Notes: Wow, i have to apologize to anyone who read this chapter before. for some reason there was a massive glitch with the class ranking segment. no matter how many times i tried fixing it it kept messing up and was deleting many of the names itself when published. but now finally got it.
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The next day after the beach, Katara couldn't help but smile as she and Tenya made their way to school. Having such a good time by the water only made her mood that much better after training so much. She pulled out her phone and opened up the messages, giggling to herself as she opened the picture Mina sent her as she jumped into the middle of her and Shoto talking on the beach suddenly. She now knew for certain that if they did more days like that, she for sure was not going to miss them.
As they got into class, Katara immediately noticed a face that was absent from the beach. "Tokoyami? Hey, I heard you were sick." She said.
Tokoyami sighed from his seat as she approached. "Sorry. The night before I had some food that really didn't settle with me."
"Oh really? I'm sorry about that." Katara sighed in disappointment. "We almost had everyone there, it would have been fun if you were there too."
"I agree, I saw some of the pictures from Ashido. She sent a number of them to everyone. I will do my best to make it next time." he responded, earning a smile from Katara.
"Of course. I still think of how you were there the first time we went."
As she walked passed him to her seat, Tokoyami sighed to himself as he thought back to that day as well. He then thought back to the pictures Mina sent him yesterday, blushing when he remembered one of the images of the girls together… and Katara in her beachwear.
'She looked pretty good in it, didn't she?'
Tokoyami's eyes widened when he heard dark shadow inside his head speaking. Growling, he looked down at his stomach. 'Shut up down there… she's my friend.' he snapped internally.
'Oh yeah? Then why were you staring at that pic last night?'
Tokoyami blushed more as he heard dark shadow snicker inside, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. He wanted to deny it… but couldn't lie to himself and say he hadn't been looking at Katara more recently. After the school festival, he had been noticing how he was doing that more, hoping to possibly see her more when hanging out after school at times with some of the others. Lately however, she had been exceptionally busy, training her healing and also with-
"Hey Todoroki." Katara smiled as Shoto walked towards his seat. "How are you feeling today?"
"Very good actually, thank you." Shoto nodded as he took his seat next to her. "How about you?"
Katara chuckled to herself. "I slept really great myself. It probably helped being at the beach all day."
"Yes…" Shoto gave a small smile as he thought of the day before. "It was a great day. Thank you for the invite again."
Katara felt her cheeks heat up as she thought of that moment when they were playing football, shaking off the thought as nothing before looking back to the front of the class. "Your welcome."
As the pair finished getting situated for class, Tokoyami couldn't help but stare curiously at them from the corner of his eye. He was never really close to Todoroki, and he himself was never the best at reading people. He did however notice the change on Todoroki's face as he spoke to Katara, giving off an expression he hadn't seen before. Grunting to himself, he turned back forward as Aizawa entered the classroom.
"Alright, now that you are all here, let's get right to what's important." Aizawa grumbled as he adjusted the papers in his hands. "You all have one week until your final exams. These upcoming days make sure you study on what you have learned, but don't begin to slack off on your training. There are two parts to the final; a written test and a practical portion. While the practical section will be the larger grade, the written section can affect your grades more or less to where you are standing now. Just to give you all an idea what I mean, these are the current standings of academics in the classroom from your midterms. I have go to the office now for a few minutes."
Aizawa grabbed the remote to the side and clicked it, the board in front changing to a large bracket of all the students rankings. While most were not too surprised of some of their classmates, others gasped in shock as they saw their own placements. Katara went to the top of the list and began reading the names to herself.
1. Momo Yaoyorozu
2. Tenya Iida
3. Katsuki Bakugo
4. Izuku Midoriya
5. Shoto todoroki
Katara playfully rolled her eyes at the top names, not at all surprised who was at the head of the class. The one that did surprise her was Bakugo however, not thinking he was one to actually take classwork seriously. Shrugging her shoulders, she went on through the list.
6. Tsuyu Asui
7. Kyoka Jiro
8. Mashirao Ojiro
9. MinoruMineta
10. Mezo Shoji
"What?" Katara's eyebrow raised at one of those names. Yes she was new to this place still, but she assumed she had learned a lot with Tenya. "Mineta did better than me?"
11. Koji Koda
12. Ochaco Uraraka
13. Fumikage Tokoyami
14. Ejiro Kirishima
15. Toru Hagakure
By this point of not seeing her name, Katara's mouth hung open in shock, realizing how little she actually knew when it came to school work and testing.
16. Hanta Sero
17. Yuga Aoyama
18. Kairi Katara
19. Mina Ashido
20. Denki Kaminari
"Eighteenth?!" She almost shouted out in disbelief. She knew she wasn't the best at school work like everyone else… but she was one of the worst ones?! She could hear Mina laughing as Kaminari panicked since they never studied at all… but even Aoyama did better than her!
Tenya frowned and chopped towards her in disappointment. "Katara, how could you have let your grades fall so much?! That is totally irresponsible of you!"
"It's not like I tried to do bad!" Katara frowned out.
"I gave you personal lessons before school started! I am in utter disbelief that you never took any of my teachings to heart!"
Katara's eye twitched as she remembered all of his "lessons" she was given, "I was being taught rocket science when I could barely multiply…"
Tenya however had entered academic mode, chopping the air rapidly in shame. "As class rep, you are supposed to be the face of our classroom! Slacking off in your grades gives off a horrendous view to the others!"
The others in class were certainly surprised as well, one of the strongest students in fact preforming among the weakest in grades. Mineta chuckled and popped his knuckles. "Perhaps someone of a higher caliber should be given the reigns of class rep. Someone majestic and smart, and of course… handsome."
Tokoyami rolled his eyes at the comment. "Just because her grades aren't as high as yours doesn't mean you should be the rep."
Tsu put a finger to her chin as she saw something she was batter than Katara at. "If I want to beat Katara, it looks like I could just challenge you to a spelling contest. Ribbit."
"Ohhh, burn!" Kaminari laughed out at Tsu's joke, making Katara turn red in embarrassment.
"What are you laughing at? You did worse than me!" she shot back.
"Yeah, but I know I suck at school!"
Katara slumped onto her hand and pouted. She knew she was not good at school, but this was ridiculous! Tenya crossed his arms and thought to himself. "Perhaps my method of teaching is not of the proper style for you. It may be beneficial to ask someone else actually."
"I guess so…" Katara moaned and scrunched her face in annoyance. "You did really good it looks like."
"Of course! I put all my effort into my schooling to make sure I do not ever fall behind my potential!" Tenya announced to the world proudly.
Katara huffed out and leaned back in her chair. She looked over to Shoto to her left and sighed. "Well, it looks like I should focus on studying more this week. We may have to hold off on our training for a little so I can study more."
Looking back at the board, Shoto could see she was struggling, something he didn't expect coming from her. After all she had done for him, he knew it was time he started doing more for her. "Perhaps we can do both." he said out loud.
"What?" Katara asked confused.
"We could still do our training together, but we can shorten it so it gives me time so I can help you with studying."
Hearing that made Katara sit up in surprise, her smile growing across her face. "You want to help me study?"
Shoto gave a small nod towards her. "It would be fair for helping me with my training. It would be good to continue both mental and physical exercises for the finals. Don't forget there is two parts to the test."
Katara had been focused on her grades she didn't really think about that, understanding the logic there. She may have to also tell Recovery Girl she will have to slow down the lessons as well until the finals were over. Either way, her schedule was still going to be very busy.
"That sounds like something we can do."
The next afternoon, the group of students stood outside of the massive iron fence that surrounded the Yaoyorozu residence. If they didn't know this was Momo's home, they would have assumed this was some sort of government facility.
Midoriya swallowed as he stared in shock along with Mina, Kaminari, Jiro, Ojiro, Sero and Tokoyami. "Holy cow, I knew her parents had money, but…" He rubbed his head sheepishly as he looked back and forth along the road seeing their fence stretched the entire block.
"Damn, this girl is loaded!" Mina whistled out.
"It feels like I am under dressed before I even see her home." Tokoyami grunted out as he looked down to his basic shirt and pants.
"Y-yeah…" Midoriya stuttered as he looked down at his shirt, shorts and red shoes. He blushed and popped his fingers. He couldn't believe it… he was about to go over another girls house (granted it wasn't like he was alone, but still) He reached up and pushed the intercom to-
"Hey everyone! I'm so happy you made it!" Momo's happy voice rang through the speaker. "Come on in! They will guide you to the hall!"
Jiro's eyes widened in amazement as the gate suddenly opened, looking over to everyone else. "They?"
Almost on cue, several butlers came into view, signaling the students to come inside. Sero forced out a chuckle to hide his embarrassment. "Okay, this is insane."
Taking a deep breath, Momo couldn't keep the smile off her face as she fixed her red blouse in the mirror. She wiggled in excitement that she had her friends coming over for a study session, unable to remember the last time she had people come over to hang out. After both Mina and Kaminari approached her and asked for lessons, Jiro and the other two came up to her as well asking for tutoring. She felt so happy that they wanted her to help, and when she noticed Midoriya listening, she couldn't deny asking him if he wanted to come too.
She laughed to herself when she saw how red he became, feeling her cheeks warm as well after she realized what she did. While the others wanted help and she offered her residence, she was the one who asked him to come over to her home.
"It's just friends studying…" She told herself as she exited her room, still trying to control her excitement at how high school was going for her. Both of her parents must have seen her happiness as well, both of their faces lit up in large smiles as she asked to use their great hall for studying. Her father laughed and said he couldn't wait to meet them, although her mother was the one who said to let her have her space so they didn't embarrass her. Either way, she was happy to know this was happening.
She made her way down the large hallway with her books in hand, pushing the doors leading to the massive great room where her friends were already sitting at the large table in the center. "Hey everyone! I'm really glad you all could make it!" She said as she walked in.
Midoriya's forehead sweated as she came into the room, noticing the cute dress she was wearing. It wasn't meant to be sexy, but he couldn't help but think she was… adorable.
"Y-yeah! Thanks for the invite!" He quickly smiled and looked away, unable to keep his knees from shaking under the table. "Y-you have a really nice home, by the way."
"Nice? This room is like my house!" Mina shouted out in amazement.
"Your house? This table is like the size of our classroom!" Kaminari laughed, causing Momo to blush in embarrassment.
"I mean… it's just a house. Anyway… let us get to studying."
"Yeah, this is gonna be great to catch up on things I missed in class." Sero chuckled and adjusted his jacket, feeling somewhat out of place with it being so fancy.
Momo looked over and was surprised but happy to see Tokoyami there as well. "Oh Tokoyami? I didn't know you were coming!"
He nodded back to her. "Ashido invited me. I could really use the assistance on things I missed on the last few tests."
Mina grinned and flipped open her notebook. "Of course! Can't let birdbrain fall behind us all! I'll help him fly out of his nest!"
Tokoyami frowned at her joke. "You are in much more need of tutoring than I am."
"I know, that's why I am here." Mina laughed and clicked her pen open. "All of us "low grade students" need a little push."
Speaking of low grades, Momo looked around and tilted her head in disappointment. "Katara didn't come I see. I sent her a message and offered her to come, too."
"Nah, I offered her too. Figured get the fab five back together." Mina mumbled as she clicked her pen over and over, growling as she jabbed it to get it working.
"The what five?" Ojiro questioned.
Midoriya chuckled and opened his notebook. "That's what she calls us who went to the beach first. Her, Me, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami and Katara."
Mina grinned as she got her pen to work. "Uh huh. Katara said she already is gonna study with Todoroki tonight, but said she would like to join us next time."
Tokoyami raised his eyebrow up when he heard that. "She is with him again?"
"Really?" Momo looked up in surprise. "She has been training with him a lot lately, but I didn't think they were going to study as well."
Midoriya smiled to himself as he thought back to the hospital, happy to see how much he has changed. "A lot did happen during internships."
Scowling, Tokoyami flipped his book open and scooted his chair forward. "Maybe he is trying to make up for how he treated her before."
The others in the room all turned in surprise to the tone in his voice, Midoriya sensing some anger in there. "I mean… he was bad at first. But I think he's gotten a lot better." He tried saying. Tokoyami however only scoffed.
"After what he was, it seems anything little is an improvement."
Jiro raised her eyebrow at the remark, not sure if he was trying to be funny or snarky. The normally calm teen seemed a little on edge compared to what he was usually. "What's up with you?" she asked, earning small grunt from the bird teen.
"Nothing. Just… still a little tired from the weekend." He mumbled out and grabbed his pencil.
The others looked around awkwardly for a few moments before Momo coughed to break the silence. "Okay now, let's start with math first, shall we?" She announced with a smile to everyone, turning their attention back to her as Tokoyami pondered to himself. He stared down at his paper for a couple of seconds before sighing in annoyance, turning his head to look up to the tutor. He felt confused by why he was suddenly so irritated, but he felt he had a pretty good idea what it was.
Rolling out of the way of the blast of fire, Katara whipped her arm around and shot a ball of water forward. Shoto slammed his left hand into the ground and formed a small wall of flames in front of him to block the water, quickly followed by a fast fireball shooting out. Stepping forward, Katara spun her hands in front of her body creating a thick spiral of water and slashed forward slicing the fire in two, each half passing by her. She let out a deep breath and wiped her brow of sweat. "You have been getting better." She said with a chuckle.
"So have you…" Shoto exhaled and ignited his fist on more time. "It's not hard to tell you have gotten faster as well."
"Or I'm getting used to your pattern." She grinned and brought another thick stream of water around her body. "Always try new things. You may find something new to use."
Before he could ask what she meant, Shoto's eyes went wide as she punched the water itself, only for an ice spike to shoot right past his head. He looked back as she stepped sideways and punched at the water over an over, a barrage of ice shooting his way. He rolled out of the way and shot a stream of fire melting most of them, but they kept coming too fast. Grunting, he swiped his right hand out and created an ice wall stifling all of the spikes. Katara raised her eyebrow at the act. "I thought you wanted to practice your fire only?" She teased.
In the next moment, she was the one yelping in shock as a stream of ice rushed towards her feet making her jump backwards. She waved her arm and halted the ice from coming any further, looking back up wide eyed as Shoto came rushing towards her on his ice. She clenched her fists to melt the ice below him and make him fall, but before it could he leaped off the ice, his left foot igniting up. It only lasted a second however before sizzling out, forcing Shoto to fall back and tumble across the ground. "Damn it!" He cursed out.
"Hey!" Katara let her water fall down as she ran over to him, kneeling in front of him as he rolled back over. "Are you okay?"
Grumbling to himself, Shoto sat back up and sighed. "I was trying to propel myself with my left side this time. Seems I am still struggling to focus it through my feet."
Laughing, Katara grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "You have still gotten a lot better. Don't rush too much into it."
Shoto frowned but had to agree. He was still inexperienced when it came to his left side, so trying to master his fire immediately was never going to happen. He looked around at the outdoor training facility they were in, thankful for the privacy they had here. Even if he didn't care who his father was, he wasn't going to pass up the use of having several facilities like this purchased by his old man. Since this one was also nearby the school, it was the perfect place for them to come after class when they could. He looked over as she grabbed a drink from the side bench. "We did pretty good today I feel." He said.
Chuckling, Katara took a drink and sighed. "We only practiced for thirty minutes so far today, and yet it feels like we did so much more."
"We have been taking less breaks, though. With my control improving, it means longer engages so we end up doing more overall." Shoto walked over and grabbed his towel to dry his face off. "Perhaps we should get going so we have time to study. We didn't do any last night."
"Now?" Katara looked at the time on her phone. "We don't have to cut your training short yet."
"It will be alright. We can do this more later. Right now, you are the one who needs to improve in class."
Katara growled at his comment, unsure if it was him trying to make a joke or just being blunt at this moment. Playfully rolling her eyes, she packed up her bag and slipped it onto her back. "Alright then, where do we go now? Back to school?" She asked.
Shoto thought for a moment, before thinking of a place right nearby that could work. "We could go to my home and study."
Katara's mouth fell open in utter shock to what he offered. "Wait… what? You really want me to face your dad again?" She glared at him and crossed her arms.
"He won't be home tonight. He is in another city working a case." He said, thankful he didn't have to see him either. "You don't need to worry about him seeing you."
While she was somewhat hesitant about going, knowing he wasn't going to be there certainly felt more comforting. Deciding to follow along, she made her way out of the facility and down the road after him. Since his home was only about ten minutes from here as well, they didn't even bother with the train and walked themselves. After a moment of silence, Shoto glanced over at her curiously. "So… last time you had mentioned about… earthbenders moving the trains?"
Katara looked over at him for a moment before laughing. "Where did that come from?"
"Sorry… it's just since last time we talked about it, it has been on my mind." he responded.
Shaking her head, Katara smiled and looked back forward. Since the days they started training, Shoto had asked her about things that were different in her world. Since it was something that couldn't be talked about at school, they had to wait until they were away from everyone else. She would talk about anything that came up; What they ate, how her tribe operated, or how they got around in the world. These kind of conversations happened with Tenya as well, and his mother was especially curious on meals and culture. Midoriya had one conversation with her about it… and she was not keen on having another after he cornered her for five hours with questions.
She turned back to him and went on to explain the earth kingdom transportation, how the large city of Ba Sing Se was separated in classes by the walls, and the different factions that all used their power within. Shoto was always curious to hear how these things were, and understood how this was still all new to her. Technology, society, and especially quirks. He now wondered how he would've handled her situation in reverse.
After a few more minutes he led her up to his home, Katara taken by surprise at the design. While most homes she had seen were more modern, it seemed this home was what she had learned was a traditional Japanese style. The architecture, roofing, it was completely different than what she was used to here, and she couldn't help but stare at the beauty of it.
"This is really nice." She whispered out loud as she followed him in, looking around to the well maintained interior. They made their way through the house and through the back door, out into the center courtyard of the home. Katara once again was amazed at the beautiful sight before her, the grounds lush with green and colorful plants. The small fountain on the side of the yard gave of the soft sounding flow of water, adding a sweet tranquility to her ears. She truly didn't expect this here.
"Wow, this is really pretty here." She said as they walked through the garden.
He gave a small nod in response. "I would come here when I could to clear my head. I felt this was a good place to focus on studying."
She smiled as she looked around more. "This is definitely good for no distractions."
"Shoto? I didn't hear you come in and-
The sudden voice behind them made Katara stiffen slightly, turning back around to see a woman with white hair with red patches throughout. The newcomer's eyes widened behind her glasses in surprise to the waterbender. "Oh… I… didn't know you had someone over." the woman said, not expecting to see someone else here.
Shoto turned back towards his sister. "I invited her over for studying for the finals. This is my friend Katara."
Fuyumi's mouth fell slightly as she looked back and forth between her brother and the waterbender. She had heard he was hanging out with this girl since the internships, but to actually see her here with him was still hard to believe. Either way, she couldn't keep the large smile off her face as she approached. "So now I finally get to meet her! I have been hearing about and waiting to meet my little brothers friend."
Katara stared in surprise as his sister came forward. She had heard from him he had siblings, and she had been slightly worried if they were going to be worse than even he used to be. Instead of some angry and brooding woman like she expected, she was met with a warm smile as she approached. "You've heard about me?" She questioned.
"Well of course. Shoto's been so busy with you after school I have hardly seen him recently. It's good so he's not brooding in his room alone."
Shoto grunted at his sisters comment. "I don't brood in my room."
Katara couldn't hold back her laughter at his annoyed face. "Oh I could have seen you doing that before." She added, only making him frown and his sister giggle.
"Well that makes me happy knowing someone else is keeping an eye on him. Fuyumi Todoroki by the way." Fuyumi gave a small bow.
Smiling, Katara returned the gesture. "Kairi Katara."
"Well, I will leave you two alone now. I can make some tea if you would like." Fuyumi offered.
"I would like some, yes." Katara answered.
"Sure." Shoto said as well.
"Great! I'll be back in a bit then!" Fuyumi happily said before turning back towards the house leaving two teens alone once more. Katara watched her leave before smiling again.
"She seems really nice." Katara commented before sitting down on the bench nearby.
"Yes…" Shoto sighed and sat next to her. "Fuyumi has been there for me, even when I didn't appreciate it as much when I should have."
Seeing his sour expression made her frown, nudging his leg. "Hey, what matters is you appreciate it now and that is what you should remember."
Exhaling, his face softened before looking back up. "You're right." He then looked over to her once again as she grabbed her notebook, his mind going back to a single thing he had mentioned before. "Katara…"
"Hmm?" She asked, looking back up in surprise to the concerned look she was receiving. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just…" He pondered how to ask his next statement before continuing. "Not long after Hosu, you mentioned one day how… your name was…"
"My name?" She tilted her head curiously at his question. "You mean how… Kairi isn't real?"
He nodded. "So your given name is actually Katara, and I have not been calling you by your family name this entire time."
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "I know I know. Here it's respect to be called by your family name unless you are family or very close. I haven't been bothered by it myself that I don't have one."
Shoto shifted his eyes away before saying what he wanted. "I think it's fair if I have been calling by your given name, that you could call me by mine."
"Wait, what?" Katara was really stunned at this point, sitting up in shock. "Hey, it's no big deal. I haven't been bothered by it."
"It's not about being bothered, but out of respect. You have been a good friend and made me see my own mistakes. So I feel it's right for you to use it."
Katara sat in silence to him, unsure what to say. He had become a great friend to her, and she had even come to almost forget how they used to talk to each other. She could have simply told him again it was no big deal, but she did agree how they had become much closer than she had ever expected. Fake sighing in defeat, she sat back in her seat and looked to her notebook, smiling. "Okay… Shoto."
Hearing her say his name forced Shoto's mouth to break into a soft smile, feeling his heart beat faster for some reason before grabbing his own notebook.
From inside the house, Fuyumi peered out the window in absolute glee as she watched her brother. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see a smile on his face that hadn't been there in years. She wiggled in happiness as she watched the two talking together, simply enjoying a day outside with nothing in his way. Whoever this new girl was, she was getting through to her brother unlike anyone else could recently. If she brought a smile to her brothers face, she was doing something right.
Looking over to the dark haired teen again, Fuyumi playfully smirked before she went and grabbed the cups of tea. "She's really cute, too. I can see why she's a good friend." she joked before heading back outside.
Over the next week, there wasn't something called a day off for Katara. Every evening was filled with studying, whether it was with Shoto or both of them joining Momo and the others. On some of the days she still trained her waterbending and even healing with Recovery girl. This is all before she had her healing sessions with Tensei, his back needing plenty of healing after his final surgery. By the time testing had arrived her brain was running on fumes, struggling to even focus on the pages in front of her. She had written down enough notes in the five days of studying to cover her entire life's worth of writing, not even mentioning the two days of written tests. In the end, she groaned in success when she finished her last question.
After the class had finished up the few days of written tests, Katara sighed out as she rubbed her head. "oh my head is killing me…" She groaned out.
"Yeah… same here…" Uraraka yawned from her seat and stretched.
"It is nothing to be worried about. We have finished the written portion of the finals and now only have to deal with the practical!" Tenya exclaimed.
"Phew! Glad we got through that stuff. I don't think I could have done another question." Mina whined and put her head on her table.
Blowing out her mouth, Katara leaned back and looked to her left and smiled. "I think I did better than my first tests, though."
Shoto nodded back to her. "The studying through the last week must have helped a lot. The test didn't seem as hard as I assumed it would be."
Tenya chopped towards the two as he heard their comments. "Of course! This test was only the basics of what we have learned in the hero course!"
Katara playfully rolled her eyes. "Of course it was easy for you two." Suddenly her stomach growled out, laughing as the others looked at her curiously. "Now that we finished that, I could go for something to eat."
Mina's ears perked up when she heard that. "Ooooh… count me in! The cafeteria has extra pudding today!"
As a few others chimed in to go to the cafeteria on break as well, Katara looked back to Shoto sitting quietly. "You want to come too?" She asked him.
Feeling his own stomach growl, he sighed and nodded back to her. "I could go for something as well."
While Katara smiled, Tokoyami narrowed his eyes forward overhearing them. Grabbing his backpack, he stood up and prepared to leave the class. Tsu looked up to him curiously as he pushed his chair back in. "Ribbit? You coming too?" She croaked out.
"No, I'm good." He quietly grunted and began to walk out.
"You aren't hungry?" Katara asked before he moved too far. Tokoyami turned back towards them, but couldn't help from looking towards Shoto in the back. Exhaling, he turned back forward and walked to the door.
"I'm fine. You all enjoy yourselves."
As he left the room, some of the others stared curiously to his comment. "What's been up with him lately?" Kaminari asked.
"I don't know, man. He looked a little pissed at something." Kirishima added.
Worried about her friend, Katara quickly left the room after him and found him down the hallway. "Tokoyami, wait!" she called out. Hearing her voice, Tokoyami stopped and turned back towards her.
"Hey, are you okay?" She asked him. "This last week you've looked a little down."
"I'm fine," He grunted out, "Just not hungry."
Katara frowned and raised her eyebrow. "Well, why don't you come and hang out at least. It's been a while since we have seen each other."
"I know. You've been pretty busy training."
The undertone in his comment didn't slip Katara's ears, glaring at her friend. "What's that supposed to mean? You've just seemed a little angry and short the last few times we saw each other, like after we left Yaoyorozu's place for studying."
Tokoyami took a breath and turned away, taking a few steps before slipping his hands into his pockets. "It's just… It seems odd you are spending so much time with Todoroki lately."
"What?" Katara shook her head in disbelief. "Wait, is that why you are upset? Why would that bother you?"
"Even though we were friends before you ever talked to him, it seems most of your time is with him now."
"I have been busy not just with healing, but me and him have been training together. What's wrong with that? And we did have to stay at the same internships, so we got to know each other a lot more as well." Katara crossed her arms in annoyance. "Why are you being like this? I haven't been able see a lot of our friends lately."
"After the way he treated you in the beginning of school, you spending so much time with him seems strange. He even hurt you during the festival."
Now Katara was clenching her fists in anger and stomped towards him. "Excuse me? You have a lot of nerve saying something like that after you almost attacked me at the USJ, or did you forget that little detail?"
After she said it, Katara's eyes widened when she saw the pained look on his face. She now felt guilty saying it like that, knowing he had no control of that incident. "I'm sorry, I… shouldn't have said that. It's not like I've been avoiding you, though. It's just Shoto asked me to train since-
'Shoto?' Tokoyami's mind blocked everything else out when he heard that, his beak clenching tighter in frustration. He quickly turned and walked away from her.
"Tokoyami, wait…" She pleaded after him.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have said it like that." Tokoyami quietly said out as we trotted away. "I've just… had a lot on my mind."
Katara was left standing alone, staring in regret to bringing up something she knew he felt horrible about. She wanted to go and apologize, but figured it was better to leave him alone. Turning back to head to class, she never saw their teacher watching the exchange from around the corner.
Walking alone down the hall Tokoyami found his way in a secluded hall and leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms and looked down, glaring at the ground in frustration. "She's already calling him… hmm…" He groaned out and sighed. He had known her for much longer than Todoroki, and in fact was one of the first ones she even talked to at this school. For quite sometime, he had now come to notice how much he actually enjoyed talking with her, her positive attitude bringing his up whenever they did. Despite that, he had never noticed her look at himself the way she did to Todoroki. And calling him by his given name?
'It's to be expected. Tokoroki looks the way he does, while I look… So of course she would-
"No…" Tokoyami shut those thoughts down, clenching his eyes in anger to thinking that. "Katara is a generous and kind person. She would never judge someone because of something so shallow." He remembered that day in the USJ with the rain pouring on both of them, her pretty face staring at him smiling, even after the mistake he made. She cared for people, and wouldn't do something so cold. "I just… never asked."
Even though he told himself that, his hand subconsciously raised up and ran up his beak, over his feathery cheeks and covered his thick brow. His mind couldn't stop itself from replaying the comments he always heard growing up.
'Hey, check put bird boy. Maybe he lays eggs too.'
'Look at you. You are a bird that can't even fly, how lame!'
'Watch out, or he might shit on your head!'
'Careful, if you kiss him he may peck your lips off.'
Clenching his fist, he hissed in frustration and walked further down the hall and away from his class.
The next day all of the students were told to change and head over outside of one of the training grounds. As they all gathered together, Katara adjusted her gauntlets as she stood by Tenya. She looked over towards Tokoyami standing by Tsu, the frog girl appearing to try and chat with him. He seemed distracted though, causing Katara to frown internally. She had tried messaging him last night to talk to him, but he hadn't responded. Before she could go over and see how he was feeling, Aizawa approached the class to the front. To everyone's surprise it wasn't just him, but most of the other staff members as well.
"Alright everyone. Now that the written portion of your finals are done, it's time we get into the practical section. While you may have heard from older students how we conducted this in the past, but this will not be the same." Aizawa blandly announced to them all.
"It's different? What do you mean?" Uraraka asked.
"It's quite simple really…" Principle Nezu walked by other teachers, his smile still present on his face. "Instead of facing off against bots like we normally would have, today you will be placed into pairs and facing one of UA's faculty members!"
"What?!" The class gasped out in unison.
"We have to fight a teacher? That's crazy!" Kaminari whined.
"Sir, this seems quite excessive!" Tenya declared.
"All of you quiet down," Aizawa ordered. "With the recent increase in villain activity, we realized normal teaching methods may not be enough to truly test your limits. That's why we are doing this set up. Each of you will be paired together by how your abilities can or cannot work together, which can be from your quirk to your battle strategies. The teachers you will be facing are here to exploit those weaknesses you each have. For example… Todoroki and Tokoyami will be a team."
Tokoyami's eyes widened when he heard that, looking over who he was paired with. Katara's mouth fell open in shock at the choice made. If there was a worst pair that could have been made today, it was that one.
Aizawa smirked and grabbed the cloth around his neck. "Your opponent will be me."
Shoto took a breath in surprise, not expecting to ever have to fight Aizawa.
"Also, Midoriya and Bakugo will be paired together."
"WHAT?!" Bakugo screamed out in anger as Midoriya gasped in shock.
"And your opponent is…"
BOOM!
The ground shook from the massive form slamming down, the students all looking up in shock as All Might stood up from the crater.
"ME!"
Katara was just as frightened as everyone else. Even All Might was going to be fighting? And against Midoriya? She along with everyone sat in silence as Aizawa stepped forth again.
Team Katara & Kirishima vs. Cementoss
Team Asui & Yaoyorozu vs. Ectoplasm
Team Iida & Ojiro vs. Power Loader
Team Todoroki & Tokoyami vs Eraser Head
Team Uraraka & Aoyama vs. Thirteen
Team Ashido & Kaminari vs. Nezu
Team Koda & Jiro vs. Present Mic
Team Hagakure & Shoji vs. Snipe
Team Mineta & Sero vs. Midnight
Team Midoriya & Bakugo vs. All Might
"Each of you will be facing your teachers in zones picked out specifically to challenge you even further. You either bring down your opponent by attaching a pair of capture cuffs onto them, or one of you is able to reach the escape gate. If you fail to do that within the time limit, you will fail."
Katara glanced over to the same partner she had from before, worried if this was something she could even get through now. She then looked over to Shoto and Tokoyami, even more worried for them than anyone.
Notes: Please don't hate me! I felt bad doing that to my boy Tokoyami! But... after rereading MHA and vigilantes, you realize how cruel the people can be to even to people with quirks.
So now we have a few switches up to the matches. hmmm, how will this go?
Honestly thought i would be further in the story than where we got here, but don't worry. I wanna be in the next season within 2 chapters. almost there!
Till next time!
