Tora's phone rang and she checked the caller ID and saw it was Izuku's mother. She excused herself from the group, Izuku following right behind her. After her brief phone conversation, Tora hung up and turned to Izuku.
"That was your mom. She and I were really worried about you after you had been gone for a considerable amount of time. You can tell me what happened on the flight home." Tora said to Izuku who looked at her with confusion.
"Flight home?" Izuku said in a puzzled tone as he tilted his head to the side. Tora shifted into the anthro eagle form she arrived in. She gently but firmly grabbed him by the waist in her talons, spread her large wings and took off to the sky. Izuku shrieked from the exhilarating lift off but then calmed down once they were gently gliding through the air. He was still surprisingly light. But then again, eagles were very strong for their size. He felt heavier to her in this form than he did when she carried him on her back as a full body Bengal tiger, but that was a given. As they were flying, Izuku told Tora exactly what happened that made him take so long. He did manage to find his notebook. It was in the koi fish pond outside the school. Fortunately, it wasn't completely destroyed, just a bit wet and battered up. Long story short, after he found his notebook, he was attacked by a slime monster, saved by All Might, hitched a terrifying ride by grabbing onto his leg as he took off, talked with the hero he looked up to about his life story and dream/ultimate goal, then came across that same slime villain who captured him earlier with Bakugo in his grasp which he instinctively rushed in to save. Which was right where Tora came in.
"Wow, that's quite an adventurous side quest from your initial mission. I can't believe you met and spoke with All Might though! That's so cool!" Tora said enthusiastically as she suddenly did a loopty-loop in the air out of excitement. Which scared the living daylights out of Izuku, causing his life to flash before his eyes for the second time today. The first time was when All Might took off with him dangling from his leg, hanging on for dear life. After Izuku's heart rate settled down from the brief adrenaline rush, he sighed in disappointment and sulked. Tora felt his weight shift as it became more draggy. She was concerned about him because being quirkless hadn't depressed him since he was little when he first found out about it. Actually, it had the opposite affect. It further motivated him to reach towards his lifetime goal to become a pro hero. Even all the bullying that Bakugo and his friends dished out didn't deter him. And the same went for Tora. She had been quirkless until today. Their apartment building was now in sight off in the distance. Tora, being an anthro eagle spotted it way before he did. They landed on the sidewalk a block away from their homes and Tora transformed back into her base human form. She didn't land in front of the complex because she wanted to ask Izuku what was wrong because she could tell something wasn't quite right with his mentality. Just then, Bakugo came barging towards Tora and Izuku, but kept some distance between them when he stopped. Probably because Tora was right there. He started rambling about how he would've been fine on his own and didn't need Izuku's help because he's a quirkless failure and blah, blah, blah. Tora was starting to get annoyed and flashed Bakugo a death glare.
"I don't owe you anything!" Bakugo ended his rant a bit early, turning around and started walking away before he said anything else that might piss Tora off again.
"What was that?" Izuku asked out loud.
"That was Katsu ranting like an idiot about what just happened earlier, then stopping himself from saying more because I gave him a death glare." Tora explained to Izuku as they started walking towards their apartments again. Something was clearly on his mind because he didn't respond. And the way he was carrying himself showed that it wasn't a positive thought.
"Izuku, I can tell something is bothering you. Would you be willing to tell me what it is that you're thinking about? You don't have to if you don't want to, of course. But it might be a good idea to get it off your chest. Plus I'm your best friend, so you can tell me anything. Please Izuku? Maybe I can help you." Tora said as she looked pleadingly into her best friend's eyes. He realized there wasn't really any reason to hide this from Tora. Besides, she's known him since they were both toddlers. She knew all of his struggles when it came to him achieving his dreams. Actually, up until today, she shared both his dreams and his struggles. Now she just shared his dreams. But that didn't matter. She told him when they were both four years old that she'd never leave him behind, even when she got her quirk. Izuku sighed as he prepared to tell his best friend what had been troubling him so much.
"Okay Tora, I'll tell you. The truth is... it's not possible to become a hero without a quirk. All Might himself said it. He told me it's not bad to dream but just make sure those dreams are attainable and realistic. All these years, I had a feeling this was the truth all along. I've just been avoiding reality." Izuku said glumly as his eyes started to water. Tora suddenly walked around in front of him and pulled him into a hug. She embraced him for a while, then removed her arms from around him and placed her hands gently, but firmly on his shoulders.
"Look at me Izuku. Look at me and listen to me. Remember about nine and a half years ago when I said I knew you'd find a way to become a hero right after you told me you were quirkless? I didn't just say that spontaneously just to make you feel better. I said it because I truly meant it." Tora encouragingly reminded Izuku. He looked into Tora's eyes and saw the passion and genuity burning intensely in her bi-colored orbs.
"Yeah, but All Might said-"
"Even when everyone else doesn't believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself, I will always believe in you. I will become the corner stone in yours and everyone else's place! So don't you dare give up!" Tora firmly told Izuku, interrupting him. His face lit up at her awe inspiring words of encouragement. This was one of many reasons he loved Tora. She was always there for him whenever he needed her most.
"Thank you so much Tora. I really needed that... I've decided I won't give up! But I'm still not sure how I'm going to continue reaching for my dream now." Izuku said to Tora as they continued their walk home. Suddenly, All Might dashed out in front of them from around the corner. This startled the two of them. Izuku yelped and started asking All Might questions as to how he escaped the reporters. Tora, on the other hand, just stared at All Might in admiration and awe. That is, until he suddenly reverted into the skinny man in baggy clothing she saw earlier. Tora jumped when Izuku shrieked. It seemed as though he really was not used to seeing his role model's true form and it was a bit too shocking for him to handle. All Might went on to thank Izuku. He said that if he didn't tell him about his life story and jump into action, he would have just stood there and watch the villain take over Bakugo. He pointed out that what happened to Izuku in that moment is a key characteristic most heroes have in common. Izuku started crying tears of joy as he got down on his hands and knees, emotionally overwhelmed.
"Young man, you too can become a hero." All Might said as Tora's own eyes started to water a little out of empathy. The person Izuku looked up to the most told him the words he really needed to hear. Her dream of fighting alongside with Izuku as pro heroes seemed like it really would become a reality.
"I deem you worthy of my power. My quirk is yours to inherit." All Might said as Tora raised an eyebrow and Izuku looked up at him, clearly confused. All Might burst into laughter at his facial expression then preceded to tell him that he wasn't born with his quirk. Izuku started thinking out loud about All Might's quirk and quirk inheritance in a mumbling rant. Tora could tell that All Might was starting to get annoyed with Izuku's mumbling habit, a habit she found kinda cute.
"Stop nerding out! The true name of my power is One For All." All Might cut Izuku's mumble rant short.
"One For All." Izuku repeated with pauses between each word. All Might went on to explained how One For All works. Then Izuku started questioning why he chose him, concerned that he may not be able to live up to it. All Might revealed that he had been looking for a successor to his quirk for a long time and that Izuku's brave instinctual actions was the deciding factor for him. Izuku started to tear up again.
"Seriously, you gotta stop crying so much if you want my quirk! Come on, kid." All Might said as Izuku wiped his eyes and stood up with a determined look on his face.
"Okay, I'll do it! Yes!" He answered just as All Might expected him to.
"No reluctance. That's exactly how I figured you'd respond. Meet me at Dagoba Municipal Beach Park at the crack of dawn the day after tomorrow. Is this your best friend you droned on about when telling me your life story?" All Might said, gesturing toward Tora as Izuku nodded his head in response. He then shifted his gaze from Izuku to Tora.
"From what this young man told me, you've known him for almost his entire life. Seems like you two are pretty close too. It'd be a bit rude to exclude you from such a major turning point of his life. You're welcome to join us when we meet up in two days as a witness to this important event." All Might invited Tora.
"Thank you very much! I'll be there!" She responded, her eyes lighting up. And with that, All Might nodded in confirmation and headed out on his way. When he was gone, Tora squealed with excitement, unable to contain herself.
"I can't believe it! You were chosen to inherit All Might's quirk! This is the big moment you've been waiting for! And he even invited me to see it happen!" Tora said with great enthusiasm, squeezing Izuku in a tight bear hug.
"Speaking of big moments, I have to go home to prepare for something." Izuku said as Tora let go of him.
"Right, now that you mention it, I have something to do as well." She said as the two of them continued on their way home. When they reached their apartments, they said goodbye and went inside. Tora immediately went to her bedroom and changed into a short strapless dress. The top part was light blue with black tiger stripes and the skirt portion was a sparkly deep royal blue. She went to her parents' bedroom to grab her father's wedding boutonnière again and headed over to Izuku's place. She rang the doorbell and waited, hiding the boutonnière behind her back in her left hand. Shortly after, Izuku opened the door all dressed up like he was going out to a fancy dinner party. He was wearing a deep forest green suit and tie and a white dress shirt. Honestly she found him to be quite handsome in this formal attire. Izuku blushed when he saw the way Tora was dressed. She was beautiful. The colors of her dress perfectly contrasted her hair color.
"Why are you all dressed up Izuku?" Tora asked her best friend, trying her best not to blush.
"I could ask you the same thing. But there's something else I'd rather ask. W-would you like to go to the dance with me?" Izuku asked shyly and held out a genuine preserved rose corsage to Tora who couldn't contain her blush anymore. The rosy pink hue dusted her cheeks lightly.
"Of course, Izuku! I'd love to! I was actually planning on asking you out to the school dance if you didn't ask me first." Tora admitted with a smile and held up her right hand to Izuku. He smiled back and happily slid the corsage onto her wrist. Then she revealed the genuine preserved rose boutonnière to him.
"This is my father's boutonnière from his and my mother's wedding so please be careful with it." Tora said as she handed Izuku the boutonnière. He nodded his head and took it, immediately attaching it to his suit jacket.
"The dance is going to start soon. We should get going." Izuku said as he held out his hand to Tora who gladly linked her hand with his. Both of them blushed as they made contact with each other. They've held hands before when they were little, but this felt different for some reason. They started walking together hand-in-hand. On the way there, Tora explained all the details she knew about her quirk. Izuku listened intently, genuinely fascinated. As the two of them got closer to the gymnasium where the dance was being held, they could hear and feel the music blaring. They entered the gym where they were met with a loud scene of students dancing and colored lights flashing and moving to the beat of the music. Tora's face lit up as she got really excited and practically dragged Izuku to the center of the dance floor with her. She started dancing to the music as Izuku just stood there, nervously staring at her.
"Come on Izuku, dance with me! I don't want to be the only one out of the two of us dancing." Tora said as she clapped her hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"O-okay..." Izuku stuttered nervously as he started to move his body to the beat a little. As the dance went on and more songs played, he gained more confidence and really started to get into the beat of the music, increasing the movements of his body.
"That's it, Izuku! See? Isn't this fun?" Tora said to Izuku who was getting carried away by the catchy beat with her.
"Yeah, this is pretty fun actually." Izuku admitted as the "Cha Cha Slide" song by DJ Casper began to blare from the speakers. When the cha cha bits played, Izuku couldn't keep his eyes off of Tora as she swung her hips back and forth to the beat. Her body movements were mesmerizing to him. Further into the song, during one of the hop sequences, the boutonnière on Izuku's suit jacket fell out. Tora stopped dancing and quickly picked it up off the floor. Izuku also stopped dancing.
"S-sorry! I didn't mean to make it fall out!" Izuku apologized frantically as she inspected it for damages. Thankfully, she found none.
"It's okay Izuku. Here, let me put it back on." Tora said as she got closer to him and gently grabbed the lapel of his suit jacket. She furrowed her brows and stuck out her tongue in concentration as she fiddled with the boutonnière. As she did, Izuku's gaze subconsciously drifted down to her cleavage, then wandered up and down her body from there. He could see just how nicely she had matured over the years. Tora never wore anything skin tight or revealing in the slightest. Her normal style was a bit tomboyish. She always wore school uniforms that were one or so sizes too big. And her casual clothes were loose fitting and hid her curves... well to an extent anyways. Her rack was a bit too large to be easily hidden. But this dress allowed him to see just about every curve of her body. Now that he was able to get a good look at her, he realized the full extent of her beauty. Izuku took this moment to absorb every detail of Tora's figure into his memory. After all, he wasn't sure when he'd get another chance to see Tora wearing curve accentuating clothing again. Being able to see her figure for the first time like this drastically increased his sexual attraction to his best friend. He had never felt this attracted to his best friend before. Up until now, Izuku's crush on Tora was mostly due to emotional attraction with a tad of physical attraction. He always thought she was pretty and her personality was perfect. She was cheerful, energetic, kind, caring, empathetic, optimistic, and protective of her loved ones, especially when it came to him... maybe a little too overprotective to the point where she got a bit reckless and would go overboard. To Izuku though, that overprotective nature was partially what made her so great. But he never really got to see her true curves before. Seeing Tora up close while dressed like this stirred up a feeling within him: lust. His mind started drifting to places he never thought it would go, especially about his childhood best friend. He wanted to hold her, caress her body, hear the sounds she'd make as they made love. His face started to turn a crimson hue as steamy scenes of him and Tora played within his head. He didn't realize it, but he had been mumbling some of his thoughts out loud. It didn't help his case that a slow romantic song had started to play just a bit ago, it's volume significantly lower than all the previous songs.
"Wow, just wow... Now that Tora's this close to me, I can see just how breath taking she really is. Her skin complexion is fair, blemish-free, smooth and soft with a healthy sheen to it. Her dazzling deep crystal blue and pure golden orbs almost seem to be radiating light on their own. And this dress really draws out her beauty even more. Its colors perfectly contrast her black streaked orange-to-yellow fading hair. The way her dress clings to her upper body shows every curve, conforming nicely to her breasts and her slender yet well toned muscular torso. She's just so beautiful. I kind of wish Tora would wear tighter clothing more often. Hmm if she's this pretty clothed, then... Wait, hold on Izuku! What are you thinking?! Tora's your best friend!" Izuku muttered to himself, his face a crimson red as he tried to stop the wild sensual thoughts from going through his head.
"Of course I'm your best friend! Are you okay, Izuku?" Tora asked Izuku as she tried not to blush which was extremely hard. On the other hand, Izuku's face turned an even deeper red than it already was.
"How much of that did you hear?!" Izuku asked in a panic. Tora tried to think of her response. Should she lie to make Izuku feel more at ease, or should she just tell the truth that she heard everything and possibly make him faint from embarrassment?
"Only the part about you reiterating that I'm your best friend." Tora lied as Izuku sighed with relief. But as the seconds ticked by, the guilty feeling that she just lied to her best friend gnawed at her from within and overwhelmed her until she couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't quite sure why but it was bothering her so much that she decided to tell Izuku the truth.
"I can't... I can't believe I just did that!" Tora said in somewhat of a quiet whimper as she looked down at the floor. Izuku gave her a puzzled look.
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked Tora as he gently cupped her chin and lifted her head up to look her in the eyes. What he saw made his heart sink. Her two colored eyes were glossy with tears as she looked like she was about to cry.
"Tora? What's wro-"
"I lied... I lied, okay?! I told you I only heard the last bit of what you were muttering about, but the truth is... I heard every word you said earlier! I didn't want to tell you the truth because I was afraid you'd faint from embarrassment and could possibly end up hitting your head from the fall. So... I lied about it. I-I don't want to be the cause of any negative emotions or pain for you. But at the same time, I want to be able to be completely honest with you! I only want you to experience positive things. When it comes to you... I just... I don't know!" Tora interrupted Izuku in sort of a rant-like fashion. Her tears started to overflow as her breathing hitched like an emotional wreck. Izuku had never seen Tora act like this before. It both surprised him and tore at his heart to see her in this state.
"Tora... What's gotten into you all of the sudden? It isn't like you to just break down like this. It's not that big of a deal. Why are you getting so upset over something as minuscule as that?" Izuku asked her, a bit taken aback by the fact that such a minor instance managed to completely throw her composure off course like that.
"It's... it's... it's because I love you. I liked you the moment we locked eyes the day we met. As I've gotten to know you over the years, my feelings for you have only grown exponentially. I... I just love you so much, Izuku!" Tora finally confessed her love for Izuku. This wasn't the way she wanted to convey her feelings to him. Her voice was so quiet, he could just barely hear what she said. But he did and it filled him to the brim with joy and a tingly overwhelming sense of warmth. Izuku quickly pulled her into a firm, but gentle embrace. His heart started to pound as did Tora's. They could both feel each other's heartbeats through their chests that were tightly pressed together.
"I love you too, Tora. And I have for a long time. I fell in love with you twelve years ago when my mother brought me over to meet you and your family. I didn't know it was love at the time, or even what romantic love was. But it all makes sense now, it's all so clear. I love you Tora, with all my heart. So please, don't cry." Izuku practically whispered his confession in Tora's ear as he stroked her hair lovingly. His voice was so soothing and comforting that almost immediately, Tora's breathing returned to normal and her tears stopped flowing. She returned Izuku's embrace, holding him close. The previous song ended and "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran started playing. Izuku pulled away slightly, moving his hands down to her waist and looked deeply into Tora's bi-colored eyes. Slowly, they leaned in closer to each other until their lips met in a sweet, perfect kiss. Tora hooked one hand on Izuku's shoulder and placed the other hand on the back of his head, running her fingers through his fluffy dark verdant locks. Izuku wrapped one arm around her back and gently ran his fingers through her silky hair. It was both Tora's and Izuku's first kiss and it was magically exhilarating. When they pulled away, both of their faces were dusted with a light pink blush.
"So I guess it's official. We're boyfriend and girlfriend now." Tora smiled as she moved her hands around the back of Izuku's neck while he moved his hands to her waist. They both started swaying to the slow romantic music, lovingly pressing their foreheads together.
"Y-yeah, I suppose so." Izuku chuckled a little as he and Tora continued to slow dance together. At one point, Tora peacefully rested her head sideways against Izuku's chest and closed her eyes, smiling contently while listening to his comforting heartbeat. Izuku immediately became flustered, but then relaxed as he smiled warmly upon Tora. He planted a small kiss on her head then gently rested his chin on top of it, earning a small giggle from her. When the song ended, the dance went back to it's wild upbeat party vibe. Izuku took out his phone and checked the time. It read 8:00 PM on the lock screen. He put his phone back into his pocket and looked Tora in the eyes.
"It's eight o'clock. We should be heading home now. We both have to get up bright and early and meet All Might at Dagoba Municipal Beach Park in two days. We'll need to get used to waking up early. I know it's not enough time to adjust our sleep schedules, but we'll have to make due." Izuku reminded Tora who nodded understandingly. The day after tomorrow was going to be a big day for Izuku. As soon as they exited the gym, he held out his hand to Tora who happily took it and the two of them walked home hand-in-hand together.
~Bonus Scene~
Bakugo was present at the Aldera Junior High Third Year Dance. He didn't really want to go, but his two lackeys kinda dragged him along with them. They somewhat managed to convince him that it would be a good way to distract him from all that had happened to him earlier today. They even mentioned that he might be able to land a girlfriend by scoping out girls that had gone to the dance with their female friends instead of dates. He was doubtful that attending the school dance would make him feel any better, but he reluctantly agreed to tag along with his buddies. He ended up regretting that decision almost immediately upon arriving when his friends pretty much abandoned him right away and approached a group of girls and started hitting on them.
"Tch! Those ditching bastards! I knew I shouldn't have come with!" Bakugo said grumpily under his breath as he realized they weren't going to be sticking together as a group at all. He wanted to leave, but for some unknown reason he just couldn't. Suddenly, something caught his attention. It was Tora and Izuku. They were hugging each other tightly, appearing to be saying something to one another. Those two were precisely the people Bakugo least wanted to see at the moment. The quirkless loser Deku and late bloomer Tora who managed to completely overpower and humiliate him. She made him look like a complete weakling! The worst part about that was there were witnesses to his humiliation: his ditching bastard friends and... Deku. He was the person Bakugo least wanted to bear witness to any moments of him appearing weak. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side today because not only had he seen Bakugo get his ass handed to him by Tora, he also saw him struggling to survive against that villain with a slime body quirk and even tried to save him.
"Kacchan, I couldn't just stand there and watch you die." His words echoed in Bakugo's head as he clenched his teeth and fists.
"Stupid Deku..." Bakugo muttered as he glanced back at Izuku and Tora. They were now kissing tenderly as they held on to each other closely. Seeing them together like this made him feel sick to his stomach. There were so many emotions swirling within him: anger, defeat, sadness, regret, and loneliness. Yeah, Bakugo had a lot of people hanging around with him that he would call his friends, but they only hung around him because of his strong quirk. That much became evident tonight when his "friends" completely left him in the dust as soon as they arrived at the dance after they had seen him get overpowered twice in one day. Back before Bakugo got his quirk, he, Izuku, and Tora used to be really good friends and hung out all the time together. Bakugo actually had crush on Tora. But as his and everyone else's quirks started manifesting, she remained quirkless along with Deku, a nickname he gave Izuku to mock him. Bakugo began lumping her in with the quirkless failure Izuku and bullied them both and any other kids whose quirks hadn't shown up yet. He did that to look cool in front of the other kids with quirks. If he gave Tora special treatment, he thought his peers would look down him for associating with a quirkless kid. Regardless of how badly he treated Tora, he really did like her. But he genuinely hated Izuku though. One time when they were children, Bakugo was leading a group consisting of Tora, Izuku, and some other kids through the wilderness near their neighborhood. As they were crossing a giant log, he lost his footing and fell into the creek below. Izuku, worried about his friend, ran down to check on Bakugo and offer help. He saw Izuku's kind gesture as looking down on him condescendingly. He rudely shoved Izuku aside as he refused his help. Tora ran over to Izuku who had fallen back onto his butt into the cold water after Bakugo pushed him. Those bi-colored eyes that used to bare a friendly shine towards him were now filled with hurt and rage as they burned into his soul. In that moment, Bakugo could tell she was beginning to despise him. He tried convincing himself that Tora wasn't worth it anyways because she was quirkless just like Deku and that his crush on her was just a phase he would grow out of. But for some reason, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fully shake off the feelings he had for her. He started to remember when she activated her quirk for the first time and the words she said to him right after she had sent him flying across the entire classroom, causing him to slam into the wall right before he was going to use his quirk in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
"The dread you're experiencing is the resulting emotion of facing someone much stronger than you that may have harmful intent. What you're feeling right now is exactly what Izuku and I felt every time we saw you ever since that day almost ten years ago." Tora's words reverberated in his mind. It was then that he realized he wasn't able to match her sheer strength and excellent reflexes in that form. And when he saw her again after he had been freed from that viscous villain's hold, she was a different animal in a different form. Then he overheard the overview she gave on her quirk's abilities and saw the short demonstration she did. Her quirk was overpowered as hell. Not to mention she was smart, observant, and had loads of combat training. Tora was on a totally different level now.
'Is that why I held onto my feelings for Tora all these years? Because I knew deep down in my subconscious mind that she was strong and destined for greatness like me?' Bakugo asked himself mentally. He looked back in Tora's and Izuku's direction. They were slow dancing together with Tora peacefully resting her head against Izuku's chest as he rested his chin lovingly on top of her head. Bakugo's pride, arrogance, and the need to fit in had driven the girl he liked away from him and she ended up with the person he despised. There was no doubt in his mind that Tora and Izuku were definitely dating now.