Midori the Girlfriend
Author's Note: Thanks Everyone who has been voting on the pairing for the third fic! So Far TodoDeku is in the lead but BakuDeku is not far behind. I've been giving some leverage to votes that had added weight in their reasoning. I like that you guys are so passionate about the shipping and it's precisely what's made the decision for the final coupling so hard. Thanks so much for your input and participation!
Chapter 9: Attack on Hosu
Izumi laughed into the phone as she talked with Bakugo on the other end. She'd finished showering and was now in full costume and waiting for Shoto. They were supposed to meet up with Endeavor and Gran Torino for evening patrol, but were running behind. She hoped Endeavor wouldn't lecture them too much.
"It can't be that bad, Kacchan." Izumi was on the verge of uncontrollable giggles as Bakugo ranted to her about his third day.
"Shut up! Stop laughing it's not funny Usagi!" He didn't have the nerve to tell her about his haircut or the etiquette lectures he'd been receiving but he was gonna rant about every other damn thing he could think of. "I made such a big mistake coming here. These guys are obsessed with appearance and niceties. I spent the entire day patrolling the damn city in a pair of skin tight jeans that are hard to walk in being ogled by the public as they fawn all over this douchebag."
"Well...hehehe...at least you're not the only one regretting your choice. I talked with Yao-chan during lunch and she's struggling to find anything hero like in Uwabami. It's all been modeling and acting and autographs."
"Tch I told you. It's a good thing you got Endeavor as a back up. As girly as you are you're stupid enough to prefer a punch to the face than putting on makeup."
A knot of irritation swelled at her temple.
"Did you just call me stupid?"
Bakugo tensed and mentally cursed himself. Stupid force of habit kept making him go through missteps.
"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." He clenched the phone bowing his head and shaking with irritation. "Sorry. I guess I'm taking my bad mood out on you."
Izumi smiled and pulled her legs up to her chest imagining his face as he apologized. Shoto stepped out of the shower and saw the sweet look on her face, and wondered who she was talking to.
"It's okay, Kacchan."
Shoto tensed up his hand fisting in the towel around his neck. He should speak up let her know he was listening but could only fall silent.
"You're always in a bad mood. I'm used to it." Izumi went on giggling.
"Usa-" Bakugo started to speak then clenched his teeth. He glanced up seeing his face in the mirror. He stared a moment then spoke again. "Izumi… why do people think I'm a villain?"
"Eh?" Izumi glanced at her phone in surprise then pressed it back to her ear. "what do you mean?"
"What is it about me that make people think I'm a villain?"
Izumi waited a beat wondering just what sort of talk Best Jeanist was putting into his head. "You're not a villain Kacchan. You come off aggressive, and angry, and it scares people…" She heard him make a struggling sound as if to bite on his temper. It made her heart ache a little. "I know you won't ever become a villain. Do you know why?"
"Why?" Bakugo whispered it.
"Because…" she smiled into the phone. "You've always been my hero."
Bakugo's eyes widened at that and his entire body went loose and calm. "What?"
"We've both looked up to All Might. He's our idol and our teacher and the goal we want to reach but neither of us have met him until recently. When we were kids even though you weren't always nice about it you were always looking out for me. You let me tag along and play with you and the others even though I was quirkless. Even though you picked on me all the time if anyone else started making fun or teasing me you'd send them running. I didn't appreciate it at the time because I wanted too much to be like you. I wanted to be strong, confident, and know I could take on the world. I looked up to you Kacchan just as much if not more than All Might, because I've always known you'd do everything it took to be a hero."
"Izumi…" touched Bakugo's face softened.
"I think… what Best Jeanist is trying to tell you ks that appearances matter in the world of heroes… but not all heroes are the same." She smiled into the receiver. "You just need to find the appearance that best suits you. One the world can admire as much as I do."
Bakugo didn't know what to say or how to feel hearing this. He clenched his chest and let out a shaky breath. He opened his mouth to respond but felt his phone being snagged out of his hand.
"Excuse me, but I'm gonna have to steal young Bakugo away." Best Jeanist spoke into the phone and immediately tied Bakugo up with his threads. To prevent him from lashing out. "He'll have to call you back later."
He hung up the phone. He saw the pigtail picture of Izumi from the Sports Festival and raised a brow. So, he thought, this was what put that look on the kid's face. He looked up at the struggling Bakugo who was tangled up and gagged in threads and fabric.
"Do you want to know how to win her back?"
Bakugo stopped struggling and his glaring eyes focused.
"I can teach you how...but you need to be compliant. We've only a few days left."
He let Bakugo drop and handed him back his phone. Bakugo sneered then looked down at his phone and the girl on the screen.
"If I do what you say will it really help me get her back?"
"She's your catalyst… how you feel about her will help you to find the softness in your appearance that will allow you to be accepted and loved by many. Smooth out all your harsh and rough edges, speak with dignity and politeness and you'll not only have what it takes to win back your girl, but become a fully rounded and accomplished hero."
You just need to find the appearance that best suits you.
Determined now, Bakugo narrowed his eyes on Jeanist.
"Alright fabric face you win… what do I have to do?"
~League of Villains~
Tomura watched from atop the water tower above Hosu city. Stain had leapt from the perch spewing forth his faulty justifications to the night air. It irritated him.
"There is some truth to what he says, Shigaraki Tomura. In the cities he's got there has been a fall in crime rate and a rise in hero morale and conscience."
"The Hero killer is also a hero breeder… tch too roundabout. As I thought we just can't coincide even in the simplest of terms. Kurogiri...bring out the Nomus."
The black mist swarmed behind him and Tomura snickered behind the hand covering his face. Three Nomu creatures came out from the mist their incoherent shrieks like music to Tomura's ears.
"He thinks he can get away with stabbing me? If I want to kill you I just will." He watched as the first Nomu jumped down and immediately cause destruction.
""I will crush your pride and your honor, sir. I'll create chaos… after tonight no one will even remember your name. "
~Hosu Hotel~
Izumi stared blankly at her phone when Best Jeanist cut them off. That was odd, but she shrugged it off then blinked up at Shoto who looked at her… strangely.
"Shoto?"
"Was that Bakugo you were talking to?" His voice remained passive, but there was something in Shoto's eyes that made Izumi fidget.
"Yes… he's not really enjoying his internship." She laughed trying to lighten the mood. "I let him vent… and encouraged him a little."
"Ah, I see." Shoto clenched his fist at his side. A little? She called him her hero… what greater compliment was there for an aspiring hero? He turned his back to her to finish putting on his costume and tensed up when he felt her arms come around him in a tight hug. "What is it?"
"I just… I can't help feeling that you're mad at me." Izumi held him tighter wondering why she felt so guilty and needed to comfort him as well as herself.
"Why would I be angry at you?" He was a damn jealous fool, that's why. Even if she had only meant it to comfort Bakugo, he couldn't get the sweet smile from when she talked to him out of his head. "Let go, Izumi. We're already running late. The old man will be pissed."
"Shoto…" she squeaked as the building suddenly rocked from a nearby explosion. Izumi let go and ran to the window to stare out and down the street where a building had gone up in flames. "What the…"
Another explosion hit and this time shattered the glass on their window.
"Izumi!" Anger forgotten Shoto grabbed for her as she toppled forward and nearly out the window. He held her to his chest, flames rising up chaotically outside and the flying beast causing the shock waves came into view.
"Nomu?!" Izumi went wide eyed as she watched the creature rise up, a helpless citizen caught in its talons. It rose high and slowly released its grip just letting the victim fall.
"Let's get out of here! We need to go down and help- Izumi!" Izumi ripped from his grip and leapt out the window snagging the victim mid air. In her powered up stage she bounced building to building lowering their height before safely coming down in front of the hotel.
Her hair and hood whipped at the storm of fire pulsating around them and her eyes took in the disastrous chaos flooding the streets. Heroes had gathered and were trying desperately to hold the villains off.
"Tenya-Kun! Where are you?"
The sudden panicked voice caught her ears and Izumi turned her head in the direction of the man in blue trying to put out the flames of an exploding bus. Manual? The Normal Hero? Wasn't that who Iida was doing his internship with?
"Damn! Where could Tenya have run off to?"
"You there…" another hero called to her. You're in the way. Please get yourself and these citizens to safety. "
She didn't hear the command but she ran with the crowd anyway. All she heard was Iida had gone off somewhere. It wasn't like him. Iida was reliable and diligent… if he wasn't here where he could help it meant he'd found the hero killer. Panic bubbled up in her throat as she struggled to think. He would have had to been on patrol… meaning near the Manual agency… and according to the information Endeavor provided the hero killers victims were found in alleys away from a lot of people. She kicked one for all into high gear and prayed she wasn't too late.
Shoto made it out of the hotel after helping others evacuate. His eyes searched frantically for Izumi but he didn't spot her. He called out her name even as he formed a wall of ice to put out the next wave of flames.
"Thanks kid but this place is dangerous. Go find your friend and help her with evacuations!" Manual told him.
Evacuations… he became a little relieved to know Izumi had gone out of harm's way but couldn't get rid of this feeling of dread. He rushed down the dark street where he heard the thunder of people running.
"Shoto!" Endeavor shouted as he walked up the street towards him. "What's the situation and where is your partner?"
"We got separated. The other heroes fighting the villains said she was helping with evacuations but I don't know where she could have…" His phone went off and he pulled it out looking at the display. He stared at it for a minute, before realization hit him and had his heart dropping to his stomach.
He took off running.
"SHOTO!" Endeavor yelled at him. Shoto rattled off an address at him as he ran.
"Take care of the situation up ahead and send whatever available pros to that location!"
Endeavor narrowed his eyes. His own phone had gone off but he had ignored it. Pulling it out, It only took him one look to see who it was from for him to understand why his son was in such a hurry. "That Girl…"
~Elsewhere~
Iida lay bleeding on the ground, his plan for vengeance was immediately halted nearly the moment it had begun. The Hero Killer was strong, and he was too blinded by rage and anger to see anything else around him. Todoroki had warned him hadn't he? Todoroki and Manual had warned him about the dangers of using his power for person agenda.
Still all he could see was his brother's broken body in the hospital, hear his weakened voice telling him he was no longer able to be the hero he looked up to. That he'd lost. The look in his brother's eyes had been so weak and broken, like he'd lost all the life he had. No… he couldn't accept it!
"I won't forgive you...I'll kill you!"
"Shouldn't you be worried about saving him, first?" Stain pointed his sword towards the Pro hero he'd been attempting to murder before Iida had interrupted him. Iida looked at the struggling hero, Stain's words burning his ears with painful truth. "Being taken in by hated before you and trying to fulfill your own desire… is the furthest from what a hero should be. That is why you'll die."
Stain lifted the blade up and out licking the blood from it, and Iida was immobilized instantly. He struggled even as his eyes looked up seeing the threat that towered above him. The blade rose above his head, and he felt the cold sweat of fear trickle across his back. He would die here!
"Goodbye. You're an offering to a more just world." The blade came down...
"Iida-kun!" Izumi's voice screamed out even as she zipped across the alley and punched the unsuspecting Stain straight in the face. He toppled back skidding away from Iida and she stood in front of him holding up her fists. "Thank god I was right."
"Mi...Midoriya?" Iida stared up wide eyed at the sight of his classmate and friend. She glowed with power and glanced back at him panting from her run.
"I came to save you, Iida." She said and turned her eyes to the Hero Killer.. Stain straightened and got his first good look at his assailant, and had to take a minute to process the face. This girl was the same in the picture Tomura carried around. Interesting.
"Midoriya, why are you here?"
"Don't be an idiot, Iida I knew when I didn't see you with Manual earlier that you'd gone after this guy. I wasn't about to let you take him on alone. Can you stand? We need to get to a bigger street."
"I can't move my body. I think it's his quirk, I've been paralyzed since he cut me."
"So that's how he activates it…" She had to be careful. She needed to veer Stain's attention away long enough so she could grab Iida and run. Her mind was formulating a plan… but then she saw Native slouched against the wall. "Another hero…" damn it. She could carry Iida no problem but she couldn't save both of them without putting herself and the others in danger. She had to think of something and fast. She reached behind her, slowly sliding her phone out of the pouch in her belt. Hoping she was tapping the right buttons she sent a mass message to everyone in her contacts list, and prayed they understood the message. She'd just have to fight
"Midoriya don't get involved!" Iida yelled at her. Shoto's words from before were a heavy burden on his chest making it painful to breathe. The fact she was here, that she would come made him feel even more miserable. "This has nothing to do with you!"
"You friend has come to save you. What a good line, but I have a duty to kill him." Stain told Izumi as they locked eyes. "If we clash, of course the weaker would be culled."
The callousness and pure simplicity in his words made her shudder. He was different than the guys from USJ. His eyes were those of a killer. This was gonna be a fight for their lives, no one would be spared. She felt the dread in her belly and she rose up her fists determined to defend herself and the two injured at her feet.
"Midoriya! Did you hear me? I said don't get involved! It's none of your business!"
"If that's true then heroes wouldn't be able to do anything!" Izumi screamed at him. Temper and fear had her body shaking. "All Might… All Might told me that meddling when you don't need to, is the essence of being a hero!" She wouldn't let fear, or Iida's negativity stop her. She would fight, protect, and buy time until the pros came to help. That was all she could do.
At her words, Stain's face changed. This girl, he thought, was different from the others. She had true heroism and was worth challenging, and worth letting live and bud into a true hero. Alright little girl, he thought unsheathing his blade. Let's see what fight you have to match your words.
Izumi raced forward cutting the distance between them. She knew she had to get in close otherwise he'd have the advantage with the longer reach. Still he was fast, and she had to zip under him and around him to avoid his blades. The moment she was behind him she let her fist fly and sent a shockwave of power that pulsed him up in the air, and she jet upward catching him mid flight and kicking him in the ribs. She felt a slight graze across her ankle, but didn't pay it much mind.
She saw him collide into a pile of trash cans and landed on all fours staying crouched and ready. Stain ran a tongue over his blade and immediately she felt her body go stiff and she tried to jerk free. Her eyes widen in realization. The knick… he'd managed to paralyze her from such a small graze?
… No.
"The blood…"
"Clever girl, and powerful. It wasn't so much speed but you used your movement to leave my field of vision. Still you're green. People who are all talk are a dime in a dozen, but you are worth letting live." He walked past her letting her eyes focus on Iida as he walked up to stand over him and finish the job.
"No! Please don't! Iida!" She screamed trying desperately to move her body. Break the quirk, break the hold… One for All, you'd done it before with shinso… help me! Don't let him die! "STOP IT!"
She screamed and the sudden flash of heat and fire had her wondering if she was hallucinating. She was relieved when she saw Shoto in the back of the alley, his left side lit with flame and his eyes piercing through the dark.
"Izumi… don't you ever pull another stunt like that again. You made me late." Shoto twisted his foot, ice shooting out, rising native and Izumi up onto a slope. then he pushed out the heat, the flames melting it into an arch that allowed their bodies to slide safely behind him next to Iida. "Don't worry! The pros will also get here in a few minutes."
Stain dodged and jumped avoiding the flames and ice attacks forcing him back from his prey. He eyed the newcomer.. .this guy was good like the girl, more practiced, and focused in his attacks.
"Hero Killer, I won't allow you to kill them."
"Shoto, don't let him see your blood. He can paralyze you by ingesting it orally, that's how he got all of us." Izumi quickly informed him her body still struggling as she lay limply on her side.
"So he paralyzes bodies by sucking on their blood. So long as I keep my dist-"
"LOOK OUT!" Izumi shouted, and Shoto was barely able to dodge the knife that grazed along his cheek
"You've got good friends, Ingenium!" Hero Killer laughed and moved to attack in close. Shoto quickly sent an ice wall up stopping the next attack. His eyes became diverted to the katana being thrown up in the air ,and he narrowly avoided having the hero killer taste the blood spilling down his cheek.
Izumi struggled watching Shoto. She wanted to help… had to do something. She couldn't stay down like this. Shoto let out a curse as a knife drove into his flaming arm and made the power die down. No! She had to fight it, had to break the hold, had to help-
Her fingers started to move, and her eyes snapped and sharpened. She was up, her power pulsing as she leapt and tackled Stain into the wall.
"IZUMI!"
"I can move again somehow!" She shouted to him as she dragged her opponent away from her friends
"A time limit?" Shoto wondered.
"No, that girl should have been the last of us. We still can't move." Native told him his body trembling but not moving.
Izumi grunted as the Hero Killer's elbow knocked into her. She fell and leapt up and out of reach. She saw the blade flying at her and used the metal tip of her boot to kick it away before it could slice at her.
"Izumi!" Shoto shouted at her keeping her aware of him as he used his fire to put a block between her and the hero killer. The wound on his arm bled profusely from him yanking the blade out but at least he had control again.
Izumi flipped and landed back to stand beside him and stay crouched on the ground.
" He's strong… but If I got free first then I can think of three possibilities on how his quirk works" She wiped sweat from her temple. "It gets weaker with more people… the amount ingested affects the time, or there's a difference in blood type."
"Blood type….yes that's right." Stain smirked. The girl really was clever. He hadn't expected her to move suddenly but that was the problem with Type O victims.
"I was hoping we could just carry these two out of here but he's too fast and can dodge my attacks. I can't leave myself that open." Shoto glanced down at her crouched form. "Our best bet is to hold out til the pros get here."
"You've already lost too much blood, Shoto." She revamped her power letting it sizzle along the skin. I can keep him distracted while you support me from behind."
"That's too dangerous...he has a longer reach than you do and if I hit you by accident-." Shoto hesitated, his head lowering some.
"I trust you… we've been training for this Shoto. We can do this." She slid her hand in his gripping it tightly. "So trust me to do my part."
"Alright…" His eyes lifted again to Stain who was braced for the fight. "You win." He thought of the two behind him. He couldn't worry about her when she was the one who was the least injured and most able to fight. More what did it say about him if he couldn't trust his partner to take care of herself? He knew she was right.
"Lets protect them."
~ask Briry~
Briry: I haven't died but it's getting close. If I don't get rid of this cold soon imma go bananas. Question from HiddenSpider (Good Halloween name.. Creepy… I LIKE IT!) Question for Izumi: Why don't you put your foot down with the fighting between Bakugou and Shoto?
Izumi: Oh I tried once… *face falls as she recalls a flashback* It didn't end well.
(Credit goes to Disney's Princess and The Frog)
Briry: Ah… right… and this one is from Irondragonsword… To Bakugo: what's your thoughts on izumi and shoto' s closeness?
….
Briry: Um…. Bakugo? Bakugo! BAKUGO!?
Bakugo: SHUT UP WOMAN I'M PLANNING A MURDER HERE!
Briry: Riiiiight… that's all the questions for today. Thanks for the continued support!
Next Chapter: Cause and Effect