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Chapter Text

Shinsou had always admired heroes despite what everyone else might have said or believed. His dream had been to be a hero ever since he was a small kid and he wasn’t about to give up on that, even while standing in front of a huge robot that he’d have to defeat twenty or something of to get into the hero course of his dream school.

No he wasn’t about to give up on that even if it meant trying to dismantle said robots one by one. A skill he didn’t actually possess but he would try nonetheless to prove that he was made out of the same material as the heroes he so admired.

He wasn’t about to give up on that when one of said robots slowly came closer and closer to him while he was frozen to the spot from anxiety and fear.

He’d attack any minute now. So what if his quirk wasn’t going to help him right now? He’d get into the hero course somehow. He might have applied for general studies too but damn it he’d make it into the hero department.

The robot was getting ready to attack him now; it would shoot any second and Shinsou still hadn’t moved an inch.

On his left a small boy sprinted towards him, tackling him to the side just in time that neither of them got hit by the large blast the machine had just emitted. He fell down hard, his knees and hands scraping open and all air being pushed out of him as the other boy landed on top of him, wheezing hard.

“Are you okay?!”

Shinsou nodded slightly, reorienting himself as a cloud of dust swirled around them. Behind him he could hear a loud noise and the sound of metal hitting the floor after someone had just destroyed one of their obstacles; presumably the one that nearly hit him.

“I could have handled that...” He didn’t even notice himself saying anything but the other boy apparently did. He stood up abruptly, grabbing Shinsou and hauling him up by his arms.

“I know right? I never get to attack any of them either. The others always snatch them out from right under me.”

There wasn’t a hint of mockery in the boys voice and for the first time Shinsou actually looked at him. He had a mix of green and black hair and an insanely cute round face full of freckles. Admits all that rouble and dust he looked strangely like an angel to Shinsou; a thought that made him laugh softly.

“Well we still have some time, don’t we? Just have to be faster this time around.” Rationally he knew that he wasn’t about to pass this part of the entrance exam with his quirk. Even if he got around to brainwashing someone the points would just go to them instead of him.  

“Exactly! By the way I’m Midoriya Izuku! Let’s talk again when we’re both in the hero course!” After that Midoriya ran off towards another obstacle, leaving Shinsou alone as the last five minutes of the exam started.

He looked around for some kind of weapon to defeat the robots with but found none, ending up with exactly 0 villain points and three rescue points from where he helped others away from the zero point obstacle.

In the end he didn’t get into the Hero course.

A few months later he walked into Class 1-C from the General Department way before anyone else so he could choose his seat freely. To his surprise however he wasn’t the first one there. In the middle of the room sat a very anxious and sad looking Midoriya Izuku.

So he hasn’t gotten into the Hero Course either, Shinsou thought as he sat down next to Midoriya on a whim, which made the smaller boy look up at him with wide eyes, probably not having been expecting anyone to enter the classroom that soon.

“Didn’t you say to meet again in the Hero Course?” Shinsou asked drily, a small sarcastic smile on his lips. He didn’t mean that comment to be hurtful or sarcastic in any way but now that he said it he was pretty sure it was far from being tactful.

For a moment Midoriya just looked at him with big eyes before he started smiling widely, holding out his hand. “I did say that but well... guess getting into it while being quirkless was a bit unrealistic. But at least I know someone in this class! I don’t think you’ve told me your name yet though?”

“Shinsou Hitoshi.” He shook the offered hand quickly, maybe a bit too firmly, only wondering briefly about the weird introduction. He was way more focused on the new information he had just gotten. Now, he wasn’t one to judge but it was a little strange or rather uncommon that someone without quirk even tried to get into the Hero Course. Then again he himself might as well been quirkless during the exam and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

When Midoriya didn’t say anything else and just went back to sadly starring at his various All Might themed school supplies Shinsou decided that he should probably say something to cheer him up.

He wasn’t really good at that.

“I heard that you can gain a place in the Hero Course if you do well during the sports festival. We’ll just get our second chance then.” It had come up during his research on what the entrance exam could be. Of course he didn’t know yet how reliable that information was but it seemed like the kind of thing that might cheer Midoriya up.

He wasn’t quite sure why he wanted to cheer him up. Maybe it was just the fact that they both weren’t born with helpful quirks. He felt like there was a kind of kinship between them that he couldn’t quite explain yet. Whatever it was it made him want to see that smile again he had seen during the exam and learn more about the boy.

From what Shinsou had gathered so far Midoriya was confident and resourceful in dangerous situations but rather timid and unconfident outside of that, so hopefully knowing that he’d get a second chance would be enough to help him feel a little less bad about the situation.

And he was right because immediately after he talked about a second chance Midoriya perched up, looking at him with wide hopeful eyes.

“That’s great!” Midoriya nearly seemed to vibrate at his table. He was rocking back and forth slightly, an action that lead to a slight scraping noise from the legs of his chairs moving on the floor, while he kept talking as fast as lightning. “I started exercising before the exam so maybe if I, I don't know, double my regimen I’ll be able to success! We should practice together! I mean people speculate that All Might’s quirk is a purely physical one and while we won’t be able to gain that amount of strength by exercising we might still stand a chance against other physical type quirks. By the way what is your quirk? Wait don’t answer yet I need to get my notebook.”

Shinsou wasn’t sure if he should tell the other his quirk. Sure he seemed nice enough and awfully cute, the way he pulled things out of his back and quickly put them back once he found what he had been looking for, those big and hopeful eyes and fuck it.

“Brainwashing.”

He didn’t bother explaining it further for now, readying himself for the inevitable comment about how he’s 'better suited to be a villain' and how it was 'only fortunate that he didn’t get into the Hero Course' etc.

To his surprise that kind of comment never came.

“That is amazing! How exactly does it work? Could you brainwash villains into letting go of hostages or giving you important information? How long does it work? Is it suited for undercover missions? I can’t believe you didn’t get into the hero department with such a useful quirk!”

He had yet again totally underestimated Midoriya and he wasn’t the least bit sad about it. Nobody had ever reacted to his quirk like that. Not only did the other not instantly connect it to being a villain he actually came up with potential scenarios in which it would work well for a hero.

Shinsou was quite frankly a bit flustered and embarrassed; not used to such positive attention from anyone. He couldn’t help but smile as he answered.

“Well it only works if the other person answers me. If they do I can will them to obey any command I give them. Yes I could potentially make a villain let go of a hostage and make them give me information. I’m not sure how long exactly the effects last because I didn’t want to try any long term commands on people without their permission. Since the people don’t really act normally as they only do what I tell them too it might not be suited for longer undercover work. Also thanks for liking it.”

While he explained all that Midoriya hastily wrote things down in the worn out slightly singed notebook he had taken out of his bag before. Every now and again he would look up at Shinsou with big eyes and nod, before he focused back on writing things down.

“So what are you writing down there and what exactly do you mean with exercising?”

It took another moment of writing before Midoriya looked up to him again with the biggest and dorkiest smile Shinsou had ever seen.

“I’ve been cleaning up this beach around here. Pulling freezers away and things like that. And this notebook is for writing notes on all heroes I meet and see! I’m currently at number 13 of my hero notes. “ Midoriya pulled his desk closer to Shinsou’s, putting the notebook in the middle to show it to him.

“I write down their quirk and statistics and possible uses and moves and some general information about them. I also sometimes write down their weak points or openings they have in fights etc.! Oh and I sketch their hero outfits and possible ways to perfect them.”

“Can I take a look at this?” Shinsou asked, not even trying to keep the awe out of his voice. When Midoriya nodded he gently took the notebook, his hands trembling slightly as he was trying hard to not damage it in any way while he leaved through it. He occasionally commented on some things or pointed out information that was still lacking, something that apparently made Midoriya more than excited.

Sometimes he’d grab the notebook back from Shinsou without warning to add something he said, resulting in Shinsou commenting on even more things or even just asking about some observations Midoriya had made.

They ended up talking about heroes and quirks and possible strategies that could have been used in fights all the way until first period, not noticing how the room slowly filled with their other classmates and how they were being starred at for conversing so animatedly first thing in the morning.

Shinsou quite frankly had never met another person quite like Midoriya. Someone that was as interested in heroes as he was, something not even Shinsou had managed, someone that was as genuinely nice and sweet, someone that smiled as cutely and got as excited about someone talking to him about his notebook.

Shinsou could understand the last point though, as Midoriya didn’t seem to be the kind of person that nearly burned their own notebook, so seeing how he was quirkless it must have been something else that did that to him. Somehow the thought alone made his blood boil, despite not having known Midoriya for long.

However Shinsou probably wouldn’t be able to take revenge on whoever made Midoriya feel like he wasn’t allowed to talk about what he was interested in making the next best thing he could do showing him that it was a perfectly fine interest. 

But then again that had been his plan anyway when he had seen the smile on the other boys face when Shinsou asked about the notebook without mockery. It also didn't hurt that Shinsou himself was a big fan of heroes and was already excited about the chance of talking to someone that was equally excited if not more.

On top of that I’d do anything to see that smile again, he thought as he folded a small note during class and slipped it on Midoriya’s table.

“Can I see the other notebooks too sometime?”

"OF COURSE! I'd love to show them to you!"

Shinsou smiled at Midoriya, ignoring the already slightly annoyed look of their homeroom teacher, who's name he had already forgotten. He really did look forward to spending more time with Midoriya, though that might have been quite obvious, judging from the way their classmates looked at them. Midoriya however seemed unaware of the situation so Shinsou decided to not comment on it, hiding his smile and blush behind his hand instead.

Maybe General Education wasn't that bad.

Chapter Text

Midoriya was, as class gossip has been insisting on, quite plain. Some might even say mediocre. He looked average, according to the girls. A bit chubby and generally quite soft given his wild curly hair and big eyes. The boys judged him to be too nerdy and annoying.

Hitoshi personally didn’t agree with any of those sentiments, which is probably why nobody told him their opinion on Midoriya personally, leaving him to instead pick up little pieces of gossip here and there. It’s not like he did it on purpose, he didn’t intend to spy on anyone but his quirk and life had left him with an aptitude for close listening and slinking around corners without being noticed. The former needed a verbal response to be activated, so Hitoshi learned to listen closely, learned to pick up mumbling and aborted syllables, gasps and anything else that would allow him to use his quirk. He very rarely did but he knew that if he wanted to be a hero at some point he’d have to use it and would need any advantage he could get. His life left him with similar reasons to listen closely, since it was his quirk that made people deem him a villain, made them whisper when he was near, made them ignore and avoid him.

Before Midoriya it had bothered Hitoshi, how sensitive he was to noise and what people said. Sure, the more closely he listened the easier it was for him to pick up on what would rile someone up enough to answer him, but it also left him prickly. It made it hard for him to engage with people in a reasonable way, always torn between saying too little and too much. But with Midoriya? With him suddenly it was his biggest strength.

His new friend could mumble a mile a minute, keep himself occupied by just thinking out loud for minutes on end and while it might have made him nerdy and annoying to the rest of the class Hitoshi quite liked listening to his deductions and streams of consciousness. But beyond that he really liked how brightly Midoriya would smile whenever Hitoshi brought up something he said later or engaged him in conversation during his mumbling.

He loved the way the other would stop for a moment, eyes big before he smiled and nodded at whatever Hitoshi said. The way he’d take out his notebook to scribble something down and use him as a sounding board for his newest theory. It was nice to have someone be so genuinely excited about talking to him. For someone to be happy that he listened. For them to respond to him without a hint of fear or trepidation.

It lessened the sting of being in general education instead of the hero course, even if it couldn’t truly make the ache fade for either of them. Something they talked about in detail one day.

“So-” Midoriya started, looking over at Shinsou who was draped over his desk, head pillowed on his arms as he stifled a yawn. “You asked if you could see my other notebooks, right?” 

Shinsou blinked sluggishly, recalling the conversation clearly. “Yeah, did you bring them?”

“Ah, no.” He looked embarrassed as he organized his stationary on his desk despite the fact that it looked perfectly aligned to all relevant edges. “I think my whole backpack would be full of them if I did and I don’t really like having them all with me at the same time?” Both of them glanced at journal 13, at its frayed and burned edges and the water damage. It was unlikely that anyone in their class would do any kind of damage to their personal belongings,  but Hitoshi understood that sometimes it took only one incident to learn a lesson like that. He didn’t press. “So I thought that you might like to come over? To my place I mean and then we can go through them together and maybe study a bit?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Hitoshi takes a quick look at the calendar app on his phone and yep. He’s free all day every day, as expected. “Do you wanna do it today?” He’s halfway through the question when Midoriya already nods eagerly, gets out his own phone to text his mother that they’ll have a visitor and starts mumbling about which train line they’ll take, how long it will take to arrive and whether he had tidied up his room the day before.

The day passes relatively quickly after that, at least for Hitoshi. UA was a lot more academically demanding than his old school but at the same time it was a lot easier since he was actually able to participate in class. The teachers didn’t bar him from asking questions and his classmates, while he didn’t know them all that well, didn’t have any obvious issues with him either. Because of Midoriya he always had at least one person in group projects that he knew well and a designated seat during lunch. And while the curriculum was harder it also felt rewarding to know that he was for the most part taking the same classes as the hero course. It felt good to know that he wasn’t falling further behind.

Once classes ended he followed Midoriya towards his home. Even though their trains left from the same station and went in similar directions he found himself a bit tense. His friend was quick to notice this, telling Hitoshi at which stop they’d have to get off and how long their walk would be. It was nice. A nice gesture. He could relax now. 

They talked about the Sport Festival a bit and maybe he couldn’t relax after all because he quickly noticed how out of his depth he was going to be as Midoriya was animatedly talking.

“It’s honestly a bit ridiculous! Like everyone is kind of pretending that you can just get fit in no time and also that you just suddenly get muscle definition?” He was showing Hitoshi screenshots of some online ads that were promising instant muscle growth and six packs after a month. “But that’s not really how it works. I totally overworked myself at first and that didn’t help at all and now that I am at my strongest I’ve been so far I don’t look it because I’m eating a lot more to have the energy to build muscle you know?” 

Hitoshi looked Midoriya over out of the corner of his eye. It was somewhat true? He wasn’t tall to begin with and there wasn’t a lot of visible muscle definition from what Hitoshi could tell. He was kind of chubby actually? Or maybe soft was a better word. However he did know that his friend was routinely carrying and pushing heavy household machines around on a beach or something. He’s seen a few pictures and videos of that at some point since Midoriya sometimes filmed himself to see if he had ‘proper lifting form’. He half listened to the ensuing rant about how body builders weren’t necessarily a good example when it came to training for heroism and how people should train for their specific fighting style or other tasks so they had the relevant muscles and endurance for that and other such things.

Honestly,  his main take-away from the conversation was that he was minorly fucked because there was no way he’d be able to get shredded and ready for combat in time for the Sports Festival. Midoriya did offer to help him come up with a training plan regardless though, which quelled his anxiety a bit. The fact that most gyms didn’t have memberships for minors and that a lot of hero course student’s didn’t train in martials arts either helped as well. Apparently most aspiring heroes were also just normal teenagers? Who knew.

Their conversation lasted until they reached Midoriya’s house or rather his apartment complex. The whole neighborhood was very similar to Hitoshis. The buildings were large and square with several most likely identical apartments next to and above each other. There was a bit of greenery for people to enjoy and kids to play on and the street was relatively quiet since it wasn’t directly adjacent to a main street. There was probably some kind of grocery store and park nearby if he had to guess. There honestly wasn’t a lot of variety to places like this.

Before All Might entered the scene villainy was a much bigger problem than it was currently and large scale property damage both from the villains and the on scene heroes was the norm. Of course more well off areas were usually protected a bit better. They had less quirked crime cases in general and heroes took extra care to not damage the buildings. Whether that was due to classism or fear of lawsuits was anyone's guess. Lower income areas comparatively had to be completely reconstructed more frequently and while there were several companies who could finish the job quickly due to the available quirks it still resulted in a lot of buildings and communities like this one. Easy to rebuild and spaced just so that one building coming down didn’t make the others crumble as well.

Nowadays attacks that leveled entire city blocks were uncommon, uncommon enough that even if it happened it didn’t necessitate rebuilding everything in this structure. But the communities that already looked like this weren’t updated and stood plentiful around past crime hot spots. Well, the grass at least looked better nowadays that it wasn’t routinely crushed by debris and there were more and more trees that actually lived past a few years. Small victories.

The building that housed Midoriya’s apartment was nice enough. The door was clean and without any graffiti and once it was unlocked Hitoshi was greeted by a normal entryway. He quickly takes off his shoes and accepts the house slippers Midoriya offers him with the explanation of the floors being a bit cold without thick socks or slippers. “My mom said she’d pick up some groceries for dinner after work so she’ll probably be gone for a bit longer.” Midoriya informs him happily while Hitoshi is scanning his surroundings. The walls are lined with pictures of Midoriya and who Hitoshi guesses is his mother. There’s a few of them with a blonde haired family as well, but none with a green haired man or anyone else who would look genetically related to his classmate. His friend must notice his interest since he comes to stand next to him. “That’s my mom, Inko.” He points at a green haired woman who looks a bit different from picture to picture but is clearly recognizable. “And that’s her childhood friend Mitsuki.” He points as a blonde woman before continuing to point at a brunette man and a small blonde toddler. “Her Husband Masaru and the last one is-” There’s a tiny pause before he continues. “That’s Katsuki.” 

Hitoshi nods. It seems like there’s more to whoever Katsuki is than Midoriya is mentioning right now and he’s not sure whether it’s the right time to open that can of worms so he scans his surroundings a bit more. The apartment has a pretty open room plan so Hitoshi can see the living room and kitchen as they walk through a short corridor. The bathroom door is open, which leaves only two closed doors. One of which Midoriya pauses in front of and even though Hitoshi can’t see him he’s pretty sure that his friend is nervous or at the very least uncomfortable. 

“We don’t need to go inside your room if you don’t want to. Pretty sure we could study on the couch.” He offers gently, just to be safe because he’d rather expect worse and have Midoriya laugh at him than make him uncomfortable by brushing aside his discomfort too easily. Sure, maybe he just remembered that he has something embarrassing lying around. Or there’s a bigger reason, some kind of insecurity Hitoshi can’t gauge yet.

The house in general looked nice enough. Sure, it was in the kind of building that didn’t scream money and the walls were a bit thin between the apartments but his family clearly tried their best to make it a home. He lived in a similar enough building, similar neighborhood, similar everything. He takes a quick look around while Midoriya is considering his proposition. 

Maybe Midoriya’s mother was similar to his own. The kind of parent where there was always talk about how tight money was and then they bought even more stuff. Spend it on cigarettes and alcohol while lamenting to Hitoshi about how they really had to stop spending so much money now. There wasn’t really any money for Hitoshi to spend though and his room was always emptier than the rest of the apartment. Maybe Midoriya had a similarly empty room and didn’t want Hitoshi to notice, to think worse of his mother if he noticed the discrepancy. 

“No it’s- it’s fine.” Midoriya sighs at last, his lower lip a bit red from where he chewed on it while thinking. He opens his door slowly. Slow enough for Hitoshi to notice a small nail on it with nothing hanging from it. 

The reveal is, at first, pretty anticlimactic. It’s a normal bedroom. Fairly small, like most rooms in apartments like these are but enough to have space for all the essentials. There’s a bed with blue sheets, a desk, the usual things. Sure, it’s a bit empty and bland but then again so it Hitoshis room at home. Or maybe it’s not empty, he thinks with a frown as they enter and his gaze passes over some moving boxes. The ones on top of the pile are open, allowing him a peek at what looks like a lot of All Might merchandise.

Midoriya notices the pile at the same time and averts his eyes quickly as he enters his room and puts his backpack next to his desk with the kind of familiarity that comes from doing the same motion every day. Hitoshi follows his example and puts his own backpack down next to the desk as well before sitting down on the floor across from Midoriya, who’s leaning against his bed frame somewhat awkwardly. 

“I’ve been meaning to sell most of it but I couldn’t bring myself to do it yet.” Midoriya still avoids looking at the pile, avoids looking at anything other than his fingernails as he idly scratches and tugs at his cuticles. 

“Do you-” Hitoshi mumbles, so unsure to say the wrong thing, to read the mood wrong. “Do you want me to ask about it. Or-?” 

Midoriya shakes his head before letting it thump back against his mattress. “No? Yes? I don’t know. I didn’t invite you just to be a- a downer or something today. Just got so used to the boxes standing there that I forgot all about them.” He hesitates for a moment before he continues speaking. “I met All Might months before the entrance exam and he told me that-” He sighs again, closing his eyes tightly and Hitoshi knows that look well. Resignation. “I asked if I could be a hero without a quirk.” 

“And he said no?” Hitoshi guesses, thinking that it might be easier if he said it, if Midoriya didn’t have to repeat those words himself. There’s a quick nod in response, then a sigh.

“I still admire him, he’s a great hero and I- I even bought a new set of All Might stationary when I got into Gen Ed to motivate myself.” Another sigh, then a pause.

Clearly that attempt didn’t work out as planned because Hitoshi remembers wondering about why Midoriya stopped having the All Might stationary with him one day. He remembers being worried that it looked like journal 13 now, burned and broken.

“I get why he said it.” Midoriya continues softly with his eyes still closed and eyebrows furrowing as if he was holding back tears. “I really do. I’ll never be a hero like him without a quirk. I can’t be the symbol of peace or anything and there’ll be so many villains that outmatch me but-”

“But it’s not about that, is it?” Hitoshi finishes the thought for him. He smiles humorlessly, looking away from his friend and towards the window and the empty curtain pole above it. “Sometimes-” He winces at how coarse his own voice is already starting to sound. “I think sometimes people think they know what you want and usually they couldn’t be more wrong.” He thinks of conversations with his classmates in the past. Of fear, that he’d use his quirk to control people. Of the awe he saw beyond that fear, awe of how far he could go if he chose to. Awe, that he could be great if he wanted to. Not good or kind but great in the way that history would assign to tyrants.

He was destined for greatness, in the eyes of others. But never for the right reasons. After all, why should he choose to go the hard route? Why should he choose to become a hero? Adhere to laws, overcome rigorous training, have people know about his quirk and give them a fair fighting chance, do any of those things if he could become a villain so much more easily? Many heroes weren’t necessarily paid well and you could count yourself lucky if you were able to continue on as a hero until you were 40 years old. Between the high potential for injuries and the massive physical strain the career inherently came with a time limit. Despite all the glitz and glamour it wasn’t necessarily a luxurious job choice. So why should Hitoshi choose it above what people imagined to be an easy life and easy money?

Midoriya doesn’t react for a moment, at least not in a way Hitoshi can see out of the corner of his eye and that’s well and good enough. He’s sitting with his own thoughts anyway.

“Of course I want to be like him, who doesn’t?” He says softly and Hitoshi slowly looks back in his direction, just close enough to show that he’s listening. “But I think- I think I’d be fine saving even one person. I don’t need to be the number one. It would be enough to just be a hero at all to- to help someone, anyone.” Another pause. Hitoshi waits patiently, looks back out the window and focuses on some passing clouds. “And- and I think I don’t want other people to feel the way I have felt? I think I’d like to be someone that can inspire others the way All Might inspired me but actually mean it? I want to say that anyone can be a hero and- and not make any exceptions to that. I want to prove it to myself and them.” 

Midoriya’s eyes close so tightly that it wrinkles his forehead for a moment and his shoulders rise up as if he’s flinching. They stay up, his whole body going taut as if he’s ready to be hit. As if he expects Hitoshi to retaliate in some way for what he said. As if questioning All Might, questioning how he has been treated was akin to blasphemy. The idea that all of his hopes are connected to fear aches fiercely. Hitoshi didn’t want anyone else to be similar to him, not like this. 

“I know it’s foolish.” Midoriya breathes out slowly, his joints unlocking ever so slightly as he obviously struggles to force himself to relax. “I’m quirkless. Nobody expects me to amount to anything. I’m not even supposed to try because I am so far below everyone else that it’s somehow an insult to them if I even try to do anything. But I can’t just- I can’t accept that.”

His gaze travels towards Hitoshi and Midoriya’s eyes are so fierce in that moment that he instantly relaxes, his worry all but forgotten. His friend deserved his help and support, but he didn’t need it. It was obvious to him in that moment that there was probably nothing that could weaken the resolve he saw in him so Hitoshi just nodded, a small smile playing at his lips.

“I get it. You can’t help what your heart longs for.” He stretches his legs out on the floor until he can gently tap Midoriya’s calf with his toe. “I guess in a way we’re lucky, right? We’re getting the chance to prove people wrong, to be heroes.” It elicited a small smile from Midoriya and he got a tap in  return.

“That day when uh– when I asked All Might. Katsuki told me to jump off a roof, if I really wanted to have a quirk.” Hitoshi winces. It made more sense now why Midoriya hesitated when they were looking at the pictures but what was he even supposed to say to that? Was there anything he could say, any words that would mean something? “And then-” Midoriya continues before Hitoshi can come up with something to say “I somehow ended up alone on a rooftop. All Might saved me from a villain and I held on to his leg when he jumped and we were standing on this rooftop. He was clearly in a rush so after I asked him if I could be a hero without a quirk he just left me there on that rooftop. Sometimes I wonder if- if I was supposed to. You know. If that was some kind of sign.”

“It wasn’t.” Hitoshi had never meant something more than that. Had never believed something so fiercely and wholly. 

“No, it wasn’t.” Midoriya's smile looks painful and Hitoshi taps his legs again until the smile loses some of its jagged edges. “And I’m glad I didn’t do it! Gen Ed wasn’t what I was aiming for and it sucks that I couldn’t prove myself enough in the exam but it’s been better recently.”

“Because of you.” is left unsaid.

‘I’m glad we’re in it together.” He tries to smile as well, even though he knows it’s not a happy smile. It’s not a good, bright smile like Midoriya has when he’s talking about his analysis. But it’s there, it’s an attempt. “And we’ll- we’ll get into the hero course. No matter what it takes, we’ll show them. You’ll show them and you’ll show All Might.” And he means it as well. “He’s wrong if he thinks you can’t do it.”

Hitoshi politely ignores the sniffling and tears coming from Midoriya and in the end they don’t end up studying at all. Instead there’s a select few pieces of All Might merch tugged away in a box below Midoriya’s bed, a few boxes given to his mother to sell and some grainy black and white prints of other heroes printed out and taped to his walls and a new journal they started together to analyse heroes with non physical quirks who fight quirkless most of the time.

Hitoshi can’t wait to see what it will be filled with in the future.