Chapter 6: Speak Out!
Ochako was avoiding him. She couldn't help it! Every time she thought about that adorable green tease she just got so flustered. She had been this close to confessing to him and he had just run away! Sure he had to catch his train home, but she was catching feelings dammit! When she saw him all that she could think about was his quiet whispers into her ear and the feel of his hair in her hands and staring into his eyes and- Down girl!
It had been two days since that afternoon at the train station and they hadn't talked about it at all. Ochako didn't know if she wanted them to. On the one hand, if they talked about it maybe they could actually be together. Heroes dated, surely. She couldn't name any off hand that had significant others outside of Endeavor, and she's not sure she wanted to count him, but there had to be others; Gunhead had seemed very approving of her pursuing Deku even before she realized the depth of her feelings. Conversely, she could end up either ruining her friendship with Deku, her first and best friend at UA, or even worse, she could end up distracting both of them from their studies, they end up not becoming heroes and resent each other for it later in life and break up anyway and neither of them get to chase their dreams!
Sure, maybe she was overthinking it, but she couldn't shake that nagging feeling in the back of her head. Those whispers in her brain that said it was too dangerous. That she should stay away from romance at all costs and focus on being a hero first and foremost. But what would Deku-kun do? Would he let being scared stop him? A hopeful voice responded. He would rush into danger to chase after everything he wanted and would never settle for less. She shook away her thoughts. Clearly, she was in over her head. She needed some advice. But from whom?
"Whoa, watch it there gravity girl!" Ochako narrowly dodged the pink form of Hatsume as she sprinted by her toward the larger gyms that ringed the center campus. "No time to chat, I've got babies to make with Izuku-kun!"
For a brief moment, her heart stopped before kicking back into rhythm. EH???!!!!!
"Do it again, but try to stay at a low percentage until you're already off the ground this time. You're leaving too many cracks in the pavement!" Izuku nodded and got ready to start again. This afternoon was his day to practice with All Might on controlling One for All. They were working on changing speeds with rapid increases and decreases in his output and Izuku desperately needed practice at controlling his top speed at eight percent.
"Cracks in the pavement are one thing, but do try not to run into any more buildings, Midoriya-kun. We can't repair cracks in your skull quite as easily, hm?" Midnight had invited herself along as well. He didn't really know why she was here, or why she kept sneaking dirty looks at All Might, but her advice was helpful. Now that he was inching his way toward ten percent, he would need to be conscious of the damage he could do to his surroundings. All Might typically made two or three big jumps that traversed entire cities, but Izuku's style was a lot closer to parkour. Midnight had a lot of valuable tips and tricks for maneuvering in several smaller jumps. Doing the training in the heart of ground Beta, with skyscrapers and actual concrete sidewalks and paved roads, was as close to the real thing as he could get outside of an internship.
As Izuku got into a sprinter's stance to begin his next run, a chime rang signaling that someone else had entered the cityscape. All Might bulked up suddenly into his muscular form and Midnight looked around curiously. Izuku turned toward the gate to the training ground in time to see the sprinting form of Hatsume Mei coming straight for him.
"Ten Million! It's ready!" She skidded to a stop in front of him, kicking up dirt and loose gravel. "Finding the right material to stand up to the stress of your quirk was no easy task, let me tell you, but it's finally finished! I proudly present Baby Three-hundred twenty one, Deku Suit Gamma!" A new costume case was placed at his feet, slightly larger than the one that his beta suit had come in, with the same 18 in bright green on the front. "So, time to test our baby out, huh? Shirt off!"
Izuku felt a startled yelp build up at the back of his throat as Hatsume rushed in and got her hands underneath his workout shirt. "Hatsume, I really don't think-" his words were muffled by the sweat-dampened fabric as his shirt was pulled over his head, trapping his arms above him. Just as suddenly as she had started, the tugging on his shirt stopped. Why am I always in these situations around Hatsume? It's like she's trying to embarrass me. His struggles finally ended as he managed to fling his shirt off of him, revealing a crimson-faced Hatsume who nervously looked away from him.
"And that's enough of that." A whip curled around Hatsume and dragged her to the side of Midnight who smirked at Izuku. "Midoriya, go get your costume on. Hatsume, darling, I think we need to have a talk on personal boundaries, hm?"
Izuku hustled to the adjacent locker room, both out of excitement over his new costume and desperation to not be on the receiving end of an angry Midnight's lecture. Thankfully, when he was finally by himself and got the case open, there were written instructions on which pieces to put on first and how they all attached together. Izuku stripped down to his compression shorts and began to put everything on.
The base of his new costume was the familiar green and black jumpsuit, stretching from his ankles to his neck with small sleeves covering the upper third of his bicep. The new suit was significantly tighter, however, than the baggy versions that he had previously. The red boots now ended just below the knee and were slightly bulkier with hard composite soles. The gloves had also been modified significantly. They resembled opera gloves as they stretched up to cover the lower portions of his bicep before attaching to the sleeves of his jumpsuit with a cuff. Bulkier elbow protection added stability to the joints as well as making his strikes more impactful with them, and the portion of them that covered the hand were now thicker and significantly stiffer. The final accoutrements were added, a similar red utility belt to his old one, his gray metallic mouthguard that now covered his ears and had a built in communications system, and a small medical kit that snapped onto his belt over the left hip. The last piece of the costume left was a folded up piece of white fabric with a note left on top.
Due to safety concerns we cannot let students have too many pieces of equipment attached to their head and neck area. Because of this when you added a cape I removed the hood with the ears from your jumpsuit design. If you want to replace it later, then we can talk about changing the cape into a cloak or redesigning the hood. Enjoy your new suit!
Power Loader
Izuku wasn't sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, the hood was his homage to All Might. The twin spikes were reminiscent of his mentor's iconic hair protrusions and were the one connection to him that he had to express in his costume. His mother had also hand made the first set of them and added the hood herself.
They did, however, make him look like a giant green bunny.
Izuku set the note to the side and decided to try the suit without them. He could always change it if he missed his hood, but he had rarely worn it in the first place. Maybe he didn't need the physical reminder of All Might. He carried his mentor in his smile and his heart. One for All was their bond. The lightning that now dwelled inside of him was an ever present reminder.
Taking out the cape, Izuku let it dangle and unfold to its full length. It snapped onto clasps on his jumpsuit just above his collarbone and ended around his calf. It was slightly shorter than the cape he had seen in the support labs, but it felt good. It was relatively light, enough that the breeze from the vents within the locker room made the fabric ripple and shake, but it seemed sturdy. The specs that Hatsume had included indicated that it was slash proof and fire proof with the ability to be used as a shock blanket if needed.
Izuku walked toward the mirror above the sink, enjoying the sounds his new boots made as he walked. He knew he had changed since starting UA, and his reflection confirmed those changes. The white accents of the cape and the larger gloves made his hair look even brighter, the black accents on the body of the suit causing the flashes of white and red to stand out. For a moment, his reflection shimmered. His shoulder grew slightly wider, hands resting proudly at his hips, hair growing darker and longer until he looked at a completely different person. The woman in his reflection had a wide smile, a small beauty mark on her chin. She winked, and suddenly the moment was lost and Izuku was left gazing at himself once again.
"You alright in there, kid?" He jumped at the sound of Midnight's voice. "Are you decent? We've been waiting for a bit."
"Oh, uh, I'm okay, Sensei." He opened the door to the locker room revealing his teacher, leaning against the far wall, her concerned expression betraying her casual body language. "Sorry, I was just getting used to the new suit. It's a little bit tighter than I was expecting."
Her raised eye-brow clearly said that she didn't believe him, but she pushed off the wall and made for the gym anyway. "Well, if it's too tight you can have it adjusted. Tight fits are better for more acrobatic fighters like you, and with the cape it's not a bad idea to reduce the amount of things people can grab onto in a fight."
"It's not uncomfortable, I'm just a little nervous about how, er- revealing it is, I guess." Midnight hummed.
"Plenty of heroes wear skin tight suits so it likely won't be an issue. If you're truly uncomfortable with it, though, it can be adjusted. Thankfully it does seem to protect your modesty at the moment. Of course, the press only really cares if the modesty of male heroes are protected. All Might and Endeavor both get to strut around in spandex all they want, but if I or Mt Lady walk out in something revealing we'll be front page news for weeks. My first costume-"
Hatsume Mei unnerved All Might. She was well known to the faculty for being an oddity among support students, who were already considered oddballs. There was a reason that Toshinori had only ever used one support technician, and even then he often got his equipment sent to him from I-Island without ever having to visit him in the first place. Support techs in general were a lot to deal with, and this young woman was certainly a lot as well. She had not stopped talking about the modifications she had made to young Midoriya's costume the entire time he had been gone, and All Might was beginning to wonder if her quirk allowed her to speak without breathing. It was on par with even the strongest of his successor's mutter storms!
The door opened to reveal Midnight still in a heated discussion with Midoriya. He nodded at whatever it was that she was saying and responded with something that made her head fall back with laughter. He was proud of his boy for how much he had grown. And, as much as he felt uncomfortable with her manic energy, Hatsume had done great work on the boy's costume. He had never needed any of the serious limb supports himself, but they appeared to be good quality. The white gloves added a bit of length to his figure, and-
His breath caught as he spotted the cape.
Swaying softly behind him, the same color as Nana's, a long white cape clasped similarly at the clavicle. Their costumes were not that similar. His master abhorred sleeves, often espousing that they were 'bullshit inventions', and her suit had been almost entirely designed around her flight with little extraneous equipment. Young Midoriya was certainly more "tricked out" as the kids said, but he reminded him of her in a lot of ways. His broad smile, the feral intensity that he fought with, the intelligence hidden behind his eyes. Toshinori never had the need to develop a unique style or skillset with his power. One for All was so much stronger in his hands than his master's, after all, but Izuku and Nana were both much smarter fighters.
The rest of the training that afternoon went smoothly. At Midnight's suggestion, Midoriya did some work from the rooftops as well as the ground, practicing softening landings and measuring how much strength he needed to get from one to the next. At points he seemed to hang in the air, cape billowing out behind him, and it made All Might's chest ache. I think you would have loved him, Nana. You always told me that we would meet again in One for All, so I hope you'll look after him now. When Hatsume finally got all of the data she needed and left, Toshinori deflated back down to his thin form and decided to call it a day.
"Alright, young man, I think that was a wonderfully productive session." He flashed him a grin and his signature thumbs up. "Excellent work!"
"Thank you, All Might!" Midoriya beamed. "I feel like I'm starting to get used to moving around at such high speeds."
"Just remember," Midnight spoke up, "speed means nothing without control. I know Aizawa teaches you situational awareness, but that applies to movement too, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"There's one other thing I want to talk to you about before you go," Midnight said. "We've been working hard at building a persona for you, but I want to stress that it cannot be your default all the time. Midoriya Izuku is just as important as the hero Deku, okay?" She moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's easy and tempting to just ignore everything and focus on using your persona as a shield, but it's not healthy, kid. I've only known you a few months, but I can tell you're trying to hold stuff back and just ignore things to move forward. You've got to let yourself feel things, Midoriya. Even if they're negative emotions. Hell, especially when they're negative. Being a hero means putting your fear and anger and all those shitty feelings away and focusing on the job. But they don't ever go away, they just build up. So take a few minutes at the end of everyday and just let yourself feel. Decompress. Take all that shit you put aside and acknowledge it. Let it flow through you for a bit before you expel it for good." She paused to wipe a tear away from underneath Midoriya's eye. "You think you can try doing that for me, kiddo?"
"I- I'll try, sensei."
Izuku didn't consider himself a particularly violent person.
But he was being pushed to his fucking limits today.
Kacchan kept throwing angry glares in his direction which, while sadly normalized in his life, were putting him on edge. There was a pop quiz in literature that he only remembered the answers to after the quiz was over, his train had been delayed this morning, his fingers ached fiercely because it was supposed to rain later. And Mineta would not shut up .
He had always been too caught up in his own daily worries to really pay attention to the shorter boy, but now that he was more cognizant of the rest of the world during classes he couldn't block it out. The stream of vile foul-mouthed commentary that poured from his classmate's mouth never stopped. He would comment about any woman he saw and if none caught his eye in the moment he would pick one from his mind to talk about. Mirko, Ryukyu, Mt Lady, Hatsume, random women he saw in the streets, none were safe from his imagination.
Midnight received the worst of it, however. The one woman that seemed to be referenced most often was his teacher and the content of his diatribes made Izuku's skin crawl and his stomach writhe with anger. He looked up to his mentor. She had taught him so much over the few weeks that he had been working with her. And Mineta had reduced her in his imagination to a walking talking toy for his perversions.
Izuku was sure he was close to breaking by the time he got to heroics. His friends had tried to ask him what was wrong but he shook them off. How could he explain the way his anger clawed at him from the inside, desperate to free itself to enact its own vengeance on his classmate? Thankfully, not even Mineta's degenerate nature could distract Izuku from All Might's presence at the front of the classroom.
"Alright, zygotes! As you know, finals are almost upon you. Which means, we will be measuring to see how much you have grown over the past few months! So today, we will be doing the same battle trials as in your first class! We will, however, be changing your partners! Now, get changed and meet me at training ground alpha! I am leaving the classroom like a normal person!"
"Aww yeah. I love the costumes at this school. Such succulent babe-flesh!" Izuku held back the full-body shudder that threatened to take over him. How did women deal with this on a daily basis? Izuku wasn't even the target of the comments and it still made him uncomfortable.
Thankfully he was able to tune out the shorter boy as he focused on getting the various parts of his new costume on. He really did need to thank Mei for her incredible work. Maybe he should send her a thank you note? Briefly he debated about giving her Melissa Shield's phone number, but dismissed that thought with a shudder. Between Melissa "I'm going to charge into the boss' lair wearing no shoes and a formal dress" Shield and Mei "Blowing Things Up Is My Creative Process" Hatsume there was no way he would survive a collaboration between the two of them.
"Woah dude, sweet cape!" Izuku blinked at the smiling Kirishima who shot him a thumbs up. "Very manly, bro!"
"Oh, thanks, Kirishima!" Izuku grinned back and ignored the whispered 'so bright' from Tokoyami to finish putting his case away in his locker. He joined Todoroki and Iida at the entrance and made his way toward the gym.
"What inspired such a change in costume, Midoriya-kun?" Iida asked.
"Well, you guys have seen full cowling at this point, so I knew I wanted some upgrades to handle the increased speed and the overall strain on my body. The cape was just a flash of inspiration, I guess."
"I see. Well, I think it looks good! I do hope there are mechanisms to avoid getting your cape caught on things? They may be useful in certain scenarios but there are also safety concerns that ought to be addressed."
"Yeah, Hatsume made sure that the clasps that keep it on have an auto release function. Any tug that's sharp enough and the cape will come right off. Plus, there's a switch on my belt that I can use to manually disengage the clasps if I need to. I'm not actually sure how she managed to do that though."
"Ah, Hatsume designed it?" Iida took a large step to his right, putting Todoroki between himself and Izuku. "It is safe to wear, yes? It won't explode?" Izuku couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't worry Iida, Hatsume knows what she's doing. She's brilliant!"
"Brilliantly insane, perhaps. Though if you trust her I will trust you, Midoriya-kun!"
"I think she's funny," Todoroki added. "My father hated your match with her at the Sports Festival. I wonder if I could get her to do my design updates after finals?"
Before Izuku could respond, he was distracted by Uraraka and Tsu turning the corner. When Uraraka saw them she stopped in the middle of the hall and her face began to flush a dark red. Huh, I wonder if she's getting sick? I know her quirk tends to make her nauseous.
"Hello, kero. Nice cape, Midoriya-chan."
"Thanks, Tsu!" The group began walking, but as Izuku looked back he saw Uraraka was still stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"Uraraka, are you coming?" She seemed to shake herself out of her reverie and hurried to catch up with the group. Izuku waited until All Might began going over the scenario and time limit restrictions before he leaned over to Uraraka again and whispered. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Huh?" She asked with a startled jump. "W-what makes you say that? Hahaha."
"Well, you're really red for one thing. And you seem nervous." Izuku leaned in closer and watched her eyes widen. "You're shaking, Uraraka-san." Izuku watched her swallow thickly, the harsh movement of her throat exaggerating the soft trembling of her form. A bead of sweat made its way down her hairline.
"I-I, uh- w-well," "And the final pair is young Midoriya and young Mineta!" Uraraka blinked and Izuku backed up to look at his mentor. Apparently he had missed more of the explanation than he had thought. He glanced at Uraraka who was nervous dabbing her sleeve on her forehead before fully turning his attention back to All Might.
Well, it could be worse, I guess. I just hope we're not going against Kacchan. "The first match-up is Yaoyorozu and Jiro against Midoriya and Mineta!" Izuku looked toward the former pair who stood nearby. Yaoyorozu was rapidly explaining something to Jiro as the shorter girl nodded along with a vicious grin. Izuku turned to seek out his partner who appeared to be staring at their opponents, drool falling down his chin. He couldn't fully repress his shudder. Oh this isn't going to end well for anyone, is it?
Ochako did her best to calm her racing heart. This was so unfair! She was convinced her guardian angel was out there laughing at her. How could that idiot keep doing this to her! First the new haircut and the posture and then the way he had almost kissed her at the train station and now he had a new costume that made him look like he walked out of her daydreams and then he had the gall to stare into her eyes and tease her for getting flushed because of it! How did he even manage to get that close to her? Two months ago he couldn't even look her in the eye when she was wearing her hero costume and now he could handle putting his face right next to hers and whispering right in her ear like he was some damn romance anime protagonist? Damn it!
"Hey, Ocha!" Uraraka looked at Ashido who was waving her over toward a group that consisted of her, Hagakure, Kirishima and Kaminari. "I need you to settle a debate for us. Does Midori have a girlfriend?" Ochako felt her heart leap into her throat. Did Deku have a girlfriend and not tell her? Was he just lying to her? She shook those thoughts away. No, Deku would never do something like that. A familiar burning flame took root in her stomach. And if some girl did get to Deku first, I'd launch her into the exosphere!
"No!" The others looked startled at her shout, so Ochako forced herself to calm down. "I mean, no, absolutely not. Deku would tell me if he had a girlfriend." Ashido pouted in disappointment.
"Aw, man! I was sure it was because of a girlfriend."
"I told you!" Kaminari said. "No way that Midoriya gets a girlfriend first. The guy is, like, way too shy."
"He's gotten better, though!" Hagakure pointed out. "He's, like, kinda suave now, you know? Like with the new hair and everything?"
"He does look pretty manly," Kirishima agreed. "But Mido-bro definitely would have told us, or at least Uraraka."
"Ah, Deku-kun doesn't have a girlfriend." Uraraka said, finally understanding. "He's been training after school with Midnight-sensei. She's been helping him with his confidence and developing a hero persona."
"Woah, so manly! It's awesome that he's so dedicated to being a better hero!"
"Lucky bastard," Kaminari muttered.
"Tough luck, Sparky." Ashido wrapped a pink arm around Kaminari's neck. "Your crush on Midnight-sensei is doomed for eternity. With or without Midoriya's influence, I might add."
"Yeah. Plus, you guys should probably spend some more time studying for finals." Hagakure pointed out. "Weren't you two at the bottom of the class in the midterms?"
"Well, yeah," Kaminari said. "But aren't finals in, like, a few weeks? We've got plenty of time."
"Yeah," Ashido said. "No worries! We're going to be, like, super mega prepared!"
Uraraka sweatdropped. They do know that the written finals are next week, right? Should I tell them? She watched the laughing pair tip backwards and bump into Bakugou who turned and exploded at them. Eh, they'll figure it out. Probably.
Briefly, Izuku wondered if Stain had ever met someone like Mineta. If he had, Izuku could sort of understand the urge to murder someone.
"I mean, seriously, why is it always me? I always get put on a team with dudes. Why can't I be on the team with the chicks. The ladies love me!" They had already scoured the first two floors and swiftly were making their way up. Momo's quirk let their opponent trap and fortify the room with the bomb as much as they wanted and with Jiro's hearing they had to know exactly how long it would take them to get to their location. Izuku had quickly abandoned stealth as an option with her in the mix, instead opting for an all out sprint to give them as much time as possible to deal with Momo and to minimize the time the heiress could spend creating tricks and equipment. Just because they weren't trying to hide, though, did not mean he wanted to be subjected to Mineta's perverse stream of consciousness.
"Like, the rack on Yaoyorozu. What I wouldn't do to get my hands on those luscious bouncy" "Shut up, Mineta." Izuku felt his pulse throb in his head. His gut swirled as annoyance built up inside of him.
"What? What's the problem? Yaoyorozu has a rockin' bod, I'm just expressing some appreciation. I bet that even that flat board, Jiro would agree with me." Izuku came to a stop just outside the door to the largest room on the floor.
"What?"
"What? I mean she's a lesbo, right? She probably wants to grab a handful of Yaoyorozu just as much as I do." Izuku's skin started to itch. Even Mineta must have noticed the growing rage coming from him because he said, "What? I'm just saying. Why are you getting all mad? You a homo too?" Izuku could feel One for All stirring in response to his anger. He clenched his jaw shut in an effort to stop the quirk from exploding out. "I mean it makes sense. You've been taking lessons from Midnight and you haven't even mentioned copping a feel to the other guys. That slut's basically parading it around for free." Izuku's hand twitched at his side, sparks bursting to life along his arm. Mineta barrelled on, heedless of the quirk activation at his side. "Plus, if I had Uraraka as my best friend, you know that I'd be-" his words were cut off as Izuku grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground, bringing him eye to eye. Absently, he noticed One for All rising past eight, past ten and continuing to increase its output, but he stayed intent on glaring into Mineta's eyes.
"Take. It. Back." Izuku clenched his empty left hand into a fist, muscles twitching with rage. "Final warning, Mineta." The other boy's expression, which had been suffused with shock, hardened into something close to cockiness.
"My father's on the board, idiot. You can't touch me you dirty fa-" Izuku spun, One for All flaring to twenty percent, and threw Mineta like a javelin. The shorter boy flew through the air, crashing through the door and going straight on into the room beyond it. Izuku stalked forward as Mineta desperately scrambled backward. One for All pulsed, a deep resonating note that rattled his bones. His quirk screamed for release, raging against his skin in desperation to be let out. To exact its pound of flesh from the miserable creature in front of him. Izuku pulled back his arm, preparing to knock him into next week.
"You bastard! You're going to be expelled for this!"
"Actually," Yaoyorozu cut in, "it would appear that you are the one facing expulsion, Mineta." The two boys looked at the heiress who was standing with Jiro where they had been hidden next to the now sundered door. In her hands was a phone with an active call going on and Jiro smirked holding a recorder plugged into her jack, the other pressed against the wall. "Is that enough evidence for you, Mr. Principal?"
"Why it certainly is!" Nezu's cheerful voice was tinny through the phone speakers, but clearly audible in the shocked silence. "As of this moment, Mineta Minoru is hereby expelled from U.A. High for violations of our harassment and discrimination clauses! I will also, of course, be looking into other cases where such offenses were covered up by the influence of the Mineta family. I'm sure the police will be quite interested in such affairs." The purple haired boy paled as he realized the depths of his situation.
"Of course, sir. And I will also be contacting my family's lawyers. Father is rather, aggressive , in handling sexual harassment charges against his only daughter."
"B-b-but he assaulted me!" Mineta cried. "Midoriya should be expelled, not me!"
"On the contrary," Nezu's voice radiated gleeful malice even over the phone. "It was an ingenious tactical decision by Midoriya-kun to send you in through the door first so that you could attempt to capture your classmates by surprise! Additionally, I'm sure that you will find you lost the ability to press charges against classmates for actions taken during training when you filled out your enrollment forms. The liability falls on U.A. for training incidents and if you want to pursue legal action against this school, well," Nezu chuckled. "I would certainly welcome the effort! I have needed something to destress with and I think ruining your family's reputation with a messy courtroom affair would be particularly enjoyable."
"I- I-" "Jiro-san would you mind escorting Mineta to All Might and let him know to bring him to my office?" Jiro's smirk grew sharp and vengeful.
"With pleasure, Nezu-sensei." With that, she grabbed Mineta by the arm, wrinkling her nose in disgust, and dragged him from the room.
Momo watched as All Might carried Mineta away like a cat would a newborn kitten, dangling from his grip. She was certainly glad to be rid of the cretin, though even she hadn't realized the depths of his rotten character before today. The whole class had heard what happened during their exercise, and Kyouka was loudly playing the recording back for anyone who wanted to bear witness to the homophobe's rantings, but Momo couldn't quite help but feel a little unsettled. Quirks hadn't erased the biases the world carried towards others, their recently expelled classmate was proof enough of that, but Momo still thought it was silly to worry about the gender or race or sexuality of a person when people like All Might could wipe out city blocks without trying.
"Are you okay?" Momo turned to see Midoriya standing close by, fiddling with one of the gloves of his new uniform. "That was a lot that happened back there."
"I'm alright. Thank you for the concern. It was admirable standing up the way you did. I'm not sure anyone else would have had the daring to throw him through a wall." He rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks flushed, and Momo couldn't help but laugh a little. "I do not mean to offend Midoriya, it was quite a display."
"I bet. It was your plan and quick thinking that really won the day though."
"Ah, I did not do much in truth. It was Jiro who thought to record the conversation once she could hear what he was saying."
"But it was you who called the principal, right?" Momo blushed a little and turned to the side. "Yaomomo," Midoriya took a step forward. "You were amazing, okay? Midnight taught me that you shouldn't brush aside the compliments of others so quickly. I mean it when I say that I think you did incredible work." Momo blushed harder as Midoriya continued to look toward her with his heavy gaze. The force of his stare and the sincerity in his voice made it all the harder for her to look him in the eye. After a few seconds, he took a step back.
"I apologize." "No, no it's okay, really. I was just unprepared for such a compliment. Please, it's alright."
"Still," Izuku shrugged. "I apologize both for my behavior and that you had to listen to what Mineta was saying." At this, he shook his head. "I just can't believe it. I mean, he reduced you to just your physicality when you're so much more than that!" Momo blinked at the green haired boy in front of her who now paced and threw his hands into the air.
"You're brilliant, an excellent hero, and you're one of our most kind and humble classmates as well as a great vice-representative." Momo's blush, which had cooled slightly, returned with a vengeance. "Plus you have one of the most powerful quirks I've ever seen!"
"Ah, what do you mean by that?"
"I mean that you are single-handedly the strongest person in this room, potentially even at this school. There's nothing that you couldn't do or make. With enough prep time you could do literally anything! If you were a villain, what would stop you from creating a bomb? Or a nuclear weapon? Though I suppose uranium might be too dense to reliably produce much but I bet you could train up to it! Oh, and you could…"
Momo produced a small cooling towel from her stomach and pressed it against her head to reduce her blush as Midoriya continued to rant about her quirk. It was incredibly sweet and endearing, if a little shocking to listen to him detail the many ways she could seek world domination with her quirk. She hadn't realized that he was quite so skilled in quirk analysis. Mentally she compared this version of Midoriya, the rambling sweet boy in front of her, to the version of Midoriya that had thrown Mineta through a heavily barricaded door. Who had stomped forward like an avenging angel intent upon making the perverted wretch repent for his statements.
Now that she was out of the situation looking back on it, Momo could admit that he looked like dark knights in her romance novels. She imagined all of that rage and passion channeled into a possessiveness toward a princess and… a shiver ran down her spine. She peeked over her shoulder and saw Uraraka glaring at her from where she stood with Iida. Her fire-filled eyes promised retribution. The waves of malice rolling off of her made the young heiress' more afraid than any villain she had faced so far. Best not to continue that train of thought , Momo decided. The fury building from Uraraka seemingly lessened as if she could sense Momo backing down. When Midoriya next took a breath she interrupted him.
"Midoriya-kun, thank you very much for your kind words and for standing up for us earlier, but I do believe you're being summoned." She nodded her head towards Uraraka who flashed a jubilant smile and waved at him.
"Oh! I'm sorry for going on so long, Yaomomo. I'll see you in a bit!" As the boy headed off toward Uraraka and Iida a different presence took his place at Momo's side.
"So you realize it too, huh kero?" Momo jumped at Tsu's voice.
"Why, I'm certain I don't know what you mean Tsu-chan."
"I wonder which will break first: Ochako's stubbornness or Izuku's own obliviousness." They observed the two as Midoriya leaned down to whisper something in Uraraka's ear as the girl bit her lip and started floating away from where her hands were pressed into her sides.
"I bet 2000 yen Midoriya figures it out first."
"You're on, kero."
Chapter 7: Flirt!
Direct Message
Most Favoritest Aunt In The Whole World
Hey are you still at school?
Raptor Child
Yeah I'm finishing up a meeting for the class reps why
Most Favoritest Aunt In The Whole World
Can you grab me the duffel bag from my office?
It's next to the desk
I'm in training ground zeta
Raptor Child
??????
Okay???
Not suspicious at all Auntie Nem
Setsuna ambled toward training ground zeta, messenger bag in one hand and her aunt's mysterious duffel bag thrown over her shoulder. She was desperately curious about what was inside of it, especially because it felt soft, but ever since that time in middle school where she opened Nemuri's purse and a vibrator fell out she learned not to go snooping where her aunt was concerned.
She pushed open the door to the gym, revealing her aunt, dressed in a sweatshirt from her own merch line, jeans and her glasses, holding a microphone up to Midoriya from class 1-A. Several bright spotlights shone onto the boy, who was in his U.A. gym uniform and dripping sweat onto the floor.
"Deku! How do you respond to the recent allegations that your agency has been covering up property damages by several heroes?" Deku? Kind of a weird hero name. And 'allegations'? What the hell is going on?
"At this time, I cannot comment on any allegations or anything of the sort. You'd have to get in touch with our agency's media liaison." Midnight nodded and wrote something down on a notepad before turning toward Setsuna.
"Hey, Set! Come say hi to Deku, you two know each other right?"
"We met during the sports festival, I think," Setsuna said. She absently handed her aunt the duffel as she looked over Midoriya. Was this the same guy from the festival? He looked like he grew a few centimeters since then, his shoulders broader, face less shaded from overly wild hair. He looks like a snack.
"Midoriya, right? I'm Tokage Setsuna from Class B." She held out a hand that he shook in a firm grip. Mmm, nice hands.
"It's nice to meet you, Tokage-san. It's good to put a name to your lovely face." Setsuna's smile sharpened into a smirk.
"You're not so bad yourself, Mr. Hero. It looks like my aunt's been putting you through a workout, huh?" He tipped his head back and laughed, a bead of moisture running down his exposed throat.
"She's not that bad. I've got plenty of stamina." He punctuated his claim with a wink, and Setsuna felt herself heat up a little in response. He's not bad at this.
"Oh, is that the case? Maybe she's just not testing you enough?"
"Well, if you're offering, you could always find out for yourself?"
"A private workout?" Setsuna took a step forward to put herself directly in front of Midoriya. "How bold of you, Deku. I'm not sure it's a good idea, though."
"Why?" He leaned in until mere inches separated them. "Scared you can't keep up?"
"I'm more worried about wearing you out ."
"Not that this isn't adorable, but we're in the middle of something here, Set." The two jumped apart as Midnight strutted toward them. "Midoriya, you can take a break and grab some water." The boy's posture immediately relaxed. His shoulders slumped forward a little, and the intensity drained from his expression.
"Yes, sensei." He walked toward the far side of the gym where his bag rested and Setsuna couldn't resist but watch as he walked away.
"Hmm, mama like- OW! Hey!" She rubbed the spot on her forehead that Nemuri had flicked. "What the fuck, auntie?"
"First, watch your god damn language. We're in a school." Setsuna rolled her eyes at that. It wasn't like it was Nemuri herself that taught her to swear or anything. "Second of all, that's my personal student you're ogling there. And if that weren't enough, he's already being staked out by another one of your classmates. Do you know Uraraka Ochako? She was the one who brought a meteor shower down on Bakugou Katsuki. A very competitive woman from what I've seen."
"I don't mind a bit of a challenge," Setsuna said, sticking out her chest. "I bet I could take her." Nemuri sighed at her niece's antics.
"I'll say nice things at your funeral, dino-girl."
Setsuna walked back toward the exit and managed to catch a glimpse of Midoriya using the bottom of his shirt to wipe away sweat from his forehead. Her eyes raked over his exposed abs and she shuddered at the thoughts that suddenly cropped up in her head. Yeah, I'm not done with you yet, Midoriya Izuku.
By the time Izuku made his way back toward his mentor, Tokage had already gone, leaving Kayama-sensei writing down notes on a pad of paper by herself.
"So how do you know Tokage-san, sensei? You said she's your niece?" Midnight looked up from her writing, sliding the paper into her back pocket.
"Honorary niece. I don't have any actual siblings, but her mother and I were close growing up. She went to U.A. too, actually."
"Oh, wow! Is she a hero?"
"No, she was in the business course." Her smile changed into a teasing grin, one that Izuku knew full well meant trouble at this point. "You seem awfully interested in Setsuna, Midoriya-kun. Something I should know about?"
"No, sensei! N-not that I don't think she's attractive. Er, I mean, she was really fun to flirt with but I don't care about her. Ah, what I mean is that, I don't like her in that way, you know? I could certainly see how someone would, but-" Izuku was abruptly cut off by a stuffed animal crashing into his face. He spit out a bit of fur and blinked up at his teacher who seemed amused.
"Breathe, Midoriya. You're overthinking it. No one is mad or upset, I'm just teasing you." Izuku inhaled deeply and held it before letting it go. Once he had relaxed a little, Midnight continued. "It did give me a good idea for how to build up your confidence and develop your hero persona at the same time." Her teasing smile, which had dropped when Izuku started panicking, morphed into a wicked smirk.
"How would you like to learn to flirt from the R-Rated Heroine herself?"
Toru practically skipped down the hallway. It was going to be a good day! Her mom always told her to believe in the power of positive thinking, and that's exactly what she was going to do! The Battle Trial Redos the other day had gone well for her team. She had been partnered with Tokoyami who made an excellent distraction for her to be able to sneak around Sato and Aoyama. Toru knew she wasn't a powerhouse, she had just barely managed to squeak into U.A. by getting the robots to shoot each other and her handful of rescue points. Her quirk made it so she was relegated to Underground work in the future which was fine by her. The USJ and the Sports Festival both proved to her that she wasn't meant to fight on the big stage.
But that was okay! She would leave the high rankings and billboard fights to the Bakugous and Todorokis of the world, Toru just wanted to be able to save people.
Still, it was nice to be noticed on occasion. She had to work twice as hard as anyone else to get people to pay attention to her. She over exaggerated her body language and wore bright clothing and accessories, she even made sure to stomp and make more noise walking than she had to. She had some natural instincts toward stealth because of her quirk and years of practice had made it easier to hide her presence than not. But would it kill someone to pay attention to her?
"Hey, Hagakure! Let me grab the door for you."
"Oh," Toru turned toward the voice behind her, catching sight of fluffy green hair. "Thanks, Midoriya. What a gentleman." He offered her a wink as he followed into the classroom behind her.
"Of course."
"Hey, by the way, I heard you were taking lessons with Midnight after school. Is that what sparked these changes in you?" He laughed and Toru felt her heart speed up. She would guess she was blushing, but thankfully no one would be able to see it. He has a nice smile. If I wasn't crushing on Ojiro I could totally see myself asking him out!
"Yeah, she's been really helping me build my confidence. It's been great. I'd love to hear if you have any tips too." Toru blinked.
"Huh?" She tilted her head to the right, raising her left shoulder to amplify the motion. "What do you mean?" Midoriya turned fully towards her, leaning in slightly. Toru worked hard to make sure she mastered her own body language, so it was easy for her to read Midoriya's. His feet both pointed toward her slightly spread apart, shoulders back and relaxed, hands out and near his hips. His eyes were aimed toward her head, so she would give him credit for eye contact. Is he… flirting?
"Well, you're one of the most confident people in our class. You're always energetic and outspoken, and you've always got an amazing positive attitude. Honestly, I'm a little jealous that it comes this easily to you. It's kind of scary to put yourself out there."
"I…" Okay, she was definitely blushing now! How could she not? How could he just look her in the eye (or close enough, anyway) and deliver a compliment like that with that much sincerity in his voice? Her stomach heated up, a pool of magma spilling out from her center and up into her throat. "Uh, thank you! I, uh, well, you-"
"Everyone! Please make your way to your seats! Class is about to begin!" Whew, saved by the Iida.
"Well, I guess, I uh, should head to my seat."
"Yeah," Midoriya said. "I'll talk to you later, Hagakure."
"L-later!" Both students made their way toward their desks, and Toru let a sigh escape from her. Uraraka, you better move quickly. That boy is going to steal some hearts!
Lunch that afternoon was an interesting affair. It was a little tiring, looking for ways to put flirty spins on his words and waiting to pounce on someone else to make them blush, but it was also fun . Seeing his friends and classmates' reactions to his innuendos and teasing was a rush. Each blush and gasp felt like a boost right to his ego. Every time he caught someone off balance and they floundered in their response he had to resist the urge to cackle. Is this how Kayama-sensei feels all the time? He wondered as he bought his lunch. No wonder she's constantly teasing people, it feels incredible! Spotting his next victim at their usual table, Izuku felt a smirk tug at his lips. Oh, that's a perfect candidate.
"Todoroki-kun!" Izuku plopped his tray down to the right of his friend and sat side-saddle on his chair to look at him. "Hi! How are you?" Todoroki narrowed his eyes and put down the noodles he had been slurping.
"Midoriya," he greeted warily. "I would say I am as good as I was when you last asked me fifteen minutes ago."
"Oh, Todoroki-kun," Izuku laughed. "You're so funny." The other boy's eyes narrowed further.
"Are you on drugs? Natsuo often acts strangely when he comes back from his boyfriend's apartment."
"I'm not high, Todoroki-kun, but I think I would rather you call me Izuku. That goes for all of you as well." He turned to the rest of his friends who were staring at him. Iida looked flabbergasted, his mouth agape and arm absently chopping. Tsu's eyes were wide and unblinking, rice dropping from her chopsticks back to her plate. More interestingly, though, was the blank expression that had come across Uraraka's face. Her eyes had seemingly rolled back, her mouth open slightly. Izuku could practically see her spirit floating away from her body. Huh, I guess I shouldn't flirt with Uraraka later if her reaction to this is so bad. Aw man, I was looking forward to flirting with her the most! "You guys are my best friends, and we've gone through a lot together. I think it'd be nice to call each other by our first names."
Iida snapped out of his reverie first. "I believe that is a wonderful idea, Izuku-kun! Please refer to me as Tenya."
Tsu put a finger to her chin in thought. "Izuku-kun? Izu-kun?" Izuku shrugged.
"Either way works. What about you, Shoto? OW!" A sharp pain radiated from the back of Izuku's head. He turned to see Monoma from class B standing behind him, a metal lunch tray receding back towards his body.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Your giant head was just so hard to maneuver around. It seems I overestimated class A's ability to stay out of everyone else's way. You just can't seem to stop yourselves from walking all over class B in your bid for the spotlight!"
"Aw, Monoma, if you want attention you don't need to act out to get it. I won't even make you beg for it. Well, I won't make you beg too much at least." Izuku stood from the table, turning to look at the sputtering blond. "I mean, I couldn't resist seeing you grovel a little."
"Is this what 1-A has stooped to? Even I expect some class from you troglodytes. But I suppose all the love of the press must have infected your brains if you believe that I would ever sublimate myself to one of you hacks."
"You should think about keeping that sharp tongue to yourself, Neito. But I'm sure I can find better uses for it if you're insistent on flaunting it." Izuku took a deliberate step forward, forcing the class B boy to look down slightly into his eyes. "It's too bad really. It seems like your ego really is compensating for something." Izuku flicked his eyes down and then back up to meet Monoma's once more. Red bloomed across his neck and cheeks, embarrassed rage building in the blond's eyes. "And here I thought you might have a little more bite than bark." Well, Izuku, in for a penny, in for a pound.
Monoma's yelp was simply delicious as he was yanked down to eye level with Izuku. His grip loosened around the other boy's tie, and Izuku didn't bother holding back the sinister pleasure evident in his smirk. Izuku's voice lowered, whispers meant just for Monoma, causing him to shiver.
"If you're willing to be a very good boy, I'll overlook the insults you've levied at my classmates over the past few minutes. But step one toe out of line again and I will ruin you in ways you cannot imagine. Understood?"
Izuku leaned back to watch a kaleidoscope of emotions cross Monoma's face. Fear, arousal, shame, all mingled before settling into a defeated expression. "I-I'm very sorry."
"Good boy. Now run along to lunch, the adults are still speaking."
The now glowing crimson Monoma lowered his head and scurried away from their table. Izuku turned back to his friends, idly noticing the nearest tables that had overheard the verbal sparring turn to each other and erupt into whispers.
"Er, sorry about him." Izuku leapt in surprise as Kendo spoke up from behind him. He had been so focused on Monoma that the Class B rep's appearance hadn't even registered to him. "He's been a little more feral than usual, as of late. I've never seen anyone take him down so quickly."
"Ah," Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "It was nothing really."
"Still, I feel that I should apologize for his behavior. As a peace offering, I can tell you about the practical exams." The other members of the table, who had been stunned audience members for the last few minutes, leaned forward.
"That would be excellent, thank you Kendo-san!!" Iida said. Todoroki slid a loaf of bread underneath Iida's chopping arm, and looked disappointed when instead of slicing it the bread ended up squashed beneath his hand.
"It's no trouble. I heard from one of the upperclassmen that we'll be fighting robots like we did at the entrance exam. Anyway, I should probably go. I'm sorry again for Monoma's behavior." She bowed low and left back toward the series of tables occupied by Class B. Izuku's attention was drawn toward an oddly red faced Tsu who struggled to tear her gaze away from the ginger girl. Hmm, well that's interesting.
"Kaminari, no need to go over your limit. I can blow your mind all by myself."
Ochako had died. That was the only possible explanation. She had died and this was hell. She didn't really think she deserved to be eternally tormented, but the idea of Deku- Izuku , flirting with everyone around but ignoring her sounded like an eternal punishment that only the most creative of devils would come up with. She didn't know whether to be offended that he hadn't come to flirt with her yet, relieved that she hadn't died from embarrassment like everyone else who Izuku flirted with, or desperately smitten with this new side to her best friend. Watching him completely destroy Monoma had done things to Ochako that she wasn't ready to admit to herself yet.
Aizawa called an end to the sparring session and most of the class migrated toward the sidelines to grab water. Ochako was close enough to her teacher to pick up a few of his muttered phrases as he walked away. "Damn problem child. Now I have to deal with hormonal teenagers on top of everything else? I'm going to fucking kill Nemuri." Ochako shook herself from her stupor. She noticed Izuku and Tsu walking towards her, locked in discussion.
"I'm just saying Tsu, maybe you should ask her out. You seemed to like her."
"I don't know, kero. Ochako, what do you think? If you liked someone and wanted to go on a date with them, would you ask them out?" Her slightly blank eyes stared into Ochako's and the barest smirk grew on her lips as Ochako reddened. Damn it, Tsu, you traitor!
"Well, I- uh, wouldn't it be a distraction from training?"
"I don't know, I think it would be inspiring." Izuku's eyes practically sparkled as he talked. I'm so in over my head. "You could train together and practice to make sure you can protect one another. Plus, it's fairly common for pros to date each other."
"Yeah, Ochako. Pros date each other all the time, so if you like someone you should go for it." Ochako glared back at Tsu. Ignorant to the stare down happening next to him, Izuku continued to rattle off facts about pro hero couples. Tsu smiled and Ochako narrowed her eyes. What is she up to?
"Hey, Izu-kun. I think Ochako has something to tell you, kero." Ochako's eyes widened in outraged shock as Izuku turned his full attention toward her.
"Oh? What's up Ochako?" The weight of his attention was too much for her. Her heart started racing. Her palms were sweating. She was pretty sure if there was a god he was laughing at her.
"I- er, that is, I mean- uhhh…" Deku cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. How was she supposed to get through this? Oh kami, was she about to confess? "You see, I-"
"Heyyy, Midori~" A pink arm slung itself over Izuku's shoulders, pulling him in close to Mina Ashido. The horned girl pouted as she spun Izuku to face her. "Am I not pretty enough for you, Midoriya?"
Error, file not found. Rebooting Uravity.exe Ochako jumped at the pinch on her side that jolted her from her thoughts. Tsu motioned her head toward the pink and green pair and mouthed at her. "If you don't say something soon someone else will."
"W-what do you mean, Ashido?" Izuku seemed nervous. It was partly a relief to Ochako, knowing that the nervous and awkward part of her best friend was still in there underneath the new suave exterior, but it was also a shot right to her heart. Why does being that close to her make him nervous when he almost kissed me without breaking a sweat!
"Well, you've been flirting with everybody but me all day!" Ashido let her body go limp, the only thing holding her up was her arms around Izuku's neck. Inadvertently or not, she pressed her chest against his, and Ochako saw red. That shameless hussy! "Honestly, Midori, it's enough to make a girl jealous. Don't you want to flirt with me~" Ochako watched as Izuku's body language changed. His back straightened, shoulders spreading out. He looked down at Ashido with a hungry smile that sent shivers down both girls' backs.
"I thought green was my color, not yours, Mina." Izuku took her chin in his first two fingers and tilted her head up to stare more fully into her eyes. "I'm sorry you've been needing attention, I've just been trying to save the best for last. I guess if you really want, we can mix pink and green and see what color comes out on top." Ashido let out a giggle. Ochako felt her soul leave her body. She took a step forward, only for another pinch on her side to cause her to yelp. The aura of malice that had been radiating from her retreated as she glared at Tsu, who rolled her eyes back.
"You can't be jealous if he's not yours, kero." She whispered. Ochako went to respond but was cut off as Aizawa's voice sounded from the back of the room.
"Alright, hellions, back to work. Problem child, don't start any more riots, got it?" Tsu leveled a look at Ochako that she couldn't decipher before walking away to her partner for the next exercise.
"Aww, I was looking forward to flirting a little more." Ashido separated from Izuku with a pout.
"Don't worry," the boy said with a wink. "I can think of a lot of exercises that are plenty of fun too." The pink-skinned girl giggled and the two also left, leaving Ochako with one thought rattling around in her brain.
Jealous?
Nemuri hummed to herself as she made her way down the hall. It had simply been a marvelous day. Sushi, her darling cat, had a clean bill of health. She had arrested a small group of robbers who had believed that the best time and place to plan a bank heist had been at 8:30 in the morning six blocks from U.A. , and her favorite personal student had truly flourished in his efforts today. She had been gifted the security camera footage from Nezu in order to observe how Midoriya went about his flirtatious challenge, and he had crushed her expectations to bits! She had expected him to flirt a little, make a few innuendos primarily aimed at his friends, maybe make that Uraraka girl blush from her head to her toes a few times. But he had truly embraced the persona they were creating together and soared to new heights. She hadn't even taught him about using flirtations to take control of a situation; his complete evisceration of the Monoma kid had been all natural talent.
She hugged herself as a shiver of glee went through her body. Midoriya is going to be a monster one day, I can't wait for the havoc he'll bring! She paused at that thought. Am I becoming too much like Nezu? She shrugged and continued on. Ah, who cares! It's just so delicious!
Rounding the corner, Nemuri spotted Uraraka staggering towards her. Immediately, Nemuri's guard was raised. There wasn't an immediate sign of an injury: no blood or obvious broken bones, though by the way she was walking it was possible there was an internal one. Her face looked red and her eyes were clouded. She didn't seem to be taking in anything about her surroundings, which Nemuri knew was a bad sign for one of Shouta's students.
"Uraraka, are you alright?" She deliberately asked the question in her normal tone and not the teasing voice of Midnight. The girl's head snapped up to look at her. She was clearly cognizant of stimuli at least. "Are you feeling okay, darling? Are you hurt?"
"Ah, no Midnight-sensei. I'm okay. Just caught up in my head a little, I guess."
"Penny for your thoughts?" Urararaka looked a little surprised and Nemuri shrugged. "I've heard I'm a good listener, and it seems like something's eating at you." Nemuri watched her chew on the inside of her cheek in thought.
"I guess, I've been feeling annoyed recently and someone pointed out the reason to me today and I'm just struggling with it, I think?" She looked up at Nemuri, eyes wide. "Have you ever felt jealous before, sensei?"
Ah, there it is. She struggled to keep her Midnight Smirk (patented and licensed for use in toys!) off of her face as understanding bloomed. I may have done too good of a job on that kid, wow!
"I think everyone gets a little jealous at some points. What's got you feeling this way?" Urararaka blushed and Nemuri resisted the urge to cackle. She didn't want to scare the poor girl, but this was just perfect!
"I've been feeling angry and- and jealous but I don't really understand why."
"Well, most people feel jealous when they see someone else get something that they want. Those people that you're jealous of, what do they want that you have? Once you figure that out you can do something about it."
"What I want…" Uraraka thought for a minute before something seemed to click in the girl's head. She threw her arms over her head and made a noise much like a tea-kettle's whistle. Nemuri patted her on the arm.
"It can be hard to admit, especially to ourselves. If you need any help or advice, don't hesitate to swing by my office, Uraraka. Take care~" With that, Nemuri headed to the staff room. Ah, youth. I hope you figure it out soon Uraraka-chan, because my niece is playing for keeps!
"Thank you for joining us, Kayama! Please, take a seat." Shouta glared at his friend and current source of his endless headaches as she glided into the room and sat across the table from him. Noticing his glare, Nemuri wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes. Honestly, she hasn't changed at all since high school.
"Now that everyone is here" Nezu spoke once more, "we can begin! The first item on the agenda is something that I have hoped to get approval from the board on for some time. U.A. is in the process of becoming a boarding school!" A wave of whispers rose from the assembled teachers and suddenly died out as Nezu held up a paw.
"I know that this is a rather large change which is why I implore you to trust that I have put a lot of time and effort into determining if this was the best course of action. Due to the rash of incidents that our first years have been involved in, and the growing threat of the League of Villains, we will be transitioning to a dormitory system at the beginning of the third trimester. This will give our students plenty of time to adjust as well as all relevant personnel to find proper accommodations. Currently, the dormitories will be mandatory for our heroics students and optional for the other three disciplines, though I expect a large number of our support students will choose to stay on." Power Loader let out a long sigh that went roundly ignored. "There will be staff dorms available and we will set up rotating schedules for overnight rounds and monitoring duties. Your pay scales will, of course, be adjusted for the changes in your responsibilities. The exact details are not finalized yet, and if you have questions kindly direct them to Watanabe-san in accounting."
Well, shit. Can't say I was expecting that. Shouta was tentatively approving of the changes. It would help a lot of underprivileged students to access the school by reducing travel expenses. He could also keep a better eye on his hellions this way, though he foresaw a lot of damage reports in his future. And , he thought irritably, it's not like Hizashi or I are at our apartment all that often anyway. He looked to his husband who was also looking his way. Hizashi sent him a thumbs up and a bright grin, and Shouta hid his own smile behind his scarf. Seems like it's a plan then. Hope the teacher apartments have room for cats.
"Our second point of order is a congratulations to our newest teacher, All Might. He has received his provisional teaching license and can now begin working toward his full educational license." Polite applause echoed around the faculty room, punctuated by a YEAH! from Hizashi. Took him long enough , Shouta thought even as he reluctantly clapped along. Once the noise died down, Nezu continued on. "On that note, as a reminder, your CPR recertifications are due at the end of the month. Please see Recovery Girl regarding your retest or beginning a new course if you have not been on active duty in over a year."
"Third, and the largest portion of the agenda, is our discussion on the finals of the first year heroics students! Aizawa, Sekijiro, if you would?" Shouta stood, not bothering to repress a sigh, and moved to the front of the room.
"Right. In light of the recent events we've come to the conclusion that the usual fare for the final exams won't be enough to properly test our students. This year's crop requires a more personal touch," Shouta said.
Kan took over from there. "Because of that, Aizawa and I, with the principal's approval, have decided that the finals will involve students facing the teachers in pairs."
"Isn't this a little unfair?" Snipe asked as he leaned forward. "I mean they are still first semester freshmen and more than a little wet behind the ears. Are we pushing them too far too fast?"
"We have taken that into consideration," Shouta picked up. "Each of us will be wearing weighted cuffs to limit our movements and abilities. Additionally, Vlad and I will be sending each teacher a copy of our notes on their assigned pairs with the goals we want them to accomplish. Displaying the requisite skills and improvements we're looking for will pass them no matter if they actually achieve the goal of the exam."
"The way the exam is framed," Kan added, "is a capture or escape exercise. Pairs will be assigned that morning and they will have to either place handcuffs around us or have one member of the pair escape through the gate."
"Only one?" Nemuri asked. "Shouldn't we be encouraging more teamwork than that?"
"Snipe's right, they are still first years, Nem." Hizashi gave her a thumbs up. "Wouldn't be fair to the little listeners if both of them had to escape and fight us at the same time."
"It's also a matter of planning." Shouta shot a pleased look at his husband who brightened in his chair. "By giving them more options, we're forcing them to prioritize. I think it will be particularly difficult for most of class A to stomach running away."
"Same goes for class B! My kids are ready to roll at all times!" Shouta barely managed not to roll his eyes at Kan and instead scooped up the remote for the projector.
"Any other questions or concerns?" Nezu asked the room. When none appeared, he nodded to Shouta and Kan. "Well then, gentlemen, please do inform us on the partnerships you have selected."
"Starting with class A, the matchups will be as follows..."
Nemuri chased Aizawa after the meeting let out. She caught up with him outside of the parking lot, and quickly smacked him on the arm.
"Ow! What the hell, Nemuri?"
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She let loose another round of smacks at him.
"Ow! OW! Will you quit it!" His capture weapon floated off his shoulders and wrapped around her biceps, binding her arms to her torso. "Fucking stop it! That hurts, Nem!"
"Oh I am going to do so much worse to you. How dare you, Shouta? Where the hell do you get off pulling this bullshit?!" He stared blankly at her.
"Nemuri, what in the love of coffee are you talking about?"
"Your little science experiment with the finals partnerships. Why the hell are you pairing Midoriya and Bakugou together? And against All Might? Are you kidding me?" She tried to kick him but he hopped out of the way.
"I have the right to manage my kids however I see fit, Nemuri. If you had a problem with it you could have brought it up during the meeting."
"Yo, Sho!" Hizashi's shout distracted the two as the tall blond made his way toward the pair of them. "Hey, Nem. So, what's going on here? You two are usually better about talking out your problems." Shouta rolled his eyes.
"Little Miss Psycho over here decided to air her grievances by smacking me on the arm, where I got thrown into a car yesterday, by the way, instead of talking about it like an adult." Nemuri pushed down a flicker of worry and guilt over her friend. She took a deep breath and forced herself to cool off. No matter how upset she was, attacking her friends wouldn't get her anything but bruises and busted eardrums if she kept it up.
"You cannot put Bakugou and Midoriya together for the exam."
"And you still haven't given me a good reason not to, Nemuri." Seeing that she had calmed down, Shouta released his scarf and piled it back around his neck. "What the hell is this really about?"
"You've definitely noticed that Midoriya is nervous and scared when it comes to Bakugou. He's always flinching when he walks into a room."
"I hate to break it to you, but Midoriya is a nervous kid."
"He's got a point, Nem." Hizashi broke in. At her glare, he shrugged. "I mean the little listener does seem to have some anxiety, but I thought that's what you were helping him with?"
"It's because I'm helping him that I'm telling you not to pair him with Bakugou. You've seen all the signs, Shouta. You know this isn't just a childhood rivalry."
"And what, exactly, is your theory?" He asked with narrowed eyes.
"You know as well as I do that bullying isn't limited to middle school."
"If Bakugou was abusive it would have come up in his background check and he never would have been allowed to attend U.A. Why is this only coming up now?"
"It wouldn't have been in his background check if the school hid it." Nemuri would swear that Erasure activated from the heat of the glare Shouta leveled at her. Hizashi let out a whistle.
"Damn, Nem. You're for real?"
"That is one hell of an accusation, Nemuri." Shouta's glower looked distinctly unimpressed. "You better have some damn good evidence for it."
"The principal is building a case."
"Then why hasn't he brought it to my attention?"
"He says there's mitigating circumstances."
"Or there's not enough evidence." He sighed and rubbed between his eyes. "I can't do anything based on speculation. If the principal hasn't brought it up then my hands are tied, Nemuri."
"What the hell, Shouta? Why aren't you taking this seriously?"
"You're too close to this, Nem. We both know who the kid reminds you of and why you're so attached." Nemuri stiffened, anger flaring in her chest. Hizashi put a warning hand on Aizawa's shoulder but it was quickly shoved off. "Just because you had a crush on Oboro doesn't mean you can take it easy on this kid-" Shouta was cut off with a vicious slap. Nemuri jabbed a finger into his chest. She glared into his eyes through the tears that were quick to overwhelm her.
"Don't you dare." She hissed. "Don't you dare use his memory against me. Fuck you, Shouta." She turned and stalked away leaving a shell shocked Aizawa and Hizashi in her wake.