Pain.
Physical pain.
Self-induced physical pain.
This time, however, Tooru was at his side.
Before being healed by Recovery Girl, Izuku's body was thrashed. His right arm, hand, and fingers were a bloody and broken mess. His left arm was heavily bruised and his left leg was broken and swollen. The smallest injury was on the boy's left cheek, which had a cut on the inside and was bruised and swollen on the outside. After Recovery Girl used her quirk and performed surgery, Mirodriya could walk again, though with a wobble. He still had his right arm in a sling and was covered in bandages. Izuku felt even worse for his homeroom teacher after he started moving around in them, as he too was still wrapped in bandages. The older woman instructed the boy to keep the sling on for two days and removing the bandages would have to wait till Saturday.
The Hero Festival was over. The students of 1-A were on a bus that would soon take them back to their campus. Eraserhead was busy talking to the bus driver as they finalized things before their departure and most of the students were busy chatting at what had just occurred. Izuku was sitting at the back of the bus with Tooru on his left side and both were silent at the moment.
Midoriya found that Hagakure had been distant to him since his last match. She didn't say a word or acknowledge him as he sat in the bleachers nearby during the final two matches of the tournament event. The green haired teen had wanted to sit next to the invisible girl after he was healed, but the only open seats were next to Ochako. Tooru was sitting between Denki and Momo and didn't make any attempt to get his attention when he arrived. Izuku expected her to say something or at least give a wave but nothing happened. He did wonder, perhaps the invisible girl was too engaged with the current match between Katsuki and Fumikage?
But Midoriya thought back to before his surgery when Recovery Girl was interrupted when giving All Might the details on his wounds. His friends from lunch including the two he had teamed up with during the villain invasion; Tsuyu and Minoru had barged in and expressed their concern for him except Tooru. Ida had one of his hand gesture episodes when he had learned of Midoriya needing surgery. Uraraka had called him Deku, again, which was something he still wasn't used to hearing from anyone but Bakugo. Ojiro had thanked him for winning against Shinso as Midoriya promised but also apologized if had pushed him to try too hard in his match against Todoroki. Mineta only commented how no pro hero would want to hire him after his reckless behavior from earlier, but Izuku could tell he was still concerned from the tone of his voice. Asui might not have said anything directly to Midoriya, but he appreciated the frog heroine's quick smack with her tongue to the short hero and proceeded to chide him for his statement. Hagakure just stood silently in the background, not saying a peep. All of this worried the boy greatly.
Tooru was currently saying nothing and hadn't said anything since she had grabbed Izuku's left arm as he boarded the bus. She was sitting there waiting for him as he stepped into the vehicle and simply said, "Come with me," as she pulled him to the back of the bus. This luckily didn't make a scene, as only a few of his classmates were on the bus at that time. The invisible girl was still grasping his hand, and by now the warmth of it was starting to make his bandages damp with his sweat.
There was so much Midoriya wanted to ask the girl sitting beside him, but he couldn't make up his mind at which to ask first. It finally came to him, perhaps start with something simple, and unrelated to himself? It took a bit, but as the bus began to lurch forward, Izuku asked in a shaky voice, "S-So you seemed to e-enjoy being a c-cheerleader out there t-today."
Tooru was slow to exhale and then said, "I don't want to talk about that right now."
Izuku closed his eyes and internally sighed. That didn't work, he thought. Perhaps a different approach. Midoriya asked with a bit more confidence, "Then what do you want to t-talk about?"
Hagakure was quick to slightly raise his left arm with her hand. She then bluntly said, "This." And judging from her other sleeve's movement, she pointed between his leg and slung arm and continued by saying, "All of this. I thought you said you could control your quirk now. So why did all of this happen?" The tone of her voice was a mixture of disappointment and confusion, even a hint of anger. Her words stung the boy, but he couldn't fault her for his behavior.
Izuku thought back to the start of the Hero Festival. In the first event, a race through an obstacle course, with just his wits and using only his base strength plus speed he was able to place first. This was an immense accomplishment to the boy, as it proved to himself that he was hero material even without One for All. In the second event, the Kibasen, or Japanese cavalry battle, he and his three teammates were barely able to make the cut to the next event by placing in fourth. Here Midoriya was able to use his quirk against Shoto's team without injuring himself or his opponent, as he swatted the air instead of making physical contact with Todoroki. His training had paid off, and even though they barely passed, the usage of his quirk without injury in the heat of battle made Izuku overjoyed.
In the first round of the final event, which was a tournament, was against the brainwasher, Hitoshi Shinso. Izuku, however, had failed in taking Mashirao's advice against the student from class 1-C. Ojiro had previously experienced the effects of Hitoshi's quirk and told Izuku to not verbally respond to the boy as it was how his quirk was activated. Because of being used against his will by the said quirk in the cavalry battle, the tailed hero dropped out of the final event, along with Nirengeki Shoda from class 1-B, because of pride, a noble thing to do Izuku felt. Unfortunately, Midoriya had allowed his opponent to egg him on. After Hitoshi called Mashirao a "monkey" and dismissing his drop out as an act of saving one's pride, Izuku spoke out. This was all that was needed for Shinso to activate his mind control quirk and force Midoriya to walk outside of the ring. Only by activating One for All to break two of his fingers, was Izuku able to cut off from the mind control just before stepping out of the arena. And after a quick scuffle Midoriya was able to throw Shinso out of the ring and advance to the next round.
However, something odd had happened before the successor of All Might was able to gain control again. It's as if he felt the presence of others from within himself. All Might claimed, after the Midoriya's surgery, that it was the previous holders' of One for All that the boy had felt and that it was a sign that he was becoming accustomed to the quirk. However, it worried the green haired teen that he felt his mentor's presence was among them and that his mentor dismissed it as the reason why his student was able to break the mind control.
But it was all for not. In the second round, against Shoto, Izuku blew his chances of advancing in the tournament any further. After hearing of his opponent's terrible past both before and during the match, it made him forget about his promise to All Might. Midoriya thought he had a troubled life when growing up, but it felt like nothing to what Todoroki had been through. The forced quirk marriage between Shoto's parents all so his father could raise a hero to beat his mentor in hero rank, the fractured relationship he had with his mother once she burned his face on accident, the hardships his father had forced his son to endure in order to be the best he could. It made Izuku's troubles seem petty in comparison and this changed something inside the successor to All Might. Midoriya didn't care to win anymore; he wanted to save Shoto from himself. Todoroki wasn't looking at his quirks as his own, but as belonging to his parents. Izuku believed if his troubled classmate could appreciate both of his powers and see them as belonging to him and him only, he could overcome his revenge he had for his father and stop denying the fire quirk he inherited from him. But in doing this the green haired teen almost entirely ignored his previous training. He did this by using One for All at full power to stop Shoto's ice attacks. Izuku only held back when he got a punch in on his opponent's abdomen, which he tried to apply his training since it was making contact with someone. And it worked, he had minimized the damage he inflicted on Todoroki but still injured his hand in the process as if he went a hundred percent. It was something, but it was just another chance of victory Midoriya let slip away. He could have ended it right there. Izuku could have not held back as much as he did and sent his opponent flying out of the ring, but no, he wanted to force Shoto into using his fire quirk, even if it would ensure his loss. And eventually, Midoriya was able to make Todoroki do so but was hastily defeated afterward.
A low but agitated voice from Tooru brought Izuku back to reality, "You are not mumbling your way out of this question. It's not cute at all this time. Ojiro-san and you both could have gone on to do great things at the tournament. But you both threw that away. Ojiro-san said it was for pride, which I sorta understand, but he should have gone for it anyway and showed everyone including himself that he deserved to be in the final event by competing. You said you wanted to be the number one hero in Japan, but then you inspired your competitor to be stronger, so it was easier for him to defeat you? Why?"
Midoriya could only look at his friend with exhaustion. But after a few moments, he decided on what he would say and tightened his hold on her hand. Izuku said, "You're right, I wasn't thinking like a normal hero."
Hagakure slowly said, "Normal?"
Midoriya nodded, "I was thinking like a true hero." Repeating what All Might had told him earlier, Izuku boldly said, "Giving help that's not asked for is what makes a true hero."
Tooru was quick to ask, "Help? Why would Todoroki-san need help?" Izuku then explained to his invisible friend all that Shoto had revealed to him before and during his match. As he spoke, and as she asked questions, the boy noticed her tone become less irritated and more sympathetic. As Midoriya ended his explanation, Tooru sighed and asked, "But was it worth getting yourself so beat up?"
Izuku loosened his grip on her hand and said, "I'm not sure. Recovery Girl-sensei told me she would never heal my injuries if I used my quirk as I did today again. I mean I did all of this cause I banked on that she would heal me, as she always did. I took advantage of her quirk. But maybe it's for the better. This will force me to think of a better method of mastering my quirk. But in the end, I think it was worth it to save Todoroki-san from his path of revenge."
Tooru was quiet for a bit but he soon felt something press against his left shoulder. Was she leaning against him? She then said in a whisper, "Even if I try I can't stay mad at you after what you said."
Izuku finally felt relaxed as he let the girl lean on him, but he could still tell his friend was still not happy about what had happened. What could he do to cheer her up? Midoriya pondered this the rest of the trip back in silence. Once the bus arrived back on campus, and the students started filing out the vehicle the two finally broke their hand holding.
There was a quick class once the students made their way back to the classroom. Eraserhead explained that they had the next two days off to rest. Their homeroom teacher also mentioned that they would receive their reports from the pro heroes that had observed the events when they returned Thursday.
During the small lecture, Izuku was thinking of other things. He looked over at Tenya's empty desk. The speedy hero had a chance at third place in the hero festival but left for a family emergency, which placed him in fourth. Midoriya was tempted to send a private text to Ida to ask what had happened but thought it would be better to wait till Thursday, as it might be too personal to talk about over the phone or at all.
Izuku turned his head again towards Ochako. She seemed to be thinking about the same thing, judging from her saddened face. Or was it perhaps from Uraraka's loss against Bakugo in the first round of the tournament? She tried so hard to impress her parents, especially her dad. To see her cry on the phone when talking to her father after the match even got a few tears out of the green haired teen.
But now something else was simmering in his head. And it involved Tooru. Izuku was still mulling over what he could do to better comfort her. To him, the time they shared holding hands and letting Hagakure lean against his side didn't feel like enough to say sorry for how upset he had made her get. Midoriya felt like he had to something more. But what? Having previously just thought about Tenya, Izuku again recalled his previous advice.
Push your social limits further than you are used to, even if it's just a little...
Going to Tooru's house and meeting her parents was just too much at this point. Izuku thought, compromises seemed to work in the past; maybe it could work here? With this thought in his mind, the class was finally dismissed, and Midoriya decided to follow Hagakure as she left. Once she had made her way outside the school, and there was a decent distance between her and other students he approached her from the side.
This got the Hagakure's attention, and she was rapid to ask, "Need something Midoriya-kun?"
Izuku steeled his nerves as he meekly said, "I-I just wanted to o-offer you something H-Hagakure-chan."
The invisible girl stopped immediately upon hearing her name with this new honorific and grabbed the boy's shoulders. In an overjoyed voice, she asked, "And what could my best friend want to offer too little ol' me?"
Midoriya placed his free hand on his chest and breathed in and out slowly before asking, "W-Would you like to c-come over and h-hang out at my p-place today?"
Izuku was sitting on the train that was speeding back towards his home. He was panicking a bit, but it was much more manageable than the alternative would have been. Tooru sat at his side, and judging from the motions of her shoes, was happily swinging her feet as she talked on the phone with her parents. Midoriya was taken aback that Hagakure wanted to wait till they were on the train to call her parents of their plans. Was she that confident they would say yes? Midoriya had called his mom while they made their way to the subway station and, while flustered, his mother had agreed to Izuku's request. His worries again were proven to be for naught, as Tooru was excited to tell him her parents had no problem with the idea. After giving a small chuckle, Midoriya said, "So this is really happening, huh?"
In a sarcastic tone, Tooru said, "Getting cold feet, are we? Were you hoping my folks would say no?"
Midoriya waved his free hand in protest and said, "No, of course not. It's just I'm just kind of surprised I'm going through with this."
Switching back to a more serious and sympathetic voice, Hagakure asked, "You sure about this though? I mean I don't want to have us repeat what happened like last time."
Izuku shook his head and said, "I think I can handle doing this. This is my home and just my mom. I am familiar with this kind of setting, u-unlike going to your p-place."
This seemed to satisfy the invisible heroine. After a few moments, Tooru asked, "Have any plan on what we are going to do at your place?
The boy had been thinking about what they could do. But not much had come to mind. "Well I thought I could introduce you to my mom and we would just go from there," Midoriya said hoping it would be enough for her.
Izuku felt a hand pat his shoulder a few times before its owner said, "Well at least it's something."
After a minute of silence, Tooru turned around and looked out the window of the train to observe the scenery. With her finally distracted, Izuku went to confirm the smell he had noticed since he sat down by lightly sniffing himself. He groaned internally, yeah, it was definitely him. While Recovery Girl was able to wipe away most of Midoriya's blood and sweat before his surgery, the scent of his blood still lingered. Also being wrapped in so many bandages in the warm weather had made him perspire again. The boy hoped his friend hadn't noticed his stench. Izuku wouldn't be able to shower while Tooru was visiting. He had considered the possibility of washing up, but that would leave his friend alone with his mom. That idea was quickly dashed when he started to think of the things the two females might discuss in his absence.
Izuku had been quite open with his mom about when he told her about Tooru. He had mentioned everything he could to her. How they met on the day of the entrance exam, their first lunch together, both times that she had sneaked into the nurse's office, their talk under the maple tree, the incident in the rain. Watching his mother's reactions was a rollercoaster: tears of joy, tears of sadness, laughter, and confusion. When he had finished, she also had finished something, the last of her tea. After placing the cup on the table, Inko grabbed one of her son's hand with both of her hands. What she said next still reverberated in his head for the last few days.
Do you love this girl?
Izuku couldn't answer her that night. He still couldn't answer her this morning either before he departed to school for the Hero Festival. And sitting next to Tooru at this moment, he still had nothing. But hearing his mom say those words had an effect on him. Midoriya felt like weights had lifted from his shoulders as he told his mother about Tooru. However, her question at the end had brought those weights back, even heavier than before. One step forward, two steps back, Izuku thought. At the very least by telling his mom everything, Midoriya could rely on her in the future if he ever needed advice on the subject. Also, this situation would be less of a surprise and burden to his mother since he talked to her. The slowing of the train brought the green haired teen back to the world outside his head.
The two left the subway with Izuku in the front and Tooru right behind him. The boy started to consider a few things at this point. Would Hagakure be that judgmental? Midoriya first considered his living space, an apartment complex. Not exactly the coziest of homes and located in not the best of all neighborhoods. In no way a dangerous place to live, but it was a bit run down in places. There was also his room to think about. Tooru already knew that he was a big fan of All Might, but his room would take that to another level. He could, in theory, restrict her visit to just the living room but that would mean his mother would be there the whole time unless she stayed in her room. Both scenarios were not what Midoriya wanted. Finally, what would he do after introducing Hagakure to his mom? Would they just talk? Izuku hoped they just would only chat. That was the easiest option to do.
The boy stopped and looked up at his apartment complex. In a curious voice, Tooru asked, "Is this the place?"
"Y-Yeah, we're h-here," Midoriya muttered.
After climbing some stairs, they both stood in front of his apartment door. After a deep breath, the boy pulled out his keys and unlocked it. Izuku wasn't prepared for his mom grabbing him and giving the biggest bear hug he has had in a long while. With tears in her eyes, Inko wailed, "O-Oh my b-baby boy is all r-right. I-I was so w-worried about y-you. I-I can't tell you how m-many times I f-fainted from watching the e-events on the TV."
After being swung a few times, Izuku said in pain, "Mom you're hurting my arms!"
The parent was quick to let down her son gently and apologize. Inko turned to see the guest in the doorway. She approached with an arm extended and said, "Y-You must be H-Hagakure-san."
Tooru instead of shaking Inko's hand, hugged the grown woman as well, surprising both Midoriyas. Chuckling, Tooru said, "Your mom is just like you said Izuku." The invisible girl let go of the adult and made her way into the living room. While she looked around, Izuku and his mom exchanged a look of confusion to each other.
Inko coughed and asked, "H-Hagakure-san would you like a cup of t-tea?"
"No thanks, ma'am. I think me and Izuku are just going to head to his room," Hagakure said in a merry tone.
The older woman continued her puzzled expression but said, "O-Oh, well you two have f-fun." She turned to face her son and said, "I'll be right here if you need anything."
The younger Midoriya nodded before showing his friend to the door to his bedroom. Izuku didn't expect to be at this point so rapidly. Why was Tooru being so quick to be in his room? Midoriya opened his door and turned on the lights. After she had walked in, he shut the door and hoped he would be able to get through whatever was about to happen.
Hagakure was silent as she took it all in. Figurines, miniatures, posters, newspaper cutouts, books, magazines were everywhere. If they weren't about All Might, they had something to do with pro heroes. Eventually, the invisible heroine spoke up, "Hey what's with this one?" She stood by a glass-encased notebook above his bed.
Midoriya said with a smile, "Oh, that's an autograph I got from All Might last year."
Tooru turned her body back at the notebook and asked, "Why is it burnt? Wouldn't you want such a thing in good condition?"
"Oh, it was all I had on me at the time. And All Might signed it without me even asking," Izuku responded.
Hagakure crossed her arms and said, "Yeah that sounds like something he would do." She then exhaled and asked, "Hey Izuku, could I have you sit on your bed?"
Bewildered, Midoriya asked, "What for?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Now get over here and don't turn around until I say you can," the invisible girl demanded.
Not wanting to argue, Izuku did as she said but as he heard the ruffling of clothing from behind him, his mind began to race. The hell could she be doing? Thinking back to their meet up weekends ago, he remembered her interest in the swimsuit store. But this was hardly the place to be showing off a swimsuit to tease him. Midoriya then recalled even further back to her sneaking into the nurse's office for the second time, and how Tooru mentioned having an invisible suit in development. Maybe she had finally obtained it? Though there wouldn't be much to show since she would still be invisible.
"You can turn around now," Tooru said in a confident voice.
Izuku slowly rotated his body but kept his eyes closed. He asked in a shaky voice, "I-I can t-trust you that this is a-appropriate, Tooru?"
A long sigh escaped her lips as Hagakure said, "Yes. It's not as bad as you are probably thinking. Now open those eyes already!"
Midoriya peeked open his right eye to the sight of Tooru in a cheerleader's outfit. The same one from earlier at the Hero Festival. It was a bit revealing of her curves, but nothing like a swimsuit would be. He noticed that she was wearing some bracelets as well. This was the first time he saw his friend wear some since he had suggested it. But Izuku didn't remember noticing them at the Hero Festival. Maybe it was because she had pom poms earlier? Hagakure wasn't holding any at the moment.
After opening his other eye as well, Midoriya asked, "W-Why are you w-wearing that again?"
Tooru answered with, "Well to answer your question from earlier of course. I was delighted I got a chance to act like a cheerleader finally!"
Izuku then remembered what he had said to his friend on the bus when he finally built enough courage to break the silence between the two.
S-So you seemed to e-enjoy being a c-cheerleader out there t-today.
Midoriya relaxed and asked, "What do you mean that you 'finally' being able to be a cheerleader?"
With a bit of melancholy in her voice, Tooru said, "Well in middle school I thought if I could join the cheer squad I could be more popular and maybe be better noticed. But the girls there said I couldn't join." Hagakure then said in a snobby voice, "You can't be a cheerleader if you are ugly, and with you, we can't tell!"
"That's a pretty vile thing for them to say," said Izuku in a concerned tone.
Tooru was quick to respond, "I know right?" The invisible girl approached the bed and said, "I hated that Kaminari-san and that perverted purple blob tricked us into wearing this but once I put on the uniform and was in front of all those people I felt like I just had to play the part. It felt so good to be out there and cheer on our classmates."
Hagakure then did a short cheer routine in front of the Midoriya, but soon apologized, "Sorry I got in the zone again."
Izuku had noticed something in that routine. At first, he thought it was just his mind having dirty thoughts, but it was confirmed again multiple times. There were a few moments during Tooru's acrobatics that Midoriya could clearly see up her skirt, but there was nothing there. A reddening faced Izuku asked, "T-Tooru, are you, not w-wearing anything u-under your s-skirt?"
Hagakure said plainly, "No, I sometimes don't wear panties. Wait you didn't know?"
Midoriya almost fell out of his bed as he exclaimed, "O-Of course n-not!"
Tooru slowly said, "Oh. I just assumed you would have guessed I didn't; you are pretty smart about most things Izuku."
The boy tripped over his words as he said, "N-Not in the k-knowledge why or why not a g-girl chooses to w-wear their u-underwear."
"That's a good point I guess. I sometimes forget that you are a bit different than most boys. Here let me show you why," Hagakure said while grabbing Midroiya's chair at his desk. She sat down and turned herself so that she was facing the bed. The invisible girl then straightened her shirt before stating, "My parents were quick to notice after I obtained my quirk that whenever I sat down I would expose my underwear if I were wearing a skirt. Usually, a girl's legs would hide them unless you intentionally spread your legs apart."
Now in plain view, Izuku could see the blank space under her skirt in all its glory. His face became more crimson from the thought that she was technically exposing the lower half of her body to him. In all the other instances he had been with Tooru as she was sitting, her skirt was either under a table, or he was sitting right next to her and hadn't noticed her lack of clothing.
Tooru continued with, "So for a while, my parents had me always wear shorts or pants. However, as I started school, which had a school dress code for girls to wear skirts, my dad decided I just shouldn't wear panties when I wore skirts. My mom was against the idea, but eventually, she agreed as well."
Flustered, Midoriya asked, "D-Doesn't that m-make that a-a-area cold sometimes?
The green haired teen saw one of Hagakure's wristbands wave back and forth as she replied, "I've gotten used to it." She then scooted the chair closer and said, "You okay over there? It's not that embarrassing for me."
The boy meekly said, "I-It is for m-me."
Tooru sighed and got up from the chair, "Well let's talk about something else then."
Midoriya breathed in loudly and asked, "A-Actually I-I do have o-one more q-question about t-this."
"Shoot," Hagakure said rapidly.
Izuku covered his face as he quickly asked, "D-Do you also n-not wear a b-b-bra?"
Giggling the invisible girl said, "Of course I do silly. I've never had a problem with people looking down at me through my, um, neck hole to catch a peep. I just usually wear strapless ones."
Rubbing the back of his head, Izuku apologized by saying, "S-Sorry, was just c-curious."
Tooru was quick to respond with, "And it's okay to be curious, we're best friends remember?"
Midoriya gave a feeble smile and said, "R-Right."
Hagakure sat down next to the boy and asked, "So is there anything else you wanna ask?"
This got a jump from the green haired then. I'm sitting in my bed with a girl, he thought. But before letting the feeling get the best of him, Izuku said, "N-No. But I n-noticed you are wearing some b-bracelets as I suggested."
"Oh, these? Yeah, they are some snap bracelets, easy to put on and take off plus they are lightweight. I thought you would like them," Tooru said excitedly.
Happy with the change in the subject, and having calmed down, Izuku said, "Yeah be sure to continue to wear them if you have on a sleeveless or short sleeved shirt. Should help people better understand your body language despite your quirk."
Tooru snapped, "Plan to."
Izuku felt a hand grab his own. He looked down at his hand it then up to his invisible friend. His friend then said slowly, "I know this might sound too little, too late, but I want to apologize for not joining you during the cavalry battle today."
Memories of the second event came flooding back to Izuku. Because he won the race in the first event, he was worth the most points in the cavalry battle. Since he would be target number one, most participants avoided Midoriya. The boy understood, even at the time, all his classmates' decisions to avoid being his teammates, except Ochako. It greatly pleased him that at least one of his friends was willing to stick by him despite the disadvantage. He was also lucky the quirky engineer from the support class was happy to join. Izuku tried to remember her name, Mei was it? Either way, for their last teammate, he asked Fumikage to join, not only because of the unique defensive qualities of his quirk but he too was having trouble finding a team.
Midoriya tightened his grip and said, "It's fine Tooru. I can totally understand not wanting to be at such a huge disadvantage by being partnered with me."
Hagakure leaned in closer and said, "Well actually I wanted to be on your team, but then I saw Koda-san by himself and felt bad for him. He's an even more shy and nervous wreck than you." Well, she isn't exactly wrong, Izuku thought. Tooru continued, "I asked him to be on my team and before I knew it both Jiro-san and Sato-san approached me as well. I just couldn't say no."
Izuku exhaled then said, "Again it's fine. Even if we all wanted to be on the same team it would have left one of us out. It was best that we went our separate ways, we can't always be together."
The girl huffed, "Well, either way, I just wanted to explain myself." Tooru then leaned her body even more towards him. Izuku's heart began to race. She then stated, "Hey that notebook by your bed looks similar to the one you have on display."
Midoriya sighed in relief and then explained, "Yeah I've been keeping notes from my observations of quirks and heroes for years. This is just one of many. I was just reading this one last night."
Hagakure then requested, "Can I have a look at it?"
"This one is a bit old, but sure," the boy said as he released his hand from his friend and handed the article of papers to her.
For the next few minutes, Izuku stared at Tooru as she looked through his notebook. The cheerleader outfit really brought out her figure, Midoriya thought. This internal note was quickly thrown into the back of his mind as his as he made a note on how perverted that sounded coming from himself.
Hagakure then said in a confused voice, "Why is there so much on our class's firecracker in here?"
Midoriya stated, "Oh, I just write about any quirk I have observed."
The invisible heroine responded with, "I understand that but why so much about just him?"
Izuku scratched his shoulder and said, "Kacchan was the strongest quirk user at my daycare and my classes in elementary plus middle school. I admired his strength and how he fought, even if it wasn't always for the best of reasons. Most of my early notes were based on him because of that."
Tooru grunted, "I still don't see how you look at him in a positive light. Firecracker really grinds my gears sometimes."
Izuku looked back at his mounted autograph and said, "Well to tell you the truth. That notebook on the wall got it's burn marks from him."
"What? Why did he try to damage your autograph from All Might? I thought he looked up to him too in his own twisted way," Hagakure said with a disgusted tone.
Midoriya was quick to respond with, "He does! But he did that before All Might autographed it."
Tooru demanded, "Why did he do it?"
The boy sighed but said, "Cause he found out I had applied for the U.A. entrance exam."
"Oh. Right. And you were still quirkless at that point. Still, doesn't make him any less of an asshole of a bully," Tooru angrily said.
Izuku could feel the venom Tooru had for his childhood friend when she cursed. Cursing was something he rarely heard from her, unless when talking about Bakugo.
The invisible heroine stood up and said, "Sorry, this is neither the time or place to be getting this angry over someone like him." Tooru stood there for a moment before turning around. A wristband came up and pointed towards Izuku as she said, "Hey why do firecracker and Uraraka-san call you Deku sometimes? Did you know her from before arriving at U.A. as well?"
Midoriya shook his head and said, "No, it's just when Uraraka-san heard Kacchan call me Deku, she liked the name despite its meaning. She calls me it from time to time." Izuku figured that Tooru had heard the nickname of his come out of Ochako for the first time when all his friends had come to visit him after he lost the match.
"I guess it's alright if it's like that," Hagakure said with a hint of agitation.
Was she jealous? Or perhaps it was just that she hated the name since it Bakugo that had created it to bully him with? Either way, the discussion brought back another subject that Izuku had meant to ask Tooru. "Hey, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but was there a reason you were so silent when you came to visit me after my match with Todoroki-san and when I finally joined the stands to watch the last two matches? It just felt off."
His invisible friend sighed but answered, "Shock, really. I mean I have seen you get hurt before, but today was different. What you did today was really, really stupid and you could have gotten yourself permanently injured. I said nothing at the time because I was still trying to wrap my mind around what happened. Sorry if it seemed I didn't care, I was still just processing everything that had happened in your match."
Izuku tightened his fist in the sling. He hadn't told Tooru yet, but he had some scars on his right hand that might never fully heal. "Sorry to make you worry," the injured teen said in a sorrowful tone.
The girl grabbed Izuku's free hand and dragged him to his feet. She then said, "Still apologizing? Let's try and just focus on what's happening now, okay? Why don't you show me what all there is to your room?"
The rest of Tooru's visit was spent with Izuku gushing over all the things he had in his room. How he got them, what they meant to him, why he placed them where they were, etc. And during all of this, Tooru held Izuku's free hand tightly.
Once he was finished his friend relinquished her hand from his and said, "This has been fun Izuku. But I think this is where I gotta call it quits."
Midoriya was baffled as to why and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Tooru said, "Well, you kinda smell of a boxing ring, and it's been getting worse."
She knew? Since when? By now Izuku's pits were damp and the hand he held with her was quite soaked with sweat. Either way, Izuku said, "I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry."
Hagakure was quick to respond, "No need to be sorry. You never had a chance to bathe since we left school. It didn't bother me that much at first, but it's pretty bad. It's the reason I was so quick to want to come to your room. I didn't want your mom to notice. She worries more about things than even you do, just like you said at lunch last week."
Tooru then approached Izuku and was quick to bring him into a hug. A big strong hug that he soon answered back with as well but slowly. Hagakure said gently, "Thanks for everything today. I know you brought me here more for me than yourself, but I think it was good for both of us." A few moments passed as Midoriya struggled to come up with a response but his friend then asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what made you wanna call me Hagakure-chan today?"
While still a difficult question, it wasn't as hard as responding to the hug, so the green haired teen replied, "Well I meant it when I said you are my best friend. And you've been calling me Midoriya-kun for some time now so at the very least I should respect how you see me, Hagakure-chan."
The invisible girl stepped back and said, "That's sweet of you, and thanks." She then coughed before saying bluntly, "But really, take a shower after I leave because you are foul smelling."
After making Izuku turn around once again, Tooru changed back into her school uniform before leaving. After her departure, Inko asked her son if everything was alright. The younger Midoriya told his mom how Tooru felt on the bus drive home and why he had brought her there. His mom agreed that it was a good idea if a bit bold.
However, Inko asked again if everything was alright, but this time she asked about Tenya. Izuku was confused until his mother turned on the TV. Ida's absence was all clear now; his brother had been brutally attacked by a villain known as the Hero Killer. His brother was alive but in critical condition, no wonder Tenya had quickly left the Hero Festival.
After taking a bath, with the assistance of his mom because of his injuries, Izuku considered texting Tenya as he laid in bed. But he feared that this could come off as insensitive or not the right time to ask. Perhaps he would wait till class began again on Thursday? Sleep claimed the teen before he could make up his mind.
Tuesday was mostly spent resting for Izuku. He was hoping his tall friend would say something in the group chat, but nothing came. Come Wednesday Midoriya was getting quite distressed. He was close to texting Ida until he considered another option. Maybe Ochako would have been able to contact Tenya; they were close as well. Izuku hoped for the best as he sent a private text to his her.
All Might: Hey sorry to send this privately, but I wasn't sure it was best to ask on our group chat. Have you been able to contact Ida-san at all? I'm worried about him since learning what happened to his brother.
About an hour passed before Midoriya felt his phone vibrate.
Bubbles: Sort of.
What kind of response was that? Especially after so long? Something had to be up.
All Might: Is everything okay? How did you contact him?
After a few minutes, another response came.
Bubbles: I'm actually at his house at the moment. Ida-san has been mostly himself so far, though a bit cold to me at times.
Izuku almost dropped his phone after reading her response. Seems like he was not the only one that had been bold over the break.
All Might: And his brother?
Bubbles: He won't be able to be a hero anymore. He has spine damage and is paralyzed from the waist down. But he should live.
Midoriya held his free hand over his mouth in shock. He figured Tenya was feeling what Izuku had felt when he saw All Might struggle against Nomu. The feeling of the possibility of one's idol retiring from being a hero. Except here with Ida, it must have been much, much worse since it actually happened, and to a family member nonetheless. Thank the stars his brother was going to pull through, Izuku thought.
All Might: I can't even imagine what Ida-san must be feeling. Thanks for telling me, help him if you can.
Bubbles: Thanks for the concern. I'll try my best.
Izuku placed his phone down and sat back in his bed. He hoped everything would work out for Tenya.
Something I haven't mentioned as of yet is the traitor in U.A. that has been established in the manga. We still don't know who it is (as of chapter 172 in the manga), but it got me hoping it isn't Tooru. I mean it wouldn't be the end of this story, in fact, it might be interesting to write about if I could fit it in this story, but man would it be a bummer if it was true for how I want to go with this fic.
So now we have about a month until the Final Exam arc picks up steam, and boy do I plan to use it to the best of my ability. About six chapters will be used to cover this time.
This was the last chapter I wrote on a weekly basis. After this point, I started releasing chapters every two weeks on Fanfiction.net.