AN: Sorry about how long it's been since my last post. Been sick for a while amidst a case of writer's block. I'll try to have the next post out quicker. I couldn't get the energy to write when I was sick before, but I at least wrote out rough outlines for the chapters being posted now and thirty-one others. So that should hopefully help the next few posts.
Technically Quirkless: Expanded
Chapter 5
-Izuku-
Red faced and stammering, Izuku tried to form coherent sentences as Toru hugged him tightly. Those who'd been in his testing group, and therefore knew about his 'not a quirk' before today were smugly taking photos and videos for their own amusement. Traitors! All of them! Cruelly enjoying his flustered suffering! He was even sure he could hear Nezu cackling somewhere in the vents!
"H-H-Hagakure?!" Izuku stuttered out, face so red his hair made him look like a tomato.
"Yes?" Hagakure didn't slow down on the hug, if anything she was holding him tighter.
"W-why are you hugging me?" he felt his cheeks flame redder, not used to this much physical contact with someone his own age, the closest he had was his friendship with the Big Three.
"Because, I haven't seen myself since my quirk came in." Hagakure showed no signs of ending the hug, "I can't even remember what I looked like then. This…thank you Midoriya." At the statement of sincere gratitude, Izuku felt a bit of his flustered shock die away. Hugging the, to everyone else, invisible girl back, Izuku simply enjoyed the embrace, Hagakure humming happily.
"You're welcome, Hagakure." He whispered softly, doing his best to tune out the various coos and 'awwws' from his classmates, both those teasing and those sincere.
"Oh, before I forget!" Hagakure perked up before looking at their classmates, "I call dibs! Hear that you lot! Dibs! Mine!"
"Hagakure?!" Izuku squeaked, going back from zero to flustered in point two.
"I'll update the shipping charts." Mina called out with a grin and a thumbs up.
"As amusing as this all is." All Might chuckled as Izuku groaned into his hands, "We do have four more matches to get through. Onto the next pair!
-Nezu-
Frowning, Nezu studied the first-year students through his various security cameras scattered throughout UA. The main target of his study, and his frown, was a student from Class B. Katsuki Bakugo, the explosive quirk user was one he'd heard a great deal about from Midoriya over the years.
Aizawa and the adult Midoriya's had been livid when they'd learned about how Katsuki Bakugo was treating Izuku Midoriya and the phone call that had resulted between the two mothers had been the one and only time he'd heard Mrs. Midoriya curse.
Honestly, he'd been both impressed and somewhat surprised by the creativity she was able to use.
That said, he couldn't simply ban the boy for actions he'd done as a child. The Midoriyas and Bakugos had avoided each other ever since the full nature of Izuku's quirklessness had been discovered. An avoidance that meant they had no true firsthand knowledge of Bakugo's current behaviors. Behaviors that, unfortunately, many schools would cover up for the 'glory' of having taught a future top ranked pro.
He had to have undeniable proof to take this sort of thing to court, to shut down another school or ban someone from Heroics. Proof that was hard to come by if he wanted it to be viable and accepted in court. The joys of a bigoted government that would often go out of their way to oppose anything he attempted out of sheer spite.
Bakugo, so far, was unaware that Midoriya was also enrolled at UA. He'd gone out of his way to ensure that the two had been in different enrollment testing groups, that they'd be in different classes, and even that they would have different lunch periods. He knew they'd eventually learn of each other, but he hoped to at the very least put it off until the Sports Festival, to have time to fully assess Bakugo's mental state.
So far, while Bakugo was far from ideal, he had yet to do anything at UA that warranted expulsion of being barred from Heroics. He just hoped that would continue if not improve but he doubted it.
Nothing was ever that easy.
That was alright, easy was boring anyway.
-Izuku-
Out of their Hero Costumes, Izuku sat at a table alongside Tokoyami, Hagakure, Kodai, and Shinso. After the five matches had been concluded and All Might ran off in a cloud of dust, Aizawa had given them their homework. Everyone was divided into groups of five and each team was paired against another one. They were to, as a group, devise a strategy to defend against the other group, along with how they'd go about devising a plan of attack. Their group's opponents were Todoroki, Ojiro, Jiro, Kirishima, and Kaminari.
Admittedly, some of those were of more concern than others.
"The biggest threat against me is definitely Ojiro." Izuku shook his head with a sigh as he and his group sat around the table they'd gotten in the student study room, "He fought me before and the only thing I'm immune on him from is his tail. Given he specializes in marital arts he's got the best shot from the other team of taking me down."
"Revelry in the Dark." The ever-dramatic Tokoyami clenched his fist as the girls deadpanned at the gothic avian while Shinso snorted.
"That means 'shit!'." Dark Shadow popped out to translate 'helpfully'.
"I thought you said five minutes ago that meant he was excited and thought something was cool!" Hagakure protested. Arms flailing intensely although he was pretty sure that was to help other people tell how she was feeling since only he could really see her.
"Fuminese is a very complex language." Dark Shadow huffed, dodging Tokoyami's attempts to force the sentient quirk back inside his body.
"Anyway." Izuku coughed to get their attention, "Shinso, I think you can take out Kaminari and Jiro. Kaminari, from what I can tell, has some focus issues." It felt rude to say it, but it was true, and he couldn't think of a 'polite' way to phrase it "Startle him and he should respond. As for Jiro, I think if we're lucky, we might be able to get her out first with this plan. You said your quirk requires you to say something addressed to the other person, they make a verbal response within so many seconds, and so long was your voice wasn't distorted through electronics then you have control of them, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Shinso frowned in confusion.
"With her enhanced hearing she would hear us as soon as we enter the building. Or most of us, I don't know if my 'not a quirk' means she can't hear me or not." He admitted, it was something to figure out later "But by those parameters, if you spoke aloud addressed to her as she listens for us and she makes a comment to her teammates then she'd be under your control, and you could make her wrap the capture tape around herself. I'd say try to capture the others too but those you control are clearly in an unnatural state, and you said a jostle would free them. It's too likely that she'd get freed in trying to capture them and we wouldn't get a second shot at that."
He was falling into his 'strategy mode' that he got whenever Nezu gave him a strategy puzzle. He still wasn't sure why Present Mic said he was scary when he did this.
"Kodai, you and Hagakure should go after Ojiro. Kodai, your quirk would let you control the battlefield while Hagakure-"
"Toru!" the invisible girl reminded him, eyes determined as he blushed.
"While T-Toru used her invisibility to sneak up on him and use the capture tape. Then you'd be able to go and support Tokoyami in taking down Kirishima…assuming he and Dark Shadow haven't already finished by then."
"You aim to go after Todoroki by yourself then?" Tokoyami questioned.
"His quirk won't do anything to me and given how he handled the last match; it looks like his quirk is the entirety of what he focuses on. I'm not saying I'll win without any doubt, but this is the best plan for us being on the attack." Izuku shrugged, writing out the ideas as he said them aloud.
"And if we're on defense?" Toru asked, head tilted.
"Oh, that's easy." Izuku laughed, "Just have Kodai shrink the bomb, put it in your pocket once we specify that you'd have the updated costume that actually, you know, is a costume. You'd hide while we work on taking out the other team. Once Jiro was out of it, they wouldn't be able to find you. Especially since there's no rule saying we had to stay in that building. Kodai could use her quirk on boards, and you'd have a bridge to the next building over. Keep repeating and boom, you're in the wind."
All four of them were gaping at him.
"What? Is there something on my face?" Izuku tilted his head in confusion, trying to see if there was a mirror nearby that he could use to check.
"You are one scary dude Midoriya." Shinso shook his head as Izuku pouted.
"Why does everyone say that?!" he whined, Toru patting his shoulder consolingly.
"Don't worry, I think you're cute." Toru grinned as Izuku felt his cheeks burn.
"Zuzu!" hearing the familiar, and energetic, shout Izuku groaned.
"Oh no, here we go." He slumped in his seat even as his four classmates looked at him confused.
"What's-?" Toru started to ask before the door slammed open as Nejire zoomed in and glomped him.
"Zuzu! You're making friends! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" the bubbly third year hugged him tightly as he sighed, smiling none the less as he hugged her back.
"Guys, meet Nejire, one of the strongest students at UA." He introduced the bluenette to his four stunned friends, "Nejire, meet Fumikage Tokoyami, Toru Hagakure, Yui Kodai, and Hitoshi Shinso."
"It is a pleasure." Tokoyami nodded while Toru gave a stunned wave and Kodai a little hum.
Shinso on the other hand, "Hagakure called dibs on green there by the way." the insomniac hypnotist smirked as Izuku shot him a betrayed look.
"Deets!" Nejire gasped, turning towards the invisible girl as she started shaking Izuku eagerly, "I need deets!" the energy quirk user started bombarding the table with a slew of questions before gasping, "Wait, you're invisible! I bet Zuzu can see you! Oooooh, this is so cute and romantic! I ship it! I-"
"Nejire." Mirio, Izuku's Tintin looking savior, appeared and grabbed Nejire by the ear, "I thought we agreed to not pester Izuku about his classmates."
"But Miri!" Nejire whined, flailing uselessly in the blond's grip, "Our little Zuzu made friends! And got a girlfriend! The deeeeeeets!"
"Sorry buddy, we'll catch up later." Mirio chuckled as he drug off a flailing Nejire.
"They were…something." Tokoyami commented carefully, "Who was that who came to collect your friend? Is he a Hero Student too?"
"Yeah, that was Mirio Togata." Izuku nodded, giving a proud grin as he talked about one of his best friends, "Honestly, even though he's only a third year, he's the closest person in Japan to taking All Might's place as the number one Hero, and that's including the active pros." As he spoke, he never noticed Todoroki nearby, having heard every word.