Unlikely As It May Seem (An Izumina Fanfiction)

Ch. 23: Punishment

Izuku was at a loss for words. His classmates had saved him from expulsion. He couldn't thank them enough. Of course, he wasn't completely off the hook, as he had, indeed, attacked another student. And now, he was facing the music.

"Your punishment is as follows," Aizawa was saying, and Izuku paid full attention. "For the next two weeks, you'll be forbidden from using your Quirk for any reason. Any training you'll partake in, you'll have to make do without it. Obviously, we are aware of Nighteye's case, so exception will be made should what is planned occur before the two weeks are up.

"As for your Work Study, you'll still be allowed to work with the Pussycats, but will be banned from field work. I will be discussing this incident with them, and you will have to endure any further punishment they deem necessary. You'll also be tasked, much like after your fight with Bakugo, with cleaning the dorms during the duration of this punishment."

Izuku nodded, accepting of this punishment. He honestly expected worse. Hell, expected to be expelled, regardless. It pained him that he would have to go the whole time without using his Quirk. Especially since he was trying his hardest to build up his control of One for All. But, he had to accept it, and work his body as much as could without it.

"Violation of these stipulations will result in immediate expulsion," Aizawa finished. Izuku knew that would be the final part of his punishment, to know how dangerously close he was to getting kicked out of his dream school. "Do you understand and accept these terms?" Izuku nodded.

"Yes, sir," he said, sadly, but with a voice that said he knew this was best case scenario for him.

"Good," Aizawa said. "Return to the dorms. You can get started on cleaning. Any homework will be sent to you with Ashido or Iida. Dismissed." Having been dismissed, Izuku left and headed immediately to the dorms.

A few hours later, he had the place pretty much spotless as his classmates returned.

"Damn, Deku, part of the punishment?" Bakugo was the first to say anything, as Mina made her way quickly to Izuku. He just had time to give Bakugo the affirmative before he found himself in the sweet but vice grip hug of his girlfriend. He could feel his shirt start to get wet, and knew Mina was crying.

"I'm still here," Izuku said, trying his best to comfort Mina. "I'm sorry I made you worry." He lifted her chin up to look at him. Her tears were still streaming, but she had a weak smile on her face. He leaned down and gave her a soft but passionate kiss. Everyone made to leave the couple, but Izuku unwilling pulled away to address them, tears in his own eyes.

"Thank you, everyone," he said. Everyone merely nodded. Kaminari approached him, looking a little worse for wear. And Izuku could understand. Mineta had pretty much been Kaminari's best friend here.

"Look, Midoriya, I'm sorry," he said. Izuku gave him a confused look. "All this time, I could have done more to get him to calm it down. It should never have gotten to the point it did." Izuku placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Kaminari," Izuku said, reassuringly. There was more that Izuku probably could say, but he left it at that, and Kaminari understood.

Izuku then spent the next few minutes getting with Iida on his coursework for the day, as well as fill everyone in on what his punishment entailed, filling in what Aizawa didn't tell the whole class. This was primarily for those involved in Sir Nighteye's case, since Aizawa left those details out. Honestly, Izuku was worried about what the Pussycats would have in store for him.

*****

Turns out, the Pussycats were fairly lenient with Izuku. Whereas they were obviously disappointed, especially since keeping calm when someone you personally care about was the target of a Villain (both verbal and physical) had been a focus of recent training, they had understood the situation. But, they followed through on their own punishment, so Izuku found himself helping Ragdoll with some archiving of some of the older cases the Pussycats had worked.

It was kind of a trip down memory lane for Ragdoll. It was also fairly emotional, so Izuku really understood why he had been given this particular assignment. He promised himself if there was a way to get Ragdoll her Quirk back, he would. Needless to say, she didn't stay for very long, but long enough for him to get a good hold on what he had needed to do.

Near the end of the day, the Pussycats had returned from patrol with Mina and Momo. It had apparently been an uneventful day. Izuku had found something he needed to check in with Mandalay in regards about. Apparently, it pertained to a file in regards to a joint case with the previous Ingenium, Tensei Iida, Tenya's older brother.

"Oh, yea," Mandalay said, giving it a once over, "Tensei should actually have this for his records. I know he was forced to retire, but it's best to ask him. Could I get you to get that to him?" Izuku nodded.

"Absolutely," he replied. "We go to school with his younger brother, so we should be able to get it to him easily."

"Great!" After that, the three students headed back to the dorm. They were met along the way by Todoroki, Iida and Uraraka. Izuku took the opportunity to ask about the file. Iida thought on it for a moment before he came up with an idea.

"This is actually quite opportune, Midoriya," he stated. "My brother invited us all out to a bit of a get together tomorrow. He's keen on meeting you all." Izuku smiled, before throwing a glance to Mina.

"Is Mina invited?" he asked. She immediately squeezed his arm, and kissed him on the cheek.

"That is what I meant by all of us," Iida responded. "The six of us." Everyone was now excited about it.

"Yes, my sister is also very interested in meeting everyone," Todoroki chimed in, causing a look of confusion on everyone's face, except Iida's.

"Oh yes, my brother Tensei is dating Todoroki's sister, Fuyumi." And this started a whole other conversation, with the girls all talking excitedly.

A/N: And in the next chapter, we 'meet' the (obvious) replacement for Mineta.