Chapter Text
No one in Class A seems to be willing to test Aizawa on his “don’t be late” statement, and so before the fifteen minutes are even fully up, all twenty of them are changed into gym uniforms and coming together on the track field.
Izuku finds themself intentionally trying to avoid any and all proximity to Bakugou throughout that, even as the class is all clustered together; after all, if Izuku isn’t within Bakugou’s range then maybe, just maybe, Bakugou will let it go for the time being. Which, all things considered, is about as much as Izuku can hope for.
So, when Bakugou chooses to stand front and center out of all of them (clearly holding on to the thought that he is the best, and will always be), Izuku makes the careful decision to stand at one of the back corners (though, given them, they probably would have ended up in a spot like that anyway. They don’t really have the best “people” skills).
Surprisingly, Izuku finds Uraraka also standing towards the back, right around the same area they’re in. Given how bubbly and sociable she is, they would have expected her to be more towards the front. Briefly, Izuku thinks that maybe she’s standing back here because of them but- no, that can’t be it. They feel silly even considering it, after all, surely Uraraka would rather hang out with any of the other cool people in Class A. She was nice to Izuku because they helped her out in the entrance exam of course, and that much was already a surprise, so it would be self absorbed to think anything more of it.
They’re broken out of their thoughts as Aizawa starts speaking.
“You’re all here on time. Good.” There’s not anything particularly warm about Aizawa’s voice as he says that, but it seems like otherwise it’s genuine praise.
(Izuku’s thoughts almost want to drift, again, to figuring out who this hero is, but they figure it would be better to listen considering that he definitely seems like the strict type.)
“As it’s the first day, now is the best time to get a grasp on where you’re all at with your abilities. Knowing where your starting place is makes it easier to plan ahead and figure out what direction you need to go in.”
He pulls out what seems to be a clipboard, presumably with a list on it.
“There is data on tests and exams you took in middle school gym classes, and while there's some value in that, during those you weren’t allowed to use your quirks. Today’s tests will see what you’re capable of when you incorporate your quirks into that.”
That gets a reaction from everyone- though, for Izuku that’s not really much of a big deal. They’re not able to use One for All without breaking bones, so if it’s just a simple fitness test that’s not really necessary. Still, there is the progress that they made so that they could receive One for All, so that should make their scores today better than what they would have gotten in middle school-
A seemingly small comment comes through, just loud enough to be heard over the rest of the chatter, “Man, the Hero Course is so much fun!”
“This isn’t a game,” Aizawa says, silencing them all in almost an instant. “Being a hero means going up against real life villains every day. People get badly injured all the time whether or not they take things seriously, but especially when they don't.”
He… does have a bit of a point.
“But you want a game?”
Oh no. That tone doesn’t sound good.
“These tests are now a competition. You’ll be ranked by your scores. And whoever comes in last is expelled.”
…Hmm! Suddenly my quirk problems are a much bigger issue.
Izuku is doing their best with these tests, and while they definitely see an improvement to where they were in the past, the gap between them and their classmates that are using quirks is scary. Of course, no one has a quirk that lets them excel at every test, but it seems like all of them are able to do at least one extremely well.
Before, they wouldn’t have minded too much; okay, it would have stung a bit, knowing that everyone else has such cool quirks, meanwhile they can’t handle their own. But knowing now that last place means being thrown out, it’s nerve wracking.
So the solution… seems simple. If the scary thing is that everyone is able to do at least one test extremely well, then… then they’ll just have to use One for All in one test. Sure, it’ll probably hurt, but they need to pass. If they get expelled because they didn't use it, then everything they’ve done up to now goes to waste.
Briefly, they think over which of the tests are left that they need to complete. Of those, the only one that really sticks out is the ball toss- they can use One for All to throw the ball and make it go flying.
…But is that really good compared to Uraraka using her floating quirk to get infinity?
Izuku mentally smacks those thoughts away. Of course they won’t be good compared to that. But they’re not looking for “top of the class” right now they’re just looking for “not failing”.
All too soon it’s their turn to step up and do the ball toss, and while they know what their plan is, they’re still nervous.
They take the ball in their hand and suck in a deep breath. They try to remember what it was like to use One for All that first time, and then try to replicate that feeling.
Izuku reels back their arm to throw the ball, and after a beat, they feel a hot surging energy running through their arm. Holding on to their determination, they swing their arm forward-
And then, without a warning, the energy cuts off, disappearing completely.
They follow through with throwing the ball, but their surprise throws them off and they fumble with the ball. The computerized distance reader beeps, “20 meters”
What just-?
It finally clicks in their head, that part that they were just on the edge of remembering.
Izuku quickly turns to Aizawa, whose eyes are glowing red now as his quirk is activated, and they finally recognize him; he’s the hero Eraserhead. His quirk erases quirks.
But still, that doesn’t explain…
“Why-?” Izuku starts to ask, but they don’t get very far.
“Your quirk badly damages you when you use it, doesn’t it?” Aizawa interrupts.
“I…” Izuku blinks in surprise. After a moment, they finally say, “Yes.”
“And you were about to use it anyway?”
“…Yes,” They awkwardly admit.
Aizawa raises an eyebrow at that. Then, he lets go of his quirk, sighing. He’s not finished speaking though, because then he asks, “Midoriya, let’s say this was a real scenario- what do you expect would happen after you use your quirk and render yourself so injured that you can’t move?”
“Um. Well.” Izuku shifts their footing, still feeling awkward. “Someone else would. Have to help me?”
“Yes,” Aizawa answers. “So going that far is a bad idea. Even if, for a brief moment, it might seem like the best way to solve things.” He tosses Izuku another ball. “I’ll let you take another go at this test, but keep what we just talked about in mind. Think ahead, about what comes after.”
Izuku catches the ball and takes another deep breath.
“So going that far is a bad idea.”
Okay… well… I still need to pass. Is there a way to do something here without going “too far”…?
An idea sparks in the back of their mind.
They reel their arm back… and they activate One for All- but this time, instead of activating it through their whole arm, they activate it only in one of their fingers.
And even though it’s just one finger, when they release the energy as they swing their arm forward, there’s that same explosion of power.
Izuku can’t even see the ball go flying, that’s how fast it goes. Their blood is roaring in their ears so loud that they can’t quite make out what the distance meter declares for how far it went, but on the side it seems to get a reaction from the rest of Class A.
As the exhilaration of the moment wears off, they do note that wow their finger hurts like hell… but at the same time… it doesn’t feel like something that will completely keep them from being able to continue on.
They spare a glance to look over at Aizawa.
His expression is… unreadable. Izuku can’t tell if he’s pleased or upset at how the situation has been resolved. After a moment, he starts writing something down on his clipboard.
Well… he doesn’t seem outwardly upset, so… I did good, didn’t I? He’s just not the kind to shower people with praise. And-
“Deku you goddamn liar!”
Izuku instinctively jumps at the voice, and is already backing away from the source (but not daring to turn their back directly to it).
Bakugou shoots at them from off of the sidelines-
And is almost immediately restrained by Eraserhead’s capture scarf.
“HEY!” Bakugou yells in protest.
Aizawa stares at him blankly and unamused. “I feel like it shouldn’t need to be explained that it’s very frowned upon to attack other hero students.”
“But they’re-!!”
Aizawa’s eyes narrow. “They’re here right now. That does make them another hero student. And you wouldn’t be about to argue with me about that, would you?”
“You don’t understand-!”
Every time Bakugou protests, Izuku’s heart jumps further into their throat. What if he just spits out the truth, right here and now?
But Aizawa just stops him again, “I do understand. And everyone here has the potential to be a hero until I say otherwise and only when I say otherwise, is that clear?”
Bakugou glares but says nothing.
“I’m not letting this go until you acknowledge what I just said.”
“Fine!” Bakugou barks. “Get your weird stupid scarf off of me.”
The scarf retracts, and for a moment, Bakugou turns to Izuku with a burning glare. Izuku tenses up at that, even knowing that Aizawa is right there, because what if Bakugou decides to disregard Aizawa and go for them again?
But a beat later, Bakugou turns around and stalks back to the rest of Class A.
At that, Izuku finally releases the breath they were holding, and… with their test over, they slowly rejoin the Class A group, but yet again make sure to stand as far away as possible from Bakugou.
Getting through the rest of the tests is a pain when their finger is still in constant pain, but again, it’s something that they can handle.
But soon enough, it is over. And Aizawa steps in front of the group.
“You all did fairly well. For most of you, even in tests where you quirk couldn’t help, you still did better than your previous scores. Here are the rankings you got.”
A holographic screen like the one that gave their entrance exam results blinks up. Izuku scans the list for their name, and… reaches the bottom five.
- Kaminari Denki
- Jirou Kyouka
- Kouda Kouji
- Aoyama Yuuga
- Hagakure Toru
- Midoriya Izuku
Izuku feels their heart stop.
Wait, you mean-?!
Even though I tried my hardest-?!
“Oh, by the way,” Aizawa says, “Just kidding about the expulsion threat.”
WHAT?
“I just wanted to make sure you were all taking this seriously.”
Izuku nearly melts into a puddle on the ground out of relief.
The projector clicks off. “Remember, this is about your starting point. This gave us data so that we know where to go from here. …That’s all for now. Return to the classroom, everyone.”
Not too long after that, the school day is over, and Izuku is walking back home.
Well… that… didn’t go as well as it could have, but hey, it could have gone worse.
They’re not expelled, Bakugou didn’t manage to tell anyone about Izuku’s past, no one has been mean to them, you know what as far as Izuku is concerned this day was pretty much a win.
“Midoriya-kun! If you could hold on for a moment?”
Izuku jumps, and spins to see Iida. Briefly, they remember when Iida had talked to them before class. What does he want now…?
When Iida catches up, he says, “I noticed you were walking in this direction, and as I am also going this way I was wondering if you would be interested in walking together?”
“I… guess?” Izuku agrees, bewildered. They have no idea why Iida would want to walk with them, but they don’t have any problem with it.
“Excellent to hear!”
Izuku continues walking and Iida falls into step with them.
“How’s your finger?” Iida asks, after a moment.
“Huh?”
“You injured it today, during the tests, didn’t you?” Iida says. “Is it all right?”
“Oh, that. Yeah, it’s fine, I stopped by Recovery Girl’s office and she healed it for me.”
“Good!”
They walk for a bit more in silence, Izuku still wondering why Iida wanted to walk with them. For a moment they entertain the thought that it’s just that he wants their company but why would he want their company? They’re rather awkward and unsociable compared to some of the others in Class A.
And then, if that weren’t strange enough, another voice calls after them, “Hey guys, wait up!”
Both Izuku and Iida turn to see Uraraka running up to them, waving enthusiastically. “Hey!” She greets when she’s finally close enough, “Are you guys walking together? Aw it’s so nice that we’re making friends already. Mind if I walk with you too?”
Izuku half expects Iida to deny the whole “friendship” thing, except… he doesn’t. He accepts it.
Wait, what?
“I’d be happy to have you join us!” Iida declares, to Uraraka. “What about you, Midoriya-kun?”
“I-” Izuku stammers, still mentally catching up with the fact that no one has protested to the idea of being friends with them, “Um- yeah! Uh, I mean, you can join us, I don’t mind.”
Uraraka smiles brightly and falls into step with them.
Hey, uh, what just happened?
Izuku has no idea.
“So,” Uraraka starts, speaking to Iida, “Earlier you said you were Iida Tenya, right?”
“That’s right!”
“I’m Uraraka Ochako!” She introduces brightly. After a moment, she turns to Izuku, “Also hey, Midoriya-kun, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure,” Izuku says, still dazed but managing to not stammer over their words this time.
“Why did Bakugou call you ‘Deku’ earlier?” She asks. “I was just wondering where that came from.”
Well that makes them undazed, filling them with a familiar sense of discomfort. “Oh, that’s, um… that’s what Bakugou calls me. It’s kind of… an insult?”
“Oh really?” Uraraka blinks in surprise, “Sorry for bringing that up, then.”
“It’s…” They hesitate, but continue, “It’s fine. Why do you ask, anyway?”
“Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I kinda misheard it at first?” Uraraka says. “I thought he said ‘Dekiru’- you know, like the word ‘to be able to’, kind of a ‘you can do it!’ nickname. But that was confusing to me, because… I mean… clearly he’s not the… ah… encouraging sort.”
“You can call me that if you want, then!” Izuku blurts, not really thinking.
Well… the name does make them uncomfortable to hear, but it’s okay- having Uraraka as someone who wants to interact with them balances it out, so they can handle it-
Uraraka gives them a weird look, then says, “No, that’s okay! It was just a simple misunderstanding. If it really is an insult, then I wouldn’t want to use that. You’re my friend, you’re worth more to me than that.”
Izuku stops in their tracks, and just stares.
Friends. She directly called them “my friend”.
And- “you’re worth more to me than that”.
All of a sudden, they feel a lump in their throat, like they might cry. But it’s not because they’re sad, at least, they don’t feel sad. They just…
I just can’t understand… why these two are being so nice to me…
“Midoriya-kun?” Uraraka asks softly. Izuku hadn’t noticed her stop, but she must have at some point, because she stands in front of them. “Are you all right?”
“I- yeah,” Izuku chokes out. “Mhm. I’m good.”
Uraraka smiles at them, and after a moment they smile back.
“So, I was thinking, I don’t want to call you a nickname that’s an insult, but how do you feel about Mido-kun instead? Is that good with you?”
Izuku can’t bring themself to say anything right now so they just nod.
“Great! Mido-kun!”
…
If they’re gonna be honest, they’re just a little overwhelmed at the development of this afternoon, but if they have to be overwhelmed by anything they’re really glad it was this.
Inko hears the door open and close, and she pretends that she hasn’t been listening for it all afternoon.
“Izuku, you’re home!”
She gets up, and she finds them standing in the doorway with a wide-eyed confusion on their face.
“I- are you all right?”
“Yeah,” They manage to say but don’t elaborate any further than that.
“How was your first day?” Inko asks, partially to be polite and partially because she wants details.
Izuku blinks, once, twice, three times. And then,
“I think I made some friends.”
Inko feels her heart swell. “Really?”
“No idea how I did it. But I think I did.”
She doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, because she doesn’t want to embarrass them or make them feel uncomfortable, but she’s honestly so proud of them- and happy for them.
There was that Shinsou boy they talked about occasionally, but other than that Inko has never heard them reference any other friends- not ever. And… well, they never liked talking about it, but it was more obvious than they thought that they had problems with other people at school.
Inko holds her arms out to offer a hug. After a beat, Izuku steps forward and accepts, hugging her back tightly.
Vaguely, Inko notices that Izuku has a bandage on one of their fingers- she can’t help but be a little worried about that, but she decides not to push them on it since it seems rather small for now. Instead, when she pulls back, she says, “So. These friends of yours. Tell me all about them.”
Izuku smiles brightly… and spends about the next hour gushing about their friends, and then about how cool everyone in Class A seems.
It’s day two of UA now, and thankfully this time the Hero Course seems to have settled into a much more “regular” schedule that matches with the other courses.
Hero students or no, they all still have to take the same academic classes that every other class has, it seems. Izuku is all right with that- they’ve always been generally good with their studies.
Before they know it, it’s already time for lunch break.
And now that it is, Izuku is off on a search for someone.
He did say that even though he wasn’t accepted into the Hero Course, he was accepted into Gen Ed… So… I should be able to find him somewhere around here…
Just when they feel like they’ve searched everywhere and they’re starting to wonder if they’ll have to look over the room all over again, they see him in the back corner of the lunch room.
There!
“Shinsou-kun,” Izuku calls to get his attention.
Shinsou looks up quickly, surprised. “Oh. Midoriya. Hi. I see you did make it into UA after all.”
“Yeah, I did,” Izuku says, and after a pause, they gesture to the seat across from him and ask, “Um, is this seat open?”
“Go ahead.”
Izuku sits down, across from Shinsou.
“…So?” Shinsou asks after a moment, expectantly.
“So… what?” Izuku asks, uncertainly.
“Did you make it into the Hero Course after all?”
“Oh, that. Yeah, I did. Hero Course class 1-A.”
Shinsou nods in approval. “Good. At least one of us made it there.”
Izuku… can’t help but feel a little bad, again. Even though Shinsou said he knew that he would never pass the entrance exam with his quirk, that doesn’t make it any less unfa-
“Stop it.”
“Huh?”
Shinsou sighs. “I can see it on your face that you’re getting upset that I didn’t pass the entrance exam again.”
“Oh… well…”
“It’s okay. I mean, I’m not happy about it, but… I don’t know, I feel like it’s not worth spending time and energy being upset about. Getting mad or bitter about it gets me nowhere. At least you made it, you know? That makes me feel like there’s hope for me.”
“…Okay,” Izuku accepts after a moment.
“So anyway, with that out of the way now- I’m glad that you came to find me because… well, actually, there’s something I’d like to ta-”
“Mido-kun! There you are!”
Both Shinsou and Izuku jump in surprise before turning to see Uraraka and Iida walking up.
“We’ve been looking all over for you!” Iida says.
Even despite the events of yesterday afternoon, Izuku is still utterly confused and amazed at the notion that these two were actively looking for them. With the intention of hanging out with them. Because they’re friends now.
(And no, Izuku has not come even close to figuring out what the hell they did to make this happen.)
When the two of them are close enough, Uraraka’s attention turns to Shinsou. “Oh, hello! Sorry, we’re not interrupting anything are we?”
Shinsou hesitates for a moment, (Izuku thinks back briefly to what he was just about to say- something about wanting to talk to them?) but he responds, “No, you’re not interrupting.”
At this point, Izuku figures it would be good to introduce them to each other; “Um, Shinsou-kun, this is Uraraka-san and Iida-kun. They’re, uh, friends of mine from class 1-A. Uraraka-san, Iida-kun, this is my friend Shinsou-kun. I met him a little bit before UA.” (Izuku vaguely notices that Shinsou makes a strange noise when they refer to him as a friend and they worry that they’ve overstepped their boundaries, but Shinsou doesn’t make any other protest to the statement.)
“I see! Nice to meet you, Shinsou-kun!” Uraraka says.
“…Likewise,” Shinsou says, after a moment of staring at them, still perhaps not entirely sure how to react.
“Do you mind if we sit here with you?” Iida asks.
Shinsou's expression goes blank for a second, (if Izuku had to guess, he’s probably about as surprised about this newfound friendship as Izuku themself is,) and then he replies, “Um, go ahead, sure.”
The four of them chat over lunch, and although Shinsou does interact a bit, Izuku can tell that he’s being more quiet than usual.
So…
When lunch is over, Izuku tells Uraraka and Iida to go ahead to the classroom without them, and they double back to follow after Shinsou, all but running through the halls to catch up.
Eventually, they see him in the hallway ahead and they call out, “Hey!”
He turns to them, and then sighs, “What are you doing here? Don’t you have to get to class?”
“I just wanted to check up on you,” Izuku says. “I- That- You seemed quiet at lunch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I just- I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t. Overwhelmed or anything.”
They do really appreciate Uraraka and Iida, but Izuku has to admit that even they were overwhelmed at the sudden friendship.
“It was… surprising, but fine,” Shinsou murmurs. “…It’s good to see you making friends.”
Izuku nods. “And, um. Earlier, before they showed up, you… you were saying that you wanted to talk to me about something?”
Shinsou freezes up a little. “Oh… right. Yeah. I didn’t wanna talk about it while they were there because… I mean. It’s.” He sighs, taking a moment to compose himself. “It’s complicated, and I don’t really have time to explain right now so, can you just meet me after school?”
Izuku blinks in surprise. But the answer is obvious, so they reply, “Okay, sure.”
“Thanks. See you later.”
…
While Izuku does pay attention in class, they do also spend a lot of time anxiously checking the clock.
They have hero classes in the afternoon, as that’s the point of the Hero Course; but for now All Might is just setting them on learning some basic hand to hand training things, so nothing too too difficult to deal with.
In a while (they don’t know if it feels more like “no time at all” or more like “way too long” because honestly at a few times this afternoon, either fits), the school day ends.
“So… what did you want to talk about?” Izuku asks.
Shinsou is quiet for a moment, thinking to himself. “I… I know that for a while, we’ve kind of just. Silently agreed not to talk about this, but… I want to tell you something. I want to tell you why people treat me… you know, different.”
Well this is definitely a surprise. And now, Izuku fully understands why he couldn’t bring it up around Uraraka and Iida. Not that they’re not worth trusting- just. There’s no way to be sure. There’s an uncertainty there, a distant “what if”.
“Why now?” Izuku can’t help but ask though- why now?
That seems to have been a response Shinsou was expecting, at least. “Here at UA, now… no one knows. And… maybe that’s a good thing, but… I don’t know, I kind of also wish that I could just tell people without being afraid, because… I know I can’t hide it forever. And I… I wanted to try telling you first. Because I trust you, and I feel like if anyone would understand, you would. I want to talk about it for… for the sake of my own confidence.”
Izuku nods in understanding. Yeah… yeah, they get that. They wish they didn’t feel like they had to hide. They wish they didn’t tense up every time they were around Bakugou, afraid that he’d spill the secret and that would be the end of it. And hell, even forever ago when they started training with All Might- ever since the start they’ve wished they could just tell him, but they’re just so afraid of… of what happens if…
There’s a long moment where neither of them says anything. Shinsou, who’s gathering his own courage, and Izuku, who’s waiting patiently for him to be ready- or even for him to say he’s not ready yet, if he’s not.
“So…” Shinsou starts, hesitantly. “Basically, the problem comes down to the fact that my quirk is…” He stops, still unsure, before finally admitting, “My quirk is mind control.”
And with just those few words, things click in to space. “So, you mean… people treat you like a villain because they think your quirk seems like…” Izuku hesitates, not wanting to say ‘like a villain’s quirk’ because- well okay, clearly that’s the conclusion everyone else came to, but they don’t want to say it because clearly it’s a sore spot for him.
“Like a villain’s quirk,” Shinsou finishes anyway. “…Stupid, isn’t it?”
“Stupid of them to hold it against you,” Izuku says. “Quirks aren’t… inherently villainous or heroic. So you can’t have a ‘villain’s quirk’.”
Shinsou nods.
“…Do you feel better?” Izuku asks, hesitant.
Shinsou doesn’t answer for a long moment. But eventually… “Yeah. Yeah, it does feel better to have said it now and…” He seems like he’s about to add something, and then he goes, “Um, nevermind. About the second bit.”
Izuku decides not to push him on it.
…Although, with the two of them here right now… and well, it’s already what they’re talking about…
“Hey, Shinsou-kun, I-”
“You don’t have to,” Shinsou interrupts. “I mean. You don’t have to tell me what your deal is, unless if you’re sure you want to. You don’t have to feel obligated to just because I talked about my problem.”
“I am sure I want to,” Izuku says. “For… for the same reasons as you. I want to feel like I can talk about it without being afraid, and… I trust you, and I want you to know.”
Shinsou frowns for a moment, but eventually relents, “Okay. Just… as long as you’re not doing it only because I did.”
Izuku nods.
And now… now they have to get through their own nerves.
They think of every time they’ve tried to tell All Might, but just couldn’t bring themself to. They think of everything Bakugou always used to say. They think of everything everyone else always used to say.
Izuku takes in a shuddery breath.
“…My father was a villain. That’s… that’s really it.”
Hesitantly, they look up to see Shinsou’s face. For the moment, he’s just staring at them with… surprise, but Izuku can’t get a read on anything else he’s thinking.
“……Please say something?”
Shinsou takes a deep breath. “Well. Huh. That makes my problems seem small in comparison.”
“That’s… not really what I-”
“Sorry, sorry, right, that’s not the point,” Shinsou says. “Just… you had to deal with that already on it’s own, and then you also had to deal with people calling you a villain over it, even though… even though it’s just as stupid as people getting on me about my quirk.”
“So you… you don’t think I’m a villain or…?” Izuku asks, trailing off.
“Of course not,” Shinsou answers immediately, “No more than you think I am.”
And oh, doesn’t that just hit Izuku right in the heart. Perhaps they should have expected it, and yet…
Here they stand, both of them; Izuku and Shinsou. Both now aware of the other’s trouble… and neither of them giving any harsh judgement over it. Both having just explained the truth, for the first time, without it being forced out of them or because the other confronted them about it.
And it gives Izuku hope for the future.
"We're gonna be heroes someday," Izuku says eventually, and it comes from almost entirely out of the blue… except it's not, really. It's a promise; a promise to each other. A promise that they will overcome everything that people said about them.
"Yeah. Yeah, we sure will be."