Katsuki let out a noise of frustration as he exited Professor Akaguro's classroom. The conversations had continued in a winding, haphazard way that left him feeling exhausted… and it was only the second class of the day after the introductory assembly. Even on an abbreviated schedule, he felt ready to retire… and yet he knew that something big was coming that had caused the modifications to begin with. Not only that… but he still had to deal with Shiv sometime that night, and the following day's schedule would be a modified one as well. After that, he had no idea… but he wouldn't be particularly surprised if the entire first week was full of disrupted routines, secret activities, and other things that he couldn't even begin to guess at.
There was nothing Katsuki hated more than spontaneity coming from others. He didn't trust anyone else enough not to make a mess of things without a schedule and protocols. In truth, he barely trusted himself to deviate… and when things started going off the rails, it took him a while to find his footing again. Katsuki needed isolation and time to gather his thoughts before anything else unexpected happened. Sometimes, he needed to wail on a punching bag, study, or just sleep to clear his mind.
Naturally, he wasn't about to get anything of the sort.
It took Katsuki until he had reached the bottom of the stairs to realize that he was being followed. Upon arriving at the open doorway to the ground floor hall, he turned around to see Daisuke, Amaya, Tsuyu, Kyoka, Juzo, and Hitoshi all at various points on the staircase and all clearly tailing him. Everyone but Daisuke stopped as he gave them a look, and the redhead gave Katsuki a playful punch on the shoulder as he walked on past.
"Best class is next," the boy declared as he took the lead into the hallway.
Katsuki furrowed his brows and wracked his brain, trying to remember what was coming up. He had intended to pull up his schedule on his phone after getting outside and finally experiencing fresh air again. Almost without consciously making the decision, he followed Daisuke, prompting the others to bring up the rear.
"…what's next?"
"Lunch," Amaya answered from behind Katsuki. "He's just being an obnoxious dork."
"Are you saying you're not hungry?" Daisuke asked while looking back over his shoulder.
"…shut up."
"That was too much brainpower for day one," Kyoka commiserated as she stretched while walking. "Honestly, I could use a nap… but food will have to do. We've got a little over an hour before whatever comes after. Cafeteria, back to the dorms, or…?"
"I'll be heading for the dorms," Juzo declared before anyone could propose another option. "Amaya, would you join me…?"
Amaya quirked a brow and gave Juzo a curious look before her eyes settled upon the boy's mask and she immediately remembered.
"Yeah, sure. I wanted to talk to you about something anyway. We'll catch up with you guys afterward."
"Okay…" Tsuyu said suspiciously. "Anyone else want to head to one of the diners just off campus? I've been looking forward to trying the different places in the immediate area."
"Count me in," Daisuke answered as he raised a hand up to shoulder level.
"Me too," Kyoka added. "It'll be nice to get away for a minute and talk about anything other than work. Kats, you coming? Please?"
Katsuki's mouth was already open, ready to shoot them down and return to his own dorm with Amaya and Juzo in hopes that Eijiro would spend the hour with Mina. The fact that Kyoka specifically requested him to go, though, was enough to make him reconsider. He was still getting used to people wanting to hang out with him. Someone caring about his presence with no obvious upside for them enough to say please was wild.
"…yeah. Sure…"
"Sounds like a party, then," Daisuke commented as he looked over toward Hitoshi. "You in?"
The boy with the bags under his eyes blinked in surprise, though his expression barely changed. Hitoshi pointed a finger into his chest and tilted his head before he spoke.
"…really?"
"You're one of us, now," Tsuyu reminded. "Why wouldn't we invite you?"
"…I don't know," Hitoshi admitted. "I guess I just thought I was too… new, while all of you seem to be close already. I'll come along."
"You'll get there in time," Amaya encouraged as she took Juzo's hand and stepped out of the building and into the sunlight. "See you all later. Have fun out there."
"Will do," Kyoka replied before giving her roommate a little wave as she left with Juzo. "I was not expecting those two to hook up…"
Tsuyu moved into Kyoka's field of vision, going slightly pale.
"…wait. You don't think…?"
"Why else would they be holding hands and running off to spend time together alone?" Kyoka asked rhetorically. "If they're not dating, I'm sure they will be soon."
"Oh my god, who cares?" Katsuki said, already feeling that familiar annoyance that had almost become his default state bubbling up again. To distract himself, he took out his phone and began loading up his schedule to double check that they were indeed off. "Leave them alone. If they are, they are, if they're not, they're not. Doesn't affect any of us, and I'd rather go back to talking about moral debates than start gossiping about dating. Drop it."
Tsuyu offered Katsuki a sheepish grin, looking apologetic as she spoke up once again.
"…sure, not everyone likes gossip. We can drop it, I just… Amaya made a bet with me that involves figuring out who she has her eye on before she makes her move. Do you guys really think it's Juzo? I want to lock in that answer and win the bet. The terms are… pretty heavy."
"…Oh no. What did you bet?" Daisuke asked as he led the group onto a sidewalk path that cut across the front lawn of U.A.'s campus.
"…I don't want to talk about it," Tsuyu said quickly.
"I'll poke at her a bit tonight," Kyoka offered. "I'll let you know if I find anything. Let's leave it at that so Kats doesn't kill us all."
"Thanks," Tsuyu replied.
"I'm not…" Katsuki started before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a heavy sigh. "Whatever. We have so much more important things to focus on than some stupid crush or whatever. Do any of you have any idea what the hell is happening after lunch? All it says on the modified schedule is to meet in the training fields behind the towers."
"If anyone would know, it'd be Amaya," Daisuke reminded as he turned around to walk backwards ahead of the group. "But it also sounds like she has limited knowledge of anything coming down the pipe after the entrance exams."
"Great," Katsuki said sarcastically before letting out a sigh. "More and more of the unknown. Just what I wanted."
"We're lucky we knew anything ahead of time," Tsuyu considered. "We'll make it through together. Have a little faith."
"Whatever," Katsuki once again said dismissively, effectively killing the mood for a moment as an awkward silence descended upon the group.
"So… what's everyone feeling like?" Kyoka asked, trying to get the conversation started back up again. "Lots of options nearby, including a few most people wouldn't expect. We could end up just about anywhere…"
Rumi Usagiyama sat in her hospital bed, holding her phone up so she and Keigo could both see the video call on the other end. Elsewhere in an upscale suite, Rizumu sat upon the couch in her living room, sketching something while Dabi sat next to her holding the other phone.
"…I like your style," the heroine complimented as she became distracted by the décor of the apartment above the club. "Very modern."
"Thanks," Rizumu replied, briefly looking up into the camera and offering the other woman a smirk. "Dabi wanted nothing to do with any of it. If it was up to him, we'd be living in a stack of pizza boxes and porn mags."
"Yeah, yeah," the man said dismissively. "Look, I'm not the interior decorating type, alright? That's more of a womanly thing."
"Is it?" Rizumu asked as she continued drawing. "I bet you anything Mirio's got a nude marble sculpture or some tasteful classical art hanging up in his dorm. He seems the type to try to get all fancy."
"…and I do like a good throw rug," Keigo added, sounding almost bored. "Decorating can be fun I guess, but we do live in a pile of pizza boxes and porn mags…"
Rumi was quick to smack Keigo in the chest hard enough for the impact to register over the call, though her facial expression didn't change at all as she watched the stream.
"Shut it," Rumi ordered. "Got anything naughty lying around?"
"…we live above a strip club," Rizumu reminded. "You have no idea what our bedroom is like, and your mere mortal minds would shatter if you tried to imagine it. Anyway, it looked something like this. I tried."
Rumi and Keigo leaned closer to the screen as Rizumu held up her sketchpad, showing off a pencil drawing of the machines she had seen beneath the warehouse. Rumi furrowed her brows as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing, while Keigo immediately leaned back and spoke with confidence.
"…that's an ammo press," the man declared.
"…a what?" Dabi asked, sounding confused.
"You can use it to reload single bullets and shells into a cartridge, or for customizing them," Keigo explained. "You know, if you want to make something like dragon's breath shells, or something not strictly legal filled with extra gunpowder. How many of those were down there?"
"Loads," Rizumu answered. "Enough to mass-produce whatever it is they're making. That's weird, though- I can count the number of Shie Hassaikai I know that use firearms on one hand. Guns have gone almost entirely out of style among the Quirk-driven crime circuit."
"…the Nue use a lot of guns," Dabi pointed out. "More than we do, at least."
"…we're not secretly selling to the Nue," Rizumu denied, giving Dabi an annoyed look. "Say what you want about the organization, Arowana isn't that secretive and petty to go behind our backs like that. I think whatever's being stuffed into the custom bullets or shells being made is tied to whatever else is going on in the underground. There were large vats, tubes, and computers analyzing… something. I couldn't get close enough to look in the tanks, but I bet they're making some kind of chemical. Something they want to keep secret."
"Yeah, so, none of that sounds good," Rumi pointed out. "Any chance you can get at the Hassaikai export records? See if they are moving ammunition? There is still the possibility this is for in-house use and something's coming that you don't know about."
"I can try," Rizumu offered. "Fucking around with computers, especially in a way that can't be traced isn't exactly my forte… but I could always hitch a ride the same way I got into the lab. Root around in the back of a truck without actually being there."
"Perfect," Rumi said with a smirk. "It's a start. Wish I could do something to help, but I still have to focus on getting out of this goddamned hospital…"
"Take it easy, alright?" Rizumu advised as she put down her sketchpad. "I know we only just met, but we're a team, yeah? I'd like to keep the friends we're making on the other side. It's not easy living among just the Yakuza, and it's getting harder and harder to keep the club as neutral ground. I'm not naïve enough to think I can keep that going forever. Eventually, we're going to have to pick a side. It's not a hard decision."
"…where the hell is all this suddenly coming from?" Dabi asked, giving his partner a skeptical look.
"The writing's on the wall, Dabi," the woman explained. "Society's crumbling to shit. Sooner or later, someone will make a move on the Red Light… and I doubt it's gonna be the 'heroes' coming for us. I plan on resisting if there's a threat we get taken over. Not like you've got friends on the 'villain' side outside the Hassaikai."
"…yeah," Dabi agreed, though he looked away. "But I've only got one with the heroes."
"Then let's change that," Rumi suggested. "I know some good people. Heroes that aren't bland or uppity assholes. Start with the two of us, and then we'll start to branch out…"
Author's Note:
The relationships only get more complicated…
-RD