26

Chapter Text

The next 24 hours were a little surreal for Izuku. His family were all treating him like they hadn't seen him in so long, but for him, it felt like it had just been a few days. He knew that he had been in a coma for a week, but he couldn't help it. Having Ryuko tell him about all the hero news that had happened while he was out, which felt familiar for some reason, was strange, as if he hadn't seen her just a few days prior, at least in his timeline.

He was kept overnight at the hospital, just as a precaution. His mind was racing while he stared at the ceiling of his room that night. After a week of sleeping, it was the last thing he wanted to do.

His mind wandered, passing over the last thing he remembered: The USJ.

Izuku's emotions were mixed, to say the least. His transformation was terrifying, even for him; he didn't like to think what the others thought. Were his classmates intimidated by him now? Were they scared of him?

Good.

'No, not good! I don't want them to be afraid of me, I want to be friends. I want them to like me.'

Friends are fickle. What if they stop liking me?

'Then that's their choice. I want them to like me because they want to, I'm not going to control them.'

But I could control them. I could twist them to my will.

'Not only do I not want to, I don't think that's the right way to go about it. I have so much to learn from them; they'll make me stronger. Precious things should be protected and treasured, not coveted and dominated.'

Kacchan understands fear. He wants villains to fear him.

'And that's fine! I think. My friends deserve protection. They're heroes; training to keep people safe from villains that spread fear! They wouldn't stand for that. Honey, not vinegar.'

Fine.

'And ano-' Izuku's eyes went wide in the dark. 'Fine?! I… wow. Huh.' A small smile spread across his face. 'Glad I could agree on that.'

Izuku ran the thoughts back through his head, finding himself caught on something.

Protection.

He had protected them. His classmates. His friends.

His… hoard.

That word didn't feel as dirty as it had before. It felt...natural. As he thought more, he came to a realization.

That's why he was able to push himself to transform: because he was a dragon, and his hoard was being threatened. If he wasn't the way he was, if his collection was the beautiful underwater prizes that his father treasured, or the rare metals and gems that filled Ryuko's vault, then he wouldn't have been able to save them.

Maybe his quirk wasn't so bad. It gave him the power to save his friends from Terrorflame. Sure, everyone probably thought he was a monster now, but he could earn their trust back, right?

He set his mind on a goal. He had to work with his quirk, his father had been telling him that for years. After the USJ, he wasn't as scared of his quirk. He had worked with it fully and he had been a hero.

If his quirk wanted him to hoard people so badly, then he would embrace that.

Not only would he protect them, he would nurture them and make them the best they could be. They would flourish. Anything else would devalue his hoard. He would have a collection that would put Terrorflame's to shame. Nothing would compare to the majesty and spectacle of his hoard.

He felt his instincts flare in approval in the back of his mind.

Izuku finally drifted off to sleep, finding his dreams quite vivid and alive. They were filled with flashes of his classmates, barraging his mind with words he didn't remember them saying and things he didn't remember them doing. Most vivid in his mind was not Katsuki, but Uraraka and Ashido. He heard them talking over him, saying all sorts of things.

Sometimes they were happy, sometimes they were sad, sometimes they held his hand and sometimes they stroked his face. Their voices faded in and out. He could only catch parts, but even though he knew it was a dream, it felt so real.

"Think about it! What do you feel?" Dream Ashido said, almost pleading. "I know you feel that weird bubbliness when you look at him too; What else could it be?"

Dream Uraraka paused for several seconds. Her hands were covering her face, but began to lower slowly. "I t-think you might be right… maybe I do... l- "

"Izuku!"

A voice rang out, snapping him out of his dream. He grumbled a bit as he opened his eyes; he wanted to see how that dream went. They sounded so emotional, and about him even. He smiled a bit as he stretched his eyes open. 'Too bad there's no way women as beautiful and amazing as them would feel about me like I do them, especially after I showed them just how much of a monster I was in the USJ. Must be my quirk acting up... '

His eyes blinked a few times as he saw his mother's smiling face looking down on him.

"Hi, Mom." A smile grew across his face.

"Good morning, Izuku," she bubbled cheerfully. "Are you ready to get out of this hospital?"

"But it feels like I just got here," he joked weakly.

Inko giggled and smiled slightly. "It's good to see you're feeling well enough to crack jokes, young man. Come on, let's get you up and get the doctor's in here so we can take you home. I'm making katsudon for lunch, and the Bakugous are coming over. You don't want to miss it!"

Izuku nodded as his grin widened. "Yes, ma'am."

He got up out of bed and got dressed in clothes his mother had brought him. While putting a shirt on, he took a moment to look at the great burn scar that dominated his right shoulder. It was a battle scar; his first, but probably not his last. He flexed his quirk and let his scales cover the wound. No longer were they the beautiful, pristine, and uniform green, but discolored, some darker than others.

He sighed. 'Ugly. Ugly, but worth it.'

It wasn't long before his doctor came in and gave him a quick check up. She declared him fit for discharge and gave Inko and him a small nod and a polite smile as she left the room, passing by Hisashi who was entering at the same time.

He let out a satisfied sigh. "Ready to go?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, hey actually, real quick first- Dad?"

Hisashi raised an eyebrow.

"Is this the same room you stayed in when you…"

His father chuckled a little. "Yeah, funny, isn't it? I don't want to see you back in here, alright? I know you look up to Stormclaw, but I want you to keep both of your arms, alright? One-armed suits are expensive."

Izuku let out an airy laugh and nodded sheepishly. "I'll try."

Hisashi turned around, finally leading Inko and Izuku out of the room and back home.

On the ride home, a thought came to Izuku.

"Hey, Dad?" he began, getting his father's attention. "Terrorflame was in Tartarus for 25 years, right? Judging from what he was teleported in on, he was kept in total restraint."

Hisashi didn't react to Izuku's words with any degree of surprise; Izuku noted that he probably knew what was coming.

"Why was an elderly man trapped in a chair for 25 years still so physically fit and dangerous?"

His father sighed. "You really are a smart boy. All Might and I actually discussed that, among plenty of other things in the wake of the USJ. Unfortunately, we don't know. My guess is it has to do with his quirk; I told you that 'ancient' dragons have some incredible power. That might be one of them."

Izuku's mind latched onto something in particular. "What else did you talk to All Might about?"

Hisashi smirked and shook his head. "Stuff we opted to not tell you about, son. Not yet, at least. You should go back to focusing on UA and being a student. Let the heroes figure out the hero stuff, alright?"

Izuku knew better than to try and argue. "Yes, sir." He went back to staring out the window. That was fine, he would just figure it out later. He was right though, Izuku had a lot to catch up on before class started again on Monday. And with the UA Sports Festival coming up, he needed to get back to training.

The food was delicious as always, but what was a very pleasant surprise was his mother telling him that Ashido wanted to come cook with him next time he went home. That lifted his heart nearly out of his chest. Maybe they stayed at the hospital with him because they cared that much, not out of guilt or fear. He let himself pretend that for a little bit, at least.

It would've be a nice change of pace.

It was mid afternoon when it was finally time for Katsuki and him to return to UA. They loaded up into the car and made the trip in unusual silence; Izuku always had something to talk about. It was only when his mind was full that he was silent.

Of course, Katsuki knew that. "Third Place, what's bugging you?" he asked as they stepped out of the car in front of their dorm and after they bid farewell to Hisashi and Inko.

"Nothi-"

A small explosion interrupted him. "I'm not buying it. Spill."

Izuku sighed. "I'm… worried that everyone is going to avoid me now. Like before. Like grade school. They know what I am now and what I can do. I felt the fear in them when I attacked that Kurogiri guy and that was before I transformed. I just… I like them all and I don't want them to pull away from me. I know it's not my choice and it's basically an inevitability, but still. I wish it wasn't."

Then, Katsuki did something he almost never did.

He laughed.

He honestly laughed.

Izuku's eyes widened incredulously as the short-lived laughter echoed around the empty yard.

Katsuki's laughter ended and he fixed his eyes on Izuku with a small smirk. "You're a fucking idiot, Deku."

He felt his brow furrow as the blonde turned away from him and walked slowly towards the front doors of their dorm. "What's that supposed to mean?" Izuku called, hustling to catch up with his friend.

Katsuki didn't answer him as they walked side by side to the entrance. Izuku held out a hand to open the door, but then hesitated. He turned back to his friend, who was simply smirking at him knowingly.

Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He steeled himself and opened his eyes, gripping the handle and turning it. So what if everyone was going to be wary of him? He had a job to do, he had a dream to achieve, and nothing was going to stop him.

Izuku stepped boldly inside, waving a hand and growing as wide of a smile he could muster. "Hey guys, I'm ba-"

WHUMP

Izuku blinked, suddenly staring up at the ceiling. As he got his bearings back, he felt a weight on his chest. He looked down and saw a mop of long blonde hair with a pair of pale yellow horns sticking out of it shoved into his chest as two arms wrapped around him.

"I missed you so much, Izzy!" Tsunotori yelled excitedly into his chest. She was speaking English, maybe because she was so worked up.

'Izzy?! And what's this weird thing I feel around her chest? Doesn't feel like when I hugged Mina...'

"You fought that big villain and you looked so cool! You saved Ochako and Mina and all of us! I was so worried all week and I came to visit you as much as I could and I'm so happy that you're okay!"

Izuku was having trouble processing whatever the hell was going on. He felt his quirk flare as the woman pushed further into his chest and wrapped her arms around him tighter; he didn't have the mental capacity at the moment to stop it from doing what it wanted. His hand reached up and ran his fingers through her long, flowing locks. "Tsuno-"

"No!" she yelled suddenly, moving her head up to stare straight into his eyes. The frustration and fiery determination that burned in her eyes cause Izuku's mouth to fall open slightly. "My name isn't Tsunotori! I'm tired of everyone calling me that! Call me Pony like a normal person!"

Izuku expected his mind to freeze and for him to lock up, but instead he felt another pulse from his quirk.

Mine.

'Oh boy.'

"A-alright." He took a deep breath and looked down into her big, blue eyes. "Pony."

Her face lit up like the sun as she smiled widely.

"Hey, Pony!" Kirishima had stepped over and was standing over them. "Stop hogging him to yourself, we're all happy to see him!"

Pony apparently just realized what she was doing, as she turned a violent shade of red and scrambled off Izuku.

Kirishima reached her hand down to him, her wide, sharp smile dominating her face. He grabbed her wrist as she locked around his and yanked him up off the ground. Izuku noted the way her abs and arms bulged as they helped to return him to his feet. "Come on up, Aniki," she said with a proud grin.

'Aniki? What's with the nicknames?'

Izuku finally tore his eyes from Kirishima's beaming face to look around. In the time that Tsu- Pony had tackled him, a crowd had formed.

"Midoriya!" Iida chopped the air. "It is good to see you up and healthy!"

Kaminari was nearly vibrating. "Man, you were totally awesome against that Terrorflame guy! The way you two fought in mid air was something straight out of a movie or something!"

He looked around, expecting to see fear or at least trepidation on their faces, but instead he saw nothing but kind smiles. His jaw fell a little slack as he looked around. Pony was still blushing madly, Kirishima and Iida were both had proud looks on their faces, Kaminari and Sero were both grinning widely, Yaoyorozu, Tsuyu and Jirou had a soft, small smiles, while Uraraka and Ashido looked… positively affectionate.

Izuku did a quick double-take, to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. His eyes passed over the women and as he made eye contact, both of them seemed to almost sparkle a little bit as their expressions brightened. 'Are they so afraid of me that they're trying to appease me? They were the closest when I transformed, they had to have been terrified.'

He moved his eyes away from them before he felt worse. Regardless of everyone's apparent happiness to see him, he took a deep breath and did what he needed to do.

"Guys, I'm… really sorry about the thing at the USJ. I swear I didn't mean to scare you all, it's just that, I felt like I couldn't hold back." He bowed his head in apology, hoping they could tell how sincere he was.

There was a pregnant pause.

"Is...is he serious?" Kirishima half-whispered to Katsuki, who was standing next to her.

Katsuki huffed before taking a step toward Izuku and slapping him upside the head. "Nobody is scared of you, dumbass!"

Izuku let out a small yelp and rubbed the back of his head. He shot a hurt and confused look at Katsuki before turning back to the rest of the class, who were all staring incredulously at him.

Satou raised a worried eyebrow and began to speak slowly, concern in his voice. "Midoriya, you're the reason that none of us died, and you're the only person who was hurt badly enough that Recovery Girl couldn't fix them up. What are you feeling bad about?"

"But when that Kurogiri guy attacked us, I saw how scared all of you were," Izuku argued.

"Yeah, a villain attack will do that!" Kaminari countered. "Maybe that whole murderous dragon act you put on was a little intimidating, but I was never worried that you were going to eat me or anything."

Izuku noted Yaoyorozu's sharp intake of breath, as well as the slightly guilty look she grew before she regained her composure.

"It was a stressful situation, Midoriya," Iida continued, in an attempt to placate his worry. "You cannot be blamed for how we reacted; none of us were expecting to be facing life-or-death situations in our first week of school. If you were to do it again, I'm sure that we would be less concerned."

Kirishima patted him on the shoulder, flashing him a thumbs-up. "The whole deep, scary dragon voice thing you did was super manly, too!"

"You saved Mineta and I," Tsuyu added, tapping her chin. "It was scary, but you showed that you weren't going to hurt me. Next time, I won't be scared."

Ashido cocked her hip and raised an eyebrow. "Besides, any of us could kill someone with our quirks if we wanted to. I remember on the first day of class, you told us that you thought Ochako's quirk was terrifying."

"Well-"

Ashido took a step closer to him. "And are you scared of her?"

"N-"

Another step closer. "In fact, you told us that you weren't scared of her. Her quirk was powerful and dangerous, if used incorrectly, but you said she was a good person, so you didn't have any worries, right?"

"Ri-"

A third step brought her right next to him. She jammed her finger into his chest harshly. "So why would we be scared of you, Midori? Isn't that a little hypocritical? Do you think so little of us that we would be scared of our classmate who put his life on the line to stop a supervillain from killing us?"

The entire room was silent, Izuku included. He didn't know what to say, which was incredibly rare; once again, Ashido had left him speechless. What seemed like a simple defense of her classmate, at least to those who didn't know about his instincts, had a deeper meaning. She knew that the rest of them probably should be afraid of Izuku. Until he mastered his instincts, he would be a potential danger to everyone around him.

Even so, she was telling him, in a way that didn't seem suspicious to anyone who didn't know, that she wasn't afraid of him. She was telling him that he should trust her, Uraraka and the others.

In fact, she was telling him that she was getting irritated that he was still acting like there weren't people there that knew his secret and had promised to help him.

He felt shame.

Izuku felt his quirk pulse again, his eyes glowing slightly brighter for a second.

Mine.

'Greedy.'

Izuku hung his head. "You're right, I'm sorry. Everyone," he looked up to his classmates again, "thank you for your trust. I've been… conditioned to expect a certain reaction, but you've completely destroyed those expectations. I couldn't ask for better classmates."

"Ah, c'mon, why so sappy?" Sero asked with his toothy smile. "You're back, let's celebrate!"

Kyouka always enjoyed a party. The impromptu celebration wasn't the wildest thing she had ever been to, but it was nice.

Mina quickly gathered Ochako, Pony, Tsuyu and Tooru around for a card game, dragging Midoriya in from the conversation he was having with Iida as well. Momo and her were standing off to the side, chatting with each other while Pony, who was apparently pretty competitive, ran away with the game nearly immediately.

After a while, Satou got up from the couch, where he, Kaminari, Sero and Eiko were playing a video game together, heading towards the kitchen to begin dinner. Midoriya noticed and immediately stood up, heading off to follow Satou.

"Ah, no, go back," he yelled back at Midoriya. "I got this one, man. You go have fun."

Midoriya began to protest, but relented. Kyouka had to admit, it was a little endearing to see him so eager to help, even with the little things. Not that a six foot tall, muscle bound man with a powerful quirk like that was cute or anything. He was just a nice guy, and she could appreciate that.

Terrorflame's words about him still hung in her mind, but she wasn't about to let the threats of a desperate villain get under her skin.

As his shoulders slumped and turned around to head back to the card game. Before he did, she noticed his vision pass over her and then suddenly freeze. His big green eyes locked onto her and he began to make his way over with intent in his step.

Kyouka raised her eyebrow as Momo noticed him approaching as well. "Jirou!" he called as he stopped a few feet from them. "I wanted to apologize."

She cocked an eyebrow. "For what?"

He looked down on her with a kind, but regretful expression. "Last Monday- well, two Mondays ago, I guess. The first day of class."

"Don't worry about it, man," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Not your fault I was listening."

"Right, the other girls said that. But still, I should apologize for any pain I cause, regardless of intent or fault. I didn't mean to harm you." He hung his head slightly in apology.

'Great.' She rolled her eyes slightly as she spun one of jacks around her fingers. 'He thinks I'm some delicate-'

"I know you don't need my pity or protection, but still, you deserve the courtesy."

She stopped twirling her jack as her vision snapped to his.

"In fact, I was hoping you could help me. Your quirk is amazing, Jirou, and after Pony told me about your battle trial, I've been really curious about it." Midoriya looked like a kid in a candy shop. "You see, my quirk gives me enhanced senses, so I was hoping we could train together some and you could give me some pointers? From what the other girls told me about you, your ability to hear is out of this world!"

'Wait, the guy who fought Terrorflame wants… pointers?'

"I was gonna ask you after school on Friday, er, two Fridays ago, to see if you had time that Sunday, but uh, yeah that didn't work out." He laughed awkwardly. "So, what do you say?"

She blinked a couple times. "Uh, s-sure. Sometime."

Midoriya jumped up and down. He actually jumped. "Awesome! Thank you, Jirou!"

Kyouka felt her face heat up a little bit as the man hurried back to his card game.

'What the hell just happened?'

She chose to ignore the small, knowing smirk on Momo's face.

Several hours later, the party had wound down. Everyone had come down besides Todoroki, which disappointed Izuku, but didn't surprise him. Even the stoic Tokoyami and shy Kouda had joined in, both passing on their well-wishes to Izuku. It made his heart swell that so many people participated. He had made time to talk to every one of them and he had felt his quirk buzz slightly in approval whenever he spoke to someone new.

Eventually, it had gotten dark outside and everyone had left for bed except for Izuku, Ashido and Uraraka. He yawned loudly; the long day of socializing had exhausted him. "Alright, bed time. I'll see you two tomorrow, er, if I get all my studying done that is." He scratched his head in worry. "I have a week of reading to catch up on." He stretched widely, absentmindedly lifting his shirt slightly

He sighed as he ended his stretch, looking back down to the women, whose eyes snapped up from his stomach to his face as quickly as they could. "Well, goodnight."

He turned and took a few steps towards the stairs before a voice called from behind.

"Um, Deku, actually, could I talk to you for a little bit?"

Izuku turned around slowly as Uraraka stood up from the floor and shifted awkwardly. "Oh, uh, sure."

Ashido hopped up cheerfully. "I'll give you two some privacy." She walked off to the staircase with a small smirk.

As the pink woman left, Izuku turned back to Uraraka, who had her eyes shut, seemingly steeling herself. She let out a great sigh and then walked up to him, until there was only about a foot of space between them. Izuku found his gaze fixated on her lips, which were eye-level with him, but managed to eventually look her in the eyes.

She began calmly. "Deku, I came to UA to become a hero."

Izuku cocked his head slightly.

She looked away slightly, then back into his eyes. "Twice in the past two months, you have stood between me and certain death. First at the entrance exam, and then with Terrorflame." She looked down at him, her face full of frustration.

"I-I'm sorry?" Izuku didn't know what to say.

"No! Don't be sorry!" She began to blush a little bit. "I'm grateful, of course. You saved me, Deku. You put your life on the line for me twice. I'll never forget that and I'll never thank you enough. In fact…" She stopped and looked away, biting her finger in apparent thought. She looked down and up, before finally appearing to make a decision. Uraraka looked back into his eyes with a determined scowl, causing Izuku's mind to go blank a little bit.

'Does she know how beautiful she is?'

"Here, this is a thank you."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and back, bringing him in for a tight hug. He felt his quirk pulse hard in the back of his head as his arms shot around her, tightening their embrace. Izuku felt the warmth of her body spreading through him like a hot cup of tea on a cold December morning as he hooked his chin over her shoulder.

Seemingly emboldened by his reaction, she moved her arm up to hold the back of his head and ran her fingers through his hair. Izuku felt his heart rate pick up as the sensation ran down his spine. He could feel her heartbeat against his skin even through the clothing separating them and only sped up further as she turned her head slightly to smell his hair. His body reacted to the sensation of being so accepted by trying to pull her even closer, the lean muscles of her back imprinting themselves in his memory.

With one arm across his back, another on his head and her face buried in his hair, Izuku felt… safe. Protected.

After far too little of a time, Uraraka released him, causing Izuku to loosen his arms as well. She brought her arms up and rested one on each of his shoulders as he looked up at her. She moved her face closer, pressing her forehead against his. Both of them panted softly, their faces absolutely flushed, intoxicated by the contact in a way he couldn't even imagine. Izuku could hear his heart pounding in his ears so loudly that he was certain she could hear it as well.

Her eyes burned with determination and her voice was steady as she looked deep into his soul. "Next time, I'll be the one standing between you and danger."

Izuku's eyes flashed a bright green so suddenly that Uraraka had to squint slightly.

Mine. Mine. MINE.

Uraraka's tongue flicked out of her mouth as she quickly licked her lips. Izuku noticed that his mouth felt a little dry too, but he was too busy staring at her plump, inviting lips to do anything about it. She began to push her head forward, slowly moving her mouth towards his. If his heart was beating any harder, it might have actually jumped out of his chest.

Suddenly, the elevator dinged behind them.

Uraraka and Izuku flew apart as they whipped around. Kaminari stepped out of the elevator in his pajamas, yawning loudly as he walked towards the kitchen. The illumination from the elevator contrasted with the darkness of the common room, shrouding the two of them in total darkness. They watched the blonde make his way to the kitchen and open up the refrigerator; he rummaged around inside for a few seconds before pulling out a bag of shredded cheese. A dopey grin spread across his face as he grabbed handful, shoved it in his mouth and made his way back to the elevator, leaving as quickly as he came.

As the doors closed, Izuku and Uraraka were left in the darkness of the common room. In the intervening seconds between the interruption and now, he had managed to shove his quirk back down. However, without it encouraging him, his courage failed. He stiffly turned his head towards the taller woman and stuttered out a weak farewell. "G-good night, Ura-raraka. I'll s-see you tomorrow."

If she said anything, he didn't hear it. Izuku moved to the staircase as quickly as he could without actually running and began to climb up to his room, two steps at a time. He swore he heard someone about a flight above him, but his mind was too distracted with other things to worry about it.

Mina barely had time to react and dash up the staircase before Midori began to climb them behind her. She tried to move quietly, but the man was climbing too quickly for her to be able to afford that luxury. As she hurried up to the fourth floor, she just hoped he didn't investigate the noise. Fortunately, he stopped at the third floor and headed for his room, giving Mina time to catch her breath.

She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. 'They were so close! And I'm so proud of Ochako for making the first move! If Kaminari hadn't…'

"Ugh!" Mina threw her arms up in frustration as she walked out of the stairwell.

'This will not stand!'