Chapter 20: Three's Company

Himiko Toga did not like working for the League of Villains. At least, not yet. She was willing to give it more time, but she was hoping things would pick up soon to her preferred pace.

It's just that her preferred pace was falling in love and stabbing people. Sometimes at the same time!

Part of her dislike of the job was that they always wanted to use her for all the reconnaissance and stealth. And it made sense, she couldn't deny. She knew her Quirk made it perfect for her to blend in to any crowd and be the fly on any wall. Who would look twice at the tired Salaryman, or a homely mother on the way back from the store?

She swirled her hot chocolate in a bored manner - she would never drink yucky, bitter coffee. The problem being, she didn't WANT to use her Quirk this way. Her Quirk was SPECIAL - she wanted to use it to become someone... someone special.

Especially if that someone was Stain. She momentarily lapsed into a daydream of the way he would chop up and bloody his victims. So much delicious blood... She squirmed delightedly, almost able to taste the coppery feeling on her tongue.

She was snapped from her daydream as the entrance bell of the small cafe rang, and she saw her targets were leaving. Toga scowled and stood up to follow them.

--

Midoriya's nerves had subsided somewhat since they first met up, which was good, because he found it much easier to have a good time with Asui when he wasn't constantly worrying. Although, the voice in the back of his head was still constantly wondering whether or not this was a date.

They weren't doing any date like activities, though, he firmly reminded himself. They dropped off some some dry-cleaning, took some bill payments to some businesses, returned a few books Tsuyu's mother had borrowed from the library. These were squarely just busy chores that apparently the Asui parents just did not have time for.

"What do your parents do anyway?" Midoriya asked, curiously.

Asui looked somewhat embarrassed by the question. "They're actually... defense attorneys."

"Oh wow," Midoriya whistled. "That's a rough field. Providing a case for criminals and villains has never been trickier since Quirks came to be."

"Tell me about it," Asui deadpanned. "There are never enough to go around either so they're always busy."

He paused as they hit another crosswalk, mulling the wording to his next question over. "Is it... awkward that you're going to school for Heroics while they work in criminal defense?"

Asui gave a small smile. "You'd think it is, but no. They're really proud, and make sure to let me know. Embarrassingly so." The light at the crosswalk changed, and she began to walk forward. "They like to make jokes that I'll make sure they're never out of work, because I'll be so good at being a Hero."

"That's really sweet though," Midoriya laughed. "My mom's pretty embarrassing too though."

"They usually are, kero," Tsuyu croaked. "Is it just you and her?"

"Yeah..." Midoriya trailed off. "My dad used to work overseas, but..."

He rubbed the back of his neck as he searched for the right words.

He hated talking about this.

"We got the notification that there was an accident," he finished as they passed a few more stores.

"I'm sorry, kero," Tsuyu said, looking down. "I shouldn't have asked."

"N-no it's okay," He quickly assured her, waving his hands in front of him. "You're one of the first friends I've made at U.A., I don't mind getting to know each other." He scratched his nose. "I was really little, and it wasn't long after the doctor's..."

He paused, remembering that he hadn't explained to anyone about being Quirkless. "Well, they thought I was Quirkless. I don't have a lot of memories of him. But I remember I got his hair."

"It's good hair, kero," Asui beamed, "it's fluffy and looks so soft."

Without thinking, she reached up and ran a hand through his hair. The two froze, made awkward eye contact, and looked away as a passerby yelled, "GET A ROOM!"

"Well, you like coffee?" Tsuyu asked. "I brought up the awkward parent stuff, so it's my treat."

--

Toga was able to find them easily as they left the cafe, scowling at how easily they had slipped away from her. Didn't they know it was rude to leave during one of her Stain daydreams?

Whatever tasks they needed to get done must have been finished, because the two had taken a detour through a park.

That's no good, she huffed. I'll stand out as this middle aged businessman if I'm in a park too long.

Still, improvising was something she had learned when she had to repress her...urges as a child. She found a street vendor, purchased some popcorn and decided to pretend she was feeding some ducks. This lined up perfectly, as Midoriya and this Asui girl seemed to be stopping at a bench alongside a pond.

--

"I haven't been to this park in a really long time," Midoriya admitted with a sigh. "I think I was maybe five or six..."

"Yeah?" Asui said, pressing her finger to her chin. "I usually take my siblings here a few times a week. Tire them out, kero. Did you just get sick of playing here?"

"N-not quite," Deku laughed. "See, back when Kacchan first got his Quirk, he got something of an ego."

"Shocking," Tsuyu deadpanned with an interruption. The two of them erupted into a snort of giggles.

"Yeah," he agreed. "So he and his friends would pick on me for being the Quirkless one. I still hung around and followed them though. I guess... I don't know, he was the strongest person I knew. He was always tough and had the best Quirk. I guess I looked up to him. Anyway, one day we all were at this park, right? And we're playing on that bridge -"

He pointed out the bridge across the way from the two of them, where a salaryman was feeding ducks some popcorn.

"-and suddenly - SPLASH - Kacchan just falls off the whole thing into the stream." Midoriya explained. "I rushed down to help him out of the water, but..."

"But...?" She echoed after he paused.

"He... he must have thought I was making fun of him or something," Izuku reasoned, folding his arms across his chest. "He got really violent after that. It went from teasing to bullying, and I just never wanted to come back. I had forgotten about this place until you turned down here, to be honest."

"Well," Asui beamed, "this visit will clearly be better than last time."

Midoriya laughed in agreement. "Yeah, definitely. Thanks, Asu - I mean, Tsuyu."

He was so shy, Midoriya Izuku. Asui had gotten used to it. The flustered face, the stuttering, even the mumbling. But his laugh always caught her off guard. It was when his defenses were finally lowered and she heard how free and happy his voice could be. She could listen to it for hours.

--

Toga repressed the urge to giggle as she adjusted her hearing aid, practically squirming. The feelings those two were expressing were adorable.

It made her want to...

Become one of them.

To feel it her-

BZZZT!

As if on cue to kill her bloodlust, a text came through from Shigaraki, causing her to groan to herself in frustration.

"Anything useful?" He had asked.

She left him on read, and looked up, adjusting her hearing aid with a sigh.

"What a buzzkill," she murmured.

--

"We should probably get going, kero," Tsuyu said, voice a bit more forlorn than usual. "I promised my mom I'd make lunch for my brother and sister, and it's getting kinda late."

It was hard for Midoriya to keep the disappointment from his voice as well. "Ah, okay. I should probably get a jump on packing for the Summer Camp."

"Yeah, I think it's a sure thing you guys passed," she teased him. "Speaking of that stuff though, can I ask you a question about your Hero name?"

"Sure."

"Well, you talked about Thor a lot, kero," she replied. "And your powers are a lot like his. You're related, right?"

Midoriya tensed up. It was the same thing Bakugou, and Todoroki thought. And honestly, he figured maybe it was a good time to stop keeping it a secret.

And... he trusted Asui. Moreso than Bakugou and Todoroki, anyways. "Not like... family related. What would you say if I told you that Thor was still alive?"

"I'd probably think you were lying," she ribbited, "he hasn't been seen in centuries, and not a lot of people actually believe he was some kind of god."

"I don't really blame you," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as they left the park. It didn't seem like anyone was paying them any mind, so he continued. "But, about a year before school started, I was still without a Quirk. And I was really upset about some things, and took off running. I ended up in this weird... wooded area that I've never found in the city since then. And Mjolnir was there."

"Just laying around, kero?"

He nodded. "Yup. And I just had this uncontrollable urge just to pick it up. So I did, and well... I got transported to Asgard. By wielding Mjolnir, Thor made me his successor, and I've been the way you've known me ever since."

The two hit a crosswalk and had to wait, and silence fell between the two. As it lingered, Midoriya became more uncomfortable, remembering the exchange he had with Bakugou about the same issue.

As they finally crossed, Midoriya shifted, "Um... I-I know it probably sounds crazy..."

"It does, kero," Tsuyu ribbited. "I mean, of course it does. But... I trust you. I don't think you would just lie to me about that." She gave him a smile. "You don't seem like the gloryhog type."

Izuku went red, "Th-thanks Tsuyu. Maybe I'll see if you could meet him at some point. Though he's anything but godly sometimes..."

"Wait, is he that blonde guy who hugged you after the Sports Festival?" She laughed. "You have to be kidding me! He can do lightning things?"

Deku laughed too. "Y-yeah, if I hadn't seen him do it, I don't know if I'd have believed it either."

The two walked off towards Asui's home, Tsuyu asking more questions about Thor that Deku was happy to oblige her with.

--

Unfortunately, this information was also just why Shigaraki had sent Toga to spy anyway. As he sat in his hideout, his phone began to vibrate furiously with messages from his spying operative.

Shigaraki Tomura had his doubts about Toga. Kurogiri did as well, which he was sure to voice to Shigaraki, but they decided to give her a chance. Her motives and drive were... out there compared to his, but Shigaraki didn't doubt her abilities. It was about her one saving grace, he had figured.

As he read the information Toga was feeding him, he grinned wildly. She was already paying off.

"Kurogiri," he sneered. "I think we know which character we're unlocking next."

"Please stop speaking in video game references, young sir."

--

As the two classmates made it to Asui's block, Midoriya marveled at the size of her house. Suddenly, the apartment he shared with his mother felt somewhat inadequate. It's almost as big as Kacchan's house...

"Thanks for coming with me on all this," Asui beamed. "I had a lot of fun."

"M-me too," Midoriya replied, returning her smile.

She paused briefly, and shuffled her feet a bit. It looked particularly awkward on her, considering she was usually so collected on things. "I'm uh... kero, I'm going to hug you now."

"Wha-?"

He didn't finish the word before Tsuyu quickly stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. His cheeks turned a deep red, and he hugged her back after a moment.

"You smell nice, kero."

"Th-th-thanks." He stuttered out. It was about all he could manage; it felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.

She broke away from him and began walking towards the house. "See you tomorrow, Midoriya!"

As she went inside, Midoriya began walking towards his own building. He made sure he was out of sight before fist-pumping triumphantly. If only he'd been aware of who else was having a good day because of the things he had told Asui...

--

The next day, the students of class 1-A piled into class, ready for this final week of the term to wrap up. After that, they would finally be able to go to their summer camp!

Provided they passed...

Which according to Aizawa, MOST of the class did, and he wordlessly posted the results. A moment later, a moan of despair came from Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, Sato, and Sero.

"OH COME ON, HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO BEAT THE PRINCIPAL WITH HIM AS MY PARTNER," Mina wailed.

Kaminari shrugged. "Yeah, she's not wrong. I'm pretty dumb."

Sero slammed his head on his desk. "Damn. I knew I couldn't be the Hokage with Mineta doing all the work."

"Bruh!" Kirishima grunted.

"BRUH!" Satou replied in staunch agreement.

Aizawa chuckled. "That's the reaction I was going for. Relax. Everyone is going on the camp."

There was a pause over the class as this information washed over them.

Then...

"WAIT, YOU LIED TO US?!" Mina cried.

Aizawa flashed his creepiest grin. If there was one thing he loved as a homeroom teacher, it was scaring the crap out of his students. "Yes. It was a logical ruse."

"I see!" Iida said, glasses flashing as everyone turned to look at him. "By putting such high stakes on our finals, you assured that we would all give it our absolute best to achieve the highest possible marks."

"Yeah," Aizawa agreed, taking a loud slurp of coffee, "that. However..." his smile dropped, revealing an even scarier face. "Those who failed WILL have to take nightly remedial courses to save their grades."

The five affected students groaned loudly.

"What a drag..." Sero sighed.

Midoriya laughed as Aizawa tried to round attention back up for Present Mic, who was assigning Othello to them all for summer reading. But even he had to admit... he was ready for the break from school that the summer camp would bring.