Era

28

"Tokoyami's quirk is so incredible, it's like he can see everything at once! It's almost impossible to sneak up on him and even if you do Dark Shadow can easily operate as a defensive quirk, although I think that maybe he could work on his hand-to-hand because right now that's his big weakness."

"Uh-huh." Era nudged at the food on her tray, only glancing up occasionally to feign the barest of interest. Not that Midoriya seemed to mind; it appeared that he was happy to just ramble on and on whenever someone got him started.

"And Jirou!" He started tapping at the table, as if his hands were itching for that notebook he so often scribbled in. "Her quirk can obviously interact with and disrupt technology, but I wonder how far it can go. I wonder if her earlobes can feel pain or if they're more sensitive? Probably the latter, because there must be some sort of electrical pulse and that has to be carried by nerves of some kind. So if she overextends, it could really cost her."

Era's nose wrinkled in distaste. It wasn't that she resented the implications of such an analysis—far from it, the willingness to see such weakness and act upon it was as essential to her past work as breathing—but to have him so willingly spill the weaknesses of others to her... "Uh, Midoriya—"

"Would it be possible for Kaminari's electricity to disrupt her pulse somehow? Obviously Jirou's quirk is based heavily around frequencies but it seems like it'd have the possibility to be a poor matchup for her depending on how it works. Just like Asui would be a poor matchup for Kacchan or Todoroki, given her problems with extreme temperature. Oh, do you think she absorbs things through her skin, like a frog does? That's probably dangerous too; do you think aerosol quirks would be more effective against her—"

"Midoriya," Era snapped, instantly regretting it as he winced and hastily covered his mouth with a hand. Fuck, he looked like a kicked puppy.

"I'm sorry, was I- was I rambling again? I don't—"

"No, it's fine, it's not that." Era sighed, for once immensely grateful to spot Uraraka and Iida heading over to their table. It was bad enough of them to insist that they sit with her, but being forced to have a one-on-one conversation? Despicable. At least Midoriya usually didn't demand much of a response. "Just... do you think your classmates would appreciate you telling all of their possible weaknesses to some random Gen Ed kid?"

Midoriya grew flushed, shifting in his seat. "Well, I mean, it's not like this is anything real. You know, it's just random thoughts. I'm sure everyone's already thought of it, honestly, I'm just—"

"I don't think anyone's thought of the intricacies of Asui's quirk and how it would interact with very specific attacks, no," said Era dryly. "If you want to tell her about it, then that's your own prerogative. But don't tell me."

You shouldn't trust me.

Running a hand through his hair, Midoriya laughed uncomfortably. "Well, I mean... I guess you're right." He didn't sound convinced, but at the very least maybe he'd stop spouting out whether one of his classmates might be particularly vulnerable to polyester or whatever.

"The Sports Festival's coming up," Era pressed. "Everyone probably wants to keep their cards close to their chest."

"What about the Sports Festival?" asked Uraraka as she set down her tray, rushing on without waiting for a response. "I'm training as hard as I can, so I can show everyone my absolute best!"

Era blinked for a moment at the intensity rolling off of her in waves. "Are you okay?"

"What? Of course I am!" Uraraka stabbed viciously at her food, smile never leaving her face. "Why would you even ask that?"