Chapter 20: Sins of the Bully
Izuku was starting to notice a pattern in his life in the last couple of months.
With the good came the bad. And examples started to flash through the teen's head:
Midoriya had finally obtained a quirk, but it was unruly and shattered his body at first. The dream opportunity to become a hero and even the successor of All Might was happening but in doing so sealed his idol's fate to weaken and eventually retire. Izuku was able to save someone on his own but ravaged his arms in doing so. He and his classmates were able to do the impossible and save Katsuki from the Villian Alliance but by keeping it a secret he had betrayed his girlfriend's trust in him.
And today was no different.
It was late Sunday night. The Provisional License Exam was over, and Midoirya had passed. In fact, almost everyone in class 1A had obtained their provisional license.
But again, with the good came the bad.
Izuku was currently sitting on the pavement opposite of Katsuki. All Might was between them on the phone talking to someone. It had been a rough night for all of them.
Bakugo had failed, and while everyone was celebrating their accomplishments back at the dorm, he asked his hated rival to meet him outside later. Midoriya would have refused if not for former friend stating it was about his quirk.
Izuku then met him outside but Katsuki declined to say anything as the two walked away from their dorm. Eventually, Bakugo stopped at Ground Beta and pointed out he had come here cause it was where Midoriya had first beat him, during All Might's first lesson to the class so many months ago.
Katsuki then revealed he had figured out the connection between Izuku and All Might. It started with him noticing that as the number one hero grew weaker, Izuku became stronger. Then came his encounter with All for One. Bakugo had observed that his idol and the supervillain had known each other going from their talk before fighting. He also saw All for One's transferal and stockpile of quirks, during the fight. It then reminded him when Midoriya stated that he had been entrusted with a quirk on the day they first fought. Katsuki also noticed Izuku reacted differently to All Might's message, "You're next," from everyone else who saw the aftermath of his battle with One for All. The final straw for him was when he asked the former pro hero about his relationship with Midoriya and did not get a straight answer during his visit concerning the dorms over the summer break.
But what prompted him to come out tonight was his failure at the exam, and Izuku's passing it. It was the tipping point. Bakugo wanted to test his self-worth on his terms, a fight at full strength. Something that couldn't be done with teachers and classmates around. They would try and stop them, he argued. The explosive quirk user also felt because he was weak, he got kidnapped which lead to All Might having to retire cause he had to go all out against All for One.
The two had never been so open to each other about their feelings in the many years that they knew each other. Midoirya felt, at that moment, he was the only one who could respond to them. And Katsuki's words still echoed through his head.
If your aspiration was so much greater than mine then does that mean my aspirations were wrong this whole time?!
Bakugo then threw the first punch, and Midoriya fought back. And what a fight it was. Izuku hadn't pushed himself this hard since that one night during the school trip. He was forced to use Full Cowl 8% in battle finally, but it still wasn't enough. He had been defeated, to Bakugo's disappointment.
But this is when All Might arrived and stopped it from progressing further. He revealed his reasons for choosing his successor to Katsuki and stated that in no way was it the boy's fault that he retired by getting kidnapped. The former pro hero stated he was bound to lose his powers and retire eventually anyways. But what he said next really stuck with Izuku.
Your way is to obsess over victory Bakugo, my boy.
And Midoriya's way is to rescue...
...If the two of you can recognize each other and honestly raise each other up, you can become the best heroes, who both win and rescue.
Izuku pondered, him and Kacchan? As a team? Or did he mean as rivals that pushed each other to be better? These thoughts ran through his mind as he sat waiting for his teacher to finish his call. But then something else popped into his head. He needed to tell Tooru what happened.
Midoirya reached into his pocket and sighed in relief to see his phone wasn't damaged despite all that had happened. He still had it in his pocket because before Bakugo told him to meet him outside, he sent a picture of his new license to All Might. It took Izuku a few seconds as he hovered his fingers over the screen of his phone before he began typing.
All Might: I know this will sound entirely out of nowhere, but Kacchan and I got into a fight. I think we might have worked out some of our differences, too early to tell though. Regardless, I thought you should know. All Might is with us at the moment, so there's no need to worry. Sorry if I woke you I just felt I needed to tell you as soon as possible.
The boy stared at his phone for a minute before he put his phone in his pocket. Almost immediately after doing this his phone vibrated, and he took it out again to see that she had responded.
Blank: You hurt?
Midoirya was surprised she answered so quickly. Was his girlfriend still up at this hour? Or was she that concerned for him? Regardless he began typing.
All Might: Sorta, but it's minor stuff, nothing serious.
Blank: Where are you?
All Might: Ground Beta. We'll probably start heading back to the dorms soon.
Almost a minute passed before he got a response.
Blank: Stay in the common room once you get back. Please?
Before Izuku could type a response, he heard All Might say, "Come you two, it's time to head back."
While the former pro hero led them back, he was in front, the others behind them. As they walked, Katsuki asked if anyone else knew about their secret. All Might answered that only the principal, their homeroom teacher, and Recovery Girl knew on the faculty side. As for students, just him and Tooru. Bakugo grunted at hearing Hagakure's name be said, but Midoriya decided to let it go for now. For the first time in forever, the two were in better standing, and he didn't want to argue with him. However, they did argue on one thing. After Katsuki agreed to keep it all a secret, the two boys bickered who would surpass the other, and to Izuku it gave him some relief. They sounded like proper rivals now, a lot better than what they were before.
Once they arrived at the dorms, All Might said that Aizawa would issue their punishment tomorrow morning. He then asked the boys to patch themselves up and head to bed. Bakugo hastily went upstairs to sleep upon being dismissed.
There was no sign of Hagakure in the common room, and Midoriya was about to start looking around to find her, but a hand from behind him grabbed his shoulder.
"That was reckless even for you," All Might said in a disappointed tone.
Izuku bowed his head as he answered with, "Sorry sir. I couldn't refuse. He mentioned that it was about my quirk. Otherwise, I wouldn't have followed him there tonight."
The former pro hero let go of his successor and then crossed his arms as he said, "I see, so that's how he got you to come." He then sighed before saying, "This might have been avoided if you hadn't hinted at One for All to him back at the start of school."
Midoriya could only give a slow nod to the statement. He then looked at his idol's arms. Still bandaged but no longer in a sling. The last time Izuku had seen him, which was just two days ago, All Might was still in a sling. He wanted to ask about it, but he figured now was not the time.
The skeleton of a man remained silent for a few moments before stating with concern in his tone, "On the other hand Bakugo is quite an observant student, perhaps he would have figured it out eventually. Maybe it's better he found out sooner than later." He then turned away from Izuku and took a few steps forward to open the door. However, before taking his leave, he turned his head back and said, "That old friend of yours seemed quite conflicted back there. Hopefully like Todoroki-san at the Hero Festival, your actions will set Bakugo-san towards a better path."
All Might then made his leave without waiting for a response.
Hearing Todoroki be mentioned reminded Midoriya that he was another student that failed the exam, and it made him ponder how he was handling it. It was easy to see observe Bakugo's emotions on not passing. It was written all over his face and how he had acted tonight. Shoto, however, was quite hard to gauge. Izuku wondered even if Koji had trouble reading his emotions.
The boy rubbed his eyes for a second before remembering he still needed to meet with Tooru. He then started to make his way towards the entrance of the girl's stairway. Once Midoriya arrived, he looked up hoping he might see some sign of her but no dice. He then raised his left hand and gripped his stomach. Izuku just had a particular thought cross his mind, and it made him queasy. He wondered, was his girlfriend somewhere nude in the common room waiting for the right moment to confront him? Was she furious? Scared? Confused?
These thoughts gave Midoriya pause, but he eventually turned around to get another look at the room. What surprised him was he instantly saw Hagakure, at the far end of the room. She was sitting on the floor, at the side of a couch holding something to her chest.
Izuku began to walk over to her slowly. As he approached, he observed what she was wearing. A simple white T-shirt and some black workout shorts. She wasn't wearing any snap bracelets, socks, or shoes. Midoriya also noticed that the object she was holding was a decently sized blue satchel. But he couldn't tell what was inside.
The boy took a seat on the floor facing her side. He then said in an awkward voice, "E-Evening Tooru."
Hagakure responded in a disinterested tone with, "Hey."
Izuku was puzzled by her short response and hoped it didn't mean she was too mad. He gulped before saying, "I didn't expect to find you here. Is, everything okay?"
A few seconds of silence followed before the invisible girl replied, "Just conflicted about this whole thing." She took a few breaths before continuing with, "And I'm here cause I couldn't decide what to do when you guys got here. After getting your message, I put on some clothes and made my way down here as fast as I could. I was hoping Yagi-sensei would have just let you two go outside. But when I saw you all coming in, I dashed behind here and waited."
Midoriya then asked, "Did you hear us talk?"
"Yeah. It sounds like firecracker is in the know about everything now," Tooru responded with unpleasantness in her voice. The two remained quiet for a bit before she said, "Sorry, now's not the time for this. Mind taking a seat on the couch?"
Izuku got up and sat down as instructed. Even though he didn't know what was about to happen, he didn't think arguing was the best option at the moment.
The invisible girl got up and stood in front of him and leaned forward slightly.
Midoriya was quick to ask, "What are you doing?"
"Assessing the damage before I patch you up," Hagakure said bluntly. Her handbag then opened, and plastic bags full of medical equipment came out.
The boy raised his hands defensively as he said, "Wait I can do this myself Tooru, there's no need for you to stay up and deal with my mistakes."
"Your mistakes are my business now Izuku, so hush and let me fix you up," Tooru huffed.
Izuku immediately felt a hand on his left cheek, and a piece of cloth came up and was applied to his lower left lip. After a few seconds, his girlfriend took off the cloth and wiped his chin to get rid of the dried blood. Once she finished, he said, "Sorry about waking you up. I'm sure this was not something you want to lose sleep over."
A sigh could be heard from Hagakure before she responded with, "While true, I will say I'm glad you told me straight away." As she then took out a bandage and applied it to his cut, she said, "I wanna hear about everything that happened during your brawl with firecracker while I finish the rest of this."
As Midoriya explained the talk before the fight, the battle itself, and All Might's arrival, his girlfriend made quick work of his injuries. She bandaged up his right cheek, left wrist, and both knees while also wiping away any dirt on his skin.
Once he finished Tooru stated, "So you lost."
Izuku slouched as he asked, "Does it matter?"
"Would at least have meant firecracker would get some karma for what he's done," Hagakure said with an irritated tone. After a few moments, she said, "Well at least your Full Cowl is getting better I guess."
Midoriya nodded before saying excitingly, "Yeah I was able to somewhat keep up with him at eight percent, and it never faltered like before."
"Good to hear," Tooru said in a more upbeat voice. She then leaned in closer to her boyfriend and stated, "Alright, just got to check one more thing. So off with your shirt."
Izuku gulped before asking, "W-Why?"
The boy felt a finger poke his chest as Hagakure said, "I wanna check if you got any cuts or scrapes on your body. So take it off before I do it for you."
Midoriya grumbled as he did as he was told. He couldn't argue with her logic, but he felt embarrassed for her to see him hurt and dirty. This was different from the summer trip and when they went to the beach. The boy didn't have time to even look at himself before he felt fingers on the right side of his chest. It almost made him jump, but then he heard Hagakure say, "Yep this is gonna bruise. Does it hurt?"
"J-Just a bit s-sensitive," was all Izuku could muster to say.
Tooru then inspected the rest of his torso but without her hands. However, she tugged on the brace on his upper right arm before saying, "Do the burns from that day look any better?"
Midoriya merely shook his head. Unless he wore a long sleeve shirt, his burns from the fire villain still showed. Inko had suggested wearing a brace to hide it before he left so the others wouldn't worry, and her son agreed with the idea.
Hagakure then stood up and stated, "Alright turn around so I can check your back."
Midoriya took off his shoes and brought his feet up before he spun around and leaned forward a bit to give her a better view.
"Yeah, you have a few scratches back here. This shouldn't take long," Tooru said.
As Tooru worked on her boyfriend's back, a blush started to form on his face. Not because of being touched by her, but because of what she said earlier.
After a minute Izuku cleared his throat before asking, "S-So uh, earlier you mentioned putting on c-clothes after getting my message."
"Oh, that? I sleep in the nude during the warmer months," the invisible girl responded as if it was no big deal.
The boy fidgeted as he asked, "B-But why?"
"It's always helped me fall asleep quickly. It's just really relaxing. And thanks to it no one was able to tell I had snuck out at night during the school trip," Tooru answered before giving a small chuckle. She then asked, "Have you ever tried it?"
Midoriya was rapid in his response by saying, "No, n-never."
Hagakure giggled before saying, "Well you should give it a go just once to see how it is. Anyways, your back good now so it's okay to put your shirt back on."
Izuku turned around and replied, "Thanks, but I think I'll have to pass on sleeping with no clothes." After dressing himself, he watched Tooru put away her medical supplies. Eventually, Midoriya asked, "Why do you have all that around?"
"Well, I used to get small injuries all the time when I didn't have a suit, so I always had this around just in case. I guess I still have it as a force of habit," Hagakure explained. Once she finished, she said, "Well that's that. It's late, and I would rather get to bed than talk about you and firecracker's issues some more, but I wanna discuss this further some other time, okay?"
"Alright then," Izuku responded with a sigh. He then stood up but was surprised to be met with a kiss on his forehead.
As Izuku stood there dazed at what just happened, Tooru stated, "That's for being upfront with me about tonight. See you in the morning Izuku."
As she walked away, Midoriya was reminded of the Provisional Hero License Exam. When Hagakure had found out they both passed she had hugged him. At the time Izuku just embraced her back, happy he could do so once again. But now with the kiss, it spurred him to ask, "So does that mean the ban has been lifted?"
The invisible girl stopped just before the stairs going up to the girl's dorms and remained silent for a few seconds. She then put her handbag down on a table by the doorway and walked back to Midoriya. Hagakure again didn't speak a word as stood in front of him.
After waiting a few moments, Izuku thought to ask, should I have not asked about this? However, his girlfriend exhaled loudly before saying, "Ah, sure. Why the hell not." She then came forward and put her arms around his back and pulled him to her lips. Midoriya was so flabbergasted at what was happening he didn't have time to put effort into it before Hagakure pulled away to say, "Gosh I missed doing that." She then turned around to pick up her satchel and said, "Later," before walking upstairs.
Izuku put a hand to his lips and after some time passed a soft grin came across his face. He then walked upstairs to his room to finally get some rest after such a long and bizarre day.
So far, Monday morning had been terrible for Midoriya.
The morning started early as Aizawa knocked on his door waking him and telling him to be downstairs in five minutes.
Izuku hastily got ready and made his way to the common room to find not only his homeroom teacher but Katsuki as well. The explosive quirk user looked awful. It seemed like he had gotten little sleep and his bandages were sloppily done.
It was there that Eraserhead told his students their punishment, house arrest. Bakugo got four days since he threw the first punch, and Midoriya three days. Each would need to write an apology but also they alone would do the chores for the entire dorm during these days. Ida and Yaoyorozu had set up a chore schedule for everyone earlier to do specific duties each week, but now they would do it all, just the two of them.
And for the last hour, both boys had been washing and vacuuming the common room. It was incredibly awkward for Izuku to have his classmates come downstairs wondering what was going on. Since Katsuki wasn't willing to talk to anyone, it was he who had to answer all the questions. Ochako and Tenya were particularly interested in his well being, with the latter showing his displeasure about what happened. Momo and Mashirao didn't say anything, but he could tell from their faces they weren't okay with what happened. Tooru however, kept her distance during all of this. While the two were on better terms now, Midoriya figured she still wasn't happy about what happened last night.
Midoriya was glad when everyone finally left as there was silence once more, well minus the hum of the vacuum cleaners. Both boys had just passed each other while vacuuming, and Izuku was surprised to hear Katsuki turn off his device and say, "About your shoot style."
A few moments passed before Izuku switched off his vacuum and asked without turning around, "What about it?"
However, before Bakugo could respond both teens saw Hagakure suddenly walk down from the girl's rooms. She had on her school uniform and her typical backpack, but she was now carrying her blue satchel from the night before. Midoriya wondered, did she want to reapply his bandages before she left?
Tooru made her way over to the boys and stood between them.
In an annoyed tone, Katsuki stated, "I'm not in the mood to be bitched at."
Hagakure sighed and said, "I haven't even said anything, and you're already assuming the worst."
"What other fucking reason would you be here right now? Deku and I beat the shit out of each other so it's obvious you just wanna tell me off," Bakugo quickly spat back.
Trying to diffuse the situation Midoriya stood between the two and said, "Tooru if you don't hurry you're gonna be late for the first day of class for the semester."
The invisible girl shrugged and stated, "If I do this quick I'll only miss the opening ceremony. At worst I'll be on our class president's bad side for the day. And I think I can handle that."
Izuku gulped before asking, "So what did you wanna do?"
Tooru turned towards Katsuki and lifted her bag towards him as she stated, "I wanna bandage him up."
Both boys gave a shocked face at the girl upon hearing this.
The explosive quirk user grunted before reaching down to turn his vacuum on and again, "I don't have time for this. I just wanna get this cleaning shit done and over with so I can go back to sleep."
"Did you even look at yourself in the mirror this morning? I bet a primary schooler could bandage themselves better than yourself," Hagakure said as she took a few steps forward.
Bakugo barked back, "Look here Invisibitch. A lot of shit happened last night, and my wounds were damn near the bottom of my list of shits to give because of it. Besides, I fucking doubt you could do better."
Izuku clenched his fist upon hearing this. He was about to say something for calling Tooru such a word before her handbag was placed in front of his face. His girlfriend took a deep breath before saying, "Oh I know I can. I patched him up last night." She then lowered the satchel slowly.
Katsuki then turned and glared at his rival. He looked at his bandages for a few seconds before saying, "Okay then. But how do I know you're not just gonna make them worse as some shitty chance at revenge or something?"
"Gosh you're a dense one," Tooru stated with a sigh.
Upon hearing this Bakugo began growling and baring his teeth with raised fists but before he could utter a word Hagakure was quick to say, "Hear me out okay? You and Izuku for the first time in like forever are on better terms so I don't wanna harm that prospect, even as much as I think you don't deserve it."
This seemed to calm Katsuki somewhat, but he then stated, "So you know All Might's secret and my past with Deku." He then turned his head to Izuku and said, "Figures he would blab about it."
Hagakure approached Bakugo and was just inches away from him as she said, "Look. All Might-sensei told me about his secret himself. Izuku has only given me some details about your past and only cause I asked. He hasn't told me much, but there's little left to the imagination of what you did." She took a step back and took a few breaths before continuing with, "Just let me patch you up, please. I don't wanna be any later to class than I have to."
Katsuki had a scowl on his face, but he eventually walked over to a nearby couch and sat down before saying, "Be quick about it then. And you doing this doesn't get mentioned to anyone else, got it?"
Tooru shrugged before stating, "Fine by me. Let's get this done already."
As Hagakure replaced Bakugo's second-rate bandage work, Midoriya turned on his vacuum and began cleaning again but kept a close eye on the two at the couch. They remained silent during the whole ordeal which unnerved him. Izuku was glad Tooru was doing this for Katsuki, but he knew she was loathing probably every moment about it. He wasn't looking forward to their talk about this later but knew it had to be done.
About ten minutes passed before Hagakure stood up and started to put away her medical supplies. Upon seeing this Midoriya turned off the cleaning device. Bakugo inspected her handiwork before asking in a serious tone, "How long have you known about me and Deku's past?"
Tooru took a moment before replying with, "Well I got an indication of it not long after you two fought during our first lesson with All Might-sensei. But it wasn't until right after the Hero Festival when I was convinced of what you did."
Upon hearing this, Izuku was reminded of the first time she had snuck into the hospital and her first visit to his home. Both times he had been asked about his relationship with Katsuki and gave some details to Tooru. The boy wondered, should he have said more?
Bakugo flinched slightly at hearing her response and then asked, "And you never told anyone else? You've had plenty of fucking time to tell our class. So what gives?"
Hagakure began to walk away from the couch but stopped after a few steps. She didn't turn around as she said, "Oh I've considered it plenty of times. But each time I almost said something about it I was reminded of what Izuku saw as good traits you had. I guess in the end I valued his opinion of you over my petty thoughts of revenge." She remained silent for a few seconds before continuing with, "Besides if you're gonna take responsibility for what you did, it's better you tell the class than me getting all gossipy. You should own up to what you did without anyone's influence if you truly want to be sorry. I hope that day comes sooner than later, ya hear me?"
A few seconds passed before the explosive quirk user gave a stern look at Tooru and stated, "I'll keep that in mind no face."
With that said, Hagakure made her leave without saying another word.
Bakugo walked back to his vacuum and looked over at Midoriya to say, "You have an odd taste in girls Deku."
Izuku gave an awkward chuckle at this. He wondered, was this a complaint or not?
This gesture didn't seem to please Katsuki, and he grunted before saying, "So anyways about your Shoot Style..."
It was Monday night, and Midoriya was laying in his bed exhausted. The lack of sleep, sores from his brawl from yesterday, and all the cleaning he had done were starting to take its toll.
After Tooru left, Katsuki advised how to improve Izuku's Shoot Style. Midoriya thought it was sound advice but was still baffled how things had grown so much between them. He kept a small smile plastered on his face for some time afterward considering this thought.
After doing most of the chores for the day, the two boys went to their rooms. For the next few hours, Izuku swapped between light weight lifting and brainstorming. He had so much free time; he wanted to try and think of another way he could be different from All Might like they had discussed the week before. Midoriya had been thinking about it every day since but never sat down and focused on ideas about it. He first started by listing all the things he knew about his idol, and this took quite some time. Then the boy wrote down everything that could be done differently from those traits. Next, he eliminated what he deemed as too little or too drastic of a change.
Before Izuku could finish crossing out all the ideas he didn't like, his classmates had returned from school. He had agreed earlier with Katsuki to wait to take care of trash pick-up once everyone got back, as everyone had a trash can in their room. As they collected it, Midoriya was overwhelmed to overhear everyone talking about the first day of school. New classes, new materials being covered, and talk of an internship were all mentioned. Izuku felt so far behind, and it had only been one day. Even worse, everyone had been instructed not to tell him any specifics, as said by Tenya.
Midoriya also did observe something odd before coming back to his room. While taking some trash to the outside dumpster he met someone, but only their head. First, it came out of a wall, then the ground. Izuku knew it was just a student using his quirk but this unnerved him nonetheless. The mysterious person sounded like an upperclassman, and his personality was very upbeat. The student said he was interested in Midoriya because of all the rumors going around and hoped to meet him again soon. And as quickly as he had come, the stranger vanished into the ground. Izuku couldn't help but find the upperclassmen's face as familiar, but he wondered, from where?
After the strange encounter, Izuku went back to the dorm to find Tooru waiting for him. She merely wanted to say she needed more time before she was ready to talk more about what had happened yesterday. He suggested Thursday, the day he would be allowed to go to school again, and his girlfriend thought that should be enough time. She also mentioned she wanted to talk about other stuff as well before going inside. Midoriya had a good guess about what happened at the Provisional Hero License Exam but decided to worry about that for later.
Izuku then went up to his room and finished crossing out what he needed; he then decided to take a break and laid on his bed. Minutes turned into an hour, and just as he got the urge to ponder the few possibilities he hadn't eliminated, he heard a few knocks on his door.
Izuku wondered who it could be this time. As he got up to answer the door, he quickly raced possible ideas at who it was in his head. It couldn't be Tooru; they had just arranged to talk in depth about last night. Could it be Mashirao? The two of them hadn't spoken to each other since the exam. And based on the tailed teen's past with bullies, did he want to say something because of his own experience with them? Midoriya then considered Bakugo for a moment before dashing that thought from his head. They weren't that close yet. As he clasped the doorknob, another possibility came up in his mind. Was it Ida? The class president had made it quite clear he was quite disappointed in Izuku with what happened yesterday. Was Tenya here to lecture him in private?
Midoriya was shocked to find all his assumptions were wrong, and he found Kirishima at his doorstep as he opened the door.
"Hey, Midoriya-kun. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," the red-headed teen said with a toothy grin.
Ever since the conclusion of the exams, everyone in 1A had started to change the honorifics they were giving to their classmates. Maybe it was because they were all overjoyed that most of their class had passed the exam. Perhaps it was because it was the start of a new semester at the hero academy. Or maybe it was merely because they had been living together for almost two weeks. Either way for Izuku to hear Eijiro use it comforted him.
Midoriya cleared his throat before answering, "Nah just brainstorming something minor. Is there something you wanted to ask me Kirishima-kun?"
The visitor crossed his arms and gave a severe look before saying, "Yeah I do. Do you mind if I come inside? It's a sensitive subject."
Izuku guessed it was about the fight. Eijiro was Katsuki's closest thing to a friend he had; it made sense. He replied, "Sure thing. Come on in."
Midoriya showed his guest to his computer chair after putting away his notes. He then sat down on his bed before asking, "So you wanna talk about last night, am I right?"
Kirishima sighed before stating, "Yeah I do. But before we get to that, I wanna tell you about something that happened back near the end of our first semester." Izuku gave him a confused look before Eijiro continued with, "It was the day before the final exam and Bakugo-san had agreed to tutor me since my grades are not so hot. We met at a library to study but one thing led to another, and we were at a restaurant. While I got us some drinks, two guys approached Bakugo-san, and they recognized him from middle school."
Midoriya leaned forward upon hearing this. He wondered, why was he using san for Kacchan? Why not kun like before? He put the thought on the backburner for now and asked, "Do you remember their names?"
Kirishima shook his head and replied, "Nah they never stated them. But as I swapped stories with them and mentioned you, it got their attention." He paused a moment and scratched the back of his head before stating, "They mentioned they used to bully you because they thought you were quirkless."
A small chill ran down Izuku's spine upon hearing this. He wondered, was Eijiro curious about his quirk now too?
The red-headed teen noticed his host's reaction and said, "But they also mentioned how cool you were when they watched the Sport's Festival. They looked like they felt awful about what they did to you."
The Midoriya sighed internally. So it wasn't about his quirk, he thought.
Kirishima looked at the floor with a frown as he stated, "They felt bad about what they did, but only once they learned you had a quirk. I think it's terrible that they treated you like they did cause you got your powers late. It just isn't right."
"Well, it's not all that uncommon for quirkless to be looked down upon. I was unfortunate that my quirk developed so much later than everyone else," Midoriya said.
Eijiro leaned back in the computer chair before saying, "You know, I saw my fair share of bullies when I was growing up. It was usually classmates with strong or combat focused quirks. I never had any quirkless classmates to see how they were treated but I get the idea when they picked on those with weaker quirks. And well, despite how I am now, I never stepped in to stop such behavior even though I could have done something with the quirk I have." He then looked at his hands for a few moments before turning them into fists and said, "But I guess I haven't changed that much. That day we studied together, I wondered if Bakugo-san had been bullying you as those two did. He's always been rough with you, but I always assumed it was cause he saw you as someone who could compete against as the best potential to become a pro hero in our class. Bakugo-san has always had an odd way of showing concern for others, and I just figured that's how he acted around you. But I think it was because I couldn't bring myself to see him in a negative light, cause it would mean I had been wrong this whole time."
The explanation reminded Izuku of when Katsuki had begrudgingly paid back Eijiro for his broken infrared camera from his rescue during the summer. The explosive quirk user then grabbed Denki and forced him to use his quirk behind a bush to make him dumb, which lightened the mood for the class after being told of the threat of near expulsion of everyone else by their homeroom teacher.
Kirishima stood up as he said, "But then last night happened." He paused again, before asking, "Bakugo-san bullied you in the past too, didn't he Midoriya-kun? I need to know if I've been praising the wrong dude for these last couple of months or not."
Midoriya gulped before giving a slow nod. He had no idea that Kirishima was so shaken up about this. And at this point, lying wasn't going to help.
There was silence for a while before Izuku's guest took a seat and said, "How long?"
"Since before primary school. Once he found out I was quirkless, our friendship fell apart quickly," Midoriya replied in a dry tone.
Eijiro sighed heavily upon hearing this and stayed quiet for a few minutes. Eventually, he spoke up and asked, "And you haven't told anyone else because?"
Izuku spent a few moments thinking of an answer before responding with, "Tooru knows, but that's it." He paused to think before continuing with, "At first, it was because of fear I guess. I then quickly tried to put the past behind us, but that turned out to be harder than I thought." He then remembered what his girlfriend had said this morning and took a few breaths before saying, "But now I feel it would be best if Kaachan admitted what he did to everyone else than me babbling about it. I want him to be a better person, and revealing the truth through me or anyone else could jeopardize that."
Kirishima stood up again but this time stood over his host as he asked, "But why give him the courtesy at all? He doesn't deserve it, especially coming from you."
Midoriya flinched slightly at this and thought a bit before answering with, "It's the right thing to do. Hero's shouldn't seek revenge. We should work to better everyone, no matter what they might think of us." Thoughts of what Ida did to try and get revenge on the Hero Killer were still fresh in his mind despite being so many months ago. It can break the best of people, he mused.
Eijiro covered his face with his palm before stating, "You're right. Sorry about the outburst. I'm letting my emotions get the better of me." He took a deep breath and lowered his hand before saying, "I always thought he was a strong and cool dude. Beneath his explosive exterior there was a great hero in the making there I thought. But it turns out there's a lot more wrong in that shell he has." He then grunted before saying, "But now what do I do? I can't just treat him like he's my bro after learning about this. But I also can't say what you told me to him to try and correct his ways. That would be disastrous for all of us."
Izuku crossed his arms and thought deeply about it for a minute before replying with, "Well you wanted to be friends with him because you saw the good in him right?"
Kirishima down at the floor and gave a slow nod.
Midoriya thought for a minute before giving his answer, "Well fight for the good that's in him. Call him out when he's abrasive and praise him when he's acting like a true hero. And hopefully, he'll open enough to you or others and maybe admit his faults and even his past one day."
Ejiro huffed before asking, "And you think that will work?"
Midoriya stood up and before explaining, "Perhaps. But I know I can't do it. My standing with Kacchan, while better, is still quite fragile." He then placed a hand on his guest's shoulder before continuing with, "Kirishima-kun, you've been Kacchan's one true friend since the start of school here. I think you'll have a better chance of influencing him with that method than I currently can. There are too many unknowns between Kacchan and me at the moment for me to be more aggressive in changing him for the better."
Kirishima shoulders sagged slightly before he said, "That's a lot to think about."
"I mean I am just giving some advice, you don't have to follow it word for word. All I ask is that you keep the business of Kacchan bullying me a secret for now," Izuku pleaded as he let go of his visitor.
With a heavy sigh, Eijiro gave a nod. He then said, "At the very least I'll do that. But I need more time to consider what to do about all this."
"I understand," Midoriya stated as he walked towards his door and opened it.
Kirishima started to walk towards the exit but stopped next to Izuku and flashed him a toothy grin as he said, "Thanks for hearing me out Midoriya-kun. Goodnight."
"Night," Izuku responded. He then watched his guest leave and make his way upstairs to the next floor to his room. Midoriya closed his door, and turned off the light to his place before slowly getting into bed. As he pulled his blanket over his body he thought, I can brainstorm more tomorrow; I need to rest now. And for the next couple minutes, Izuku thought about what had just happened before he was fast asleep.
Tuesday morning and afternoon came and went without much incident for Izuku. After doing the daily chores with Katsuki, he decided to get back to his work from yesterday. It was not long after lunch before Midoriya finally decided on an idea to go with. He sent a text to All Might asking if they could have another meeting the next day. He considered waiting until Sunday but wanted to ask his mentor about his proposal while it was fresh in his mind. The former pro hero responded within a few minutes that he was okay with the idea and that they should meet in his office after school tomorrow.
Izuku then turned his attention to writing his apology to Eraserhead. He was instructed to give it to his homeroom teacher Thursday morning. The boy spent the next hour writing the piece. It was simple and to the point, apologizing for fighting another student outside of training and stating what he should have done in the situation instead of what he did.
Once finished Midoriya looked at his phone and noticed classes for the day must have just ended. He was about to go downstairs and wait for his classmates to return hoping to hear more tidbits about anything he missed. Izuku knew from looking at his schedule that All Might would have taught a class today, so he was extra motivated. But as he opened his door to leave his room, a sudden revelation came to mind.
Midoriya had forgotten about Hatsume. He had promised the pink haired engineer last week to meet her after class every Tuesday. Izuku was quick to grab his phone. After his last visit, they exchanged phone numbers and now was the time to put it to use.
All Might: Hatsume-san are you busy?
About a minute passed before Izuku got a response.
Goggles: Been at the workshop for almost an hour, what's up?
Midoriya had forgotten. Under the new schedule, only the hero department had seven classes a day; the other departments just had six, so they got out of school an hour earlier.
All Might: Well, I won't be able to make it today.
Goggles: House arrest right? It's cool. Though I was surprised to hear you got in a fight with someone. Did you win?
All Might: WAIT YOU KNOW?
All MIGHT: HOW!?
Goggles: Well let's see. They talked about it at the opening ceremony, not particularly who had done it though. Didn't take long for gossip to spread. Even my classmates in 1H talked about it, and usually, they aren't into that sort of stuff. So did you win?
Izuku just stared at his phone for a moment before he could even think about anything.
THE. ENTIRE. SCHOOL. KNOWS!?
And then it hit Midoriya. That's what that weird student from yesterday meant by rumors.
Goggles: Hello? Are you there? Winning? Losing?
Izuku collected himself before typing again. He did wonder, why was everyone obsessed over whether he won or lost?
All Might: Sorry, was taking it all in. Is it okay if I swing by on Saturday just for this week then?
Midoriya knew Thursday, and possibly Friday would be quite hectic as he tried to catch up with everything he had missed. He figured, hopefully by Saturday everything will be back to normal.
Googles: Sounds good to me. I want to hear all about how your suit handled your exam on Sunday. Plus I got this new tool I want to try out, and your assistance would be much appreciated. Also, you can tell me if you won or not.
All Might: I'll help any way I can Hatsume-san. And yes, I'll tell you about the fight. See you Thursday.
Goggles: Until later Midoriya-san.
Izuku gave a loud sigh upon putting his phone away. He thought, great now most of the school knows me as the guy crazy guy during the Hero Festival and the one who got in a fight with a student in the middle of the night before the second term even starts. That's a great first impression to have.
Midoriya then left his room and went downstairs for an early dinner. He hoped while eating he might eavesdrop on his classmates as they discussed the day's class. A bit underhanded for Izuku's tastes, but he was quite desperate to know what he was missing in school.
After heating up some frozen spaghetti, Midoriya sat down at the dining table closest to the some couches. Currently, Sato, Shoji, and Ashido were seated nearby and were discussing their class with All Might today. But before Izuku could get any juicy details, he heard someone across from him speak.
"Afternoon Midoriya-kun," Mashirao stated as he sat down.
After a soft sigh, Midoriya responded, "Hey. You need something?"
"Ah well, I thought you should know Hagakure-chan told us about your past with Bakugo-san at lunch today," Ojiro said while scratching his cheek with his index finger.
At first, this surprised Izuku, but he was quick to realize that it was probably for the best that his close friends knew about it. But he would have thought Tooru would have at least told him that she was going to tell them. Midoriya then replied with, "I see. Did she ask you all to keep it a secret amongst ourselves?" He hoped this wasn't going to spiral into everyone knowing about it before the week's end.
Mashirao nodded before explaining, "Hagakure-chan asked us not to let the details leave the table before telling us everything."
Izuku sighed in relief upon hearing this. He then asked, "So what you think about the whole thing? A mess right?"
"A trash dump, yes. But I also found it interesting," Ojiro responded.
Midoriya gave his friend a puzzled look.
The tailed teen leaned forward slightly before saying, "Well it means you and me have a lot more in common than I previously thought is all."
Izuku nodded before replying, "Yeah, we've both had our share of being bullied."
Mashirao then said in a raised voice, "Yeah. And just to let you know, whatever you see in Bakugo-san is between you and him. I won't get in the way of that since you guys have so much history. But if he ever tries to pull a stunt like that again I'll-."
"I get it Ojiro-kun, you'll put a stop to it but keep your voice down," Midoriya interrupted. The increase in volume had gotten the attention of their neighbors.
Mina then asked from the couch, "Everything okay over there boys?"
Izuku was about to respond, but Mashirao said first, "Just lost my cool Ashido-chan. I'm good now."
"If you say so," the pink girl responded with a worried look on her face.
The tailed teen groaned before stating, "Sorry about that."
"It's fine, I can understand your frustration with it all," Midoriya said.
Ojiro looked behind his friend and said, "Well looks like I'm not the only one with something to say."
Izuku turned around to see Tenya approach the table with a serious look on his face.
Once arrived, Ida stated, "Good afternoon Midoriya-kun." He then looked across the table and said, "Ojiro-kun."
Izuku and Mashirao said in unison, "Afternoon." They then looked at each other, surprised they spoke the same thing at the same time.
Tenya crossed his arms as he asked, "Anyways, I'm guessing you told Midoriya-kun about our talk at lunch today Ojiro-kun?"
"I did," the tailed teen stated.
The class president then asked, "And you're okay with us knowing Midoriya-kun?"
"Well as long as you all promise to do what Tooru asked, then yeah I have no problem with it," Midoriya answered.
"That's good, I was worried that your girlfriend might have shared the details of your past without you wanting it to be known," Ida explained. He then took a deep bow before saying, "With that out of the way I'd like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. Now that I know the full story behind it, I feel terrible that I was mad for what you did. You're not at fault for what happened."
Izuku put up his hands defensively as he responded, "It's okay Ida-kun, you're our class president and just doing your job. I'm not angry at you."
Tenya rose back up and said, "Regardless, I'd like to make it up to you tomorrow if that's okay."
Mashirao then spoke up and asked, "And how are you going to do that?"
"Well, I'm sure Midoriya-kun has gotten tired of all these frozen meals he's had to eat since he can't eat with us at school. So tomorrow I want to cook him a proper dinner," Ida explained.
Midoriya couldn't agree more with this offer. Just as before school started, breakfast was delivered to them daily, but now that school had adequately begun the other meals were served in the cafeteria, though dinner was optional. And Izuku had indeed grown tired of his reheated frozen food and was quick to respond with, "I'd love that."
The class president smiled at this but then said, "I'm going to have Ochako on standby to make sure all goes well, and I should have enough food for another. If you'd like, Hagakure-chan can join us too."
This idea was sounding better by the second, Izuku thought. He then said with a grin of his own, "I'm sure she'd loved to come too. I'll tell her after I'm done eating this."
Midoriya then began eating his dinner, and Ida took a seat next to Ojiro. As he ate, he listened as his two friends discuss their plans for Sunday. Tenya explained that he was going to Ochako's place to meet her parents. Mashirao was going to do some endurance training with Eijiro. It seemed their partnership from the school summer trip had flourished into a good training partner relationship.
Sunday marked the first time they would have a break, and they planned to use it to their fullest. All Izuku had planned was the weekly video chat with his and Tooru's parents. They had skipped the last one cause both their moms decided to have their get together that night. He hoped that went well. He made sure to text his mom that he had passed and she was delighted to hear the news.
Just as Midoriya finished his meal, Sato arrived at the dining table looking quite distraught.
Ida adjusted his glasses as he stated, "Ah, Sato-kun there you are. I hope your meeting with Kendo-san today was fruitful in our plan."
Ojiro looked at his friend and said, "Dude, really? He looks like he saw a ghost. I doubt things went well."
Rikido sat down next to Izuku and sagged his shoulders before saying, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around what just happened."
Midoriya then asked, "Is everything alright? Did something weird happen again?"
Tenya and Mashirao gave confused looks upon hearing this but said nothing as the sweets hero replied, "You guessed it. She asked me to accompany her to some kaiten-sushi (a casual type of restaurant with ready-made plates of food on a conveyor belt) place she likes to go this Sunday to discuss possibilities for our classes to interact outside of schoolwork."
Ida shrugged before saying, "Sounds like this might go through after all. I don't see the issue though."
Ojiro put a hand on his chin as he said, "I think it's a problem because he thinks it might be a date."
The class president crossed his arms as he stated, "Ah I see. Certainly a possibility."
Sato rubbed his temple as he said, "I've never even talked to Kendo-san before today. I want this class get-together to work so I said I'd go, but I'm clueless at what I should do, ya know?" He then looked at Izuku and then back at Tenya before stating, "You guys have girlfriends. What should I do?"
Ida cleared his throat before responding with, "While I would give nothing more to advise you as I am the class president, I believe Midoriya-kun is better suited to answer your questions."
Midoriya pondered a moment before saying anything. The event did seem similar to when his girlfriend first asked him out. And this was due to being asked out of the blue, Izuku being clueless at what to do, and seeking advice from his peers. But the situation differed a lot too. The two barely knew each other, and it did sound more casual than what Hagakure had asked to do. Midoriya made up his mind and said, "I'll help Sato-kun but can it wait until Saturday? I'm still under house arrest and will be trying to play catch up for a bit once I'm back at school."
"No problem at all Midoriya-kun, if that's all I need to do to get the advice I want I'd gladly wait," Rikido replied with a thumbs up and a grin.
Izuku then thought I hope I have it all together by Saturday to be able to help both Hatsume and Sato to the fullest.
It was late afternoon on Wednesday, and Izuku was currently waiting just outside his dorm. All Might had sent him a text that morning that since he was still technically under house arrest, he would need an escort to the school. All of 1A had already returned home by this point, and those that asked questions why Midoriya was outside were met with the answer that he needed some fresh air. Midoriya did tell Hagakure what was going on, just not the reason for it. There was no use telling her if his proposal was shot down, he figured.
Izuku froze once he noticed his escort coming into view in the distance.
It was his homeroom teacher.
Shota didn't look particularly pleased about this judging from his face. Once he got to the steps leading to the dorm, he gestured for his student to follow. For the next few minutes, the two remained quiet as they approached the school.
Once they got close Aizawa finally spoke up and said, "Could this have waited until tomorrow?"
"Sorry sir, I just need to talk to All Might-sensei about something me and him discussed before the license exam," Midoriya explained quickly.
Eraserhead then asked, "That still doesn't answer my question. Why today?"
Izuku took a few seconds to respond with, "Sorry sir. I guess I'm being a bit selfish here. Three days of missing school has been torture for me, and I've been spending most of my spare time brainstorming the thing we discussed. When I finally decided on an answer I just wanted to get in touch with him as soon as possible."
The teacher replied, "See was that so hard?" Before the boy could respond Shota stated, "It's best to be upfront with me Midoriya-san if I ask a question. I might not like the answer, but at least we don't need to play twenty questions to get to the heart of the matter." He then stopped just short of the school's entrance and turned to state, "I hope you didn't spend all your free time with your little project with All Might. That apology better be on my desk tomorrow morning before school."
Izuku was quick to reply, "Don't worry sir I wrote it yesterday."
"Good, I look forward to reading it," the pro hero said with as little interest possible in his tone.
The two walked into the building and stayed silent until they reached the teacher's office. Aizawa pointed towards the teacher's lounge and said, "He's in there. I'll be over at my desk while you two talk. Be sure to get me whenever you finish." The teacher then walked away as Midoriya went inside to see All Might.
The skeleton of a man looked to have been pacing around the room as his student entered. He quickly said, "Ah, afternoon Midoriya my boy, take a seat if you would please."
Izuku did as instructed and All Might sat to the opposite of him. The former pro hero crossed his arms as he asked, "So what's so important to want to meet with me while you are still under house arrest?"
Midoriya answered with, "Well sir, I think I might have thought up another way I could be different than you were as the symbol of peace."
A small grin came upon Yagi's face as he stated, "Ah, a possible third step? So soon? I like the sound of that. So let's hear it boy, what innovative ideas do you have in mind?"
Izuku then explained, "Well, I've been thinking about ideas since we talked about the steps. But the gears really didn't start turning till your speech to Kacchan and me about us working together. From there I got this idea. Because of the house arrest, I spent most of Monday and Tuesday running alternatives against the possibility I thought up to make sure it was the best one, and in the end, it was." He then gulped and took a deep breath before saying, "Sir, I think it would be best that I be a part of a hero team when I go pro."
Toshinori placed a hand on his chin as he said, "Ah I see, so like a duoship? And who would be your partner, Hagakure-san? It's not uncommon for couples to do that."
Midoriya slowly shook his head as he replied, "No. I want to be a part of a bigger group."
"I see. Well, there's nothing wrong with debuting on a team and working under a veteran pro. Though it would be better to go solo and slowly gain sidekicks as you go if you wish to have a large team. You want to have a big presence when you debut, and being a sidekick on a large team will take some time to gain any significant notoriety. One reason I got so popular so quickly was because of my big solo debut. It's best to start with a dazzling first impression," All Might explained.
Izuku again shook his head before responding with, "And I agree with you sir, but again I don't want to be a part of a team like that. I think a group where everyone is an equal member is for the better. That way there can be multiple symbols of peace."
The former pro hero eyes went wide for a moment before he said, "Multiple symbols of peace?" He then closed his eyes and seemed to be in deep thought. The teacher eventually opened his eyes and stated, "That's quite a bold idea, my boy. Um, could explain your logic behind this?"
The boy could feel his heart rate increase, but after a deep breath he felt calmer, and he answered with, "Well it's similar to the idea of the first step, sir. Almost your entire career was done solo. I mean you had a sidekick once, but that only lasted a few years."
The former pro hero flinched slightly at the last statement. He then stated, "Ah you know about that. Of course, you would."
Midoriya then asked, "Is something wrong sir?"
Yagi shook his head and replied with, "It's fine, that talk is for another day. Anyways, continue your explanation."
"Well, the burden that comes with being the symbol of peace is a heavy one, the heaviest of them all in the hero business. And for one person to shoulder that weight seems like not the best idea. I mean I see it kind of like a pillar. All the heroes are pillars that keep up society, with you being in the middle of it all. The strongest pillar," Izuku explained. His face turned grim though as he asked, "But what happens when it weakens and it falls? The weight the others have to carry increases. It's something they haven't had to deal with for years, and maybe they can't handle it. So that's why I think a team that aims to be the symbols of peace means a much more balanced pillar system. If one falls, the others can pick them up since we would be a close-knit group. And perhaps together it might be able to lift more than just one strong pillar could do alone."
Toshinori didn't say anything for a minute before he spoke up and said, "That's quite a metaphor."
Midoriya responded with, "Thank you, sir."
"But," All Might began as he raised an index finger. He then paused before continuing, "Is this something we can work on while here at school? I mean I like the idea, but there's not much we can do to train you for such a grand scheme by yourself in our private lessons."
Izuku stood up at this and stated, "I've got a plan for that!"
Toshinori aback by this and asked, "You do?"
"Yes! I thought we could do mock team training with some of the students in my class after school and go from there," Izuku explained gleefully.
Yagi then asked, "And who exactly?"
"Tooru and my close friends," Midoriya answered.
All Might got up and said, "I see." He then walked over to the refrigerator and poured himself some milk. He walked back to his seat and downed half the glass before saying, "Sorry I needed that and some time to think. Well, this is certainly a very ambitious proposal. I think we can make this work, but we need to set some things straight before we go gun hoe into this, understand?"
Izuku nodded slowly at this with a concerned look on his face.
Toshinori held up his index finger on his right hand before he said, "First we need to get Eraserhead's approval of the idea. This is too big of an undertaking to not have him involved." He then raised his middle finger alongside the other and stated, "Second. I want you to talk to an actual pro hero team. I'll handle the specifics of everything, but I want you to hear first hand the advantages and disadvantages of being a part of such a group." Next, Yagi raised his ring finger and said, "Finally you need to get all your friends on board with this. That's what, five of them? The more the better. And the hard part here is convincing them without stating the true purpose of it all. Of course, that won't be a problem with Hagakure-san, but it will be for the other four."
All Might then drank the rest of his drink and stood up. He then brought up his right hand across the small table in front of them and asked, "Do we have a deal?"
Midoriya took the hand, and joyful shook it as he stated, "It's a deal Yagi-sensei."
So yeah, this is the secondary theme of this fic, a hero team. Some reviews and comments note that I have mostly ignored the main six being together as of late. This was purposeful, as big canon plot needed to get done before I could start this ball rolling. Like the inclusion of the side ships, this plotline is so that the main ship doesn't get repetitive/overdone. A fic that's 100% romance that's this long will never last I feel. This whole theme was thought of since the beginning and was heavily inspired by QuirkQuartz's fics Awkward Energy and The First Generation. Not to say other hero team BNHA fics haven't inspired me, but these two mentioned are what got me wanting to write at all. The first fic put the idea in my head; the second cemented it. AE explores the concept of a duoship, while FG does with a team of five. I much prefer the idea of a bigger group (even if it's going to be harder to pull off). The difference here from FG is I wanted to give more time to set up the friendships (in FG it works to start it much earlier as everyone but Mina has known Izuku for quite some time, and because of the AU it's set in). The big focus for this theme, however, won't start till after the Internship arc concludes. There's are quite some big time skips in the Cultural Festival arc which I hope to take advantage of for this new development.
So on to the rest of the chapter. The first couple scenes of course focus on Bakugo (though only the second one has him participate). He's been mostly absent in this fic, and by now it's too important to ignore. One thing about writing his character that is commonly done wrong is overusing his cuss word usage. Hopefully, I kept a good balance with this. I have to thank both the MinaDeku and Kacchako discords for helping me decide on nicknames for Tooru that Katsuki would use since that's a character trait of his.
If your wondering about the study session mentioned in the Kirishima scene, it's taken from the first chapter of the second volume of the light novel. Now again, one can argue the canonicity of the light novels, but I wanted to address this regardless. Kirishima's character is super anti-bully and for him to wave it off as he did in that novel for Bakugo didn't sit well me, hence why I used him here. This might be his only big scene in my fic. But for now, he won't be a regular (at most just mentions in the Internship & Cultural Festival arc), I just felt his presence could be used here. This mostly applies to Katsuki as well, as at the moment I don't plan to use him again for quite some time.
Did you expect that development for Sato? It is kind of out there. All I want to say about it is it's not going to be a straightforward as you think. I hope eventually the build-up I'm leading to for this plotline pays off for all of you.
A couple of milestones with this chapter. First, twenty chapters, like damn. Just as chapter ten was a big turn in the fic due to Izuku and Tooru becoming a couple this chapter is quite significant too with the introduction of the team idea. Second, over 200k words written. Yes, that's even if we cut out my endless author note rants. This means I'm now in the top 10 longest fics ever created for this series. Hard to believe really, I wonder how far we'll go!
Night Foilage edited chapter 9 and ended up making 89 edits, and is now 17,946 words, so quite a drop. A couple of hundred words were deleted as I significantly reduced the info on what they studied. Thinking back I didn't wanna just say "they studied hard" so I went well into detail on what they covered. However, over time I wondered if I went too far and Night Foilage agreed. I much prefer how I handled the later study sessions' materials, so I went with the much shorter explanations. If you haven't already noticed, Night Foilage has been slowing down on editing as of late. Work has been heavy on her, so she hasn't had much time to work on my mistakes. She did say things look better in May, so hopefully, things return to a regular pace soon.
I got my first commission art done for this fic. The updated IzuTooru cover page was just a request; this is the real deal. It's some Ida x Uraraka art with some IzuTooru in the background. It's on my Tumblr if you want to see it, just below weekly update post 13. And it's all thanks to erijaime, also on Tumblr, for her fantastic work and unique art style in making it. You should check her out! And since we're on the subject of Tumblr, post 10 goes into my thoughts on Izuku ships again (this time outside of 1A), post 11 focuses on the start of season 3 of the anime, post 12 talks about my new baby snake.
One more thing before I go, another friend of mine on the MinaDeku discord wrote an IzuTooru fic. It's a oneshot collection for Izuku ships made by TruWarrior, called Shades of Green. The first chapter focuses on MinaDeku, and the second on IzuTooru.
See you on June 1st!