#midoriya and honey bear <3

[h0rnyshakespeare]

Nicknames they'd call you<3

Characters: Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugou, Shouto Todoroki, Eijirou Kirishima, Denki Kaminari, Hanta Sero

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 315

Izuku would stick with the classics: doll, sweetheart, honey, etc. I also see him using bunny, puppy, kitten and other cute animal-themed ones<3 he’d be flustered at the beginning (babyy 🥺) but once he gets used to it he uses them daily<3

Katsuki would start out with shitty woman and dumbass😑but as your relationship progresses, he’d start calling you babe, baby, princess and of course we can’t forget ✨teddy bear✨ I’m a little biased about that one caz my nickname among my friends is literally teddy lmao

But it’ll still mostly be shitty woman and dumbass

Shouto would also use the good old-fashioned ones: love/my love, dear, etc. I can also see him calling you snowflake SKJSKJJKRFH- (“ohh is it caz of your quirk, Sho?” “No love, it’s caz you’re one of a kind.” WITH HIS SMILE AHH-)

Eijirou would call you babe, cutie, beautiful and of course his Pebble<3 I also see him using cute but also kinda cringey ones which you two laugh about like honey bunny, snugglebear, pumpkin, etc. It becomes a thing where you two try to outdo each other with cringey nicknames lmao (“Heya stud muffin!” “Wait that’s such a bad one Y/N how am I supposed to top thaaat?” “ Hehee I win!”)

Denki would call you babe, baby, beautiful, hotstuff, sweets and something related to his quirk (“Baby can I call you sparky? I thought it was cute that it kinda relates to my quirk, you know!” “Hmm I don’t know, Denks, shouldn’t I be the one calling you that?” Cue flustered Pikachu<3)

I really like the idea of latina!Hanta so he’d call you mi amor, bella, mi alma, mi corazón , princesa, etc. This man is hella smooth too (“Good morning, mi reina,” he says with a lazy smirk as he sees you getting flustered I MEAN WHO COULD HANDLE HIM AHH-)

As for english ones pretty much the english versions of the above nicknames: beautiful, princess, my queen, sweetheart, etc.

A/N: Hope you liked these<3!

#anime #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha x y/n #mha x y/n #bnha fluff #mha fluff #izuku midoriya x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #eijirou kirishima x reader #denki kaminari x reader #hanta sero x reader

[wornoutmouse]

@okaywwaitwhat

10x sorry

The clattering of plates and utensils is the first thing he hears as he enters. Shouta slowly unwraps his scarf, unwilling to make his presence known yet. Movements were heavy and slowed by the day's trials. His lips quivered slightly at the sound of you humming your favorite song before it fell as a twinge of pain struck between his brow.  

It had been a particularly rough day, with Midoriya disappearing and the public becoming more aware of how ‘not under control’ the hero’s really were. His nights had been spent restlessly at the school trying to locate his student and answering calls from angry parents. All he wanted internally was to take a shower and sleep in a more comfortable location than his office desk. 

Shivering as he stepped on his bathroom tiles, he took a moment to assess his appearance….. and in the nicest way possible,  he looked like shit. The dark circles underneath his eyes were so black they were almost purplish in tone. With thin pale skin and tangled up hair, he looked like one of the undead. "Shouta?" A head of curly ginger hair peeks around the corner with slightly worried eyes.  In your left hand was an iron skillet but Shouta chose to ignore it. 

"Long time no see huh?" You heave the skillet onto the bathroom sink causing both you and Aizawa to cringe at the cracking sound that results after.  "I've missed you." Your deep voice was soft and quiet as you hugged him tightly.  Shouta relaxed into the embrace almost immediately. The feeling of wetness makes itself known in your shoulder and the steady shaking of his shoulders finally gives way to the dam holding him back. 

His cries are soft,  barely even heard as you hold him against your shoulder. You couldn't fathom what this was about but the sight of your love crying nearly broke you. He squeezes you tightly before taking a deep breath and pulling away.  "I'm gonna take a shower,  I'm sorry for causing you distress." You smack his shoulder,  "Be quiet, your pain is mine to bear as well.  I will make tea while I wait for you." Shouta sighed, rubbing at his skin as he gazed in the mirror. A microwave beeps in the distance forcing him to leave the bathroom at the thought of warm tea. 

He finds you settled on the couch, lips drawn in a soft smile when he comes into view. His descent to the couch is heavy and moves the fronature slightly with an irritable screech. Calloused hands bring forth his cup and the sweet smell of some undistinguishable fruit invades his nostrils. "How was your day honey?" 

The dam that held the stitched wounds and restraint cracked before releasing. No tears left his eyes but his face became even more sunken as a haunted look dawned across his face. "I- I don't know what to do." He wrapped his hands around his arms, hugging himself tightly.  "It's like every step forward takes 3 steps back!" You look at him sorrowfully.  Placing your cup down you are cautious as you stop one arm around his shoulder bringing him to slouch against your shoulder. The change is utensils as he relaxed the slightest bit.

You do not heal him,  but it helps. The shaking is still there,  but his breathing stabilizes slowly but surely.  "It will be okay. " from the corner of his eye Shouta looks at you,  "How do you know?" You're quiet for a long time.  The sound of a clock ticking down the hall as the only way to confirm the passage of time.  "I don't,  but either way.  We are in this together."

#black y/n #blackreader #bnha headcanons #mha #aizawa x poc #aizawa comfort #bnha angst #aizawa angst #mhaxblack reader

[hereformcdonaldshonestly]

hey love!! HCs for deku, denki, kirishima and shoto incoming~~ recently, i read a text AU + HCs where the boys forget their S/O at the store, but what if its the other way around ?? btw, make sure to stay hydrated, eat on time, take breaks and wear a mask when you go out!! love you <33

Of course! Remember to do the same! ❤️ I hope you don’t mind if I threw in a place that wasn’t a store!

Fluff 💖

S/O Loses Them While Out

Izuku Midoriya-

This sweet poor boy, you told him you were going to be gone for only a second and he somehow got lost. Here's how it happened, imagine you took your boyfriend to the store with you to help you with your shopping list. Not hard right? Wrong! He didn't know where anything was, bless his heart, but it honestly was shocking to you!

"Okay Deku, I'll be right back okay?" You say, you handed him a part of the list while you had the other. It was simple stuff like food, cleaning supplies, then some other small items. You kissed his cheek and walked off into one of the other aisle. After about ten minutes, you completely got into the zone! You forgot that anybody existed, so there you were checking out and going out to your car. You get in on the driver's side and sit down, starting up the car. "Okay Zuku, you ready to head back?" You asked, there was no response. You basically search the car and that's when you see the green haired boy, running out yelling "WAIT!!" Oh shit, how could you forget him!?

Whenever you both got back to the dorms, you couldn't stop apologizing. Like you were borderline crying before you were so scared he was angry at you, after a few minutes Izuku just laughed. You were confused and he said, "baby, you realize I'm not mad right? That's a story to tell our future kids!" You blushed out of embarrassment and he kissed you. How could you forget your own boyfriend? You'll never understand.

Denki Kaminari-

Denki was a huge airhead! Like everyone could just tell, but you loved him. Now there's pros and cons to this situation, some pros is: 1, it's adorable! 2, it's always a good story to tell! 3, it's never a dull moment! But onto the cons, the main one is; you can easily forget he's like a big child and needs 24 hour surveillance. Now granted, you didn't mind! But you better hope you don't take him into a decently sized shopping mall and him get lost.

Because that's what happen, you were out to find some new clothes. You just wanted something nice for summer and Denki obviously wanted to go because uh, he wanted to get the mood *electric* if you know what I mean. Plus new clothes, who wouldn't want to go!? This time, you told him to look around while you threw away a cup. Yes, just one singular cup. You told him it would be like 5 minutes max, because it was some what crowded. Now Denki decided that he had other plans and was walking around the mall. When you got back, he was no where to be found. You panicked, you tried calling him and then you remember he left his phone at home because he didn't feel like carrying it around. Kind of ironic, huh? Anyways! So you thought he headed out to the car, after you purchased some clothes that's where you were headed. As you got out to the car, you didn't see him in there. So this made you panic even more!

That's when you hear your phone ring, you pull it out immediately and answer. "Hello?" You say, you had a deep, gruff voice on the other end. "Is this (y/n) (y/l)?" The man asks, "yes?" You say, with slight concern. "We have a lost child, well he looks like an young adult almost, but he ended up in the lost child center and told us to call you." You busted out laughing and told him you were be there soon enough. Once you walked into the office, you seen Kaminari sitting there with a lollipop in his mouth. "Hey babe! Look what they gave me!" he exclaims, showing you the bright colored candy. Oh boy, you wanted to walk away on the spot. But you didn't! Instead you took him home, giving him a much needed lecture on stranger danger.

Eijrou Kirishima-

You were usually the one who was glued to Kirishima, not because you were clingy, but because you were forgetful. You both decided to go downtown and do a bit of shopping. You drove since it would take a little while to walk, once you parked, the shopping was on!

You were surrounded by music, stores, food, and even street entertainers! It was.. amazing! You got so caught up with it, that you completely forgot that Kiri was there with you. After an hour or so, you got in the car and drove back. You felt as if you forgot something, but didn't mind and brushed it off. This feeling occurred a lot, but it was never anything too serious. Humming to a song, with your phone connected to the bluetooth system. At a stoplight, you get a call coming through. When you answer it, it completely reminded you of what you were forgetting. "Hello!" You say and that's when Kiri's voice booms throughout the car, "what the hell (y/n)!" He says, your eyes go wide. How could you forget him? "I thought you were in here!" You say, trying to find a spot to where you could turn around. "I was getting us some icecream when you disappeared!" He says, you felt horrible. He did sound slightly angry, which was understandable honestly. As soon as you got back, it was pouring down rain. There he sat, his usually spiky red hair, now drenched and laying down, with him holding two melted icecream cones. He opens the door and sits down, not saying a word. "Kiri? I'm sorry!" You say as you drive back, glancing at him every now and then.

Whenever you arrived back at his dorm, he changed and sat now next to you. "I'm sorry honey." You say quietly, almost tearing up. He couldn't stay mad at you, honestly he wasn't even that mad, he's just upset you forgot about him. After a few moments of silence, he basically tackles you into a bear hug. "You're going to pay for this!" He says, laughing. Oh you did for sure, he ended up getting sick from the rain so you had to take care of him that whole week.

Shoto Todoroki-

Shoto was a pretty chill guy, like I mean honestly. You rarely ever did anything to upset him. Whenever he did get upset, that means it was something major! You were carpooling, you picked him up since you were both heading to the same place. It was a beach party, the class was throwing! Honestly, you couldn't wait! You got to wear a fabulous swimsuit while Todoroki got to admire you.

After you arrived, the party went on for hours! Like there was so much going on at once, it was just hard to take in all at the same time! Forgetting you and Todoroki were carpooling, you got in your car and left. Like I said, you were more worried about getting some aloe on your sunburns so it didn't hurt like hell. Once you got back you checked your messages, your heart dropped. It was Todoroki.

You grabbed your keys and picked him up, he was the only one left. It broke your heart, he didn't look angry but then again you can never tell. He got in the car, sitting down, not looking at you. "Todo? I'm sorry." You say, curling up to him, while you two were on his bed. Once you didn't get a response, the tears were flowing. His eyes widen, "no no! It's okay, I promise. I'm not mad." He says, pulling you in for a hug. He wiped away any of the stray tears, kissing your forehead. The next morning you both decided that you shouldn't be allowed to do carpool ever again. Honestly, you can see why!

This was so fun to write!

I hope you have a great day! :)

#anime #bnha #bokuno hero academia x reader #mha #my hero x reader #my hero x y/n #x reader #bnha x gender neutral reader #fluff #shoto todoroki x reader #bnha todoroki #mha todoroki #denki x reader #bnha denki #denki kaminari #denki x y/n #mha x gender neutral reader #my hero headcanons #my hero academia #kirishima x reader #mha izuku #izuku midoriya #bnha kirishima #deku x reader #bnha deku x reader #mha x reader #izuku midoria x reader #bnha x reader

[myherowritings]

masterlist

© myherowritings — all rights reserved. reposting, modifying, copying, or translating of any kind is not allowed. do not read my writing as asmr. do not plagiarize. thank you and have fun reading!

SOCIAL MEDIA AU MASTERLIST

HAIKYUU!! MASTERLIST

TODOROKI SHOUTO

i. animal instincts

with your shapeshifting quirk, you take on the duty of becoming the resident undercover therapy cat for class 1-a. one day, you see todoroki restless in the middle of the night and try to comfort him in cat form. but what happens when he confides in you his feelings you weren’t meant to hear?

ii. into your arms

you’re prone to tripping and todoroki is prone to being there to catch you. or, in which you’re a bit of a klutz and, for a reason he can’t explain, shouto wants to make sure you never get hurt.

iii. an otome addiction

you become obsessed with the characters in the otome game, mystic messenger, and your boyfriend todoroki gets a little bit jealous.

iv. strawberry scented dreams

the 3 times todoroki falls asleep on you + the 1 time you fall asleep on him. shouto is always sleepy and needs some rest, and your shoulder just happens to be the comfiest place to get it.

v. can you keep a secret?

you and shouto are secretly dating and none of your classmates know. during a study session in todoroki’s dorm, kaminari, sero, and midoriya find your lacy thong under shouto’s desk and try to figure out whose it is.

vi. frosting fights

midoriya has been feeling sad lately, so you and todoroki (try to) bake him a cake in the middle of the night. 

vii. the panty thief

modern au. “my cat steals underwear and i come home to find you chasing my cat to get your underwear back.” in which todoroki is a new cat parent and you’re his new neighbor whose panties keep disappearing.

viii. overheated 

it’s super hot out and you feel like you’re dizzy and about to faint. todoroki is there to cool you off with his right side.

ix. jealousy for dummies

jealous of all the time shouto has been spending with yaoyorozu, you hatch up a plan with bakugou to give todoroki a taste of his own medicine.

x. ghostwriter masterlist [smau]

college au. you’re an aspiring writer with a longtime crush on the ghost hunter on campus, todoroki shouto. when you two are paired up for a semester-long journalism project, you come up with the perfect, foolproof plan to get him to fall for you.

xi. hearts intertwined

roommate au. you and todoroki have been roommates for months now but have barely had more than a two minute conversation. when quarantine hits and everyone is on lockdown, you find yourself forced to spend more time with him and actually end up…enjoying it?

xii. fictional crush

class 1-a has an avatar: the last airbender marathon and you can’t help but swoon over your fictional crush, prince zuko, leaving todoroki feeling a little jealous.

xiii. letters of my love [smau]

tatbilb au. you and your friends mail out your past love letters because you want to see your old crushes’ reactions. on accident, you mail your current crush’s letter. to make it seem like your crush on bakugou is gone, you fake date another letter recipient, todoroki shouto. 

xiv. eat the rich [series]

ceo/barista au. todoroki shouto was a wealthy, young ceo who inherited his father’s enterprise. you were a barista at a local cafe who wouldn’t mind some extra cash. one day, shouto came in during an early morning shift and tipped you such a large sum of money, you were certain it had to have been an accident. to your surprise and complete pleasure: it was not.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

i. one hell of a knockout

boxer au. bakugou is a young pro boxer climbing his way to the top of the charts. one day, his friends kirishima and ashido invite you to a match. unbeknownst to you, you end up accidentally distracting katsuki during a fight and he gets a punch landed on his face.

ii. take you out

you ask bakugou out on a picnic date to the park, but he thinks you’re challenging him to a fight. you can’t tell who is more confused when the day finally comes.

iii. kitty kisses

your boyfriend and your cat don’t get along. bakugou keeps trying to come up with different ways to get your cat to finally warm up to him. (or, in which katsuki spends 3 hours baking treats for a tsundere cat.)

iv. “you’re hot when you’re angry”

you and bakugou get into a disagreement, you get pinned underneath him, and he smirks and realizes just how hot you are when you’re pissed.

v. a soothing touch

pro hero au. katsuki is sore and stressed from a long day at work but is too stubborn to let you give him a massage.

vi. “she’s my wife”

pro hero au. when bakugou forgets his lunch in the refrigerator, you decide to deliver it to him at his agency. but when you’re there, the new receptionist calls you a bitch. bakugou responds appropriately. 

vii. cold shoulder

pro hero au. whenever you and bakugou get into a disagreement, he blasts the air conditioner until you have no choice but to ask him to cuddle.

viii. the appreciation post

pro hero au. one of the responsibilities of being a pro hero in this day and age is having a social media presence. you tag bakugou in an appreciation post while he’s out in public and he gets embarrassed in the best way possible.

ix. slip of the tongue

pro hero au. during a charity interview with the top three heroes, deku and shouto “accidentally” give away ground zero’s crush on you. you’re asked about bakugou in an interview of your own and, during a fit of excitement, accidentally let your crush on him slip.

x. the jealous type | fanart

class 1-a has a game night in the common room. bakugou sees you and todoroki getting too close for comfort and can’t stop himself from getting jealous.

xi. a forgotten anniversary

pro hero au. it yours and bakugou’s one year anniversary, but he’s so busy with hero work that he forgets. you’re hurt and upset, but katsuki may have a few tricks up his sleeve…

xii. shirt on, bra off 

aged up au. bakugou sees you take off your bra, one-handed, and he can’t help but be in a bit of awe. 

xiii. bear hugs

you see your childhood friend, bakugou, for the first time in years and you greet him with a giant bear hug...only to find yourself in the nurse’s office right after. 

xiv. call me b-a-b-y

bakugou absolutely hates when you call him pet names. he hates the smile on your face when you say it, hates the way he can’t stop blushing-- he hates it. right?

xv. fever talk | fanart

pro hero au. “side effects may include: light-headedness, disorientation, and accidental confessions of love.” you help nurse a fever-ridden ground zero back to health, but little did you know it should have come with a warning.

xvi. the language of flowers

you decide to make the most of your nature quirk by giving your crush, bakugou, endless bouquets of flowers. 

xvii. fact or fiction? [18+]

pro hero au. ground zero’s crush on you has become painfully obvious to everyone, leading to an incessant amount of shipping. one day, he gets himself off to one of the many lewd stories about the two of you and you find out.

xviii. paparazzi

pro hero au. you and ground zero go on your first date as a public couple and the paparazzi won’t stop harassing the two of you. bakugou decides to take you to his house to cook for you and things begin to heat up in the kitchen.

xix. number neighbor masterlist [smau] 

college au. in which bakugou katsuki is a grumpy and sarcastic college student just trying to get his degree and you are his bubbly number neighbor who is determined to become his new “bestie.”

xx. all that ass [nn scenario] | fanart 

a number neighbor bonus fic. one night at the gym, you see a handsome guy with so much ass, you take a picture on the sly and send it to your number neighbor, bakugou, to freak out over. but what you don’t expect is for bakugou to reply with a picture of you from the same gym.

xxi. honey, honey

pro hero au. ground zero, deku, and shouto are scheduled to have a meet-and-greet at a primary school to boost their rankings. there, bakugou unexpectedly meets a kindergarten teacher with a sweet smile who likes to call people honey.

xxii. under my patrol

pro hero au. after seeing your boyfriend cheat on you on a night you were supposed to be on a date, you mope alone at a bar. stumbling home, you crash into the famous hero, ground zero.

xxiii. found a treasure

modern au. “it’s nice that your voice was the first thing i heard today.”

xxiv. mistletoe kiss

holiday au. after a few weeks of dating, you and katsuki still haven’t kissed. you hope that will change under the mistletoe this holiday season.

KIRISHIMA EIJIROU

i. the pizza delivery guy

modern au. your roommate orders a pizza with the special instructions, “send your cutest delivery boy ;)” and you’re left in begrudging awe when it actually works.

SHINSOU HITOSHI

i. you suck at gaming masterlist [smau]

youtuber au. you’re a youtuber known for your chaotic yet wholesome content and shinsou is a gamer who keeps getting accused of being an eboy. one day you upload a video trying your hand at gaming and shinsou tweets out about how much you suck.

ii. borrowed sweaters, stolen kisses

aged up. in a game of truth or dare, you’re dared to sneak into your crush’s dorm and steal one article of clothing to wear the next day. it just so happens that the hoodie you snatched was shinsou’s favorite sweater.

iii. turn on your airdrop masterlist [smau]

modern au. you’re at a theme park when kaminari dares you to airdrop memes to the first device that pops up and reluctantly, you give in. but never would you have thought they’d send you memes back… nor could you have guessed the person you were feeling a meme-connection with was your first love and first heartbreak, shinsou hitoshi.

iv. maybe it’s fate [toya pt. 25]

a turn on your airdrop written chapter. after discovering the mememate you fell in love with was your ex-boyfriend who broke your heart, you find yourself alone in a bar with a dead phone in a poor attempt to cope. the person who helps you at 3 a.m. is the last person you want to see.

KAMINARI DENKI

i. play me a song [smau]

youtube/celeb au. you’re an actress and singer who is highly adored by youtuber, kaminari denki. after his endless simping and thirsting on twitter, you finally decide to reply to one of his tweets.

TODODEKU

i. pinky promise

a quirk sends todoroki back in time and there he sees a four year old midoriya crying in the park. what better way to cheer him up than with some strawberry ice cream?

HEADCANONS 

HC: bakugou meets his s/o’s unsupportive parents

HC: pro hero shouto meets his quirkless s/o working at a hospital

HC: todoroki absolutely does not get along with his s/o’s male best friend

HC: shouto takes care of sore s/o

HC: bakugo + kirishima get a surprise kiss from s/o

HC: todoroki and s/o bake brownies and things get a little messy

HC: todoroki and s/o go to hanami (flower viewing)

HC: s/o peppers kisses all over todoroki’s face + he turns bright red

HC: todoroki and s/o have your first date at the aquarium

HC: iida + midoriya + todoroki react to their s/o whose nose twitches when cold/concentrated

HC: sleep deprived s/o with todoroki + bakugou

HC: getting high with kirishima + bakugou + todoroki [18+]

HC: baku + kiri + todo react to s/o being catcalled

HC: you’re harassed by a stranger and, to make them stop, you grab your friend [shouto + katsuki] and give him a kiss to prove he’s your boyfriend

HC: boyfriend!denki headcanons

HC: how baku + todo + kami kiss their s/o and what they taste like

HC: bakugou + todoroki cuddling headcanons

HC: bakugou + todoroki react to their s/o squeezing their butt

HC: bakugou + todoroki find their crushes diary and accidentally read it

HC: bnha as fuckboys (kami + todo + kiri + shin)

HC: autumn with todo + baku + kiri

HC: valentine’s day with baku + todo + shin

HC: shin + todo + baku replying to flirty anons

FAKE TEXTS

FT: prank texts on your crush todoroki

#masterlist #bnha fanfiction #bnha x reader #todoroki x reader #bakugou x reader #midoriya x todoroki #myherowritings #todoroki shouto #todoroki shouto x reader #x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bnha imagines

[mettywiththenotes]

321 thoughts

Okay no you don’t understand, when I saw the black car at the end of 320 I wondered if it was gonna be Top 3 squad coming to “save the day” and I worried Enji would be all like “I’M SORRY I DIDN’T KNOW YOU BETTER AND I’M HERE TO APOLOGISE YOU CAN COUNT ON ME FROM NOW ON” and then I saw Enji from this chapter and I was about to be so pissed

[because if Enji came up and joined the fight and said all that, it still wouldn’t have changed the fact that Izuku was still in turmoil over his “duty” so to me it would have been like Enji was making it about himself, which I was actually kind of fearing would happen]

But I’m so glad that doesn’t seem to be the case! Enji out here just helping to arrest Dictator, thank god

I kinda like this part, with Hawks suggesting Best Jeanist just capture Izuku and have it over and done with and Enji just being like “nah listen I think the kids have got this one”

Like: “Hawks, as of now... the students won’t be a hindrance to us... [so let them do their thing and negotiate with Midoriya, and then maybe we can think about Best Jeanist coming in with the big guns if things don’t work out]”, you know? That’s what I think anyway

Also... listen I know the kids are trying to help and so are the Top 3 but, my god, can everyone stop treating Izuku like an escaped convict? I know the kids are reaching out to him but Hawks seriously sounds like he’s saying “lets just tie the kid up and drag him back against his will”

Like???? At least some of them are trying to communicate and get through to Izuku, but then you have people like Momo and Hawks who are straight up suggesting to immobilize Izuku and drag him back! Can you all PLEASE stop treating him like a weapon and STOP forcing him to do things, I know you all care for him but this is getting kinda tiring

“They have such flashy techniques, they might not need my help...” Honey are you still thinking about how ‘not flashy’ your quirk is, cuz I thought we established that normal quirk or flashy quirk, yours is still helpful and does manly justice! KIRI PLEASE I LOVE YOU, HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF!

Kiri and Bakugou have a lot to say to Izuku huh. I know Bakugou’s moment will come but I also wanna see what Kiri has to say! I hope he makes it back in time :( Aoyama and Hagakure too!

[or is that a plot device to make Aoyama and Hagakure go away?👀Hori what are you planning]

Regardless, I think Aoyama, Hagakure and Kirishima is a team-up I didn’t know I wanted to see, and now we won’t even get to see it. Still. There goes the new dream team, off to help civilians :’)

Pissed off Shouto! We love to see a pretty boy!

Also, I love Shouto’s thinking here. Idk he and Bakugou seem to be giving off big brain energy. We love two best friends with brain cells

And the way Shouto is making the ice fall over him [is that what’s happening here? I think so] reminds me of Levi Ackerman kicking Eren [I do not watch AOT but you know that animation, right? Of Levi repeatedly bearing down and kicking him while Eren is off-screen? This reminds me of that]

This is a real testament to how much Yoichi and Tomura look alike, because I legit skimmed over that panel like “Ah yes; All Might, Nana Shimura and Yoi- WAIT HANG ON A SECOND”

The ice bearing down over Izuku.... like a weight he must carry..... *head in hands*

And I like the connection here. All Might told him “You’re next”, Nana basically said in her own words “You’re next” by saying along with Yoichi “You may be the last one to do this therefore you’re the next and only one left”, and Nana’s connection to Tomura, BUT ALSO Tomura was also told “You’re next” by AFO and All Might [the symbolism of All Might pointing through the tv and the panels showing Tomura AND Izuku] which turned out to be a literal metaphor too because of AFO possessing his body

Once again, Izuku thinking about Tomura. Shows more of how Izuku is including Tomura in a lot of things now, like when he thinks about society and extending a helping hand (Lady Nagant battle) and in general thinking about people he has to stop (which was shown in chapter 318). And this time, it’s about the connection they both have with the You’re Next parallels

Whiiiiiiich, in a way, is probably the second time he’s thought of both of them in a connection way? Because the first time was in the War, when Izuku thought about how Tomura’s body wasn’t ready for the power he acquired and Izuku connected it to how he tried to train his own body for OFA. So if this is true, this would be the second time he paralleled himself with Tomura

[Is Izuku even thinking about these three rn? Or is it just Hori showing us the symbolism? Idk but I like to think Izuku is thinking about them]

Oof the connections are brutal

Oh my god I love this panel

First of all, I love it when Hori does the shading thing where he shades a character for intensity, but second of all, just the way that the words are LITERALLY INGRAINED into Izuku

Such powerful imagery! That’s one of the things I admire about bnha

But fr. All of this fucked Izuku up bad

CLASSIC “rival’s face isn’t shown after that outburst because we all know the rival is emotional about this but we are hiding his expression rn for Tension Reasons” trope

I like how Tsuyu has always been the one to make Mineta stfu for being an ass, but here she is now using her signature “grab Mineta with tongue to make him shut up” move to HELP HIM instead! Like that lil development

Idk why but I love Izuku’s expression here. He looks like an enraged kitten lol

I love this actually. Some of them mention Izuku in relation to his quirk, others mention Izuku solely based on who he is, but I think Mineta is probably the only one here so far who has said outright “Hey, I like you cause of your bravery and courage, not because of your quirk”

Like yes I KNOW the others also basically say that, but it’s kind of mostly been a chorus of implication: “You helped me this one time!” and “I want you to be safe!” and “But what about the people you leave behind?”

Mineta is the only one so far to actually say blatantly “I didn’t admire you cause of your quirk, I admire you because even when you’re scared, you can still leap out and save people!”

And thinking about Mineta as a person, how he was at the time of that USJ rescue [basically shivering and trembling BUT being motivated by Izuku regardless] and as he is now, I just think it makes a whole lot of sense for him to say this based on what he saw at USJ

I didn’t expect him to say it so outright, but despite him being a comedy character [mostly affectionate but also derogatory], I like the way he was used here

This isn’t to say that what the other classmates said was bad or not valid, I just find it interesting that Mineta actually phrases what he said like an actual example and explanation of admiration

Basically, this is actually what Izuku needs. The most important thing, if anything. Izuku needs somebody who actually outlines that his quirk isn’t as important as who wields it, somebody who actually looks Izuku in the face and tells him that he is looked up to because of who he is as a person, NOT because of some stupid strength-based all powerful quirk!

Forgive me for getting excited, and over fricking MINETA of all characters, but this is absolutely something Izuku needed to hear. I’ve been waiting for somebody to say this to him since FOREVER!

Enough implications. Somebody get this kid by the fucking shirt or hold his hand and TELL HIM he is LOVED for WHO HE IS.

And I know that Izuku didn’t listen to him here, but I’m glad SOMEBODY said it. It just looks like Mineta wasn’t the one Izuku would listen to.

Maybe it’ll be Bakugou who says it and Izuku actually listens to him instead. Or somebody else. Idk man I’m just glad somebody fucking said it outright.

Anyway

Once again, I like Izuku’s expression here. The anger at being held back, both figuratively and literally, is PALPABLE lol

OKAY NO BUT THE WAY THIS REMINDS ME OF ALL FOR ONE

Like okay, stating the obvious, cuz AFO and OFA are alike, but the way this is translated just REALLY makes me connect the dots to AFO.... so freaky

We had the same thing in the Nagant battle of Izuku saying this exact “plus” thing but only NOW am I like “OMG THATS LIKE AFO” lmao

Also, Izuku’s face here... he looks so tired. I can’t tell that much, but it kinda looks like he’s opening his eyes just the tiniest bit. Like he’s either super tired or he’s running out of energy to run away. Or both. Definitely both.

Ochako connecting how she acted to Kamino as well! Just like Tsuyu! They are both definitely working off of their regrets for the better. Super glad about that

“It’s not the same as before! I....!”

LOVE YOU? WAS SHE ABOUT TO SAY LOVE YOU??

I mean wishful thinking ig but still lol

YOOOOOOO THE KAMINO RAMP 2.0!

Ochako is so pretty the way she is drawn here, and her and Mina being queens!

I’M SCREAMING AT HOW MUCH SHOUTO HAS IMPROVED??

Like look at the comparison of this ramp compared to Kamino’s!

The structural integrity is just a million times better than it was!!

How much do you wanna bet Shouto immediately got back into UA, rolled up his sleeves and got straight to work for both his families sake and Izuku’s sake? IT’S SO AMAZING JUST SEEING HOW MUCH HE’S IMPROVED!

“We can’t keep up, huh?!” love me some spiteful Shouto lmao

THE NARRATION I AM IN TEARS

Shouto’s left side burning! From the passion! And also maybe he’s gonna do something with his fire idk but I’m excited! It’s also kind of like symbolism for how Izuku helped him with his fire side I suppose

URARAKA AND BAKUGOU COMBO URARAKA AND BAKUGOU COMBO

And and! Bakugou’s new explosions! So pretty so beautiful I love it!

Bakugou honey I LOVE YOU

The transition of “Stuff I want to say to you” that’s like what All Might had thought earlier to “Stuff I HAVE to say to you” from Bakugou now!!

LISTEN YOU’RE TELLING ME WE GET A SHOUTO + MINA + URARAKA + BAKUGOU + IIEDA COMBO??? HELL YES THANK YOU HORIKOSHI I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT

Mina is absolutely crucial to the combo but MOST OF THE DEKU SQUAD ALSO COMBINING THEIR MOVES TOO??? AN ABSOLUTE WIN IF YOU ASK ME

“That’s why I will always continue to challenge you!”

No but like I’m sobbing can you hear me can you tell

They are rivals,,, BUT THEY ARE ALSO FRIENDS *head in hands sobbing*

The gentle way he holds his hand... not tugging, but just holding comfortingly, I’m-

Iieda: *holds gently*

Izuku: *is hold*

The callbacks,,,, the tears,,,, Iieda using what Izuku said as a way to connect with him,,,, please I’m so glad Iieda got his moment to shine and got to hold his hand

Like don’t get me wrong, I want Bakugou’s moment to shine too, but I feel like we don’t pay enough attention to the other characters in the class, those who are also there for Izuku in big ways AND little ways

The impact that Izuku has had on these people is just so sweet to see

And I love here how Izuku actually LOOKS emotional. This whole time he’s either covered his face, looked dead inside or pissed, but here is kind of where his shell cracks

But... that last panel... ack... it makes me think Izuku is about to do something stubborn again

It makes me think Izuku is gonna go from emotional and sad, to “I... NO! I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL IIEDA, BUT I HAVE TO DO THIS ON MY OWN! I’M SORRY, I’M SO SORRY, BUT STAY OUT OF THIS!!”

Like it would kinda make sense if he did, since we haven’t gotten to the rest of the characters yet, and Izuku is just SO STUBBORN but... honey...

If that did happen though, it wouldn’t be a total loss or a waste of Iieda’s character. It would basically just mean Izuku’s shell is beginning to properly crack, and the fact that it was IIEDA of all people who chipped the first cracks away... Lovely. Magnificent.

[of course, this is just speculation]

WHEN HORI DOES THIS SHIT:

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHAPTER, AND THEN PUTS THE TITLE AT THE END:

THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW IT’S A GOOD CHAPTER. CHAPTERS DONE LIKE THIS ARE WHERE HORI DOES JUSTICE IMO

“His Hand Reached Him, Now Deku Will...”

Deku will what?? Reject him?? Properly cry?? Breakdown?? I must know Hori I MUST KNOW

#bnha #bnha 321 #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #iieda tenya #izuku midoriya #class 1a #mineta minoru #shouto todoroki #i'm sorry this is long i just have a lot of things to say and didn't wanna say them in seperate posts #i was gonna actually put the mineta part in a seperate post #but i also knew nobody would read it #so i'm just gonna shove it into this post instead

[ice-cream-nekogirl]

"recess, I'm tired" (Iida Tenya X Reader)

This is the second part to: ice-cream-kitsunegirl.tumblr.com/post/611326356316389376/can-you-meet-me-tonight-in-detention-iida-tenya

Summary: After snapping at Iida and some of your classmates, you feel horrible and want to make it up to them.

This was originally supposed to be a big one-shot but ended up being a two-parter since it was WAY too big lol but it worked out for the best! I hope this will be a satisfying conclusion :3

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGkF8635zSE

A COUPLE OF SECONDS AGO…

No more negativity. Not right now.

You wanted positivity, and show that kind positivity to your classmates from now on. As soon as you were finished with your paper and handed it to Mic, you were rushing out the door. “You got this!!” He made sure to give you that support too, because he knew a stressed-out student when he saw one and that’s the only reason you got upset in the first place. They needed to do something about students and mental health…

AFTER DETENTION…

Don't let them fuck you, honey, no, oh Don't let them try (ooh) Don't let them hurt you, baby Just say, "Recess, I'm tired"

Going back to the dorms after detention was… awkward. As awkward as class was the entire time, because once you entered the dorms many of your classmates glanced at you only to quickly look away as if they were afraid you were going to snap again. That and some of the more considerate ones didn’t want to just poke and prod at you until you get irritated again, they were pretty certain you didn’t want to be reminded of what went down this morning.

You tried to wave at some classmates like Kaminari and Sero, and thankfully they gave you waves in return but they looked very nervous and scared even. Sighing, you shook your head and headed to your room and you saw Midoriya with his squad consisting of Uraraka, Todoroki and Iida…

Oh God…

“Hi (Y/N)! How was… detention? They weren’t too harsh on you were they? Present Mic is always making us write in English…” Uraraka however, tried to be mediator and see how you were doing even though she was very aware you and Iida were still not happy with each other. Iida more so no doubt as you had come down from your angry high a while ago.

“It was… it was fine… it wasn’t that bad… he wasn’t that bad either.” You nervously mumbled as you only noticed Midoriya, Todoroki and Uraraka looking at you. Iida didn’t even gaze in your direction, and you couldn’t bring yourself to do the same.

“Are you okay?” And to your great surprise, Todoroki of all people asked you if you were feeling okay as you blinked a bit. That genuinely surprised you even though you knew Todoroki was a nice guy, it still shocked you.

With a slow, hesitant nod you mumbled ‘Kinda’ and the boy silently nodded in reply. Todoroki understood why you got so upset, after all, he’s certainly overreacted when he was angry too so he didn’t and wouldn’t judge you.

“Well I’m glad you’re feeling better (L/N)… see you at dinner.” Midoriya’s words were genuine as he wanted to be polite to you despite what you said to him. And he wasn’t one to hold grudges so he acted like everything was okay as he gave you a small smile even though he didn’t really make eye contact with you and you nodded, unable to give any sort of eye contact in return.

“See ya…” Glancing away you let the four walk past you. Iida wasn’t even going to talk to you and that… hurt. He always had something to say but remained silent the entire time you and he were in proximity. You knew that was earned though because you were SUCH a jerk to him this morning, and that’s what stung the most, that you did that. You hurt his feelings and now you were paying the price as you walked glumly to your room and keep thinking about what you did.

THAT NIGHT…

Sittin' in my room, looking at all I've done Everything I wanted has come to fruition I should be happy but I can't get out my bed Stressin' 'bout the voices screamin' inside my head

You could barely sleep as you had your headphones on and listened to your music. Even as the song played in your ears and that was all you could hear, all you could see was the faces of the ones you hurt this morning.

Midoriya. Yaoyorozu. Ojiro, Aoyama. Jirou. Iida…

Oh god why did it have to be them? You really didn’t mean to hurt them, you were just so upset and they were in the line of fire but still. You felt horrible.

All you could see was the tears in their eyes because of the way you yelled at them and insulted them. They really didn’t deserve it.

You wanted to say that you deserved to feel like this, but at the same time you didn’t want to beat yourself up too-too much. It’s not like you asked for these emotions or this stress that ate you up inside.

Yes you were at UA, yes you were in the Hero Course, but getting closer to what you want or trying to get closer to what you want meant having to constantly work and be under constant stress. It’s horrible, and you just needed a break. Like the one you had now that really let you think about everything, even if it made you feel bad. And then you started to think that maybe you should have opened up to someone about this instead of exploding.

Of course how could you have come up with a plan when all of that stress was in your head? Now you knew at least, and from now on you were going to start doing that and find someone to open up to and let others give you help.

You knew that now, and you knew that you needed to talk and apologize to all of your friends and all the ones you hurt.

3 DAYS LATER…

Now that tests were over for now, everyone was able to do their own things for the time being while it was the weekend. And after three long nights of tossing and turning, you felt EXTREMELY bad about what you said to your classmates. It was just not right to have been so cruel to them when they were actually trying to help you.

So, you had to make this right. Yeah they were still avoiding you for the past three days and to an extent a majority of your classmates also avoided you but still wanted to make this right. Without even thinking, you snuck out of the dorms and immediately ran to the nearest stores to go and buy something nice for everyone, but especially the ones whose feelings you hurt.

Damn… you weren’t good at getting things for people, so you just did what you did in doubt, which was buy some sweets for everyone. Chocolate, along with several ‘I’m sorry’ cards that you got from the birthday card kiosk.

You didn’t go back into the dorms until you were done signing each and every card, and then you also brought some baskets and also a cute little teddy bears, one for Yaoyorozu. And also a cute little All-Might figurine for Izuku. You wanted to get something nice for Jirou, Ojiro and Aoyama but you didn’t really know what they liked…

So you settled on buying them some gift cards, when in doubt, use gift cards as well. Some place preferably not fast food though, since everyone in this class was a freaking health-nut, but thankfully they all liked Starbucks…

You hoped Iida would like it too, him you especially owed an apology to. At least for lashing out, you weren’t really going to apologize for your stress because that wasn’t something you could help, you would just apologize for hurting their feelings.

Still, stepping foot back into the dorms was awkward as your telekinesis allowed you to hold everything you had for your classmates as you hid behind the corner and saw everyone in the commons and the kitchen as they sat either at the tables or the couch. 

They didn’t see you yet (except maybe Shouji) but that was good, you didn’t want to be seen just yet.

“Ahem…”

People gonna say If you need a break, someone'll take your place People gonna try To tell you that you're fine with dollars in their eyes Just remember...

And you raised the volume in your voice to get their attention, but they all perked up and looked a little bit alarmed, which didn’t really amuse you but you weren’t surprised after the way you acted.

“Hey.” You said very awkwardly as you lowered all of the baskets and bags. “I… don’t know how to say this… and I don’t even know if I have… any authority to speak up but… guys I… wanted to say that I am… so sorry for… getting so turned up a couple of days, and that all of you guys had to be there and see all of that when… none of you deserved to witness me being like that... and I really... really regret acting like that because... it was... so bad... God I’m embarrassed...”

There you said it. You apologized your heart out as your eyes felt warm just forcing all of these words out your throat because they had to be said, you wanted to say this no matter how hard it was and how nervous you were because you feared that you weren’t going to receive any forgiveness and you didn’t even see most of your classmates glanced at you sympathetically.

“It is… SO not cool to be acting like that… after all, I’m not Bakugo, I’m not the type to just scream at people, and I really can’t... stress just how sorry I am that you all saw me acting like that...” With a small chuckle, many of your classmates snickered while Bakugo indignantly shouted ‘HEY!’ in response when you kinda made fun of him a little bit. But thankfully, some of your friends understood.

“It’s okay!” Uraraka chimed in quickly, because she had tried to reassure Midoriya and Iida earlier to go easy on you because you were so stressed out, and she didn’t want them to take it too personally as she added. “Really (Y/N)… we’re not mad at you.” Although that was partially true, some WERE kinda mad at you but also they knew you didn’t truly mean that. Or at least they hoped you didn’t.

“No… we’re not, your hair was practically falling out…”

“We get heated girl! We understand!”

“Yeah it happens to everyone, we can’t always help it…”

“And I stood up all night just studying for our tests, I was freaking out too...”

“It isn’t easy when all these tests are making your head explode…”

To your even greater surprise, some of your friends like Ashido, Hagakure, Shouji, Kaminari and Sero spoke up to reassure you and relate to you that you weren’t the only one alone in that situation. Were they upset by how you acted? Of course, they were shocked and mildly horrified by what you said AND thought it was uncalled for and so they avoided you. But did they hold it against you? No, not really, they weren’t happy with how you acted but they didn’t hold it against you because they knew you were just under a lot of pressure and not acting like yourself. And yes while your outburst surprised them, they understood why you did what you did. 

However, they WERE going to have to start keeping an eye on you and each other from now on since they were painfully aware that stress makes people act out sometimes. This just meant they were going to have to be extra supportive to you and to each other. 

“Yeah! It’s cool (Y/N)… I mean yeah it kinda shocked us earlier but it’s really okay… we know you.” And Kirishima had to be the sweetheart to cheer you up with a sweet smile as you could feel your lip starting to quiver and your eyes growing warm and teary.

“Dammit… I almost hoped you guys would be mad so I wouldn’t cry…” You mumbled with a soft chuckle as you quickly looked away and picked up some of the baskets and bags, “B-But please… everyone take one of these… I really feel bad for hurting you guys and you all deserve something nice…” Your gesture surprised them even more, but they were all touched by it as they smiled and started to say ‘It’s okay!’ ‘Wow thank you!’ ‘You didn’t have to!’ ‘Thank you (L/N)!’.

Even some of the ones who you directly hurt, and you went over to Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, “Yaoyorozu… Izuku…” It was SO awkward and painful going over to them, they had the saddest looks in their eyes. Poor Yaoyorozu still looked hurt as Midoriya gave you those damn puppy dog eyes that were so effective it broke your heart.

“Guys I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean any of what I said, I was mad but… I’m so sorry… please… have these.” You carried their gift baskets in your separate hands, which made them perk up as they looked to see your gifts. A cute little teddy bear and an All-Might figurine.

“(L/N)…” Yaoyorozu spoke first, “You… you didn’t need to…” She was clearly touched as she had her eyes on the teddy bear, it had a little hat on it… “Yes… I did… look… I was under a lot of stress, I can’t… really apologize for that, but I AM apologizing for being mean to you guys. That was totally uncalled for, it was wrong of me to make fun of you guys and insult you and… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…I can’t say I’m sorry enough but I really am I... I swear it will never happen again I never wanted to hurt you guys...” You meant everything as you reluctantly looked at them with remorse in your (E/C) eyes as both Yaoyorozu and Midoriya looked visibly heartened and their eyes instantly filled with tears.

“It’s… it’s okay…! I understand it’s really okay…!” Wow, Yaoyorozu easily forgave you as she gladly and politely took your gift basket, as did Midoriya as he softly smiled at you, “It really is… I knew you didn’t really any of it (L/N)…” And he forgave you too and dammit you were tearing up again.

“I really didn’t…” With a trembling, watery voice you shook your head which urged Yaoyorozu to hug you as you hugged her back as she started to cry too, “I love you boo I didn’t mean it at all!”

“I know you didn’t!”

“Midoriya get in here!” You cried out for Midoriya to join in which made him blush quite a bit, “W-What…?!” But then you quickly pulled him in so he could be hugging you and Yaoyorozu as the boy blushed heavily in the hug with two girls who were crying their eyes out. Soon though, he started crying too even as you and Yaoyorozu were hugging him for another 5 minutes.

“T-Thank you (L/N)… I… really love it…” And a tearful Yaoyorozu thanked you for gift as did Midoriya as he smiled at you, “Me too… I like it a lot, thank you (L/N)… and I’m sorry for yesterday.” Why were they apologizing…? They’re too nice…

“No, no… I mean you’re welcome for the gifts but please don’t apologize… we’re good… I’m sorry…” You reassured them with a warmer look as they both smiled at you and told you that it was all okay now.

Don't let them fuck you, honey, no, oh Don't let them try (ooh) Don't let them hurt you, baby Just say "recess, " I'm tired

Then it was time to go apologize to Jirou, Ojiro and Aoyama…

Jirou looked apprehensive but she didn’t want to be mad after you came out with such a sincere apology and even gave everyone gifts, including her as she was holding a goody bag that had a nice Starbucks gift card in it. 

“Hey… look I just… really wanted to apologize to you because of the way I acted towards you, it really wasn’t cute for me to like get so upset and threaten you Jirou… when you were trying to get me to calm my tits so… I really… I really am sorry and you don’t have to forgive me because I know I was being-.” As you apologized to the girl she stopped you right there.

“It’s okay… I mean… I didn’t like how you were acting but… I thought about it, and Uraraka was talking to us about it and I realized that… you weren’t yourself, you were under a lot of stress and pressure and… I’ve been there before so… it’s okay… you’re here, apologizing for it and I can’t ignore that… so… it’s okay…” Jirou actually forgave you, for one she wasn’t one to hold grudges and two, she knew that wasn’t how you normally were so she wasn’t going to hold it against you.

God you were relieved though as you gave her a smile. “Thanks girl… I won’t ever do anything un-cute like that ever again… you know I love you and have a lot of respect for you.” Your smile widened when she started to blush and especially when you hugged her, but she didn’t turn it away as she hugged you back.

“I have a lot of respect for you too (L/N)…and I forgive you. Thank you for the gifts...” She said softly and truthfully. After the way you apologized to everyone, yeah her respect for you went up.

Next was Ojiro and Aoyama…

Who were still visibly hurt and even a little scared of you when you went over to them, “Guys I… I can’t apologize enough… I was REALLY mean to you guys and it was very, very wrong of me to insult you guys when you did nothing to make me upset at all…” You were tearing up again when you remembered how they ran off crying, and when they looked like they were about to cry now…

But they had the gift baskets you had given them, complete with Starbucks gift cards that they really appreciated. At first they were really upset, but then they also felt bad. They knew you, the way you acted hurt their feelings but they knew you didn’t truly mean that… right?

“You… didn’t mean what you said…?”

“You’re… not mad anymore…?”

They sounded so pitiful it actually broke your heart as you shook your head, “Of course not! I was just mad but it really isn’t an excuse but I swear… I meant nothing, I-I was… t-talking out of my ass and I never should have gotten so heated and I…” You stammered a little bit while you apologized to the boys, but they were seeing it now and they understood better. You shouldn’t feel bad for getting emotional… you were apologizing for what you said and that’s all that mattered.

“It’s… it’s okay (L/N)… don’t… be sorry for getting mad… thank you… for apologizing for what you said I… really appreciate it…” Ojiro smiled at you, although it was still sad because he really was a sensitive guy at heart.

“Yes I… I do too, thank you (L/N)… I hope you’re feeling better…” And Aoyama gave you his own tearful smile as you tried not to cry right then and there for the second time. “Come here you guys, I love you both so much, you’re two of the sweetest guys ever…” You had to give them a hug, you quickly went over and pulled them both in a big hug that they were glad to give you even if Ojiro looked so bashful doing so.

“We forgive you!” Aoyama couldn’t stop himself from crying while your hug on the boys turned tighter and Ojiro couldn’t help it either as he let some of his tears fall, “Y-Yeah… I forgive you (L/N), I forgive you…”

Dammit…

“I love you guys! I love you so much…” You were in tears again while you hugged Aoyama and Ojiro, who more or less started crying with you as they hugged you for as long as Midoriya and Yaoyorozu did. 5 minutes of crying and hugging…

“Oh and… thanks for the gift card… you didn’t have to I mean-.” You had to cut off Ojiro, he deserved something nice. “No… I did… please… keep it.” You didn’t know that he wanted to pay you back soon but he still smiled at you.

“Of course.”

“Oui~. Thank you very much again (L/N)~.” Aoyama loved Starbucks, he was very thankful and accepting of your apology gift as you gave the boys one last final smile before you had to find the last person who needed an apology more than anyone else…

Iida.

Where is my time? Gone in my mind Gone, I can't find Euphoria When I get upset I think in my head "I do as she says"

You were surprised to see him among his classmates, and more surprised that he was able to stand in the same room as you. He wasn’t looking at you but still. God… how were you going to apologize to him?

You didn’t know, and you didn’t know that he was paying close attention to you as he watched you apologize to yours and his classmates and friends.

How you meant everything and even gave them all gifts to show that you meant everything. Actions spoke louder than words, but at the same time. Your words from yesterday… still hurt his heart. It hurt because you weren’t entirely wrong. As Iida reflected through a night of tears because the wounds were still fresh and stinging, he realized that you made some painfully accurate points.

He couldn’t understand how you felt, because as he worked with and tutored some classmates, not all of them worked the same way, and everyone had a different background. His was a pretty privileged one wasn’t it? You really were trying your hardest because you didn’t have that privilege, and here you were now, trying your hardest to make up for everything.

Iida wanted to forgive you, he wanted to also apologize to you, even though something kept him from approaching you. Was it fear? Or was it pain as he could still clearly hear your words and your angry tone shouting at him.

‘Oh my God I can’t believe how ANNOYING I didn’t realize you were until now!’

‘I don’t need you up in my business and bothering the hell out of me you annoying priss!’

‘Stop fucking up my school life and leave me the hell alone already!’

He should be ashamed of himself, he couldn’t believe he was letting that make his heart ache even as he saw your face now. No anger, no meanness, just… regret.

Finally, you approached him very awkwardly as neither you nor Iida could bring it in each other to look at each other. And you took a huge breath in and exhaled, you had to do this. You didn’t see your classmates all glancing at you as some of them urged each other to leave to let you and the class rep work it out.

“Iida…” That was one word, and that was just his name, come on, say more than that. “(L/N).” Oh, he said your name too, but that was all he could bring himself to say too.

He looked so sad, even behind his calm composure, you saw that he was still hurt by what you said. “I wanted to apologize… I mean… I really, really wanted to apologize…” You sounded so awkward as you felt the heat glistening in your eyes as you tried not to break down right then and there just being right here before him.

“I… I just… Iida… I’m SO sorry… I-I didn’t mean any of what I said to you I swear… I never should have said all of those things… I shouldn’t have snapped at you when you were trying to help me… I was just… I was mad… so… under pressure and so stressed out… and I hate that I was… I hate that I let it get to me and get inside my head… I… I know that’s not an excuse but I… I’m so sorry…” Voice cracking ever so slightly you wiped your eyes as Iida for once looked at you, sympathy in his softened eyes.

It still hurt. Thinking about what you said to him still really hurt. He cared about you, he truly cared about you, and you hurt him. But Uraraka was talking to him, and it allowed him to think about you more. He knew you, he knew how you were, and everything you showed him those days ago was just you under a lot of stress and having all of your feelings bottled up.

He couldn’t hold that against you. He just wished you had opened up to him about how you were feeling, although he should have reached out to you about that too.

He was silent for a moment, and you feared that he was going to tell you to leave and that you can take your apology with you but no…

“I understand (L/N).” Iida replied calmly as he moved a little bit closer, and he did something you never thought he would do. He put his hand on your shoulder and you could see the sadness in his eyes. “I am sorry too.”

Wait. What?

Why was HE the one apologizing? You’re the one who was being a jerk…

“No…! No don’t… don’t do that Iida… please don’t… I’m the one who was being rude like you said and I was! I’m not going to deny that…!” Frantically, you shook your head and couldn’t accept his apology because he didn’t need to give you one.

“I can’t deny that… but that wasn’t like you, and I understand that it’s only because you were under a lot of stress at the time and-.”

“I’m terrible! I made you guys cry!  I said horrible things about you when all you did was look out for me! You didn’t deserve it!” You didn’t mean to cut him off but you couldn’t let him take any blame as you wiped your eyes even more.

“(L/N)… calm down… and please let me finish.” Instead of getting upset, Iida got you to calm down as he kept his cool this time. You wouldn’t go against him at all, you did let him finish. “I wanted to say that I understand and that I’m sorry that you were struggling so much and that I didn’t even realize it. I knew you were having some issues regarding your health, but I didn’t even attempt to ask exactly what was wrong.” He sounded sad, guilty even which just made you feel even worse.

“As the class representative I’m supposed to make sure my classmates are all feeling well both physically and emotionally, and I didn’t do that for you.”

No…

People gonna say If you need a break, someone'll take your place People gonna try To tell you that you're fine with dollars in their eyes Just remember...

“Well… right… but Iida don’t put the entire blame on yourself… I wasn’t subtle at all about how much stress I was under, and I kept saying I was okay when I wasn’t, you guys could tell but still I didn’t do anything…” You admitted and took responsibility since it was partially your fault wasn’t it?

Iida didn’t want you to feel at blame though, even though he DID wish you had said something so he could have helped you and avoided all of this and… those very hurtful things you said to him which made him sad just thinking about it.

“I know and I’m actually really proud to see you apologizing to everyone. It truly speaks volume of your character, even if it took you a while, but I’m certain it wasn’t easy trying to muster up the courage to apologize.” He sounded like he really understood you, because he did. Iida wasn’t afraid to own up to his mistakes, it took a while to do it, but he still did it.

You slowly nodded with a small smile when he said he was proud of you, “And I’m sure it also isn’t easy to admit when you’re not feeling well, especially not when it’s about school, but… that’s why right now I want to apologize for being insensitive about it and I want you to know that if you aren’t feeling well (L/N), you don’t have to be afraid to tell me. I want you to know that even if I might not understand everything you are going through, that I still want to help you as much as I can.” His voice was soft, of course still formal, but there was nothing but care in his tone.

“I won’t judge you, I won’t undermine you, I will listen to you.” After Uraraka told him about how stressed out you were, Iida took it upon himself to do his research on stress, anxiety and mental health. Now that was something he was going to be much more mindful of especially when he started to realize that other classmates like Midoriya, Todoroki, Kaminari and even Bakugo had their own issues regarding mental health and anxiety. He wanted to do that, for them, and for you.

You couldn’t help it, you couldn’t stop your tears from pooling in your eyes as you just threw your arms around him and tightly hugged him, even as he immediately tensed at the proximity. “Ack!” Iida exclaimed as he could feel his whole face turning red at this sudden hug, because... well he wasn’t the kind of guy to really give or receive that kind of physical contact since he didn’t think it was appropriate. Especially not in a school setting...

“(L-L/N)...!” Iida stuttered, feeling even more flustered as you just kept on hugging him, your arms around him tightening as you hid your blushing face and nuzzled into him. “I-I... w-we’re not supposed to be so close and initiate this kind of physical contact!!” He kind of scolded you and blushed even harder when he saw all of his and your classmates all looking and then averting their eyes.

“Tough shit!” You couldn’t help but disregard his rules once more as you pulled away and smiled, and once again disregarded another rule as you got on your tip-toes to kiss him on the cheek which...

You swore broke him as he cringed and his face turned an even darker red than before and he couldn’t even speak anymore...

Wow so THAT shut him up? You should have done that in the beginning...

Iida was so lost for words, more so than when you yelled at him. No one has EVER kissed him before. That kind of physical affection wasn’t really something his very formal family did so... he was shaken, but the worst part was...

He kind of liked it? It wasn’t exactly comfortable but it wasn’t awful either, it... felt kind of nice to be honest...

“Wow...” But when you started giggling that broke him out of his stupor as he felt rather embarrassed at this, “Iida I should have kissed you a long time ago if that’s what gets you to shut the fuck up.” You couldn’t help but tease him a little bit as he grew even more embarrassed and irate at your joke and language.

“W-Watch your language (L/N)! And please don’t hug or kiss someone so randomly but especially in front of our classmates it’s simply not appropriate!” When he scolded you, all you did was smile even when he started to lecture you once again on why kissing and hugging in front of people isn’t very appropriate and you rolled your eyes a bit, your smile not leaving you.

“Yeah, yeah class rep... I’m sorry but... uh... well... I don’t normally hug or kiss people randomly... I did it cuz... well... I... kinda sort of have a crush on you...” You decided you might as well confess, although it came out as a whisper, but still clearly it wasn’t whispery enough since literally everyone heard it based on the way they all gasped. But they didn’t gasp neither as loud as Iida did, and once again you swore Iida’s system broke as he started malfunctioning oncemore when he heard your words. His cheeks flushing bright red as he started to comprehend your words.

“Ooooooh~!” But then Kaminari, Ashido, Kirishima, Sero and Hagakure started hooting and cheering for you and him, and just further served to embarrass him. “Would you grow up?!” And he couldn’t help but yell at them in a slightly irritated voice as you held your mouth to quell your laughter.

“I’m so sorry...” Snickering, you tried to stop yourself from laughing too much as Iida couldn’t stop himself from blushing. He had to admit, he was surprised but also a little bit flattered that you had a crush on him. “D-Don’t... apologize for that...” He did kind of lure you away from the others though since they weren’t being mature about this.

You had to admit, it felt a bit better when there was less eyes on you and Iida even though you could still hear some snickering. “Do you… mean that?” Once it was just you and him, Iida asked you if you were serious, although his tone almost sounded bashful.

And now you felt rather sheepish as your entire face started to burn when you realized that you might have been a little too straightforward. You nervously nodded, “Y-Yes… Ii… Tenya…” Using his name for the first time it made Iida perk up and blush even more but he didn’t even think to tell you to be more formal as he let you talk. “I-I wouldn’t… kid about that I… I just think you’re so nice… so helpful and actually really cool… it just… became hard for me to resist you and… yeah… and like you’re super attractive too and I can’t help but think why are you at school? You should be playing someone who goes to school on TV… and uhh… y-yeah I… guess I mean that when I say… I have a crush on you…” You were stammering because you felt so awkward, but prepared for rejection since you didn’t think Iida was the kind of guy to know how to deal with that.

He awkwardly cleared his throat as the blush on his cheeks deepened the more you spoke of your earnest feelings and found HIM attractive to boot. He couldn’t lie, he was even more flattered to hear you think of him in such a way. “I see…” Those were the only two words Iida could bring himself to say because… he really didn’t know how to respond to that.

Neither did you for that matter. You were both kinda just big fucking dorks…

“Well…! Iida…” You went back to using his last name and decided that this had been awkward enough and didn’t want to make him feel any less comfortable. “This has been sufficiently awkward, and I just… thought you ought to know that, thank you for… putting up with me and understanding I really can’t thank you enough for being so nice when I’ve been a pain so… yeah thank you…” You sweetly smiled at him and Iida just couldn’t let you leave so soon when you were getting ready to leave and turn away.

“Wait… (L/N) I… d-don’t…”

He knew what to do as a class representative, but this wasn’t a job for a class representative, the job didn’t say what to do when someone confesses to you. So Iida had to be himself for this one. Which is what really surprised you as you stopped when you heard him call you.

Iida tried his hardest to not be awkward, and he was disappointed in himself for freezing up the second he felt your (E/C) eyes on him and that’s when he realized just how endearing you were. He’s always found you endearing because of your awkward and generally kind nature, but seeing you looking up at him with your cute face really made him aware of it…

“I’m… not at all experienced with that kind of thing. I wish I knew what to say but… I’m afraid I don’t. I will say this though… I am flattered.” He so badly didn’t want to come off as rude or offend you in anyway so he chose his words carefully. However, you were just happy to hear that he was flattered, and that was good enough for you.

“Oh Tenya…” And he blushed heavily when you heard him say his name again, but once again he didn’t dare tell you to be formal. “It’s okay… me neither… in fact I’m… pretty sure that timing is completely off but… I dunno…” Shrugging your shoulders you giggled nervously and Iida couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

“It’s all right.” He gently reassured you which made you feel so much better as you sighed in relief, “If it helps… I think you are… attractive too.” Oh God he felt like a pervert for merely saying that and looked away in shame, and you found that so cute that you couldn’t help but grin and giggle when he said he found YOU attractive! You were just so… so happy you let out a little squeal.

“Oh my GOD Iida~!” And you felt a bit mischievous so you teased him a little bit by reacting all shocked, but that immediately made him flinch as he felt extremely nervous and he mistook your flattered tone for repulsion, “I-I’m so sorry I… I-I didn’t mean to come off so… disrespectful a-and, a-a-nd…”

“Whoa, whoa don’t hurt yourself… no no I’m actually VERY flattered…” You quickly reassured him since you didn’t want him to feel all weird and ashamed about finding someone attractive and to your relief that did make him ease up a bit and give his own relieved sigh.

You were happy, you were really happy and it didn’t matter that you didn’t know what to do after confessing, you were just happy. “Iida… I said this already but… I really am… sorry for… everything…” Plus you still felt guilty for being so mean, but Iida wasn’t going to let you beat yourself up over it anymore.

“It really is all right (L/N)… I forgive you.” So the taller male gave you a soft smile in hopes that it’ll let you know that he forgives you for hurting his feelings because he knew you would never do that intentionally. This nearly made you cry again as you teared up and you couldn’t help it, you threw yourself back into his arms and once again, Iida flinched a bit at your sudden hug.

But this time…

He slowly brought his arms around you and gently hugged you back. It was stiff and awkward as hell because he’s not really a hugger but it was all Iida and you loved it. As the two of you pulled away, both of you were blushing quite madly and now neither of you knew what to do…

Again…

“(Y/N)…” However, Iida this time used your first name as you nearly jumped and looked at him in slight shock as you hadn’t taken a breath or even blink once you registered that he said your name… “Huh?”

Iida was a bit alarmed to see your shocked face, but then he chuckled when you seemed to come back to Earth after a few seconds. “We should return to our classmates. Tests for the week are over after all, we can take a little break.” That sounded like the best option, since it has been a tiring week of testing and Iida knew that you and the rest of your classmates could use a break.

Shyly you smiled and your face felt warm as you nodded and let Iida lead the way back to your classmates. “Yeah I’d like that Tenya… I’m tired.” You admitted softly with a little smile, and Iida couldn’t help but glance at you with his own smile. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t tired too, because he was...

“Then we should… relax.” He wasn’t one for relaxing, but they were hard-working students and everyone deserves a break every now and then right? Especially you, Iida knew that you needed to rest and relax.

“Oh yeah… totally...” You couldn’t agree more as you walked right alongside of him, and you could feel a lot of the stress lifted off your back now once the two of you decided to sit at the couch together to finally catch your breaths and relax together.

You weren’t sure where this would go, but you knew that you and Iida could maybe talk it out later, but for now, the two of you just sat down and relaxed for once. And you didn’t even notice just how tired you were because once you closed your eyes, you were suddenly asleep and unbeknownst to you, so was Iida. Whom also didn’t realize just how tired he was either, nor did he see or feel your head slowly rest upon his shoulder as the two of you finally got some rest and remained completely oblivious to the fact classmates like Ashido and Kaminari were snickering and secretly taking pictures.

You were asleep though so you didn’t care, you were just happy to finally relax with the boy you had a crush on, and finally happy to rest.

Don't let them fuck you, honey, no, oh Don't let them try (ooh) Don't let them hurt you, baby Just say "recess, " I'm tired~...

#Iida Tenya #iida x reader #bnha iida #mha iida #iida is a good boy #tenya x reader #tenya iida #iida imagine #boku no hero academia #bnha #my hero academia #mha #bnha x reader #mha x reader #my hero academia x reader #boku no hero academia x reader #iida #tenya iida x reader #iida tenya x reader #my hero academia iida #boku no hero academia iida #ojiro mashirao #jirou kyouka #aoyama yuuga #midoriya izuku #momo yaoyorozu #bnha angst #bnha fluff #mha fluff #fluff

[bnhablessings]

Spying with Love!

NN is still going on forever in my heart. This is a one-shot I thought of to contribute to the love of Sof and NN. I imagine this would take place after Denki comes over and ruins Shouto’s OJ

Sof is an amazing writer and I love her so go check her out! @myherowritings​

(Sof you changed Todoroki for me so I had to include alien-related things in here. :’) I hope you enjoy this thing, bby! <3)

If you somehow have not read Number Neighbor please go read it. Here is the (Masterlist). You will not regret it. : )

Summary: (Name) needs to make sure her best friend is being treated well by his new boyfriend so she becomes a spy with her other roommates. Plot twist: He knows

Words: 1,798

Todoroki Shouto x Midoriya Izuku (Of course I’d grab the chance to have them be dating so yes. They are an item in this.)

Shinsou Hitoshi x Kaminari Denki

----

“Stop pushing!” You whisper-shout while glancing around the corner of the street cautiously.

The two males a few feet behind you share a glance with each other. Both are wondering who the hell you’re talking to. You turn back to look at them as you place a finger on your lips.

“(Name), this is no time to be joking around,” Todoroki murmurs as he glances at his partner with a slight serious pout.

Midoriya nods his head and tries to bring you back to their reality, “C’mon (Name). You know how Shouto gets when we’re running low on orange juice.”

“SHHHHH-“

They finally come near you and peak their own heads around the corner. To their surprise, you had spotted Shinsou and his new boyfriend they briefly met. With a smug look on your face you wiggle your eyebrows at them.

“No. We need the orange juice,” Todoroki states his eyes narrowing down slightly as he just a teeny-bit conflicted.

You’re about to get on your knees to beg the weirdo to spy with you when Midoriya pipes in with a brilliant idea.

“Why don’t we spy on them on their next date tomorrow?”

…Why didn’t you think of that?

“Wait what date?” You ask realizing you had no idea they had a date tomorrow.

Todoroki raises an eyebrow as he intertwines his hand with Midoriya’s. He’s ready to leave you for not remembering the conversation held earlier when you met Kaminari. They turn towards the direction of the grocery store and ignore your now crying form.

~*~

“What? How rude. He said we all probably look stupid,” You inform your other spies of what your bestie, Bakugou, had texted.

Todoroki wants to scoff at that response while Midoriya flushes from the slight truth of it. You give your bestie a crying emoji before deciding to text him the updates later. In the meantime, you have more important business to deal with.

You push your beanie further down on your head until it touches the top of the dark sunglasses you’re wearing. All of you are wearing dark-colored schemed clothing, beanies, and sunglasses for this important mission. Bakugou may be slightly, only a smidge, correct. You all look like you are in a cult infiltrating this mall.

The strange looks you are all getting won’t deter what needs to be done!

You make sure you keep a good distance while taking cute (kind of creepy) photos with your phone of an oblivious Shinsou and Kaminari holding hands. This goes on for a while as the three of you watch with careful and curious eyes as they do many things.

They share a smoothie together and heart is soaring from how happy Shinsou looks. Kaminari is good in your book. That is until Midoriya points out a store they are headed to. This will be the judgement of fashion.

They walk into the flashy store.

The three of you watch from the shop across. You are judging the yellow boy as he picks up a pair of clothing. “I get his theme is yellow but… Honey, no. Those don’t match.” You want to desperately call out to him.

Midoriya tilts his head, “Look. Shinsou is helping him out. Black or white goes with yellow perfectly. Maybe brown.”

“He’s giving off weird vibes… Are you sure he didn’t knock over my juice on purpose?” Todoroki glances at the two of you for confirmation.

You roll your eyes while Midoriya, in vain, does his best to comfort the dual-haired boy who is now over-analyzing everything… Which could turn to your favor in needing to know if this weird but bright kid will be good to your sarcastic best friend. It doesn’t hurt to be on the safe side.

“You know what? Maybe he did knock your orange juice over on purpose. He’s obviously not an alien as he a bit dummy in the head but- Quick, what other things have you noticed off about him?” You ask.

His eyes narrow down in focus as he starts to list things off at the top of his head, “His hair is weird with that black stripe but he seems to be born with that so never mind. I have noticed that he stutters, his skin seems to flush, his eyes go a bit sparkly, and his smile turns wider when he’s all near Shinsou. If he got abducted by an alien maybe they are using him as a test subject to watch over Shinsou. We need to find out why they would be into Shinsou though. Wait. All those symptoms… sound familiar."

Midoriya lets out a squeak as Todoroki looks at him. You are trying to hold yourself back from laughter and the pain of wanting to hit him with love.

“Midoriya, do you remember that one night a month ago when I felt a sudden chest pain in my heart?” Todoroki asks.

You remember it clearly and it’s taking all you have not to cry now. All of you were binge-watching horror movies and all you said was they looked rather cozy since they were leaning against each other. You didn’t expect Midoriya to malfunction and Todoroki to ask for clarification on the meaning “cozy”.

You don’t regret changing the context at all because it gave Midoriya the courage to confess and here we are.

Midoriya nods with a slight blush as he says, “That… That was before we started dating, Shouto.”

“Is this all a ploy from the alie-“

“Let me stop you right there, dimwit. Those chest pains were your love wavelengths are whatever. Anyway, those symptoms you listed is the proof that the Pikachu weirdo does love our boy,” You state with a smile.

It forces all of you to glance back and see the two males walk out of the store with a bag in hand.

You casually take another photo only to have someone completely photobomb it. It appears to be a girl younger than your crew and immediately your eyes widen in a slight panic. She’s being touchy with your boy.

“He was just recognized right now wasn’t he?” Midoriya questions.

You nod your head frantically ready to go fight the girl who looks to be thirteen, way too young to be thirsting after your best friend.

“No. This may be a tactic the government is using to-“ Todoroki stops talking as all three of you watch in slight horror and fascination on what is going on.

Kaminari is literally prying the girl off Shinsou. She’s screaming, making a huge scene, and refusing to let go of the purple-haired boy… She just elbowed Kaminari in the face.

“I LOVE YOUR MAPLESTORY VIDEOS! PLEASE HUG ME BACK!” Her voice is so loud it made your heart jump out of fright.

Midoriya is conflicted as he asks, “Do we um… go help defuse this?”

“We aren’t here and we don’t know them,” Todoroki replies with ease while reaching for Midoriya’s hand and the back of your shirt with the other.

Yeah, he knows everything. You were ready to go “scold” a child.

“This can be Kaminari’s test since he is a fellow fan of Shinsou,” Midoriya notes.

…He does have a point. This would be a wonderful test to see how far Kaminari will go for Shinsou. Plus, it’ll be interesting to watch… Todoroki lets go of both of you and already has his phone out recording this monstrosity.  

Honestly, the whole thing got really weird and petty fast. Kaminari and the girl start a screaming match at each other. They are shouting which videos are the best and when they saw it. Finally, Kaminari grows a pair and stands up to the terrifying child.

“Listen- You are a baby. You stand no chance with him. He is on a God tier level,” Kaminari says.

He has the audacity to snap his fingers at her.

Instead of the tears, you were expecting, she goes crazy. She finally lets go of Shinsou and lunges herself at the poor now traumatized blond.  

Before she can cause any damage a new and incredibly buff stranger appears. His voice is deep and honestly, you can see Kaminari having a heart attack as the stranger addresses him.

“You. Why are you upsetting my baby sister?”

OH GOD. Is this really about to get worse??

Todoroki thankfully stopped filming and is on board with defusing this now dangerous situation. He grew a heart seeing as Kaminari won’t have a pretty face if this continues on. Midoriya is the first to reveal that you are all here, by casually saying hello with a constipated look on his face.

You don’t blame him.

“Stay out of this squirts. I’m talking to Pikachu over here and I am not repeating myself.”

To your complete and utter surprise, Kaminari starts to laugh. Shinsou finally moves like he hasn’t been on pause this whole time and gives the guy and girl ten bucks each. He thanks them and they leave content.

“What just happened?” You ask voicing Midoriya’s thoughts.

Todoroki seems a bit annoyed as he mumbles, “I knew this was a ploy. I just thought it’d be by the government.”

“You should have seen your faces! How was my acting?” Kaminari questions in-between his laughing.

Shinsou just smirks as he states, “You really need to learn how to be better spies. Also, don’t voice your entire plan over breakfast.”

“…You are telling me you weren’t gone this morning? And that whole scene just now was all an act? Those were actors?” Midoriya is the one voicing your question now.

You feel quite stupid yet impressed when Shinsou nods.

“You gave me a fright. Anyway, I’m just happy that you two seem to be good for each other! Though, Kaminari, if you do anything to him that he doesn’t like, you will be answering to us personally!” You try to glare at him.

You just look like an angry teddy bear. Midoriya copied you and looks like an angry cinnamon roll. Thankfully, Todoroki actually looks menacing as he glares at the blond (mostly because he still believes he’s been abducted).

Shinsou finally wears that lazy smile on his face and says in a rather sincere voice, “Thank you guys for worrying about me.”

“Anytime, my sweet baby!” You pull him into a hug.

Shinsou continues as he makes eye contact with his boyfriend, “You heard them. You’ll after face them if you ever hurt me. Though, I should warn you that I carry sharp objects around for fun.”

Kaminari gulps out of nervousness for a second before he laughs. Yeah, he thinks Shinsou is joking but you know better. All that matters is that they seem to genuinely like each other now and that makes you happy for them.

#number neighbor #fanfiction #fanfiction of a fanfiction #oneshot #reader insert #todoroki shouto x midoriya izuku #shinsou hitoshi x kaminari denki #bnha #mha #boko no hero academia #cute #todoroki shōto #midoriya izuku #shinsou hitoshi #kaminari denki #bakugou is mentioned once lol #fluff

[mxgvmiii]

100 follower special event✨✨

Hello babies🌸🌸( tis the name I have dubbed thee)!

First and foremost I would like to thank you for liking my content enough to actually follow, let alone having me reach 100 followers. I hope you keep enjoying my content in the future and keep on supporting me. I make it my mission to make sure that everyone reading my work feels loved, included and happy. That is one of the main reasons I always try to write gender neutral stories and refrain from describing physical features unless requested. I hope that in the future I am able to write for female characters as well to broaden my demographic. I hope you know that I love each an every one of guys very much.

This is the post for my 100 follower special.It took some time to figure out exactly what I wanted to do since I really wanted to something special for you all. I hope you guys enjoy this special event and bear with me since this is my first time doing this. When the event is over I’ll upload a google form that I’d appreciate if you filled out so that I know what to change when I hopefully hit another milestone.

The event will be held from the day this is posted and will continue for the whole month. Which means 4th - 31st August 2020 according to the CEST time zone. I will no longer take request starting from 11:30 pm on the 31st, seeing as I most likely won’t be able to produce something I’m proud of while on a time crunch. I probably will close it early if there aren’t that many requests since I start school in a week and have many important exams. That’s why my requests are currently closed. Everything that has to do with the special will be tagged with #100 special. My guidelines still apply during the event.

If you would like to be added to a taglist for a specific group, person, anime, character, for questions only, prompts only or everything just send me an ask or a dm :)

BTW I started writing this post at like 5:30 pm and finished at 2:12 am. ngl I wasn’t writing between 8 and 10 pm since I was busy helping my parents. That’s still a long time tho...

When the event is done:

I will link this in my masterlist.

Every prompt that is written will have a list of names next to it. Every name will be a link to the post.

I will edit the layout of this post so that my legend, that I add to every masterlist to symbolize what kind of post it is, will be there.

n e wayz😗

For my 100 special I will be making a Prompt list, a Q&A and redraws + art 

Choose a location/AU and only one prompt from the following. Please specify a genre (ex. fluff, angst, slow burn, crack, etc.) and format (headcanon, oneshot). Any combination that has already been done will be linked in the ask.

Quotes:

ngl most of the crack quotes are things my friends and I have said.

- “will you marry me?”

- “I think we need a break”

- “Where were you?”

- “I was worried, you know”

- “ You slob”

- “AGAIN??!” sigh “ At least you’re not hurt, right”

- “You are a hazard to society ... and to yourself”

- “Do I need to supervise you now?”

- “They won’t care about your left pinky toe”

- “That’s it. We’re getting you a bubble wrap suit. Oh don’t worry it’ll still be (favorite color)”

- “Honey, I’m having a baby and it’s not yours. It belongs to Jungkook” (if requested with Jungkook, the name will be changed to someone else”

- “Honey, I was lying, it’s (favorite food)’s baby”

- “How did you fall down the stairs and get bitten by a dog in the same week?”

- “When I see that old lady it’s on site”

Actions:

- ice skating

- visiting a museum (you can specify what kind of museum)

- hanging out

- waking up

- going to sleep

- wearing his clothes

- buying matching items ( you can specify)

- cooking/baking

- cleaning together

- teaching you volleyball (haikyuu only)

- teaching you one of his choreography (kpop groups only)

- filming tiktoks

- pranking him (with his friends)

Locations:

- Park

- Water park 

- Pool

- Beach

- Aquarium

- Concert

- Home

- Supermarket

- School (classroom, hallway, cafeteria, rooftop, gym)

- Holiday (here you can specify a destination)

- On the way home (bus, car, plane, train)

- Doctor’s office/clinic

- Hospital

- A volleyball match (pre and post timeskip)

- Café/restaurant/fast food restaurant

- Mall/clothing store

AUs:

- social media (celebrity ver., non-celeb ver.)

- spy/mafia

- youtuber

- Warlord (haikyuu only since it saves me the energy when making alliances and rivals/enemies. This is also loosely based off of the otome game Ikemen Sengoku.)

Haikyuu:

Karasuno:

- Sawamura Daichi - Sugawara Kōshi - Azmane Asahi - Nishinoya  Yū - Tanaka  Ryūnosuke - Kageyama Tobio - Hinata  Shōyō - Tsukishima Kei - Yamaguchi Tadashi

Nekoma:

- Kuroo Tetsurō - Kai Nobuyuki - Yaku Morisuke - Yamamoto Taketora - Kozume Kenma - Haiba Lev

Fukurodani:

- Bokuto Kōtarō - Akaashi Keiji

Shiratorizawa:

- Ushijima Wakatoshi - Semi Eita - Tendō Satori

Aoba Johsai:

- Oikawa Tōru - Matsukawa Issei - Hanamaki Takahiro - Iwaizumi Haijime

Inarizaki:

- Ojirō Aran - Miya Atsumu - Suna Rintarō - Miya Osamu

Date Tech/Dateko:

- Futakuchi Kenji - Aone Takanobu - Koganegawa Kanji

Miscellaneous Characters:

- Terushima Yūji - Sakusa Kiyoomi

Boku no Hero Academia:

Class 1a:

- Kaminari Denki - Kirishima Eijiro - Todoroki Shouto - Bakugo Katsuki - Midoriya Izuku

Class 1b:

- Shinsou Hitoshi

Free!:

- Nanase Haruka - Tachibana Makoto - Hazuki Nagisa  - Ryūgazaki Rei - Matsuoka Rin - Yamazaki Sousuke - Shinigo Kisume - Nitori Aiichiro  - Mikoshiba Momotaro - Tono Hyori - Shiina Asahi - Mikoshiba Seijuro - Kirishima Natsuya - Kirishima Ikuya

NCT:

- Taeyong - Taeil - Johnny - Yuta - Kun - Doyoung - Ten - Jaehyung - WinWin - Junwoo - Lucas - Mark - Xiaojun - Hendery - Renjun - Haechan - Jeno - Jaemin - YangYang - Chenle - Jisung

GOT7:

- JB - Mark - Jackson - Jinyoung - Youngjae - Bam Bam - Yugyeom

Seventeen:

- S.Coups - Jeonghan - Joshua - Jun - Hoshi - Wonwoo - Woozi - DK - Mingyu - The8 - Seungkwan - Vernon - Dino

BTS:

- RM - Jin - Suga - J-hope - Jimin - V - Jungkook

Stray Kids:

- BangChan - Lee Know - Chanbin - Hyungjin - Han - Felix - Sengmin - I.N

ATEEZ:

- Hongjoon - Seonghwa - Yunho - Yeosang - San - Mingi - Wooyoung - Jongho

EXO:

- Suho - Xiumin - Lay - Baekhyun - Chen - Chanyeol - D.O - Kai - Sehun

Every question that has been answered will be crossed out and linked. In brackets are if you want to specify. Yes, you can also send in some of your own questions.

1. How do you get inspiration?

2. What are your favorite genres? (music, film, books/writing)

3. Who is your bias from all of the groups you write for? 

4. What is your favorite anime? (as a ranking, why?)

5. Who is your favorite character? (Haikyuu, Bnha) 

6. When did you get into Anime / Kpop? (show, group, in general)

7. What is your favorite food?

8. Who are your favorite writers on tumblr?

9. How did you start writing?

10. What happened to make you and your friends say this?

~ 10a. “You are a hazard to society ... and to yourself”

~ 10b. “Do I need to supervise you now?”

~ 10c. “They won’t care about your left pinky toe”

~ 10d. “That’s it. We’re getting you a bubble wrap suit. Oh don’t worry it’ll still be (favorite color)”

~ 10e. “Honey, I’m having a baby and it’s not yours. It belongs to Jungkook”

~ 10f. “Honey, I was lying, it’s (favorite food)’s baby”

~ 10g. “How did you fall down the stairs and get bitten by a dog in the same week?”

~ 10h. “When I see that old lady it’s on site”

Questions you asked:

... nothing yet lol ...

This category is for Anime only.

For this portion you send me an official picture from a manga  or a scene from the anime that I redraw via dm so I can draw the right picture, if you don’t wan’t to be tagged I’ll send you the post via dm to let you know I finished it. Or if you want to see a specific character with a specific hairstyle but in the official art style.

All items will be linked below.

... nothing yet ... lol

#asahi-is-jesus-periodt #Im celebrating yall #100 special #haikyuu #haikyuu fluff #anime #haikyuu kuroo #haikyuu x reader #kuroo tetsurou #kenma kozume #art #masterlist #kpop fluff #event #boku no hero academia #nct #nctzen #bts #army #got7 #igot7 #aghase #exo #exo l #ateez #atiny #seventeen #carats #stray kids #stays

[strawberrysapphocake]

Class 1-A as Non-Alcoholic Drinks I Invented

Note: all of these drinks are highly experimental and I haven’t tried them all out yet. Drink at your own risk!

Aoyama - Sparkle Milk

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Vanilla extract

8 fl oz milk

1 tbsp sugar

Edible glitter

Mix milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. Top with edible glitter and serve.

Ashido - The Pink Dream Float

Ingredients:

1 can of Monster Energy Ultra Rosa

Strawberry ice cream

Whipped cream

1 mini pack of Sour Patch Watermelons

Pour the Monster Ultra Rosa into a glass. Add a scoop of strawberry ice cream. Top with Whipped cream and sour patch watermelons. Serve with a straw.

Asui - Lilypad Tea

Ingredients:

Green tea

Hot water

Simple syrup

Ice

Strawberry bursting boba pearls

Prepare and steep the tea, then add simple syrup. Place the tea in the fridge to chill. When it has done so, add boba pearls to the bottom and then ice, then serve with a straw.

Iida - The High Octane

Ingredients:

1 can of Red Bull Blue Edition

1 can of sparkling water

1 tbsp Lemon juice

Mix all ingredients. Serve.

Uraraka - The Moondust Float

Ingredients:

1 can of cream soda

2 tbsp strawberry syrup

Vanilla ice cream

Maraschino Cherries

Mix the cream soda and strawberry syrup in a glass. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Top with a maraschino cherry and serve.

Ojiro - Sugar and Spice Milk

Ingredients:

8 fl oz milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp honey

Pour milk into a glass. Mix in cinnamon and honey. Serve.

Kaminari - The Lemon Bolt

Ingredients:

1 can of Sprite

Half a bottle of Lemon-lime Gatorade

1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix all ingredients and serve.

Kirishima - Cherry Pop

Ingredients:

1 can of Cheerwine

Cherry-flavored sour candy

1 can of sparkling water

Whipped cream

Mix sparkling and cheerwine in a glass. Top with whipped cream and cherry candy. Serve.

Kouda - The Natural

Ingredients:

8 fl oz Chocolate milk

Whipped cream

Edible cookie dough

Gummi worms/bears

Pour chocolate milk into glass. Top with whipped cream, gummi bears/worms, and edible cookie dough chunks. Serve.

Satou - The Sugar Rush

Ingredients:

1 packet hot chocolate mix

8 fl oz milk

Whipped cream

Chocolate syrup

Sprinkles

Heat milk in saucepan, then add hot chocolate mix. Pour into a tall mug. Top with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles. Serve.

Shouji - Confusion Cola

Ingredients:

1 can of root beer

Half a can of Vanilla Coca-Cola

Mini marshmallows

Mix root beer and vanilla coca-cola. Melt the marshmallows and stir them into the drink. Serve.

Jirou - The Double Mocha Float

Ingredients:

1 can of Starbucks DoubleShot Espresso

Dark chocolate ice cream

Dark Chocolate chips

Pour DoubleShot Espresso into a glass. Add a scoop of dark chocolate ice cream. Top with dark chocolate chips and serve.

Sero - The Whiplash

Ingredients:

8 fl oz Almond Milk

Sour Strips candy (any flavor)

Caramel syrup

Mix caramel syrup and almond milk. Add sour strips and serve.

Tokoyami - The All-Nighter

Ingredients:

1 can of Monster Energy Ultra Black

Dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans

Cherry grenadine syrup

Mix the Monster Ultra Black and grenadine syrup. Mix in chocolate-covered espresso beans and serve.

Todoroki - The Strawberry Shortcake Float

Ingredients:

8 fl oz strawberry milk

Vanilla ice cream

Whipped cream

Strawberry halves

Pour the strawberry milk into a glass. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Top with whipped cream and strawberry halves. Serve.

Hagakure - The Iridescence

Ingredients:

1 can of Berry La Croix

1 tbsp simple syrup

raspberries

Mix the simple syrup into the La Croix. Add the raspberries and serve

Bakugou - The Sunburst

Ingredients:

1 can of Red Bull Orange Edition

1 can of Orange Fanta

Orange Cotton Candy

1 packet Cherry Pop Rocks

Mix Red Bull Orange Edition with Orange Fanta in a glass. Top with cotton candy and pop rocks and serve.

Midoriya - The Small Might

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Gatorade Fierce Green Apple

Green apple sour candy

1 can of ginger ale

Mix Gatorade and ginger ale. Mix in sour candy and serve.

Mineta - Glorified Grape Juice

Ingredients:

8 fl oz grape juice

1 can of Monster Energy Ultra Violet

1 box Grape Nerds candy

Mix grape juice and Monster Ultra Violet. Pour in grape nerds and stir. Serve.

Yaoyorozu - The Barely There

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Lime juice

1 can of Key Lime La Croix sparkling water

3 drops of red food coloring

Ice

Mix La Croix and lime juice. Add red food coloring and ice. Serve.

#my hero academia #class 1-a #drinks #non-alcoholic

[rainbow-filmnerd]

Since I move back to college next week, I just wanna briefly talk about the anime shows I’ve been watching these past five months, ever since spring break last semester. For right now, I won’t be watching any more anime primarily due to adjusting to the next school year being a top priority. I’ll say that the next anime I’ll watch is “Snow White with the Red Hair” (shoutout to @sweet-chinchilla for first mentioning this one to me).

All the reviews of the anime I’ve seen as of August 2020 will be under the cut (in order of least favorite - favorite).

Ouran High School Host Club: I did like this anime a whole lot, but not as much as the others. I wasn’t too fond of a lot of the romance scenes that involve Tamaki (maybe because I find it to be sappy. XP), nor am I crazy about how possessive of Haruhi he was, but his heart was certainly in the right place. But I saw Honey as a tough cookie, and pretty much a deadly cinnamon roll. I do like Mori too, and although I did wish he had more attention, what we got in the series makes sense for his character type. The twins Kaoru and Hikaru were some of my favorite characters. I loved that chaotic duo, and I can relate to their initial struggle of trusting other people besides themselves. It’s safe to say that Kyoya is my favorite character of the series. He reminds me of Logan from Sanders Sides, but also another anime character that I like and will mention soon (but much more calmer). Haruhi is really a mood when it comes to seeing what shenanigans the Host Club get into, and of course, I love her Dad. He’s definitely up on my list of favorite fictional fathers/fatherly figures.

Ouran Host Club had a fun blend of memorable main and recurring characters, clever comedy, and compelling relationships (both the romantic and platonic) that made the anime fun to watch.

Fruits Basket (2019): The reason why it’s low is because I only watched Season 1. I usually watch anime in dubs because it’s easier for me to keep track of the characters, and I’d need a paid subscription to watch Season 2. However, what I did get to see was just very sweet with some intense moments and lots of fun, light-hearted comedy. I was told it will get much darker, but I feel like a lot of it happens in the second season. I have also thought of watching the 2001 original to see how it compares to the 2019 reboot, but I think I’ll wait until the reboot is finished. I do like that a lot of the original dub actors returned to the reboot to reprise their roles. And seriously, Eric Vale is AMAZING as Yuki!

Speaking of, Yuki has became my top favorite character, because he’s such a precious angel and prince. Momiji is a VERY close second, because I was born the year of the Rabbit, and Bunny Boy is PRECIOUS. I also have grown to really like Hatsuharu, I love his good boy/bad boy dual personality and I kinda ship him and Yuki. I also love sweet Tohru, explosive Kyo, precious Kisa, badass Uotani, mysterious Saki, super-extra Ayame, sneaky boi Shigure, rationale Hatori... Fruits Basket has a real fun and enjoyable cast of characters.

The Helpful Fox Senko-san: I discovered this one as an advertisement on Funimation, and I grew curious. I gave it a watch, and I LOVED it. The entire premise is so cute and also very relatable (Nakano sometimes reminds me of my Dad), and I loved how it’s basically a “slice-of-life” series, with the anime being short and sweet, most of the episodes are like two minisodes in one. I do appreciate that the show has a small cast of characters, which makes the show the more better. Sure, I do like to see more of a show’s world, but I do feel like if the world of a show/film is meant to be so small, the cast of characters should be limited too. It was fun to watch, and not to mention so many cute moments with fluffiness. :3

My Hero Academia: You all saw this one coming as the top fave, didn’t you? I have yet to see any of the OVAs and Heroes: Rising, but it’s safe to say that BNHA is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. I love all the action, animation, narratives, music, characters, voice acting in the dub... UGH! It’s all so good! There is far too many characters for me to talk about in this post, I might do it on a separate post in the future.

Todoroki became my top favorite midway through the Sports Festival arc, but I still love the precious Midoriya. Kirishima is such a sweet spiky red teddy bear, and I do like how Ochaco is so bubbly and also a badass. Bakugo is one of my all-time favorite characters if you wanna talk about their development, and I love Mina’s cheerful and upbeat personality. Jiro also became a fast favorite, and I do feel like Ojiro needs some love. Iida’s seriousness and total dedication to getting things done is hilarious, and Aiwaza is such a cool character. I also like to address Shigaraki’s compelling character, how mysterious Dabi is, All Might’s growth in his later years as a hero, and how relatable Tamaki is. X3 I’d like to go on, but these are just some of my favorite characters from the anime.

#kimmy's rambles #ouran high school host club #fruits basket 2019 #the helpful fox senko san #my hero academia #boku no hero academia

[extreme-technicality]

Im only messing with you 😘 while im here though could i have some fic recs puh-leaaase - 🍍

Ooh honey, you have no IDEA the can of worms you just opened :D (since this list is so long I’m gonna split it up into SFW Complete, NSFW Complete, SFW Ongoing, and NSFW Ongoing)

SFW Complete:

The Invisible Girl [sonamae]: OK SO it’s Hagakure-centric, with background Hagakure x Shouji and KiriBaku. My favorite part about this is that the romance is important, but not the focus. The focus of this oneshot is on the family she creates with Bakugou, Satou, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Tokoyami. Go read it, it’s great. BIG BROTHER BAKUGOU FTW!!!!!

Ground Zero [sonamae]: Speaking of Big Brother Bakugou, this is the next oneshot in the same series as the above one, but from Bakugou’s pov. Again, the romance is important but not a focus, and that’s so fucking refreshing and I love it so mUCH idk what else to tell you. Just go read these two. The rest of the series isn’t complete, but these two specific fics ARE, hence why they’re in the Complete section.

Lighting The Beacon [M3zzaTh3M3z]: This is one of the first bnha fics I’ve ever read, and I’m so glad this was my introduction to the fandom!! It’s a pretty fluffy oneshot, starting off with Kiri asking Baku out and Baku rejecting him because “who ever heard of a gay hero?” Aizawa hears about that (the basics, no details like names or anything), and things…start to change. Mic says he’s married to a man (its Aizawa), All Might comes out as pan, ace Midnight…and at the end, Bakugou asks Kirishima out very publicly. It’s so near and dear to my heart, and it honestly deserves more attention than it gets.

You’re only relevant until you’re older (they’re gonna talk about you over and over) [futurehearts]: Pro-Heroes Red Riot and Ground Zero are happily married and Baku has a reputation to slowly destroy :D (he’s soft, mainly for his husband, and he knows it…and now so does the rest of the world lmaooo).

Love Notes [PurplePersnickety]: Kirishima gets really, REALLY sappy love notes on his desk for a week or two and works to figure out who it is (spoiler alert, it’s Bakugou being a Soft Bitch). When Kiri asks him about it, he confesses everything and they date in secret for six months before telling the whole class (oneshot).

Sonder [Maplefudge]: I bet this bitch thought she wouldn’t get a shout-out well guess what you write good and there’s nothing you can do about it This is the first work of maple’s I ever read, and it’s perf <3 I’m love. It’s a look at the “totally platonic” (how much sarcasm can I add to two words?) Kiribaku from members of the class, over the course of 13 chapters. It’s full of fluff, useless mutual pining, obliviousness, and “platonic bro kisses”. Read it if you need to scream at some useless gays.

Anger Management [Julietwasanidiot]: The entire fandom is gearing up for S4 by writing hurt/comfort KiriBaku post-raid fics, and I am HERE for it. Because of when it’s set though, there’s going to be spoilers so if you’re anime-only you migt want to steer clear of this one. It’s got an ICONIC rice-and-anger line, though.

Stupid Mistakes [lemxnfox]: Kirishima and Bakugou got in a fight! They fight a lot, but this fight they’ve been fighting for six months and the class is #OverIt. They concoct a plan to lock the two of them in a room and force them to make up– and they DO. Side ShinKami and TodoDeku.

No More Fragments [Ischemia]: Canon-compliant…to a degree. Shinsou takes his place as the Superior Purple in Class A, gets himself a boyfriend (Kaminari) and a squad (the Bakusquad)…and loses it. Or does he???? Canon-typical violence, side Kiribaku, mystery plot.

Caught In My Own Web [anxioussaliorsoldier]: SHINSOU IS IN 1-A!!!!! And he fucks up when trying to use his capture weapon lmao. Kaminari finds him and they recreate the iconic Spider-Man kiss…and then Shinsou passes out from the blood rushing to his head. It’s cute guys.

Be Selfish For Me [A_Reflective_Projection]: WARNING– the entire thing is Aizawa asking 1-A to be careful as pro heroes, by taking them to a hero graveyard. It’s painful. It’s sad (especially when Aizawa brings up a classmate of his who died in their first year as a pro). It ends bittersweet, and there’s some good Dadzawa content in there. The most present ship is Erasermic, and that only really makes an appearance in the last chapter.

Closer [MikeWritesThings]: Fluffy Erasermic, canon universe, where Aizawa starts calling in to Mic’s radio show cuz he misses him. It’s sweet af ❤️❤️

Meaningless Holiday [dysonQueer]: It’s a sweet Valentine’s Day fic, canon-compliant, with established Erasermic for the soul. I highly recommend it if you’re having a rough day and you need some feel-good fluff

Come Back Toe Me [Milligramme]: Aged-up, Pro Hero fic where Kiri has a shit day heroing, but he isn’t physically hurt. Not until he breaks his toe on the coffee table, that is. He can’t stop laughing, and Bakugou can’t stop worrying about his dumbass boyfriend.

Kiss Me Through The Screen [Ischemia]: Aged-up fic with ShinKami as the main focus and some side KiriBaku, but…uh, most of the Bakusquad aren’t full-time Heroes. Kami dropped out of UA completely, and Shinsou never went in the first place. So, Kaminari is working at Jirou’s cafe and works as a SFW camboy at night, while Shinsou is a teacher and watches the stream nightly. Later there’s a plot around a stalker, again please keep yourself safe Pineapple Anon!!

If I Don’t Act… [SilentNorth]: This is gritty and painful, but don’t worry! There’s a happy ending :D (I rarely read/write/recc pure angst, you’re safe here my child). Kiri is a college dropout working two jobs, living with Mina as his roommate, and with a hero complex the size of Texas. Enter art student Bakugou, who can save himself thank you very much. Some mention of depression/attempted suicide, as well as slightly less than canon-typical violence, please keep yourself safe and skip it if that’s going to trigger you, Pineapple Anon.

Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all [theroyalsavage]: A Kiribaku “10 Things I Hate About You” AU where Todoroki asks Kirishima to fake-date Bakugou so he can date Midoriya. Everything is going smoothly until Kirishima accidentally falls in love *gasp*!!

The Skeletons Inside Of Us [firelord_zutara]: Erasermic, quirkless AU where Mic was the lead singer of Aizawa’s favorite local band in college. Aizawa has a crush on him, they lost touch after college, and they didn’t meet again…until their nephews (Aizawa adopted Midoriya, Shinsou is Mic’s sister’s kid) meet and by extension, the uncles. Background ShinKami and KiriBaku, written for EraserMic week (7 chapters).

Life’s a Drag(on) [PurplePersnickety]: FANTASY AU!!! You know, the Fantasy AU from the third ending. But altered, juuuuuust slightly. Bakugou lives in(? ish) a village and helps a dragon when it’s hurt. A day or so later, a (hot) new guy comes to town named Kirishima, and the dragon keeps coming around. Shenaniganery follows. :DDD

Space Dust [PurplePersnickety]: Do you like Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, and/or Men In Black? Then you’re gonna fuckin LOVE this :DDD It’s got half-alien Kirishima, cyborg Bakugou, mention of a larger universe outside of the planet (outside of the oneshot too, lbr). It is a oneshot though, even if it is a long one, with canon/typical violence and mention of kidnapping and child experimentation. Please put your mental health and well-being above everything else and skip it if it’s gonna trigger you!!!

Achromatopsia [PurplePersnickety]: DID SOMEBODY SAY SOULMATE AU???? No? Well hAVE ONE ANYWAY!!! Kiribaku soulmate AU (oneshot), where you only see in one color until you touch your soulmate for the first time. Fun fact, achromatopsia is the complete inability to see any color!! I’m sure that’s not gonna have any bearing on the story whatsoever…

NSFW Complete:

A Cast for your Heart [KTG]: Heads up, this is LONG. 90 chapters, 268k, it’s magic and sex and drAGONS and angst and almost-dying!! The fantasy system is completely original, set in modern times, and the OCs??? Don’t get me STARTED. Kiribaku, Tododeku, and Seromina are the bnha ships present as well as a lot of OCxOC ships. There’s also a sequel set to come out this month (July 2019)!!

Long Time Coming [Madam_Muffins]: I’ve probably recc’ed this before, but I just. I just love this one so much, ok? It’s massive Kiribaku slow burn, outlining what might happen if Bakugou is just a little bit more emotionally constipated. Baku fucks up, gets help, he and Kiri get together (and fuck a little), and there’s elements of the Reincarnation and Fantasy AUs in there towards the end!! Go read it, madammuffins is my amazing tumblr mom and I love her to bits.

SFW Ongoing:

Engraved In Your Mind [Hejter]: FACEBLIND BAKUGOU KATSUKI!!! It’s canon-compliant, except for that little detail, but she writes it so WELL that now I can’t look at canon!Bakugou without thinking that he’s faceblind. Kiri finds out and starts working to build trust with Bakugou and help him on his path to becoming the top hero, and it’s GREAT. Slowburn Kiribaku. Like,,,SLOW.

Define: Oblivious [PurplePersnickety]: I bet you thought I was done with the Purple reccs. I’m never going to be done reccing Purple. Deal with it. I mentioned, in the summary for Love Notes, that there was a six month time skip? This is what happens in those six months. SeroKami and MomoJirou are side ships in this one.

The Right Thing [TuesdayTerrible]: Established Kiribaku where they’re graduated from UA, and living together, and being pro heroes…and then one day Baku finds a little girl who tried to kill herself cuz she was quirkless. Needless to say, this strikes a chord in Bakugou (cuz…yknow, he kinda told Midoriya to kill himself in like episode one and then it was never addressed again). He can’t stop thinking about her, and while we haven’t gotten there YET it looks like it’s gonna end with him and Kirishima adopting her and Bakugou apologizing for the bullshit he put Mido through. There is mention of a suicide attempt (clearly), skip it if that’s gonna trigger you!!!

Hands Off! [PullingAllMighters]: Much like Kiss Me Through The Screen, Hands Off! is a non-canon compliant aged-up AU where not everyone is a full-time hero. Kiri is, Kami and Sero are his sidekicks, Ochako is in a different agency, and everyone else is doing Other Shit. Bakugou hasn’t revealed his full backstory yet, but it looks like he was a Pro Hero until a year or so ago when something bad happened and now he’s got PTSD. His old apartment building burned down so he’s living in Ochako, Momo, Jirou, and Mina’s guesthouse until he finds a job and another place to live. This has a fresh take on the hero system, and I really really enjoy it so far!! There is, however, a fairly detailed scene of Bakugou being triggered so if reading that would trigger you, please don’t!! Keep yourself safe, Pineapple Anon!!! Endgame Kiribaku

Blood of my Hand [PurplePersnickety]: Is it obvious yet that I LOVE purple’s writing??? This, I believe, was the gateway work, and I’ve dived headfirst in and not looked back. Fantasy AU, slowburn Kiribaku, and it’s. I can’t even sum it up. There’s too much. It’s too good. Game of Thrones WISHES it could be what BomH is. There’s mention of slavery and past child abuse, please skip that if it’s going to trigger you!!

A Boy and his Dragon [VanHan]: Oh look, another fantasy AU. Have you figured out that I have a type yet? Kiribaku but the Kiribaku hasn’t really happened yet, cuz Bakugou is a literal child who got kidnapped and is probably gonna get sold. He doesn’t even know Kirishima is Kirishima, he just knows him as the cool dragon in the cage. This one just barely makes the SFW list, because there’s no explicit mention of fucking, but there’s a really really gross pedophile that shows up fairly early on and hasn’t died yet. There’s also graphic depictions of violence in the first chapter, and once you combine those two things I would absolutely understand if you decided to give this one a pass, too.

Everglow [Maplefudge]: ANOTHER fantasy AU?!?! In MY fic recc list?? It’s more likely than you think. This one just started, and it’s got that enemies-to-lovers shit going on. Dragons plus my favorite tropes = FUCK YEAH!!!

Crimson [Crocodillia]: I bet you thought I was done with the fantasy AU reccs, didn’t you? Well, HAVE ANOTHER!!! This one has strong HTTYD vibes, and I’ve literally never seen anyone try that before with these characters!! So far there’s only two chapters, but I am HOOKED and if you like HTTYD…you’re gonna like this, too.

Becoming Human [FoolishFortuna]: Demon!Bakugou becomes Human!Bakugou when he refuses to take a kid’s soul. I think we’re three chapters in and he just got to earth and met Kirishima, as well as a few holy people (Midoriya, Ochako, Iida, and I believe Tetsu). Now he gotta find his daughter and keep her safe. Kiribaku with some fairly graphic descriptions of torture and cannibalism in the second chapter, don’t read it if that’s gonna trigger you!! Also he pretty brutally rips apart the girl’s abusive parents.

Surviving for Second Chances [SilentNorth]: TWEWY Kiribaku AU!!! There’s some differences between the original game and the fic, for pretty obvious reasons (medium, objective, and character differences being a few), but this got me to FINALLY watch a playthrough of the game cuz I’m too broke to go and buy it myself!! Kirishima as Neku and Bakugou as Joshua, plus Mina as Shiki and TodoDeku as Rhyme and Beat. Canon-typical violence, and we just finished up Week 1!!

Love And Other Allergens [thefrailtyofgenius]: A Quirkless AU where Todoroki is a lawyer with a flower shop underneath his apartment. Todo finds out he’s allergic to one of the plants, buys a different bouquet every week instead of, yknow, asking for help like a normal human being (I say, knowing damn well I’d just buy allergy medication and not even try to figure out what I’m allergic TO), and accidentally falls in love with the cute (and absolutely fucking ripped) flower boy (Midoriya lmao). It’s LONG. The TodoDeku is extremely slowburn, and there’s a fuckload of side ships. An incomplete list: Erasermic, Kiribaku, ShinIida (Shinsou and Iida), and MomoJirou. Bonus Endeavor’s Bad Parenting, Midoriya Hisashi’s Bad Parenting, and both of those assholes getting locked up forever :D (I’m so serious about the length tho, it’s like 40 chapters or something).

NSFW Ongoing:

Mixing Signals [Shippeh]: Kiribaku aged-up, but they’ve tried to date multiple times and every time Bakugou fucked it up. Every time they broke up, they pretended like they’d never tried in the first place (which…oW), but this time. THIS time, Bakugou swears he’s gonna make them work.

Heartbeat Thunder [Shippeh]: This is one of the few ABO fics I’ll recc, because it’s not just “ooh heat sex fun times”. This has THOUGHT put into it. They’re confused kids goddamnit, let them be confused!!! Basically Kiri doesn’t ever want to rut so he’s suppressing everything about being an alpha, while Bakugou thinks that trying to hide from your secondary gender is stupid. They do fuck tho, which is why the fic is in NSFW Ongoing.

Take a Chance On Me [FanficIsMyThing]: The other ABO fic I’ll happily recc. Kiri is an alpha which lets him be a hero, while Baku is an omega so he’s gotta be a vigilante until the laws get changed. They run into each other on patrol a few times, Baku helps Kiri and crew out a few times, and every time Kirishima *mysteriously* fails to catch the vigilante Chemical X. They haven’t actually fucked yet, but there’s been enough sexy times to put this squarely in NSFW territory. And it’s not just sex!! I don’t wanna spoil, but it’s good I swear.

Opposed to the Typical [Heronfem]: A model/fashion designer AU featuring HoH!Bakugou, model!Bakugou and designer!Kirishima, as well as a metric shitload of others. Basically Kiri is an intern with Fatgum who gets called to help another studio with their fitting, gets assigned to Bakugou, figures out he’s HoH and handles it like a champ. Because he does it so well, whenever Bakugou needs to get his measurements taken again, they immediately call for Kirishima. And ofc they gonna fall in love :3c But its more complicated than that, and I don’t wanna give too much away, but make sure that you pay attention to any trigger warnings at the start of the chapters!!!

#kingdomheartstrashmouth #ask dadzawa #pineapple anon #nonnie #kiribaku fic reccs #shinkami fic reccs #tododeku fic reccs #erasermic fic reccs #bnha fic reccs #did i reccommend enough? or do you want more? cuz i have. sO many. like this is only a little bit my dude. #how many did i even put up there? like DAMN. and i know i forgot some really really good ones too

[foxydivaxx]

Anime Reality!AU Headcanons Part 2

Might do MMD models to show how the characters would look in that AU

- Whenever the media ask about the Big 3, Eren, Kaneki and Lelouch always insist that it’s a Big 4 as they consider Ichigo as a worthy rival and a worthy star in his own right. That alone earns a lot of respect for all 3 as they all love and respect Ichigo who loves them back in return

- All four boys are awesome in their own ways but put them together onstage and have them perform as a Team, now that would be epic

- That actually happened once during an episode of musical show Music Champ. All four performed a cover of one of Kaneki’s songs with Izuku Midoriya, Natsu Dragneel, Mamoru Chiba and Gon Freecs.

- Eren did the rap part in the middle of the song with Kaneki a shout out to their appearance on hip hop survival show Rock da Mic

- Ironically Eren and Kaneki met through that show and both got eliminated and went on to achieve success

- People were also surprised by how confident Izuku was as it is a well known fact that the poor boy is shy. Might have something to do with performing on the same stage as his hero Eren Yeager

- Some pointed out that Izuku had always been confident as he performed one of Eren’s hits during a special stage years ago

- Eren loved that performance and all of Izuku’s other performances and always praised the kid

- Fans loved it and were wanted them to be a band

- All the boys agreed that it would be fun to do that someday. Eventually they go on to form a band named Aogiri (Kaneki’s idea xD)

- Eren jokingly appointed Ichigo as the leader of the group, something Ichigo disagreed with xD

- All anime characters acknowledge Eren and Goku as the dads with Usagi and Honey as the mamma bears.

- Each main anime hero has an animal motif attached to them

- Eren tends to change and experiment with his hair a lot, worrying Levi and Dick at times

- The year end Anime Fest is a huge family reunion for all of them so picture the anime characters all messing around onstage and being cute dorks xD

- Eren buys Lelouch cat ears as a joke since he sees him as a cat and Lelouch buys Eren bear costumes to get back at him xD

- Kaneki loves coffee and always buys it so the other guys bought a whole coffee cart for him and his cast mates on his drama debut. He was touched by this

- During the anniversary of his mum’s death, Ichigo gets very emotional and tries to hide it. The other band members notice this and always cheer him up

- Aogiri are like the male verisons of AOA in this verse due to them starting out as a normal band and then transitioning to become an actual pop dance group. They started as a typical band so as to try something new but realized that it did not work for them. EXO are the other real life band they are based off on in terms of image and musical style

- Their most iconic song is “Steal Your Heart” (Think Like A Cat xD). The boys were all dressed as cat burglars and Eren’s sexy black catsuit got quite a lot of attention due to it reminding folks of Catwoman who is ironically a fan of this band and loved that particular shoutout. Bruce found it amusing for obvious reasons

- Speaking of Catwoman, the other OG Titans joked that Dick has already found his Catwoman, something Dick would never publicly acknowledge. He did tell Eren that he had a leather fetish once and loved being tied up xD.

- There was a Robin lookalike in the video that was ironically tied up and Eren locked lips with said lookalike. He did not even realize that Dick was Robin at the time and Dick would not tell him this till years later. 

- Kory gets in on the joke and tells Eren to keep on sexually frustrate Dick every chance he got, much to Dick’s annoyance of course.

- There was a car accident involving Aogiri that killed Mamoru, Gon and Natsu. Around that same time, the rest of the AOT cast regain their past memories. That’s right folks. Attack on Titan was actually real and the entire cast got reincarnated for some reason. 

-The entire gang turns on Eren due to past knowledge of his past misdeeds

- The remaining members of Aogiri and a couple of Eren’s friends who discover the truth via Ymir Frit chew the rest of the AOT cast, Levi especially for doing that.

- Levi dumps Eren for that and Eren went off the rails for years, almost committing suicide several times.

#attack on titan #dc #dc comics #titans #teen titans #dick grayson #nightwing #eren jaeger #shingeki no kyojin #aot #snk #robin #eren yeager #kory anders #koriand'r #starfire #kaneki ken #tokyo ghoul #gon freecs #hunter x hunter #sailor moon #mamoru chiba #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #levi ackerman #lelouch lamperouge #lelouch vi britannia #code geass #my hero academia #izuku midoriya

[awesomelogicflip]

Family Matters Chapter 3

Izumi Midoriya. I never got to know my Great-Grandma like my mother did yet her effect on my life was profound. I can honestly say that without her my mother and I would never have progressed as far as we did. Nor would we have known the cost of what we’d been given. It might be nice to eat anything you want and be able to stay trim with just a bit of effort, the heightened strength, the sharp senses, and all. Be that as it may, the bill for all of it had yet to come due and during that last hazy summer weekend while I was playing in the woods, my mother, as she told me years later, was having her world turned on its head. She come to Great-Grandma’s house to relax and yet got the worse shock of her life, one that was probably echoed by me when I had our family history explained to me.

I will not detail what I, and by association, my mother was told about ourselves in this book as that would counteract the point of this book. After all, I’m sure another scientist can explain the intricate nature of genetics and DNA in ways I cannot.

-Izuku Midoriya, My Mother The Warrior

Chapter 3

“So we’re going to Grandma’s house?”

Izuku asked the question through the slightly open backseat door as Inko put the second and last suitcase in the trunk. She was surprised with how light it felt or maybe she hadn’t packed as much as she thought. With a push, she closed it and went to the door, shaking her head but planting a kiss on her son’s forehead. “No, we’re going to your great-grandmother’s house.” She corrected gently. “She’s my grandmother. Now legs in and check your tail.”

And how odd is that to say? The tails weren’t inconvenient per say, hardly noticeable, at first. Yet, they were a detail that couldn’t be ignored since they’d basically had an extra limb. Being right at the base of the spine, underwear and pants required modification or else there was a constant sensation of pressure there. She’d done what she could in the time she had, cutting holes for them…but it was basic and haphazard work. The hole in Izuku’s shorts and her sundress weren’t cleanly done. Izuku’s shirt hid the hole and for her part, she just wore a long jacket for hers. She’d need to get a professional tailor eventually. One who worked with Quirks that forced wardrobe changes.

Izuku complied, sitting in the car properly and holding his tail close to his chest so that she could shut the door. As she walked around to get to the drivers side, she couldn’t help but feel baffled and a little awed, not only with how the week had gone but just...everything.

Everything that had happened, she’d spent most of the night telling her grandmother about it. The gasps of horror and the shocked silence came at the points where she’d expected them to. It was once she’d exhausted every last detail of what her week had been like that she’d asked if they could spend the weekend at her house. Her grandmother eagerly said yes, which lifted a weight from Inko that she hadn’t noticed until after she’d hung up the phone and went to bed.

In all honesty, the discussion to make the trip to her grandmother’s home in the country was about the easiest one she’d ever had made. Musutafu, the city she had been living in for years and had planned to raise a family in, suddenly seemed too loud, too big, and far too stifling.

She’d never noticed her neighbors before but when she’d gone to sleep, it had been an effort not to notice the sheer presence of bodies around her. Arriving home yesterday had been like walking into a closet, shutting the door, and then noticing only then that people were crowding around outside.

Yet among one more another unusual in a week of extraordinary ones, the fact she’d decided to drive to her grandmother’s house was probably the one that was the most unexpected.

They weren’t even that far from the train station and, in particular the most direct rail line to get there, five blocks if that. They could make it if the changed her mind right now.

She quickly shrugged off the unpleasant thought like an itchy coat. Daunting as a four hour drive was, though good sense told her the train ride would be faster on top of convenient, the idea of doing so was enough to make her inwardly cringe.

Whatever cabin fever had followed her out of the hospital yesterday clung to the back of her mind like a leech and refused to leave. It had been what had woken her up at 4:30 this morning and like an irritated nerve, throbbed at her to get up and do something.

So she took the time to pack for the visit, thinking that it would burn some energy.

It didn’t.

So she cleaned the apartment. There was no need to leave a mess to come back to later. It was actually the vacuuming at the end of her cleaning spree that had woken Izuku up. So once she’d wrapped up her work, she helped him pack everything he would need.

Still, it didn’t go away.

By the time they had left, she’d been seriously considering if running up and down the stairwell of the entire apartment building. At that point, it was obvious to her that she wouldn’t get through the trip by rail with her sanity intact. Just the bus ride to the garage where the car was stored had been enough to grind her teeth and the wait for the car had been even worse. Her husband had it in the biggest, most up-to-date garages in the city which was completely automated save for a single attendant in a booth near where the cars exited. The employee, a woman about her age with an exceedingly professional bearing, requested her name.

When she’d given it, the woman typed it into a computer and, smiling, confirmed that she was on the list and that the vehicle would be down soon.

The rapidity of the whole thing caught Inko so flatfooted that she had asked, in retrospect, some exceedingly simple questions since she barely knew anything about the place. The employee if they had been nonplussed or annoyed by them, they didn’t show it. In fact, she seemed all too eager to answer her, an attitude explained as Inko listened. Essentially, this garage used records given by the vehicle’s owner in order to know who was and wasn’t allowed to remove whichever vehicle they had stored here. And the car itself had the most meticulous record keeping Inko had ever heard of.

Nothing went unregistered or un-updated: times the vehicle was driven.

Who drove it.

How long the car wasn’t present in the garage counted to the second.

The current millage, before and after its return.

The psi in each tire.

The level of gasoline in the tank. Again, before and after it’s return.

And more that Inko was sure she was forgetting even now as she walked to the driver’s side door, being careful not to bush against the polished to a mirror-shine paint. She knew, just knew, she’d looked like a fish by the time the employee had stopped speaking. Mouth opening and closing, she had to ask what kind of garage was this to have such a level of meticulous care. She’d only been struck silent at the answer.

This garage was used by the rich and famous and everything from classics worth millions to the most recent hyper sports cars were cared for here. The reason for such a high level of service was because they paid for such an expense.  

An expense that Hisashi was clearly paying for. An expense that, when Inko asked about, opened up a whole world of questions she didn’t want to think about. Oh, her husband had an ever growing list of things she was going to get answered. For now though, this trip was her priority and nothing was getting in the way of that.

She left the man a note anyway so if he did show up… he wouldn’t worry. A kindness she hadn’t wanted to give, at first.

The door opened with a soft click and barely made a sound as she shut it behind her, her tail lying across her lap.

Still long drive or not, it would be a quiet and somewhat pleasant one. Besides, she knew where she was going. At the time of her first visit to her grandmother’s, there had been no tracks near where she lived. The choice back then was drive or get off at the nearest train station and walk for 2 hours. It wasn’t a hard choice. Even now she could still remember every sign along the trip, every turn to take, and the view from the backseat of…

She quickly swept that thought away.

While Inko didn’t drive often enough to self-justify the expense of owning a car, she was well aware of the quality of automobile she was seated in.

The two-tone black and gray Toyota Century was owned by her husband. The irony that she was now driving it wasn’t lost on her. Swallowing the bitter sadness that came with that thought, she looked over her shoulder at her son and smiled. “All buckled in?”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

“Then let’s go.”

The engine came to quiet attention as soon as she turned the key. Not even a hiccup or a wait for it to turn over.

Outrageously expensive with a service bill to match, she never understood why Hisashi bought it. Leaving out him never being here to drive it, this was the kind of car you hired a chauffeur for to get the most enjoyment out of it. Then again her husband’s tastes were odd and, as she was beginning to figure, not cheap. He’d even splurged for a crew to come clean and detail it once a week, a service the garage provided.

Closing her eyes, she shoved the subject of him out of her head like the glowing coal it was. The note had been left f if he did bother to show up. It was after a deep breath that she noticed Izuku’s voice. “Sorry, honey. Could you repeat that?”

Her son fiddled with the All Might figure in his hand. A light flush touched his cheeks and brightened his freckles. “Have I met Great-Grandma before? I don’t remember.”

“You have.” Inko said, putting the car in reverse. “Though don’t feel bad about forgetting. You were only two years old the last time we visited.”

“Really?” For some reason he seemed awed by that.

“Really.” Inko nodded. She grew concerned when an uncharacteristic look of determination came upon her son’s face.

“Then I won’t forget this time.” He made his statement with the conviction only a child his age could pull off.

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she turned the car out onto the empty street.

“Stop laughing, Mommy. I mean it!”

“I know you do.”

The first five minutes of the drive were all Inko needed to confirm that her instincts had been right. Pulling out into the street and right into city traffic, she felt that ever present itch for activity fade. While still fairly early in the morning, the traffic was already picking up as the city came to life. Inko didn't mind, a hurry was the last thing she was in.

She planned to make this as fun as possible and there was no point in hurrying since the goal of the trip wasn't the destination. While she did want to see her grandmother again and get out of the city for some peace and fresh air, the main reason was for her son.

Inko glanced in the rear view mirror as she guided the car to a stop at the red light ahead. Izuku was playing in the backseat, humming to himself and fiddling with the All Might action figure in his hands. Smiling, like Inko hoped.

This week, starting as horrible as any could, got worse and the last thing she wanted was her little boy to dwell on it.

Those two teenagers in the store had been killed right in front of him and then he'd been put in the hospital. Those things would be traumatic for any child but on top of that, his father hadn't showed up. It was that last thing that hurt Inko the most, she was still trying to come to terms with it herself. How do you explain to a child why their father didn't come when they were hurt? It wasn't a question to ask while you were alone in bed or, even worse, asked by a tactless child when you go back to school. It going to take some careful explaining, hopefully her grandmother could offer some wisdom.

However, that unpleasantness could come later. She focused back on her driving as the light turned green which took her mind off a great deal.

There was a heightened awareness she felt, a blooming of details from everything around her that centered her mind. While this car was all but a literal island of luxury, details from the outside were slipping through. The suspension was soft enough to glide over every bump and pothole in the road and yet she could still feel them, smoothed out as they were. The road noise, which should've been near impossible to sense, droned in her ears quite clearly. When she turned the radio on, she'd had turned the volume down low because it just seemed that little bit too loud.

Telling where cars were before changing lanes, noticing motorbikes in between the cars, even being able to feel the rising speed of the car and just being able to tell how fast she was going before she glanced at the speedometer, it was as if she'd been driving all her life instead of this being one of the few times she'd put her license to use.

One reason she didn't drive was because traffic made her nervous. It was difficult to focus when you were on edge because someone was riding your back bumper like they were glued to it. A nervous feeling was absent during her drive, no matter who honked or rolled in far to close at a light or sped by on a bike, she barely felt anything more than a slight bit of exasperation at the rudeness of one driver who flipped her off when she didn't immediately peel out at a particular light.

Her composure remained as they hit the freeway and quickly made distance between the city and them. It was only when the environment outside began exchanging urban buildings for more bushes and flat green scenery that Inko pulled off the road to an exit for a break.

It was about an hour and a half in but she nor Izuku had eaten breakfast that morning, so a quick rest was needed.

Parking at the first convenience store she saw, at first she’d bought just two sandwiches for them to snack on while stretching their legs. However, like when they first got out of the hospital the snack turned into a meal. She bought out nearly a quarter of the store before the edge was taken off their hunger.

Every sandwich, burger, and steamed bun was eaten in their impromptu picnic near the car. Finishing it all off with a sweet Onigiri for her and a jelly doughnut for Izuku before they continued on.

That was another thing to be addressed later, Inko knew as the pulled the car back onto the freeway. This increased appetite would become a financial problem later on. She’d never been able to eat like that before in her life, not when she was a teenager and not at her current 27. And Izuku, growing boy or not, really had no excuse for putting just as much down. Considering the idea, would’ve made her nauseous last week. Neither of them should’ve been able to attempt to do so, and yet they did it.

And had left room for desert, this time around.

Her son’s question came a little more than an hour or so after their meal, just as she was exiting the highway that took them out of the city proper and onto the back mountain route, she was all to familiar with.

“What’s she like?”

“Izumi Midoriya...” Inko didn’t really need to think long to answer. “She’s nice. Strong. Motherly like me.” ‘Motherly’ was far to light a word for the woman who raised her but simple was good for now.

“She’s like you?” Again, that tinge of awe in his voice. “Did you live with her?”

“Yes. I lived with her in a big house and played on land behind it when I was a little older than you.”

“Behind it? Like a backyard?”

“The biggest one you’ve ever seen. The biggest in all of Japan. With a garden where she grows her own food.” Again, she was practically trivializing the facts. Her grandmother had a backyard like Izuku had a slight interest in Superheroes and All Might in particular. True but far more to be told. If Inko ever met anyone who thought of 60 full acres of land as a backyard, she be shocked. Her grandmother had come into a lot of money decades before Inko had been born and used the money to build a house and buy the land around it.

Focusing back on the near bone-white asphalt as the incline began, she was reminded that once it had been pale gray so long ago and like catching the whiff of a favorite childhood dish, remembering the color also led to the last time she’d seen the road in this direction.

It had been after things had gone bad.

The road had been a pale yellow that night, illuminated by a pair of headlights so bright that in any other situation, she might have looked for familiar shapes as they past. But she hadn’t, her eyes hurt from crying so long and so hard and her vision was still a little blurry anyway. It was awful because she could’ve used the distraction from the other pains she was feeling. The road wasn’t smooth and it seemed like every bump in it went right from the wheels to the backseat to everything that hurt...and it seemed like everything had been hurting

Inko blinked, coming back to her present and rubbed her eyes clear of the tears building there. Thankfully, enthralled by the idea of ‘The biggest Backyard in Japan’ began rapid firing questions that not only had her bringing up the good memories but got so detailed that she had to think hard and dig deep on them. Hard enough that it kept her distracted for the rest of the trip.

Izuku’s questions were not a bottomless well and the car eventually lapsed into silence, right around the time they reached to outskirts of town.

As she turned the last bend, Inko was struck by a sense of nostalgia upon seeing The Crossroads, which she certainly hadn’t seen for awhile, not even when she’d come for a visit over two years ago.

The Crossroads were just a nickname that she and the other children had given the spot years ago. In actuality, the single road crossed nothing but split into three distinct directions.

One continued straight ahead, passing the town she’d grown up in completely and continued to go down the other side of the mountain. The left fork went further up and led straight into town. To the right, the road curved down in such a way that it was impossible to see what was on the other side from the road. However, she knew that it lead to a dead end not but a fifty yards from the crest, the isolated spot having served as a private playground away from adult eyes.

Turning left, she wondered if children in town were still using that road to gather. Driving through town was a trip down memory lane and she for the first time, felt like everything was finally okay. So many good times were tied to this place that just seeing it again had been like wrapping up in a warm blanket. She’d even go so far as to call it a salve to her soul.

One thing that stuck out in her cursory scan as they passed by was the General Store. Run by Mr. Riku and his wife, both had to be getting up there in age like her grandmother now that she thought about it, Inko couldn’t help but notice it was closed. Unusual for that time of day, especially since their joint-candy store right next door was clearly open.

Inko made a note to stop by and say hello before they left. Hopefully, they’d remember a little girl who’d spent far too much of her hard earned money from chores on junk like Pocky and Botan.

“Wow.” Izuku said, awed as he craned his neck to see further ahead.

“Yep.” Inko confirmed. “That’s it up ahead.”

They were about a mile and a half out of town when her grandmother’s house came into sight. The trees parting like a curtain to reveal the house, almost a mansion, in the distance.

It was a grand construction that was quite breathtaking from a distance which grew more so as they got closer. If memory served, her grandmother had said the style was ‘Queen Anne’ Victorian. Whatever style it was, it was an very loud one.

The woman had once joked that she should’ve been born European, she was so obsessed with Western culture. It was an obsessing that shined through, announced through every brick and beam of that house she’d built. In all honesty, Inko had always thought it a bit garish though she’d seen the place as a fantasy castle on the hill when she was a child. Even as she looked at it now, she couldn’t shake off the sense that the house, it’s owner, and the land around it was meant more for a fairy tale book. Something that Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty used as vacation homes, not a widowed retiree's residence in the mountainous Japanese countryside.

It was a building that was bursting with decor, from the green paint on the wood, the dusty pink of the bricks, and the intricate carved roof finials and cresting which Inko had lost hours staring at over the years, it was a home that not only stood out in its surroundings and, specifically one’s memory as it was not a place easily forgotten.

Inko pulled off the road and onto the long gravel drive which, once it reached the house, curved in on itself to make a circle so that someone could simply stop their car in front of it and not be further than a stride from the porch steps and then pull away to go right back down the drive without having to do a three-point turn.

Standing there, framed by the pearl white front door ready to greet them, was her grandmother, Izumi Midoriya.

The first thing Inko noted as she parked was how unbowed she was. Her back was straight and she stood tall and welcoming in defiance of her age. She had no idea if the hand of time was treating her grandmother exceptionally gently or if it was something in her lifestyle but for a woman pushing the better part of seventy, Izumi looked remarkably well. A fact exemplified by her clothing, or rather how well they fit her.

Dressed in a pair of denim pants and a blue long sleeved blouse, they hugged close to her body and pretty much told Inko that Izumi still took good care of herself and hadn’t slipped in her habits since she’d last seen her. Now that she thought about it, her grandmother always had a spryness that gave her the air of women half her age.

Her short hair, tied in a tight bun still had a few strands of green among the silver and her face, weathered but not worn, brightened as Inko got out the car and opened the door for her son.

She didn’t say anything at first. Grabbing and pulling her into a tight hug, she only spoke then. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Her voice was equal parts relieved and happy and even though the embrace pressed into her wound, Inko hugged her back before stepping away.

“It’s good to see you, too.”

“And this,” Izumi gasped, bending at the knees for a better look, “must be Izuku! Come, let me get a good look at you.”

Inko only noticed then that her son had tucked himself behind her legs, his previous excitement gone and his tail twitching in what she could tell was nervousness.

However, when she looked back to her grandmother, she recognized the mischievous gleam in the woman’s eyes and, smiling herself, she quickly stepped aside. “Come now, I won’t...”

“BITE!” Izuku barely had a chance to squeak before Izumi pounced. Both hands shooting out, she caught her great-grandson under the armpits and started tickling.

The four year old squealed, trying to get away but Izumi, refusing to be denied her due, swept him off his feet and into the crook of her arm.

Arms flailing, legs kicking, Izuku was helpless against the assault on his belly, sides, and neck as she went for every weak spot she could. Izuku would cover one, only for the experienced woman to go for another and Inko couldn’t help but be impressed that she still had the strength to hold him in place.

It wasn’t for very long though. The tickling finally stopped a few seconds later and Izuku, face flushed from so much laughing, wrapped his arms around her grandmother’s neck.

“Okay.” Izumi huffed, apparently equally worn from the effort “I’m gonna have to put you down now. You’re already too big for me.” Lowering him to the porch, she gave his nose a gentle pinch. “Why if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re almost an adult.”

The complement made Izuku flush a little brighter as Inko mussed her sons hair. “Not quite though, you have some growing to do, young man.”

“Mommy!” He said, trying to shoo away her hand, clearly embarrassed.

Her grandmother and her shared a laugh as they walked inside.

“I knew you two would be hungry, so I spent all day cooking,” she announced, kicking off her shoes before stepping onto the wood floor of the foyer. “And don’t tell me you’re not hungry.” Leading her son by the hand, Inko followed her grandmother who was already speeding down the hall, past the living room and towards...the dining room, if she was right.

She took her time, taking off her shoes and following at a sedate pace. Mostly for Izuku as her little boy’s head seemed to be on a swivel as he looked around with wide eyes at the pictures and antiques lining the wall, clearly trying to take in as much as he could. She giggled at that, since apparently Izuku forgot they were here for a whole weekend. The other reason she took, her time was...well, her grandmother was more right that she suspected. Their breakfast might as well have been yesterday’s memory, her stomach was already doing the mental equivalent of tugging on her sleeve for attention.

She went for her pocket, halfway through pulling out a cellphone she no longer had, and then once she realized what she was doing, checked her wristwatch instead.

11:39. Almost lunch.

With her son and her’s new appetite, she knew for a fact that even her grandmother’s prodigious portion sizes were going to be more a snack than a meal but they should eat something and she could explain to her grandmother later.

“You grew up here?” The awe was back and as Inko looked to her son, she could see a shine in his green eyes as if he’d been told his mother had come from royalty and only now was having it confirmed.

“Yes, I did. In fact, my-” She was cut off as Izumi’s voice, warm but stern. Her ‘You’re lollygagging and it will stop now’ voice.

“Child, you better get in here. I didn’t work my hands to the bone and sweat in front of a stove for this to get cold.”

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s eat first.” Inko said, picking up the pace ever so slightly. Her son must have been peckish too, since at the mention of food, he forgot his fascination with the house and was hot on her heels.

XXX

“Grandma...” Inko’s voice faded into stunned silence. Her son’s eyes again wide in shock but now edged in a bit of eager joy.

They’d stopped just before the sill of the open dinning room. Much like the house, it was huge western ideal of what a family gathering place was. A big room lined by large windows with a sliding glass door that faced west and lead out onto the porch and into the backyard. The massive solid wood dining table took up the entire middle space of the room, long enough to sit sixteen people with 8 on each side and wide enough for two people to sit on either end if they didn’t mind sharing elbow room, that wasn’t what had Inko struggling to find words to say. She’d lived here once, knew the table well. In fact, she even remembered the spot where she’d accidentally scratched the wood hard enough to leave a mark with her knife.

Although, finding it now would be a challenge considering that the table in question looked ready to fold under the weight of the food placed upon it.

Before them was a staggering number of dishes in exceedingly staggering amounts. Each main dish looked more like it was meant for a buffet than for any setting in a house. Even the side dishes were massive. The rice had so much prepared that it alone could’ve fed an entire family.

Not an inch of space was wasted or lacked something, the only spots left vacant were where three chairs sat scooted back from the table to give it’s would be occupant space between itself and the table to sit.

“I..uh.” With an effort Inko wrangled her tongue and looked and her grandmother, as bug-eyed as her son.”H-how? Where did all this come from?”

“Where did it come from?”Izumi echoed, frowning as if she’d just been asked the dumbest question she’d ever heard in her life. Standing next to a chair at the head of the massive table, she put her fists to her hips, an expression on her face that, for a brief moment, made Inko actually think her question indeed was as stupid as her grandmother thought.

“Where do you think, Child? From my kitchen.”

Inko shook her head, refusing to be put off. No warning of ‘Cooking all day’ explained the All-You-Can-Eat spread she was looking at.

“You cooked?” Inko stated flatly, pointing at her grandmother, who’s knowing grin had come back but now focused on her.

“All of this food, by yourself?” Using both hands, she gestured at the table in a motion that said ‘Look at what I’m seeing here.’

A nod.

“In one day? As in today?”

Inko put a great deal of emphasis in that last word and apparently that was just the thing she needed to get the impossibility of such a task through to her grandmother.

Izumi’s smile left her face, eyes widening slightly before she shook her head. “Oh no. No. No. Dear me, Inko.” She said with a laugh that rang through the room like a bell. “All day is just a turn of phrase, Child. You mustn’t take things so literally.”

Inko hardly thought that was fair and as she approached the table, she said as much. “Its not like you told enough for me not to take you completely at your word. I have to assume you meant exactly what you said.”

That got her another laugh.

Guess I’m a comedian today.

You know what they say about assumption. They make an a-” Her grandmother stopped, laughter dwindling to chuckles when she glanced down at Izuku, then back up to Inko and gave a conspiratorial wink. “Well, you know what they say.”

For Inko’s part, she gave a nod of gratitude and then turned to the food, breathing in deep. That single whiff almost had her falling upon the meal like a wild animal right then,

Smells of clean steamed vegetables mixed in her nose with hearty fatty meats. Fresh bread and sliced fruit combined with dishes of strong spiced curry and the tang of smoked sausage.

It stirred her appetite from an attention seeker to a near primal singular need to be satisfied.

Remembering herself, Inko seated Izuku first who was openly drooling and she couldn’t find it in herself to reprimand him on his poor show of manners. Sitting down, she focused back on Izumi, who was just about in her chair. “So who helped you?”

Her question got a raised eyebrow. “No one, Inko. All done by these.” She raised her hands and waggled her fingers in a surprising display of dexterity.

Now, she was confused again. “Then how did you cook all this?” The only explanation she could think of was that her grandmother had planned for more company ahead of time, but it had been made quite clear that this food was for her son and her. Leaving out that Inko knew Izumi Midoriya had never been one for parties.

Since the party idea wasn’t likely, then this meal should’ve been impossible. This visit was spur of the moment, an emotional decision to close out one of the most emotional weeks in her life. Coming here was meant to unwind both physically and emotionally.

In short, unless Izumi could see into the future, she’d need to have a fair warning to prepare this much, especially at her age.

Her grandmother clicked her tongue, picking up the empty plate in front of her and a pair of tongs that had been between the rice and spare ribs. “I started cooking the moment, I hung up the phone.” She answered.

If it hadn’t been for the armrests, Inko would’ve fallen out of her chair. “What?”

“It gets lonely for this old woman way out here. Not to mention boring. So I went a little overboard, I’ll admit.” She finished with a wave of her tongs, as if shooing away the idea that all this being cooked in such a short time was any big idea. “Indulge your grandmother’s want to provide for her granddaughter .”

Overboard, she says.

Inko had to wonder her a dictionary somewhere in the world had just cracked into pieces under the strain of such a massive understatement.

She was yanked out of her contemplation by the sound of chewing beside her. Izuku’s patience had run on and even her grandmother had started plating some food in the brief pause.

With a sigh of surrender, Inko began picking out what looked best from the table.

She’d planned on questioning her grandmother further after lunch but all it took was once bite of the still hot bread rolls and the lingering subject of how the food get here fled before the ravenous craving to eat as much of it as she could.

Though it did stick out even in her preoccupied brain just how normally her grandmother treated the whole meal. Not a look of shock, quirked eyebrow, or even a comment as she and her son tore into everything before them. Stripping every bone clean and clearing every platter like locusts to an unprotected field of wheat.

With her attention on her grandmother, she also managed to notice that she’d eaten quite a bit as well. Not as much as her but still, she’d put down two fairly full plates within the time they’d finished eating.

It was Izuku who announced the end of the meal. He leaned back in the chair, contented smile on his face and a deep sigh. “That was great. I’m full.” Inko, while agreeing that indeed the food had been wonderful as Izumi was a great cook, couldn’t help the smirk at the irony that there was nothing more to eat. The table, once a picturesque sumptuous smorgasbord, now lay heavy with empty plates, bowls, platters, and glasses.

For her part, her full belly had lifted a weight from her, a prickling that she had only realized now followed her out of the hospital as well. It was enough to dishearten her. She’d known the need for food was going to hit her hard financially but if it took eating this much then...Well, buying in bulk was an option but even that was more of a stop gap than anything long term. Could Hisashi even support them with just his paycheck… That question put a sour taste in her mouth that certainly hadn’t been there before. Of course he could. An expensive car that he barely used kept in an expensive garage for the elite with insurance and everything else. And if he somehow couldn’t, then she…

“What are you doing, child?” Inko jerked and realized with a jolt she was on her feet, hands gathering up the plates and silverware.

Her answer was instant. “Going to wash the dishes.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Her habit, one her grandmother instilled over the years she’d lived with her, was to clean after every meal. Dirty plates were hard to clean if the mess on them was left to dry and apparently even with her mind wandering out afield in her own world of worry and frustration, her body followed what was comfortable for her. Familiar was comfortable. That’s why she was here, after all.

“Oh, please. We can take care of that later.” Izumi motioned for her to put the stuff down. “Right now, I want to talk to  you, Inko.”

With that, her grandmother stood up as well and looked to her son. “Izuku,” she said, getting the four year old’s attention. “after you rest for a bit, why don’t you go play outside? I’m sure you’d like the forests around here just as much as your mother.”

“But, don’t go very far.” Inko cut in with a warning. She knew the forest well enough. Where the dead-end road had been the town’s private playground, the forests here had been hers. Every trip in there had been an adventure with tall trees to climb, creeks to splash in, and interesting rocks and bugs to find. “There are wild animals out there.”

Her son’s eyes grew wide, though not in fear. There was almost an anticipation to his look as if he wanted to see what kind of wild animals there were. She wasn’t sure why but it was unsettling enough that her first instinct was to go with him. A tiny pit twirling around in her stomach made her not want to leave his side, just in case he did run into something out there. Yeah, the more she thought about it, the more she felt she should be out there. Any beast that dared to try and lay a claw or tooth or paw on her son, would soon find themselves dealing with her. And she’d be more vicious than any-

“Yes, your mother is right.” Izumi nodded sagely, her voice snapping Inko back to attention. “Up to a certain point is a wire fence that keeps dangerous animals out. There is a tall pole with a red flag on it that marks where the safe zone ends. Wild animals are past it, so if you see it, go no further.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Her grandmother smiled even wider and ruffled his hair. “Such a polite boy.” Izuku blushed slightly, freckles standing out on his cheeks and giggled.

Inko followed her mother out the room, hesitating halfway down the hall when she heard the sliding glass door open and shut.

Izumi, noticing she’d stopped after a few more steps, turned to her and beckoned for her to follow. “He’ll be fine, dear. I had the fencing upgraded last month and a couple of inspectors checked the property within to make sure we didn’t have some uninvited guests lurking around. Such young strapping men, too.” She put a hand to her mouth in a vixenish way that was so fake Inko had to laugh at the act.

“Oh, if I was just a few decades younger.” The lament was uttered with a sigh, with Izumi gazing off into space with a love-struck pout that was so out of place on her face that Inko laughed harder, just managing not to bend double and followed after her.

She knew where they were going right away. Located on the north side at the end of the hall was the biggest room in the building, the study which as they entered, she could tell it hadn’t changed. Save for the new desk and the computer  that was tucked in the left corner, taking up the final bit of vacant space along the walls. “Still dark as ever, I see.” She observed, looking around.

With each wall lined with near ceiling high bookshelves including two which covered the only windows in the room, the place was cast in shadows that were barely held off from the light coming from the hall and a series 4 of lamps, placed in strategic spots around. The only lamp that caught her attention was the one on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.

She walked closer towards it to get a better look. Next to the lamp which was on the far end were a row of pictures in variously sized frames. These hadn’t changed either. The first one was of a much younger looking Izumi Midoriya in a school uniform. Smiling and with a black tube in her hand, she was posing in front of a school’s grounds with a group of other girls, all of whom were smiling as well with a tube in their hand. Yet even if Inko would’ve somehow not been able to distinguish Izumi’s face which was impossible, the girl in the photo stood out.

A lot.

Out of all five girls who were doing some silly pose or had their head turned in some way, waving to the camera or the person behind it with peace signs, she was the only one who stood straight. Ramrod stiff, a statue standing proud among everyone else, her presence and propriety oozed through the frame.

The picture next to it was a different story altogether. Her grandmother, now a totally mature woman, wasn’t standing. Instead, clothed in a stunning white gown was being carried bridal style in the arms of a large man with sharp features in a black suit. Or was it a tux? Inko could never tell the difference and she could tell that the distinction wouldn’t have mattered to either. The picture had been snapped while they were both in mid-laugh and the joy on her face made the high school one look like she’d been grumpy during her graduation. Inko could feel it, she’d felt it when she’d gotten married. A twinge of sadness curled in her chest as she looked at the man, her grandfather, smile glowing and softening what would’ve been a hard countenance. Inko had never gotten the chance to know him but the stories Izumi told her painted a picture of dutiful, gentle soul who’d sooner kill you with kindness as hit you square in the jaw if you pressed his buttons long enough. And you really had to press them.

He’d died long before she’d been born and she’d never asked her grandmother how. She continued down the row but stopped at one that had been placed face down on the mantle, hiding the picture inside from sight. Inko didn’t lift it up to see, she knew what it was of and as she inspected it, a gratified ease at the thick layer of dust on its back made her smile.

“Come and sit, child.”

A massive carpet covered the wooden floor a safe distance away from the fireplace, upon which sat two well used linen armchairs with a small circular table between them. An electric kettle shared space with an antique lamp and two blue china teacups and saucers.

“Now,” Izumi sat down in the left chair, knees together and facing her as she took the much less worn right one. “How are you doing, Inko?”

She was in the middle of opening her mouth but whatever she’d planned to say was halted by her grandmother’s raised hand. Actually, that wasn’t quite right. The hand had been little more than a twist of her wrist. What did make Inko pause was the change that had taken Izumi Midoriya’s face. There was concern there but it was mixed with a hardness in the eyes that Inko had only seen once before, and she quickly averted her eyes.

Her desire to unload everything that had been on her mind warred with just wanting to keep it to herself, to talk about something other than about her. The weather... heroes... did Takumi; that drummer in town, ever get a break with the band of his? Some idle chatting like she was used to. Her leg tingled and her back throbbed like a nasty memory.

She wanted… needed something familiar. Too much had happened and too much had changed far too fast. Her apartment was too crowded, her husband was too distant, her body had become anomalous, she’d even grown a tail. A secondary quirk that she’d never known she had.

Inko chewed on her lip, having all this time to think and having no clue where to start. Her grandmother waited patiently while when she managed to compact all her thoughts down into into a single sentence. “I don’t know.”

Those three words were so factual that Inko was initially embarrassed that it had taken her so long to say them. She had no clue how she was doing and thinking back to every conversation and thought between waking up and getting here, she wasn’t sure if she ever would.

“In this one week, I’ve been hurt, nearly killed, could’ve lost Izuku and got a lesson in embarrassment and shame so thorough that I’d probably be able to teach a course on it at Todai,” she pushed forward, more words coming to mind as she simply let herself speak. Still not quite able to look straight at her grandmother, her eyes swept along the shelves around her. This place was almost like a university’s library. “But above all that, I’m angry. I’m so angry and I just want to...” A reluctant urge edged it’s way to the front of her mind and it was only then that she recognized she’d been clenching her hands together so hard her knuckles were turning white. She didn’t want to say it out loud, like if it was addressed the thing she was pushing back would leap out like a living creature. The urge wanted action, movement even. For her to DO something, anything.

“I guessed as much.” Izumi’s tone was equal parts sad and resigned. As if she’d expected as much. It was enough to make Inko finally look at her.

Now her grandmother wasn’t looking at her. She was looking away towards a shelf and the emotion in her eyes confused Inko more than anything else. With a sigh, she stood up and moved to the bookshelf she’d been focused on. “Inko, I’d hoped to never had this conversation and in that I failed myself and I failed you and Izuku.”

Her confusion only deepened but Izumi continued before she could ask what she was talking about. “I thought it would be best to keep it from you. You were living a safe and happy life and I thought the burden of our family curse had ended at… well, myself.” Pulling a book out of a line of unmarked ones, Izumi’s hand trembled slightly as if the novel-sized book weighed a great deal. Slowly, with a gaze akin to a judge about to deliver a sentence, she turned and looked at her. A building silence grew between them and Inko was sure that if her grandmother looked at her any harder the floor between them would catch fire.

When she did finally speak, her voice had such a melancholic tone as if she was just a step away from tears.

“Inko. You, your son, and I, are not totally human.”

XXX

A cheer split the air. It was a whoop of such joy and childish glee that it managed to drown out the cicadas whirring around. The air was thick with the sent of moist grass and the air pulled even more fresh scents of the forest into his nose as her rushed around.

Izuku being the shouts source didn’t notice nor care as any skittish animals nearby fled at his announced approach. The boy’s legs pumped hard as he crashed through the brush and weaved in between trees. This was the most fun he’d ever had.

Well… not as fun as playing All Might with mom but it was very very close.

He thought for a moment if they could play that again when he got back to the house. He barely began wondering if they could get Great-Grandma in on it then he saw a low branch on a tall tree. All thoughts flew and left just action.

He leaped for it.

For an average adult, it wasn’t that high, barely a struggle to reach but Izuku wasn’t an adult.

Normally, he would’ve bounced and hopped as hard as he could, missed and probably crashed to the ground or into another tree.

‘Normally’ no longer applied.

His jump carried him up and his arms reached, hands grasping. Catching it, he gripped so that he could swing up but his fingers tightened so hard that the branch crumpled with a few woody pops. The energy left over from his sprint did the rest and halfway through his swing, the limb snapped.

He was sent into a spin, falling towards the ground which came to a stop with a sharp tug from the base of his back. Held in the air and upside down, he got a perfect view of his tail hooked tight around a higher, shorter, but much thicker branch.

His tail had caught him! That hadn’t happened before, not even when he was showing off for Kaachan.

The boy giggled, giddy with excitement. It only took him two tries to pull himself up and from there, again without a second thought, began climbing up the trunk.

His little heart pounded in his chest. Not from fear but excitement. A rush ran through him like nothing he’d ever felt before. Injury and, what would be to anyone, the concerning and still growing height between him and the ground were the furthest things from his mind. His smile only grew as he ran out of handholds near the top.

Crouched on a limb, he looked around. To his right was a tree about as tall as the one he was on but the one after that had a trunk thicker and taller than either. In fact, it looked like if he climbed to the top of that one he would be able to see everything.

However, he could tell just by looking at it that there was no way he was going to make a single jump to that one. So, sighted on his goal, he aimed for the strongest looking branch on the tree between with a moment to bend just the right way to get the most out of his spring and went for it.

Catching by his tail, he made one full twirl around the tree limb and vaulted for his target. He was only as he’d already let go and was too far away grab for anything when he recognized the spot he aimed for had nothing to grab.

A wall of solid bark was coming to meet him.

Instinct took over and he spread his arms out wide as if going in for a hug and, on the moment of impact, dug his fingers in with every bit of strength he could manage.  A series of pops followed the sensation of rough wood around his hands and then the pressure of his own body weight.

That had been close.

Breathing hard, smile a little less wider than it had been a moment before, he hung in place and looked around the best he could. Just out of reach, up and to the left, was a branch he knew would hold. He made for it or tried to. His shoes dragged along the surface for a push but got the sound of crumbling and snapping bark for his effort. Even his tail waved frantically as Izuku’s sweaty hands began to slip out of their holes. He couldn’t risk letting go to reach.

Gravity was trying its best to pull him down, his fingers were starting to ache and in frustration he kicked the tree.

The impact was enough to bounce him off his hold… high enough to put that limb just within his grasp.

He reached as far as his arm would go and caught it in one hand, then the other. He quickly scrambled up and wrapped his legs around it as hard as he dared. Sweat streamed down his face and his breaths were hard and fast but after an extra long moment to rest after all his hard work, he looked back up the tree and, carefully this time, picked his next spot and continued up.

And up.

...and up...

XXX

Inko waited for the punchline and when none came, searched for that hint of humor that showed when her grandmother about to spring a joke. Nothing of the sort revealed itself, only a look of such grim seriousness that it actually make her shy into her chair. Izumi was only slightly taller than her, yet even from across the room, her whole presence loomed. The study remained hushed. A grandfather clock somewhere in the building ticked away, it's inner workings a hammer to the silence filling the air to every last crack of space.

She blinked and for the first time in her life, worried. Maybe all this time alone, near the forests had affected her grandmother. God forbid, that age was having its much more silent, much more awful, way with Izumi and as terrible as that was to consider, as much as it hurt her heart to think it, there was no other way she could reason to herself why her grandmother would say something so absurd and mean it.

“What are you talking about?” she finally responded, leaning forward to hear her grandmother better. Surely she hadn’t heard that right.

Izumi crossed back to her chair in two quick strides and lowered into it with a fluid grace that made Inko blink again. Before when her grandmother had walked around, her movements had been smooth but with a slow methodical care as if to be sure of what she was doing before being committed. Her walk firm to make sure her feet were stable, her sitting aimed right at the center so as to not bump her hips or place herself on the edge of the chair. Yet just then, her care left as if it had never been, replaced with a confidence and poise that Inko had never seen from her before.

Ever.

“I’m talking about that tail and what it signifies. What it means for your future.” Flipping through the book, Izumi’s answer came with no preamble to the build up. She spoke plainly with a certainty that made it clear to Inko that she was far from addled. “We aren’t completely human, at least my side of the family isn’t. And just in case you’re thinking of asking, no, I don’t know what we are. Our family has been researching this for generations, longer than you or I or even my great-grandfather, and even with modern science none have been able to agree if its genetic mutation, something supernatural, some unique evolution, or just straight up magic.”

“Oh lord, you’re serious.” Inko hadn’t meant to say it, hadn’t meant to be rude, but the words slipped off her tongue as if they’d been greased.

If Izumi took insult though, she didn’t show it. Instead, she nodded opening the leather book that Inko now realized was much thicker than she’d originally thought. “I said something to that effect, when my father told me. Mind you, I was a child when he did so and if a child thinks you’re fibbing than how can an adult accept such a fairy tale as gospel? And I would still not have believed him, if quirks hadn’t suddenly appeared on the scene.”

Inko frowned at that last remark, quickly doing some numbers in her head. “Grandma, you do know that was twenty years before your time, at least.”

The amusement came back to Izumi’s eyes and for a moment she thought there was about to be a ‘I had you going for a moment, didn’t I?’ out of her mouth. Instead, she asked. “Inko, how old do you think I am?”

That was an odd question. “Seventy…sixty-eig-” Her mouth shut with a click. She knew her grandmother’s birthday, certainly but she was coming to realized that she actually didn’t know Izumi’s age. “You’ve told me before, right?”

“I have and I was lying. Mostly for the same reason I didn’t want to tell you about our family’s checkered past.” Her grandmother’s admission of lying hit her harder like a slap across the face. The shock at those words would’ve been total to Inko but like a boxer taking a viscous combo, her brain was already reeling and so didn’t have time to prepare for the follow up. “I’m actually one-hundred and twelve years old. My twelfth birthday had been less than a two weeks away when that historic case in China happened. Oh, the Chinese government tried to hide it, I’m sure, but no political body has the power to hide something like that unless they’re prepared for it.”

Inko sunk into the chair, its overstuffed cushions doing nothing to help with the pressure suddenly weighing her down. “That’s… th-that’s…”

“Impossible.” Her grandmother finished for her, pulling out a folded worn rectangle of paper from between the pages of the book. “Yes, I’m sure most would say that. But here.” The paper was passed over and Inko numbly took it, her fingers moving pretty much on autopilot to unfold it and it took a full minute of staring before she understood what was in her hands. An icy chasm opened in her stomach at the date on the page.

When it did, she gaped back at her grandmother. This couldn’t be fake, but it had to be. “Your birth certificate?”

A sardonic smiled touched the woman’s lips. “Got it for my birthday.”

Inko’s hands trembled as she passed it back. 112...the woman who’d raised her, the grandmother she thought she’d known better than her own parents, was more than a century old. Izumi would’ve looked great for a seventy year old woman. For someone more than a decade past their centennial, her looks were unnatural. There was no plastic surgeon that good, no quirk that could hold back someone’s age, no amount of good food and good air that could do this.

“However, this isn’t so much my proof.” Her grandmother, her over a hundred year old grandmother, picked the certificate between two fingers, folded, then tucked it back between the pages of the book. “This is me making my case, the proof is in you, Child.”

For the first time in her life, Inko flinched at her nickname. Izumi’s moniker for her now felt...patronizing and deceitful. So many questions marched through her head, all trying to force their way out like a mob rushing a single exit. Her grandmother’s statement made a path for one though. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, Inko. Your reaction to my question said as much.”

“Noticed what?”

“Don’t avoid the subject, Inko. You may be an adult but I can still read you like a book.”

The confusion, what was turning out to be a constant state for her now, must’ve shown because Izumi, patiently continued. “I saw the look in your eye in the dining room, Inko. Izuku didn’t but I did. Tell me, did you want to go out there with Izuku?”

Inko nodded, slowly coming back to herself. Her brain, no longer dazed from surprise after surprise, finally changed into gear, “Yes, of course. There were possible animals out there.”

“And what would you have done if your son and you had happened across a dangerous wolf, lets say?”

“I would’ve fought it to give Izuku time to escape.” She wouldn’t allow anything, much less an overgrown dog, get near her son if there was anything she could do about it.

“Would you have done that a week ago? Fought the wolf, I mean?”

“Yes. With my bare hands if I had to.” She answered through clenched teeth, muscles in her jaw tight and fingers twitching for something to hold. To grab. To tear.

“That’s funny,” her grandmother said, looking back to the open book and rubbing her chin in thought. “because you didn’t mention anything like scaring it off or backing away or equipping yourself with some kind of repellent or even a knife. Not even picking up a heavy stick, just fight it with you bare hands.” Izumi focused on her as if viewing her through a scope with her next question. “Does that sound like something you ever would have done, Inko? You? Who wanted to be a housewife? The woman I remember leaving this house when she graduated, didn’t so much as tell off her own school bullies but now your first solution to fend off a wolf is using your hands?”

Inko was about to point out that it was only if her son was in danger, yet the sentence died before she’d breathed in to say it, gazing off into space. Back at the robbery she’d run, fully planning to escape. Just thinking about it, made her shoulder sting. Looking at it now, would I have run?

The idea she had to even ask herself such a fundamental thing was enough to form knots in her belly and ice on her skin. Worse, she couldn’t answer the very question she’d posed and the agitation left her like a deflating balloon.

Dread flowed through her thoughts, sliding over where confidence had been like oil and she looked to her grandmother who now was looking solemn again, all traces of humor gone. The book placed on the table between them.

“It’s as clear to me as the sun is on a cloudless day. It’s in your eyes. It’s in Izuku’s, though for him, he’s expressing this more as wanting to play around. For you, child, I bet before this conversation is over, you’ll be near to exploding out that chair.” She began, indicating the seat with nod. “You’ll be itching to climb a tree or run. Like a pot ready to boil over, you’ll feel ready to run half way across the world. Maybe a quarter if you didn’t sleep well last night. I can tell you now, it won’t help. I wasn’t being dramatic when I said it was a curse. While I can’t trace our family line back further than the late 1800s, I guarantee what you’re feeling has cost some of them their lives.”

Even though Inko knew the feeling, the odd sensation that had followed moments when she’d gotten angry, it was only when her grandmother said it that she truly had the words for it.

“The desire for battle, Inko. That’s what those tails mean. ‘Destruction and feral savagery,’ I think one ancestor wrote. It’s one reason why all the other branches of this tree are gone now, pruned by the rush to war or a duel or even some bar fight that has gotten plenty of them killed.” Izumi stated, her voice touching an edge that Inko would only recognize later as a sob. “This is why I beg your forgiveness.” Staring into her lap, hands clasped she turned to her grandmother. Unable to speak, she stared as her grandmother cupped her face in her hands, clearly ashamed. “My empty hopes for this never to happen doesn’t excuse the fact that I could’ve gotten you and your son killed.”

If Inko wasn’t already feeling like she was lost out to sea, she’d have been swept away by that statement. As it was she stood, more unfolding from the chair than rising out of it, and her grandmother jumped slightly as if expecting some violent reaction. Indeed, Inko didn’t know what to do. Emotions warred in her mind, crowding her thoughts until it felt that no words nor any amount of them would ever be enough. Even standing, staring blankly off into space was an effort to decide. What could she do?

Scream? Cry? Call the woman who raised her after the hell of her early childhood a liar and stomp out like an immature child?

For a many hard ticks of the grandfather clock, she was a living statue. Not moving, not sure if she was breathing and finally, said the only thing she could. “I need a moment. To think. And some space. To think.”

Without waiting for an answer, she spun and left the study. However, the hall wasn’t enough space. Her old home felt even tighter than her apartment, too much stuff on the walls and not enough open air. She continued to the front, throwing open the door and stepping out onto the porch, the Toyota Century still parked a few feet from the steps, it’s polished paint and chrome gleaming in the midday sun.

Still, it wasn’t enough. The house had a physical almost unnatural presence at her back, like it was going to fall upon her. She didn’t look back to it as she marched past the car and onto the drive. With how her week was going, she’d only be mildly peeved if she turned around to see the house teetering like a stack of papers near an open window. She didn’t so much a glance over her shoulder as she continued down the drive, gravel crunching with each step. There was too much to think about and if she had to listen to anymore of that… that… what even was that? Crazy, was what it was. Her grandmother had totally lost her mind, that explained it all. Extra insanity to top off the several helpings of it she’d gotten back in the city and there STILL wasn’t enough space.

Picking her pace up to a jog, she passed from the gravel and only paused long enough to take the direction away from town, and continued down the road. The muscles in her jaw worked as she thought, not even realizing face now had a determined glare. In fact, if this was true, how had no one found out about it? A family with monkey tails popping up would make news no matter what century it was. She’d have known about them, an old cousin or a grand-aunt or someone! Hell, this was something even he would have mentioned.

Oh great, now she was thinking of that man. A growl rolled from her lips and she picked up the pace even more. Still wasn’t far enough. She didn’t even want to see the trees around the house. The asphalt ahead of her passed by, the summer heat waves making the furthest point in the road seem ethereal and unreal. As if, when one reached it, they’d come to the end of reality itself. Inko was ready to take that challenge. Her pace rose, the wild storm of her thoughts the only opposition. The road was clear, a country lane on the weekend was sure to be lacking cars for miles and at that she moved from the side to the center of the road. Her run increasing to a full on sprint along the white line. Each step devoured the distance before her, one foot tramped in front of the other, arms working back and forth like a steam locomotive and eye glaring ahead but not quite seeing.

Quite literally running on autopilot, Inko ran for that insubstantial finish line, some illogical place in her brain telling her that if she could reach it then the world would suddenly be sane again. That her grandmother’s story wasn’t true. That a murderous criminal was already in jail. That Hisashi was here with her and not...who knew where. That the robbery had not ever happened, she’d bought that ice cream pop for Izuku, and left. She had sense enough to know she had much chance of making it to that haze as she did not having this week happen, but damn if she didn’t try.

XXX

“Wow.” Izuku could see the whole world from here, her was certain. He stood bent low, heels flat and body crouched on the thickest and tallest branch of the tallest tree he’d ever climbed, feeling the breeze cool and unrestrained across his skin. It was high enough that he could make out the red flag from here, his view clear above the canopy.

He was indeed quite a distance from it though, so far in fact that it didn’t looked like a flag pole but more like someone had stuck a gray toothpick with a tiny rectangle on the end, in some moss. The forest, green and unbroken, flowed with the shape of the land to the horizon. Shading his eyes with a hand, Izuku followed its contours. It was amazing. He’d never been this high before without being in a building. Taking a moment and combing a hand through his mossy green hair up to get his bangs out of the way, he leaned forward to scope out more details in the greenery before him. Tongue out and eyes squinted in concentration, the four year old focused as hard as he could, both on climbing tree and now trying to take in the forest and thus missed the nest of spotted brown green eggs tucked between the trunk and limb.

The harsh croak made his heart leap in his chest and he snapped his head around in time to see a crow swoop for his face. It’s black wings spread wide and flapping, it looked even bigger as it closed on him. He jumped, trying to ward the animal off then whirling his arms as his heels shifted just enough to put off his careful balancing act. Wobbling, Izuku’s internal gyroscope worked overtime to keep him from pitching over, feet shuffling. The crow in a series of outraged caws backed off for as long for it to reorient itself to buzz him again.

It didn’t get the chance. A deep low-pitched groaning of wood met his ears and made Izuku freeze. All too late, he figured that the branch, thick as it was, only stayed stable as long at the weight on it wasn’t being thrown around.

The Crack was like thunderclap to his ears and his stomach rose as the rest of him dropped. Tumbling through empty air like a stone, he desperately clawed for something...anything but he was too far from the trunk. Fear tightened his chest and choked any screams he would’ve made into small whimpers. Tiny noises which went silent as he crashed through thin branches, swatting at his body like whips hard enough to sting yet so weak they barely slowed his fall.

He yelped. A particularly firm branch struck him across the chest hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs before his momentum snapped it like a twig. It bounced him further away from the tree and stopped his wild spin, giving him a clear view of the rising ground and shrinking empty air in between.

He had to stop! His sharp eyes were able to easy make out the thin blades of grass sprouting between heavy roots and smooth moss covered rocks. Izuku was a smart child but even if he wasn’t, he knew hitting that wouldn’t be good. He needed to stop! If he didn’t-

The ground closed in on him like a wall ready to crush far too fast. The trees roots looking more deadly with every passing second.

The four year old threw his arms forward, palms forward to brace and as his breath came back, screamed as loud as he could. “STOP!”

By all rights, Izuku should’ve hit the ground and been lucky if he lived through it with just a broken arm. He was fully aware of that and, many years later when he thought back to this moment, remembered the fear, the near blind icy panic that pounded his veins and tightened his chest. He would indeed remember and be unafraid to look into the empty eyes of a threat much greater than the memory and try what he’d done again.

The scream ripped through the tranquil forest atmosphere like the crack of a gun and just before he hit the ground, the four year old felt a shock run through him from tongue to tailbone. An impact ran through his arms, a jolt the reminded him of the time he’d pushed on a heavy door just as it was swinging closed. The curtain of dust and dirt flung him and he felt his stomach twist slightly at the intimidate change in direction.

Landing at an angle and much slower speed, he hit the ground with a small grunt rolling to a stop a good distance away from the tree he’d fallen from.

Curled into as tight a ball he could managed, Izuku lay on the ground shaking, short panicky breaths making his voice squeak with each on he took. His head felt like it was bobbing in a tub, ears rushing, and seeing spots even though his eyes were screwed tight. The ground under him felt like it was turning slowly and he could feel his heart beating against his ribs, making his breaths vibrate in his lungs.

When he tried to stand, he was shaking so bad that his arms and legs wobbled like that jelly he’d eaten earlier. They gave and he fell onto his butt. “Ouch,” he hissed rubbing the sore spot

Should he tell his mom? He shook his head as soon as he thought about it. He shouldn’t have been in the tree in the first place and he didn’t want to disappoint her when explaining what he’d done.

He walked his way back to the house, stopping for awhile at a creek that he’d past in his headlong charge. He only planned to throw two or three stones in the water before leaving. That changed when he skipped his first stone, a smooth river rock, hard enough to clear the water in two skips and just barely miss the trunk of a small tree on the bank.

Trying again, the third rock grazed his target, going off to the side somewhere and into the grass. The fourth hit dead center and from there he made target practice of it, every stone tossed with a little more force behind it. By the time he felt it was time to go, the tree had so many stone stuck into it, he’d been forced to angle the last throw higher to avoid them.

As he left the riverbed and went back to his Great-Grandma’s house, with no clue of the depth of the crater he’d left near where he’d fallen.

The property inspectors would bring the ditch to Izumi’s attention a month later and theorize that maybe someone was breaking onto her property looking for something and that cameras might need to be set up near the boundary. The woman in question would smile sweetly, say she’d take their advice into consideration.

XXX

How far had she gone? Inko had no clue but gave no effort to guess. Her heart slammed against her ribs, lungs working like a bellows, and sweat had long past beaded on her skin and was streaming down her face, but she didn’t let up. Her sprint carried her further and further, trees passing by as indistinct blurs at the edge of her vision as she focused on the goal ahead. When her body began to ache, she powered through it. The muscles in her body tightened. Just a little bit at a time until, right as the sun began its journey from noon to evening, both legs folded under her.

Managing one step in an attempt to catch herself, she fell hard. Her body unable to keep up with the monumental strain she’d forced it through and barely managed to not smash her face into the road. Pain snapped through her arms as she caught her right elbow on the road. With a cry of pain, her one extra step and momentum carried her from the center of the narrow road and into a low ditch leading into a clear and open field.

She landed back first, her shoulder and thigh singing the high notes in the symphony of agony playing through her, and was left staring up into the sky. Blue with streaks of white puffy brushstroke clouds lazily drifted above. Sweat, soaked through her shirt, stung her eyes and made everything hard to see. Her hard heavy breathing was balanced on a knife point from hyperventilating, sounding both raspy and wet. Her temples throbbed and her skin pulsed, and her injuries were making her pay, the fire paving white hot tracks between her shoulder and thigh where supernovas seared their mark in her nerves. Her fingers twitched and she barely felt the cuts she knew were on her elbows. Was that good or bad, she didn’t know. What she did know was, right now she could barely move, was bleeding at the side of the road in a field with no cellphone and quite unable to crawl, much less stand.

That wasn’t why she began to weep though. The pain in her body couldn’t match the gaping hole of dread in her chest, the terrible certainty that her grandmother was telling her the truth. She cried for herself, for Izuku, for the end of their  simple lives. Inko mourned for it all because, she felt that itch in the back of her mind. A desire that, even with her in such a sorry exhausted state, reared in her mind like a ghost returned for the grave. It had been given a label by her grandmother and now, Inko truly understood the depths of her change.

Her grandmother was telling the truth.

Inko was sobbing so hard that she barely noticed the sounds of someone coming through the grass, the shape of a man leaning into her sight indistinct with her blurred eyes. “Jeez, are you okay, Ma’am?” The words dripped against her senses like light rain.

Her answer was to weep harder.

No. No, she wasn’t. Maybe she never would be again.

It took a great deal of convincing, once she’d gotten control of herself, for the man who apparently owned the land Inko had taken a tumble into, to take her, a strange injured, hysterically crying woman he happened upon to her grandmother’s house and not the hospital. Or to the local police. Thankfully, while the man didn’t know Izumi personally but being a neighbor of sorts, he knew where she lived and believed her when she told him she was her granddaughter. His concern clearly wasn’t eased since when he asked what happened to her shoes on the drive over, Inko had given him a confused look and with effort, looked down at her bare dirty bleeding feet.

All that running and it took a stranger for her to notice she hadn’t put her shoes back on before leaving the house. Upon arrival, the man knocked at front door and when her grandmother opened it, had a short discussion that ended with the man looking more mollified than before. Clearly, Izumi had put him at ease and held the door open as the man helped Inko out of his Daihatsu truck.

With painful effort on her part, Inko was helped to the upstairs bedroom, the guest one, not her old one. Once she was seated on the bed, leaning into the headboard for support her grandmother thanked the man, told him she could take it from here, and led the man out.

A short minute later, Inko heard her grandmother’s footsteps on the hardwood stairs, coming up fast and steady and entered the room. In her left hand was a green medical kit, a large one with the symbol of the red cross on its side and tucked under her right arm was a set of towels and washcloths. “First,” she began in a voice that spoke of experience and brokered no argument. It wasn’t angry, though that’s what Inko had expected. A scolding reprimand for doing something foolish and stupid. Instead, there was that kindness and patience that her grandmother carried like a wallet. “we need to get you out of those clothes and clean up your wounds before they get infected. Next, tomorrow you’re coming on a hike with me so we can cover the rest of what you need to know.”

The thought of doing anything tomorrow was enough to get a groan from her, knowing that her body was going to pay her back double but she refused to complain. She’d just given herself a hard lesson which luck had saved her from an even harder one. She would have still been out there baking in the sun and there was no point complaining.

Taking her grandmother’s hand, Inko was pulled to her feet and leaned against Izumi for support who barely seemed bothered by burden and helped her into the large guest bathroom. It was more than a little infantilizing to need her grandmother’s help to undress but not only did she accept the help, she was glad for it. Every limb and muscle barely cooperated when she wanted to do something. Twisting or bending was out of the question and trying to pull off her shirt had been more than difficult. So much so, that Izumi had to used the medical scissors to cut them off after the fifth failed try.

Once everything was off and she was seated on the bathtub edge, Izumi used a detachable shower head to began rinsing the dirt off. Starting at the feet and then up the body, making specific care of her elbows. To Inko’s relief, the fall had hurt much more than the cuts made. The lukewarm water stung where it touched, aggravating but clearing away the dirt and sweat, a murky runoff flowing down the drain. After it was all off, her grandmother opened the kit and with rubbing alcohol soaked cotton balls and a pair of tweezers, dabbed the open wounds.

Soon, even that was done and Izumi after rinsing out the tub, plugged the drain and began filling it was warm water. The bath was relaxing, quick, and once Inko dried off enough, Izumi dressed the cuts in gauze after one last rub down of alcohol. Then she left to bring in the suitcases from the car.

The whole affair had been silent, save for an exchange of yes-no questions like ‘Does this hurt? Do you think you can reach there?’ or instructions to follow such as ‘Bend your arm like this. Relax your hand, Child.’ Nothing more than that.

Inko spent it thinking and Izumi gave her time to think. The air wasn’t tense but vacant of inevitable discussion like two people at a dinner table knowing an unpleasant subject needed to be brought up but there was no need to ruin a good meal, it could wait until then. When Izumi came back into the bathroom with a set of clothes in her hands, Inko asked the only question she could as she put on her clothes, an exercise in trial and error to figure out what did and didn’t hurt. “How bad will it be?”

Her grandmother said nothing for a long moment and Inko worried that she wouldn’t answer. “It’s not going to be easy. For me it was like a craving, one that I worked hard to not to indulge but others in the past have described it as an addiction comparable to a drug and like a drug, you have to keep seeking more and more of to satisfy. If it’s like a drug, then I guess it depends of your willpower.”

Inko nodded silently. She only noticed the black book in her grandmother’s hands. Izumi set the book down on the end table next to the lamp. “Read this. You won’t get through it all tonight so I think you should start with my entries.” She said, making a point to tap the red bookmark inside. “They pertain to the more present issues and don’t read like some Shakespearean play.”

Inko nodded again and she nor her grandmother broached the subject any further. They both knew what had to be done and there was no point beating it in any further.

By the time Izuku had bounded back in, she’d managed to get back downstairs and had turned on the TV to some random channel. It was easy for her to put on a brave face for him as, after she got him to take a bath since he looked like he decided to roll down a few hills, he tried his best to tell her in a single breath how great the forest was.

“And the trees are so tall!!!” He exclaimed, throwing his arms up to give scale. His wild gesture caused him to bounce  on the living room couch a bit. While his enthusiasm was infectious, helping Inko smile through the sharp deep pains in her muscles, her chest ached. A mournful leftover for a past that was never going to come back and the fear of an unknown future tugging at her heartstrings. “You can see everything from up one of them.”

That got her to lift an eyebrow. “And how do you know that?”

Her son got very quiet, a shocked look on his face that steady turned guilty. “Just guessed, you know?” She didn’t believe him. Her son was bright but he never ‘just guessed’ anything. The lie was only made more obvious by the sudden clinical interest her son picked up in the few blank spaces of wall in the living room. Coincidentally, it also happened that the wall kept him from looking at her.

“Young man.” She said, putting just the right tone to it and her son jumped a little at her voice. “I’m going to let it go, but don’t lie to me again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

#flipwrites

[airquietworks]

Hearts vs. Heroics or: How Uravity Surpassed the World’s Greatest Hero (IzuOcha) (Part 4)

Previous parts: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3 Chapter 4: Trials before Battle To Ochako, the world seemed to suddenly pop into a greater focus. The crowd’s cheer banged hard against her eardrums as she struggled to process the full weight of Present Mic’s announcement. The mere thought of fighting Deku made her breathe faster. Her head started to throb painfully as the noise of the arena disrupted the buzzing inside her mind.

“Well…I guess…” Deku tried to speak from his position next to her to fill the icy silence building between them. Unfortunately, Present Mic’s explosive voice cut him off.

“KATSUKI BAKUGO VS. TSUYU ASUI!”  Ochako and Deku both flinched, goosebumps running down their skin as Present Mic continued to announce combatants.

“Let’s go somewhere quieter. We can talk there,” Deku suggested. Ochako nodded enthusiastically in agreement, suddenly desperate to get away from the battlefield. The place that could soon spell the end of all her immediate hopes.

The two walked forward at a brisk pace as they trudged through the hallways around the edge of the arena. Ochako hardly noticed the distance they travelled, her mind filled with a haze of anxiety over what was to come. Ochako clutched at her stomach all the while, trying desperately to stop herself from puking again on the way. Despite the sudden elephant of a topic standing between them, the pair kept quiet as they focused on getting Ochako over to the infirmary. They came to a silent agreement it was better to focus on that then the impending battle between them.

Ochako could not help but gasp when she walked into the familiar white room of the infirmary. It was cluttered and crowded, with beds lined up as far as she could see on either side of the room. There were about twelve in all, almost all of them occupied with students. Some were dozing peacefully, bandaged up snuggly as mummies, various limbs held in slings and casts. But others looked to be in a considerable amount of pain, both physical and emotional, as they groaned in their beds, dotted with bruises and cuts. 

“Hey guys,” Ojiro said from one of the beds closest to the door on the right. His head and tail were heavily bandaged, but he regarded them with a friendly smile all the same.  “Guess you had it pretty rough too?”

“Yeah…” Ochako replied mournfully, frowning at the rather grim sight before her. She did not recall this many combatants getting so injured in previous years. She supposed everyone was competing that much harder for what would be their last Summer Sports Festival. A free-for-all probably did not help keep injuries down, either.

“Another one?” Recovery Girl cocked her eyes up toward them from her position treating Sero near the back of the room, who was dozing with his arm in a sling. “I swear to all that is righteous, I am going to chew that damned rodent out for this one. A free-for-all! You have got to be kidding me!”

She sent a glare at both of them, who turned their eyes away from the elderly school physician. “Not you two again. How many times do I have to tell you to be more careful?”

“It’s just me this time,” Ochako stepped forward to take responsibility. She kept her eyes glued to the ground, knowing it would be best not to try to challenge the elderly nurse. “I got a bad blow to the face. And I need something to settle my stomach.”

With an agility that shocked Ochako, Recovery Girl ambled over to her and leapt up to kiss her cheek. She then pulled a small pill out of one of her pockets and shoved it into Ochako’s hands, before pointing forcefully at one of the beds in the back corner of the room.

“I saw the stunt you pulled. Take this and rest there. Next time, try to think of a strategy that does not require you to send your stomach into fits. Plus Ultra should not mean ruin your body. Although I suppose yours was a better option than getting blasted in all the chaos.”

With her fifteen-second treatment finished, Recovery Girl resumed her work bandaging up Sero’s arms, grumbling all the while. Ochako and Deku stood there in a moment of stunned silence, a little astonished at how fast the old woman could work when need demanded.

Longing for the comfort the bed had to offer, Ochako quickly walked forward and jumped into the soft surface. It felt heavenly after spending so long floating without anything solid beneath her. Her limbs went limp and started to feel like jelly, but the sting around her face dulled as Recovery Girl’s quirk took effect.  

“Here,” Deku said while holding out a plastic water bottle, grabbed from a pile of them located near the infirmary door. Ochako gratefully grabbed onto the refreshment, urgently twisting off the cap and gulping it down. She only stopped to throw the medicinal pill into her mouth before continuing to chug. She paused to take a deep breath of relief as the coolness of the water flowed through her.

Ochako closed her eyes and tried to think, putting off looking at Deku’s face for the moment. The misfortune of their matchup was still sinking in, but the full weight of it was starting to bear down on her.

She was going to fight Deku. The strongest person in their class.

The person she revelled in fighting in the gym — but who she knew she could never beat when quirks were involved.

The person who made her heart do somersaults, which had been aggravatingly difficult to control of late and could certainly hamper her in combat.

Her idol. Her hero. He now stood in the way of her dreams.

Ochako groaned as she let herself sink deeper into the soft bed. She wondered how much longer it would take her to achieve her dream of providing for her parents if she lost here in the first round. She’d certainly get less lucrative job offers out of high school. How long would it take to make up the difference in starting salary? Two years? Three? It was just more time her parents would have to spend working, struggling to get by and risking some awful injury.

In her mind’s eye, she could see a building crumbling with her hopes. Everything was dashed by the luck of the draw.

“Uraraka?”

Ochako blinked, her eyes opening just before the daydream finished in her mind. There was Deku, still hovering over her, gaze boring into her. His face was creased with worry. She realized he was probably anxious about this too. This was not how either of them would have wanted this to go.

“Guess there was always a chance of this, huh?” Ochako asked as sunnily as she could. It came out shakier than she hoped, exhausted and nervous as she was. “Really bad luck.”

“Uraraka…” Deku tried to reply to her, but the words did not come. His tone was feeble, making Ochako feel all the worse, and she quickly resolved to try to make him feel a little bit better about the whole thing. It would be good if one of them could, anyway.

“Hey, don’t worry Deku,” Ochako smiled at him while giving him a thumbs up. She did not have the energy to raise her right hand particularly high, but she hoped he still appreciated it. “It’s going to be fine for you. To be honest, I don’t think I have much of a chance. But I’ll try to make it a good fight. And I’m sure—”

“You’re wrong.”

Ochako stopped herself awkwardly, blinking as Deku’s face transformed from lined uncertainty to a familiar look of grim determination. His mouth made a hard line, his eyes piercing through her. She saw a familiar spark of fire within his irises.

“I know I’m going to have to give it my all to have a chance against you,” Deku stated, his tone steady as a rock, leaving no room for argument. “You shouldn’t —”

“Ochako?”

Deku suddenly stood straight as a ramrod, his hair standing a little on end as the familiar voice sounded from behind him. Ochako peered over his shoulder to confirm their mutual suspicion. Her eyes widened at the sight of her parents stepping trepidatiously through the door. Her father led the way, his mother just behind him, both scanning around the infirmary looking for her.

“Daddy! Mommy!” At that moment, all of her anxieties and nerves washed away under the sheer joy that filled her at the sight of her parents.

“Ochako!”

“Honey!”

Her parents called out in unison, rushing over to meet her. Ochako sat up on the bed but was unable to leave it before their arms wrapped around her, hugging her tightly to them.

She could not conceal the tears that started to well up in her eyes as the loving embrace enveloped her, filling her with a warmth that dispelled her depressing thoughts. It had been months since she’d last seen them, and their reunions were always emotional. She relished in the feeling of her parents’ arms. The feeling of just being with them again. She was home.

“You were amazing out there,” her daddy complimented, ruffling her head a bit as they disentangled from each other. “I can’t believe those moves you pulled! How are you holding up after all that?”

“I’m doing alright,” Ochako replied with sincere enthusiasm. The medicine and Recovery Girl’s quirk were actually taking pretty quick effect in settling her stomach, even if her limbs felt rather weary.

“Oh, hello there, Midoriya, dear,” her mother was the first to acknowledge the boy, who remained still as a statue at the display in front of him. It was not the first time Deku had met her parents, but in their few brief encounters, Deku was rather awkward around them.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs Uraraka!” Deku exclaimed with a little too much volume in his voice. Recovery Girl shushed him from Sero’s bed and sent a glare his way. Deku covered his mouth and shivered in response, respecting the authority of the nurse. “It’s...it’s nice to see you!” Deku continued, much quieter this time.

“Likewise,” Ochako’s father replied, smiling kindly at him. “You put on quite the spectacle there too.”

“Thank — thank you, sir!” Deku stuttered under the praise, quivering a little. Ochako regarded him with an eyebrow quirked up. Deku never answered her as to why he got so nervous around her parents, always as formal and polite as possible around them. She had a similar reaction when she first met his mother Inko, but she was not so uptight around the gentle woman during subsequent encounters

“I’ll...I’ll let you spend some time with your family. I’ll...we’ll...talk before the next match, okay?” Deku stammered awkwardly. He walked out of the room with overly large steps before she could react, giving her a sorrowful look before waving his hand and waltzing out the door.

“...He’s a strange boy. Nice enough, though,” her mother muttered, shaking her head at Deku.

“Yeah, he’s...he’s not usually that awkward,” Ochako explained, instinctively trying to defend him.

“Well anyways...how are you really feeling after all of that?” Her father asked, pointedly refocusing the conversation onto her. His smile fell a little bit as he looked at the remnants of the burns on her face.

“I’m fine, daddy, honest.” She sighed, a little exasperated by the concern. She loved her father dearly, but his probing at her barriers got exhausting. She could trust him with almost anything, but there were some things she wanted to keep to herself, even from him.

“It’s because you’re fighting your friend in the next round, right?” He cut to the heart of the matter with a surgeon’s precision. Ochako felt a shadow fall over her sunny expression, her joy crumbling as quickly as it had arisen when her parents arrived.

“Yeah. It’s...it’s going to be a tough fight.” She reluctantly admitted what was bothering her, knowing it would do no good to deny it with her father having already caught on. She stared up at the two of them, their faces as forlorn as she felt. So much for a happy family reunion.

“Honey,” her mother spoke up, stepping forward a little bit and forcing her mouth into a smile. “No matter what happens, we’ll always be proud of you. I’m sure you can do it.”

Ochako took a deep breath and closed her eyes at that, trying to control the tearful mist threatening to overtake them.

The sincerity of her mother was heartwarming, but Ochako could not think of the right words to explain reality. That no amount of encouragement was ever going to close the gap between Deku and her.

He was like a shooting star, blazing across the night sky with a brilliance beyond human imagination. She was the hapless stargazer, appreciating him from afar.

She wanted to catch up to him. But she knew, deep down, that would never actually happen. He was bound to be the world’s greatest hero. She...well, she would just be a regular pro. Hopefully, one that could make enough money to provide a comfortable life for her family.

At the end of the day, she could live with the gap between them. She had made herself content with that reality. But right now….

“I don’t think I can. Win, I mean,” Ochako admitted to them. Her voice quivered as she uttered that, something deep inside her hating herself for making the statement. “But I’ll do the best I can. I want to show you...I want to show everyone what I can do.”

She didn’t look up before she felt familiar hands grasp both of hers. The hands were hardened by decades of manual labour, firm, with an incredible strength contained within them. But they were also gentle, lifting her hands up as gently as a cloud, brushing over them with a touch as light as a feather.

Her father’s hands reminded her of Deku’s. Or perhaps it was Deku’s touch that reminded her of her father. She was not sure how she should feel about that.

“Ochako, you’ve already shown us...shown everyone what you can do. The people you’ve helped, the lives you’ve saved...nothing will ever take that away,” her father assured her, voice filled to the brim with pride and warmth. She felt a few more tears stream down her cheeks as she opened her eyes to see her father crouched to be face-to-face with her.

“I know you’re going to be able to achieve your dreams, no matter what happens today. And remember, there’s no rush,” he assured her, repeating the familiar mantra. He was always telling her to slow down; that she did not have to be in such a hurry to become a hero. Today was no different.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying desperately to maintain her facade. To be like the strong and inspiring hero she was chasing. An unwavering pillar of strength.

But it was hard to manage that after she felt his warm arms encircle her again. She could not hope to stop the tears that continued to flow in response.

“I don’t want to lose here…” she murmured into her father’s chest. “I just want to be a good hero. I want to help you sooner.”

“You’re already an incredible hero, Ochako. And we’ll be fine.”

“I want to win. For you guys.”

“We’ll be cheering you on. But you don’t need to put the whole world on your shoulders, Ochako. You don’t have to prove anything to us. We’ll be happy just seeing you following your own dreams.”

Ochako felt another hand touching her shoulder. Her mother, silently echoing the loving sentiment of her father.

Ochako sighed, letting her father’s heartbeat lull her into some semblance of peace. She felt too drained to keep arguing with him any further. 

Her parents were every bit as good as putting on a brave face as she was. But she knew how much they struggled to get by. She knew the risks they took every year to keep their business afloat. She knew she was not willing to let them keep working themselves to death for any longer than necessary.

She was the Uravity, the gravity hero. She should be able to take the world atop her shoulders.

“Thanks, daddy, mommy. I’m...I’m okay now.”

She pushed herself out of her father’s arms. She summoned the best smile she could for them, wanting to reassure them about her. It was probably sullied by the tear tracks left on her cheeks, but she hoped it was convincing enough.

“Are you sure, honey? You can talk to us about anything.” Her mother pierced right through the hastily assembled wall Ochako was trying to erect around herself. Still, she was not willing to let herself fall into despair in front of them again. She shook her head, looking up at her mother and trying harder to make her happiness more convincing.

“Yeah. It’s not going to do me much good to keep crying about it. All I can do is go out there and try my best, right?”

With the pop of a firework, Mina Ashido suddenly burst into the room from the hallway, dark eyes scanning rapidly around the infirmary. She locked onto Ochako, eyes widening in alarm at the sight of her parents. With steps far more demure than anything Ochako had ever seen from her, Mina walked past the other infirmary beds, straight towards them. She still wore her usual exuberant smile, but it did not quite reach her eyes.

“Hey there, Mr and Mrs Uraraka! Nice to see you again. Ochako, Midnight wanted me to come and get you. You’ve got 30 minutes until the next round starts and they want to make sure you and Midoriya are both ready.”

Ochako took a deep breath and nodded her head deeply. She regarded her parents again before hugging each of them in turn tightly.

“We’ll be cheering you on. Do your best out there!” her mother said. She ghosted her lips over her daughter’s forehead. Ochako’s skin tingled from the contact.

“We’ll find you after the match. Best of luck out there,” her daddy added encouragingly, ruffling her hair one last time. “No matter what happens, I know it’ll work out in the end.”

Ochako nodded in reply, unable to summon any more words. She was pretty sure she’d cry if she tried. Her heartbeat ran fast as she stepped away from her parents with urgency, following Mina out of the room.

Ochako’s heart swelled with love for her parents. She stopped her steps just before exiting the door, turning to give them one last, beaming smile and a shaky thumbs up. They both smiled and waved in return, standing together, the picture of happiness.

The gravity hero spun around and cleared the threshold, turning down the hallway. With her parents behind her, Ochako’s smile faltered. She hung her head low, looking down at her fragile-looking hands.

She loved her parents. But they did not get it the hero business, not really. There was always a degree of separation between her relationship with her heroic self, and her relationship with her parents. They did not completely understand why she had to push herself so hard. They did not understand why she wanted to win so much — why she needed to do well here. There was no way they could understand how much it hurt her knowing she was almost certainly going to lose. 

They knew Ochako. They did not really understand Uravity. They did not know what it meant for a hero to go Plus Ultra.

She walked forward behind Mina towards the waiting area of the arena. She kept her head hanging low, ready to resign herself to her losing fate against Deku.

“That was a pretty impressive performance, Ochako. Even by your standards.”

Ochako stopped and blinked rapidly, limbs freezing in place. She looked up to see Mina had turned to face her, hands on her hips. There was a slight smile on her lips, but it looked puny compared to the exuberant grins the pink girl usually gave.

“Wha…?”

“It’s not hard to see how much this fight is bothering you,” Mina explained, interrupting Ochako before she could get a word out. “So I’m going to give you the advice you need to hear.”

Mina’s voice went down an octave with those words, taking on a seriousness Ochako had never heard from her. The strangeness of it sent a small chill down Ochako’s spine, as she struggled to figure out what kind of game Mina was playing at.

“Go out there, do your best, and try to have fun!”

It was like watching a jack-in-the-box, as Mina jumped a little into the air, face brightening with an open-mouthed grin and her hands pointing haphazardly upward into the air. Ochako blinked, too stunned to respond quickly.

Evidently, the non-response was not what Mina was looking for, as the pink girl shook her head and sighed.

“Look, the reason I tease you so much is because you’re serious way too often.” Serious Mina had returned, but she at least managed to keep an easygoing grin on her face this time.

“I”m not...always serious…” Ochako mumbled in reply, already on the defensive, clasping her hands and rubbing her thumbs together.

“The act you pull half the time doesn’t count,” Ashido replied quickly, sending a peering glance straight at Ochako. The gravity hero gulped in reply.

“Even Momo, nerdy as she is, finds chances to get silly when she rants about some book she likes. But you...you’re always so focused on hero work that I hardly see you smiling anymore. Really smiling, I mean. That goes for Midoriya too, for that matter. He’s rubbing off on you more than I can stand.”

Ochako stood there, slack-jawed, struggling to process this side of Mina, who continued to cut through her facade with a swagger that was hard to respond to.

“We all have our own reasons, but we all want to be heroes, Ochako,” Ashido explained before she gave Ochako another toothy smile. “But we have to keep our own happiness in mind too.”

“What...what do you mean by that?” Ochako asked slowly. Mina’s sudden rant froze her feet in place as she tried to process her friend’s words.

“You’re not going to be able to help people if you’re miserable all the time,” Mina answered without breaking her vocal stride, her hands as bouncy as her words were. “And the fact is, the happiest I ever see you and Midoriya is when you’re together. That’s why I think you need to give it a real shot with him.”

“I’m...I’m plenty happy,” Ochako pouted and crossed her arms in front of her, growing increasingly indignant at Mina’s speech. She was absolutely happy. Wasn’t she? She wanted to give a stronger rebuttal — prove Mina wrong somehow —  but she could not think of any. Her head was foggy and she felt unsure of how to navigate her feelings in the jumble of nerves she was in right now.

“There’s happy and then there’s happy,” Mina retorted, shaking her head again at Ochako’s stubbornness. “Look, I see how bummed out you’re getting about this fight, but I don’t see why you should be. You spar with Midoriya all the time, right?”

Ochako narrowed her eyes at the girl, not entirely sure what she was getting at.

“And how does fighting with him make you feel?” Mina leaned forward, hands clasped behind her, watching Ochako’s face with an intense stare.

At the prompting, Ochako reflected back at all the times she had trained with Deku. The exhilaration, the exhaustion, the joys of victory and the disappointment of defeat. But no matter the outcome, their sparring always ended up with them sharing a laugh together. There was not a single time she could remember where she did not walk away from sparring with a warm feeling in her chest.

“...Pretty good,” Ochako admitted, crossing her arms in front of her.

“So, just think of that feeling!” Mina advised as she raised her hands in the air. “You have fun sparring with him, right? Well, think of it as just another sparring session, but on a bigger stage. It does not have to be all serious. Just enjoy the thrill of competition!”

Ochako let the words sink in, stroking her chin lightly in thought. A part of her refused to let go of the harsh reality of the fight ahead. She wanted to win. She knew her early career prospects hinged on it. She had too much pride as a hero to not take the upcoming bout seriously.

But pained as much as it pained her to admit it...maybe Mina had a point. Her head felt muddied by all the warring thoughts and feeling she was dealing with.

Her parents, her career, her pride, her love for Deku, the prospect of fighting Deku, the strategy for the battle, the nerves of performance. She was not sure how to come to grips with it all. She struggled to focus on any one thing rattling around in her mind.

But sparring with Deku...training with Deku...it was almost as natural as breathing at this point. That much, she was more than capable of. If she just focused on that, maybe she could at least put up a decent fight for him. She might even be able to appreciate the thrill of battle, as Mina suggested.

Ochako knew such a feeling would never last. But it might last her long enough to get her through the fight, at least.

“...Thanks, Mina.” Ochako looked up and gave her friend a sincere smile. As much as Mina irritated her, she ultimately had the good of her friends at heart. “I’ll give it a try.”

“You’re welcome,” Mina replied, giving her a grin and a thumbs up. “I’m rooting for ‘ya out there.”

“Would Ochako Uraraka please report to the waiting area.” The voice of Midnight sounded through the speakers around the arena, reminding them both of how little time remained before the fight.

“Shoot, I better go,” Ochako grumbled, breaking off into a brisk jog. Mina nodded and stood off to the side, letting Ochako run right past her.

“Make sure to ask for a kiss after the fight!” Mina called after her, cackling all the while. Ochako nearly tripped, her heart kicking up a notch and heat surging into her cheeks. But she kept going, with far too little time to turn around and give Mina a piece of her mind. Her pink friend had undoubtedly counted on that.

With only a few minutes to spare, Ochako rounded a corner to the waiting area. Her eyes were met with Deku and the back of Bakugo’s head, the pair standing close together, talking about something. She gasped but covered her mouth, taking a few steps back to peer around the corner of the hallway.

Why would Bakugo want to talk to Deku right now? Ochako wondered, knowing the two were still far from being friends — and probably never would be. Curiosity got the best of her and she decided to eavesdrop.

“...Don’t lose to her.” Bakugo ordered in a low, threatening done, hands deep in the pockets of his sports uniform. Ochako could not make out his face from where she was standing, but she could tell he was probably glaring straight as Deku.

“What?” Deku replied, raising his eyebrows, perplexed.

“I wouldn’t put it past you to throw the fight or do something stupid and get your ass kicked. She’s tough. But you better win, Deku. I didn’t go after you last round because I expect to destroy you in the finals.”

“I would never throw the fight. I’m giving it my all,” Deku assured him, looking forward with the familiar blaze of conviction in his eyes. Ochako looked on, biting her lip at the thought of having those eyes aimed squarely at her in the ring.

“I’m not going to lose, Kacchan.”

The words sent a cold chill straight to Ochako’s heart. She gripped the edge of the corner tightly as they sunk in. They were not surprising in the slightest; of course Deku would give it his all against her, just like she was planning too. And of course he would be confident. He would probably say the same no matter his opponent, just due to his sheer determination alone. His quirk certainly gave him the power to back up that sentiment, as well.

“You better not, or I’ll make you regret it, loser.” With the warning — tame by Bakugo’s standards — the explosive boy walked past Deku towards an exit to the stands.

Deku breathed out a sigh of relief. He frowned suddenly and started pacing rapidly in front of the waiting room.

The time to fight was approaching fast. She could not let Deku’s pronouncement get her down too much. With her own deep breath, Ochako painted an easygoing smile on her face and took the plunge, walking around the corner to greet her best friend – and her probable doom.

“Heya Deku,” Ochako greeted cheerily, summoning her usual bubbliness.

“Uraraka!” Deku jumped slightly as she came into view, a slow smile emerging across his own face. “I was worried we wouldn’t get to talk before the fight.”

“Wouldn’t want to miss that,” Ochako agreed. Every second with him made it harder and harder to keep her a smile on her face. “What was it you wanted to say earlier?”

“Uraraka...I...you…” Deku stopped and started his speech repeatedly, struggling to get the words out. He took a deep breath and started again. “Uraraka, you shouldn’t put yourself down.”

“Whaddya mean?” She asked, feigning ignorance. She did not like where this might be going. She did not want to be confronted any more about her jumbled emotions again, especially not by him of all people.

“You said earlier you didn’t think you had much of a chance against me.” Deku stared intently at her, but Ochako refused to meet his eyes, looking away and off into the corner.

She was tired. She was trying to focus on just getting through the fight ahead. She wanted out of this conversation.

“Did I? Well, I mean—”

“You’re strong, Uraraka. You shouldn’t doubt yourself. You have every bit as good a chance to win as I do.”

Her chest got tight as she felt her heart swelling. She scrunched her face and shook her head. The words were comforting, but she was wary. How did she know Deku was not just trying to make her feel better? There was no way—

“...And to tell you the truth, I’m terrified about it.”

She turned her head to look at his face again, jolted by the sudden confession. His eyes were suddenly downcast and his posture slumped.

“What do you mean by that?”

“...I know how hard it is going to be to fight you. I want to be confident but...I know if I’m not performing at my absolute best, I’m going to lose. And I can’t afford to lose here.”

The desperate edge radiating in his voice sounded sincere. As she looked at him, the indomitable hero she knew he was going to become had faded away. There was only Izuku, the nerdy, kind worrywart who she was proud to call a friend.

He was just as freaked out about this fight as she was, she realized. The thought made the fog hanging in her mind disperse as a clear course of action took too form in front of her.

“And I hate that one of us is going to have to lose,” Deku mumbled, eyes glued to the floor. “I don’t want to be the person who knocks you out of this. I know how much this means to you. I—”

Ochako wrapped her arms around his body to cut him off. She pressed her head under him, squeezing him tightly. She breathed him in, relishing in the contact, even though he grew very still in her arms. But after a few moments, he loosened up, slowly wrapping his arms around her in turn.

It was a rare form of contact between them. They were usually too shy to initiate anything so bold as a hug. But time had made these moments of physical comfort come up on occasion. Ochako knew it was something they both needed.

Ochako disentangled herself from him, holding him at arm’s length. His eyes were shining down on her, his cheeks painted red. She beamed up at him in turn without the slightest bit of effort, a sense of relief making the gesture sincere.

“As long as we can...just think of this fight as another sparring session. Just me, versus you, giving it our all. Win or lose, no hard feelings. Trying our best to improve as heroes. Okay?”

It was the only way she could see through the storm of conflicting emotions raging within her. Her relationship with Deku was an anchor point. He consistently confounded her, but she knew she could always rely on him to keep her down to earth. And she’d always do the same for him.

With only a moment of hesitancy, Deku nodded in agreement. “...Alright then. Just like any other sparring session. Thanks, Uraraka.”

"Mina gives good advice sometimes," she muttered in admittance. The two shared a laugh at that, the moment of levity a wonderful break from the overbearing sense of tension.

"You two are absolutely ADORABLE!"

The two jumped to split apart, the exclamation hitting them like a cold bucket of water. They both turned, faces on fire, to see Midnight standing behind them, eyeing them with her hands clasped together and a knowing smile on her face.

"We were just talking!" Ochako stated with a little too much force to be convincing.

"Nothing unusual!" Deku added, turning his eyes towards the ceiling.

"There's no need to be ashamed of young love!" Midnight declared. She laughed haughtily as a tide of red made its way up both of the teenagers' faces as they sputtered denials to her.

"I'm just teasing," Midnight assured them, rolling her eyes. "But time's up. Are you both ready?"

Ochako took a deep breath and briefly considered the question. In many ways, she wasn't. She did not have any kind of plan — or expectation — of beating Deku. The consequences of what it would mean to lose here still lurked as a shadow in her mind. And her feelings for the boy were still a mess.

But as she turned to look into Deku's eyes — which he did in turn — she found the certainty she needed. The two of them had been through life-or-death situations together more than they could count. Ochako knew if she was by his side, she could take on this challenge too, strange as that idea sounded.

Ochako twisted her head and nodded to Midnight, seeing Deku do the same in unison out of the corner in her eye. Midnight gave them a toothy grin but did not comment otherwise, gesturing for them to follow her.

The seconds went by far too quickly for Ochako's liking as they stepped through the twisting halls of the arena's superstructure. In what felt like no time at all, Ochako parted ways with Deku to head to the opposite end of the arena. He gave her one last smile and wave before disappearing behind a corner — the last look she'd get before she faced him in the ring.

Before long, Ochako found herself face-to-face with the entranceway to the battlefield, enshrouded in glorious sunlight. She stretched as she awaited the cue, breathing deeply to get a proper rhythm going. Her stomach was completely settled now, which made her breathe a little easier. She was going to need that if she was going to make this a good fight.

"Good luck out there. I'm hoping you can pull this off," Midnight said, winking, before leaving Ochako to her own devices. Ochako only nodded, words hard to come by in these last moments before her fight.

This was it. No more time. No more fretting. Just her, Deku, and an uncomfortable amount of people watching them. Sparring, trying to one-up each other, doing their best. For the future they were both pursuing.

She might not have a chance. But she was not going down without a fight.

In the distance, she could see massive torches on her side of the arena ignite and shoot up into the sky. Her cue.

Ochako walked forward into the light and the roar of the crowd, ready to seize her destiny.

AN: Sorry this took so long! I should be able to get back to a weekly update schedule to finish off this fic. Thanks to Kingdom Lightzz on fanfiction.net for editing. Hope you all enjoyed it! ^_^ I’m excited to bring you the climax next week. Please, leave a like or a reblog.

#izuocha #my hero academia #hearts vs. heroics #izuku midoriya #ochako uraraka #boko no hero academia #fanficton #shipping #character study #Sorry this took so long really #next time FIGHTING