Chapter 71 - CH 52: TOWARD UA

The dining table was close to being completely silent. The only sound that could be heard was the one created by the fork and knife hitting the plate. Right now, in the dining room, the ones present were Nighteye, Kotone, Minagata, and of course Kuroha.

Kotone and Nighteye weren't married, but they might as well be. Even though they didn't move out of their house, the two of them would spend nights in Nighteye house from time to time.

Minagata cut his steak and slowly put it in his mouth as he observed the situation. He didn't know what was happening but it must have been really big. He could see that Kuroha and his mother became closer, but inversely, Kuroha and Nighteye became somewhat distant.

Hum...No, distant wasn't the word. Awkward? Yes, he could feel some awkwardness between the two of them. As if they had some heavy topic they wanted to talk about but no one had enough courage to be the first to broach the topic.

For an instant, he wondered if he should do his usual perverted joke, but no, that would be too much. It was better to use a shared topic,

"Hey, Kuroha, tomorrow will be our first day of school at UA. Aren't you excited?"

He let out a smile as he said, as for himself he was really excited. The department of support may garner less attention than the hero department, but he liked it. He wasn't fond of fighting and killing, but creation was his bread and butter. 

He saw kuroha look at him questioningly before letting out a smile on his face. Frankly, Kuroha was a big softy. He liked to act though, but if you knew how to, breaking his shell wasn't hard by any means.

"I would be lying if I say I wasn't excited but not as much as you? It will just be the first day. What could happen? It's not like the Prof will do a test or something like that."

"Hum… You're right. Anyway did you do a list for the different gadgets you want to add to your costume?"

"*Sigh* Not really. I just asked them to implement the blood proof function and the saw ring. I don't have much need apart from that."

"Ara ara, I thought you wanted two new Bokken since your old ones were broken."

"Firstly, kudos, for the word games and secondly, yes I really do need swords. I could just use my blood and form blunt swords, but I like the feeling of having swords on my side."

Kuroha answered Kotone who was covering her mouth as she let out an elegant laugh.

*CLING*

The somewhat loud sound stopped the discussion. They turned to see Nighteye clean his mouth before silently getting up and going towards his office.

Minagata cursed inwardly. The relaxed atmosphere he created was destroyed in one move. It didn't take long for kuroha to leave the table.

"*Sigh* Excuse me. I'm full, thanks for the dinner Kotone."

Minagata watched as Kuroha left the dining room with worry. He could see that he was feeling down, but he didn't know what to say.

Now alone, he asked urgently at his mother.

"Mom, what is happening here? Why is the atmosphere so heavy between the two since Kuroha came back?"

Kotone let out a troubled smile but didn't answer. Minagata didn't insist. He continued to eat but he really wished that everything would be alright.

---

After entering his room, Kuroha sighed before laying down on his bed. He took his phone and tried to call Momo. 

*Beep* *Beep* *Kactcha*

It didn't take long for her to answer. 

"Hello, how are you?" 

"Fine… I guess. I just wanted to ask you feel, with tomorrow being the first day and all."

"Oh...I don't feel any different, just a little tired. I was just about to sleep when you called me."

"Hum ok. No worry. I will let you sleep. See you tomorrow at school. Good night."

"Good Night to you too."

*Kactcha*

Well, this was an awkward conversation. He hoped this wouldn't last long.

---

Meanwhile, at the Yaoyorozu mansion, a girl could be seen rolling in her bed as she looked at her phone with a blush.

After many thoughts, she came to a conclusion. The friendzone didn't exist. Rather it was a position we put ourselves in. When you act like a friend with your crush, why be surprised when said crush only see you as a friend?

That why she came up with a solution or a gamble. She would destroy their friendship before reforming their relationship on a firmer and different base. She wanted to become someone he could really trust and someone he could, no, would love.

"The most stupid thing in the world is acting like a friend to the person you love."

Those words were said to her by Himiko few days ago. She didn't know why Himiko was helping her, but she didn't care either.

UA was her chance. Himiko was far away in Shiketsu and couldn't meet him as much as she would have liked. Now she was the only one in UA. It was her territory.

It's on these thoughts that she fell asleep with a blissful smile.

---  

The next morning, Kuroha was walking toward Izuku house. Today should have been a glorious day, but his heart just wasn't on it. 

Since he came back, his relationship with Nighteye has become really strained. He long guessed that something like this would happen one day, in fact, the actual result was lighter than initially thought since he was sure that Nighteye would have sent him to a juvenile detention center.

Still, being ignored hit him harder than he would have thought. What's more, the scolding he received from Milienia was rather heavy.

He wouldn't have minded some corporal punishment, but what he got was a complete verbal beatdown. He nearly broke down and cried under her abuse. That day would be forever buried in his memory. 

After a while, he finally reached his destination. He could see a rather touching scene. A mother straightening the clothes of her son and wishing him good luck.

Kuroha smiled at this scene. Izuku's mother was really an angel. He cames close before saying

"Good morning Madame."

The woman smiled

"Good morning Kuroha-Kun. Oh!! look at you. you're so handsome! Let me take a picture of you two."

Kuroha nodded. He didn't mind this. He might not have much contact with her, but he seriously respected her. Izuku's mother didn't know about OFA. Still, she knew that her son somehow awakened a quirk and that he was under the wing of All Might.

Now that the two were alone, they just smiled at each other without speaking too much. His relationship with Izuku was weird. Calling them friends would be stretching it, but they weren't particularly cold to each other.

Kuroha now had a healthy dose of respect for Izuku. How could he not? Anyone who went through that hellish training was worthy of respect. But that was all. He couldn't become close to Izuku as he did with the few friends he had. Why? Because he couldn't accept Izuku's dream. Izuku's dream was nothing more than him copying All Might ideal.

Izuku on the other also respected Kuroha a great deal. No, it could be even said that he looked up to him. He respected Kuroha, respected the hard work he put towards becoming stronger and respected the way he saw the world. 

In his eyes, Kuroha was everything he ever wished to be and some more. What's more he was different from Kacchan by the simple fact that he was rather humble and didn't mind seeking guidance from others, even those weaker than him. Many of Kuroha's new moves were born from ideas Izuku gave to him.

Izuku's mother came out hurriedly and took a photo.

Years later, this picture would be worth millions as it depicted the first school day of the leaders two of the legendary teams that marked history. Be it negatively or positively.