"Ameri, I think we really need to talk," Izuku said as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed and his green eyes locked onto the red-haired girl.
"I don't know what you mean," Ameri replied curtly, her gaze fixed on the stack of papers on her desk. She avoided his eyes, her fingers fidgeting with the corner of a sheet. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Oh, really?" Izuku scoffed, the disbelief evident in his tone. "You don't think the way you've been acting toward me all week is a good enough reason for you?"
"I still don't see—"
"For fuck's sake, Ameri, what's gotten into you?" Izuku interrupted, his voice rising with exasperation. He took a deep breath, running a hand through his messy hair before continuing, softer this time. "What's going on with you? You've been ignoring me—no messages, no calls, not even showing up for our weekly manga sessions. And the worst part? I have no idea if I did something wrong. It's eating me alive because... because I feel like I'm losing one of the most important people in my life, and I don't even know how to fix it."
At his words, Ameri finally looked up. Her crimson eyes met his, wide with surprise. "I'm... important to you?"
"How could you not be?" Izuku asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Ameri, you're one of the few people who knows one of my biggest secrets. You're someone I trust more than almost anyone, aside from my family. And now, seeing you shut me out like this... it hurts. I don't know what I did, but I want to make it right. I just—" His voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat. "I just don't want to lose you."
Ameri's lips parted, but no words came out. She dropped her gaze, guilt flickering across her face. "Izuku, I..." she started, but her voice faltered. She clenched her hands into fists, her frustration with herself evident. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
A tense silence hung between them before Izuku let out another sigh.
A tense silence fell between them, broken only by the faint rustle of papers in the room. Izuku let out another sigh, his shoulders slumping. "I miss you, Ameri," he said quietly, his tone laced with sadness. "I miss talking to you. I miss our manga sessions. I miss being your friend."
He turned toward the door, hesitating for a moment before glancing back over his shoulder. "I don't know what's going on with you, but... I hope you figure it out. I'll be here when you're ready." With that, he opened the door and walked out, leaving the room eerily silent.
Ameri slumped back in her chair, her hands covering her face as she let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, Izuku..." she murmured, her voice barely audible. She lowered her hands, staring at the door with conflicted eyes. "I just hope I'm not making things worse for both of us..."
******
It had been two days since Izuku's heartfelt conversation with Ameri, yet nothing had changed. She still avoided him, keeping him at arm's length, and the distance between them felt as suffocating as ever.
'Nana, did I do the right thing?' Izuku thought, tapping his pen absently against the edge of his notebook. His usually meticulous notes looked disjointed, a reflection of his distracted mind. 'Maybe I pushed too hard. Maybe I should've just waited.'
'You didn't do anything wrong, kid,' Nana's voice echoed reassuringly in his head. 'I know I told you to give her space, but what you said needed to be said. If you'd kept it bottled up, it would've only gotten worse. Sometimes, people need a little push to face their own demons.'
Izuku sighed, resting his chin on his palm. Her words helped, but they didn't quiet the gnawing doubt in his chest.
Just then, a sharp flick to his forehead jolted him out of his thoughts. "Ow!" he yelped, looking up to see Leila standing in front of him, arms crossed and wearing a stern expression. Her piercing gaze reminded him that he wasn't in his room, instead, he was in the battle room, supposed to be studying under her watchful eye.
The room B.E.C.S. was using now was the same one assigned to their previous battler. However, unlike its previous state as a cluttered storage space, the room was now clean, organized, and functional. This transformation was all thanks to Leila, who had taken her role as the battler leader seriously. The first thing she made them do after their formation was thoroughly clean the room, which Izuku appreciated as a welcome change from Kirio's lackluster leadership.
"Focus, Izuku!" she snapped, her tone leaving no room for excuses. "The First Term Final Exams are around the corner, and I expect you to place in the top five of the class. I won't have my second-in-command scoring any lower than that and embarrass this battler by slacking off."
"I know, I know," Izuku muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Wait... hold on a second." He straightened, blinking at her. "Did you just say your second-in-command? Since when? Shouldn't that be someone like Dehya-senpai or Yelna-senpai? They're way more qualified for that than a firstie like me."
"This battle was your idea, so you're taking responsibility for it," Leila said matter-of-factly, not missing a beat. "And anyway, you've got both, the respectable amount of strength and, more importantly, the level-headedness to lead if I'm ever absent. That's what this group filled with powerful and talented demons, needs the most."
Izuku opened his mouth to argue but quickly shut it. He had come to know Leila well enough by now to recognize when her mind was made up. "Fine, second-in-command it is," he mumbled, shaking his head.
"Good. Now stop complaining and get back to studying," Leila ordered. She picked up her own book—a dense, intimidating tome that made Izuku's textbook look like a children's storybook in comparison—and buried her nose in it.
Just then, the door to the room burst open, slamming against the wall with a dramatic thud. Daki strode in, her silver hair swaying with her movements, while Yelan followed behind her, calm and composed as always.
"Hey!" Izuku greeted, lifting a hand in a casual wave. "Where's Dehya-senpai? Shouldn't she be with you?" he asked, glancing at the door as if expecting the fiery second-year to storm in next.
"Detention," Yelan replied matter-of-factly, dropping her bag onto a nearby chair as she stretched her arms. "She got into a fight with someone from her old battler. Apparently, they were running their mouths about her joining us and you know how hot-headed Dehya can be. One insult went too far, and things escalated. Ameri had to step in to break it up and ended up dragging both of them to detention."
Izuku's expression faltered at the mention of Ameri's name, a flicker of unease crossing his face. Yelan noticed but tactfully chose to keep her observation to herself.
"What about our other firsties?" Yelan asked, grabbing her water bottle and taking a sip. "Where did they disappear to?"
"Alice and Clara went home early," Izuku explained, leaning back in his chair. "They both had to take care of their siblings. Funny coincidence, though—their moms had emergencies at the same time."
"Suspicious," Yelan murmured, her crimson eyes narrowing in thought. She mentally filed this detail away, already making a mental note to fish Alice and Clara for details as well as, try to find out about this through her own sources. Dropping into the seat beside Izuku, she glanced at the open book on his desk. "Magic theory, huh? That's my second favorite subject."
"What's your first?" Izuku asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
"The Art of Torture, naturally," Yelan said with a wicked grin and a playful wink while Izuku rolled his eyes.
"Jokes aside," Yelan said, leaning back, "do you need help? I'm pretty good at this." To prove her point, she conjured a shimmering orb of water with a casual flick of her fingers. The orb hovered above her palm before gracefully orbiting around her like a miniature moon with practiced ease.
"Thanks for the offer, but Laila already got it covered," Izuku replied. At first, Izuku struggled to understand the demon language despite being able to read it. However, due to the picture books provided by Balam-sensei, Izuku was starting to get the hang of studying from the normal books without needing their help. And now, he had found Laila, who was naturally good at teaching, making his progress even faster.
"Fair enough. You're in good hands," Yelan admitted, her gaze shifting to Daki, who was crouched by a storage box, furiously rummaging through its contents. "Daki, what's got you so worked up?" Yelan asked, tilting her head. However, the silver-haired girl didn't answer immediately, too focused on digging through the box.
"Daki?" Yelan repeated, her voice carrying a hint of curiosity now. "Are you looking for something specific, or are you just trying to cause a mess?"
"I want to invent something, but I'm out of ideas!" Daki exclaimed dramatically, flopping back onto a chair with an exasperated huff. Her silver hair spilled over the armrest as she pouted at the ceiling. "I mean, I can think of a few things, but none of them seem exciting enough to actually make!"
Izuku chuckled softly at her frustration. "Well, I do have something I've been wanting to make," he said thoughtfully. "Though it's not exactly what you'd call an invention."
Daki's eyes lit up instantly, the spark of curiosity washing away her prior irritation. In the blink of an eye, she was perched on the edge of his desk, leaning in far too close with an eager grin. "Show me!" she demanded, hand outstretched expectantly.
Izuku blinked at her sudden proximity but couldn't bring himself to say no. He reached into his bag, pulled out a well-worn notebook, and flipped to a specific page before handing it over. "I was hoping to get these made soon," he explained. "Preferably before the next big school event, if possible."
Daki grabbed the notebook and scanned the page intently, her grin shifting into a focused expression. "You're right; it's not exactly an invention," she admitted, absentmindedly nibbling on the pen tucked between her teeth. "But it's interesting... and doable. There's just one problem: regular metal won't cut it. We'll need something more durable. Oh, and gloves and shoes made of tougher materials so they don't tear after just a few uses."
"I can help with that," Yelan chimed in from across the room, casually scrolling through her phone. "Give me a couple of days, and I'll find some suppliers for high-quality materials. I know a few reliable sources that won't break the bank."
"Yeah, you do that," Daki replied absentmindedly, still studying the notebook. "I might as well get stacked up on materials since now we have a pretty good budget allocated to us, thanks to this green menace and those fireworks of his, as well as the current number and quality of members of our battler."
Flipping to the next page, Daki's eyes lit up with intrigue. "Izuku, what's this?" she asked, pointing at a detailed drawing of a sleek gauntlet design.
"Oh, that's a concept I've been working on," Izuku said, leaning forward to explain. "It's a portable, strong, and easy-to-use gauntlet designed to work with my power." He hesitated briefly, guilt creeping in as he thought of Melissa and the inspiration he'd borrowed from her designs in his past life, but he reasoned that no one here would know her anyway so she wouldn't be mad at him... or he hoped at least.
"As I've mentioned before, my power comes from the energy my body generates. Right now, I can only safely extract about 50–55% of it without hurting myself. These gauntlets are designed to help with that."
"As I've mentioned before, my power comes from the energy my body generates. Right now, I can only use about 50–55% of it safely without hurting myself. These gauntlets are meant to stabilize the energy flow and reduce the strain needed to tap into the first 20–25%. That way, I could save energy for later, or even pull off a couple of all-out strikes before the gauntlets wear out," Izuku continued. "I was thinking of designing them like wristbands that expand into full gauntlets when needed."
"Smart," Yelan remarked, smirking. "That way, you can sneak them into places where you're not supposed to have gear like that."
Daki's grin widened, her excitement palpable. "Now this is what I call an invention! I really want to try building this—if you're okay with it, of course."
"Go ahead," Izuku said with a smile. "I'm more of an ideas guy. If you can actually build it, that'd be amazing."
"Don't worry—I'll make it happen!" Daki declared with determination. As she continued flipping through the notebook, her eyes widened. "Wow, there's even more cool stuff in here," she muttered, marveling at the various designs. The notebook was filled with sketches of support item concepts, many inspired by his past life, drawn as a way to pass the time. "Mind if I borrow this for a while? I want to copy some of these into my notes."
"Sure, go—" Izuku began, but his words were cut off as the door swung open with a loud bang. Smoke burst into the room, her usually calm demeanor replaced by urgency. Her eyes darted around the group before landing squarely on Izuku.
"Midoriya," she said quickly, "have you seen Ameri? She's missing. We've looked everywhere, but no one can find her."
******
Upon hearing that Ameri was missing, Izuku didn't waste a moment. He shot out of the battler room and joined Smoke in the search for her.
"When was the last time you saw her?" Izuku asked as they moved briskly from room to room, his green eyes scanning every corner for any sign of Ameri.
"About an hour ago," Smoke replied, her voice tight with concern. "She was in her office, working as usual. Then she got a message on her phone and left in a hurry, telling us not to worry about her. It's not like her to vanish like this without an explanation."
"Don't worry, I know Ameri will be alright," Izuku reassured her. "There aren't many in this school who have the guts or strength to harm her."
Smoke gave a reluctant nod but muttered under her breath, "I hope you're right, Midoriya."
Suddenly, Smoke's phone buzzed, and she quickly checked the screen. Her expression shifted to one of urgency. "They found her! She's unconscious in the preparation room."
Without hesitation, the two broke into a sprint, weaving through the corridors and reaching the preparation room in minutes.
Inside, the rest of the Student Council members were already gathered around Ameri, who was lying unconscious in the middle of the room. Concern etched their faces as they tried to make sense of what had happened.
"What happened here!?" Smoke demanded as she dropped to her knees beside Ameri, her hands already checking for any signs of injury.
Johnny stepped forward, but his words caught in his throat when he noticed Izuku. His brow furrowed in irritation. "What's he doing—"
"Johnny," Smoke interrupted sharply, shooting him a withering glare. "Not now."
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Johnny continued, "We're not sure. Sunny and Kimaris found her like this a few minutes ago."
As the others speculated about what could have happened, Izuku's gaze landed on a pair of glasses lying near the doorway. His brow furrowed in thought as he walked over and picked them up and turned toward the group. "Ameri doesn't wear glasses, does she?"
"No, not that I'm aware of," Sunny replied.
"In that case," Izuku said, holding up the glasses, "these must belong to whoever did this to her." He handed the glasses to Sunny. "Keep these safe. They might help us figure out who's responsible."
Sunny nodded and carefully pocketed the glasses. All attention turned back to Ameri as she stirred slightly, her fingers twitching. The room collectively held its breath as her eyes fluttered open. and she glanced around with a dazed expression.
"Ameri!" Smoke exclaimed, relief washing over her face. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Ameri said softly, prompting a collective sigh of relief. However, none of them seemed to notice that her voice was far softer and quieter than usual.
As Ameri pushed herself up slightly, she suddenly wrapped her arms around her chest, her cheeks flushing bright red. "Pardon me," she said in a shy, almost cutesy voice that was completely unlike her usual tone, "but could someone give me something to cover myself? I... I feel a little exposed."
A heavy silence fell over the room. Every pair of eyes locked on her in stunned disbelief, their jaws practically hitting the floor while 'Huh?!' was the collective thought running through their minds.
To be continued...