Chapter 43: Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out ThereNotes:
Trigger Warning: (5th Section) Temporary Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kyoka stirred awake as something shifted around her.
She took a moment to remember where she was, as the surface she was laying on was way too comfortable to be her own mattress.
- Sleepover. Yaomomo's room. - Her brain came up with an explanation quickly enough, though now she was left wondering why she was awake in the first place.
She had been wearing her noise-cancelling jack covers, so it hadn't been a sound to wake her. The place was blissfully silent. She discovered that a movement of the covers had left her arms uncovered, which explained part of the problem. Maybe she'd woken up for the chill, despite the room being reasonably warm.
Kyoka was just about to assign the blame for pulling away the blanket to one of the girls next to her when something small and light hit her cheek, bouncing off and falling to her neck and further down.
She shifted away for the surprise, immediately trying to take in her surroundings. She brought her lobes to her hands to take off the noise-cancelling covers, but even as she regained her best sense nothing felt off. Even breathing patterns, calm hearts beating, and the usual dead silence of the night were all her Quirk registered.
Then she saw a pale purplish glow appear on her side, just where her head had been a second before, as something slowly moved up from the mattress. She rubbed her eyes to see if was seeing wrong before understanding that she hadn't. A pretzel was flying right before her eyes, enveloped by the faint hue, and trembling as if staying in place was impossible.
"What the-" she whispered, frowning a bit.
As the words left her mouth the snack reacted. It moved away from her and slightly upwards until it stopped before the pale, grey-haired girl that had been sleeping to her right: Reiko.
- Why's she using her Quirk in the middle of the night?! -
Kyoka got up to mimic the girl's position, looking to find some meaning behind the unprompted Quirk use. Instead, behind the purplish light, she only saw a girl that looked deeply asleep. Reiko being seated was the only evidence that she might have been awake, because everything else pointed to the exact opposite conclusion. Her arms were lazily hanging on her sides, her muscles were relaxed, her eyes were half-closed and glassy, her mouth was slightly open, and her head was tilted downwards, probably hurting her neck. What Kyoka heard through [Earphone Jack] further cemented the idea, as the girl's heart rate was too slow for her to be awake.
The punkette tried to make sense of the event as the pretzel kept oscillating before the girl with weird, unstable, and shaky movements. She had heard a bit about the girl's Quirk analysis between one match and the next... hadn't she talked about sleepwalking? Was this it?
- Damn, - Kyoka thought, feeling sorry for Reiko, - must be a hassle to have her Quirk activate so randomly. -
"Better wake her up..." she sighed, reading herself for a weird short conversation.
She let one of her jacks slither forward but, as she raised it up to touch Reiko's shoulder, the pretzel got in her way, bouncing off her lobe before going back to its increasingly faster movements. Kyoka stopped, frowning and staring at the snack.
- The hell's going on with that Quirk? Why is it so touchy? How is it reacting by itself?! -
Her tired brain provided some more pieces of the exchange between Reiko and Green, something about how the Quirk—[Poltergeist], was it?—was... similar to [Dark Shadow]? Sentient, maybe?
Kyoka rubbed her eyes again before shifting forward to get a better look. She was too fucking tired for this, but she had a hunch that she would just be woken up again if she were to give up.
The snack was trembling, but the movements were repetitive... Was that a pattern? There were rapid movements separated by slow ones, some horizontal, some vertical. Was the Quirk... writing?
She pictured the movements in her head, her eyes widening at the realization. "No?" she uttered.
The snack stopped immediately before slowly inching closer to her. If she needed any proof of sentience, this was probably it.
"You... talk?" she asked with a whisper, hoping not to wake up the others, and in so doing interrupt the exchange.
The Quirk moved the pretzel again, only this time the pattern resembled the characters for "Yes."
"Okay..." she let out, bewildered. Kyoka had seen a lot of weird shit lately, but this definitely fell in the top three. "This is fucking weird..."
The snack repeated its agreement, making Kyoka sigh. Somebody stirred a bit, making her focus more on keeping her tone almost inaudible and her movements light.
"Why me?" she asked with a frown, pointing her jack at the rest of the room.
The pretzel fell on her pillow and on Reiko's, then made a few circles around her jacks.
- Because we were close? Because of my Quirk? Dammit, I'm too tired for this. -
She didn't trust herself to read anything too complicated, so she decided that they should probably stick to manageable statements. "Let's keep it simple, just answer yes or no. Are you Reiko's Quirk?"
Yes.
"And you're sentient?"
Yes.
- Okay, unless I'm dreaming or going crazy, that's confirmed. -
Though the second possibility was more likely than the first. She doubted that her subconscious could make up something this convoluted.
- What to ask... -
"Can you talk? When Reiko's awake, I mean," she amended.
No.
"Not even-" She was quickly interjected.
No. No.
"Okay, okay... But are you awake, when Reiko is?"
Yes.
"So you're always there, but can't talk in any way?"
Yes.
"Damn, that's rough," she spoke through her teeth.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Feeling bad for a Quirk was the last thing she expected to be doing in the middle of the night, but apparently her life had thrown out any sense of normalcy once she had entered U.A., so maybe she should have seen it coming.
"Can I help?"
Yes.
"Okay... Want me to tell Reiko about you?"
Yes. Yes. Yes. Y-
"Okay, okay," she whispered to stop the continuous movement. Itsuka had just grunted, stirring a bit, and she didn't want to risk more. "Can you show yourself if I do?"
The pretzel stopped writing, only oscillating in place. The question was harder than a yes or no, apparently.
"Fuck... Alright, listen, I can try to wake up someone else now, but it might cause everybody to, Reiko included, and that won't work. Can I wait until tomorrow, tell Reiko, and then see what we can do to help? 'Cause really, right now I feel like I'm running on fumes..." Her brain certainly was.
The snack wobbled a bit before making a last sign of agreement and falling to the floor. The purplish hue moved to Reiko, letting her body slowly go down to its sleeping position and tucking her in before disappearing.
Kyoka blinked a few times, letting out a sigh and going back to her pillow. The last thing she felt before falling back asleep was the blanket moving, the Quirk covering her as it had done for Reiko as a thank you.
Saturday mornings were such a nice thing. Stayed up too long and ended up sleeping in for a few hours? No worries, you still have the rest of the weekend! Homework? It can wait! Can't be bothered to cook your breakfast during the morning rush in the kitchen? Who cares, somebody was bound to have made too much—Sato stress baked—or you can just get some leftovers from the night before! The world outside is cold, hot, windy, or just meh? Well, it isn't until you leave the comfort of your covers!
Yeah, Saturday mornings were the best.
Which meant that Mina found it extremely hard to forgive Itsuka for setting an alarm at dawn.
"How... could... you..." she groaned.
"Sorry," the redhead whispered after a few noises of compliant and a long, disgruntled hum from Yui. "Didn't mean to wake you."
"It's a freaking alarm," Setsuna grumbled without moving an inch.
"Kinda their point," Kyoka added, covering her face by moving the covers with her jacks.
"Whyyy?" Kinoko cried in her pillow.
"I forgot about it, but I have my morning run," Itsuka explained as she left the comfort of the mattress.
"Oh," Pony let out, slowly dragging herself out as well, "me too."
Ochaco didn't speak as she moved to follow the two, being barely awake.
"You lot are crazy," Toru lamented. "It's Saturday..."
"Can't skip. Sorry everyone," the blonde yawned. "Back to sleep for you."
"Maybe you can follow in an hour for breakfast," Itsuka offered as she opened the door, making as little noise as possible as they slithered out.
"May...be..." Mina yawned, turning to the other side.
Sleep took her again easily, and she only woke again when something started shaking her.
"Mina?" Toru's voice reached her ears. She grumbled, keeping her eyes strictly closed. She heard a sigh from the invisible girl. "It's no use. She's, like, stuck to that pillow."
"Mood," Setsuna snickered before getting interrupted by a yawn.
"Come on, weren't you the one who proposed a breakfast before we went to sleep?" Yaomomo asked, referring to her incredible plan for the perfect sleepover.
"My... damn... mouth..." she breathed out, regretting everything.
"Just tickle her," Kyoka proposed.
"Mm," replied Kodai, closing in.
Mina's eyes snapped open. Anything but that.
"I'm up!" she sprung up, taking in the room which was barely lit by the light coming in from the window. "Hey! I'm not even last!" she complained, seeing that there was still another girl still under the covers.
"Yeah, 'cause we didn't wanna risk waking Ibara with you so close," Setsuna pointed out. "Her hair's still thorny, ya know?"
She looked at the girl sleeping peacefully, her arms resting on her stomach as Snow White's would, and how her hair was split perfectly to her sides as to not sleep on it. There was probably some other fairy tale reference in there, but she was too groggy to think about it.
"Fair," she sighed, crawling away.
"I doubt she'd hurt us by mistake, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Yaomomo said. "Kinoko, the blinds, please?"
The mushroom lover nodded and opened the way for the sunlight to flood the room. After a few rays moved to fall perfectly on the peacefully sleeping girl, Ibara stirred awake and moved up with a pleased hum.
"Good morning, friends. Am I the last one to wake?"
"Yes, ribbit," Tsu nodded. "No worries though."
"We need your help to make breakfast!" Toru informed her, starting to divide the roles between those who would cook and those who would restore Momo's room to its previous condition.
As the group left the room, Mina noticed Kyoka have a quick talk with Yanagi and Setsuna joining Toru and Ibara, but her curiosity was cut short as Tsuyu approached her.
"Hey, Mina, can we talk? After breakfast, ribbit."
"Sure," she smiled, not seeing any reason to refuse. "Let's get something in the tank first."
Tsuyu nodded, moving on quietly and leaving Mina to wonder. It didn't take long for her to reach a conclusion that had only been reinforced by the chats of the night before.
- Could it be... does Tsu need dating advice?! -
The pinkette felt like she could have squealed in glee... Things were about to get gossipy, weren't they?
"Good morning!"
Ochaco heard Izuku's voice coming from behind and turned to smile and wave back. "Good morning!"
The way her heart had skipped a beat and the air was getting warmer was certainly only due to the run, not because of his warm smile or how his nice muscles looked, no way-
- No Ochaco! Stop this now, darn it! Ya even admitted it to the others, grow a pair! - she mentally struggled with her feelings.
Itsuka and Pony added their own "Hi Midoriya," and "Hi!" as he caught up with them, slowing to a more comfortable pace on her left. Ochaco liked having him that close.
"How was your evening?" he asked, his breathing seemingly untouched by the running.
"We had a girls-only party," Itsuka replied. "It was nice."
"It was great," the American corrected, moving a hand through her braid, still holding strong.
"Happy to hear that," he commented with a chuckle. "I guess that's why you were gathering that many snacks, huh?"
"Yup!" Ochaco nodded. "How about you?"
"Had dinner with my mom to celebrate her recent promotion. A quiet evening," he said.
"Aww, that must have been nice. You're pretty close to your mum, aren't you?" she asked, liking how cheerful he looked when he talked about her.
Izuku nodded, showing a content smile. "Yeah, she's always been there for me. She's happy that I'm doing alright now."
"Can't see how it could be otherwise," Itsuka joked.
Izuku let out a short huff, before replying with a "Right," before changing the subject to their afternoon training session and speeding up.
"I'll see you at breakfast!"
Ochaco wondered for a moment about why he had left so abruptly, leaving them in the dust, before she saw him reach a bigger group. She could distinguish Kirishima's signature red, Shoji's tall and wide frame, Shinso's lavender hair, and Shoda's lighter blue... then somebody that was probably Tetsutetsu, and a few blond heads. Ojiro, Honenuki, and... Monoma, really? Izuku was talking with him in that moment too, so she wondered if they had managed to come to an understanding.
- Guys talk as much as we do, I guess... -
"Ochaco?"
"Uh?" she came out of her head to see Pony poking her.
The foreigner chuckled. "Was telling you about breakfast later, but seems you were distracted," Pony winked and tilted her head towards the other group, making her sputter and redden.
Itsuka sighed. "Pony, remember to keep things quiet."
"Oh, right, my bad," she quickly excused herself. "Just thought you really looked cute."
She muttered a "Thanks," but apparently the blonde wasn't finished, as she lowered her tone and asked, "You going to confess?"
Ochaco felt her brain almost grind to a halt.
"Pony!" Itsuka hissed.
"What? Nobody else listening," Pony stated, waving her arms around to confirm her statement. "Didn't ask yesterday because conversation was too confused, but I like to know now. Again, you two were very cute."
The redhead sighed before looking at Ochaco with a shrug and a look that said, "It's your call."
Ochaco swallowed. Telling the truth to the other girls had already been a big step for her, but confessing to Izuku...
"I-I don't know... It's just... This whole thing isn't what I expected at all!" she admitted, biting her bottom lip in frustration, but making sure not to raise her voice too much.
"What you mean?" Pony asked, surprised by the tone shift.
She didn't know why, but she really felt like venting in that moment. Maybe it was the string of confessions from the night before—Four out of six, really? Or all six even, given how often Mina jumped the greenette and how Kyoka kept her eyes on him—or maybe her inner frustration had reached the boiling point. Being asked about something that had kept bouncing in her skull for weeks had lifted the cover, and now Itsuka and Pony would be listening to her rant... and slip into her dialect.
"I came from the boonies, and my family's kinda poor. My folks got a construction business that hasn't got much business at all. We're not dirty poor, but most of our assets get frozen every so often, so ya'll can understand that we struggled as I grew up. My folks gave up a lot for me, but they never wanted ma help, even if ma Quirk's perfect for it! I can't stand to be a burden to them no more. I wanna see them happy, darn it!" she explained, getting more and more worked up.
Itsuka was probably whispering a shorter, more understandable version to the foreigner, who looked as if she had suddenly started speaking in tongues.
"That... wow," Pony commented. "Sorry to hear that. About family, I mean."
"It's fine," she huffed and shook her head. "We're used to it. My folks always did their best."
The blonde hummed, though she didn't look completely convinced.
Her parents had done a lot for her. She had seen them eat less or skip meals entirely, take longer turns and come home later and later. Her mother would sew, and her father would repair, because replacing clothes and appliances wouldn't fit in their bills. She had heard them discuss for many nights about how they could afford her high school tuition and what other sacrifices they would have been willing to make for her.
They were prideful people, and they never wanted their burdens to fall on her shoulders.
"They sound like good people," Itsuka noted, making Ochaco silently thank her.
"They are. They always told me to follow ma dreams, so that's what I'mma do." She tightened her fists, speeding up without meaning to. "I worked ma ass off to train ma Quirk and not fall behind on ma studies, even if I had to make do with third hand stuff. I wanted to ace that darn entrance exam!" she grunted. "And then! The first boy I meet—just 'cause he somehow tripped on his feet—turns out to be the most amazing person I've ever seen! And I can't stop thinking about his darn cute face!" - And other asse- Shut up brain! - "I didn't expect this, and it's distracting! I came to U.A. to become a Hero so that I could save people and help ma family make ends meet, but here I am fumbling like a dolt after a crush! I wasn't looking for this!"
She let out a frustrated grunt, kicking a pebble to let loose some energy.
Itsuka ended her fast retelling to Pony, who made yet another gasp of surprise. Ochaco felt a bit stared at as the two looked at her for a few silent moments.
"But do you really think that?" Itsuka asked. "About the crush being a distraction, I mean."
Ochaco turned towards the redhead, seeing her looking as serious as she had been during their fights, if not more.
"Isn't it? Mr. Aizawa said it on our first day. We're here to learn, not to make friends."
Itsuka huffed, rolling her eyes. "If that was the only metric everybody in our classes would have already failed, Ochaco. The man's rough around the edges, and I'm being generous." Pony, having been on the receiving end of one of the man's tirades, nodded along eagerly.
She couldn't really deny that. Their homeroom teacher had a penchant for mind games, not-so-veiled threats, and an overall lack of shits to give about what others thought of him. He hadn't repeated the "expulsion hanging over your heads" thing since day one, but it was a hard moment to forget.
"S-Still. I do get distracted by thinking about him," she stuck to her angle.
Itsuka looked at her for a moment before rolling her eyes, sighing, and locking eyes with her again. She seemed very determined to get her own point across.
"Alright, let's do this then. Has it impacted your training or your studies yet?"
"I-It's been distr-" she tried to reply, getting immediately interjected by a bigger hand cupping and squeezing her cheeks. How Itsuka could do that without losing a single step in their run was a wonder.
"Ochaco, focus," the redhead said, her tone deadly serious. "I'm talking about your results, and only those. Did you train less because you were thinking of him?"
She blinked, thinking back at the recent weeks. Had she slacked off? … She was running instead of sleeping in on a Saturday, which was something he had prompted, so... "N-No."
"Did you get lower scores on your tests because you spent hours daydreaming?"
"No..." How could she have? Izuku was a constant presence in their study groups, but so was everybody else. Ida and Momo were her friends, but neither would ever settle for mediocrity, and it reflected in the way they tutored. There was no space for anything that wasn't great focus on the studied subject.
"Have you neglected your family or friends recently?" Itsuka asked and answered before she could. "I know that's another 'No,' since I heard you talk with your mother on the phone twice in three days, and you just spent the entire night with us."
"Yeah, big no-no," Pony giggled.
"Want more? Did you sleep worse? 'Cause I heard you snore for a week, and-"
Ochaco reddened a bit more, evading her gaze. "Okay, okay, geez. You've made you point."
"Good," Itsuka smirked, letting go of her pouting face. "Now that we've put aside the blatant excuses... Do you have any other reason not to ask?"
Good question. Did she?
"I..." She bit her lip again, stalling for time as she searched for an answer. "Even if this... 'distraction' isn't doing anything now... How do I know that it won't change? That I won't lose sight of my dream because I'm with him? Or what if I hold him back? I can't let that happen..."
Itsuka let out a small huff and gave her a smile. "Are we talking about the same guy?" she asked before pointing with her head towards the group of boys. "Come on, Ochaco, look at that."
She did. The guys had widened the distance between them even more, moving almost at the same speed as Ida's group. Had they started running faster after Izuku had joined them? The greenette was in the lead, but the others were doing their best to keep up.
"Does he look like he would slow you down? Please. If anything, he might just ask you to keep up with him," the redhead reiterated, chuckling softly.
"Sounds like a nightmare," Pony joked, making the other gave her a playful nudge before she turned back to Ochaco.
"And look at you. You've been pushing us to run faster since you've started ranting!"
Had she? She hadn't even noticed.
"I know you've got more than enough drive, Ochaco. And I'm sure that, in the very, very remote case in which you haven't, you would find more hidden somewhere," Itsuka said, underlining her statement by pointing a finger at her heart.
Itsuka was right. What had she been thinking? Izuku holding her back? How could he, when everything he did or said somehow managed to help others? Her holding him back? Although a bit less farfetched, she wasn't some dumb, weak princess that would always need saving. She could stand up for herself.
"And if you're scared about losing your focus or stuff like that... Well, I can cover for you."
Ochaco's head turned abruptly to look at her friend. "What? How?"
Itsuka shrugged, keeping on that nice smile. "It's not that hard. If I see that you're slacking off, I'll tell you. Simple as that," she said matter-of-factly.
"I'll help too!" Pony gave her a thumbs up. "Two heads are better than one!"
Ochaco stared for a moment before managing to find the words. "Y-You would do that for me?"
"If it's something that's got you uncomfortable, yeah," Itsuka replied. "I'll keep an eye out for you and, if anything happens, I'll bring you back on track."
"No worries," Pony added happily.
"But that's- I can't ask you to do that!" she replied.
"Well, good thing you're not asking then, 'cause I'm offering anyway," Itsuka smiled. "We gotta have each other's back, don't we? If I can help you be at ease, why wouldn't I?"
- Because nobody ever did... - her brain offered, leaving her at a loss for words.
Ochaco wasn't used to having friends that cared this much, as she had always remained a tad distant from most children her age. Everything set a wall between her and her peers.
Sometimes, others would ask why she was the only one that was eating plain rice and vegetables, why her books already had phrases and formulas highlighted, pages torn or scribbled, or why her uniform fit her slightly worse than anybody else's. She couldn't afford extracurriculars, nor friendly outings. Her time was meant to be spent studying or helping at home, filling in what her parents couldn't do. She had been singled out a couple of times too. Bullies had been few and far in between, and had mostly been punished for their misconduct, but their words still stung... And Ochaco had to do her best to keep her fists tucked in her pockets, because there were only so many incidents of that kind the school would tolerate, and she couldn't create more problems for stupid reasons.
And here she was, with friends willing to talk her out of a rut and cover her back for who knows how long, without asking for anything in return.
Ochaco didn't feel the tears come, though she felt herself sob as her lips wobbled.
"S-Sorry. I'm getting emotional," she muttered. "T-Thank you."
Itsuka lowered a hand on Ochaco's back, lightly stroking it, as Pony circled all the way around to sandwich her in between them.
She saw the redhead smile warmly. "What else are friends for?"
"So, Midobro, wanna know how things went?" Eijiro asked Midoriya as they kept running a few steps ahead of the others.
"Why not," the greenette replied with a smile. "He wasn't with you when you came back from the gym, was he? No dice on that?"
"Nah, when I asked him if he wanted to come with us, he just blew me off and went training somewhere else," he shrugged. "But I've already seen him there four or five times this week, so he probably didn't want to overdo it."
- Though those explosions we heard on the way back were probably from him. -
Midoriya nodded before moving on. "You found him later then?"
"Yeah. We—me and the guys, that is—caught him in the baths after our workout and got him in our chat about trainings regimens." It wasn't the greatest conversational topic, but people did say to stick to what you know, and if there was one thing that Eijiro knew, that was it. "Kaminari and Tetsutetsu riled him up a bit, but Sero and Awase managed to calm him down enough to talk normally."
"He shouted a lot at first, right?"
"He sure did," Eijiro laughed, remembering how the blonde started a vast slice of his interactions. "Bakugo's very passionate about stuff, isn't he?"
"You could say that, yeah." Midoriya let out a short huff. "What happened next?"
"Oh, we went back down for dinner, but of course he was one of the few without a pizza, since Awase couldn't find him anywhere when we ordered."
"If he was up in his room, it's likely that he didn't even bother listening," the greenette pointed out.
"Yeah, I figured. So, I offered to split with him." He let out a short chuckle at Midoriya's shocked expression.
"He didn't take that well, did he?"
"Not really, no," Eijiro shook his head. "He grumbled about not wanting any and that he could make his own food... but I gave him a few slices anyway," he added with a grin.
"Very 'you,'" Midoriya said with a chuckle.
"I try," Eijiro grinned. "He gave me a death stare when he found them on his plate, but after cooking he gave me a portion of his chicken curry. 'Wanted to be even' or something."
"Spicy?" Midoriya asked with a smirk that told him he already knew the answer.
He let out a breath at the memory of the fire on his tongue. "Yeah. But it was manageable."
The other snorted. "If you say so..."
"Trust me, I can handle hot food," he assured, even though he would have preferred to wait a while before trying Bakugo's cooking again. "Anyway, he stayed with us for a while before leaving 'cause he wanted to sleep... but all in all he was pretty chill."
Midoriya nodded, letting out an approving hum. "Thanks for letting me know."
"Ah, don't sweat it. Just doing my part, and Bakugo's a pretty manly guy!" Eijiro grinned, giving the other a pat on the back. "And you're doing yours as a good Class Rep, worrying for everyone!"
"Please, you're giving me too much credit," the greenette shook his head lightly. "I was just curious."
"Eheh, sure you are," the red-haired teen chuckled. "'Curious and worried,' maybe."
Midoriya wouldn't have asked him about Bakugo with that much concern in his voice—and away from prying ears—if he hadn't been concerned about his wellbeing in the first place. Eijiro had seen Bakugo grumbling after his defeat and had imagined that the blonde wanted to be left alone, but Midoriya—who apparently had known him for far longer—had asked for Eijiro's help. The guy sure was good at noticing stuff!
- "I think that Bakugo may have taken his loss a bit too hard. Do you mind checking on him to see if he's alright? He's gonna be moody for a while, but maybe you could help..." Damn, Midobro, if that wasn't you being worried, I can't imagine what you may sound like when you are, - Eijiro thought as he waited for the other to respond.
Midoriya waved him off. "I just wanted to check on him."
Eijiro nodded before asking a question that had been bouncing around in his head for a while. "Couldn't you ask him yourself?"
The other teen sighed. "We're not on good enough terms right now, so he wouldn't open up with me even if I asked him to."
He wasn't necessarily surprised, as he knew that the blonde kept his distance from the greenette as much as he could. "Damn, sorry to hear that... Can I do anything to help?"
Midoriya let out a clear, warm laugh at that. "You already are, trust me," the teen reassured, exhaling as he turned his gaze towards the horizon. "Bakugo is good at scaring away the ones he doesn't like and those that don't care, so he never had many people he could call friends. And I can't be that for him right now either."
Eijiro frowned a bit as he saw the look on the boy's face became a bit sadder. Once again, he wondered about what was going on between the two.
Then the greenette turned towards him with a bright smile, patting his back as he had done to him a moment before. "You though... You are too brave to fear his outbursts, too nice to not care, and too stubborn to quit because of a few failed attempts," Midoriya said with a smirk and a tone that had no hints of uncertainty.
The redhead grinned back. "Damn, Midobro, take it easy with those. They might just go to my head," he snorted.
"Nah, you're too down-to-earth for that," Midoriya replied with a wink, making them both laugh.
"But really, thank you, Eijiro," the greenette added after a few seconds of silence. "I couldn't have done it without you."
Despite what many usually thought, Eijiro wasn't as clueless as others—usually Mina—painted him as. So, that morning, he did notice a weird inflexion in the other's tone, and how his gaze seemed to be drawn to something behind him...
But, as always, Eijiro was too nice to pry, and seeing Midoriya smile again and ask to speed up deleted those intrusive thoughts from his mind.
Past
He had messed up. He had messed up so, so badly.
How could he have been so stupid?
"Never let somebody else close to Overhaul," had been an iron rule for years. Nighteye would risk getting a hole in his chest every single time it happened. Mirio would do the sacrifice play for Eri and lose his quirk every single time it happened. Aizawa, Fat Gum, Rock Lock... None would leave the fight intact.
The Villain's touch meant instant death, and the bullets in his gun's chamber could take away a person's Quirk in a few moments. He had seen both events happen too many times.
Izuku couldn't let it happen again. He shouldn't have let it happen again.
But, for some damn reason, the groups had been separated differently, and Eijiro had arrived there before him.
Why the hell was he even that close to the fight in the first place? Why wasn't he with Fat Gum, where he would have been safe? He knew what Overhaul could do, and yet he had still moved forward... and had managed to slow down the Villains.
And when Izuku had finally reached the fight, he had taken one look at Eijiro's reassuring grin and hadn't turned him away like he usually did for everybody else—like he should have—letting him protect Eri.
Had it been his incredible progress in that particular cycle? His astounding, contagious optimism that had torn down his doubts? How now, every time the redhead said "Bro," Izuku could really feel like they had always been brothers?
Izuku had no real answers to his questions. He only knew that he had to move the debris faster to unearth the two from the building that had fallen on top of them. He could hear Ryukyu and the others trying to help, but he was faster. He tore the cement apart, tossing away rock after rock, following Eri's screams for help to its source.
Once the last stone had been pushed away, he took in the disaster.
The little girl was safe, unharmed even. She was curled up in a tight space between the teen Hero's arms. Izuku took her—still sobbing and screaming unintelligible words while pointing at the boy—quickly handing her to the closest rescuer before rushing back. Words of reassurance flew on his lips, but his mind wasn't there.
His hardheaded brother was calling for him.
"Hey... Bro..." he heard Eijiro speak, the laughter in his voice faint, but not absent.
He kneeled by his side. "Eiji, don't speak, we can still-"
"No," the other interrupted him by placing a hand over his as he slowly shook his head. "You're... the bright one... but I know..."
Izuku's eyes took in everything at once, but his mind didn't want to process it.
Eijiro was blocked underneath a piece of the building. The irony in how much the scene resembled Ochaco's entrance exam incident wasn't lost on Izuku. But this was a much, much heavier stone.
Still, that wouldn't have been a problem for the boy who could make himself almost invulnerable, would it? But it had been, because he hadn't activated [Hardening]. How could he have, when he had it taken away by Overhaul's lackey? Oh, how the man had laughed in Izuku's face for managing to hit "somebody with such a resistant disease." Overhaul had been so pleased with that taunt, moments before Izuku had broken him apart. He didn't care about how he had misused [Blackwhip], [Fa Jin], and [Gearshift]. It didn't hurt.
Izuku could see Eijiro's head, his arms, and his torso, but everything below his belly was gone. Somehow, he was still breathing, although barely. The impact had practically cut him in two, but it had also sealed his innards in place, giving him a few minutes... but there was nothing to be done now.
"Did we... save her...?" Eijiro asked, putting what pressure he could in his grip, trying to hold Izuku's hand.
The greenette swallowed and nodded, trying his best not to let the tears fall and failing miserably.
"Yes. You've saved her, Eiji. Eri's safe," he hurriedly answered, feeling his breath getting uneven.
"I'm... glad..." the redhead hummed, his smile turning a bit more serene, "I could... help you..."
"Y-You did," he spoke with a choked tone. "I-I couldn't have done it without you."
"The last thing he hears, and you lie," a voice in his head whispered with venom.
Eijiro just smiled, looking at Izuku as his eyes slowly closed. His lips parted, perhaps to speak, but he would never know. They would never utter a sound again.
"P-Please... don't..."
Izuku felt his friend's fingers release his, the teen's sturdy muscle relaxing forever. He held onto him, his face contracting in pain as he fought to contain his cries.
Another life, another error committed, another friend gone.
Because of him, because he'd failed again.
He couldn't accept it.
- Again, - was his last thought as he joined Eijiro and started another cycle.
Notes:
A bit to unpack here, eh?
Reiko's Quirk is on its way, and the lucky one to find out was Kyoka!
Ochaco got that bit more I promised!
Itsuka's the voice of reason!
Eijiro's a good friend!
I'm sorry for that last part!
On another note, had a really shit week, yay. I keep trying to make chapters somewhat shorter, and I keep failing. This also means that I've got less chapters prepared than I would like, and bits missing from a few. I have the next Gym Time prepared, but I can't fit it without having at least something else before it, I think. I may have to take a week off to fill all of those and get back to a better schedule, but if it's not next week it will be in a couple, 'cause I know that I will be busy soon irl. Though I will also probably (finally) release something else, a part of another important cycle in the series.