"...No, no no...I can't do that...It'd be too unstable...But what about...No, that's no good either..." Ayano was mumbling to herself as she was walking home with Midoriya. Her eyes were focused on the holographic screen in front of her, brows knitted together in thought about Bakugou's costume requests.
As her attention was divided, she was walking at a much slower pace, Midoriya following her speed. In fact, he was focused on something else as well: Ayano's choice in Bakugou for the costume assignment.
His own brows were furrowed, a slight frown set on his face. He didn't mean to seem arrogant, but he was almost sure that Ayano would've chosen him. Out of all the other people she could've chosen, he thought that Bakugou was most certainly not at the top of the list.
Finally unable to bear his curiosity, he cleared his throat in preparation to ask her about it. "U-Umm...Aya-chan..." She hummed in response, not tearing her eyes or focus away from the screen completely.
"Uh...well...I was just wondering..." Midoriya was scratching the back of his head, unsure of how to continue. His eyes were darting all around in the hopes of possibly finding something to help him say what's on his mind.
"...Y-You and K-Kacchan...Is everything okay?" It wasn't exactly the question he wanted to ask, but perhaps it would lead to what he really wanted to know. "Everything is fine." Ayano responded quickly, still maintaining her focus on her work.
The green-haired boy sighed. He should've known nothing would come out of that type of question. For things unrelated to support items and machines, Ayano was a person of few words. She normally spoke only when necessary and close to the minimum, dissuading further conversation. If he wanted to know something, he would have to ask directly.
"Why did you choose Kacchan...?" He asked in a very quiet voice, still unsure of himself. At his sullen sounding voice, Ayano decided that it would be best to give him her full attention. She shut off the screen and turned off the watch, turning to face him.
Midoriya met her unwavering eyes once before shifting his own away, unable to meet them again. "For the costume assignment...why did you choose Kacchan?" There was a slight downwards twitch of Ayano's lips as she thought about their first day of school.
"Um...Aya-chan, could I ask you for some advice?" The brown-haired girl simply raised an eyebrow as the woman ushered her further inside. The two were now in the living room, the older fidgeting in place. "Is something bothering you, Inko-san?"
The woman looked down, showing a face akin to embarrassment. "I'm just so happy that Izuku never gave up on his dream...and I'm ashamed that I stopped believing in him at one point." She shut her eyes tightly, as if hoping that she could shut that memory out.
Inko furiously shook her head and looked at Ayano with resolve deep in her eyes. "But I've decided to support him with everything I have from now on!" She dug into her pocket for her phone, pulling up a picture she took of her son's notebook.
It was the page in which he drew out an idea for his hero costume.
"That's why I wanted to ask you for advice on making this!" She asked with a hopeful gleam. Ayano gently took the phone from her hands. She pinched her fingers in and out on the screen to enlarge the picture, scrolling around it. She gave a small smile when she saw the ear-like protrusions from the mask.
Handing the phone back to the woman, Ayano reached into her bag to pull out a pencil and a sheet of paper. She quickly wrote down a list of things and handed it to Inko. "This is a list of materials that you can use and obtain for a reasonable price."
Inko took the paper, expressing incredible gratitude. "Should you require any other assistance, do not hesitate to contact me." "Thank you so much, Aya-chan!!!" The woman bowed profusely and with all of her effort. Ayano gazed at her with a tender smile.
She didn't tell her that she, herself, would not use those materials for a hero costume. However, Inko did not have the same sources as Ayano. The girl could only create such advanced gadgets because of her father. Being a mechanic, he often pulled some strings to get his daughter the resources that she wanted but even then, she was limited.
Inko did not have that luxury. As such, Ayano could only list the highest quality material within a certain budget.
She didn't tell her that out of all those materials she listed, not a single one would stand a chance in actual combat or what the heroes faced nowadays.
Even so, no amount of high-quality materials could stand a chance against Inko's love for her son.
Deciding not to reveal his mother's intentions, Ayano continued forward. "You will find out soon enough." Midoriya was clearly unsatisfied with her response, but he knew that he wouldn't get any more from her.
The two walked the rest of the way to school in silence. Midoriya walking in dejected silence and Ayano refocusing on her work. She felt slightly guilty, but she wasn't willing to reveal more information.
Upon reaching his classroom, they were met with a loud Bakugou. "HEY! I want this on my costume!" He smacked a piece of paper on top of his desk. It was another drawing of one of his requests.
Ayano took one glance at it and turned around to exit the classroom. "I refuse." "HAAAAH?!!? Why the fuck not?!"
She was violently tugged back around by him. "Applying such a change would only prove to be detrimental. It would slow down your movements. Your costume, as it is now, is being created as scheduled."
He scowled at her. "Aren't you the one always saying shit like 'there's always room for improvement'??" Ayano sighed.
"Yes, there is always room for improvement." She walked back to his desk and pushed a finger on top of his drawing. "This...is not an improvement." "Are you saying my drawing sucks?" "I am saying your idea sucks."
They proceeded to argue with each other, although it was rather one-sided on Bakugou's part. Like the rest of the class, Midoriya was looking at the mild disturbance.
He was still sad that he wouldn't get to work with Ayano, but he was also strangely happy. This was probably the most contact his two childhood friends had in a long while. It reminded him of their usual banter that they used to have.
Of course, it was much more violent given Bakugou's attitude now, but it was a step in the right direction.
He hoped that with this new opportunity, the two would come to be friends again. Come to be partners again, trying to achieve a similar goal.
Over the next few days, class 1-A and class 1-H met up with each other repeatedly to discuss the costume making progress and any adjustments.
After some time, each costume was finished and finally ready to be tested out during hero battle training. The students of class 1-A were showing each other their costumes, excitement and amazement clear in their voices. The students of class 1-H were equally excited, able to see their ideas come to fruition.
All Might and Junk Master met them all at Ground Beta, where the training would be taking place. "Hope you kids are pleased with your costumes! I know mine worked hard on them." Junk Master shouted with pride in his words.
All Might laughed. "All of the costumes look quite heroic, but let's put them to the test!" As they all walked to the training site, Ayano was explaining how Bakugou's grenade-like bracers worked.
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by Midoriya. "Aya-chan! Did you know about this?" She was fiddling with one of the grenades from Bakugou's belt, but she heard him. "Did I know about what?"
"My costume! Did you...Did you know my mom was going to make it? Is that why you didn't choose me...?" Bakugou basically always had a scowl on his face, but it deepened when Midoriya came over.
It deepened even further at his last question, along with a strong clenching of his teeth.
Ayano still hadn't turned to him and took her time in answering. "...You have a wonderful mother." The boy looked down with fondness in his gaze. "Yeah...I do!" With that, he ran off.
The brown-haired girl had yet to look away from the grenade, though she noticed Bakugou's dirty look in the corner of her eye. She didn't want to address it because she knew nothing good would come of it.
However, she did wonder exactly why his expression turned so sour. It was much worse than how it usually was when Midoriya made an appearance, indicating to her that there was something else at work.
Again, she decided not to push it and continued walking in silence with him to the training site. All Might proceeded to explain the purpose and rules of the training, drawing lots for the teams soon after.
"The heroes are Team A!! The villains are Team D!!" The three childhood friends jolted in surprise.
She didn't tell her that out of all those materials she listed, not a single one would stand a chance in actual combat or what the heroes faced nowadays.
Ayano sighed and put her head in her hand. She took massive pride in the costume she made for Bakugou, but she was beginning to wonder if she would regret her decisions.
As the pairs headed into the building, Ayano spoke out. "Bakugou!" He didn't turn around, only shifting his head slightly to look at her over his shoulder. His rage was taking over, and she could see it clearly in his eyes.
"...Do not make me regret giving you that suit." She said in the most menacing voice she had ever used.
The problem was that, like usual, Bakugou's anger was clouding his judgment. He simply turned his head back forward and walked on. Ayano sighed, shaking her head.
She looked up at the building in which the battle training would be taking place with concern.
Ayano could only hope that it would not turn out as badly as she thought.