Work Text:
Kendou is grace.
Kendou is fire.
Kendou is… out of his league.
Neito rubs the back of his neck and taps his pencil against his teeth.
He’s always making so much trouble for her, and she always has to step in and stop him when he inevitably starts going too far. He can’t help it though, that’s just who he is.
Still, Kendou is… precious to him, how can she not be?
She must have a whole slew of admirers by now though and Neito knows he doesn’t even reach the bar she’s surely set for her potential love interests. He could sooner grasp the sun in his hands then be a worthy suitor for her.
Still. He is content.
He may not ever be Kendou’s precious one but as long as she allows him to remain at her back he is okay with that.
He presses his palm flat against the back of his neck, the phantom feel of her precision strikes making him flush.
This is enough. He doesn’t need to be perceived, doesn’t need his feelings acknowledged. He is content with the attentions she already shows him.
This is enough.
His pen scrawls across the page as he thinks of her.
It was never his intention for her to see it. But somehow that’s how the cards fell.
***
Kendou.
Purest of flame.
Brightest of souls.
Flaring.
Searing.
Sparing.
What would I give
To hold that hand
To gaze into those eyes.
Your beauty holds me hostage
Your grace invades my dreams.
I look at you and can’t help but envy
the coolness of your every blow
And I wither at how I cannot compare
To your power
***
The paper is found on the floor by Shiozaki.
And that’s how it all begins.
***
“Kendou, look!”
Itsuka’s gaze darts up at the familiar sound of her name. “Shiozaki? What’s up?”
She makes her way to Itsuka, each step taken with the careful deliberation that Itsuka has learned to accept and cherish by now, especially in comparison to her rowdier classmates.
“I was heading out to the grounds for a picnic when I discovered this ,” Shiozaki waves her hand, and Itsuka sees a paper she’d previously missed. She tilts her head curiously, and Shiozaki obligingly explains. “It appears to be a love letter.”
“A love letter,” Itsuka repeats quietly. She nods and frowns. “Alright, but what does that have to do with me?”
Shiozaki presses the letter into Itsuka’s hand with an airy smile. “Don’t you see? It’s a love letter for you, dear Kendou!”
She freezes, then glances down at the page. Indeed, it’s her name at the top.
Kendou
Purest of flame
Itsuka looks up with new eyes. “How do I find whoever wrote this?”
Shiozaki shrugs, then smiles slyly. “I’m not sure, but asking around might prove a useful venture.” She waltzes away, and Itsuka is left to ponder the question.
Who would write this?
***
Neito is biting his nails. “What if someone found it? What if Kendou found it?” he frets. “What would I do?”
He’s complaining to himself; a tried and true method of expressing his feelings.
“Monoma?”
“Yes!” His response is overloud as he snaps to attention at the sudden intrusion into his panicked one sided conversation.
Kendou smiles, her face beaming as a light flush dusts her cheeks.
Neito is immediately struck dumb by the sight.
“You spend a lot of time watching others Monoma, do you know whose handwriting this is?”
Neito pales as his letter is placed on his desk. ‘Is she… messing with me?’ He eyes her again, more shrewdly this time but other than the happy shine to her face there’s nothing out of the ordinary.
He picks up the paper with careful hands. For her to look this happy… there’s no way she thinks it’s me. He lets out a sigh of relief even as a pang runs through his chest.
Kendo, oblivious to his turmoil, leans in close to whisper. “I’ve never gotten one before. It really means a lot to me so I want to know who it's from.”
Neito shivers as her ponytail brushes against his ear when she straightens. He coughs, long finger tapping at the page hesitantly. “Does it not first matter who it could be, what kind of person they are? It could be one of those 1A lowlifes or even-“
“Don’t start that again, Monoma.” Her smile turns sad and he finds himself missing the happiness. “I’m pretty average looking and my quirk is nothing special. It’s nice that someone’s looking at me at all, you know?”
Neito’s hands clench around the paper at the rage her words inspire but before he can refute her self criticisms she’s gasping in horror and yanking the paper back.
“If you don’t want to help me that’s fine but don’t destroy it just because it might be from someone in 1A!”
She storms off and Neito shakes his head.
He’ll never be the one to make her happy, not if she knows it’s him anyway.
Slowly he reaches for a fresh sheet of paper and an orange marker.
He can still bring that smile back though.
He’s sure of it.
***
Kendou
I look up towards you
In awe
As one stares at the shining stars high above.
For guidance
As one seeks the moonlight on a dark night path.
I look up towards you
As one turns their face to the warm sunlight
But it burns
Because to stretch out my hand
Would never reach you.
I look up towards you
Ever.
***
This time it’s Setsuna who delivers the note, easily cornering Itsuka between classes and extending the note between lax fingers.
“Looks like your secret admirer is back at it,” she grins. “Whoever they are, I bet they’re a keeper.”
Itsuka nods vacantly, far too focused on the delicate poetry to comprehend the words immediately. Then she looks up with a start. “Secret admirer? A keeper? Setsuna, I might not even know them!” Itsuka sputters.
Setsuna laughs wryly and leans in a bit. “Kendou, do you really think someone from another course could write something so personal? Besides,” she throws her head back, “Only a hero course kid would be ballsy enough to do something like this.”
“You underestimate the other courses,” Itsuka replies, though her mind is racing. Someone from Class 1-B might have written this. I might know my secret admirer.
(Itsuka doesn’t notice Setsuna melting away, leaving her to stew on thoughts of who it could be.)
It’s with Setsuna’s words in mind that Itsuka makes the rounds again, this time taking extra care in her search. Still, the results are too different.
Two people in particular stand out, Monoma and Komori, if only by virtue of their anxiety. Still, no one is exactly calm , and Itsuka can’t accuse them on suspicions alone.
Honestly, her best bet is to put the poems out of her mind entirely until she knows for certain who it is; there’s no point in wondering about something that could flop… or it could be the strings of Fate, pulling Itsuka and her mystery poet closer.
Still, Itsuka can’t keep the thoughts from creeping back in.
Who is her mystery poet?
***
Kendou
Noble One
Warrior of Justice
Champion of Light
Lady of Dignity
Princess of Truth
One day the world will glimpse you
And come to know you as I do.
The rogues of the dark will cower at your feet
And the people will bask in the safety you bring
A tiara seems to grace your head
Befitting your shining countenance.
Songs of victory line your path
As all herald the beautiful hero.
I cannot wait to see it.
***
Iida. Itsuka thinks as she watches said boy lecture one of his classmates in a flowing speech that ends with a warning not to act like a rogue. Monoma had mentioned it might be someone from 1A and Iida is someone I interact with regularly since we’re both dropping off the rollbook at the end of the day. We’ve even conversed a couple times while waiting to collect any new class representative duties… could it really be him?
She catches his eye and he pauses mid lecture to give her a formal nod and greeting.
It really might be.
Has she finally found her admirer?
She thinks about it all through class, neglecting her notes to wonder if she should ask him about it somehow.
“...and so for today’s hero training you will each be paired up with someone from 1A for a heroes vs villains exercise. As pro heroes, you’ll sometimes be expected to work with people whose quirks aren’t as familiar to you and who you might not get along with so be sure to take advantage of this opportunity!”
By some stroke of fate, Itsuka gets paired with Iida, and his quick, eager approach has her tensing in anticipation.
“Ah, Kendou-kun!” he exclaims. “How fortunate that we were paired together, and as the heroes!”
“We are pretty lucky,” Itsuka agrees easily, and brushes her hair out of her face. How fortunate... She wants to ask him about the letters, wants to shake the answers out of him, wants to scream, but there’s no point.
Not only could it cost them the exercise, there’s still the possibility that it isn’t even Iida. That would be royally embarrassing, at least for Itsuka!
Iida seems like the type to take it in stride, she reflects.
Outloud, she murmurs, “We’re against Monoma and Asui, so-“
“Tsuyu,” Iida interrupts, then pauses. “Apologies for the interruption, Kendou-kun, but Tsuyu prefers her given name to her surname.”
Itsuka nods and takes it in stride. He’s considerate, too.
“If I know Monoma, he’ll copy a few of the more useful quirks before the match,” she says, thinking as she speaks. “They’ve got ten minutes to get into the building and prepare, so they’ll time out before he can come after us, but he’ll still be able to use them to hide the bomb.”
Iida nods sagely. “That could prove to be their saving grace; defeating the villains in battle means nothing if they reach their objective in the end!”
Itsuka nods back and together they study the building layout.
She’ll focus on the match for now.
And if it turns out Monoma had known it was Iida she’ll make sure he pays.
Right from the first step things don’t go to plan. Itsuka steps in something so sticky, trying to pull herself free loses her a shoe.
The way ahead is littered with familiar purple balls- Monoma must have borrowed that boy’s quirk. But that doesn’t make sense. Monoma can’t copy mutation aspects and even pulling some from that 1A boy’s head wouldn’t explain this amount. Who else did he-
“Mwahahahaha!!!” Monoma leaps at her, swinging a sword of all things and she tells Iida to go for the bomb before squaring off against her classmate.
Her deranged and feral, fully villainous classmate who is chasing her with a sword, holy shit.
“Sorry my dear, though it pains me to harm a lady I must persist! Though you are a Champion for Light, I am a power for evil!”
She’s only half listening to his taunting, fully focused on dodging his sword as it arcs towards her. Where did he even get that thing???
She flips backwards, taking care to avoid the sticky traps, and swearing when she notices them on the ceiling as well. There goes her plan to try and use her quirk.
“How do you like my setup hero? It wasn’t easy creating an analyzer so I could break down the composition and make more of these wretched hairballs as well as my lovely sword before the quirk ran out. I hope you appreciate my effort !”
Itsuka eeps as she only narrowly avoids the blade, tripping on a small wire that sends a cage falling over her.
“Ah yes. And that. That took effort as well Noble One.”
Monoma leans on his sword all smug and pleased. He’s sweating and looks a bit pale, somehow having lost weight since this morning but his eyes hold their usual gleam.
Noble one? Itsuka notes with a vague confusion, but she doesn’t have much time to ponder it. She activates her quirk and tries to shove the cage off of her. She thinks it’ll be easy, but once again, she’s proven wrong.
“It’s made out of lead,” Monoma grins triumphantly.
“How did you..?”
“Yaoyorozu,” he says simply. “Looks like your time’s run out, Lady of Dignity. Let’s see if you live up to your name.” He smirks, then backflips out of the room, and Itsuka pounds on the cage once again.
“ Shit, ” she curses to herself. Honestly, who does Monoma think he is? Trapping her like this, teasing her with quotes from the love letters… wait.
As far as Itsuka knows, the only two to have read the letters besides the admirer themself are Shiozaki and Setsuna… So why is Monoma quoting them? Does he know something after all?
***
As soon as Neito’s out of the room, he slumps against the wall with a sigh. Taunting Kendou was fun, if slightly painful, but now the exhaustion is catching up to him. Yaoyorozu’s quirk took a lot out of him, and he respects her all the more for having such an excellent grip on it, even if she is from 1-A.
One moment more, he swears to himself, but before he can fail himself yet again Kendou is bursting out of the room. The determined set of her face has him smiling, even as she brings about his destruction.
“How’d you get out?” he asks lightly. “Last I saw, you were… indisposed, Noble One.”
“I found the strength,” she replies tightly. “Let me ask you something, Monoma Neito. -“
Neito panics at her dark tone and immediately digs his hand into his pocket and throws.
Kendou cuts off her speech reflexively, hands flying up to protect her face from his attack.
The handful of plastic jacks bounce off her guard harmlessly but the bluff is more than enough of a distraction for him to get back to his feet.
Well, stagger to his feet is a more accurate description, his sword now more of a walking aid than a weapon.
He blinks the spots out of his eyes and strikes a pose as Kendou glares at him unamused at his trick.
He will not falter.
He refuses.
Kendou possesses more power and skill in a single fist than he does in his entire body and he shall not disrespect her by giving in so easily. All he needs is a single chance. One touch and he’ll have enough to give her the fight she deserves.
...as soon as he finds the energy to move.
I’ve got to keep going, he thinks. For Kendou.
***
Itsuka isn’t sure what’s going on, but she doesn’t like the look of Monoma right now. He’s pale as a sheet and unsteady on his feet and Itsuka is concerned.
He’s clearly trying to appear strong, though, so Itsuka won’t push the issue yet. He’s still standing. Monoma is thinks he can beat her, even now.
She forces a smirk. “You’re still trying to win, Monoma?”
He grimaces and flips a lock of hair out of his face. “Only to give you the battle you deserve, my Champion of Light.”
“Why are you saying that?” she snaps. His mouth forms a quizzical ‘O’, and she frowns. “You’re quoting the poems- the love letters. Why? How? When did you see them? As far as I know, only four people have read them. Shiozaki, Setsuna, me, and… the author.” As she says this aloud, she realizes something that she’d somehow missed. Iida isn’t her secretive poet it’s...
“Monoma… you’re my secret admirer?” she exclaims.
Then he passes out.
Itsuka barely manages to catch him, and his weight pulls them both to the floor. “Oh, Monoma,” she mutters. “What am I going to do with you?”
Then she catches a whiff of something nasty, and she looks up to see smoke flooding in from below. What the hell are Iida and Tsuyu doing???
***
Neito wakes up in Recovery Girl’s office just in time to catch the tail end of the lecture.
“...bad enough that this one,” she gestures towards Neito and he quickly slams his eyes back shut to avoid detection. “overused a borrowed quirk for the sake of mere dramatics, but how could you allow him to lay a flammable trail towards the bomb?”
“It honestly sounded like a good plan -kero.”
A pause. “Of course I didn’t realize my toxins would be that flammable so for that I apologize. The bomb going up wasn’t exactly our intention either. We hadn’t realized it was paper mache.”
Neito can’t hold back a grin. He’d known from his extensive research on 1A pre sports festival that Iida is a good thinker who gets flustered when caught off guard. He makes good plans and executes them to perfection but when the unexpected happens he freezes.
So Neito had told Asui- Call me Tsuyu- hell no you’re from 1A and I refuse to be so familiar with the enemy- to create a floorline around the entire room with the toxins she secretes. And then he’d used Creation to make her some matches. Just in case.
He can just picture Iida faltering when the sudden lines of fire circled him. The very thought stretches his smile wider. It falls when Recovery Girl turns her wrath on him.
“And don’t think I didn’t see you, young man!” she cries, waving her cane about. “Pretending to be asleep,” she scoffs. “In the old days, students were more creative about avoiding my lectures. Why, All Might himself…”
She goes on about the way she made (and makes) All Might himself tremble. Someone slides over- Kendou, Monoma knows her by her crisp apple scent- and strokes his hair. Monoma falls asleep to the dull drone of Recovery Girl’s lecture and the steady touch of the one he loves.
***
Itsuka isn’t quite sure how she feels about Monoma now; isn’t quite sure where they stand. One thing is clear, though.
She will always be on his side.
***
The next time Neito opens his eyes, Kendou’s is the first face he sees, and her hand is still entangled in his hair.
“Good afternoon, sleepyhead,” she smiles. “How’re you feeling?”
“Tired, but fine,” he admits.
“Excellent,” she grins. He blinks curiously, and she explains. “That means you’re healed; as much as your stamina allowed, anyways. Recovery Girl said she might leave the less lethal ones, teach you a lesson.”
“Really?” Neito frowns. “That’s…” he can’t find the proper words, but Kendou nods nonetheless.
“Yeah. She gave in easily enough when I told her not to, though, so I’m not sure how serious she was,” Kendou muses contemplatively. “Still!”
Neito nods distractedly before taking stock of himself.
The ringing in his ears is gone as well as the cold sweat, and he no longer feels like a strong breeze would blow him over.
He’s sure he’d had an IV at some point since he doesn’t feel like he’s starving or borderline feverish anymore but there’s no pinch of a bandaid in the crook of either of his elbows nor a current line going so Recovery Girl must have healed him after that. Makes sense since he’d been too weak to stand so there wouldn’t have… been any stamina… for her to... oh fuck!
His eyes snap to Kendou’s in horror and a tiny bit of fear.
He’d collapsed at her feet!
They’d been locked in a battle of wits and he’d fucking passed out like the deadweight he is! He’d tried to give her his best but he’d once again come up short and he’d known all along that he couldn’t compare to her, of course he had but to see it laid out in black and white like this is just…
He’s the fucking worst! He should just give up everything now while she’s still unaware of his feelings.
“Monoma?” Kendou moves into his line of sight, head tilted to the side questioningly. “You okay? You’re making a weird face…”
He shakes his head and turns the other way, only for her to pivot into sight and grab his face. “Hey, look at me. What’s wrong?”
Neito twists his face out of her grasp and looks away for a second before plastering a false smile onto his face and turning back. “Nothing, Kendou. I’m just-“
“Is this about the battle trials?” She interrupts. Normally, Neito admires her sharp intelligence, but not now, when it’s working against him.
“No,” He lies badly.
Kendou sighs and pulls them both so that they’re sitting on the bed, hands clasped. “Look, Monoma… I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that anyways.”
“Oh really?” Neito raises an eyebrow placidly. “Whatever about?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb,” Kendou scoffs. “You’re better than that.”
“Am I, though?” Neito asks quietly.
Kendou gives him a sideways glance. “Of course. You realize that you’re one of the top students, right?”
He shakes his head. “I’m still nowhere near your level, Noble- Kendou,” he quickly cuts himself off. He can’t let her know of his feelings (though to his growing horror and suspicion, she may have already come to the right conclusion).
She shakes her head. “Monoma, you. You’re smart, alright? And you know better than to pretend I’m dumb.”
He nods slowly and avoids her gaze. “Yeah, I do,” he says thickly.
Kendou crosses her arms. “So. About the battle trials… “ She trails off, shakes her head and then leans into his space with eyes that flare with that familiar fire. Her fingers are still entangled with his own and Neito is torn between relishing in the feeling or trying to end the contact before he can get addicted to its warmth. “You’re acting like you lost Monoma. Like you didn’t predict our every move and lay the perfect traps to beat us.”
“I did lose. We couldn’t finish our fight because I-“
“-went a little overboard. I know.”
Kendou smiles at him then and it’s warm and fond and he’s left gaping at her because it almost feels like…
“That’s just who you are, Monoma. You push to the very limit, give everything you can no matter what and you go too far sometimes.” She looks down at their joined palms and gives his hand a squeeze. Her tone when next she speaks is low and thoughtful. “But I’ve always been there to reign you in haven’t I?”
Neito’s eyes widen. The back of his neck tingles with phantom blows and it suddenly occurs to him that Kendou… she’d never dropped him, never left him to lay on the ground.
She’d stopped him, yes, more times than he can count. But much like today when he’d lost consciousness, she’s always been there to catch him when he falls.
“I guess so,” he marvels quietly.
Kendou grins and bumps her shoulder against his. “So trust me, then. Everything’s gonna work out. You’ll see.”
Neito releases a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and slumps against Kendou. She’s right; everything will work itself out.
And maybe, somehow, Neito can rise up to her ideal for the perfect partner. He’ll try his hardest, at the very least.
Kendou deserves someone who’s willing to try.
***
Kendou
A firework
A flamethrower
A match about to ignite
And take every heart with her
A force to be reckoned with
Yet gentle all the same
My fair lady
My queen
Would you carry me to safety?
Would you sing me to sleep?
***
The next time someone comes to Itsuka with a discovered love letter- Awase, surprisingly enough- she rushes straight to Monoma’s room. He’s scribbling away at something or other, and his gaze darts up at her entrance.
“Ah, Kendou,” he greets sardonically. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
She pulls the letter from her pocket and relishes the way he goes pale. He tries to cover it up, stammering, trying and failing to draw her attention elsewhere. “Well well well, what’s that? Bragging about another letter from your admirer in disguise? How arrogant!”
But Itsuka is undeterred. Monoma had spread his hands when she’d flustered him and now she immediately steps closer to take full advantage of the clear view she has of the paper he’d been working on.
She opens her mouth, the words, ‘Aha! It’s the same handwriting as the rest of them, you can’t deny it!’ already on her tongue when the actual writing on his paper sinks in.
Kendou
Shining star above my head
The light that guides me home
I’d been content to let you go
And remain myself alone
But if you will permit me
I’m selfish, don’t you see
So I ask of you dear Kendou
Will you go out with me?
He’d been in the process of signing it, she can see from the start of his name at the bottom and her face heats up as she takes in the words again and again.
Monoma gasps and slams his hands back down but it’s too late for her to forget what she’d already seen.
Itsuka’s breath catches in her throat, and her heart leaps. “It’s you,” she whispers.
“It’s me,” Monoma confirms quietly.
“Monoma…” she starts, unsure how to proceed. Itsuka’d had her suspicions, of course, but she has no idea how to react now that she’s been proven correct. “Monoma, I-”
“Neito,” he interrupts. Itsuka frowns, and he explains, “Just… call me Neito, alright? I’ve bared my heart to you, you know. The least you could do is use my given name.”
For some reason, that has Itsuka stifling a laugh, and she extends him the same courtesy. “Call me Itsuka, then.”
He freezes for a split second, then relaxes into fluidity so quickly that Itsuka isn’t sure if she imagined his pause. “Well, Itsuka, ” and her name rolls off of his tongue the same way that rivers flow into the ocean, “Take your time. I’ll respect your decision either way,” he promises.
“Thank you, but I don't believe that will be necessary.” Itsuka takes a deep breath, then jumps in headfirst. “I’d love to go out with you.”