In His Element(s) || avatar / bnha

Regrets In the Dark

"I hope tomorrow turns out all right," Uraraka fretted while leaning forwards to grab her toes. "I mean, I learned a lot from Gunhead, but what if Ryukyu is completely different?"

"We'll be fine, Uraraka." Asui didn't look up from her own stretching, but her calm voice seemed to ease her friend a bit. "Nejire vouched for us."

Izuku mostly tuned out his friend's conversation, mind pleasantly blank as he let the faint burn of stretched muscles take his focus.

Iida's voice eventually caught his attention as his name was called.

"What about you, Midoriya? Have you decided on your work study?"

"Oh, yeah I did." Izuku glanced up to find most of his friends looking his way. He tugged his arm across his chest, wincing slightly at the twinge his shoulder gave. "I'm going with Nighteye. Mirio suggested it." He looked over to Shinsou, who was laying flat on the ground in what he insisted was called the nap stretch. "Who are you guys going with? Shinsou?"

Shinsou blinked lazily up at him, purple bangs falling into his eyes a bit.

"Aizawa. Technically he's taken on an intern before, I think. Something like that, anyways."

"I myself have decided to return to my family's agency." Iida adjusted his glasses solemnly. "One of my brother's former sidekicks, Riptide, is willing to take me on."

"That's great, Iida!" Uraraka patted him on the knee, as that was as high as she could reach at the moment. "We're all really happy for you."

"Do we know who else has a work study?" Izuku asked.

"Ojiro and Hagakure were reached out to by Ms. Joke, kero. Apparently she saw them both at the Exam and was interested."

"Tokoyami's with Hawks again," Shinsou added. "Two halves of a whole bird."

"I heard that Kirishima is going with Tamaki over to Fat Gum's agency out by Kansai," Uraraka said thoughtfully. "And apparently he also asked if he could bring Momo along, since she also has a fat-based quirk!"

"Aww, that's cool."

"Amplifier is taking Jirou and Ashido," Todoroki said, not looking up from his own warm ups. "Manual was planning on taking some on this year, but he's still taking leave to recuperate."

"He only left the hospital a few days ago," Aang commented, sounding sad. "I hope he's getting better."

Their teacher's voice signaled the end of warm ups, so Izuku accepted a hand up from Iida and split from the rest of his friends to figure out who he was going to come up with combo finishing moves with.

He'd be fighting alongside Mirio at Nighteye's agency (if he was accepted, that is), but none of his classmates were coming with him. Classmates who were going to the same place were pairing up: Asui and Uraraka, Kirishima and Momo, Shouji and Sero. Even Aang was pitching in alongside Shinsou.

"I also do not have a partner," Tokoyami said, appearing from somewhere behind him. Dark Shadow was a small figure hovering over his shoulder currently. "Shall we team up?"

"Yeah!" Izuku gave him a thumbs up, more than a little relieved. "You got some ideas?"

About twenty minutes into the class's steady demolition of the concrete scenery helpfully provided by Cementoss, Present Mic entered the gym. Izuku, who was in the middle of figuring out how to Shoot Style smash after getting thrown by Dark Shadow, didn't see him until he crashed into the small platform he'd been aiming for instead of kicking off of it.

"Are you alright?" he heard faintly in the distance. Tokoyami sounded apologetic. Dark Shadow, less so, given that he seemed to be laughing.

"I'm fine," he wheezed, giving his partner a thumbs up from where he was currently prone. "Just gimme a sec."