(A/N: Formatting reminder: -Dialogue using sign language.- )
...
Upon entering the 1-H prep room, Izuku's nerves were on edge being in the room once more where Bakugou had confronted him. Where he had screamed at and berated Izuku. Where he had destroyed weeks of work in mere seconds. Where he had attacked him with his Quirk. Where Izuku had felt he could have been seriously hurt if Aizawa and Yamada hadn't come when they did. Where it still smelled ever so slightly of nitroglycerin. The only sign of something having happened in that room as his destroyed Support Items had been cleaned up.
On one of the many tables was his box for his Support Items. Hesitantly, Izuku walked towards it and opened the lid. Inside the box were his Support Items, or rather, what was left of them. His Fire Breath mask had managed to be unscathed since it had been around his neck at the time. His belt and bombs too as he had been wearing the belt around his waist. His goggles were fine as well though currently in the possession of Aizawa. Perhaps he would get them back tomorrow at the meeting.
But the rest…his Tape Gun, Jet shoes, collapsible shield, electric escrima rods, and his right electric glove…they were all ruined. Burnt and broken. Just a pile of scrap metal. Resembling something he would have expected to find on the beach turned dump back before he had cleaned it. It hurt to see weeks of work, hours upon hours of labor, all destroyed in just a few minutes. All because Bakugou fucking Katsuki had to throw a temper tantrum like a teenage toddler. Because apparently, he thought that Izuku had been looking down on him for years.
It's the fucking opposite, you idiot!
Izuku had looked up to his once-friend even after Bakugou had turned bully to him. A fact he was finally willing to admit to himself. Bakugou was a bully. His bully. Yet despite that, he had seen the other boy's potential. In his strong will. In his Quirk. In his aspirations to be a Hero. Bakugou had so much potential to be an amazing Hero. Or so he had thought.
But after this stunt, Izuku was second guessing that potential. Years of praise and lack of consequences had tainted that potential and clouded Bakugou's mind with the mindset that he was the best. That being the best was the most important thing in the world. To become the be-all and end-all of Heroes. Causing him to focus on becoming number one to prove that which he considered fact over doing what a Hero actually does.
Save people.
As of now, Bakugou was gearing up to be the next Endeavor. Which, after he revealed he had listened in on Izuku's talk with Shouto, the explosive teen knew the man was not one to aspire to be. A man who was acting like Villain but in Hero's clothing. If something wasn't done to curb his anger, Izuku wasn't sure what kind of Hero Bakugou would become.
Is a Hero still a Hero if his goal wasn't to save people but rather just be the best? Would a Hero like Endeavor fall under Akaguro-san's definition of a fake Hero? Would Bakugou, if he continued down this path, be marked as one as well?
All are questions he had no answers to, but perhaps Izuku may be paid a visit by the man tonight. Taking into consideration the newish trend in his life of the Villain's irregularly regular visits, he thought it was definitely above zero chance of happening. Certainly, more likely than of Bakugou ever apologizing to him.
Bakugou? Apologize? Yeah right.
The sudden opening of the door made Izuku jump as the rest of 1-H had arrived. He quickly shut the box not wanting his classmates to see the mess Bakugou had made. A second later, the greenette found himself being tackled by an excitable pinkette from behind.
"Oof, nice to see you too, Mei-chan," Izuku said, patting her arm as best he could as her own were pinning his to his sides.
"You did it, Izuku!" Mei cheered into his ear. Quite loudly in fact.
He playfully shoved her face away from his ear. Mei giggled into his hand and took her cue to let go of him. Others of 1-H also expressed their congratulations to the first-place winner.
"Congrats on winning!"
"Way to stick it to the Hero Course!"
"Support Course for the win!"
Izuku accepted their praise with pink dusted cheeks and a shy smile. "Thanks, everyone."
Though, he did not miss the handful of students who stood back from the group, eyeing him in a way that reminded him of junior high. Some of whom had congratulated him earlier before his Quirk status was revealed but now gave him looks filled with judgement, suspicion, and degradation. Looks that made him lower his head in shame. Looks that were not missed by Mei.
"Hey!" Mei called out, pointing at them. "You got a problem with Izuku?"
Those that had congratulated him upon entering turned catching the tail end of the others' glares that then morphed into surprise for being called out. Some looked embarrassed, the ones that had previously supported him, while a few returned to glaring.
"Seems weird that a Quirkless kid could win," one said with their arms crossed.
"Says someone who didn't even make it past the first round," Mei snapped back.
"Or that he was even allowed into UA at all," another interjected.
"What does his lack of Quirk have to do with going to high school?" Mei sneered.
"UA is a prestigious school and shouldn't be sullied with the dregs of society," yet another chimed in.
Izuku, used to such comments, kept his eyes cast down as he was once again judged because of his Quirklessness. But Mei wasn't having it and continued to argue with them and defend Izuku. All while the supportive Support students formed a protective circle around the boy who had fought his hardest and defeated them all. Both gestures he appreciated but didn't feel like he deserved.
"Mei-chan," Izuku called out, stopping the argument. "This isn't the first time people have said such things about me and it won't be the last. Let it go. Please."
Mei turned to her friend to see his solemn expression and sighed, "Ok, Izuku."
The circle of supportive students made an opening as she approached her friend and brought him into a hug while she glared at the judgemental students. Those that had been questioning his right to even be in UA had the decency to look at least slightly guilty of their words while those who appeared ashamed looked even more so.
The group of students broke apart to gather any loose Support Items to put back in their boxes. The pinkette watched them for a few seconds more before turning back to her friend. She gave him one last squeeze before letting go. Izuku waited while Mei looked through her babies. He didn't even bother since most of his were now broken pieces of junk.
Guess I'll have to start over again, Izuku thought as he eyed his box sadly. Then his gaze turned thoughtful. Though, this does give me the opportunity to make some adjustments and upgrades.
"So, Hero-kun," Mei chimed as she inspected the last of her babies before putting it in her box. "How did you break out of Hitoshi's Quirk? You came out for that fight baby free."
"Oh, I used this," Izuku replied as he reached into his pocket.
He pulled out the small disk and showed it to Mei. The dark pupils of her yellow eyes widened and shrank like the aperture of a camera as she scanned the object.
"Is that…" she asked in a tone of awe. "…is that the one you made in my lab?"
"Yep! My very first invention," Izuku confirmed with a nod. "The timed buzz was just enough to allow me to break his control. And if you think about it, a lot of the credit for my win over Hitoshi-kun goes to you, Mei-chan."
"Me?" Mei asked in surprise. "Why?"
"For teaching me," he answered with a warm smile. "Without your help, I wouldn't have known anything about inventing and so wouldn't have been able to build my Support Items let alone get into UA's Support Course. So, thank you, Mei-chan."
The pinkette's cheeks flushed as pink as her hair. Then a great big smile grew on her face and she glomped her friend once again.
"No problem, Hero-kun!" she chirped in his ear, just as loud as before. She gave him a strong squeeze before pulling back a bit to look at him with her arms still around his shoulders. "Hey, if that Hero shtick doesn't pan out, you'll always have a place as my baby making partner."
Izuku blushed at her comment but said nothing to correct her and merely sighed in adoration of her antics.
"Thanks, Mei-chan," he said, pulled her in for another hug before letting go. "Although, there might be some progress with the 'Hero shtick'."
"Oh?" Mei said as she pulled away.
"Hitoshi-kun and I are going to be meeting with Nezu-sensei tomorrow morning to discuss something," Izuku revealed with a cheeky smile. "I wonder what that could possibly be about."
"Yes!" Mei cheered, punching her fist up in the air. "Hero-kun is gonna be a Hero!"
"It's not for sure," Izuku interjected. "But I really really hope so."
"You've got this, Izuku," Mei insisted with a friendly shoulder pat. Then her face lit up as some kind of idea popped in her head. "Oh! That means we have to revamp all of your babies so they are show ready for your Hero debut!"
Mei went to go open his box but he slammed his hand down on the lid. Yellow cross-haired eyes flicked up to green ones in surprise, finding a hard look.
"Mei-chan, please don't," Izuku pleaded. "Not now."
"O-ok, Izuku," Mei conceded with a worried tone. "Can I ask why?"
"Th-there was an…incident before my fight with Hitoshi-kun," Izuku said hesitantly. "A lot of my Support Items got…damaged."
He didn't elaborate any further as he had with Hitoshi. The brainwasher may hate Bakugou's guts but he had enough restraint not to attack the blonde in revenge. Especially not with their possible transfers on the line. But Mei was a wild card most, if not all, of the time and he didn't entirely trust her to not go on a baby making rampage with Bakugou serving as her unwilling test subject. He would tell her eventually though, during a time he could keep an eye on her and talk her down if need be, but not yet.
The pinkette considered her friend as his mood had shifted from a cheerful one to sullen again. She didn't press for more details and merely grabbed his shoulder in comfort. At this point, a bell chimed to signal the students to return to their homerooms. The students of 1-H finished gathering their things and headed out of the room.
After a quick pit shop at the locker rooms to change back into their formal uniforms and Izuku removing his under armor adding it to his box, the students headed towards the studio to return their boxes with Izuku keeping his first invention with him. Technically he wasn't supposed to take any Support Items home from UA but also technically that only applied to inventions made on campus. Which the disk was not and in fact had been made at Mei's lab instead. So, technically he could and would bring it home with him. Though, all this technicality apparently didn't bother Mei as he eyed her sneaking some of her babies into her bag to work on later.
Typical Mei-chan, Izuku thought as he smiled fondly at his friend's dedication to inventing and saying nothing as he didn't want to rat her out. After all, he was sneaking tech out too.
"Come on, Hero-kun," Mei prodded once her bag was full. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."
Izuku giggled as he said, "We can't just leave, Mei-chan. We still have homeroom."
"Fine, fine," Mei pouted. "We'll go to homeroom and then we'll blow this popsicle stand. Alright?"
"Sure," he replied with a smile.
The end of day homeroom meeting went by in a blur. Izuku sat at his desk in the back, letting his mind wander as Maijima led the meeting. Thoughts shifting between the loss of his Support Items, the judgement of the crowd, and the turning of some of his classmates after the reveal he was Quirkless. The solemn expression of the greenette did not go unnoticed by the Hero as he filled them in on the change of schedule. Having two days off from school would be a nice respite after this long day. Izuku looked forward to the rest and even entertained the idea of hosting a sleepover.
Mei-chan and Hitoshi-kun have come over before and I'm sure mom wouldn't mind. I'll have to ask her first. Maybe we could have it tomorrow night? Oh, I wonder if Shouto-kun would like to come.
At the end of homeroom, Izuku and Mei gathered their things, her bag being a little bulkier than at the start of the day, and together they headed towards the school entrance. As they stepped outside, they moved off to the side to stand under a nearby tree. There they waited for the third of the Freakateers to arrive and watched the other students exit the building.
As students passed by, some would look over and recognized Izuku as he had just won the Sports Festival for the first years. He received a mix of reactions same as in the prep room. Some offered him smiles and nods of encouragement or calls of congratulations. Which caused him to blush and bow his head shyly in thanks. While others had the same looks of anger, suspicion, and judgement that made Izuku want to hide away from it all.
With years upon years of discrimination and bullying, one would think Izuku would have been used to such looks. But being at UA seemed to have lowered his tolerance to it. The Hero school was so different from his past ones. He had actual friends and teachers who wanted to help him. He had people who supported him and cared about him. Who didn't care he was Quirkless.
But today, as the crowd had yelled and the people glared while passing hurtful comments back and forth had reminded him that not everyone thought the same. That many thought the Quirkless were weak and the lowest of the low in society. That someone without a Quirk could never amount to anything. Shouldn't. That Quirkless people should just wait in the shadows until the progress of evolution bred them out of the gene pool altogether. That in this time of Quirks, there was no room in the world for the Quirkless.
So, yes, it hurt and it made Izuku want to hide. But he wouldn't. He wanted to prove that he, and everyone else who was judged by this biased society, had the same right as anyone else to be here. To fight and succeed. To exist. To follow his dreams to become a Hero. The first Quirkless Hero in history. Because being a Hero is all he has ever wanted to be.
Therefore, rather than cower and hide, Izuku stood tall not letting their looks or words affect him. Beside him, Mei glared right back and from time to time would nod her head up in silent challenge to fight her. Thankfully, no one took her up on that offer and left the pair alone. It wasn't long until Hitoshi came out the front door.
"Hey, Hitoshi-kun!" Izuku called out, waving their friend over. "Congrats on placing second!"
"Right back at ya, first place," Hitoshi said as he joined them under the tree. "Man, today was something else. I'm so exhausted I could sleep for a week. Or at least I wish. Damn, insomnia."
Izuku giggled. "I have a feeling after what we went through today, you'll sleep just fine when you get home."
The greenette caught a flash of sadness that flickered briefly in his friend's purple eyes but it was gone in an instant.
What…what was that?
"I wish I could sleep when I get home," a voice called out. The three friends turned to see it was Shouto approaching. "But knowing my father, he's probably going to insist on me training since I lost."
"Shouto-kun," Izuku said, placing a comforting hand on his arm.
"It's fine, Izuku," Shouto said as he gave him an attempt at a reassuring smile.
"I-if you're sure," Izuku conceded, letting go of his arm.
Though as soon as his hand was down Shouto linked their pinkies together. As the two had their little moment, the other two watched.
"First names?" Mei whispered to Hitoshi who gave her a smirk and a nod. "Hmm…progress."
"Yep," Hitoshi answered simply and quietly. "They hugged too apparently."
A grin spread on the pinkette's face at that tasty piece of gossip. Mei wanted to ask for details but the moment was interrupted by the arrival of a group of other 1-A students.
"Hey, Mido and Co.!" Ochako called out with a wave.
She was followed by Kirishima and Tsuyu as well as Kouda, Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, and Jirou. Though Iida was nowhere to be seen.
"Hi!" Izuku greeted as they joined them as Shouto let go of his finger. "Where's Iida-kun, Ochako-chan?"
"Aizawa-sensei said he left early because of a family emergency," she answered, looking worried for their mutual friend.
I hoped everyone is ok and it isn't too serious, Izuku thought, sharing her concern. I'll text Iida-kun later and let him know I'm open to help if he needs any. He was about to ask if she knew anything else when he was interrupted.
"Hey, Shinsou!" another voice called out. The now bigger group looked over to see Tetsutetsu waving at Hitoshi with Shiozaki and Shouda next to him. "Congrats, man!"
"I'll be right back," Hitoshi said as he turned to go say hello to his cavalry battle teammates.
"Now who's the one collecting friends like Pokémon," Izuku teased as he walked away.
"Still you, fanboy!" Hitoshi shot back with a dismissive hand raised. "You'll probably have ten more by the time I'm back."
The greenette stuck his tongue out as the brainwasher left briefly while the others around him chuckled. Other groups of 1-B students were also filing through the door heading home. Izuku picked out Monoma in the crowd. Pale blue eyes met green and recognition dawned on the copier's face. The blonde seemed to be considering coming over but eyed the 1-A students around Izuku and merely gave him a nod and an acknowledging smile, which Izuku returned, before walking off.
"Good work today, everyone!" Izuku said, turning back to the group.
"Same to you, Izuku-chan," Tsuyu said. "Congratulations on first place. To Shouto-kun as well for third."
The other's offered similar praises with Kouda's being in sign and Izuku was just a bit overwhelmed by all the friendly kindness. But he smiled and took it all in while Shouto merely nodded.
"Th-thanks, everyone," Izuku said with a warm smile and teary eyes. "For your words. They…they really mean a lot. A-and for being my friends even after everyone kn-knows I'm Quirkless."
"Of course, we're still your friends, Izuku," Ochako said as she drew him into a hug which he returned in thanks. "Not having a Quirk doesn't change that. The way the crowd reacted was not ok. Is that the reason you got upset earlier today before my match with Bakugou? About judging people on something out of their control?"
The brunette pulled away slightly to look at him. Tears ran from his green eyes down his freckled cheeks.
"Yeah, but after eleven years of this after being declared Quirkless you'd think I'd be used to it by now," he sniffled as he let out a small wet self-deprecating chuckle.
Ochako pulled him into another hug while the others looked at him sadly for having to deal with such judgement from others. Even Dark Shadow came out because of his saddened state.
"Don't listen to them, Mido," the gravity girl proclaimed as she let him go. "You deserve to be in first place. No matter what those dumbies say."
"Yeah, don't be sad, Sun Boy!" Dark Shadow crowed insistently.
"Th-thanks, Ochako-chan, Dark Shadow," Izuku sniffed as he stepped back to stand a little closer to Shouto who quickly linked their pinkies again in comfort.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's with the tears?" Hitoshi said as he returned and the 1-B students left. "I leave and everything falls apart?"
"W-well, you are what holds us all together, Hitoshi-kun," Izuku said cheekily as he wiped a stray tear away. "Like duct tape."
"Uh, I think that actually is you, Izuku," Hitoshi countered with a grin as he threw an arm around the shorter boy. "You are the one factor that's brought this lil' party together. The backbone of this group if you will and I can prove it."
Izuku made a 'by all means' gesture with his free hand as Hitoshi then points out each person and said how they met in kind.
"Met in a garbage dump…"
Mei winked with a smirk.
"…met in a park…"
Kirishima pounded his fists with a manly grin.
"…tripped in front of her…"
Ochako offered a peace sign and a smile.
"…literally ran into…"
Hitoshi pointed himself with a smirk and quirked brow.
"…introduced through a friend…"
Tsuyu gave a ribbit.
"…training…"
Shouto let out a hum as he squeezed his pinkie.
"…aaand today in general."
Kouda blushed as Tokoyami nodded his head and Dark Shadow chirped. Yaoyorozu smiled and bowed her head as Jirou gave him a warm grin and a nod.
"Ok, ok," Izuku conceded with a blush, pushing off his friend's arm as the others giggled. "You made your point."
Hitoshi nodded with a smug smirk as the others chuckled. Even Dark Shadow gave him a thumbs up and a wink. Speaking of the spirit.
"By the way, Izuku," the brainwasher said, gaining the greenette's attention. "Got some new insights into Tokoyami's Quirk for ya."
"Oh?" Izuku let out as both Tokoyami and sentient Quirk specter looked at him wide eyed.
"As you guessed, my Quirk works on Dark Shadow," Hitoshi said and several of them present said similar 'so that's what happened' comments.
"Yes, it was rather…unnerving," Tokoyami said with a slight shiver. "Dark Shadow has never turned on me like that in the daytime. Only in the darkest of nights."
The spirit, floating next to its person, looked down with unease.
"Aw, it's ok, Dark Shadow," Izuku said, trying to comfort the poor shadow. He reached out a hand to pet Dark Shadow and waited for the entity to closed the distance. "The fight is over and…woah!"
A feeling of static shock came as soon as Dark Shadow made contact with his bare hand. On instinct, Izuku pulled his hand back in surprise.
"I-I'm sorry, Sun Boy!" the spirit squawked guiltily, thinking it did something wrong as it cowered away.
"N-No! I'm ok!" Izuku assured. "But…what was that?"
"That's one of the things I wanted to tell you," Hitoshi interjected. "Dark Shadow feels like static incarnate. Physically. And mentally too for me. My Quirk's pull feels different on it."
"Wow, really?" Izuku said, looking up at Hitoshi in wonder and then turned to the specter. "That's so cool! I had my gloves on before so I didn't know. I wonder why Dark Shadow feels like that. That kind of sensation is usually associated with static electricity. Which is the result of an imbalance between negative and positive charges in an object. I wonder if…"
A flick to the arm stopped his muttering spiral.
"Snap out of it, Izuku," Hitoshi said.
"S-sorry," the greenette apologized with slightly flushed cheeks. "Um, Dark Shadow, Tokoyami-kun, may I?"
Again, he held his hand out to touch the phantom. The question put forth to both Tokoyami and the entity surprised the pair. Quirk user and said Quirk traded a look and Tokoyami gave a nod in way of saying it was up to the spirit. Dark Shadow then turned to the hand held out for him and again pressed into the flesh.
The feel of the living shadow against his bare skin was strange and interesting. Hitoshi was right that the Quirk being felt like the incarnatation of static in a more solid form. The darkness of the spirit buzzed with energy under his fingertips. Like the embodiment of the hum of a neon sign or the feeling when touching one of those lightning ball lamps. It was so different. So new and strange. So fascinating.
"Wow, that's amazing," Izuku said with a smile, eyes wide with wonder. "You're amazing, Dark Shadow."
The spirit then suddenly shot forward and hugged Izuku around his middle. "You too, Sun Boy!"
Petting Dark Shadow had been one thing. Having a sentient Quirk entity hugging him all of a sudden was another. Especially now that he wasn't wearing any Quirk resistant gear like his gloves or his under armor. Izuku could feel the buzzing sensation of the specter through his uniform. It really was a unique experience. A little off putting but not too bad. He gave the phantom a short hug and patted its head again as it continued to hold him.
"Alright, that's enough, Dark Shadow," Tokoyami said with a stern voice.
"No!" Dark Shadow exclaimed. "Sun Boy is nice! I'm keeping him!"
What's with the keeping again?
"I already told you that you can't keep him as he isn't a pet," Tokoyami scolded the stubborn spirit. "Besides, we must be going if we are to catch our train."
Dark Shadow grumbled as it reluctantly let go of Izuku. The entity knew that if Tokoyami was leaving so would Dark Shadow. The spirit may be sentient but was still tied to the Quirk that connected them.
"Don't worry, Dark Shadow," Izuku said to comfort the phantom. "We'll see each other again."
"Lunch?" Dark Shadow asked, perking up at the thought.
"Of course, if you would like to join us," Izuku offered, more to Tokoyami since Dark Shadow didn't actually eat. But they did come as a pair.
"The invitation is most appreciated, Midoriya," Tokoyami said, accepting the offer. "Come the time school resumes, we would be honored to join your table."
"Great!" Izuku chirped with a bright smile.
"Looks like you got yourself some competition, Todoroki," Hitoshi commented over the greenette's head as he put on a pair of prepared sunglasses.
The bi-color teen quirked a brow at the comment in confusion while Izuku elbowed the brainwasher in the gut. Mei, Ochako, and Tsuyu chuckled while the others of the group also looked confused. Izuku, knowing Shouto wanted to keep their gentle touches to themselves, moved to let go of the other's pinkie under everyone's scrutiny. But the ice user's simple hold held firm, not letting the contact end.
Instead, he subtly shifted his stance ending up standing a bit closer to the greenette and brought their connected hands behind them out of view of the group. Briefly, the ice user did let go of his finger which confused Izuku at first until the other's hand was taking his fully in its grasp. Intertwining their fingers.
Green eyes glanced up and connected with grey and blue ones. A now signature-Shouto small smile just barely showing on his lips. Izuku smiled back as the fluttering sensation in his stomach came back with a pink hue coloring his cheeks. From behind, he felt a reassuring squeeze of his hand.
It was a bit more forward than Shouto usually was with their friendly gestures. Especially since it was only their bodies that hid their joined hands rather than a table. But Izuku could figure after all of the emotional baggage that was unloaded today that Shouto was more focused on the comfort the contact provided than anything else. Much like he had been while they were cuddling in the nurse's office. And who was Izuku to complain as he enjoyed it too.
The moment was subtle and quick, or at least Izuku hoped as he pointedly did not look at the three menaces that teased him on his possible crush. Aka Mei, Hitoshi, and now Ochako. Instead, he turned to the others not in their usual group.
"Oh, and if any of you want to join us too, you're more than welcome," Izuku extended the same offer. "We usually sit seven of us so adding more could be a tight squeeze. But if we find a big enough table it should be fine!"
"Thank you for the invitation, Midoriya-kun," Yaoyorozu replied with a small head bow. "I will consider your offer."
"Same," Jirou added.
-If the table isn't too full, I'd be happy to join you,- Kouda signed with a shy smile.
"Awesome!" Izuku cheered, feeling so happy to have so many friends. So many people who actually liked him and wanted to interact with him.
With that the group mostly broke up with the majority of the 1-A students leaving for their respective trains or buses. Only Shouto remained of the Hero Course students, leaving him, Mei, Hitoshi, and Izuku.
"Oh! I wanted to ask," Izuku chimed in now that it was just them. "I was thinking that maybe we could have a sleepover at my house this weekend. To celebrate. I'll have to ask my mom but she should be ok with it."
He pointedly looked at all three of them individually as he talked and ended on Shouto to let him know he was invited too.
"You know I'm always down for a sleepover at your house, Izuku," Mei replied with a wink. "More of auntie's cooking? Heck yeah!"
"I've never been to a sleepover before," Shouto confessed. "But I would like to. I'll have to ask the old man, but I'll come anyway even if he says no."
"Awesome!" the greenette chirped with excitement. "What about you, Hitoshi-kun? Would your parents be ok with that?"
Again, there was a strange reaction from his friend. The purple haired teen's eyes were hidden by his sunglasses, but there was a moment of tenseness in his shoulders and general body language.
Seriously, what was that?
"I'll, uh, I'll have to ask when I get back to the hou-…when I get back," Hitoshi answered, a mere hint of sadness in his tone. "But it shouldn't be a problem."
"A-alright," Izuku said, growing a bit concerned for his friend. "Well, um, I still have to ask my mom but I was thinking tomorrow?"
"I plan to visit my mother tomorrow morning," Shouto said, earning a surprised but happy look from the greenette. "Will that be a problem?"
"Not at all!" Izuku answered with a cheerful shake of his head. "Hitoshi-kun and I have that meeting with Nezu-sensei tomorrow morning anyway. We could meet at my house in the afternoon."
"Sounds good to me," Hitoshi commented.
"I'm free so whenever works for me," Mei added.
"Awesome! I'll ask mom and let you know!" Izuku said with a big smile and then turned to Shouto. "I'll also text you the address, Shouto-kun. Oh, you'll get to meet my mom!"
"Excited to bring someone to meet your mom already, Izuku?" Hitoshi teased causing the flush on the shorter boy's cheeks.
"That's what he just said," Shouto countered with a slightly confused look
That earned a deadpan one from the brainwasher in return who then shook his head and rolled his hidden eyes while Izuku giggled. Mei, on the other hand, had appeared to have lost interest and was actually looking into her bag at her smuggled babies.
"Shall we all head home now?" Izuku asked which everyone nodded in agreement.
Mei took the lead, eager to get back to her lab. Shouto and Izuku, letting go of each other's hands but remaining close to one another, were not far behind. Hitoshi, hands in his pockets, followed bringing up the rear. The group of four headed towards the gate.
More people recognized the top three winners of the day and offered their congratulations as they passed. There were still some glares and quiet hurtful comments about the Quirkless boy who had won against all odds. But after meeting up and talking with his friends, Izuku found it easier to ignore them. He had fought hard using his own developed strengths physically, mentally, and technologically to come out on top using his training, analysis, and self-made Support Items.
His edge. And it had led him to victory.
...
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Notes extension: post/643305137317789696/chapter-55-support-for-support