49

Chapter 49: Passing Days II – Gardening and ApologiesNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As per her usual, Ibara woke up with the morning light coming through her window. She easily left the comfort of her bed, taking a moment to stretch her neck and kneel in front of the window. She joined her hands together, beginning to speak her first words of the new day. 

"Gracious Lord, thank you for the gift of today. Let my prayer be one of gratitude..." 

She recited the text she knew by heart, a message of appreciation and a request of guidance and protection. Her hair moved slightly—offering as much surface as possible to the Sun's warmth—as if it had a mind of its own. By the end of the invocation, she added her own touch to it, a personal spark of hope. 

"May you grant to my friends and loved ones serenity, courage, and wisdom, so that they may be the best they can be, and more. Amen," she ended with a smile. 

Next came a quick stop to her bathroom—just enough to remove the signs of the night from her face and body—and to her wardrobe, where the pieces of the clean, ironed school uniform were waiting for her. The aid of her vines made the whole process quicker than ever, as she was indeed bettering herself and her detailed control with each passing day. 

With her body refreshed and her spirit soothed, Ibara moved to her potted plants. She was quick to fill the watering can and scoop the right amount of fertilizer, feeding her loves with all the care she could muster, and making some adjustments wherever she needed to. Her maple bonsai was growing up nicely, the azaleas smelled fragrant, and the bird nest fern looked like it had received just the right amount of light for the day. Each of her treasured herbs was in pristine condition, much to the green-thumbed enthusiast's delight. 

Only then, as she was ready to leave for breakfast, did she check her mobile phone. She hadn't expected a notification, as the vast majority of her group chats were kept in silent mode to reduce the temptation of getting distracted, so her curiosity was suddenly piqued. 

She slid open the chat, wondering who the sender might be, ignoring the dozens of messages in the girls' chat—she could understand Setsuna, Mina, and Pony being very chatty on their own, but all together they could keep a conversation going for hours—and looking for the single new message on her screen. 

Midoriya Izuku: Good morning, Shiozaki. I've been notified of the forthcoming delivery of the plants and seeds we ordered last week. They should arrive in the afternoon. Would you like to join me, and hopefully some others, on starting up the rooftop garden? 

She smiled happily at the welcome news. Finding some classmates who wished to work with the soil hadn't been something she had prayed for, but she was nonetheless grateful for the joyous coincidence. 

Shiozaki Ibara: Good morning to you as well. Yes, I would like nothing more than to help today. I'll be sure to be ready for later. 

She wrote quickly, fueled by excitement, before remembering that she was supposed to train yet again. After thinking for a moment, she used her vines to type a second message, carefully thinning a strand into something small enough to touch the required characters. 

Shiozaki Ibara: Please, tell to the ones that will join us to wear something comfortable, but also nothing precious. I wouldn't want things to get too dirty or lost under the soil. 

Content with only having to delete and retype twice, she sent the message, receiving the Class Representative's reply only a few moments later. 

Midoriya Izuku: Good idea! Will do. See you later! 

Her smile grew again as she put the device back in her schoolbag, ready to leave the room. 

She wondered who those others might be. Ibara knew that, at the very least, Yui was determined to grow a few varieties of tomatoes, but she had no idea of who else wished to join in their endeavors. 

- Whoever it will be, they'll be welcome, - she thought as she walked to the living room, a renewed spring to her step. 

Standing a few feet away from U.A.'s huge entrance, the students watched as a group of workers unloaded their truck's cargo. Half of them were carefully placing a few potted plants in neat rows, while the rest were simply piling up several bags of fertilizer, gardening tools, and probably everything they could ever need to set up the something worthy of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon on the dorm's rooftop. 

Koji meekly chuckled to himself at the thought. 

Midoriya was standing just before the entrance, on Vlad King's side, compiling some paperwork as he'd been the one to handle the purchase. Koji would have expected to pay for his part, but Midoriya had reassured him that it wouldn't be necessary, as he had everything handled. 

He didn't know if Midoriya came from a rich family, but he sure didn't look like it. He didn't smell the same way rich people did, for one; there were no weird or novel fragrances on his person or his clothes, unlike the hints he usually caught on Yaoyorozu, and less often on Todoroki and Ida. The only other point Koji had to support his argument was that the greenette also didn't seem or feel like that, but his instinct had been wrong before. He remembered passing by the boy before the entrance exam and feeling only a fellow messy bundle of nerves... Seeing how Midoriya now stood with his back straight and a wide smile, Koji knew that he'd definitely gotten the wrong first impression. 

- Maybe it's all paid for by the principal? - Koji thought, wondering for a moment if the incredibly intelligent animal he had only seen a couple times could have any reasons to do so. 

Around him, the rest of the students chatted as they waited for the unloading to finish. 

"Was that the last of them?" Rin asked to no one in particular. 

"I hope so," Shinso huffed, moving his arms around and cracking his joints, "or we'll have to go back and forth twice." 

"It does seem like a lot," Ojiro commented, though he didn't sound particularly deterred by the thought of moving it all. 

"Come on guys, it's going to be a walk in the park!" Uraraka tried to reassure them with an energetic punch in the air. Kodai, despite not sharing as much energy, nodded along. 

"Only if we're allowed to use our Quirks," Todoroki pointed out. "It's not an emergency or official training, so we may not get the okay." 

Shinso shrugged, while Uraraka's expression became a tad worried. 

"Not like it would make that much difference for me," Rin sighed. "But at least it's good training." 

"I trust that we will manage either way," Shiozaki said from her spot a few steps away, intent on admiring the plants. 

"We'll be fine, I'm sure," Shoda agreed, his tone reassuring. 

With the last weight unloaded and piece of paper signed the workers took off, leaving the students to bring in the purchase. The teacher helped, seeing that everything that was brought through the entrance was searched thoroughly. U.A. wasn't risking anything at this point, it seemed, which made Koji feel a bit more secure. 

"Alright, everything seems to be in order," Vlad King noted after scanning the last object for bugs or other unforeseen parts. "Do you want some help bringing it all back to the dorm? I could call a few carrier bots," he offered. 

"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary. We'll just use this as another chance for training," Midoriya answered before looking at the group. "Does everybody agree?" 

Koji nodded as the rest of the group voiced their assent, the 1-B Vice Representative clearing up their previous doubt by questioning the Blood Hero. "May we use our Quirks for the operation, Mr. Kan?" 

The teacher looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing at the group as if weighting the pros and cons of the request, before nodding. "Fine. Just stick to the moving this stuff to the dorm, are we clear?" 

Midoriya and Shoda smiled and bowed lightly in thanks. "Crystal, Mr. Kan. Thank you." 

After a round of thanks and goodbyes and with the teacher gone, the team began dividing the work under the Class Representative's supervision. 

"We're not gonna make it all easy by just levitating miniaturized stuff, right?" Shinso asked tiredly. 

"Even if we could, I wouldn't do that," the greenette chuckled. 

Kodai could have used her Quirk—[Size]—on the bags of fertilizer—the containers and their contents apparently not counting as separate objects—but she ended up simply using it on the construction materials and the tools, letting them all fit nicely in the bag she carried. Uraraka's Quirk could have been applied on everything else, but Midoriya didn't want to rely solely on her. They decided that most of the group would be carrying the bags, to get a good workout out of the job, while a couple would take the riskier task of handling the potted plants. After applying [Zero Gravity] on the vases Shiozaki and him would be able to transport them all the way more easily, while also being careful not to damage any of the thin stems. None of the guys complained and, following Midoriya's example, lifted the heavy bags to their shoulders—and, in one case, tail. 

Uraraka giggled at the scene, careful not to make her own job too easy by touching the bag by mistake. "We look a lot like my father's workers. We're only missing the helmets to look the part!" 

"Nice to know that, if the Hero gig were to go up in smoke, we'd have something to fall back onto," Rin joked, shaking his head a bit. 

"Do you think your father would take us in that case?" Todoroki asked, his tone making it unclear if he was kidding or not. Todoroki was hard to read for Koji. 

"I'll be sure to put in a good word!" the brunette nodded, going along. 

"Withdrawn from U.A., ex-students establish building and gardening company,'" Midoriya chuckled. "Not a bad headline." 

Shinso shook his head. "It's terrible. 'From Heroes to hoes' is catchier," he said with a flat tone and making most of the group sputter. 

"Was that supposed to be a pun?" Uraraka laughed, showing that it had somehow worked. 

"Doesn't sound good to me," Todoroki replied, just as deadpan, joined by a hum from Kodai. 

"Can't say I'm a fan either," Shoda sweat dropped, his expression unsure. 

"You guys just have no taste," the indigo-haired student huffed. 

"And you're slowing down," Midoriya replied, upping his pace and having the rest do the same to keep up with him. 

The group kept going and making small banter, but Koji let himself walk at an even pace, not wanting to risk damaging the plants. Unsurprisingly, he found himself side by side with the other plant-carrier, Shiozaki, the green treasures held caringly by her vines. 

He hadn't talked a lot with the 1-B girl—though, to be fair, he hadn't "talked" much with anybody but Midoriya, Tokoyami, and Shoji—but she usually seemed like a calm person, even with the occasional raising of her voice to chide against improper conduct. She was somebody he could see just enjoying a quiet walk, the nice breeze, and the blue sky above, somebody that wouldn't feel the need to fill the empty air with words. 

He surely wouldn't have expected her to start a conversation, though perhaps she was just trying to be polite. 

"I'm glad so many of our classmates joined in today's endeavor," the girl spoke, sounding genuinely happy. "I almost expected to work with Midoriya and Yui alone." She looked in his direction, wearing a small smile that extended to her eyes. "The help is much appreciated." 

Koji nodded, reciprocating the smile, if a bit wobblier. 

She raised an eyebrow, looking worried for a moment. "Are the pots too cumbersome? I can easily spare a hand, if you require some help," she asked and offered, letting him see how her the carrying seemed as easy as breathing for her. It was admittedly impressive, but he already knew that she could do amazing things. 

The boy was quick to shake his head. He may not have been as powerful as some of his classmates, but he was still big and strong in his own right, and he had no real problems balancing a few things in his arms. There was no need to inconvenience her, even if he was sure that she could do much more than he was. 

"I see. The offer is still valid, so let me know you change your mind," she replied, back at ease. "I hope that I didn't offend you. I know you would be physically much stronger than me, if it weren't for these," she said, a few strands passing through her fingers. 

Koji hurriedly shook his head again, but quickly gathered that it wouldn't be easy to keep up the conversation with only headshakes and nods. He wondered for a second on how he could respond, as his hands were metaphorically tied by the large pots, and he didn't know if Shiozaki would have understood his signs anyway. 

Though his classmates had tried their best to acknowledge and follow his preference for being quiet, Koji had started trying to speak a bit more since the beginning of the year, with mixed results. Sometimes it was okay, and sometimes it was very hard—especially when in the presence of a lot of people, even if they were all friends. Being comfortable around his classmates certainly helped to reduce his anxiety at least, but selective mutism wasn't something he could just toss aside like a used rug. He had started seeing a specialist suggested by Hound Dog once a week, but a fortnight wasn't nearly enough to solve the issue. 

- Speaking with animals is so much easier... - he dejectedly thought as his mind wandered. 

Midoriya—during one of their frequent-but-not-enough-to-induce-anxiety private chats—had told him not to push himself too hard. The greenette had talked about his own experience with a friend that had suffered from a similar case of selective mutism in his past. Apparently, things had been improving until they had been pushed to speak almost forcibly, which had made everything worse. Koji would need to go at his own pace for this... But sometimes talking could be nice, and he felt like taking a step forward today. 

Taking a breath and summoning a pinch of courage, he opened his mouth. 

"N-No of-offense taken," he reassured. 

Thankfully Shiozaki managed to hear him despite his hushed tone, and her eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Oh! Thank goodness," she responded with a light chuckle, which she quickly excused herself for. "Sorry, it just occurred to me that I had never heard your voice before." 

"I-I d-don't speak m-much," he understated, "o-or at all." 

"I noticed." The girl nodded, smiling kindly. "And I understand; we barely know each other. I think that most of us didn't hear Yui utter a single word for a month at the very least." 

He had expected something similar being the case, as he also had to hear but a peep from the black-haired girl. 

"But I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to do so now," she continued, adding another plead after a moment of thought. "But please, don't feel forced to answer if you don't want to." 

"I w-won't," he replied with a light, shaky chuckle. 

"Good," she said, still smiling brightly, before changing topic. "May I ask what do you plan on growing on our new garden? I only know about Yui's plan and her focus on tomatoes, but I'd be happy to assist everybody else too." 

He saw no problem in letting her know that, and some help in the future would be nice. "L-Lettuce a-and g-grass... F-For Yuwai-chan." 

"Yuwai..." Shiozaki looked lost in thought for a moment before remembering where she had heard the name. "Oh, you mean your pet rabbit? That is very kind of you, Koda." 

"H-He's a dear f-friend," he embarrassedly shrugged off the compliment. 

"From what I've seen around the dorm, you two seem to be very close, so I'm sure he thinks the same of you," she responded warmly. 

"T-Thank you." He used one of the plants to hide his reddening cheeks. 

"You're welcome. I remember your friend having some lively eyes when we first saw him, and I'm sure he's smart as well." 

Was it just him, or was Shiozaki talking about Yuwai-chan as if he was a person? That... hadn't happened as much as he would have liked in his past. 

Too many people just viewed animals as lesser beings, discounting their feelings just because they didn't have a way to let them be known through spoken word. Some pets were treated almost as furnishings, little things to catch the eye when needed and to be forgotten about when their owner wasn't pleased anymore. That carelessness infuriated him to no end, but a lot of people grew up to think like that. 

How was Shiozaki different from the norm? Did she have a positive experience? 

"D-Do you also have a-any pets?" he inquired. 

"I never had the pleasure, no," she denied with a sigh. "I would have loved to, and I even asked for one when I was six or seven, I think. Alas, my family's home was small, so an animal would have been terribly cooped up there. Every creature is sacred, and it wouldn't have been right to make one suffer for my childish desire." 

"O-Oh," he let out, a bit saddened by the tale, but appreciating the thoughtfulness. 

"Do not worry, it ended up being a blessing in disguise," she giggled merrily. "That first request of mine brought my mother to gift me my first potted seedling, so that I could learn to take care of another living being. To my childhood self's surprise, I happened to have quite the green thumb, and the seedling grew to become a magnificent white camellia. Most of its species bear no scent at all, but I still find them beautiful. Seeing those flowers was a lovely reward after months of care," the girl explained, her eyes shining proudly at the memory. "I asked Midoriya if he could search for some seeds for that very reason. I certainly wouldn't mind sharing that beauty with our classmates. Though of course there are so many other plants we'll have to take care of..." 

As the girl kept talking about what they would be working on soon enough, Koji discovered that he liked the way she talked about her passion. She spoke about her plants as he would about his animal friends, with deep attention and respect. 

He would need to check, but he thought that Yuwai-chan probably wouldn't mind being held by Shiozaki for a bit. Gifting her a pet wasn't possible or sensible, but he could offer a bit of what she had asked for years before. He hoped that she would like the gesture. 

"How much should it be?" Shoda asked, looking for confirmation as he took measures on the newly placed rich soil. 

"Mm," Yui answered, lifting three fingers as she looked at the article she had found during lunch hour. She'd let him measure the distance, but she would do the depth herself. Her tape measure may go unused, but not because of the lack of a chance. She had been able to calculate distances by sight for years. 

"Three feet apart, alright." The boy smiled before starting to place the small stakes that would serve as placeholders to keep the stems stable. 

"Mm," she confirmed, looking at his back as he worked. 

She liked how good their Vice Representative was at understanding her with what seemed to be minimal effort, even in cases not as simple as this one. She never had to repeat things or force herself to speak when he was there. 

The ice-blue-haired teen was rather good with people, despite a sheepish and humble exterior that would suggest otherwise. He was very amicable and smart, always looking out for his classmates whenever he could, be it stopping a squabble or studying together. He also seemed like it would be nice to hug him, comfortable even, but they weren't at that point yet. Shoda made for a good friend. 

- Maybe more. Maybe, - she mused as she rhythmically tapped her hidden fingers on the palm of the other hand. 

She shifted her line of thought back to the planting of her favorite vegetable—or fruit, though she didn't really care for the distinction. Debating was a fruitless endeavor, and she'd much rather spend her time working on growing more. Cherry tomatoes tasted good—not too complex, snappy peel, juicy center, mildly sweet—and were easily her preferred comfort food. Putting a tag with her name on her containers in the fridge had been one of the first things she had done after moving in. It would be rather unpleasant to find her stock ransacked, but not as much as the thieves would feel as she carried out her rightful acts of retribution. Nobody should touch her tomatoes without asking—or anybody's food, really, that's just rude. 

Back to the task at hand, they had chosen one of the sunniest spots on the rooftop, distant from obstacles that could obstruct the sunlight, and had asked the others that wanted to grow things that required covers or shade to stay a bit further away. The more experienced Ibara easily agreed, confirming her choice of a sunny spot for her tomatoes, and asking Koda to only build his bird houses after a certain distance. The others had moved everything even remotely tall to the other side of the rooftop. 

Yui looked through the pile of tools a few feet away. She had left those to the side so that everybody else could get to them without having to ask her to check her bag, as it would have been too annoying. Picking a gardening trowel, she kneeled before the first signed spot and started scooping out some of the soil. She needed the length of the stems to be precise with the depth, but she had seen enough to make a rough estimate of what two-thirds of the plants—the right amount to improve the growth of more roots—would be. She counted to sixteen scoops before being satisfied with the hole in the soil. 

- It should be large enough. Next one... - she thought as somebody approached. 

"You're the ones who asked for the tomatoes, right?" she heard Shinso say from behind her. 

She turned slowly, her face betraying none of the slight anxiety growing in her chest, responding with a clear hum. 

She would have to tell him that she knew about his Quirk's secret sooner or later... unless he revealed it first, of course. The erroneous response wasn't the trigger; the response itself was. She had to give him credit, the charade was smart, and he was good at keeping it up, but it was not as infallible as he seemed to believe it to be. Had she not played along with his request back during their fight, his entire scheme would have crumbled on international television. There was no way in hell that she was going to speak up in front of that many people. He had been lucky, as there had been nothing she had wanted to gain from making it further into the tournament anyway, not caring about placements and offers that much. She was quite sure that he could do better, even though he still hadn't quite proved it during their Heroics lessons. 

The boy nodded, stepping closer. "Midoriya sent me with these," he said, eyeing the large container of little starter plants, "do I just put them here?" 

"Mm," she answered again, followed by Shoda's friendly tone. "That's a yes from her. You can leave them there," he answered, pointing a finger to a spot close to the middle of their designed field. 

Shinso nodded and followed the instruction before looking back up. She noticed his gaze moving between the soil, her, and Shoda, a reflective expression on the teen's face. "Do you need some more help?" 

Shoda seemed surprised. "If you don't mind..." he started, asking for her confirmation with a look. She nodded, wondering why the guy that usually opened up only in Midoriya's or Kendo's presence thought of staying longer than necessary. "... We'd be happy to have you," the Vice ended with a smile. 

"Alright, just tell me what I'm supposed to do. I'm new to this stuff," the other sighed. 

She hummed to get his attention and handed him the trowel before pointing at the second marked spot. 

"Just dig there. About..." Shoda looked at her gesturing, "... two thirds of the stems' height should do." 

With another nod, the guy started working, Yui joining him after getting a second tool while Shoda started to move the small plants. The trio worked in silence—strange, but not really uncomfortable—for a bit. 

Then Shinso cleared his throat, but didn't speak, staying in an awkward pose with his mouth half-open. He seemed to be trying to start a conversation, but he also looked like a fish out of water. Clearly, relationships weren't his element. 

"Something wrong?" Shoda asked, a bit of worry in his voice. 

"No, not really... Ugh, I'm not good at this kind of stuff," the indigo-haired teen replied before frowning and letting out a long sigh. Moving his eyes on Shoda, he tried again all in one breath. "Okay. I wanted to apologize for not coming to you sooner with an apology for the Sports Festival." 

"You want to apologize... for not apologizing sooner?" the chubby teen asked, unsure of what he meant. 

"Yeah," Shinso sighed again. "I talked with Kendo a while ago, and she ended up telling me that your team—you, Kamakiri, and Tsunotori—didn't react too well at being controlled by my Quirk. I thought that some wouldn't like it, but I hadn't expected that somebody would think of dropping out of the competition because of it, of all things..." 

"O-Oh," Shoda spoke, sounding unusually surprised. "Um, don't worry, it's not that big of a deal..." he said as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. 

"But it was to you then," Shinso retorted. "And I know that it's the same for Kamakiri and Tsunotori, at least a bit. Kendo had to talk you out of that rut, didn't she?" 

Shoda simply nodded, confirming his suspicion. 

"Right. She had to patch up the mess I made, and I didn't even think of checking on you guys after the second event." 

"Well, you couldn't have known-" Shoda started, getting immediately interjected. 

"But I could have done it anyway," Shinso pointed out with a grunt. "It would have cost me just a few seconds, but I was too drunk with the success and tired to care about anything or anybody else." 

The teen closed his eyes and let out another long sigh. He shook his head a bit before looking back at the other guy. "Look, you don't have to try and make me feel better about it. I know you're trying to, but there's no need to. Before I got a spot into the Hero Course I thought that I would do whatever it took to get it, so I did. But it's taken me a while to realize that I ended up hurting others in the process, even if it was unintentional... and that's not the kind of Hero I wanna be," he confessed. "So, let me say that I'm sorry for not checking in with you sooner, at least. You deserved better." 

Yui shared Shoda's astonishment at Shinso's declaration, even if her calm exterior didn't reflect the stupor written all over his face. The Vice shook himself out of it after a few moments. 

"Alright then, I accept your apology," Shoda smiled genuinely. "But promise that you won't stop me from trying to make you feel better next time. I mean, we still managed to move to the next round thanks to that little order you gave us, so we owe you a bit," he added with a chuckle, holding out his hand for the other to shake. 

Shinso let out a short snort at the other's overly sympathetic side, but returned the handshake without fault. 

"I'll be fine... But maybe you can help me with approaching Kamakiri. I don't know how many of his threats he carries through, but I'd rather not find out." 

Shoda laughed, starting to reassure the other on the mantis teen's good side, hidden under that spiky, edgy outside. 

Witnessing the exchange from the side—how the two seemed to easily fall into a more comfortable setting, exchanging words becoming easier for them—Yui couldn't help but feel a tad envious... and her brain couldn't help but start working in unforeseen directions. 

Another thing she hadn't expected was for the indigo-haired teen to turn towards her next. 

"Also, Kodai," he begun, looking as apologetic as before under the eye bags, "I wanted to thank you for allowing my selfish request during our match. You didn't have to, but you still went along with it." He bowed lightly, muttering his appreciation. 

Yui looked at him, her face a stony mask of calmness despite the unsettling feeling in her chest. She didn't feel like she could speak yet, so she simply shook her head a bit. 

Shinso looked taken aback for a moment, but Shoda came to their rescue before they could get to a misunderstanding. "She's saying that there's no need to thank her, I think," he noted with a note of pride, perhaps directed at her apparent selflessness. He was a good translator, but sometimes he gave her way too much credit. 

She nodded to confirm her friend's words, leaving Shinso with his mouth agape for a moment. 

The teen sighed, evidently defeated again in his apologetic efforts. "Fine, but I still think I owe you for that. And I'm not taking another 'don't worry about it' for an answer, okay?" 

She blinked and hummed along before letting her hand point to the still tomato-less field. 

"I think we know what your priorities are, Kodai," Shoda chuckled, starting to place the plants in their holes. 

"Mm," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. 

"Eh, I was already here to help out anyway," Shinso said, following along. 

Shoda was right, but the plan forming in her head was a little more complex than that. Perhaps later she would ask for help, but for now she would just enjoy a moment of quiet. 

Notes:

There's something calming in gardening... until you have to deal with bugs. Having Koda there is such a blessing, they have no idea.

It the flora/fauna a cliché? Maybe, but it's nice and simple, I like it.

FalseSeraph has corrupted me with Kodai/Shoda, and I'll give my own spin to that. They're cute.

Also, please, take anything I write about selective mutism with a pinch of salt. I'm no specialist.

I'll be very busy irl for the next couple of weeks. I hope I'll be able to post but, in the case I don't before the next month, don't worry. I have a few chapters ready.

Up next, an unusual bout.