A mixture of anger and happiness.
That is what Izuku was feeling at the moment.
It was late Sunday morning, and the boy was making his way towards Tooru's house.
Midoriya needed some space from home, from his mom. Yes, it was a bit drastic for him to show up at his girlfriend's house unannounced but it was important. This emotion of displeasure he was having, he couldn't remember the last time this feeling directed at his mother. Not only did this involve Izuku's future as a hero, but also his relationship with Tooru. Both were almost brought to a halt, and this is what was bothering him so much.
Yesterday, U.A.'s principal had sent out an automated phone call and emailed all the parents of his school. Because of the recent problems with security for the students, as well as All Might's retirement, the school was making a drastic change towards being a boarding school. They were also told to expect a visit from their teachers the following day to go over the specifics and get written consent from their parents.
Izuku supported the idea, even if that meant he would be away from his mother for a while. It took some convincing, but eventually, Inko was okay with the idea. The younger Midoriya was, at first, afraid of not getting permission to go. His mom had made that clear from his phone call with her when he was still at the hospital.
...Izuku.
Do you really...have to go back to U.A.?
At the time, her statement really shook Izuku. He put off her statement because at the time he was more concerned about rescuing Katsuki. But when the boy read the email with his mother, he knew he would need to fight this. Midoriya felt that arguing that being separated from Hagakure would strain their relationship is what finally won her over. But in the end, it didn't matter come the next day.
Izuku didn't want to recall what had just happened earlier, as he was now standing in front of Tooru's home. He made his way up to the door and knocked a few times. The boy was surprised to see his girlfriend's mother answer the door. She looked just as confused as Midoriya did. Maintaining this look, she said, "Morning Midoriya-san, what brings you here?"
The green haired boy was quick to state, "Sorry for showing up without notice but have any U.A. teachers come by yet?"
"Yes, your homeroom teacher left not long ago," Hagakure said while opening the door more.
Izuku sighed in relief before saying, "Oh good. You don't mind if I speak to your daughter, do you? It's kind of important."
"I'm afraid you just missed her. Tooru and my husband left a few minutes ago to go jogging," the woman replied.
Midoriya found it odd that his girlfriend would be able to drag her dad out to exercise but he shook the thought out of his head to ask, "Do you mind if I stay around until they get back?"
The mother nodded as she said, "Of course, do come in." She led the boy to the dining room and motioned for him to take a seat. Hagakure then took a seat opposite of him and had a glass of some drink by her side. She cleared her throat and then asked, "This importance to talk to my daughter wouldn't have to do with the whole U.A. dorm fiasco, would it?"
Izuku was hoping just to wait until Tooru got back, but with her mother being this upfront about it, and because he had no idea how long it would be until she came back, he felt couldn't just say no. "Yes, ma'am. I'm hoping you and your husband were okay with it?"
The red-headed women grabbed her drink and gave it a sip before responding with, "Somewhat. My husband as always is okay with whatever Tooru wants. I had a different opinion of course." As she spoke, Midoriya could smell alcohol from her direction. He thought, what was she drinking? Hagakure noticed the change in the boy's face and stated, "Oh, don't give me that look. It's just a little wine child; today has been a tough day for me."
Bringing up his hands defensively, Izuku said, "It's fine Hagakure-san. It's your house; you can drink whatever you feel like." He then thought for a few moments before continuing by saying, "My mom usually drinks tea to calm her nerves, I figure this is how you deal with stress."
The mother smirked as she stated, "So now you're saying I'm an alcoholic?"
Midoriya quickly tried to argue, "W-What no. I-I was t-trying-."
Hagakure interrupted the boy by stating, "I'm only joking, I know what you mean." She then gave off a hearty chuckle.
She's more relaxed than last time I was here, Izuku thought. Could this be because of the wine?
The woman then said, "To answer your question in full though, Midoriya-san, I was somewhat opposed to this change. I mean I do agree with turning U.A. into a boarding school, considering everything that has happened as late, but I'm going to miss seeing my baby girl growing up day by day. I got to see Tooru change, mostly for the better, at her last school. And in the few months at U.A., I've seen her grow into a young woman, though I have to thank you for that somewhat Midoriya-san."
Izuku blushed at her last statement but then mulled over everything else she said. The changes at her last school must be the personality change his girlfriend had mentioned the first time she sneaked into the nurse's office. The key though that got Midoriya thinking was his girlfriend's mother saying 'mostly for the better.' Did that mean there was something that the older Hagakure didn't like about her daughter's change in personality? The boy was tempted to ask about it but felt maybe this wasn't the best time, and instead thought about her sadness to miss out seeing Tooru's growth first hand. It was such a different reason than why his mother was against him living at school. And it brought back memories of earlier this morning.
To Izuku's surprise, All Might showed up alone this morning. He had expected just Eraserhead, and his presence inside their home made both Midoriyas quite rattled. It wasn't long however till Inko announced being against her son going to the dorms. She stated that after thinking about it more last night, that she had changed her mind. The older Midoriya just couldn't support a school that was having such issues with their students getting attacked by villains. There were other schools he could attend, she argued, which her son almost agreed to, but the issue came back to Tooru and All Might. Not going to the same school as his girlfriend and his mentor would be hard, especially since both were going to be living there. Izuku knew he had to keep quiet about his connection to All Might and instead called out Inko by saying that this would make being with his girlfriend difficult. She argued that he could still spend time with her on the weekends. All Might tried to offer support and stated that to take advantage of the students living on school grounds school days would be extended to six days, which meant they would only have Sunday off. The older Midoriya still stated that her point still could work.
Before Izuku could protest anymore, Yagi intervened. Bowing down on the floor in what few precious seconds he could in maintaining his muscle form, he first stated that he saw the younger Midoriya as his successor as the Symbol of Peace. As All Might reverted to his true form, he apologized for U.A.'s failure to protect their student's and for installing the drive in his student to go against the advice and rules of his teachers. He felt he was neglecting Izuku by not being there every step of the way. The skeleton of a man asked Inko the opportunity for him and the faculty the chance to change U.A. into a safer school, to be with his successor every step of the way from now on, and the guarantee that he would personally lay down his life if need be to protect her son. He then gave a few coughs before continuing by saying that the younger Midoriya's relationship with Hagakure was another thing to consider. Yagi stated that he felt that she was only a positive influence to his student and he saw no reason to threaten such a thing.
Inko had then sat down on the floor for a few moments thinking about everything that had been said. Eventually, she rejected the proposal on the mere fact that All Might was willing to sacrifice his life. The woman knew her son lived for his idol and it would crush him to see the former pro hero die. The older Midoriya asked that if the former pro hero did everything else but strove to stay alive, she would accept her son going back to the hero academy. Yagi accepted immediately, and the debate was ended.
In a concerned voice, Mrs. Hagakure asked, "Midoriya-san is everything alright? You're awfully quiet."
"S-Sorry, I was just comparing your reasons against the proposed changes to my mom's in my head," Midoriya stated after collecting his thoughts for a moment.
The woman's voice changed to shock before asking, "Wait did she not give you permission to go?"
Izuku sighed before answering with, "She put up a lot of resistance, but All Might-sensei was able to convince her otherwise." The boy then recounted what had happened earlier in the morning. As he explained, the woman got up to get more wine, but she continued to listen diligently.
By the time Midoriya was done she had finished her drink once more. Instead of getting more, Hagakure asked, "So why are you here again Midoriya-san?"
The question baffled the boy, but he replied, "I just felt I needed some time away from my mom. And I thought Tooru should know what happened. I mean our relationship could have radically changed for the worse if my All Might-sensei didn't convince my mother."
The red-headed women rubbed her temple and sighed before saying, "So you're upset with your mom and you wanted to pout about it to my daughter."
"Hagakure-san I-," Izuku tried to say.
However, he was interrupted by, "Isn't your birthday tomorrow? You and Tooru are gonna have the whole day together. Talk about it then. What you should do is go back home and sort this out with your mother." She then got up and turned around to put her glass in the sink.
Midoriya stood up as well and said, "I want tomorrow to be nothing but a positive day for both of us. I didn't want to drag it down with my problems back at home."
Tooru's mother made somewhat of a pouty face. The boy guessed she could see the logic he was saying but didn't want to admit it. "Okay then smarty-pants, then why not let me tell my daughter about your visit today and why you're here. I bet she'll call you about it later today and you can resolve it then," Hagakure argued. She then crossed her arms as she asked, "Did you talk to your mother at all about this before coming here?"
Izuku just shook his head. He had followed All Might outside to chat a bit after his mother had finished the paperwork. After the former pro hero left, the boy immediately asked Inko if he could go to Tooru's house, under the guise that he wanted to see if she had gotten permission to go. His mother was okay with it; she just wanted him back before dinner. Even though the younger Midoriya expected his girlfriend's mother to not be entirely behind the idea, he trusted that she would eventually say yes. And his suspicions proved right.
Hagakure exhaled loudly before stating, "Jeez. Kids these days just need to talk with their parents if they're upset about something. I got enough dealing with that mess with Tooru in the past. I don't want your mother having to go through that too, so promise me you'll talk to her when you get back home?"
"Yes ma'am, I promise," Midoriya replied.
Izuku thanked the woman for the advice and then left. The walk back to the train station felt awkward to him. Why hadn't he just talked to his mom about this? Was it because, for the first time in a long while, he was upset with her over something? Izuku really couldn't remember the last time he got angry with her, and for a good reason. She was a fantastic parent, he felt. But with that thought in the boy's head, then why didn't he just sit down with her and talk about it? Was it because her defiance to say yes had threatened his dream to be a hero? Was it because of the possibility to weaken his relationship with Tooru? Or was it both?
These thoughts lingered as Midoriya got onto the train that would take him home. As it sped forward, he recalled even further back, to his sleepover at Ida's house, specifically when Izuku advised Tenya about Ochako.
You know, we're still teenagers Ida-kun. Our lives aren't over if we end up having to break-up with the ones we love. And as much as it pains me to admit that, considering that I just got a girlfriend, it's just a part of growing up.
Should this apply here? And thinking about it for a few minutes, Midoriya decided no it didn't. This was something he didn't have control over, so of course, he wanted to fight it. The boy's advice to his friend concerned if Ida's and Uraraka's dream to be pro heroes. Would their work get in the way of them being together? Of course, and at some point, it would apply to himself and Hagakure as well. It was inevitable. But it was something Izuku felt it was something you had some control of. Your parent dictating if you should pursue your goal in life sure is something you can't control, at least at his current age, he mused. Midoriya initially thought he did convince his mother to go along with the change to his school, only for her to change her mind the next day. If it hadn't been for the former number one hero in Japan's efforts, he probably wouldn't be going back to U.A.
As the train approached the station near his house, Midoriya tried to think of better thoughts to try to stave off all the negatives emotions he had been having. Now that he thought about it, All Might had fulfilled a promise that the boy had given to his girlfriend without even asking. He wanted to have more one on one training with his mentor, and the man had vowed he would when speaking to his mother. The concept did excite Izuku, even if it meant he couldn't spar with the former pro hero because of his sorry state of One for All. But it was definitely an improvement over the offhand approach, besides his final exam, his teacher had been doing since he finished his training before coming to school. The arrangement would at least ease Tooru's concern about her boyfriend's quirk constantly doing damage to his body.
Another thing to look forward to was his birthday tomorrow. A day with his girlfriend should cheer him up, Midoriya thought. The thought of her in a swimsuit didn't seem to bother him that much, which surprised him. Izuku kept thinking back to Tooru's birthday, as he waited for her to choose a swimsuit. It's just floating clothing; it's just floating clothing, he kept telling himself. When the boy thought it this way, it kept him mostly calm, and he hoped it would persist tomorrow when he saw the real deal. Besides that obstacle, he figured the rest of the day would be manageable. Speaking of tomorrow, he didn't have a plan for it. With everything that had happened lately, Midoriya didn't have the time or energy to think about it. Perhaps during his plan to call Hagakure tonight, the two could discuss the details of his birthday.
But first, there was the matter of talking to his mom.
Izuku got off the train and started to walk back home slowly. He went over possible ways to start and proceeded with the conversation with his mother, and after what felt like forever, he arrived at his house. Midoriya opened the door and walked into his living room to find his parent sitting down eating lunch, a simple sandwich it looked like.
"Izuku, what are you doing back so early? I didn't expect you to come back for a few more hours," Inko said as she laid down her food on the coffee table in front of her.
The younger Midoriya responded with, "Tooru was out jogging with her dad, so I talked with her mom instead." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Mom, can we talk about what happened this morning?"
The short woman shoulders sagged, and she looked down at her sandwich with a frown. A few seconds passed before she asked,"Will you give me some time to make some tea?"
Izuku gave a nod, and his mother got up and walked to the kitchen. He then took a seat on the couch and mentally prepared for what was going to happen next. A few minutes passed before the boy saw his mom return with some tea. It smelled of honey, so he guessed it was green tea she was drinking. Inko preferred white tea or green tea. When she drank the former, it was usually plain or with milk, but with the latter, she would add either honey or mint to the drink.
After taking a seat and having a sip of her tea, the mother said, "So, what part in particular about this morning do you wanna talk about?"
"I just want to tell you how I'm feeling about it is all. I just need to get this off my chest," the younger Midoriya stated as he leaned back on the couch.
"I'm listening Izuku," the woman said hesitantly.
Izuku then explained slowly, "I can't help but feel angry that I almost had my dream to be a pro hero come to a halt. And then also complicate things between me and Tooru. I wanna be mad, but I also can understand why you did this mom. It's just you and me right now. You are afraid if I continue on this path you'll lose me. But I don't want to abandon this chance to fulfill my dream, and I don't want to hinder what me and Tooru have potentially."
Inko gave her son a somber look, and she took another drink of tea before replying with, "It's like what I told you before Izuku. I just want you to be happy. And you getting injured by your quirk due to poor guidance or from villains because of lackluster security threatened that. It's why I suggested you attending another school. At least at a different hero academy with less notoriety, the chances of it being attacked are much lower. Yes, I was worried about you losing your life, but I was equally scared you would become so injured you couldn't be a pro hero or worse, a normal life." She breathed in and out heavily before continuing, "I do need to apologize though. I didn't want to come between you and your girlfriend, but I didn't have a choice. I'm s-sorry I had to do t-that."
Tears were starting to form in the short woman's eyes, and her son was quick to grab her right hand with both of his. He then said, "Like I said, mom, I understand why you did it. But you changed your mind and didn't tell me before All Might-sensei showed up. Why?"
"Cause I t-thought I would have a b-better chance if I d-didn't," Inko answered ashamedly.
Izuku sighed after hearing that statement. His mother was quite desperate to say no. He then stated, "Mom, if you were having second thoughts then you should have told me."
"I-I know, and I'm s-sorry," the short woman said as she wiped away a few rogue tears.
Trying to cheer her up, the younger Midoriya asked, "Is there anything else I can do to help you feel better about this?"
After drinking more tea to calm down, the older Midoriya stated, "I want you to call me every week. Tell me what's happening and be truthful. If you can do that, it would greatly calm my nerves. Not knowing what's going on cause you won't be around will bother me to no end."
Izuku was quick to reply, "Sure thing mom." Then an idea popped into his head and he continued with, "We can even make it a video chat if you want."
"I'd like that. That way I can tell you aren't getting yourself too injured," Inko stated while wiping her eyes.
That was what the younger Midoriya was hoping for. It did mean he needed to double down on his training once he went back to school. But All Might had promised to work with him one on one the other day. He was bound to improve faster than ever before by being with his mentor in one on one lessons, right?
The boy was then startled by his mother suddenly standing up. "You must be hungry; it's well past noon at this point. Do you want me to make you something?"
Izuku sighed and replied, "I'd love that."
Midoriya was laying on his bed. The sun was just starting to disappear over the horizon. After eating lunch, he came back to his room and took a nap. Just minutes ago, Izuku woke up. He was starting to worry. The boy pondered, did Tooru's mom even say that he had come by her house? His girlfriend would have called by now if so. Midoriya figured she wouldn't call right away to allow him time to talk things over with his mother. He fell asleep with his phone next to him to make sure not to miss Hagakure's call.
Izuku couldn't focus on anything else, and it was driving him up the wall. He started pacing around his room trying to construct possible ideas as to why Tooru hadn't called. One thought did stand out though to Midoriya. Did she just want to wait until tomorrow to talk about it? But they still hadn't discussed the specifics about his birthday. At the very least if his girlfriend didn't want to talk about it till later then he should call her to set up what to do about the trip to the beach. But what if he called her and there was no sign that she knew about what happened today? That would be awkward for both of them, Izuku thought.
Just as the thought of getting a glass of water to calm his nerves came into the boy's mind, his phone began to ring. In a panicked rush, he pulled it from his pocket, almost dropping it as he fumbled it through his hands for few seconds. After regaining control of the device and his nerves, Midoriya answered the call, "Hello Tooru."
"Evening Izuku! Sorry for calling late. I had some stuff to take care of concerning your birthday tomorrow," the Hagakure apologized.
Izuku sighed in relief. It looks like she already has everything planned out it seems, he thought. The boy then responded, "It's fine. Thanks for going through the trouble to set this all up for me."
Tooru replied back with, "Well everything has been ridiculous these last few weeks. Especially with what happened this morning. So I thought I would just take care of it myself so we can focus on cheering you up tomorrow."
So Mrs. Hagakure did keep her promise, the boy thought as he sat down on his bed. He then stated, "Yeah it's been a hectic day alright."
There was a bit of a pause before he heard his girlfriend ask, "So did you and your mom set things straight?"
"Kind of," Midoriya said slowly. He heard a soft grunt from her and then quickly added, "I mean she still isn't one hundred percent okay with everything that's gonna be happening but at least I learned more as to why she changed her mind." His previous answer didn't tell much, and he guessed Hagakure didn't like it.
He then heard Tooru ask, "So you two are cool now?"
"Better than before I left for your place," Izuku stated as he laid his back on his bed. He then continued, "I promised her I would call her weekly and give all the details of what's happening. I even suggested doing video chat to show that I won't get too beat up."
His girlfriend then cheerfully said, "Oh that's a wonderful idea. That should help get her through this time apart from you."
Midoriya then thought back to earlier in the day. Her mother was also quite upset to see her daughter leave. Maybe there was a way to make this idea even better, the boy pondered. Trying to ease the girl into the concept, he asked, "Hey Tooru, how did your mom handle the meeting when Aizawa-sensei?"
"She didn't do much. Just asked a few questions here and there and had this pouty looking face the whole time. I was expecting her to raise hell about it, but it never came, which was odd. Why do you ask? I mean you talked to her for a bit this morning," Hagakure explained.
Izuku inhaled and exhaled loudly before answering with, "Your mom said she's gonna miss seeing you grow up."
A few seconds of silence passed before Tooru said, "You sure she said that? She has a weird way of showing it if so."
Izuku then argued, "Perhaps, but it's what I heard from her lips." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Maybe she would benefit to receive a call from you every once in a while at school?"
"What, like you are doing with your mother? Sounds like a lot of work," Hagakure stated in an annoyed tone.
Midoriya closed his eyes as he asked, "Would it be easier if I was with you during these calls?"
Hagakure responded quickly with, "Wait wait wait. Like in the same room or something?"
"Well, I meant more doing a video chat. But yeah," Izuku answered with confidence as he opened his eyes again.
A few seconds asked before Tooru asked with care, "What spurred this idea?"
The boy thought a moment before replying with, "I just felt bad for your mom, I guess. I mean it's pretty apparent you two have a somewhat strained relationship. Maybe this way you could mend that bond but also spend time with me if that's alright."
He heard his girlfriend sigh before saying, "Well you're not wrong about me and my mother not getting along about everything. Anyways, you sure about this?"
Midoriya cheerfully stated, "Totally!"
"Well if you're willing to go so far for me, it only makes sense I should do the same," Hagakure replied back.
Izuku asked, "What do you mean?"
"I'm suggesting that I join in with your video chats with your mom as well. That way I can be sure you don't try and skirt around whatever trouble you get yourself into next term," Tooru explained in a teasing voice.
After a few seconds to think the idea over, Midoriya said, "That's a fantastic idea Tooru! We could even do them at the same time. That way our parents can get to know each other as well."
"Well, I don't know if my dad will want to do it each week, you know how he is," Hagakure stated.
The subject of her dad made Izuku ask, "Speaking of which, you and your dad jog together? He doesn't seem like the type to want to do such things."
His girlfriend was quick to say, "Oh, he doesn't, not anymore at least."
The perplexed boy asked, "And why is that?"
There was a pause before Tooru answered with, "Well, remember when I told you about me slowing losing friends as the wow factor of my quirk wore off?"
"I do," Midoriya replied. How could he forget? It was their first big talk to one another. Plus she had skipped class to check on him that day.
Hagakure then explained, "Well for a while I got depressed about it, and I started to put on weight. I lost my drive to want to be active and eating a lot was just one way I dealt with not being popular anymore. I mean it was easy to hide at first that I was putting on pounds cause of my quirk and all. But once my clothes started not fitting anymore my mom was quick to notice that it wasn't because of growing up, it was growing out."
As his girlfriend spoke, Izuku was surprised to hear about her being overweight in the past. She seemed quite in shape now judging from her speed, which must have been also attributed to working with her trainer every Wednesday to get where she is now, he thought.
Tooru continued with, "I didn't want to do any of the diet suggestions by my mom suggested, so my dad offered to exercise with me. It took a few months but eventually, I got back to my regular figure. At around that time was when I wanted to try heroics out. So my parents looked and found a trainer for me to get in shape for going to a hero academy. My father still runs with me more because he just wants to spend time with me. We do chat a lot during our breaks, as he needs a lot of them."
"It's nice to hear you at least get along with your dad well," Midoriya stated.
Hagakure sighed before she said, "I mean, me and my mom mostly get along it's just sometimes she's too nosy and it can be very annoying."
"She's just concerned for your well being is all," her boyfriend tried to argue.
Tooru responded with, "I guess. Anyways, enough about her, we should focus on your birthday." Izuku heard her clear her throat on the phone before she said, "Be at Dagobah Beach by noon. We're gonna have lunch there so don't eat anything before you arrive. Also, I have a big surprise for you at the start."
Izuku grabbed his chest with his free hand and asked, "This isn't about your s-swimsuit is it?"
Hagakure giggled before replying, "No, silly. I didn't choose anything risque. You should know by now that's not how I operate. Anyways I'm sure you'll enjoy it when you see it tomorrow."
Midoriya could only sigh in response as he thought, why did he say that? Not only was Tooru right but earlier he was telling himself not to be worried about seeing his girlfriend in such clothing. But looking back, the last two surprises from her did involve clothing. The first was the cheerleader outfit, and the second being her hero suit. So if it wasn't about Hagakure's swimsuit, what could it be? Izuku then nervously answered with, "Well I guess I'll just have to w-wait and f-find out."
"Trust me Izuku you're gonna love it," his girlfriend stated with glee.
Izuku was staring out the window of a train to view the sunny mid-July day.
It was particularly hot today, even for the summer, so it was a perfect time to go swimming at the beach. But it couldn't distract Midoriya from a heavy subject that had weighed upon his mind ever since coming back from recusing Katsuki. Having to tell Tooru what he did. Not only was it an extremely dangerous thing to do but the boy also did it for the person that was the primary source of his stress growing up, besides being quirkless. Both of these would no doubt would make Hagakure furious with him. Izuku felt he needed to confront her about this at some point, but today couldn't be that day. It's as he told his girlfriend's mom the day prior:
...I want tomorrow to be nothing but a positive day for both of us.
Bringing up Bakugo's rescue today would just complicate things. Plus Midoriya didn't want to come off as using the celebration of his birthday as an excuse for Hagakure to forgive him. It would have to happen in the following weeks before going back to school. But that was for later, Izuku wanted to focus on the now.
And currently, he was looking at Tooru just outside his window. The train had just come to a stop seconds ago, as he got up, he noticed her. She technically never did mention meeting at the beach itself. Midoriya got off the train only to be tackle hugged by his girlfriend, as she said, "Happy Birthday, Izuku!"
Luckily Izuku guessed she would do this and didn't topple over from it as he was prepared. He spun her once to counteract the weight and brought her into a hug himself. The display seemed to grab the attention of those passing by. Midoriya then let her down and grabbed below one of her bracelets to find her right hand. While he led Hagakure outside, he said, "I didn't expect you to meet me at the station."
"Just wanted to discuss some things before we get there is all," Tooru replied.
A bit puzzled at this; Izuku asked, "Like what exactly?"
Hagakure answered with, "Well for one your arms. You gonna be okay to swim today?"
Midoriya looked down at the arm holding his girlfriend's non-visible hand. This and the other were still bandaged up. He explained with, "I was able to figure out the number and called the doctor on Friday that took care of me at the hospital. I asked if it would be okay if I swam in salt water for today and he said as long as I kept my bandages on until that point and felt no pain while in the water I should be good."
The invisible girl was quick to ask, "Have you been able to see your scars?"
Izuku's stomach dropped at the comment. He took a deep breath before replying with, "I change my bandages every morning, so yeah I've seen the damage."
Tooru asked another question slowly with, "How bad is it?"
Midoriya stopped walking and let go of her arm. He then used his left arm to point as he explained, "I have small scars on opposite sides close to my wrist. Then I have a long mark between my biceps and triceps on the side facing towards my armpit. And finally, there's a large burn opposite of that. I'm lucky my left arm received no scars."
"Well I guess I'll see it first hand after we eat," his girlfriend said as he felt her poking his right arm.
The thought of being shirtless again in front of Tooru gave Izuku pause for a second, but he was quick to grab below the wristband above his arm and to lead them both forward again. To change his train thought away from that subject he asked, "So what are we gonna do about lunch?" Midoriya noticed that Hagakure was wearing a much smaller backpack than their last date in town. She wouldn't be able to fit two meals and her swimsuit in it.
Tooru replied in a mischievous tone, "You'll see. Just wait till we get there okay?"
Izuku sighed in defeat but then turned the conversation towards their plans for the rest of the summer. He was disappointed to hear that Tooru was going to South Korea for a trip with her family the next two weeks starting on Friday. Apparently, it was something her parents wanted to surprise her with once she got back from her summer school training. They wanted to celebrate the fact that they're daughter was in the top hero academy in the country and had passed her first term there. Midoriya was happy for her, but this would put off him revealing what he had done last week even more. He then detailed his plan to slowly integrate exercise back into his daily routine to prepare himself for the next term. Izuku's idea seemed to please his girlfriend, but she made sure to tell him to continue to rest the next two weeks and not to push himself too hard when swimming today.
At this point, the two made had made their way to the wooded area before the beach. Tooru then out of the blue said, "So about your surprise." Her boyfriend gulped at the two continued to walk. She continued by saying, "I know that Yagi-sensei retiring has been a huge bummer for you as of late, but with everything that happened yesterday as well I thought just the two of us celebrating your birthday wouldn't be enough to cheer you up."
Midoriya was quick to get what she meant and responded with, "So you invited one of our friends. Ojiro-kun? Or was it Ida-kun?"
Hagakure slowly answered while the two began walking out of the woods, "Nah, all of them of course!"
And just at that moment they both then heard a voice to their right. "Hagakure-san, Midoriya-kun, we're over here!"
It was Tenya. He was standing over a barbecue pit with Ochako at his side. Momo was opposite of them both and Mashirao was sitting down on a bench nearby. Once the couple walked over, Izuku asked, "When did Tooru ask you guys to come?"
Uraraka replied, "Yesterday afternoon. She told us about how depressed you were feeling lately and suggested we all come to cheer you up today. I hope you don't see us as being in the way of you two celebrating your birthday alone with Hagakure-chan."
Midoriya shook his head as he stated, "It's okay, I think this is a wonderful idea." He then turned to give a quick hug and thanked his girlfriend. Izuku then thought, setting this whole thing up must be what Tooru mentioned as the reason why she called him late last night. With all his friends around it would make the day more relaxed, than if he was alone with Hagakure. The only problem would be the increased number of girls in swimsuits. But the two other girls were just his friends, so a minor issue at best.
Tooru then asked, "So you are cooking us lunch today Ida-san? I thought I asked Uraraka-chan to do that."
"I can explain," Ochako stated in response. She continued by saying, "I've been teaching Tenya to cook for a while now, and I thought this would be a good test for him. I'm just next to him to make sure he doesn't screw this up."
"I'll try and not disappoint you Hagakure-san," Ida stated with a fist pump.
Uraraka cleared her throat and said bluntly, "Well you are if you don't flip those two patties on your left soon, they look about ready."
Tenya proceeded to do as told and responded with, "Yes ma'am."
Momo giggled at this which got Izuku to ask her, "Are you helping Ida-san as well Yaoyorozu-san?"
The tall girl shook her head as she stated, "No, I'm just interested to see how one cooks. I've never really cooked before besides making tea and pastries, and Sakurai-san gets a bit too into cooking for me to understand what's going on. So I'm just here to observe."
Izuku then felt a tug on his arm and looked at Tooru. She asked, "Hey why don't you see why Ojiro-san is all alone on the bench over there? I'll stay here and chat with the others, okay?"
Midoriya nodded and made his way over to his tailed friend. As he sat down, Ojiro stated, "Happy birthday dude, uh, you sure you're gonna be okay to swim today?"
Izuku rubbed his right arm as he explained, "The doctor said I should be fine. I just needed to keep this wrapped up until it's time to swim."
Mashirao gave a short grunt of approval before returning his gaze to their group of friends standing around the barbeque pit.
Izuku cleared his throat before asking, "So any reason why you're over here by yourself?"
The tailed teen crossed his arms as he stated, "I don't know man. Things have just been weird lately."
Izuku had a good guess to what but played along by asking, "Is everything okay?"
Ojiro shrugged before answering with, "I mean, I guess so. I'm just confused about a few things."
Midoriya asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Might as well," Mashirao said with a sigh. He then continued with, "I guess to start, do you remember back when Yaoyorozu-san invited me to study with her?"
So he did notice, Izuku thought. He then said, "Hard to forget, her offer did come out of nowhere."
"Right? I can't tell if she was hinting at something or if its just her being nice to me," Ojiro said with a pout. He then continued by saying, "I almost want to ask her if she's interested in me but that would backfire badly I think if she's not."
Trying his luck, Midoriya asked, "Are you interested in her?"
The question caught his tailed friend off guard as he flinched and gave slight blush. He then said in a low voice, "I mean she is very attractive and now that I've gotten to know her better she seems like a good person. But I mean why would she be interested in me? She can probably do better than whatever she sees in me."
"Hey don't sell yourself short Mashirao. Your quirk is strong and versatile, you got a good head on your shoulders, and you have a noble moral code. Mashirao Ojiro is most definitely in the upper half of our class, in the best hero academy in Japan," Midoriya said to try and cheer his friend up.
Mashirao smirked before replying, "I appreciate it Izuku but I'm not exactly a looker and my background would never sit well with her mom I feel. And besides, I haven't even considered trying to date someone at this point my life. Even though it seems everyone around me seems to be doing just that."
Izuku pondered on what to say for a few seconds asking, "Yaoyorozu-san hasn't acted any different with you since that day has she?"
Ojiro leaned back and looked upward and remained silent for a while as he thought. He eventually answered with, "Yaoyorozu-san did approach me the day we got our final exam results. She thanked me for asking to have us do something involving the practical during one of our study sessions. Apparently, it helped boost her confidence in that portion of the exam. Otherwise, normal as usual."
These statements intrigued Midoriya. The vice president's match was already done by the time he was watching the matches with Recovery Girl. Izuku only knew that Shoto was Momo's partner and that the practitioner for it was Eraserhead. But beyond that, he knew nothing else.
Izuku then stated, "Well if I were you, I'd wait and see how your first study session with her alone goes. Maybe things will be more clear during that?"
"That sounds good and all, but the wait is gonna be annoying," Mashirao said in a groan with the last sentence.
After a few seconds of silence, Midoriya then asked, "So, what was the other thing that was bothering you Mashirao?"
"Monoma," the tailed teen stated bluntly.
Oh right, Midoriya thought. Just before they were thrown off the cliff and attacked by Pixie Bob's quirk during the school summer trip, something happened. Both classes got off the bus, thinking it was a break to stretch and move around a bit before finishing the final leg of the drive towards their lodgings. As class 1A and 1B mingled, Monoma and Ojiro approached one another. The exchange was tense but brief.
Glad to see you're here Ojiro-san. Wouldn't have wanted you to miss out coming here.
What's that so supposed to mean Monoma?
Still no honorific? Oh well. I won't hold that against you this time. Anywho, I meant it would have been a waste if either of us didn't come to this.
I'm still clueless about what your point is. Are you trying to pick a fight with me again?
Oh come now, us being enemies isn't going to solve anything anymore. But we can still be rivals. And if either of us wasn't here for this trip, well it would be that much more boring.
At that point Pixie Bob then carried the students off the cliff into the forest below, ending the exchange.
"You were next to me when Monoma was talking to me. I still can't make sense of it," Mashirao stated with confusion. He then asked, "Can you?"
The meaning of Neito's words did seem odd in their purpose, Izuku pondered. After thinking for a minute he responded with, "It almost feels like he doesn't hate you anymore going with how he saw you as a rival. But it feels odd that he would just drop that hatred so quickly considering your past with him."
Mashirao exhaled loudly before stating, "You know, he failed the practical portion of the final exam."
Midoriya then asked, "He did? How did you find out?"
"Sato-san told me. Monoma was there when the others went to the remedial classes with Aizawa-sensei. That guy is too smart to have bombed the written exam, so it makes sense it was the practical portion," Ojiro explained.
Izuku crossed his arms as he said, "He sure didn't act as if he had failed."
Mashirao nodded before stating, "Yeah. He seemed fine, almost too calm if you ask me."
Izuku sighed, "I guess that's another thing we won't know more about till we are back in school, huh?"
Ojiro then stood up and stated, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry about worrying you over my problems. It's your birthday so let's focus on that." He then turned to his seated friend and pointed a thumb towards the grill before saying, "Looks like our food is ready, so let's join the others."
Izuku didn't want to push it further and got up to follow him. Just as his tailed friend had just stated, lunch was about ready. Everyone but Tenya and Ochako, since they were finishing up the food, helped set out everything at a nearby picnic table. They laid out a tablecloth, plates, cups, buns, and condiments before their lunch arrived. Sure it was merely burgers, but it was made by his friends, and that's all the birthday boy could ask for.
As lunch progressed the topic for discussion was what everyone's quirk enhancement training was during the school training camp. They had no time to talk to each other between training as it was used either to eat or sleep as it ran everyone ragged.
Hagakure volunteered to speak first and explained her training with Ragdoll just as she had told her boyfriend during their first dishwashing session.
Midoriya was next and detailed his sparring matches and odd stretching exercises with Tiger.
Uraraka stated that she used her quirk until she was queasy but kept activating it afterward to try and get used to suppressing her gag reflex and strengthening her inner ear canals. In the end, it seemed to work, as she was able to lift more weight than she ever could before.
Tenya said he only ran around the camp using his quirk until he couldn't anymore. He said his legs were still a bit sore from it.
Momo mentioned her, and Rikido Sato's training involved eating to activate their quirks continuously. Sato would lift weights, and Yaoyorozu continually made objects to test their endurance. At first, she made complex objects, but by the end of the day, she struggled even to create simple shapes. Momo felt that after the training she could make complex objects much quicker and didn't need to think as hard to do it.
Mashirao mentioned working with Ejiro Kirishima during his training. The two would take turns taking blows from one another with their quirks. Even Ojiro admitted, at least defensively, that the vigor hero was much stronger than he was.
Once lunch was over the teens cleaned the mess they had made. They then made their way down the stairs to the beach, which was quite crowded today. Far on the right side of it, there was a building with bathrooms and a few showers. The group went to their respective sides once and changed into their bathing suits.
Midoriya was getting a bit nervous while he got into his swim trunks and took off the bandages on his arms. His clothing was simple; it was dark green with two black stripes on either side. Izuku observed that Tenya had on dark blue swim trunks and Mashirao was in bright yellow swimwear. What surprised him was seeing his tall friend with no glasses on. Ida explained that he occasionally wore contacts from time to time, but he much preferred his looks with glasses.
The boys walked out of the bathroom, but the girls were not out yet. As they waited, Midoriya noticed his two friends were catching glances at his right arm with concern on their faces. The boys had changed plenty of times together in the locker room and already knew of the previous ones on his right hand. The new ones stuck out like a sore thumb because of this.
Ojiro then asked, "Does it still hurt?"
Izuku sighed before answering with, "Sometimes, but it only lasts a few moments if it does."
His friend's faces then flipped from worry to shock. Tenya then stated nervously, "You ready to s-swim ladies?"
Midoriya took a deep breath and then turned around. His eyes quickly darted to his girlfriend.
Hagakure was wearing a light blue one piece, which surprised and comforted her boyfriend. It had white frills, two on her chest and three at her waist. She also was wearing a swim cap and snap bracelets that were white.
Uraraka had a deep blush and was wearing a bikini with a sarong around her waist that covered most of her bottom swimwear and part of her right leg. Her bathing suit had a busy design of circles within circles, and each ring had a solid color of either yellow, bright orange, or lime green. The sarong had a tye dye pattern which had orange and white patches.
Yaoyorozu looked confident despite being in a simple bright red bikini.
All the girls looked the guys over, but they stopped on Izuku, again on his right arm. He then said while pointing to the ocean, "I'm fine girls, trust me. Let's just go swimming huh?"
The group then walked down the beach and then put their stuff down in the sand. Tooru then sprung forward and took her boyfriend's hand and proclaimed, "Let's go!" She dragged him to the shore and the two quickly submerged themselves until the water was up to his upper chest. His girlfriend then asked, "So what do you want to do?"
Midoriya pondered the question for a moment for responding with, "Why don't we just ride with the waves to start?"
"Sure, sounds relaxing," Hagakure stated.
It wasn't as if the waves were big that day, there were even a few surfers out. Though the two would need to swim out more to get waves big enough to carry them. As the first wave came over them, they tried to stay together but got separated as they tumbled with the wave. The force surprised Tooru, and she was worried if Izuku was okay, though he felt fine and said as such. The two repeated this a few times and while fun, the boy was focusing on something else. As they waded through the water together to each new big wave, he couldn't help stop looking at the features of the invisible girl's face that the dripping water revealed. It was more defined than the day the two shared in the rain. Sure, it was as anyone's outline of a head would be, but it was his girlfriend's face. And since it was just temporary he felt compelled to see it.
After getting back together after being thrown around by another wave, Tooru asked, "You know you're staring, right Izuku?"
"S-Sorry it's just I can somewhat make out your face because of the water," Izuku said with a slight blush.
Hagakure chuckled before saying, "Oh good I thought you were having perverted thoughts from staring at my swimsuit. Though let's be real if anyone should have such ideas in their head it's me. I mean you're pretty jacked Izuku. It doesn't fit your personality at all, not that it's a bad thing, it's just a bit ironic."
Her boyfriend's blush intensified at her words. "T-Thanks I g-guess?"
Tooru then asked, "You ready for more or something else?"
Midoriya replied, "I wouldn't mind doing something else."
"Okay, I get to choose this time though. Just give me a second to think of something," Hagakure stated as he saw one of her bracelets come up to her face.
Izuku looked back at the shore to see Momo and Ochako playing with a beach ball in water that was knee deep. He didn't remember anyone bringing such a thing, but then he realized that she must have made one with her quirk. Tenya and Mashirao were to their right and seemed to be swimming in a race. Ojiro always gotta make things into a competition, Midoriya thought.
Midoriya then felt his girlfriend grab his left hand and pull him towards the shore as she said, "Follow me I got an idea." She stopped where the water was up to his mid-chest. She then asked, "Ever play color dunk?"
Izuku gave a puzzled look as he answered with, "Never heard of it."
"That's fine I'll explain the rules," Hagakure replied with a mischievous tone. Her boyfriend didn't like where this was going but nodded in compliance. "Good now carry me like a princess," she stated with glee.
Midoriya almost fell back into the water when she said this. After regaining his composure and said slowly, "A-Alright, I'll play along." With care, the boy put his left arm behind her back and reached down to lift her legs with his right arm.
Tooru then explained, "Okay now since this is the first round I'll make it easy. You need to choose any color that can be found on a rainbow. I have to guess what it is. Now if I guess wrong you dunk my head in the water, but if I guess right you earn a point and we switch places. You only get three guesses; then you switch with no points. And we'll play three rounds, whoever has the most points at the end wins!"
Izuku got the gist of it and then thought of what color to choose. Once chosen he said, "Okay I have my color, you can start."
Hagakure quickly stated, "Green!" The green haired teen groaned in defeat and the two of them switched their positions. Being carried by his girlfriend felt weird, but he started to think of what she would choose. Maybe to throw him off she would choose the same as he had. "Okay, I'm ready," Tooru said with confidence.
Izuku stated, "Green!" His answer was met with a dunk. It surprised him to be wrong and that she had plunged his head without warning.
"Like I would choose the same color you did. That's boring, try again," his girlfriend said after laughing.
With that idea wrong, Midoriya visualized the secondary color wheel in his head. The opposite end of green on the color wheel was red, maybe that was it? His idea had him say hello to the water once more. As he heard Hagakure giggle, he instead tried a different approach. How did she choose the right color so quickly? Green was the boy's favorite color, so maybe she guessed that from what he usually wore like his hero suit and his current swim trunks. Then it hit him, Tooru was wearing a blue swimsuit. It also, unfortunately, brought up the memories of the three instances he had seen his girlfriend's underwear, and in all of them, they were blue.
Izuku cleared his throat before saying, "Blue?"
The invisible teen sighed as she let her boyfriend down. She then said, "Darn I thought I had you. One point for both of us then." After they swapped she stated, "Okay this round we can do more colors. So now black, white, gold, and silver are options."
Midoriya randomly chose a color this time and nodded that he was ready.
"Black!" Dunk.
"Gold?" Dunked again.
"Er, green?" Once more submerged in water. Now a wet and frustrated girlfriend asked, "Well what was it?"
Izuku smirked as he stated, "I chose purple."
"Alright, then my turn again," Tooru said with confidence. After a few moments, she said she was ready, and her boyfriend began to guess.
He thought about her swimsuit again but this time on the color of her frills and shouted, "White!" Dunk.
He then randomly said an older color, "Orange?" Dunked again.
He gave up and randomly guessed a new color, "Silver?"
"Wrong, no points for you," Hagakure said as she this time let go of Midoriya without warning, and dropping him into the water.
After Izuku came back up and coughed, he asked, "What was that for?"
Tooru explained, "Just having a bit of fun. By the way, I chose yellow. Anyways this last round, anything goes. One new rule is that the color has to be one word. Also, this time you get five guesses. And finally, even if you get it wrong, you have to respond if they are getting close. So cold would mean not even close, or you're going away from the right answer, warm means you're getting close, and hot means you're almost there!"
As he picked up his girlfriend, Izuku thought of something quite obscure and then said he was ready.
"Red!" Dunk.
"Cold"
"Green?" Dunked again.
'Warm."
"Blue?" Dunked yet again.
Hot.
"Teal?" Dunked once more.
"Cold."
"Azure?" Dropped into the water.
After Hagakure resurfaced, Midoriya said, "You were warm. The color was periwinkle."
His girlfriend groaned, "I forgot that color even existed. And I'm guessing you dropped me as revenge huh?"
Izuku sarcastically stated, "Maybe."
Tooru replied back, "Well I'm tossing you next time you lose so you better be ready!"
Her boyfriend crossed his arms and said, "There's one something I wanna ask before we play again. What happens if I don't get a point this round?
"Then we keep playing till only one of us earns a point," Hagakure explained.
"Alright then, that just means I gotta get a point this round and finish this," Midoriya said with clenched fists.
The invisible teen chuckled before saying, "Getting cocky, are we? Good luck with that!" She then picked him up and signaled she had chosen her color.
Just to be extra sure Izuku said, "Green!" Dunk.
"Again with green, huh? Anyways, warm," Hagakure replied.
Now he had two options, go brighter with yellow or darker with blue. Since blue was her color choice in the first round, and since he had chosen periwinkle, a shade of blue his last go, he said, "Blue!" Dunked again.
She grunted, "Hot."
So it was a shade of blue, Midoriya pondered. But was it lighter or darker blue, or more towards green or purple? He guessed a darker shade and stated, "Cobalt?" Dunked once again.
"Cold," Tooru stated triumphantly.
So something lighter, he thought. Maybe even go more towards green. He then said, "Turquoise."
She reluctantly replied, "Warm."
Izuku wanted to win, so he thought long and hard this time. He wondered, what's another color could work that was on the lighter side of blue.
"I don't have all day, Izuku," his girlfriend huffed.
While looking up at her, he got an idea. Her suit. The color of Hagakure's hero suit. That had to be it. With confidence, Midoriya stated, "Cyan!"
Tooru sighed before saying, "Well looks like you win. Ready for your prize?" Her boyfriend was about to respond but was cut off when he felt her lean in and kiss him on the cheek. Before he could say anything, Hagakure dropped him once more into the water.
I guess I can't have everything, Midoriya thought as he floated underwater for a few moments. After he resurfaced, his girlfriend said, "Looks like the others have gone back to the beach. Let's see what they're up to."
Once the two made it to shore, they noticed Mashirao and Tenya playing volleyball against one another while the other two girls watched. Earlier, when they all walked down to change, Izuku saw some people playing on the court. Those people were nowhere in sight, so it made sense that his tailed friend would want to play now that it was empty. However, the volleyball was different than the one the group before. Where did it come from? Then it hit Midoriya, of course, Yaoyorozu must have made one with her quirk.
Ojiro turned towards the couple after scoring on Ida and stated, "Ah good you two are back. Wanna play some three on three?"
"I'll play but I think Izuku should sit out, he's still recovering and all," Hagakure replied as she tightened her grip on her boyfriend's palm.
Mashirao groaned before saying, "Aw man, but that means the teams will be uneven."
"I'll step out. I got a bit of a stomach ache anyhow," Ochako said while putting a had on her chest.
Tenya came over and asked in a worried tone, "This isn't because of my cooking, is it? I'm so sorry! Maybe this was too much for me."
"It's fine Ida-kun, the food tasted great, so I doubt it's your cooking that is the problem. I'm sure it's because we didn't wait till we got in the water," Uraraka argued.
Ida put a hand on his chin as he replied, "Ah yes, that logic is sound. Well, I hope you feel better after resting a while."
"Don't worry I'll have Midoriya-san keep me company," Ochako said as she motioned to Izuku to follow.
As Midoriya walked with her, he heard the four that wanted to play discussing teams. The two arrived at their backpack which was under an umbrella. Izuku wondered if Momo had made this as well. They set out some towels and sat on them and looked out at their friends at the court. Tooru and Mashirao were on the left. Tenya and Momo on the right.
As they started their first match, Ochako, "I know this sounds late, but Happy Birthday Deku-kun! I hope this is helping you feel better after everything that happened last week."
"It is and thanks," Izuku happily responded.
Uraraka cleared her throat before stating, "Sorry if this comes off as rude but have you told Hagakure-chan about rescuing Bakugo-san yet?"
The question made the boy freeze. This again, he thought. Midoriya sulked his shoulders be replying with, "No I haven't. But I should have."
"So it seems only her and Jiro-san don't know what you guys did that night," Ochako sighed in disappointment.
Curious, Izuku asked, "Did Ida-kun tell you the details about what happened?"
"He showed up at my place and told me about everything on Friday," Uraraka huffed.
Midoriya then asked, "Were you mad at him?"
"Of course I was Deku-kun, at all of you. It's just as Tsuyu-chan said; we're no better than the villains if we just think we can do what we want. The pro heroes could have possibly handled it all without the risk of all of you getting injured or worse," Uraraka stated in an angry tone. She then exhaled loudly before continuing by saying, "But at least Tenya told me about it Deku-kun. Hagakure-chan is gonna flip if you don't tell her soon."
Midoriya scratched the back of his head as he said, "I know, but today wouldn't be the best time. And sadly I just found out Tooru is going on a trip to South Korea starting Friday. Telling her before she left wouldn't be for the best. At least that gives me about two weeks to figure out how to deliver the news to her."
"Promise me you'll do it before we get back to school," Ochako stated in a serious tone.
"I'll try my best Uraraka-chan," was all Izuku said slowly.
This got a sigh from her, but she didn't push the subject any further. The two watched their friends in silence for a few minutes. It seemed pretty even at the moment between the two teams. From the looks of it, no one was using their quirks in their match. Tenya seemed the fastest regardless of not using his quirk. Surprisingly Tooru and Mashirao made a good team. She was quicker and more flexible of the two and would get the incoming ball and pass it to her teammate who would return the pass with power. Momo seemed like the weak link on her team, as while she tried, she couldn't keep up with everyone else. Luckily it appeared that Ida's speed was able to alleviate this somewhat.
While watching the match, Midoriya wondered if Ida had asked Uraraka to be his boyfriend or not. The two hadn't shown any signs of the sort but it could be because of what happened last week that they were secretive about it if they were. After working up some courage, he asked, "Uraraka-chan, how are things between you and Ida-kun?"
Ochako put her hands on her face, minus her thumbs, and blushed slightly. She then responded slowly, "Although it took him forever to say yes to me, we officially became a couple on Friday finally."
Izuku gave the girl a confused look as he asked, "He took forever to say yes? What do you mean?"
"It wasn't long after Tooru's birthday. I asked Tenya if he would like to do the same, but he said he needed time to think about it," Ochako explained. Her blush went crimson as she continued with, "I even tried to be more intimate with him so he would make up his mind, but that didn't seem to work. I then figured he just wanted to focus on the exams, so I backed off from doing that again."
The events from the sleepover at Ida's house started to make sense to Midoriya. He was glad that he was able to convince his friend to take a more official stance in his relationship with Uraraka. He put a hand on her shoulder as he stated, "Well congratulations to you both. But I guess you wanna keep this a secret for now?"
"I'd appreciate that Deku-kun. We decided to tell everyone in class once school starts again," the floating heroine stated.
Izuku chuckled internally at this; it was the same plan he and Tooru had before it went down in flames later that day. He then said, "Well I guess I'll have another reason to look forward to my first day back at U.A. even more. I'm sure everyone will be supportive of it."
"Yeah I think so too," Ochako said with a bright smile.
Talking about the dorms, however, brought another thought into Izuku's head. Tenya's birthday. Because of the arrangements of moving into the dorms, everyone was required to come to school about two weeks earlier than when classes were supposed to start. They weren't told of what was to be the curriculum before the regular courses began. Regardless, this meant Ida's birthday would happen during this time, August 22nd Midoriya remembered.
Midoriya then asked, "So um, Uraraka-chan. What are you planning to do for Ida-kun's birthday?
Uraraka shrugged with a pout on her face, "I don't know. It sucks that we have to go to school early cause of the whole 'we are gonna to live there now' thing. I guess we could go do something once we have a day off or something. That's over a month away though, so we haven't thought much about it."
"Understandable, but if you need any help, just ask. I'd be happy to help," Izuku stated sincerely.
"Thanks, Deku-kun. I'll be sure to if I require it," Ochako said with a smile.
The two of them then continued watching their other friends play volleyball, occasionally making comments to one another about what was happening. Eventually, after a few games, Mashirao and Tooru pulled ahead in wins. At this point, everyone decided to return to the water. Hagakure however just wanted to relax, so she and Midoriya just sat in the water and watched their friends have fun. The water was about waist high where they were seated.
Hagakure started the conversation by asking, "So what did you and Uraraka-chan talk about?"
It took Midoriya a few seconds, but he answered with a lie by saying, "Oh, I just thanked her for keeping you safe back when you fought that weird villain back during summer camp. Then we just talked about school stuff." He hated doing all this lying, but it did make him want to truthfully thank Uraraka for ensuring his girlfriend safety sometime later.
"I see," Tooru said in a wishy-washy tone as if she didn't believe that was all that was said. She didn't pursue it though and instead stated, "Well anyways sorry for just throwing you over to Ojiro-san before we had lunch. He's been acting strange since our school trip. Did you find out anything?"
Trying again to cover for his friends, Midoriya lied by saying, "I think he's still trying to get over everything that's happened as of late."
"Nah that can't be it, he was acting weird even before the villains attacked us," Hagakure argued.
"Well minus being aloof he seemed normal to me," Midoriya once again lied. This was becoming a bad habit, he thought.
The invisible girl groaned and then said, "Well whatever it is hopefully he gets over it. If this continues when we get back to school, do you mind trying to figure out what's wrong?"
"I promise," Izuku slowly stated. He felt that at some point he might as well tell her. The boy did think all Mashirao needed was time to sort out his feelings about his situation with Momo. Hopefully, by then, it would be easier to answer Tooru about what was going on.
Hagakure thanked her boyfriend, and two watched their friends play chicken fight. Yaoyorozu was carrying Uraraka and Ojiro was on Ida's shoulders. The girls had just won as Tenya lost his balance and fell over. Midoriya wondered if his friend was struggling to factor in the extra weight due to Mashirao's tail?
After a few minutes passed, Tooru asked, "I know asking this is kind of out the blue, but do you like my swimsuit?"
Izuku stuttered as he replied, "W-What?"
"I mean it's not a bikini like the other girls, but I liked the frills and the colors on this one. It wasn't until I started changing with the girls did I notice that maybe I should have chosen something more mature," his girlfriend stated in a disgruntled voice.
Midoriya quickly blurted out, "I-It's fine Tooru. It's like you said last month during your birthday. Some clothing is about exposing skin, and well you don't have anything to show. So going for just what you like by looks makes sense to me."
"Thanks, Izuku," Hagakure stated cheerfully as she leaned in closer.
Izuku then asked, "I am curious to why you are wearing a swim cap though."
Tooru replied, "Oh this? Just trying to keep my hair in good condition liked you suggested on my birthday."
The boy recalled feeling his girlfriend's hair, and how rough in texture it was. He was glad she was willing to try and change herself for the better, even if it was just her hair.
Now even more curious, Midoriya asked, "So you've been using conditioner too?"
"Yep, about three weeks ago. I only use it when it feels dry, which felt like every time I showered at first, but it's steadily been getting better," Hagakure explained. She then switched her tone to a mischievous one as she said, "Don't worry, once it feels nice I'll let you feel it again."
Izuku sighed at his girlfriend's teasing, but he couldn't deny that he did look forward to the idea somewhat.
The invisible girl then asked, "So are you enjoying today so far?"
"Yeah, I never expected your surprise to be inviting everyone else to the beach. I mean I can't do much since I need to let my arms and body recover but simply being here has helped me feel better," Midoriya answered.
He told the truth this time at least. All the stress of everything as of late had been getting to him. But with all his friends here, he felt a lot better about everything going forward. Even his talk with Uraraka had motivated him to want to reveal to Hagakure about his rescue of Bakugo. Today reminded Izuku of the aftermath of the Hero Festival. He had upset Tooru because of his reckless use of his quirk. And despite the stress involved, Midoriya invited his then-best friend to his home as a way to make her feel better and to say he was sorry. Now on his birthday, Hagakure invited the others despite probably wanting to instead spend her time alone with him to ensure that he cheered up.
Izuku felt he needed to thank her, properly. He coughed nervously before stating, "Hey T-Tooru I want to thank you for everything today."
"No problem, Izuku. It's your birthday, and you deserve it," Tooru responded gleefully.
Midoriya slowly grabbed his girlfriend's shoulders and brought her close to his face, "N-No like, I w-want to t-truly thank you T-Tooru." He gulped and leaned forward to kiss the invisible girl on the side of her cheek. The boy felt terrible that she was the only one that was kissing him, and now if any, she deserved to receive one from him, even if it was taking all his concentration to try and stay calm during it.
It was short, but it got the message through, as Hagakure ecstatically stated afterward with, "Took you long enough. But now that I think about it, I never really got you a present. I guess I should fix that."
Izuku felt her grab his cheeks and pull him into a kiss on the lips. It was wet, just like any other kiss. But the sensation was different. The lips were so much more sensitive than any other part of the face. So for Midoriya was a completely new experience. It happened so quick that the boy was unable to respond to it, but either way his brain was done. The boy's body was also done. In no way was he prepared for this. But as Tooru finished the kiss, her boyfriend just gawked at her in disbelief.
Hagakure then nonchalantly said, "What? I thought it was adorable that you finally worked up the courage to kiss me for once. Plus you deserved a special present for your special day."
Before her boyfriend could respond, Mashirao yelled, "Hey lovebirds! If you're done over there wanna join us riding the waves?"
Midoriya looked over to see his friends with various reactions to what just happened. Ojiro was chuckling. Ida was shaking his head in disappointment, probably because of his tailed friend's interruption of the couple's moment. Uraraka had a wide grin on her face. Momo looked a bit unsettled and had a profound blush that matched her swimsuit color.
Hagakure stood up, and Midoriya saw one of her bracelets stop by his face. Cheerfully, she asked, "You ready to go join them Izuku?"
Izuku grabbed below the bracelet with his right hand as she pulled him up he said with a grin, "Yeah let's go have so more fun Tooru."
Sorry for the long wait. My main editor has begun writing again so it really slowed down her working on this. There are only a couple more chapters (up to about 22) that require major edits so hopefully, things will speed up once she tackles them.
Now to the chapter!
I felt Inko potentially sabotaging Izuku's relationship with Tooru would have him react differently than what we saw in the manga. Hence why I did the first scene and it also gave me a chance to further flesh out Mrs. Hagakure. I did consider having Tooru come home and talk to him but she was going to have such a big part in the next scene I decided against it and instead focus entirely on Tooru's mom (and just have a phone conversation instead). Also, I wanted to do something with Inko since this is really the last time we see her in the manga (as of chapter 218) so I thought a little send off wouldn't hurt.
Now Midoriya's birthday having everyone come was nice, as it let the group have some quality time together outside of school. It also gave us some updates on some people, especially Uraraka. I feel out of the main group I have fleshed her out the least. I mean, it's hard to want to use Ochako that much since we already see her so much in the canon material, so we already know who she is and how she works. But I haven't had her have a big speaking part since chapter seven, so she was due more screen time. Having Uraraka discuss her relationship with Ida gives ya'll an update on how that ship is doing (since the last time it was discussed was chapter twelve). I was tempted to have Momo and Izuku talk a bit but I felt I teased enough with Mashirao's confusion. Plus there's always time during the dorms. :3
There is an issue I would like to discuss that up came near the end of writing chapter sixteen, and that's the timeline of events. It's different from canon. I made the school trip occur just as their summer break begins, though in the manga more than likely some time passed before this happened (but the manga gives us no clue at how much time passed). I needed this to happen if I was going to be able to fit in Izuku's birthday following both the school trip/hideout raid arcs. The final exams occurred in the first week of July in the manga. Then by placing the school trip on the second week, I could have Midoriya's birthday be at the start of the third week of July. It actually worked perfectly for me, as I made a make-shift calendar and everything lined up. I had Tooru's birthday, June 16th, on a Sunday then that would mean the last day of June would have to be on a Monday. Then July 15th would have to occur two Mondays later, so I guess I lucked out. But speaking of that regard, Izuku's birthday date is interesting. In-universe, he shares the same birthday with Mirio and out-universe he shares it with Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach. Thought it would be neat to mention.
Next chapter has us finally start with the dorms, but really it will only focus on the first day. There is the rest of the summer break I could expand upon (and it pains me not to), but I want the plot to advance a bit before having Izuku and Tooru interact in-person again. Nineteen will then focus on the Super Moves Training leading up to the Provisional License Exam (with its aftermath in twenty). Expect a good amount of Izuku interacting with the minor characters I've slowly been building up, including new ones like Mei and two others I don't want to go into at this time, in both chapters.