Chapter Text
Izuku didn’t get much sleep that night. He kept hearing Eraserhead’s words in his head, over and over again. And each time he began drifting off, nightmares of him going back to school empty handed woke him up. He could feel the phantom burns from Nightmare Kacchan on his limbs. At this point, he was more afraid of him than he had been of the Shapeshifter from last night.
The thought struck him hard enough to keep him awake until his alarm rang and Izuku reluctantly began getting ready for school.
His body shook the entire time, especially as he fastened the buttons on his shirt and pulled on his socks. Izuku didn’t even wear his favorite All Might ones, he wouldn’t be able to handle seeing them burned to a crisp.
“Izuku, is everything alright?”
Izuku froze and forced a smile as he turned back to look at his mother’s worried face.
“Yep. It’s just that we have a test today and I’m a bit nervous about it.” The lies slipped out so easily now and he was too tired to reprimand himself.
Inko smiled and walked over to give him a hug. It was hard not to break down in front of her after that. “You’ll be alright. I believe in you! Go beyond?”
“Y-yeah. Plus ultra,” he said softly.
★
Maybe it won’t be so bad, Izuku thought as he approached the school. Maybe Kacchan forgot about it and he won’t ask.
“So, Deku,” Kacchan sneered as he and his cronies blocked the entrance of the classroom. “Where’s the picture, ha?”
Maybe not.
“I- I don’t have it,” Izuku said quietly. He had debated on whether he should continue the lie or not but decided against it.
“Ha?!”
“I said I don’t have it,” Izuku said a little louder as he tried to keep his voice from shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut too just in case Kacchan decided to burn him again.
Here it comes.
It’s not like Izuku should have expected anything else. He was doomed from the start. Ever since he was declared Quirkless at the age of four; his life was already over.
Luck had been the only thing keeping him around. Eraserhead was wrong.
The last thing Izuku expected for Kacchan to do next, however, was to reach over and take his phone.
“Bullshit,” the blonde growled as he held it over Izuku’s head and began to go through his photos.
Izuku’s eyes widened. What kind of embarrassing All Might content did he have saved on there? Surely he had deleted that photo of him in full cosplay… He really hoped he deleted the one about the limited edition underwear packs. “Kacchan, no! Give it back! I already told you I didn’t get the picture so—”
Kacchan stopped suddenly. His eyes narrowed at the screen before focusing on Izuku.
“What the fuck is this?” the blonde asked, before turning the phone around to show him.
“Holy crap is that Ms. Joke?!” someone asked from behind Izuku.
“No freaking way,” Tsubasa whispered.
“Midoriya, how did you manage to get a hot babe like this to agree to be in your photo?”
Izuku opened his mouth and blinked. “I’m not sure I—”
“Who’s that in the background? He looks so mysterious and cool,” one of the popular girls, Yumi, said.
Mysterious? A-and what now?
Yumi stared at him expectantly with her sharp gaze.
If Izuku remembered correctly, her quirk allowed her to levitate objects with her singing voice. He told her he thought it was really cool once. She had never even looked in his direction.
“M-morning Star,” Izuku gasped out when he realized they were talking about him. He took the phone from Kacchan’s hands ignoring his murderous gaze and gawked at it.
Izuku didn’t even realize Ms. Joke had taken this selfie! He didn’t even remember giving her his phone. Not that he minded or anything, it just would have been nice if he saw this before showing up to school today.
She must have taken it after we caught the Shifter, Izuku thought while his eyes scanned the photo and his heart fluttered in his chest. Thank goodness Morning Star looked taller than Izuku here. The angle and low lighting allowed him to blend in with the night.
And okay, maybe Yumi was right. He did look mysterious and cool.
Izuku couldn’t help the wobbly smile that appeared on his face. But he quickly stopped smiling when he looked up and realized all twenty pairs of eyes were glued on him.
“Uh, it’s the quirkless hero I was telling you guys about,” he explained quickly. “He’s real.”
Kacchan scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, real shitty and totally fake. I don’t know what kind of editing stunt you’re trying to pull off Deku, but you can’t fool me,” the blonde hissed, but his words were drowned out by the excited crowd that had gathered around Izuku.
“Say Midoriya,” Hanzou leaned in, “did you get Ms. Joke’s autograph?”
“Uh, no. I didn’t. Sorry.”
“Yeah, what’s she like?” someone else asked.
“Is she hotter in person?”
Izuku’s face went red. He preferred not to answer that question.
“What about the dude? Evening Star,” his winged-classmate frowned. “Did you get his?”
Izuku wrinkled his nose as he looked at Tsubasa. “It’s Morning.”
“Huh?”
“His name is Morning Star,” Izuku said as patiently as possible.
“That’s what I said. Clean your ears out, Deku,” Tsubasa rolled his eyes.
“Is he actually quirkless though?” Yumi frowned. “He looks too cool to be quirkless.”
“Yeah he looks nothing like Deku,” another classmate yelled out and soon everybody was making fun of him again.
Izuku felt his face turn even redder. He did his best to ignore their mocking remarks and put on the biggest smile he could muster while he explained. It wasn’t hard to keep it up though since the memories from last night made him really giddy. “Um, yeah he is. He actually helped take down a villain called the Shapeshifter who could turn into all kinds of animals. Eraserhead was there too! I just didn’t manage to get his picture but he was still super cool and—”
“Yeah we don’t care,” Edo interrupted as he shoved his phone in Izuku’s face. “Here, put your number in.”
“Wait, why?” Izuku asked. His entire body trembled as he held his classmate’s phone in his hands. He felt like he was holding a very prized possession.
Edo-san had never asked for his number. None of them had. Only friends asked for each other’s phone numbers. So… did that mean they wanted to be his friend?
Edo rolled his eyes. “So you can send me the picture. Duh.”
Oh, Izuku felt his face fall. Of course.
“Oooh me next, me next!” Yumi cried.
“No, me! I’ve known Midoriya the longest,” Tsubasa slipped his arm around Izuku’s neck and smirked.
Izuku held back a squeak. Usually when Tsubasa grabbed him like that it was to hold him down while Kacchan burned one of his notebooks.
“Yeah well I’ve liked him the longest,” Yumi grabbed at Izuku’s hand and tried pulling him towards her.
This time the squeak did come out as Izuku blinked up at her in shock. Just last week Yumi claimed she would never touch a disgusting loser like him.
“Liar!” Tsubasa growled. “Since when?”
“Since right now,” Yumi purred.
“Ah s-sorry, guys,” Izuku untangled himself from Tsubasa’s grip and stepped away from Yumi. He could feel the nausea building up in his stomach. “I didn’t get Ms. Joke’s permission to send this image to anybody else. I know she’s not an underground hero, but it still wouldn’t be right to—”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
Tsubasa snatched back his phone from Izuku’s grip so hard he nearly pulled the boy’s arm out of its socket. Izuku let out a whimper and fell forward while everyone proceeded to laugh at him again.
“Guess you’re still as useless as ever,” Edo said with a look of disdain.
Then before he knew it, someone had grabbed Izuku’s phone again too.
“You know what Bakugou’s probably right. The more I look at it, the more it looks fake.”
“Damn right I am,” the blonde stomped back into the middle of the ring. The cocky smile was back on his face as he puffed his chest out and sneered. “You actually think someone like Deku could get a photo like that?”
“Eraserhead believed in me,” Izuku clenched the fabric of his uniform as he held the tears in.
“What was that?” Kacchan pulled at Izuku’s hair and made him look up at him. “Talking back, nerd?”
Izuku faltered. “N-no, it’s just that—”
“Looking down on me by coming back with a fake picture?” Kacchan waved Izuku’s phone tauntingly in his face before letting him go.
“But it’s not fake!” Izuku cried out, unable to hold back his sobs.
Why couldn’t they just believe him?
Why did Kacchan have to be so mean?
“Shut up!” Kacchan yelled back, before setting fire to Izuku’s phone with one of his explosions.
“Midoriya. That’s enough.”
All heads turned to where their teacher was walking in. He zeroed in on Izuku immediately and glared.
“But Sensei,” Izuku stumbled to his feet, “Kacchan just—”
“I don’t want to send you to the principal again because even he’s tired of seeing your pathetic little face. So go, get out. Leave my classroom. And don’t come back until you’ve decided you’ll behave.”
Izuku stared at him in shock before taking off. He didn’t want anybody to see him cry. They didn’t deserve his tears which kept falling as he tried to fix what Kacchan had broken. Except no matter what he did, Izuku couldn’t get his phone to turn on.
Kacchan had managed to take yet another thing important to him. His heart ached knowing he had potentially lost Ms. Joke’s selfie too.
The only memory he had from last night— gone.
The only time he had ever felt useful and free— over.
I have to go out there again, Izuku decided as he slowed to a walk. The school had disappeared behind him. I have to apologize to Eraserhead. He stopped altogether, the realization hitting him hard and fast. He’s the only one who ever believed in me and I let him down.
Izuku started walking again, this time much faster and with urgency. He had to get home. He had to start looking.
I’ll find you, Izuku wiped at his eyes. I promise.