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makeste · 5 years

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a BnHA playlist/fanmix thing

@psqqa so I finally put together a list of some of my BnHA playlist tracks! this is by no means comprehensive because I have literally half a dozen different playlists with different themes (e.g. “instrumentals”, “BakuDeku”, “songs that either remind me of Kacchan or that he would work out to”, “angsty apocalyptic final battle”, and so forth) and omg it’s a lot. but this is my most inclusive playlist, which consists of general character theme songs for most of class 1-A, the League of Villains, and a few others. my taste in music generally leans towards alternative/indie/rock/grunge, but it can kind of go all over the place. so the genres may vary here and there, especially since I opted to go with whichever song I felt fit the character best regardless of how well the tracks all blended together musically.

also I have a bakudeku bias but THAT’S NOT EXACTLY BREAKING NEWS what can I say. and this is actually me holding back lol but oh well.

Deku - Rise (Katy Perry) - “makeste did you really just kick off your BnHA playlist with a Katy Perry song” yeah I did! because!! I won’t just survive/oh you will see me thrive/can’t write my story/I’m beyond the archetype. like, this song was made for anime protagonists. oh ye of little faith/don’t doubt it, don’t doubt it/victory is in my veins/I know it, I know it. this kid just doesn’t give up. this is no mistake, no accident/when you think the final nail is in, think again/don’t be surprised/I will still rise.

bonus: Blood (Archis) - this song is fucking gorgeous both musically and lyrically. don’t let them win/don’t let them get/under your skin, into your head/they’re full of it/you’re full of life/you’ll prove them right if you’re giving up/so let’s go for blood. it really is fucked up how dismissive BnHA society is of anyone who’s quirkless. it’s so stupid too, because the majority of quirks aren’t even all that great. “look at me I can make DSLR lenses pop out of my body!” lol fucking great. so obviously superior to normal people who have to take pictures with actual cameras like fucking scrubs. anyway, so Deku was written off from a young age as helpless, defective, and deficient, all because he lacked a quirk. so it’s been so fucking great to watch him finally prove them all wrong. (...by getting a quirk. lol. but STILL.) well it sure took a while to turn it around/but I never gave up on me.

Bakugou - We Will Rock You (VonLichten mix) (Queen) - I like this version of the song because it adds a bit of an extra oomph and it’s a little bit fiercer. anyways, this has been my Bakugou theme song since day one, and what I love about it is that each verse works for a different stage of his ~journey~. buddy you’re a boy/make a big noise/playing in the street/gonna be a big man someday -- this is Katsuki as a fearless young child, with hints at the growing chip on his shoulder (kicking your can all over the place). and then the second verse is him a little older, starting out at UA -- buddy you’re a young man/hard man/shouting in the street/gonna take on the world someday -- and proclaiming to the world that he’ll be number one. and lastly we have the final verse, with its line gonna make you some peace someday, which I know is meant in a make-peace-with-things-before-the-end kind of way, but in a BnHA context you can totally tweak it to be a reference to the man he’s aspiring to be. gonna make you some peace, because he’s gonna be greater than the Symbol of Peace himself someday.

bonus: Defy You (The Offspring) - the wind blows/I’ll lean into the wind/my anger grows/I’ll use it to win/the more you say/the more I defy you/so get out of my way. perfect song for a boy who cannot and will not be stopped. you cannot stop us/you cannot bring us down/never give up/we’ll go on and on. or, in his words: “I will win... that’s what heroes do.”

All Might - Legends Never Die (League of Legends OST) - listen I have never played League of Legends lol, but ever since I heard this song in a Marvel edit, this has been the All Might song for me. you could probably just watch the Kamino battle on mute with this song in the background and everything would fit. legends never die/when the world is calling you/can you hear them screaming out your name?/legends never die/they become a part of you/every time you bleed for reaching greatness/relentless, you survive. the lyrics basically speak for themselves. we stan a champion.

Aizawa - I’ll Make a Man Out of You (Mulan OST) - y’all I went through so many songs looking for something that summarized Aizawa’s tiredness/doneness-with-life while also alluding to his mentor side, and then suddenly BAM, it hit me. anyways so yeah. you’re the saddest bunch I ever met/but you can bet before we’re through/mister I’ll make a man out of you. also just try to listen to the “say goodbye to those who knew me/boy was I a fool in school for cutting gym/THIS GUY’S GOT ‘EM SCARED TO DEATH” part without picturing 1-A bitching about their scruffy teacher overlord whom they secretly love.

bonus: I’m So Tired (Fugazi) - if you’re looking for something more musically cohesive with the rest of this playlist in general, as opposed to SUDDEN DISNEY SONG OUT OF NOWHERE, this may be a bit more up your alley lol. I’m so tired sheep are counting me/no more struggle, no more energy/no more patience/and you can write that down/it’s all too crazy and I’m not sticking round. anyways Aizawa needs a nap.

Todoroki - Alive (Sia) - I grew up overnight/I played alone, I played on my own/I survived/I wanted everything I never had/like the love that comes with life/I wore envy and I hated it/but I survived. guys this little candy cane boy has been through some shit. but he hung in there and now he is thriving. I’m still breathing/I’m alive.

Ochako - You Gotta Be (Des’ree) - because she’s a badass. you gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser/you gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger/you gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together. anyways I sure would like Ochako to get the spotlight in an arc again one of these days. she’s the best.

Iida - Never Die (FNDTY) - it was actually pretty hard to find a song that fit Iida’s unique forty-year-old man personality since my musical tastes usually run towards moody shit and he’s pretty much the opposite of that lol. but I think the tempo of this song fits his quirk, at least, and it makes me smile, which he does also. you can run/you can fly/you can never die.

Kirishima - Guts Over Fear ft. Sia (Eminem) - so this is a song all about overcoming your insecurities and finding the courage within yourself. I freaking love how the pre-chorus I was afraid to make a single sound/afraid I would never find a way out builds up and transitions into so here I am and I will not run/guts over fear. I’m so proud of Kiri you guys.

Momo - You Are Young (Keane) - another song about getting the better of your personal doubts and demons! hey now, don’t be scared, baby, don’t be scared at all/of all the things you don’t know/you’ve got time to realize. Momo has so much potential and she’s going to be such an incredible hero one day. now that she’s gaining more confidence the sky is pretty much the limit for her. you’ve got time/you’ve got to try/to bring some good into this world/cause you are young.

Mina - Safe and Sound (Capital Cities) - oh hey it’s the most upbeat song in the world, for the world’s most cheerful and optimistic and endlessly delightful person. I could fill your cup/you know my river won’t evaporate/this world we still appreciate/you could be my luck/even in a hurricane of frowns/I know that we’ll be safe and sound.

Kaminari - Thunderstruck (AC/DC) - okay yeah maybe I didn’t try too hard on this one lol. BUT IF THE SHOE FITS and honestly, it does. title aside, I think this song fits Kaminari musically too. it’s badass and it puts a smile on your face. went through to Texas/yeah Texas/and we had some fun/we met some girls/some dancers who gave a good time/broke all the rules/played all the fools. and then, of course, the chorus. you’ve been thunderstruck.

Jirou - Dream On (Aerosmith) - you know I had to go with a rock song for Jirou, so might as well go with a classic that’s all about (a) loving music (sing with me, sing for the year/sing for the laughter, sing for the tear) and (b) shooting for your dreams. dream on, dream on/dream until your dreams come true.

Tokoyami - Dark Necessities (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - I could have possibly gone with something a bit more goth for Toko as opposed to the Chilis, but the lyrics just fit so well though. you don’t know my mind/you don’t know my kind/dark necessities are part of my design/tell the world that I’m falling from the sky/dark necessities are part of my design/do you want this love of mine?/darkness helps us all to shine. Tokoyami doesn’t get enough respect for being a teenage edgelord without being a cringey mess. he’s setting such a good example for others.

so that’s pretty much it for my 1-A songs, but here are some bonus BakuDeku songs because I am obsessed

Muddy Waters (LP) - this is my theme for Deku VS Kacchan 2. goddamn Katsuki is such a hot fucking mess during this fight. and he’s hurting so much, and he’s reaching out to the only person he knows to reach out to in the only way he knows how. I will ask you for mercy/I will come to you blind/what you’ll see is the worst me/I’m not the last of my kind/in the muddy water we’re falling/in the muddy water we’re crawling. this song brings that good angst you guys. this is a relationship that has been through the wringer, and two boys who have basically no idea what they are doing, just kind of stumbling along. it is not clear why we choose the fire pathway/where we end is not the way that we had planned/all the spirits gathered round like it’s our last day/to get across you know we’ll have to raise the sand. anyways these kids chose the highest possible difficulty level for their path forward, but they’re doing it though. together, y’all.

Admiration (Incubus) - because Izuku is frankly infatuated and doesn’t even try to hide it. you’re an unfenced fire/over walls we’ve trampled/it’s you I admire/my living example. “an amazing person who was even closer to me than All Might.” he’s so open in his respect and awe for practically everything Kacchan does. just staring at him in starry-eyed wonder. and this part of their dynamic has always been so compelling to me -- how unconditional it is on Izuku’s part. that is some fiercely strong love there on his part that it can survive all the bullshit Kacchan heaps onto it, and all his best attempts to snuff it out. he just latched on and wouldn’t let go. anyways it resulted in something extremely unhealthy for quite a while, but it’s turning around now and being reciprocated, even if Kacchan’s version is prickly and tentative. don’t get ahead of me/could we just this once see eye to eye?

Ordinary Love (U2) - I can’t fight you anymore/it’s you I’m fighting for/the sea throws rocks together/but time leaves us polished stones. I fucking love that metaphor, though. yeah, just give them time. they’re gonna figure this all out one day.

and have a bonus theme song for class 1-A in general before we move on

Charlie Brown (Coldplay) - something about this song just embodies that restive, fidgety energy of youth to me. all the boys, all the girls/all that matters in the world/all the boys, all the girls/all the madness that occurs/all the highs, all the lows/as the room a-spinning goes/we’ll run riot/we’ll be glowing in the dark. there’s like a disorderly, disheveled beauty to this. say what you will about Coldplay, but some of their songs are like the musical equivalent of a rainbow.

anyways so now I’m gonna segue into some songs for a few of the season 4 characters. starting with...

Nighteye - While I’m Still Here (Nine Inch Nails) - ticking time is running out/yesterday I found out the world was ending. I still can’t get over how psychologically devastating Nighteye’s quirk is. it’s basically just Major Bummer: The Quirk. this season is really going to fuck me up emotionally isn’t it. a little more/every day/falls apart and/slips away/I don’t mind/I’m okay/wish it didn’t have to end this way. fucking hell. guess I better brace myself for some solid gut punches to the soul.

Eri - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) (Florence + the Machine) - nothing to see here, just a little girl being treated as nothing more than a human bloodbank, and told that her quirk is nothing but a curse even as her abuser hoards it and uses it to wage a war. this is a gift, it comes with a price/who is the lamb and who is the knife?/Midas is king and he holds me so tight/and turns me to gold in the sunlight. but I also picked this song for Eri because of the way the POV slowly gathers up their courage and tries to fight back. I wish that I could just be brave/I must become a lion-hearted girl/ready for a fight/before I make the final sacrifice. excuse me I need to go hug Eri.

Mirio - Carry On (fun.) - okay so it was kind of hard to pick a song for Mirio, I think maybe I was overthinking it. anyways I ended up going with something hopeful to try and embody his endless, determined optimism. this song has kind of a quiet courage that builds up as it goes on. my favorite part is the second bridge: cause we are/we are shining stars/we are invincible/we are who we are/on our darkest day/when we’re miles away/so we’ll come/we will find our way home.

bonus: Mirio and Tamaki - Kids (Acoustic) (OneRepublic) - back when we were kids/swore we would never die/you and me were kids/swear that we’ll never die. lol at least we have one healthy childhood friendship to stan in this series.

and now on to THE VILLAINS, yay. this is probably the most musically cohesive section of this playlist, since VILLAINS!! means I can go with an overall darker ambiance.

All for One - Sympathy for the Devil (Neptunes Remix) (Rolling Stones) - didn’t even have to think about this one. please allow me to introduce myself/I’m a man of wealth and taste/I’ve been around for a long, long year/stole many a man’s soul and faith. this is the gentleman villain song and a perfect fit IMO.

Tomura - Pet (A Perfect Circle) - or really, this is more “AFO and Tenko”, I guess. manipulating a traumatized child into hating the world and raising him to become a killer. pay no mind to what other voices say/they don’t care about you like I do/safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils/see, they don’t give a fuck about you like I do/just stay with me/safe and ignorant. this is one of those songs where literally the entire song fits both lyrically and musically. just perfect. I’ll be the one to protect you from your enemies and your choices, son/they’re one and the same/I must isolate you/isolate and save you from yourself. like it’s a struggle here not to quote the entire song. ...eh, one more. swinging to the rhythm of the new world order and/counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums.

bonus: Flesh and Bone (Black Math) - Tenko angst. god that last arc was so fucking good. I walk alone, beside myself/nowhere to go/this bleeding heart that’s in my hands/I fell apart. stupid manga with its darkly compelling villain character arcs.

Dabi - Shadow on the Sun (Audioslave) - aaaangst lol. and I can tell you why/people go insane/I can show you how/you could do the same. p.s. Dabi you still owe me a flashback! also “shadow on the sun” is a pretty good metaphor for his relationship with Endeavor. fire quirks make for such great metaphor potential.

Toga - Bones (MS MR) - you know I really have no idea why this song pings me so hard for Toga lol. but whatever, it is what it is. marinate in misery/like a girl of only 17/man-made madness/and the romance of sadness.

Twice - Misfits (Third Eye Blind) - my people are the misfits/the ones that don’t fit in. this is another song that clicked pretty naturally without requiring much thought on my part. well those are the ones for me/yeah those are the ones for me/the misfits, the freaks, the enemy/you and me.

Spinner - Normal Person (Arcade Fire) - is anything as strange as a normal person?/is anyone as cruel as a normal person/waiting after school for you/they want to know if you/if you’re normal too/well are you? this song is such a burn on quirk society and all of its issues. I can’t tell if I’m a normal person, it’s true/I think I’m cool enough/but am I cruel enough? I especially love the ending -- if that’s what’s normal now/I don’t want to know.

and a bonus League of Villains song:

Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears cover) (Lorde) - just change “rule” to “destroy” I guess lol. help me make the most of freedom/and of pleasure/nothing ever lasts forever/everybody wants to rule the world. god I love this cover. this is one of those songs I’ll play over and over again anyway so it’s nice to have a good excuse what with the direction this new arc appears to be headed in.

and lastly, a couple of Hawks and Endeavor songs because they don’t really fit in any other section and I didn’t really plan out this post!

Hawks - Weapon (Matthew Good) - just a really nice, angsty theme for the man who goes too fast, off on his spy mission of doom. careful, you be careful/this is where the world drops off. plus some bonus angst about how he’s trapped in this role that he never wanted to be in. and you give in/and you give out for it/ain’t it so weird/how it makes you a weapon.

Endeavor - Find My Way (Nine Inch Nails) - lord my path has gone astray/I’m just trying to find my way/wandered here from far away/I’m just trying to find my way/you were never meant to see/all those things inside of me/now that you have gone away/I’m just trying to find my way. I don’t really need to comment more on this, do I? also, the part where Trent Reznor’s voice drops to a whisper and says please/I never meant for this, though. omg. Endeavor you’re such a bitch and you had all of this coming, but even so. oof.

and that’s pretty much it! she said, like this post wasn’t long af as it is lol. anyway so there are... 34 songs here, lol. I should probably try and put it all into a youtube playlist or something for convenience. I’ll edit once I’ve done that.

edit: playlist!

#bnha #boku no hero academia #class 1-a #bakudeku #league of villains #fanmix #bnha fanmix #bnha meta #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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airquietworks · 5 years

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Expecting! (IzuOcha)(Part 4)

Summary: The world may never be the same. Izuku and Ochako have to answer for their choice to have a child. Navigating pregnancy and heroics is no small task, but together, they are determined to succeed.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

"Wow! What do you think Dad used this for?"

Hiroaki watched, bored, as his sister hauled up an oversized gauntlet. It was sleek and stylish, emblazoned in a familiar shade of green. It also appeared rather weighty; he noticed she was huffing as she held it.

"Punching stuff, I guess," he muttered in reply from his place sitting against the wall. He let out a yawn and adjusted himself. He chased a sense of comfort, and perhaps a nap, though he knew it would be a struggle in this dusty space.

"But why would he need this to punch stuff?" The green-haired girl clumsily deposited the gauntlet on the ground, staring intently at it with a wide-eyed look. "He already punches stuff hard without it!"

The girl gleefully mimicked her father, flailing her fists out in the air toward some unseen opponent.

"I dunno, Reiko. You'd have to ask him."

———————————————————————————————————–

Epilogue: Memories, storms and wonder

———————————————————————————————————–

The nine-year-old did not heed him at all, excitedly wandering into another corner of the room in search of new treasures. He had to admit she looked rather cute, her freckled face wide with excitement as she trotted around in a play-friendly set of blue overalls over a red shirt. Hiroaki smiled at her carefree exuberance. He could remember a time when he too could look at this room and feel that unbridled sense of wonder.

He could remember a time where he dreamed of being a hero.

Hiroaki kept a careful watch over her as she explored her parents' trove of all things heroic. Boxes full of memorabilia littered the floor, stacked into disorderly piles that were difficult to navigate. Greens and pinks dotted the space; their parents' old memorabilia hung on the walls and sprawled across the floor.

One wall stood out from the chaos of the rest. While much of the room was in disarray – a product of their parents' busy lives and an overwhelming amount of stuff – the far wall was more meticulously maintained. The wide grin of the visage of All Might bombarded the eyes. Figures, posters, books, clippings, and a few special family photos. His dad had quietly worked to maintain that wall, at least.

Hiroaki suddenly felt a compelling force tugging at him. He rose from his position, stretching out his muscles. The boy carefully walked forward, keeping his eyes locked on the same image which always transfixed him. Sitting on one of the shelves was a photo in a faded frame. His parents were there, beaming brightly. His eyes instead focused on the thin, frail man between them. His face was weathered and absolutely covered in tears, but he wore a massive grin.

The old man held up a small bundle. The baby's face within was hard to make out, but he could see a little tuft of brown hair peeking from the folds.

Hiroaki's namesake holding him.

"Look, Toshi, it's that cool red cape Dad stopped using!"

"Hang on," Hiroaki Toshinori Midoriya muttered, turning to try and find his sister amidst the room's debris. "And would you stop calling me that? Stick to 'Aki.'"

"But why? You go by 'Toshi' all the time!" Her disembodied voice came from the far end of the room. She had disappeared amidst the space's overwhelming amount of objects. He tried to peek past piles of boxes, searching for her between the cracks he could find.

He breathed out a tired sigh. It could be a pain trying to explain things to her. "Yeah, well, I don't want to go by that now."

"But it's so cool! You're named after All Might! I wish I was!"

"You're named after All Might? But you're so…lame!"

"Betchya Deku hoped it would help a scrawny kid like you. Didn't work, Half-Quirk."

He winced as the echoes of his bullies' taunts rang through his mind. He looked down at the enlarged pads of his left fingertips, which housed the same gravity-defying Quirk of his mother. But it was a pale mimicry, hardly as powerful as she was. His right hand, meanwhile, bore no such power. He shook his head, trying to banish the memories that so often plagued him.

He had to focus on the now. He needed to banish the name from the past, which no longer felt right.

"I just don't think it really suits me. And would you peek out? I can't see-"

His fervent search caused him to miss a small box at his feet. He tripped over the dense object, yelping as he landed on his side with a soft thud.

"Toshi! I mean…Aki? You okay?"

Hiroaki gave an answering groan, his shoulder sore from the point of impact as he rubbed it gingerly. He winced at the small throb of pain, but he could tell it was not too bad. He had to be tougher.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just tripped on something." He eyed the box which had caused him to fall, shifting over to it. It looked pretty small; just what was inside it to make it so solid?

Without much thought, he put his fingers atop the dusty cardboard, opening up the loose flaps to see what mysteries lay inside.

His eyes were bombarded with naked flesh, glossy text, and a familiar pair of serene faces. A nude, bulging stomach stood out prominently in the centre of the page.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

"Toshi! What's wrong? Are you okay?" Reiko's voice sounded a lot closer. But he dared not turn around as he hurriedly stashed the magazine deeper into the box and out of sight, gross as it felt to even touch the thing.

But despite his best efforts, the flash of the image firmly imprinted itself in his mind. His parents, cuddling, eyes closed and absolutely, completely, disgustingly naked. Naked on a magazine cover.

It would haunt him to the end of his days.

He had to save his sister from that fate.

"Toshi! What's wrong?" Reiko's joyous energy was completely gone. She was battle-ready, or at least a child's imitation of it, with her fists out in front of her and her eyes frantically scanning the room for the assailant. She pursed her lips, ready to spit out bursts of flame. She sported what was once their father's red cape. It was bigger than she was, wrapping around her like a cloak and leaving a train of cloth behind.

Hiroaki frantically flipped himself around to try and hide the box from Reiko's gaze. He scrambled in place awkwardly, nearly stumbling over himself. "I'm fine, I'm fine! I just got startled by a…by a spider! Yeah, and it ran off somewhere."

The awkward pause was terrifying.

"A spider?" Reiko quirked an eyebrow up at him. "Do you need me to smash it?"

"No, no, no, it's already gone off somewhere. No need to worry!" He laughed nervously while adjusting himself to try and better hide the box. It occurred to him how lame it must sound to have screamed about a spider. "It was, uh, really close, like right next to my face when I fell!"

Hiroaki knew his attempt at bravado was poor, and there are few people it would fool. Indeed, Reiko squinted at him. He did his best to remain even-keeled under her scrutiny.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He nodded and gave her the best reassuring smile he could manage. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You can go keep digging around."

Content that her brother no longer needed saving, Reiko returned to her merriment, searching for the next cool treasure she could gawk at and try on.

Hiroaki breathed a sigh of relief.

With his sister out of the way, he turned to examine the cursed box behind him. He did not get a good look at it in his earlier shock. Careful to avoid the side he had stuffed the mind-scarring magazine, he rummaged through the rest of the material.

The box was piled with a lot of magazines and newspaper covers. He carefully flipped through them. Each one was emblazoned with a recognizable hero on the cover. Most of them were of either Dad or Mom, but there were a few of their classmates too: Kacchan, Aunt Tsu, even the Todoroki family on one.

It was a treasure trove of information about the heroes from his parents' class. It was a little bit fascinating, seeing the history of it all compressed into one space. His father must have hoarded them as mementos. Many of the magazines dated back at least 10 years.

Hiroaki gasped when he saw himself.

The entire Midoriya family was there. Him, smiling gingerly up at the camera, with Dad's mighty arm firmly around him. Mom holding up a baby Reiko, beaming forward, her pink cheeks lifted in a wild smile. He could not remember this photo – he must have been three or four at the time – but it was a pleasant picture nonetheless.

"Deku-Uravity – Double Trouble!" The lifestyle magazine declared boldly. The smaller font made the pointed statement: 'Heroes spill secrets on second child.'

He stroked his fingers across the page. It was a strange window to the past. He looked so young there, with hardly a care in the world.

Curiosity piqued, he flipped through to the central article promised in the front. He suddenly wanted to know exactly what his parents had to say about their growing family.

The article was engaging – quick, punchy, and interspersed with colorful commentary. He hung on to every word his parents said, the echoes of their voices ringing whenever he read a quote.

"It's hard to balance being a hero and being a parent." Dad's words stood out on the page, pulled out with a larger font.

The article warmed his heart, but it made more than a few suggestions about the difficulty of balancing hero life and parenting. He furrowed his brows as his eyes lost focus on the page.

His parents never talked much about the challenge, but he knew it was there. It was a natural part of life that they were very busy. It was incredible growing up watching their feats, but he spent many nights without them around.

They were there when he needed them. He had to remind himself of that constantly. But these days, that need seemed all too great.

He was the only person in his grade with heroes for parents. It made him stand out. Once, he thought it was great. Now, it seemed like a curse.

Hiroaki had not put much thought into how his parents decided to have children, despite their jobs. It was a weird thing to think about your parents' choice to conceive you.

"We live to protect the world. But we also live for our children." The great hero Deku's words stood out in the page, shaded with his signature green colour. Hiroaki frowned at them as he finished the article.

He placed the magazine down onto the pile. He carefully checked his blind spots, making sure Reiko was nowhere near. With the coast clear, he reached into the side of the box and pulled out the forbidden nude cover he wished he could cast aside.

But as he checked it carefully – trying his best not to focus on the whole image of his naked parents – his curiosity was confirmed. He had only glanced at the image previously, but a closer inspection yielded more intrigue. They weren't just nude; they were expecting. Expecting him. The bulge of his mother's belly was unmistakable as the text tugged the reader to explore the pregnancy of one of the world's most famous couples.

"It's a frightening concept, being parents, especially in this field of work where we risk and put our lives on the line every day."

His father's words stood out on the cover, teasing the rest of the story. He frowned again at those words, struggling to understand. His parents were unbeatable. There was no doubt in his heart that they would overcome anything thrown at them.

But why would they be so frightened about having a child? Having him?

He furrowed his brows and flipped through the pages, desperately tearing past every ad and article to get to his parents' story. He finally found the page and wasted no time digging in.

"Deku and Uravity are conquering the world of heroism. They are two of the youngest pros to make Japan's Top 20. They have saved countless lives and are now one of the most famous power couples on the planet.

But the two are about to face a whole new challenge, one that no amount of villains beaten will prepare them for: parenting.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make," admitted the expectant mother, Ochako "Uravity" Midoriya. One look at her belly revealed why she had been out of the field for weeks. She regularly touched her abdomen as she spoke, swollen in her pregnancy.

"Neither of us had really imagined being parents growing up." Izuku "Deku" Midoriya spoke with his right hand intertwined with his partner. He had always said being a hero was everything he ever dreamed of. But having a child was a new dream, one which only emerged more recently. "We were both set on being heroes from when we were young."

Hiroaki tried to comprehend the words flowing on the page. He had never really thought about what it was like for his parents to decide to have kids. They had always been his parents; surely it was something they had always wanted?

Apparently not.

His eyes focused on the page again, his heart plunging into the sinking feeling in his gut.

"Once again, the heroic couple is doing something unprecedented. They are the highest-ranked pro hero couple in Japan's history. Now, they are one of the first pro couples to ever have a child. Although they said they will take time once their child is born, both are planning to stay pro afterward.

So what drove them to have a child?

Deku's eyes lit up as he answered.

"Kids can be a lot of work. But they have this incredible spark in them. Every child I've met has given me hope for the future. I-"

"Whatchya reading?"

"Woah!" Hiroaki jumped slightly in place from his sitting position, the magazine hanging loosely in his hand. He looked over to his sister, who eyed the dangling pages.

"Nothing! Nothing…" Hiroaki stopped himself as Reiko crossed her arms and pouted at the obvious lie. "It's, uh…an old magazine with an article about Mom and Dad."

"Really? Can I see?" Her demeanour changed on a dime, the fangirl instantly coming to the fore.

Hiroaki bit his lip in thought. The article was…not a pleasant read. But she might have a hard time reading it, anyway.

She definitely should not bear witness to the cover. But if he hovered over her shoulder, he should be able to prevent her from seeing it.

"Suuure," he spoke with a nervous drawl as he extended the pages out toward her. He kept his hands firmly on it as she scooched over to sit next to him. He pulled her in close and hesitated before letting the magazine go so she could hold it. He pushed the fabric of her cape away, not daring to try and separate her from her impromptu costume.

Reiko cackled at the artful layout, eyes going wide at the photos. "They look so cool!"

Hiroaki watched carefully as she started on the text of the article. He helped on occasion, reading to her whenever she stumbled on the letters. The slow pace let his mind hover more carefully over the words.

His parents had defied history when they had him. He had not really understood that before, but he could see it now. They had not originally imagined having him. They had different dreams before him. Had been afraid to even give birth to him.

He squinted at his father's words when he got the chance. Every child had given him hope for the future? He read on.

"I just…I wanted the chance to raise my own."

Was it just that simple? They just liked kids? Enough to take all the risks this article talked about?

He frowned, glancing down at his left hand again. At the sad half-Quirk his mother had passed on to him, his mastery of which did not hold a candle to hers. At his bony arms, so far removed from his father's godlike strength.

Their sad faces swam in his mind.

"It's getting worse, Deku."

"What did they do to you?"

"Cheer up, honey. Let's go do something fun, okay?"

"I'm going to have a talk with your teacher."

"You'll get through this. I promise it will get better."

He could see their disappointment whenever he walked home with an ugly bruise or a split lip, whenever he gave away he had been bullied again, something he had forced himself to get better at disguising. When they saw he was not strong enough to fend for himself.

Those eyes were full of pity. He could not stand them. He could not stand how beneath them he was.

"Every child I've ever met has given me hope for the future."

What hope could his dad see in him?

"Aki?" His sister once again burst his thoughts apart. He shook his head, trying to stay focused on the moment and help his sister read.

"Sorry. Where were we?"

But the words of his own article and his own doubts kept tugging away at his mind. Fear kept clouding over him, twisting and turning into an all-consuming storm. It was enough to choke his thinking. Flashes of lightning penetrated the rest of thoughts, making the bundle of nerves within him all but impossible to ignore.

When Reiko finally got bored and left, he pored over the rest of the piece. But he found no solace in his parents raving about the idea of having him. The words seemed empty, hollow, a lifetime away from the reality they now faced.

Still, the article was bizarre enough to pique his curiosity more. He wanted to hear from his parents about it. If he could summon up the courage, he wanted to confront them about his own conception.

He looked over to his sister ogling the various figures of All Might, eyes still starry at the thrill of it all. Although he could not share her enthusiasm, he could grin at her, at least. She could still spark that in him.

"You about done? I want to go talk to Dad and Mom about something."

Reiko's face fell and she turned to regard him with a pout and crossed arms. Her attempt to look indignant came off as more cute than anything. It was a far cry from the firecracker she could be on the playground. "You don't have to look after me here. I'll be fine."

The last time she had said that, she ended up with a busted finger and he had gotten a stern scolding from Mom and Dad. The room was fairly safe, but in enough disarray to be a little risky to leave a child unattended.

But getting into an argument with Reiko would do little good. Fortunately, he knew well how to nudge her in other directions. He pushed down his stormy feelings and regarded her with a grin.

"Don'tchya want to show off something you found in here?" He suggested it with an enthused flourish, walking over to grab her hand through the massive cape she was still sporting. "I'm sure they'd love to see you decked out in this."

With those simple words, her face was alight again as she swung the fabric back and forth with her arms. She beamed while looking down at it, striking a pose completely lost within the folds. "I do look cool in this."

"The coolest," Hiroaki quickly confirmed.

"Alright, let's go! Here comes Spitfire!" She zoomed forward with a flourish, shouting out one of her ideas for a future hero name. It was certainly one of her better ones, compared to when she tried to mash up her name with "Deku" or "Uravity."

He followed along behind her, clenching his hand around the folds of the magazine.

Their living room was spacious but fairly ordinary. It was a contradiction to the modest wealth his parents had accumulated. The wooden floors, white walls, floor table, and a large television tucked away in the corner made the room inviting, but far from extravagant. Their house was definitely not large; he could recall his mother talking about keeping a home "cozy" when Uncle Todoroki confronted her about it.

There was a wall with an open window into a small kitchen area, allowing for ease of conversation between the family and whoever was making dinner.

It was there he saw his father: tall, muscular, and imposing, rapidly cutting up vegetables for the evening meal. He was dressed up, wearing a bright white dress shirt with a loosened collar and nice slacks. His wild green hair was slicker than usual, although no force on Earth that Hiroaki knew could completely tame those locks.

Reiko surged ahead of him. "Daddy! Daddy! How do I look?"

She twirled and struck a dramatic pose, her hands on her hips and her chin jutting upward. Dad peered around the doorway, eyeing her over with a smile.

"Oh, is that the amazing Spitfire saving the day?" He chuckled, flashing her a thumbs-up. "Looking sharp! You fish that out of the storage room?"

"Yup! We found so much stuff!" Reiko hopped in place, beaming up at their father.

"I can remember wearing that as part of my first pro costume." He looked upwards wistfully towards a memory Hiroaki could not hope to see. "Good times. Didn't end up keeping it, though."

"Aww, you shoulda!" Reiko pouted, swinging the cape around some more. "Capes are the best!"

"Not when they get caught. Or destroyed," Dad chuckled softly to himself before returning to meal preparation. "Your dinner will be ready in a half-hour."

The pleasant banter seemed a world away from Hiroaki at the moment. The home they had built was one filled with laughter and love. But these days, he often felt like it was at the periphery of it all.

He shook his head, trying to chase away the ridiculous thoughts. He stepped forward to speak but was cut off again.

"…And then we'll be off for the night." Hiroaki blinked when his Mom walked into the room, done up in a form-fitting black dress. Her face was artfully crafted in a layer of makeup, making her look substantially younger. The brown locks were done up in an elegant knot, a few stray strands loose to frame her face.

"Wow, Mom," Hiroaki couldn't help but pipe up. "You look really pretty."

She beamed at him, walking over to ruffle his head affectionately. Her hand was warm against his scalp and instantly made him more at ease. "Thanks, sweetie."

Tonight was date night, a rather rare occasion in the Midoriya household. Mom and Dad would make dinner for them and head out alone, leaving a babysitter behind. He always felt a little sad when they spent one of their few free nights away from him, but it was somehow comforting to see his parents together, doing something safe. Even if they could get…icky.

Besides, it usually meant a visit from the world's greatest babysitter.

"Is Eri coming soon, Mom?" Reiko uttered the question on his own mind, leaping forward to capture the room's attention.

Ochako smiled and leaned down slightly to answer. "She should be here by dinner time."

"Yay!" Reiko cheered, cocking a fist. "I can show her all my new Quirk tricks!"

The girl pursed her lips, preparing to breathe fire. Ochako got a slightly panicked look before pressing a finger to the girl's lips to halt her.

"Now, Reiko, what did we say about your Quirk?"

Reiko's shoulders sagged. "Not inside," she said underneath her mother's finger.

"That's right," Ochako said brightly, withdrawing the appendage. She breathed a sigh of relief at preventing another Quirk-induced accident. Reiko had damaged a lot of furniture before she got a better handle on her powers. Hiroaki eyed a fire extinguisher hung up next to the television – one of many spread throughout the house.

"I'm going to go practice out back, then!" Reiko proclaimed, running off in excitement. She paused, directing her attention to her brother. "Can you come and practice with me, Aki? Pretty please?"

She put on her best adorable pout, one that rarely failed to win her father over. But Hiroaki was made of harder stuff, and Quirk practice was not something that interested him these days.

Besides, he had more pressing matters to address. It would be best if Reiko was not in the room for that.

"Not this time, sorry," Hiroaki replied coldly, eyes intent on his parents.

The response was much to Reiko's chagrin. "Hmph," she breathed out, nostrils flaring, before she ran outside to let out some steam.

Hiroaki took a deep breath before he took the plunge. He had to act quickly. His parents would be leaving soon. The storm raging inside him thrummed angrily, thunder crackling loudly.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Hmm? What is it, sweetie?" She turned to regard him with a gentle smile.

Hiroaki thrust the cursed magazine forward, pointedly aiming the cover away from himself. "Could you-"

"AAAH! WHAT?!"

The loud exclamation was enough to make Hiroaki jump. The magazine was out of his hands before he knew what was happening. His mother's eyes bulged comically at the page, her hand shaking as she held it.

"What is it?!" Izuku sprung into action, leaping forward from the kitchen doorway and scanning the room. He paused and gasped as he saw the magazine cover.

"Oh." He blinked a few times at the sight, Ochako pointedly inclining the image more towards him. "OH!"

Ochako smacked her palm against her face. "Where did you find this, Aki?"

"In the storage room," he answered quickly, eyes moving rapidly between his parents. He didn't imagine they'd be this alarmed, even if the photo was awful. "Umm…are you two alright?"

His mother took a bracing breath. She removed her hand from her eyes to regard the image again, holding it out in front of her. "We're fine. Just a…a little surprised, is all. Gosh, I had forgotten about this. I kinda wanted to forget about it."

Hiroaki's mind spun at the words. She wanted to forget about it? Why? Was it a bad memory?

"I don't know." His father stepped closer to properly appraise the cover, grasping it in his right hand. His lips tilted upward into a small smile, which confused Hiroaki all the more. "I'm still fond of it."

"Easy for you to say. You got to hide behind me," Ochako grumbled with crossed arms. "I'm surprised you kept it around…but I guess I shoulda figured you would."

"It was a pretty big moment in our careers." Izuku fluttered through the pages toward the article within. "I still remember what happened when the photo was taken. And it's a moment I'll treasure forever."

His mother's face softened at his father's words. She leaned slightly to glance at the cover, a grin ghosting on our lips. She idly traced a hand down to her stomach.

"I suppose so…" she murmured. "Still mad about all that happened afterward. Ryuko was about ready to stomp on me after all the press calls she had to deal with."

"It could have been so cool to take on a dragon though," Izuku replied with a toothy grin. His mother laughed at him.

Hiroaki watched the conversation play out, his eyes flinging between them as if viewing a tennis match. Without realizing it, he had quickly become a third wheel. He did not like it.

It was all so confusing. He had to know more. He had to understand.

His patience wore thin. He approached his mother, reaching up to grasp the ends of two fingers. She turned to look down on him with a calming smile.

"What happened when the picture was taken? Why would you even take a picture like this?"

The two glanced at one another, searching faces for answers.

"It's a…bit of a weird story," his father began after a moment, scratching the back of his head. "We knew we needed to get the word out about…well, you. And we wanted to try to control the message."

"We were worried about what might happen if people found out I was pregnant." Ochako shifted herself to lean against the wall, her hand idly stroking her belly again. "When you're a hero, the press can be a scary thing."

Hiroaki frowned, eyes scanning between them again. Once more, their choice to have a kid seemed to be such a bother for them. If there was so much to worry about, why did they go through with it? Was it really worth it?

Was he really worth it?

"We got in touch with the magazine to try and get ahead of things," Izuku continued, passing the magazine back to Ochako and moving to the kitchen to continue making their meal. Hiroaki shifted himself closer, leaning hard on every word. He needed answers.

His mother idly thumbed at the pages. "We did the interview. One thing led to another. We got a really…bombastic photographer." She looked skyward and leaned on her finger.

"She kind of convinced us," Deku replied with enthusiasm, as the light sizzle of meat cooking started to permeate the room. Hiroaki sniffed, the pleasant aroma of chicken and spices filling his nostrils. "I know, it's shocking. It shocked us. But it's tasteful. It's artful."

At those words, Hiroaki carefully inclined his head to glance at the cover again. It was hard to look at; there were some things which would always look unpleasant with parents involved. But at a second glance, he could see what they meant. No private bits were showing. His mother was covered, her modesty preserved. No, the most prominent part of the photo was…him.

"I…I guess so," Hiroaki replied, averting his eyes as soon as he could. "It's…it's still weird to me."

"A lot of people thought so," Ochako muttered, pouting behind the magazine. "We got so much flak for even daring to have a child in our circumstance, too…"

Hiroaki's ears perked up. His heart sank at the thought of it. "You did?"

Ochako's mouth quirked up. "We got plenty of support and well-wishers. But you should have seen the columns. 'Deku throws his career away.' 'Uravity letting her child down.' 'Pro heroes should not become parents.' Gosh, it was ridiculous."

Ridiculous. Yes, it certainly seemed that way.

But they beat the odds. Dad somehow balanced family life and became the number one hero, albeit with close contenders. Mom yo-yoed inside the Top 10.

Even if they were busy, Hiroaki did not often want for his parents' love. He knew what kids looked like when they did.

"We managed pretty well in the end," his father said softly as he moved about the kitchen. "Wouldn't you say so, Aki?"

He wanted to say yes. Of course they did. He was forever respectful of just how much time and dedication his parents put into managing a stable home and work life.

They had built this home. This home of love and laughter and heroes.

But his anxieties started to storm through his mind again. His tongue froze in place as he tried to spit out the easy answer he knew he should. Could he really count himself as part of such a home?

Should he have been?

They sacrificed so much, going against the grain, to have him. They boldly announced him to the slings and arrows of the world at large. They gave up so much time to care for him, back then and even now, with their struggles to even get a regular night out for themselves.

"Something wrong, sweetie?" His mother leaned down toward him, her warm chocolate eyes drawing him in. He blinked, realizing his own were starting to water. He quickly wiped a hand across them and took a breath, trying to control his own emotions.

He had to ask the question. He needed to, more than anything.

"Do you ever-"

A familiar pair of loud blares pierced through the room. The noise rang hard against the ears, but was mercifully brief. Once. Twice. Three times, all in perfect unison.

His parents both pulled out their phones, typing into them with practiced ease. A video projection sprung to life in front of each of them, but the footage was too grainy to make out clearly.

"Uravity!"

"Deku!"

Any trace of humour drained instantly from their faces. It was a transformation Hiroaki had sadly grown accustomed to. They tensed, their eyes sparking to a new kind of life, focus intently on their communicators. His parents were gone; only heroes remained.

"What's the situation?" They said it in perfect harmony. Hiroaki knew it was not a rehearsed thing; he did not even think they realized when they did it. But as heroes, they were in sync, maintaining the same cadence.

Already, they both moved quickly out of the room, walking perfectly side-by-side. They hurried forward toward their bedroom, where they would get suited up in a flash. The blares were only for emergencies, and they treated it as such.

"There's been a villain attack."

"We have a collapsing building."

"We need your strength-"

"The rubble is bad. People are trapped-"

The communications were not nearly as in-sync. The disembodied voices dissipated as the heroes moved out of earshot. He could gather it was a really bad situation from those scarce details. They were needed and might be gone for quite a while.

Which meant his question would have to wait.

Hiroaki clenched his fists. He let out a tired sigh and tried to rein himself in. His eyes suddenly felt heavier, a weight pressing down hard on him. He loved his family and he was proud of his parents. But their jobs could get in the way far too often.

It was hard for them to balance. But it was hard for him, too.

The scent of burning meat awoke him from his light stupor. His father had left the meal unattended. Without another thought, Hiroaki leaped into action, plunging himself into the kitchen to try and rescue dinner.

He yanked the chicken pot off the stovetop and quickly went to work carrying on preparation. With oft-absentee parents, he had gotten plenty used to cooking. It was not much, but it was the help his parents needed right now. He would do it.

"Toshi, Toshi, Toshi!" Reiko burst back into the room, face alight with pure joy. "I heard! Have they got a mission?"

His sister had become much more enthusiastic about their heroics than he was. What was a sobering moment for the rest of the family was cause for pure excitement in the child. In its own way, it was heartening to see someone could smile in the situation. But Reiko could get a little testy when emergencies happened.

"Sounds like it," he confirmed as he busied himself with plating. "They're getting ready now. Make sure you stay out of their way."

Reiko pouted at him. "But I want to see if they'll finally take me to watch!"

Hiroaki froze at the proclamation. Reiko was always eager to see their parents in action in person, after they had calmly knocked a villain out when the family was out shopping one day. Since then, she had tried to convince them to take her out on patrol, or to a scene, or to the office. Anywhere she could witness her parents kicking butt again.

The answer, of course, was always no. Reiko was far too young, their work too dangerous and demanding. But the denials did little to curb her enthusiasm.

Their parents had taught him even a few minutes delay could make the difference between someone living and dying.

Which meant he had to act to control his sister.

He carefully placed a plate he was holding onto the table and stepped quickly to intercept Reiko. She was eyeing to make a beeline toward the front of the house. He kneeled down to meet her at eye level.

Reiko stopped in place, eyes going wide in surprise at the sudden face-to-face appearance of her brother. She instinctively tried to move around him, but he extended an arm, making it clear he was not budging.

"Toshiiiiii," Reiko whined, cheeks puffing up in rage. "Move!"

He remained steadfast. "I'm not budging. You can't bug them right now."

"You're the one bugging!" She glared at him, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

"I promise, we can watch it on TV. It's big. There'll be a live broadcast." When it came to fighting Reiko's fire, negotiation tended to work best. "And I'm sure Eri will let us stay up late…if we ask nicely."

Far from a guarantee. But he was willing to fib if he had to.

"It's not the same as being there," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "Dad said he used to chase heroes around all the time."

"When he was older than you. Plus, Dad said he nearly got killed doing it, remember?"

Her face fell at that. "I wouldn't."

Hiroaki scratched his head. He made progress, but she still looked intent on bursting through him.

He groaned aloud. He would have to bring out the big guns in this negotiation.

"I'll Quirk train with you all day tomorrow."

"Really?!" She jumped up slightly at that, her face exploding into unadulterated joy. "But you never want to practice Quirks anymore!"

That was still accurate.

"I'll make an exception." He winced as his head conjured up images of the burns he would be subjected to tomorrow.

"Okay, I'll be good!" She beamed up at him, before casually lifting up his arm to proceed forward. "I'm still saying bye, though!"

"Deal's off if you bug 'em!" Aki called out as she walked away. She turned quick, sticking out her tongue, before continuing on toward the front of their house.

He groaned, shaking his head at the promise he had just delivered. He no longer got any enjoyment out of Quirk practice, and the lifts Reiko demanded of him were absurdly draining. If Eri stuck around, it would help, but it was still not something he looked forward to.

Especially when he was bound to watch his mother perform incredible feats with her Quirk on the news tonight. Feats he could only ever dream of.

He stared down at his frail right hand again. It shook slightly, anxiety setting his muscles alight for a moment. He balled the Quirkless appendage into a fist, regaining control.

Hiroaki made his way to the kitchen to continue dinner preparations. His hands were good for that much, at least. The question attaching itself to his head would assuredly haunt him amidst the quiet work, but he would just have to deal with it. It was the least he could do for his heroes.

He glanced down the hallway to see his parents dash quickly through it toward the exit of their house, donned in full uniform. Their speed was impressive, but their costumes helped them stand out, the green and pink blurs unmistakable.

Hiroaki bit his lip. In spite of himself, he pursued, wanting to see them off as they ran to save the day. He burst through to the main entrance of the building to the outside world, hoping to catch them before they jumped off.

He saw the two heroes pausing in the large open yard in front of their home, doing one last check-up on equipment. He saw his mother typing rapidly into her phone. The two were faster on foot than they were in a car, but jumping from place to place usually required some advanced navigational help from custom technology.

Reiko eagerly moved around the pair, sizing them up and jumping up a storm. But she was keeping her end of the bargain, staying far enough away so as to not interfere with them.

The two heroes nodded to one another, seeming ready to take off. But to his surprise, his mother instead crouched down to embrace Reiko in a tight hug, an unusual gesture in an emergency situation.

Before Hiroaki could blink, Deku was before him, standing tall and imposing. The boy let out a small breath, his head fogging up at the sight.

Deku wore an aura that was hard to describe; it was awe-inspiring, as if staring up at the face of a god. But there was a safety and surety that came with Deku's smile, which had its way of worming into you. It made one feel as if everything would be alright, no matter what challenges lay ahead. Deku had an everlasting flame, and he was more than generous in sharing it with others.

Deku crouched down quickly, meeting him at eye level. "You seemed a little troubled earlier. What's the matter?"

With the simple question, his dad was in front of him again. The smile he regarded him with was…gentler, somehow. It was more familiar, burning less hot than Deku's, but no less intensely. It was the blanket after the worst was over and you needed comfort. Deku's smile was for the whole world. But his dad's smile was meant for the world he had built inside his home.

The storm within Hiroaki crackled. He tried to keep his composure, but he could already feel the tears starting to well up at the bold confrontation.

He did not have much time to think. Time was of the essence. If he wanted to do the selfish thing and ask the question rolling atop his tongue, he could not dawdle.

He could not rein in the impulse. The words burst out from him like lightning.

"Do you ever regret having kids? Having…having me?"

The words were ugly, terrible things when said aloud. His father's face broke apart in shock, the pleasant smile disappearing. It made Hiroaki's heart tremble, his chest constricting painfully at his father's face.

The boy's head spun. His muscles tensed. It was a stupid thing to ask. He had made a grave mistake. He wanted to run away, but his legs were frozen to the ground under his father's astonished stare.

He had to control the situation.

"Sorry, never mind, you have to get going. Don't worry, we can – we can talk later, or something, you should just-"

A hand on his shoulder cut off his mumble-storm. He looked up again. Dad was there, smiling at him gently.

But those green eyes – passionate, confident – those were the eyes of Deku.

"Not once. Not ever. You mean the world to me. And I never would have learned to be the world's greatest hero without you."

Izuku wrapped him up in a tight embrace, radiating the warmth and comfort Hiroaki did not know he needed.

All of his fears and anxieties dissipated, for just a moment. These arms could make the worst of the world seem small. Was there anything to fear from a 12-year-old magazine article? Did he imagine it all? Was it all in his head?

Rays of light broke through the storm clouds which shrouded his mind. He breathed in the fresh air and found himself powerless as the rain began to fall.

Hiroaki hugged his father tightly, indulging himself for a moment. He wiped his wet cheeks into his father's shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to keep hold, to grab on to him forever. It was the fleeting wish which could never be granted, but he could not stop the aching of his heart. A long-buried part of him wished he did not have to share his father with the rest of the world.

But that was impossible. He could agonize over it, or he could make peace with it. He chose the latter.

"Love you, dad. Stay safe."

"Love you too." The words soothed Hiroaki to his very core. "We'll talk more after this is over, I promise. I'll always come back to you."

Deku disengaged for him. The moment did not last long, barely more than a minute, but it was enough. With no more time to lose, the two heroes leaped into the skies. In the distance, he could see their first hops off of the roofs of faraway buildings. They disappeared from view, and already his heart longed for them again.

"They're so cool!" Reiko shouted as she lifted her tiny fists into the air. She sighed dreamily, twisting her oversized cape around her. "We have the world's best parents."

Hiroaki cracked a small smile at that. He gently touched his chest, the warmth his father imparted on him still lingering.

The world shifted slightly. He felt his feet leave the ground, but for once, it did not bother him at all.

"We do."

———————————————————————————————————–

AN: With that, we bring this to a close.

Special thank you to Mika for allowing me to use her designs and backstory for the IzuOcha children. I thought it fitting, giving her artwork inspired this piece. Plus, I adore their design inside and out. You can read more about them, and see some excellent art, here: green-tea-is-love.tumblr.com/post/167860545778/izuocha-week-day-3-quirks.

Thank you to Neon Pixel for commissioning the original artwork which inspired this fic.

Thank you to Deadliest Sin Bin for all the work editing this fic and making it a much better, and cleaner piece of writing.

And thank you, dear readers, for all your support on this one and the rest of my work.

As for what's next for me, I am unsure. I am in the midst of a fallow period and although I have some stray ideas, many of them seem too grandiose. Writing IzuOcha for two years (I can't believe it's been that long) and burning so intensely for My Hero Academia, my interest has admittedly waned. But I'll always be a fan and perhaps the next anime season will help spark more.

So for now, so long, but not goodbye.

Please, leave a like and a reblog. I'd love to hear what you thought of this story. ^_^

#IzuOcha #Expecting!#Fanfiction #shipping #my hero academia #izuku midoriya #urakara ochako #fluff #family #children #angst

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soraegeeks · 5 years

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Review: To Stand by Your Side

Alright, this is a LONG one. That’s what I get for waiting until I’m 22 chapters into a story to review it. LOL Well, here we go.

Completely opposite of the last review I posted, we have To Stand by Your Side by aeronines. This time it’s 16-year-old UA student Bakugou Katsuki and 19-year-old Pro Hero Midoriya Izuku.

Chapter 1

The story starts off with a twist on the sledge-villain attack, hinting at Izuku’s canonical attempt at saving Junior high student Kastuki. But as a Pro Hero the monster is no challenge. In this telling Izuku’s hero name is “Valiant” and Katsuki later gives him the nickname “Deku” after meeting him in the hospital post-villain attack. In his traumatized state, Katsuki makes a promise that he’ll one day be strong and stand side-by-side with Valiant as a hero.

Chapters 2 - 3

Katsuki's now a UA high student and getting settled into his new routine. He's still fanboying a bit about Valiant under the guise of Valiant being his inspiration. And then his class has special group battle training and against three Pro Heroes that happen to include Valiant. Katsuki's pride gets the better of him and he goes rogue against his group mates to try and prove how strong he is. He ends up really injured after going toe-to-toe with Valiant. Valiant gets out of hand playing the role of villain and hurts Katsuki way more than he meant to and is almost blocked from returning to UA as a trainer/mentor. Izuku never understands his own strength. Katsuki was totally embarrassed. He let his team down, they lost and (he thought) that he looked like a fool to Valiant. After some tears and a heart-to-heart talk he was reminded that Valiant/Izuku never looked down on him. That he's a supporter that wants to see Katsuki grow and get stronger.

Chapters 4 - 7

Izuku has a domination kink and wakes up from a wet dream about Katsuki. That totally freaks him out because he doesn’t want to think about Katsuki that way. The annual Sports festival comes up and he attends with Ochako and Kirishima and he’s Katsuki’s biggest fan. Izuku does have a moment of disgust and frustration as he becomes sexually around during he festival. At the same time that Izuku is battling these thoughts, Katsuki is becoming more attracted to him. Seeing him as more than just “his hero.” Camie recognizes what’s going on and gives him a Valiant themed dildo as a gift for the sports festival. Horrifying!! LOL

Chapter 8

It’s final time and the scene is reminiscent of the the canon final of Deku and Bakugo against All Might. Valiant (like All Might) against Todoroki and Momo. The finaI was on Izuku’s birthday and I felt really bad about Ochaco and Kirishima forgetting Izuku's birthday. I've been there. His best friends should have known and not have to be reminded. Izuku's been working himself too hard. So hard that Katsuki can tell just by looking at media coverage. He gave Izuku a very thoughtful and personal birthday present (spa coupons and note with his phone number). After thanking Katsuki with a hug, Izuku starts to realizes that he's in love with him.

Chapters 9 - 12

Izuku gets injured in the line of duty due to him overworking himself. There were casualties that he blames himself for but there’s no real way of knowing if they were caused by his actions or if they died coincidentally while he was hurt. Either way, the downtime forces him into counseling and into confronting his depression that existed before the accident. And into repairing his friendships that fell to the wayside. And to develop a friendship with Katsuki as they text everyday and talk on the phone almost as much. Also, the two are awkward and ridiculous with flirting. I laughed so hard when Izuku dropped his phone and screamed when Katsuki sent him a heart emoji. LOL

Chapters 13 - 14

Ok, these dorks and their non-dates/dates. LOL

The Culture Festival! First, I don’t know how ANY classes can come to a consenus and pick an event theme. It’s always chaos and this description killed me. “Yaoyorozu looked dead tired, and Todoroki, dead inside.” LMAO Poor Todoroki. And I laughed out loud when Izuku called Katsuki and he flew up the dorm stairs to take the call from his room. These cinnamon rolls are so adorable and ridiculous.

Katsuki is a ballsy one, though. Planning a “not-date” to take izuku around during the Culture Festival. But first he had to make it through prepping the desserts for their festival bakery and I’m with his classmates, what the hell did he mean? “Someone competent better get me the very basic stuff I’m asking for, before someone loses all their basics!” LMAO “And of course I’ll be able to get this all done. Look at these little shits. Fuckin’ gorgeous. You better sell ‘em all.” GUFFAW!!! Each interaction between Katsuki and Izuku that morning was embarassing and awkward and so damn funny. I had to take my glasses off and put my head in my hands when Katsuki’s brain shorted out and he asked Izuku if his outfit made him look hot. The tears. All the tears!!! LOL And bless Camie’s heart. She is Katsuki’s ride or die wingman. Where would be without her?! Her theory, though, about them going to a haunted house and Izuku being afraid saying ‘Oh Kacchan, you’re so amazing!’ tickled me. I love aeronines’ allusions to canon actions and the fact that it was the total OPPOSITE inside the haunted house. Poor Katsuki and his pride, trying to not be scared when he knew that didn’t like scary stuff.

Training on the beach. Izuku was SUPPOSED to be coaching Katsuki through his training but Katsuki was so blatant in his attempts to show off his body. Kacchan, I’m gonna die if you keep trying to show off your tits. *snort* Katsuki was so FLIRTY!

And we get to Christmas. Katsuki asked to meet Izuku to “hang out.” Not a date. LOL I was so happy for these that they were able to carve out a little time together even though Izuku already had plans. Izuku is head over heels and GONE! Already planning out how to interact with Katsuki even though they weren’t dating. “I… I won’t push for anything right now. I can’t. Even if he wants it… no kissing till he’s seventeen. And if we even get that far, no sex til he’s eighteen.” And like the bulldozer that he is, Katsuki ended their non-date by kissing Izuku on the cheek. Izuku’s gonna have a heart attack dealing with that one. LOL

Chapter 15

Just one thought, upgraded dildo. LMAO

Chapter 16

Katsuki turns 17! They’ve definitely gotten closer and feel comfortable now with hugs. After training Izuku invites him over for a birthday dinner and Katsuki’s overactive brain kept thinking about wanting to live with him in the future. Katsuki got the best gift ever. Mindblowing kisses from Izuku. Confirmation that he wanted him, too. It made my heart flutter!

Chapters 17 - 19

Now, this damn chapter! I was all in my feelings with this chapter all the way to chapter 19. Izuku and Katsuki had JUST made progress. Literally only a few hours before Izuku had to abruptly leave for an emergency. Hours away with no cell service. Hours away dealing with death and destruction. Hours away not knowing when he’d be able to come back home. It tore Izuku apart, threatened to unravel all of the progress he’d made in therapy dealing with his depression and anxiety. And poor Katsuki struggling to get information, any information at all to know how Izuku was doing. My heart hurt so much. Finally, finally Izuku gets to go home. On his 21st birthday. After the fiasco a year before, this would be a birthday that he would never forget. Kirishima and Ochako made sure that he was cleaned up and had a small get together at his place with their friends. And the piece de resistance was Katsuki making a surprise appearance. And Katsuki asked him out. To be official! And Katsuki stayed the night with the agreement that there would be NO sexual activity. We have lift off ladies and gentlemen. LOL

Chapter 20

MAKE OUT CENTRAL! If they weren’t making out they were eating. if they weren’t eating they were making out. Katsuki and Izuku spent the whole day other “sucking face” and it was so cute and fuzzy. Katsuki did have a little stumbling block where he had to process the fact they he and Izuku wouldn’t be able to be in public together as a couple in any near future. One Katsuki is still a high school student, even though he’s a second year by this time, and two because Izuku keeps his life very private and his hero persona is a single man who has no intentions of being in a relationship. Heroing comes first.

Chapter 21

An incognito date! Camie came up with a brilliant idea that Izuku and Katsuki could have a public date if they disguised it as Izuku chaperoning Katsuki, Momo and Camie. Game on. It went well until izuku and Katsuki were almost caught making out in the bathroom. That put a damper on he enthusiasm. And an interaction with an overeager “fan” set my teeth on edge. I actually tweeted Aeronines after I read the chapter and said that I was very suspicious of this “fan.” LOL

Chapter 22

This was a hard chapter. I was right about the “fan.” He was in fact a villain who had been watching Valiant/Izuku and learned that he was close to Katsuki. He used his chameleon quirk to hide and sneak attack Katsuki while he was patrolling during his internship. He left him with severe injuries and taunted Katsuki (and later Valiant) with his knowledge of their relationship. Of course, Katsuki took this very hard. He never wanted to be Izuku’s weak spot. He always wanted to be strong enough to protect himself and not have to make Izuku worry. His pride was on the line and he didn’t feel like Izuku believed in him. They fought and Katsuki left. The poor babies. :( How will the next chapter go? I’m interested but also apprehensive about finding out.

#bkdk #bakudeku #So Rae Geeks Reviews #fic: To Stand By Your Side #aeronines #ktdk #katsudeku

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makeste · 5 years

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BnHA Chapter 129: “She Seems Scared”

Previously on BnHA: Deku tried to land a hit on Nighteye using rapidfire attacks lifted from Gran Torino, but was unable to pass Nighteye’s test and take the stamp from him within three minutes. Nighteye realized that Deku had purposely avoided hitting the numerous All Might posters, banners, and cutouts displayed all around the room, which surprised him so much he actually laughed. He then proclaimed that he would hire Deku and was actually planning to do so all along. However, he says he hasn’t acknowledged Deku, and he intends to use the internship to show him how ill-suited he is to being the successor to OFA. The next day, Nighteye, Bubble Girl, Mirio, and Deku set out to do some patrol and surveillance. Nighteye explained that his agency had been tracking a yakuza capo named “Chisaki”, whom the readers know as Overhaul. Because Deku is a villain magnet, of fucking course he ran into Overhaul himself not three pages later. But in a twist, he seemed to be accompanied by a scared young girl.

Today on BnHA: Overhaul, playing nice, apologizes for his “daughter” whom he says has run off. Oh, those bandages on her arms and legs? Not to fret, she’s simply been roughhousing too much and got a little scraped up. Absolutely no one is fooled by this, and Deku can see that the little girl is plainly terrified, so he refuses to let her go as she clings to him for dear life. Mirio is worried that Deku will throw off their investigation by acting too suspicious of Overhaul -- they’re not supposed to know he’s a villain -- but Deku thinks it would be even more suspicious if they, as heroes, were to leave a scared little girl after she’s asked for their help. Overhaul leads them into a dark alley to “talk”, and Eri, afraid that he’s about to kill the two heroes, runs back over to him. Mirio and Deku are forced to let them leave without further incident. Overhaul savagely kills the henchman who almost let Eri escape, and leads her to a freaky laboratory, all the while acting like a total creep. There, he’s told he has a phone call -- from Shigaraki Tomura.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 155 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

guess what time it is kids YEP, you guessed it, NEW VOLUME TIME

well this is all very vague and rather underwhelming

can’t remember the last time I saw a title and cover page that gave away so little. hey guys I think Deku, the main character, will probably feature in this volume pretty heavily. and he’ll be neither happy nor sad nor angry, but based on this, just rather meh. okay then Deku

(ETA: now that I know what the title is in reference to, I kinda wish All Might had also featured on this cover in some small way. ah well)

hey guys who is this

is this what’s-his-name? Amajiki? will he be working with Kirishima interning at this friendly Hamburglar’s agency? AMAJIKI WHAT’S YOUR QUIRK

loooool the character page doesn’t have Todoroki or Bakugou. I’ll try to be a big girl about this. I can go one volume without 2/3 of my sons being featured. but their efforts to pass the make-up provisional license exam had better be fucking successful goddammit. I can only take so much before I start going into withdrawals here

(ETA: sorry, past me. it turns out we’re not very good at handling this. it also turns out it is not, in fact, just one volume. the good news is that as soon as this recap is posted, we are going on a binge of destiny and we will not stop until we have reunited with our missing children. this is my solemn vow)

at least All Might, Ochako, Aizawa, Kirishima, and MY BOY MIRIO are still here

chapter SUTAATO

so we’re flashing back a few moments before the end of the previous chapter

Deku and Mirio are out on patrol!

Deku says he’s nervous, and Mirio’s surprised because this isn’t even anything particularly difficult, it’s just a patrol

and after a moment’s consideration he’s asking if it’s trauma from the League of Villains’ attack

oh Mirio you’re so considerate you precious little dumpling

but Deku says no, he just surprisingly lacks experience with basic hero stuff because so much out-of-the-ordinary shit keeps happening to him

you know what, it’s true. he didn’t even get to do a single patrol during his training with Gran Torino because he ran into the fucking Hero Killer on his third fucking day

Mirio’s all “wow that’s weird” and yeah, but only if you’re not a main character

by the way please look at this duck man here

is this a duck or a chicken or like what the hell is this dude

anyway, because Mirio doesn’t yet realize the scope of Deku’s Main Character Powers, he tells Deku not to worry and that they’ll just be patrolling while Nighteye’s team will be the ones doing surveillance

oh Mirio. so beautiful, so kind, so fucking naive

Deku’s watching this glorious shooting star at work, and thinking again about how he was the original One for All candidate and All Might never said anything

follow me baby

now Mirio’s asking Deku what his superhero name is, and Deku is like, “Deku”

I just really love Deku’s “I’m Deku” face. he has no right to make me keep wanting to ruffle his hair like this

Mirio’s name is “Rumillion”, which apparently refers to the fact that he wants to be a guy who can save millions of people. even if it’s not quite to All Might’s standard of being able to save all people

(ETA: so as we all know, it’s actually Lemillion, which is apparently French? so weird)

what an interesting interpretation of what the “all” in All Might stands for. pretty sure it’s wrong, but it’s still cool

so I guess his chest plate does say 1,000,000. and also his actual name is worked into the superhero name just like Uravity’s punny name. these fucking kids

Mirio gets Deku pumped up by reminding him that they’re heroes now. “don’t let your guard down, Deku!”

and now back to this hilariously terrible situation that Deku has somehow found himself in through sheer bad luck

maybe that’s his actual quirk. a quirk that charges up numerous small instances of terrible luck and then unleashes them as sudden Good Luck Energy. does that make sense. so much bad shit happens to him, but then he also has the absolute best luck at the most critical times. shit, this started as a joke but now I’ve half convinced myself into making it headcanon. goddamn

anyways

looooool. shit. fuck. :’D haha this is the worst

he says she’s been horsing around “so she’s a bit scraped up.” hahahahhaha oh my god Overhaul heyyyyy fuck you?!

(ETA: unbelievably, this sentiment will only keep growing stronger and stronger. it is rather impressive how he keeps reaching new depths of terrible)

Deku can’t control his face at all. he looks openly horrified. if anyone ever sat down to play cards with this kid they’d fucking clean him out

holy shit Mirio is SO FUCKING SMOOTH oh my god

Mirio I’m stanning you and your quick-thinking, cool-under-pressure heroic phasing ass, goddammit

Deku’s looking at Mirio in surprise and wondering what he’s talking about. oh my god, you’re supposed to be smart

and now Mirio’s apologizing to Overhaul

and now Deku belatedly realizes that his facial expression was giving away the whole fucking game and that’s why Mirio flipped his mask up to hide it

now Deku’s actually putting on the rest of his mask oh my god. how weird

meanwhile Mirio’s amiably complimenting Overhaul on his own “kickass mask”

Overhaul is amiably replying that he’s just sensitive to germs

I’m sure it won’t be the last time :’D

Mirio replies that they’re still new and so they’re “nervous”

he’s trying so hard to cover for Deku’s slip-up. I’m sure Overhaul can see through it in an instant, but you still have to hand it to him, it’s one hell of an effort

Overhaul’s asking what office they’re with. lol put them on the spot

Mirio says they’re still students and they’re not with any agencies yet and are just on patrol for some field training experience

he’s very deliberately avoiding any mention of Nighteye, and he’s trying to get Deku to leave with him as soon as possible

so he’s telling Deku it’s time to go finish their patrol. but here’s the problem, though

like. what the fuck. you can’t just fucking abandon this little girl who’s showing clear signs of abuse, and leave her with this guy who you know is a fucking villain

and she knows they’re heroes too, she knows this is her chance

so now. here’s a test for you guys. can you take her with you without openly letting on that you’re investigating Overhaul

I think the only way they can do it is if Eri gives them reason to step in, but I’m worried she might be too scared

oh by the way, I know absolutely nothing about Eri and she’s been in the manga for less than one full chapter, but I’ve already adopted her and would die for her you guys. so Deku, don’t you dare leave her or I won’t fucking forgive your ass. All Might wouldn’t leave her!

so now Deku’s politely pointing out that Overhaul’s “daughter” is scared as fuck

Overhaul smoothly replies that it’s because he just scolded her. fuckkkk

Mirio’s trying to telepathically communicate to Deku that he can’t show too much suspicion, and he’s again telling Deku “let’s go”

okay, Deku has clearly already decided to save Eri no matter what, so that’s good

he’s pointing out that the bandages are a little extreme for “just horsing around”

Overhaul says she falls down a lot. fucking...

Deku continues to argue that she seems unnaturally traumatized. that’s right, Deku. if he can make a plausible argument for there being good enough cause to save Eri here, he just might be able to get away with it

problem is, I don’t think Overhaul will let it happen. he’s still playing “nice”, but if push comes to shove I think he will shift from “polite citizen” to “rude uncooperative citizen” and he’ll still be able to get away with it without giving up his civilian cover

Deku would save Eri anyway though. we’ve already seen that he will say “fuck you” to the rules if he believes it’s necessary. even if it screws up the investigation

and then there’s the matter of “what does Overhaul want with this girl anyway, and what lengths will he to go to keep her?” I assume she must have a really useful quirk. I don’t think she’s his actual daughter, no way. kidnapped seems more likely. or something along those lines. this guy is an underworld crime lord after all

so as expected, Overhaul has stopped cooperating, and now he’s basically implying that this is none of Deku’s business

yet again Mirio is trying to push Deku to drop it, and he’s worried about them blowing the investigation

so far this is the only thing Mirio’s done that I disapprove of. sorry Mirio. you’re still a beautiful cinnamon roll

(ETA: Mirio I totally forgive you and I’m sorry for ever doubting you. you beat yourself up so much over this afterward and you were so hard on yourself and you pushed yourself to your limits and beyond to make up for it and you didn’t have to, it wasn’t your fault. you’re so good and brave. aghhh I’m still so upset about this)

but Deku thinks it’d be even more out of character and suspicious to leave at this point

point: Deku

oh shit, even Overhaul’s acknowledging this, and now he’s changing up his strategy

he’s shrugging and says he understands their concern

and holy shit now he’s inviting them to follow him into this dark alley

loooool follow him into the alley if you want to be spontaneously combusted, kids

oh my god they’re actually gonna do it. “it’s not like we can just make off with her”

sure, but you can argue that you want to continue this discussion over at the police precinct just to be safe. or in literally any private place that isn’t a dark alley where no one will hear you explode. or, and here’s a crazy thought, you could just tell him “no thank you sir, I think we can talk about it right here”, and to hell with whether or not he’s “embarrassed”

but nooo, they’re following him in there. sigh

Overhaul says Eri does nothing but rebel and that he’s ~worried~ about her

:’D cry me a riverrrr

so naturally Deku suspects abuse

but now he finally does have his poker face on -- he always did have that delayed reaction time, didn’t he -- and he’s playing along and says “that sounds rough”

Overhaul’s all “kids are hard to understand”

and now he appears to be moving to take off his gloves

heh. this isn’t good huh

well, you guys wanted to get proof of Overhaul doing something villainous, though...

I don’t suppose Mirio has like a panic button he can push to alert Nighteye in situations like these without letting on that he’s called for backup? that seems like something these guys should have

anyway so now everyone’s on alert because they all know shit is about to go down

oh shit

ERI NO

Overhaul, absolute bastard that he is, is asking Eri if she’s done with her “little tantrum”

and she’s nodding. fuuuuuuck

now Overhaul’s apologizing for bothering them, bidding them farewell, and HE’S LEAVING WITH THAT SWEET, SCARED LITTLE GIRL OH MY GOD

this is so upsetting?! I’m so fucking upset right now???

Deku wants to go after them, but Mirio’s holding him back again, and now I’m back to siding with him

he says that if they push it they’ll just make it harder to catch him later on

and he’s right. but this is still fucking devastating. and Deku looks just as upset as I feel

jesus christ look what he fucking did to the guy who was supposed to be watching her

JESUS CHRIST

and that happened because Eri tried to run. he doesn’t even have to hurt her to keep her in line; all it’ll take is threatening to hurt other people, because she knows he’ll follow through

fucking shit, I don’t like this! you guys this dude is SO FUCKING EVIL holy shit. he makes Tomura look like a kid playing cops and robbers

ughhh Eri’s trying to shut it out and I can’t I need someone to rescue her like fucking yesterday my dudes

Overhaul is telling Eri she needs to “stop being selfish”

whaaaaaat the fuck

what the fucking fuck you guys

okay so we’ve got a fucking torture chair or whatever, and it’s hooked up to at least two big stasis-chamber-looking things. and there’s all this medical equipment all around. what the hell, what is going on

this guy was not fucking kidding when he said he had a real, actual villain plan and not just vague All Might-crushing ambitions like Tomura. I have no idea what this guy is planning, but damn does it look legit

AND SPEAKING OF TOMURA

FUCK ME, IF THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS GETS INVOLVED IN THIS TOO THE HEROES MIGHT JUST BE SCREWED

(ETA: ooooooor, it might just ironically be the thing that gets them unscrewed. definitely wasn’t expecting that. although I’m still not quite done with the arc yet so we’ll see)

oh my god. fucking bad guys. I’m gonna chill to Overhaul’s trap beat theme again for a little bit

BONUS:

good for him, now we know it works. he can take it off again now lol

#bnha #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku #toogata mirio #eri (bnha)#overhaul (bnha)#bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #one thing I do like about the revised hood design is that his hair is sticking out all wildly in the back #he looked SUPER weird all the way back in chapter 8 when he had it all tucked under the mask #he still looks super weird here but it's not quite as bad #there's a bit less second-hand embarrassment #oh deku

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makeste · 5 years

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BnHA Chapter 109: Rescue Exercise

Previously on BnHA: Bakugou and Deku’s groups met up after passing phase one of the exam. Bakugou eyed Deku and was all, “I see you made that *~*~*BORROWED POWER*~*~* your own,” which caused me to lose my shit, but then he walked off without saying anything further. Aoyama and Iida were big damn heroes, but Aoyama really took the cake, firing up his laser and using it as a beacon to draw in the remaining class 1-A strays so that they could all regroup and pass. Which they did, with not a second to spare. Back in the anteroom, the 100 remaining examinees were directed to watch as the examiners demolished the testing field with a series of explosions, and then announced that phase two of the exam would be a rescue operation.

Today on BnHA: The exam guys explain that the second part of the test will involve rescuing old folks and little kids from a mock disaster site. The “victims” are professional actors who basically do this for a living. While the group waits for phase two to begin, Sero gossips to the others about Deku and the Weird Naked Girl from Shiketsu Academy. Meanwhile a polite Yeti from Shiketsu comes to apologize to Bakugou on behalf of his dick classmate (the meat lump guy from a couple chapters ago). Shouto goes up to Yoarashi and is all “is it just me or do you hate my guts” and Yoarashi is all “yeah I do, cuz your eyes remind me of Endeavor’s.” Phase two begins and the kids set off a-rescuin’. Deku gets chewed out for not being smiley enough, but recovers. Ochako decides she’s going to stop acting like she’s in a shoujo manga for the time being, which, finally!! The exam continues, with a plot twist or two very clearly on the horizon.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 148 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

~new volume time~!

oh. yeahhh

now that’s the shit I do like. my boys being two sides of the same coin

and in the background it looks like Yoarashi and Todoroki are indeed being rivals, and Todo looks to be embracing his fire side at long last!

and is that Gang Orca just randomly there in the background also or what

anyway

“IT’S ABOUT YOUR QUIRK FUCKWIPE”

(ETA: after this volume, FA got a new translator, and I feel like this was the original translator’s last hurrah lol. to be fair, the guy apparently had a ton of impact on early BnHA fandom. he was even the one who came up with “quirk” as a translation for kosei which obviously stuck. but all the same, I’ve definitely noticed a steep drop in the number of profanities uttered in FA’s translations since he left.)

oh my god shit’s gonna hit the fan. fucking finally. they wouldn’t have brought it up out of the blue in the previous chapter unless things were about to come to a head! I smell another Kacchan essay coming on before these next nine chapters are done

wow look at this title page though

Todoroki looks very ~moody~ here and I can’t help but feel more daddy angst is on the horizon. there’s got to be some reason why the otherwise stand-up guy Yoarashi keeps looking at him like he smells something bad

yay the character page has the characters in action again instead of just profile pictures of them! for a little while I was afraid Horikoshi was running out of steam to keep doing these. I really like them every time he does one and this is no exception

Bakugou looks like he’s gotten more jacked. been hittin the gym

is Tokoyami using Dark Shadow to fly...? can he do that?

Rat Principal’s just sitting there in All Might’s lap. interesting to see him here; I assume this means more plot stuff is on the horizon. WHO IS THE TRAITOR

poor Kirishima, shown here a split second away from falling flat on his face

Jirou is perfect as always, I wonder if she’s ever not been perfect

go away Mineta

anyways. on to the chapter

so the first thing I wondered upon reading this opening panel (“we’ll be having you conduct rescues as ‘bystanders’ at this disaster site”) is, what the fuck do they mean by “bystanders.” but thankfully the kids are asking the exact same thing

oh, you did it as a lesson once. REMEMBER? no I don’t fucking remember because I wasn’t there. I can’t believe you did a bystander rescue lesson without me. fuck you guys!

they’re saying that they won’t be acting as ordinary citizens, but as people who’ve already secured a provisional license. so basically, heroes who happened to be onsite during the disaster

and there are the old men and kids we saw earlier

I wonder if they’re going to purposely make things as difficult for the rescuers as possible

wow, apparently they all do this professionally. they’ve got fake blood and everything

the exam guy is saying they work for the “Help Us Company” or HUC for short. haha I love this

so okay, the examinees have to rescue them and do it as professionally as possible. but are there any other crazy requirements for this exam like there have been with all of the other ones

wow, apparently not. “this time you and your rescue efforts will be graded via points.” how curiously normal. almost suspiciously so

Iida and Deku are staring at the field

if that’s the case, I wonder is it just a rescue operation then, or did they hire any actors to possibly play villains as well...? like, exactly how realistic are they going for here

anyway, the resemblance seems to make this more personal for them. Deku’s looking serious and determined. “let’s give it our best shot”

hoh boy Sero is coming over to Kami and Mineta and says he has something to tell them, and immediately you know it’s gonna be about that naked chick from Shiketsu

I’m so torn on this because. basically they think Deku was fooling around with her and they’re like “WHAT, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXAM??” and caught somewhere in between outraged and impressed. but like, they’re horny teenage boys and of course they’re gonna be interested

really, if it was just Sero and Kaminari (a.k.a. the two that actually respect their fellow students and haven’t groped and/or attempted to peep on and/or raid their underwear and/or all of the other disgusting things Mineta has done or tried to do), I wouldn’t mind it, because really they’re just gossiping and fantasizing. but as usual Mineta ruins everything

ffff okay screw it, this is pretty funny. I mostly just like that they all think Deku’s got game now. and this girl is not helping at all

now they’re all disappearing in a cloud of angry fight smoke (as one does), and Ochako is staring

c’mon Ochako you know he wouldn’t do you like that. you know him better than that

over by the refreshments table, some guys from Shiketsu are coming over to say hi to Bakugou

they’re asking did Seiji go after him and he’s like “yeah and I knocked his punk ass out”

this sasquatch-looking guy is apologizing for Seiji’s behavior. hmmm

hmmmmm. is this sincere? I don’t fucking trust anyone from any of these other schools until the exam is finally over

everyone else is skeptical too lol

Todoroki is remembering Yoarashi’s >:( face from earlier and is like, then wtf was up with that

Shouto they all have hats. be fucking specific

obviously he’s talking to Yoarashi though

so he’s asking if he did something

Yoarashi’s turning to him like

“no. absolutely nothing at all”

haha. no, actually he’s addressing him as “son of Endeavor.” so yeah I’m starting to get an inkling here that he doesn’t like Todoroki’s dad

okay, whoa

okay, HOLD UP. you come into my house and you come up to my son who’s already been through enough dad-related trauma for a lifetime and who already has ten thousand hang-ups about being too similar to his dad, and who is actually THE SWEETEST BOY WHO EVER LIVED, TRUFAX, and you go up to him and you say you don’t like him because HIS EYES ARE THE SAME AS ENDEAVOR’S? Yoarashi, I’ll have you know that I liked you. but if it’s going to be like that, I WILL MAKE YOU MY ADVERSARY IN A HEARTBEAT and don’t think for a second that I won’t!!

AND HE’S REALLY GOING OFF NOW WITHOUT EVEN FUCKING EXPLAINING WHY HE DOESN’T LIKE ENDEAVOR AND WHY HE’S CONDEMNED SHOUTO TO NOT BEING LIKED JUST BECAUSE OF HIS JERK DAD

ARE YOU TRYING TO UNDO ALL THAT SHIT DEKU WORKED SO HARD FOR DURING THE SPORTS FESTIVAL ARC?? DEKU’S ARMS DIED FOR THIS

and I’m not sure if Deku actually saw all of this happening, but now he’s asking if Todoroki is okay

or at least he starts to, but then this girl whose name I unfortunately forgot (hold on I’ll look it up again... Camie) is bidding him farewell and he’s getting distracted by that. and then immediately Kami and Mineta are tearing into him again

meanwhile Ochako is staring at Camie with a weirdly contemplative look

jealousy!?!??! like, is it not obvious?? there’s a whole shipping thing that Horikoshi is trying to do with you and Deku here, but I’m really skeptical of his ability to pull it off even remotely gracefully. but it sure doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere so I guess WE SHALL SEE

whoa now all of a sudden a voice is blaring over the speakers and interrupting all of their teenage shenanigans

finally. Todoroki angst aside, that was beginning to get tiresome

and here they go!

I wonder if they’re also going to be tested on their ability to work with the kids from the other schools here. because in a real life rescue effort, they’d have to put aside their differences. and that scene just before this sure did a good fucking job of establishing that various people here all have various beefs. I hope they don’t get sidetracked by that

so they’re all setting off, and they’re wondering how they’re going to be graded. well, my speculation is that the ones who bring the others together and work cooperatively will get the highest score. in other words, I think this test is going to weed out the ones with too much ego, among other things

so, Bakugou... lol. good luck kiddo

(ETA: sob)

like two seconds in and they already stumbled upon a crying little kid

oh shit these instructors are not fucking around

DEKU YOU FUCKED UP SOMEHOW

he’s screaming at him why didn’t he check if he was okay first, look at all the blood on him, etc.

he says heroes with provisional licenses need to be able to judge the victims’ situations at a glance. well thank you for the helpful hint dude

someone from another school is saying that they’re going to mark the area as dangerous, and someone else is saying no, make it a wider area because we don’t know if the damage might spread

someone else is making roads and helipads

and some of Ms. Joke’s kids are setting up a temporary refuge and triage station

Aizawa’s rubbing his head and says he knew his kids would fall behind when it came to this sort of thing. well how much training have they had for this?

okay this is actually really interesting. this is something we haven’t gotten into at all yet

and that kid that was yelling at Deku says that most of all, a hero’s first words upon arriving at the scene shouldn’t be, “OH NO THAT’S TERRIBLE,” but rather...

wow Deku you really did fuck up, huh. wasn’t this the entire reason you wanted to be a hero in the first place?

but thanks again HUC kid for your free advice

so now Deku is snapping himself out of it and getting his game face on

I kinda wish his game face wasn’t so cuddly, but I’ll take it

now the HUC kid is immediately getting back in character and telling Deku to go save his grandpa

so Deku’s directing the others to go help gramps while he takes the kid to the first aid station

Ochako is just STANDING THERE WATCHING HIM

I don’t know but get a move on, girl, I need you to get your license too so you can become even more of a badass

she’s thinking that she needs to push aside all of her DO YOU LOVE HIM??? feelings

and that whenever she sees Deku acting like that and never giving up, she thinks it’s just so cool

well, good, because this is the provisional license exam arc, not the Can These Two Crazy Kids Really Make It After All arc. we’re barely a hundred chapters in; there’s still plenty of time for that shit later down the line

and thankfully the last page seems to be introducing some sort of twist, because things were getting a little too straightforward for a finale lol

is that Todoroki? I can’t tell what’s going on. I GUESS I’ll just have to keep reading, oh well

BONUS:

Chewbacca here is first mate on a ship that might suit us

whaaaaaaaat he’s the class rep?? okay then, I guess that was a sincere offer of friendship. this guy seems like a solid bro

apparently he can freely manipulate his hair and make it longer and such. “though it’s tough how often it tangles up on him.” that sounds troublesome

I like him. Nagamasa... I’ll try to remember that

#bnha #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku #yoarashi inasa #todoroki shouto #uraraka ochako #moura nagamasa #makeste reads bnha #todoroki shouto: [walks up to a group of students who all have absolutely nothing in common]#[other than the fact that they all have the same hat]#todoroki shouto: 'hey you with the hat'#in the anime he's more specific #but oddly enough I think I prefer this version lmao

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