"You sure gave me quite a scare there, Sasaki." The girl deeply bowed to him in a perfect ninety-degree fashion. "I apologize for my behavior. I acted irrationally and allowed my foolishness to cloud my sense of judgement." She raised her head to look him directly in the eye. "Thank you for your warnings. Your guidance is very much appreciated." She expressed her gratitude, referring to the Support Items Act papers he slipped into her hands without her knowledge.
Junk Master sighed, giving an uncomfortable smile. "You know, there isn't any shame in letting your emotions take over. We all have things we're passionate about. You and that Bakugou kid, both." He picked up one of the bracers from Bakugou's costume. The confiscated one. "Unlike the stuff you work with, you're not a machine, Sasaki."
"But good lord is this thing dangerous!! I'm glad he only has one of them now. Where on Earth did you even get the idea for something this crazy!?" Ayano grimaced. "Perhaps I was too liberal with the explosive output...or perhaps I underestimated the dormant potential of his quirk."
She gently took the grenade-like bracer from her teacher's hands, inspecting its every nook and cranny. "It is indeed too dangerous – That is exactly why I took it away from him." She sighed in a way that sounded slightly like defeat. "...Though I must admit...it does suit him."
Junk Master chuckled, "He definitely has an 'explosive' personality. Just make sure to keep him in check, would you?" She gave a firm nod. With that, she returned to her work station.
As soon as she did, she was met with a blur of pink. "Sasaki! That is one wonderful baby! Have you ever thought about doing this to it!??" The girl unraveled a wide piece of paper, revealing blue prints of her ideas.
"Your enthusiasm is appreciated, Mei, but I would like to think over some things on my own for now." Mei was not discouraged in the slightest. "Fufufu! Well, if you ever think about something you might like, you can come to me! I'm sure I'll have a baby that suits your needs!"
Ayano watched Mei practically skipping back to her pile of inventions, thinking about how many the girl has already made in the span of a few days. She smirked to herself, being reminded of how behind she was with what happened.
As she was about to get back to work, an irritating voice interrupted her. "Our teacher's right; that weapon is way too dangerous." Ayano turned to Yuudai with her usual impassive face tinged with annoyance.
"If you ask me, it'd fit a villain more than a hero. But I guess that's what you were aiming for, right? What were your words again? 'I wouldn't peg you for a hero even if you were the worst one'?" He laughed derisively. "That's rich, coming from you. Even you think he's dangerous, and yet you made that? I thought you were some goody-two-shoes with all your nonsense about making support items to help people, but you're also dangerous."
Choosing to ignore him, Ayano turned back to her station. She had no time for his drivel. He could say whatever he wanted about her and her ideals. She would never waver from them no matter what he said.
"Well, I guess it all worked out in the end. A weapon that's better suited for a villain, and a hero that's better suited to be a villain!" Ayano's breath caught in her throat and her teeth clenched. Yuudai laughed again, seeing the pause in her movements.
"Oh? Did I strike a nerve there? You seem to care little about yourself but when I talk about him, you clam up. You're usually pretty mouthy to me, but you can't say anything because you know I'm right. He's dangerous. You confiscating part of the costume proves that you think so too!" Her hands started to shake. She clenched them to return to a sense of control.
Yuudai scoffed. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if real villains came here and recognized him as a potential ally. He'd probably feel right at home in their recruitment process!" His laughter was ceased by Ayano's hard grip on his collar, pulling at his tie and slightly choking him in the process.
"Listen here, shi—" "JUNK MASTER!!!" Power Loader burst into the studio, no restraint in his voice. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his chest. Most of his face was obscured by his yellow helmet, but everyone could easily see the signs of distress.
"There's a villain attack at USJ! We have to get there quick, it's just Thirteen and Aizawa there!!" Yuudai immediately felt air circulating back through his throat and lungs. Ayano had nearly lunged for her bag, frantically digging for her support items.
If Aizawa was there, then that would mean Class 1-A was there too.
"Oh no you don't!! Sasaki, I understand how you're feeling right now, but this is serious. We're dealing with villains. I need you to stay here!" Junk Master scolded her while gearing up. "I cannot just stand here while m—" She began protesting, but her elbow was yanked back by Yuudai.
"This goes for all of you as well. Stay. Here." The automatic door slid shut, finalizing his commands. Many of the students began whispering, speculating about what was happening. Ayano stared after Junk Master's back, eyebrows furrowing when the door shut.
Her fists were clenched tightly. Realizing that Yuudai was still gripping her wrist, she swung herself around to reprimand him. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but his look of sheer terror stopped her.
He composed himself rather well if he was able to hold her back in his current state. He looked to be on the verge of hyperventilating. His eyes were wide and his hands were shaking rapidly, on the cusp of shivering. He slowly inhaled and exhaled, his shaking gradually subsiding.
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if real villains came here and recognized him as a potential ally."
Ayano narrowed her eyes at the boy. It seemed like he was in a lot of shock because of the timing. Villains came around just when he said all of that. He was the type to spout nonsense just to provoke others, but having such words come true was probably too much for him.
It was normal to be shocked. Most of their classmates were wide-eyed themselves, but this was a different level. She was once again amazed that he was able to stop her earlier. Was there some sort of trauma that he had regarding villains?
The brown-haired girl followed his breathing pattern, inhaling and exhaling deeply to calm herself. She was no longer angry at the boy, her uneasiness washing over her.
Ayano looked at the grenade-like bracer, laying her hand on top of it like in some sort of prayer or to look for some sort of comfort.
.
.
.
Ayano quickly slid the infirmary door open, although she still took care in not slamming it. "Aya-chan!" "Young Sasaki!"
The girl was slightly out of breath, having run here as soon as Junk Master had given her the 'okay.' It was a mixture of the running and her worries.
She nodded her head at Recovery Girl and All Might, acknowledging their presence, but she veered towards Midoriya with quick steps. The girl observed her childhood friend up and down with careful eyes. She gripped his hands, examining them for any scars, knowing full well what his new quirk could do to them.
"I-I'm fine, Aya-chan! Really!!" He waved the hand that she wasn't grabbing back and forth, frantically trying to reassure her. She stared into his eyes, looking for any signs of a lie. "I already got healed by Recovery Girl. It's okay!" He gave her a sheepish smile.
Ayano turned to All Might, causing the man to flinch. He lifted his hands up in surrender. "M-Me too! I'll be sure to take better care of myself." He responded, although she hadn't even said anything to him. Somehow, he just had a feeling that she would've reprimanded him.
"O-Oh!! U-Umm, Aya-chan!! Th-This man...is...um...!!" "Is All Might." She finished for him.
"Eh?"
"This man is All Might." She repeated, as if it were so simple. Well, it really was that simple. It's just that Midoriya was in shock and couldn't process everything correctly. "There is no need for concern. I will not reveal your secrets."
Without saying another word, Ayano reached into her bag and pulled out a small case. She took Midoriya's hand and placed a single pill into his open palm. At his questioning gaze, all she responded with was, "Stamina pill."
He obediently swallowed it, gratefully taking a swig of water from her offered bottle. As soon as it was all washed down, he felt a boost of energy. "Wow! I don't feel any of the tiredness from Recovery Girl's healing!"
Ayano took to her projection wristband, recording him. "It works." "Wha—Did you just test it on me!?! Aya-chan!!" "It works, doesn't it." "That's not the point!" Midoriya wasn't mad. He just laughed at her antics, appreciating his friend even more.
He almost cried. She had known about his quirk and his relation to All Might all along. She never pressed him for details, only ever being concerned for his well-being. Was he really friends with somebody so amazing?
He wiped the emerging tears from his eyes just to see her walking towards the door. "Aya-chan? Where are you going?"
"To check on another idiot." She responded as she slipped out.
Her words were harsh, but Midoriya saw the small worry in her features. He smiled, hoping she wouldn't scold Bakugou too much.
Knowing Bakugou, he probably didn't even wait for permission to go back home. As such, Ayano skipped looking for him in his classroom, opting to travel the pathway towards their houses.
She eventually got a view of the ash blond with his hands tucked into the pockets of his sagging pants. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out an object to throw at him. Her aim hit the target as intended.
"Ow! Hey, what the fuck!?? Who did that!!? I'll kill you!!!" He shouted, trying to grab the thrown object. It was now stuck to his back, out of his reach. Ayano sighed. "Is that, in any way, how a hero should talk?" He turned to her with a glare. He should have known that she would be the only one to try a stunt like this.
Scan complete. Subject is in excellent physical health. Internal sensors indicate temporary increased levels of testosterone, decreased levels of cortisol, and an increased heart rate. All indicators of the emotion, anger.
Ayano scoffed. Of course. She pulled the spherical object from his back. Bakugou recognized it to be the same one from the entrance exam that healed the cut on his cheek.
He watched her press a few buttons on its surface, recording his internal and external readings into the system and transferring them to her watch. The two of them walked along in silence, Ayano focusing on her watch and Bakugou stealing side glances at her. "...The costume..." The blond began mumbling, surprising her.
"...it helped..."
Ayano's finger stopped in mid-air, in mid-click. She quickly turned towards him, her face unreadable.
Bakugou's face, however, was an open book for all his emotions. Like always, he turned his face away from her to try and hide the growing blush that he felt. "Don't get me wrong though!! I didn't need it! I'm just saying it was okay to have it with me as a backup! Not that I would need it!!!" He repeated.
Ayano held in her laughter, hiding her smile behind her hand.
"You really are an idiot. Baka-gou. BaKatsuki...Dumbass." "You didn't even try with that last one!!!"