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Izuku pulled himself up to sitting. Technically, Recovery Girl said he wasn’t allowed out of bed, but he wasn’t getting out! He was just sitting up!
What was strange was that upon doing so he could spot a very recognizable silluette on the other side of the room.
“Kacchan? Are you okay?”
A quiet huff. “Fuck off Deku.”
Izuku frowned. Oh, something was very wrong here! Kacchan sounded defeated.
"Kacchan! You’re clearly not alright!”
The curtain was pulled abruptly back and Izuku startled with a yelp.
“Deku!”
The two of them stayed there, frozen. Waiting for the other to make the first move.
Kacchan broke eye contact. “I need you to promise me something.”
Izuku blinked. That was unexpected. “…Okay.”
“Don’t watch the awards ceremony.”
Izuku’s jaw dropped, horrified. The awards ceremony? He missed it? But he always watched it! But…
“…Kacchan. What happened?”
Kacchan glared at him. “Don’t watch the awards ceremony.”
He ducked his head and muttered something else.
It sounded a lot like please.
Izuku stared at him. That…
Kacchan shuffled in place.
Izuku sighed. “…Fine. I promise I will not voluntarily watch the awards ceremony.”
Kacchan considered his answer and nodded. “…Thanks.”
Izuku’s jaw dropped again. What—
Kacchan stormed out of the medical wing.
Izuku stared down at his hands.
What had happened during the ceremony? Kacchan saying thank you to him…
And he couldn’t look into it.
Fuck.
Mina hummed as she walked into the dorms. There probably won’t be that many people around, but there would be a few. Not everyone went home every weekend, after all.
What was surprising was coming in to see Uraraka and Todoroki in a stand off.
She raised an eyebrow. Strange. “Hey! What’s going on?”
Uraraka turned to her. Mina wasn't able to identify all the emotions that crossed her face in quick succession, but she could tell they ended on frustration.
Mina shot the other girl a look.
Uraraka blustered. “Todoroki, he, I, tell her!”
Mina could tell someone arrived downstairs in the elevator, but she was too invested in whatever was going on to check who it was.
Todoroki shrugged. “Is it not normal to get locked up if you do something the adults do not agree with?”
What the fuck.
Mina spluttered. “No! That’s wrong!”
Uraraka threw her hands up in triumph. “See! That’s bad Todoroki!”
Todoroki cocked his head at them. “But they did it to Bakugou?”
Mina felt like her heart stopped.
…They did, didn’t they?
Uraraka answered her internal question. “They did.”
Todoroki shrugged again, like he hadn’t just rearranged Mina’s entire world view. “I feel I should have done something, but I felt very weird at the time. I felt like someone else was in control of my body, as I was not really feeling anything. But I should have done something.”
A voice spoke up from behind Mina. “I should have done something too, but I was scared. Some hero hopeful.”
Mina turned to see Tokoyami standing there, looking slightly guilty.
Were Mina and Uraraka the only ones that hadn’t thought about this?
Uraraka shook her head. “You deferred to the adults and heroes.”
Tokoyami refused to make eye contact. “But they were wrong.”
Mina stared at the floor.
What did it mean, that she hadn’t noticed?
Uraraka sighed to her right. “Yeah. They were wrong.”
Denki hummed as he tried to focus on the game. At least it was just Uno, so it wasn’t bad and moved fast enough to stay interesting.
Kirishima put down a draw four. Denki smirked and placed another draw four on top.
The two of them turned to Mina, who didn’t react.
Denki waved a hand in front of her face. “Mina? You alright?”
She sighed. “Hey boys?”
Denki blinked. “Yeah?”
Kirishima smiled at her. “What’s up?”
Mina looked at them. “What do you think of the Sports Festival awards ceremony?”
Denki frowned. The awards ceremony? Like when Bakugou got chained to the podium?
Kirishima winced. “Oh I always felt bad about it.”
Mina looked at him with pain in her eyes. “You did?”
Kirishima shrugged. “It felt weird. I wasn’t sure what to do until Aizawa-sensei apologized for UA’s actions then.”
Denki tried to think. “He did?”
Kirishima nodded, putting his cards to the side, face down. “Yeah, in one of those many interviews he did while Bakugou was kidnapped.”
Denki spiraled.
He didn’t really think much of it in the moment, but it wasn’t exactly surprising to him that Bakugou got contained. He had been contained all the time growing up because he couldn’t control his quirk.
Actually, that was something weird. Denki wasn’t allowed to wear rubber gloves anymore, after one of the school nurses at his middle school realized that when he did the rebound from his quirk shocked him.
Didn’t Bakugou mention something about not being able to completely turn off his sweat?
“Huh.”
“Kami?”
Denki looked up to see Mina and Kiri looking at him, concerned.
“Do you think the restraints hurt his arms? When I used to wear thick rubber gloves my quirk would come back around and shock me. I apparently have a bunch of electrocution scars under my skin. He sweats nitro, and he’s said he can’t stop it.”
Kirishima looked at the ceiling. “Shit.”
Mina ran a hand down over her face. “Fuck.”
Kirishima shook his head. “We should ask Midoriya about it.”
Mina lightly smacked herself in the forehead. “Yeah, no shit.”
Denki frowned deeper. “Why didn’t we think of that before?”
Kiri shrugged. “Because we sometimes forget that they know each other so well.”
Mina shook her head. “I’m surprised he let this slide.”
Denki sighed. “I guess we’ll figure it out later.”
Kirishima picked up his cards again. “It’s your turn, Mina.”
Mina sighed and looked at the pile. “Shit!”
Fumikage let out a breath as he lay on the floor of Shouji’s room. He and Kouda has come in with the intention of studying, but that had clearly gone out the window.
Kouda was sitting with his bunny. Shouji was drawing on some scrap paper.
Well, no better time to ask.
“Hey, what did you guys think of the awards ceremony of the sports festival?”
They both looked up.
Shouji frowned. “I had to leave, why?”
Kouda frowned and signed, You had to leave?
Shouji nodded. “Yeah, it was a bit too much for me. Not me specifically, but my friend in elementary school was often threatened with being locked up if she misbehaved. I never did anything, but if I did anything wrong I’m sure they would have threatened me too. It hit a bit too close to home.”
That’s bad.
Shouji shrugged. “Yeah. I considered reaching out to Bakugou after, and Todoroki definitely looked like he was disassociating, but neither of them accept help that well.”
Fumikage sighed. “True.”
Kouda sighed. I didn’t know what I could do. I didn’t know what was going on. Was Bakugou trying to attack Todoroki more?
Fumikage winced. That was the problem, wasn’t it. “No, he just didn’t want the medal until after a rematch.”
Shouji sat back. “I feel like even if they had to tie him up and wait for him to calm down, they could have done it out of sight, and just given the medal to someone else.”
Kouda nodded enthusiastically. Yeah, or waited until they were both up for a rematch or something.
Shouji pointed at him with a hand. “Exactly.”
Fumikage sighed in relief. At least he wasn’t the only one of the same opinion.
Kouji took a deep breath as he waited.
He had been dwelling on what Tokoyami brought up for a while now. It wasn’t abnormal for him to think on how things could be improved in how their school was run, but this was serious.
And serious was a matter for someone with a bit more sway.
Kouji’s target rounded the corner. Hey class president?
Iida smiled. “Yes Kouda!”
Kouji smiled. Iida’s energy was nice. I had a question.
“I would be happy to assist you!”
Kouji sighed. Do you know why they chained up Bakugou at the sports festival?
Iida frowned, thinking before he spoke. “I believe it was because he was attacking those around him, especially Todoroki.”
Kouji frowned. Do you know why they forced him on display like that?
Iida stared into space for a moment. “…I don’t know.”
Kouji continued before he lost his nerve. Because Shouji mentioned that it hit just a little too close to home for him.
Iida nodded. “Yes, I remember him leaving. I was very confused, but I trusted the teachers.”
Kouji delivered his final thoughts. I don’t know if we should have.
Iida stared him in the eyes for a moment. “…You are correct Kouda. I will think more on this and we will attempt to never let anything like this happen in the future.”
Kouji perked up. Thank you.
Iida smiled tersely and waved him off. “We shouldn’t have to worry about this, but we cannot let this stand.”
Kouji nodded and thanked him before heading back to his dorm.
Hopefully something would change, and for the better.
Tenya hurried to the meeting spot they had agreed upon.
Sure enough, as he arrived, Kendou was already standing next to the bench.
She smiled as he approached. “Hello Iida!”
Tenya smiled back. “Hello Kendou!”
She raised an eyebrow. “You seem a bit down.”
Tenya sighed. One thing he quickly learned was that Kendou was pretty good at reading emotions. “Kouda has brought to my attention that I might have made a misstep during the Sports Festival.”
Kendou tensed, showing she knew what he meant. “I don’t think that it’s your fault, all things considered.”
Tenya shook his head. “But it was not right, and as class president I might have been able to do something.”
Kendou waved a hand. “You deferred to the teachers, and the teachers fucked up.”
Tenya sighed again. “I am aware. What was your reaction to the awards ceremony?”
Kendou made a face. “I hated that in particular. I grew up in a very vigilante area—“
Tenya frowned. He had never heard that phrase before. “How do you mean?”
Kendou scoffed. “It means that the heroes don’t often go there, and most control of villains is done by vigilantes instead. Only a few heroes have passed through, and even then crime rates are high and there are lots of people with quirks that don’t fit in.”
Tenya nodded. That actually explained a fair bit about Kendou’s personality. “So have you seen anything like this before?”
Kendou shook her head. “Not personally, but I’ve had a lot of friends that had similar things happen to them, and they were all horrified.”
Tenya sighed. It seemed like everyone else was far more aware than he was. “I wish I could have done something.”
Kendou patted his shoulder and nudged him into sitting down on the bench. “I don’t think you could have, at that point in life. We have grown since then.”
Tenya accepted her nudging, turning to her as she sat as well. “Has anyone in your class been alarmed?”
Kendou made a so-so gesture. “I don’t think any of us were comfortable. Even Monoma never mentions it when he’s monologuing. He just refers to Bakugou’s lack of control, but he never mentions anything else.”
They sat in silence for a moment, filtering through the information that they now knew.
Tenya sighed. Well, there was one option.
“I think we should come with a plan.”
Kendou raised an eyebrow. “Of prevention or action?”
Tenya considered it. “Let’s do both.”
Kendou smiled. “Better safe than sorry.”
Shouto stared at the ceiling of Sero’s room.
They had been hanging out, reading some of their stared manga, but Shouto couldn’t focus. He was dwelling on the topic of the earlier conversation he had.
Considering that it had been nearly a year since the last Sports Festival, and they were quickly coming up on the next one, it was really a good time.
“Sero?”
He looked up from his manga. “Yeah Todoroki?”
Shouto stared at the detailed cracks on the ceiling. “I…apologize.”
Sero frowned, putting aside his manga. “For what man?”
“For trapping you in ice at the Sports Festival.”
Sero stared at him. Shouto eventually let his gaze fall on him.
“…I won’t say it’s alright, but it’s the kind of thing that I should get used to, and I forgive you.”
Shouto frowned, sitting up better. That went against what Uraraka had said, though. “It shouldn’t be the kind of thing you get used to. Not from me, at least. You should trust me to watch you back and not harm you, yes?”
Sero stared at him like he was dissecting him. “…yes.”
Shouto let himself slouch again. “I feel like I have also failed Bakugou, but I don’t think he would let me apologize.”
Sero frowned. “Why do you want to apologize to him?”
Shouto shrugged. “For not doing anything at the Sports Festival Ceremony.”
Sero moved closer to Shouto, ending up sitting next to him. “…Look, I can’t say much, because I didn’t do anything either, but who’s to say that they wouldn’t do something to you for attempting to step in and help?”
Shouto blinked. But Uraraka said… “…They would do that?”
Sero winced. “I mean, maybe? My brain always jumps to the worst possible conclusion, it seems, but can you honestly tell me it couldn’t happen?”
Shouto stared. “…So it’s the teachers. They’re the problem. “
Sero nodded. “My sister said Midnight is kind of weird, and I don’t exactly trust the others either. Except for Aizawa-sensei, I guess.”
Shouto looked back at the ceiling. If that was just how Sero felt, what about others?
“…How do you think Bakugou feels?”
Sero sighed. “Dude, honestly? I haven't willingly left him alone with any teachers but Aizawa-sensei since. I wouldn’t blame him if he doesn’t trust anyone at all on the staff, but I just hope I can help."
Shouto nodded. That seemed reasonable. “Perhaps I can do the same.”
Sero nudged his shoulder. “Don’t ask, just do it. And don’t be obvious about it either, the last thing we want is for the teachers to catch on.”
Shouto smiled at him. “Thank you for the advice.”
Sero grinned back. “What else are manga buddies for?”
Kyouka looked up abruptly as Kaminari barged into her room. Sero startled from the floor next to her. Satou looked over, pulling out one of his earbuds.
Kaminari flopped on Kyouka’s bed, forcing Satou to scoot over, before looking up at her. “Have you guys ever thought about what happened at the Sports Festival?”
Sero snorted. “Uh, yeah?”
Kyouka felt like there was some sort of deeper question here.
Satou frowned. “Could you be more specific? Which part?”
Kaminari waved a hand. "Bakugou, specifically.”
Kyouka let herself think back to anything she had noticed. “He wasn’t breathing well in that muzzle, as far as I could tell.”
Sero raised an eyebrow. “You think it was that or a panic attack?”
Kyouka froze. Honestly? How had Sero realized it? “…It could have been a panic attack.”
Kaminari turned to Sero. “You’ve clearly thought about it.”
Sero nodded. “Yeah. You’re the second person to bring it up to me.”
Satou frowned. “Really?”
Sero nodded, going up to sit with both Satou and Kaminari on the bed. “Yeah, Todoroki did too. I haven’t really trusted the teachers since then, especially not with Bakugou. I really doubt he does. I try not to let him be alone with any teachers, except for Aizawa-sensei.”
Kyouka reviewed some comments she had heard but hadn’t wanted to mention, in fear of being frowned upon. “Good idea. Our teachers can honestly sometimes make some mean comments when they think we can’t hear.”
Satou's frown deepened. “Really?”
Kyouka shrugged. “Yeah. And I kind of get it, but I don’t know if any of them are prepared for the pressure. Except for like, Aizawa-sensei, and maybe a few others.”
Sero scoffed. “Those others still did nothing to help, and neither did Aizawa-sensei, even if he was pretty out of it.”
Kaminari hummed as he stretched across both Satou and Sero’s laps. “I’m pretty sure the restraints hurt him.”
Kyouka glared at her wall. “…We can’t let that happen again.”
Satou shrugged. “Honestly, we should ask Midoriya what he thinks.”
Kyouka huffed as she recalled how they acted around each other. “True.”
Sero frowned. “I don’t think Bakugou would like more people involved. Maybe we just wait for now, and observe.”
Kyouka grinned. “That’s what I’m good at.”
Kaminari pouted. “I’m not good at it, but I can do that.”
Kyouka roiled her eyes and gently shoved his leg.
Satou sighed. “I am going to make us so many sweets.”
Sero laughed. “You’re out here being the best of us, bro.”
Mezou frowned as he settled down with Ojiro and Hagakure at their usual outdoor lunch spot.
It was a good place to talk, especially if you didn’t want to risk any teachers listening in, but still.
Mezou whispered, trying his best not to act suspicious. “Did you guys also have trouble watching the Sports Festival awards ceremony?”
Hagakure’s clothes shook in a way Mezou knew to associate with a full body shudder. “Not in the moment, but after the fact I nearly threw up.”
Ojiro rubbed the back of his neck. “I felt kind of uncomfortable, especially with what Bakugou was saying. I get that he’s angry and acting villainous and all, but they let me decline going on. I guess it’s because they don’t really care what I do.”
Hagakure poked his shoulder. “Or they labeled Bakugou as villainous already.”
Mezou shrugged. “It could be both, honestly. It sometimes seems like Aizawa is the only one that cares about us. I mean the other teachers can be nice…”
Hagakure nodded. “But Aizawa actually wants us to succeed, it seems. Or get out of the field.”
Ojiro snorted, gesturing with his chopsticks. “He also is brutally honest, which is better than pretty lies.”
Hagakure perked up. “He made Power Loader put a tracker in my hero costume!”
Ojiro shrugged. “What can we do though? They’re pro heroes. They have been for way longer than us.”
Mezou thought to how Tokoyami wished he had interfered. “We wait. And if need be, we silently step in.”
Hagakure clapped. “Alright.”
Ojiro smirked as he grabbed his water. “Here’s to something good happening to our class for once.”
Hagakure cracked up and grabbed her own water. “Cheers!”
Mezou smiled beneath his mask. “Cheers.”
Tsu frowned as she sat with Uraraka and Iida in the library. They both seemed more tense than usual.
Hopefully at least one of them would open up.
Uraraka slammed her book shut, startling both Tsu and Iida. “Hey Iida?”
“Yes Uraraka?”
“Do you think what the teachers did to Bakugou at the Sports Festival was alright?”
Iida looked her in the eyes. “Absolutely not.”
Uraraka stared at him. “…You don’t.”
Tsu pondered the question. It has seemed reasonable at the time, but in hindsight it wasn’t very nice. It even made the villains target Bakugou. “I suppose it wasn’t.”
Iida shook his head in agreement. “It wasn’t. I didn’t realize it until after the damage had been done, but rest assured Kendou and I have taken steps to make sure we will be able to prevent or interfere with anything of the sort happening in the future.”
Tsu shook her head. “I never really thought about it.”
Iida shrugged. “I don’t think any of us really did. We are taught, growing up, to trust in heroes. They’re here to help us and all that.”
Uraraka raised an eyebrow. “Not all of us.”
Tsu nodded. A lot of children learned not to trust heroes, and then they ended up villains. “Isn’t that a problem with today’s society? Even if we try to not discriminate, people always end up being targeted.”
Uraraka sat up straighter. “As long as some people are able to be punished by a system, the system will find a way to use it for their own aims.”
Iida frowned. “What?”
Uraraka shrugged. “It’s close to something my mom said when I was little. We hire some people with villain records to our company, but we talk with them to find out why they are declared villains. Mom complains about how those in power will use the system to keep their power by whatever means at their disposal.”
Tsu winced. “Which with the villain laws…”
Uraraka nodded. “Is a lot.”
Iida frowned at the table. “And those horrid people make people like Stain target my brother.”
Tsu nodded. “And the League of Villains target us.”
They sat in silence.
Uraraka looked around before glancing at the both of them. “…We shouldn’t tell the teachers about this, should we.”
Tsu shook her head. With the way the Hero Commission was? “No.”
Iida nodded. “We can bide our time.”
Yuuga busied himself with looking through images his cousin sent him of the recent snow in France. He looked up as Tsu sat down next to him.
She frowned. “Hey Aoyama?”
Yuuga raised an eyebrow. “Yes, my friend?”
“What did you think of the Sports Festival awards ceremony?”
Yuuga frowned, slightly cautious. “Bakugou’s behavior?”
Tsu shook her head. “No—“
“The teachers’.”
Jirou walked in, followed by Momo, who didn’t seem to know what was going on.
Tsu nodded. “Hello Jirou.”
Jirou gave a peace sign. “Hey.”
Yuuga thought back to growing up with his friends in France, including one that ended up moving to Italy with how bad the discrimination got. “…I think that they were very rude.”
Tsu nodded with a smile. “I quite agree.”
Jirou nodded in approval. “Me too.”
Momo cautiously approached. “You are talking about…how are teachers acted at the Sports Festival?”
Jirou looked at her, clearly trying to convey something beyond her words. “Especially in regards to how they handled the awards ceremony.”
Momo nodded slowly. “…I see.”
The four of them turned to the door as Midoriya stumbled in. “Hi guys!”
Yuuga smiled. He really was nice. “Hello, Midoriya.”
Jirou frowned. “Say Midoriya, you were injured during the Sports Festival, right?”
Midoriya smiled, which was not a normal reaction to being injured. “Yep!”
Tsu cut in. “Have you seen the awards ceremony?”
Midoriya’s face immediately dropped to something almost angry. “No.”
Yuuga frowned. What? “…Why not?”
Midoriya smiled, this time bitterly. “Kacchan made me promise not to.”
Momo stared. “…What?”
Jirou frowned. “What’s up with that?”
Tsu raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you listen to him?”
Midoriya shook his head sadly. “When he asks me seriously. I promised him that I would not watch the Sports Festival awards ceremony voluntarily. So I have to fight with everything I have not to watch it, as much as I want to.”
Momo was, surprisingly, the one that spoke up. “…Could we force you to watch it?”
Midoriya shrugged. “I suppose? Why?”
Momo frowned. “…As much as I respect Bakugou, you should see it.”
Midoriya eyed her, and then smiled in his normal overenthusiastic way. “Okay then, if you say so!”
“Uraraka?"
Ochako's head shot up from where it had slid down onto her textbook. “Yes Momo?”
Momo took a moment to speak. “How did you feel fighting Bakugou?”
Ochako took a deep breath. Cutting straight to the chase here, huh? “Honestly?”
Momo nodded. “Yes please.”
Ochako sighed. “…It was exhilarating.”
Momo frowned. “Really?”
Ochako nodded frantically. “Yes! He fought me. With everything. I appreciate that. Even when the crowd kept yelling at him for fighting me so harshly, he kept going. It's why I’ve recently become very upset about the awards ceremony—“
Momo nodded. “Because it is clearly very important to him to have a fair, all out fight.”
Ochako smiled. Good, Momo got it. “Exactly.”
Momo sat, clearly pondering something. “It is pretty much decided that I will give the speech this next Sports Festival, right?”
Ochako snorted. “Yes? You’re top of the class. Who else would it be?”
“Perhaps I could speak up.”
Ochako felt a shock of fear run through her. “Be careful.”
Momo smirked. “Don’t worry, as if the teachers could beat me.”
Ochako laughed. “Well you’ve got the confidence.”
“And the strength to back it up.”
Ochako nodded. “I think that would be good for everyone to hear.”
Momo tilted her head. “Do you think Aizawa-sensei will approve?”
“I think so. He's always been protective of us.”
Momo nodded. “That he has, and he’s the only one to say the sports festival messed up. I think I will go to him for approval of my speech.”
Ochako raised an eyebrow. “You need approval?”
Momo laughed. “After Bakugou’s speech last year? Yes.”
Ochako snorted. "Aizawa-sensei will probably give it to you."
“It will be a proper wake up call."
Ochako nodded, thinking. “You should probably make sure to reach out to the other students too, in your speech.”
Momo nodded. “True. I suspect that everyone that has so called “villainous" quirks has been on edge since the last Sports Festival. Hopefully this will ease their fears somewhat if they know we are willing to fight for them.”
Ochako smiled, feeling hopeful. “If all goes well.”
Momo was prepared.
She spotted Midoriya hanging out in the kitchen with his friend Shinsou and took the opportunity.
The next Sports Festival was very soon, and they needed Midoriya aware of what happened.
“Ah, Midoriya! Are you free for a while?”
Midoriya smiled at her. “I am! What do you need me for—what’s going on?”
Momo grabbed his arm and tugged him into the living room. “You said that you promised Bakugou you would not willingly watch the Sports Festival awards ceremony, yes?”
Midoriya scrunched his nose. “Yes?”
Momo smiled. “But you want to, yes?”
Midoriya nodded as Shinsou joined them. “Yes?”
Momo smiled. “Well if I force you to, then you can pin the blame on me if Bakugou asks, okay?”
Shinsou frowned as he reached Midoriya’s side. “You haven’t seen the Sports Festival awards ceremony?”
Midoriya chuckled nervously. “No?”
Shinsou blinked like he was trying to understand. “Because Bakugou asked you not to?”
Midoriya shrugged. “Yeah, it clearly means a lot to him.”
Shinsou turned to Momo, shock and the slightest bit of fear on his face. “And you want him angry?”
Momo sighed. Clearly Shinsou realized what would happen. “I don’t want him angry, but I need him no longer in the dark, and this way I can minimize the repercussions so none of us get in trouble.”
Shinsou stared at her. “So you don’t agree with what happened?”
Momo shook her head, gesturing to the dorms around them. “I don’t think any of us do.”
Midoriya started breathing faster. “What happened? You’re concerning me!”
Shinsou turned back to Midoriya. “I can help, you’ll be able to see everything while you’re brainwashed. Do you give me permission to brainwash you?”
Midoriya nodded, turning determined. “Yes, I do.”
Shinsou took him under. Momo quick turned on the TV, pressing play on what she had already queued up.
Midoriya couldn’t look away, but Momo could see from the way his hands started to shake that he was seeing what was in front of him.
It didn’t pass Momo’s notice that Shinsou turned away from the TV, either. She supposed with a quirk like his, some people didn’t care.
“What’s going on?”
Momo turned to see Kendou standing in the doorway, Monoma right behind her. Right, sparring session time. At least she can help contain Midoriya. “Hello, Kendou.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I hope you don’t mind I brought Monoma? I figured he’d be an interesting opponent to spar with.”
Momo shrugged, keeping an eye on Midoriya. “I don’t mind, but the two of you may have to help me contain Midoriya here in a second.”
Kendou frowned, taking in what was playing on the TV. “What are you—“
Monoma took in a shaky breath next to her.
Kendou’s face immediately turned to worry for her friend. “Oh, Monoma come here.”
Momo winced. “Oh Monoma—“
CRASH
Midoriya burst for the door, One For All clearly running at at least 90%. Momo lunged for him, managing to push him away from the door temporarily, but then he—
—was encased by Kendou’s hands, as Shinsou attempted to help Monoma calm down in the background.
Kendou grinned. “I see why you need my help.”
Momo smiled at her before turning to the escapee. “Midoriya, please calm down.”
Midoriya’s eyes glowed a terrifying green. “I am calm.”
Momo raised an eyebrow. “Are you calm enough to help Shinsou deal with Monoma’s panic attack?”
Midoriya began to blink out of One For All. “Oh. Here.”
Kendou released her hands, leaving Midoriya to walk over to Shinsou and Monoma.
Midoriya sat next to them. “Hey, we won’t let them do it to you.”
Momo joined him, Kendou following her. “We won’t let it happen to anyone ever again.”
Midoriya tapped Monoma’s knee. “What are five things you can see?”
Monoma glared at Midoriya.
Midoriya pouted. “Don’t glare at me, it’s a reasonable question!”
Kendou leaned forwards, squeezing Monoma’s arm without restraining him. “Are you feeling better?”
Monoma nodded, clearly not feeling up to talking yet. He patted Shinsou’s hand in thanks.
Momo turned to Midoriya. “Midoriya, I am going to call out the entire administration and the audience in my speech at the upcoming Sports Festival. Is that alright with you?”
A spark of One For All reappeared in his eyes. “Yes. Let me know if you need anything.”
Shinsou turned to the two of them. “You’re all very serious about this.”
Momo frowned. “Well, yes. We will not let this happen again, to any of us. We followed the teachers last time, and Bakugou was treated unfairly. We will not let it happen again.”
Monoma nodded, speaking in a shaky voice. “Good. Even you lot don’t deserve it.”
Shinsou turned to him. “You too?”
Momo winced. “I don’t like the implications of that.”
She heard a smash behind her.
Monoma gasped. “Kendou!”
Kendou growled as she stalked back over from the now damaged wall. “My sister would have had their heads on spikes. I will not let this happen again.”
Momo smiled. “I will be right behind you.”
Shinsou tilted his head. “You have experience too?”
Kendou shrugged. “Not me myself, but I live in a vigilante area.”
Monoma and Shinsou both nodded. “Ah.”
Momo watched as Midoriya walked to the kitchen, and quietly stood up to join him.
Midoriya seemed to be doing pretty well for seeing his childhood hero chained by his other childhood hero, but Momo still noticed his hands sparking a bit as he got himself some water.
“Are you alright, Midoriya?”
Midoriya finished pouring his water and then turned, revealing a decisively neutral face. “All Might did nothing.”
Momo nodded. Ah, this. “Yes.”
Midoriya stared into nothing. “…It’s All Might?”
“Yes.”
“But All Might…”
“All Might is a part of it. Even if he didn’t realize it.”
Midoriya looked down at the water in his hands. “…How much do you think he hates All Might now?”
Momo shrugged. “This is Bakugou. He probably doesn’t hate All Might, but he’s probably lost his trust in him, as much as he hates to admit it.”
Midoriya looked up again, and Momo noticed he had tears in his eyes.
His eyes were also full of anger.
“Call them all out.”
“I will.”
Momo took a deep breath. Moment of truth.
“Aizawa-sensei?”
Aizawa-sensei turned to look at her, seeming surprised that she was there. “Yes Yaoyorozu?”
Momo held out her paper. “Could you approve my speech? For the Sports Festival?”
Aizawa-sensei raised an eyebrow as he took it. “I can, but why me?”
Momo smiled, gesturing to the paper. “Because I trust you.”
He looked down, and his face went blank.
Momo shifted as she waited for him to finish reading. She knew nothing terrible would happen, even if Aizawa-sensei didn’t approve, but those words needed to be spoken.
After what felt like the longest two minutes of her life, Aizawa-sensei sighed as he set down the paper.
He ran a hand through his hair. “…I see.”
Momo winced. “Yeah.”
Aizawa-sensei nodded at the page. “You make some very good points.”
Momo hid a smile. “Thank you.”
Aizawa-sensei looked at her. It felt like he stared into her soul.
“Well, I will report to the faculty that your speech is approved.”
Momo immediately bowed. “Thank you Aizawa-sensei!”
Aizawa-sensei waved her off. “It’s the least I can do.”
Momo smiled at him as he handed the paper back to her. “I mean it.”
He shook his head slightly. “…You all deserve better.”
Momo shrugged. “Maybe with most of the staff, that is the case, but I think we landed the best homeroom teacher we could have gotten.”
Aizawa-sensei smiled. “Thank you.”
Momo grinned at him. “Thank you.”
Momo knocked on Bakugou’s dorm room.
Normally, such an act would be considered a suicide attempt, but Momo got along rather well with Bakugou, so she figured she didn’t have much to worry about.
There were faint sounds of movement from within.
Momo leaned forwards a bit. “Bakugou?”
The boy in question opened the door, in his typical slightly unbuttoned shirt and slacks, only this time with pencil smudges on his hands. “Yes?”
Momo held out the paper. “Would you mind looking over my speech for the Sports Festival?”
Bakugou raised an eyebrow. “You do realize I winged mine?”
Momo chuckled. “Yes, but I would like your approval, and to know any changes you would prefer.”
Bakugou rolled his eyes but took the paper. He quickly scanned it before he got extremely tense as he read it through.
To be fair, that was an understandable reaction.
Bakugou finished, waving the paper a bit. “…What is this?”
“It’s my speech.”
Bakugou looked up at her, seemingly appalled. “You’re going to say this?”
Momo nodded. “Aizawa-sensei approved it.”
Bakugou stared down at the paper again. “…Do you really mean this shit?”
Momo smiled at him. “Yes. I believe you’ll find that the rest of the class shares the same opinion as me.”
Bakugou got tenser. “…Even Deku?”
Momo straightened up. “I forced him to watch the awards ceremony, so he would not be caught off guard.”
Bakugou straightened up as well. “Forced?”
“He said he promised you he would not watch it willingly, and as much as he wanted to, he would not betray that promise.”
Bakugou stared back down at the paper.
Momo somewhat got it. Bakugou and Midoriya’s relationship was complicated, to say the least. No one really got it.
Bakugou scoffed and thrust the paper back at her. “He’s too nice to me.”
Momo shrugged as she took the paper. “Maybe so, but given that he seems to be the only reason the net kindness you have been shown is not zero, I think that’s alright. You are changing.”
Bakugou raised an eyebrow in challenge. “For the better?”
Momo met his gaze. “I believe so.”
“…Thank you.”
Momo smiled, knowing just how much it meant that Bakugou said that. “You’re welcome.”
Bakugou waved at her as he went back into his room. “You can say it, I don’t mind. Only thing that might help your case is looking up the sludge villain.”
Momo frowned and quickly pulled out her phone to do so. You didn’t just disregard advice from Bakugou—
Oh.
That explained Bakugou’s aversion to ties and doing the top buttons of his shirt.
That—
Oh.
Oh that was bad.
Momo understood Midoriya’s rage.
“Oi! Deku!”
Izuku startled and turned to see Kacchan approaching him. He thought to what might have happened lately that would mean Kacchan needed his help with anything.
“Yes Kacchan?”
Kacchan stopped, shifting a bit. “…Yaoyorozu said you kept your promise.”
Oh. That’s what this was about.
Izuku winced. “…I did watch it.”
Kacchan shook his head. “Not willingly.”
Izuku stared at him. That day he made the promise—“You were scared, weren’t you? When you saw me that day?”
Kacchan didn’t meet his eyes. “Yes.”
Izuku pressed. “Of the teachers?”
“…Yes.”
Izuku took a deep breath. "Kacchan?"
Did he really want to ask this question?
“Yes?”
“Do you trust All Might with me?”
Kacchan made eye contact. “…with your education? Yes. With your wellbeing? No.”
Izuku nodded. “Thank you for telling me.”
Kacchan waved as he left. “See you.”
He muttered something that sounded a lot like Izuku.
Izuku fought tears as he waved back. “See you Kacchan.”
The whole class was silent.
They all loitered around, waiting for the call to go onto the arena floor. It was the same as their first year, the only difference being that Aizawa-sensei actually joined them here this year.
Everyone was nervous, that much was easy to tell. No one knew what to say. They all knew what they were dreading.
Momo took a deep breath. She had slightly modified her speech, and gotten the secondary approval from Aizawa-sensei. He had been confused as to what she meant, but he had assumed that Bakugou had trauma already.
Now Aizawa-sensei was even angrier than before at their treatment.
Oops.
She currently stood next to Jirou and Uraraka. Uraraka was clearly excited for what Momo’s speech had in store.
Midoriya stuck with Todoroki, the two of them slightly leaning on each other. Bakugou seemed distracted by Kirishima and Kaminari’s silent antics, but he and Sero were subtly watching each other’s backs.
No one stood alone.
Aizawa-sensei sighed and caused everyone to turn to him. “Well, I know what happened at your Sports Festival last year. You all have my full permission to cause chaos and get the hell out of there if need be.”
Satou grinned. “Thank you Aizawa-sensei!”
Kaminari fist pumped. “Thanks sensei!”
Bakugou rolled his eyes. “You’re nice.”
Momo laughed but nodded in agreement. “Yes you are.”
Aizawa-sensei rolled his eyes at the two of them. “Thank you, Bakugou, Yaoyorozu.”
Shouji spoke up. “Aizawa-sensei, what teachers will be involved this year?”
Aizawa waved a hand. “The same ones that were last year, with the exception that I will be here, behind the scenes, and sitting with you in the student section, instead of helping announce.”
Tsu smiled. “Thank you Aizawa-sensei.”
Iida turned to the rest of the class. “We can do this! Together!”
Tokoyami nodded. “Together.”
Hagakure and Ashido jumped up and down. “Together!”
Bakugou sighed. “We’ll blow them out of the fucking water.”
Midoriya grinned and his eyes sparked. “I’ll destroy anyone that hurts us.”
Kaminari laughed. “I believe it!”
They laughed as they started heading out, filled with hope and determination.
Uraraka tapped Momo’s shoulder, grinning. “Are you ready for your speech, Momo?”
Momo grinned back. “Yes, I do think I am.”
Bakugou nudged his shoulder against hers. “You’ve got this, brainiac.”
Momo smiled at him, not missing the nickname change. “Thank you, Bakugou-kun.”
Bakugou-kun raised an eyebrow but didn’t demand she call him something different.
Itsuka perked up when she saw Class 2-A approaching.
Thank goodness, nothing had already gone wrong so early.
She stood and waved. “Iida!”
Iida grinned and hurried to sit next to her. “Kendou! How is your class?”
Itsuka laughed and sat down. “We’re doing well! How about you?”
Iida shrugged. “We’re doing alright. Nervous, of course.”
Itsuka smiled. They really shouldn’t have to account for this. “Of course. Have you made preparations?”
Iida nodded, straightening up. “Of course.”
A blonde, Itsuka thinks it's Kaminari, sat behind Iida and hung on his shoulder. “What preparations, class president?”
Kaibara leaned over across a near asleep Monoma to reach Itsuka. “Yeah, what do you mean, Kendou?”
Iida huffed. “We simply are prepared to prevent certain things from happening again this year.”
Tsuburaba and Kamakiri joined Kaibara in eyeing Itsuka. Itsuka nodded in confirmation of Iida’s words.
Kamakiri shifted in his seat a bit. “…I appreciate that.”
A girl with purple hair (Jirou?) nodded. “Thanks, really.”
Momo smiled. “Thank you, Iida, Kendou.”
Honenuki nodded. “Nice work.”
Itsuka bowed slightly to her classmates. “Thank you!”
Iida shook his head. “We should have been prepared last year.”
Itsuka hit his shoulder. “You didn’t even know last year.”
Iida glared. “I should have suspected, like you.”
Itsuka raised an eyebrow. “I got a head start.”
Bakugou groaned from near Momo. “Shut up. You’re doing great this year.”
Iida smiled fondly. “Thank you, Bakugou.”
Itsuka made to say something else, but fell silent when Cementoss approached. Everyone turned on edge.
Cementoss waved a hand. “Yaoyorozu?”
Momo stood. “Ah yes, my speech. I’m coming.”
Itsuka watched her leave, standing strong despite Cementoss’s presence by her side.
A brunette girl (Uraraka? Maybe?) laughed. “This will be interesting.”
Bakugou snorted. “Sure will, pink cheeks.”
Itsuka settled in to watch, smiling in anticipation.
Momo reminded herself to take deep breaths as Present Mic-sensei finished announcing her.
“Now introducing, for our introductory speech of our second years’ Sports Festival, top student of Class 2-A, Yaoyorozu Momo!”
Momo started to walk up the steps to the podium, only briefly meeting Midnight-sensei on the way.
She smiled. “Good luck girl!”
Momo smiled back and nodded in acknowledgement.
You won’t be thinking that soon enough, she thought.
She reached the top, and stepped up to the microphone. She knew that she looked a lot better that Bakugou-kun did the year before. A lot more put together.
She smiled.
“Thank you Present Mic-sensei, for that introduction.”
“First off,” Momo declared, “I would like to say that to anyone that encourages my opponents to not give me a fair fight will face the wrath of Uraraka, who had that happen to her last year and is very angry about it.”
Absolute silence. The stadium stared at her in shock.
Uraraka has clamped a hand over her mouth in the student seats. Many others were also trying to keep it together.
Bakugou-kun was smiling. Not smirking, but smiling.
Momo took a deep breath.
“Secondly, if anyone—anyone—decides to put a child in chains and a muzzle and restraints that due to the nature of the child’s quirk actively harm the child, especially if that child already has PTSD around restraints and suffocation, because of something as simple as that child not thinking they deserve a medal and refusing, which you had previously let other participants do—“
Momo leaned into the microphone. “You will learn exactly why Bakugou-kun is the “least likely to break the law” out of class 2-A.”
More silence. Momo could see Midnight-sensei watching on in horror.
Aizawa-sensei looked proud.
“In fact,” she continued, “that goes for anyone that resorts to using restraints instead of talking down someone upset. Especially anything that involves displaying said breach of human decency rather than acknowledging the child’s wishes.”
The audience was uncomfortable. Momo knew it.
She just didn’t care.
Cementoss-sensei made to approach the stage, only to be stopped by Present Mic-sensei holding an arm out.
Momo breathed.
“Three, this little thing, is for us students to show off who we are and what we’ve learned. If you think that this is solely for your own enjoyment, you are wrong. If you don’t think anything was wrong about perpetrating sexist values or cheering for the vilification of a traumatized sixteen year old who just wanted a fair fight, then fuck you.”
A ripple went through the crowd. Momo did not care.
All Might-sensei was beginning to look angry.
“Last year,”—she stared her teacher down—“Todoroki-kun was dealing with trauma of his own and was unable to give a fair fight. We do not foresee any such issues happening this year, but students, know that us hero course students will be on the lookout for anyone that needs to step aside for a moment to calm down. Please do not hesitate to come to us for help or support if the need arises.”
Momo could see Kendou and Iida turning to the other second year classes and giving thumbs up. Shinsou waved back, prompting a lot of other students to do the same.
Momo let a savage grin split her face. “Now I plan on winning this thing, fair and square. I challenge you to prove otherwise.”
She turned to the camera filming the event. She could tell they didn’t know what to do with her attention.
“However, make no mistake. Last year, we were lost and confused. We followed the lead of the teachers because we thought they were in the right.”
She could almost feel the anger of her class.
“We,” Momo growled, “have no such presumptions this year.”
Silence echoed across the entire stadium.
Momo smiled her best press smile. “May the best student win!”
An absolute roar of applause rung out, bouncing around the stadium. Momo felt a twist of satisfaction as she realized that it was almost entirely from the students, with a few scattered audience members screaming as well.
The silence of most of the audience was suffocated by the elation over Momo’s speech.
Momo looked to her class, seeing them cheering. Even Bakugou-kun was screaming.
Aizawa-sensei smirked at her.
Momo grinned and headed past a still silent Midnight-sensei and towards the stairs.
Katsuki walked with his classmates into the halls of the stadium, on their way to their first event. Aizawa-sensei walked alongside them as Iida led them to where they were supposed to go.
Unfortunately, someone was in the way.
“Ah, students!”
Iida smiled at the front. “All Might-sensei.”
Uraraka frowned from next to him. “Yagi-sensei. We need to get to the first event.”
Katsuki fought the urge to step between them and All Might, as well as the urge to step back and disappear into the crowd of students.
Sero knocked shoulders with him, clearly as tense as he was.
Damn, Sero was a good friend.
All Might chuckled. “I wanted to ask you all about that speech!”
Ashido crossed her arms. “Why?”
Kiri smiled. “Yaoyorozu made things quite clear, I believe.”
All Might laughed. “Do you really believe that?”
Ojiro frowned. “Of course we do.”
All Might tutted. “Now young Ojiro—”
Uraraka shifted into a subtle ready stance. “I’m surprised you know his name.”
Izu Deku whipped around to face her. “Uraraka!”
Yaoyorozu spoke up. “Can you make your point, Yagi-sensei?”
All Might looked taken aback. “I was just saying, young Yaoyorozu, you could have chosen another way to get your point across.”
Katsuki watched as Yaoyorozu’s body language changed to pure rage.
“Would it have been one,” she drawled, “that people would listen to? There’s not normally a nationally watched event. We need to get people to realize that we’re just kids.”
All Might frowned. “Young Yaoyorozu, you signed up to be a hero. If you can’t handle that—”
Katsuki almost stepped in. How dare he—
“I could have been anyone I wanted,” Yaoyorozu hissed, “I’m rich, beautiful, smart. I have access to resources that you could only dream about. But I chose to be a hero. To help people. To go to a good school, with good teachers.”
She stepped right in front of All Might, pointing a finger into his chest. “You, Yagi-sensei? You’re not what I signed up for.”
All Might was silent for a beat. “And you all went along with this?”
Katsuki couldn’t take it anymore. “Don’t act like you care.”
All Might’s head whipped to him. “Young Bakugou?”
Sero nudged his hand with his own. He could feel the class’s gazes.
It wasn’t like last time.
“The only person you care about here is Midoriya, and that’s because you’ve put all your efforts into making him the best vessel for your whims that he can be.”
All Might's eyes sparked with anger. “Bakugou—”
Izu Deku The Dumbass stepped in front of him. “It’s fine, Yagi-sensei, they know a lot of it. I trust them.”
All Might reached out his hand, still angry. “Young Midoriya.”
Katsuki slipped around the dumbass. “Stay away from him.”
Alll Might sighed. “Now Bakugou, this is why—”
“If the next words that come out of your mouth are blaming him for this school’s shitty actions your death will be greatly accelerated.”
Katsuki didn’t dare close his eyes, but the sound of Aizawa-sensei’s voice interfering sent such strong relief through him that he almost did.
Iida redirected All Might's attention. "Yagi-sensei…I respected you. A lot. But you didn’t tell Midoriya’s mother for a reason. Unintentionally or not, you provided ideal grooming conditions to gain control of him. No parents, no classmates to let in on his role as your heir. No one to find out. No one to help. Even Bakugou can only do so much.”
“You joined U.A. not for the next generation of heroes,” Uraraka sighed, patronizing. Disappointed. “You joined to continue your legacy. To make sure the child that you groomed and manipulated is constantly in your vicinity. You played--preyed--on his unhealthy obsession with you and created this… soldier.”
Todoroki stepped forwards as well, slightly leaning into Katsuki’s side like Sero would. “My father… he saw you as a hurdle. Someone to beat. He created me to beat you… but at least he didn’t create me to die.”
Katsuki could feel the dumb- Izuku shaking behind him.
Wow, do they have issues.
All Might frowned at them. “I did not intend to do any of that.”
Sero came up on Katsuki’s other side, making it easy for Katsuki to step slightly in front of Todoroki as well as Izuku. He nodded to Sero, letting Sero lean on him as much as he did back.
“You did it anyways,” Yaoyorozu scoffed, “and we simply will no longer stand for it.”
Sero snorted. “Sure, Midnight and Cementoss were the worst of you lot, and certainly fucked up at least Bakugou and I, but you weren’t much better. I mean, you did nothing to help.”
All Might bristled. Katsuki was impressed by Sero’s ability to act collected. “He was acting out of control!”
“Dude,” Sero rolled his eyes, “that was a panic attack. You know, a response that—as a hero—you should be trained to recognize?”
Ojiro nodded. “It’s true.”
All Might turned to Katsuki again. “Young Bakugou—”
Katsuki rolled his eyes as well. “What do you think happens when you restrain a child? When traumatized villains—people who have seen the worst of humanity—look at the screen and see the number one hero giving their student a panic attack on live TV?”
All Might finally fell silent, Class 2-A holding strong as Aizawa-sensei stood next to them, capture scarf at the ready.
Yaoyozoru glared. “I would suggest you get out of the way, All Might.”
Man, Yaoyozoru had simply lost all fear today, hadn’t she?
All Might tried one last time. “Yao—”
She glared, looking for all the world like she was about to spontaneously develop Aizawa-sensei’s quirk. “No.”
All Might walked away, looking back every few seconds only to see nearly the entire class still glaring at him, unmoving.
He finally dissappeared, and one by one they all fell back into resting positions.
Aizawa-sensei sighed. “Alright, we’re not doing that again. Next teacher to do that just gets beat up.”
Hagakure burst out laughing. “Sensei, you’re the best!”
Katsuki’s hands were still shaking when they walked into the event waiting room.
Sero knocked shoulders with him, also still clearly having chills. “Do you need to step out?”
“No, it’s just a lot. You?”
“Same. We’ve got this.”
Iida waved to Kendou as they entered. She immediately rushed over to them.
“Is everything alright? You’re late.”
Iida opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Hagakure. “We got cornered by All Might.”
Kendou frowned. “What?”
Iida gave a nervous chuckle. “We’re fine, we kind of tore into him.”
Kouda smiled before signing, Not literally, unfortunately.
The A kids and a fair amount of others burst into laughter.
Kendou sighed. “Well, you got out.”
Iida nodded. “Yes, thankfully. Any trouble on your end?”
Kendou shrugged. “Midnight looked like she was about to start something with the gen ed students, but Shinsou started a conversation with her, which honestly calmed everyone to know that he could prevent her from gassing us if need be. And Cementoss tried with us, but I just told him to fuck off before Honenuki lost control of his quirk.”
Katsuki let himself drift away from most of the group to where Izuku was standing, watching the countdown above the door to the arena.
Katsuki knocked shoulders with him like Sero always did. “Well?”
Izuku turned to him. “We’re fucked up.”
Katsuki snorted. “Yeah, and it’s their fault.”
They both turned to the timer. It had about fifteen seconds left.
Izuku knocked shoulders back. “I can’t wait to fuck shit up.”
Katsuki let his hand knock Izuku’s.
Izuku took it.
8 seconds.
Sero and Todoroki appeared on either side of them. Sero slung an arm around Katsuki.
7.
Yaoyorozu joined them, a now typical savage grin on her face.
6.
Uraraka and Ashido appeared, Kaminari and Satou soon after.
5.
Kirishima, Kouda, and Tokoyami joined them.
4.
Shouji, Ojiro, Jirou, and Hagakure gathered round.
3.
Asui and Aoyama.
2.
Iida finally finished talking with Kendou.
1.
Aizawa-sensei signed, Good luck.
0.