Kapitel 5: (Sticks & Stones)

"So how long have you all known each other?" Uraraka's curious eyes danced over the group of friends as the laughter died down. They had just finished watching a few vines Uraraka whipped out to show.

Karma hummed at the question, tapping his chin as he played with his ice cream spoon. "Well, I've known Nagisa for… I'd say, two years? Maybe three?"

Nagisa hummed in agreement, taking a bite from his ice cream. Rio nodded and pointed to Izuku with her thumb, "They've known me and Izukun for only a year though."

"Well, I've seen Izukun around school before last year—we were...both kind of the quiet, 'I'll-sit-in-the-corner-by-myself' type." Nagisa shrugged while Izuku nodded with an awkward chuckle.

Ko and Roka uncoiled from Nagisa's hair and nudged the boy when he raised his own ice cream-filled spoon to his mouth. They kept nudging his cheeks when he wouldn't acknowledge them, already used to their attention-seeking antics before they both hissed at him. That was enough to drag out a long, resigned sigh before raising the spoon for his snakes to dance their prong-tipped tongues along it before putting it in his own mouth—he blinked, noticing a silence fall over the table and he raised his eyes up, spoon still in his mouth.

Why was...everyone staring at him. Well, Karma looked smug—normal—and Rio was smiling at the two reptiles (who seemed pleased with snagging a taste from the dairy meal)—again, normal. She loved the darling snakes, as did Izuku (well, he liked to ask questions about them which eventually turned into friend questions like, 'does Roka like different things from Ko? How do they feel about strawberries versus kiwis? Do they still eat things like mice even though they share your body's nutrients?'). It was Uraraka and Iida whose curious stares made Nagisa's cheeks burn and that was enough to ignore the subtle churning in his stomach.

He popped the spoon out of his mouth awkwardly. "Is...there something wrong?"

The two immediately began sputtering and waving their hands back and forth in alarm. "N-no, no, not at all!"

"It's just- we're just kinda curious about your quirk, is all!"

A look of relief softened the blue haired boy's features, relaxing his shoulders and he could taste the air through Roka's curious flicks of her tongue. "Oh, okay! Ah, what is it you want to know?"

"Your quirk reminds me of the Pro Hero Uwabami!" Uraraka noted, her fingers tapped together while her eyes sparkled. "But they seem sentient- er, I mean, like, they have minds of their own, you know?"

Nagisa smiled and nodded. "You're right, they do. Their nervous systems are connected to mine, which lets me feel and sense what they sense and vice versa, but they have more advanced brains than most other snakes so they're able to experience human emotions and have more complicated thoughts and desires and such. Because of that, they've both grown to have their own personalities and interests too. The only thing, I can't read their minds, and we're all synced into each others' emotions, but we each perceive it in different ways." He smiled proudly—he's had practice refining his answering skills with Izuku and Kaede's perceptive questions in the past.

Uraraka's hands clapped together. "That. Is so. Cool! So, like, I'm guessing you're shooting to be, like, a search and rescue hero like Uwabami is?"

The ex-assassin paused, blinking. A hum passed his throat as he sat back in his seat. Huh. He hadn't really thought of what sort of hero he wanted to be? He remembered Korosensei and a few other classmates suggest being a Recon hero once or twice. Underground heroes were close to that too. He supposed his snakes could help that just like the Pro Uwabami, but… he felt it'd be a waste of his skills. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Nagisa shook his head.

"...I'm not sure," he answered truthfully. "But I don't think search and rescue fits my other quirk very well."

Iida raised his brow at that.

Izuku's eyes lit up like a star, leaning over the table excitedly. "His quirk is called 'M-Medusa's Smile'!! He can paralyze anyone w-who locks eyes with him!"

"Izukuuuun," Nagisa whined with a pouting face. Izuku merely smiled with only a hint of embarrassment and he sat down. Well—it was a bit more complicated than just 'he can paralyze people,' but he didn't want to deal with the odd stares with fully explaining the whole 'instill fear in thine enemies' portion. It was fine how Izuku said it.

"S-sorry! I-I couldn't help myself. Your quirk's just s... so cool."

Pale hands shot up to hide his burning face. How embarrassing —His friends laughed while Iida appeared thoughtful at this. "What an interesting quirk, then!"

"Yeah!" cheered Uraraka. "You could totally use it to stop villains from escaping or attacking people!"

Nagisa uncovered his face a little, sneaking a glance between his fingers.

"I agree," Iida nodded. He smiled encouragingly when he added, "You'd make a good support hero, I believe."

Right.

Only people with 'flashy' quirks get to be the main hero—Nagisa blinked and fought off the urge to grimace, keeping his face delicate and kind. "Maybe," he decided to say instead. He picked at his melting ice cream. His stomach hurt. "It's something to think about."

"What about you two?" Karma pointed with his chin. "What're your quirks?"

"Oh! Mine's 'Zero Gravity'! I can make anything I touch defy gravity." Uraraka snickered and touched all of her fingers to her ice cream container. The ex-assassins squawked at that (sans Izuku, who looked smug at his friends' reactions), mesmerized as they watched it float up. She tapped her fingers together and muttered, "release" before it could turn itself sideways.

"So that's how you got 'infinity' with your throw today!" Iida adjusted his glasses.

"Wait, 'infinity throw'? What the heck goes on in the Hero course?" Rio glanced between the heroes in training with an incredulous expression. Nagisa snickered. "So- wait, were you guys not at the opening ceremony today?"

Uraraka shook her head. "I was so bummed out! We did some quirk assessment thing instead. It was torture , but that's 'Plus Ultra' for you, huh?"

"Our homeroom teacher! H-He's Eraserhead, you know?!" Izuku practically shined in enthusiasm. "Th-the, um, Erasing Hero!"

"No kidding," Karma blinked, appearing genuinely intrigued before he leaned back in his seat, hands tied behind his head. "Are all the teachers here Pros?"

"It seems that way," Iida hummed. "Who's your homeroom teacher?"

Karma shrugged in response. "Some hero I'm sure Izukun's heard of, but I've never heard of him. He's… literally called 'Business Guy'. That's his hero name. Wanna know his real name? Guy Business. Either way, he told us to call him Business-sensei. Couldn't joke about that if I tried."

The table fell silent.

"What."

"Same. What about you, Rio?"

"Oh! My teacher, he's—" Rio paused to think, humming. "Kinda strict, but he means well. He's 'Power Loader,' did you know? Majima-sensei's pretty cool. He says he's gonna try and get us out of our comfort zone with gadgets and stuff, but I think I'm more suited for costume-making and that stuff."

"Really? That's so cool!" Uraraka clapped. "Is that 'cause of your quirk?"

Rio nodded with a hum. "Yep! My quirk's called 'Fiber Craft.' It's kinda like the Best Jeanist, but, like. Hm. Here, let me show you!" Her blue eyes swung to Nagisa and he almost choked on his ice cream, knowing exactly what that look entailed. He gulped and shook his head, mock-pleadingly.

"Rio, no… Rio, we've been over this."

"Aw, come on! Have a little trust, Nagichan !" Rio rose from her seat and Nagisa copied her, ready to dart at a moment's notice. "Come ooon, I won't do anything mischievous."

"Just looking at me like that is mischievous! I said no!"

"Fine, I won't change what you're wearing, but at least let me change the style! You said you wished the uniform had a vest style, right?"

Nagisa groaned and fell back into his seat, crossing his arms with a pout. "Fine, but I swear, if you touch a fiber on my pants, I'm suing your family for the next five generations."

Rio gave a hauntingly chipper laugh that sent chills of regret down the small teen's spine. "Of course, my dearest Nagichan !" The boy rolled his eyes as the blonde moved behind him and instantly called for his jacket fibers, reshaping the UA uniform to look more like a fitted vest. She signed her name on the front of it with string, adding a tiny heart next to it. Clapping her hands, she posed to showcase her newest reinvention. "Ta-da! Don't worry, I'll change it back in a sec. But that's basically what I can do! I can create or reshape pre-existing clothing into something completely different. I can even change the color and stuff, but if I wanna add more or anything, I'll need extra material at hand already."

"That's such a useful skill," Uraraka beamed. "Will you be making any future costumes for students?"

Sitting down after reassembling Nagisa's uniform to how it was before (she left the signature on the inside), Rio tapped her lips thoughtfully. "Hmm, I think we'll be given 'updating' privileges later. Like, if any of you heroes damage your costumes, we'll be patching them up! And I think I heard a classmate say something about creating new costumes from design choices for the hero course next year. I think they're being done by 2nd and 3rd years right now." Rio smirked at Izuku. "So you better not go damaging other people's hard work, you dork. Ya hear, 'One Punch Boy'?"

Izuku laughed nervously, eyeing Rio dangerously as if to say, really?? You're gonna say that here?? The mischievous girl merely snickered in response, waving her hand. "I'm only joking… partially."

"Rio!"

They laughed for a moment before Izuku's phone 'dinged.' Pulling it out and reading the text, he gave a huff. "Aw, man. I've gotta- g-gotta go."

"Oh, right, you have that dinner thing, huh?"

"Hmhm. I-I shouldn't panic my mom. I'll s..see you guys tomorrow, yeah?" He rose with his trash, and waved good-bye to his friends before the gravity girl stood up.

"Oh, wait, wait! We should exchange phone numbers! You guys take the train to school, right?"

"Ah, Izukun and I do. I'm not sure about Karma and Rio, though."

"I'm close enough to school to walk," Iida explained and Karma nodded.

"So do I, but we can meet up at the train station anyway."

"Me too," Rio agreed.

"Awesome! Well, here's my number, I-Izukun."

---

"Hey, over here."

Izuku raised his head at the familiarly gruff voice, smiling to see Katsuki nodding to him. Grinning brightly, the freckled teen made his way through the train crowd toward the blond, raising a hand in greeting before sitting beside him.

"Morning, Katsuki! You, um, wouldn't happen to see Nagisa, er, uh, th-the boy I was with, uh, yesterday? Today?" Izuku tilted his head, a hopeful glint in his eye. He tried texting his friend that morning, but didn't get any response. It was even more concerning when he couldn't find him at the train station or in the train either—he texted Nagisa his location despite not receiving a good morning response too. Izuku nervously wrung his hands and swallowed.

Katsuki shook his head with a click of his tongue. "No, why would I care? And also: that was a dude?"

Izuku gave him a flat look and ignored his second question. "Ah. Yeah, I-I guess you wouldn't care. Th-That's alright." He tried not to look too deflated, but it was hard to mask the obvious disappointment. His worried thoughts only managed to stir the already twisting ball of anxiety in his gut further. He hummed pathetically, turning away.

Wait—maybe Ritsu will know something?

"What's got you in a mesh?" Izuku raised his head to see his explosive friend raise a brow at him. The boy self-consciously pushed his bangs behind his left ear and smiled anxiously, shaking his head.

"Uh, i-it's nothing, just—Nagisa's never missed a day of s-school, s..so, I'm sorta worried… He m-must've gotten another train. Yeah, that- that must be it." Still didn't answer why he never responded to any of his texts, though…

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "He's, like, what, fifteen? He can take care of himself, Izuku." The boy didn't seem convinced, but it'd look even more pathetic of him if he argued so he merely swallowed and gave a nod instead then pulled out his phone to open Ritsu's texting app. It was Katsuki's turn to give him a flat look. "Tch, still just a Deku, aren't you?"

"H-huh?"

Katsuki pointed at the phone. "Always caring for people when it ain't any of your business. Seriously, nose out, will ya? You were like that when we were kids too. Drives me nuts, it's so annoying."

Izuku blinked, startled at the admittance. It felt like a shot through his lungs, shuddering the breath from him. Something buzzed inside him, sad and happy all at once, and not at all him— missing his old self he never knew. His smile wobbled, brows furrowing slightly. "R...Really?" He paused, realizing he's never known himself before from anyone else other than his mother. Swallowing, the ex-assassin pulled at the hem of his uniform.

"Um… can I… can I ask you s… something?"

Katsuki eyed him. "...Shoot."

"Oh, um, uh… wha… hmm… wh-what was I like? Um… Y-you know, back… then?"

A blond brow rose again. "Didn't 'Aunt Inko' tell you all that?" (Ah, so he was pushed into the 'aunt' calling game, too…)

Izuku looked away, nodding. "I-I mean, yeah, b-but it's… different. You know how people act di- uh, d-differently around their parents versus o-other, um, people? It's just… I-It's like that."

Katsuki answered with a grunt and Izuku could see from the corner of his eye that he was crossing his arms. He didn't respond for a moment and the shorter boy was about to relent and retract his question, thinking it was stupid of him to ask anyway, until the blond finally spoke, "You were annoying."

"A..Ah…"

"And stupidly optimistic, it made me sick. You always cared about the dumbest things. Even though you weren't strong at all, you'd still stick your dumb neck out for people who didn't even deserve it." He paused, eyes flicking away, then he snorted with a bitter smirk. "One time, you sobbed when you found a snake's shed skin, thinking it was dead. Stupid Deku." Katsuki shook his head.

Izuku couldn't help but laugh a bit loudly at that last part, a hand raising to his mouth after his outburst. "Th-that's… Wow."

"It was freakin' stupid."

"Y-yeah, but—that's not th-the last time I've cried over s...s-snakes, heh."

Katsuki turned to him, looking like he was about to hit him with how incredulous his expression was, but Izuku merely laughed again. "I was g-going on, uh, about two hours of s-sleep and I cried during class b-because I remembered snakes don't have, uh, legs. Then I cried again because I realized N-Nagisa's snakes couldn't go where th-they wanted to without Nagisa." He snickered into his hand again whereas Katsuki only rolled his eyes.

"Is that the thing with you? Crying over stupid things?"

"Pretty much."

"Stupid." Izuku didn't miss the little laugh attached to that word, and he smiled with his own chuckle.

---

On the way to school, Izuku confirmed Nagisa wasn't waiting with the rest of his friends when Karma texted, which was disheartening and concerning, but he supposed maybe the reptilian boy was just late, which wasn't unheard of from Nagisa.

"Oh, Karma, Rio, this is, uh, Katsuki!" Izuku announced when his redheaded friend voiced the same question he had the day prior to Iida and Uraraka as he and Katsuki approached. He stepped inbetween the two with his arms wide and a nervous chuckle escaping him at the word 'fool,' knowing somehow that the blond would definitely take that has a challenge on his life. "Bakugou Katsuki! Uh, Katsuki, this is Akabane Karma and Nakamura Rio!"

Rio and Karma both smiled (Karma smirked ) and greeted the steaming teen, who reluctantly gave a greeting in response.

"S-sorry about that! Karma's just… uh…"

"Eccentric!" Rio pointed.

"Aw, come on, I know you guys are more creative than that. Here, let me properly introduce myself," the horned teen stuck his hand out and Izuku glared, recognizing that mischievous glint in his eye. "Hi, I'm the de-"

"Karma, I'll 'One Punch' you in the gut." Izuku gave his friend a flat look, only to receive a sharp laugh in return.

"If you can catch me, ner—"

Izuku didn't hesitate in delivering a punch to his stomach and the horned trickster went down like a rock.

"Damn." Katsuki whistled. "Guess I was wrong, you don't need protecting after all."

The shorter boy nodded stiffly, puffing his cheeks and crossing his arms.

"Heyyy! You guys!" a shrill voice caught their attention and their heads turned (sans Karma who was still gathering himself on his knees) to see the bubbly Uraraka tailed by Iida running toward them. They slowed as they neared the group. "Oh hey, you're Bakugou, right? I'm Uraraka Ochako!"

Katsuki gazed at her with a pulled brow and lowered lips, seeming unamused and unimpressed by the girl. "Uh-huh," was all he said. He eyed the glasses-wearing boy behind her.

"And I'm Iida Tenya! It's a pleasure. I must say, you were quite remarkable during the assessment yesterday."

Katsuki scoffed at that, grinning madly as if looking down at the compliment given. "Yeah, you bet I was, Four-eyes. This place is 'Plus Ultra' incarnate; if you scrubs can't keep up, you might as well give up, ya hear? I'm gonna be the #1 hero, so don't get in my way, got that?" With that, the blond pivoted on his heel and stalked away, leaving everyone staring oddly at his vanishing form.

"O...kay?" Uraraka squinted an eye. "Anyway…"

Emerald eyes trailed after the wild blond, lined with curiosity as he thought on the Bakugou's expression before. A finger raised to his lips as he pondered, chewing on his inner cheek. It hadn't occurred to him before, but he did seem sort of… lonely? Was that the word? Uncomfortable around others, maybe? That's right, Izuku never even asked about what Katsuki was like back then—he still didn't know very much about him, after all. Did he have friends? Maybe he's like Izuku and too much social interaction with strangers wears him out? It's something to look into, Izuku decided.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, knocking him out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"I said are you alright? You're muttering a lot, there," Uraraka smiled awkwardly.

Instantly, the boy waved his hands around, panicked. "Oh! A-Ah, um, y-yeah! It's- no, yeah, it's just a-a thing I do sometimes. N-no big deal, ahaha…"

"Oh, I see! Alright, then. We ought to catch up to the others, Karma said he wasn't waiting anymore."

"Uh—oh, oops! Yeah, let's- l-let's get going. S..S-Sorry about that."

"It's no worries! Say—what d'ya think we're gonna do today?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, I dunno, really. Mm...maybe introduce us t-to our other teachers? D-do you think we'll g-get to meet the other staff like the- like the counselor?"

Uraraka put her fist in her opposite hand. "That's right! We were supposed to meet with our counselors yesterday, weren't we?! That was still totally bizarre. Do you think the other Hero Courses missed the ceremony too?"

Izuku shrugged before they caught up with the other three heading to school. When they reached the building, they stuck together until they had to split for their different classes. Opening the door to class 1-A, Izuku sighed, noticing a distinct lack of powder blue hair.

"Nagisa's not here yet, huh?" Uraraka wondered, turning to her two friends curiously.

"I hope not. It'd be irresponsible to show up late, not to mention incredibly rude. Though, I hope nothing bad happened to Nagisa either. It's only the second day of school, it'd be unfortunate for him to miss such a vital day," Iida hummed.

Izuku's insides twisted uncomfortably. He couldn't help but mention, "He's never missed a-a day of school b-before. Only once, b-but that was because his mom—uh, er, hmmm...I-I mean, he got really sick. S...S-so…"

Uraraka's brows knit themselves together at that. "I hope it's not too bad. Do you think we should visit him after school or something?"

Izuku hummed, tapping his fingers together while he thought. "I dunno… I-I'll let you know at, um, lunch. Okay?" He had to check with Ritsu first.

"Okay…"

"Everyone in your seats. I'm taking roll."

Iida stared at their homeroom teacher incredulously, who finished zipping himself out of his yellow cocoon behind his desk. "But sir, the morning bell hasn't even rung ye-"

"Mr. Iida, do you want to run more laps in gym or not?" Aizawa's gaze pierced the boy, who squeaked out an apology before taking his seat without another retort. The black haired man peered over the rest of his students, watching them all scurry to their seats lest they find out if Aizawa could shoot lasers from his eyes too. The bell sounded. "Time is precious. I thought I taught you all this yesterday. Hero work is spontaneous, you should all begin learning to be vigilant. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Good. Now, for roll call. Aoyama."

"Oui!"

"Say 'here' or don't say anything."

"H-Here…" Izuku could swear he heard the French fashion cop mutter "oui" under his breath anyway.

And so classes went on with no sign of Nagisa, which continued to grind into Izuku's anxiety, but after the presence of so many Pro Heroes, even Izuku's frazzled mind left it alone for the moment. Instead, he beamed and dazzled at being surrounded by so many heroes—this was so much more than class 3-E which only had All Might, Shotlock and the now Enchantress (all of whom he hardly calls by their hero name anymore, sans All Might since he still had a Major Secret™ to protect).

Lunch came around (finally, though Izuku hardly waited desperately), and the freckled teen found himself extremely overwhelmed. Jittering in line with his empty food tray, he nervously accepted whatever food Lunch Rush had out, too starstruck to take pause. He dashed out of line as soon as his food was on his tray, squeaking out a pathetic 'thank you' as he left to enter the crowded battlefield cafeteria. The green haired boy stood in the middle of the bustling room dumbfounded and slightly lost, unsure of how to find his friends or where to sit. A wobbly smile stretched across his face from nerves.

An elbow nudged his, jolting him from his growing ball of tension in his stomach and he turned to see Rio smiling at him. "Hey there, cowboy. Follow me, we're sittin' over here."

With a smile, Izuku nodded and tailed the blonde to a table where he saw Uraraka, Iida, and Karma sitting and chatting. Rio sat by Uraraka while Izuku took his seat between Iida and Karma.

"Still no Nagisa, huh?" Karma raised a brow and stuck his chopsticks holding rice into his mouth.

Ah—that's right, he was supposed to talk to Ritsu about that. The green haired teen shook his with knitted brows and a torn smile. "I-I was gonna ask Ritsu t-to see where he was, actually."

"Good idea, Izukun."

"Ritsu?" Iida turned to the two. "Another friend?"

"Yeah, she's—" Izuku paused, biting his cheek while giving a hum. Okay, well, he couldn't just say she was a computer program… that'd be stupid and careless. And with that thought, the sudden realization of how much he really should keep quiet about class 3-E hit him, prompting him to bite his lip. Maybe out of fear or other things, but everything should really be kept under lock and key, sealed away behind his teeth.

Mustering up a fake confident smile, the boy continued, "She..S-She's a good friend of- of ours. She keeps us all in c-contact so she always t-takes, um, well, mm..makes sure we're all okay and- and stuff."

Iida nodded and Uraraka beamed. "Aw, that's so sweet of her!" Izuku merely nodded with a hum before pulling his phone out and loading up Ritsu's app.

One Punch Boy:

Ritsu!

Moe Box:

Izukun!!! It's good to see you!!! What's going on??? ＼(^o^)／

One Punch Boy:

Hey, ritsu!! Oh, nothing much rlly. I just wanna kno, do u have nagisa's location on hand rn?

One Punch Boy:

He wasn't at school today and i'm just worried is all

Moe Box:

(・・?) Nagisa? He's at home right now. Or where he has 'home' pinged. I can monitor his surroundings, if you'd like!!

One Punch Boy:

Uhhh maybe just tell me if he's ok?? (･･;) pls dont breach his privacy or anything

One Punch Boy:

Unless he's in danger!!!! If he is then pls call All Might for help!!!

Moe Box:

Don't worry, Izukun!! (*´∀`)♪ Nagisa is safe and sound! He looks to be in bed taking a nap right now.

One Punch Boy:

Oh thank goodness

One Punch Boy:

Thank you sm ritsu!! When nagisa wakes up, gove him some company and stuff, ok?

One Punch Boy:

*give

Moe Box:

Will do, One-der Punch!! After school, we have to video chat and tell me all about your day!! (｀・ω・´)

One Punch Boy:

I will! Remember u can call me whenevr too u kno c: ok c u ritsu!!

Moe Box:

Heehee, of course!! ☆〜（ゝ.∂）okay, bye bye Izukun!! Have fun in class!!

Izuku smiled as he signed off the app, raising his head to his friends while feeling a thousand times better than that morning. "Ritsu checked up on N-Nagisa, she s..said he was at home. I-I think he's s..sick or- or something?"

"Oh no, I hope he's okay?" Uraraka spoke with wide eyes.

Izuku nodded. "Ritsu's moni- um, I, uh, I-I mean, um, gonna- gonna keep him company a-and stuff. Mm..m-making sure he gets better."

"That was awfully fast. Does she live near him?" Iida asked. "Or perhaps Ritsu is a family member?"

Crap . "Uhhh…" Why is Iida so sharp.

"You got it," Karma gave the bespectacled boy shotgun fingers. "She's his neighbor. She was an upperclassman of ours who got a job working at home at such a young age too."

"Wooow!" Uraraka seemed like an easily impressed person at this point. "She must be so cool. You guys know so many interesting people!"

"Speaking of interesting," Rio smirked, nodding her head across the lunchroom. "Here comes hell."

"He's not as fun as hell, if you ask me," Karma muttered after turning to catch wind of his least favorite person, leaning his cheek on his knuckles, eyes tracking Asano Gakushuu as he approached their table. Izuku sank behind Karma, already feeling the ginger's suppressive quirk at work.

"Is that the 'piece of work' from your school?" Uraraka whispered to Rio, who nodded as she rested her head on her propped up hand, watching on with amused eyes. She grimaced. "Oof, he even looks like a piece of work…"

"Y-You don't know the- the half of it…" Izuku muttered to her. "And the way he and- and Karma gets… mmm, brace yourself." Emerald eyes flickered back to the approaching teen, catching a pair of scarlet eyes behind him watching them with a steady flame of interest.

"Oh? I didn't think the quirkless wonder would get into the esteemed UA, let alone any of the End Class students," mused the ginger. "Is this the new End Class here?"

Izuku could feel the edge of Asano's quirk—' Pressure ,' it was called—pushing in. It was an empathetic emitter quirk that made anyone Asano chose to feel insecure somehow in whatever level Asano 'sets' his exerted pressure to. It was the very definition of uncomfortable. Izuku's sure that if it was set high enough, the guy could drive someone to off themselves if he wanted, but Izuku knew despite how manipulative Asano could be, even he would never stoop that low. At least, not anymore. Right?

"It a-actually wasn't that hard g- um, getting into UA," Izuku boasted, giving his past tormentor innocent eyes.

Karma laughed hallowly, seemingly unaffected by the pressure. If Izuku didn't know better, he'd say the two were having a contest on who could smile more sinisterly ('who wore it worse,' his mind supplied). "Not that it's any of your business, but these are the next generation of heroes. Treat them with respect unless you'd like to earn yourself a back turned the next time you're caught under a building."

"I'll keep that in mind," Asano pursed his lips, his voice flat with a lack of amusement. He gave the table a quick glance around before nodding and straightening and tapping his finger on his chin. "My, looks like you're missing a party member here."

"He's sick," Izuku quickly put in before Asano could add any comment, keeping his eyes locked on the ginger and trying his best to ignore the effect of his quirk. He knew how he could be and he wasn't risking it.

"Yeah, honestly, I'm getting sick too," Rio sighed dramatically. "Seriously, we're just trying to have a nice lunch in peace for once."

"Are you simply here to bother your former classmates?" Iida questioned, raising a brow. "I hope you understand harassment is not tolerated in UA."

Asano narrowed his eyes dangerously before sighing and letting out a breath. "Alright," he huffed and crossed his arms. "Just so you know, I'm not out to sabotage you guys anymore. It's not like before; However, I would like some answers some time."

The ginger turned to leave before bumping into an irritated-looking Katsuki. "Watch it," he hissed. Izuku felt the pressure enhance and he cringed under the weight.

Asano lifted his chin, looking down on the ash blond before huffing and walking around, waving back. "I'll see you in class, Akabane. Oh, and don't forget about our deal."

The pressure receded and the group let out a breath.

"Tch, what was that freak's deal?" Katsuki grumbled, taking a seat beside Uraraka across from Izuku.

Uraraka nodded, appearing shaken. "Yeah, it- it was getting hard to breathe…"

Izuku swallowed. "Th-that's his… his quirk. 'Pressure.' It- It's- well- he- he exerts this, um, emotional pressure, I guess? I've s-seen him control the, um, o-output before but I don't know much else about it. Other than it sucks." Even then, the boy noted the ginger was going…'easy' on them with the pressure exerted.

Karma scoffed, letting his smile curl into something horrendous. "Idiot. Thinks he can get that sorta crap outta me. Idiot thinks he's gonna rule this school like he did Kunugigaoka."

"Not on his life," Katsuki growled. "If anyone's gonna be having this school fall on its knees, it's gonna be me. "

"Oh gosh, please don't tell me y-you have a god c-complex too." Izuku groaned, which earned him a sharp glare from the blond.

"What did you say?!"

"I s-said you have a god complex!!"

"Why you little—"

"SO!" Uraraka stood up with a scarily cheerful face, then she slid back into her seat after she had everyone's quiet attention. Beside him, he felt Iida let out a sigh of relief. "That was Asano, huh?"

"Yep," Rio nodded, resting her chin on her hand and leaning into the table. "He's a lot more bearable now than he was at the beginning of the year. He was the Principal's son," she added in a mock-whisper. Uraraka ooh'd in response.

"So what?" Katsuki huffed. "I could care less if he was the King of England; he's going down."

"Katss-suki, no- nn-no violence."

Uraraka stood up then, her fists pumped. "Let's not let him get us down, alright?! We're heroes now, like it or not, and we're gonna save the hell out of people and bring smiles across the nation!! PLUS ULTRA!!"

The table gawked at her before Izuku stood up too, his own fists clenched at his chest. "Yeah!! PLUS ULTRA!!"

Katsuki covered his face while Karma smirked, Rio joined, and Iida beckoned them to sit again ("you all are making a scene!!"). The ash blond mumbled under his breath, "Why do I know these people."