The sportsfestival was over and classes continued like normal. Well, that was the case for almost everyone. Izuku glanced up as Iida entered the classroom, quickly looking away again. The Hero Killer injured his older brother during the sportsfestival. While they were celebrating, he was standing at his hospital bed. Ingenium would probably never walk again... He'll never be a hero again...
Izuku clenched his fists, frowning. He couldn't imagine what kind of effect this had on his friend. If this had happened to one of his siblings... He took a deep breath. All he could do for now was support him, make sure that Iida knew he was there for him if he wanted to talk.
"Everyone in your seats" Aizawa muttered as he crawled up from his sleeping bag right after the bell rang. People were quick to move, everyone sitting down only a few seconds after.
"The sportsfestival has ended. You all did well" he sighed.
"Now, some of you were noticed by one or more hero agencies. Here are the number of requests per person"
A list was projected onto the board, eyes darting all around it to look for their own name and the names of the most popular people.
Todoroki got the most requests, even though he ended in second place. Izuku could already see Kacchan fuming in the seat in front of him, giving it a small chuckle. The ash blonde had given him an earful about pacifying him after the festival ended and he was still kinda pissed off about it. Izuku didn't like to use the word 'fight' for whatever tension was between them right now. But that didn't mean Kacchan wasn't any less angry with him.
"Even those of you who didn't get any requests will go on an internship. The school provides standard offers from agencies who are always willing to accept students. I want your top three choices by the end of the week" Aizawa stated, placing a bunch of papers on his desk.
"If I call your name, come and get the list of requests that are available to you"
And so they discussed and compared their requests for the rest of homeroom, looking over their options and gushing over heroes.
"So who did you get Kacchan?" Izuku asked, trying to peek over his shoulder, only for Katsuki to shift and turn so Izuku couldn't see. The green head pouted, leaning back in his chair again. Yep, Kacchan was definitely still angry with him... Guess it's understandable, seeing as he used one of his quirks on him against his will.
"Did the two of you have a fight or something?" Uraraka asked as she and Asui approached his table. Ugh, there was that word he didn't want to use...
"Yeah, something like that..." Izuku sighed, quickly forcing a smile on his face.
"So what kind of offers did you get?"
"I wanna go with this one" Uraraka stated, putting her list on the table and pointing at one of the names.
"Gunhead? Isn't he a combat hero? I thought you wanted to become a rescue hero?" Izuku asked, confused.
"True, but that doesn't mean I should slack off on my combat skills! You never know what's going to happen out in the field, right?" she reacted, seemingly determined to see this through.
"What about you, Tsu?"
"Oh, I'd like to go somewhere with a lot of water" she explained.
"Marine based? I think there are a few of those between the standard picks as well" Izuku said, quickly looking through his own requests to show her.
"Yes, I'm going to look into those and the ones I got requested through the sportsfestival. Ribbit" she answered.
"Do you know where you'll be following your internship, Midoriya?"
"Oh, I, uh, I haven't really decided yet... There are so many amazing heroes on this list and they all have their own unique skills and specializations and I just can't pick just one, you know?" Izuku chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. Maybe it was All For One speaking, but he really had a hard time picking one of so many. So many quirks, so many ways to use them. It was kinda overwhelming, to be honest...
He wished he was able to talk about those feelings with someone, but the only one who knew, the only one who ever came close to understanding him...wasn't talking to him. It's his own fault for using his quirk on Kacchan, but there is nothing Izuku could do about it now. He tried apologizing, but Katsuki's stubborn ass won't accept it.
Guess he could always talk about this with his dad when he came home, right? He'll probably understand what he was feeling and help him make the right decision. Yeah, his dad... It made him think back to the sportsfestival, when he heard his voice in his head during his match with Shinsou. It was impossible his dad actually established that link with him since the only quirk Hisashi had left was fire breathing.
Izuku himself had never been able to receive thoughts from other people. He wasn't a telepath. Those quirks were extremely rare and were mostly scouted out by secret agencies when the users were still very young. It's one of the more...inhumane sides of this quirk based society. He hadn't told his dad about it, he hadn't really told anyone about it. Could it have been a glitch or something? One of his quirks acting up in a way it hadn't done before? Or a subconscious fraction of imagination? Just an illusion?
Izuku didn't know what to think about it but he wanted to figure it out on his own, or at least have some kind of idea what was wrong with him before he was going to worry his parents.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out Deku-kun! You always do" Uraraka smiled. Izuku heard Kacchan growl at that, even if he wasn't sure it was at Uraraka or if the timing was just a coincidence. He'd been quietly looking over his requests and Izuku didn't know whether or not he was listening in on them or not.
Before Izuku could answer Ochako, the bell rang, signalling the end of their homeroom period. Everyone started packing up their things and began walking out, onto their next class. Katsuki kept his distance from Izuku the entire day, not saying a word to him even when they fought in training that afternoon. It was scary to see Kacchan so silent during battle, quietly strategizing and not yelling and shouting at every turn. He was swift and merciless and performed just as good as normal.
Was the whole 'DIE' thing an astheatic or something? No, he was driven by anger and victory, wanting to smash his opponents at every turn. Maybe he was just so livid with Izuku that yelling was unnecessary? Just dead focus. Well, Izuku certainly did get his ass handed to him, he'll have to give him that.
"Are you alright Midoriya? You've been spacing out"
"Ah, Iida-kun! No, don't worry, I'm fine" Izuku smiled, now noticing he was the only one left in the changing room with his full hero outfit on. Most people already left and those who were still here were just finishing off. Had he really been spacing out that long?!
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow" Iida answered before leaving.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Izuku yelled after him, waving a little before he started getting changed as well. Damnit Kacchan... This fight really was messing with him... It wasn't all that surprising that Izuku was the last one out of the changing room. He didn't exactly hurry since this was their last period and he probably already missed the train home so he'll have to wait a bit to catch the next one.
So he strolled out of the building, looking down at the ground as he held onto the straps of his bag. He should talk to his dad about the internships and also about hearing his voice during the sportsfestival. He'll know what's happening, right? If it was related to All For One, he must know what was going on...
"Took you long enough, shitty nerd"
Izuku looked up in shock and surprised, seeing Kacchan lean against the gate of UA with a stoic expression on his face, simply staring forward without making eye contact.
"K-Kacchan..?"
"We're never gonna be able to catch the train due to your slow ass" he continued, tilting his head so he was looking at Izuku.
"Y-you... You waited for me..?" Izuku asked, a smile tugging on his lips as tears started to rise to his eyes.
"Tch, you're such a fucking crybaby" Katsuki scoffed, pushing himself off the wall.
"Come on, get a move on before we miss the next train home"
"Y-yes Kacchan!"
Izuku was so happy! It seemed like Kacchan had finally forgiven him! Why? He had no clue, but he wasn't about to question it either. They talked about their offers and requests, discussing which hero would be best fit to intern under.
"Well, the highest ranking hero that requested me is Best Jeanist" Katsuki mumbled.
"The fact they're ranked higher than someone else doesn't mean they're better for you, Kacchan" Izuku stated, looking at the list as he leaned on Katsuki's shoulder.
"Oh! What about Mirko? You two have similar personalities and fighting style, both very aggressive. I think you could learn a lot from her"
"Mirko huh?" Katsuki hummed, remembering her from when they used to fanboy over every new pro hero and collect all kinds of hero themed cards when they were kids.
Katsuki did look up to her for always being so straight to the point, taking direct action and kicking villain ass. Maybe Deku was right on the mark with this one?
"Yeah, I'll look into it... So do you know who you wanna intern with?"
"Ugh, it's so hard to decide!" Izuku whined, kicking his legs back and forth, pouting a bit. It reminded Katsuki of a little kid.
It was pretty adorable in a way, actually. Well, if it weren't for the fact they were sitting on the train, in public, and everyone was looking at them.
"There are so many amazing heroes with amazing quirks and they're all just so appealing, you know?"
"Ah, so that's it huh?" Katsuki sighed, having a feeling that had something to do with it.
Izuku's urge to steal One For All had dispersed to stealing any quirk at all. All For One was meant to take and give quirks and he wasn't doing any of that, so it wasn't abnormal Izuku would feel the effects of that. But he couldn't just go around stealing people's quirks! He didn't want that! But his quirk did...and it was getting rather annoying. Like an itch you can't scratch.
"I'm the worst, aren't I?" Izuku pouted.
"Wanting to take away such a precious gift from someone... It's just not fair"
"It's not something you can help" Katsuki sighed.
"I mean, Toga wants to fucking cut everyone she likes open. That's super messed up, you know? But it's what her quirk drives her to do"
"There is no cure or medication for my urges though" Izuku muttered, looking at the ground.
"I just... I'm scared that if I go on an internship, I'll lose control of myself... What if I take someone's quirk away by accident Kacchan? What if I hurt someone?"
They were making sure no one could hear them, their voices barely a whisper at this point.
"That's not gonna fucking happen so quit worrying about it, you damn nerd" Katsuki said.
"You have perfect control, remember? It's all just in your head, you stupid overthinker"
"Y-yeah, I guess you're right..." Izuku said, forcing a small smile. It was foolish to think Kacchan would understand... But it was nice to be able to talk about it, to let someone know he was struggling even if they couldn't help him. Because he knew Kacchan would always have his back, no matter what.
"Of course I'm right" Katsuki smirked, giving Izuku a playful shove.
"Come on, we're at our stop"
Izuku blinked, looking out the window. He hadn't noticed so much time had passed by already! He quickly got up and followed Kacchan out the train, walking home together like they always did.
"Bye Kacchan, I'll see you tomorrow!" Izuku smiled, waving the ash blonde goodbye as he split up from his childhood friend, taking a turn that Katsuki didn't have to take to get home. They only lived about a block away from each other though, so they never walked much alone.
"Yeah, see you later nerd" Katsuki replied, already walking off to his own home, not even looking back on the green head.
Ah, it's always been like this, hasn't it? It made Izuku smile a little, knowing they'll repeat the same pattern tomorrow...