the copycat hero: Deku

Chapter 44

Izuku sat with his head in his hands, muttering furiously to himself as Kouta watched from the treeline.

"What's wrong, Izuku?" Neito asked as he watched the teen moping, "You don't usually get like this unless you mess something up."

"And I did!" the teen wailed, collapsing into Neito's arms, "All I said was "Thank you"! How lame is that?!"

"What are you talking about?" Shinso grunted as he took the headache medication, the three on a five-minute break between training.

"That alien girl confessed to him last night," Kouta called from behind the tree, the two boys looking over as he peeked out, a smirk on his lips, "And that idiot messed it up!"

"Kouta!" Izuku whined, "Don't tell them that!"

"But you did!" the child laughed, ducking back behind the tree as Izuku scooped up a stone and chucked it at him.

"Brat!"

"Loser!"

"Wait, who confessed to you?" Neito asked.

"Mina," Izuku sighed, "Pink-skinned girl with the acid quirk."

"Ah, yes, the other flirtatious one," the blond sighed, looking at his moping friend, "And your social idiocy reared its ugly head again, did it?"

"Social idiocy?" Shinso said, raising an eyebrow, "What the hell are you talking about? Doesn't Midoriya flirt with everyone?"

"Yes," Neito sighed as the boy flopped into his arms again, muttering under his breath, "But…how does that saying go? He can dish it out but can't take it. Well, sort of."

"What?" Hitoshi snorted, looking at the green-haired teen, "Are you serious?"

Neito nodded, looking up as Aizawa and Vlad King both approached them.

"Alright you three, that's enough rest," Aizawa sighed, Vlad giving the still moping Midoriya a strange look.

"Is he okay?" the Pro asked, "He didn't pass out again, did he?"

"No, he's just an idiot," Neito hummed as he pushed the teen off himself.

"Whatever," Aizawa sighed, "Let's just get this over with for today."

"Hey Mina, what's wrong?" Toru whispered as the students all gathered outside the lodge on the morning of the last day, looking at the teachers as they discussed something with the Pussycats.

"Nothing," the pink-skinned girl sighed in response.

"Don't lie! You've been avoiding Midori since the other day, what happened?"

"Nothing," Mina muttered, glancing at Ochako and Jiro as the two looked back at her, "I promise."

"Alright you lot," Vlad King shouted, "You've all worked hard over the last week, so we've decided to give you a bit of a treat!"

The exhausted kids all perked up at that, watching excitedly as Aizawa stepped forwards.

"Of course, that's only if you're able to pass a little test we've set up first," the students deflated slightly, but remained excited at the prospect of the treat.

"So, go put on your swimsuits and running shoes!" Ragdoll laughed, flapping her hands in excitement.

"Because you're all going to be doing a Heroics Triple Triathlon!" Pixie-bob finished.

"The rules are simple," Mandalay explained, "You'll be split into four groups of ten, with each group going to one of three scenarios! One on the lake, one in the forest and one in the mountains! Of course, you'll be timed, and won't be getting any help from us to get between the zones, so you'd better hurry!"