Important Note Before Reading!
Oh hey, it's rare for me to do these at the start of the chapter but this is something you'll notice quite quickly upon reading this chapter. As you know I use honorifics for this fic and while consistent I think I should have changed it up some time ago. The main gang are still on a last name basis with each other (outside their respective partners) and looking back I should have advanced that forward to a first name basis after the triple date. I plan to go back and update all the chapters starting with chapter 39 (the start of the 3rd term) eventually.
Chapter 49: Bringing to Light
Midoriya was having mixed feelings at the moment. Sitting in the hot bathwater his male classmates had prepared for him was divine. It indeed beat the awkwardness of his bath he had before with Hagakure. They had all trekked back for quite some time in the rain, so it was needed. Either way, it was hard to relax, however, with all the hustle and bustle of said classmates in the soaking pool. Kirishima was busy trying to have Bakugo "submerge" with him, who was having none of that. Mineta, Kaminari, and Sero were splashing with one another. Sato, Koda, and Tokoyami were speaking loudly to try and drown out the other noise. The only quiet ones were Ojiro and Aoyama; the former was by Midoriya's right side, and the latter wasn't in the pool but at one of the open faucets as he lathered up his hair.
Mashirao said, "Hard to believe anything is wrong in our country with how they are acting."
Izuku sank further into the water, covering up his shoulders. "Considering everything that's happened, I think it's good they are in high spirits."
"Must be making it hard to relax, though."
"A little, but they are happy for my sake. It does feel a bit weird though, considering how quiet it was during my downtime this last month."
Ojiro crossed his arms as he stated. "About that."
However, before he could elaborate further, the sound of the class president filled the room. "We could hear you all from the elevator!"
Everyone's attention turned to Ida, who had Shoji and Todoroki behind them. The former was still dressed, the others just in a towel.
"Oh, uh, sorry," Eijiro stated as he released his hand from Katsuki's head, which was partially submerged in the water.
Tenya sighed. "I can understand the need for us to celebrate, but let's not try and wake those already trying to catch some sleep." He then retreated back into the changing room.
Hanta shrugged as he stated, "Sleep? All the boys are here now."
Shoto walked over to the pool's edge and answered, "I think he means his girlfriend. He stayed behind with her as the rest of you rushed here. I surmise he sent her to bed."
Izuku felt glad upon hearing that. Ochako had adamantly defended his return to U.A. from all the civilians against it. They met the crowd just as they had gotten back. Present Mic and Best Jeanist's words weren't enough, so she took it into her own hands after grabbing a loudspeaker to argue his cause and all the other heroes. A few civilians also stood up for him, including Kota and the tall mutant quirked woman Midoriya saved from discrimination weeks ago. The boy had been deeply moved by it and cried harder than he could remember. It was still hard to believe that it only happened about an hour ago.
Sero cleared his throat. "Ah, well, he has a good point then."
The others nodded and settled down. Most went back to chatting or soaking in silence. Ojiro got closer and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Kaminari. "Hey, how's it hanging Izuku-kun? Must be nice to finally have a good bath after so long."
The boy felt something was up but played along. "I was mostly just using the rain to wash me off. I did have one good wash just before you all showed up, though." Midoriya wasn't sure if the heat from the bath as he lowered himself to the water up to his neck or recalled the subject of his bathing with Tooru was causing the blush he felt on his face.
"Yeah, the rain was crazy this April." Denki's smile turned into a malicious smirk as he asked. "Anyhow, what made that recent bath of yours so nice?"
Izuku said nothing as he sank further into the water. Now only his nose and above were exposed. Of course this was what his lecherous classmate wanted to discuss.
"I see, I see. Nice to know you two had some fun out there. Anything else juicy?" However, before anything else could be said, a purple blob was launched into Kaminari's face, covering everything but his mouth.
Mineta swam to the group and said, "Dude, just lay off for now. You can ask him later when things are not so serious."
"How are you not curious too? Spending an entire month on the run with your girlfriend must have had plenty of glorious moments that people our age would kill to experience!"
"Time and place, man."
After a groan Denki stated, "Fine, sometime later. Now get this off me!"
Minoru proceeded to take off the sticky ball from his friend's face. The latter took his leave with a grunt.
Mashirao said, "I was going to say something to Izuku-kun's defense until I saw you making yourself over this way, Minoru-kun."
"Izuku-kun has been through a lot. He doesn't need to be nagged right now."
Ojiro crossed his arms as he said, "You're still curious, though, too, huh?"
Mineta turned away and cleared his throat, "Immensely, but there are bigger things to worry about now."
Midoriya rose slightly and said, "Thanks Mineta-kun."
The grape hero gave a thumbs up without looking back and proceeded to swim away after.
"Gotta say, it's weird to see him be the mature one here," Ojiro stated while rubbing the back of his head.
"Just gives you an idea of how crazy Japan is right now. I'm sure it was a shock to see it all as you left to go get me back here."
"Yeah, it's like it's a warzone out there."
Izuku then saw Tenya come out of the changing room. He proceeded to make his way to where Shoto was soaking, and the two began conversing. Midoriya then stood up and went to lean on the back of the pool before asking, "So what have you been wanting to ask me?"
A bit startled, Ojiro answered, "Oh, uh, basically just a toned-down version of what those two want to know. I don't want to know anything 'spicy,' just what it was like out there for you two overall. It can't have been easy, and I am just worried if everything is okay with your relationship." He then waved one of his hands back and forth, stating, "Uh, no hard feelings if you don't want to talk about it."
Izuku appreciated his concern, but still, he wanted to set something straight. "There's not much to say really on us getting intimate. I was so focused on my objective that there was no time for us; it was all strictly business out there." Sure there was her bathing him, but that was really the only instance, one he wasn't comfortable discussing with even his good friend. "I'm surprised Tooru was so tolerant of me for being so cold to her for so long." Midoriya recalled how they interacted multiple times, only for minutes later to regret how he was treating Hagakure but not having the courage to correct himself. She deserved so much better.
"Did she voice her concerns about how you were acting?"
"No, but I knew it bothered her. It bothered me too when I looked back on it later."
"Explains why she cried the way she did, once you said you wanted to come back."
Izuku couldn't fathom why his girlfriend hadn't been more against what was happening back then. But as Tooru explained his notebook and eventually let her emotions show, he knew she had kept such feelings to herself. Had she been more vocal and fought back to his decision, he wonders if he would have just left on his own as she feared he would? Midoriya didn't like to think about that. "It was understandable. She kept it all in for so long for my sake despite her suffering."
Mashirao sighed. "It's actually pretty similar to how Momo was handling things."
Izuku tried to recall how Momo had acted back at the apartment and the trip back but couldn't remember anything. "How so?"
"She took Midnight-sensei's death pretty hard, but she saw how much worse it was affecting Mina-chan and tried to be strong for her sake. But Momo was suffering too and needed to vent about it, and it took me confronting her about it to turn that around. Though it wasn't easy."
Midoriya gulped. "Did you two have a fight?"
"I guess, sorta? It ended well, but it felt heated for a few moments here and there. I got a taste of why her dad sometimes fears his wife."
Izuku pondered the scenario but quickly turned his attention elsewhere. "Well, I am glad you two worked that out. She seemed her usual self earlier."
"Yeah, her anger with herself doesn't compare to Ochako-chan's for you though. She was pretty livid the morning you left."
"Wait, really!?" Midoriya didn't recall any animosity from his friend back at the apartment or the trip home. And then how vividly she defended him just before.
"I mean, I could tell she was irritated, but it was Tenya-kun that told me that surprised me."
"That bad?"
"Well, he found her at the gym using one of the punching bags." Ojiro then gulped. "Apparently kicking the shit out of it, imagining it was you"
Izuku sank again into the water and started developing a throbbing pain in his head. Was Ochako still upset with him?
"Has Ochako-chan expressed anything similar since then that you could see?"
"Not verbally or otherwise. I figured her boyfriend could talk her down, so I said nothing else about the subject. I was too busy training and being concerned with my girlfriend to pry further."
Midoriya still felt terrible about this, regardless of this information. Even if it had been resolved, he had angered his friend to such a point. Sure, he expected such emotion from some of his classmates, but not to this extent. And especially not from Uraraka. "I should still talk to her about this."
"Suit yourself; you got to thank Ochako-chan anyhow for what she did earlier, at the very least. Though that will make the conversation a bit awkward, I feel."
Right, Izuku thought. There wasn't a good time as he was escorted back into the school. Too many people and too much emotion still being felt. "Yeah, I think I'll try and talk to her tomorrow. She should rest for today." He then rose slightly out of the water and leaned towards his friend. "By the way, when did the whole on a first-name basis with the rest of the class start?" Midoriya had been surprised to see the gesture amongst his classmates almost immediately as he confronted the rest of his class after agreeing to return.
Ojiro rubbed his chin and thought briefly before answering, "Well, it's like when our group started doing that at the start of the term. After fighting for real and training together intensely these last few weeks, everyone started to address one another by our first names. I'd say it started just days after we got the phone call from Endeavor, and eventually even the girls were addressing Mineta-kun as such. Heck, since 1B is helping too when they can, it's also been tossed around between some of them and our class."
"That's good to hear. It just threw me off, is all."
Mashriao nodded. "So, what's the plan now?"
Ida's voice answered, "We continue training. The pros will devise a plan and update us when relevant." Ida was walking over to the two. He cleared his throat once he arrived before saying, "Sorry I didn't come here earlier; there is always much to discuss with Shoto-kun as of late."
Because of his brother, Midoriya thought. "It's okay. You're still our class president. You have to look out for all of us."
Tenya nodded but then said, "On that note, I saw to my girlfriend's well-being after today's ordeal. Will you do the same to Tooru-chan?"
"She's staying with her parents tonight. I figured I would check up on her tomorrow." Izuku figured trying to consult Tooru while she dealt with her parents, particularly her mom, wasn't the best idea and hoped things would be settled by tomorrow.
"I see. She didn't tell her parents about leaving, I assume."
"No, my mom broke the news to Tooru's mother after we left."
Ojiro sighed, "Bet that's making it tough for her."
Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck as he stated, "Immensely."
Izuku climbed up the stairs to the girls' dorms, somewhat worried. The boy was wearing nothing flashy, just a pair of black shorts and a plain white T-shirt. He planned to meet Ochako at 7:30 for breakfast, but she had yet to come. She wasn't answering her phone, and he hadn't seen any sign of Tenya to ask if he knew what was going on. It couldn't hurt to check, he mused to himself.
Once on the 4th floor, Midoriya took an immediate left and took a deep breath as he knocked on his friend's door. He heard something on the other side and waited for a minute until a groggy-eyed Uraraka answered the door. She was wearing a plain black T-shirt and some white shorts. The exciting bit was the white oven mitts are in her hands. It took a moment for the boy to realize this was probably a safety precaution because of her quirk. Through squinted eyes, the girl asked, "Am I late to training?"
"What? No, that's later." The class was scheduled to train with the Pussycats at 10 am, but it was barely past eight. "I just wanted to talk about yesterday and was waiting for you to show up at breakfast, but I didn't see you, and we weren't answering your phone..."
A yawn escaped from Ochako, causing Izuku to stop talking. She stated, "I just wanted to sleep in until training today. You wouldn't know, but we usually started training at 8 am, but because of your rescue, we got a little extra time to rest and prepare today."
"Ah, I see. Sorry, we can talk later then. I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's alright, I am up anyways. Come on in."
Izuku entered the dark room, and the door closed before the lights came on. The boy was stunned to see his class president in his host's bed. He was wearing blue full-bodied pajamas and a nightcap. Tenya was sitting upright in the bed and looked about as shocked as the visitor. He coughed before saying, "Uh, I didn't expect you to invite him in."
In the back of Midoriya's head, a gruff but intrigued voice said, "Oh my."
"Banjo-san!"
The sound of a struggle followed, but then a woman's voice stated, "We'll just make ourselves scarce, kid." The distant objections of the fifth bearer could be heard afterward.
"Thanks Shimura-san."
"It's fine," Uraraka stated before sitting beside her boyfriend and removing her mittens. "I'm sure Tooru-chan did this plenty with him during the month anyway."
There was a pause, but Izuku shook his head.
Ochako's tired expression quickly changed to alert one as she proclaimed, "What?! Not even after you left All Might-sensei?"
Midoriya sighed and slowly shook his head.
"Did you just say no to Tooru-chan?"
"She never asked, and she rejected the one time I offered. Said she would be too distracting and would rather I rest."
Ida coughed before saying, "We are talking about the less intimate version of sleeping together, yes?" Said person was then hit by a pillow from his girlfriend. He was unfazed by this though his glasses were ajar now. "I just wanted to be clear for both of us." Uraraka's face was crimson, but she didn't say anything.
"Y-Yeah, that version." Midoriya didn't figure they were doing anything of that nature. Especially with Ida dressed the way he was.
Tenya adjusted his glasses before looking at Ochako and saying. "They were wholeheartedly dedicated to the mission, is all. Also, from the sound of it, Izuku-kun slept little compared to Tooru-chan. Their sleep schedule is probably rarely lined up." Uraraka just grunted as she crossed her arms. "Well, since we are being open about this, this is the second time between us. The first was on the night after you left."
"About that, that's one reason why I am here." The couple gave concerned looks to Izuku. He then held up his hands defensively. "I meant what you were feeling that day, Ochako-chan. How upset you were with me."
"Oh, I'm sure I wasn't the only one. We're all in shock and-."
"I know about the punching bag thing."
"Oh." Ochako looked and then raised an eyebrow at Tenya.
"I didn't tell him."
Izuku sat at his host's desk and turned to the couple to say, "Mashirao-kun did. Yesterday while we were bathing."
"Okay, I did tell him. Indirectly."
Uraraka just sighed. "Well, I was angry and needed a healthy way to vent about it. And that was the best I could come up with at such short notice."
Midoriya's head sagged as he stated, "I'm sorry I worried you that much. I should have told my secrets way before this point."
"It wasn't that; you never talked to us about what happened after returning from the hospital. I can understand not bringing up the whole All Might successor thing before that point but had you at least said something about how you were feeling after being released, we all would have listened."
"The note wasn't enough, huh," Izuku said.
Ochako stated, "Sure, it was better than just leaving without a word, but It felt so distant and vague compared to what I could have said if we talked."
"You all would have just tried to stop me from leaving. I don't like to ponder how that would have gone down."
Tenya nodded. "Looking back, that might have made things worse for you if things went south. I can't say to myself, knowing what I know now and what has happened since, what would have been the right choice back then."
Uraraka looked down as she said, "That aside, the main reason I was angry was cause I thought we meant more to you, Izuku-kun. I thought you could trust us. No matter what happens. It reminded me of how Tenya felt so guilt-ridden after you and Shoto-kun saved him from the Hero Killer."
Now Midoriya felt even worse. He was beginning to see the parallels in how they both acted—trying to go out independently and solve the issue themselves, how the weight of it all got to them. How much it upset Ochako. "That's why I find it so baffling you stood up for me at the security gate for the school grounds after I learned how you felt about me leaving."
The girl sighed and reached over to grab her boyfriend's hand, saying, "Despite everything I felt, I couldn't let those people downplay all that you had done this last month to keep them and everyone else you encountered around Tokyo safe. You suffered for them all, and they deserved to know that. Besides, you weren't in the best condition to fight back mentally. And the adults weren't having any luck calming the people down."
Izuku mulled this over for a little bit.
Tenya broke the silence by saying, "I argued to her that day you left that you were putting everyone else's feelings above yourself. Just as All Might-sensei had done for decades before. I figured whether you knew it or not; you were taking after your mentor. Your idol. We couldn't hope to understand that, considering you were his successor and had worked with him for about two years."
Ochako nodded before saying, "It made me rethink my feelings about the whole thing and motivated me to instead work with the rest of 1A to get you back. So despite how I felt then, I've moved on, Izuku-kun. I don't hold any resentment anymore."
A sigh of relief escaped Midroiya's lips; that was his main fear. "I guess I came over here worrying about nothing." He then sat up, walked over to her bed, and knelt to bow on both his knees.
As the boy did this, Uraraka shot up and said, "Wait, you don't have to do this!"
"It is important for him that he does." Ida stated.
Izuku nodded before doing his deep bow. "I'm eternally grateful for what you did for me yesterday, Ochako-chan. I can't imagine what would have happened if we couldn't win over the support of the civilians here staying here. I'll be upfront with you and everyone else from now on. No more secrets and making decisions for myself without others' input."
Ochako shook her hands as she said, "You're giving me too much credit. I just did what any good friend should have done."
Midoriya got up and put a hand on his friend's head with a beaming smile. "It's the full truth. You should feel honored for saving the future top hero of Japan."
The girl closed her eyes and tried to fight off a deep blush from all the praise. "If you insist."
The boy removed his hand, however, Ida then stood up and placed his left arm around his girlfriend's shoulder, which surprised her for a moment. "Thanks for coming by, Izuku-kun. Even if your fears weren't true, we appreciate you coming over to set the record straight. We'll see you at practice."
Ochako stated, "Be sure to get something to eat."
"Same for you two." Izuku made his leave with a wave before heading out the door. As he began to walk down the stairs, he felt satisfied with the visit, though he hoped he didn't embarrass Ochako too much. As he got to the 3rd floor, he was surprised to see Kyoka enter the stairwell. She wore dark blue athletic shorts, a white stripe down the side, and a salmon-colored t-shirt.
The girl looked behind her and then back at the boy in front of her before saying, "Did you forget which floor your girlfriend lives on?"
"I was just thanking Ochako-chan about yesterday, that's all. Besides, Tooru is with her parents right now."
Jiro started to descend the stairs as she said, "Ah, okay. Sorry, I jumped to that previous conclusion."
"It's okay; I don't blame you."
With a bit of sass, the girl stated, "Cause you have visited her before?"
"No!"
"But she has given you nightly visits, I bet."
Midoriya stayed silent. He felt there would be no way to hide it if he spoke anything but the truth.
"Heh, Well, that answers that. I won't pry more, though. I'm sure she always arrives unannounced."
You don't even know half of it, Izuku wanted to say.
The two arrived at the common room, though Izuku did not expect to see Koji waiting there. He was wearing light blue athletic shorts with a grey T-shirt. The tall boy looked ecstatic at first but then puzzled upon seeing the second person.
Jiro quickly explained, "He was visiting Ochako-chan to talk about yesterday; I just met him as he was leaving."
Koda asked, "Is all well with her?"
"Yeah, she was just exhausted. I just wanted to thank her for sticking up for me since I didn't get the chance yesterday."
Koji looked upward and tapped his chin with one of his hands as he stated, "Right, we dragged you to the shower after all was said and done."
"It's fine; we all needed it after the long trek here." Izuku then put a hand to his chin as his eyes passed between the two. "So, uh, are you both going to train early?"
Kyoka answered, "Our class usually starts right after breakfast, so my internal clock is telling my body that it can't wait till 10 am. I asked Koji if he wanted to warm up at the gym to pass the time."
"Most of us practice until mid-afternoon, but we typically work out afterward." Koda rubbed the back of his head as he stated, "It's usually pretty empty by then, so we can talk in private."
"Yeah, not much time to hang out with everything going on, so we take what we can get." The girl sighed as she said, "It's gonna be pretty crowded this morning, but I'd rather that than working out so close to dinner, considering how late we are starting today." She then reached over and grabbed the tall boy's free hand. "We better run; see you at practice."
"Yeah, see you then." Izuku waved as the two left. He was glad to see that things were still going well between the two. Midoriya figured it must have been hard on their relationship, considering everything started going downhill for Japan just two weeks after they had become a couple.
"That large one has a gentle soul." A voice inside the boy's head.
"Shinomori-san?"
Shinomori: I just felt a connection with the boy, that's all.
Shimura: It could be because of his quirk. What is it?"
"Anivoice. He can talk to and command animals."
Banjo: Hah, you being a hermit explains your connection with the kid, Hikage-kun.
Shinomori: Just because I lived away from society for nearly two decades doesn't mean I was one with nature.
Banjo: Eh, just means you two are both weirdos and felt a connection is all.
Midoriya could hear a grunt from the fourth user; he hated being called that. He felt the two were about to have another argument, but the sound of clearing throat brought ease to him. It was the voice of the first user.
Shigaraki: It could be that Shinomori-san felt the boy's strong will. Besides Yagi-san's tenure, the 4th had our quirk the longest and had a great affinity of willpower. You must sense it, too, En-san.
En: Yes. Though I feel it strongly amongst all of the students here. I agree with Banjo-senpai's logic though, why Shinomori-san is feeling something special with this particular one.
Banjo: You see? I was right.
Izuku just heard the fourth and seventh users sigh. "I guess you all came back after I left the room. How does that work?"
Shigaraki: If you recall, the last time you were here with us, we were in somewhat of a room. While here, we have a full connection to your senses and feelings. If we exit, things become muddled. Conversations and thoughts become muffled. Emotions besides dire distress muted. Once it became silent, we re-entered, only for you to meet the girl in the stairwell.
Banjo: Second and third tend to hang out outside here unless we discuss something important or you are dealing with danger.
Shimura: They do stay around more often than before, though.
Midoriya was glad to hear that. Both the unnamed users are more interested in his happenings outside battle and are not fully aware of everything that happens as he goes about his day. He had a light conversation with the fifth and seventh users until he arrived at the area the parents were staying at. There were multiple buildings; the Hagakure family was at the first one on his right. The building was larger than the student dorms but only had three floors. Also, because of the haste that they were built, they lacked the style the student dorms had both outside and in. Following the directions from the text he had gotten from his girlfriend last night, Izuku eventually found the apartment on the second floor. However, after knocking on the door, the day's surprises continued.
"Ah, we figured it was you."
"Uh, Takamoto-san was it?"
Landslide nodded and motioned the boy in. "Yes. Good memories there." The former villain was shirtless like always, though he lacked his signature body armor of rocks. Midoriya walked into a somewhat cramped living room. It could barely fit the six in the room. Two couches faced one another, with a coffee table between them. On one side sat Tooru's parents. On the other sat a fully suited but maskless Gou eating a bowl of rice with Tooru by his side. Mitsu wore blue jeans and a red long-sleeve shirt to match her hair. Hantou was decently dressed for once in khaki shorts and a plain white t-shirt. He also was sipping on a cup of coffee. Tooru was still in PJs, light blue with white stripes going vertically.
"Took you long enough," the young Hagakure started with a hint of annoyance.
"Sorry, my talk ended up taking longer than I thought."
"Talk?"
Midoriya didn't mention his plan to apologize to Uraraka so his girlfriend could focus on her parents. "I'll tell you about it later." He then looked to older Hakagures before saying, "So I guess you know now." His eyes darted to Inoue. "How did this happen?"
Instead, Landside said, "We heard of your return to UA last night and booked it here to make sure all was well. Sparky here then decided it was time to spill beans since the entire family was around. We showed up just as breakfast was being served."
Gou grunted upon hearing his nickname but silently ate his steamed rice.
Hantou stated, "I always knew there was something more to his special jobs he consulted me with. Though I never could imagine he had been faking his injury and playing vigilante this entire time."
"Would have been nice to know you suspected something all this time, dear," Mitsu stated while she rubbed her forehead.
Mr. Hagakure shrugged. "It all worked out in the end."
"I don't like how you are so calm about being an accomplice to years of crime."
"I was unaware; they can't arrest me on that notion. Plus, it sounds like the police were okay with his activity anyhow. If anything, they supported my efforts."
Inoue nodded but continued his meal. The notion made the hunger pang in Midoriya's stomach worse. He hadn't eaten as he didn't want to be mid-meal after Uraraka's arrival. Though in the end, he should have gotten something to chow down on, considering what happened.
Tooru sighed before saying, "Well, anyways, we were just going over the time we ran into these two around Adachi."
Iwao, now standing behind Gou, grinned brightly as he said, "Ah, that was a good day. We made a good few catches there. Though that does remind me, whatever happened to that mechanical companion of yours?"
"Prime-kun is probably back with Mei-chan with whatever she is working on. I'm sure he'll want to rejoin us when the fighting starts again."
Mrs. Hagakure looked distressed once the word "fighting" was muttered.
Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "I hope his repairs are going well." He recalled how much the Near-High End Nomu thrashed Prime as it tried to help. He was nearly unconscious from fatigue as the bot arrived on the scene.
The younger Hagakure quickly said, "There's no doubting Mei-chan's skills. She will get it back in shape in no time."
"You're right," Midoriya stated. He felt terrible about it, even if Prime couldn't feel pain.
Hantou stood and said, "Well, even more surprising than this morning was the day you left, kid. All Might's successor? That makes this revelation seem like small bananas."
Mitsu shook her head. "A family friend of over a decade versus our daughter's boyfriend of about a year is hard to compare, dear."
The woman's husband argued, "You just took the news about Midoriya-san better cause his mother was the one to break the news to us."
Gou finally broke away from his rice to say, "Wait, are you saying my reveal wasn't handled well?"
Tooru chuckled before standing and saying, "You showed up with no warning and walked in with a former villain by your side wearing that ridiculous suit of yours."
"She's got you there, bud," Landslide stated. "When I asked what the game plan was, you said there was no need for one."
The vigilante returned to his meal with no further comment. Izuku wondered if the man was more upset about the lack of tact or the comment about his hero suit. He then saw his girlfriend walk over and take his hand.
"Got time to talk?"
"Uh, shouldn't we stay?"
"We'll just be in the kitchen."
"I don't know-." The boy's speech was cut short by the sudden loud growl of his stomach that everyone heard quite clearly. The sound of Banjo badly trying to keep in a laugh reverberated throughout his inner mind.
Takamoto stated, "Well, it looks like that is a yes. Don't worry about us; I am sure these two have plenty more questions to ask me and my partner."
The younger Hagakure took this opportunity to pull her boyfriend into the cramped kitchen. Looking it over, he figured the apartment was still larger than his living space if the bedroom and bathroom were the same size; just the addition of the other rooms was small. Tooru was quick to grab some bread and start spreading butter on both. "This is all we have left after those two ate most everything else we had. I'm sure they were eating just as little as we did out there, so I can't blame them." She then popped the bread into a toaster before turning around and asking, "So, what's this talk you had that made you late?"
"I wanted to thank Ochako-chan for standing up for me yesterday. I didn't get the chance 'cause she went to bed shortly after everything that happened."
"Hmm, so a lot to talk about. Everything turned out okay?"
"Yeah, though I think I embarrassed her with praise."
"Let me guess; you got on your hands and knees as you thanked her?"
Izuku sighed, "Am I that predictable?"
"Well, I figured you would give it your all. She deserves it, though; she dared to stand up and defend you when I panicked."
"To be fair, everyone else was too, once the crowd started talking back to the pros that tried their best to argue for me coming back."
Tooru crossed her arms as she stated, "I already gave my thanks, though I need to talk to her more."
This intrigued Izuku. "About what?"
The girl let out a long sigh before saying, "About Toga. She should know in detail about what happened. I doubt we have seen the last of her, and Ochako-chan might still be a target, all things considered."
"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Midoriya could feel the subject made his girlfriend uncomfortable. From the sound of it, she fought for her life there and wanted to talk about it more with her, but considering she wanted to discuss it with Uraraka first, perhaps later would be better. Just then, the two pieces of toast sprung up from the machine. He hungrily grabbed them and started to devour one. The scene got a chuckle from Hagakure. After finishing the first of his toast, the boy asked, "So, how did last night go for you? Is your mom still angry you left with me?"
"Not really. We both got to thank your mom. She smoothed things over with my folks. Having a month for it to sink in probably helped too." The girl exhaled loudly before saying, "The more difficult thing was I finally asked my mom about the whole 'wishing I never had transparency' thing."
This statement stopped Izuku's chewing his second piece of toast. He gulped it down before asking, "And how did that go?"
"Mixed."
The boy flinched upon hearing her bluntness. "I'm sorry I pushed you to ask."
Hagakure came over, grabbed her boyfriend's hand, and pulled him into the kitchen away from the other's ears. "It's okay. In the end, it was best I asked her."
"So, how did it go down?"
Tooru let go of the boy's hand and faced the wall as she explained. "My mom didn't deny that she held such feelings once I started to change, especially after announcing my intention to be a hero. Her stance changed as I got accepted into UA and excelled here." She paused momentarily, and Izuku was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but she continued. "She apologized, of course, but it's hard to look back knowing she rejected who I had become for so many years."
Hence why this felt mixed, Midoriya thought. "Well, as you said, you feel better knowing, right?"
"Yeah, I felt paranoid at times thinking about it. Guess my worry wasn't unwarranted, though."
"Was your dad around when this came up?"
Hagakure turned around before saying, "Nah. I made sure he wasn't here. He's made it a habit to go around and talk to the parents of other students in our class. He's used to working online to keep himself busy, so he's been doing this to pass the time. My mom has mostly hung out with your mother and Katsuki-kun's too."
"Yeah, our moms were acquaintances going back to my primary days."
Tooru then stepped forward and gave a soft hug. "Sorry, I took so long to ask."
Izuku returned the embrace with his free hand. "It's okay, it was a difficult subject for you. I'm just happy I nudged you to ask finally." He enjoyed the intimacy momentarily before asking, "Was there more you wanted to talk about with her about it?"
"Yeah, she said we could discuss it more later. She wanted more time to think it through."
"That's good to hear."
Hagakure then stepped back from her boyfriend. "We should get back to the others. Don't want them starting to get ideas about us back here." She then tapped his arm, still holding the toast. "And you should finish eating that."
"Right!" The boy took no time eating his last piece of breakfast.
Izuku entered the school gym with unease. It was mostly empty, as it was going to be midnight in about an hour. But he knew she was here and that they needed to talk. After spending some time searching, the girl came into view once he was near the back of the building. Of course, she would be there, he thought. Thankfully, no one else was nearby. Midoriya slowed his pace and, once in earshot, watched with concern.
Hagakure was currently beating a boxing mannequin. She was wearing black athletic shorts with a teal shirt. The gloves she wore were white, as well as the sweatband on her forehead. Going by her breathing, the boy could tell she was getting tired. Regardless he let her continue. After a few minutes, Tooru slumped and then sat down.
After letting her catch her breath, Izuku finally spoke up, "Did Ochako-chan give you this idea?"
Hagakure immediately jumped up and back upon hearing her boyfriend's voice. "How long were you watching?!"
"Enough to see you really put a lot of effort into that beat down."
The girl grunted, "For good reason. Today has totally sucked."
Izuku couldn't argue that. It had been two days since he had returned, but terrible news started this day. All Might had gathered all of 1A to break said news. The day before, Star & Stripes, the number one hero of the United States, had entered Japan's airspace. This prompted Shigaraki to come out of hiding to confront her. Ultimately, he was victorious by killing the heroine, but his quirk factor was significantly damaged as he tried to assimilate her quirk New Order. On the flip side though it seemed her death pulled out what international aid that Japan was hoping to receive.
The former pro hero revealed new info had shown that the villain's body would have become complete tomorrow, but Star and Stripes had delayed that for about a week. Now the time was to train like never before to ready themselves for what opportunity they were given. To think they all thought they still had about a month. The thought still troubled Midoriya that they were that close to possible destruction from being unprepared.
"So, did you come here to ensure I didn't do anything drastic?"
"What? No. I just wanted to talk." He didn't want to ponder what "drastic" things she could do at this point.
"How did you find out I was here?"
"Kyoka-chan."
"Ah, right. I ran into her as I left my room before coming here."
"She mentioned your clothes, so I just assumed you were going to the gym."
Tooru crossed her arms. "Okay, but what about knowing Ochako-chan gave me the idea about punching the snot out of this dummy to vent?"
Izuku scratched his head as he explained, "On the day we got back, Tenya-kun mentioned that she did the same thing the day we left. Ochako-chan was pretty angry at me about that."
This statement caused the girl to take a few steps forward. "Oh, she never mentioned that part. I can see why she felt that way, though. Did you work that out with her?"
"Yeah, we're cool. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing." He then closed the distance between them even more and placed a hand on Hagakure's shoulder, "Is that what this is too?"
"I'm not sure."
Midoriya sighed. This revelation they were talking about was much closer to home. He and Hagakure had noticed one of their classmate's recent behavior changes as distant and lacking his usual luster. However, it was Tooru who acted on it today. While most everyone else was training, she stayed behind to follow him in her suit to see what was up. Eventually, she found herself in the forest at the backside of the campus and found the entire Aoyama family there.
A quick call to her boyfriend brought Izuku speeding over without alerting anyone else. They both quickly learned Yuga was born quirkless, and his parents contacted All For One to transfer Navel Laser to their son in exchange for him to spy on U.A. for the villain. In the end, Aizawa's hunch from the first term had merit. Midoriya subdued them all with Black Whip and brought them to the principal afterward.
The boy shook the thoughts of what just happened away as he pulled his girlfriend into an embrace. "Thanks for letting me know first. Things might have gone a lot worse if anyone else had found them."
"I didn't really think it through that hard. I just knew you were one of the few friends he had. It only seemed natural."
"So, are you just not sure about the plan?"
"No, it's a good one. Plus, it makes him have to face up to what he did. Even if he was forced into the whole thing."
Aoyama quickly gave in to the faculty and police's demands, feeling he should be jailed for the rest of his days. But thanks to Aizawa and the rest of 1A, they convinced him to still work with them. The idea was to go off the most recent demand from All For One and lure Midoriya out into the open. Yuga's parents were the ones that communicated with All For One, and to set the trap without showing any ill intent would use Shinso's Brainwash. The Aoyamas would relay that Yuga had isolated Izuku and soon delivered him to bring All For One out of hiding. There were many other parts to this plan, but that was the part that involved the traitors.
Tooru's words brought Izuku out of his rethinking of the plan. "It's just all the trouble we ran into early on because of him. Yuga-kun leaked when we would be isolated at the USJ. Where our summer training camp was. Any of us could have died back then; a couple of us had some close calls."
"And yet Yoga-kun helped save Fumikage-kun and tried to do the same for Kaachan during the summer trip. He wanted to become my friend once All For One was put behind bars. Once he felt free from spying on all of us."
"I know, and he is trying to atone. It's as Tenya-kun said, we shoulder part of the blame for not seeing it sooner, and we need to help our friend in his despair. It's just hard for me to accept this so quickly. I need to get rid of the anger to think straight."
Midoriya sighed. Maybe he had over-thought things again. "So you just needed this to vent those frustrations away."
"So I can focus on the bigger picture, yeah. I'm sure you and others, to a lesser extent, did that with your mission with Mt. Lady-sensei earlier today."
That confirmed it for the boy. She was acting rationally. "Man, both you and Ochako-chan, huh? I really am over worrying about you two, it seems." Girls still were hard to understand even after all this time.
Izuku was surprised to be hugged suddenly by Tooru. "We both appreciate your concern regardless."
The boy started to feel awkward as he stated, "Well, I did come here for another reason, though."
"Oh? Even more important than checking up on me?"
Midoriya grunted. "I don't know; it's tough to explain." There were many factors here, but he was working with limited information to know how to proceed.
"More bad news?"
"I don't think so, but it depends on your feelings about it. And that will judge how I feel about it too."
"Hmm, that does sound odd." Tooru stood in deep thought for a moment before saying, "Let me shower, then we can talk about it elsewhere."
"You sure? Do you need to blow off more steam before that?"
"Yeah, I feel I got most of it out of me. And talking to you has calmed me down too." She gave her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips, "I'm going to go wash up. Meet you at the entrance in a little bit."
Izuku stood there as he watched her head to the girl's locker room. And he continued for a while after.
Banjo: "Earth to boy, we okay up there?"
Shimura: "Shush, that's like the first time they have kissed since before they left school.
"You kept track of that?"
Shimura: "It stuck out like a sore thumb. We never had to 'leave' because you two got intimate the whole trip.
Banjo: "Besides the shower."
Shimura: "Yes. Once. Anyways, I questioned just how close you two were the whole time."
Midoriya sighed. She was right. They were distant most of the month. Though he didn't expect All Might's mentor to notice they never kissed.
Shinomori: "On to more important matters. Is it best that the girl knows what you saw? She didn't seem aware then, so perhaps it's best to push this till later?"
Shigaraki: "Her quirk does add a lot of complexities to everyday life. Any changes should be celebrated, especially if they could ease that burden. I saw them discuss this."
Shinomori: "Yes, but this is her identity we are talking about. This changes that. If not for the literal war about to happen in the next few days, I would be all for telling her. But this development might distract her from that. That's why I suggest waiting."
En: Our successor made it clear he wants to tell her. If anything, I think this will reinforce her resolve.
"Thanks, En-san, that's what I'm hoping for too."
Shimura: "You are just unsure what she wants, right?"
"Right. It's not something we have talked about for some time."
Shigaraki: Good luck then. To both of you.
"Thanks. All of you."
Izuku slapped his cheeks with both hands and then exited the gym. Standing outside, he thought over the vestiges that dwelled inside him. Sure, they talked a lot and sometimes bickered, but he knew they were trying to be helpful in the end. Though, having them all converse while everything else was happening in front of him was distracting at times.
Not long later, Tooru emerged from the gym. She was wearing some vanilla-colored khakis and a light blue t-shirt. "So let's walk and talk." She then took her boyfriend's hand, and the two proceeded to take a stroll. "So, what's this about?"
"So, when you were training with Yuga-kun for that Super Move you two made, did anything odd ever happen?
"Oh, are you asking because he fried my suit?"
"I figured that wasn't normal."
"Nah, I usually feel a little hot, but today it felt like I was burning. Mei-chan said my suit should be fine, though. Just have to replace a small part that got fried, and it should be good as new tomorrow." Hagakure used her free hand to softly dig her index finger into the boy's cheek as she said, "You acting all weird to ask such a simple question."
"Well, it's more than that."
"Oh, there's more?"
"Yeah, I, uh, well." Midoriya took a deep breath. "I sorta saw your face only for a moment as you refracted Yuga-kun's Naval Lazer."
Tooru stopped immediately, which in turn stopped Izuku abruptly.
"H-How much?"
Her stuttered tone worried the boy, but he answered, "I didn't see any color because of the flash the refraction made, but I definitely saw your hair and eyes."
The girl was silent for a moment before saying. "And you didn't say anything until now because of everything else going on."
"Right. I didn't think it was real at first because it happened so quickly."
"I see." Tooru proceeded to wrap her arms around her chest. "Ugh, why am I getting so embarrassed. It's just my face you saw. I've literally stood in the same room with you naked multiple times."
Izuku could feel heat on his cheeks starting to creep in but he shook it off so he could say, "You've never had to worry about being seen." Hagakure didn't say anything further and continued to stand there hugging herself. Midoriya slowly approached and embraced her. "It's okay to have this feeling. I have it all the time and it's taken a lot of work to work through it. So you shouldn't feel bad."
"Hugging me is just making it worse, but I appreciate the concern." The boy took a step back but Tooru grabbed one of his hands. "Hand holding is still fine I think." She began to move forward again before asking, "So, got any questions about what you saw?"
"Why did you take off your helmet?"
It took a moment for the girl to respond. "I threw it off after calling you. I couldn't hear the best with it on. I guess this whole thing wouldn't have been a big deal if my suit just appeared versus my face considering it blew a fuse.
"I see. So do you want to know what you looked like?"
After an awkward pause passed, Hagakure eventually said, "Is it weird that a part of me doesn't want to know?"
"I don't think so. This is why I said earlier that I didn't know if this would be considered a good thing for you."
"And it's not like I care if I am cute or ugly; it's just I don't know what to feel."
Midoriya didn't think his girlfriend would care about that. He still wanted to say his thoughts about it but knew it wasn't something to say unless she asked. Instead, he said, "It's hard to process having a physical identity after not having one for over a decade."
"And it's not like I can do that on a whim. That might have been just a fluke."
"We can't ask Yuga-kun to fire lasers at you to try again anytime soon." Aoyama would stay in custody until needed on the day to enact the plan.
"Yeah, and who knows that it would even work."
Izuku remembered what Shigaraki had said to him earlier that day when asked about why it could have happened. "It might be because of how emotionally distraught he felt as he fired his laser at me."
"And me too."
"Right, I could tell you were crying when I saw your face."
"You saw my tears?"
"Yeah, that was quite clear to me despite how brief it was.
She then covered her free hand with her chest. "Did you happen to see anything beyond my head then?"
"Uh, I guess a bit of your u-upper chest."
Tooru sighed before saying, "You can say boobs, dummy. Though, I guess it's a good thing I decided to take the time to put on my suit before following him."
Izuku was quite glad, too, that didn't happen. A face and topless reveal would have probably ended him right there.
"I wonder, did Yuga-kun see me too?"
"He was sobbing more than both of us. He might have not. Though we can ask him the next time we get a chance."
"That probably won't be until the day of the plan."
"I know, but I have to be alone with him during then. I can ask them."
"Thank you." Hagakure then halted their walk and brought Midoriya to a nearby bench. After sitting down, she asked, "Okay, I thought about it, and I want you to describe my face the best you can."
Izuku sat down and asked, "You sure? What about that part of you doesn't want to know?"
Tooru leaned her head onto her boyfriend's side as she explained. "I had told myself years ago that I was happy, never knowing. My quirk showed no signs of ever letting up, so what hope was there in wanting to see myself again? It felt final. But now, something has happened. However small, I can't deny this chance. We'll focus on doing this again after all this 'downfall of our country' stuff is behind us, but I still want some idea of what I look like until then."
"Alright then. Surprisingly, your most striking feature for me was your hair."
"My hair?" Hagakure's arms lifted upward. Midoriya figured her hands were covering her head now. "My hair must have looked like an utter train wreck."
"What? No, it looked well-kept. I mean, sure you had a little helmet hair, but that's not what I meant. It was how long it was."
"Oh. Did you forget we were supposed to cut my hair like the day after we lost to the villains?"
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." Izuku couldn't believe he had forgotten about that. "If you want, I can do it tonight if you want."
"At this point, I am well over a month due for another haircut. I think I will let it grow out for now until I can't fit it into my helmet anymore. If we figure out how to make myself visible, I wouldn't mind longer hair than what I had before."
"I can still be your barber, though, right?"
Tooru took both her hands to hold her boyfriend's left hand as she answered, "Of course, silly. We'll figure out the proper length I want later."
The boy thought back to what Shimura had said earlier in the gym and reached out his free hand to feel his girlfriend's longer strands of hair. "Had I been there for you more before coming back here I would have noticed this."
"Not like we could have done anything about it if you did. So, anything else?"
"Your eyelashes were pretty long too."
In a confused tone, Hagakure asked, "That's it?"
"It's what I noticed! I could only see half your face." Her hair and eyelashes, plus the fact she was crying, were all he could remember.
"Heh, and chest. But really, that was all, huh? Though I guess you can't tell much in the blink of an eye and when I lacked color."
"Sorry. I thought this would be something more meaningful for you."
"It is meaningful. If I had your mental image of me, there would be more to go on, but as you said, it's hard to describe, with so many of my features missing. At least you got to see the real me first. Something no one has seen in many years."
"Part of it, yeah. But you're real now, this is just a small part of you."
"But you still want to see my face, no?"
Considering what just happened, Izuku couldn't deny he did, but he wanted to put her feelings on the matter first. "Only if you feel comfortable with it. I've known you for everything besides your looks for so long, so I can understand if you want to keep it that way."
"Well, maybe it's time we both learn what part of me even is. Maybe take a picture or get a mirror next time so I can experience it too." The two then laughed, drowning out the awkwardness of the conversation.
Mei opened the door and stated, "I can't believe I never brought you down here before."
Izuku looked inside the expansive garage with interest as he stated, "I didn't know it existed till you told me just minutes ago."
"Rarely is the equipment down here hero suit related, so it makes sense," Power Loader said as he closed the door once the two walked in.
Various parts of the school's new defense system were stern everywhere. Midoriya already got a glimpse of this kind of hardware when he visited the support department yesterday after the situation with the Aoyama family had gone down. But this was on an entirely different level. The support department was in charge of developing and building the defense apparatus for U.A. with the help of various pro heroes. The main workshop had been completely overhauled because of it, but it still didn't compare to this.
As Izuku surveyed everything, eventually, his attention was drawn in to see a fully suited-up Momo talking to older students by some long sheets of metal. He quickly walked over to see what was going on. As he approached, she noticed him and said, "Oh, good evening Izuku-kun. What brings you down here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
Hatsume seemed to appear out of nowhere at Yaoyorozu's side and placed a hand on her shoulder as she explained, "Ah yes, this one is part of the main event of our plan to counteract that dusty villain."
From behind, Midoriya could hear Maijima sigh as he said, "She means Shigaraki."
Momo explained, "Well, anyways, my part here is to provide the vast amounts of raw materials needed to enact this plan once the day comes."
Last night, before Izuku went to find Tooru, class 1A with Nezu, All Might, and Detective Naomasa were given the grand plan. The students were split into various groups to be given their various tasks, so he didn't know much about the others yet. "For the entire school?"
Power Loader injected, "Our school cook, Lunch Rush, will be providing her with all the food she will need to fuel that quirk of hers. Then a support staff and pros team will convert said materials into what is needed to maintain the plan."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck as he stated, "Sounds complicated."
Momo then stated, "You never answered my question, Izuku-kun."
"Oh, uh, sorry. I wanted to check on that robot that assisted us after leaving U.A. I also came to pick up Tooru's suit since she got a surprise visit from her folks after practice."
"Right, she mentioned it had been damaged by Yuga-kun just before practice today. Still, why would it be down here?"
Midoriya turned to Hatsume and said, "I was wondering the same thing."
"You'll understand once we get to Baby Prime." Mei started to walk away as she said, "Catch up with your friend first if you must; we'll be over here waiting for you."
Power Loader sighed before saying, "Just head in her direction; she's going in until you see a black car. You can't miss it. I'm going to head back upstairs to see my other students."
"Thanks Maijima-sensei."
Momo said she would return to the other students and motioned for Izuku to follow. They walked to a less busy part of the garage near some unattended computers hooked to what looked like car engines. The vice class president then asked, "You and Tooru-chan okay after everything that happened with the Aoyama family?"
"We worked things out, yeah. Why?"
"I just heard you two came back pretty late last night, is all."
Izuku crossed his arms before saying, "Right, it was practically midnight. There was just a lot to discuss. But all is good." Tooru's appearance would have to wait till later.
Yaoyorozu sighed in relief. "That's reassuring to hear. There's been so much going on lately that it's hard to keep going at times for some of us. I hate to see either of you two still struggling."
"Mashirao-kun mentioned you had it pretty rough while I was gone. He said you're better now but is it all true?"
Momo closed her eyes before saying, "The reality of what happened at the end of March was difficult to process, especially since, as part of the student council, it's my duty to make sure our class is doing okay. Tenya-kun went above and beyond to help me with that task."
"Sorry, bringing this up probably is opening old wounds."
"It's quite alright, Izuku-kun. Mashirao pulled me out of my despair, and now I pour myself into work like this to keep me going. I am key to making our campus a weapon that can counter Shigaraki, so I take great pride in that."
"I'm sure you'll be up to the task Momo-chan."
Yaoyorozu nodded. "Though because of my duty here I won't be able to join you in the final battle."
Midoriya's team would be leaving U.A. in two days to draw attention away from the campus just before Shigaraki's completion. Izuku then extended a hand, stating, "We all got our roles to fulfill to make this work. We'll do 110% to make it happen on both fronts."
Momo extended her hand and shook her friend's hand before saying, "We'll save Japan, even if we aren't side by side as it happens."
The two said their goodbyes, and Midoriya headed out to where Hatsume had left. Eventually, he saw the black car that Maijima had mentioned. Yeah not hard to miss at all. It was mostly in pieces with both Baby Prime, in his helper body, and his master welding different parts of the vehicle. Though just as he got close enough to announce his presence, a woman stepped out of the car's passenger seat. The Fixer. Even behind her large work goggles, Izuku recognized the woman's features. She wore blue overalls with a white undershirt, just like at her usual workplace. She also was carrying a black briefcase.
"Ah, Midoriya-san. Fancy meeting you here."
This caused both Prime and Hatsume to look up to see the boy. Both made a quick gesture of greeting before returning to work.
"Now it makes sense why I was brought here."
The Fixer tilted her head. "Oh?"
"If you're here, that means you repaired Tooru's suit."
"Close, but not exactly right. Hatsume-san fixed it herself. I just gave it a look over to see what upgrades she had installed and added my bells and whistles, is all."
"Upgrades?"
"Yes, I have a set of instructions folded into the suit for her to go over my additions." The Fixer gestured to a box on a counter nearby. "You can take that once you leave."
Izuku bowed before saying, "Thanks so much. I'm sure she will be thrilled to hear about whatever changes you have in store."
"Hmm, getting a different reading about that. Your face looks a bit less than thankful."
Midoriya grunted. He thought he was hiding it well enough. "I am thankful. Just a bit confused about your presence here and your past times with the League and all."
"Fair enough, but I wouldn't have been invited to offer my assistance here if such past work was considered a risk worth avoiding to your principal."
Nezu allowed her to come, the boy thought. Well, it's no use arguing then.
"Looks like a little of Inoue-san has rubbed off onto you."
"It doesn't hurt to be cautious. All For One has spies and agents everywhere." The recent Aoyama incident was too fresh in his mind not to ignore the possibility.
The Fixer approached the boy and took off her goggles. Despite the cold shoulder, Izuku had given her; her expression still looked friendly. "I am usually neutral about the world's affairs, though now that money has no value for the time being, it's best to side myself with the faction that better aligns with my ideals. The villain's plans are a bit too chaotic for my taste. Plus, all that death and destruction is bad for business."
The explanation still didn't sit well with Midoriya, but it was clear she was on their side. "Glad you are on our side then, at least."
"Though if society returns to it once was, I was promised quite a sum of money by Nezu-san."
The boy sighed; of course there was a catch. He then looked down at her briefcase now that it was closer. It looked familiar, then a thought came up, and the boy looked back at the disassembled car. That briefcase looked like the one All Might brought with him when they left the school. So that meant that...
"Wait, is that Hercules?"
The woman shrugged. "Well, it used to be. It's being heavily modified. A personal request from All Might."
"What are you doing with it?"
"He just wanted it to be repurposed for the war effort since it served its purpose. It has a lot of unique components that could be used for other practical means."
Izuku found The Fixer's explanation strange, but before he could ask further, she asked. "By the way, did my Mid-Gauntlets serve you well with your little trip around Japan?"
"They worked like a charm." As exhaustive as Izuku was from the whole ordeal, another medical check-up showed she had not suffered further damage to his ligaments.
"Glad to hear. I am sure Hatsume-san's improvements will be even more of a help."
"Yeah, I got a real good feel for them at practice today." Yesterday Mei had given him new Mid-Gauntlets. She had integrated them fully into his Air Force Gloves and Iron Soles. They would still break if used at 100% One For All, but they were much more efficient at their job than before. And more comfortable.
The Fixer lowered her goggles once more. "Well, I still have lots to do besides this project and should see Power Loader's students' progress. Toodles, boy."
As she left, Mei stood up. She walked over to her friend and said quietly, "I know you find her iffy, but she's helping a lot with our work here."
"It's okay; if our principal is putting trust in her, then we're okay. I can't deny what good work she's done for me and Tooru."
Hatsume beamed as she stated, "I overheard that my change to your Mid-Gauntlets went well."
"It did. Thanks so much again for doing this for me."
"What are friends for?"
Midoriya nodded and smiled. He was beyond ecstatic that his friendship with the engineer had blossomed into what it was now. Because of that, he had to ask, "Hey, so sorry for leaving you alone with All Might after only a week of working together. That must have been rough for you."
Mei shrugged. "It was a surprise, but Tooru-chan brought it up as a possibility before we ever left. Plus, it made me focus more on brainstorming with Maijima-sensei on U.A. defenses. Which, as you can see, was quite fruitful. You just wanted to keep me and All Might safe. The only thing I missed was having Baby Prime around."
"Awww, you're too kind, Hatsume-sama," Prime stated as he rolled up to the side of his master.
"Uh, Prime-san." Tooru had told him about the bot's true nature on their trip back to school. As impressed as he was, he still wasn't ready to address him as his girlfriend did.
The bot asked, "Something wrong?"
"Oh no, just lost in my thoughts as usual."
Prime crossed his arms as he said, "Ah yes, you did do that a lot out on the battlefield."
"Speaking of battle, what condition is your combat body?"
"Still needs work here and there. After analyzing its battles with the High-End Nomu, I wanted to make some upgrades. Baby Prime won't be at their level, but the jump is strength, and defense should still be noticeable."
"I am quite thrilled in anticipation of these!"
"Oh, and I should have the base part of your suit ready soon, Izuku-kun. You can drop by tomorrow, and I should have it ready."
Prime asked, "You're not just saying that to have him visit every day now, are you?"
Mei quickly about-faced and said, "What gave you that silly idea." She then returned to her welding project.
"She is so easy to read sometimes," the bot stated before sighing.
Izuku asked, "So what exactly are you two working on?"
"Confidential, sorry."
So there was more to this than what The Fixer was saying, he thought. Should he ask All Might if given a chance? When would he get the chance? He barely saw him as of late.
"It's okay, Prime-san. I understand."
Midoriya then looked at the box that contained his girlfriend's repaired and upgraded suit. His thoughts then switched to brainstorming what they could be and how excited Hagakure would be at the news.
Izuku asked, "Think we're in trouble?"
Tooru calmly replied, "I think you are reading too much into this."
"If I had been the only one called in, I could understand. But both of us? To the principal? I just have a bad feeling."
"You're still thinking back to December with what Aizawa-sensei said during our triple date, huh?"
"Yeah."
"I have no personal problem with all this romance stuff. You and your friends, so far, have proven it's not affecting your studies. However, as you all become more open about it, the other faculty might think otherwise."
"But there's no rules against it."
"I know, but things can change. We weren't always a boarding school, and we used to allow students to leave the campus if it was not hero-related. Who knows what's next. I'm only saying this as a heads-up that this free reign you and your friends have had might not last forever. I am hoping otherwise, of course, and will support you all as long as you stay true to your heroic studies."
It was odd when his teacher said that back then, and nothing seemed to happen. But now, this was popping up. Nezu had summoned the two after dinner via Present Mic, who met the two as they were leaving the cafeteria. It was also the day before his and the advance team's departure. They would be heading to a makeshift fortress called Troy tomorrow. From there, they set their bait to bring out All For One.
"Well, whatever it is, we got this. We're about to go to war, and I doubt anything our dear principal will say there will compare."
"I'm still nervous, though."
"Then let's pick up the pace to get those jitters out of yeah," Tooru proclaimed before dragging her boyfriend forward at a slight jog. Even though the two were in school uniform, the scene did turn a few heads as they rushed to Nezu's office. Upon their arrival, the girl happily knocked at the door. A few moments passed before the door opened.
"Come in, you two," All Might stated.
Both students yelled, "Sensei!?"
"Your other sensei as well," Aizawa's voice came from deeper in the office.
Nezu just chuckled at the exchange from his desk.
"Okay, maybe this is serious," Tooru said with hesitation in her tone.
Shota sat up and leaned on his cane as he said, "We were just going over some final details for tomorrow, is all."
Toshinori nodded. "Our meeting just ended up taking longer than anticipated. We thought we would be out of here before you two arrived."
Izuku gave his girlfriend the side eye.
"Well, uh, we have jogged on over here at my insistence."
Nezu jumped on top of his desk as he said, "The spirit of youth still runs free even in these trying times. Good to hear."
Aizawa started to make his leave, and as he passed his students, he said, "Good luck."
Midoriya's heart dropped upon hearing that.
Yagi was confused at the exchange but said his goodbyes to his students before leaving them alone with the head of their school.
"Please take a seat, you two, and thanks for coming at such short notice. Yamada-san was with us earlier, and I had him fetch you two as our meeting drew close."
As Izuku took a seat, he asked, "So, what is the nature of this visit?"
Nezu then sat at the edge of his desk before explaining, "I never got to thank you personally for everything you have done for our school and country. And I wanted you to know before leaving once more to defend Japan from the current threat."
Tooru then spoke up. "Um, I understand asking him here, sir, but why invite me?"
"Well, Yagi-san has explained why you tagged along with your little adventure last month. I have you to thank as well for keeping our dear Midoriya-san in line."
Now intrigued, Midoriya asked, "So you know of our relationship?"
"Quite."
"And you have no issue?"
Nezu laughed. "I don't see how I can. I have only heard good things from the faculty about you two."
Izuku sighed in relief.
Tooru confidently said, "See? I told you we had nothing to worry about."
"I am missing context here."
"Well, sir, my boyfriend was convinced you called us here to discuss our dating."
"Hmm, what gave you that idea?"
Midoriya bowed as he said. "Sorry, a comment from Aizawa-sensei made many months ago got me worried."
The principal hopped down from his desk and began to pace back and forth. "Hmm, that comment he made was back in December?"
Hagakure answered, "Uh, yeah, it was."
Nezu sighed with a chuckle. "That poor Aizawa-san. He was concerned about his students over nothing."
Izuku and Tooru looked at each other but said nothing.
"Here, let me explain." The small man then jumped onto Izuku's armrest and sat before continuing. "It was after a faculty meeting. He pulled me aside to say he would accompany some of his students to celebrate a birthday and wanted to run by it with me. I, of course, approved it but then joked with him about all the romance in his class. It looks like Aizawa-san took it seriously."
Midoriya asked, "What joke?"
"I believe it was along the lines of, 'This dating among students is usually a third-year problem, not a first-year. You think you can control them all?' I then laughed and patted his back. But I should know better than not to state I was simply joking around him. Aizawa-san is quite a serious fellow."
"Man, these last few days are just me worrying too much about everything," Izuku groaned.
"Nothing wrong with being cautious, my lad. I can understand being cautious after hearing it from your homeroom teacher." He then hopped down from the chair. "This will be a fun conversation once I speak with Aizawa-san again."
Hopefully, this doesn't anger Eraserhead too much, Midoriya thought.
Hagakure asked, "So dating is a problem with third years?"
"Only if it leads to children. Ah, youth."
Izuku coughed at that statement. Tooru just awkwardly laughed.
"Not really an issue for first years. Your class just stuck out the cause of the what, three relationships in 1A? Definitely unusual."
Good thing he doesn't know of Jiro and Koda, Midoriya thought. Though they were so recent to get together, it makes sense he wouldn't know. Though it did bring up the fact his principal knew about the others. Were his teachers really that gossipy about this?
Nezu now stood between both students. "To make good on my gratitude, I wanted to offer my services to either of you once this is all over."
"Services?" Midoriya didn't know what to think of this.
"You are All Might's successor but still quite young. Before, I was merely here to assist with whatever Yagi-san needed of me. But now that you are shouldering this school and Japan's future, I want to help. Your mentor has given me some details about how you differ from his way of doing things. I look forward to seeing how things develop after we put this scary affair behind us."
Tooru asked, "So, like, when Izuku goes pro?"
"Yes, both of you. I hear you wish to build a team of sorts. What with all the extracurricular activities you, your friends, and two of my staff have been doing with that club of yours, that is your goal.
Izuku crossed his arms and answered, "It is, sir, but is our current hero system even going to be around after this? I can't see it being the same."
Nezu nodded before turning back to his desk and began walking. "You are probably right. I'll help you find your place in whatever system comes after. Both of you." He got into his chair behind the desk before saying, "Well then. I said my peace. What do you say?"
Hagakure proclaimed, "Of course, sir! We'd be happy to accept. Right?"
"Right," Izuku said with a nod. He liked the idea but was too busy processing it all. Perhaps his girlfriend noticed that?
"Glad to hear. Well, I still have plenty to go over before turning in tonight. And you two should rest up early to get ready to move tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," both students replied.
"Until tomorrow, then. I'll be sure to see you off." Nezu pulled out his phone and quickly dialed it before bringing it to his ear.
The two made their leave before the phone conversation could begin. After Izuku closed the door, Tooru said, "Well, that was enlightening."
"Sorry, I hesitated there."
Hagakure took her boyfriend's hand and stated, "I figured you would agree, but you were going to over-evaluate it while our principal waited for an answer."
As the two began to walk, Izuku said, "Thanks for that. Still hard to imagine what he could do to help me further."
"I am going, to be honest, and it's hard to imagine anything in the future until we deal with the whole situation."
"Another thing to put off then." Midoriya then sighed.
"Well, our pro hero life is still almost two years off. No rush."
Izuku brought his free hand up to his chin. "I wonder if Yagi-sensei knows."
"Probably. I'm sure he is all for it too."
"I wish he would have stayed behind. We haven't had much time to talk." Midoriya was also very curious about what project was happening in the Support Department.
"Everyone and everything is moving kilometers a minute at the moment. Can't fault Yagi-sensei with so much needing to be done."
"I know. It's just I still haven't properly apologized for leaving him behind. And talking about it over the phone didn't feel right."
Hagakure raised her boyfriend's hand as she proclaimed, "Better the reason to save Japan so we can get back to our normal lives and do such things!"
"Yeah, normal." Would things ever go back to normal? The city side of the country seemed in ruins. And the hero system is barely hanging on.
Tooru bowed their arms before saying, "Another thing to add to that list, though, is that trip you suggested to me."
"The one through the countryside?"
"The very one."
"I did promise that, didn't I."
"Backing out, are we?"
"No, no, it's just back then. I said it but didn't think much of it because of how one-minded I was thinking. But now, I want to stop walking and research options."
"Well, options are going to be hard to look up with the state of the country, silly."
"I know, but you know me. Plan everything in advance."
At this point, the two exited the building. And Tooru's tone changed to a more playful one. "Well, there is something we can do before tomorrow, I guess. Instead of all these what ifs after our big battle and all."
"Oh?" Izuku was stumped at what she meant. It was already almost nighttime. What could they do?
Hagakure stopped and placed her arms on her boyfriend's shoulders before asking, "Can I stay the night in your room?"
Shimura: Now that's what teenagers dating should be worried about.
Banjo: You can't be serious. Am I the rational one here? Our boy would never agree to such a-.
"Sure," Midoriya said with no hesitation.
Tooru shouted, "WHAT!?"
Banjo: "WHAT!?"
Shimura: "Nice."
Shigaraki: "I think it's time we all made our leave."
Shinomori: "She doesn't mean..."
En: "Not our concern fourth. Let's leave them be."
Izuku stated, "I mean, I was the first to ask to do such a thing. Remember?"
"I mean, yeah, but I figured that was a spur-of-the-moment thing. And I was expecting to have to fight you for this or even be outright denied."
Midoriya shrugged, "Well, I'm okay with it." He coughed, then looked away, "As long as we keep things civil."
Hagakure then groaned. "Ah jeez, I'm not asking for sex, you dummy. Now you are sounding like Tenya-kun."
"I j-just wanted to be crystal clear in both our intentions, is all."
"I'm still trying to make sense of this. Is my Izuku standing beside me at the moment?" Tooru then grabbed her boyfriend's left cheek and squeezed it softly.
"It's me. I agree that we should share a special moment before tomorrow. Considering anything that might happen in the coming days."
Tooru let go of the boy's cheek and exhaled before saying, "Nah, we are doing this cause we love each other. Not because of the risk we might not survive this situation. Because we are going to live and save Japan together. No more negative talk like that, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good." Hagakure took back Midoriya's hand, and the two continued to walk again.
After some time passed in silence, Izuku asked, "So what spurred your idea to do this?"
"My talk with Ochako-chan."
"Oh. Wait, what?"
"After we discussed Toga, I brought up your talk with her. And then she brought up Tenya-kun being present. In her room. Early in the morning."
"She assumed you knew about that."
"Yeah, so that was a surprise. Ochako-chan thought you would have told me."
"Should I have?"
"No, and I'm glad you didn't. That's private. Though we are such good friends now, the possibility of me knowing didn't bother her is nice."
"So this is just to be at the same level of relationship as those two?"
"I'm a bit jealous, but that's beside the point."
Best I don't tell her they have slept together twice then, Midoriya thought.
"Anyways, once we get back to our dorms, I need to head back to my room and drop off these dirty clothes. I'll head up to your room right after, okay?"
"So early?" It was only starting to get dark.
"We got a lot to do to prepare in the morning. Thankfully we already got packing out of the way. So an early bedtime is needed. Plus, it might take us some time to fall asleep."
"I guess that makes sense." There was no telling how things would play out.
"Glad you agree. Also, leave your door unlocked so it's easier for me. Now let's race back. I can't wait!" Hagakure then sprinted off. Midoriya shook his head but then took off after her. In no time, they had returned to the 1A dorms and went their separate ways. Izuku opened the door to his room and sighed. Mostly empty. Just the essentials were left. Considering what might happen, he packaged up all his merchandise and had it stored in safe keeping off the campus. Now with it all gone, there wasn't much to the room left.
A voice behind him stated, "I was wondering where you were."
Izuku turned quickly. "Minoru-kun?" Said person was holding a blanket in one hand and a pillow in the other. He also was wearing a rather large backpack. The boy was already in his pajamas, a mix of purple and black patterns throughout.
"I'm heading upstairs to spend the night with Denki-kun. We will game until we drop tonight to hype us up for tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know so you don't have to worry about me being next door.
Midoriya could feel a sweat coming on as he said, "What makes you think I worry about such a thing?"
Mineta smirked but then started walking away. "A guy like me just knows. Good luck Izuku-kun."
Izuku was baffled. Even as a stupid wild guess, how would Minoru know? He sighed as he watched the grape hero head upstairs. He then looked back down the hallway, past his room. To Yuga's room. It was unoccupied, too, of course. He hated the circumstance that both rooms beside his were now empty, but he couldn't ignore it did help somewhat.
Midoriya returned to his room, and a new thought dawned on him. What would he wear? He wasn't going shirtless. That was for sure. Even though it was practically summer, he often did that during the season. As he dropped his school pants, Izuku changed into a white T-shirt to play it safe. He pondered his choices. Shorts? Or stay in his boxer briefs? Or pajamas? The last options seemed too conservative. It would probably bum out his girlfriend, he figured. Now the question was shorts or briefs. He pondered the thought for longer than he realized, and the sound of the door closing behind him made him jump.
Tooru quietly said. "Woah, now, let's not make too much noise even if we are just on the second floor. We still have to worry about Minoru-kun, remember?"
"He's over in Denki-kun's place, playing video games. But, how did you get here so quickly!?"
The door closed as she responded, "I mean, all I had to do was drop off my clothes, take my vitamins, and strip down."
"Wait. Vitamins? Strip!?" Izuku took a moment and then placed a hand on his face. He had forgotten that they packed their suits in the protective suitcases and handed them over to the school faculty. Which meant she wasn't in her suit. "Right, you are only wearing p-panties right now."
"Better than totally nude, though."
The boy stated in a joking tone, "So much better." The invisible underwear. It had been some time since he recalled she had those. However, it was only the panties, no bra. Before he could bring up this issue, his clothes drawer opened.
"Where are your T-shirts?"
The logic of why she was doing this came to the boy, who answered in relief, "Next one down."
Hagakure proceeded to open it and put on a matching shirt for her boyfriend. Seeing his girlfriend in his oversized shirt should have helped, but now when seeing it, it was making things difficult.
"Better?"
"S-Somewhat."
"Didn't expect you to stay in your boxer briefs, though. Bold. I like it."
Izuku gulped, "Yeah, though hard to compare to what you came in."
"I expected you would know me better by now."
"You say that you would have come like this even if you had access to your hero suit."
Tooru said with an innocent tone, "Maybe."
Midoriya sighed and then walked over to turn off the lights before extending a hand. "Well, regardless, I'm ready." He heard a giggle from his girlfriend as she took his hand. They walked over, and he gestured for her to get in first. Hagakure proceeded to jump and laugh. She then scooted over to give her boyfriend space. Once they were situated, he pulled the covers up as she cuddled to his side.
"You were staring pretty hard at my chest earlier, you know."
Izuku took a deep breath. This is what was making it so difficult before. "It's hard not to. Your chest sticks out more without a bra." It was very distracting for him.
"I appreciate the compliment."
"On a different topic, what did you say about vitamins earlier?"
"Oh, that? Just vitamin D supplements. I refract ultraviolet light, so no daily vitamin D for me."
Right, the skin produces vitamin D when hit by UV light, Midoriya thought. "Hmm, that means you never have to put on sunscreen, though?"
"Yup, it's a nice perk." Hagakure then sighed. "It does mean I don't ever get to experience my boyfriend putting on sunscreen while at the beach."
Izuku just laughed awkwardly, prompting Tooru to hug her boyfriend tighter.
"Everything okay?"
"Sorry, I keep teasing you, trying to put this conversation off."
Midoirya then sat up. "What did you want to talk about?"
Hagakure turned away. "Something that I should have brought up days ago."
The boy started to panic. "Did I do something wrong? Is it because I'm not being more intimate? I mean, we have only kissed once in like a month. But I wasn't sure making out in the bed would be a good idea considering what you're wearing. I don't know if I can control-." He was interrupted by a pair of fingers on his lips.
"You're doing wonderful, Izuku. It's about me." Tooru was now in a sitting position too.
Izuku reached over, took a moment to find his girlfriend's left hand, and then placed both hands on it. "Well, sounds like you wanna tell me, but if it's too hard to discuss right now, we can put it off till later."
"Putting off later would just make things worse, I think."
"Well, I'm listening then."
"Right. What happened." Hagakure brought her other hand and placed it on top of his.
"Remember there was that Nomu that Toga brought along that could see me?"
"The one with all the eyes, yeah."
Tooru took a few deep breaths. "I did more than fight it off when Stain allowed me to fight back."
Izuku recalled she had explained using her stun punch to target Nomu's eyes. "What exactly happened?"
Hagakure gulped. "The electricity from my Stun Punch's full power setting made contact with its exposed brain. And well, fried it."
Midoriya could feel a cold sweat coming on. He took a moment to process this but eventually said, "So it was an accident, Tooru. You can't blame yourself. You fought for your life back there."
Tooru wrapped her arms around her abdomen. "It coughed up blood on me as it died. If it wasn't for the rain-."
Izuku had embraced her at this point, cutting her off. There was a soft and muffled cry that followed. As silence followed, the boy tried to think this over. He figured Tooru didn't bring it up later that day, probably because it might have interfered with her trying to convince him to return to the school. Who knows, the way he was back then, knowing this, he might have used that as the reason to embark on his own. The thought disturbed him. However, a question did come up in his mind. "Did you tell Ochako-chan?"
A meek-toned answer followed. "No. I considered it but didn't want to drag things down further. The talk about Toga was already heavy enough."
"Well, I don't hate you for it."
"I know that, the hard part…" She trailed off and started to cry again. "The hard part was arguing over whether I truly took a life. They are Nomus. But they used to be people. But they are not people anymore. Right? Or, because they used to be, should it still count? Is it fucked up to even justify they are not people so I don't feel as bad?"
Midoriya leaned back, grabbed her shoulders, and gave her a soft shake once. "Woah woah, calm down. Breathe." A few sniffs and heavy breathing followed.
There was a lot to unpack here. Izuku never really thought about this. After seeing what the High-End Nomus could do, he wanted to say they were people. But they were a small section of the group, and most he fought still lacked high intelligence since they were released early. He couldn't deny that even if they acted like animals since they were made of people, even if just parts at times, they did make it challenging to decide what was morally right. And she had this stewing in her mind for days without any help—now, what would calm down his girlfriend?
Izuku let his arms fall. "Feel better after telling me?"
Tooru's arm came up and rubbed around her face. "Somewhat."
The boy exhaled long before saying, "Well, to start, Tooru, I don't blame you for what happened and don't think any less of you for not knowing how to feel about it. I'm struggling to think of how I would react if I had something similar. However, I think talking about this helps even if I don't have the solution you want."
"It did, but it's okay. Izuku didn't have the answer. I feel horrible for putting this off and letting these feelings fester. And it made me recontextualize this whole, do we just win this thing by beating up the villains, possibly through killing them?"
"Or do we try and save who we can? Like your talk with Toga."
"I still wonder if I believed some of what I said back then or not. Even if it was only a small part of it."
There were no words spoken for a time. But eventually, Izuku asked, "At the very least, what can I do to make you feel better tonight?"
"Hmm." Tooru then crossed her arms, and after a few moments, she stated, "Can I be your big spoon?"
"Uh, what is that?" Midoriya had never heard this term before.
This got a weak chuckle from Hagakure. "Spooning is when you snuggle facing the same way with one person's back pressed against the other's front. The person on the outside is the big spoon, while the person inside is the little spoon. Usually, the girl is the little spoon, but I want to hug you tight right now."
"I see. Yeah, that sounds doable."
Izuku laid back down and turned away from his girlfriend. She came from behind and wrapped her arms around his chest. He could feel her face pressed against the back of his shoulders.
"Thank you. I want to stay like this for a good while, please."
As Midoriya pulled up the blanket to cover them both, he stated, "Sure thing. Anything for you, Tooru."
Nearly two months late...
Tears of the Kingdom really absorbed a lot of my time and the Pokemon Home transfer update for Scarlet/Violet meant I finally could dive into Gen 9 of Pokemon. Video games really are my weakness lol. Well either way each delayed me working on the final bits of this fic. With Baldur's Gate 3 just around the corner, I was spurred to get this out or suffer even more delays. So here we are! On Cubicity's 6th anniversary as well!
ANYWHO. Before I talk further, I commissioned Krumbs once more, this time some Iichako art. I actually thought my request was rejected but a few weeks later (on my birthday in fact, June 9th) they approved it! However there was A LONG LINE of peeps in front of me so that's why it isn't out yet, so keep your eyes peeled as they are at line art stage for it. Only hint I can give is I was inspired by the character info page art from the newly released volume 38 of the manga. :3
Night Foliage also finished editing chapter 44 and 45, which had 7 and 51 edits respectively.
The first scene mostly exists to have Ojiro and Midoriya catch up but it's got various other bits and pieces too. Even though Izuku is nowhere as dirty as in canon because of his earlier bath from Tooru, I figured his journey back still would require another wash. Ochako's emotions run higher this time because of how much closer they are here than in canon. Which leads to the start of the 2nd scene, because Izuku waiting until the trip to Troy to talk wouldn't make sense in this context. I also wanted to introduce the former users of One For All here as it didn't feel right for them to be included in the conversation as a bunch of boys bathed, lol. Hopefully this format works as it's a lot of people talking, I am open to any suggestions if anyone has a better idea. I didn't want Tooru's visit to be a new scene as the discussion with the former holders of OFA could bridge the travel time.
Alright, Traitor time. This was surprisingly the only canon interaction between these two characters. Kind of sad it wasn't really anything special... Ah well, I figured it would be the case writing for this ship anyhow. But it's still something I could work with. Being the revelation of her face. In canon it seems like no one else saw it, it was purely something for the audience to see. But here? Oh course Izuku is going to see it! I decided to keep her colorless but that might change if the anime does add the color of her hair. If so, I of course will come back and edit that in. Still the prospect of her becoming visible was something that had to be expanded upon. And her hair and eye color changing from what I have? I have a plan for that when we get to it. Even though her identity is known in the fic now, I won't post the cover art version with her face until it's revealed in the anime.
The original support department visit in canon still happened here (maybe though without Izuku's face going into Mei's boobs) but I wanted to do this second visit to catch up with various characters. Also foreshadows what is to become of U.A. and what All Might's trump card is in the final arc of the manga.
The visit with Nezu is to set up stuff for after the manga finishes. What it exactly could be depends on how it ends lol. Plus it was something to start with without just starting the chapter with, "Yo, want to sleep together?" I feel I made that tasteful enough, I mean they already had napped together quite some time ago. Plus it would have been too cliche to do the "let's get spicy since we might die tomorrow" thing. This isn't that kind of fic anyhow.
So once more I have caught up to the manga's latest unfinished arc. Though this is probably the last one, besides a predictable quick aftermath. So it's a hiatus time again. As stated at the start of the chapter I plan to make the honorifics changes soon. From there I truly want to focus on the short stories, FOR REAL THIS TIME, for a while and eventually start the KodaJiro ones too. Whenever the manga finally concludes, work for chapter 50 will begin. Again the fic doesn't end with the conclusion of the manga. There are still things I want to do and the manga's end might spur even more to do as well. So see yeah later, hopefully sooner than later!
