A/N: Well hello again! Hope everyone's week has been going great! I'm shook that we're approaching October in literally like, two days? Where did this entire year even go? Anyway, since I know October is when fanfic websites get a little crazy (iykyk) I'm exploring the possibility of dropping some oneshots in the spare time between chapters, so if you like my writing (or are die hard for any of the ships in this fic) stay tuned! As always, enjoy the chapter and thank you so very much for reading.
Somersault. Backflip. Glide through the air and land.
The trick itself didn't seem impossible once Tsuyu broke it down. Tokoyami suggested as much, insistent that they didn't try anything too strenuous right off the bat. The previous day, Vlad went over the absolute basics, ensuring that they understood the mechanics of their assignment. From there, he requested they block out time to practice one on one and figure out a rhythm based on where they stood athletically. He expressed high hopes surrounding Tsuyu's abilities in particular ("You're so agile, I'll bet we can get some air tricks in there, too!") which put an inherent pressure on her to push herself further than normal.
"Phew, okay." Tsuyu stretched her leg behind her. "I think I'm ready."
Today was their first time actually attempting tricks. If they could come up with some sort of routine, they'd add it to their aerial display, something Tokoyami knew Vlad was pulling for. Tsuyu's enthusiasm was apparent to him the moment she walked into the gym; seemed she'd already hyped herself up to do something as daring as this. He, however, held significant reservations about the whole thing. He didn't like putting people in harm's way, and this routine really didn't lend itself to the "playing it safe" stance. Ultimately, though, it wasn't his choice, and as long as Tsuyu decided to participate in Vlad's antics, Tokoyami vowed to remain on board strictly to ensure her protection.
"Good. But remember." He turned to her as she stretched. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. We can always alter this insanity if we need to."
Knowing he'd be behind her a hundred percent gave her the confidence she needed to go all out. Still, the reassurance that she didn't ultimately have to do this helped her work through the anxiety she'd developed surrounding all the mechanics of the routine.
"Thank you, Tokoyami." She stood up straight. "It means a lot knowing you feel that way."
He bowed his head downward, focusing intensely on his shoes for a moment.
"Let's start with basic lifting." Tsuyu continued. "I know you can pick me up, but full on lifting me in mid-air seems pretty different."
A small smirk twitched his beak as he shrugged off his PE shirt, leaving him in just a black tank top. "I'm confident I can lift you, Asui."
One look at his biceps should have told her that. In fact, Tsuyu theorized he could pick her up with one arm if he tried hard enough. He'd really bulked up since their first year, she realized now that she could actually see his arms. It struck her as a bit of a shame that his costume featured such a long, heavy cloak; showing off his upper body would definitely score him some popularity points.
"I am, too. But we should still practice the basics." She averted her gaze up to his face, trying not to stare at his muscles. "Right?"
"As you wish. Whenever you're ready."
Suddenly feeling incredibly out of shape, she made her way to the middle of the gym mat.
"Let's start with a simple, uh, is it called bridal style?" She held a finger up to her chin in thought. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"
Tokoyami nodded. "Yes. I can do that."
Tentatively, he stepped forward. "So, should I just…grab you?"
"Here, how about this?" She strode up to him. "Hold out your arms and I'll jump into them."
He stopped. "That doesn't sound safe."
"Well, I won't jump jump." She clarified. "We'll go step by step. Here, stand next to me."
After he obliged, she rested her hand on his shoulder, pulling herself against his chest. Involuntarily, he twitched, unused to such close physical contact. Thankfully, Tsuyu didn't seem to notice, continuing instructions completely unfazed.
"Now, put your arm around my waist."
Slowly, he did, painstakingly focused on not grazing her anywhere inappropriate. As he did so, she slid her hand from his shoulder to around his neck, bringing her other hand up as well. She moved steadily, purposefully, clearly completely at ease with the prospect of touching another person. He internally chastised himself; Tsuyu was behaving maturely, handling all the work, like a professional should. Why did his brain need to make this so difficult?
"And then I'll jump, and you catch my legs with your other arm."
"That won't be necessary." He turned to look at her, bringing his head back slightly when he realized how close together their faces were. "I, um, have a better idea."
"What's that–"
With the arm wrapped around her waist, he hoisted her up towards his chest, pulling her feet off the ground. Now that she'd been brought to a higher level, he swept his free arm underneath her legs and hooked the bend of her knees over his forearm.
"Whoa." Her eyes widened. "Did you just…lift me with one arm?"
"Indeed." He adjusted his hands a bit, staring down at her slightly concernedly. "Are you alright with that? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Oh, I'm fine, I'm just…impressed." She looked up at him, eyes gleaming admiringly. "I guess I didn't realize how strong you were."
Suddenly embarrassed, he broke eye contact, opting instead to focus downward. Thank goodness his complexion never gave away the times his face flushed.
"Well, it's really nothing…"
She giggled. "It's okay to admit it. You don't need to be so humble. Especially when you can do something as cool as lift an entire person up with your hand."
"I…thank you, Asui." That felt like a compliment. He should be polite about it.
"Come on, let's try it a few more times and get comfortable." She swung her feet back onto the mat and stood up. "Ready?"
Finally meeting her gaze, he nodded. "Of course."
Normally, after a few reps in the gym, Tokoyami tired himself out. Lifting Tsuyu, however, didn't have the same effect on him. Mainly because she was an agile human being capable of carrying her own weight and not a rack of solid metal dumbbells, he rationalized. When they settled down for a break, he didn't feel particularly worn out.
"Phew." Tsuyu brought her water to her lips with an exhale. "I never knew getting thrown around could be so tiring."
Immediately, he sat up straighter, seemingly alarmed. "Are you alright? Was I too careless?"
"Oh, no, it's not your fault." She did appreciate his reflexive concern, though. "I've just got to get more used to acrobatics is all."
Tokoyami accepted this and leaned back a bit. "So far, your skills are nothing short of remarkable. I have faith in you, Asui."
"Tsu."
"Hm?" He frowned.
"Tsu." She repeated. "You know you're allowed to call me that, right?"
"Ah, um." He shifted slightly on the bench. "Of course. I suppose I've simply gotten used to 'Asui' is all."
"No worries." She giggled a little. "I'm fine with whatever makes you comfortable."
Funny, he'd been struggling to stay comfortable since they started. Tsuyu hadn't done anything wrong, of course. He'd never been one for physical contact, especially in the proximity they'd been forced into. Well, not forced, but this training involved a lot of closeness he didn't prepare himself for.
Having established that, however, he did note that Tsuyu made him feel better about the touching aspect than a lot of other people would have. Between her patience, gentleness, and encouragement, he found himself able to push through his feelings of unease. More so than he would have if he'd been paired with someone pushier or impatient like Mina or Hagakure.
BZZT. BZZT.
His phone jolted him out of his thoughts. The notification showed a preview of Mineta's text to the boys' group chat. Tokoyami held back a groan after he read it.
Mineta: Get ready, guys, by the end of today, I'll have scored with class B's resident blonde bombshell! Might even send pics if anyone asks nicely ;P
Christ.
"Everything alright?" Tsuyu read the disdain on his face from a mile away.
"Possibly." He turned the screen towards her, allowing her to see Mineta's message. When she finished reading, her nose wrinkled up in disgust.
"Ugh." She shook her head. "Hasn't he been saying that for days? I hope Tsunotori has the good sense to turn him down."
"I imagine so." Tokoyami returned his gaze to his phone. "The gala's too prestigious of an affair to be tied down by someone as juvenile as he."
"Well, also, he's creepy." Tsuyu added. "I feel like that's more than enough reason."
"Agreed." Tokoyami took a sip from his water.
Tsuyu swung her legs back and forth, casting a curious glance at Tokoyami's side profile.
"What have the rest of the guys been saying about the gala?" She asked after a moment.
"Hm?" He closed his water bottle. "What do you mean?"
"Well, about dates and such." She absentmindedly twirled a stray lock of hair. "Has anyone told you who they're planning to ask yet? Besides Mineta, of course."
Tokoyami sneered. "Well, he's been the most vocal, as you might have guessed. I do know Kaminari and Sero have their sights set on some girls in class B, but–"
"Really?" Tsuyu raised her eyebrows. "Kaminari's not asking Jiro?"
At that, Tokoyami stopped. Neither one of them dared to confirm their feelings for the other one, but being close to both Kaminari and Jiro, he'd long since sussed out the chemistry between them. These suspicions led to a series of noted observations made over time, paired with the mildest amount of needling into both parties, all of which culminated in the secret conclusion that Kaminari and Jiro, to put it simply, had it bad for each other. Knowledge that, while seemingly obvious, he opted to keep to himself for his friends' sake. Discussing such speculations created a breeding ground for rumors he'd be ill intentioned to start.
Hearing that someone else shared his observations gave him a strange thrill.
"What makes you say that?" He asked her somewhat testily.
Tsuyu seemed to feel the opposite way he did; this information didn't shock or scare her at all. It absolutely didn't bother her to talk about this. Had she pieced this together before he had? Or even better, been made privy to confirmation he hadn't received yet?
"The way Kaminari's eyes light up when he sees Jiro." She replied. "And how embarrassed Jiro looks whenever Kaminari gets close to her. I've thought they liked each other since our first year, but I could be wrong."
"I don't think so." Tokoyami shook his head. "You should have seen how vigorously Kaminari practiced learning to play guitar when we started the band. He refused to let Jiro's passion project go down in flames. I think his fingers might have bled at one point."
"Really?" Tsuyu perked up. "I didn't know about that."
"Only I was there." He smirked at the memory. "His determination gave him away, but I chose not to needle into him about it. In retrospect, that might have been a mistake. If I'd gotten him talking about it, he may have realized his feelings a lot sooner."
"Do you think he has now?" Tsuyu wondered out loud.
"Not remotely, since he's so vehemently chasing Shiozaki." Honestly, that pursuit rendered Tokoyami nothing short of confused. What did Kaminari see in her? Not that she's a poor choice, but they had absolutely nothing in common.
Tsuyu shook her head with a scoff. "If he and Jiro lose out on each other, I think I'll have to fight both of them."
"I'll gladly assist you."
Her hearty giggle echoed through the gym.
"That's funny." She tucked the strand of hair she twirled behind her ear. "It feels good to talk to someone about this."
Tokoyami's beak twitched. "Agreed."
The gym door opened, interrupting their moment. Poking his head through the crack was Kuroiro, whose eyes scanned the room before landing on Tokoyami.
"The time has come for training, my shadowy friend." He announced. "Ah. Good morning, Asui."
"Hello, Kuroiro." Tsuyu gave him a wave before turning to Tokoyami. "I'll let you get to your practice, Tokoyami. Want to meet up same time tomorrow?"
Tokoyami nodded. "Sounds perfect, Asu– Tsu."
"Great!"
Without warning, she squeezed her arms around him. Briefly, nothing more than a quick, friendly hug strictly to say goodbye. Tokoyami's face burned at the contact. He had no idea how to react. Did he hug her back?
Just as he started to, she pulled away, smiling and grabbing her water bottle.
"I'll see you later, then. Bye, Kuroiro!"
She disappeared. She'd hugged him, spun his brain around, and left in the span of a minute. But none of that bothered him nearly as much as the face Kuroiro gave him when he met him at the door.
"Ooh, it seems despite the dark, you've found your own little ray of sunshine there." His tone sounded teasing and mischievous.
"What are you implying?" Tokoyami's eyes narrowed.
"Nothing." A sly shrug colored Kuroiro's voice. "Nothing at all."
Thankfully, he let it slide after that, the two of them shifting the subject towards music. Tokoyami's brain refused to let go of that interaction, though. And he certainly couldn't set aside Kuroiro's obvious assumption regarding it.
XxXxXxX
Morning gym sessions always hit perfectly.
Nobody pressured Shinso to have a conversation. Of course, his friends usually didn't push him to talk or hang out; they understood his introverted nature (admittedly, Kaminari took a while to, though.) But when getting in the zone, he deemed solitude absolutely necessary. And in the wee hours of the morning, the entire space belonged to him, since most people didn't weight train until the afternoon. That meant he never needed to hold back or feel self-conscious about his appearance or any mistakes he made. He trained, went as hard as necessary, and gave himself a good warm up for the day. It felt cathartic, in a lot of ways.
These days, he'd worked himself up to repping combos taught to him by Present Mic, of all people (little known fact, Mic spent a brief period of his life training to be a boxer. Anything to get famous, Shinso supposed.) He did his best to switch things up, admittedly difficult to accomplish without a training partner, but Shinso couldn't complain. Getting the basics down made him good enough for hand to hand binding training with Aizawa three times a week; he didn't need anybody else for that. The silence and solitude soothed him enough to loosen him up, anyway. Another person would just throw him off at this point. Thankfully, he never had to worry about anyone else barging in.
Until today.
The door swinging open? Okay, that's happened once or twice. Both times the janitor passed through, greeted Shinso with a nod, and went about his day. Shinso tensed up only a bit for this reason; the assumption that he wasn't about to be bothered kept him grounded.
"Well, look what we have here!"
Oh, no. God, please, no.
Shinso recognized that obnoxious, boisterous cackling the instant it plagued his ears. The door banged open just as it registered, leaving him no option but to stare blankly at the newcomer.
The newcomer he absolutely despised.
"Class A once again, stopping at nothing to get ahead!" Monoma leaned against the now closed door, crossing his arms with a smirk. "What, is this your guys' secret? Hitting the gym at the crack of dawn so you're nice and warmed up for the day, huh?"
"Our secret? I'm the only one in here." Shinso pointed out flatly.
"Oh?" Monoma's tone shifted, this time a bit lower. "So you're the special one, then?"
Shinso's fists tightened.
"No." He turned back to his sandbag with newfound determination. "That's why I'm here. And if you're done being a pain in the ass, I'm going to carry on."
"Done?" Monoma snorted. "I'm just getting started, muscle man."
One thing about Shinso: he hated working out in front of an audience. Some weird performance anxiety that Aizawa assured him was normal, to a degree. But he had no intention of falling behind in his training simply because Monoma felt like being a nuisance. Gripping the bandages on his hands, he attacked the practice bag once more, stumbling slightly, righting himself, punching again, and so on.
"Interesting." Much to Shinso's dismay, Monoma wasn't finished. "You're working pretty hard, there. What are you trying to compensate for, anyway?"
That stopped Shinso for a split second. Compensate? Is that how he came across? No, of course not. Monoma's just saying shit like he always does. Shaking himself, he returned to his training.
"Yup. That struck a nerve." God, how did he always know? Every time something that cracked out blond said got to someone, not only did he see it, he drilled into it even harder, unwilling to back down until Kendo got wind of his nonsense and clobbered him.
Well, if she wasn't around to do it…someone would have to.
"Shut up." Shinso panted between punches. "I'm not interested in whatever you're trying to start here."
"That's unfortunate." Through the mirror, Shinso caught Monoma's sly grin out of the corner of his eye. "I'm very interested in your observation. What makes you think you're not special, huh?"
A lot of things. In fact, almost everything. Shinso faltered, his attempted punch barely connecting with the sandbag. He took another deep breath. No. This is exactly what this crazy bastard wants; to throw him off his game so he won't train effectively. Keep him from succeeding. Push class A down a peg, one member at a time. This wasn't personal, he realized. Don't take it that way.
"Someone telling you you're not a special snowflake?" His words certainly didn't feel generic, all things considered. "Let me guess; you don't feel you measure up to your flashy little classmates so you have to do this? Is that it?"
Ignore him. He's nothing. Nothing but a jealous, loud mouthed, petulant bug. That's all he'd been for two and a half years. That's all he'd continue to be.
Seeming to sense that he hadn't broken through to him, Monoma made his way towards Shinso's practice bag. Great; as if his mere presence wasn't annoying enough. No, he needed to be right in Shinso's ear with his bullshit. No possible exceptions.
The impact of his next punch weakened, earning a small chuckle from Monoma. Angrily, Shinso doubled down in force, slamming his fist even harder than before. His hand slipped. Frustration fueled the next three punches, all of which didn't hit as well as they could have.
"That's it, isn't it?" The blond rocked back and forth on his heels. "Poor, poor you, a year behind in hero studies, shoehorned in because there happened to be an opening, and it's so hard for you to catch up, you have to resort to drastic measures like this just to have a hope of standing out."
Standing out? He just wanted to do his job. That meant staying in shape. It meant teaching himself discipline. If Monoma didn't comprehend that, what business did he have training to become a hero?
'Just keep going.' He ordered himself.
"I don't blame you, of course." Now Monoma made himself comfortable, leaning against the wall near the sandbag. "When you're getting compared to students like Midoriya and Todoroki. Having classmates like that has to make you wonder if becoming a hero is even possible for you, I'm sure!"
That smarmy little smirk of his officially started to get on Shinso's final nerves. Quickly, he circled around the punching bag, turning his back to the blonde and, somewhat subconsciously, started swinging even harder.
"Then again, it helps to have someone like the legendary Eraserhead in your back pocket." His tone grew testier. Shinso detected a hint of malice and possibly envy. Not surprising. "I'm sure that played no part in the class you wound up in, of course."
"Monoma, is there some kind of problem?" Shinso didn't look up from the spot he'd worn down in the fabric of the bag.
"Not for me." Monoma gave a nonchalant shrug. "You're the one about to destroy valuable gym equipment. Which I suppose is perfectly excusable, since you're Aizawa's precious little pet–"
Without thinking, Shinso whirled on the blonde, slamming his fist into the wall right next to his head. Monoma's expression dropped from smug to horrified, eyes suddenly widening.
"Enough." Shinso's voice dropped to a growl. "I'm here to be the best hero I'm capable of becoming. No, I'm not flashy like Midoriya or Bakugo, and yes, I have a world of catching up to do. But don't you dare act like I push myself like this every single goddamn day for street cred or vanity muscles, or because I'm trying to outshine my classmates. I'm here to work."
He pointedly looked the blonde up and down, unable to resist throwing in a jab.
"You should try it sometime."
"What?!" Offended, Monoma straightened up his stance, squaring up to Shinso as best he could. "You think I don't work my ass off, too?"
"Only thing I've ever seen you run is your mouth." Shinso stood his ground, keeping his fist locked on the wall.
Monoma's eyes narrowed. "Then you obviously aren't paying attention. You're so self-absorbed like the rest of your class, you don't–."
"One more word about my class and I'll steal Kendo's gig of knocking you senseless. You really want to take it there?"
The two stayed locked in their position, staring each other down with menacing glares, waiting for the other to budge.
"You can go now. I hate having an audience." Shinso finally dropped his fist.
"Hah! No way." Monoma crossed his arms. "I'm staying and using the gym like I'm entitled to."
Of course. Why stop at being verbally annoying when he also had the chance to be physically annoying?
"Fine." Shinso sighed. At this point, he'd rather resume silence even if it meant sharing the space with this lunatic. "Take you and your entitlement as far away from me as you can get."
"No problem." Monoma gave him one last death stare, then pushed himself off the wall and sauntered across the gym.
Shinso didn't watch him to see where he went. He truly couldn't have cared less at this point. Shaking himself, he resumed his position, bouncing back and forth on his legs. After a quick warm up swing, he landed another punch squarely in the middle of the sandbag with the perfect amount of force.
For it to break open and spill onto the floor.
Monoma's laughter could be heard clear to the next building. Shinso's screaming, thankfully, remained silent, in his head, where loudness belonged.
XxXxXxX
"ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE YOU DODGE THIS, PINKIE-PIE!"
Slamming his arm forward, Bakugo yanked the pin from the gondola on his right arm, delivering a blast that would have sent most people to the infirmary. Pony's eyes widened with worry; there's no way Mina could dodge an explosion like that!
Good thing she didn't need to.
"Acid Man!" In a flash, Mina's hands moved swiftly, generating a thick, viscous shield of body shimmered as she encased herself in the protective, gelatinous armor. The explosion hit the acid barrier with a thunderous impact, flames and smoke swirling around them. She ducked a bit, holding her arms in the shape of an X in front of her face. Acid Man shielded her perfectly, but the sight of flames coming at her prompted her to instinctively protect herself.
"Yeah! That was awesome!" Kirishima cheered from the sidelines. "You go, babe!"
"Aww." Pony cooed from a few yards away, where she and Shoji sparred. "I love how proud of her he is!"
"It's heartwarming to see." Shoji agreed. "He's quite fond of her."
A pang of sadness pricked Pony's chest. Watching Kirishima scream in support of his girlfriend to the entire field was sweet, make no mistake. And she felt happy for Mina; devoted, kindhearted men didn't come along everyday. Mina was lucky to have found Kirishima. All the girls in the hero course had managed to snag incredible guys, now that she thought about it.
It made her wish she could be one of them.
"Are you alright?" Shoji snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, sorry!" She hid behind an embarrassed giggle. "Just…zoning out."
"Do you…do that a lot?"
She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"I've noticed that's been your answer twice now, is all." Shoji pointed out gently. "And, not that it's any of my business, it's just…I'm just checking in, is all."
It seemed like he wanted to say more, but thought differently at the last second. Probably because he's trying to be nice and refrain from calling her something to the effect of a 'dumb blonde,' Pony realized bitterly.
"I'm fine." She promised, a little distant. "We should…get back to practicing."
Shoji started to speak, wondering if he should dig a little deeper. Pony certainly didn't seem fine, but again, he didn't know her well enough to question her. He also worried that if he bothered her too much, he'd come across as prying into her business, which he didn't want to do at all.
"...Very well." He stepped back a bit. "How do you want to start this?"
"Hmm." Pony thought for a second. "How about we see what we can work with from different angles? If I use my horns to fly around you, you can grow some eyes to spot me and swat down any horns I shoot at you."
"That's…a great idea." Shoji mused as he thought it over. "It would create a natural progression, too. We could start with that and work our way towards increasing the speed and volume of the horns until we're in a full on brawl. How does that sound to you?"
"Ooh, I like that!" Pony clapped her hands together excitedly. "And if I land above you on some sort of platform, I can unleash 'flurry of blows' without injuring anyone!"
"Flurry of blows?" Shoji blinked. "Is that what you call your horn storm?"
Pony shrank back, embarrassed. "Oh, no, it's um…it's from D ."
That dorky thing she did in her off time that got her and her friends bullied back in middle school. Why in the hell did she bring that up so easily? She mentally kicked herself. Her reputation at this school already preceded itself; she didn't need to add fodder to it.
"D ?" Why did that sound familiar? Shoji racked his brain for a second.
"Dungeons and Dragons? It's just…some game, it's not important." She tried her best to wave it off.
Tamaki had mentioned something of that nature on Discord a few times when the guys spent their free nights playing League. From what Shoji remembered, it involved dice, miniature figures, and some sort of fantasy element. He didn't have much of a chance to look into it, but hearing Pony talk about it piqued his interest.
"I think I've heard of it." He continued. "Is it a tabletop of some sort?"
"Uh…yeah." Pony nodded warily. "I used to play it with my friends back in the US. I guess it's a lot more popular over there."
Except amongst rowdy middle school boys. They'd been ruthless to her group of so called "nerds" ever since they discovered her friend Ava's Player Handbook and dice bag hanging in her locker.
"That's really cool." It sounded like Shoji meant that, at least. "I don't know too much about it, but it sounds like fun. How do you play?"
"There's a lot to it, honestly, it's too much to explain." Pony shrugged. "Most people lose interest once you get into the mechanics–"
"I'm pretty patient." She couldn't quite place the look in his eyes, but he seemed genuine as he spoke to her. "Where does it all…start?"
For some reason, he wanted to know. The way Pony lit up at the briefest mention of it caught his attention. If something made someone that excited, he'd love to not only learn about it, but hear everything from their perspective. View it through their passionate, admiring eyes.
She bit her lip. "Well, that part's a little complicated. I mean, once you know how, it's really easy! It's…you make up a character, and there's lots of different types to choose from. That's always the fun part, getting to make up a backstory and decide which class you're gonna be–oh, and you have to roll stats, too!"
"Roll…stats?"
"Yeah, so you take some dice, and you–"
"Hey, Blondie!"
Kamakiri's voice cut through their conversation sharply. Both of them whipped their heads across the field, where Kamakiri and Tetsutetsu sparred.
"Quit clowning around and do something useful! We don't have long until the gala!" He snapped, glaring at both of them.
"We take orders from our captains, not you." Shoji shot back, keeping his voice steady.
"He is right, though." Pony looked downward, ashamed. "Sorry I got you off task, Shoji. It's my fault, I–"
"Don't apologize." He leaned down a bit, hoping to make eye contact with her. "I'd…actually like to hear more about this…D . Can we talk about it a little more in depth sometime?"
Her enthusiasm returning, Pony nodded vigorously. "I'd love to, yeah! We can hang back after training, if you're not busy."
"You've got a deal." He extended his hand. She shook it, a little rougher than the last time.
"Alright." She released a couple horns. They swept themselves underneath her arms, lifting her slightly off the ground. "Let's do this, Tentacles!"
XxXxXxX
Finally, training came to an end.
Jiro nearly collapsed beside her locker, heavy from the strain of stress surrounding her team. Kuroiro devised a "perform from the shadows" concept that Jiro absolutely loved, but it took a lot to coordinate. It didn't help that their practices needed to happen in broad daylight, which half her team didn't work well with. On the contrary, Hagakure and Koda's quirks thrived in the outdoors, where animals and light abound. Balancing everything left Jiro pretty spent, never mind choreographing it all.
As she kicked off her costume boots, she noticed a few class B girls approaching Shiozaki out of the corner of her eye. At first, she didn't think too much of it until they started talking.
"So, Shiozaki." Tokage buttoned her uniform up with a mischievous grin. "I'm hearing a lot from Sero about how Kaminari's been hitting on you."
Pony and Kodai giggled from Pony's locker. Shiozaki, however, seemed to be oblivious, merely blinking at Tokage. Jiro turned her head. She shouldn't be watching this. Or listening. Honestly, she should leave.
She will in a minute.
"Hitting?" Shiozaki gasped. "Well, that certainly isn't permissible by our Provider. I shall have to pray for his spirit."
Oh, for actual God's SAKE.
Jiro's fingers twitched into fists. Closing her eyes, she bent her head into her locker, hoping to hide her frustration.
"No, not literally." To be fair, Tokage's patience also sounded worn down. Unsurprising; it must be challenging to stay friends with someone so dense. Then again, Jiro managed to hold down a pretty close friendship with Kaminari for two years now. Contrastingly, she'd never been this annoyed, so…damn it, now even her thoughts confused her.
"She means that Kaminari likes you!" Pony offered up hopefully.
He likes her. Kaminari likes Shiozaki.
That wasn't totally new information. He'd talked up how pretty she was about a week ago in the lounge when he and Mineta were staking those stupid claims. There's no reason hearing that should trigger any sort of reaction in Jiro. Yet, her fists remained balled up, trembling slightly. Quickly, she thrust her wrists into her locker as well. Maybe if things got bad enough, she could shove her whole body in and disappear from this mortal coil.
"Likes…me?" Shiozaki didn't seem to understand. Honestly, what else is new?
"We heard he's planning to ask you to the gala!" Jiro had to give Pony points for the effort. She was trying pretty hard to hype Shiozaki up, from the sounds of it.
"As if he were my…date?" Huzzah, it finally clicked. Jiro held back an irritated groan.
"Yeah!" She could hear the excitement in Kodai's voice. "How do you…feel about that?"
"Oh." Shiozaki seemed to be pondering this. "I suppose that is a form of flattery."
"What do you think you're gonna say to him?" Tokage pressed.
Why didn't Jiro just leave? Some big part of her wanted this conversation to end so badly it hurt. But if she tried to move her hands, they just kept shaking. She had to figure something out, though. Eventually, one of the girls would notice she'd just been standing around and realize she was eavesdropping.
"Hey, you just about ready?" Yaoyorozu grabbing her shoulder snapped her out of her daze.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah." Her brain desperately wanted to hear what Shiozaki had to say. Almost to the point of brushing Yaoyorozu off, if she were being honest. But she knew it didn't matter how Shiozaki felt. It had been made clear to her how Kaminari felt, and that's the answer she needed.
"I heard them, too." Yaoyorozu quietly explained once they were out of earshot.
"Hm?" Jiro blinked.
"Talking about Kaminari." Her friend bowed her head. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Jiro slung her bag over her shoulder. "It's…why wouldn't I be?"
'Because you're ridiculously in love with the boy, maybe?' Yaoyorozu held her tongue. Speculations, observations, and conclusions ultimately held no solid basis for her theory, though she maintained it nonetheless. She'd hoped one day Jiro would finally break from her stubbornness and admit how she felt about their electricity prone classmate, but alas, their third year had managed to roll around without a single confession.
Still, she held out hope.
"Don't worry." Yaoyorozu patted her shoulder. "I think things will work out for the best."
Jiro clenched her jaw. She knew. She had to. Why was it so hard for her to just say it?
"Well, hello there, ladies!"
Jiro jumped. As they rounded the corner, her nose collided into someone's chest. The stench of their cologne drowned her nose a second later, causing her to clamp her hand over her mouth and nose as she stumbled back.
"Holy crap, who–"
Speaking of the devil, Kaminari himself propped his arm on the wall of the building they stood next to, flashing his stupid (admittedly kind of charming) "smolder" as he and Mineta called it. Jiro took another step back, her face boiling.
"W-what the–"
"Hey." He flashed a finger gun at her.
"How's it hanging?"
She only just now noticed Mineta stood beside Kaminari, also waving a finger gun at her waist. Man, that kid really hadn't grown at all since she'd met him.
"What brings you gentlemen to this side of campus?" Yaoyorozu, the only person who knew how to think clearly in this situation, stepped forward and gave the boys a polite smile.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mineta examined his nails nonchalantly. "We're waiting on a pair of lovely ladies to happen by."
Oh, man, they'd better be joking.
Now that Jiro had managed to collect herself, she took the opportunity to look Kaminari up and down. He'd assembled his uniform pristinely after practice, his shirt perfectly tucked in and he'd actually buttoned his blazer. Whatever body wash he'd drowned his skin in mixed with the overwhelming stench of cologne, creating a stink bomb of man smell that honestly wouldn't have been bad if it were subdued. Adding to the fragrance overload, though, had to be the most ridiculous part of this display.
"What's wrong with your hair?" Jiro suppressed a laugh.
"What?" Kaminari self consciously smoothed it back a bit. "It's the style, no?"
In the fifties, maybe. He'd slicked it down so flat against his head, Jiro briefly wondered if he'd cut it or something.
"It's…a style!" Yaoyorozu tried to be helpful, at least.
"Never mind them, Kaminari." Mineta waved them off. "We have our sights set on girls who will actually appreciate such efforts."
"Indeed." Kaminari stuck his nose in the air, feeding off of Mineta's aloof energy. "Carry on, my dears. We're waiting on our future gala dates."
"Future…gala dates?" Yaoyorozu tilted her head.
"Shiozaki and Tsunotori." Mineta clarified, rolling his eyes. "They should be coming out of the locker room any second. And we definitely don't want them seeing us talking to other girls, so–"
"Wait, how are you waiting for them? They left like, fifteen minutes ago." Jiro pointed to the door of the locker room, praying neither girl would emerge.
Both boys froze.
"Wait, what?!" Kaminari's eyes bulged.
"Uh, yeah." Jiro continued. "They've been gone for a while. No wonder you morons have been out here for so long, they're not going to happen by anytime soon."
"How could you have missed them?!" Mineta turned on Kaminari, furious.
"I-I don't know, I thought we picked the perfect vantage point!" Kaminari crumpled his hand in his hair. Jiro detected a faint crunching sound and cringed. "Ugh, Jiro, are you sure they've already left?"
"Why would I lie to you about that?" Jiro let a faint chuckle color her tone. "I wouldn't stick around the girls' locker room too much longer, though. You don't want to be labeled as creeps."
Acting like Mineta's reputation didn't scream "creepy" from every corner of the school.
"You're right." Kaminari beckoned Mineta along. "Come on, man, maybe we can catch them in the B dorm lounge!"
"Great idea!" The pair jogged off, not even sparing the girls a passing glance.
During the last part of the conversation, Yaoyorozu got the sense that she should remain quiet. Once the boys ran out of earshot, however, she turned to her friend.
"What did you lie to them for?" She tried to keep her tone gentle, avoiding the impression that she was prying.
"Mostly for Tsunotori's sake." Jiro exhaled as if relieved. "Poor girl shouldn't have to deal with Mineta if anybody can help it."
"Is that…the only reason?"
Jiro bit her lip. "Yeah."
They both knew it wasn't. But Jiro didn't seem comfortable talking about it anymore. So, as usual, Yaoyorozu dropped it.
XxXxXxX
"Megumi…Nagase…"
Deku typed her name into the Instagram search bar. A few results popped up, but no one profile jumped out at him. Well, that much should have been expected. After all, other than her name and the school she went to, they didn't have a whole lot to go off of.
"How are we supposed to know who she even is?" Deku pondered after a moment.
"My suggestion is to look for a picture with Watanabe." Todoroki replied from behind the couch. "He might have needed to keep their relationship private, but there's nothing saying Nagase was under the same obligation."
"That wouldn't make a lot of sense, though." Deku pointed out. "I mean, you can't have one high-profile person staying private and the other not. Not if the relationship is going to stay a secret, anyway."
"I suppose you're right." Todoroki conceded.
"What are you two nerds doing?"
Bakugo plopped down beside Deku on the couch, immediately craning his head to see what Deku had on his screen.
"We're looking for–"
"Hey!" Bakugo snatched the phone, eyes narrowed at Deku. "What are you doing going through other girls' Instagrams, you creep?!"
A few people turned their heads.
"Kacchan, stop!" Deku dove for his phone. "It's not what you think!"
"You guys good over there?" Sato called, looking up from the game of "Cards Against Humanity" he and the Bakusquad were playing.
"W-we're fine, Sato!" Deku waved and chuckled nervously, then glared at Bakugo. "Would you please listen to me for one second?!"
Bakugo jerked his hand back, gripping Deku's phone tightly. "You'd better explain yourself fast then, lover boy, before I tell Uraraka–"
"We're trying to find Ryo Watanabe's girlfriend." Todoroki cut him off casually. "My dad told me who she was. We want to have a solid face to the name before we bring the info to All Might."
Bakugo's face relaxed a bit, though he still glared down at Deku. "Is this true?"
"Of course it's true!" Deku stammered. "I would never betray Uraraka, I love her so much and now that I finally get to date her, I'm–"
He stopped. What did he just say?
Did he just…use the 'L' word?!
"Whoa." Bakugo scooted back a bit. "You…haven't told her that, have you?"
"Um, not exactly?" Sweat dripped down Deku's temples. Ugh, these conversations gave him way too much anxiety. "I mean, I…we've only been together for a little while, I know we've been friends for years but I don't want to mess anything up and I'd hate to lose her because I told her something like that too soon and…I don't…I don't know."
Todoroki blinked. "Damn. That's a lot."
"C-can we keep this…just between us?" Deku asked meekly.
"We can." Bakugo gave Deku a pointed stare. "But you shouldn't keep that to yourself too much longer."
"I-I won't!" Deku promised. "It's just, well, I need a little time to process this and figure out what to say and–"
"Holy shit."
Bakugo stopped, staring down at the screen of Deku's phone. For a second, his eyes went wide. Then, as soon as it happened, he stopped, blinked, and shook himself.
"I, uh, I gotta head out, actually."
Todoroki tilted his head, confused. "What do you mean? You just got here."
"None of your business!" That didn't have the same bite Bakugo's usual dismissals gave. He didn't seem angry; more like he was in a hurry to leave the conversation.
"Huh." Deku blinked. "That was…weird."
In his haste, Bakugo had left whatever he saw on Deku's screen open. Curious, Deku glanced over, frowning in confusion at the sight before them. Two girls in swimsuits, flashing peace signs and grinning at the camera. At first, it didn't look like anything significant. The more he processed who he was looking at, however, the more he recognized.
"That post…" He picked up the phone. "I know that girl. The one with the light brown hair?"
Todoroki took a closer look. "Oh, yeah. She was in the remedial courses with me and Bakugo. Her name's Camie Utsushimi. She's one of that pro Wisteria's sidekicks now, I think."
"Oh, yeah, Maboromicamie. This is her and someone named Megumi Nagase." Deku explained. "Is this maybe who we're looking for?"
"She looks familiar, too." Todoroki squinted at Nagase. Jet black hair and legs that stood her statuesque frame a good few inches taller than Camie. "I feel like…I may have seen her."
"Yeah, I get what you mean." Deku nodded in agreement. "Something about her…ugh, I can't quite place it. Is she a pro's daughter or something?"
"My dad just said she went to Shiketsu." Todoroki shrugged. "I don't remember her being connected to anyone prominent, though. Not according to him."
"Hey, guys!"
At the sound of Yaoyorozu's voice, Deku immediately locked his phone. After Bakugo's accusation, the last thing he needed was one of Uraraka's friends turning around and telling her that he'd been staring so intently at a picture of two girls in bikinis.
"Oh, hey, Yaomomo." Todoroki smiled.
"I made some tea, if either one of you are interested." She offered brightly. "Gold Tips Imperial. Just something to pep up our moods after training today!"
"Wow, that's incredibly sweet, thanks!" Deku's face lit up.
"Of course!" With that, she turned and sauntered back to the kitchen.
Todoroki watched her go with a gentle expression. How did someone who grew up so privileged turn out so unbelievably kind? It took him years to realize what a brat he'd grown into, and even still, he didn't feel totally confident in his own emotions or expressions. All the more reason to admire her, he thought absently.
"Uh, Todoroki?"
"Hm?"
He turned to find Deku staring up at him quizzically.
"You, uh, look a little lost. Are you okay?"
Todoroki shook himself. "I'm fine. Guess I just need some tea to wake me up."
Understanding, Deku nodded at him. "Sounds good. Let's take a quick break."
XxXxXxX
Finally.
All the groveling, seducing, and fighting paid off. The fruits of her labor lay typed up and printed in her trembling hands. Electra's eyes scanned the documents hungrily, newfound energy radiating through her. This was it. Everything she'd been working so hard for. The puzzle piece Mirror absolutely demanded of her.
Her ticket to guaranteed success.
"And you're sure this is all of it?" Electra pressed.
"I wouldn't submit anything less than perfection, darling." Yanji pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Of course, you understand this is only as good as it gets. I'll never truly be able to accomplish everything you want. But this template should be enough to bridge the gap you've led me to believe you're facing. Thus, as far as I'm concerned, perfection sits in your hands courtesy of myself and my underlings."
Relaxing into a smile, Electra gripped the file a little tighter. "I'm glad. After all, I demanded nothing less than perfection from you."
"Understandable, given your predicament." Yanji leaned on the nearest table. "Now, run along before you get me in trouble."
She reached out and briefly squeezed his hand, then turned and scurried out of the lab, slipping the documents into her purse. Inklings of anxiety formed in her thoughts, urging her to trash the papers and reject every word Yanji said. Nothing that bastard did would ever be in good faith, and even being indebted to him wouldn't be enough motivation for him not to double cross her.
Squeezing her eyes, she shut out the intrusive emotions. No, typical Yanji didn't have a scrap of a soul to make him care for her or her problems. He'd made that clear by sending her jumping through elaborate hoops just to reach him so she even had the opportunity to ask for his help. Her fate lay in his hands; a dangerous position to put her in.
Her only comfort was the reassurance that, despite the circumstances, they both played for the same endgame. He wanted what she wanted. And as long as both of them clung to that, they'd prolong their death match. Right now, she was safe.
She hoped.