Work Text:
Hitoshi understood two things in the tournament:
First of all, Midoriya was strong. Like, Shinsou was amazed of how someone so small could be so fucking strong. He knew that the kid had to be powerful if he was in the hero course, but he flipped Shinsou like he was weightless (being honest, he is kinda weightless).
Maybe it had to be with his quirk? He isn't sure, he'll have to ask him someday.
Second of all, Midoriya is persistent. Even when Shinsou tried to avoid him, Midoriya didn't give up in trying to befriend him.
At first, Shinsou was angry, because why the hell would a kid in the hero course, especifically the one that kicked his ass, try to be friends with him, a loser from the general studies? It had to be a joke. A cruel, horrible joke.
But, with what seemed the constant with Midoriya, he ended surprised when he finally understood that this kid, with the green hair, and his freckes just wanted to be friends with him because... he seemed like a good person.
Shinsou Hitoshi, being called a good person. Now that is what he calls a joke.
“...ou. Shinsou!” Midoriya calls from him, snapping two of his fingers in front of his face. “Are you alright? Oh god did I hit you too hard? Oh my god I'm so sorry-”
“I'm fine.” Shinsou grunts, trying to avoid worrying the other boy too much. He suddenly realises that he's on the ground, back in the dirt. Oh, it's true, they were sparring.
“How about,” the shorter boy starts, helping the other get up from the ground. “we take a break? You deserve it.”
“Sure, my ass hitting the ground means I deserve to take a break.” Shinsou jokes, finally up.
“You know I don't mean it like that.” Midoriya pouts, making Shinsou's stomach bubbly feelings. “Since we started training, you've improved a lot. And you know it.”
“I guess you're right.” Shinsou accepts, and they start walking to the bench just outside the training area they're right now. “Being able to run without losing my breath quickly is good, I'll give you that.”
Midoriya then starts to chuckle, and gives Shinsou one smile that leaves him, quite ironically, breathless. Luckily for him, the bench is not far away, and in no time they are both drinking from the bottles of water they brought. With the comfortable silence, he suddenly remembers the doubt he has about Midoriya's strenght. He thinks about asking him, but it's not sure how to even start.
“Something's on your mind?” the shorter boy asks, eyeing him curiously. He forgot Midoriya was very perceptive, but this is amazing.
“Actually,” Shinsou starts, a hand mindlessly moving to the back of his neck. “, I just remembered that you are a lot stronger than you look.”
“O-oh.” Midoriya blushes a little at that, interwining his hands together. “Thank you.”
Midoriya's blush causes a chain reaction, because now Shinsou can feel that he's blushing now. He drinks a little more water to try to cool off a little before speaking again. “I wanted to ask, does your quirk give you, like, strenght?”
Is very subtle, but Shinsou can see how the other boy's body shivers, like it had been struck with a thunder. He doesn't move for a couple of seconds, and his face changes expressions: shock, fear, doubt, and finally he just... puts a kind of akward smile.
“Well...” Midoriya starts, playing with the fingers on his hands. “What you saw in the tournament was pretty much it; it's like super strenght, to put it simply. But now I got better at it! I mean, I use far less power, but I don't break my bones everytime, which is nice.”
Then he looks down a little, but a flash of recognition crosses his eyes and he looks up at the taller boy again.
“But, no, I don't use my quirk when we are sparring.”
“I see.” Is all that Shinsou says, and he decides to look to the front, where there are now some other people training. Midoriya follows his line of vision, the both of them falling in silence.
“Honestly? I’m just like you.”
“Hm? What do you mean?” the shorter boy aks, looking at Shinsou and tilting his head a little.
“I mean, we both have quirks that are good on the outside, but in reality... they are far from perfect.” Shinsou answers, still looking at the kids training. “If the enemy doesn't talk to me, I can only rely on my strenght; if you overuse your quirk, you break your body like it's made of glass.”
“I guess you're right.” Midoriya chuckles, a little smile forming at his lips. “But we're both getting better. I-” Suddenly he stops talking. “We have to get better.” Midoriya finishes, looking at his scarred hand.
Shinsou lands his eyes on the right hand of Midoriya as well, seeing how it slightly moves, with the breathing of the boy. He remembers that match perfectly, how Midoriya forced Todoroki to use his fire... and how it costed him his hands.
He remembers how, one time, Midoriya told him how his quirk developed very late, and that's why it was very hard for him to control it.
But Shinsou knows a lie when he sees one. He's very good at lying, while on the other hand, Midoriya is horrible.
He's pretty sure that most people buy his lie because they pass how he stutters with just Midoriya being akward and shy, but Shinsou knows better than that.
For just a second, the idea to use his quirk on Midoriya and get the truth crosses his mind.
“Midoriya.”
But he knows Midoriya Izuku.
Midoriya Izuku is shy, akward and gets flustered very easily. He's a very fan of heores, especially All Might, and has notebooks full of information about hero quirks.
He smiles a lot, and he cries a lot too.
“What is it, Shinsou?”
But he also knows that Midoriya is passionate, caring, understanding... in general, a good person.
He fight for what he believes, he wants to save people.
If he's holding a secret, it doesn't matter.
“We'll get stronger. I'm sure of it.”
Shinsou realises that, more quickly that he wants to admit, Midoriya has grown in his heart; he trusts him, and he knows Midoriya trusts him back.
The shorter boy's eyes widen for a second, and then Midoriya is grinning that smile that makes Shinsou's heart stop.
“We will!”
In the end, Shinsou knows that Midoriya believes in him, and he believes in him, too.