Chapter 35: The Academy, the Antics, and the Invisible "Aww"
[Inko Midoriya POV]
There is a specific kind of harmony that exists in the Midoriya household, but it isn't the kind you'd find in a meditation retreat. It's the harmony of a well-rehearsed circus.
I stood in the kitchen, my quirk subconsciously pulling three different spatulas through the air to flip pancakes, stir miso soup, and keep Sunny from trying to eat the decorative plastic fruit on the counter. Today was the day. The day my boys—my two wonderful, terrifyingly different versions of the same soul—would march toward their future.
"Izuku, dear, your tie is going to strangle you if you keep tugging at it!" I called out, my heart giving a little squeeze of maternal anxiety.
Izuku stumbled into the kitchen, a whirlwind of green curls and nervous energy. He was muttering under his breath, a frantic litany of hero statistics and counter-strategies for various robot models. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink, but there was a light in his eyes that hadn't been there a year ago. Before All Might, before the training, before Sunny's "Chaos Crew" had essentially adopted him as their mascot.
"I'm fine, Mom! I'm just... if the Zero-Pointer is truly zero points, then the cost-to-efficiency ratio of engaging it must be—"
"Izu-chan, you're vibrating so fast you're becoming a blur," a voice chirped from the ceiling.
I looked up. Sunny was currently hanging by his heels from the light fixture, wearing his signature white gloves and a pinstripe vest that definitely wasn't in his wardrobe yesterday. He was peeling a banana, but instead of a fruit inside, he pulled out a miniature, fully functioning saxophone and played a quick, brassy [WA-WA-WAAAAAA].
"Morning, Mater!" Sunny grinned, dropping down and landing on his feet with the sound of a soft [BOING!]. "Don't mind the nerd. He's just worried he'll forget how to breathe if a pro hero looks at him funny."
"I am not!" Izuku squeaked, though his face went bright red.
I walked over to Izuku, reaching out to cup his face. He's grown so much. He wasn't just the quirkless boy who cried over hero videos anymore. He was a successor. He was strong. "Izuku," I said softly, my voice grounding him. "You've worked harder than anyone I know. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be the hero I already see in you."
Izuku's shoulders finally dropped. He let out a long, shaky breath and nodded, his hand momentarily covering mine. "Thanks, Mom."
I leaned in and pressed a firm, lingering kiss to his forehead. "Go get them, my hero."
Then, I turned to the other one.
Sunny was currently trying to use a spoon as a catapult to launch blueberries into his mouth. He saw me looking and straightened up, his eyes doing that little twinkling effect that always meant trouble was brewing.
"And you," I said, putting my hands on my hips. I reached out and grabbed his ear, tugging it gently until it stretched about six inches away from his head. [STRETCH-HHH]. "Sunny Midoriya. I am fully confident that the entrance exam is basically a playground for you. But I am asking—as your mother—please try to keep the property damage to a minimum."
"Mom! Damage is just 'unsolicited renovation'!" Sunny protested, his ear snapping back into place with a loud [TWANG!].
"I mean it," I laughed, though my tone turned serious. "Don't traumatize the students too much. And the teachers... Nezu might enjoy the chaos, but I'm sure poor Mr. Aizawa is already on his third pot of coffee just thinking about you. Don't make them quit before the first semester even starts."
I pulled him into a hug. Even though he felt like a bundle of springs and ink, he was still my baby. I kissed his forehead, right between those expressive, cartoonish eyes. "Stay safe. And make sure your brother doesn't overdo it."
"Cross my heart and hope to get hit by a falling anvil," Sunny saluted, a tiny yellow bird appearing to circle his head for a second.
"Sunny-nii! Izuku-nii!"
Eri came running down the hall, her little slippers pattering against the floor. She was wearing a tiny "Go Team!" headband that Toga had clearly made for her. She skidded to a halt and threw her arms around Sunny's legs.
"Don't let the big robots be mean," she whispered, her eyes wide.
Sunny picked her up, tossing her into the air and catching her as she giggled. "Kid, the robots should be worried about us. I've got a Reality Crayon in my pocket and a brother with the punch of a freight train. We'll be home for dinner before the smoke even clears."
"Be careful," Eri said, hugging Izuku next.
We walked them to the door, a tradition that felt heavier today than ever before. As the door swung open, the "Chaos Crew" was already waiting on the sidewalk.
Himiko Toga was leaning against the fence, her messy buns perfectly chaotic, wearing a modified school uniform that she'd decorated with little red heart pins. Beside her, Aqua was slumped against the gate, looking like she'd been through a war.
"SUNNY!" Aqua wailed the moment she saw him. She lunged forward, grabbing the lapels of his vest. "The Divine Debt Collectors! They sent a pigeon! A holy pigeon! It pecked my window until I gave it my lunch! You have to pay my debts! I am a Goddess, I shouldn't be bullied by poultry!"
Sunny rolled his eyes, but he didn't push her off. "Aqua, I told you, stop trying to buy 'Goddess-Grade' moisturizer on credit. It's just aloe vera with a markup."
He looked over Aqua's head at Toga. The air shifted for a second—a rare moment of genuine, quiet warmth.
"Ready to go, Himiko?" he asked.
It was a small thing, using her first name, but I saw the way Toga's eyes softened. To the rest of the world, she was the "Blood-Obsessed Girl" or the "Vigilante Support." But here, with Sunny, she was just Himiko. She gave him a bright, sharp-toothed grin and hopped off the fence.
"Always, Sunny-kun. I've got the extra cameras. I want to make sure we capture the exact moment Bakugo's head explodes from stress."
I watched them walk down the street—the hero, the toon, the goddess, and the girl who finally found a home. I leaned against the doorframe, Eri holding my hand.
"They'll be okay, right Ms. Inko?" Eri asked.
"Oh, Eri," I sighed, smiling through the tears. "The world isn't ready for those boys. But I think it's finally time they met them."
[Sunny Midoriya POV]
The train ride to UA was, in a word, "Vintage."
I love trains. They're great for gags. You've got the rhythmic [CHUG-A-CHUG-A], the swaying motion perfect for physical comedy, and a captive audience of salarymen who look like they've had their souls replaced by spreadsheets.
I was currently hanging from the hand-straps like a monkey, my body stretching and contracting with every bump in the tracks. Izuku was sitting below me, clutching his knees and muttering so loudly that the lady next to him was slowly inching toward the next car.
"Izu-chan, breathe," I said, my head rotating 180 degrees to look at him upside down. "You're gonna hyperventilate and pass out before we even see the gate. And if you do, I'm drawing a mustache on you with permanent ink. The script demands it."
"I'm—I'm fine! I'm just... calculating the wind resistance of my hair!"
Aqua was busy trying to "bless" the train's vending machine to give her free soda (it wasn't working), and Himiko was sharpening a pencil with a look of predatory focus.
That's when I felt it. A ripple in the "Toon-dar."
A few seats down, there was a space that wasn't actually a space. The air was slightly warped, like a heat haze, and a pair of school clothes was sitting perfectly upright, seemingly empty.
"Oho?" I grinned.
I let go of the strap, flipped in mid-air, and landed silently in the seat directly across from the empty uniform. I reached into the air, and with a loud [POP!], I pulled out a pair of oversized, 1950s-style black-rimmed glasses—the kind with the thick, swirling lenses.
I snapped them onto my face. The world turned into a kaleidoscope of colors, but more importantly, the "Toon Logic" kicked in.
I leaned forward, propping my chin on my gloved hands, looking directly at where a face should be.
"You know," I said, my voice dropping into a smooth, Bugs Bunny-esque drawl. "I've seen a lot of sights in this city. Giant monsters, fire-breathing kids, and a goddess who can't pay for a sandwich. But I gotta say... you're definitely the cutest one out here, Doc."
The empty air froze.
Then, a soft, high-pitched gasp echoed from the space. A frantic, pink blush suddenly manifested in the air—two floating circles of crimson where cheeks should be.
"Y-You can see me?" Toru Hagakure's voice was breathless, confused, and utterly charmed.
"See you? Kid, when you're a God of Chaos, 'visibility' is just a suggestion," I winked, a physical yellow star popping out of my eye and tinkling against the train window. "The glasses don't lie. You've got great screen presence. Very 'leading lady' energy."
The floating blush deepened. Poor Toru looked like she was about to phase out of existence from sheer embarrassment. She hadn't expected a random boy—let alone the Sunny Midoriya (yeah, I know I'm internet-famous, don't make it weird)—to flirt with her using prop comedy.
"I—I... thank you!" she squeaked, her invisible hands clearly flying up to her face.
Before she could say anything else, I did a backflip off the seat and blurred across the aisle, reappearing directly behind Izuku.
"BOO!" I yelled.
"ACK—!" Izuku launched himself three feet into the air, his backpack hitting the ceiling with a [THUD].
Aqua and Himiko burst into fits of laughter.
"Sunny! Don't do that!" Izuku wailed, clutching his heart as he slid back down the wall.
"Sorry, Izu-chan! The timing was too perfect! We're here!"
The train screeched to a halt at the UA station. We piled out, a walking disaster zone of neon colors and nervous energy. And there it was. The U.A. High School building. It loomed over us like a fortress of "Serious Plot Points."
"Look at that architecture," I muttered, pulling a surveyor's transit out of my pocket and looking through it. "Sturdy. Symmetrical. Boring. It's practically begging for a giant mallet."
"Don't you dare," Izuku and Himiko said in unison.
As we approached the front gate, the atmosphere changed. This wasn't the "Chaos Crew" playground anymore. Hundreds of kids were milling about, all of them looking like they were ready to fight a god or cry. Mostly cry.
And then, the sound of a small, localized explosion cut through the chatter.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY, EXTRAS!"
Katsuki Bakugo stomped through the crowd, looking like he'd personally declared war on the sun. He looked tense, his palms sparking, his brow furrowed in a permanent scowl. He was trying so hard to be the "Main Character" that he was practically vibrating.
He spotted us. Specifically, he spotted me.
"YOU!" Bakugo roared, marching up until he was inches from my face. "Gag-Boy! Don't think for a second that your weird tricks are gonna work here! This isn't a viral video! This is UA! I'm gonna crush you, and then I'm gonna crush that shitty Deku!"
I didn't blink. I just reached out and patted the top of his spiky head. [SQUEAK-SQUEAK].
"Aww, look at him, guys," I cooed, turning to the crew. "He's doing the thing! The 'Tsun-Tsun' thing! It's adorable. It's like a spicy kitten."
"SUNNY! STOP!" Izuku hissed, hiding behind his notebook.
"What? It's true!" Mina Ashido suddenly appeared from the crowd, her pink skin glowing in the morning light. She'd clearly been waiting for us. "Hey, Bakugo! You still dreaming about crackers? You looked so cute with those antlers on the livestream!"
"I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL BLAST YOU INTO THE NEXT PREFECTURE!" Bakugo's face went a shade of red that defied biology.
"Tsun-Tsun Boom Boy! Tsun-Tsun Boom Boy!" Aqua started chanting, clapping her hands rhythmically.
Bakugo looked like he was about to have a literal aneurysm. He turned on his heel, screaming incoherently about murder, and stormed toward the entrance exams.
"He's definitely going to fail the personality interview," Jirou muttered, walking up beside us with Denki Kaminari in tow.
The whole gang was converging. It was like a Class of Calamity reunion. Tokoyami was there, standing in the shadow of a pillar looking "edgy." Mei Hatsume was currently trying to see if the gate's security sensors could be converted into a popcorn maker.
And then there was Momo.
Momo Yaoyorozu wasn't wearing a school uniform for the exam. She was standing near the entrance with a small group of VIP observers. Because of her father's connections and Nezu's "special interest" in the Chaos Crew, she'd been granted a viewing pass to watch the practical exam from the control room.
She caught my eye and gave a small, elegant wave. She looked proud, but I could see the hint of sadness that she wasn't down here in the dirt with us. I winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Okay, Izu-chan, this is it," I said, stepping toward the gate. "The big moment. The 'Call to Adventure.' The—"
Izuku, distracted by his own muttering, didn't see where he was going.
Now, normally, a person might trip over a crack in the sidewalk. But because he was my brother, the universe decided to be a bit more thematic.
A bright yellow, cartoonishly oversized banana peel manifested on the concrete directly under Izuku's foot.
"Whoa—!"
Izuku's legs went out from under him. He did a full 360-degree rotation in the air, his arms flailing like a windmill. Time slowed down. I could have caught him, but the "Script" felt a ripple. A new character was entering the frame.
Instead of hitting the pavement with a [SPLAT], Izuku froze.
He was hovering an inch off the ground, tilted at an impossible angle. A girl with bobbed brown hair and a kind face was touching his backpack, her fingers pressed together.
"Are you okay?" she asked, giggling softly. "It's a bad omen to trip on the first day, isn't it?"
She released her quirk, and Izuku landed on his feet, his face turning a shade of red that rivaled Bakugo's. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a series of strangled "Uwa-uwa" noises.
"I—I—Uh—"
"He says thanks!" I chirped, appearing between them and shaking the girl's hand. "I'm Sunny. This is the Human Tomato. Thanks for the save, Gravity-Girl!"
"I'm Ochaco Uraraka!" she beamed. "Good luck to both of you!"
As she walked away, the teasing began. It was instantaneous. It was merciless.
"Oooooh, Izu-chan!" Mina squealed, poking him in the ribs. "He's in love! Look at the blush! It's reaching his ears!"
"The Divine Spark of Romance!" Aqua announced, throwing some holy water into the air like confetti. "I shall bless this union for the small price of—"
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Izuku screamed, his steam-whistle head actually letting off a puff of white vapor. [TOOT!]
"She was cute, Izu-kun," Toga added, her eyes narrowing playfully. "Do you think she'd look better in red?"
"TOGA, NO!"
We all laughed, the tension of the exam momentarily shattered by the sheer absurdity of our existence. We gathered in a circle—the whole lot of us. The musicians, the tinkerers, the gods, the heroes, and the monsters.
Even Bakugo had paused a few feet away, looking back at us with a scowl that was 10% less murderous than usual.
"Listen up, crew," I said, my voice losing the Brooklyn lilt for a moment. I looked at each of them. "This is the start of the real show. The world is gonna try to tell us we don't fit. They're gonna say we're too loud, too weird, or too 'unstable' for their neat little hero society."
I reached out my hand. Izuku put his on top. Then Toga. Then Aqua. Then Mina, Denki, Jirou, Tokoyami, and even Mei.
"But we're the Class of Calamity," I grinned. "And we don't follow the script. We write it. Nobody gets left behind. We all get in. We all become heroes. And we all make sure the world never stops smiling."
"Even me?" Bakugo grunted from the sidelines.
"Especially you, Tsun-Tsun," I laughed.
"SHUT UP!"
We broke the huddle with a roar that probably echoed all the way to Nezu's office.
The exam was starting. The robots were waiting. But as I snapped on my white gloves and felt the Toon Force humming in my veins, I knew one thing for sure.
UA wasn't prepared for us.