Hero La Kill Ch. 41: Changing Perspectives

Written by Aduubo and Buckichamp

Edited by Aduubo, Buckichamp, and PKSpartan.

I OWN NOTHING. KILL LA KILL IS OWNED BY STUDIO TRIGGER AND KAZUKI NAKASHIMA. MHA IS OWNED BY TOHO ANIMATION AND KOHEI HORIKOSHI.

Author's Note: Hey everyone, REALLY IMPORTANT REMINDER!

We announced back in Chapter 39 that we'd be taking a publishing break after this chapter for some R&R, as well as having time for some other content and to make some adjustments for this upcoming arc and future chapters (we realized we made a few mistakes, among other things).

Well, the plan has changed. We'll be dropping Chapter 42 on Thurs, May 25 and give y'all a rare double drop in back-to-back weeks with Chapter 43 on Thurs, June 1 and THEN take our five week break.

After June 1, we'll publish Chapter 44 on Thurs, July 6.

Thanks for your understanding in advance!

~The HLK Team

P.S. sorry for the late posting. Stuff happened and it got lost in the shuffle

—

-Sunday, 8 a.m.; Bakugo household-

Katsuki Bakugo had a lot going for him. He was a first-year student at UA High School; a top performer pursuing his dream to become the No. 1 Hero. It felt like destiny, attending the alma mater where All Might, his idol and teacher, graced the halls.

Yet as he lay awake in bed in the darkness of his room – his right forearm laid across his forehead – he couldn't see it that way.

Deku, that worthless bastard, had somehow gotten into UA and developed a super strength Quirk. Adding insult to injury, he now had to deal with one Ryuko Matoi, someone who wasn't as timid as she once was.

Every time he thought he could take another step forward, they either were right behind him or beside him. He was supposed to be on top, with no competition. That's how it had always been. It was always supposed to be that way, right?

He wasn't the top dog. He didn't win the sports festival. Hell, Deku even found a way to quickly control that damned Quirk and nearly beat Matoi, the Quirkless hero. She flaunted that status so much that a Top 10 hero found that she'd suddenly become a symbol for proper behavior, in a manner of speaking.

As Katsuki squinted his eyes, words and scenes from the past few weeks played back on loop in his head. It was nauseating.

'What Shank said… Why won't it go away?!'

Katsuki closed his fist, annoyed even more that the formerly Quirkless wannabe struck fear into his heart. Scratch that! It was sickening.

Something didn't add up. It gnawed at him during every waking moment, more than he'd like to admit, especially when Izuku got the drop on him on the viewing platform during the races the other day. He was faster than he could predict at that moment. He never saw it coming.

..~~~HLK~~~..

Bakugo stopped and looked over at his right arm. Midoriya was powered up to eight percent and grasping it tightly, his eyes obscured by a fallen shadow. He moved so quickly that everyone else could barely catch his movements, save for Iida and Todoroki.

"That's enough, Katsuki! Don't you fucking dare do that again," Izuku's incensed voice came through clear as day.

"What did you say?" Bakugo spoke in an audible whisper, partly out of rage but he also started to feel something else rising up in him — fear.

"Don't act like you didn't hear me. Don't you dare do that again, Katsuki!" Izuku raised his voice slightly, his eyes glaring at the blonde in a manner that no one had ever seen before.

"Leave the others out of this! You can come after me as much as you want, I really don't give a damn. I'm not scared of you," the green-haired boy spoke coldly, his words stinging like barbed wire.

"But don't you fucking dare take your anger out on Ryuko or anyone else! Got it?!"

..~~~HLK~~~..

And then there was the sports festival again. Bakugo confronted him in the hallway, the blonde's arm in a sling courtesy of Matoi.

..~~~HLK~~~..

"Matoi. What did you tell her?"

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked.

"Don't fucking act like you don't know what I'm talking about."

…

"You're looking at it. You know exactly what I mean. I know she hated me, but nobody would lose their shit like that during the Sports Festival. You obviously told her about what happened, didn't you?"

"No."

Katsuki gasped inwardly. Izuku's quick response time caught him off guard.

"I didn't tell her. I didn't tell her anything that she doesn't already know. Whatever set her off…"

Izuku looked Katsuki dead in the eyes with a soul-piercing glare.

"...It's all on you."

…

"Maybe now you'll know that the things you say can hurt people."

Izuku began walking and brushed past Katsuki, who was too stunned to form words.

"Like when you told me to kill myself."

..~~~HLK~~~..

Looking back now, that whole confrontation made his blood boil. Why did he have to stand in the way of everything?! A stupid, worthless-

"KATSUKI!" Mitsuki Bakugo yelled from down stairs. "GET OUT OF BED TO HELP CLEAN THE HOUSE!"

The more he thought, the angrier he'd get. At some point, someone was going to talk. But for now, it was time to get ready for another day.

..~~~HLK~~~..

-Sunday, 9 a.m. Musutafu-

Being a student at UA was certainly a wild trip. A lot has happened over the short quarter of the year. One could say that fighting to breathe was a challenging task on its own. But once it all settled down, it felt like things were put to a grinding halt.

That's what it was like for Mezou Shoji, who was sitting in his apartment and searching the web. Out of curiosity, he looked up information about the ball that he and his classmates were invited to. Or more specifically, Ichiro Tanaka.

"Ichiro Tanaka. Hmm. He definitely looks like the guy Ashido's describing. All of the photos or videos I've seen show him being friendly and charismatic. But, maybe he could be a poser like Sero said."

Shoji leaned his head on his fist, sighing while he thought everything over.

"But then again, I haven't met the guy yet. I should give him and Ashido the benefit of the doubt."

Shoji slowly blinked and let out another sigh. Man, was he bored. Was this really what the weekend feels like? He thought he'd be more excited for the break. Granted, it didn't help that he mostly kept to himself whenever he was in class. But… it was probably because of how he felt about his appearance…

Shoji shot up and out of his seat, groaning while clutching his hair.

'Damn it, all these 'buts!' Why am I just sitting here contradicting myself?! That's it, I need to get out and do something.'

He turned to look at the calendar, zoning in on the day he marked for the upcoming ball.

'Still got about a week before the ball hits. This is a good time to go pick out a suit. And it'll keep me busy before I go insane.'

Shoji was fairly proper and dressed decently, even when he was inside his apartment. So, all he had to do to prepare was put on his shoes that were left in his closet. As he opened the door, the teen unlocked his phone, taking a brief look at his LINE contacts.

'Maybe I should try and see if someone wants to hang out. Obviously, getting the suit isn't going to take up that much time.'

He scrolled through various names; from Bakugo, Hagakure, Matoi, Ojiro, and various others. Shoji sighed as he ultimately denied the idea.

'They're probably all busy. And… I don't know them very well.'

Mezou shook his head, erasing that dark cloud in it before walking outside and locking his door. He walked down a small flight of stairs before stepping onto the road. Mezou lived in a small neighborhood just outside of Musutafu. He had two options of getting there; taking a bus, or walking.

Since he wanted to use up as much of the day as possible, it didn't take long for him to choose the latter.

It was a long trek, taking about an hour or so before he made it into the city. Now that that was out of the way, his next task was to figure out where he wanted to shop.

Shoji stood on the edge of an intersection, with each path leading to different places to go to. Crowds of people walked around him as he stood and looked aimlessly.

Technically, there was a place he always searched for clothes. On the other hand, Shoji figured that he might as well explore since he had the time.

Extending his wings, widening the gap of people walking around him, he started using the ends of his arms to choose by "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe."

'I must be more bored than I thought.'

His choice landed on a store that looked expensive. Not that he would actually buy anything. His day started with him wasting time, go figure.

"Shoji?"

Mezou perked up upon hearing his name be called out, especially from a voice that sounded very familiar. He followed the voice and soon found Todoroki, who had just crossed the crosswalk.

"Todoroki? Good afternoon. I didn't expect to see you here," he said.

"I was just heading home," Shoto looked up and saw the sign of the store above Mezou.

"Are you shopping for the upcoming Tanaka event?"

"Yeah, but not here. It's a bit out of my price range. I just wanted to kill time and explore a bit," Mezou rubbed the back of his head.

"I see. If you want, I can spot you," Shoto offered at breakneck speed.

"Huh? No no! I appreciate that, but you don't have to," Mezou waved his arms defensively.

"It's no big deal. Besides, It'll give me an excuse to use this thing for once," Shoto said while inspecting his credit card, the one connected to his father's account. "Come on, let's check it out."

"Er, okay," Mezou said hesitantly. He knew that Todoroki would be loaded, but he still felt bad for being a free-loader.

The two went inside, taking a look around to see what would fit Shoji the most. Immediately, they knew they had to look in the extra large section, given his stature. They were fortunate to find varieties of suits for him, but there was still one problem.

"Your arms are winged, right?" Todoroki asked.

"Yep, all connected," Shoji answered while raising his left arm.

"Hmm…" Todoroki cupped his chin and stayed silent for a moment. That was until he saw the attendant at the front desk that he sparked an idea, walking over to speak with the clerk.

"Todoroki?" Shoji followed him.

"Excuse me? Do you guys take requests or commissions?" Shoto asked the clerk.

The lady looked up from her computer and nearly had a whiplash, falling right out of her wheeled chair.

'Holy… Those kids are from the Sports Festival! And Todoroki?! He's the son of Endeavor! The No. 2 hero's kid is in my store! And he's asking for a commission?! C'mon, gotta play it cool here!'

"Ahem," She quickly sat back in her seat. "We only do commission work on tailored suits for special clients, but we could make an exception for you."

"It'll be for him, actually," Shoto pointed towards Mezou, who nearly fell over as well.

"Wha?! T-Todoroki!"

"Of course. What would you like, sir?" she asked him.

"Uh! Well, um. I just need a suit. Oh and-"

"Without sleeves, got it. I saw you in the Sports Festival," she giggled.

"Right," Mezou mildly blushed beneath his face covering.

"I'm assuming you'd want the best service?"

"Yes," Todoroki answered.

"Uh?!" Shoji gasped, the two eyes on his face, and the others on his arms popped open.

"That'll be 941,000 yen please."

"How soon can you get it done?" Todoroki asked.

"It'll be 868,338 on top of that if you want it done tonight."

"Deal."

"Todoroki!" Shoji tried to intervene, but the man before him already handed the card in.

Not too far from them, a big burly man sitting in his dojo checked his phone. He nearly did a spit-take upon seeing how much money had just been spent out of nowhere.

"Thanks again! We won't let you down, Mr. Todoroki!" The clerk waved them off as they left.

Mezou was hunched over, at a loss for words. If he wasn't wearing his mask, his jaw could be seen hanging off his face.

"We have some time before we have to come back for the suit. Do you want to get something to eat?" Shoto asked.

"Sure…" Mezou wheezed out.

..~~~HLK~~~..

Both teens sat together on a bench, eating Takoyaki from a food joint nearby. Mezou paused, looking down at his meal before taking a bite. Slowly, he lowered his mask before sticking it in his mouth. Like he expected, it was good. He appreciated it, but still wondered something.

"Todoroki?"

"Yeah?" he responded and turned to face him.

"Not that I don't appreciate what you did, but why are you doing all this? Aside from our team up in the Battle Trial, we don't know each other that well."

Shoto looked back at his empty basket of Takoyaki. He remembered when Midoriya helped him out, when he learned to embrace his power.

"I'm just trying to be more helpful," he said softly while clicking the two empty sticks in the basket.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Mezou asked.

"During the Sports Festival, I said that I didn't join UA to be friends with anyone. I declared war against Midoriya without asking. You could say I was a jerk."

While Mezou wanted to say something to get that idea out of his head, he couldn't argue with it. Todoroki put up a very tense front before the very first obstacle.

"Since then, I've been trying to change. Do as much as I can to be better. I spent a long time isolating myself from people. I don't want to do that anymore. I know that what I did may make things hard, but I still want to try."

Shoto looked at his left hand, something that he had cursed for many cold years. Now that he accepted it, everything felt a lot warmer.

"I think I get what you mean, Todoroki," Mezou spoke up, drawing the teen's attention.

"Obviously, I'm the least normal looking guy in our class. A little girl once cried when she saw my face, hence why I wear the mask," Mezou said while pointing to himself. "I'm over it now, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't still think about how others see me."

"I haven't been interactive with our classmates because of it, which makes the days outside of school very boring. I wasn't actually planning to shop at that store we went into. I only went there just to pass the time until I could go home and sleep."

Todoroki watched as Shoji tapped his knee, using it as a distraction so that he could keep talking. This must have been something very personal that he was keeping to himself for far too long. Now that he had a chance to let it out, he didn't want to stop. Shoto could even see a grin form under the mask.

"I was isolating myself too. But, with Mineta and Asui asking to form a team, and you wanting to hang out, it helped me realize something. We don't need to face these problems alone, Todoroki."

Mezou faced the hetero-chromatic teen with full intent.

"It may take some time with others, but I guarantee that someone will be there to help you. It seems that you've already made good terms with Midoriya and Iida, right?"

Todoroki remembered the time he spent with them in the classroom while discussing the internships, and when they were in the hospital. They were genuinely invested in his company and enjoyed it. A small smile soon formed on his face.

"Yeah."

They both sat there for a while, feeling satisfied with how today went. Earlier on, Mezou was just sitting all by his lonesome, constantly contradicting himself. But after this small endeavor, he felt a lot more content with everything. Oh, how life could take such a turn remained a mystery.

"By the way, thanks for all of this. I really appreciate it. It helped save a lot of my budget today," Shoji said while chuckling.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Todoroki responded.

"I think the suit's almost done. We should probably go get it and then call it a day. I'm beat. I've done more today alone compared to the last couple of weeks," Shoji stood up and stretched his arms.

Shoto felt a grin grow on his face, along with a snicker in his throat. Was he laughing? It'd been a while since he felt like that.

..~~~HLK~~~..

"You're very brave for coming here, Shoto. Especially at a young age. I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't want to, after what happened."

Shoto looked down at his hands as they rested on his knees. He made a commitment to facing his past. But, he still had a few hurdles to get through.

"I want to become a hero. And in order to be the one I want to be, I need to become a better person. Whatever it takes, mom."

Rei could do nothing but smile at her son's noble cause. From the little time she spent with him, she could see just how much he had grown since she last saw him.

"That's wonderful. But, don't make it your top priority," she said.

"Huh?" Shoto wondered.

"I'm happy you're trying to find yourself, but you're still a teenager. Don't let it get in the way of your life. Have fun, make friends, laugh a little. It'll make everything so much easier when you're with a friend," Rei explained with a smile.

"You don't have to do everything all alone."

..~~~HLK~~~..

Shoto looked back on the first time he met with his mom again after so many years. And now he was visiting her regularly. Taking her words to his heart, he saw that she was right. When he opened up to Shoji a little bit on where he currently was in life, it felt easy. And Shoji even gave a bit of his perspective. This was the first time he truly hung out with a classmate of his. And it all felt real.

Shoto truly felt like he accomplished a lot today.

..~~~HLK~~~..

-Sunday, 10 a.m., Kaminari Electronics Shop-

What Denki would do to go out for the day. It wasn't every day, but he had to at least help his parents with the family business.

He chewed on a toothpick as he waited around at the register. They opened an hour earlier and usually the traffic was slow to start off the day. Though it was almost like clockwork that every Sunday he worked there, someone came in right at 10.

The clock above the doorway had just ticked the ten marker when the door opened up.

"Huh?" Kaminari blinked as he turned his attention to the customer.

"Hi, Sparky."

"Jirou?" Kaminari raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing here?"

Kyouka strolled in with a slightly bored expression. She wore tight jeans that fit her form well and a 'Deep Dope' t-shirt, with a bracelet around either wrist. She actually looked kind of cute.

"You okay, dude?" Jirou said as she approached the register while Kaminari stared silently, his mouth slightly open. What was up with him?

"Jammingway!" Kyouka raised her voice a little louder and snapped her fingers, finally snapping him out of his trance.

"Sorry!" He meekly smiled and rubbed at the back of his head. "It's been a slow morning. Still, I'm surprised you're even here."

"Yeah," Jirou chuckled, getting her phone out. "I remember you said your parents owned a shop and it wasn't too far away."

"I dropped this yesterday and it's been acting up since then. Can you take a look at what's wrong with it?"

The violette slid the phone across the counter, allowing the blonde to pick up the phone and give it a quick inspection.

"Looks like some minor damage that we could mostly clean up. Probably a slightly damaged battery from the drop. The screen still looks good though. We also gotta check if the SIM card popped out or not. Usually happens whenever you drop your phone."

"Thanks," Jirou responded. "How much would it be and how long?"

"It's on the house!" Kaminari declared without a second thought.

"DENKI!"

"Oh no," Kaminari muttered.

"What'd I tell you about offering free repairs willy nilly like that?" Mr. Kaminari came from the repair shop behind the counter with a disappointed glare. "You try this with every pretty girl that comes here!"

"It was one time," Denki groaned as Jirou couldn't help but hide her laughter.

"You said that the last time with the Seiai girl, and the previous time with one of them Shiketsu folk!" The Kaminari patriarch listed off, much to his son's dismay.

"She's a classmate of mine. I just thought it'd be the least I could do to help her out," Kaminari pleaded his case, somewhat surprising both his dad and Kyouka.

The man grumbled before taking a look at the phone and inspecting the damage.

"Battery damage from the drop, and a little bit of dust clogging the speakers. Can't make everything look entirely pristine, but give me four hours and it should be ready. This model's batteries should be coming in over the next hour or two. Plus some other minor repairs," Mr. Kaminari noted.

"Thanks, sir," Jirou bowed as the shop owner let a small smile form.

"You're lucky my son likes you so much to offer a free repair," Mr. Kaminari mumbled as the two teens blushed with him out of sight.

"Well, thanks," Kyouka eventually spoke up, twirling her left jack around her index finger. "Guess I can head back home and come back later. See ya, Sparky!"

Without another word, Jirou turned foot and made her way towards the door before a hand moved in front of the handle, spooking the girl.

"Whaaa?!"

"Sorry," Kaminari apologized. "Didn't mean to spook ya like that."

"What do you want?" Jirou raised a brow.

"It's going to take a couple of hours and it's been pretty dead so far. Do…"

Denki paused, blushing slightly.

"Do you want to go out for a bit while my dad repairs your phone?"

Kyouka's breath hitched as a stutter came out. Was he asking her on a date?!

"I- you-..."

"Geez, calm down," Kaminari sighed, not expecting the girl to be so shaken up. "I don't want to be stuck here all day, and I don't really have anything better to do. Do you?"

The girl wanted to protest, but she really had nothing else going on. If Kaminari did something stupid, she had two earphone jacks to let him know.

"Ugh, fine," she relented, drawing a small grin from Kaminari. "Lead the way, Jammingway. You better have something good in mind."

"I don't know about good, but I have something in mind."

..~~~HLK~~~..

-Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, 11 a.m.-

"Why did you pick Kiyashi of all places?" Jirou asked, mostly curious about the choice.

"The food court isn't bad and it's a little further out," Denki explained. "Plus, I remembered there's a cool music shop near the other end of the mall. 'Figured it'd give you something to enjoy doing here."

"And you know I like music, how?" Jirou raised an eyebrow.

Kaminari smirked and glanced over his shoulder to look at her.

"Your t-shirt."

Jirou grinded to a halt and her face turned red while Kaminari didn't say another word and kept walking.

'He got me there,' Kyouka groaned as she jogged to catch up to her classmate.

A few minutes later, they found the shop they were looking for. Several guitars, cords, drum sets, and other instruments and gadgets lined the walls and floor space.

"Geez, there's a lot more in here than I thought," Denki noted as the two began to peruse.

"Yeah," Kyouka nodded, a smile starting to form as she looked around her. Denki saw the immediate change in her demeanor.

The earphone jack girl was essentially in her comfort zone, humming softly while picking up various instruments and looking over different designs. Kaminari really didn't need to say a word, knowing how much she was enjoying this.

"I wish I could buy a few of these things, but they're uber expensive," Jirou sighed as she put a guitar back on the shelf.

"Really? How much are they?" Kaminari pried, moving closer to her and looking over the price tags.

"More than you and I probably have right now," she stated plainly, with her friend gulping when he saw the price.

"Geez! They're even more expensive than that broken phone you all bought Matoi," he let out a whistle.

The phone. While Jirou wasn't there when the purchase went down, she remembered the aftermath from a few weeks back and how the store clerk nearly wet his pants.

Then something bubbled to the surface from her subconscious. Maybe…

"While I'd love to get one of these things," Jirou started, putting her hands behind her head. "How about we team up to help someone else in our class?"

Kaminari blinked, not sure what she was going on about.

"And by that, you mean me paying for the majority of what you want?" Denki questioned with some hesitation.

"No, Jammingway," she scoffed. "Do you remember that flip phone Uraraka has?"

The blonde nodded, waiting to see where the violette's head was.

"Whaddya say we help our class mochi out?" Jirou smiled, with Kaminari finally understanding what she intended to do.

"I can dig it! But how are we going to pull that off without her here?"

"Just leave it to me," Jirou said as she whipped out her phone.

..~~~HLK~~~..

-12:15 p.m., Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall Food Court-

With the two teens sipping on sodas while they waited on their food, it wasn't long until a huffing and puffing brunette stopped up at their table.

"Hey guys," Uraraka gasped as she tried to replace the air in her lungs from the long run. "Did I miss the food?"

The two teens chuckled, seeing this was the right call.

"Nope," Kaminari said. "While we did grab some drinks, we waited for you on the food."

"Your pick," Jirou gestured as Ochako smiled.

After Kaminari got his sushi and the two girls settled on teriyaki chicken, they all reconvened at the table to chow down.

"I appreciate the invite, really," Ochako thanked the two as she finished swallowing her first bite. "Though what was so urgent about bringing me here right now?"

Denki smiled as he pointed to Kyouka with his thumb. She reached back below the table and grabbed a bag with gift paper stuffed into it.

"We were initially shopping around for instruments for me," Kyouka started as she pushed the bag across the table.

"They were all too expensive for our budgets. But… We figured we could help someone else instead."

"What's in here?" Ochako raised an eyebrow, not understanding how this was so important.

"Open it!" Jirou pressed on with a laugh.

Hesitantly at first, Uraraka reached into the bag and shuffled her hand around until she grabbed onto a rectangular box. She soon pulled it out and placed it on the table and gasped when she saw what it was.

"Surprised?" Kaminari grinned.

"Gotta thank Sparky there for giving us the idea," Jirou admitted.

Uraraka teared up as she looked at a new smartphone, complete with a pair of bluetooth earbuds.

"You guys!" Uraraka started to let her tears hit the table while her classmates couldn't help but feel good about what they did.

"Those earbuds should work well with your Quirk," Kaminari noted. "All we have to do is go up to the store and get everything transferred from that old phone and into that one. I made sure there wasn't any damage like the person who tried to stiff Matoi."

The three teens laughed as Uraraka's tears started to dry up.

"Thank you both so much! How… How can I repay you for this?"

"No need," Jirou stood up and moved to give Uraraka a hug. "That's what friends are for."

Kaminari couldn't help but feel his heart beat ten times faster while he watched Jirou comfort Uraraka. He didn't realize he was blushing, but man did Kyouka have an amazingly huge heart.

..~~~HLK~~~..

-2 p.m., Kaminari Electronics Shop-

"Well, that was something," Kaminari said while tucking his hands into his pockets

"Wow, that's all you can say after today?" Jirou jested.

"H-Hey! At least I said something!" he fired back, which made Jirou start laughing.

"I know, dude. I'm just pulling your leg," she said between giggles.

"Grr…" Kaminari pouted, feeling embarrassed that he got so shaken up like that. And here he thought he had some game.

"Well look at that, Denki, you made her laugh! You made it past the first step!" the senior Kaminari congratulated his son as they approached the shop. That comment confused the two as they sported mild blushes.

'Oh my god! I…I did?!' a small eager grin grew on Denki's face.

'What the hell? What steps?' Kyouka wondered suspiciously.

"Anyway, here's the phone back," the shop owner handed the device over to Jirou as she examined it.

"It doesn't look entirely brand new, but I was able to do what I promised. I also cleaned out the jack port. It was pretty dusty in there," he said with a chuckle.

"Thanks," Jirou grinned softly as she held the device in her hands.

Without another word, the elder Kaminari went back to work, disappearing into the back.

"Hey, um…"

Kyouka turned to Denki, seeing him look a bit flustered.

"We should do this again sometime. Whaddya say?"

Jirou's heart skipped a beat as her words started to stutter.

'Is he asking me out? Why does he suddenly seem so different!? Focus!'

"M-maybe. I gotta go," Jirou responded as she rushed out the door.

"I need some air," she moaned while beginning the trek back home.

While Kaminari stood there, trying to absorb what just happened, a thought came to mind.

"At least she didn't say no," he sighed with content, a relaxed grin appearing.

..~~~HLK~~~..

It was only a few days ago that all the girls went shopping together for Tanaka's ball. Now, it was only Momo since everyone was out doing their own thing. She was currently taking a ride in the bus, wanting to step away from using the family limousine for a while.

Momo dressed casually; wearing a button up shirt, shorts, and sandals. Today was one of the more laid-back ones as she brought her purse for the bus fare, and a book to read. Once the vehicle stopped at her destination, Momo departed from it and made her way down to the infamous Takoba Municipal Beach Park.

She knew a little bit about its history; how it was shrouded with so much garbage that it was uninhabitable. But, rumor said that a boy cleaned the entire park, bringing the hidden beauty out into the world for all to see. Momo wanted to see it for herself. And like she hoped, it was a trip towards a gorgeous sight.

Not a single spec of dirt or debris anywhere. Yaoyorozu was treated to the free and open landscape. The clear blue ocean washing ashore, the birds singing, and the fresh wind blowing her front bang back. This was the perfect spot to spend the day reading. Her novel of choice being Wolf Rider, written by Avi.

Yaoyorozu sat herself down on the soft sand before opening the first page.

Even after taking her time to understand everything, it only took Momo the entire day to finish this novel. She clamped it shut with a satisfactory "hmm!" and a tear in her eye that she wiped. It wasn't as long as the books she normally read, but it gave a sense of intrigue and mystery that she really enjoyed.

Interestingly, she had been delving into media that centered around genres such as; thriller, drama, or mystery. It could either be another book, a magazine, or film. She watched it all on her own. Yaoyorozu was intelligent, but she never figured out why this was now a habit of hers. Tilting her head up to look at the setting sun, she thought back to all of the previous events that took place.

Since she got into UA High, things have changed significantly for her. Yaoyorozu had nearly everything handed to her on a silver-platter; her quirk, a wealthy family, and getting into UA by immediate recommendation. Her life was full of unexpected turns and twists, much like the films she was currently watching.

Now, she had to put her work in in order to set a place for herself in the school. It was hard, and she still had self doubt lingering in the back of her mind. But everything was geared to making her a better hero, and a better person.

And the friends Momo made along the way too, she couldn't have asked for a better journey.

Speaking of which, she remembered something and pulled her phone out. To be more connected with her peers, Mina suggested that Momo would take photos of whatever she found interesting and share with the 1-A group chat. The studious girl set her front facing camera on and positioned it so that she was alongside the shoreline.

-8 p.m., Danchi-

-Riing!-

Both Izuku and Ryuko checked their phones. It must have been from the class chat since both of them went off at the same time. What they saw was a message from Yaoyorozu.

"Good evening, Everyone!

I hope you're all doing well. Do you remember the Takoba Municipal Beach Park? It used to be covered with mountains of wreckage and dregs that nobody could visit. But, there's been a rumor that a local came to the beach and cleaned everything up! What you see here is the result!"

The duo then opened an attachment, which was a selfie from Yaoyorozu at the beach. With nothing but a bright smile and a beautiful orange background behind her.

"Not a drop of dirt in sight! I think it would be wonderful if we all could visit here one day. Ashido suggested that I shared anything I found interesting with the class. So, here is an update from me! I hope you all have a good night. See you tomorrow!

Momo Yaoyorozu"

Izuku and Ryuko chuckled together as they finished reading the last of Yaoyorozu's message, all while wearing grins on their faces. Izuku's was especially heartfelt since his efforts were now being recognized by other people. Something he did brought joy to others, and that was all he ever wanted to do in life.

And thanks to Ryuko's more rebellious behavior, he liked to revel a bit in his success.

"Should I tell them?" Izuku asked with a cheeky look.

"And what? Give them the scoop while I had to dig to find out? Not a chance," Ryuko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Haha, I didn't think so," Izuku laughed before he continued to watch a film with her and Inko, who was asleep at the moment. Unconsciously, he and Ryuko leaned into each other's shoulders as the night carried on.

To Be Continued…

Buckichamp A/N: Okay, time to rip the bandaid off for this guy

"Can you please have Ochako go back to calling Izuku "Deku"? The fact that only Katsuki calls him that makes it feel even more like it's meant to be an insult instead of his hero name."

-Balto Kirigaya.

Bucki: Balto, please google search "japanese people using first names." That is our answer. This is the final time we will address this.

Aduubo A/N: We said "character progression" for a reason.

Bucki: What's next?

Dammit, I can't say anything else because I'd get in trouble if I did LMAO!

Aduubo and PK, you're up! I believe someone got a reference…

PK: We on some slice of life shit!