Pride and Joy[Commission]

𝐈.𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ━━━━━━

╰─────────────────╮

￣￣  :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   ￣￣

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cover credit

Hello! Another commission here.

This one is for Kenma. This story

contains OC x CC. If you don't

it, don't read it, and

definitely don't comment hate.

Additionally, there are spoilers

for the latest arc of the manga.

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╭─────────────────╯

━━━━━━ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏.𝐒𝐈𝐒 ━━━━━━

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Enemies to friends to something

more. But now that they've finally

confessed, they're torn apart.

➥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:

               Neito Monoma

              Arumi Suzuku

➥ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞:

               Romance

              Action

              Slice of Life

➥ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2813

➥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 16157

Periwinkle eyes stared in absolute horror at the sight before them. A young, slim woman was crouching delicately in the corner of the classroom, messing with something that created a distinct, light ding. This woman has purple hair in a pixie cut with the bangs swept over her left eye. And even though he couldn't see her face, he knew her eyes were a lighter tint of her hair.

"Suzuku," Neito hissed through clenched teeth. He quickly looked up and down the hall to make sure nobody was watching before entering the class. "What are you doing in here? This is the 1-A classroom."

"No shit, Sherlock," Suzuku replied, standing up and shifting out of the way to reveal a small contraption. It was a glass cage cylindrical in nature. It would typically have a metal mesh cover, allowing air to flow through, but the top had been removed. It was one of those bug-catchers that children would use to raise a caterpillar into a butterfly. But instead, Neito watched as a couple dozen ladybugs crawled out. "Ms. Joke told me Aizawa-sensei hates ladybugs. Pretty good, eh?"

If they lived in a cartoon, a vein would be bulging out of Neito's forehead. "Suzuku!" He snapped at her again. "What were you thinking? Do you know how bad this will make class 1-B look?"

Suzuku glanced back at the tube as if she was considering it. "Eh, you already make us look bad enough. What's a harmless prank gonna do?" She asked. "Besides, nobody's gonna know it was me."

Neito ran a hand through his hair, panicking. 1-A already got all the special treatment. He couldn't let 1-B be the class known for its childish behavior all because of this woman. Wasn't there a student in 1-A capable of talking to animals? Did that work on bugs? No, he wouldn't ask 1-A for help. 1-B could surely solve this minor issue themselves. They weren't children, and going to others for help would only make them look less capable.

"Yanagi should be able to use her quirk to force them out the window, surely?" He thought aloud. "Where is she though? I don't know if I can find her and bring her back before others find out about this..."

"Calm down, Neito," Suzuku said, a sheepish smile on her face. "As I said, nobody's gonna know it was me. That is if we get moving."

"Don't call me Neito," was his only reply before delving back into his thoughts. There was nobody close enough to bring back in time. Damn, if only he had copied Yanagi's quirk. It was so useful, why didn't he have the foresight to grab it just in case?

At this point, all the ladybugs had either crawled or flown out of their prison, and were interspersed throughout the room. Neito looked around, trying to count them all when a loud voice interrupted him. "What is the meaning of this?" Neito jumped, turning toward the door, where a young man with navy hair stood. Iida.

*            . • .     • .                 • .    • °. •.    •     . •    . • . ✦• . • .      • . • .               •.     . • . • .    •                  ★               . • . ★     . ° . •          . • .       • *.     •         *            . •★     . ° . •          . • .           .

Nezu always seemed a bit too kind to be running a school of future heroes. You'd think the principal would have to be strict and ruthless to weed out the weak. Instead, he killed with kindness. As he lectured them, he pampered them with tea and even offered snacks. Somehow, his calm behavior was more terrifying than somebody stern and aggressive. It was like a silent snake getting ready to bite.

Neito released a loud sigh as he stepped out of the principal's office. He was worried they would be put in detention or held back from an event. Luckily, it had just been a lecture about how heroes-in-training had higher expectations than regular students. He turned toward Suzuku with an eyebrow raised, hoping she had learned her lesson. She looked a little guilty, but when she spoke, it only infuriated him further. "I should've done something more inconspicuous."

"I don't get it. You go on about righteousness, then do something like this?" Neito scoffed. "Aizawa-sensei is a pro hero. Wasting his time by making him and his class take care of a bunch of ladybugs is very disrespectful." Neito personally had no issues with class 1-A dealing with the aftermath of the prank, but he had nothing against Eraserhead.

There was another sheepish smile on Suzuku's face. "The prank was harmless," she explained. "Humane, too. Nobody and nothing was harmed in the process. That is, assuming the class didn't kill all those bugs. I should've thought about that. Hm..."

Neito was about to reply with fury but heard footsteps quickly approaching them. He turned to see Kendo speedwalking toward them, slowing as she approached. "There you guys are," she said, her brow furrowed. "What happened? Pony told me she saw you guys being herded into Nezu's office."

"Kendo, you take care of her," Neito said, turning his back from them. "I need to go, she's pissing me off."

"Jeez, you're such a hypocrite," he heard Suzuku mumble under her breath, but he ignored her and walked off.

*            . • .     • .                 • .    • °. •.    •     . •    . • . ✦• . • .      • . • .               •.     . • . • .    •                  ★               . • . ★     . ° . •          . • .       • *.     •         *            . •★     . ° . •          . • .           .

Tears filled her eyes as she rushed through the forest, covering her mouth in hopes of preventing herself from inhaling too much smoke. She could barely see through the tears and smoke but was confident she was heading in the right direction. She was sure Eraserhead and Vlad King already knew of the situation, but better safe than sorry. Besides, that was the only place she could think of that wouldn't be filled with smoke. The trees around her thinned, and she emerged into the clearing that held the building. She double-checked her body, making sure she hadn't been burnt too badly by the blue flames. She was sure she would feel it if she had, but adrenaline worked in odd ways.

"Suzuku, watch out!" a voice called from off to her right. She looked over quickly to see Monomaon the treeline, his hand outstretched toward her. Ice rushed toward her, and she had to quickly jump out of the way. The feeling in her ears hinted at what had just happened. Her left ear was burnt, and her right was stinging with cold. Sweeping her gaze across the clearing revealed a scarred man with blue flames wreathing his hands, and steam rising from where Monoma's ice had melted upon meeting the flames.

Monoma ran up beside Arumi, his teeth chattering. "You need to b-be more careful," he shivered, not removing his eyes from the scarred man, who was grinning at them maniacally. "It's dangerous to be so inattentive at a time like this."

"Thanks for saving me, but now isn't the time for a lecture," Arumi said, rolling her neck as if she needed to loosen her ts. "You have ice?"

"Todoroki's, but I can't use his fire. Also, it f-feels like I'm freezing from the inside out," Monoma explained. The man took advantage of their inaction, sending a wave of blue flames at them. Arumi began to jump out of the way, but Monoma created a wall of ice to block the flames. "Damn, this quirk is strong."

"This is the guy who created the fire, then," Arumi concluded. "Can you deal with his fire while I try to get close?"

"The ice is a bit hard to... I mean- of course, I can! Let's show 1-A who's superior," Monoma cheered.

Arumi shook her head. That wasn't really what's important right now. The wall of ice in front of them melted from another wave of flames. Arumi immediately took advantage, using the steam as partial cover. She heard Monoma following behind her, quick on the uptake. The man stepped forward, fire spreading from his feet and covering the ground. Behind her, Monoma crouched down, smothering the flames with a sheet of ice on the ground.

Surprised by the suddenly slippery surface, Arumi skidded forward hesitantly, trying not to topple. She soon regained her balance, continuing her charge. As she got closer, she felt adrenaline rushing through her. This was the first time her class had dealt with a real threat. This wasn't training, planned for, or moderated. She had her hero license, and this would be the first villain she would takedown. Once she was close enough, she launched herself into the air, bringing her feet up to her chest like a cannonball, and extending one foot right to his face. She let gravity do the rest of the work.

She pinned the villain down, fully prepared to knock him out if he was still conscious, but watched in shock as his grinning, bruised face melted into mud. "The hell?" she asked, looking around frantically. "Be careful, Monoma. He might have two quirks; he just melted."

"No, th-that's what th-they do," Monoma replied. "Th-The one Eraserhead f-fought did the same thing. They th-think it's somebody else's quirk." Arumi looked over at the blonde and froze when she saw him. The right side of his body was turning blue, and she could see frost starting to spread across his cheek and hand. Arumi quickly rushed over, peeling off her jacket and wrapping it around him.

"Monoma, you're going to turn into an ice statue at this rate," she scoffed. "Stop using his quirk, it's clearly too much."

"Nonsense," he denied, even though he pulled the jacket tight around himself. "I can handle it. Besides, that went great. The quirk works well against the fire."

Arumi glanced at the pile of mud, pride swelling up in her. Sure, it hadn't been a real villain, but they had taken it down. "Yeah, it did go well," she agreed. "Dude, we were awesome."

Monoma grinned, the best he could with a quivering jaw. "That was a pretty badass kick," he said.

"I saw it in a game," Arumi itted. "I've been wanting to try it for a while."

"Well, we should get into the forest," Monoma said. "We can't just stay out here chatting while our classmates are out there fighting."

Arumi nodded, following the blonde back into the burning forest.

*            . • .     • .                 • .    • °. •.    •     . •    . • . ✦• . • .      • . • .               •.     . • . • .    •                  ★               . • . ★     . ° . •          . • .       • *.     •         *            . •★     . ° . •          . • .           .

Arumi was fully prepared for Neito to storm into the classroom upset. Instead, he looked more ashamed than anything. He kept his head down and sat beside Arumi. The day previous, his team had been beaten by a team from 1-A 4-0. 1-B had nearly grabbed the win, but in the last seconds, 1-A had turned the tables. "You good?" she asked, keeping her voice down.

"Huh? Oh, congrats on the win," he said, apparently caught off guard by her question. "You really showed 1-A what we're made of."

Neito had been so excited for the t training session. Even though it was a close call, 1-A had still ended up winning overall. Arumi had been on one of the teams that had won. After congratulating her, he seemed to immediately become lost in thought. "You guys did well too," she said tentatively. It was clear he was beating himself up about it. "You totally had them on the defensive, until...that weird thing with Midoriya. There's no way you could have ed for something like that."

"Battles take unexpected turns all the time," Neito reminded her. "Heroes need to be able to improvise. We didn't do anything right."

"Uh, well..." Arumi searched her mind for how to cheer him up. "What about Shinsou? He seemed really strong, he might be in our class."

"Doubt it," Neito scoffed. "Aizawa-sensei trained him. He'll want his pupil in his class."

Arumi pouted, getting upset. "Why are you so obsessed with 1-A?" she demanded. "You go on and on about how we're so much better. We know you believe in us, and I'm sure 1-A does too. And yet, all you seem to care about is proving it to them. Who cares what they think ? We know we're equal to them, and just because they get more publicity than us doesn't mean we're inferior. If you care about class 1-B so much, stop focusing on 1-A and more on us. I'm sitting here, trying to talk to you, and all you can think of is the fact you lost."

Neito stayed silent for a few moments. "You're right," he conceded. "I know I'm needlessly aggressive when it comes to 1-A, but...it's just, I can't stand to see you guys dismissed so often. It may not be inherently their fault, but I'm sure none of the media have ever written any of our names in an article. The world deserves to know how great you all are."

"We don't do this for popularity," she reminded him. "In my opinion, even if all my actions went unnoticed, I'd be fine with it. I'm still helping people. I'm sure everybody else has similar sentiments."

Neito was silent once more, eventually nodding. "Great. So, stop beating yourself up. It's time to get better."

*            . • .     • .                 • .    • °. •.    •     . •    . • . ✦• . • .      • . • .               •.     . • . • .    •                  ★               . • . ★     . ° . •          . • .       • *.     •         *            . •★     . ° . •          . • .           .

"You're...leaving U.A.?" Neito asked, staring wide-eyed at the purplette.

"I don't want to," Arumi replied, flustered. She was pacing the classroom, running her hands through her short hair. "You know how the world is. With how things went with the Paranormal Liberation Army, society is losing its faith in the heroes. My legal guardians are pulling me from the program, they think it's unsafe. I don't have a say in the matter, I'm not old enough."

"But you're already a pro hero," Neito said, completely dumbfounded. "Wh- Are you gonna return?"

"I don't know, Neito," she snapped back. "I don't...think so. They were...considering moving to America or or something."

"You're leaving Japan?" Neito asked. "This is ridiculous. There has to be something you can do."

"I'm fifteen," she reminded him. "The only possible way I could stay is if my father managed to do something, but I'd rather die before having to talk to him again."

"You can't leave," Neito insisted. "You can't..." That's all he could think to say. They had spent a year together. He couldn't stand the thought of her leaving the program, nevermind the country. Despite the difficulties in their relationship, she was one of his favorite people in the class.

She stopped pacing, gazing out the window. She could see crowds of people beyond the walls of U.A., at the media and the citizens protesting. How had it come to this? Not long ago, the country had been brought together to cheer on the fight between All Might and All for One. Despite learning All Might wasn't at full power, people came together to him, even if he couldn't see them. Now, his statues were vandalized nationwide. Pro heroes were retiring. There was chaos in society.

She was surprised to find Neito suddenly beside her, looking out at the people as well. "Pro heroes shouldn't run when things get hard," he voiced his opinion.

"You know I don't have a choice," she repeated. "I want to stay. I want to...but I'm about to walk through those gates. And I don't know when or if I'll return."

Neito fell silent. She couldn't leave. He wasn't satisfied with just one year with her. He took a deep breath and turned his head. "Arumi?" he asked. She looked at him, and he leaned down slightly to place his lips on hers. It was gentle, light, and short. "Sorry, I couldn't let you leave without doing that."

She lifted her hands to her lips, brushing her fingers against them softly. She lowered her arm, looking him straight in the eye. "I"m trusting you to fix this," she said. "Fix the world. Show people that heroes are indeed heroes. Make it so I can come back. Think you can do that?"

His head moved ever so slightly in a tiny nod. "I would do anything."

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 ━━━━━━

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￣￣  :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   :hearts:   ￣￣

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