A Light in the Darkness: Hotaru's quirk didn't always come easy to her, controlling energy can be overwhelming, but she is determined to be the best hero she can possibly be despite all the circumstances she has against her. OCx?
Author's Note: Sorry this chapter came out later than I was expecting. Life has been…interesting.
On another note, I have roughly planned out the story through the Shie Hassaikai Arc. Even beyond that, I'm still figuring out where I want Hotaru to be during the first part of the war, I already know for the final part...
I have also picked out her hero name, but we have a while before we, you, get there.
Anyway, let's get to it!
As always, flashbacks, memories or thoughts are in italics.
Rating: Rated M for language and future themes and scenes.
Word Count: 4,413
Chapter Seven: Discussions & Decisions
"Woah!" Hotaru grunted lightly as she leaned suddenly against Mina, the hyper pinkett had been walking beside her as the group of heroes in training made their way back to their classroom after class. "Hotaru-chan!"
"Sorry," Hotaru straightened up, a tired smile on her face, "I overused my quirk, my legs are feeling sore."
"Are you going to be alright Hotaru-chan?" Hakagure questioned, the floating girls uniform waved arms around from the other side of Mina. "I thought your quirk was energy based, can't you just pull in more or something?"
"I am," Hotaru nodded, "but I let myself get angry earlier and rushed the process. It's basically caused muscle strain in my legs. I'm fine, just a small cramp." She grinned at Mina lightly, "Thanks for catching me Mina."
"No problem! You can lean on me anytime Hotaru-chan!" The girl grinned in reply, cheeks blushing lightly which caused her skin to darken cutely.
"Thanks," Hotaru smiled in response but moved off of the girl anyway. She was taller and heavier and didn't want to inconvenience her...nor did she want the dual-haired boy to see her. Todoroki had ignored her when she offered him a friendly handshake after the boy had exited the building behind Kota once their match was over. She had been annoyed by his arrogance, but her temper had already faded from having to watch Izuku and his blonde bully try to tear each other apart. Speaking of blonde bullies…
"Tch," Hotaru rolled her eyes as the boy stormed past them, red eyes narrowed and face set in an ugly scowl.
"Wow," Mina murmured, "Is he always so angry Hotaru-chan?" Hotaru watched the back of the boy as he stomped into their classroom ahead of everyone else who was slowly making their way back to the room to gather their stuff for the day and leave.
"Yep, pretty much," Hotaru replied. "Nothing but an angry chihuahua usually."
"Pfft," Mina covered her mouth, shoulders shaking at Hotaru's description of their blonde classmate.
"So you grew up with Bakugou and Midoriya, Tanimori-san?" Asui questioned.
"Yep," Hotaru answered, "Midoriya and I live in the same apartment complex, so naturally, we grew up together. Bakagou went to the same schools as we did, and Midoriya and I tried to be friends with him at some point." She shrugged, not really wanting to go into anymore details of the falling out she and the blond boy had had, or the bullying he had done. Izuku still cared about the other boy, though she couldn't for the life of her understand why. "He's always been a jerk. Especially after he developed his quirk."
"So, he's one of those," Denki added, when the girls looked at him with questioning eyes, he grinned cheekily, "because he got such an amazing quirk, like myself, he thinks he is the best. And after today with what he did with Midoriya, I can see why he thinks that. His quirk is stupid powerful."
"And dangerous," Tsyuu added.
"Eh," Hotaru shrugged, going through the classroom doorway and moving towards her seat, "Any of our quirks could be dangerous, we just have to train them not to be." She knew how she felt about the blond, but she also did not want to influence any of her classmates from being friends with him…if he was able to even make friends at this point. He could burn those bridges on his own, he didn't need her help. And after seeing her classmates in action, she knew they could handle themselves against the boy if needed. "Hmmm," she grabbed Izuku's bag along with hers, intending to find the boy who must still be in the nurses station with Recovery Girl. "Well, I guess I will take this to Izuku and see if he needs help getting home. I will see you all tomorrow!" She made a turn only to be stopped by half of the class crowding around her.
"Hey Tanimori-chan, can we have your number?" Kaminari asked with a smile on his face as he held up his sleek phone, Kirishima behind him with his phone out as well.
"Yeah!" Hagakure exclaimed, jumping into the circle, a sparkly pink encased phone held in place by an invisible hand. "Let's all exchange numbers, that way we can set up a class group chat!"
"I see," Iida spoke up from the front, hand on chin, "exchanging numbers would ensure that we could get into contact with anyone in class in case there is an emergency, such as someone becoming sick and needing the school work they missed." He brought his phone out in a jerking move, arms waving around, "Great idea! Yes, let's exchange phone numbers!"
"Sure," Hotaru dug in her bag for her cell phone, an older model flip phone that was lightly scuffed and a light blue color. "Let's connect," she held her phone out to ping with theirs; numerous phones dinged as classmates gathered around one another to quickly share their info with each other.
"Yay!" Mina jumped, a large smile on her face, "now we can totally set up outings or share about the homework!"
"Ashido!" Iida cried, adjusting his glasses and waving his arms robotically, "we mustn't use communication to cheat on homework! We must work our hardest to be the best-"
"Goodbye everyone," Hotaru cut the boy off who she had a feeling was just getting started, his arms chopping in the arm harshly, "See you tomorrow."
"Bye bye Hotaru-chan!" Ashido and Hagakure replied, smiling and waving.
Hotaru closed the door behind her, one hand clutching Izuku's bag as she started walking down the hallway in search of the nurses office. She only made it to the end of the hall before the boy appeared before her. He was still wearing his torn costume and his arm was in a sling. "H-Hotaru!" He jumped lightly, not expecting the girl to appear before him.
"You okay?" Hotaru asked, looking down at him in concern, "Recovery Girl couldn't heal everything?"
"No, I'm pretty worn out after fighting Kachan," He admitted, rubbing his free arm through his messy hair.
"Yeah," She huffed.
"I-I heard about your fight! You were amazing against Todoriki! I didn't know your jumping height had increased so much!" Midoriya began, voice raised in excitement. Hotaru stared at him with an unimpressed look, knowing what he was trying to do.
"Don't think I will just ignore what you did Izuku," She used his bag and bonked him lightly on the head, "What you did was not only dangerous, but also so completely unnecessary! You could have seriously hurt yourself and anyone else! Don't get me started on that bomb-for-brains! When I get my hands on him-"
"W-Wait Hotaru!" He cut her off, scrambling to contain her anger that he could quickly see escalating. It always did when Bakugo was involved. "I've already talked to Kachan! He's," She watched as he sighed, a frown on his face and his free arm gripping his injured one, "He's going through something right now. All Might even helped," She raised a skeptical eyebrow, deciding to keep her thoughts about their new teacher to herself for now as she knew the fanboy in front of her would hear no wrong. "Bakugo was just shocked and angry because he thought I was making fun of him by hiding my quirk this whole time. I told him-" He shook his head, catching himself. "He understands! Neither one of us is giving up! Let me handle Kachan, okay!"
Hotaru frowned, gold eyes meeting a stubborn and determined emerald, before huffing, "I'm still gonna knock his head in."
"Hotaru!"
She continued, "but fine, I'll leave him to you, for now." Hotaru held out his bag to him, "If he pulls another stunt like that again, I hold no promises. Ready to go?"
Midoriya sighed, knowing his friend was protective and that was the best he was going to get at the time. He took his bag in his free hand, "Let me change first, okay? Then I want to hear all about your fight!"
"I thought you already heard about it?" Hotaru questioned, following behind the shorter boy.
"But not from your perspective! I want to know everything! I gotta add it to your notebook."
"I still think it's weird you have a whole notebook dedicated to me."
"Your quirk is amazing Hotaru!" He replied, cheeks flushing, "Of course I do!"
/ / /
"Geeze, what a mess," Hotaru grumbled, glaring lightly at the crowd of people blocking the entrance to their school. They were going to be late if they didn't move out of the way.
"What are they doing here?" Midoriya questioned from beside her, hands gripping his backpack, also worried about getting into the school. However, before Hotaru could answer, a microphone was shoved into both of their faces, a reporter and a cameraman appearing before them.
"We've heard that All Might is a teacher at U.A.! Have you had a class with him yet?" The brown haired woman began, "what are his classes like? Is he a good teacher? Has he said anything about retiring? What kinds of things is he teaching? Has he mentioned anything about cutting back on his hero patrols to teach you?"
"Why don't you ask him? Or set up an interview with his Agency?" Hotaru replied, frown on her face. "Do I look like All Might to you? This is a school-"
"Sorry!" Midoriya reached for her hand nervously, cutting her off, "we-we need to get to class!" He started to drag her through the group of reporters shouting questions at them, apologizing as he knocked into a few. Hotaru just went along with it quietly.
"Good morning Aizawa-sensei and Mic-Sensei," both kids offered as they made it through the gates, where the reporters could not follow. Their teacher was standing there along with Present Mic, trying to wave the horde away so students could get through to the school.
"Good morning listeners!" Mic responded while their homeroom teacher just waved them on, an irritated look on his face. This time it was Hotaru who drug Midoriya behind her, not wanting to get on their teacher's bad side so early in the morning, especially when he appeared to already be in a bad mood.
"Let's go before we're late." The two quickly made their way to their classroom, opening the large door and seeing they were the last two to make it that morning.
"Hotaru-chan!"
"Good morning Tanimori-chan!"
"Good morning Midoriya!"
"Those reporters were a pain, huh?"
Hotaru waved as she entered the classroom just behind Izuku. It was the day after their first training exercise and despite not knowing their classmates for long, most of them were very friendly. However, despite her best friend telling her to let it be, she still felt an anger for their blond classmate festering inside her. Something she let out as she returned the glare he was directing their way as they both moved to find their seats before homeroom started. An ugly sneer developed on her face as she set her bag down.
"Good morning Hotaru-chan!" Uraraka greeted the taller girl, grinning up at her from the desk on her right. The dual haired classmate remained silent, chin in his hand. Hotaru shook the look from her face and smiled at the girl.
"Morning Uraraka," she returned, taking her seat and beginning to drag her notebooks out. She wanted to recheck her math homework again before the class after homeroom.
"Everyone, please be seated! Homeroom is about to start!" Iida spoke from the front of the class, waving his arms about.
Kirishima was quick to point out in reply for the entire class, "Dude, you're the only one still standing." Hotaru and Uraraka chuckled as the speedster blushed, adjusting his glasses and moved to take his seat quickly just as the door opened and their teacher entered. Aizawa was wearing his all black, slightly baggy hero costume with his capture cloth around his neck like a scarf.
"Good morning," he groaned, "Now that we've managed to avoid the press, let's take care of some things. I took a look at the footage from yesterday's mock battles, Bakugou," Hotaru smirked, watching the boy jerk lightly in surprise, "you're acting like a child. You're wasting your own talent."
He slouched, mumbling out a reluctant, "I know."
"Tanimori," Her smirk fell, gold eyes moving to lock with the black of her teacher, he was giving her a deadpan stare, "Don't let anger fuel your actions against others. You're wasting your own talent as well."
Hotaru frowned, not liking the comparison to Bakugou, "yes, Sensei."
"And you, Midoriya," the hero continued, looking at the green haired boy, "are you going to continue injuring yourself and destroying your arm forever? If you keep your mind limited with not being able to adjust your quirk, you'll never get far." He sighed, "I've already said this before, but once you get over this hurdle, you'll be much more flexible, so I need to see you trying harder."
"Yes sir!" Midoriya replied with a determined tone from his seat behind Bakugou.
"Good," their teacher sighed again, "Now that that is done, let's get some other things out of the way. I'm sorry to spring this on you all of the sudden," the whole class sat up straighter in their seats, wondering what their teacher could possibly have planned for them now, "but we need to pick a class representative."
Immediately there was chaos. Everyone started volunteering, raising their hands and sprouting why they should be the one to represent class 1-A.
"Be quiet!" Iida spoke loudly, moving from his seat to stand beside the teacher's podium, "this is a position that is laden with a lot of responsibility! Just because you would like to do it doesn't mean you should do it!" He spoke sternly, "The only true way to pick out representatives should be through a democratic vote!"
"But," Kaminari said from his seat beside Minda, "we don't really know each other that well yet, so how would we vote?"
"Yeah, we all would just vote ourselves!" Minda added, waving her arm around.
"And that is why the person who gets the most votes will be truly appropriate!" Iida insisted.
"I don't care," Aizawa said, "just decided by the end of class." He moved off to the side and crawled into his yellow sleeping bag.
"So, does everyone agree to a vote?" Iida asked the class.
A few minutes later, Momo had helped the boy pass out strips of paper for everyone to vote with.
Hmmm, thought Hotaru, tapping her plain mechanical pencil on her desk lightly, gold eyes roaming around the class as everyone began writing their votes down and handing them to Iida. Who should I vote for? I don't want the extra work, so that's out of the question. Izuku would be a nervous wreck if he managed to get the position, even if he did want it. Hmmm, she sighed, knowing there truly was no other obvious choice, even if he was a little bossy. She quickly wrote Tenya Iida on her slip, folded it, and raised it so the boy could come back and grab it. At least I know he'll be capable, and it's obvious he wants it.
After a few more minutes Momo and Iida tallied all the votes and wrote them on the board. The results were the following with most of their classmates voting for themselves, as was obvious, and a few that managed to gain some votes: Midoriya had received three votes with Momo and Hotaru following behind with 2.
"I got three votes?" Midoriya cried in shock, wondering who would vote for him. He turned quickly to face Hotaru, catching how she was frowning at the board.
"Who voted for me?" She whined, "I didn't want it. That's why I voted for someone else!"
"One vote…" Iida spoke dejectedly, "I only got one vote…thank you to whoever believed in me, but since I insisted on this being a fair race, it is only fair that I concede to those who gathered more." He quickly straightened, fiddling with his glasses as he announced to the glass, "So, Midoriya will be our class representative! However, Yaoyorozu and Tanimori both tied! So, we'll have to have another vote to see who will be the vice-"
"Wait, no need Iida," Hotaru waved, gaining the rest of the class's attention, "I don't want the role. Momo can have it. She'd be way better at it than I would anyway." The black haired girl smiled at the other.
"But Hotaru-chan!" Mina said, pouting, "I thought you would be great at the role. Do you really not want it?" She had voted for her new friend, finding the girl always being a helping hand with her more difficult homework and classwork they have had so far. Plus, she had no issues sticking up to their most difficult classmate.
"Yeah Hotaru-chan!" Hagakure agreed, also revealing who she voted for, "plus it'll look really good on prospective hero agency applications."
"I'm sure. It's just not my thing."
"Well, in that case, since Tanimori is forfeiting, we have our class representatives: Midoriya and Yaoyorozu!"
"Great, now that that is sorted, let's go over a few more things before homework ends then," The class sighed as Aizawa crawled out of his sleeping bag to stand before them again.
/ / /
"Can I have a bento with spicy-tuna rice balls?" Hotaru asked the Pro-hero Lunch Rush who quickly plated and handed over her a large bento that contained two perfectly formed spicy-tuna rice balls, with several slices of tamagoyaki, a small side salad, and several mini-roasted sausages.
"Over here Hotaru-chan!" She moved across the room to sit beside Uraraka who had been waving for her to join her, Midorya, and Iida for lunch. "Wow! That bento looks amazing! I should definitely try it next time. Lunch Rush makes the best rice!" She had a large bowl of rice in front of her.
Midoriya and Iida were sitting across from them, both with their respective lunches. Iida had some type of curry while Midoriya had katsudon. "So, how are you feeling, mister class president?" Hotaru asked Midoriya teasingly, taking a bite of her onigiri as the boy froze in his seat, a nervous look coming to his face.
"I'm not really sure…" He began, "Of course I voted for myself, but I wasn't expecting others to vote for me as well. I'm not sure I am up to the task…"
"Sure you are!" Uraraka said, smiling at him, "I think you'll do great! You came up with a great plan in our battle training, and were quick on your feet. That's why I voted for you!"
"Y-you did?!" Hotaru watched, a small smirk coming to her face as his face turned red. She was wondering when he would remember that Uraraka was a girl.
"You'll be alright," Iida also added, "You've got good judgment when it counts Midoriya. I remember from the entrance exam, what you were willing to do for everyone," he pushed up his glasses, orange juice in his other hand, "that is also why I voted for you, even if I did want the position for myself."
"W-wait! If Uraraka voted for me and you did as well Iida, and then my vote," He turned to face his best friend, "Who did you vote for Hotaru? I thought one of my votes was from you since I knew you didn't vote for yourself."
"Sorry Izuku, I knew you would be apprehensive of the role," Hotaru replied, "I voted for Iida, obviously."
"M-me?!" The glasses-wearing boy jerked in his seat in response, back straightening, "You voted for me, Tanimori?" It almost looked like there were tears coming to his eyes.
"You obviously wanted it," Hotaru pointed out, taking a sip of her apple juice, "plus, with the way you have been ordering around the class since the start of the year and your demeanor, it seemed like the role would suit you." She shrugged, continuing to eat.
"But still! You could have voted for your best friend, or yourself!" He insisted, "and yet you chose me as your representative. Even though I failed to inspire that faith in our other classmates, thank you for believing in me Tanimori."
"Wow, you are so proper Iida!" Uraraka pointed out, "You are always going on about honor and stuff! Are you from a rich family?"
"I don't normally like to draw attention to it, but if I must," Iida began, "I am from a family who had been in heroics for generations, from heroes to support. I am currently the second son of the Iida family."
"Wow!" Both Midoriya and Uraraka exclaimed.
"Completely different from my family," Hotaru said, "It's just me and my sister now, and she just works in retail to support us. Must be nice."
"Same here," Midoriya added, nodding, "It's just me and my mom. My dad is currently working overseas for his company."
"Do you know of the Turbo Hero, Ingenium?" Iida continued, a grin coming to his face.
"Of course!" Midoriya exclaimed, nearly bouncing in his seat. "That's a hero that is based out of Tokyo and has hired so many side-kicks! He is," He gasped, "wait, you don't mean!"
"He's my big brother!" Iida confirmed what Midoriya had figured out.
"Cool!" Both Uraraka and Hotaru replied, the brown haired girl much more enthusiastically than the white, though she still found it impressive.
"I am inspired to be just like him one day, able to be a hero that leads and guides so many," Iida said, "that's why I wanted to be the class representative, to follow in his path."
However, before Midoriya or anyone else could say anything else, a loud screeching siren sounded through the school's communication system.
"What?!" Midoriya gasped, standing up. Hotaru followed quickly, stuffing the last of her onigiri in her mouth.
"Security level 5 has been breached," an automated female voice spoke from the speakers, "Students, please promptly evacuate."
"Evacuate where?" Hotaru mumbled, golden eyes looking around as chaos immediately erupted. The entire school was at lunch, from hero courses to business to general studies, the cafeteria was overflowing and everyone was trying to leave as quickly as possible all at once.
"Hotaru-chan!" Hotaru felt Uraraka grab her hand, beginning to try and drag her behind Midoriya and Iida to the double doors. "We've gotta go!"
"Wait!" Hotaru tried to stand firm and keep a hand on the much shorter girl, but in the chaos Uraraka's hand quickly lost grip. "Uraraka! Dammit," She growled, being jostled, "we don't know where we are supposed to evacuate too. Plus, what does a level 5 breach mean?"
"Move it ya damn Fairy!" Her left shoulder was jostled as Bakugo moved past her.
"Wait Bomb-head!" Hotaru started, trying to follow him and ended up shoved into his back as more students continued to cram their way.
"What?" He barked, looking over his shoulder at her. His red eyes narrowed as he took in the look on her face, a scowl coming to his face.
Hotaru could feel an ugly creeping feeling working its way into her stomach as the cafeteria grew louder and more and more people began to push and crowd her. She hated the feeling, even admitting it, but she knew her fear of small spaces, of being confined with no way out, was beginning to settle in. This hadn't happened since she was a child.
"Tch," She stumbled as she was suddenly jerked around, Bakugo's hand gripping her arm almost bruisingly and moving her to stand in front of him where he managed to hold his spot in the jumbled crowd to create a small space for her to stand with as little crowding as possible in the current situation. "Calm down before you do something you regret, damn twinkle-toes."
Hotaru frowned, closing her eyes and beginning to draw in some deep breaths, letting out her churning energy into her feet and through the floor with each exhale. The crowd of panicking students wasn't moving much despite the chaos that was still unfolding, too many trying to get through the doors at once causing a jam that allowed for none to move.
"Thanks bomb-boy," She grumbled a few moments later, having centered herself. The blond just scoffed, scowl still on his face and ignoring her. Before she could say anything else, Iida's voice rang out loudly above all the chaos, somehow appearing above the emergency exit sign.
"Everyone, calm down!" He yelled, "It's okay! If you look out the window, it's just the press! There's nothing to panic over!" He continued to bark, "You are at U.A.! Let's conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects those enrolled at the highest academia! You must calm down and let the teachers and heroes handle this. Please!"
The chaos and student body began to calm down. Hotaru quickly back peddled, ignoring her classmate as she pushed back away from the door to her forgotten lunch tray. She was feeling very tired all of the sudden, for multiple reasons, and was dreading the afternoon hero classes where Aizawa was going to go over their mock training battles one-by-one with suggestions and training recommendations.
"Hotaru!" She looked up, offering Midoriya a small smile as he, Urarakak, and Iida made their way through the student body. He looked concerned, "Are you okay?" She knew what he was asking but chose to ignore it,
"Sure!" She replied, "sorry I lost you Uraraka!"
"It's fine! I'm sorry I couldn't keep hold of your hand," the girl grinned, "I'm sure glad Iida saw what was happening. That was so scary!"
"Yeah," Hotaru replied, "I'm glad it was just the press. I wonder why everyone panicked though. Surely the second and third years should know what to do in these situations."
"Apparently this has never happened before," Iida spoke, a frown on his face and a hand on his chin, "it is definitely concerning that our seniors didn't step up to help contain the chaos. Maybe that is something we should bring up to Aizawa-sensei, maybe we should run some school-wide drills in case anything like this happens again." He waved his arms around robotically, "Anyway, we should throw away our trash and make our way to our class. Afternoon classes will be starting soon!"