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“Oh! The 5SOS has a new song!” Uraraka exclaimed. Everyone in the common room approached the TV to see it for themselves. And true to her words, the current channel is playing a music video where a famous band is playing on a run-down stage.
But what caught Denki’s attention is the girl who is on the stands alone. The girl has this longing mixed with excitement look on her face. She is biting her thumbnail as she focuses her gaze on nothing in particular. She is obviously not listening to the band, and it makes the band members irritated and disappointed. The vocalist even took off the stage and sang in front of her and he still didn’t catch her attention.
“She’s Izu! The new Idol debuted last year!” Mina commented, and most of their classmates affirmed.
“Oh! I know her!” Hagakure exclaimed. “She’s the quirkless girl who outright defied hostage-takers and sang to calm the children in a hostage situation in a local nursery”
Everyone now looked at the girl with renewed adoration and Denki is no different.
“She’s my new favorite idol now,” Sero said after a while.
“I’ve been following her since her debut,” Uraraka added. “She has a voice and a face of an angel, not to mention her pure heroic heart. And her fan base is rapidly growing every day, internationally.”
“Aww. I wish I could trade place with her.” Mina lamented. “Studying is hard.”
Most of them nodded to her statement.
“Heh. Well, that nerd would totally love to trade places with you too.” Someone commented at the back.
Everyone turned their heads to the source of the controversial statement. And simultaneously the source realized he didn’t mean to say it out loud.
Bakugou instantly headed outside to avoid the consequences of his action, but fortunately, their villain capture lessons paid off and together they apprehended him.
“What did you just say?” Jirou interrogated while pointing her earphone jacks at Bakugou’s throat.
“Nunya” Bakugou answered.
“Nunya?” Uraraka repeated.
“Nunya business” he answered and used their confusion as an opportunity to use his quirk and exploded Sero’s bindings.
Little did he know that someone with a stronger capture weapon was also on their side for this one.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Shinsou asked and tossed his capture weapon to him.
“Hah?” and that’s Bakugou’s another mistake.
The capture weapon wraps around Bakugou’s torso easily as he stands in place and face blank.
“Now sit on the chair so we can tie you up properly.” The brainwash hero commanded and Bakugou easily complied.
They finally secured Bakugou with their emergency quirk nullifying handcuffs. Aizawa will be mad, but it will be worth it. After double-checking it, Shinsou let his control on the fiery blonde go.
“THE FUCK?”
“Now Bakugou, you will answer all our questions, or you will face consequences.” Mina threatened.
“I’m not afraid of you.” He countered.
Mina shook her head in disappointment and gestured for Shoji. “Shoji-kun, it’s tickle time.”
Yikes, tickle time, the worst interrogating technique humanity ever discovered.
Bakugou paled. Looking at their six-armed classmate like he’s the Grim Reaper in flesh.
“Fine!” he relented. “I said, the Nerd would love to trade places with us here in the UA hero course.”
They already heard it twice but they still can’t process what they just heard.
“Who’s the Nerd?” Hagakure asked.
“Deku.” The blonde replied.
“Who’s Deku?” Kirishima followed up.
“Dimwits”, Bakugou is running out of patience. “Her real name is Izuku and it can be written as Deku as well.”
“How do you know all of this?” Denki finally found his voice amid the commotion.
“Tsk. Whatever, as if she would mind.” Bakugou said, talking more to himself than to his classmates.
“I and Deku grew up together. Ever since we were kids, she won’t stop yapping about becoming a pro hero like All Might and how she will start it with enrolling at All Might’s alma mater, UA.”
Silence filled the room as everyone processed every word Bakugou said. How an unreachable Idol is a childhood friend of the least friendly of them all.
“But as preschool was about to end, specialists had told her she doesn’t have a quirk.”
A sad whimper came out from at least half of the listeners, and Denki is one of them. Why couldn’t he? It was so sad.
“Deku never gave up though, but she turned to singing and music as an outlet for her frustrations. She had a good voice to begin with, and her mother invested on her singing and piano lessons. She will do everything to ease the burden on her precious daughter. But still deep inside, Deku’s biggest dream is to be a hero and save everyone. That’s why that dumbass pulled up that stunt with the hostage situation”
At this point, almost everyone is tearing up, and the rest has a solemn look on their faces. Life is unfair, but Denki thought everything worked out well. If Izu had a quirk she won’t invest much on her talent and would never be an Idol.
Wait, but if Izu has a quirk, then she would be their classmate, and Denki would surely be her friend.
Ugh. Life is really unfair.
“Introduce her to us!” Uraraka suggested. “I want to comfort her. And tell her she’s still a hero for what she did in the hostage situation.”
“No way. Don’t patronize her dumb act” Bakugou refused.
“Hey, that’s rude man,” Kirishima interjected. “She saved those kids. Without her, who knows what would happen?”
“And what if the hostage-takers were not smitten with her voice, huh? What if at first offense they decided to shoot her?” The blonde argued, face angrier than usual.
“You cared for another human being,” Denki concluded out loud and everyone stiffened at the realization. You should be a hell lot of a special person to have the Bakugou Katsuki care for you. Denki’s admiration for the green-haired Idol grew a lot.
///
It didn’t take long for class 2A to meet the special person who made Bakugou Katauki care for another human being.
It was the explosive blonde’s birthday and the party-loving class 2A is planning to throw a party for the birthday boy.
Of course, they invited Bakugou’s parents but what they didn’t expect is that his parents have a surprise for him and apparently for them as well.
The doorbell rang and Denki expected it to be the food they ordered for the party. Since he’s one of the head party planners, he volunteered to open the door.
If that was a wrong move or not, he will never know.
“Uhm, hi?” said the shy girl outside their dorm door.
Though the shy girl didn’t dress like she should be shy at all. With her cute dress and hair, she should be out there on the stage performing like the Idol that she is.
“I-i-i-i-i-i-izu!” Denki almost short-circuited. Of course, Izu would be here, she’s Bakugou’s close friend, and top of it, the only human being he cares about, no doubt Bakugou’s parents invited her for the party.
A squeal behind him saved him from further embarrassment.
“Oh my God! It’s Izu!” Mina exclaimed.
The green-haired Idol flinched at the squeal; she hadn’t expected this heroes-in-training to recognize her this much.
She didn’t even have the chance to explain her presence before she was invited inside and got swamped by the whole class.
Well, swamped was a strong word. Still, his classmates kept from invading her personal space, but he admitted the unbelieving stares are unnerving even if it’s not pointed at him.
“Come on guys, what the hell?” Denki reprimanded his classmates, which finally got their attention.
“We just wanted to make sure she’s real”, Hagakure answered.
“We saw her on TV a million times!” Denki reasoned, fearing that their guest will freak out and walk away.
“Kami, she’s Bakugou’s friend. Have you met him?” Mina countered.
Their guest of honor laughed, and Denki swore he saw flowers floating around the Idol.
“Kacchan warned me about this,” Izu said when she gained her composure. “You don’t believe we’re friends.”
“She calls him Kacchan.” Uraraka whisper-yells in excitement.
“Can you be our friend?!” Mina jumped to the girl and held her hands.
Izu just chuckled. “I’ll have Kacchan’s embarrassing childhood stories as an offering?”
The whole class laughed and individually introduced themselves to their honored guest and new friend.
“You have a crush on her,” Mina said beside him, and Denki almost jumped his soul out. This girl can be sneaky.
“Everyone has a crush on her.” Denki defended. “Look at her!”
“Nope, your crush is different.” She said after some pondering. “You were very keen on protecting her from us when usually it’s the other way around.”
Oh..
Oh shit.
“Bakugou is going to kill me.”
Mina is patting his shoulders consoling him. “it’s not that bad.”
“What if they have a thing between them? If Bakugou knew I’m crushing on his childhood sweetheart, he’s going to kill me” Denki said panicking.
“You seriously didn’t notice Bakugou has a crush on Kiri?” Mina asked in disbelief
“Bakugou has a what?!” Denki can’t help but exclaim.
///
A lot of unexpected things happened after Bakugou’s birthday.
Bakugou and Kiri got together.
Mina and Sero got together.
Denki became closer to Izu.
They are starting their third year in high school.
Ahh yes, Denki and Izu got closer. Since all of Denki's friends are dating each other, he became the fifth wheel of the group. So Bakugou, God bless his soul, also invites his best friend every time they hang out. One to make Denki stop complaining about being a fifth wheel and giving Izu an escape from showbusiness. Though it’s not like they hang out a lot, being a third-year hero student also gives you a run for your money.
Surprisingly, despite acting shy most of the time, Izu is a chatterbox. Once she's comfortable with you, the girl never runs out of topics to talk about. From heroes to movies to the latest gossip. And it’s a good thing for Denki who's also chatty himself. Spending time with the idol makes him forget about school, training, and most of all being single. He doesn’t care if he's the only single person in his group of friends if he can spend time with the adorable idol. He can be single forever.
Oops, just kidding, maybe until he became a successful pro hero? The guy has needs.
For real though, Izu is so cool to hang out with overall. Aside from being cute, she has an aura around her that makes you let your guard down. She makes you feel like nothing in the world will go wrong as long as you are with her. Is this how she managed the hostage situation back then?
Therefore, Denki wants to get closer to her and get to know her more.
Though there is a bit of a side-effect to hanging too much with the green-haired cutie.
///
"I think I like like her" Denki suddenly blurted out during their monthly sleepover. Luckily, they were allowed to spend it outside the dorm, so they chose the bigger place and the tastier food, the Bakugou residence.
"Wow, congratulations on your self-enlightenment" Mina cheered sarcastically.
“Who's her?” Kiri asked confused.
“Really Kiri?” Mina asked disappointed.
“Aside from me, which girl do Denki hang out with often?” Mina hinted out.
“Jirou?”
“That he doesn't see as a sister.” Sero quipped
“Ohhhh” Kiri finally got on board.
“Yeah..” Denki sighed.
“Oh my God, dude. That's great, we can have like a triple date.” Kiri suggested enthusiastically.
“Are you out of your mind? Bakugou will kill me” Denki concluded. Luckily the blonde was downstairs helping his dad cook their dinner.
“And isn't hot topic right now how she is rumored to date the leader of AXO?” Denki added.
“What?” Sero and Kiri asked in unison
“Yeah, guys. Though they never admit it though” Mina seconded.
“Don’t worry man, it's only rumored. And they are just dating, there's still a chance.” Kiri comforted his friend.
“Huh. Listen to yourself Kiri, are you okay if one of Baku's rabid fans tells themselves that they have a chance? Because the two of you are just dating?” Mina playfully countered.
“Then I will propose to him after graduation then.” Kiri declared.
“Who'll propose to who?” Baku interrupted.
“Ahh!” the four jumped at the interruption. They haven’t noticed the explosive blonde at all. Did he hear about Denki's dilemma?
“What nonsense are you four talking about?” He asked.
“Uhm..”
“Tsk, never mind. Dinner's ready so get your assess downstairs.” The explosive blond relented.
Whatever then. Denki will just think about his doomed crush on the adorable idol after dinner.
///
But Denki didn’t expect to be bothered about it immediately after dinner.
Denki was on his way to the convenience store to buy some chips when he noticed a familiar figure in the park. They look like they’re crying.
“Izu?” Denki called.
“Eep!” exclaimed the startled idol and attempted to hide.
“Izu, I know it's you.” Denki teased.
The idol gave up on her ruse but can’t help herself sniffing the residual snot she had from crying.
“Why are you crying?” the hero in training asked, concerned.
“I’m not crying.” She denied sniffing.
“Just internalizing some lines from the series I’m in.” she defended further.
“Wasn't it a comedy?” he queried.
“Fine. I am crying” she finally relented.
“Why?”
“…”
“My..” she started with hesitation.
“Your?” he encouraged.
“I caught my boyfriend cheating on me” she finally explained.
“…”
“HAH?”
It took a few seconds for Denki to process everything, but one this is for sure.
Denki is going to kill someone.
Secretly, since he still needs to be a pro hero. But someone has to die.
“Is he that leader of AXO?”
Izu was surprised he knew. Did she expect the rumors will not reach them?
“Yeah.”
“Did you confront him?” Denki held the idol’s shoulders more concerned; he swears if the bastard hit Izu or something similar, he’s going to hurt him a hundred times more.
“Yeah, he said because I... I was annoying and talked too much.” Izu answered avoiding his gaze.
What?
So goes the murder in secret. Denki's going to fry the guy alive.
“He's right though, I talk too much. I should restrain myself.” The idol defended.
No, no, no. talking is one of Izu's adorable qualities. The devil who made her think otherwise should be killed at least 10 times.
“No, Izu-chan. You are not annoying. Do you know how interesting it is that you know so much about All Might? Or how you know so much about quirk theories and stuff? I think I learned so much about quirk history from you than in my class.” Denki assured the girl.
“Really?” Sniffed.
“Of course! Izu-chan.” Denki affirmed. “And it’s okay to change yourself. But never change yourself for other people and especially never change for trash humans like your ex.”
“E-ex?”
“Of course, you broke up with him, right?” Denki interrogated.
“We never talked about breaking up” the girl reasoned out.
“Well, you should! Don't waste your time with a garbage like him!” Denki almost shook the idol’s shoulders, which he’s still holding.
“Yeah!” the idol agreed. “There's a lot of guys out there better than him! “
Both cheered and laughed at the end.
“Thank you Kaminari-kun.” The girls thanked bashfully. “And please don’t tell Kacchan about this, he will kill him, I don’t want my best friend to go to jail because of some t-trash. “
“I won’t, I promise,” Denki promised; if Bakugou knew about this, Bakugou will beat Denki from killing the bastard.
“Should I walk you home?” the blonde offered.
“Sure, thank you”
Then Denki walked Izu home first before going to the convenience store. He also searched the bastard's address along the way.
But before Denki stepped into the Bakugou residence, he felt an ominous aura around the doorway.
When he opened the door. He saw his friends sitting in the living room with dark auras enveloping them. What the hell happened when he was out?
“The old hag asked me to bring food to the Midoriya's,” Bakugou explained before Denki could ask anything.
“Then I saw you talking with Deku at the park and sneaked closer.” He continued.
Denki paled.
So much for deposing the trash himself.
“I supposed we are going hunting tonight,” Denki confirmed, accepting that he must change his plans.
“You bet,” Mina replied. “We already tracked him down.”
///
After the secret mission of the Bakusquad a few months ago, the squad assumed it will pave a way for their dear friend to the idol’s heart.
But they were wrong.
3 weeks after, another rumor spread that Izu is dating another guy from a different boy group. The rumor didn’t last long too as she dated another guy, an actor, two months after the rumor.
Though all this time Izu is hanging out with the Bakusquad.
Like how the girl found time to date amid her work, studies, and hanging out with them?
Mina, the curious cat she is, asked Izu the million-dollar question.
“Izu-chan? Is it true that you’re currently dating an award-winning actor?”
The others who were busy sipping their milk teas spat out their drinks, including the idol herself.
“No, no, no!” Izu denied. “We went out one date, but we never clicked so..”
Everyone sighed in relief.
“Deku, why are you wasting your time with those trashes?” Bakugou teased his childhood friend.
“Hey, there are some trashes that look like a gem from afar.” Izu defended herself. “My trash radar sometimes fails to work on handsome guys.”
“Weak.” Baku teased again.
“Shut up Kacchan, if I know, your trash radar also fails to work when you see someone’s abs; good thing Eichan is an angel. You got lucky.” Izu retaliated.
It got Bakugou and Kirishima flushed, and the blonde tried to strangle the idol. Mina was filming the whole thing while Denki and Sero are restraining the angry blonde.
The six teenagers are having a good time. Forgetting the realities of assignments and work. Enjoying their youth to the fullest.
Until something troublesome happened.
An explosion not far from the park broke out and the heroes in training knew what they had to do.
“Deku, stay here until we knew what’s happening, and stay away from trouble,” Bakugou instructed his childhood friend.
“I know, I know, now do your job Kacchan, save the day or something.” Izu dismissed knowing the drill.
“Keep safe Izu-chan.” Denki patted the idol’s head before heading out to inspect the explosion.
Denki never minds skin-ship with his friends, but the gesture left a tingling sensation on his hands. His relationship with the idol might be closer now than before but physical contact is still foreign to them.
And whatever reply the girl said, Denki never heard it due to the loud pounding of his heart.
///
Izuku is not new to physical contact.
Being an idol venturing into acting, she is already used to being touched and touching others. Hell, she can even hold Kacchan like a leech until he pries her off him.
So why?
Why is her heart pounding like crazy just by a pat on the head by Kaminari-kun?
“I think I’m going to lose our bet Kacchan,” Izuku mumbled to herself as she finds a safe place to hide.
///
“Watch out!” Denki warned as he and Bakugou dashed to a girl who was about to be flattened by huge debris.
Bakugou blasted the debris and Kaminari shielded the girl with his body. Luckily the debris blasted into tiny pieces and fall on them like cute little hailstorms.
“Villain secured,” Sero said on their intercoms.
Denki sighed in relief. It turns out the explosions were made by a villain. When they arrived at the scene, fellow heroes are already responding and fighting a villain who can control helium and make them explode. The immediate goal of the heroes is securing the villain so only Sero and Kirishima was called to help with the responding heroes so the rest of them are tasked with the civilian evacuation.
“My Hero!” the lady cried in English and hugged Denki like there was no tomorrow.
It was too late when Denki noticed the flashes of cameras. Then as he looked clearly at the lady crying beside him, he recognized her as the supermodel Shahara Twain, the most popular model in the world to date for being a drama queen and wanting every little thing she does expose to the world.
For example, there is a crowd of reporters looking at them right now.
Denki is in huge trouble.
“Young hero, what is your name?” asked one of the reporters nearest to them.
“Uhhh..” Wait, is he asking for his hero name? or his actual name?
“Stop slacking dunce face! There are still a lot of civilians to evacuate!” Came Denki’s rescue. Insulting and helping him at the same time.
“Dunce-face?” The other reporter repeated. Honestly, does Bakugou knows his real name?
“I am Chargebolt at your service!” Denki introduces himself as he removes himself from the clinging lady.
“Sorry lads, as my colleague said there’s still a lot of civilians to evacuate. Please find yourself the safe place to be.” And then Denki was off to help his explosive friend.
///
Denki was right, he got in a lot of trouble for saving the model. Don’t get him wrong, he knew the main purpose of heroes is saving lives but why is this model act like he just saved the whole universe.
After the incident, Shahara immediately arranged a press con to talk about her life and death experience.
He gets it, one’s life is their own most price possession but a press con? Really? With international press, nonetheless. And the main topic? Denki and his heroic deed of saving the model.
This made #chargebolt #chargeboltsavemetoo #chargeboltismyhero became trending worldwide for three days straight.
“Kill me.” Denki groaned in their dorm’s living room. Because of this fiasco, even his schoolmates are flocking him like crows which forced him to stay in their dorms to avoid them.
“Oh no, you will make the Shahara Fans sad Mr. Chargebolt.” Jirou teased.
“Shut up. I can’t live normally anymore.” Kaminari lamented.
“Don’t worry Kaminari, that model will eventually change her manicure and then forgot you ever exist.” Tsuyu cheered him.
Well, she’s right, this too shall pass. Hopefully.
“This sucks” Denki tweeted on his private account. Good, this account was already on private even before his popularity skyrocketed. Not to brag but being a hero student in UA has its perks, especially when you always come up as runner-up in every sports festival, you usually attract a fan base, no matter how small the number is, fans are fans.
“I know.” Came a reply to his tweet. It’s just two words but Denki felt his heart just do a triple flip in his ribcage. It’s Izu’s private account as well. Having the idol’s private account as a mutual is a glaring proof of how close they are now.
“Of course, you do Miss Heartbreak girl.” Denki teased. Izuku was also lately in the headlines as she was labeled Miss heartbreak girl. The last guy he dated, the actor they were talking about at the park the other day arranged an interview talking about his failed romantic endeavor with the idol. The media then compiled her past dating records and thus hailed her a new title.
Denki received a new notification from the app but instead of a reply, he received a DM from the idol.
“Are you free this weekend?” She asked.
“If Shahara changed her manicure and forgot all about me, then I will be (ಥロಥ),” Denki replied wistfully.
“Your wish is my command (>,O).” She replied.
What?
True to her words, a few minutes later, Shahara tweeted about a home salon service that came to her hotel room from a “Secret benefactor”.
And just like that, the online world forgot about Denki.
“Are you a genie?” Denki asked on their chat.
“Who knows XP”, she replied.
“So, this weekend? Just you and me”. She asked again
Just you and me.
Denki felt his brain starting to short circuit.
“Is this a date?” He asked before he stops himself.
“That’s what the ‘just you and me’ entails.” She replied sarcastically, showing Bakugou’s influence on her.
“I’ll message you the details later.” She supplied when Denki failed to reply.
Izuku will later hear how the whole dorm of Class 3-A lost its electricity, thanks to someone who just literally short-circuited.
///
“I can’t believe my son’s all grown up, saving supermodels and dating idols.” Mina faked crying. The whole Bakusquad was in Denki’s room to help him get ready for his date 6 hours from now.
“How the fuck you only have one pair of suits? Is this the one you used at the I island?” Bakugou complained
“Hey, how could I anticipate that I will go on a date in a fancy restaurant?” Denki said in defense.
“You had a crush on a famous idol for almost a year, you should have planned to bring her to a fancy restaurant even just once.” The explosive blonde berated giving up on his treasure hunting in Denki’s closet.
“Dude if you told me last year that I will go on a date with Izu-chan, I would have punched you right away.” Denki retorted.
“Hah? You want to slap me?” the other challenged.
“No, no, no. I would never dare.”
“Tsk. Good thing I brought suits and dresses for everyone.” Bakugou complained.
“Eh?” The four peasants exclaimed in confusion.
“What, we will let Dunce-face make a fool of himself at the restaurant? We will not be at the same table as them though. Deku would make a fuss if we did.” Katsuki explained.
“Oh my God!” Mina exclaimed in excitement as a clothes rack entered the room with a lady in a suit. “Here are your orders young master.”
“Thank you,” Bakugou replied. “Can you help this lady get ready? I will take care of the guys”. Baku instructed her and gestured to Mina. The girl in return is bouncing on her feet as she examines her dress.
“As you wish, Sir” The lady bowed again and ushered Mina outside the room.
“Okay punks, time to doll up” Bakugou threatened the other boys.
///
“Is this a restaurant or a palace?” Kiri asked, amazed.
“Well, this place was built based on a palace in Italy, the owner is a big geek in medieval themes” someone explained from behind making them jump in surprise.
“Sorry guys, I noticed you coming in with my date, so I went here to greet you.” Izu apologized.
The idol is wearing a black cocktail dress with black and green rose designs with black netted gloves and netted knee-high socks and black boots giving her a vibe of a goth princess look and Denki is one lucky bug to exist in this timeline.
“Smooth Witch”, Bakugou mumbled
“I heard that,” Izu said, giving her childhood friend a stink eye.
“You were meant to hear that”, Bakugou said rolling his eyes.
“Don’t start a fight here you two.” Sero placated.
“And here’s your date princess, er, Izu chan, Bakugou also invited us here to watch out for this dumbass, who is now starting to drool looking at you.” Sero frowned in disgust as he handed over Denki to his date. “Wipe your mouth bro, you’re embarrassing us.”
“Hey”, Denki greeted after wiping his drool.
“Hi” Izu beamed at her date.
Ehem. Mina faked a cough. And subtly gestured to the bouquet the electric blonde was holding.
“Oh.. oh yeah, for you. And.. and you look stunning tonight.” Denki offered the bouquet of red roses that looks out of place with the girl’s goth anthem when she held it.
“Thank you, Kaminari-kun. You look dashing as well.” She replied with a wide smile still on her lips
“Hey, Kaminari’s too long, you can call me Denki.” The hero in training offered.
“In less than a minute he’s already an embarrassment”, someone commented, probably Sero
“Eh?” Denki readied to defend himself.
“Whatever. We’re heading to our table Deku.” Bakugou stated and lead the others to their table.
“Okay, Kacchan, thank you for coming with Denki here.” Izu waved goodbye to the others.
Then the four friends went out on their way to their reserved table.
“Denki-kun?” Izu finally interrupted Denki from his deep thoughts.
“Eh? Sorry?”
“I said let’s go to our table?” the idol offered.
“Ah yeah. That’s a good idea.” The other teen dumbly replied. He still can’t believe he’s going to have a date with the most charming person he ever met. Is this a dream?
Izu chuckled and grab Denki’s arm to entwine it with hers and led him to their table.
///
The dinner was great.
Nope, it was more than great. And the two of them got to two more dates after that.
“Where should I ask her next?” Denki asked his classmates who are prowled all over the living room. It’s the first time all of them had the same day off since the semester started and they just want to hang out and spend the day chilling and catching up.
“Hey man, is it true that you’re dating that famous idol? Izu-chan was it?” Ojirou asked from the bean bag near the kitchen.
“We’ve gone on a few dates but never confessed yet. That’s why I’m planning our next date where I will confess to her and ask her out for real.” Denki confessed bashfully.
“Awwww.”, said most of his classmates.
“Do you need our help?” Jirou offered.
“Hmm, maybe some idea? She’s a singer so I want to compose a song, and could we do something like we did at the school festival in our first year?” he replied.
“Oh my God! Count me in!” Hagakure agreed enthusiastically. The rest of the class agreed with her.
“Hey is that her?” Mineta commented turning the volume up of the television interrupting his classmates’ cheers.
“Rumour has it now that Japan’s musical sweetheart and dubbed Ms. Heartbreak girl is dating again. And this time it’s the aspiring hero Chargebolt.” The anchor said.
“Chargebolt was previously trending on social media as the hero who saved the supermodel Shahara. And now he’s dating the most sought-after darling of Japan. Guys are dying to be him right now.”
“Cat’s news had taken a statement from AXO’s Haruto regarding the issue. Haruto was previously dating Izu-chan and until now fans are still hoping for them to be together again since they broke up earlier this year.” Then the screen then showed the said idol.
“it’s obvious, isn’t it? If no one hadn’t noticed yet, all the guys she dated after me has blonde hair. It means she’s not over me yet. Look at the guy she’s dating now. Aren’t we have a similar hairstyle? Even the black highlight, it’s just for him it’s lightning style. She’s just projecting her feelings for me to others. She’s just waiting for me. And I just need to finish our group’s world tour and then I can focus on wooing her again.” The idol boldly stated.
“Izu-babe, just wait for me. Then we’ll be happy together agai-.”
Then someone turned off the TV.
“Fucking bastard” Bakugou commented then threw the remote away.
She’s just projecting.
“Hey, dunce-face, don’t tell me you believe him,” Bakugou asked while coming unto him.
“I.. I’m sleepy, I’ll think I’m turning in now.” Denki said as hurriedly he headed to his room completely ignoring the explosive blonde and the worried looks of his classmates.
He’s just talking nonsense, right? That guy has the guts to plan on wooing Izu when he’s the one who cheated on her.
But he makes sense in a way. All the guys Izu dated after him are all blondes. What if she really was just projecting? The reason why she dumped the other guys she dated is because she realized they weren’t her ex?
What if Denki confesses and gets dumped too?
Denki’s phone rang. And he saw it was Izu.
Denki wanted to answer it, to ask if what he said was true. But he was also scared if she confirmed his suspicions.
Denki hid his phone in his drawer. Ignorance is bliss, right?
///
Denki hadn’t slept at all. Even a wink.
All the what-ifs swarmed his head like mosquitoes and kept him up all night.
Good thing it’s the weekend and he didn’t have to be up until the afternoon for his make-up class.
He can be alone with his thoughts –
“Dunce-face!” Bakugou barged into his room, so much for being alone.
“What? Why are you barging in so early?” Denki complained.
“Early?” the other asked in surprise.
“Yeah, have you checked outside- “, But Denki was stunned when he opened his curtains are saw that it was still dark outside.
“It’s still 9 pm dumbass,” Bakugou said. “That’s what you for having such thick curtains”
“But? It felt like I’ve been here inside for hours.” Denki defended.
“You did, you turn yourself in like around 4 pm.”
Ohhh..
So that’s why he can’t sleep.
“Anyways, the nerd has been bugging me for hours now, why are you not answering your phone? You know, to clarify stuff?” Bakugou suggested.
“I.. I’m scared man,” the other finally confessed.
“Don’t tell me you believed that bastard?”
“But it makes sense?” the electric blonde countered.
“Do you really think Deku is that stupid? I know she makes stupid decisions sometimes, but she does not make the same mistakes twice.” The explosive blonde defended his childhood friend. Denki grew quiet in contemplation.
“Can you two just talk and save me from getting a stroke from watching you guys acting stupid?” the explosive blonde complained.
“Fine, I’ll get my phone.” Denki relented.
“No, go downstairs, she’s waiting there” the other refutes.
“Whaat?!”
Denki ran outside as fast as he can to meet the idol
“Izu-chan?!” he called out.
“Denki-kun, please listen to me, don’t believe any of that bastard's words, he’s a lying piece of..”
“Izuku..” Denki interrupted the idol.
“Eh?”
“Come with me for a bit”
Denki then led the idol hurriedly to his room to get some privacy. All his doubts were clearly forgotten when he finally saw the idol, desperate and acting far from her projected personality. Though Denki is blissed with relief, he will not allow this precious idol to ruin her hard-earned public persona.
When they arrived at his dorm room, Denki led the idol to sit on his gaming chair and dragged the chair to his bed where he sat on it.
“Izu-chan”
“Yes!” the idol answered nervously.
“You can start explaining now,” Denki softly urged the frantic idol to talk.
“Yeah right, that bastard is lying, that cheating piece of ass is losing his fanbase so he’s dragging me for publicity’s sake. I never liked him in the first place”
“Huh?” Denki asked, surprised.
“Uhm, about the dating rumors, I never dated those guys on the news, well, not for real. We went out in public once to ignite rumors.” Izu started her explanation.
“Why?” Denki asked surprised.
“Well, it’s just some extra work for my agency. Due to my popularity, guys who got linked to me got famous too. So, for that, I got some extra bonus.” Said the idol.
“What for? Aren’t you from a rich family?” Denki followed up.
“Well, the bonuses are not necessarily cash, some are extra days off or exclusive tickets to theme parks, events, exclusive restaurants, and stuffs.” She explained further.
Then something clicked on Denki’s brain
“Wait, so the outings we had..? Are they..”
“Yeah, my bonuses,” Izu confirmed.
“For real?” Denki asked again.
“Yeah, they are from me, I used Kacchan and your squad to get closer to you.”
“Me? Why?” Denki asked again in a higher pitch.
“Because I have a crush on you. Ever since I saw you at your first year’s sports festival.” Izu confessed
“You are also the reason I went to Kacchan’s birthday last year; it was my chance to see you in person. Even though I promised to myself I will never go to UA unless they invite me as a quirk specialist.”
“And you are also the reason I only “dated” blonde guys. So, I can just imagine I’m having a date with you.” Izu finished her confession.
“Okay wait, my brain is having a hard time processing all of this,” Denki said pacing his room, he can’t process the information dump while sitting still. “You like me? Even before we met in person?” he wants to confirm again.
“Yeah,” Izu confirmed. “And believe me, you’re the only guy I dated, for real.”
“Oh my God. Our feelings are mutual.” Denki stated as the information finally sank in.
“Yes, they are”, Izu confirmed for good measure.
“So, if I ask you to be my girlfriend, you will say yes?” he asked hypothetically.
“It will be my – “ Izu was interrupted.
“Wait, don’t tell me yet,” Denki interrupted. “I was supposed to be planning a grand gesture when I asked you that. Wait.”
Denki proceeds to get his phone and make calls.
///
Izuku is having mini panic attacks
How can someone leave her in her crush’s room?
Izuku should be pondering about this “grand gesture” Denki is planning.
Like she already confessed and all. They could be bf/gf right now, why is he prolonging it?
But all those thoughts went away when it sank to her where she is right now.
Is it illegal if she takes photos of this room? Is she even allowed to move from where is she sitting right now?
Maybe Izuku is a sought-after idol, but she never really has close friends and the only other room she ever had was, other than her own and her parents, was Kacchan’s, so she never really knew about the etiquette of being in another’s room.
Please someone save her.
“Deku!” Someone called out as the door burst open.
“Wah!-chan” Izuku exclaimed in surprise, thanking the deities as her best friend has come to save her.
“You’ve come to save me,” Deku said crying but didn’t move from her seat.
“Are you stuck there?” Kacchan asked, amused. Tough nothing is amusing about Izuku’s current situation.
“Yes? No? I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. Please Kacchan save me.” Izuku begged.
“Tsk. I sometimes forgot you don’t have any friends besides me.” He said while dragging her outside of Denki’s room
“Shut-up. You didn’t have anyone else also before UA.” Izuku countered.
“Well yeah, I got lucky, that’s why I did not stop you when you wanted to enter into this mess, so you can have what I have too.” Kacchan softly explained.
Izuku halted.
“Oi, what the hell are you doing?” Kacchan faced her to check what was the fuss.
“Thank you Kacchan,” Izuku said. “For this, for still being my friend even after I became officially quirkless.”
“You’re not totally quirkless Deku,” Kacchan explained. “Maybe you don’t have a quirk in a traditional sense, but you being a nerd who can charm anyone effortlessly is your own quirk. Have you seen the trail of broken hearts along your back, heart-break girl?” he teases.
Now Izuku is full-on crying. This is the second time Kacchan explained while he stuck with her. After Izuku was declared officially quirkless, everybody avoided her like a plague, except for one boy, Katsuki.
The first time was while they were still in preschool.
“Tsk, Iron Man doesn’t have a quirk too. But he became the best hero in his universe. You just must become super smart and super-rich then build a suit nerd. Plus, you’re much cooler than those extras” Explained the 4-year old Katsuki making the green-haired girl cry harder after she was ignored by the other kids at the playground
“Tsk, crybaby. Maybe also crying just for small reasons is your quirk too.” The blonde hero-in-training teased as he recalled a similar scene years ago.
“This is no small matter” Izuku defended as she wiped her never-ending tears.
“Anyways, stop crying now. Dunce face has a surprise for you.” Then Kacchan leads her outside the dorms.
///
This is it.
Denki’s heart is beating loudly he swears the mic had caught the sound of it.
He still can’t believe Izu reciprocates his feelings. This must be a dream, right?
No, the pain from tripping on the drum set still lingers on his shin, this is real. The girl he has a crush on also has feelings for him.
Looking back on the past year, Denki realized that the progress in his relationship with Izu has all been the girl’s doing. He was just going with the flow. And he can’t let that go on.
Izuku Midoriya is worth a hundred more grand gestures. She’s such an amazing person who is so determined to reach her goals and never let anyone stop her. She even managed to worm into Denki’s life even if they live in different worlds.
It’s Denki’s time to do his thing. He will make Izuku feel that she is worth all the effort he’ll do for her. It’s the least he can do for the admirable girl.
The front door opened and Bakugou came out first with the meek idol in tow. The idol’s expressive eyes went wide when she saw the small platform where Denki and the rest of the Class A band are set up, ready to perform.
“Ehem,” Denki cleared his throat on the mic
“Good evening, everyone.” He started.
“Now that our guest of honor has arrived, let me start this event with some message for her.”
“Izu-chan, you are the coolest person we’ve ever met. You are always bright and full of hope. You never backed down to any challenges even after facing so many obstacles. We, the whole class, were inspired by your determination. And to celebrate you, we will perform the song whose music video is where most of us first saw you.”
“Everyone, this is the “Heartbreak Girl” by 5 Seconds of Summer”
“You call me up
It's like a broken record
Saying that your heart hurts
That you'll never get over him getting over you
And you end up crying
And I end up lying
'Cause I'm just a sucker for anything that you do”
“And when then phone call finally ends
You say "Thanks for being a friend"
And I'm going in circles again and again”
“I dedicate this song to you
The one who never sees the truth
That I can take away you hurt
Heartbreak girl
Hold you tight straight through the daylight
I'm right here, when you gonna realise
That I'm your cure?
Heartbreak girl”
“I bite my tongue
But I wanna scream out
You could be with me now
But I end up telling you what you wanna hear
But you're not ready
And it's so frustrating
He treats you so bad and I'm so good to you, it's not fair”
Izuku remembers this song. After shooting the music video, she received an offer from her agency to “date” others to boost their popularity in exchange for bonuses. What an odd coincidence.
“And when the phone call finally ends
You say "I'll call you tomorrow at 10"
And I'm stuck in the friendzone again and again”
“I dedicate this song to you
The one who never sees the truth
That I can take away you hurt
Heartbreak girl
Hold you tight straight through the daylight
I'm right here, when you gonna realise
That I'm your cure?
Heartbreak girl”
“I know someday it's gonna happen
And you'll finally forget the day you met him
Sometimes I'm so close to confession
I gotta get it through your head
That you belong with me instead”
“I dedicate this song to you
The one who never sees the truth
That I can take away you hurt
Heartbreak girl
Hold you tight straight through the daylight
I'm right here, when you gonna realise
That I'm your cure”
“Heartbreak Girl”
The band ended the song with a bang and Yaoyorozu popped some confetti.
Loud cheers break out from the audience.
After a few seconds, Denki raised both his arms to silence the crowd.
“Izuku,” he said. “It been more than a year since we first met. We were worlds apart, but you showed we that it was never an issue. We could be complete strangers, but you made us happen. And I could never be more grateful to you. And now it’s my time to woo you. My time to make you feel the most precious person in the whole wide world. And no amount of press, paparazzi, famous idols, actors, or models will set us apart.”
Denki hopped off the stage, and the audience parted to make way for the blonde towards their special guest. Someone along the way handed the blonde a huge bouquet of tulips.
Denki stopped when he got in front of the idol and kneeled on one knee.
“Izu-chan, will you give me the honor of becoming your boyfriend?” he proposed.
Izuku was so speechless all she could manage was a shaky nod and the blonde hopped off to hug her tightly. The crowd’s cheer was deafening he swears it could be heard all the way to the gates.
///
Side story:
The Bet
“Izu-chan, Katsuki’s classmates are throwing a party for his birthday. Do you wanna come?” Mitsuki-san immediately asked as Izuku answered her call.
“Eh?” Izuku was caught off guard. She’s allowed to mingle with Kacchan’s classmates at UA?
Wait. She promised she will not set foot on UA grounds unless they invite her as a quirk specialist.
Yeah, she’s that petty after UA denied her the chance to attend there while being an idol. UA insists to have their student’s full attention they do not allow open classes. So that ended her becoming homeschooled at the last minute.
Wait, did Kacchan say he’s in the same class with that blonde electric kid, Kaminari Denki?
Izuku will not deny she has a crush on the hero in training. His quirk was cool and what is cooler is that even though his quirk has a bad side effect, he still chooses to be a hero and learn to overcome his weakness. How admirable is that?
Now Izuku is torn between her pride and her crush.
But the party will be in their dorms, right? It’s not like she will step foot on the actual campus, right?
Izuku ended up coming to the UA dorms. One time wouldn’t hurt. It’s for her best friend’s birthday anyways.
Izuku came earlier than the Bakugou’s as they still must get the massive cake they ordered for their son’s birthday.
“You can come inside first” was Mitsuki-san’s latest instruction to Izuku.
But Izuku doesn’t have the courage to go inside alone. These are not her fans, these are heroes in training. What if Izuku broke down and show her nerdiness? What if she weirded them out? What if she tarnishes Kacchan’s name as someone with a weird friend? Well, Kacchan didn’t mind that when he stuck with her through grade and middle school. But this will be the first time he wasn’t labeled as the angry kid with a weird quirkless sidekick.
Izuku’s phone vibrated at an incoming call.
“Hello?”
“I can hear your muttering up here till the 5th floor.” Kacchan snapped on the other line.
Opps..
“Just come in nerd. We also must talk but beware of the extras in my class, they still can’t believe we’re friends.” The line ended without any further ado.
Eh?
Okay, she’s coming in. Kacchan’s expecting her.
She shakily rang the doorbell.
“Coming!” Said by a jolly voice inside and the door was forcefully opened.
Lo and behold, out of all of Kacchan’s classmates, Izu should thank her stars that it was Kaminari Denki who opened the door for her.
“uhm... hi?” Izuku greeted the blonde.
“I-i-i-izu-chan!” and apparently, he knows her too.
///
“I thought you will never set foot in UA unless they invite you as a quirk specialist.” Kacchan condescends after he pulls her out from the mass of his curious classmates into his dorm room.
“Correction, this is the UA dorms, not the campus, not counted.” Izuku reasoned.
“Shut up. What’s your deal?” Kacchan interrogated.
“Well, your parents invited me. And as your beloved best friend. I will never miss any of your birthday parties.“ she alibied.
“You missed last year because your flight back from a concert got delayed.” Kacchan countered.
“But I made it up to you by giving you my limited edition personally signed silver age All Might cape replica.”
“Not the point nerd. We still have a family dinner later. Why come now?”
Opps, busted.
“Well…” Izuku started.
“Well?”
“You remember me asking about one of your classmates?” Izuku asked.
“You asked about everyone in my class. I will not be surprised if you already have a complete database about them.” Kacchan teased.
“Well, there was a particular someone whom I asked about more than the others.”
“No way”, Kacchan finally gets it.
“Are you planning on experimenting on my classmates starting from one of the most gullible ones? You’re making dunce face as your first victim?” he teased further.
“Kacchan..” Izu is embarrassed and running out of patience.
“Sorry, I just can’t believe you have a crush on him. Like you only saw him in the sports fest telecast. And just saw him in person for the first time today. How come?” he asked, curious.
“Love at first sight?” she answered.
“Blegh” Kacchan is making hurling noises in disgust.
“Shut up. As if you’re not spouting non-stop about clingy shitty hair on your first month at UA” she countered.
“At least it took me a month.” He defended.
“Anyways, don’t worry too much. I will not act up on my feelings for him. Just meeting him in person is enough for me. I believe someday I will meet someone reachable for me.” Izuku hoped.
“Hah. As if I’ll believe you miss my body move first without thinking.” Kacchan said unbelievingly.
“We can make a bet if you want.” Izuku offered.
“You know I always win Deku.”
“Hah. Just watch Kacchan”
///
After Izu and Kami’s extravagant first date:
“I told you I always win Deku.”
“Well, he’s worth it though.” Izuku caresses the bouquet Denki gave her.