Chapter 23: Moving In
"That was your house, right?" Frieren asked as she and Inko stared at the charred remains of the apartment complex where the Midoriya home used to be. Backdraft, alongside the firefighting department, had fought long and hard to contain the blue fire that ravaged the place. By the time Inko and Frieren got back from all the way in Yokohama through a train (a journey that took about three hours in total), the fire had been put out.
"Excuse me, you're Midoriya Inko, right? The owner of apartment 201?" Before Inko could reply to Frieren's question, a firefighter had approached her with yet another question. She swore she recognized him from somewhere but she couldn't place where and when exactly. "We scoured the site for anything that's recoverable. We gathered them all."
"Where?" Inko asked.
"Over here," the firefighter proceeded towards a bench with a pile of things from the Midoriya home. "Not a lot, as you could see. The blue fire wiped out pretty much everything else. It's either ash or just straight-up molten."
"Thank you," Inko inspected the pile of objects, along with Frieren, whose hand immediately flew to the suitcase that she had with her when she first entered this world. It contained everything she really needed. It is fortunate that she had enchanted it with all sorts of resistance magic, otherwise she would have lost very important things.
As for Inko, she was far less fortunate. Aside from some utensils and some jewelry, almost nothing of hers or Izuku's had survived the fire. That is… except for the framed picture of Hisashi from the shrine she kept in her room. She looked at the image of her dead husband longingly for a few seconds before turning her attention toward Frieren. "I wonder where we should stay…"
"We could camp in the forest," Frieren suggested. "I can use spells to make a viable dwelling…"
"Really? You can do that?"
"Yes."
"Hm, maybe. At least our apartment was insured… but if we can just get kidnapped like that…"
"The portal maker is imprisoned. He cannot use his quirk to transport his allies any longer," Frieren reminded Inko. The spectacle of seeing Kurogiri getting dragged on the street along with the rest of the League of Villains made Inko snicker in satisfaction. These people wanted to harm Class 1-A so bad and yet in the end, they were the ones that got screwed.
"Right, but wherever they came from, I bet there's far more. What if there's another portal user?"
"We could live a nomadic lifestyle."
"That's…" Inko thought about who even was still nomadic to begin with. Some people in Central Asia probably still were. There were maybe still some Bedouins in the Middle East that stuck to the old ways. Then there's the Roma people, but they were more or less irrelevant if it's Japan one's talking about. "Not really sustainable…"
"You can stay at our apartment if you want!"
Inko jumped as Dark Shadow suddenly appeared between her and Frieren. Frieren looked at the sentient quirk and gave him a pat on the head (recently, she began to understand why Heiter liked to do it so much), making Dark Shadow purr. Fumikage came into view, putting a hand over his eyes. "That is not appropriate at all, Dark Shadow."
"Dark Shadow, Fumikage! When did you two come in here?!" Inko held her chest as she recovered from his sudden appearance. "You gave me a heart attack!"
"Just now," Fumikage replied. "I was going to see if you had arrived. You were not answering any calls or messages. I was very worried."
"... I think our phones burned in the fire too," Inko said as she fished for her phone in her pockets, as if it were there. The police department had been gracious enough to give her and Frieren money to get back home, but they obviously couldn't give away phones.
"...oh. Do you have a place to stay?"
"Frieren and I will be camping in the woods," Inko replied.
"... I see… is that legal?"
"It is when no one knows," Frieren butted in.
Fumikage resisted laughing at that. Dark Shadow cackled. "AHAHAHA! Good one, Frieren!"
"Fortunately… ehe… ehem, Iida isn't here to lecture you about rules and laws," Fumikage coughed. As if he could when he is possibly reveling in the dark. "Well, that is good to know."
The rest of the week passed by without much of a hitch, nevermind that about a thousand people were injured and three more were mauled to death by Nomu that appeared just out of nowhere. If not for the efforts of the heroes present in Hosu, as well as those in nearby areas that responded, the casualties would have been substantially higher. The presence of three of the top ten had been extremely helpful in that regard.
The crux of that event, however, was that the plans of the League of Villains had spectacularly backfired on them. Someone had unceremoniously dumped the tied up members of the League of Villains in front of the Kamino Ward police station, while the formerly imprisoned parents and guardians of the students of UA's Class 1-A appeared as well. When questioned about their experiences, they spoke of suddenly being dragged from their home through portals, kept in a dark dungeon before being saved by some heroic individual whose identity they claimed to have no knowledge of.
That is what the news said, at least, so Izuku rested easy when it came to the safety of those he cared about. He had called his mother and Frieren hours after the attack, finding out only after he had finished breakfast with Stars and Stripes and her 'boys'. While the American heroine had been rather worried for his sake, Izuku wasn't.
"Aren't you worried about your mother and, uh, family friend?" Stars and Stripes as soon as Izuku had put down the phone. They were still in McDonald, and the enormous woman was still on her third burger. Izuku had just finished his chicken, meanwhile.
"Nah," Izuku shrugged. "It's more the idiots that kidnapped them that I'm more worried about…"
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"You know," the woman smirked at him. "That's a good feeling to have. It's always the bad guys that have the upper hand, you know? And knowing they got smacked hard tonight… mmmm! So nice."
"Yeah, it is," Izuku chuckled and bit into a French fry dipped in ketchup. "We're always the ones holding back…"
As the plane landed on the tarmac, he remembered that something else, however, had stoked his ire.
Those bastards burned his house. And worst of all, they burned all his All Might merch to ash! He had spent years collecting all of those, scouring sketchy online markets and every mall within ten kilometers of Musutafu to find the rarest and most exclusive All Might merchandise. His exclusive All Might poster, gone! The one hundred All Might figurines he had, all melted! And… his All Might blanket, the All Might cabinet, everything! Gone, reduced either to molten resin or ash! He had half a mind to go straight into Tartarus and fire a Zoltraak at the villain responsible, Dabi, for good measure, but he knew that there was no way in hell Tartarus security would let him in there.
Well, he supposed that he could start collecting again…
But again, they also burned Frieren's books. That is what probably set her off. She loved her grimoires, even when they were fake and/or useless. She liked reading through the library in the house, books that Izuku himself had never bothered reading. And now, all of those had been turned to ash.
At least, Frieren and his mother were staying in a tree house in the same forest he and Frieren often practiced magic in. Though, in a few days time, the UA dorms will be complete and apparently the parents are being to invited to stay as well. When they've been targeted in such a manner, it made plenty of sense to stay in what could possibly one of the most secure places in the country, nevermind if warp quirks were employed. But with Kurogiri out of the equation and all the various security measures able to respond in short order if the League's supposed benefactor had a replacement, it was a lot better than getting kidnapped all across the country.
At the very least, he and his classmates could spend more time together now that UA had decided to become a dorm school?
"This is a sad day," General Winter, dressed in civilian clothing so that the public wouldn't recognize him, stood waiting for Shoto as the latter finished packing up his things. The internship week was finished, and though Shoto had received news that Natsuo and Fuyumi had been kidnapped, that was only after they and the rest of the prisoners were freed from the League of Villains' grasp. Shoto's heart pounded when he first read 'Natsuo and I got kidnapped' from Fuyumi; truly, his sister texted in such a disjointed manner that it was sometimes anxiety-inducing. It took her about five seconds to add that 'but we got saved so everything's fine now'. By then, he had already barged into General Winter's office and blurted out the news.
That incident four days ago was rather embarrassing.
"Why would it be?" Shoto asked. He didn't understand why General Winter would feel sad about the end of the internship. He was a good teacher and cryokinetic, and had taught Shoto many things that Endeavour would have never even thought about. If anything, General Winter should be happy.
"It was very nice, teaching you new tricks on the ice," General Winter replied. Speaking of new tricks, Shoto had learned how to judge the amount of ice that he needed to use to block attacks or to attack, as well as shape it… well, in a rather rudimentary way, but a sharp, jagged piece of ice could be used in close combat either way. There was no way he'd learn how to make the swords and spears and axes that General Winter often created with his ice in just a week… but he'll get there, eventually. Rather unfortunately, though, trying to control the ice like General Winter did was a futile exercise, and it was ruled that it seems that Shoto can only make ice rather than control it.
Well, small steps.
"I have learned well under your tutelage, General Winter," Shoto bowed. "I will work tirelessly to use what you taught me to become a great hero."
"I will hold you to that, two-haired child," General Winter replied and motioned for Shoto to follow him out of the agency. As they left, the icy palace that was General Winter's agency glistened under the sun, though it refused to even melt a little. While Veliky Novgorod was located in a colder part of the world, even it would receive rather substantial heat during the summer. That ice should be melting…
"Say, Todoroki," General Winter continued as they walked out of the building. "Did you know that there is a planet with burning ice?"
"...I think I remember something about that."
"Gliese 436b, located 33 light years from Earth," General Winter recounted. "The high pressure in its atmosphere creates ice, but not just any kind of ice. It is what we call ice seven. This ice can withstand high temperatures, allowing a world with burning ice to exist.""
Shoto nodded at that. Interesting.
The Novgorodian hero held out his palm and began forming ice, whisps of white flowing from his fingertips to create a floating crystal. Shoto could see that the atmospheric pressure around the crystal was immense, even though General Winter didn't seem to have much of a problem making it. Or perhaps he just hides hardship very well. "I can create ice seven. My ice quirk, Cryomancy, has a… telekinetic component in it. You may have noticed how I'm able to control my ice as well as shape and generate it. That is my father's genetics manifesting in my quirk. Combine that with my mother's ice quirk, and here I am, the strongest ice user in the world."
Shoto simply nodded, again. He wondered if he could create something like what General Winter was making.
"Ice seven becomes ordinary ice when the pressure lowers, though, so I do not use it very often. Call it my ultimate move, if you will," General Winter relaxed his palm, letting the ice melt in his hand into a cascade of dripping water. "However, with it, I can make a wall that can withstand even the most powerful of flames. If I were to stand on Mercury's sunfacing side and create this ice there, it would not melt. This is the best that my quirk can do. I wonder, however, what is the best that your quirk can do?"
Shoto paused. What is the best he could do, anyway? Heaven Piercing Ice Wall?
"I don't know when or if you'll ever use those flames of yours," General Winter spotted an incoming taxi and waved at it to come. "But you must always remember. Eventually, you will have to use every power you have at your disposal, no matter the kind of person you inherited it from. After all… both of my parents were drug addicts and were basically neglecting me until I got saved by heroes. But I use the quirk I got from their genetics, because, well, it's my quirk, not theirs. I hate them, until now. I refused to use my quirk for a long time, even wished that I was born quirkless instead. But then I wanted to be a hero after seeing heroes on TV… so, yeah, that's my origin story. I bet you were waiting to hear it, no?"
Shoto nodded. Somehow General Winter was making a good point. It's your quirk, not his. That is what the man was saying.
Still…
He didn't want to.
He… didn't want to.
"Thank you, General Winter," Shoto then stepped into the taxi. "For the fruitful internship."
"And same to you, kid. Oh, and before you go, a parting gift," General Winter pulled out a red and white paper box. "There's piroshki and solyanka in there, as well as the recipe and instructions to make them if you are ever so inclined. And bread. Ah yes, my agency also runs a bakery, so, there's that."
"Thank you…" Shoto wasn't used to generosity or to people giving him things, like at all. He couldn't remember the last time anyone gave him a birthday present.
"Don't sweat it, two-haired child," General Winter peered through the window at the taxi driver. "International airport. Here's the fare," the hero handed out a wad of cash. "Alright," he looked over to Shoto. "Farewell for now."
"Farewell."
It's your quirk, not his.
It's crazy how fast things went in the world now.
It hadn't even been a day after the combined Hosu Incident and the mass kidnapping when Nezu and the UA school board decided to convert the high school into a dorm school to ensure the protection of the students and their families. After all, villains were starting to get more active everywhere. While none of the kidnapped were harmed, such a thing might happen again. Some of them had their homes burned down by Dabi, others had their houses turned to dust by Shigaraki, so half of Class 1-A had been rendered homeless.
UA endeavored to prevent that from happening ever again. Within three days, the dorms were completed, alongside the residences that would serve as the dwellings for their families. Some of the parents, like the Tokoyamis and the Iidas, politely refused; for some, they were either pro heroes, skilled in combat, had advanced home defense systems, or were a mix of two of the three, or even all three. Others were fairly confident that they'd be safe now that Kurogiri was deep in Tartarus. For the Todorokis, only the elder brother, Natsuo, came to live in UA, though he would leave every day for his college. The sister, Fuyumi, didn't seem to want to leave the house where she and Enji Todoroki (also known as Endeavour) were the only people left. Endeavour… didn't seem to have too much to say.
Then there was Izuku's mom and Frieren.
The four of them convened in Fumikage's place, because of course, he was the only other person that knew of the big secret. "What do I tell them about you?" Izuku asked as he paced back and forth.
"Just say that you found me in the streets one day and decided to take me in," Frieren dully said.
Fumikage blinked. "That… sounds suspicious, don't you think?"
"Can't you have your dad forge documents for us?" Izuku turned towards him.
"Illegal. He won't do it."
Inko sighed. "I guess we'll just say that we picked her up from the streets and never bothered to get papers?"
"That complicates things…"
"According to our upperclassmen, Principal Nezu is probably clinically insane, so he may not care at all," Fumikage added.
As it would turn out later that day, Nezu took one look at Frieren and at the reasoning the Midoriyas made up and said 'yes' to her staying in UA. He would then enter a nearby air vent and return two minutes later, saying that he could forge papers for a strange woman that his student apparently found wandering around and eventually, somehow, they started living under one roof.
It seems Nezu had connections of his own…
The setup was simple enough. The students would live together in the dorms, while their families would be close by.
Speaking of which…
"Now that everyone is here," Aizawa sipped at his cup of coffee early in the morning as Class 1-A gathered in front of the dorms. "This will be your new home, Heights Alliance. Follow me inside."
As they entered, the students took in the sight of the dorm. It was spacious and clean, with warm, bright lights providing illumination. The ground floor functioned as the common area, with several couches, several dining tables for breakfast and dinner, a kitchen, and a study area. The second and third floors would be where the bedrooms would be. Aizawa would go on to explain the ground rules; a curfew of 10pm, lights out at 11pm, a rotating schedule of students that would the clean every morning, and strictly no duels inside the dorm. And if they were bringing any pets, they had to clear it out with Aizawa first.
"I am not having anyone bring a bear to the dorm," Aizawa looked at Koda's direction. "Only reasonable animals will be allowed. Cats. Dogs. Rabbits. No venomous snakes or spiders. And I better not see a quirked animal."
"So Principal Nezu isn't allowed in here?" That was Kirishima.
"No, but only because he would crawl in the vents and have a one-rat tea party in there," Aizawa replied. The students snickered at the thought. Was Aizawa-sensei making a joke? "No, he actually does that. We teachers have given up stopping him long ago."
Even more snickering ensued.
And so did Class 1-A move into the dorms. Ashido quickly proposed a room inspection as soon as everyone was done moving their things in. Bakugo… didn't seem to care at all for that, or for talking to anyone, not even Kirishima, who was admittedly beginning to rub his good nature at the usually highblooded blonde. He was quiet, uncharacteristically so. He hadn't insulted anyone for a whole day, which, for Izuku, felt like a different spirit had possessed Bakugo. But again… Himiko Toga had kidnapped and drugged him. Whatever happened must have been terrible, especially when a crazy girl like that was concerned. Good thing she's now in prison for multiple murders…
Either way, the class, save for Bakugo, who had gone asleep, began to go to one from room to another. Hagakure's room was first, which was… very girly. Uraraka's room was on a budget, just like everything she had. Half of the things were made in China. The only thing that might be a little bit expensive were models of the USS Enterprise, as well as a globe lamp that had a stylized galaxy in it. As for Ashido, it was very pink, save for the figurines of xenomorphs and aliens that decorated the tops of her cabinets. Yaoyorozu's room was very cramped, with a king-sized bed, a glittering chandelier that probably had diamonds on it, expensive carpets, and larger cabinets than everyone else. Asui's room had a pool in it, complete with lilypads. Hell, one of the lilypads was her bed. She said she would sleep curled up on it, which the other girls found to be very cute and adorable. As for Jiro's room, it had a keyboard, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, a sound mixer, and a set of speakers; it had a very 'rock' vibe to it. She looked a little embarrassed, though Kaminari was all for it as he proclaimed that he too had an electric guitar.
That was when Ashido started muttering something about 'they would be good together', but the other girls didn't seem to pay that much heed… except for Hagakure, who was very much into the shipping Ashido did.
After that, the guys' rooms were next. Aoyama's room was very glittery… and French, with a large French flag draped in the back. It rivalled Yaoyorozu's in terms of shining bling, what with the strobe light on the ceiling. And then, Koda's had three cats in it. Koda would have a shocked expression when the cats meowed as the girls entered and looked at the room.
"What did they say?" Ashido asked.
"She asked…" Koda gulped. "'Do you have catnip? I gotta get high.'"
That was shocking, but expected. The next room was Kirishima's, which was extremely manly, with its punching bag at the center. Ojiro's room was… normal. They outright refused to enter Mineta's, and they spent a lot of time in Sato's bakery room because he had baked cupcakes and they busied themselves with eating. Shoji's room was minimalist at its extreme because there was just a mattress and a table.
Where does he even store his clothes? Izuku thought as he looked inside. Then he saw that one of the floor planks was misaligned. Oh, floor compartment?
Iida's room was clean and tidy, as one might expect of the class rep, though Izuku still couldn't help but worry about him. Perhaps they could speak later when this was done and done. Next was Sero's room, which had a stylistic South East Asian aesthetic. As for Kaminari's, his room did indeed have an electric guitar, and while Jiro's room was rock, his was funk. Once again, Ashido whispered that they were perfect for each other, but only Hagakure really cared. And Jiro, who blushed and looked away as the others marveled at the room.
Todoroki's room was in a traditional Japanese style, though there were souvenirs from his internship in Veliky Novgorod. Several matryoshka dolls, a carven wooden bear, and a model T-34 tank, all of which he bought with a golden credit card under Endeavour's name. As the girls marveled at the place, he opened the paper box that General WInter gave to him as a parting gift. "I have… food," Shoto said, causing the girls to bound over to his table immediately. "Please help yourselves."
Needless to say, Sato now had competition.
Fumikage tried to stop the girls from entering his room, but he failed, utterly. They would enter a dark realm filled with goth imagery, which made them uneasy, at best. One might have thought that the room belonged to a vampire! The last room would be Izuku's… which was surprisingly undecorated, though his blanket and pillow were All Might themed. It made little sense until the realization dawned in most of his All Might merch was now ashes.
At any rate, Sato's room still won, because he actually made those cupcakes.
About an hour after the room competition, there was a knock in the door. Most of Class 1-A were hanging around the common area, talking about their experiences during the internships.
"I'll go get it!" Kirishima opened the door, just to see All Might carrying a rather large box. Or two of them, really.
"All Might! We-welcome!" Kirishima slightly bowed as he stepped aside to make way for All Might to enter. The enormous man stepped inside, carrying the two boxes with virtually no effort. Even after months of All Might being their teacher, Class 1-A couldn't help but stare in awe. All Might, however, would turn his attention primarily toward Izuku, who had been helping Fumikage and Kaminari with English when All Might came in.
"Young Midoriya," All Might began, "It has come to my attention that you have lost a great amount of possessions to the fire, specifically, merchandise with my image on it!" All Might hefted the boxes above his head. "I have been informed of the composition of your collection, by young Tokoyami, to be exact, so I have gathered replacements!"
"You really did that?" Izuku turned to Fumikage, who shrugged in response.
"I have… multiple pictures of your room from when I visited," Fumikage replied. "And you tell us every time you get a new piece of merchandise- ack!" The birdboy squawked as Izuku hugged him in gratitude.
"Thank you so much, Fumi!"
"You're welcome…" Fumikage croaked. "But I need to breathe…"
"Ah, sorry!" Izuku apologized and let him go. He then stood up and walked towards All Might, and bowed. "Thank you so much, All Might. This means… so much to me."
"I am glad to know that I have inspired you so much, young Midoriya," All Might set the boxes on the floor. "But while I wish that I could rebuild your collection with you, I have many things to attend to." He then turned his attention at Izuku's classmates, or just the guys, really. "I trust that you will help him bring these up? These are quite heavy!"
"You can count on us, All Might!" Kaminari bounded over and tried to pull one of the boxes out of the floor. "Oh, these are heavy…"
"Dark Shadow, go help him," Fumikage commanded the sentient quirk, who then moved over and hefted one of the boxes over his shadowy head with his shadowy claws.
"Farewell, and see you next week!" All Might turned away and left, leaving a still mortified Izuku at the door.
All Might just gave him merch for free…
"Midoriya."
It was 10pm already. Most of the others were still downstairs, talking. Others had gone to sleep. Izuku, meanwhile had just finished his last touches on the All Might merch that now filled his entire room when… when… Bakugo, of all people, knocked on the door and called out his name.
Not Deku. Not quirkless loser. Not useless nerd. He called him by his name.
Izuku turned to face Bakugo. His eyes were red. Not just his pupils; they had always been red. No. His eyes were red. Like if… you were crying.
Bakugo and crying in the same sentence. That was impossible. But here he was, with clear signs of it.
"Can… can we talk?" His voice was low and weak. None of the shouting or thinly veiled rage.
"Yeah," Izuku sat down on the bed and tapped at the spot beside him.
"I… I think I get it now…" Bakugo hung his head low. "What it feels to be powerless… and helpless."
Izuku gulped. He is in for a long night. What did Toga do to him?
Chapter 24: Truth and Reconciliation
"I suppose I should start in the beginning," Bakugo began as he sat beside Izuku. "Best Jeanist had dismissed us early… or me, really. I came home just to see my parents weren't there. But… she was."
"Himiko Toga," Izuku nodded. "Why did she target you?"
"That psycho bitch was obsessed with me since the Sports Festival, apparently. Something about seeing me get hurt turned her on," Bakugo replied. He shuddered at the memory of what followed next. "She bragged about kidnapping our parents and said that no one would interrupt 'our fun.'" The blonde visibly wretched at the thought. "She attacked me. I didn't know what was in those syringes of hers, but when they hit me, I wasn't able use my quirk anymore, nor could I move… or speak… everything just started to hurt."
"Quirk suppressant drugs," Izuku sighed. "That stuff is illegal…" It was so illegal, in fact, that merely possessing it in some countries had the death penalty as punishment. Those drugs were first made during the Quirk Wars by the Russian Federation; now, the only country that still openly uses it is the Volga Soviet, an authoritarian, dictatorial regime with a long list of human rights abuses that have led to its fellow Russian successor states threatening to invade it and liberate its population; such threats would have materialized long ago if not for the Volga Soviet's nuclear arsenal. "Not even Tartarus uses those…"
"Yeah, she drugged me. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything, and every nerve I had was on fire. She then dragged me to a portal to this… hideout place. The other members of the League of Villains were there… I wanted nothing less than to blow all of them up. But then she… she… started doing… things." That was when Izuku noticed that there were scars on Bakugo's neck and arms. He had been wearing a turtleneck sweater earlier, so those were covered up, but now that he had ditched that for a red shirt, Izuku could see the traces of Toga's madness on Bakugo's skin. Those on the neck were probably bitemarks. On his arms… those were wounds that knives would do.
Bakugo then recounted all the horrific things that Himiko Toga did to Bakugo in that time. He sounded like he was constantly on the edge of breaking down in front of the kid he used to bully. Izuku's eyes only displayed an increasing state of horror, to the point that he decided that, if he were given free reign to shoot at two of the Tartarus inmates, he'd shoot Toga first, and then Dabi. He may have had a neutral, bordering on 'why-do-I-have-to-deal-with-you' attitude towards Bakugo for the most lately, but… he'd never wish for it to happen to Bakugo. Not to anyone. After all… for a long time, he still wished that the two of them would be friends again. Perhaps that could no longer happen, not after everything that happened. Perhaps it could. But even if Bakugo was still his usual, highblooded self… he'd still kick that psychotic vampiress in the face.
"It lasted for two hours," Bakugo rubbed at his reddened eyes, "I was put there earlier than any of our parents… it only stopped when this white-haired lady came in and started beating the shit out of them. I think I saw your mom behind her. But anyway, my parents came in and removed the restraints on me." Izuku remembered what his mom and Frieren told him about their rather one-sided breakout. Frieren annihilated and captured the League of Villains within thirty seconds, while Bakugo was liberated. But neither of them mentioned or likely knew, that Bakugo was still conscious back then, a prisoner in his own body.
Bakugo sniffed and wiped at his eyes with his shirt. His shirt had become quite wet over the last few minutes. "The drugs were still in me. Even now, they hadn't completely left my system, making it painful for me to use my quirk. The worst part of all that was… I couldn't do anything! My powerful, strong quirk was useless! I was useless!"
Bakugo sniffed again and hung his head low. "It was the worst day of my life. The most painful two hours I've ever had. I… is that you felt? When I bullied you for being quirkless? Because I thought that you were useless and a burden? For the last ten years?"
"It's close," Izuku replied. "You were terrible to me. But things have… changed." Obviously, the situation was not the same, but the point was still there: Bakugo now knew what it felt like to be useless and helpless. A tiny, stray thought in his head let out a smug, 'good!', but Izuku knew that that was just… wrong, so he pushed it away. Frieren taught him magic and allowed him to be free of that feeling of constant uselessness, but it is something no person should ever feel.
"I'm sorry…" Bakugo started sobbing. This is something that Izuku had never seen nor heard in the 13 years they'd known each other. It was strange as it was… heart-wrenching. "I'm so sorry for pushing you around. I'm so sorry for calling you useless. I'm so sorry for calling you a burden. I'm so sorry for…" Bakugo could barely move his jaw. "For… telling you to take a swan dive off the school roof at Aldera… I don't know if you could ever forgive me…"
"I have forgiven you a long time ago," Izuku replied, making Bakugo look up in surprise. "I hold no desire for revenge. I don't hate you. I had just hoped that we could… interact civilly, be in the same class without exchanging pissy looks. I just didn't care that much anymore. But I haven't forgotten all the things you said and did. We haven't been friends for ten years. Maybe we won't be ever again. I don't know."
"Yeah… you really have a big heart, huh?" Bakugo chuckled. "Thanks, for listening to me. I just… I finally understood what it might have been like for you. And I realized how much of an asshole I was."
"You were," Izuku replied. "But if you're going to be less of one from now on, then I'll be less snarky to you when we fight during training."
"I don't think I can be much of one anymore," Bakugo stood up and wiped his eyes. "Anyways… I'll be going to Kirishima's in the morning. Gonna tell him everything."
Izuku nodded. That made sense. Before today, Kirishima was the only person Bakugo seemed to allow to be within his personal space. "Have you told anyone else?"
"Aside from my parents... no one," Bakugo looked away.
"Wait," Bakugo paused as Izuku called to him. "By telling Kirishima everything, you mean, as in… everything?"
"Yeah."
Izuku counted with his fingers. "Even the part where you bullied me in the past?"
"Yeah."
"...well, goodnight then, Bakugo."
"Goodnight."
It was just 6:30 AM when a knock woke up Izuku from his otherwise unbroken sleep.
"Hey! It's Kiri! Open up, Midoriya!" Uh oh.
A groggy Izuku opened the door. Kirishima was there, his usually red hair still undyed and unhardened. It was surreal seeing him with black and flat hair that cascaded in waves around his head. "Yeah Kirish- ow, why'd you push me?!"
Kirishima closed the door behind himself as if there had been a horde of zombies chasing him. "Midoriya, is it true that Bakubro used to bully you?"
He did say everything. "He did, but-"
"Oh no. No, no, no, no…"
"It's all in the past, Kirishima," Izuku said with sigh.
"But he told you to take a swan dive off a roof!"
"Young people say stupid things all the time, Kirishima," Izuku echoed Frieren's words when she read about some incidents online. "He didn't mean it, not really. Did you never tell a particularly annoying enemy in an online game to go kill himself?"
"I…" Kirishima looked through his memories. "I… did, once?"
"What game was it?"
"...League of Legends. I was 12."
"Of course, it's that game. People grow up, Kirishima, though Bakugo just… took longer than us," Izuku replied. "Look. You're like his only friend here, aside from maybe Mina, I don't know, I don't pay that much attention. He told you what happened to him in the villain hideout, right?"
"Yeah…" Kirishima rubbed his arms. He still physically recoiled at the thought of what Himiko Toga, that blood-obsessed psychotic murderer, did to Bakugo. "I don't know how to feel about him now… on one hand, he's gone through something terrible, but he did terrible things too…"
"As the one who got bullied in the past, I'm telling you, I got better now. Ask Fumikage or my mom, they can tell you too. Don't worry about me. As you can see, I'm doing pretty well for myself. I didn't let what happened between us control me going forward."
"Oh… okay… what do I do?"
"Don't stop being his friend, Kirishima," Izuku picked up a towel in preparation for showering. "If he wants to change for the better… let him. If he needs you around, then let him. If he wants to… I don't know, snuggle with you for warmth and emotional support, let him. You don't have to worry about our shared past, because that is all it is, the past."
"Wow, you're really… manly and wise, bro…" Kirishima scratched his head.
"I had… a good teacher with lots of experiences." Izuku then thought about the time Frieren somehow found her way into a dumpster because someone painted it to look like a treasure chest as if to say that another man's trash is another man's treasure. Yeah, wisdom.
"Thank you, Midoriya, I now know what to do," Kirishima opened the door, peering into the hallways as if he were expecting an assassin to come out of nowhere. The manly manboy then gave Izuku a toothy grin and thumbs up before leaving.
It was a Sunday, so most of the students had essentially nothing to do. Izuku was still yawning when he exited his room, freshly showered and dressed, just to see Dark Shadow holding a Bluetooth speaker. His host was nowhere to be seen, though Dark Shadow's tether led right into Fumikage's room, suggesting that he was doing this all by himself. Izuku watched curiously as the sentient quirk carefully opened the door to Aoyama's room and slid the speaker in before returning to Fumikage's room.
Then it started playing.
It was playing Britannia Rules the Waves, blaring right into the one French person's room. Izuku chuckled even as a drowsy Iida came out of his room at the rather loud commotion. "What is the meaning of this-"
"Good morning, Iida," Izuku greeted Iida, who turned around to behold him. "Have you been sleeping well?"
"I've been sleeping…" Iida paused. He looked better now, too, even when newly awakened. "...better. But why is this British song playing in Aoyama's room?"
"Don't you mean it's colonizing Aoyama's room?"
The song continued playing for a whole stanza and chorus, and Aoyama still hadn't been woken up by it. Sero poked his head out of his door, rubbing his eyes.
When Britain first, at heaven's command,
Arose from out the azure main,
Arose arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And Guardian Angels sang this strain:
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!
Britons never, never, never will be slaves!
Aoyama finally woke up, cursing in French as he came out of the room. "My beautiful and magnificent sleep has been interrupted!" Aoyama said, but even as he complained, he still posed dramatically, eliciting yet another snicker from Izuku. Does this guy ever do anything without dramatic poses?
That was when Fumikage finally showed up from his room. Dark Shadow was out, sadly hanging his head low as if he was a child that just got scolded (in some ways he is a child that just got scolded). "Apologies, Aoyama," Fumikage said as he took the Bluetooth speaker and switched it off. "Someone… thought it would be funny to prank you."
"Hey! It was funny!"
"Yeah I thought it was funny too," Sero added. Fumikage facepalmed at that. His feathers hadn't been brushed (preened?) properly, so they were a bit messy and worn. They weren't spiky.
"Is Aoyama actually French though…?" Iida wondered out loud.
"I am half! My mother is French!"
"I suppose that makes sense."
"Iida," Izuku yawned again. "You were supposed to make the schedule of the people that'll cook, right?"
Iida's eyes widened. "Oh no. I forgot."
Izuku looked at Iida as if he were an imposter. "Who are you and what did you do to Iida? Identify yourself!"
"Wh-what…? Oh, you're joking?" Iida appeared to be horrified before then slightly relaxing. "No, no, I'll just make it now…"
"Eh, I'll just cook this morning," Izuku shrugged, tapping Iida at the shoulder. "Just relax, you can do it later." He then turned toward Fumikage, who was still talking to Aoyama about his bratty child's behavior. "Fumi! We need to cook."
"Right, right…"
Class 1-A would mostly relax for that day, except for Uraraka who apparently went to a church with Ibara Shiozaki from Class 1-B. How or when that first happened, Izuku had absolutely no clue.
"Since when did you become a Catholic, Uraraka?" Izuku asked as Uraraka finished explaining where she and Ibara were going.
"Oh I'm… not really one yet," Uraraka shook her head. "I don't know. I'm trying to find myself, you know? Finding God…"
"...when did you and Ibara even start talking?"
"We fought a Nomu together. We started talking after that. Interesting thi-"
Izuku blinked. "You what?!"
"Oh yeah, we happened to be on the same train that was passing through Hosu and coincidentally the train got attacked… crazy how small the world is, right?"
As for the others, their activities were varied. Izuku saw Kaminari and Jiro busy on their instruments as he passed by the latter's room; Kaminari had somehow convinced Jiro to teach him how to play the bass, which had been going rather well judging from the rather harmonic instrumental music coming out of Jiro's room. "Hey, Midoriya!" Kaminari waved at him, making him wave back. "You gonna teach me English later again?"
"Yeah, of course, man," Izuku replied, making the blonde beam in excitement. Kaminari was bad at English. Very bad. He needed help with it, which was just right on time as the final exams were in just two weeks.
"Yes, please do so, Midoriya," Jiro added. "I can hear him constantly mutter in terror when we're in English class with Present Mic. It drives me crazy."
"Oh, that's just rude!" Kaminari looked up at her in mock indignation. "You always poke me with your ears!"
"It's because you're distracting!"
"You also laugh at me when I'm wheyying!"
Now Jiro laughed. "You're so funny and cute when you turn stupid, Kaminari!"
"I'm… what?"
Izuku hurried on, unwilling to bear that conversation any longer. He then passed by Fumikage and Dark Shadow, who were on the hallway… clashing plastic swords with each other. "Why are we doing this again?" Dark Shadow asked as their swords clashed while Izuku moved past, somewhat afraid that he'd somehow get hit in the duel between host and quirk.
"Hawks has taught us the way of the blade! We must practice it!"
"But it's a Sundaaaaaay- hi, Izuku!"
Oh no. Dark Shadow has noticed him. Now he'll demand headpats and force Izuku to stay for five minutes. "Hi, Dark Shadow, Fumi," Izuku turned around. "You're doing well? Also, does this count as a duel because I remember Aizawa-sensei saying duels aren't allowed…"
"Duels between students, yes," Fumikage replied. "But Dark Shadow is not a student, but a quirk. Therefore, that rule does not apply. I contacted Aizawa-sensei and he could not compete with the logic of this reasoning."
"...Frieren has been telling you to lawyer rules, hasn't she?"
"Yes, she has," Fumikage replied before readying his plastic blade. "Now let us continue! Dark Shadow!"
"Ugh, fine! But know that I'm cheating by reading your mind!"
"Good, an even greater challenge!"
The rest of the day blazed past. Not much else happened. Izuku went by to the house where his mom and Frieren would be staying, and as expected, his mom was out at work while Frieren busied herself with reading, again. "Hi, Frieren," Izuku greeted as he entered the house with the code that Power Loader gave him; apparently, entering the wrong code would cause robots to come out and start beating the snot out of you with their fists until you recited or enter the right code. He did not wish to test whether that was true or not, if not because he didn't want to destroy perfectly usable robots. "You're doing well?"
"The internet here is very fast," Frieren replied. That was it?
"Well… so… remember when you destroyed the League of Villains?"
Frieren looked up at the ceiling as if the members of the League were up there. "Yes. They deserve it, did they not?"
"So… Bakugo saw you in there too… he wasn't as unconscious as you or my mom thought. He'd probably… uh, recognize you if you saw around here. Maybe he'll even thank you."
"Hmm."
"What do we tell him? You come and go as you please so…" Frieren did leave the premises yesterday, apparently, going to the woods to gather 'ingredients.' Never mind that UA had its own forest, but Frieren probably didn't like that forest. "He'll probably see you around sooner or later…"
"The same thing we told the school?"
Izuku nodded. Well, he supposed that made sense. "I guess… that works."
Evening studies.
Much of Class 1-A were now milling about in the common area. They had a pop quiz on Monday, so they were studying hard on English. Izuku had been busy teaching Kaminari and Fumikage English sentence structures when Kirishima crashed in between them, making Kaminari yelp in pain. "Sorry! Hey, Midoriya," Kirishima leaned close to the greenette while Fumiikage looked on for a second before turning his attention back to the material. Kaminari did the same. "Remember what you told me this morning?"
"...which part?"
"He, uh, knocked on my door during the afternoon siesta, said he couldn't sleep. This was after I told him that we're cool despite your history. "
Izuku nodded.
"He wanted to be held…" Kirishima looked over toward Bakugo, who was quietly reading the material for the quiz tomorrow on one of the dining tables. "To be… protected. Those are his exact words."
Ah yes, finding comfort with someone he feels comfortable with. Izuku didn't expect his words about snuggling to become prophecy, though. Maybe he accidentally learned and used a reality-altering spell somewhere? "Well, what do you feel about that?"
"...protecting people and making them feel safe is why I became a hero to begin with," Kirishima stood up straight and proud. "That counts, doesn't it!?"
"Yeah… that's right."