"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The deafening silence that filled the room did nothing to help the six dejected students reeling from their match.. After the first match between teams A and H, the next group to be picked had been teams F and J.
A few students, after the incredible first match, had been expecting more of the same, especially since this would be a three-on-three fight. The reality, however, had been very different.
Minoru looked like a mummy, wrapped up in rolls of Hanta's tape. What's worse is that he was stuck to Mashirao tail, who himself was covered in tape and purple sticky orbs. Rikido still had large chunks of floor and wall stuck to him after trying to rush headlong into the building and getting stuck right away. Medical bots were still trying to help the three, but none of the solvents they had tried proved successful.. Minoru thought they could cut him free of the tape at least; he didn't want to be anywhere near the others when they finally got unstuck.
While those three looked pretty pathetic, no one was going to say anything bad about poor Hanta; Hanta was sitting in a far corner of the room with his arms wrapped around himself, rocking back and forth, covered from head to toe in tiny scratches and bite marks. In the silence, everyone could hear him muttering to himself, "Rats. Why were there so many rats? Stop please; I'm not cheese."
Even Katsuki was not cruel enough to give him a hard time after that had happened to him. Though everyone took to heart a valuable lesson. When you have huge unpopulated cities as training facilities, you will inevitably have rats and other animals that move in. Which, while useful if you have a quirk that lets you control them, is downright terrifying if you are on the other end.
Of all the downed students, Yuga, who had been captured first right off the bat, had clearly gotten off the lightest, suffering only from an upset stomach which was already getting better thanks to some medicine Ochako kept in her belt to help herself if she needed it. It didn't take long for him to, at the very least, start glimmering again. Sparkling would take a little longer to come back.
Only Koji remained unscathed. Having stayed outside the building and sending in his little army of animals in his place to find the bomb and then hurrying up to it, making sure to avoid all the purple balls that Minoru had stuck everywhere.
"Questions?"
The class looked at the sorry state of their classmates and shook their heads.
"MVP?"
"Koda!"
"I agree. Next round?"
"Yes!"
Koji smiled, happy to have been selected.
Once the building had been cleared of all sticky balls and deemed rat-free, All Might reached into his lottery boxes to determine the teams for the next match.
"Team B. will be the heroes, and Team D. will play the villains!"
"Fucking finally." Katsuki smirked as he pushed off against the wall he had been leaning on, "Now I can show you losers how a fight is supposed to go. Come on Four-Eyes, let's go."
Tenya's eye twitched at the brash way Katsuki spoke while he, Shouto and Mezo followed All Might out of the room. As Tenya started to follow after them, Izuku and Ochako patted him on the back in sympathy and moral support.
"Good luck out there, Iida," Izuku said, trying to assure his friend.
"Thank you, Midoriya. I'm sure now that it's our turn, I think Bakugou will take this seriously and we will be just fine."
Hitoshi wasn't sure he bought that, "You think, or you hope?"
Himiko snickered.
Izuku tried to come up with something to say to reassure Tenya, "Look at it this way: since you're on his team, you shouldn't have to worry about getting exploded."
"Shouldn't!?"
"Won't. You won't need to worry about getting exploded."
Not at all reassured, but not wanting to fall behind, Tenya left.
"Sooo," Eijiro started, "this is going to be a bloodbath right? You guys see how excited Bakugou looked to finally throw down?"
Hitoshi reluctantly agreed, "Yeah, Todoroki and Shoji are going to have their hands full."
Izuku didn't say anything as he kept looking down the hallway, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. Ochako could see the wheels turning in his head, "Hey, what you thinkin' about? You got that look that screams 'I'm overthinking.'"
Izuku wrung his hands together, embarrassed, "Am I that easy to read?"
Ochako, Hitoshi, and Himiko all answered immediately, "Yes."
Izuku couldn't help but laugh softly at their quick response, "I guess I do tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve."
"Deku, you don't just wear them, you put them on a sign and wave them around for the whole world to see."
"So what gives?" Hitoshi asked.
"I was a little distracted thinking about the match is all."
"What about it? You worried about what Kirishima said? About it being a bloodbath?"
"If you're worried about the match, don't be. All Might said he would stop the matches if things get out of hand. So Todoroki and Shoji should be just fine." Ochako said as she tried to assuage Izuku's worries, though now that she thought about it, she couldn't help but worry for Shouto and Mezo.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Izuku shook his head "That's not it really. I'm more worried about Iida and Kacchan, honestly."
Several of his classmates turned to look at Izuku after he said that. Himiko tilted her head to the side, "You're gonna have to explain that one I think."
"Well, remember the test the other day? After the sprint, Iida said he wasn't able to get up to speed in such a short distance. Those hallways aren't that much longer than the track, so his speed is going to be really limited. Plus the halls are narrow, so he won't have very much room to move around to avoid any attacks."
Ochako had to admit Izuku had a good point. Tenya was clearly at his best when he had room to freely move about. "But," and it made her almost physically sick to say this, "He has Bakugou on his team. He should be able to compensate for that issue."
Oh god, did I just compliment Bakugou? Urg, I feel so dirty.
"Well maybe, but didn't you see how stressed Kacchan looked?"
"Um, his default setting is stressed."
Izuku shook his head, "While that's not untrue, this is different. He seemed off. Distracted. That's not like him. When he has a goal, it's all he focuses on. Right now though…"
Izuku trailed off, leaving his friends and classmates to wonder just how the next match was going to go.
Katsuki seethed as he stood in the room with the faux bomb. Behind him, he could hear Tenya still talking about plans and strategies, but he wasn't listening. Because nothing he said mattered.
"Will you shut up already? We don't need any kind of stupid plan. Haven't I made that clear already? Or are you blind and deaf?"
Tenya gasped at Katsuki, taken aback by his rudeness, "Just because I wear glasses does not make me blind. And if anyone should be accused of not listening it's you. It would be foolish to go into this fight without a plan, as I have said multiple times."
Katsuki rolled his eyes, "You sound like fucking Deku."
"Yes, and he won his match."
Gritting his teeth, Katsuki turned to glare at Tenya, " .Know."
He won, and the whole fucking class was eating out of his hand. They almost ran out of time and everyone was still singing their praises. I'll show these extra's what a real win looks like. Then they'll see how worthless that lying piece of shit really is.
"Fine, you want to have a plan. Here's what we'll do. You stay here, and guard the bomb. I'll head out and destroy those other two."
"That's not a plan!"
"Oh, will you just shut up and stop acting like a damned bitch already!"
"Maybe you should stop acting like a brute, and more like a hero!"
"Team B. you are cleared to enter the building! The match starts now!"
"FINALLY!" Katsuki didn't wait around another second. As fast as he could, he bolted out the door leaving Tenya alone.
How someone like that got into U.A. I will never understand... AND this is the kind of person that Midoriya said he had a complicated history with. I know I promised I wouldn't pry, but I can't even imagine what kind of past those two have.
Tenya shook his head and closed the door Katsuki had left wide open when he had run out.
No point in worrying about it now. I need to at least do something to prepare this room in case one or both of our opponents get past Bakugou.
With Tenya left behind and forgotten, Katsuki raced down the halls in search of his prey. Stealth, plans, and any kind of strategies were far from Katsuki's mind. He was focused on only one thing: finding his opponents and crushing them into the dirt, where they belonged.
At least, that's what he told himself he should be thinking about.
In truth, Katsuki's mind was in turmoil. In the span of just two days, the very foundation of everything he believed in had been shaken and was threatening to crumble apart. The cause of this was one person.
Izuku Midoriya.
Izuku, who didn't have the good sense to keep his face in the dirt where it belongs.
To play the role of stepping stone like he should.
To fade away and be forgotten as the worthless loser he really was.
Izuku, who lied to him for years.
Who hid his power behind a condescending little smile.
Who had used the worst day of his fucking life to his own advantage.
Who ruined his dream of being the only person to make it out of that shit school and into U.A.
Izuku, who suddenly was showing him up every chance he could.
First place in the entrance exam.
Beating him in the ball throw.
Winning the first match and trying to steal the glory that was supposed to be his.
Did he think it was funny? Had he been laughing behind his back this whole time?
Had that bitch Ochako been in on it too? Had she been duped by him, or was she part of the lie? It honestly didn't matter. She had clearly taken advantage of Izuku's lie to advance herself. She would clearly do anything to advance. It made him wonder, to really think. How had she gotten such a high score? You can't fake villain points, but those rescue points. Which judge gave them to her?
Who had she told a sob story to?
Who had she begged to?
Who did she bribe?
Who did she bend over for?
In the end, it didn't matter. She was in his way, so he'd destroy her like the rest. He'd destroy her, Izuku, that fucking fanged bitch, and all his classmates. They were just stepping stones. There for him to walk over as he ascended to glory. To become the next number one hero.
Nothing is going to stop me. I'll show them. I'll show all of them what a real hero is like. I'll be number one, and leave them all behin-!
A sudden blast of cold was the only warning Katsuki got before a wave of ice rushed through the whole hall, freezing everything in its path: walls, ceilings, floor and finally Katsuki himself.
"Wh-what!?"
Frost covered Katsuki's whole body, and his feet were frozen to the floor. The sudden cold was strong enough to knock the wind out of him, and leave him dazed and shivering. Though only for a few moments. Sucking in a deep breath, and ignoring how much the cold air hurt his lungs, Katsuki used an explosion to shatter the ice around himself, freeing his feet.
"Half-and-Half bastard! You think that's going to stop me!"
Taking off running, Katsuki searched the floor, looking for Shouto, but could not find him before he made it to the stairwell. Leaping down a flight, Katsuki exploded the door in front of him, frowning when he found that this floor was frozen as well.
The fuck? This place is frozen too? Did...did he freeze the whole building?
Izuku's jaw, as well as everyone else's, was on the floor.
"Holy crap!" Mina exclaimed
"He actually froze the whole building. That is insane," Eijiro said in amazement.
"I mean, I know he's a recommended student, but wow," Hitoshi shook his head.
"His dad has a super powerful quirk. Some of the stuff he can do is really incredible, and scary. Todoroki must have that same power level, but with ice." Izuku reasoned.
"Well," Ochako started as she watched the screens with Katsuki on them, "looks like Bakugou can just blast through it though."
"It's not the ice Kacchan has to be worried about."
Ochako, along with Hitoshi, and Himiko glanced over at izuku.
"It's the cold."
Ochako's brow scrunched together as she thought that over. Trying to recall exactly how Katsuki's quirk worked. When she did, her eyes went wide.
A new blast of cold hit Katsuki, followed by a new layer of ice. Katsuki snarled and blasted his way through, keeping himself free of frost. The cold, though? There was no no protecting himself from the cold. He couldn't stop himself from shaking now, and worse, his arms and hands were numb. His explosions only gave his palms the briefest flashes of heat, before it quickly faded.
"You're going to have to do better than that! You hear me bastard!?"
Katsuki pushed on, dropping down floor by floor, ignoring the cold the best that he could. Ignoring the fact that he couldn't stop his teeth from chattering. Ignoring the fact that the closer he got to the first floor, the weaker his explosions were becoming.
Once he had reached the second floor and finding that floor iced over and freezing cold as well, Katsuki finally admitted to himself that he might be in a tiny bit of trouble.
"Mother fucking shit! How much ice can one bastard make!?"
"As much as I need."
Alarmed, Katsuki turned and saw Shouto standing at the end of another hallway.
"YOU!"
Katsuki started running at him, but Shouto didn't let him get far. From his right foot, a wave of solid ice rocketed out. Katsuki raised his hands, intending to blow it away, but to his horror, only a small puff of smoke and a few sparks came from his palms. He was too cold to make anymore sweat. This realization hit him only slightly less hard than the ice that ripped him off the floor and slammed him against the wall, leaving him stuck against it.
Katsuki struggled, tried and failed to make an explosion to free himself, slammed his fists on the ice holding him, but nothing worked. He was stuck.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"
Shouto kept his distance, as he watched Katsuki fight to free himself. When it became clear that he wasn't going to be able to, Shouto put a hand over his ear, and spoke into his earpiece, "Shoji, I've secured Bakugou. Please, for your safety, stay outside while I go and capture the bomb."
He's alone. He came in here ALONE!? This bastard!
Shouto turned away and started walking for the stairway. The initial shock of having someone turn their back on him, quickly snapped into a primal rage. His arms were still free, and he thought he had won? Snarling, Katsuki pointed one of his gauntlets at Shouto and yanked back the first safety on the firing mechanism, exposing the pin trigger.
"DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! THIS ISN'T OVER!"
"YOUNG BAKUGOU WAIT!"
Before Katsuki could reach for the pin, two streaks of ice encased both his arms, stopping him from being able to go through with his attack. Shouto glanced back at Katsuki, "Please try to keep calm. I'll make sure to end this match before you suffer any frostbite or hypothermia."
Shouto walked away leaving Katsuki helpless and at a complete loss. True to his word, Shouto quickly made his way up the stairs and found the room where Tenya and the bomb were located. Tenya was stuck in the middle of the room, his boots frozen to the floor, and his mufflers clogged with ice. The two boys looked at each other before Tenya slumped in defeat.
Walking by him, Shouto put his hand on the bomb. Immediately All Might declared Team B. 's victory.
"How humiliating. I didn't even have a chance to do anything."
Shouto put his left hand on the nearest wall and began to melt the ice covering the building, "Sorry, I'll have you out in a second."
Ochako felt extremely conflicted. On one hand she felt so bad for Tenya after such a one-sided loss. She was sure the poor boy's pride must have taken a massive hit. On the other hand, she was elated to get a chance to watch Bakugou get, for lack of a better term, curb stomped. He hadn't been able to do anything against Shouto, and watching the bully run into that ice again and again had brought such a smile to her face that her cheeks had started to hurt.
I wonder if I could get a recording of the fight?
When the camera had focused on Katsuki's face, when he had been freed of the ice and realized that he had been completely and utterly defeated. Oh how that had brought Ochako such joy, she almost cheered.
Almost.
She was still conscious enough to realize that cheering so openly against one of her classmates, both of her classmates since Tenya was on the same team, would look rather poor.
I wonder if I can get a freeze frame of that, get it framed and hang it on my wall. Oh maybe a poster. 12 x 12. For the whole wall… On second thought, maybe I don't want a huge picture of Bakugou on my wall.
When their classmates returned however, Ochako was startled by just how lifeless Katsuki looked. She was ready for him to be raging, complaining, or something loud, but he looked dead on his feet. Stealing a glance over at Izuku, she saw that he was just as surprised as her, and worse yet, he looked worried.
All Might walked up to Katsuki and put a hand on his shoulder while everyone was getting their questions ready. Ochako could just make out what he said to him, "Young Bakugou, looking back and learning from your experiences is a part of life, whether you win or lose; let's review the results, and see what we can learn."
Ochako couldn't help but feel angry. After everything he'd done, HE gets a pep talk from All Might to make him feel better. The very thought made her blood boil. It was only her worry for Izuku that kept her from maybe saying something she'd probably end up regretting. He was obviously worried about Katsuki and looked like he wanted to do something about it, and that brought a shiver of worry up her spine.
"So," Hitoshi began awkwardly, "We're on a team."
Momo, who had been busy surveying the room their bomb was located, looked over at Hitoshi, "Yes? We found that out a while ago. Is there a problem?"
"Nope, no problems. None at all." Hitoshi's normal monotone voice went up a few pitches as he turned away, avoiding eye contact.
Momo sighed and stopped what she was doing, "You don't have to worry. I don't hold what happened yesterday against you. Mr. Aizawa said we should use our quirks to help us do better on his test. You simply followed his rules."
"Yeah, I guess I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm expected to use my quirk on people now."
"Well I suggest you get used to it quickly, because I doubt Kirishima or Ashido will hesitate to use theirs on us."
What Momo said made sense to Hitoshi. His preconceived notions about his quirk aside, everyone in class was now being told to use their quirks on other people. They were all in the same boat, and if he didn't get over his issues, he'd be the only one left on the boat before long.
Taking a deep breath, Hitoshi steadied himself, "Alright."
"Are you ready to set up for the match then?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."
Momo could hear some hesitation, but could also see he was determined.
"Alright then. I do have a question for you."
"Shoot."
"How many people can you brainwash at a time?"
"I can control more than two people, though I never really tried past that. I can only brainwash one person at a time though. So I can't get them both at once."
Momo rubbed her chin as she thought that over, "then even if you can get one of them, if the other breaks them out of your control, we may lose the element of surprise your quirk gives us."
"I'm pretty sure I'd be able to get Kirishima undercontrol pretty easily, but leaving Ashido seems like a big risk. Her acid quirk will make stopping her tricky."
Momo nodded, "She could melt through anything we try to catch her in. She'd probably burn through the capture tape before we got it fully around her. Hmm…"
Hitoshi watched as Momo typed something onto the small computer she wore on her left glove, while at the same time images flashed over her visor, "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking up something that should help us deal with Ashido. I just need the molecular makeup, and I can recreate it."
"Oh? You that's a useful thing to have handy."
Momo smiled, "Originally I had an encyclopedia I was going to carry that had all sorts of items and their makeup in it."
"Wouldn't that be heavy?"
Momo nodded, "It was. Course that wasn't the worst part of my old design."
"Oh?"
"I left… a lot of myself exposed since if I tried to create something through clothing it tore."
Hitoshi remembered yesterday's test, and whenever Momo made something, she always had to lift up or move around her clothes to do it. Blushing Hitoshi turned away, "Oh, is that right…"
"Yes, fortunately the support team let me know they had developed a method to create a costume that wouldn't get destroyed every time I used my quirk. It's supposed to be based off of work used for one of our seniors. The cloth is made from my DNA."
"So… I won't need to leave the room if you want to make something."
"No," Momo shook her head, " I can use my quirk without worry, for the most part. I was warned that, since this is still experimental, overuse could damage it. It's why I left my thighs and back uncovered. Those are both still great places for me to pull things from."
Despite himself, Hitoshi looked over her costume, and saw that while the shoulder cape did a good job hiding it, her back was exposed. He immediately looked away, feeling a new blush creep over his face, and feeling a little ashamed of himself.
"If you're looking up something to make, I guess you have a plan then?"
Momo nodded, "Yes, if you feel you can deal with Kirishima, I should be able to deal with Ashido."
Mineta felt a cold feeling of dread fill him. Something had gone horribly wrong.
With a grunt, Eijiro kicked down the next door in the hall and stuck his head into the room, "Nope nothing in here either."
Mina rolled her eyes, "Are you going to break the door of every room we check?"
"I duno. Are you going to keep skating around with your acid shoes and melting stuff?" Eijiro said with a grin.
Mina looked back at the trail she had left, and the number of opened doors that she had melted their door knobs to open. Flashing him a smile, Mina shrugged, "okay, so maybe it's a little fun to get to use my quirk so openly."
"Just don't melt me while you're at it."
"Oh, don't be such a baby."
Eijiro was about to explain that not wanting to get acid burns did not make someone a baby, when he noticed that they were not alone in the hallway anymore. Hitoshi was walking up to them, at a leisurely pace.
"Ashido!"
"I see him. So the villain decided to come out of hiding and find us, huh?"
Hitoshi shrugged, "You weren't exactly hard to find. Just follow the racket and destruction."
Both Eijiro and Mina crouched into fighting stances. Mina looked around noticing that Hitoshi was alone, "Hey, where's Yaoyozorou?"
"Doing something a lot smarter than confronting you two. That's for sure." Hitoshi sighed dramatically, "How'd I get the short straw this time? Oh well."
Hitoshi mimicked the other team and took up a fighting stance, "Hey Kirishima, let's at least have a good fight. What do ya say?"
Eijiro smirked, "Hell yea…"
Hearing her friend trail off and go silent, Mina looked and was shocked to find him just standing next to her. Face slack and eyes glazed over.
"Hey!? HEY!? Kirishima? What's wrong with you?"
"Kirishima," Hitoshi ordered, "walk over here and give me your arm."
When Eijiro started walking, Mina looked between the two boys, "Hey what'd you do to him. You two were talking and-!"
Mina suddenly snapped her mouth shut.
They were talking, and now Kirishima is under a spell or something.
When Mina turned and glared at Hitoshi, the other boy couldn't help but be impressed with her.
She figured that out pretty quickly. Too bad she's looking the wrong way.
"ASHIDO!"
Mina's eyes went wide as she heard her name called from behind her. Whipping around, she found Momo a few paces back, pulling out an air cannon from her chest and aiming it right at her.
"Sorry, you may want to close your eyes."
Turning a valve, Momo fired the small cannon, shooting out a plume of dust that covered Mina head to toe. Mina had only just been able to take Momo's advice, and was desperately wiping the flour like substance from her face, coughing up small puffs of bitter white dust. While she was struggling, Momo threw a net over her and pulled it taught, wrapping the girl up.
Mina hopped around a bit, struggling to free herself, "Arh! I'm so going to get you for that! I'm gonna melt through this and pound both of you!"
When Mina did try to use her acid however, something completely unexpected happened to her. Every place that was covered in the strange dust foamed up, leaving the net completely undamaged.
"Hey what gives!? EEK!"
"I covered you in a neutralizing agent. Don't worry, it's non-toxic, but your acid won't be able to help you now!"
With a hard tug, Momo yanked the cord she was holding and pulled Mina over, toppeling her to the ground. Pulling out her capture tape, she was able to get it wrapped around one of Mina's ankles just as Hitoshi wrapped his tape around Eijiro's wrist.
"Villain team wins!"
Minoru weeped from behind the rest of the class, while Denki patted him on the shoulder.
"It's not fair. It's not fair."
"Come on, dude. You gotta stay strong."
Wiping his eyes, Minoru looked up at Denki pitifully, "But who would do something so horrible? Why would anyone make Yaoyorozu clothes that don't get torn up when she uses her quirk?"
Denki nodded in understanding, "We live in a cruel and twisted world, my friend. Full of mysteries we will never comprehend."
"I just wanted to see those boobs…"
Himiko felt her eye twitch, "Can I stab him? Please."
"It's time for our last two teams. I'm sure you four are ready to get started."
Just like I'm ready to call it a day. I'm going to be cutting it really close to my time here.
Himiko beamed in excitement as she clasped Izuku's hands with her own, "Izuku, you'll be cheering for me, right?"
Izuku, wishing he was still wearing his mask to hide the blush on his face, smiled and nodded, "Of course. I know you'll do great out there."
Himiko giggled and bounced from one foot to the other, "Oh that makes me so happy, Izuku. Now, how about a kiss for good luck?"
Izuku squeaked, which brought another giggle to Himiko, "Ah, still too soon, but that blushing face is just so cute; I'll take it."
Letting go of his hands, Himiko took a step back and did a perfect Rosie the Riveter pose for him, "You just watch, Izuku. I can't wait to show you what I can do."
Himiko's metal claws on her braces and hand guards seemed to glow, reflecting the light from the giant screen. Denki gulped looking at them, and at just how eager Himiko was to show off in the match. Then he looked at all the knives she was wearing, and came to one simple, obvious, conclusion.
"I'm going to get stabbed aren't I?"
"Probably," Kyoka said dryly. "Now let's go, pin cushion. We got a match to win."
"So you want us to split up?"
Himiko nodded, "Yeah. Us staying together won't do you any good. If we split up, a stealthy approach will work much better."
Tooru's glove flash Himiko a thumbs up, "Got it. Then our target should be the bomb then."
"Yep. Sneak by the other team and get our target. No muss, no fuss."
"Then in that case, I'll get super serious. Time for super stealth mode." Tooru's gloves clenched into fists, showing her determination.
Himiko looked over at the invisible girl, "How can you get more stealthy? You're invisible."
Tooru kicked off her shoes, and pulled off her gloves, "See? Super stealthy."
"So just literally naked huh?"
Himiko could hear something, Tooru's arms maybe, whooshing around in embarrassment, "Don't point it out!"
With a shrug, Himiko went back to looking over the building, "Hey I got nothing against it. Feels great, but sometimes not having everything strapped down can make moving around a little dangerous."
"Yeah well… Wait? How do you know that?"
"Hero team, you are good to engage!"
Excuse me, All Might; I have a question," Tenya asked as he watched the screens.
"Yes? What is it, Young Iida?"
"We're supposed to watch these matches and learn from the actions our classmates take on both sides. Correct?"
"That's correct. You should pay close attention to everything your classmates do. Learn from their experiences."
"But Hagakure is invisible."
All Might blinked and realized as had the rest of the class, that trying to watch what Tooru did, was going to be a challenge.
"Ah...yes… A very good point. We will just have to watch Young Toga and have Young Hagakure tell us her strategy when the match is over."
Tsuyu looked at the different screens, "Where is Toga?"
"Well she's... Um…" All Might looked from screen to screen, then began pressing buttons on his keyboard, switching to new displays that showed nothing but empty halls. Soon All Might felt the eyes of his students burning into his back.
As quickly as she could, Tooru hurried from room to room looking for the bomb. Thanks to watching all the past matches, she knew the exact dimensions of the faux weapon, and after studying the building layout, she knew there were only a few places the bomb could be. This greatly cut down on the time she would need to sweep the building.
Peeking around a corner, Tooru almost squealed in excitement. Both Kyoka and Denki were both standing guard in front of a room. All she had to do was sneak past them, and win the match. Slowly, Tooru walked around the corner and crept closer to the two. They were standing in the middle of the hall, so there was room for her to slip by on either side of them. As she got closer, she noticed that Denki was paying close attention to the other girl, and not saying anything. Which was strange, if his behavior the last couple of days since she met him was anything to go by.
Kyoka had her eyes closed, and both hands covering her ears. She looked like she was concentrating. Tooru was still several feet away when she finally saw that both of Kyoka's ear jacks were plugged into the hard floor.
Wait, she can't hear me? Can she?
Tooru's question was answered when Kyoka's eyes snapped open and she pointed right at her, "She right in the middle of the hall. About 10 feet ahead. Zap her!"
"Alright!" Denki cheered as he ran right towards where Kyoka had pointed, electrical sparks discharging all around his body, "AoE's are my specialty because I don't have to worry about aiming! Just stay back Jirou and watch the magic!"
"Oh crud!"
Denki electricity began zapping everything around him, floor, walls, ceiling, and, unfortunately for her, Tooru herself.
"Ow! Ow! OW!"
Dazed, disorientated and a little smokey, Tooru collapsed to the ground. Denki pulled out his capture tape and began to feel around for her, "Okay, now I just need to find something to wrap this aroun-! OUCH!"
Kyoka jabbed an ear jack into his side, "You back up; I'll capture her."
"Glory hog."
"No, I'm not letting you feel around while she's naked."
Denki blinked, before realization set in. He was right next to a naked girl.
Blushing, Denki turned around bashfully. Kyoka huffed and reached down to go ahead and capture Tooru when their earpieces crackled to life.
"Um hello. Sorry, not really sure how to work this thing. All Might sir, this is Toga. Over…. Am I supposed to say 'over?'"
Denki started to laugh, "She doesn't realize she's broadcasting to us too."
Kyoka frowned, "Why is she calling All Might though?"
"Ah! Young Toga!" Kyoka swore she could hear the hero mumble something about wondering where she was, "How can I be of assistance? Please remember that I can not give you any help that would give you any kind of advantage over the other team."
"Oh, no. I just wanted some clarification on a rule."
Denki scratched his head, "She's really asking stuff like that now?"
"What rule did you have a question on?"
"To win, I just have to touch the bomb right? I don't have to secure the other team like Todoroki did before he got to the bomb?"
"That's right."
"OH! Good. I was wondering because I've been with the bomb for the past like minute and you hadn't said anything. Then we win! Yay!"
"WHA!"
Denki's eyes snapped open while Kyoka jumped up in alarm, "No way!"
Running for the door, both rushed into the room to find Himiko leaning against the large faux bomb, waving at them.
Looking back into the hall, then back at Himiko, Denki looked completely lost while Kyoka was just as shocked, but a little more restrained. Her mouth was still hanging open though.
But...but I never heard her. I had this whole area bugged; how'd she stay so quiet?
"Hero team wins!"
Himiko cheered happily while Denki groaned into his hands. Tooru, now recovered from getting shocked, walked into the room, "Oh cool, we won!"
Himiko, hearing her partner gave her a thumbs up, or at least she gave her general direction a thumbs up, "Great job Hagakure! You were the perfect distraction."
"Huh? I was the distraction!?"
Denki looked absolutely confused, "Wait, she's invisible!"
"Exactly! Of course everyone is going to be looking for the invisible person. So while you two were distracted, I snuck in and found this."
While Denki and Tooru thought that over, Kyoka pointed at Himiko, "how did you even get in here? The only way in is the door."
Himiko smiled as she shrugged her shoulders, "Easily."
"So, did anyone see what the heck happened?" Mina asked the class.
A chorus of negatives were her answer.
All Might chuckled nervously to himself, trying to think of what he was going to tell Aizawa when he asked for the tape for this match.
All lead everyone to the battle ground exit before turning to address them, "Everyone, you all did excellent today for your first class. It was clear to me that you all took this mock battle seriously, and no one sustained any serious injuries either."
Izuku swore All Might looked right at him when he said that.
I'm not that bad!
Izuku then felt the side eye Ochako was giving him.
I'M NOT THAT BAD!
"I will have the video's of your matches delivered to your homeroom teacher, so expect to have your reviews by tomorrow. I will be sure to let him know I felt you each performed exemplary. So with that, I'M OFF!"
Giving the class a quick wave, All Might turned on his heel and bolted out the exit, practically leaving the class in the dust. He felt guilty about having to leave so soon, wanting to spend a little more time going over the matches with the students, as he was sure Aizawa would be much more strict in his review of them than he would. He also wanted a chance to counsel the losing teams to make sure they knew that a loss today would help them achieve wins in the future. One boy in particular he knew needed to hear it.
Young Bakugou, you are a mass of pride and self confidence, but I fear these feelings were too fragile to hold you up after your illusions have been shattered. I wish I had the time to reassure you. As your teacher it is my responsibility, but I'm at my limit. I will just have to find you later and hope you have the strength to pull yourself up.
"Man, he rushed off pretty quickly, don't you think." Hanta observed.
Ochako shared a look with Izuku. Both had a pretty good guess why All Might had hurried off like he had.
"A truly heroic exit. We should all aim to be able to do as much." Tneya said, clear reverence in his voice.
Himiko gave him a strange look, "He just ran away though?"
"Heroically."
"It's just nice to have a normal class, kero."
Many students thought back to Aizawa and his first lesson, and shuddered.
With the class now over, everyone had returned to their locker rooms to change and head home. Pulling off his gloves and starting to untie his boot, Izuku snuck a glance over at Katsuki, who was busy pulling off and collapsing his huge gauntlets. His face was still an emotionless mask. It hadn't changed much at all during the rest of the day. Izuku was beginning to really worry about him. Katsuki could be calm, when he wanted to, but there was a huge difference between calm, and what Katsuki was now. It was like his soul, his fire, had been sucked out of him.
Should I say something?
While Izuku debated over what to do, there was a commotion at the far end of the locker room that started to get the boys attention. Denki and Hanta were getting excited over something Minoru was showing them.
"There's no way that's what that is," Denki chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.
"That's the kind of thing that only happens in B-grade porno's man." Hanta added.
Minoru waved his arms excitedly, "Don't you see this is a gift from our upperclassmen! A gift any man worth his salt should be jumping at!"
Hitoshi finished pulling his over-shirt off, and looked at the three, "What are you guys going on about?"
"There's a peephole into the girls locker room over here!" Minoru said with the biggest grin imaginable.
Huh!?
Several other boys shot up.
"Wait really?" Eijiro looked aghast.
"That is the wall separating our room from the girls'." Fumikage said after a second.
Tenya's arms were a blur of motion as he pointed at the three, "You must be mistaken. This a school for heroes. No U.A. student would ever sink to such disgusting lows as to invade the privacy of a fellow classmate of the oposite sex!"
Stepping to the side so that Tenya and all the other boys could see, Minoru pointed to a small hole in the wall, at perfect peeping height. Tenya looked absolutely devastated. His mood quickly changed to outrage when Minoru stepped up to the hole, "What are you doing, Mineta? Stay away from there! You have no idea what you might see! We must report this to the faculty at once."
Minoru shook his head, "Are you crazy? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Sero is right, this kind of thing only happens in porn and hentai, and you want to throw it away?!"
"Okay dude, don't be gross."
"Yeah that's going too far, man."
"Fools! I will not be denied any longer! Yaoyorozu's bouncing breasts! Asido's great ass! Uraraka's juicy thighs-!"
"Don't you DARE!"
The sound of concrete cracking and metal shearing was the only warning Minoru and all the other boys in the locker room got before something large, heavy, and glowing bright green whipped through the air and slammed into the wall, just inches above the purple boy's head. Shocked, Minoru looked up and saw that one of the benches had been ripped out of the floor and was now very stuck, seat side flat, into the wall he was just about to place his head against.
Shakely, Minoru turned around and gulped loudly. Izuku's eyes burned, and his mouth was twisted into an ugly snarl. He was also looking right at Minoru. In the future, Minoru would remember what he said next as one of the stupidest things he possibly could have said.
"It's just a peek."
Izuku's face darkened as his quirk didn't just flare to life, but blazed like a raging inferno.
Around them, every boy between Minoru and Izuku lept back several paces, not wanting to risk getting caught up in whatever happened next. Izuku reached out, and Minoru yelled in shock as his cape suddenly came to life and wrapped itself around him, dragging him right towards Izuku.
"Wait! WAIT!"
Minoru tried to dig his heels into the floor, but there was nothing he could do to stop himself getting brought before Izuku. A foot or so away, Izuku clenched his hand into a fist, fingers cracking and knuckles popping as he squeezed. At the same time, Minoru's yellow cape squeezed tighter around him like a vice, making it very hard for him to breathe.
"Joking! I was joking, I swear," Minoru gasped out.
Izuku pulled Minoru up till he was eye to eye with his. His feet dangling far off the ground, "If you ever, EVER, try and peek, or do anything perverted to Uraraka. At ANY of the girls again. I promise you. I. WILL. NOT. MISS. And after I'm done with you, I will personally drag you to Mr. Aizawa's office, and let him deal with you. Am I clear?"
Minoru nodded his head vigorously, "I promise! I promise!"
Izuku glared at Minoru for a few more seconds, making sure his point was made, before dropping him unceremoniously back to the ground. Not wanting to look at the smaller boy any longer, Izuku turned on his heel, and went back to changing out of his costume. Leaving Minoru, and a few of the other boys to figure out what they were going to do about the hole in the wall.
And the bench sticking out of it.
And the gaping pit where the bench had been anchored to the floor.
While all this was going on, no one noticed the door to the locker room open, and swiftly close.
Kyoka had very good hearing. Even if her ear jacks weren't plugged into something, she could still hear better than most people. So she easily overheard a commotion going on in the boys locker room through their connecting wall. When she focused on what was being said, a deep frown crossed her face, "There's a hole in our wall."
Every girl in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
"Are you sure?" Ochako asked.
Kyoka plugged an ear jack into the wall and listened in, "Oh yeah, some of the boys are talking about it."
"Someone made a hole?"
"Find it quick, kero."
"What kind of pervert does something like that?"
Mina crossed her arms, "I bet it's that creep Mineta."
More than a few girls shuddered. He had not been very subtle when he was checking them out in their costumes.
Himiko picked up one of her knives from her costume, "I could stab him?"
Everyone in the room shot down the idea. Though they were all a little slow to do so.
"Okay, so it sounds like he didn't actually make the hole. They all think some of the upperclassmen did it."
Tooru touched her chin, though since her gloves were off, no one could tell, "To be fair, someone from this side could have made the hole."
Tooru noticed some of her classmates looking at her general direction, "Hey, it's not like there aren't girl perverts out there that wouldn't love to take a peek at a good looking guy."
Himiko licked her lips, "She's not wrong… Hey whose lockers can you see through there anyway?"
Ochako snapped her head around to glare at her, "Why would you want to know that?"
Himiko just grinned hungerly, but before she could give Ochako an answer, Kyoka cut her off, "So it sounds like...most of the boys are not thrilled about the peep hole." Her lips turned down into a frown as she added, "Mineta is not one of them. Okay, gross. He's actually going to use it."
Momo looked absolutely mortified as she hurried to pull her costume back on, "Wait, right now?"
A few other girls hurried to grab either costumes or uniforms parts to make sure they were completely covered. Kyoka extended her other ear jack and had it positioned right over the hole, "The moment that little creep looks I'm going to gouge his eye out. Oh gross he's talking about-!"
A loud bam reverberated through the room, freezing everyone in place, and sending Kyoka shambling backward, yanking her ear jack out and covering her ears, wincing and cursing under her breath.
Worried, Ochako hurried to her side, "Jirou, are you alright?"
Kyoka nodded, "Yeah, just… that was loud. Ow."
"What the hell was that? What happened?" Mina asked.
"I think, I think Midoriya just killed Mineta."
Ochako's eyes bulged, "WHAT!?"
Tooru kicked off her shoes, leaving herself completely invisible, "I'll go see what's going on. One sec!"
As she rushed out the door, Himiko shared a look with Tsuyu, "She's naked right."
"Yep."
"And she just ran right into the boys locker room. Filled with boys."
"Yep."
"Boys who are probably in the middle of getting undressed."
"Yep."
"...Lucky bitch."
While Tooru snuck out, the other girls continued to ask Kyoka questions.
"Jirou, are you sure you know exactly what happened? Midoriya doesn't seem the violent type to me," Momo asked.
"That's right! Deku is sweet and kind. He'd never do something to hurt someone."
"Tell that to Tokoyami's chin, kero."
Kyoka just shrugged, "I can only tell you what I heard. Mineta started going on about which girl he was hoping to see," there was a collective shudder, "and what parts he wanted to see," more shudders and a few angry grumbles, "and when he got to you, Midoriya just screamed at him and threw something. That's what made that huge crash."
Tsuyu looked over at the wall, "I know he can throw stuff like furniture around, but there's nothing like that in the locker room."
"I think he threw a locker."
"Eh?"
"Yeah I'm pretty sure I heard metal snapping or something. Whatever it was, it was big."
Mina walked over to a locker and banged on its side. It was sturdy and as far as she could tell, attached to the other lockers on each side, "I mean he did destroy a zero pointer, so I guess it's not that surprising that he could rip this off the wall.."
"Yeah, he could do that. It's still under his weight limit." Ochako answered confidently.
"What's his weight limit?"
"Three tons, give or take."
While a few girls gasped at that, Himiko went stiff, "you're sure about that?"
"I watched him lift up a truck and a bunch of other stuff."
Himiko felt her whole body quiver, "Oooh."
"You're drooling," Tsuyu pointed out.
"Don't care."
Further discussions were cut off when Tooru came back in, "okay, I'm back."
Momo looked around, "Hagakure? What do you mean you're back?"
"I went to go see what the heck happened over there."
"You snuck into the boys locker room? How scandalous."
"Do you want to know what happened or not?"
Momo along with everyone else nodded.
"Did Deku hurt someone?" Ochako was a little worried. She didn't want Izuku to be in trouble already. Especially if it was because of that perv Minoru.
"Kyoka thinks Midoriya threw a locker. Did he actually do that?"
"Do we need to report anything? Get help from a teacher?"
Tooru waved her hands around, frantically trying to slow down the question, though since no one could see her, it was a mute point, "One at a time please! No one was hurt. Though it looked like it could have been nasty if Midoriya wanted it to be."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he um, didn't throw a locker. He threw one of these." Tooru lightly kicked the side of one of the benches.
Everyone looked down at where the sound came from.
"Deku threw a bench at Mineta?"
"Yep, it's literally stuck in the wall right now."
"Holy crap."
"I guess that explains the noises I heard before it hit the wall."
"Yeah, by the time I got in there, Midoriya had Mineta wrapped up in his own cape to string him up and was letting him know in no uncertain terms, if he perved on us again, there would be consequences. BTW, Midoriya looked really mad. Like he was legit scary."
Ochako was shocked to hear this. She knew he could be competitive, driven and serious. but mad and scary? That just didn't fit at all, "What did he say would happen?"
"He wouldn't miss. Then he'd take him to Mr. Aizawa."
Himiko frowned. While she found the idea of her little sheep hiding a little wolf under its clothing, she didn't like the idea that it may lead to him getting into trouble, "What about the little freak? Is he going to rat on Izuku?"
"I don't think so. After Midoriya was done, some of the other boys took Mineta aside and they hashed out a plan to fix up the locker room and plug up the hole, and no one will say he was going to peep if he doesn't mention that Midoriya was ready to tear him in half and that he behaves himself from now on. Though Kirishima did say he was going to let us know about the hole. Said it wouldn't be right to hide the fact that there was one from us."
Mina smiled, "He's such a big softy."
Momo thought for a few moments, "While I'm glad the boys are taking measures to ensure this doesn't happen again, I feel we should also have a hand in it."
Everyone nodded. Even if he wasn't going to get in any official trouble, they wanted Minoru to know exactly how they felt over the situation.
With the issue decided, the girls quickly went back to getting changed, wanting to make sure they were able to meet up with the boys before they left for the day. Himiko, seeing a chance, leaned over towards Tooru, "So, I don't suppose you got any good looks at what the boys are working with?"
Himiko could hear Tooru's smirk in her voice, "Boys? Or Midoriya?"
"Oh, am I that obvious?" Himiko asked jokingly.
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT!"
Ochako was glaring at the two of them. While she had been as shocked as Momo had been after she realized what Tooru had done, she was willing to let it go. She was not however going to let it slide if the girl was going to gossip about what she saw, especially if it was with Himiko and about Izuku.
"Relax, Uraraka. Midoriya was still pretty much dressed. All the boys were for that matter."
Himiko pouted, "Well that's no fun."
Ochako shook her head in disgust, "You are just as bad as Mineta. You know that?"
Himiko actually looked offended, "I am nothing like that pervert. He doesn't care who he pervs on, as long as he gets his rocks off."
"And you?"
Himiko's smile widened, "I know exactly who I want. Besides don't you go acting all high and mighty on me. After spending a year training, I bet you've seen him with at least his shirt off. I'm just closing the gap."
Ochako turned away, deciding she didn't want to talk about the subject anymore. One because at least Tooru hadn't seen anything she shouldn't have, and two, Himiko had hit just a little close to home. It wasn't that long ago, when they had finished their training, that All Might had made Izuku look at himself, and see just how much he had changed. Of course Izuku had been topless at the time. That was a memory that was still stuck in her head. A blush started to spread across her face that Himiko saw immediately, "See, I knew it."
As the boys filed out of their locker room, they were a little startled to find the girls waiting for them out in the hall, all looking very serious. Hitoshi and Tenya exchanged looks and walked over to Ochako, "Um Uraraka, there's something…"
Ochako held up a hand, "Hold that thought Iida. If you don't mind."
Eijirou glanced over at Mina, and was about to say something but she stopped him too, "I know what you want to say. We already know about the little peep hole."
"OH! Oh you do. We didn't, I mean we weren't going to…"
Mina waved him down, though her face did soften some, "I know. You have nothing to worry about, Horn Buddy."
Momo stepped forward from the group of girls, "Where's Mineta?"
There was a very audible squeak from behind the boys, who stepped to the side, leaving Minoru directly under the gaze of all the girls.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Minoru tried to get out a shaky, "Hi," but the icy glares from the girls made him quickly realize they were not interested in hearing him talk.
Momo crossed her arms as she glared down at Minoru, "Mineta, we know what you said."
Minoru gulped.
"And what you were going to do."
Some of the boys looked at each other and then at the girls, guilt on their faces. Momo continued, "We also know that the issue was quickly dealt with, and that you made certain promises to your fellow classmates."
Minoru nodded vigorously.
"Promises that we are going to hold you to. Understand?"
Again, Minoru nodded his head as the cold glares of all the girls drove Momo's point home. Momo then looked up at the rest of the boys, "We know that you all were against peeping, so thank you for standing up for us."
"Of course!"
"You all are trying to be heroes too, after all."
"We'd never think of being so disrespectful."
Kyoka cut in, "Though a couple of you didn't sound too disappointed that there was a peep hole."
While she didn't look at them too long, she made sure Denki and Hanta saw her look right at them. Both boys looked away.
Momo, seeing that their point had been made turned and motioned behind her. From behind their group, Tsuyu and Tooru walked up with two large buckets and a can of paint while Ochako dropped a perfect replica of the locker room bench in front of Minoru.
"Here, I made these for you...oh and you'll need this," Momo handed Minoru a trowel she created and pulled from her arm.
Minoru was clearly confused, looking at the stuff in front of him, "What is all this?"
"Drywall spackle for the wall; concrete for the floor; a new bench to replace the broken one; and some paint to make everything good as new. I think that's everything you'll need to fix your locker room."
Minoru was about to open his mouth to ask if she really meant for him to fix everything, but in a moment of clarity, and self-preservation, he kept his mouth shut. Denki and Hanta glanced at each other and picked up a bucket, "we'll give him a hand. Make sure he does a good job and everything."
Momo and Kyoka nodded, satisfied.
"Mineta, we are willing to look past this, just this once. As long as you don't repeat your behavior, we shouldn't have any problems going forward. However, if we ever catch you, or hear about you doing anything so disgusting to us, or any other female student, again. Well, I'll let Toga fill in the rest."
Himiko walked past Momo, and knelt down so that she was at eye level with Minoru. Reaching out, she put a hand on his shoulder, and brought him close so she could whisper something to him. She had asked to be the one to deliver the final warning, though she had been purposely vague on just what she was going to say, and what she was going to do. So no one saw that in the hand she had put on Minoru's shoulder she had hidden a retractable exacto knife that was now getting pressed very hard into his collar bone.
"I'm only going to say this once. Izuku may have said he'd deal with you himself if you perved on us again, but I don't want him to dirty his hands with filth like you, so," her thumb pressed on the small plastic nub and with a few clicks, the metal blade was pressed flat against Minoru's throat, still completely hidden from everyone's view, "I will make sure to get to you before Izuku has a chance. And it'll be up to whoever finds what's left of you to decide to take you to Mr. Aizawa's, or the morgue. Understand?"
Minoru head jerked carefully, showing that he very clearly understood his position. Himiko smiled, though it was a cold and mirthless smile, and stood back up. Retracting the blade, and hiding it from the classes view.
"He gets it."
"Good. Then I think that puts the whole issue to bed." Momo said with a satisfied nod. The other girls around her relaxed, glad their point had been made. Denki and Hanta grabbed the rest of the supplies and ushered a very pale Minoru back into the locker room, eager to get everything fixed.
As the class began to break up and go on their way, Ochako walked over to Tenya and Hitoshi, "Hey guys. Sorry for cutting you off but we really needed to get that addressed."
"Of course, Uraraka," Tenya said, hands chopping as he did, "Such unbecoming actions should be immediately dealt with."
Himiko, now back to her normal self glanced around inquisitively before reaching the small group, "Hey, where's Izuku? I don't see him around."
Ochako blinked and quickly scanned the remaining boys. Sure enough, Izuku was not among them. Neither was Katsuki for that matter. A pit started to form in Ochako's stomach.
"That's what we wanted to talk to you about," Hitoshi began, "Midoriya chased after Bakugou while we are still getting changed. They must have both gotten out before you guys showed up."
"WHAT!?"
Izuku had been so preoccupied after dealing with Minoru with trying to calm himself down, that when he finally bothered to look up, he noticed that Katsuki's locker was closed, and the boy was nowhere to be found. Tenya seeing Izuku glancing around had said that Katsuki had finished changing and had already left. Izuku, still only halfway out of his costume, darted for the door, leaving Tenya to call after him.
Now, running through the halls in a state he was sure his friend would find unbecoming for a hero-in-training, Izuku raced after Katsuki, hoping to catch him before he left school grounds. Though he still had no idea what he would say to the other boy if he did catch up to him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd given Katsuki a pep talk. Actually now that he thought about it, he'd never given the other boy any kind of pep talk.
Or motivational talk.
Just talking to him normally was rare in itself.
Why am I chasing after Kacchan again?
When Izuku had reached the front entrance of the school, he was ready to give up and just hope Katsuki was back to his old self tomorrow, but when he stepped outside, he found the other boy hadn't left the school grounds just yet.
"Kacchan!"
Katsuki came to a stop, and turned to look back at Izuku who had stopped a few paces back. Izuku winced, normally he would go out of his way to not have Katsuki's undivided attention, but this was a case of desperate times that needed desperate measures. Closing his eyes, Izuku just let the words he wanted to say tumble out.
"Kacchan, I know things were rough for you today, but you shouldn't let it affect you so much. You're strong, and U.A. is going to make you even stronger. It's only the first day of our first year. There's still plenty of time left. So please, don't let this day beat you."
There was a pause after Izuku finished that left the two standing in silence.
"What the hell are you trying to do here, Deku? Make me feel more like a fool than I already do?"
Eh?
Opening his eyes, Izuku was both glad, and startled to see that the lifeless glazed over look Katsuki had moments ago was gone. The fire behind Katsuki's eyes was back, too bad it also came with a fresh look of rage and contempt.
"Kacchan? I'm not-"
"SHUT UP!"
Izuku flinched back.
"Is this how you're going to celebrate your win? By trying to keep up the condescending lying act? Is that how you make yourself feel good? To treat me like a joke?" Katsuki pointed at Izuku, "I lost. Not just to that Half-and-Half bastard, but to you as well. Today I was made a complete fool. So congratulations, you won."
Izuku took a step forward, hand outreached, "Kacchan wait, I never meant-!"
Katsuki exploded, "Don't you fucking dare! I don't want to hear any more of your lies, and I sure as hell don't want your pity. You won today, but it's going to be the last time you, or anyone else here beats me. Do you hear me?"
Katsuki pointed his thumb at himself, "You listen to me, you shitty Deku. I'm just getting started. I will become the number one hero. I will leave all of you in the dust. Nothing is going to stop me. I'll be a hero that surpasses even All Might."
His pride and convictions restored, as far as Izuku could tell, Katsuki turned around and left Izuku at the entrance.
Alone, Izuku took a deep breath, and let out the longest sigh he had ever had. He honestly hadn't known what to expect to happen after chasing Katsuki down. The end goal was to help him come back from whatever had him so down, so at least that was a mission accomplished. Katsuki had his fire back, and was more determined than ever to achieve his goals. So Izuku should have felt happy.
Right?
Izuku didn't feel happy. At least not as happy as he thought he should. Reaching up, Izuku groaned into his hand, "Ah, what did I expect to happen? That we'd be friends again? An apology? 'Gee, I'm sorry for making your life a living hell for the last ten years. I didn't mean it when I beat you up or burned you with my explosions. It was just a prank. A really bad prank. Let's be friends again like nothing happened!'"
Izuku let his hands drop and looked up at the sky, "Yeah that was totally what was going to happen. He'd apologize, and I'd forgive him. Then everything goes back to being sunshine and rainbows...Oh well. I better get back and get changed. Don't want to get in trouble being out and only wearing parts of my costume. Or worse, take the chance Uraraka finds out about me trying this. Don't want to think what she'd say to me."
Turning around, Izuku hurried back inside the school. Unaware that around the corner, out of sight, Ochako was leaning against the wall doing her best not to explode on the spot. How dare Katsuki say such horrible things. The idea that Izuku could have gotten better was too far fetched for the bully. The idea that Izuku closed the gap himself was just too impossible. No he had to have lied. That was the only explanation that he could settle on. It was enough to make her blood boil.
She had run out here afraid that Katsuki would do something to Izuku, physically or emotionally. At the very least, Izuku hadn't seemed too upset after getting screamed at. Though something he had said to himself disturbed her.
Deku, would you really forgive him? Just like that?
That thought was so disturbing for her, and if she was being honest with herself, it scared her too. She knew Izuku was an abuse victim, and how many news stories there were of victims forgiving and taking back their abusers, only to end up getting hurt again. She was not going to let that happen to Izuku. Over the past year, she had watched Izuku change from a boy who was always ready to get hurt just being near Bakugou, to being able to stand up to the bully. He had made so much progress, she wasn't going to let him stumble now. She would be there to catch him and help him to finally and completely move past Bakugou.
Notes:
Hey everyone! Thank you for reading my new chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, even if the ending got a little sad. Don't worry though, there are a lot of worse things around the corner for Izuku to worry about... That might not have been the right thing to say. I mean it's not like some major crisis is coming up. What's the next arc again. USJ? Oh... OOOOHHHH
*Nervously pulls at collar*
ANYWAY! I'd like to say that this chapter put a nail in good old Minoru. He's still gonna be around, but his perverted wings have been officially clipped.
Thank you to Tmalasia for once again beta reading my fic. You rock!
I also want to give a shout out to Ander Arias. They made this awesome TV Tropes page of my story. Go give their stories a look over. Also, feel free to add to it. I'm not super well versed with tropes so it's been really interesting to see what stuff I've used without even knowing.