Izuku decided to send an invitation to Tenya and Ochako via text on Sunday. They both took up the offer and had no problem with Mashirao being there as well. At first, Midoriya wanted the two showing up to be a surprise for Tooru but eventually overthinking the possibilities to not telling the invisible girl; he changed his mind. She was upfront when she wanted to invite Ojiro; he should be as well. Luckily, Tooru was overjoyed to hear the news when Izuku sent the text. Izuku was tempted to make a shared text group between all of them but thought it would be better to wait and see how things went the next few days. He doubted anyone in his new group of friends would have problems with one another, but he also didn't want to rush things.
Speaking of rushed, as much as Izuku appreciated the small moment he and Tooru had shared the previous day, the brisk pace of their relationship was straining Izuku's heart and mind. To go from having no actual friends for over a decade to having multiple friends including the unique bond he had with Tooru in under a month was an ordeal. This was magnified tenfold because of how analytical Midoriya was with everything he did and felt. Sometimes he wished he was just a meathead so he could just focus on the now, not the whys, ifs, and buts. These thoughts, however, brought Izuku to ponder a possible answer to help alleviate some of his stress. Perhaps it was time to tell his mother about his relationship with Tooru.
Midoriya just couldn't blurt out he had conflicting emotions about a girl to his mom, especially a girl that his parent had never seen or heard about before. The teen knew his mother was even more likely to stress out, and possibly even faint, from over worrying. Perhaps the conversation could start with how Izuku had made a good friend that he wanted to introduce to her, which just happened to be a girl.
No this was wrong. Tooru was not a good friend; she was his best friend. Izuku felt he was totally honest with himself when he told Hagakure yesterday that they were best friends. Nobody had made him feel as good about himself than she did. Nobody had made him want to push himself socially and emotionally than she did. Nobody was more interested in wanting to know who he was, why he did things, and how he felt than she did. Izuku knew that he had a very small pool of friends to pull from to compare her to, but when push came to shove Tooru was truly his best friend. Tenya was a definite second choice to all these statements, and Midoriya greatly appreciated what Ida had done the previous day, but when it came to Tooru, it just felt different. Could he be falling in love? Was she falling for him? Was this relationship destined just to end at the level of best friends? Would he ok with that? Would Tooru? These questions continued to plague Izuku's thoughts throughout the day. Today wasn't the day he wanted to discuss the subject with his mother. But he did want to tell her soon before things progressed too much.
With Saturday's meet-up done and over with, Izuku could focus on other things, like the upcoming Hero Festival. All Might had asked him on Friday to stay after school to discuss the event.
Before going into the break room, Midoriya's plan was to not stand out at the Hero Festival. Drawing attention away from himself by placing in a middling rank seemed like the best route if he was going to be watched by the thousands that would be attending the event, and that was nothing compared to how many people would be watching it on TV. However, he began questioning himself as he left the office. His mentor was hoping for the opposite, the aim to win it all and wanting his successor's presence to be known to all. Popularity was All Might's drive; it made sense coming from him as he was the number hero in Japan. To be number one was to be a symbol for the people, and the symbol people saw All Might as was of peace. Izuku wanted to be this symbol eventually, so his teacher's proposal sounded logical. But the possibility of having himself linked to All Might's quirk still lingered in his mind.
But before the would-be-successor to All Might could even consider any of this he needed to find a way to control his quirk properly. During the villain invasion, there was another first for Izuku that day. The use of One for All not ending with himself getting injured. It puzzled the teen. Did it occur because, for the first time, he used his quirk on a person, even if that was Nomu? Or was it simply because of the absorption quirk the puppet villain had? Was it because of Izuku's instinct to save Tsuyu from the disintegration quirk the head villain possessed? Midoriya couldn't tell, but he had a strange feeling when he used his quirk at that moment. Perhaps if he could try to recreate that feeling, he might be able to control it. Regardless, he needed to continue his aerobic and weight training. Usually, he would take a break from it on the weekend, but until the Hero Festival, the boy decided to put in the extra work.
Waking up Monday, Izuku crawled out of bed excited for lunch that day. Slowly he was making more and more friends, and he enjoyed seeing them interact with one another. However, as he sat on the train towards U.A. the boy realized Ojiro had no knowledge of his invitation of Ida and Uraraka to their table. He would have to tell him before class. Luckily he saw the tailed teen sitting next to Koji Koda just outside the entrance of the school on a bench.
Midoriya walked up to the two and asked, "Morning. Mind if Ojiro-san and I have a moment Koda-san?" Koji nodded softly and got up to leave, he gave Mashirao a small wave as he left. Izuku turned back to Ojiro, he said, "Sorry. I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?"
Mashirao responded, "Nah. We were pretty much done. Koda-san just wanted some reassurance about the Hero Festival coming up. He was acting more nervous than normal. Luckily I guessed right when I asked him. It's sometimes hard to figure out what Koda-san wants to talk about."
Izuku added, "Yeah, I don't think I've ever heard him speak. Is he mute?"
The tailed teen shook his head and said, "Koda-san can talk, he's just too shy to in most situations. It's rare, but it happens. He actually has quite the vocabulary. Still mostly only responds with either nods or shakes of his head when I speak with him."
"Sounds like you have known him for some time," Izuku pointed out.
Nodding, Ojiro said, "Since middle school. Koda-san always only socialized with students that had quirks that made them appear animal-like if he could. My tail is what got him to want to hang around me. Seems that still applies nowadays here at U.A. since I've only seen him interact with me and Tokoyami-san out of all the students in the class." Mashirao stood up and started to walk towards the school entrance. As he passed Izuku, he stated, "Sorry for rambling, again. Let's head to class." As Midoriya started to follow, the tailed teen asked, "You wanted to talk about something? Wait does this have to do with your date with Hagakure-san on Saturday? How did that go?"
In a startled voice, Izuku said, "I told you it wasn't a d-date." Clearing his throat, Midoriya continued, "I just wanted to tell you I invited Ida-san and Uraraka-san to our lunch table. I thought it would be rude not to tell you since I already told Hagakure-san yesterday on the phone about my decision."
With an eyebrow raised Mashirao asked, "Is there any particular reason you asked them to come?" Midoriya proceeded to tell Ojiro about Saturday as they entered the school. Izuku decided not to mention that it was Ida's plan all along for them to see each other and the embrace that he shared with Tooru. As both teens entered classroom 1-A, Mashirao said, "Well sounds like you guys had fun. I guess I can understand why you invited the two after what happened."
"Thanks for understanding Ojiro-san," Izuku said with a sigh of relief.
Ojiro sat down at his desk and asked, "Were you expecting me to say no?"
Izuku scratched the back of his head and said, "No. But you know how I overthink about stuff sometimes. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't stepping on anybody's toes. To be honest, I'm just glad our group is getting bigger."
Mashirao gave a small smirk and said, "You know, our table can seat six people. We have room for one more if we wanted. Any ideas?"
This idea hadn't crossed Izuku. Tooru probably chose the table randomly, Izuku thought. Or did she? Their circular table seated fewer people than the longer rectangular tables and was less common as well in the cafeteria. She would have had a better chance to talk with someone at the larger tables. So why choose a smaller one?
"Earth to Midoriya-san," Ojiro said as he waved his hand in front of the mumbling teen next to his desk.
Izuku apologized, "S-Sorry, I spaced out again didn't I?"
The seated teen chuckled and said, "It's ok, that was a big question for you, sorry I asked. Anyways, the class is about to start; we'll talk more at lunch."
By the time Izuku had arrived at the lunch table, everyone but Tooru had been seated. Ojiro and Ida were sitting next to one another with Uraraka at the opposite end of the table. Midoriya decided to sit next to the floating heroine. The two boys were already talking to one another as Midoriya approached, but as he sat down, he heard the subject of Muay Thai being discussed. Ochako spoke once Izuku sat down, "It's hard to stop Ojiro-san once he gets going, huh?"
"Oh about his martial arts? Yeah, he lectured us about it the first time he came to the table, but I found it interesting regardless," Izuku explained.
Tenya seemed to enjoy the conversation as well. Ida was asking a lot more questions than he and Tooru had asked that day, Izuku noted. Both seem so engrossed in their talk neither appeared to notice his arrival.
Uraraka caught Izuku's attention by whispering, "Hey what was with that final text you sent on Saturday about?" Midoriya thought back to what he had typed that day.
So did anything happen between you two after me and Hagakure-san left?
"O-Oh, I was just c-curious if anything had h-happened, like with m-me is all," Izuku said with a red face.
Ochako crossed her arms and then huffed, "Well for your information all you did was make Ida-san freak out." Midoriya noticed a slight reddening of the face from the girl. He figured Ida probably did have an episode, but perhaps something more happened. Izuku wasn't going to push it though. "Either way, congrats on getting hugged from Hagakure-san. I'm sure that should help with things going forward," the gravity heroine whispered while giving a thumbs up.
Izuku was confused. He questioned the girl, "Going forward?"
"You want to be her boyfriend, no? I mean that's why Ida-san was so willing to go to such lengths to help you," Ochako said with a smile on her face.
Flustered, Izuku responded, "I don't know what Ida-san told you but I just wanted help because I was clueless on what to do when hanging out with a girl." Midoriya thought perhaps this was how Tenya was able to convince Ochako to come on Saturday. Or Ida had actually thought it was a date, not just a simple meet-up.
Uraraka raised an eyebrow, "Really, that's why? I just thought you were just nervous about lots of things. Not that there's anything wrong with being nervous around a girl. I'm sure that's normal for most guys your age."
"Yeah, Izuku's a real mess, you should see him sometimes," a sassy voice said. Izuku grabbed his chest and nearly fell out of his chair when he turned around to see Tooru. The invisible heroine took a seat next to him. Midoriya wondered, how long had she been standing there?
Uraraka, however, wasn't startled and said happily, "Hagakure-san you finally made it! What took you?"
Tooru was excited to respond, "Was just waiting for them to restock the lunch line with some fresh caramel cookies. They are to die for."
While watching Hagakure eat her dessert, Midoriya still found it odd to see her eat. The image of a floating piece of food slowly disappearing chunks at a time as Tooru would eat was always a sight to see. Thankfully, Izuku figured since she was so quick to begin eating, Tooru had only heard the end of his and Ochako's talk and nothing about Saturday's plan was revealed.
"Ah, you finally grace us with your presence Hagakure-san," Ida spoke up.
The invisible heroine turned her body to Tenya and asked, "You boys having a nice chat over there?"
Ochako pitched in, "Oh, they were just talking about Ojiro-san's fighting techniques."
"Can't leave you for a few minutes and you go nerd out about martial arts on our new guests Ojiro-san," Tooru said with a sigh.
Mashirao simply shrugged and said, "Not my fault you cannot appreciate the art of Muay Thai like Midoriya-san and Ida-san do."
Hagakure responded with, "I could maybe if you didn't have to give me a ten-page lecture about it each time you bring it up."
Both Tenya and Ochako got a laugh out of Tooru's comeback. Izuku never could fully understand the constant teasing the two would always be engaged in. He knew it was all fun and they weren't mean-spirited, but it just felt odd to constantly egg on the faults of a friend as a way to converse. The boy concluded everyone has different ways they like to interact with certain people.
Ojiro seemed to get the point from what Tooru said and decided to change the subject by asking the two newcomers about what they thought about the Hero Festival. But before Izuku could join in he felt a tug on his shirt. Turning to his side, he could see Tooru was leaned towards him and she whispered, "Looks like inviting these two was a great idea. Ojiro-san seems to be enjoying it, even if he's trying hard not to show it."
Izuku responded with, "Yeah, it just felt natural to ask if they wanted to come. We all got along so well that Saturday and I mean we also had some spare seats."
"Well, I'm glad you asked them to come regardless," Tooru said in a joyful tone.
This got Midoriya to remember his thoughts from earlier. Did Tooru choose this table for a reason or was it just random? However, he thought this wasn't the proper place to ask such a question. Bracing himself, Izuku asked, "H-Hey, mind if we have a small c-chat after classes today? Maybe outside on the school grounds?"
Hagakure asked quietly, "Why not chat about it right now?"
The blushing boy answered with, "It's k-kind of a p-personal question."
The invisible girl crossed her arms and gave the question some thought. She eventually said in a puzzled tone, "Sure, I guess." Izuku thanked Tooru before they both joined back in the group's discussion about the upcoming Sports Festival.
Midoriya sat on a bench near one of the many pathways that were intertwined in the schoolyard. He was under a Japanese Maple tree, as Izuku wanted to stay out of the afternoon heat, not knowing how long his conversation with Tooru would be. As he waited for his friend, he looked at the domed shaped tree above him. It was a beautiful tree during multiple parts of the year thought Izuku. Now, during the spring, it had dark red sepals with white clusters of flowers. In the summer it would produce dark red samara fruits. These bi-winged structures would fall off later in the summer and come down spinning, like that of a helicopter. Finally, the leaves of the tree would become blood red during the fall before becoming bare.
A voice came in front of him, "See a bird or something?"
Tilting his head forward, Izuku saw Tooru standing in front of him. He responded, "Nah, just daydreaming."
As she sat down next to the boy, Tooru asked, "So what's so important that you had to ask me to come out here after school?"
Midoriya took a deep breath and said, "Sorry if this sounds random, but this has been in the back of my head all day. When you asked me to join you for lunch on the first day of school, the table we sat at, the same table we still sit at, was there any particular reason you sat there?"
This brought a snicker out of Tooru which confused Izuku. After calming down, she said, "Always sweating over the small things. But I guess that's what makes you be you Midoriya-kun." This got the boy to blush a bit. He had always thought his analytical tendency was a burden in social settings. But this girl was the first to show him it not as a flaw but as charming. Tooru straightened her skirt and continued, "I guess you could say I did want to be seated at a small table like ours. I felt it was less likely that anyone would come to the table if it were smaller in size."
Izuku was baffled by her statement and said, "Wait wouldn't sitting at a bigger table be better for meeting people? Why would you do something to the opposite of that?"
Hagakure brought her arms to her face before she spoke. Was she cupping her cheeks? Was she embarrassed? In a soft voice, the invisible girl explained, "I wanted to make sure I was alone. For you." This perplexed Izuku even more. Tooru continued, "I thought I could make it more likely for you to join me if I were alone instead of being at a large table with a crowd of people. I only interacted with you for just a minute on the day of the entrance exam, but you seemed to be the kind of person that easily got nervous."
Izuku slowly nodded and said, "Well you weren't wrong. I was a kind of a nervous wreck that day. But, why were you waiting for me?"
Tooru's tone became merrier, and she said, "Silly, right? I mean, I had no idea if you passed the entrance exam or not. And then there I was sitting in class, with you two seats behind me. I didn't know anyone in our class, or that attended the school. All I had was just our little interaction from that day. So I thought maybe I could get to know you at lunch. I made sure I was one of the first students in the cafeteria to secure a spot. There I came up with the idea to sit at a small table. And then I waited. Eventually, you came into the cafeteria looking so confused and lost. And the rest is history." Tooru turned her body towards the boy and said, "Sorry if that sounds creepy."
Izuku was quick to respond, "It doesn't sound creepy at all. Seems like the logical thing I would do." He was humbled by Hagakure's explanation. He didn't consider it weird at all; he had just the other day had a complicated plan be made for their meet-up. And she had no idea it had happened. Yet here, his invisible friend thought she was acting odd, and she just told him everything. Midoriya continued by asking in a somber tone, "What would have happened if I hadn't come to sit with you?"
After a few moments of silence, Tooru continued by saying, "I guess I would have moved on and try to make friends with someone else. And I'm eternally grateful you came and sat with me that day."
With a smile, Izuku responded with, "I'm glad I didn't chicken out that day either."
The invisible heroine then asked, "So was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"
Midoriya almost said no but pondered if there was anything else he wanted to discuss with Tooru about. Again thinking back to Saturday. "There is one small thing I want to ask you Hagakure-san. You know those silver bracelets you wore on the weekend?"
Tooru replied back with a somewhat surprised voice, "Yeah. Why do you want to chat about that?"
Izuku put a hand on his wrist as he said, "Well I found you wearing such things as insightful since you were wearing something other than your school uniform. It would have made guessing your motions difficult. I thought it was a good idea."
Hagakure responded with, "I don't know, those bracelets were a bit heavy. I usually don't wear them at all. I had just bought them and hadn't worn the bracelets for an extended period of time till Saturday."
Izuku suggested, "Well you can wear other smaller bracelets, and you don't have to wear them if you don't want to you. Just a suggestion is all."
Tooru got up and paced back and forth a few times before saying, "I'll see what I can do."
The next couple of days were normal as could be but Izuku enjoyed his daily meet up with his friends.
Tuesday's discussion centered around Eraserhead's appearance on Saturday. The girls thought he only was looking for a pair of sunglasses to help during his recovery if he was outside. The boys while not having an answer for why he was there, agreed that he was hiding something.
Wednesday's chat involved an upcoming written test on the history of heroes. Tooru seemed like the only one not interested in the subject. When asked why by Izuku she seemed annoyed by the subject. Hagakure simply said she wanted lunch to be a place to talk about anything but "boring school stuff" as she put it. Midoriya wondered if there was more to it than what she said.
Thursday brought up a talk about everyone's parents. Ochako told Ojiro of her family's money troubles which he seemed to relate to, as he revealed his family wasn't that well off either. Izuku avoided talking about his dad and just described his mom's similar anxious behavior to himself. Mashirao talked about how his parents were both cops, his father being a lieutenant detective with a desk job and his mother a supervisor sergeant that was always on the streets. This concerned Izuku, as Ojiro's parent's jobs, sounded like they would pay well. So why were they struggling with cash? Maybe something to ask later, he thought. The tailed hero continued by explaining his wanting to be a hero that could protect from his parent's choice in career. Tooru described her family as boring. Her mom worked at a daycare and her father working in computer software. Tenya revealed his heritage to Mashirao, which Izuku noticed, had gotten a reaction out of the tailed teen. He seemed quite surprised, but there was a hint of disgust or maybe anger? Either way, he was quick to hide this emotion, and it seemed no one else noticed as Ida chatted in more detail about his parents and older brother.
That evening Izuku was surprised to see his phone vibrate after finishing dinner.
Blank: You there?
All Might: Yeah, just ate dinner, whats up?
Blank: Are you busy after school Friday?
Midoriya was losing it. He wasn't ready for another day out with the girl. Inviting the other two again was out of the question, it would seem suspicious.
All Might: No. What do you have planned?
Blank: A surprise.
All Might: ...
Blank: Oh it will be different than us hanging out like Saturday, I assure you.
This didn't help calm Izuku. But curiosity was getting the best of him.
Blank: So what's the verdict?
The boy exhaled.
All Might: When and where do you want to meet?
Blank: I knew you would say yes! Why don't we just walk together after class? I'll tell you then. See you tomorrow!
Izuku placed his phone on his desk and then sat in his chair in front of his computer. He thought about what could she be planning as he spun in his chair slowly. If they were leaving from U.A. he didn't know what they would do. Midoriya didn't know the area around the school very well. Even looking up a map of the area around the school on his computer couldn't give him any answers. He only saw utility services, business parks, and some government buildings in walking vicinity from the school. So maybe she wasn't planning to go anywhere. So just a talk? As he wracked his brain, a thought came to his mind. Was she going to confess to him? No. Izuku remembered who he was thinking about. If Tooru ever did confess, it would probably be at the spur of the moment he thought. That's just how she was. But what was she planning?
The weather was a bit muggy the next morning. The sky looked of slowly approaching rain clouds. Midoriya hoped it wouldn't rain as he was already stressful enough as is. Tooru gave no hint to her surprise as Friday's morning classes rolled along. At lunch, there was no central discussion for once, just small talk about class and how training for the Hero Festival was going. When Izuku looked back on his progress with One for All, he hadn't made much progress. His training involved a bunch of pulled back punches. Midoriya would activate his quirk during a punch, trying to recreate the feeling he felt before, and switch it off before he fully committed. Slowly he would switch it off later and later, hoping to eventually draw out the feeling he felt as he did an actual punch. He was getting close, but in reality, it still was far from being battle ready.
As the final minutes of his last afternoon class came ticking down, Izuku was again becoming hysteric. Sweat was starting to bead down his back, and his breathing and pulse were quickening. He thought about sending a private text to Tenya but figured it might be beyond his ability with such short notice. This time, he would be alone. The bell then rang loudly, making Izuku wince. It was time.
Tooru was quick to get up and head towards Midoriya's desk and asked, "Ready to go?"
"I hope so," was all Izuku could muster.
Tooru chuckled at his words as they left the classroom. As Hagakure led the way, she looked back and said, "So interested in what we are doing?" Izuku gave a weak nod. "Well, on Monday, after our talk after school, I thought we could just hang out around here on Friday. But then I looked up what was around here; it was a real drag. So there went that plan in a puff of smoke. But then I thought, maybe we could do something different, but was having a hard time thinking of what. Then we had our discussion at lunch about our parents yesterday." Izuku's mind connected the dots immediately and fully understood what was about to be asked. Tooru continued, "I mean my parents aren't that interesting, but it would be something different we could do if you accompany me to my house to see them today."
By now they were outside the school building. The clouds overhead were quite gray, and the wind was starting to pick up. They were an excellent reflection of how Izuku was feeling. And he didn't want to move forward anymore. There was panicking, and then there was this. Terror.
Izuku had experienced various levels of panic in his life. Usually, the teen could tell how bad it was depending on how his body was reacting. Low levels usually involved stuttering and a quickened heartbeat. The next stage was the physical reaction to step back from a situation and run away or just hide. The highest level was a total shut down. Freezing in place from the shock, a headache that felt like pressure was being applied to the lower back of his head, horrible nausea in the pit of his stomach, and usually crying. This last state of panic was pure terror, and he was there all right. The only times Izuku had ever felt this level of fear was when he found out he was quirkless, when his friends abandoned him because of his lack of possessing a quirk, seeing Bakugo in pain as the sludge villain tried to overtake him, and as he struggled at the U.A. entrance exam.
Mentally, Midoriya was going at breakneck speeds. Parents? Midoriya was just getting used to Tooru and his new friends. And now she wanted him to meet her parents? Maybe this was a confession, but she wanted to do it in front of her parents. Wait, isn't meeting the parents usually after a confession? Was she going to confess right here and now before they would visit her family? It's not like Izuku knew what was supposed to be the typical path in a relationship anyhow. Where did she even live? How long would it take to get there? How long would he be there? He hadn't told his mom about coming late back home, as he thought the surprise would at least be a short affair. But traveling to her house and then doing whatever Tooru wanted to do there would take a while. Plus it was Friday, his mother always made katsudon for dinner this day, his favorite dish. To be late and possibly miss dinner would be highly irregular and cause his mom to over worry.
"Um. You're muttering to yourself again," Tooru said bringing Izuku back to reality. He had stopped walking and had his head facing the ground. She came over to grab his arm and said, "Come on Midoriya-kun we got to hurry if we wanna avoid the rain." However, as she pulled on Midoriya's arm, he didn't budge. Hagakure asked in a concerned tone, "Hey, everything okay?" The boy thought back to last Saturday morning. At what Tenya had said to him he had to face Tooru alone.
If you are truly uncomfortable about something be vocal about it.
Push your social limits further than you are used to, even if it's just a little, but don't push yourself to a panic.
You'll never want to push your limits socially again if you push yourself into a panicked state.
It took all Izuku could muster, but he finally said, "N-No." Tooru slowly let go his arm. Holding back tears Izuku responded, "I-I c-can't come with you. I-I w-won't come with you. T-This is just t-too much and t-too fast Hagakure-san. I'm s-sorry."
Tooru asked in a somber tone, "I'm confused. Help me understand Midoriya-kun?"
It had begun to rain, not hard but not a drizzle either. The students in the area began to disperse to get out of the rain. Izuku ignored it, he could have got out his umbrella, but at the moment he had more pressing matters at the moment.
Hagakure then whined as she searched inside of her backpack, "Oh, of all days for me to forget my umbrella at home."
Not only was the sky producing water so were Izuku's eyes. Tears were flowing, and he hated every part of this, but he had to do it. He just wasn't ready for something as drastic as this. As he brought up an arm up to wipe his eyes, Midoriya stated, "S-Spending time with you H-Hagakure-san has been the most e-enjoyable time I've had ever in my l-life. B-But I'm just n-not ready for this y-yet. I've l-lacked real c-companionship for over t-ten years. Constant t-teasing and b-bullying from being q-quirkless with no real f-friends in sight. And now I've got a bunch f-friends in a s-short span of time. And then there's y-you. S-Showing up in the n-nurse's office twice and then a-asking me out of the b-blue to h-hang out with you. I've been r-riding this at the e-edge of my seat this w-whole time. I was b-barely able to get through just the t-thought of going with y-you last Saturday on my o-own. If Ida-san and Uraraka-san hadn't s-shown up, I don't know w-what would have h-happened."
Sympathetically Tooru said, "Hey it's okay to be afraid of spending time with a girl, I mean we are just teenagers. But remember my parents will be there, we won't be alone. Now let's go before we get soaked."
Izuku raised his voice and said with confidence, "It's not just about being alone with you Tooru! I'm just not ready for this step forward in our relationship!"
The invisible heroine took a few steps back and said, "Relationship?" It took a moment for Izuku to realize what he just said. He needed to sit down, the nausea was getting to him. The boy really didn't want to repeat what had happened just before the entrance exam. Midoriya took a few steps towards one of the walls of the outside entrance of the school. He leaned his body against it till he gradually slid down the wall and sat down in wet grass. He didn't care he just needed a minute to try to calm down. Tooru eventually came beside him and squatted down with her arms hugging her legs close to her chest. Hagakure said in a bitter voice, "So I've been pushing you too hard, huh?"
Izuku sniffed, "It's more m-me than y-you Tooru. I'm sure anyone e-else would have been f-fine going to your h-home and seeing your f-family. I-I'm just n-not ready."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, I've been a bit hasty with things as of late, and I'm sorry for that," Tooru said trying to comfort him.
"Y-You say that b-but I'm gonna be h-hard on m-myself regardless," Midoriya said in a down in the dumps tone.
Hagakure let out a sigh but didn't speak. Minutes went by without either saying a word. They were both soaked at this point. Izuku could even see the outline of his invisible friend's legs, arms, and face as the water dripped off her body. It was hard to make out the details of Tooru's hair, however.
Tooru began to get up and broke the silence by teasing in a soft voice, "You know, you called me by my first name twice during your gushing." With both hands in his face, Midoriya groaned. He did, didn't he? The sound of light thunder rolled in the distance as Tooru asked, "Is it okay if I help you up?" Izuku gave a slight nod. He noticed one of her sleeves came down to his level. He grabbed below it to grasp her hand, and she pulled the boy back to his feet. After letting go, Hagakure then asked, "So this next step in our relationship deal, want to talk about that?"
Izuku didn't want to talk about it. But at this point, he wanted to know something from her more than leaving this on the backburner and answered, "Last weekend I-I told you I felt we were b-best friends, but you a-asking for me to m-meet your p-parents felt something a c-couple would do."
Midoriya felt hands grab his shoulders. In a thoughtful voice Tooru said, "Midoriya-kun, we don't need to be a couple for you just to meet my parents silly. Though asking you to see them after what we did last week was probably a bit hasty on my part. And again I'm sorry, I should have been upfront with you about the surprise. Would have saved us both a lot of trouble if I got rejected over the phone than here." The female let go of Midoriya's shoulders and took a step back onto the pathway and turned sideways. "As much as I would like to continue this conversation, we're both gonna make our parents worry if we stay here any longer. Plus we are both quite soaked as is, and it sounds like more heavier rain on the way with all the thunder I keep hearing. So unless you got anything else to add, I think we should head out to our respective homes."
Izuku was surprised. A part of him wanted Tooru to confirm her intentions about the future of their relationship. It's why he mentioned the word couple in his statement. But she ignored the bait and stated how she felt instead about what had just happened. Midoriya was still curious to what she saw in their relationship status but he was content with her answer for now. He finally calmed down and said, "I guess, I just wanna say I'm sorry for ruining your surprise."
Tooru groaned before stating, "I much prefer that you told me about all of this, so there's nothing to be sorry about. Imagine if I had dragged you to my home only for you to have a panic attack in front of my folks. We'd both die of embarrassment!" This got a small chuckle out of Izuku. She was right; it could have gone much, much worse today. Hagakure continued with, "And in the end, I still got to spend time with you, which was the whole point of this, even if it was a bit shorter than I was hoping for." Tooru began to walk away, but she turned around after a few moments and yelled, "I'll see ya on Monday, Izuku!"
Minutes passed as Midoriya stood there drenched by the rain. Midoriya realized a few things as the rain pelted him. They were both on a first name basis now, even if Izuku's had been accidental. And, technically, when she helped him up earlier, that was the first time they had ever held hands. It seemed their relationship would keep advancing even though he just sought to slow it down a notch, he thought.
Izuku spent the weekend not only working on his training for the Hero Festival but trying to grasp what had happened Friday. It was still fresh in his head both when he woke up Saturday and even on Sunday. In the end, it seemed he made the right choice and was glad Tooru wasn't upset about it, even though he thought she would be as it was unfolding that day. Thinking back on why he made the decisions he made that day, Izuku was compelled to pull out his phone Sunday evening.
All Might: I just wanted to thank you again for your advice from before, Ida-san.
It wasn't for a couple of minutes till he got a response.
Glasses: Okay, what happened? Something must be up for you to say that and as a private message as well.
Izuku took a deep breath and continued typing.
All Might: On Friday, after school, Hakagure-san asked me to come to her home and meet her folks. I wasn't ready for that, at all.
All Might: I thought back to what you said last Saturday morning. About not doing something I wasn't comfortable with.
All Might: I said no to her.
Glasses: Was she okay with your answer?
All Might: Yeah. We worked things out.
Glasses: That's good. Was worried there a second. Wouldn't want all we went through to go up in smoke.
All Might: Yeah neither did I. Again, thanks for everything. See you in class.
Midoriya continued his evening by reading the news on his phone. Before joining U.A. he would follow the hero reports in the news almost obsessively. Seeing pros battle their rival villains, rookies climb to fame, and debuts of new heroes. But now he was among them, well in a few years he would, and the little habit of his fell by the wayside. He still followed a weekly recap blog on Sundays so he wouldn't miss any major incidents. It was because of this little habit that he was so knowledgeable about pros he met, and he didn't want to lose this skill of his. However, while reading how Gang Orca single-handedly demolished a villain stronghold and then captured all the fleeing criminals, he received a message.
Blank: Evening Midoriya-san. Holding up well I hope.
Midoriya was puzzled. He had invited Tooru to the chat group between him and his two other friends after everything that had happened Friday. It was a way, he hoped, would somewhat make up for what had happened that day. Hagakure only did a simple greeting in the chat that evening but nothing else had been said between the four since. Her current message seemed aimed at him though, so why was she texting in the group chat?
All Might: I'm managing. But you know this is the group chat right?
Blank: Oh, I know. I got a question to ask for everyone.
Blank: But if they are not around I'll just ask you.
Bubbles: I'm here! What's going on?
Blank: Evening!
All Might: Evening.
Bubbles: Hi?
Blank: No sign of Ida-san, oh well, least Uraraka-san is here too.
Bubbles: Still confused here.
All Might: She wants to ask a question to all of us.
Bubbles: Is everything okay?!
Blank: Yes, everything is fine, just something Midoriya-san said Friday that's been bothering me.
Bubbles: Wait, what happened Friday?
Blank: Another day for that discussion.
Izuku thanked the heavens for Tooru dismissing Ochako's question for now.
Blank: So on to the meat of things.
Blank: Was Uraraka-san and Ida-san showing up last Saturday more than a just a coincidence?
Midoriya almost fell off his bed. How did she figure that out? Izuku thought back to everything he said Friday. And then it hit him.
I was b-barely able to get through just the t-thought of going with y-you last Saturday on my o-own.
If Ida-san and Uraraka-san hadn't s-shown up, I don't know w-what would have h-happened.
Blank: Midoriya-san mentioned having trouble even considering going with me that Saturday. Yet he acted fine, like perfectly normal, and that's what was so odd.
Blank: I figured he would be a lot more nervous and all, so I wanted to take things slow, and then he mentions going to eat somewhere.
Blank: Then guess who decides to show up? I didn't think much of it back then, but then Friday comes, and Midoriya-san says how grateful he was that you two showed up.
Glasses: Can't argue with that logic.
Izuku couldn't either as he laid on the floor of the room, having actually fallen out of his bed this time.
Bubbles: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE?
Blank: So nice for you to join us Ida-san.
Glasses: Was trying to get to sleep early but after my phone vibrated twenty times, I had enough.
Izuku pondered, wait, did he actually count?
Glasses: Midoriya-san, I believe this is where you come in.
Oh why did he have to be the one to tell her, Izuku thought. But again, Ida's logic was sound.
All Might: Yeah it was planned. Though it was Ida-san's idea.
Glasses: I spent all of Friday morning's class time trying to figure out how I could help. It seemed like the best option at the time.
Blank: Well that's good to know. Been thinking about it all weekend and couldn't wait until tomorrow to ask. Plus then Ojiro-san would know about this and tease me about it.
Blank: Also none of you can ever tell Ojiro-san. Promise?
Bubbles: I promise.
Glasses: This shall never escape my lips when speaking to him.
All Might: You're not mad?
Blank: Promise!
All Might: Okay, I promise.
Blank: Good. I find it hilarious actually. You guys got me good that I'll admit.
Glasses: I wasn't expecting this reaction at all.
Bubbles: Same.
Blank: Also it made me realize we are all better friends than I thought. With you two going out of your way to help me Midoriya-san spend time with me!
Bubbles: Glad to have helped.
Glasses: I am always willing to help friends in need Hagakure-san.
Glasses: Now if you will excuse me I going to sleep. Until tomorrow.
Blank: Thanks for your time all of you. Later!
Bubbles: I got things to do before heading to bed. Bye!
All Might: Night all.
After putting down his phone, Izuku thought, is there anything that Tooru isn't okay with? After seeing how flexible she was with everything that had happened recently it did make Izuku wonder. But then he remembered her issue with him missing lunches and the lengths she would go to spend time with him. Even she had her limits. Midoriya had lost interest in looking at the summarized hero reports. Instead, he drifted to sleep having thoughts of what Tooru meant to him.
As Midoriya arrived to class on Monday, he saw Ochako at the windows looking at the rainy weather that was happening again. He decided he wanted to chat a bit before class would start and said, "Morning Uraraka-san, checking out the rain?"
The gravity heroine didn't turn her head but responded with, "Yeah, of all days why did it have to rain on a Monday. Such a drag."
"Reminds me of getting caught in the rain from Friday after school with Hagakure-san," Izuku chuckled.
His statement piqued Ochako's interest causing her to turn around and say, "Oh so that's when you let that tidbit slip that led to her finding out about Ida-san's scheme."
Midoriya apologized, "Yeah, sorry about that. I still feel sorry for not being truthful from the start though."
Uraraka shrugged and replied, "Oh well. Everything worked out in the end." The boy nodded, but Ochako leaned in a bit towards him and whispered, "Hey everything is alright with you and Hagakure-san, after whatever happened, right?"
It meant a lot to Izuku that Uraraka was concerned about his bond with Tooru. But how would he answer her? After a few moments, he responded with, "We just had some things to work out, and in the end, we came out of it better than before I think."
Ochako sighed in relief and said, "That's good. I guess I was worrying over nothing. I'd hate for you how to be at odds with each other."
"Yeah, hopefully, it doesn't come to that," Izuku said in an optimistic tone. Izuku looked around, more and more of his classmates were arriving, and he told Uraraka it was probably time for them to get seated for class.
Lunch's topic again had no central theme like last Friday. Though Izuku mostly talked to Ojiro about his quirk training and how he was trying to limit his damage to himself. This started from Mashirao asking because he was curious as Midoriya had been vague about detailing his weight training on the other day. The tailed teen suggested some arm specific exercises and stretches to better help prepare his muscles for the stress they would endure. Unlike most of Mashirao's rants, Tooru seemed interested in their talk. She didn't talk at all, but she was paying attention to it.
Before Izuku could make it back to class for the afternoon lessons, he was approached by All Might in his muscled form. With vigor the hulking pro hero asked, "Midoriya my boy, would you mind joining me in the teacher's break room after classes today? There is something I wish to discuss with you."
Izuku excitedly said, "Of course, I'll be there!"
The number one hero quickly responded with enthusiasm, "Excellent, see you after classes!"
As Izuku saw his mentor make his way down the hall, a voice spoke up, "What was that about?" Midoriya looked around to see Shoto Todoroki was behind him looking perplexed. Izuku had never actually interacted with Shoto before. He knew his quirk was incredibly powerful and that he was one of the smartest students in the class but nothing else. Todoroki said in a condescending tone, "Why is the number one hero interested, of all people, in talking with you?"
His statement made Izuku gulp, but he answered, "A-All Might-sensei probably just wants to give me some p-pointers on my q-quirk is all."
The half-cold half-hot hero put a hand to his chin and in a softer tone said, "Well, you both do have strength enhancement quirks."
"Y-Yeah, that's probably w-why. I-I'll see ya in c-class," Izuku rapidly said and walked away at a reasonable pace. Was Shoto on to something? Either way, he would have to tell his mentor about this after school.
Before entering the break room, Izuku knocked on the door five times. He waited and heard shuffling from inside and then two soft knocks came from the other side of the door. Midoriya answered back with three beats and then jiggled the doorknob. With that, he heard a click, and the boy walked in finally. All Might had set up this system for his successor and those on the faculty that knew his secret. Having to spend so much time in his true form he couldn't risk leaving doors unlocked for anyone to just waltz in asking who he was. It was annoying to the pro hero, but it had proven itself as quite useful so far.
All Might laid back on a couch looking more tired than usual. Izuku figured he overdid his heroics for the day. He had to keep his image after all. The skeleton of a man spoke up after putting a hand on his back to rub it, "Thanks for coming today. This shouldn't take too long, don't want to worry your mother."
Izuku took a seat and said, "I called her earlier saying I'd be staying after class for a bit. I did the same last Monday, so she shouldn't be too concerned."
All Might tilted his head a bit and said, "Like last Monday? Spending more time with the Hagakure lass again I gather? She's not causing you too much trouble I hope."
The boy gave a weak grin and said, "I've been m-managing."
All Might grunted then brought his hand off his back and cupped his chin with it before asking, "Well the reason for calling you here was that I'm interested in the progress of training with One for All. I hope you are making some headway. You only have a week till the Hero Festival."
Midoriya informed his idol of his thought process and methods for trying to use his quirk without damaging his body. The pro hero gave slight nods as the boy explained himself. When Izuku finished, All Might gave a few words of encouragement but also told him to continue to take it easy with his body. The number one hero then got up, signaling to Izuku that the man was satisfied with his progress and was ready to leave.
"Wait before you go, there's something I have to tell you," the boy blurted out.
All Might stopped his advance towards the door and asked, "Yes?"
Izuku gave a deep breath and stated, "After lunch today, when you told me to come here, Todoroki-san overheard us and started asking questions."
The pro hero leaned back on the door and folded his arms, "That is concerning. But I believe that might be more family-related than anything."
The successor to One for All gave a confused look which prompted his mentor to ask, "You are familiar with the hero ranked just below me, yes?"
Izuku was quick to respond, but in a questioning voice, "You mean the Flame Hero: Endeavor?"
All Might said slowly, "Yes, his actual name is Enji Todoroki. He's Shoto's father." This information shocked Midoriya, but it did explain one reason why Shoto was top in his class. Having such a hero as his father would be a great help, Izuku thought. All Might turned around to unlock the door and continued, "That man has always been obsessed with being better than me, that obsession might have rubbed off on his son. Naturally, witnessing me taking a particular interest in you, the lad will probably do his best to single you out and try to topple you at the Hero Festival. Be ready for that." The pro hero then assumed his muscle form and walked out of the room.
Throughout the rest of the week, Izuku's tripled down on his training after being inspired by his meeting with All Might. And finally, on Friday it happened.
For safety, Izuku did his quirk training outside his home. He was on a patch of grass just outside the apartment complex with a torso dummy on a stand in front of him. It was late afternoon, and he had spent the last hour practicing. After taking a break and drinking some water, the boy got into his stance once again and activated One for All. Before Izuku could deactivate his quirk this time, however, the punch hit the dummy at full power with an uppercut. A loud crack sounded as the boy launched the torso a few hundred feet into the air. It really, really hurt but Izuku looked at his hand, no broken bones, no torn skin or bleeding, no bruises. He did it.
Midoriya's mother came tumbling out from the door and screamed downwards, "Izuku what was that? Is everything ok? Are we under attack?"
Rubbing his arm to help with the pain Izuku yelled back, "I'm fine mom. But I finally did it!"
Confused, Inko hollered, "You did what?" However, before Izuku could answer the dummy, now in two pieces, finally came back down, leaving a decent-sized crater in the ground and breaking a fence where it landed. Midoriya was then scolded for what he did by his mother. The two later apologized to their apartment manager, who thankfully wasn't too upset. However, Inko did still have to pay for the damage. His mother almost didn't make katsudon for dinner that night, but she was happy enough with the progress of Izuku's quirk that she made it anyway.
His mother spoke as she sat down, "I don't know whether I should be happy you are finally getting the knack for your quirk without hurting yourself or I should be scared that it means you will be more willing to get yourself into more dangerous situations than before."
After taking a few bites from his bowl, Midoriya said, "I'm just glad I won't be in bandages every time I use it if I keep working on it this weekend."
The parent sighed, "Please, just punch the air from now on when practicing."
Izuku apologized, "Sorry, mom, I was just doubling the purpose of that workout by also conditioning my fists after switching off my quirk."
Inko looked perplexed, "Conditioning?"
Midoriya cleared his throat after swallowing his latest mouth full and said, "It's also called cortical remodeling. One of my friends told me about it and looked into it earlier today I stress certain parts of bones by continuously working out with it. Like hitting that dummy, you bought me, over and over. My bones become more dense and stronger in those areas. I have to do it if I want to bring out the full potential of my quirk."
His mother ran a hand through her hair and said, "Just because I understand it now doesn't mean I like the idea of it. But it's nice to hear you are making friends."
They both finished their dinner and started doing the dishes. While doing the chore, Izuku began to think about what he had considered two Sundays ago because of his mother's mention about making friends. Perhaps now would be a good time to talk about Tooru and the rest of his friends. Once done with the dishes, Izuku asked, "Hey mom, there's something I've meaning to talk to you about."
Inko gave an inquisitive look at her son and asked, "Is everything alright, dear?"
Izuku pointed to his right, "I think we should take this to the living room."
The older Midoriya rubbed her temple with her hands and then said, "Let me make some tea first then." The younger Midoriya knew tea always calmed Inko's nerves, and he just nodded.
As Izuku waited on the couch for his mom to finish making her tea, he was trying to figure out how he was going to go about this. Perhaps just ease her into the idea, he thought. Yes, slow but steady would probably be for the best. Start with introducing his friends and then talk about Tooru. The green haired boy wondered how much he'd be comfortable to tell his mother about the invisible girl. He hoped as much as possible.
Inko then made her way into the room. Sitting next to her son she then placed a cup of tea down and said, "Well, here we are. So what did you want to talk about exactly?"
After exhaling Izuku began with, "Well, I've gotten quite a number of friends since I've started at the new school. You met one of them the other day before I went to go hang out with some of them."
A bright expression was on Inko's face as she said, "Ah yes, the tall, polite boy. His name was Tenya Ida, am I right?"
Midoriya nodded and went on to describe each of his friends in detail. Their quirks, families, personalities, as much as he could. He could see the look of wonder in his mother's eyes. It pleased Izuku, but he had left one person out of the discussion.
The green haired boy fidgeted in his seat before saying, "But there's someone that started all this. I mean I think Ida-san and Uraraka-san would have probably still been friends with me if I didn't meet her but she got me to where I am today with all of them. I consider her my best friend."
Inko asked with anticipation, "And who is this person?"
Izuku smiled and said, "Tooru. Her name is Tooru Hagakure."
I think it's important if I put this out there, this is mainly a slice of life story. Yes, some action scenes will make their way into this eventually, but it will never be the primary focus here. The manga/anime portrays battles better than I could ever write and since I am, for now, following the main story of the manga, there isn't any reason for me to recreate fight scenes that we know the results of. Unless of course, I present significant changes, which again, so far I've only done minor changes.
Speaking of small changes, you might have noticed a little change to the main story in the last chapter. The Friday lunch period with All Might to discuss the Hero Festival didn't happen. I felt after witnessing Tooru's lengths she would go through to interact daily with his successor, he wouldn't just turn around and interrupt Izuku's lunch with the girl. It made sense for him to just reschedule the meeting till after school. This also gave me the opportunity for Shoto to find out All Might's interest in Izuku a different way this chapter. I felt it a bit more personal here over just hearing gossip from Tenya and Ochako in the manga.
So yes, finally a bit of conflict in the story, even if it didn't last long. Everything has been moving before this point without much resistance from Izuku. Really struggled writing that scene (slow to write with many significant edits) as I wanted it to seem believable. No relationship is perfect, and neither will this one. I truly feel that the Izuku wouldn't be comfortable with how fast he and Tooru are advancing in their relationship. I know to some people this might seem slow, but it's not how real life usually works (okay I get it I'm writing a story in a world of superheroes, but there's gotta be some sense of realism). To go so long without a positive relationship that wasn't his mom and then get friends handed to him on a silver platter with even desserts can't be normal for somebody just to say, I'm ok with this. There's gotta be some internal struggle in there. And of course, this is made even more complicated because this is Izuku that we are talking about. Quoting from All Might, "There's no one more dedicated to the world of nonsense than you, kid!" which was a (English manga) response to Midoriya from over thinking about the Hero Festival. It's a curse of his analytical side, but it's what makes him an interesting shonen character compared to big shots like Goku, Luffy, and Naruto (who are just battle smart).
Originally, I was going to have Izuku go with Tooru to her house and meet her parents. But after thinking long and hard, I felt Izuku taking Tenya's words to heart and rejecting something he wasn't ready for would be better for his character development and his standing with Tooru. It also gave me an excuse to slow down their build-up. It's very tempting to want to advance a relationship when writing. You get more options and scenarios to write with, and the romance is what a lot of readers seek to read. I love a slow-burn romance story, but many readers don't. Some of my favorite slow-burn fics are often plagued with reviewers that complain why the relationship is being too slow. On the opposite end of things, too many times I see a fanfic story where a couple quickly develop their relationship and do everything a couple could do and then they just sit on it for the rest of the story with little/no or bad progress. Usually, the next step would be sex in these stories, but either it's a T rated fic or the author doesn't have the knack for writing smut, which I admit is probably hard to write well. Don't expect any such scenes from me; I like writing how characters interact with one another, not hump another. I'd probably be terrible at writing it anyway.
I actually could have ended the chapter after the scene with Tooru in the rain. But I really wanted you guys to see Izuku talk with his mom about Tooru (even though that is just a cliffhanger), see a bit of the aftermath with rejecting Tooru's "surprise", and having Shoto witness Izuku being with All Might. That way I can instead focus on other things come the next chapter. The next chapter will focus on the aftermath of the Hero Festival.