Chapter 11
"Okay; let's review," Mari said; spreading listing fliers on the table. She, Eijirou, and Katsuki had just finished looking at the last one on their current list and were now waiting for the others at a nearby restaurant.
"This one was close to all of our current agencies; so that's a huge bonus," Katsuki said, pointing to the paper closest to Mari.
She scrunched her nose. "Yeah, but it had that weird smell. It wasn't just me, right? It smelled like a combination of weed and something else I can't quite place." She took a sip of her soda.
"So it smells like Dunce Face and Soy Sauce's rooms?" Katsuki said, smirking.
"What smells like our dorms?"
Mari scooched further into the seat to give Mina, Denki, and Sero some room to sit. "One of the apartments we looked at," Mari said, pulling a pen out of her bag. On the back of the listing, she wrote:
PRO: Close to work
CON: Perpetual smell of weed
"Hey! Our rooms do not perpetually smell of weed!" Denki said, pouting.
Mari looked at him over her glasses. "Riiigghhht, I forgot it's only on the days that end with "Y".
"Exactly!" Denki said brightly.
"Uh, Denks…"
"Give him a minute."
"Hey!"
"Theerreee it is," Mari said, taking another sip of her soda. She turned to Eijirou, who had been abnormally quiet this whole time. "Hey, you okay; Eiji?" She whispered, nudging him with her shoulder.
He startled a little. "Huh? Oh yeah; I'm good, babe. Just thinking about everything. How it seems so surreal. How in a few months we're gonna be graduated, and the three of us are gonna have our own place. It's all just happening so fast."
"You're not having second thoughts, are you; Red?" Katsuki said, leaning around Mari to look at Eijirou.
Eijirou shook his head. "Definitely not. It just feels weird that the pieces are falling into place, even the ones we didn't realize were missing." He grabbed Mari's hand, placing a kiss on the back.
Denki groaned, placing his head on Mina's shoulder. "Ugh, I want what they have."
Mari laughed as Mina playfully shoved him off. "You have Kyo! What is she, chopped liver?!"
Once the table calmed down, she continued. "I've been thinking about it too; to be honest. Mostly about the planning and logistics and stuff."
Katsuki chuckled. "Great; one day with the nerd and it's rubbing off on you."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "First of all, rude; Kats. I've always been a nerd, even before I started hanging out with Izuku. I'm just more subtle about it. And second, you'll thank me when you hear what I have to say." She paused, waiting for his rebuttal. Receiving none, she took that as her sign to continue. "I was thinking about it, and I realized we're probably not going to be able to move in together for at least a few months after graduation anyway. Even if we found a place tomorrow; unless we find a place that's fully furnished, we're still going to have to shop for things like furniture, kitchenware, you know stuff like that. And that takes time; plus it'll be expensive."
"We shouldn't have to worry about that last part too much. The hag and old man said they'd help get me set up after graduation. Something about it being "a graduation gift" and "having peace of mind." Katsuki said, nonchalantly.
"To be fair, babe; can you blame them?" Eijirou said, placing his hand on top of Katsuki's. A thick silence fell over the table; the unspoken incident that almost robbed them of this moment hanging over their heads.
"Oh shoot! We're supposed to meet up with the others at 2! We gotta go if we're gonna make it on time!" Mina said, looking at her phone. She was already trying to climb over Denki so she could head for the door.
Everyone laughed, glad for the distraction. They paid for their respective drinks and headed toward the shopping center. Jirou had gone ahead with Ochako and everyone else, claiming she needed to find new guitar strings.
The walk to the shopping center had been short; and once they got to their meeting point, it was easy to spot their friends, despite the array of masks and ballcaps they used to conceal their identities. Although Mari technically didn't need to wear one, since her face wasn't quite as recognizable as her peers; she still wore one, figuring it might make them stand out more if she was the only one in the group not wearing one.
She laughed, taking in Izuku's All Might themed hat. "I don't think you understood the assignment there; Deks." She nudges the green-haired boy's shoulder with her own.
He smiles at her, a playful look in his eye. "You're one to talk! You've got your logo on yours!" He nudged her back. "By the way, I finished that comic. You can come to grab it whenever you have a chance."
"I'll come to grab it when we get back to the dorms. And don't change the subject. Yes; mine has my logo on it, but I can get away with that. I'm not nearly as recognizable as…"
"Mari-Nii!" A little voice called out.
Izuku gave her a look as if to say "You were saying?"
She glared at him before she felt two small arms wrap around her leg. Looking down, she recognized one of the children from the children's daycare. A woman came frantically running up behind her.
"Hana, I've told you not to run off! It's dangerous!" The woman scolded her daughter.
"But Mama! It's Mari-nii! From special school!" the little girl said; hopping up and down.
Mari smiled, waving at her. "Hi Mrs. Takahashi," she said, before leaning down so she was at eye level with the little girl. "Your mama's right, Hana-chan. You shouldn't run away from her like that. I'm very happy to see you; but if you wanted to come to say hi, you should have asked her first."
The little girl looked down at her shoes, dejected. "I'm sorry. I was just so excited to see you. You haven't come to see us in such a long time, and I've been waiting to show you my Quirk." She dug her toe into the concrete.
"You got your Quirk? That's so exciting! Let me see." Mari said, gently smiling and nodding.
Hana's face lit up as she rubbed her hands together. Placing them in front of her; Mari noticed that small seedlings started to sprout from the concrete, forming into brightly colored flowers.
"See, Mari-nii? I can make things grow!" Hana said proudly.
Mari could hear Izuku getting excited next to her. He had stayed surprisingly quiet until this point; as had everyone else, just watching the events before them play out. Hana seemed to realize for the first time that they were there, as her face lit up in excitement and recognition.
She turned to Mari with wide eyes. "Mari-nii; you didn't tell me you know Deku!" She said, excitement written all over her face.
Mari laughed; then turned to Izuku. "Told you the hat was a horrible choice. It looks too much like your costume, dude."
Izuku just shrugged, leaning down so he too could be at eye level with the young girl. "Hi, Hana. It's nice to meet you. You're Quirk is really cool."
Hana's eyes shined at the praise. "Thank you, Mr. Deku! And thank you for saving my mama."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Oh, you can just call me Deku. And of course, that's a hero's job."
The little girl got a look on her face as if she just realized something. "Wait… Mari-nii; if you know Deku, does that mean you're a hero too?!"
Mari laughed; but nodded. "Yes, it does. My hero name is Freezeframe; I just haven't made as big of a name for myself yet as some of my friends."
"But that's not gonna stop her from being a kick-ass hero," Katsuki said; walking up and draping an arm over Mari's shoulder; Eijirou smiling and nodding at his side.
"Katsuki!"
"Kaachan!"
But Katsuki's crude language was lost on the little girl; who was currently staring at them in awe. "Oh my gosh! Mari-nii; you know Dynamight and Red Riot too?!"
Mari nodded. "You bet. They're two of my best friends." She heard a snicker behind her at that which sounded suspiciously like Denki. She shot Jirou a look over her shoulder, and the purple-haired girl popped her boyfriend upside the head.
"I saw you guys on TV fighting the bad guys! You were awesome!" Hana said, clapping. Then turning to Mari "Mari-nii, why didn't I see you fighting the bad guys?"
Mari froze, trying to figure out how best to explain the situation to a four-year-old. She became aware of Eijirou's hand on her shoulder, not squeezing; just resting to provide a grounding weight.
Surprisingly, it was Katsuki that saved the moment. "She was doing an equally important job, kid. Making sure you were all safe and that none of you were scared. Just because she wasn't on the field like the rest of us; doesn't mean she wasn't doing her job as a hero. A hero has many jobs; fighting bad guys is just one of them. Does that make sense?"
Mari felt her insides go warm and gooey at Katsuki's words. Hana stared at Katsuki for a long moment; head tilted in thought, then "I guess that makes sense. Thanks, Mr. Dynamight!" Then she motioned for him to come closer; whispering in his ear "Don't tell Mari-nii or Mr. Deku; but you're my favorite. I think your 'splosions are pretty."
Mari snorted as Katsuki's face went bright red. They had all heard what Hana said. It wasn't surprising; honestly. A lot of the kids at the center would argue over who was cooler, Katsuki or Izuku. Not that she'd tell them that; the last thing those two needed was something else to compete over.
Mrs. Takahashi cleared her throat. "Hana; sweetie. Why don't we let Mari and her friends get back to what they were doing? I bet they're very busy."
Hana pouted; clearly not ready to say goodbye to her new friends yet. Mari put her finger on her chin; making a show of thinking really hard. "Tell you what, kiddo? I'm going to be stopping by the center soon. How would you like it if I brought Deku, Dynamight, and Red Riot with me?" She asked, plastering a big smile on her face.
The little girl nodded her head vigorously. "I'd love that! Oh, I'm so excited!" She bounced on her feet before giving them each a hug. "Bye Mari-nii! Bye Mr. Deku, bye Mr. Dynamight, Mr. Riot!" she yelled over her shoulder as she and her mother walked away.
Once they were gone; Mari ran a hand over her face. "I am so sorry, guys. I didn't mean to blindside you all like that. I should have asked you first before volunteering you for that and…"
"Babe; you're spiraling. It's fine." Katsuki said, squeezing her shoulder.
"Kaachan's right, Mari. This is just part of the job description; one of the better ones to be honest." Izuku said, nodding.
"Exactly; nerd. Besides, Hana seemed like a good kid. She's got good taste in heroes anyway."
"There's gonna be no living with him now," Mari said, shaking her head as she and Eijirou shared an exaggeratedly pained look.
A few hours later; the group was walking back to the dorms, packages in hand. Mari had been trying to keep an eye out for a dress to wear to the gala, but nothing caught her eye. She figured she could look online and hopefully find something in time that she liked.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of her phone going off, chiming an 8-bit version of "Popular" from Wicked. Suzume's ringtone. She had set it as a joke before Mari started UA, and Mari didn't have the heart to change it.
She answered it, walking alongside Izuku and Katsuki. "Hey, Suze! I was gonna call you when I got back to the dorms; I saw this awesome shirt that I think you'd love…"
A choked sob cut her off, causing her to stop walking, and also causing Eijirou to bump into her. He gave her a confused look.
"Mei-Mei; are you there? Are you okay? You sound like you're crying." Mari said, adjusting her phone closer to her ear. Her words caught everyone's attention, and they turned to look at her.
"Mari, he broke up with me." Suzume sniffled through the phone.
Mari's nose wrinkled. Kenta Hasigawa; Suzume's boyfriend, had been the bane of Mari's existence when they were younger. She took a breath, trying to keep the joy out of her voice.
"I'm sorry, Mei-Mei; that sucks. Tell you what; how about tomorrow, you and I can go grab an ice cream and you can vent to me all about it?"
Suzume sniffled through the phone again. "Mari; you don't understand. It was all a bet. He 'She's All That' 'd me."
Mari could feel an angry flush come to her face as her hand tightened around her phone. From looking at the expressions of worry and concern on both Izuku and Katsuki's faces, she could tell that her own was probably somewhere between anger and frustration.
"Where is he now?" Mari asked, trying to keep her emotion out of her voice.
"He said he was out somewhere when he called…"
"He didn't even have the courage to tell you in person? Oh; screw that noise." Mari growled, then took a deep breath. "Okay, Mei-Mei. I'm gonna handle this; then I'm gonna come grab you and you're gonna come back with us to the dorms. You don't need to be on your own right now."
She hung up before her sister could protest, then let out a loud angry noise.
"I'm just gonna go ahead and say that was bad…" Denki said.
"That's putting it mildly, Denks. Turns out Kenta, the guy that's been dating Suzume, was lying to her the whole time. He was only dating her as a dare." Mari ran her hands over her face.
"So we're going after this jerk; right?" Eijirou said, pounding a fist into his palm.
"Yes and no. I'm dealing with Kenta; but if Mei-Mei's right, which I don't doubt; he most likely won't be alone; so I'll be happy to have the backup. But this is personal, and to be honest; it's LONG overdue." Mari said; scowling and running her hand through her hair. "Then after that; we're going to grab Suzume and bring her back to the dorms. I don't care if I have to get a special pass; she is not staying in the house by herself tonight."
"How are we going to find this guy?" Izuku asked; he and Katsuki exchanged a look, silent understanding passing between them.
"Well, that's actually the easy part. Luckily, Kenta's a creature of habit. He always goes to the same konbini after school. Has since middle school." Mari said, smirking.
Sure enough; Mari's intuition was correct. They found Kenta and his friends on a park bench across the street from the convenience store. Mari's blood boiled when she saw Kenta's arm around Himari Mizuno, who she also recognized from middle school.
She jumped the barrier between the sidewalk and the park; not bothering to check if anyone had followed her.
"Hey, asswipe! I gotta talk to you!" Mari yelled, causing the people seated on the bench to turn and look at her.
Kenta looked at her like he was trying to place her face before a wave of smug recognition passed over his face. "Well, if it isn't little Mari-Koshō." he chuckled. "Been a while. Nice hair."
Mari smirked. "Thanks; and I didn't even need any bubble gum. But I'm not here to reminisce; as I'm sure you've probably gathered."
Kenta stood from the bench; wiping invisible dirt from his pants. "I had a feeling that's what this was about. Am I proud of it? No. Was it worth the money? Also no."
Mari felt her face heat up as the others on the bench snickered. "Oh; I'm gonna break so much more than just your nose this time; you son of a bitch." She growled, cracking a knuckle.
Her mind went blank as she threw the first punch; barely registering as her fist connected with the boy's nose as promised. This caused panic on both sides, causing multiple people to rush in.
After what could have been seconds; minutes; or even hours, Mari felt strong arms pulling her off of Kenta. She continued kicking and swinging until her fist collided with something hard; which turned out to be Eijirou's chest. He had pulled her in close in an attempt to calm her down.
"Easy; babe. Calm down; you got him. Just calm down." He soothed as he ran a hand over Mari's hair.
Kenta's eyes widened as it slowly dawned on him who he was looking at. His gaze turned to Eijirou, then Katsuki, and finally landed on Izuku. "But…you're all heroes! Surely you can't justify this kind of violence!"
Katsuki growled; then bent down, getting in Kenta's face. "You're right; we are heroes. But guess what; sunshine? So is she." He jerked his finger over his shoulder at Mari, who was currently wiping blood off her face with the back of her hand. "And as for violence; I didn't see anything that wasn't justified. Did you?" He turned to Izuku with a smirk.
"Nope; everything seemed perfectly fine to me." The green-haired boy agreed with a twin look of anger on his face. One by one; everyone agreed with them. They hadn't seen anything. As far as they knew; Mari was standing up for a civilian from a villain and gave as good as she got.
"Now if we're done here," Katsuki continued "I can only assume it's safe to say that you won't be bothering my girlfriend or her sister again; right?" Kenta nodded frantically; and he and his crew scrambled off.
Mari felt the adrenaline seep out of her body as they disappeared from sight. Her legs buckled; causing Eijirou to hold onto her in case she fell.
"I got you, baby. Just relax." He picked her up and carefully positioned her so she was riding piggyback. Mari hissed at the movement; already feeling bruises forming all over her body.
"I may have miscalculated." She mumbled into Eijirou's shoulder. "All I want to do is go back to the dorms and clean up; but I really don't want to leave Suzume alone…"
"I can go get her if you want to go back and get clean." Mina said; placing a hand on her shoulder gingerly.
Mari grinned at her. "Thank you so much; Mins. I owe you big time."
The pink haired shook her head. "No you don't. Suzume's important to you; so she's important to us. Just get back home and clean up."
Eijirou wound up carrying her all the way back to the dorm; despite her repeated insistence that she could walk. They ran into Mr. Aizawa on the way back to the dorms. He took one look at Mari and sighed.
"I cannot wait for you all to graduate." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do I even want to know?"
Mari lifted her head. "Stopped a mugging, sir. Got taken by surprise; which is why I'm all banged up."
Mr. Aizawa sighed like he didn't believe her, but was too tired to care. "Alright, problem child. Go clean up."
"Thank you sir. And before I forget, I need an overnight permission pass for my sister."
"Don't worry about it." He said, waving his hand. "I'll waive it this once. Just get back to the dorms; can't have you passing out on the school lawn." And with that he walked away.
As expected; chaos erupted when they walked in the dorm and everyone saw Mari. Expressions ranged from anger to confusion to sadness.
"I promise I'll explain everything after I've cleaned myself off." Mari said, heading for the baths.
By the time she had finished; the water in the tub had turned a sickly rust red. Mari scowled at it as it drained away; but she had to admit she felt better, and she knew she probably looked better too.
Suzume was waiting with Mina when she returned to the common room. Carefully; Mari made her way over to the couch and sat next to her, leaning her head on the back of the couch and closing her eyes.
After a moment; she said "Mei-Mei; I can feel you staring at me. I'm okay; if you think I look bad, you should see the other guy." She grinned at her friend.
"What's the deal with that guy anyway?" Mina asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mari and Suzume shared a look. "That is…a very long story." Mari said, slowly pushing herself into a seating position. "The cliffnotes version is when we were in middle school; he put gum in my hair, and I punched him in the nose and broke it. This indirectly led to my mom kicking me out of the house. That's why I live with Suzume." She rolled her shoulders, wincing at the pain.
"Okay; but that seems extreme. I know your mom isn't exactly parent of the year; but come on." Denki said, leaning over the couch.
Eijirou gently put his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to; babe."
Mari shook her head. "It's fine. To be honest; it doesn't phase me anymore. It's a very long, convoluted story; and it'll be confusing as to how it makes sense; but I promise we'll get there if you all just bear with me."
She took everyone's silence as agreement; and took a breath before she continued.
"One thing you need to know about my mother is that she's backwards. Not literally; just her way of thinking. I'm sure you all remember the call from my birthday and the stink she put up about my hair; et cetera. Well; that was her being mild. You see, she never approved of me going into the Hero course. She always wanted me to study business and be a financial consultant like her."
"But how does that relate to…"
"Patience; I'm getting there. Anyway; when I was maybe fourteen or so; I started realizing that I was seeing the world differently than how most girls my age might. Makeup was take it or leave it; I preferred baggy clothes to hide my body and there were days when I wished I was a Mr. Potato Head doll so I could pop off parts I wasn't thrilled with, but not enough to get rid of. I started referring to myself as a "Wish store girl"; you know? Where you order something from Wish; and you know it is what it says it is but something about it's just off; if that makes sense. After doing some research; I realized that I wasn't the only one who felt like that; and I realized I was non-binary. I remember telling Suzume about it the next day at school; so excited that I wasn't faulty like I thought I was. That's probably where it all started."
"My name is actually Mariko; but I shortened it when I started high school. I remember I had just gotten up the nerve to try a chest binder. I had saved up my pocket money and bought it from a place that I knew used discreet packaging. I hid it in my bag; and slipped into the bathroom before the first period. I remember how good I felt; how my mind felt calm."
"Unfortunately; that didn't last. As I was packing up my stuff at the end of the day; Kenta came up behind me. He pulled a big wad of chewed gum out of his mouth and shoved it in my hair; going 'if you're going to act like a boy; you might as well look like a boy too, Mari-Koshō.' Now keep in mind; I had long hair in middle school and I kept it in braids. That shit was stuck in there like glue. I was so shocked and angry; that before I realized what I was doing, my fist was connecting with his nose. Now; in hindsight, I can say it was glorious. He had a bruise for a month and he had the displeasure of telling everyone that it was me that punched him. At the time though; I felt awful. Mei-Mei found me crying in the bathroom trying to scrub it out when I didn't meet her out front to walk home."
"For the record, scrubbing gum to get it out of your hair does Jack all. But peanut butter and mayo works wonders. We had to take the long way home to avoid the konbini we knew they'd be at; but eventually we got what we needed and got home."
"I remember it was really crowded that day. The streets were blocked off and everything." Suzume said thoughtfully.
Mari heard an intake of breath from Katsuki and Izuku. She knew about the incident with the Sludge Villain; everyone did, it had been all over the papers. She silently nodded to them both to indicate that yes; Suzume was indeed referring to what they thought she was.
"We wound up not getting back home; to which I mean Mei-Mei's house; until almost dinner time. Auntie 'Suna was worried sick; but as soon as she saw the state I was in, she ushered me into the bathroom. One of the great things about my Auntie being a nurse; she's fantastic in a crisis. Which is probably why she was so calm at what happened next."
Mari's face became very somber and she took a shaky breath before continuing. "The phone rang just as Auntie 'Suna was getting the last bit of gum out of my hair. I couldn't hear Uncle Haru; but I could hear my mother screaming as clearly as if she was in the next room. She was talking about how the school had called her and told her what happened; and how it was all my fault for being too outspoken and why couldn't I just 'be a normal girl' and keep my head down."
"For the record; she was clearly drunk. Which obviously doesn't excuse what she said; but it also wasn't the first time. She yelled nonsense for a good ten minutes before finally declaring that she didn't want me in her house anymore. To his credit; Uncle Haru was calm. He never lost his temper. He simply said "Well; we're more than happy to have her in ours. I'll be there shortly to get her things."
"And he did. He had me make a list of everything that was important to me and he made sure that nothing was left behind. We set up my room next to Suzume's and I've been living there ever since."
A silence fell over the room as they took it all in.
"There's one thing I don't understand." Izuku said. "If you're not living with her; how was your mom able to put such a roadblock in your time here at UA?"
Mari laughed bitterly. "Another thing you should know about my mother is that she's stubborn as an old mule and she's also very good at playing situations to her advantage. While my address was changed to reflect where I was living; she adamantly refused to let Mei-Mei's parents have legal guardianship over me. And that wound up being her loophole. Obviously; when the dorms were put in place, the school got permission from Auntie 'Suna and Uncle Haru for me to live here. However, my mother was also notified and called the school, throwing a fit that she hadn't been consulted about her daughter's living arrangements. This loophole tied the school's hands at every step; because every milestone that would come up, I'd be told that I didn't have my parent's consent to participate or take the next course of action."
"One thing my mother forgot to take into consideration though; is I'm just as stubborn as she is. And I work better when I'm motivated by spite. So every time she'd throw a roadblock in my way; I'd just vault over it and keep going twice as hard."
Mari took a breath; and rested her hands on her knees. "You know the rest, I wasn't able to fight beside you all because I technically wasn't licensed and I was 'considered a liability'" She rolled her eyes. "They sent me home because they didn't know what else to do with me. The first week or so I just spent in my room; I was numb. After that; Suzume dragged me to start volunteering at the hospital."
"Mostly so you didn't drive yourself crazy watching the news." Suzume said bluntly.
"Either way; it helped. I felt like a hero for the first time in a long time. And then when they converted part of the children's ward into a shelter for the displaced kids, I knew I had to help. They've since converted it back to how it was; but it soon became clear that a secondary care center was needed. A lot of the kids were traumatized by what happened; and we realized that keeping them together as much as possible was the best case scenario."
Izuku spoke up again. "So this afternoon; when Hana thanked me for saving her mother…"
Mari nodded. "She'd been missing for about a week when we got word that she was in the main hospital area. I remember I had to hold Hana back from running off to try to find her mother." She shook her head laughing.
"Now you know everything. I'm better than where I was about it. I can talk about it now without wanting to punch someone."
"Really Tinkerbelle? Because that shiner of a black eye says differently." Katsuki said; but she could hear the humor in his voice as he handed her an ice pack.
"Okay; that's fair. NOW I won't punch anyone." She hissed as she rested the cold pack on her wounded eye.
"Not to change the subject; but you got a package today, Mari. Ribbit" said Tsuyu, handing Mari an official looking package.
"Thanks Tsu!" Mari said, smiling. She turned the package over. "I didn't order anything; definitely not something official." Then it hit her. "Wait; I know what this is! It's my costume upgrade!"
"You updated your costume?" Eijirou asked, intrigued.
Mari nodded, a huge smile on her face. "I always knew the one I'm using wasn't going to be permanent. I mean, I designed it at fourteen." She turned to Izuku, still smiling. "I actually have you to thank, Deks. I took a lot of your analysis to heart the other day. It made me want to go back and rework a bunch of things."
"I'm so glad I could help! I know sometimes it can be a bit much for some people…" the green-haired boy said, smiling back.
Mari shook her head. "Not at all! If anything I was flattered; I know my Quirk isn't exactly run of the mill, so there isn't a lot for me to reference. Outside of old science fiction, that is. Love me some Doctor Who." She shook her head. "Anyway; that's besides the point. You caught stuff I hadn't even thought of, like my speed and my targeting."
Carefully opening the box; she pulled out her new costume. Inside was a black and purple bodysuit with a matching jacket that crossed in the front and had a high collar. She also pulled out a black cloth half mask, a pair of black heeled ankle boots, and finally a pair of silver metallic goggles.
She held up the bodysuit, her face lighting up. "Oooh! I really want to try it on!" She groaned.
"I'll help you!" Suzume said, pulling her off the couch.
They slipped into the bathroom downstairs and made quick work of putting on the new clothes.
"Alright, close your eyes everyone." Suzume said, poking her head out of the door.
"And open!" Mari said triumphantly
Mina let out a low whistle. "Girl; you look GOOD." She said.
Mari blushed. "Thanks Mins." She turned to Eijirou and Katsuki. "Well, judges?"
Katsuki stood up from his spot and wrapped his arms around her waist. Mari blushed at the unusual expression of affection from the blonde. "Baby, you could wear a potato sack and make it look good."
"Kats' right; babe" Eijirou said, tipping his head back to look at them. "But to answer your question, you look great. Super manly." He shot her a wink.
"I haven't even shown you the best part yet!" She stepped away from Katsuki and tapped her heels together twice. A pair of rollerblades popped out from the bottom of her shoes.
Wobbling a little to keep her balance, she grinned at everyone. "Hidden rollerblades. I just have to tap my heels twice to activate them and twice again to put them back." She tapped her heels as she said this, flattening her heels again.
"What are these buttons on the side of your goggles?" Suzume asked; turning them over in her hands.
Mari grinned. "They have different modes. That green button is night vision, the red one is heat detection, and the blue is x-ray."
"I bet Hatsume loved those ideas." Izuku said, as Suzume handed him the goggles to look at.
"You have no idea. I felt a little bad that I went so basic with my costume and I didn't even consider support items before. So she was thrilled to work with me." Mari said, taking the goggles and putting them back in the box.
"I should probably go change. I have to grab my old costume so I can send it back to be repurposed. And you should probably call Auntie 'Suna, Mei-Mei. Let her know you're staying here tonight and that you'll meet up with them tomorrow."
After changing back into her pj's and carefully folding her costume and placing it in the box; Mari sat back down on the couch. It didn't take long for her to pass out; Suzume following closely behind.
Katsuki and Eijirou carefully carried them both up to Mari's room and laid them on her bed. They both knew that this would probably mean a night away from their girlfriend; knowing that she was safe and content allowed them to sleep well that night anyway.