After Mera finished his long-winded speech, the men in the black suits handed out our official hero licenses.
They were small, plastic cards with a picture of us on it. Beside the picture was a list of our personal details and our school's name. Our full names were printed in large letters at the top, whilst our hero name was printed in bold at the bottom. It was basically a regular student ID card, but it was so much more than that.
In my hands I held the offical permission of society to engage in heroic activities, if necessary. I almost couldn't believe that the little, plastic card held so much power. It was the difference between me being a regular hero student to a hero student pursuing their Pro Hero goals. Although I was nowhere near ready to be a Pro, this was certainly good start.
"Wow," I breathed out, eyeing how the sunlight reflected off my card's shiny surface. "I can't believe I actually got it. It seems almost surreal to be holding it right now..."
"Your picture is nice, at least," Shoto said.
I looked up to see that Shoto was staring at my hero license, not giving anything away in those heterochromatic eyes of his. However, I could feel his longing, the want to hold a hero license in his hand almost overwhelming my senses. A stab of guilt pierced my heart, and so I shoved my license into my pocket.
"Sorry," I muttered, unable to meet his eyes. I'd been so caught up in my own success that I had temporarily forgotten Shoto's misfortune.
"Don't be," he said. "You have every right to look at your license, Y/N. It's yours, after all; and you worked hard for it."
"You worked just as hard, Shoto-"
"And yet I still failed. Let's not sugarcoat the fact that I was the one who screwed up. I did this to myself, so please don't feel guilty for something you had no control over."
I guess he did have a point. Shoto was the one to have engaged with Yoarashi, and had let his ego and hatred for his father cloud his vision to the task. However, I had tried to stop them, yet I failed to do anything. Nothing I had done made a single difference except for being just another liability in the grand scheme of things.
A liability, like back at Kamino Ward.
Remembering what happened that night sent shivers rattling down my spine, reverberating throughout each bone until they hit the core. The same happened when I remembered the night in Hosu City against the Hero killer, and also back at the USJ incident. Was that all I was when it came to hero work? Just a liability?
I clenched my fists. "I could've done something more to help you, Shoto. I could've-"
Cold and warm hands gripped my own, startling me silent as my E/C eyes met blue and grey ones.
"There's nothing you could've done," Shoto said, voice sincere and honest. "Y/N, you got your hero license today because you acted as a hero should. Yoarashi and I... If we both let our damn egos control us like that so easily, then we're nowhere near ready to be allowed to help in real situations. Real emergencies. You shouldn't have been in the situation you were put in. Heroes shouldn't have to save other heroes from themselves."
His eyes - although pooling with shame and regret - held a tiny flicker of light in them. A flicker of hope. Shoto might've made a few mistakes today, but he was slowly starting to make up for them. I could see that's what he meant to do, that flicker of hope being a sign of his determination.
My astonishment dissolved into a happy smile, and my fingers gently squeezed his in return.
"Since when did you become so well-versed in words, Shoto Todoroki?" I muttered, eyes shying away from his.
"Since you agreed to go on that date with me," he simply replied. "You seem to make me more... poetic than I've ever been in my life."
I laughed at that, pulling him into a tight hug as he laughed back. "Thanks, Shoto. I mean it. You always seem to know exactly what to say."
"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I wasn't encouraging every once in a while, huh?"
"Hey! That's my line!"
"Although I do prefer annoying you, it's so much more fun."
"That's also my line!"
Pulling apart laughing, my guilty shackles felt lighter, almost non-existent as I met Shoto's eyes once more. My heart was starting to feel full again, and I couldn't be happier if I tried.
"Hey! Hey!"
Turning around, I saw Yoarashi running towards our class still standing by the doors to the arena. He was running from a small bus hanging just by the side of the road, the rest of his classmates standing there while he rushed back towards us.
"It's that guy from Shiketsu," Tsu noted, although she didn't really have to. Just after a day of knowing the guy and I was pretty sure I could pick him out of a crowd in a dark room quite easily.
"Todoroki!" Yoarashi waved as he ran by, eyes stuck to Shoto the whole time. "I'll see you at the special course, but here's the thing: honestly, nothing has changed. I still don't like you. I'm sorry! That's all for now!"
And with that, hurricane Inasa Yoarashi departed, rushing back to his classmates while he left his whirlwind of words to fly around us.
I sweat-dropped. What the heck was with him? He was such a loud, energetic and positive guy, yet I had also seen his deadlier side. Yoarashi... he was a mind-puzzling person.
"That was nice of him... I guess," Kirishima said, watching after the wind-user.
Shoto shrugged it off. "I'll simply make the best of it."
"Interesting," Aoyama said, hand clasping his chin in thought. "He is someone who is both bold and sensitive. I admire such joie de vie."
I had no idea what Aoyama was talking about French-wise, but I had to agree with him on one thing: Yoarashi was most certainly an interesting person.
"UA Class A," Mr. Aizawa called from behind me. "Our bus is here. Let's go. Make sure you have everything before you get on that bus, though; because we are not coming back."
"Yes sir!"
Without wasting another moment, my classmates and I made our way to our bus, clambering on with lead-heavy legs and rock-filled costume cases to our seats. Plonking myself by the window, I propped my hand up to stare out as the final person took their seat. As if recognising that my body had finally stopped for the day, my eyelids weighed down, my head lolling to hit the window.
I jumped on impact, groaning as I sat up straight again. Bloody hell. Couldn't a girl get some rest, around here? Releasing a loud sigh, I propped myself up against the window again, closing my eyes to try and block out how uncomfortable I was. Guess it would have to do.
"Come here, dummy."
I opened my eyes as soft fingers cradled my head, pulling me away from the window and into the shoulder of one Shoto Todoroki.
"You'll give yourself neck pains if you try to sleep like that," Shoto murmured, resting his hand on my side and pulling me closer. "This should be... a lot more comfortable."
Looking up at him, I was met with the scarred side of his face, a tinge of pink flaring up his cheek. His left side radiated a calming warmth, the soft heat leeching into my skin and lulling me to close my eyes.
My lips upturned into a lazy smile, nuzzling myself into Shoto more.I wrapped my arms around his torso and my breath began to steady into an even rhythm. Oh yeah, this was definitely more comfortable.
"You can be so sweet... when you want to be..." I muttered, tilting my chin up to press my lips softly under his jaw.
His laugh reverberated through his chest and into mine as I settled back in. "I do try, you know."
"I know... and you're doing a wonderful job so far."
Shoto squeezed me closer, and I felt his head rest upon mine. However, not before pressing a feather-light kiss to the top of my head.
"Sleep now, dummy. I'll wake you up when we get back to school."
Without further argument, I did just that, closing my eyes and letting the calm darkness of sleep engulf me. Today had been one heck of a ride, but there was still a lot of work to do. For now, though, rest was needed, and that was exactly what I was going to do.
~~~
"So, we're back to normal classes tomorrow, right?" Kyoka asked, leaning back in the lounge chair beside Momo.
After coming back from the licensing exam, Shoto had woken me up, damn him, and we all went back to our respective rooms. Of course, Mr. Aizawa gave us his brief and completely emotionless rundown of the day, not even a hint of smile twitching upon his lips. However, the subtle pride he exuded was enough to tell me he was happy for us, but just didn't want to show it. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.
It didn't take us long to go to our rooms, have well-deserved showers and then motor on downstairs for some dinner. Now, we were all just hanging, excited at the prospect of going back to school tomorrow. It was hard to believe all that had happened recently occurred over just a few short weeks of summer break. Crazy how the time flew by.
I watched from afar as my friends chatted and wrestled and laughed with each other. So much had happened, and we'd grown so much. My thoughts drifted to the hero license now sitting proudly on my desk upstairs, picturing its shiny surface reflecting my own elated face right back at me. Yes, so much had happened to me over the past break, and I'd grown so much because of it. That hero license would help me grow even more, now.
"I suppose there's no rest for heroes," Momo said, eliciting soft chuckles from everyone. I even cracked a smile, lying out along the spare couch no one else dared to sit upon.
Hey, if no one else wanted it, then there was no way I was going to miss my chance at having a whole couch to myself. In the dorm lounge, it was either kill or be killed if you wanted a spot to sit down on.
Ojiro let out a huge sigh, leaning on the back of the couch Mina and Toru sat on. "Man, I could use a vacation."
"I will not forget this summer for the rest of my life," Tokoyami said, arms folded as he stood above where I lay.
"Amen to that," I said, flinging my hands in the air.
"To which statement, L/N?"
"Both."
Flipping onto my stomach, I groaned as I rest my head upon my arms. Now I could see Ojiro and Koda better, and Midoriya, too. He looked down at his phone with excitement, the screen so close to his face I could see the light from it reflecting in his green eyes. Honestly, the sight was very amusing, Midoriya's expression somewhat resembling the one he usually got when asking people about their quirks. Or when he thought or saw All Might. I wonder what had him all excited, this time.
Before I could call out to him, however, someone else beat me to it.
"You," Bakugou called, crossing the room towards a flinching Midoriya. "Meet me out front later..."
That had me raising an eyebrow as I watched the resident hedgehog stop and mutter something else to my green-haired classmate, quickly moving on after that. Meet him later? Why would Bakugou want to willingly meet up with his sworn rival? It seemed as though I wasn't the only confused kid in the room, for Midoriya looked after the ash-blond boy with wide eyes, too.
Whatever Bakugou had said to Midoriya, it couldn't have been good. The rise in panic within the freckle-faced boy was all too apparent, now; a slight almost invisible tremble wracking his body. But I saw it, and it had my own gut twisting nervously. What did Bakugou want? What did he want from Midoriya, this time?
~~~
Later had come around way too quickly, if I thought so myself, the sound of light footsteps padding past me and out the front door. After I had bid everyone goodnight and the lights had all been turned out, I had snuck back down to the lounge room, bringing a pillow and a blanket to stake out when my classmates would meet 'later.'
I hadn't slept a wink; my anxiety and worry for Bakugou and Midoriya keeping me awake even on the comfiest couch in the entire universe. After feeling what they both felt - panic, anxiety, unyielding rage and aggression - I couldn't just lay in my bed whilst something... well, I didn't quite know what would happen, but Bakugou's tone had been more threatening and indicative of a hostile meeting than a friendly one.
So here, I was, lying hidden underneath the blanket and pillow as my classmates left the dormitory. I gave them a minute or so, before jumping to my feet, grabbing my outdoor shoes and racing after them. Exiting the boundaries of the dormitories, I spotted them walking down the main road towards... the school? When Bakugou said out the front, I thought he just wanted to chat on the front lawn.
What business could those two possibly have at the school at this hour?
Disregarding my instinct to turn and run for Mr. Aizawa's sleeping quarters, I jogged after them, being careful to stay as far away as possible so they couldn't see or sense me, but also enough to not lose them. Bakugou was leading the two, and Midroiya stood a safe distance behind him. Even from far away, I could feel the tension building with each silent step they took towards... wherever it was they were going.
It just didn't make sense. Bakugou wasn't making sense. He wasn't acting like the impulsive, explosive loud-mouth that he was known to be. Instead, I watched with wary eyes as a stone-cold, eerily calm and quiet Bakugou kept walking, hands pocketed inside his black sweatpants with a black singlet to match. Something wasn't right with him, and I had a sneaking suspicion I was going to find out.
Before I knew it, Bakugou and Midoriya stopped in front of a building, prompting me to stop, too. However, from behind my own building, finally recognised my surroundings. Ground Beta? I spotted the various structures around me resembling a metropolis setting, the familiar training ground now coming together in the dark. It was a great area, but what were we doing here?
"You brought us to... Ground Beta?" Midoriya seemed just as confused as I was, looking up at the buildings with wary eyes.
"This is the place we had our first combat training," Bakugou explained, back turned to the green-haired boy. "Where I fought you... and lost."
The memory of that day came flooding back, and I cringed at how violent I remembered it to be. Bakugou had overwhelmed Midoriya many times that day, but ultimately... Bakugou had lost.
"You've always made me sick," he continued. "You know that right, Deku?"
So that was what this was about? Had Bakugou brought Midoriya all the way out here just to... restate the obvious? As much as I hated to admit it, I highly doubted that what was happening right now was simply going to be a talk. The two boys were here for a reason, and I hated to think of what that reason could be...
"You were useless. No power at all. A joke..." Bakugou turned his head the slightest way so that he could call over his shoulder. "So, now you're going to tell me how you managed to get into this damn school with a brand new quirk that appeared out of nowhere."
That's right. Midoriya was quirkless, just like me... With everything that had gone down recently, I kind of forgot that key fact about my classmate. And also the fact that Bakugou and Midoriya had a history together, a long history...
"I didn't understand what you were saying back then, because what you were saying made no sense. But still... you kept climbing higher and higher, always looking so satisfied with yourself." Bakugou looked back up at the building, his voice becoming distant as he said, "Ever since that sludge villain... No, it actually all started when All Might came to town... Better and better, until you finally passed the Licensing Exam while I failed... How the hell is that even possible?!"
Midoriya reached out to Bakugou. "That wasn't a matter of ability though, it-"
"Shut up and listen, you damn nerd!" Even I flinched at Bakugou's threat, silencing Midoriya in the process, too.
"S-Sorry..."
Oh goodness was Bakugou mad - I could feel it rolling off him in hefty waves, blanketing him and his surroundings. However, the anger only pooled around himself, nothing quite reaching where Midoriya stood. My eyes widened as I realised that as much as Bakugou was mad right now, it wasn't aimed at Midoirya. It was aimed at himself.
"It pissed me off that I'd been beaten by such a pathetic weakling," Bakugou hissed, kicking the ground. "But after seeing what happened to All Might at Kamino Ward, I began to understand." Silence ensued for a moment before he looked over his shoulder, scarlet eyes glaring at emerald ones. "I've been giving it a lot of thought: you got your quirk from All Might, didn't you? You have his power..."
I clasped a hand over my mouth to muffle my surprised yelp so as not to give away my position. My eyes were wide as I watched on in complete shock. What did Bakugou just say? All Might couldn't... Midoriya wouldn't have his quirk, could he? I watched my green-haired classmate, intently awaiting his reaction and rejection to the matter. However, there was nothing, just a nervous boy trying not to run away and hide.
It couldn't be true... could it?
"I heard about the boss villain. Apparently, he has the ability to steal a person's quirk and give it to somebody else. Sounds kind of crazy, but one of them old cat-ladies got her power taken from her, and can't work anymore. And L/N almost had hers ripped from her, too, although I suspect the target on her back from that psychopath runs a little deeper than mere evil-doing.
"And then you met All Might, and you started changing. And then he lost his power and had to retire just like that cat lady..." Bakugou's eyes dropped towards the ground, the anger in his voice slipping just for a moment. He almost sounded genuinely... sad. "I remember what he said after he beat the big bad, we all heard it."
"Now... it's your turn."
I don't remember seeing him on TV saying it, but amidst my heart attack, I had heard it. I remembered it being so clear and strong, even though All Might was weak. It was an odd statement, to say the least; but what I was learning that tonight was changing all that.
"Back then," Bakugou said, eyes trained back on Midoriya, "you were the only one who really understood what he meant. There's more evidence, too: like how those nomu monsters have multiple quirks, even though it seems impossible. Besides... All Might and that boss villain knew each other before that fight. Quirks can move from one person to another, All Might knew the guy who could do it, and somehow it's all connected to what you said about getting your quirk from someone else.
"I asked All Might about this, in a way... but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. That's why you're going to tell me the truth."
I expected a nervous retort from my freckled friend, and I was kind of hoping for one, honestly. Anything to defuse the situation and make them return back to the dorms. Anything that would defuse this nonsense, and relieve me of the guilt I felt regarding All for One. But nothing. Midoriya simply looked at the ground in silence, a panicked expression stretching his features.
Bakugou huffed. "You're not trying to deny anything, which means I must be right. So, say it."
Midoriya clenched his fists, his elongated silence making the air even tenser than before. It took him a moment, but Midoriya eventually met Bakugou's eyes, light reflecting green in his eyes.
"Okay," he said cautiously. "What if it is true?"
"You and I both wanted to be just like All Might when we were growing up, but I was the one who had the potential," Bakugou growled, and I could feel his angered fire rising once more. "And somehow, a single nobody like you was singled out by the person I admired most, and I didn't even realise it. That's why we're here."
Bakugou raised his hand, reaching out to Midoriya. The moonlight reflected in Bakugou's scarlet eyes, making him seem more demon-like than ever before. It chilled me to the bone; that, and the fact that his pool of anger was suddenly becoming much bigger, the seriousness of the situation rising astronomically quick. Whatever was about to go down, it wasn't going to be good.
"You and I are settling this. Right here. Right now."