Chapter Twenty-Six: Dense and Stubborn
Katsuki Bakugo was surprised. Well and truly surprised. Not because Deku had planned something for his birthday and told him to be at a certain place at a certain time (in this case, the exterior of a movie theater around nine-fifteen in the morning), nor that he was extremely tight-lipped about the details; Deku did something for him every year even though he constantly told him that he didn't have to.
Katsuki liked it though. It was nice to know that Deku cared, even if he already knew that he did. Plus, his ideas were never bad ones. He knew Katsuki well enough to know what he would and wouldn't like.
No, the surprise came when he had arrived at the theater, greeted Deku and then promptly had a pair of pink hands clap themselves over his eyes accompanied by a familiar female voice.
"Happy Birthday, Baku! Guess who!"
"Ashido! I told you not to run ahead and now you've ruined the surprise!" Kirishima sounded out of breath as he approached.
"Oh, I dunno~" Ashido purred playfully, hands still over his eyes, "I think he's pretty surprised, don't you, Midori?"
"Ashido-san, I'm actually pretty surprised too. I mean, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Deku replied.
"Quite so." Iida's voice joined the group, "Am I correct in assuming that you are the 'party expert' that Kirishima-san requested assistance from?"
"That's me! It wasn't hard to guess that Kiri was planning something when he called me up out of the blue and started asking questions about planning a birthday celebration."
"So, of course, she started pestering me until I agreed to bring her along." Kirishima added, "Oh, also, sorry for being late. There were actually a lot of good movies to pick from so I was up late trying to decide."
"Ah, Mina-chan, it's great to see you and all, but-"
"No worries, Ochako-chan! I've got my entrance fee right here!" Ashido shifted so it was her forearm that was obscuring Katsuki's vision and he picked up the distinct sound of money being slapped against the palm of one's hand. He was getting more and more confused.
"Oh, phew. I was worried I'd have to re-calculate some stuff there for a moment."
"It would seem we are all here." Shoji was there too, apparently. Katsuki was getting tired of not being able to see and cleared his throat.
"Okay, fine, I'm surprised. You win. Can you get off of my face now?"
"Suggestive choice of words there, Baku~" she teased before complying with his request.
Predictably, this reduced Deku to a spluttering mess and caused Iida to wave his hands around like a madman. Uraraka went a bit pink but did not otherwise react while Kirishima looked as though he were used to such jokes. Shoji meanwhile was…Shoji.
Really hard to get a read on a guy when half of his face was covered.
As Katsuki blinked to allow his eyes to readjust to the light of day, he took in the group of six people before him. Apart from Deku, who he was used to seeing in street clothes (dark t-shirt and cargo shorts as usual), it was a bit of a novel experience.
Kirishima was no surprise, looking comfortable and casual in a pair of shorts and a red, V-neck short-sleeved shirt which for some reason had "D.J" on the front of it.
Iida was even less of a surprise, looking prim and proper in a sky-blue polo shirt that was tucked into a pair of belted slacks.
Katsuki found himself wondering if Ashido wasn't a little bit cold, since she was wearing a purple tank-top over a pair of denim short-shorts. It wasn't chilly by any means, but it was still only April. Whatever, she seemed happy so she could do her for all he cared.
Uraraka was dressed similarly to how he remembered Deku describing her during the pair's date, except she was wearing a pink short-sleeved wide-necked shirt tucked into her shorts.
Shoji was actually a bit of a surprise. As usual he had his lower face covered with mask, though this one looked like a modified cowl with how it ran down his neck and draped over his shoulders. He was also wearing an off-white tank top tucked into what looked like a pair of green army pants which themselves were tucked into a pair of combat boots.
In short, he looked like he was ready for trouble in spite of his calm demeanor. Katsuki wondered if his choice of attire had anything to do with his height? It must be tough finding clothes that fit him, especially with his extra arms. It was probably either cut off sleeves or have things custom-tailored.
Add in Katsuki with his dark t-shirt and lightweight pants and you had yourself a motley crew of teenagers if he'd ever seen one.
"So, Deku," he addressed his poofy-haired companion, "I assume you've got a plan? Let's hear it."
This had the desired effect of snapping Deku out of his embarrassed state.
"Well, we're starting with a movie, obviously." he indicated the theater, "then after that we're going to lunch and after that we're hitting an arcade. If we find out about any Hero action in the area, then we'll go have a look at that but otherwise…that's pretty much it."
Katsuki nodded thoughtfully. It was simple, sure, but it sounded good. Spending his birthday with a whole group wasn't something he'd done for a while and it could be interesting.
"What's the movie?" Deku pointed towards Kirishima, directing Katsuki's attention to the redhead.
"Oh! Picking one was my job." he explained, "There were a bunch of good options, honestly. I toyed with the idea of 'Bad Guys Finish Last' or 'Pillar' for a bit, but I figured there was a good chance you'd already seen those. There was always the new All Might movie, 'The All and the Mighty,' but that didn't feel right. It was about then that I got the idea to look in the re-run section to see if there were any good oldies and I found a couple of potential winners. The one I ended up going with was 'Killgore Deathmurder Part IV: The Re-Deathening.'"
"That sounds incredibly stupid."
"I know! It'll be one of those 'so bad its good' things!"
"Kiri," Ashido poked his arm, "don't act like you haven't seen it. You were planning this from the start, weren't you?" when the rest of the group looked at her in confusion, she elaborated, "Kiri's really into the old-school. Since Crimson Riot is his idol, he ended up doing some research on the times and ended up watching a ton of old movies. He'll take any chance he can get to show one to somebody."
"Okay, okay, you got me." Kirishima held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "I promise I haven't seen this one though. I've only seen the first three. I picked this theater because they always run a 'weekend oldies' promotion to try and get people to appreciate old cinema. If you guys are against it, then we can watch something else."
Well, Katsuki hadn't known that. It made sense, when he thought about it; Kirishima did seem to have a bit of an old soul when it came to certain things. It wasn't hard for Katsuki to take things a step further and picture him in a trench coat with a tommy gun.
"Nah." he shook his head, "It's fine. We can watch Killmurder Deathgore or whatever it's called."
"The birthday boy approves!" Ashido stated officially, "Let it be said, let it be written!"
The group made its way into the theater and got in line. Katsuki swore he heard Kirishima say something along the lines of "You're as bad as me when it comes to old horror flicks, Miss 'Alien Queen.'" This earned him a good-natured slap on the arm and Shoji coincidentally developed a small case of the coughs.
Katsuki had avoided asking about money and so was again surprised when Uraraka of all people pulled out a wad of bills and thumbed through them, counting out the cost of the tickets.
Was it just him or was she a little bit too good at that? Had she been practicing?
"It looks like it starts in about twenty minutes." Deku noted, "Where's theater twelve?"
"To the right, by the looks of it." Shoji supplied.
"Anyone want any snacks?" Uraraka asked, "We've got enough for two or three things as long as we share; I didn't count on the weekend ticket discount for the oldies promo."
"As long as it's sweet, I'm happy." Ashido chirped.
"Birthday boy wants something spicy, I bet." Kirishima threw an arm around Katsuki's shoulders and was given a grunt of assent.
They ended up purchasing two family-sized boxes of candies: one full of cinnamon chewables and the other full of small chocolates. They then made their way down the hall Shoji had indicated earlier, passing by large posters advertising other movies, both present and future.
"Hey, 'Death Formula II: Death by Science' is out!" Ashido exclaimed, "The first one was so good but I didn't think they were ever making a second one!"
"Dude!" Kirishima nearly spat out the cinnamon candy he was chewing on, "'Exploding Droids III: Rise of the Megaplosion?!' How the hell did I miss that?!"
"There's a lot of stuff from Mcsplosion Bay Studios." Deku commented.
"Aww!" Uraraka gushed, "'Rameo X Julienne!' This one's supposed to be about a Hero who falls in love with a Villain and eventually she reforms and becomes an Antihero!"
"You like DramaRom movies, Uraraka-san?" Deku asked.
"Well, not all of them. Just…interesting ones, you know?"
"What is 'Deadpool?'" Iida inquired, causing Kirishima to choke.
"WHAT'S DEADPOOL?! How do you not- Why haven't you- Okay, I'm seriously considering saying 'fuck it' to all of our plans and just spending the whole day here educating you people."
"Kiri, come on," Ashido said soothingly, "there'll be plenty of time for that later. Tell you what, if there's something that you just have to see, we can come back later, okay?"
"For real?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Hmm…'Discipline of the Wolf.'" Shoji remarked to himself, "That looks interesting."
Eventually the group made it into their theater with only a couple of minutes to spare. They sat themselves towards the back of the small room and Katsuki was pleasantly surprised to find that they were the only ones in there.
After watching the previews, of which the highlight was something called "Mr. Pebles" which appeared to be some sort of Action-Comedy, they discovered that the feature picture was not "Killgore Deathmurder Part IV: The Re-Deathening" but rather something called "Brothers in War."
"Aw, fuck." Katsuki realized, "We're in the wrong theater!"
"Wait." Kirishima stopped them as they were about to get up and find the correct one, "Remember how I said I was trying to choose between two movies? Well, this was the other one. It's from the eighties."
"The twenty-one eighties?" Iida wondered.
"Nope. The twenty eighties."
Damn. That meant this movie was over one-hundred and forty years old. Kirishima wasn't kidding when he said he was into the oldies.
"Why this one though?" Uraraka asked.
"You'll see. Just give it a moment."
The opening credits rolled amidst a blasted warzone as the camera gradually revealed more and more of the man walking through them until his name was displayed underneath his iconic face.
"Holy shit, is that Crimson Riot?"
"Yep. They managed to convince him to do this movie under the condition that they would break whenever he was needed. It took them twice as long as they thought it would because of all the re-shoots."
The movie played and it was revealed that the story was centered around Crimson Riot and a friend of his who was a Villain-turned-Antihero. They worked well together but Riot's friend, Ironblood, was forced to aid the big bad, who was clearly supposed to be some Prometheus allegory, because his family was being threatened.
The Heroes did not know the truth of the situation and simply assumed that Ironblood had reverted to his old ways. In the end, only Crimson Riot had faith in him and ended up discovering the truth only after leaving the Hero organization known as the Justicars. The climax of the film saw Crimson Riot facing off against the leader of the Justicars, Delta Justice, in order to prevent him from killing Ironblood.
After the movie ended, Katsuki was feeling more than a little energized. He wasn't alone in this either. Kirishima and Deku were re-enacting a piece from the climax.
"Riot! Even now, you stand in my way? To oppose me is to oppose Justice itself!"
"Why can't you understand, Delta?! I know there's more going on here than it looks like! He's my friend!"
"…So was I."
"I'm just glad they worked it out in the end." Uraraka sighed, stretching her limbs, "I was worried that Crimson Riot would have all of the Heroes after him for a while there."
"There were clearly trust issues between him and Delta Justice." Iida adjusted his glasses, "Crimson Riot made an attempt to prove his case with evidence, but Delta simply overlooked it. Honestly, it didn't mesh with what I had come to expect from his character thus far."
"I think it's important to consider Delta's point of view too." Deku added, "I mean, Crimson Riot is obviously the protagonist of the movie and all, so we're meant to sympathize with him, but from Delta's point of view he's a bit of a loose cannon. Delta is all about doing things by the book and following the letter of the law, so to someone like that, someone like Riot who acted on his emotions and gut feelings must have seemed like a dangerous, even anarchic force."
"The old 'Lawful Good vs Chaotic Good' issue?" Katsuki hazarded.
"That's the one." Deku confirmed, "I feel like both Delta and Riot were great Heroes who put their all into doing good, but their opposing world-views created friction between them. There's historical evidence to back this up, though I don't think the two ever came to blows in real life."
"There's some neat stories behind the filming of the movie, you know?" Kirishima grinned, "You know that part in the fight where Crimson Riot punched Delta Justice across the face and he smacked into a wall? That was unscripted. It was the tenth time they had to re-shoot that scene and Riot was getting bored, so he decided to mix things up a little. You probably noticed that the fight became a lot more brutal after that? Well, that was because from that point on, they really were fighting!"
"No shit?" Katsuki had noticed, of course, but he had thought it was simply good choreography. He hadn't realized that it had been real. He would have to re-watch that scene on HeroTube sometime.
"Yeah, I know right? It was-" Kirishima was interrupted by the sound of his stomach growling.
"I concur." Shoji checked his phone, "That was a rather long movie; it's nearly one already."
"You were figuring out lunch right, Uraraka-san?" Deku confirmed, "What did you end up choosing?"
"Well, once Kirishima-kun told us which theater he wanted to go to, that helped to narrow down our options." she explained, "It turns out there's a reasonably-priced Thai place about a ten-minute walk from here."
Thai food? Well, they had planned this out, hadn't they?
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Inko Midoriya was taking a breather with Mitsuki doing the same next to her.
"Ko-chan, pass the water, would ya?" Inko responded by tossing her a bottle, which she deftly snatched out of the air and drank from gratefully.
"Going at it a bit hard today, aren't you, Mitsu?"
"I have to! We both missed last week, after all. For good reasons, obviously, but still!"
"You could have come on your own if it bothered you that much."
"Don't be stupid, of course I couldn't. It wouldn't feel right, you know?"
"You're a big softy like always. Does your son know that about you?"
"I swear, Ko-chan, you'd better not say a word to him!"
"Mitsu, you know me better than that."
It had become a tradition between the two women over the years for them to hit the gym together once a week, usually on a Saturday. It gave them some girl time and also kept them both in shape.
Inko in particular was grateful for it. She had started to plump up a bit once Izuku started elementary school but Mitsuki's timely offer had left her looking almost the same as she had a decade ago.
Inko was a humble soul by nature, but she would occasionally look herself over in the mirror and think to herself "I look good."
"So, did Izuku tell you what his big plans were for Katsuki this year?" Mitsuki asked.
"No, actually." Inko replied, "I asked if he needed any help but he said that he and his friends were working on something. Apparently, they intended to surprise him as a group and make a day of it."
"Wow! I'm impressed!" and she truly looked it, "I know that both of our boys have done some growing since they started at U.A., but Izuku in particular seems to have changed."
"He really has." Inko agreed, "I can't imagine him organizing this sort of thing last year, or even last month!"
"I hope it goes well. This is a big step for both of them."
"I know what you mean, Mitsu-chan."
The two women spent a moment staring off into space before Mitsuki hopped out of her chair and snapped her neck towel at Inko.
"Come on, Ko-chan; back to it! Get on that treadmill!"
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Katsuki was pleased. The Thai food had been good and Uraraka hadn't been kidding about the price either. Count on those guys to amp up the heat when you asked for it, too.
Honestly, Katsuki was having a hard time remembering the last time he had laughed so hard. Kirishima, being a proponent of all things manly, had elected to order the same thing Katsuki had.
As in the exact same thing. Spice level and all.
Oh, my young spice apprentice, you were not ready for the Triple-Hot Chicken with Chili Peppers.
It. Was. Hysterical.
To his credit, Kirishima had toughed though it; he had devoured that meal as though his life depended on it. He had been such a trooper, in fact, that Katsuki had waved their waitress over and asked her to bring the redhead a glass of milk, which she had done with a knowing smile. Obviously, this sort of thing happened often around there.
The runner-up in the spice game had been Deku, who had restricted himself to Double-Hot, not that it mattered, him being immune to any and all negative effects from such foods. Showoff didn't even wait for it to cool down first.
Both Iida and Ashido had gone with Hot. He because apparently he enjoyed some spice every once in a while and she because she was feeling adventurous. She ended up liking it, though admitted that she would probably stick to Medium in the future unless she was in the mood to break a sweat.
Uraraka admitted that she would usually have gone straight for the Mild, but went with Medium in the spirit of things. Katsuki for one simply could not understand how someone could react so strongly to such a mild amount of spice, but there she was, sweating away as if she had gone for the Double-Hot.
Shoji was a surprise. He had stuck with Mild, citing that the sensation of eating spicy food with his Tentamouths was unpleasant.
"Since we're on the topic, why not use your normal mouth? You do have one, don't you?" Katsuki had asked.
"I do indeed." Shoji confirmed, "However, my explanation would require that I show you. I may do so at some point in the future, but for now I would rather not. Please do not take it personally."
Katsuki, having no reason to be suspicious and being in too good a mood to press him further, had let the subject drop.
Once Uraraka had brought out the cash wad again and paid their bill, it was time to hit the arcade. Mina in particular was excited, since she knew the one they were going to.
"We all have to play DDE while we're there!" she insisted, "It's, like, the best game ever!"
"DDE?" Uraraka questioned.
"Dance Dance Extreme!" Ashido answered, "It's like those old dancing games where you had to step on arrows or make specific arm movements, except it incorporates your whole body! It'll give you a workout like nothing else will!"
"I must admit, that sounds both entertaining and productive!" Iida proclaimed.
"It sounds difficult." Deku commented, "How precise do you have to be here?"
"Oh, it's not that bad." Ashido assured him. "It's more about energy and timing than precision. As long as you're doing basically the correct movements you'll get a good score. Of course, if you actually do the dance then you're bound to do better. That's just how the game is designed."
"Hell, count me in!" Kirishima decided, "It sounds like a good challenge!"
"How will the game react to me having six arms?" Shoji questioned.
"It has settings to accommodate mutant-type Quirks." she assured him, "It's actually really state-of-the-art! That's part of why it's a bit on the expensive side though: it costs 200 yen per credit."
"Damn, not many machines eat that much money." Katsuki remarked, "100 is usually enough to get you into pretty much whatever."
"It's worth it though, trust me!" Ashido insisted, "You all have to try it at least once!"
They arrived at the arcade in question and Uraraka took a moment to convert most of their remaining money into a combination of 100 and 500-yen coins, keeping their remaining 1,000-yen bills intact for use in vending machines or something. Katsuki thought to himself that this was a good idea since if what Ashido had said about DDE was true, they would probably be getting very thirsty.
"Okay, it's on the second floor. Everyone get to the escalator!" Ashido led the way to the second floor where the lighting was dimmer and the neon emanating from the numerous machines gave everything a shadow-less, matte look.
Dance Dance Extreme, as it turned out, was a rather large machine. It made sense, Katsuki supposed, since it was supposed to track one's entire body and some people, such as Shoji, could get rather large. When the first player, Ashido (she had volunteered to show them all the ropes first), popped her coins into the console, it was revealed that DDE had a versus mode as well, which further explained why the stage was so wide.
"Alright," the pink girl said to herself as she flicked through the menu with motions of her hands, "let's start out with something simple…or not. I kinda wanna cut loose. Do you guys mind?"
"If you're aiming to impress, then just make sure you don't fall on your ass." Katsuki responded. This earned him narrow-eyed grin that the electronic light reflecting off of her yellow eyes made look rather predatory.
"Challenge accepted, Baku." she then selected a song titled "Synthetic Ninja" and set the difficulty to "Extreme," which was the highest setting.
"Oh, shit." Kirishima was staring wide-eyed as she limbered up while the song loaded, "I think she's serious, Bakugo."
Then, something interesting happened. A featureless, female hologram appeared in front of Ashido which had roughly the same physical dimensions as her.
"Follow me, alright? Just remember not to hurt yourself!"
"You got it."
"Caution: the song you have selected contains extremely vigorous physical motions. By continuing, you understand and accept any and all liability for personal injury."
"Understood. Let's dance already!"
Then the music started and Mina Ashido moved like a woman possessed.
It was immediately clear that she was familiar with this particular song, because there was no way in hell that she could keep pace with the seamless series of spins, flips and kicks if she wasn't.
"Don't mind me, I'm just passin'. The deadliest assassin."
At one point, she threw herself into a handstand and performed an inverted double hurricane kick that made her look as though she were attempting to achieve liftoff with only her legs. Then she was on the floor, spinning on her back before rolling onto her forearms and popping herself back up just in time to flip back over and perform a perfect kip-up to regain her feet.
"Such a rarity, defying gravity, bringing calamity!"
It was less like a dance and more like watching some impossibly-choreographed fight scene as Ashido and her hologram moved in perfect sync for exactly three minutes before the song ended.
"Synthetic, synthetic, synthetic NINJA!"
"Song complete! Extreme performance! Perfect!"
"Ho-"
"-ly"
"Shit."
The onlookers could hardly believe what they had just witnessed. Katsuki had known that Ashido was a physically-gifted girl from her performance at Fight Club, but this was on an entirely different level.
"Midoriya, you didn't use your Quirk, did you?" Kirishima asked, one hand in his pocket as he presumably adjusted himself.
"No, why?"
"Because that was so hot I physically felt it."
Ashido had clearly heard him from the way her eyes widened briefly as she left the stage and Katsuki would have bet money that the purple flush on her face wasn't entirely due to her physical exertions.
"Please tell me not all of the songs are like that." Iida requested.
"What?" Ashido snapped out of her reverie and quickly gathered her wits, "No, not at all! In fact, that's generally considered to be one of the hardest songs not to mention that I did it on the highest difficulty setting! There's usually a preview system in place where a different-colored hologram shows you what the real one is about to do a little bit before it happens. Extreme is the only level that doesn't have that."
"Oh, thank god." Deku sighed, "I honestly don't think I could survive that song. I'd probably break something."
"I am not sure that song is even physically possible with my physiology." Shoji seconded.
"Well, come on!" Ashido prompted, "Who's next?"
"I'll do it." Katsuki volunteered himself. He stepped up on the stage and popped two 100-yen coins into the machine.
Immediately, the menu popped up and he flicked through it, considering the songs before him before shrugging and selecting one titled "Explosion Man." He decided to set it on Medium difficulty because he would never be caught playing something on Easy.
While the song loaded, he was shown a picture of the stage with a pair of footprints on it directing him to stand there. Once he assumed his position, his hologram appeared in front of him. It was similar to Ashido's except for the fact that it was male and had Katsuki's dimensions.
"Follow me, alright? Just remember not to hurt yourself!"
"I got it."
"Would you like an explanation of the Preview System?"
"No, I'll figure it out."
Katsuki noticed, just before the music started, that his hologram had a sort of pale gray film over its blue body. Then the song started and the grey film was revealed to be a doppelganger that threw its arms out to the side just before the hologram did the same thing and Katsuki instinctively followed suit.
"I bring the thunder, I bring the BANG!"
It took a few moments for Katsuki to get into the rhythm of things, but eventually he found that he was anticipating and matching the hologram's movements instead of trying to keep up with them.
"I kick down the DOOR! Drop the hammer like THOR!"
It helped that there was a definite "oomph" to the lyrics themselves. They acted almost like a metronome in time with the heavy drum beat. By the time the song wound down Katsuki was fairly certain that he had done well and was even enjoying himself a bit.
"I'm no Hero~ but it's the endga~me, so now it's time for Explosion Man to go out with a BANG!"
Katsuki held the final pose of the game, arms spread wide as he waited for his judgement.
"Song complete! Nice job! B-plus!"
"Hey, good job, birthday boy!" Ashido applauded for him along with the others as he left the stage, "If you tried that again I'm sure you'd get an 'A!' It was the beginning where you were getting used to it that hurt your score."
The others went after that and everyone did reasonably well except for Iida, who apparently had some trouble with rhythm. For his second try he switched to Easy and had a good time.
Some highlights included Shoji's first attempt where his hologram did indeed have six arms and apparently had tailored the song to accommodate this (the load time was twice as long as a result) and Kirishima's performance which, much to his embarrassment, included a lot of pelvic thrusts. Ashido was supportive of him though, wolf-whistling appreciatively whenever he was forced to do something particularly suggestive.
When all was said and done, they had used nearly all of their remaining funds on a combination of DDE and a round of drinks from the vending machine. There was still enough left for a few old favorites though, like the punching machine.
That poor, poor thing. Quirks might be prohibited, but Shoji's muscle was all-natural. He ended up being number two on the leaderboard just below someone named "Mirio."
"I remember when that guy was in here." one of the workers informed them, "He was all like, 'POWERRRRRRR!' and then he just hauled off and whacked that thing. I was afraid he'd broken it for a minute."
"Mirio…" Deku mused, "why do I feel like I've heard that name before?"
"Because it sounds like a certain famous plumber?" Kirishima suggested.
Deku found himself unable to remember and eventually all of their money was spent, so it was time to leave.
"Well, I hope everyone had a good time today!" Deku said as they prepared to part ways.
"I. Had. The. BEST. Time." Ashido gushed, "Seriously. This was great. I love you guys."
"We should totally hang out more!" Uraraka agreed.
"I'm gonna regret that chicken later, aren't I?" Kirishima asked Katsuki.
"Drink plenty of milk and pray to whatever god will listen." Katsuki advised.
"I too enjoyed myself." Iida smiled, "It was a novel experience, to be sure."
"I had fun." Shoji confirmed, "I would not object to doing something like this again."
"What about you, Kacchan?" Deku asked.
"Huh? Yeah, it was fun. Thanks for putting all this together, guys."
After the round of "thank-you's" and "no, thank you's" and general farewells was done, it was just Katsuki and Deku heading home together. It wasn't dark yet but it was starting to think about it. After all was said and done they had ended up spending a few hours in the arcade it was about half-past five.
"Hey, Kacchan?"
"Hmm?"
"Now that it's just us, tell me what you really thought of the day. Was there anything you didn't like?"
"Deku, I honestly did have fun. The movie was good, the food was good and the arcade was good. It was just…a bit weird, that's all."
"Weird like how?"
How should he word this? He stopped and turned so he was facing Deku as he thought.
"Well, I'm not used to people treating me like this, I guess. Every year until this one, you've been the only one to really treat me like just another guy. Everyone else our age always either ran away or put me on a pedestal and tried to suck up to me. These guys though…there was none of that. I was just another member of the group and it was…nice."
It had been too. Katsuki had enjoyed himself far more than he had thought he would when he had first been surprised at the theater that morning. Dare he say that he was starting to consider them friends instead of just underlings or classmates? Not to their faces, of course, but in the confines of his own mind, where nobody else could hear him? Sure. Why not?
Friends. He did consider them to be his friends. If not before today than certainly after it.
"You're really starting to like them, aren't you?"
Of course fucking Deku could see right through him. That was the downside of knowing someone for damn near your entire life: they could read you like a book.
Of course, that went both ways.
"Alright then, Deku, spill. What else you got?"
Deku chuckled self-consciously, acknowledging the move that Katsuki had made.
"Well, I wanted to apologize for not getting you anything. I just couldn't think of what you might want so I put this together instead."
"You don't have anything to apologize for, dumbass. Like I said, I had a good time today."
Then, before he could stop himself, Katsuki said one more thing.
"Besides, there's only one thing I really want anyway and it's not something I could just ask you to give me."
Their eyes locked and no sooner had they done so then Katsuki wished he could take it back. Deku was giving him that searching, piercing look that made him feel like his very soul was being scrutinized. That was the look that meant that he was putting his brain to use deciphering Katsuki's actions and when he did this he was seldom wrong.
Eventually, he smiled.
"Yeah, I guess so, huh? Even if I could just give it to you, it's not like you'd want to get it that way, right? Honestly, I wouldn't want it that way either."
He fell back into step alongside Katsuki and patted him on the back. Just in time to restart the explosive boy's heartbeat.
"Don't worry though; we'll get there. We'll both become Heroes and we'll do it the right way!"
Of course that was what he meant.
Did he actually not know, or was he just playing dumb for both of their sakes? Knowing Deku, either was possible. He was, after all, notoriously dense about certain things.
Like the fact that a certain friend of theirs was crushing on him harder than All Might holding a grip trainer. She hadn't taken her eyes off of him for an instant when it was his turn playing DDE.
Was Katsuki just letting things take their natural course when he refused to tell Deku what he was seeing?
Or was he just being selfish?
Knowing Katsuki, either was possible.
He was, after all, notoriously stubborn about certain things.
Dense and stubborn. What a duo they made.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Test Drive
Kurogiri stood behind his bar idly polishing a cocktail glass while the girl sipped happily from her virgin bloody mary on a stool towards the end. A Villain the bartender may have been, but serving underage children alcohol was a step too far for him. While behind his bar, he was a consummate professional.
It was a common misconception that, in much the same way that Heroes were always busy being Heroic, that Villains were always busy being Villainous. Kurogiri scoffed at the idea. Did they also think that a doctor was always a doctor or that a teacher was always a teacher? At the end of the day, they were all human in their own special ways.
And everyone needed a hobby.
Kurogiri's hobby just so happened to be mixing drinks and providing a balm for the weary souls who came to sit at his bar. Of course, his clientele was few and far between given the nature of this bar. It was, after all, supposed to be a hidden lair of sorts. His most frequent customer was, by far, Tomura Shigaraki. Occasionally he would entertain an arms dealer or informant and rarely an ordinary person would stumble in from the street, none the wiser as to exactly what they had discovered.
Kurogiri had hoped, however briefly, that the growing numbers of the League of Villains would provide him with a larger customer base. This hope had been quickly dashed when only Tomura and himself had escaped from USJ. The girl had not been part of the attack; she had performed her duties admirably beforehand and was a valuable member.
She was also Kurogiri's only other regular at the moment, even if she could not legally drink, so it was in his best interest to take good care of her.
Honestly, she was a rather charming young lady when not in one of her "moods." She smiled and giggled as readily as any high school girl might have and there was a certain youthful innocence about her too-large cardigan and carelessly-styled blonde hair. She was bloodthirsty, no doubt about that, but she was also cheerful and sweet in some unexpected ways.
"Hey, Kurogiri?" she got his attention and he met her yellow, slit-pupiled eyes with his own, featureless ones, "What did you say was in this again?"
"Tomato juice, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, a dash of tabasco sauce, ice and, of course, a stalk of celery." he rattled off, "Normally there would also be vodka, but I compensated for the lack by using extra juice."
"It's super good! You always make such tasty drinks for me!" she gave him a wide, fanged smile, "Didn't you say there was another version of it too?"
"Ah, you mean the bloody caesar. It is a simple change, really; you use clamato juice instead of regular tomato juice. It gives it a more robust flavor, though not everyone likes it."
"Wait, bloody mary and bloody caesar?" her eyes widened before she blushed and let out a happy squeal, "Oh my god, that's so cute! They're like a bloody little couple!"
She stirred the drink with the celery stalk, a dreamy expression on her face as the ice clinked against the glass.
"I really, really want to come here one day with a nice boy and have you make those for us. Bloody mary for me and bloody caesar for him. It's just so romantic, don't you think?"
"Indeed." Kurogiri agreed, "It would be a much subtler gesture than ordering between the sheets or sex on the beach, though perhaps an angel face would suffice."
"Are you making fun of me?" she pouted at him.
"I would never." though not visible on his face, the misty bartender could not keep the smile out of his voice, "If we ignore Heroics for a moment, there are two professions where you must never betray your customer. Do you know what they are?"
She cocked her head and sipped her drink, thinking it over.
"I guess a doctor?" he nodded with approval.
"Doctor and bartender." she gave him a skeptical look, prompting him to explain, "A doctor's job is to heal one's body as best they can. A bartender's job is to heal one's spirit the best they can. Some believe this is why alcohol is sometimes referred to as 'spirits,' you know?"
"So, does that mean you can't do anything for me, since I can't drink?"
"Not at all. It simply means that children have better coping skills than adults do." Kurogiri chuckled heartily, "You have no need of the type of medicine that I can provide. I couldsay that I would sooner have it so that nobody would have need of it, but then I would have nobody to mix drinks for."
"That's why you're a Villain, then?" she smirked cheekily at him, "If you cause more trouble, then more people will want to drink?"
"Would such a reason truly be so bad?"
"Hey, I don't need a reason as long as you keep making me tasty drinks!" a few moments passed in comfortable silence that was broken only when the girl finished her drink and began crunching on the celery stalk, "Mmm…Kurogiri? I think I'd like something sweeter next."
"I shall give you a glass of water to cleanse the flavor of the bloody mary somewhat, but after that perhaps I could make you a frozen daiquiri? Strawberry is the standard, but one can use nearly any type of fruit."
"Hmm…how about cherry?"
"Most certainly."
Yes, a time of calm. A time of casual companionship where he could mix drinks and enjoy some conversation for a change. The proverbial eye of the storm.
Yet, as with all things, it would not last.
The heavy door opened and closed with a thud as Tomura walked in, throwing back the hood of the dark hoodie that he wore when venturing out in public.
"I'm back."
"Welcome back, Tomura."
"Shiga! Shiga! Did you find him?" Tomura ignored the girl for a moment while he sat down and gestured to Kurogiri to give him something to drink.
"No. He must have a really good Stealth score because everyone knows who he is, but nobody knows where he is. Eventually I had to give up asking and start following his trail of kills. Guy's a total murder hobo, you know? He doesn't seem to have a specific area that he operates in. He just goes from city to city, kills a few Heroes and then moves on." he took the gin and tonic that Kurogiri passed him and took a long, slow sip, savoring the feeling of the fizz on his cracked lips and the gin simultaneously burning and chilling its way down his throat.
"The problem here is that I've got no idea what makes him decide that enough is enough and move on. If I knew that then I could just have Kurogiri warp me all over hell, taking head counts until I found a city where he hadn't reached his quota yet. Nothing doing though. This is gonna be a multiple-part skill challenge. Hopefully now that Kurogiri's all healed up we can start making some real progress. I wish we had a cleric, but what can you do?"
"What is your intent once you locate the Hero Killer, Tomura?" Kurogiri had been hesitant to broach this topic over the past week and a half due to Tomura's anger over his failure at USJ, but he decided that he had waited long enough.
"My intent?" Tomura gave a half-smirk that caused the scar on the left side of his mouth to move, "I'm gonna bring him here, of course. Everyone knows that in order to recruit a new party member, it's best to bring them to your base. Plus, you wanted to meet him, right, Toga?"
Himiko Toga nodded enthusiastically.
"Yesyesyes! I really, really wanna meet him! He's killed so many people, I bet he just reeks of blood! Maybe if you catch him at the right moment, he'll still have some on him when he comes here? I wonder if he's handsome? Do you think he likes clamato juice?"
As she jabbered away, Tomura gave Kurogiri a nonplussed look and mouthed "clamato juice" at him. All Kurogiri did in response was give a theatrical shrug.
After all, it was taboo for a bartender to talk about his customers. Even to other customers.
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Izuku Midoriya was engrossed in a particularly interesting online article about Villainy through the ages when his phone rang. He saw that it was Uraraka and picked up, wondering what she needed.
"Hello?"
"Deku-kun?" her voice was slightly distorted, "I've got you on speaker. Can you hear me alright?"
"Yeah, I can hear you. What's up?" he heard the tapping of a keyboard in the background, presumably coming from her computer.
"Well, I wanted to talk about our stargazing trip. I mean, Golden Week is the week after this one and we haven't really talked about it much since I pitched the idea. I figured we could start working out some of the logistics. That is…if you still want to go?"
Why did she sound so nervous? Did she honestly think that he wouldn't want to?
"Uraraka-san, I really do want to go. Are you having second thoughts? I understand if you are. I mean, this is something that's really special to you and it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing when you asked me to go before…"
"No!" he thought he heard something hit the floor but couldn't tell what it might have been, "I want to go! For real! When you told me that you've never been stargazing before I knew right away that I had to take you! I remember my first time and it was just so magical…I want to share that with you, Deku-kun. I want to be there when you experience that for the first time."
That struck Izuku dumb for a moment. He had known that stargazing was something that Uraraka enjoyed; she had told him as much. Even so, he had failed to grasp just how much it resonated with her. The fact that she wanted him to share in such an important thing with her was…humbling, to say the least.
"Honestly," he finally managed, "I think I want to go even more after hearing that."
Did he hear a sigh of relief from the other end of the line?
"Well, good. In that case, I should probably tell you straight-out that our travel plans will have to change. I sort of goofed before when I said that we could take the bullet train to Nagano. It's not that we couldn't, but…"
"Too expensive?" he hazarded.
"Yeah. I wasn't really thinking straight that night because of…reasons."
"It's fine. I understand."
How could he not? He had been there for the event in question, after all.
"I know. Anyway, yeah; the bullet train is out of my budget range, especially after Bakugo's last-minute birthday yesterday."
Ah. That was kind of on him, wasn't it?
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be silly, Deku-kun. It was a lot of fun and besides, you all contributed a lot more than I did."
"Only in terms of money." Izuku said without thinking.
"Ah…" it was only after hearing her surprised little noise that Izuku realized the possible implications of his statement, "Th-thank you, Deku-kun. That's a very nice thing to say."
"N-no. I'm j-just being honest."
Queue awkward silence.
Why did I have to say that?
Hey, honesty is the policy we decided on, remember? No regretting that now.
I know. I know it's better this way, but don't you think there's such a thing as being too honest?
No. Maybe there are times when it's better not to say anything, but I will never condone lying. Nothing good ever comes of it.
Well, that was…interesting. Izuku wasn't used to the internal voice that he had come to dub "Other Izuku" being so…vehement. Was that because he knew somewhere deep down that he was just embarrassed?
Intellectually, Izuku knew that must be the reason but for some reason that explanation just didn't feel right.
"A-anyway. What I wanted to say was that we'll end up taking a highway bus to Hokuto, then we can take a local bus to Minamimaki. It'll take a bit longer, of course, but if I order the tickets in advance then we can get a discount. Plus we'll get a ten-percent discount for purchasing round-trip tickets and I'm pretty sure there's a student discount on top of that. It should be manageable after all that!"
"That sounds like a plan. How does this work? Do you need a credit card or something?"
"No, nothing like that. It's actually fully-automated. I just need to submit the order and it'll be stored in the kiosk at the station. I'll probably need your ID number though since I probably can't just use my number twice…yeah, nothing doing."
"Just a sec, I'll go get it. I'm putting you down for a moment."
Izuku retrieved his student ID from his wallet and read it off for Uraraka.
"Alright. Done and…done! Just make sure that you bring that with you or we won't be able to pay for our tickets."
"Oh, it takes cash then?"
"Yep! Well, it probably also takes cards but cash is always a safe bet."
"Wait, I just realized I have no idea when you booked the trip for."
A pause, followed by the distinct sound of skin smacking against skin.
"Duh! I'm so sorry, Deku-kun! I should have checked to see if Greenery Day was okay with you."
"Greenery Day. That's May fourth, which is…next Saturday. Yeah, no, that should be fine. Actually, that's probably for the best. Since stargazing is a nighttime thing, we should probably just plan on it being an overnight trip."
"Overnight? But I don't think hotel expenses would fit in the budget…"
"What are you talking about, Uraraka-san? We'll probably be hiking at least some distance away from the town, right? We could just camp out. I'm pretty sure there's a tent stored away somewhere here…I'll have to ask my mom about that later."
"Ah, right. It makes sense when you put it that way. Good thinking, Deku-kun! I'll put together a plan for what we'll need to bring with us then!"
"Okay. Let me know if you need anything, alright?"
"I will! For sure! I need to go though; talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay. Bye, Uraraka-san."
"Bye, Deku-kun."
As the connection was severed, Izuku pondered at her sudden rush to end the call. Maybe she had a sudden idea and didn't want to forget it? He could empathize with that.
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Ochako Uraraka was in something of a tizzy.
That Deku! How could he say such things so casually?! It had been all she could do to keep her voice from shaking as she excused herself from the call as quickly as possible without just hanging up on him.
Ochako threw herself onto her bed and rolled around with an agitated, direction-less energy.
If she didn't know any better, she would have said that Deku was deliberately messing with her; that he was being mean and trying to rile her up on purpose.
She knew that wasn't the case though; Deku wouldn't do something like that. She might have only known him for a couple months but…
…Wow. Had it really been two months already? The entrance exam had been on February twenty-sixth and it was April twenty-first. Pretty darn close.
It felt like she'd known him for longer than that. Like it had been two, even three times as long. Maybe that was because of how much they'd been through in that short amount of time? It had been more than any other friend she'd ever had, that much was for sure.
If Ochako really thought about it, most people went their entire lives without going through what she and Deku had just on the day they first met. A near-death experience really helped to cement some memories into one's head.
Maybe that had been why she had found herself thinking of him more than once in the month before classes at U.A. had started? Sure, that made sense. It was the most reasonable explanation.
After all, it wasn't like she had a crush on him or anything. She just liked him. He was a friend. A really, really good friend. Maybe even her best friend.
Her best friend who had saved her in spite of barely knowing her. Who had defended her from his best friend the second time they had met. Who had shown himself to be so much more than he had at first seemed to be. Who had stood against an impossible evil in order to defend his classmates, nearly sacrificing himself in the process. Who had comforted her when she couldn't sleep and held her when she just couldn't bear it anymore. Who had spent one of the best days she had ever had with her, which turned out to even be her first date. Who had trusted her to be in charge of a big part of his best-friend's birthday celebration. Who had an open, honest smile and pretty green eyes that she could lose herself in…
And just a moment ago he had essentially told her that just having her there that day had made him happier. Then he had suggested that they share a tent! Just how was she supposed to take that?!
Okay. Maybe Ochako did have feelings for Izuku Midoriya that went beyond simple friendship. Maybe she kept lying to herself every time he made her heart skip a beat or gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside because she didn't want to seem like some shallow, hormonal teenager who would go weak at the knees for just anybody.
But…was he just anybody? Her instincts cried out at her that no, he most certainly was not just anybody and how could she even think that after everything he had said and done, not just for her but for everybody?!
Even so, whether from fear or stubbornness she still refused to yield.
The stargazing trip. That would decide it. If it was meant to be, then she would get some sort of sign. Something would happen that would tell her once and for all just what she was supposed to feel for Izuku Midoriya.
Regardless of what happened one way or the other, she could rest easy knowing that they would still be best friends afterwards. How could they be anything else? She would cut the deck, let fate deal her hand and accept whatever the result happened to be.
There. That made things easier. Now she could focus on planning the trip and just enjoying herself as much as possible. After all, what was the point if they didn't have any fun?
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Classes on Monday and Tuesday were as uneventful as classes at U.A. ever got for Izuku. Notably, he had his second one-on-one after-school session with All Might. They spent the majority of it refining his control of Reflect Fire because, as All Might had stated, one polished technique was worth more than several haphazard ones. They did work on low-powered versions of the ones that Izuku had already developed towards the end, however.
"I see." the thin All Might had said after Izuku had demonstrated his techniques, "So, you have the Nevada Smash, which is currently the one with the most stopping power, Chicago Fire, which covers the widest area and now Reflect Fire, which should prove effective against other fire-users, since most of its power comes from the explosion. In addition to this, you have the ability to spit fireballs of varying intensity, wrap your limbs in fire to augment your attacks and, of course, attract flames to yourself with Flame Magnet. Does that about cover it?"
"If we're talking about my fire-based attacks, then yes." Izuku responded, "I can also use normal smashes at about five-percent effectiveness without using any fuel."
"I've been meaning to comment on that." All Might said, "When I have observed you using this particular technique, your movements seem a bit stilted. Is there a particular reason for this?"
"That's because I can only do it with one limb at a time unless I'm doing something really simple, like lifting something. Otherwise it takes too much concentration. The only time I was able to utilize the technique effectively was during the Battle Trial against Kacchan and even that was only for two steps."
"You need to fix this." All Might stated bluntly, "Such a limitation will prove disastrous should your first attack miss or otherwise prove to be insufficient. It also hinders your overall mobility. How to put this…" he took a moment to think, "Right now you are wielding One For All like a heavy club. It's a powerful weapon that leaves you wide open if you waste any movements. You should think of it more like a suit of powered armor that augments your natural movements. You shouldn't need to focus on what you want to do; you should just do it."
Izuku tried. He truly did. He concentrated on focusing One For All into his entire body at once, as if he were wearing it like a second skin. The power was there, he could feel it, but when he tried to use it, it would slip away after a second or two.
"…This is no good." he eventually decided.
"What do you mean, my boy?"
"It feels…wrong." Izuku tried to explain, "It's like…trying to push a car while it's still in park or swim through a pool of molasses. Sure, it's possible, but at the same time it seems kind of dumb, you know?"
"Hmm…" All Might stroked his bony chin thoughtfully, "I cannot say for certain what your trouble stems from, my boy, since your One For All is fundamentally different from my own. All I can be sure of is that there must be a fundamental flaw in the way you are approaching the situation. If the car is in park, then find a way to put it in neutral. I should have time on Friday for another session. Your homework in the meantime is to consider this conundrum and see if you can think of anything."
"Yes, sir."
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Wednesday was upon them. That meant that it was time for the second meeting of Fight Club. Izuku was actually looking forward to it: the issue of how to use One For All more efficiently was driving him up the wall and he needed to let off some steam and some free-form sparring would be a great way to do that.
He was surprised, therefore, when Ojiro pulled him aside right as people were starting to pair up and have at it.
"Midoriya-san, I was approached with an idea in regards to your problem with fighting women which I believe will prove to be effective in correcting it."
"Really? That's great! What is it?"
"I believe it would be better to let them explain it to you. I just wanted to let you know that they have my permission to do whatever they see fit within reason." he pointed behind Izuku to where the six female members of Class 1-A were standing, "Have fun."
"Tooru-chan, you wanna give him the details? It was your idea after all." Jiro asked her invisible friend, who gave a casual shrug that was betrayed by the obvious excitement in her voice.
"Sure, Kyoka-chan."
She took a couple of steps towards Izuku, stopping when she was an arms-length from him.
"Alright, Midoriya, listen up!" she adopted a serious, drill sergeant-esque tone, "You've got issues with fighting girls, so in order to cure you of that, you're going to only be fighting girls until you get over it!"
"That's right, you lucky devil," Ashido winked and blew him a kiss, "you get us all to yourself~"
Oh.
Oh, dear.
This was not going to be fun.
The girls proceeded to fight him one at a time, switching every time a round was finished. It was all Izuku could do to block or evade their attacks. With the lower-ranked girls this wasn't too bad. Uraraka was clearly struggling against her first instinct of just grabbing him and turning him weightless with her Quirk, so her attacks were telegraphed and easy to avoid. Hagakure was a bit more challenging, given the fact that he couldn't actually see her arms, but her lack of power and inefficient movements made it a simple matter for him to just put up his guard and wait it out.
Jiro was more aggressive than Hagakure and packed a little bit more punch, but ended up being no more difficult to deal with due to not being invisible. Asu- Tsuyu proved to be a bit of a curveball. Since she was a mutant-type and because her physical structure was a bit different than everyone else's, she stayed low and utilized leaping attacks and sweeping kicks with her powerful legs. Izuku's shins hurt by the end of that round and judging from the ginger way Tsuyu was walking, so were hers.
Then it was Ashido's turn and all bets were off.
"Midori, I'm gonna warn you right now: if you aren't prepared to put your hands on me then you may as well just lie back and let me have my way with you. It'd save us both some trouble."
Lie back and let her do what now?
Other Izuku, THIS IS NOT THE TIME!
I beg to differ. Duck.
Izuku complied and just barely avoided taking a high kick to the face.
We knew she was flexible but godDAMN!
Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!
"What's the matter, Midori?" Ashido had started bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with her fists raised in a boxing stance, which was doing very interesting things to her chest. Judging from the smile on her face and the glint in her eyes, Izuku strongly suspected that she was completely aware of this fact.
Well, that explained why she had made a show of discarding her shirt and leaving her upper body covered by only a sports bra.
"See something you like? Me too!" suddenly, pain happened and Izuku was forced to spin around to compensate for the sudden momentum brought on by his throbbing cheek, "An opening."
The way she emphasized that last word was just plain wrong.
"Ashido-san, could you please stop what you're doing? It's making me extremely uncomfortable."
"Oh, I'll just bet it is~"
A quick glance towards the sidelines revealed that, while some of the girls were a bit pink in the face, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu in particular, they did not appear surprised or upset by Ashido's tactics.
That meant this had been planned.
He was so screwed.
Pretty sure that's what she wants you to think.
GO DIE IN A FIRE!
The remainder of the round was nothing short of a nightmare for poor Izuku. If he averted his gaze, he was immediately punished for it. If he blocked or tried to grab her, she hit him with innuendo or low sounds that Izuku was one-hundred percent certain that a girl her age shouldn't know how to make. If he stuck to evasion then she would get in close and run a hand along his face or his chest or…just wherever the hell she wanted before she hit him with a knee or an elbow or some other close-range attack.
"Tell me something, Midori," she taunted right when the round was about to end, "is it that you can't stop me or that you don't want to?"
The momentary short-circuit caused by that was enough for her to sweep his legs and pin him to the floor just as the bell rang. Her face was way too close to his and he had no doubt that she knew exactly where her right leg currently was.
"Huh. 'Don't want to' it is." she got off of him and as she helped him to his feet, Izuku couldn't help but feel a little violated. In the end, she really had just had her way with him.
"I say we let him go, girls." Ashido said to the onlookers, "I may have poured it on a bit thick. We should probably give him a chance to go…think about it."
Yaoyorozu was as red as a cherry at this point and the previously unphased Jiro widened her eyes slightly and glanced at Izuku before letting out a low whistle.
Izuku wasted no time in accepting the offer and left immediately.
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Mina Ashido watched the poor boy retreat with one hand resting on her hip and the other wiping her brow. She had to admit that, acting or no, that had been a bit more exhilarating than she had bargained for. Especially that reveal at the end. She'd be a liar if she said that didn't give her a bit of an ego boost.
Meanwhile, Ochako was giving her a disapproving look out of the corner of her eye.
"Ochako-chan," she sighed, "don't give me that stink eye. Remember that we gave everyone equal opportunity and you turned it down just the same as Tooru-chan and Tsuyu-chan. Honestly, with how red Yaomomo is I almost can't believe that she didn't turn it down too."
"It's just…" the tallest member of their group fidgeted cutely, "I mean, it's for the betterment of one of our classmates, so of course I'd do it! I just don't understand how you can do something so embarrassing so easily, Mina-chan."
"Ribbit, you did look like you were enjoying yourself out there, Mina-chan." Tsuyu added.
Mina sighed again and tapped her foot while she thought about how to respond.
"Well, I've always been a flirt. I don't think that's a surprise to anyone here, even if I wouldn't normally go as far as I did today. 'Look, but don't touch' and all that stuff, you know? If I need to step outside of my comfort zone a little in order to help someone, then sure, I'll do it. I won't lie and say that I didn't enjoy it a bit, but I won't apologize for that either. He's a cutie and the way he reacted made me feel sexy. Is that wrong? Does that make me an easy girl?"
"Of course it doesn't!" Kyoka immediately dismissed the notion, "Feeling attractive is a track that everyone can jam out to. It's always nice to know that someone can look at you and see something that they like. Why do you think so many musicians dress provocatively when it's concert time? I can only imagine what having all of those eyes on you must feel like."
"Don't say it like that, Kyoka-chan!" Mina said, rubbing the petite girl's head, "You're cute too, you know?"
"Um, Mina-chan?" Ochako piped up, "When you said 'how he reacted,' what exactly did you mean by that?"
Oh, curse the adorable innocence of this girl. Mina looked to her friends for assistance but was met with a wall of cruel silence.
"You're on your own for this one, Mina-chan." Tooru confirmed her sentence.
"Well, you see, Ochako-chan," Mina began, feeling more and more embarrassed as she went, "Midori is a healthy boy and he, um, liked what I did back there to a certain extent. This is perfectly normal and not something he could help, I'm sure. Now, the thing about healthy and perfectly normal boys is that when they see something that they, ah, like, they have a certain involuntary physical reaction that tells you without a doubt that they…liked it."
She watched as realization slowly dawned on Ochako and she gradually achieved a shade of red that surpassed even Yaomomo's. As she watched her friend have a hormone-fueled breakdown to the point that her breath became visible in the underground arena, Mina silently observed that having that much blood rush to one's head might not be healthy.
Healthy. Like Midori. Who was apparently packing one hell of a body underneath those clothes of his if her borderline-groping had told her anything.
…She might have some thinking to do herself later.
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Friday rolled around and Izuku was honestly no closer to a solution to All Might's extra assignment than he had been three days earlier. On the bus ride to USJ after class that day, he was frantically trying to piece something together so that he would have something to show his idol, even if it didn't work.
"Well, Midoriya, my boy?" All Might regarded him with a steady gaze and folded arms as they stood in the Conflagration Zone, "Do you have anything you would like to show me?"
It was now or never.
"Well, Sensei, I do have one idea, but I'm honestly not sure if it'll work or not. I've thought really hard about this problem and this was the only thing that I could come up with."
"Fair enough, my boy. Take your time and show me what you have come up with."
It was a good thing that he wasn't in a rush, because Izuku only had a slight idea of what he was actually going to do.
Some things don't need to be planned out. Just go with your gut and trust your Quirk to do the rest.
Izuku closed his eyes and reached within himself, feeling for the power that he knew was there. He was fully-stocked on fire, so the power was extremely easy to locate. He needed to focus on only using a little bit of it. Without looking, he raised his hood and made sure everything was in place.
Izuku concentrated on trying to match his flame output with the now-familiar feeling of five-percent of One For All. It wanted to go higher, to surge and burn, but he forced it down.
Foot off the gas. Just let it idle.
He could feel the warmth as the flames licked his body, but the low power combined with his costume protected him. He could feel his reserves draining rapidly and he instinctively realized that this was because he was outputting flames at a constant rate. In theory this was unnecessary; once the initial spark was given, a fire should be able to keep burning with a comparatively small amount of fuel.
Reign it in. Don't let it do whatever it wants.
Izuku tried something that he had never tried before: he activated Flame Magnet while he was still outputting flames.
The strain was immediate. Keeping the output of One For All limited while also trying to hold the flames closer to his body took an unbelievable amount of concentration. His fuel reserves were decreasing more slowly now, but there was no way that Izuku could fight in such a condition.
Baby steps. Let's try opening our eyes and seeing what we've done.
Izuku slowly and deliberately opened his eyes, even such a simple thing as seeing was taking some small portion of his valuable concentration.
What he saw was not what he was expecting.
Izuku's body was covered in flames, yes, but Flame Magnet's influence was producing an interesting result. Namely, the flames had been pulled close to his body and had formed a sort of armor. It wasn't thin enough to be called a second skin and he knew that it wasn't practical enough to use in a fight but…Izuku would remember this.
"My boy?" All Might said cautiously, "Can you hear me? Are you able to speak?"
"…Yes." His speech was slow and deliberate. He needed to maintain his focus."
"How do you feel? Have you found the solution?"
"No. Too hard. Can't maintain."
"Let it go, my boy."
Izuku dutifully released his hold on One For All and Flame Magnet and immediately felt better. He also felt…cooler?
"I think I've found a problem with this besides the concentration issue."
"What is that?"
"Being literally covered in fire probably raises my body temperature. I felt a bit cold after letting it go."
"Humor me for a moment, my boy? Refill yourself and only do the first step this time."
Izuku immediately saw an issue with All Might's request, but did as he was asked. He took in enough flames to top himself off and re-ignited One For All across his entire body at minimum output, letting it burn.
"I thought about this at first too," Izuku admitted, "but there's a big problem with it. My output right now is at five percent, which is the same as my passive abilities with One For All, so I've limited the output of the flames to match that. Since they're running wild though, it consumes five percent worth of my fuel every second. I can't even keep this going for thirty seconds." as if to prove his point, his flames went out shortly after he had finished speaking, all of his fuel having been expended.
"But can you move?" All Might pressed.
"I can try."
"Please do."
Izuku refilled himself again and was surprised to see All Might transform into his muscle form.
"Use that new ability of yours and come at me with everything you have, my boy."
Well, that was one way to do a test drive.
Remember, just go with your gut and trust your Quirk.
Izuku ignited his body and charged at All Might, running full-tilt instead of using his normal pseudo-leaps.
The difference was like night and day.
Worried that he might overshoot, Izuku dropped into a skid and drove his fingers into the ground, causing his body to pivot sharply in an improvised leg sweep. All Might hopped over it easily, but Izuku had anticipated that and used his newfound agility to send himself rocketing towards his idol, letting fly with a straight punch as he did so.
All Might twisted impossibly in midair and caused Izuku to miss. Time seemed to slow down as Izuku grabbed onto the front of All Might's shirt with his free hand and used his momentum to bring his knee crashing into the Symbol of Peace's hand as he caught the blow.
Izuku felt amazing. It was like he had re-discovered One For All all over again. He didn't have to think or focus on his individual movements, he could just move. He wondered briefly if this was how Kacchan felt all the time with his freeform, acrobatic style of combat.
Speaking of Kacchan, maybe it was about time he put all those years of observation to good use?
Izuku seized All Might's wrist and vaulted over it in a spontaneous front-flip, bringing his heel blazing through the air with such velocity that a trail of fire followed in its wake. All Might dodged, because of course he did. That was all part of the plan. Izuku had already let fly with a wide left hook, shifting the angle of his spin ever so slightly. When that inevitably whiffed as well, he kept the spin going and brought a right hammer fist screaming through the air towards his teacher's head-
And then it was over. The power left him as abruptly as the light from a snuffed candle and, unable to keep up with his own momentum, Izuku landed sprawled out on the ground.
"Well, I would say that is certainly an improvement, my boy, wouldn't you?" All Might observed as he deflated.
Izuku sat up and shook his head.
"I don't know. It feels amazing for sure and I know that I'm a lot more fluid when I use it, but that makes me wonder exactly who it's useful against. My time limit is so short that I can't really rely on it for a drawn-out fight and if I'm facing someone who I could take down with just a few hits, then what's the point of using it in the first place? Wouldn't I just be better off using a fifteen or twenty percent Nevada Smash or something?"
"It could prove more valuable than you think, my boy." All Might wiggled a finger at him, "What if you are facing someone that you cannot land a clean hit on? What if they are too fast for you? This could prove to be an extremely useful ace-in-the-hole. Think of it as a final trump card that you can use to take your opponent by surprise. I would imagine that it could become more potent if you expended more fuel with it, yes?"
"It could, sure, but the time limit is so prohibitive as it is that I doubt I'd accomplish much if I pushed it too far. There just wouldn't be much of a difference between five seconds of twenty percent and seven seconds of fifteen, you know?"
"Perhaps, but perhaps not. Remember that every technique has its purpose. What you have accomplished here today was not a waste, my boy. Remember that."
Izuku stood and nodded.
"So?" All Might prompted. Izuku stared at him in confusion, unsure of what he wanted.
"A name, my boy! What will you name this technique?"
A name did occur to Izuku, but he hesitated before shaking his head.
"It's still missing something. It's an incomplete technique, so until I figure out what that is, I won't name it anything. I don't want to cling onto bad habits."
All Might nodded with approval.
"A respectable answer. I look forward to seeing it completed. On another note, do you have any special plans for your upcoming week-long vacation? I understand that the school's facilities will still be available to those who wish to make use of them, so perhaps we could fit in another session if you are not too busy?"
Izuku was aware of this. Kacchan had made the announcement that Fight Club would be held as usual the following Wednesday for those who wanted to come. A good portion of the class had confirmed that they would, so that was that.
"Well…I actually do have one thing planned that will take up the weekend." Izuku said, rubbing the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh-ho?" All Might leaned down, a mischievous grin on his gaunt face and a glint in his shadowed, blue eyes, "And what manner of weekend activities might have my young protégé looking so flustered, I wonder? Might they involve a certain special someone?"
"It's not like that!" Izuku protested as his mentor chuckled, "She's not my girlfriend ye- She's not my girlfriend!"
"Ha ha ha! Well, my boy, if things get heated between you and your not-girlfriend, then just make sure you don't go too far; you aren't sixteen yet, after all. Should you cross that threshold in spite of this, however, make sure to use protection."
In that moment Izuku was glad that he had expended all of his fuel, otherwise he might have gone up in flames right then and there.