- The Next Day -
We were all back in class now, just two days after villains attacked us, acting as if we were normal students. I had spent a good portion of the day yesterday cleaning, after turning down the maid service that came by. Because of that I hadn't talked to anyone from class since, although I did receive a few thank you texts which were very kind.
Today I had arrived close to the bell as usual and hadn't yet talked to Jiro. She wasn't even looking at me. Did I make a mistake? Should I have called her yesterday? Oh no, I may have inadvertently missed part of the social contract. I was ready to speak when the morning bell went off.
The door to our class opened. I think many of us wondered who would be filling in, given the severity of the injuries Eraserhead had suffered at the USJ. To our utter shock, in walked Aizawa Sensei. His face was fully bandaged and his arm in a cast. In fact most of him seemed to be in some level of repair.
"Settle down class." Came the familiar order from the mummy.
It fell quiet, much to his pleasure. "Now I know we've had a bit of excitement, but you need to sort out your thoughts now." Everyone seemed to be on the same page and stayed respectfully silent.
"I have an important announcement to deliver. In just two short weeks you will all have the honor of participating in the annual UA Sports Festival."
The mood shifted dramatically. Easy to understand why, the UA Sports Festival is one of the most popular broadcasted events in the world! We would all literally be on TV showing off for everyone.
Aizawa continued uninterrupted, "This is your first chance to make an impression. Pros from all over the world are going to be arriving to scout young heroes for potential. If you do well enough you will get your choice of agencies where you can intern, and maybe even work after graduation. If you do poorly however, you can also be removed from the heroics course."
Most people were unsettled and brought back down from their hype when they heard the last part. It's only natural though. Why wouldn't they swap you out for someone who could perform better as a hero? The test we took initially was very subjective after all, not taking a lot of things into account; including growth during our training so far.
A good, balanced class should be able to recon, rescue, and fight even if you divide into teams. Some of that relies on everyone to at least be capable in two areas, and at their best in one. I'm unfortunately only a fighter with my quirk. I can assist in a rescue, but mostly through combat. And nothing about my quirk makes me stealthy, other than my ability to destroy cameras and tech.
Aizawa hadn't finished talking yet, "As of today you will all have two weeks to train and prepare for the festival. Make sure you use them wisely."
With that he turned and shuffled out the door, surely stifling the pain for our sake. There was a moment of silence before cheering broke out. Everyone else saw this as their chance to stand out and get recognized by a major hero agency.
"Oh shit..." I said under my breath. A major hero agency, and pros from all over the world? No... It's almost improbable that he won't show up for something like this. Great, welcome back... Dad.
Sudden shouting broke me out of my own thoughts. It was an almost over the top aggressive tone. I expected Bakugo, or maybe Iida if rules were on the line, but it was actually Uraraka. She was fist pumping, jumping, and really getting into the competitive spirit.
- At Noon -
Ugh, the day was only half over, but it felt like I'd been here a full day already. I knew the root cause, my father. There were numerous reasons I didn't want him to come, and I somehow knew everything concerning me right now would happen regardless.
I was on my way downstairs when I heard Iida's voice. "Uraraka, you certainly embodied a sense of vigor during the announcement this morning."
She cut in sounding embarrassed, "yeah, sorry about that. I just got excited seeing the goal line of hero work so close."
Midoriya chimed in, "I can feel that. What makes you want to be a hero anyway?"
"Oh... Ummm..." The bubbly girl hesitated.
"Certainly not necessary to tell us something so personal if you don't wish to!" Iida tried to save.
That's when it struck me that I was accidentally eavesdropping on the conversation. I was ready to turn and reroute myself when she spoke again.
"Honestly it's for the money."
What she said caught me off guard. Yes, that's why some people do it, but it's always felt so shallow. Like making people pay for a necessity.
"That's a perfectly valid reason. Being a hero to make a living is a respectable life choice" Iida replied.
Of course he'd think so. It didn't take much work to connect Tenya with the rest of his pro hero, speed based family, which runs their own agency. But, I couldn't help but feel like he didn't believe his own words. A lot like myself back at home, whenever dad had a big save or an interview.
"It's actually so I can help my parents." Ochako said, pulling my attention back to their conversation. "They run a construction business, but jobs aren't easy to come by, especially without a hero license. I grew up poor and wanted to help ever since I was a kid, but my father always insisted that I 'follow my dreams'. This is my way of doing both."
I could almost hear the emotion coming from her words. Instantly I felt ashamed. I had jumped to the conclusion of typical Fame and Fortune when it was really just to help her family get by. This was a quality of life improvement, not a shameless cash grab.
I heard the abrupt, booming voice of All Might, "Young Midoriya! Just who I was looking for! Would you join me for a moment?"
Deku agreed and they peeled off. What did they have to talk about? Similar powers, so maybe Deku asked for private training?
I was still stuck in place and I was willing my body to move even just one step further down the stairs when I heard Iida mention he needed to grab some books. She was alone now. I needed to go.
As I rounded the platform I could see her standing alone, just looking out the window at campus. Or perhaps beyond?
"Uraraka!" I unintentionally shouted.
She jumped, clearly spooked, and turned to face me. "Decklin?! Don't scare me like that."
Behind the exhale of relief and pretending to wipe her forehead, she tried to clean up her tears.
At face to face distance she hadn't done enough to hide them, but I wasn't going to be the one to say anything. What I decided at that moment was to be a normal person in her life, and not someone trying to "make it better". It's what I'd want.
"Sorry." I said with a little laugh. "You're the only classmate I've seen this break. Want to grab some lunch?"
"Oh?" Her face reddened just a little. "I, uh, I actually brought some food."
"You sure?" I prodded. "My treat, to celebrate."
She perked up a little. I figured her budget had to be tight with her family situation.
"Well..." She thought for a moment, before a genuine smile returned to her face. "I guess so."
Lunch was illuminating. I learned more about her childhood, her quirk, and her family in a relatively short time.
"So if your family is that far away, you can't be making that commute every day, right?" I asked, while still clumsily figuring out chopsticks.
"No. I am staying in a little apartment on the edge of town." She replied in between bites.
"By yourself?"
"Yup! It's not a special place, but it has a little kitchen and a bed and that's all I need!" I wasn't sure who she was convincing now, me or herself.
Then it struck me: why not just offer for her to come stay at my place? I've got the open rooms and it's free. That would probably help right?
Now the hard part, how do I ask this? I fiddled with my chopsticks more. I never can get my stupid body to push through any level of awkwardness.
"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked, looking over, a bit concerned.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm just really bad with these." I laughed jostling the sticks.
"Right! You aren't used to these yet?" She replied, trying not to smile too much.
"No, and I'm afraid I may never learn. My hands just do not know what to do and I spill everywhere." I said, admitting defeat. I'd tried daily to figure out the mechanics, but always caved and grabbed conventional silverware.
She reached into her bag, then across the table to take my utensils. After a short moment she returned them, a hair tie wrapped around the back end.
My confused look must have conveyed the thought because she explained, "It will teach you how to grip without overextending the back ends."
I was questionable, but I tried and it worked. I actually was holding food. I laughed a little loud, and then hurriedly settled down.
"Thank you." I whispered, for no reason.
She gave me a thumbs up and we continued talking, except... I never did ask her about moving in. Chicken shit...
- End of the School Day -
The last bell had just rang and we were having small talk when Mina opened the door and shrieked. We all looked in her direction, seeing the sea of students blocking the doors and crowding the halls.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Class President himself shouted.
"Isn't it obvious?" Bakugo growled, "They're here to see the class who beat the villains. After all, they are up against us in the festival."
The other students stood as still as they possibly could, as if confronted by a T-rex.
Bakugo clearly wasn't having it, yelling "Get outta the way ya damn extras!"
Iida moved in to scold our classmate, but was cut off himself.
"Y-you know we could easily take your place in the heroics course!" One bravely shouted from the back
I initially didn't care, but now I was feeling that competitive energy build up for the first time in a while. I couldn't help but get right up into the mix.
"I'd like to see you try!" I laughed towards them. "I could clear this hallway in seconds." I threatened, letting my eyes glow their vibrant blue.
The crowd shrank back, but Bakugo stepped up to match my position. "I'll do it twice as fast." He shot, looking over to me. I couldn't help but reply with a twisted sneer of a smile. We both looked into the crowd, eyes lit, and small explosions popping off.
"Hmmm! So this is all Class 1-A is? I thought you'd be something more than arrogant." Retorted this short little blonde shit with a 1-B identifier.
"What?!" Raged Bakugo.
"Just make sure not to embarrass the UA name at the festival." He jabbed before walking away.
The crowd saw that as their que to scurry away and the hall was quickly left empty. There were mummers in the classroom behind us.
"I didn't ask for your help." Bakugo stated, straightening up his posture and looking away.
"I wasn't offering any. You don't own competitive personality." I replied, holding up a fist so the class couldn't see.
He scoffed, "We'll see about that." Before pushing my hand back dismissively.
I laughed a little to myself. "He's a tough nut to crack."
Leaving the main doors I could see Uraraka, she was talking to Jiro. Two pieces of unfinished business in one, maybe my luck isn't so bad. I jogged down the steps waving in their direction.
"Hey!" I called out.
Uraraka turned, smiled, and waved back. Jiro however turned away fast and speed walked in the opposite direction. So there was something wrong after all. She was long gone by the time I reached my other classmate.
"What's up, Decklin?" Ochaco chirped.
"Oh, uh, I, uh..." I stammered, still unprepared for this. She looked at me and tilted her head a little.
Deep breath. "I'm sorry." I stated, a bit loudly.
"F-for what?" She replied, leaning back a little.
"I accidentally overheard your conversation with Iida and Midoriya before lunch. I wasn't trying to, and now I just feel like a bad person." I answered, honest though emotional.
"Earlier? A bad person?" She thought, her finger on her chin. "Oh! My reason for being a hero? Don't feel bad about that! It's my goal and I'm not shy about it anymore."
"But... I didn't do what I should have done at the start." I muttered.
"Do?" She responded. "There's nothing you need to do."
"I can help though, and I never said anything, even after you were so nice to me." Now I was just sulking.
"Seriously, there's nothing I need." She said to reassure me.
I couldn't handle the anxiety building in my chest, my courage still failing at the wrong times. I had enough breath to maybe say a sentence before it would try to shut me down, so I made a final push.
"Move in with me!" Again a bit loud.
This time she physically took a step back, looking around. "Whoa whoa whoa! I- I don't..." She was verbally hung up.
I felt light headed, a rush of blood finally moving around my brain again. "Not like that! Not that… I just… it's..." I took a second breath, with the hard part now over.
"I'm just offering to let you have one of the rooms at my place. You probably wouldn't see me much, and it would save you on rent, plus time on the daily trek to school."
She relaxed some. "You have a place with a spare room?"
"Actually, it has two spare rooms." I corrected, without thinking.
She was back to shocked. "What?!"
"You can come see for yourself if you want." I offered, holding out the keys. "It's only like five minutes from here."
I saw the wheels turning, probably not super trusting of the guy she barely knows, who happens to have a place, and is as weird as I am.
"Okay." She said hesitantly. "Lead on."
I thought her eyes got big when she saw the courtyard, but then on the steps going up she started to dance a little, and now through the door she was in awe. It was a familiar look, seen on my last visitors.
"So my bedroom is on the right. Yours could be either one on the left. Bathroom is between them, I have my own..." I started droning on.
"Is this your kitchen?" She exclaimed.
"Uh, yeah?" I answered.
"A microwave, stove, oven, toaster, sink, blender, dishwasher, and a fridge?" She started poking around.
"I thought you said you had a kitchen?" I questioned.
"Not like this! It's a mini fridge and a countertop stove!" She clarified.
Was that normal here? My perceptions are still super skewed from being raised in the Americas. I really should do some research I guess.
She gasped sharply after opening the fridge door. "Is... Is that..." Her head swiveled towards me. "Is your fridge full of mochi?" She finished.
"Huh? Oh that!" I laughed, having forgotten my previous dumb mistake. "I thought mochi was ice cream."
She shook her head aggressively. "No! It's a magical food." Was she drooling?
"Are you going to eat all this?" She gestured.
"God no." I could see her interest. "You can have it all if you want."
Her whole face lit up, she clapped her hands together in excitement and started floating. "All that mochi? Just for me? Hehe."
I thumbed her belt loop, pulling her back to the ground and shielding my eyes before her skirt could drift up.
I heard her surprise followed by a soft squeak of embarrassment. "Release." The sound of her shoes touching tile reassured me that I could look. Her face was now a bright red and she was avoiding eye contact.
"So? What are your thoughts?" I asked, taking my hand away from her waist and trying to lighten it up.
"It's... Really nice. But I think it's way out of my price range even if I split the rent with you." She said, a bit disappointed.
"Rent? Well half of zero is zero, so I hope that's not too expensive." I informed with a bit of a smile.
"Really?! There's no way you don't pay rent, especially on a place this nice!" She replied skeptically.
"Well technically my father owns it, but that still means no rent." I explained as little as I could.
"Your dad? Where is he?" Came more questions.
"Uhhhh, he's back in America. I don't expect to be seeing him here though. Too busy with his job back home." Again trying not to be specific.
"So it's just you here?" She asked, seemingly concerned.
"Yup. Not unlike yourself. That's part of why I offered." I smiled before turning sideways. "It would help right?"
She doubled over laughing. "Omigod! You really are a fit for the hero course! You're too focused on helping people. Relax or you'll never take care of yourself."
"You're one to talk." I said through a fake pout before laughing.
We spent an hour or so talking and showing her around. She seemed to really like it. However, she obviously wanted to talk to her parents about it first. That was entirely understandable. I even offered to meet them and let them get to know me.
The other problem was that she didn't have much furniture to make a room complete, and both of mine were empty. So I lied, but just a little, saying that it was only waiting on delivery for a day I had off.
Not my problem. It's my father's place and I'll just tell him I can't have guests without beds. He may think I'm talking about him, but I won't correct him. In the end: Heroes like him have deep pockets.
So we set some loose plans. It seems her dad would be coming up to see her in the festival, and that would give us time to talk and get her moved over if he agreed. I told her to use my place if she wanted to do anything special for him, since she had talked about cooking earlier.
It was starting to get dark when Uraraka left, but she said she'd be ok. I gave her my number and saw her out. It was only a few minutes later I received a text that simply read: "Thanks! :)"
I chuckled and shook my head. Thumbing the back button I saw my main text screen and remembered crucial information. Shit! I still haven't texted Jiro! Why am I so scatterbrained?
I typed quickly, like it made a difference, "Jiro, hope everything is ok. Haven't talked to you since you were out here at my place. Wanted to make sure I didn't do something really dumb and make you mad."
Was this a stupid message? Surely? But am I an idiot in social situations? Absolutely. I thought hard on how to make it better, but came up with nothing. I had to close my eyes to press the send button.
A reply came quickly, "You're an idiot."
No context, great. "I'm sorry?"
"Don't apologize!"
"Then... I'm not sorry?"
"You're so clueless!"
"I think we're just going around in circles now."
Radio silence. Oh boy, here comes that sweet sweet anxiety again.
"Are you training tomorrow?" Sudden topic change?
"Yes. Isn't everyone?" I replied
"Training room 13, after school."
"What? Are you going to beat me up for my lunch money?" A bad joke.
"Just be there, stupid." Not received well. Got it. Guess I just wait now?
(That's it for this brief intermission, which is setting up a lot of moves for later down the line. Next chapter is looking like it will be pretty close to this in length, but 95% of it will only feature two characters!)