Kirishima is going to make Bakugo feel better if it kills him. Izuku is very tired and got a job he is not sure he's qualified for. Momo is very panicked. Toru has a run in with running people. And hey, time for rescue training, nothing could go wrong!
Well, we're just about there, to the USJ. I won't reveal much more than that, other than next chapter should be...fun! xD
"How is he?" Ochako asked Recovery Girl, her hand firmly clasped by Himiko.
Recovery Girl rolled her eyes. "Calm down ladies, your boyfriend is fine. He had plenty of energy for me to heal him up, I just want him to rest here a bit before heading back to the dorm. He's on the bed over there," she pointed to a curtained off section. The two girls hurriedly walked over to it, pulling the curtain back to see an annoyed Izuku sitting up, scrolling through his phone with his hero outfit top entirely ripped off, leaving him shirtless with the bottom half of his jumpsuit around his legs. He looked up as they entered.
"Oh, hey, are you two-" He let out an 'oof' as Himiko practically dive tackled him into a hug, Ochako on his other side carefully wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing. Dropping his phone, he wrapped one arm around Ochako's shoulders and placed his other on Himiko's head, gently running his fingers through her messy blonde hair. "...I'm okay, girls. Really. Recovery Girl got me all fixed up, I'm fine."
"You didn't look fine when you left," Himiko muttered into his neck, her breath fanning out against him and making him flush slightly as he comprehended the compromising position he was in with the two. He shook his head to clear it, trying to reassure his partners.
"I mean, it hurt, yeah. But Recovery Girl got me fixed up! Seriously, I'm okay. It was an accident! Kacchan's gauntlets weren't supposed to do that, probably some mixup at the support company or something," he tried to reassure them.
"About that…" the high-pitched voice of the principal interrupted the trio, all three looking behind them to see him standing on one of the beds next to Izuku's.
"O-Oh Headmaster, you're here?" he stuttered in surprise.
"Considering what we heard from All Might, yes. I'd like you to run through what happened for me. I'm led to believe you helped Bakugo design those initially?"
"Yeah. When we were like…eight? Well, we made a rudimentary design when we were like three, but nothing solid till we were eight. The original design did have one big tank for one big explosion, but as we got older it occurred to us that could easily kill…so we decided on a rotating design, like a revolver! And I am absolutely sure we sent that one in, the original design is in crayon in a notebook I didn't even bring to UA."
Nezu nodded, listening carefully. "Yes, I see. That does make sense. I did notice something odd, however. After reviewing the tape, you seemingly knew before the blast went off. What tipped you off?"
Izuku paused as he thought back to that moment, his memory slightly fuzzy due to the pain. But after a moment, his eyes went wide and he let out a nervous giggle. "Uh…um…I…I think it was a new Quirk?"
"...what?" came the deadpan question from Ochako, Himiko, and Recovery Girl (who had been listening in from where she was filing some paperwork). Nezu merely tilted his head to the side questioningly.
"So…when I spoke to the vestiges, one of them mentioned I'd eventually get their Quirks, but we didn't really get into it? And I…I think that was it? I heard the voice of the fourth wielder in my mind, he said something about being surprised it was happening right then?"
"And that ability is what alerted you to the gauntlet's incorrect design?"
"Not exactly? It's called Danger Sense, and basically it just gave me a massive headache when it went off. But I'd already had this weird feeling all day that something was off with Kacchan's costume, and that combined with the headache and knowledge we were in danger made me figure it out."
"Was there anything else off about what you saw? The truth is, if you had not done what you had, it is likely Miss Yaoyorozu would have been permanently injured if not killed, as she did not have any protective barrier like you were able to partly call upon. We have to be very thorough with our investigation, you see," Nezu asked, explaining his reasoning for being so insistent.
"Nothing about the fight but…did the same support company do everyone's outfits?" Izuku asked.
"No, we contract with a few different ones. Himiko's, for example, was done by the same one that did yours and Mister Ida's, but many of the others were done by different companies. Why?"
"...why did no one else make a DNA costume for Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, or Kirishima? And who let Todoroki's costume even make it off the drawing board?! And Ochako's is way too tight with no body armor, not to mention heels? And the bookshelf for Yaoyorozu, like, that's just asking to break her back. And-"
Nezu raised a hand to cut Izuku off. "I see what you're getting at. I will personally review the costumes myself. You make some fine points. I suspect they did not think to offer DNA outfits since they weren't explicitly requested, unlike Himiko's. But a good support company should be offering alternatives. So we'll review to see who and what designed them, not to mention why Bakugo's was built incorrectly."
"...okay. I was just worried. I know All Might's got a tight costume too, but he's also got enhanced durability and-"
"Oh, it has body armor woven into it as well. A lovely technology developed by one of his two sidekicks, David Shield, allows for body armor to be put inside a much tighter outfit so it conforms to you better. But it's difficult to synthesize, it's rarely used by anyone but the highest echelon of heroes who can afford the high cost. Most heroes rely on more standard forms of body armor."
"More heroes should be using more armor, then I'd see them less," Recovery Girl muttered from across the room.
"Well, either way, this information will help me greatly. I am surprised Bakugo isn't here, however," Nezu commented, glancing about.
"Yeah, where is Kacchan?" Izuku asked, looking at Ochako.
She sighed. "He…said he'd be by later."
"...he feels guilty," Izuku sighed in return, his shoulders slumping. "But it wasn't hi-"
"We know, Izuku. We're very familiar with an idiot raised by Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugo who blames himself for something not his fault, yes, we know people like that really well," Himiko drawled, not even bothering to hide her sarcasm.
"That is uncalled for," Izuku glared at Himiko without heat.
"Nope, you asked for it," Ochako replied with that smile that terrified anyone who saw it, the one that said 'oh you're in trouble'.
"Kirishima said he'd make sure he was okay," Himiko said, taking pity on her boyfriend long enough to reassure him about his brother.
"Good luck with that, he's more stubborn than me," Izuku muttered.
"Yes well, time to finish up your healing, young man. Hold still!"
"Leave it, Eijiro," Katsuki growled, slamming the locker door shut as he finished changing. The other boys had already left, but Katsuki took his time, wanting to be alone…but this blasted red-haired asshole refused to leave him be!
"Hmm…nope," he replied, having finished changing already and following behind the stomping Katsuki. "I told Uraraka and To-uh, Himiko, I'd make sure you were doing okay."
"Well I'm fine, so you can fuck off and say you did your duty."
"Nah. You're not fine. Wanna talk about it?"
"Fuck no! Why don't you get the point? I want to be alone," Katsuki hissed at the red haired bastard.
"Because, they asked me to, and they seem to be close to you, so I figure they know what's good for you. It was an accident, Katsuki. And Midobro is gonna get fixed right up, so nothing to worry about! I'm sure the teachers will take care of the costume issue!" Eijiro grinned widely, bumping his shoulder into Katsuki's in a friendly fashion.
"Oh for fucks sake!" Katsuki snarled. He fisted his hands in his air and took a deep breath…a second one…a third. Counted to ten. Counted again. Let out his breath in a deep, deep sigh. "Okay. I am calm. I am calmly asking you to please just fuck off and let me brood already!"
"Hmm…nah," Eijiro said, his grin growing wider (how was that even fucking possible?)
"You are impossible!" Katsuki shouted. He spun about and started walking further away from the locker room, heading out the door and down towards the dorm, ignoring the footsteps following him. On the way to the dorm, he skewed off, heading off into one of the copse of trees that were scattered about the campus. With an annoyed huff, he collapsed next to one of the trees, leaning his back against it and closing his eyes, once again ignoring the sound of Kirishima doing the same next to him.
Silence stretched out for what felt like forever to Katsuki. He wanted to try and rest, to try and calm down, but the warm presence beside him was making it that much more difficult! He just wanted to be alone! It was like a clawing, cloying sensation in his chest, the pressure to just scream and shout and throw his explosions into the air. He just wanted to rage, rage against the world. Stupid shitty haired Eijiro didn't get it! He wasn't stupid, he knew it was an accident, that wasn't the fucking issue!
"Then what's the issue?" Eijiro asked, clueing Katsuki into the fact he'd apparently been muttering out loud.
"Fuck, the nerds muttering rubbed off on me," he groaned.
"Still waiting for an answer!"
"...if I answer you, will you fucking leave me alone?"
"Hmm…nah. But you'll feel better!"
"I swear to every god I am going to fucking kill you, Shitty Hair!"
"Aww, you like my hair?"
Katsuki's response was less any coherent word or syllable, and more an inarticulate jumble of sheer, unadulterated rage. His hands popped in response, the flare of light scorching the grass near where his hands were resting.
"Fine? You wanna know so bad? It's because we're lucky as fuck that Ponytail isn't dead, and now Zu's been burned by me! Me! He's gonna have more fucking scars to freak out over. And didn't you see what happened? Ponytail got lucky Zu was fast enough…and that he said something. I raised my arm when Izuku shouted! Do you understand what that means?!"
"...that you tried to keep them from getting more hurt?"
Katsuki groaned in exasperation. "No you flipping idiot, that they didn't get a direct hit! Not only did I raise my hand so it only clipped them, not only did Izuku dive in the way with his heat resistant costume, but he also put up a partial barrier…and he still nearly died!"
Eijiro scooted a little bit closer, putting his hand gently on Katsuki's shoulder. "But it was because the gauntlets malfunctioned, wasn't it? Or were built wrong or something?"
"No…I mean, yeah, but no. I can do blasts like that, Eijiro. The gauntlets are just supposed to lessen the strain. But I can do that. I can throw blasts so strong it would have killed them."
"But you didn't. You thought it'd be much smaller. It was an accident. If you want to be pissed at someone, be pissed at whoever built them wrong to begin with!"
"You don't get it!" Katsuki shouted, slamming his fist into the ground and jerking away from Kirishima.
"Then explain it to me! Because to me, it seems like it was an accident and you're hurting because you hurt Midobro, but it's an accident Katsuki. An accident. I don't get why you don't get that."
Katsuki's head dropped to his chest and he pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them and looking more like a child than Eijiro had ever thought he could. "It's gonna scar, Eijiro. He's going to have a burn scar on his back now."
"But scars are manly! Nothing wrong with that!"
"Not to him. Not to him," Katsuki sighed, repeating the statement. "Now I've put scars on him too."
"As an accident! I don't know you guys that well, but he doesn't seem like the type to blame you or get angry with you!" Eijiro said, trying to encourage Katsuki.
Katsuki scoffed. "Of course he won't blame me. But he'll still hate them. Every time he sees them in a mirror or someone else notices, he'll remember. And he'll get all mopey about how he looks. Especially now that he's with the girls. You saw how he acted in the locker room. Now I've added to them."
Eijiro was quiet for a moment, thinking. After a moment, he placed his hands down and levered himself around so he was sitting in front of Katsuki, legs crossed. He looked Katsuki in the eye. "We're here to be heroes, Katsuki. We're going to get scars, we're going to get hurt. We'll probably scar each other a lot, and the villains we fight will scar us too. I don't know why Midoriya's scars bother him so much, but I'm sure he understands that it's normal to get scars when training to be a hero."
Katsuki didn't reply for a while, just sighing and letting his head drop onto his knees. His hands reached up and slid into his hair, gripping the blonde locks tightly and pulling just enough to ground himself. Eijiro kept his tone quiet. "If you can't tell me, that's okay, but…do you want to talk about why he hates them so much, and why you're so worried about this? I know it's not my place, but maybe it'll help to talk about it?"
Katsuki's voice was muffled as he replied. "Zu said to tell if anyone asked, because he figured it'd get out eventually. So…yeah. I'll talk. But you judge him at all and I swear to god I will end you."
Eijiro held his hands up placatingly. "Hey man, whatever you wanna say it's cool. I'm just here to listen."
Katsuki was silent for a moment, before lifting his head up. He released his grip on his hair, let his legs collapse and leaned back against the tree. "It happened when we were four…"
"Well…yeah. Okay. I get why it bugs him," Eijiro managed to say after Katsuki finished telling him the full tale. Katsuki nodded silently, looking for all the world like every ounce of energy was drained from him as he slumped against the tree. "And you don't mind the whole leg thing?"
"It's just a leg," Katsuki muttered. "Better than me being dead from the fucking bolt or some shit."
"...that's not really an answer," Eijiro pointed out.
"What is this, an interrogation? I said I'd tell you the whole shitty story and I did!"
"Woah man, chill. I was just asking how you felt, that's all," Eijiro said placatingly.
"I feel like shit, that what you wanna hear? I hurt and scarred Zu, panicked the girls, panicked the fucking class, and yeah, my leg fucking hurts because of the recoil! What else am I supposed to fucking say!?" Katsuki snarled without much energy. It seemed like even telling the story sucked all the energy he had to even be angry, just leaving enough to sound…empty.
"Why do you even fucking care so much, Eijiro ?" Katsuki asked quietly.
"...well…I dunno. I just want to help people, you know? I…when I was younger, I wanted to help people but I kinda…froze up when people needed me. I was a coward. It really bugged me, being so pathetic, you know? Especially when I saw Mina being a badass and helping so many people!"
"Pinky?" Katsuki asked. "You knew her before UA?"
Kirishima nodded. "Yeah, we went to the same middle school! We weren't super close, but we knew each other. You know how it is. Anyways…it wasn't just once. A bunch of times I saw her defending people, even when scared. I…I really look up to her, you know? I, uh, styled my hair after her." Eijiro flushed slightly in embarrassment as he said that.
Katsuki said nothing, but the way he cocked his head to the side and scooted forward a little told Eijiro he was listening. Eijiro nodded to himself. "But one night I saw an interview by an old hero, Crimson Riot. You ever heard of him?" When Katsuki nodded, he continued with a fond smile. "It…it really meant a lot to me, you know? He talked about being afraid and how it was okay to be afraid, just not to let that fear rule you. He said living a manly life was living one without regrets, and I want to do that! I don't want to regret things! And you seem like a really cool guy, Katsuki…so I just want to make sure you're okay, that's all."
"...thanks," Katsuki muttered after a few moments of silence. The two sat in silence for a while longer, before it was interrupted by a quiet tone coming from Katsuki's phone. The blonde looked at the message, nodding. "Fangs says Zu is on the way back to the dorms. I…I guess we should go there too."
"Okay," Eijiro said, hopping to his feet and holding a hand down to help Katsuki up.
Katsuki stared at it with a deadpan expression. "I can get up by my-fucking-self, you know that right?"
"Yep. But doesn't mean you should ignore a helping hand now or then!"
With a deep, deep sigh, Katsuki clasped hands with Kirishima and let the other boy haul him to his feet. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. C'mon, let's go."
Izuku hadn't caught on to it while in the nurse's office, but as he walked back to the dorms he quickly realized he was exhausted. Apparently Recovery Girl's healing took more out of him than he thought, and he was practically being dragged back by his partners. One step in front of the other, his eyes drooping as he yawned for what felt like the hundredth time.
Which made the raucous shouts as he walked in even worse, mostly a blur of voices and colors and then blessed silence as Ochako glared them all off. Idly he mused that angry Ochako was pretty damned hot, to the consternation of the woman in question and the sudden giggles of half the class as he had not realized he'd spoken that out loud. But he barely managed to stumble his way to the elevator, leaning heavily against Himiko as Ochako hit the button for her floor, once again deciding he'd be spending the night with them.
It wasn't until he'd managed to make it into the room, stripped off his shirt, and practically face planted onto the bed before he managed to mumble anything resembling speech. Though he was utterly exhausted, he couldn't quite get to sleep while his stomach ached from lack of food. Ochako simply smiled down at him and quietly told Himiko she'd go fetch something for the trio, the blonde happily snuggling up to her boyfriend as she grinned at Ochako.
"'Chako," Izuku muttered, his face still planted in the bed.
"Yes?"
"Ask Eri if she wanna stay with us, dun wanna make Kacchan do all the work," he replied drowsily.
"That's not a bad idea Izu," Himiko cooed. She glanced up to Ochako, using sign language to communicate her worries about where Katsuki even was. Ochako nodded, replying that she'd check that out as well. She gently rubbed Izuku's shoulder and gave Himiko a pat on the head, before stepping out of the room.
As she left the room, she nearly ran into the taller form of Momo Yaoyorozu, the dark-haired girl almost dropping the large platter she was carrying. Ochako quickly reached out to steady her.
"Oh I'm so sorry Yaoyorozu! I didn't know you were there!" the brunette remarked frantically.
"No, it's perfectly fine. I was trying to figure out how to knock on the door, but found my hands somewhat full…" Momo replied sheepishly.
Ochako tilted her head in confusion. "Um…why are you…"
"Oh, silly me! I noticed none of you had eaten, and Midoriya seemed far too tired, so I thought I would bring something up for you three! Sato was kind enough to make a lovely light meal for us all, and I added some of my favorite tea as well!"
Ochako blinked in confusion for a moment before a soft smile crossed over her face. "You really didn't have to go to the trouble-"
Momo cut her off. "No trouble at all!" Her bright smile faded a little as she leaned in closer and spoke quieter. "Is…is Midoriya okay? He took a very big attack for me and I just want to make sure he's doing alright."
"Recovery Girl fixed him right up, Yaoyorozu! He's doing just fine. Her Quirk just uses your stamina to heal, so it made him very tired. I was just coming to get some food for him! But you saved me the trouble. Now I just have to go check on Eri…"
"She just came downstairs actually, I can go fetch her for you! I believe Kaminari and Sero were trying to teach her how to play a game of some kind," Momo trailed off as she thought back to a few moments ago.
"That's sweet of you, but I do want to ask her directly. And…" Ochako leaned in and spoke quietly as well, making sure the door behind her was fully shut. "We still haven't seen Katsuki. Do you know where he is?"
Momo shook her head no. "No, last I saw he went into the boys locker room. Tokoyami said Kirishima was staying behind with him, but that's all I know."
"Damn it," she cursed. "Izuku's going to be far too worried if that idiot doesn't get back here and stop moping."
"Well, maybe he's back by now?"
Ochako sighed. "Maybe. Do you mind taking the food into Himi and Izu? I'll go downstairs and check on Eri and see if Katsuki is back yet."
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to, um…bother your private time?" Momo flushed slightly as she realized the implications of what she had said.
Ochako's cheeks pinked slightly, but months of exposure to Himiko's flirtations made her mostly immune to euphemisms. "Izu is far too tired for anything…energetic," she smirked at the last word. Okay, maybe Himiko was rubbing off on her more than she expected, considering how inordinately pleased she was by the black-haired girl turning bright red from her implications.
"I-I'll just go deliver it!" Momo managed to sputter, a nervous smile on her face. She'd already been internally panicking since the trial at how much she had enjoyed having Izuku's arms around her, at how touched she was he protected her the way he did. It reminded her far too much of the chivalrous knights in the books she'd spent so many years reading in secret, away from her parents. She was just glad she'd been able to hold her own as well, to help rescue them both from falling, proving she wasn't just a damsel in distress…although part of her kind of enjoyed being one for a brief moment.
And now the brunette was putting some welcome-unwelcome! Unwelcome thoughts in her head, definitely not ones of the green-haired intelligent boy and his two very attractive girlfriends together in intimate moments, not like she'd ever read anything about that, oh no, definitely not. That was most assuredly something she'd never read about!
"So…gonna go in?" Ochako asked, quirking an eyebrow at the black-haired girl currently doing her best impression of a stop light.
"Y-yes! Of course!" she sputtered, stepping to the door and then pausing as she realized…she still hadn't addressed the opening the door part. The brunette took pity on her and with a giggle, opened the door to the room so she could enter. As she stepped in, the door closing behind her, she found herself freezing with wide open eyes as she bore witness to the scarring across Izuku's back, the fractal pattern of scarred skin now marred with a series of shiny burn markings across them as well. The greenette did not react to her entry at all, facedown in the bed, but Himiko perked up from the other side of him, going still in her own confusion at the sight of Momo rather than her adorable girlfriend.
"I um…brought dinner for you three?" Momo squeaked, holding the platter up.
"Izzat Yao…Yaor…Momo?" came Izuku's muttered voice.
Himiko gave a gentle pat to Izuku's head, running her fingers through his green locks with a soft smile. "Yep, she brought us dinner. Can you sit up?"
"I'm up, I'm up," he managed to get out, rolling over and slowly sitting up, eyes half-lidded. Himiko helped adjust him so he was leaning against the headboard, a couple pillows behind him for comfort. Momo swallowed thickly, her appreciation of the muscles overshadowed by the fractal scars and jagged scars from what looked like blades or claws across his front ringing a dozen more alarm bells in her mind.
"I…I was worried, and noticed you hadn't eaten, and Sato made a lovely dinner for us so I just put some together and brought it up. I also brought one of my favorite teas, it's excellent for relaxation, it's a lovely chamomile blend!" Momo managed to get out.
"Thanks Yaoyorozu, appreciate it!" Himiko said, humming softly as she got up and took the platter from the heiress, placing it on the desk and beginning to organize it.
"You guys can call me Momo, if you'd like. We are classmates, and I think facing death today does put us a little bit closer," she said with a nervous smile.
"Dat's cool, that's cool Momo. I'm Izzzz…Izuku," the greenette said, yawning in the middle of his name with sleepy eyes. Momo was currently feeling extreme whiplash, because the confident powerful Midoriya from the battle trial, the scarred and wounded one she could see physically, and this adorably exhausted one were all the same person how was this fair?!
"It's cute, right?" Himiko murmured out the side of her mouth to the black-haired woman next to her, making Momo jump. "Oh, and call me Himiko, or Himiko, or Ko, or whatever. Cute people get to call me whatever they want," the blonde winked at her.
"W-well, you seem all set! I'm glad you're okay Izuku, I-I'll see you later!" she sputtered, making an undignified exit from the room as she almost ran into the door. It practically slammed shut behind her, the heiress taking a moment to catch her breath. She could not handle this, between Ochako making those comments, Himiko flirting (was that flirting? She was pretty sure that counted as flirting. She should check online if that counts as flirting. Some study may be necessary), and Izuku having earlier been like unto a valiant knight and now some sort of sleepy plush animal! Momo resolved to hurry back to her room and just…not think any further.
"Katsuki, where have you been?" Ochako demanded as he trudged in, Eijiro behind him. Eri was currently on Ochako's hip, the little girl being quite excited to stay with the three of them for the evening.
"Out," he grunted. He went to step past her, but Eri reached up and gripped his sleeve, looking at him with wide, pleading eyes. He turned his red eyes to glare at Ochako, convinced she convinced the unicorn to do this to him, and was entirely vindicated at Ochako's smirk and arched eyebrow. He sighed.
"What's up squirt?" he asked Eri.
"Are you okay? 'Chako said you were sad."
His shoulders slumped and he sighed again. He had no desire to have this conversation again, much less in the fucking common room, but he knew Ochako better than to think she'd let him just run back to his room. He squared his shoulders and let out a small smile. "I'm fine. Shi-uh, Eijiro and me talked. He made me feel better, so don't worry about me, k?"
"That true, Eijiro?" Ochako asked, looking over Katsuki's shoulder to his muffled annoyance about her doubting him.
Kirishima gave a thumbs up. "All good, Uraraka! Katsuki's outta his funk!"
"It's getting late, Cheeks. You taking the midget with you tonight?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Ochako nodded. "Yeah, she's gonna stay with Izu, Himi, and me. We didn't want to make you handle it two nights in a row, that's not fair."
"I'd be fine if Zu needs another night," he replied.
"He's just sleepy, Katsuki. He's fine, just tired, that's all. He's fine," she answered his unspoken question.
He let out an acknowledging grunt. He went to step by her, and this time she and Eri let him as he headed to the kitchen to grab a quick bite before bed. He paused halfway there, blinking rapidly as he looked into the common room. "The fucks with those two?" he asked, pointing at the weeping Kaminari and pouting Sero, with Shinso and Jiro cackling on the other loveseat.
"They decided to teach Eri how to play a game. Hero Fighter IX I believe?" Ochako said, looking down at Eri for confirmation. The little girl nodded rapidly.
"Okay, and-?"
"She kicked their asses!" Jiro said, her grin wide as she chuckled. "Absolutely destroyed them, it was hilarious!"
Katsuki smirked. "Of course she did, she's a natural. Just like me. Aren't you, squirt?"
Eri nodded rapidly again, lifting her hands up in the air in a cheer. "Yeah! I'm awesome just like Kacchan!"
"Now that's a manly attitude to have, Eri," Eijiro said with a big grin on his face.
Ochako rolled her eyes. "Alright Miss Awesome, it's time for bed. Let's go. Katsuki, want to walk with me?"
"...yeah. Sure."
The trio made their way to the elevator, Eijiro splitting off to the kitchen Katsuki had abandoned with Ochako's offer. Once the doors closed, she bumped her shoulder into his. "You sure you're okay?"
Katsuki looked down, shoving his hands back into his pockets once more. "Yeah. Eijiro's a pretty okay person. He heard me out. He uh…knows Zu's story now."
"Ah…well, Izuku did say to tell people if they asked. How did he take it?"
"About as well as you could. You know, like any logical person unlike the fucking nerd."
Ochako let out a soft giggle at that, before her expression turned mischievous. "So Kirishima's 'okay', is he? That's high praise coming from you."
"Shut it!" he barked at her with a glare. He cursed how his cheeks pinked a little bit, praying the light was too dim for her to notice, but by the way her grin grew he was pretty sure she saw. Mercifully, she said nothing, just walked to her dorm room and opened it up, depositing Eri as soon as they got inside.
Eri ran over to the bed, leaping onto it and instantly snuggling into Izuku's side. The greenette almost dropped his plate, but Himiko managed to steady it as he looked down at her and gave her a tired smile. His gaze lifted up, eyes slightly more lively now that he had some food, and he gave a weak wave to Katsuki.
"How's the back?" Katsuki asked with no preamble, leaning against the doorframe.
"All good Kacchan. Recovery Girl got me all healed up. Just really tired is all," he replied with a sleepy grin.
Katsuki let out a grunt of acknowledgement. He looked over the room, seeing the girls taking a seat on the bed with their own plates, and nodded. "Well, if y'all are fine, I'm headed to bed. G'night or whatever."
"Are you okay, Kacchan?" Izuku asked softly, stopping the blonde from leaving.
"That's the fifth time I've been asked today, fucking hell," he muttered. "I'm fine, okay?"
"Kirishima, the pretty okay person, had it handled!" Ochako, little asshole that she was, said with a teasing grin.
"Oh, he's pretty okay? Or is he just pretty, hmm?" Himiko asked, her smile mirroring the one on Ochako's face.
"I'm going to fucking kill all three of you! I'm going to bed!" he snarled, stomping out of the room with his ears burning.
"G'night!" Izuku raised his voice as much as he could before Katsuki could slam the door. Katsuki grumbled under his breath about annoying people all day as he stomped to the boys side of the dorms.
"Alright. I've seen the battle trial results and videos. I'll have detailed breakdowns for you later in the week. For now, you all did well, barring the incident in the final match. The Headmaster is looking into what occurred with your gauntlets, Bakugo. For now, they have been taken by the Support Department to see if they can be repurposed to your original request. Unfortunately, until they are done, you'll have to do without them," Aizawa said in a tired voice in the next day's class.
Katsuki nodded. He didn't particularly want to use them after what happened anyways, but he knew the value in what they could bring. Aizawa continued. "I have two more announcements. One, the media got wind of All Might teaching here and are being bigger pests than normal. Avoid the front gate for now until they get tired of being annoying and run off. Two…it's time to elect a class representative. I don't care how you do it, get it done by day end." Without waiting for a response, he collapsed into his sleeping bag, turning it away from the class and seemingly falling asleep in moments.
The room erupted into yelling, people talking over each other about wanting to take the responsibility. After a few moments of chaos, Ida stood up and chopped his arms to get the room's attention. "We should hold a vote! Resolve this democratically!"
"But we barely know each other. How can we decide?" Tsuyu asked, one finger up against her mouth.
"But then won't everyone just vote for themselves?" Kirishima asked.
"Well…why not have everyone vote for two different people? You could vote for yourself and for anyone else you think might do well," Izuku offered.
"That seems like an excellent idea, Midoriya!" Ida said. "I shall collect the votes then! Everyone, please write down your two choices!"
The class found themselves scribbling down their votes. Izuku had little trouble deciding…Momo was an obvious choice to him, her leadership and calm demeanor, and he felt Ida's earnestness would also apply. They were the obvious choice!
Izuku regretted his arrogance later in the lunchroom, wide eyed at the knowledge the class had chosen him, along with Momo, to be their class representative and vice representative. "...what?" he managed to blurt out, staring in confusion at the rest of the class.
He found himself seated in the lunchroom with Ochako and Himiko, Ida and Tsuyu across from him. Katsuki and Kirishima were on the next table over, other members of the class having generally surrounded the same table he was at. "...what?" he asked again.
"Well, I mean, you've always been great at planning for us and our training, you're really organized, so I thought you'd do well as class rep!" Ochako said, beaming at him while Himiko nodded along.
"I chose you as well, Midoriya! Between your excellent battle analysis and heroic spirit, both at the entrance exam and during yesterday's battle trial, as well as your quick thinking, I could think of no one better to represent us!" Ida said, chopping his hand rapidly and nearly smacking it off the table.
"You and Momo are both smart and are good at planning, that sounds like good qualities for a class rep, ribbit," Tsuyu added.
"Course I picked you nerd, if I ain't gonna do it, you're the next best option," Katsuki said, rolling his eyes.
"The way you blew up that zero pointer was so manly!" Kirishima cheered.
Jiro, at the table behind him, spun her ear jack around in her hand. "I voted for Momo and you. Momo seems like she's really calm and knows a lot, and you were pretty cool with the battle trial break downs yesterday."
More members of the class remarked, the majority of them admitting to voting for one of the two if not both, leaving Izuku rather flustered.
Ochako took pity on him and changed the subject. "Are you a rich boy, Ida? You talk like one," she asked, a cheerful smile to show she wasn't being judgemental.
"Rich?! I…well, I didn't think it would be that obvious…I am from a long line of heroes, for many generations. I'm the second son, and I have come here to make my family proud! Do you know the Turbo Hero, Ingenium?"
"Of course! He's a really popular hero who has sixty-five sidekicks working for him at his agency. Oh, you're his younger brother, that explains why your Quirk's are so similar!" Izuku gushed.
"Yes!" Ida said, standing up proudly and smiling. "I am determined to live up to my elder brother's legacy! But I don't think I'm ready to be a leader…I think you proved it at the entrance exam, Midoriya. And yesterday, your leadership and heroic actions in a crisis continued to impress. That's why I believe you are the best choice to lead us."
Izuku was floored by how highly Ida seemed to think of him, but a gentle hand tapping his shoulder had Izuku spinning about to see Momo's smiling face looking down at him, her own cheeks slightly pinked. "Midor…um, Izuku? I thought perhaps we could sit together and discuss our duties?"
"I'll move!" Himiko said cheerfully, hopping up and almost shoving Momo down into her seat. She immediately plopped down on the other side of Momo, almost squeezing Izuku and Momo between her and Ochako on Izuku's other side, the brunette giggling at the poleaxed look on both of their faces.
"Uh, yeah, sure, let's do that," Izuku managed to stutter out. He was basically finished with his lunch, so he shoved it out of the way and pulled a notebook out (ignoring the whispered 'where did that come from?!' comment from Kaminari) and a pen, opening to a blank page to begin taking notes. He noticed Momo had placed her own notebook down, also holding a pen at the same time. The two glanced at each other and down at their respective notebooks, even how they were practically sitting in the same position for note taking.
The laughter of their classmates as they flushed once more was suddenly drowned out by the immense pain that rocketed through Izuku's head. His pen dropped from nerveless fingers as he reached up to grasp his head, hissing in pain. A second later, the lights flickered as the sky went dark, a thunderous crash sounding as a bolt of lightning suddenly struck part of the campus, the power flickering in response. Almost as if the bolt was the signal, an alarm began blaring.
"There has been a level three security breach. All students, please evacuate outdoors promptly."
Ida quickly asked a nearby upperclassman what that meant, and hurriedly he explained "Someone's trespassing on campus! I've never had this happen in the three years I've been here!" and then bolted from his seat.
The students were crowding each other in the hallway, pushing, shoving, nearly running over each other in a panic. Izuku, his head still blaring with pain, was being led by Ochako and Himiko, the other members of their class trying to keep together but the press of the crowd making it that much more difficult. The trio were pressed up against the wall, Ida and Tsuyu just behind them also being slowly crushed. As he looked out the window, he could see a mass of what looked like reporters running into the campus, being intercepted by Sensei and Present Mic.
"It's just the press," he managed to get out, his classmates near enough the window able to look out and see the same.
"Well they need to chill the fuck out then!" Katsuki snarled, trying to shove people away from him, Kirishima, Shinso, and Kaminari.
A loud sharp cry and another spasm of pain in his head had him seeking out the voice he recognized. Instinctively he flipped his Quirk vision on, looking for the telltale crystalline light of Toru nearby. He could see her in the press of bodies, being trampled beneath them. He wanted to try to reach her, but the panicked students were making it too difficult, and Izuku was just done. The pain in his head, the loud screams of terror, the absolute stupidity of their actions, and the fact that now some of his classmates were getting hurt was really setting him off.
With a powerful thrust of energy, he formed a wall in front of him, shoving students away with loud cries to get a brief second of breathing room. He quickly turned to Momo and asked for a megaphone, the dark-haired woman reacting without hesitation to hand him one. With enough space now, he leapt into the air, landing on another platform above everyone's heads.
"Stop panicking! It's just the media! Are you UA students or not?!" he shouted through the megaphone, the feedback echoing in their ears and making them all wince and stop. With an annoyed huff, he sent another pulse of energy down as he landed and strode unerringly to where Toru was. As he went, he handed the megaphone to Ida. "Can you get them in order? I know you're good at organization, I want to check on Hagakure."
Ida nodded and slapped Izuku on the shoulder. "Of course!" With a shout into the microphone, he began getting people into an orderly line to exit, all the while Izuku had shoved past everyone to where he could see Toru's prone form.
He knelt down next to her, a green energy barrier forming around the two of them so he could be sure no one else stepped on her. "Are you okay Hagakure?"
"I-I'm okay," she stuttered, her arms lifting up and trying to brush at her clothing. Izuku noticed her form shaking, able to make out her outline thanks to his vision.
"Let's have Recovery Girl take a look at you just to be sure," he offered with a smile. He held out his hand to her to give her a pull up, but as she took it and tried to stand she yelped and nearly fell over. He managed to catch her, her one leg being held off the ground as she whimpered. Izuku looked at her carefully. "Is your leg hurt?"
"I don't think it's broken, but it hurts to put it down," she replied, pain evident in her voice. Izuku glared at the students around the two of them, all of them looking away sheepishly as he sighed. With a smooth motion, he lifted her off the ground in a carry, the invisible girl letting out a loud squeak of surprise as she clung to his neck.
"Catching all the girls, huh Izu babe?" Himiko asked cheekily as she came up next to him.
Izuku, having been too focused on helping Toru to notice what he'd done, flushed as he looked away from her. "I-I'm just taking her to Recovery Girl!"
"It's fine Izuku, she's just teasing," Ochako said, giving him a quick side hug. She glanced down at Toru. "Are you okay with this, Hagakure?"
"Yep! Totally fine! This is fine!" she replied quickly, her voice higher pitched than normal. Izuku shrugged at the tone, but began making his way through the crowd to take her to Recovery Girl, his girlfriends following behind and giggling. He steadfastly ignored the numerous people giggling as well, and especially the waggling eyes of Mina as he passed her.
As he passed Momo, he said "Can we go over it later tonight? I want to be sure Hagakure is okay."
"I told you to call me Toru!" the invisible girl said from where she was being carried, a pout in her voice.
"Err…yeah. Toru," he replied sheepishly.
Momo just nodded at him with a smile. "Of course! We can sit down before dinner, if that's alright with you."
"No problem!" With that business settled, he pressed on, wanting to get Toru to Recovery Girl as soon as possible.
Nezu stood before the sparking gate, the mechanisms fried by the sudden electrical surge. Power Loader was running a diagnostic on it, reading the output and shaking his head in disappointment. "Cameras were shot by the surge. Nothing pointing to what caused that bolt of lightning, and the tapes are corrupted thanks to the power surge."
"What was the point of this?" Midnight mused quietly. "I doubt any member of the media did this."
"This was a declaration of war," Nezu replied, his paws clasped behind his back. "And I intend on being prepared for the first salvo."
"You don't think this was it?" Thirteen asked.
"No…no, this wasn't. I believe dangerous times are ahead…"
Toru was, luckily, okay, just a sprained ankle which Recovery Girl was able to fix up in no time. The rest of the day was basically shot due to the media invasion and random instability of the power system, so they got the latter half of the day off. Which worked well for Izuku, enabling him to have more time with Momo going over what they wanted to focus on as representatives. Specifically, after the analysis the class witnessed him do during the battle trials, numerous members of the class wanted his assistance, and so they began drawing up a schedule for training, since he, his brother, and his girlfriends were still doing their daily training regimens and it was noticeable to everyone else.
He happily invited others along, but Momo reminded everyone they also had plenty of schoolwork to do. She was more than happy to volunteer to help organize study sessions, Izuku backing her up on that as another assistant. To Momo's surprise, Katsuki grumpily offered his assistance as well, surprising her once she realized the blonde was as good in class as Izuku was, if not better in some subjects. Between the three of them and Ida who offered his assistance as well, Izuku and Momo were able to parcel out time for both group study sessions and group training sessions, as well as time for Izuku to go over Quirk's one on one.
But that was put on hold during the next day's class, as Aizawa informed them it was time to start Rescue training, something Ochako was incredibly excited for and practically bouncing in her seat. It's what she wanted to do more than anything, and knowing they were about to get hands-on experience with it had her giddy.
They hurriedly got into their hero uniforms, as Aizawa offered them their choice (but all of them wanted to utilize their new costumes even if some of them needed more work), and went out to the bus. Ida tried to convince everyone to line up for boarding, but once he realized the seats were not organized in a conventional fashion, he gave up with a deep sign and accepted that his desire for perfection would not be attainable this morning.
Izuku was thinking deeply about the weirdness of Danger Sense. He'd hoped that since getting it he'd be pulled into the Vestige world at least once to speak to them, but so far nothing beyond that brief moment with Shinomori speaking to him. It was rather frustrating, because even now he felt a strange pressure in his head, not a pain so much as an annoying push against his mind that he was pretty sure was going to become a headache soon enough.
"Midoriya. I tend to say what's on my mind, ribbit," Tsuyu said as she sat down next to the other greenette, dragging him out of his thoughts. He glanced over at her with a nervous smile, wondering what she was getting at. "Your Quirk does a lot of different things. It's like you have more than one."
"Haha, yeah, it's funny like that," Izuku laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.
"What even is your Quirk, Midori?" Mina asked, leaning so far out of her seat it was a wonder she hadn't fallen from it.
Izuku held up his hand, a soft green glow lifting off it and shaping itself into a box, then reshaping into a sphere, before twisting into a series of concentric circles. "I can absorb, store, and manipulate energy. I can shape it into any non-moving shape, and create fields that can block blows, attract things to them, or repel them away. It also enhances my overall body, so I'm stronger and faster than normal when using it."
"That's pretty OP," Mina said, giggling.
Izuku shrugged. "Yeah, but there are a couple big drawbacks. I have a limited pool of energy I can use, and if I go overboard, it can cause me problems."
"He means it can stop his heart," Himiko added.
Half the bus froze at the comment, staring at him in concern as he sighed. "Yes, yes. My body adapted to run off the energy I absorbed, so…basically, I need it to live. But that's why I have this nifty support item, it tracks how much I have in the pool and warns me if I go too low," Izuku said, holding up his right wrist and pointing to the device on it.
"Wait, was that what was beeping at the exam?" Shinso asked.
Izuku scrunched his shoulders up, looking down. "Yeah, it starts beeping if I hit 25%, and gets worse if I go below 10. I ended up at 9 from the exam, which really isn't that bad-"
"Except it knocked you out," Ochako chimed in drily.
Izuku waved her off. "Other than that, I have to absorb through my skin, and different energy sources convert at different rates."
"Do you absorb kinetic energy as well, from blows against yourself?" Momo asked.
Izuku nodded. "Yeah, but I still take the actual hit full force. If I block it with a barrier, I don't get a return. And different forms of kinetic energy absorb at different rates. Rainfall has a much higher conversion rate than nearly anything…still not sure why though," Izuku muttered the last part, some frustrating leaking into his voice about the weirdness of it.
"That's still a super cool Quirk, way better than my hardening," Eijiro said, holding up an arm with a sad smile as it changed into a jagged form.
"No way! That's an awesome Quirk for a hero! You could do so much with it! I have a few pages of notes about it in my room, we could go over them if you'd like!" Izuku gushed, smiling brightly.
"You don't have them on hand? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" Himiko let out a mocking gasp, placing one hand over her heart.
"I have a notebook on me, just not the specific one his analysis is in!" Izuku shot back, rolling his eyes at Himiko.
"Eh, flashiness plays a part in being a pro still," Eijiro demurred.
"My navel laser is both flashy and powerful! I shall sparkle amongst the greatest of the pro heroes!" Aoyama announced, posing.
"Yeah but not if you get sick every time you use it," Mina replied, giggling at the consternation on Aoyama's face.
"I mean, if you wanna talk flashy and powerful, Todoroki and Katsuki got some pretty flashy Quirks!"
"I don't know, Bakugo seems to have a temper. That could hurt his chances in the public eye," Tsuyu remarked.
"I'll show you a temper, Frogger," Katsuki snarled, glaring at her. She pointed at him as if to illustrate her point.
"Kacchan, c'mon," Izuku said, giving his brother a Look, with a capital L.
"Tch. I'm gonna be number one. Endeavor made it to number two and he's even more of a prick than I am!"
Only Jiro was able to pick up on Todoroki's muttered 'mood' under his breath in response to Katsuki's statement, but as per usual when she heard something she shouldn't, she chose not to call attention to it and just pretended like she heard nothing.
Aizawa interrupted further discussion, calling out from the front of the bus. "We're here. Enough messing around."
As they disembarked, Ochako was sent into ecstatic squeaks as she saw Thirteen, in her full hero costume, standing before them all, greeting them as they stepped off the bus. She proceeded to expound upon the building they had entered, split into various zones with disasters pre-set up for them to train in, proudly proclaiming it as the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short.
Aizawa stepped up to quietly speak to Thirteen about something, and looked annoyed at her response. He sighed and stepped aside as Thirteen stepped forward, saying she had something to say…or two somethings…three…four…five…
Eventually she broke out of her own ever increasing numbers and spoke frankly. "Some of you know of my Quirk, Black Hole. I can suck in and destroy anything."
"Yeah, you use it for clearing rubble and disaster zones to rescue people!" Izuku excitedly recounted, Ochako nodding along beside him with a wide, excited grin. Neither noticed Himiko being both incredibly proud of her two dorks and incredibly annoyed she couldn't kiss their stupid, adorable faces at tha moment.
"It's also a power that can kill with ease," Thirteen replied, the mood becoming far more somber at her words. "I'm sure many of you have powers that can do the same, even if unintentionally." With her helmet on, it was hard to tell where she was looking, but even so, Izuku was absolutely convinced she was saying that part directly to him. "You already had classes that showed you how to push yourself farther, as well as classes that displayed your prowess in using your Quirks to harm or stop a foe."
Thirteen took a step back and spread her arms wide. "Here, you'll learn how to use your powers to save people. That is the epitome of being a hero, saving others." She took a moment to let out a bow. "That is all. Let your first day of rescue training begin!"
As the class clapped and cheered, Aizawa stepped up, hands in pockets. "Alright, now lets-"
A blinding headache ripped through Izuku at that very second, making him collapse to the ground in pain. The lights in the USJ flickered and sparked, the fountain in the center flickering and losing its flow. A swirling mess of oily black smoke ripped into existence right before the fountain, a single figure with piercing gray eyes and long white hair, his face partially obscured by a black metallic mask. As more figures began to step out of the portal, Aizawa ran forward, pulling his goggles up over his face as he swept his arm out in front of the class.
"Thirteen, protect the students! You all, get out of here!"
"Wait, what? Is this part of the-" Eijiro asked, confused.
"No…those are villains," Aizawa replied in a low voice, one hand gripping the gray fabric around his neck. A large blue furred heteromorph exited, followed by a man wrapped in red bandages and a woman with long, brilliant red hair. Finally, a hulking black skinned figure with its brains exposed from its skull stepped out, the portal swirling and coalescing into a single yellow eyed smoke creature. "Students…go!" Aizawa snarled, running forward into the crowd of enemies down the stairs.