A lot of other people ended up having priority over Izuku, which left him relatively left alone for a bit.
So many people got hurt in the tunnels, some civilian and mostly Hunters, who had been either surprise attacked in the initial assault thanks to the mist guy's ability or whom had just been worn down over time by the exposure to Grimm. A lot of ambulances were either busy driving people in more critical condition out to any number of hospitals or treatment centers in Mountain Glenn or they were being used as makeshift hospital beds for cases that weren't 'quite' bad enough to take up space in an actual hospital beds. Izuku's group, most of whom weren't badly injured, were lightly split up in that regard, taking to various ambulances to be sat down on and taken care of.
Being uninjured, but exhausted, he was a pretty low priority for most of the staff involved. Which left him with a good amount of time to take in the sights around him and 'actually' find his friends.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Izuku approached the ambulance with careful steps, not wanting to draw too much attention from anyone, least of all his classmates. With his mentor's somewhat distinct status at school, Toshinori Yagi the Symbol of Peace on the one hand and a stranger that no one would be able to quite place a reason for him being there, Izuku always needed to take tremendous care in not being spotted out with him too often, or to at least do so in a more casual setting. Visiting him while he's in an ambulance would likely qualify as 'not' one of those times but... well, he was in an ambulance and Izuku was worried. He knew a massive fight must've been going on, and Izuku knew his injuries. Izuku was worried about how Toshinori was holding up, whether he was okay. As he approached the ambulance, in which only Toshinori was sat, one of the medics stopped him on his approach, which drew Toshinori's attention.
"I'm sorry young man but Mr. Kagemusha here has gone through a rather harrowing day down there. He isn't taking any-"
"No, it's alright." Izuku heard Toshinori's voice call out from the ambulance as he waved the man down. "The kid's... a neighbor I used to have. He's just checking up on an old man. Isn't that right, young man?" Toshinori gave a smile as he spoke and, again, he spoke so naturally despite the fact he was technically lying through his teeth that even Izuku believed it for a moment. Before the medic could speak up again, Professor Peach, having been elbow deep in checking other people's injuries, just pat the guy on the shoulder as she sighed.
"It's alright, he's not that badly hurt and what old injuries Mr. Kagemusha came in with weren't irritated to any dangerous degree. One visitor right now isn't going to send him tumbling over the edge." The medic paused as Peach spoke but then nodded, snapping a quick salute to the Huntress, which Peach just answered with a slightly aggravated sigh, before she turned back to any number of lightly injured, or potentially so, Hunters and civilians. Izuku was ushered into the ambulance and, after he was safely inside, Toshinori closed the door behind him, leaving them both effectively sealed off from the rest of Mountain Glenn.
The two of them sat silently in that ambulance for a moment, as if waiting to see if anyone would suddenly jump through or interrupt or, perhaps more precisely, Toshinori was keeping an ear out for anyone who would try to peek in on the conversation. When it felt like they both seemed satisfied, Toshinori turned to him, a concerned look on his face.
"How you holding up there Izuku? You alright? You're not hurt are ya kid?" Izuku was actually a little surprised: those were the questions he was going to ask.
"Uh, no. I mean, yes, I'm okay and no, I'm not hurt. I'm alright Toshinori." His mentor sighed slightly, as if relieved, before Izuku shook his head. "But what about you? We heard all that ruckus in the Tunnels and then... well..."
"You heard me punch that birdbrain through the ceiling, right?" Toshinori asked with a light chuckle.
"Yeah... are you okay? I knew you'd done some strenuous work with your Full Power today and... well, I suspected that was why you weren't here at the start. So... I mean, are you okay Toshinori?" With that, Toshinori Yagi gave a small grin as he brought up one of his skinny arms and flexed it.
"Me? Yeah, I'm doing alright. Aizawa was a big help in the fight, he kept them from using their Semblances... and for the big guy, that meant he spent a lot of the fight not being able to heal himself back up. Between him and I, we managed to deal with those bastards well enough. Still had a couple minutes to spare myself." With that, Toshinori dropped his arm as he sighed. "Still, I really am getting old. Back in my prime, five hits would've been enough to take a guy like that out. Today... well, took more than 300 punches to finally get him down." Toshinori scratched the back of his head. "Even then I had to punch him out of the Training Facility because I was starting to run short on time... continuing that fight risked dragging it out past my limit."
"Well... I'm just glad you came Toshinori, that you won the day and that you're alright!" Toshinori turned to look at the boy as he grinned. "You did something amazing and you did it with some of your time to spare. That really is incredible!" For a moment, Toshinori gave a soft smile at the enthusiasm... though he did sigh as he again scratched the back of his head.
"... It shouldn't have needed to be amazing though, kid." Izuku blinked as Toshinori turned to look at the ambulance door. "I shouldn't have only had minutes to spare of my ability. I should've been at full charge and ready to actually do my job as a teacher... Hell. I should've been there from moment one. Then you and your fellow students wouldn't have been scattered to be potentially maimed or worse. Instead I spent a lot of my power before this and... well, I wasn't there for any of you,, and I 'especially' wasn't there for you. That... that nearly cost everyone everything." The man reached his hand around as he rubbed his chin in thought. "I got lucky this time. You all are going to be okay and I managed to get out of there with some time to spare and enough teachers around to help me get this little deal ready." He pointed to the civilian uniform he was wearing and, son of a gun, the name tag even has his picture and the name he heard the medic use on it.
"So... I do want to apologize, young man. As important as saving lives and doing my job as a Hunter is... I'm also a teacher, and your mentor to boot. I didn't keep a good balance of that this time and... well, I'll try and do better in the future."
"Toshinori, sir... did you know that terrorists were going to come in and attack today?" Toshinori just kinda blinked, arching one of those bony eyebrows of his as he shook his head.
"Course not, no one did." He took that with a nod as Izuku did his best to smile.
"Then you didn't do anything wrong. Sir... I might not know what you were up to today, but it still sounds like it was important if you needed to hero it up. You've said yourself how important saving lives it... it isn't fair to you or to other people who might need the Symbol of Peace for you to hide yourself away just in case we might need you. That's not fair to you or anyone." Toshinori frowned as he took that in, the man rubbing at his chin as he sighed.
"Still, I do have responsibilities to you kids. I'm not just a Hunter now..."
"And you fulfilled them." Izuku said with absolute certainty as he looked his predecessor head on. "Sir... you coming kept Professor Aizawa and everyone else from being badly hurt. Even if you were there from the beginning... well, we 'all' got caught by that Kurogiri guy at first. Who's to say that they wouldn't have done the same thing to you in order to deal with you on their own... or worse, just off to the side for them to come to later. You wouldn't have been able to do anything to help then. We can't say for certain whether you being there from the start would've made things better... and besides, we have our responsibilities too." The young man touched his chest as he looked his mentor in the eye, doing his best to look as certain as possible.
"You are our teacher... but you can't be everywhere at once. Part of our jobs as students is to learn how to deal with situations like this on our own, something you've been training us for weeks now to deal with. We can't always depend on you being around... at some point, we'll need to be ready to step up." With that, He finished with the best smile he could. "What matters is that today, you were here when we needed you and you did make that difference. I don't want you to apologize, Toshinori... I want to thank you."
...
"Jeez kid, way to take the air out of a guy's sails..." Toshinori reached up to scratch his cheek, a slight grin on his face as he looked off to the side. The air in the ambulance got considerably lighter after that, Toshinori just chuckling to himself while Izuku... well, he just felt good knowing he managed to raise the older man's spirits a bit. He meant what he said; when he put two and two together and figured out that his Hero, his Mentor, his Teacher, had arrived to save them all... it did put him at ease.
'However, there is still one thing that is bothering me…'
"By the way sir, you wouldn't happen to know anything about those guys that attacked, right? The 'Monochrome League'?" He asked, tilting his head slightly as Toshinori turned to face him . Toshinori scratched his chin lightly as he tried to think of an answer.
"Honestly kid? Not a clue. Don't get me wrong, it's obvious they're some kind of criminal element. A lot of people in that room are being positively identified as some crooks from Vale and Vacuo... which is surprising. So far it's seeming like none of the Faunus in the group are popping up in databases of known White Fang members, which you would've figured given their attitude." Toshinori rubbed at his chin more. "As for the name... it's some kind of obvious callback to the Monochrome Empire which... I dunno. Maybe that explains why these Faunus aren't part of the Fang; they're a different kind of political dissident. Still wouldn't make any sense though. Not like that old Empire was any kinder to Faunus than the Kingdoms that came after it."
The Monochrome Empire, something so old and so out of Izuku's time that he only knew about it from history books. An old, almost ancient, time back even before the Four Kingdoms were ruled by Kings, when the entire World of Remnant was ruled by one person, or rather, a line of people: The Grey Emperors of Mankind. While the latter part hadn't been a part of his official title, considering the stringent laws enslaving Faunus that started with The Empire, it was pretty well considered that the men who ruled over the Empire were Rulers of Men first, and considered the Faunus little more than their property. The only thing positive that any textbook had to say about that time was that it was a period in which the Grimm were pushed back to the absolute hinterlands, more of a annoyance to human and Faunuskind than an actual threat.
"Would people really want to go back to something like that?" Toshinori shrugged his shoulders slightly as he heaved a sigh.
"Wouldn't surprise me; some people can be nostalgic for some pretty stupid crap Izuku." Izuku reluctantly nodded for a moment as he tried to think over the matter more deeply. However, before he could, a knock on the ambulance door caused him to flinch slightly, Toshinori just looking to the door. "Yes?"
"Mr. Kagemusha, we're ready to transport you and a couple others to the treatment facility as per Doctor Peach's orders. Could you get your little friend out of the ambulance?" Toshinori just gave a quick grunt of affirmation before he turned back, a slight smile on his face.
"I'll see you later, kid. Keep your nose clean until then, alright?" Izuku just nodded with a smile on his face as he got up, heading for the ambulance's doors. "And young man?" He paused, turning back to look at Toshinori. "Thanks for the pep talk there, kid." Once more he grinned and gave him a firm nod before opening the ambulance doors, hopping out before a couple other people were loaded on in.
xXxXxXxXxXx
"E-Excuse me, sir? Hello? Please, I need to ask you something!" Izuku heard a very familiar voice call out in the crowd as he walked back towards the main hub of his friends and the hurt and injured. He blinked as he turned to the crowd, just barely seeing a tuft of green hair as whoever it belongs to got the attention of a Hunter. "Yes, hello. I-I'd like to ask if you know if there's an Izuku Midoriya being looked over right now? Please, it's very important that I know." The man just raised an eyebrow as he looked into the crowd and Izuku slowly approached.
"I'm sorry ma'am but we're not at liberty to disclose identities at this point. Please understand-"
"I understand, please rest assured but... please, I need to know. When I heard about what was happening I went over to the evacuation zone where the rest of his class was supposed to be taken and I couldn't find him or his team there anywhere! My friend's worried to death about her son too and we just both really need to know what's happened! The only other possibility is that they're still at Beacon but... m-my baby isn't answering his Scroll! He always answers and, even if he doesn't, he calls me back later if he was in the middle of something important! That can only mean that my baby boy was down there! Please, I need to know if he's okay, my darling boy, h-he's very sensitive and if he's gotten hurt Ijustdon'tknowwhatI'mgoingtodosopleaseIjustwanttoknowifmyson'sokayand-"
"Mom?" Izuku finally called out to the tuft of hair, which immediately went stock still after having jumbled around from frantic speaking. The crowd parted slightly as he called out, allowing him to see that, why yes, Inko Midoriya, his mother was standing there looking back at him , tears threatening the corners of her eyes as her hands were gripped tightly against the guard rails. When she spotted Izuku with those emerald eyes that he inherited, he watched as those tears slowly but surely well upped more, until they practically took up half the surface of her eyes.
And then the eruption happened.
"IZUKU, MY BAAAAAABY!" Everyone practically stopped in their place when that loud shout echoed over the entire area, Inko Midoriya's eyes bursting with tears as she saw her son standing there. He flinched at the sheer volume and energy of his mom's cry as, in a surprising display of dexterity and strength, Inko Midoriya pulled herself up over the guard rail, bodily threw off any of the Hunters attempting to restrain her and then 'sprinted' over to where he was . He didn't even have time to react before Inko threw her arms around him and placed him in a tight hug, the woman just bawling. "OH THANK THE GODS, MY BABY BOY'S ALRIGHT, HE'S OKAY, HE'S OKAY, HE'S OKAYHE'SOKAYHE'SOKAYHE'SOKAY!"
Everyone, from the various Hunters, to the civilians, to the medics and even his friends just kind of watched the scene for a moment and he could see a 'wide' variety of emotions on a lot of faces: the vast majority of which were 'highly' amused, while a good number more seemed deeply touched. Before one of the official Hunters could try to pry his mom off, another Hunter, that one seeming more local, just placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
"Eh, no point in trying now; that's Inko Midoriya. Trust me, you'd need a crowbar and a whole crew of construction workers to try to pry her off her son now. Just let it be." He wasn't sure what's more embarrassing about that; how touching it was that they were actually going to let his mother stay here because of her worry or that 'they knew' that for a fact. Either way he turned his head down to look at his mom, knowing that a lot of people were still watching the little scene play out, a few people even cracking out their Scrolls to take some pictures, even as others got back to their own business. If his mother was aware of all that, she certainly didn't show it as she continued to cry into his chest.
Honestly, for a moment he was too mixed up to know what he should do, surprised by his mother's outburst and ever so slightly embarrassed at the same time. However, as his mind recovered, a thought crossed it. His mother said that she checked where he should've been and had been trying to find him... up until she realized he was down in the Tunnels during what was obviously an emergency situation. What must she have felt at that moment? What must she have been thinking? That he was seriously hurt? That he was in terrible danger... that... that he might die? The thought made his throat go dry as he looked down at his mother, still crying fiercely into his chest. 'She must've been so worried... how relieved must she feel to see that I'm safe?'
In the end he decided that his mother's peace of mind was well worth some embarrassment and, in front of his friends and everyone, he did his best to hug his mom back, a slightly sheepish smile on his face as he did so. Eventually Inko seemed to regain enough of herself to speak into his chest.
"Oh my Gods Izuku, I was so worried... I didn't know if you were okay and it was eating me up inside. I thought that maybe... but... Oh Gods, Izuku, I'm just so glad you're okay. I don't know what I would've done if..." His mom seemingly threatened to break out into another huge geyser of tears as she worked herself back up, as Izuku tired to keep her from freaking out.
"Mom, it's okay. It's like you're saying, I'm okay. I mean look, I... barely have a scratch on me." He coughed slightly, realizing that you still had two casts on your fingers. Inko pulled back slightly as he said that, obviously having spotted that herself, as her tears continued to well up.
"But you did get hurt! My baby's had to get casts on him! Some brute broke my poor son's fingers when they were fighting... or worse, a Grimm did it trying to kill you! How can I not be worried?" Inko said through blubbery tears as she reached an arm up and wiped at her eyes, desperately trying, and failing, to stem the tide. Izuku coughed slightly as he scratched his cheek.
"A-Actually mom... I did that to myself..."
"... What?" It was a shrill cry that escaped his mom's lips as she and, he swore, he thought she was about to cry even harder. Before she could, he raised his hands up defensively.
"I-It's my Semblance mom, I just, I just don't have good control over it yet! It hurts to use a little bit is all, but I'm okay!" He waved his hands again, gasping as his mom hugged him tighter. He'd swear, if she had an Aura herself, she might actually have snapped him in half like a twig.
"My baby breaks his fingers whenever he uses his Semblance?! Izuku, honey, why would you do something so risky in such a dangerous situation?!" Izuku just did his best to smile in a calm manner at that as he looked down at his mother.
"Mom... I did it because people were in trouble." Inko seemed a bit surprised by his sudden show of resolve, but he continued on. "I'm a Hunter-in-Training mom... and there were a lot of people down there who needed my help... and you know? I saved a lot of people by breaking my fingers. Even some of my classmates." He clenched said fingers, wincing slightly as he did. Not because of the pain, but because as that thought passed through his mind, some tears start to peek into the corners of his eyes. "I... I saved people today mom. I really did it. I was a hero." He saw Inko's eyes go a bit wide those words, it being abundantly clear that his mother understood the situation.
"Honey..." Her face seemed to try to force itself into a frown as she looked at him with that worried expression. "B-But it's... you were in trouble and..." She continued looking at him, however, and he could only imagine she saw what he felt on his face; pride, happiness... fulfillment. As his tears threatened to pick up, his mom deflated slightly, before she gave her own smile. "My... Izuku..." His mom hugged him again, as if supporting herself. "... I'm proud of you. I'm scared but I'm so proud of you." Soon enough he was hugging his mom back, the both of them smiling and crying as the situation came to a head.
Eventually, a Hunter did come by to pry his mother off, explaining that it 'was' a warded off area and that it 'was' official Hunter business. Despite her own obvious fears and worries remaining, she was eventually convinced to leave and let Izuku get back to the crowd here. Knowing that they'd have Color Week coming up free, the two separated as they wiped some tears from their eyes.
'I really did it, I'm a Hero a now. ' Maybe not officially, but all that mattered to him was that he saved lives. And, true to her word, his mom was proud of him.
xXxXxXxXxXx
"Izuku!"
As he made his way through the crowd, his ears picked up on a voice he'd come to be quite familiar with those past six weeks. He smiled, having been looking for said person but not having quite parsed them out through the crowd, and now found that she was running right for him. Pyrrha, his partner, managed to break through some of the crowd as she ran to his position and, to his surprise, Blake actually closely followed up, using the slight parting of the crowd as a means to quickly and simply slip through the chaos. Pyrrha stopped a short distance from him, taking a few breaths that suggested she's 'just' a little bit spent as she smiled down at Izuku, while Blake just slowly walked up. While the black haired young woman seemed just as spent as Pyrrha, that didn't stop her neutral expression from seeming ever so slightly perked up at seeing his condition.
"Pyrrha, Blake! It's good to see you two are alright... you two are okay, right?" Blake started off by nodding slowly, though Pyrrha just glanced down at his fingers and, with a slightly wry smile, just shook her head.
"You've got broken digits again and you're asking us if we're okay." Pyrrha said with a slight laugh as she combed a hand through her hair, though Blake just shrugged.
"I mean, you can't say that's not in-character for him. Broke an entire arm before and was more concerned with us them himself." Blake offered with a slight grin, the pair having caused him to just sheepishly scratch at the back of his head. "But to answer you first Izuku, yes, we're fine. Heck, between the three of us I don't think we were touched once." Izuku blinked slightly as Blake nodded over her shoulder back to where Kacchan was talking to one of the officials taking notes, a serious expression on his face as he kept his arms crossed. "Between the three of us, most things we came across didn't really stand much of a chance... we got pretty tired but otherwise we were actually pretty okay." Izuku sighed in relief, shaking his head... though he noticed that now Blake and Pyrrha were looking at him 'very' expectantly.
"Uhh... I'm okay too. I mean, I know my fingers are broken but, they're healing just fine. Honestly, Weiss and Yang took a slightly worse amount of punishment than I did down there, they're actually having to be treated..." His expression slightly dropped at that...
'huh. Some leader I was; my charges were the ones who ended up being the most-'
Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a quick shake, snapping him out of it.
"Izuku; you literally broke your own fingers to help people. I'm sure Weiss and Yang would say they got injured for the exact same reasons. We were all in danger down there and we all did what we could... don't beat yourself up just because, for some of us, that meant us getting injured." He blinked slightly at that, as Blake nodded.
"Am...am I really that easy to predict?"
"Yes."
'I don't think Pyrrha's ever been that direct before?'
"Speaking from experience, you probably did everything you could've done... and more." Blake wiggled two of her fingers that correspond with his still broken ones as she kept an even expression. "No one's gonna think you slacked off or you didn't do your job... heck, judging by my teammate, far from it." Everyone took a moment to glance over at Yang, the young woman smiling and exuberant, if somewhat tired, as she talked to both Ruby and Tsuyu while being treated on the back of an ambulance. Izuku couldn't help but crack a smile at that, relief flooding him.
"Thanks guys." Blake and Pyrrha offer up quick nods at that, Pyrrha's face breaking out into a smile while a slight grin cracked at the corner of Blake's lips. Before the conversation could go on, however, a couple things happened.
"Hey, isn't that..."
"Yeah, that's Pyrrha Nikos, The Invincible Girl! I heard she'd become a Huntress, but I didn't know she was in this class or involved in this catastrophe!"
"And would you look at that! She's not even got a scratch on her. Guess they'll be calling her Pyrrha Nikos, The Invincible Huntress, soon enough." He watched as there was just the slightest 'flinch' in Pyrrha's expression as she reached one of her gloved hands up to rub at her other arm, the crowd having increasingly noticed her as a few people started to take pictures.
Izuku was quick to pick up on Pyrrha's issues there. While he didn't understand the full picture, Pyrrha's discomfort with the way people were talking about her and the pictures they're snapping was enough to get him to act. He smiled slightly as he walked up to Pyrrha, 'unintentionally' getting in the way of a lot of cameras in the process.
"Have you gotten checked over yet Pyrrha?" He watched as Pyrrha's lighter green eyes blinked in confusion as he pat her on the shoulder. "I know you said you didn't get hit at all but... well, Aura exhaustion isn't a laughing matter either. It's probably better to get that checked just in case rather than let it sit thinking you're just fine." With that, he nodded back towards the ambulances and, while slightly confused, Pyrrha went ahead and started to follow him, much to the annoyance of the crowd that had been gawking at her. Soon enough he heard Blake sigh as the young woman followed him back into the crowd, seemingly just looking to get away from that scene.
As he walked back with Pyrrha, he looked up at her and gave her a grin. "We've all been through a pretty stressful day I'd say... no need to stress yourself out more than today already has." With that, a slight smile popped onto Pyrrha's lips as she nodded, more fully understanding, as she looked back forward to the ambulances.
"... Thank you, Izuku."
"No problem, Pyrrha."
xXxXxXxXxXx
"And then I was like 'Hey Tenya, you can go super fast and you have all that armor on and I'm super strong and can probably hit these guys out of the park' right?"
"Uh huh..."
"So then I just jumped up on his shoulders and started kicking his ribs! That way, I'd have the high ground on the goons so that they wouldn't focus on me while I swung for the fences and Tenya could not have to worry about having to fight these guys by himself!"
"Nora, wouldn't it have been better if you and Tenya could've fought at the same time?" Ren asked, caught in a state of amusement or bemusement, as he looked up at the orange-haired girl. Nora shook her head as she gave a few 'tut tuts' as she looked down at her best friend.
"Come on Renny, think about it. Sure, we might've been able to attack more guys at once but combining my power with Tenya's speed, we were hitting these guys like a ye olde knight with a lance! They were getting knocked unconscious in one hit! We couldn't have managed that if we split up! No, this was a waaaay more effective plan, isn't that right my gallant steed?"
"... Miss Valkyrie, please get off of me, the danger has passed." Tenya remarked, sounding slightly exhausted, as he very tiredly waved his hands about. Nora just huffed and placed her hands on her hips while she dug her heels slightly into Tenya's armor.
"Now that's not a good deal of situational awareness Tenya! We're still 'surrounded' by goons who could try to break out at any minute! If I get off your shoulders now, who could possibly round up these goons as well as us?"
"... How about anyone else in the vicinity?" Tenya remarked weakly while Nora just nodded her head.
"Exactly, nobody! Face it Tenya, we've got a monstrous wombo-combo on our hands and, until the danger has fully passed, this Queen needs to remain on her mount!"
"... Uh... I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Izuku walked up to the trio who turned their gazes upon him. Immediately Nora's eyes lit up like fireworks as she dug her heels into Tenya's ribs again and tilted her body slightly, the gesture forcing Tenya to move to compensate as the pair immediately walked up to him.
"FEARLESS LEADER, HEY! Oh wow I was really worried about you! I mean, not that I didn't have complete faith in your abilities, I mean, even if you got a little overwhelmed you could just SMASH your way out of any situation but, seeing as how you did, I guess that means you did get into some trouble but, if Ren's right, it was trouble you got into saving him and some of our other friends! Man Izuku, if there was anyone other than me that I would've put Ren's life into the hands of, it'd be you, I mean, even when you've got broken fingers you can still hold onto things pretty well so when Ren said that he was grouped up with you, I knew that was why Renny was so completely safe! I mean, Yang helped a lot too and I've totally got to thank her later for that, but hearing that my Fearless Leader was with them put me at ease immediately, so thanks Izuku!"
"... Midoriya..." Izuku slowly arched his head down to Tenya, the young man looking like he was sweating through his armor as he brought his hand up in a pleading gesture. "You're her leader, surely you have to know how to convince her to get off of me. It was an interesting idea at first but I really think I'm about to collapse. Ren tried to convince her to jump off but... well, surely you could try?" Izuku blinked as he looked around the pair to Ren, the young man just shrugging his shoulders slightly, still looking like he was conflicted between being amused and being annoyed, that odd melancholy of bemusement still present.
Not that he didn't have a reason to guess 'why' Ren might be annoyed with Nora sitting on Tenya's shoulders, but he wasn't going to point out that particular little mess.
'Okay, time to see if I have gotten fluent in Noraese.'
"Now Nora, is this a very Queenly thing to do?" Izuku asked, crossing his arms, as Nora just tilted her head to the side.
"What do you mean Fearless Leader? Of course it is! A Queen is nothing without her noble steed!" Nora declared, patting Tenya's armor on the top of its head as Tenya just heaved a sigh. Izuku pointed to Tenya, a slight frown on his face.
"Listen to that Nora, it's clear that he's exhausted from all that running and fighting. Even valiant steed need to rest so that they can get their strength back, same as you." Izuku placed his hands on his hips as and tilted his head to the side. "Do you think a good Queen would just ride their horse until they collapse? That wouldn't be a good outcome for him 'or' you, right?"
Nora pondered that for a moment, it was clear that there's a war being waged in her mind between his logic, however Nora-flavored it was, and Nora's desire to keep on having fun. Still, Nora just sighed as she nodded her head, giving Tenya an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry Tenya, Izuku's right. I really haven't been thinking about that at all. You must be exhausted poor thing." Finally, Nora quickly lifted and swung her legs off of Tenya's shoulders as she slid off his armor, the young man giving an audible sigh of relief as he rolled several kinks out of his shoulders. "I hope you can forgive me... that wasn't a great thing for me to do." Nora said apologetically as Tenya just sighed.
"It's alright Miss Valkyrie." With that, Tenya removed his helmet, his hair drenched in sweat as he reached into one of the compartments of his armor to produce his glasses. "It was a surprisingly effective tactic... just, please, if we ever do this again, just... give me some time where you're not riding on my shoulders?" Tenya cracked his back after saying that, an sigh released from his mouth as he did so. "Please?"
"Sounds like a deal there, Trusty Steed! I promise that in the future, Queen Nora shall be more fair to her faithful mount!" Tenya just shook his head, as did Ren, though Izuku could tell that both were quite relieved to have Nora off of Tenya.
"Students! If I may have your attention please?" Before they could start another bit of shenanigans, their attention was called by Glynda Goodwitch, the professor having taken a position in the middle of the crowd, standing on top of a small box, as she looked around. "Given today's... conditions, it's clear that the rest of the class won't be taking these exams for now. Something for them will be arranged at a later date to make up for this... however, as next week is Color Week, that is to be saved for another time." many nod in understanding at that. "As for the rest of you... well, surviving an incident such as this, I think, goes above and beyond what this test may have called upon you. Consider yourselves to have passed with flying colors." Hoots and hollers of celebration could be heard in the crowd as Glynda readjusted her spectacles.
"With that said, as soon as you all are done being treated or are cleared by Mountain Glenn Officials... you're free to go. The School will remain open for the weekend and, after that, the Dorms shall remain open for the entire Holiday. Do as you will." With that, Glynda stepped down and further congratulations were in order, Nora lightly punching Izuku in the shoulder as she hooted and hollered over the good news. Izuku just wince slightly at that as he chuckled, rubbing the now sore shoulder where Nora had playfully struck him...
Honestly, that holiday would be just what he needed. After all of that, he felt like he could sleep like the dead...
Even if he couldn't stop himself from smiling at how well everything had gone. Despite everything, his first trial as a Hunter... well, in his mind?
It had been an unmitigated success.
xXxXxXxXxXx
'Okay Weiss,' the Schnee heiress finally noticed that the reason she had nearly gotten herself killed had managed to be on his own for a second, 'show time.'
She patted her side and winced as she stood up. The movement to a standing position had caused her to stretch her wound slightly, and she quickly glanced back down. Not seeing any excess blood oozing through her bandages, she sighed, and slowly made her way over to her classmate, who was currently sitting there, allowing some of the ice on his side to slip off his shoulder.
"Shoto?"
Todoroki's head rose, and his eyes widened slightly.
"Hello Weiss."
'Okay good,' Weiss nodded inwardly, 'he doesn't hate me too much right now.'
"I wanted to...," Weiss stopped in her mental tracks.
'Come on, just come out and say that you want to talk about the incident'
"Check and see if you were hurt by those criminals in the tunnels."
'Dammit!'
Shoto's eyes fell back into a normal appearance, and he shook his head. That actually caused some more of the ice around his body to fall off, almost as though a light snow had started on his knee and the ground around him.
"No, I'm fine," he held out his hand, and squeezed his fingers slightly, "I'm just a bit tired, but I don't have to worry about frostbite or anything like that. I have managed to figure out how to overcome that particular issue of using my powers."
"...is it because of yo...your extensive training?" Weiss felt sweat slowly slide down her brow as she quickly changed her question, though Shoto adopted a glare that caused her to back up.
"It's because of my fire powers."
Weiss looked around, and noticed that no-one else was anywhere near them, before finally looking back at her classmate, before sighing. She steeled herself, and connected her eyes to his.
"I'm sorry."
"..." Shoto sat there for a second, his expression unchanging. Weiss felt sweat begin to gather on her brow. Was he thinking about how pathetic it was that it had taken so long for her to apologize? Was he considering how best to tell her off? Was he-
"Sorry I have fire powers?"
'...is he an idiot?'
"No, no, no," Weiss waved her hands back and forth, "I-"
"Well I am," he stared down at his free side, a look of clear disdain across his features, "Believe me, if I could, I would gladly trade this power, even if it did mean I would might lose a finger to frost-bite," he then looked back up at her with derision, "There is nothing that I hate more than the fact that I have two elements within me. That I have any of him in me."
Weiss didn't know the whole story. All she knew was that Enji Todoroki was one of the most powerful hunters in all of Remnant, and that he would eventually marry an Atlesian woman from a obscure family with a powerful semblance. Then that there had been a half dozen or so children in that family, until they eventually stopped having them with one last son. She knew that the wife would eventually be placed in a mental hospital, and that it was the basic death nail for her family's already shaky place in the upper Atlesian court, as she had either gone insane, or had failed to please her husband. She knew that boys aren't usually born with burn scars, and that Enji is quite famous for his fire powers.
It was quite obvious what happened, and that Shoto's burn was so shallow was likely due to the fact that his father had been in control when the event had occurred. On some level it made sense exactly why he wouldn't want to bring up his fire, if the man who scarred him was the one who had given him that power.
Almost made the relationship she had with her father look decent and normal.
'Best ignore that road,' She continued, "I am sorry that I spoke up about that in our conversation at the study room in Beacon. It was very rude of me, and I should have known better than to attack you in a place of such...emotional vulnerability."
"You are correct. It was very wrong for you to bring it up," Weiss winced as she heard that, absolutely no tact, "Why would you act so spiteful when I am simply asking you a question?"
"We-"
"Surely you know my history," Shoto stood up, and once again Weiss cursed her lack of growth as she had to look up to see him, "You would know about how I hate him? About what he did to my mother?"
Weiss almost stopped to wonder why he focused on his mother being locked away rather than someone burning half his face, but she thought maybe emotional trauma matters more than physical. She shook her head.
"Well you brought up a very sensitive topic," she steeled her spine and looked him dead in the eye. Backing down here would accomplish nothing, not if she wanted her answers, "You don't just bring up dark family secrets as a topic of conversation when you are on your-what-fifth real conversation with a person. And that is being generous."
Shoto stared back at her for a second. Time seemed to stand still, as Weiss felt the tension weigh ever more greatly down on her. Had she blown it?
"You are...correct," Shoto backed down, and sat on to the bench he had previously been, a small sigh escaped his lips, "I suppose I did bring that up too early."
"Well obvio-"
"That is the sort of thing you bring up in the eighth conversation, correct?"
"..."
'Do not punch. Do not punch. Do not punch."
"...No," Weiss felt the sweat form on the back of her head, a vein twitch above her left eye, "That's not the sort of thing you bring up until you have had dozens if not hundreds of conversations."
"...," Shoto's eyes widened noticeably, "But that is so long."
'Oh my goddesses,' Weiss gripped her hands, desperately telling herself not to punch him, 'He's worse at this sort of stuff than Izuku.'
And then, her mind stopped.
'He's worse at social interactions than Izuku.'
She stared down at Shoto and felt the tips of her lips tilt upward slightly, not enough to form and actual smile, but enough to allow some of the tension to clear out of her body.
"You weren't trying to accuse me of anything at all when you brought up me being at Beacon, were you?"
"Well no," Shoto shook his head, "It just seemed to be obvious that you were rebelling against your father in a way that I wish I could have rebelled against mine, and I thought that would be a good topic of conversation."
"In Atlesian court society," Weiss inwardly smirked to herself, happy to have some of the weight off her shoulders. Now just to explain things and have the whole rotten situation over and done with, "You were basically accusing me of be unfaithful to those who loved me, and in some ways threatening my status as heir to the SDC and in the whole of society. That and there was the whole pampered Diva comment."
Shoto's face had grown more and more concerned with each statement, before he finally opened his mouth, "I was trying to make a point about how different you were from the image that had gone around the rumor mill, but I think I may have messed up that point of conversation," he then looked at the ground, "I...I can now see why you were so spiteful from your comments. From your perspective, I was attacking your very identity, and treating you like anyone else simply worried about their place in the court," she stopped, "In my effort to form a connection, I opened up on an uncomfortable topic too early, was too forward with my wording, and was ultimately very unfair to you as a person."
"And I," Weiss nodded, "Responded too quickly to what I thought was spite, but seems obvious in hindsight was mere awkwardness, and was far too quick to attempt to outdo you in picking at a raw subject," she held out her hand in front of him, "Sorry?"
Shoto raised his hand, a small smile forming on his face, gripped her hand, and shook it, "Mutually," he stopped for a second, "So does this make us friends, or-"
"Well we did fight to save each other's lives," Weiss thought for a second, "But I think at this point it's still a bit too early to do anything like that, so how about...acquaintances that may one day be friends?"
Shoto smiled back, before shaking her hand firmly one last time.
"Agreed."
E/N: Introduce your own stuff.
-Shovern
Well, this was the end of the "Shouto and Weiss being mad at each other" arc.
When I started writing it, I totally meant for them to never be friends again.
…
That idea came about because a lot of the cast felt like it was underutilized. And also, that besides Bakugou, most of the relationships felt very one note to me. So, hey, in this circle of friends, there are two people who don't like each other. They just got into a bad situation, and their dislike for one another just leads to some conflict over the rest of the story.
Then GF made it not only part of a story, but also a major arc, and it really did fold neatly into the whole Tunnels story, as a secondary character piece about Shouto and Weiss. I'm glad how it worked out, and I am thankful that it seems to have become a generally well like part of the story.
-Wind-Waker
a/n: Part of it was misunderstanding, of course, but I genuinely did like where this story arc was able to go.
Also, next update will be on the 28th as normal, sorry for being late.