Our first team writing challenge has concluded, everybody! :D Please enjoy the results! And if you can come up with an ending that ties this patchwork narrative together or a theory that explains the logic behind it, you will get to choose which challenge this blog runs next!! Or request some art from mod zhuk if thatâs more up your alley (i swear i draw better than i write!)
[There were no restrictions on the wordcount, character roster, genre ot plot. The authorâs names are stated before their part of the story. The last sentence, which was all that the next participant saw, is bolded.]
âAh, thereâs my Polo T-shirt! Perfect, just what I need for the trip to the mall tomorrow. Christmas Sweater T-shirt... can go to the back of the wardrobe. Now, where could that T-shirt T-shirt be?..â
Izuku was hard at work unpacking as the sun set on the new UA dorms. It was weird having to move a second time this year after spending all of his life before now in the same old apartment, but a lot of things got weird since heâd entered the highly acclaimed hero academy. Well, less acclaimed nowadays, especially after what happened with the previous dorm building. A deafening noise had shaken the premises that day and as the first responders came running they found everything above 4th floor in 1-Aâs right wing caved in.
The lack of casualties - it had happened during school hours - was in schoolâs favour in their fight with the media, so despite the still ongoing investigation and the general unrest they were allowed to fish their belongings out and move into an even more high-security facility on UA grounds. Within the same week, even! Izuku had a few theories about what happened of his own, and had been itching to do some sleuthing around the ruined building earlier, but after Mr. Aizawaâs particularly brutal training session and an evening spent dragging boxes he found that he wanted nothing more than to finish unpacking and call it a day. Detective work could wait.
But as he put the last T-shirt away, Izuku heard a weird noise outside his door.
@maebewejustexist âs part
Izuku frowned, listening for any other sound. Above the low thrum of his air conditioning, he heard what now sounded like a grunt. Slowly, carefully, he padded towards the door. His hand turned the doorknob open inch by inch, and he held his breath as he pushed it open all the way. When Izuku saw what sat outside it though, his fear turned into confusion.
âA lizard?â Izuku muttered to himself, staring into the golden eyes, set into a black sclera, of a strange creature.
@kuso-otakuâs part (AO3 link)
The seeds of a wicked idea were planted in his mind.
No, he couldn't do it.
It was too risky.
Kaminari's words rang in his head "You think too much, man. Just let yourself enjoy life for once," followed by All Might's "Heroes take chances, sometimes things go well, and sometimes they don't. What's important is that you were bold enough to take your chances."
His heart pounded against his chest. Kacchan would kill him if he found out, but for once, he didn't care. What Kacchan said to Todoroki and Uraraka was plain mean even for his standards. Izuku would never forgive him for that. He went to the little creature, crouching down while a plan formed in his mind. He plucked a small piece of grass and started moving it left and right to distract the lizard while his other hand went for its tail. The plan worked without a hitch, and he placed the small thing in his sweatshirt's front pocket. Izuku's whole body started shaking, partially nervous, partially excited.
He moved fast, using his quirk only to boost him to the dorm's doors. He pushed them open with one hand while the other securely held the lizard in his pocket. Surprisingly, he didn't meet anyone on his way to his destination.
When he reached it, he stood in the hallway for a moment to check for anyone coming. Then, he placed his ear on the door to double check that the room was indeed empty. Thankfully, it was. Izuku's heart was beating in his throat.
He opened the door and hesitantly made the first step in. Sweat beaded on his skin and trickled down his brow.
Was he actually doing this?
Was he actually that stupid?
He took more hesitant steps toward the bed. Glancing left and right, he carefully placed the creature under the blanket. Only then did panic hit him in the gut. Fully realizing what he was doing, Izuku sprang for the door not bothering to check for passersby.
Luck was on his side; no one was in the hallway. He turned the corner, giddiness that he actually had the nerves to do it started to bubble in his chest. That's when he bumped into someone.
"Midoriya? Your room isnât on this floor." Aizawa sensei said.
Panic spread in Izuku's chest like wildfire.
"S-sensei, I-I just...Iâll g-go there now."
Aizawa sensei narrowed his eyes at him, opened his mouth to say something then closed it and sighed.
"Whatever," he mumbled.
"G-goodnight, sensei." Izuku cried, voice high pitched as he made a run for it.
A minute later, he was securely in his own room with the door locked behind him. Izuku paced his room, internally screaming all the while.
He'd done it.
He'd actually done it.
He spent the next thirty minutes going back and forth between regretting his actions, being sure it would come back to bite him in the butt for sure, and being proud for having the nerves to pull it off.
Finally, when his internal battle exhausted all his energy, he flopped on his bed, his eyes drooping. A minute might've passed or ten, but Kacchan's scream woke him up all the same.
This was getting annoying.
He really needed to get some sleep; he had to be in top shape tomorrow. That bastard Dabi should have gagged the blond when he began his foreplay to the, uhm, âinterviewâ with him. But, hey, that would have taken away the whole point of voluntary information exchange, right?
Izuku got up from the couch and went to his work station. âIt should be somewhere arouâah!â, he fished his earphones from the chaotic order of his desk, and he was about to turn when another shriek cut through the walls.
That was definitely not Kacchanâs.
Within a blink, he was already outside, running down the hallway, down the stairs, in front of the door to theââGoddamn it, Dabi!â he hissed when the handle in his grip didnât yield. Then there was another scream, and this time Izuku didnât waste a moment to active his Quirk and break down the door.
When he stepped into the room, his partner was lying on the floor and Kacchanâs chin was dripping with blood.
@themessofthecenturyâs part (art/writing blog link)
His eyes widened, what the fuck the other boy gazed at his face and he felt the urge to hit him rise up in his bones. The room smelt metallic and he couldnât tell if it was from blood or shock. The floor and ceiling looked the same, with the exception that his partner was laying there. Unmoving. So eerily still he could have been dead.
@maebewejustexist âs part... again! Because we finished early
Izuku ran a hand through his hair, looking for the nearest solid thing for him to lean against. He pressed his hand against a wall, repeating, âWhat the fuck?â
âI mean, at least it isn't Bakugou,â Todoroki says with a half shrug.
