Canary

Chapter 46: Strike Back

When Midoriya and the others came back from that work studies meeting... thing – later that afternoon, Shinso was once again struck by that shivering fear that ran down his spine, at the sight of his friend's face.

"What... happened?" he questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Can't say!" Midoriya beamed.

Why was this scary? Well, Midoriya seemed happy. And in the situation overhanging them all over the past few days, that seemed out of character, and... out of place.

And that was bound to be really bad for someone...

Shinso grinned back at him, trying not to seem unnerved, as he disappeared up the stairs.

"What the hell was that?" that was the voice of none other than Bakugo, whose red eyes tore themselves away from the space Midoriya had just left and settled on Kirishima.

Kirishima shrugged, "He's just happy with how things are turning out, man."

"How what's turning out?!" insisted Mina, putting her hands on her hips and pouting. "It's got to be something to do with Eri, right?!"

"We already said we can't say anything," Tsuyu repeated. "Speculate all you want, but we're not allowed to speak a word to anyone, ribbit."

Shinso sighed, washing up his coffee cup carefully, not meeting their gaze as he asked, "So... how long until it's over?"

They didn't reply for a moment. Shinso could see them exchange glances from the corner of his eye, until Uraraka piped up, "Soon, hopefully."

Shinso nodded and returned to his washing up.

The sooner the better.

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"Ah! Young Midoriya!"

Oh no, not now – why now?

Midoriya came to a halt, turning around slowly to look upon who had called out to him ­– All Might.

He was clearly out for a jog, wearing a tracksuit of sorts. It fit him; unlike the baggy clothing he had always worn when he was still pretending to be some kind of unkillable God. Something about him wearing something fitting felt... unsettling; Midoriya didn't know why.

"Good to see you again," the old hero said, stopping beside him. "How are you?"

Midoriya narrowed his eyes, "Fine...?" He pocketed his phone. He definitely hadn't been staring at the screen for the past few hours – well, days – trying to will that inevitable message into appearing, that would say action stations! The waiting is over! – but no, it wasn't going to happen quite yet, as it seemed, which resulted in Midoriya wandering the grounds aimlessly; he'd been doing that a lot, recently.

"I heard that you're working with Mirio and Nighteye on a case," All Might continued.

"Who did you hear that from?" Midoriya asked out of curiosity.

"Ah, Mirio," he nodded. "Nighteye and I... still aren't on the best of terms."

Midoriya blinked at him, "Did you fall out or something? Is that why he stopped working as your sidekick?"

He chuckled nervously, "Something like that. You know, I've been meaning to talk with you for quite some time. This really is fortuitous timing."

"Hm..." Midoriya said with a thin smile.

All Might sighed and gazed up at the sky. It glowed a heavenly orange with the setting sun. It almost haloed Midoriya's old idol.

"Kid –" he suddenly said, drawing Midoriya back to reality. He averted his gaze as the hero spoke – "What happened... back then, on that roof top over a year ago –"