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Chapter 55: Aftermath – Steel vs Fire and Ice
🕑 Added 2025-04-01 15:52:46 +0000 UTCTenya's arrival heralded the decisive shift in the battle as Stain, already missing his sword, exhausted, injured, and well out of his ambush element, was easily apprehended. Endeavor arrived just in time to aid Iida in restraining the villain, the rest helping to see to Midoriya, Todoroki, and the defrosted Koharu, who, much to Endeavour's annoyance, wrapped around him to heat up after being turned into a reptilian popsicle. This sight left Todoroki confused while Midoriya smiled, happy to see his friend getting the warmth she needed, something he couldn't provide.
Still, his exhaustion was the worst of his condition as Stain's attacks hadn't left any lasting damage, so while he needed to be carried by one of the local pros, he assured them a hefty meal for him and Koharu, and a good night's rest would be enough. Todoroki could walk alone, though his father told him to also spend the night at the hospital just to be on the safe side.
The heroes making the silent choice to inform them of the rest of the events that transpired when both were rested.
This led to the current moment, early morning at Hosu General Hospital. As he typically did, Midoriya had been up bright and early. The nurses found him waking up just after dawn. After checking with the supervising physician, they allowed him to move about the rooftop as he found it difficult to remain in bed. However, he didn't wish to disturb Todoroki or Koharu, who were both fast asleep.
By the time the two had both woken up, it was breakfast. Todoroki wanted to discuss what they had done the night before, but he found himself tongue-tied when he saw the food. His own was normal, at least what he figured to be normal for hospital food: a little bland in taste but serviceable.
Midoriya had been given a serving meant for at least five people, and Koharu had just been given raw beef. He watched as both ate their meals with visible joy, leaving him wondering if they enjoyed the taste or were just stocking up on fuel like his father did after a particularly exhausting workday.
“Midoriya,” Todoroki paused in his meal to look towards his fellow patient. “Were you able to get a good night’s rest?”
“Oh, yes!” Midoriya quickly swallowed his food, wiping his face clean with one of the tissues they had been given by the friendly staff. “I didn’t have any issues like restlessness or nightmares.”
Somehow, Todoroki believed that. “Well, that makes one of us.”
"Do you…wanna talk about it," Midoriya asked, as this felt like something that should be addressed sooner rather than later.
Todoroki sighed, looking at his hands and wondering how he was affected by this when his fellow student seemed fresh as rain. Midoriya was even the one who got closest to Stain, was stabbed through the chest, and acted like it was just a hard session of training.
"It's just…the fight, the Hero Killer…I can see what we did was amazing, but we were close to death the entire time. You only stayed on your feet so long because you could regenerate, and Stain couldn't lick lava." He stated, clenching his hands a couple times as he recalled that feeling of being trapped in his body, unable to move or use his quirk. It was humiliating; it was terrifying. It was sobering to again be humbled.
Midoriya tapped his chin in thought, as he didn't share those thoughts. Well, except for the end when both had been either caught off guard or, in his case, too exhausted to move.
“I mean, yes, but it’s not like I didn’t feel it, at least…I feel something when I get hurt while transformed, and I was burning through energy both to keep it up and recover each time he managed to wound me. At the end there, I had nothing left to give, if not for Iida….” He paused as something flashed in his eyes, something too fast for Todoroki to see exactly what, only that whatever it was had to be distressing to him, and he could make a fairly educated guess as to what that was.
"And you managed to get a good night's rest," Todoroki stated, to which Midoriya let out a little chuckle.
"Yeah, that sounds weird, doesn't it?" Midoriya asked.
“Yes.” Todoroki didn't hold back, which left Midoriya stunned as he had heard about such moments from Tsu, but to be on the receiving end of it was a little weird in itself.
“This human is certainly blunt," Koharu hissed as she returned to her food, leaving this stuff to her human.
“Koharu,” Midoriya scolded her, though Todoroki had no clue that she had even said anything, much less what. Turning his direction back at hand, Midoriya continued. "Anyway, Todoroki, I suppose it was partly because I was so exhausted; we all get those moments when you're too tired for worries, but…"
“But?” Todoroki pressed to which Midoriya flashed a smile.
"But also, things worked out. Iida did arrive, and no one lost their lives. Thanks to us, the hero Stain attacked made it to the EMTs, and they told me last night he had a good chance of recovering fully. We even managed to help bring Stain down, so while things were scary, they still worked out, so I chose to focus on the positive." He kicked his feet about, having been seated on his bed and humming a little song.
“The positives…” Todoroki repeated, looking at his bandaged left arm.
Midoriya ceased the humming, looking a little worried for Todoroki. “Is…is your arm okay?”
The fire and ice user sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, you flames closed the wound. Doctors don't even think it'll leave that noticeable a scar." He'll have to wait to see when he removed the bandages, but from what he recalled from the fight, it wasn't a serious burn, nothing like the one that graced his face.
Their conversation and the topic were put on the back burner as the door opened, revealing a familiar face itched with worry.
“Midoriya, Todoroki!” Iida nearly used his quirk to get into the room faster, looking over them for any signs of long-lasting damage. When he saw none, he sighed, as he had been told. He had seen them being loaded into the ambulance, but still. "It's good to see you awake."
To address his classmates' and class rep's concerns, Todoroki shrugged but mentioned that he was healthy. Midoriya, ever the bright ball of sunshine, flashed him a big smile as she returned to eating. Manual, who had been one of the adults now present, felt like his eyes widened threefold at the sheer volume of food the kid was consuming.
“How much does that kid pack away?” Manuel asked as Midoriya somehow managed to eat all that without making a mess. This sight caused a familiar green-flamed woman to cackle as she entered, drawing the attention of the two hospitalized students.
Burnin smirked as she looked over the two, her hair dancing about as it always did, but she was happy to see them both awake and with little injuries to speak of. That wasn’t something that Stain’s other targets could say.
“Burnin, what are you doing here?” Midoriya asked as he thought Endeavour had left her in Tokyo to manage things.
Her smile grew as she approached and smacked Midoriya with a strong hand. "Happy to see me? I'm here in the big man's place. He says his regards, but you know how it is—always busy!"
“I see.” Todoroki’s dry response strained her smile a little.
‘Yeah, probably best he didn’t show up.’ Yeah, she could see why the boss thought it best she handled this while he dealt with the rest of the mess. With attention back on him, Iida looked at him again, zeroing in on his wounded arm.
“Your injuries…” Iida stated as Todoroki towards the wound but shrugged it off.
"This? It's not much; I would probably get something worse in training." He started, as he didn't know why Iida would feel guilty for this. He didn't give him the scar, and Todoroki had chosen to fight Stain to buy him time to escape.
"I'm also doing great, not so much as a scratch." Midoriya butted him, raising a hand up high to which Burnin pocked his side, Midoriya bending like her noodle as her sharp, mutated finger dug into his flesh, tickling him a little.
"Kid, Stain cut off your arms at least a dozen times; pretty sure that counts as more than a scratch." She was pretty sure they were still finding bits and pieces across the street. Lucky for those guys, his severed parts didn't revert back to flesh else. It'd look like a serial killer's wet dream's aftermath.
“Well, I grew them back.”
“My apologies!” Iida bowed low, interrupting Midoriya's attempts to downplay losing entire limbs like one would cutting fingernails. It was just too much for him. “If I had managed to find help for Native sooner, then I could have…” Koharu hissed at him, having abandoned her meal to slither towards Iida and crawl his leg before she was wrapped around his chest and looking him in the eye, the room being silent as none could figure out what she was doing, but whatever it was, made Izuku giggle.
“She says it’s nothing to worry about. We’re still here. You’re still here, and Native’s still here. That’s a win.” Midoriya translated for her, the snake nodding before Midoriya's smile left as he turned towards Manuel and Burnin. “By the way, is he…?”
Burnin sighed, though her smile didn't change much. She grew a little fonder as she shook Midoriya's head, much to his chagrin. "Figured you'll ask about that; it's the only reason you'll pick a fight with anyone, much less someone as hardcore as the Hero Killer."
“As Koharu says," Manual gave the snake a look, one which she returned as she remained wrapped around his intern. He's in good health. They're worried about the burns, but they stemmed the bleeding and helped buy him valuable time. He's still unconscious, however, but he should wake up by the afternoon." He finished, directing his attention towards the young flame user, who took a breath of relief.
"Before we continue to talk, we should handle your guest," Burnin stated as she pointed towards the door, where a newcomer entered. One which neither Midoriya nor Todoroki recognized. They were a tall, sturdy man with a beagle's head, dark brown eyes, ears, and a large black nose. His face sported a tan line from forehead to a pale brown-flecked muzzle, with skin matching the tan. For clothing, he donned a suit—dress shirt, waistcoat, unbuttoned black blazer, matching pants, belt with large buckle, and a Dalmatian-like tie.
“This is Hosu’s chief of police, Tsuragamae Kenji.” Manuel introduced, which surprised the two boys.
‘’Ch-chief?!’ Midoriya asked himself.
“Dog, " Koharu said, knowing humans could look funny. However, this was a first for her, as even that Tsu girl didn't look like an actual frog.
‘Why is he here?’ Todoroki frowned. For such a high-ranking man to pay them a visit… didn't bode well for them. Still, the two moved to stand and bow towards him, only for the police chief to raise his hand.
“Please, remain where you are. You deserve the rest, woof.” He finished with a verbal tick, which the adults in the room didn't react to, with Iida's being a little muted but the two who hadn't met him.
‘He’s like Tsu!’ Midoriya yelled in his head, wondering if that was the only thing he shared with his froggy friend.
"You two are the U.A. students who were vital in bringing down Hero Killer, right?" Tsuragamae asked them.
"That's correct," Todoroki replied for the both of them, though he chewed on that question. ‘Is he checking to see if we’re honest? If that’s the case, it’s not an effective test.’
‘Why would he need to ask? The rest could have told him that.’ Midoriya wasn’t nearly as suspicious about this, just confused.
Tsuragamae nodded before he started speaking. “Regarding the villain, he suffered some fairly serious injuries, mainly burns caused by frost and fire, but also some broken bones. At present, he’s receiving appropriate treatment under strict guard, woof.”
Midoriya nodded, feeling a little better about it. 'That's good; he shouldn't suffer like that.' He didn't like Stain and believed his 'crusade' or whatever he called it to be a sham. Still, he had been handled, and now it was time for the law to step in to assign him the proper punishment, and that shouldn't be something as archaic as torture.
Tsuragamae continued from there. “As U.A. students, I'm sure you're well aware of the law and its strictness when it comes to quirk use in public or against heroes, even in self-defense," he reminded them. All three boys remembered what they had learned in class and how strict quirk laws were.
However, instead of throwing the book at them, a fate Midoriya had been expecting in hindsight, the chief let out a contemplative hum. "However, all of you are unique in that you weren't acting as civilians or students but as legal interns to Endeavour and Manuel."
The three glanced at each other and then at the heroes present, but neither gave anything away about how they felt or knew about this. “So…it’s fine then, right?” Midoriya asked.
“Kinda. He can explain it better.” Burnin stated, directing their attention back to the chief.
"Thank you, Burnin. As I said, you acted as interns to 2 heroes, including the number 2. However, the fact remains that all three of you are first years without the proper certification or authority to use your quirks as you did.” He continued to explain to the students.”
“Because of that, the law would respond by imposing, at a minimum, a steep fine against Manual and Endeavour for purposely allowing you to be put into such a situation." He explained this to them, which got a response from them, as Todoroki refused to believe that their doing the right thing could be seen as illegal. At the same time, Midoriya didn't want Endeavour to be punished for this.
“But I wasn't looking for Stain; I was chasing down a Nomu and found Stain along the way! I radioed for help because someone needed to help me get Native out of there!" Midoriya advocated, as sure, telling a student to fight a monster seemed extreme, but he had been torn in half by one and bounced back; the one he was sent after was much weaker and easily handled.
Tsuragamae didn’t dispute his claim. "We've already questioned Endeavour and several other heroes at the scene so that much we knew." He informed them. “Still, Endeavour also confirmed that he had journeyed here because he was planning on joining the hunt for Stain, a hunt both of you would have at least had minor roles in.”
At that, both couldn't fight it, as, yes, it did look bad that Endeavour would do such a thing. Todoroki could say that he was ordered to keep his distance and that Midoriya was brought along because it was believed his transformed state would be immune to Stain's blades or at least be resistant. Both those things didn't happen as Todoroki was forced to get close at times, or Stain closed the gap, while Midoriya wasn't immune to Stain's blades and bled for it.
Manuel could sympathize a little with them, as it did seem like people were focusing too much on the act and not the reality and results, but this was just part of the job. Besides, it’s not like they get to control the narrative. "Not the best look, even if Midoriya was practically immune to whatever quirk Stain had, it wasn't exactly family-friendly content."
"Family-friendly?" Todoroki repeated, as he had heard the saying before from classmates, but that related to entertainment. What did it have to do with this?
Midoriya didn't see it like that, as something that now seemed off came to mind. Turning to Burnin, he asked, "Wait, hold on, Burnin, how did you know Stain cut my hands off that many times? Iida couldn't have known, and Todoroki's been here the entire time. Did you ask him before?" He looked at Todoroki, who shook his head before he caught what Midoriya was implying.
“That’s part of why things are a little more complicated.” Burnin turned their TV remote on, and the channel was already on the news.
“-last night. We have yet to hear from the police, but the scene is still a disaster zone.” The reporter continued, the background being the street, which, not even 12 hours ago, had been a battlefield; the area sectioned off with police keeping the general public and media out as they gathered evidence and cleared away the last of Todoroki's ice and other debris.
"That's where we fought," Midoriya stated, only to see clips from the prior night's play. It was…odd to see it from an outside perspective, as he could vividly recall all of it. Still, there was a disconnect, seeing how easily Stain kept up with them despite their power and numbers. The sight was a little unnerving with how much his blood lit up the otherwise dark street.
Burnin muted the TV as Manuel explained the issue. "The media caught the fight, just about the entire thing, till they managed to take Stain down. They broadcasted it live." They were lucky that their room didn’t face the hospital’s entrance, as there was already a swarm of reporters outside, having heard from someone that the two were there and they wanted interviews.
Tsuragamae sighed, as things have been a little tense lately, even with the Hero Killer now off the streets. No, it was because of how Stain had been defeated and arrested. “The public is mixed on the situation. While many praised your bravery and skills and rightfully see Stain's capture as something we owe to you. Others don't see it that way, questioning why students were the ones that had to handle him."
“It’s a minority but a loud one," Burnin added.
"And one which has gained some traction with powerful people," Tsuragamae stated, as he'd already seen some local politicians comment on it. His supervisors were unhappy with things.
“So, what happens now?” Todoroki asked as it seemed like this wasn't something that could be argued, but at the same time, he was wise enough to know he sucked at social skills, so if he tried, he would probably make it worse.
"For now? You'll both avoid the public for the rest of your internship, which means you'll spend time with me training." Burnin told them, with the students waiting to hear more.
“That’s it?” Midoriya asked after a few moments of silence.
“For you? Yup.” Burnin waved it off.
"The situation is delicate, and questions will be asked, but there won't be anything we can't answer or wait out. Avoiding the public gives them time to come to terms and prevent other villains from getting ideas." Tsuragamae informed them of the finer details of the situation and their plans going forward.
"You'll be surprised how often heroes get attacked by upstarts that want to make a name for themselves, and well…you two have really put a target on your backs." Manuel gestured towards them both as before. Sure, they had some media presence thanks to the Sports Festival, but that was still a controlled setting. This…this was the real thing.
Todoroki looked away, but another concern came to Midoriya's mind. “What about the Nomu? I was chasing one when I found Native and Stain, but I couldn’t get up on it.”
"Recovered, though it was paralyzed from the neck down. You wouldn't happen to know why, would you, woof?” Tsuragamae raised his brow as Midoriya felt a little silly. He recalled how that could have happened.
Midoriya brought his hands together, tapping the tips of his index fingers together. "Well…I might have jumped onto its neck knee first to ensure it didn't move."
‘What is Endeavour teaching this kid?’ Manuel asked. Having seen the Nomu, he thought it looked like it had been through a ringer.
'Hado-sempai would have thought it was cool…besides, it was a Nomu; it's better than killing it outright, right?' Midoriya thought as he had even ensured he timed it right for maximum damage. His statement drew Iida's attention, and he tried to ask him what he was thinking while Todoroki asked. He couldn't have defeated it another way, though considering his old man was burning the heads off the Nomu he handled, complete paralysis wasn't so bad.
For Burnin, she just laughed at the scene before she called. She had another reason to visit. “Oh, before I forget,” She pulled out their phones. "Your phones; your sister was worried sick about yeh, Shoto."
Unlocking his, Todoroki saw several missed calls and many more messengers from his sister, his only contact on his device. “I figured. She’ll want to talk to make sure everything’s all right.”
Midoriya had notably paled when Burnin brought up Todoroki's sister as if the entire thing had been televised, that meant- “As for you, your mother called.” Burnin handed him his phone.
“Oh no.” Midoriya shuddered. His mother was incredibly emotional and worrisome, for good reason, admittedly. She had been worried half to death when she first heard about the USJ and his condition, but at least there she saw him after he had recovered. With this, she would have seen every wound as it happened.
“And someone called Hado-sempai.” Burnin only dug his grave deeper. Hado-sempai was a hero student; she knew the dangers, and she had seen him hurt, but in safe training settings, not by a serial killer!
“Oh no!” His shaking got worse
“And Ryukyu of all people.” She might as well have bought him a tombstone with an inscription pre-etched as Izuku imagined the face that Ryukyu would make and made the sensitive decision.
“I’m hiding under the bed!” Nearly as fast as Iida, he zipped under his bed, much to the confusion of the gathered audience.
“How is that the scary one?” Todoroki asked, Midoriya popping out long enough to give him a response.
"It just is, I don't like making her disappointed; I don't like disappointing any of them!" He shot back before he vanished under it yet again.
“Oh boy, this is gonna be a whole thing.” Burnin sighed as she pushed up her sleeves and marched over to get him out from under there and call back his mentor, senior, and mother like a man. She didn't care how much he didn't want to see their terrified faces; he better do it before the Dragon Hero showed up in person, and she didn't want to learn if Ryukyu was the gentle, worried, or violent type!
Line Break
As Burning wrestled to get Midoriya out to face the music, the world outside the hospital kept turning, with the news cycle and conversations between regular people dominated by the prior night's events. Of course, the League attack, but Stain took center stage, as the live broadcast of his last bout against 2 high schoolers had been seen by hundreds of thousands by now.
He might have lost, but people couldn't help but focus on the fact he gave the two students, two students who anyone who watched the Sports Festival could tell would become top pros and already had the powers and skills of a hero, such trouble. Even as he took damage, even through the pain and burns, Stain didn't relent, Stain didn't slow, he didn't stop, and when he went down, it took a surprise attack from an Iida. His arrest required the number 2 hero to avoid slipping out.
Such couldn’t be ignored, as it started shifting the mood in the world, but in ways that many wouldn’t notice till it was too late.
“They finally got the Hero Killer?” Someone asked their friend as they sat at a café.
“Yeah, didn’t you see it? It was all over the news!” Their friend sipped their tea, only for the first to wave it off.
"I work the night shift, you know that!"
“Amazing! It was scary with him out and the prowl!” Some college students walked through the streets, one taking a breath of relief.
"I still can't believe who managed to bring him down. They aren't even graduates yet, " another pointed out, still reading the early morning paper, which included pictures of the scene.
"It wasn't like Midoriya and Todoroki did it alone." Some old men sat in the park, playing a friendly game of Shogi.
The second, a retired cop, grunted as he looked over the board. "No, but they did the lion's share of it. Endeavour was busy handling the rest of the situation and arrived late."
“I heard that both of them were seen with Endeavour before.” Some retail workers gossiped, the stores temporarily empty.
“Really? He must be training them!” The other snapped their fingers, smiling along with her fellow co-worker.
"As expected from the number 2 hero! He's trained those two for a little bit, and they could take down Stain!" Some students talked about it between classes.
“Still, did you see how fast Stain was? I could barely keep up with him and had to rewind a whole bunch to catch everything.” The other middle schooler said as they watched clips from the fight on his phone.
"No kidding, he was shredding Midoriya and his quirk. Still, you gotta give the kid props; how many people could tank that much damage and still give it as good as you get?" Some high schoolers talked about it.
"It was pretty funny seeing Endeavour with a snake wrapped around him. You saw it, right? It was snuggling so close to him.” One of the girls in the group giggled as she pulled out her phone, showing the image of the site, which somehow made the otherwise unapproachable number 2 look like her dad. Then they got the family Chow Chow. He went from 'We don't need a pet' to grumpily accepting it, and now they were best friends.
"Snakes are cold blood, and they had to chip it out of the ice. It was probably freezing. I'm surprised it didn't die." Her friend looked through her socials and saw that others commented on the post of Endeavour with a snake. One saw it as proof that he was the servant of the devil, and others just thought he looked badass since they saw the snake could transform into a fire beast.
"Everyone's talking about those boys, but they're forgetting about the Ingenium kid. I heard that he was the one who saved Stain's would-be victim. Solid teamwork." A middle-aged officer worker conversed with the person beside him as they handled paperwork.
"Do you think they'll create a hero team when they go pro?" the second asked, to which the first threw his head back and laughed.
“A hero team with the Endeavour’s son and the son of the Iida? Man, villains won’t have a chance. Throwing in the Midoriya kid would be overkill.” He replied.
"I would prefer that with how scary things have been lately. My brother saw those League…things up close scared him half to death." The second added as the news continued to discuss the incident.
“According to the police reports, the villains arrested during the Hosu City riots were all men with unknown addresses and identities. However, based on their distinctive appearances and the presence of two people, both suspect of being known members of the League of Villains, it's fair to believe that the attack was planned and carried out by the League of Villains.” The news anchors reported to the masses.
“The League of Villains is a new criminal organization with little known about it. However, they were the ones who claimed responsibility for the attack last month, with reports of one of the captured villains sharing a resemblance to the villains captured last night.” In the crowd watching things play out on the big screen, a dark-haired figure silently studied the clips and photographs. Still, their gaze focused on the shots of the number 2 hero…and Midoriya.
Losing interest in things when they moved on, the figure turned and continued on their way away from the hair saloon they had exited. “It is believed that with the timing that the Hero Killer: Stain was affiliated with the League; however, we can't say with confidence until we have the facts, which we'll report as soon as we get them.”
“The Hero Killer has been active for the last 5 months and, in that time, has been implicated in more deaths among heroes than anyone else since the rise of All Might. Since his arrest, police claim that he's been treated while under strict guard and will be transferred to the appropriate holding facility once doctors give the go-ahead. With his arrest, the people of Japan can rest a little easier.” Off in the wilderness, far from other people, a lone radio sat on a tree stomp playing the news as a massive figure sat close up, silently listening.
“At present, police continue to investigate the situation, both around Stain and with the League's attack on Hosu, which has caused several injuries.” In another part of the country, in a dark, near-abandoned factory district, a young blonde in a school uniform and cardigan skipped through, a happy smile on her face as she listened to the news via her headphones.
“Honestly, what has the world come to? We have a villain like Stain running around for so long, one who left his mark as a criminal of the year, the criminal of the decade as we all saw it; how many villains would fight such odds and not flee? How many wouldn't immediately be defeated? Not many, I can tell you that." The man sighed at the end. “And for it to be students-first years at that who were forced to handle him, it makes you think, doesn’t it?” Her smile widened at the news of it.
“About?” The reporter asked about the crime, expecting that they had brought one whose name she didn't care to listen to or remember. All she wanted was more details on Stain.
“What was Stain’s motives? What did he seek to gain through his murderous spree across Japan? Why did students need to step up to confront him? Why didn’t the heroes arrive earlier or just handle things themselves?” She wanted to know as well, and if…no, when she made a chance for herself, she'd have all the time to get to know them, both inside and out.
Shigaraki read through the morning paper as the news played at the bar that served as their main hideout, but it didn't give him the satisfaction he wished for. “I'm reporting live from Ecko Street here in Hosu City. As you can tell, they're still closing it off to even residents the city has housed in hotels across the area. We're told that they'll be allowed to return to their homes and businesses in just a few hours as they finish up cleaning up and gathering evidence after such an intense battle between the Hero Killer and two U.A. students.”
Decaying part of the paper, he crumpled the rest and threw it into the trash. A trash can that already had 4 other major papers in it, and not one-not one! Gave him the news he wished to see. “Stain or those brats. Stupid Stain and pathetic piss-ant first years, that’s all they want to talk about!” He seethed as he looked towards the screen, showing another rerun of the death match he set up! A death match that he got cheated out of as that brat didn't kill Stain, and Stain, despite his stats and rep, couldn't give a single one of them!
"Barely any mention of us; no one cares that my Nomus raised hell through the streets." He got up, turning to head off for some training; he needed to decay something; maybe the master had some live dummies this time. "Forget being forgotten; we're the unwanted DLC to this stupid game."
Line Break
In one of the rare moments of free time, Asui could return Midoriya's earlier call and talk with him. After Burnin had coerced him, he reluctantly returned his missed calls, starting with his mother. Those present marveled at this, as even over the phone, both Midoriyas unleashed waterworks, though in Izuku's case, as Todoroki mused, his tears came out like hot spring water.
After that, he was Ryukyu, who was as worried about him but didn't immediately scold him for picking fights, which made him feel worse. She just commented on where he made mistakes and how he could have saved himself the grief and stamina if he hadn't been so reckless with his fighting style.
Hado pouted on the phone and promised she'd hug him and not let him go the next time they saw each other. This led to him calling his friends, and he started with Asui. When she didn't pick up, he spoke with Kendo and Monoma for a while before she returned his call, so he gave her the same song and dance as he did the rest.
“It was pretty shocking to turn on the news and hear about today. I’m glad that you’re all right.” She commented after hearing what went down from the horse's mouth.
“It wasn't like I wanted to fight him by myself. The plan was to be Endeavour's backup, but well…” Midoriya replied.
"Things got sidetracked. I'm pretty sure the entire country saw that," Asui stated, Midoriya blathering over the line for a moment before controlling himself. "Do you have anything busy planned for the rest of the internship, or are you benched?"
“A little of both. No more patrols for us, just training.” He replied, which, yikes, she felt bad for him about.
“(Kero) Together?” She had already heard through the group chat how the rest were handling things, Kendo's sounding like the least productive for day-to-day hero work. Midoriya mentioned that the Todoroki were like fire and ice, with how little they got along. And considering how he had been after Midoriya bested him at the festival, she couldn't imagine he would be cordial with him.
“It can't be that bad. We worked together pretty well, and he's not as stiff and unfriendly as I thought…well when his dad's not around," Midoriya muttered that last part, as Burnin would be handling their training since Endeavour preferred to remain on the streets, solving incidents.
"Well, I wish you luck anyway. I've got to get back to work. I'll talk to you tonight, " Asui said.
“Okay. Bye, Tsu.” With that, the call ended as Selkie, who had been watching her near the end, spoke up.
“And who was that, Froppy?” He asked as Selkie observed that she was not the type that would get distracted by her phone, one which she kept in her locker most of the day.
"It was my friend; he called to talk about the Hosu mess," Asui replied, putting her phone back into the locker so she could focus more on her work.
“Hosu? Was he one of the boys involved?” Selkie asked as the two turned and walked up towards the deck.
She nodded. “Yes, sir. His name is Midoriya.”
“Midoriya…Midoriya,” Selkie was sure he had heard the name before he snapped his fingers. “He’s the cute one, right?”
“That’s a weird thing to remember him by.” She commented, to which he got mildly offended.
“What, he is!”
“Yeah, he did look good in the cheerleading get-up.” She agreed, as she had the picture saved on her phone for a reason.
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Well, well, well, Looks who's back and with a full, uncut chapter for this week! Oh, you have no idea how good that is to say after all the BS I went through, which reflected to you all with late uploads or just missing ones. This chapter wasn't too hard to write in of itself, especially as I went at it with renewed energy. Still, I do have to say that I've decided on something that has been eating away at me for a while now, but I'm not sure how big a role One for All will play in this.
In the sister story, where Izuku is a villain, things need to be balanced out, but here? I don't know, I just can't think of a character that All Might would pick in the first years or have much I can do with it, so yea-I'm just going to have Mirio have it; not much of a surprise, but it gives me a means to have it passed to a new holder without interrupting the flow I have going here. One last thing: When I started working on this chapter, I was listening to 'Boy' by Shao Dow, which put me in the mood for an epic fight/training montage, which, sadly, had no place in this chapter.
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Izuku: Wait, she does?
Author: She and half the viewing audience
Izuku: And it’s for innocent reasons, right?
Author…
Izuku: And its for innocent reasons…right?”
Author: Have you seen anime fandoms? Not even anime, just the internet?
Izuku: I mainly stay on the hero forums. Why, is there something more?
Author: Oh, you are too pure for this world, you little pyromaniac.
But for real, that was a really fun time to write, even if it ended up being a little longer than I thought it would be.
