"Oh we're gonna die, oh we're gonna die, oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"
"Shoot them! You have a literal gun!"
"I have six bullets and there's eight people!"
"I should have picked a gun instead of talking to ghosts. What use are ghosts?!"
"Maybe the ghosts will fight for you?"
"You guys should have partnered with someone who's actually good at video games- ha! I killed one!"
"Great, now kill the rest!"
Suzume does her best to listen to Dusty, who's ended up being their leader here by the simple merit of she barely knows what she's doing, and he's a bosy little bitch. She's been spending a couple of hours every other day playing with him and Spinner, trying to beat the game that her brother had designed with so much care. It's very different from what she normally spends her nights doing.
She manages to shoot another five, and Spinner hits a sixth one hard enough that he dies. The last remaining enemy manages to stab Dusty repeatedly before a ghost really does materialize and cut its head off.
Suzume falls back on the floor, her heart pumping.
"Holy shit. I've been in actual fights less stressful than that was."
"Who are you fighting?" Spinner asks, sounding like he's trying not to laugh. The longer she plays with him the more she thinks he might actually be the lizard she'd first suspected.
"People who piss me off."
People who have not been Bakugou lately. No, lately, he's just been acting weird, quiet around her, and borderline skittish around Midoriya.
She has her guesses as to why.
" Mood," says Dusty sagely.
"People suck," she says succinctly. "And I have to… i mpress upon them that they should keep their shitty opinions to themselves. Did I tell you some dip shits from a cult tried to recruit me because they assumed I have something against heteromorphic quirks?"
" What ?!"
"Yeah," she wrinkles her nose. It was the second time a cult tried to recruit her, but this one had actual skull masks and weird stuff. The 'Creature Rejection Society' was dedicated only to getting rid of quirks that changed people's appearances, particularly those that took on animal attributes. "Bunch of assholes. Who cares if someone looks different? It's none of their damn business, and they don't have any right to be cruel to people who are just like. Existing, you know? Besides, I kinda like heteromorphic quirks. Gang Orca, the hero? Totes my fav. His whole aesthetic is on point."
She pauses.
"That feels objectifying somehow. Or fetishizing?"
Spinner at least snorts. "I don't think so. And you are right, those guys are assholes. I uh. I'm actually heteromorphic, and I've met people like that."
That cinches who she's been playing games with in the evenings.
"I should have broken some bones."
" Why didn't you ?" Asks Dusty, like she wasn't just lamenting about not doing violent damage to other humans.
"I was gonna be late for class and my teacher kinda scares the shit out of me."
There's a pause.
"Your teacher hasn't like. Done anything bad to you, has he?" Spinner asks, sounding oddly protective.
Suzume shakes her head, even though they can't see her. "No, no, nothing like that. He's just sort of strict." She pauses. "Actually, sometimes he treats us like cats."
" Like cats?" Spinner repeats.
"Yeah. Like, he definitely cares about us, but in a standoffish way. Or, we'll destroy something and he'll just be exasperated. But also he expects us to be more obedient than a cat ever would be."
"... what are you destroying in school?" Dusty asks, sounding bewildered.
"So fucking much my dude."
" Man, I'm so jealous. I was homeschooled," Spinner whines. " I never got to destroy anything."
"You'll get your chance one day," Suzume assures, trying not to smile. Spinner is kind of a dork.
" If you're ever in Kamino Ward, I'll take you to a Rage Room," Dusty offers.
"To a what?" They both chorus.
" A Rage Room. You pay them money and then they give you bats and hammers so you can break stuff. Like that scene in that really old movie, ZombieLand."
"... I have never wanted to go anywhere so badly in my life," Suzume whispers.
"Shit. I think I have to go to Kamino now," Spinner mutters.
" Well right now I want to get to the next level. Come on, losers."
She and Spinner grumble, but they follow Dusty to the next crime scene. At least the puzzle portions of the game she's good at.
"By the way, I'm gonna be gone next week. I'm going out of town so I won't be on the game."
"AFK," Dusty corrects.
"Close enough."
~ ~ ~
Suzume is one of the first people to turn in her submission for their internships. After Mirio had reported to Sir Nighteye that she was willing to go work with him, the hero had put in a formal invitation for her. A little late, Nezu still accepted the circumstances, and so she ads his name to her list of selections.
Sir Nighteye.
Kesagiri Man.
Crust.
The rest of her classmates are taking more time, although Bakugou is finished with his selections as well.
There's a lot to consider here for all of them. Which agencies would teach them things they didn't already know? Which agencies would help them with what they wanted to specialize in?
Unlike regular high school, everything they do here will actually affect their futures.
Aizawa dismisses them for the day, and Suzume makes her way down to the lockers so she can get her shoes and umbrella.
She unbuttons her jacket and taps her shoes on. She's still exhausted from the other day, and all she wants to do is go home and go to bed.
It doesn't help that yesterday Hatsume had made good on her promise and given her a harness weights for her ankles and wrists. They looked like sweat bands more than anything else, and the harness fits like a sports bra, with the weights pressed against her ribs just under her bust. Thick straps on the shoulders mean that it doesn't dig unpleasantly into her skin, but the weight is still new.
By the time she's ready to start for the train, between the weights and a combat exercise that morning, she feels like she let people beat her with hot mallets all morning.
Who would think this harness would make such a difference? she wonders, scowling at the sun outside. She's going to be sweating by the time she gets to the station, and it was still damp and humid from the rain earlier.
You're not even carrying that much weight! She scolds herself. Maybe six pounds total? Two on your wrists, two on your ankles, and two on your chest. Yaoyarozu carries more around on the reg. Get it together, Kono!
Just as she's getting ready to start swearing at the sun, someone appears beside her.
She turns, and finds Todoroki standing there. She blinks at him. He looks back impassively with mis-matched eyes.
Suzume has always liked heterochromia. It looks really cool. Almost as cool as colored iris' on black sclera.
Maybe I just have a thing for pretty eyes? Gold, red, colors on black, mix and match…
"How's is goin?" she asks, shouldering her back with a grunt. She feels clumsy with the new weights at the edges of her limbs.
Todoroki considers her for a long minute.
"I want to come over to your house."
She blinks.
Stares.
What.
"Oh-kay," she says, to bewildered to refuse. They've barely spoken, outside of the sports festival. They haven't even had projects together.
Never the less, she doesn't deny him. He's not loud or overwhelming, as intense as he can be when it comes to his father. But, why would he want to hang out with her? It can't be for training. He'd kick her ass.
"Great," he turns to the door. "You take the train home, right? Will we be late?"
With a start, she realizes that he means today.
Suzume just wants to go to bed. But…
Maybe if she brings him home, her mom will stop harassing her about friends? And she can sleep once he leaves.
"No, we'll make it if we hurry," she assures. This might as well happen.
She starts for the station, with Todoroki following after her.
It occurs to her that she should probably tell her mom that this is happening.
She pulls out her phone and texts the family group chat.
Me : I'm kidnapping Endeavors son
The sky is getting cloudy again by the time they reach the train station, and just as they pass through the gates the ground beneath their feet rumbles with the incoming train.
Her incoming train.
"Shit!"
Suzume grabs Todoroki by the hand and sprints for the platform, dragging him behind her.
They stumble in right before the doors close.
Safe.
Suzume slumps against a handrail. Thank god. She's never been this late, and her normal seat is gone.
They were standing then, huh?
Suzume sighs when the train lurches beneath them. She lets go of Todoroki's warm hand to grab the rail instead.
Her phone buzzes and she pulls it out to see Kaname has texted her.
Kaname : Pics or it didn't happen
Mama : Does he like tea?
Suzume nudges Todoroki and opens her phone's camera.
"Here, smile," she holds the phone up at a good angle and leans back until their shoulders bump. She doesn't particularly like picture of herself, but the focus in this one is Todoroki, who is pretty boy prime. Todoroki looks at it sideways, his brows furrowed.
"What?"
She snaps a selfie and sends it to the chat.
"My mom wants to know if you like tea," she says, instead of explaining. It's revenge for inviting himself to her house last minute.
"Yes?"
Finally, I'm not the one being confused!
"Dope."
"Isn't that a drug?"
Suzume shrugs. "Technically, yes. But it's also a way of saying 'cool' or 'nice'. It's old slang, essentially."
"I see…"
They fall into an odd sort of silence. It doesn't feel all that uncomfortable, and Suzume wonders if she shouldn't start eating lunch of Todoroki instead of her louder classmates.
The idea of not listening to Kirishima and Kaminari chat sends an uncomfortable pang through her chest.
They come up with some of the silliest ideas. Well, Kaminari does and then he drags Kirishima into it, and then he drags Bakugou into it, and Suzume ends up being pulled along for the ride too.
The boys are so weird.
Eventually a pair of seats open up and she and Todoroki can sit down. He, like her, finishes his homework before they finally reach their stop.
"Do you really travel that far every day?" Todoroki asks when she leads him off of the train and through the station. Rain patters down around them, making the ground slick and shiny and drumming hard on the roof. Through the downpour lights flash in the parking lot and umbrella's bob. Wind tears through the parking lot, throwing branches and stray trash all over the place.
"Yeah. I mean, it gets me there right?" She shrugs, and points to one of the cars parked outside with her own umbrella. "That's my mom."
Suzume waves, and the car pulls up to the curb so they can jump in without getting too soaked. Thanks to the wind their umbrellas only do so much good. Suzume slides into the back seat, dragging Todoroki with her. Her hair is dripping and her clothes are sticking uncomfortably. The temperature has dropped dramatically, and she's glad she's got his left side to her. Even without using his quirk it radiates heat.
"Hey Mom."
"Suzy-Q," Chiasa turns around to smile at the pair of them. The blonde of her hair is streaked through with dark brown roots. Her eyes, as black as Suzume, look over their guest curiously. "And you must be her friend?"
"Todoroki Shouto. It's nice to meet you," he says politely. His stoney expression doesn't give a lot away, even when Suzume's mother melts into a smile.
"It's good to meet you too. I'm Yusada Chiasa. It's nice to have one of Suzume's friends over. She doesn't bring people home normally. Especially boys."
"Mo-om," Suzume objects, her cheeks heating up. She leans forward to hiss, "Don't embarrass me!"
Chiasa's black eyes sparkle before she turns back to the wheel. "Buckle up."
Suzume sits back, crossing her arms and frowning at the back of her mothers seat.
She was wrong.
This is going to be so much worse than if she just never brought anyone home at all.
Shouto wasn't entirely sure what he expected when Yusada told him he could come home with her.
He had halfway thought she might live at a gym, or in a loft above a dojo. Something that fit the brutal fighter he saw in class.
Not this.
'This' being a nice looking two story house in a residential neighborhood, with bushes pressed up against the sides, and a maple tree in the front. A patch of woods rises behind it. Unlike most houses there's actually a yard, and some room between them and their neighbors. It's not as traditional as his own home, or nearly as large.
It looks perfectly average.
It doesn't fit his mental image of Yusada at all.
Her mom doesn't either. She smiles easily, her eyes are soft, despite a furrow between her brows.
They park in the garage, away from the wind and the rain that's already soaked through his uniform and left puddles in the back seat, and Yusada opens a refrigerator that is. Out there. For some reason.
"Soda?" she offers, gesturing to the drinks inside. He recognizes some, and there's a package of chicken on one shelf and a. Turtle in tupperware?
Yusada's mom sees him looking in.
"That's Jorge. I'm a veterinarian, you see, and someone left him at the clinic last month. He's hybernating for now, and when it gets warmer we'll wake him up and put him in a good enclosure, in a home where people will love him," she explains, before leaving them behind to go inside.
"Oh."
He looks at the sodas and frowns. "My father doesn't like me drinking those."
Yusada gives him a slant eyed look. "Then it's a good thing I'm asking you, not him."
"... an orange one, please."
She hands it to him, grabs a coke of her own, and leads him upstairs. Her room is all the way down the hall, past three doors each labeled with names. Seiji, in blocky, pixelated type. Satomi, surrounded by what he thinks are drawings of vines. Kaname, with the 'a's made out of curled snakes and the door plastered with movie tickets taped onto the wood.
And Suzume, in amber orange cursive.
Shouto looks around the room, idly brushing his wet hair away from his face.
She has a bed that looks more like a couch, piled with thick blankets and pillows printed with snakes and owls. Her desk is neatly organized, and above it the shelf is piled with history books in japanese, english, and what he thinks might be spanish, and a globe shaped night light.
One whole wall is decorated with weapons.
A pair of wooden practice dao swords, a staff capped with metal on either end, a spear, two crossed axes, a truly massive broadsword curved on one end, a naginata, a cane, a blunt edged jian sword, a pair of suntetsu, throwing knives, throwing stars, and a dented practice version of her familiar three piece staff.
To the right of all the weapons are ribbons, metals, and trophies of people posed like they're running, flipping, or jumping over obstacles. A diploma from her middle school is framed there too.
At least that fit what he thought of when he thought of Yusada.
There's a few black and white posters for movies he's never seen, and above her desk is a cork board crowded with pictures of Yusada surrounded by people who look vaguely like her. Her brothers, he supposes, and a woman with pale hair and a crown of horns. Movie tickets are tacked on it too.
Yusada gives him a minute to take it all in while she rests her bag on her desk and pulls her hair out of its typical spiky bun.
"I've gotta take a shower," she says, startling him. "I feel really gross after practice and the weather today. Are you okay chilling in my room while I wash off real quick?"
Shouto shrugs. "Sure." He doesn't care, although he's not sure if it's normal to leave guests in your bedroom while you shower. He's never had classmates over before, so he guesses she would know?
She picks some clothes out of her closet. "Do you want to take one too? My brothers' old clothes should fit you fine."
Shouto touches his wet hair. Technically, he can just heat up his body and steam all the water off. But a shower does sound better. Aizawa had really put them through their paces earlier, and he could still feel sweat sticking under all the rain.
"If you don't mind."
"I wouldn't have offered if I did," she retorts. "Hang out here, I'll be back in a minute. We can throw your uniform in the washer with mine once you're done."
Shouto nods, and she leaves him alone in her room.
He sits at her desk and pulls out his phone to text Fuyumi, letting her know that he got to his classmate's house safe. She had been ecstatic when he said he was going to be going somewhere this afternoon, although he hadn't mentioned that it was Yusada he had come to see. His father was still furious that she and the boy with the brainwashing quirk, Shinsou, had been in the top two instead of him.
Bakugou was understandable, at least as far as Endeavor was concerned. Unacceptable, but more understandable than those two.
He grimaces, and switches to a matching game app.
Yes. Better to wait a while before mentioning who he went to see. He doesn't feel like dealing with whatever ridiculous lecture his father can cook up about quirkless little girls. Besides, he doesn't want to point the man at his classmate. He likes Yusada.
They haven't spent a lot of time together. Just a few times in class, and sometimes they've been at the same lunch table, but with her, he doesn't feel like he's speaking half another language like he does with some people their age. She says what she means, instead of talking circles around an issue, and he always knows where he stands with her. And if she says something he doesn't understand, she explains it.
A very small part of him had been hoping to go up against her during the one on one matches during the festivals. She always came up with creative ways to counter quirks, and he wanted to see what she did against his ice. Out of everyone in their class he had the largest ranged attacks by far.
Although, he definitely wanted to be wearing a cup when they fought. She seemed to enjoy kicking people in the crotch.
He's a few more levels in before the door opens and Yusada comes in, her hair pulled back by a bandana tied in a bow on top, wearing a yellow jumpsuit over a black t-shirt. A bundle of clothes and towels is in her hands.
"Here," she hands them over to him. "Those should fit. Hand me your old clothes when you're done and I'll throw them in the wash. Use whatever shampoo you want."
"You're sure he won't mind if I borrow these?" Shouto asks, looking down at the clothes.
"Those are my brother Seiji's. He doesn't even live here anymore, so I doubt he'll miss them."
Shouto shrugs, and she shows him the bathroom. It's still warm and humid when he showers off quickly, using a heavily scented soap labeled 'pine tar'.
The clothes she gave him turn out to be a pair of soft black joggers and a green sweatshirt with a pixelated alien above 'Eat sleep poggers repeat'.
Her brother must really like pomegranate juice. He muses.
By the time he gets back to her room there's two cups of steaming tea that smell like cinnamon and orange peels sitting on the desk, and Yusada is seated on her bed, writing something in a notebook.
When she looks up to see him, her mouth twitches sideways in a smile that shows a few teeth.
"That's beautiful. Hold on, I need a picture of you."
Beautiful?
"Another one?"
"In the other one you were in a school uniform," she waves him off and lifts her phone up to snap another picture of him, before tapping on it a few times.
Shouto goes to sit at the desk, and takes one of the cups of tea. It's strong when he sips it, but good.
"Send that picture to me?" He wants to know why she likes it so much.
"Sure, what's your number?"
She sends him the picture.
Shouto wouldn't call it 'beautiful', but it's certainly different. Normally, if he's not in his school uniform or work out clothes, he has a set of button up shirts and black slacks tailored to him, so he stays 'presentable'.
In Yusada's brother's clothes he looks nothing like himself. The material is soft, and fairly loose on the shoulders and stomach. They're comfortable and in them he just looks like a regular person.
He… likes it.
He looks less like his fathers son and more like any other teenager on the streets.
"Seiji, my brother? He says you can keep the shirt if you like it," Yusada waves her phone, so he knows who she's texting.
"Oh," he says, for lack of anything better on his mind. "Thank him for me?"
"Thank him yourself. He's coming to dinner tonight. You're staying, right?"
"Ah. If it's no trouble."
Yusada lays back on a mound of chunky blankets and tucks one leg under the other. Shouto notes idly that her socks have narwhals on them.
Shouto's phone goes off, a text from his sister.
Fuyumi : Are you coming home for dinner?
Me : No, my classmate invited me to stay.
Fuyumi : That was nice of him!
Me : Her
Fuyumi : … her????
Shouto lifts his phone. "Can I take a picture of you, too?"
Yusada's brows furrow. "I don't know why you would, but if you really want to?"
"Great."
He snaps the picture, and Yusada squawks.
"Hey wait, I wasn't smiling! And that is not a good angle."
"I think it looks fine." It looks like her, just more squished.
"Dude, no, come here."
Shouto lets her shoo him into her bed beside her, the mattress dipping under their weight, and she shows him the 'good selfie angles' and how to use filters to give them both polar bear ears, big glasses, and bear noses.
"There, see? Way better than the first one."
Shouto doesn't see what the problem with the original one is, but he sends Fuyumi the one with the bear ears anyways. Picking out the filter had been interesting at least.
Fuyumi : THAT
Fuyumi : IS ADORABLE
Fuyumi : wait is that the girl from the festival?
Me: Yes, she's my classmate.
Fuyumi : oh my god Shouto
"Kids!" he hears Yusada Chiasa shout from downstairs, "Come eat!"
They jog back downstairs, where he finds three people. Yusada's mother, and two young men with her same black hair. Unlike her and her mother, they have bright red eyes, and small fangs poking out the side of their mouths.
The older boy has most of his hair combed away from his face, save a few strands that fall across his forehead. The younger one has wild spikes, and bangs that fall over his right eye. They all have the snake-like tilt to their eyes as his classmate, save their mother.
The older boy looks him over when he steps into the dining room.
"You know I think that shirt looks better on you than it ever did on me," he says off handedly. "I'm Yusada Seiji. You're Todoroki, right?"
"Yes, it's nice to meet you," he dips a bow to them. "Thank you for having me."
"Wow, Suze, your friend sure is polite. Maybe he could teach you some manners," the younger boy grins, flashing teeth, and Yusada elbows him in the ribs.
"Cram it, Kaname."
"Sit," the eldest of them gently nudges Shouto to a seat beside her daughter and takes her own.
"Yusada, can you pass the water?" he asks. There's a pause as three people reach for the pitcher at once.
"Well that's gonna be a pain," Seiji announces. "Just use our first names."
Shouto's brows arch. "Are you sure?"
"We're not that formal," Kaname agrees.
"Then, you should use mine as well," it was only fair.
Someone passes him the water and Chiasa gives him a bowl of nikujaga. The boys start bickering over something that happened while Shouto and Yusa- Suzume , were upstairs
Dinner is a loud affair, with the three siblings starting small fights throughout, Chiasa defusing them or scolding her children, and people getting kicked under the table. It's more chaos than Shouto has ever seen outside of UA, but it's full of laughter . Shouto spends most of it asking Chiasa about turtles and tortoises.
Suzume has a crooked smile that Shouto realizes is her version of a blinding grin.
When it's over, they all start gathering dishes before Chiasa chases them out of the dinning room.
"Go play, kids, I'll finish up here," she orders.
"We're not kids," Suzume argues, her cheeks puffing out. "We're teenagers!"
"Speak for yourself, kiddo," Seiji props his elbows on top of her head. "I'm a whole ass adult."
Suzume elbows him in the ribs hard enough that he bends over with the force.
"This is abuse!"
Suzume rolls her eyes at him.
"Toughen up buttercup."
Kaname shakes his head at them before he smiles again, showing off the fangs in his mouth. "You know guys, we have even numbers tonight…"
Both of his siblings freeze. Slowly, they turn towards Shouto.
"Todo-Shouto," Suzume says, "Can you stay long enough for a game?"
He checks his phone.
"I don't see why not."
They take him up to a room above the garage, one with thick carpeting and huge windows that show the storm still going outside. There's a fireplace filled with wood against one wall, and a big TV on the other with consoles hooked up to it. The third is home to shelves filled with books, movies, and board games, and a love seat under a window that shows the woods in the back.
In the middle of the room there are bean bags, slanted chairs, and an overstuffed couch.
They take him to the TV and hand him a well worn controller, one that's white and pink and looks vaguely like a cat.
"Have you ever played 'Witches of the Hollar'?"
"No."
"Okay, so we'll start a new game then," Seiji sets it up on the TV. "Basically, we split into two teams. One of us will be witches, the other one will be witch hunters. Both teams are neighbors on different sides of the valley. We live in a hollar, a valley between mountains. The witches have to keep their neighbors from noticing that they're witches, while still doing witch things. There's a meter that tells you how much magic you have. If you have too much magic, it'll start to go off randomly. The witch hunters have cameras, and they have to get a good picture of us doing magic, so they can prove it. The more pictures they have the more points they get, the more spells the witches cast without getting caught the more points they get. Whoever has the most points after ten minutes wins the rounds."
Seiji shows him the controls, how to select the details for his character and move them, then teams up with him as a witch hunter.
"I'm a videogame designer," he explains, "So I should give you enough of an advantage that it'll be fair."
"As long as you don't get impatient," Suzume teases.
Seiji plants his hand on her head and shoves her to the side.
Shouto sits in a bean bag, and tries to line his new character's camera up with whatever magical hijinks the other two get up to. Floating peoples cars, changing horses into mice, making plants flower out of season.
He feels bad when Suzume and Kaname trounce them soundly for the first four rounds, but Seiji doesn't seem to mind.
By the time Chiasa offers to drive him to the station to catch the last train home, holding a bag of his cleaned school uniform in one hand, he's finally getting good enough to win a couple of rounds.
"Come back again someday," Kaname encourages him.
Suzume rides with him all the way to the train station.
"So," Suzume looks at him as they pull into the parking lot. "Did you have fun? My family can be… a lot."
She's not wrong. Even she seems like a different person around her brothers than she is at school. She's infinitely more relaxed, for one thing.
It's not bad.
"I had fun," he promises. He pauses, his hand on the door handle, and looks back at her. He had found the answer he was looking for, too.
"Your brother does have all of his teeth."
Her eyes grow wide before he steps out into the rain.
So I ended up writing a bit of an AU to this story, where Suzume and Kamame are age swapped. You can check it out here, or on AO3. You can also find me on tumblr @ Lo-55