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Class 1-A groaned in unison as Shinsou hit the concrete floor of Ground Beta with a sickening thud.
He had been mid air between holds, swinging from the window of one building to another using his capture weapon. In comparison to Aizawa, Shinsou was clumsy in the air, which was probably how Midoriya had gotten the drop on him so thoroughly.
Midoriya shot out like a green bullet from between the buildings and slapped a hand on the back of Shinsou’s head. It may have been driven with a little more force than necessary. Midoriya was riled up from a few choice words about his mother that Shinsou had echoed off the buildings in an effort to get him to speak.
Shinsou faltered with where his capture weapon was going and it grabbed nothing. Between that and Midoriya’s ferocious might, Shinsou dropped heavy to the ground. A horn filled the arena bringing the Hide and Seek training to an end.
Shinsou was found first and he had lost.
“Shinsou!” Midoriya called out, instantly switching from the intense focus of hero training to the soft concern of friendship. “Are you alri-”
Shinsou scrambled to his feet and drove a fist into Midoriya’s face, not as quick to switch gears as his friend. Midoriya stumbled backwards and Shinsou winced.
“Oi oi oi,” Yagi said, over the loudspeaker. “This session is over. Stop what you’re doing.”
Shinsou’s fist flopped limp to his side and he grit his teeth in pain. He limped to an upright standing position. Despite getting socked in the face, Midoriya still went to his friend’s side, arms up to help him.
“You’re hurt,” he said. “Sorry I didn’t realize-”
Shinsou slapped his arm away and began walking to the exit.
“A-ah, I’m supposed to?” Yagi fumbled over the speaker again, the rustling of pages in a book flapping. “Detention today after class, young Shinsou. And please make your way to Recovery Girl, promptly.”
“Tch.” Shinsou looked vaguely up in the direction of a camera.
“I can help you to Recovery Girl,” Midoriya said.
“Don’t,” Shinsou growled, clicking off his mask. He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, finally shifting down a notch from the adrenaline and frustration. “I’m fine on my own.”
“Are you sure?” Midoriya asked.
“Yeah,” Shinsou said, already limping away. “Go back to the others.”
Shinsou returned to class not much later, sliding into English half way through the lecture. His limp was gone. He bowed to Present Mic, apologized for his tardiness, and took his seat, careful to not make eye contact with his other classmates.
As the day progressed, no one made an attempt to talk to Shinsou between classes and he made no attempt to move from his desk. It wasn’t until the end of the day that Shinsou finally approached Midoriya, hands in his pockets.
“Midoriya,” he said, commanding his classmate’s attention when he finally wanted it.
Most of their classmates had left the room already, and the rest filed out, casting small glances behind them. Iida and Uraraka stood in the doorway, waiting for what would happen next. Midoriya squared his shoulders steeled his gaze, waiting for whatever Shinsou had to say. There was a slight scuff on his cheek from where Shinsou had hit him.
“Sorry,” Shinsou said and rubbed at the back of his neck. “For punching you. And saying those things.”
Midoriya sighed and smiled, his shoulders slumping and filled with relief.
“That's alright,” Midoriya said. “You were just using your strategy to its full effect. I should not have let it affect me so much.”
Midoriya turned to the door and Shinsou fell into step as they left the classroom together.
“Yeah. I need to find a way to do it in increments, not go for the low blow first,” Shinsou grumbled.
“If you like I could help, I’m not sure I’m as good at that sort of thing as you are, but I could help come up with talking points or strategize other methods,” Midoriya offered.
“Yeah, but then you’d know,” Shinsou said with a smirk. “And next time I aim to win.”
While the rest of them walked back to the dorms, Shinsou stayed behind to serve his detention. He returned not long after and beelined for his room without so much as another word. The others were gathered at a table, conversing over dinner, and Shinsou was able to slip by, mostly undetected. Midoriya watched him sneak up the stairs with concern, but Iida placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
Iida gave it an hour before he went to Shinsou’s room, book under his arm. He knocked on the door. Shinsou cracked it open, the lights dimmed low, and glared through the space. When he saw it was Iida, he opened the door a little more. He was already dressed in the sweats he slept in.
“Hello Hitoshi,” Iida said, keeping his voice soft. “Would you like to go over what you missed in English?”
Shinsou looked up at Iida, his eyes heavy and tired. He leaned against the door.
“Can we go to your room?” he asked.
“Yes,” Iida said.
They walked to Iida’s room together in silence and once Iida had the door open, before he could get a word in edgewise, Shinsou was in his room, at his closet. He rummaged through the hangars before he found the over sized Ingenium sweatshirt. It was big on Iida, but Shinsou drowned in it. He crawled up onto Iida’s bed and tucked his knees into the sweater, stretching the fabric with long legs. Iida sighed and sat next to him, resting a hand on his back.
“How bad is it?” Iida asked.
Shinsou pulled up the hood and yanked on the draw strings until he was sealed off, a tuft of purple hair sticking out of the puckered edge.
“Oh,” Iida said, comprehending. “I see.”
Shinsou growled from within the confines of the hoodie and slid his arms within. The head lowered, resting on the bump Shinsou’s knees made. Iida ran small circles on Shinsou’s lower back until the growling subsided into a vague rattle.
“I’m going to study now,” Iida said softly.
Shinsou grunted once.
“I’ll be at my desk, just over there,” Iida said.
Shinsou grunted again.
When Iida left his side, the Shinsou shaped hoodie leaned against the wall, socked feet poking out of the bottom, one folded over the other. Iida studied diligently, reading his classics text and taking notes in an open notebook at the side. Every so often, Shinsou would rattle or shift. It wasn’t very long before he went quiet.
Iida looked over his shoulder.
Fingers squeezed through the small opening in the sealed hoodie, pushing it open again. Iida rose from his seat, bent over Shinsou, and helped him open the hoodie again. He reached inside and cupped Shinsou’s face, his tired classmate not looking him in the eye and wearing a completely dejected expression.
“How are you doing?” Iida asked. He ran his thumbs over Shinsou’s cheeks.
“Could you tell me what I missed in English?” Shinsou asked, still not looking him in the eye.
“Of course,” Iida said, smiling softly.
He joined Shinsou on the bed, English book spread out on his lap. Shinsou leaned against him, listening to what Iida had to say, following along with his eyes. Eventually, his arms snaked back through the sleeves, to point at some of the words and question the conjugation. Iida wasn’t sure when Shinsou had come into class and he waited for the boy in the hoodie to say stop, but Shinsou never did. He continued to quietly ask for explanations on certain points until Iida had fully covered the lesson. With nothing left to discuss, Iida gently closed the book.
“Why’d you stop?” Shinsou asked, his head against Iida’s shoulder.
“That's everything we learned today.”
“Oh.” Shinsou slumped further down, his cheek smooshed against Iida’s arm.
From his vantage point, Iida could only see the top of the hoodie and tufts of purple hair. Shinsou didn’t move.
“Could you help me with my classics?” Iida asked.
“Don’t patronize me,” Shinsou muttered.
“I am not,” Iida said, matter-of-fact. “You are one of the top in that subject and I sometimes require a sounding board. Especially when it comes to memorization.”
Finally Shinsou looked up to Iida, his eyes flat and tired and filled with sarcastic boredom. He sighed and blinked slowly, one eye at a time.
“Okay,” he said.
“Would you like the seat?” Iida asked.
“No, I need to stand for a bit,” Shinsou said.
He unfurled off Iida and slipped his legs out from underneath the hoodie. They shuffled to the desk, Iida took his seat again, and Shinsou hovered just behind him. As Iida took notes, he spoke out loud, Shinsou reiterating with facts that had been covered previously or hadn’t be touched on in class yet. Eventually, Shinsou took the book from the desk and quizzed Iida. After a while of that, Iida did the same for Shinsou.
Iida asked another question, but instead of answering, Shinsou closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His body seemed to inflate, not tensing up, but more filling with something soothing. As if he could breathe fully again. When he exhaled, he slumped forward, a great weight taken from his shoulders. Iida watched silently and smiled.
“How are you feeling?” he asked when Shinsou finally opened his eyes again.
“Better,” Shinsou muttered, but did not move, did not look at Iida. “Lights out will be soon.”
“I think you can stay for a couple of more minutes,” Iida said.
“Don’t you need to do rounds?” Shinsou said. “Make sure everyone’s in their rooms?”
“Yaoyorozu can handle that,” Iida said.
Shinsou sneered and rubbed at the back of his neck. The hood flopped off, revealing mussed hair, but he made no move to put it back.
“Alright,” he said.
Iida took his hand and rose to his feet. He lead Shinsou back to the bed. The two of them sat down, and leaned against the wall. Shinsou leaned against Iida and the class rep wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him protectively. They sat in silence like that, Iida’s hand rubbing up and down Shinsou’s arm as a source of comfort.
“You were doing quite well against Midoriya,” Iida said, breaking the silence.
“What did I say about patronizing me?” Shinsou scoffed.
“I’m being honest,” Iida said and reached up to pet Shinsou’s hair. “You had the upper hand for most of the match up until you pushed him a little too far. Up until you got sloppy with your technique.”
“I know what I did wrong,” Shinsou muttered, turning his face into Iida.
“And I know you will only learn and grow from it. I have the utmost surety that you will.”
He was so earnest with every word he said and Shinsou closed his eyes, basking in what he was saying. Shinsou scoffed again, a bitter smile playing at the corners of his lips. He turned and pressed his face into Iida’s chest, wrapping an arm around his torso. Iida held him close. He placed a chaste kiss to Shinsou’s head before he rested his chin in the soft mess of hair.
“Sorry I’m like this,” Shinsou muttered, muffled.
“There is nothing to be sorry for,” Iida said, equally as quiet.
Shinsou grumbled, not really saying anything, and Iida wrapped his other arm around his smaller frame, holding tight in a warm embrace.
“You’re one of the strongest people I know,” he said into Shinsou’s hair.
No patronizing, no hyperbole, only complete earnest honesty. Everything Shinsou had known Iida to be.
They held each other in silence again, until finally, Shinsou deflated in his arms. The tension in him ebbed away, the grip he held on Iida slackened, and his body slumped against his chest. He breathed one of those deep, full breaths again, shaking on the exhale. He leaned back off Iida’s chest, as much as he could in his tight grip, and looked him in the eye.
“Thank you,” he practically whispered.
“How are you feeling?” Iida asked and cupped his face.
“Good. Tired. Recharged.”
Iida smiled and pressed a kiss to Shinsou’s forehead. Shinsou’s eyes fluttered shut and he sighed, his neck pliant as he leaned into it. When Iida pulled away and lessened his hold, Shinsou pulled the sweater up and over his head. His hair fluffed out comically, but he was significantly more relaxed than he had been just a few hours before.
“I gotta get back,” he said with sigh, sitting upright and stretching out his back.
“Did you need to take this with you?” Iida asked, holding out the hoodie.
Shinsou shook his head.
“No, I’m good,” he said. He was already sounding more like the confident, sarcastic, overly cocky hero Iida knew him to be.
“I could walk you back to your dorm if you like,” Iida offered. “Just in case we come across Yaoyorozu?”
“We don’t need class rep playing favorites,” Shinsou said with a sly smile. “Besides, I can just sneak around her.”
“Do not sneak around your vice representative,” Iida chastised.
Shinsou rolled his eyes and smiled. He climbed off the bed and Iida followed, opening the door for him.
“Go get ready for bed,” Shinsou said at the door. He leaned against the frame and bounced one foot behind him. “I know I interrupted your routine.”
“It is well worth it,” Iida said.
Shinsou smiled lazily up at him, his eyes closing in slow, tired blinks. He sighed deeply again.
“Good night, Tenya,” he said.
“Sleep well, Hitoshi.”
Shinsou headed down the darkened hall towards the staircase, feeling lighter.