My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 21: Fierce Disdain
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
"Next match is Bakugo vs. Sato!" Razor Shell announced. Sato and Bakugo stepped away from their class and took up separate positions in the gym. Razor Shell wouldn't show it, but he did harbor some concerns about Bakugo. Knowing of his time in Aldera Junior High, it wouldn't be entirely out of the question that he'd feel like he doesn't have to obey others, especially teachers. He was prepared to end the match at any moment should Bakugo get overly violent.
Sato was nervous about going up against Bakugo, having seen how strong his Quirk was. Luckily, his Quirk would increase his durability to the point where Bakugo's Explosions would do minimal damage. Since his Quirk could only be activated by consuming sugar or sweets, he was allowed to carry it in a belt as per the request he had made.
Bakugo's scowl was one of fierce determination, as if he was going into a real battle. Two things went through his mind: the first being Razor Shell's warning to him and Midoriya not to repeat what they did during the Combat Training. Bakugo thought by now that they would've forgotten about it, but clearly, that wasn't the case. Razor Shell felt the need to remind him and Deku that they would be expelled if they intentionally tried to fatally injure anyone.
The second was the more predominant thought: his loss at Talos's hands. Ever since that day at the USJ, Bakugo was forced to face the brutal reality that he had a long ways to go, evidenced by how easily Talos had defeated him and Shitty Hair. First, losing to Deku and then losing to Talos was the worst feeling he had ever felt since the revelation of Deku's Quirk.
"Begin!" Razor Shell announced.
Almost immediately, Bakugo used his Explosions to launch himself towards Sato before he could pull any sugar from his belt. Sato barely dodged in time and threw a punch at Bakugo, but the ash blonde man caught on and used an explosion to dodge. Bakugo then launched a flurry of explosions at Sato, denying him the chance to ingest any sugar and activate his Quirk.
Many students were amazed at Bakugo's battle prowess, his raw speed and power that was quickly overwhelming Sato. But as just as Bakugo was about to throw another explosion, Sato managed to grab his arm and threw him in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, Bakugo quickly recovered and launched himself at Sato again, hitting him with a point-blank explosion that knocked Sato back.
"Even without his Quirk, Sato's pretty durable," Raionhato commented.
"True, but without mobility, he's unable to catch up with Bakugo," Yaoyorozu pointed out. "Bakugo's not giving him a chance to activate his Quirk, so Sato may not last much longer."
Raionhato hoped Sato could beat Bakugo, but it was clear that Yaoyorozu was right. Bakugo was easily able to overwhelm Sato by keeping him unable to ingest sugar and wearing him down until he was eventually defeated by Bakugo unleashing one last explosion on him.
"DIE!" he shouted as he knocked Sato to the ground, unconscious from the final attack.
"Bakugo wins!" Razor Shell announced. Razor Shell called for robots to carry the unconscious and beaten Sato to Recovery Girl, though Bakugo looked very disappointed with the victory. He looked at Sato as if he were a Level 1 Boss when he wanted a Level 30. It wasn't enough to prove himself as the best in Class 1-A; if he were to do so, he'd need to beat those he deemed the biggest obstacles: Deku, IcyHot and Kitty Boy.
"I hope Sato's going to be okay," Raionhato said as he watched his friend get carried off in a stretcher by two robots.
"I'm certain he'll be fine," Yaoyorozu assured.
"Now, I'm certain many of you could look at this match and say it was clearly in Bakugo's favor," Razor Shell stated. "Well, allow me to correct you: what helped Bakugo win was that he didn't give Sato the chance to activate his Quirk by keeping up the heat on him. Had Sato managed to activate Sugar Rush, he would've had a chance to endure more of Bakugo's explosions and potentially finish him off if he got in close."
"As if he had a chance," Bakugo spoke disrespectfully. Raionhato glared at Bakugo and was about to call him out, but Yaoyorozu stopped him.
"I'd refrain from disrespecting your classmates if I were you," Razor Shell commented in a firm tone. "You never know when you may need them to support you."
Bakugo would've responded, but upon seeing Razor Shell's expression, it was vividly clear he should stop. The Gym Teacher's firm tone masked the disappointment he wished to express at Bakugo for his arrogance and disrespect towards Sato, even after he explained how Sato could've won the match. The Explosion Quirk user believed he had the right to gloat considering he had beaten Sato, but Razor Shell was quietly telling him to get back with the class.
"Whatever," he responded before walking back to be next to Kirishima.
"I really hate that beast," Raionhato growled.
Yet again, Bakugo had proven how he looks down on others, acting as though the whole class were beneath him. However, the moment he thought anyone looked down on him, whether it was real or not, he'd snap at them.
"Well, it's not my fault the rest of you are nothing to me."
Raionhato remembered those words Bakugo said just this morning when the two bumped into each other. When confronted by his hypocrisy, the beast simply justified himself by saying the class was beneath him and he could look down on them as much he wanted.
"Raionhato, please don't speak like that," Yaoyorozu politely asked, having heard his hateful words towards Bakugo. "If there are issues with Bakugo, then our teachers will handle it."
Yaoyorozu understood Raionhato's disdain for Bakugo as she herself was put off by his crude and arrogant attitude. Along with him, she too disapproved of his disrespect for Sato, but she felt that her friend's hate towards Bakugo could quickly become an issue if not addressed. It was one thing to stand up to him and not tolerate his selfish and arrogant behavior, but it was another to bear nothing but disdain and hatred for him.
Seeing the Vice President's earnest request, Raionhato let out a small sigh and he took his focus away from Bakugo.
"The next match is Todoroki vs. Zankoku!" Razor Shell announced. Todoroki stoically walked to one end of the gym while Zankoku walked to the other.
The Poison Quirk user was happy to go up against Todoroki, but hated the look on his opponent's face. Todoroki looked like he would barely put any effort into this like he did in the Combat Training. Everyone believed that Todoroki was, without a doubt, their strongest student due to his powerful Quirk. Zankoku smirked at the idea of proving them wrong and showing that Todoroki wasn't as strong as everyone thought he was.
His focus broke for a moment when he saw Raionhato and Yaoyorozu talking to each other and his smirk hid a frown he wanted to show. What did Raionhato see in that rich, spoiled girl?
"Begin!" Razor Shell announced. Immediately, Todoroki unleashed a great blast of ice at Zankoku, who quickly managed to dodge the attack by jumping. Having seen Zankoku's great agility and speed, Todoroki believed his best bet was to create an ice wall to protect himself so Zankoku couldn't inject him with his poison. However, he did have to be careful so he didn't cause immense damage to the gym.
Zankoku quickly deduced that Todoroki would use his ice to protect himself, knowing that Zankoku wouldn't be able to pierce his ice. So he rushed forward to get close to Todoroki before he could shield himself, but as soon as Zankoku was several feet away from his opponent, Todoroki used his ice to slide away from the scorpion-tailed man.
As soon as Todoroki was away, he unleashed another blast of ice at Zankoku, but he easily dodged yet again. The Poison Quirk user pursued Todoroki, constantly trying to slice at him with his arm stingers. As the attacks continued, Todoroki realized a pattern to Zankoku's attacks: he was constantly targeting his left side, the side that allowed him to create fire.
"Is he really not going to use his fire?" Raionhato wondered. "He's leaving himself vulnerable."
No one understood why Todoroki wouldn't use his flames in a fight, a mistake that could've cost him his life at the USJ Attack. Why wouldn't Todoroki use his left side? Why was he insistent on only using his ice, despite the weakness of leaving his left flank vulnerable?
"Not going to use your fire, eh, Todoroki?" Zankoku taunted as he came very close to injecting his opponent with paralysis poison. "Geez, you must be really full of yourself to think you can win using only half your power while the rest of us are giving it our all!"
Todoroki didn't respond as he stayed on the move and unleashed attack after attack at Zankoku, but the Poison Quirk user was too fast. The Half-Cold Half-Hot user couldn't land a hit on Zankoku, but despite the difficulty, Todoroki wouldn't use his flames.
"I won't use my flames," he spoke quietly. "I will reject Endeavor, even if others criticize me for it."
Finally, Todoroki felt a piercing pain in his left side, caused by Zankoku slashing him with his scorpion tail. In a few moments, Todoroki's body started to shut down and he tumbled off the ice, clearly defeated as he was unable to get up.
"Zankoku wins!" Razor Shell announced.
Everyone was shocked that the student they felt would be the strongest was beaten; at least this time, it was in a controlled setting rather than a villain attack. Almost immediately, two robots put Todoroki on a stretcher and took him to Recovery Girl's office.
"Don't worry," Zankoku assured. "The poison will wear off in about half an hour; he'll be fine."
As he hoped, Zankoku proved to the class that Todoroki wasn't the strongest as they thought he was. True, his Quirk was very strong, but the brutal fact was that he was holding himself back by refusing to use his flames, which also showed his immense arrogance to Zankoku. While the rest of them were giving it their all, he was only fighting with half of his power and still expecting to get by.
"Thanks for reminding me why I hate people like you, Todoroki," Zankoku spoke quietly.
After that, Razor Shell concluded the matches for today so the students could get dressed and make their way to their next class, which was with Sunstorm, or Mr. Kataiya, in Science.
As Zankoku said, his paralysis poison wore off in about half an hour, allowing Todoroki to regain mobility. As for Sato, thanks to Sunhealer and Recovery Girl's Quirks, he recovered quickly and was sent back to join Class 1-A in Science Class. As for Todoroki, he was kept around a little longer to check for any side effects of Zankoku's paralysis poison and make sure it had completely subsided.
"Not going to use your fire, eh, Todoroki? Geez, you must be really full of yourself to think you can win using only half your power while the rest of us are giving it our all!"
This was the second time someone criticized Todoroki for not using his flames and it frustrated him. What did Zankoku know about him? What did any of his classmates know about him? They didn't understand the hell his father, Endeavor, put him through.
He remembered the letter his father sent him after he recovered from the USJ Attack. Instead of writing even the slightest bit of sympathy and relief that he was okay, he took the opportunity to criticize him for not using his left side during the attack. All this did was reinforce Todoroki's hatred for his father and push him not to use his flames.
"I will not be your tool, you old bastard," Todoroki thought to himself. "Even if I'm beaten again and again, even if everyone says I'm wrong not to use my flames, I WILL reject you. I will never use my flames in combat."
"You okay, Todoroki?" Kataiya asked the Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk user. "Have you regained your mobility?"
"For the most part, yes," Todoroki answered as he slowly took his feet off the bed and stood up. He had a bit of difficulty standing up on his feet, but he eventually balanced himself, showing that the poison had subsided in his system and wore off.
"Oh, wonderful!" Kataiya exclaimed shyly. "But please, take a few minutes to make sure you can walk before I check you out."
"Very well," Todoroki replied, then something rang in his head. "Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you."
"O-oh?" Kataiya shyly responded as she filled out the medical report on Todoroki.
"When I woke up from the USJ Attack," Todoroki started. "I told you that I didn't use my flames and you said…you said you understood. What do you mean by that?"
Kataiya silently screamed. She wished she hadn't said those words to Todoroki. She had hoped that he had forgotten about it by now, but that clearly wasn't the case. The doctor-in-training was unsure of how to answer her client's question.
"I…I shouldn't have said that," she answered. "I…well, I wasn't thinking when I said that. I'm sorry, Todoroki."
"Oh," Todoroki responded. "That's too bad. I was honestly hoping you did actually understand."
Despite Todoroki's usual stone-faced stoicism, he couldn't hide the disappointment in his tone. When he heard Kataiya say she understood that he didn't use his fire, he hoped to gain the answer to how she could understand. But as she claimed, she wasn't thinking when she said that.
"W-well, again I'm sorry," she apologized again. "Anyway, h-how's your arm and leg? Are they healing well?"
"They are, thank you," Todoroki responded.
"J-just remember, Recovery Girl would like to check up on you again before the Sports Festival," Kataiya reminded him. She then continued to fill out the medical report and writing down the time when the paralysis poison had worn off.
Todoroki put his hand on his left side where Zankoku had cut him with his scorpion tail, allowing him to win. He knew Zankoku was fast, but he never suspected he'd be able to catch up with him. Had Todoroki managed to protect himself with ice, he could've won, but instead, he lost. Recovery Girl's Healing Quirk had already taken care of the wound, but Zankoku's words stung just as badly as his stinger tail did.
He called Todoroki arrogant for his unwillingness to use his flames and depend solely on his ice. Even with his ice alone, Todoroki was very strong and considered an unrivaled fighter in his class. But that meant nothing to him; all that mattered was that he be a hero he chooses to be, not the hero his bastard father, Endeavor, groomed him to be.
If he used his flames, then he'd become the very thing Endeavor wanted him to be and he'd be damned before he gave the Flame Hero any form of satisfaction. No matter the criticism, no matter how many people condemned his decision, no matter how many times he was called an 'idiot' or 'arrogant', he'd reject his father by refusing to use his fire in combat. He refused to become the very thing his father wanted him to become, obsessed with him becoming to the point where he made his life a living hell.
"I…I saw your father," Kataiya brought up. "When you were unconscious. He…he seemed very strict."
"That's an understatement," Todoroki replied. If he could, Shoto would voice his hatred for Endeavor, but there were no words suitable enough to define his father's cruelty and selfishness.
"Do you see it…as evil?" she asked him.
"What?" Shoto asked for clarification.
"Your fire," Kataiya asked. "Do you see it as evil?"
Todoroki almost couldn't believe what he heard. Up until now, most people had told him that his unwillingness to use his fire made him an idiot. Kataiya instead asked if Todoroki saw it as evil, which pretty much the exact reason why Todoroki wouldn't use his fire. To him, it was evil, just like his father.
"I…I wouldn't blame you, considering what I've heard about Endeavor," Kataiya continued.
"You lied," Shoto bluntly stated. "You do understand." Kataiya stammered for a bit and turned away from the son of Endeavor, her face turned red. Before he could speak again, Recovery Girl entered the room, carrying several bouquets of flowers and placing them near the window.
"Recovery Girl," Himari addressed. "Are those flowers for you?"
"No, they're for you," Recovery Girl answered, causing Kataiya's face to glow bright red with embarrassment. "They're all from young men who wish to ask you out." Kataiya looked like she was about to faint and sat down as she caught her breath at how many bouquets and requests for dates she had received.
As for Todoroki, he experienced a feeling he had never felt before. He felt as though his heart was aching from seeing all the bouquets of flowers Himari Kataiya had received. It was if his brain and body were telling him to hate the bouquets, to dislike that several young men displayed interest in Recovery Girl's apprentice. He didn't know how to describe this feeling, this completely foreign and unrecognizable feeling.
He then looked at Himari Kataiya and could see why young men would be interested in her. She was a beautiful young woman with golden hair, blue eyes, a kind and caring though timid personality, being an aide to U.A.'s Nurse, and her dedication to her training as Recovery Girl's successor. Based on what he had seen of her so far, it was visibly understanding why a young man would want her. At the same time, however, it also seemed to intensify the feeling he was experiencing.
"Are you okay, Todoroki?" Recovery Girl asked the student of Class 1-A. Kataiya broke out of her timid episode and looked up at Todoroki.
"I…I don't know," he replied. "I feel like…I feel like my heart is…"
"Is it your heart?" Kataiya asked before jumping out of her seat and checking Todoroki's pulse. To her surprise, she found nothing wrong with him.
"I didn't know you had admirers," Todoroki spoke, gesturing to the flowers.
"A-Admirers?" Kataiya stammered. "N-no, they're just being thoughtful young men. I'm certain they don't mean to ask me out."
Recovery Girl silently chuckled and shook her head. Each one of the young men who gave her those bouquets undoubtedly asked her out; she was just too shy to acknowledge that fact. And that feeling Todoroki was experiencing…well, she found it safe to say that Kataiya had yet another admirer.
"Alright, everyone, you'll work in teams of four for this experiment," Mr. Kataiya told Class 1-A in his Science Classroom. "You'll be working with the people in the same horizontal row as you. Break into your groups and begin the experiment."
Raionhato was paired with Tsuyu Asui, Hanta Sero and Izuku Midoriya as they were in the same horizontal row as he was. The four of them went over to one of the science tables and began the chemistry experiment, with Midoriya taking the lead on instructions.
"Is Todoroki not back from Recovery Girl's office yet?" Sero asked, noting that one group only had three people, being Rikido Sato, Shin Zankoku and Momo Yaoyorozu.
"Well, he was injected with paralysis poison, but Zankoku assured it'd wear off soon," Midoriya pointed out. Just then, Todoroki came in through the door and wondered what was going on.
"Hello, Todoroki," Sunstorm greeted. "You'll be with Sato, Zankoku and Yaoyorozu for this project." Todoroki didn't respond and walked over to sit with his group.
"So, is your hero costume fixed yet?" Raionhato asked Midoriya as their group started the experiment.
"Uh, no, not yet," Midoriya replied. "It was pretty wrecked after the fight with Kacchan, so I probably won't get it back until after the Sports Festival."
"It looked very similar to All Might," Raionhato pointed out. "That is, if he had a green color scheme. I'm guessing you're a big admirer of his."
"Of course I am," Midoriya confirmed. "He's probably the best hero I've ever known, though I don't want to discredit other heroes because they do just as much to help society, but All Might is just downright amazing…" Midoriya started mumbling again, a cloud of Japanese kanjis surrounding him and pouring out of his mouth like an airborne river. Raionhato, Sero and Tsuyu just sat there awkwardly for several moments as Midoriya's endless mumbling continued.
"You're creeping us out," Tsuyu bluntly stated. "Please stop it."
"Huh?" Midoriya asked.
"You were mumbling," Raionhato pointed out.
"Sorry," he apologized. "Speaking of costumes, was yours inspired by another Pro Hero? It looked like medieval armor."
"It looked like a cosplay," Sero spoke, much to Raionhato's annoyance.
"It's called a gambeson, Sero," Raionhato informed. "It's basically a padded defensive jacket. And to answer your question, Midoriya, I drew inspiration from the Barrier Hero: Guardian."
Midoriya immediately recognize the name when he heard Guardian a.k.a. Mamoru Kishi. Though he hadn't seen him in person before nor on TV, he had looked him up and taken notes on him. As his name suggested, it allowed Guardian to create invisible barrier walls that he could use to defend himself or civilians against villains.
"So, he's your role model?" Midoriya asked.
"Yes, he is," Raionhato informed. "He's the kind of hero I want to be when I become a Pro. To me, he's the embodiment of what a true hero should be."
When Raionhato spoke Guardian's name, Midoriya felt the Inventory Quirk user spoke it with the same respect and admiration that he held for All Might. Both of them wanted to be like their role models and become great Pro Heroes, though he couldn't say much more than that since he didn't know much about Guardian's personality.
Meanwhile, Zankoku was stuck with two of the classmates he hated: Shoto Todoroki, who he had recently beaten during Combat Class, and Momo Yaoyorozu. He was tempted to ask if he could swap places with someone else, but he felt it better and more mature to just suck it up and work with them.
"Did you hear there was a break-in at the school cafeteria?" Sato brought up as they continued the project.
Zankoku didn't even flinch at the revelation. He was completely confident that he wouldn't be discovered for breaking into the cafeteria and stealing the food. Having lived on a life on the streets, he had learned how to steal and not get caught in the process.
However, his classmate, Mina Ashido, had caught him stealing the food. Though she said she wouldn't report him, there was still a possibility she could double-cross him and expose him as the thief. If she did decide to, he had already thought ahead in case she did turn him in.
"Really?" Yaoyorozu asked. "What was stolen?"
"From what I heard, just some food," Sato answered. "No money was stolen, just food."
"Why would someone steal from the U.A. Cafeteria?" Yaoyorozu wondered. "I see no reason why they couldn't just ask for the food. It'd definitely be more moral than breaking in and stealing it."
"Some people have to steal to survive," Zankoku spoke up. "Trust me, princess; I've known people like that."
Yaoyorozu couldn't understand why Zankoku spoke to her with such disdain. Earlier, during the Combat Training with All Might, he had called her 'stuck-up rich folk'. Did he truly hate her simply because of her immense wealth and her family name?
"I don't understand why you seem to hold such contempt for me," Momo addressed Shin. "That food was bought legally by the school. If someone needed food, I don't see any objection to simply asking for it." Shin sneered.
"Because 'simply asking' doesn't work sometimes. I've known people back home who've had to live like that. They had to steal to survive, they couldn't just waltz in somewhere and ask 'Can I have food?'. That's not how the world works, princess."
"I'm not saying I lack sympathy for people who have to steal," Yaoyorozu responded. "But that doesn't excuse stealing from people who either bought their belongings legitimately or need them to survive. That is not the act of a hero."
"And what is 'the act of a hero'?" Zankoku questioned calmly, yet also possessing hints of utter contempt. "Is it 'heroic' to leave street rats to rot and starve because it's wrong to want to survive? People like them don't have the luxury of deciding right and wrong; it's either you survive or you die. But I don't expect you to understand; you don't know their struggles."
"I'm not saying those people should starve," Yaoyorozu argued. "But what about the people they steal from? They may leave others in the same position they are. It's not as if society is ignoring them-"
"Wow, leave it to the princess to tell the street rat how the world works," Zankoku mocked. "Why don't you go check out the multiple homeless shelters in Japan, or at least the Prefecture, and then say whether they're being ignored or not?"
"Is there a problem here?" Mr. Kataiya asked when Yaoyorozu and Zankoku's argument grew louder. The two students quietly looked at each other for several moments before Yaoyorozu spoke up.
"Everything's fine," she assured.
"Yes, everything's good," Zankoku agreed, a charming smile on his face.
Sunstorm looked at them with a questioning look, considering having one of them swap places with another group. He didn't know what they were arguing about, but he decided not to press the issue and walked away to check the progress of the other groups.
Even as the two returned to their work, there was some friction felt between Yaoyorozu and Zankoku.
Yaoyorozu was sympathetic to those who had to steal, but that didn't justify theft. Stealing from others meant leaving those they stole from in a position where they either couldn't make ends meet, couldn't provide for their families or were left in the same predicament they were. Even if people were struggling, that didn't give them the right to steal from those who had earned their honest living. Ensuring one's survival at the cost of victimizing others and leaving them unable to fend or provide for themselves could never be considered the act of a hero.
Zankoku silently sneered. What could Momo Yaoyorozu possibly know about what it was like to struggle to survive? She was a member of the Yaoyorozu Family, one of the wealthiest families in the Prefecture, perhaps in all Japan. She didn't know the struggles that street rats faced every day, constantly asking if they'd have food, clothing, or a place to sleep. Those 'thieves and beggars' wouldn't have had to resort to such means to survive if Hero Society hadn't ignored them simply because they weren't important enough.
Yaoyorozu silently acknowledged to herself that she may not know the true extent of how people like Zankoku were treated by society. She had never been to neighborhoods like his, where people had to place survival over morality. But even still, she firmly believed it was wrong to steal from others, especially if they were just trying to support themselves as well.
"I think you're blowing this out of proportion, Zankoku," Todoroki spoke up. "Japan's poverty rate has decreased ever since the foundation of Quirks. It's true that many people are homeless in Japan, but I don't think it's as bad as you say."
Zankoku's semi-charming smile immediately dropped in anger at Todoroki's statement and his eyes glared at the son of Endeavor, filled with quiet anger. He prided himself on being calm and collected, but Todoroki's comment was close to making him change his mind.
"I really need you to shut up, right now…for your sake," Zankoku coldly told Shoto. Todoroki didn't understand Zankoku's hostility to this fact concerning poverty in Hero Society Japan. He simply believed that Zankoku was overstating it.
"Zankoku, poverty has decreased quite a lot. But Pro Heroes have tried settling into disadvantaged places before, though they are often driven out. Isn't it hypocritical to say society ignores people like you when they actively refuse help?"
It was becoming tempting for Zankoku to use his paralysis poison on Todoroki again. Just like Yaoyorozu, what did he know about poverty in Japan? What right did he have to say how bad it was when he had clearly never experienced it himself before, not when he was the son of the #2 Hero, Endeavor? The Scorpion's calm and collected control slowly started to break out of anger.
"My mom died because of her poverty," Zankoku bluntly informed. "A Pro Hero could've helped her, but they didn't. They did nothing to help my mom. So…you were saying…?"
"You…you lost your mother…?" Todoroki asked, knowing all too well his own familial pains. "I…I'm very sorry to hear that-"
"Oh, NOW you're sorry?" Zankoku interrupted. "Didn't you just say 'poverty isn't that bad'? Or that I'm a hypocrite? You honestly believe heroes go into neighborhoods like mine to help others? Tch, as if."
"I thought you said everything was okay," Sunstorm questioned as he returned to the group. "Were you wrong?" Zankoku's glaring eyes and scowl of contempt quickly vanished and he turned to look at Sunstorm with a complete 180 in his personality.
"Everything's fine," he assured. "Todoroki was just being insensitive, that's all. We're okay, right Todoroki?"
"All I did was point out the decrease in poverty in Japan ever since the foundation of Quirks and you got mad at me," Todoroki pointed out.
It was becoming clear to Sunstorm and Yaoyorozu that Zankoku simply wouldn't get along with her and Todoroki. He had made it clear that he held them in great contempt on behalf of their privileged statuses. To him, they were just two spoiled rich kids who only focused on their own issues and problems while ignoring others.
"Mr. Kataiya, I don't wish to badmouth Zankoku, but I do believe it'd be better if he worked with another group," Yaoyorozu suggested.
"No one's talking to you, princess," Zankoku sharply told her.
"Alright, enough," Sunstorm demanded. He looked at the table furthest from the group and saw that Midoriya, Sero, Asui and Raionhato were there.
"Raionhato," Sunstorm addressed, immediately catching the Inventory Quirk user's attention. "Will you please switch places with Zankoku?"
"Oh, uh, sure," Raionhato replied. He bid farewell to his teammates and walked over to the table with Sato, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, who immediately smiled upon seeing him. Zankoku caught sight of this and discreetly rolled his eyes in annoyance as he went to join Midoriya's group.
"Geez, no wonder his daughter doesn't talk to him anymore," Zankoku mentally spoke as he sat with Midoriya's group.
After Science Class, it was time for lunch. Instead of heading to the cafeteria immediately, Ashido decided to make her way to All Might's office.
Having seen Zankoku's behavior towards Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, especially overhearing their arguments since she was close by, she could tell how much his time on the streets had influenced his views on them. To him, they were just spoiled selfish brats who only cared about themselves and their own problems.
But what worried her was that his break-in had been discovered and he was now in potential danger of being caught. She was the only one who knew about him stealing food from the cafeteria and giving it to the people in the homeless shelter, the latter part being the reason why she didn't turn him in. However, she feared that unless something changed, he'd continue his break-ins.
She had promised earlier to do a livestream in the hopes of convincing heroes to help the shelter, but after some thinking, she came up with a much more obvious, yet effective plan. For it to work, she'd need to call up on some friends...and one of them was close.
"Hey, Kiri!" Ashido called out to him and ran up.
"Oh, hey Ashido," Kirishima replied. "What is it?"
"I need some help with something," she spoke. "There's a homeless shelter not far from here and they really need some supplies. I've been thinking about it and I thought...what if we did a food drive?"
"A food drive to help the homeless?" Kirishima asked with enthusiasm. "That's so manly! Though will it be just the two of us?"
"No," Ashido answered. "I still know a few friends from middle school who could help us. I just need to call them and get them to help us out. Just leave it to me; all I need is for you to show up."
"You got it!" Kirishima assured. "I won't let you down, Ashido!"
"Thanks, Kiri," Ashido responded with a big smile.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I fixed the poll on my profile, so now you can vote if you'd like! Keep reading and writing!