed and face expressing such sadness. Izuku walked to him and leaned against his side.
"If you didn't notice, and nothing happened, doesn't that show that you need little effort to control it?"
"I was tired. What if I hadn't been exhausted."
"Stop with the what ifs! Just move on, you didn't fuck up, shouldn't you be happy with that?" Kacchan asked, getting truly annoyed.
"You have no idea what it feels like. Either of you."
"I do understand-"
"You don't, Izuku. It's been, what, five years?! Six including my time in the basement. I should be better, like you are! You have no issues, no control problems! I've been a vampire almost as long as Haru and he has no issues!" he shouted. He rarely rose his voice, so this surprised both Shoto and Bakugo. "I just want to be normal…" he said, voice turning quiet and small.
Kacchan said, "You will never be normal, Shoto." Izuku sharply said his name. "Maybe someday you'll get whatever the hell is up with him. Even then, you still murdered people. You still were abused and starved. You'll always have those issues, that's your past! You can't run from it!" Shoto glared at him, a rare emotion that was played on his face.
"You can only accept it and try to live with it."
"You think I don't try? I still see Admin, all that's really improved over the years is I don't see you as food! Part of me still thinks humans are just food."
"But you've never attacked me or even made a move to."
"That's because I love you like my family. I never have any urges with your family, or Inko either, only because they matter to me," he explained. Bakugo's face softened when Shoto said that. He looked guilty now.
He sighed. "I'm sorry. I was inconsiderate. We just want you to not hate yourself. I get it'll take time, but you should just try to enjoy the present, right? Not worry over tomorrow, or the next day. You should remember that thing around your neck, and the rings around your wrists. You haven't needed them in a very long time. You are safe, okay? As a vampire, your automatically dangerous in a way, but as a person, you are not. As long as you stay healthy, you are not a threat."
Shoto didn't argue. He finally shut down, "Okay", and Kacchan no longer pressed. It was a tense situation, and it was broken when dinner was announced. Everyone in the house no doubt heard the argument. Izuku was just glad things like this didn't tear them apart. Shoto might still be upset over what Bakugo said, but he didn't hate him, didn't kick him out or just ignore him.
He shut down, which was never personal.
-x- Shoto -x-
After the third layer of sunblock was applied, Shoto got the ace bandages and wrapped them around his limbs, up to his underarms and mid thighs. They weren't uncomfortable. He had short sleeves on, and his special shoes on. He walked out of the bathroom and into the main room where his class was waiting.
Some were trying to destress, others were talking quietly. "What's with the wraps?" Mineta asked rudely. Shoto ignored him, which annoyed him. "Isn't that cheating?"
"He already asked Aizawa-sensei," Izuku said. "It's not cheating."
"You stink, too. Like chemicals."
"Would you stop? Seriously," Hagakure said. Shoto did not reply, just went to the wall and leaned against it. He didn't plan on pulling punches, they were all opponents. The three had agreed they were enemies. They wouldn't be helping one another out. Shoto wasn't nervous about it too much. He had faith in himself enough to think he wouldn't do terrible. He was only nervous about there being so many people. So many cameras. He knew he needed to be seen to get anywhere as a hero. But he was nervous.
Everyone seemed to be. Even Bakugo was tapping his foot quickly, his leg nearly bouncing up and down. The vampire could hear the screaming from outside, cheering, everyone excited. Izuku looked very nervous, more scared than anything. Shoto walked over to him, and took some of his longest hair near the base of his neck and braided it, taking his elastic band out and tying his off, though it was much shorter than Shoto's.
"Just do your best," he said quietly. "There's more chances after this." Izuku smiled softly and nodded, body relaxing a bit.
"Awww," Ashido mumbled. Shoto returned back to the wall until Iida opened the door, and as class representative, told them it was time. They walked out, and Izuku looped his arm with Shoto's like they often did. Bakugo never got annoyed that those two showed a lot more physical affection. He hated being touched.
They walked out with all the other first year classes, not just the hero course. Shoto recognized a few from the entrance exam, from the test mostly. Well, some of the more unique looking other hero course students looked familiar. It felt like so long ago, but it had only been a few months. So much had happened, but at the same time, so little.
Walking into the stadium was overwhelming. So many people. So many heroes. He breathed deeply and was glad Endeavor wasn't there. He was listening closely for it before catching his own voice being said. "Shoto. Endeavor was barred from coming." It was Aizawa from he narrator box, where Present Mic was.
Shoto gave a curt nod, feeling better, feeling respected. It felt nice. Izuku let go of his arm, and moved his hand to fiddle with the tiny braid. "It is a good fidget, you're right," he said lightly, even though his voice trembled just barely. The students all gathered, and Shoto was glad he was on recommendation so wasn't called up to make the pledge.
Bakugo was. What would he say? Shoto had no idea.
"I swear I'll be number one," he said in a bored voice. Well, it wasn't too surprising. Their class was angry, but Izuku just shook his head and slightly rolled his eyes. Shoto said nothing, too. He returned to the crowd of 1-A students.
"Now you made them hate us all!"
"Fuck off. I'll surpass all you bitches." Kirishima was the only one to laugh.
"Well, I'm not surprised," Izuku mumbled. Shoto nodded. Midnight then gave them the meanest and most discouraging speech she could probably come up with. Claiming they would be shedding tears of blood by the end. It really wasn't encouraging or positive even if she looked thoroughly happy giving then a hazing speech.
"The first activity is…" and she thrust her flogger up and the screen showed what she shouted. "An obstacle course! The course is around the stadium! No rules, as long as you stay on the path! It'll start in two minutes!" she shouted. The three friends sprinted at a normal, human pace so they were at the front.
Other students realized being in the front would be the best, and went running after them. Soon the tunnel was filled to the brim, students trapped in the crowd. When the bell went off, announcing the start, those in front sprinted off. Shoto didn't wait to act, and covered the ground in ice spikes.
When they came across the first obstacle almost immediately, it was machinery that looked like animals. If he was unable to smell or hear the proof they weren't really living creatures, he'd think they were real. Best to keep them an obstacle for the others, who were doing their own ways to get past the ice spikes, he made to duck under before Izuku rushed past.
He was going to get first place just by his running speed. Shoto picked up the pace, creating an instant staircase and jumping over the smallest animal. Many were still trapped in the tunnel. Shoto melted the ice and then went running on his way. Bakugo was behind him, going fast with his explosions to propel him forward faster.
Shoto formed an ice wall right in front of him, and he bypassed it with a quick yank to the side. Shoto wanted second place, and sprinted faster, fast for a human but not a vampire. His heart was pumping in his ears, adrenaline rushing through him, perhaps a bit of excitement, too. So he couldn't make out what Present Mic was saying, the commentator.
Shoto and Bakugo came across the next obstacle, which was a pit with rope tied between random pillars of stone. Man, people really could die doing this obstacle course. Bakugo went blasting past it while Shoto ran along the rope with perfect balance. He used ice to slice it to prevent others from coming next.
"You asshole!" they shouted. But some got past, not nearly all. Only those with certain quirks or being creative could make it. He severed the second rope. Well, there were other paths they could take, but not as convenient as the one he'd ruined.
Bakugo stopped using his explosions, no doubt needing to conserve his power so he didn't wreck his hands in the first round. The first couple dozens of people who made it back would make it to the next stage. So they didn't need to take the top places. The next obstacle were what looked like serrated worms on the ground that could slice feet. Shit.
Shoto made an ice bridge and made his way across. "What are you, fuckin' Elsa?" Bakugo cackled.
"Didn't know you watched princess movies!" Shoto called.
"Don't you fucking say that to anybody!" Shoto didn't reply, but thought it was silly. Once he got past the worms, he melted the bridge. It didn't take long at all to get to the next obstacle. Land mines. He could smell the chemical. Not gun powder, so they weren't normal bombs. Bakugo passed them by flying through with his explosions.
Shoto could no doubt jump the distance if he used his real strength, but couldn't give himself away. He wanted to show his agility and athletic abilities, and ran through, looking down as he stepps between the mines. He did step on one and it blew up, throwing him down, but he got back up, and just sprinted through them, ignoring the pain in his feet. They weren't dangerous enough to damage his expensive shoes, though.
He made it past them, but had taken awhile and so more students came past. He could tell they were mostly his classmates. Good for them. He ran, not out of breath, and made third place. When he got out the tunnel, he pretended to be physically tired. Cheers were made. "And top three of the obstacle course are the best friends!"
"You got first place, Izuku," Shoto congratulated. Bakugo looked sour but not surprised. Izuku had tears in his eyes, and Shoto gave him a smile. It barely reached his eyes, but it did and that was what mattered. Other hero course students filtered through, and he watched as most of his classmates made it.
Many of 1-B also made it, and a handful of the general studies and support course made it in. They were all panting, but happy to pass it. Shoto counted, and they were all there but for a few. They did well. Yaoyorozu came over, her shirt open and quickly buttoning it up. "Good job, Shoto-san."
"Yeah. You, too," Shoto replied.
Once they were all there, those that did not appear on the projector filtered out and into the stadium where their classes were assigned after a short water break, Shoto wishing he had some blood powder, but had no place on him to stash it. And it could be considered cheating, like taking an enhancement drug.
"Alright, good job to those who made it!" Midnight said. "But it won't get easier from here on out! Now, spin the wheel!" The monitor, massive and multiple being placed around the stadium ring so everyone could see better, know what was going on when the students looked tiny to those furthest from the middle. Shoto was sure the seats nearest to the open part had a high price to pay.
The monitor showed cavalry battle. Shoto had no idea what that was, so he was glad she explained in detail. The moment she finished the explanation, and they had fifteen minutes to choose their teams, he was planning. He, Izuku and Bakugo all shared looks, and went off their separate ways. They weren't team members, they were opponents. Shoto gathered the people he thought would be the best. Yaoyorozu, Kaminari and Iida. One was his friend, another was an all around social guy and Iida apparently wanted to fight Izuku when he refused to participate with him.
When Shoto explained his plan, all three were shocked. "I've never heard you talk so much!" Kaminari said, rudely pointing at him.
"Well, he'd need to explain his plan," Iida reasoned. "It's a good one, I'm in." Yoayorozu remained quiet, but agreed to the plan.
"Sounds fun!" Kaminari said with a thumbs up. Shoto felt weird, talking so much to someone he didn't consider family in some way. He heard Izuku having trouble pairing with anyone as he was the number one target, making it first place. He was the most valuable with his headband. Shoto was third, but his score was much lower than his friend's.
He was paired with Uraraka, Tokoyami and a girl from the support course. The only one to make it. She had plenty of gadgets, and Shoto wondered lightly what she'd use. Bakugo had Kirishima, which was unsurprising, Ashido and Sero. A balanced team. He chose well. No, others chose him, but he accepted the right people.
"Ready! Get set!" Midnight called. Everyone got in position, Shoto on top, Iida as the front and the other two the sides. Many had trouble balancing at first. When he saw a floating headband with nothing below it, Shoto realized Hagakure had taken her top off. That was… dedication. Good thing Mineta wasn't in her group.
"START!"
Iida shot at Izuku's group at a fast pace, but he diverged, his plan being to keep a distance and retain their points. Present Mic wondered why Shoto was going after his best friend. "It would be disrespectful to pull his punches on him. Just because some are friends doesn't mean they can't be opponents," Aizawa said, sounding much more bored than the other teacher.
Shoto didn't discriminate, and they went after others. Bakugo's group were coming up behind them. Shoto froze the ground and then managed to melt it by leaning over Kaminari. "Kaminari, now," he said, and the electricity user used his quirk and hit the wet ground, electrocuting multiple groups as Iida rushed them out of the way.
"Go get them while they're distracted," Shoto said. He sounded so calm. Iida did, and they zoomed past other groups still reeling from the shock. Shoto was fast enough to be able to yank them, even at Iida's speed.
He collected four headbands, and tied them around his neck. "Good job," Shoto said. Bakugo came up and moved to attacked them. "Yaoyorozu," Shoto said. She created a metal pole, and Shoto shot ice along it, catching Sero's arm, who cried out. He plugged one of his tape elbows. "Iida." He zoomed them away.
"And Shoto's group is using perfect teamwork to nab the second most points! But will Midoriya's team keep their headband and win first place?!"
"Shoto is usually very quiet, but he's leading the team flawlessly," Aizawa commented. Shoto was a bit embarrassed but didn't show it.
He called for Yaoyorozu to make another pole. She knew her stuff and created one of copper. Shoto held it and covered the top and his hand in ice to protect himself. "Kaminari." He directed some electricity to the pole, shooting it out at a class 1-B group, forcing them to pause. Shoto nabbed another headband, them not being at five.
"And Shoto's team seems like the science team!" Present Mic called. The vampire was tuning them out, only focusing when he heard his own name.
"Both Yaoyorozu and Shoto are the top of the class. Yaoyorozu's quirk requires her to be proficient at understanding certain types of science." She gave a small smile, and Shoto was glad for her. Kaminari was running out of energy.
"Iida, we're going after Izuku, now. Yaoyorozu make a mesh net." She did so, and he took it. "Iida, go as fast as you can."
"Right!" He powered up his legs, and Shoto could feel the heat and energy coming off of them before the four were rushed forward. Shoto wrapped Izuku in the net and made to grab his headband, but the net was ripped apart and Shoto was shoved away.
"Yaoyorozu, balance!" Shoto shouted as their group started to topple. She created a beam from her arm that supported them and stopped them from falling over. Shoto shot ice at Izuku's group, trapping one of Uraraka's support boots. But before he and Bakugo, who was nearing too, two headbands on his own neck, the timer went off.
His group besides Shoto were panting.
Izuku kept his headband and got first, Shoto's getting second, Bakugo third and one with a general studies student as the rider got fourth. Shoto climbed off of his classmates. "You guys were awesome," he said in a bland voice. "Your quirks are very useful."
"It was thanks to you and Yaoyorozu's smarts," Kaminari said. "We made it second place!" he said brightly.
"Still, you guys were good to work with." Shoto crouched and put covered his hand in ice, and helped cool down Iida's engine legs, as they were shaking and red. They cooled off, and Iida thanked him. Shoto nodded, and went to see Izuku.
Kaminari said, "He's actually a good dude!" in surprise. It seemed Shoto did come across as an asshole for being so quiet and bland.
"Shoto, your team was so smart!" Izuku cheered.
"They all did well, it wasn't just me," Shoto replied. "Good job keeping your headband." He nodded with bright smile. "We're going to the third match, then?"
"All three of us." They looked to the side and saw Bakugo screaming at the ground for getting third place. He glared up at his two friend/opponents.
"I'm taking you bitches down a notch! I'll win!" he shouted.
"Okay," Shoto said. Izuku smiled.
"My little braid came out," he said, sounding a bit annoyed. "Well, I don't have another band." Shoto looked around the ground, focusing on any reflection of light off the white elastic band. He found it and went to pick it up, and redid Izuku's braid in front of everyone. Then he pat his back, and went to watch Midnight's new speech.
"And the teachers are now picking out the matches! This will take twenty minutes, so we'll be having intermission sports! If you're hungry, go get some food! Then we'll be starting the final battles between students."
Shoto and Izuku went to the stadium to chill. "I'm gonna sleep really well after this," Izuku sighed. "Even if it's just from the adrenaline." Shoto nodded, agreeing but not needing to say anything. A few others came in, and Mineta looked at both of them in disgust. Shoto shared a look with Izuku, who had one eyebrow cocked.
Those who hadn't made it came in, most with some sort of food or drink. Shoto knew, if he fought Izuku, he'd probably get pummeled and just throw up any food if he was punched in the stomach. Just a precaution, though he did get a drink of water on their way up.
"Mineta, what's your problem?" Kaminari wondered.
"Are you two gay?" he snapped at Izuku and Shoto. Both shared a baffled look.
"Why would you say that?" Izuku asked in confusion.
"Because he braided your hair and held your hand!" Mineta accused, pointing at Shoto rudely. Why was he being pointed at so much today? It was annoying.
"We're just best friends," Izuku said.
"Mineta, just because you have no friends doesn't mean everyone who does is gay," Sero laughed.
"Shut up! You gotta see it, too!"
Shoto looked away, not that bothered. He'd never been interested in anybody, male or female. And the insult didn't really seem that bad. What was wrong with liking a guy? He leaned more into the comfortable seat. It was like a movie theater seat, not normal stadium benches. Everything at UA was high quality.
"I mean, I don't think that's being gay…" Kirishima said, walking in.
"You, too! You and Bakugo are gay, I bet, also!"
"It's sad that you're so desperate for both friends and a little bitch that you accuse any guys who get along as gay. Can't score a guy or girl. How sad," Bakugo mocked. "Lil' homophobe." Mineta grew angry but seemed to not want to fight with Bakugo when he made a threatening explosion in his hand with a sadistic grin. That sure shut him up.
When the list of fights were displayed, both Shoto and Izuku grinned. Well, Shoto showed just barely any teeth. They were against one another if they both passed their first matches, then they would battle. "We gotta make it to the second round," Izuku said in a low voice. Shoto nodded.
Ojiro walked over to Izuku, seeming very sad. "What's wrong, Ojiro-kun?" the current human asked.
"I gave up my spot. So did someone from class 1-B. They were substituted by others. I was under a quirk the whole cavalry battle, so I don't really feel like I deserved to make it this far. I wanted to warn you about the guy you'll be battling. When I replied to him, I fell under a trance and did anything he wanted." Everyone was surprised with this, and sad with his choice. "What knocked me out was a bump. I think you'll be fine if you don't answer him. Don't talk back."
"Oh, thanks for the warning," Izuku said sincerely. "I'll win."
"Will you and Izuku actually fight?" Yaoyorozu asked Shoto, sitting beside him. "The cavalry battle was one thing, but a battle… it might get violent."
"Neither of us will die. Recovery Girl can fix us up later," Shoto replied. The others were surprised by this.
"Heh, and I'll get to fight one of them once I win my matches," Bakugo said smugly. "I'll still end up on top."
Izuku just laughed good naturedly. "But you're all friends!" Hagakure said, not understanding. Tokoyami did, though. Perfectly.
"It would be disrespectful to the other if one pulled punches. They know one another's skills more than anyone else. I doubt either will go easy. We must respect their choice."
"Don't worry so much!" Izuku said brightly. "I won't punch too hard," he said, sounding amused, looking at Shoto.
"Okay."
"You always sound so bored!" Ashido commented. "Aren't you excited?" Shoto didn't want to talk about this. Not answering would be rude.
"I am."
"Then why don't you show it?"
"Bet he's drugged out," Mineta said viciously. Shoto just nodded. He was on pills, they made him dull. But he did feel this was who he was as well. He wasn't a scared little kid, or a vicious monster anymore. This was fine, he was fine like this. "Oh, what are you on?"
Bakugo grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him easily. "Listen, Lil' Homophobe. Maybe you shouldn't go messing with the top of the class. Hmm? How'd you even make it here with that shit quirk? It's not like you're physically strong either, midget." And he shoved him into his seat, and sat next to Izuku. Neither commented on that. Mineta was silent, the whole class that was there was dead silent. It was awkward and Shoto was glad when Midnight announced the battles would be commencing.
"I'm up first," Izuku said, standing up.
"Remember what I said. Don't talk to him," Ojiro insisted. Shoto wished him luck, and he nodded, looking nervous.
He walked out onto stage.
