Chapter Text
“So what do you guys think would be better? Never being able to eat your favorite dessert again or having to eat your favorite dinner food every meal?”
“I would rather never be able to favorite dessert again. I can always find a new one, but I think I would get sick eating the same thing every day.”
Ochaco smiled as she listened to her friends’ discussion. Morning training had just finished, and all the girls were getting ready to head to their next class. Ashido had been asking all the girls random questions and ‘would you rather' scenarios as a way to keep the mood light.
Ashido moved on to her next target for questioning. “Alright, Tsu! Who do you think would win in a fight: Ryukyuu or Midnight?”
The frog-like teen put a finger on her chin in thought. “That depends, would there be any restrictions, and where would they be fighting?”
“Um, I guess on an open training field?” Ashido shrugged.
Tsuyu nodded sagely. “Then Ryukyu.”
“Agreed,” Ochaco chimed in as she put some of her gear away.
“I think you guys are a little biased since your work-study is with her,” Ashido giggled, moving to grab her costume case. “But what did you guys think of the training today? I got to improve my acid skating a ton!”
“I think it went as well as it could, though I’m afraid I was unable to make sufficient progress,” Yaoyorozu fretted. “Mineta is not exactly an ideal training partner.”
All the girls voiced their agreement.
“That’s alright, though. I’m sure you’ll do great during the next training, Yaomomo,” Jirou gave the taller girl a thumbs up.
“Thank you, Jirou. You got paired up with Midoriya, correct? I saw the attack you two came up with. It was quite impressive.”
“Yep. I didn’t think our quirks would that well together until we went and did it. Midoriya’s a pretty good training partner. He helped me with my quirk, and I helped with his.”
Ochaco smiled at that. Izuku was great with quirks, and she was glad more of her classmates were beginning to notice. Speaking of, she should run by him some of the moves she and Sero came up with during training. Izuku would probably have more ideas about how their quirks would work together, and Ochaco was eager to try out anything that could make her a better hero.
She had just finished putting away the last of her hero gear when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Uraraka, may I ask you something?”
Ochaco turned to see Yaoyorozu staring at her, concern shining in her eyes. That was normal, as the black-haired girl was always looking out for her classmates, but something in the tone of her voice made Ochaco feel apprehensive.
“Sure! Is everything alright?”
Yaoyorozu nodded with tight lips. “Everything is fine, but I noticed that you and Midorya have been acting differently since returning to the dorms yesterday. During training, you both zoned out of sorts after Midoroya caught you. Are you sure nothing else happened with that villain’s quirk? I’m sure Recovery Girl could look over you two if something occurred.”
Ochaco felt a pang of guilt in her chest. She and Izuku agreed to keep the whole ‘regaining lost memories’ thing a secret from her classmates until they had more information. But as Yaoyorozu stared at her, Ochaco suddenly wished she hadn’t suggested it. She knew it was for the best. After all, her friends would have so many questions, but Ochaco wouldn’t be able to give them any answers at the moment. But despite the logic behind her reasoning, it didn’t stop the guilt in her heart.
Putting on a big smile, Ochaco waved Yaoyorozu’s concern off. “Izuku and I are okay, really. I think we were just in shock at what happened during training. But if I feel sick or anything, I promise I’ll go straight to Recovery Girl.”
Yaoyorozu still looked uncertain, but she gave a curt nod before putting on her own smile. “All right, but as your Vice Class Rep., I need to ensure my classmates are in peak condition.”
“You’re such a Mom friend, Yaomomo,” Ashido chortled by the changing room doors.
Yaoyorozu flushed, but the smile remained.
“Let’s get a move on, girls!” Hagakure said, the arm of her school uniform frantically motioning towards the door. “We’re going to be late for Modern Literature.”
Ochaco hurriedly gathered her things and followed her friends out the door, not noticing Yaoyorozu’s concerned gaze as she left.
Izuku’s day had been anything but relaxing.
He wanted a boring day. All of the new information on his and Ochaco’s memories getting altered, not knowing why, and remembering he had his own quirk just made Izuku want to have a day to process it all and breathe.
But being a hero student at UA squashed the chances of that happening.
At first, training had been going super well. Izuku learned more about his classmate’s quirk and improved his Air Force move! There was even the moment he and Ochaco decided to use their given names around others, growing closer than ever.
Then training started to take a turn for the worse. Ochaco had nearly gotten hurt, and Izuku was just glad he could get to her in time, even if it wasn’t needed. Ochaco was more than capable of taking care of herself, but Izuku couldn’t suppress the panic that surged through him seeing his best friend falling. When he caught her, he thought that was the end and training could get back to normal.
But then they had gotten another burst of memories, and One for All began acting strange when they had gotten to the ground . . . and then there was Kacchan.
Izuku knew what had happened was unintentional. He knew that Kacchan wouldn’t purposefully put another classmate in danger, no matter how many times he deemed them extras. But that still didn’t stop the anger that rose in Izuku.
His rival had always preached about having such good control over his quirk; how the powerful explosions were at his disposal while Izuku still had leaps and bounds to fully control One for All.
So seeing Kacchan make a mistake that could have potentially put Izuku’s best friend in danger made his gut twist.
At first, Izuku wanted to confront the blonde, fully prepared to ask what had happened to make him get so unfocused.
But the second Izuku turned to Kacchan, he stopped himself.
Kacchan would no doubt train harder to ensure that what happened that morning would not occur again. It would be strange if he didn’t work harder to get better. Kacchan, while he did dwell on failure, was never one to stay put and let more mistakes happen.
So Izuku decided that talking to Kacchan wasn’t worth it.
He was still upset, more so from seeing Ochaco getting put in danger than Katsuki’s mistake, but confronting Kacchan when both of them had emotions running high wasn’t a good idea. It was just unfortunate timing that Izuku’s gaze got caught by the blonde, sparking off another set of explosions.
In hindsight, ignoring Kacchan wasn’t his best idea, but Izuku was wrapped in conversation with Iida and Ochaco to notice just how angry his friend was getting. But Izuku and his friends were already out the doors before they could see Kirishima stepping in.
The rest of the school day was interesting .
Classes went as they always did, though Izuku found himself and Ochaco catching each other’s eyes a little more often. (Something Izuku didn’t mind in the slightest.) But some of the classes kept getting interrupted by Kaminari and Sero. From what Izuku could gather, the two were trying to pull a prank on Kacchan, and their scheming got slightly out of hand. Both boys had to be sent out while the rest of the class tried to salvage their things from Sero and Kaminari’s ‘paint-bomb idea.’
Izuku was just thankful that none of the fluorescent paint got onto his notebooks.
Then, Iida and Todoroki reminded Izuku that the three of them had booked the gym for training after school. So that was how Izuku found himself walking out of Height’s Alliance with his friends. All three had finally finished their homework for the day, and Iida believed that training would be an excellent way to blow off some steam after the work studies. Ochaco and Asui usually joined them, but Izuku knew the two were working on their English homework for Present Mic that afternoon.
It was a little disappointing to Izuku, especially after Ochaco and Asui talked about the new moves they had created during class that morning. Izuku was really hoping to see them use their new skills in action.
“Midoriya,” Iida called softly, startling the teen out of his thoughts. “Did you hear what I asked?”
Izuku sheepishly shook his head. “Sorry, Iida.”
The taller boy’s eyes narrowed in concern. “I asked if you were feeling alright enough to train. The villain attack yesterday and what happened with your quirk this morning must have been tiring. I don’t think it would be good to push yourself if you’re not feeling up for it. As future heroes, we have a duty to ourselves to ensure we’re in top condition.”
“He’s right, Midoriya,” Todoroki said. “Ever since you and Uraraka returned from the work studies, you’ve been acting a little different.”
Had they? Izuku didn’t believe either of them was doing anything out of the ordinary. Well, besides what happened with Kacchan. But that was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing that Izuku didn’t want to repeat.
“Really?” he asked warily.
“For starters, you both seemed disoriented during training,” Todoroki recited. “Did something else happen with the villain’s quirk yesterday to make you guys like that? Bakugou and I just found you guys passed out before you were taken to the hospital.”
The reminder of how he and Ochaco ended up sent a flush straight to Izuku’s cheeks. He was so glad his friends had ended up deleting that photo.
But Izuku also felt a pang of guilt. He couldn’t tell his friends what else happened with Tanaka’s quirk, at least not yet. He agreed to wait until their memories returned before telling anyone about the predicament. As soon as the week was up, he would tell his friends the whole story, but for now . . .
“We’re alright, guys, really,” Izuku assured, smiling gratefully at Iida and Todoroki. “But I’ll try to make my training a little lighter today if it makes you feel better.”
Iida still looked skeptical before he shook his head. “There will be no need, Midoriya. But, as I said earlier, it is important as future pro-heroes that we take care of ourselves. All three of us have had long weekends with work studies, and with our extra morning training, I’m certain we will still be in good health if we skip one evening.”
“Are you sure, Iida? I know how much you were looking forward to getting in some extra sparring time this week.”
“I am quite sure. Extra training may be beneficial to improving our skills, but I believe a night of relaxation would be much more helpful! I propose we take a night to simply watch a movie, or perhaps we could ask Mr. Aizawa to accompany us to town to get some treats. What do you think, Todoroki?”
The dual-haired boy shrugged. “That sounds alright with me. Midoriya?”
Izuku’s heart clenched. He was lucky to have the friends he did. He could already feel tears springing into his eyes.
“Yeah, that sounds great. But what movie are we going to watch? I think there might be a couple still downstairs after last weekend’s movie night, but I’m not sure.”
“I’m sure we can decide on a movie once we get back to the dorms,” Iida said, increasing his speed. “But we need to inform whoever is currently in the gym that they will be able to stay for another two hours if they choose. I’m sure more training time would be a welcome surprise.”
As the three walked to the gym, Izuku made a mental list of who could’ve been using it. Most of 1-A were either working on homework or settling in for the evening. The only students Izuku hadn’t seen after school was Kirishima and… Kacchan.
Well, what were the odds of Kacchan being in the gym?
Izuku came to find out that those odds were fairly high.
The second all three UA students stepped into the training facility, the pungent scent of burnt caramel overwhelmed their noses.
Out on the gym floor, Kacchan and Kirishima were sparring to the extreme. Kirishima was using his new Unbreakable move he learned at his work-study, while Kacchan sent explosion after explosion at the redhead. Neither relented, and Izuku was briefly reminded of just how cool all of his classmates were.
He remembered Kirishima talking about his new move after the Shie Hassaikai raid, but Izuku didn’t realize just how incredible it was! Kirishima’s quirk was great for defense against quirks like Kacchan’s, which showed as the two continued to spar.
“Those two must have been training hard this afternoon,” Iida declared.
Izuku nodded stiffly. He expected as much. Kacchan would work double as hard as a sort of atonement for that morning. The drive the blonde had was impressive, and that was always something Izuku admired in his friend. But his admiration was overshadowed by the sinking feeling in his gut.
“Come on, Shitty Hair! I know you can dodge better than that!” Kacchan yelled, sending another explosion to Kirishima.
The redhead grinned, showing off his rows of sharp teeth. “I’m just warming up, man!”
“Bring it on!”
Both boys were about to collide until Kacchan noticed the newcomers.
“Deku?! What the fuck are you doing here?!” he demanded, an incoming explosion starting to light.
Izuku didn’t get a chance to speak as Iida stepped in.
“Actually, we just wanted to inform you that you will be able to have the gym for another hour. Our group of three is going to be enjoying a movie night that will surely help boost our morale, especially after a rather exhausting weekend,” the engine-quirked student explained.
Kirishima beamed, eagerly grabbing onto Kacchan’s shoulder. “That’s awesome, dude! This will give us more time to work on our combo move! Thanks a bunch!”
Kacchan didn’t say anything, his red eyes trained on Izuku. Izuku used to feel anxious anytime the blonde was that focused on him, the smoldering stare nearly burning a hole through Izuku’s head. It was the same glare Kacchan would give before berating Izuku for not having better control of One For All or whatever it was he did during training.
But unlike before, Izuku didn’t feel anxious or intimidated by the glare. Instead, he returned Kacchan’s gaze with his own.
Wrong move.
Instantly, the blonde’s hackles raised. “I didn’t need your help this morning, Deku . I could’ve handled the situation myself.”
“I’m surprised it happened in the first place,” Izuku said before immediately slapping a hand over his mouth.
Where had that come from? Yeah, he was still a little irked from that morning, but that didn’t mean he wanted to voice that. Izuku didn’t know what was happening to him.
“The hell did you just say, Deku ?” Kacchan growled out, the scent of burnt caramel filling the air.
Izuku spoke before he even realized the words coming out of his mouth. “I mean, you're a master at your quirk, so seeing your control slip was kind of strange.”
Izuku wanted to take the words back as soon as he said them, but it was too late. His comment had already left its mark. Kacchan was about to lunge, and Izuku felt himself get into a defensive stance, the palms of his hands burning.
“WOAH!”
Any altercation that was about to happen was stopped by Kirishima and Iida, pulling their respective friends back. Kacchan stood behind Kirishima. The fury in his eyes remained, but the blonde’s gaze wasn’t fixed on Izuku himself but on his hands.
Why would he-?
His quirk. Shoot .
Izuku glanced down at his palms to see the faintest whisps of smoke coming from them. He didn’t even realize he had nearly used his quirk. With One for All, it was always something Izuku had to concentrate on. Even with all the practice of activating it on instinct, his new (old?) quirk had overshadowed it.
Kacchan’s gaze shot up, and the blonde locked eyes with Izuku, clearly unpleased. Izuku tensed. His rival must have thought it was another quirk from One for All.
Kirishima forced a laugh, wrapping an arm around Kacchan’s shoulder. “I know you guys like to spar, but I think it’s been a stressful day, so maybe we should just take a breather?”
“Indeed. We should be getting to our movie night,” Iida said, slowly guiding Izuku out of the gym, Todoroki already walking out the door. “You two enjoy the gym!”
Kirishima grinned and waved them off while Katsuki just stared. Izuku wanted to say sorry, he really shouldn’t have provoked him like that, but he was ushered out of the gym before he got the chance.
“Midoriya,” Iida started as soon as they were outside the doors, “Are you sure you’re alright? I know you and Bakugou have had your differences, but it’s unlike you to be so straightforward like that.”
Izuku flushed. He didn’t mean to provoke Kacchan. Heck, he didn’t even know he was saying anything until the words were already out. Maybe this was a development from the memory quirk? Was Izuku just more straightforward than he initially thought himself to be? He knew that he might begin to act differently, but he didn’t think it would be anytime soon and-
“Midoriya?” Iida rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“Sorry,” Izuku instnatly said. “I think I’m just stressed from everything today and yesterday. I promise I’ll apologize to Kacchan. I shouldn’t have stirred anything up.
Iida gave an easy smile. “That’s quite alright. Everyone has been a little on edge, and emotions are running high. But I think we should head back to the dorms and get this movie night started. I believe you’re in dire need of some rest and relaxation. Tomorrow will be much better for everyone.”
“Thank you, Iida,” Izuku smiled.
“Think nothing of it.”
The walk back to the dorm was pleasant. All three boys chatted about anything under the sun. Somewhere in the conversation, Todoroki had brought up the fact that he had never seen a Disney movie. Izuku and Iida didn’t think twice about what movie they would watch for the evening.
The three had finally managed to walk back into the dorms and were greeted by a roar of yelling and cheers. The rest of their classmates were gathered around one of the large dining tables. Jirou and Kaminari were at the front of the pack, caught in an intense staredown.
“I’m just saying that if push came to shove, Fatgum would absolutely demolish Kamui Woods,” Kaminari said breezily.
Jirou scoffed. “As if. Have you seen all of Kamui Woods’ new moves?”
“You know,” Sero said, “I think you both have it wrong. Gang Orca would clearly win-
“What? No way!”
The conversation at the table continued to escalate, and Todoroki leaned in closer to his friends. “Do you know what’s happening?”
It looked like his classmates were having a heated discussion over pros, but he had never seen any of his friends get so passionate about the subject. Even Tokoyami, who was one of the more quiet students at UA, chimed in when Hawks was brought into the conversation.
“Oh, don’t mind them,” a soft voice commented.
Izuku, Iida, and Todoroki all turned to see Yaoyorozu walking up to them. The Vice Class Rep. smiled fondly at her friends.
“Ashido ended up asking Kaminari who the best pro was, and things escalated from there,” she said. “Though I’m sure she’s not disappointed in how spirited the rest of the class is.”
“While I’m glad our classmates are so enthusiastic, I hope we don’t get a noise complaint from faculty,” Iida said, wincing as another round of yells erupted from the table.
Yaoyorozu laughed. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. I was about to ask most of them to help with dinner for the night, but is it all right if I talk to you for a moment, Iida?”
“Of course, is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine.” Yaoyorozu put on a quick smile. “I would just like to go over some last-minute concerns about the new activity sheet Mr. Aizawa gave us. I’m not sure which ones would be best for our class.”
Iida nodded but quickly looked to Izuku and Todoroki. “Is it alright if we start the movie night a little later? I would hate to make us wait longer, but-”
“It’s okay, Iida,” Izuku reassured. “That just gives Todoroki and me more time to pick out a movie.”
“Perfect. All right, Yaoyorozu. I think the kitchen would be quieter at the moment if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
Izuku watched as the class reps walked back towards the kitchen. Iida and Yaoyoruzu were always making sure their class was as good as they could be, and Izuku was grateful to have two of the most capable students in his class looking after, everyone.
It made the guilt he felt earlier come back.
He was about to ask Todoroki what kind of Disney movie he wanted to watch when he noticed Ochaco bounding up to them.
“Izuku! Todoroki!” the brunette grinned. “I thought you guys were going to go train for a while?”
Izuku couldn’t help but grin back. Ochaco’s personality was just so infectious.
“Iida thought a movie night might be better. After everything that happened yesterday and today, he wanted us to take a break.”
“Ooh! Fun! What movie were you guys planning on watching?”
“A Disney movie,” Todoroki said. “I’ve never seen one, and Iida and Midoriya insisted on watching one tonight.”
Ochaco’s smile faltered. “You’ve never seen a Disney movie?”
Todoroki silently shook his head.
“Well, at least you’ll get to watch your first one with friends,” Ochaco declared, her smile coming back full force. “Do you guys want help picking one out?”
Izuku and Todoroki nodded. “That would be great.”
“Awesome! I know Ashido has some of the more old-school ones if you want to look at those!”
Izuku proceeded to spend the next half an hour pouring over different movies in the hopes of finding one his friend would like. It was a pleasant change from that morning’s events, as well as what happened in the gym earlier. Izuku still had a lot to process, but for a moment, he let himself relax for a second.
Everything was going to be fine.
Nejire hummed to herself as she walked along UA’s dorms. It was a lovely day out, and she thought it would be fun just to walk around and enjoy the last of the day’s sunshine. Mirio and Tamaki usually joined her, but her friends were off visiting Eri at the faculty dorms. Nejire would have loved to join them, but she had gotten stuck doing some extra homework for one of her classes by the time they were set to leave.
‘ Maybe next time ,’ she thought, watching a stray bird fly off. ‘ I’ll bring some candy apples for Eri to make up for missing today .’
But even if she couldn’t go with Mirio and Tamaki, Nejire would take the opportunity to visit Uraraka and Midoriya. After the incident yesterday, she never got to check up on one of her favorite work-study friends.
Nejire could still remember the panic on Ryukyu’s face as soon she got the message from Endeavor. Sure, getting into trouble with villains is expected when you have a work-study, but to have two hero students fully incapacitated was rare. It was even worse as first-years weren’t usually permitted to do work studies in the first place. When Nejire and Ryukyu finally made it onto the scene, the villain was long gone, and Endeavor had Uravity and Deku taken to the hospital. She was told they passed out, but nothing more.
Of course, Ryukyu got more details from Eraserhead afterward, but she wasn’t allowed to share them with Nejire.
“It’s confidential,” the dragon heroine had said, sending an apologetic smile towards her pupil. “But Uravity and Deku will be just fine. Be sure to send my regards next time you see them.”
Nejire thought it was completely unfair, especially considering she was almost a Pro. But she knew that stuff was out of her control, so she settled for just checking in Uraraka and Midoriya.
Buzz. Buzz.
As she was about to walk up to the Height’s Alliance door, Nejire felt her phone go off. Weird. Mirio and Tamaki didn’t usually text her when they were out and about.
But the caller ID wasn’t either of her friends. It wasn’t even a number Nejire recognized.
Hesitantly, the lilac-haired girl clicked the answer button.
“Hello?”
The other end of the line was silent. Nejire pursed her lips. Rude. If someone was going to call, they should at least reply when the other end picked up.
“Hello?” she tried again. “Who is-”
“Nejire.”
The voice that answered the phone was feminine but deep. Had it been anyone else, Nejire would have thought the voice would have been intimidating. But the second she heard her name, Nejire relaxed.
“Mom, did you get a new number or something? What happened to your old phone?”
Her mother chuckled into the phone. “I had to ditch it due to a work situation, so this is my new number for now.”
“Oh,” Nejire said. “Well, I’m glad you got a new one! Your old phone was so beaten up and- OOh! Did you get one of those new purple ones that came-”
“Nejire,” her mother drawled.
“-I mean, it would be tons more fun than that-”
“ Nejire .”
“Wait, did you already text Dad about-”
“Nejire!”
Nejire sheepishly smiled as she realized she was rambling. “Sorry. You were saying?”
Ima Hado sighed, and Nejire could almost picture the frown on her mother’s face. “It’s time. Phase One was completed yesterday afternoon by your Uncle. I need you to oversee Phase Two.”
“Wait,” Nejire said, trying to process what she heard. “You mean Phase Two as in-”
“As in making sure our targets get situated before Phase Three,” her mother supplied.
Nejire hummed thoughtfully. Well, she was going to check up on Uraraka and Midoriya anyhow, but maybe she should wait a little bit. She had a lot to think about now.
“Calling them targets sounds a little weird, Mom,” Nejire laughed. “I mean, you’ve known them since they were babies. You make it sound like we’re secret agents or something.”
“Makes it more fun,” her mother chuckled. “But I have to go. Please update me if anything goes awry. I know that Bakugou kid might cause more trouble than he’s worth. I love you, sweetie.”
“Love you too, Mom!”
The call ended with a soft click, and Nejire stared at her phone. She thought she would have more time before Phase Two. Oh well, at least her week would be more interesting.
With one last glance at Height’s Alliance, Nejire Hado turned on her heel to go back to her own dorm. She had a lot of planning to do.