Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He had never been told that his quirk was too… weak?

Yes, that’s the word.

But one would suspect that the quirk of copying would be all powerful. Uncontrollable. Indestructible.

But now that she mentioned it… he was, perhaps, too dependent for someone his age.

On his first day of school, he had to be sent home because he was crying so much for missing his parents. After that, he couldn’t go anywhere without holding the teacher’s hand. He’d start crying if he were ever left alone in a room for more than two minutes. He’d climb into his parent’s bed when they were asleep because he couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from them.

It was natural for people to panic whenever they were in a position of being powerless, so with someone who’s quirk solely depended on others around him, he felt helpless whenever he was left on his own.

“You’d start crying like a stupid baby.”

It took a lot of guts for another five year old to go around saying stuff like this. Perhaps she wanted to make a strange first impression? Perhaps she, like him, had her own ways to gain the power she so direly craved.

But either way, every insult felt like a sharp kick to his head or stomach, and if that were the case, right now he’d be wallowing unconscious.

“You’re gonna be a little kid forever.”

Over and over.

“You can never be a hero if you keep crying like that.”

Again and again.

“ Leave him alone. ”

It was upon those words that he removed his soaked hands from his teary eyes, looking up at someone’s back - standing like a barrier between him and the girl.

But there was something sort of… off about them… whoever they were.

“Uwah!!! Freak! What is that?”

Freak?

“Just go away… he’s had enough.”

“Eew… freak,” she spat, before turning away and leaving them with a disgusted glare.

Who are you? Turn around. I need to see your face. I want to thank you.

He reached up, forward. Grabbing the kid’s shoulder in attempt to turn them around.

But the stranger didn’t turn around, instead, Neito merely caught a glimpse of him burying his face in his hands and running off.

?

Yes, there was definitely something about them that was out of the ordinary, even for a world full of mysterious quirks.

Strange… elbows?

Large and cylindrical, the colour of his flesh as it seemed to conjoin freely with his arms.

Is that why she called him a ‘freak’?

It certainly was freaky, especially in the eyes of someone who’d never seen anything like it. But still, that kid had defended him… for what reason?

Nevermind that, the reason was fairly obvious for a more developed mind.

The stranger obviously knew that feeling.

Of being crushed to the core that all you could do was curl up into a ball and whimper.

He was unsure on whether or not he should follow them, but then the horrible echo of emptiness sounded in his gut - almost paralysed him.

Hollow.

That’s what it felt like. But still cripplingly painful, because there was nothing. Even if he screamed, all he would hear was the deafening sound of it bouncing off the suffocating surfaces around him that only seemed to get smaller and smaller.

Over and over.

Again and again.

The neverending void of nothing.

Loneliness.

I’ll follow them... I... need to be with someone...

***

When he found that familiar mop of black hair, they were still facing away from him. So far, in his head, the stranger was just a faceless, weird-elbowed saviour, who was currently sitting on the edge of a bench with his knees brought up to his face - covering it.

“Hello?”

He didn’t get a reply. He didn’t hear anything but the sound of his own desperate call.

He was rather shy regarding things like this. The adults would normally give him attention at this point, but to be talking to another kid around his age was unfamiliar. He had grown up surrounded by people older than him his whole life, considering his family’s job, and his brother - who was ten years older than him and leaving school to college the upcoming year.

But if there was one thing he was good at - it was copying.

He had placed a hand on their shoulder… right?

If he could just…

And he felt something about a quirk that he had never felt before. The quirks he usually copied were sort of ‘internal’ - meaning they didn’t change any physical features of that person. But here…

He could feel his bone and skin mould around. He almost wanted to call it quits, but he had been hopelessly devastated earlier, and he reckoned he still would be, had there been no interference.

And looking back at his elbows, they were the splitting image of theirs.

“Look!” he chirped, bringing himself closer and promptly raising his arms. “We match!”

And finally, they turned around. Sclera red and tear-stained, before they suddenly widened and lit up. Dark irises resting on the boy before him wearing a large, heartwarming grin.

And grey met blue - and he smiled back.

***

That feeling of bitter loneliness… he hadn’t felt it in a while.

It was rather nice, actually.

Because Hanta was always there for him.

In fact, Neito’s mother had jokingly said;

“We might as well adopt you because we have you around so often!”

There were practically no differences on the surface, especially when they first met, five years ago.

But, it was a miracle that two boys so different could end up having a friendship like this.

Although Hanta knew what self-doubt felt like, he never had that ‘loneliness problem’ like Neito. He was from a working class family. The oldest of three children. His mother didn’t work while his father worked all week in a factory, though they were still able to spend time together during weekends.

But Neito was so much more different in so many ways. His family was actually sort of ‘nouveau riche’ - owning a pavilion to host weddings. Because of their class, Neito was regularly expected to socialise with others, considering the many number of formal events he had to attend.

So it was rather funny, when Hanta walked into their pavilion for the first time, face twisted in awe as he looked about the place; how pretty and photogenic it was, while the other wouldn’t stop complaining about how ‘boring’ and ‘gross’ the thing looked.

And it wasn’t deliberate snobbiness - Neito just saw this place as ‘somewhere he was often unwillingly dragged to’.

So, one was ten years old and working at the pavilion to clean the glasses after the guests had used them.

The other was ten years old and having ‘staying over at Neito’s’ written in every other box of his calendar.

And the blonde had forgotten about that emptiness - completely.

Because not a day went by without them seeing each other. Well, almost. Of course there were days when Hanta’s family went away on a holiday or something. Of course there were days where Neito was too busy working behind a sink. But for every second they were apart, Neito had nothing to worry about.

Because I’ll see Hanta soon, anyway!

***

“You run so fast, Neito! I couldn’t keep up with you!”

“Whatever,” kicking a stone into the lake proved to only worsen the damage. It was a larger stone than his youthful pain thresholds could take. Grumbling, he took a seat, his feet dangling over the sunset-glowing water, clenching and unclenching his toes to soothe the slight sting.

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“No!” He spat, sharply turning around. “Did you hear what that new kid said to me? He said that it would be a challenge becoming a hero with my quirk!”

“So?”

“ So it hurt my feelings.”

“Well. It shouldn’t,” Hanta offered a reassuring smile, but Neito just turned away again, folding his arms and sulking childishly.

Hanta had never seen him this angry before, and he felt like he needed to do something. Neito had always comforted him whenever anyone showed signs of doubt over his quirk, so the least he could do was return the favour.

“Neito?” he asked, uneasily.

“What?”

“Don’t listen to them, you know? Let’s show them one day what we can do!” He flashed a typical mock-heroic stance. “We’ll shock them by becoming heroes… together!”

This made Neito slightly intrigued, tilting his head to the side questioningly like a confused puppy. “Together?”

“Yeah! ‘I’ve got your back’.” He giggled, sitting back down. “Heh… you know what that means?”

“What does it mean?”

“It means we’ll always look out for each other and protect each other!” his face lit up suddenly, and he gave Neito a sharp look of determination. “I’ve got your back! We’ll be the coolest heroes together.”

And finally, a smile formed on the blonde’s lips. “I’ve got your back too!”

The sudden sulk had vanished, and a spark of childish hope ignited within him. “You really mean that? We’ll be heroes together?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die!”

…

And there it was. Their future, written out for them. A goal they seeked to achieve.

Hanta Sero and Neito Monoma, battling the bad guys. Saving people. Showing the world that their quirks meant something.

All from a childish promise.

“Heh… okay. But please don’t say the needle bit. I don’t like it.”

“What? ‘Stick a needle in my eye’?”

“Uwah! Stop it!” he squirmed and covered his ears, despite the damage already being done.

“Heh… you’re so whiny. Such a sore loser. I wonder if you’ll ever be a sore loser when you grow up.”

“I’m not a ‘sore loser’! Stop teasing me! You always do.”

“It’s fun, teasing you. You do act like a baby.”

“Hmph,” he used his good foot to kick another stone into the lake.

“Heh… I’m kidding. You know I am.” Hanta reassured, scooting closer and lazily draping his chin on the other boy’s shoulder.

“Hanta.”

“Hm?”

“I’ve got some chocolate,” he stated, plainly, the fake-sulk giving way to a small smile. “Do you want some?”

“Yes please,” he leant over his shoulder more, eyeing the bar as the blonde fished it out of his short pocket.

Neito’s parents didn’t like it, but they usually shared chocolate like this. It wasn’t so much the ‘sharing’ part, but the boys were so careless. One would take a bite, and the other would take another from that bite, sending little indirect kisses to one another. They weren’t fond of the thought, but neither of them really minded, let alone protested.

Becoming heroes together.

But…

Considering… where they would be five more years later.

That promise must have been broken... somewhere along the line.

***

It had gotten increasingly more difficult with Hanta.

He would talk less.

He’d stop showing up to places.

And it wasn’t the best time either, considering they both were to take the U.A entrance exam the following week.

But… despite wanting so desperately to question him directly as to why he was acting so off lately, Neito couldn’t bring himself to do so. He was no real good at dealing with these sorts of things, especially situations when quirks weren’t involved - according to Hanta himself when Neito had shyly offered a talk.

But they had known each other for ten years now, so Neito could trust him to tell him if something was wrong, of course.

But by this stage, Hanta would… avoid him?

Perhaps he was going through something from within his family?

Perhaps he was nervous about something he didn’t want to talk about?

It was getting harder and harder to actually spend time together.

And when, unlike previous years when Hanta always cancelled other plans to attend Neito’s fancy birthday parties at the pavilion, Hanta actually declined it - he was “seeing some family.”

…

And as soon as that message was sent and read, something in the blonde snapped, and he found himself taking the next bus to his street.

***

Hanta was at the stage where he could just walk into Neito’s house like the regular guest he was. No knock, no doorbell. He’d usually just open the door or whenever the door was unlocked, which was rather often - this place was practically a second home to him.

So, although it nerved him because; he it was usually the darker-haired male who went to his house and not the other way around, it took some courage to knock on the door, let alone enter at his own will.

Tap .

…

No answer? Perhaps he’d have to actually knock this time rather than whatever the hell that was.

Knock knock.

No answer.

Perhaps he just expects me to enter his house like he does with me.

Unsure at first, Neito eventually opened the door and let himself in, encountering Hanta’s mother as she made her way down the narrow hall to the kitchen.

“Neito! How lovely to see you! We don’t usually have you coming around here.”

He laughed nervously, typically reaching his hand to the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, it’s an occasion. Is he up in his room?”

She just rolled her eyes and shrugged. “He’s always up there all of a sudden. I hope he’s studying and not just on that phone of his.”

“Heh… thanks,” she nodded as he descended up the stairs and on to the second floor.

This house was honestly a shed in comparison to his house, but that thought merely crossed his mind for a moment, and he navigated Hanta’s room among the other four bedrooms scattered around the floor.

Knock knock.

“Hanta? It’s me. You in there?”

But there was still no answer. It was evident he was in there, considering how small the house was and the fact that his mother literally stated that he was present behind the door.

“Hanta. I’m coming in,” he waited a moment. One… two… and he opened the door.

…

He was lying on his bed. Expressionless and staring at his ceiling, though it appeared so much further away. His arms were hanging from the slender frame of his bed. He didn’t look comfortable at all.

“Talk to me…” was all the blonde managed to force out, keeping his feet planted by the entrance of the room as he shut the door.

“Are you sure?”

“Please.”

“You won’t like it.”

“What could I possibly not like about you?” in frantic attempt to ease the situation, Neito did the one thing you absolutely shouldn’t do in this situation; “unless you mean it’s about your trampy hair, jeez, get that sorted, dude.”

…

Honestly, he shouldn’t have expected a reply.

“... Sorry. Bad time?”

“You think?”

“Heh…” he shuffled his feet, uncomfortably, biting his lip to let out any internal nervousness. “Go on… what’s wrong?”

“I really don’t think-”

“Tell me,” his expression was stern this time, his tone matching it. “I won’t understand unless you do.”

The words hung in the air, despite their heavy weight. The tension - thick as fog, it was suffocating.

“Neito…” he began, finally - finally turning his head to look at him. “You can’t take this the wrong way.”

“Hey, if you’re gay, then trust me; I know what-”

“Neito.”

“Ah… sorry.”

“Hm…” he tiredly shifted his gaze back to the ceiling. “It’s just that… I can’t make it to any events anymore… not until our exams are over and stuff.”

Neito just scoffed. “Exams? Events? That’s it?”

“Not just that,” and this time, there was a hint of fear in whatever he was to say next. “We can’t… I shouldn’t…”

…

“I need you to stay away from me .”

And Neito could feel his blood run cold. His mind go blank. His heartbeat quickening to that of a hummingbird.

And he couldn’t find any other words. He couldn’t think of anything else other than;

“ Why? ”

“I just…” he sighed, shrugging dramatically, and the pace of his words speeding up. “I-I’m slacking. I need to focus on school more.”

“No…” he shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing and he raggedly strode over beside him, prompting Hanta to stand up. “You’ll do fine. You always do fine.”

“But that’s just it!” he stated. “I’m always ‘just fine’. But I want to be more than that.”

“That’s not a problem! Why do you care all of a sudden?”

“‘ That’s not a problem’? ” he repeated, harshly. “It’s never been a problem for you. You got everything.”

“I don’t have everything, though!”

“Really? Of course you wouldn’t know. Jeez. I can’t believe I expected you to get it.”

“Get what!?”

“Get that I’ve put off everything for you! You can’t go anywhere by yourself, it’s so frustrating! I have a life too, I can’t just be your sidekick because you’re too afraid to talk to the teacher yourself! I can’t just follow you to the bathroom because you don’t want to go alone! It’s sickening, and it always has been. I get that you need me, we need each other, but it’s just this one thing that pisses me off; you constantly nagging me to go everywhere you freaking go!”

He wasn’t thinking. Neither of them were, at this point, because everything they had been through together had just been forgotten. In this moment, it was two teenage boys falling out. To anyone else, it would’ve sounded like a soap-opera break up - and in some ways, it was.

“And here you are… accusing me of not understanding you, hypocrite. You have no idea.”

“Don’t make this about you-”

“Because everything’s about you, isn’t it. I tell jokes and you just repeat them a little louder, and guess who gets all the laughs and attention in the end.”

“Monoma…”

And it was as if the flame inside him had been blown out completely. The slow, desolate movements that followed were bitter and painful, because as Monoma turned to leave, Sero said something to him as he grabbed the banister to descend down the stairs.

“ You need to grow up. ”

Chapter Text

There was no point in mentioning the past. They had both almost forgotten by this point.

However, after the classes had organised a ‘capture the flag game’ with each other, there was some room for interaction, not that they took it.

Sero had been split into the same team as Kaminari, which prompted them to inevitably team up - scouting one U.A’s fake-cities, though it was a smaller one, considering that smaller training sessions happened within school and there was no real point in doing damage to the larger ones.

And Kaminari had been caught out by the opposition - meaning Sero had to either find another group to join or go on his own.

Honestly, how long had it been since he got some alone time?

Except, that decision lead him here; his right arm injured; using his other arm and hanging by a thread of tape from the third floor of a fake building.

The drop wouldn’t kill him, but it’d certainly hurt like fuck.

If only… someone would help him, right about now. Even if they were the opposition and got him out afterwards.

He hung in there - literally. His tape would be strong enough to hold him there for a while, but it was the fact that after that ambush by Bakugou that got Kaminari out, both arms had been incredibly sore, and he was in no correct position to climb up with his legs.

And amidst his consideration to just lower himself down, though it’d be painful, due to how much pain dispensing human tape took and the fact that he’d have a long way to go, a shadow cast over his face.

Who…?

He felt his tape cluster by the end it was attached to the wall to, and slowly, he felt himself getting dragged back upwards.

“Thanks! Are you-”

…

Oh.

Because blue met grey, and he swallowed hard.

“Sero,” he acknowledged, holding out his hand to show his grip he had on the end of the line of tape.

“Monoma,” he nodded back. “Thanks.”

“But…” he began, briefly releasing his hold and letting the taller male fall down a few inches, before promptly catching him again.

“ Shit! ”

“I need to… make sure of something.”

There was no running from this now.

No leaving Kirishima or Kaminari to do the talking. No sudden change of subject. If Monoma was smart - which he was - he’d ask him now, because with their current positions in mind there was no telling if there would ever be another chance to bring it up.

Monoma tightened his grip. Not to keep Sero from falling, but because he had to channel his internal tension to something else to prevent him from bursting.

And slowly, he forced the words out.

“ Do you even remember? ”

And the words were out there, yet it seemed to take a while for them to reach the other.

Because...

He remembered.

...

Not a day went by without him thinking about it.

If it were for just a moment - ranging from zoning out for a few minutes to the tiny act of blinking. The guilt was there, he had just pushed it aside, and it was resurfacing now, and it hurt. It hurt them both just as much.

“Yeah… I do.”

“Yeah…” and something in Monoma changed, because unlike before, where he felt like a total stranger to him ever since they got into U.A, his demeanour transformed to the one that the other students were accustomed to, not the one that Sero knew to be there. “You remember abandoning me-”

“I didn’t abandon you,” he stated, shaking his head as he reached up to grab a higher section of tape with his good hand. “You know that. I never could.”

“Well how do you explain this? ”

This?

Noticing Sero’s inner conflict, Monoma explained. “We were supposed to do this together, and look at you. The famous Class A. And what have I got out of it? If we had taken that entrance exam together-”

“Stop it.”

“If we had taken that entrance ex-”

“ Stop it! ”

“ Let me finish, asshole! ”

“...”

The blonde was shaking now, his voice cracking, and he raggedly took a deep breath before continuing. “If we had taken that entrance exam together… I’d be here… helping you.”

“You’re not-”

“No.”

“ Neito- ”

“Don’t!” the flinch was elaborately visible, and he bared his teeth animalistically as a warning. “Don’t you dare.”

“I’m sorry!” he blurted out, finally. The apology both for the use of his first name stupidly, thinking he’d allow it, and for what happened so long ago. “I’m fucking sorry. I had no clue that what happened would cause… this.”

And Sero saw him . Those eyes - softer and gentler. Again, for a moment. He saw him again, and it wasn’t until now that he realised how much he’d missed him.

“I don’t want an apology…” he hushed, barely audibly. “I want my friend back…”

…

“And also…” and all at once, ‘Neito’ was gone. “I want to surpass you too.”

“Monoma…”

“Heh…” his smile was once again present, and he let go of the tape suddenly, causing Sero’s heart to practically jump before Monoma mockingly clutched it again. “Coward.”

There was no point in saying anything back to him. By this stage, the only thing Sero could do was hold on, keep quiet and take it .

It was the only way of getting out of here right now.

“Sero thought of himself. Sero abandoned his friend. Sero achieved more than his friend. Sero ignored his old friend. Sero broke his promise. Sero promised one day that we had each other’s backs. Sero promised that we’d make it together.” He could feel it - Monoma’s practical insanity, because he was speaking like a madman by now. Palms sweating, and the filter between his mind and his mouth disappeared to the point where neither of them knew what was being said anymore. “Sero. Sero… Hanta. Hanta…”

“I’m sorry… it’s my fault.”

“Hanta… Hanta…”

“It’s my fault.”

“Hanta…”

“I did this to you…”

“...”

“I’m sorry…”

And the silence was maddening. Monoma was practically blind at this point - tears welled in his eyes but he daren’t let them go past that because like shit was he ever gonna admit that he wanted so badly to start over... from where they left off. He’d give anything… but his pride.

“ Dammit! ” he growled through gritted teeth, and reluctantly hoisted Sero back to the top of the building, sharply. Practically flinging the boy to the floor and his knees eventually buckling beneath him.

And Sero didn’t move either, aside from shuffling over to sit back to back like they always used to.

Reflexes.

Capture the flag? They had both practically forgotten what the words even meant because this ‘fun little game’ as Kendou had put it had become some sort of forced couples therapy - unless there was a better way of putting it.

Sniff .

“Nei- Monoma…?”

“…”

“Hey…” he half-turned around, lifting his weight from his back so that Monoma could lay down a bit more. “Take it easy.”

“Okay…” hearing Monoma’s breaths steady slightly put ease onto the other.

“N- Monoma-”

“Just say it. I don’t care anymore.”

“Neito…” he finally said, relieved that he could call him that again because he just wasn’t used to saying the name ‘Monoma’ at all. “You want me to look for the others?”

“Shinsou’s out,” he breathed. “Took a hit for me.”

“... That was good of him.”

“Hm.”

“Kaminari took the hit for me too, actually.”

“Okay.”

“You don’t care, do you?”

“Not really.”

…

..

.

“Pfft-” and before either of them knew it, Sero was close to collapsing in a laughing fit.

It was so out of place. So strange that after a while, it brought a small smile onto the blonde’s lips.

And Neito couldn’t help but remember the last time he saw Hanta like this.

Didn’t he say…?

“Sweet sweet dicks in your mouth you’re laughing so hard?”

“Holy shit! Don’t-” and Hanta buried his face in his arm to muffle his hopeless wheezing, and by god if the sight wasn’t funny then you needed to get checked. He didn’t need to, of course, because soon enough the blonde started to marginally pass out after laughing too.

“Dude…! seriously…!”

“Not gonna lie that was pretty fuckin’ gay.”

“Well that’s not far off.”

And upon those words, Neito also half-spun around to face him. “What? Really?”

“Pan.”

“Oh, cool. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Hanta chuckled and rested his chin on the back of his hands. “You?”

“Yeah, I’m gay.”

“Totally called it.”

“Pfft, when?”

“Jee, I don’t know? You were constantly walking faster than the average straight guy, when you always sat with your legs crossed in a fucking chair. And don’t even get me started with all those straight brimmed hats you wore backwards , and you also wouldn’t stop complaining about how you wouldn’t drink enough water. I knew for sure at your fourteenth birthday party when you stared at that guy’s ass-”

“I get it, I was every gay stereotype in the book.”

“You are literally not wrong,” he sighed and turned back around. Neito did the same, fiddling with his thumbs in his lap.

“So… pan… you got a preference?”

“Not really, but if I had to choose… boys.”

“Ah, okay,” he nodded, holding back the ‘ wanna date? ’ that he feared would spring from his lips if he wasn’t careful. He hunched forward in thought before bringing his head back up and saying; “hey, don’t take this take this the wrong way, but I need you to educate me.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Listen, I’m not here to stir up any shit, so sorry if I offend you, but… the difference between bis and pans?”

“It means I’m attracted to pans.”

“What? No, seriously.”

“I’m joking,” he laughed and brought his thumb to his mouth to bite his nail. “It’s sorta similar… except I like non-binaries too.”

“Oh… that makes sense.”

“Yeah, hence the emphasis on ‘all genders’ not just boys and girls.”

“You learn something new every day, I guess. Thanks.”

“That’s okay.”

“Heh…” he relaxed a little, letting out a deep sigh.

“On a completely unrelated topic, is my quirk still your favourite to use?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Aww…” he pouted, sticking out his bottom lip like a little girl. “Mean.”

“Traitor.”

“Guess I deserved that,” he laughed, though it was slightly more uneasy than the last few times, and it prompted Neito to stand up again and gesture for Hanta to do the same.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“What? Why?”

“The flag?”

“Oh yeah…” he nodded and shrugged, as if he totally hadn’t forgotten about the flag altogether because fuck he missed his friend so much. “Lead the way.”

And it was all so sudden. So out of place, as if no argument or fall out or separation ever happened.

They weren’t strangers anymore.

They were just friends who had been apart for a long time.

***

“So you went through with it, huh?”

“What?”

“Growing your hair out like that.”

Hanta shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, Mom kept encouraging me to cut it again, but when I told her what I wanted she freaked out a little. But she’s okay with it now.”

“Hm,” Neito acknowledged. “Do your parents know you’re… y’know.”

“Oh, yeah,” he seemed to recall something, because he laughed nervously and scratched his neck. “I told Dad and my sister when I was… uh… under the minor influence of alcohol-”

“Holy-”

“I mean, I wasn’t drunk! I swear! Just… sorta over-happy.”

“So you thought then? ”

“I mean, I wasn’t really thinking, was I?”

“What’d they think?”

“Dad was fine with it, but he assured me that ‘people can change’ and all that crap,” then he sighed and kicked up some dirt. “And my sister keeps… almost taunting me about it.”

“Woah… sorry.”

“You kidding? No biggie. I don’t tend to listen to her anyways…” and then he paused and stared blankly at the ground, still keeping up with the boy beside him. “Except she told Mom without my consent.”

“Woah… what the heck? That’s terrifying.”

“ She is!” he gasped, cringing at the memory. “Mom took it better than I thought though. She just doesn’t tend to bring it up, really. Then I just told my brother because I thought he was being left out.”

“Ah… okay.”

“What about you? Do they know?”

“Shit no,” uncomfortably shifting, Neito subconsciously dropped his head. “They keep trying to set me up with girls . I just pretend to care.”

“When you’re ready,” Hanta clicked his tongue. “Just don’t do what I did. Never, ever do what I did.”

“Heh… okay,” and he lifted his shoulders, surveying the area around them again. “Remember to keep an eye out. This place is way too empty right now.”

Upon those words, Hanta checked the area as well. “Yeah. They’ve got all the good ones on their team. We’re pretty much screwed.”

“ We’re still in, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” with newfound determination, they both picked up some speed.

***

“You had one fucking job! And what did you do?”

“Don’t you pull that shit-”

“A rubber chicken!!! Seriously!?”

To put this anarchy into some context; the duo had crossed paths with a group of respective members from the opposition.

Considering their quirks, they stood a fair chance of victory even up against the more powerful members of the game.

Other than Yaoyorozu herself.

Because many of the other quirks didn’t take too long to figure out, especially in the eyes of someone as intelligent as Neito. He could copy even Todoroki’s quirk with ease, but copying a creation quirk was a completely different story.

Unlike her, where she is prepared to use her quirk at any time and therefore supplying herself with the necessary consumables - Neito had beyond no fucking clue.

So… in the midst of battle, he started spewing random objects, including but not limited to:

Rubber chickens, berets, soup spoons and at one point Hanta was fairly certain he ‘accidentally’ created a fucking dildo .

So before any other rated eighteen objects were tossed off his skin, Hanta had to ditch the mission of getting the opposition out and focus on himself and his dumb, gay teammate out of there .

And this… whatever the hell this was, had just been thrown back into the dumpster because suddenly, a fully fledged argument unfolded between them.

“You saw me struggling! You could’ve helped!”

“What was I supposed to do? Shove that thing up my ass!?”

“Please don’t ever bring that up again, jerk!”

“Fuck, you’re too much sometimes.”

“You know what? I have a plan, and it doesn’t involve you.”

“Great, I got one too! Bye, bitch!” and Monoma was left to the wondrous sight of Sero’s middle finger.

That jerk , he kicked the ground in a strop. Like I need him anyway .

…

Everything’s dark.

I’m on my own.

Everything’s just… empty.

It’s so cold.

…

Just… endure.

I can still do this.

…

***

He decided to stick with the idea he had in mind when the game first started out.

Although this whole thing was not public, he had his fair share of knowledge, especially in terms of tactics, of this game.

Before the game even started, his relationship with Sero was one of his least concerns, and we’re talking about the Neito we all know and love who cannot accept defeat, especially from the rivalling class.

He planned on teaming up with Shinsou, who had participated in order to provoke his decision on which class to select to transfer to, Monoma insisted that they do not interact with any other team members and focus on this whole thing individually.

In short terms, Monoma employed Shinsou as a ‘sidekick’ to win this thing in hopes of grasping more of that pride away from 1-A.

Except he was so focused on crossing the open area that he forgot that ‘getting out’ was a thing.

And so after causing Shinsou’s demise, he had to take it up by himself.

So what if he couldn’t help it if he saw his old traitorous friend dangling by a thread from the wall of a fake parking lot.

So his original mission was in mind, and he continued with his path to the other side.

***

He was here now.

The base of the forsaken enemy.

Creeping around like a tiger.

It was exceptionally quiet. His heavy shoes and their damn loud steps echoing ever so softly against the metal walls.

Really quiet.

…

Crash!

His heart jumped, and he spun around fully on instinct.

That noise…

Was definitely not him.

And it didn’t stop there.

Perhaps a battle is taking place?

He sucked in a breath and listened, focusing on any hints of voice or dialogue.

…

This wasn’t helping.

Get it together. Concentrate.

With a sharp nod to himself, he emerged from behind the wall, rounding the corner. Adrenaline high as he readied himself for anything that were to spitefully thunder his way.

But he was met with an empty hall.

Must be nearer the flag.

…

If whoever is guarding the team’s flag in engaged or occupied.

I could sneak in and get the flag myself.

Smirking to himself, he hurried down the narrow corridor and finally, finally bounded through the entrance to the room containing the team’s flag.

And as fast as he entered, he ducked behind a loose article of cover.

He peered over the edge, trying to figure out who the ruckus involved and how to avoid them.

They were mostly in the nearest corner of the space, the flag, almost screaming to be captured lay there. Nothing elegant, considering this was just a ‘bit of fun’ but in Neito’s eyes it was holy grail.

The space it was situated in was completely empty, a staged metal construction site cast about in askew corners. To add to the realism perhaps.

So…

In a scenario such as this.

Where the flag was a few large, quick steps away.

And there was nowhere to hide.

…

The metal structure.

And his mind was racing at this point.

Running there would be too obvious. I could copy that Iida’s quirk, since he was the one who assigned us to the teams, but a quirk like that is far too foreign and complicated.

I had engaged in conflict with that frog-girl earlier, and I could get creative if I were to use that tongue to swing myself across.

Swing across…?

It still is far too complex and unfamiliar.

But still.

…

Sero…

I’ve copied his quirk countless times before.

I could…

…

…

I’ll do it.

And he freed himself of his jacket as it would interrupt the functioning of his elbows.

If he really were to go through with this…

“Look!” he chirped, bringing himself closer and promptly raising his arms. “We match!”

And grey met blue - and he smiled back.

…

I’ll do it…

His aim was surprisingly exceeding, so he had no doubt that he’d be able to pinpoint where the tension was least.

And he sucked in a long breath.

Stood up and poised, closing his right eye and angling his arms as to be in a position for the tape to be firm.

The cylinders were suddenly there, and Neito… had missed this.

Aim.

He forced himself backwards, as far as he would go, straining the line until he nearly panicked because he thought he heard it rip.

Fire.

And at godspeed, he surged forward in a trademarked spiderman-swing.

“Monoma!”

Hanta!?

And from this height, he could see…

It was him.

Creak…!

?

Mid-swing, something stuttered and stumbled.

But it wasn’t a ‘door opening creak’.

It was a ‘large metal structure giving way’ creak.

And he realised too late that he overestimated the stability of the metal as it toppled over in what seemed to be slow-motion.

Speed up!

And his feet harshly hit the ground first, earlier than anticipated, and he found himself sliding across the floor.

He barely made it out.

…

But here…

The path was blocked now. Hopefully the others weren’t injured badly, and the groans of complaint would suggest so.

But there was a clear path now. No opposition. No obstacles.

He could just run and take the flag right now.

“ Dammit! ”

And his head spun around before he had the chance to figure out why.

Hanta…

Amidst all the chaos of the fallen frame was him, writhing and struggling beneath heavy metal poles.

And he was soon caught somewhere between his past and his future .

Get the flag.

Get him out of there.

Get the flag.

Get him out of there.

His head was spinning.

“Yeah! ‘I’ve got your back’.” He giggled, sitting back down. “Heh… you know what that means?”

I…

“What does it mean?”

I will…

“It means we’ll always look out for each other and protect each other!” his face lit up suddenly, and he gave Neito a sharp look of determination. “I’ve got your back! We’ll be the coolest heroes together.”

He pivoted on his heels and ran back there.

And finally, a smile formed on the blonde’s lips. “I’ve got your back too!”

Stupid.

The sudden sulk had vanished, and a spark of childish hope ignited within him. “You really mean that? We’ll be heroes together?”

You’re throwing it all away.

“Cross my heart and hope to die!”

This was your chance.

...

“You need to grow up.”

But despite everything in screaming to turn back around and leave him there.

Something inside him had been had been reawakened.

Because for what seemed like decades, Hanta Sero had been a stranger.

He couldn’t see the boy he knew ever since school started.

And no doubt it was the same for him.

But that doesn’t mean…

He practically threw himself against the pile, scrambling aimlessly to remove each heavy piece of frame and discarding it behind him.

That I’ll ever give up on him.

And this would change everything. Perhaps for better? Would it strengthen the Class’ relationships? Would it just turn him more bitter about them?

I’ve got your back.

And finally, finally Hanta turned to look up at him, as the blonde desperately thrusted his hand down to reach him, spreading his hand open, strainingly.

Always…

“Grab on!!!”

And upon those words, time seemed to freeze.

…

And the sudden pressure applied by another on his wrist as it grabbed his extended hand set another spark in the two of them.

After it had been blown out…

After trying to forget about them.

They had worked it out.

And together, they had never been stronger.

Perhaps there was still some hope for them.

And Hanta was back on his feet, standing beside him.

“You go… get the flag.”

“No… we’re getting that thing together,” he declared, offering a small smile.

And grey met blue - and he smiled back.