...~AIV~...
Kyouka felt consciousness return to her as she felt feather-light kisses placed on the nape of her neck. "You know how much I don't like being woken up, Deku."
"S-Sorry, I just thoug-"
"I didn't say stop, though." She felt Izuku chuckle against her back before kissing behind her ear, and placing small kisses all around it. Kyouka sighed in content, allowing herself to fall deeper into the warm embrace of Izuku's arms and the blankets.
It almost made her forget the fact that she was in a hospital after being attacked by a serial killer, and then being told they were being targeted by the League.
*Knock-Knock*
Almost.
"Go away."
"Kyouka..." Izuku chastised her with a whisper.
"Go away, please."
"I-...Close enough."
Toshinori's voice came from behind the door, "It's just me, and it's important."
Kyouka groaned, not wanting the interruption, "Just a second." Izuku got out of the bed, opting to sit down at the end of it. "You can come in now."
"Yeah, not risking it. Just come on down to Young Iida and Todoroki's room as soon as possible. That means you, too, Young Midoriya."
Izuku sighed, "How'd you know I was here?"
"..."
"Don't answer that. We'll be down in a minute." Izuku dragged a hand down his face as he heard All Might walk away from the door.
Chuckling to herself, Kyouka sat up, threw her legs over the side of the bed and stretched out, "Pass me my pants. I don't think my nurse will appreciate me taking my gown off before she's checked on my wound. Besides, my shirt's kinda covered in blood."
Picking up her clothing from the nearby chair, Izuku walked around the bed to Kyouka. Izuku placed her pants next to her on the bed, and then kneeled down in front of her, "H-How are you feeling? Like, you know...physically? Not your wound, well, y-yeah you're wound. But, uh...You know what I mean."
Kyouka let a small smile grace her lips, "You mean am I actively hating my body at this very second?"
To Kyouka's surprise, Izuku took a deep breath and dropped any hint of uncertainty. He took her hands into his, bringing them to his chest. "Yeah. Do you need me to do anything? Does anywhere feel uncomfortable, or are you thinking of anything? Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. Anything at all."
Kyouka blushed, her smile widening. She took her hands out of his, cupped his face and brought him in for a deep kiss. "Why did I ever hesitate telling you about my problems?" She kissed him again, smiling against his lips, "You're too good to me."
"There's nothing too good for you."
"I'd say flattery will get you nowhere, but you've proven that wrong dozens of times over." They laughed just before Kyouka placed one last kiss against Izuku's lips. "To answer your question, I'm doing just fine. Like I said, when you're around everything is perfect."
"Which in of itself is a problem, as I shouldn't have to be here."
"Baby steps."
"How're we gonna handle finishing our internships?"
Kyouka chuckled, "Same way we've been doing it. Same way I've been doing it since before I met you." She kissed his forehead, then turned him around so she could slip on her pants under her gown. "I'll be just fine for five days. You don't have to worry about me."
"..."
"Okay, that was stupid. Worrying about other people is practically one of your default emotions. Just trust me, I'll be okay. Telling you about it is already a huge weight off of my shoulders. Besides, if I'm ever feeling really bad, I have your jacket and you're a phone call away." She stood up and turned Izuku back around. She couldn't help but give an amused smile at the little unconvinced pout Izuku had on his face, clearly not satisfied with their solution. "You'll have all the time in the world to tell me how beautiful I am once we get back to Musutafu."
Izuku had a little smile, "Yeah, o-okay." He took her hand as they left the room, heading down the hall to where Todoroki and Iida were roomed. They stepped through to see All Might, fully bulked up in his hero state, Gran Torino, Manual, and a tall dog-headed man standing on one side of the room while Iida and Todoroki sat on their hospital beds.
Kyouka's eyebrows slowly rose up as she leaned towards Izuku and whispered, "This has all the signs of us being reprimanded. I say we make a break for it."
"I wouldn't recommend that," the dog-man said.
"Right, dog ears. Damn it."
"Shut the door behind you," Torino grumbled. After doing what he said, Sorahiko began. "Now that we're all here, we can start bringing this whole shitshow to a close. Everyone, this is Mr. Kenji Tsuragamae, Hosu's chief of police. He'd like a word with you."
"So, these are the students that put a stop to the Hero Killer, woof. Very interesting. I recognize all of you from the Sports Festival. And, you..." He turned to Tenya, "your family name is Iida. You're related to Ingenium, woof."
Tenya nodded nervously at the authority figure, "Yes, sir."
"Hm, well that fills in a lot of blanks." The chief put his hands in his pockets, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I need you all to listen carefully. At the start of this super-powered era, the police felt the need to prioritize leadership, and maintain the status quo. So, they opted to not use quirks in their endeavors, woof. That's where heroes came in. The authorization of such dangerous powers to enforce the law with heroes eventually garnered public support, but rules must be kept and followed. Those without permission, who inflict harm without explicit instruction from the police and or the higher-ups, even if facing one like the Hero Killer, would represent a stunning breach of the law, woof. Everyone in this room must be dealt with strictly and impartially."
"Hold up."/"Wait a minute," Kyouka and Todoroki spoke up respectively.
Shoto went first, "If Iida hadn't shown up, Native would be dead. Then, if Midoriya and Jirou hadn't shown up, both of them would be dead. Nobody even knew the Hero Killer was still lurking around in Hosu."
Kyouka then chimed in, "And, there was no way we could have grabbed Iida and Native and run. We'd be dead, too. Especially if Todoroki hadn't shown up. We're just supposed to let people die because some rule was made back when quirks weren't as common as they are now?"
The chief grumbled, "So, because everything turned out fine this time, the law can be ignored?"
"Isn't it a hero's job to save people?" Shoto shot back.
"You clearly still have much to learn."
Kyouka furrowed her brow in frustration, "About your laws, or about people? What if a mother saw her child was in danger and attacked the assailant to protect them? You gonna arrest her? There's a difference between vigilantism, and saving a life. If you can't see that, then that's the real problem. Or, maybe it would be bad for your publicity if the serial killer you've been hunting down for months was stopped by a few teenagers and not the professionals. Some job you were doing."
"Young Jirou..." All Might warned.
Kyouka turned to her friends, "I mean, c'mon. I can't be the only one to feel this way."
Izuku nodded, "N-No, I agree. Do you expect us to say we regret breaking the law to save our friend's life? Or Native's? Do you expect us to say that we're sorry for what we did? You can punish us, i-it won't change anything. I have enough hope in the world that I have no choice but to believe the public would be on our side."
Shoto nodded, "We'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"Everyone, just stop!" Iida interjected. "Please...all of my friends did this because of me. I'm the one who sought after the Hero Killer with the intent to...to attack him. I had no intention of saving anybody. My only goal was revenge, and...they don't deserve to suffer for this. I do. If they could have taken me and ran, I'm sure they would have. But, my idiotic actions got me paralyzed, and Native was down as well. They had no choice, but to fight for not just their lives, but for mine. They fought in self-defense, but I didn't. Please, this is my fault. I-"
The chief raised his hand, hearing enough and silencing Iida, "Enough. I think we've all had enough stress to last us a week, so I think an argument isn't necessary. Listen, all of you. It's not that I don't understand or sympathize with your plights, woof. It's not even that I completely disagree with you. But, the law is the law. And, unfortunately, the situation at hand isn't as simple as we hoped it would be, woof. We were hoping to simply leave you four out of the story and tell the public that the Hero Killer was stopped by Endeavor and All Might, woof. His burns and broken bones fit the description of a fight with those two. However, there were some...complications, woof."
Kyouka's eyes widened, "Wait, we were gonna get off scot-free?"
"Unfortunately, someone recorded the entire arrest. A bystander from afar. We've been trying to take the videos down off of social media, but they're spreading too fast. And, now people are getting suspicious as to why exactly we're so adamant on taking the videos down. Even worse, it doesn't even end there. The public has now seen the Hero Killer save someone, woof." The chief said, referring to Izuku. "And, his speech was loud enough to be heard on the video. His entire public persona is being put into question, and now we're being blamed on trying to hide something, woof."
"Well, we kinda are." All eyes fell on Toshinori, and the pro scratched the back of his head, "Sorry..."
"We're going to use the story that you all were attacked first, fighting back in self-defense." The chief continued. "That takes care of any vigilantism charges, and unlicensed quirk use can be excused for this instance. Then, All Might and Endeavor showed up to finish the fight. The rest of the story has been shown to the public, we can't change it. Stain saved this young man from the Nomu, and from his speech, most have inferred that means he saw you as a true hero." He then turned to Kyouka, "And, since he spoke to you as well, you're being examined under the same assumption."
Kyouka shrugged, "People thinking we're good enough heroes to not be killed by him? I guess that's not so bad."
"Indeed. He's bound to rally followers, and this might give you two immunity to any of their actions. But, the press and other people are still bound to be curious. Try to keep a low profile for a few weeks, just until the excitement has blown over." Kenji smiled and gave a thumbs up, "See, I'm an understanding guy, woof."
Kyouka sighed and bowed, "Sorry for blowing up at you. And, for saying you're bad at your job."
The chief bowed back, "No hard feelings. While I cannot commend all of you for your actions as chief of police, as a man simply wishing for peace, I must thank all of you." The chief stood up straight, scratching his chin in thought. "There is, however, one final question still unanswered, woof." Kenji turned to Toshinori, "What the hell are you doing in Hosu, All Might?"
Toshinori's eyes went wide, "Uuuuuuuh..." His eyes scanned over the room, with the chief, Manual, Iida, and Todoroki all looking at him curiously, and Izuku, Kyouka, and Gran Torino all with wide eyes waiting for him to make up an excuse. "...Visiting my mother. She's buried here."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, woof. Please, forgive the intrusion of privacy. I had no idea."
"No problem at all."
The chief straightened his tie and turned back to everyone else, "Well, I guess that wraps us all up here. Thank you all for your time." With another curt bow, the chief left the room.
Kyouka blew a raspberry and smirked, "I think that went wel-"
"Oh, you think you're done getting chewed out?" Torino interrupted. "What exactly about 'Stay on the train' do you two not understand?!"
Kyouka mocked looking up in thought, "The part where you said to stay."
Gran Torino frowned, pointing at the door, "Hallway. Now." The couple waved their friends goodbye, exiting the room with Torino and All Might. Once they had made it back to Kyouka's hospital room, Gran Torino swiveled around, "I-"
"You have to admit you're impressed! You do!" Kyouka cut him off with a smirk.
"..." Sorahiko grumbled, muttering incoherent words as he turned around and trudged down the hallway.
Kyouka smiled, "I think I've done plenty to impress him."
Once Toshinori deflated, he replied, "The Hero Killer wasn't his problem with this. But, if he wanted proof that he can't get rid of you, standing up to the chief of police without hesitation and knocking him down a peg wasn't definitely a nice touch."
Izuku nudged her side, "And, pretty punk if you ask me."
Kyouka rolled her eyes, but looked at Izuku with a smirk, "Shut up."
Toshinori chuckled, "He's right. I'm sure both of your parents will be impressed, too. And, you Young Midoriya, I'm sure your mother is worried sick."
Izuku paused at those words, "...What?"
"What do you mean 'What'?"
"You told my mom?"
All Might looked at Izuku in bewilderment, "You were in a fight with a murderer. Did you just expect us to not tell her? Besides, like we said, that video is everywhere at this point. She was going to find out anyway. I mean, aren't you going to tell her what happened?"
"Am I allowed to?"
Toshinori gave a single, curt laugh, "Uh, yeah. We can't exactly get angry at you for telling your parents. The chief is going to make them sign a nondisclosure agreement, though."
Izuku faltered for a moment, "Them?"
"Oh, your mother and Young Jirou's parents."
Well, that was a meeting Izuku wasn't ready for yet. But, it seemed like he had no choice. "Right, okay...I need to mentally prepare for that."
Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck, sucking in through his teeth, "Yeeaah, about that. They're all already here."
Kyouka frowned, "You're just the master of perfect timing, aren't you?"
"It's not my fault!" Toshinori said exasperatedly. "Besides, c'mon, this is way overdue, isn't it?"
"Our embarrassment says otherwise."
"I'm sure it won't be as bad as facing down the Hero Killer."
Kyouka crossed her arms, "Oh yeah? Which situation would you rather face?"
Toshinori raised a finger, inhaling to respond, "..." He then turned around and walked out of the room.
"That's what I thought!" Kyouka sighed, turning to Izuku. "I'm gonna call my nurse in and get cleared out of here. You should go do the same, I know your last attack on Stain earned you a couple hairline fractures. Then, we face the inevitable. We shouldn't jinx it by saying it won't be that bad, so let's just say it'll be as bad as we expect."
...~AIV~...
It was worse.
"And here's all of Izuku's baby photos that I conveniently have on my phone just in case I want to look at him throughout the day."
Mika smiled, pulling out her phone, "And here's Kyouka's."
Kyouka stopped peeking from behind the corner the couple was hiding behind and looked to Izuku, "I think parents just live for this stuff."
"Well, at least your mom seemed to calm her down," Izuku sighed, watching as some nurses went into the bathroom and poured out the last buckets of tears that Inko had flooded the waiting room with.
"I wish we could say the same for my dad."
Kyoutoku was up at the front desk, his stern glare aimed at the receptionist. "I don't understand why I can't see my daughter and her boyfriend!"
The woman at the desk was matching Kyoutoku in his staring match, "Sir, for the fourth time, they were in a private meeting with the chief of police and pro heroes. You yourself just spoke to him as well. They're being cleared by our nurses as we speak. They'll be down in a minute." She looked past Kyoutoku and towards Mika, "Ma'am, please control your husband."
Mika snapped her fingers and pointed towards the seat next to her, "Kyou. Down, boy." Kyoutoku growled at the receptionist before stomping away. She then snapped her fingers again, pointing towards the end of the hallway. "And you, Kyouka. You know I can hear you, young lady."
Kyouka groaned, and both teens turned the corner. "Why do I keep forgetting that?"
"MY BABY!!!" Kyouka was barely able to register Inko shooting across the room and hoisting Izuku off of the ground in a mother bear hug. Mostly because she herself was quickly trapped in between her parents with dozens of small kisses peppered on her head.
Izuku patted his mother's back repeatedly, "Mom! Air! Air!"
Inko quickly released him, kissing his forehead before bringing him back in for another, lighter hug. "...I'm soaking your shirt, aren't I?"
Izuku hugged his mom back, "I-It's okay." Mika gave one long, final kiss to the top of Kyouka's head. Then, she looked over to Inko.
"Trade?" Mika asked. Each parent released their respective child, and immediately hugged the other one. Kyouka immediately realized that Inko's hugs were both wonderful and a death trap.
Kyoutoku had stepped back out of the embrace with Mika and Izuku, scratching the back of his head, "Ah, how about a firm handshake, a back pat, and me telling you I'm really glad you're alright?"
Izuku smiled, "Works for me."
Mika chuckled, "Aw, he loves you." Kyoutoku only grumbled in response.
Once the mother's were finally done smothering their respective children and child's partner, they moved to the back corner of the waiting area. Thankfully, it was mostly empty outside of a few patients near the front desk.
When everyone was sat down, Kyoutoku started in a low voice, "Okay, I think it's a fair question to ask, not to bombard you two, but...What the flying fuck happened last night?!"
Izuku and Kyouka looked at one another, and then back at their parents and simultaneously said, "We won."
"...Well, that checks out."
"What he means is..." Mika interrupted, "Are you two okay? I know physically you're healed, but facing a trained serial killer all on your own must've been terrifying."
"We were talking, as we would completely understand if you both didn't want to go back to your internships," Inko added. "UA has already contacted us and gave you both permission to leave, and it'll still show up on your record that you served your full time."
"What? Why would we not want to go back?" Kyouka asked.
All three parents looked at one another before Mika responded, "Well, you two were just in a fight for your lives. And, the media will probably be hounding the school down right now. At minimum, we thought you'd want a break."
Kyouka looked to Izuku, "Do you want a break?"
"Not really."
"Me neither. Nah, we're both good."
Kyoutoku hummed in response before resting his elbows on his knees, "Okay, let us rephrase. We're not sure if we're comfortable sending you both back. As parents, we all just went through the biggest scares of our lives. We're just not sure about sending you back to the internships where we almost lost you both."
Izuku and Kyouka looked at one another again in what seemed to be a silent conversation. After a few seconds, they both nodded and turned back to their parents. Kyouka bluntly put, "We're going back."
"...Excuse me?"
"We're going back. Yeah, it was scary, and to be entirely honest we're probably alive because the Hero Killer said he wasn't going to kill us. But, I mean...I know this is a bad way of putting it, but, it is what it is. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone here that signing up to be heroes means putting your life in danger on a constant basis."
"I-I mean, I'm not entirely sure it's a good mindset to have about it all," Izuku added in, "but last night was probably one of the best learning experiences we could have gotten. That's wh-what we're learning to do, to fight people like the Hero Killer. It's what we signed up for. W-Well, not now exactly, but...you get what I mean. One fight isn't going to stop us. We saved two lives last night, and...I have to admit, it feels good. Great, even. I'm not letting last night set us back." Izuku then turned to look directly at his mother, "I know the USJ was scary for you, and I'm sure this was even worse. But...I jus-"
"You can go." Izuku faltered at Inko's words, as she was the person he expected would be the hardest to convince.
"R-...Really?"
Inko nodded, concern clearly in her eyes, but determination was there as well. "I believe in you. I trust you. If you really think this is what's best for your future, then you can go."
As the Midoriya's smiled at one another, Kyouka slowly looked back over to her parents, "Sooo..."
Kyoutoku gave a long, exaggerated sigh, "...You're gonna be really mad if you don't go back to your internship, aren't you?"
"Pretty much."
"...It's really that important to you." Kyouka nodded without hesitation. "...Mika?"
Mika shrugged her shoulders, looking towards her daughter, "You're gonna be the death of us, you know that?"
"Isn't that the whole point of having children?"
"That's my girl."
Kyoutoku groaned and stood up, "C'mon then. There's an officer downstairs with the nondisclosure agreement. Might as well make it all official." Everyone stood up and made their way towards the hallway. Izuku suddenly felt his phone vibrate, letting everyone go on ahead as he checked. Izuku froze as his eyes landed on the screen, his eyes reading the contact name over and over again.
Incoming Call: Dad
...How long had it been? They had stopped calling years and years ago, his dad opting to go with letters instead. Hisashi had said it was to make it more personal, to give both father and son mementos to have of one another to keep until the day they were able to be together in person again. But, Izuku's bitterness that he tried so hard to keep under control was trying to convince him it was to save money on international calls.
What should he do? Should he pick up? He had to be calling because he heard about the Hero Killer fight. Inko had to have said something, there was no way she didn't. He couldn't just ignore the first call they had in years...could he?
Izuku's thumb hovered over the answer button for what felt like an eternity, the phone still vibrating in his hand.
'...What about the USJ? Why didn't he call then? The Sports Festival? His son suddenly has a quirk and almost wins. What about then? Does it even matter if he's trying now? Answer it. Just do it. Just...' Izuku closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and clicked the button. He brought the phone up to his ear, "...Hey, dad."
Silence.
"...Hello?" Izuku looked back down at his phone, realization hitting him. He had taken too long. The call had automatically gone to voicemail just as he was about to hit the button. Should he call him back? Izuku contemplated it, but then he realized that there was no voicemail left behind.
Izuku just looked at his phone blankly before putting it back in his pocket. From around the corner, Kyouka came back to him with curiosity in her eyes. "Hey, what happened? Why'd you stop?"
"...My dad called me."
Kyouka stopped in front of him, trying to gauge Izuku's emotions. "What did he say?"
"...I didn't pick-up."
Kyouka took a deep breath, and simply nodded. She took Izuku's hand and laid her head down on his shoulder as they followed after the adults.
...~AIV~...
(Several Hours Later: Outside Hosu City General Hospital)
Inko and the Jirou's had left only a few minutes prior, needing to catch their trains back to Musutafu. And, much to their children's dismay, made promises to all have dinner together at some point. So, they had that to (not) look forward to.
Kyouka was leaning against a light pole, watching cars go by as Izuku and All Might were off to the side, discussing how they would handle keeping a low profile until Stain became last week's news. Iida and Todoroki had left some time ago. Manual had taken Iida back to his agency, with the teen apologizing profusely the entire way out of the building. And, Endeavor had shown up to take Todoroki, clearly not happy his chances at a fight with Stain were completely tarnished. Especially since it was all because of the same two students who caused him even more trouble with his son.
They weren't exactly at the top of Endeavor's friend list, and they weren't going to change that anytime soon.
"Hey." Kyouka turned around to see Gran Torino walking up behind her. "You're a fool."
"...Wow. I mean...I'm honestly just more impressed at how much I respect the bluntness of that."
"But, you're a fool who cares far too deeply for those two fools," Gran Torino continued, pointing at Izuku and All Might still at the hospital entrance. "You're stubborn, but smart. From what Toshinori tells me, you're a quick learner, and clearly good in a scrap if last night wasn't evidence enough. You don't take anyone's shit, even the chief of police. All of this, unfortunately, sounds an awful lot like myself. Which means, like me, you'll never leave those two dorks like I never left Nana and Toshinori."
Kyouka shook her head, "Afraid not."
"Hmm..." He extended his hand out, "Welcome aboard."
Kyouka took his hand, "Happy to be here."
Sorahiko sighed as he turned around to walk away, "God-damn teenagers. And if those two idiots screw anything up, call me!" Torino whacked Izuku's shin with his cane and then pointed it at Kyouka. "Say goodbye, our train leaves in twenty minutes."
Izuku rubbed his shin with a grumble, making his way over to Kyouka. Pointing at the adults, Kyouka yelled, "You two know the drill!"
Toshinori lazily waved his hand over his shoulder as he and Torino faced away from the teenagers, "Yeah, yeah."
Izuku's arms wrapped tightly around Kyouka's lower back, and her's around his neck. "Four days?"
"Four days. You gonna make it, String Bean?"
"Why am I suddenly the one being worried about in this situation?"
Kyouka put a hand on Izuku's cheek, "Because I know I'll survive a few days, but you're too good to not worry. Focus on finishing the rest of your internship. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Alright," Izuku sighed. "I'll wait for you at Mand'alor Central on Sunday." They kissed, their lips lingering against each other, knowing it would be the last they got for the next four days.
With a few final pecks, Kyouka begrudgingly pushed Izuku away. "Okay, you've gotta go. Gran Torino is getting cranky."
"But he's always cranky."
"Then don't make it worse." She kissed his cheek, turning him around and giving him a gentle shove, "Go."
Izuku smiled and began walking towards Gran Torino, who had just hailed a cab. "Oh, wait." Izuku turned back to Kyouka, "When we get back to UA, if we're really all in this together now, well...I-I think we should tell Mr. Aizawa about us. You know, so we can figure out how to handle that part of our careers. Kyouka smiled, nodding to Izuku in agreement. With that settled, Izuku walked to the cab.
Before he got in, All Might ruffled his hair and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, kid, I've been trying to find a good time to say this, but obviously the last twenty-four have been pretty hectic, so...Listen," Toshinori guided Izuku away from the car and looked his pupil in the eye, "It's been brought to my attention that as your teacher, I've been...Well, lacking is a pretty weak word for it."
"Wh-What? No, you've bee-"
"No, Young Midoriya. Everything you've learned you've done yourself. That's unacceptable. When we get back to Musutafu, I'll be there. During school, after hours, whenever you need me, and whenever I think you need me. There's a lot of darkness looming over the horizon, and I'm going to be there to guide you through it. You're already a better hero than me, kid. The world's gonna see that one day, and so will you. I promise."
Izuku sat in stunned silence, taken aback by the sudden declaration by All Might. "I-...Thank you, All Might."
"...You're not gonna start crying are you?"
"I'm trying really hard not to."
"Alright," Toshinori chuckled, "Get in the cab. Torino is already staring me down for taking too long."
Waving goodbye to All Might and Kyouka, Izuku got into the taxi and took off towards the train station. After closing the window between them and the cab driver, Gran Torino groaned as he leaned back into his seat. "Uuugh, why did I agree to do an internship?"
"...I-I mean, you're the one who asked for m-" Izuku stopped talking as Sorahiko gave him the side-eye, "Shutting up."
Torino sighed, "It's a miracle no one figured out why Toshinori was in town."
"It's a good thing All Might was able to come up with that lie. For a second I thought we we're going to have to tell them about Kyouka's internship."
Gran Torino shook his head, "It wasn't a lie. Not completely, anyway."
Izuku raised a brow, "I thought All Might didn't keep track of what happened to his parents besides their deaths? O-Or, to be honest, I didn't think he would even care to visit them after what they did."
"Not his birth mother. Nana is buried here. Hosu was where she was born and lived a good portion of her childhood."
"Huh..." Izuku processed that information, thinking back to the last few days. Nana had been a big part of most conversations. He wanted to say it was all a coincidence, but he had a strong feeling One For All wasn't one to rely on coincidence.
All Izuku knew was that one way or another, even in death Nana wasn't finished.
...~AIV~...
(Four Days Later: Bullet Train to Musutafu)
"This week has taught me something very important," Toshinori told Kyouka, who across from him. "It's a good thing I didn't have kids. Young Midoriya was exhausting. But, both of you are lethal."
Kyouka smiled as she looked out the window at Musutafu buildings passed by, hugging her green hoodie to her chest, "You love us."
"Maybe so, but my point still stands." The train pulled to a stop inside of the train station, their stop finally arriving. They got up from their seats, and followed everyone out of the train. "I know it's been five days since you've seen each other, so you must be dying to get back to your status quo."
"You make us sound like drug addicts." Kyouka stepped off the train and out onto the platform, raising her arms out and apart.
Toshinori peered at her in confusion, "What are you doing?"
"Waiting."
"Waiting for wha-?"
*ZOOM*
A streak of green light suddenly raced to them, and Kyouka was lifted off of her feet in a big hug.
"Yeah, not like drug addicts at all. You two are hopeless, you know that?"
Kyouka shot out her hand towards All Might in an aggressive point, "Shut up."
Rolling his eyes, Toshinori picked up his luggage, "I'll leave you both to it before my teeth rot out from all the sweetness."
"You're just desperate to get back to your fluffy robes and giant TV."
"I will neither confirm nor deny that. I'll see you both tomorrow at school."
Once Toshinori was gone, Izuku set Kyouka down and looked at her in confusion, "Fluffy robes?"
Kyouka chuckled, "I'll tell you about it on the way home. C'mon." The couple began their journey to Kyouka's house with both of them catching up on anything they had missed during phone calls with each other. Eventually, they made it to the Jirou Household to find it empty inside. Mika and Kyoutoku were likely at work, but Kyouka was fine with this arrangement.
True alone time with her boyfriend after a week apart? The hospital didn't count, and it was filled with interruptions.
Kyouka practically dragged Izuku up the stairs and into her bedroom and threw him on the bed. "Ah, hello my room. My bed" She flopped down on top of Izuku, nuzzling into his chest and sighing in content, "My boyfriend. It's good to be home...that has no heated blankets, heated bathroom floors, jacuzzi tub, flatscreen TV, or...I've made a terrible mistake. I wanna go back to the agency."
Izuku laughed as he buried his face into Kyouka's hair, "Not me. This is Heaven compared to Gran Torino's old couch."
"Fiiine. I guess I shouldn't complain about how privileged I was."
"You are."
"Yeah, yeah, shut up and kiss me." Their lips attached, each kiss long and slow as they made up for the time apart. Izuku ran his hands through Kyouka's hair, his fingers weaving through each strand delicately.
"I love your hair," he murmured against her skin.
"Thank you," Kyouka mumbled back as she kissed his ear.
"It's so soft. I love its style, the purple that fits you so well."
Kyouka furrowed her brow and leaned back, "Okay, what's up?"
"I told you, remember. I'm going to show you just how beautiful you are from top to bottom. Every last centimeter, I promise."
Kyouka blushed and smiled warmly, "Are you sure you want to start with my hair and not my lips?"
"I can multitask."
"Good answer." They returned to their very, extremely important business as the sun rose to its peak in the sky outside. Things were already heating up between them, but they knew Izuku's promise opened up a whole new gate for their future. They would take their time though. They didn't have all the time in the world, but...
It sure felt like it.
...~AIV~...
(The Next Day: Class 1-A)
"Ho. Ly. Shit." Kyouka stood in the doorway to her class with an ear-to-ear grin.
Izuku looked over her shoulder from behind, "What is it? I don-...Oh...Wow."
Katsuki glared at them from his desk, his hair smoothed down like Best Jeanist. Kirishima and Sero were dying of laughter on the floor next to him. "Take a fucking picture! It'll last longer!" The blonde froze when a flash of light suddenly hit his eyes.
Kyouka stood before him with her phone out, "You read my mind. Thanks."
"RAAAAH!!!" Katsuki's hair suddenly poofed back up to his usual spiky strands, which only made the other boys laugh even harder. Izuku did his best to hide his own laughter as he made his way to his desk. He looked around at his other classmates to see Iida writing something down at his desk, ever diligent as usual. But, he could've sworn he wasn't as stiff as usual. Todoroki gave a curt, friendly nod in his direction. Uraraka was pounding her fist into her palm with a terrifying smile on her face...for some reason. Yaoyorozu sat in the back with a bit of anxiety still on her face, but she seemed to be working through it.
And, as expected, everyone in class was bombarding them all with questions that they weren't answering.
...Kyouka was right. It was good to be home."
...~AIV~...
(One Hour Later: Field Gamma)
"I AM HERE! As your teacher here to start your lesson."
Sato squinted at his teacher, "That's it? Did you run out of shticks to enter with?"
"Me? Run out of shticks? Preposterous! Now, it's been a week since we've all seen one another!"
Denki scoffed, pointing over at Izuku and his friends, "Except those four."
"Anyway!" Toshinori quickly deflected, "Since I'm sure you're all exhausted from your internships, today's activity shall be a playful one. A Rescue-Training Race! Four teams of five will start at the border of a field and go one at a time to rescue the civilian. AKA: Me. I'll be in the center of this large array of factories and alleyways, and I'll set off a signal for you to start. First one to reach me wins! Team One shall be Young Midoriya, Iida, Ashido, Sero, and Ojiro!"
Tsuyu looked at the line-up and nodded, "...So a race between Iida and Midoriya."
"Oh, come now, don't sell your other classmates short!"
"But, I'm right, aren't I?"
"...Teams to your positions! All Might, awaaay!" Toshinori ran off towards the center of the factory, leaving a trail of dust behind him.
Kyouka laughed, "I think he might've taken that shtick line personally."
Ochako shrugged, "Well, you can't say All Might isn't the most fun teacher."
Izuku began to stand, "Wish me luck."
"I would..." Ochako started, "but I refuse to choose between my two friends. Favoring one over the other in anything might send me into a mental crisis."
"Hey!" Mina exclaimed from the side, "What about me?!"
Ochako pursed her lips as she stalled to respond, "...You'll do great, Ashido!"
Mina deadpanned at her, "...You're too adorable. I can't be mad at you." She trudged off with the rest of her group.
Kyouka gave Izuku a little push forward, "Go get'em, tiger." Izuku hid his blush from the rest of the class by quickly catching up to his group.
With everyone else gone, Kaminari suddenly stood up and began hyping up the class, "Alright, taking all bets, people! Taking all bets!"
Momo squinted her eyes at him, "I feel like as Vice President I should advise against gambling."
"Aw, c'mon! It's harmless!" Denki pleaded.
"...Gambling is harmless?"
"No, but in this case it is."
Ochako furrowed her brow in confusion, "What are we even betting with? I doubt anyone actually brought mone-"
"We're betting on everyone's desserts at lunch. It's mochi toda-"
"Midoriya!" Ochako blurted out. "Everyone's mochi on Midoriya!"
Kyouka just laughed as Momo asked, "What happened to not favoring one friend over the other?"
Ochako looked back at Momo with her terminator glare, "Mochi happened, Momo. Mochi happened."
"I'll bet on Izuku," Kyouka added in, "but I'll just give my share of the winnings to you." Everyone began placing their bets, most of them going towards Izuku and Tenya. Not everyone participated, but there certainly was a surprise bet.
"Deku'll win."
Everyone turned to look at Katsuki, surprised he even joined in, much less that he bet on the student he seemed to hate the most.
"And why's that?" It was Kyouka, staring at the blonde curiously with her arms crossed. "Not that you're wrong, but why?"
Katsuki frowned at Kyouka, the rest of the class shrinking back from the tension. "...Deku is a lot of things. But, slow isn't one of them. All of you welps raced him during the festival, and only I caught up to him."
"What about Todoro-"
"Anyway...the dumbass can at least run. He's up against Office Max, Pinky, Tail, and the injured hunk of metal with a stick up his ass. Deku has more versatility and agility than Four-Eyes. He'll win."
"...Are those insults, or do you legitimately not know their names and only remember them as such?"
"Fuck off, Earlobes."
"That's what I thought." The races began, and not to many's surprise, Izuku did win with Iida coming in at a very close second. Izuku's new ability of using his excess power as a boost, and his ability to get up high much easier than Iida is what got him the win. All Might had even brought him aside and advised him on his running technique.
Each team went, and Kyouka managed a solid third place on her team. She'd have to ask Izuku about ideas on how to increase her speed and mobility. The betting pool grew thinner and thinner as everyone who lost was kicked from it.
Ochako managed to bet on the right winner every single time. She was going to be a very happy woman come lunchtime.
...~AIV~...
(Thirty Minutes Later: Boy's Locker Room)
"Guys! I found the ultimate memento left behind by our predecessors!"
Denki buttoned his shirt back up, turning towards his friend from the other side of the locker room, "The heck you talking about, man?"
"Bask in its glory!" Mineta moved his hand from the wall he was at, revealing a small hole in the locker room wall. "A hole, perfectly drilled for our viewing pleasure!"
Eijirou squinted in confusion, "View what?"
"Don't you get it! The girl's changing room is on the other side!" Izuku's breath hitched as he closed his locker, immediately paying attention to what was going on. "Right across from us is the perfect view we've been waiting for!"
"We?" Denki asked.
"Oh, don't get all pure on me now. You and I were in this together!"
Tenya immediately shouted, "Mineta! Don't you dare! That's a horrible offense! I will report you to Mr. Aizawa."
"It'll be worth it!"
Denki's eyes flicked over to Izuku, seeing the other teen stare at Mineta silently, but with an unmistakable intensity. "U-Uh, look, bro. I really think we oughta stop this stuff."
"What? C'mon, you're telling me you're not gonna take this opportunity? You would've been jumping at the chance a couple weeks ago."
"U-Uh, well, the cheerleader thing would've been a funny prank... albeit, yes, with a nice perk added on to it for us. But, this is a bit above my pay grade."
"What next?! You gonna back outta the pool idea, too?"
Sato raised a brow, "Pool idea?"
Denki quickly raised his hands in defense, "I didn't come up with it, and I never actually agreed to that. Besides, that's like months away from actually being a thing. Wait, I mean it's not going to be a thing at all!"
Minoru sighed, "Whatever, dude. Suit yourself. I'm taking advantage of this."
Denki's eyes went back over to Izuku again, "I really think you sh-"
"I can't wait to see Yaoyorozu's Boobarozus. Mina's pretty pink bod."
Denki tensed, 'Just stop there.'
"Uraraka's Uracurves."
'Stop.'
"Hagakure's floating panties."
'At this point just don't mention everyone except her.'
"Even Asui's surprisingly great boobs!"
...And that was where he stopped, turning towards the hole.
'Ooooooh...shit.'
"Stop." Everyone froze, turning towards the usually silent Izuku. They had heard him talk before. Not much, but they did. But, this time... something was different. Much different. His voice was deeper, angrier. It was enough to even capture Katsuki's attention when he had been ignoring the conversation. "Enough."
Mineta pointed at Izuku dramatically, "You can't stop me! I'm going through with thi-!"
"I said enough!"
All the boys jumped in surprise as the lights flickered, everyone's hairs standing on end with electricity in the air.
On the other side of the wall, Kyouka's jack was just centimeters away from entering the hole in the wall and jabbing that little bastard in the eye, but she paused as well. The other girls looked up in confusion as their lights also flickered.
Mineta slowly turned around, immediately feeling his stomach drop as he saw the glare he was being given. "U-Uh... Midoriy-?"
"I am sick and tired of you."
"...U-Um..."
"How much does it take? What exactly do I have to do, in order to get it through your disgusting, perverted, mind to stop?" Izuku spat out, his fists clenching and shaking.
Iida reached out a hand towards Izuku's shoulder, "Midoriya, I understand your anger. I'm angry as well. But, we must no-Ah!" Tenya jumped back, shaking his hand in pain from the shock he received by touching Izuku's skin.
Kirishima's eyes widened, "Oh boy."
Sero immediately began pumping his fists, whispering under his breath, "Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight."
Kyouka jumped to action, immediately realizing what could possibly happen if things didn't end there. The other boys weren't getting through to him, so that just left her.
She sent her jack through the hole in search of its target.
Mineta immediately picked the poster back up from the ground, "L-Look, Midoriya, I'll put it back I-"
*Tap* *Tap*
Mineta faltered, confusedly turning around to see what had poked hi-
*JAB*
"AAAAAAAH!!! MY EYE!!!" All the boys quickly jumped back as they saw Kyouka's jack dig right into Mineta's pupil and quickly zip right back into the hole it came from.
Izuku quickly snapped out of his trance with a gasp, his mind clearing as he realized what he had almost done. As Mineta writhed around in pain on the floor, all eyes slowly turned back to Izuku.
Everyone's attention on him, his enraged state being picked apart by all these people, judging him, trying to pick him apart. Izuku's breath became shaky, his heart pounding in chest at an alarming rate, the edges of his vision blackening.
Quickly grabbing his blazer from the bench, he shot out of the room with everyone's eyes still on his back.
Kyouka heard the door close, quickly grabbing her button-up shirt, fastening the buttons as quickly as she could. "Yaoyorozu, there's a hole in this wall. Might wanna cover it up."
Momo looked past Kyouka, her eyes widening. "Oh! You're right. Good eye, Kyouka. I'll plug that up immediately. We don't want Mineta finding that."
Throwing her vest on, Kyouka scoffed, "You have no idea." Grabbing her blazer and slamming her locker closed, she jogged out of the room before anyone could ask where she was going.
Running down the hall, she swerved around the corner, surprised to find Izuku was standing right there. "There you are. Hey, are yo-" She was stopped, answered with a tight hug from Izuku. Her feet lifted off the ground, his face in the crook of her neck as he desperately tried to calm down. Kyouka wrapped her arms around his neck, her hand entangling in his hair. "I know...I know."
She almost said, "It's okay." But, Kyouka knew better. Izuku wasn't okay. Not right now. It seemed that telling Izuku about her issues just made him even more sensitive to any negative talk about her. And, if she had to be perfectly honest, she wasn't okay either. Her gut was hollow, her throat keeping back bile as she buried her nose in Izuku's hair. It wasn't that she wanted the attention from that little freak, and Izuku especially didn't want it either. The unintentional implication just...
She just really hoped Izuku couldn't feel the tear hit his shoulder.
...~AIV~...
A/N: Yeah, I could've ended that chapter at like three other points that were much happier. But...Nah. Bittersweet for the win.
Don't worry, that won't be common