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4406 Words
"For now, I'm just glad that we are able to bring Class 1-A back together again." Mr. Aizawa announced, as the class stood in front of the brand new 'Heights Alliance'. Our dorms.
Our new home.
"Everyone was allowed to enter the dorms, huh?" Sero asked.
"I had a hard time!" Hagakure complained with a heavy sigh.
"That's normal..." Jiro laughed it off awkwardly.
"The two of you were directly affected by the gas." Ojiro said in his usual calm demeanor.
"We were all able to be together again because of the teachers. When I watched the press conference, I thought we'd lose them, and it made me sad." Asui expressed, to which Uraraka agreed.
"I was surprised, too. Well, I'm sure everyone has different circumstances." Aizawa admitted, as he scratched his head, seeming to lay in heavy thoughts.
"Now, I'll explain briefly about the dorms, but first - For now, we will focus on getting the provisional licenses we were planning to have you get during the training camp." Aizawa continued, grasping his hands together.
"Oh yeah, they did talk about that!" Sato remembered.
"So much happened that I forgot about it." Ashido confessed.
I looked over to the pair of them, as I felt a couple of gazes fixed on my form, or had that typical gut feeling about it, but I paid no mind to it.
"This is important. Listen up. Kirishima. Yaoyorozu. Todoroki, Midoriya, Iida. These five went to save Bakugo and (L/N) that night." Aizawa revealed.
I tensed up from the topic, not liking to remember back to what had happened just a few days ago.
I knew they would receive punishment one way or another, because their act was a clear violation of the rules. I just wished they wouldn't get in trouble for wanting to save their friends in need, but there was no avoiding the upcoming punishment.
I looked up to the trio beside me, as Iida and Midoriya had a few beads of sweat running across their forehead.
Todoroki stood perfectly stiff beside me, as he usually did.
The rest of the class wasn't all too shocked form the news, as most of them probably had to know of their plan to save Bakugo and I.
"Your reactions tell me that you were at least aware of it. I'm going to set aside a number of issues and say this: If it weren't for All Might's retirement, I would've expelled everyone except Bakugo, (L/N), Jiro, and Hagakure.
Of course, the five that went, but also the twelve who knew but didn't stop them betrayed our trust, no matter what the reason. I would be grateful if you could follow the proper procedures and act properly in order to regain that trust. That is all. Now, we're going inside. Let's have some energy!" Aizawa warned in a dangerous tone, but quickly dropped the subject, and made his way inside the new dormitories.
My own expression was fixed on the ground, as I kept blaming myself for what had happened.
If only I had been stronger, and haven't been kidnapped, nobody would've gotten in trouble...
I heard Bakugo 'tch' from not too far away from my position, before he grabbed Kaminari by the back of his uniform, dragging him onto the concrete, hidden behind the bushes.
I knew what he was doing, he had texted me himself a few days ago.
In the message stood that Kirishima has spent a ridiculous amount of money for the night vision goggles, so me and Bakugo split the money equally, and were here to return it.
Neither Bakugo or myself liked to owe people, but Bakugo had his own way of doing it.
"Come here." Bakugo ordered, still dragging Kaminari behind him.
"No, what, no, I—" Kaminari tried to reason however, it was pointless.
For a few more seconds, it was silent, before Kaminari's gigantic burst of voltage was set loose, and he popped back not too long after, as his almost mindless self stood there, his thumbs pointed up.
"Yay..." Kaminari let out in an exhausted tone, as he made his way back towards the group,
Some of the class laughed at his form, but I started walking towards Kirishima, as Bakugo did the same.
"Kirishima!" Bakugo caught his attention, as I stood next to him.
Bakugo held up the money, and I had mine in my pocket.
"—Wait, you're scaring me! What is this, did you shake someone down for money?" Kirishima panicked.
"—No! I withdrew this money. You used up all your allowance, right?" Bakugo explained, his hand eagerly reaching towards Kirishima.
I packed out my half of the total amount he spent, my gaze fixed on him.
"Yeah... Where did you hear about me buying night-vision goggles—?" Kirishima started to question, but he was interrupted as Bakugo shoved the money onto his chest, resulting in Kirishima holding it in his grasp quickly.
His confused stare locked onto my form, before taking it back to Bakugo.
"If you keep having to scrimp and save, then it'll make me feel bad. Show your dumb side, as usual." Bakugo walked off, as Kirishima's smile grew, before looking up at me.
"What he was trying to say, is that he appreciates what you did in order to help Bakugo and I. I'm really thankful for what you did, Kirishima. So at least, we can do this in return." I explained, as I handed the money to him, which he hesitantly took, and looked away in embarrassment, scratching his nape slightly.
"But (L/N), I already told you, me and the others did that as your friends and I... Well, uh... I—" Kirishima tried to explain, but he was unable to.
But what I did next, freaked him out entirely.
I bowed forwards, as my head hung low, showing my gratitude and respect for him as my friend.
"Wait, (L/N)! What are you doing? C'mon get up already, you're making me feel embarrassed here!" Kirishima exclaimed, as his ears started to match the color of his hair, which his face joined in not too long after that.
I let out a small huff of laugh, as I took my regular stance, and spoke up again.
"Kirishima, I know for a fact that you'll be a great hero one day. I'm really happy to have you as a friend." I spoke sincerely, to which his embarrassment flew away, and a bright smile was replaced by it, and some tears even made their way to his eyes.
I turned around, and made my way back to Todoroki, who was standing beside the group who were still laughing because of Kaminari's behavior.
"You're so manly, (L/N)!" Kirishima called after me, as he wiped his tears.
A tug of warmth filled my being at his words, and I found myself smiling ever so slightly.
"Someone's happy." I heard Shoto call from in front of me, and I picked up my gaze to look at him.
The small smile faded from my face as I remembered what had taken place at the hospital. The two of us... almost...
Shoto immediately noticed my discomfort, and went to reach out for my shoulder, but he then abruptly withdrew it, remembering what he had almost done back in that hospital room.
He awkwardly looked away, scratching his nape in the process, and I could see the smallest hint of pink on his pale cheeks.
I felt my own cheeks heat up at the memory, my gaze locking on the ground.
"—Shoto I..."
"—(Y/N)..." The both of us spoke over each other, as we met gazes, and laughed it off slightly.
For some reason, my body took control over my thoughts again, a small laugh leaving my mouth, and instinctively, my arms wrapped around his well built form.
I felt his own movement stiffen at first, but he almost immediately returned the hug, his arms wrapping around my own form.
My wings wrapped around the two of us almost happily, and everything seemed to be perfect at that very moment.
Shoto's warmth and reassurance, the laughter and chit-chat of our classmates around us, a small breeze of wind, the slight vibrant taint that took over the sky.
"Oh, look at those two love-birds. I wonder what kind of chemistry they have going on." I heard Ashido usher in a whisper, to which I raised my head, and looked in her direction.
"Didn't you hear it, those two almost ki—" Uraraka started to speak, before she was interrupted by Hagakure butting in their conversation.
"Oh, man! The hottest guy from the class already has a girlfriend? That's just sad..." Hagakure exclaimed, as her invisible form wrapped around Ashido, and seemed to be wheeping on her shoulder.
"I know, right?!" Ashido hugged her back.
"But they look adorable together, don't you three think?" Yaoyorozu commented from beside them, and me and Todoroki broke our embrace, and looked away in embarrassment.
"Damn Todoroki! How dare you steal away that goddess?!" Mineta's voice rang, and he was greeted with a bunch of laughter from our classmates.
"Sorry, everyone! This won't make up for it, but let's eat yakiniku tonight with this money!" Kirishima offered, my head going in his direction, as I shook off the embarrassment, and shook my head in disbelief, another huff of laugh leaving my lips.
"Seriously?!"
"Yay!"
— — — — — — — —
"Each student dorm building holds one class. Girls on the right, and boys on the left. But the first floor is the common area. Food, baths, and laundry are on this floor." Aizawa introduced the area, as we were greeted with a gigantic space, several rows of tables aligning the room.
There were several rows of ginormous windows, which looked out onto the courtyard.
Shoto and I stood next to each other as per usual, admiring our new home. Looking out the set of windows, the courtyard seemed to be taken care of neatly.
"I must admit, they did an incredibly good job with the dorms. There's a lot of space and overall, it looks quite comfortable here. And to think they built this in three days... I guess that's U.A. for you." I said to Shoto, to which he only agreed.
"You're right. This place does seem like a nice home. Though it's definitely unusual for me, since our home is designed with the typical traditional Japanese-style. It's good to have a change." The dual colored hair male spoke beside me.
"Oh? Quite a coincidence. My old timers' place is also styled with the traditional Japanese-style. I guess we do have quite a lot in common." Shoto nodded, and I added on.
"Half of our Quirk, people, food, matching styled homes, and even family issues. Isn't that wonderful?" my voice lacked its happiness, as usual.
"Oh. I didn't take you one for sarcasm." Shoto spoke with his eyebrows raised.
"Well, you live to learn." I said, to which Todoroki huffed out a laugh.
"So spacious! So clean! And a sofa!" Ashido exclaimed, as several of our classmates admired the scenery. Some of them couldn't stand their ground, almost running laps around the place.
"It's like a mansion!" Uraraka said in disbelief, collapsing to the ground, with Iida rushing to her aid almost immediately.
And distantly, thanks to my good hearing abilities, I heard Mineta's plotting.
Sometimes, I was not glad of having a good sense of hearing.
"Did my ears deceive me? Baths and laundry are in the common space? Is this a dream?" Mineta swallowed harshly, sweat running across his forehead.
My head turned into his direction in disgust and disbelief, as I shook my head to his perverted comments.
"They're separated by gender. You better watch yourself." Aizawa warned him in a sharp tone, to which he answered in defeat.
"Yes, sir."
"Rooms start in the second floor. There are four rooms per gender, on each floor with five floors total. Everyone gets their own room. They're luxurious spaces equipped with their own AC, toilets, fridges, and closets." Aizawa explained.
We all went into several rooms, examining them closely. It had everything a room needed, though in my opinion, a change was definitely needed.
Each dorm held their own separate balconies.
"These are your rooms. The belongings you sent ahead have already been placed in your rooms, so unpack and get settled in today. I'll tell you more about what will happen from now on tomorrow. That's all. Dismissed!" Aizawa explained, showing us a plan of where everyone's dorms were located.
I ended up on the fifth floor, along with my two female classmates, Yaoroyuzu and Asui, as for the male classmates of mine, Sato, Sero, and Todoroki.
"Yes, Mr. Aizawa!"
— — — — — — — —
And so, the hard work began. For most anyway.
I pretty much remodeled my room, going for a traditional Japanese type of room.
I grew up in them, got accustomed to them, so there was no way I wouldn't want mine to look like one, and of course, feel like one.
It took all day for me to set up my dorm, and eventually, Todoroki helped me place the floor mats completely. Turns out, he had actually done the same thing.
Sometimes it scared me how much we were alike.
My mattress was placed near the door, befitted with my futon on top, on the left side. There was a rather large cupboard placed in front of it, and in the upper left corner was my Zataku, and in front of it was my Zaisu. A small carpet was placed under the working table, providing heat.
I had changed the balcony door to Shoji slide-doors, and they summed up the traditional look.
On the right side, several other smaller cupboards were placed, containing everything I needed. And of course, I also changed the closet doors with the Shoji slide-doors.
I left the bathroom in the state it was in priorly.
Several paintings and works of art aligned my walls, countless of plants in pots, wether they were major or minor.
That about summed up my dorm room.
As I finished up setting up the final touches to my room, I heard a knock on my door.
"Coming." I replied, pushing myself up from the floor, as the hard work left me in my sports bra. I quickly put on my sports' uniform top, leaving it zipped open, and got the door.
"Yeah?" I asked simply, before I saw who it was.
"Hey, (Y/N). I heard the others talking about presenting each other's dorms. Care to join us?" Shoto spoke, before abruptly looking away in embarrassment, as he saw what I wore.
"Sure thing. Let's go meet them, then." I agreed, confused about why his cheeks were going red.
"I see you finished up your room. It looks astonishing. Though, mine is not all too different from yours. But you decorated it quite well yourself." Todoroki complimented, as I closed the door, and the two of us made our way downstairs.
"I was always one for decoration, and I grew up in a traditional household, so I had to do it. Anyway, I'll see your room soon. And thank you, for helping me out with the floor mats. It took me quite some time to figure them out on my own." I replied, scratching the back of my neck.
"Any time, (Y/N)." Shoto replied with a small smile.
"There they are, the two love-birds!" Ashido greeted us, as we came into the common area.
Shoto and I both spoke in unison.
"Eh?"
Hagakure abruptly covered up her mouth, preventing her from spilling any other thing from her mouth.
The two of us looked at each other, before looking away awkwardly. To this, several guys snickered, and changed the subject.
"All right, let's get this contest going! Let's see who had the manliest room!" Kirishima spoke, as he wore a white headband, preventing the hair from falling onto his face.
Midoriya: The typical fanboy room, of All Might of course. Posters, figurines, pictures, and even his curtains. He was embarrassed about it, and tried to keep us out, but it ended up being hilarious. His embarrassment was pure amusement to Shoto and I.
Tokoyami: Kind of a dark room. Well, there was no daylight, his room befitted with several skulls, dealing as the light sources, as well as lit candles. If I didn't know any better, I would've assumed it was a room belonging to someone who was in a cult, and worshipped the evil.
Aoyama: Well... to say the least, it was expected. Several mirrors with golden frames were in each spot of his room, almost every single part of his room was glistening with sparkles. Or sorry. Twinkles. Dazzling.
Mineta: We didn't even bother going in his dorm room.
Ojiro: Almost no changes, just an average dorm room. Poor guy had tears in his eyes from all the girls commenting on how his dorm room was basic.
Iida: Nothing less expected of your typical nerdy class representative. Books took up most of his space, and what the most strange thing about his dorm was the fact that he had four rows of intact glasses. He claimed they were for the case of them being broken due to 'intense training.'
Kaminari: Gaudy. Typical highschool boy room, as it was befitted with shoes stacked neatly, posters, games, hats and even a framed T-shirt. Basically he used everything he could lay his hands on.
Koda: His room was a perfect fit for his Quirk. There was even a rabbit in his dorm. Several plushies were placed on his bed, and pictures of animals were in a lot of places of his dorm.
And soon, Mineta insisted on a presentation contest of everyone, including the girls. This peaked the interest of the unattended, as they all strived for competition.
Well, Bakugo was nowhere to be seen. I assumed he was in his room, resting.
Even I myself, wanted to compete, in this case. I wasn't all too interested though. I was rather getting sleepy. I pretty much wanted it over with, so I could get my needed rest, since I was still in my recovery state.
The first annual Class 1-A Best Taste was about to begin.
I placed my arm on top of Shoto's shoulder, slightly getting bored, and tired, as I leaned my head against my arm.
"I'm sleepy." I murmured, but Shoto must've heard it. He hummed in response, as his voice was husk and deep, and I could hear his breaths through his nose not too far away. This caused some butterflies to go up in my stomach, but I chose to ignore them.
"I want to go to sleep." he commented, as we listened to the others discussing about a 'Dorm King.'
The others left soon, as we followed behind closely, wanting to get it over with soon, but of course, our competition never left either of our minds.
Kirishima: Lived up to what he always says. Manly. In the middle of his room stood a punching bad, posters labeled such as 'Certain Victory', curtains that had fire on them, and several hardcore japanese posters.
Shoji: His room was... basically empty. Only a mattress and his Zataku with a pillow placed in front of it. Quite minimalistic. Mineta however insisted that his room must've had something pervy inside. To his disappointment, nothing was there.
Sero: Actually surprising. His room was an East Asian-styled room.
Todoroki: Well, as mentioned before, his and my dorm rooms weren't all too different. A Japanese-styled room. Several others complained about how he replaced his regular flooring with tatami, but he simply replied that he had the same at home. When they asked how he had done all of that in a day, he replied nonchalantly: "I worked hard."
Sato: His room even had a small kitchen, also representing his Quirk. He had even baked a chiffon cake earlier on, which I tried gladly, and it was delicious. It was the perfect amount of fluffy, and the girls ended up flustering him. Though he truly did have a wonderful hobby.
Jiro: Her dorm was filled with instruments, and the entire thing was very much filled with rock-stuff.
Hagakure: The room was almost a pain to my eyes, as almost every single corner of it was pink. It was extremely girly, filled with a bunch of plushies, and it almost seemed childish. Mineta went to sniff her closet right away.
Ashido: Her room wasn't all too different from Hagakure's, but the pink shades were darker, as several fashion items were hung up in her dorm, along with girly posters, pillows and rugs.
Uraraka: Well... it was a low-budget room, representing her financial status.
Asui: Uraraka claimed that she was sick.
Yaoyorozu: Uh... well she brought in a king-sized bed, which looked incredibly expensive, and it took up most of the space in her room, leaving it cramped in there. I didn't even bother to think how much her bed must've cost.
And lastly, it was my turn.
"I wonder what the most capable girl's dorm of this class looks like..." I heard Yaoyorozu speak.
"I wonder what her room looks like man... My little Mineta is going to get me in trouble..." Mineta murmured, but I was able to hear it.
"Mineta, mind staying out there for a bit? You can examine my room from outside." I said in a bored tone, as I had enough of his foolish actions.
He groaned in protest, but I opened my door, and it revealed my dorm.
The class' jaws dropped once again, as they examined my room.
"You too, (L/N)-san?!" Yaoyorozu spoke in disbelief, as she looked around the dorm, followed by several others.
"Wow... how do those two do it?" Kirishima questioned, looking around my room in awe.
"You replaced the damn flooring too? What is up with you Half-Half users?!" Kaminari asked, scanning the tatami.
"You did this on your own?" Midoriya asked from beside me, as he looked around.
"I had Todoroki help out with the tatami, but other than that, I have." I yawned, rubbing my eyes slightly.
"You two speak like it's nothing..." Midoriya said in disbelief.
"Well, just as Todoroki, I grew up in a traditional Japanese household, so naturally, I had to."
"Mon dieu! Not too ladylike!" Aoyama commented, as he exit the dorm.
Ah... well.
— — — — — — — —
"All right, everyone— Have you all voted? You can't vote for yourself! And now, here are the results of the first Room King competition, minus Bakugo and Tsu!" Ashido announced, as we were all gathered up by the sofa.
I felt the tension rising in the room, but I only yawned, growing more tired by the second.
"With a total of five votes! The overwhelming winner standing alone at the top is... Rikido Sato!" Ashido exclaimed, as Sato was left confused.
"By the way, they were all girls! The reason was... 'Because the cake was delicious!'" Ashido explained.
"What about my room?" Sato asked in disbelief, before being attacked by Kaminari and Mineta.
"You little—"
"Aspiring heroes shouldn't use bribery!"
"I'm not bribing anyone! What the heck, I'm super happy!" Sato laughed in defense.
"Don't laugh."
"Is it over? Can Todoroki and I go sleep now?" I questioned Iida, as he stood with us, along with Midoriya. Midoriya smiled at the two of us.
"Yes! Since you had cake, don't forget to brush your teeth, you two!" Iida instructed, as me and Shoto walked off.
"Those two were waiting until it was over, huh?" Midoriya laughed.
"Oh, Todoroki, wait a sec!" Uraraka called, as me and Shoto turned our heads in her direction.
"Deku and Iida, too, and Kirishima and Yaoyorozu. Do you have a minute?" Uraraka asked, as her voice was filled with concern, and it was a bit unsettling.
Though if I put it together, she called the names of those people who came to mine and Bakugo's rescue.
The thought of it alone made me drop my head slightly, as though I had forgotten about the situation for these past few hours. But as she mentioned it, I couldn't help, but think back to All Might, and all of my doubts and blames crept onto my back. My heart ached at the thought, and I turned towards the direction of the dorms again, wanting to get away as soon as possible.
I blamed myself entirely.
If only I hadn't been kidnapped.
If only I had been stronger.
If only I hadn't been in the way.
I felt my eyes stinging, as I knew I was on the verge of tears, but I choked them down instead.
"(Y/N)." Someone firmly called my name, as a hand went around my wrist.
Turning back, it was Shoto. I just prayed he hadn't seen my tears.
"What's wrong? And don't give me the typical 'Nothing.' I can clearly see that something is bothering you, so don't try to hide it, (Y/N)." Shoto's voice was soft, yet filled with determination.
I genuinely didn't know how to reply, so I shook myself out of his grasp, and hastily made my way to my dorm, not hearing his steps behind me, so I knew he wasn't following me.
I'm sorry, but I can't tell you... I'm not capable of doing so. I'd just break down in front of you, which I hated doing, no matter who it was.
I open my door quickly, shutting it close, and afterwards, my hand was stuck to the hinge. I remembered my nightmare, and the voices started filling up my head yet again.
It's your fault. It's your fault. It's your fault.
They repeated over and over, as I covered my ears in hopes of shutting them out, but that wasn't an option.
My knees gave out, as I slid down the door, and sat on the ground, covering my ears like a small vulnerable child.
A tear escaped my eye, gliding across my cheek, finally leaping off my chin, onto my uniform, staining it successfully.
And that's how I spent the rest of my night. Covering on the ground like a lost child, my doubts and blames eating me up alive. Why... was it like this?
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End of chapter seven, season 3
Next chapter: Mixed Feelings
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