Izuku Midoriya stood, glaring down at his opponent.
The other boy was a bloodied mess, convulsing at some points due to the electric shocks that still streamed through his body. Izuku had beaten him down after a rather long and arduous fight. He had just recently awakened his Quirks about a week ago (well, it felt like a week, but he couldn't be too sure of that) and this was probably one of the first victories he'd claimed in the "Arena." All the times before that, he'd been beaten by this boy, Kouzuki, but not today.
Today, he finally turned the tables on him, surprised him with his proficiency over Shadowsneak, Hydro Cannon, and Electromagneta. The three Quirks combined allowed him to immobilize Kouzuki from range, and once that was done, Izuku had gone in to beat the snot out of him. But Kouzuki proved to be a bit more resilient than Izuku expected, and what followed next was nothing short of a straight up, no-holds-barred brawl that Izuku barely managed to come out on top in.
But what mattered was that Izuku had come out on top. That feeling—the one he got when he was looking down upon his opponent after defeating him—had no name to it that Izuku knew of, but all that he knew was that the feeling… he could get addicted to it.
After getting beat up and losing for far too long in the "Arena," Izuku was finally starting to win. He loved the feeling that came with it, and—holy shit.
How could Izuku have forgotten?
How could he have forgotten?
With victory came the promise of food!
His empty stomach grumbled out of desire to be filled. When he thought of all the food that he was about to receive due to being a "winner," he couldn't help but start salivating on the spot. He'd been a "loser" for far too long, doomed to watch the "winner" eat a feast right before his eyes, a feast that he couldn't touch. All he had to keep him going were the crappy supplements that they injected him with, but now, now he was going to eat food. A feast to be eaten right in front of the "loser" Kouzuki!
Izuku couldn't help it. He did a happy little dance, and as he did—
A hard object struck his right side, sending him flying and tumbling to the side. Momentarily stunned, Izuku looked at his attacker: a trembling Kouzuki, with static shocks still coursing through his body. His right hand was formed into an iron ball, which meant this his Quirk Iron Hardening was still active.
"If you…" the other boy began, staggering toward Izuku, "think that you're gonna eat today instead of me—"
He never got to finish the sentence.
Izuku's palms split open and Hydro Cannon activated with a previously unseen fury. Two beams of water crashed into Kouzuki, sending the boy sprawling to the ground, and Izuku got up, continuously hosing the other boy down. He switched on Electromagneta for extra measure, sending electric shocks through the water, watching as Kouzuki screamed and twitched.
After a few moments, Izuku's water petered out, leaving a thoroughly soaked boy on the ground. Without waiting to see what his condition was, Izuku walked up and lifted his foot.
"Don't—"
A stomp to the head.
"Get—"
Another stomp.
"In—"
A kick this time.
"My—"
A final, brutal kick that shattered the boy's nose.
"Way."
Breathing heavily, Izuku stared down at the unmoving body before him.
He added one final kick for good measure.
.:.
"So," the faceless man said genially, "what have we learned today?"
Izuku looked up from stuffing his face with fried chicken. Since Kouzuki was still unconscious, he'd been graced with sensei's presence at dinner instead. He seemed to be interested in Izuku's progress with his Quirks.
"Electromagneta can be used with Hydro Cannon," Izuku succinctly summarized, earning an amused chuckle from the older man.
"Although I wasn't talking about that, the dual usage of those Quirks was something I did not anticipate. So kudos to you for figuring that out. You've piqued my interest—we're all looking forward to seeing how you develop your Quirks," the faceless man said.
"Oh. Well, thank you," Izuku replied, a bit embarrassed. "Then, if I may ask, what were you talking about?"
"Oh." Izuku's sensei propped a foot up on his knee and leaned on his right arm. "I'm talking about when you let your guard down in the "Arena" today. Remember—"
A wide, twisted smile.
"Just because someone is down, it doesn't mean that they're out. People have a tendency to get back up at the most inopportune times. So, when we have a chance and knock a person down…"
The next words carved their way into Izuku's heart.
"We always make sure they can never get back up."
Unbreakable
So What If I
Izuku yawned.
Even after he slept nineteen hours yesterday and another seventeen today, he still felt exhausted. After a rather troubled-looking Toshinori had left him yesterday, he went to the common area to make himself some food.
Feeling particularly famished, Izuku devoured eight big sandwiches, and Aizawa came to question the boys about the U.S.J. soon after that. Fortunately, his arm appeared to be in a better state, though it was still in a bandage. At least he could move it, and he reassured Izuku, saying that it was mostly a reminder for himself to not overuse it.
Their talk was quick and to the point. Izuku regurgitated everything he remembered about the U.S.J., which, if he was being honest, was not a whole lot. Most of his memories had been blurry before Katsuki literally punched him back to his senses. All he could remember with acute clarity was—
Visualize reconstructing, not healing.
…and having a mental breakdown after that. Yeah, unfortunately, that had happened. But Izuku kept his conversation and meeting with Tomura Shigaraki to himself; he wanted to discuss it with Toshinori first, if possible. He'd chickened out of it the last time he talked with his mentor, but next time… he promised himself he'd bring it up next time.
A strange comment came from Aizawa right before he left. "And… are you okay? I don't want you to beat yourself up over what happened. Sometimes, doing those things are necessary."
Confused, Izuku had tilted his head. "What are you talking about? The villain attack? Well, yeah, I'm fine…"
His voice trailed off when he saw the look of realization in Aizawa's eyes.
"Never mind. Forget that I said anything."
And with those cryptic final words, Aizawa left to go interview the next student about the U.S.J. Izuku could really admire the man—by all means, he should be resting in a hospital bed, but here he was, carrying out his duties as their homeroom teacher.
The rest of the day passed by in a haze. Izuku was too tired to do anything of note, and he crashed at an early time and awoke again in the afternoon. Fortunately, it was the weekend, and they didn't have any classes. Otherwise, he would have slept right through the vast majority of his classes.
Yawning again, he went to brush his teeth and was just about to go downstairs to eat when he saw his phone… and the many missed text messages from Himiko.
Himiko: izu i heard about wat happened
Himiko: r u ok
Himiko: can i come see u
Himiko: izu
Those were sent at around nine last night, an hour after he'd already fallen asleep.
Himiko: izu
Himiko: izu
Himiko: izu
Himiko: izu
Those had been spaced out with an hour in between each text.
Himiko: izu, im really worried
Himiko: u better be asleep or dead
Himiko: ples respond as soon as you see this
Izuku instantly replied as soon as he read the last text.
Izuku: Himiko! I didn't mean to worry you.
Izuku: I've been asleep and just saw your texts. I slept seventeen hours today…
As he went to type another message, a phone call interrupted his typing. It was from Himiko, and he quickly picked up.
"Himiko! Hey," Izuku greeted, a tad nervous.
The voice on the other side of the line was silent.
"Uh, Himiko?" Izuku asked.
Still nothing. Panicked, he quickly shouted, "Himiko?"
"Let me in."
The line went dead after that short command.
A rock hit his window, and Izuku, already knowing what he'd see the second he looked outside, walked to the window and peered out. Himiko stood there on the ground outside his dorm, face covered by a curtain of hair. Her normally messy buns seemed to be in even greater disarray, but she was still dressed somewhat nicely; tight jeans clung around her hips and a black cardigan covered what appeared to be a white t-shirt.
Knowing just exactly what to do to appease the distressed Himiko, Izuku opened the window and started extending a few strands of Blackwhip down to Himiko… or at least he tried to, letting a cry of pain when his Quirk seemed to disobey him and frazzled out of control, thrashing around in his room.
It almost felt like… a torn or overused muscle. But then again, the pain seemed to be all mental, so he put up with it and extended three strands down to Himiko, making sure they were steady. As soon as he felt her securely wrapped up in and holding onto the strands, he retracted them, guiding her slowly and safely into his room, where he quickly released her.
Himiko, as soon as she was able to, crashed into him and crushed him with a giant bear hug, sending them tumbling onto his bed. For such a slim body to be able to exert this much strength was surprising, to say the least; Izuku felt like he was being snapped in half, but even then, he wasn't about to start complaining. He gently returned her embrace.
Himiko was rubbing her face into his chest, taking deep whiffs of his scent. Izuku was a bit more relaxed about this than the last time she did it—he'd put on deodorant after brushing his teeth, so his body odor was surely suppressed. Right?
Himiko shifted her weight on top of him, and then Izuku became acutely aware of how close their bodies were, of the two soft… sensations pressed against his abdomen.
Quickly becoming lightheaded, he placed a hand on Himiko's shoulder and slowly detached himself from her, asking, "Himiko, is everything okay—"
"He… he didn't hurt you, right?"
Her words took a moment to register in his mind. For a brief moment… no…
"He…?" Izuku questioned simply.
Himiko stilled. Her yellow eyes stared back at him, unblinking. A brief moment of silence passed between them.
"… the villain you fought at the end, the one that took out Thirteen and Eraser Head! The whole school's been abuzz with rumors, and I've been worried sick. When you didn't respond to any of my texts, I assumed that the worst happened."
Relief flooded through Izuku, and he felt stupid for his quick moment of apprehension. For a moment, Izuku thought that Himiko somehow knew of his encounter with Tomura, but fortunately, it seemed like he was just reading too deeply into the situation. After all, how would Himiko know something that he hadn't told anyone about yet?
"I'm fine, really. I've just been sleeping a ton to recuperate, so I'm sorry for missing your texts. I really didn't mean to ignore you."
Himiko looked down at him from her position on top of his body. "Really?"
"Yeah, I promise. I responded as soon as I saw that you texted me."
"Oh, really~"
"I swear on it. Plus…"
Alright, courage. Don't fail me now, Izuku pleaded with himself. This is something I should've done a long time ago.
Turning away so that he wasn't looking into Himiko's mesmerizing eyes anymore, he murmured, "I'd n-never ignore my g… my girl…"
COURAGE, COME TO ME!
"I'd never ignore my g-g-girlfriend."
Izuku shut his eyes, unable to look at Himiko.
A rogue thought came to him. Wait, what if I just majorly fucked up? I never properly asked her to be my girlfriend, I just kind of assumed it since we were already… kissing… and she's been the only one on my mind for as long as I can remember… ohmygodwhatifIscrewedthingsupandlostmyonlychance—
Eyes still shut, he suddenly yelled, "I'M SORRY FOR MAKING ASSUMPTIONS—"
Izuku was silenced by a pair of hands gripping his face and covering his mouth. He opened his eyes to see a very flushed face inches from his own.
"That was one of the best things I've ever heard in my life," Himiko quietly said. "Don't you dare take that back."
Izuku could do nothing but nod dumbly.
Himiko's eyes seemed hazy, and her breaths came in deep and labored. Himiko looked like she was desperately trying to hold herself back, and she ultimately settled for a kiss on his exposed cheek and a quick nibble on his earlobe before pulling away, releasing his face from her grip.
"So… girlfriend." Himiko looked up at the ceiling, trying but failing to hide the dark blush coloring her cheeks. "What brought that on?"
Ixuku was sure his face was just as red as Himiko's was. "It was something I should've done years ago, actually. Asked you to be my girlfriend. I'm sorry that I—"
A sharp glare from Himiko made him revise his words.
"What I mean is that I should've properly asked you first instead of just blurting it out of the blue. So, please, just let me redo it."
Himiko looked back down at him. Izuku grew starkly aware of the fact that she was all but straddling him, but he pushed that thought out of his mind. It took all his focus and concentration to say his next few words.
"Himiko, I like you a lot; no, I might even be able to say that I l-love you. I don't know the distinction between the two all that well, but… I'm sure that as I spend more time with you, I'll be able to tell the difference and say with confidence that I love you. I'm rambling, I know, so… Himiko, will you be my girlfriend?"
It wasn't all that romantic, what with them being on his bed in his dormitory, but Izuku didn't particularly care—it already took enough out of him to say the words, so he couldn't be bothered with the place of his confession. It was just something that he felt had to be done.
Contrary to his expectations, Himiko didn't respond immediately. Instead, she bit her lip and murmured, "Why me?"
That was an unexpected turn of events. Izuku never would have guessed that Himiko would react like this, but he guessed that learning these little things about each other was what made the start of a relationship so exciting in the first place.
"How could it be anyone but you?" Izuku retorted, smiling fondly at her. "From the moment you talked to me on that beach, all those years ago, how could it have been anyone but you?"
If it was even possible, Himiko turned a darker shade of red, but Izuku was sure his face matched hers.
"You were one of my only friends during that time, were there for me when pretty much no one else was. And plus, you've been nothing but supportive of me, nothing but honest"—in his nervous state, Izuku missed the way Himiko flinched at the word—"with me. So, I'll ask again: how could it be anyone but you?"
For the first time, their positions were reversed: Himiko was now unable to form words because of something Izuku had said, opening and closing her mouth much like a goldfish. It was adorable, Izuku decided, and with the last boost he had from his courage, he reached up and tenderly kissed her. He could understand why Himiko liked teasing him so much.
"Frontal attacks like that aren't fair," Himiko said under her breath after they parted lips. A predatory look had overtaken her features after he had kissed her, and Izuku felt simultaneously scared and aroused. Scaroused.
"Though," she whispered in his ear, "I don't mind you being the aggressor every now and then. But now it's my turn."
His courage depleted, Izuku was now at the whims of Himiko. She ravaged his neck, making small bites along the length of it. The bites weren't deep enough to draw blood; they were more like playful nibbles, but when she reached his pulse point, she bit in, blood flowing freely from the wound he allowed himself to have. That seemed to be her favorite spot.
Izuku, used to the slight pain, allowed Himiko to have her meal. After a few seconds, Himiko pulled off of his neck and sat back. The adorable, flushed Himiko from before was gone and nowhere to be found, replaced by an almost ravenous-looking Himiko. Even as she licked the blood, his blood, off of her lips, she looked like she wasn't satisfied.
Her lips hungrily crashed into his, and he spent the next few moments being utterly dominated by Himiko's tongue as it explored every nook and cranny of his own mouth. Though, if he were being honest, he didn't mind it at all when it was Himiko he was surrendering control to; he could trust her.
Eventually, she pulled off of him and said pointedly, "You know, Izuku, it's okay to touch me."
The words echoed in his brain.
It's okay to touch me.
It's okay to touch me.
It's okay to—
Panicking, he immediately said, "I wouldn't—I can't—"
"I'm giving you explicit permission to."
Himiko looked at him expectantly.
Izuku's brain was a mental blank slate.
Giggling at his utterly gone state, Himiko grabbed his hand and slowly pressed it against her breasts, rubbing it in slow circles. She let out a low moan that elicited a very excited reaction from his nether region—HOLY SHIT!
BOOBS! I'M TOUCHING BOOBS!
HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT—
"Someone's happy~" Himiko hummed, grinding her hips into his raging erection. Izuku almost let out a squeak.
Her hand clenched around his, all but forcing him to squeeze her breasts. And, good heavens, Izuku really didn't have the proper words to describe the sensation.
His mind was imploding, and he was reaching Nirvana.
"If you do it right," she whispered, "if you touch me right, it can make me feel really good, Izu~"
Her hand still clasping his, she made sure that she had his full attention. She withdrew his hand from her breasts but, before he could begin to lament the loss of the sensation that graced his fingertips, immediately moved it so that he was touching her inexplicably soft, yet firm butt. The paradoxical nature of Himiko's ass was driving his mind blank as he tried to focus on everything but Himiko's weight pressing down deliciously on his painful erection.
He already felt like he was about to erupt at any moment. Calm down, he told himself. Calm down. Achieve Nirvana. Stop thinking.
Stop thinking about how beautiful Himiko is. Stop thinking about how sexy she is. Stop thinking about her boobs and her ass and stop thinking about how she's straddling you—shit, I'm not helping myself at all!
He shut his eyes.
It didn't help at all. He just became hyper aware of the things he was feeling through his body, which was deadly to his psyche.
"Pffffffft." Himiko began giggling, somewhat killing the sensual mood—not that it made Izuku any less aroused.
"What?"
"You look like you've been shot," Himiko teased, kissing his nose. He opened his eyes to a delighted Himiko. "Though, it's cute in its own way."
Embarrassed, Izuku attempted to smooth over his facial expression and looked to the side. "So… what's your answer?"
"Wait, wait." Himiko grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. "You're telling me that, after all of that, you don't already know my answer?"
"V-Verbal consent is important—"
"Okay, fiiine." Himiko kissed him, long but innocently, simply pressing her mouth against his. "Yes, I would love love love to be your girlfriend."
Her flushed face smiled down happily at him. Himiko seemed genuinely thrilled by this development, and it made his heart soar with relief and joy. Izuku couldn't help but start laughing quietly.
"Oh? And what are you laughing about, Izu?"
"It's nothing. It's just rare to see you embarrassed," Izuku grinned.
Himiko turned even redder, but a sly smile crossed her lips. "What? Never."
Her eyes grew dangerous. "I guess I'll have to make you forget about this, then."
Izuku spent the next few hours being kissed senseless by his new, official, girlfriend.
.:.
Momo knocked on the door, shivering slightly due to the air conditioner blasting cold air throughout the hallway. She had no idea why it was set to such a low temperature on an already cool Sunday evening, but Mina had control of the temperature on this floor, so she guessed that was just how the girl liked it.
"Door's unlocked," Mina's voice came from the other side. "Yaomomo, you're the last one to arrive, so feel free to lock it after you come in."
Momo did just that, slipping in and locking the door behind her. In front of her, she was greeted by the sight of her female classmates all gathered in a… pink room. Yeah, pink was the best to describe it; pink and black animal print curtains, pink dresser, pink chair, pink bed… the vast majority of the room was some shade of pink. Though, Momo supposed, it was a pretty fitting room for Mina.
She joined the rest of her classmates around a surprisingly purple mini table, settling in between Ochaco and Tsuyu. Mina offered her a bottle of water, which she declined.
"Alright, now that everyone's here, I guess we can begin," Mina started. "I just thought it'd be nice for us girls to gather and just talk about what happened a few days ago… if you all feel comfortable talking about it, that is."
An uneasy silence lingered in the air.
"I guess I just wanted to let you all know that I'm here for you," Mina said, sounding dejected that no one had spoken up. "There's not a lot of girls in the heroics course, so we've gotta be there for each other, or something like that…"
As Mina floundered for things to say, Momo finally decided to extend a helping hand by saying, "That's a fantastic idea, Ashido. We can think of this as group therapy or just a girls-only hangout. Maybe even both."
As the other five girls nodded and voiced their agreements, Mina spoke up in an uncharacteristically shy voice. "… Mina."
"Hm? What was that?" Momo asked.
"You can call me Mina. After the U.S.J., it seems too distant for us to call each other by our last names. So," Mina smiled, revealing glossy white teeth, "you can all call me Mina."
"Same here!" Toru said next, and what followed after were all the girls voicing their approvals.
Momo was completely fine with such a development. Even at her old all-girls schools that she attended in the past, she had a few friends that she addressed by their first name.
"You can call me Momo, too, or Yaomomo if you'd like."
"Well, Yaomomo is Yaomomo, right?"
A small wave of laughter rang around the circle, and a comfortable silence descended on the group.
"Well, here goes nothing," someone suddenly spoke up.
Momo snapped her head to look at the source of the voice, Kyoka. She continued, "During the U.S.J. incident, I felt… useless. I felt like I didn't do anything—"
"Don't you dare say that."
The group of girls turned in surprise to Mina, who had spat her words with a surprising amount of vehemence.
"You and Tsuyu saved me." To emphasize her point, she lifted up her shirt, where a long, jagged scar could be seen running across her stomach. "If you guys hadn't patched this up at that time, I probably would have passed out from blood loss, and who knows what would've happened to me if I did."
Mina dropped her shirt and placed both hands on Kyoka's shoulders. "So, please, never say that you're useless."
At her earnest plea, Kyoka couldn't help but dip her gaze and stare at the floor. "But I wasn't nearly as useful as, like, Midoriya—"
Her words caught in her throat.
Momo said carefully, "I don't think any of us can match the raw power that Midoriya, Bakugo, or Todoroki bring. But, fortunately, heroics isn't just a contest of strength. There will be times where strength is what matters, sure, but there will also be times when other types of utility Quirks are more valuable."
Quickly racking her brain, Momo continued, "Let's say, for example, a mudslide enveloped a small town on the side of a mountain, and heroes were dispatched as a relief team. Who do you think would be more useful then: Bakugo, who can only create explosions from his hands, or you, Kyoka, who can hear the cries for help from buried people, locate them, and save them?"
Kyoka remained silent, seemingly taking Momo's point into consideration.
"She's right, Kyoka," Ochaco agreed. "There will be times when our Quirks are useful and times when they're not."
"Plus, plus," Mina added, "you can't go comparing yourself to Midoriya. He's… something else."
"That he is." Tsuyu sighed dreamily. "I prefer the shy Izuku, but the 'commander Izuku' persona is just as hot."
Mina said, "That's not… what I was talking about. Don't you guys get the sense that he was, how do I put this, like slightly unhinged? For a portion of our time there, at least. It just seemed like he wasn't thinking."
Memories of the day washed over Momo. First, Katsuki literally beating some sense into Izuku, and second, her conversation with Shoto, where he hypothesized that Izuku had actual combat experience.
"Yeah, I just couldn't imagine what his power could do to another human being until I saw it for myself…" Ochaco trailed off. "Well, I'm just glad that he's a hero and not a villain. Could you imagine that?"
The girls didn't want to imagine that scenario.
"Well, Midoriya's the last person that I would imagine being a villain," Momo stated.
"You're right."
"Yep."
They left it at that, their conversation turning towards lighter and more cheerful topics.
But Momo was still stuck deep in thought. A conversation from quite a while ago had seared itself into her mind, and it wasn't leaving any time soon: I still don't know if I deserve this power, but I will prove to you that I am worthy.
Those had been Izuku's words to Aizawa after the latter had said something along the lines of Izuku being All Might's successor. She had buried it in her mind, dismissing it as a very bad hearing mishap or a crackpot theory, but the events of the U.S.J. were pretty damning. She'd seen enough clips of All Might's super strength and super speed to realize that Izuku's Quirk, aside from the black strands that he could shoot out, was similar.
Except… All Might didn't break or outright shatter his bones while fighting. Momo remembered the slightly terrifying memory of Izuku healing his shattered wrist. All Might's Quirk didn't seem to have that negative aspect to it or the healing component. So, it could very well be the case that Izuku's Quirk was simply a different one.
Well, if Momo had to guess at the nature of Izuku's Quirk, she'd actually say that things were a lot more complicated than they seemed—
"Sneak attack. Ribbit."
Two fingers dug into her sides, and Momo let out a quick shriek before turning and pouting at her attacker: an innocently whistling Tsuyu.
"Awww, Ysomomo, don't be mad at her!" Mina beamed. "You were zoning out, though. Care to tell us what you're thinking about?"
Her words rolled out of her mouth before she even knew what she was saying. "I was just thinking about Midoriya—"
She shut her mouth instantly, now cognizant of what she said. Mina's expression morphed into a shit-eating grin, and she said, "Oooooo~ what about Midoriya?"
"I was just thinking about his Quirk, nothing more, nothing less," Momo stressed, struggling to keep a calm exterior. "He… broke his bones while fighting, yet he seemed to heal them almost instantly after. That combined with his super strength and that black substance he shoots from his hands… I guess I'm just curious."
"Yeah, he also didn't give the name of his Quirk during introductions, right?" Ochaco spoke up. "He only mentioned that it gave him extra strength, speed, and that black stuff. He didn't mention anything about healing himself. Must be one versatile Quirk."
"Well, if we don't know, why not just ask him?" Tsuyu bluntly said.
"Dibs on not it." Kyoka immediately said.
While attempting to keep her face from betraying her true state of thoughts, Momo unfortunately missed the chorus of not its that rang throughout their circle, only catching on when it was too late.
"Yaomomo, thanks for volunteering to ask Midoriya!"
Startled by their expectant gazes, Momo said, "I… didn't exactly—"
"Momo, think about it this way," Toru explained. "You two are both class reps! You're in the best position to ask about his Quirk for us."
"I," Momo started diplomatically, "I won't deny that. But—"
"Yaaaaaay!" Mina cheered, completely interrupting her. "Thank you so much, Yaomomo!" She cheerfully glomped her, Momo reluctantly taking her into her arms.
"Like I said, I didn't—"
"What do you guys wanna eat later?"
Momo gave up on trying to convince them otherwise and resigned herself to her fate.
.:.
For the first time since Izuku had been voted in as class rep, U.A. University's student council was having a collective meeting.
Well, it was billed as a collective meeting of U.A.'s student council, but in actuality it was just the first year representatives and the strongest third year students. The fourth years were called U.A.'s ghost year since they actually weren't learning on campus anymore; they were off serving internships and undergoing training under hero agencies. A common criticism of U.A. University was why it even bothered having a fourth year if they were all going to be off campus and in the real world, but Izuku couldn't be bothered with the politics of the situation.
As Izuku sat in the meeting room, he glanced around. Momo sat on his right while Tenya sat on his left, and opposite of him, there was a pretty ginger-haired girl flanked by a smug looking blonde guy and a chubby man with ice-blue hair.
They just stared at each other. The girl was focusing on him in particular, seemingly deep in thought. An awkward silence permeated the air.
Well, the awkward silence technically was caused by the blonde guy. Izuku, Momo, and Tenya had arrived first, and when the first arrival, the blonde guy, had come, Izuku had greeted him with a smile and a hello. All he got in response was a cold, "Don't talk to us, 1-A."
The other two had trickled in after that, and they didn't attempt to break the silence, either. So, the silence remained until—
"What's popping?"
The six heads in the room turned towards the new, girlish voice. Izuku immediately had a guess as to who it was: Nejire Hado, the only female member of U.A.'s Big Three. He… may or may not have done extensive research prior to this meeting. The blonde man who followed Nejire into the room was Mirio Togata and the sulky dark-haired man behind Mirio was Tamaki Amajiki. U.A.'s Big Three, the three strongest students of the third year, took a seat at various spots around the table.
"Mirio, what should I do? They're ignoring me~" Nejire mock-whispered to Mirio, the third years' strongest student.
Smiling genially, Mirio completely ignored her and said, "Hi everyone! I'm Mirio Togata, and this is Nejire Hado and Tamaki Amajiki. Feel free to treat us informally; we never asked for this job, the teachers just thrust it upon us because they call us the 'Big Three' or some cheese like that."
The tense atmosphere in the room slightly relaxed after his words. Coughing, he laughed, "This is where you guys introduce yourselves, you know."
"Of course!" Tenya instantly said, suddenly standing at with perfect posture. "I am Tenya Iida, and I have been entrusted with the honorable position of Class 1-A's secretary!"
"Why do you talk like you have a stick up your ass?" the blonde guy said derisively. Izuku was too shocked to initially even respond. What did we do to this guy? "Neito Monoma, and I—"
He was suddenly bashed on the head by a huge fist courtesy of the girl sitting next to him. As Neito rolled around in pain, the girl spoke up, "'... and I am very sorry for my rude words' is how he meant to finish that sentence. Sorry about that, Iida, 1-A. He has a bit of a complex towards your class. Did he say anything else to you guys?"
"He told us not to talk to you all," Tenya dutifully reported.
"Well, that explains that awkward silence," the girl sighed, glaring down at Neito. "How are you already trying to sabotage our relationship with Class 1-A?"
"I'm just trying to prove that they're not better than us!" Neito cried. "All I read these days are 'U.A.'s Class 1-A heroically defends itself against villains' or some crap like that. I'm just sick of—"
Neito received another giant fist to the head. "We don't prove anything by doing it your way, Monoma. Please forgive him, Class 1-A, for being an idiot. I'm Itsuka Kendo, by the way."
The blue haired boy next to her spoke up after that. "Nirengeki Shoda. Nice to meet you all, and it's especially nice to see you again, Tenya."
"Likewise, Nirengeki." Tenya smiled.
So the two already knew each other, it seemed. They were probably high school acquaintances or maybe even friends. Izuku looked to his side and saw Momo glancing at him, and he dipped his head to indicate that she could go next.
Hello everyone. It's nice to meet all of you. I am Momo Yaoyorozu," Momo introduced herself in a calm, measured tone. She looked at Izuku, prompting him to speak up.
"I'm Izuku Midor—"
"YOU'RE IZUKU MIDORIYA!" Nejire suddenly shouted. Her eyes seemed to be filled with stars, and she stood up and leaned over the table to get a closer look at him. "How did I not realize?"
"Uhm…" Izuku started, unsure of how to react. "Yes, I am Izuku Midoriya."
"Hey, hey, can we chat after this meeting? There's been rumors flying around about you, and I've been dying to know the truth," Nejire all but pleaded with him.
"S-Sure." He looked around uneasily, seeing Mirio flash both of them a thumbs up and Neito… well, if looks could kill, Izuku would be dead at least fifteen times by now.
"Alright," Mirio spoke up as Nejire took a seat, "now that that's over with, we can get to our agenda. Well, we already did the first thing on the agenda, which was to meet each other, so on to the next!"
He looked expectantly at Tamaki, who shriveled up in his seat. "Don't make me speak, Mirio."
"Tamaki, you'll never improve without trying in the first place," Mirio said gently.
The Big Three seem quite close to each other, Izuku noted.
Grumbling, Tamaki spoke while looking at the table right in front of him. "The next item on the agenda is the U.A. Sports Festival."
That got Izuku's attention. U.A. University's sports festival was scouted heavily by pro hero agencies and was a massive event that all of Japan usually watched. Contrary to how sports festivals used to be run centuries ago before Quirks, U.A.'s sports festival was simply a showcase of all the students' Quirks rather than any actual sports being played. If he recalled the time correctly, it would typically occur in about two weeks time.
He remembered watching the sports festival at home with his mom, itching to one day appear on that stage.
Usually, there were three events. The first two events were just designed to narrow down the number of students participating for the final event: a one versus one tournament. At the thought of a good old 1v1, Izuku found himself growing excited. He liked one on one battles, a test of strength versus strength, the possibility of utterly dominating his opponent—
Izuku blinked. He had no idea where that last thought came from. It was a notion that did not seem… unfamiliar, though. He remembered thinking it at the U.S.J., but he quickly shook his head to get those thoughts out of his mind.
As Izuku had been ruminating, Mirio and Nejire were explaining the format of this year's sports festival. Apparently, the first event was an obstacle race around the stadium, the second event was a cavalry battle, and the third event, obviously, was the tournament.
"Since we are representatives of the first years, is there anything we need to do to help out?" Tenya asked, bringing Izuku back into the conversation.
"All you laddies need to do is tell your classmates about it," Mirio said easily. "Let the grownups sweat the logistics, as they say. To be honest, this whole meeting wasn't even really that necessary. We just wanted to meet some of our underclassmen, though."
"Well, if that's it, I'm leaving," Neito loudly announced, abruptly standing up from his seat and exiting the room without confirmation from Mirio.
"What an interestin' fella," Mirio commented, not looking fazed in the slightest. "But yeah, that's it."
Itsuka shot up immediately and quickly said, "Sorry everyone, but I'm gonna go see if I can beat some sense into him." With one final look at Izuku, she ran out the door.
Nirengeki stood up and walked over to Tenya. "Wanna grab a snack, Tenya? I haven't seen you once since the semester started, and I'd like to catch up."
Tenya directed a questioning gaze at Izuku. Momentarily blanking before realizing that Tenya was asking for permission to go, Izuku quickly gave a thumbs up. "Have fun, Iida."
The two left, leaving Izuku, Momo, Mirio, Nejire, and Tamaki—wait, when Izuku wasn't paying attention, Tamaki had somehow disappeared.
"He does that sometimes. Disappears, I mean," Mirio commented, directly addressing the confusion Izuku felt. "Well, it was nice meeting you all. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the first years perform this year. Especially you, Midoriya."
With those words and a wink, he left, leaving Izuku alone with Nejire and Momo.
Momo didn't seem like she was in a hurry to leave, staying seated as everyone else took their leave. Nejire looked at her and asked, "Staying?"
Momo took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. "I have nothing better to do." She shared a look with Izuku, and he desperately hoped that his gratefulness for Momo staying was transmitted to the girl. He didn't know how he'd fare if left alone with Nejire.
"Oh, well, I don't mind. The more the merrier~" Nejire sang, hopping over the table athletically and sitting in Tenya's empty seat. "So. Izuku. You don't mind if I call you that, right?"
Not noticing Momo jolting to the right of him, Izuku uneasily answered, "S-Sure, Hado."
"No need to be so formal. Nejire's fine."
"… I don't mind, Nejire."
Grinning cutely at her victory, Nejire kicked up her feet onto the table and leaned back in her chair, putting her arms behind her head. "Straight to business, hehehe. Is it true that you defeated the villain that took out Eraser Head and Thirteen?"
Izuku remembered the fight. It hadn't been the cleanest victory, but it had been a victory nonetheless. "Yeah, I guess. But Aizawa couldn't fight to his full potential—he had to defend Thirteen."
Nejire hummed. "Hmm. How'd you do it, then?"
"I realized that its Quirk—" Izuku stopped instantly. He didn't know if he should discuss the villain seemingly having multiple Quirks like him. "Well, it moved faster in the steam that it billowed from its mouth, so I just shut its mouth with these."
Izuku deployed one strand of Blackwhip and had it curl up in the air. Nejire, hanging on to every word he said, nodded at him to continue.
"It was resistant to my punches so I just…" Izuku trailed off, realizing how bad the next part was about to sound. "… choked it out."
Nejire whistled. "Brutal."
"Not necessarily," Izuku said defensively. What happened after that was brutal, he thought. Izuku could still visualize the sight of the villain's skull being bashed in by his foot.
Something just compelled him to make sure that the villain stayed down.
"Well, if you say so." Nejire's chair slammed into the ground, and the front of her body shot forward closer to Izuku, eyes scanning Izuku's face intently. He averted his eyes.
Whatever she seemed to be after, she got, and she relaxed her posture and slumped down into her chair. A brief flash of a frown marred her features before her expression resumed a bubbly smile.
"I heard that you got the record for the entrance exams?" The tilt in her voice indicated that it was a question.
"Yeah."
"How'd you manage to do that?"
"How…? I just—I don't know, did the entrance exam to the best of my ability?"
"I heard that you also got first place in the Quirk Assessment Test?"
"Y-Yeah."
"So it's safe to say that, among the first years, you're the strongest?"
Izuku blanched. "Not necessarily."
Nejire, seemingly bored already, stood up from her seat. "Well, we'll see in the upcoming sports festival, won't we, Izuku?"
"I guess."
"I'm looking forward to seeing you in action. But, just between you and me—"
She grasped the front of his shirt and leaned in close to his ear. Nejire said in a dead-serious tone, "You're bad at hiding things. It's written all over your face. Just what are you hiding, I wonder?"
Nejire released him and smiled. Flashing them two peace signs, she said goodbye and left the room, leaving a rather shaken Izuku behind.
If he was being honest, Nejire gave off the impression of being a ditzy girl, but in reality, she was quite sharp. He couldn't make heads or tails of the girl; perhaps it would be best if he just kept his distance from her in the future. He felt on edge the entire time she was questioning him.
Izuku looked to his right where Momo was still sitting, apparently deep in thought.
"Yaoyorozu," Izuku called out. "Should we get going?"
Momo nodded absentmindedly. Then, she looked at him. She appeared to be waging a mental war in her head and desperately looked like she wanted to ask him something. Izuku was half expecting a question to come, but it never came.
Instead, she said, "Sure… Midoriya."
She looked disappointed with… herself? Or something, at least, but Izuku wasn't about to pry.
"I'll text the details of the sports festival in the group chat in a bit. If I forget anything, can you fill in the holes?"
A nod was all he got as a response.
"And… thank you, Yaoyorozu. For staying behind." Izuku scratched awkwardly at his cheek. "I feel like you're always helping me out like this."
"Think nothing of it," Momo graciously said. "You've helped me out, too, you know… Iz—Midoriya."
For some strange reason, Momo looked like she wanted to punch herself. Izuku's thoughts didn't linger too long on it, though.
.:.
Izuku: Hey everyone! We're all going to be taking part in U.A.'s Sports Festival in two weeks time. Click on the attachment that I sent with this for more information on the events.
Katsuki: fuck yea tournament arc
Tenya: Must you use such foul language?
Katsuki: shut up 4 eyes
Ochaco: cool, thanks Midoriya
Izuku: You really shouldn't thank me, Yaoyorozu put together the vast majority of the attachment. I just added the graphics.
Tenya: Bakugo, bad language can hurt your reputation as a hero.
Mina: the graphics r cute i love the little panda people
Izuku: Thanks!
Momo: If you all have any further questions, feel free to ask me or Midoriya.
Katsuki: SHUT THE FUCK UP FOUTR EYES
Tenya: **four
Katsuki: THIS MOTHERFYCKER
Katsuki: I SWEAR TO GOD
Denki: yo whats in the obstacle race
Katsuki: YOU BETTER MAKE IT TO THE TOUTNAMENT
Izuku: We weren't told.
Momo: It's supposed to be a surprise to keep us on our toes, apparently.
Katsuki: SO I CAN FACE YIU AND BEAT YOUR ASS MYSELF
Eijiro: chill bakubro save it for the festival
Mina: AWWW THAT'S SO CUTE U HAVE NICKNAMES FOR EACH OTHER 3333
Katsuki: ashido u dontwant this smoke
Mina: try me
Izuku: Does anyone else have any questions?
Minoru: yea u free this weekend momo ? for a date ?
Minoru: WAIT THAT WASN'T ME THAT WAS KIRISHIMA
Tsuyu: LOL
Mina: ahahahahahhahhahaha
Minoru: unless?
Eijiro: fuck off im in my room alone u rat, stop lying
Minoru: honestly, worth a shot.
.:.
"Hey, Bakugo?"
Katsuki, having just opened his door, flinched at the sudden voice in his ear. "It's too early in the morning for this."
"S-Sorry," Izuku said, shuffling his feet. He, unlike Katsuki, was already fully dressed and ready for the school day. On the other hand, Katsuki had just woken up.
An uneasy silence hung in the air. Sighing, Katsuki broke it by saying, "So, what is it?"
"What?"
"Why were you waiting outside of my door?" Katsuki clarified.
Izuku swallowed. "I… just wanted to say thank you."
Katsuki laughed loudly, causing Izuku to jump. "What? What for?"
"At the U.S.J., you… knocked me back into my senses. I was out of it, and you really helped me out," Izuku explained.
Katsuki took a moment to glare at Izuku. "That's not something you need to thank me for."
"No, but—"
"It's a perfectly natural thing to do," Katsuki huffed. "With you running haywire like that, who knew when you were going to start targeting us as well?
Izuku's voice died in his throat. "I… was that bad?"
"No," Katsuki said quickly, sighing dramatically. "Forget it. Point is, no need to thank me. I was just… uh, bolstering our fighting forces, yeah. In control Deku is better than out of control Deku, in my opinion."
"But, still, thank you," Izuku said, bowing to Katsuki.
Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Katsuki yelled, "Stop it, dumbass, I just told you that you didn't need to do that!"
Looking at the still bowing Izuku, Katsuki grimaced. He should honestly be thanking Izuku for defeating that one villain that took out Aizawa on his own and apologizing for his outburst in the heat of the moment. Izuku… really didn't seem like he needed anyone protecting him anymore. But, thanks to his pride, Katsuki believed that death was a better alternative than admitting all of that.
"Look, if you feel like you've gotta make anything up to me, then do this." Katsuki took a deep breath. "Make it to the tournament event and fight me with everything you've got. I'll crush any opponent before you. I expect you to do the same, so we'll meet at some point in the tournament. No holding back, cos I won't be holding back, either. Show me—"
He swallowed. "Show me that you can protect yourself."
Izuku remained silent, studying Katsuki for a moment.
"If you're asking for a fight where I hold nothing back—"
"That's exactly what I'm asking for."
Izuku grinned, straightening up. "Then that's what you'll get."
"Good. You better not lose before then," Katsuki warned.
"Same to you."
.:.
About a week until the sports festival, Izuku received a text from Toshinori.
All Might: Hey, got a moment?
Izuku: Yes, what is it?
All Might: Could you come to the faculty offices
Izuku typed a quick response replying in the affirmative and quickly hightailed it to U.A.'s faculty offices. As he rounded the corner, he waved to a nearby Midnight and Aizawa, both of whom looked at him with a complicated expression before waving back.
As he arrived outside of Toshinori's office, he spotted Mirio walking out of the room. "Ah, hello, senpai!"
"Midoriya, what a surprise!" Mirio enthusiastically greeted him back. The third year seemed bright and cheerful despite the obvious bags under his eyes. "Don't mind me, I was just ironing out some things for the second year's sports festival. I don't know why they insist on having different events for each year… it makes planning for them so complicated."
Oof. Izuku felt bad for Mirio. "The second year's sports festival is taking place after the first years, right?"
"Yeah, but luckily for me, the third year's SF is taking place the next day, so at least I get a break." Mirio laughed, "And the fourth years don't even get one."
"Sounds like a lot of work," Izuku commented.
"Well, you'll be in my shoes in two years, no?" Mirio said. "The strongest in the grade get student council positions, remember?"
Izuku frowned, which caused Mirio to break out into more laughter. "Look forward to it."
And with that, he was off, leaving Izuku to complete the original task that he came here for: talk to Toshinori.
As he walked in, he spotted Toshinori… apparently deep in preparation for something. He was bent over in his chair, elbows on knees, taking deep breaths and counting one, two, three.
"Uhm, Toshinori-sensei?"
Toshinori quickly straightened up. "Oh! Izuku, you surprised me. Well, whatever. I'm glad you could come today. Please, shut the door and take a seat."
Izuku did as he was told. The chair he sat in was extremely comfortable; he could picture himself taking a nap in the seat. "So, why'd you have me come here?"
Toshinori inhaled deeply. "There's… something we need to discuss."
"Okay," Izuku nodded. Perhaps this was the time to bring up Tomura Shigaraki. "I have something I'd like to share as well."
"Really? Oh, well, by all means, please go first." Toshinori looked relieved for some reason.
"I didn't tell you this initially because I was still processing it, but…" Izuku faltered, wondering how he should word what he was about to say. "When we were initially teleported by that fog villain, I was dropped off alone, and I met—him. Tomura Shigaraki."
Toshinori listened with a grave expression on his face.
"He… seemed to already know who I was. And he was freakishly strong. He caught my fifty percent blow with just one hand and… disintegrated my arm." Izuku felt himself growing agitated as he remembered his encounter, but he squashed down that feeling. "Then, he told me: visualize reconstructing, not healing."
Izuku's words hung heavily in the air. Toshinori seemed too stunned to respond.
"And, after he was teleported away, I did just that. Visualize reconstructing, not healing. At first, I thought I was crazy for even trying it, but then…" Izuku paused, staring at his hand. "It worked. I reconstructed my arm."
They sat in silence for a brief moment before Izuku continued speaking.
"Toshinori, how did he know that I could do that?"
Izuku's eyes searched Toshinori's, begging for answers. His mentor remained so silent and still that someone could've told Izuku that he was looking at a statue and he would've believed them.
"One For All has a long and complicated history," Toshinori finally said. "It… originated from a villain, believe it or not."
"What?" Izuku couldn't believe his ears.
"A long time ago, a villain ruled Japan from the shadows. He had absolute control over everything. And this villain had a Quirkless brother." Toshinori thought very carefully on what he should say. "One day—out of pity, for amusement, I don't know—he decided to give his brother a Quirk that could stockpile power, that could be passed down. That is the origin of One For All."
Izuku sat there, processing the new information.
"This Tomura character that you met must be a part of the same villain organization that the original villain is from. That's how he knows about the Quirks you have."
The information that he was receiving made sense, yet his body was instinctually yelling at him that it was incorrect. He couldn't shake that damn feeling deep within him that screamed HE'S WRONG.
"I see," Izuku finally said. "Wait. What was that villain's name?"
Toshinori stared at him, and for a split second, Izuku could've sworn he saw fear in his mentor's eyes.
"It was lost to history. But please, Izuku—be on the highest guard if you meet this Tomura Shigaraki again or anyone that appears to be from the same organization. They'll stop at nothing to bring you under their wing. I—we can't afford to lose you to them."
"Yes, I will be. Don't worry about that," Izuku said. "Well, I've said my piece. What was it that you wanted to discuss?"
Toshinori stayed silent.
Izuku, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable, shifted in his seat.
Toshinori finally said, "There were casualties at the U.S.J."
"What?" Izuku instantly cried. "I thought that everyone got to U.A. safely—"
"I'm not talking about students," Toshinori said in a pained voice. "I meant for the villains. Fifteen were declared dead on the spot, while thirty-five were sent to the ICU. Their causes of death lead us to believe that… you caused them."
Izuku was not able to process what he just heard.
"I… did not want to tell you this initially," Toshinori admitted, forging ahead despite Izuku's silence. "But you must understand what you have done and take responsibility for your actions. Obviously, you're not going to be punished for this—it was a life or death situation, after all, but… it's just that… being a hero is more than being able to kill villains. Wait, that was too—ah, what I meant to say is that, we, as heroes, try to bring villains back alive. So…"
Izuku gave no indication that he heard any of Toshinori's convoluted explanations save for a lone tear leaking out from his right eye. Toshinori was filled with remorse. He didn't want to be the one having this conversation; he was bad at serious discussions.
"Izuku, my boy," Toshinori quickly said, "say… something. Anything."
Izuku looked up at Toshinori.
"Half of me feels horrified," he began slowly, "disgusted by what I've done. I mean, I… ended the lives of fifteen people, possibly even more."
Izuku struggled to put into words what he was feeling. "P-People who will never walk the face of this Earth again, people who will never take another breath, people who are just gone."
Toshinori was about to interrupt, to tell him that it wasn't technically his fault and that Izuku was still good, but the boy spoke again.
"But the other half… the other half of me feels glad."
A shocked silence was all Izuku got.
"They were villains, were they not? Regardless of how they got there, regardless of whether or not they were tricked or forced into doing what they were doing, none of that changes the fact that, in that moment, they were acting as villains. They were trying to hurt us. Who knows what they would have done to us if we were captured. They didn't try surrendering. And so… a bit of me just can't help but think—"
Izuku looked Toshinori in the eye. And, at that moment, Toshinori could tell which side of Izuku, the sad side versus the glad side, had won out.
"So what if I kill them?"
Some notes:
1. What anime have you guys been watching? I'm looking for some recs. Any that you believe is good are fine.
2. Courage, Momo! You can do it! You can ask him if you can call him by his first name, too!
3. Sports Festival Arc incoming! The action will pick back up in the next few chapters. I just thought that, after the USJ, they deserved a break.
4. Do you guys want lemons? I've already bumped the rating up to M, so I could try my hand at them, but I've really never written anything like that before. It'd be fun to give it a shot, though. Let me know what you think.
5. Also, kudos to you if you guessed Izuku's reaction. All Might and Izuku's conversation isn't over (more to come next chapter) but I just wanted to end it on that line. Also, All Might is definitely still hiding stuff from Izuku, hehehehe.
6. I debated coming up with OCs for UA University's fourth year but ultimately decided against it, so that gave birth to the idea of the fourth year essentially being a ghost year. Not a big plot point, and it'll have no effect on the plot moving forward save for some mentions here and there.
7. Thank you for the support! We're nearing 1k follows and favorites! I never imagined that Unbreakable would grow this big, so thank you all so much!