Chapter 2: I'm Not Worthless
As the Symbol of Peace. Toshinori Yagi had faced off with some of the most terrifying villains that the world had ever seen. He had dismantled entire crime syndicates single-handed. He had been living with one lung and an inability to eat solid food for six years, due to the consequences of his final battle with All For One. To the world at large, there was nothing that could cause the sensation known as fear to affect him.
The world at large would've been disappointed, as there was one thing that scared Toshinori Yagi.
The wrath of a mother.
Of course, this was prefaced by Toshinori's infamous ringtone, which sent a groan throughout the UA staff room. "All Might, please." Midnight groused as she vacated the premises, "That ringtone is more torture than I can handle."
Toshinori pointedly ignored her, and answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Since when did kickback mean three broken limbs, Toshinori?"
He immediately sat up straight, over the past year of training Izuku, he had gotten to know his mother. If you caught him in a more candid moment, Toshinori would admit that he was attracted to her. Upon learning that he couldn't have solid food, Inko had gone out of her way to make smoothies for him. If he was sure that she was ready to start dating again...
But that was a subject to not broach right now, as Inko seemed to be rather annoyed with him. "To be fair, I didn't expect that much kickback."
On the other end of the line, Inko sighed in exasperation. "How do we keep this from happening again?"
Toshinori braced himself for a further deluge, "It may be unavoidable for the near future. Right now, young Midoriya can only use all of the power or none of it. I'm sure he'll learn, given time. Even then, there may be situations that force him to go beyond his limits."
"How many more times, Toshinori? How many times am I going to get a call from Izuku where he says bad news, Mom. I broke my arm again?"
Toshinori closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, "To be honest, I'm not sure. I'm hoping that the different Quirks and approaches that his classmates have spark some inspiration."
Now Inko was genuinely confused. "Did you not have these problems when you first got One For All?"
"No, I took to it like a fish to water. Even I'm not sure how to help Midoriya."
There was silence on both ends of the line for a moment, before Inko spoke, "We'll help him together, Toshi. Besides, Izuku figured out a stopgap to limit widespread injury in the meantime."
Toshinori blinked. Toshi? Only David Shield and Inspector Tsukuachi called him by that nickname, and yet... he didn't mind. "Oh? What is it?"
"Delaware Smash."
"Pardon?"
UA's campus was big. Far bigger than Midoriya had anticipated. The good news was that there were maps posted at strategic locations. The bad news was that he had ended up on the exact opposite end of campus from where he needed to be, and was booking it through the halls.
Come on, come on! I can't be late on my first day! Not after I barely got in on rescue points!
Luckily, the past year of hellish training sessions with All Might had done more than prepare his body to receive One For All. His physical fitness had improved drastically, to the point that he could barely make it to class on time. He grinned as he saw the sign for classroom 1-A. He took a few deep breaths to restore his heartbeat to something resembling normal, then opened the door.
"I don't care what damn snob school you came from, Four Eyes!"
Oh no.
Midoriya's entrance into the classroom went unheeded, as his classmates were busy spectating a face-off between Bakugo and the boy that had told Midoriya off for muttering during the prep session for the practical entrance exam.
"My name is not Four-Eyes, you reprobate! My name is Tenya Iida, and you will remove your feet from that desk this instant! You are insulting both our fellow students and the people who made that desk when you put your feet on it!"
"Why should I care about what you extras think?" Bakugo snapped back.
Iida was about to respond when he noticed Midoriya, "Oh, it's you!"
Everyone turned to look at him, and Midoriya promptly became rather statue-like. "Uh... I'm Izuku Midoriya!"
Iida brought his hand down in a knife-like gesture, "I must apologize for how I treated you prior to the entrance exam. You perceived the true nature of the test, while I did not."
While this exchange was going on, Bakugo was getting angry. First Deku had had the nerve to get into UA, then he had the balls to get into the same class as him?
"Hi, I'm Ochako Uraraka!"
Bakugo blinked. He had to admit that this newcomer was kind of cute. It was too bad that she was probably just another extra. What was her name again? Eh, her face was round... Round Face, that sounded good.
"If you're here to socialize, get out."
Midoriya and Uraraka turned around to see a haggard man with long black hair and some sort of cloth wrapped around his neck. Midoriya knew that the man had to be some sort of Pro Hero, as all of the teachers at UA were Pros, but he couldn't put his finger on it. However, Midoriya didn't have time to ponder it as he scrambled to his seat.
The man sighed and faced the class. "It took you eight seconds to quiet down. That's wasted time. If I'm going to make you lot into heroes, you'll need every second you can get."
No one dared to make a peep.
"I am Shota Aizawa, your homeroom teacher. If you were looking forward to the opening ceremonies, I'm afraid that I'll have to disappoint you. You're going to miss them. Change into your PE uniforms, then come to Field Alpha."
Iida mustered the courage to speak up. "Aizawa-sensei, I really must protest. The UA opening ceremonies are a time honored tradition! Not to mention the guidance counseling afterwards!"
"Three hours."
Iida frowned in confusion. "I'm sorry?"
"Three hours." Aizawa said, "That's how much time that will waste. That time will be better spent identifying how much potential you have." He began to leave, stopping only to leave a dire warning in his wake, "But know this, if I judge that any of you have no potential, you will be expelled."
Midoriya gulped.
"As you are now, with that power of yours, you cannot be a hero."
Midoriya shrank away from Aizawa, "But I-"
"Don't interrupt." Aizawa snapped, "You may be able to save one person but after that, you're useless. Show me that I'm wrong. Try the ball toss again."
As he stepped up to the plate again, Midoriya's brain was going a mile a minute. It has to be here. This is the only one of the fitness tests that I can score a superhuman result on. Aizawa-sensei erased my Quirk when I tried to use my arm, but I need... wait! That's it!
Midoriya reared his arm back and prepared to throw, his classmates were all watching. It was now or never. It's the same principle as the Delaware Smash! One finger! He summoned the power of One For All, and shoved it all into his finger as he threw the ball. It launched from his empowered fingertip like a bullet from a gun, blasting the rest of the class with the air pressure waves. Aizawa checked the results. Over seven hundred meters.
Midoriya turned back to the class and with a wild grin on his face, and looked Aizawa dead in the eye. "Sensei, I can still move!"
Aizawa was stunned. Perhaps there was hope for Midoriya after all. This kid! I tell him that with how he is now, he can't be a hero, and he goes and proves me wrong! "Well done, Midoriya. Your potential is not zero."
Needless to say, Bakugo was rather unhappy. "What the hell, Deku? You've been lying to me this whole time, haven't you?" He ran at Midoriya, mini explosions sparking from his hands.
Midoriya flinched away, moving to shield his injured finger. When he looked back, Bakugo was restrained by the cloth that Aizawa carried with him. "What the hell is this?" Bakugo grunted.
"Stop making me use my Quirk. I have dry eye." Aizawa said, "I have determined that all of you have potential. Congratulations, you survived the first day. You can find the course syllabus back in the classroom. Midoriya, go see Recovery Girl about your finger. I need one person to go with him."
Yaoyorozu spoke up, "I'll do it."
"What about me?" Bakugo grunted, still restrained by the binding cloth.
Aizawa glared at Bakugo. "We're going to have a chat. After everyone else leaves."
Taking the hint, the rest of the class headed back inside to change back into their normal school uniforms. "Your behavior towards Midoriya was unacceptable. AIzawa stated bluntly, "It will not be tolerated, am I clear?"
Bakugo finally slipped out of the binding cloth, "Whatever, but if you expect me to hold back if he's against me in combat training, you're going to be disappointed."
"I wouldn't expect that, nor would I ask it. Just remember that you are here because you want to be a hero. Act like it."
Bakugo stormed off towards the locker room without another word, leaving Aizawa alone for a blessed moment. He sighed. Why did he always get the problem children?
It was a good thing that Midoriya had memorized the location of the nurse's office, because his mental faculties were untrustworthy at the moment. Mostly because of a single, all-consuming thought concerning Yaoyorozu.
She's pretty...
Yaoyorozu on the other hand, was worried about Midoriya. If he had broken his finger using his Quirk to throw a ball, what had happened to him after he had punched that robot during the entrance exam? "Midoriya, does that usually happen when you use your Quirk?"
Midoriya winced, but whether it was from pain or embarrassment Yaoyorozu couldn't quite tell, "Uh, yeah. Right now I can only use all of my power or none of it, and my body can't handle it. I need to find some way to regulate it. In the meantime, I just need to mitigate injury, which is why I only used one finger. It's the same principle as my Delaware Smash, you see-"
Yaoyorozu smiled. She hadn't been expecting that detailed of a breakdown, usually for people with Power-up type Quirks, it was simple. Power up and punch things. With Midoriya, he was analyzing every facet of his abilities, and devising ways to use them even with the severe drawbacks he had. "Wait, did you say Delaware Smash? You're modeling yourself after All Might?"
"Yep!" Midoriya said cheerily, "He's always been an inspiration to me! He saves everyone with a smile, and gives everyone hope for a better future. That's the kind of hero I want to be."
Yaoyorozu smiled softly, "That's the kind of hero I want to be too, but in a different way. For someone so enamored with heroism, you probably know who my father is, yes?"
Midoriya nodded enthusiastically, "Of course! He's the CEO of the Sapoto Corporation! Not only do they provide some of the most reliable support items to heroes, but they're the world leader in civilian support items! Their policy on providing those items with a slim profit margin has really made peoples' lives better, since other companies have had to lower their prices to compete!"
Yaoyorozu nodded, "Even with how low our prices are, some of those support items are out of reach for some people due to the cost of manufacturing them. With my Quirk, I can find those people and get them the items they need to have a normal life. That's why I want to be a hero."
She was surprised to see Midoriya looking at her with wonder, "Whoa, that's so cool."
Yaoyorozu was taken aback, someone who wanted to be a hero like All Might thought how she wanted to be a hero was cool? "You really think that?" He was just trying to flatter her. That had to be it.
"Of course!" Midoriya assured her, "Sure, All Might smashes villains all the time. But you getting civilian support items to people that can't afford them could stop some villains from even becoming villains in the first place!"
"Well, I'm glad that someone thinks it's cool." Yaoyorozu said. They walked in silence for a few moments before she spoke up again, "You know, I think I might be able to help you with your Quirk."
"Oh? How so?"
"Well, for some Power-up type Quirks, from what I understand from the heroes that I've had an opportunity to talk to, it works off of visualization."
Midoriya nodded as he absent-mindedly looked at his busted finger. "Yeah, that tracks. I use an egg in a microwave not breaking."
"You... what?" Yaoyorozu shook off her confusion and continued, "Well, clearly that visualization lets you access your Quirk, but control... you might need a new visualization for that. I think I can help with that. Are you free Sunday?"
"Sure, but where can we go that we can use our Quirks?" Midoriya asked.
"I have a training complex at my home, we can go there."
"Oh." Midoriya said, "Okay, that'll work!"
"Great, when we get to the nurse's office I'll give you my number so..." Yaoyorozu stopped herself as she realized that they were nowhere near the nurse's office. "Midoriya, did we..."
"Oh, we must have passed it!" Midoriya said, "Sorry, I just get really into talking about heroes and Quirks and... anything having to do with them, really."
Yaoyorozu giggled, "It's no problem, Deku. This was a pleasant conversation."
"Please don't call me that."
Yaoyorozu looked back over at Midoriya and saw a pained look on his face that she suspected had nothing to do with his finger. "I'm sorry, I thought that was a nickname of some sort, since Bakugo called you that."
"It's an insult." Midoriya explained, "If you use the right kanji, Izuku becomes Deku, which means... worthless."
And just like that, Yaoyorozu's opinion of Bakugo dropped a little lower than it had been. "Well, he's wrong. You're not worthless, Midoriya, you proved that today."
Midoriya smiled bashfully as a blush crept across his face. "Thank you, Yaoyorozu. Oh, we're here!"
They exchanged numbers, and Yaoyorozu turned to leave. "Don't think that you need a reason to text me, either."
Midoriya rubbed the back of his head, "Even if it's just All Might stuff I want to infodump to someone about?"
To his delight, Yaoyorozu nodded. "Even then, I enjoyed our talk today."
She began to walk away, only to hear a thud a moment later. She turned back to see a rather flustered Midoriya blushing even harder and fumbling with the door to the nurse's office. "You didn't see that!" He declared.
He had run into the door frame.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. This is a complete mystery." Yaoyorozu replied conspiratorially, "I'll see you tomorrow, Midoriya."
As Midoriya walked into the nurse's office, he had a stupid grin on his face. Sure, he had gotten hurt again, but he had been able to have a proper conversation with a girl.
Heh, take that Kaachan! I totally can talk to girls who aren't my mother!
Inko never thought that she would be relieved to hear that Izuku had only broken a finger. "Well, that's the bad news, so what's the good news?"
Midoriya blinked, "Oh... one of my classmates thinks that she can help me find a way to regulate One For All. I'm going over to her house Sunday to work on it with her."
Inko raised an eyebrow, it was finally time to engage in the time honored tradition of mothers giving their sons grief over girls. "Well, does she have a name?"
Almost immediately, he realized his mistake. "Uh... Momo Yaoyorozu..."
Inko took note of the slight blush that had come to her son's face. "You certainly know how to aim high, don't you? First it's wanting to be a hero like All Might, now it's-"
"It's not like that, Mom!" Midoriya protested, his hands flailing about, "She's just helping me with my Quirk!"
Inko pressed the attack, "And you don't think that she's easy on the eyes at all?"
"I mean, she's really pretty but-" He clamped his hands over his mouth with a whimper as he realized his mistake.
"Go on." Inko prompted.
Midoriya finally relented, "Uh... I think why she wants to be a hero is super cool, I got her number, and she said I can text her whenever, even if I'm just infodumping about All Might."
"And?"
"She's really pretty?"
Inko chuckled, "You said that already, Izuku."
Midoriya smiled for the first time during the interrogation, "Doesn't make me wrong."
"No, I suppose not." Inko smiled, she waited for a moment then turned back to her son, "I think I might try dating again."
It was Midoriya's turn to be surprised. This was the first time that his mom had said anything about her dating again since Hisashi's death, and that had been eight years ago now. "I'm glad. You deserve to be happy, and to find someone that makes you happy."
"Well, I'm happy that I have your permission." Inko deadpanned, "Come give me a hug." Midoriya hugged his mom, then retreated to his room to work on his homework.
Inko knew full well that Izuku would probably freak out when he learned who she intended to date, but she would just have to cross that bridge when she got there. She pulled out her phone, and sent off a text.
"Toshi, if you're free Sunday, I'd like to invite you over to share a meal. I've been doing some research, and I believe that I've found some food you can eat properly."
"Yes, this is a date."
Normally when Yaoyorozu studied, she kept her phone off and away. Ever since she had given Midoriya her phone number, that policy had flown out the window. She had found that while he was knowledgeable to an absurd degree on the topics of heroes and Quirks, he was also inquisitive by nature and willing to learn about anything and everything.
She was learning things about him too, he knew how to waltz, apparently. While he didn't know how to play an instrument, he had a love for music. They had exchanged playlists, and Yaoyorozu had found that Midoriya liked a great deal of rock music, specifically American bands with funny names, Nickelback, Skillet, Bon Jovi, and Smash Mouth to name a few.
However, today was a new day and it was almost time for their first practical class of Hero Basic Training. Which could only mean-
"He's here!" Midoriya said.
True to Midoriya's word, All Might himself burst through the classroom door. "I am here to teach you all how to be heroes! But there's no time to waste, so I'll cut to the chase! Today, we battle!"
Bakugo grinned and cracked his knuckles, "Finally."
"But for that, you'll need something more than your PE uniforms." All Might hit a button on the teacher's desk and gestured dramatically to the left side of the classroom, "You'll need these!"
Five hatches retracted, revealing twenty suitcases. Each one held the Hero uniform for a member of the class. "Oh, hell yeah!" Kaminari shouted.
All Might laughed, "There's the enthusiasm I'm looking for! Suit up and report to Ground Beta!"
Predictably, the boys of Class 1-A rushed to grab their costumes. However, the girls weren't far behind, and the pure mile-wide grin that she spied on Midoriya's face brought a smile of her own to Yaoyorozu's face.
Soon enough, they were all gathered at Ground Beta all decked out in their costumes. All Might wasted no time in explaining the scenario... using a script. Oh well, he was new to teaching. Two man teams would face off, with one team acting as heroes, and the other as villains. The villains would be lying in wait in a building, trying to protect a nuclear device, while the heroes would be trying to secure said device. All Might quickly paired them off, and announced the first match.
The good news was that she was paired with Midoriya as the heroes.
The bad news was that they were facing Iida and Bakugo... as the villains.
Not good.
All Might quickly ushered the other students into a control room to watch the exercise, leaving the teams in question a brief five minute window to strategize before the match began.
"Okay, I have a plan." Midoriya said, "I'll lead Kaachan off and keep him occupied. He'll probably be gunning for me anyways, especially with what happened at the Quirk Fitness tests. Meanwhile, you can move on Iida and the device. Given that his Quirk is Engine, he probably needs to move in a straight line to use it effectively. So, you should focus on ways to make that difficult or impossible. Ball bearings or caltrops for area denial, then some sort of barriers to impede his movement, maybe?"
At first, Yaoyorozu was stunned. Midoriya had come up with a passable battle strategy in less than a minute, however there was one major hole in the plan. "Midoriya, this whole plan is predicated on Bakugo attacking you. If he doesn't, our strategy is shot."
"Don't worry. I've known Kaachan my whole life. I know what he'll do."
Yaoyorozu knew that Midoriya was trying to reassure her, but the absolute certainty that he had that Bakugo would attack him was disconcerting, and the fact that Midoriya used an affectionate nickname for Bakugo despite this was concerning. "Midoriya..."
"It'll be fine, Yaoyorozu. I'll be fine." He said, then continued in a quiet voice, "I have to show him that I'm not worthless."
Yaoyorozu frowned, "Midoriya, how long has Bakugo used that insult?"
All of a sudden, Midoriya became rather interested in the map of the building that they had been given. "Ever since he got his Quirk, and I... uh..." He stopped to reorder his thoughts, "I'm... uh... basically a medical miracle, or oddity, whichever you want to use. My Quirk didn't manifest until I was fourteen. I also have the pinkie toe joint that would normally mean that I'm Quirkless. Kaachan doesn't know about any of this, so he probably thinks that I've been hiding my Quirk all this time."
Yaoyorozu stared at Midoriya. This flew in the face of everything the scientific community knew about how Quirks manifested in people. Normally if someone didn't get their Quirk by four years old, it meant they were Quirkless, but yet... "Midoriya... was calling you worthless the only way that he would-"
Her question was interrupted by a computerized voice over the training ground's PA system. "Mission Start!"
Midoriya slipped his mouthguard into place, and moved towards the entrance of the building, and Yaoyorozu followed suit. She didn't like this at all, but there were still questions that she needed answered. They snuck through the first floor as quietly as they could. Due to the nature of her Quirk, Yaoyorozu had the mental dexterity to have her thoughts be elsewhere while engaged in another task. I've barely known Midoriya for a week, but yet-
"FOUND YOU, YOU BASTARD!"
Bakugo had launched around a corner, and was bearing down on Midoriya with his arm outstretched. "Get going!" Midoriya shouted, albeit with a tremor in his voice. "I've got this!"
Yaoyorozu turned and ran down a side passage, turning around long enough to see Bakugo lunge at Midoriya, only for Midoriya to grab his right arm and throw him over his shoulder. Maybe her worrying was misplaced.
It seemed like Midoriya's plan was working perfectly. With Bakugo flying off the handle, that meant Iida was probably babysitting the device. As Yaoyorozu ran up the stairs to where the device and Iida were, she began creating ball bearings from the palms of her hands. With any luck, these would do the trick.
Sometimes, Midoriya hated when he was right. This was without a doubt one of those times.
Bakugo had scrambled to his feet, and charged him again, this time triggering an explosion just before he was in arm's reach. Midoriya shielded himself as best he could, but was still blown away, slamming into the wall behind him.
"How the hell did you read my moves, Deku?"
So, he wanted to talk? Fine, that would just give Yaoyorozu more time to find Iida and the device. "You always lead with your right hook, Kaachan! I've seen it enough times to know!"
Bakugo growled, the runt had a point there. "Whatever. You know what I'm more pissed about?" Miniature explosions began to go off around his palms as he advanced on Midoriya. "The fact that you hid that Quirk of yours from me all this time! What happened to not wanting to compete with me, Deku?"
"Stop calling me that! I am not worthless!" Midoriya shouted, "And as for how I said I don't want to compete with you... I take it all back! I won't be your punching bag anymore!"
Yaoyorozu couldn't believe how predictable the location of the device was. The top floor? That was such a trope in pre-quirk media that she couldn't help but be a little critical of All Might. If they were supposed to be preparing them for futures as heroes, then shouldn't their training go to lengths to not be affected by fiction? She could always raise that concern later if this became a trend.
She tapped the comm transceiver, "Midoriya, I've located the device and am about to move on Iida. Hold on just a little longer."
"Got it!"
Well, at least he had a moment to reply. She tucked one of her handfuls of ball bearings into her belt, and began creating an endoscopic camera. Typically used in the medical and automotive fields, it could also be used to peek around corners in tactical scenarios. She powered on the screen and stuck the probe around the corner. Please don't look down...
She saw Iida, standing guard in front of the nuclear device, which looked for all the world like a cartoon bomb. She retracted the probe, and placed it and the screen on the ground. Okay, time to-
At that moment, the building was shaken by a massive explosion. Bakugo was going wild, which could only mean bad things for Midoriya.
"Bakugo! Are you trying to get us disqualified? Calm yourself!"
Perfect, Iida was distracted by Bakugo. Moving as quietly as she could, Yaoyorozu rolled the ball bearings that she had created towards Iida. She picked up the camera again, and was pleased to see that they had spread out almost perfectly. There were a couple of open spots, but she could plan for that. She stood, and created a bo staff.
"You should worry about yourself, Iida." Yaoyorozu said, stepping into the doorway.
"Ha, you should take your own advice, hero! All I have to do is protect this device for a few more minutes, and then nothing will stop my plan from going into effect! My compatriot has no doubt dealt with your partner by now, and is on their way here to apprehend you!"
Yaoyorozu barely stifled a giggle, at least Iida was committed to staying in character. Wait, if I indulge him, maybe he'll make a mistake for the sake of staying in character! "Don't count Midoriya out yet, villain. You've seen what he can do, and you know that he can bring this building down with a flick of his fingers. Do you really think waiting for him to finish with your attack dog is a valid strategy?"
Come on, fall for it!
Iida's hand flew to his ear, "Bakugo! What's your status?"
Yaoyorozu smirked, "He's not responding, is he?"
"Silence! I'll just have to take you down myself!" He charged at her as fast as he could in the limited distance available, hoping to take her down before she could react.
After three steps he began to slide uncontrollably, his Quirk propelling him into a nearby wall. Yaoyorozu took advantage of the opening to dash forward, expertly stepping between the remaining ball bearings to tag the device.
The instant she touched it, there was another rumbling from below. She ran to the window to see the wall below blown out, and Bakugo scrambling to his feet in the street. Mercifully, the PA system blared to life again.
"Mission End: Heroes win!"
Momo Yaoyorozu had come to a conclusion.
She didn't like seeing Midoriya get hurt, especially if it was self inflicted. The problem was that she didn't know why it made her stomach lurch as he was taken to Recovery Girl on a stretcher, courtesy of a broken arm.
Then, the class watched the replay of the match.
Bakugo was just... brutal. Never giving Midoriya a chance to so much as catch his breath, always blasting away at him with his Quirk, treating him like he was Bakugo's personal punching bag. The only thing that kept Yaoyorozu from shaking Bakugo like a rag doll and demanding to know what the hell his damage was and why exactly he thought any of this was acceptable was that Midoriya had been holding his own for the most part. Without using his Quirk.
Yaoyorozu realized that first big explosion that had rocked the building had been Bakugo discharging one of his gauntlets.
Directly at Midoriya.
At this juncture, All Might paused the recording. "This is an example of what not to do. While this was a practice scenario with a barely there building, if this had been the real thing..." He shook his head, "Bakugo, if you had hit a gas line, that entire building would've gone up. That would mean civilians would've died."
"But there weren't any-"
"That's because this is to train you for the real thing!" All Might admonished, "Imagine you had been the hero trying to stop a villain in that building. Can you, with absolute certainty, tell me where each and every civilian is?"
"No... I can't." Bakugo said, a slight tremor entering his voice as he realized what could have happened. "But why did the support company even give me these gauntlets if I can't ever use them?"
All Might's eyes took on a mischievous glint, "Now, when did I ever say that you could never use them? Keep watching."
The recording resumed, and Bakugo's renewed assault on Midoriya made Yaoyorozu's stomach twist again. Why, Bakugo? Why do you treat him like this?
All Might paused the recording again, Midoriya was rearing back for a strike, red lightning crackling up his arm, and facing off with Bakugo whose last move had put his back to a window facing the street. "Now, young Bakugo, put yourself in Midoriya's shoes. Why does he feel that he can use his full power here?"
Bakugo narrowed his eyes, he knew that he was about to see himself get blown out the window from the air pressure generated by Midoriya's strike. Secret Quirk or no, Deku wouldn't act rashly. He's got all those notes stored up. Thirteen journals of them. He's probably got them all memorized too. Wait... "He can see what's in the strike zone so... No, that's not it. He knows what's in the strike zone, so he can use his power without worry."
"Exactly, Bakugo!" All Might said, "Now. flip you and Midoriya in this scenario. Can you use your gauntlets?"
Bakugo's eyes lit up in understanding. "Yes." Alright, Deku... no. Midoriya. You're not worthless. Hell, you almost beat me, and that was without using your Quirk! Next time... next time I'll beat you!
All Might gave Bakugo a thumbs up, "Perfect! You're one step closer to becoming the best hero that you can be! Now, Iida, Yaoyorozu, I have no specific critiques at this time, a more detailed write up will be in your final grade. I do have critiques for Midoriya, but that will have to wait until he's healed. The next teams are..."
Yaoyorozu tuned All Might out as the next match began, slipped her phone out of its pocket on her costume, and sent off a message to Midoriya.
I hope you're feeling better when you receive this, I'll be by the nurse's office later to check on you.
She was his friend, Yaoyorozu decided. That's why she was so protective of him. Why she didn't like seeing him get hurt. Why she wanted to help figure out a way for him to not get hurt like that.
Just a friend. Nothing else.
In her introspection, she missed the knowing glance from All Might.
A/N: There is no character bashing in this house. Yes, that includes Mineta. In fact, I have an arc planned for him but you'll have to wait for when that comes around.
Now, a criticism I'm expecting is that the Inko x Toshinori ship is moving too fast. A date already, and it's only chapter 2! I can hear it now, "Clem, don't you understand pacing?"
I do understand what pacing is, dear reader. So, age wise I put Inko and Toshi somewhere in their forties. If you're dating at this age, you don't want to waste time, heck that's my attitude towards dating, and I'm not even thirty yet! Maybe I'm projecting. Oh well.
Now, Bakugo. The guy's got issues. Not going to deny that. I'm also not going to shy away from how profoundly fucked up the way he treated Midoriya was. Yes, I said was. From this point on, he's not a bully, but a rival. He's still early MHA Bakugo, with all of the... inclinations you would expect. Namely angry yelling. And calling people extras. And his insulting nicknames. I'll say this, the Sports Festival will be a watershed for him.
Finally, Midoriya is crushing hard, (the man walked into a door frame, for goodness's sake) and Yaoyorozu totally hasn't caught feelings, she just wants to help him not break bones with his Quirk and protect him and...
Totally platonic. Totally.
Until next time.
