A/N: Yes, I know the legal drinking age in Japan is 20, but for this fic, I'm changing that to 18. It's not the first time someone from 1-A drank alcohol here, despite not being fully human. 😅
Hagakure Toru, the invisible girl of Class 1-A, sat with her friends in a bustling bar where one of their classmates, Midoriya Izuku, worked. Initially, Toru had pegged Midoriya as a brute due to his towering stature and a heated exchange with Iida during the entrance exam. However, when he had swooped in to rescue her, his chiseled arms and commanding presence left her utterly smitten. His authoritative demeanor while managing the rescue efforts, combined with a crisp citrus scent, had made her heart race with excitement.
The bar's ambiance was a blend of comforting aromas of freshly roasted coffee and oaky notes of premium whiskey. The air was filled with the harmonious sounds of clinking glasses, soft laughter, and the occasional crack of a cue ball. Exposed brick walls radiated a warm, inviting glow under vintage filament bulbs, while smooth jazz played from the speakers. Overstuffed leather booths and polished wooden tables created a cozy atmosphere, with the scarlet felt of the pool table inviting challengers.
Toru hadn't had the chance to properly thank Midoriya since the entrance exam, as he always seemed busy whenever their paths crossed. Ochaco's inadvertent displays of affection towards Midoriya didn't help matters, although she seemed oblivious to her actions.
"Isn't this bordering on stalker behavior?" Kyouka muttered skeptically.
"Don't be ridiculous, Kyouka-chan!" Mina chided, eyes tracing every ripple of Midoriya's physique from across the room. "We're just three gal pals enjoying a harmless girls' night at the bar closest to campus. It's hardly our fault the Grade-A hunk from our class happens to work here."
Toru couldn't fault Mina's logic or reaction. Even from a distance, Midoriya exuded an unshakable sense of security and trustworthiness, which was oddly reassuring.
Mina had been in a foul mood for days, but she suggested this girls' night out, which lifted her spirits. The three of them - Mina, Kyouka, and Toru - had made their way to the bustling bar. They had invited Ochaco, but she had some extra classes. Momo was missing from the dorms, and Tsuyu had returned home to help with her siblings during the break.
"She's right, Kyou-chii! Besides," Toru added, gesturing towards a group of burly, green-skinned patrons guzzling mead, "I bet plenty of guys are here hoping to catch a glimpse of Midnight-sensei serving drinks."
The clientele at the bar were indeed unconventional. One table hosted a group of diminutive folk with beaked mouths and dish-shaped indentations filled with water atop their heads. Another housed a green-skinned couple dining alongside a talking donkey.
"Meanwhile, you two are just here to ogle Midoriya," Kyouka accused, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, mou yametekudastop, Kyou-chii," Toru teased. "You act like you didn't have a nosebleed alongside Mineta-kun when we saw him shirtless during the Battle Trial."
Kyouka flushed scarlet as Mina giggled. "And let's not forget how you kept pressing your ear to his room door at night, touching yourself."
Kyouka frantically tried to salvage her dignity. "I-I wasn't! I've told you, I was just crouching awkwardly and you saw me from a weird angle! I thought I heard something suspicious, so I listened in. I'm not like you two pair of perverts!"
"Sure you weren't," Mina and Toru chorused, their tones dripping with sarcastic disbelief.
A man with dark-brown hair in his twenties sauntered over, clad in a studded black leather biker jacket, faded jeans, and boots. "Hey there, girls! What's a guy gotta do to get your attention around here?"
They exchanged knowing glances, utterly disinterested. Ignoring him seemed the wisest course.
Kyouka spoke up with a deadpan delivery. "Sorry, but the three of us are already taken. We only have eyes for our boyfriend." She briefly glanced at Midoriya before snapping back.
'Oh-hoohhh' Toru mused, struggling to stifle a giggle. 'Now, did she do that because he's a bouncer we may have to call in case there's trouble, or is it...Ufufufu,' she thought.
The rejected suitor seemed to deflate. "Ah. Alright then. Good evening to you ladies." He ambled off into the crowd.
When their drinks ran out, Toru went to get new ones. Midnight, their teacher and bartender, offered, "If you want my bouncer at your table, you just have to give an extra 5000 Yen."
The proposition was both tantalizing and tempting. Despite the hesitation, Toru agreed, passing the requested sum. Midnight-sensei called out to Midoriya, instructing him to entertain their table.
Toru slunk back to her seat, butterflies swarming as she tracked his purposeful strides in their direction.
As Midoriya approached, his presence seemed to part the crowd instinctively. He wore a black shirt with "BOUNCER" emblazoned on it and a minimalist depiction of a bouncer's face.
Beneath this declarative text lies the stylized visage of a bouncer or security guard, a pair of rectangular sunglasses giving an air of cool detachment, while a thick, exaggerated mustache suggests a no-nonsense demeanor. This minimalist representation, rendered in stark white against the inky backdrop, manages to capture the essence of the profession with a wry, almost comedic flair.
"They say good things come in threes, but tonight, it seems the trifecta of beauty has graced this humble bar," he purred with a wink, serving our drinks with practiced ease; a frozen strawberry daiquiri for me, a spicy margarita for the fiery Min...
"They say good things come in threes, but tonight, it seems the trifecta of beauty has graced this humble bar," he purred with a wink, serving their drinks with practiced ease.
"Three radiant ladies, three distinctive drinks, one enthralling vibe. Here's to a night brimming with endless possibilities," he said in a silky voice laden with unspoken promises.
Toru, nearly forgetting her manners, cooed, "By the way, I haven't properly thanked you for rescuing me at the entrance exam." She snaked an arm around his bicep, drinking in his intoxicating scent. "As thanks, I'd love to spend some...quality time with you, if you catch my drift."
Mina playfully swatted Toru's hand. "Hey, hands off! Don't monopolize the gratitude! Take us along for the ride too!"
Kyouka, flustered, sputtered, "Wh-Why am I being lumped in with you shameless hussies?"
"You don't have to come if you really don't want to," Mina replied with a grin. "But are you absolutely sure?"
Kyouka blurted, "I never said I didn't want to!"
'Yare~ Yare~ Tsundere-chii can't be honest with her feelings,' Toru thought.
"I'll let you lovely ladies know when I've got some free time," Midoriya promised, his large hand finding purchase on Toru's waist and giving an affectionate squeeze.
Mina whined, "Wait, you're making us wait?"
"Good girls can and will wait patiently," he chided in a rich, commanding tone. "And you are a good girl, aren't you?"
Mina meekly nodded, cowed by his dominant presence.
'What if I wanted to be a bad girl, though?' The wanton thought came to Toru, and her eyes were instantly drawn to his powerful hands, a blazing heat coiling low in her belly. 'Get a grip, Toru. I didn't want him to think I was some sort of perv. At least, not yet.'
After that charged exchange, the conversation meandered through various topics. The girls learned so much about the complex man, his fervent admiration for heroism, his drive to save lives, and his forward-thinking aspiration to start his own business post-hero career. 'Quite the multifaceted gem,' they thought.
All too soon, the dorm curfew loomed, and we reluctantly prepared to depart while he intended to work late into the night. The exact location of where he'll stay remained a mystery.
"Toru," Kyouka began once they were out of earshot, "I've been wondering...were you compensating him for, you know, services rendered?"
"No, of course not! Just leaving an appropriate tip for his hospitality," Toru replied, hoping to change the subject.
Mina grinned slyly. "You say that, but we all saw you slip some cash to come dote on our table. Are you sure you're not just living out some sugar mommy fantasy?"
"Or is she just a hopeless simp?" Kyouka snickered.
Toru admitted with a nonchalant shrug, "Okay, fine, you got me. The dynamic is...intriguing, and I have some disposable income. But I don't plan on making it a regular thing."
Her friends pressed the matter relentlessly until they reached the dorms.
Why is this happening to me? Toru wondered.
"What's up, my dudes? Your boy Kirishima Eijirou is in the house!" Kirishima hollered as he joined his buddies Ojiro, Sato, and Shoji at the gym for a manly muscle-building session. This was going to be 100% Plus Ultra! 📢📢📢
Right now, we're at the gym inside UA training our MANLY MUSCLES! Its walls lined with photos of past graduates, heroes who've gone on to do incredible things. It's like a shrine to greatness, reminding us of the legacy we're striving to uphold.
The gym inside UA was alive with energy. Its walls were lined with photos of past pro heroes, a shrine to greatness that reminded everyone of the legends they aspired to follow. The air buzzed with the clang of weights and the roars of sheer willpower from students pushing past their limits. It was a battlefield, but instead of villains, they were waging war against their own weaknesses.
The equipment was top-notch, with weights that would make pro bodybuilders drool, treadmills fast enough to challenge the Speedster, and punching bags rugged enough to withstand even Bakugou's explosions. The gym's arena was its pulsing heart, a sacred ground where students put their blood, sweat, and tears to the ultimate test. Full-contact bouts forged them into absolute units and built unbreakable bonds of friendship.
"You feeling okay there, Kirishima?" Ojiro asked, giving him a puzzled look. "You seem even more amped than usual."
"I've got to agree," Shoji chimed in, his mouth-hands contorting. "You're rivaling Sato after downing a family-sized bag of sugar."
Sato just nodded sagely, already prepping for his workout.
"Are you kidding me, bros?" Kirishima bellowed, eyes blazing with determination. "We've got insanely talented classmates leading the charge! We can't let them leave us eating their dust. We've gotta level up and stand beside them as true equals!"
Memories of the USJ attack flickered through Kirishima's mind. If only he'd been stronger, he could have contributed more instead of watching helplessly as his friends battled for their lives. Nothing disastrous had happened, but what if Midoriya hadn't been there to save them next time?
The memory of Midoriya and their teachers getting injured during the chaos had shaken him. It forced him to confront the harsh reality that when the chips were down, he'd been utterly useless. That villainous onslaught had made his resolve waver. Never again. He was going to become the embodiment of Red Riot - a true hero.
"You can't keep up with him," Bakugou's gruff voice cut through Kirishima's reverie as he entered, already donning his workout gear. "Any progress you make, he'll match it twice over with half the effort. The best we can hope for is not getting caught in the damn crossfire like those third-rate punks last week."
Bakugou's blunt words sliced deep, but they rang with an undeniable truth. From the moment Kirishima first laid eyes on Midoriya, he knew Midoriya was operating on another level entirely. The dude was bigger than ALL MIGHT himself, after all.
"Even so..." Kirishima muttered, eyes blazing with rekindled fervor, "I'll keep striving to shine alongside my friends. Even if it seems hopeless, I'll be damned if I don't try."
His classmates shared concerned looks but said nothing.
"UUOOOHHHH! LET'S GET HYPED AND BLESSED BY THE IRON GODS!" Kirishima roared, rallying them. Moping never got anyone anywhere. It was time to walk the walk.
Meanwhile, Bakugou was already hard at work, donning his workout attire and special quirk-resistant gloves. He approached the punching bag, starting with a measured pace before progressively increasing the intensity of his strikes, punctuating each blow with a controlled explosion. No need for introductions - any self-respecting individual knew the name Bakugou Katsuki. Extras could refer to him as Bakugou-sama for the remainder of their insignificant lives.
'That damn Izuku, showing off during the USJ incident, pissed him off. BAM BAM BOOM Even more infuriating were that blue-haired bastard and the misty freak. Next time he crossed paths with them, he'd blast their asses into oblivion!' he thought.
"Oh-ho~ Class 1-A hitting the gym, huh? The USJ attack must have really shaken you," a familiar, grating voice sneered.
The others tensed at the blond idiot's words, Satou looking ready to put him in his place. "The hell do you want, Monoma?" Bakugou growled, his patience already waning. Apart from the time he gave Monoma a well-deserved black eye, he'd had minimal interaction with the moron - though for some asinine reason, Midoriya had befriended him afterward.
Best to deal with this nuisance swiftly; a fight risked teacher intervention, disrupting his training session.
"Oya? It seems that Bakugou-kun's graced us with his presence!" Monoma said with an exaggerated flair. "Tell me, when those dastardly villains descended upon USJ, did your boots quake in fear? A mere waste of oxygen while I'd wager Midoriya was the sole combatant? Tsk tsk. Such incompetence would never befall the great Class 1-B. Proof positive of our superiority over you extras of 1-A!"
Before Monoma could continue his idiotic diatribe, one of Midoriya's harem members, Kendo, swept in, chopping the back of Monoma's neck with impeccable timing. Bakugou's rapidly dwindling patience appreciated the intervention.
"Sorry about that, everyone!" she apologized, her presence visibly flustering both Ojiro and Shoji.
'Pathetic - as if they'd never laid eyes on a woman before,' he thought.
"No worries!" Kirishima assured her from the treadmill, ever affable.
'Speak for yourself, shitty hair.'
Her expression morphed into one of pure, unbridled fury. "The fuck you mean, Bakugou? Want me to rip your tongue out right here?"
Bakugou recoiled slightly, a thin sheen of sweat betraying his composure. "I will never betray Izuku in any way. You disgust me for even entertaining such a stupid notion."
"Tch, all you had to say was no. No need to blow a fuckin' gasket," Bakugou scoffed, deliberately avoiding her piercing glare as he returned to his workout. That unhinged look had him questioning whether he'd end up an extra among extras at this rate.
Before UA, Iida Tenya studied in the prestigious school called Somei Academy. They are, as of this moment, are strolling back towards the dormitories, their small group having just returned from an excursion to the nearby mall.
"DAMMIT! Why is Midoriya the only one getting all the chicks?!" Mineta suddenly erupted, his voice carrying towards the heavens. Their gazes followed his line of sight to spot Ashido, Jiro, and Hagakure waving coyly at Midoriya from a bar's entrance. Moments later, a girl with vibrant orange hair styled into a side ponytail appeared, snaking her arm around his in a conspicuously intimate manner before ushering him inside.
Ordinarily, Iida would have been the first to admonish such frivolous behaviors, but seeing as they were off campus and Midoriya was of legal age, he found himself unable to voice any objections.
"And he's got another one! Dammit, why is life so unfair?!" Kaminari's lament joined Mineta's chorus of dismay.
"He's strong, heroic, and charismatic," Todoroki interjected, his gaze inexplicably fixed upon his left hand. "Rather than wallowing in despair over the attention he receives from the opposite sex, why not learn from his example instead?"
"An insightful observation, Todoroki," Iida nodded in agreement. "However, such overt promiscuity does not befit one aspiring to become a hero. I shall have to discuss this matter with Midoriya at a later juncture." While he held no official title, Iida still felt compelled to guide his esteemed classmates toward the path of righteousness; Midoriya, their vice president, being among those most in need of such guidance.
"Why in the world did you stop me there, Kendo?" Neito Monoma asked his class president, incredulous at her interference. 'Did she have no pride in their illustrious class, 1-B?'
"I stopped you because your antics were about to instigate a needless clash between classes!" Kendo retorted, her brow furrowed.
"A clash we would undoubtedly emerge victorious from!" Monoma proclaimed confidently.
"Are you truly that dense?" Kendo scoffed. "Izuku alone could have overpowered most of our class single-handedly."
"Perhaps, but not you. Surely you possess a fighting chance against him," Monoma countered.
Kendo adopted a defensive stance. "You underestimate him. In most scenarios, I would be soundly defeated. And that's assuming I'd even entertain the notion of raising a hand against him."
"Ah, yes, I nearly forgot you're his b—Bgweh," Monoma remarked, his words cut off as Kendo effortlessly executed a chokehold, lifting him from the ground like a wrestling legend of old.
"Be careful, Monoma. One day, you might simply vanish," she warned, her sickeningly sweet smile a stark contrast to the ominous words. Her expression hardened, the sweet facade crumbling. "And only Izuku has the privilege of calling me that. Understood?"
Monoma could only numbly nod, his sense of self-preservation outweighing any desire to protest.
A rosy blush bloomed on Kendo's cheeks as she added, "Speaking of Izuku, I plan to spend some time in his company, so don't go causing trouble that will get in the way of that. Or else." Her thinly veiled threat hung in the air as she retreated to her room, emerging moments later, primped for her rendezvous with her paramour. Urgh.
It was mere minutes after her departure that the adorable Kinoko descended the stairs, surveying their common area. "Has anyone seen Itsuka, shroom?"
Sensing an opportunity, Monoma replied, "She went to meet her darling Izuku." Kinoko's surprised expression spurred him onward. "Such an awful friend, not only abandoning you but running off to spend time with your high school crush. Why don't we take a stroll to get your mind off it?" he suggested with feigned concern.
Kinoko's repulsed grimace and succinct "Ew, shroom" deflated his hopes as she promptly exited, following in Kendo's footsteps.
Monoma stood there, petrified by her unambiguous rejection. 'What was with the saying that the worst she could say is 'no'?'
Finally got this out! 😅 Hope you guys enjoyed a chapter with our non-magical friends. Honestly, I was gonna add the next part of Ibara's journey, but then again, the chapter's title is Normie POV and she technically wouldn't qualify considering she's...you know...so...
Also, holy crap! We're getting closer to that part where we'll meet a certain character. IYKYK. It's somewhat related to Elsewhere so I'm combining that part when we get there in just a few chapters from now. I'm excited to get there myself considering the implications to the story.
After that chapter, I'll hopefully be able to accelerate some story beats because we're at what? Day 13 out of 288 for LOM? 😂 I'll just need to make sure it doesn't get rushed. Granted, there were quite a bit of setup chapters for both the settings to make sense with each other, especially at the beginning.
Different gym from Nana's gym, BTW.
As always, let me know if you have questions or feedback on the story.
Next up: Ceremonial Magic 2 and Homework (Study Date) 2.