Izuku Blushes Furiously

Izuku and Todoroki managed to make quick work of moving the rocket-like object that they were supposed to protect to a less vulnerable and easily defensive position. Todoroki used his Quirk to freeze the windows over thickly as well as freezing the lights overhead, causing the room to plunge into semi-darkness.

Todoroki nodded to him, the two Heroes-in-training stepping out of the door. Izuku closed the door quickly, the two of them heading down the hall to another nearby door before freezing that door instead.

Izuku frowned. It was a little too obvious. "Can you make the ice less obvious? Just freeze the edges of the door instead and make it spread out evenly so that it's hard to notice."

Todoroki thinks about it and nods, agreeing with the general concept that they were aiming for. Too obvious and they would notice, but too subtle and it would escape detection. It was a good plan.

Contrary to expectation, the two 'Villains' didn't split up but instead headed up a level, hiding themselves well enough that they wouldn't be spotted at first glance. Izuku could practically taste the anticipation and slight worry that tinged Todoroki's Aura, though his facial expression didn't so much as move in the slightest.

Todoroki seemed to reign himself in, his previous emotions dying down so abruptly that it felt strange to Izuku. He had done that when Izuku had told him he could feel emotions, as well. Izuku didn't take offense to it, but he was glad that he managed to disclose how some of his Quirk worked.

It was just strange. It kind of felt like he had been just about to take a bite from a tasty cake before it was retracted, leaving him biting down on air. More than that, the way the other could so effectively compartmentalize his emotions worried him. No one with a normal background was able to do that.

Chewing the inside of his cheek, the green-haired teen decided to put the matter aside for now. It was almost painful that he couldn't do anything to help. Izuku took a steadying breath and closed his eyes to try and track where the Hero team was. He expanded his search range when he realized that there was no one in the building as of yet.

He could feel two Auras quickly approaching. The Auras split up, one of them more excited, the other worried and rather tense.

"One of them is in the building on the first floor. The other is making their way up the emergency stairs."

Todoroki's thoughts whirled as he tried to put together a feasible plan. He could take care of them but going after one would leave the other free to do as they wished while he was indisposed. He didn't know if he would be able to get to the other quickly enough or –

Izuku tilted his head at the various fluctuating emotions the other was cycling through. He proposed his plan. "Todoroki-san, you get the Hero outside while I get the one downstairs.

It almost felt like a ray of light had shone through various dark clouds. Right. He wasn't alone in this exercise. Shouta felt vaguely embarrassed. He had realized that they were being tested on teamwork, but he hadn't applied it at the most critical juncture.

He nodded to show his assent and quickly but cautiously made his way down using the windows. Izuku watched after him, feeling something akin to a proud parent watching their children take their first baby steps.

He shook himself out of it, keeping an eye on Todoroki-san's Aura that was rapidly nearing Hero number one's Aura. As silently as possible, Izuku made his way to the stairs, zeroing in on the Aura that seemed to blaze with excitement. He would have felt this even if he was blind. He paused. Especially if he was blind. But that was beside the point.

He was mildly gratified when he realized that the classmate he would be fighting was the one with invisibility. He'd made the right call with going after the one in the building. The green-haired teen tentatively peeked out at her from the top of the stairs.

Izuku could see the small piece of equipment she was using, the earpiece hovering in the air. Or rather, she was using only an earpiece. Nothing else. Izuku squinted, trying to get a proper look at the earpiece. Based on the way the earpiece was equipped, she was facing away from the stairs.

Quickly and efficiently, Izuku managed to get the drop on her. He had been prepared to wait until she climbed the stairs before ambushing her, but he was worried that she would receive some sort of distress call from her teammate before he could put his plan into action.

The green-haired 'Villain' powered around 1% of One For All, landing silently behind her. He grabbed the capture tape that had been prepared for both Villain and Hero teams to use, quickly binding her mouth before she could call out for help. He then bound the rest of her, incapacitating her.

He grabbed hold of her body so that no sound would be made if she fell over. The moment he did, his face erupted into a blush. He gently put her on the stairs, beating back the urge to furiously apologise before the exercise was over.

He scrubbed a hand over his face, tentatively checking her Aura. She felt shocked and disappointed, as well as a strange mix of awe felt slightly like she was impressed? She wasn't feeling anything negative towards him specifically, but that didn't make him feel any better.

He cleared his throat. His face still felt like it was burning. "Todoroki-san, I'm done."

"Same," came the reply.

"The Villain Team wins!" came the announcement.

Izuku quickly released his classmate like he was being paid to do it by the second. He'd never felt this embarrassed in his life. He slowly sunk down to the ground, feeling tired beyond belief. He buried his face in his hands.

"Hello, I'm Midoriya Izuku. Nice to meet you," he managed at last, tripping over his words.

"Hello! That was great. I'm Hagakure Touru! It was really impressive, what you did."

Izuku let out a strangled sound. "Thank you," he said. He quickly stood up and bowed deeply to her.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know you weren't wearing anything at all. Please forgive me!"

Her Aura lit up with embarrassment, making him feel like crawling into a hole and never coming out again.

"I-It's okay," she stuttered, voice tinged with embarrassment. "I do this a lot. It's a tactical advantage, after all."

Izuku felt like something vague exploded in his mind. He could practically feel that she meant every word. There was no embarrassment or shyness in her Aura, which meant she'd only felt the embarrassment because he actually ended up touching her while she was bound.

Izuku slowly buried his face in his hands whilst still bowing towards her to show his sincerity before he felt a hand tugging at him. He wanted to refuse and continue repenting before he felt the determination lining over her Aura, getting a feeling that she wouldn't let him continue doing this.

He straightened up, his cheeks still not back to their normal color. Stupid Izuku, he scolded himself. He should have – no, wait, he inwardly wailed. He couldn't have switched with Todoroki-san either. She was barefoot, which meant that Todoroki-san using his Quirk would have hurt her. He felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"If I may," he said desperately, "you should suggest to the support department that you need gear that allows you to be fully invisible while wearing."

The way her Aura lit up made him want to rub at his eyes.

"Thank you! I hadn't thought of that."

Izuku smiled nervously at her, finally getting rid of the blush once she started gushing about what else she could request for. He was glad she seemed to listen to him. Despite what she felt about her general state of nudity, it still wasn't safe for a girl to go around stark naked, no matter how useful it might be.

The more he listened to her, he felt his lips quirking into a smile. She reminded him slightly of Kacchan when he was being particularly obsessed over his Hero costume designs, if Kacchan was a female and less like an angry explosion waiting to happen, that is.

He let the chatter wash over him, giving pointers where he could about the costume designs as they walked back to the rest of the class. He could feel Todoroki-san and their other classmate a short ways behind them nodding at them before continuing their discussion.