Cubicity

Chapter 13: Sins of the Wealthy

Izuku awoke Sunday morning to find Mashirao still sound asleep and Tenya was not in his bed. Probably helping his older brother get up, he thought.

Midoriya then laid back in the cot to go over everything that had happened near the end of last night. He felt obligated to advise Ida after everything he did to help him with Hagakure on the double date, which felt like forever ago even though it was only about two months. Although Izuku believed in everything he said to Tenya, it still pained him to think what would happen if his relationship with Tooru were to fall apart. Sure everything they had done together had benefited them both, and even if their special bond ended today, they would both still walk away from each other with a good group of friends to come back on. It was the original reason they sought each other in the first place. It just so happened that their friendship eventually turned to love.

After giving a soft sigh, Izuku got up quietly as not to wake Mashirao and made his way out of the room after grabbing his backpack. Once in the hallway he found a bathroom to his right, as the door was open, and entered. After using the toilet and changing to a new set of clothes from his backpack, Midoriya put his things back into Ida's room before heading downstairs. As he descended the stairs, the smell of breakfast filled his nostrils. Izuku entered the kitchen to the sight of Tenya at the stove cooking, and his older brother at the dining table eating the last of his meal.

"Morning," said the older Ida in a cheerful tone.

With a single wave, Midoriya replied, "Good morning Ida-san."

Izuku's entrance got Tenya's attention, but he remained at the stove. He then said, "I didn't expect you to up this early Midoriya-kun. Is Ojiro-kun up yet?"

"Nope. And going from the last couple Saturday mornings, he probably likes to sleep in during the weekend," Midoriya responded as he took a seat on the opposite side of Tensei.

After giving a long sigh of relief, the younger Tenya said slowly, "Good, it's best that he doesn't see me like this."

The tall teen then turned around with a slight blush on his face. While he was facing the stove, Izuku could tell he was wearing a bib apron, but he couldn't tell much about what it looked like from his position other than the straps being white. However, after Tenya turned around his guest now understood his tall friend's previous statement. The apron's lower half had a checkered pattern, with patches of white and pink. This section was also frilled, in pink as well. The upper half just had a big heart in red and a white background. The words Ingenium were printed in gold in the center of the heart. It was Tensei's former hero name, but Tenya had recently accepted it as his own after coming to terms with himself after recovering from his encounter with Stain. Midoriya remembered his friend telling him of taking on the name a week ago at lunch.

After connecting the dots in his head, Izuku asked, "Uraraka-chan made that for you didn't she?"

The younger Ida's face went even more crimson, and he could only nod in response.

If Ojiro had seen this, it would be quite some ammo for Mashirao to tease him for some time, Midoriya thought. With a curious voice, he then asked, "When did you get it?"

"Last week," Tensei said cheerfully before taking a sip of from his mug. Izuku guessed he was drinking coffee, as he had smelled a whiff of it when he walked in. The older Tenya then continued, "I think the gift was to motivate my bro to keep cooking when Uraraka-san wasn't around. He's always been pretty terrible at it until she started helping him out a month ago."

Tenya crossed his arms, as he stated, "Well, your assumption is correct Tensei. Ochako told me to think of her when I wore it to give me the strength to improve."

"That's good to hear. And besides, I think it looks cute on you bro," the older Ida said with a broad grin plastered on his face.

Tenya only groaned as he turned back around to continue tending the food.

Izuku then thought, Ochako started teaching him to cook about a month ago? That would mean it wasn't that long after their run-in with Stain. What was his motivation to want to cook all of the sudden? Perhaps it was so he could help provide food for Tensei once he came home. From what the former pro hero had said, their parents seemed quite busy as of late dealing with the merger, and Midoriya had no idea of the status of Tenya's other brothers. His thoughts then shifted to Uraraka. She must have self-taught herself to cook because of the absence of her parents. Due to their family's poor status, her folks must have had to work well into the evening to provide enough for the family, so it made sense that Ochako would need to make meals for herself when they weren't around. Regardless if his assumptions were accurate or not, Izuku was glad his two friends had found a way to grow closer that could also benefit the disabled pro hero.

Tenya walked over and placed a plate of food in front of Izuku. The meal consisted of scrambled eggs, two biscuits with sausage patties sandwiched inside them, and some hash browns. The tall teen then said, "Sorry for it being so simple but it's all I can make breakfast-wise for now."

"It's fine Ida-kun, sometimes simpler is better," Midoriya replied as he grabbed a fork to start eating.

Tenya gave a soft smile before returning to the stove.

The meal was fine enough for Midoriya. The hashbrowns might have had a little too much salt, and the biscuits were a bit doughy, but it didn't bother him enough to complain. Izuku thought back when his mom was teaching him to cook. Even after a month he was nowhere near this good and was constantly burning his food.

As Izuku continued eating, Tensei said he wanted to watch the news and wheeled himself out of the kitchen.

Now that the two were alone, Midoriya then asked, "If you don't mind me asking, when do you plan to confess to Uraraka-chan?" He knew it was a bit bold for him to ask such a question, but he was curious if his advice from last night had stuck with his friend or not.

"I'm gonna wait till our final exams are over. I think we should get that out of the way before I pop the question," Ida said without turning around.

"Makes sense," the green haired teen replied.

Within a few minutes, Tenya moved the cooked food to a plate and covered it to make sure it stayed warm. Izuku guessed that would be Mashirao's breakfast once he got up. Ida then turned off the stove and took off his apron. After placing said clothing in a small cabinet above the stove, the tall teen took a seat where his older brother had previously sat in.

Tilting his head, a bit Midoriya then asked, "You're not going to eat?"

After leaning back into his chair, Tenya responded with, "Not hungry really. I got a lot on my mind at the moment."

Probably already planning how he was going to go about telling Ochako his true feelings, Izuku pondered. Trying to change to subject, he asked, "Are your parents back from work?"

"Yeah but they must have come in early this morning, otherwise, they would be up right now to help Tensei get out of bed and make breakfast. It's why I got up early, just in case they were too tired to do it. Afterward, I thought I might as well cook breakfast for all of us," Ida explained.

Midoriya held in a sigh, as he was curious about his tall friend's parents but he also wanted to leave not long after he was done eating. As much as he wanted to interact more with his friends and possibly see Ida's parents, he knew he needed to get back to studying. Plus Izuku was eager to add his notes from the afternoon portion of the study session to his hero notebooks at home, as he was too embarrassed to bring it yesterday. Tooru was okay with them, but he wasn't sure if his friends would be as well or if they would find it a bit too weird.

"Well, maybe I'll see your folks another time. And thanks for putting in the work to cook breakfast for us Ida-kun," the Midoriya said before he continued eating.

Ida leaned back in his chair before replying, "Yeah, hopefully, next time they won't be so busy." He then waved a hand softly before saying, "And cooking the food was no problem. It's the least I could do after you helped me make up my mind about Ochako last night."

Izuku was at home gathering his notes to study that afternoon. He had left not long after eating his breakfast, and Mashirao was still sleeping by the time he left. Both he and Tenya decided it was best just to let him rest, the day before had been a long one after all.

Midoriya was sitting in his living room, and his mom was sitting opposite of him. The two were about to study together, a tradition they usually did before tests. Typically, they would do this two days before a test, but if it were a final, they would start a week before it. This routine began in middle school, and Izuku enjoyed it as it made his mom proud of his high intelligence, plus it was a welcomed change of pace to his usual self-study habits. Inko was currently going over each section of notes her son had provided so that she could have somewhat of a gist of what was going to be gone over.

The older Midoriya then spoke up in a confused tone, "Izuku why is there world history and non-modern Japanese literature in here? We've never had to go over these subjects before since you went to the hero academy."

"Oh. Well, there isn't time to cover everything we would learn in a normal high school since they have to make room for our hero training. At U.A. they teach what they feel are more important subjects, and any other subjects we miss out on have to be studied on our own and only show up on the final," the younger Midoriya explained to his mother.

"Hmmm, I guess that explains why you don't have any math or science classes this semester," Inko said while tapping her chin with her index finger.

Izuku nodded before saying, "Yeah, I bet those will come up during my other terms or even another school year."

The two then spent the rest of the afternoon going into the material. They didn't even get halfway done before it was time for Inko to make dinner, but they had a week to go over it, so this was not an issue.

While eating, Izuku revealed Tooru's invitation to her house to his mom. He wanted some time to let the idea sink in before telling her and now felt like the right time. At first, she was worried. She knew what had happened the first time Hagakure asked him to come over. But as the younger Midoriya explained his feelings about it, she warmed up to the idea. Inko suggested that he dress nice for her visit, and her son agreed to the plan. Izuku decided that later in the week he would work with her to help him choose an outfit.

Midoriya finished his dinner and helped with the dishes before heading to his room to relax for the evening. After arriving home, he had already transferred his notes concerning everyone's stories from hero training and battles to his notebooks. Revelations about their quirks were put in one notebook and general battle tactics ideas in another. Izuku also added Momo's parent's quirks to a general stack of notes he had for any quirk user he observed.

So with that out of the way, Midoriya thought he would catch up with the general hero news. Since last Sunday, to practice his English, he would watch a summary segment in English to mimic the exercise Yaoyorozu had them do. Nothing noteworthy caught his attention until a short segment came up mentioning a battle between two villains in a nearby town. One was identified as the criminal that had caused damage to the subway system some weeks before, which canceled his classes that Friday. They confirmed it was him because of his electric-based quirk causing similar damage to nearby equipment. This time, however, there was some footage of the villain. It was mostly just a blurry video and only had a view of him from the back, but the man had on a black jumpsuit with some yellow pattern but it was hard to tell what it was as his figure was obscured because of his quick movements. The other villain Midoriya didn't recognize, and neither did the media. The other individual seemed to be made entirely made of rock and had caused massive damage to the area as he could control the earth around him. Either way, both ended their battle and escaped before any pro hero could make it to the scene.

Criminals fighting one other usually meant they were probably fighting over turf or some grudge, Midoriya thought. But it was rare to witness villains battling one another as they typically kept such acts as low profile as not to draw the attention of heroes. So it was weird that the two had fought at a busy intersection in broad daylight. But before Izuku could continue watching the broadcast, a message in the group chat caught his attention.

Blank: Evening everyone.

Midoriya thought, what was this about? Before he could respond, another message popped up.

Lion: So, you finally want to talk about that picture last night?

Oh right, that picture. He felt a blush creep into his face.

Blank: Yeah, about that...

A minute passed before Tooru continued.

Blank: I just wanted to show off the birthday cake my parents got me to you boys. I was saving it for the girls and well...

Lion: You showed off a lot more than you wanted.

Bubbles: WAY TOO MUCH.

Glasses: Agreed.

Encyclopedia: I still can't believe she was able to type and send that after Uraraka-chan and I tried to chase you down.

Chan? That was the first time Izuku had heard any of the girls address each other as such, outside of Asui. How close did those three get with one another during the sleepover? But besides that, he pondered something else. Why did Momo choose an encyclopedia as her icon? He vaguely remembered the bookshelves he had seen in Momo's room, even if it was as brief as it was. Were all those books he saw all encyclopedias?

Lion: Is that you Yaoyorozu-san?

All Might: Yeah I invited her before we began studying yesterday.

Glasses: Salutations Yaoyorozu-san!

Blank: Finally. Was wondering when you were gonna join.

Bubbles: Thank goodness! Now we're all here.

Lion: Welcome.

Encyclopedia: Thanks, everyone!

Encyclopedia: Anyways, we didn't want Hagakure-chan to send the picture cause we were in our pajamas. We didn't even see it until after she posted it.

Lion: Can't believe you didn't even look at it before sending it Hagakure-san.

Blank: I was pursued so I couldn't.

Lion: Well you ended up exposing a lot to all of us.

Blank: So did you! What the hell was going on in the picture you sent.

Bubbles: Yeah! And why was Ida-kun face first on the floor? Did you guys fight one another?

Lion: We were just arm wrestling.

Bubbles: Without shirts?

Glasses: It was Ojiro-kun's idea.

Blank: It doesn't matter, you and Midoriya-kun did it too.

Lion: So we were shirtless, so what? Your picture had a bra, panties, and cleavage in it!

Encyclopedia: Okay our picture was more revealing, but why was Ida-san on the ground?

Lion: From seeing Uraraka-san's black panties, obviously.

No one responded to Mashirao's last message until Izuku had enough of the silence and began typing.

All Might: So yeah, last night was a bit embarrassing for everyone. Can we just leave it at that?

Blank: Fine. But I wanna know why Ojiro-san sent that picture in the first place.

Lion: Cause I thought it would be hilarious. Plus I'm sure you ladies enjoyed what you saw.

Blank: Well, I guess I did get to see Izuku's bod.

Midoriya almost dropped his phone at Tooru's compliment. Sure it was praise from his girlfriend but it still made him hot and bothered.

Bubbles: Lucky you, I only got to see Tenya's back.

Glasses: This conversation is getting unnecessary.

Lion: What, no comment about my biceps?

Blank: Meh.

Lion: But they are bigger than either of them.

Encyclopedia: Sure, but Hagakure-chan and Uraraka-chan are currently dating those two. They wouldn't be interested in your body.

Lion: Okay, a decent point.

Lion: So going by that logic, what did you think then Yaoyorozu-san?

A few moments passed until an answer came.

Encyclopedia: No comment.

Lion: Seriously...

Seeing that the conversation wasn't going anywhere, Izuku began typing again.

All Might: Well I'm glad we could go over this before lunch tomorrow to make things less awkward.

Glasses: I agree, thanks for bringing this up Hagakure-san. Goodnight everyone.

Blank: No problem! G'night!

Lion: Fine. Until tomorrow then.

Bubbles: Later all.

Encyclopedia: This was fun, even if a bit embarrassing. Night all.

All Might: You'll get used to it Yaoyorozu-san. Later.

Midoriya was currently walking to U.A. on Monday morning. He rounded a corner into the entrance way only to be greeted by Mina Ashido.

The acid throwing heroine stated, "Good morning Midoriya-san. I was hoping I would catch you before school, and here you are! Lucky me!"

This seemed suspicious to Izuku. He hadn't interacted much with the pink girl, but he knew Tooru and her were decently acquainted. He breathed in deeply and exhaled before saying, "Morning Ashido-san. Is there something you need from me?"

"Well you see I've been quite persistent in asking Hagakure-san about this, but unlike Uraraka-san, she's a harder nut to crack. And then I realized I've been going about this all wrong," Ashido said slyly.

Midoriya could tell what she wanted to ask and started to back step away from the curious girl.

Mina then took a step forward to close their gap as she said, "I should have started with you. So are you and Hagakure-san going out or what?"

Trying his hardest to come off as calm, Izuku replied, "W-What? No. We're just g-good friends."

"You sure? You two always seem to be together between classes. And then Hagakure-san has been especially positive about things as of late," Ashido stated mischievously.

Midoriya gulped before responding, "T-That's probably because of the studying we've been doing at Yaoyorozu-san's house these past few Saturdays. She's been making a lot of progress in her studies."

"Studying? With Yaoyorozu-san? This is the first I've heard of this," Mina replied in a confused tone.

"Yeah you know, to prepare for the written portion of the final exam next Monday," Izuku stated.

This revelation seemed to drain some color from Ashido's skin before she gave off a dry laugh. She then walked past him and continued her odd chuckle as she walked towards the front doors the school. Midoriya wondered, did he just break his classmate?

Izuku then made his way to class, and most of his classmates were already there. Ashido was at Denki's desk, and he looked to be in a somber mood. But before could make it to his desk, Momo approached him in front of Tooru's desk. His girlfriend wasn't in class yet, but regardless the tall girl asked quietly, "Hey did you make any progress in figuring out if everything is okay with Ojiro-san?"

Midoriya was surprised at her forwardness about this but quickly replied, "Sorta. It's not as bad as I thought it might be but I can't be a hundred percent sure if it's bothering a him a lot or not."

Yaoyorozu gave a soft sigh before stating, "And you're still not gonna tell me what it is?"

"Sorry, I wish I could, but honestly I think it would be best for him to tell you himself. I just don't feel comfortable gossiping about private affairs. Especially since he's been reluctant to tell me much," Midoriya responded while looking down at his shoes.

Izuku then looked up to see Momo gave a slight shake of her head before saying, "There's no need to be sorry. Maybe I am a being a bit too nosy about this. I'm just worried is all."

"Yeah me too," Izuku said as he looked over to Mashirao. The tailed teen was currently talking to Mezo Shoji, well a tentacle of his. The two's assigned seats were side by side in the front row. He couldn't hear the conversation they were having but guessed it had to do with the upcoming exams.

Yaoyorozu and Midoriya then made their way to their seats and sat down.

Tooru and Kyoka made their way in just seconds later with Tenya right behind them. The class president then closed the door somewhat loudly gaining everyone attention.

Ida then announced, "I was just told by Cementoss-sensei that Aizawa-sensei would be running a bit late this morning and might just miss homeroom today. I think the perfect way to pass time is by going over our final exam schedule for next week."

There were a couple of groans throughout the classroom upon hearing this. Mina and Denki's being the loudest.

Tenya continued by explaining, "We will take the written portion on Monday and the following day is the practical. The result of both will be made known to us on Wednesday, which will also be a short day of school." He then paused and brought up his right hand as he continued with, "We will have a day off Thursday and the closing ceremony for the semester will be held on Friday. For those that pass both tests, the summer training camp starts Saturday. And for those who fail, starting Monday the week after, will be summer school for the entire month of July."

Izuku peered around to see his classmates reactions. Denki had dropped his head on his desk with a thud, and Mina did her awkward laugh again. Rikido was rubbing his temple with both his hands and Ejiro looked uncharastically scared. Before Midoriya could notice anyone else, the class president began speaking again.

"Our vice president has previously suggested to me to share the class ranking in our academic grades, and I agree with this idea. Aizawa-sensei has told me that anyone below the fourteenth position on this list needs to study hard if they wish to pass the written exam," Tenya explained in a serious tone. He then pulled out a piece of paper from his backpack and hung it on the whiteboard behind him before stepping out of the way so everyone could get a look.

Most of the class then got up to see their rank. Izuku had expected the same grades as Momo had shown them before but was a bit surprised to see some changes. Both Tooru and Uraraka had improved. Uraraka had gone up one rank, to twelfth, and Hagakure was up two, and was at fourteenth. Midoriya was surprised to see them advance in such a short amount of time. Both girls stepped away and went to hug Yaoyorozu upon seeing their progress, as she was still seated at the back of the class.

The reaction seemed to have gotten Ashido's attention, and she was quick to approach the trio and ask, "Yaoyorozu-san I heard you've been giving a study lesson for this exam the last few weekends. Do you have room for one more?"

Momo face lit up at the pink girl's question, and she happily said, "Of course Ashido-san, there's plenty of room at my place."

Jiro and Kaminari then came up and asked as well, and were given a yes. Sero came up after the seeing the commotion of Mina and Denki being overjoyed and wondered if he could join too. Momo simply nodded before getting up explaining to the four newcomers when and where to meet. Just as Yaoyorozu finished, Aizawa opened the door looking more exhausted than usual and walked in which made everyone return to their seats.

Lunch began with Momo asking, "Are you okay with everyone I just invited coming over this Saturday, Midoriya-san?"

The two were the first to arrive at their table, and the vice president asked the question almost immediately as she sat down.

In a puzzled tone, Izuku responded with, "It's your home Yaoyorozu-san, why are you asking me if it's okay?"

"Well, I see you as the unofficial leader of our group so I thought I should ask you if it was okay," the tall girl tried to explain.

Again baffled at her statement, Midoriya asked, "You think I'm our leader?"

Momo nodded before saying, "Everyone within our circle of friends looks up to you Midoriya-san. The heroics you did during our first rescue training, the villain invasion, and the Hero Killer incident was enough evidence for us to see that. In each of those you showed us that you have what it takes to direct a team of heroes to accomplish some amazing feats despite the odds stacked against you."

Izuku was blushing slightly at all this praise; he seemed to be getting a lot of this as of late.

The vice president continued by saying, "At least to me, I think you have the best intentions for us. So before having half our class show up for our study session, I just wanted to sure if you thought it was okay or not."

Her logic was a lot to take in, but to answer promptly, Midoriya responded with, "I think the more, the merrier, works here Yaoyorozu-san. It's our final meet-up, and it's just going to be one massive review like you said it would be. So I think having a couple of extra classmates won't be a problem. Besides, I want everyone in our class to attend the summer camp training, and if this helps that happen, I'm all for it."

"Thanks, Midoriya-san. I was pretty sure you'd say yes but I just wanted to hear what you would say is all," Momo said before turning her attention to her food.

Before Izuku could say any more about the subject, Tenya and Ochako arrived. Mashirao and Tooru were quick to follow, and the group turned their discussion towards the practical portion of their exam as they started eating. Yaoyorozu once again looked bummed out about the whole prospect of this part of the exam, and Ojiro seemed to notice this too as he kept glancing at her as Hagakure and Uraraka discussed the possibilities of what it could be. Both thought it would just be a comprehensive test that would cover everything they had gone over in class exercises but the scenarios in how they could incorporate all of this seemed to stump everyone.

As Izuku was about to ask how everyone's physical and quirk training was going, he felt a hard jab to the back of his head. He turned to see a vaguely familiar student from the hero festival. The boy said in a vile tone, "Ah, sorry. My tray couldn't get around that big head of yours."

Mashirao was seated to Izuku's left and stood up before dryly stating, "What do you want Monoma."

The newcomer was quick to respond, "No honorific? Come now Monkey-san, one must have manners when speaking to one's superior."

This didn't seem to faze Ojiro as he replied, "You're not gonna get a rise out of me, so lay off with the insults for once and answer my question."

"I recently heard this one, and your class president had been involved in the Hero Killer incident. Just can't stop being at the center of attention can you class 1A? Even if it might get everyone in our grade or even our school dragged in with your bullshit," Monoma said with a snobby tone.

Mashirao then grabbed the insulting teen by the collar of his uniform which made him drop his plate of food and lifted him a bit off the ground. Ida and Midoriya were quick to stand up as Monoma stated, "Hey now, I thought you said you weren't gonna let me get to you."

Speaking through his teeth with rage, Ojiro replied, "Insult me all you want but don't you dare bring my friends and classmates into this. You can't even fathom what Ida-kun, Midoriya-kun, Todoroki-san went through when they fought against that villain. And then there's everything me and my class went through during the villain invasion. We were scared for our lives and All Might-sensei could have died that day."

Tenya and Izuku were about to say something before Mashirao cut them off by saying, "I'm not going to hurt him, just giving him a fair warning if he continues this behavior."

By now most of the cafeteria had gone silent as they observed the altercation before them. A girl was quick to make her way to their table and proclaim, "Hey you! Put him down please!"

"Do as the nice lady says," Monoma said in a playful tone. Ojiro hesitated for a moment before lowering the boy and releasing his hands from the uniform.

"That's better," Monoma said as he brushed himself off.

After inhaling and exhaling loudly, the tailed teen said, "We're not in middle school anymore, we're in a hero academy to become pro heroes. It's time to grow up and start acting like one Monoma."

After shaking his head, he responded, "Man you're no fun anymore monkey-san. Oh well, there's still bigger fish to fry that still knows their place."

This statement made Ojiro give a puzzled look at the student from 1B.

Suddenly the girl from before gave a quick chop to Monoma's neck causing his knees to buckle. As he fell, she grabbed the back of his shirt to stop his fall. The downed teen was quick to cough and then proclaim, "The hell Kendo-san!"

"I know you probably instigated this," she replied with disappointment in her voice. Monoma was about to protest, but she raised her free hand as if she was going to strike him again which got him to cringe, raising his hands to protect his face and entire body. Kendo then bowed slightly towards Midoriya before saying, "I'm sorry everyone for what Monoma-san might have said. He doesn't represent the attitude of class 1B and I will be having a stern talk with him later about this." She then dragged the boy away from the group's table before the rest of the cafeteria started gossiping about what had just occurred.

As Tenya went to go get a rag and broom to clean up the mess from Monoma's dropped plate of food, Tooru asked, "The hell was that Ojiro-san?"

Mashirao sat down back in his seat before replying, "That was Neito Monoma. He and a bunch of other kids used to bully me back in my previous school."

Ochako then asked, "And who was that girl? She seems familiar."

"Itsuka Kendo. She's the class president of 1B. I'm glad she came over here. She diffused this situation a lot better than any of us could have," Momo explained.

Tenya returned with a rag and broom and said, "I thought you were gonna knock his lights out Ojiro-kun."

Izuku thought this too, but he was somewhat relieved when his tailed friend had stated that he didn't want to hurt Monoma. As much as the boy from 1-B deserved it, he didn't wish Mashirao to get in trouble.

"I used to do that, but that never amounted to anything good when I did," Mashirao said after giving a long sigh. He then sat down and stated, "Thanks for not getting involved guys. That's a part of my past I want to bury as quick as possible, and I don't wanna drag you guys into that."

Yaoyorozu then spoke up in a concerned tone, "Ojiro-san if it's truly as bad as you're describing then maybe it would be good to talk about it with us."

Ojiro was blunt as he said, "No thank you. I appreciate the concern Yaoyorozu-san, but that part of my life brought the worst out of me. Even thinking about it makes me disgusted with myself so I'd rather not have to relive it again by discussing it once more."

The tall girl gave the face that she wanted to protest dropping the subject but she instead sighed and took a sip of her drink. The rest of lunch was mostly an awkward silence minus Momo stating that she had invited four more of their classmates to the study session. Everyone was okay with the decision, and afterward, Yaoyorozu said that this time the lesson would last until the late afternoon to ensure they could cover everything, which again the group was fine with.

Izuku was sitting in class with his head on the desk. So much had just happened and he was trying to understand it all. He now had a face to give to Mashirao's troubled past, but from the sound of it, more than just Neito was a part of it, but it was a start. Midoriya had seen Ojiro upset before, seeing him ready to fight Yasumura only two weeks ago had been eye-opening. But the hatred in his voice for what Monoma had said about him and his classmates was on a whole other level, even though he restrained himself. Why did Ojiro hold back though? Not long ago he was ready to fight Momo's head butler for much less. Had he learned to suppress his feelings better after that day? Was it because it was on school grounds and he didn't want to get in trouble? Or maybe, as Mashirao had previously stated, he had just gotten over dealing with Neito's bullying and wanted to move on?

Izuku's phone suddenly vibrated, and he was quick to see that it was a private message.

Lion: Meet me outside the classroom. I need your help. DO NOT TELL ANYONE ELSE, PLEASE!

Midoriya looked up to see his tailed friend was not at his desk or in the classroom. The class was going to start any minute, but he was quick to get up and walk outside the classroom.

Ojiro was just outside after opening the door and he rapidly stated, "Follow me, we don't have much time."

As they both began to walk, Izuku asked, "What's going on?"

Mashirao replied, "Monoma's last statement before being subdued by Kendo-san confused me, and I've been wracking my brain about it since lunch ended. Before I got to class, it hit me what he meant." He then let out a groan before saying, "Gosh, I'm such an idiot, why didn't I notice earlier."

Oh well, there's still bigger fish to fry that still knows their place.

Midoriya couldn't see it's meaning and asked, "I'm sorry Ojiro-kun I don't understand what you mean."

"He's going after Koda-san. They bullied him too, and they were extra cruel to him because he never fought back unlike me," Mashirao replied with fury in his voice.

Upon hearing this, Izuku had a dozen questions more he wanted to ask but instead realized the severity of the situation and was quick to respond, "Alright, where do you think they are and what do you need me to do?"

As the pair rounded a corner, Ojiro gave a short chuckle before saying, "Heh, this is why you are my best bud Izuku. No questions asked, if a friend is in need you go head first into the fire. But to answer your first question, we're going to the one place that doesn't have cameras on the main campus, the roof!"

In a baffled tone, Izuku asked, "Why do you think they are on the roof?"

Mashirao explained, "Monoma and his lackeys would always be sure to cause trouble outside the view of adults. Knowing that clever bastard, he still uses the same tactic he did in our last school." The two arrived at the stairwell and ascended upward. After climbing two flights of stairs, Ojiro continued, "And to answer your other question Izuku, what I want you to do is to just focus on protecting Koda-san. Get him out of here if you can. No matter what happens, don't lay a finger on Monoma. I'll deal with that bastard by myself. We're both gonna get trouble doing this, but I wanna take the majority of the blame."

The thought of this predicament that would get Midoriya and himself at odds with the school rules almost gave him pause, but instead, he said, "Okay but try not to hurt him too much."

They had reached the door to the roof at this point, and Ojiro said, "Don't worry I'm only going on the defensive. Time will be on my side in this battle, so there's no need for me too rough with him."

Confused at what his friend meant, Izuku asked, "What do you mean?"

They had arrived at the top of the stairs at this point and Mashirao stood in front of the door. He looked through its small window before replying, "His quirk is limited to a few minutes of use." He looked to his friend and stated, "I wanna reiterate, do not let him touch you. I don't want to fight your quirk today."

Still baffled, Midoriya responded, "Fight my quirk?"

But before he could get an answer, Ojiro kicked open the door and yelled, "Monoma! Be a man and face me!"

The sudden glare from the sun blinded Izuku for a few seconds, but eventually, he was able to see the scene before him. Neito was standing over a shivering Koji, who was on the ground with his arms over his head. Monoma looked different, however, his skin was now had a very light green tone, and he had two long sharp protrusions coming from his arms, just above the wrist. As he turned around his change in appearance was even more apparent, a pair of bladed mandibles were on each side of his mouth.

Neito then said, "Huh, you actually came to the rescue. I was sure you would run away with your tail between your legs. You're already on thin ice you know."

Mashirao started walking forward before saying, "I don't care about that. But, you know, I was truly hoping I would come up here and see no one. A small part of me wanted your comment at lunch to be just a hollow threat. Perhaps Koda-san was just running late for class because he was using the bathroom or something else. Maybe I wouldn't have to resort to asking my best friend to get involved. And most of all, I didn't ever want to fight a student outside a combat training on school grounds, but here we are."

Ojiro was now just a meter from the half bug teen, with Izuku a couple of meters behind him. He then proclaimed, "Now stop traumatizing Koda-san!"

Monoma said slowly but methodically, "Ah, but it just means so much to me to put people like him in his place. I still can't fathom how you both got in class 1A or this school at all with your low status in society. Oh well. This isn't exactly the preferred quirk I would want to fight you with, but I still got the advantage here, so I guess it will do."

Ojiro then asked, "So who did you have to copy to get that quirk?"

"A classmate of mine in 1B, Togaru Kamakiri. His quirk, Sharp Blade, will be enough to deal with the likes of you," Neito explained as if bored with the conversation.

Once the bully finished talking, he suddenly lunged forward raising his left arm and brought down the sharp appendage towards Mashirao. He barely dodged it by sidestepping to his left and, with a quick thrust of his leg, kicked his opponent squarely in the stomach pushing him back. Now that Monoma was on his back, Izuku activated One for All to sprint over to the cowering Koji. Neito reached out and extended his protrusion to try and catch him, but Mashirao's tail stopped this by grabbing the fallen teen's leg and tossed him to the side.

Midoriya thanked Ojiro as he passed him and arrived at Koda. The large teen was still shaking and was muttering something incoherent.

Izuku took a knee and said, "Koda-san, I'm here to help. Let's get you away from here."

The statement didn't get a reaction, so Izuku got closer and extended his left hand, but Koji slapped it away. He almost lost his balance from the knockback and his left hand was in quite some pain. Midoriya wondered, was Koda in that much of a shock that he wasn't aware what was going on? And since when was he this strong?

While rubbing his hand, Izuku stated, "Koda-san, it's just me, Midoriya. I'm not here to scare or hurt you."

Koji still showed no signs of listening to his rescuer. Izuku decided to give him a bit more time to calm down and turned his head a bit to see how his friend was faring in his fight.

Mashirao was in a fighting stance with his tail raised straight up right behind him. His position involved having his hands up about eye level with his palms facing outwards, his elbows and chin were tucked in, and it looked as if almost all his weight was on his back foot which laid flat while only the ball of his front foot was touching the ground. He had some cuts on both his hands. Neito was again on the ground and looked frustrated. After getting up, he dashed at the tailed teen and went with a stabbing motion with his right arm towards his opponent's side. Ojiro took a step back and pushed the blade to the left before jabbing his elbow with the same arm into Monoma's shoulder, causing his attacker to fall his knees and grunt in pain. The deflection had opened a new cut on Mashirao's hand, and it trembled slightly, but he took a few steps back and resumed his fighting stance. Before Neito could get back up, his bug features suddenly retracted and vanished.

After giving off a sigh and relaxing his stance, Ojiro stated, "There it is, now it's over."

A weak chuckle came from Monoma as he got up. He began to rub his impacted shoulder with his opposite hand, while the other was in his pocket, "And why would I give up now?"

Mashirao said with increasing anger and volume, "Your quirk's time limit is up. I know you'd never try and copy my quirk out of some stupid logic of yours, Izuku is fast enough to avoid you from copying his, and good luck trying to call for help from any animals all the way up here if you somehow got past both of us to copy Koda-san's. So just give up already!"

Neito approached Mashirao and responded with, "That's some decent logic you spouted there. But you vastly underestimating me Monkey-san." He then threw a punch with his free hand and almost instantly Kamakiri's quirk manifested once again. This caught Ojiro off-guard, and he slammed his tail into the ground to launch himself upward to dodge the attack and did a flip before landing back on his feet a few meters away. Monoma then gave a wicked grin as he stated, "See? I still got this."

Struggling to understand what was going on, Ojiro proclaimed, "The hell? How did you do that?"

Neito shrugged and shook his head before saying, "Does it matter? It's not like I would tell you. Your strategy to stall me out is now in shambles, and your hands will soon be useless for deflecting my attacks. Just give up already."

Izuku was now panicking. He was trusting that Mashirao had a plan to end this quick, but now it looked to be a lengthy brawl that could end with his friend getting seriously hurt. To calm down, Midoriya tried to think of a way to bring a stop to this without being directly involved. An idea came, but he knew that Ojiro wouldn't like it, but it seemed like the fastest option.

Izuku took out his phone and quickly typed a message before turning his attention back to Koji. He took a deep breath before saying, "Koda-san, Ojiro-kun is getting hurt trying to protect you. If we wanna stop him from getting injured anymore, then we need to get you out of here."

Mentioning the tailed teen seemed to get through to Koda finally, and he looked up at his rescuer. Koji's face was flustered and his eyes full of tears but he was able to give a weak nod. Izuku got down and helped the large teen up, and the two slowly started walking towards the door.

Suddenly Mashirao was thrown in front of them, bringing the two to a stop. His hands were becoming quite bloodied and he looked like he was in a lot of pain as he struggled to get up.

Izuku turned to see Neito was back to normal again but was short of breath but said, "I can't let you two leave just yet." He put both hands in his pocket as he got in between the pair and Ojiro.

Koda tightened his grip on Midoriya as Monoma approached. The copy teen then morphed once more and brought out his blades once he removed his hands from his pockets. This caused Koji to jump onto Izuku, and if he hadn't activated One for All, would have toppled over.

This got a chuckle from Neito as he saw the green haired teen struggled to carry his friend and start to take a few steps back. He then spoke while taking steps forward, "You won't be as fast now, will you? I think your quirk would be better used by me so I can finally knock out this blockhead behind me."

But before Monoma could get close to the two, Ojiro's tail grabbed him by the leg and he was knocked down to his stomach. He then attempted to drag him back, but the copy teen turned around and made a motion to slash at Mashirao's tail, however, in mid-swing the blade disappeared.

Ojiro then took this chance to sprint his way in front of Midoriya and turned towards Monoma, with blood was still flowing from his hands. The sight of this got Koda to get off his rescuer and say softly, "O-Ojiro-chan."

Mashirao said without turning around, "We're not kids anymore Koda-san, I told you to stop saying my name like that."

A pout came from Koji upon hearing this.

Mashirao then stated, "You're dropping your copy faster and faster Monoma. You getting tired?"

Neito was standing once more and grunted before replying, "Perhaps. But it looks like you've exhausted the use of your hands." Ojiro hands twitched at this, and he groaned. Once Monoma resumed his insect features the two lunged at one another, but a loud yell stopped them both in their tracks.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

The words got everyone's attention since it sounded like it was coming from over the edge of the roof. A yellow blur then came up flying and landed on the roof before saying, "FOR I AM HERE."

Izuku was sitting in the hallway outside the nurse's office.

In the other room, Aizawa, the principal, and the homeroom teacher for class 1B were attempting to talk to Koji about what had happened.

Recovery Girl was tending to both Mashirao and Neito in the sick room.

All Might's arrival had brought an end to the squabble on the roof, and he escorted all the students to the principal's office. Once he had explained the situation to Nezu, they both brought the students to the nurse's office. Midoriya was told to wait while the principal got some other teachers.

The hulking hero apologized to his successor in private that he hadn't come sooner. He explained that he was busy with paperwork, and made a point that he hated doing it. All Might had ignored his phone vibrating until he finished the current page he was working on. Once he noticed the text, he hastily found an unoccupied room to climb out of the window and jump towards the roof.

Before All Might made his leave, he stated, "Just tell them the truth about everything that's happened, and you will probably just get a slap on the wrist for what you did my boy."

Midoriya had given a quick summary of what had happened on the roof just minutes before his idol explained his late arrival. His mentor wanted to stay longer, but he stated he was nearing his limit for One for All and needed to go. Not long after his leave, Eraserhead and Vlad King came down the hallway with the principal leading the way. Shota was quick to tell Izuku that they would talk to him after speaking with Koji.

While he waited, Midoriya pondered if he had done the right thing. All Might didn't seem angry when he told him his account of what happened, just concerned. Izuku was more anxious at his homeroom teacher and principal's take on everything. Aizawa was much more blunt and harsh in his judgment than his mentor. And although he never really interacted with Nezu, he was the principal, so had to be quite strict with the rules, he thought.

Regardless, Izuku was glad Mashirao had told him not to get involved as things might have played out different if he had. He didn't want to hurt another student if he could help it, especially outside combat training. Also, the thought of Monoma temporarily acquiring his quirk seemed quite dangerous for everyone involved. Even though the copy teen looked to master whatever quirk he received, Midoriya didn't feel that the 1B student would have the body training to control it. And if he could, then it would have meant Monoma would have dominated that fight.

Izuku also wondered if he had been much help at all. Sure he got Koji to calm down somewhat and had started to get him to move, but it felt like it wasn't much. Once he began to carry the large teen, his speed was useless, and Neito would have caught him and obtained his quirk for sure. Midoriya felt his presence then would have become a hindrance if that had happened.

The door suddenly opened slowly, and Koji walked out of it. He turned his head towards Izuku and then pointed an index finger towards inside the office.

Midoriya nodded and got up, but before he could go inside, Koda put a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a whisper, "Thanks Midoriya-chan for trying to help. And sorry, about battering your hand. I forget my own strength at times."

Midoriya's left hand had bruised and a bit swollen by now. The large teen's strength had surprised him. Izuku also noticed that Koji had spoken to him without being too wordy as last time. Also, why use chan? Koda used it with Ojiro that, but they had been friends for years in their last school. Was he that thankful for attempting to help today?

Either way, Midoriya replied, "No problem. And my hand will be fine Koda-san. Recovery Girl will have me healed soon enough."

Koji gave a slight bow before making his way down the hallway. Izuku then walked into the nurse's office to see the principal sitting in a chair with both homeroom teachers standing behind him side to side. There was also a nurse he didn't recognize typing away on the computer to his left.

Nezu then spoke up by stating, "Please take a seat Midoriya-san."

The small principal motioned to a chair in front of him, and Izuku did as he was asked.

"While Koda-san's testimony was interesting, to say the least, I want to hear your side of the story, especially since you were present at the altercation at lunch today," Nezu said in a whimsical tone.

So they know about that, Midoriya noted. He then explained in a more detailed account than he gave All Might. The adults didn't ask any questions during his explanation, but they did show varying reactions as he recounted the events. The only detail he left out was texting his mentor for help.

Once Izuku finished, Vlad King stated in a disappointed tone, "This is all my fault. This could have been prevented by me if I had been more stern with my student with his behavior. Besides I should have noticed something was fishy between these two when Ojiro-san started asking me questions about Monoma-san during his field training under me."

Nezu chuckled before replying, "It's quite alright Kan-san. Let's just focus on mending this for now." The furry principal then focused on Izuku and asked, "Do you have any questions yourself lad?"

Of course, the boy had plenty of questions but first asked, "You said Koda-san's side of the story was interesting. You got him to talk?"

Shota responded by saying, "No. But we had him write answers on paper for us. Giving everything that happened, I don't blame him for not being able to speak."

"That boy sure does have a way with words when he writes," Nezu chuckled. He then continued, "Anything else?"

Curious about what was going to happen to the large teen, Izuku asked, "Where did you send Koda-san?"

The principal produced a warm smile before saying, "I'm glad to hear that you're so concerned about your classmate Midoriya-san. But to answer your question I sent him to the teacher's lounge to await his parents who are going to pick him up. I think he needs some time at home to rest after everything he's been through."

Trying his luck, Midoriya asked, "Monoma-san mentioned that Ojiro-kun was already on thin ice. Would it be too much to ask what that means?

Nezu scratched his chin before turning to Eraserhead and stated, "It's up to you Aizawa-san if you think he should know."

Shota sighed before asking, "Midoriya-san, do you consider Ojiro-san, a good friend of yours?"

"Yes, sir. He even told me I was his best friend just a few weeks ago," Izuku said with pride.

Aizawa gave a small grin before saying, "Alright then. But keep this to yourself please." His face then turned serious as he explained, "Ojiro-san got into a lot of fights in his previous school. So much so I'm surprised he wasn't expelled. This was a concern when we contemplated inviting him to this academy. Eventually, it was decided that as long as he behaved himself, then he could come here."

Izuku gulped and the asked, "You're not saying he's going to be expelled now, are you?"

"It's certainly a possibility. Violence against another student outside of training is a grave thing to do, especially at a hero school with as much prestige as ours has," Eraserhead said bluntly.

The furry principal then spoke up and said, "However, if everything that has been told to us so far is true, then this is a unique situation. Regardless we need more testimonies before we can make a decision."

Midoriya then asked, "So, how much trouble am I in?"

In a more serious tone, Nezu answered with, "Again I want to speak to the other two boys before we decide that."

Aizawa was quick to add, "I can already tell you that you should have contacted a teacher immediately instead of trying to solve the problem yourself. It's our job after all."

"Sorry, sir," the green haired teen stated as he looked down at his shoes.

"Well I think that's enough questions, for now, we need to move along to the next one," the small principal said as he hopped out of the chair. He then twirled his index finger once as he said, "Ken-san would you bring in your student."

The blood hero sighed but said, "At once sir." He turned to open the door to the sick room and left it ajar.

Nezu then asked, "While we ask Monoma-san's about the event that occurred I'm sure you wouldn't mind going into the next room, would you Midoriya-san? I'm sure you are concerned about your friend."

Izuku quickly replied, "Yes, and thank you, sir."

Vlad King and the copy teen then came into the room, and Midoriya entered the sick room. Neito had a smug look on his face, but he ignored it.

As the door closed behind him, Izuku made his way to Mashirao. He was on the third bed on the right, and Recovery Girl was sitting on a stool at the foot of his bed. Izuku pulled up a chair to his tailed friend's left and sat down.

Ojiro himself looked quite tired and both his hands were bandaged but he had a happy grin on his face. His smile faded though as he asked, "So, are they planning to punish you?"

Izuku tapped his cheek as he replied, "I'm not sure. They said they wanted to hear everyone's side of the story first when I asked."

"Well, I hope it's minor, whatever they decide," Mashirao said after giving a soft sigh.

Midoriya looked at the older women at the foot of the bed and asked, "So, how are his injuries?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Recovery Girl huffed. She then hopped down and walked over to Izuku. "Show me your left hand please," the head nurse stated. He then extended it to her, and she leaned forward to give it a simple kiss. Within seconds the bruise had faded, and the swelling had gone down. The elder woman then said, "I'm just glad you are not visiting me as often as you used to, boy."

As he rubbed his hand where the bruise once was, Midoriya replied, "You and me both, ma'am. And thanks."

Recovery Girl gave a nod before turning around and walking away. As she did this, she said, "I'll leave you two to some privacy then." The head nurse then walked over to a table next to the door towards the front nurse's office and started to make some tea for herself.

Ojiro shifted in his bed as he said, "So I'll be the last one they want to talk to."

Midoriya slowly replied, "Yeah."

"I wonder if that means I'm gonna get the worst punishment," Mashirao stated as he leaned his head back into his pillow.

Baffled by his logic, Izuku was quick to ask, "Why would you say that?"

"They started with Koda-kun, and he's the victim here. Then there's you, who didn't throw a punch and just tried to help. And they called in Monoma next, so naturally, I feel I'm the one in the hottest water here if they saved me for last," Ojiro explained.

Midoriya then asked, "How could you tell they called Koda-san first?"

A smile came to Ojiro's face as he replied, "He stayed by my side until they came in to ask him questions. After some time had passed, I heard your voice in the next room, so I figured you came in after him."

Izuku was glad Koji was keeping Mashirao company for the time he was separated from his friend. He hesitated for a moment but then asked, "I heard about your fights at your middle school."

Ojiro crossed his arms as he asked, "Did the principal tell you about that?"

Izuku shook his head before saying, "It was Aizawa-sensei. He also told me about your agreement for coming here. I'm sorry if I meddled into things you weren't comfortable with sharing with me."

"It's fine Midoriya-kun. At this point, I'm ready to tell you everything. I mean, after all that happened you deserve to know," Mashirao said.

Taken aback a bit, Midoriya asked, "Everything?"

"Yeah, you and everyone else in our group if they're interested," Ojiro said with a bit of apprehensiveness in his voice.

Now quite curious Izuku asked, "So, like during lunch tomorrow?"

"We don't even know if I'll still be going to this school or not after what happened," Mashirao stated bluntly.

Midoriya got up out of his chair and proclaimed, "You don't really think you'll be expelled, do you?"

Ojiro shrugged and responded with, "I can't dismiss the possibility. I promised I was done picking fights and I broke that pact. It's not what heroes do, so I can't blame them if they kick me out."

Raising his voice a bit, the Izuku said, "But you didn't instigate it. You just tried to defend Koda-san. And look how injured you got! It's nothing compared to what you did to," Izuku paused a second before saying, "him."

Mashirao replied, "We both didn't go all out on each other Midoriya-kun. Monoma just did more damage cause he had blades. He could have done a lot more to me if he had tried to cut me elsewhere, but he just wanted to incapacitate me. That bastard knows my tail isn't good at stopping sharp objects and blocking a blade with my legs is very difficult."

"Language," Recovery Girl said as she passed by the bed with a cup of tea in her hand.

"Sorry, ma'am," Ojiro replied. He then turned back to his friend before continuing with, "I was just fighting him defensively, so I didn't injure him that much. My soks would have done a lot more damage if I went all out, but I was just trying to discourage him from using his arms."

Izuku tilted his head as he said, "Soks?"

"Oh, sorry. In Muay Thai, a sok is an elbow technique. They're great for when you're too close to your opponent to throw a punch. It was a good combo I used after deflecting the blades with my hands," Mashirao explained.

Intrigued by this knowledge, Midoriya asked, "And what about that kick you did at the start? And that stance you kept going back too?"

With renewed vigor, the tailed teen responded with, "That kick was a thip or foot thrust. It's used to make some distance between you and your opponent but can also be used to block attacks. If you time it right and have enough strength, you can knock over your attacker easily." He then rose his hands like earlier and continued with, "That stance was the traditional Thai stance. Of the four stances in the art, it provides the best defensive options. Though it also is the weakest with regards to strength and mobility. My tail somewhat solves those issues, however."

Mashirao's spirits seemed to be higher, and Izuku was glad he asked such questions. But the possibility of expulsion from U.A. for his friend still irked him. There was no way he would leave school, right? What would Mashirao even do if he was expelled? Would another academy accept him? Or would Ojiro be forced to go back to a typical high school? It infuriated Midoriya that doing the right thing might get his friend kicked out, and he was having a hard time keeping it in.

Trying to calm himself, Izuku asked, "Koda-san was pretty shaken back there. What did he go through to get that afraid of that bully?"

"Koda-san has always been shy. But the bullying from Monoma and his friends is what made him the usual mute guy we know today. He just stopped trusting people really, and it takes some time for him to open up at all. But he was more afraid of how Monoma looked than anything," Ojiro explained with a hint of anger.

Midoriya responded by asking, "Wait, he has Entomophobia?"

With a puzzled look on his face, Mashirao replied, "I guess that means fear of bugs? You and your big words Izuku. But yeah he's always been terrified of insects. Monoma and his goons would place bugs on to Koda-san when he wasn't looking, or force him to do things against his will because they threatened to put insects in places like his locker."

"That sounds horrible," Izuku stated while rubbing his left hand.

Ojiro sighed before saying, "He's one reason why I got in trouble so much. I couldn't just let them scare him to death."

Midoriya then asked, "And the others reasons?"

"I'll tell you when I tell the others," Mashirao said turning his head away from his visitor.

Midoriya rubbed his temple as he said, "Fine." As curious as he was, his friend was going to tell him everything soon enough, so waiting a bit longer wouldn't hurt.

Izuku then asked, "Hey Koda-san thanked me as he left to get picked up by his parents. He actually talked normal instead of like when he congratulated me about Tooru becoming my girlfriend. Do you know what that's about?"

"It means he trusts you, as he does me. That wordy speech behavior of his is how he initially opens up to people. Once he feels comfortable around you he drops the act and talks normally," Ojiro explained.

Midoriya was glad that Koda was opening up to him. Though there was still a lot to work on with him, it was a good start.

The door to the front nurse's office then opened, and Eraserhead stepped out of it looking a bit peeved, well more than usual. Izuku guessed he didn't like Neito's retelling of what happened.

"Midoriya-san, you're free to go home. I know it's early but I'd rather you be home than interrupting your class with your presence. Midnight doesn't need more gossip in her classroom anyways," Shota stated with a groan.

As Izuku got up, Mashirao said, "Hey, I'll make a message on our group chat about today at some point Izuku. Until then do you mind keeping it quiet if you can?"

Midoriya nodded as he said, "I will."

"Thanks," Ojiro stated, as Vlad King and the principal stepped into the room.

Izuku passed them both as he entered the front nurse's office and noticed Neito was sitting in the same chair he had sat in when he told his side of the story. He looked quite distraught. Midoriya guessed things hadn't gone as well as Monoma thought they would.

Izuku was currently in the teacher's lounge and had been there for some time.

It was Tuesday morning, and the teen had received a text from Tenya just as he arrived at school. Apparently, the class president had been told by their homeroom teacher to do so, as it would be easier than meeting him before school. Ida always did come to school early, he must have run into Eraserhead as he waited patiently for class to start.

Midoriya was guessing he was going to be told his punishment. He pondered what it would be. Detention? Service work? He really couldn't see himself get anything worse, but this was Aizawa, so perhaps it might.

Regardless, yesterday afternoon had been quite an ordeal. When Izuku got home, his mother had already been informed of what happened, as the principal called her during his train ride home. She was, of course, in tears but once her son told her the finer details, Inko calmed down. The older Midoriya had assumed it was a lot worse than what she was told over the phone.

Their talk was interrupted when the younger Midoriya's phone vibrated. School had just been let out it seemed, as he was receiving a flood of messages from his friends. They knew that a fight had broken out, but that was it. He told them to wait till Mashirao responded. Tooru and Momo were still defiant in wanting to know regardless, but Izuku remained adamant that they wait till Mashirao was ready to talk.

Shota opened the door and entered with a look of exhaustion on his face, well more than normal. He then said, "Oh good, you're here." He then motioned for Izuku to follow.

As they exited the teacher's area side by side, Izuku asked, "Is everything okay sensei, you look a bit pale."

Aizawa then explained slowly between yawns, "Just a lack of sleep, so same as usual. Yesterday was already stressful enough, and then the principal called an early meeting to render our verdict on how to deal with you boys. The principal was trying to be lenient for you, but I want to drive home the point that you could have prevented those two from hurting each other by simply just contacting one of us. Would have saved everyone a lot of trouble."

Midoriya winced a bit at this but understood his teacher's logic. He then asked, "So what's my punishment?"

"Detention for the rest of the week. Our headmaster only wanted it for two days, but I convinced him otherwise. Also, you'll be helping me with some paperwork on Friday's detention. I've got a lot to go through to prepare for our summer camp trip next weekend. I'll admit I have been putting it off because it's a bother, but now I have the perfect excuse to finish it in a more timely manner," Eraserhead finished explaining with a creepy grin.

The two continued to walk in silence until they reached the front door to the 1A classroom. Homeroom must have just started, Izuku guessed. Shota grabbed the door's handle before stating, "Stay here while I inform the class what happened. When I open the door again, you can enter, and we'll continue class as normal."

As Midoriya waited, his phone vibrated, and he was quick to look at it to see who it was.

Lion: Hey all, my dad just got a call from the principal. So, I'm suspended until exams next week. Looks like Monoma got the same punishment as me which is cool I guess. I think we got off easy considering everything that happened. If you'll wanna hear why I did what I did then come to my place after school on Thursday. I know you all probably have a million questions, but I need some time to cool off, so I'm turning my phone off after this until then. Hope you didn't get into too much trouble Izuku.

There was another message afterward that gave the address to his house, but no one else messaged back. Izuku wondered if it was because everyone was still listening to Shota or if they were stunned at the details of the punishment. Midoriya put away his phone and sighed. A week's suspension? Sure it sounded terrible, but considering the other possibilities, it was the best he could have hoped for his friend. His immediate concern, however, was his detention on Thursday would conflict with going to Mashirao's home. Perhaps he could talk to Aizawa after class and make some arrangement, even if it meant staying longer another day instead. Izuku just didn't want to miss out and finally getting the chance to learn about Mashirao's past.

The door then opened with Eraserhead beckoning him in. Midoriya then peered inside to see his entire class staring at him. He took a deep breath and prepared for the worst as he stepped inside.

It was Thursday afternoon. and Izuku was walking hand and hand with Tooru towards Mashirao's home. Behind them, Ochako and Tenya were doing the same, and Momo brought up the rear.

On Tuesday, during his detention, Midoriya had explained to Aizawa about the situation with Ojiro. Surprisingly the homeroom teacher decided to call off his student's detention for Thursday. He never stated why but reminded Izuku to remember the paperwork arrangement for Friday.

Midoriya had pondered for the last few days why he let him go. Did Eraserhead feel that perhaps he had been too harsh in his verdict? Did he value his student's friendship enough to allow this? Or was he just being unpredictable as he always was? It baffled the teen.

Class and lunch for the past few days were very awkward for Izuku. He tried his hardest to keep quiet about the whole thing even to his friends. Tooru was frustrated the most about it but she was gradually asking less and less about it as the days went by. Finally today she apologized for being so aggressive about it and stated she was just really worried about Mashirao.

Detention wasn't so bad, as Midoriya just used it to study. But something else did bother him. Koda had been absent since Monday. It really concerned Izuku and he was tempted to ask Eraserhead if everything was alright. If he didn't see Koji tomorrow, then he was determined to try and confront his teacher about it.

The group mood was quite gloomy when Thursday finally came around. They had already decided to go together to the train station when classes had finished. As the students arrived and left the station, they remained silent.

What was there to say? Izuku figured until Mashirao detailed what was going on, there wasn't much to talk about. And besides maybe Tooru, none of the others were very gossipy. Her lack of opinions about what was going on did unnerve Midoriya. It felt out of character for Hagakure. Which made the time up to this point all the more serious and somewhat awkward.

The neighborhood the group were walking through was a bit sketchy as there was a lot of graffiti, at least one homeless person every other street, and many of the houses and businesses looked run down. They soon came up to a group of houses that were slightly less run down and eventually came up to Ojiro's home. It was an old one-story brick house that had the most well kept lawn than any home they had seen since getting off the train. They all approached the front door, and Midoriya reached a hand out to knock it.

Mashirao answered within seconds and looked to be in a good mood once he saw everyone had come to see him. He said, "Come in, come in. It's not much, but it's home for me."

As the tailed teen showed them into the living room, Izuku noticed how simple the house was. There wasn't much furniture, and little in decorations could be found. He also noticed a quiet hum that could be heard throughout the house and wondered what it was.

Ojiro took a seat on the floor in front of a large oval low-lying coffee table. There were two couches around the table. One was a three seater, and the other was a love seat. Tooru sat down on the smaller couch, and Izuku followed. On the other couch sat Tenya, Ochako, and Momo, in that order. As Midoriya sat down, he noticed an air purifier in the corner of the room. Was this the source of the noise he was hearing? Either way, everyone took off their backpacks and got comfortable.

Ojiro started by saying, "Thanks everyone for coming, and sorry for keeping you out of the loop for so long. It's been a tough couple of days for me, but I hope I can answer any questions you have for me."

Tooru was the first to ask in a worried tone, "Where are your parent's Ojiro-san?"

"Oh, my mom is here, but she's sleeping. She works night shift cause she likes working on the streets at night as a cop, so she sleeps for most of the day on weekdays. My dad's hours are a bit more erratic since he's a detective but he mostly just works during the day, and he's currently at work," the tailed teen explained while scratching the back of his head.

The invisible girl replied back, "Oh, okay. That's reassuring."

Momo was then quick to ask, "Can you start by explaining why you have a grudge against the wealthy?"

The question got some odd looks from Ochako and Tenya. Izuku felt Tooru shift in her seat and suspected she was confused as well.

Mashirao shot a glance at his friend before replying, "Sure. That's a good place to start anyhow." He breathed in deeply and exhaled before explaining, "It goes back quite a bit, even before I was born and begins with my dad. He grew up on Kyushu island (southernmost major Japanese island). There are a lot of coal mines in the northern part, and that's where he and his family worked for a living. They were all dirt poor and worked there despite the industry being in shambles compared to what it used to be."

Ojiro rubbed his temple for a few seconds before continuing, "Sure, they could have done some shady dealings with the yakuza for easy cash since they are so common in that part of Japan but my dad and his folks prided working an honest living. Because of how terrible things were, my dad worked in the mines even as a kid. The company they worked for was really shady though. They were too cheap to buy equipment to mine the coal, so they hired mostly manual labor. Eventually, a lot of the workers started getting sick, and they started firing those that complained. My dad stayed the longest out of the family, but eventually he too got sick as well."

Tenya then spoke up and asked, "What did they catch? Black lung?"

"My uncle did, but the rest of them got COPD," the tailed teen said slowly. Ida and Yaoyorozu gasped at his response.

Tooru asked in a confused tone, "Anyone mind telling us less informed people what that means?"

"It's an abbreviation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It's a lung disease that causes long-term breathing problems because of the break down of lung tissue," Momo explained in a somber voice. She then looked at Mashirao and asked, "How bad does he have it?"

Ojiro put a hand on his chin as he responded with, "As long as he keeps a normal walking pace and doesn't push himself he can do just fine. But anything strenuous will cause him to have an exacerbation or a worsening of his symptoms which is usually a long coughing fit and a shortness of breath."

Uraraka then stated, "That doesn't sound too bad. I mean yeah it's terrible and all but if he takes things slow then."

Ida interrupted his girlfriend and said, "It's only going to get worse as he gets older Ochako. There is no cure; you just treat the symptoms. Eventually just getting out of bed will be a struggle for his father."

Midoriya remembered back to when he met Mashirao's dad. His sickly and thin appearance was all because of this disease? And it was only going to get worse? This had to be eating away at Mashirao. Izuku then asked with concern, "So what happened next to your father and his family?"

Mashirao crossed his arms as he explained, "My dad has always been a hard worker and a quick learner. Even between working my dad self-taught himself academics with books that my grandparents were able to scrounge up for him. They all eventually pooled money together and raised enough for him to move here to Honshu island (the largest island of Japan) because they thought he deserved better. The rest of his family went further into poverty and started living off government assistance to get by."

Ojiro then took a moment before continuing with, "After taking some tests and working with whoever he could find that would help, he was able to get into a college that specializes in criminal justice. My father was convinced that the company he worked for had done something underhanded that put the workers at risk and could take them to court. After he graduated, he worked with some of his lawyer buddies in college to make a case."

Mashirao then paused to smile before saying, "As the case was being made he got a job on the police force and met my mom. My dad says she was big motivation to continue pursuing the case against that company during this time." He then sighed and continued with, "Eventually it was found that the company had ignored various laws on safety that the coal miners had no idea existed because of their lack of education. My dad won a huge settlement, and the company buckled under quickly after that. But instead of taking the money for himself he spent the next few years finding employees that worked at the coal mine and giving them an equal share of it. The company fell apart too quickly to get justice for everyone else involved. The rest of the sick in my family came here for treatment. But only my uncle and grandma are still alive today, and they are in assisted living because they are in the advanced stages of COPD."

There was some time of silence after Ojiro had finished, as it was a lot to process. Midoriya eventually stated, "Your dad sounds like an amazing person."

Mashirao gave a soft smile as he replied, "Yeah, he is a big reason I wanted to become a hero. It's hard not to be inspired to do good when dad is such a badass." This got a soft chuckle from everyone, and it helped lighten the mood a bit.

After the laughter died down Hagakure asked, "So why do you live in a place like this? Why not move someplace nicer?"

"A couple of reasons. My dad had limited choices when he first moved here and went for the cheapest options. Another is because the assisted living and a good hospital that could treat him and his family are nearby. Even nowadays money is tight, so we can't move everyone and still be close to one another. My family still have to support my grandma and uncle. My dad's medical insurance from his job handles his various medications and antibiotics but everything else he needs to accommodate for this disease is out of his and my mom's pocket," Ojiro replied in a sorrowful tone.

Izuku pointed to the corner of the room and said, "So such things like that air purifier over there?"

The tailed teen nodded before explaining, "Yeah. We have one of those in every room. The better the air quality, the easier it is for him to breathe. They of course also hike up our electric bill. Then to help my dad get around, he got an electric car. He also hired a personal trainer and nutritionist to keep himself in shape. The healthier he is, the longer he'll last till he becomes bedridden. Then there's oxygen therapy as well, and he sleeps with a breathing machine to prevent exacerbations from occurring at night. I could go on and on but it all adds up."

Mashiaro sighed before saying, "So even though my parents have great paying jobs, sometimes we are living paycheck to paycheck because there is so much to spend it on. I'm lucky my Muay Thai instructor started training me for free once he realized my situation years ago or otherwise I might have never been able to come to our current school."

Again the room became quiet. Everything was just so hard to swallow for Izuku. Momo and Tenya came from affluent families and never experienced such hardships. While he wasn't well off himself, nothing about his family came anywhere close to what Mashirao was experiencing. He didn't know the specifics about Tooru's folks, but he guessed they all lived happily together. If anyone could compare to what his tailed friend felt it would be Ochako, but despite her poor status, she had healthy parents. Just how much was Mashirao holding in?

Momo then slowly asked, "So I get the part that you hated those vile people that were in charge of that coal company. They played with people's lives all for greed. But how does that relate to what happened on the roof on Monday?"

Mashirao placed both palms on his cheeks as he let his elbows sit on the coffee table. He then answered with, "That all stems from my previous school. Between my first and second year of middle school year, our school district lines were redrawn and my neighborhood was now meant to go to a rich kid academy. It was a public school, but since it used to reside in an entirely wealthy district, it was never made into a private school. Of course, there was a backlash from that community, but it was shot down, and poor kids like me started attending there."

The tailed teen's face hardened as he said, "We were all subject to endless ridicule and mistreatment from the well-off kids and sometimes even the faculty. Monoma was a regular in all of this. Koda-san was one of the few kids I knew from before going there, and so when I saw him getting bullied, I felt obligated to protect him. I was never expelled despite getting into fights all the time because I was never the aggressor, at least on school grounds."

Ojiro's face looked in disgust as he said, "Eventually the hate just boiled over. Outside of school, I started picking fights with the bullies any chance I got, and it just made the problem worse at school. My parents eventually noticed me getting cuts and bruises on days they didn't receive a phone call from my school me fighting and confronted me about it. I ended that behavior after that. That period of my life wasn't that long ago, and it still infuriates me that I thought it was the only answer I was able to come up with for a while. It was one thing to fight to defend another and another when I started to become the instigator of it. I can't deny I still held a grudge against rich people until I got to know both Ida-kun and Yaoyorozu-san more."

After he had finished, Momo stated, "Well in the short time I've known you Ojiro-san you have changed for the better."

Izuku very much agreed with what the tall girl said and also voiced his opinion by saying, "It's like night and day."

In an intrigued voice, Tenya then asked, "This all explains your behavior just before and during our first study session but why did you never act that way around me?"

Before Mashirao could respond, Ochako replied, "You didn't reveal your background to Ojiro-san until a couple of days after our double date, remember?"

"Oh right, that seems so long ago now that I think about it," Ida stated as he tapped his cheek and looked upward.

After a couple of moments of silence, Hagakure spoke up and said, "So has that bastard messed with you or Koda-san at our current school?"

Everyone saw Tenya restrain himself from commenting on the invisible girl's language. It got a giggle out of both Ochako and Tooru.

After both girls finished, Ojiro replied with, "No. I knew he was at U.A. cause I caught a glimpse of him at the opening ceremony, but minus a few glares here and there this Monday was the first time we had spoken to one another since I came to this school. I've kept regular contact with Koda-san and he never mentioned running into him either. I don't know what spurred him to elbow Midoriya-kun in the back of the head though. There's been plenty of time since the villain invasion during our rescue training and the Hero Killer incident."

This puzzled Izuku as well, but something more pressing was bothering him, and he asked, "Vlad King mentioned you asking questions about his student during your internship after I finished telling the adults my side of what happened. Was that the reason you wanted to work with him?"

Mashirao sighed before answering, "Yeah. I wanted to know if he had changed for the better or not. I waited until the third day of my internship to ask about Monoma. I just casually brought up that he and I went to the same school. I then asked how he was doing, and Kan-sensei said that Monoma was brilliant but had questionable ideals. It sounded like he hadn't changed at all to me, so I quickly dropped the subject and never brought it up again. Regardless, I still learned a lot from the pro hero so it wasn't a total waste."

A sudden noise grabbed everyone's attention. A woman in a nightgown entered the kitchen and had begun to make some coffee. Izuku guessed she was Mashirao's mom. She had blond hair that reached just above her shoulders. The woman was taller than her husband and seemed to have quite a muscular figure. She hadn't noticed the room full of teenagers by her side.

Mashirao then cleared his throat loudly which got her attention. The mother yawned before saying, "Oh right, you said you were bringing your friends over today. Hi everybody." She gave a weak wave and had a ditzy grin on her face.

Everyone but the younger Ojiro said their hellos, but she was quick to finish making her coffee and leave the room. After she left, the tailed teen said, "So yeah that's my mom."

Tooru was quick to state, "Man she looked jacked. Is that her quirk?"

"Sorta. She calls it Bulk-Up. My mom can strengthen and expand her muscles to ridiculous proportions but only one limb at a time. But that was just how she normally looks," Mashirao answered.

Izuku now understood his tailed friend's quirk in full. He inherited the strength quirk from his mom but it only applied to his tail, which he got from his dad, and the strength part was always activated it seemed. All Midoriya could say though in response was, "Cool."

Ojiro then said, "My mom might not be brightest, but she's a hard worker and has been a great training partner for me because of her quirk."

After a few moments, Uraraka then asked, "Could you tell us in detail about what happened in your fight on the roof?"

Ojiro was happy to explain in detail and even Midoriya pitched in here and there as well. After he finished, the tailed teen was starting to look a bit exhausted and then said, "Unless you guys have any more major questions I think I'm going to call it here, this has been quite tiring for me."

Izuku spoke up and asked, "I have one. You said Monoma had a time limit on his copy quirk but he kept on using it anyways after it stopped. Did you ever find out why?"

Mashirao nodded and then explained, "I brought it up to Kan-sensei during my explanation of what happened. He said they found bits of Kamakiri-san's shedding in his pockets. Apparently, Monoma had collected some from him, since he was shedding that day. All he needs is just a bit of someone's DNA to copy their quirk, but since he kept using the same piece to copy, the duration of his quirk got shorter and shorter."

Mashirao then got up but Izuku was quick to as well and approached him. He wasn't prepared for his friend to give him a tight hug and say, "I'm glad you didn't get expelled Ojiro-kun."

In a shaky voice, Ojiro replied, "Yeah me too."

Hagakure then came up and hugged him from behind and proclaimed, "Me three!"

The others joined in as well, and it became a big group embrace. Mashirao gave an awkward chuckle before stating, "Thanks, guys but this is a bit much."

"Oh, this is so precious," came a feminine voice from the kitchen. The older Ojiro had returned and was dressed in an officer's uniform. She was taking a photo with her phone.

Mashirao went a bit pale as he yelled, "Mom!"

So Mashirao's side story comes to a close, somewhat. Of course, it's not like Ojiro is going anywhere but his time in the spotlight has passed for now. It's almost time to tackle some significant events in the manga for a couple of chapters. Next chapter we'll see the final study session and the visit to Tooru's house. After that, it's gonna be a rollercoaster of manga plot summaries with some new/altered in-between scenes from the events until the Hideout arc ends.

So Mashirao x Tooru is the most popular ship for both characters (and pretty much their only one, minus harem fics involving Tooru, but that doesn't count). So when I decided to have my fic be Izuku x Tooru, I felt I should still use Mashirao in some capacity, as I thought I couldn't just ignore what friendship we see between the two in the manga anyhow. It's also interesting to explore Hagakure's relationship with him if it wasn't romantic. Ojiro eventually became a major character as I brainstormed the early plot of this fic. It was one reason why I chose the first cover art for my fic (though there are very little pickings for images that have Izuku and Tooru together in the first place). I do feel I might have made Ojiro a little too OOC in this fic, however. Though I guess one could argue how we see him the manga is how he treats acquaintances and how I portray him here is how he acts with his actual friends. However, with how little I'm given about his character from the source material what'cha gonna do? ;p

Now let's talk about Neito Monoma. I felt Mashirao's personal hate for the wealthy (outside his dad's past) needed to stem from someone (as opposed to never specified classmates from his past), and he ended up being my choice. His personality and hero costume gave me the impression that he came from a wealthy family. Plus he's from class 1B, so another lesser used character to use! It's funny, even Kohei Horikoshi didn't intend Neito to be an asshole when he first designed him (as he's looks are based on someone he knows in real life) but it just happened down the line apparently. And of course, I made him an even more of a bully here. He's not done being used either; he'll show up from time to time when appropriate.

Koda usage again! He'll continue being a minor character that will appear here and there as things progress. I already have a general idea of how I wanna use Koji, but minus a small part in chapter fifteen I have planned, we probably won't see him again till the dorms. Speaking of lesser used characters, I got a few ideas on how to incorporate some more in the future, with one that might become another regular minor character. I don't wanna force small characters into the story but them popping in and out couldn't hurt if they fit in certain scenes. Plus using such minor characters in bigger roles than the manga has kind of become a tertiary theme for this fic anyhow.

Wrote some action in this chapter (even if it was short), so that's a first for me. I still feel I'm not good at writing it, as it's a slow process with me having to visualize everything that's happening and go over the scenario over and over to make sure that it makes sense and flows naturally. But oddly, I find Tite Kudo's (author of Bleach) approach to drawing battles works for me. This involves playing music as you draw/write battles (usually something blood pumping like classic rock, trailer music, specific jazz, or epic orchestra). It just gets me in the mood to write a fight sequence, since I usually dread the thought as I'm just not confident in myself in writing it. More actions scenes will happen (though probably not again until the secondary theme comes full circle) and hopefully, I will improve as I go. But again this will remain mostly a slice of life fic, as it's what I feel more comfortable writing anyhow.

All the stuff concerning about Mashirao's dad involves a good bit of truth. Some of the cities and prefecture stated in the manga are different than what real-life Japan is like. So I chose just stick to island names since I don't think those have been changed. But the fact that it has coal mines and a high number of yakuza there is accurate as of today. Yeah the coal industry is on the decline nowadays, and it would make sense that it would be replaced by alternative forms of energy by the 22nd century, but I wanted to drive home how poor his dad's side of the family was. Also, COPD is a real thing. I wanted to give Mashirao's dad an incurable but some-what manageable disease, and this one spoke to me the most. Maybe it's because both my mom and middle brother went into nursing in their careers (I went with biology/teaching) that I went for this plot point, but regardless I found it interesting and went with it. I might have summarized some things here and there but I wanted to go for realism so tried to keep as factual as possible.