Chapter 179. The Big 3
I woke up to my alarm blaring at me. I lazily slapped my hand on my bed stand, shutting the alarm off for a few minutes. I groaned while groggily getting up from my bed, feeling like it has been so long since I went to a class. I did my usual morning routine of my early jog with Deku, and got dressed in my school uniform after I had showered. I rebandaged my arm, a habit at this point since I was pretty sure everyone in class had seen it before. ‘Or maybe trying to hide the reminder of the path I was close to going down…’
I stared at my left bandaged hand and sighed, wondering where I might be if I didn’t have everyone’s support, the girls especially. The idea made me shiver, and I shook my head to dispel any negative thoughts. ‘I didn’t, that’s what matters most.’ I repeated what Nemuri told me in therapy when talking about how close I was to certain paths. With that little mantra in my mind I felt more refreshed as I left my room. Locking the door behind me, I noticed someone approaching from my right. I glanced over to see Kyoka dressed in her school attire.
Kyoka’s face was slightly red while she twirled her finger through her earphone jack. Her adorable frown made me grin as I greeted her. “Morning.” She frowned deeper, clearly unhappy, but in her usual tsundere way as she glanced around the hall. “There’s nobody else here…” She said while tapping her foot, like she was waiting for something. I took a quick glance to see the halls were empty too, before almost leaping in front of Kyoka. The sudden loud bang of my stomping brought over her attention. “What are you do-!?” Before she was finished, I stole her lips as a good morning kiss.
She squeaked and her eyes widened before closing in enjoyment. I then pulled back, perhaps to her displeasure. Her gaze hungered for more, even if she would never admit it. “Good morning.” I said more tenderly while gently resting my lips on her forehead for a moment before the heat of her embarrassment burned me. Kyoka steamed before stabbing my sternum with her earphone lighter than usual. “...ning…” She mumbled back, so quietly the first part was almost inaudible.
We headed down to the common area, Kyoka stabbing me with her earphones every few seconds. The rest of the girls all came down in their own time to join us. I had noticed that almost all the boys (Minus Ida) slept in until they had to get up for classes. Everyone in class left together, as many of the boys slogged out of bed, being woken up from Ida’s yelling. “Everyone!! We must all be ready for classes to start again today!!” I chuckled at how loud he could be when he wanted, before sighing in the morning air.
When class started, Aizawa entered inside slamming the door behind him shut. “Morning…” He lazily spoke while getting his things to his podium. “Today we are going to be talking about Work Studies. And rather than explain it myself, I’ve brought over some people who have gone out and experienced it themselves.” He then glanced at the door while yelling. “Come in!”
Once he did, the door opened, revealing 3 people. However my eyes were trained on the one that I had gotten to know best from the show. His blue eyes and blonde hair stood out almost as much as I did, and his childlike smile gave a sense of playfulness that almost made me unbelieving of his tenacity that I knew burned within him. Aizawa continued his explanation while slowly moving away from the front of the class, hoping to fade off in the background soon enough. “They have taken time out of their busy schedule to give you their full attention. Out of all the students of the third years, these are the top three. We call them The Big Three.”
I looked at the black haired boy leading the group of three in front. His dull gaze reminded me of Jin. I then looked at the blue haired girl. Her hair drooped down to her thighs, making me wonder how he fought without it getting in the way. ‘I never saw her much in the anime. She’s a bit of a mystery. I think her Quirk was energy maybe?’ My gaze then centered back on the man I respected one of the most from the anime. The teenage boy, so willing to fight even after losing everything.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself, Amajiki?” Aizawa asked in a half hearted tone. The black haired boy then grit his teeth, while his gaze hardened. Giving the entire class a mean look that brought fear through most of the students. Of course Himiko just sighed with happiness before looking back at me, clearly remembering me having that kind of look before. I embarrassingly looked away from her lustful gaze as Amajiki complained about his lack of social skills to the other two.
I was brought back into the conversation from the sound of laughter in the front of class from the girl I slightly remembered. “-Funny right!? My name is Nejire Hadou. We’ve come to talk about internships.” She then glanced at Shoji, and I noticed her eyes glinted with interest. “But hey! Why do you wear a mask? You cold all the time or something?” Shoji was about to answer, however she continued on to other classmates, switching between each one before they could reply. Shoto’s burns, Mina’s horns, Mineta’s balls, Ojiro’s tail, and others that caught her interest. That is until she came over to my desk.
She glanced at me up and down in silence while the rest of the class was strangely silent as well. “What’s with the bandaged arm all the time? Is that red eye a contact lens? Having a hard time adjusting past 8th grade?” I slammed my head on my desk not wanting to hear more of her questions, nor the snickering and hushed laughter from most of the class, including the girls. “Let’s just move on! Togata!” Aizawa yelled while covering his face with his hand, stopping himself from seeing the scene anymore.
Togata laughed while diverting the attention back to himself at the front of the class. As he was going on about energy and the like, I noticed Hadou was still beside my desk. She smiled while hearing Togata’s speech, but I couldn’t help but feel her gaze on my arm from time to time. “Why don’t you all team up together, and face me!?” Togata cheered with his gleeful smile, a fist pumped in the air, bringing my attention back to him. The rest of the class was dumbfounded, but I knew this was coming. A smirk grew at the idea of facing off against one of the top three in the school. However I only noticed my own smirk from Himiko’s giggling as she stared at my expression. I hurriedly reeled my excitement back in as everyone got up to get changed.
Walking down the hall everyone was talking about what fighting Togata would be like. “I think we got a good chance with all of us together.” “He wouldn’t want to fight us all together if he didn’t feel like he would lose though.” “What was his quirk again?” “Doesn’t matter, I’ll fucking kill that arrogant piece of shit.” As the boys discussed things, it didn’t take long to find ourselves on the training field again. While waiting for the girls to finish up changing themselves, the big three, and Aizawa were already here.
Actually Amajiki was pressed up against a wall, trying to bury his head inside to avoid oncoming looks. The girls then entered, allowing the ‘exam’ to start. “Are you serious about this?” Sero asked a bit worried over Togata’s task. Togata, stretching, nodded with a smile. “Oh, I’m dead serious.” I then heard an ‘eep!’ that I was accustomed to. I looked over at Mina covering her face to hide the shame of her horns being played with. ‘I forgot that Hadou was touchy.’ I bit my bottom lip, an uneasiness in my chest loomed as I moved over to the two. Disregarding the fight that was about to happen.
Hadou, unaware of me, explained about a student that left in tears after fighting Togata, not that I cared. “You gotta think things through really~ carefully-” She was about to go on, but my hand swatting hers away from Mina’s head got her attention. Mina stopped squirming in place and uncovered her blushing face to me. “I think that’s enough of that.” I muttered while ruffling her pink tomboyish hair for a bit. Mina nodded a bit meekly, allowing me to focus back on the lesson.
Unfortunately, by interrupting Hadou, Mina and I had become the center of attention. “Sorry for the interruption.” I said with a quick bow towards Togata, wanting him to start up again. He just chuckled happily in response. “It’s ok! Just try not to get upset when I hurt your girlfriend!” I smiled at him a bit sarcastically. “There’s no ‘if’?” I asked as I gave a side eye to Hadou. They both laughed while Hadou shook her head to comfort me. “Don’t take it personally. Togata is just-” “That’s for them to find out.” Aizawa interrupted Hadou before she could finish, causing her to pout a little from being cut off again.
Everyone in the class got more serious, except Bakugo, who could only hold back his temper by making small explosions in his hands. “Well, who would like to go first?” Togata asked the class after seeing a lull in the conversation.