A/N: We ready for some tension? If not, let's get ready for some TENSION! This chapter actually proved to be one of the more difficult ones for me to write so far, and I'm going a little crazy trying to get everything right timing-wise. I know right now there's kind of a lot of random stuff getting thrown out there, but I'm doing my best to make it make sense lol. I appreciate everybody who's sticking this out and still interested in my drabbles. You guys mean the world to me for that! As always, thank you so much for reading, and enjoy the chapter!
Yaoyorozu stretched her hands above her head, yawning over the sound of her alarm. Sleep eluded her for several hours the night before, making rising a bit of a cranky experience. Nonetheless, she persevered. A big day lay ahead of her.
Morning routine, same old same old. A quick yoga session, one cup of green tea mixed with lemon and mint, and a brush through of her hair before hitting the shower for body and skincare. Yoga felt a bit off balance, but she shrugged it off, nearly choking on her tea almost immediately afterwards. Her hair seemed to have gotten unusually tangled while she slept, which her hairbrush communicated quite harshly.
Frustrated, she yanked through a particularly persistent knot (something her mother strongly advised against,) the motion causing her to lose her grip on the silver plated brush and send it flying. Breathing deeply, she held her hands beside her head, slowly crunching them into fists.
'It's just emotions. Nothing you can't control.' She reminded herself while stooping to the ground to collect her hairbrush.
It managed to slide across the carpet, stopped only by the wall. How she'd flung it this far was beyond her. Jitters about performing later today, she assumed. Nothing she needed to get too caught up in. She had faith in her teammates, they'd practiced enough times to be close enough to perfect for her taste, and most importantly, she'd been given a strong group to work with. That helped stabilize their performance by leaps and–
ZZT.
"Ahh!"
The second she touched the brush, a shock rippled through her arm. Nothing major, but far more powerful than the quick zap that came from too much static or something. Frowning, she lifted the brush, inspecting it carefully. Maybe it somehow accumulated a full force of static, so much so that it created an electric shock to that extent? Possibly, but how? It had only slid across the carpet for a second, and there weren't any outlets nearby to generate that much power.
Shaking her head, she decided to chalk this up to the result of a bad morning. No point in dwelling on random happenings. She needed to get this hair detangled, for goodness' sake.
A pit of dread formed in her stomach as she settled back down on her vanity bench. Why? She couldn't say. Brushing her hair suddenly felt daunting. Did the static sap her energy? She'd gotten enough sleep, that didn't make sense. Ugh, why did today feel so off?
Whatever. She didn't have time to wallow in it. She had a group to lead to victory, and she wasn't about to let her hairbrush dictate whether or not she succeeded.
XxXxX
Day three of house arrest: B dorm cleaning nearly complete. Half day of school, three gala performances lined up, and two days from the Sidekick Awards.
Today, they only needed to spend half the day in Monoma's domain, having finished up the majority of the halls. Once they finished the door frames and a quick vacuum, they'd report to the A dorms and start the painstaking process over again. Shinso refrained from admitting to himself how much he hated cleaning purely out of necessity; whether he liked it or not, it needed to get done. But over the past few days he'd had nothing else to do besides scrub doorknobs and deal with Monoma, and weirdly enough, he'd grown more accustomed to his blond cellmate than the putrid stench of clear polish.
Plus, he'd woken up to his phone completely drained of battery, having fallen off its charger. What a bullshit day.
The doorframes got scrubbed without a hitch, the vacuuming was done sooner than expected, and both of them were wiping the sweat from their brows and trekking to the A dorms before eleven thirty.
"Ugh, I feel like I'm walking headfirst into the lion's den." Monoma shuddered exaggeratedly.
Shinso rolled his eyes. "Can you not be dramatic for one second?"
"What, and betray my childhood of theatricality?" The blond cackled, slightly less maniacally than normal. "No dice on that one, my friend!"
Of course Monoma grew up a theater kid. An inference Shinso made throughout the several bouts of showtunes he'd been subjected to over the past couple days, deeming the confirmation validating but unnecessary.
Beyond that, the two reached the A dorm lounge in silence, only a few brief hums from Monoma. He seemed to have recovered from misspeaking the previous day, or at least, he was hiding it pretty well. Shinso tried not to let it bother him, but empty silence with Monoma around…didn't feel right. Of course, he'd never been a stellar conversationalist, so it wasn't until they'd finally divided up the tasks and got to work that either one of them spoke at all.
"So, I hear we've got three presentations today." Monoma stated from the window.
"Hm?" Shinso frowned. "Three gala performances?"
"Today's a half day." Monoma explained. "More time for training. You'd think they'd be kind enough to give us a break, but oh, who am I to complain? I haven't had to do school work in three days."
That reminder gutted Shinso. All the academics he'd already fallen behind on weighed him down. His friends had been kind enough to trade notes with him and get him somewhat up to speed, but concern nagged at him nonetheless. How did he plan to catch up at this rate? Maybe he should do some studying during the performances and ask Aizawa to pass along some assignments. He knew his mentor wouldn't allow him to cheat, but he had a soft enough heart to at least clue Shinso in. He hoped, anyway.
"We're so behind." He thought out loud.
"Eh, it's not like our grades are the most important thing in the world." Monoma squeezed out the rag in his hands. "Hero society is mainly built on what you do out in the field. Sure, they take a gander at your transcripts, but if you've been good enough at your work study, there's no reason to be concerned."
"There is if you're starting where I'm at." Shinso glared down at the floor. "I've got a whole year of missed training to explain, on top of lacking a combat-worthy quirk, not to mention my marketability being subpar, I've got–"
"Holy shit, are you always this uptight?" Monoma chuckled. "Settle down already. I mean, I know you're a mopey little emo kid, but do you let everything get to you this much?"
Behind the slight teasing in his words, Monoma held a pebble of concern for everything Shinso talked about. This had already been verbalized, but listening to him right now fully actualized all the fears Shinso harbored about becoming a hero for Monoma. Underneath all the brooding and punching and angst, he didn't feel like he was good enough. He walked around with something to prove. Something that frankly, no one asked him to. How did Monoma miss that for this long?
"I have to do something about my disadvantages." Shinso protested. "Make up for it however I can."
"So you can get a job?" Monoma cocked an eyebrow. "Not to rub this in, but you've got Eraserhead in your back pocket. He's no All Might, but he's got enough connections to get you in somewhere, for sure. If I were you, I'd honestly take advantage of that and let your work out in the field do the talking."
Shinso's hands trembled. Sure, become another stupid nepo baby. That'd just make his standing worse, in his own eyes.
"I asked Aizawa not to cover for me." Shinso replied darkly. "If I'm going to make it, it's gonna be through my own blood, sweat, and tears. I'll never rely on anyone or their 'connections' to put me on the path to saving lives. That's why I push as hard as I do. I want to be good enough of my own accord, not based on Eraser's word."
…And Shinso called him the dramatic one?!
"Good Lord." Monoma blinked. "What are you so worried about?"
The inevitability of failure. Simple as that. The fear that if he didn't succeed in school and learn everything he possibly could, one day, somehow, some way, he'd fail someone in need. Someone who would have to pay for his mistakes with their life.
How could he call himself a hero if he let that reality become possible?
"Everyone." Shinso hadn't mopped an inch in a minute, the soapy water pooling at his feet as a result. "I want to save everyone I come into contact with. I can't do that by getting lazy."
Monoma didn't know what to say. At the end of the day, he and Shinso shared the same goals, but Shinso seemed weirdly…insistent.
He didn't have much time to ponder it, though. Just as he returned to scrub a spot on the wall near the fireplace, something caught his eye.
"Hey, what's this wire?" He spoke as he thought.
"What?" Shinso turned. "What wire?"
A thin, blue wire-like cord stretched along the line where the carpet met the wall, starting from the corner of the fireplace. Curious, Monoma walked along the perimeter, following the wire all the way to the door. It seemed to stretch beyond it, looping underneath the bottom hinge.
The moment he noticed it, it started to…wiggle? Vibrating back and forth between the wall and the carpet, inching towards the door in a manner that resembled an army crawl. Monoma watched it closely with his eyebrows drawn together.
"Is this some sort of stray electrical circuit?" He wondered out loud. "Or…I dunno, I don't understand these things."
"What are you talking about?" Shinso leaned the mop against the counter. "There's no outlets or anything over there. At least not that I remember."
Well, yeah, there weren't any outlets. That made this all the more confusing.
"No, this thing that's…moving."
What the hell was this guy talking about? Everyday, Shinso became more convinced Monoma genuinely had some screws loose. Shaking his head, he wandered over to his house arrest buddy, ready to correct him on whatever it was he thought he saw.
Until he saw it, too.
"Whoa, what is that?" Shinso's voice startled Monoma.
"Ah!"
Monoma whirled around, suddenly nose-to-nose with his house arrest buddy. Shinso hadn't realized how closely he looked over Monoma's shoulder, more enamored with the wire than anything. But once he turned to face him, barely any space hovered between them. Yet neither of them moved away, both of them standing frozen, faces an inch apart, breathing heavily, for no discernible reason.
Unsure what to do, Monoma tried to step forward and attempt to dodge the closeness. Instead, he ended up tripping over his own foot, letting out a yelp of surprise. Shinso quickly caught him by his shoulders, standing him upright with a small grunt.
"Are you…alright?" Shinso's voice dropped to a murmur.
Nothing but concern shone in Shinso's eyes. Despite how annoying Monoma made himself out to be over the past few days, the second he stumbled, Shinso stood right there, catching him as he fell. Murmuring to ask if he was okay.
Holy crap, that volume change should not have affected Monoma as much as it did. His heart skipped a beat, for God's sake. Ugh, what was he thinking? Snap out of it!
"I-I'm good." He stepped back a bit, his back softly pressing against the wall. "Why do you ask?"
"Just…you tripped. And you're just panting a lot." Shinso eyed him a bit, increasing Monoma's heart rate. "And…sweating. Are you hot?"
Hot didn't even begin to cover it. Monoma suddenly felt like he'd implode at any second, heat radiating from his forehead all the way to his trembling kneecaps. Where did all this come from? He'd been perfectly fine up until now. Crap, maybe he was sick. His throat dried up a few seconds later, rendering him incapable of talking.
That didn't seem to matter, though. Without waiting for an answer, Shinso pressed his hand against Monoma's cheek. Simply testing to see if he'd developed some kind of fever. No ulterior motives or weird vibes behind it. However, it didn't fly over his head the inherent intimacy behind such a gesture, and Shinso lost focus fairly quickly upon contact.
"Whoa." He murmured, unintentionally breathy. "Your skin…."
"Ugh, tell me about it. It's suffering from all the bleach we've been forced to breathe the past few days." Monoma scoffed, anxiously trying to center a more lighthearted topic. The mood had become altogether too heavy for his taste.
"It's still so soft." Mesmerized, Shinso's wandered down Monoma's cheek to his neck.
It's got nothing on the palm of Shinso's hand. Talk about soft. Not to mention strong; just a light press to check for a fever and he practically held Monoma entirely in place. That thought heightened his temperature, something Shinso clearly hadn't picked up on. Why did his hand stay on his face, then? If he didn't detect anything, why didn't he move it? And, most importantly, why didn't Monoma want him to?
All at once, both boys snapped back to reality. The closeness of their situation dawned on them, and they jumped apart, each staring in opposing directions awkwardly.
"Well, you, uh, don't have a fever–"
"Yeah, I…thank you. For checking."
"Of course. We can also open a window or turn on the AC, you know." Shinso made his way back to his mop, still a bit concerned about Monoma's temperature.
Monoma blinked. "I, uh, I don't think that's necessary. But thanks."
"Sure." Finally, Shinso made eye contact with him, nothing but sincerity rippling through him. "As long as you're okay."
After that? Hell no, Monoma wasn't.
XxXxX
"Hey, are you okay?"
Yaoyorozu didn't seem to hear Todoroki at first. Her mind remained fixated on the conversation she'd had with Jiro the previous day. What was she doing, standing here, poised to be captain, when she didn't even have a solid answer for why she wanted to become a hero? A question so basic should come with a kneejerk response, not trigger the realization of memory loss.
When she didn't respond, Todoroki rested a hand on her shoulder, jolting her back to earth.
"Oh, sorry, Todoroki, did you…say something?"
"Just checking on you." He kept his hand on her. "You seem tense. Everything alright?"
How did he know? Did her emotions show on her face? She'd have to be more careful about that, she rationalized internally. Her mother had always taught her never to wear her heart on her sleeve; feelings can be one's downfall if they aren't careful. However, Todoroki being kind enough to reassure her despite having gotten so upset at her a couple days ago struck a chord. It felt nice, being seen. Relaxing, she gently lay her hand on her shoulder, ever so slightly curving her fingers around his.
"Everything's fine." She tilted her head slightly upwards, meeting his eye. "This is mere performance anxiety. Today's our first check in with the teachers, and I want them to like our set. Nothing I won't be able to move past."
Upon contact with her fingers, his arm stiffened. Oh, no, had she upset him? Panic washed over her, only dissipating when Todoroki's lips curved into a small smile.
"You're going to do great, Yaomomo." He inched toward her, closing the already small gap between their bodies. "I've never doubted you for a second."
"Hey, captain, Todoroki!"
Todoroki blinked and Awase appeared, standing squarely between them, inadvertently (but likely intentionally) forcing their hands apart.
"You guys ready to show off what we've been working on?" Awase kept his back to Todoroki, speaking exclusively to a startled Yaoyorozu. "Cuz I think we're about to kill it! How do you feel, Yaomomo?"
Yaomomo? When did he start calling her that? Fury bubbled up in Todoroki's chest, his fists clenching on themselves involuntarily. Screw this guy. He didn't have the right to address Yaoyorozu so informally, much less stand between the two of them. And he most definitely better not lay a finger on her if he knows what's good for him.
…Whoa. Where did all that come from?
"Alright, guys." Vlad gestured to the creation group. "Due to the damage Range could potentially cause, we're going to let the other two groups go first. No objections, Yaoyorozu?"
Yaoyorozu gave an exuberant thumbs up. "Ready when you are!"
"Fabulous. Get into place and let's see what you've got!"
What was with him these days? It's like his brain took control in a way that he couldn't fight. Not that he didn't have control over himself; his thoughts just ran rampant and said things that he had no agency over. Thoughts like punching Awase.
"Todoroki?"
He instinctively gave Yaoyorozu a thumbs up, indicating he was ready. Their group had taken the stage minutes before, settling into their formation and exchanging glances to ensure everyone else's focus. Once they appeared situated, Yaoyorozu gave a purposeful nod and started the performance.
For the beginning, Yaoyorozu created fireworks of different sizes pop out from all over her body, mainly her arms. Generic fireworks would simply plop to the floor, so she worked out a customization of something between a firework and a floating lantern. This also gave Todoroki a wider target to shoot his flames at, making it easier for him to light them once they emerged. After that, Tsuburaba traps them in cubes, Kodai resizes them, and Awase welds everything together, just in time to create a giant explosive display, and Todoroki just needed to focus on using his quirk to make background effects.
So…why couldn't he?
He lit the fireworks. Probably hit them a bit harder than necessary, but they were set to go off. His part was done. But when one of the larger floating cubes shifted in his direction, he pushed it back towards center stage, where Yaoyorozu still stood. Obviously he didn't want her to get hit with it, quickly stepping forward to intercept it.
"Whoa, watch out, Yaomomo!" Awase grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the way.
"Huh? Oh." She looked around, seeing the cube as it passed her by. Once she realized what happened, she turned to Awase. "Thank you, that could've been messy."
"Anytime, captain." He faced her, giving her shoulders a squeeze. The two of them stood center stage, the glowing lights creating a soft, romantic ambiance as Awase kept his hands on her, staring deeply into her eyes. He only broke their eye contact to catch Todoroki's, a small, knowing smirk crossing his face.
…Absolutely not.
Instinct took over before Todoroki even knew what happened. One moment, they stood there, Awase not doing his job, staring at each other. The next, a pillar of ice shot up from the ground between them, knocking Awase backwards.
"Ahh!" He cried out, his arms flailing. "What the hell?!"
Yaoyorozu reached for him and stumbled, slipping on the ice and losing her footing at the base of the pillar. Kodai and Tsuburaba exchanged confused glances, broken by Tsuburaba hurrying to help Awase up.
"Yaoyorozu!" Kodai noticed her on the floor and quickly scurried around the ice.
Todoroki stood rooted to the spot, coming to grips with what he'd just done. Or, rather, why he'd done it. No reasoning came to mind whatsoever; it was like his brain had turned off and his body acted purely on autopilot.
"Todoroki, why did you do that?" Tsuburaba called out.
"I…" His mouth refused to form words.
"Oh, no, the fireworks!" Yaoyorozu pointed upwards.
Since Todoroki had knocked Awase down, he didn't get the chance to collect the cubes and weld them together. The original plan intended for Todoroki to shield the welded creation with ice, keeping the explosions contained behind a clear wall that showed off the beauty of the explosions while still considering the audience's safety. Now, the fuses burned almost entirely away, and with no means of covering the cubes, the fireworks roamed free around the stage, ready to pop and shower everyone with broken glass and explosive remnants.
"Shit!" Tsuburaba whipped his gaze around frantically. "Uh, guys? What do we–"
"I'm on it!" With a wave of his hand, Todoroki unleashed a full ice wall, trapping a majority of the cubes. The ones floating upwards he sent more ice pillars forth to immobilize, and thankfully all of it happened in the nick of time. Within a second, the fireworks went off, cracking their containers and some of the ice, but otherwise fizzling out. Panting, Todoroki dropped his hands, relieved to have stopped the main threat. Only when everything had been subdued did he take a moment to survey the scene before him.
His teammates covered their arms, shivering thanks to the new glacier Todoroki sprouted up beside them. That's gonna take hours to thaw, he realized grimly. In the stands, their classmates looked on confusedly, murmuring to each other questioning if the routine happened as intended. Vlad shared their confusion, but Aizawa's glare said more than enough for Todoroki.
"What the fuck, man?" Awase suddenly stood nose to nose with him, his eyes narrowed in a challenging glare.
"It was an accident." Todoroki tried to shuffle around him.
"Bullshit!" Awase spat, getting in his face. "If you've got a problem, you need to–"
"Okay, that's enough." Tsuburaba pulled Awase back. "Let's cool off before we talk about this, guys."
Awase wasn't known for having outbursts like that. In fact, whenever Kendo couldn't be present, Awase often took on the role of wrangling Monoma and keeping him grounded. The sight of him raging at anybody seemed to shake Tsuburaba a bit, and Todoroki didn't know how to take that. Fortunately, Awase didn't need much convincing to cool off, allowing Tsuburaba to usher him away from the situation.
"What the hell just happened?" Aizawa demanded once they'd lined up before him and Vlad. "Todoroki, was this a performance gone wrong or did you intentionally endanger everyone in this room?"
"Mr. Aizawa, I–"
"It's my fault, Mr. Aizawa."
Everyone turned to Yaoyorozu, shocked.
"I wasn't in the correct place, like I should have been. As you saw, I almost got hit with one of our own projectiles because of it. Awase helped get me out of the way, but in doing so, I lost my place onstage. Todoroki sent the pillar to try and help me, but…it didn't end up working out."
During her monologue, both Awase and Todoroki watched her, wide eyed. Both of them were clearly to blame, and yet she stood there, head bowed, asking their teacher to hold her exclusively accountable. To make matters worse, Aizawa obviously saw through her, his eyes whipping fiercely between both boys.
"Yaoyorozu, I could have done a better job of–"
"I'm sorry, Yaomomo, I should have watched where I was dragging you, I–"
"Enough." Aizawa held up a hand. "Whatever happened here, it's clear Yaoyorozu insists on taking responsibility. I admire your convictions as a leader, but you have to remember to give credit where credit is due, Miss Yaoyorozu, whether it's good or bad."
She bit her trembling lip, keeping her gaze fixed on the floor. "Yes, sir."
"I'll chalk this up to a bad warmup." Aizawa finalized after a moment. "We'll schedule a day later in the week to come watch you perform your set as intended and only knock you down one letter grade. Other than that, I'm pleased with the concept. Show us you can build on it and we won't have further issues."
Vlad didn't seem to have anything to add, so the group was dismissed, dejectedly making their way back to their classmates.
"Are you alright, Yaoyorozu?" In the background, Kodai rested a hand on Yaoyorozu's arm.
Todoroki tilted his head to eavesdrop.
"I'm fine." She hung her head, her demeanor saddened. "I just…wish that could've gone better, is all."
She didn't even look in Todoroki's direction. Despite her disappointment and probable frustration, she was still kind enough not to blame him, at least not directly. He turned his head forward, ashamed. After all the hard work she'd put in, he'd gone and let her down harsher than even he thought possible. How could he face her after this?
"Hey."
Oh, no. Not now.
The glare that overtook Todoroki's face visibly startled Awase when he whirled to face him. After clearing his throat, though, Awase didn't back down, staring Todoroki straight in the eye.
"You and me. We need to talk."
XxXxX
"Alright, guys, ready to rock this?"
Rin didn't sound the least bit confident. Kaminari shrugged it off; honestly, all of the captains worried too much. They'd done fine in practice, and after the last group's performance, they couldn't possibly be the worst show of the day. Utility did decently, even though most of the time Tokage and Sero just slid across the stage making goo-goo eyes at each other while Komori grew some mushrooms. Honestly, Range had been handed "best of the day" on a silver platter, and all they had to do was semi-nail it.
All that is to say, Rin needed to chill.
"Kaminari." He woke the blond from his thoughts.
"What? Oh, yeah, no worries, I got this!" He flashed finger guns at his captain.
Rin narrowed his eyes, unamused. "Please remember to reign it in. If we don't contain your electricity, you pose a threat to the entire building. Consider that before you fire, got it?"
Gulping, Kaminari nodded. When he put it that way, his power felt a lot less cool and a lot more…scary. Out of everyone in the group, though, he was the most likely to deal some actual damage. That meant he needed to be extra cautious.
Not something he'd ever been good at.
"You got it." He stretched his hands above his head, eying Shiozaki. "I know I'm easily the most dangerous guy here, huh?"
Shiozaki's hands clasped together, once again murmuring a prayer. Kaminari briefly wondered if every spare second of her time got spent praying vigorously, and if that were the case, how did she have time to do anything else? Did she have time for anything else? Like, seriously, did she have…hobbies or anything?
"...Yeah. Anyways, how are the rest of you doing?" Rin brushed past Kaminari's statement.
"Oh, we've got this in the bag." Mineta proclaimed.
"Our Provider has sent me whispers of success." Shiozaki lowered her hands after a moment. "We must put our faith where it belongs. Only then will we reach a true victory."
Rin looked ready to combust. "Fukidashi?"
"Huh?" His friend shifted to face him. "Oh. Dude, relax, we're gonna do fine."
"Exactly!" Kaminari pointed to Fukidashi. "Come on, Rin, lighten up!"
Rin massaged his temples.
"Let's do this, then." He sounded less excited and more like he wanted to get this over with.
Poised center stage, Kaminari took a deep breath. First year, he remembered having a much more inflated ego. Being the focal point of any performance would have skyrocketed his arrogance, resulting in overconfidence to a fault. Even now, his initial instinct when taking the stage was to think 'oh, I've so got this.'
But after all the discussion about Shiozaki and that bizarre emotional moment with Jiro, he couldn't help but feel knocked down a peg. How cool could he be if girls reacted so weirdly to him? Obviously, he'd done something wrong over the course of the last couple days. Not being able to figure it out bothered him.
So he hoped this performance would fix it.
How? No idea. The general goal was for him to do so well, Shiozaki would notice and compliment him, while Jiro forgot she'd ever been mad at him. Wouldn't hurt to catch a few other girls' attention after all was said and done, too.
Fukidashi starting their set jerked him out of his thoughts. A solid wall of the word "THUD" emerged right under his feet, propelling him upwards. Behind him, Shiozaki rose in midair using her vines to support herself, wrapping a couple around his arms. Fukidashi created a few more words that floated around him, all of which got shot down a moment later by Rin. In the background, Mineta swung back and forth through Shiozaki's vines, using both purple whip and a series of strategically placed sticky balls.
Rin's scales began to decline in quantity, indicating to Kaminari that Mineta had exited, meaning his cue had come. Squeezing his fists, he took a deep breath and flashed the audience a grin that was half nerves, half bravado. First, a few stray sparks radiating off his shoulders. Then running down his arms. From there, send waves of electricity throughout the vines gripping him, stay balanced, and illuminate the stage.
As the volts sparked through the vines, the light reflected off the glossy leaves, making the stage look like it rippled with bolts of lightning flashing in every direction. Seeing that gave Kaminari a rush of adrenaline. Much of the time, he focused on repressing his quirk, ensuring he didn't lose control of it for others' sakes. And of course, he never minded doing so; after all, what kind of hero endangered people? Sparring and training helped him maintain that control, teaching him how to microdose his power.
In this moment, though, while he still had to keep a lid on his abilities, it felt freeing to release a lot of that inhibition. Let his sparks run loose, travel through the vines, and relieve him of all that pent up energy. For a second, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to bask in the electrical surge coursing through his body, riding the rush for all he could get.
When his eyes drifted open, they were once again drawn to Jiro. She stood back center in the crowd, locked in on him with an awestruck expression. Instead of feeling smug or cocky about it, though, a feeling of pure excitement flashed through him. Whatever happened the other day, right now, in this moment, she showed on her face how impressed by him she was.
And that made him feel untouchable.
The performance ended with him reabsorbing his electricity, focusing until every last spark returned to his body. Only then did he tell Shiozaki to release him, lowering him off Fukidashi's word platform and onto the ground. He briefly turned to her, wondering if she had anything to say about how well he'd done. But, as usual, she'd assumed her prayer stance, thanking their Provider for a smooth performance.
He'd like to see this "Provider" light up the stage and suck up all the dangerous volts in the span of five minutes. Then again, he'd like confirmation that this Provider of hers existed at all. If he didn't, she'd certainly wasted a lot of her time praying to him.
And Kaminari certainly wasted a lot of time chasing her in spite of that.
"I'd like to see a little bit more from you three." Vlad was pointing to Mineta, Fukidashi, and Rin when Kaminari refocused. "Kaminari and Shiozaki are holding their own quite well, but you three feel like background at this point. Not that you've done anything badly, it just needs more."
"Agreed." Aizawa eyed the three lazily. "Fukidashi, you can definitely stand to create more scenery. This might create more opportunities for both Mineta and Rin to execute their powers without getting in Kaminari's line of fire. I invite you to explore that possibility and see what you can come up with."
"Oh, absolutely!" Rin bowed slightly to Aizawa. "Thank you both for your feedback!"
"Kaminari?" Aizawa turned on him, gaze icy as ever.
For the second time, Kaminari gulped. "Yes, sir? Teacher?"
Aizawa's face immediately softened. "Let loose more often. You'd be amazed how powerful you really are when you do."
"Really?" Kaminari brightened up.
"Not too much." Aizawa held up a warning hand. "There's still your classmates to consider. But yes, I'd like to see you expand on your current abilities."
They moved on to Shiozaki, but honestly, Kaminari didn't care to listen. The green light to let his powers shine overtook his interest in anything else going on. Without thinking, he once again searched for Jiro's face in the crowd. Did she hear what Aizawa just told him? Did she agree? Most importantly, did she think it as cool as he did?
When he found her, he didn't receive answers to any of those questions. But he did find her staring back at him, a look of pure pride painted all over her face. They only locked eyes for a second before she turned away, embarrassed, but it had been more than enough for Kaminari.
Her opinion mattered more to him than he originally thought, he realized with a blush.
XxXxX
Todoroki stared down at his shoes, waiting. Awase told him to meet him outside the locker room, and that's what he did. No tricks, no backup, just the two of them. Part of him wondered if he'd been challenged to a fight and just hadn't realized it yet, but he dismissed the thought. Should Awase come at him, he'd be making a fatal mistake. Todoroki outclassed him in power, weight, and ability.
"Hey."
Stiffening, Todoroki tilted slightly. There Awase stood. Nonthreateningly, none of his friends behind him, too open and fluid to be concealing any sort of weapon. He didn't even look angry; awkward and uncertain, but no aggression in his tone or demeanor so far.
"Hey." Todoroki nodded curtly. "What's this about?"
"I think you know, Todoroki." Awase watched him expectantly.
Todoroki clenched his jaw. "No, actually. I have no idea."
If he had the audacity to force Todoroki to take time out of his day and hang back for some sort of conversation, he'd better have the courtesy to steer the discussion. Todoroki didn't come here to do any leg work. Harsh? Maybe. Did he care? Not really.
Awase sighed, widening his eyes a bit. "Okay, fine, I'll be the one to say it."
Yeah, you will. Stop beating around the bush.
"You and I both clearly have a thing for Yaoyorozu." A blush rose in Awase's cheeks as he spoke. "I feel like we can agree on that, right?"
Could they? Todoroki understood he definitely felt something for her for a while. He wasn't dumb. But to reduce those feelings to simply "having a thing for her" didn't sit right with him. Or maybe he just hated that description because Awase used it to admit to him that he'd unofficially declared himself a competitor for Yaoyorozu's affection. Not that this was a competition of any sort, but…damn it, why did Todoroki's brain do this?
"Sure, if that's what we're calling it." Todoroki kept his tone straightforward.
"In that case…I feel like we both need to be upfront with each other." Awase adjusted his bag on his shoulder uncomfortably. "Because…I'm planning on asking her to the gala. I planned to after the performance today, but…she didn't seem to be in the mood for something like that after what happened."
Todoroki's fist tightened in his pocket. Awase didn't outright blame him for their performance going wrong. But frankly, he didn't have to. Everyone knew whose fault that had been, Todoroki included.
"Oh?" He replied through gritted teeth. "What does that have to do with me?"
"You're really not gonna make this easy, are you?" Finally, Awase relaxed a bit, chuckling and shaking his head. "Look, Todoroki, I'll just be honest here: both of us want her, only one of us is gonna get her, if either one of us can even manage to. And I'm not here to argue about that with you because at the end of the day, it's her decision who she likes. Right?"
"Yeah, sure." At least Todoroki agreed on that sentiment.
"But…we both deserve to shoot our shot." Awase swallowed nervously. "So…I'm still going to ask her at some point. And I'm telling you that because I want you to feel welcome to ask her, too."
If he had felt welcome to do so, he would have long before Awase ever became a factor in this situation. However, Todoroki appreciated the gesture of Awase encouraging him; it showed maturity to some degree. A risky move that if Todoroki were being totally honest, he never would have considered extending to Awase had the roles been reversed.
"I want you to know I'm not competing with you." Awase went on. "And when this is all over, and she's made her decision, I don't want there to be any animosity between us. We're more than just a bunch of teenagers here. We're training to take our place as the next generation of heroes. Eventually, you and I might need to be allies out in the field. We can't have something like this clouding our judgment."
Damn it. Why did he have to be emotionally intelligent on top of everything else?
"I suppose that makes sense." Todoroki finally let his guard down a bit. "I don't plan on making an enemy out of you, if that's what you're getting at."
"People rarely plan out their enemies." Awase sneered a bit. "Look, I'm talking to myself as much as I'm talking to you. I've been annoyed with you for a while."
Todoroki frowned. "You have?"
"And you're annoyed with me." Awase's tone grew slightly testier. "Yaoyorozu's told me how hot and cold you've been with her lately. I can see it's because you like her, but I also know it's gotten worse since I started talking to her. Don't try to hide it, man, we both can't stand that we both make her happy. Let's just, you know, be honest about it, right?"
He's reading him like a goddamn picture book. Todoroki actually took a slight step back, suddenly ashamed of his behavior. He didn't think anybody really noticed or picked up on his moods, and he certainly wasn't aware anyone had worked out his reasoning for these mood swings stemmed from his feelings for Yaoyorozu. Maybe Awase only understood because he rowed in the same boat as Todoroki; pining furiously over a girl while dodging another guy also after her.
"What do you want from me?" Todoroki, feeling overly vulnerable, asked wearily.
"I don't want anything." Awase assured him. "I'm not gonna tell anyone, so if someone's not figured out the obvious, this can stay a secret. And I'd appreciate if you'd do the same for me?"
For a moment, the thought of having leverage on Awase flashed through Todoroki's mind. Confused, he knocked it out of his brain. Why would he need something like leverage on him? It's not like he cared to spread other people's secrets around. Todoroki swallowed the lump forming in his throat and nodded.
"Okay, that's fine."
"And…maybe give Yaoyorozu a bit of a break? She's really confused about you, you know." A tinge of sadness pricked Awase's voice, catching Todoroki's attention. "I…I don't know how she feels about you, but she definitely values your friendship with her. It's not cool, always making her worry about where she stands with you. I mean, I'm not gonna tell you what to do with your life, that's between you and her. Just thought I'd…let you know."
That gutted him. How did he not consider her well being in his selfish bouts of anger? No wonder she'd run to Awase over him. Rather than deal with his emotions, he'd put them on poor Yaoyorozu's shoulders, weighing her down when she already had so much else to deal with. Honestly, how dare he have feelings for her? How can he tell himself he cares for her when he's turning around and treating her like this?
"Do we, uh, have an understanding?" Awase shuffled uncomfortably. "Sorry, I can start the conversation, but I can't do all the talking here."
Now that they stood face to face, having this confrontation, Todoroki had to concede this much: Awase was a good guy. Mature enough to pull him aside and talk through this like adults. Conscious of Yaoyorozu's autonomy regarding the final decision. And, the part that bothered him to no end, he clearly harbored strong feelings for her. Despite wanting, wishing, and fighting to convince himself that it wasn't true, he couldn't deny it.
This is what Yaoyorozu deserved.
The nice guy. The good-natured, easygoing one who'd protect her without his temper flaring up simply because another man approached her. Someone who cared for her in a stable, realistically healthier way.
A way Todoroki didn't see himself growing into anytime soon.
Endeavor flashed through his mind. The memories seemed so hazy, yet clear as day at the same time, but Todoroki thought back to his parents' relationship. How his father emotionally tormented his mother with his hair trigger, out of control anger. His mother sobbing beside him while his father yelled, Todoroki but a mere child, not much older than a baby. Yet, even at that tender age, he'd been faced with two choices: yell back, or comfort his mother.
And despite how young he'd been at the time, one part that Todoroki never forgot: his own willingness to yell and hit his father back.
Comfort wasn't in his nature. Anger was. Whether he liked it or not, that part of his father's influence stayed rooted in his subconsciousness even after all these years. It's why he'd always found it so difficult to make friends and care for other people. Certain things just triggered him too much.
Being so hot and cold with Yaoyorozu proved it better than anything. If he took the selfish route and kept himself in the running for her affections, he could win. They might end up together. But what if the cycle repeated itself? What if he'd been doomed from the start to break the hearts of the ones he loved? He couldn't bear to put her through that. She deserved so much better than what Todoroki's father gave his mother–
Oh. So this is why the logical part of his brain kept stopping him from asking her out.
His heart cracked at the realization, but he held it together, not about to lose control of his emotions in front of Awase.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Todoroki's tone dropped, suddenly more melancholy. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. And I'll be apologizing to Yaoyorozu as well, thanks for clueing me in on that. But don't worry about rushing to ask her out. I won't put you on a time crunch. I've decided I'm dropping out of this race."
"What?" Awase's brow furled in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean? That's not what I said, you don't have to–"
"This has nothing to do with you." Todoroki squeezed the inside of his pocket. "I've simply realized this is what's best for me. That's all. And in turn, what I'm asking from you is to be the best."
Awase's confusion furthered. "The best? At what?"
"At courting Yaoyorozu." Todoroki replied simply. "Be the man I believe you're proving yourself to be. I think you and I can both agree that she deserves the finest any man has to offer, so treat her right and we won't have any issues. Sound like a deal?"
Eyes wide, Awase looked him up and down for some sort of sign of…anything, really. Todoroki allowed him his suspicions; it's not like he deceived him, but Awase worrying he had made sense. He wouldn't believe someone so readily giving up on a girl like Yaoyorozu after one conversation, either.
This stupid fight Todoroki started here was never his to win. How foolish he'd been to issue an impossible challenge like this for himself. Become a man worthy of Yaoyorozu? Not with guys like Awase in the running. Truth be told, he didn't think anybody in the world could ever be deemed good enough for her. But Awase was closer than he'd ever be, he knew that much. All Todoroki did these days was hurt and confuse her. He didn't know for sure that Awase would never do something similar, but so far, Todoroki had and Awase hadn't. Those were the facts.
'If I care for her,' he thought sadly, 'I'll stay away.'
"If you're sure." Awase said slowly. "I mean, I'm still asking her either way."
"Sure." Todoroki nodded purposefully. "I wish you all the best, Yosetsu Awase. You're…you're a good guy."
Awase's smile felt genuine as he reached out and fist bumped Todoroki. "You too, man. I hope in a few months, we can put all this behind us."
"I look forward to it." Todoroki didn't smile, but gave him a polite head bow.
Once Awase took his leave, Todoroki pulled out his phone. With a dejected exhale, he pulled up the text thread between himself and Fuyumi.
Shoto: Hey sis, tell Dad I accept his invitation. I'll be riding with you guys to the gala.
XxXxX
"A-are you sure we have to do this right now? We might end up being late for dinner–"
"Then it'll be your first tardy literally ever! You'll survive, damn it!" Uraraka cut Iida off, not about to let him talk himself out of making this move.
Deku half chuckled at the sass of her response. Iida sputtered, unsure how to come back at that.
He'd finally caved and let her in on the plan that morning (with Iida's permission, of course.) Todoroki agreed that they needed a girl's perspective for this to work, especially since their only inspiration came from Sero's grand gesture the previous day. To be fair, that wasn't a bad starting point, but Uraraka brought up the point that gala-posals are supposed to be original and personalized. She made the passionate argument that copying their classmate's idea wouldn't end well for him since at the end of the day, he and Hatsume simply weren't Sero and Tokage. He needed to approach this differently if he wanted it to work out. Her suggestion boiled down to something more homemade that Hatsume would appreciate the craftsmanship and ingenuity of. A worthy suggestion, though not something Iida thought of as grand enough for a gala-posal.
From there, Iida became torn. Should he keep things simple or create something more extravagant? What would Hatsume prefer? He hadn't spoken to her since their lapse in the support lab so he couldn't just ask her what she wanted. He'd tried, of course, but anytime he approached the lab, his entire chest constricted and his forehead broke out in a sweat, followed by the rest of his body.
Much like right now.
"Oh, goodness, do I smell at all?" Iida lifted his arm to do a sniff test. "Should I have applied more cologne?"
"Hm, let me see." Uraraka stopped and turned to Iida, pressing her nose to his arm and dramatically inhaling.
Instant regret washed over her when the pungent scent of bergamot and vanilla stung her nostrils, flooding her nose and throat in expensive smelling fumes. Unladylike coughs choked from her, her hand flying to her face instinctively.
"Oh, God, it burns!" She croaked in between coughs.
"Ochako!" Deku rushed to her side, hands grabbing her shoulders as her knees buckled.
"Good heavens, it's that bad?!" Horrified, Iida's eyes darted between both his armpits. "Midoriya, we need to reschedule, clearly I–"
"No! No, you're good!" Uraraka's voice sounded strained from holding back more choking. "S-sorry, it's just…really strong…phew….."
A few deep breaths and a good distance away from Iida cured the coughing after a minute. Uraraka apologized, blaming herself for getting too close to Iida. Iida assured her everything was fine and asked his friends' opinions for continuing the mission, not wanting to overwhelm Hatsume's senses the same way Uraraka had been.
"Oh, I don't think you have anything to worry about." Uraraka patted his arm sweetly. "I just got too close and inhaled way too hard. But you're already dressed up and ready to do this, so I say we buckle down and do it! Right, babe?"
"Yeah, you look and smell great!" Deku assured him, nodding at Uraraka. "Plus, I doubt Hatsume's going to care all that much. She's usually so entrenched in her work, most other things fly under the radar."
Like personal grooming, Deku internally shuddered.
Iida adjusted his glasses with a small smirk. "That's quite true. It's so endearing of her."
Forgoing bathing for multiple days on end struck Deku as several adjectives, 'endearing' not being even close to one of them. However, Iida's the one who liked her, and far from it was Deku to judge him for it. In fact, now that Iida had the freedom to admit his feelings for Hatsume, Deku got the sense he wasn't going to hold back, and he didn't want to discourage him from doing so at any point. It made him happy, seeing his friend so smitten. He never thought he'd get to see Iida have feelings for someone.
"Okay, so, you have everything Iida? Flowers and pocketwatch?" Uraraka asked once the support lab was in sight.
Iida held open his suit jacket a bit. The pink bouquet poked out, making Uraraka smile. Iida spent hours at the florist to construct this floral monstrosity, consisting exclusively of pink flowers. All on the wilder, more unruly looking side, something Hatsume seemed to appreciate. She didn't typically shoot for dainty, conventionally pretty aesthetics.
That's what led to the watch. A tick-tocking monstrosity Uraraka found in the discards outside the support lab (apparently, she'd never been above dumpster diving in any capacity.) Iida fixed it up himself, gave it a fresh paint job with metal-safe, silver paint, and carved a small squiggle design into the back. Nothing fancy, and frankly, not the best overall. But the effort showed, at least. It would certainly mean more to Hatsume than any display of candles and generic flattery.
"Nice." Uraraka gave him a thumbs up. "Now, we just gotta lure Hatsume out of the support lab."
"Oh, I've got that covered." Deku stopped, motioning for his friends to do the same. "Iida, you're going to wait outside while I enter the lab. I'll ask Hatsume to take a look at something outside, where you'll be waiting, then bam! What do you think?"
"You're gonna be the one bringing her out?" Uraraka knew this plan entailed Iida specifically asking Hatsume out–that was, you know, the whole point–but something about Deku being the "bait" bothered her.
"Is that a…problem?" Deku asked worriedly.
His concern fluttered her heart. Of course he didn't care about Hatsume constantly shoving her boobs in his face. Frankly, Uraraka shouldn't either. It meant nothing beyond Hatsume's inability to recognize or conform to social norms. But it comforted her knowing that if she opened her mouth and asked Deku to change the plan, he'd do it in a heartbeat.
"No, no, just…clarifying." She turned to Iida. "What do you think about it?"
A pensive look fell over Iida's face as he processed Deku's proposition. Deku nervously chewed his lip, hoping his plan would be deemed good enough by his friend's standards. It seemed he wanted this to go over perfectly (despite fully committing to asking Hatsume out approximately thirty minutes ago.)
"Between these," Iida held up the specialized bouquet in his hand, "and the watch, I think we should be just fine as long as she comes outside. Very well, Deku. I approve of your strategy."
Deku held back a small squeal. Dorky as it sounds, he actually got really excited at the prospect of getting to be involved in this little budding romance his friend had cooked up. Uraraka must be rubbing off on him, he thought with a small blush.
"Alright, Iida, you ready?" Once they reached their spot, Deku gave Iida a quick glance over, dusting off his jacket and patting down his hair.
Adjusting his glasses again, Iida took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."
His composure insisted on no inkling of weakness. He stood tall, shoulders squared, a confident smirk tugging his lip. Deku and Uraraka watched him proudly; he might be nervous, but he also wanted this enough to face it head on. Nodding to both of them, Deku made his way to the door, opening it and poking his head in.
"Hey, Hatsume?" Deku's voice echoed from the doorway of the support lab.
"You nervous?" Uraraka murmured to Iida.
Sucking in a breath, Iida nodded robotically. "I feel as though I'm about to combust."
"Don't worry." Uraraka clapped his shoulder. "Take it from me, this is gonna be worth the risk."
All at once, Hatsume tore from the door of the lab, her eyes hungrily scanning the area for whatever Deku led her to believe lay outside. Uraraka scurried toward the nearby bushes, leaving Iida in the spotlight all by himself. He turned to her, eyes wide as if to ask "what are you doing?" From the leaves, Uraraka shot him a thumbs up and crouched, signaling to him that he's got this.
"I-Ingenium?"
Iida whirled back to find Hatsume having sped right up to him, staring at him intensely. Uraraka detected a hint of bashfulness in her demeanor, though she didn't know her well enough to be sure. Whatever the case, she hadn't turned her back on Iida, and her expression indicated curiosity, if nothing else.
"How's he doing?" Deku joined her in the bushes.
"Nervous." Uraraka replied dutifully. "I tried hyping him up beforehand, but I hope he can pull through."
From their vantage point, the conversation was completely inaudible. Iida cleared his throat, launched into some sort of speech that changed Hatsume's expression from confused to shocked to overwhelmingly excited, her smile lighting up her entire face. Him holding up the bouquet and watch became the cherry on top of the moment. Her jaw dropped, a whoop releasing itself from her throat that the pair in the bushes most definitely heard.
"I think she likes it!" Uraraka whispered ecstatically.
Hatsume barely let Iida get the question out before throwing her arms around his neck. He scrambled, trying to figure out how to respond, but she'd already jumped to her toes, pressing a kiss to his lips that threw him a bit off balance. Legs buckling and eyes bulging, his hands flew to her back, steadying himself.
"I think she loves it." Deku corrected her, slightly surprised.
CLICK
"What are you doing?" Deku watched Uraraka snap a picture of the kissing pair.
"Documenting." She saved the photo with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't send or post until Iida gives me the go-ahead. But I figured he'd want to remember this moment. I mean, who knows? Maybe one day, Iida and Hatsume will be showing this picture to their kids or something. It'd definitely be an important memory to hang onto, don't you think?"
Their kids. Hatsume and Iida might have kids one day. That's a hell of a leap to make considering their relationship was at best just starting out. But it could lead there, if they wanted it to. After all, their last year of high school ended in less than a year. Then it's all internships and sidekick gigs. No one had the time for dating in the hero world, especially the higher you climbed.
Deku suddenly felt that much luckier.
He didn't have any relationship experience beyond Uraraka. Crushes here and there, sure, but he'd never kissed or held hands with anyone else. And although they'd only been together a little while, it dawned on him that he didn't care to explore other people. He'd found her, and that's all he needed. His heart surged a bit, tinging his complexion pink. Noticing this, Uraraka fully turned to him.
"Babe, are you okay? Oh, no, are we sitting in poison ivy or something?"
"No! No, I'm okay." He grabbed her arm, his face lighting up with a loving smile. "More than okay."
She relaxed, her own expression softening. "Me too."
Both of them felt it. Wanted to say it. Got scared the other one wasn't ready to hear it, or didn't feel it enough to say it back. But for a moment, they seemed to just…know it. Feel it together. Could this be the moment? Should he just go for it?
Another squeal from Hatsume caught both of their attention. Snapping their heads towards the couple, their eyebrows raised to find the pink-haired inventor swept up bridal style in Iida's arms. He grinned down at her with an expression neither Deku nor Uraraka had ever seen on his face. However, as the pair made their way towards the support lab, Deku's stomach dropped.
"Uh, I hope they're not going in there for a round two." He stammered, wide-eyed.
"Hm?" Uraraka turned to him quizzically. "Round two? Of what?"
That's right, she wasn't there for chapter seven. Deku hadn't asked Iida if he could share this tidbit of information, but at this point, he didn't know how to keep hiding it. Especially watching Hatsume suction her lips onto Iida's neck.
Fortunately, Uraraka pieced it together instantly.
"Wait, they're not gonna–"
"Wouldn't be the first time." Deku grabbed her hand and jumped to his feet. "But no matter what, it doesn't look like he needs us anymore."
"Agreed." Slightly traumatized, Uraraka stood up next to him. "Wanna go get coffee or something?"
They made their plans and continued down the path hand in hand, stopping only when Uraraka got hit with the second realization.
"Wait, what do you mean 'wouldn't be the first time?!'"