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Aizawa Shouta has come to terms with the fact Yamada Hizashi is probably smarter than him.
It started back when they first met in first year elementary school. Hizashi was a ball of energy, much like he is now, so no one really thought much of him. Shouta himself tried to avoid the blond haired boy. He was loud and obnoxious seemingly without realizing it. And yet despite his cold deminor, Hizashi latched himself Shouta. Their friendship was rocky for the first few weeks, but eventually he wore Shouta down enough for the reserved boy to open up a bit.
The first time Shouta realized how smart his new friend is was the first time he went to visit his house. They’d been friends for about eight months at that point and Hizashi has insisted they work on their astronomy project at his place. Shouta finally agreed after much wearing down. Obviously Hizashi chattered the whole walk there, barely letting Shouta get a word in edgewise. He’d unlocked the door and they’d walked inside the house. It was about what Shouta had expected. Much like his own house with a few differences that made it stand out. But the one big thing Shouta had found strange was that Hizashi never called out to let his parents know he was home. It’s was something so miniscule, but it stood out as odd. Everyone he knew called a greeting when they walked in, but Hizashi just went about taking off his shoes, putting on his slippers, and walking inside.
“Come on! What are you waiting for?” Hizashi had said. Shouta had blushed when he was caught staring. He’d quickly turned his head down and removed his shoes.
“Sorry for intruding,” He mumbled quietly. Hizashi beamed happily and grabbed his hand. He’d dragged Shouta into the kitchen where he banged hard three times on the wall. The house seemed to vibrate with the force of the blows. Almost instantly a woman’s head appeared out of the pantry. Her eyes widen and she’d walked fully out with a grin on her face. Hizashi started moving his hands and a fingers quickly to her. Shouta was beyond confused so he watched closely. When the woman started moving her hands in response the realization that Hizashi could speak sign language slapped him in the face. He’s never imagined his loud, boisterous friend speaking a language with no sounds. Yet here he was.
The second time Shouta realized how smart Hizashi is, they had just graduated from elementary school and were spending the summer together before starting junior high. Hizashi was sitting on his bed, torso hanging upside down as Shouta leaned against the bed next to him. As he usually was, Hizashi was fiddling with something absentmindedly in his lap as they chatted. When they were first becoming friends this had annoyed Shouta to no end, but at this point he’d grown used to his friends behaviour. What was annoying Shouta at the current moment was that he had no idea what Hizashi was fiddling with. He could hear the sound of plastic rubbing against plastic behind him and he was racking his brain trying to place where he’d heard the noise before.
“Something wrong?” Hizashi had asked him with concern.
“What are you playing with?” Shouta had asked back. He’d turned his head to look at his friend and Hizashi had grinned. He pulled up an almost completely solved six by six rubix cube in front of his face. It’s one of the toys his father brought back from America for him, like the one he let Shouta play with only bigger. The three by three one had stumped Shouta on the first try. And yet here was his airheaded friend solving a harder toy without even looking at it.
“I’m not quite done yet.” Hizashi had blushed and looked away embarrassed. Shouta just started at him completely dumbfounded.
“Can you teach me how to do that?” Shouta had asked without thinking. He was about to take the question back but Hizashi had already flipped off the bed and grabbed one of the smaller ones.
“Sure!” Hizashi had yelled excitedly. They had ended up spending the rest of the day working together to try and get Shouta to solve one.
The third time Shouta was dumbfounded by Hizashi’s hidden genius was in their first year of high school. They’d both managed to get into UA and somehow were even put in the same class. Hizashi had been way more outwardly excited about this when they’d found, chattering on and on endlessly to Shouta about it. Shouta has feigned disinterest but inside he was just as excited to spend his high school career with his best friend. They were in english class one day when Hizashi was called to read a paragraph aloud from their textbook. They were studying an english play called “Romeo and Juliet” at the time. Shouta knew Hizashi could speak english well but what was written in the book seemed to barely pass as english to him. The words were all messed and there were even some he’d never seen before. So when Hizashi stood up at his desk, book in hand, and read the whole paragraph without even the slightest hesitation Shouta was star eyed.
The fourth time Shouta was struck by Hizashi’s intelligence was during their first few conferences as professional heroes. They were staying at a hotel together after the first day as the conference was being held out of town and they had to be in early the next morning. They were sitting at the bar, sharing a drink and idly chatting.
“Hey look! A piano!” Hizashi had beamed when he spotted the worn down grand piano in the corner. The keys were shiny and chipped from wear and the pedals were paper thin. Hizashi walked over to it with Shouta trailing just behind him. He’d sat down on the stool and ran his fingers over the keys. Shouta had smiled fondly at him, leaning over the pianos back on his elbow.
“Are you sure it still works?” Shouta asked him with a raised eyebrow. Hizashi had smiled at him happily and wiggled his fingers around.
“We’ll have to find out!” He’d said cheerily. He laid his fingers down on the keys, pressing each one with purpose. The piano wasn’t tuned right at all, and yet Hizashi managed to play the melody almost perfectly. Shouta couldn’t place the song but he didn’t mind in the slightest. The way Hizashi played was clearly that of a well versed pianist. Even this old run down piano seemed to bend to his will. All Shouta could do was simply watch in awe and fascination as his friend filled the air with beautiful music.
But today, in this current moment, all of that has gone out the window. Hizashi had leaned on the back of Shouta’s desk chair, which he knew was wobbly Shouta might add. Obviously the world hates Shouta Aizawa and so obviously the only way that scenario could play is what had ended up happening. Hizashi leaned his full weight in the back and the chair had given up. Both men were taken to the floor in a heap of limbs and chair parts. Hizashi shrieks as he tries to free himself from the mess only to tangel everything up even worse. Midnight, who is not helping at all. is laughing so hard at them tears stream down her face. Somehow she manages to fall out of her own chair which Shouta thinks is completely deserved karma.
“Ow ow ow!” Hizashi whines as he rubs the back of his head.
“You’re saying ow? Really?” Shouta asks. His one pant leg got caught on the top of the chair and the his sleeve got stuck in one of Hizashi’s many zippers during the fall so he is currently being pulled in all different directions.
“Ah! Sorry! Let me help!” Hizashi starts to stand up.
“No!” Shouta yells but it’s too late. Hizashi stands up quickly which frees Shouta’s sleeve and sends him crashing into the ground full force.
“Oh my god!” Hizashi shrieks. He drops to his knees and pulls Shouta’s leg free so he can assess the damage. “Are you okay?” He asks with concern. Shouta thinks back in all the times where he’d thought Hizashi had been so cool and smart. But right here, right now, none of those words apply to the man sitting before him. Shouta shakes his head with a breathy chuckle.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Shouta says with a smile. “You big dolt.”