Technical Support

Chapter 15

"...No, no no...I can't do that...It'd be too unstable...But what about...No, that's no good either..." Ayano was mumbling to herself as she was walking home with Midoriya. Her eyes were focused on the holographic screen in front of her, brows knitted together in thought about Bakugou's costume requests.

As her attention was divided, she was walking at a much slower pace, Midoriya following her speed. In fact, he was focused on something else as well: Ayano's choice in Bakugou for the costume assignment.

His own brows were furrowed, a slight frown set on his face. He didn't mean to seem arrogant, but he was almost sure that Ayano would've chosen him. Out of all the other people she could've chosen, he thought that Bakugou was most certainly not at the top of the list.

Finally unable to bear his curiosity, he cleared his throat in preparation to ask her about it. "U-Umm...Aya-chan..." She hummed in response, not tearing her eyes or focus away from the screen completely.

"Uh...well...I was just wondering..." Midoriya was scratching the back of his head, unsure of how to continue. His eyes were darting all around in the hopes of possibly finding something to help him say what's on his mind.

"...Y-You and K-Kacchan...Is everything okay?" It wasn't exactly the question he wanted to ask, but perhaps it would lead to what he really wanted to know. "Everything is fine." Ayano responded quickly, still maintaining her focus on her work.

The green-haired boy sighed. He should've known nothing would come out of that type of question. For things unrelated to support items and machines, Ayano was a person of few words. She normally spoke only when necessary and close to the minimum, dissuading further conversation. If he wanted to know something, he would have to ask directly.

"Why did you choose Kacchan...?" He asked in a very quiet voice, still unsure of himself. At his sullen sounding voice, Ayano decided that it would be best to give him her full attention. She shut off the screen and turned off the watch, turning to face him.

Midoriya met her unwavering eyes once before shifting his own away, unable to meet them again. "For the costume assignment...why did you choose Kacchan?" There was a slight downwards twitch of Ayano's lips as she thought about their first day of school.

"Um...Aya-chan, could I ask you for some advice?" The brown-haired girl simply raised an eyebrow as the woman ushered her further inside. The two were now in the living room, the older fidgeting in place. "Is something bothering you, Inko-san?"

The woman looked down, showing a face akin to embarrassment. "I'm just so happy that Izuku never gave up on his dream...and I'm ashamed that I stopped believing in him at one point." She shut her eyes tightly, as if hoping that she could shut that memory out.

Inko furiously shook her head and looked at Ayano with resolve deep in her eyes. "But I've decided to support him with everything I have from now on!" She dug into her pocket for her phone, pulling up a picture she took of her son's notebook.

It was the page in which he drew out an idea for his hero costume.

"That's why I wanted to ask you for advice on making this!" She asked with a hopeful gleam. Ayano gently took the phone from her hands. She pinched her fingers in and out on the screen to enlarge the picture, scrolling around it. She gave a small smile when she saw the ear-like protrusions from the mask.

Handing the phone back to the woman, Ayano reached into her bag to pull out a pencil and a sheet of paper. She quickly wrote down a list of things and handed it to Inko. "This is a list of materials that you can use and obtain for a reasonable price."