AN: *misses Katsumi's birthday by a day*
Chapter 11
School Daze
oooOo Izuku oOooo
"Yoooo, Midoriya! What the hell was that, man?" Kirishima cried the minute the four combatants returned to the observation room.
"I don't know you very well, but for some reason that seemed to be typical for you, Katsumi-chan... kero."
Izuku laughed while Katsumi growled unintelligibly. Izuku didn't know Asui that well either, but he couldn't help but grin at the accurate assessment of his fr-girlfriend?
"Take me for a ride sometime too! kay, Midoriya?"
He really hoped Hagakure was talking about his board…
"Back the fuck up, Invisalign! We don't got time for this shit!" Katsumi growled. She stomped back to her place in the observation room, dragging him along by the wrist. "Teach your damn class, All Might!"
The hero's slightly affronted reaction was hilarious enough, but… was Kacchan getting… territorial? He had to be imagining things, right? As absurd as the thought was, Izuku couldn't help but indulge in the fantasy for a while.
All Might coughed lightly into a brick sized fist, obviously trying to settle his nerves. The juxtaposition was oddly endearing, not detracting at all from the feeling of protection he exuded. "Indeed, young Bakugo, and well done, all of you! That was a wonderful first showing!"
The four of them all nodded severely, still amped up from the action minutes earlier.
All Might propped his hands on his hips, "Now, can anyone tell me who the MVP might be from this operation? Anyone?"
For a moment they were silent, each student looking to the others for an answer, so Izuku decided to speak up.
"It's gotta be Yaoyorozu, right?"
..
Katsumi's scowl was venomous. "Hah?! The fuck you mean her, Deku? We kicked fuckin ass!"
She was predictably pissed as hell, but thinking about it objectively, the reasoning was obvious. "We won because we were superior fighters," he said simply. "If we were judging based on planning and foresight, or the spirit of the scenario, the choice is obvious." He turned to the black-haired girl across the room. "Yaoyorozu, you'd booby trapped both doors to that room, right?"
She nodded sharply. "And all the major choke points of the building…blind corners… oh, and the stairwell…"
Shit… they really had lucked out.
"Yaoyarozu-san helped shroud the room in darkness as well, creating blackout curtains for all the windows," Tokoyami said gruffly. "Were it not for her aide I fear Dark Shadow would not have stood a chance against the might of Midoriya's quirk."
So that's what his quirk was called.
Fitting.
"But you both saw right through all my preparations!" Yaoyorozu said, frowning in obvious frustration. "You just skipped right past the building, and came through the roof… How did you get up there so quickly anyway?"
"Uh… girl, Midoriya can surf on his quirk and it's kinda rad," Jiro said. The rocker chick gave him a sidelong glance, twirling one of her earphone jacks slowly around a finger.
Izuku really hoped that wasn't the sound of Kacchan's teeth cracking to his right. As much as he usually tried to avoid incidents where Katsumi committed mass murder, he had to admit the attention was incredibly flattering.
Don't get him wrong, Izuku doubted his feelings for his best friend would ever change. But such open admiration from his peers was an entirely new experience for him. He couldn't help but enjoy having his ego stroked a bit.
His felt his grin widen involuntarily as Katsumi shifted ever so slightly closer to him, just enough to brush their forearms together.
"Oh my god! It's finally happened!" Uraraka hissed suddenly, those closest to the girl turning to her curiously. But her eyes were locked firmly on him. Or more specifically, he and Kacchan.
Maybe they could have been a little more subtle.
Luckily, the girl had enough tact to wave off the inquiries as to what she'd meant, limiting herself to bobbing in place happily.
Izuku had to remember to thank her later…
It wasn't that he was ashamed of the recent changes, in fact a part of him wanted to shout it from the rooftops. But another, more rational part really wanted to take things slowly and get this right the first time around. That could all come later though, Yaoyorozu was still stewing self-consciously on what she perceived as her own failure.
"To put it bluntly, we got lucky," he said to the frowning girl. She met his eyes while the others in the class were once again attentive to what he had to say.
How strange…
"Kacchan and I picked a spot at random… Sure, we narrowed down the choices to somewhere out of the sun but dropping past all the defenses you'd created was just dumb luck." He shrugged a bit self-consciously, "I'm not saying we would have lost…"
"Fat fucking chance—"
"But your decisions weren't incorrect, y'know?"
"I see…" Yaoyorozu said thoughtfully. She nodded sharply, seeming to have gained a bit of her confidence back. She'd have to work on that… Despite clearly being more than competent in heroics, the beauty certainly didn't have the ego to match. Most of the time that was a good thing, but there were certainly situations where a bit of bravado couldn't hurt.
Izuku grinned inwardly, chancing another glance towards Katsumi.
He quite liked a bit of bravado in a girl….
"Well put, Midoriya-kun! Yaoyorozu's forethought was indeed impressive, despite the situation not panning out as she'd planned!" All Might boomed, with a smile. "But I urge you not to shortchange the worth of pure combat prowess." He clenched a mighty fist before his shadowed eyes. "The powers wielded by evil in this quirked society of ours are insidious and everchanging, be sure to never rule out a possibility before you've confirmed it for yourself," he said, meeting the eyes of the Yaoyorozu.
"And as for you, Midoriya-kun, Bakugo-chan, a bit more forethought wouldn't go amiss, alright?!"
"Understood, sir!" Izuku snapped out reflexively. The man simply commanded that much respect.
"Yeah… whatever, All Might."
Well… most of the time …
"Now then! The next hero team will be…"
oooOo Katsumi oOooo
The biting scent of soy sauce and ginger filled the air as Katsumi deftly tossed a sizzling wok filled with the beginnings of her dinner. She was by no means an expert cook, but the few dishes she did know how to make, usually turned out ok.
The Heights Alliance dorm building certainly hadn't skimped on the more luxiourious aspects of temporary housing. The kitchen was fully stocked, and large enough to cook enough for the entire dorm at once.
"Mmmm, something smells so good!"
"Fuck off, Pinky! Get your own!"
"Aww, c'mon Kastumiiii! Aren't we friends?"
"Fuck no!"
The nerd forcing her to make enough for round face too was already pushing it. Katsumi had no obligation to cook for the rest of her new classmates, no matter how unsettling it was when they didn't fuck off when she told them to… That was just plain weird.
"—Right… so does the number of tagged objects effect how difficult it is to maintain the weightlessness? Or is it more of a hard cap at a certain mass?"
Her eyes snapped over to where the nerd in question sat with Uraraka. Deku was finally getting a chance to nerd out to his heart's content, so Katsumi would suffer through the peppy girl's company for one meal.
"Well… I've made plenty of stuffed animals float at once," Uraraka said, laughing bashfully. "But I could only manage a couple of the two pointers from the exam, and the three-pointers I had to take on one by one…."
"So a hard cap then…" Deku nodded, scribbling into a familiar looking notebook. "I assume your limit's increased over time?"
Uraraka nodded with pinched eyebrows.
"Have you ever tested any correlation between physical fitness and your upper limit?"
The brunette shook her head, "I've spent the most time trying to float myself for longer periods." Her expression sagged and it really didn't suit the girl. "It hasn't gone very well…"
Katsumi knew that fuckin look in the nerd's eye…
"That's probably your best bet," he mused, leaning back with his hands behind his head.
Katsumi tried desperately to ignore the way his shirt strained against the muscle of his chest or the slight peak of shredded abdominals that flashed with his movement. But it was a fruitless effort. Her stirring grew more aggressive as she unknowingly bit her bottom lip.
"Have you ever isolated the cause of your nausea?" he said after a moment of thought.
Katsumi had never thought anyone could make confusion look adorable, but round face somehow managed it.
"I don't follow… I get sick from overusing my quirk."
"Well, yes that is true, but most of the time it isn't the whole truth. Take Kacchan for example," Deku glanced her way. "She can get headaches from overusing her quirk."
"Don't fucking tell people that shit, nerd!"
"But it's not really some supernatural force giving her headaches, just the body's natural response to sweating more than the liquid you consume. It's just dehydration."
Was he fucking ignoring her? She eyed her wok, trying to focus on the conversation and dinner at the same time.
The pink one slid dangerously close to the nerd at their dorm's common room table. "Wow, you're like some quirk superguru."
Was Pinky trynna die? Katsumi's wooden spoon had come dangerously close to snapping in that moment. But her ire settled in the next as she observed the nerd's response.
At least Izuku had the decency to look uncomfortable. Katsumi'd nearly snorted at the pleading looks he shot her from across the room. She'd never tire of seeing him so flustered, even if she preferred to cause it herself…
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad… As long as these bitches knew Deku was hers, why not let him drown in the attention for a while?
"Heh… Hardly," Izuku eventually laughed. "I've been catalouging quirks since, well…" he shot a tender glance Katsumi's way that totally didn't make her weak in the knees. "-since as long as I can remember. Uraraka was kind enough to answer some questions I had about her quirk. I was ah… actually pretty curious about yours as well, Ashido-san. If you don't mind that is…"
Katsumi huffed, tossing in a bowl of leftover rice from the night before into her wok, taking out her aggression as she chopped it all together. At least making fried rice let her zone out to her heart's content…
"Hmm…" the girl hesitated for a moment, and Katsumi recognized a flash of a familiar emotion in her startling yellow eyes.
Katsumi wasn't quite sure what possessed her to speak up, but she felt a need to clarify his request. "Deku'll have asked our entire class about their quirks by the end of the week, Pinky. He's not singling you out or anything…"
The horned girl seemed startled by Katsumi's words, but regained some of her pep a moment later. "Right! So, what do you want to know?" she said, grinning mischievously.
"Hmmm…" Izuku mused tapping a pencil against the tabletop. "Might want to start with some basic information… I got a good look at everyone's quirks during All Might's battle training today, but It'd probably be best to make sure I wasn't off on anything."
"Alrighty then! The name's Ashido Mina, and my three sizes are—"
"Not that info, Pinky!"
"Aheheh… just kidding?"
"Oh! Are we doing introductions?! Me next! Me next!"
Katsumi's eyes snapped to the shitty-haired guy from her class as he strolled in through the hall leading to the boys' rooms. As his entrance seemed to start an avalanche of people entering from both sides of the dorms, Katsumi kissed her last chances at a peaceful evening goodbye.
At least Izuku seemed to be in heaven surrounded be so many people willing to tell him about their quirks.
"Hey! Bakugo! You making dinner?"
"Fuck off, Pikachu!"
oooOo Izuku oOooo
"Think you're hot shit now, huh, Deku?"
Katsumi's breath ghosted across his collarbone while her feathery spikes of hair tickled the underside of his jaw. But any thought of that was quickly driven out of his mind as the girl's lips parted, sucking lightly on the sensitive skin of his neck.
Izuku gulped thickly. Where the hell had this come from? Not that he was complaining or anything, but He was having trouble understanding how the blushing Kacchan from the night before had somehow been replaced by this devilish seductress in a single day.
Any further pondering on the matter quickly seemed irrelevant as Katsumi slowly trailed up the side of his jaw, peppering gentle kisses all the way. However, the girl merciless hesitated as she reached the corner of his mouth, staring challengingly up into his eyes.
Izuku'd headed off to bed with fingers sore from writing so much in one sitting, but content with the info he'd gathered on his new peers. Only to be pinned almost immediately to his door the minute he set foot in his room.
The fiery blonde had wasted no time in her lustful assault.
Izuku pushed the last of those thoughts out of his head, instead choosing to close the final few centimeters between them, claiming her lips for the third time in two days. But there was something noticeably different about this particular encounter. A mutual understanding had been reached. It gave way to a fervor between them in that moment that was distinctly absent from before.
Gone were the lingering thoughts of miscommunication, absent was the fear of ruined friendships… and this time he was sure it wasn't simply a dream manifesting his deepest desires.
It all left Izuku free to enjoy the simple softness of Kacchan's pale lips dancing with his own, or the feminine curves of her toned figure lying deliciously flush with the hard planes of his chest.
Izuku caressed the curve of her spine, slipping his fingertips under the loosened blouse of her UA uniform. ghosting over the prominent swell of her rear. His jaw nearly dropped open at the spine-tingling whimper that Kacchan let out into his mouth.
He'd never heard her make that noise before, but he was certain of one thing…
He definitely, wanted to hear it again….
But all thought of going on the offensive went out the window as Katsumi aggressively ground her pelvis against his own. Even over their clothes, the delicious friction earned nearly an instant response from his already throbbing member.
His resolution to take things slowly was rapidly crumbling before his eyes, and she fucking knew it too…
"K-atsumi!" he choked out between kisses.
"What's wrong, nerd?" she hissed out, continuing her slow grinding. "There a… fucking… problem," she taunted with each thrust forward.
The door rattled with their motion, the animalistic dry-humping they'd devolved to reaching a fever pitch. Izuku finally caved, grabbing two handfuls of the ass he'd been tempted by for years, and aided her desperate rutting.
Katsumi clamped her powerful legs around his hips, increasing the pace even further while still tangling their tongues madly.
A familiar feeling built at the base of his groin but with an intensity he'd never managed to reach himself. It was no wonder considering his absolute seductress of a best friend was the cause rather than his own hand.
"Katsumi, I'm—"
"Don't you dare fuckin stop, Izuku!"
God. Stopping was the last thing on his mind…
His grip on her pliable rear tightened as he forcibly ground her core against his own, hoping for all the was good in the world that Katsumi was as close to release as he was. The layers of clothes between them were uncomfortable at first, but they could only prevent the stimulation so much, and Izuku felt himself nearing his limit.
Luckily, Katsumi seemed just as close.
"Just… a little… mOhhmmf"
Her whole body tensed, powerful legs nearly crushing his waist as she vibrated at the intensity of what he hoped was her own release.
Izuku barely got a chance to appreciate the image of Katsumi's head thrown back in the midst of a powerful orgasm as he too plummeted over the edge.
Pulsating waves of purely physical euphoria washed over him as his member erupted. It was, frankly, the most intense feeling he'd ever experienced. And that was over their clothes.
It could have been minutes or hours that Izuku was immersed in the throes of pleasure, and understandably, found himself lost for words.
"That was…" he trailed off, language coming up lacking to describe what had just occurred.
Katsumi panted heavily, breath tickling his neck where she'd buried her face throughout her release. In fact, she hadn't moved at all since then, legs seemingly permanently locked around his waist, and his hands still supporting her bottom.
For a moment they didn't move, basking in the afterglow of finally releasing at least a drop of years of sexual tension. But even coming off the back of such an act, Izuku could already feel the stirrings of renewed lust for this succubus before him.
The way she started wiggling her hips around in his hands wasn't helping matters, but her next words served to break his spell.
"Those pants are fucked."
"Pfft."
The damn broke and Katsumi and he both collapsed into gales of laughter. Izuku slid down the door, keeping the smaller girl clutched in his arms. The uncomfortable sticky feeling from his groin only served to set him off again, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath.
"Shit," Katsumi cursed quietly.
"What is it?"
"I, uh…" she could only avoid his gaze so well, straddling his lap as she was. "I burnt your shirt…"
His eyes widened in surprise, glancing over his shoulder to where she'd been clutching his back moments earlier. He'd felt the sting in the back of his mind but had just thought she'd gotten a bit aggressive with her grip. Sure enough, the white material of his uniform shirt was blackened and charred through in two distinctly palm-sized patches. To think that he'd driven her to the point of losing control of her quirk…
He couldn't help the warm rush of pride at that.
"Wipe that fucking smirk off your face, nerd," she bit out. But the brilliant flush that lit up her face ruined any intimidation factor she may have had going for her.
His grin widened.
oooOoOoOooo
"I've reviewed the footage from Battle training yesterday," Aizawa drawled. "Your overall performances…
-were acceptable."
The class let out a collective sigh of relief. At least they wouldn't put so some absurd test based on the results.
"However,"
They tensed up once more.
"You'll need to come to a consensus on a class president…"
"That's a totally normal school activity!" cried some of the more outspoken students.
"I wanna be president! Lemme do it!" Kirishima said, jumping excitedly.
"The position was made for me," Aoyama twinkled.
"I'd like to do it too…"
"I wanna be a leader!"
"In my administration, girls will have to show at least 30 cm of thigh!
Izuku's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Mineta's comments were questionable before, but it was a bit more personal now that he was actually involved with one of the women the miniature hero student spoke of so carelessly.
There were several prime choices for class president in Izuku's opinion, Iida was practically built for the role, and with a bit more confidence, Yaoyorozu would probably succeed as well. But as long as Mineta wasn't elected he could probably live with whoever was.
"Leading the many is a task of heavy responsibility, but simply wanting the role is not enough!"
The class quieted down as Iida lectured them all, but Izuku grinned seeing the boy's hand remaining ramrod straight in the air.
He must really want the role…
"Dude, what are you talking about?" Kaminari snickered.
Iida adjusted his glasses severely with his other hand. "If this is to be a democracy, then I put forward the motion… That our true leader must be chosen by election!"
Izuku nodded thoughtfully. "There's merit to the idea…"
"But won't everyone just vote for themselves?" Mina asked curiously.
"For someone to receive more than a single vote from their peers simply means that they were that deserving of the role! Sensei, will you allow it?!" Iida snapped a flattened arm towards Aizawa.
"Do what you want, just make it quick…"
Kacchan turned to stare him down from her seat one ahead of his.
"Noo…"
"He's the best for the job…"
"Dekuu…"
"Do you even want to be the class rep?!"
"I ain't gonna be subservient to engines," she said, tone dripping with distain.
"Like the job comes with that kind of authority," Izuku laughed. "Look, if you don't want Iida to be class rep then you can always use your vote on someone else.
The look she gave him was particularly unamused, and yet still managed to set his heart racing. The downright aggressive way she'd come on to him the previous night was still fresh on his mind. He had no idea what had gotten into Kacchan, but it certainly wasn't an unwelcome change…
"—ku, oi, Nerd!"
Izuku broke out of his thoughts with a flush, meeting Kacchan's narrowed gaze. She held out a strip of paper that he was meant to vote on. "Quit spacin' out…" she said softly. She glanced away in an attempt to remain aloof, but Izuku caught the hint of a flush dusting her cheeks as well.
oooOoOoOooo
"Use your vote for someone else?! The fuck did I listen to such shitty advice," Katsumi grumbled, stabbing her lunch aggressively.
"How was I supposed to know so many people would vote for me?" Izuku asked rhetorically. "I didn't even vote for me!"
Somehow, Izuku had been voted class president, with Yaoyorozu his deputy, much to the obvious ire of his girlfriend.
God, that was such a weird way to think of Kacchan… It was technically accurate, but just seemed so… flat. A title that represented merely the tip of the iceberg that was their relationship. Did an added sexual attraction really invalidate nearly a decade of genuine friendship? That didn't sound right to Izuku.
"Katsumi-chan's just jealous, kero."
"Go to hell, Kermit!"
Asui remained impressively unflinching in the face of Katsumi's retort. "I only say what's on my mind."
They'd decided to eat in the dining hall that day, giving Izuku the first look at the full scope UA's attendees. Since only the two classes dedicated to the hero course were housed in dorms, they'd never spent any significant time with the rest of the first years.
The various classes tended to stick together to different degrees. The Business students sat packed tightly together into the four tables in the corner closest to the exits while support and general ed were interspersed throughout the center of the room.
Izuku and Kastumi had claimed the table closest to the kitchen, where he could properly observe pro-hero Lunch Rush work his magic. Kacchan sat with mild exasperation as he scribbled notes on the pro. But Izuku had a feeling he could watch the man for years and never truly understand his culinary genius. The way he almost singlehandedly served five-star meals to hundreds of students without even breaking a sweat was almost like magic.
They'd been joined by Uraraka, Asui and Iida a couple minutes later.
"I, for one, think you will be a wonderful Class president, Midoriya-kun. I knew that the minute you rushed in without hesitation to take on that monstrosity in the entrance exam!"
"Sounds fuckin familiar…"
"I agree, Midoriya-kun," Asui croaked. "Your performance in All Might's battle training was a show for sure…"
"Oh, you mean in the pair battles?!" Kacchan cut in once more.
"Besides, Katsumi-chan probably has no problem with Izuku being president," Uraraka added with a devious smile. "I think it's the vice pres that she's worried about."
She giggled, dodging Kacchan's retaliatory swipe like a pro.
"I'm surprised you voted for someone else so easily Iida-kun," Asui said, touching a single finger to her mouth in thought. "Didn't you want the job yourself? kero."
"Yeah, you've got the glasses and everything!?" Uraraka said earnestly.
"The fuck does that have to do with anything?!"
Iida straightened up, primly wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I humbly made the choice I felt was correct."
Izuku nodded in understanding, acknowledging the show of trust from the taller boy. But taller boy's formal manner of speech reminded Izuku of something he'd been curious about.
"Iida, I've been wondering for a while now… your quirk, I've seen another like it before in my hero studies. You wouldn't happen to be related to Ingenium, would you?"
The studious boy heaved a sigh, "Quite astute of you, Midoriya-kun, I had hoped to avoid being treated any differently than my peers just because of my family, but you are indeed correct! My brother is the latest of a long line of prestigious heroes to hold the Iida name, commanding over sixty sidekicks in his agency alone, the turbo-hero Ingenium!"
If Iida exuded any more pride for his brother, he'd be nearing Kacchan levels, but it was inspiring in a way. Izuku knew better than anyone that a role model did wonders for a prospective hero's progress.
Izuku didn't get any more time to bask in Iida's praise though, as a shrieking alarm began blaring over every loudspeaker in the building.
The dining hall erupted in chaos as students haphazardly scrambled towards the nearest exit, heedless of those that stood in their path.
Izuku latched a steely grip on the jacket of a nearby third year, halting him it his tracks. "What's going on, what does that alarm mean?!"
"There's been a breach on the campus! It's never happened before since I've been here!"
He slacked his grip, letting the panicking boy go free and instantly began wading his way through the crowd towards Katsumi. To his surprise, the girl was bodying her way through the crowd with Uraraka tucked safely to her side.
Huh. Apparently, she'd grown more fond of the brunette than he'd thought…
"The fuck is goin' on, nerd?" she growled.
"Someone breached the security system," he shouted over the alarms still blaring in their ears.
She elbowed a second year out of the way after the poor guy bumped into her. "Prestigious University my ass! They ever hear of a fucking fire drill?!"
He couldn't help but agree. Even now he saw some of the smaller students nearly be trampled under the panicking crowd. His eyes darted around, looking for something, anything, that could help calm the mob of students.
"Midoriya-kun!" His eyes snapped to Iida, who had somehow ended up flattened against the glass of the nearest window. "It's the press! There is no danger!"
Oh, well that made things a bit easier.
Without pausing to consider the consequences, he quickly scooped Kacchan up into a bridal carry before using his quirk to glide them above the crowd.
"Put me the fuck down, Deku!" she raged through an adorable flush, pounding a fist against his chest.
He'd have to do this more often if that's the reaction he got.
"Can you draw their attention?" he asked, ignoring her indignant shout.
She immediately grasped what he was getting at. After giving him a moment to plug his ears with a tiny amount of quicksteel, she let lose a deafening blast that immediately silenced the surging crowd.
Eyes raised to his position as people quickly located the source of the noise.
"You're acting like a bunch of children." Izuku said simply, his voice carrying to the very back of the room despite his conversational tone.
Multiple sets of eyes widened as the took in the sight of Izuku levitating so casually above their heads. He also picked out class 1-A specifically, whose reactions carried a bit more levity for some reason. The reaction confused him for a moment before he realized he was still carrying Kacchan like a bride on her wedding night.
Oh well… at least it wasn't really a misunderstanding this time. Having her draped in his arms like this wasn't exactly unpleasant.
Izuku cleared his throat trying to regain his composure. "There's no danger," he stated, nodding towards the window where Iida still stood, stiffly gesturing outside like some sort of traffic control officer. "It's just the press trying to get in again. I suggest you continue to your homeroom teachers in an orderly fashion. No need to crush your classmates…"
Luckily, as with most things in life, once the problem itself was identified, it could be addressed with a calm head. Order soon returned and the students proceeded through the marked exits without the stampeded mentality of moments earlier.
"Deeekuuu…" came an ominous growl from the girl in his hands.
Oops? Well… at least she'd have to wait for him to put her down before she could kick his ass.
He took his sweet time gliding them back to the ground, and it was totally worth it.
oooOo Katsumi oOooo
"Oh my gawd it was like sooo romantic!"
Invisalign and Pinky hadn't shut up about it since the previous day, and to add insult to injury, Katsumi had been stuck doing Present Mic's shitty English essay all night. That meant she'd had no real opportunity to punish the nerd for pulling that shit yesterday. Katsumi bit out a curse as she felt an increasingly familiar heat creep onto her cheeks.
How the hell did just the thought of being cradled in his powerful arms make her light up like a fucking tomato?! Sure, it was in front of all the extras but with what had happened just two nights ago? Why was this effecting her so much?!
"I wish Midoriya would sweep me off my feet."
"I'm not some shitty princess, Pinky!" she hissed at the girl.
Katsumi was about come over there and let the girl know what she really thought of her but halted at the pressure of a hand settling at her side. Thoughts of pummeling the pink one were shoved to the wayside in favor of dealing with the fucking goosebumps that erupted over her flesh with a single touch from the nerd.
Romance was fucking bullshit.
"Settle down, class…" Aizawa sighed through his seemingly never-ending exhaustion.
Katsumi inwardly grinned at the unnecessary intro. The extras were scared shitless of their sensei after that shit he pulled on the first day. Even she was hesitant to earn the man's ire.
"For today's basic hero training you'll have a trio of instructors. We'll be meeting All Might and one other at different location."
"Sensei! Where are we going?"
"Woohoo, a field trip already!"
Did this dumb motherfucker really just say that? Did they learn nothing from the first day?
"Correct, we'll be going to USJ."
Wait… what the fuck?
"He means the Unforseen Simulation Joint, Kacchan."
"Then why the fuck didn't he say that then?" she hissed back.
Katsumi froze as Aizawa rolled a single lazy eye in her direction, and for a second, she thought she might have to dodge a flying scarf. But he turned away with a yawn the next moment.
Whew.
"Well researched, Midoriya, we'll be focusing on rescue drills for today, but the facility is a bit out of the way, so you're all taking a bus."
"Woah, it really is a field trip."
"Rescue, huh… sounds like another rough day…"
"Cmon, guys! This is what being a hero's all about!"
Well, shitty hair had a point with that one. It was a sentiment Katsumi might not have taken seriously at a certain point in her life, but she'd long since adjusted her stance. She had a feeling the changes could be attributed solely to a certain hero nerd…
"Oh, right…" Aizawa clicked a handheld device, opening their hero gear lockers. "Some of you may elect to not wear your costumes as they'd be more of a hindrance than a help for rescue operations, but other than that, it's up to you…"
Katsumi had a feeling that first comment may have been aimed at her, but that was merely Aizawa's assumption. She'd long since refined her quirk to limit collateral damage.
"Who do you think the other teacher's gonna be?" Izuku asked with honest joy in his eyes.
She hid a smile in her sleeve, "How should I know, Deku?"
He was such a fuckin dork…
oooOo Izuku oOooo
They'd been in the UA bus for nearly twenty minutes, reminding Izuku of the epic view he'd glimpsed during the entrance exam. But seeing the sprawling plains passing them by in the windows of the luxurious travel bus gave them a more tangible measure of UA's scale.
It made him want to fly.
He'd never been able to soar freely without a particular goal in mind. Restrictions of public quirk usage limited what he could do as a child. And whenever he had used it in the past, it had been for training or in more urgent situations.
But as a student at UA? Maybe he could get away with traveling if he ever got a day to himself. Izuku loved skating the streets of Musutafu for the sport of it, he had a feeling that exploring the skies would be just as captivating.
"Midoriya-kun."
Izuku abandoned his cloud watching, turning back to look over the seat in front of him. Asui had her elbows propped on the back of her seat while her hands cradled her face, which, in his opinion, was arguably rounder than Uraraka's.
Her eyes were a green so dark that in the right light they appeared black, wide and unblinking.
"What is it, Asui-san?"
"Call me Tsuyu, kero."
"R-right… Tsuyu, then."
"Spit it out, frog for brains," Katsumi said cuttingly from his side.
Izuku, acting on impulse, pinched her rear out of sight of the other students, earning a yelp and a deathly scowl for his trouble. Oh well, she'd just have to learn to play nice. Or at least not be rude for no reason.
"It's fine, Midoriya, I tend to say what's on my mind as well."
W-wait, did she just—
"You've been quite outspoken about your fascination with our quirks, but we know next to nothing about yours," Tsuyu said, touching a finger to her lips in thought.
"Yeah! I've been totally curious too!" Kirishima cut in as he zipped over from his spot on the bench seats. "We've seen you toss a softball into the next prefecture, keep pace with the kid with engines in his calves… oh and that's right, fly. You can fly, Midoriya."
"Not to mention you held up against Tokoyami's dark shadow quite effortlessly," Yaoyorozu said from the seat behind him. "Our backup strategy heavily relied on its power in such a favorable environment, but it seems we underestimated you after all, Midoriya-kun."
"I too admit myself curious to the source of Midoriya's power," Tokoyami added from across the aisle.
Izuku was slightly overwhelmed at all the sudden attention… Was this what Kacchan had dealt with for all those years?
Judging from the tiny smirk he caught out of the side of his vision, she was enjoying the swapped roles immensely.
"I've been meaning to ask…" Uraraka said from her seat beside Yaoyorozu, peering around the bus curiously. "Where is it?"
There was a brief pause before—
"Ah! You're right!" said Hagakure's disembodied voice. "Your quirk's gone, Midoriya! Can you make it disappear too?!"
"It's hardly that convenient," Izuku laughed. He pointed a single finger towards the roof of the bus, "it's above us."
"Wha—"
"Seriously?" Jiro, said lightly, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation.
Izuku shrugged, "It's more for convenience than anything. When I was a kid, quicksteel was around the size of a grapefruit."
"Aww, it must have been so cute!"
He was about to mention to Uraraka that it was an inanimate mass of metal but changed his mind a second later. In the early days of his youth, quicksteel indeed seemed to have a mind of its own, whizzing around every which way without any conscious decision on his part.
"Well… I'm not sure, but nowadays, I try to be considerate on the rare occasion I do take public transportation."
Izuku willed his quirk down to where it was visible through the windows of the bus. It effortlessly kept up with the speed of the vehicle, humming through the air like a silver comet trailed by a double helix tail.
Those closest to the windows peered out in awe while others craned their necks to get a better view.
"Showoff," Katsumi whispered by his side, but she was grinning even more widely by this point.
"Kuuah! I'm so freaking jealous, Midoriya!" Kirishima cried. "That sort of flashy quirk is awesome! You can totally do a buncha cool stuff with it!"
He stuck out his arm, which grew jagged and noticeably rock-like, but curiously still retained the same healthy skin tone. "My hardening's good in a fight, but it's so boring," he said realistically.
"That's right! Don't forget that heroes also have to worry about popular appeal! Aoyama said grandly. "My navel laser is both strong and cool, perfect for a pro."
"As long as you don't blow up your own stomach!" Ashido said, immediately crushing his bravado.
"Midoriya's a given, but if you want showy, it'd have to be Bakugo-chan or Todoroki, no?" Tsuyu said frankly.
Katsumi scowled at his side, but remarkably stayed silent. Izuku suppressed a grin, did she think he would pinch her again?"
"I used to think the same way," Izuku said with a hint of melancholy. "But over the years I've found my opinion to have changed slightly.
"Really? How so?" Yaoyorozu asked curiously. She seemed to hold a much higher opinion of him since they'd clashed briefly in battle training. Or maybe it was his supporting her in the briefing afterwards…
"Some quirks are obviously flashier than others," he started, surreptitiously brushing his knuckles against Katsumi's. "But I think a hero's personality mean's a lot more than their quirk. I can't help but believe that even someone with a quirk like Aizawa-sensei's could be a showboat given the right attitude. Though, whether they'd be able to manage the same level of subterfuge is a different matter."
Izuku laughed lightly as Katsumi scoffed, knowing she actually disagreed with him on this point. They'd argued over it constantly as kids.
Yaoyorozu was the first brave soul to question Katsumi's reaction. "You disagree, Bakugo-san?"
Katsumi eyed the taller girl with a sidelong glance, arms folded tightly under her chest. The cleavage exposed by her black and orange armour was accentuated slightly by the pose.
"Disagreeing is exaggerating a bit…" she finally bit out. "I just think that sometimes life gives you a shit hand, and you've got to work with what you got. A lot of the time, that leads to people resembling their quirks."
Several heads around the bus nodded thoughtfully.
Izuku grinned. "So you'd be short-fused, Todoroki's confused, and what does that make me?"
"A fucking weirdo."
The bus erupted in laughter, and for once it was not out of cruelty, but mutual respect.
"Enough with all the noise," Aizawa cut in abruptly. "We're here, look alive."
oooOoOoOooo
"Welcome young zygotes!" All Might said as they trailed one by one into the absolute massive structure.
To call it a building would be the mother of all understatements. The only reason the Unforseen Simulation Joint even qualified as a single building was the arching dome that covered the entire area. The complex was divided into several different zones, each clearly meant to represent a different type of natural or man-made disaster.
"I thought he was joking about the USJ thing…" Ashido whispered.
He could understand the sentiment. Even from the entrance, Izuku could pick out both an artificial body of water, as well as a destroyed hillside village he assumed was meant to simulate a landslide. The orange glow of what looked like a flame radiated off in the distance, but that couldn't be right…
They wouldn't just set buildings on fire for the sake of a drill… would they?
All Might stood grandly at the top step of the long staircase that lead down into the main area of the simulation. But something seemed… off about the legendary hero. His upward swooping bangs weren't as pristine as usual, and his already shadowed eyes appeared even more so…
Was he overworked? Tired? Could All Might even get tired?
Izuku shook off the idle thoughts, now wasn't the time to be worrying about such a thing. Besides, his real focus was on the new… well, not exactly face, but the presence of the pro-hero Thirteen was certainly a welcome surprise.
"Oh my god… it's Thirteen!" whispered Uraraka. She practically vibrated in place with her excitement.
"I'm guessing you're a fan?" Izuku smiled.
"Try the biggest fan!" she enthused shamelessly.
"Welcome to the Unforseen Simulation Joint! All might said once they'd all gathered around the three pros. "As much pride as I have in my ability to help those in need, when it comes to evacuation and rescue, my most esteemed colleague here truly has no equal! I'm sure you'll treat him with the respect he deserves."
All Might bowed out of the way, giving the space hero the floor.
"You flatter me, senpai," Thirteen said, rubbing the back of his "head" in embarrassment. "Aizawa-senpai has informed me that some of you already have an idea of what the USJ is, but for those of you that don't I'll briefly explain."
The class collectively sat attentively, captivated by the rescue hero's polite demeanor.
"There's the flood zone, the landslide zone, the conflagration zone etc… Every disaster or accident you can imagine, and even some you might not. The USJ is a facility of my own design for the sole purpose of preparing the future generation of heroes for such catastrophes, and today you'll all get to experience it firsthand."
They clapped uproariously once they space suit clad hero had finished his explanation.
"Thank you," he said, holding his white-gloved hands up for silence, and earning it immediately. "But before we begin, I have one or two points to make. Well… maybe three, no… four... I've got lots of points!"
Izuku suppressed a snicker under his breath. For such a reliable hero, Thirteen was kind of an airhead when he wasn't in the zone. He couldn't help but make the comparison to the enthusiastic brunette standing to his left. Uraraka bounced on the balls of her feet as she stood enraptured by the space hero's speech.
"As I'm sure many of you are aware, my quirk is called Black Hole, and is capable of sucking in and destroying any material…"
Izuku repressed a shudder at the thought. Having the tether that granted him control of quicksteel cut by Aizawa's erasure was an experience he never wished to repeat… But Thirteen's quirk… Could the pro destroy Izuku's quirk altogether? Would there be any way to get it back?
Why were his sensei so terrifying?
"You've used it to save thousands of people!" Uraraka said, unable to contain her excitement. But it was cut down a moment later.
"That's correct, however, without restraint, my power could easily dwarf the damage caused by the disasters I work to prevent. I could kill, and it would be effortless.
They all remained silent, processing the critical lesson.
"I see that some of you have realized that you're in a similar situation, if not quite on the scale of my own quirk. In our super-powered society, the use of quirks is heavily restricted and monitored—"
"You got that fuckin right," Katsumi whispered.
"—The system may seem like a stable one, but we must never forget that all it takes is one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk for people to die." The hero paused, recollecting himself after broaching such a sensitive topic. "In Aizawa-senpai's standardized fitness test you established your physical limits, while in All Might's Battle training you gained experience using your quirk in a more practical combat situation.
He spread his arms widely, the vast expanse of the USJ serving as a backdrop to the space hero's silhouette. "This class, however, will show you a new perspective! You'll learn how to utilize your quirks to save lives! Your powers are not meant to inflict harm, and at the end of the day, being a hero is about helping others. I hope you leave here today with a better understanding of that fact. Thank you."
He gave a short little bow, and the class erupted into applause, Izuku clapping alongside the rest of his peers. Thirteen certainly had a way with words. You really got a sense of the maturity he held, a quality that was practically mandatory with such a destructive quirk at his disposal.
"Wonderful! An excellent sentiment to live by, Thirteen-kun. Now—"
All Might paused mid-sentence, his near-permanent smile dimming slightly as he peered around the USJ in concern.
Something was wrong. There was an odd distortion in the air, barely recognized by the sensory nature of his quicksteel. But it was still there and was growing stronger by the second.
"Kacchan, we need to get—"
But he never had a chance to finish his warning.
The vibration in the air reached a fever pitch, and a swirling vortex of pure darkness burst into existence over the central plaza of the USJ. The massless shadows licked at the ground around the central fountain before it seemed to solidify into a vaguely ovular shape, still swirling with ominous black and purple tendrils.
A slender, pale hand reached slowly through the void…
AN: *plays villain alliance theme*