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Eyes wide, Izuku stepped out of the bus along with the rest of class 1-A. He blinked in awe at the swarm of colorfully dressed people and fake swords surrounding a crystal clear fountain -- the perfect photo op. In a daze, he saw a group of spider-men pose on the fountain ledge while around the cul de sac a bunch of samurai battled some five-year-olds wearing OHSHC uniforms in a game of ninja.
This was it, Izuku thought. After so many years of watching YouTubers comment on their own con experiences, he was here to witnesses the magical chaos in person. And not only that, but thanks to Aizawa turning out to be an underground otaku and him finding conventions the only worthy break for the heroes of the future, all of 1-A was brought along too.
They were going to have so much fun!
As if sensing his inner joy (or seeing it plain as day across the teen’s face), a giggle broke out on Izuku’s left as a warm hand wrapped around his bicep. Turning, Ochako smiled brightly at Izuku before beginning to pull him along.
Stumbling forward, Izuku’s mouth hung open as they passed a woman with giant fairy wings adorning her back. Just then, Tenya raced up next to the two.
“Nothing like a little homemade ingenuity. Yes, these cosplayers deserve the highest respect.” He chopped his hand down for emphasis and was about to project more life advice when they heard a feminine scream.
All of class 1-A rounded, immediately on edge, just to find a Ryuko Matoi cosplayer slamming Minoru in the balls with her blade.
“And who thought it was a good idea to bring him?” Mina sighed while leaning on Yaomomo’s shoulder. She then turned deep eyes on the class president, who stood stiffened in horror a moment longer. Finally, he regained his composure enough to completely lose it again during his bolting spree toward the inappropriate scene aforementioned.
Wind rushed past the pair of females, ruffling their hair. With a pout to her lips, Mina reached up to fix one of Yaomomo’s loose black strands.
Just then Eijirou strode up, his rock hard arm wrapped around Katsuki’s own abnormally buff appendage, causing the explosive blonde to be begrudgingly tugged along. A growl left the teen’s throat but the redhead ignored his best bro (per-usual) in favor of shooting the class a shark-toothed grin.
“So my people, where to first?”
Ah, such an innocent, enthusiastic question. Such an aggressive, loud result.
Izuku wanted to stay for the cosplay contest, which satisfied Yuga just fine. However, Minoru (who had recently hobbled over) was set on the maid cafe he had seen a poster for. Shouto added that he could eat, most of the girls wanted to go shopping, and Katsuki told everyone to leave this nerd-fest and go to hell instead.
With the push of his glasses frame, Tenya politely suggested that they should all get registered first.
The arguing fell silent at that.
“Do whatever you want, just be willing to accept responsibility for it.”
Whirling around as one the group faced Aizawa, who had finished speaking with the bus driver.
At the sight of their teacher, Shouto broke from his constant resting bitch face, raising an eyebrow at the man. The dead tired eyes, the permanent frown, the ‘I’m cosplaying myself’ T-shirt. Yeah, the pro-hero was definitely more excited than usual. In that case, it was understandable why he would want to dump the children in order to go off and do whatever it was he did at cons.
Apparently, Tenya didn’t find it understandable.
“Sensei, you can’t mean to say that you are going to leave your students completely unsupervised in a crowded area packed with strangers, correct? Unless… this is a lesson about sticking together through high stake situations, following each other rather than separating to do enticing activities.” Eyes gleaming, the class president slammed his right fist down into an open left palm. “Just what I expected from U.A.”
The four-eyed teen focused forward again only to notice that Aizawa had wandered away during the rant.
“Welp, I’m going shopping. Come on ladies! Time to get some merch!” The rest of the girls joined Toru’s bouncing clothes, running off to get registered.
“Ah man! How do we always end up losing all the chicks?!” Groaned Denki as he tugged at his yellow spikes. Minoru wandered over, a solemn look spread across his features and patted the other boy on the back.
“Do not worry, my friend. Just look around at all the scantily dressed women here. A buffet for the eyes. Yes, we will have our harem soon enough--”
Mashirao tail-whacked grape boy across his purple balls with a grimace. Then joining Mezo, the two headed into the convention center.
Shouto and Rikido nodded toward each other, food on their minds, while Fumikage disappeared to find a dark corner. Eventually, the rest of the boys made their way inside as well, some more quietly than others, and the day began.
Koji regretted this very much.
*****
The girls gaped around the dealer’s room in wonder, enthralled by the sheer amount of stuff! Mina had to get herself a henna tattoo before the day was over, Ochako really wanted to try on a pair of those fairy ears, and if Jirou could get her hands on some original prints the field trip might just suck a little less.
With that the group broke apart, choosing to wander all the rows first, searching for the best deals, only to reconverge later and compare prices.
“But, shouldn't we buy items as soon as we see them?” Yaomomo questioned, her pointer finger pressed to her lip in thought. “That way we won’t have to worry about the vendor selling out.”
The rest of the girls’ hearts squeezed, wishing to keep their friend in her little bubble but also wanting her to break free. A pitying smile spread across Mina’s pink face as she stepped up to her friend.
“Let’s just try it this way for now, okay Yaomomo?” Shooting a subtle glance Ochako’s direction, Mina pulled away, now laughing brightly. The other girl caught on instantly, producing a laugh of her own.
“You’re right. Okay everybody, let’s go!”
And on they went, Tsu and Ochako taking the first five rows, Mina and Yaomomo browsing the next set, and Jirou and Toru off on the far side.
While the invisible girl pondered whether or not to get a full-body tattoo and Momo distracted Mina from grabbing every leopard-print article known to man, Ochako rounded the corner of a stand selling stuffed animals.
She gasped, grabbing onto Tsu’s arm for support. Next, she hid her friend behind some robots.
“Pst, look over this dude’s shoulder toward the table, but don’t be obvious about it.”
Tsuyu blinked. “I see our friend--”
“Not so loud!” Ochako reprimanded in a whisper-shout.
Tsuyu blinked. “I see our friend Shouto browsing a selection of stuffed-animals while Rikido buys enough Pokey to feed a small army.”
Determination flashed across Ochako’s face as her phone appeared out of nowhere. “Exactly.” She brought up the camera and prepared her soul for what was to come. And then it happened; the half-and-half boy pointed toward one of the many creatures. In return, the man behind the counter produced a red and white cat-loaf, a sakura flower print coating the inside of the animal’s fluffy ears.
The camera clicked.
Shouto brought the animal into his arms and cradled it, attentively inspecting each of its round features.
A squeal escaped the round-faced girl’s lips.
Expression unchanged, the quiet teen squeezed the cat-loaf close to his chest, burying his face into the animal’s matching fur.
Ochako died.
*****
Another slap across the face had Minoru sprawled across the ground, defeat sinking deep into his bones and tears trickling slowly down his face. “Since when did girls get this strong!”
“First of all, have you seen our class. And B, that was a man.”
“But he was dressed as Anna Nishikinomiya!”
“You ain’t wrong.”
Minoru groaned loudly and floundered off of the floor, narrowly avoiding getting stepped on. “I just don’t get it! Why do all these people dress up as sexy characters or pervy characters but then not want to be sexy or pervy! I thought the whole purpose of conventions was to get laid!”
Denki glanced about as the surrounding crowd froze, growing oddly quiet before eventually moving past with a wide berth. He then returned to looking down at his small friend.
“I don’t know dude. Maybe they just want to have fun while rocking their own unique, beautiful bodies. Well, that’s what Eiji would say anyway. In my opinion, it might be the height thing.”
At that, the small boy’s black eyes widened. “You mean we can’t get girls because of our heights?”
Shrugging, Denki looked about again. “Well, chicks like tall guys. Come on, we got every asset besides height, so what else could it be?”
The teens paced around, observing how many of the other guys towered over them. Not to mention they were in competition with people like Mezo who had enough hands to relieve every woman in a three block radius.
“Wait, but what about Izuku? He’s the same height as you and has absolutely no physical assets but yet all the girls in class adore him.” Minoru pointed out.
“Yeah dude, but you’re forgetting one important thing. He’s a hero.”
This caused the pop-off wielder to pause; his face scrunched up. Everyone looked up to their green-haired friend, freckled face and broken bones to boot. The class radiated around him, Minoru included, in order to grab hold of that hope Izuku shined. “But being a hero isn’t just physical, it also has to do with personalities and morals.”
The two boys paused, mouths opened slightly and eyes the size of saucers. “Does that mean girls care about more than looks?”
The unbridled awe lasted for another solid minute before they simultaneously broke out into laughter, hooting at the absurdity of such a thought. Maybe similar values and bravery played a role in relationships, but everyone knew that physical appearance sealed the deal.
Off to the side, a group of girls glared at the bonafide U.A. idiots. One of them exhaled, shaking her head at the thought of these being their future pro-heroes, and leaned over to her friend on the left.
“Those two deserve each other.”
*****
The crystal chandelier overhead swayed as another explosion shook the cafe.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SCISSORS!”
“Whoa, Bakubro, calm down. It’s just a friendly Janken game.” Eijirou laced an arm around his friend’s shoulders, trying to keep him from exploding the butler that was playing with them.
The butler’s black eyes shimmered at the blonde’s aggression. With a smirk and a smooth voice, the man continued. “As I said, all you have to do is beat me once and I’ll give you a raffle ticket. A fun, simple game.” Purring, the butler leaned in a little more. “But… you can quit whenever you want--”
“--LIKE HELL YOU FU--”
The butler ignored the thrashing, sparking, snarling blonde in favor of looking at his dark-haired companion.
“I’m afraid that if your friend’s behavior continues we will have to remove all three of you from the premises.”
“I’LL REMOVE SOMETHING FROM YOU RIGHT NOW!”
Chuckling, the butler stepped away from the three boys, waving their way before moving on to some less entertaining customers.
Eijirou frowned, placing his vibrant brown eyes in front of burning red ones. “Calm down, bro. You know he’s trying to get in your head. You’re stronger than that.”
Smoke rose off of Katsuki’s palms but he quieted all the same. That fucktard butler probably had some kind on prediction or mind reading quirk anyway. He had to; Katsuki was good enough to not have any tells.
It was then that Hanta decided to step in. “Eiji’s right, you know. Now, why don’t we just sip our odd-colored tea and eat some overpriced dessert.”
*****
“U-um, excuse me sir, but your five minutes are up.”
Narrowed, red eyes turned to watch a stormtrooper fidgeting at the cell door.
Five minutes ago, Fumikage had paid for the policing group to ‘arrest’ him, throwing him into a jail cell placed in a dark corner. It was the most solitude one could find here unless they wanted to climb into the air vents.
It was like people didn’t come to Cons to be alone.
Ruffling his feathers, the bird boy reached into the abyss of his cape and pulled out a wad of cash, throwing it at the stormtrooper. They looked at each other for a moment before the Buckethead bent down and carefully lifted the money.
“Uh, I don’t think we can--”
“I’d like to reserve this room for the rest of the day.” Piercing eyes tiredly challenged the worker.
Finally, the man began to back away. “R-right. Of course. It’s all yours. And I uh, like the cape by the way. It’s a cool, uh, cosplay?”
“These are more normal clothes.”
*****
The world’s largest smile spread across his freckled cheeks, Izuku stepped away from the group of All Might’s, each sporting a different age of costume. With at least fifty photos of cosplayers filling up his camera roll the boy would have to go back later and delete some old pictures -- hopefully, his mom wouldn’t mind too much. However, if the choice was past birthday photos or All Might cosplayers there wasn’t much of a choice at all.
“Bonjour, mon ami. I assume the photo shoot went well.”
Enthusiastically nodding in agreement, Izuku peered around the room in search of his next target photo op. “By the way, are you having fun, Yuga? I know you’re not super into anime but…”
“Don’t worry, petit homme. I have no need to know these characters to see how inspirational their costumes are. And so many are handcrafted too.”
Watching his French friend study a passing group of Sailor Moon characters, Izuku sighed in relief, glad they were both enjoying themselves. With this sense of relief washing over him, the boy startled at his friend’s gasp.
“Oh Mon Dieu! Why on Earth is that man bald!”
Wide green eyes immediately furrowed and scanned the crowd. “Oh, you mean him? He lost his hair while training to become super strong.” Izuku stated nonchalantly with a little bit of admiration and self-loathing trickling in. “He kept training, never giving up until he was unstoppable. He didn’t sit around waiting for a quirk -- he made one for himself.”
Yuga watched as those sparkling emerald eyes dimmed slightly.
“I see, well how… inclusive.. of them. Even bald people can be heroes I suppose. And it is better than breaking all of the bones in one’s body.”
Izuku looked up, staring back at the oblivious blonde. A smile then broke across his face. “You’re right. Going bald might be better. But whether its losing hair or breaking bones, both are proof that the hero is training now. And that’s what really matters in the end.”
The two were about to keeping walking on in order to get the best positions for the cosplay contest when the room began to shake and an explosion was heard from across the building. Hero instincts immediately set in, they scanned the room for any dangers. All clear, Yuga shot his laser into the air, drawing the attention of panicking waifus and otakus alike.
“Excusez-moi! We are heroes in training from U.A! Follow our instructions to ensure everyone’s safety, s’il vous plait!”
*****
Koji had just been minding his own business and cuddling a few stuffed animals when a loud bang went out from the floor above. Ducking down his head, he pushed closer to the corner of a wall as people started rushing by. When the room finally emptied he stepped forward, about to search for the rest of his class. It was then that he felt a tug to his pants.
By his leg stood a little boy, no older than three, wearing a My Little Pony shirt and light up Paw Patrol shoes. Koji’s heart almost gave out at the sight.
“C-can you find mommy?” The boy sniffed with pleading eyes.
Hesitantly, the quiet teen smiled, handing the boy one of his recently purchased stuffed animals.
The kid regarded the bright blue dragon being passed his way before giggling. He displayed the toy in his small hands. Then, using one hand to grab the dragon’s little wing and the other to take hold of the hero in training’s finger, the two padded out of the room.
*****
The sun shone brightly, it’s yellow light bouncing off of the sides of police cars lining the cul de sac. Out in the parking lot class 1-A gathered with their heads bowed, all waiting for Aizawa’s punishment.
They trembled, horrible images flashing through their heads. Their teacher’s day had been ruined -- the convention canceled for the rest of the day in order to put out the fire in the maid cafe.
Even Katsuki was quieter than normal, just mumbling a few curse words and repeating that the butlerfucker was asking for it when he came back to the table for a second match.
Apparently, Aizawa didn’t agree.
“I leave you children alone for a couple hours and you blow up a sixth of the convention center.” His monotone voice wasn’t surprised in the slightest, just very pissed. “Well, at least some of you remembered your training.” At that, the man shot Fumikage a hard glare, the boy choosing to save the jail cell over the stormtroopers.
“In his defense, the troopers were armed and trained for battle,” added Shouto in all seriousness.
Tenya pated the half-and-half boy on the shoulder before stepping forward. “I sincerely apologize, Aizawa-sensei. As the class president, it was my job to look over the class, but I rejected my duties in favor of perusing a dealer’s extensive manga section.” He then bowed deeply.
Ochako pipped in. “It was all of our faults, Tenya. Not just yours.”
“Mostly Katsuki’s. Actually, completely Katsuki’s”
“SHUT UP, ICY-HOT!”
Aizawa sighed and buried his face a little deeper into his scarf. Why did he ever agree to this job? “Everyone, on the bus. Now. We’ll deal with this back at the campus.” With that he spun around, hoping to never, ever look back.
“So, we’re coming again next year, right Kyoka?”
“Sure Denki. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”