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The first in Class 1A to get into gardening was Sato. He started growing some of his own herbs and vegetables on his balcony. A few other members of the class started picking up gardening as well after that–Midoriya and Koda first. Tokoyami did as well, although he didn’t want the rest of the class to know.
After a particularly hard day of training on an off campus facility, Sato made the class a nice dinner using some of the plants he’d grown. That was how the whole thing started, really.
“The seasoning on this is sooo good,” Hagakure said. Sato blushed.
“I used some of the herbs I grow on my balcony.”
“No way, you garden?” Sero asked. Sato nodded.
“I thought it would be a good way to get more ingredients for recipes without having to go to the store all the time.”
“That sounds nice,” Tsu agreed.
“Training today was so hard. Sometimes I wonder if I’m really ready for this hero thing,” Jirou said.
“When you’re feeling overwhelmed, sometimes it’s good to take a step back and take a break. Focus on other hobbies more so you don’t get stuck,” Momo advised. “Work on some music, for example.”
“Easy for her, she already has a cool hobby,” Shinsou complained. “I don’t really have hobbies.”
“Maybe all of us should try some hobbies out together,” Midoriya suggested. “It’ll be good for class bonding.”
“That does sound like a good idea,” Iida agreed, ignoring Hagakure’s muttering of “we’re codependent enough already.”
“What if we tried gardening like Sato?” Tsu offered. The class readily agreed. From that point on, all of Class 1A began to try gardening.
Hagakure was surprisingly good at gardening. She loved to grow various plants. She found the right balance of sunlight and water, and was attentive to her plants’ needs. Kaminari gifted her an iris flower plant “like the Greek goddess! It fits for you!” and she loved it. She took good care of the flower, taking various pictures to hang on her walls.
Midoriya was decent at gardening as well. He created a routine for watering and fertilizing the plants. He liked to grow all kinds of plants, but would often end up growing too many and giving some away. He started documenting growing progress and plant information in spare notebooks.
Sato continued to grow food. After a while, he helped set up a community garden on the roof of the dorms. The class had asked Cementoss for help, and he had obliged. He made an eggplant dish for the teacher in exchange for his help.
Mina really wanted to get into gardening. She really wanted to be good at it. Unfortunately, however, she struggled to keep plants alive. It made her sad, but the rest of the class tried to help her. She loved vine plants the most.
Bakugo was not good at gardening. He was incredibly angry about this fact. He had to wear gloves whenever he gardened because nitroglycerin was probably not good for plants. Even with gloves, however, he somehow managed to kill most of the plants he tried to take care of. Eventually, Kirishima gave him a cactus, saying that they were pretty hardy, and it should be difficult for him to kill it. The cactus barely survived, but did indeed survive. Jirou gave him a snake plant, and he loved it, although he would never say it. He was very protective of the snake plant.
Tokoyami didn’t want the class to know that he was actually quite good at gardening and enjoyed it. He liked growing flowers the best. He wanted to grow black roses, but they were difficult to grow. It was a work in progress. Dark Shadow tried to eat some of his plants at first, but he quickly shut that down.
Momo did a lot of research about gardening. She was incredibly informed and talented about plants. She insisted on using fancy fertilizer and soil. She eventually revealed that there were some fruit trees on her property, and several members of the class immediately jumped on the chance to take care of them with her–Uraraka, Mina, Sero, Shouji, and Hagakure, mainly.
Iida was obsessive about the plants. He measured the exact pH of the soil and moisture level, and he did much research. He followed every instruction to the letter to take care of the plants. Sometimes, they still died. This stressed him out.
Koda found gardening very calming. He made deals with pests to stay away from the community garden on the roof. He liked growing cabbage and lettuce a lot. He would sometimes feed animals with the things he grew.
Sero was better at gardening than many of the class expected. He liked taking care of plants. He had succulents in his room that he took care of. When caring for the fruit trees on Momo’s property, he would use his quirk to reach higher parts of the tree for harvesting.
Aoyama killed too many plants. He gave them too much sunlight. It’s a little shocking how many plants he has managed to kill. He is also not allowed to plant anything outside after the Great Mint Fiasco that nearly led to 3 deaths. Mint is also banned from being planted unless grown inside in a pot.
Tsu loved gardening. She’s quite good at it, too. She liked growing water plants the best. She often sat by the water lilies she grew to hang out. She showed her siblings pictures of all the plants she grew. She would sometimes bring some home to them.
Uraraka was very serious about gardening. There is, of course, the fact that growing her own food will help save money, but she mostly started gardening to bond with her friends. She was smug about the fact that she could grow plants better than Bakugo. He refrained from killing her over this, mostly because he knew she would win. Growing plants helped her self esteem, too. Whenever she felt like she couldn’t do anything, she would look at the plants she had cared for and remind herself that she can help things, and she is capable.
Ojiro had a younger sibling who was very into gardening. They tried giving him tips on gardening, but he wasn’t as interested in it. He could garden fine, but he didn’t find much enjoyment in it, per se. He still tried to support his sibling, though, and understand the things that they liked.
Jirou learned about music that helps plants grow, and was immediately interested. She liked sitting on the roof and playing the music for the plants while she did homework. She enjoyed growing herbs, and secretly was pretty good at cooking. She would sometimes cook for a few friends, and they always enjoyed it.
Todoroki struggled with gardening at first. He couldn’t quite figure out how it worked. Eventually, with the help of several classmates, though, he got better at it. He found it soothing, and used it as a coping mechanism. When Natsuo learned that he had gotten into gardening, he had given him a nice flower pot to show his support.
Shinsou wasn’t super into gardening. It didn’t really interest him. He tried it anyways, however. Tokoyami approached him one day with a four o’ clock flower. He explained that it only bloomed at night–dusk until dawn. Because both of them had insomnia and were often awake late into the night anyways, he suggested that the two of them grow it and take care of it. They both ended up really enjoying it. When they witnessed it first bloom, it was beautiful.
Everyone was shocked that Kaminari really enjoyed gardening. Despite his love, however, he still struggled, because he often forgot to water his plants. He found an app that would remind him when to water the plants, however, and they grew healthy and strong.
Kirishima struggled a bit with growing plants, but he enjoyed growing flowers the best. He would sometimes poke the spines of Bakugo’s cactus with his quirk activated, which greatly annoyed his friend.
Shouji found gardening very soothing. He grew all sorts of plants, but especially liked flowers. He was working on expanding his skills with growing. One day, he wanted to be able to grow roses and other difficult plants.
“I think Tokoyami would like growing mushrooms,” Midoriya said one day.
“Why?” Hagakure asked.
“Decay exists as an extant form of life,” Shinsou recited.
“Terrifying, thank you.”
“I once saw something where people will grow mushrooms from the pages of books,” Kaminari said. “Maybe we should do The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe for him.”
“That feels rude,” Midoriya mused.
“I actually enjoy ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ better,” a deep voice said from behind Kaminari. He jumped. He hadn’t even seen Tokoyami approach him. He had very quiet footsteps.
Tokoyami ended up really enjoying growing mushrooms. When Mina discovered that he was growing mushrooms, she begged to be able to grow poisonous mushrooms. Aizawa vetoed that idea. Tokoyami said that he enjoyed the idea of a poison garden. Aizawa also vetoed that idea.
Eventually, Class 1A started giving plants as gifts. It started with Present Mic. They gave him daffodils after he helped take care of several of them when they got sick. They gave Midnight a fragrant flower for her birthday.
Momo is the only person in the class capable of growing orchids. They’re a difficult flower, very picky. She gave Cementoss an orchid for his birthday. He denied crying about this.
Midoriya wanted to give All Might a sunflower.
“It looks like him!” The class had learned about Todoroki’s conspiracy theory and teased him about it.
“Hey, Todoroki, while we’re on the topic of dads,” Kirishima said. “Any plant you’d like to give your dad?”
“Not since poisonous plants got banned.” Iida choked.
The class realized that they didn’t know when Aizawa’s birthday was. They wanted to do something for him, since he had taken good care of them.
“I think I know some people who would know,” Midoriya said. “Midnight and Present Mic. They went to UA with him.”
The class went to Midnight first. They gave her some plums from a tree on Momo’s property in exchange for telling them Aizawa’s birthday.
Next they went to Present Mic. They traded some eggplant for knowledge of things their teacher liked. They learned that on his days off he liked following stray cats.
When Aizawa’s birthday came around, the class waited for him in the classroom. When he arrived, they gifted him a pot of catnip. He loved it.
Eventually, a student from the business course learned about the community garden and 1A’s hobby. They decided to interview the class about it for the school paper.
“For Iida…what do you find soothing about gardening?”
“It’s not soothing at all. Whenever I find a sunspot on one of my plants I cry myself to sleep.” He looked sleep deprived. He startled, realizing what he’d said.
“It is of course a great responsibility–!”
“Who in your class would you say is the best at gardening, Kaminari?”
“Definitely not Bakugou!”
“I’ll kill you.”
“To Tokoyami…Why do you like gardening?”
“We must familiarize ourselves with the dirt which we are to become.”
“That…doesn’t really answer the question.”
Midoriya was once again seriously injured. It wasn’t even a villain this time, it was a collapsed building. The class visited him in the hospital, as was customary. They gave him a melon, like tradition dictated in the class. This time, however, the melon was one that they had all grown together with their own hands.