Disclaimer: I don't own mha
Warning: Rated M for Mature themes
Just a random thought but I recently realized that Horikoshi named one of if not the most integral settings in my hero academia after a urine test. Let that sink in as you enjoy this next chapter that I have cooked up.
Midoriya and Ochaco were on their way back to UA, escorted by Toshinori. The boy was still pretty shaken up over what had happened at the pier.
Ochaco had fallen asleep in the back and Toshinori was focused on the road, even so an oppressively glum atmosphere filled the car.
"All Might..."
The blonde was surprised as he heard the boy speak up, after nearly a half hour of dead silence he looked over to see Midoriya meekly staring at him.
"Have you ever been forced to do something... you regret... to a villain in the midst of a heated battle?"
Toshinori looked deep into the boys eyes while troubling feeling clenched his heart upon hearing the question.
The blonde man looked away and gave it some thought.
"Back when I last contended with All For One... that was the fight I incurred the injury to my stomach that limited my abilities... but I didn't leave without inflicting some scars of my own."
Midoriya stared intently at the man as he listened to every word.
"You noticed the mask he wears, didn't you?"
"Yes... How could I forget..." He said more so to himself as he recalled the horrible night where they ultimately failed in detaining the league of villains due to the tyrants interference.
The more the boy thought about it the more it became a troubling prospect, during his internal conflict Midoriya looked over at his aged mentor.
"Its... a... well... a breathing respirator."
Toshinori clenched the wheel in frustration as he recalled the first time he'd ever defeated the evil tyrant.
"All Might... W-what exactly happened on that day." Midoriya fearfully and reluctantly asked.
The car went silent once again. All Midoriya could feel was the excellerated beating of his heart as he saw a look of despair and guilt across the blonde's face.
"Don't get me wrong kid... All For One is a true monster. A blight upon society... but that day... well let's just say I'm not proud of what I did to him." The man said with guilt laced deeply in his voice.
Midoriya recalled how mangled and scarred the upper half of the tyrants face was. Though it wasn't something he'd given much thought about prior.
Having it recontextualized in such a horrifying light caused him to shudder at the thought that the paragon of kindness and bravery he admired for so long could be responsible for it.
The boy looked over at his idol one last time, only to be met with a distant and vacant look in his eyes. Almost as if Toshinori was lost in the memories.
Time seemed to stand still and as moment after moment passed Toshinori didn't utter a single word. Midoriya leaned back against the door and looked out the window to see UA not so far in the distance.
While making one last turn the former pro pulled off onto the side and turned the car off. It was safe to assume they'd made it back.
"The life of a hero isn't as glamorous as the media likes to project..."
Midoriya was surprised to finally hear his mentor speak up and looked over to see the man staring back at him.
"Sometimes no amount of training or experience can prepare you for every obstacle you face... Sometimes regrettable things can happen... things that can challenge whether or not you feel worthy to be called a hero, but that is why you have to remain strong in the face of adversity. We may fall and we may suffer, but none of that matters so long as we get back up and keep fighting."
As he opened the door to get out Midoriya nodded in understanding while finding value in every word.
"I understand... Thankyou All Might." The boy quietly said while forcing himself to smile before pushing himself out of the car and parting ways with his teacher.
Toshinori watched as his dearest student walked back onto campus grounds before disappearing near the direction of the dorms.
The man scratched his head as he looked back at the brunette who had just been sleeping peacefully in the back the entire time.
"Wake up Young Ochaco. We finally made it back to UA."
The brunette grogily and slowly rose from her leaning position while rubbing her eyes.
"Uuhhh... O-ok... Where's Izuku?"
"He already started to head back for the dorms. You should do the same, I imagine it's been a long night for both of you." The blonde man sympathetically suggested.
Ochaco nodded while getting out of the car, as she headed back inside the young gravity user waved back at the retired hero.
Toshinori waved back with a smile before turning his attention away from the school and resting his head against his hand.
"I need something to eat now... that was far from a pleasant conversation."
Not quite ready to retire to his quarters Toshinori turned the car back on and started to drive away with a sense of unease knawing at him.
'Poor kid, I haven't seen him that rattled in a very long while... and even worse, I don't know if I can help him through this.'
Meanwhile at UA Midoriya just got back to the dorms and pulled out his key to open the door. As he pushed his hand out midway the boy paused with a troubled look.
'Dammit! Stop shaking already! Your fine! You don't need the others to waste their valuable time worrying about you!'
Furious at himself the green haired boy grabbed his wrist and violently squeezed down on it for the longest time.
After sometime he'd rolled his eyes in annoyance. Though the shaking had stopped it was only at the price of leaving a bruise around his wrist.
Midoriya let out a sigh as he put his hoodie back on and made sure to cover the mark before finally opening the door.
Just as he got inside the boy took notice that his friends were right by the couch and likewise they immediately turned their attention towards him.
"Hey Midoriya! What's up man? Where you been?" Sero cheerfully asked.
"We wanted to invite you down for this movie, but you weren't in your room." Todoroki added.
Midoriya nervously chuckled while closing the door and gradually scooting towards the halls in an effort to retreat to his room.
"Oh it's nothing special. Just did some late night jogging around town. Nothing to worry about or anything like that."
His classmates all looked confused as they stared at him.
"Don't you usually jog around the track? You said cause it helped to have the gym nearby to incorporate multiple things into your training regimen or something like that?" Kaminari asked.
The green haired boy turned pale as his eyes darted back and forth while he was left desperately trying to come up with a response.
"Oh... umm... yeah... Of course I do... but tonight... I felt like getting out and taking in the sights for a change... Anyways I gotta go now, cya guys tomorrow."
As soon as he could the boy rushed out of sight and down the halls to his room to get away before his friends could pry any further.
Kaminari and Mina looked at each other in confusion before eventually shrugging it off as everyone turned their attention back towards the movie.
Midoriya walked up the stairs and turned the corner before finally opening his door and entering his room.
Flashbacks of the pier incident had long since clouded his mind as he thought back to the sight of the villain being hauled away in an ambulance.
'Sometimes regrettable things happen.'
The boy took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. With only mild success in that regard he reached for his phone and scrolled through his contacts.
'I really hope she picks up...'
Midoriya anxiously watched and listened as the phone rang in a monotonous and passionless cycle.
"Hello?"
After the fourth ring he finally got an answer and with it he already felt a tad bit calmer.
"Hey Pony... It's Izuku here... I was just wondering if you wanted to spend a bit of time together... I don't want to go anywhere or do anything... I just... don't really want to be alone right now..."
The boy immediately started to regret saying this as the implications of such an invite dawned on him.
'What am I even doing? I shouldn't be wasting Pony's time like this when I know she'd rather be studying.'
As reason set in and he remembered that she did indeed have better things to be doing he was about retract his request.
But before Midoriya could even speak he heard the blonde seemingly getting up from her bed and moving about to gather stuff together.
"Of course! I'll be over soon Izuku! You know I would much rather be spending time together with you then studying! Oh! I'll gather some board games! Those are always fun!"
The boy only grew more confused as he heard the excitement not only in her voice but in her actions. He flinched upon hearing what sounded like glass breaking.
"Are you ok?!" He immediately started to panic fearing the worst outcome as usual.
Hearing no verbal response but rather the pained groans of the blonde didn't help to console him either.
"Nrrh... urhh... Y-yeah I-Im fine... Sorry I just got a little reckless hehe..."
Midoriya was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as he heard a bit of her usual chipper self at the end there.
"Listen you really don't have to come. I was being inconsiderate of your time... please don't let me hinder your studies." The boy said with his usual sense of remorse when he felt like a burden to those he cared for.
Once again all he could hear was the sounds of crashing and bashing amongst the chaos and even Pony's unique trotting like sound as she raced around her room.
"Sorry I couldn't hear you. Say again?"
"I said you really don't ne-"
Now not entirely sure what had gotten into her he paused mid sentence as he heard the door slam rather loudly.
"Sorry I still couldn't hear you!" The blonde obnoxiously yelled into phone.
"I said you really should focus on your studies. I don't know what had hotten into me when I called. I was being selfish." Midoriya repeated now feeling even worse as he thought of all the progress his devout friend could be making in preparation for any sort of arduous challenges throughout the hero couse.
Now the boy could only hear the sound of her heavy and excitable breathing and her merciless feet dashing through the halls.
"Im so sorry Izuku! I couldn't hear you over the sound of me racing over to see you!"
Anxiety boiled over and the boy was about to repeat himself far more aggressively and insistently until he paused mid response.
Slowly calming himself the boy walked over to his window hoping not to see what he was half expecting.
Sure enough he could see an orange and yellow blur in the distance moving at near untraceable speeds.
"I'll... uhh... see you soon... I guess?"
Midoriya hung up the phone knowing she likely wasn't listening fully to anything he had to say and that he couldn't sway her from this choice either.
With nothing left to do he simply sat on his bed and waited for her to arrive.
Pony reached the Class A dorms in record time and knocked on the door as she rested her hands against her knees while panting from exhaustion.
A few second later Mina opened the door and looked at the girl while tilting her head in confusion.
"Your a student from another class I'm sure... but umm... who exactly are you?" The girl asked in confusion.
After a few moments the blonde managed to recover and recompose herself.
"That doesn't matter, I'm here to see Izuku. Can you take me to him?"
The look of confusion only grew as the girl couldn't help but wonder how this stranger knew of her friend and classmate.
"Oh hey Pony, didn't realize that was you. What're you doing here so late?" Tsuyu casually asked while seemingly genuinely pleased by the abrupt visit.
The horn user perked up and no longer thinking of her actions violently pushed past the pink skinned girl causing her to hit her head against the door frame and groan in annoyance.
"Oh My God Tsuyu! So glad to see you! Where's Izuku?!" Pony happily and joyously said while hugging the frog girl.
Tsuyu smiled endearingly while embracing her friend from work studies and looked over past her head.
"It's ok Mina, she's from Class B. I think Midoriya has been helping her study or something like that."
Mina narrowed her eyes curiously while closing the door.
"My bad, I don't really interact with the kids from Class B... like at all. Anyways, you want me to escort you to his room? He like totally dashed in there as soon as he got home." The pink skinned said with an affectionate smile.
Pony let go of Tsuyu and immediately turned around while nodding in affirmation to the generous and cordial offer.
"Yes please Mina. Sorry I was bit rambunctious just now... I'm just dying to see him, ever since he asked me to come over I just got so excited." The blonde reluctantly admitted in embarrassment.
Mina couldn't help but giggle as she took the girls hand and pulled her along down the halls while waving back to her friends.
"Midoriya never told me he was hiding such a cutie right here on campus... So you just have to tell me, are you guys dating?"
Pony blushed immediately upon hearing this and shook her head insistent that there was nothing romantic going on.
"No of course not! We're just friends... really really good friends." She nervously said while covering her face in shame.
The two girls eventually made it to Midoriya's room and Mina just brazenly slammed her fist against the door.
"Yo Midoriya! There's a super cute girl here to see you so stop acting all antisocial and get out here!"
Upon hearing the pink skinned girl Pony had to resist the urge to curl up in humiliation and instead opted to face palm herself feeling as though the last of her dignity had been burnt away.
"Coming!"
It didn't take the green haired boy long to answer the door before he found himself looking between the two.
"Thankyou for showing her up here Mina, I really appreciate it." He said with the utmost respect and gratitude.
Mina chuckled heartily while playfully punching the boy in the arm.
"Don't mention it... Although if you'd like to show me how grateful you really are..."
Fear gripped Midoriya's heart as his devilish friend paused dramatically and shined him a mischievous smile that promised nothing good.
"You could tell me exactly what you two were planning on doing tonight in this room... all alone... by yourselves."
Midoriya immediately blushed while growing speechless from the remark. Even a gullible prude like him had no issue discerning the less than wholesome thoughts that were given away by her suggestive tone.
"Alright! Your a real fucking charmer Mina, but I think it's time you mind your own business for a change!" Pony said while pushing the mischievous girl away and slamming the door behind her with Midoriya by her side.
Mina looked back at the door with indifference as she processed what just happened. Moments later she smirked while walking away from the scene.
"I like her, definitely not gonna give up on getting that juicy little scoop, but for now I better give the love birds their alone time."
After clearing her mind of Mina's provocation's Pony looked around in amazement as she took in the sight of the boy's room.
"Wow, this is amazing. I think your an even bigger All Might fan than me."
Midoriya chuckled nervously while sitting down on the floor against his bed.
"Well... I am a huge fan of his, I always fear that people will be a bit unsettled seeing all this merch displayed around the place."
Pony set her brown handbag down and pulled out a board game before setting it between the two of them.
"Wanna start with some checkers? We can ease our way into the more challenging games as time goes on." She suggested.
Midoriya happily nodded while watching her pull out all the pieces and handing him the red chips while keeping black for her side and setting up the game.
"Since your the guest why don't you have the first move?" Midoriya offered.
"Sure."
Starting things off Pony moved one of her pieces forward.
"So why did you invite me over? I mean... I'm flattered, but you've never done that before." Pony casually asked.
Midoriya pushed forth his own piece on the opposite side of the board.
"Well... something bad happened tonight... I was attacked by a villain and things got a little too heated."
Pony immediately looked to be concerned and horrified by the fact but still moved her piece forward and ended her turn.
She could see much doubt and sadness in the boy's eyes but chose to listen for the time being.
"Honestly I nearly died... again. This time I had no one to save me, but the villain was far weaker than Rappa in a physical sense."
Midoriya once again moved another piece, this time from the second row.
"But what's really bugging me... is how I responded. I did something... rather unheroic."
Pony looked up in fearful wonder as he grew notably disturbed upon mentioning such a thing. She absentmindedly moved a piece, now not so interested in the game itself.
"What happened?" She asked with the utmost seriousness.
The boy clasped his hands together while looking down at the board with a thoughtful expression.
"Well... the villain got me in a chokehold... and I noticed a gash in his stomach from earlier in the battle... and well... I kinda used it to hurt him."
The horn user listened intently while seemingly keeping a neutral look devoid of any sort of judgement.
"He's close to getting put on a death bed... and it's my fault. I'm scared to have his blood on my hands... how can I call myself a hero after something like that?"
Pony grimaced as she saw the fear and despair in the boy's eyes as he recounted the details of the attack.
Just as he finished Midoriya looked down and shuttered as he felt a heavy weight baring down on his soul, but he was surprised yet again as Pony gently grasped his hand.
"I don't know what to tell you, there's no clear answer or decisive response that could make everything all better in an instant... but I want you to know that it'll be ok. I'm going to be here and I am going to help you through it all."
Seeing the gentle and kind smile of the horn user broke something inside the boy.
Something he'd intentionally been trying to repress ever since he stopped the incident at the pier.
Midoriya started to sob uncontrollably and unrelentingly as he hugged the blonde while abruptly messing up the game in the process.
Pony let out a sad and remorseful frown as she gently embraced the damaged boy and let him cry into her shoulder.
"Your the single most important person in my life Izuku, I would fight tooth, nail, and horn to keep you safe... and if the whole world turned against you tomorrow, then you can bet on me being in your corner to help tackle anything... the thought of losing you... it's unbearable."
The boy started to gradually calm down in her caring embrace and felt at ease upon hearing such soothing words, but he winced in surprise as her grip suddenly tightened severely.
"Im never going to let you die... p-please... forgive me for not being there tonight."
Midoriya felt a tinge of sadness wash over him as he heard her own pain leak through that one line.
"I would never hold it against you..." He quietly muttered while letting the horn user cling to him.
After some time the two finally seperated and Pony seemed to be fidgeting uncomfortably with an awkward expression.
"Sooo... I know we just had a moment and all... buuttt... c-could you maybe... take a shower? I don't know what you did out there but you stink like a rotting corpse."
Midoriya felt his heart sink in a moments notice as he heard the worst thing anyone ever could after spending so much time alone in a small space with a valued companion.
"Oh god I'm so sorry. I didn't think about that... I'll take one immediately... Dammit I can't believe I just ignorantly subjected you to something so terrible."
The boy grabbed a fresh change of clothes and promptly left the room giving Pony some much needed privacy after things nearly fell apart.
'It may have been a mistake to come here... the room is permeating with his delicious scent...'
With a cautious glare she waited a while till she was sure he was gone and got up to lock the door before finally turning her attention towards the clothes hamper.
With a dark blush and a glazed over look in her eyes the horn user sauntered over to the container and pulled out a dirty shirt before giving it an inappropriately long sniff.
"You really are the most important person in my life..."
And that's the chapter, hope everyone enjoyed it.