Loudspeaker.
Work felt aimless the next day. You vaguely remember All Might greeting you, but you were distracted with thoughts of getting fired. They surely wouldn't want you anymore. Taking a break in the shade of a tree, you closed your eyes and tried to commit your time at UA to memory.
"Aren't you the person Aizawa sensei threw out of class?"
You looked up to see two students regarding you with curiosity. Looking around, you noticed all the students were walking about. A glance at your cell said it was lunch time. You tried to get up quickly and dust yourself off.
"Ah, yeah. That's me."
"Are you a new teacher?" The girl of the pair was speaking vibrantly and looked with interest.
"Not quite..." You weren't sure what you were supposed to be, let alone if you still had a job here. You didn't have much time to think about it when All might swooped into the conversation.
"Young Midoriya and Uraraka, I'm afraid I must speak with _ _ at this moment." You yelped when he picked you up and dashed away at full speed. The children watched you go in surprise.
He made it to your rooftop spot before exploding back into his normal self.
"What is your problem, Toshinori?" He could have asked to speak to you.
"I know what you're thinking, and they aren't getting rid of you." He pulled out two lunches, handing you one. "So stop sulking and eat. I bet you haven't had anything all day."
You looked at the bento he thrust into your hands. It was wrapped in a cutely printed handkerchief, his decorated in a similar fashion. It was very Toshinori. Patting to the spot next to him he ate his small meal.
"Aizawa and the principal haven't lost faith in you at all." You weren't convinced. The principal, maybe. But Aizawa had probably written you off as a failure.
"My quirk's unreliable. How am I supposed to protect anyone?" He looked at you seriously.
"Would you say, then, that I'm unfit to be a hero as I am?"
You grimaced.
"That isn't fair. Of course you're a hero."
"As are you, my friend".
You studied his face for any hint at sarcasm. Of course, he was sincere. Sighing you flop down next to him and open your lunch.
"I get it already." You didn't say it aloud, but hearing him call you a hero put some of your fears at ease. "Since you've decided to butt in on my crisis, what do I do now? You took a bite of your meal.
"Oh. This is good."
"You should ask Aizawa. He was always suited for that type of thing."
"Hm.. maybe. Hey, Toshi."
"Yes?"
"Make me lunch more often."
xXx
"Aizawa." You had found him walking with someone around campus and whispered at him furiously to get his attention. You didn't want to be obvious, hoping he would take the hint and meet you somewhere when he was free. But the man he was with noticed you right away.
"Yow! Is that a woman trying to talk to ya, Shouta?" Maybe calling him out was more suspicious than you expected it to be. Begrudgingly Aizawa stopped walking. It must have been pointless to hide it, since he called you out by name.
"What do you need, _ _?" You had hardly opened your mouth before the friend was loudly spouting off his thoughts.
"You know each other? What a shock!" He clasped your hands in his.
"Darling listener, call me Present Mic!" He was grinning wildly at you. You smiled back, half out of shock and half out of amusement. After your own introduction he let your hands go to catch Aizawa in a head lock.
"Yo, you never told me you had a cute girl?" It was an unexpected friendship, but the way he teased Aizawa was priceless. Ignoring the insinuation you were dating, you couldn't help but snicker at them.
"I just had a question I thought you could answer." You watched as he pushed Mic's face away.
"Quit being loud and nosy. I'll meet up with you later."
"AH! So you're the type to dump his friends when you're in a relationship?" Aizawa glowered until Mic had flipped the up the collar of his jacket as flashily as possible and went on his way.
"Your friend is... extroverted." You were still smiling, amazed that the two hung out.
"I don't recall you being so shy when we first met."
"Touché."
"Are you going to ask me or can I leave?" You shifted a bit, wondering how to start.
"I never said thanks for yesterday."
"That isn't a question."
"You aren't, I don't know, disappointed that you wasted your time training with me?"
Aizawa stared.
"You don't seem to like me very much, so I figured yesterday would be a good reason to give up." You had run through the scenario a bunch of times before finding him. The different ways he could say yes or no, and how you would deal with it. But he didn't do anything you expected.
He laughed at you.
"Yes, your quirk is annoying as hell. But you handle yourself well, so I never thought you had zero potential. I only wanted the best results." He grinned. "It was a logical ruse!"
You went wide-eyed. Aizawa, laughing? At you. You shook your head. It was different from when talking to Toshinori, but you felt relieved hearing he hadn't given up on you either.
"Then, what can I do to get better?"
xXx
Aizawa had suggested you extend the time it took to hit your quirk limit by practicing and submitting a hero costume request to the Support Department. The two of you met up a few times to discuss what specifications to ask for. Toshinori and Present Mic would filter in and out periodically with some of their own ideas. Mic's in particular were focused on how extravagant your costume should be. He was met with a resounding "no" when he drew you up a frilly dress more suited to a ball than battle. You stayed up all night researching to get it done. You finally handed Aizawa your idea before his homeroom class began. They were pretty much used to you visiting by now, but the students laughed at how similar you both looked when you came in, eyes all bleary.
"The sports festival is in a few days, are you all ready?" They chattered all at once. You recognized one of the girls from the other day. She looked fired up. You laughed and told her you would keep an eye out for her results.
"You'll do great, um..."
"Uraraka."
"I'll be cheering for you then, Uraraka." You waved goodbye as Aizawa kicked you out again.
xXx
Your costume came in the day before the sports festival was set to start. You opened the neat little package that you found in the mail. The actual look of it you left up to the support department, so you had no idea what to expect. You pulled out what looked to be a sleeveless one piece body suit. You shook it undone and found it would cover your legs like pants normally would. A small note fell out of the folds.
"Compression vest – will monitor you vitals. If your body spikes, a dose of anti-rejection meds will shoot directly into your heart.
Helmet – also connected, will dampen outside stimuli as needed; can be manually switched."
You pulled out the items, running your hands over a small capsule that would attach to the vest. It looked like it was held in place by several straps. The helmet was a sleek, dark visor that would cancel out excess noise. You put everything on, pleased to find it fit well. The final item was a pair of light boots with the same set of straps, tying the outfit together for the sake of fashion. You felt like a hero, hurrying to work so you could go show it off.
It was a rare occurrence, but when you found Aizawa and Present Mic, Toshinori was there too. You took it as the perfect opportunity to make your grand entrance. Mic spotted you as you came up, and gave you the exact reaction you wanted to get.
"You look downright COOL!" He spun you around in a circle for effect. Leave it to Mic to give off infectious excitement. You couldn't help but smile.
"Just in time for the sports festival. Aren't you announcing for it?"
"Absolutely! Expect high action from the kiddos. If it's boring on defense duty, come up and hang."
Toshi gave you a hard pat on the back and grinned widely.
"You look like a hero." All the self doubt you felt seemed so silly now that you were surrounded by friends who believed in you. Mic was prodding Aizawa.
"Yo, say somethin'."
He ruffled his hair leisurely as he thought. With his eyes silently evaluating you, the costume suddenly felt a little too form fitting.
"It... suits you."
Your heart skipped, just a little.
In an inspired mood today, so here's an early chapter!
I swear I waited forever to use that "logical ruse!" line. I think that's when I fell in love with him.
So, there is a slight problem. There will be about 10 chapters in the story, bringing us to chapter 97 in the manga. I will have to wait for more to come out to continue the story. I had a thought: I can take suggestions to write some 'side stories'.
Think of these like trope-episodes. Give me a prompt, like 'reader gets sick and the boys come to visit and help'. Beach episode? sure! Want a Midnight x reader outing, alright!
I'm pretty open to anything, as long as it won't interfere with the plot. Just keep things consensual and legal.
