Plus Ultra
101 2 4
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

Friday, May 8th

Hitomi walked towards the platform, her eyes fixed on the red-and-white-haired boy standing on it.

"Hmm, I'm not sure if I like this or not…" She said once on the platform. "Being sincere, I didn't expect nor wanted to fight against you so soon." She shrugged. "I mean, jumping from sparkling-boy straight to Endeavor V2.0 seems extremely unlucky, don't you think?" She noticed easily how Todoroki's indifferent mask slipped. His eyes flashing with annoyance.

"AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN, LISTENERS!" Exclaimed Present Mic. "ON ONE SIDE WE HAVE THE FAVORITE OF THE FESTIVAL, ICE & FIRE, TODOROKI SHOUTO FROM 1-A CLASS!" Todoroki didn't react to the teacher's words nor the people's applauses only kept staring at her. "AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE WILD CARD THAT UNEXPECTEDLY MADE IT INTO THE FINAL EVENT, SHINSOU HITOMI FROM THE GENERAL DEPARTMENT!" She smirked and waved to the public, receiving more claps than she ever expected. "BOTH OF THEM WON THEIR PREVIOUS FIGHTS IN LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS! SO, IS IT GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN?!"

"Not going to say anything? Or do you consider yourself too high and mighty to exchange words with a nobody commoner like me...?" She asked, but the boy remained silent. "Not that I expected any better from the son of such a miserable attempt of a human being. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, after all." Todoroki's frown worsen.

"WHO IS GOING TO WIN?!"

"...All the time, blessed people like you receive everything they want and need on a silver platter without having to do anything to deserve it. And still, all of you are praised as if you were descended gods or something."

"TODOROKI WITH HIS MASSIVE ICE ATTACKS OR SHINSOU WITH HER OBSCURE BUT POWERFULL QUIRK?!"

"...So I suppose this situation is fine too." She shrugged and then put her hands in her pockets.

"LET'S SEE IT!"

"I'm sure I'll have an insured ticket to the Hero Course when I crush Endeavor's little prodigal-..."

"START!"

"-son." In less than a blink, there was a huge burst of ice advancing towards her.

It took her a moment to process the situation and when she finally tried to move away, it was already too late. Todoroki's ice attack struck her and encased her full body, only letting her head and right hand unfrozen.

"W-What?!"

"WOW, THAT WAS FAST! HOW MUCH WAS IT...?! ONE SECOND? TWO SECONDS AT MOST?!" She ignored the man's words and desperately tried to free herself, but her little mobility made it impossible.

After some agonizing seconds, Midnight's whip resounded on the stadium.

"Because his opponent can't move anymore, the victory is for Todoroki Shouto from the Hero Course!" Yelled the woman to the stadium's public. And Hitomi felt like a puppet after its strings are cut.

It couldn't be. She didn't make it this far to lose this way! Not when the people out there were finally noticing her!

It was then that her opponent got closer.

"...Sorry." Said Todoroki, his voice as cold as his ice. His menacing mismatched eyes saw through her as if she was nothing.

"D-Don't say stuff like t-that when you don't m-mean it…!" She grunted, trembling both for the cold and the anger she felt.

Then the guy turned around and walked away.

"H-Hey! Where are y-you going!? G-Get back! L-Let me o-out of here, you bastard!" She yelled, but he continued walking until she couldn't see him anymore.

"AND THERE HE GOES!WHAT A RUDE KID...! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP THAT GIRL!"

"...G-Gentlemanship d-died..." She said breathy, dying to get home and drink a bit of hot cocoa.


Tuesday, May 12th

Izuku stopped the video recording just on the part when a helper started using a hairdryer on her frozen body.

"Well. That gets more embarrassing with every time I see it." She commented, sitting beside the Quirkless boy.

"I-It wasn't that bad..." She stared at him and lifted an eyebrow.

"You don't need to lie, Midoriya. First, you suck at it." The guy blushed and looked away. "Second, it doesn't offend me you tell the truth" She crossed her arms. "I was completely unprepared for that fight and it was only my fault. I didn't have any actual battle experience or physical training at all, and I still don't... So when Todoroki attacked me, I couldn't react in time, just like Yaomomo. But worst... At least she tried to defend herself. I couldn't even do that, just made a complete fool of myself on TV." She sighed and breathed deeply. "...But that's already water under the bridge. I need to prepare so I can make a better impression next year..." She noticed the subtle frown on Izuku's face.

According to UA rules, transferring to the Hero Course was only possible if a teacher vouched for the student and most of the Faculty agreed with it. Ultimately, in the case of indecision, the Headmaster would have the last word.

Sadly, Hitomi doubted she would be considered this year after fuck it up so badly.

"It has been only four days since the f-festival. You could still be transferred." He said in that serious voice he used the day before when she was being especially hard-headed.

"Maybe..." She shrugged. "Believe me, I'm not trying to be negative here. Only realistic" He frowned again. "I didn't make it to the Hero Course this year. What a tragedy." She dramatically grabbed her face, though her voice and expression remained the same. "Or it would be if I didn't have the next year to try it again..." She shrugged. " Actually, even if I fail again then -which would definitely suck, I'm not going to lie-, I can still do like some adults, and get a hero license through alternative programs after I graduate. Better later than never, I guess." Izuku looked at her wide-eyed. "So, just know that I'm not giving up. EVER." She just didn't mention her alternative plan of being a vigilante if everything else didn't work. That could very well give the poor boy a stroke.

"...T-That's the most negative-positive t-thing I have ever heard."

"...Thanks. I try."

"It wasn't r-really a compliment."

"In any case, I'm already looking for a place where I can learn how to fight properly."

Izuku nodded and suddenly turned contemplative. Slight nervousness in his eyes.

"Is something the matter?"

"No. I-It's nothing... Eh. Kinda." She looked at him suspiciously, enjoying his abashed expression. "Um, for what I s-saw before, you weren't having good luck with your search, right?" She shook her head.

"It's a work in process." In other words, it had been a disaster and a complete waste of time.

"W-Well... I-I actually have a good place that I could r-recommend you."

"...Do you?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's a K-Karate dojo at the Chiba prefecture."

"Hmm, doesn't ring any bells." She commented.

"T-That would make sense. You see, the owner is a traditional guy, technologically speaking. Too obstinate to post his place on the internet... But believe me, despite that, it's an amazing place!" He said with a conviction that surprised her.

"You sound pretty sure about it."

"I d-do. They helped me a lot." He said with an embarrassed smile.

"Eh...?" She stared at Izuku confused. "Wait. You do Karate?"

"Yeah. It h-has been a year already since I joined." He commented and seemed to lose himself in nostalgia. Meanwhile, she limited to observe him in silence.

...It was hard to believe.

Shy, smart, nerdy Izuku Midoriya... practicing Karate...?

She had to stop herself from asking Izuku if he was being serious, not wanting to upset him with her ridiculous skepticism.

Even though it has been only one day since she met Izuku; she had no reason to doubt him after all he had done for her. And in any case, why would he lie about something like that?

To try to impress me, because he apparently likes me, for some weird reason. She stomped the thought. She didn't have the time to deal with it. Maybe when she went home... Or at the weekend... Or never...

Anyway, she just felt so incredulous about the whole situation because Izuku's image wasn't compatible at all with the way she pictured people that practiced martial arts... But at the same time, it felt outrageously wrong to think of him as someone 'weak'.

He was anything but that.

"Hey, Midoriya." She said, making him stop remembering the past.

"Yeah?"

"Could you give me your coat for a moment?" She asked him, trying to sound casual.

"Eh... My u-uniform coat?" She nodded. "W-Why?" He seemed wary of her intentions.

"There's something weird about it. Can't find the words to describe it." A huge lie, as big as his coat and shoes.

"F-Fine." He took it off and then handed it to Hitomi.

She received it, but her eyes didn't leave the boy.

His white undershirt was certainly fitter on him than his other garment and the short-sleeves did an outstanding job showing his arm's muscles.

Ok. Doubt resolved. He is actually fit... Really fit. I wouldn't be surprised if he is completely ripped under his shirt.

Even though she usually didn't act as girlie as her female classmates, she was still just a normal teenage girl. And had to recognize that muscles on someone so unassuming but somehow cute as Izuku, make for a really attractive contrast.

So she did her best job at remaining impassible, burned the image on her retina, and then returned the coat to its owner.

"Just as I thought." She announced. "Your coat is just too big for you."

"Y-Yeah." He chuckled lightly. "Mom said that when I was older I would surely grow huge like D-Dad, so it wouldn't be a problem... But I don't really think I got m-much of his genes." She tried to imagine a taller Izuku but just couldn't.

Maybe it was the fact she always was the tall person between her peers, but still... It kinda unnerved her to think about Izuku being the taller one.

Small Izuku was defintely better.

"Meh. Height is overrated, Midoriya. When you are tall, you always stand out like a sore thumb, even when you try to be sneaky... Believe me, you are better keeping on the nerdy scarecrow impression." She said, half-joking.

Taking into account his deceiving appearance, she could easily imagine a bully trying to mess with him and getting their ass handed. That certainly would be an interesting spectacle to watch.

"Heh, I'll do w-what I can." He smiled at her, and she smirked back.

The mood was pleasant. Shockingly pleasant...

Actually. Wait... Did they just flirt with each other? That didn't count as flirting, did it?

"Okay, then I guess I can check out the physical training off my list?"

"Yeah! I only n-need to contact Kendo-san about it. We could probably visit the dojo this w-weekend."

"Kendo?" She asked, the name familiar. "...The girl with the gigantic hands?"

"Oh. I forgot y-you probably know her for the Sports Festival. H-Her father is the owner, actually."

"I see." Things were getting just better and better. If she could learn to fight as Big-Hands and improved her Quirk... She would be almost unbeatable... And talking about that... "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Is the offer to use you as a guinea pig still up?" She asked, almost smacking herself for saying it like that.

"Ah. O-Of course, we can start right now, if you want." Funnily enough, Izuku didn't seem bothered by her lack of tact.

Probably because he likes me... Dammit.


"...Okay, better let's stop." She turned off her Quirk, leaving Izuku free of her control.

He didn't waste a second to take his phone from the table and check out the rime.

"W-Wow." He watched it with amazement. "48 minutes!"

Unlike the previous day, this time by Izuku's recommendation she made sure of testing the limits of her Quirk. So Hitomi made him follow some instructions. Simple things like writing, moving light objects from one place to another, etc, for the longest time she could.

"Yeah. But I definitely shouldn't have done that." She felt drained as if she was about to fall unconscious at any moment.

"Are you okay?!" Izuku hurried to Hitomi and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to stabilize her.

"...I'm fine, just tired." She said with a light blush and then Izuku sat beside her. "Really tired. But I only need to rest for a moment." He nodded but kept a worried expression. Now it was him who was staring at her, fearing that something bad would occur if he let her out of his view. It was kind of uncomfortable. "Geez, I'm not going to spontaneously combust. Just stop looking at me like that, it's embarrassing." He murmured a 'sorry' and looked away... And that made her feel bad. "...Thank you for worrying, though." She nudged him gently.

Half an hour passed with both of them in comfortable silence. Izuku was taking some notes, while she rested her eyes, ignoring the still worried glances that Izuku directed at her.

"...Okay, this is not working." She murmured.

"Eh?" Izuku looked at her. "It's something wrong?"

"I just feel as tired as before... I seriously need to go home." She yawned lazily.

She needed to sleep. It was as simple as that. One or two hours of sleeping and she would be fine as new.

She could just do it right there... But she felt weird at having Izuku around while she slept…

She knew he wouldn't do anything funny, but still... It was kind of embarrassing to show him so much trust and weakness considering she barely knew him.

However, that arose another problem.

"I can't go by myself in this state. I would end up having an accident." She murmured, then looked at the Matryoshka doll in the middle of the table. "Having to carry that thing around just makes it worse."

"Can I do something to help?" He said eagerly, as gentlemanly as always.

"...There's no need to." Having an idea, she took out her phone and searched for her dad's contact. She was probably going to regret this later...

'Can you pick me up at UA?' Hitomi sent him the text message.

"Now I only need to wait for-. Huh?" Her phone chimed suddenly.

'Old Man: 30 minutes.' It was all his message said. She snorted, she shouldn't be surprised.

"Okay, everything is solved. My Dad is picking me up today." She stood up, her head dizzy for a moment. "Thanks for everything today, Midoriya. I think I should be going." She tried to pick up the doll from the table but couldn't move it an inch, her arms feeling soft as spaghetti.

She wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion or if she was just plain weak.

"Hey." She said looking back at Izuku somewhat flustered. "Thinking it better, I would appreciate a hand."


It didn't take them too much to exit the campus.

"He is not here yet." Hitomi looked around but couldn't find her father's car around. She sat on a bench and sighed.

"H-He should be close." Izuku sat beside her, Hitomi schoolbag clinging from his arm, and left her bike by his side. The russian doll resting in its basket.

Izuku had carried all her stuff without complaining and had even helped her along the way to stop her from falling asleep while walking and tripping on the stairs like an idiot.

She almost thought of telling him he didn't need to wait with her. But knowing him, he would do it anyway.

"You are too nice, Midoriya." She yawned again. "...Not that I dislike it." She added after noticing that Izuku flinched at her words.

"I just d-do what I can." He said, looking away in embarrassment.

"That's the point, Midoriya. Not everyone out there does what they can. Though it may sound cynical, the reality is that most people only see for themselves, including heroes. Some of them only care for fame or money and nothing else..." She closed her eyes and felt her body relaxing. "So anyone that goes out of their way to help others, as you do, should be worthy of admiration... So for that, thank you, Izuku." She said, not knowing the effect her words were having on Izuku's heart at the moment.

And then she fell asleep.


Izuku looked at the girl by his side, not knowing what to do.

"Shinsou-san?" He didn't receive any answer. Hitomi barely stirred.

This was bad... Should he wake her up or not?

She was sleeping at a bench, which was uncomfortable, so the logical option would be to wake her up... But Hitomi was so drained before, while now she looked really peaceful. Her relaxed expression the closer to a regular smile he had seen on her ever.

So he debated with himself about what would be the right thing to do.

'That she looks adorable while asleep is not enough of an argument!'

Then to his surprise, a police patrol parked some meters from them. The driver's door opened, and a man exited the vehicle.

The man was taller than Hitomi, with disheveled purple hair and a scruffy appearance that reminded Izuku of Eraserhead. Except this man didn't exudate annoyance and hostility as the hobo-looking teacher did...

Even hair color aside, the similarities between Hitomi and the man were obvious. The fact he seemed between 30-40 years old marked him immediately as Hitomi's father.

While Izuku analyzed him, the man looked at their direction, his eyes shifting between them, while his face was expressionless.

Of course. The stoicness ran in the family... But it wasn't helping Izuku to know if he was in trouble or not...

Izuku tensed while the man approached until stopping in front of Hitomi. The man looked at her for a moment before breaking the silence.

"Hitomi. Wake up." He said in a deep voice ignoring Izuku. And when the girl didn't move, he poked her in the cheek a pair of times. She didn't react. "...Overusing your Quirk?" Izuku flinched, and then the man finally turned at him. "...Who are you?"

"I'M M-MIDORIYA IZUKU, SIR!" Izuku stood up and bowed. "I'm a General Department student like Shinsou-san!"

"...Name is Shinsou Hajime." Hajime bowed almost imperceptibly. He had not only a very paused way of talking, but the man also seemed to carry himself with a languidness in everything he did. "...I'm Hitomi's younger brother."

'...Younger brother?' Izuku looked with confusion at the obviously older male.

"That was a joke... I'm his father."

'A j-joke?'

Before Izuku could say anything, Hajime picked up Hitomi and throw her on his shoulders like a bag of potatoes. Then turned around and walked calmly back to his car.

Izuku was paralyzed. His face red and his mind a complete mess.

Just from a moment there... Hitomi's skirt rose a bit too much... He probably wasn't going to get the image out of his mind for a long while.

Fortunately, he realized he was forgetting something.

"W-W-Wait!" Izuku ran towards Hajime puling the bike, while the man placed Hitomi on the passenger seat and set her safety belt. "T-This is yours!" Izuku extended the doll to the man, but Hajime only stared at him in silence. "...I also have S-Shinsou-san's school bag and bike with me." Added Izuku.

"...Is the doll for my dear wife?" Izuku nodded shily. "...I see. Enter." Hajime opened the back door for him.

Izuku blinked in surprise, but followed Hajime orders, and took the seat behind Hitomi's, setting the doll and the schoolbag beside him, while the man moved the bike to the back part of the car and then returned to his seat.

"Put the safety belt." Ordered Hajime while turning the engine on. "...The doll too."

Izuku looked at the man strangely, but when the silence extended awkwardly, he put the other safety belt around the doll.

"...I can't believe you did it."

Izukus' eye twitched... The man was clearly laughing at his expenses. At least deep inside.

"...Where do you live, kid?" Asked Hajime.

"Close. Only some stations from here, actually." And then he told him the full address.

The man drove in silence for a while, and Izuku found Hajime's inexpressive eyes staring at him through the rearview mirror.

The idea of doing conversation passed through Izuku's mind, but he truly didn't know what to say or if he was even allowed to say something, considering how taciturn and weird the man was.

The fact the man was his crush's father and a police officer wasn't helping him at all to dissipate his nervousness.

"...So Hitomi used her Quirk on you?" In the end, it was Hajime who started the conversation. And of course, it had to be the topic that Izuku was more worried to talk about.

Were Hitomi's parents okay about her daughter using her Quirk on other people -out of events like the Sports Festival-, even if she had the permission of her targets...?

He didn't want to get the girl in trouble because of it.

He thought of lying or trying to avoid the question by changing the topic, but when he tried, the only thing he said was the truth.

"...Y-Yeah." He gulped at the unblinking gaze of the adult.

"...She asked you before doing it?"

"Eh-? OF COURSE, SHE DID IT! It was me who convinced her that it was fine. She would NEVER abuse her power!" He said alarmed, not wanting the adult to misunderstand everything.

"...I know. I was only testing you." The adult said shamelessly.

"Eh?"

"...Hitomi told me yesterday about you and the training she was going to do with you. I only wanted to know if you would try to lie to me after I confronted you about it... And you passed the test."

Izuku looked at him unbelievingly... This man was only messing with him.

"...I absolutely support what you are doing for her... I suppose you are her friend?" Asked Hajime.

Izuku felt a bit uncomfortable at the question but still answered.

"N-No." Hajime lifted an eyebrow.

"...You don't want to be her friend?"

"I-IS NOT THAT!" He clarified. "Of course I want to be her friend... But I just can't call myself that at the moment... We only met yesterday. So it would be presumptuous on my part to use that word. After all, we really don't know each other that well... And I'm not sure if she wants to-..." He stopped himself before he ended that sentence... Why was he even saying that?

The man didn't need to know about his lingering insecurities.

"...You don't have any ill intentions, do you?"

"I d-don't! I only wish to help her!"

"...So, you like Hitomi?" Izuku gulped.

Was the man trying to trick him again? Because there was no correct answer to a question like that.

If Izuku was sincere, he would have to deal with a protective Hajime seeing him as a menace going afterHitomi.

And if Izuku lied, he would have to deal with an angry Hajime believing he didn't consider Hitomi attractive enough to like her.

Both options sucked... There had to be a way to dodge the question.

Maybe repeating that he wanted to be her friend should be fine enough.

"...Y-Yes. I like he-." He covered his mouth, but the words had already escaped. 'WHY DID I SAID THAT...?! Unless...?'

There was a pattern to it... Yeah, the situation was awkward and he was nervous. But he always thought deeply about everything he said -most of the time, at least. However, now he was just saying all his thoughts aloud like a huge doofus. One could even say that completely against his will.

The only possible explanation was that the man was using his Quirk on him.

So Izuku looked at Hajime tensely, waiting for his reaction. The picture of being throw out of the car while it moved awfully clear in his mind...

But it didn't happen.

"...Good to know." That was the only thing the man said, his voice completely unaffected. 'JUST WHAT THE-?!' "...You are wrong, though."

"What... What do you mean?" He asked, not sure of what was happening anymore.

"...You are helping Hitomi. Leaving her to use her Quirk on you. You don't ask for anything in exchange. You don't want to hurt her. And you like her... In conclusion, you are her friend." Izuku blinked in surprise. He didn't expect the man to say something like that. "...You don't need to know everything about a person to be their friend, you only need to be there for each other... Hitomi is aware of that. So don't let it get to you if she gets especially obtuse about it. She also needs and wants a friend, even if she denies it."

Izuku was left with no words. Feeling like what Hajime just said was probably something too private for him to know.

But at the same time, it was obvious.

Hitomi was a headstrong person, but she had to have her own insecurities too, just like everybody else... But unlike himself, she didn't have anyone her age she trusted enough to talk about it.

She needed a friend. And he would be it.

"...Hey, is this the place?" Izuku looked at the window once the car stopped moving and noticed his house immediately.

"Yes." Izuku exited the car still thoughtful and then turned towards Hajime. "Thanks, sir."

"...It was no problem. Take care..." Hajime seemed about to start driving again. But then stopped and looked at Izuku again. "I almost forgot... Kid, you are in my good book, at least for now. So I need to warn you. If you intend to pursue a romantic relationship with my daughter, you still need to receive the approval of my dear beautiful wife to do it... So please visit us one of these days... See ya."

Izuku saw the car moving away, the red lights at the top blinking, and the obnoxious siren accompanying the car until it disappeared at the distance.

"I-Izuku!? Was that the p-police?! Did something bad h-happened?!" He heard the worried voice of her mother behind him.

Once again, his thoughts were a mess.

"I'm not sure."


Okay, and now we have both of Hitomi's parents in the picture!

I initially had planned for Hajime to be the typical over-protective father... But then I noticed that was a bit overdone and preferred to take this path, with him being a supportive but really weird parent.

The guy is like two or three times harder to read than his daughter, which along with his Quirk makes him a really good detective -Maybe I should make him be pals with Naomasa?-. The indisputable fact being that he is a lot clever and sharp than you would thing by his behavior.


Hitomi: Midoriya, who would you say is the person you most hate in the world?

Izuku: T-That's a tough question, Shinsou-san. Hate is a truly s-strong word, after all...

Hitomi: Right. Forgot you are a sweet cinnamon roll who can't possibly hate anybody.

Izuku: Yeah... Though I can name at l-least one person I severely d-dislike...

Hitomi: Yeah, me too.

Next chapter: A Boy of Ice and Fire. - Or how Todoroki was roasted.

Hitomi: And... Can you name a person you "severely" like?

Izuku: N-No comments!

4