The crunch of crisp autumn leaves echoed throughout the park as Izuku looked around.
"Oh, I'm back here again," he muttered quietly to himself.
It wasn't just him and his mom this time, however. In fact, as he looked around, he didn't find any forms that remotely resembled his mother. Rather, the park was full of children, no taller than he was in the five-year-old form he so often found himself wearing in his dreams. The children ran around, scampering through the golden field, their mothers sitting on benches along the perimeter of playground.
This wasn't the first time Izuku had this dream, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. The dream showed what he felt was the first time he realized he was going to be looked at differently by a lot of people. In the first times he had this dream, he tried, as he had when it happened, to go and play with the other children. Every time, without fail, he'd be interrupted by the whispers of the men and women watching from the periphery, imploring the other children to stay away from 'the poor, fatherless child.'
It wasn't long until Izuku learned that it would hurt less to stop trying in this dream – to just sit down and play by himself, and hope that he'd awaken soon enough. Izuku plopped unceremoniously to the ground. He sighed, wondering why things turned out the way they did. He was pretty sure the other kids wouldn't have known about his family life, and at that age, none of them would have cared. Why was it that the grown-ups seemed to care so much? He'd spent many a dream-night thinking about that until he landed on the conclusion that the adults around them probably didn't mean to cause him any harm; rather, they were just looking after their own kids, in their own, maybe ignorant, ways. Kids could be cruel, sure, but it was the grown-ups that could be cruelest, even behind good intentions.
He busied himself by picking up leaves and sorting them out by the shade of their coloring. He held them in his hands, thinking that if he squinted a little, it seemed as if he was holding fire in his hand. Wouldn't that be a great quirk?
He kept at it, not noticing that the playful running around him had turned urgent, more frantic. It was only when the park was seemingly empty that Izuku looked up from his leaf collection, sniffing in curiosity at a foreign scent permeating the air.
Sulfur. The acrid odor of flesh being seared.
Izuku blinked at that – how did he even know what that smelt like? He didn't have time to try to figure that out though, as when he had looked up, the form of a small faceless boy with an outstretched hand manifested.
Well, this is new, Izuku thought.
The boy stood still, apparently waiting for Izuku to reach out. Tentatively, Izuku raised his hand to meet the boy's. The two of them stayed frozen, hand in hand, for only a moment before a pair of eyes appeared on the boy's face. Izuku took an alarmed step back, breaking contact with the phantom.
The eyes – the eyes weren't human. They were large, with deep red irises, and black slits for pupils. Izuku felt his blood turn hot, and he felt more than saw the thick sheets of smoke that surrounded him and the entire park until it was completely enveloped in darkness.
The heat of soft morning light hit Izuku's face in streaks. It wasn't harsh enough for the sun to be too high in the sky, and his alarm hadn't sounded yet (at least, not that he knew), but he was thankful for the release from what was turning out to be a very frightening edition of his dreams.
Smoke. The smell of burning flesh.
Izuku scowled. If he focused a little, he could still smell –
His eyes shot open, realizing the smell wasn't just in his mind anymore. He bolted out of bed and raced past the door, where he could see billows of black smoke coming from the floor below. His mind went from lethargic to full alarm as he ran down the stairs, hoping against hope that he wouldn't find a large inferno below.
This entire house is a fire hazard! Izuku thought to himself as he rushed through the old wooden corridors, until he finally reached the source of the smoke –
There wasn't any fire in the kitchen, thankfully. Instead, the stove was encased in a large chunk of ice. Todoroki stood a few feet from it, mild alarm written on his face, hair disheveled so that the red and white blended to make his head almost pink. He was in boxers and a white tank top, and Izuku found himself staring. He had seen Todoroki in house-clothes just the day before, but he wasn't able to really absorb the image since he had been more worried about missing school at the time. The picture of Todoroki in his mind was always the one wearing a crisp school uniform with a perfectly done tie – it might take some time for Izuku to get used to seeing Todoroki so…cozy. One of Todoroki's hand was turned toward the frozen stove, while the other held a black spatula. Izuku stood rooted just under the doorframe to the kitchen. Todoroki slowly turned to him, cleared his throat, and spoke as if there weren't a glacier in the middle of the kitchen.
"Ah, Midoriya, did you want breakfast?"
Izuku stared, dumbfounded at the boy's composure.
"I'm afraid the stove is…umm," Todoroki stammered, "…it broke, you see…and…"
Midoriya confirmed his previous suspicions that none of his new housemates could cook, and found himself laughing heartily at the wake-up he'd received. Todoroki looked at him warily at first, but eventually relaxed into what might have been a shy smile. It was a few moments before Izuku could calm himself, and Todoroki looked away, sheepishly scratching at the back of his neck.
Izuku eyed around the kitchen, eventually landing on a bundle of bananas sitting on a counter away from the stove. "We could just have some fruit," Izuku suggested, grabbing the fruits. Todoroki nodded, sparing one last glance at the frozen kitchen appliance, before leading Izuku back into the living room with a sigh.
They sat on adjacent sides of the center table, just like the previous day, Todoroki quietly munching on his fruit.
"So…" Izuku started, hoping to get the boy's attention, "does that happen often?"
There was a split-second when Todoroki's steady demeanor betrayed some embarrassment, but he spoke steadily after swallowing.
"I don't cook often," he admitted, "Aizawa's usually in charge of breakfast. He and Bakugou" - Izuku didn't miss the amount of venom Todoroki seemed to charge into the blonde's name – "had to leave earlier to finalize details for his enrollment."
That would explain why the house was so empty. Izuku absently peeled his banana, wondering if Todoroki would answer if he asked why he and Bakugou hated each other so much. He decided against it, figuring he'd pried more than enough in the past few days. Besides, he had more important things to talk to Todoroki about.
"Todoroki, I wanted to thank you," Izuku said as he aimed a soft smile at the boy.
The boy stopped gazing at the distance, and his two-toned eyes met Izuku's.
"What for?"
"For getting my mom's picture for me…that parcel I mentioned yesterday before Bakugou came in. I don't know how you found it, but thank you." Izuku hoped his gratitude shone through. He looked down, smiling at his hands, missing the confusion that momentarily flashed on Todoroki's face. When Izuku did look up, what he saw was Todoroki smiling at the wall across him – smirking, more of – in a manner Izuku wasn't sure what to make of.
He looked like he was pleased at something, pleased in the way little kids were when they one-upped other children at the playground. Todoroki nodded slowly, as if incredibly satisfied.
"No problem. I didn't know it was your mom's picture, but it seemed to have meant a lot to you."
"It does…it's the only photo of her I could bear to keep," Izuku trailed off. He didn't want to start a crying episode so early in the morning, so he kept himself from oversharing. Todoroki wasn't the type who was too eager to pry or talk anyway, so it was probably all the same to him. The rest of the meal was silent, in a surprisingly comfortable way. It felt more like a quiet mealtime shared with a friend, and Izuku would never have guessed he'd find a friend in Todoroki, of all people. Well, at least he hoped this was the start of a friendship anyway, but Izuku was optimistic.
They separated only briefly to change into their school uniforms, before meeting back at the front porch to begin their trek to school. Todoroki may have raised an eyebrow at Izuku's sorry excuse for a necktie, but Izuku was glad that his classmate didn't say anything.
The walk to school was a lot less tense than the day before, and Izuku wondered at that too – how had things with Todoroki gotten so much easier? He wasn't about to question it, though, and while he doubted the boy wanted to hear him raving about his hobbies, he took great pleasure at how Todoroki seemed quietly content with listening to Izuku make small talk about the weather or the forest around them.
Just like last time, it was when they reached the main roads that Todoroki spoke up.
"Aizawa told me to clarify some things for you before we got to school today," he said, deep and low, like he really didn't want to do as he was asked.
Izuku nodded, but tried to reassure him nonetheless. "You don't have to, you know – "
"No, it's better this way. Since you know about our…condition, anyway."
"Okay."
"You already know about me and Bakugou. You probably have been wanting to ask, and yes, Aizawa's also cursed – he's the dog."
Izuku nodded again. Todoroki was right – he had been wanting to ask, but was just too shy to ask Aizawa directly.
"Also, there are a few more of us in school," his classmate continued.
Izuku perked up with curiosity at that. That was a good explanation for why Todoroki and the other zodiac members were enrolled at their school – if the family had people on the inside, it would be easier to cover accidents up.
"There's Yaoyorozu, she's the pig. And Kayama-sensei, she's the tiger."
Momo Yaoyorozu had been his classmate a few times in middle school. She seemed like a nice girl, if a little reserved. She was hardly as quiet as Todoroki – she had always come off as friendly enough to the rest of the class, but when Izuku thought about it, he never really knew her to approach other people to eagerly. In any case, that explained why she and Todoroki seemed to always be together. Izuku had a hard time imagining Yaoyorozu as the pig of the zodiac, though. Rumors everywhere always indicated that she had her fair share of admirers, and she'd hardly be described by anyone as a pig.
Nemuri Kayama as the tiger, on the other hand, he could see. Kayama sensei was their math teacher, famous throughout the school for her mature appeal. Izuku wondered if Kayama was assigned to their class precisely because Todoroki and Yaoyorozu had been in it. How much hold did Todoroki's family have on the school?
Todoroki seemed content with how much he had revealed, and Izuku spent the rest of the walk thinking up how maybe the "zodiac family" controlled the school board, and wondering if Yaoyorozu or Kamaya-sensei would ever show him their zodiac forms. He followed Todoroki absent-mindedly, trusting that his classmate knew where they were going. He only started paying attention when they had made their way up the three flights of stairs leading to their classroom, and only because there seemed to be a commotion coming from their within.
"Get your feet off the table! You're disrespecting all the upperclassmen that have passed through these halls!"
"I do what I fucking want, four-eyes!"
"How dare you speak with such foul language, you – you hooligan!"
Hooligan? Really, Iida?
Izuku shouldn't have been surprised, he supposed, as he and Todoroki walked into the room to find Iida standing stiffly over Bakugou, who'd gotten very comfortable in the seat in front of Izuku's. Iida had always been a sucker for rules, and while they'd had unruly classmates in the past, Izuku was sure none of them were quite as delinquent as the hot-headed blonde who sat with his feet resting lifted on his desk. He looked more like a gang member than a student, really, lounging about with his top shirt buttons undone and his tie nowhere in sight. The bickering teens turned toward the door at the sound of its sliding, and Izuku couldn't help but swallow at the tempestuous gaze levelled at him and Todoroki by the blonde. Izuku barely even knew Bakugou, had spoken all of ten words to him – why did Bakugou seem to have as much a problem with him as he had Todoroki?
"Deku," the blonde all but growled.
"Deku? Are you talking about Izuku? Izuku! You know each other?" Iida asked, something of relief in his voice. Izuku heard a sigh from Todoroki as Iida approached. "I'm not dealing with this," Todoroki muttered, successfully weaving past Izuku and toward his desk at the back of the room.
"Izuku, if you know each other surely you can talk some sense into your friend – "
"We're not friends!" the blonde screamed, now standing from the other side of the room. His outburst had Izuku inching back a little, and it even gave Todoroki reason to stop and watch the exchange carefully.
"Umm…" Izuku started, trying to string together words that wouldn't end up provoking the blonde, "he's right, I just recently met Bakugou – "
There it was again – the wincing whenever I'd say his name, what's that all about?
He vaguely registered that Iida had started going on a tirade about proper decorum and usage of school facilities, a lecture neither he nor Bakugou seemed keen to listen to. Izuku was trying to figure out how he'd offended Bakugou, who now looked, for whatever reason, almost dejected. The blonde sunk wordlessly into his chair, sitting properly this time, and glared intently at the blackboard. Izuku wondered if it were possible to switch chairs with someone in class, but doubted that anyone would be willing to swap with him and end up right behind their new, angry classmate.
It was still a few minutes before classes started, and since he had no plans of staying near the blonde for longer than necessary, he pulled at Iida's sleeve, interrupting his still ongoing speech, and led them to where Uraraka was sitting. Despite all the commotion, she didn't seem at all to have noticed Izuku's entrance or approach. Her entire attention was focused at whatever it was she was holding on her lap, under her desk. Izuku cleared his throat to get her attention.
Her head shot up, eyes filled with alarm, and there was little Izuku could do to stop the snort he let out. She looked like a child who'd been caught doing something she wasn't meant to. Iida noticed her panic, too, and raised an eyebrow.
"Ochaco, what are you hiding?"
Her eyes were the size of saucers at this point, and Izuku could see the effort she was exerting to try to put whatever it was under her desk into her bag.
"H-hiding? I'm not hiding anything!" She said unconvincingly, waving one hand around, the other obviously busy trying to make something disappear under her desk.
"You're not bringing contraband items to school ground, are you?" Iida asked, voice rising in alarm. Uraraka stood up on impulse, no doubt wanting to have Iida keep his voice down, but in her haste, she dropped whatever it was she was hiding. Izuku snickered to himself as he dashed forward to pick it up from the floor before she could stop him.
"No, Izuku, don't!" she shouted, fear marked on her face.
Nedzu: Detective Extraordinaire, Volume 19. An Adult Novel by Midnight.
It was a thin book, the cover featured some sort of animal – a large dog? A small bear? – dressed in a waistcoat and slacks, running through alleys at night with an…. attractive, skimpily-dressed woman slung on his shoulders.
"Izuku…" Uraraka said warningly, as Iida all but gaped at the novel in Izuku's hands.
"M-m-midnight?" Iida stammered, "isn't that a writer for erotic – "
Izuku had already turned to a random page, curiously reading whatever was written.
"Oh Nedzu, I'm so glad it's you."
Yu Takeyama. Blonde. Voluptuous. It's been years since we'd gotten…acquainted. She flutters her eyelashes at me. Ha! Oldest trick in the book! Last time we met, she was also tied up, but for…very different reasons.
"I'm here now, Yu," I said, trying to reassure her. I knew she was playing a game, but for now I'd play along. I approach her slowly, reach out toward her ample bosom –
Izuku slammed the book closed. He was sure even the tips of his ears were red, having been able to scan the rather racy events that followed. Neither he nor Uraraka could look at each other as he wordlessly offered the book back to her. She took it and quickly hid it in her bag.
"I can't believe you read that!" Iida whispered, clearly embarrassed to even be anywhere near the book.
"It's – it's literature!" Uraraka retorted. "Wait a second," her eyes narrowed at Iida. "How do you know about Midnight?" She smirked triumphantly, knowing she had succeeded in deflecting their attention.
It was Iida's turn to sputter. "Wh – what? It's because my – my brother, yes, my brother, you see – "
Uraraka's smirk darkened as Iida continued to make excuses.
Izuku was mortified. Sure, they were teenagers, but he'd never imagined Uraraka to be the type – let alone rule-abiding Iida! The bell rang before Uraraka could get Iida to incriminate himself further, and everyone else in the room scrambled to get back in their seats. Iida looked the most relieved that the interrogation would have to stop. Before Izuku could go back to his own seat, Uraraka tugged at his uniform coat.
"You still need to explain why you were gone yesterday, okay?"
Izuku offered her a meek smile. Of course, she wouldn't forget. "During lunch, okay?"
She nodded in agreement.
Izuku sat at his desk, quietly arranging all his school supplies, and pointedly trying to ignore the aggression radiating from the blonde boy in front of him. He bounced back from pouting, then. Their homeroom advisor would arrive any minute now, and Izuku decided to use the mean time to look around at who else was in their class. There were a few familiar faces – Itsuka Kendo and Neito Monoma had been his classmates once during primary school.
Toward the front there was also Denki Kaminari, with his trademark black-streaked blonde hair. He seemed to be friends with one of the people Izuku hadn't seen before, a girl with pink skin and hair, with large pure black eyes. She'd probably have looked creepy if she weren't so…pink.
A few rows behind him were Todoroki and Yaoyorozu. Izuku wondered if Todoroki had told Yaoyorozu about Izuku. Would she talk to him? Could they be friends now? In front of them, another new classmate: a boy with, surprisingly enough, the head of what might be a crow, or some sort of black bird.
Boisterous laughter from outside the room caught everyone's attention. The door swung open, and in came a man that looked more like a wrestler than an educator, with his impossibly broad shoulders, slick blonde hair, and striking blue eyes. The man was built like a mountain, and his voice was as large as he looked.
"Sorry I was away for a few days, but worry not students – I am here!"
Izuku was certain everyone was as dumbfounded as he was. This giant couldn't possibly be a high school teacher.
"My name is Yagi Toshinori, and I'm so pleased to meet all of you!" he said with an infectious smile, punctuating his statement with another bout of laughter. Izuku couldn't help the smile that tugged at his face. There was something about this man that just seemed to lift the entire room. He looked around to see everyone's previous confused expressions meld into once of excitement and awe. Except Bakugou anyway, who kept his scowl trained forward.
"I was out of the country for a teaching conference, which is why I missed the first few days of class. You can call me Yagi-sensei. I'll be your homeroom advisor as well as your English teacher. I look forward to getting to know every one of you!"
They went through some standard start-of-school activities – a brief roll call and setting up of house rules. Yagi-sensei mentioned they'd be electing officers in the coming weeks, but that was something they would deal with later. The man spoke confidently, keeping a large smile plastered onto his face the entire period. Izuku wondered what Yagi-sensei's secret was to be so radiantly happy – maybe he could teach Bakugou some tricks.
"Some of your other teachers in the past may have had you all introduce yourselves in front of class, but I'd like to involve your English skills in the activity too! It's Wednesday today; by next Monday, I'd like you all to submit a short essay that talks about you, and what you feel has been the most defining event in your young lives so far. All in English!"
A collective groan resonated throughout the class. More schoolwork so early in the semester was never appealing, and an entire essay in English even less so.
"Don't look so down, young ones!" the teacher said, clearly amused at their reaction, as he started gathering his belongings. "It won't be graded, I just want to get to know you!" he continued, as he walked out of the room cheerfully, just before the bell rang to signify the start of their next periods.
Izuku sighed to himself. He wasn't looking forward to having to write an essay in English, but if Izuku were being honest, he was probably better at the language than a lot of his classmates. His mother loved reading to him, and her love for stories and books was something he inherited, and he'd never restricted himself to just Japanese novels – there were too many English works that were important to the world, after all. So, it wasn't the language that worried Izuku about the essay, but the content.
The most defining moment in my young life?
He didn't trust himself to write about his mom – it was still too fresh. That left him…well, nothing else to talk about, really. Almost everything about his life so far had been anchored on his mom. Hell, even how he ended up as friends with Iida and Uraraka, in a lot of ways, could be attributed to her.
"Stop muttering, Deku," a low guttural voice came from before him.
Right, I'm seated behind this piece of work.
Izuku sighed again, but that apparently served to egg the other teen on even more.
"Stop sighing like a middle-aged lady too, damn nerd." Bakugou's shoulders were clearly tense, and Izuku could almost see a slight tremble at how hard Bakugou was gripping his pen. Izuku was feeling a bit daring. Sure, he didn't want to physically fight with the blonde, but he wasn't just going to sit and shake at the boy's anger management issues.
"Why do you call me Deku?"
"Cause that's what you are. That's what your name is, right?"
"No, my name is Izuku Midoriya."
The blonde violently ripped a page off his notebook and scribbled something on it. Without turning, he slammed the sheet onto Izuku's desk. There, in almost familiarly illegible kanji, were two characters that could be read as 'Izuku', but now that he looked at it, it could also be read as –
"There. Deku. Do you understand now? Or do I have to spell it out for you again?"
Izuku gaped at the sheet. Bakugou called me Deku the first time he saw me – before he even knew my name – this isn't a real explanation. There were a lot of questions he had about Bakugou, and a lot of things weren't adding up at all. He tried running through everything that had happened since their first meeting the previous day, only to be interrupted by Bakugou slamming his chair back toward Izuku's desk.
"I told you to stop mumbling, are you deaf now too?"
Someone from the front cleared their throat. Izuku hadn't even noticed that their second period teacher had arrived and was eyeing the two of them warily. "Is there something the two of you would like to share with the class?"
Izuku swallowed, feeling his cheeks heat up in shame. Bakugou grunted, choosing to ignore the teacher and return his attention to his own desk. Izuku shook his head weakly, hoping it would be enough to appease their teacher. The last thing he needed was trouble so soon, and all because of the angry blonde boy.
The teacher returned to explaining their mathematics syllabus in a steady monotone, but Izuku could hardly pay attention. Bakugou was proving even more mysterious than Todoroki was when he first transferred, despite being much louder. Izuku wondered if there would be a time in the future when Bakugou would talk to him with more than just grunts and snide comments. Miracles happened, right? After all, he and Todoroki had somehow become maybe-friends, right?
The next few periods went by quietly, Izuku working hard to ensure that he didn't provoke the wild animal in front of him. Are cats usually this temperamental? Izuku privately hoped whatever it was that was between them could be resolved soon – he hated having to walk on eggshells around angry people. For the time being, Bakugou seemed intent on ignoring not just him, but everyone else in class. Some students nearby tried to chat him up in the breaks between classes, but he pointedly just put his head down – either to sleep or just ward them away. Izuku snuck a quick glance at Todoroki, who just shrugged and rolled his eyes. He was surprised, though, when he caught Yaoyorozu giving him a small wave and a warm smile.
Todoroki must have filled her in, then.
It was already the period just before lunch, history with Kayama-sensei (who, Izuku reminded himself, was apparently part of the zodiac). He hoped it would go by peacefully just like the last few periods, without any more issues with his new neighbor, but unfortunately for all of them, that period was precisely when things took a nosedive.
The rest of the class was probably slow to notice since most of them were busy ogling Kayama-sensei. Izuku had been trying to focus, fully aware that he had to catch up for what he'd missed the previous day, when his attention was caught by the sound of purring under his desk.
He looked up from his notebook, up at Bakugou rigid posture, and his eyes darted to the legs of Bakugou's chair. There was a small ginger kitten that had curled itself around the leg, sleeping with utmost satisfaction. A lone kitten was easy to miss (though he wondered how nobody noticed a cat jumping into the room), but soon, bigger cats were climbing through the windows beside them, and settling about Bakugou. Bakugou was shaking restlessly. There were whispers from around the rest of the room, as their classmates started taking notice. Kayama-sensei raised an eyebrow when she saw the litter of cats surrounding Bakugou, but just smirked and carried on with the lesson.
It was obvious to Izuku that Bakugou was doing everything he could to keep facing forward. He probably can't wait to be able to scream and shout and throw a tantrum at all the animals around him. Uraraka was gaping at Bakugou, and Iida was doing a relatively good job of ignoring Uraraka prodding him from behind. The pink girl and Kaminari were unsuccessfully hiding their sniggering. Izuku tried looking back at Todoroki, only to find him and Yaoyorozu both pointedly not looking at Bakugou, their hands both glued to their foreheads. Izuku couldn't help but giggle at how exasperated they both looked.
"Deku, shut your trap."
Before Izuku could reply, he felt a tug at his coat from the student beside him – a girl with short dark hair and strange wires attached to her earlobes. She was also doing a poor job at hiding her giggles as she pressed a sheet of paper onto Izuku's desk.
Izuku opened the sheet, and read it. His only mistake was muttering what was written under his breath.
Who would have thought angry boy was such a furry?
"I'M NOT A FUCKING FURRY, YOU SHITTY DEKU!"
Before Izuku could even blink, Bakugou was on his feet, spitting obscenities at his face while cats of different colors and sizes all bolted out the window. Bakugou's table had been flipped to the wall, and his hands were letting out small dangerous sparks at Izuku's desk. The room echoed with laughter at Bakugou's tantrum.
"B-Bakugou, it was only a joke," he tried, full well knowing how weak his excuse sounded.
"Joke my ass! You all havin' a good time laughing at me, huh?" Bakugou glared hotly at the rest of the class. Kayama-sensei still looked like she hadn't recovered at the initial shock from Bakugou's outburst. Most of the class kept laughing, and after a while, Bakugou started looking less angry and more embarrassed. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu looked on with stern expressions. Izuku wasn't sure what to say – their classmates probably were just joking, but Izuku knew what it felt like to be in a room full of people who just laughed at you. He felt a pang as he saw Bakugou's distressed expressions; the boy resembled a cornered animal at this point, and it hurt to look.
"Bakugou…" Izuku whispered, absently reaching out to try to calm the boy down. Bakugou noticed his hand approaching and slapped it away. "I don't need you giving me that look, useless nerd!"
Kayama-sensei seemed to have regained her composure, as she shot a steely look at Bakugou. "Katsuki, that's quite enough – "
"Don't tell me what to do, Kayama!"
Most of the class didn't know Bakugou and their teacher were related, so they probably thought he was being incredibly disrespectful. Most of the class shut up at that, shocked at their classmate's audacity. Bakugou just swept a last glare at all of them before running to the side and jumping out the window.
Les Feuilles Mortes, Yves Montand: watch?v=Xo1C6E7jbPw