Chapter 19: Improving Oneself
"You're a strange person Midoriya-san," Mei said with a smile as she slapped Izuku's back. The boy didn't know if she was teasing him or if that was a compliment.
Power Loader then shouted from across the room, "And that's saying something when coming from you!"
Hatsume responded loudly, "Awww, thank you Maijima-sensei!"
The pro hero grunted before going back to his work.
It was currently Sunday, and Midoriya was with the two mechanics to see the construction of the additions to his suit. He had arrived about an hour ago, but they were busy working on another costume, so he waited patiently until they finished. Before Hatsume started the new soles for his boots, she asked why her guest had been coming the last two days.
Izuku felt indebted that she not only helped him come up with his new fighting technique but was helping build it as well. The last few days involved coming over and asking if he could help with anything, but now he somewhat regretted the idea. Mei strapped invention after invention to the poor boy to test them out, and more often than not they slightly injured or embarrassed him in the process. Luckily for him, Power Loader just asked him to help clean up, most of which was his student's mess.
Midoriya then asked, "What's strange about wanting to help someone?"
Hatsume explained, "Midoriya-san we make hero suit upgrades and redesigns all the time. More often than not we never even meet the person we're making it for and even if we do it's very brief. So for you to come here every day to help with other stuff is quite odd," she then turned and shouted over to her teacher, "isn't that right Maijima-sensei?"
Power Loader waved a hand lazily as he replied in a raised voice, "I'm not going to say no to help. Midoriya-san could become an honorary student of the Support Department if his sole job were to keep you occupied and cleaned up after you Hatsume-san."
Mei laughed before saying, "He's such a jokester. Honorary student? Whatever. I doubt you even know the difference between brazing and soldering," She continued to chuckle a bit before stating, "Well anyways, watch as I construct your new babies Midoriya-san!"
The next hour Izuku observed the pink haired mechanic craft his new shoe soles. Occasionally he asked a question about what she was doing, but eventually, she asked for silence, as she stated she works best when uninterrupted. When she finished, Hatsume then turned Midoriya over to Power Loader as she wanted to stress test the shoe soles in private.
The excavation hero was working on Midoriya's new gloves. They were thicker and longer than his previous pair. They also reached past the elbow. As the mechanic continued his work, the boy asked, "So do you two normally split the work?"
"Depends. If we have a lot of orders or requests then yes. I'll have my students share the work on the simple things. If not, then I do the work alone. Mei is an exception since she has the time to work on more difficult tasks. And right now we got quite a lot of work to prepare all the students that are trying to take the provisional license exam next Sunday. But when we do work together, I tend to work with the fabrics, and she does the metalwork," the pro hero answered.
Curious at how helpful she was, Izuku then asked, "Is Hatsume-san a good assistant?"
Power Loader paused to look at his guest and leaned in as he stated in a low voice, "Despite being high maintenance she's the best assistant I've ever had. But don't tell her that, it would bloat her head with more pride than I would know how to deal with."
"Yes sir," Midoriya stated with a nod.
The excavation hero looked back at his assistant before saying, "By the way, I appreciate you coming here. Hatsume-san needs some friends."
Izuku was taken aback at this and said, "You say that like she has none."
"She doesn't. It's one of the reasons she wanted to bunk up with me next to my workshop instead of with her other student's in the 1H dorm," the pro hero explained before getting up. He then said, "Excuse me, I need some more fabric to finish this, I'll be right back."
Midoriya pondered, did Hatsume truly not bond with any students since starting here? Sure her personality might be off-putting to those in the hero course, but there had to be more like-minded individuals in the support course. Mei living next to the workshop wasn't a surprise to Izuku though. She had told him the first day he came back after submitting his costume changes during a discussion between trying out her inventions.
Power Loader came back with some white cloth, and as he sat down, he said, "Alright this should do. Won't be too long till I finish your first glove."
The boy let the man work for a few more minutes before speaking up by asking, "Why do you think Hatsume-san has troubles with friends?"
"I've seen her up close for long enough by now. Hatsume-san is incredibly self-centered to her work. Plus she mostly ignores her classmates unless they are working on a project together. Even then, she tries to dominate the activity, and that usually doesn't sit well with her peers. Hatsume-san values her 'babies' over connecting with people," the excavation hero explained. He then reached and patted his guest's back before saying, "Hence why I meant what I said earlier about you coming here these last couple of days. She needs someone other than me to interact with, someone her age."
"Thank you, sir. I just felt indebted to her for helping me figure out how to change up my fighting style," Midoriya stated.
The pro hero gave a nod as he continued his work. Izuku watched as the teacher finished his first glove. As he prepared to start the other glove, Power Loader leaned in and asked in a whisper, "I know this might be too personal to ask, but you're not interested in her are you Midoriya-san?"
Izuku yelled, "WHAT!?"
This outburst got Mei's attention, and she asked, "Everything okay over there boys?"
The excavation hero coughed before responding with, "Just made a mistake on his glove, it's an easy fix though I got this."
The pink haired mechanic then stated in a teasing voice, "A mistake? That sounds uncharacteristic of you Maijima-sensei. Is your old age getting to you I wonder?"
Power Loader inhaled and exhaled slowly before saying in a harsh voice, "We all make mistakes Hatsume-san, especially you. Need I remind you of how many times you have triggered the fire alarm in here with your 'accidents'? Just get back to work."
Hatsume just chuckled at this and returned to her testing.
The pro hero turned to his guest and said in a calmer tone, "My birthday is next month, and she won't stop teasing me that I'm an old man since I'm forty. But anyways, keep it down will ya?"
"S-Sorry I didn't expect you to ask that. I mean I already have a g-girlfriend," Midoriya explained as he held up his hands defensively.
The excavation hero let out a chuckle before saying, "Really? Huh, kids these days. But anyways I was curious is all. I'm glad there's no alternative motive for you coming here. That kind of drama doesn't need to be here."
The boy remained quiet as Power Loader finished the second glove. He was trying to process the question of if he liked Hatsume. What would spawn such a question? She didn't seem like the type to be interested in romance, Izuku figured. Was there something that Mei's mentor knew about her past that would lead him to ask such a question?
"Alright that should do it," the pro hero stated as he got up to stretch. He then called to his assistant, "Hatsume-san ready to make his new kneepads?"
"Give me a minute, I need to make an adjustment here," Mei stated as was reheating a portion of Izuku's new shoe soles.
Midoriya got up as well and then asked, "Hatsume-san is making them?"
"Yes. Occasionally I have Hatsume-san do something outside metalwork as she needs to broaden her horizon. Though it's always under my supervision," Power Loader explained as he popped his fingers and wrists.
Izuku's phone then started to vibrate and looked to see his alarm was going off. He sighed in displeasure before saying, "Drat, is it that late already?"
The excavation hero asked, "Something come up?"
Midoriya nodded, and replied, "Yeah. I've been working in the evenings with one of my classmates who specializes in leg based combat. It's almost time for our meet up."
"I see. Already working on that new style of yours before we have your suit ready is a good idea. Welp, me and Hatsume-san will have everything ready to go tonight. Swing on by tomorrow morning to pick it up," the pro hero stated with a thumbs up.
Izuku thanked both mechanics and made a quick exit from the workshop. He didn't want to keep his class president waiting.
Ida asked with concern in his voice, "You sure you don't want me to at least observe you practicing?"
"I don't wanna burden you too much Ida-kun. We've been doing this special training every day since Thursday so I don't wanna burn you out," Midoriya responded while stretching his arms.
Tenya crossed his arms as he stated, "Okay, let's switch this around and apply that logic to you. Are you not pushing yourself too hard Midoriya-kun? You've been doing the super move training, visiting the support department, and then having my lesson every day."
The class president has a point, Izuku mused. He then replied, "It's just for another week. I got this."
Ida had just finished his lesson with Midoriya, and both were walking back to their dorm. The tall teen felt he had taught as much as he could and that all that was needed now was practice. Izuku didn't want to burden his friend anymore and had requested if he could practice alone.
The two boys entered their dorm only for Tenya to be quickly approached by Ochako. "You. Me. Cake. Now," she demanded as she attempted to pull him towards the kitchen.
Ida tried to argue by saying, "But I already had dinner before working with Midoriya-kun. I shouldn't snack before bed. It's terrible for one's metabolism."
"Nope. We are having some quality time together tonight, and it's going to be over some cake so come on you," Uraraka stated as she dragged her boyfriend to the fridge.
Midoriya could only smile at the two's antics. Ida's birthday on Friday had gone quite well, and then some. Ochako worked with Rikido to make Tenya a red velvet cake while Izuku told as many classmates as he could about the surprise the night before. After training the next day, everyone quickly showered and gathered up in the common room while they waited for Ida to finish showering. However, the finishing touches to the cake were taking longer than expected, but surprisingly Bakugo stalled the birthday boy long enough in the elevator for the surprise to be ready, though he did not attend the surprise.
But what caught everyone off guard was after Tenya blew out his candles. Ochako threw her arms around his neck and gave a big smooch on the lips, in front of everyone. The couple then revealed their relationship, much to Ida's embarrassment. Uraraka later told Midoriya that she couldn't wait any longer about keeping it a secret and devised her plan as she worked with Sato to make the cake. Waiting until the first day of classes just was too far away for her it seemed.
Once the two had grabbed the last two pieces of cake, Izuku grabbed a frozen meal so he could quickly prepare and eat it. He didn't have the time to prepare a proper meal. Tonight was going be his and Tooru's first video chat with their parents. Because U.A. hadn't started properly yet, they couldn't use the library for their video chat like they originally planned. The common room was out of the question as Midoriya wanted privacy, as was their own rooms for obvious reasons. Hagakure suggested they do it outside by the maple tree they had met at in the past. They were never told of having a curfew while on school grounds, so he was okay with the idea.
After heating up a chicken and veggies frozen meal in a microwave, Izuku looked around for a place to sit. He saw Minoru unenthusiastically poking some pasta and decided to take a seat across from him. As he sat down the short teen didn't seem to acknowledge the presence of his friend and continued to stare at the other side of the room. Midoriya followed Mineta's focus and saw Uraraka feeding Ida cake. The class president was flustered about it, and having Ashido and Yaoyorozu watching from the couch across from the couple probably wasn't helping.
"You know I do appreciate one thing about you and Hagakure-san over those lovebirds over there," Minoru stated, breaking the silence.
Izuku took a bite of chicken and swallowed before responding with, "And what's that?"
Mineta sighed before saying, "At least you two don't flaunt your relationship. You two act like you always did before the school trip, minus holding hands every once in a while." He then pointed his fork over yonder and continued with, "But these two have been insufferable since Friday."
Midoriya was about to reply back, but the short teen held up a hand and stated, "I know you're going to say I should be happy for them and all but how can I not be jealous? You get the mysterious beauty, and our class president gets the cute, wholesome girl." He then groaned softly before saying, "And the way they are acting is frustrating me to no end, and it's only been a few days. How am I gonna survive the rest of school like this?"
Izuku took a few more bites and thought of a proper response for a minute. He then swallowed before saying, "Consider this. They're happy they can finally spend time together without hiding their relationship for once. Given some time I'm sure their public displays will lessen. It might be a phase."
Minoru then asked, "Is that how you and Hagakure-san acted after the summer trip?"
"Sorta," Midoriya stated slowly. They didn't have the time to be open about being together considering everything that happened over the summer. But he felt that Tooru might have been clingy for a short while they were still at school. But Izuku also remembered that his girlfriend was still mad at him. He wondered, would things have been different in their public displays of affection if he had just been truthful from the start? At the very least the boy was glad they could hold hands. He had asked her on Friday about it and was surprised to be told yes. It was small, but it was something.
Mineta sighed and said, "Alright then I'll stop complaining about it. I should eat this before it gets too cold anyhow."
The two then ate in silence for a few minutes. Izuku was tempted to ask about apologizing to Tooru. He knew Minoru hadn't said anything yet, as she would have said something by now if he did. But Midoriya also didn't want to be too pushy. He knew it wouldn't be easy to change Mineta for the better in such a short amount of time and to rush it wouldn't help.
Another thought floated in Izuku's head as he ate. He missed eating with his main friends. Meals had been erratic since coming to the dorms. Some meals were delivered daily to their rooms since the cafeteria wasn't fully operational yet, frozen meals were also available in the fridge. Breakfasts were chaotic as it was a mad dash to grab food and prepare for the day, as training started early in the morning. Lunch was light and had been served in the gamma gym so they could get straight back into it. And Midoriya had dinner after almost everyone else because of his visits with Mei.
Once Minoru finished his meal he asked, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, what you were doing up so late on our first night here?"
Izuku almost choked on his veggies at this and coughed for a few seconds as his short friend gave a concerned look. He cleared his throat before responding with, "You h-heard that?"
"I got up to go to the bathroom pretty late, and I heard voices coming from your room. It sounded like another guy, but I was too tired to check who," Mineta explained while poking his forehead with his eyes closed. He then continued with, "And I forgot about the whole thing after we had that talk in my room on Thursday."
Midoriya thanked the stars that his neighbor had only heard Ojiro's voice. He then stated, "That was me and Ojiro-kun just having a chat." Izuku hesitated a moment but decided it was best to be truthful, so he said, "I didn't tell him about me and the others going to rescue Kaachan, so he wanted to hear the whole story."
The short teen then asked, "He wasn't mad at you, was he?"
"Thankfully, no. He just wanted to know the details," Izuku stated before taking the last bites of his meal.
After finishing, Minoru then asked, "How about your girlfriend? Did you tell her about it before Aizawa-sensei told everyone?"
Midoriya could respond to the question, Mineta looked to his right and eyes widened. Midoriya looked to see what it was and saw Hagakure approaching the table. Once she arrived, she said, "You ready to go Midoriya-kun?"
Izuku thought, perfect timing Tooru! He then replied, "Yeah, just let me clean my plate and take a bathroom break. I'll meet you there afterward."
"Sounds good, see ya in a few minutes," Tooru responded cheerfully. She then made her way outside the building.
Minoru had a confused look on his face but before he could ask what was going on Izuku stated, "Bye!"
It was a warm and humid night, and Midoriya couldn't wait for cooler days. He had his fill of summer and was ready for the change in the season.
As Izuku approached the meeting spot, he couldn't precisely gauge how this would go. He made sure to tell his mom before leaving what she needed to do to set up the video chat on her end, so he didn't expect any technical difficulties. No, the issue was would their families get along. The primary factor being Tooru's mom. Midoriya had spent some time speculating ways her behavior could put off his mother, but in the end, he hoped their similar very clingy nature to their children would be a way for them to bond.
A shout from ahead got the boy's attention, "Izuku we only have a few minutes, hurry up will you!"
"Sorry," Izuku shouted back to his girlfriend as he increased his pace before taking a seat on the bench to the left of her.
Once he was seated, Tooru said, "Alright quick game plan before we start this. We won't mention your 'daring rescue,' but we got to be truthful about everything else going forward if they ask. The whole point of this is getting our parents to trust us being together in the dorms and to have faith that our school is looking out for us."
"And so they don't miss us so much, we can't forget that," Midoriya added.
"Yeah yeah, that too," Hagakure stated with a sigh. She then pulled her laptop out of her backpack and continued with, "So how'd your talk with the purple blob go?"
Izuku replied, "Well we were only chatting about Ida-kun and Uraraka-chan being open about their relationship."
Tooru exhaled loudly before saying, "So no mention of being sorry about what he did in my room."
"I don't wanna rush him Tooru, if I do I don't think it will help," Midoriya tried to argue. He had told Hagakure about confronting Mineta, and while she was glad to hear about it, she was waiting for results now. And so far there wasn't any to be shown.
As the invisible girl set up a webcam on top of her laptop, she replied with, "Well he's got a week before me, and the other girls have our go at talking with him. And it won't be a soft-spoken as your attempt was, that I can assure you."
Izuku groaned a bit before saying, "I know." While he waited for her to finish setting up, he then looked up at the Japanese maple tree above the bench. Since it was late summer, it's red samaras were less numerous. He then looked down at the ground to see that a decent number had fallen. A sign that summer was soon coming to an end.
"Alright, everything is set up on our end," Hagakure stated. She then placed her laptop to her right and scooted closer to her boyfriend. Midoriya then felt her grab his left arm and bring it around her waist. It startled him, but she was quick to say, "This is just for tonight."
Izuku knew it was too good to be true. He missed their hugs, and he hated to admit it, the kissing as well. It didn't help that the last time they were intimate was his birthday, over a month ago. He then gave a gentle squeeze which got a flinch out of her, but Inko's video feed coming online prevented her from saying anything.
Izuku's mom then said, "Oh hey there you two! Um, I see you. Can you see me? Can you hear me?"
"We hear and see you mom," the younger Midoriya stated.
Inko started to fan her face with her hands as she said, "Oh good. I was afraid I had forgotten one of your directions on how to do this." She paused for a moment before continuing with, "I guess I'm the first parent here. I don't see anything in the other window."
"My parents will be here soon. I bet my dad is just being slow is all," Tooru explained before laughing.
The older Midoriya twiddled her thumbs as she said, "To tell you the truth I'm nervous about meeting your parents Hagakure-san."
Izuku felt Tooru place her hand on his right leg and squeeze it slightly as she said, "No need to worry, I'm sure you'll get along fine with them."
Midoriya wondered, was his girlfriend just as worried as he was about what her mom might do?
Inko started to look around before stating, "Um where exactly are you-." However, she stopped when the other screen flashed on.
"Evening everyone," the older Hagakure stated, there was no sign of her husband, however. She paused to get a look at the other parent before saying in a polite tone, "You must be the boy's mother, it's a pleasure to meet you."
The other mother cleared her throat before replying, "Y-Yes, it's n-nice to meet you f-finally."
Tooru's mother then squinted her eyes before saying, "So looks like it's just us women tonight. It seems both our husbands are too busy to socialize with our children. Mine decided to pull an all-nighter with his work despite knowing well in advance what was happening today. Now he's sleeping like a rock. I wonder if he just overworked as an excuse not to do this." She paused and shook her head before asking, "And what about your husband?"
Inko's face clenched in shock upon hearing this.
Izuku almost immediately spoke up and said, "My dad is currently working overseas. It's way past midnight where's he's at, so he can't come online to do this I'm afraid." He then felt Tooru fidget, which concerned him.
"See now that's a worthy excuse, unlike my husband's," the red-headed women stated with a shrug.
The boy gulped before saying, "Alright then with that settled; I guess we'll start with what's coming up next Sunday for us."
"Before that," Mrs. Hakagure said bluntly and paused before asking, "Are you two outside?"
Tooru's shoulder's sagged as she asked, "We're still on school grounds, there's nothing to worry about mom."
The older Hagakure then asked another question, "Don't you kids have a curfew?"
"Only to be back on school grounds by seven," her daughter answered.
The red-headed women crossed her arms, "There should be one about staying in the dorms as well."
"I-I agree," Inko stated with a few nods.
Mrs. Hagakure grinned as she said, "Glad you and I see eye to eye Midoriya-san." She then turned her attention to the couple to state, "You kids don't need to be sneaking off to go do gods knows what late at night."
Inko blushed at this, and so did her son.
"Mother! Midoriya-kun is too much of a scaredy-cat right now to do anything drastic with me in that regards. You can trust us to keep our hands to ourselves," Tooru explained in an annoyed tone. She then took a deep breath to say, "Look we're out here tonight cause the library is closed. Once school starts properly, we'll be having our video chats from there and earlier in the day. Anyways can we please just update you both on everything that's happening here, so we don't have to stay up too late?"
Izuku didn't know whether to be bothered by what his girlfriend had just said or if she had just said that as a retort to her mother. He knew what she said was a hundred percent true she but the statement got him to worry that perhaps Tooru saw that as a flaw. Hagakure had pointed out in the past whenever Midoriya had acted boldly. Did she want more from him? Did the girl see things as one-sided in their romance? The boy wanted to ponder the thought longer, but the fact he had been "banned" from physical interactions for the time being put a dampener on that.
Tooru's mom then grunted before saying, "Alright, fair point. So what's so important that is happening next weekend dear?"
Izuku then thought, wait does she think I'm too much of a scaredy-cat to be bold with her daughter as well?
Either way, the two then went over the hero provisional license exam and everything they were doing to prepare for it. Izuku explained his costume upgrades and the change in his fighting style, which he had dubbed as Shoot Style. Tooru then revealed her work on a better version of her father's technique of manipulating light, which she called Light Refraction. Her boyfriend was interested in seeing it, but for now, the description of its intensity compared to her dad's version satisfied him enough for the time being. The younger Hagakure also explained her new shoes that came with her suit, saying they were slip resistant and canceled out most sounds made when walking and even running on most surfaces.
As they explained, Midoriya realized they hadn't told each other that much about their training the last few days. They weren't acting distant with one another it was more he had been so busy to have time to sit down and talk. Sure Izuku had given some details to Tooru but looking back they hadn't spent that much time talking to one another the last few days. Just another week of this, and then things will hopefully go back to normal, he hoped. But he then realized this also hinged on Mineta apologizing to Hagakure. If the short teen didn't then things might be rocky for longer than Midoriya had hoped.
"While this has all been quite interesting I do find this provisional license quite odd," Mrs. Hagakure stated tapping her cheek with her index finger.
Tooru sighed as she responded with, "What is it now mom?"
"I've read the U.A. student handbook plenty of times, and they mention such an exam is given to second and third years, not first years like yourselves," the red-headed women explained.
Inko then spoke with, "It does seem off to have them doing something this big so early in their schooling. Shouldn't they have more time to prepare?"
The older Hagakure nodded as she replied, "Exactly. So why the change?"
As everyone paused a moment to think why, a memory flashed into the younger Midoriya's mind.
You kids in 1A have gone through a lot these last few months, more than a typical semester at U.A. should be.
It happened during Tooru's birthday, while she was shopping for her new swimsuit. Eraserhead had confronted Izuku about what he and his friends had been doing. Between the villain invasion at the USJ and the Hero Killer incident, Aizawa was quite right to say this, the boy thought. And this was before running into the then puppet leader of the League of Villains while shopping, the attack in the forest during the summer school trip, the rescue of Bakugo afterward, and the events that led to the retirement of All Might.
"Our homeroom teacher, Aizawa-sensei once told me that our class has gone through more than most students do in the hero course in any semester. And this was before everything that happened during the summer break," Izuku explained while cupping his chin with his free hand. He paused for a moment before stating, "I think he and the rest of the teachers here at U.A. think because of all we've been through, we should be prepared to pass this exam, even if we are first years."
Midoriya felt Hagakure shift around as she asked, "When did he tell you that?"
Izuku scratched the back of his head as he answered with, "Oh, uh during one of my days of detention the week before the finals." Again with the lying, he thought, but he swore to his homeroom teacher that he wouldn't mention their talk. Though Midoriya sort of did, but not the central part of their conversation.
Mrs. Hagakure raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Detention? What were you in detention for?"
"I'll tell you later mom, I promise, but this isn't the time to discuss this," Tooru stated with a hint of anger.
Izuku had forgotten that his girlfriend wasn't as open about what happened at school to her parents as he was with his mom.
After a few seconds of silence, Inko said, "Uh, so how about you two describe what your dorms are like. Are you and your friends comfortable with the living arrangements?"
The next couple of minutes were spent answering this question. Izuku had no problems with the dorms. Tooru, however, voiced having a few small issues. Particularly wanting another refrigerator, a larger bathroom, and saying she didn't like the showers. Everything else had been quite positive between the two, which satisfied their mothers.
The younger Hagakure then said, "And that should about do it. Any last questions?"
"Well, not for you two. I do have one for you Midoriya-san," the red-headed women stated.
The older Midoriya fidgeted a bit before asking, "S-Sure go ahead."
"We really should meet up and get to know each other better. Might I suggest over a drink," the other mother gleefully.
Tooru gave a slight groan to this.
Inko gave an awkward chuckle before responding with, "I'd prefer we talk over tea if possible. I don't drink alcohol."
Mrs. Hagakure paused before she replied, "Okay then, I understand. I'll have to find a place that can give us both what we want. Anywho, been a pleasure to meet you." Her tone then changed to be a bit blunt as she said, "And stay out of trouble kids." Her feed went dark, signaling she had ended the video chat.
The invisible girl was quick to say, "I'm sorry if my mom seemed rude at all Midoriya-san. She means well but comes off as brash sometimes."
"It's fine Hagakure-san. I can see what you mean but she sounds like a caring parent, and I look forward to meeting her later over this drink," Inko responded with a smile. She then waved as she said, "Have fun you two and stay safe." Then she logged off as well.
Tooru let out loud sigh as she removed the webcam and closed her laptop. She then got up and paced back and forth while saying, "That could have gone worse."
Izuku then said, "I think it went well, all things considered. I mean your mom, was your mom, but I think we can continue doing this without much issue."
"I know, but she stresses me out when she gets all overbearing. I mean we're both sixteen now, not little kids," Hagakure stated before sitting down again.
As his girlfriend put her laptop away into her backpack, Midoriya said, "If we both get our provisional licenses next Sunday, I'm sure that will help convince your mother think we're more mature than she thinks."
The invisible girl huffed, "Maybe." She then chuckled before saying, "Though she seems to think we need a curfew, so we don't feel each other up."
Izuku felt a blush coming on as he said, "Y-Yeah that, was v-very left field of her to say."
The boy felt Tooru place a hand on his shoulder as she said, "Maybe not now, but one day it might be the norm for us."
Midoriya froze at this which got a laugh from his girlfriend.
Hagakure shook him slightly as she stated, "I'm just joking Izuku, lighten up will ya?"
Even if it was a joke, what she said wasn't precisely a falsehood. And that thought was the reason the boy was having a slight panic.
"But anyways," Tooru started to say but paused. After a few moments of silence, she then asked, "Izuku, do you mind if I ask you about your dad?"
This immediately squashed the mature themes Midoriya had floating in his head and brought another wave of stress. After a long sigh, he asked, "W-Why?"
Tooru hesitated but eventually said, "Well I mean, I've never seen him. You and your mom haven't mentioned him either. I almost thought he was dead or something until you come over to my place. Other than you mentioning his quirk during dinner and being overseas today, I don't know anything else about him."
Izuku was still at a loss for words at what to say and remained silent.
"Look you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I mean if it's heavy family stuff I can understand not wanting to talk about it," Hagakure tried to explain.
Midoriya took a few deep breaths before saying, "Well there isn't that much to say." He paused before continuing, "He hasn't been here for me. It's just been me and my mom for a long time. So I don't have much desire to talk about him."
Izuku felt Tooru grab his right hand before saying, "Okay. That's enough for me. You don't have to say anything more about it for now."
Midoriya gave a slow nod. He then said, "I'll tell you the whole story someday, I promise."
"I look forward to it," Hagakure replied with a comforting voice.
It was late afternoon on Monday and Izuku was again waiting for All Might in gym gamma. Today he would officially begin his one on one training with his idol.
Class 1B had reserved the gym that afternoon, so Midoriya decided to work out in a different gym as he waited. He came back after a few hours to find that no one was there. Izuku then received a text from All Might saying he'd be there in a few minutes.
While the boy sat there, he couldn't keep himself from smiling. The upgrades to his suit had been spectacular and beyond his imagination in its usefulness.
Today Midoriya was able to show off and test his new costume gamma. Being able to finally apply his training with Ida and for it to work well was a tremendous feeling. Especially since he used it to save his mentor from harm. While Bakugo was testing out a new super move it blasted some debris towards All Might. At the last second, with a swift kick, Izuku was able to knock it away, impressing all that saw it. The former pro hero looked at his student with pride and later told him in private to stay after training so they could begin getting serious. This was before Vlad King and his students from 1B came claiming they had reserved the gym for the afternoon.
Izuku was happy to hear a voice from across the gym say, "Afternoon my boy, hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."
"Nope. I've only been here a few minutes sir, and thanks for doing this again," Midoriya stated cheerfully.
"That's the spirit. I would have been here on time but I spent the last couple of minutes locking all the entrances so we could train done in private," All Might said while ruffling his student's hair with his free hand, as he was still had a cast on. He then raised an index finger and asked, "Before that though, I wanna hear how you came up with this new style of fighting."
Izuku was more than happy to explain getting the idea from Mei, training with Tenya, and practicing on his own to prepare his Shoot Style for today.
After the boy finished, the former pro responded with, "It's nice to see you coming into your own than just trying to be just like me. I appreciate how much you look up to me boy, but you need to be your own man, your own hero. And today was a good second step towards that goal."
Midoriya gave a puzzled look before asking, "What do you mean by a second step?"
The skeleton of a man put his free hand on his student's shoulder as he said, "Well the first way you differentiated yourself from me was involving yourself so deeply with Hagakure-san."
Still confused, Izuku asked, "I still don't follow sir."
All Might responded with, "My boy, I took the mantle of the symbol of peace on my lonesome. All the burdens that came with such a position I endured on my own, for better and for worse. At the time I felt no one else should have to shoulder such a monumental task. But looking back, maybe I should have had someone to help, seek comfort, or even just talk to. I had plenty of pro heroes that looked up to me but no real friends or loved ones minus my master, but she is no longer with us."
The former pro hero then took a few steps towards a bench near the wall and took a seat. After a heavy sigh, he continued with, "My recovery after my first battle with All for One truly tested my limits as a hero and as a person. All the pain, stress, and fears that I had at the time could have been lessened if I just learned to trust another. But I just pushed what few allies I had at the time away and limped forward stubbornly without them like it was the only option. I deeply regret those decisions now."
The teacher gave a beaming grin towards Izuku before saying, "But it hasn't even been a year at U.A., and you have made quite a partner. She's embraced what you are and has been more than willing to help you along your path towards the new symbol of peace. And then, of course, you have all your other friends. An amazing start really, and light years ahead of what I had."
Midoriya took a seat next to his mentor as he tried to process what was just said. His previous thoughts about All Might's loneliness had turned out to be true. Izuku was glad he had Tooru to help him through all of this and to think what it would be like alone, was hard. But he was still in training, and it had only been doing this for some months. But the former symbol of peace had been doing this for many years on his own. Just what hell did he go through during all this time Midoriya couldn't fathom.
After a few minutes of silence, the boy spoke up and said, "I'm sorry I asked. I had no idea that would bring back such painful memories."
"It's all fine; it's best you knew anyway," All Might stated as he scratched his chin.
A few moments passed before Izuku asked, "So is there going to be other steps or something?"
The former pro hero tilted his head slightly as he replied, "No idea. I haven't thought that far."
The student gave a perplexed look at his teacher as he said, "Wait. What? You don't have a plan after this?"
"Well, I'm still learning how to teach my boy, you can't rush these things," All Might responded as he leaned back into the bench.
"But I think you're a great teacher Yagi-sensei," Midoriya proclaimed with his fists raised.
This got statement got a laugh out of the skeleton of a man before he said, "I was wondering when you were finally gonna start using my real name. Hagakure-san said it before even you."
This got a blush from Izuku, but the former pro then stood up and straightened out his back before saying, "But seriously. I've had no experience teaching another before coming to this school. I've been winging most of this as things went." He then pulled a paperback book from his back pocket and placed it on his student's lap.
Izuku's mouth was agape when he saw it's title, Teaching for Idiots. He did find his idol's teaching methods as odd but thought it was his unique style, not that he was inexperienced.
Yagi turned towards the boy and stated, "But I think we can help each other Midoriya, my boy. You'll get the one on one training that you desire, and I'll learn how to better teach you and the other students at this school. Okay?"
Midoriya gave a nod and set the book to his side before saying, "I understand sir. I hope we both improve to the best of our abilities."
"Now that's what I want to hear," All Might proclaimed as he flexed his free arm. He then lowered his arm and said, "But to better answer your question from earlier, there might be another step to being different to me, but who knows? Maybe we'll think of one as we work together. But for now, let's focus on improving the first two steps."
Scratching his head, Midoriya asked, "How are am I going to improve the first step exactly?"
The former pro hero gave a blank stare as he replied, "Well get closer to Hagakure-san, obviously." However, once he noticed Izuku's reaction to this, he continued by saying, "Woah now, not like that. What I meant was she is still mad at you for keeping your rescue of Bakugo-san a secret, no?"
Midoriya's blush faded as he answered, "She is." He didn't want to explain what his punishment was and how he was trying to remedy it.
"Then consider it homework outside our training here to remedy that. I want you two to be on the best of terms with another for both your sakes," All Might stated.
This ironic nature of this unorthodox homework being assigned by his mentor, the one who had previously said he wouldn't be able to give good advice on how to deal with women, was not lost to Izuku. However rather than chuckle at the premise, he brushed it aside in his mind and responded with, "I'll get right on it."
"Good, now I want to see your Shoot Style up close, let's see what you've learned from Ida-san," the former pro stated while clenching his free fist.
Midoriya activated Full Cowl before saying, "Can do!"
Midoriya, Ida, and Sato were all sitting on one of the couches in the lounge room for their dorm. They all had odd looks on their faces. The last hour had been, entirely different than what they were used to.
It all started with Izuku coming back from training to hear Tooru yelling about seeing a peeping tom from the entrance hall window. The boys that were there immediately thought it was Minoru, but he was innocently taking a relaxing bath at the time. Everyone there was then surprised to hear a knocking at their front door and even more so when it was Neito Monoma on the other side.
The student from 1B had peeked through the window to see if anyone was home and despite Ida's accusations, he ignored him. He stated he wanted to compare 1A's dorms with his own class and was able to convince the class president to see some of the boy's rooms. Midoriya had guessed he wanted to see if 1A had gotten any special treatment.
Neito was quick to notice the lack of differences after a few rooms and seemed disappointed upon learning this. Suddenly three other students from 1B arrived; Kendo, Tsunotori, and Tetsutetsu. They had come over to see if their classmate was up to no good. Kendo was ready to drag Monoma back to their dorm, but Sato and Yaoyorozu arrived to serve treats and black tea respectively which changed her mind. One thing led to another and Monoma was then showing off pictures he had taken of 1B's room during their first night together. The one bedroom that intrigued Izuku was Pony's, not really because what was in it, minus a rare imported All Might figurine she had, but the reaction it got out of Tooru. The horse girl's room was similar to Izuku, though her obsession was anime. Hagakure recognized one of the anime as one of her favorites and the two girls bonded quickly because of it. Midoriya noted that he could do something akin to this subject to later bond with his girlfriend.
Once Neito had some snacks he wanted to leave, but Mashirao and Denki blocked the exit. They wanted to know his real motives for coming, which he wouldn't state. They then challenged him to a contest which Monoma gladly accepted. The stakes were if 1B won, 1A would admit they were inferior. And if 1A won, Monoma would explain why he had come. However, no one could decide on what to do until Todoroki got an idea and came back with a barrel-like toy he got from Hatsume a few days earlier. In the end, 1A won the game using the device, and Monoma reluctantly agreed to tell everyone.
Izuku recalled the explanation word for word in his head.
Alright fine, I'll tell you.
Ojiro-san and I went to school together before coming here. He was different back then than he is now, and I thought it was because of his classmates here who might have changed him. So I wanted to learn more about them and see how you all interacted. You all are a tight bunch, it reminds me of my class.
So now we both have the answer we wanted. Happy?
After the 1B students left, everyone there looked to Mashirao to ask what that was about. His answer didn't seem to help.
Man, I don't understand what's been going with him as of late. If I knew I would tell you I promise, but ever since we both got suspended he's been acting weird.
The tailed teen then retired to his room, and most of everyone else scattered to do other things.
After a few minutes of silence after the ordeal, Ida then spoke up by saying, "I'm thinking of talking to Kendo-san the next chance I get to see if she can shed any more light on what this was all about."
"I don't blame you, that was weird," Sato said while crossing his arms. He then gave a small smile before saying, "I'll admit I liked having them over though."
This perplexed Izuku, and he asked, "What do you mean Sato-san?"
Rikido answered with, "Well I mean we never really get to interact with other classes that often. We have some tension between 1B because of Monoma-san, and I think it shouldn't be like that, you know? Who cares about some dumb tradition that both classes being at odds. We're in the same school and all we shouldn't be so distant with the other first years. Doing things like we did today again would be a good thing I feel."
Tenya then stood up and raised his arms in the air and said, "That's a brilliant suggestion! And I got just the idea on how to get this to work!" The tall teen then stepped aside and took out his phone. As he typed away, Midoriya and Sato gave each other confused looks. Ida then put his phone away with a big smile on his face and said, "Well I've set things in motion. Stay here Sato-san, if you please." The class president then left and went upstairs.
About a minute passed before Yaoyorozu showed up looking quite excited. She sat down across from the boys and then said, "Ida-san just gave me the news. I think it's a wonderful idea Sato-san."
Sato then asked, "Thanks but why did Ida-san call you over here Yaoyorozu-san?"
"Oh because we plan to work with Kendo-san and I am more familiar her than Ida-kun is," Momo replied.
Midoriya then spoke up and said, "I get it, you wanna set up something with 1B's class president."
The tall girl nodded before replying, "Yep. And for this to work, I'm gonna need to tell Sato-san everything I know about her that could be helpful."
The sugar hero was quick to stand up and say, "Woah now why am I doing this? You and Ida-san are our leaders, shouldn't you two do this?"
"Ida-kun figured Kendo-san would be more willing to do this if someone besides our class representatives approached her and proposed the idea. And we figured you would be the best choice as you saw how most of our class weren't exactly fond of Monoma-san's antics, especially Ojiro-kun. And for a good reason, but that's beside the point," the class vice president explained in a serious tone.
Sato sat back down with a worried look on his face, however, "Alright I'll do it. But do you mind telling me the details later? It's been a long day."
"Tomorrow it is then. Also, I think it would be best to propose this idea to Kendo-san after our provisional license exam. Asking her now might not be the best idea since we are all quite busy preparing for the exam," Momo said before standing up.
"Sounds good to me," Rikido replied while giving a weak thumbs up.
"You'll do fine Sato-san, I promise. Anyways, see you boys tomorrow," the class vice president stated and made her exit.
Rikido then put his hands on his face and groaned.
Izuku then asked, "Is everything okay?"
"I don't know man. I'm nervous about meeting Kendo-san all by myself," Rikido stated as he poked his index fingers together.
"Hey, I understand. I'm still quite nervous around girls, and I've got a girlfriend," Midoriya said before giving a light chuckle.
Sato shook his head before saying, "I have no problem being around girls, it's just when I'm alone with them something weird or embarrassing always happens to me. For example, a couple of things went wrong when Yaoyorozu-san and I were training together during the summer school trip. Though I'd rather not go into what happened."
Izuku put a hand to his chin before asking, "If it's such a problem then why did you agree to do it?"
"Cause I meant what I said earlier, the hero courses shouldn't be on bad terms with one another. And I think we can do something to be closer as a class. And if Ida-san and Yaoyorozu-san think I should be capable of doing that then I should trust in the faith they put into me to do it," Rikido explained in a solemn voice.
Sato's drive to do this surprised Midoriya but he was glad to hear it. He then said, "Well if you want I could join you when you go talk to Kendo-san."
Sato shook his head and replied, "Nah I need to do this on my own. Maybe all these bad things happen cause I think something will happen. You know, self-fulfilling prophecy and all that jazz. If I go determined and positive, maybe things will be different this time. And to do that I think I need to go alone, sorry Midoriya-san."
Izuku shook his hands and said, "It's fine Sato-san, I understand. Regardless I hope it works out, for all of us."
It was Tuesday afternoon, and Izuku was making his way back to the workshop. He couldn't wait to tell Mei that the additions to his suit had been perfect. Once he arrived, he knocked on the sliding door.
After a few moments, the door slid open with a confused and dirty looking Hatsume on the other side. She then asked, "Why are you here? You didn't come yesterday."
"Yesterday was very busy for me, I needed to rest was all," Midoriya explained.
"I thought you were done coming here after getting your suit upgraded," the pink haired mechanic stated as she leaned against the door frame.
Izuku immediately bowed upon hearing this and replied, "Oh I'm sorry if I gave off that impression Hatsume-san."
"It's fine," she said before grabbing the boy's collar. As she pulled him inside, she said, "You have good timing, I need you to clean up my recent experiment before Maijima-sensei comes back or he'll have an annoying fit about it."
Midoriya looked over the carnage. It looked like something exploded, there was shrapnel all over her workbench, a puddle of oil on the floor, and whatever she was working on was a mangled pile of scrap that was still sparking plus had smoke emitting from it. He then looked over at Hatsume and said, "Well I'm sure if we work together we can clean this up quickly."
Mei looked at her guest inquisitively and said, "We? Who's this we? You're cleaning it up. I got to log this failure while it's still fresh in my mind."
Izuku sighed heavily at this and started by wiping up the oil puddle. As he did, he noticed the pink haired mechanic would occasionally glance at him but quickly go back to writing on her notepad. What was she thinking, he wondered. Did it have to do with not coming yesterday?
Midoriya then collected all the metal scraps and put them into a recycle bin they had for any leftover metal. However, Hatsume kept whatever device had exploded, for future reference she said. Since she was still writing, Izuku decided to start doing a general sweep of the room but continued to notice her looking up at him.
It was starting to get to the boy and eventually he couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Hatsume-san is there something you wanna ask me? You keep looking at me, and it feels weird.
"You're the weird one. I just can't figure you out Midoriya-san," Mei stated as she placed down her notepad and pencil on the table next to her.
Izuku responded in an apologetic tone, "Is this about me not showing up yesterday? If so, I'm really, really sorry about it."
The pink haired mechanic shook her head before saying, "It's not about that. It's about you coming here in the first place."
Midoriya put aside his broom and then said, "I'm sorry I don't understand."
Hatsume crossed her arms before saying, "I already said it was very peculiar that you were coming to help us before we made all the upgrades to your costume. And you being here today makes it even more bizarre to me." She then squinted her eyes and continued with, "No one would do that unless they wanted something else."
The boy thought, was it that hard of a concept to see I want to be her friend?
Mei then pointed at her guest and stated, "You're too nice to wanna steal something from us so that can't be it."
Izuku sighed at this. This is going nowhere, he thought, and took a few steps forward until he was right in front of her and said, "Hatsume-san I just want to be friends with you."
The pink haired mechanic's eyes lit up, and she proclaimed, "Ah I get it now! You have a thing for me Midoriya-san." She then closed her eyes and nodded a few times before saying, "It all makes sense now."
Midoriya put a hand to his slightly blushed face and shook it a few times. She assumed this just like Power Loader, he thought.
"Okay, I didn't expect this kind of reaction," Mei stated as she tapped her cheek with her index finger.
After a sigh, Izuku said, "I'm not interested in you that way Hatsume-san. I already have a girlfriend anyways."
Hatsume replied, "Okay, that's illogical."
Midoriya was puzzled by this and asked, "What is?"
The pink haired mechanic leaned forward and poked Izuku in the chest before saying, "For you to have a girlfriend. I mean we're training to be or assist pro heroes. We don't have time to chase skirts Midoriya-san."
"I-I didn't c-chase Hagakure-chan's s-skirt," Izuku argued.
"It's just an expression. Anyways we got more important things to worry about than romance here at U.A., and that's why it's so perplexing to me that you have a girlfriend. You seem like you're always busy training, so it's baffling to me that you even have the time to have a partner," Hatsume explained. She then got off her stool and said, "Though I guess it puts me at ease to hear you didn't come here to try and ask me out or something. That's a load off my mind."
Now having calmed down, Midoriya responded with, "I am quite busy, but I do find time for my friends and Hagakure-chan. I mean I never thought I'd get a girlfriend here at all, but we sort of quickly became drawn to one another, and before I knew it, she confessed to me, and I said yes on her birthday. I'm sorry you can't see it as being a logical choice but I love her, and I can't see myself without her."
"Hey, chill I'm not saying you shouldn't be with this Hagakure-san," Mei stated while waving her right hand as if shooing something away. She then put a hand on the boy's shoulder and said, "I see it as counterproductive is all. But you've already made your decision so that I won't say anything more on the subject."
"Uh, thanks for understanding," Izuku answered. It wasn't the best response, but it was the best he could expect from her he figured.
The pink haired mechanic then put her arm around Midoriya and pulled him towards her. She was slightly shorter than him, and he was currently pulled down into a headlock. Hatsume then said, "But you wanna be my friend? Truly? I can be quite annoying to most people I hear."
"Y-Yes H-Hatsume-san," was all Izuku could muster. His left cheek was currently squished against her right breast, and his heart rate was in overdrive.
Mei then let him go and waited for him to breathe a little before saying, "No reaction huh? Alright, you check out."
Midoriya almost stumbled before asking, "W-Wait you did that on p-purpose?"
"Yep, just a little test. I mean if you did have an ulterior motive you would have taken advantage of that situation. Glad I can trust you Midoriya-san," Hatsume replied with a thumbs up.
"Power Loader is right, you need to learn about p-personal space Hatsume-san," the boy stated while rubbing his temple.
This got a chuckle from Mei, but she then said, "While I appreciate you being here, I think you shouldn't come here every day. I'm sure you could be spending your time training perfecting your new fighting style of yours than being here so much. Plus you can be quite distracting sometimes."
Izuku couldn't grasp what she meant by that last sentence but responded with, "Okay how about I come over once a week." He originally planned just to keep coming every day till the exam and then come every couple of days after that, but this worked for him too.
"Every Tuesday would work for me, but now that we're all cleaned up here I got a new power boot I wanna try. And lucky for us, it should fit your feet perfectly," Hatsume said with a devilish grin.
Midoriya sagged his shoulders but replied, "Alright let's see what they do."
The door then slid open, and Power Loader walked into the workshop. He was carrying a couple of building materials in a few plastic bags, and once he put them down on his workbench, he turned to see Izuku. He then said in a teasing voice, "Ah glad to see you here Midoriya-san. Hatsume-san was so worried that you would stop coming yesterday. It was so cute to see her concerned about you."
Immediately a chunk of metal flew over Midoriya's head and bounced harmlessly off the pro hero's helmeted head.
Maijima tone switched to anger as he said, "Hey, what was that for? You're the one that's always spouting no violence!"
Midoriya turned to see Hatsume with a slight blush. She didn't say anything as she stormed off to her room.
"Yeesh, can't take a bit of her own medicine," Power Loader said with a shrug.
Izuku was sprawled out on the couch in the common room of his dorm and was resting his eyes. It was Wednesday evening, and he had just gotten back from a long solo training session. Midoriya only had three more days to better adjust to his Shoot Style before the exam. He did appreciate having the extra time to practice now that he agreed only to visit Hatsume weekly.
The boy walked downstairs after having taken a shower, he only saw Shoji and Koda talking over dinner. Everyone else was either busy showering or already in their rooms.
Izuku was hoping to spend some time with Tooru and after waiting for almost thirty minutes decided to send her a text to see if she wanted to talk. As he got up, he was surprised to see Koji was standing near the couch, with no sign of Shoji being around. Midoriya then said, "Um, do you need something Koda-san?"
"S-Sorry. I wanted to ask for some advice, but I couldn't tell if you were sleeping or not and didn't want to wake you if you were," Koda nervously said as he twiddled his fingers.
The fact that the large teen wanted to talk at length with him got Izuku to quickly respond with, "Well I'd be happy to help with anything you need."
"Thanks, Midoriya-chan," Koji stated as he took a seat from across his friend. After a few moments of deep breaths, he began by saying, "Well as of late J-Jiro-san has been trying to strike up conversations with me."
Izuku remembered back to the conversation he and Kyoka had during the summer break concerning this. He was curious about how much things had progressed. Midoriya then said, "Well that's a good thing, right? I'm sure you wanna get better at socializing, so talking to a girl will help with that."
"I-I mean I'm not against talking to her, but I find it weird that s-she wants to talk with me," the large teen said with a worried look on his face.
Izuku knew what the real reason was, but replied with, "Well, maybe she wants to be friends with you?"
Koda looked surprised upon hearing this and said, "B-But why me? There's no r-reason for a g-girl like her to want to be f-friends with me."
Midoriya then asked, "And what's wrong with wanting to be friends with you Koda-san?"
"J-Jiro-san seems like the type of g-girl who wants to hang out with people that are confident with themselves and their passions. I mean I'm getting better and all, but I'm nothing like everyone else in the class," Koji said while sagging his shoulders.
Upon hearing this, Izuku remembered Mashirao mentioning the petting hero's observational skills. He wondered how Koda was able to infer this from just observing the hearing heroine. Midoriya then stated, "I mean maybe she saw something in you doing your final exam and thought you two could be friends just from that."
Koji seemed to ponder this thought for a bit before replying with, "J-Jiro san did start trying to talk with me after the exam. You might be right, Midoriya-chan." He then shook his head a few times and asked, "Anyways, what should I do about this? Most of our talks are just me listening to her. I wanna contribute, but I usually don't have much to say or am too nervous when I do."
Izuku recalled Kyoka mentioning the only time she had gotten a response from the large teen at that time was when she mentioned himself. This gave him an idea, and he responded with, "Well why don't you try and start a conversation with her yourself? Maybe over something, you're comfortable with talking about. Like animals."
Koda's body perked up upon hearing this, and he said, "Hey yeah that could work. I mean a-approaching her might be difficult, but at least this gives me something I could talk about."
The two then discussed other possible subjects that Koji could bring up for the next couple of minutes. Izuku also gave some tips on how to calm down when he was nervous that had helped him in the past, and his large friend found them as helpful. As the two talked, Midoriya noticed in the corner of his eye Mineta walking upstairs to the boy's dorms. He hadn't noticed the short teen in the lounge earlier, so where did he come from, he wondered.
The two boys' conversation was halted though when suddenly Tooru showed up which silenced Koji quickly. She kindly asked, "Hey Koda-san, you don't mind if I borrow Midoriya-kun for a bit do you?"
The large teen gulped before saying, "I-It's okay H-Hagakure-san, we were about d-done. I-I'll see you both t-tomorrow."
After Koda made his leave, Hagakure sat next to her boyfriend and stated, "You'll never guess what just happened."
Completely clueless as to what, Midoriya asked, "No idea. Is everything okay?"
"Oh, everything is quite wonderful. I had a little visitor knock on my door just a few minutes ago," Tooru said with glee.
The boy immediately connected the dots from what he saw earlier and said, "You mean Mineta-san apologized?"
"He did! And it was surprisingly decent coming from him. I really thought me and the girls would be confronting him next week, but you continue to surprise me Izuku," the invisible girl stated.
Izuku sighed in relief before saying, "See I told you Tooru, we just need to give him some space and time to think about what I told him."
"Well, while I'm glad he said he was sorry now comes the part where he acts like he's sorry as well," Tooru argued.
The boy nodded before saying, "Yeah and that's gonna be the hardest part for him."
"Hey, at least it's a start," Hagakure said as she got up from the couch.
Midoriya hesitated for a moment before standing himself and asking, "Hey Tooru, does this mean the 'ban' on our physical interactions is over?"
"Sorry, but no," Hagakure stated bluntly. She then started to make her way back to the girl's dorm.
Izuku knew it was a long shot, as it had only been a week since the ban was started. It didn't hurt to ask, he thought.
Tooru then stopped before heading upstairs and proclaimed, "It certainly does help in lifting it though! See you tomorrow Izuku!" She then walked up the stairs at a quick pace.
Midoriya felt a wave of joy overtake him upon hearing this. Things were looking up between him and his girlfriend. Koda was feeling more confident in interacting with Jiro. He had made a new friend with Hatsume. The boy's one on one training with All Might had finally begun. The first video chat had mostly gone well. Ida and Uraraka had finally been open about their relationship.
With all this in mind, while the upcoming provisional license exam loomed on the horizon and Izuku felt more than ever that he was ready for whatever it would throw at him.
Well hey, an early upload! The last chapter was posted two days late, so I decided to post this one two days early!
Welp got through the rest of the Super Training this chapter. I initially had an extra scene at the end (which would have clocked this chapter at around 15k words) but decided to move it to a later point in the story. Chapter twenty will have a summary of the provisional hero license exam and the aftermath of Deku vs. Kaachan round two. From here we will slowly see the secondary theme of this fic start to come to fruition that has been building up since chapter three. Which will then also reveal the reasoning behind the title of this fic with due time, which might come off as lame but w/e it's too late now to change it. ;p
Night Foilage edited two more chapters. The following edits were made:
7: 52 (10,631)
8: 22 (7,439)
So yeah Tenya and Ochako are now open about their relationship with the class. I was tempted to depict the scene as the start of the chapter, but one thing was holding me back. I didn't want to just retell Ida's birthday from the third volume of the light novel, as the only changes I made were how it started, the cake itself, Uraraka's kiss, and them both coming out. I know I usually just summarize canon, tho one can debate if the light novels are canon, but since it's a written work I didn't want to repeat the experience for those that have already read that chapter in the light novel. So if want to read that in detail, you can easily find translations for all the chapters on Tumblr.
1B's visit from the light novel was also handled similarly (only change was Monoma's motives, the reason for the competition, and it's aftermath). It was mainly included to give Sato some screen time in its aftermath (and continue Mashirao's plot a bit), cause again minor characters getting some love is needed, and also this sets up more 1B interactions in the future which is always welcome.
Tumblr posts this month were a bit more personal but also some BNHA here and there. Post 6 showed off all my wacky pets. Post 7 explains why I wrote Tenya x Ochako for this fic. Post 8 shows off my hiking/biking during Spring Break. And finally, Post 9 talks about my views of Izuku ships with the girls in 1A.
Before I go, I'd like to point out another IzuTooru fic that started not long ago. Another friend from the MinaDeku discord, Eternal Love Song, has been on a roll as of late writing over ten oneshots this last month. She did start one longfic though, Phantom Fatale, that involves Izuku and Tooru in an AU where both are thieves but still have quirks. It's only two chapters in but I like the premise and am hopeful for the fluff that will eventually happen in the future of the story. So if you need more IzuTooru to tide you over till the next chapter, check this story out!
With that out of the way, all that needs to be said is that chapter twenty will release May 1st!
