Ochaco bit her lip as she looked through the 100-yen shop shelves for something to get Izu-Kun, his mother Midoriya-San had called her mom to ask if she wanted to come celebrate Izuku graduating college again, it surprised her at the time because Ochaco swore Izu-Kun only started back during the end of March.
Mezo-Kun however had explained to her that it wasn't so surprising because of how smart Izu-Kun was and even reminded her about the two degrees their friend had already collected during their next training session.
Honestly it still baffled Ochaco how someone their age could be in college, much less having graduated three times over but she guessed it was just another thing she'd have to get used to, sometimes Ochaco wished she could be as level-headed as Mezo-Kun was most of the time.
*What does someone even give to another person for a third graduation?* Ochaco thought as she compared a beanbag rabbit plush to a frog version before putting them both back with a heavy groan and left to go see if Mezo-Kun had any more luck than her, Midoriya-San said they didn't need to bring anything but neither of them wanted to just show up empty-handed.
So, with their limited finances they stopped by one of the numerous 100-yen shops but after half an hour she was feeling doubtful they'd find anything for Izu-Kun, walking past a couple of isles she found Mezo-Kun going through the cards "Oh hey, no luck?" Mezo-Kun guessed and Ochaco's shoulders slumped, her non-verbal answer was clear enough "Yeah, there are some nice cards but none of them feel appropriate." Mezo-Kun commented putting the purple card he was holding back.
"Maybe we should try the other place next door? They have hero stuff, if we pool our money together, we might be able to grab something nice over there." Mezo-Kun suggested and Ochaco weighed her options before eventually deciding that she'd rather give him a gift and she could give up buying the blueberry-flavored jelly pouches for a while and would just settle for the nasty pecan-flavored ones that tasted like paste.
"Yeah sure, Izu-Kun's a big hero nerd. Do you know which ones are his favorite? He's talked with me about Thirteen a lot, but I think that's just because they're my favorite hero." Ochaco asked walking out of the shop beside Mezo-Kun, Mezo-Kun hummed softly his face scrunching up as he contemplated "I know he has strong feelings against Endeavour but I'm not sure he has a "favorite" hero, he mentions some more often though." Mezo-Kun told her.
Ochaco blinked trying to reconcile how a big hero fanboy like Izu-Kun could not like any hero but only for a second, they had all talked about heroes before, and while she always labeled Izu-Kun a hero nerd since he just seemed to be an endless fountain of hero knowledge, in retrospect she realized he rarely said anything positive about them, he especially was cold about the number two when the man did get brought up.
"Right, so which heroes does he bring up the most often?" Ochaco inquired glancing through the window and having her stomach flip at the few price tags she could see "Gang Orca, the Wild wild pussycats, and Present Mic. But I think we should try to find something Eraserhead-related, Mido-Kun doesn't bring him up as often because he's an underground hero and Mido-Kun probably doesn't have much merch of his." Mezo-Kun said to her.
Ochaco frowned trying to recall if Izu-Kun ever mentioned that last hero around her but came up empty-handed as Izu-Kun's mumbling just blurred together in her memory, something that made her feel like a bad friend because how could she not know her friend's favorite heroes or even remember what they talked about half the time.
Izu-Kun had even gone out of his way to print out articles about Thirteen for her so she could stay up to date with her favorite hero since there wasn't as much coverage out there about rescue heroes.
Shaking her head, she lightly slapped her cheeks and burning with a newfound determination Ochaco promised herself she was going to be a much better friend to Izu-Kun Mezo-Kun, starting by getting Izu-Kun something he'd like and was ready to charge down the isles to find something connected to Eraserhead.
Only to pause halfway when she remembered she had no idea who Eraserhead was or even what the hero looked like "Um, Mezo-Kun do you know anything about Eraserhead?" she asked turning and seeing he was still by the entrance staring at her, embarrassed she swiftly walked back over "Mezo-Kun-" Ochaco said about to repeat her question.
"I heard you, and I don't know much," Mezo-Kun told her cutting her off. "Mido-Kun's mumbling can be hard to decipher since he's started to use Russian exclusively, but I've seen the page he made of Eraserhead once before when he was looking for another hero to show me." Mezo-Kun explained "Eh? Izu-Kun knows Russian too? Is there anything Izu-Kun can't do?" Ochaco exclaimed feeling rather dismayed as another item was added to her mental catalog of Izu-Kun's many accomplishments.
Mezo-Kun stared at her deadpan "Take a break." He flatly answered causing her to snort because while she hadn't known Izu-Kun for as long as Mezo-Kun had she knew he was right about that, the little greenette just had to be doing something or he'd implode on himself.
But the moment was short-lived as she quickly covered her mouth feeling flustered "S-sorry, I didn't mean to do t-that." Ochaco said desperately wishing she go back in time to stop herself from making such an embarrassing noise "It's fine Ochaco-Chan, I'm glad you thought my joke was funny." Mezo-Kun assured not looking directly at her then he cleared his throat.
"Anyways we should try in the clothes section first, Eraserhead had a scarf of some kind." Mezo-Kun said, and she nodded rapidly following Mezo-Kun over to where the branded clothes were in the shop.
Thankfully they were able to find something for Izu-Kun and make it on time to Izu-Kun's apartment, and upon arriving they were glad the present was in the bag the clerk gave them because otherwise Izu-Kun would've seen his gift when he answered the door for them.
"Guys! You're here!" Izu-Kun exclaimed practically bouncing from his excitement and he didn't hesitate to jump at them to pull them both into a hug, Ochaco laughed and hugged him back "Of course we are Izu-Kun! We said we would, didn't we?" she teasingly replied as Izu-Kun pulled back "Y-yeah, you did." Izu-Kun muttered breathlessly as stared at them both seemingly in awe.
Before she could ponder her friend's odd reaction Izu-Kun straightened out and opened the door for them while clearing his throat "R-right, come on in guys. Mom and I made tempura." Izu-Kun informed them then grabbed their hands and led them inside.
Izu-Kun's apartment wasn't at all what she would've expected from someone so rich, it was very modest with the most noteworthy thing being the wall lined with pictures and Izu-Kun's degrees "Hello dears, you're just in time for supper." Midoriya-San warmly greeted them waving from where she sat at the living room table.
She and Mezo-Kun bowed to her "Thank you for having us over Midoriya-San." Mezo-Kun politely said, Midoriya-San "Oh it's my pleasure dear, come sit down, and please just call me Inko." Inko-San replied waving it off and motioning them to sit at the table with her which Ochaco did.
"Thank you for the meal Inko-San, it looks delicious." Ochaco praised looking over the spread which all looked good, certainly better than what she usually had even when she made dinner "Thank you Ochaco but Izuku helped me make everything, he was so excited to invite you both over." Inko-San told them and Izu-Kun's cheeks turned pink "Mom!" He whined covering his face and Inko-San giggled ruffling Izuku's hair.
The meal was quite pleasant, and she enjoyed listening to Inko-San's stories of young Izu-Kun's misadventures and even though Izu-Kun was very red in the face he shared one or two of his recent travels, Ochaco and Mezo-Kun had piped in with their own if only so Izu-Kun would feel less embarrassed.
Eventually, they got back around to why they were celebrating and to her surprise they learned that Izu-Kun was going back to college for a science degree this time since it would better help him understand the affects a person's quirk had on an environment or objects.
After the dishes were collected Inko-San shooed them off to Izu-Kun's room to just hang out, entering the room Ochaco found it was partially what she expected, she had expected there to be way more hero-themed stuff given how much of a hero nerd he was.
Ochaco could see one or two hero-themed things dotted around the room, but it was the numerous framed drawings that caught her attention as the room was rather plain aside from the pictures, which varied in level of skill though most looked like they were made by toddlers "Are these all from your students?" Mezo-Kun asked and Izuku gave a quick nod sitting at his desk.
"Yep, I have more but there wasn't enough space, so I put them in some binders, the kids just love giving me them and I can't say no to them." Izu-Kun explained nervously rubbing his neck but looking upon the wall with nothing less than fondness, however, it did make Ochaco remember they hadn't given Izu-Kun his present yet.
"Oh, that's right we got you a gift Izu-Kun." Ochaco mentioned causing Izu-Kun to stare at them surprised "You… what?" Izu-Kun questioned looking between the two of them, Mezo-Kun nodded and offered Izu-Kun the bag to the boy.
Izu-Kun stared at the bag as if it was some mysterious unworldly thing before he gently took the bag, upon him reaching inside to see what they got him Ochaco shifted from foot to foot, nervously anticipating Izu-Kun's reaction to their gift, the greenette pulled out the simple grey scarf Mezo-Kun had picked out from the mix and match part of the cosplay section of the shop.
"I know it's not much but, we hope you like it." Mezo-Kun said while Izu-Kun just sat staring at the plain article of clothing, then after a minute, tears began to well up in his eyes with his bottom lip trembling "Izu-Kun-" she said reaching out to comfort him but Izu-Kun wrapped the long scarf around his neck and he declared "I am never taking this off ever."
Despite the tears falling from his face Izu-Kun was just beaming with such uncontrollable happiness that was positively infectious and Ochaco felt so relieved Izu-Kun had liked the gift that she might shed a few tears herself, she was a sympathetic crier like her mother so Ochaco wouldn't be surprised if she did.
Izu-Kun needed a minute to get his emotions in order and wiped away his tears "Sorry, I can be a bit of a crybaby sometimes. I really love the scarf though, it's super soft." Izu-Kun said running his hands over one end of the scarf "Well I don't think you're a crybaby and you deserve something nice Izu-Kun!" Ochaco responded, quick to quash that pessimism Izu-Kun had about himself.
Izu-Kun chuckled rubbing the back of his neck and about to say something, but Mezo-Kun cut him off saying "You do Mido-Kun." Izu-Kun hid his face in his new scarf slightly red "Guys, stop please." Izuku pleaded clearly embarrassed only to jump when a ding came from his phone, Izu-Kun dropping everything he was doing to check his phone "Sorry Mezo-Kun, Ochaco-Chan but I have to take this call, it's from one of my students." Izu-Kun told them quickly excusing himself and leaving the room.
Once Izu-Kun was gone Ochaco felt a bit unsure what to do with herself in Izu-Kun's room now that he wasn't here and it didn't look like Mezo-Kun was much better off, the two of them just kind of standing off to the side and just well existing in Izu-Kun's space "Izu-Kun sure is dedicated to his students, huh?" Ochaco tried to joke twiddling her thumbs, wanting to break the silence so that they could be doing something other than stew in this awkwardness, Mezo-Kun hummed musingly "Yeah, he does a lot for them." He answered moving to sit on the floor by Izu-Kun's bed "He tends to go pretty far for them." Mezo-Kun added offhandedly.
"Really?" Ochaco inquired sitting down on the bed next to him, mainly so they'd be eye level with each other "Yes, he doesn't just answer their calls, but I know he carries a couple quirk bands in case their quirks act up." Mezo-Kun elaborated making her gasp "He gets them quirk bands! But aren't those super expensive to get for civilian use?" Ochaco exclaimed.
Mezo-Kun shrugged "Well as a licensed counselor Mido-Kun gets a discount, but he'd still get them even if he didn't. If Mido-Kun thinks they need a quirk band, he'll get one for them." The boy told her "Wow, that's so… I mean, I know Izu-Kun's generous considering how rich they are but," Ochaco said feeling like she was just going to have to get used to being overwhelmed by anything new she learned about her friend.
"Rich? Mido-Kun isn't rich." Mezo-Kun commented staring at her looking confused and she was just as baffled "Woah, woah, woah, woah. Hold up, what are you talking about Mezo-Kun?" Ochaco questioned holding her hands up in the time out position "He's not from a rich family or won the lottery, so why would you think he's rich Ochaco?" Mezo-Kun asked making her pause.
"But… I know Izu-Kun's spent at least ¥1.6 billion on the buildings he contracted my parents to build, how could he not be rich?" Ochaco asked apparently shocking the boy "He, did?" Mezo-Kun replied, his eyes wide and Ochaco nodded "Yeah, plus he's got all those building in the South Side, right? He'd have to buy the land and pay taxes on it, so he must have a big income of some kind to afford all that." She argued and Mezo-Kun blinked his gaze falling to his lap "Oh… yeah, he would. I never thought about that before." Mezo-Kun conceded then looked back to her "But then where is he getting all his money from?" Mezo-Kun questioned.
"I, don't know." Ochaco admitted because she didn't think teaching would make Izu-Kun much money and Mezo-Kun just said that Izu-Kun didn't inherit it and the only other way he could legally get the money was the lottery but wasn't Izu-Kun too young to enter still?
Before either could come up with any ideas Izu-Kun returned "Sorry about that, a boy I've been working with in Yaizu has been having problems returning to his body after activating his quirk and he needs someone to calm him down before he can." Izu-Kun sheepishly explained.
"Oh, it's no problem, Izu-Kun. If someone needs you, we understand." Ochaco assured waving both her hands placatingly and Izu-Kun sighed "Thanks but I know it must be frustrating to have come over just for me to ditch you." Izu-Kun told them looking quite guilty as he played with the end of his scarf.
"Nah, it's fine. Besides it's probably going to be the other way around when Mezo-Kun and I become heroes, so don't worry about it okay?" Ochaco playfully responded waving off his comment, Izu-Kun blinked looking a little taken aback but quickly recovered "R-right! I'll try to keep that in mind Ochaco-Chan, but I still feel pretty guilty about it." Izu-Kun agreed then checked his watch.
"I think we still have a few minutes before mom takes you guys' home, do you want to watch a video I found of Thirteen? I found some footage from that fundraiser in '65." Izu-Kun offered, and she felt herself flood with excitement "The one for the Saints program?! Of course, I want to see that!" Ochaco cheered and Mezo-Kun shrugged "I wouldn't mind." He said and Izu-Kun went over to grab his laptop so they could watch it.
Dear Wackuhdoodle
I'm glad you're enjoying my story so much and to answer your question the reason I post ten chapters at a time is because as a reader one of the things that was a personal pet peeve of mine was when the story updated with only one chapter at a time.
I understand that writing is difficult and getting on ao3 has shown me that it isn't mass chapter update friendly so I never really blamed them for that... so that's why I do it because it's a personal choice as a writer and that is based in that pet peeve of mine is the main reason
To Adollus, FShield96 and Ryu_megaverse
Thank you for the information about Dark Shadow in Smash, I have an idea for Dark Shadow in this story but I'll keep that in mind for the next story I write