Ayano arrived at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall along with the majority of Class 1-A. She had been invited to the excursion by both Kirishima and Midoriya.
Students of the Support Course did not have a training camp like students of the Hero Course. Instead, they would be allowed to spend their Summer Break within certain parts of the campus. They would be free to use the Development Studio as they pleased. They would also be free to use the many training grounds around U.A., so long as they properly signed up for it.
Of course, unlike a training camp, there was no incentive for students to spend their valuable vacation on school grounds. As a result, Junk Master had given his students multiple assignments due after Summer Break, effectively forcing them to use their time wisely. Some students wanted to get it over with and have more time to relax. Others preferred to procrastinate, prioritizing play over work and waiting until the final days to complete the assignments.
Ayano, being neither of the two types of students, was overjoyed at the prospect of using the school's facilities and planned to spend as much time there as she could over the break. In fact, she had already signed up for various time slots for access to the training grounds.
She graciously accepted Kirishima's and Midoriya's offer of joining their class to go shopping, since she needed quite the amount of supplies for the kind of projects she planned to work on.
At Kirishima's suggestion, Class 1-A split, each group or person going off to find whatever they needed. Ayano, Midoriya, and Uraraka were the only ones left at the original meeting spot. Midoriya and Uraraka were left behind, neither being in so much of a hurry as the rest of their classmates. Ayano had stayed behind because she was studying a map of the mall. Memorizing the entire layout would allow her to plan out the quickest and most efficient route.
She never had any intentions of hanging out with the rest of them anyways.
"A-Aya-chan! What are you planning to buy?" Midoriya asked after he recovered from being in awe of his classmates' rush. Ayano folded up the map and placed it in her pocket, only to procure another folded piece of paper: her shopping list.
She began listing off the vast amount of materials. "Petroleum, wrought iron, potassium nitrate, silicon carbide, corundum, na—" "Can you even find some of those things in a mall!?!" Midoriya and Uraraka shouted in surprise.
Ayano blinked. "...I highly doubt it, but there is no harm in trying. There are some things on this list that I can find at this mall, so coming here is not a complete waste of my time."
Midoriya laughed and then asked Uraraka what she planned to buy. She gave a flustered response, running away while shouting something about bug spray. Midoriya's eyes followed after her in confusion.
Everyone had come to the mall together, but now it was just Midoriya and Ayano left. She turned to her friend. "Well, if you do not need me, I will be on my way." She said, already beginning to walk away before finishing the sentence.
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Just as she thought, most of the items on her shopping list were unattainable at this mall. All she had to show for this trip was a single, modest bag of materials. As she said earlier, it wasn't a complete waste of her time because she at least found some of the things on her list.
Ayano was on the second-floor balcony, on her way to go down the escalators. As she was walking alongside the railings, she looked down to the first floor where their original meeting place was.
She managed to catch sight of Midoriya's green hair in the midst of the large crowd. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Has he finished shopping already? ...No, he's with someone."
She squinted in order to see better. Uraraka looked to be walking cautiously towards the two figures. As soon as Ayano saw Midoriya shouting at Uraraka, she immediately took action.
Ayano ran across the balcony, frantically pushing past people to get a better shot. Reaching the best angle of vision, she knelt down and rested her left arm on top of the railings. Her right hand grabbed her left forearm, further stabilizing it. A holographic screen of information popped up above her watch. A crosshair locked onto the hooded man next to Midoriya.
The man suddenly released the boy, standing up and walking through the crowd. Ayano's arm followed him, her watch still locked on. "...No...I can't. There are too many civilians. I do not know who this man is and it is uncertain whether this would be effective. There is no telling what he might do to the people around him should I fail." After all, her watch couldn't compare to her bionic arm cover.
Ayano sighed, begrudgingly lowering her arm and disarming her weapon. It pained her to let him go scot-free, but it was for the best.
The hooded man suddenly looked up at the second-floor balcony, straight at Ayano. The conviction and bloodlust, coupled with that manic smile nearly made her fall down in a fear that she had never felt before.
Even after the man had turned back around and disappeared within the crowd, Ayano could still feel the slight shivers coursing through her body. Her right hand quickly slapped itself over her left wrist in a tight grip to still the shaking.
Of course, she had faced many dangers before—even taking on the sludge villain without a second thought. This man, however, was a different story. He had an aura like no other.
She was beginning to understand everyone's newfound fascination with the Hero Killer and the League of Villains.
But now wasn't the time to think about that.
The mall was quickly shut down in order to pursue Shigaraki Tomura, but the pro heroes and police were met with no success.
Midoriya was brought to the police for an interview, detailing his conversation with the villain. Ayano remained outside of the police station waiting for him as well as for his mother.
Midoriya Inko arrived in tears, distraught and in relief of her son's safety. "Izukuuuu! Enough, already! Your old mom's heart can't take it..."
Ayano watched on as Inko wrapped her arms tightly around her son, crying into his shoulder as he tried comforting her.
The brown-haired girl narrowed her eyes, thoughts causing her brow to wrinkle. A deep frown was set on her face, pulled taut from her teeth biting at the insides of her mouth. She released a deep breath, easing her features.
She knew what she had to do.
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"A-Aya-chan, what did you want to talk about?" Midoriya asked nervously.
Ayano was never the type to be secretive. If she wanted to talk to someone, she would just do it without any reservation. It didn't matter to her if people were around to hear.
So, the fact that she called him out to talk alone was already concerning enough. Not to mention, he had no idea what was on her mind.
Not that he ever really had a good idea. Ayano was always so collected and nearly unreadable.
Yet, he could tell that something was off in her stare.
"Your training camp...It is not going to be held in the usual place." A statement, not a question. Midoriya still felt the need to answer though. "Y-Yeah. It's for our own safety because of what happened yesterday with Shigaraki Tomura."
Ayano nodded. "A reasonable and rational decision." Midoriya knew that wasn't all she wanted to know. He shakily responded, "A-Aya-chan, even we don't know where we're going. They said we'd know once we get there."
"That is fine. I assumed things would happen as such..." She reached into her bag, producing a thin disk. Its diameter no bigger than a dime's. "...Which is why I created this tracking device."
Midoriya's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Aya-chan! That's too dangerous!! What if the teachers find out? Or worse! Villains!" He whisper-shouted.
"What's dangerous is that you are going to an unknown location. I, nor your own mother, know anything about your destination. Think about our feelings for a change. If not mine, then at least hers." Ayano stepped threateningly close to him. "You saw how she was last night at the police station. You saw the condition she was in. You had no scratches but she was reduced to tears."
"This may be your dream, but you are her son. Her only son. You cannot keep ignoring her feelings." She stepped back, allowing Midoriya to breath without an intense aura so close to him.
"I am not saying you have to reveal any information that may put you and your classmates at risk." She revealed a second disk, one that matched the first. "Neither device will activate unless one of us activates our own, and you have my word that I will not do so unless I deem it absolutely necessary."
When Midoriya didn't lift his hand to receive the gadget, Ayano forcibly pushed it into his palm. "All you have to do is keep it attached to your phone. Place it against the back of your phone and it will magnetize itself. It will not fall off so easily, but it is thin enough for you to put your phone case over it if you are so inclined."
An uneasy look washed over Midoriya's face. His lips set in a thin line and jaw clenched, he was terribly conflicted. "...What about Kacchan...?" He finally asked.
Ayano raised a brow. "What about him?" She sighed at his imploring look. She knew what he meant, and he knew that she knew. There was no point in him elaborating.
She scoffed. "You know as well as I do that he would not listen to me. He would probably try to crush this device, uttering some idiotic notion about how he is not so weak that he would need a tracking device in the event of a villain invasion. In fact, he would probably say something stupid about how he would just beat them up if that was the case."
Midoriya looked down in defeat, knowing that she was completely right. Still, he thought this was too risky and would be very much looked down upon by the teachers. "Aya-chan! I still don't think you should ask me to d—" "Midoriya Izuku."
His breath caught in his throat, a cold sweat coming to the surface after hearing the harsh voice.
Ayano was always a serious person.
There was a difference between serious and scary though. In Ayano's case, it was big difference.
Something like calling him by his full name...Midoriya could count the number of times she did that on a single hand.
He dared to look into her eyes, the ferocity in them causing his skin to grow even paler. He felt almost sickly at this point.
"I am not. Asking. You."
With that, she turned around and brusquely walked away.
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Soon enough, the first day of Summer Break and the training camp came. The students of the Hero Course left early in the morning, boarding a bus and sent off to an undisclosed location.
Ayano arrived at the school with Midoriya, sending him off with a nod. Afterwards, she walked into the deathly quiet school building. Being this early in the morning, there was nearly nobody in the hallway but a few teachers patrolling.
She walked into the Development Studio, finding it just as empty as the hallways. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of metal. Reopening her eyes, she exhaled slowly and set about to working.
Not long after she started crafting, the door to the studio slid open to reveal her classmate. Fujiyoshi Yuudai.
Ayano was surprised. Not because he was here, but because he had chosen this time to come. Ayano and Mei were the first ones to sign up for time slots in the Development Studio and training grounds. There was no way Fujiyoshi had failed to see that she would be the only one here at this time.
It was a highly questionable act, considering his previous behavior.
After their fight, Fujiyoshi had avoided Ayano altogether. Of course, she never made the effort to talk to him either, but he refused to meet her eyes even once after their bout. Working together for the final project was difficult, given that he would only communicate with her over the phone or text.
The two were never seen working on Vlad King's support item at the same time. Even so, they passed with flying colors—as the rest of their classmates expected.
She thought it strange, but believed she had no right to question him. She gathered all the information she needed in other ways.
Fujiyoshi set his materials down at the station across from her. There was something different in his behavior today. He had been acting strange all of last month, but it was even more evident today.
He seemed afraid.
Surely it wasn't fear of her. He had shown none of that when he adamantly challenged her that one day.
Well, Ayano had vowed to herself that she would figure out why the boy seemed so lost. Now seemed like the best time to talk to him about it.
"Yuudai...Do you like that name?" He flinched. So she was right. His name was a sore subject for him. After their first unpleasant meeting, she noted the irony in the meaning of his name. 'Great hero.'
For someone with such an attitude as his towards heroes, the name seemed to be misattributed. "Do you have a problem with my name?" He grumbled.
Ayano gave a short laugh. "I do not believe that I am the one who has a problem with it..." Fujiyoshi glared at her, clearly understanding what she was insinuating.
She continued. "I once believed that you hated heroes. That you believed they were merely clients to you. That you would even make support items for villains should they have fatter wallets."
She set down her tools, giving him her full attention. "I know now that my assumption was incorrect. Our fight gave me a lot of insight on your true intentions and motives. As I have said before, you are lost Fujiyoshi Yuudai. Incredibly lost."
"When we fought...there was this glint in your eyes. One that I have seen on many occasions from others. There was this rush of excitement I saw flowing through you that I think nobody had ever seen before."
When he remained silent, she decided to just let out everything. "I looked into your background." That finally got a rise out of him. His head immediately jerked up, looking at her with a surprised glare.
"I did not invade your privacy. What I found was not anything hidden from the public. The internet is a powerful resource." She elaborated.
"Your father is an interesting man. The public had high hopes for him. On the verge of becoming a 'great hero,' his dreams were abruptly crushed in a tragic accident, leaving him impaired and out of the business."
"With his dreams so suddenly out of reach, I assume he wanted to find another way to fulfill that dream. Of course, that would be through you, Fujiyoshi Yuudai." She saw him tightening his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white.
"It is not an uncommon practice. Many parents will try to emulate themselves within their children. What is uncommon, was how extreme his methods were. Like I said previously, if I had not known any better, I would have pegged you for a student of the Hero Course. You have received rigorous training. More training than many of the students here..."
Ayano sighed, as if she found it difficult to say the next part. "...And then you developed your quirk. A quirk deemed 'unfit' for hero work." Fujiyoshi's fists were shaking, his nails digging deeply into his palms.
"You were only a child, but your entire life was still built around becoming a hero. A quirk like yours left you very little hope, so you took that hope into your own hands. You built your own support items, wishing that they would make your dream a reality. From what I saw, you could very well have made it a reality..."
Ayano smirked. "...But in the process of making that hero dream come true, you found a different dream. One that I would imagine your father did not take too kindly to."
She placed her palms on the table, leaning her body forward. "You love making support items, but your past is holding you back."
Fujiyoshi scoffed. "So, what!? Are you gonna tell me I'm being stupid?! That I should just forget about everything!? About my dad!!?"
Ayano frowned. "I would never tell you to do that. I could never imagine what this is like for you. I come from a very supportive family." She leaned back, easing her features. "I did not confront you with the intention of telling you what to do. You are your own person. I was simply stating my opinions, and if I may, I would like to state another."
"You may be his son, but this is your dream. Not his." She smiled, almost laughing at the irony. It was basically the complete opposite of what she said to Midoriya when she was admonishing him about his mother. Was she being a hypocrite?
She picked up her tools, going back to working. "Again, I do not intend to tell you what you should do. I just think it would be a shame to lose a fellow inventor. One with such talent, at that."
"You're not the one I want to hear that from!" Fujiyoshi shouted, his voice echoing in the studio. Ayano regarded him with concerned eyes. He would have been infuriated if it were pity but despite all their disagreements, she was genuinely concerned for him.
It was probably the most expressive he'd seen her.
"Just...Just shut up!! Why do you have to make this so difficult for me!" He was panting, physically as well as mentally tired from this conversation.
Ayano bowed her head slightly. "I apologize if I caused you distress..." She lifted her head, fixing him with a piercing gaze. "...but if this is making you think about your life decisions, I do not regret confronting you."
Fujiyoshi growled. He stormed out, unable to take it anymore. He had left all of his belongings in the studio. One of which, included his current project. A red light was blinking on the surface of the metal.
Ayano was curious, but she believed it would be improper to touch his possessions without permission. She quietly returned to her work, but was once again distracted by her thoughts.
She had not checked with him, but she hoped that Midoriya had listened to her. Of course, she could always activate her matching tracking device to see if he really took his with him, but that would be a breach of their contract. Ayano was a woman of her word. She would not betray him like this.
That left her with another option. Her phone.
She didn't think they would have the time to look at their phones, given how intense U.A. was. It wouldn't hurt to try though.
The girl scrolled through her contacts, seeing Midoriya's name. Her finger stopped just above the call button.
Her eyes fell upon Bakugou's name.
There was no reason for her to call him when she had Midoriya's number. Yet, she had a sudden, unexplainable urge to.
She doubted that he would answer her call but again, it wouldn't hurt to try.
Tapping the call button, she listened to the repetitive tone. Her head turned to the sound of the door sliding open, her eyes widening at the sight.
A message glowed on the screen of Bakugou's phone.
1 Missed Call
Sasaki Ayano