[U.A. - Class 1A Homeroom]
"My number?"
Toru nodded at Shoji even if the boy couldn't really see her head.
"Yeah! Yaomomo is going to make a chat group for the class!"
"Well, I don't mind..."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the classroom, Metal was being held hostage by a certain horned girl.
"No way! You're coming home with me!" Ashido said while holding Metal by the armpits.
"Isn't that kidnapping, ribbit?"
Ashido shrugged as she kept her eyes on Metal's face.
"There's no laws against plushies, Ts—"
THWOOM!
"AAH, MY EYES!"
"Now you know why my eyes were red..."
'AND YOU DIDN'T WARN ME?!'
Plop.
Metal slowly got onto his feet before waddling towards the front door of the classroom, leaving behind a pained Ashido rubbing her eyelids with her palms.
"Metal!" At Iida's voice, the small plushie paused on his steps as the class president stepped in front of him, "It is against the school rules to hurt your classmates!"
"Ashido was clearly jok—"
"W-Who are you people?!"
At Uraraka's words, the class approached the door only to find a cluster of students staring at them.
"Do you have any matter to discuss with Class 1-A?"
Iida asked as he shifted his focus from Metal to the students standing outside the classroom.
"We can't get out! What are you guys even doing here?"
"They're obviously scouting the competition, grape ass," Bakugo said in a bored tone as he passed by Mineta on the way to the door while the grape boy complained about the nickname.
"They want to keep an eye on us since we survived the villain attack," Bakugo paused at the doorstep before glaring at the swarm of students, making the ones at the front recoil slightly, "Out of the way, extras!"
"Stop calling people, 'extras'!" Iida's words were completely ignored by the ash-blonde.
"So this is the famous Class 1-A?"
A tired voice resonated through the hallway as a boy with indigo-colored hair that flared out in large tufts made his way through the crowd until he reached the front.
"I came to see what type of people you were, but it seems like your ego is across the roof, are all Hero students like this?"
The whole class behind Bakugo quickly shook their heads in denial.
"Seeing something like this disappoints m—"
"Out of the waay!"
An energetic voice interrupted the boy that looked like Aizawa as a girl with pink hair pushed her way through the crowd.
"Ouch!"
"Hey! Be careful!"
"Don't push!"
...
...
"Hey, Metal!"
Mei, now fully healed and wearing her usual workshop outfit, greeted the small plushie once she reached the front of the crowd and pushed the other boy away without a care.
"'Mom?!'" The crowd behind Mei repeated in confusion, though the pink-haired girl ignored them.
"I came to retrieve the birthday boy!" Mei stepped inside the classroom before bending down to pick Metal up.
"Everyone is waiting at the workshop, Mom made the cake herself!"
"Mom, Dad, the guy with the helmet, a woman that gives me weird vibes, the little rat, and the hobo for some reason."
"Can I join?!"
Mei glanced over her shoulder at the floating uniform currently bouncing in place.
"I want to go too! It would be unmanly to not attend a friend's birthday!"
"I want some cake in compensation for my eyes," Kaminari said as he stepped forward while pointing at his slightly irritated eyes with a thumb.
"Yeah, what he said!"
Mei blinked a few times as more people expressed their desire to attend.
---
[U.A. Development Studio - Mei's POV]
"NOOO!" The small controller fell from Kaminari's hands as he grabbed his head.
"You suck major ass, dude," Sero said as he stared at Metal's small face/screen, which displayed Kaminari's ScoreDoom stats.
"It's not my fault! The game is like at 3 FPS!"
Kirishima scratched his head before speaking up, "Shouldn't that give you more time to react, though?"
"Shut up, let me try again!"
Metal's red circular eyes displayed on his face again as the game went away.
"Oh come on!"
...
'Good job, Metal! Get them attached to you so we can use them for publicity later on!'
Mei thought as she rubbed her palms together while staring at the small group on the other side of the workshop.
"Hatsume."
The girl flinched slightly before turning around to find the mummy man looking at her through the small hole in the bandages on his face.
'Why is this prick even here?'
"I'm sorry," Mei's eyes widened as the teacher bowed in front of her, "I still believe the decision I took was the most rational, but I failed to take into account the distress my actions could cause."
Mei stared at the back of Aizawa's head for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"Tell me, if a human student had the exact same abilities as Metal, would you have asked for their help?"
"No."
'I'm going to beat this guy up.'
Mei raised her hand to smack the older man in the head.
"But I also no longer believe you can replace Metal," The pink-haired girl's fist stopped a few inches from the teacher's head, "You were willing to die that day just to save him. It is a feeling I have experienced in the past towards other humans, so while I don't fully understand the bond you share with Metal, it would be foolish of me to just keep treating it as a girl playing with her favorite toy."
"I-I see..."
...
'The hell am I supposed to say to that?!' Mei scratched the back of her neck to try and get rid of the awkward feeling.
Luckily for her, the rest of the people around were too distracted to notice the bizarre scene.
'Actually...'
"I forgive you, hobo-man!" Mei gave Aizawa a few pats on the shoulder as the man stood straight again, "Buuuut I will need compensation for my physical and emotional distress, you know?"
Aizawa stared at the girl with a deadpan expression so intense that it could almost be seen through the bandages.
"Are you really using a villain attack as an excuse for extortion?"
"Nonono, that's a very strong word," Mei shook her head, "I am simply asking for a small favor. I mean, years of my life went into creating Metal, and he blew up trying to save you and your class. I think some compensation is in order."
"He was also trying to save you."
"That's collateral, doesn't count."
Aizawa let out a long, tired sigh.
"I can grant you a request as long as it's not too irrational..."
"Great! Listen, I just need you to let m—"
"It's time to cut the cake, everyone!"
Mei turned to look at the center of the workshop where her mother was arranging the disposable plates alongside the woman with the weird outfit, though now she was covered in a bright blue mantle at Miku's request, which caused a certain individual to weep in despair.
"I guess we'll talk later, hobo-man!"
---
[Metal's POV]
"164?" Kaminari looked at the number-shaped candles on top of the chocolate cake, "Metal is a boomer?"
"Ah, got it." The yellow-haired boy nodded at the response while humming softly.
"Are we all going to ignore that he's a four-year-old?" Jiro asked as she looked around at her classmates.
Sero gestured to the side with his head before speaking.
"Well... that doesn't seem so surprising when we're in a room with a creepy talking plushie and a weird creature who only speaks in riddles for some reason, no offense by the way."
"None taken!"
"Metal, be nice!"
"Uhh... yeah, no hard feelings, dude."
Clap, clap!
Kyosuke clapped his hands to get the room's attention.
"Alright, enough chattering," The man turned his head to look at his daughter, "What are you waiting for? Ask for your wish!"
"Don't pressure her just because you want to eat."
"Shut up."
Thwack!!
"Should we intervene?" Present Mic whispered to Aizawa while keeping his eyes on the married couple.
"I don't get paid enough to solve marital disputes."
Mei shook her head at her parents' behavior before pulling out a small white gun from her waist and pointing it at the candles.
Fuuwshhh...
"Happy birthday!" Most people said in unison as they clapped their hands for a few seconds.
"Why did you use an air gun, though?" Yaoyorozu asked after everyone stopped clapping.
"...Forget I asked."
"Leeeet's get thee party staaarteed!" Present Mic started clearing his throat.
"Don't be a party pooper!" Toru said as she grabbed Metal from Mei's head.
"It's not a birthday without a birthday song!"
"Yeah, what he said!"
Asui tilted her head to the side as she looked at Ashido and Kaminari.
"I thought you two only wanted to get back at him for hurting your eyes, ribbit."
Slam!
"WE ARE HERE WITH THE PRESENTS!... AND TO SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" All Might entered the workshop carrying two boxes while Midoriya and Uraraka shyly followed behind him.
"See? Even All Might wants to sing! It'll be unmanly to turn down your friends right now, you know?"
Toru turned Metal around in her hand so the whole room could stare at his face.
...
...
...
"Yay!" Toru shook Metal up and down for a moment before passing him to Mei, "I just had an idea, Yaomomo! Make some microphones! We could turn this into a karaoke!"
"That's not a bad idea." The tall girl ignored Metal as small colorful particles started forming in her hand.
"Let's keep everything under a controlled volume to not disturb our peers!"
"Relax, vice-press, classes are already over anyways."
"Can you make my microphone pink?!"
"Mine too!"
Mei giggled as she stared at Metal's lens with a soft smile on her face.
"I guess we can change their designations from moneybags to friends, eh?"
[Saving Core Memory With Designation: "Friends."
Core Memory Successfully Saved
Software Instability: 100%...
Re-Evaluating…
Error: Instability Parameter No Longer Applicable
New Interpretation Generated: Ego Integration: 5%...
THEY MADE MOM SMILE... I WILL TOLERATE THEM.]
...
...
...
---
I know, late chapter and short but i feel like i'm made of slime right now and i want to puke, I'll go to the doctor for a check up if i don't start feeling better by tonight, if you're wondering why i'm even waiting the answer is simple: U.S Healthcare prices.
anyways i'm not sure about the date this chapter takes places in, i mean the wiki says Mei is 16 when she is introduced so her birthday should be around here more or less, i also went back to the previous chapter to correct some things that i missed, normally i read through the chapters once or twice before release but my IQ is low on a good day, imagine how it is right now.