Deku's P.O.V
I don't know what's going on with me, but when I saw [L/n] looking at me- my abs, I couldn't help but feel flustered. And when he told me that my abs were pleasant to him, I just felt so oddly happy. But it's weird, he's not a girl, so why do I feel this way with him? I've only had this odd feeling whenever I talked to girls, and now here I am being a stuttering and blushing mess in front of a cool guy like him-!
I watched as he entered the stall, I was disappointed that I couldn't see his body— I mean abs! Yes, it's unfair if he gets to look at me like that, but I can't do the same? I shook my head. 'What the heck, am I going crazy!? Why am I trying to look at a guy's body!?' But my heart didn't listen to reason.
Instead, my body gave in to desire, and I, shaking, made my way towards the stall. 'Just one small peek... it's not like he's a girl or anything... I-I'm not a pervert!' I try to tell myself. But if I were, to be honest, I really felt like a pervert right now! I really didn't want to be like Mineta whose trying to peek into the girl's locker room...
Finally making it, I peek in through the crack of the stall, and my god, this felt wrong. His body was more slender than I had expected, way too slim. Looking even more, I could see his curvy torso, almost like a girl's torso, which made this feel even more wrong and exciting at the same time. But I was only here for the abs! Yes, of course, only the abs! Sadly though, or maybe I'm lucky, he was faced the other way, and I could only see his back.
Wait, hold on- was that a bandage wrapped around his chest? Is he seriously injured or something? Oh man, I hope he's okay!
"You pervert!"
I quickly backed away from the stall and looked around to see who said that. Looking towards where the voice came from, I saw Mineta on the ground, seemingly in pain and a group of guys scolding him. I sighed out of relief, I didn't get caught. Finished with changing and not wanting to be near the crime scene, I fled out the locker room feeling very flustered and with my heart beating out my chest.
'Did I really just peeked at a guy's body? And enjoyed looking at it!?' Oh man, I'm really going insane!
Reader's P.O.V
Being a bit late, I rushed out to catch up with the others, I wouldn't want to miss out on instructions. Luckily I caught up them right before they walked outside. Once making it outside, everyone stopped to chat with each other for a bit.
Spotting Deku, I decided to go talk to him, hoping he'd forget what happened in the locker room. "Hey, Deku! That's a pretty cool costume you got there." I complimented as I walked over to him. As we made eye contact, his face suddenly flushed to red, was he still embarrassed about earlier?
Then I thought about it again, and it made me feel embarrassed too, it's not like I haven't seen guys change in the locker room before, so why am I acting like this? "Th-thank you!" he responded. Then he examined my costume and seconds after his eyes lit up. "Whoa, your costume is really cool! Does it do anything?" he asked, realizing it had a lot of tech in it.
I smiled, wanting to show off I told him everything it did. Which probably wasn't a good idea knowing I might one day have to go against him. "See these buttons?" I showed him multiple buttons that were lined up on my left arm. "Each one of these buttons brings out a weapon of some sort." then I pulled out my headgear. "And this isn't just a pair of glasses for fashion, I asked them to apply a thermograph vision into these. It really lets me pinpoint living things in case of missions that I needed them in."
Deku then again looked at me in amazement. "Wow, that's amazing! I didn't think about what my costume could do for me; instead, I just thought about how it looked." he then looks away a bit embarrassed.
I placed a hand on the shoulder, making him look back a ton me again, a slight red tint was forming on his face still. "Well you did really well, I think your costume looks super cool." I tried to cheer him up.
Before he could say anything else, Uraraka came over. "Hey, guys! Whoa, your costumes are cool!" she says.
I look at her costume as well, and wow, it really shows her curves! I looked over at Deku, and he was a blushing mess. Something inside of me started to feel unpleasant. I looked at Uraraka, as well, and all the other girls with some jealousy. I want to look cute too...
"[L/n]?" Uraraka pulled me out of my thoughts. She seemed a bit worried, seeing the sour face I had. I shook my head, trying to get the feeling out my head. 'I'm a strong guy! Wanting to be cute is another factor of weakness.'
"Hero course is the best!" we looked down to see Mineta eyeing all the girls. Huh? I think he's one of the many reasons I'm glad to be seen as a guy.
"Now it's time for your training!" everyone dropped their conversations and paid attention. "You're going to be split into villains and heroes and fight 2-on-2 indoor battles!" All Might tells us.
Suddenly everyone started asking questions of all sorts. "I will answer all your questions!" he said, seemingly annoyed. He then explained two teams would be going against each other. The villains would be inside first hiding a weapon in a room of their choice, the heroes would enter after they were done. Hero team either has to capture the villains or the weapon to win, the villain team has to protect the weapon until time runs out or captures the heroes. Twenty minutes was the time limit.
Then team picking was next, drawing from a box teams were made. "Please let [L/n] on my team!" I heard Deku mumble underneath his breath. I smiled, it's nice to know he wants me on his team.
"Team A, Midoriya, and Uraraka!" All Might announced. At hearing this, Deku looked a bit dissatisfied.
"Aw man, it looks like I can't team with you. But hey, we have the school year to team up." I tried to cheer him up. And it worked, he smiled and me and nodded.
"Team B, Todoroki, and [L/n]!" I looked over at Todoroki with a smile. He looked over as well and made eye contact. But all he did in return was glare and looked away.
I sighed, excited as I was to see him work his quirk personally. I don't think he's going to work with me well. This is a team effort, I don't want him doing things on his own.
"Team A and D go first!" I looked over at Deku in shock, he looked shocked as well. Going against Bakugo? This couldn't be good.
"Hey, Deku..." he looks up at me, fear was in his eyes. I didn't know what to say to make him feel better. Nothing I say can make him feel better if he's going against Bakugo. So instead, I decided to encourage him. "You can do this; it's what your name means, right?"
The fear in his eyes fade away, and it was replaced by determination and a smile. "Yeah! Thanks [L/n]!" he beamed, and I gave him a nod in response. Then he left with Uraraka to the training grounds, I hope he's gonna be okay.
~*~
The battle between Deku and Bakugo wasn't pretty. I was at the edge of my seat- metaphorically. I knew Bakugo was one of the strongest in our class, but I didn't know that he would go all ballistic and harm Deku to such a degree! Seeing Deku covered in burn marks and his arm remaining broken made me feel bitter.
But I wasn't but going to hate Bakugo for doing so. The two of them had a history, a rivalry of some sort. Even I would go to such lengths if I had deep-rooted hatred towards someone. I couldn't blame him, but at the same time, I just wished he could've held back a bit more.
"Team B and team I are next!" I perked up, I shouldn't let whatever I'm feeling right now get me down during my fight. Todoroki and I made our way to the training grounds we were assigned. While waiting for the villain team to hide their weapon, I decided to make a plan.
"So..." Todoroki looked at me. "Have a plan?" I asked
He looked at me for a while before answering: "Yes."
I smiled, so he actually had one already. Nothing less expected from someone recommended to this school. "Really? What's the plan?"
"It doesn't involve you, just stand out the building and stay out of my way." My smile dropped as he gave me a cold glare and turned away. 'start!' All Might said, and he walked in. I looked at him with disbelief and disappointment.
Is he so high on his horse that he's not going to bother to even work with me!? This was offensive, he was looking down on his opponents and me! It doesn't matter how strong you are, one shouldn't look down on others.
With anger coursing through my veins, I stomp into the building catching him starting to freeze the place. "I'm not letting you!" Pressing a button, a weapon of my choice came out, and I aimed right at his hand then fired.
A gummy candy was launched right at his hands, bruising them enough for him to stop out of pain. He then shot me a glare, "I told you to not get in my way." he sneered.
I glared back, taking a step forward I stomped right onto the place he was freezing, breaking the ice. "Is this how a hero acts?" at my words, he flinched. "This is supposed to be a team effort! If you think I'm just going to let you do what you want as you look down on me, then I'm going to stop you until you finally decide to look at me eye to eye! We're on this together, don't you dare look down on me!" I yelled.
And for a moment, silence. He stared at me, eyes full of guilt and realization. "Sorry." he finally responded, and he looked down at the ground. He didn't say anything else, more like he didn't know what else to say. Never had he needed to apologize before, or at least he hadn't done so in a long time.
I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to say anything. But at least he's finally willing to work with me. "First, tell me your plan," I say.
He finally lifts his head up. "I was going to freeze the whole building, hopefully freezing the enemy team as well," he explains.
That was a good idea, but then if they're wearing shoes, wouldn't they be able to get out quickly? "That plan isn't solid enough, there are many other factors that could mess up your plan. You don't even know where they are." I scolded.
He pouted and avoided eye contact, just like a child. I chuckled and thought it was cute. "Okay, then what's your plan?" he asked.
"I have these neat glasses that can help me pinpoint their location. Once we know whether or not we can freeze them, we either go ahead and capture them, or if we can freeze them, you will do so, and I'll go get the weapon." he nodded.
"That's a solid plan, okay, let's go." at his words, I pulled out the glass wear and placed it on.
It was like the world became a rainbow when I placed it on! Holding back on being excited to use them, I looked around to see any heat. A few hallways down, I saw someone moving towards us, and looking at the feet, I can tell they were wearing shoes. On the other hand, someone is standing still, it was Ojiro judging by the tail and was not wearing shoes.
"Hagakure is moving towards us, she has shoes on. Ojiro is with the weapon, it's the same floor we're on. He doesn't have shoes." I inform him.
He nods, "Thanks for the information." He puts his hand down on the floor. "I recommend you step out for a bit, though," he says. Listening, I walked back outside. In a matter of seconds, the whole building has succumbed to ice.
'Whoa, he's super strong.' Looking at his quirk made me realized how strong he really was, no wonder why he looked down on me before. I walked back in and saw that Hagakure stops for a while, trying to free her foot from the ice. "Down that hallway and turn left; that's where Hagakure is."
Together we made our way to where she was. Once we made it, she was already out of her shoes and taken off her gloves as well. "Where is she?" Todoroki asked. He got his hands ready to freeze her, but he didn't know which way she was.
Seeing her heat, I know that she was lunging towards Todoroki. Panicked, I yelled: "In front of you!"
Todoroki placed his hand in front of him, and suddenly, we saw ice forming from his hands, then there was a lower-body outline of her body made of ice. "C-cold!" she squeaked out.
I hummed in approval that quirk of his was remarkable. "I'm going to head to the weapon myself, it's hard to give directions when I can't see the walls and floor as easily since it's all the same color thanks to you." he shrugged in response. "Follow me if you want to." then I made my way towards the weapon. Hearing footsteps behind me, I smiled, he actually decided to come along.
Reaching the room, I opened the door and walked in without any caution, the dude was frozen to the floor. It's not like he could do anything. He looked at Todoroki and me with disappointment, he was most likely disappointed with himself.
As I walked over to the weapon, I could hear Todoroki talk to him. "You can come out and stop us if you want, but the skin on your foot would be ripped off from the ice, and you wouldn't be in your best condition." he taunted.
Well, he seemed to be enjoying this. I touch the weapon, and All Might could be heard through our earpieces. "Team B wins!" I look over at Todoroki, and for once, he smiles at me. With an odd feeling swelling in my chest, I smiled back.
Todoroki, with his other quirk, then melted all the ice, turning it to boiling water. 'Wow, he has two quirks!?' I stared in amazement, and together, we walked back to everyone else.
After no one had anything negative to say besides words of admiration towards Todoroki, we both sat back together. "Was working with me so bad?" I asked, remembering how much he wanted nothing to do with me.
"No..." he replied, then looked at me, smiling. "It was fun, I'm glad you made me realize how selfish I was being."
I beamed, "So... friends?" I asked, extending a hand out towards him.
He chuckled, "Yeah," he grabs my hand. "friends."
~*~
For the rest of the battles, Todoroki and I sat back talking about random things, especially battle tactics. But eventually, the class ended, and All Might ran off. We went back to our classroom and continued classes until it ended. With Deku's seat still empty, I remembered how injured he was, and my chest started to hurt.
"Katsumi," Todoroki called out. We were on a first-name basis now, being friends and all that. Though it wasn't my real name, so it made me feel more distant rather than close.
"Yeah?" I responded.
"Are you going to head home? School is over." I thought for a bit, I wanted to head home and sleep, but Deku still hasn't come back yet.
I shook my head. "Nah, I'm gonna see if Deku's okay," I replied.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." he waved, and I waved back. I watched as he and other students walked out of the class. I was surprised to see Bakugo leaving as well, not bothering to see if Deku was okay or not.
I ran up to him, trying to stop him. "Hey! Don't you want to see if Deku's okay or not?" he glared at me with more rage than I've ever had seen him looked at me before.
"Piss off!!" and with that, he walked out of the classroom. I sighed, there's no way I could convince him with how angry he was right now. I looked around and saw a handful of students waiting for Deku, or maybe just chilling around.
Spotting Uraraka, I decided to wait with her. "Do you think Deku is okay?" I asked.
She looked at me, worried. "I hope so..."
Suddenly there was a commotion in front of the door. Looking over, I saw Deku being bothered by other students. He is bombarded with compliments and questions.
I gasped to see that his arms weren't healed yet. I walked over to him, and he smiled when he saw me. "Why isn't your arm healed?" I asked, voice full of concern.
"Oh, it had something to do about my stamina, but I'm fine." his eyes then scanned the room but ended up looking upset, it seemed like he couldn't find what he was looking for. "Where's Kachan?"
"He left just a while ago, I tried to stop him, but he ignored me." I sighed.
Deku looked worried. "I'll be right back!" he shouted before dashing out the room, most likely looking for Bakugo. It probably wasn't safe for Deku to talk to him when he's so angry, he might get hurt!
Worried for his safety, I stepped into the hallway and yelled: "I don't think you should-!," but when I looked out, he was already gone. I bit my lip, I wasn't going to let him get hurt again.
I rushed out the door and towards the entrance of the school, thinking he would be there. But I was too late, Deku was already talking to Bakugo. I was about to intervene until I heard: "I borrowed this power from someone else!"
'What?' I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Knowing I probably shouldn't be hearing this, I hid. I avoided listening to the rest of the conversation, but what I had just heard couldn't have been forgotten.
"Eavesdropping isn't very nice, young [L/n]." I jumped out of my hiding place, frightened. I turned to see All Might already dashing out the door and towards Bakugo. Deku then looked right at me.
He meekly waved and smiled at me as he walked over. I gulped, I should tell him what I heard, that's what good friends do, right? "H-Hey [L/n], what are you doing here? I said I was going to come back," he asked.
"Uh, well... I-I was worried about you." I admitted. His eyes widened, and he blushed at my words. Dammit, now I'm embarrassed! "Anyway! I heard what you said... sorry." I got right to the point.
His flushed and surprised face quickly was overcome by terror. "Y-you heard!?" he yelped. I nodded. "Please, don't tell anyone, okay?" he begged. "I-I'm not supposed to tell anyone." He looked as if he was on the brink of tears.
I placed a hand on his back and started to rub it in a circular motion to calm him down. "Shh, it's okay. I won't tell a soul."
He smiles at me. "Thanks for not hiding it from me, [L/n]."
"Of course, friends don't hide things from each other." I felt stupid saying that, after all, I'm still lying about my gender. "Also, call me by my first name, don't be so distant."
"O-okay, Ka-Katsumi!" he struggled to say. But now he looked nervous, blushing even. "Friends don't hide things, huh?" he parroted with a shaky voice. "I... have something to tell you," I ask him what it is. "W-well, back in the locker room, I saw you ch-changing!"
I looked at him in shock. Does he know? "Wha-?"
Before I could ask, he bowed down in front of me. "Sorry! I couldn't help it!" he brought his head back up and avoided eye contact, he face wasn't flushed red, and he was trembling. "B-but you saw my abs and I-I thought it was only fair that I saw yours! I couldn't see them though, your back was facing me..."
I started laughing, it was out of relief seeing that he doesn't know and how cute he was being. He stared at me weird, wondering why I was laughing so hard. "Sorry, but I don't want people to see my body."
"Is it because of that wound on your chest?" he asked.
A what? I held back from laughing even more, deciding to use that as an excuse. "Uhh, yes."
"But you'll show it to me when it's healed, right?" he asked, oddly persistent to see my non-existent abs.
"Yea, sure." 'In your dreams.'
"Young Midoriya, I need to speak to you about something rather important." All Might returned from speaking to Bakugo and was somehow already behind us without us knowing.
Deku started to look nervous once again as if he did something wrong. "Sorry Kastumi, I'll talk to you later."
"It's okay, see you later Deku." Before I turned and walked away, All Might and I made eye contact. He looked deep into my eyes and looked at me with a feeling that I couldn't decipher. Before I could figure out what he thought as he looked at me, he had already walked off with Deku being dragged along.
Why did he look at me like that?