Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Okay, so I may have just jumped off of a roof. But to be fair, they must have seen this coming,, right? I mean,, angry boy™ did say to take a swan dive off a roof. So it’s not like he can blame me, that be pretty ironic though. I should’ve taken a picture of his face when I jumped. Iconic! Loved the expression, very dramatic, very much ‘oh shit I fucked up’ vibe 10/10. It’s a real shame I didn’t think of that,,

Also, why haven’t I hit the ground already? The school rooftop wasn’t that high up so I really should’ve-

That’s when I noticed someone (no something?) was holding on to my by the collar of my uniform.

So that was why I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I thought it was the adrenaline. Damn, double suicide. First jumping and now hanging.

“Care to explain why I saw you jumping of a roof problem child?” I heard someone say with a sigh.

“nope, just wanted to do a flip.”

“So you’re telling me that you jumped of a roof, with the intention to do a flip,, while fully knowing that you’d get hurt in the process?” a tall scruffy man said.

The guy truly was the definition of a homeless man. Tired eyes decorated in the finest shade of ‘haven’t slept in the last 20 years’ and a scarf that looked like it could use a washing machine. Not that Izuku was one to judge. He’d say that they could be unruly hair buddies if it wasn’t for the big contrast in colour.

The adult had introduced himself as Shouta Aizawa on his way to the police station. Not that Izuku would actually use this information, he already has a fitting nickname for the man: ‘Walmart mothman’.

Izuku shrugged as he sat on a plastic chair “Wellllll,,”.  The man stared at him. Most likely waiting for him to answer the question.

“it’s was more of a petty thing.”

He really didn’t want to be here. It was not like Izuku got hurt in the end so why is Walmart mothman making a fuss? Why was he making a fuss? Who even is this guy? Does he really think he can be acting like a hero while looking-

“You’re eraserhead.” He breathed. Everything made sense now, the hair, the eyes and the horrible attitude. The teenager started laughing “This shit is getting embarrassing!”

Shouta really didn’t know how to act in front of this kid. It was obvious the kid wasn’t  100% sane at the moment, which wasn’t surprising when you know he jumped of a roof not even 30 minutes ago. But he had a job to do. This kid, whether or not he had the intention, attempted suicide. No one jumps of a roof ‘just to do a flip’ as he heard the boy say.

So it was his job as a prohero to make sure this kid was taken care of and the situation was reported to the higherups and parental figures. If not only to make sure that the boy didn’t become a danger to himself and/or others.

He must have missed his que to respond cause the child opened his mouth again. “You know, you’re pretty cool Walmart mothman.” The boy leaned over the table as if to get closer and whispered. “You might be cooler than kacchan, but don’t let him know I said that.” And with that the boy chuckled and leaned back.

Blinking a few times in disbelief, Shouta pressed his lips into a fine line. “Excuse me?” There was a lot to unpack. But frankly, the prohero was way to tired to deal with the boy’s attitude and let it slip. He settled with a muffled groan. “you know what? I don’t care. Just tell me your name and get this over with.”

“That’s not a very plus ultra vibe, ya know?” The shit eating grin on the boy’s face spoke volumes. “But I agree, let’s get this over with. I’m Midoriya Izuku, nice to meet ya.” And he offered his hand to the prohero for a handshake.

This is going to be a long day isn’t it?

Chapter Text

That day really wasn’t any different than any other day. Izuku’s alarm went off. He ate breakfast with his mom in silence, broke yet another comb trying to tame his curly hair and yelled a loud ‘I’m leaving!’ at his mom when he left for school.

Of course that changed the moment that the teacher told the whole class who had signed up for the entrance exam for UA.

The bell rang and everyone left the classroom.

“Dekuuu!” my head shot up looking right at the source of the noise

Bakugou walked over to my desk, his little friend group following him. He pulled the notebook out of my hand and waved it around. One of his friends spoke up “oi, Katsuki, what’s that?”

The two took a closer look at the notebook. “Huh? Hero Analysis for the future? Seriously??”  they snickered. Their eyes filles with disbelief and malice when they look at each other.

However, Bakugou never broke eye contact with me. Eyes filled with contempt looked down on me as the hand with my journal in it began to create a small explosion.

Izuku tried to keep a straight face. No worries, just hundreds of hours of work destroyed in a mere second. No biggie, I can have a mental breakdown later. Instead I rolled my eyes as I tried to speak up.

“It’s no-“ I never got to finish my sentence because Bakugou tossed my journal outside through the window. “What the fuck Bakugou?!”

“You’re below the rejects. You’re quirkless! Fucking Deku..” another explosion.  “don’t you forget your place!” Bakugou sneered. He took a step closer to my desk. He had always been taller than me even when we were kids, but now that I was the only one sitting down. He was looming over me.

He placed a hand on my shoulder and I could feel it heat up. It wouldn’t be the first time that he had created an explosion directly onto my skin. At least now there was a layer of clothing that separates the two, not that it would help that much. Bakugou bent forward so we were on the same eyelevel and gave me a fake smile.

“you’re pathetic. If you wanna be a hero that badly,” his voice was laced with fake sympathy.  “there’s a quick way to do it. Believe that you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof!”

I don’t know why, maybe because everything had been piling up, but I couldn’t ignore it any longer, the name-calling, the bullying, you name it; they did it. I had always tried to ignore them, thinking that a lack of reaction would bore them and they’d stop. But they never did. What even did I do wrong? A fucking quirk? As if that would’ve changed anything. Even if I had one, Bakugou would act like I’m worthless due to some ‘less than flashy’ quirk. I’m just so fucking done!

I stook up and raised my head a little. Bakugou was still taller but it didn’t feel like that. Cocking my head to the right I revealed a small grin. “Is that a challenge, Bakugou?”

The boy retracted his hand from my shoulder, clearly taken aback by my words. The three of them stood before my desk, all of them silent in their own way.

I grabbed my bag and walked to the door, glancing behind me. They were still frozen in place. I sighed, I feel like that is the only thing I can do these days. “You’re coming or not? I promise I won’t disappoint.” The smile that always looked so innocent and pure on my face felt twisted in its own way. With that I opened the door and started walking.

I didn’t hear any footsteps behind me, meaning that they were either still too shocked to move or just not interested in what I would do. A small pain nestled in my chest. I didn’t expect them to follow me but it still hurts to see that I really am worthless in their eyes. Not even worth their time.

But fuck it, I had made up my mind. If our lovely leader Bakugou tells you to jump off a roof. You can’t question it, righttt? Cause who am I, a Deku, to tell our supreme leader Bakugou Katsuki what to do and what’s wrong or right? I want to be petty for once. Suicide-baiting would look good on his file when he wants to enter UA. They can’t really ignore me when they have to scrape my remains of the ground.

I would do the world a favour by preventing him from becoming a hero, and if that means I have to jump off a roof to do it, I’ll do it, dammit! Like hell he can be a good hero, he would be on a rescue mission and leave a kid behind cause ‘why not?’. He only likes to fight, he doesn’t care about others? So why does he get to be a he-

Before I knew it I stood on the rooftop. I walked over the edge and slipped my bag of by back onto the ground. My phone was pulled out of my pocket and I opened an notebook app, I never used it cause I preferred to write on paper but it’s not like I have my journal right now. I began to type:

‘Hey mom, or whoever reads this, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I guess, I couldn’t handle it anymore? And I know that maybe this isn’t a good enough reason to give up, but it is my reason? I don’t want you to blame yourself by telling that we could’ve talked and everything, really, it’s okay. I’m okay, or at least I will be. So please smile alright? For me?’

I didn’t really know what to write. Cause even though, I stood on the edge of a building, I felt detached to the world. Why was it as if my emotions went up in smoke? Clouds moved slowly in the sky, people were walking below me, chatting and laughing. It was so,, lovely? Is that the right word?

How ironic that on the day that my world will fade to black, the world looked more breath-taking than it has ever done.

A door slammed open. “Deku! You worthless piece of-“ Bakugou was heaving. Leaning on his knee to catch his breath. Seems like the other two chickened out.

“Aw, Kachan!” I clasped my hands together in front of me and gave him a toothy smile “You really did come! I’m so happy!” the genuine smile must have horrified him cause he looked like he was the one standing on the edge.

The boy stood there, as if turned to stone, with his mouth wide open and eyes larger than I had ever seen them. The colour long gone from his face, replaced by a pale sheen and sweat.

“You know, I really hope you’re happy too.” I narrowed my eyes, “Since you’ll finally be free from me.” My voice was laced with venom and I wasn’t sure if I liked it. I never was someone who dipped their words in poison as if they were arrows. But I guess that everyone changes after breaking one too many times. So I’ll just embrace it. I’ll be the archer that they made of me.

“come on Kachan, don’t you have anything to say to dear old Deku?” I sneered. There was still no response from to horrified blond. Oh,, OH! I let out a gasp, “Wait don’t tell me,, you’re regretting your actions? Right?” My laugh danced with the breeze as if they were long lost companions. “You? Are you fucking ser-“

“Shut the fuck up Deku! Just shut-“

“utututut, it’s not nice to interrupt someone who’s speaking Kachan.” I pouted. “You really have no manners.” Shaking my head in disapproval.

Bakugou took a step closer, it was the first step he took after getting on the rooftop. Unsure of how to proceed, as if he was scared of stepping on glass. Holding his arms out. “Shit, just come down nerd!” his voice wavered slightly, aww was he really worried? “It was just a stupid joke! Okay?!”

“But Kachan, was it really a joke?” I had asked him “or do you only fear the possible consequences?”

With that said, I spread my arms and let myself loose balance. Stealing a last glance at his terrified face before I let gravity take over.

After explaining what had happened on the rooftop, of course twisting the story here and there, Shouta couldn’t find a reason to keep Izuku from leaving the police station. He knew that the teenager wasn’t completely honest about what happened, but without clear evidence or detective Tsukauchi, he has nothing he can do.

Who would even believe that the boy simply lost his balance when he was trying to retrieve his notes that were blown away by the wind? It still didn’t explain why the kid was on the rooftop. Not only that but Shouta was sure he had heard another voice on the rooftop. He never got to look who else was present there before he saw a kid falling.

Instead he had offered to walk the boy home to make sure he wouldn’t do anything reckless. However that plan was shut down when Midoriya declined his offer saying he didn’t have to walk far and didn’t see the point in ‘wasting a prohero’s time’. As-a-result he could only watch as he saw the kid leave through the front door.

Argh, this is so frustrating! Not only did I fail, I’ve lost my journal and even embarrassed myself in front of one of my idols! He must know that I was lying, eraserhead isn’t dumb- oh god, oh no! He knows doesn’t he? He must. Fuck, shit, maybe I should just go to the rooftop again and finish what I’ve started out of pure mortification? Oh look!

Izuku stood at a little pond at his school, staring down at his journal that was currently fish food for the koi. “at least this fixes one of my problems” he picked the notebook up with two fingers watching the water drip down. “sort of,,” he muttered at no one.

All this, just because he had signed up for an entrance exam? He didn’t even sign up for the hero course! He’s not as naïve as he was a few year ago, a quirkless person like him can never become a hero. But of course the teacher didn’t mention that when announcing it to the whole class, like he wanted Bakugou to go off on him.

He held the notebook with more force and started walking home. It had been a long day and Izuku couldn’t wait for it to end.

As he walked through the tunnel he passed daily, a strange sound was heard behind him. When izuku turned around he met with, not eyes, not even a face, but a green slime-like wall.

“haha,,let me guess I’m in danger?”  the sludge villain kept growing taller, looking down upon him. “for fuck sakes!” It was all he could say before Izuku was absorbed by the villain, only leaving his notebook behind on the ground.

I’m dying, am I really going to die? Que the song dumb ways to die, damn I’ve always loved that song. But really this has to be such a dumb way to go. At least on the roof I could be all edgy and shit. Now I’m gonna be a skinsuit for some villain, what a downgrade,,  maybe I should’ve gone with Walmart mothman his offer to bring me home. Argh, this really sucks. Can this dude at least hurry up and put my out of my goddamn misery? He’s being so ext- the trail of thoughts stopped when his world faded into darkness.

“It’s alright now, young man. Why? Because I am here!”

When Izuku’s eyes opened once again the villain was nowhere to be seen. In its place stood a tall man with,, bunny ears? Hah, that’s funny. Izuku Midoriya, saved by the easter bunny. My life is a joke. The man approached the teenager laying on the ground and squatted down.

The kid still seemed out of it, eyes rolled back into his head and muttering something unintelligible. So what better way to wake up a passed out kid than lightly smacking him on the cheek? So he did.

“hey!”

After repeating this process a couple of times the kid finally started showing signs of life. Told you that smacking would do the trick, I’m such a good hero! Blinking his eyes in the hope that the blurriness would fade away he came to stand face to face with the person that saved him.

No way, there is no fucking way that All Might was the one to save me?! Izuku jumped at the realisation and scrambled up so he stood on his own two feet. That’s it. Obviously there isn’t any God cause what the hell is up with the world today huh? I can’t get a single minute of peace?? This is the second time I’ve embarrassed myself in the presence of not one but TWO prohero’s in less than 24 hours. Wait- this means I thought that THE All Might was the flippin easter bu- oh wait All Might is talking.

“- you’re okay! I’ve captured him safely!” he held out some plastic bottle filled with the green villain. It made Izuku uneasy even by just looking at it. The horrible feeling of fluids forcing its way through his small body, it gave him shivers. He didn’t dare to move.

What even was he supposed to do now? Now that the villain was no longer a threat, All Might has to take him to the police station for a statement, right? Or was it a hospital for a check-up? He had never been in this kind of situation, surely the number one hero knows what to do now?

His head was pounding and breathing made his lungs feel like they were on fire. So the most logical option would be going to the hospital. Even the prohero’s voice sounded muffled. He did almost loose his life so a hospital visit is vital. Trying to get the hero’s attention the teenager tried tugging at his shirt only to lose balance and grab onto one of his legs instead.

Little did he know that All Might had launched himself into the air to leave the crime scene. “what the ffffuu-“ the wind pressure left him unable to speak, mouth filled with air, forcing the cheeks  to painfully move.

“Hey, Hey Hey!!!” the hero looked down at his left leg where Izuku was trying his best not to lose his grip. “Let go of me! Your fanaticism is too much!” He tried to shake the kid of his leg and went even as far as to put his hand on the kid his head and push him down.

Izuku struggled as he tried to cling onto the hero, his voice muffled by the hero’s palm “If I lemff go now I’ll die you fmmm-“

Immediately the giant hand was removed from Izuku’s face as All Might tried to recover his posture. “That’s, that’s true.” Izuku however, he was still trying his best to not fall to his death a second time this day.

Hoping for the best that his pronunciation wasn’t absolute garbage with all this wind Izuku stammered “Ca- CAN we PLEase ge- get DOWN?!” his eyes had become tearful and overall his face hurts like a bitch.

After landing on the nearest building Izuku’s arms gave up and he faceplanted on the roof. “fuck, that’s gonna bruise.” He muttered more to himself than anyone else in particular. This whole ordeal didn’t help his headache and burning throat.

His attention was shifted when All Might spoke up. “If you talk to the people downstairs I’m sure they’ll let you down.” Pfft, and if they didn’t what’s another jump of a roof? Izuku thought bitterly. How was All Might, his favourite hero so indifferent about what had happened? Wasn’t it standard procedure to check up on the victims after a villain attack? Especially when there is no one else around that could do the job for you?

“I’m out of time, so I’ll must go now.” All Might hasn’t even glanced at him after they landed. Is this really how the number one hero is when there are no camera’s? all those video’s,, this isn’t how-

He doesn’t know why, but Izuku called out “Wait! All Might!” he tried reaching out even though he knows that the hero was out of his reach. His body too tired stand up.

“No. I will not wait.”

No! I have to- I can’t let it end like this! Maybe- “But!” he winced at the pain in his throat. He really shouldn’t yell. He thought about all those times where people said that he couldn’t be a hero. The day the doctor announced that he was quirkless, his mother crying and apologizing, the day when the name-calling began. He closed his eyes. It shouldn’t be possible but maybe, maybe All Might will say-

“Can I become a hero? Even if I don’t have a quirk!”

There he said it.

All Might stopped in his tracks. It was as if the world has stopped spinning. The only thing that could be heard was the ragged breath of the teenager.

When Izuku opened his eyes he had expected an empty roof, the hero long gone. Not even bothering to answer the question of such a worthless child. Instead he was met with smoke and an unfamiliar figure standing in the midst of it. What happened? Where is All Might? Don’t tell me this stick figure is the number one hero?!

“Who the FUCK are you?!” The man did not look amused in fact he looked quite pissed off. Izuku crawled backwards, away from the unknown man. He is as tall as All Might, I also didn’t hear the door to the rooftop open, maybe there was already someone up here, that would be embarrassing. Wait, focus dipshit he’s talking to you!

“I am All Might.” You sure as hell don’t look like him.

A cough followed and when fake All Might went to cover his mouth Izuku could see a small trail of blood dripping down his chin. The hero must have noticed that Izuku saw the blood and didn’t try to hide it when he wiped it of with the back of his hand.

He walked over the kneeling teenager, stopping when they were only a few feet apart. “Now that you’ve seen me. Don’t go online writing about it or thinking about selling me out.” It sounded more like a threat than a warning to Izuku.

Even when he wasn’t muscular, the hero felt intimidating, more than he should be. His body language revealing nothing but hostility towards the boy. Was this really the number one hero? “And to answer your question from earlier. I can’t simply tell you that you can be a hero without some kind of power.”

I already knew that, but, shouldn’t you at least avoid shattering dreams of others? Izuku felt tears begin to swell up. Not now, I refuse to cry in front of him. I- I can’t. He casted his head down, avoiding eye contact with the hero. Not that he was even sure that All Might was looking at him, let alone at his face. “I see,,” Damn I really sound like I’m crying. His next words were only a little above a whisper. “But, Didn’t you say that everyone could become a,, hero?”

A low huff came from above. “Surprise kid. Life isn’t some fairy tale.” Izuku wanted to shield his ears, everything to stop listening to the following words.

“Sometimes you don’t get to choose in life, okay?” Stop it! “If you want to be like a hero,” Please just stop! “you could always become a police officer. This is reality and it’s time to wake up.” Shut up shut up shut up shut “No hard feelings right? I’ll see you on the other side of the screen, young man.” ,,young man is that all you have to say? after all that?

He felt teardrops fall onto his fists. Shit! I said I wouldn’t cry. Goddammit why can’t I just- He clenched his teeth, hoping that in some way this would make the tears stop flowing. He didn’t look up, he didn’t dare to. It was obvious that All Might thought he was lesser than others. Because ‘everyone could become a hero!’ except for me apparently.

He didn’t know when All Might left him there.

But when he screamed he knew that no one had heard him. Izuku lost track of how long he sat there.

When Izuku left the rooftop it was already getting dark. He was just wandering around, since he didn’t recognize this part of town. Dragging his legs, and forcing them to move forward proved to be more difficult then he thought it would be. He was exhausted. Not only physically but also mentally.

He was pretty sure that he had an concussion from encounter with the sludge villain, but he really needed to get home. Healthcare be damned.

After an hour of wandering around and asking strangers the way, he passed by the shopping district that he was familiar with. Only to be met with a large crowd. Curiosity got the best of him and Izuku disappeared in the sea of people in hope to get a better few of what was happening.

The view did not disappoint.

Behind a line of heroes was the sludge villain.  I thought All Might had him locked up? What happened? But when the teenager squinted his eyes a little he could see someone in the centre, being suffocated by the villain. A hostage?

Fucking Bakugou Katsuki. Izuku had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. As If his current headache wasn’t enough. But why isn’t anyone doing something? Helloooo, why are they all just staring at them???

Amid his struggle Bakugou managed to create explosions, trying to free himself. You could heard the wonder in peoples gasps. “woah, what power!” or “Such a powerful quirk!”. That’s not gonna help him escape you idiots. He’s gonna die before you people could get a use out of him!

None of the heroes tries to intervene. All too busy staring in fear or cluelessness at the scene before them. Are these the heroes where we should put our trust in? what a joke. Bakugou was slowly loosing the fight and more and more of his body parts were absorbed by slime. There is no time, what the hell are they doing?

He threw his backpack on the ground and unzipped it. There’s gotta be something aha! Before he could comprehend what he was doing. Izuku bend down and slipped under the caution tape, sprinting towards the villain.

Bakugou is MY piece of shit to deal with, like hell am I going to let you take him! Izuku jumped and in his right hand, a single pencil was hold. Lets hope this works. He heard a nauseating sound as the sharpened end of the pencil made contact with the villain’s eye. I’m gonna be sick,,

The villain pulled away, just enough to release part of Bakugou’s arm. Without much thinking Izuku grabbed the unconscious boy’s hand and pulled with all his might. No matter the force Bakugou did not move. This isn’t going to work! “For Fuck sakes! What are you idiots doing?! DO YOUR FUCKING JOB!”

As if snapped out of a trance, a couple heroes rushed forward. Some helping to try and pull the teenager out of the sludge villain. And others who focused on attacking the eyes since it seemed like that was the only part that was solid enough to have an impact.

Not long after they managed to subdue the villain, this time properly locking them up. Praises were sang toward the blonde boy for trying his best, even though it was considered illegal quirk usage. Heroes gave small interviews about the struggle and how brave Bakugou was.

And Izuku?

He got scolded by every hero present. Telling him that he was rash, impulsive and could’ve made it all worse if they didn’t rush in. But at least I did something, that was more than you guys were doing. And oh hey? Was the world always so blurry?

The world seemed to spin before it turned to black. His body shutting down after all it has been through. The last thing Izuku heard was that if his body couldn’t handle the pressure he shouldn’t have jumped into danger.

Hah,, if only they knew.

Chapter Text

The moment Izuku opened his eyes he was in an unfamiliar place. Walls painted white with an ugly poster about cancer. Why are the people always smiling on these posters? When I’m sick I don’t really feel like smiling. Things were still hazy but he could guess he was at the hospital right now. Mom is going to kill me,,

His arm hurts. Carefully turning his head to inspect, he saw there was an IV. That’s gotta go. Fumbling with the needle he didn’t realise when someone walked in.

“Stop messing with your IV kid.” A gruff voice stated. Izuku looked up and was surprised of who stood in the doorway. Izuku did stop pulling at the IV but not yet releasing it from his grasp.

“This IV itches” he grumbled back, “And I want to go home.”

Eraserhead walked further into the room and sat himself down in one of the chairs there. “Can’t let you do that. The doctors are still running some tests.” He looked Izuku up and down. “You had a nasty concussion and they still have to check your lungs if they are okay now.”

Izuku broke eye contact and stared at the hospital blanket instead, clutching it with his hands. Right. I was attacked by the sludge villain. “Do you feel like you’re going to puke again?”  Izuku’s head shot up, confused at the hero’s question.

“what?”

Shouta had to keep himself from smiling. The kid had no idea what for problems he had caused when he got here. “this isn’t the first time you’ve woken up. You’ve woken many times before just to puke on everything besides the bucket they gave you before passing out again.” The guilty and horrified expression on his face was enough to let out a warm chuckle. “I’m not lying, they even had to change you out of your clothes cause they smelled so bad.”

Izuku wanted the ground to swallow him up, anywhere was better than here right now. Eraserhead, THE eraserhead has seen me puke,, MULTIPLE TIMES, probably loopy as shit from the pain medication OH GOD I didn’t say anything weird right? I’ve already embarrassed myself enough for a life time! Please God no- Izuku was freaking out and Aizawa must have seen it, seeing that he had come closer to place his hand on his shoulder.

“Breathe kid, okay? Look up at me.” Still frantic Izuku tried to focus on the hero’s face. “Good, have you ever done breathing exercises?” The teenager needed to calm down his breathing since they haven’t checked his lungs yet for any damage. Izuku nodded slightly.

“Okay, we’re going to do that. You just got to copy me, look at my chest and just do what I do okay?” another small nod. This side of Izuku Midoriya was a full on 180 degree switch from what he had seen earlier today. It was strange to acknowledge the fact that these two people were the same person. “You’re doing great, just keep doing those exercises.”

After succeeding to calm down looked away from the hero, self-conscious about what had just happened. It had been a long time ago, the last time he had a panic attack. Shifting his legs up Izuku rested his shin on his knees.

“Thanks.” He spoke in hushed tones.

Shouta went back to sit on his chair, sensing that the kid wanted some space. “No problem kid.” I was silent for a couple minutes, only the ticking sound of the clock on the wall echoed through the room. It was comfortable, not speaking. Cause for the first time today Izuku felt at peace. There was no person yelling at him, making him feel lesser than others, no All Might to crush on his dying dreams.

But all good things have to come to an end when a nurse walk in. “Excuse me, Izuku Midoriya?” both Izuku and Shouta looked up at the nurse. A tall but slender man with a clipboard smiled back at them.

“That’d be me.” Izuku returned his smile, but only a small one.

“Great! I’m here to check up on you.” The nurse puts down the clipboard on the end of the bed. “My quirk lets me investigate your internal organs and see if there is any damage. If it’s okay with you I’d like to take a look at your lungs and head for a moment.”

The boy stared for a moment. No response from him. “You okay kid?” It seemed to do the trick since Izuku blinked rapidly and flushed a light pink. “Sorry, got lost in thoughts..”  He tried scratching the back of his neck but the nurse grabbed his wrist, stopping him from moving.

“Oh dear, your IV is bleeding!” and indeed when Shouta looked, there was a small stream of blood making its way down his arm. Must’ve happened earlier. “I’ll fix this first and lets do the examination after alright?” not really waiting for a response, the nurse went to work.

What a quirk it was. Definitely helpful in the medical field, especially when time is of the essence. To be able to do damage control quickly, makes the process of healing much faster. Once knowing where the problems are, they can simply hand the patient over to the correct doctor or another nurse. Izuku had spaced out once the nurse told him about the specifications of the quirk. Just letting him do his job.

“All done now! You’re going to have a hard time breathing for a couple of days, but it seems like there isn’t any injury on the lungs, Your concussion was already being treated when you got here so that shouldn’t give you any troubles. Just be careful when looking at a phone or tv or anything too challenging.” The nurse wrote down some information on the clipboard and left the room, leaving the two together alone.

Izuku had been questioning this for a while now. Why was Walmart mothman here? Shouldn’t he be, I don’t know,, WORKING? The man was a teacher at UA but also this an underground pro hero that surveillances the area at night.

“Hey,, um Eraserhead?” the hero hummed in response, laying his phone down on his lap. “Shouldn’t you be patrolling by now?” Izuku motioned over to the window where you could see a black sky. “Not that I’m uncomfortable, but why even are you here?” Let’s hope he doesn’t take that too personal,,

“We tried contacting your parents but no one picked up. I was already here when they brought you in and since you’re a minor we couldn’t exactly leave you alone when we didn’t know when you’d wake up.” He explained matter of factly.

So I’m basically a burden,, nice. You go Midoriya, the guy already looks like he never slept in the past 3 years. He could be out there, saving lives but now he’s stuck here with me.

“You don’t have to stay.”

“I know kid, I know. But I don’t think that you really want to be alone right now.”

Izuku laughed but it sounded empty. “hah.” He looked the hero dead in the eye. “You’ve met me once, you think you know me?”

Shouta didn’t like that look in his eyes. Not one bit.

Vibrant emerald green eyes never looked so dull. If eyes were the window of the soul, this boy had hung curtains to shield his. It was a look that he had only seen in a few people, much, much older than himself and it unsettled him. Those eyes never brought good news with them.

He didn’t dare answer Izuku’s question.

In the meantime people in the hospital kept trying to inform Izuku’s parents of his stay at the hospital. Much to Izuku his annoyance. They just don’t listen to me! “I’ve already said this ma’am, my father lives in America so even if he’d be able to pick up, which good luck with that by the way, he wouldn’t be able to come here. As for my mother she works here so if she’s not here, she is probably at home sleeping with her phone on silent.” The women just raised her eyebrow and wrote something down.

“Can’t I just go home to rest? If my mother can’t come the next best option would be to go home where she is!” he was downright pleading now. The doctor has visited him earlier to tell him he had to stay overnight so they could monitor him for a little longer, just in case there would be complications the nurse didn’t account for.

But they insisted on having an adult in the room. Hence the continuous effort to try and call his parents. He was fine really. Izuku didn’t need some adult to watch him sleep and stare at a wall.

“If you can’t reach anyone, I’m able to stay here for the night.” Aizawa joined in the one-sided conversation. “I’m acquainted with him, so it’s better than some total stranger.” He explained after the woman gave him the side-eye in disapproval. Look I know Walmart mothman looks homeless but that look was not needed. Izuku frowned.

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a huff before speaking. “Fine. Mister,,” she looked at him.

“Aizawa Shouta.” So that’s Mothman’s real name.

She nodded, “Right. Mister Aizawa will be staying here as a temporary guardian since we can’t let you leave or have a parental figure stay with you to observe. We’ll check your vitals in the morning and maybe then we can talk about discharging you.” She took one last look at the two men and left the room before anyone could argue back.

The annoyed teenager let himself fall back onto his pillow. “urghhhh!” he grabbed his hair with two fists, “I’d rip my hair out if she had stayed even a second longer, why so judgemental?!”

Shouta couldn’t contain himself and laughed at the kid’s antics. “As if she would be worth the effort.” Izuku rolled over, most likely forgotten that the hero was still in the room. Watching his every move. “She would probably just nag at you for making her send someone to clean all the hair up.”

Mouth agape and wide eyed, Izuku stared at the man in the chair. Did- did Walmart mothman really make a joke? Him? Eraserhead, also known as the most grumpy hero ever? “Walmart mothman, you’re completely right!” his response was filled with wonder. “She totally is that kind of person!” One of these days Aizawa had to ask why this kid kept referring to him as ‘Walmart mothman’.

You know what mothman, I like you. You’re my number one hero now.

The medication that the doctor had given him earlier kicked in. As he yawned, Izuku felt himself getting drowsier and drowsier until the heaviness of his eyelids took over and he closed his eyes. Falling into a deep sleep.

“I’m not coming home tonight. No, there is nothing wrong. Oh, I’m at the hospital right now. Jesus Christ Hizashi! Don’t yell into my ear! I’m not hurt or anything, I already told you everything is fine. I’m just staying the night here cause there is this kid-“ Izuku woke up at the sound of Aizawa talking to someone.

“Eraserhead?” he called out. He still felt groggy from just waking up.

“The kid is awake right now, so I’m going to hang up okay?” The hero popped his head inside the room from the doorway. “I’m right here kid. Just a second” Before disappearing once again behind the wall. “Huh? Yeah, yeah. Me too okay? I’ll talk to you later.”

They must have hung up as the pro hero entered the room once again and claim the chair for himself again. “Had a nice nap?”

To which Izuku responded. “Feel like I’ve been asleep for hours.” Rubbing his eyes.

“You’ve only slept for an hour or so though.” He looked at his phone for the time. “It’s  2am right now, so you can go back to sleep.”

“Don’t wanna.” He really didn’t feel like he needed more sleep. Instead, he tried to change the conversation. “So who was that on the phone?”

The two looked at each other for a while? It didn’t look like the hero was uncomfortable by the question, it looked more like he was contemplating whether or not he should answer. If he didn’t want to say it, no pressure. Izuku knows not to push.

The hero ruffled through his own hair, messing it up even more. “Just my partner at home.”

“Damn, I’m jealous, I want a boyfriend too.” Izuku fake sighed as he fell back down on the bed for the dramatic effect, side-eyeing to the right where the hero stiffened. Bingo! That little slip up told Izuku everything I wanted to know. He rolled to his side, leaning on his elbow for support.

A shit eating grin took over his face. “I suppose you won’t tell me who this ‘partner’ is?” Izuku didn’t miss the little smile when Shouta shook his head.

“Is he at least pretty?”

This time the hero didn’t hide his smile when he said; “Very.”

“I’m gonna say it again Eraserhead, I’m jealous. I also want a pretty boyfriend,, or a girlfriend.” This time sounding more genuine. Izuku stared at the ceiling. It would be nice to have someone to call my own,,

“Just call me Aizawa, kid.”

He didn’t knew he had fallen asleep if it wasn’t for Aizawa gently shaking him awake. Everything is so fucking bright- he covered his eyes with his curls as much as possible, not really feeling like getting blinded today.

“Hey, kid. The doctor is here to check up on you.” The man moved back when he saw that Izuku was awake. “I’m going to go outside for a bit, need anything?”

Izuku looked through narrowed eyes at the hero, still adjusting to the bright room. “No.” He croaked out. When Aizawa left the doctor spoke up.

“Good morning, sorry for the disturbance, but the faster we do this the quicker you can go home.” He smiled apologetically. Ahh, he must have heard the ruckus yesterday. Or maybe that woman came to him to complain. I wouldn’t put is past her. It wasn’t even like he’d been a pain to every nurse, he just wanted to go home.

The check-up went smoothly and the doctor didn’t find anything amiss. Quickly scribbling the new information onto his clipboard filled with documents. “It’s a shame that we couldn’t contact you mother, even though she works here. But if she has any questions about your stay here, you can tell her that Dr. Okamoto will speak to her the next time I see her.”

“It’s okay, I’ll inform her.”

Seeming satisfied with his answer the doctor left his hospital room. Izuku remaining still on his bed was left with his own thoughts until Aizawa returns.

Maybe half an hour after he was left by himself, the hero returned with 2 plastic bags in his hand and coffee in the other. Catching sight of his confusion Aizawa handed the bags over to the teenager.

After getting no response to his questioning look, Izuku took a look inside to see what it contained. Inside he found black cargo shorts and a grey sweater with the text ‘Monday is my no thank you day’ yikesss in the second bag there was chocolate muffin and a bottle of water.

“Since you can go home today you’re going to need clothes to wear.” Right. His clothes,, did they throw them away? It’s just some vomit, nothing that couldn’t be fixed. He must have been frowning at the thought cause Aizawa spoke again. “I know that these clothes aren’t ‘trendy’ or whatever, but you can’t leave in a hospital gown that exposes your whole back, and Hizashi didn’t pick up the phone when I went out to buy these.”

Hizashi huh? Must be his partner. Wait, why would he even call him when he’s buying clothes? No wayyy “You call your boyfriend for fashion advise???!!” he cackled at the thought of the hero, holding multiple pieces of clothing while facetiming his boyfriend in full distress, trying to get an second opinion. The vision in his head was too silly to feel realistic.

Aizawa’s eyes went wide as the tips of his ears turned red. He tried to hide it but Izuku had already seen it. “aww, it’s okay.” His eyes filled mitch mischief.  “I’d ask for fashion advise too when I looked like that.” He pointed at the hero’s attire. A black woollen sweater, matched with dark grey sweatpants and a crusty looking scarf.

“you’ve got me there, problem child.” Aizawa didn’t want to acknowledge it, but the kid was growing on him. He liked that sassy green bean of a boy, even if he was a problem child by the looks of it. He turned around and walked to the door, opening it slightly before looking back at the bed.

“You get dressed, meanwhile I’m going to prepare everything so you can get discharged. When you’re ready, eat what’s in the bag and I’ll bring you home.” Izuku opened his mouth to object but the hero was faster. “And before you say no. the last time I let you walk alone you got into a villain fight. No is not an option.”

Izuku admitted his loss and went to change into his new clothes.

“You ready to go?” Aizawa was waiting outside in the hall when Izuku opened the door. The clothes were a bit too big on him, but he appreciated the thought. That and it would be hard shopping for someone when you don’t know their size, so bigger is a lot better than too small. Even now, with fresh clothes, the teenager felt icky. Not being able to brush your teeth after  vomiting all day does that too you.

The kid gave Aizawa a deadpanned look. “You’re really going to ask me that? I’ve been waiting to leave this place since yesterday.” He turned to leave, knowing that the black-haired man will follow swiftly. “chop, chop, mothman! I wanna go home.”

Hearing the giggles from employees did not feel like suffocation waiting to happen. The hero worked underground for a reason. He could not stand large crowds, let alone multiple sets of eyes staring at him. It was a strange occurrence, people were laughing and looking at him, so why didn’t he feel as bothered as he should be?

The walk to Midoriya’s residence consisted of friendly banter between the two and multiple questions about Aizawa’s quirk on the teenager’s part. But all too soon it had to stop as they reached the front door of the house.

The neighbourhood wasn’t too shabby Shouta noted. Mostly elderly couples and a few younger families with toddlers could be seen in the area. It was lively to say the least. The hero knocked on the door before Izuku could stop him. “No wait-“ he tried.

“I have a key you know?” not amused by His knocking. “Like- this is my house? You’re just going to wake her up.” The last sentence spoken much softer than previous, as if he never meant for Aizawa to hear it. Sounds could be heard from the other side of the door, the noise of a key unlocking the door before it opened to reveal a short and chubby woman.

The resemblance was uncanny. The dark green hair and emerald eyes. Even the facial features were hardly any different aside from the fact that the woman didn’t possess freckles like Izuku did.

“Good morning ma’am. I’m here to return your son.” He greeted. What did he even say in this situation? Did the woman already know that her son had to stay the night in a hospital? Probably not by the looks of it. The lady looked confused as to who he was and why he stood on her doorstep. Her hair was uncombed and the bags that adorned her eyes gave away that she was in bed until a moment ago.

“What did he do?” she asked without looking at the man’s face, her eyes trained on Izuku. After a second or two she turned to Aizawa. “I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble for you.” She smiled. The tone of her voice sounded sweet as honey. “My Izuku has never been a troublemaker.”

“Don’t worry ma’am, Midoriya isn’t in any trouble. He-” He briefly looked over to the younger boy only to find that the boy was looking at him too. His face silently screaming. Please don’t tell her anything more than required. “just needed someone to escort him home due to yesterday’s incident.”

The woman gasped, “oh my! What happened?”

“There was a villain attack, but I’m sure authorities have tried to reach out and will answer your questions if you have any.” The hero stated. He couldn’t give any information since he wasn’t present at the time.

“oh, thank you so much for bringing him home then!” she grabbed Izuku gently by the shoulder, moving him closer to her until his stood between the two adults. “I would be lost if anything happened to him without my knowledge.” She squeezed his shoulder for a second and caressed it tenderly afterwards. To outsiders it looked like a loving action between mother and son. But for Izuku, who just got his pressure points pressed had to withstand the urge to wince. “I’d offer you something to drink inside, but I’m afraid I have to leave for work soon.”

Aizawa looked at the kid. It was peculiar how fast he’d switched from a loud teenager who’d pick a fight with the hero any chance he got to this,, silent husk of a person. Don’t get him wrong. The boy was smiling at him except the smile didn’t reach his eyes like they would normally.

I shouldn’t try to look for things that maybe aren’t even there. He could just be preventing his mother from worrying. No kid likes to get snitched on, especially if it makes them look bad. So Aizawa ignored the strange switch in personality. “It’s fine. It’s just part of the job description.” After exchanging goodbyes the hero left and Inko ushered Izuku inside the house.

The friendly smile was replaced by an irritated look. “You woke me up.” She brushed by, pushing him off balance with her shoulder in passing. “Just go to your room like you always do. I’m going to get ready for work.” When Izuku left for his room and closed the door. His knees gave out, and he crumpled to the floor, leaning his back against to wooden door.

Their relationship had always been strangled, if not non-existent most of the time. Inko Midoriya was a busy woman, working more hours in the hospital than at home or with her family. Even if she was present at home, she would always be checking medical reports or getting calls by colleague’s asking for help with theirs. Due to that she didn’t like it when Izuku came to her study asking her opinion about his new toy. He was always too energetic and loud. He never understood that you can’t bother adults when they were busy.

Then one day his parents had sat him down on the couch. Both of them explaining that they would get a divorce. He was only four at the time so he didn’t exactly know what ‘divorce’ was, but he did understand that maybe, he wouldn’t be falling asleep to the sound of his parents yelling downstairs anymore.  After his father left the house and bought an apartment to stay in, Izuku switched household every week. It was a weird thing for him, packing a little suitcase every week with his belongings but nothing he couldn’t get used to.

His mother had grown a resentment against his father and every week Izuku stayed with her consisted of questionings about his father and what he was doing, cursing his every move. Every chance that she could get, she would say things that would paint his father in a bad light. Those words didn’t affect Izuku as he paid them no mind. But words linger after a while, engraving themselves into your thoughts. Izuku didn’t like going to his father after that.

He still loved him, but he couldn’t put him on a pedestal anymore. Not after his mother told all those horrible things about him. Not after she had told him, that he left her because Izuku was quirkless. admiration and adoration weren’t for those that didn’t want him in his life, mother told.

Lovers came and went throughout the years. Inko changing boyfriends every year or so, some with children of their own. But none of them had stayed, had committed. All left and mother told him he was to blame, he was a burden. Her hate for men growing with each and every one of them packing their stuff.

His father on the other hand had found love on a dating site, a lovely girl with pouty lips and brighter eyes than his mom. He didn’t hesitate to leave the county to pursue her. A few years later Izuku received a letter that they were married and had a baby daughter. After that he never heard from him again. Alas, Izuku couldn’t bring himself to hate the man, his father was happy and if that meant that Izuku couldn’t be a part of his life so be it.

Inko Midoriya could never be alone for long, but as the years went by and her youthful appearance disappeared, she found it hard to get a man’s attention, let alone keep it after telling him she’s an divorcee with a quirkless child at home. She had grown to be bitter most of the time. Most of the time never leaving her room if it wasn’t for work.

She would come home from her shift, complain to Izuku about how everyone in this world is against her and how bad of a mess the house was. Only to vanish to her room to smoke and sleep. Sometimes Izuku didn’t see her for days, no noises ever left the room. It was their daily routine for the past 6 years.

Izuku would come home from school, cleaning up whatever mess his mother made when he was gone, do his homework and if his mother forgot to make dinner, he’d eat what he could find around the house or skipped dinner all together.

Izuku was only of use when she needed someone to complain to, other than that he was less than air to her. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t put up a façade of a loving parent and their son in front of others.

It was yet another lonely day, dreaming about what he wants, but never have.

The alarm went of and Izuku felt like disappearing from the world. After coming home yesterday his mind had finally the time to process what had happened. He stood up to Bakugou, jumped of a roof only to be saved by one of his idols, had to lie to said idol and be seen as suicidal by him, then he got attacked by a villain, met All Might, got his dream stomped on AGAIN by the only person who he thought would be different, just to save? No, tried to save, his bully from the same villain from earlier that day. And for what? To get called stupid by multiple hero’s and pass out.

Damn man, If Satan wanted to reach out to me he could’ve done so in a better manner. There was no need for such an overkill. Even a Korean drama show doesn’t cross this line of ‘what can I do to make the lead’s day worse?’. And they say I’m a try-hard.

He really didn’t feel like getting out of bed. It was cosy there and no one is here to judge him,, only maybe 37 All Might posters that are plastered on his walls. Nevermind, I’ve found my reason to get out of bed. Did his smile always look that judgy? Izuku let himself gracefully as falling can be, all onto his floor with a thud. I never said I’d waste energy doing so. Contemplating staying on the floor in his cocoon existing of his blanket for a while longer, it was a good offer. It’s a shame that Izuku felt like he’d barf if he had to be judged by multiple All Mights any longer.

So he freed himself from his cocoon and got to work, ripping all the posters of the wall with the number one hero’s face on it. If there were a few that he’d rip into small pieces to make confetti for celebrating ‘the riddance of fake heroism’ , you didn’t see anything.

When all evidence was hidden from eyes view, Izuku decided that today was the day he will go to Takoba Municipal Beach Park. He’d been planning to go there for a while, mostly for scouting the place. With his entrance exam for the support course coming closer each day he has to prepare for it. The beach has a lot to offer. All that trash that’s been dumped by people or just washed up from the sea through the years could be very valuable to him. If he could recycle some scrap metal and electronic devices he could invent some support items to show his worth.

The entrance exam existed of a written exam and then you’d get 30minutes the chance to convince the jury as to why you belong in the support course, while not a must, bringing self-made inventions with you to showcase can boost you score significantly if they are useful or they see potential in it. With Izuku’s case of being quirkless, he’s got to step up his game. Especially when there is no info given out to the public yet about who is judging.

For all he knew he could be facing 4 hero’s that discriminate against quirkless kids. It hasn’t been long since the principal of UA changed the rules so quirkless people could enter if they meet the requirements needed to succeed. It is plausible in the worst way, but he was willing to take his chance. He just has to prove them he CAN and will be an useful asset to the school.

At least this way he could help people indirectly. His support items would help heroes save civilians and protect them. Not exactly what he wanted but it’s close enough.

Packing up his things he grabbed his yellow backpack in case he’d find something useful in his search, laced up his bright red shoes and left his house. Now let’s hope we’ll bring home the good stuff.

Now that was a lot of trash. Izuku looked at where there should be a horizon. Where the sky kisses the sea was hidden behind piles of trash and abandoned things. Is that a whole-ass car? How did that even get there? It was a bit overwhelming to say the least. Mentally preparing himself he rolled up his long sleeves. Better get started before anyone starts asking questions.

“I am here!”

A booming voice sounded behind him. Before he could match the voice to a face, his body froze. There would be no way- why would he even- when he turned to look up at the voice behind he was met with the fact, it was indeed All Might.

Izuku bit the insides of his cheek, filling his mouth with an iron taste. A younger version would be jumping right now, meeting the number one hero 2 times in such a short time? Impossible, he would’ve never thought he’d see the man in any other way than from behind a screen. He would have been ecstatic. Present Izuku? Not so much.

Through tightened lips Izuku spoke, “Are you here to scold me too?” he stared into the others eyes. “Cause if so, save it. The others have done that enough already.” He really hoped that his eyes conveyed the displeasure. “I won’t go around playing hero again.” His voice void of any emotion other than mild anger laced with mockery.

The hero never stopped smiling despite picking up the negative vibes from the teenager. “Young man, I come here with a correction and a suggestion.” He looked around and after confirming that no one was around he shifted into his smaller form. There was no point using limited time for this conversation he’d thought.

“When no one acted to save that boy 2 days ago, you moved. None other than a small quirkless kid watching the scene.” He coughed but soon continued speaking. “A true hero’s body moves before they have a chance to think. It was the same for you wasn’t it?”

The boy didn’t respond, didn’t waver for a second. Izuku didn’t realize he’d been holding onto his backpack tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. He just kept staring at the taller man.

“Young man. You can become a hero.” He said it so casually that it made Izuku’s blood boil.  You think that everything is fine now? Everything you said on that rooftop, did it mean anything to you at all?! You left me! You left me there on that fucking rooftop, A CHILD. You were my number one hero?! My very own existence was dedicated to grow up and be just like you! You- you didn’t even apologize! You didn’t, you never said you’re sorry,,

His thoughts went million miles per hour, a never ending stream of words. Do you even know what you did?

Seeing to boy stay silent, All Might continues. He always had that effect on people, some would freeze up and struggle to find their words, never realising that no sentence had left their mouth until he was already far away.  “You are worthy to inherit my power.”

Izuku was dumbfounded. “inherit your power?” the question felt strange on his tongue. Is he senile?

All Might bursts out laughing, quickly switching into an uncontrollable cough. “It’s just a suggestion. My quirk ‘ one for all’ was passed on to me like a sacred torch. And now, I’m willing to pass it on to you. I have been looking for a successor and you? You are just a quirkless hero wannabe, but you were more heroic than anyone else that day-”

“No.”

“Of course, it’s still your deci- what?”

“No.”

All Might was flabbergasted. Anyone would be jumping to be in this kid his shoes. Not only that but he refused before he could finish explaining. “Hold up, if you just let me explain a lil-“

“I don’t want to inherit you power.” He saw the boy’s nose crunch as he looked him up and down, as if he was looking at something appalling.

The  hero took a step forward towards the boy, holding up his arms in a defensive manner. “Now I don’t think you’ve thought this through, my boy. Many would love to be my successor.”

Izuku needed to calm down. He was seething but he tried to keep a straight face. But the hero made it so hard for him. The inside of his cheek raw from biting down. He has no shame. What even happened to ‘it’s just a suggestion’ huh? He needed to get away.

“Then go ask them to be your successor.” Good, calm- I’m calm. he was everything but calm. Izuku felt his hand shaking in anger. Just breathe.

The friendly voice had morphed into a much more darker one, all fake pleasantries gone. “I don’t think you mean that young man.” The hero didn’t even smile anymore. “I’m giving you a once in a lifetime deal so you can be the hero you’ve always wanted.”

So that’s how it is heh? You thought I’d be begging to inherit you quirk. You don’t believe I can be a hero,, you only think I can become a hero because of YOUR quirk. Not my efforts, not my hard work, not- he doesn’t care does he? He never cared about my dream,, He just needs someone to replace him.

“Don’t tell me you still think you can be a hero without a quirk, are you?”

It was the last drop that made the bucket overflow.

“Cut the bullshit All Might!” Izuku yelled. The hero flinched away at his sudden outburst. “You were my hero for 14 years! 14 fucking years you know that?!” he was outright screaming now. He could feel his voice crack and he hated how fragile he sounded.

Izuku was angry.

He was hurt.

But All Might never thought like that did he? He never thought about what kind of influence his words would have on him. He never once thought about the consequences,,

He felt like crying and laughing at the same time. “you can’t just tell people they can’t become a hero and then change your mind!? Did you EVER stood still and thought about possible repercussions?! YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES AND I DON’T WANT YOUR FUCKING QUIRK OKAY!?”

“For fuck sakes,,” Izuku’s palms covered up his eyes while slightly pulling on his hair before let out a humourless laugh. All fight leaving his body. “I wish I had never met you.”

It was the hero’s turn to turn into stone. Never once had he heard those words, not even from villains he caught. The words etched into his brain, repeating it like it was a mantra. I wish I never met you,,

“If you got nothing left to say, safe your face while you can and leave me.” The boy turned away from the hero. “you’re good at that.”

No one ever thinks about the consequences.

Chapter Text

Finding good material was easier than Izuku had  thought it would be. The beach park provided enough quality scraps so he wouldn’t have to touch his own money all too much.

He was prepared to lose a big sum of his savings if the beach park was useless. Of course even if he was prepared, that didn’t mean he’d be happy about doing so. It was money he saved up while doing chores for people in the neighbourhood.

The only time his quirklessness had helped him. People pitied him so they would ask him to do chores for them that they themselves didn’t want to do. “he wouldn’t be able to do much more than this, the poor boy. At least now he can be useful.” They thought. Izuku had been a dogwalker, a last-minute babysitter for 3 kids with some glitter quirk. It was a nightmare. He’d been a maid for some old lady, or someone who would water the plants when they weren’t home. All sorts of tasks were given to Izuku because it was easy for them.

And Izuku never said no to some extra money.

He had to save up, because he never knew when he’d need to buy food for himself, a new laptop for his assignment or unpaid school bills cause god forbid that his mother would help with something like that.

Izuku can’t be unprepared.

So he stuffed all the useful things he found that day in his backpack and carried what didn’t fit in his arms, once in a while dropping something when people bumped into him on his way home. I’ve got work to do.

It was maybe 3am. It was 5.38am. and Izuku was still glued onto his desk. It was the morning of the entrance exam and he was just finishing the last detail on his items. I really need better time management,, The past weeks were filled with mini explosions, fires and technical errors. Smoke leaving his room multiple times on a bad day.

He'd flipped his notebooks inside out so many times he could probably recite everything word for word backwards. Just looking for the perfect hero that could be used as a source of inspiration. Don’t get him wrong, there were multiple hero’s he could choose and make good items.

But his items didn’t need to be good, They needed to be perfect.

Shaken by his alarm he dropped everything he was holding. No,, don’t tell me-  he picked up his phone, eyes drifting to the right corner where the time was displayed. Are you kidding me? Is it too late to skip the exam? I didn’t see a penalty for not showing up, so maybe- he silenced his alarm and let his head fall on his desk with a thud. As if. I’m going to show them. I’ll show them that I can be useful! He shot up quickly having to hold onto his desk when white took over his vision and dizziness made him loose his balance. But maybe after my blood pressure stops wanting to end me.

After drowning himself in coffee and brushing his teeth he went to look for a suitable outfit. First impressions matter, how stupid it is. He shrugged. Opening his closet he stared at it.

The past months he only wore a simple t-shirt and sweatpants. Not wanting to dirty his good clothes but mostly to lazy to change. He also just didn’t see the use in changing clothes too often when he barely even left his room.

However he kind of did wish he changed a little more in all that time. After trying on multiple outfits and bursting the seams in most of them he was ready to give up. It wasn’t like he had grown much, he just,, filled out a bit more. Lifting and relocating all metal and junk and carrying it home all these months resulted in,, well built curves.  Toned arms and muscular legs to accompany them. But Izuku, who doesn’t look in the mirror unless he really needs to, never noticed the changes.

So here he was, stuck in his own shirt that he couldn’t get over his head while his arms were tangles in the fabric and in pants that you could hear ripping with every step he took. This is not it,, what do I even do now?

Giving up on releasing himself without hanging himself, Izuku basically ripped the shirt of his body. Not like I could wear that shirt ever again anyway. He’ll just use it as a rag if he ever needs one. No waste. Returning to his closet he stood there pondering.

I don’t think I ever bought lager clothing than I needed? The only reason the shirts I wore over the past weeks fitted was because they were a gift from Mitsuki Bakugou last Christmas. It had been a while since he’d visited them so she must have based the shirt of how big Bakugou was at that time. But I can’t exactly wear pj’s to the entrance exam. There must be something in this house that I could use, maybe,,

His father’s old clothes.

After he left he never returned to pick up his stuff that he didn’t take with him the first time. There might be some useful stuff there. His mother also never threw it out, clinging onto it for the small chance he would return one day. Resentment or desperation? Izuku still doesn’t know why.

His mother wasn’t home which made it much more easy to gain access to her closet. It was an unspoken rule that you never go into her room, ESPECIALLY when she wasn’t home to keep an eye on what you were doing. The reason why was never given. And Izuku never asked.

While opening the door he was met with a nauseating smell. It only got worse when he flipped the light switch. The room was bursting with filth, and that comes from a teenager that jumps through a junkyard in search for some scraps. Empty bottles littered on the floor, some half-empty and looking moldy, plastic wrappers or unfinished food in random places. Dirty clothes and underwear looked like they were thrown around the room like it was confetti. Even the walls had dark red stains and splatters on them sometimes reaching as high as the ceiling and much, much more.

Izuku felt his stomach turning.

I just need to get into the closet.

Trying his best not to touch anything or move something in the slightest he reached the closet. The door functioning as  mirror. Izuku remembered the times where his mother and him would stand in front of this mirror smiling brightly. “Look at you Izuku! You’ve grown so much already!” picking him up and ruffling through his hair. “you’re going to be the most adorable hero.” She smiled.

When was the last time she had smiled at him like that? He couldn’t remember.

The boy facing him looked nothing like the toddler in his memories. His hair grew and almost touched his shoulders. He was still short but the muscles mad him look less like a child. Starburst scars decorating his body, some larger than others and the bright smile was replaced by chewed-up lips.

Closing his eyes distanced himself from the image and opened the closet door. Inside were the few clothes that were still clean and a carboard box with the words “scumbag” written on it. Guess that this is what I’m looking for. Hopefully there is something useful.

Inside there were old clothing and shoes, some of which he recognized. After looking for the smallest pair of pants and shirts he found what he was looking for. A grey turtleneck with short sleeves, a pair of straight dress pants and a long jacket that looked like it could double for a bathrobe.

Izuku never knew much about style, but with this he couldn’t do much wrong. At least this wouldn’t rip when he’ll sit down on the train.

The clothes felt weird. The turtleneck clung onto his chest, teasing the muscles underneath. Never once did Izuku wear tightfitting clothing, but he didn’t hate the look. But still he was grateful for the long jacket that covered most of his body, it felt like a comfort blanket knowing that no one could stare at his body all too much.

He threw whatever hair he could into a bun and grabbed his bag.

Time to prove them wrong.

This will be the last time you’ll look down on me world.

If the world doesn’t look at you, make them look.

Chapter Text

“participant number 783, Izuku Midoriya, support course entrance exam?” a woman’s voice echoed through the speakers. He saw multiple students looking around, curious as to who would go inside. Silently judging their competition on appearance only.

Walking towards the door filled Izuku with more fear than Bakugou ever was able to. Their staring eyes left symbolic burn marks on his skin, whispering and even a giggling sound was all he heard beside his rapidly beating heart. It’s going to be okay, I’m already this close, no need to chicken out. I am- he let all the air leave his lungs whit a long exhale. I am okay.

If his hands were shaking as he reached out for the doorknob, nobody saw.

Shouta Aizawa wasn’t meant to be here. He had noting to do with the support course as the homeroom teacher of the hero course. But when Nemuri got called away to deal with a hostage situation by the police, Nedzu asked him to accompany this year entrance exam.

“student name: Midoriya Izuku, support course.” The name sounded familiar. Shouta searched his memory for a face that fits the name. It wasn’t a common name so for sure he should at least have a vague memory of this person.

When a green-haired boy walked into the room he remembered. Problem child? He still resembled the boy he met months ago, albeit gaining more muscle and longer hair that framed his face. It suits him, let me see what you got for us kid. He never realised the miniscule smirk that took over his lips.

Next to him, the number one hero froze. Squirming into his seat as a child does when he doesn’t want to eat his veggies. That’s weird,, when he turned back towards the boy once again he saw the kid shooting daggers at All Might. That,, is that hostility? Do they know each other?

The boy blinked, seemingly forgetting that he wasn’t here for a staring contest with the number one hero and turned fully towards them.

In front of him were sitting four UA staff members; Nedzu, Eraserhead, All Might and Power Loader. Great,, Izuku had to refrain himself from snarling at the number one hero, their last conversation still fresh on his mind.

Why even is he here?

The hero in question tried to avoid eye contact. Hah, guess he thought that he would never see me again. With a glint in his eyes he smiled. Betcha feeling pre-tty uncomfortable there huh? He felt strangely victorious about the fact his presence made the hero uncomfortable. He should be.

Izuku blinked, regaining his posture and stood straight. Chin held high he clasped his hand together in front of him, showing them his signature smile.

“Hello everyone, the name is Midoriya Izuku.”

And don’t you dare forget it.

“This part of the exam will consist the following, you’ll be asked a few questions by us and we want you to answer there honestly. Only then will we now where you stand and how far we could bring you with further education. After that, with the leftover time the floor is all yours. Show us why you belong here Midoriya.” Nedzu closed the file in his paw looked him dead in the eye. “Do you understand what we’re asking of you?”

Green eyes met black but never wavered. “Yes.”

“Great, then we shall begin with the questions, some may be unpleasant but please try to answer to the best of your ability.” The bear-like animal picked up his teacup and drank. Taking Izuku’s silence as acceptance he spoke once again.

“Midoriya Izuku, can you tell us about your quirk?”

The room was silent. Everyone was looking at the boy. No one knew about his quirklessness besides All Might and himself, and by the looks of the hero’s pale face he’s not going to speak up any time soon.

His posture remained straight but he sighed. I expected this question but dude? The first one? Not something like “hi Midoriya, what made you choose the support course? Or I don’t know! Just ease into the harder questions! Noooooo, let’s just go for a knock-out! I want to go home,,

“I’ll have to inform you that I’m quirkless.”

The room dropped in temperature. His eyes looking at the shocked faces in front of him. All Might looked like he’d pass out any second now, eraserhead oh wait mothman is here? How did I not notice earlier? Fuck, goodbye friendly banter and hello pitiful glances,, I don’t want him to look at me with pity, Please don’t think of me like that. Eraserhead looked shocked at the news, the same for Power Loader. Nedzu just stared at him, teacup in hand never giving away his inner thoughts.

“As far as I’ve been informed, UA has no rule that restricts quirkless people to participate in the entrance exam. As this is the support course, a quirk that allows you to have more insight would be helpful but is it is not mandatory. My quirklessness does not withhold me from using my brain and coming up with items that could aid others.” If he’d been the Izuku from a year ago, he would be stammering and on the verge of tears every time his lack of a quirk was mentioned.

But he isn’t. Izuku had grown tired of the insults, heard every single one of them and simply didn’t care anymore. Everyone thinks that a lack of a quirk means he is defect, useless. Izuku never once was looked at as someone that people could compete with, even if he scored higher than most of his class. Intelligence doesn’t matter if not accompanied by a powerful quirk.

Nedzu was the first to break the silence. “That is correct, our school does not allow discrimination of any sorts. I admire your boldness, but may I ask how is it that you’re so sure that your quirklessness will not affect your studies and thus refraining you from keeping up with the others?”

The atmosphere was heavy but Izuku didn’t mind, not really. Knowing about the reputation of the animal in front of him, these questions were more out of curiosity than malice. He could play that game.

“If you’ve read my file, which I’m sure of that you did. You can see that I was one of the top students throughout my middle school  which means that my scores were higher than those with quirks. The support course relies heavily on theoretical classes , those should not impose any problems for me, and practical comes second. While practical classes in,, let us say the hero course, rely on quirk use and how to strengthen them. In the support course practical classes consist of designing support items and making these functional. While there are quirks that could help in that department, the same result can be achieved with the right tools and mindset.” He looked at All Might. “My quirklessness does not mean that I’m a liability.”

Shouta was impressed. He knew the kid could be bold but he’d never imagine that Izuku would openly admit his ‘flaw’. While the school says that they do not tolerate discrimination, that does not mean it didn’t happen. they do not have control over the environment where the children grew up or what happens when people heard that they tried to apply for their school. But there were countless rumours. Aizawa knows about the backlash they had when quirkless people started applying, it it was never good.

Never once had he thought about the fact that this boy might not have a quirk. In the few times they have spoken the kid always looked lively if not sarcastic. But this fact did connect a few dots in his head, some of which he didn’t like.

The roof-accident probably wasn’t an accident.

He’ll have to look into that later. If  not only for his peace of mind

Nedzu was intrigued to say the least. Here in front of him stood a boy, smaller than anyone his age, but with the confidence of a retired prohero. He had met his fair share of quirkless people but never did they manage to grab his attention. After all, most quirkless people were so beaten down by society that they rarely lifted their head higher than the pavement.

This child’s answers were strategic. Not only did he use facts, but he also laced his rebuttal with sarcasm and anger. It was clear that he was trying to prove something. His worth.

That having no quirk doesn’t have to lead to failure.

He liked this boy’s spirit. I want to pick his brain for a little while more.

So let’s hope that those weren’t just empty words.

Placing his teacup down, he glanced over to his right where Power Loader sat. The hero was searching through his notes, finally settling down the papers and coughed. The attention was all on him.

“Do you have experience in this department?” it was a mandatory question to ask, since he’d rather not have teenagers running around with tools they don’t know how to use. And it would be hard to supervise 20 students al at once when they are working.

Izuku cocked his head, seemingly confused. “Are you referring to an professional experience?”

“No, just general experience in using tools and machines to create something.”

Izuku’s eyes lighted up. “Then yes, while I’ve never worked in a professional setting I’ve made various things in my own little workspace at home. I’m not new to the idea of tinkering and helping others with my inventions.

Power Loader scribbled a few things down on paper, the rest of the staff looking at him or the boy waiting for either of them to speak up.

All the inescapable questions were asked and answered and the boy in front of them never wavered once while responding, sometimes even asking a question on his own. It was hard to know where the other staff members stood with their opinion on the boy, all of them were either silently intrigued while others showed some doubt.

The scribbling noises stopped and Power Loader looked up at the clock. 15 minutes left. Shifting in his seat he searched for the younger boys eyes. “Do you have any of these creations with you? If so you still have 15minutes left to showcase these and prove why we should give you a place in our school.”

The boy cracked his knuckles, amusement in his eyes. “don’t mind if I do.” It’s time, don’t fail now. You’ve tested everything multiple times and it worked. Unless they broke of course, the train ride was not one of the most peaceful ones. Go, then I’d really be looked at as if I’m a fool! Fuck, no doomsday thinking, stop it, it’s going to work. He opened his backpack. It’ll have to work.

“If I may ask Eraserhead to step forward for a moment?” The others glanced at each other, not knowing what to do. There weren’t any rules against having someone to help them showcase their products but the thought was still a scary one.

We’re talking about students with no studies or previous guidance on the matter showcasing their handmade support items. While everyone gets screened when applying, you never know when a rat slipped through the cracks of their security. It wouldn’t be the first time today that an item exploded while using it with or without intention to harm the people in this room.

Aizawa however just shrugged and walked over to the boy without a care in the world. I may not know the kid on a personal level, but I know enough that he isn’t a fool. “Aight, kid, what do you want me to do?”

Out of the backpack came a pile of,, fabric? “My first invention isn’t really an invention more of an improvement on a current design. We all have basic knowledge about his capture weapon: great mobility, fast reaction time and multifunctional. But there are a few things that it lacks.”

Izuku gave the scarf to the hero, silently asking him to put it on. comfy “My first improvement is fire resistance.” The boy opens a lighter he got from his pocket and set the scarf on fire. The teachers jumping out of their seat, ready to take action, only stopping after seeing the flame die seconds later. “The fire will not affect the scarf. The scarf is made out of heavily and tightly weaved fabric, which would make it nearly impossible for it to burn. This can be used to possibly wrap up the hero while searching a burning building for survivors and wrapping up the victims when escorting them to safety without having to worry about more damage. The second is sturdiness.”

The boy stretched out his arm, Aizawa following the same movement but with the scarf. Midoriya reaching out of his back pocket turned to the hero. “Please remain still as to not get hurt.” A small hunters knife in hand. With practiced ease, the knife made contact with the scarf.

The knife bounced off of the scarf, no damage in sight. “The capture weapon used today cannot be sliced with any normal knife. Meaning that if a villain is trapped he will not be able to get free by cutting the fabric, something that is possible with Eraserhead capture weapon.”

Aizawa was staring at the spot where the knife made contact, there were no signs of  tear. It was quite the achievement, if he thinks about all the times his capture weapon was sliced to ribbons after a rough fight. This would be helpful. But how did he make it?

Izuku kept speaking. “of course there will be times where the hero is trapped and should be able to cut the scarf in order to set himself free, therefore,,” he searched through his bag and held out a slim curved knife. “I’ve made this knife, It’s made out of the same materials and will be able to damage the scarf thus creating a smooth escape.” Slicing a small corner of the scarf with ease, holding up the fallen piece of fabric like it was a trophy. “Are there any questions?”

It was a shame he couldn’t showcase everything but Izuku decided not to dwell on it too much. His brain already supplying enough thoughts of you’re a failure! Did you see their faces they don’t like you! All Might is going to tell them everything and you’ll never get the chance. And a lot more. At least he and Power Loader had an interesting conversation about his capture weapon, asking how he got the fabric to be so strong yet flexible.

Let’s hope that their curiosity is peaked.

After the boy left the exam room it stayed quiet. Well that was an experience,, in the 15minutes he had left Midoriya was able to showcase 3 handmade support items, made out of metal scraps and junk he found outside the house, and hold a discussion with Power Loader about his inventions and how his thought process went. It was remarkable to say the least.

His inventions were precise and always made with a specific hero in mind, there was no random thought put into the productions like “it just looked cool” practicality was the norm. there was of course room for improvement, like technical coding.

When Power Loader looked down at his notes it was clear to see that the boy had potential he could not deny. Looking up ad Nedzu he got the feeling that he wasn’t the only one thinking that.

“So what do we think of Midoriya Izuku?” he asked.

Aizawa was the first one to speak up. “I say that he is determined and has a eye for creating stuff, showcasing his stuff worthwhile also acknowledging that even though he is quirkless he shouldn’t be treated any differently than other student.” He looked over at the empty spot where the boy had been a few minutes ago. “and I can’t say I disagree with him.”

Nedzu hummed in agreement. “He sure is someone the school could use, if not only as a source of inspiration for others in the same shoes as him. With someone as him to prove those with prejudice wrong, I think that this school can change at least some people their point of view.” He looked over at the notes of Power Loader. “And I think that this one already has gotten attached.” He grinned.

“I just like picking his brain! His inventiveness is intriguing.”

They all turned at the number one hero who had been silent the whole encounter, something they weren’t used to. “What do you think?” Nedzu asked.

Fumbling with his words the number one hero responded. “well, you see,, It’s,, it’s true that young Midoriya has a knack for inventing, but is he going to be welcomed?”

The rest looked at each other, none of them knowing which direction this conversation was going. Aizawa crossed his arms. “What do you mean ‘is he going to be welcomed’? The kid would fit right in with the rest soon to be support course.”

All Might cleared his throat not wanting to make eye contact with the black haired man. “It is as he said, he’s quirkless and not many people are willing to look further than that,,” a cough “his class could isolate him.”

Is he serious? Aizawa found it hard to believe that these words came out of a teachers mouth. Walking towards the man he pointed his index finger at the mans chest. “IF they isolate him, than YOU and us as teachers and staff members have the duty to try and fix that.” He watched the hero deflate into his real appearance but that didn’t stop him from continuing. “This kid’s chance should not be taken from him just because you think he’d get isolated otherwise.”

“For fuck sakes, you’ve seen the same kid as us. You can’t tell me that he doesn’t have the determination to work even if he were to be isolated by his peers. If you don’t see that than I don’t know what you’re even doing here.” Aizawa walked to the door glancing at Nedzu. “I’m going out for coffee, you guys start without me.”

The door closed and the others regained their posture, picking up the next file.

“student name: Hatsume Mei , support course.”

Chapter Text

Time went by but no letter came. Izuku was sure that he’d have gotten his acceptance letter if he got in. Guess it still wasn’t enough. Having set UA as his only goal, he really didn’t know what he could do next.

What was I even thinking? Me? Going to UA haha,, yea right. I should’ve gone for Shiketsu when I had the chance. Their program wasn’t all that different either but noooo, I had to get it in my head that I would succeed. I should’ve known that the quirkless never succeed, no matter how MUCH I try I always,, I’ll always fall back to where I started.

The never-ending thoughts had taken a toll on him. It was getting better, Izuku knows that. When He was preparing for the exam he’d been in a great headspace, better than he’d been in years. He’d thought that he was getting better,,

So why?

Why

Does

It

Feels

Like

He’s

Falling

I’ve been doing so good? good? Was I? But I created things that could help heroes? That counts as doing good right,, Right? no? I didn’t get accepted. I wasn’t good enough. They probably found me too cocky. Empty words. All empty words. There are people better than me out there. People with great quirks. Better intelligence. You’re nothing, useless. Worse than the insects. But It’s okay. You already knew this didn’t you? Why did I think I could do this? Why can’t I just be normal?  

This is why no one loves you? Even your only friend hates you You should leave. Leave? I could leave, I can do that. Leaving is easy. No one is going to stop me anyway. But I don’t want to leave?

I’ll be good for just a bit longer.           

His chest felt heavy and his limbs felt like lead, dragging them down to the bathroom. The constant rambling in his head never ceased as he looked at his reflection. He didn’t feel like brushing his hair, even brushing his teeth seemed like a task greater than saving the world. He just,,

He just wanted peace. To not exist in the moment for even a second. Stopping the raging thoughts haunting his own mind. To shut his eyes and let all the sounds disappear.

He felt the episode coming near and did everything he could to try and prevent it.

Izuku tried writing down the things he was thankful for, but the page remained empty, He tried praising himself in the mirror, yet  he could only find flaws. He cleaned his room and opened his window and it still felt empty. He went through every web article trying to find a remedy for something yet to come still he didn’t find anything he’d already tried.

So he was left spiralling.

Too tired to get up, but too mad at himself for not achieving anything to let him go to sleep.

Maybe a walk will help.

In the end Izuku only changed out of his night clothes and left the bathroom. If not only to not be stared at by others on the streets. Taking shaking breaths as he locked the front door.

The light breeze dancing through his hair did little to lift his mood. At least he had a breath of fresh air. People around him all looked carefree, talking with friend or window shopping. The thought that they had heroes to protect them locked away their fear. Never once thinking about what would happen if they didn’t get saved.

If they got abandoned by the one hero they admire.

But All Might would never abandon them. These are ‘his people’, all blessed with a wonderful quirk. They are nothing like me, someone who doesn’t contribute to society, a nobody. Hell I couldn’t even pass an entrance exam for high school.

Soon enough Izuku was in a part of town he didn’t recognize. He didn’t know for how long he walked or what way was the one to go back, but he didn’t particularly care at the moment. Standing on a bridge with a view. The water underneath basking in the sunlight, a few ducklings following their mother as the endless sounds of cars passed by.

It was nice.

Leaning on the railing he stared in the open. The voices in the back of his mind getting further away when he felt himself disassociating.  The feeling of being lost was not foreign for him.

The world kept spinning, with or without the green haired boy.

“JUST GET BACK IN THE CAR BITCH!”

It was that sentence that brought him back into reality. The sun touching the horizon, reminding him that time had indeed passed. He turned around.

A girl, maybe 21 years old, was getting grabbed by the wrist by a man definitely double her age. She was screaming. “No! Let go of me!” struggling she lost her balance.

“YOU WERE THE ONE THAT ASKED FOR HELP! NOTHING IN LIFE COMES FOR FREE HONEY!” The man dragged her towards his vehicle while she was still down, scraping her knees in the process.

“NO please,, please just let me go! I can pay you if you want but please let go of me!” she pleaded. She locked eyes with Izuku. “PLEASE HELP ME!”

Great, now I’m involved. What can I even do? Where are those ‘heroes’ when you need them huh? He rolled his eyes at the thought. Stepping forward he spoke towards the older man.

“Listen, this ain’t my problem but it’s quite obvious that she” he pointed at the girl. “doesn’t want to go with you.”

“Listen kid, you know jack shit. This bitch owes me!” the man bites back. His hands still remaining on the girls wrists but at least he stopped dragging her. “So get lost.”

As if I’d do that. The boy tsked, the man glared in response. “Sorry but can’t do. So if you let go of her we can all just go home and pretend this never happened. Sounds good right?” Izuku was mostly buying time, hoping that someone that passed had the braincells to alert the police.

He really hopes so, one look at this situation and you’d know that this isn’t right. you never know, people really don’t like to go out of their way.

“Shut up! I helped this bitch so when I want to grab what I earned! This slut knew what she was doing when she asked me! She has no right to act like this!” he grabbed her hair with his free hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Isn’t that right sweetheart?!”

The girl only sobbed in response, clenching her eyes shut.

“See! She knows what she did!” the man laughed. “these sluts always think they can get away with their hands clean!”

Izuku needed to think. Deescalate, what can I do? Does he have weapons? I didn’t see any. But he might. Violence isn’t an option, especially if I don’t know the opponent. The man is also larger and most likely stronger than me. I’m at an disadvantage. Shit! Did someone alert the police already?

There was no one in sight. For fuck sakes. Of course just my luck,, I’ll just have to hope he doesn’t see me.

Izuku reached for his pocket, not knowing if he was typing in the correct number, he could only hope. For once,, even if it’s All Might, someone,,

The man stood before him quicker than he thought. Grabbing the teens arm and jolting it up. His phone flying out and landing on the floor. Shit!

“Calling the police aren’t we?! You’ve got some nerve!” He grabbed Izuku by the collar and pushed him back, his spine hitting the iron railing. “Fucking noisy shits like you should just mind your own goddamn business!” he rambled, shaking Izuku’s whole body as he was leaning over the railing, aiming to create some distance between him and the man.

The girl stood frozen at what was happening, in shock. Izuku could feel the annoyance build up. He turned as best as he could and shouted at the top of his lungs. “WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING DOING? GET UP AND RUN!”

The girls scrambled and ran as fast as she could with what looked like a sprained ankle after the words hit her. People are so stupid sometimes.

Maybe it was good that Izuku never got a quirk. What kind of hero gets angry at a victim in a traumatic experience? Me. apparently. At least I don’t have to worry about her any longer.

The man realised what was going on and cursed loudly. “SHIT! YOU STUPID BITCH DON’T YOU DARE GET AWAY!” Izuku was already falling when he realised that he got pushed over the edge.

The air knocked out of him as his back made contact with the water with a violent impact.

He felt as if he could not move his arms, the pain from hitting the water never ebbed away. He didn’t know which side was up or down even if he wanted to resurface.

I hope that girl got away.

At least then this wouldn’t be for nothing. Hah, the quirkless died after playing hero, how befitting.

But this is peaceful.

It wasn’t really peaceful, the stabbing pain in his eyes and ears did nothing to distract him from his tortured lungs begging for air.

If only he could take one breath, fill his lungs with the filthy water it would be over, after that fateful breath it would get easier.

But his instincts couldn’t let him. He opened his mouth in a silent scream, he tried to breathe but his body wouldn’t listen.

Stay alive.

But I don’t want to. I’m tired.

No. you’ve got to hold on, you’ve got to stay alive. I know you’re not ready yet.

It’s okay, I’ve accepted it.

You still have to fight.

I can’t, not anymore.

You can.

His mind was foggy and keeping his eyes open became harder to do. Grey blue was the only thing filling his vision, blurred shapes of drifting trash and fish were unrecognizable. His chest was pounding. Begging, no screaming. But he couldn’t do anything about it.

Maybe I’ll sleep for a bit.

With that last thought all fight disappeared from his body. Eyes closing as he felt his lungs accept the water.

“He’s not waking up! He isn’t breathing!”

“Check his pulse!”

“No pulse, begin chest compressions and CPR!”

“Beginning chest compression!”

“It’s not working!”

“Still no pulse!”

“Don’t you dare die on me kid!”

Where am I?

“You’re alright. You’re safe.”

Mmh, I’m tired, everything hurts.

“Try and stay still, okay kid?”

What happened? Where?

Girl,,

Is she safe?

“Everything’s going to be alright, you’ve done good kid.”

His mind wandered off at the distance once again. The world returning to nothingness.

The next time he awoke he was in a semi-familiar environment.  If only his brain could elaborate and name this place, Izuku could be content.

“You’re in the hospital kid.”

Hospital, that was the word I was looking for thank you kind-  he looked over at where the voice came from. “Walmart mothman?”

The man in question snorted. “I still don’t know why you call me that.”

Izuku coughed, pain shooting through his chest. It made his double over, grasping at the hospital gown near his ribs.

Large hands pushed him gently back down. “woah there, you can’t do that.” After making sure Izuku laid down once again he elaborated. “you’ve been in the water for 15minutes and broke a few ribs because of the chest compressions. We lost you a few times on our way here.”

Aizawa looked at the smaller boy. “you gave us quite the scare there.”

Water? When was I- oh. I fell. I- I fell but I died? Did I? I was sure,,

The confusion must have been obvious because Aizawa started explaining. “We got an phone call at the station but when we picked up there was nobody on the other end of the line.” He placed a phone on the little wooden table besides the hospital bed. “apparently it was yours, sadly your screen busted.”

The phone’s screen was a mosaic of broken glass.

“We tried to find the location of the call and gave an order to nearby officers and heroes to check out the scene, which included me.”

Izuku tried to keep up but his mind was scrambled. The events were like a puzzle, he’s lost a few while he forced 2 pieces together that didn’t fit. I’m missing something. Why was I in the water? Why-

Girl.

There was a girl.

His voice broke, nothing much came out besides the one word. “,, girl?”

Aizawa nodded, understanding what he meant. “when I came to the scene there was no one there besides the phone on the ground. A few streets further 2 officers found a young woman being threatened by a man in an alley. We subdued the man and asked the woman for an statement while dressing her wounds.”

The hero swallowed, continuing the story. “She wasn’t in her right mind, understandable of course. She kept telling us about a boy at the bridge. A green haired teenager.” He stopped to look at Izuku, who was deep in thoughts.

Safe.

“That was when we found a red shoe floating on the water and it clicked. It must have come off when you fell. We requested rescue divers and hoped for the best. Luckily, you weren’t caught up in the current and we found you rather quickly.”

Ah, that annoying.

To think I’m only alive because of a single shoe. Why do I feel so disappointed?

Is it because I’m still here?

“When we brought you back on land you weren’t breathing and water had already found its way into your lungs. After checking your pulse and finding none we began CPR and the chest compressions which,,” he dwelled of and vaguely motioned toward Izuku. “resulted in you breaking a few ribs in the process. After 10 minutes your heart started beating on its own again.”

Hehe, so I did die. It was weird to think about. He did die but they brought him back

For what?

His head hurts.

“You kept mumbling about various things. It allowed us to know there wasn’t any severe brain damage. I’ve also called up a friend who will fix you up, that way you won’t have to stay long in that bed.” He grinned a tad. “We both know that you don’t like to be at the hospital for long.”

Izuku couldn’t find it in himself to smile. Normally he wouldn’t mind the man but he wasn’t having the best time right know.

He doesn’t really care. He’s only here for your statement.

“After my friend is here you’re going to feel tired for a bit, but if you can stay up I’d like it if you can tell us what happened on your end.”

I told you.

Now that he knows that you’re quirkless he knows he shouldn’t bother with you any longer than needed. You’re only looked at when they need something from you.

Izuku only nodded.

The kid was quiet. Too quiet.

It was nothing like the first time they were in the hospital. No panic, no anger or playful remarks. The boy,, just laid there, eyes unfocused.

Confusion was common wit near drowning victims. But this didn’t seem like simple confusion. Aizawa couldn’t put his finger on it.

Am I overthinking this? He may just be shocked.

He had all the right to be shocked after such an experience. Firstly witnessing a kidnapping, getting assaulted by a man twice his age and strength and finally, drowning and DYING. The kid died for 10 minutes, maybe even longer since they don’t know exactly when he had a cardiac arrest in the water.

5 minutes without oxygen causes severe brain trauma, only getting worse every minute that gets added. It was a wonder that the boy could function like he is doing now.

Is brain damage causing his silence? Is he unable to speak? No he did speal, although it was only a few words. Still it could be possible. I’ve got to check.

“hey kid, I’m going to need to check up on the officers standing outside alright? I’ll be right back so just relax.”

No response came but he knew that the teenager had heard him.

Now where is Chiyo?

After Walmart mothman left Izuku was once again left with his thoughts.

God must really hate for not even letting me die. Even he doesn’t want some quirkless hero wannabe. Hahaha wow,, this really says it all, doesn’t it? Even the one person that is said to ‘love everyone equally’ doesn’t want me at his doorstep.

Fantastic.

I can’t live but I can’t die either.

Izuku knows he shouldn’t have these thoughts. It’s the first thing people always say to someone depressed or suicidal. “you can’t die! People will miss you!”

Would they? Would there be someone that misses me?

My dad replaced me, I haven’t even seen my mom for the past 3 weeks, let alone spoken to her, My only friend, no, my ex-friend told me to jump off a roof and my greatest inspiration abandoned me when I needed him most,,

I don’t,, I don’t have anyone?

It was hard to believe those words when you didn’t have anyone who would cherish you.

You may not have people that cherish you but you have a goal don’t you?

And I failed before I could start. It was all a silly dream, to think someone like me would be accepted.

As if someone would look at me.

As if they would remember my name.

“Izuku Midoriya, the quirkless hero wannabe that failed at life”

What a title,,

Izuku knows what’s going on, this is another depressive episode, another wave. However he can’t help himself when his thoughts get the best of him. Everything felt too grand, too small, too full and yet too empty all at the same time.

It appeared like his body had yet to be recovered from the water. Drifting in an ocean of blues and greys, no end in sight. Just him and his thoughts.

When will he resurface?

The brain scans told them that there wasn’t severe trauma in the brain, at least none that couldn’t be fixed. Aizawa had been waiting for recovery girl to arrive at the hospital. In normal circumstances he’d never even think about calling his friend up.

There just was something about that kid, it wasn’t like him to get hung up on someone, let alone some stranger that he’d only met a total of three times. Sure, two out of the three encounters the boy almost was sent to the heavens, but that shouldn’t impact him.

He's a hero goddammit, he deals with death on a regular basis. So why?

What is this kid to him?

The only thing he was sure of is that he wanted the kid to be safe. If that meant that he’d have to ask a favour of Chiyo, so be it. She is the only one that could fix him quickly without having to worry about gigantic repercussions on Izuku’s part. 

Midoriya doesn’t seem to like hospitals.

“Aizawa. May I know the reason as to why I received your call?” a short elderly woman with grey hair neatly tied into a bun walked up to him. She squinted her eyes for a bit. “you aren’t hurt, are you?”

Both heroes started walking, recovery girl following Aizawa’s lead. “no, I’ve called you here to see if you could heal this kid that got an accident earlier today.”

Chiyo raised her eyebrow, sceptical. “That’s unlike you. What happened to the boy?”

The man sighed, knowing that it would be best to tell the truth if he wanted her help. “He got pushed off a bridge. The impact with the water resulted in injury to the spinal cord but without loss of muscle function and sensation, bowel movement, etc. he had water in his lungs and had a cardiac arrest for a total of two times both lasting between 5 and 10 minutes. We had to do chest compressions, and as you know those result in bruised and broken ribs. There is also minor brain damage but nothing lasting,  luckily.”

The woman stopped walking and looked up in pure horror. “I hope you’re joking. My quirk can only do so much. And you’re telling me that this is a minor?”

Aizawa closed his eyes, inhaling deeply before speaking. “I know, it’s only,, he doesn’t like hospitals so I want him to be able to return as fast as possible.” He pinched his nose. “for a 15 year old he has some rotten luck, let me tell you that.”

“It seems like you know this kid?”

“No,” He shook his head. “at least not on a personal level.”

“REINFORCEMENT REQUIRED HERE!”

Both the heroes looked up when a few male nurses jogged passed them entering a room.

Isn’t that?

Midoriya.

The womand stared at his face and deadpanned. “Let me guess, that’s your kid in that room?”

He didn’t respond to the older woman, jogging towards the room.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Izuku sat cornered in the room holding up the small table as if it was a shield. Holding up was a big word. His broken ribs made it hard for him to lift things up. His pupils were blown, frantically looking around at the nurses in his room trying to approach him.

“STAY BACK!” he tried to push away a nearby nurse with one of the legs on the table but the movement made him hiss in pain, clutching his side.

“What is going on here?!”

One of the nurses turned to answer, clearly shaken up from the freak-out. “I- I didn’t do anything! It was time for him to take his painkillers. But then- but when he didn’t respond I touched his shoulder- I didn’t hurt him! I swear! But then- but then he started screaming and he fell of the bed! I tried to help but he wouldn’t let me!”

“Alright,,” he glanced over at the others and raised his voice slightly. “Everyone get out. I’ll handle it from here.” The nurses gazed at each other, seeking approval in each other’s expression. A few seconds later they left the room.

Aizawa now turned fully facing the panicked boy. Making himself look as less threatening and tall he could he slowly stepped forward. The boy only gripping the table with as much strength he could muster.

“GET AWAY! Don’t come- don’t come any closer!” There was nothing in his face that told Aizawa that the boy really was present. There was no recognition in the green eyes.

“shhhhht, It’s okay. It’s just me kid.” Another step forward. “Only me and you. And I’m not going to hurt you.” He spoke softly.

The situation made him think of when he adopted his first rescue cat. She was an beautiful grey-haired cat but had been beaten by previous owners, making her overly cautious around humans. It took him 3 days until he could be in the same room as her.

“You’re alright Izuku, there is nothing that can hurt you.” Another step. “I just want to help.” 5 steps to go. “Would you let me help?”

The boy thrusted the table toward the man, an attempt to push him further away. Nevertheless, the weight of the table proved to much for Izuku in his current state. The table fell out of his grip as he clutched at his sides in pain, cursing.

Aizawa took use of the situation and closed the distance. His hands cupping the boy’s face. “Hey- hey Izuku, I need you to calm down for me, can you do that?” the boys seemed to look straight through him. “I’m not going anywhere, you’re not alone okay?”

Placing himself besides the boy he pushed the table a bit further away with his foot.  Better safe than sorry. We don’t need him injuring himself any further. He rubbed small circles on the boy’s back. “I’m right here.” The boy’s frantic movement stilled as time went by.

That’s right, calm down, just like that.

“,,why?” the teen’s voice was hoarse from screaming.

Aizawa only hummed in response.

“Why do you even care?”

Neither of them looked at each other, both staring straight at the wall. But Aizawa never stopped rubbing his back. “What do you mean by that?” a beat later. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”

The room was silent. The boy mumbling to himself before speaking more clearly. “Because I’m a screwup?”

This did make the hero look at the kid. His back hunched as he bit on his nail, still staring forward through his curly bangs.

He furrowed his brows. “who said that?”

“who doesn’t?” Izuku responded in a tiny voice.

Now Aizawa was the one being silent. Why in the world would he be a screwup?

“Hell, I even failed the entrance exam after talking big.”

The man didn’t like the tone in which the boy was talking. Self-hatred. His brain supplied. He recognizes that tone all too well, unfortunately. It was a few seconds later when I realised what the boy had said. Failed the entrance exam? There is no way-

He stopped caressing the boy’s back, holding the teen’s shoulders instead and making him turn. “now, look at me kid.” Midoriya tilted his head a tiny bit, the green irises barely visible behind his curls. “what do you mean failing?” Aizawa asked.

The boy furrowed his eyes, glaring at the older man. Aizawa didn’t know why. He was there when they selected their future students.

“Is this fun for you?” the boy’s voice was even. “Are you trying to rub it in?”

“It’s just like I said, I failed the fucking exam! There was no-“ Izuku tried to slap the man’s hand away from his shoulder, pain shooting through his body. “Fucking hell!” he gasped. “there was no fucking  letter okay?” he said between taking heavy breaths. His ribs felt like they were on fire.

Aizawa tried to support the boy’s weight as he doubled over again, hoping he prevented the boy from bruising his ribs even more. “I don’t know what you’re talking about kid. I was there when we selected the students. You passed.”

I passed? But how? There was no letter? I checked every morning? I even asked the mailman if he had a letter with my name on it?

“but there- there was no letter,,” he hated how unsure and defeated he sounded. The black haired hero always caught him at his weakest. Or maybe I never was strong in the first place.

Izuku was still doubled over but the large warm hand returned to his back, drawing small circles in an effort to comfort him. He didn’t want to admit it but it felt nice.

Safe.

“I don’t know what happened at the post office, but I was there when Nedzu stamped them. You succeeded.” A low chuckle. “with flying colour may I add. Your little performance was quite memorable.”

The small giggle that left Izuku sounded childlike. “yeah? Did you like the fire bit? I practiced that for days.” his voice was still tiny but no longer void of emotion.

“definitely.” The hero agreed. “Now what do you say, you want to get your ribs fixed?”

Recovery girl entered the room after Aizawa called out for her. The boy was once again in bed, already looking exhausted. It made her feel a little bit guilty when she thought about how tired he was going to feel after she’d done her job. She briefly explained him how her quirk works and what the effects he’ll feel afterwards. The boy consented and she gave him a smooch. Soon after that the boy fell asleep.

“He’s asleep right now, but he’ll be fine. The ribs are healed nicely, but they will ache for a while.” She informed Shouta. “Let’s hope he stays out of trouble as of now.” She fixed her glasses and walked away.

Aizawa called out. “thanks.” To which the woman only nodded. “he looks like a good kid, I get why you’re attached.”

Attached? Am I? Aizawa thought about all his previous encounters with the kid. Maybe a little bit.

He went back into the hospital room where he saw the teenager sleeping soundly. Walking over to the chair he grabbed his phone and searched for the familiar contact.

To: Nedzu     9.38pm

Can you send me the list of accepted students for the support course?

To: Aizawa     9.38pm

My, my, why should I?

To: Nedzu    9.38pm

Can you send it or not?

To: Aizawa     9.39pm

Here you go.

Student files support course.pdf

Sure enough, after looking into the file Izuku’s name was the first one in line.

Student: Izuku Midoriya

Quirk: none

Notes: passed the written exam with 87%.

            Student seems bright/ great attitude.

           Homemade support items were practical and creative.

He’ll just have to show Midoriya this file to clear up any tiny bit of doubt the boy has left.

Chapter Text

Aizawa was asleep in the chair when someone showed up.

“My moon, my stars that lightens my path, my one and only beloved-“

Aizawa groaned, having gotten used to waking up like this. “can we please NOT do this in public zashi?” the other man, just chuckled. “You know you like it.” He gave him a peck on the cheek. “I’ve got coffee by the way.”

Now that was something Shouta would open his eyes for. Reaching out for it at the same time as his husband pulled the coffee out of reach. Oh?

“you’ve got to say the magic word if you want your death drink.” He mused.

The black haired man just glared at his husband. I really do need that coffee,, He sighed, declaring his defeat. “Can I please have my coffee?” he grumbled.

Hizashi kept staring at him with big eyes, his whole demeanour screaming ‘I’m still waiting.’

“,, sweetheart.” It pained him physical to say those corny pet names out loud. But his husband always insisted on it.

He received his coffee along with a boop on the nose by the other man. “see? That wasn’t too hard now was it?”

Maybe for you.

The two of them had a healthy relationship. Sure they were polar opposites but that didn’t stop them. Where one lacked, the other one would come in and compensate for it. Hizashi Yamada had always been a touchy and a very open person as to where Shouta Aizawa was more reserved and showed his affection through actions rather than through words. He’d never been good with words.

In the beginning it was hard to make it work, lack of communication caused conflict. But after their friend Nemuri had pushed them both to just “Talk with each other!” things were starting to look better. The main problem being the difference in love language. After explaining how they personally expressed their love they could come up with boundaries and things that would work for both of them.

One of those was pet names.

His husband loved them, the cornier the better and had asked Aizawa if he could use one once in a while.

One became 13 in one sentence throughout the years,,

Hizashi also asked Aizawa to give him a pet name. They were still testing which one would work but they were getting there. The names never quite fitted, or tasted good on the tongue.

It’s a small price to pay to so him smile.

The man drinks his coffee, humming as the bitter taste lingered on his tongue. He looked up at the blonde. “why are you here?” he asked. He shouldn’t have been in the area around this time? “not that I mind you being here.”

He swore that Yamada’s eyes sparkled for a second. “I was curious which kid had stolen my husband.” He grinned.

Am I really that bad? First Chiyo, now my own husband? Since when did I became an open book?

Yamada didn’t wait for his reply and walked over to the kid, stopping at his bedside. His expression saying enough. Here we go.

“No we can’t keep him.” Aizawa deadpanned before he’s husband could speak. “He’s not some stray cat that we can pick up and bring home with us.”

His husband looked offended. “How dare you! Look how adorable he is!” he motioned wildly at the sleeping teen.

Adorable? That wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe him.

The boy was shorter than others his age, but he had some serious muscle to him. The large scars on his chest and on his right wrist weren’t something you’d see on a child. And his eyes,, the boy’s eyes did not hold the same innocence he was used to seeing in his students. They were dulled, only lighting up when he was talking about his passions.

Like at the entrance exam,, the boy was radiating sunshine.

The memory made him smile.

“It still doesn’t change anything. He has a mother you know?”

Hizashi did nothing but glare at his husband before a grin was plastered on his face.

“we can kidnap him?” it was a suggestion. Not one that would be approved by their agency, but still an option.

“aren’t you guys the heroes here?” a third voice entered the conversation. Both men snapping their head at the person in bed, who sat there rubbing his eyes.

Aizawa switched quickly between his husband’s face and Izuku. “what did you- how long were you awake for?” he tried to sound normal. He failed.

Izuku yawned, ruffling his hair as he spoke. “since the stray cat part?” He glanced up at the blonde man. “soooo, can I assume this is your boyfriend?”

Oh no,, what have I done? Aizawa kicked himself mentally. He’s never going to hear the end of this.

“OMG!” His husband turned to him, fully excited. “you’ve talked about me?!” he wiped away a non-existent tear as he turned back at the teen. “He’s always too embarrassed to introduce me as his husband.”

“oh really?” the shit eating grin was back.

Aizawa know that grin. Oh no. don’t you dare tell him.

“Midoriy-“ his words got cut off by the teen “He told me you were VERY pretty.” The boy was looking from the corners of his eyes the man as he tried to hide himself in the chair, emphasizing the words very pretty. too late.

Yamada accidently activated his quirk. “HE DID?!” both other men quickly tried to shield their ears. Some nurse popped her head inside, shooting the blonde a dirty look. “,, sorry”

The blonde hunched over and whispered in the teen’s ear. “Did he really?” in response Izuku only nodded, grin still plastered on his face.

The man giggled as he went over to Shouta. His face obscured by the black mop of hair, Hizashi kissed what he thought was the man’s forehead. “I think you’re also very pretty.” In a soft voice, that was hardly ever used by the man. He brushed the hair out of his face, revealing an red-faced Aizawa underneath. “Yeah, yeah” He said as he looked away from the standing man.

Izuku watched the scene before him. Not In a million years had he thought that that cryptic of a man would date, let alone marry, some as energetic and loud as the blonde. He had to admit it was a cute exchange. And if he could embarrass the man in the process? Even better.

He's not jealous. He swears.

His ribs still ached, like muscles the day after a serious workout. Small motions still making him wince as he grabbed his phone. Watching his lock screen through the broken glass he saw that there were no notifications.

Hah, who would even text me?

It must mean that the hospital once again could not reach his mother to notify her of the situation. Izuku was almost glad. Now if I could prevent them-

“whatcha thinking about there bud?”

The boy’s head popped up, blinking rapidly. “oh! Uhm nothing really,,” he scratched his cheek. “just wondering if I could go to the bathroom?” great safe Midoriya. They don’t need to know.

The two adults processed the words and Yamada reacted first. “Of course you can! Do we need to get someone? Or,,” he looked at his husband, to which he only got a shrug. “you can go by yourself.” it sounded more like a question.

He must not know the severity of his injury. Not that there were any, besides bruises and slight muscle pain after that granny helping him with her quirk. He shook his head, “I can go by myself.” He assured them.

As he stood upright he had to wait a minute before his vision cleared up. I really need to fix my blood pressure. Can’t go stumbling after lying down for a while, like a loser. The adults must have noticed his hesitance as Aizawa asked. “everything okay?”

Izuku didn’t look at them, keeping his eyes trained on a certain point on the floor to avoid the dizziness that would come with moving, he simply waved his hand. “Just my blood pressure acting up.”  His vision was clear and he started walking. “I’m used to it.”

When Izuku returned from the bathroom the other two were chatting between themselves in hushed tones. Izuku didn’t want to come across as if he was listening in and announced his presence with a little cough.

“Little listener! You’re back!” I only went to the bathroom though? What do you think would happen?

“I’ve got to show you something kid.” Izuku cocked his head in question, but stepped to the older males nonetheless. Show me what?

“You remember our little conversation?” Aizawa asked him. Conversation? “About the entrance exam?”

Right. We did talk about that. What did he say again? Izuku searched his memory but no further information could be recollected. Not surprising, looking back at his metal state at that moment.

Aizawa motioned him to come closer. Izuku did. Then the man turned his phone so Izuku could see. “I’ve messaged Nedzu, you remember him right? And I asked him to send the files of the people who were accepted.” The man blindly pointed to the screen. “and as you can see, your name is on that list.”

Izuku squinted his eyes, focusing on the small letters. I was accepted? I was accepted! “I did it!” he laughed, he couldn’t believe it. He turned to look at the man’s face. “I got in!” I could hug- you know what? Izuku flew forward, hugging the man who froze up at the sudden contact, awkwardly patting the smaller boy on the back. “Thank you for showing me.”

“no problem kid.”

Yamada was a goner. He could not believe his eyes as he watched the boy practically jump into his husbands arms. And Aizawa hugged back?! Since when?! The man had brought up children in the past but his husband never seemed comfortable with the idea.

“Zashi you know this, we don’t have time for that. Look at you. You’ve got three jobs how are we going to be a stable home for someone?” his husband said that evening. “what are we going to do when one of us dies while on a mission? We can’t take the risk, I’m sorry.”

“But we could adopt someone older! It doesn’t have to be a baby. Then- then he won’t mind it if he has to be home alone once in a while, I could change shifts so that there would be someone home at all times!” he knows that Shouta had a point. With two proheroes as parental figures the kid would never have a normal life, even if they stayed out of the limelight. Irregular hours and emergency calls are part of their lives. Even if the kid was old enough to stay at home in those situations, would they be okay with it? Would they feel loved enough when their parents left them alone all the time for work?

“I love you, but I don’t think this is the time.” Shouta apologized, hugging the blonde in an attempt for comfort.

“I know,, but I can’t help it,,” Hizashi buried his face in his lovers chest. The man softly brushing his fingers through the strands of hair.

“It’s okay, you mean well.”

Even as a teacher for many years, this was the first time his husband was this affectionate with a child. comforting him with actions instead of his usual brutally honest words. Something he only does with Hizashi when they were alone. He even went out of his way to ask Nedzu a favour.

The thought popped in his head before he realised. Is he warming up to the idea for kids? He wanted to punch himself in the face for even thinking that. No. His stance wouldn’t have changed, he almost never does. But what about this kid? Is It because he doesn’t have any responsibility over this kid?

The man decided that he would take this train of thought back to where it came from and lock it behind bars.

Let’s not give ourself false hope.

The hospital visit came to an end and Izuku was free to leave. Both heroes insisted on dropping him of with their car. Izuku had refused at first, only then realising that this wasn’t the same hospital he was at the last time. Did I walk that far? He then accepted the offer of the heroes.

Aizawa remembering his home address started driving. While Yamada was taking it upon himself to demand full dictatorship over the music, screaming along with the songs playing on the radio. The teenager found it in himself that he didn’t mind the loud man.

After a good 15 minutes the blonde turned down the volume and changed his position, facing the teenager. “hey little listener, can I ask you something?”

Izuku just shrugged, not knowing why he should refuse. “sure. Watcha wanna know?”

The man looked like he was struggling to find the right words. Izuku waited patiently while looking at the passing houses. “Well I was wondering, You were in the hospital for a couple of hours, but we never heard from your legal guardian.”

Aizawa almost crashed the car. Looking at the passenger seat with big eyes.  What are you doing!? His husband raised his shoulders returning the same big eyes at him. What! Isn’t it weird that we haven’t seen anyone?

“oh that.” Izuku didn’t take his eyes off the window. “Don’t worry about it. She’s somewhere.” He paused at the last words. He didn’t sound down, rather detached from the whole situation. The way he said it was too casual.

The heroes both thought same. That’s not something you should say that casually, definitely not when you’re only 15. Yamada decided to pry a bit further. “Do you have an idea where she might be?” trying to sound the least concerned he could be. Don’t imply anything, he might close up.

The boy hummed. “maybe with a friend?” he didn’t seem to pick up on what he was implying or the quickly rising concern both heroes felt.

So he doesn’t. Why is he so calm about it? I freak out the minute I don’t know where Shouta is in our own apartment. This isn’t normal. Does this happen often?

Yamada didn’t want to impose any further and changed the topic, the tense mood in the car only felt by the older men disappearing. He didn’t want to touch a nerve he shouldn’t.

The rest of the carried went by smoothly. Izuku staring out the window and the heroes chatting among themselves.

They arrived and Izuku hopped out the car, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Aizawa and Yamada following after, watching the kid walk to his front door.

“Wait! Kid!” Izuku turned back and watched as the hero jogged up to him. “You forgot to take back your phone.” He handed the broken phone over.

“oh, I didn’t realise.”

“I’ve also saved my number on it, next time you’re in trouble just speed dial me, alright?” he ruffled trough the teen’s hair. More out of habit with his cats than a conscious decision. “A better thought. Just don’t get into trouble.”

Izuku face was blank, processing the words. “as if I could control that.” He joked. “but thanks.”

When Izuku walked in he looked back for a sec, a bit surprised to see the men still standing there. He shouted. “See ya in school, Walmart mothman!” grinning from ear to ear. “You too Present Mic!” then the door closed.

The blonde seemed flabbergasted at his hero name being shouted while in his civilian clothes. The other man just chuckled to himself, not shocked at the least.

Yamada’s mouth was agape as he switched between pointing at the closed door and Aizawa. “You! He! You told him?!” his husband shook his head, amused by the reaction. “He knew?! THE WHOLE TIME???”

“Don’t look at me like that, I don’t know how he does it.” Shouta walked back to the driver seat. “Come on, or I’ll leave without you.”

“You don’t dare!”

I got in. I still can’t believe it. I did it! They choose me out of hundreds! Me! I have so much to prepare for now! Oh god! I have to buy my uniform! And new tools! I can’t go to school with these rusty old things that My dad left here!

So much to do.

Izuku’s mind was racing, as he went to grab one thing he already had too many things in hand. His brain not able to keep up. On his way to his bedroom he had to make at least 7 more stops to drop off or pick up an item of which he thought at that moment.

The mess that he called his home didn’t make it easy. In every corner there was at least one object that could be of use or needed to be put away after previous projects.

I’m already cleaning up, might as well go all the way know I have time. It might help me organize my thoughts. A clear mind is best.

So the teen did exactly that. He picked up random empty glasses and coffee mugs his mother scattered around the house. Following by sorting all the letters, advertisements and bills, throwing all the things away that didn’t look important. Maybe now she’ll at least look at them?

He also looked for his letter again, if maybe he didn’t see him in the pile but to no result. He then scraped together all the loose tobacco left on the coffee table in the living room, vacuuming the parts he could. And lastly, the dishes, which he really didn’t like doing. Empty plates, sometimes half-empty were messily stacked, some from even 3 days old with flies covering what was left of the meal.

They had a dishwasher. Keyword: had. It broke a year ago when his mother had gotten angry and kicked it.

 He doesn’t remember how old he was when he started doing things like this. He only knew that it was long enough for him to feel like it as natural. Izuku knows that his homelife isn’t the norm but what can he do? There hasn’t been some book on ‘how to live’ as far as he knows. For all that the boy knows, this was completely normal.

It was exhausting sure. He was basically playing mother for his actual mother. Juggling schoolwork, housework, cooking and looking after his mother.

Checking if she woke up in time for work, asking if she had everything with her, sorting the bills, even paying some, going out for grocery shopping, being there for her 24/7 when she needed someone to vent to, staying up until 3am until he heard the front door open because at least now he knows that she got home safe.

He was never sure when or if his mother would come back home.

Every time she was upset or when Izuku couldn’t do something, she’d go on a tantrum. She used her quirk to throw small thing around, closed doors with such force that one time, the doorhandle broke. She would shout, threating to kill herself because quote on quote “everyone is against her, so why not.”

Izuku knew that they were empty words, but he couldn’t help the anxiety whenever she left the house angry with those words as her last.

How did he know? His mother never believed in depression. Saying that people were making it up, ‘taking the easy way out while others at least try’. It was a selfish thing to do she said. So when Izuku felt himself drowning in suicidal thoughts, he never opened up towards his mother by asking for a therapist, he bottled everything up. It’s not real, others at least try. I can try. I think.

It was very much real.

“Izuku?” the sound of the front door being opened had him turning. The house was sort of acceptable. He could at least walk around without having to feel his socks stick to the floor. Right now he was jotting down all the supplies he’d need for school.

“Hi mom!” Smile.

The woman dropped her bag with a thud near the door. Her hands already in her hair, struggling to comb the baby hairs out of her face. She closed her eyes and huffed as she let herself fall on the sofa, graceless.

It were those little things that told Izuku what he needed to know. “Bad day?” he asked as if he didn’t already know the answer. Don’t ask for anything. Don’t push, do not bring up needing new school supplies.

“You don’t even know how hard it is for me!” she whined. “Everyone is against me!” she kicked of her shoes, not even looking where they landed. Midoriya did, as he also saw the dirt coming of them with the impact. There goes my clean floor. No need to cry over spilled milk he’ll clean again tomorrow.

He felt his mother grab him painfully by the shoulder, facing her now. “You know what they did to me?!” her face was slowly getting red in anger. “This bitch of a Margret thinks she’s better than me! But I’ve worked here as a nurse for 15 years! She only fresh out of nursing school, acting like little miss know-it-all!” she air quoted the last part. “Of course she did everything wrong which resulted in me having to do double work. How can they even expect from me to run around and clean op her fucking mess?!”

Izuku only nodded. Seeming like he was listening. “AND THEN THEY GOT THE NERVE TO SEND ME TO THE HEAD OF HOSPITAL WHEN I SAID I GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO!” she was at the screaming part now. Izuku got used to it, but he still involuntary flinched when her voice got real loud. “YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID TO ME??”

Oh I have to respond.

“What did he say?” He asked back at her, his voice laced with fake care.

“Apparently I’m an irregular worker since I’m always late for work.” She was badly imitating a deeper voice with a thick accent. “I can’t just decide to not do something cause I’m expected to listen to orders of the people above me. BUT I WON’T! I’M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO SOME BITCH 10 YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME THAT BARELY KNOWS WHAT SHE’S DOING!”

I’m sure that if she is your boss, she is more than qualified to do that job, even if she is younger. Izuku couldn’t say that. He didn’t want to anger his mother even more. So he only hummed, letting her know he was still with her. Her rock.

“AND NOW THEY WANT ME TO DO A DRUGTEST BECAUSE MICHAEL COULDN’T KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT AND BLABBERED ABOUT MY RED EYES! I TOLD HIM THAT IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE OF ALLERGIES. HE’S TRYING TO FUCK ME OVER BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO COVER HIS SHIFT!”

Also lies. He didn’t know about the Michael bit, but he does know that his mother abuses weed and various other and harder drugs. He didn’t even know if she was even trying to hide it from him, seeing as he could find her stash on the counter in the kitchen.

“So I had to pee in a plastic cup but I told them I couldn’t and would bring it with me tomorrow!” she sniffled. Ah, the crying. What did I expect? “So now I’m fucked cause my sleeping pills will fuck up the results, telling them I tested positive. WHICH ISN’T!!!!”

I smelled the air when I came home yesterday, sleeping pills aren’t the only thing that will show on those test results.  

“But- but you can help me right?” I don’t like where this is going,, “We’re the same blood, so your test results are basically mine.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes, those eyes only showed greed. “So could you be a dear? And maybe take this cup with you when you go to the bathroom?” she placed her hand on his thigh, softly caressing it. Izuku felt the shivers go up his spine.

“You don’t have any medication that could have an effect on the results, you’d really be helping me.” Sickly sweet voice like honey, the words sticked to him. He felt like he needed a shower to get rid of those. “if you do this for me, I can buy you a little present. Anything you want.”

New tools. Should I? It would safe up money,, what would happen if they find out? Will I get in trouble? I don’t want to get in trouble, I don’t want something like that on my record! UA looks into everyone’s records, I can’t be expelled before school even begins. But,,

She’s my mother.

His mind and morals were playing tug-of-war. As her son, he should help her. No matter what the outcome is, she is the only one who stayed. He can’t afford to lose her. Maybe she’ll like me more if I did this for her. He wanted her affection. He wanted to feel the warmth he felt when he was 4 years old, playing hide and seek with his mother.

But on the other side, he’s going to a hero school, maybe not to be a ‘real’ hero. He can’t afford to lose this chance he’s given. It’s illegal to fake an obligatory drug test. He’ll be expelled. He might even get in trouble with the police station. He’d- Eraserhead. He’d disappoint him. I don’t want to be a disappointment?

“yeah, sure mom.”

Happy with his response, Inko walked to the door of her room. “You’ll wake me up when it’s dinnertime right?” it wasn’t a question or suggestion. And while she maybe meant to imply to wake her up so she could make dinner, that isn’t how it goes. Still, Izuku smiled and nodded. “Will do mom, 6pm right?”

“You know it.”

Time rolled by and it was 6pm, Midoriya knocked on the door. “Mom? It’s time to wake up.” Another knock. “it’s 6.” There was no sound from the other side. He can’t open the door since his mother always locked it from the inside.

He doesn’t know why he even tries.

As usual, Izuku walked back to the kitchen, tying the apron he got her a few years back and began cooking by himself, softy singing a song he’d heard Present Mic singing earlier that day.

“Mom? Are you still asleep?” he knocked again. “I’ve made dinner.”

Still no reaction.

“I’ll just leave it in the fridge.”

That night, just like any other night, Izuku sat alone at the table. Surrounded by empty chairs and too many thoughts. He suddenly didn’t feel as hungry.

She didn’t even noticed I cleaned,,

Izuku just wants to be noticed, to be loved.

Is that too much to ask for?

Chapter Text

School started tomorrow and Izuku was a nervous wreck. Normally, he’d be packed a month before school started, but it was hard calculating what you needed to bring if you had no idea what you’ll need. On the website was no other information that he’d already knew, mostly talking praise for those who passed the exam, students that will make their debut this year into hero society and,, All Might becoming one of the staff members.

He tried to look at the positive side of things. It could be worse, he could’ve become my teacher instead of the heroics class. God that would have sucked. I should be able to just avoid him. It’s not like he is a full time staff member. He can deal with that much.

The game of cat and mouse was something he was familiar with anyway. That made him think. I haven’t heard or seen Bakugou since the rooftop bit. I thought that he’d at least would’ve come at my door to scream at me for ‘trying to ruin his future career as the new number one hero’. But he never came. Heh, If he wanted to say anything he would’ve done so by now.

His mother was also someone he hasn’t seen for the past week. Walking around the house like he could step on glass any moment, he tried to live like the dead. She wouldn’t come out of her room, but sometimes, around 4am, he’d hear the sound of her door unlocking and the following morning he'd see her traces around the house like a dirty plate or moving objects.

Izuku knows the cycle, had seen it happen before. The slump in energy as she locks herself up in her room, not coming out for days on end, not even to eat. Those where the times you could really tell that his mother was being hold together by lose strings, ready to snap and fall apart, leaving nothing more than a mess on the floor.

That’s why he avoids her on those days, one wrong move and everything would burn. Appeasing to her while she would never notice. Izuku would still check up on her every once in a while. Sitting in front of the locked door, ear leaning onto the wood. Trying to find a sound that implied that she was indeed just sleeping the world away. And growing restless when the only thing he’d hear was silence on the other end. Is she okay?

No it’s okay, she’s just sleeping. But- who knows, I haven’t heard her in two days. Is she really sleeping? No it has been too long without a sound. What if she is hurt? What if she died? Did she overdose? Did she really kill herself after saying it all those times? No. she wouldn’t do that. Mother isn’t like that. She wouldn’t, unless she can drag people with her. She’s alright. Just sleeping,, right?

I’m going to check.

He walked towards her door and strained his ears. It was strange. He held no real affection towards his mother, not like you’d see on tv. There was no love or affection at least no real love, no friendly hugs or words of encouragement. But her lack of presence in the house made him feel uneasy and worried.

Was it because he didn’t know any better?

Was it because his mother was the only one in his life the close to him?

What would happen to me?

There was still no sound. It had been over two days now. Not the longest she had gone without leaving her room, but that didn’t matter to Izuku, he needed to silence the doubt building up in his head. He tried to turn the doorknob.

Locked.

As always.

It did not help his anxiety. He tried knocking again. “Mom?”

He turned back, walking back to his own room. Izuku felt defeated, no matter what he did, there never was a response even if she was awake and could hear him. Dwelling on it will only hurt his case more. He has better things to do.

I’ll check if I got everything packed for tomorrow.

Again.

Hours passed and it was now evening. As the last bit of light in the sky disappeared for the day, Izuku looked at the clock. Almost 8pm,, damn. Maybe I should start making dinner? Keeping track of time was never his strong suit. He went over to the kitchen to look what he could make.

His mother seemed to have other plans as she slammed the door open to the living room. Izuku’s head turned fast, his whole body flinching as the door made impact with the wall.

“NOW THEY HAVE GONE TOO FAR!” she was seething. Holding up her phone she approached him. Izuku had to stop himself from cowering back as she came a bit too close.

“what happened?” he asked innocently, good. Just be a good son, have compassion. She’ll calm down soon enough. When a phone was pushed into his face, Izuku pulled away slightly. Before his eyes could adjust and process what was on the screen, his mother had already thrown her phone away somewhere in the room.

“THEY ARE SAYING THAT MY TEST RESULT HAS COME BACK POSITIVE AND NOW THEY HAVE TO RESTART THE WHOLE FUCKING THING!”

Inko’s workplace had the rule that if you got suspected of drug abuse you’d have to get tested three times, if one of the tests came back positive, the higherups get to decide whether or not they decide to take action or just restart the testing. Izuku did help his mom with the first two samples, earning himself some tools for school. The last test would be an unexpected one so Inko had tried to stay clean since Izuku couldn’t help her with that one.

Apparently it still hadn’t left her system when she got tested.

Izuku’s mind was running a hundred miles per hour. What can I say? What will appease her? I- I have to say something- anything? What can I? sympathy would only make her angrier. Silence would make it seem like he didn’t care.

He didn’t. Not really. It was one of the many things that destroyed what he could call a family, what was left of it. Maybe it’s good she got caught.

Wow, you’re such a bad son. You want your mother to lose her job? The little voice in the back of his head haunted. He did always entertain the idea. Maybe things would return to normal. She wouldn’t lock herself up in her room, no heavy mood swings when the high wore off.

Too lost in his own head, his mother screaming stopped suddenly. Her face morphing into one of a caring mother. At least that was what she must think it looked like. The large smile looked more like the creepy smile of a Cheshire cat, too much teeth to look loving.

“Izuku, dear.” He didn’t like where this was going.

In a tiny voice he almost whispered. “yes?” appease her. His mother might be smaller than him but in times like this he still felt like he was the height of her thighs.

“I need you to go to my work tomorrow. You’ll hide in the bathroom until I give you the little cup. You know the rest right?” unlike her calm voice her whole body was fuming and tense. Her eyes never leaving his and Izuku had trouble finding his voice. “mama needs you to help her out.”

You can’t, school starts. you’re not going to ditch the first day are you crazy?! if you go there you could get caught by someone. They’ll know.

But I need to help? She needs me! People never need me? She’s my mother. I have to! But- I don’t want to ditch school. They are going to ask questions, everyone will look weirdly at me,,

“,, I have school.” He whispered.

“what did you say sweetie? You need to speak up.”

Izuku swallowed, his words stuck in his throat. He knows that this isn’t the right answer. But he can’t risk it, not this. “I can’t. school starts tomorrow.” He looked down at his feet, not daring to look how that smile changed into something horrific.

The silence was deafening.

He knows that his mother is still there, in front of him, unmoved. He has yet to hear her move.

“oh.” Her voice was void. “so you won’t help me.” Izuku felt as if someone was standing on his chest, breathing got hard. Stay calm. She’s angry. Of course she would be. You denied her. You never do. You’re a good boy, always saying yes. But now you didn’t. you’re an awful person.

You’re so selfish.

He didn’t know from where she got it, but the next thing he knew her mother threw a glass on the ground. Glass flying everywhere. She didn’t stop there. Her next destination was the kitchen table. Not that they used it as such, too much trash, papers and other stuff made them unable to eat there. Her arms reached out to every little thing she could get her hands on, swiping it of the table. a cacophony of sounds filling the room as Izuku watched his mothers with wide eyes and open mouth.

“IT’S ALWAYS THE SAME WITH YOU! YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING FOR ME! I NEVER WANTED A CHILD BUT YOU’RE STILL HERE! I DID MY BEST AND WHAT DO I GET? AN UNGRATEFUL SELFISH CHILD! I NEVER WANTED YOU! I COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH?! I COULD HAVE GONE ON MORE TRIPS, I LOST MY BODY FOR YOU! I HAD TO GIVE UP SO MUCH FOR YOU! YOU OWE ME! YOU WERE A MISTAKE AND I STILL CARED FOR YOU? BUT THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!” She was hysterical. She pointed at him, her chubby fingers shacking.

“BECAUSE YOU WERE BORN EVERYONE LEFT ME! I ASK ONE SIMPLE THING AND YOU CAN’T EVEN FUCKING HELP ME OUT!  HISASHI LEFT ME BECAUSE YOU ARE USELESS, HE LEFT ME IN THE DIRTY OLD HOME TO ROT AWAY FOR ANOTHER WOMAN! IT’S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT! YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN BORN! YOU SHOULD JUST LEAVE! AT LEAST THEN I CAN FINALLY LIVE THE LIFE I WANTED!” She walked away, every footstep she makes Izuku wanted to hide.

She’s coming closer, hide. What am I going to do. What can I do? She’s furious!

Inko flew right past him, breathing heavily, her quirk retrieved the car keys that were left on a shelf. Izuku doesn’t know why, but his feet moved to follow her before he could process what he was doing.

Inko opened the door and turned back to him. Fire in her eyes and her voice low, it was the type of anger that felt cold. “I’m going out.” She slammed the door shut, the whole house seemed to move with the impact. From behind the door he could hear his mother shout one last thing, loud and clear. “I HOPE I CRASH AND DIE, LET’S SEE HOW YOU’LL LIKE THAT!”

With that Izuku was left in the house.

It’s okay, this isn’t the first time you’ve heard this. You already knew you were a mistake. None of what she said was brand-new information. It’s okay.

It wasn’t. It was like Izuku said, he already knew all of that but did he really need to hear those words multiple times a month? It’s not like I asked to be born,, he felt himself crumble.

She’s just angry, when she gets home, she’ll be calm again. She’ll understand. I don’t want to disappoint her.  He went back to the kitchen and sat on the floor, picking up the glass shards of the floor. If it cuts his hand as he tried to hold onto the growing pile in his palm he deserves it.

Rough way when he was half done cleaning up the things on the ground, he began feeling anger build up inside of him as her monologue repeated in his head, word for word. I never wanted to be here. If she never wanted me she could’ve aborted me, given me away for adoption. No one said she needed to stay. She could’ve abandoned me if she wanted. Who would care! It’s not my fault that she stayed.

You know what. Fine. I’ll leave. She can go live the life she always wanted.

Izuku stood up and speed walked to his room. Opening his closet door and took out the biggest bag he could find. And he began.

Underwear, pants, shirts, socks,,

He quickly threw everything he needed in the bag, only leaving the things behind that he wouldn’t wear or was simply not useful. Next up, his desk.

Notebooks, pencil case, my tools, knife,,

In no time the bag was filled by the brim. He checked one last time as he scanned his room. He wouldn’t say it looked empty. He never had much stuff anyway. The All might posters had filled most of the empty spots. But they were long gone.  As he saw nothing that he would be needing he closed the door. Grabbing his shoes and jacket he stood in front of the door with his yellow backpack and large back of clothes.

The sound of a car. Izuku froze.

Is she back already? How much time passed? Izuku didn’t look at the time it was now. I really thought I was fast. Fuck what if she sees the bags?

Fear took over his body, shoulders tense as he didn’t dare to move. If she opens the door it’s over. She’ll lose it. If she was furious then she’ll be livid as she sees that Izuku tried to leave. She never got physical with him. With her boyfriends? That was a different story. Izuku knows that she has it in him. To hit him without remorse.

I’m going to die. His heart was beating out of his chest. Loud enough so he could hear it in the empty hall. He heard vague sounds. No real indication if it was her or something else. It’s late no one else would be out right know. It can only be her. She’s home. She’s going to see it. It’s all ruined. Fuck. No. it can’t be. I lost my fucking chance. I’ll- no. I can’t. I’m not going to change my mind. She told me to leave. That’s what I’m doing. She can’t be angry. I’m doing good right now. Fuck it.

He opened the door, his eyes closed. He may have made up his mind, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t scared at the possibility that Inko was standing at the front door.

No sound, only a cold wind accompanied with the solitude of the night.

Izuku closed the door behind him and never looked back.

Anger pushed him to walk further, but even that can’t keep him going for forever. He never looked up, the whole way hanging his head. The fight left his body and the weight on his shoulder, both mentally as physically made him stumble, stopping his tracks.

Izuku looked up, his neck muscles complaining after the uncomfortable posture.

He knew this place.

His feet dragged him unconsciously to the same bridge he’d been standing a week or three ago. The bridge where his life almost came to an end.

Where it should’ve ended. He corrected himself. Izuku found humour in the fact that he was here again. As if his body was telling him that he indeed should’ve died here that day.

Finish the job.

He chucked his to bags of his shoulders, both falling on the concrete with a dull thud. His longing gaze focusing on the endless water, the reflection of the stars dancing in the water. A ballroom for the lonely. He walked over to the railing, his fingers dancing on the cold steel.

Should I?

He hadn’t left home with this in mind, but it was tempting now that he was standing here. Here he stood. Alone on a bridge, no car in sight.

No sounds that could be heard in the distance. This means that no one would hear me either.

The cold air surrounded him, biting into his skin but Izuku didn’t mind. He opened his arms, as if to welcome the violent way mother nature loves. He breathes in, it felt like it was the first breath he has taken in weeks.

He stood there for a while.

Why is it that Izuku’s happiest moments are the ones where he can free himself from existence?

Shouta had his once in a month day-off. No patrol duty, no UA staff members nagging at him, begging to not expel his class this year. He didn’t even have to cook today as his husband decided to stay home today to accompany him. It was a calm evening. Exactly what he needed. If school starts tomorrow, god knows that he’s going to need as much sleep as he can get.

Why did I become a teacher again?

It was a question he asked himself every year as school started again. He wasn’t friendly, neither was he a patient or tolerant person. If he didn’t see potential, he won’t waste his time on them.

“Popcorn is ready! Did you pick a movie?” his husband yelled from the kitchen. Aizawa looked back at the tv. He didn’t put much thought in picking, mostly staying in the section ‘recommended for you’. Can’t go wrong there. He read the title of the movie he picked based on the cover.

“Secret obsession.” He reads. His husband, already next to him let himself fall into the couch already claiming the other’s shoulder as a cushion.

“I don’t think we’ve seen that one yet.” The blonde commented after reading what it was about. He grabbed a handful of popcorn. “is it a good one?”

Aizawa snorted, stealing the popcorn that threatened to fall out of the blonde’s his hand. “Didn’t you just say that we haven’t seen this one yet? How would I know if it’s a good movie?” he looked down at his husband who just was pouting at him.

He ignored the man and grabbed some more popcorn out of the bowl. His other hand reaching out at the remote. However the end destination of his hand changed halfway when he felt his phone vibrate.

It better not be an emergency, I warned them last time- he looked down at his phone. A number he did not recognize.

Who?

From: unknown number     11.48pm

Hi.

Aizawa     11.48pm

Hello?

From: unknown number     11.49pm

Can I still call you?

From: unknown number     11.50pm

I don’t want to be a bother though,,

There was only one person that he made this specific offer to. Could it be? He quickly replied.

Aizawa    11.50pm

You would never be a bother. Are you safe?

Hizashi was reading the texts from his spot on the man’s shoulder. Frowning at the words. “Shouta? What’s happe-“ the phone starts ringing and in bold letters was the unknown number. Without h-hesitating he accepted the call.

It was silent for a few seconds, only the wind crackling through the line. Shouta waited, holding his breath.

A tiny voice, just above a whisper. “,, Can you- Can you pick me up?” he sounded like he’d been crying. Maybe still is, as he listened to the little hiccups that made him stutter. Shouta thought. A sniffle was heard. “please?”

In a second the gears in his head started turning. Calculating the situation even though he lacks information. Was he in danger? Where is he? Is he outside? It sounds like it? Why is he outside at this hour?

“Where are you?” calm, professional. He sounds okay, but we don’t have any context.

It took the boy on the other line a while to get his words out. “on the,,” his voice falling of deaf ears.

“Can you repeat that?” he asked, he found himself getting more panicked at the situation.

“I’m on-“ another sniffle. “,, bridge.”

Bridge? Where? Is it? Why would- his train of thought got paused as the boy’s voice was heard again.

“I think, I’m going to do something,, dumb.”

“Don’t hang up. I’ll be right there.” Shouta got up from the couch an ran to the door not even bothering to take his coat.

“Shouta where are you going?!” he heard his husband behind him as he struggled to put on his shoes. The black haired man covered his phone. Hoping that the boy would not hear.

“Midoriya, he’s outside on a bridge. I don’t know why but he’s crying.” He opened the door. “I’ll be back.” I don’t know how much time I have. Please be ok.

“I’ll be right there.” Midoriya watched as his tears fell on his broken screen. He doesn’t know why he called. He could have been somewhere better by now.

Maybe he didn’t want the man to feel guilty when they would find his body. If they found his body.

He was sitting in the railing, letting his feet dangle from the edge above the water. One slip up. Come on, you’ve come this far.

I know you want to.

He felt himself choke on his tears. Izuku didn’t want to get down, but he also didn’t want to get away from where he was right now. His eyes were blurry from the unshed tears, moving wouldn’t be a good idea when he can’t see what he’s doing.

Just one slip up.

The sound of the other person running on the other side of the line kept him from giving in.

Aizawa was running. His and Hizachi’s apartment wasn’t that far away from the bridge. Maybe a 15 minute walk. Aizawa made it in 8 minutes. Out of breath but he didn’t stop running until he saw the familiar green mop of curly hair.

He’s sitting on the edge!

He approached the kid slowly. It didn’t look like he noticed that the other man was here. He had not taken his capture weapon with him. No matter what, he can’t scare the kid. He can’t afford to lose the kid in the water when it’s dark. If he falls there is no way to prevent him from falling into the water.

At a safe distance he spoke softly. “Midoriya.” The kid’s boy went rigged at the name. “Can you please get away from the edge?”

The boy shook his head softly in response. “can’t- I’ll slip.”

Ok, good. I mean not really. But at least he doesn’t want to jump.

“I’m going to get closer and grab you. Is that okay?” he said as he came even closer. The boy only hummed. Aizawa didn’t miss how his fists clenched around the steel even harder, knuckles white.

“Don’t panic. I’m going to lift you.” Shouta hugged the boy from behind, shocked at how cold the boy felt to the touch even with a jacket. How long has he been sitting here? He lifted the boy up, as high as he could and slowly stepped backwards, dragging the boy with him back on the save side of the railing.

Both were sat on the ground when Izuku was safe and far away from the railing. The stress leaving Shouta. The boy looked in his lap, fidgeting with his own fingers.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

There were more words in the silence than either could say with their voice.

The walk back to the apartment was voiceless, only the echo of footsteps late into the night could be heard. Aizawa refused to give Izuku his bags back, carrying them both over his shoulder with ease.

Chapter Text

Yamada didn’t know what to expect when his husband left the apartment in a hurry. Shouta had always been an serious man, someone who would never wear his emotions on his sleeves. So when he saw the panic and urgency in the man his eyes as he rapidly tried to explain the situation as he was leaving, Hizashi felt unsure of what to do.

Should I have followed him? No.

The best thing he could do now is sit on the couch and wait for his husband’s return. He doesn’t know the situation, not the details at least. But he was sure of one thing, if Shouta looked that anxious it must be serious.

The hero was fidgeting with his hair until he heard the door open again, immediately he threw himself at the door shouting. “SHOUTA WHAT HAPPENED?!”

The other man winced at the loud voice, the boy behind him jumped backwards. Yamada instantly closed his mouth, covering it with both hands. “sorry,,” The blonde knows that his quirk got the best of him when he was too emotional, he can’t really help it. But that didn’t mean he did not feel guilty when the boy seemed to cower away from him.

Focus Hizashi!

Shouta reached out to him and grabbed the hands that were still covering his mouth, guiding them back down. “It’s fine. I know you don’t mean to.” His husband smiled softly as he released his hands. It was always a rare sight to see the man smile like that. It felt like the smile was only for him, reassured him. “We’ll explain, but first.” He looked back at the kid behind him.

“Want to come inside?” He extended his hand. The kid didn’t look up, did not speak. He did however grab a hold of the sleeve of the hand that was stretched out towards him, following the man inside the apartment.

“Want to have a blanket?” the blonde asked as he sat himself next to the teen. He had tried to keep a straight face, but he knew that one look at him would give away how anxious he really was. Fortunately for him, the kid’s face stayed buried in his knees as he gave no response.

How could he not be anxious? Here he was, sitting on his couch with a teenager he’s only seen once before at 1am the night before school starts! Not a single word had escaped from the kid his mouth, even less actual movements on his part. He just,, sat there.

This was the same person that was laughing with him at the hospital, it was such a drastic change in behaviour. Then again, when they were in the car he did get the impression that the boy might not have the best homelife.

His husband had told him the short version of what happened and how the kid hadn’t said a word after apologizing to him. They still didn’t know what drove the boy to that bridge in the first place, or why he had a large bag with him filled with clothes and everything.

Shouta sat across from them, a cat on his lap. “Do you want to talk about it?” He asked without expectations. What he didn’t anticipate was that the boy actually looked up at him, chin resting on his knees.

The teen was wearing a forlorn expression, his eyes almost looking past Aizawa straight at the wall. But he knew that the boy was listening to their every words. “You don’t have to of course.” The hero reassured him. He stayed quiet for a while, somewhat hoping that the kid would tell them what drove him out so late in the night. Izuku kept staring.

“Do you want to pet the cat?” The blonde tried. “It’s a good way to calm down.” He didn’t wait for a response before he walked over to his husband and stole the cat from Aizawa’s lap. The cat accepted his fate and waited until the hero placed him down on the couch, nestling himself beside the teen.

It took a while but a hand slowly moved towards the cat, the grey feline purred as she felt the contact. Izuku bit his lip, his whole face scrunched up. His voice was brittle as he spoke. “I was- Just so angry,, She and- It was too much. I couldn’t, not anymore. It’s- she told me- and I did. I left-” His eyes flickered with clarity as he looked the black haired man in the eyes. “I left?” the teens voice broke.

“It’s okay, take a breath, don’t rush it.” Yamada consoled him, his hand landing on the kid’s shoulder. “Speak when you’re ready.” The boy nodded, and took a few deep breaths. “we’re not going anywhere.”

These were the moments Aizawa was glad that he had the blonde in his life. He was better at talking with people, calming them down and make them feel secured. It was not as if he was jealous that he did not posses the same social skills, but right now he feels kind of useless as he just sat there watching. He wants to help, but he doesn’t know how.

He doesn’t know the words like Hizashi does.

So he sits and watches as the boy picks up the words of the floor and pieces them together, Izuku tells them everything.

“-So that’s what happened.” Throughout the story the boy’s voice grew more steady, only wavering once or twice as he told them what his mother said to him in detail. It was enough for the adults to feel chills running down their spine. “I kinda packed my stuff and left.” He gasped and jumped from his spot at the couch, scaring the cat. “Not for forever of course! I’m going back!” he was waving his hands in front of him awkwardly. “I even texted her, saying that I’ll talk with her later when ahum,, we both calmed down.”

It sounded like pure bullshit and Izuku knows it.

“Midoriya.” The teen gulped. “yeah?” his face grimaced, they didn’t believe him. Shit.

“Did you really intend to go back?” Aizawa looked at him, face blank and his voice stern. The whole time Izuku was explaining what happened, not once did the man speak or interrupt him. This was the first time he had asked him a question since he had opened his mouth.

Izuku looked puzzled, “yes?” it’s not like I have somewhere to stay beside my own home.

“Are you sure?” His voice didn’t change but the underlying tone did. It didn’t feel like Aizawa was asking a real question. “I don’t think you’re being truthful right now.” Aizawa leaned forward, elbows on his knees for support.

“Of course I’d go back!” Izuku was getting defensive. Why? There is no reason to react this way. Of course I’d go back. That’s my home.

“Then why did you take everything with you?”

Izuku halted, staring at the man. “what?”

“If you knew that you’d return, why did you take everything with you?” Aizawa wasn’t planning on backing down on this one.

Izuku’s shoulders slumped down as he let himself slouch further into the couch. Why did I pack everything? I have to return. Subconsciously he already made the decision to never return when he didn’t leave anything that he couldn’t live without didn’t he? He took everything with him so he didn’t have to return, didn’t have to see his mom even if it was to pick up the last of his things.

Why didn’t he realise?

“You don’t want to return, do you?” the voice sounded closer. When did he get closer? The hero was crouching beside him, it was weird to have to look down to look him in the eye.

He shook his head. “n-no- I have to!” I have to! Even if I don’t want to I have to go back! It’s my home, I grew up there! My last good memories are at that house,, I can’t lose those.

“No you don’t.” It was now the blonde that spoke up from beside him. Izuku turned to look at him, slightly frantic. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“but!” the teen stammered. He never got another word out before the blonde pulled him in a hug.

“No buts.” He pulled back and made sure that the boy saw his face clearly. “You left because you knew that that place was bad for you. You realised that you needed to get away and packed your stuff. There is nothing wrong about choosing to save yourself.” He doesn’t know when he started tearing up himself. Maybe around the same time that green eyes got shinier as he tried to hold back his own tears.

“You can always stay here.” He didn’t mean to throw those words out there. At least not this fast. Izuku had only left his house earlier this evening and here he was, already inviting him to join their family. Did I scare him away? Now I’ve done it,,

When he dared to look at the boy he saw the boy already looking at where Shouta was still crouching. “Can I?” The boy’s voice was only a tad louder than a whisper.

the black haired hero chuckled, ruffling the teen’s green curls. “I don’t see why not kid.” He stood up, his knees cracked at the sudden movement. He stretched his back as he went. “We’ll talk tomorrow, for now lets all go to sleep.”

The blonde and teen both groaned as they saw the clock read 2.47am. I have to wake up at 6,, He’d been waiting for this day to come for weeks, but now that school actually started in a few hours,, Izuku wants to stop time.

“Come on, you can use the guest room.”

“Can we really keep him?” both adults were lying in bed facing each other. Hizashi was twirling some of his husband’s hair around his index finger. It was a habit he never grew out of. IT always resurfaced when he needed a distraction.

The other man sounded exhausted, voice deep. “We can’t force him. But like hell am I going to let him return to that place.” He was trying to keep his eyes open. Normally sleep never came easy to him, years of irregular sleep made it so that his rhythm was non-existent. Today had worn him out, all the stress that had been piling up all left his body the moment he saw the kid fall asleep in their guestroom.

The blonde yawned, the black strand of hair falling from between his fingers. “I really hope we can keep him.” He pressed himself further into his pillow, snuggling closer to his husband in the process. “He deserves a family that cares about him. We could be that family for him.”

He heard Shouta huff in amusement. “I’d like that.” With that Hizashi closed his eyes, the feeling of a large hand softly playing with his hair lulling him to sleep.

A family,,

Maybe it was okay to hope a little.

Both already had made up their mind. If Izuku allowed them to, they would give him the world. They had promised to not get too attached to the boy since they did not know if they boy even wanted to stay with them, but both knew that it was too late for that.

They wanted Izuku to be a part of their lives.

Now if only Izuku will let them be a part of his.

Chapter Text

“It’s time to wake up.” Izuku felt a warm hand shaking him gently. “Come on little listener, today is the first day of school. You don’t want to be late do you?” He recognized the voice but no name came to mind. He knows it, he knows he does. It’s not mother. If not her, who? Izuku hid under his pillow, not noticing how the person at his bedside tried to hold in a giggle.

“Earth to Midoriyaaa, wake upppp!” Yamada sang.

“Too early,,” managed to came out from under the pillow, voice heavy with sleep still. This time, the blonde did giggle.

Aizawa who stood in the doorway looked at the exchange, it was something he could get used to. It felt domestic, it felt right. None of this felt foreign like he thought it would feel like. But the boy really needed to wake up if he wants to be ready for school on time.

It was sad that the boy needed to wake up an hour earlier than others since Shouta and Hizashi would bring him to school. As a staff member the needed to be there an hour before school starts, checking if everything is ready. There was no other option, Izuku didn’t know his way around here so public transportation wasn’t an option.

“We leave in 30 minutes, you can sleep some more in the car.”

Toshinori Yagi sat on his chair staring at his new desk in the teachers’ lounge. On his desk was a simple envelope and a notebook. Both belongings of that kid named Midoriya Izuku.

After losing the sludge villain the first place he went to check was under the bridge where he met the kid. There he’d found the notebook on the ground, abandoned. The same notebook he had signed when the boy was unconscious. Everyone likes me. I thought it would be a fun surprise for him, every time I save someone they ask for it. Really, he should know that this signature is special.

He was sure that the kid would like his notebook back so he took it with him. Maybe I’ll see him sometime. The two had not parted ways in a loving way. Toshinori acknowledged that, but he stands by what he has said on that rooftop.

Life isn’t some fairy tale, it’s time to wake up kid.

He could’ve worded it differently, disguise his harsh words to spare the kid. Toshinori knows the side of heroics that normal civilians didn’t. the lasting scars and trauma you drag along with you every time you pick up your hero suit. The lives he couldn’t save, people without a name nor face haunting his dreams at night.

Why didn’t you save me? Why?

The kid was quirkless, the day he would debut as a hero, might as well be his last. Even if he does manage to survive his first real villain fight, he can’t save people in the same way other heroes do. He isn’t super strong as him, not as fast as Ingenium, the kid was average, if not less than. He’d get crushed by his own feelings of not being enough and the constant pressure of society.

But then he’d seen the boy, running towards the same villain that had attacked him prior. He couldn’t believe it, when everyone was rendered useless in the situation he stepped up. A quirkless kid. The kid must’ve realised that he couldn’t do this alone, knew his limit and asked for help. Albeit in a more or less,, aggressive way.

Something even I, as number one hero don’t want to admit that I have a limit.

He’d seen someone, a future hero, being held back by reality. Someone worthy of being his successor. How that backlashed quickly,,

When saw the boy in front of the beach park, he thought it was fate. That boy was meant to be his successor. A true hero, worthy of my quirk. But when  the kid had turned to face him, he did not see a face that belonged to a hero.

The atmosphere was hostile. None like how it would be during villain fights. The number one hero was used to being praised for even simply standing, when this kid looked at him like he was nothing more than another piece of trash on the beach, it unnerved him.

“I don’t want to inherit your power.”

It came out of his mouth so easily, too easy. And for a moment, All Might lost his smile, took a few steps forward and spoke without thinking.

“Don’t tell me you still think you can be a hero without a quirk, are you?”

He thought the boy would crumble, fall apart like yet another building in a villain attack, collateral damage. Maybe even apologize and accept him as his mentor. But he was wrong, so wrong.

He saw the moment in the boys eyes, a fire ignited, hot enough to scald his hand if he were to come over and wipe the tears away. A young voice screaming at him but all he could hear was the sound of shattered dreams and thrown-away hope.

“You were my hero for 14 years! 14 fucking years you know that?!”

“I wish I had never met you.”

“If you got nothing left to say, safe your face while you can and leave me, you’re good at that.”

Just as quickly that the boy had exploded in anger, he had let go of it. a silent boy turned his back to him, to his only opportunity to become someone great.

All Might didn’t get it. Being quirkless would never be profitable in this day and age, even the more normal jobs would go to the people whose quirk suited it best. He couldn’t find a single reason as to why that kid didn’t want to be his successor besides pride.

Sure, he did say the boy couldn’t become a hero without a quirk. It’s just reality, really. But! He could change that! All Might could’ve given him his quirk, he could try out for UA. HE COULD become a hero.

IT was supposed to go like that.

But it didn’t.

The last time he saw the boy he had a name to go by. Midoriya Izuku, he’d grown a lot since he last saw the young man, less fragile. He walked into the room with newfound confidence, nothing besides his emerald green eyes, freckles and curly, now longer, hair resembled the kid that screamed at him, whishing he had never met the hero.

“My quirklessness does not mean that I’m a liability.”

The words were directed towards him, while no real hostility could be found in his tone, All Might had felt as if he was punched, trying to swallow down the bloody cough. It were these words that made it clear that this young man indeed was the same kid he saw months back.

And here he is, at UA. Even after al that happened he didn’t give up.

Midoriya would be the first quirkless person that would make All Might feels weak. He didn’t give up, even after his supposed idol stepped on his dream, not after society treated him like a bug, the kid stood tall with his head held up high.

All might didn’t know why it bugged him so much.

How?

Why?

When he saw the acceptance letters, the hero couldn’t stop himself. Sure enough, within a few seconds he saw the familiar name written down on the envelope.

Maybe if I take this letter with me and deliver it personally,, it would be a chance to speak with him again. Maybe appease him with returning his notebook I found. He didn’t look as angry at the entrance exam, so he might accept my offer now that everything calmed down.

He’s already accepted, it would give us the opportunity to train after his classes. Then! When the sports festival comes he can show them all! Let them see that he is here! After that he would surely be send to the hero course and then I can officially make him my successor!

It’s fool proof! I only have to take this with me.

All Might didn’t mean to hide the letter for this long. He waited for when he knew most accepted students would have received their letter though the mail. I can’t have the press thinking I’m giving special treatment. But then he got called in for a robbery,, and a collapsing building,, and a high scale hostage situation in a mall. Don’t get him started on the paperwork that followed.

Honestly he kind of forgot he had the letter around that time.

“What’s this?”

A pale hand appeared in his line of sight and grabbed the letter from his desk, when he turned around he met with another staff member.

Aizawa looked at the letter in his hand, he got curious about why the number one hero was so lost in thoughts while staring at a simple envelope. When he read the name he could imagine why.

“So you were the one that messed with the acceptance letters?” he said, not even looking up the face the other hero. His eyes still glued onto the written name.

“Well- you see,,”  All might stammered, trying to take back the letter. Aizawa avoided the large hand and simply took a step back. “I didn’t mean to.”

Aizawa was a scary person. He was the type of person that could make you feel small without even trying. All Might appreciated that the man never had any energy, he doesn’t want to know what Aizawa would be capable of if he had.

The black haired man blinked slowly before he locked eyes with the blonde. He clicked his tongue. “You didn’t mean to? Mhm.” His mouth formed a straight line as he narrowed his eyes a little. All Might felt himself get goosebumps. “Alright. So you’re saying that you also didn’t meant to prevent a child from attending this school?”

“What are you insinuating?” the hero sounded confused.

Aizawa rolled his eyes, sometimes he wished they would stay in the back of his head. His life would be more pleasant if he didn’t have to see stupid people every day. “I’m sure you know that this is an acceptance letter.” He waved the letter in front of him, a silent mockery. “An acceptance letter that never got to where it should have gotten. Now tell me All Might, how is a student supposed to know whether or not they got accepted if they never received their letter?”

The blonde his face turned a sickly white. As if he had only now come to the realisation of the situation at hand. “I-,, I didn’t-“ Does that mean that that kid isn’t going to come to school?, how am I supposed to? Oh god,, “What do I do now?” He almost whimpered.

I don’t even know why Nedzu allowed this himbo of a man to become a teacher. He’s clearly not ready to teach someone. Aizawa sighed. He placed the letter back on the other his desk.

“You’re lucky that I, myself have met Midoriya and have verbally affirmed him that he was indeed accepted. Otherwise this school would have lost a valuable asset in the support department because of you. I don’t know why that letter is in your possession but let me make one thing clear.” The man jabbed the blonde’s chest with his index finger. His face less than a foot away from the other man as he openly glared at the hero.

“You better deliver that letter to that kid and apologize. After that, if I even get the slightest inkling that you pull any of this shit again, I will personally ask Nedzu to remove you from your position as a staff member at this school. Got that?”

The other man could only nod weakly as Aizawa backed away again. As the black haired hero walked towards his own desk he spoke up once more. “Consider this not as a warning but a threat. I do not tolerate incompetent people. Neither does Nedzu.”

Like All Might thought, Aizawa Shouta was a scary person.

“Are you ready little listener?” Yamada and Izuku were standing in front of his soon to be classroom, other students had yet to arrive, even the teacher was nowhere to be seen. Aizawa had go to the faculty room to check up on some information regarding his students, Izuku isn’t going to lie and say that he was not disappointed at the other man leaving them as soon as they had arrived.

“You can go take a seat, I’m sure that there will be other early birds that will arrive before class starts. You might meet wonderful friends!” The blonde was trying his best to ease the kid his nerves. As an extrovert himself he never quite understood how stressful a new environment could be to someone, but he knows Shouta and how he deals with it.

He took off his headphone and hung it around the kid his neck. It was a funny sight to see the boy almost light up when he noticed what they were. It wasn’t like he needed to go on patrol right now, he can lend his little listener his hero equipment for a while.

“You can use these if you’d like, it might help with passing the time.” He explained.

The big smile was more than worth it. “Thank you Present Mic!” the boy had to refrain himself from jumping around like a year old after he won something at the carnival. This is Present Mic his personal headphone! The same one he’s been using for year on missions! I can’t believe it! Maybe I can study it, write down some notes on how it works, maybe some buffs, or maybe a redesign! No that might be too far, it  could have sentimental value,,,

“It’s no problem, I’m glad it can be of help.” He looked down at his watch and let out a pained noise. “tsk, I’ll have to go now but good luck okay?” the hero ruffled the boy his hair. “Remember, after school you can just come to the faculty room and wait there for either me or Shouta, all right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Will do. Now go before you’re late!” Izuku reassured him.

I’ll be okay, this is a new start for me. I got in with my own power, I deserve to be here. UA is going to be different. I can do this!

He decided to pick the desk closest in the front and the door after staring at the empty classroom for a while. If he sits here, escaping in a hurry wouldn’t be a problem. Since he sits in the first row, there would be no one blocking his vision and the teacher will immediately notice if someone was messing with him.

Not that he expects to be picked on right of the bat, but it never hurts to be prepared.

There is no reason as to why he should tell other classmates that he was quirkless. From their perspective it might just look like he has a mental quirk or one that doesn’t change physical appearance.

This specific seat also had other advantages, if he turns slightly on his seat he would be able to see everyone in class. The thought of that puts himself to ease. Then you have the fact that since he sits right next to the door, everyone that walks in will immediately see him, maybe even strike a conversation. Izuku is determined to at least speak with a few of his classmates today, if he’s lucky, maybe make a friend so he would have to be alone if they have to do a group project.

He still had at least 30 minutes before someone else shows up. Izuku figured that he might as well use the headphone Present Mic had given to him. He thought back at the day before. They are both so nice to me. I don’t even know why, I don’t have anything to offer? It makes me feel a bit guilty seeing how much they have done for me already. They even said I could stay with them. Well we are going to talk more about that today.

What if they are going to tell me that I have to go back, that they didn’t really mean it?

Is that why they have been so nice? To give me a little break before returning me to mom?

 Izuku knew where this was going and decided, no, I’m not going to stress over that right now. I have better things to worry about, like,, why no teacher is here even though class is starting soon orrrr why this girl is staring at me.

Wait.

Girl staring at me?

Izuku would die of shame if word ever got out that he fell out of his seat. But in his defence, he wasn’t used to having someone, a stranger, staring at him while only being an inch away from his face, let alone a stranger.

“Hi! The name is Hatsume Mei! You’re Midoriya right?!” The pink haired girl who introduced herself as Hatsume was full of energy, bouncing around Izuku’s seat as she waited for him to get up from the ground.

“You know? You reallllllyyy left an impression on those teachers at the entrance exam! Your babies looked so cool!” she raved on, her eyes filled with stars.

Izuku was flabbergasted. “huh, what- babies?! What are you talking about??”

“Your inventions duhhh!! I got all curious when I saw you drowning in your own anxiety that day and decided to spy on you guys. Of course with the use of my very own baby!” with that she threw her large backpack on his desk, it took her a few seconds before he revealed a noodle like iron wire.

“Here she is!! Tadaaaaa! She came to life after that last hostage situation in the centre of the city! It was really frustrating to see them struggle and I thought,, what iffff, they had a small camera so they can scoop out the area without risking their lives or others. And BAM!” the girl slammed her fist on his desk. “there she was! My baby is an AI who can move on its own after given an assignment and she can even get passed a hole smaller than 1 inch!”

The girl was practically glowing while staring at Izuku, waiting for him to praise her. Izuku took hold of the iron wire and took a closer look. It is a nifty invention,, good design, looks sturdy but it does not alter the way it moves around. He gave back the invention and smiled brightly. “It really looks cool! And it could be so useful, not even for heroes only, but to the police station too! Imagine how much faster heroes could act if the police already knows everything what is happening inside the building! The chance on getting hurt would lower drastically!”

A thoughtful look took over his face as a sudden thought appeared. “but it would be annoying if villains notice the AI. After all, it’s made out of metal, light would bounce of the metal, maybe even alerting the villains if they didn’t notice it yet. You could make it so that wouldn’t happen or,,” He grabbed his phone and began typing fast. After seemingly finding what he was looking for he turned his phone so the girl could see. “you could disguise the AI. There are a lot of snakes that are common here, no one would bat an eye if they saw a snake crawling around, most wouldn’t even go take a closer look because they are scared!”

 On the screen was a display of various snakes that live in Japan, specifically the ones that live around this area. Most snakes had a yellow/brown scale pattern that blends well into nature. Since the AI could move on its own this disguise would only prove to be more useful.

Mei seemed to agree with him, if her manic smile was something to go with. Most likely already making a plan on what shed would use to recreate the scales and which pattern would suit her invention best.

“My babies are going to grow up so useful!” she exclaimed. Then she stuck out her hand, confused Izuku returned the action and met her halfway. Her grip was much stronger than he expected and winced a bit when she shook his hand without holding back any strength she might have. “I was right about you Midoriya! We’re going to be great friends.” She laughed and took her things, placing them on her own desk right next to him.

When she sat down she turned back to him. “You can just call me Mei by the way, no need for all that when we’re friends.”

Izuku was staring, eyes wide. He was a bit taken aback. It was his intention to make friends today but the fact that he really did was,, shocking to say the least. The boy himself didn’t even say it, it was the other party that said they were friends first! His first real friend! And not only that they said they are friends after Izuku had is little ramble moment, something that had never happened before.

Everyone looked at him in a weird way after he started rambling. It was ‘scary’ to them.

Izuku didn’t blame them, but it still hurts.

“Right!” he smiled. “You can call me Izuku. I hope we’ll have a great year so let’s do our best!”

Izuku had successfully made his first friend. Seems like UA really is going to be different.

just a bit of art made by yours truly~~

prepare for trouble, make it double,, I introduce to you

the chaos duo of this fic ^,^

you can alway check out my tumblr and chat with me!

Chapter Text

“Welcome everyone, glad you all made it here in time. You may all recognize me from your entrance exam, I am Higari Maijima also known as Excavation Hero: Power Loader. I’ll be your homeroom teacher this year.”

The class was full of new faces, some of which he recognized from the waiting room on the day of his entrance exam. They had exchanged quick nods or a small smile but until now he hasn’t spoken to anyone but Mei.

“I’m sure that everyone is waiting to go explore the studio, so I’m not going to ramble for too long. You can all introduce yourselves between classes, though I’m sure that most of you guys already know one or two people here.” There was some looking around by other students, likely trying to see which of them already had friends and or trying to catch their friend looking at them. Power Loader continued. “That’s it for my introduction, grab your bags and follow me to the studio.”

“Look at all these tools!” Mei looked starstruck as she ran around the studio, almost drooling when passing a particular large machine. Izuku can’t blame her for doing so. The studio was enormous in size and in every corner and nook were tools, machines and unfinished projects of others. The other students all claimed their own little spot and made themselves comfortable.

The place felt like a museum, full of collectables. It would take hours if he wants to investigate every little thing, but that’s okay. He has time, it’s only his first day here.

No need to rush.

“As you can see, everything you’d ever need to make a good support item is right in this room.” Power Loader walked around in the room, gesturing towards the wall, different sizes of hammers, blowtorches, clippers, etc. “You name it. We got it.” Izuku could see the man grin.

“But first of all.” He stopped walking and towards the group of students. “Safety rules.” He made eye contact with a few, making sure that they were indeed listening to him and not just pretending to do so.

“First rule. No weapons get tested outside of the wreck-room, if you got something to test take the first door to the left.” He pointed towards a large red door with a sign on it saying ‘DANGER, DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PROTECTION’. “The wreck-room is soundproof, fire resistant and heavily reinforced to withstand almost every kind of explosion. Use it.”

“Second rule. You do not use any tool or machine that you don’t know how to use. Don’t try and justify yourself if you break it by saying ‘but I saw it in an online video, I knew what I was doing!’” he used his hands to finger quote the last part, raising his voice a little to sound more whiny. “You ask either an upperclassman for help or you ask me. We’ll explain how you use it by showing it step by step, there is nothing wrong with not knowing something. You’re here to learn.”

The hero looked around and saw some students nod at him, signalling him that they were still with him and listening. Izuku being one of them, nodded eagerly waiting for him to continue.

“Third rule. All your designs are to be looked at and approved by me. This is not to limit you. This check up will serve as a learning opportunity, we’ll discuss what could be removed if rendered useless, what could be added and if it would work. There will be blueprints that may look perfect in your eyes, but are faulty and could lead to injury if made a reality.” He laughed a little. “And I also like to be involved in whatever is going on inside your little heads.” The hero added.

Power Loader then walked over a desk in the corner of the room and grabbed the pile of papers lying on it. “All the minor rules are written down here, as well as all the names of the tools and where they are in the studio. With minor rules I mean things like ‘it’s forbidden to use hairspray in the studio’. It may seem stupid to you guys, but I’m obligated to inform everyone to prevent future lawsuits because someone decided to not use their brain one day.” Some students snickered in the back.

“You all have a different uniforms from the rest of the departments, both can be worn but the jumpsuit’s you received are made to protect you from small injury. So I’d suggest you wear that one when you’re in the studio.”

The hero walked passed every student and gave them their own copy of the rules. Izuku skimmed through them. It is not allowed to use chewing gum as a substitute for glue,, what? How even- you know what. I don’t think I even want to know why they needed to add this one.

“Are there any questions?” Izuku looked up and around, most students were still reading the paper and others shook their head in silence. No one looked like they needed to ask something, almost no one.

“ME! I have a question!” Mei jumped in the air and waved her hand, as if the teacher wouldn’t notice her otherwise. “WHEN CAN I START MAKING MY BABIES?!”

Izuku had to refrain himself from laughing when he saw the horrified faces of his classmates. It’s funny if you’re not the one misunderstanding the whole baby making thing. Power Loader, not unfamiliar with the statement due to the exam, answered her question without batting an eye.

“Your first assignment will start today actually. You’ll be responsible for making the hero costumes of the hero course. The basics are already made by an outside support company so you’ll only need to make slight alterations and add support items based on what was written down by the hero students.”

Walking towards a sliding door, the man opened it, revealing multiple outfits hanging inside, all of them had sticky notes stuck on them. Most likely info about what kind of support item would be needed. But that wasn’t the only thing Izuku noticed. Every costume was locked inside a glass-like locker. “Everyone needs to only focus on one student, I’ll hand out keys, the key will have a number on it, this is the number of your own personal locker for this year. Inside your locker is the costume you’ll be working with. Afterwards you can use your locker for unfinished projects without having to worry that someone might touch them.” He explained as he was already making his way towards the students, keys in hand.

After receiving his key Izuku looked for his number, excited to see what he’ll get. His excitement however left him quickly after seeing the costume in his personal locker. Argh fuck. With discontent Izuku sighed as he opened his locker and took out the costume. Just his luck.

“Is everything clear to everyone?”

Izuku bit his lip, but still spoke up. “uhm, the student we’re working for right now. Is it the same student for the whole year?” he really hopes he didn’t sound to disgusted. The last thing he wanted was to be written of by his class as a stuck up guy.

Power Loader didn’t pick up on his tone apparently and spoke in response. “No, there will be a time where you’ll meet the students of the hero course, then you can decide with who you’ll work with, you can work with multiple people or just one. I decided to introduce the assignment this way so there is no fighting over who wants what costume.”

Izuku felt himself calm down a little. Power Loader seemed like a good teacher, always thinking about how he should approach things in a way so there would be no conflict. “Thank you for answering.” He gave his teacher a polite smile but it felt empty.

“Now then, let’s get started shall we!” All students wasted no time and started sketching out their plans.

Of course he had to work on Bakugou’s costume. At this point Izuku is convinced that he is the universe’s personal punching bag. Whenever anything good happens, shit follows. Everyone was already making blueprints for possible items or asking for a second opinion from another classmate.

What’s worse is that the costume was the same design he and Bakugou had made when they were four. Small changes like no sleeves instead of half sleeves, but the giant X on the chest? Still present. Izuku didn’t understand. That orange X had been his idea, too see it’s still there felt taunting.

I became a hero, but you? You’re a damn nerd, useless.

Izuku didn’t feel like creating anymore.

Mei was animatedly talking to their teacher, already finished making her blueprint. While Izuku was still staring at the sticky notes describing what Bakugou wanted.

Knee pads designed to kill dumb extras,, empty grenades that he can fill by himself and bracers that can collect his sweat,, does he even realise how bad of an idea that could be? Those bracers are going to be highly lethal if set off, one wrong move or an unexpected harsh impact and they could explode right in his face! Not to mention the damage he would do to his surroundings! Fucking Hell!

There were also other notes, explaining the quirk in question so they could incorporate it when making their items, but Izuku had no need for them.

He already knows what Bakugou’s quirk is,, and how it feels from the receiving end.

Stop it! You haven’t even seen the shithead after jumping of the roof. That was months ago! Pathetic. He isn’t even worth my time, yet here I am. I can’t escape.

He looked at the time, defeated he grabbed his pencil and a sheet of paper.

The faster I’m done with this, the faster I can work on things I actually want to work on. I’m not going  to let this dude affect me any longer.

“Izukuuuuuuu!”

The boy didn’t notice when everyone had left the studio, too focused on finishing his notes and blueprint. Even Mei standing right next to him did not bring him back to the land of the living.

Now if only I would use this material, it would help with the sturdiness of the overall item but I’d be risking its mobility. But then again, if we go with that metal there is a higher chance-

“IZUKUUU!”

The boy flinched as Mei yelled in his ear, finally gotten his attention she smiled as if she didn’t do anything wrong. “It’s lunchtime. So stop working and come with me, everyone left ages ago!” she was pouting.

Midoriya scratched his cheek in embarrassment. “Sorry,, guess I got a little bit lost in my head?” He started to roll up the unfinished blueprint. Before he could stuff them in his bag Midoriya got dragged outside the studio by Mei. She didn’t look like it but the girl had a lot more strength than anticipated.

“No time for excuses! We need to go or else we’re going to be late!!!” she yelled as she kept running down the hall. She had released Izuku in order for her to run even faster to god knows where. Izuku, not sure what was waiting for him, accepted his fate and ran behind the girl.

“Yes!! They’re still at it!” the pink haired girl’s face was plastered against the window fogging it up slightly with her breath. She was pointing at something outside, Izuku, curious as always came closer and searched for what was causing Mei to be so excited.

Outside were a group of students, all in their gym uniform. “It looks like,,” Izuku began.

“A quirk apprehension test! It’s something that Mister Aizawa does every year to test the limits of his students. They are obligated to use their quirk in any way they can during the 8 fitness tests! I was waiting for this!” Mei finished for him. Her eyes never leaving the group of students who were now running against each other.

“So this is a means for Aizawa sensei to know what his students limits are and for him to check up later in the year how much they have improved. Not only that but it tests how creatively one could use their quirk, possibly finding out more uses for it,, that’s brilliant!” The green haired teenager was now as enthusiastic as his friend.

“Class 1-A  and B have a different schedule from the rest of us, which means that they have lunch half an hour later than us. Probably so they can freshen up after training, but my guess is that they don’t want everyone going to the cafeteria at the same time.” She shrugged. “That’s why gen Ed students have their lunch half an hour before us. The lines for getting food won’t be as long by doing this.”

“You seem to have put a lot of thought in this.”

“eh, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to look up everyone’s schedule, this is how I found out that they planned on doing the fitness test.” She spoke matter of factly. “Anyway! Come on, let’s go outside so we can take a closer look.”

Mei looked around for a second, after she found the window handle she opened the giant window and started to climb out of it.

Izuku was almost choked on his own spit, he quickly looked around hoping no one was seeing this. “What the fuck Mei!!?”

“Shhhhht! You can’t draw attention to us!” Mei whisper-yelled back at him. “Are you coming or not? I know you want to.” She wiggled her eyebrows as she grinned at him. Izuku swore and looked both ways for the last time before following Mei outside through the window.

“Is this even allowed?”

“Only if someone sees us.” She jabbed his side as the two of them sneaked behind some bushes. The two of them were now close enough so they could somewhat hear what everyone was saying.

Well, no one was really talking, only grunting or panting. There was even one little guy that laid face flat on the ground. Izuku almost felt guilty for the little guy if only he didn’t hear him mumble all the disgusting things about the female students.

“Look that’s the student I’m working for.” Mei pointed at a tall boy with black chin-length hair. The boy in question was using his tape, did that tape just come out of his elbow?, to pull himself side to side in the repeated side step test.

Seems like he’s able to retract his tape, he attached himself on both sides, basically pulling himself to the other side over and over again.

“the guy didn’t want to have a lot of babies, so I’m a bit disappointed. I work so hard to make them but I guess if he wont look at them there would be no use. I can’t have my babies feeling neglected.” The talk about babies still weirded Izuku out at some points. He just can’t seem to get used to the weird context around them.

The two of them talked and exchanged thoughts on every student, already theorizing about possible support items to help them improve. It was weird, they weren’t doing anything.

Just talking,, and laughing.

Mei wasn’t forced to listen to him, she choses to and not only that, she contributes in the madness that is Izuku’s analysis.

Is this what friends do?

The rest of the day went by smoothly. The two did manage to skip lunch, too busy ranting about quirks and future projects. Only returning to the studio seconds before their next period began.

Both parted ways to their own little space and continued working on their assignment. They still had a few hours to complete everything and tomorrow to test their items and or weapons before 1-A would receive the support items.

Izuku had asked his homeroom teacher if the student from the hero course would know who made the support items. He felt a weight fall of his shoulders when Power Loader said to him that they wouldn’t know unless they ask. Since it’s Bakugou we’re talking about he didn’t have to worry about the blonde wanting to fid out who made his items to thank him.

If he ever found out that he’s using Izuku’s inventions he might just throw them away immediately, or worse, use them against him.

Izuku preferred to live, thank you very much.

That’s a lie, he just refuses to die by the hands of that asshole.

The first school day came to an end and Izuku was now packing his bag and cleaning up his desk, sorting the metal scraps in what could be used for other things and what couldn’t be used anymore and thus belonged to the trash. He didn’t get to speak to any other student besides Mei but that was to be expected since he didn’t go to lunch and he didn’t want to disturb someone while working.

It's okay, he made one friend. That’s a huge improvement already!

When everything was cleaned up, and all the other students left to go home, Izuku too left the studio in search for the staff room. He had waited till everyone was gone, or at least out of sight. He didn’t want people to get the wrong idea.

It’s not exactly a normal thing to go to the teacher lounge as a student.

Checking his surroundings as casually as he can, Midoriya didn’t see any student’s in the hallway. Please no All Might!  Was his only thought before knocking and sliding the door open.

“Uhm, Hello? I was told to wait here?” Izuku looked around the room, no number one hero to see here. Or any other person for that matter. Izuku felt relieved as he entered the room and took a seat on the closest chair.

At least now I don’t have to worry about an awkward conversation with some teacher,, wait what would I even say? Am I allowed to talk about mic and Aizawa? Do the other people even know about them?? What if I say something I wasn’t meant to say?!

Right on time, the sliding door opened once again and a very done-looking man walked in. Izuku swore that he saw the man liven up for a second before returning to his eternal exhausted face.

“Rough first day?” Izuku asked, his head tilting slightly. The front pieces of hair swayed with the motion.

The hero dragged his hand across his face. “You have no idea. Already expelled one kid in my class, god knows how he even managed to get in.”

Izuku’s face twisted into something unpleasant. “ohh, yeah I saw that.” He recalled the memory of a tiny boy clinging onto a female student, refusing to let go. Aizawa needed to step in with his capture weapon and even then the boy refused to detach himself. After a lot of tugging and swearwords he got the student off the girl and personally escorted him inside to take him to Nedzu, not even releasing him from his scarf.

“What do you mean you saw?” Aizawa cocked his head, clearly waiting for an answer.

Clicking his tongue, “Welll, I kinda spied on you guys during lunch.” Izuku confessed. “Butttt” he held up his hand. “In my defence, you made it really easy for me to do so Mothman.” He shrugged as his eyes darted away from the man’s face. “not my fault you didn’t notice me.”

Aizawa opened his mouth, no sound came out. He only sighed. ”you know what, touché. But we are going to talk about this later.” He opened the sliding door and gestured for Izuku to follow him out. “Mic is already waiting by the car so let’s get moving shall we?”

“Did you at least have fun today, aside from stalking?”

Izuku thinks Aizawa almost sounded worried for him but that couldn’t be. The green haired boy gave Aizawa the finger guns as he happily spoke. “I made a friend, that’s good isn’t it?”

The man ruffled Izuku’s hair. “Friends are always good.”

Chapter Text

The car drive isn’t long but it felt like years were passing for Izuku. Not because of Walmart Mothman scolding him in his deadpan-way about how he should not sneak around since he could get hurt or in trouble. It was because the moment he sat down in the backseat and watched the two pro heroes in front of him his mind began to race.

All the thoughts he’s been avoiding all day had caught up with him, nestling in his head.

They’re going to send me back home. Last night was only because they felt like they needed to, it’s their job. They don’t really want me there. It’s just a way to get brownie points from the public. ‘they saved a quirkless person form ending his life and let them sleep at their own house, what generous people!’ Multiple possible headlines came to mind, each one of them felt more mocking than the last.

He felt his hands getting clammy, he removed them from his bag that he was clasping onto. It looked like it was the wrong decision to do so because the second he didn’t know where to put his hands he began subconsciously biting the skin around his nails.

It was a stupid habit, one he thought he had left in the past after Bakugou had beaten it out of him.

Your hands look even more disgusting now, god you really are useless.

He didn’t even feel Present Mic his hand on his, gently pulling it away from his mouth. Too lost in his head. Only when he realized that there was nothing in his mouth to bite down on anymore his eyes became less void.

Not aware of his surroundings yet he felt a larger and warmer hand than his on him. His body reacted before he could think about it.

Warm hands,, larger than mine,,

Kacchan’s hands were always warm,,

What did I do? Oh god, I did something again! He’s gonna- NO! Please don’t-

His whole body recoiled, backing up to the corner of the backseat. His arms already up in an attempt to protect his head.

He was shaking.

He tried to hide it even so, there was no use hiding it. If anything it would make the blonde angrier.

Ah?! You think you can act all big now?! You’re just a coward! Don’t hide it Deku!

“Izuku?” the voice felt further away than he’d expected. Kacchan should be closer, always is. A suffocating presence in his life. “Izuku, are you okay?”

The voice didn’t sound like Kacchan, unlike his hands his voice was cold and harsh.

This voice sounded caring, warm.

“Hey, I’m sorry Izuku, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Kacchan never apologizes. He isn’t someone to reflect, never.

This isn’t Kacchan.

“I’m sorry,,” he found his voice. His green eyes, now clear, looked up to see the two adults perplexed. He realised he was still curled up and repositioned himself. As if nothing happened a smile found its way to his lips. “I was lost in thought.” He said, convinced as if it was a good excuse for whatever happened seconds prior.

The two heroes kept staring. They tried to understand this boy in their car but too many pieces of the puzzle were missing. The switch was made so fast that the two thought they might have imagined it. Glancing towards each other, they confirmed that it was indeed real.

Hizashi was the first one to speak up, as he was the one that triggered the boy. “No, you shouldn’t apologize, I’m in the wrong.” He wanted to place a comforting hand on the boy’s knee but quickly decided against it. Pulling his hand back before it made contact he continued speaking. “I did something careless and ended up making you uncomfortable, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But-“

“No buts, Hizashi is right. We should’ve been more considerate.” Aizawa joined in. “Now, are we going to go inside or are we going to sleep in the car?” He tried to change topics.

They can always talk later, he doesn’t want to push the kid too much. Definitely not after seeing him like that.

Please don’t hit me..

The words were clear even when the kid’s voice was wavering and almost inaudible. He had a feeling that the boy might have some problems, but this was more than he had expected. This was most definitely a trauma response to physical abuse, Aizawa felt his blood boil.

What else is this kid hiding from them?

As far as he knows, the kid’s mother wasn’t one to hit him, only taking her anger out on objects around her or her boyfriend at that moment. Which means that at least one other person in his life was making thing difficult.

Shouta swore to himself that he’ll find out who.

“Sooo, I’m not pushing you guys but we really should talk about the elephant in the room, the elephant in the room being me of course.” Izuku stated, not even looking up from the kitchen table where he’d been double-checking his blueprint from earlier today.

 Two hours had passed since they got home and the two adults had been acting like they were walking on glass, sending each other glances every now and then, silently communicating about god-knows-what.

Izuku was used to being left out. He didn’t mind.

But this was about him, he didn’t want to disturb them for any longer. It was obvious they were uncomfortable because of him, who wouldn’t be after a stranger like him lives in your apartment?

So he had waited, watching them as both made moves to start a conversation, only for them to snap their mouths shut without saying a word and walking away. They really are too nice, I’m sure that I’m a nuance to them but they still try to remain friendly. He thought by himself.

Now that he had started the conversation himself he hoped it would make it easier for them to talk.

To send him back.

He didn’t want to look at their faces, not when he knows that their expression would be one of pity or annoyance. It’s not because he started the conversation that he actually wanted to have one. Sue him for being a coward and not meeting their eyes.

“ah, you noticed that huh?” Yamada chuckled nervously. “I thought we were hiding it pretty well.” He felt embarrassed.

If that was trying your hardest at hiding something then I pray for your secrets.

“Enough Hizashi, of course he’d notice. The kid is more observant than someone twice his age.” The other hero grumbled as he stared down his cup of black coffee.

It was hard not to notice, I find it weird that you stayed still for this long.

“Glad we’re all on the same page now,” Izuku spoke mostly to himself.

Yamada seemed to lighten up, his eyes shining brightly as they grew large. He quickly looked at his husband before returning his gaze to the teenager. “Really?! Does that mean that-“ The blonde had trouble controlling his voice quirk, his voice breaking at certain points.

He inhaled deeply, mentally preparing him for what comes next. He rolled up his blueprint, looked up at them and gave them a miserable smile. “I’ll leave you guys alone.”

Hizashi’s face fell immediately. Aizawa almost spat out his coffee.

“I must have made you guys uncomfortable, so thank you for your hospitality until now but I think my time to leave has come.” Izuku continued, oblivious to the change in demeanour. “I’ll just grab my bag and see myself out.”

He wanted to stand up to go grab everything he needed but was gently pushed back into his seat by Aizawa. Confused as he was, he could only look up at the hero. His brows knitted as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

“You think we’d let you go back?” his face was void, but his tone sounded hurt. “Kid, You really thought that?”

Izuku shrugged as he avoided eye contact feeling small. “What else could it be?! You guys looked  fucking uncomfortable with me being here these past few hours. I have eyes too you know.” He pushed the hand on his shoulder away. “It’s not like you guys were acting subtle.”

The two were baffled. Where did they go wrong?

“Izuku,, we don’t want you to leave?” Hizashi tried, slowly walking towards the boy and sitting beside him. He bit on his lip, selecting his words carefully. “I- no, Shouta and I told you yesterday that you could stay didn’t we?”

“Cause it’s your job to help people, you don’t actually want me here.” He mumbled. His eyes still refused to meet the blonde.

“What? Oh no buddy, it’s nothing like that!” The blonde panicked. “Look at me Izuku.” Reluctantly Izuku gave in and looked up. “You’re not making us uncomfortable, we also didn’t invite you here to stay because we are heroes but because we care.” He gave the boy a wobbly smile. “The thing was,,” the blonde trailed off, looking at his husband for some help.

“Hizashi and I have been talking and considering the situation you’re in, we wanted to ask if you’d like to stay,, permanently.” Aizawa’s voice was even. He hoped that even though he doesn’t express as much emotion as his partner Izuku would pick up on his sincerity.

“He means adopt.” Hizashi added.

“of course, you don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to. We can always drop you off at a family member or friend if that makes you more comfortable. We’d just like to refrain you from returning back home to your mother after hearing what’s been happening.” Hizashi just nodded in agreement as his husband spoke.

“We can’t force you to do anything you hate.”

The silence that followed felt heavy on the chest. It was,, a lot to process. One minute ago Izuku was so sure he was going to get kicked out, but now? They want him to stay?

Adopt him?

“Why?” Izuku questioned, mostly to himself. He made a grossed out face. “I’m not-“

Useful

I’m not like others, I can’t be like others.

I am,, the useless Deku?

“Because you fit in with us. We’ve only known you for a short while but it was enough to know that we want you here,, we want you to stay.” Hizashi tried to remain calm, hopeful even. It hurts him to see the boy like this, so unsure about everything and already so sure that he’s undesired.

He’d thought, with how observant the boy is, that they were indeed on the same page. He thought that Izuku knew that they wanted him to be a part of this family,,

Not that he thought that Shouta and him would send him away.

“Can I think about it? For a while?” Izuku’s expression was unsure. He’d closed himself off and wanted to withdraw for a moment. Pushing now would only make things worse.

Aizawa noticed this and placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder, a silent signal for him to back off and let the kid breathe. “Sure, come to use whenever you’re ready.” A rare soft grin on his face.

Reassure, comfort,

Don’t push him too hard.

Izuku removed himself from the room. Both heroes watched as he made his way towards the guest room.

“Hey little listener?” Yamada knocked on the door before opening it. “I know we said we’ll give you some space to think, I though you might be hungry.”

In his hand was a plate filled with food. Now that he thought about it. Izuku hadn’t eaten anything today due to skipping lunch. He wasn’t really hungry but he appreciated the thought. “Thanks. You can leave it there I’ll eat it later.”

“oh okay,,” the blonde looked lost in thought when placing the plate on his bureau. “Can I tell you a story of some sort?”

“Ok, what kind of story?”

Izuku didn’t feel like talking, conversations took too much energy. Energy that he doesn’t have at the moment. But a story could be good, he doesn’t have to speak, only listen. He could do that, it might be a good thing if it helps to stop overthinking everything.

“Wellll, you know how Shouta and I have been married for a while now?” Izuku simply hummed in response. “Right, and we were, still are, very happy with our current life in our apartment and our cats.”

“But?”

Hizashi chuckled. “But, we’ve always felt incomplete. On the surface it looked like we had everything we’ve ever wanted, a place to live in, a stable career, some cats and,, each other. Something was missing. I’ve always dreamed of having a family, while Shouta,,” he sighed. “Shouta never thought being a father.”

“So when I brought up the possibility for adoption, he’d almost passed out.” That did make Izuku laugh for a bit. Seeing how emotionless that man always is, he bets that it was a alarming too see. “After a long talk we decided against it. Not because he wasn’t open to it, there was too much risk involved.”

Izuku furrowed his brows and wanted to speak up. Question the man as to what risks were involved but Yamada already continued speaking.

“we’re both heroes, underground heroes at that. With that comes a lot of enemies and irregular hours. If we were to have a young child, we wouldn’t be sure if we could give them everything they needed,, we didn’t want them to be in danger because of our choices to be a hero. But adopting older ones scared us.”

He bit on his lip. “Adopting a child is not a game and a lot of the older kids have been hurt too much, have been transferred too much and don’t allow themselves to trust a new foster family. It’s hard trying to save someone when they don’t allow themselves to be saved. they have been through so much we can’t even begin to imagine, let alone how to help.”

“We would never adopt someone knowing that we aren’t the right person for them.” He looked at Izuku. “but then Shouta met you.” He smiled as if it was a fond memory he himself was a part of. “I’ve never seen him so attached to one child in all his years of teaching, he kept mentioning you in passing not even realizing what he was doing. Hell, he even bragged about you when he came home from the entrance exam to me, he’s never done that!”

“The thing is.” He placed both hands on Izuku’s shoulders. “Both Shouta and I have become attached to you, we want to see and help you grow. It may sound silly since you’ve only met us a couple of times but it’s true. You’re the piece we’ve been missing all these years and I hope,,” he made sure that Izuku was still listening. “that you’ll allow us to be part of your life.”

“But why me? I’m not special.”

“You are to us, Izuku you’re an amazing and kind-hearted child. I know that you might not see it but we do. And I’ll be damned if I won’t acknowledge that.”

Silence followed, but it wasn’t a painful one. Both sat on the bed and simply existed. Hizashi was done with his story and Izuku was repeating the last few sentences in his head.

“I’ll leave now, the decision is completely yours to make. I just wanted to tell you where we were coming from.” He stood up. “Whatever decision you make, we’ll support you.”

Izuku had a lot to think about after Present Mic left the room again. He doesn’t know how long it has been since then but it must have been longer than he thought seeing how the sun has gone down.

It’s like Present Mic had said, He has been hurt one too many time, he doesn’t want to trust people. He can’t afford to. All he did, gaining muscle, improving his analysis, getting into UA, all he did without the help of anyone. What if everything falls apart the moment he puts his trust into someone, another authority figure that could fail him. Just like the ones before them.

But Aizawa was the one beside him when he woke up in the hospital, both times, had helped him when his mind got the best of him. Present Mic had reassured him every time he’d look nervous, he even gave him his headphones when normally no one would be able to touch them.

They have been so good to him.

And yet.

Why is he hesitating?

You know why. You don’t actually deserve this. People like you are a fault in the world, you aren’t supposed to be here.

Leave.

In the beginning he’d wanted to leave, was so sure that everything they did was out of pity. They’re heroes, it’s what they do even if it causes inconvenience to them. But then Present Mic had to screw with his head, telling a story.

Their story.

And how they had become attached so quickly, that they wanted him.

No one ever wants me.

“We would never adopt someone knowing that we aren’t the right person for them.”

Did that mean that they thought they were the right people for him? That they could help him?

But they can’t help, I can’t be fixed. I’m a mess.

But they have waited for so long, and they chose me. Me out of all the other children in the world. The ones with pretty quirks or more outstanding grades, they all didn’t matter to them.

They want me?

Izuku knew the answer to their offer.

“I’m giving you guys a chance.” Full of fake confidence Izuku stood in front of the couple. “Please don’t waste it.”

He has achieved so much all by himself, he’d be a fool if he lets anyone take that away from him. But this is the last time. One last time will he try and let people in.

He can do this.

Chapter Text

They had a lot to talk about now that Izuku will stay here. The heroes weren’t the boy’s legal guardian nor were they a relative. Normally they would need the approval and signature from the parents but the situation is,, messy.

Inko showed multiple types of child neglect. Physical, emotional and medical neglect, they could even speak about educational neglect since Izuku himself was making sure he was still enrolled in school and paying the school bills.

The mother was only a mother in name, never present in his life after his early childhood.

Izuku’s father was not in the picture, but if everything comes to light about the boy’s homelife people might send the boy to his father since he’s still a legal guardian on paper. Although they don’t have any contact with each other.

Whatever they needed to do, they would not let that happen. Midoriya getting send back to his father would mean moving and transferring schools, abandoning everything he’s worked so hard for. Both adults didn’t want that for Izuku.

As pro heroes they do have an advantage, they technically ‘saved’ a young teen boy from an bad situation and are making sure that the boy was okay. Even so, that doesn’t mean that Inko won’t put up a fight.  If they take it to court, there is a chance that neither of them are seen as a good guardian and they’ll send Izuku to a foster home.

Shouta had called the station, asking them if someone had reported a teenager missing but no report was made. Yet. Nevertheless, this could work in their favour, it has been 2 days since Izuku ran away and since there is no one looking for him this only proves their point that Inko is neglecting her responsibilities as a parent.

Both had agreed to wait a bit longer, waiting until the end of the week until they would make their move. If until then, no report has shown up telling them that Midoriya was a runaway child, they would have a good chance of resolving this quickly.

Izuku will be part of their family, he deserves people that care about him.

In the meantime, they’ll pick him up off the floor where the world has left him.

Every

Single

Piece

Their first assignment was a success, everyone had successfully finished their support item for a specific student in the hero course. Later, the support course would be able to see clips of the students using them. Izuku couldn’t wait.

Mei and him had already seen a glimpse of everyone but seeing them in a real training session would be much more interesting, they’d see how their creations are used in real battle, how good of a fit it was and if they could improve the design after analysing everything.

And the best part was, they were allowed to see every clip, even the ones of students that they had nothing to do with. Izuku would need to look at Bakugou but at least he could rinse his eyes by watching other students right after.

Students that are worthy of being there.

Future heroes that will actually care about the people they will save.

Not bullies like him.

But first they needed to survive math class,, if time could only move a bit faster.

“The hero course is in battle training right as we speak, as I mentioned earlier today you’ll be able to look at clips from their training so you can evaluate your support items and those of others. Before we can proceed to make other projects, we need to study our own designs and those of others around yourself. Find faults you didn’t see when you made it, think about what you should do to improve it, point out the pros and cons of the inventions made by your classmates.” Power Loader explained.

“You get until Friday to study these clips and write about what you’ve seen, you do not only write about your own inventions but also about those of your classmates. I challenge you to disassemble someone else’s thought process. Why did they make it like that? Were they wrong by doing so? Understanding others is a must and you might even get to learn new things that you can use in your future projects.” Izuku could hear some students sigh at the thought of having to write an essay.

Personally he was excited to analyse his peers, pick their brain a bit.

“The clips can be found on the school website after you log in and go to the support course page. They will stay available the whole time so you can rewatch them and go over your notes. I wish you all good luck.” With that Power Loader sat down and opened his own laptop, most likely watching the live broadcast of the hero course and selecting what parts he should clip and upload.

The other students were a bit at a loss as of now. Making stuff was easy to most, but to pick apart another ones design without a blueprint or real info besides of what they can see was new to them. There was no reason to look at others, to focus on what they were doing.

To Izuku it felt like paradise.

For the first time he’d be able to analyse people without them looking at him like he was a creep. It wasn’t the same as analysing quirks but he could work with that. He’ll show them what he’s capable of.

Right when Izuku went to sit down next to Mei Power Loader spoke up. “Oh, Midoriya, could you give this to Aizawa Sensei? He’s the homeroom teacher of class 1-A, so he should be in the teacher lounge right about now.” He shoved a small stack of papers to the corner of his desk as he waited for a response.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you Midoriya, you know where the teacher lounge is?” His teacher asked. With a quick nod of acknowledgement Izuku left the studio in search of Aizawa.

When Power Loader had said Aizawa’s name Izuku had a small heart attack. He was sure that the three of them had decided to keep things quiet for as long as possible, since they didn’t want any unwanted attention. Luckily, it had nothing to do with them as it was a simple errand.

Stop freaking out over nothing or you’ll be the one to give it away.

So Izuku walked through the halls, looking around while doing so. Committing every detail to memory as things still didn’t feel real to him, like he’d wake up and he’d be back in his room surrounded by empty walls once adorned with posters.

Too soon he’d reached the teacher lounge, knocking on the door before sliding it open. “Excuse me, Power loader said to deliver this to Aizawa sensei.” He began.

In a second a tall curvy woman with long dark purple hair stood in front of him. Izuku recognized her immediately. Midnight, this is the first time I’ve seen her up close!

“Oh hello there” She greeted. “You’re here for Aizawa right?” she looked behind her for a moment, making eye contact with several other teachers in the room before turning back to look at Izuku once again. “I’m afraid he isn’t here at the moment, you can always try going to his classroom?” she looked apologetic.

“Then I’ll go there, thank you!” Izuku bowed quickly, thanking her for her time before walking away in search of the classroom.

He didn’t know exactly where it was, but he’ll find it eventually right?

Izuku had been wandering for a while now, and was on his way to the last part of the school that he didn’t explore yet. He would’ve thought that the hero course would be on the upper floor but he was surprised to find gen ed there.

The boy stopped in his tracks when he heard humming. Is that what I think it is? Izuku strained his ears. Is that the fucking wii theme song? Who in the hell-

Izuku needed to know. He needed to know which student in their right mind would hum such a thing. When he walked around the corner however he froze.

A boy his age, short golden hair with a black lighting bold painted in his fringe. The boy was not wearing the school uniform but a blank white shirt with black pants and jacket.

Is he a student?

Is he okay?

The lanky blonde was humming, both hands sticking out giving a thumbs up as he walked in circles. He didn’t look like he was aware of what he was doing.

It’s like,, he’s not really there. Is he disassociated? But why? What could have been the reason?

Izuku walked towards the other boy, waving the papers in front of the boy’s face. No reaction. “Hello?” he tried. “Helloo, can you hear me?”

The other boy didn’t stop humming.

He’s definitely not in the right mind to be left alone. I’ll take him to the nurse just to be sure. Power Loader can wait.

“I’m going to touch you for a bit, so don’t panic ok?” He wasn’t sure if the boy would hear him, but he’d liked to think that he did. With that in mind, he gently placed his hands on the taller boy’s shoulder and arm to lead him. The other surprisingly did not struggle and followed Izuku’s pace effortlessly.

“Be careful, there are stairs right here.”

Recovery girl wasn’t there when Izuku arrived with the boy. He’d thought about leaving the boy but decided against it.

If it were me I wouldn’t like being left alone when I was in a vulnerable state like this. Power Loader would understand if I explained my disappearance.

“Come on, let’s get you into bed while we wait for the nurse.” It felt weird talking to someone when they didn’t respond. The blonde had stopped humming, instead he started to mumble words with no real meaning behind them.

“That’s right, good. Now don’t lean b- FUCK” Just as Izuku almost succeeded to get the boy in the bed, the blonde leaned back and lost his balance. Midoriya was fast enough to catch him before he would hit his head on a nearby table. “Christ, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t die while being in my care.” He huffed as he still held onto the boy.

“let’s try something else,,” He scooped up the boy bridal style. “I’m really sorry if this makes you uncomfortable.” Please don’t wake up right now or I’ll crawl in a hole and die. Izuku took a few steps so that the blonde in his arms was hovering above the bed and slowly lowered him. After checking that the blonde will not fall off the bed Izuku stepped back and placed himself on a chair.

The unknown boy had long stopped giving the thumbs up and mumbling. Soon after lying down, his eyes closed and it looked like he’d passed out for real now. When Izuku studied the face he couldn’t help but notice that the boy was quite pretty, fair skin, long eyelashes that rested on his cheeks.

Embarrassed when he realised what he was thinking he turned his head, focusing on the walls instead.

“I hope that recovery girl is coming back soon,,”

Denki woke up and immediate felt confused. He’d been in class with All Might with Jiro. He remembers having a stand-off Yaoyorozu and overusing his quirk. Everything that followed was a blur, he doesn’t even remember if his team won the exercise.

But where am I? I was sure I would still be on the training grounds, maybe the changing room,,

He realised he was lying in a bed in what looked like recovery’s girl her office. How? Then he noticed  green haired boy on a chair next his bed deeply invested in whatever was on his phone. The boy had yet to notice the other male who had woken up, his eyes focused on the screen.

What drew Denki in was the fact that one, this freckled boy did not know how to sit normally and second, he didn’t know this boy. He’s not someone from his class nor his friend so what was he doing here beside his bed as if he was waiting for him to wake up?

Was he waiting for him?

That would a first,,

Denki, now curious decided to speak up. “Uhm, hey?” the other boy flinched at the sudden voice, green eyes changing their focus onto the blonde.

“You’re awake! Great! Are you feeling ok? Do I need to get recovery girl?” the boy started speaking in a rapid pace, looking up and down to check if the he was indeed ok.

It was an adorable sight Denki thought. “ah, yes, I’m okay now. Why am I here?” he pointed at the boy. “And who are you? I don’t think we’ve met?”

The unknown boy flushed at the words. “Right! I’m Izuku, I’m from the support course.” Only first name? “I found you while I was looking for someone and you looked pretty out of it so I decided to take you here, unfortunate for you recovery girl hasn’t returned yet.”

Ah, I must have been taking up much of his time,,

The feeling of guilt came all too quickly, but he tried to not let it show too much. “I’m sorry for taking you’re time, I’m sure you’re busy,,” a thought came in. “You’re not in trouble because of me are you?!”

The other boy chuckled and scratched his cheek. “ah, Power Loader will understand if I explain everything, besides, we’re supposed to watch clips about the hero course right now and that’s what I’ve been doing.” Izuku explained. “Can’t punish me for doing what I’m supposed to do.”

Did he say hero course??

“Wait what clips?” Denki cocked his head to try and sneak a peak of the boy’s screen. On the phone’s screen was a paused clip of Sero in the middle of fending off Asui.

The boy was a bit reluctant but started clarifying. “Wellll,, we made your support items and now we have to review their practicality in battle, therefore we need to watch people aka you guys use them in order to see if we did a good job or if we need to change anything later on.” He pressed play and Denki noticed how the clip was solely focused on the moment where they used their weapons, even zooming in at moments.

“By the way, you should really refrain from using that amount of electricity without having something that could conduct the energy away from your head. It’s only a guess but I think the reason why you black out after such a stunt is because you fry your brain. It’s not because you’re able to absorb and neutralize electricity that it doesn’t have any long term damage. So I suggest you go to the support department and ask for a rubber choker or some sorts. Since rubber is a good insulator it would prevent the electrons from moving freely to your brain and it might stop you from short-circuiting or at least give you more time before it happens.”

Denki blinked a couple times, speechless.

Izuku noticing the silence looked up from his phone and to the blonde. His brows showing concern. “I’m sorry, that might have been insensitive of me to say,,”

Instantly Denki eyes went wide, flailing his arms around. “Oh, no, no, you’re cool dude! It’s okayyy. You’re only trying to help!” He tried to reassure the guy. “It was a good suggestion, so I might ask Sensei if I can request another support item.”

He seemed to realise something. “Shit, I never introduced myself.” He held out his hand, Izuku accepted it and shook his hand. “I’m Denki Kaminari, but I guess you already know that haha.” Nice safe dumbass,,

He still had one question burning in his mind. Looking at how the green haired boy was easy going and friendly he decided to go for it. “Hey so,, why did you stay?”

Large green eyes stared at him, confusion clear. He looked like a large puppy. “what do you mean?” Izuku questioned.

Denki swallowed, “Why did you decide to stay after bringing me here? You could have just gone back to class.” He didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but he couldn’t understand why this boy he’s never seen before would risk getting in trouble by staying with him.

“Does there have to be a reason?” He fired back. “I stayed because I wanted to and I didn’t want you to wake up alone and confused.” He spoke as it was a natural thing to do.

As it was simple.

When was the last time someone waited for me after I short-circuited? Denki couldn’t remember. After the first few times his family just left him alone since he wouldn’t do anything dangerous, his classmates in middle school would laugh and take photos. He grew used to it, to be ridiculed in that state. Even his class this year wasn’t any different.

“Thanks, It means a lot.” He gave the boy a bright toothy smile.

The boy waved it away. “It’s nothing much, anyone would do the same thing.”

No they wouldn’t.

Denki liked this boy, he doesn’t know anything about him besides his name and class but he was good at reading people. He’d like it if they could be friends, maybe he and Izuku could work together on improving his gear. “Hey Izuku, you said you were from the support department right?”

Izuku nodded. “Jhups, it may not be as cool as the hero course but I like it.”

“Hey, hey none of that! You guys make this ultra-cool equipment for us, without you guys we wouldn’t look as fine as we do now.” He laughed. “But that’s besides the point. What I wanted to say is, can I visit from time to time?”

Izuku was taken aback and it took a while for him to collect himself. “Yeah sure! I’d love that, I could also introduce you to the person that worked on your costume! It could be fun!” he was getting excited over the thought of making another friend.

Was Kaminari another friend? He could consider him as one right?

“Great! We could talk about all kinds of things!” Denki started matching Izuku’s excitement. “Hey are you done watching those clips? If not would you mind if I watch with you? Since, you know I fried my brain halfway through?”

“Yeah sure, let me turn a bit so we can watch it easier.” Izuku turned his chair so that Denki could watch over his shoulder while still laying in the bed.

The two boys were chatting about the exercise when Izuku’s ringtone filled the room. “oh, let me get that for a sec.” he picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“IZUKUUU!!!” the boy winced as he puts more distance between him and his phone. Even Kaminari could hear everything loud and clear despite the gap between the two. “WHERE ARE YOU??”

“Sorry Mei, I got caught up in something.” He looked over to the blonde who mouthed the words ‘sorry’. “Whatcha need?”

“You’re not going on an adventure without me are you?! ANYWAYYY, I watched the clips and I’m already done with my notes and I’m bored now. Knowing you, you’re already done with yours sooooo wanna compare?” Izuku had to stop himself from laughing at Kaminari’s face. The girl on the other line spoke fast, so fast that if you weren’t used to it you wouldn’t understand a single thing.

“WE STIL HAVE TWO HOURS AND I’M ALLLLLL ALONEEEE!!! IZUKU I NEED YOU, please come baccckkkkkk!!!!” she fake sobbed. Izuku really hoped that she wasn’t still in the studio. It would be quite awkward if he were to return and all eyes were on him.

Apologetic, he looked at the blonde. Denki smiled and whispered. “Go, I’ll see you later.”

“Aight, I’ll see you in 5 Mei.” With that he hung up.

“Looks like I’ve taken too much of your time, a classmate?”

“yeah,, guess I’ll have to go now. Can’t disappoint her.” He sighed, grabbing everything.

Kaminari wiggled his eyebrows. “Is she your girlfriend??” he teased. Izuku’s response was to drop everything he was holding, sharply turning to face the other.

His cheeks aflame. “God no! Do you know how much chaos that would bring??!” he looked disturbed. Denki only laughed at the other’s despair.

“fineee, you say that now but you never know-“ Izuku stopped him by covering his mouth with his hand. “Don’t. Say. Another. Word.”

“If that ever happens you have my permission to knock me out.” He added in a joking tone as he went to pick up everything he’d dropped. “Besides, I’m more interested in the other team.” Denki was confused over the last bit but decided to let the topic go. He had his laugh.

“Oh, you’re in Aizawa’s class right?” Denki hummed. “Great! Could you give this to him when you see him? just say it’s from Power Loader.” He handed the blonde the papers. “I was searching for him but couldn’t find him, maybe you have better luck.” Then he grabbed another note and wrote something on it. “And this is for Todoroki.” He placed it on top of the other papers.

“Sure, I can do that.” Denki confirmed, although he looked a bit puzzled. Probably due to the note directed to Todoroki.

Izuku thanked him. “Make sure you pass by our department okay? I’ll go now.” With that he left Kaminari in recovery girl’s office, running towards his own class.

All Might was the one to supervise that class. Not only did he decide to have a freaking battle class, he decided it fully knowing that the majority has no experience fighting others, but he also left a student alone who was in a helpless state!! He didn’t even send someone to take him to the nurse! What will he do if his students get hurt because they are forced to do things they have never done before!

Izuku was livid, but he wasn’t going to show that when he was with Kaminari. HE DIDN’T EVEN THINK OF IT AS WRONG! Kaminari had thought it was normal to be abandoned by a teacher!

Is that good for nothing dipshit even a verified teacher?? He should’ve started with teaching them basic hand to hand combat! Not push them in a scenario where they have to face each other with their quirks!? Hell Bakugou almost killed that girl with his support items,,

He almost killed someone with his support items,, the same items that I created,,

No, it’s not my fault that he uses it like that. It’s his own choice to use it to harm others. It was All Might’s choice to not stop Bakugou from crossing the line. He should’ve ended the practice battle the moment he noticed the dangers and he didn’t.

Izuku wasn’t going to waste time beating himself down because someone used his invention for evil. It doesn’t make his invention bad. it’s just like a quirk, no quirk in inherently bad or good, it’s how you decide to use it that determines whether it’s good or evil.

It’s not Izuku’s fault.

Surprisingly, Midoriya and Mei had a totally different view on things after comparing answers. Mei saw faults as something that could be improved, to be changed in something else and even better. Izuku saw faults as something that needed to be removed, to simplify the design. Too much never was a good thing. Too many buttons may lead to mistakes if pressed the wrong one when the heroes need to act fast.

It was interesting to say the least and both learned a lot. They even went as far as to drag Power Loader into the discussion, who had an even more unique view on things. The conversation ran longer than either of them thought and they stayed in the studio while others went out to stretch their legs.

It was then that a knock on the door drew their attention. In the middle of the doorway stood a tired looking boy with lavender hair and a stack of papers. “Is this the support department?”

Izuku was the fastest and ran towards the boy, crossing his arms. “You’re at the right address, watcha looking for?” Izuku had to look up to maintain eye contact with the deep purple eyes. Maybe it was not the best idea to get this close? Izuku had seen a lot of pretty people, hell he even met Kaminari not even an hour ago, but they didn’t compare to this unknown person.

Pale skin that only stood out more due to the eyebags under his eyes, dark bushy eyebrows slightly arched in curiosity. His face was sculped but there was enough baby fat left to give it a soft edge here and there. And his overall body,, let’s say Izuku needed to catch his breath.

Is it bad that I find him more attractive because he looks like he can punch my face? I blame Bakugou, he’s conditioned me into masochism.

The boy looked over him, ignoring Izuku and spoke towards their teacher. “I needed to come here for a costume and to make requests for support items?”

Okay rude. Izuku thought.

Their homeroom teacher looked confused. “I thought that everyone got their costume and gear?” he shook his head in thought. “Take a seat.” He motioned towards the table where the tree had been talking.

Once everyone was seated the purple haired boy handed Power Loader all the papers he had with him. Power Loader scanned the documents quickly. “ah Hitoshi Shinou former gen ed student,, this explains a lot.”

The boy, apparently named Shinsou shrugged. “After expelling a student on the first day class 1-A has an uneven number of students. For future training exercises it would be easier if the number was once again even. As result I was called into the office today with the offer of transferring this morning.”

Pffttt, he has the same tone of voice as Mothman.

The hero nodded in understanding, still scanning the other papers in hand. “So after abruptly transferring you’re still in need of a costume, okay,, do you have a design ready?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Both Izuku and Mei winced at that, already knowing that this will be a pain. Knowing the hero course, they would like it if everything was ready by the end of the week. Which is not possible unless they would overwork themselves. Not that they care about that. As long as the hero course can shine brightly it doesn’t matter.

Designing a costume takes time, so most students already had multiple designs to choose from that they made over the course of time. But this guy didn’t have anything, thought that there was no reason to design one since he wasn’t accepted.

They would need to start from scratch,,

“This isn’t going to be easy,,” the teacher sighed. “All of my second and third year students are busy with their own projects and,, a brainwashing quirk activated by answering questions,, the first years are not experienced enough to handle that,, even if they could they have their hands full with this week assignment”

“I can do it!”

Both the teacher and Shinsou turned to look at Izuku who looked like he would burst out of excitement. “I can do it! Please let me do it!”

Power Loader’s face scrunched up. “Midoriya,,”

“No really! I’ve done a lot of research on mental and voice quirks so I’m not unfamiliar at all and if this week assignment is the problem,,” he rummaged through is bag, pulling out a notebook. “I’m already finished and could hand it in right this moment.” He opened the notebook and pushed it towards the man.

The hero was silent as he read what was in the notebook. He was perplexed at quality of the essay and didn’t need to read any further before closing the notebook. “Alright,, but only if Shinsou gives his consent. This is after all his costume.”

Izuku’s head turned and gave the boy his best pair of puppy eyes without looking too desperate. Please let me do this!

After a good minute of silent eye contact between the two, Shinsou gave in, his eyes turning away to look at the wall. “Fine, why not.”

“YES!!! Thank you!” Izuku shot up and hugged the taller man. “You won’t be disappointed!”

Shinsou didn’t know what to do. There was a guy hugging him, a very attractive guy at that. I’m not blushing right? Don’t make it weird! He swallowed thickly as he waited for the guy Midoriya was it? to back off again.

He did not have the time to have a gay panic right now.

“oh sorry, I got a bit excited huh?” the shorter boy looked down, a light blush dusting his cheeks. He has freckles,, how adorable.

“It’s alright, Midoriya right?”

He could swear that he saw the boy cringe for a second there before Midoriya laughed. “Izuku is fine.” Izuku looked at the clock. “next period is starting soon, do you have anything to do after school? We can meet here and start brainstorming?” he suggested.

After confirming that there was indeed no time to start now Shinsou grinned. “Why not, I don’t have anything planned anyway.”

“Good! I mean, not good as in good that you don’t have any plans, but urghh,, I’ll shut up now,,”

One of the nervous kind huh?

“I’ll see you then.” He waved them goodbye. And picked up his backpack, only to be stopped by the pink haired girl that had been weirdly silent the whole time he’d been here. “what?”

The girl in question only smirked. “You’ve been claimed.” She said.

What? Claimed? By who?

“What the hell do you mean by that?” he furrowed his brows.

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Exactly what I said eyebags, you’ve been claimed by the sunshine boy.” She poked his chest. “Consider yourself lucky.” With that she turned her back to him and sprinted towards the boy in question. “Izuku!!! Do you want to try out my newest baby?”

He watched as the two took what looked like a modified bow and arrow and took it as a sign for him to leave.

Sunshine boy? I guess it suits him.

He didn’t come to this school to make friends. Friends would only leave him once they knew what his quirk was. They got scared of him and every time he asks a question. So he ignored the boy when he ran up to him. there is no need to make an effort if he already knew the outcome.

But then, even after that teacher had given away his quirk,, this guy was essentially begging them to give this project to him. He wasn’t scared. No. Izuku was thrilled. It was weird to see someone react positively after learning about his quirk and Shinsou couldn’t help but be intrigued by it.

He still doesn’t have any intention in making friends, but he could indulge himself for a little before this boy leaves him like all the rest.

Besides, I’m only a project to him.

“Kaminari, You’re late.” Aizawa wanted to go home. He missed his cats,, and his bed. It was only the second day of school and he was exhausted. This year was filled with problem children, unfortunately all of them had potential, which meant he couldn’t expel them. Even if they annoyed the shit out of him.

“Sorry Sensei.” He apologized before placing the stack of papers on his desk. “I needed to give this to you, It’s from Power Loader.”

The hero looked sceptical. “You met Power Loader on your way here?”

“oh no. I met a student of his, we crossed paths earlier but he couldn’t find you and asked if I could deliver it instead.” It looked like Kaminari was holding back information, but Aizawa let it go. It’s not like anything bad could have happened anyway.

“Alright, Thank you Kaminari. You can go take a seat now.” He watched as the blonde walked towards his desk, only to stop briefly at Todoroki’s desk and slip him what looks like a note. Whatever, as long as he doesn’t start passing notes during class I have no problem with it.

“Now that everyone is here let’s start.”

“This is for you.” Kaminari had whispered to him as he slipped a note on his desk. Todoroki had frowned at first. What do they want now. He had succeeded in limiting his social interactions and he wanted to keep it this way. The blonde was too loud so he had avoided him the most and still.

Here he is giving me notes, what a waste of paper. He thought by himself.

He had no intention of reading the note. But he felt his eyes fall back on the note every few minutes. After repeating this process multiple times, Shouto gave in and picked up the note. He looked around to see if Aizawa would notice it.

He unfolded the note and read:

Not only is your costume atrocious and painful to look at, it’s impractical. Fix it.

-sincerely, someone with eyes in the support department.

The bi-coloured student didn’t know whether he should be offended by this or amused. Since a small grin found it’s way on his otherwise emotionless face he decided on the second option. No one spoke to him like that, all afraid to offend the son of a pro hero. It was a breath of fresh air.

Shouto himself already knew that his costume was impractical, covering half his body in ice means that mobility was significantly reduced. But it wasn’t like he needed to move much, his quirk allowed him to freeze anyone in a matter of seconds, there was no need for dodging or quick movement.

And still,

He can’t say he isn’t interested in this particular individual that dared to reach out to him in this manner.

Guess I’ll have to visit the Support department soon.

Chapter Text

Alright, Power Loader entrusted this project to you, you can’t fuck it up. You can’t be a disappointment. You’ve got to prove them wrong, everyone will see that you can be useful.

P̴̱̯͆̈́R̸̻̙͕͙͇͎̱͎̞̜̓̂͑̾͛̽̒̎̔̈́̚͝O̷̢̲̱͙͓̍̿̑̈͋̇́̑̏̒̄͆̑̂̚V̷͓̔̈́̓̾̍E̴̡̢͍̗̤͚̔̏̐͗͊̉̽̓̀̉̂͝ ̶̨̹̼̹̤̖̤̰̪̝̪̎̓̈́̄̇̈̈́́̇́́͛Y̶̧̛̭̞̱͓̭̳̺̟̠͐̍͋̍̈́̿͂̂͂̐̂͗͝͝O̶̼̥̜̣͉͔̺͔͐̈́̇̑͜͜ͅŮ̶̮̪́͑͗̃̏͗̉̈́̈́̓ ̶͉̗̈́̓̄̇̌̎͆̂̃̈́̆͂̃̏͘Ç̴̡̡̨̳̘͍̮̪͖̮̭͙̈̋̾̅̃̋̅̅̉͌͋Ả̷̡̖̲͎͌͗̌̾̓̈̑̑̐͘̚͝͠N̸̨̞̳͔͚͉̻̠̥̮̻̣͇̍̈́̋̅̏͝ ̴̡̞̳͉̲͚͉͖̝͍̭͕͛̃̋͑̏̈́́̊̓͝͝B̷̦̫̓̓̍͑͋͐̆̈͝͝Ȅ̷̛̪͖̙̤͝ ̴͎͙̺̥̮͎͕͖͔̳̓̑̃͆̈͊̏̃͐͝U̷̞͙̔̑͠S̵̡̧̳͎̞͖̘̯̙̝̞͇̹͑̈́͊̍̋̐́̃̍͠Ȩ̶͈̠̜̹͍͈͚̣̏F̵̢̘̪͎̪̩̜̙̪͇̖͈̩̭͆̑̐͠Ų̵̧̙̣̞̪̈́̆̽̈́́̾̔̈́͘ͅL̸̩̭͉̦̠̩̱̱͐̑̕͜

“Ah Shinsou you’re already here!” Midoriya looked surprised and checked the time on his laptop. A gentle smile surfaced.

“yes?” the other boy was confused. “You told me to meet here after school ends?” Did I get the time wrong? “should I come back later?”

Midoriya’s eyes went wide, “NO! sorry that was loud,, you’re right but I didn’t expect you to come this quicky,, NOT THAT I EXPECT YOU TO BE A SLACKER!” his voice was all over the place, it was good that they were the only ones here. “I’ll stop talking before I embarrass myself any further.” He gave up on defending himself and his word choices.

It did help him feel more at ease, knowing that he wasn’t the only one that wasn’t good at conversation. Just a little bit.

“you can sit down, I’m just going to have to call someone.” Midoriya grabbed his phone.

“Your parents?” Shinsou asked, mostly to be polite.

Izuku didn’t look up from his phone, searching for the right contact. “Mhm, they normally pick me up so I’ve got to tell them that I’ll be later today. Aha! Found it!”

“Kid?” a beat. “You’re not in trouble are you?”

Izuku gasped and made an offended face even though the person at the other side wouldn’t be able to see it. “How dare you! I would NEVER! I’m a good boy you know that.” Midoriya looked back at Shinsou who had to stifle a laugh. He felt his lips curl upwards at the sight.

“okay I had my fun, I’m calling you to let you know that I’ll be late, so you guys can go home without me.” He was pacing back and forth as he added further detail. “I’m working on a extra assignment so I’ll stay in the studio for a while longer, I don’t know when I’ll be done here though,, so I’ll probably take the bus home or something.”

“alright, but if it gets later than 6 you call me or Hizashi, you’re not familiar with our neighbourhood and I don’t want you to ride the bus when it gets dark, we’ll come to pick you up. We’ll leave dinner in the fridge if you’re not home yet.” Izuku heard another voice in the background, probably Present Mic. “Hizashi wanted to ask if you knew which bus you need to take.”

“hmmm, Isn’t it the one we’ve talked about earlier today? The one that stops around the corner?” Izuku wasn’t sure now.

“That’s right, see I told you Zashi, he isn’t a fool.”

“Shut it, I’m just worried that he might take the wrong bus!”

“That’s my cue to leave, I’ll see you later and I’ll text when I’m done. Byeeee” Izuku wrapped up the phone call and hung up while he heard the other two bickering on the other side. He walked over to the other boy. “Sorry for making you wait.”

“It’s fine,, so you don’t know what bus to take? Doesn’t almost every student get to school by public transportation?” He had meant to make it sound as teasing, however his monotone voice and void face made it look like he was mocking the shorter boy.

Izuku didn’t seem to mind, maybe he didn’t pick up on it, too busy collecting things all over the studio. “Ah, yes, but it’s my first time taking the bus to this home.” He answered absentmindedly.

“Did you move recently?” Shinsou didn’t know why he was asking all these questions, he convinced himself that it was just out of politeness and to prevent awkward silence. He isn’t curious about the other male.

“Well sorta? It’s complicated,,” The boy returned with multiple things in hand.

He threw a sketchbook on the table accompanied with loads of pencils and sticky notes. His face already showing his excitement. “Are you ready?”

Midoriya was a joyful person, Shinsou noted. From the moment he’s arrived till now the boy had been smiling and laughing, it didn’t seem to sit right with him.

Yeah no shit, did you see that look on his face before he noticed you?

In fact, Shinsou had been standing there for a good minute watching the shorter boy before he had noticed him standing there. What made Shinsou not announce his presence was the expression on the other one his face. Eyebrows facing down, jaw tensed as he was biting on his lip, to sum it up, his whole body screamed that he was tense.

Then in a split second it all was gone, all discomfort left his body and a smile was plastered on his face as he greeted him.

Something isn’t matching up.

Pfft what am I even saying, he could just be stressed about this project. Shinsou shoved away the thought.

There is no way that he’s hiding someone. He’s your typical happy go lucky guy that gets everything handed to him.

Shinsou envied him. Fine he did get into the hero course but it was not because he got approved. It was convenient, he didn’t get in because they thought he was good enough, they just needed him to fill up an empty space and he was lucky enough to be chosen.

How should he be happy with that?

He’s never going to be a good hero with this villainous quirk.

Midoriya on the other hand, he got in the support course because he wanted to, he probably has some fantastic quirk that helped him with that. He looked like the type to get along with anyone, even the teachers and speaking from the phone call earlier, his homelife must be great.

There really are favourites in this world.

“-oi, pretty boy, are you even listening?” a voice beside him brough him back to reality. Midoriya sighed. “If you don’t want to be here just say it. I’m not going to waste my time dealing with someone uncooperative.”

The green haired boy had not been facing him while he said that, his eyes glued on the sketchbook in front of him, steadily sketching out equipment. He looked dejected. It honestly made Shinsou feel a little bad for not paying attention.

“I apologize,,” he coughed awkwardly. “I’ll try to stay focused.”

Izuku grinned like an idiot. “You better or I might just end up making a tutu and a glitter canon for you.” Shinsou knew that that was not simply a joke. “Now that I have your attention, look over here.” He pointed with his pencil at a certain sketch.

“I’ve taken some inspiration from Present Mic since you guys have a few similarities, so I thought about making these little speaker balls that you could throw,, oh wait?” His head flew up, his eyes meeting purple ones. “Pretty boy, does your quirk even work through speakers?”

Shinsou felt his face getting hot, flustered he blinked his eyes a few times processing the words. “Pretty boy?” he repeated back.

“yeah, obviously.” Izuku rolled his eyes. “You didn’t respond to your name last time so I had to come up with an alternative option. BUT that’s beside the point, stop distracting me!” he tapped with his pencil on the sketch, guiding focus back on the real things that mattered. “Answer the damn question. Would this work?”

Shinsou always loved to get a rise out of people. So why would he do something else now. “So you think I’m pretty Midoriya?” he teased, the name rolling of his tongue in a playful manner.

Midoriya wasn’t faced at all, instead he closed the distance, their faces only an inch or two apart. Still Izuku maintained eye contact. “IF I say yes, what are you going to do pretty boy?” The same playfulness Shinsou gave got returned by tenfold. Then he turned his face slightly and came closer, Shinsou could feel his breath on his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

“And I thought I told you to call me Izuku? What happened to that huh?” He could hear the smirk in his voice.

The next moment Izuku backed off and stood up, patting Shinsou’s shoulder. His voice back to his usual cheery one. “Looks like the focus is gone for today so it’ll be better to stop here.” He gattered all the papers scattered on the desk. “Since we have a deadline I think it would be best for us to meet tomorrow again when everyone is out to get lunch.”

Shinsou was still trying to gather his thoughts, barely listening to what Midoriya -no Izuku was saying to him. It was as if he was watching a movie without sound, he could only focus on a pair of lips and how they moved with every word was spoken. He nodded along,, hoping it would look somewhat believable.

A note was gently pushed in his hand. “Here is my number, contact me if you need something.” He walked away but didn’t look back as he said the last thing. “oh, and it would be great if you could figure out if you quirk works over speakers by tomorrow.”

When the boy had walked out the studio and the door was closed once again Shinsou groaned as he hid his face in embarrassment.

He had not expected that.

But two can play that game.

Just you wait Izuku,, you might have won today but tomorrow is another day.

We’ll see who gets flustered then.

“I’m back!” Izuku yelled as he walked in the appartement. He was immediately greeted by a orange cat that Mic had said was called dumpster. The grey one he had met the first night he got here looked up from the chair where she was lying. “wow, not even a greeting? You really are lazy, no wonder they called you sloth.” Still he petted her as he walked past.

“Izuku! You made it right in time!” Hizashi’s head popped out from the corner, his oven mitt covered hand waving him over. “I just finished making dinner, come quickly!”

“Zashi, the water is overboiling. Thought I should let you know.” Aizawa was busy setting up the table, not even bothered what was happening.

“WHAT!  OH NO!” he lowered the fire. “Shoutaaaa” he whined. “Why didn’t you do anything?”

The hero’s slow movement never stopped, another plate was placed on the table. “I like to see you panic.” He put down a fork. “The face you make is quite an interesting one.”

“Sometimes I wonder why I even love you.” The blonde grumbled as he sad down next his husband. “So many fishes in the sea and I had to pick the sadistic one,,”

“It’s because no one else can handle you, I’m basically doing charity work.” Aizawa smirked as he sliced the meat on his husband’s plate. “Really, you should be thanking me.”

“You’re right, you’re such a saint, I should be worshipping you.” His tone clearly sarcastic. “Thank you for allowing a poor soul like me to live here with you in an apartment I’ve bought.”

“ALL HAIL THE MOTHMAN GOD” Izuku snickered. He sat down and folded his hands like you’d do with a prayer. “May he bless us with his otherworldly presence and endless knowledge.”

Izuku and Hizashi bursted out laughing, tears streaming down the blonde’s face. “Us lowly followers shall forever remember your kind deed.” Hizashi could barely speak between his laughter. Shouta sighed but his facial expression was far from annoyed.

During dinner Izuku told them about the extra project and why he’ll be taking the bus until the end of the week. He told them about Shinsou and his quirk. Aizawa had already known about the kid but had not seen him, Yamada was excited to hear that he was talking to other student.

“Yamada, can I ask you something?” Izuku and the hero were washing the dishes. Aizawa had left for patrol right after dinner. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“You can ask me anything little listener.”

“Since you and Shinsou both have a quirk where you use your voice, I was curious. Does your quirk work if,, no,, say that you’re calling someone and you accidently use your quirk, does the person you’re calling with get hurt or is it ineffective since it’s not your real voice?”

Yamada’s movement stopped for a while as he thought. “Hmm, I have my Directional Speaker System that helps me amplifying my voice and directing it in a specific direction. But I don’t think it’s the same as a simple phone call? I don’t know the specifics because I’m not knowledgeable about electronics and all but I do know that they had to replicate the way my vocal cords changed as I used my quirk so they could repeat that cycle but make it grander and thus amplifying everything or something like that.”

“Does that answer your question?” He looked over, meeting Izuku’s eyes.

“Kind off?” Izuku returned back to drying the dishes. “I was thinking about making small speakers that Shinsou could throw or hide all around the place to throw off the enemy since if they know about his quirk he’s at a huge disadvantage. With the speakers he could maybe catch the enemy off guard since the voice would come from a totally different direction than where he’s standing.”

He sighed. “But I’ll have to figure out first if his quirk even works with this sort of thing.”

Hizashi smiled fondly. “I’m sure you’ll figure things out, don’t stress too much.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Izuku was getting ready for bed when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. Unknown number? Who would call this late? It was almost past twelve on a school night. No one had his number besides his mother and Aizawa.

Bakugou has it, but he wouldn’t call.

Deciding it was better to pick up the phone than overthinking this whole thing, Izuku tapped on the accept button. “Hello?” his voice thick with sleep

“…”

“Is anyone there?”

An awkward cough. “Sorry, It’s Shinsou.”

Izuku felt himself becoming more awake. “Shinsou, hi! Why are you calling so late? Do you need something?”

“late?” he heard soft muffled cursing from the other side of the line. “Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was, I’ll just ask you when we’re at school. I woke you up right? I’m really sorry.”

Midoriya giggled. “It’s fine, I was still awake when you called. What is it that you wanted to ask?” He had given Shinsou his number but hadn’t thought much about it. It was more in case if Shinsou didn’t want to meet anymore, he could send me a text and I could prevent being stood up.

“You told me to tell you if my quirk worked over speakers right?” a pause. “well,, I don’t really have someone that I can test that with so it might just be better to come up with other equipment that doesn’t involve-“

“You can test it on me.” Izuku interrupted, successfully stopping the boy from rambling.

“What?”

“I said, you can test it on me. Right now.” Izuku repeated. “It would be a good opportunity since I’ll know how it will feel to be under your quirk and use this information for future reference.”

“You want me to use my quirk on you?” he sounded sceptical.

“I wouldn’t say you can test it on me if I didn’t want that.” Izuku retorted. “Your quirk activates by answering a question you ask right?”

“yes?”

“Good, question me pretty boy~” the silly name was back instantly, Izuku himself had let it roll off the tongue without realizing. He opted to just go with it. It’s too late now. “I’m allllll yours for the rest of the evening~” he felt his ears get hot as he hid his face in his pillow, wishing he did not just say that.

The other boy must have been as embarrassed because the line stayed silent for a good minute. “I- but how will I know if it works?”

Izuku hummed, seeing the flaw in his plan. “if you succeed in brainwashing me and you would ask me to answer a question truthfully I’ll have to answer it yes?” he questioned.

“I suppose so,,”

“Then we do that. You ask me a question where the answer should be obvious and I’ll try to lie. If my answer is the truth we’ll know it works, if I’m able to lie we’ll have to look how we can make it work.” Izuku felt himself get giddy at the possibility of getting brainwashed. The feeling of not knowing what will happen was almost euphoric.

The unknown has always been a topic that sucked Izuku in.

“Aren’t you scared? Brainwashing is not exactly a heroic thing.” Izuku didn’t like the tone of that. Those words had been said to him all the time in middle school, but it was never like this. This tone was the same one Izuku uses on himself when looking at his reflection. Negative, hesitant, self-deprecating.

“Is there a reason I should be?” He felt himself get aggravated but tried to not let it be heard in his voice. “Shinsou, aren’t you going to be a heroics student soon? If you’re going to be a hero, doesn’t that mean you’ll use this quirk for good?”

“I can’t exactly use a villainous quirk if I want to be a hero.”

That was the last drop. “Shinsou.” Izuku’s voice was lower, more serious than it had been. He heard the other person swallow. “No quirk is inherently evil or good. It is HOW you use it that determines whether it’s good or evil. Now tell me, will you make me cut my throat? Force me to jump out my apartment window? Or maybe you’ll tell me to go out and commit arson?”

Shinsou sounded shocked, bewildered even. “What!? No? Why would I do that?!”

Izuku calmed back down. “Indeed, why would you? You’re a good person Shinsou, so I trust you enough to not abuse your quirk and force me to do something I don’t want to.”

“Alright,,” Shinsou seemed to have given up on trying to argue.

“You’re going to be a great hero one day, so don’t ever think that your quirk is only suited for villains.” Izuku was staring at his ceiling, already imagining a world full of new heroes saving the day.

You’re going to be a great hero, because unlike me you have an amazing quirk.

“Thanks,, I really mean it.”

Izuku huffed. “I hope you do, I don’t like liars.” There was a comfortable silence before Izuku broke it again. “So when are you going to ask me a question pretty boy? I’m falling asleep waiting here.”

“oh are you now?”

“Yes, my eyes are almost closed-“ He didn’t feel any different. Maybe it’s supposed to feel like this? Is it because he hasn’t given an order yet?

“Izuku?” Shinsou asked. Izuku could hear a hint of nervousness in his voice. “Shit what do I even ask? Ah! Tell me how late it is.” He ordered.

Izuku looked at the time displayed on his screen.

1am

He broke the silence, smirk on his face. “It’s muffin time.”

Shinsou stayed silent and Midoriya lost it.

“what?” Shinsou sounded so confused.

“paha-it’s nothinhaha” he tried to catch his breath. “It’s a stupid meme from the ages before quirks. You probably never heard of it.”

He heard Shinsou sigh. “well, we at least know now that my quirk doesn’t have any effect like this.”

His cheeks hurt from smiling. “That’s true, but don’t worry I have idea that might work. We could make-”

The two of them didn’t sleep much that night, busy talking all night about whatever came to mind. It had started with Izuku’s idea and how it may work but they got quickly side-tracked.

Izuku liked to think that he and Shinsou had grown closer this night.

Neither had spoken too much about personal things like family or quirks. They learned that both loved cats and were terrible at falling asleep. It was strange. Izuku considers that Shinsou and him might be friends now in some way, but it was different from Mei and him.

With Mei there is always something to do, always chaos and looking for the next thing to rave about.

Shinsou was like an ocean, playful but calming in a way. Izuku could sit and watch the water rise and fall, sometimes getting high enough to reach him but never enough to scare him away or swallow him whole.

He didn’t feel like he needed to watch his words as much, every teasing sentence is countered with a comeback leaving him with a feeling that he couldn’t quite place.

Izuku didn’t hate it.

Chapter Text

Shinsou was conflicted. Yesterday he had called Izuku to tell him that he can’t possibly do what he asked him to do, it was supposed to be a short phone call. Then Izuku had told him to just try it right there and now, without a single hint of fear in his voice.

When Shinsou was the one that hesitated while the other boy pushed him, had gotten angry at him for talking negatively about his own quirk. Normally people found delight in the fact that Shinsou hesitated in using his quirk, got angry at them when he does uses it.

Izuku told him that he’d be a great hero.

He didn’t want to get too close. Don’t grow attached. He might be friendly now, but everything will change once he’ll experience how it feels to be brainwashed. He’s only here temporary, he’ll leave.

The only reason the two met is because Shinsou needs a costume and gear, Midoriya could give him that. Once done, Izuku will walk out his life. The shorter boy probably thought nothing of it, calling for hours, light-hearted banter, praising a quirk that no one ever thought of as good, telling stories about the dumb things he’s done.

To Izuku he’s just another project.

They are not friends.

Don’t get attached.

Midoriya was dead on his feet, no amount of coffee could safe him. Even Walmart mothman had to take his mug away from him because he had downed 5 coffee’s in the span of 1hour this morning. The coffee addict himself!

He can only blame himself for getting too enthusiastic and staying on the line last night. Ever since arriving at UA he’s been surrounded by wonderful people that sought him out and would talk to him without thinking of him as a nuisance.

“Who are you and what have you done to sunshine?” Mei stood in front of him, arms crossed and eyebrow arched. When did she get here?

His reaction was late but nonetheless he curled his lips upwards ever so slightly. “Good morning to you too Mei,,” he yawned. “I barely slept, too busy with the new project.” He let himself fall in his seat.

Mei’s face turned from accusatory to mischievous, grinning from ear to ear he sang. “don’t you mean flirting?” She sat down too. “You have weird taste, but I support it.” She shrugged.

Midoriya groaned and lifted his face up from his desk. “We’re not ‘flirting’ Mei.” the word tasted weird on his tongue. Who in the right mind would flirt with someone like him? “I’m only helping him in making his costume.”

She shrugged. “whatever you say sunshine.”

Time passed but it wasn’t fast enough. Even when he really could use a good nap he had only one thing on his mind.

I’ve got so much to do. I need to finish the blueprint today, maybe stay late and start building a prototype or at least gather all the material,, but first I should consult Power Loader about last night sketches before I get too deep in detail,,

Class ended and with the little energy Izuku had he left the classroom. He had already warned Mei that he won’t be going to lunch with her and while as excited she is about making stuff she knew that this wasn’t the best moment to hang around and possibly distract him. They could always rave about everything after it’s been made.

His head was hung low and the front pieces of his hair covered his eyes. He didn’t mind it, he could see his feet and that was enough, besides the sun was a bit much for his eyes at the current time.

However not being able to see where you’re walking does have it disadvantages. Head first, Izuku collided with someone presumably a lot taller than him. Izuku started apologizing. “I’m sorry, are you okay? I thought that everyone would be at lunch now,,” when swatted away his bangs he regretted doing so. His face became stoic in a matter of seconds.

“All Might.” All previous pleasantries gone from his voice.

“Young Midoriya! What a coincidence!” Izuku scanned his surroundings. He was almost at the studio, aka a part of UA where no one but support course students would hang around. Teachers like All Might have no reason to be here.

Coincidence my ass.

“It’s good to see you here! But you seem a bit down,, is the support course not what you thought it would be?” there was a glint in his eyes that Izuku couldn’t quite place, one thing he knows is that he doesn’t trust it. “It’s not too late, my boy.”

Izuku’s face scrunched up in disgust. Your boy? “I thought I made it clear that I want jack shit from you?” He tried to remain civil. Who knows who’s watching. He is still the number one hero, people don’t know what happened. Rumours can start.

All Might laughed it off, his irritable smile ever present. “My boy, have you seen how you look? You’re wrecked, it must have been hard for you. I am here! To fix that!” Izuku had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes. Once upon a time he would have died to hear those words but today?

He tried to push past the hero. “I’m not in the mood.”

“We can help each other.” He doesn’t know why but that sentence made Izuku look back at the hero, his eyebrow arched in question. “You become my successor and when the sports festival comes you’ll show everyone who you are. You can transfer to the hero course!” He clapped his hands once. “It could be all yours, you could be the hero you’ve always wanted to be!”

Izuku gritted his teeth. Does he really think? He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “All might.” He couldn’t help the bitterness in his voice. “I’m trying to be nice,, BUT” he took a deep inhale and exhaled loudly. “You’re making it veryyy hard for me.” He wore a giant fake smile as his clasped together in front of him. “Besides, I’m enjoying myself in the support course just fine. Goodbye now.”

He saw All Might waver, just a tad. “My boy, you can’t seriously be happy with only the support course.” He sounded concerned but Izuku knew that he wasn’t concerned about him. no, the only reason the hero was even talking to him is cause he needs something. “Back on that rooftop you asked-“

Izuku interrupted him. “You keep your mouth shut.” He pointed his finger at the hero’s face. “You have no right-“

This time it was All Might that didn’t let him finish. “Dreams don’t change Midoriya. You can act like you have it all, but we both know that this isn’t what you really want to do with your life.” Again with the serious tone, cold and even, all his words carefully selected.

He felt tear begin to form in his eyes. God fucking,, shit, why can’t I get angry without the tears! He tried blinking them away. The boy refused the satisfaction in letting the hero see that his words had effect. He laughed bitterly. “I guess you could say I woke up, just like you told me to.” He looked the hero up and down, his face strangely relaxed for all the anger he’s feeling inside. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go.” With that he left the number one hero in the hallway and walked away.

“This is reality and it’s time to wake up.” He could still feel the cold breeze on his skin, his whole body trembling as he sat on that rooftop. His tears long dried and his throat raw from screaming.

His dream died that day. Instead of falling off the edge and meet the concrete below he had pushed all longings, hope and dreams off in his stead so he could survive. He watched them wither and decay in front of his eyes so he could move on.

He needed to wake up.

He did.

All Might stood in the hallway with a blank expression.

Did- did I just get brushed off?

The hero had intended to give back the boy his notebook, alas after seeing the boy that plan went out the window.

Midoriya looked dejected, tired even. As if the boy would rather be anywhere else than here. The support course must have not been what he had expected it to be. I don’t blame him, if becoming a pro hero is your goal everything else seems boring in comparison. There aren’t much fulfilling jobs besides heroism.

All Might thought that since the boy looked so down he would be more likely to accept good things,, like his quirk and becoming a successor. Become their saviour after they are at their lowest. If he would give back the notebook now and apologize for the letter he’d get shouted at, it wasn’t the right time just yet. He can’t afford to make the boy more unhappy and drive him away. Holding onto the notebook for even longer might look bad in the long run but he’ll understand.

He needed to get on Midoriya’s good side. Let the boy find comfort in him.

“It’s not too late, my boy.”

“Dreams don’t change Midoriya.”

He’ll apologize for declining his quirk, he’ll thank him for being patient and will metaphorically beg on his knees to become his successor.

He’ll accept what needs to be done, what he needs to do.

All Might only needs to wait a bit longer.

Rome wasn’t build in a day,, with that thought All Might turned and walked away.

Shinsou was well aware that he was not supposed to see that, much less hear every word between those two. He didn’t mean to spy on them but it kind of just happened to play out like that.

One moment he had been walking towards the studio to meet Izuku. Next he is hiding around the corner and unintentionally eavesdropping. It was a reflex really, he saw the two people and one look was enough for Shinsou to know that he wasn’t supposed to be a part of that and he jumped back. Out of sight. The thing then was, he needed to go to the studio but appearing now would only make things awkward.

He doesn’t want Izuku to feel anxious because he might have heard something he shouldn’t have.

What the hell was that even?

Shinsou couldn’t wrap his head around it. He clearly remembered Midoriya’s face and how it was twisted in a way he’d never seen before. In a way he never wanted to see. Pure disgust and poorly hidden anger.

“You have no right!”

He didn’t know this side of the joyful person he’s been meeting. It was clear that the two of them knew each other and have a history. Obviously it wasn’t one of the good kind of history. It was weird, knowing what kind of person Midoriya was or at least the impression Shinsou had of him, Shinsou was sure of the fact that Izuku would go full fanboy mode if he ever met the number one hero face to face. The boy might have even fainted if he would be able to speak to the hero.

I never expected that he’d act like that,,

“I thought I made it clear that I want jack shit from you?” Izuku’s voice had been overpowered by the amount of venom it carried. The sentence wasn’t even directed towards him and he felt shivers go down his spine.

What the hell happened between them? And what is All Might even talking about? Successor?

The purple haired boy had so many questions yet he can’t ask Izuku. Otherwise the freckled boy would know he had been eavesdropping. No one likes a person that sticks their nose someone else’s business. Shinsou doesn’t want Izuku’s anger directed towards him.

Fuck.

Am I really getting attached to him? already?

He really hoped he wouldn’t.

This is going to hurt.

“Stupid! Just when I thought I had gotten rid of him, when I thought I would never ever have to see that moronic smile ever again he comes back! He just walks right back as if nothing ever happened! Who does he think he is? What right does he have?! Hell! He should just go back to playing hero, safe some oblivious children that still believe in that disgusting, ugly, fake smile,,” Izuku was rambling while biting the skin around his nails, he was aware that he was doing so.

He couldn’t bring himself to care.

I just have to hide it from the mothman.

He needed to do something. Anything! If only it would stop him from doing something more stupid shit he shouldn’t do. His blood was boiling and when his skin felt raw and small droplets of blood began to form he stopped himself but he knew all too well it wasn’t enough. He still didn’t calm down.

So he walked.

Left to right.

Right to left.

Repeat.

Walking proved to be inefficient. So experimentally he tugged on a lock of hair, straightening it out and releasing it. He watched his curl bounce back up. The tug did something. It itched something inside that he didn’t know was there.

The pain from tugging was meagre but it helped.

A few small strands of dark green hair became a fistful. He stopped releasing the hair, he didn’t watch them bounce back up before repeating the process. The boy only grabbed more and pulled harder,,

“Izuku?”

Clarity.

Be a good boy.

Izuku fixed his posture in mere seconds and painted a smile on his face before turning to face the other boy. He took a breath. “Hi Shinsou!”

The equally tired boy stood in the doorway, his face tense even though he tried to hide it. He almost succeeded. What gave him away was the fact that his hand was firmly clasping the handle on the door, slightly trembling.

Change topic.

“What are you waiting for? Come in!” he chirped. Izuku hid his hands behind him. “I have almost everything ready and the more finalised things are already checked by Power Loader so if we can finish this before lunch ends we can test it out after school! Wellll, only if Power Loader gives the okay though? He still needed to revise a few details but he’ll do that once he gets here,,”

Shinsou got closer, he did so slowly. Cautious as if he wasn’t sure if he really was allowed to come in.

Izuku felt like a caged animal in a zoo. He tried to ignore the feeling.

Don’t let them know, just smile. Everything will be okay.

You just got to smile.

Appease.

“I thought about it after we hung up last night but we could totally make a mask with artificial vocal cords! It’s kinda similar to Present Mic his support item so I’ll know how to make it, we could even design it so that it could copy other people their tone of voice, like a imitation of some sort! It could really help throw villains off after they figured out-“

“Izuku, how many fingers am I holding up?” Shinsou interrupted, his hand in the air.

“Three, why are you-?” Midoriya’s eyes went blank and his body relaxed.

“Sit down over there and lay your hands on the table.” Shinsou ordered. Without hesitating the green haired boy walked over one of the desks in the room and sat down, neatly placing his hands in front of him on the wooden desk. His eyes glued on the wall and unmoving.

“Where can I find bandages?”

“My backpack.” The answer came out robotic. Shinsou had not expected the answer but was in a way glad that there were at least bandages nearby. He walked over and grabbed the yellow backpack, searching the insides. It took a while but he found what he was looking for.

A small box on the bottom on the bag, neatly placed there, contained all he needed and more.

Why does he even have all this?

He wasn’t going to pry but his mind supplied. He’s surrounded by large dangerous machines all day, he might just want to be prepared for the worst. Shinsou really hoped that that was the reason. But why does everything look like it has already been used multiple times? Is he that clumsy?

Shinsou wishes that Midoriya really is just a clumsy kid.

When he had placed everything on the table he released his hold on Izuku. Bright green eyes regained their clarity and before the boy could open his mouth Shinsou spoke. “Shut it, you’re hurt.”

Way to go dickhead. You really sound like an asshole. Who even are you to talk that way?

Shinsou grabbed the boy’s hands gently.

He has pretty large hands,, what? Get your mind out of the gutter!

“This is going to sting a bit.” He warned. “ready?”

“It’s alright. I can handle this much.” Midoriya didn’t look up at him as he spoke, his eyes trained on his own hands being hold by Shinsou

Shinsou felt more conscious than he should be.

He’s hurt for fuck sakes! What are you even hoping for?

He disinfected the wounds, he hesitated a bit since there was so much raw skin and he knew it would feel nice to have it cleaned. The boy barely added pressure to hopefully minimize the pain but was shocked to see no reaction from Midoriya’s part. Even after getting a bit more aggressive with cleansing there was no sign of discomfort on the boy’s face, no small flinches, not even a little noise.

“Sorry that they are hideous,,”

Shinsou stopped with the treatment and met Izuku’s eyes. Confused, Shinsou asked. “What are you talking about?”

The freckles boy looked down, avoiding his gaze. “my hands, they are ugly. You don’t have to feel obligated to hold them.”

“Believe me, that’s the least of my worries here.” As if to prove his point he held the boy’s hand more securely. “My foster mom has the same bad habit, she has some scars but her hands still aren’t ugly, yours aren’t either.” He didn’t need to tell him that little fact, but it might make Izuku feel more comfortable.

I really am getting attached aren’t I?

“My guardian says I should find something else to fidget with so I can distract myself in a other way but we haven’t gotten around that yet.” Midoriya shared.

Guardian?

“mhh, it could be helpful, we just bandage my foster mother’s fingers.” He looked at the little box with bandages. “I could do it for you? That way you can keep working without too much hindrance or fear for infections.”

“yes please?”

“no problem.” Shinsou meant it.

It was quiet for a bit while the purple haired boy worked on bandaging. It was the first time he was close enough to Izuku and could actually see the marks on his body. Scars,, The wrist on the hand he was holding had a lot of stretched out scar tissue, as if the scar tried to grow with the boy as he got older. It was a nasty scar and a large one at that, Shinsou did not know how he hadn’t noticed them earlier.

He could see hints of similar markings around his shoulder and chest , most of it still covered by the dark tank top the boy was wearing. The purple haired boy tried not to get distracted and continued what he was doing.

 Midoriya was the one to break the silence. “hey Shinsou,” in a tiny voice. “Thank you for helping.”

“aren’t you mad?” Shinsou felt a bit guilty. “I did use my quirk on you without your permission.”

Midoriya smiled softly, his eyes turning into little creased moons. “But you did it in my best interest, so why would I be mad?” the boy looked exhausted but Shinsou still found the smiling boy’s face angelic. He couldn’t imagine that face morphing into the angry one he saw earlier. “It’s like I said, you would never use your quirk to force me to do something I don’t want to.”

“It was still wrong.” How was Midoriya okay with him using his quirk without his permission? Shinsou did not understand at all.

He did understand that the boy in front of him was a lot more complex than he had first thought.

Tinkering was a hard thing to do when you couldn’t use your fingers properly, the bandages around them making it a lot harder to be precise but Izuku tried to work around it. He could’ve taken off the bandages but Izuku didn’t want to. Shinsou took his time doing this, I’m not going to be ungrateful.

Shinsou and him didn’t get to work all too much during lunch because of everything so he was now paying the price for it. Mei helped whenever frustration took over after trying and failing to screw some part together so it wasn’t that bad. Sadly the girl had to leave as soon as the school day ended.

If only he could finish this damn thing already,,

Him and Power Loader worked on the mask and the artificial vocal cords in it, even going so far as to call a few old friend whenever they got stuck themselves. It needed to be perfect.

It needs to be useful.

In the end they got pretty far and all they had to do now was actually make the damn thing and test everything out. All that needed to happen in,, 3 days. He could do that.

Now what size of screw do I need to use here?

“Hello. I got a note saying that I should pass by?” a voice behind him spoke. It was clearly directed towards him since Izuku knew for a fact that he was alone in the studio. The teacher had left for a staff meeting.

He turned to meet the stranger.

I didn’t expect him to actually show up,, I’m surprised.

Izuku leaned back on the table. “Well good day to you too hot stuff.” He grabbed the note that the bicoloured teen had been holding up and looked at it. “As for the note, I wrote it.”

Todoroki arched his brow. “You wrote it.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement.

So serious,,

“Sure did, ice, spice and not very nice.” He watched the taller boy’s facial expression change from confused.

“what are you even saying?”

Izuku rolled his eyes and sighed more dramatically than needed. “Nicknames, pokeball reject, those are nicknames cause ya know?” he gestured towards the taller boy. “you’re you.”

“why?” Todoroki questioned, his brows furrowed.

Izuku crossed his arms and scrunched up his face. “Cause why not? I don’t like saying your last name and we’re definitely not close enough for me to say your first name so nicknames it is.” He said matter of factly.

It must have been not clear enough given that the taller teenager still looked as confused as ever.

“You don’t,, like,, my last name?” The boy phrased slowly.

Is he offended? Shit, I didn’t think of that,, argh this is why I don’t like speaking to strangers.

It was too late to back down so Izuku waved it all away. “It’s nothing personal, I mean it could be I don’t know. It is a matter from how you look at it. It’s just that I don’t like your dad and since he is ‘the mr. Todoroki’ everything surrounding that name is connected and it’s never a good thing.” He stopped talking to take a breath. “no offence though.”

He had anticipated a lot of thing, anger, shouting maybe even violence but snorting wasn’t one of them. It was Izuku’s turn to look confused at the taller boy.

Todoroki regained his neutral facial expression quickly but his lips stayed somewhat curled up in a faint grin. “No offence taken, it’s,, quite refreshing to hear.”

“You’re not going to burn me alive? No personal ice shower for me?” Izuku sounded sceptical. There is no way, it seems fishy. Maybe he is the type to laugh before he loses it.

Would it really matter though? Touch is touch and Izuku will take anything that the world offers to him even if it was a fist in the face from a handsome rich boy.

Maybe I am a masochist?

Eh, it could be worse.

“No?” Todoroki responded easily.

Don’t make it sound like a question! At least be confident when saying something like that!? Izuku thought. Oh well,

Izuku changed topics. “So the note eh? Did you finally see the light and realise that that sad excuse of a costume is revolting? It’s not even practical to move in!”

Todoroki cocked his head to the side. “why does that matter?”

Izuku wanted to claw his eyes out. He knew that the boy in front of him was stoic but this was going to be a lot harder than he thought it would be. “It doesn’t matter?? Do you REALISE who you’re talking to?” He mimicked Todoroki’s tone and face. “why does it matter that a costume is practical to move in?”

“A costume needs to be practical so you as a hero could benefit from it! If it does not benefit you in any way it’s a bad design!! A bad design means that SOMEONE in this course needed to step the fuck in and convince you to change your costume! God fucking hell!! There are so many things wrong with what you’ve just said.” He tsked. His chest did feel a lot lighter now.

I can understand why Bakugou swears so much,, it feels oddly good to do so.

Todoroki seemed to think about something. “you want me to change my costume?” he asked.

“yes!!” it sounded like a desperate cry but Izuku could care less. He would even go beg on his knees if it meant that that atrocious costume would change into something decent. He attention however diverted towards the door where he could see Shinsou walk in.

he returned to look at the bicolored teen. “But not now! You’ll have to come back next week, so ask Aizawa to give you a permission slip to change your costume!” he was gently pushing the teen towards the door and past Shinsou who watched the interaction from afar.

When they stood in the doorframe he let go of the taller teen’s shoulders. “I’d love to continue to roast your costume, but I really need to finish this project in time, okay peppermint?” Todoroki frowned at the nickname but didn’t say anything about it.

“I’ll have to go now, see you next week right?” he was already closing the door but he could still hear the other boy mutter softly.

“I’ll be here on Monday.”

Izuku smiled. Great!

He waited a couple of seconds still holding the door as he heard the boy on the other side walk away, the sound of his footsteps disappearing in the distance. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to respire before turning and walking over to Shinsou, already putting on a pair of safety goggles.

“Let’s get going shall we?”

Chapter Text

The first school week of the year went by quickly and not a day passed by without Shinsou and Izuku meeting during lunch and after school to prepare everything. Even after all that, Izuku went home, ate, made his homework and started building in the late night so that the next day he could bring whatever piece of technology was finished to school and let Power Loader take a look at it.

It was an exhausting cycle, even more than Izuku thought it would be. Aizawa and Yamada helped where they could, buying extra material, answering a lot of theoretical questions and leaving little snacks and water on his desk so they were sure that the boy would eat. Other than that the three didn’t speak much, not wanting to interrupt the boy’s workflow.

Yamada and Aizawa did however started talking about what the next few steps were now that Izuku would stay with them. Aizawa stayed in contact with the local police station in case Izuku’s mother filed a missing person report or something between those lines. There has yet to come a Inko Midoriya who files such a report.

It was a good thing for them but Aizawa couldn’t bring himself to be too happy about it. This is his mother. Even after a week of no contact she still hasn’t reported him missing. Does she not care? Or is it that she still hasn’t realised that he’s gone? He doesn’t know which one would be worse.

“Okay, You’ve had a week to check out and analyse everyone’s work, so it’s time to discuss.” Power Loader showed them a picture of a certain support item and basic information. “Can anyone explain what we’re seeing here?”

“Those are the gravity boots.” Someone in the back answered.

“You’re right, but can you explain what function they have?”

It was silent for a while before the girl next to him started to speak. “The boots are designed to break her fall when she uses her quirk to elevate herself. It’s made so that even if she were to fall of a high building she could land without breaking any bones in her legs and feet if she lands correctly.” She spoke quietly but there was a certain determination in her voice.

“And do you know what material your classmate used to make it work like that?” Power Loader hovered over his desk, leaning on his hands.

“That,, I’m not sure of.” You could hear others mumble, mostly asking the person next to them if they knew the answer.

Power Loader sighed and stood back up straight. “Anyone else?” he watched the students, most of them trying to avoid eye contact.

“The equipment is made to break her fall after elevation of her whole body so they must have used durable material due to the possible impact they need to withstand. They also didn’t have to worry about how heavy it would be because the girl’s quirk can easily make things lighter. My guess is that they made use of a shock absorbing cushion on the bottom of the shoe, it would seem logical to make the sole like that. But that wouldn’t absorb everything alone,, “ Midoriya murmured, not realising that the whole class stopped talking and started listening in. Power Loader grinned as he listened as well.

“It’s dumb to have heels as a part of your hero costume, especially if you’re active on the field so it must have a function,, aha! The heel itself is just a disguise, inside could be a spring, that would explain a lot. If she lands, the reinforced spring in her heel would compress and thus absorbing most of the shock, the rest is absorbed by the sole! It’s a good design and they tried to make it fashionable as well.”

The whole class was silent, some were even openly gaping at Midoriya.

“That’s mostly correct Midoriya, great job.” Izuku’s head shot up and finally realised that everyone else had heard him, his cheeks reddened as he tried to hide his face in embarrassment. “The only thing you were missing is that the outside of the shoes are coated in rubber, an easy accessible shock absorbent material. While the inside of the shou has a cushion to absorb it, you still have to protect the outside of the shoe if you want to still have shoes after the impact. Without proper protection from the outside too, they’ll explode when they collide with the ground.”

“Right, that seems logical now you say it,,” Midoriya jotted down some notes at an alarming pace.

“We’ll take a look at the next item.” The hero swiped on his screen and another support item was projected on the screen. Izuku recognized it instantly. “I chose this one for a particular reason.”

Gauntlets,,

He looked over at Mei who was doodling on her paper instead of actually participating. Finding no support in her Izuku just lowered himself further in his seat, hoping that no one would realise it was his creation. Why did it have to be mine??

“I analysed that one!” someone shouted. Izuku groaned internally. “It stood out because it was so destructive in comparison to the others.” Izuku could hear the distain in this person’s voice.

Power Loader ignored the person’s tone and walked over to the student. “Go on.” He said, encouraging the student to elaborate further.

“I’ve read up on the student’s quirk and it looks like his sweat is the reason he can create small to large explosions. I presume that the gauntlet is used like a container to store all that sweat so that after a certain time a large scale explosion can be created.” They clicked their tongue. “personally, even if the student made the request to make something like this, it’s reckless and irresponsible to create such a thing. I’m sure that others are thinking the same.”

Power Loader laughed and clapped in his hands. Successfully silencing everyone and drawing their attention. “This is exactly what I wanted to talk about.” He looked over at Izuku. “Responsibility and accountability. You say that this support item never should have been made, correct?”

“yes? I don’t see how it could be of use when all it does is destroy property and possibly harm people nearby.”

“But who is responsible for that? The hero that uses the equipment or the company that made said equipment?” He fired back at the student.

The student opened his mouth but it took a while before they actually spoke. “There would be no damage if the equipment never existed in the first place, so I say it’s the responsibility of the company that made it.”

Power Loader nodded. “uhuh, but isn’t the hero the one that requested for the item to be made?”

“The company could just refuse to make it.” The student shrugged.

“Midoriya, would you like to explain to the class why you could not refuse to make such item?” all eyes went to him for the second time today. Izuku wanted to be swallowed by the ground.

“It was an assignment, I could either make it or fail class.” He told everyone.

“That’s right, I’ll tell you all. Midoriya was the first one to come and talk to me, asking if he could refuse to make the equipment. And since he could not, he asked if he could alter the design so that it would still be what the hero asked for but with a reduced amount of destructive power. Midoriya did everything he could to provide a safe option.”

Power Loader’s tone of voice turned more serious. “What I’m trying to make clear is that in this world there is a hierarchy, and at the top are the pro heroes. If someone with more power tells you to do something you’ll have to comply, it’s how this world works even if it’s not morally correct at times. If a hero as great as All Might asks you to make a harmful weapon you will not be able to say no if you want to keep your job.” Izuku cringed at the hero’s name.

“While they are our inventions, we are not responsible for how they are used. Even a spoon is a dangerous weapon if handed to the wrong guy, does this mean we’ll have to destroy all spoons? That’s a ridicules thought right? Same goes for our equipment, we just have to pray that they won’t be used by someone foolish.”

The silence in class was heavy.

“That was depressing,,” Mei hung her head as she sat. Class had ended a while ago but Mei and Izuku stayed seated as they waited for Shinsou to arrive.

Izuku looked at the girl with compassion. “I mean, he did have a point?” He patted Mei on her back. “If we want to make a living by building equipment for heroes we will have to listen to what they want.”

“but I don’t want toooooo! I just want to make my babies,,” Mei let her head hit her desk and stayed like that.

Izuku chuckled. He stood up and stretched for a bit, his body was feeling stiff from sitting on a single chair for hours on end. “And you will, but not everyone will be satisfied with only your babies, some people will ask you to build their baby because they think that it’s the better option.” He cringed at how that would sound to an outsider, luckily no one else came here at this hour. “I’m actually grateful that Power Loader talked about it, a little reality check so to say.”

“What are you guys so depressed about. Your faces look like someone changed the Wi-Fi password but didn’t tell you.” A third voice joined in. Shinsou walked in and took the liberty to grab a chair and place it closer to the two. “What’s up?”

Mei rolled her head back and groaned loudly. “Nothing much, just got told by our dear teacher that life’s depressing and all freedom is just an illusion,,”

“oh? So the usual. Nice.” The three of them had grown a lot closer throughout the past week, it came to a point where Shinsou had to admit to himself that he did consider these two dorks as his only friends. Izuku was to be expected Since the two of them called every night just to discuss all the things they should do the next day as Midoriya kept tinkering on the other side of the line, Mei however,, It just happened.

Having friends felt strange.

“Shhhhhh” Midoriya placed a finger on his lips. “Our little girl still lived in a bubble until today, She has yet to see how rotten this world is.” Fake concern adorned Izuku’s face. “She’s a bit shocked, but she’ll survive.”

Shinsou bursted out laughing, his eyes glistering with unshed tears of laughter. Izuku stopped breathing. It was a first to see Shinsou laugh without restraint. Previously he’d always hide his laugh with his hand or stopped smiling all together once he realised what he was doing. It was a beautiful sight. Messy purple locks framing his face, crinkled eyes full of joy and rosy cheeks, it was all that Izuku could see.

Such a shame that Shinsou didn’t laugh often.

“Fine, this little girl of yours is going to explore this so called rotten world.” She stood up and waved goodbye at the two boys. “Enjoy your lunchdate!”

“It’s not-!” Shinsou almost fell of his chair with how fast he turned towards the pink haired girl, his face a brilliant shade of red. Mei didn’t look back as she continued to walk.

“Try and keep it PG13 in here!” she called as she disappeared behind the now closed door, her laugher muffled by the wall between them. Shinsou huffed and gave up on shouting something back. It would only rile her up even more.

Midoriya leaned into his personal space with a pout on his face. “you don’t want to go on a date with me?” He tried his best to look as pitiful as he could be. “Is it because I’m not pretty enough?” he batted with his eyelashes.

Shinsou gulped, not even ashamed of how audible it was. He leaned back hoping to create some distance between them but he soon realised that he couldn’t lean back any further if he wished to not love his balance and fall. “NO! I- uh,,” He was at a loss of words.

Izuku booped his nose and backed up a grin on his face. “I’m kidding! I’ll go grab the stuff alright?” With that the teenager hopped away to grab everything they needed. Now that Shinsou had obtained the distance he was searching for seconds ago, he couldn’t find himself to be too happy about that.

Along growing closer to Izuku, Shinsou caught himself staring at the boy way more than he should. A part of him tried to convince himself that he was staring because he wanted answers, like what was their relationship with the number one hero. Then another part, one that Shinsou didn’t want to acknowledge just yet screamed at him that he was staring because he liked the view.

Izuku is pleasing to look at. Everyone likes to look at pretty things,,

It did not sound any better if he tried to defend himself.

Deciding that he won’t fall down that rabbit hole he stood up and walked over to the shorter boy. “Anything I can carry? Your hands look pretty full.”

The rest of the day went by smoothly. Midoriya couldn’t be any happier. Shinsou and him completed almost everything they needed to. All that needed to be done now was run the last check-ups with Power Loader, adding the last details and test it out with Shinsou after school.

“It looks good, how did you figure out that artificial vocal cords would work?” Power Loader sits back as he gave back the equipment to Izuku.

“I had a few conversations with Present Mic and how his support item works, after that I had an idea to make a replica of Shinsou’s vocal cords and how they move and change when he uses his quirk. So I studied human anatomy surrounding the topic and called the company that made Present mic’s gear, they helped me with the finer details and even gave me a few tips on what I should use as material.” The boy tried to summon everything up without messing up the order of things. “There are a lot of similarities between the different types voice quirks and most of the pro heroes use a similar type of equipment.”

The teacher was taken aback by how the detail he’s put in this project, the effort and hours it must have costed to make this. “I have to say, I’m impressed Midoriya. I had my doubts since you’re still a first year student with no history of designing and making things, but you’ve succeeded. Did you keep your notes on this project?”

“Yes, I always gather them so I can look back on a later date if it’s needed.”

“great, could you bring them next Monday? I’d like to see the whole process in detail, you can think of it as a way to gain extra credits.” The man spoke warmly.

“now this is the moment we’ve been waiting for.” Izuku was holding the mask and a ball the size of a golf ball. Their project finally came to an end, although Izuku loved working on it he really was glad it was done. The boy really needed to catch on some sleep. “Are you excited!?” he was grinning like a maniac.

“I’m nervous. Does that count?” Shinsou laughed nervously as he got the equipment handed to him. it felt unreal to finally hold it like this, he’d been there when Izuku was building it and still it only had hit him now. I’m going to be a hero,,

“we’ll test the mask first, we’ve already spoken about this in detail but do I need to explain it again?” Izuku was walking in circles around him, eyeing how the mask fitted around his lower face. nothing was ill fitting so Izuku, happy with how it looked on, sat down on the chair they placed in front of the taller boy.

“Nah, I’m pretty confident about this.” It felt weird talking with the mask on, Shinsou noticed. “How do I look?”

“Like you’re trying to seduce me with those half lidded eyes.” Izuku’s response came nonchalantly and Shinsou thanked the mask for hiding his blush. The green haired boy shrugged. “It looks good, it suits your face quite nicely.”

“okay, okay I get it.” Shinsou stopped the boy before he could embarrass him even more. “Are we going to start?”

“Whenever you’re ready, pretty boy.” The two stared at each other in anticipation. Their plan was to test the mask first, see how good it can imitate another person’s voice, secondly they will test if Shinsou’s quirk works with the mask and the fake voice. “Try to say something in my voice.”

He focused, tried to remember Izuku’s voice, how it sounded.  He let out a breath and spoke in his best imitation. “How do I sound?”

It was unnerving to hear his own voice, Izuku cringed at the sound. It’s like when you record yourself singing and listen afterwards,, yikes. “you sound like nails on a chalkboard.” He tried to keep himself together. “Ask me something!”

“aww, you’re not going to call me pretty boy?” Shinsou rolled his r’s like Izuku always does when he calls him that. He could have fun with this mask.

“Fine, pre-“ Shinsou activated his quirk and Midoriya stopped speaking, his eyes going blank. It was the most discomforting part of his quirk Shinsou decided. Because Izuku’s eyes were always vibrant, showing every little emotion he was feeling but all that disappears in a second whenever Shinsou’s quirk takes hold.

He didn’t like that lifeless look on the boy, he wasn’t some doll for Shinsou to play with.

“Tell me, what’s the time.” He demanded. He figured to keep the demand simple.

The brainwashed boy pulled his phone out of his back pocket and looked at it before looking up at him. His movement was stiff and slow.  “It’s 4.18PM” The second Izuku closed his mouth again his eyes cleared up once again as life returned.

“It works.” Shinsou took of the mask.

“Being brainwashed feels so weird, I feel like I’m surrounded by mist. Like I can see what’s happening but nothing is clear.” Midoriya rubbed his eyes. “Next time can you demand me to blink? I got dry eyes because of you.” He joked.  

“oh hush, you were only brainwashed for a few seconds.” He gave Midoriya the mask.

“ouch, you wound me.” Midoriya grabbed his chest and gave Shinsou a pained look for the dramatic effect. “look I’m dying over here.”

Shinsou rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Midoriya, earning a little yelp from the boy as he almost lost his balance. “Okay drama queen, you can die after we’re done testing.” He grabbed the little black ball and inspected it.

“I knew it, you only use me for my brain,, I’m hurt.” He sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. Izuku grabbed the ball out of Shinsou’s hand and pushed a small button. “It’s now connected to your mask, so everything you’re say will now come out of this little speaker. Normally, if everything works, even if you shout with your mask on there should be no sound aside from your speaker.”

The little ball was made so Shinsou could play with his target, by throwing or rolling the ball to the opposite direction he can lure someone away from himself or catch the target off guard even if they are aware of his quirk.

“I’ll stay in the studio, you go outside with your mask.” Midoriya instructed. “Since you can’t hear me we’ll use our phones and call each other. That way you can tell whether it works or not. The limit is around 100 feet so try and stay within that range otherwise the connection will break.”

“Sounds like a plan.” With that the two parted and Shinsou left the studio. The moment the door closed he could feel his phone vibrate and he accepted the call. “Long time no see, did you miss me already?” he jokingly answered.

“What can I say, I wouldn’t want you to forget about me.” Izuku fired back.

“pfft, as if you’d even let me.” Shinsou pushed the speaker button. It’s not like anyone else was still at school. He secured his mask and talked. “I have my mask on, do you hear me clearly?” Shinsou didn’t even hear his own voice as he spoke so at least the mask did cancel every small noise he makes.

“I hear you loud and clearly. It’s like you’re in the room with me.” He could hear Midoriya say on the other side of the line.

“Cool, I don’t hear myself speaking so I guess both are approved.”

“Now let’s hope that your quirk still works using this way.”

“Ready?” Shinsou asked.

He heard Izuku chuckle softly. “You don’t always have to ask me, I’m fine. I trust you.”

“okay,, here goes nothing. Hey Izuku?”

“Yes?”

Shinsou waited for a bit but there was no other sound after that. Did it work? I don’t have any visual right now so I can’t know for sure,,

I think it worked. What should I ask,, something obvious,,

“Tell me, what’s your quirk.” It was an innocent question.

Obviously it’s an intelligence quirk, I’ve seen how he works, writing down notes like he’ll never be able to write again. The way he thinks about every little detail.

“I don’t have one.”

“ha ha, real funny Izuku.” He sounded dry. “I know I told you to lie if it didn’t work but really?”

“…”

The line stayed silent.

Shinsou grew uneasy.

Something isn’t right.

“Izuku?” he tried again.

No response.

“Izuku please answer me. Can you hear me?” His voice betrayed how anxious he was feeling.

Did the connection break?

No he would have told me, he would’ve said something over the phone.

Something is wrong.

“Izuku. I’m coming in.” He tried to open the door but something blocked him from doing so.

“NO!” Shinsou recoiled at the sudden yell. “YOU CAN’T!” The boy sounded desperate.

“Izuku please, tell me what’s wrong?” his body screamed for him to just force the door open but he decided against it. It will only upset him.

“No! no nononononono,,” Izuku kept repeating the same word over and over. “I can’t! no- I won’t- don’t make me! You can’t make me!” It was a constant cycle of the same lines.

Shinsou stood there, he didn’t know what to do.

A thought formed in his head. “You don’t always have to ask me, I’m fine. I trust you.” Izuku had said this not long ago. Izuku trusts him. at least he did at that moment. It was a foolish plan, he could destroy this frail friendship between them but this is the best chance he could think of to calm the boy down.

“Izuku do you trust me?” He tried to stay calm and not let his voice waver. Someone had to be in this situation.

“-nonono no,, I- I” The boy stammered.

“Izuku please, try and answer. Do you trust me?”

“I- no-I do- ye-yes?” Izuku babbled incoherently.

But it was enough. Shinsou breathed loudly. “Izuku, Listen to my breathing, try and follow it.” Gently breathe in through the nose, keep your mouth closed, count to six seconds. Don't fill your lungs too much. Exhale for six seconds,, repeat. Shinsou tried to remember how his foster mother calmed him down. He tried to make it so his breaths were audible enough for Izuku to hear clearly and follow it. They stayed like this for a few minutes.

He felt bad using his quirk like this but it was the only thing he had at the moment. If Izuku gets mad he can deal with that.

“Have you calmed down?” He heard some shuffling.

“mhm,,” Izuku’s voice still sounded shaky. Still Shinsou felt relieved that he succeeded in calming the other boy down.

He let his shoulders fall, only then realising how tense he had been. “Can I come in?” he asked.

“no,,” The voice was almost inaudible.

“Okay,, then I’ll stay right here. But are you hurt?” He could deal with being not being welcome. “I need to know that you’re at least okay.”

“mmh, some of the bandages,,” he mumbled hesitantly.

“What about the bandages Izuku?” Shinsou was leaning against the door. He couldn’t hear anything.

“I’m sorry,,” Izuku apologized.

“hey- hey, what are you apologizing for?”

A sniffle. “I ruined some.”

Shinsou closed his eyes in relief. It could’ve been worse. “That’s okay, I can always reapply them.” He reassured him. “Things like that can happen, it’s no big deal. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

The other boy stayed silent for a while, as if he needed to check for himself if he wasn’t hurt. “I don’t think so?” He sounded unsure.

“Can I open the door and check?” Shinsou tried again, he needed to be sure. He has no way of knowing if Midoriya was actually speaking the truth.

“You can’t,,” a small pause. “You’re mad.”

Shinsou was confused. “Why would I be mad Izuku?” The purple boy questioned.

“Because,,” Midoriya’s voice was too quiet for Shinsou to hear.

“I can’t hear you, what did you say?”

“,, Because I deceived you,,”  It was quiet.

“how did you deceive me Izuku?” Shinsou tried his best to not sound like he was accusing Izuku. How would he even deceive me? There is no-

“I’m quirkless.”

And everything clicked.

“I didn’t mean to hide it,, I swear,,”

Shinsou felt stupid. He should have known better, where did Izuku ever tell him that he had an intelligence quirk?

When will he learn that first impressions never are correct.

“,, Are you mad?”

“ha ha, real funny Izuku. I know I told you to lie if it didn’t work but really?” Izuku must have thought he was mocking him. It wasn’t because he brainwashed him, no Izuku never cared about being brainwashed, never hesitated to answer whenever Shinsou asked something, not like others did.

It wasn’t my quirk, it was me. I did this.

Shinsou caused this.

He was the one to blame.

“I’m so sorry.” Remorseful. Shinsou with his back against the door slid down, he was trembling but he knew that Izuku must feel 10 times worse.

He heard a dry chuckle from his phone, inappropriate for the situation. “You know, that’s exactly what my mom said to me when we found out.” He continued in a mocking tone. “Sorry.”

Shinsou didn’t know what to say.

“I guess that’s the end of this huh?” Izuku sounded defeated, like he tried so hard to sound like he always did but it fell flat. “welp, for as long as it lasted, it was nice,, having a friend.”

“Izuku,,”

“No, it’s okay. Really.” He doesn’t think that Izuku really is listening to him. he’s already assuming things.

Then say something you idiot!

“Izuku can you please open the door?” Shinsou requested for the last time. If Izuku didn’t want him here, he’ll leave.

A wet laugh, muffled because of the door between them. “No offence, but I look like a mess so I’d rather not.” A soft thud. As if Izuku let his head fall back against the door. “I don’t like people seeing me cry.”

“But aren’t friends support each other?”

“But we aren’t REAL friends are we, Shinsou?” He felt a pang in his chest, Izuku almost never said his real name, always sticking to nicknames like pretty boy. “You’re only here because you needed something and I wanted to be useful.”

“In the beginning, sure” Shinsou uttered. “But things change, I thought that you were this golden boy that achieved anything, got everything thrown into your lap without having to work for it like others,, like me.” He can’t believe he’s saying all this. “I got to know you and while I still don’t know much, I’d like to say that I do know what kind of person you are. Not having a quirk will do nothing to change my opinion on you. I’d say that it only makes you look even better, because you’re here at UA for fuck sakes! Not because of dumb luck or a cool quirk, you worked for this and earned your place.”

“…”

“What I’m saying is,, I’d like to be your friend.” His ears were red from awkwardness.

“pfffhaha that sounds so dumb.” Izuku cracked up. His voice still sounding heavy.

Shinsou hid his face in the palms of his hands even if he knew that Izuku couldn’t actually see his face. “shut uppppp, I’m not good with words okay?” He cried out.

“That makes two of us.” Izuku replied.

“So what do you say, if you open this door we’ll be friends. If you don’t want to see me anymore I’ll leave.” Shinsou propositioned. “It’s your choice.” He tried to sound casual but he couldn’t help but feel anxious. If Izuku decided to keep the door closed this will be the last time the two of them will speak with each other, his first real friendship will end before it ever really took off.

Shinsou fell on his back when the door behind him opened up. Lying on the floor he looked up at the shorter boy. He indeed looked like a mess, the bun he’d normally wear became undone his curls unruly and frizzy. He could see the puffiness in his face, only confirming that he indeed cried. Even his uniform was wrinkled.

“Oh my, did you fall for me? It can’t be, and after we decided to be friends as well,, how unfortunate.” Izuku grinned, easily falling back into his role of the dramatic flirty person between the two.

The purple haired boy huffed but he returned the grin. “I can’t help it, you make it easy.”

“oh please. You’re not fooling anyone.” Midoriya stretched his hand out, his fingertips bruised and crusty from the already dried blood but that didn’t stop Shinsou for accepting the given hand. “Come on pretty boy.”

“Aw, you think I’m pretty?”

Chapter Text

Izuku found himself eying the dual-coloured boy sitting over him. It was the first day of the second week and Todoroki did say he would come back on Monday. Although Izuku hadn’t thought that the boy would come as soon as his schedule allowed him to do so.

While the two of them sat down nobody talked. For some reason this silent interaction reminded Izuku of the many staring contests he would have as a kid.

It felt inappropriate to be the first one speaking so Izuku simply waited. Luckily Todoroki opened his mouth, finally explaining what he’s come for. “I got the permission slip you asked for.” He informed the shorter boy. He gave the note as proof, Midoriya read the text on it verifying everything.

“Good, Good” he nodded. “I’ll give this to Power Loader next period and then everything should be in order.” He placed the note somewhere safe but still visible. He gave Todoroki a look. “Sooo, where do you want to start? Do you want to keep your current colour scheme? Are you keeping the jumpsuit or are you thinking of changing the whole outfit all together orrrr,,?” he trailed off, hoping that the hero student would jump in and tell him what he was thinking of. He did not.

Todoroki looked at Izuku like a confused puppy.

Izuku knew what was happening here and he hoped that he was wrong. “You don’t know anything about basic clothing do you?” he grimaced as he asked. It was the worst thing to work with someone that doesn’t even know what they want or look good in. Sadly, it was mostly men that never spared a second thought about how they dressed, only relying on 3 outfits that practically looked the same.

“Please tell me you at least buy your own clothes,,” He pleaded. The one red arched brow was enough of an answer to his question and Izuku groaned out loud.

“What’s wrong with having your sister buy you clothes? She enjoys it so why not let her do it.” Izuku made a pained noise as he sunk down on his chair. His head was barely visible from where Todoroki was sitting, it was a good representation of how Izuku was feeling about this project.

No wonder his costume is shit.

Really, Izuku should’ve known. The boy in front of him did not look like the person that would take his time window shopping in the nearest mall, let alone actually walk in a store and try something on.

“May I know how all this is relevant to changing my hero costume?” He didn’t sound offended Midoriya noticed. Maybe he didn’t even realise he should be insulted.

Midoriya only stared at him, his face relaxed as he slowly blinked. “What have I gotten myself into,,” he sighed.

A sudden alarm got their attention loud ringing and the sound of the door to the studio locking. “There has been a level 3 security breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly.” The voice of a woman echoed through the hall’s speakers.

“Level 3?” Todoroki asked himself out loud.

Midoriya looked a bit panicked looking around for something. “It means someone is trespassing on the schoolgrounds! There hasn’t been a case like this in over 23 years! Oh fuck what do we do?!”

“The lady told us to evacuate.” Todoroki calmly walked towards the door. “We should hurry.”

“Listen knock-off Elsa, I don’t know if you heard that sound back then but that was the sound of this room closing itself off.” Midoriya was pacing around the room. “We physically can’t get out, this room was made so that if shit like this ever happens no outsider could have access to the studio in fear that they could take advantage of all the equipment here! Normally no one would be here outside of lessons when there is a teacher present who can help guide everyone out but surprise surprise! We’re all alone and fucked!”

He was breathing heavy at the end of it, his words getting louder as the frustration was building up. Power Loader wasn’t here to open the door, he wasn’t close enough to others so unless Mei notices he wasn’t there no one will come looking for him. There is no guarantee that Mei will notice his absence in all the chaos.

“I can just break the door with my ice.” As if to prove his point, Todoroki took a solid stance and raised a hand. Midoriya threw himself in front of the other student his hands hiding his most vital parts in defence.

“You can’t!! are you mentally inadequate?! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU TRY THAT??” He forced the arm down and looked up at the boy’s face. “This is a room filled with unstable, unfinished and dangerous prototypes and gear of course it’s going to be highly secured! One wrong move and you and I don’t know what could be triggered!” At least Todoroki the decency to look ashamed.

The walls are made out of layers of concrete and hard steel so we never had good signal in here but I’m sure that Power Loader made sure that if someone, in worst case a villain, gets locked in that they wont be able to contact anyone from the outside world. Something must be jamming the signal even more,,

“our best shot is waiting it out and hope that someone notices us or that the one trespassing isn’t a bigger problem than expected.”

“Do you think they’ll notice?”

Izuku looked the boy up and down and gestured largely towards Todoroki. “I sure hope they do mister ‘I have a famous dad???” he huffed. “Have you seen yourself?? You don’t exactly blend in with others.” Izuku knew that he can’t take it all out on Todoroki, the boy hadn’t done anything to him. It’s just,, he’s not the best with stress.

“Then we’ll wait, one of our teachers will notice our absence eventually.” He sat back down on the chair he was using earlier. “While we wait we can continue what we were doing.”

Izuku looked bewildered at the other boy. His mouth opening and closing, he couldn’t find the words to say. I- how? How can you just move on?? Dafuck??

Deciding he rather liked his remaining sanity he gave up on trying to find an answer to that question. He dragged himself toward his chair and sat back down, his hands supporting the weight of his head.

“so,” Todoroki initiated the conversation. “are you going to answer my question from earlier?”

Izuku let his head fall on the table, the sound of his skull hitting a solid steel table was discomforting but Izuku didn’t care.

“Okay but why can’t I cover my left side with ice? There are no rules against it.”

“I swear- If you bring up that monstrosity one more time it won’t be only your left side covered in ice. I’ll make sure you’ll become an ice sculpture just so I can break you in a million pieces. Do not test me peppermint.”

“It’s still not against the rules.”

“It should be! I don’t even know why we’re fighting about this? I’m right, you’re wrong let’s move on. No wait, actually- why do you cover up your left side?”

“have you ever heard of quirk marriage?”

“I’m still not allowing you to cover your whole left side with ice.” Izuku was determined. “I can’t let my friend go out on the field like that for both practical reasons and personal.”

Todoroki cocked his head a tad to the side, he really was like a confused puppy at times like this. “We’re not friends?” It was not a question, it sounded more like a confused statement.

“oh, so you think you can overshare and not be friends? I’m pretty sure there’s an unwritten rule that states that the moment people trauma bond they’re obligated to be friends.” He sassed back while grinning.

He was angry at the number two pro hero, he never liked him in the first place but this was going too far. How in the world can this guy still be a hero? He’s more of a villain than 64% of the real villains out there! Fucking abuser.

“oh right, to make it even, how about I overshare shit?” he wiggled his eyebrows.  “not a bad deal eh?”

Todoroki snorted although he would never want to admit it. “why not. It will keep us busy.”

Midoriya leaned in closer, shoulders hunched and his voice a lot softer. “Ok so, it all started-“

It took a while before a teacher found them but thankfully the two trapped students could leave the studio not much later after being located. After explaining to Power Loader and Aizawa why they were still there during lunch the boys were allowed to leave. Besides, all that they did was according to the rules, they were just at the wrong place at the  wrong time.

Shouto Todoroki didn’t know how to feel about Izuku, first he was just interested in meeting the fearless person who wrote the note. Then he got curious about the boy because it was clear that they shared a great dislike towards his father.

After being locked up for an hour or so, they ‘trauma bonded’ or what Izuku liked to call it. Apparently this also meant that they were friends now? That part still confused him a bit. All and all, Todoroki found himself enjoying the presence of the smaller and definitely chaotic boy.

“Before you go, give me your number.” Midoriya tugged on his sleeve effectively stopping him from walking away. “Before I even think about helping you change your costume, we’re going shopping.”

Shouto stayed silent, not sure what the best reaction would be.

“I’m not taking a no for an answer.” Midoriya added, a fire burning in his eyes.

Was his costume really that bad?

“Okay.” They exchanged contacts and bid each other farewell.

“bye bye Traumaroki!”

Maybe it would be nice to have a friend. He can lower his guard around Izuku as he knows that the boy himself didn’t have a great homelife. They understood each other.

Shouto felt at ease.

Midoriya had no filter, he acknowledged this fact early on in his life. But maybe calling Todoroki Traumaroki was a bit too much. It wasn’t his best nickname but it fitted the occasion. Sadly he saw Mothman’s face when he had said it, the eyes told Izuku all he needed to know.

I’m going to have to answer a few questions at home,, damn. They’re getting shit out of me, I’m no snitch. I doubt Todoroki would appreciate me spilling the beans.

While he didn’t like the idea of being interrogated, Izuku was still in high spirits. He made another friend!! Todoroki was a blunt person and really needed to loosen up a bit, though it may work with his whole lone wolf aesthetic he’s got going on. He wanted to see the boy smile more, his natural face was alluring sure, but it could be so much better!

He really had a type huh?

Tall, broody but handsome,, I thought this was a hero school?? Why are there so many edgy teenagers? Well not that I mind,, I mean eye candy is always good.

Shaking his head he stopped trailing off too much. He wasn’t a pervert,, he only appreciated what he sees. Not like it’s his fault that there are boys like Shinsou and Todoroki attending this school.

Is it too late to become a hero? He amused himself with that single thought. Not because he actually wanted to be one, not anymore. He just thought It’d be fun seeing the two boys more, see them in action from close by,,

Izuku swears it’s only innocent thoughts.

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be a normal day. Get thrown out of bed by the mothman, eat breakfast with Yamada, leave for school as they talk about whatever comes to mind. Nothing out of the ordinary.

In the car Izuku texted Shinsou, something that they’ve been doing quite a lot recently. The boy told him about why he will not be present at school today, explaining how their class needed to go somewhere off campus for a scheduled rescue training class. He was a bit sad knowing that he’ll only have Mei with him today but decided to not tell Shinsou that. Instead he wished the boy good luck with his first official rescue training and asked to give him feedback on his support items if he used them today.

Everything was normal. Yet, call it a paranoia but Izuku felt uneasy the moment he stood up this morning.

It couldn’t be because of the trespassing yesterday, Aizawa already told him that it was only the press that got in, trying to get a good shot of the number one hero and a few interviews regarding his teaching. However the pieces didn’t match in his head, there was no clear picture.

How could ‘normal’ people like the press even if they did move in a large group, be able to get past security and trespass onto schoolgrounds? UA is known for its tight security and being one of the safest places in Japan so how did they get in?

Something didn’t feel right.

“You’re brooding” Mei popped up in his line of vision, she walked next to him matching his slow pace. “What’s going on? One of your babies malfunctioning? I could help you if that’s the case!” she guessed. “I have this new set of tools and my hands are aching to play with them!”

“It’s nothing,,” he dismissed her. “just- I have a weird feeling.” His brows were furrowed and his eyes were trained on the ground.

“mmmmh oh! Got it! Maybe we’ll get a pop quiz! Some people have a sixth sense for that kind of thing, maybe you’re on of them!” She raved on. “Or maybe you need to go to the bathroom.” She shrugged, ending her little guessing game.

Izuku snapped his head up, jumbled. “what?”

“What?” she parroted back. “Everyone can get cramps! It’s totally normal!” She yelled defensively.

Izuku huffed, not having enough energy to really laugh out loud and patted her shoulder. “There, there, you’re absolutely right Mei.” He knows that Mei only tried to lift his spirits in her own special way, he appreciated it but the underlying anxiety did not disappear. “maybe you should reread last chapter in case we do get that pop quiz.”

“Whatever,” she shoved his resting hand of her shoulder. “If I fail, I fail. That just another year I can stay in the studio working on making babies!”

“Mei- that’s not the right mindset,,” a real smile on his face.

“It is A mindset, never said it was a good one.” She tapped on her temple with her index finger. “now come on, I want to show you this new prototype I’ve been working on, it’s-“

“Ah Midoriya, did you bring what I asked you for? We didn’t have to chance to talk after everything that transpired yesterday.” Power Loader sat by his desk, Izuku could easily read how excited the man was to get his hands on his notes.

“I did! I’ll grab them.” He rummaged between all his other notes pulling out a thick stack of papers that were bundled together. He gave them to his teacher.  It was messy for sure, all his notes were since more than 90% of them consisted of his inner thoughts rapidly written down in case there was something useful in them.

These were the things that allowed Izuku to look back on how chaotic his thoughts are, some topics never reached their conclusion instead he took a 180 degree turn in the middle of a sentence and started obsessing over another possible feature.

He can still see Mei’s face in his memory when she tried to decode whatever he was writing about that moment. She gave up after a while, frustration getting the best of her. “I know I’m chaotic but you, you’re a whole other level Izuku.” She laughed.

Needless to say, Izuku was a bit nervous now that an actual professional had his notes. “ehh, I know it’s a bit,, unreadable. I can always type a shorter version, that way it’ll be cleaner and easier to-“ Power Loader hushed him.

“NO! Never do that! You can’t think too much about what you’re writing down, you’ll overcomplicate things, leave other meaningless stuff out and it will look stiff. This!” he waved the papers in the air. “is your unique thought process, untouched by other variables from the outside world and that is what makes it interesting. I’ll tell you something.” He motioned Izuku to come closer.

“You know Nedzu right?” he whispered as he looked into the corner where a new camera had been installed. Izuku nodded. “Everyone here sees him like this proper little thing with no faults, but you know,,” his voice went even lower, Izuku almost didn’t hear him. “the way he writes down notes is 10 times worse than you, seriously it looks like a madman’s manifesto.”

That did make him feel a bit better.

“The training area is fairly far away so we’ll take the bus, you can all take your costumes with you if you’d like. That’s all. Any questions?”

“no? Then why aren’t you moving? Get all prepared and meet me at the entrance.”

“Hey Shinsou.” Shinsou looked to his right where one of his classmates sat next to him on the bus, the frog girl. Shinsou couldn’t remember her name. “I always say what I think. No matter what’s on my mind.” She maintained eye contact with her wide eyes, not blinking.

“go on?” he thought about what it might be. Is it because of my quirk? Is she going to criticize it?”

“You stare at your phone a lot. You never hang out after class either.” She stated. Others had already tuned into their conversation. A pink skinned girl shouted.

“A SECRET LOVER???”

Shinsou’s poker face disappeared, his eyes widening at the assumption. “no- it’s not like that?”

“But there is someone?” A black haired student joined in, a wide grin on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe someone from your previous class?”

He heard the blonde boy next to him whine. “No fair!”

What did that frog girl start,, Shinsou laid his face in his hands as he groaned. “He’s the guy that made my costume, we talk from time to time.” He tried to play it down, fully knowing that texting Izuku wasn’t a just a ‘time to time’ thing since they almost texted all day when they didn’t see the other person. Not that it would help clarify anything if he told them the truth.

“ah, so it’s a student from our school’s support department?” Iida, the only person whose name he didn’t forget, asked him. Shinsou nodded.

“Is he cute?!” A disconnected voice squealed. If Shinsou had to guess, the invisible girl was the type to gossip a lot. Trying to avoid unnecessary attention he looked away.

“I’m not going to answer that, besides that sort of question is totally subjective.” He hoped that he ended the conversation with that, it didn’t.

“aww, come on dude! At least tell us how he looks! I bet he’s manly, he has to be! After all, he did make those cool support items of yours!”

In his mind, the purple haired student agreed with the redhead. Izuku was one of a kind and his support items stood out from all the rest, not only because he was one of the few that had a dark colour scheme but because it didn’t look like it was inspired by the flashy costumes pro heroes wore. If anything he looked more like a vigilante. The costume screamed Hitoshi Shinsou.

A dark grey and purple leather jacket with a large hood, on his arms were two black elastics which he could take off to make a makeshift slingshot with that can be used to throw his small speaker ball further with ease. His pants were loose and dark purple of colour, simple and effective, he didn’t want any fabric sticking on his body like with that gravity girl her costume. On his belt was a simple black chain that was tied to another large black elastic around his upper thigh, on the chain hung multiple small speakers that he and Izuku designed so he’d be able to pull them off easily like you’d do with the top part of a grenade.

Izuku knew his stuff.

Knowing that his classmates won’t let it rest, he gave in. “Fine! But I’m not giving anything else.” Everyone got as close as they could without leaving their seat, eager to listen. “He’s a first year, shorter than me and,, he has curly green hair that almost reached his shoulders.” He tried to keep it vague. The last thing he wants to do is upset Izuku, maybe the shorted boy doesn’t want to be noticed.

He though he did a great job but he saw the blond boy’s eyes light up with recognition. Oh no,,

“You’re talking about Izuku right?! Green eyes, dark green curls most of the time half tied in the back, freckles, sunshine reincarnated??” The blonde talked excitedly. “man, he’s great! We met last week and he gave me all this cool information of how to improve my costume and told me I could come and visit anytime.”

“Wait, Kaminari when did you meet him? you’ve been with us all the time?” ah so that’s his name,,

“After our first lesson with All Might, apparently I wandered around after overusing my quirk and he found me, brought me to recovery girl and everything!” Shinsou blinked. Sounds like Izuku. He thought.

“He wrote me a note insulting my costume, we’re now planning to change everything.” Endeavour’s son joined in, which was unusual for him. That kid was the only one who Shinsou thought knew Izuku besides him, seeing how he’d seen him talking with Izuku in the studio.

The pink skinned girl yelled in a high pitch. “I have to meet him! from the sounds of it, he’s gentle, smart and knows fashion!” She looked over to the dual haired boy. “no offence Todoroki, but I’m glad he wrote you that note.”

Todoroki just frowned. “What’s wrong with my costume?”

“pffft, too much to say.” Kaminari laughed. “But if Shinsou’s costume looks like that, I’d say that you’re in good hands. Izuku’s doing the whole world a favour.”

“CAN YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP?!” Another light blonde barked. “CAN YOU ALL GOSSIP ANOTHER TIME?! FOR FUCK SAKES I’M TRYING TO FOCUS!” small explosions exploded in his hands.

Shinsou was only part of class 1-A for 2 days now but even he knows not to get too close to the blonde. A few classmates had already warned him when he first joined. The boy was silent most of the time, didn’t go out of his way to talk to others. He would always focusing on schoolwork or stare outside and without any warning he’d explode and start yelling at everyone only to fall silent as if he ran out of words to yell. The only one that got close to him was a redhead named Kirishima.

“Bakugou. No swearing.” Their teacher spoke up from the front of the bus, calm. “He’s right though. If I hear anyone chatter nonsense again I’ll give everyone here an extra assignment due to tomorrow.”

He must have heard wrong. No. maybe it’s a coincidence. It’s a common name right? There is no way- it couldn’t be- He saw him,,

It must be his past haunting him.

“There was no pop quiz.” Mei almost sounded disappointed by the fact. “Maybe you do need to go to the bathroom?”

Izuku was sitting at his desk, he hadn’t moved ever since class started. His guts were twisting uncomfortably and he didn’t know why. He couldn’t even get his body to cooperate and eat the lunch Yamada made for him.

“yeah, maybe I should,,”

“It’s the space hero No. 13!”

“No way!!” All the students looked in awe. As Aizawa walked over to the hero.

“Where is All Might??” he whispered. “He was supposed to be here.”

13 shrugged and shook their head. “From what I was told he got caught up saving people on his way here. We have no idea when he’ll arrive.” They sounded calm but Aizawa was able to pick up on the bitterness they tried to hide.

He can’t blame the space hero. “He’s irrational. That being said, we will have to go with the backup plan now that we’re missing someone. Shall we?”

“Did it help?” Mei hovered over him like a worried mother, not that Izuku was familiar with that concept.

He exhaled loudly. “No, but don’t worry it might be the aftereffect of having too much stress.” He tried smile but he didn’t feel like it.

“Maybe we should go to recovery girl,,”

He pushed past her and put on a lab coat and his safety goggles. “I’m fine Mei.” He grabbed a pair of gloves. “you’re making it a bigger deal than it is, really.”

It did not help ease her worries but she did stop pushing him. she too, grabbed her coat and glasses. “if you say so,, but! If it gets worse I will drag you to recovery girl myself!”

Midoriya handed her another pair of gloves. “as if you could with those arms.” He poked her. “now come on, you need to help me with this part, for some reason I can’t get the measurements right and it ends up with an explosion-“

“HUDDLE TOGETHER AND DON’T MOVE!” Aizawa shouted as he took a steady stance, ready for whatever might come at him. in the middle of the USJ stood a larger group of strangers.  “THOSE ARE REAL VILLAINS!”

“But!”

“NO QUESTIONS, YOU DO AS I SAY AND STAY BACK!” Aizawa was sizing everyone up, he didn’t recognize anyone of them. Either this meant that they are all new and unknown villains or they were petty thieves hired to ambush them.

“Where is All Might?” a blue haired man in the front spoke, his voice rusty as if he wasn’t used to speaking out loud. “He was supposed to be here!” He looked around as if to look for the number one hero.

“Sensei, why is the alarm not going off?!” Yaoyorozu asked, fear in her voice.

“Someone might have a quirk that interferes with that.” Number 13 replied as she got everyone together. “We do have some alarms set up-“

“It’s a possibility that this isn’t the only place on campus that’s getting attacked.” Todoroki cut the hero off. “if that’s the case it’s only normal that the alarm is deactivated.”

“But why go through all the trouble?” Other students nodded quickly as if agreeing that is was weird.

“NO. 13 proceed evacuation of the students and get out of here. Kaminari, try contacting the school with you quirk.” The capture scarf floated around his head. He didn’t spare his students a glance, his eyes trained on the group in front of them. “13 I’m counting on you, bring them to safety.” With that he jumped towards the villains.

In his momentum he took down two minor villains before landing and punching a third one. The villain hesitated when he noticed he couldn’t use his quirk, before he could make out what was happening a fist hit him in the face sending him to the ground.

“Idiots! That’s eraserhead he’s that douche that can erase quirks!”

“But can he erase mine?” a mutant looking man stalked over, his whole body consisted of what looked like rocks, serving as armour. As cocky as he was he tried to give the first punch. Putting his whole body in the movement.

Aizawa moved out the way, ducking under the arm and landing a solid punch on the villain’s jaw. A sickening crunch could be heard. “No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t beat a weakling like you.”

The villain recovered and regained his stance, more cautious of the hero. His mistake however was not guarding his legs. A grey scarf wrapped around his ankle and Aizawa pulled, The villain lost his balance and fell backwards. Before his back could hit the concrete floor, Eraserhead jumped. The last thing the villain saw before everything went black was red eyes looking down on him and the underside of shoes.

Aizawa’s head snapped up when he heard screams coming from the direction of his students. “RUN!”  The space hero yelled as a black portal appeared. Some were quick enough, others,, they disappeared in the black mist. Shinsou fell in the abys after throwing one of his speakers.

“IS EVERYONE OKAY???” The hero looked around, counting how many students were left at the entrance.

“WE’RE SCATTERED BUT WE’RE STILL WITHING THE PARK LIMITS!” Shinsou’s voice echoed through the speaker. That had to do. They had no way to communicate. At least this way he could let others know that they were okay,, for now.

The space hero turned toward Iida, one of the few that was quick enough to avoid the surprise attack. “Dash as fast as you can back to school. Relay the following.” They waited for a quick nod before continuing. “Somehow the alarms failed and we’ve lost reception. All Might is nowhere to be found. Backup is required immediately.”

“But it would be a disgrace to abandon everyone in a moment of need!” The student looked offended by even thinking about leaving the rest of his classmates.

“DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION AT HAND?!” Iida’s mouth stopped moving as he flinched at the sudden raise in voice. “I TOLD YOU TO GO! WE DON’T KNOW WITH WHO WE’RE DEALING WITH, THE FASTER YOU GET HELP THE MORE INGJURIES WE CAN PREVENT FROM HAPPENING! THIS IS NOT AN EXCERSISE! LIVES ARE ON THE LINE HERE!”

They turned their back toward the student. “Please use your quirk to save others.”

“you’re our best hope, class president!” Uraraka yelled. She tried to look confident.

Iida trembled, an inner turmoil. His body moved even if his morals shouted at him to stay there and help his classmates. “PLEASE HANG ON AND WAIT FOR ME!” he dashed outside as his classmates tired to hold back the mystery villain.

“Scatter and kill us huh?” Shouto looked unimpressed as all the villains in his area were frozen to the ground. “looks like your ego’s are bigger than your ability.” He walked between them. “you’re nothing more than bugs ready to be crushed by my foot.” A misty cloud leaving his mouth as he spoke.

Maybe Izuku was right. My body gets cold too fast. I didn’t even use much power.

“At this rate you guys will gradually succumb to death by necrosis. But I’m a nice guy so I’ll free you all if you answer my questions.”

“wow, I was wrong thinking that you needed help.” A deep voice sounded from behind. When Shouto turned around he was met by the new student. “Let me ask the questions.” The boy grinned, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he looked over to the villain in front of Todoroki. “It is my specialty.”

Fascinated, he gestured towards the villain. “All yours.”

The boy removed his large hood, purple hair that defied gravity was revealed. “Shall we begin?”

The villain would crawl backwards if he could, anywhere would be better than staying near these two. A horrified expression on his face as the second teenager came closer.

Are these really heroes in training??

“17 seconds,,” The villain spoke to himself as he grabbed the capture scarf that was heading towards his neck. Aizawa pulled at the same time he jumped forwards, leaning forward he elbowed the blue haired villain in the stomach.

Between coughs the villain explained. “It was hard to tell since we jump around a lot but there are moment where your hair falls down,,” he dodged a fist. “it’s always after you complete an action like that one just now,,”  he leaned backwards and nearly avoided a high kick. “you’re getting predictable.” His hand took hold of eraserhead’s elbow, five fingers touching. “and the intervals are getting shorter.” He whispered in the hero’s ear. A burning sensation took place as the part where the villain was touching him withered away into dust.

“don’t bit off more than you can chew eraserhead.” Red eyes met each other, one pair focused and calm while the other’s pupils were dilated and shifting quickly. Aizawa took advantage of the moment and used his non-dominant arm to hit the villain on his right. He ignored the pain in his arm as he freed himself from his grasp.

“you’re pretty cool eraserhead.” The villain was on all fours on the ground while Aizawa puts some distance between them, recovering from the blow. “but I’m getting bored of you being a nuisance.” He sneered. The man regained his footing, nowhere near as stable as he was before the fight but Aizawa could see it in their eyes, he was smiling.

“Noumu, kill him.”

“VILLAINS INFILTRATED! AIZWA SENSEI NEEDS HELP!” the door got thrown open all heads turned in the direction of the blue haired male in his hero costume, he was heaving.

In a matter of seconds Power Loader stood straight, all signs of their normally laid back teacher were gone. “Where?” his tone sharp.

“USJ training centre, He can’t fight them all by himself.”

Izuku felt blood rushing to his ears, all noise around him stilled, not even a single breathing person could be heard. No.

“Everyone stay here, I’ll send for someone to evacuate. You-“ he looked at Iida. “Inform the others like you’re doing now.” Iida nodded and rushed away, only leaving smoke in the hallways.

“I CAN HELP.” Izuku stood upright, his head down and both hands on his desk. He could feel all the eyes on him but he did not waver. He can’t.

“Midoriya sit down.” It was cold. “This is not a matter you students should associate with.”

Izuku bit his lip. He wasn’t backing down on this one. “And why not?!” desperation in his voice he looked at the hero. “We have countless weapons and we know how to use them, better than anyone in this school! Use me! US!” he could feel Mei try and gently tug him back down to his seat. He tried to ignore it.

“Midoriya-“ their teacher growled low.

“Whether you try to hold me back or not, I’m going.” He knows he sounds crazy, he doesn’t have any experience in battle. But neither does the hero course, one class involving fighting doesn’t mean you’re good at it. And eraserhead,,

Please be okay.

When Shinsou and Todoroki found their way back to the middle of the park they didn’t expect it to be empty, not at all. But what they definitely didn’t expect was to see their teacher, face first pushed in the ground by a monster 3 times their size.

Not much further a villain stood, hands covering parts of his body. It looked like he was talking but they were too far to hear anything.

“Shit. Where is 13?!” Shinsou cursed as Todoroki looked towards the entrance. There he saw the space hero lying down, students surrounding them.

“not better off than our sensei.” His expression grim.

“is there any sign of reinforcements?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” They were both on high alert. They walked over the bodies of unconscious villains, trying to get closer.

An inhumane screech reverberated through the park, all heads turned to look at the source. The monstrous bird creature  grabbed a fistful of black hair and pulled it, Shinsou and Todoroki saw the mangled face of their teacher before it got smashed against the pavements multiple times, cracks forming.

Frozen by the sight, all their movement stilled for a moment. However it was enough for the villain to take notice of them. In an instance the blue haired villain stood in front of them his arm extended and his fingers spread out. Shinsou tried to back away but the hand got closer, faster. He braced himself.

He felt dry cold hands touch all parts of his face, his chin, cheek, forehead. Shivers went down his spine. Creepily the villain retracted his hand and turned towards where Aizawa was. “You really are cool Eraserhead, I’d admire you if you weren’t such a pushover.”

Shinsou didn’t know what fate was waiting for him but he wasn’t going to stick around to find out. He moved quickly and pulled Todoroki with him. Aizawa strained his eyes by looking at the villain. As soon as he saw that the students got away his body failed him. Beyond exhausted, he let his head fall as his eyes closed against his will.

“EVERYONE GET DOWN!” The doors to the facility were thrown open. In the doorway stood a single student wit a large machine. Most students were already hiding or making their way towards the boy seeking safety.

As the boy activated their large machine, multiple boxes got tossed in the areas where a lot of villains were. When the small silver boxes made impact with the ground they opened up. Out of the boxes appeared iron wires with a mind of their own, they moved around recklessly and when they touched something they started wrapping themselves around the object, in this case the limbs of people.

Iron wires wrapped themselves like vines around the Noumu, restricting their movements for a short while. Todoroki and Shinsou took their chance and dragged their teacher away to a safer place while trying to avoid the trap.

Kaminari took the liberty and used his quirk, electricity flowing through the wires. Yaoyorozu followed his example and made teasers, handing a few to others and shocking everyone in passing. All villains that were struggling, soon passed out after receiving multiple shockwaves.

“EVERYONE GET TO SAFETY!” A group of teachers appeared behind the boy. “WE’LL HANDLE IT FROM HERE!”

The Noumu was already freed from his restraints and worked on getting the blue haired villain free. “IT NO FAIR! YOU’RE JUST NPC’S! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO LOSE!!” He waved pointed towards Shinsou, Todoroki and the unconscious Aizawa. “DESTROY THEM!”

Obeying their words, the Noumu marched towards them. Shinsou and Todoroki tried to go faster but couldn’t, the iron wires still seeking for a target to strangle. They could leave their teacher and separate, it was their best option yet they kept holding onto the man. They were not going to abandon the person that risked his live for them.

Before the Noumu could get close he got blasted to the side. Bakugou appearing out of nowhere, releasing all the built up sweat in his gauntlets. “GOT SOMETHING TO SAY  BASTARD?” he mocked the bird creature.

His victory didn’t last long as he saw the Noumu move shortly after falling to the ground, as if he wasn’t even faced by the attack. Half his chest was burned away and a part of his shoulder exploded, leaving the bone exposed. Todoroki tried to use his ice and further immobilize him. His limbs shattered in pieces due to the cold, deformed, the Noumu crawled at the best of his capability towards them. Slowly they saw the limbs reforming.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?”

By each passing second a part was reconstructed, healed like it never had been missing in the first place. Bakugou clicked his tongue in annoyance. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR EH?!” The Noumu didn’t react, didn’t even look as much. His eyes trained on the trio.

“He’s after us. He doesn’t even notice others.” Shinsou observed.

Todoroki huffed. “and you think that’s a good thing??”

Shinsou kneeled for a second, an iron wire flying where once his head was. “It means that others can attack it without having to look out for a counterattack from that thing!” his voice was strained as he kept dragging Aizawa along.

“DON’T IGNORE ME SHITHEAD OR I’ll BLOW YOU TO PIECES!” Bakugou’s palms summoned explosions, he ran towards the monster and tried to damage it as much as he could. He focussed on destroying the ankles and knees, slowing it down.

They were close by, just a bit more and they’ll be able to breathe. They let go of Aizawa to escape another iron cable. They were lucky that the wires stayed in the air instead of crawling on the ground, that way Aizawa stayed safe.

“NO!” a heart wrenching scream filled their ears. Shinsou didn’t want it to be true but he recognized the voice, had already heard that kind of desperate shriek. Albeit this one was far more raw and painful than the one from his memories. In a flash he saw green. The boy, someone who never should’ve been here, ran towards them?

Izuku?

“DAD!!!” The boy was hysterical, tears in his eyes and his voice broke. “NO NONO GET UP!!!” the boy fell on his knees in front of the unconscious man. He combed the black hair out of the hero’s face. “you- you have to wake up! DAD!” the boy’s tears fell on the man’s face. “you can’t leave me here! Don’t you DARE!”

The Noumu got closer, no matter how much explosions it received they kept moving forwards.

“IZUKU! We need to go!” Shinsou grabbed the boy’s shoulder as Todoroki took hold of their teacher again. They needed to get away.

“GET OFF OF ME!” He recoiled. Shinsou tried his best not to feel hurt. Then Midoriya slapped away the hands of Todoroki. “DON’T TOUCH HIM!” He cradled the man, never once looking up or at the Noumu. “don’t,,-“

“OI HALF AND HALF BASTARD WHAT ARE YOU DOING GET OUT OF HERE!”

“IZUKU WE NEED TO GO! THAT THING HAS IT OUT FOR US!!” Shinsou pushed, he hoped that the boy would give up and work with them.

“I CAN’T LEAVE HIM!”

The Noumu grabbed a leg and yanked, Aizawa slipped from Izuku’s grasp, like a ragdoll he was held into the air upside down. The other hand grabbed the man’s arms, Aizawa looked so small like that. The Noumu tried to rip the person in half, his boned pulverized under the strong grip.

Izuku saw red, nothing mattered anymore. It was as if everything slowed down. Just like that day where he saved Bakugou from the sludge villain.

Why him?

Of all things life could take away from him,, why him? Was it because the man had saved him from death multiple times? Is this their punishment for not letting him die? He never had the change to express his gratitude, never called him dad even if he had been one in Izuku’s eyes.

Life was cruel.

But there was one thing Izuku learned.

To survive, he’ll have to be inhumane.

brutal,

savage,

barbaric,

ferocious,

monstruous,

spiteful,

sadistic,

ruthless,

merciless,

unrelenting,

remorseless,

unsympathetic,

heartless

His fingers wrapped around a screwdriver and he pulled it out of his tool belt. His grip was unforgiving, his knuckles white. He felt his nails dig in the soft flesh of his palm, undoubtedly drawing blood. He was crying yet he remained silent, composed.

Instead of running like he did on that day, Izuku walked.

Right foot,

Left foot,

Again.

Right foot,

Left foot,

Again.

He looked up at the monster but the thing never acknowledged him. Like all the others in his life, he was nothing more than dust in their eyes. He lifted his arm straight up in the air. The monster-like creature was bigger than him but Izuku didn’t care. It’s not like he could actually do something.

But he’d at least die trying.

He’s useless.

Without a purpose,

Weak.

So what did it even matter? For what is he even trying?

With a harsh movement he brought down the screwdriver, the metal digging in the grey and pink tissue. The beast screeched in pain and Izuku scoffed.

Since when did screaming help? No one is going to help you even if you scream your lungs out.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP THAT!”

No one give a shit if you scream.

“IZUKU!”

Just stop trying.

He punctured the brain again. Grey matter flying everywhere as puss flowed down the wound. The wet sound didn’t faze him, a gruesome symphony. If he were to close his eyes he might be able to convince himself that it was raining.

“so pitiful.”

The Noumu released the man, the husk of a body bouncing on impact with the ground. Izuku didn’t stop. Didn’t notice.

“GET THAT NPC OUT OF HERE!”

It was a mindless action.

He felt large claws grab him but he didn’t fight against it. Felt how his skin ripped underneath the sharp claws.

“You’re trying so hard, and why?”

He kept stabbing the poor excuse of a creation. Blood stained his uniform, no one could see whose blood it actually was.

“It’s all pointless isn’t it?”

He never adjusted his speed, steady and slow the motion was constant. He’d been so angry and now? It’s like he was hallow.

“I envy you,,”

He left the screwdriver in the exposed brain as the creature stopped moving. His nails still digging in Izuku’s ribs, a painful hug.

“,, for being able to die so easily.”

He stared into the Noumu’s eyes, angry that they shared the same dull expression.

Shinsou felt sick to his stomach and yet he found himself not able to look away from the horrific scene playing. Izuku, who’d been beyond hysteric, was repeatedly stabbing the monster with a blank face. Shinsou thanked his lucky stars that everyone besides Todoroki and him already left. He doesn’t think that Midoriya wants them to see this. The void expression reminded him of how people look when they are under the influence of his quirk.

And for a second, Shinsou thought he might have caused it. Brainwashed the poor boy without knowing in the spur of the moment.  But then he heard the shorter boy talking to the Noumu. His voice clear and gentle, almost as he had sympathy for the beast.

“You’re trying so hard,, and why? It’s all pointless isn’t it?” Even when the monster buried his claws in the soft flesh and blood coloured Izuku’s side he didn’t stop.

“I envy you for being able to die so easily.”

He never thought he’d hear those words tumble from those lips who only spoke off inventions and flirty comments. Something broke in him today, or maybe he was never whole to begin with. Izuku was a mystery to him.

Shinsou wasn’t sure if he wants to solve it.

If he was able to handle the consequences of doing so.

Pro heroes were shocked at the sight, 2 hero course students staring at a support course student that arrived with them. Kneeling in front of said student was a black bird-mutant looking creature, blood, puss and other bodily fluids made their way down its enormous body all mixing in a puddle on the ground were eraserhead was, dead to the world.

All Might didn’t know what to do, he was too late. He let down his own students, forced them to fight for their lives when they were too young to do so.

As they stepped closer, they noticed that the creature was still holding the student. However what concerned them more was that the boy looked unresponsive. He was breathing but that’s all, there was no life behind those eyes that didn’t blink, no unshed tears of fear, he wasn’t shivering or trembling because of pain, he simply stood there and stared into the abys that was the Noumu.

“young Midoriya,,” guilt in is voice.

They didn’t have to see it happen to know what transpired while they tried to capture the leaders of the ambush.

Making the best of it they waited for recovery girl to arrive before they attempted to free the support student. The other students that were still present at the scene got ushered away and checked for potential injuries. Eraserhead was transported to the nearest hospital.

“Why weren’t you here?” His voice was above a whisper, shaky. “why do you keep failing me.”

The boy turned as much as he could, looking over his shoulder at the hero. “It hurts.” Despite his spoken words, the boy didn’t look like someone in pain. His lack of emotion send shivers down the hero’s spine.

“Are you really a hero?” in some sick and twisted way the question almost sounded innocent, like a child would ask him when he first started his career as a pro.

All might drowned in shame.

Todoroki stared at the ground as he waited outside the park. Multiple teachers and other pro heroes ran around, some escorting villains that were wrapped in wires. There were a few other students, students he didn’t recognize. Classmates of Izuku?

Why was he even here?

“DAD!”

Shouto bit his lip, careful to not draw blood.

Things got messy.

Shinsou was worried, when he was whisked away by the teachers, Izuku was still standing there, frozen. Izuku killed that thing. The scene kept playing in his head, the screams and the pure silence afterwards.

Izuku saved them.

But at what cost?

When everything was done and Shinsou was free to go he walked past an open room. He heard voices talk.

“where were you?” it was angry.

“I reached my limit and,,” a sigh. “I’m sorry if I had known-“ the second man sounded a lot like All Might.

“But you didn’t! and they needed you! You weren’t there!” The man had no intention of accepting empty excuses. “You needed to be there and you weren’t.”

“I never thought it would be like this!” the hero raised his voice.

“People almost lost their lives, CHILDREN almost died.” Shinsou could hear All Might cough. “I almost lost two of my most important people today because you can’t keep up.” There was a heavy silence. “Either you stay playing hero like today and forget about teaching or you acknowledge your duty and be there for your students.” It sounded accusatory.  “You’re not the only teacher that still does hero work outside of UA, so I’d like it if you step up your game!”

Shinsou’s mind was running laps. If All might had been there, would they have won quicker? Would the leader be caught?

If All Might was present,, would Izuku be okay?

He couldn’t help but resent the number one hero for not being there. If not for him, the villains would have never infiltrated the school in the first place.

Why weren’t you here when we needed you?

have a shitty phone drawing of what I invision to be Shinsou's costume:

Couldn't even be bothered to actually render this piece,, oh well maybe I'll draw a better one in future chapters.

edit; I saw that I forgot to place my watermark but I'll trust you guys to not repost this saying it is yours.

Chapter Text

“how is Midoriya holding up?”

“shaken up and currently sleeping. The hospital informed us that he was quite lucky. The claws of this ‘Noumu’ pierced through the intercostal spaces between the ribs so he avoided having his ribs crushed. It only cut through subcutaneous fat and muscle but never actually entered the abdominal cavity. It’s a painful injury but not life threatening, he’ll make a full recovery.” Nedzu explained. Teachers let out a audible breath.

Power Loader mulled. “I should have stopped him from going in.” the moment he saw his student and the state he was in he got crushed by the feeling of shame. He knew it was dangerous and yet, he agreed on taking Midoriya with him. Thought it was safer to allow the boy to come with than having him sneak around.

“now, now, there is no need for self-pity. It is a fact that Midoriya played a huge part in this incident. After all, he came up with using the capture gun and immobilising as many villains as possible so that the hero course could escape without harm. And he even managed to put a stop to a monster that caused trouble to even eraserhead.” The chimera mused as he picked up his teacup. “I’d say, considering his lack of quirk this is a formidable act.”

Present mic furrowed his brows in question, leaning in. “what are you trying to say Nedzu?”

“I’d like to keep an eye on him.” he smiled, his beady black eyes shining with mirth.

It was All Might that joined in. “what for?” he gave the animal a suspicious look.

“Because he’s interesting. Do I need another reason?” he answered without hesitation.

Yamada was ready to kill anyone standing in his way, he was seething with anger. He already heard from his husband that All Might was the one that hid the acceptance letter of his soon to be adopted son and now this? One job! And he fucks it up! All he needed to do was keep track of his limit and make sure to appear in class and yet!

Shouta getting hurt was nothing new, of course he still cried every time it happened Yamada knew what he signed up for when he married another pro hero. It was a risk they are both willing to take. But Izuku was never supposed to get hurt, they were supposed to protect him! keep him safe!

And they failed.

So now, here he was. Sitting on a chair in the hall of a hospital that was all too familiar waiting for either of them to wake up. The sound of machines and whispers were his only company.

I swear I’ll do better.

Shouta woke up first. His eyes burning by the light reflecting on the white walls, he momentarily lived in a world of fuzzy shapes and too loud of a beeping noise until his vision cleared up.

Ah, the hospital.

The scent of antiseptics, bitter as if he could taste it on his tongue lingered heavily in the air making his headache only worse. He wished he had the strength to get up and open up a window.

His mind was shattered, there were vague memories fronting but before he could make sense of them they vanished again. He couldn’t connect the pieces that he did had since it seemed like he missed a lot in between. Trying to force himself to remember more than he already did made him wince in pain.

The door slammed open and in a blur of motion he saw blonde hair fill his vision. Lanky but warm arms enveloped him. he leaned into the touch, not caring that the pressure of the other man hurt him.

“Never do that again,, please.” A plea.

“I won’t.” A promise they both know will be broken someday.

After the two husbands had their emotional reunion Hizashi explained the situation the best he could manage. How brave his students had been. He explained that no one got hurt besides him, number 13 and,, Izuku.

Green messy hair, tangled.

The sensation of a shaky hand combing through his matted hair and small water droplets falling on his face.

Was it raining? It felt comforting. Rain always was on of his favourite things in the world. Seeing clouds take over a once bright sky and paint the world grey was enjoyable. The sound of rain hitting his window as he and his husband shared a blanket.

He always hoped that it would never stop raining.

“You can’t leave me here! Don’t you dare!”

It was a voice he recognized but he could put a name on it. Maybe it was the way the voice was trembling that threw him off. If he could he would open his eyes and sneak a peek. Try and see who brought the rain with him today.

Alas his body didn’t cooperate and he went back in the void escorted by the sound of soft rain and a dismembered voice.

Izuku was there.

Izuku saw him fail his own students and ended up getting hurt himself because his incompetence. When his husband first told him that Izuku was present at the scene he’d tried to get out of bed and crawl if he had to towards the kid. Izuku gave them a chance and barely a week has passed and he was back at the hospital.

His body was broken and still it could not compare with how he was hurting emotionally.

I wouldn’t blame him if he told us that he wants to leave.

We’ve wasted our chance.

A knock interrupted his thoughts and both him and Hizashi turned to look over at whoever was standing in the doorway. To their surprise it wasn’t a nurse checking up on him.

“uhm, are you ok?” two awkward teenagers waited at the door. Shouta narrowed his eyes for a second, confused as to why two of his students were here.

His husband smiled and signalled towards the two to come in. Aizawa noticed how his husband tried to stay out of his personal space as a means to look somewhat professional.

“What are you doing here?” Aizawa questioned.

Shinsou kept looking at the floor and Todoroki simply blinked at him, both remained silent.

The injured hero sighed and let himself fall back on his pillow, biting back a wince as his body felt like it was ripping itself apart. “Listen, both of you should be resting at home so if it is not urgent I suggest that you go do exactly that.”

“We want to see Izuku.”

Shouta quirked his eyebrow.

“We know he’s your child so we need your permission to go visit.” Shouto shrugged as both heroes chocked on nothing. Their wide eyes meeting each other in a silent question.

Shinsou shoved the other teen’s shoulder.  “I thought we would try and be subtly about this?” he hissed.

Todoroki gave him a deadpan-look. “Why, this works just fine.”

“How do you know about that?” the black haired man eyes them suspiciously. “Not even the other teachers are aware of this yet.” If he had his capture scarf here with him he’d probably have tied the student up in order to force them to answer.

It was now Shinsou that spoke up. “We didn’t mean to!  But at the USJ- when you were out,,” his voice grew more hesitant and his eyes darted around the room. “Izuku ran towards you, he was completely hysteric and screaming,, he kept referring to you as dad.”

Present Mic had an awed face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Eraserhead however looked frozen in place.

“what?” The hero sounded breathless.

He did?

“Don’t worry though!” Shinsou held up his hands in defence. “No one else was near, well there was Bakugou but he was far to busy to actually listen in on what we were saying.”

Shinsou nodded, agreeing with the statement. “Only us two heard it and we’ll stay silent.”

An awkward pause filled the room.

The two teenagers shared a look with each other. Did they go to far? Should they have stayed silent about this?

Present mic had come closer while Aizawa stayed spaced out in the bed, the blonde crouched ever so little so that he was face to face with the purple haired student. Shinsou saw the little crows feet forming as their teacher was practically glowing and grinning. His voice was high. “Did he really?! Oh please tell me that he did!”

Shinsou arched his back to create some distance between him and the teacher. Todoroki behind him cocked his head to the side. “yes?”

The blonde hero shrieked in pure excitement, accidentally activating his quirk. The other men in the room quickly shielded their ears but they still felt like their head was about to explode. He quickly snapped his mouth shut after realizing what was happening, awkwardly he fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve already apologizing. “Excuse me,,”

“Hizashi, help me get up.” Determination filled his voice and his husband turned to him.

He shook his head softly and sighed. “you’re not leaving the bed. The nurse told you to rest and not agitate your injuries.” He felt bad saying it to his husband but he can’t afford letting Shouta hurt himself because he was being impulsive.”

“Zashi-“ a warning.

The two students watched the interaction with great interest. A few dots started to connect.

“no! as much as I like to see the little listener too you can’t go out like this! Izuku will get angry at you if you force yourself.” The blonde rested both hands on his hips, trying to look intimidating.

“Either you help me get out of this bed or I’ll change all the spice labels.” He threatened.

A gasp, “You wouldn’t!”

“Watch me.”

“Are you really threatening me right now?” his husband asked in disbelief.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes and even with all the bandages he still looked intimidating. “It’s a promise.”

Shinsou had to look away so that he wouldn’t break into laughter, only to see Todoroki doing the same. Their shoulders shook with silent laughter. Who would have thought that their sensei had this side to him. deciding that siding with his sensei would help them reach their goal he coughed to get their attention. The two adults ended their little staring match and turned to look at their student.

“We can ask for a wheelchair? That way he won’t move as much and can still go out.” He had the feeling that his sensei was grinning in victory under those bandages. The look that he gave (his husband?) Present Mic was enough to see that he was rubbing it in the other his face. Aizawa really could be childish huh?

Present Mic sighed in defeat before slumping forward. “fine,, but no unnecessary movements!”

“I’ll go ask for a wheelchair.” Todoroki said before he disappeared into the hall.

Midoriya had been awake for a while but decided to not call for anyone. He didn’t feel like communicating just yet. If they knew that he regained consciousness they would be sure to question him as to why he did that stupid thing, why he as a quirkless kid tried to play hero but ended up getting hurt.

Again.

He went as far as to act like he was sleeping whenever a certain nurse came to check up on him.

He really was a coward huh?

The boy remembered more or less everything that transpired, the pain didn’t let him forget. Everyone got out safe except him and the teachers.

I didn’t lose him.

Somewhere in this building, his old man should be recovering. Maybe he was already awake and angry at him. furious about the fact that he placed himself in danger without thinking. Maybe he had already tried to escape the hospital multiple times saying it’s a waste of time to be here. Izuku entertained himself with the endless possibilities.

It stopped him from thinking that he will most definitely get disposed of because he wasn’t worth the trouble.

He sure as hell would kick himself out after pulling such a stunt.

He thought back at the Noumu, how the lump of muscle and whatever should resemble it’s skin surrounded him. the lifeless eyes that were glossy as if the beast had tried to cry in pain but was unable to actually do so. Did even a monster like that have the ability to feel emotions?

Were they scared when they noticed the brain couldn’t repair the damage.

Were they afraid to die?

Izuku will never know the answer cause he made sure to that the monster could not return to the living. He had felt the heat leave the lifeless body as he waited for the heroes to free him from his painful prison. He didn’t even feel guilt as he stared at the deceased.

Was it because it was considered as non-human?

Or did Izuku finally fall far enough in the deep end where he was numb to such things?

He killed someone, beast or not.

How could he ever think about becoming a hero?

What a naïve thought it was.

Izuku closed his eyes and tried to act like he was asleep when he heard the door open. The sound of footsteps getting closer. They didn’t sound like they belonged to the nurse that came before. These sounded heavier,, and there were multiple people approaching.

Who?

“Looks like our little listener is still asleep.” Izuku stopped breathing.

Another voice joined in hushed tones. “I’m glad he doesn’t look worse than I do.”

“He looks really peaceful.”

“it’s probably the medication.”

Izuku had to try and stop himself from frowning at the other voices. He recognized them all too well. What are Shinsou and Todoroki doing here? Mothman and Mic was to be expected but why them? Why don’t they sound angry?

“Has he been asleep all this time?” he heard Aizawa ask. As he heard no reply he could only guess that someone in the room shook their head in response.

“He could use the rest.” Shinsou said, his voice almost sounding fond?

Look who’s talking, your eyebags are worse than mine!

“is it ok for us to be here while he still isn’t awake?” It was Todoroki that stated the question.

Yes Canadian flag! You say that! Tell them to leave! He encouraged the boy on in his mind. He really wasn’t ready to face anyone let alone 4 people at once. Acting like he just woke up wasn’t an option but his position right now was uncomfortable. If he changed positions they might notice he’s actually awake or they’ll think that he is waking up.

Moving was thus also not an option.

How long are they going to stay here? Do they know it’s creepy to watch someone sleep?

He heard the four exchange words and tried his best to stay unmoved and with a relaxed face. In case someone was actually focusing on his face.

“So like, you guys are married and what? Adopted Izuku?” if Izuku wasn’t playing dead he would have died on the spot. Bold move pretty boy. He forgot that when he lost his temper he did call Walmart Mothman his dad,, fuck.

“Can we tell them?” Yamada sounded worried.

“IT’s not like they don’t know already.”

“So it’s true?” Todoroki butted in.

“yeah, although the adoption thing is still in progress. Izuku has lived with us since school started.” Shouta explained. It was so typical of him to be use the smallest amount of words to explain things.

“Did you know that he would be a student at UA?” The two students were curious.

“Well, Izuku and Shouta met a couple of times and I met him in the hospital after getting curious. I kind off decided to adopt him right on the spot or even kidnap the little listener but this man wouldn’t let me.”

“You can’t just kidnap random children.” Shinsou laughed.

“what so, people can pick up stray cats after seeing them once but I can’t take home a kid that my husband was obsessed with?” Izuku felt his lips curl upwards as he thought about their first meeting. He hoped that no one noticed it.

“Children and cats aren’t the same.”

“It’s only a small difference, barely worth mentioning.” Yamada poorly defended himself against his husband’s comment.

The four of them kept on chatting for what felt like an eternity. Some questions were about him which made his chest feel tight for some reason. Not many people were ever interested into getting to know him but here they were. Other topics consisted of Aizawa’s health, what will happen now and lighter topics as to why changing the labels of al the spices were the ultimate threat. Todoroki apparently really wanted to know the answer to the last one although Izuku didn’t know why this was even a question in the first place.

“Hey kid, I know that you won’t hear this since you’re still asleep but I wanted to get this of my chest.”

Everyone had left when visiting hours had ended and only Shouta stayed behind. If it was any other day he would have been long home after leaving the hospital whether it was allowed or not, but Aizawa found himself staying behind and act a bit longer as if he was a patient so he could stay with the younger boy.

Somewhere between the long conversation Izuku did fall asleep again.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be a good parent, I mean look at us.” He huffed out a small laugh. “we’re both looking like shit. But what I mean to say it that I’ll make mistakes and maybe you’ll get hurt in the process like today. You trusted us enough to give us a chance and we fucked up.”

He stroked the green curls. “I’m learning as I go and I’m sorry that there will be times where I’ll lack. So please be patient with me ok?” his hand lingered.

“Goodnight”

Son.

Chapter Text

Hospitals were a second home to Izuku, no matter what he does he always finds himself back in the white room and stale beddings surrounded by nurses in white and blue and too loud machines. So when he woke up and found a black mop of hair besides him he was a bit dumbfounded. It was so out of place.

He knows the hero, how the man is famous for sneaking out of hospitals even when he’s still connected to countless of wires and dizzy from the drugs. So seeing the man here, at his bedside instead of at home where he would have slept more comfortably made him feel a bit giddy.

As if he really was someone that people care for.

He couldn’t get too complacent, can’t take it for granted.

He might have stayed behind to lecture me, tell me that I’m not worth the trouble.

Better get it over with.

He leaned forward as much as his body allowed him to do so, his muscles screamed at him, and he tapped the man on the head.

Bop.

The sleeping man huffed but stayed asleep. Izuku repeated the action, a little bit harder now.

Bop bop.

Groaning followed by a little bit of movement. The hero lifted his head but the boy couldn’t see his face behind the mess that was his hair. If they were a bit closer he might have combed it out of his face.

“Goodmorning Mothman.” Izuku gave him a shit-eating smile, not even trying t look innocent in his eyes.

Shouta blinked slowly, “morning kid.” His voice was deep and heavy with sleep still. He yawned and moved a part of his hear out of his face. “How are you feeling?”

Izuku pulled a face and looked at his own body poking a few spots, hissing at some. “I’m alive.” He stated. It was a half-truth cause in some way he didn’t.

His heart was beating, his body moved and felt warm but that was all.

He was alive.

But he didn’t feel alive.

“A bit sore and the sides of my stomach hurt but that was to be expected.” He added.

The hero gave him a look, one brow lifted while his eyes stayed lifeless. “to be expected.” He repeated. He scratched his face in disbelieve. “promise me something.”

Izuku nodded, not trusting his voice. Aizawa continued. “Don’t pull shit like that ever again.” It wasn’t a question nor a suggestion but it sounded like a plea. As if the hero knew that Izuku would do the same thing when given the chance. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“because I’m quirkless?” because I don’t have a quirk and can’t do anything besides mess up and get hurt? He wanted to say. He stayed silent.

“Because you’re precious.”

The two sat in silence, words heavy on their mind.

Recovery girl visited and after that Izuku was free to go, the two of them arrived at home where Hizashi was already waiting for them.

“we’re home.” Aizawa sounded exhausted.

Like an excited dog Hizashi ran from wherever he was previously towards his husband and Izuku, hugging them tightly. “What took you so long! I’ve been waiting for hours!” he said as he nuzzled them.

“It took a while since we were held up by traffic, you know how it goes.” The black haired man sighed. Izuku joined in, his voice muffled by the blonde’s clothing that was pressing against his face. “Mount Lady destroyed a building by miscalculating where she could freely move, they’re still picking up rubble as we speak!”

“that’s,,”

Izuku crawled away from the hug and shrugged. “It’s not like it’s the first time that something like that happened, probably won’t be the last.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes at the statement, “doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t be held accountable.” He took of his jacket and shoes, struggling since the bandages that covered his body didn’t allow him much grip. His husband was glad to assist where needed. “Maybe it’s time for her to realise that the city might not be the best place for her.”

Hizashi took Izuku’s jacket and hung it next to his own, a polite smile on his face as he tried to remember who they’re talking about. “come on, we all know that the city is the best place to start a career, she’s trying her best.” Ever the peacemaker.

Izuku deadpanned, his facial features almost a carbon copy of Aizawa whenever he’s done with life. “You can just say that it’s easier to get fame when you work in the city.” He looked at Aizawa that quirked his eyebrow at him. “what? I’m right.”

The blonde ushered the smaller boy inside the living room. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting fame.”

“It is when that’s your only motivation.”

Sometimes they forgot that Izuku isn’t a ball of sunshine all of the time. Little comments made clear that there was more to the boy that he let others see, a past that was perhaps a bit too dark for a boy his age. They could only hope that from now on his days could become a bit more bright.

“How about a movie night?” Hizashi tried to change topics.

“UA’s annual sports festival is fast approaching.” Aizawa stood in front of the class who all sat there with their mouth agape. It was apparent that none of his students had thought that he would be returning this soon. How little do they think of me?

“Would it be alright to do this right after what happened?” Uraraka asked worried. “wouldn’t the villains try and infiltrate again?”

Aizawa responded, not allowing doubt to take over the other students. “The sports festival will show everyone that we’re confident that such thing will not happen again. There will also be double the surveillance and the festival will be filled with other pro heroes just to be sure.” He made sure to look the female student in the eye. “you all should be focussing on the opportunity this will bring.”

He heard Mina in the back whisper “what does that mean?”

Before he could respond Yaoyorozu spoke up. “It’s because they’ll be scouting us.”

“that’s right, thank you Yaoyorozu. Remember that if you get noticed by a pro, the chance for bright future will waiting for you once you graduate. Use this opportunity, you have 3 chances during your stay here so if you aim to be a hero, you can’t hold back.”

“you can’t be serious!” Shinsou shouted. He didn’t care if people looked at him weirdly for shouting in a public place.

“but I am though?” Izuku, clearly unbothered by the outburst took another bite from his lunch. “I’m going to participate.”

“but Izuku you were still in the hospital yesterday! It’s too soon!” Mei protested, Shinsou nodding furiously with her. “What if you get hurt again!”

“I already spoke with Mothman and he agreed with me.” He lowered his utensils. “I’m not going to sit this one out.”

Shinsou nudged Shouto, “say something!” Shouto who had been slurping his soba in silence, swallowed his bite. “I’m not going to argue with Aizawa’s decision.” He said impassively.

After the accident there was no need to try and hide his connection with the teacher of 1-A, at least not in front of Shouto and Shinsou, he told Mei later since he didn’t want her to feel left out. It didn’t take long before the nickname had slipped out. Now they used it whenever they spoke about Izuku’s guardian on schoolground just in case if someone else would overhear.

Izuku didn’t know why the two hero students decided to hang around when he returned to school. he didn’t want to question it too much, he quite liked the company.

“I’m not going to hold back, just so you know.” Shouto added, his eyes burning with a certain determination. “I don’t care that you’re fresh out of the hospital, I will win this years sports festival.” He had a faint smile on his lips, invisible to people that didn’t know him well, but Izuku could tell.

Shinsou looked like he wanted to dump whatever was left in Shouto’s bowl over the bi-coloured person’s head. “the fuck?”

“I can assume that this is a declaration of war?” Izuku mused

Mei jumped in. “I want to join! I’ll be the commander! Pleaseee Izuku, We would be such a great team!”

Shinsou let his head fall on the table in defeat. He’s surrounded by crazy people.

“Please promise that you will be careful?” Present Mic had taken Izuku to the side before he needed to go join the rest of his class.

Izuku tried to reassure him by giving a serene smile. “You worry too much, it’s only the sports festival. Recovery girl is right around the corner if I get a scratch.”

“no scratches.” The blonde pouted.

“a bruise then.” Izuku tried.

The hero eyes narrowed. “no.” he looked like a child that was denied a treat. The teenager tried his best to not laugh at the sight.

He faked a dramatic sigh. “Oh well, that leaves me with no choice,, guess I’ll have to ‘break a leg.’ ” He eyed the hero from the side waiting to see if the hero got the joke.

By the curled up lips he saw, he was sure that he did.

Seeing Bakugou standing on the podium Izuku was reminded that he hadn’t grown as much as he thought he would have. It took one look at the blonde to feel like he was back in middle school. He felt the phantom pain all over his body, his scars felt like they were about to rip open, dark tissue, charred at places. he had to look at his healed scars to remind himself that they were just that, scars. The area was numb to light touches, his nerves destroyed.

Would he still feel the phantom pain if those parts were completely numb?

Should I test it out?

The dark thought came quicker than he’d anticipated. he adjusted the sweatband on his wrist so that it covered most of the healed wound. Out of sight, out of mind right?

“We’ll start with our first event!” Midnights voice echoed trough the stadium loudly. “This year’s first round of destiny is,,,” she tried to create suspense. “the obstacle race!”

The crowd roared at the reveal, eager to get started. Izuku could hear some of the students grumble, mostly students from his own class and gen ed. He couldn’t blame them. UA didn’t train other students their physical abilities if they weren’t placed in the hero course.

The only reason Izuku wasn’t complaining with them is because he trained outside of school hours. After Aizawa accepted the fact that he was a magnet for trouble he decided to teach him the basics of hand to hand combat. He already had a bit of muscle from his cleaning journey on the beach so it wasn’t too hard of a shock to his body to start training. At least he had a bit of skills he could rely on.

“Are you going to be ok?”  He turned to Mei next to him. As far as he knew, Mei didn’t like running,, or anything that acquired her to move her body too much if not needed for her babies.

Mei clicked her tongue. “I’ll have to be if I want to show off my babies.” She sounded annoyed.

Izuku ruffled her hair. “you’ll be alright.”

They took their stances.

“On your marks,, START!!!!” green light flickered and everyone around him began to run with all their might. Through the narrow passage some people got squished together and blocked the way for others, no way to get past them. While others struggled to get past or crawl under the other students Izuku decided that it was better to use the high ground.

Izuku used one of the crawling students as a stepping stone, placing his feet on the student’s lower back so he had enough leverage to jump over the other students in his way. Fortunately he had already jumped when he saw that Shouto used his ice to freeze everyone into place. Less fortunate, because he didn’t prepare for the ground to be a literal block of ice he lost his balance once he landed. With fast reflexes he managed to grab onto another student before he could fall on his ass.

“Sorry!” he yelled at the stuck student as he wasted no time running further.

There weren’t a lot of students that managed to escape Shouto’s ice, mostly other students from 1-A that knew what kind of tactics the boy would use. If Izuku could keep this pace he would have no trouble getting into the next round.

He looked back to see if anyone had freed themselves only to see Shinsou being carried by other students. The boy looked like an unsatisfied king. Izuku stifled a laugh.

So he can use it on multiple people,, I should remember that.

When he turned back to look where he was running he was just in time to avoid an incoming punch. He rolled to the side and looked at where the fist came from. Izuku stood face to face with a giant metal robot 4 times his size.

Excuse me???

“The first barrier is the famous 0-pointer from the entrance exam!” Present Mic shouted enthusiastically through the speakers.

“Are they fucking serious?” Izuku watched his surroundings , there were too many of them to slip past and the machines had fast enough reflexes to drill him into the ground if he were to try. Unlike others, he didn’t have a quirk to rely on. He did have a few support items.

He watched Shouto use his ice to destroy a robot in front of him. The teen also saw how others followed his lead as he paved a way through the sea of robots.  What they didn’t see was that Shouto didn’t just freeze the robots willy-nilly, he froze them in a way that they were unstable and fell over like dominoes. Izuku winced at the sight of the students getting crushed by the robot.

It’s not like they would actually get hurt,, right?

He tried to shake of the thought, Recovery Girl is here. He couldn’t afford to waste time. He grabbed a large metal place that lied on the ground, it looked like a piece from one of the robot’s chest. Now that most the robots were either fighting other students or were already destroyed by Shouto it was easy for Izuku to slip between them, he used the metal plate as a shield whenever he needed to.

When he arrived at the second barrier he was ready to just give up.

In front of him was a large ravine with little islands that were connected to each other by a single rope. He saw Bakugou fly over everything using his explosions to move forward while others tried to actually get across using the ropes.

He looked at the metal plate and then back at the ravine. He couldn’t take it with him if he wants to get across. Just as he wanted to give up on the plate he saw Mei. “MEI!” he called out.

Mei was fully equipped, Izuku recognized it. “A bit of help?” he laughed. Mei was wearing a few of her newest babies, the hover soles and wire arrows.

Mei waved him over. “You owe me a baked potato kit kat.”

“I’ll buy you 5 if I can bring this thing with me.” He bargained. Mei looked at the giant piece of scrap metal and grinned.

“Deal.” She pulled him closer. “Hold on tight!”

With that, an arrow shot out and pulled the two of them forward, before the two had no more ground to run on they jumped at Mei’s command. “Now!” She activated her hover soles so they would fall slowly. They repeated the action a couple of times until they got across.

“A splendid example of teamwork, ladies and gentlemen! You see, not only do we teach the students to be the best hero they can be, we teach them to work with each other!”

Izuku heard other students talk. “Is that even allowed?”

“Why are they allowed to use support items? That’s not fair!”

“They’re from the support course, they don’t get classes that learn them how to fight so to keep things fair they are allowed to use the items they made if they are approved by the staff members.”

“wow,, ‘equality’,,”

Shinsou looked at his two friends with a smile, “now, that’s something alright,,”

Izuku and Mei ran together, they weren’t in the top 10 but they were catching up quickly cause,, everyone was standing still?

“And now! For the third and final barrier,, none other than,, AN ACTUAL MINE FIELD!!”

And you were the one that told me not to get any scratches?!! Maybe not place a fucking minefield???? Izuku was cursing. Neither Mei or him had something that could help them cross without losing a mountain of time. They could see a few land mines poking out of the ground but they were sure that there were a lot more hidden in the lose sand.

“Mei, I got an idea.” He tilted his head towards the metal plate and arched his brows in a silent question. He would know that he didn’t need to say more than that. Mei returned a manic grin, her eyes filled with purpose.

“I’m in.”

Shouto and Bakugou were racing for first place. Shouto skipping between the landmines while Bakugou propelled himself forwards with explosions. The two weren’t going to give in any time soon. Bakugou tried to manoeuvre his way while dodging Shouto’s attack, ice covered his forearm.

“You ready Mei?” The two held the metal plate with an iron grip.

“Boom?” Mei asked, her eyes on the finish line.

“Boom!” The two let themselves fall forward, a painful bellyflop on the metal. The sudden weight triggered the small mountain of land mines that they collected and the two support students got launched into the air. Mei laughed like a maniac, Izuku tried to hold on.

The huge explosion got the attention of everyone, the crowd was silent for a second before they became unmanageable, there was shouting and screams of disbelief and encouragement. Izuku apologized in his head to Aizawa and Yamada for this stunt.

“SUPPORT COURSE STUDENT MEI HATUSME AND IZUKU MIDORIYA ARE TRYING TO TAKE THE LEAD!” Present Mic was screaming.

“Mei!” Izuku yelped as they started to get closer to the ground. “Quick question HOW DO WE LAND???”

Mei kept laughing. “Hang on!!” Mei shot another wired arrow past the finish line. As the wire pulled the two forward. Now they were still moving forward at a fast pace while getting closer to the ground instead of falling directly down.

“WATCH OUT!” Mei yelled at the two hero course student running in front of them. The two looked behind and managed to dodge the flying scrap just in time. For a second Izuku’s face van only a few inches away from his former best friend.

It was only a second but it felt like eternity. He saw the sharp red eyes go from anger to bewilderment to pure shock, a lot more emotions seemed to nestle themselves into those ruby eyes but Izuku didn’t look any further. His body was burning up, the heat was more noticeable than the pain, skin melted like candle was, leaving angry red tissue and bubbling skin in the form of an handprint.

Marked.

His mouth was open but he couldn’t find his voice.

He couldn’t scream.

“HEADS UP!” With that the two support students hit the ground and glid a bit further until they reached the point were the wired arrow was nestled into the ground.

“AND THE WINNERS ARE MEI HATSUME AND IZUKU MIDORIYA!!!”

Mei stuck out her hand towards Izuku and pulled him upright before she started waving at the crowd with a giant smile on her face. Izuku tried to catch his breath, pulling on the wristband and letting go so it twangs against his skin, the part that wasn’t as numb.

Breathe you idiot. People are watching.

Focus.

Ground yourself.

I see Mei, my shoes, metal, the wall, finish line

You already knew that he was going to be here so why are you freaking out?

I can touch my wristband, my clothes, the ground, the air

Weak.

I hear Yamada, footsteps, the crowd

Did you really think you were ok just because you didn’t see him for a while?

I smell sweat and my shampoo

He’s here.

I taste,, blood.

Izuku’s mouth felt raw, unknowingly he’d been chewing on the inside of his cheek. The taste of iron didn’t leave his mouth. He settled for a tight closed mouthed smile as he joined Mei in waving at the crowd. He felt the all too familiar presence behind him but didn’t dare to look back.

To look back means that he would have to acknowledge him.

He prayed that the blonde would stay where he was right now. He can’t afford to lose himself any further.

Izuku was as calm as he could be, he had his breathing under control and didn’t feel like his knees would give up on him anymore. It had to do for now. Once he was behind closed door he could have a meltdown, not now.

Midnight congratulated everyone that passed and introduced the following game. But much to the demise of the two first placers of the obstacle course, it was hard to find people that were willing to team up with them. Being both quite the loners of the support course neither Izuku or Mei had a lot of friends besides each other, besides Shinsou.

“Shinsou will you please join or team?” Izuku pleaded. “Please don’t make me walk up to strangers and beg them to join Mei and I! They already find us weird and they don’t know us so they’ll definitely decline our offer of joining! I don’t want to look like a fool, pleaseeeee Shinsou!!” Honestly Izuku couldn’t care less how pathetic he looks about now, the anxiety of walking up to strangers and ask for a favour that isn’t in their best interest was more prominent than his feelings of shame.

Shinsou stared a bit dumbfounded at the shorter boy, his arms crossed. He wasn’t planning on joining Izuku’s team since he wanted to show everyone he was in the hero course for a reason, to prove himself worthy but now that he saw Izuku begging for his assistance. The words came out of his mouth. “Can’t miss me huh? I’ll join but we better win.”

Someone wanted him.

Even if they only chose him because they didn’t know anyone else, they still thought of him and wanted him to be part of their plan. How could Shinsou say no to that.

At least with Shinsou they lack only one more person.

The trio already knew that Todoroki wouldn’t join them for multiple reasons. One, the boy and Izuku were set on their declaration of war and two, with Todoroki being placed second in the previous round their team would become even more of a target with the amount of points they would have.

So the question remained, who are they going to ask?

Izuku noticed that most of the students that weren’t in a team already avoided their general area, not wanting to catch their eye and be asked to join. He understood why they would do it but it still hurt to see those wary faces.

It remined him too much  middle school.

“You need to avoid that one, he’s defect.”

“Didn’t you hear? That boy has no quirk. My parents told me that he’s sick and that we should avoid him.”

“ew, watch out! Don’t touch me you freak!”

“Is that the useless boy? He looks pathetic.”

“Look! Deku is over there! Hey Deku, why can’t you be normal?”

Izuku shook of the nasty memories. Looks like today is a day filled with nostalgia. How unpleasant.

“Excuse me, are you still looking for a partner?” A female voice appeared behind him. the trio turned to look at the disembodied voice and saw a pretty short girl with a brown bob. Izuku recognized her from one of the clips.

“oh you’re that gravity girl right? Of course you can join!” he furrowed his eyebrows in worry. “but,, do you really want to? We’re not exactly at an advantage here,,” he trailed off.

Shinsou clicked his tongue. He gave the green haired boy a look before speaking. “Don’t mind him, We’re happy to have you here.”

“Ah Shinsou! Is this the boy you talked about? Midoriya Izuku right?! You were impressive last round! My name is Uraraka Ochako, please call me Uraraka.” Her smile was blinding and Izuku felt a bit intimidated by her. Was this how he looked when he ran towards people as a kid, smiling all excited? He can understand why Bakugou might have found him annoying.

“You talked about me?” He looked at the taller boy. His voice was full of wonder before he got back into his role as Shinsou’s personal tormentor. “I thought you told me that you wanted to keep it a secret! You said you weren’t ready yet,,” he gaped, a fake pout on his lips as he clung onto Shinsou’s arm for good measure. Mei cackled in the background, already more than used to them.

Uraraka however, her face became the same shade of red as Shinsou’s cheeks were. Where her classmates right about them being lovers? She placed the palms of her hands on her cheeks, hoping to cool her face a bit.

Mei came closer to her and patted her shoulder. “It’s a joke, you’ll get used to it.”

Izuku rolled is eyes as he heard Mei and let go of Shinsou who tried his best to keep a straight face. “Meiiii!” he whined. “You spoiled it!! And my act was so believable too.” As if to realise something Izuku looked at the brunette. “You can call me Izuku by the way, no need for the family name.”

“Acting like a spoiled bratty boyfriend is your idea of an believable act?” Shinsou sounded sceptical.

Izuku flicked his finger against the taller boy’s forehead and smirked. “You wish I was your spoiled bratty boyfriend, pretty boy.” He stuck out his tongue. “I’m a catch.” He shrugged to himself and Mei nodded approvingly.

Shinsou sighed. “Don’t encourage him Mei, it will go to his head.”

Uraraka laughed as she felt comfortable with the trio their antics. She could see why the normally silent and distant boy would keep hanging around the smaller boy and his eccentric friend. It was hard not to get swept up in the mood.

“Okay, okay, enough games. Time to get a bit more serious.” Izuku composed himself. “Mei and I share the 10 million point headband, only one of us needs to be the rider. I propose that I’ll be the rider so Mei can help with defence, Uraraka, if you’re okay with it I want you next to Mei. With your quirk we can float while Mei uses her hover soles to ease the burden for you. It will also help with landing a bit more safely after you release your quirk. Shinsou, you do what you do best. I want you in the front and go off.” Izuku smiled almost sadistically at the last part. Uraraka looked a bit confused but didn’t dare to ask.

She didn’t know Shinsou’s quirk yet, like many others in their class she was curious but couldn’t find the confidence to walk up to the stoic boy and ask him. She knew it had to do with his voice, it wasn’t that hard to guess since he’s hero costume had a mask and speakers as support items, but the specifics remained a mystery.

“I’m fine with that, but how are you so sure that I can float everyone?” She questioned. As far as she knew they hadn’t met before.

“oh! Izuku and I had to study clips from your lesson with All Might since we had to see how you treated our babies and if they were functioning how they should be functioning. So we pretty much know most of your quirks and the specifics on them, but Izuku is really good with quirks.” She felt proud boasting about her creations and Izuku’s accomplishments. He deserved it, no one could have conversations with her like Izuku did, they always got annoyed or confused when she got too excited about something.

The brunette nodded quickly. “Okay!” She decided not to question the usage of the word babies. “But Mid- Izuku, can I ask what your quirk is?” Shinsou winced at the question.

The shorter boy cocked his head, his green eyes large before shrugging it off. “oh, it isn’t useful to the cavalry battle if that’s what you wanted to know.” He sounded carefree but Shinsou knew better. While responding to the question, Izuku never really answered the girl’s question and made sure that she couldn’t ask further without looking nosy.

Shinsou decided it was time for him to change the course of the conversation. “Izuku, why don’t you have any support items with you? I thought students from the support course were allowed to use them?” He was genuinely curious.

Izuku played with a lose curl, looking a bit embarrassed. “wellll, between making your costume, studies and recovering I didn’t have much time to invent things and the items that were finished were not approved by the staff members since they were deemed ‘too unsafe for others’ or would have given me too much advantage,,” he looked up at the taller boy, his green eyes meeting purple. “but I do have one! But it stays a surprise for the next round!”

“THE CAVALRY BATTLE IS GOING TO START!!!!” the announcement began.

“That’s our cue, Everyone knows the plan? Defence is our best option we do NOT do out looking for fights.” Izuku looked at every one of his teammates to see them nodding, determent to win. “Let’s give it our all shall we?”

“Are you a natural blonde?”

“no, actually-“

“Throw your headband.” Shinsou commanded. While defending their own headband and avoiding the stronger teams Shinsou tried to gather what he could. It was a first for Uraraka to see Shinsou use his quirk and she was a bit surprised.

Not of the kind of quirk but how easily the boy could rile others up. This was the most she heard the purple haired boy speak the short time she has teamed up with him. it was as if a switch had been flipped and the boy almost started talking nonstop to everyone that came close. It was a big difference to the persona she saw during class.

Izuku was also talking non-stop, giving advice and directions for where to head to next. They worked surprisingly well together and things went by smoothly. Until she heard a familiar voice scream, Izuku froze. Both Shinsou and Uraraka cursed when they saw the blonde fast approaching.

“Uraraka. Float.” Izuku’s voice was flat and cold. She brushed it off as shock and activated her quirk.

“DEKU! DON’T RUN AWAY YOU BASTARD!” Bakugou, against protest from his teammates, launched himself in the air.

“Who is Deku?” Mei asked, looking around.

Izuku ignored the question, his voice barely leaving his throat. “Shinsou.”

Shinsou didn’t need more than that, he nodded and began shouting. “WHO ARE YOU AGAIN?” he decided to play with the blonde’s ego. Knowing that he’ll take the bait, the blonde doesn’t look like he’d appreciate the thought of being forgotten.

“Tell him to leave, please.” Izuku’s voice was calm but it sounded forced.

“EH?! WHAT DID YOU-“ Shinsou activated his quirk and the boy’s eyes went blank. He smirked at the dumb expression on Bakugou’s face. As the boy was brainwashed, he stopped creating explosions and gravity took hold of him, before he was out of reach Shinsou demanded. “Stay away for the rest of the battle.” He watched as the blonde his team caught him. he let out a breath.

Izuku too, audibly breathed out and smoothed with his hand over his own face. “Uraraka, Mei, we can land now.”

“Got it!” Mei triggered her hover soles as Uraraka released her quirk and they started falling slowly.  

“Sharp turn to the right, otherwise we’ll have Peppermint on our asses.” Izuku was frantically looking around for open spots on the field. It was chaos, as the end was nearing and people got more desperate after losing a particularly high valued headband they started acting reckless. Some straight up threw their rider at other teams in the hope that they could snatch a headband.

“Peppermint?” Uraraka looked confused.

Shinsou replied. “Todoroki.”

She looked at the dual-haired boy and huffed a laugh, “I can see it.”

Mei joined the conversation. “Izuku has a lot of nicknames for everyone, sometimes I think that he just doesn’t know our real names.”

“Sounds quite a lot like someone else in our class.” Shinsou murmured under his breath. At least Izuku’s names aren’t actually insults.

“Then what’s your nickname Mei?” Uraraka asked the pink haired girl.

“She’s my wife.” Izuku deadpanned. Mei snickered as Uraraka blinked rapidly trying to process the words.

She was stammering. “So- wait,, Huh- I thought. Are you two dating???” Shinsou bit his lip so that he wouldn’t laugh out loud, Izuku stared at the brunette.

“no?” He chuckled.

Mei made a gagging noise. “Gross, I love him, but never.” She wrinkled her nose.

“But!” Uraraka tried.

“We’re only friends.” Izuku started explaining. “Because of her habit of calling her inventions babies people started calling her ‘mother of tech’ and since we do work together a lot, I got stuck with the title ‘father’. We’ve accepted our role and started calling each other wife and husband. Power loader is the godfather and the rest of the class had the role of aunts and uncles.”

“That sums it up.” Mei agreed.

“Do you often play someone’s spouse?” Uraraka questioned the boy. She thought back at how easy it was for Izuku to act like a boyfriend, and  how that he’s acting like a married couple with another friend? Is this what he does with all his friends?

“I mean, why not?” Izuku returned the question. “It’s fun to do, you should try it sometime- Shit! Go left!!” Izuku ducked in time to avoid a stretched out arm reaching for his headband. “Mei, keep an eye on them, our right side is exposed.”

“Do I need to jump in?” Shinsou looked up at the boy.

Izuku shook his head. “not for now, maybe later.”

“The time has come.” In front of them stood Todoroki and his team, all of them consisting of other classmates, despite the tension Izuku waved at Denki as the blonde gave him a bright smile. “Give me the headband Izuku.” Shouto’s stoic face was a stark contrast against Izuku’s nervous one.

He really hoped he could have avoided Todoroki.

“Oi, Todoroki, are you always so dreary?” Shinsou tried.

The team stalked closer to them, Izuku’s team was driven into a corner.

Shinsou tried again. “Aw, not speaking are we? That’s a bit rude don’t you think?” The dual haired boy remained silent, fully focused on the rider.

“what a shame. I thought that your father would’ve raised you better than that. Don’t you want to make him proud?” Only the blind would fail to notice Todoroki’s switch in character today and it’s not because of the big crowd. Feeling Izuku flinch at the words spoken to Todoroki, he must know more.

Maybe I could,,

“You don’t want to disappoint father dearest do you?” he saw the dual haired boy clench his jaw, despite still looking mostly neutral, Shinsou knew that the boy was getting angry. “It must be hard, trying to crawl out of your father’s shadow.”

Shinsou felt Izuku place a hand on his shoulder. “Hitoshi,, don’t,,” It wasn’t often that Izuku used his first name and it made Shinsou stop for a second and look up at the troubled teen. The green haired boy grimaced while upholding a hint of a smile.

He definitely knew more.

“Done talking?” Todoroki’s team came closer.

“Izuku what do we do??” Mei whispered-yelled as she looked at Uraraka who looked panicked too.

“Honestly I don’t have a plan, we’re cornered and they know about Shinsou’s quirk.” Izuku observed the team, Iida wouldn’t take the bait, Yaoyorozu could be an option but even so they couldn’t make too much use of her. He locked eyes with the blonde.

This could work.

“pretty boy, ready for another performance?” Izuku talked low enough so the other team wouldn’t be able to hear him. “Focus on Denki, when you have the chance ask him to use his quirk. Mei, I’m going to need you to use those arrows again and pull us to the other side of the arena.”

“What about me?” the brunette asked.

“just concentrate on maintaining your balance, you’ll need it when we’re pulled forward.”

“Hey Denki!” Izuku shouted. “what do you think of my boyfriend??” The teen threw himself at the purple haired boy who was now princess carrying the smaller teen. There is no rule that all teammates should be carrying the rider. He placed his hand on Shinsou’s cheek and snuggled closer in the other boy’s shoulder, a smirk of satisfaction on his face.

Shinsou saw his chance. “Don’t we look good together?”

The blonde was taken aback while the others were a bit confused at the sudden change of attitude.

Izuku caught on quickly. “Denki! Don’t tell me you’re homophobic,,” He gasped as he showed a hurt expression, fake tears welled up in those big green eyes and for a moment even Shinsou didn’t know what to do. “I thought you’d be happy for me,,” It looked too real but he mentally slapped himself. Don’t screw up!

“What the fuck Denki?!” Shinsou snarled. He pulled Izuku even closer to him as if he were to protect him. “Can’t you just be happy for us?”

Todoroki’s eyes widened, realising what they were trying to do. “wai-“

His voice got drowned out by the blonde. “what?! No-nonono I was just surprised! I didn’-“ Denki’s whole body went stiff and his eyes were blank.

“Darling?” Shinsou looked at the boy in his arms. “Please do your thing.”

Shinsou grinned as he saw that the others now also realised what was happening. “Denki, use your quirk on your teammates but don’t go overboard.” Within seconds the boy had shocked his whole team leaving them immobilised.

Mei saw this as her sign to launch them away from the corner. As the team of four slipped past Todoroki’s team Izuku yelled. “I’m sorry!!!” The whole team cackled.

“TIME’S UP!!!” Present Mic’s voice filled the arena and all teams stopped their attacks, their heads snapping towards the leader board. “Let’s see who our top are shall we??”

Izuku knew that they placed first, it was impossible to pass them unless someone was able to steal their headband. Seeing how no one had succeeded because of Shinsou their position was solidified.

“1^st place, team MIDORIYA AND HATSUME!!” The crow cheered. “SECOND PLACE, team TODOROKI!!” Present Mic continued. “3^rd place, team MONOMA!! And as for 4^th place,,, team BAKUGOU!!! PLEASE GIVE A GRAND APPPLAUSE FOR OUR TOP 4!!!!”

“hey, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn’t mean anything that I said and I was just trying to get a rise out of you.” During break Shinsou forced himself to look for Todoroki. But now that he was standing in front of the other boy it felt a bit silly. Maybe he should’ve brought Izuku with him to ease the tension a bit?

Todoroki looked unimpressed.

“Are you mad? Completely fine if you are, what I did was a dick move.” God why am I so bad at this?

“Are you and Izuku really together?”

Shinsou blinked, his mouth opened to say something but he was at a loss for words. “eh?” he felt his face getting warm.

It became harder to deny that he did feel something for the shorter boy, especially after the accident with the Noumu and he visited Izuku in the hospital. Seeing the boy unresponsive to the world around him had stirred something in him. He didn’t want to see Izuku like that, he wanted to see that sarcastic smirk of him, wanted to feel annoyed at the flirty comments he made towards him.

He wanted to see Izuku happy.

Preferably with him.

Izuku was his first friend so there was no way that Shinsou’s going to fuck up their friendship by acting on his feelings.

“Oh my, did you fall for me? It can’t be, and after we decided to be friends as well,, how unfortunate.” Izuku’s face was still tearstained and puffy from crying but they boy was smiling like it was the only thing he’d ever done. His hand was sticking out, waiting for Shinsou to grab it.

It was a joke, he knew that, but the sentence had stuck. What if Izuku did mean it? Would it really be unfortunate if he fell for him?

“It was just to trick you guys into responding.” He couldn’t help but sound a bit bitter about the fact.

“Good.”

Wait, what do you mean by that? Shinsou stared at the other boy. “the fuck? What do you-“

“WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE??!!” Izuku’s voice was heard. Even though the two were quite far from the area where all the other students were taking a break, Izuku’s voice was still loud and clear.

The two were still staring at each other, a silent discussion before both started running towards the screaming.