I own nothing. Warning, may contain Out of Character moments.
Another day, another step closer to their date with destiny… Everything started as normally as it possibly could, energy levels on the rise since members of 1A had a personal revelation. And no longer was there an oppressive atmosphere surrounding their Dorm, affording its residence some respite from the incident that's still in their minds. But it was only a half an hour past noon that something began to happen…
"Iida-chan, what are you doing?" Putting a hold on her sweeping, Tsuyu saw the class president moving a number of desks and chairs into a space he cleared out earlier. What's more was that these pieces of furniture were exactly like the ones that occupy their classroom back in the main building. Bakugou emerged from the kitchen and scowled at the sight.
"The fuck you doing engine block? The shit's all this?"
Iida soundly ignored the stares and questions of his classmates as he continued to work, moving in more and more desks and chairs into the Dorms. With a shrug, 1A left the speedster to his work seeing that there was usually a method to his madness. But because the common area became a high traffic area with his efforts, those staying on the first floor were forced to relocate to their respective rooms. Even with the weather clearing up, there was just no reason to head outside. So they waited… Until a message on their phones told them otherwise.
"Everyone, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like you all to come down dressed in your school uniforms."
Bakugou stared at the request in the class chatlog as other responses came in, mostly to ask for class president's reason for such a decision. There was no answer from him however, leaving them all to discuss their bewilderment by themselves.
Ashido: Anyone know what's up with the Pres?
Aoyama: Non, monsieur Iida's behavior eludes me.
Sato: Still, should we listen and see what he's up to?
Kouda: I think we should, he sounded serious…
Tokoyami: Agreed.
Ashido: It's just one thing after another huh?
Tokoyami: No rest for the wicked.
Sero: Still better than stewing around all day. See you guys downstairs.
Jirou: Yeah, see you.
There were no further responses from his classmates, leaving the explosive Hero wondering what he should do. On one hand, Bakugou should go knowing that he'll be dragged into it one way or another. On the other… Actually, there was no other option there no matter how hard he envisioned or searched his mind for it. What's the problem? He never had an issue with leaving them to their own devices before…
"Kacchan… Could you please look after everyone?"
A quiet murmur escaped his lips and before he knew it, he began undressing. "God damn it nerd…"
It didn't take more than a few minutes for the familiar dark green slacks, white dress shirt, and grey blazer to find themselves on Bakugou's body. Before leaving his room, the human grenade looked towards the red tie that was still packaged neatly atop his clothes drawer. Not once has he put it on since his admittance into UA… But as he stared at it, he felt compelled to put it on for the same reasons he decided to wear his uniform.
"Just this once…"
He slipped the red strip of cloth around his undershirt collar and made a fine full Windsor knot. And once he buttoned up the jacket, Bakugou looked in the mirror and his lips be pulled into a smirk.
"Take that Deku, I know how to tie a tie!"
Though that declaration rung hollow within his mind… He sighed and left his room. The explosive Hero didn't encounter anyone else as he made his way down, probably meaning that they've already gone down. Whether the rest of 1A put on their uniform or not is up in the air and that would make one awkward encounter if he's the only one who did. But Bakugou doubts he's the only one who would do such a thing. His suspicions have been proven correct but there was another element that threw him off. Those desks that Iida brought in were arranged in a four by five manner with a white board at the front. Not only that, each member of 1A were sitting down in accordance to their seating chart. The only exception for this was Iida, who was standing next to the board with his desk being occupied by Eri. As for Midoriya's desk…
There was a plush bunny dressed in Deku's Hero costume sitting atop its surface. Bakugou looked between the one horned girl and the toy, remembering that it was a gift from the nerd when they all celebrated Eri's birthday. It was a fairly big effort since the girl wasn't sure when she was born and many of her medical records were lost, a cover up made by the gang who held her captive. But that was a while back... Though seeing it now has certainly triggered memories of better times where smiles and laughter ruled this space…
"Bakugou-kun! Please take your seat! We're about to start!"
The explosive Hero just stared at the class president as did everyone else, the question on their minds blindingly obvious. Tokoyami slowly raised his hand as Iida turned to face his crow headed classmate.
"I think we'd all like to know what your intentions are for all of this. Arranging the desks, having us in uniform… What kind of ritual is this?"
"… Very well, I suppose you should all know since I'm using your precious time. But first, Bakugou-kun, please sit down."
The explosive Hero said nothing before slowly weaving through the desks and took his place in the desk in front of the one with the plush bunny. Looking at each one of them, the class president took a deep breath and his face became soft with wistfulness as he stared at the desk of his lost friend.
"Despite the battles we've been through, the trauma we've experienced, a period of calm always followed to bring us back to normalcy. Though these moments were adrenaline inducing in its own way, the Sports Festival was much more relaxed than the USJ attack. We never had to worry about the safety of our lives… Never had to worry about the things that we could lose… Never had to consider how our laughter and smiles could be stolen away… But the reality is that we're always standing on the knife's edge, conflict finding ways to disrupt our peace. And when such troubles find us wanting, we end up buckling to the pressure and become haunted by our weakness. As these last two weeks could attest to…"
There was a nod from each of them, even from Bakugou. Always, there was someone or something that emerged from the shadows to ruin what calm their youths could still offer them. And just recently, they've lost a dear friend… Never again will they see those emerald eyes twinkle with the light of hope… Even if they found themselves moving onwards, the grief had already etched itself onto their hearts.
"Still, no matter the scenario he found himself in, Midoriya-kun refused to surrender to any adversity and ran after that impossible horizon. No matter who pushed him down or refuted his dreams to be a hero, Midoriya-kun would always find his way back to the road we travel and followed. So why not be like him?"
"Are you saying we should sweep Midoriya under the rug like some dust?" Todoroki aimed his dual colored glare right at the class president, its intensity capable of burning and freezing anyone like his Quirk. Iida was undaunted however, simply adjusting his glasses before addressing his classmate.
"Make no mistake Todoroki-kun, if I were to trivialize Midoriya-kun's passing like that, I would cast away the Ingenium name and throw myself off a roof. Like a country after a devastating war, I want us to both commemorate the Heroes who sacrificed themselves to deliver us peace and rebuild so that we could return to the lives we lived before it all went wrong."
"But could we really go back without Midoriya?" Todoroki asked, glare still as intense. But like before, the class president didn't give an inch to such a threat. In this match of willpower and mental fortitude, the powerful son of Endeavor and the inheritor of the Ingenium line were equals.
"No… But we shouldn't squander his efforts and waste our lives in mourning. Midoriya-kun would want us to live to the fullest and become the Heroes that would carry on his will. To be the ones who bring back others from the brink… At least that's what I believe. It's why I went through all this effort, to restore a sense of normalcy after the tragedy that's affected us. So we could feel more at ease moving forward past this point… Does this answer satisfy you, Todoroki-kun?"
Eyes fell back to the scarred Hero in Training, seeing his glare soften as a small smile formed on his face. It was always rare to see Todoroki without a scowl, but it would always mean that he was at ease. And as such, his relaxed expression caused the rest of 1A to brighten.
"Yeah… So is this the Hero you want to become Iida? The man who brings back the routine?" He asked. Before the class president could respond, a laugh invaded the conversation and reminded the two that they weren't the only ones in the conversation.
"That…! That…! THAT SOUNDS SO LAME!"
Mina banged her head on her desk as she could no longer keep upright from her fit of laughter. Only a few joined in on the alien queen's chorus of amusement, but there were smiles on their faces. Bakugou admitted with a smirk, that was the lamest title anyone could ever receive, and Iida would definitely fit it perfectly. Still, despite this moment of joyous tumult, Todoroki remained as serious as ever, though that only added to the humor of the situation.
"What? I think it sounds good."
"Todoroki-kun… You aren't exactly the most creative person here…" Uraraka mumbled, it was still loud enough for everyone to hear. And of all people, Eri followed up on the girl's comment with a tactless response of her own.
"Mama's right Shoto onii-san, remember that ice sculpture you tried to make."
Now that almost caused the explosive Hero to break out into a cackle. There was a point where Todoroki was trying to further improve his ice control by using that half of his Quirk to make sculptures. But while his control was excellent, his artistic ability wasn't, and the results of his efforts was… Strange to say the least.
"It was supposed to be a cat…"
"Anyhow, is everyone satisfied as to why I've gathered you here? If so, I shall explain WHAT we shall be doing this afternoon." Iida said. But before he could continue, Todoroki raised his hand as he recovered from the memory of that icy piece of trash he called art.
"Iida, if I may, I had something planned for us."
They all turned to their dual colored classmate who sat at the back and stared. When it came to Todoroki, he was more of a follower when it came to group activities. And given his track record with leadership, there's a good reason why it's the skill he needs to work on the most. So this declaration was a genuine surprise to all of them. The scarred Hero pulled out a stack of 24x13 inch colored paper, bottles of clear glue, plenty of long bamboo fiber sticks, wire, and a box of pens of various colors. Now the class was even more mystified…
"Todoroki-san? What is all that for?"
"To be honest Yaoyorozu, I'm not sure since this is the first time I'm suggesting anything like this… But I might as well try. I want us to make sky lanterns."
"Sky… Lanterns? Then what are the pens for?" Kyouka asked.
"On the lantern body, I want us to write down what we felt about Midoriya. Not all of us were honest with him… So I now think we should give him that honor."
"Are you sure you want us to do that? Not all of us may have something kind to say…" Shouji's eyes went to the class' human grenade, the others immediately followed the six-armed giant's gaze and found a chill running up their back. Mostly because they found him glaring back… Though the steadiness in his voice was just as unnerving.
"Unlike the rest of you, I've been completely straight with that nerd. I don't have anything to write about him"
"But Uncle, all you do was insult Papa… Can't you write something nice about him just once?"
The explosive Hero turned to the young voice that dared to challenge him. But when his own red eyes, sharp with fury, met Eri's red eyes so full of sorrow, he couldn't bring himself to argue his reasons with her. What was there to argue anyway? That he had nothing good to say about Midoriya? Of course he had something half decent to say, but it was just…
"Look shrimp, what goes on between Deku and me is complicated alright? I can't explain it, but trust me, it's weird."
"Can't you just try though?"
Those damn innocent, sad, puppy dog eyes of hers was going end of him. He frowned, shaking as he clenched his fist to quell the rising frustration at the current situation. The explosive Hero needed to try and refuse the one horned girl's request… Though that ultimately failed and he caved.
"Alright! I'll give it try!"
Eri's eyes brightened a little to Bakugou's declaration, with Uraraka moving around to give the little girl a pat on the head. With that, Todoroki began distributing the materials for the class to get started. Due to the nature of such a project, the class began working in pairs to make the lanterns. It was agreed that there should be twenty lanterns in the end, one from each of them filled with their honest feelings to Midoriya.
For the most part, the pairs worked in relative silence, an unavoidable symptom of having to pour their hearts out onto paper. But as the minutes passed, a voice spoke up and disrupted the quiet that loomed over 1A.
"Todoroki, is there a reason why you wanted to do this? Not that I'm complaining, it's just rare to see you come up with something for us to do."
The dual colored Hero's eyes first went to Mineta before he looked down at the completed body of his lantern. Already could Todoroki feel the others gazing upon him for an answer to the imp's good question. Few came to his defense however, seeing that there was clearly personal reason for doing so.
"W-Well you d-don't have to tell us… W-We understand if it's too p-personal…"
"…No Kouda, everyone deserves to know seeing that you're taking the time to do this… There was a point when I began acting differently, from aloof ally to close friend… Do you remember when it started?"
"Hmm… I believe your change in attitude occurred after the UA Sports Festival. Past that, you were much more approachable." Iida gave a nod to his Vice Class President and began elaborating, drawing 1A's attention to him. It was important for the speedster to be the one to acknowledge this, as it was this change that saved his life against Stain. A truth that came out before their final confrontation with Shigaraki and his League of Villains.
"Yes, after the Sports Festival, you were able to ally yourself with others more readily. The incident with Stain is a testament to that willingness. I wouldn't be here had you and Midoriya-kun not come to my rescue."
"Yeah… That match I had against Midoriya was life changing… You all know how much I hate my old man yes?"
"Of course, you hastily accepted that effigy I made for your birthday." Tokoyami replied with a nod.
"As distasteful as that was, it was oddly satisfying to watch that man burn…" The rest of them stared at Ojiro, who then ducked out and became focused on making his lantern. Kaminari and Tooru just patted the martial artist's back as the attention went back to their scarred classmate.
"Thanks for that by the way, anyway… Growing up, I had nothing but spite for him and I did everything in my power to deny his existence. As a result, I've resolved to only use the half I inherited from my Mother. I would've been satisfied graduating with just that… Yet…"
"You used your fire half against the nerd that day… And only him…" Bakugou said. The explosive Hero could still feel the frustration of the Festival's final battle between him and Todoroki. That moment where he failed to get his scarred classmate to go full power against him was a blow to his ego… Since it made him look weaker than Midoriya who managed to draw it out…
"The lengths Midoriya went through during our battle… The way he tore his body apart… I wondered why he was going so far... But do you know what he said to me? He said he wanted to live up to other's expectations, to be able to smile and respond to them… To be a cool Hero. And it made me remember something I've long forgotten…"
Todoroki looked upon his left hand and closed it into a fist, the words of his Mother coming back to him. It was just the two of them, watching an interview of All Might in secret when Endeavor was away. The former number one Hero explained that, though children inherit Quirks from their parent, children should create their own identity and recognize themselves. That is how All Might could say 'I am here!', to emphasize that there is no one else like him.
The scarred Hero could remember the wonder he felt in his heart as he listened to him… As his Mother told him kind words that ended up buried beneath the trauma and abuse… Todoroki looked up to his classmates, eyes shining with the same light they've seen after the Sports Festival.
"I didn't have to be a prisoner to my blood. That it's okay for me to become who I want to be. And from that point on, I began thinking about where I wanted to go… Who I wanted to be… The kind of Hero I wanted to be…"
"Is that why you asked me if this was the kind Hero I wanted to be?" Iida was gesturing to the desks he spent so long moving in and arranging. Todoroki nodded and began looking towards the empty desk with the plush rabbit sitting atop of it. Going into UA, he wasn't planning to make any lifelong friends as he was too occupied with his grudge… Yet after Midoriya battled him that fateful day, he found himself being drawn in by this blessed mess and became part of its madness. And it would be something that he wouldn't come to regret…
Even if the wound from losing Midoriya still bled…
"Shouto onii-san, did you figure out what kind of Hero you wanted to be?" Todoroki turned to Eri, her own lantern coming together nicely with its white and green body. A small smile spread across his lips as he could answer the one horned girl honestly on this. After much thinking after awakening from the shock of losing a beloved classmate, the dual colored Hero could say this much.
"The kind of Hero I want to be is… Someone who could bring people together to enjoy the little things. Where anyone could laugh and smile around a warm fire surrounded by good food, great company, and no worries… But even if I'm not good at this kind of thing, I'll keep trying until I get someone to smile. Like the Deku who drew in others with his warmth, I'll tame the inferno so that the weary can feel welcomed. Like a flame to a moth…"
Silence.
"That's the wrong idiom, isn't it?"
Bakugou made no attempt to hide his cackling, with it ripping through the common room space. A several others had to hold back their own laughter as the rest could only give an uneasy smile over their classmate's mistake. Todoroki became down cast, his own inspirational declaration cut down by an improper choice of words. He was fifth on the Class' academic chart, shouldn't he have a more appropriate idiom to choose from?
"Don't worry about it man, you still got your point across. In fact, it maybe even better since we all got a good laugh out of it." Sero said smiling.
"You're laughing at him though." Tsuyu, despite looking down, was still as blunt as ever with her words. Todoroki frowned as he looked at each of his classmate's faces, all of them displaying varying stages of laughter. But as he studied them, the more he found a smile of his own spreading across his face. The scarred Hero found himself giving a light-hearted chuckle, a sight that was refreshing as fresh cut grass.
"I guess that is pretty funny."
"Glad you think so Half and Half. Now let's get this thing over with…" Bakugou then resumed to the creation of his lantern, others following suit but with a greater spring in their step than before. The conversations that replaced the silence ranged from somber to hopeful, breathing life into the inhabitants of the 1A dorm. And before long, the twenty lanterns have been completed and were ready to take flight.
"Man, it's dark out here… Where are the stars?" Mina began scanning the sky, noting that there was nothing but plumes of clouds darkened by the cover of night. Despite the amount of light that emanated from the city of Musutafu, one could still see a healthy number of stars if the night time weather was good. But despite the morning being partly cloudy, the evening wasn't so kind as there wasn't a single gap in the blanket that coated the sky.
"And to think we could've finished this day beneath the marvel of a starlit sky… Only to be disappointed." Aoyama sighed.
"I couldn't ask for better weather. Tonight, it'll be our lanterns that'll act as stars for others to gaze upon in wonder." There was visible amount of surprise that Todoroki came up with something so poetic, though he ignored them and began preparations. A few shook off the shock and began helping the dual colored Hero set up for the launch of their evening efforts, arranging the lanterns in a circle and off the ground. Only for Iida to remember something…
"Todoroki-kun, did you tell a figure of authority we'll be flying some sky lanterns? Because doing so without permission is illegal."
The boy with a scar froze and didn't move for the longest while. Yaoyorozu approached and shook her classmate's shoulder, though she could already see the outcome of this conversation.
"Todoroki-san? You got permission to do this… Right?"
"I should've went with the paper cranes…"
A groan at away at the space, gloom taking over the once energetic atmosphere and caused 1A to slump their shoulders. A few even started to shamble back to towards the Dorm, only for Bakugou to stop them with a declaration.
"Fuck it, let's do it."
"Bakugou! Watch your language! Eri's still here!" Even when depressed, the gravity bending Hero was still very protective of her surrogate daughter and would instantly lash out at anything that dared to threaten her. And that included any kind of vulgar language that Eri might pick up. Though the girl's thoughts immediately went to the other thing the explosive Hero said. "Wait… You want to fly them?"
"We've spent all night making them, so we might as well. I'll take the fall if someone asks about all of this, just get to flying."
Though there was an obvious change in Bakugou's demeanor these past few days, it still never stopped bothering them that he was becoming more involved. But what he just said just blindsided them… When had the human grenade developed a self-sacrificing spirit?
"Dude, we could fly these another time. No need for the trouble." Kirishima said, grabbing Bakugou's shoulder. He didn't shake it off like he normally would, but the explosive Hero still gave resistance.
"Listen… It's clear that you losers need some catharsis right now, so I want you to light these things and let go those of problems. Isn't that why you chose to use lanterns Half and Half?"
"That's right… But what about…?"
"Didn't you say you want to bring us together? It's illegal yeah, but did that ever stop Deku from doing what his heart felt was right? He's always charging in to save someone's sorry ass, never thinking about the rules he could break. So, just this one time, let's not worry about any of that and just do what we feel is right. If something goes wrong, I'll deal with it and that'll be that."
There was a pause, to contemplate and weigh the worth of Bakugou's words. Even Iida, their straight laced rule abiding class president, had to think about their next course of action. However, it wasn't long before a voice brought their attention back, with Todoroki taking the stage.
"Midoriya always had a knack of doing what he felt was right… He could've won our fight if he just kept his mouth shut…"
"Yeah… He's always risking something whenever a problem comes up…" Jirou agreed.
"So, just for tonight, we repay the favor. What do you think Iida?" The scarred Hero looked over at his friend for an answer. The class president looked down at the darkened ground, hand on chin, and began weighing their options even more. But as the pleading stares continued to mount, even from Yaoyorozu, Iida sighed and turned so that all of 1A could see his face.
"Very well, we shall fly these lanterns. But promise me that this kind of rule breaking won't become a regular occurrence. We're still training to be Heroes after all."
"We promise." Eri's soft voice made those two simple words have much more impact than normal. With her saying it, the verbal promise became more of a blood oath that must be followed. And the rest were more than willing to listen to such a declaration if it was made by the adopted child of the dorms. Iida smiled and turned to Todoroki, giving his dual colored classmate a nod. Todoroki returned the gesture and walked to the center of the circle of lanterns, a few embers falling from his left hand. And once he was in position, surrounded by the lanterns, the dual colored Hero let the embers become a brilliant flame.
Despite vigorously burning, it looked… Gentle…
"Are you sure you wish to light it this way Todoroki-san? It's fairly dangerous…"
"Have faith Yaoyorozu. In those wicks you made and the flames I've accepted…"
"Says the guy who mostly sticks to reality." Bakugou replied. The scarred Hero ignored his temperamental classmate and went back to concentrating on the fire burning in his hand. And not a moment later, he threw the flames to the ground and exploded out into a ring. It was quick and didn't stay long so that nothing else burned, but the wicks that dangled from the lantern's fuel source were a different story.
Earlier during the making of the lanterns, the Vice Class President was asked to create a wick that could catch alight with even the shortest pass over flame. And due to her chemical knowledge, Yaoyorozu was able to produce what the Doctor ordered. As such, all 20 wicks were lit and not long after did the fuel began burning, causing the lanterns to slowly rise from the ground.
"And they're off…" Sero said. Kyouka sighed as 1A watched their little lanterns ascend higher and higher into the night sky. Those twenty man made stars glowing softly against the infinite darkness that surrounds them, almost as if they're challenging its tyranny. Poetic, yet there was still a feeling of disappointment…
"Kind of sucks that there's only twenty… Imagine if there were hundreds?"
"Maybe other people will do this in the future, we're just the beginning." Tsuyu answered. Several nodded to the sentiment, Shouji being the one to comment on it.
"The signal of a new era…"
"You think Midoriya is watching this?"
"Let's hope not Sparky, he'll think this is just pathetic." Bakugou noticed that small smiles were spreading upon his classmate's faces, though Uraraka's remained unchanged. One of his eyebrows raised itself to the sight, what were they thinking? Iida and Todoroki both reached out towards the lights in the sky and gave the explosive Hero an answer.
"Even so, he'll give us his warmest thanks for the effort. Because that's the kind of Hero he is."
2 days until the Memorial Service…
And that was Chapter 5! After a period of planning and debating with my brother over the content of this chapter, I've finally come back with a vengeance! Although I'm going to be a bit busy in the coming weeks since I've got one Hell of a Final to contend with.
"It involves acting and Shakespeare. Truly an artistic experience!"
Yes, Yes, it'll be quite intense. Anyway, I don't have a lot to discuss with you guys beyond hoping that you've had a lovely Thanksgiving (or a similar celebration if you're not from the US). But thank you for your patience during this three week period of silence and I'll get to the next chapter as soon as I can.
"But for now, enjoy the lack of updates!"
Next time, we're going to study the compromised emotions within Amphibians, Astrology, and Alicorns.
"The fuck are you talking about?"
If you don't know than you've just got to wait! So with that said...
Until Next Time. T1.