Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Midoriya Izuku woke up that morning, he had already known it was going to be a bad day. He could tell because when he glanced into his bathroom mirror, it promptly shattered into a cracked and distorted image of himself for no reason.

Almost absentmindedly, Izuku checked over himself while brushing his teeth. Not only was his quirk producing an unusually high amount of energy today –though it would be unfelt by anyone that wasn’t him– breaking the mirror caused it to increase even more. He would have to be careful while he let it trickle out of him, or he might seriously hurt himself. A quick check on his phone proved his suspicions as to why his quirk had been so active– the horoscope said that Cancers should watch out for bad luck.

Sometimes Izuku really hates that astrology wasn’t complete bullshit when it came to him. No one else gets their day ruined just because the horoscope said it would happen…

But there was still a smile on his face, as he looked into the broken mirror. Seeing it reminded him to keep his spirits up.

“Mom! I’m leaving for school now! And, uh– the mirror broke again. Sorry… ”

“It’s okay sweetie, that’s why we bought so many extras. Have a nice day!” His mother stopped in the middle of her morning prep to give him a quick kiss and soft smile. “I love you dear.”

Izuku smiled back at her brightly. “Love you too, Mom.”

Despite the earlier omen, it was just another day for Midoriya Izuku on his way to school.

The sun was shining. The birds were singing. The grass at the edge of the sidewalk was just so green, it almost made him want to stop and smell the flowers. The smile on his face was just as bright as his surroundings.

But then he just barely dodged out of the way of falling bird poop, gifted graciously to him by the aforementioned singing birds. And in his attempt he stepped on a wayward rock, which caused him to trip and hit his head on the concrete.

Sitting up from his fall with a groan, Izuku felt the back of his head. It didn’t seem to be bleeding, and he succeeded in missing the bird poop. So overall, he’d call this one a win. The smile returned to his face.

It was just another day for Izuku, but sometimes navigating through his life could get difficult. That’s just how it is when luck isn’t on your side.

Izuku had learned many lessons when his quirk first appeared. The first was that all men were not created equal. The second was that some people were born into this world lucky and others were born into it unlucky. Or as the more common saying went; some were born lucky, and some were just lucky to be born.

The third thing that Izuku had learnt was that he was born unlucky.

And that wasn’t him being dramatic, he was quite literally born unlucky. That’s what his quirk turned out to be. His quirk, Jinx, produced a constant amount of “bad luck” which he could either inflict on himself, specific targets, or just let permeate the area around him like he was a cursed charm.

He preferred to keep his quirk inflicted on himself, rather than accidently cause trouble for or hurt other people.

This led to him facing a constant stream of various but small misfortunes in his everyday life. Tripping, stepping in animal droppings, oversleeping, missing the train, broken mirrors, glasses, plates, electronics– the list was endless, so it was better if he just didn’t keep track of it all. Sometimes, he felt like his quirk might be affecting him even when he turned it off.

His mother swore up and down that he wasn’t the reason why Dad never came back, but he’s pretty sure that was a lie. No one wants a child that’s essentially cursed.

No one except Mom, that is. And it was only her existence that reminded Izuku that there was still fortune in his life, even with having a quirk like Jinx.

It’s not even the misfortune caused by his quirk that gets to him, it’s just everyone else’s reaction to his quirk that does. If everyone accepted it like his mom did, then he would be happy even with all the bad luck he had to deal with.

But even through all of this, he kept a smile on his face. Most of the time it didn’t feel like a real smile, but sometimes it was, like when he was with Mom. He didn’t let the misfortune, both from his quirk and his lack of positive social interaction as a consequence of it, cause his smile to fall.

–Because if he did, then he would simply never smile at all–

The thing he loved most about All Might was the way the hero could smile in even the most dire of situations. Izuku wanted to be a hero like that too. Though, everyone around him thought that it was impossible for him to be a hero.

“Sensei… When I took this test, I was next to Midoriya, you know we always do worse when we’re by him– Can I get some extra credit points to boost my score?”

From his seat in class, Izuku pretended to not hear the conversation. His teacher just sighed in annoyance, “And you know that Midoriya always turns his quirk off during tests so that his own scores don’t get affected. If you guess an answer wrong, it’s not because of his quirk.”

“But you don’t really know for sure if he’s keeping it off! What if it was on and that’s why I did bad?”

In the end, his classmate was given a small amount of extra credit in an attempt to compromise, just as most of the people who were by Izuku during tests got. The teachers didn’t believe it was worth the effort to put up with their needling in the name of Izuku’s honor when they could just put a stop to it by giving up a couple of points. It usually didn’t change their grades by much, but they still went through the motions just to get their boost. The only person that didn’t was his childhood friend that was no longer a friend, Kacchan, who seemed to think being placed next to Izuku was just an extra challenge for him to overcome. Maybe that was why Kacchan was always placed by him in seating arrangements...

With that out of the way, his teacher could finally begin homeroom. “You guys are third years now– it’s time to start thinking seriously about your futures! I would hand out these future career forms, but…” His teacher tossed the papers aside with a smiling shrug. A stray paper rode an air current across the room to slap Izuku in the face, blinding him with white for a moment.

“I assume you all want to be heroes!” The classroom broke out into cheers as people started to haphazardly show off their quirks. Izuku, of course, kept his reigned in to its normal amount of “slightly bad luck”.

“Yes, you all have wonderful quirks, but you know it’s against the rules to use them in school!”

“Sensei, don’t lump me in with these extras!” Izuku leaned away slightly when Kacchan, started yelling, “As if I have anything like their crappy quirks!”

“Ah, Bakugou– you’re applying for UA, of course,” the teacher commented in an impressed tone.

The muttering around Izuku continued, “Did you hear how high the cutoff is this year?! They barely accept anyone…”

When Kacchan slammed his foot onto the desk, Izuku jolted in place. “Shut up all of you! I aced the mock exam, and I’m the only one that has what it takes to get into UA! I’m going to surpass All Might and become the top hero! Not to mention becoming rich at the same time!”

Well, it was only natural that Kacchan felt that he could accomplish all those things. After all, he was born lucky. What else can you say about a person that’s born with a flashy quirk perfect for being a hero, born to good, loving, and fairly well-off parents?

“Come to think of it, Midoriya’s also trying for UA.”

Kacchan froze as Izuku felt his stomach drop into the floor. The joyful atmosphere became tense, as his classmates stole looks at him only to quickly look away. There were no jeers or laughs, but he could hear them whisper amongst themselves.

“Unlucky Izuku, trying to be a hero?”

“Even more than that, trying to get into UA? You need luck to get into a school like that…”

“Who ever heard of a hero that’s bad luck? That’s a villain’s quirk…”

Ah– there it is. It always comes around to that eventual. Being a bringer of misfortune is a bad quirk, so it could only be a “villain’s quirk”. That’s how they all think.

Kacchan didn’t say anything, but Izuku knew it wouldn’t last for long. As soon as the day was over and the small protection the teacher provided was gone, he made his move. Izuku leaned back when Kacchan slammed his hand onto his desk. Only to go back too far and tip his chair over in a clatter of noise and pain.

Kacchan just scowled down at the pitiful sight of Izuku on the ground. “What the hell do you think you’re playing at, Deku! You’re cursed! You can’t possibly be a hero or make it into UA! Forget crappy quirks– Your quirk is a hindrance, even less than useless!”

–Don’t let it get to you, don’t let it get to you. He just feels that way because he knows firsthand how people around you get hurt. Don’t let your smile fall–

As Izuku picked himself up, he gave Kacchan an awkward smile. “I know it’s unlikely, but there’s no harm in trying…”

“No harm in trying, get a load of this guy! He says that like he doesn’t tip over in his chair once a day!” one of Kacchan’s friends chuckled to the others. They never tried to antagonize Izuku when it was just themselves, probably wary of being cursed by his quirk, but Kacchan always made them more arrogant.

Kacchan swipe Izuku’s notebook off his desk. “What do we have here? “For my future”? Be real, Deku! What are you gonna do– win fights by making the villains trip over themselves?!”

The notebook was fried to bits in the middle of Kacchan’s small palm explosions. Then, it was thrown out the window only to land in the water fountain. Izuku’s smile dropped a fair amount, but he managed to keep the ends of his mouth tensed up into an almost smile. The sight of it just made Kacchan scowl harder.

“That smile of yours is so fake, it makes me want to blast it off your face! Who the fuck do you think you’re fooling?! A creepy, miserable person like you can’t be like All Might, so just give it up! I’m a perfectionist– I want my hero origin story to be perfect!” Kacchan pointed to himself with his thumb. “I’m going to be the first and only hero from this crappy public middle school, so don’t even dare try getting into UA!”

Scoffing a bit, Kacchan’s sneer turned into a mean smirk. “Though, I shouldn’t say that you can’t show up in my story at all– If you end up being a villain I take down in the future, there’d be nothing wrong with that.”

Kacchan knew as well as Izuku that he would never turn to villainy, but he said that anyway because he knew it would hurt. Izuku felt himself flinch at the comment.

After seeing that Izuku didn’t plan on fighting back, Kacchan tsked and turned around to walk out the door of the classroom. Only to stop, and give Izuku one last smirking glance over his shoulder.

“Oh, but if you want to be a hero so badly, there’s a quick way to do it. Believe that you’ll be born with a good quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof!”

Izuku flinched hard, but any words he could make died in his attempt to stuff his pain back into the box he kept inside himself. The smile fell off his face, causing him to bite at his lip.

–Don’t let it get to you, don’t let it get to you, don’t let it get to you, don’t–

Kacchan and the others that hung out with him were gone for a fair while before Izuku started getting up to leave. Before he left the classroom to pick up his notebook and leave, he gave a long look at the classroom window next to him.

After a stretch of silence that wasn’t even filled by his usual muttering thoughts, he turned his back to it and left.

He thought that was the peak of it, that that was the worst his luck that day had to offer him. But it wasn’t.

His next string of misfortune was a double hit– just as he was about to go through a tunnel on his way home, he got a phone call from the Musutafu General Hospital, saying that his mother had been admitted due to an accident. As one of the people listed on her emergency contacts list, they called him as soon as she arrived.

However, as he started a panicked run through the tunnel to try and get to the hospital as fast as possible, a villain of all things appeared from the sewers. The villain, who had a slimy body that he was using to suffocate Izuku with, said something about how he wanted to use Izuku’s body to walk away free.

Izuku was about to be murdered, but he didn’t even think about that. All he could think about was the fact that Mom was hurt, and this villain was the only thing keeping him from getting to her.

He had never purposefully inflicted Jinx on anyone before, but it was easy enough for him to focus its energy on the villain. He couldn’t chance just its normal amount of emitted energy to be enough though. With a bit of a struggle, Izuku abandoned fruitlessly trying to clutch at the hold around his neck in order to free his right hand.

He snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed throughout the tunnel. It catalyzed the release of Jinx’s partially built up bad luck, inflicting the villain with a heavy curse instantaneously.

At that very same moment, one of the dim lights in the tunnel broke off from the ceiling with its wires still attached to land directly on the villain’s fluid mass. Its electric current wasn’t too potent, but was enough to make the both the slime villain and Izuku, who was still stuck in contact with him, shriek in pain.

The villain let go of Izuku to dissolve into an unconscious puddle, and Izuku blacked out.

When he woke up next he thought he must be dreaming, because there was no way that he’d ever be lucky enough to have All Might personally save him.

His hero went through the motions of making sure Izuku was alright and trying to ask about what had happened to the villain, when Izuku suddenly jolted with the memory of what he was doing before.

“Oh gosh, this– it’s really great to meet you, All Might-san, but I’ve gotta go!” Izuku quickly gathered his things and stood up as he was stuttering. He’d have time to freak out over how All Might had signed his notebook later. “M-My mom is in the hospital, and I have to go there right away– ”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that young man…” After a second where All Might glanced to the side to mull over his thoughts, he looked back to Izuku to give him a grin and thumbs up. “Since the villain was already taken care of by the time I got here, I’ve got a little extra time. If your mother is at the hospital in this area, then I can drop you off in no time before I drop off this guy to be arrested by the police!” All Might shook the bottle holding the still unconscious slime villain in demonstration.

Izuku’s mood instantly brightened up, a real smile lit up his face. “R-Really?! That’d mean so much to me, thank you so much!”

All Might simply laughed it off, before taking hold of Izuku. “It’s a hero’s duty to help people in need, no matter how big or small that need is! Now, I’m on the clock so there’s no time to waste!”

With that said, they bounded through the air. In only a minute or two, Izuku was placed down in front of the automatic doors of Musutafu General Hospital. And with one last bow, Izuku parted from his hero to check in with the receptionist.

Considering his turn of luck in meeting All Might, Izuku had been hopeful about his mother’s condition.

He shouldn’t have been

He was still born unlucky– One fortunate thing happening didn’t make that go away…

After a long couple of hours waiting, the doctor treating his mom brought him to a private room. She looked down at him with guilt heavy in her eyes. Izuku’s dread increased ten-fold.

“What happened to your mother was a random incident –a drunk driver swerved into the road on a red light when she was in the middle of crossing. Midoriya Inko was still alive when she was brought in, but her condition was bad. We did everything we could, but… the extent of our techniques and quirks can only go so far; whether a patient makes it through or not sometimes depends on luck. And in this case, luck wasn’t with us today…”

The doctor placed a gentle hand on Izuku’s shoulder, and she quietly said, “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Izuku wasn’t smiling at the time, but he still felt his smile shatter into a thousand pieces. Just like the mirror from that morning.

When Shinsou Hitoshi woke up one morning, it had started out as a normal day for him. The foster family that he lived with –which consisted of three other foster kids and the foster parents, the Harukas, who decided to open their home for fostering due to lacking their own children– made friendly but wary small talk with Hitoshi during breakfast. Then he and the rest of the kids walked to school, with the two kids around his age and headed to the same middle school as he was. They walked ahead of him in their own separate group of friends while he walked alone.

This pattern of partial social inclusion where people would superficially interact with him without being interested in risking further contact continued throughout the day.

It was hard for people to want to talk to him. They had the mental barrier of being constantly aware that any amount of conversation could potentially lead to him brainwashing them, despite the fact that he’d never use his quirk for bad reasons like that. He’s already accepted that that was just how people reacted to his quirk, though.

But then things changed up a bit when Hitoshi returned to the household, and the Harukas brought all the kids together for a discussion.

“We’re going to be accepting another foster child soon, as we’re the closest family available to where he’s going to school. However, there are some… details about him you should be aware of,” Haruka Nori explained hesitantly, before glancing at her husband to cue him in.

Natsume, who was in the same grade but not the same class as him, eyed the two suspiciously. “That’s almost exactly what you said when Shinsou joined. Is this another kid with a villain quirk?”

Hitoshi perked up at that, even as the other two children –a boy who was a year younger than him, Fuyuki, and an elementary school girl, Aki– became visibly nervous.

“Ah– Natsume-chan, you shouldn’t say stuff like that– ” –in front of Shinsou, Hitoshi mentally finished for Haruka Naru when the man took a quick glance at him. He cleared his throat and continued where his wife left off, “Midoriya Izuku was only just recently put up for fostering, he’s been going through a lot lately so you shouldn’t be rude to him. It’s just that he may bring some additional difficulties due to his quirk. It’s called Jinx, and it makes bad luck.”

“There’s actually a quirk that makes bad luck?! Man, that’s… unlucky?” Fuyuki looked apprehensive at his own accidental pun.

Haruka Nori picked up the conversation again, “It’s unfortunate for Midoriya-kun, certainly. But what’s important here is that all of you are aware that accidents may be more prone around him. And if what happened to his mother is any indication, these accidents may become quite dangerous if we don’t approach this cautiously.”

Hitoshi thought about the warning carefully, until he understood what they were implying. Midoriya used to have a mother, but very obviously did not now, or he wouldn’t have been put up for fostering.

Outrage broiled in his gut.

Eyes sharpening into a glare, he shouted, “You can’t seriously be blaming this kid and his quirk for– for whatever happened to his mom!” He couldn’t even speak aloud about the chance that a kid would be the cause of their own parent’s death just because they had a “villain quirk”, let alone consider it as a legitimate possibility like these two were.

“We’re not saying it was his quirk, there’s no proof of that!” Haruka Naru held his hand out as though in surrender, trying to appease Hitoshi. “But the fact of the matter is that his quirk causes accidents, and what happened to his mother was a major accident –a car accident is an awful lot of bad luck. If it was his quirk, it certainly wasn’t intentional on his part. But regardless if it’s just a coincidence or not, we want you kids to be safe around him.”

“Why would you accept someone with a quirk like that in the first place then?!” Natsume complained while crossing her arms.

“Because someone has to take him. In the end, he’s just another child in need like the rest of you.” Haruka Nori tried to give them a kind smile. “We’ll work around his quirk just like Shinsou’s, things will be fine.”

Hitoshi couldn’t handle it anymore, he abruptly stood up from his seat in one of the dining room chairs to slink back to his room. Little Aki shied away from him in her own seat at the sight of his simmering anger. He muttered to himself while leaving, “There’s no way things will be fine if you’re talking shit like this behind his back…”

About a week later, Midoriya Izuku was brought to the family.

He had fluffy green curls that matched eyes, and wore a bright smile on his lightly freckled face as he cheerfully introduced himself. Even though they must’ve met Midoriya a couple of days ago at the very least, the Harukas still seemed relieved at the positive demeanor Midoriya carried himself with. Especially when compared to Hitoshi’s personality. The rest of the kids seemed to look over him with new considerations in their minds, wondering how a boy like this could have a “bad” quirk.

Hitoshi himself hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up that Midoriya might actually want to hang out with him unlike everyone else in the family, but they still formed in his mind anyway. At first the positive attitude had disappointed him, since he assumed it was a sign he was more of a “normal” person than a “villain quirk” person. But when Midoriya jumped into an enthusiastic conversation on Hitoshi’s quirk as soon as it was mentioned to him, those hopes returned. Midoriya didn’t even seem to hesitate when it came to both mentioning Hitoshi’s quirk and talking to Hitoshi, like everyone else usually does.

He didn’t even mind that he had to share his room with someone now due to the limited number of bedrooms, since it was with someone like Midoriya. Midoriya decorated his side of the room with a few different pieces of All Might merchandise and numerous books and notebooks, but other than that it was fairly plain. Hitoshi’s side had more character surprisingly, being covered in random cat items combined with Eraserhead merchandise. Overall, it seemed like Midoriya was just another average boy.

Then the household got to see Midoriya’s quirk in action, and the mood towards him soured.

It started with the lights in their room going out. Midoriya just glanced at it, then pulled a handheld flashlight out of nowhere with practiced ease

“T-That was probably me, sorry. I know how to fix the wiring, so you can just stay here, Shinsou-kun…”

“It’s no problem,” he replied casually. It was nothing more than an inconvenience, really.

Then there was the first dinner that featured the crash of a plate breaking on the ground. Midoriya winced while pulling out a dustpan and brush to sweep it up. After failing to recognize the set, Hitoshi realized that it was Midoriya’s pan and brush instead of the Harukas’.

“Ah! I-I’m so sorry! I try to use plastic plates instead occasionally, because of that…”

Haruka Nori frowned at the broken shards, giving Midoriya an apprehensive glance. Hitoshi could tell she was displeased, but she didn’t mention it. “It’s fine, just– be more careful next time, Midoriya-kun.”

Then Natsume did poorly on her homework, and honestly there was no way that was Midoriya’s fault, but she yelled at him for it anyway.

“I-I’m sorry, but I really make sure to avoid you guys when you’re doing school stuff, so that wasn’t me– ”

“Bullshit! I’ve never done this bad on an assignment in my life! !t has to be you!”

“It– It really wasn’t…”

Hitoshi put himself between the two of them before the girl could go on any further. “Lay off him, Natsume! It’s not his fault you suck at algebra!”

“Don’t talk to me like that, creep– ” Natsume cut herself off and stared aimlessly in Hitoshi’s direction when Brainwash kicked in.

He forcefully pointed towards the hallway that connected the living room to the bedrooms. “Go back to your and Aki’s room.”

Natsume did an about-face and followed his instructions.

“Woah…” Hitoshi turned his head back to see Midoriya looking up at him with shining eyes and a grin. “Your quirk is so great, Shinsou-kun! It’d be super useful for a hero to have– you would be able to resolve conflicts without any physical confrontation! In a time where collateral damage is such a major cause of concern for the industry, that’s a huge advantage– ”

“What did you say…” Hitoshi could hardly hear the rest of Midoriya’s rambling, he was too focused on how he must’ve heard that wrong–

“Uh… You mean what I said about the hero industry? Resolving conflicts? How your quirk is great and suited to hero work– ”

“That– ” Hitoshi cut Midoriya off without even knowing what he wanted to say. All he could do was avert his eyes from Midoriya’s. “No one else thinks that way about it…”

“Oh… I understand that.”

A hand reached forward to gently hold Hitoshi’s. “But really, your quirk does have great potential for good, Shinsou-kun. It’s not a hindrance like mine is…”

When Hitoshi turned his eyes back to Midoriya, he was still smiling, but it wasn’t like it was just a moment ago. It was a smile that didn’t match the dulled, empty look in his once bright green eyes.

It was the smile he wore when Natsume yelled at him, or when he dropped his plate, or when the lights went out. It was the same smile he wore on his face every day, even that first day when he first joined the house. The only time he had seen the smile that Midoriya had been wearing previously was when they had that first conversation about Hitoshi’s quirk.

Oh… It’s not that he’s actually happy, it’s that he’s lying. Hitoshi was only able to notice after seeing what Midoriya looked like when his smile was honest.

Things continued like that with minor bad luck for a few weeks. Then one morning, Midoriya looked into their bathroom mirror.

The mirror completely shattered for no reason.

Midoriya’s smile changed as he looked into his distorted image. It looked so strained, that a person with a knife stuck in their gut might have given a better effort.

Haruka Naru came running at the sound of the mirror breaking. “What was– Midoriya!” After seeing no obvious injuries and assessing what happened, the man glared at the still frozen Midoriya. “Do you know how much those mirrors cost?! Even if you can’t help the other stuff, at least try not to do this much damage to our house– ”

Haruka halted his rant when Hitoshi roughly lugged the man out of the bathroom by his arm. When he looked at Hitoshi in surprise, Hitoshi quietly hissed at him, “Does it look like he’s in the right state of mind to be getting screamed at right now?”

The man glanced back to Midoriya, who was still just staring into the mirror without any sign of noticing that someone had been shouting at him, and winced. “I… I suppose not.”

“I’ll take care of him, so just leave.”

“ …Okay, Shinsou-kun. You’re the one that knows him best.”

Hitoshi hadn’t thought about it like that, he just wanted to get the man out of the way before he could upset Midoriya any further. He hadn’t the faintest idea on what to actually do to help him now.

When Haruka left, Hitoshi hung in the doorway of the bathroom and called out to Midoriya. When the other didn’t acknowledge him, Hitoshi crept into the room to stand beside him and carefully tapped his arm. Midoriya jolted in place and whipped his head to the side to stare at Hitoshi. He dropped his smile and started nervously stuttering, “I– I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to break it, I know it’s expensive– ”

“It’s fine, Midoriya. I’m more worried about how you were acting weirdly just now.”

“That’s– It’s just that…” Midoriya trailed off as he glanced back at the broken mirror. “Breaking mirrors causing bad luck… when it comes to my quirk, it’s more than just a superstition. It’s a bad omen. The last time it happened was when– it was the day that Mom…”

Hitoshi caught on. Sympathy welled inside him as he involuntarily winced.

He gently wrapped his hand around Midoriya’s wrist before Midoriya forced himself to say more. “It’s okay. You don’t need to explain the rest.”

Midoriya stared at him with a still strained expression, before leaving to head back to their room. Hitoshi followed and got there just in time to see Midoriya rummage through a large black box that had been hidden under his bed, and pull out an artificial-looking, fuzzy, light purple ornament of some sort that was attached to the chain of a necklace.

He presented it to Hitoshi with a fake smile. “Can you wear this for the day, Shinsou-kun?”

Hitoshi accepted the strange necklace, turning it over in his hand as he figured out what it was. “ …Is this a lucky rabbit’s foot?”

“Yes! They actually do work. Or at least, they help mitigate the misfortune from my quirk a bit.”

“The last time it happened was when– it was the day that Mom…”

His chest constricted at what hadn’t been said. He grabbed onto Midoriya’s upper arms as though to shake sense into him. “Midoriya, you didn’t– I don’t need this! Nothing’s gonna happen to me! Your quirk won’t– ”

“You don’t know what’s going to happen so don’t say that!” Midoriya immediately shut him down with a scream.

It was the first time Hitoshi had ever heard him raise his voice or express anger. He looked like he was about to cry.

But soon, Midoriya visibly collected himself once again, and Hitoshi couldn’t look away from his dull, dull eyes and fake smile. “There’s no way to know, that’s just how it is with things like luck and chance. So… just in case, can you wear that for me, please?”

Scowling, Hitoshi relented after a long moment of silence, pulling the chain up and around his neck to tuck the rabbit foot charm under his school shirt. “Fine. But only for your peace of mind, not because I need it.”

Midoriya’s wilted expression livened up a bit at that. “Thanks, Shinsou-kun! I just don’t want to take the risk.”

But then, as Midoriya turned away from Hitoshi to walk out of their room and head towards his middle school, Hitoshi heard him mutter under his breath, “Still, it’s fitting that that happened today of all days, since I already decided that it was going to be a bad day for me…”

Those words rang through Hitoshi’s mind the entire day.

–What the hell does that mean? Why is he planning on something bad happening?–

They gave him such an awful feeling, it put him on edge thinking that tragedy was just around the corner.

As soon as the last bell rang, Hitoshi rushed out his classroom and out of the school. But instead of heading towards the Haruka house, he pulled out his phone to look up directions for Midoriya’s school and headed straight there. He was so on edge that he felt like he just had to see Midoriya for himself as soon as possible. Waiting at the house wouldn’t cut it.

By the time he got to Orudera Middle School, it seemed like everyone had left already. There were no straggling kids or teachers leaving from the front doors that Hitoshi could see as he went passed the front gate.

Then as he got closer, he was able to see a figure on the roof top. It leaned over the edge with one leg already passed the safety barrier.

It was impossible to see any features, but Hitoshi could see the color green on them.

As soon as he realized what he was witnessing, Hitoshi felt shock cut like a knife through his gut. That was Midoriya, Midoriya was going to jump, he’d never make it up there in time–

With a gasping breath, Hitoshi cupped his hands around his mouth, turned his quirk on, and screamed at the top of his lungs.

“MIDORIYA!”

He’s not going to answer. They always hesitate, they’re always aware of what his quirk can do, he won’t–

Hitoshi was too far away to hear any response, but his quirk clicked into place with the feeling of a successful brainwashing.

The relief that Hitoshi felt was so immense his legs almost gave out. Now that the do-or-die moment had passed, he could feel himself trembling and heaving from shock.

But it wasn’t over yet, Midoriya was waiting for him.

Making sure to keep his quirk in place, Hitoshi sprinted into the building and up flights of stairs that he didn’t bother to count. By the time he reached the roof, he was heaving from exhaustion more than he was shock, but that didn’t matter. The sight of Midoriya still in the same position halfway over the roof barrier pushed him to continue his sprint onto the rooftop.

“Get away from the ledge right now! Stand in the middle of the roof!”

Midoriya moved to comply. Lifting his leg back over and walking with steady steps to the center of the roof where Hitoshi met him. It was only after Hitoshi grabbed onto both of Midoriya’s wrists –he didn’t know if the boy would try to make a run for it over the edge with Hitoshi right there, but he sure as fuck wasn’t risking it– that he released Brainwashing’s hold over him.

Midoriya flinched back in surprise once he was in control of himself. After a few seconds spent staring with his mouth agape at Hitoshi, glancing back at where he had been about to hop off the roof then glancing back at Hitoshi, Midoriya’s face screwed up into a somber grimace and he kept his eyes averted.

“How did you know…?”

“I didn’t. What you said just gave me a bad feeling.” Hitoshi glanced down at where the necklace Midoriya had given him was still hidden under his shirt. "I guess that thing really is lucky; I got here just in time.”

“Or I’m still just unlucky,” Midoriya deadpanned, grimace twisting up into a sardonic, unhappy smile.

Hitoshi’s frown deepened. “Midoriya… I don’t even know what to ask. Just– Why?”

Midoriya still wouldn’t look at Hitoshi, dead green eyes and empty grin focused squarely on the bleak ground beneath them, even as he eventually answered, “ …The day that my mom died, one of my classmates, Katsuki, said that if I wanted a good quirk, I should “take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a better one in the next life”.”

Outrage couldn’t even describe the mix of fury and disgust that erupted in Hitoshi upon hearing that, but Midoriya didn’t give him a moment to think through it before continuing, “I had no intention of killing myself when he actually said it, but after I got to the hospital and they told me what happened to her… That it was an accident, and that she needed luck she didn’t have to survive– ” Midoriya broke down even further, unable to keep even a smile of sarcasm as his face visibly fell into despair. Tears began pricking at the corner of his eyes. “I knew it was my fault, my quirk’s fault!”

“It wasn’t your fault!” Hitoshi immediate replied, “You weren’t with her, right?! Does your quirk even let you affect things when you’re not there?!”

“It doesn’t, but she’s lived with me her my whole life– I must’ve surely cursed her!”

“That doesn’t make any sense! You’re just assuming the worst because that’s what people have told you!”

Midoriya finally glanced up from the ground, only to give Hitoshi a watery glare. “You think it was just a coincidence that a horrible accident happened to the mother of a child who literally brings misfortune everywhere he goes?! That she just happened to be at that specific intersection, where that specific drunk driver was going through?!”

“That’s how it’s like for every other person whose parent died like that. I heard Aki’s parents died in a car accident also, do you think that’s not a coincidence? That someone cursed them?”

The sudden revelation threw off Midoriya. After processing what he was told, Midoriya’s anger died down to be replaced with sympathy. “N-No, of course not. But, in this case my quirk– ”

“Is completely irrelevant! You weren’t there, so your quirk couldn’t have affected anything. End of story! Shit like that just happens!”

“But that’s the thing– my entire life is just shit like that happening! Because of my quirk!”

Midoriya’s voice broke, and the dam holding back his tears broke with it. The wrist Hitoshi was still holding trembled violently.

Midoriya’s next sentences came out more like sobs, “It’s just one bad thing after the next! It gets in my and everyone else’s way! No one wants to sit next to me during tests, no one wants me on their team during contests or competitions– everyone knows I’ll just sabotage them if they interact with me! Even Katsuki didn’t want anything to do with me after he got hurt in an accident caused by my quirk! And the only person that wanted to be with me –the only person that loved me– died in an accident that was probably caused by my quirk! I don’t think I’ll be reborn and get a different quirk if I jump, I just can’t handle it anymore! It’s too hard!”

Watching the sobbing and grieving boy in front of him break into pieces, just like the mirror from that morning, Hitoshi’s heart echoed Midoriya’s pain.

He wasn’t a touchy-feely person, but pulling Midoriya closer into a firm hug came naturally. Face pressed into Hitoshi’s shoulder, Midoriya shook in his arms

Hitoshi couldn’t stand seeing him like this, he needed to do something to help. But how do you give back someone’s will to live? That kind of thing just can’t be given…

“I’m sorry for everything, Midoriya…” Hitoshi tried to find something, anything, that Midoriya could latch onto. “Isn’t there anything you want to do with your life though? Any dream you have? And don’t discount stuff people say you can’t do.”

A cracking hiccup answered him, “ …I– I wanted to be a hero, if I just use Jinx on villains instead of myself then it’d be fine. But I– I can’t even save myself! I can’t be a hero and save other people! And even more than that– It’s just not enough anymore…” Midoriya’s fingers grasped hard at Hitoshi’s back. “Being a hero was everything I ever wanted, but that’s not enough. A fleeting hope isn’t worth this; it can’t fill the loneliness or the hole where Mom used to be. I can’t use that as a reason to want to stay…”

He can’t find his own reason, fine. Hitoshi will have to give him one for now, so that he can be sure Midoriya won’t try to off himself as soon as he looks away. Midoriya finding his own reason can come after that.

But what is there for Hitoshi to give him? He doesn’t have anything to give in the first place.

…Other than himself

It’s probably not a healthy solution, but it’s the only thing Hitoshi had to offer at the moment.

“ …I always wanted to be a hero too. That’s why I’m applying to UA, even though a person with a quirk like mine becoming a hero is such a long shot. It’s gonna be a hard road for me– outnumbered by hero-in-training kids with flashy, good quirks, having to prove myself twice as much as them… You said before that you think my quirk would be a good quirk for a hero, do you think that I could be a good hero? Do you want me to be a hero?”

Those questions, seemingly unrelated to Midoriya’s mental state, helped to calm him down. Midoriya only had a slight sniffle when he answered, “Of course! I think you would be a great hero, so I would want you to be a hero if that’s also what you wanted.”

Hitoshi pulled away slightly, so that Midoriya was forced to look up at his hard stare. “Then if you really don’t have anything else to do with your life other than give up on it, if you don’t have a good enough reason to stay– why don’t you just dedicate it to me instead?”

Midoriya furrowed his brows in confusion. “H-Huh? What do you mean?”

“I mean that, with all the problems I’m going to have to deal with trying to be a hero, I’d be nice to have someone by my side to help me out. You can be a hero, so even if you can’t believe in your own dream anymore… This wouldn’t be just about that, you’d be helping me reach my dream if we both helped each other out trying to become heroes together. And if we’re together facing similar prejudice, then you won’t be alone anymore either. Let me be your reason.”

In the end it didn’t matter what exactly Midoriya stuck around for. As long he was alive, he could eventually live for himself as he should. But Hitoshi almost couldn’t believe what he was saying.

He’s never been confident about his chances for becoming a hero, he hasn’t been worth much to anyone since his dad died, and yet here he is claiming that helping him become a hero is worth something. That even if Midoriya didn’t value his own life, Hitoshi’s was something he should value enough to live for– How much more conceited could you get?

He’s never asked this much from anyone before, he’s never been so bold before, and yet here he is. All because he didn’t have anything better to give Midoriya.

“You…” Midoriya’s still watery eyes started to shine. “You would really promise so much to me? Commit to staying with me, when you could just hand me off to be put on suicide watch instead?”

Hitoshi gained a slight but dark scowl. “I don’t trust any of the authority figures we usually have to deal with to actually inspire you to want to live, rather than just physically keeping you from dying. Society doesn’t deal well with people who have the kind of quirks we do. I don’t know how much of a better job I can do, but surely I’d do better than that.”

“But– you really don’t need to do any of this at all! You barely know me, so why would you go so far for me?!”

“I think whether or not you know a person is irrelevant when you’re trying to save someone. And I… I don’t like that you want to die. You understand me and actually talk to me, I’d miss you if you were gone,” it was embarrassing to speak so honestly, but it needed to be said.

Midoriya needed to know that there was at least one person who’d mourn for him. That wanted him to stay.

Midoriya stared at him with something close to bewilderment. Then after a long, nervous moment of silence, he smeared away his tear streaks and gave a wobbly, “ …Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay as in, I’ll– I won’t try again. And I’ll help you become a hero,” the last sentence was declared with pride. Midoriya stood up a little straighter, earnest determination filling him. “If it’s for someone else’s sake, then– then I think I can do it, Shinsou-kun!”

Hitoshi sighed in relief, “That’s good… Also, you can call me Hitoshi.” If an extremely personal situation like this isn’t enough to elevate someone to a first-name status, then nothing is.

“Then you can call me I-Izuku!” Midoriya– Izuku glanced away before looking back awkwardly. “ …Does this mean we’re friends now?”

“ …I was under the assumption that we were already friends.”

“ …Oh my god– I’m so sorry! I think of us as being friends too, I– I just didn’t want to assume– ”  

“Calm down, it’s fine. I get what you mean. Not a lot of people want to be my friend either.”

“Then they’re missing out on a lot…”

Izuku almost seemed to pout at that, turning his nose up at the theoretical people in question. The corner of Hitoshi’s mouth quirked up at the warm feeling those words gave him. “They’re missing out on a lot with you, too…”

Despite the dour circumstances, by all appearances it was just another day. The sun was shining. The birds in the distant trees were singing. The leaves of the treetops that could be seen from their spot on the bland roof were so green, it would make some people stop just to appreciate them longer.

–Maybe the reason why Hitoshi had been able to get here in time was because Izuku had done just that–

In any case, the brightness of their surroundings didn’t match their moods. Izuku may have been stopped, and may have agreed to not try again, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t feel suicidal. It didn’t mean he felt any better or didn’t blame himself for things that weren’t his fault. It didn’t mean that any of this was over. On the contrary, it was really just the beginning.

But even though Izuku wasn’t smiling anymore, the more natural, neutral expression he now had made his face seem brighter than it had been before.

Chapter Text

Things were awkward and tense after Izuku’s failed attempt. He begged Hitoshi not to tell the Haruka family about it, so all they could do once they got back to the house was pretend like it didn’t happen. 

Izuku went back to his default smile, which Hitoshi seemed displeased with. The two of them were painfully silent at dinner, and Hitoshi almost started a fight when Natsume tried to approach Izuku about something. They only began talking to one another again after reaching the relative privacy of their room.

Hitoshi looked like he wanted to say something, so Izuku waited patiently for him to figure out how he wanted to start.

“You remember how I told you about all the details of my quirk when you first got here?”

“Of course, I kept notes of everything.” 

That had been an exciting day. Izuku had been fascinated about the mechanics behind Brainwashing. Hitoshi explained how his quirk required the target to give a verbal response –which Izuku had done on the roof, when he exclaimed Hitoshi’s name in shock upon hearing him. He also needed to concentrate on a person when brainwashing them, so while he could brainwash multiple people he could only do so one at a time. The brainwashing went away either when he willed it away or when a physical jolt of some sort took them out of it. Izuku thought it was a very effective quirk as long as Hitoshi had the element of surprise.

Hitoshi glanced away in almost a nervous manner, before he steeled himself up and gave Izuku a serious stare. “Well… I was thinking that maybe I should learn more about your quirk too.”

He tensed at Hitoshi’s suggestion. The only people that had ever really tried to learn about Jinx had been his mother and the quirk counselor that had been assigned to him when his quirk first appeared. 

“I never brought it up because it seemed like a sore topic, but having a second opinion might help you with using it.” Hitoshi scowled a bit as he moved on to complain, “I know “problem” quirks like ours usually have to be evaluated by a quirk counselor to advise us on how to use it in the future, but my counselor only really said to just never use it in the first place. That’s not going to cut it for us.”

Apprehensive, Izuku tried to keep a smile on his face as he slowly questioned, “Do… Do I really need to use my quirk?”

“You said yourself that you can use it on villains, so I don’t see why you shouldn’t use it.”

“It’s just that sometimes the effects can be– random, I guess you’d say. If I don’t have an effect in mind when using it, it just does what it wants.” Izuku looked down at his shirt while fiddling with its hem, and began his nervous muttering, “My quirk produces a constant amount of energy which takes the form of “bad luck”, so I can’t stop producing it. I can withhold expelling it, but it builds up over time. This is a disadvantage if I don’t want it to cause luck that’s too bad.”

“About that, what exactly does it mean to have “bad luck” from your quirk? Like, luck isn’t supposed to be a physical thing, but you’re describing it as energy.”

It had been a while since Izuku got to think about his quirk in a technical way. Mom had already known everything, so his musings were mostly confined to notebooks. It made him a bit more willing to speak about it. 

“Jinx produces energy that increases the probability of a “bad” event occurring, with what’s considered “bad” being defined by the target if the target has sentience. For example…” Izuku searched his mind before raising a single finger. “Scenario 1: If I were to just mindlessly direct the energy towards a villain running away, any number of small misfortunes that already had the possibility of happening might occur; such as the villain tripping and thus slowing down, the villain dropping what they’re trying to steal, etc.”

Izuku raised a second finger. “Scenario 2: If I directed energy towards the same villain, but specifically wanted them to trip, then they would trip instead of any of the other possibilities happening. However, this won’t work if the event I’m trying to make happen would be considered a “good” thing by the villain, like if I was trying to trip a hero going after the villain without switching targets to said hero, or if the event is too unlikely for the amount of energy I’m using. If I’m using a small amount of energy, Jinx wouldn’t be able to affect things enough to pull off something like the police arriving a full thirty minutes earlier than they would have.”

“The tricky part when it comes to regulating my quirk’s output is that it will automatically take the energy it needs for what I have in mind, so I could end up using a ton of energy at once by accident.” He finished off while scratching at his cheek.

Hitoshi glanced away in thought for a moment, before focusing back on Izuku to state for clarification, “But you would be able to get around those things if you used your quirk on the hero instead, or if you had more energy avalible.”

“Yes to both. But the police arriving early is an event that would actually require a lot of things to happen; stuff like the traffic towards the incident lightening up by a lot, the traffic lights not turning red on them a lot so they don’t have to slow down to force their way through an intersection, maybe even a hero that can assist them in going faster showing up. Therefore, it’s an event that would require a lot of energy to make happen. I can build up more energy by not using my quirk, but if it's simply impossible no matter what happens for the police to make it that early then it can’t happen either way. Additionally, the energy seems to have its own destructive properties, so events where objects break or malfunction have lower energy requirements.”

“Huh… your quirk actually has a scientific basis then, it’s not as supernatural as it sounds.”

The corner of Izuku’s mouth quirked up into half a real smile, and waved his hand in a so-so manner. “It has a logical foundation if you know how it works, but it’s not completely scientific I’d say. There should be no reason for things involved with superstition to affect it if that were the case, but those things do have an effect.”

“Right, how does that work then?” Hitoshi asked while fiddling with the rabbit’s foot charm, he had yet to take it off.

“Basically things that are thought to be lucky make it harder for a bad event to occur, so more energy would be required for the same event if my target had a luck inducing item. If I wear the lucky item then my quirk produces less energy than normal. Things that are thought to be unlucky will amplify the bad luck, so if I’m wearing something like that my quirk will produce more energy, or if my target is wearing it then less energy would be required for the same event to occur. Also, these objects usually carry their own residual “bad luck” that I can sense, but I can’t sense any opposing energy that can be called “good luck”.”

“This applies to actions that are thought to cause good or bad luck as well, such as… breaking a mirror,” Izuku stumbled over that particular omen. The half-smile on his face dropped. “They have an accumulative effect too, so the more unlucky items I have or actions I’m performing, the more energy I accumulate.”

“You have a very thorough understanding for someone who dislikes their quirk…”

“Well… I’ve had to work around it my whole life, so I just picked up all of this and took note of it.”

Fidgeting in embarrassment, Izuku unconsciously glanced at his bed away from Hitoshi and admitted, “I– I also find the superstitious aspect to be sort of fascinating, so I studied it and experimented with it a bit. I guess you could say I’m a bit of an enthusiast for both the blessed and the cursed.”

After his quirk developed when he was younger, he had a blast learning “cursed” things. When he had first read up on pagan and satanic symbols, his Mom –bless her soul– had taken one look at his bright eyes when he mumbled through a five-year-old’s explanation of the significance of a pentagram, and bought him his first pentagram medallion the next day despite it boosting his quirk. She had told him that misfortune was a small price to pay for his happiness.

–And look at where that got her–

He knew they were supposed to be “bad” and “strange”, but he felt a certain attraction to it. He was just the kind of person that when looking at a skull and crossbones picture, instead of making the mental socially taught connection to “Danger!” he would first think ”Wow, that’s neat!”.

It had been disconcerting to realize that most people didn’t feel the same way he did about “cursed” things, that occult was supposed to only be for the fringe of society. Some would either chose to followed the order of society and ignore it, or rebel against the institution and embrace it. Alternatively, his interest in blessed religious objects was usually received positively.

But he supposed by its very nature, that was just what it was meant to be. If superstitions were universally believed, then they wouldn’t be “superstition” anymore– they’d be declared either “science” or “religion”. Like how Wicca is supposed to be a religion, but it’s considered as more of an occult interest because it isn’t widely accepted.

However, that was a debate best left to inconsequential internet forums…

To Izuku’s delight, Hitoshi affirmed his feelings by responding, “I guess that makes sense, yeah. There’s a lot of stuff that would go into it since that’s decided by culture. How does that even work?” Hitoshi furrowed his brows in confusion. “Do superstitions from other places apply…?”

“That’s a great question!” Izuku beamed at his friend’s –Gosh, he has a friend now, that he can talk about his interests to! It’s so surreal– “It seems like superstitions from all over have an effect! It gets particularly confusing when they conflict with each other, like how Japan and various other countries believe black cats are good luck, but for various western countries they’re bad luck.”

“So what are they for your quirk– good or bad luck?”

“I… think it depends on the personality?”

“ ...The personality?”

“Of the cat,” Izuku clarified, “The ones that are nice to me are bad luck, and the ones that avoid me are good luck. So maybe it’s more how they view me is a result of their luck rather than it being personality based. In that case I have no idea how it’s decided.”

 Hitoshi rose his eyebrows in incredulous disbelief. “What the hell? That’s just confusing...”

“I know! I used to search out different black cats to try and see if more were bad luck versus good luck, and it was literally a 50/50 split.” 

Izuku walked up to the small bookshelf on his side of the room and picked out one of the many notebooks he stored there, a medium-sized black one that he used for Jinx related investigation. He flipped through it to point at a page to Hitoshi. “I found 66 cats, and 34 had “bad luck” energy and came up to me to let me pet them, and 32 hissed at me when I got close and ran away. As a control, cats with a tortoise shell coated are always lucky so they always ran away, and normal cats varied but were mostly neutral towards me.”

Hitoshi took the notebook to glance over the page. Then, he started to leaf through the other pages in curiosity. “You’ve got a lot of notes here…” He trailed off once he closed the notebook to look at the cover, and pointed at the red ink marring the black with a raised eyebrow. “Is that a pentagram?”

Izuku flushed a bit at the drawing, and cleared his throat before saying, “Ah, well– pagan symbols are often associated with witchcraft and some are bad luck. In the context of Wicca, pentagrams are more of a neutral force with different interpretations, but because society associates witchcraft with being “bad” this makes it slightly unlucky. An upside-down or “inverted” pentagram as it’s called is considered a satanic symbol, and those are all major bad luck according to my quirk for the same reason. Horseshoes and Christian crosses are like that too, actually; right side up it’s good luck, but if they’re inverted it’s bad luck. For horseshoes it’s said that the “luck” will fall out that way, and an inverted cross is also a satanic symbol.”

“Wait, so if I hold it like this– ” Izuku watched as Hitoshi turned the notebook upside down, causing the amount of energy he could feel coming off it to increase. “ –then it’s even more unlucky?”

“Yes, exactly!”

“ ...That’s kinda weird. But it’s also kinda cool.”

Izuku’s breath caught in his throat at that. No one had ever called his quirk “cool” before…

“Do you have more of this kind of stuff?” Hitoshi glanced down at where Izuku’s black box was hidden under his bed. With great hesitation, Izuku bent down to take it out and reveal its contents.

It was a plain looking box, but the inside was anything but– all sorts of random occult-related or spiritual talismans were inside, from good omens to bad. Among the most prevalent were his dreamcatcher, bags of salt. horseshoes, crosses, omikuji New Year fortunes, omamori protective amulets, western wiccan talismans, satanic charms, and of course, fake rabbit’s feet.

Izuku fidgeted in place slightly. “I– I usually put some of this stuff around my room, to help ward off my own bad luck, but it’s sort of a weird thing to do, so…”

“Izuku…” Hitoshi placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch a little, and gave him a serious look. “I couldn’t care less about how you decorate your side of the room. You could literally put a picture of Satan up and I wouldn’t care. Go for it.”

Once Izuku realized Hitoshi was being genuine, a true smile bloomed on his face.

The two of them worked together to hang up a horseshoe right side up so that it was in a U shape on the wall next to Izuku’s bookcase, along with a large cross and a “great blessing” omikuji. Izuku had to stop for a moment to look at it fondly. The black painted kanji on stark white paper was familiar.

“I can never manage to pick out these fortunes, I barely get the smaller blessings even when I turn my quirk off. This is one Mom gave to me. She’d get them more than just New Years time though, so I think she was just making them herself…”

Catching a glimpse of Hitoshi frowning at him, Izuku realized he wasn’t smiling anymore, and forced a smile back on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring down the mood.”

“Izuku... it’s okay to be sad. Thank you for telling me about your mom.”

Hitoshi placed a hand on his shoulder. But when Izuku looked at him, his gaze was averted.

“I know I haven’t said anything about how I ended up here, but you could probably guess. I only had my dad cause my mom didn’t want anything to do with me, and he left before his time when he got sick. That kind of pain… it’s not something you can ignore.”

“ …Thank you, Hitoshi-kun.”

“It’s okay to be sad”, he had never thought about it like that before.

It was all about staying strong, keeping a smile on and your spirits up even when things get rough. That’s how All Might did it, at least, and Izuku had always wanted to be like All Might.

–But isn’t it pointless to try to emulate All Might when Izuku was the furthest thing from him, outside of outright being a villain?–

Izuku dealt with this internal problem the way he dealt with all his internal problems, by pretending it wasn’t there. 

He had Hitoshi move on to helping him put up a dreamcatcher made with delicate string and artificial light green feathers and beads over his bed, explaining Jinx would sometimes give him bad dreams if he didn’t stop it from releasing energy before he fell asleep. Often he purposefully kept it running though, as bad dreams were a safer outlet for the bad luck than having to let out more in the morning because it built up. He promised that he would make one for Hitoshi, too.

“There’s no need for that. Also, you should probably get used to building it up on purpose now. It will help a lot in hero training if you have more to use, right?”

That made Izuku pause. He glanced at Hitoshi’s earnest purple eyes before looking down at his All Might covers. The fake All Might’s face was in a wide smile as always.

“H-Hitoshi-kun, are… are you really sure I should try to become a hero? Especially by trying to get into UA?”

There was silence, then Hitoshi gently took his hand. Izuku looked up in surprise as Hitoshi lead him to his side of the room, and guided him into sitting down on Hitoshi’s cat-paw covered bed. Hitoshi sat down beside him, and only then released his hand and asked, “Why are you asking that?”

“Well… Not only am I still uneasy about using Jinx, but… UA is a very competitive school, you know!” Izuku empathetically gestured his hand towards his friend. “If I try to get a spot in the heroics program, that just means there’s one less spot for you! I want to help you become a hero, not be a– a hindrance.”

Hitoshi looked up at the ceiling, sighing quietly, before turning his purple eyes back to Izuku. “I think that later in life… you’re going to regret not trying, so I want you to go for your best chance at it while you can. And I’m going to be real with you, Izuku. The chance of me getting into the hero program by passing the entrance exam is probably very low.”

“Huh? Why do you think so? Other than, uh– basic probability.”

“UA keeps quiet about the actual contents of the practical exam, but one thing that’s general knowledge is that it’s combat-based, and that flashy, physical quirks have the greatest advantage. Eraserhead is on their staff, and one of the only things that’s known by the media about him is that he’s against the set-up of the exam because of this. Eraserhead himself wasn’t able to get into the heroics department until later because of that.”

“Oh… I do remember reading about that online, actually. So you don’t think Brainwashing will do you any good for the exam because of that…” Izuku scowled down at his lap. When it came to other people’s misfortune, he never tried faking a smile. He glimpsed at Hitoshi’s face out of the corner of his eye. His friend looked unhappy with what they were talking about, his eyebrows furrowed with frustration.

It made Izuku mutter out loud, “It’s ridiculous though. Your quirk is great at anti-personnel conflict and dealing with villains is a major job for heroes. Just because you aren’t– aren’t blowing stuff up doesn’t mean it’s not an effective hero quirk.”

Hitoshi stared at him for a second, stunned the same way he had been when Izuku had mentioned this previously, before his face relaxed and the corners of his mouth came up in a small smile. The sight of it made Izuku feel a little warmer, happy that he was able to help Hitoshi be happier.

“I… I know that, and you know that, we just have to show them. I’ve already accepted that I’ll have to get into the program after being accepted, though I’ll still apply for it just in case. Leave that part to me.” The knuckles of Hitoshi’s right hand knocked against Izuku’s thigh and he nodded his head to the side towards Izuku. “Where you come in is that I suspect your quirk might have a better chance at the exam.”

“R-Really?! But it’s not…”

“It’s not what people would call a “hero’s quirk”, but it has an actual physical effect on stuff. The only way my quirk helps me is if I’m against a person, you don’t have that limitation.”

Face screwing up, Izuku mumbled, “Yeah, but that’s only because it destroys stuff...”

“And there are plenty of heroes whose quirks destroy stuff! Just look at All Might– ” Hitoshi pointed at Izuku’s own All Might poster. “ –his quirk can literally demolish buildings, and he’s Number One. Regardless of the bad image associated with “bad luck” making it a “villain” quirk, your quirk still has the advantage that destructive quirks are usually favored for combat.”

“ ...I never thought about it like that. But all that means is that I might get into the program while you don’t.”

“But that’s a good thing if I don’t get in,” Hitoshi explained, “That means that you can learn at the pace of the rest of the heroics students and help me catch up with the material I’m missing. Since UA is such a tough program, there’ll probably be at least one student in our year that gets dropped. Just make sure that it’s not you and we’ll be good.” 

“Oh… Oh, I get it now! That’s actually a pretty good idea!” Izuku cupped his chin as he turned the plan over in his mind.

And while he didn’t mention it, Hitoshi’s mention of Izuku not getting dropped made him realize that he could do that on purpose.

If it looks like no one’s getting booted and Hitoshi caught the teachers’ eyes enough to get transferred, Izuku could just bow out and transfer to general education. It was the perfect way to clear a spot for Hitoshi.

Of course, Hitoshi wouldn’t accept that plan, so Izuku couldn’t talk about it with him. But in his eyes it was a definite option. It also would only work if Izuku got accepted through the entrance exam.

Izuku smiled at the boy next to him. “In that case, I’ll definitely try to get in so I can help you, Hitoshi-kun.”

To his confusion, instead of smiling back, Hitoshi frowned at him.

“Listen– clearly, smiling is supposed to be your thing, but when you’re with me I only want you to smile when you actually mean it. I don’t like it when you– you feel like you need to pretend to be happy. Just be honest with me, I can take it.”

“Oh… I– ” Izuku let his smile drop. His expression twisted to match the dissatisfaction he felt for himself. “Okay. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to do that, though. That’s just what I always do…”

“That’s fine. Just do your best to break the habit, that’s all I need.” Hitoshi patted his knee, and his face relaxed into a more neutral expression. Hitoshi seemed pleased to see it.

“So while we’re still sharing, are there any more boxes hidden under your bed full of unusual objects or anything like that?” Hitoshi joked with him, but it just made Izuku’s face flush with embarrassment.

“Uh, actually… It’s not anything like that, but...”

Hitoshi raised his eyebrows. “Oh, come on now. Don’t just leave it at that.”

With stiff movements, Izuku walked over to his good-sized clothing dresser with Hitoshi following in curiosity. He opened a drawer on the right side, it was filled with colorful clothing and T-shirts that were labeled with the names of other shirts.

“I’ve seen you wear those plenty of times, yeah.”

“Yes, well… These are my clothes for when I’m trying hard to put up a strong front, you know? And these– ”

Izuku opened a drawer on the left side. The only discernible feature that could be seen was black. “ –are for when I’m feeling honest with myself.” Which is never nowadays, he didn’t add on.

“…Huh, Well, black’s a good color on a lot of people. But you’re very… compartmentalized about this...” Hitoshi gave Izuku a once over out of the corner of his eye, probably thinking about how Izuku’s coping mechanisms weren’t very good.

–That was already obvious though, or he wouldn’t have had to stop Izuku from jumping off a building–

Hitoshi hummed a bit, then shrugged. “Well, if you wear black when you’re being honest, then wear more black when we hang out.”

Izuku’s head swerved to the side to give Hitoshi a surprised look. “You– you want to hang out with me?!”

“ ...Yeah? I thought we already covered this with the “friend” thing?”

“R-Right. Uh… the last time I hung out with someone was when I was in daycare though. What do people do when they hang out?”

Hitoshi shrugged, but from the way his mouth pinched and his shoulders became hunched Izuku though he might be a little embarrassed. “Fuck if I know. I haven’t hung out with anyone since I got my quirk…”

“ ...The two of us are really well-suited for each other.”

With a chuckle that was more like a snort, Hitoshi smirked and drawled, “That’s certainly one way to put it, yeah. Both of us can be hopeless together now.”

Izuku gave his own chuckle at that, and he found the corner of his mouth curling up into a slight but real smile.

They talked for a while after that about everything and nothing. Until they suddenly remembered that just because Izuku had almost died that day didn’t mean they no longer had homework, then they switched to rushing through their worksheets and books at their designated desks. It was sort of sad, but Izuku appreciated the distraction.

While Izuku had often noticed that the Harukas had a hard time interacting with him and Hitoshi, they didn’t skimp on providing them with everything a child going through school would need, and they didn’t punish Izuku whenever he accidentally broke something with his quirk. When Izuku had first realized he was being put up for fostering, he had assumed that he would end up in a much worse situation. So that combined with being able to meet Hitoshi made this whole experience a pleasant surprise.

But he still wished that he could go back in time to have his mom back.

Going back to school the next day was horrible. He might as well have stitched a smile into his face for how stiff and forced it felt.

He hadn’t been able to look Katsuki in the eye ever since that day when Izuku had first decided to go through with his “suggestion”, and he hadn’t been able to think of him as Kacchan anymore. There was just something about this whole scenario that made Izuku feel more emotionally distant from his old friend that his outright bullying hadn’t been able to achieve previously. Even when Katsuki had hurt him with his quirk before, Izuku hadn’t taken his animosity to heart.

It was only after Katsuki told him to kill himself without even caring what effect his words might have, it was only after realizing that he does want to die and what Katsuki’s words had done to Izuku’s self-worth, that Izuku took it to heart.

While Katsuki probably noticed his increased avoidance, Izuku reminded himself to call him Kacchan every time they spoke –or rather, every time that Katsuki growled at him to complain about what Izuku was doing– so he didn’t think Katsuki realized that something had gone horribly wrong with Izuku’s life. The only people at school who knew about what happened to his mom were the teachers, who had all become more sympathetic with him. His homeroom teacher had even pulled him over in the beginning to say that they would all be more forgiving about missed assignments and such, though Izuku hadn’t taken them up on that so far. 

Deep inside of him, he hated the way that pity seemed to roll off them in waves around him. Whereas Izuku’s classmates had always been disdainful of his quirk, the adults were more likely to react with pity. Before it had been slight enough to ignore, but now it was almost unbearable.

His days seemed to cycle back and forth from being in heaven and hell; where he would have to endure his lonely, suffocating hours at school to reach the end of the day and get to go back to Hitoshi, only to have the start the whole thing all over again the next day. It was better than when it had just been “hell”, but he couldn’t help but question if the “heaven” was really worth it.

He still feels like before, even with Hitoshi there. The thought of “Wouldn’t things be much easier if I just didn’t have to deal with it at all?” crossed his mind whenever he stared out his classroom window too long.

But then a few hours later he’d get to see Hitoshi again, and he would remember how good it felt to be with him. He would remember that he had a reason to try now.

With Hitoshi’s input, Izuku planned a UA preparation regime for the both of them. While their quirks may not be exactly what UA was looking for, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be physically prepared to handle the program. It wasn’t too much, just some basic exercises like running and weight training to build strength and endurance, but hopefully it would keep them from being total embarrassments at least.

So the days passed by with the two of them training both their brains and bodies for the entrance exam, and with Izuku trying his best to focus on his studies at school and block everything else –everyone else– out.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, which turned into whole seasons. And soon, the day of UA’s entrance exam was upon them.

Of course, Hitoshi had them apply to other schools as well, as UA was notoriously hard to get into to. Izuku wasn’t as concerned about planning for his potential future –since he was still getting used to the idea of attempting to have a future in the first place– so he was thankful that Hitoshi was practical enough for both of them on that front.

That being said, UA was still what they had been working for, and Izuku knew that if Hitoshi didn’t get into either heroics or general education then his friend would be very disappointed. He also knew being friends with a walking bad luck charm would also hurt his chances, though Hitoshi always denied it when Izuku brought it up. Izuku was glad that Hitoshi had taken a liking to the rabbit’s foot he gifted him though, as he always wore it around. That made Izuku feel a little less worried about his quirk causing Hitoshi an accident.

However, for a full two week before the exam, Izuku had been storing all of the energy Jinx produced to build it up for the exam day. By the time the exam was upon them, the malevolent, cursed energy seemed to swirl around beneath his skin, unseen but felt in the goosebumps and standing hair on the back of his neck. It made him more of a nervous wreck than usual, and forced the masking smile on his face to become more strained with each day that passed. He was worried about what would happen once he let it out, even though he knew as long as he was careful with how he directed it that things should be alright. He was nervous about unintentionally sabotaging his friend. 

–He was nervous about unintentionally killing his friend–

But he knew that Hitoshi wouldn’t want to hear that, so he didn’t mention it.

As it turned out, there was one thing that he hadn’t even thought to be worried of that in hindsight he really should of been, because it was a thing that actually had a high probability of happening due to Izuku’s luck. And it did happen.

“What the hell are you doing here Deku?! Didn’t I tell you not to bother with trying for UA?!”

A smile was instantly etched into his face, but he kept his eyes demurely on Katsuki’s approaching feet. “A-Ah, Kacchan– ”

“Do you have a problem with us, bastard?” Hitoshi’s voice, deepened further than usual with anger, cut into the conversation with deadly precision. It made Izuku think of an executioner preparing his guillotine’s blade. 

Izuku found the nerve to glance up, and caught sight of the equaling piercing glare Hitoshi was giving Katsuki.

“Who the fuck are you?! Stay out of this– ” Katsuki’s shouting suddenly cutoff as Brainwashing took hold of his mind.

Hitoshi pointed at UA’s shiny, window-covered and weirdly shaped building, where countless examinees were filing into. “Go get ready for the exam and leave us alone.”

Much like Natsume had that one day, Katsuki walked past them and towards the entrance without a word. Izuku noticed that Hitoshi continued to glare at Katsuki as he watched the other walk away.

His friend took a deep breath, gave a long exhale, then asked Izuku without looking away from Katsuki, “Is that the guy you were talking about?”

“W-What?”

“The guy that told you to kill yourself. Katsuki– Kacchan,” he spat the name out like it curdled in his mouth. Izuku flinched back at both his tone and the question.

After a full minute of silence, Hitoshi turned his eyes back to Izuku. Something he found in Izuku’s face made him soften and relent, “I won’t do anything about him if you don’t want me to, I just wanna know.”

Izuku hesitated, then nodded wordlessly. 

Hitoshi’s eyes darkened, and his jaw visibly clenched. “Do you think he’s gonna get in?”

“ …Without a doubt.” 

“Fuck. Well… If he gets to be too much of a problem, I’m dealing with him one way or another,” while Izuku knew Hitoshi didn’t mean it like that, he sounded remarkably like a villain planning murder with that statement.

“I don’t want to ruin his future– ”

Hitoshi cut him off, “In my eyes he ruined his own future. But as long as you’re not in danger I won’t mention anything to the teachers. They may be heroes, but the only one I’d really trust not to just take his side by default is Eraserhead.”

“I– I think UA’s staff are all of a higher caliber, and All Might’s teaching this year too, you know…”

“So you want me to tell them?” At Izuku’s flinch and grimace, Hitoshi sighed, “Yeah, that’s what I thought… You still hadn’t taken that fake smile off your face though, so at least that’s gone now.”

“Oh, really? I… I hadn’t actually noticed…”

“That’s fine. We’ll get there eventually.” Hitoshi patted Izuku on the shoulder, then guided Izuku into walking forward again. When he stumbled a bit into what would’ve turned into one of his usual face-plants, Hitoshi’s hand kept him steady. 

It was only then that he realized that Hitoshi said “we’ll get there”, as in he would be working together with Izuku on it. He had also used “us” when talking to Katsuki, implying that any problem Katsuki had with Izuku would have to include Hitoshi.

Even though they had spent all this time working together and Izuku’s new goal was helping Hitoshi become a hero, it was only now that he fully realized that the two of them were in this together. Concerning both UA and life. Hitoshi had devoted himself to Izuku, just as Izuku had promised to do for him.

Thinking about that gave him such a wonderful feeling…

–It also reinforced Izuku’s desire to get into the hero program, just so that he could give his spot to Hitoshi later–

Hitoshi’s hunch about the practical was proved correct. In the huge auditorium, Present Mic announced they would be fighting “villain” robots for points, a task that was actually perfect for Jinx, no human endangerment required. But Izuku couldn’t feel lucky about it as Brainwashing would be worthless against them, and Hitoshi’s misfortune was Izuku’s misfortune.

Hitoshi still had a soured expression even after Present Mic’s explanation was already over that pained Izuku’s chest. But after a deep breath, he seemed to momentarily let go of his bitterness to give Izuku a reassuring expression. With a pat on Izuku’s shoulder –something that he noticed was becoming a trend– Hitoshi nodded and said, “Give those robots hell for me.”

After a moment of hesitation, Izuku nervously brought his own hand up to squeeze Hitoshi’s. “I’ll– I’ll do my best!”

They were sent to separate miniature cities that would act as their exam area. Anxiety twisted up his insides and the bad luck within them at seeing just how many competitors he would be sharing the field with, even when it was only a seventh of his competition.

To think that among these hundreds, maybe thousands, of kids only 40 would get the honor of UA’s heroics program... Even with his quirk being suited for this task, Izuku couldn’t deny that all his classmates had been right to say you need luck to get in… 

“AND BEGIN! …What’s wrong? The test already started! You don’t get countdowns in real life!” Present Mic shouted through the speakers.

Chaos erupted as the mass of examinees ran into the city all at once. Izuku’s hesitation cost him, the rush of people forcing themselves past him made him stumble and lag behind the crowd. But once he was in things were fairly simple.

Upon encountering his first villain bot, Izuku just snapped his fingers with the wish for it to break. A good chuck of bad luck, but still a small portion compared to well of misfortune inside him, was used up as the tire on the robot popped with a hole. It promptly tripped over its own wheel. It was a small one –probably a one pointer– but was still a big enough size that it fell hard. Its facsimile of a head snapped right off when the neck made contact with the hard concrete.

“What are you gonna do– win fights by making the villains trip over themselves?!”

Well… at least one thing Katsuki said to him was a good idea

He ran through the city like that– snapping his fingers whenever a robot entered his field of vision. Everyone was scurrying around like ants looking for carcasses to scavenge. All Izuku needed was to see a robot and snap his fingers so he should be one of the fastest there in terms of taking out robots, but there were just so many competitors taking their own points left and right that it was difficult to just find a free robot in and of itself, especially since his quirk couldn't help him get around faster. It made him doubt that he'd take out enough within the span of only ten minutes.

He wasn’t specific about how his luck should break them unless there was another person nearby the robot that could get hurt or act as a possible choice for “breaking” the robot. This increased the amount of options that could occur and therefore increased the probability of the event occurring, thus use less energy from his quirk. It also led to some rather random ways of robot destruction.

Most often was a simple short fuse that led to the robot powering down, or the robot tripping and breaking. Then there were robots that exploded, presumably by some internal malfunction that Izuku had no idea of. Some of them faced their death by the debris made my other robots crushing them. 

The ground outright collapsed under one robot –probably his fourth robot, as the bad luck associated with the number of “death” would help boost his bad luck– that Izuku presumed got destroyed upon landing, but couldn’t confirm due to how deep the hole was. How did that even form?

In comparison, his “lucky” seventh snap was much weaker than average. A non-essential part of the robot broke. Ironically the increase in luck was unlucky for him, as the robot was already upon him. He froze up at the thought of how much it will hurt to get hit by it- 

But then the robot started float into the air, only to crash down to Earth unceremoniously. 

"Release!" panted a girl with short brown had, she had been behind the villain bot. She rushed up to him and ask, "Are you alright?"

Izuku stared at her stupidly. "Y-Yeah... Thank you."

"It's no problem, be more careful okay?" 

With that said, she rushed off. He had to force himself to move on to searching for his next target- there was just no time to contemplate how someone had actually paused in the middle of an important exam to help him like that. Though she did benefit from it by destroying the villain bot...

Come to think of it, these robots are probably supposed to be really sturdy. You would expect more situations like snap number seven to happen. Jinx must be causing them to hit their more delicate parts or something…

The most memorable robot death was when he was stuck between two bullet-shooting villain bots, and used his snap to curse both at once. He tripped on a crack at the same time they both shot at him, causing them to fire on each other instead. 

But one thing that had caught Izuku’s attention throughout this– was there was an inexplicable change in weather that contradicted the weather report’s predictions.

Upon his sixth snap –the “devil’s” number, also unlucky– dark clouds moved in overhead, and they seemed to get darker with each snap. Upon his tenth snap, they started to crackle with thunder.

Was… Was that him?!

He had never used so much bad luck at once before admittedly, but to think the effect on his surrounding area would be strong enough to affect the weather of the immediate surrounding area… He hadn’t even finished using it all up yet!

At this point, he had defeated around 12 villain bots, but the whole experience was so disorienting that he couldn’t keep track of how many points each had been worth. The clouds above them boomed with thunder ominously, though thankfully it hadn’t started raining. One more and it’ll be unlucky thirteen, this one will probably have a strong effect…

So of course it was at this point that a hulking giant robot appeared from within the city, the zero pointer Present Mic had dismissed as a “gimmick”. All the examinees in the area fled at the sight of it, and Izuku had turned around to do just the same thing, until he heard a voice call out between the rumbles of thunder.

“Ow…”

Izuku glanced over to see the same girl that had helped him was caught under some rubble. She was right in the path of the robot’s massive tread, closer to the robot than to Izuku. 

Immediately Izuku switched mental gears; running was no longer an option.

She’s too far, he won’t make it to her in time. The robot’s tread looks very stable, and it’s too big to trip safely, it might just hit both the girl and other people running away. Could he force an internal error like those other robots? This isn't a simple light bulb, he has no idea what kinds of fail-safes UA would've put in place to keep them running. Can he still cause it to malfunction if he's that vague about what the effect is supposed to be? What can he do? What can he do?

“What the hell do you think you’re playing at, Deku! You’re cursed! You can’t possibly be a hero or make it into UA! Forget crappy quirks– Your quirk is a hindrance, even less than useless!”

He’s just a curse anyway, so how could it even be possible for him to save a person– 

Above him, Izuku caught sight of a flash of lightning within the clouds, followed by loud thunder. The sight of the bad omen derailed his self-deprecation.

The probability of being struck by lightning is higher for tall, metal objects that can act as a rod, and it is very unfortunate–

Izuku took a deep breath that reached for what was now about a week’s worth energy inside him, held out his right hand, and snapped the whole well away, cursing the zero pointer.

His only thought was lightning–

As though it was an act of the gods, a lightning bolt came down from the dark heavens to electrify the giant villain bot. It lit up like a tree on Christmas.

But Izuku knew this wasn’t due to any gods or fate, it was just bad luck.

Izuku and probably everyone else was forced to look away from its painful brightness. However, the moment was over as fast as lightning usually is. Thunder roared through the area less than a second later as everyone stopped to stare at the now charred robot. Izuku waited with bated breath to see if it would continue moving. 

It didn’t. 

“ ...What– WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” Present Mic exclaimed into the speakers, maybe accidentally, before a buzzer sounded. “Uh, oh– Time’s up kiddos! Test’s over! Ignore the bizarre weather and proceed off the field, unless you’re hurt enough that you need to stay put! Our very own Recovery Girl will be out to treat you momentarily!”

Izuku ran over to the girl, who was still staring at the robot behind her in shock. “Are you okay? Y-You didn’t feel any of the lightning, right?”

After pushing the rock off her leg, Izuku helped pull the girl up. She stared at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. “Thanks, but was– Was that because of you?”

“Y-Yeah. You were too far away and I wanted to make sure you were safe, so…”

“Oh my god! That’s the coolest quirk I’ve ever seen!” Her face split into an excited smile, and she shook Izuku’s hand vigorously. “What quirk do you have, weather manipulation?! I– Oh no…”

Facing turning a bit pale, the girl just barely turned to the side in time to puke on the ground and not Izuku’s shoes. He thought that that was the best proof he could get that he had really used up all of his bad luck with that one shot.

He ended up being ushered out of the city before he could continue talking to the girl, who stayed behind to get her leg healed by Recovery Girl. Right outside UA’s entrance at their designated meeting place, he met back up with Hitoshi. His friend examined him with raised eyebrows.

“Okay, maybe I’m jumping to conclusions because bad weather is a bad omen, but– Was that weather and random lightning on the other field you?! Even the people in the other testing areas could see it!”

“Y-Yeah. The weather just built up on its own, probably because I was letting out too much bad luck in the same region, and for the lightning my target was a giant robot, so… It worked out better than expected.”

Hitoshi stared at him in stunned silence for a moment, before he gave a growing, smiling chuckle. 

“ ...Your quirk really is something else, Izuku. And in a good way, don’t worry about what those assholes like Katsuki think.”  Hitoshi slung an arm around Izuku’s shoulder, and looked down at him with a widening smile.

“Way to out flash the flashy “hero” quirk examinees. Good job! UA would have to be absolute morons to not want to make a hero out of you now, I’ll bet you’re a shoo-in for the heroics department! We should celebrate!”

Izuku blinked in surprise, before a smile bloomed on his own face. “It’s bad luck to celebrate early. And the robot I hit with the lightning wasn’t even worth any points!”

Hitoshi rolled his eyes, but his tone was still light-hearted, “Yeah, yeah. We’ll wait ‘til your letter comes then.”

As Izuku and Hitoshi walked back to their house, Izuku realized he was feeling lighter than he’s felt in a long time.

Chapter Text

“Did the Jinx kid really just summon a frickin’ lightning bolt? That’s sorta extreme for just “bad luck” ain’t it?!” Snipe questioned incredulously to the other teachers. They made various noises of vague agreement, but Toshinori just watched the freckled boy shown on the monitors in contemplation.

He remembered him, of course. The poor child that had been caught up with a villain when he needed to get to the hospital to see his mother. Toshinori hadn’t been sure that he’d make it in time before his quirk failed him– he was lucky that it hadn’t.

Toshinori had been busy this year, with his body becoming a ticking timer he had to find a successor. After some careful thought, he decided to meet the suggestion that his ex-sidekick had sent his way via Nedzu, Togata Mirio. 

The boy had exactly the kind of positive, strong-willed spirit that Toshinori was looking for, and he was also very skilled due to Nighteye’s training. So a little before this very exam, Toshinori had offered One for All to him. Togata had accepted it with a beaming smile. This also came with the side-benefit that he and Nighteye were now on speaking terms once again.

Toshinori teaching at UA now was part of this plan; he wanted to be close at hand while his successor learned throughout his final year to help him integrate One for All with his original quirk, and since he could no longer work more than three hours a day with his full “All Might” form, regular hero work wasn’t as practical an option compared to teaching the next generation.

But even with all this going on, he had wondered on occasion how that boy had been able to handle the villain before he arrived, as well as how his mother was fairing. When Toshinori arrived at his first viewing of the UA heroics practical entrance exam, he hadn’t been expecting that he would get an answer to one of those questions. 

Seeing the blackened, immobile zero pointer left no doubt that the young man’s quirk dealt with the slime villain, though the method it used to do this was up in the air. Toshinori had been watching him throughout the exam as well and noted that it had the capability to deal with the robots in a variety of ways.

“Midoriya Izuku. Quirk: Jinx– it produces energy that increases the probability of unfortunate events occurring,” the Principal reviewed young Midoriya’s profile summary, his intrigued glee vibrating through his voice. “What potential a quirk like this has! Probability manipulation, the possibilities that comes with something like that– but it all depends on what defines an event as “unfortunate”? What is this “energy”? How is it made? What is the range of events that it can affect? Reading his full quirk description is a must– ”

“You’ve really taken an interest in this Midoriya, Principal! It’s rare for you to get this stirred up over someone’s entrance exam performance,” Midnight canted her tone slightly when she reached her innuendo, making Toshinori wince, but her interest in Nedzu’s answer was genuine. Toshinori also wanted to hear it.

Principal Nedzu nodded his head towards Midnight. “My apologies, but quirks like his are some of the most captivating to learn about. They take concepts that we only have an ideological understanding of, such as “luck”, and bring it into the realm of physical definition. Not only that, but he makes for a promising student and hero.”

“Logically he does, yes, but a quirk like his will be looked at poorly by the general public. Like how black cats are sometimes killed by people that think they’re unlucky,” Eraserhead spoke up for the first time since the viewing had started. His voice was a gruff but composed thing, matching how he had been sitting in his seat with horrible posture. However, his eyes had never once lost focus on what was going on during the exam.

“Then that will be a hurdle we have to prepare him for. It’s not like “villainous” heroes can’t be successful, they even made a ranking for heroes that look more like villains! Ectoplasm is on that list, and he’s a wonderful example of a hero.” The Principal nodded his head towards Ectoplasm in recognition, who nodded back. He then steepled his paws as a slightly mischievous chuckle rose out of his small body. “And Midoriya Izuku’s already passed his first hurdle, hasn’t he? I’m certain you’ll watch over him carefully, Eraserhead.”

Toshinori caught the implication that the boy would be assigned to Eraserhead’s class, as he was sure Eraserhead himself did. The man stared at Principal Nedzu with dark eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

From Toshinori’s understanding, students were usually assigned to either class A or class B at random. Higher scoring students tended to lean towards class A assignment, but UA does mix it up so that the top 20 examinees aren’t all in class A. Singling out a student to be given to a particular class was unusual.

Was the Principal just taking into account how guidance for Midoriya’s quirk would be better suited for someone with Eraserhead’s background? Or was there something else he was seeing from this set up that Toshinori was missing?

But either way… it seems like young Midoriya has the kind of caring mindset that All Might looks for in heroes. He looks forward to meeting the boy again. 

With the end of the exam came a carefree time for Izuku. He rode the slight high that came with knowing that his quirk was capable of saving people.

After the exam, Izuku walked through the city with Hitoshi on an outing –both of them having figured out that this was an acceptable “hanging out” activity. And in the middle of explaining his unusual idea of getting ear piercings –in order to wear cross-shaped earrings that would help either mitigate or enhance his luck depending on their orientation– they started browsing through a kick-knack shop. 

Izuku absolutely loved those shops that sold random but charming decorations, as there was almost always something there that doubled as a good or bad luck charm. It was there that Izuku found the perfect talisman to gift Hitoshi.

As soon they got home, Izuku presented bag holding the item that he had clandestinely purchased and hid in his backpack. “Here you go, Hitoshi-kun! I got this for you as a congratulations for your hard work!”

Hitoshi blinked at it, before accepting the bag. 

“You really didn’t have to…” as he took out the item, Hitoshi trailed off. He looked at the cute cartoony beckoning cat figure in his palm. It was just the right size to be held in a single hand.

“You can put that on your side of the room to ward off the bad luck, and it’ll still match your cat-theme,” Izuku explained needlessly.

Hitoshi stared at it for a long while, to the point that Izuku got worried. “Do you… do you not like it? I can get you something that’s not luck-related if you want…”

The other quickly shook his head. “No, no! It’s just…” Placing the cat down, Hitoshi pulled an identical looking bag out of his backpack, and Izuku immediately saw where this was going.

Hitoshi awkwardly presented the bag to Izuku, who took it from him gently. 

“I was going to wait until after you got your letter to give this to you, but now feels like a better time.” Izuku peaked into the bag. 

It was the same exact beckoning cat he had gotten Hitoshi.

He burst out in laughter at the sight, “Haha! Looks like we’ve found the perfect combination of both our interests!”

“Looks like it, yeah,” Hitsohi chuckled back.

A residual smile was still on Izuku’s face as they both placed their cats on their bedside tables. With one side of the room being that of a subtle cat enthusiast’s and the other just looking like a mishmash derived from a paranoid superstitious person. Anyone else would think that the two looked horrible side by side, but Izuku thought it had character.

The short reprieve ended the next day though, since unfortunately life was made up by more than just Hitoshi and cat figurines.

“Deku!”

Izuku froze in place, his already plastered smile straining a bit, but turned around to face Katsuki. For all the trouble he went through to act polite, Katsuki just grabbed him by the collar of his school uniform anyway. “K-Kacchan– ”

“Who the fuck was that dead-eyed asshole that was with you and what did he do to me?!”

“That– That was Shinsou Hitoshi, we met a while ago. He just u-used his quirk to make you go away…”

“You tellin’ me he mind controls people?” Katsuki gained a pensive scowl, before pushing Izuku back out of his hold and scoffing. Stumbling back, Izuku predictably fell right down right on his bottom. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. If he can’t pass the practical then he’s not a threat.”

As he was slowly picking himself up, Izuku had to suppress his own scowl from replacing his smile. “Even if he can’t pass the practical, he could still get into heroics later. The Sports Festival especially is a way students from other departments can get noticed and transferred.”

“And if that happens, he’ll be another extra competing against me just like everyone else! I’ll show him his trick won’t work on me a second time!”

Then, Katsuki gained a suspicious look on his face, as though he had just thought of something.
“How do you know that guy anyway?”

Izuku paused, thinking over his answer carefully. Up until now he had been content to let Katsuki stay ignorant about what happened; it was an emotional mess he would rather not deal with so the less of his peers that knew the better. But now that there was a good opportunity to tell him, Izuku felt somewhat obligated.

Kacchan had liked his mother when they had still been friends… He actually knew her, so Izuku should tell him, right? 

–But would he even care?–

He took too long to answer. Katsuki ended up losing his patience, crossing his arms while growling, “Fine! If you’re going to take this long to answer a simple question then don’t tell me! I don’t even give a shit!”

“A-Ah, sorry, Kacchan– ”

“There’s something more important that I wanted to ask you about anyway. Do you think you passed?” Katsuki narrowed his eyes at Izuku.

His muscles tensed up again. “You… you mean the practical?”

“Yes, I mean the practical! What else would I fucking mean?! A nerd like you will pass the test portion easily!”

“ ...You– You’re actually considering the chance that I passed?”

“All you really had to do for the exam was break shit, and your quirk is strong when it comes to that at least.”

Katsuki answered with ease, as though this whole time he hadn’t been telling Izuku his quirk was less than useless. However, Izuku supposed it made sense. He also had that mentality of knowing that while his quirk could be “strong” it was still a curse, like a “great curse” omikuji. He’d be bad luck for villains, but he’s also bad luck for himself.

Izuku glanced down at his fidgeting hands. “Well… How I did compared to the other testers is anyone’s guess, but I don’t think I did poorly…”

He wasn’t looking at Katsuki, but Izuku could feel the glare on him simmering with anger. He heard Katsuki turn his back abruptly to storm away as he called out, “Don’t think this puts you on equal ground with me! I’ll make sure to show you that I’m the best! Always! Your quirk won’t beat me!”

Izuku watched his old friend’s back disappear as he walked on to leave Izuku behind, just as always. He just stood there for a moment, thinking over what he said. 

This was the first time Katsuki’s ever given any indication that he felt threatened by Izuku’s quirk. 

So much of his behavior makes more sense in hindsight if that’s always been the case. But even knowing this, there’s nothing that Izuku can do to change anything. There were times when he’s had a particularly nasty fall, the kind that made him wonder if he needed to go to the hospital, that he’s felt Jinx is a threat to himself.

Katsuki has also experienced that, so it was no wonder he’d feel the same…

–And with what happened to Mom, maybe they were both right to think that way–

Later that same week, their UA letters finally arrived. Izuku and Hitoshi both sequestered themselves in their room to look at them together, sitting on Izuku’s bed. He had put on some torn pants and a striking black T-shirt that had the Eye of Horus inked out in white on the front. Dressing in the dark colors helped mentally prep himself for being honest about his feelings for whatever came out of his envelope, but in this case it also had an additional benefit. The Eye of Horus was a protective symbol, so it was considered “lucky” by his quirk, and Izuku had wanted some luck in this moment.

The two of them examined the outside of their letters for a second, and immediately noticed a difference.

“Your envelope has something else in it, look at how it’s bulkier than mine.” Without any fanfare, Hitoshi tore open his own envelope to pull out a piece of paper. His eyes only glanced over it for half a minute before he stated, “Got into general education.”

For a second Izuku was confused about whether he should console Hitoshi for not getting into the hero course, before coming to the conclusion that this was still matching Hitoshi’s expectations. And just getting into UA on its own was something to celebrate, anyway. “Good job Hitoshi-kun!”

The corner of Hitoshi’s mouth curved up in a slight smile, and he waved towards Izuku’s envelope. “Thanks, but don’t keep us in suspense. Let’s see what your mystery prize is.”

He took a minute to take a breath, then reached for the top of his letter. He opened it with hands trembling from nerves, causing whatever was inside to fall out and drop onto the floor. Izuku was only just able to see it was some sort of metal device before it turned on.

Izuku’s heart skipped a beat when a projection of All Might himself lit up in front of them.  

He wore a pinstriped yellow suit instead of his iconic hero costume, but his strong face and broad body was unmistakable. The hero’s grin was wide and intense, with his head held high and a thumbs up, he declared, “I am here! –to tell you your results!”

“Oh my god…” Izuku found himself clutching Hitoshi shirt with both hands to pull him close in excitement, his eyes never straying from his hero brought to life. He shook his friend back and forth. “Oh my god! Hitoshi-kun, it’s All Might! I mean, I met him before that one time, but I was preoccupied and it was a rough day, so– ”

“You’ve met All Might before?!”

“Young Midoriya, you passed the written exam with flying colors! Good job! And throughout the course of the practical exam you earned yourself 28 villain points! Unfortunately, this amount on its own isn’t high enough to earn you a spot in our heroics course– ”

Izuku was overcome with a brief sensation of crushing disappointment –thinking that he had not only failed to be accepted into UA’s heroics department like he had used to dream of before despite never believing he could do it, he had also failed Hitoshi, and that was even worse– but it was interrupted when All Might pointed a finger at them to continue, “However! Villain points aren’t the only thing UA takes into account when scoring…”

The screen that had stayed unnoticed behind All Might’s looming figure turned on. Izuku first recognized the scene it played as being of the fake city testing area, indicating this was probably footage of the exam. 

He was proven right when his own image appeared on the screen. The Izuku he was watching snapped, only for the robot to recover and still be mobile. What he hadn’t seen previously that the camera focused on, though, was the brown-haired girl’s face of surprise at the sight of the robot about to attack Izuku. And subsequently, her coming from behind to touch it with her hand, sending it floating into the air. She brought the fingertips of her two hands together to send it crashing to the pavement.

All Might started up again as the scene of the girl asking Izuku if he was alright played out. “Along with taking note of how many villain bots you destroyed, UA also looked at how many of your fellow examinees you helped or saved! In a cut-throat test like this, taking the time to assist one of your competitors without knowing that there’s benefit in doing so acts as a test of character. UA doesn’t just want good fighters, they want good heroes.” 

“Uraraka Ochako here protected you from the villain bot. Though it may have been to her mutual benefit of getting the three pointer, the judges still granted her 10 rescue points for it! And as for you…” All Might pointed at the screen as the scene changed. It now showed the too-bright lightning striking down on the zero pointer. The camera then switched to focus on the girl, Uraraka, who after squinting her eyes away from the light, turned back to look up at the burnt-out towering robot in awe.

“With your successful rescue against such a large threat, without the benefit of points and for the sake of one kind competitor, you received 60 rescue points! This brings your total up to 88 points, the highest score of the exam! Congratulations, young Midoriya, you’re not only admitted into the heroics department, you are also now the student representative of your year!” All Might’s smile gleamed as he stuck out a thumbs-up towards him. “That’s what I call Plus Ultra!” 

...What

“Holy crap,” Hitoshi reacted before Izuku could fully process what was said. He started gently patting Izuku on the cheek, but Izuku just continued to stare blankly into space. “Earth to Izuku, you still with me? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“That’s not– this can’t be right.”

Hitoshi snapped his fingers in Izuku face until he was forced to turn and look at his friend. Now that he had his attention, Hitoshi raised his eyebrows at him. “I’m pretty damn sure that UA wouldn’t be wrong about your test score.”

Izuku protested, “But I’m not– I can’t– I’m not first place material! How is it even possible for me to be the number one examinee?!”

“In this case I’d say you are first place material, since it’s like All Might said– UA is looking for good heroes. And you’d be a good hero, because you look out for people.” Hitoshi stuck his thumb at the now powered off projector. “What kind of hero school wouldn’t value a student that saved someone?”

“But– But even if that’s the case, who ever heard of a hero that’s bad luck?!”

“Who fucking cares!” Hitoshi finally yelled out. He glared down at Izuku in frustration. “You didn’t need luck to get admitted!”

Izuku scowled down at his lap, before looking back up to set the look upon his friend. “But… luck is important for being a hero. There’s more behind that then just superstition or prejudice. It doesn’t matter how good a hero is, all it takes is one unlucky moment and they could be killed or get seriously injured, or even worse, get other people killed instead. Even if my quirk could be used for heroics, it’s not logical to invest in someone with increased risk.”

All of the fight seemed to leak out of Hitoshi in a sigh. His eyebrows screwed together as though Izuku’s words had glued them into a lasting expression of discontentment. 

After leaning back to plop onto Izuku’s covers and stare at the ceiling, Hitoshi muttered, “Even if that’s what some people think… you’re hardly the only person in the world that has unlucky days. And people thinking that your presence will curse them is illogical in itself– it’s not like you don’t know how to properly direct it or withhold it. They’re just scared of what they aren’t comfortable with, and they’ve gotten you to think the same way about yourself.”

Izuku felt his breath catch in his throat when Hitoshi glanced up at him, and he was caught in a purple gaze that was both exhausted and unyielding.

“You deserve this. You getting into UA was all a product of your own effort, strategy, talent, and character. That’s way better than just being lucky or having a “good” quirk.”

“Hitoshi…” Izuku didn’t even know what to say to that.

He couldn’t even name the feeling that was building inside, he could only recognize the crushing pressure in his chest that came from it. He ended up asking questions without processing that he wanted answers, “Why… Why are trying so hard with me? Why do you care so much?”

Hitoshi stared at him for a long moment before admitting, “I don’t know. I think it’s just… I hate that what everyone has told you has made you hate yourself, because I feel like that about myself sometimes too. It pisses me off.”

“W-What? But… But your quirk isn’t bad. Villains have given it a bad image, but you know you aren’t like those people.”

“I know, but it’s easy to forget when everyone else tells you otherwise. Just like how it is with you.”

Izuku had to look away from the intense gaze, and stared down at his carefully still but clenched fists. The tension in his muscles told him that if his automatic response to stress hadn’t been to repress it, his hands would probably be trembling. And the sting in his eyes told him that they wanted to leak tears, but he wouldn’t let them. 

He used to be such a crybaby as a child, but over the years he had repressed that response as well. It’s not that he’s gotten strong enough to not feel the need to cry at what many would consider trivial problems or emotions, but that he’s now skilled enough to not respond physically to that need. While that day on the rooftop with Hitoshi had been the breaking of a dam built up over the course of those years, crying still didn’t come easy. 

Izuku was stuck in that familiar limbo of knowing that he was at the point of tears without being able to experience the cathartic release of them. He’d read somewhere before, a random article on the internet, that crying was a natural function of the body that needed to occur to help it settle itself, and from his experience he could fully believe that. 

–It was no wonder that his mental state had gotten so out-of-turn that he tried to kill himself–

Why is it that people say you shouldn’t cry? That you should aim to be “strong enough” that you won’t cry? Don’t they realize that that will only make things worse? 

What’s the point of seeming strong on the outside, when on the inside you’re a wreck...

“You deserved to get in too, Hitoshi,” Izuku found himself saying, “You’ve already saved a person for real, and you look out for people, and yet you weren’t accepted with me. That’s not right… ”

“ ...They had no way of knowing what I’ve done or who I am outside of my application and what I showed them at the practical, so they made the right call technically. And I’m not like this with most people, Izuku, I’m actually stand-offish usually. I just can’t ignore you, when I personally know some of the pain you’re feeling. It’s a bias.”

“That doesn’t matter, you still saved someone. You saved me. I’m sorry you didn’t get in.”

Before uttering those words, Izuku hadn’t thought about the situation that way.

Hitoshi had stopped him from killing himself, but that was something he wanted –maybe even wants– to do. The thing that he thought he gained from the experience was Hitoshi’s attention, Hitoshi’s care, Hitoshi saying he would miss him if he was gone. Not that Hitoshi saved his life.

But when Izuku removed his own feelings from the situation, when he ignored the pain that he didn’t get to end and thought about it impersonally, like it happened to someone else– he can say without a doubt that Hitoshi saved “that person” he stopped from jumping off a roof. That Hitoshi saved him.

“You saved me… that means something,” Izuku repeated listlessly. His eyes unconsciously wandered down and to the side back to Hitoshi, who was still staring at him.

Slowly, Hitoshi’s eyes fluttered shut, and he sighed, “I know. Of course it means something –you’re still here, after all. That alone makes it mean something. I don’t need anything else to come out of it.”

Izuku didn’t smile at that. But if the sense of fulfillment and elation that he felt from Hitoshi saying that his life was inherently valuable hadn’t been so melancholy, he might’ve.

“I got into UA’s gen ed.”

“Wow! That’s amazing Shinsou-kun, congratulations!” Haruka Nori trilled. She patted Hitoshi’s shoulder with a smile.

Haruka Naru nodded in agreement, a slight smile on his own face. “That’s a tough school to get into– the heroics kids get all the attention, but their normal education is nothing to scoff at. You’re on a great path.”

They didn’t think to console Hitoshi about not getting into heroics instead, because they didn’t know that’s what he was aiming for. Neither Izuku nor Hitoshi had told them they were taking the practical exam; both because it would be less embarrassing if they didn’t get in, and because they wouldn’t have to skirt around the Harukas’ lack of belief they would be accepted.

That also meant the Harukas weren’t prepared when Haruka Nori asked, “What about you, Midoriya-kun?”

“ ...I– ” Izuku glanced away, before looking back and holding out the piece of paper that came along with the mailed projector; his official acceptance letter. Hitoshi noticed that he never let the smile on his face drop, though Hitoshi could tell it was stiff. “I got into the heroics department.”

Haruka Nori opened her mouth to give her congratulations, then paused in the middle of the motion when she processed what Izuku said. Haruka Naru looked away from the mug of water he had been in the middle of bringing up to his mouth to stare at Izuku incomprehensibly.

His wife recovered before he did. She glanced over the letter in confirmation, and almost jumped to exclaim, “R-Really? That’s– That’s amazing, Midoriya-kun!”

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, and Hitoshi thought he was trying to make his grin look sheepish. “Y-Yeah. I couldn’t believe it, especially when they said I would be this year’s class representative too!”

The mug in Haruka Naru’s hand fell from his hand to clatter onto the table and spill water over a good half of the surface, as well as his lap. Hitoshi had to fight hard to keep a smirk off his face when he saw the man just stupidly staring at Izuku with his hand still in the same position as it had been with the mug. His wife didn’t even glance in his direction. 

It was an understandable reaction to have, honestly. UA on its own was hard to get into, and UA’s heroics department was even harder. Most people in Japan would put it on par with winning the lottery. So to not only get in but be the “Number One” of the year? That was beyond winning the lottery. Not to mention unheard of for someone with Izuku’s kind of quirk, they were called “villain quirks” for a reason.

The reaction was understandable, but Hitoshi still got a gleeful, almost sadistic sense of spiteful pride out of it. And it wasn’t even him that accomplished it.

This time, someone else beat Haruka Nori to the chase. 

“What?! For real?!” Both Hitoshi and Izuku glanced over to the living room to see Fuyuki staring at them over the couch with wide eyes. “That’s seriously awesome, Midoriya! Like– Once you’re in the Sports Festival you’re gonna be famous! And you’re gonna be a hero too?!”

Aki was sitting next to him, the top half of her head  just peeking out over the back of the couch. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes were sparkling with awe. Unfortunately, Natsume didn’t show as good of a reaction as those two. She yelled in confusion over at her spot by the hallway entrance where she had been passing through, “Huh?! But why would they even accept someone like– ”

“Dinner! We should have a celebration dinner for both Shinsou and Midoriya! What would you boys like?” Haruka Nori suddenly shouted. She clapped her hands together and smiled at Izuku.

“Izuku can pick,” Hitoshi instantly replied.

“But, Hitoshi-kun– ”

“It’s fine. I don’t care what we have, so you get to pick.”

Izuku glanced down at the ground in thought, before looking back at Haruka Nori. His smile was more strained as he stated, “Katsudon is my favorite.” 

“Katsudon it is, then!” she declared. Only then did she glance at her husband, and winced at the sight of the mess he’d made and his continued lack of reaction. “While I get on that, why don’t you start cleaning up, dear.”

Haruka Naru startled back to life at his wife’s cue. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again to say, “Congratulations!” Then immediately shot out of his seat to go to the kitchen. They all stared at him as he fled.

The remaining Haruka whispered, “Ah… Sorry about him. That was just– very unexpected. He just needs some time to process it.”

“Didn’t think someone with a bad quirk could do something like that, huh?” Hitoshi snarked bitterly. And Haruka winced a second time, but didn’t respond.

Maybe it would’ve been the more socially acceptable option to just let it go, but when he was feeling spiteful, god was he spiteful.

Apparently Haruka Nori didn’t know what to say to that, so she just moved on from the topic, “W-Well… is there anything you’ll be needing for your hero classes, Midoriya-kun? I’m not sure what sort of supplies they might ask of us along with the usual school things.”

“I don’t think we’ll need anything like that, the letter said only the usual list of materials that they have for all departments was needed.” Izuku paused for a moment, then glanced to the side as he continued with, “This… will probably seem like a concerning request, but I had this idea for my hero costume that I submitted to them along with my application. Where– where I describe how earrings can be a useful and unique addition to my costume. But I don’t even have any piercings, so I was wondering… ”

Haruka thought to herself for a few seconds, before giving Izuku a worried smile. “Usually I would say something like that isn’t appropriate for a boy your age, and especially to wear to school, people will think you’re a delinquent! But if UA is okay with it and you need it for your costume… then I don’t see why not.”

Izuku’s face brightened up a bit at her answer. To Hitoshi, his smile still didn’t seem genuine, but at least his now excited green eyes suited it more.

Hitoshi hadn’t taken Izuku to be the kind of guy that would get his ears pierced. Even with his “villain quirk” and superstitions, he still maintained this air of being a studious goody-two shoes that made him deceptively average when he really wasn’t. It made the idea a bit of a surprise when he had first mentioned it.

It made Hitoshi think of the dark shirt and pants that Izuku had worn back in their room –which for some reason he had to change out of to something more average before coming out here with a pasted smile, Hitoshi was spot on when he had described it as Izuku compartmentalizing– and overlay that with the image of Izuku wearing earrings. Just a little more edgy jewelry and accessories, which he could probably just find in that box of his, maybe add some black hair-dye, and he’d turn into a punk. Or maybe a goth? Hitoshi didn’t know anything about those trends.

Izuku had mentioned that designed his hero costume with the mind of embracing superstition, but not much else besides the “cross-shaped earrings” thing. It made Hitoshi suspicious as to what kind of aesthetic he was going to use. He just had to convince Izuku to take a picture of himself with it on. Who knows when he’ll get the chance to see him wear it in person?

Well it wouldn’t be a bad look for him. Actually, he’d be hot with earrings.

…

…Wait

What?

Chapter Text

Izuku and Hitoshi both took the same train commute to UA together for their first day of high school, and all the while Izuku couldn’t help but fiddle with his new silver cross earrings. They weren’t too big, just being long enough that the end of the cross went past his earlobe, but it drew his eyes in whenever he looked into the mirror now. He noticed that Hitoshi also tended to stare at them occasionally before he would avert his eyes upon being caught. He had said they looked good on Izuku, so he was hoping that was true.

The additional luck they gave Izuku was nice, too. They were small so they didn’t give off a lot of “good luck”, but it was doubled up since there were two of them. While it certainly wasn’t enough to fully cut off the amount of energy Jinx produced, it was enough that he could feel the energy beneath his skin being soothed to stay lethargic, helping his anxiety. He was storing up the misfortune currently –he had been for the past few days in preparation to use his quirk during classes– and the holy symbols helped to reduce energy production at least a little, so that it didn’t accumulate quite so fast. Nothing particularly unfortunate had happened to him today as a result.  

–He was hoping it would stay that way, but didn’t really believe that it would–

Eventually the two of them reached UA and had to part ways in the hallway. Izuku stopped by the room with the sign for 1-A, and nodded to Hitoshi as he continued down the hall for 1-C.

Izuku stared at the enlarged door, took a deep breath, and only then fixed his most photogenic smile upon his face. He hadn’t wanted to ruin Hitoshi’s mood on the way to his first day at UA, so he had held off on wearing one all the way until now. He felt rewarded for doing so– he didn’t have to strain himself too hard to keep it up, so it’ll probably last him the whole day just like he wants.

Honestly, he should be feeling happy enough to actually smile today –He had made it, he was at UA, in the hero department– but it still didn’t feel quite real. The absence of his mother was notable. He knew she would’ve been so proud to see him here, and yet she’d never get to…

And in the back of his mind was the constant reminder that this might only be temporary, something to enjoy the experience of while it lasted before giving his place to Hitoshi. He wasn’t actually trying to become a hero. He didn’t believe that he could…

Not only that, but it was confirmed that Katsuki had been accepted when their teacher had called them to the teacher’s lounge to congratulate them both, and there were only two hero classes for every year level at UA. Which means there was a 50/50 chance of Katsuki being in his class. And when it comes to chances that are like coin tosses–

Izuku slid open the door to classroom 1-A. He very carefully did not drop his smile when the first thing he saw and heard was Katsuki arguing with a boy wearing glasses.

–Izuku loses every single time.

Most of the class was already present, but he could hardly even notice the rest when Katsuki stole away all of his attention. As he walked into the room, Katsuki glanced at him, only to scowl and turn away. He had acted like that towards Izuku when he first heard that Izuku had gotten accepted too. Likely, he had already said everything he wanted to on the matter when he had asked Izuku if he thought he got in and therefore considered his challenge to be in place.

Although he really, really wasn’t even trying to be a challenge for Katsuki in the first place…

“Oh, it’s you! The plain-looking boy! I’m so glad you got in!” Izuku had only just glanced over the rest of his classmates when a familiar voice sounded. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Uraraka Ochako approach him from the hallway with a smile more real than the one Izuku was wearing and a wave. When he was looking for it, Izuku could now spot the little circles on the pads of her fingers that must be connected to her quirk.

His smile became a little lighter. “Good to see you again– ”

“You there! What do you think you’re doing with those– those blatant dress-code violations on your ears!”

Izuku attention was forcibly moved back to the glasses wearing boy, who strode up to him as though he had been sent on a mission given to him by God himself. His smile became strained when the boy towered over him to point at one of Izuku’s earrings in offense.

“UA is a highly prestigious academy with no time to deal with the likes of delinquents or rapscallions within its student body! Wearing earrings is a clear sign of rebellion against higher authority in an effort to maintain individualism and control over yourself, and while I won’t comment on any discontent that you may feel for those in charge of us, I must insist that the teachers and rules of UA are to your benefit and should be respected! Please refrain from wearing these while on campus– ”

“T-There’s nothing in the dress-code saying students can’t wear earrings.”

“ –Also, please don’t interrupt people when they’re talking… Pardon?”

“The dress-code doesn’t mention earrings at all.” Having already foreseen someone would assume that, Izuku brought out his copy of the student handbook from his bag and flipped it to the section on UA’s dress-code. He handed it to the boy, who read over it carefully.

“ …Ah, I see. You are correct, there’s nothing to say that earrings violate school policy. My apologies.” The boy closed the book firmly to hand it back to Izuku. But even as he was saying this, he looked at Izuku with doubt. “But even so, earrings are often considered inappropriate in a formal work environment, so I would suggest reconsidering using them as a fashion statement by the time you start your career as a hero. People may see you as being less capable to perform your duties because it.”

“Um… Doesn’t Hawks wear earrings? You can’t really see them when he’s wearing his full hero costume, but everyone knows that they’re there.”

The self-assigned hall-monitor didn’t know how to respond to that.

What was he going to say? That people saw the Number Three hero of the nation as being less reliable because he wore earrings? While he obviously had a more “proper” upbringing that made him strict with both spoken and unspoken rules, Izuku suspected that even he could see that that was a stupid thing to believe.

When the boy’s face began to flush red, Izuku assumed it was from embarrassment now instead of anger.

“Uh– Why don’t we just start over?” Uraraka offered an olive branch, looking at the other boy with a sympathetic smile. “My name’s Uraraka Ochako, what’s yours?”

“Iida Tenya. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The now named Iida gave a deep bow to Izuku. “I ask that you please forgive me for my rudeness. I had actually seen you at the exam, and saw that you divined the true nature of UA’s test. I should’ve realized from the start that this ability to look past the written regulations and see things as they truly are applied to real-life itself! I will work hard to become more flexible in my thinking so that I may do the same!”

What is this guy even talking about?

It was a testament to Izuku’s practice that he was able to keep a grin through all of this. “I-It’s nice to meet you too! My– ”

“If you’re here to socialize then get out.”

The three of them stared at each other, before following the direction the gruff voice had come from down towards the ground behind Uraraka. Lying on the floor of the hallway in a bright yellow sleeping bag was an unkempt, black-haired man.

…Eh?

As he picked himself up and stepped out of the bag to reveal plain black clothing, Izuku mind pinged in realization.

After seeing the man’s merch upon the various shelves and wall space of Hitoshi’s side of the room, Izuku instantly recognized him, even if he wasn’t wearing his yellow shaders. Izuku accidently let his expression morph into one of surprise in his shock.

“You– You’re Eraserhead! My friend is the biggest fan of you– oh, don’t tell him I said that, please! Uh… Umm… I know this is weird to ask, but can I get your autograph for him?” 

Eraserhead gave Izuku a long, unamused, uncomfortable stare that made him fidget in place, before putting him out of his misery.

“No.” He then set his gaze away from Izuku and onto the rest of the class. “I’m your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta. Everyone put on your gym clothes and head out, we’re skipping orientation to test your quirks.”

…He just knew that his good luck wouldn’t keep.

After changing his clothes in the locker room, Izuku found himself being pulled to the side by his new teacher. Immediately, he began muttering his excuses, “I– I’m so sorry about the autograph thing, Aizawa-sensei! I know that it must’ve been incredibly annoying– ”

“I don’t care about that,” Eraserhead shut him down before he could gain anymore verbal momentum. Izuku couldn’t tell what the hero was thinking behind his deadpan stare, and it made him nervous. However, he didn’t let it show on his face.

“These tests that you’re about to perform are all physical fitness tests like the ones you would do in previous schooling, except you’re allowed to use your quirk to boost your results by any means necessary outside of sabotaging other students. I typically use the top performing tester of the practical exam to demonstrate this concept, but in this case you don’t have the typical kind of quirk that top scorers usually have. Do you have a way to use your quirk that would enhance any of your scores, or should I use another one of your classmates for the demonstration?”

Izuku felt his smile become painful to hold –Literally the first day of school and his quirk’s already causing problems– but Aizawa let him have a good few minutes to think his answer through.

When he looked back at him, Izuku had found a possible solution to him failing all his tests, but not a solution to him giving a demonstration.

“I… I’m sorry, but I don’t see any way that my quirk would let me physically perform better in exercises, so it would be best to use someone else. But– excuse me for asking, but what is the method that we’re scored by for the tests? For example, for a sprint would you be using a timer or something…?”

Aizawa gained a certain glint in his eyes, Izuku wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign. “UA has electronical devices that can measure distances, record the time at which students cross the finish line, and etc. Things like that will be used for most of the tests.”

“And if there was, say… an obvious difference in how I actually perform on the test versus what my score is recorded as by the device that was caused by my quirk…” Izuku averted his eyes to look down at his feet in embarrassment. He couldn’t keep his tone from becoming self-conscious, “ …would you still accept that as my official score?”

It was a shameful thing to ask; he was essentially saying that he wanted permission to cheat.

But Eraserhead had framed what they were supposed to do in a very particular way, get a good score “by any means necessary”. Izuku knew that the man himself didn’t have a quirk that would improve his own physical attributes. It was impossible for him to be the type of hero who only values physical quirks without being a hypocrite.

When Izuku put these two together, it didn’t seem like such a large leap of logic that he would accept a method for boosting results that didn’t involve physically improving them.

And Jinx as a quirk wasn’t the kind that really aligned with the concept of fair play. Izuku’s theoretical method for doing better than others would essentially always be to sabotage them with bad luck –that’s probably why his teacher had clarified that that would be the only thing not allowed in the first place. If he wasn’t allowed to “cheat” at these exercises, then he didn’t see himself lasting very long in the heroics course.

Izuku was nervous for a moment, but when a slightly frightening grin stretched across Eraserhead’s previously stoic face, he felt his heart settle.

“I like that kind of thinking, it shows potential. Whatever the scorer records your results as will be your official score, as long as it’s a product of your quirk. And we have extras so it’s okay if you break them, but try not to.”

Eraserhead waved him back towards where the rest of his classmates were gathering with a final word of, “Don’t worry about the demonstration thing, it’s not an inconvenience to me. Actually, having to work around the top examinee having a non-classical hero quirk is a refreshing problem to have in my opinion. There are already too many muscle-heads in this industry.”

Was Aizawa-sensei able to tell that he was worried about that? He thought for sure he hadn’t let that show on his face…

As Izuku rejoined the group to stand next to a welcoming Uraraka, he indiscreetly turned his earrings so that the crosses were inverted, long end pointing up towards his eardrum instead of down away from it. With each one he turned, he felt a small jolt in the energy under his skin. He had already been saving up for a couple of days now, but he might as well try out his new accessories since he had them.

Would this count as cheating? But they’re only earrings, and that one boy has a whole support belt it looks like. Well… if Aizawa-sensei has a problem with them, he can just take them off later…

In the end, Eraserhead had Katsuki do a softball throw as a demonstration. Everyone was awed by the explosive power Katsuki used to throw the ball a full 705.2m, but Izuku was paying more attention to the little hand-held device that showed them the number in lit up digits.

It must have some sort of sensor to be able to track the ball, and it must have the capacity to display large numbers. Izuku didn’t know how high it went, but he was hoping that since it had a more modern look, it didn’t have a limited range. At the very least, the range it already showed was promising for Izuku’s method.

Jinx was good at breaking things, electronics especially, but in this case Izuku just needed it to have glitch. Logically it followed that there was a certain process the device had to accomplish to display an accurate reading. First, the sensor would have to detect either where the ball had landed or its velocity as to calculate it, then it would have to show a series of numbers. Technically speaking, the device didn’t actually “know” how far the ball was, the numbers that it spit out were based on how it had been calibrated to decide what 700 meters was an appropriate response to.

These two aspects of the device’s functioning –sensing the ball and displaying a number based on that– should be almost completely separate from each other. The sensor could be working perfectly, but if the display system had an error, it would still show the wrong number or no number at all regardless.

“ –It would be unfortunate if the device was incorrect, so if I could just curse it with a sort of error that would show a wrong number… ”

“Dude, you okay? You’ve been muttering up a storm there,” the boy with spikey red hair that stood next to him asked in a worried voice. It jolted Izuku out of his thought process.

He turned to the boy to wave him off, his smile becoming embarrassed to match the red on his cheeks. And it was embarrassing, he had gotten so into it that his old habit resurfaced. “I-I’m sorry about that! That just happens when I think too hard sometimes.”

The boy gave him a smile full of sharp teeth that Izuku found it more joyful than intimidating. “Hey– it’s no problem! It’s no wonder you’d be so worried about these tests.” His expression morphed into one of worry as brought his hand up to shield his mouth and whispered, “I can’t believe our teacher’s gonna expel the student that does the worst! It’s only the first day, how brutal can you be?!”

What

“Yeah, that’s really rough…” Izuku responded as though he had any idea about what his classmate was talking about.

What the hell had he missed in the middle of thinking too hard? The last place student’s getting expelled?! What?!

Apparently, it was new enough knowledge that his classmates were still contesting Eraserhead about it.

“It’s only the first day!” Uraraka repeated the red-head’s objection, looking at Eraserhead with her fists clenched as a sign of her earnestness. “I mean, even if it weren’t, that’s totally unfair!”

Eraserhead’s matter-of-fact tone was void of sympathy for their plight, “Natural disasters, highway pileups, rampaging villains… Calamity is always right around the corner. I’d say Japan is full of unfair things.”

“Mom! I’m leaving for school now! And, uh– the mirror broke again. Sorry… ”

“It’s okay sweetie, that’s why we bought so many extras. Have a nice day! I love you dear.”

A bitter pain stabbed his chest. Behind his insincere smile, Izuku felt his teeth clench. He doesn’t need to be told that.

“Heroes are the ones who correct that unfairness,” Eraserhead interrupted his musings, “For the next three years, UA will run you through the wringer. That’s Plus Ultra; use your strength to overcome it.”

Izuku paused at that thought.

Heroes are the ones who correct unfairness… Is that really true?

There’s nothing a hero could’ve done to heal his mother in the hospital, but maybe– just maybe, if there had been one at the scene, they could’ve rescued her from that crash.

At the very least, a hero could’ve saved Izuku from trying to kill himself, but there were none there. Only Hitoshi was there.

There’s nothing a hero could’ve done to prevent Izuku from being born with the quirk he has, but maybe they could change the way society views “villain quirks”?

But everyone told Kacchan growing up that his quirk was amazing, because it was exactly the sort of quirk that suited heroes, the sort of quirk that many of the flashier heroes advertised as being “good”. So is it even possible for a hero to change that thinking, when the majority of the hero industry unintentionally supports it?

That’s not the kind of thing Izuku has the luxury of internally debating at the moment, though.

The first event was the 50-meter dash. Iida’s quirk, which Izuku guessed were the engines in his legs, proved to be suited for it, finishing in little over 3 seconds. The classmate who raced him, a frog girl Eraserhead called Asui Tsuyu, finished in a little under 6 seconds. The cheerful Uraraka’s quirk was less suited for it, but she still tried to utilize it to the best of her ability, making her clothes weightless to shave a few deciseconds off her 7 seconds. Is he friends with Uraraka now? Is he socially allowed to ask that? Wait– not the time to worry about that…

Of course, Izuku was paired with Katsuki for this event, because his luck is never allowed to be favorable.

Izuku thought it’d be a better idea to withhold using his quirk and had to keep himself reacting to Katsuki’s goading smirk as he blasted his way to finish in around 4 seconds. Izuku, on the other hand, finished at an average time of around 7 seconds. He noted that the device for this event, which could possibly be used for other tests, declared this verbally in an artificially cute voice rather than on a display screen.

Thinking back to his previous worry about whether he’d be cheating by boosting Jinx’s energy with his now satanic accessories, Izuku stopped by Eraserhead before moving to the second event. Before he could even get a word out, the hero took one glance at how the orientation of his earrings changed and said, “It’s fine.”

“Uh– But I didn’t– ”

“You were very thorough in your official quirk description, which is helpful for UA. I already noticed you were wearing those earlier and could guess why. There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of how your quirk can benefit from simple changes in clothing or accessories that you normally wear. Consider this a natural result of coming to the first day of the heroics course properly prepared.”

…How does Aizawa-sensei always seem to know what he’s thinking? It’s scary and intimidating.

Izuku felt his smile become somewhat sincere as he thought of telling Hitoshi all of this later. Hitoshi will be pleased to know what Eraserhead is like in person.

The second event, the grip strength test, Izuku would use for the first true test of his quirk.

He examined the display on the grip device carefully. It was set to show three digits above the decimal point and one digit after the decimal point in kilograms. Placing the dynamometer in his right hand, Izuku clenched up to grip as tight as he could. It displayed 48kg.

This was a good set up for him.

Due to the many possible digit combinations, it would take a large amount of energy to glitch the device so that it shows a specific number. However, if I glitch the device so that it momentarily shows a random number instead, theoretically every possible digit combination has an equal chance of appearing, as he thought to himself, being careful to not speak them aloud this time, Izuku raised his left hand, I want a number above 50kg and the device goes all the way up to 999.9kg.

Just based on the distribution of numbers, the chance of getting a number above 50 is very high!

He snapped his left hand, internal mantra in his head shouting don’t break it, don’t break it, don’t break it– 

The screen lit up into nonsense for one heart-stopping second. Then, it settled to display a new series of numbers.

424.2

…Which is an unlucky number –verbally it could be the word “die” repeated twice– but beggars can’t be choosers.

“Woah! You got over 400kg?! That’s close to Shouji’s score, and he’s ripped and using three hands!”

His attention jolted to a group of three classmates beside him. A boy with black hair and very straight teeth was pointing at his dynamometer, presumably having been the one that noticed, while another large boy wearing a mask and featuring six arms was still in the middle of using his own but was still looking at Izuku in interest. Izuku had to keep himself from shying away.

A much shorter boy with strangely shaped hair squinted his eyes at him, commenting, “You don’t look like you have a strength quirk, do you just have a kind that doesn’t give you muscles?”

“I don’t, uh– have a strength quirk at all, or anything like that really…”

They all looked surprised at that. The short boy objected, “It’s gotta be a quirk! Even if you were a master masturbator you wouldn’t be able to get that kind of grip!”

How does he even explain this– Wait.

Master masturbator?! What is this guy even thinking about?! Just… Just… Why?!

Izuku tastefully chose to pretend like he hadn’t heard that last sentence, but the first boy couldn’t restrain himself from switching his attention over to the other to say, in a voice that was obviously trying and failing not to laugh, “R-Really, Mineta? Why would you even bring that up?! Pff– If you actually went at it that hard, you’d end up crushing your– ”

“Shouji Mezou, 540kg. Midoriya Izuku… 424.2kg,” Eraserhead hesitated before stating Izuku’s score. When he and the other boys swerved their heads towards their teacher in unison, Izuku caught the man give him an evaluating glance. He recognized the cursed number just as well as Izuku had. “I dislike small talk during my classes in general, but will tolerate them to some extent for appropriate occasions. Inappropriate remarks are never tolerated. Do you understand this?”

He glared down at Mineta as he said this. The boy paled drastically and gave a jittery nod.

“Good. Because if I ever have to hear the word masturbate spoken in my presence by a teenager ever again and it’s your fault, I will expel you.” Washing his hands of the matter, Eraserhead turned his back to stalk away, ignoring the frightened cries of the child behind him. The other boy that he didn’t catch the name of yet also looked shaken. Seeing that he was done with his test, Izuku quickly put some distance between him and Mineta.

Hearing the rustling of movement behind him, Izuku looked over his shoulder to see that Shouji was also vacating the area. All the other boy said at his look was an exhausted sigh of, “Mineta claimed that octopuses are sexy, earlier.”

Izuku just barely kept his face from twitching. He nodded to Shouji. Nothing more needed to be said than that, really…

The third event was the standing long jump, and it was another test that Izuku could use what he was now mentally referring to as the “Random Number Generator Glitch” strategy. The recording device was able to measure velocities and produce lengths much larger than an average long jump, so the same method as what he used for the grip test should apply. The only difference was that the machine was the same as the one used in the 50-meter dash, so it was made to communicate the results verbally rather than visually.

…But doesn’t that sort of change everything? Is this even going to work right– Oh crap, he’s already up next.

Izuku took a deep breath, then jumped as far as he could. He snapped his fingers a second later as he landed in the dirt.

He immediately had to place his hands over his ears as an unholy screech resonated from the speakers of the device.

In a distortable, almost demonic, electronic tone, it blared out–

“6… 6… 6… centimeters…”

Then the noisy sound of feedback abruptly cut off. The silence that followed as deafening.

After a few seconds of staring at the measuring device, Izuku slowly set his gaze on Eraserhead. He had to contain a wince when he caught sight of a nearby classmate with a bird head, who had been set to go after him, staring at the thing like it was possessed. Eraserhead just stared back at him with an expression that was both deadpan while also perfectly communicating his internal sentiment of “What The Fuck”.

Scratch that. Jinx isn’t making them into random number generators, it’s making them cursed number generators…

Though now he’s wondering if he wouldn’t be able to get 666 if the machine spoke Chinese. That number’s supposed to be lucky in that language due to its pronunciation, right? This is exactly why he can never tell what things his quirk will react to, he can’t learn every superstition in every culture.

With his discontent properly conveyed to Izuku, Eraserhead looked down at his electronic notepad to record the score. His dark eyebags seemed even more prominent during this action than they had been previously. And he sighed, “Next time… try not to make it so obvious, please.”

He moved on to the next event, side stepping, and what do you know– It uses the same fucking machine.

What does UA have against the traditional and highly valued method of displaying results visually? He doesn’t know how the hell he’s supposed to change what his quirk’s doing in a way that will make the thing sound normal, dammit!

Within the span of one minute, Izuku stepped side-to-side for as many times as he could. And right when the minute was up, he snapped his fingers with a vague thought of random number but try not to sound creepy while saying it?

His condition only somewhat succeeded. The machine was able to retain its usual cutesy voice, but it still sounded distorted and disjointed as it hissed out cheerfully, “4… 4… cycles!”

How did it still pronounce it like “shi” when it’s been pronouncing it the normal way with “yon”– you know what? Never mind, he doesn’t want to know… But if you’re going to chant “death, death” at him at least make it a good score! That’s only just above average!

That’s when Izuku realized that this was the fourth test, and he had been trying to hold back the bad luck to make it not break and be even more cursed. The extra energy reflected back on him… He should’ve changed his earrings.

Again, why does this superstition stuff have to be so complicated? He bets no one else has to count the number of exercises that they’ve done. Or never ever try to guess at what the answer of the fourth multiple choice question on his tests are. He never guesses right if he does. And Satan forbid if he tries to guess at the thirteenth question. It’s so inconvenient…

The next event was the softball throw, and it would also be his fourth snap. Making an on the spot decision, Izuku turned his earrings right-side up again to hopefully balance out the extra bad luck that he knew would come from it. It would do him no good if he outright broke the recorder on accident, or the bad luck gave him a bad score.

As he stepped up to the pitching area, Izuku’s anxiety broiled in his gut. Because of the ample space on the field, the majority of the students were simply watching each other go up one by one. Izuku had been –dare he think it, lucky that he’d gone mostly unnoticed this whole time. This was clearly the time when that luck would end, as it always does.

He took a deep breath, clenching the softball in his right hand. Then, he hurled his arm to throw as far as he could. Carefully tracking it in the air, he snapped his fingers just before it hit the ground.

The device for this round was the same handheld device that Eraserhead had used for the demonstration, a small mercy. When the screen presumably settled on a number, he turned it towards Izuku out of courtesy, and repeated the number shown on the display out loud, “1,313 meters.”

It was an excellent score –cursed, certainly, but still excellent– and it also was no way close to the measly fifty-some meters that the softball had actually gone.

“What the fuck?!” predictably, Katsuki was the first one to yell out. Izuku winced through his smile at the sight of him emerging from the crowd of students enraged. “Deku! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! You can’t beat my throw by fucking cheating– are you trying to piss me off?!”

–Why does he have to make everything Izuku does be about him?– 

Izuku shoved down the thought down into the box inside him where he kept all his painful and bitter thoughts.

“I’m not cheating,” Izuku claimed, even though he had had the same thought himself earlier, “I– I’m doing what I can to get the best results for the exercises using my quirk, like I’m supposed to.”

“How exactly is your quirk doing this anyway? It was like that for the grip test too…” the boy that Izuku now knew to be Sero mused, head tilting to the side in confusion.

“Certainly this score does not match the actual throw. Are you using your quirk to influence the measuring device? Is that not a violation of the rules?” Iida spoke up with a raised hand, not as accusingly as he had acted this morning, but still speaking with concern.

The rest of his classmates shared his sentiment, looking confused by the scene. They began to whisper amongst themselves. And Izuku’s body tensed at their stares, body frozen in place.

He knew that this was allowed, he knew it was fine, but the guilt rose in him anyway because he thought the same way as them– That this wasn’t the right way to do things– 

“Why would it be against the rules? That strategy is perfectly within the guidelines Aizawa-sensei told us,” a tall girl with a high ponytail spoke up above the muttering. Izuku’s thoughts paused, not expecting that response.

“Yaoyorozu’s right. As he already stated, he’s doing exactly as he’s supposed to,” Eraserhead’s tone of finality put an end to the gossiping and Izuku’s own inner turmoil. He glanced up at the hero to see him look over the crowd with narrowed eyes.

“Listen up, because I’m only going to say this once. Out of all the examinees in the practical exam this year, there was only one of you that could be named the “top-scoring student”, and that student– ” He pointed a finger at Izuku. “ –is standing right in front of you. He beat every single one of you who wasn’t part of the recommendation student test.”

Everyone’s attention narrowed even further on him at that. Izuku saw Katsuki’s jaw drop in shock, but he himself just continued to stare at Eraserhead in surprise.

“But it also just so happens that he has a quirk that is completely useless at performing these exercises better. This isn’t a unique thing, I know for a fact that some of you had to do things during these exercises that many would consider “cheating”; making items that can do the test better than you, deceiving the sensors visually. Those were all fully viable strategies, just the same as the kind Midoriya used.”

He gave them all a careful look over once more, that seemed to make them all nervous. “Those of you that have physically-oriented quirks, remember this– You have a quirk that fits the mold of a hero, that’s good for you, but others have to get by using different ways, become different kinds of heroes. Do not assume that just because you can get things done the traditional way while he cannot that you are going to become a better hero than him. If the practical exam can be taken as an indicator, he’s already got a head start on you. So instead of thinking that he “shouldn’t be able to do things that way”, think about how you can make your own creative leaps to improve your own quirks, just like what these exercises are trying to get you to do in the first place. Understood?”

All of his classmates straightened up at his prompt, and let out a resounding, “Yes, Sensei!”

Well, all of them except one. Izuku knew the bomb would go off right when it did.

“You… You… Deku!” Katsuki charged at him with a roar, palms already ablaze and stretched out towards him, “You can’t beat me– !”

Izuku tensed in preparation, but it was unnecessary. White wrappings tied around Katsuki within a second, and the explosive power of his hands suddenly let out. He chanced a single glance away to see that Eraserhead was pulling at the bindings and glaring at Katsuki with red eyes.

“Did you even hear a word I said? Stand down– ” Eraserhead pulled harshly on his capture gear in time with that last word, making Katsuki stumble back and off the offensive. His old friend’s angry red eyes were now solely focused on their teacher in a scowl. “ –and stop thinking “he can’t beat you” when he already has! You’re nowhere near the top of the totem pole in this industry, you’re not even hero yet, so stop acting like you are!”

The weapon released its hold on Katsuki, but Eraserhead walked up to stare him down. It was clear from his tone that he was trying to convey the seriousness of the situation, “If you try assaulting him in front of me like that again when it’s not part of my lesson plan, don’t be shocked when I kick you out of my class.”

Izuku’s mouth involuntarily dropped open with the widening of his eye, the shock ringing through his system so thoroughly that he couldn’t even spare a thought to trying to keep it from showing.

Because out of all his years of school, he has never had a single teacher that would choose Unlucky Izuku over the Future-hero Katsuki.

They weren’t cruel, they just didn’t care. As long as Katsuki wasn’t making his bullying too noticeable, they would turn a blind eye, because why would they want to mar the record of such a promising future? Izuku was going nowhere in life while Katsuki would be headed to the stars, it was obvious which student they should invest in.

“Stop looking so surprised,” the sound of his new teacher’s voice brought Izuku back to the moment. He snapped his mouth shut and glanced at Eraserhead to find that he was looking over Izuku in a meticulous examination. He had come closer so that he could speak privately. “This is the bare minimum of what safeguards a teacher should have in place for all their students. Now get off the pitch, I need to move onto the next student.”

“Y-Yes sir!”

Izuku mindlessly returned to the crowd, he didn’t even know what to think about. But a gentle hand on his forearm drew his attention. He raised his eyes up to see Uraraka smiling softly at him.

“You’re not smiling like you were before… I’m sorry if we upset you. A lot of them probably just didn’t expect someone to do things that way, it didn’t occur to me as an option, either.” Uraraka pumped a fist with the hand not holding Izuku. “I still have no idea what your quirk is, but it’s great that you can think outside the box like that! You must be really smart! And it’s so cool that you scored the most points on the practical! You did really good on this test, so don’t let things get you down, okay?”

Izuku blinked once at her, as he remembered that right– people don’t like it when you don’t look like you’re happy. And he put a small smile back on. It didn’t really feel real, but it didn’t feel fake, either. The way that Uraraka was telling him that he had done good made his chest too warm for it to be completely insincere. “That’s high praise coming from the girl that scored an infinity, you know.”

“That just means that I know what I’m talking about!” she insisted with a nod. Seeing that Izuku was “happy” again, she removed her hand. But the warmth of her presence standing beside him still remained.

The exercises after that passed like a breeze. The sit-ups and seated toe touch didn’t use electronics to record the score, and in long distance running a lower time was wanted, which was ill-suited for Izuku’s method. His anxiety grew at having to go so many tests without being able to use his quirk, and it stirred at the glimpses he caught of Katsuki fuming while avoiding him. He just had to hope that his results for the grip test, the standing long jump, and the softball throw were enough put him above last place.

–But he also had to be careful to watch his quirk, when thinking that. He disliked wishing misfortune onto others, because there was always the chance he might accidently curse them with his mental mutterings. He didn’t want to be last, but he didn’t necessarily want someone else to be expelled, either–

But as it turned out, that didn’t even matter in the slightest.

“I was lying about expelling someone; it was just a logical ruse to get you all to do your best,” Eraserhead said nonchalantly, as though that was a normal thing teachers did, “Anyway, here are you’re final results.”

While most students were still shouting screams of disbelief –with one girl, Yaoyorozu Momo, being the only one to say “it was obvious”– the rankings were displayed on the screen in front of them. Izuku placed in the latter half of the class but wasn’t last. That ranking was given to Mineta Minoru, who looked absolutely relieved that he had been saved by the skin of his teeth.

It was only then that Izuku realized that, actually, this was a wasted opportunity. If Eraserhead had expelled the last place student, that meant there would’ve been a chance for Hitoshi to join the class.

It’s sort of pointlessly cruel, thinking such things when Hitoshi hadn’t even had the chance to prove himself yet. But Eraserhead was Hitoshi’s hero– Izuku could only imagine how happy he would’ve been to hear there was a chance to get into a heroics class taught by him. In comparison, it was hard to think of how crushed Mineta would’ve been had that occurred.

“Excuse me, uh, Midoriya-kun is it?…”

He shook himself out of his thoughts to look in the direction of the voice. Seeing that it was the invisible girl, Hagakure Tooru he believed her name was, he did his best to focus on where her face should be located above her shirt.

Hagakure seemed to be fiddling with the end of her shirt, based on how it was moving. Her high-pitched voice was subdued as she explained, “I just wanted to let you know… the way I improved my scores was by tricking the sensors visually, like Aizawa-sensei mentioned. I was self-conscious about how I couldn’t do better for real like everyone else was, so I was relieved to see that someone else was doing things that way too! I’m sure your quirk can do a lot more than that if you were able to get the top score on the exam, but don’t feel like you’re alone in doing things the sneaky way!”

By the end she seemed to gain confidence, as she stood up straighter and her tone became more insistent. Izuku felt his chest become a little lighter at her words. The fact that she went out of her way to speak to him about this already meant a lot. “Thank you, Hagakure-san. I look forward to being classmates with you.”

The physical fitness tests took most of the day, so after changing they went straight to a late lunch. Basic class introductions flew by until it was the end of the school day. Izuku quickly said his goodbyes to Uraraka, who had continued socializing with Izuku along with their other classmates to his delight, and met up with Hitoshi near the door to the school.

When his friend glanced down at his mouth, Izuku let the smile on his face drop, but there was still a slight curl left at the end from the excitement of knowing what would come next.

Hitoshi raised his eyebrows at him as they walked through the school gates. “You seem happy. Did you have a good first day? I saw that your class wasn’t at the orientation, so I didn’t really know what to think. Did Bakugou bother you?”

“ …He did,” Izuku admitted.

Hitoshi scowled. “Izuku, I don’t give a shit about rules and quirk regulations– if he tries to hurt you, fight back. Defend yourself until he gets his ass punted out of the hero course. Please.”

“Don’t– don’t think about it like that. He’s not getting kicked out. But I’ll try to look out for myself.” He purposefully changed the topic with, “Also, uh– Eraserhead is my homeroom teacher, so it’s not all bad. He kept Katsuki from doing anything. He put us to work right away.”

“ …Wh-What?! For real?!” Hitoshi had to come to a halt to keep himself from stumbling. He turned to face Izuku directly. “How– How was he?”

At this, a small smile natural grew on his face. “He’s scary, but he’s also super cool! But he wouldn’t give me an autograph for you, sorry.”

“You asked him for his autograph?! I can’t believe you did that, of course he said no! You know what he’s like! But…” A hand came up to rub the chain around Hitoshi’s neck, as the other glanced away from Izuku. It was then that Izuku realized Hitoshi was still wearing the rabbit’s foot he had given him. “I’m really glad you got him as your teacher. It’s a relief to know you’ll be taken care of properly. Looks like this thing is still working, then.”

“You should stop by my class and meet him yourself, Hitoshi-kun.”

“What? No way! I can’t seek him out just cause I’m a fan! He doesn’t like that kinda stuff, and it’s too embarrassing!” Hitoshi turned away to start stalking down the road towards the train station.

Izuku caught up to him to hold Hitoshi’s arm to his chest and walk with him. He ignored the red that appeared on his friend’s face to chime, “But Hitoshi-kun, he’s really, really cool! I know you want to meet him really badly! You should’ve seen him when I said I wanted to use my quirk to cheat on my exercise scores, he was totally into the idea! And then he told off everyone for thinking that kind of thing wasn’t a good way to be a hero and held off Katsuki! You’d get along with him so well!”

“Stop trying to tempt me! My heart won’t be able to handle a face-to-face meeting!”

“But don’t you wanna try and get into his class? You should start trying to build up an immunity.”

Hitoshi had to mentally pause at that. “ …Shit. If I get transferred, I might be put in his class. I don’t know if that’s a very good or a very bad thing.”

“Why would it be a bad thing?”

“Because it makes me nervous! Now there’s even more mental pressure to get transferred, dammit! And if I get transferred but not into his class, I’m gonna be disappointed!” Hitoshi sighed, and brought the arm that Izuku wasn’t holding onto up to hold his face in his hand. “I’m just trying to keep my expectations low so I don’t get upset when nothing happens, but this’ll make it hard…”

Izuku furrowed his brows with a frown, and hugged Hitoshi’s arm tighter.

“I’m sure you’ll get transferred, Hitoshi-kun. I know you’ve got what it takes, so it’s only a matter of time. You’ll get your chance.” –I’ll make it so.

Aizawa-sensei is great. Uraraka is great. The idea of becoming a hero is great; but that’s not why he’s here. He’s here to see Hitoshi become a hero.

 So if Izuku needs to make that chance come into existence himself, he’ll do so gladly.

Chapter Text

“Aizawa-kun… how was that boy, Midoriya Izuku? When I heard about the kinds of tests you do on the first day, I was a little worried about how he’d perform.”

Shouta sighed as he was forced into interacting with the newest addition to the UA staff. He had wanted to make some last revisions to his notes in peace in the teachers’ lounge, but it seemed like that would have to wait.

He glanced up from the page in front of him to eye All Might’s emancipated form standing tall next to him. “Because his quirk’s not suited for that? He’s smart, so he thought around his limitations.”

All Might’s thin mouth curved into a small smile. It was unusual to see the hero that was usually defined by his smile normally didn’t hold it all the time, but Shouta supposed that was just proof that he was human like the rest of them. He himself hadn’t really been fond of how the Number One was overly cheerful, so he supposed he should be grateful to not have to deal with it all the time.

“I see, that’s good!”

If the man was going to bother Shouta about minor details like this, he might as well learn something from this conversation. Getting right to the point, he questioned, “You have a specific interest in him, why is that?”

All Might’s smile faltered for a second, before he spoke past his hesitation, “I ran into him a while back– he had incapacitated a villain that was attacking him before I arrived. He has a lot of promise, so I look forward to seeing him learn.”

“Really now… I can see the logic in that, yeah. I just wasn’t sure how interested you would be in teaching that kind of student,” Shouta hummed noncommittally.

Before he could turn back to his papers to signal the end of the conversation, All Might frowned in confusion and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Shouta sighed a second time, eyebrows pinching together.

“I mean that your type of “hero” is a completely different type than what he’ll most likely become. You’re straightforward, powerful enough to get the job done with strength alone most of the time, and have the best image of any current hero. The way I see it, Midoriya will be the exact opposite. His quirk has power if his practical exam is any indication, but he’ll have more limitations in terms of fighting than having a quirk like yours instead.” Glancing away, Shouta took the opportunity to communicate some of the uneasiness he felt about leaving students in the hands of this brand-new teacher, “To be honest… I’m concerned that you won’t keep that kind of thing in mind for the students with less physical quirks. Training should always be individualized based on the quirk and style of each student. Will you know how to handle couching quirks that aren’t suited for your style?”

This was a question that had arose in his mind as soon as he heard All Might was joining their staff, but it had turned from a vague annoyance into a pressing matter. And it was all because of the very same student they were discussing.

One meeting with Midoriya Izuku was all it took to know that he was a student that will take a lot of work to teach– not in terms of physical performance, but in terms of strengthening the boy’s mental fortitude.

Shouta took a mental note of the “number one” student’s behavior during the entirety of the physical tests. Shouta had had to reassure Midoriya it was okay to use his quirk. He wasn’t used to having free reign with his quirk, he wasn’t used to being treated the same as his peers –probably because of said quirk– and he was used to criticism and Bakugou’s Katsuki’s violent reactions –He’ll have to keep an eye on Bakugou, to make sure that any “habits” when it came to imposing himself over Midoriya that formed in middle school didn’t continue.

All this suggested that if an inexperienced teacher and highly respected hero like All Might happened to mention that he didn’t personally like deceptive strategies like the one Midoriya used today, Midoriya would sabotage himself by purposefully not giving his all just so he could meet that standard. As a teacher whose job was to get students to live up to their full potential, that was an unacceptable outcome.

All Might’s frown deepened, but he kept his tone cordial when he responded, “My old sidekick was one of those types. I’m aware that different steps will have to be taken for different quirks. I know I’m not well versed in teaching, but I’ll do my best to keep this in mind.”

That was the best Shouta could get from the other hero, he knew. The only way to see how All Might fared as a teacher was to let him teach. Shouta just had to hope that the hero could translate his experience into teaching material.

And hopefully he won’t freak out if Midoriya starts cursing the machinery again…

“I am here! –Coming through the door normally!”

Izuku had to keep himself contained at the sight of All Might standing before him, in his silver age costume at that.

While he had a relatively good first day, he had been nervous about returning to school, paranoid ideas about his new classmates and acquaintances suddenly hating him plaguing his sleep. That was put to rest when Uraraka and Iida both greeted him normally, but he was still nervously unfamiliar with most of the others in the class.

Would any of them treat him differently when they learned he has a “bad” quirk? And not to mention he’s still going to have to face Katsuki every day…

Getting to see All Might in person once again cemented that no matter what, UA will be a positive experience for him. He should start looking forward to his school days instead of dreading them like he has been for so long.

“Hero Basic Training! Even though the year’s only just started we’re getting right into it!” All Might energetically delivered his classic smile and thumbs up. He boomed in an unnecessarily loud voice, “Today we will be holding Battle Trials, where you team up and face off against your fellow classmates as heroes or villains!”

The frog girl Asui raised her hand to ask, “We aren’t starting with basic training?”

All Might kept his thumbs up strong as he declared, “Practical experience teaches you the basics!”

…Is this really going to be okay? He doesn’t really feel comfortable using his quirk to fight people, and to jump right into it without any training? It’s so cutthroat! Is he really cut out for this?!

Dubious teaching methods aside, briefcases holding their costumes were distributed. Izuku felt his excitement return upon being told to change into his costume for the first time. This excitement increased once he opened the case in the locker room and took in his costume.

He remembered how torn he was when designing it. He wanted to be like All Might; he wanted to be like the Number One hero always was, with a reassuring smile that true heroes always wore and a bright, friendly costume to match. But at the same time… He didn’t really want to be like that.

If he were to become a hero for real, the thought of having to put a costume on every day and pretend to be something he wasn’t just because it was more pleasant… It was exhausting just to think about. Almost as exhausting as keeping up the smile that he wore even when he didn’t feel like smiling.

Hero costumes are more than just an outfit heroes wear, it’s a representation of who they are. Izuku lies to himself and others on a daily basis, but he knows who he is– he isn’t bright, he isn’t very happy, and he… isn’t All Might.

Before he would’ve easily decided to just keep up the lie, but after meeting Hitoshi and having those moments where he could just let himself be not happy, he doesn’t really want his image of who he is as a hero to be a lie. Even if he can’t be true to himself in his everyday life, he wants to at least be true to his dreams.

Superstitions could be all over the place, but he had wanted to make his costume reflect both his quirk and be cohesive. So he decided on a theme.

Throughout history, many unexplained happenings were explained away by blaming it on superstitions. Yokai or oni, restless spirits, the monsters in the dark, and of course, when misfortune struck and it seemed like things were cursed, many would blame black magic, witchcraft. The history of witch hunts in the western sphere throughout various countries was so prominent, people all around the world still knew of them.

When he first learned about witch hunts and how many innocent people, especially women, were accused of things outside of their control and put to death for them, he had been sick.

He couldn’t help but compare it to how often his own peers would accuse his bad luck of ruining things for them. And he had the vague realization that, had this kind of thing survived to the age of quirks, he very well might’ve been declared a “witch” as well.

He put on the costume slowly, savoring the moment. The black tunic was made of a hardy material but ended in tatters that fell at his thighs, a green belt fitting snuggly at his hips over the top of that was adorned with a silvery inverted pentagram. Its sleeves were long, flaring out to his mid palm, and two unnecessary green belts were tightened onto each arm, one just below the wrist and one in the middle of his upper arm. They held inverted silver crosses that doubled as arm guards and could be detached and repositioned upright. The pants featured thick horizontal black and green stripes and fit neatly beneath the oversized mid-calf black boots, which was adorned with its own two unnecessary green belts, this set with upside down silver horseshoes that could also be repositioned.

The costume was finished off with black fingerless gloves with small protective metal plates set on the back of his hand, a black choker with a right-side up silvery pentagram, and a hooded black cloak. He left the hood down and flipped one side over his shoulder so it didn’t cover up all of his arm adornments, and took note of the green border that ended at the corners of the cloak; It seemed to be a design choice made by the costume manufacturers to make a definitive contrast that showed where the black of the shirt ended and the black of the cloak started. It also helped bring out the two big black buttons at the top, the upper of which he used to pin the cloak together.

Rooting around the case fruitfully provided the “extra accessories” he had asked for. Thirteen small handheld mirrors, an entire roll of curse omikuji, and a smaller roll of blessing omikuji, all of which could be stored in the pockets hidden inside the cloak. An Eye of Horus amulet for his belt and an Ankh amulet for his choker, both in silver, to be switched out with the pentagrams if more luck was needed. And the pièce de résistance in his opinion, a set of metallic silver earrings, starting in thick studs leading into a thin dangling chain, and ending with inverted crosses that stopped just above his choker. Izuku fiddled with them to find they could also be reattached as regular crosses and snapped off easily to prevent his ear from tearing in the case of pulling.

After putting all of this on, Izuku found a full-length mirror and stared at himself of. He left everything in their unlucky positions, so overall, he looked like a satanic witch without a witch hat. He gently tapped one of his earrings, then watched the cross swing back and forth like a pendulum.

This… looks so cool!

The support company should be proud, they really went above and beyond what he asked for! They gave him all the extra stuff without a problem, added on to plain black cloak design he submitted, and he hadn’t even considered making the earrings into dangling earrings– The crosses look so much cooler like that! Maybe one of their designers is a goth?

He snapped a picture with his phone to send to Hitoshi, as his friend had asked for, and found that he had a real smile on his face. He felt a bit like a little kid on Halloween, being so excited to dress up like a witch, but he wouldn’t let shame ruin the brilliant irony of a potential hero with a quirk that curses, jinxes, hexes, and etc. having a witch theme.

It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and looking at himself now, he thinks it paid off. He doesn’t really look like a hero, but he looks like himself.

–He wished Mom was here to see it–

In total the outfit had twelve different charms that could be set to or replaced to be either lucky or unlucky. But having them all at unlucky now, he could feel how powerful the combined amplification is. It was almost like his quirk was on overdrive, producing so much misfortune that it strained the barrier of his skin, and he could easily see himself producing twelve days’ worth within the course of a single day at the rate he felt it increasing. 

It was too much to handle comfortably, bordering on being painful, so he kept an even half and half mixture of good to bad omens to neutralize each other. It worked for the most part– six was unlucky and the two separate groups made double sixes, so Jinx was still slightly producing more than usual.

An unlucky combination of thirteen charms would probably have a huge effect. That might be dangerous but… it might also be needed. He should think of one more to add, so that it’s a full thirteen…

All his obsessing over his outfit lead to Izuku being the last to leave the locker room. As he approached the colorful, bright group set within the façade of a city, he became more self-conscious about himself. He kept his smile strong even when it wanted to fall off his face.

The first person to glance at him was Uraraka. Her eyes widened as she waved him over. “Woah~ Deku-kun, is that you? You look really different!”

His thought process derailed as he took in what she called him, and he couldn’t keep his expression from falling into a neutral one. Turning around to face her, she still smiled at him cheerfully though. “You give off a totally different vibe than usual, even though your face isn’t covered I almost couldn’t tell it was you– ”

“My, uh, my name’s not Deku. I’m Midoriya Izuku,” he awkwardly interrupted.

Uraraka blinked in surprise. “Oh? But that guy was calling you that the other day, so I thought…”

“That– That’s just Katsuki’s mean nickname.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Her eyebrows furrowed in concern, and her smile fell into a frown. “I thought it was meant to be short for “dekiru” like “do your best”, so I liked it. But I won’t call you that anymore.”

Izuku forced a smile passed his internal tension to say, “Thank you, I appreciate that. Uh– Your costume looks very nice! Like a pink astronaut!”

This helped encourage Uraraka to return to her positive attitude, as she looked down at herself with slight embarrassment. “Thanks! I wasn’t specific enough so it’s sort of tighter than I wanted, but I think it looks good. Your costume’s really cool and unique; I don’t know any heroes that look like a witch!”

“Thanks!”

All Might went on to explain the exercise. They would be paired up, and then one team would face off against another, with the heroes’ goal being to capture the villains or their weapon and the villains’ goal being to avoid this for until the timer runs out at 15 minutes, and the villains got 5 minutes of prep time to set up their base a little.

“The teams and who they fight against will be decided by drawing random lots!”

Oh Shit

Izuku immediately turned the rest of his charms right-side up, though he didn’t bother with taking off the pentagrams when he would just have to put them back on right after. He made a mental note to himself to update his costume to have some way to do this automatically, since it would be inconvenient to have to stop and flip them all one-by-one manually in a real-life scenario.

The only thing he had been really hoping for was to not be put with Katsuki –one student out of 19 total possibilities, so Izuku had pretty good odds for that one– and his cautiousness paid off greatly when not only was he not put with Katsuki, he also ended up being put on the same team as Uraraka.

But then came time to draw for what teams were set against each other. Izuku glimpsed Katsuki glaring at him out of the corner of his eye, clearly wishing for a chance to “prove himself” against Izuku by beating the crap out of him in a school-sanctioned lesson. 

Once again, Izuku thought of witch hunts and proverbially “burning at the stake”.

The anxiety drove his thoughts to more cunning ideas.

“I don’t give a shit about rules and quirk regulations– if he tries to hurt you, fight back. Defend yourself until he gets his ass punted out of the hero course. Please”

There are only nine teams other than Izuku’s. A 1-in-9 chance stands between Katsuki getting what he wants… Izuku doesn’t think he can leave this to luck. Even with his lucky amulets, he doesn’t trust them to overcome his misfortune.

Izuku doesn’t want to fight Katsuki. He doesn’t want Katsuki to hurt him, he’s scared of the idea of Katsuki hurting him, and the thought that Hitoshi would see that at the end of the day and get upset over Izuku’s pain. He just really wants to avoid the possibility of that happening at all.

He turned his earrings, two horseshoes, and two crosses back upside down so that he had eight bad omens versus four good ones, which were weakened by the unlucky amount. Since Katsuki was obviously wishing for his team to be put against Izuku’s, Izuku directed as much of his bad luck at Katsuki as he could without snapping, and thought, Don’t let him get the team he wants.

It really, really felt like cheating, but Izuku wouldn’t get an advantage by doing this, he tried to reason. This was just damage control. Hitoshi told him to use his quirk if he needed to, so he will.

And honestly, he’s doing All Might a favor, preventing a serious fight from breaking out…

But that doesn’t mean he’s not influencing the outcome of what was supposed to be a random drawing. It’s just like his old classmates would always accuse him of doing.

–But he feels safer, doesn’t he? Knowing that he has a hand in the luck played to him. He had never felt safe at his old school, where he never purposefully used his quirk–

Izuku held his breath when All Might drew the first lot. When he pulled out the ball for team D, Katsuki and Iida, he waited through a tense couple of seconds as All Might pulled out the next ball.

It read team J, for Kirishima and Sero. He let air flow back into his lungs with a relieved sigh and stopped the flow of bad luck towards Katsuki. Ironically, Katsuki didn’t even seem to suspect that Izuku played a part in this, he just grimaced at the missed opportunity. The expression made Izuku feel like he made the right decision.

The rest of the class watched the fight from a monitoring room, and as he predicted due to Katsuki’s presence, the battle destroyed a good amount of the building’s interior.

Iida stayed behind to guard the bomb while Katsuki went on the offensive, trying to fight both his opponents at once by himself –a very Katsuki move. He underestimated the strength of their new classmates, as Kirishima’s quirk seemed to harden him up enough to withstand Katsuki’s explosives. Due to Katsuki having to focus on Kirishima, Sero was allowed to slink away to the bomb. His attempt to capture the weapon from a long range was foiled by Iida swiftly intercepting and pulling him into the room by his own tape. 

Katsuki, either frustrated or energized at having a real opponent, shot off a cannon from his arm bracer that would surely kill an average person. Luckily Kirishima estimated that it was above the limitations of his quirk and dodged out of the way, but an entire side of the building was decimated. All Might order Katsuki to not use it again.

Izuku once again had the thought that he had been very right to avoid getting set against Katsuki.

Eventually, both Kirishima and Sero were captured, and Katsuki was given an unsatisfying win. Izuku knew that in Katsuki’s eyes failing to win by himself was the same thing as not winning at all.

The presumed insult was aggravated by Yaoyorozu calling him out on abandoning teamwork to fight by himself and biting off more than he was able to handle. Izuku made sure to place himself on the opposite side of the crowd from Katsuki and his permeating rage.

–He did feel some satisfaction, though, at seeing Katsuki realize there was more to life than what he wished for. He had always been so very lucky… It will do him good to see that winning won’t always get him what he wants–

He pushed that bitter thought down into that little box inside himself, like many others.

He took note of the next fighters’ quirks. The location was changed to a different building that had the exact same design as the previous one. Todoroki, who Izuku was pretty sure was Endeavor’s son, was so powerful that he just froze the entire building with his opponents inside, only needing his partner Shouji’s help in confirming their location. Hagakure and her tailed partner Ojiro couldn’t do anything to fight back.

He achieved exactly the kind of win that Katsuki had wanted, and Izuku could see from Katsuki’s shadowed face that it burned him even further. Izuku supposed that as a recommendation student and the Number Two hero’s son, Todoroki might even be above Katsuki’s level. He held back the thought that it was also good that Katsuki see that, too.

That was when his team was finally drawn, being set up against team H, which featured the bird-headed kid Tokoyami and Asui Tsuyu. Team A was, of course, made the villains of the assignment. Technically it gave them the advantage, but he still thought it was his luck at work.

Before they left the monitoring room, Izuku hesitantly went up to All Might to ask, “Excuse me, All Might-sensei, but, um… Would you say that, if this was a real scenario with real villains, that they would prioritize keeping the bomb over the sanctity of their hideout?”

All Might tilted his head in a slightly questioning manner, but responded positively with, “That would be a fair assumption to make, as long as they avoided damaging the bomb!”

Oh good, that meant it would be okay when he wrecked the place. Izuku made an effort to give a bigger smile. “Thank you for the clarification.”

As he and Uraraka made their way to the building along with the other team, Izuku realized that Tokoyami started falling into step with him. Izuku glanced at him. He also wore a black cloak, though it didn’t have a hood. Both their cloaks bellowed behind them slightly as they walked.

While Izuku absentmindedly noted this, he had been much more preoccupied with another more obvious observation. This close up, he could feel some energy radiating from Tokoyami, like he was an unlucky black cat.

His head must be a crow’s head, then… Hopefully it wasn’t affecting him personally.

Izuku felt himself tense up when Tokoyami gave him a lofty red-eyed stare, but didn’t let it show on his face. “I see that the two of us are likeminded, reveling in the dark... This will be our fated battle. I look forward to divining your true power for myself.”

He nodded, as though that was all that needed to be said, and dramatically walked away. It would have made an intimidating sight, had it not been for Asui trailing him while looking back and forth between her partner and Izuku in confusion.

While the two of them made their way up the stairs of the base, Uraraka also voiced her confusion, “Um… Do you know what that was about, Midoriya-kun? Do you know Tokoyami-kun?”

He has no idea what that was about. “I don’t know him, but it was probably just one of those things, you know.”

“ …One of those things?”

“Yeah, one of those things.”

There was an awkward pause, before Uraraka finally breached the question that Izuku had been dreading, “You never really told me what your quirk is. You don’t have to give any details, but I want to be able to work together with you properly. Do you mind giving me a basic description?” Uraraka recovered from the atmosphere, giving a bright smile and placing a hand on her chest with her pinky lifted in the air. “I’ll go first– My quirk is Zero Gravity! Whatever I touch with all five of my finger pads won’t be affected by gravity, which is how I got such a good score on the softball test. I can do this with multiple things, but using it on myself makes me nauseous and I have a weight limit. To cancel the effect, I have to press the fingertips of both my hands together.”

It was a good amount of information to go off of for strategizing purposes. She was probably being more open to encourage him to share, as though she could sense his reluctance. This would be the moment of truth…

“My quirk is Jinx, it produces energy in the form of bad luck,” Izuku tried to keep his voice steady and light as he explained, but he watched her reaction carefully, “Unlucky items increase the effect, while lucky items decrease it. When I inflict the energy on a target it can produce a variety of “unfortunate” events, but it’s most efficient at breaking things.”

Uraraka’s eyes widened, and she let out a sound of realization, “Ohhh, that’s why you’re a witch and have all those horseshoes and stuff! And that’s how you changed your scores in the exercises, and– caused lightning to strike…”

She trailed off at the end, and her eyes glanced up at the ceiling in thought. “That must be some seriously strong bad luck if you can do that kind of thing.”

Izuku’s smile became strained. “I know. It’s sort of finicky in terms of control, sometimes, but I promise I won’t let it affect our chances at winning…”

She immediately looked back at him to wave him off. “Oh no, of course not! Just because your quirk makes bad luck doesn’t mean you’re bad luck.” She clenched her fists at her chest and gained a competitive grin. “I’m actually really happy I got you as a partner, both because we’re friends and I know you’re strong! We’ll win this!”

Warmth filled his chest at her insistence, and at her reaffirmation that they were still friends. It seemed like she hadn’t even considered the idea of discarding him. It made him not want to correct her misconception about him not being bad luck.

Instead, as they reached the top floor where the bomb was placed, he tried to match her mindset of wanting to win. The room was set in the very center of the floor, and was spacious, containing multiple cement pillars that were as bland as the chipped tiling on the ground. 

“I think this will be a good location to keep the bomb, the most likely route they’ll take is through the inside of the building, so they’ll have to come all the way up here first.” Reaching into his cloak, Izuku pulled out his new roll of curse omikuji and started unrolling it –He’s glad he had the foresight to ask for this kind of support item. “I already confirmed with All Might that damaging the base is fine, so… how do you feel about booby-trapping the place a little?”

Uraraka gained a somewhat mean grin that he hadn’t seen from her previously. “Sounds great!”

They rushed to finish, and once they were done, the floor and walls of the room were covered in interspersed cursed omikuji seals of different ranks. The bomb itself was encircled by “great blessing” omikuji on the floor surrounding it and around its paper mâché body. Upon his confession at the possibility of friendly fire and Uraraka’s agreement, they also stuck a great blessing omikuji on the back of her costume. They also briefly discussed what they’d seen of Asui and Tokoyami’s quirks, namely that Asui apparently could do what frogs can do, and that Tokoyami had some sort of shadowy figure that did many of the exercises for him.

While they had also wanted to go search for random items that Uraraka could use as ammunition, the five minutes passed by too quickly. The timer started, and the heroes presumably entered the building. Uraraka stood beside the doorway, waiting to ambush their incoming opponents in hopes of using her quirk on one of them. Izuku stood just in front of the bomb so that it wasn’t completely uncovered and had a good view of the whole room.

It took a couple of minutes just for the two to get to their floor, which was what they hoped for, and they were quiet enough to hear the shuffle of fast footsteps.

The first plan of attack failed when the door suddenly burst open via raging shadow bird demon, which featured sharp claws and glowing red eyes. It was frighteningly inhuman, like a horror movie ghost, and also very cool. Tokoyami really had a point when he’d said they both “reveled in the dark”. 

Uraraka reflexive retreated due to the unexpected sight, sounding a shocked yell, but Izuku was more distracted by the fact that currently Tokoyami wasn’t producing bad luck anymore.

When Tokoyami advanced into the room behind the shadow, he was careful to not run over the curse seals. Unfortunately for him, the curses themselves didn’t do anything. They just helped Izuku aim more precisely so the whole floor didn’t collapse and would help concentrate the energy to go deep.

The structure that makes up the combination between the ceiling of a lower story and the floor of the story above it is usually about 30 to 35 centimeters thick. As long as he’s specific enough and the energy was applied right, being concentrated and drawn to enhance weaknesses already present in the floor, 30cms of wood and insulation would be simple to destabilize.

He snapped his fingers, cursing Tokoyami while willing the floor beneath him to break and for him to fall. The energy was amplified by the curses surrounding him, acting as sinkholes to keep the energy contained within a limited area, and cracks instantly sprouted from the two omikuji nearest to where Tokoyami was. 

It shattered upon his weight. He felt through the floor, the ceiling of the floor below, and the intermediate space between them. Only for the shadow to catch himself on the edge of the hole, and presumably catch Tokoyami with its other hand. 

It took more energy than it should have, considering Jinx didn’t reach the full effect of what he wanted. He had already used a sizable amount yesterday from what he’d been storing previously, so that was concerning.

...Oh, that’s it! There’s two of them, that means they’re lucky now– everything has changed! He could always count on superstition complications to make his life harder.

During this time Asui entered the room by crawling on the wall, also avoiding the omikuji. Seeing that Tokoyami was pulling himself up and Uraraka was approaching him, she bounced off the wall to defend him from behind. 

Izuku snapped before she landed, and the floor she hopped onto also broke. She fell through, failing to catch herself on the ledge. But as the most mobile person here, she’d probably be back soon.

–The way they just fell through the floor, faces lit with alight surprise as their feet crunched through what should’ve been a perfectly stable floor, was actually sort of… funny. It looked like what you would see from an old-style cartoon–

–Now that he’s realizing that using his quirk doesn’t have to be harmful, using it can be fun. It was like playing a prank, but the prank has an actual practical use–

His stomach turned in disgust. 

No , it’s not fun, and it’s not funny. Into the box that thought goes.

Tokoyami was back in the game. His shadow swiped at Uraraka to keep her at bay as the boy pulled himself back to his feet. When it looked like she was about to be clawed at, Izuku snapped, and the swipe missed. The shadow’s arm was now in reach of Uraraka’s hand, so she took the change to tap it.

Nothing changed. The shadow continued to attack while advancing.

Because, Izuku just realized, it was already floating. 

Wow. Neither of their quirks are fully effective against Tokoyami. Jinx really went for their team’s second worst option since Katsuki was out of the running.

While watching this, Izuku used his fourth snap on something that would take more energy. A deafening crack rang through the air as jagged lines appear on a hopefully non-weight bearing pillar next to her, and it crumbled into large chunks. “Uraraka-san!”

Only seconds after, he snapped again to make a large section of the floor collapse beneath Tokoyami to pause the shadow’s advance, increasing the energy and using four omikuji this time instead of two. 

It still was ineffective, as the demon of the lucky duo quickly dove to catch the other. However, it seemed like they were taken aback by something, since they stared blankly at each other while hovering in the air at the intermediate space between the fifth and fourth floor. 

“Tokoyami-chan!” Izuku heard Asui’s croaky voice shout, a tongue threading through the hole he was in from beneath. It wrapped around Tokoyami and roughly threw him in the direction of the bomb. Internally, Izuku was impressed by the sheer strength it must take for a tongue to have the muscle capacity to throw a human being. Every day, quirks continued to amaze him.

Uraraka had finished tapping most of her new ammo by this time, the gray blocks having rose into the air towards the ceiling. Tokoyami regained his composure midair to shoot his shadow forward with its claws outstretched, unfearing of Izuku literally sweeping out the floor beneath his feet in the few seconds he had airborne, and Uraraka brought her fingers together to exclaim, “Release!” The sound of Izuku’s sixth snap echoed with her voice.

The demon effortlessly smacked most of the debris out of the way, but due to Jinx’s curse, a cement chunk bigger than the size of his head was pushed back to fly into Tokoyami’s unguarded chest. It knocked him out of the air with a choked gasp to fall onto the floor, and it distracted the demon enough to pause its advance and glance back. 

Seeing the way Tokoyami pushed the block off himself to clutch at his chest in pain, Izuku descended into guilt.

“A-Are you o–  ”

The sound of a slap interrupted him. Izuku turned slightly to see that Asui had apparently creeped back into the room, and was by the hole in the floor closest to them with her tongue stretched out towards the bomb, but in Uraraka’s grip. Asui floated up into the air like a balloon accordingly.

Izuku felt himself pale. She had been so close to– and he didn’t even realize!

Uraraka tried to spin Asui around to throw her at the demon, but Asui’s tongue wrapped itself around her wrist. Meanwhile, Tokoyami’s shadow was encroaching on Izuku. He took a swipe to the shoulder that was strong enough to push him down to the floor while he snapped, this time specifically targeting his attacker. At the same moment, Uraraka happened to get a good enough angle to swing Asui into the shadow like a whip. 

It forced the shadow backwards with a huff, and it gripped Asui with an annoyed glare. Asui, being extremely composed for someone that was literally in the claws of a demon, just stared up at it neutrally.

“Dark Shadow, help Asui!”

The now named Dark Shadow pulled on Uraraka’s grip on the tongue. It forced her to let go lest she be pulled along, but she didn’t Release Asui yet. Asui let herself be pulled back by Tokoyami, who had picked himself up, to float at the backline.

It gave him a moment to get back up and invert the rest of his crosses, but it was also favorable for his opponents. So seventh snaps will always be “lucky” to some extent, no matter how many bad omens he had on, huh…

Seeing that he needed more fire power and was running low, Izuku set his accessories to a 10 to 2 bad to good luck ratio. Dark Shadow charged forward once more. Uraraka sent the last of her pillar rocks at it, and Izuku snapped with the other nearby pillar in mind. While Dark Shadow flung away the debris, the huge crack ran through the base of the pillar. 

It tilted to the side, and like a pine tree in a forest, fell heavily in Tokoyami and Asui’s direction. Tokoyami, still holding onto Asui, moved to dodge, but stumbled over a hole, barely catching himself before he fell. They were still in the way.

Izuku had a moment of panic, before it was interrupted by Dark Shadow screeching and rushing back to catch the pillar before it fell. In a show of strength, it seemed like it was able to hold up the whole thing, though it trembled with effort. It threw off the pillar, inadvertably tearing the rest of it from its base and completely destroying a wall, and for the first time since the battle began, Dark Shadow yelled in a dissonant yet resonating voice, “Stop it with all the falling and bullet hell crap! This is so annoying– !”

The buzzer sounded. All Might’s voice came on over their communicators, “Time's up! The villain team wins!”

There was a tense pause of total silence.

Then Dark Shadow gave a single roar of frustration, hands thrown in the air, and shrunk back into Tokoyami’s shadow. Tokoyami himself frowned at the act –or at least, frowned as much as he could with a beak for a mouth.

“Good job,” Asui stated to them good-naturedly. While saying her thanks, Uraraka brought her fingertips together to release Asui and helped her stabilize on her feet. Asui also turned her head to look at her partner, “You did good too, Tokoyami-chan. It’s too bad we lost.”

Tokoyami closed his eyes with a sigh, “ ‘Twas not meant to be, I suppose. The mistress of fate was not in our favor today.”

Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Actually, if that had gone on longer, you might’ve won. I ran out of bad luck with that last move– I’ve been using it too often recently…”

“So “bad luck” is your quirk…. How mysterious.” Tokoyami blinked his eyes open to stare at Izuku, who tensed under the attention.

“Indeed, the cursed ambiance of this lair was menacing, as was the serene smile on your face as you cast your spells on us. You have embraced your inner darkness and turned it into your power.” Tokoyami clenched his fist and closed his eyes almost mournfully. “I can only hope one day I can do the same. For surely if the darkness of my soul is so deep, then so must be the power that dwells hidden inside!”

Had he still been smiling that whole time? That sounds… really creepy, and he didn’t even notice. And more importantly, he wouldn’t really say that he’s “embraced his darkness” so much as pretending it didn’t exist in the first place, but Tokoyami wouldn’t find that motivating, so he won’t mention it.

As they start down the stairs of the building, Izuku continued to speak to Tokoyami, “You were a pretty poor match up for me, though. What is Dark Shadow, exactly? Because– well, that reminds me; Have you noticed that you have particularly bad luck or anything like that?”

Tokoyami’s head twitched to the side in a bird-like manner as he thought about his answer. “Dark Shadow is a sentient being of the night. I’ve often considered him to be a curse, but… admittedly in my daily life, I’m not struck by misfortune regularly. Why do you ask?”

“Have you heard that crows are bad luck? With my quirk, I can tell that you’re emitting that sort of energy. But it seems like it doesn’t affect you, which is good.”

Tokoyami’s eyes blinked in surprise for a second, before they narrowed as he brought a hand to his chest while nodding solemnly. “Again, the manifestation of my soul’s darkness permeates my existence…”

“Well, that part would actually be in my favor concerning my quirk, but the superstition behind crows is more nuanced than that– Some cultures say that one crow is a bad omen, but two crows are a good omen! So when you have Dark Shadow out, both of you are lucky!”

Eyes widening, Tokoyami turned to stare at him in shock. It seemed like he was more surprised to hear this than he was to hear about being “unlucky”.

“Dark Shadow… makes me lucky?” Tokoyami’s tone was incredulous.

Seeing that he’d hit a nerve, Izuku kept his voice carefully casual, “Since the misfortune doesn’t affect you, neither does the good luck probably, but it still has an affect on my quirk. So yeah, I would say that he’s making you lucky. Or rather, the two of you together are lucky.”

Tokoyami descended into quiet contemplation, staring down at the floor as the crossed the threshold to exit the building. Izuku knew it must have been a weird thing to be told– to know that something that you had considered a “curse” to not be the case.

He wondered why Tokoyami thought of Dark Shadow like that. Did they not get along well? Was it because people were scared of him?

Would people look at how his shadow was a literal demon, then say that he was meant to be a villain? That seemed like something that would happen. “Demons” are always considered to be dangerous, evil beings, but…

“ …Maybe it’s just because I’m the type that likes “reveling in the dark”, but I think Dark Shadow’s really neat, Tokoyami-kun.”

He was smiling still, but his words were true.

Tokoyami blinked at him in surprise, before his brows furrowed in what seemed to be confusion. “Is that so… Thank you. Though personally, I wouldn’t think “neat” to be an accurate descriptor.”

“Well saying something’s neat is just another way of saying it’s cool, right?”

“I suppose so.” Tokoyami’s expression lightened and he nodded his head in satisfaction. “Your witching attire and amulets are also… neat, then.”

Warmth bubbled inside his chest, and his smile became a little genuine. “Thanks! I wasn’t too sure about the design until I saw it for myself.”

“I believe it was a smart choice– it conveys both power and the ironic twist of fate of a “witch” being amongst heroes.”

“Right! That’s exactly what I was going for! Though, I don’t think fate has anything to do with it; everything comes down to probabilities and luck. Like, uh– like how even though me being unlucky is supposed to be a bad thing, but it’ll end up being unlucky for the villains who fight me too.” If he ever gets as far as fighting villains, that is…

“Hmm… When I think about it in terms of how you were randomly chosen as my opponent, I suppose it wasn’t my lucky day– ”

Tokoyami cut himself off all at once to stare into the air a head of them dumbly. Izuku even had to stop walking as the boy had paused mid-step. Before he could panic and ask what was wrong, Tokoyami rebooted himself to grab Izuku by the shoulder and pull him closer and glare seriously into his eyes. Izuku had to stop himself from tensing at the touch.

“Midoriya, this is– repeat what I just said back at me! The very last part!”

“ …Pardon?”

“No questions! If we’re truly aligned equally with the dark side, then you’ll see this moment of brilliance as well! I’m sure of it!”

“ …It was– It wasn’t my lucky day?”

“Change it so you’re talking about me instead!”

“It wasn’t your lucky day.” Suddenly it hit him, and Izuku dropped his mouth open to say, “It’s not your lucky day.”

He stared at Tokoyami in excited bewilderment, not even bothering to keep up a fake smile. “I could use that as a hero catchphrase against villains! It’s so cool!”

Tokoyami looked less excited than Izuku, but he suspected that was just because his avian features hid it more. His hand on Izuku’s shoulder tightened as he raised his other hand to curl into a fist. His voice was filled with energy, “Yes! The forbidding sense of menace those words exude– with the right tone they’ll send shivers down your spine! Midoriya, promise me you’ll utter those words to your opponent before a fight at least once, with feeling! It’d be a waste if you didn’t!”

“Trust me, I’ll be trying to use that as much as possible! You’re brilliant Tokoyami-kun!”

“You give me too much praise, I was merely building off your own words.”

In the background, Izuku could vaguely hear Asui speak, “Tokoyami-chan and Midoriya-chan get along well, kero.”

Uraraka giggled slightly, “Yeah, it looks like they really understand each other. I’m glad!”

Chapter Text

“The VIP for this battle isn’t very clear cut. Midoriya-san is the strongest contender, as his strategy and fast-acting quirk gave his team total control over the battlefield, but he was distracted in one critical moment that would’ve lost them their victory and he had to rely on Uraraka-san dealing with the direct fighting. In contrast, his partner Uraraka-san had to rely on Midoriya’s quirk, but did so in such a way that she was the perfect support for his abilities. She was their front-line fighter even though her quirk was ill-suited for that role to make up for Midoriya not being suited for that type of direct encounter. Their plan to simply hold back the hero team was sufficient given the advantage provided by Midoriya’s quirk, but it failed to take into account the strength of their opponents. One could also criticize their lack of care when it came to destroying their base, but Midoriya-san did clarify that it wasn’t a priority.”

“The thing that gave the hero team the edge in the fight was the strength of Tokoyami’s quirk, which was able to fight both Midoriya-san and Uraraka-san, as well as support Tokoyami-san when attacks were aimed at him. But because it had to keep diverting its attention between these two tasks it couldn’t overtake the villain team before the timer stopped, and Tokoyami didn’t think of a different approach other than continuing their straight-forward assault. Asui-san was also vital to Tokoyami-san by providing support where she could. However, while her plan to secure the weapon when attention was on him was theoretically sound, she failed in her execution. Overall, they were unable to overcome their disadvantage of the environment being in the villain team’s favor.”

“If I had to choose, though, I’d still name Midoriya as the VIP,” Yaoyorozu concluded her long-winded analysis of the fight. 

After the first battle others beside Yaoyorozu had been speaking their own opinions, but it seemed like something about Izuku’s caught her interest enough that she spoke up again. Izuku had to keep his posture from tensing when her sharp eyes fell on him. 

“You don’t have to go into details, Midoriya-san, but I’m sure that some of our classmates still wouldn’t be able to tell what your quirk is even after that showing. Am I right in that it has to do with inflicting “bad luck”? That would explain both your various charms and why the results of your quirk varied. Just based on our perspective, at times it would seem like nothing happened after your snap, when in actuality it helped manipulate events of the fight rather than simply destroy an object like the floor and those pillars. Am I wrong?”

Scary… So scary! She figured all that out from just that fight?! People don’t even think luck is real most of the time, let alone jump to the idea of a luck-based quirk! Is this what it takes to be a recommendation student if you don’t have an insane quirk like Todoroki’s?!

There was no point in trying to lie about it after such a thorough analysis, so all he could do was smile and say, “Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

“Woah– A bad luck quirk?! I’ve never heard of a quirk like that before!” the pink-skinned girl Ashido exclaimed.

Sero, who’d seen Izuku’s quirk in action twice during the physical exam the other day, mused with a finger scratching his cheek. “I was thinking it just broke stuff or something. I didn’t even think something like that could exist...”

“It’s certainly a unique quirk, and that’s what makes quirks quirks!” All Might stuck out a thumbs up while declaring, “Well done with your analysis again, Yaoyorozu! And well done to the fighters of this round, you all did wonderfully!”

Izuku felt himself relax at All Might’s words. The rest of his classmates didn’t seem too put off by his quirk, most only showing curious expressions. The only major exception was Katsuki, who looked like he was silently fuming, but Izuku expected that considering Katsuki didn’t outperform Izuku like he wanted.

The rest of the battles just seemed to fly by. Everyone gave a good effort with no major landslide wins like the one Todoroki’s team had, and no one was seriously hurt. Izuku was inwardly relieved about that last part.

Based on everyone’s fights, the ones that had been most likely to cause major injury were Katsuki or himself, and he didn’t want either of them to be the cause of someone else’s pain.

–Not that Katsuki himself cared about that–

All Might dismissed them for the day. But before Izuku could leave for the locker room, his hero called out to him to wait a moment. As everyone continued forward, Izuku paused and turned back towards All Might with his usual smile. He wasn’t forcing it very much, but he wanted to at least give his best effort for his favorite hero.

“Yes, All Might-sensei?”

“Sorry for keeping you, but I just wanted to check on how you were doing since I last saw you. Don’t think I’ve forgotten our previous encounter!”

“Ah… To be honest, I wasn’t sure if you would remember.” He let his smile turn sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck. “You probably save so many people just within the course of one day, I can’t imagine you remember every single person.”

All Might laughed, unoffended by Izuku’s assumption, “Haha! Perhaps not, but I try my best! And you certainly left an impression! So how are you and your mother fairing? I hope her recovery from whatever happened went smoothly.”

All at once, the little joy he felt inside at being about to talk to All Might transformed into nausea. 

He couldn’t talk about this. Not to his hero who grinned at him with the positive air of a good man assuming the best.

It was too much, too much, too painful– 

“I– I-I’m really sorry but I have to leave– ”

Izuku fled like an anxiety ridden coward in the most suspicious manner possible, but he was too busy trying to not think about what happened to his Mom to care.

He redressed with robotic movements, simply focusing on finishing as fast as possible so that he could leave. He needed the relief of letting his expression fall, which meant he needed to either get to somewhere he could be alone or somewhere with Hitoshi. He didn’t want his cheery classmates to see how much of a mess he is.

But it wasn’t quite meant to be, because Uraraka caught him to chat on their way towards the school gate, and Iida followed suit. When leaving the classroom, he caught Tokoyami staring at him out of the corner of his eye and forced himself to give a bright smile with a promise to see him tomorrow. Tokoyami seemed to relax at Izuku’s reassuring and responded in kind, so he thought that was the right thing to do. Shouji, who had been talking to Tokoyami, waved at him as well.

Hitoshi was at the gate when they arrived. He looked over Uraraka and Iida with neutral but examining eyes while Izuku gave a short introduction –just an explanation that they’ve been friends since before UA without giving the fairly important detail that they were housed with the same foster family. 

Izuku and Hitoshi went one way at the train station while Iida and Uraraka went their own separate ways. They walked from their station to the Haruka home with Izuku’s random half-hearting rambling about his classmate’s quirks to fill the silence. And once they reached their room finally, finally Izuku let himself and his posture deflate into a grimace.

Immediately Hitoshi gain his own grimace. “What happened? Today was supposed to be your first class with All Might and you haven’t said a single word about it. Did either he or Bakugou do something?”

Izuku flopped onto his bed to lay down with a sigh. He chose to face the wall rather than Hitoshi. “No. I mean, yes technically. Our fights were decided randomly today so I used my quirk to avoid getting Katsuki, and that was good except for the fact that I’m an awful cheater now like everyone’s always said I was– ”

“You’re not a cheater for looking out for your own wellbeing– ”

“And then All Might said I did good and that he remembered me, so that was great, but then he asked about how Mom was doing and I just– ” Izuku had to stop talking to let himself take a very needed breath of air, before sighing out, “ –panicked, and left him there awkwardly. And now I don’t want to go back to school cause I don’t want to explain what happened…”

He felt the bed dip and groan when Hitoshi sat down next to him. A warm hand rubbed his shoulder.

“If All Might had known what happened he would’ve known asking would upset you. You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to, though. Just let him make his own conclusions and leave the topic alone– even if he ends up being the nosy type, he’s not allowed to badger you for details. And don’t feel bad about that stuff with Bakugou. I don’t trust him to restrain himself with you, so I’m glad you took precautions.”

Izuku partly relaxed under Hitoshi’s comfort, but tension still riddled his core. “I know. What you said is what made me decide to do that, actually. And I know I don’t have to say anything, but just the thought that he’s wondering about it and will figure it out himself makes me… I just don’t like it.”

“I’m sorry you had a rough day. I’ll sit with you at lunch tomorrow if you want.”

“I– I wouldn’t say I had a rough day! A lot of good things have been happening, actually! I made friends with Uraraka-san and Iida-san, and I made friends with someone else today too –I think. And I like my hero costume and got to wear it for the first time, and I won my Battle Trial with Uraraka-san today! I just… ” 

He felt a familiar weight behind his eyes, the feeling of his body wanting to cry but not being quite able to. His face pinched almost painfully. “I just really wish she could be here to see all that, too…”

Hitoshi’s hand tightened its grip. “I understand that feeling. I… I wish my dad was here to see this too. I wish he could’ve met you, he was worried about my lack of friends.”

“Mom was like that. I wish my mom could’ve met you, too…”

“ ...Izuku, I’ve been trying not to pry too much with you, but your smile since the end of school was so… I don’t know, it’s too much like how you acted before. So I need to ask for your safety; Are you thinking suicidal thoughts right now? And in general have you stopped thinking them or are they still a regular thing?”

His body froze up. But after a moment, he got himself to release most of that tension, and turned from his side onto his back so that he could look up at Hitoshi. Hitoshi was looking down at him with his brows furrowed in concern.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m… continuously thinking about that. I used to still think them often in Orudera, but ever since middle school ended it’s not a frequent thing. I try to think about my goals for the future instead.” –my goal to let you be a hero, he didn’t add. He had to avert his eyes from Hitoshi’s deep purple ones to focus on his shirt.

“I guess I do... get the random feeling that it might be something I want to do, though. Like when I’m anxious or want to avoid something.”

“Like when you want to avoid Bakugou? And like what you’re feeling right now?”

Izuku’s grimace deepened into something sadder. He pressed the palm of his hand into his eyes. “Y-Yeah, but it’s not like I actively want to die! It’s just the feeling I have is– is similar to how I feel when I’ve thought of dying. Like I feel like it would be a relief even though my thoughts say it’s not. I… I’m just tired, still. I don’t feel the need to die, but I don’t feel the need to live, either…”

There was an extended moment of silence. Then, Izuku felt Hitoshi’s hand gently guide his head over to the side, and only realized what it was being guided to once he turned over onto his other side to lay his head in the others lap. Hitoshi carded his hands through his curls.

“It’s okay, it sounds like things are getting better. You’ll get to the point where you don’t feel like that anymore, so just make sure to tell me if it gets worse, okay? And, uh– sorry if you don’t like this. You just looked like you were lonely…”

“It’s okay, I like it.” Izuku closed his eyes, and just let himself enjoy the feeling of Hitoshi’s touch. “And I’ll tell you, but… but you don’t have to worry about me trying again, even if I get worse. I really want to live for you, I promise. I won’t leave you.”

Hitoshi’s hands paused for a split second, then continued to soothe his head, while his deep voice became more soothing to Izuku’s ears, “ …I know, but I still want to watch over you properly. And I’d rather know when you’re not feeling good, anyway. You did good telling me today.” Izuku felt a little joy light up in his melancholy at Hitoshi’s praise, before it was brought down when he continued with, “But… if having to see Bakugou makes it worse, then I think you should really tell Eraserhead, Izuku.”

He immediately tensed back up. “No. I can’t. I– I’ll get used to seeing him. It might even be a good thing to desensitize me now that I know Eraserhead will stop him if he goes too far.”

“So when you decided to avoid getting set against him, was that only because the thought scared you, or was it also because you don’t think All Might will stop him?”

“All Might will stop him! The set up just sort of… put him too far away to feel comfortable. And it was mostly because I was scared, anyway.”

“ ...Okay. But if things with him don’t improve, you should really consider trying to get him transferred to class B at least. Expulsion isn’t the only option on the table.”

Izuku didn’t respond to that. He couldn’t imagine the teachers would change a student’s class placement after the year’s already begun just because of one student’s feelings, and he didn’t want to lie to Hitoshi by saying that he would try if it got to that point.

Hitoshi ignored his obvious lack of response, “ ...And if it makes you feel any better, I really like your hero costume, too. It’s cool, and it’s very you.”

His chest got tighter, but it was from a breathless feeling instead of just pain. Izuku brought his hand up to grab onto Hitoshi’s, pulling it from his hair to cradle it into his chest, and he turned over to look up and give him a sad smile. Hitoshi was looking down at him with a sort of intensity he couldn’t name.

“Thank you, Hitoshi-kun, you always know just what to say. You’re so kind… I don’t do as much for you as you do for me.”

Hitoshi scowled at that last part. “I don’t feel that way. You’re my friend too, you know.”

“I know, that’s why I want to do more for you. Is there anything I could be doing? Anything you want me to do for you? It doesn’t matter what it is– I’d do anything for you.”

Hitoshi’s eyes glanced over him once with a serious expression, lingering on his face, before he closed his eyes. He sighed, “Don’t say that kind of stuff. And I don’t want anything from you, I just want you to keep being honest with me. Okay?”

“Okay.” The smile fell off his face, but he was still content. They just laid like that for a while, enjoying the warmth of having another person beside them.

Toshinori dragged himself through the hallways of the emptying school and into the teacher’s lounge. Once the door was safely closed behind him, he deflated in puffs of bellowing steam back into his true form, and sighed. Seeing that Eraserhead was there along with Present Mic, and that both of them turned their heads to stare at him at the sound of his entrance, he sighed harder.

“What’re you sighing about? That’s not very normal for our Number One smiler!” Present Mic inquired in a joking tone while tilting his head in curiosity.

Immediately, Eraserhead narrowed his eyes at Toshinori in suspicion. “Today were the Battle Trials. What happened? Recovery Girl didn’t notify me about any injuries.”

“Because there weren’t any. Everyone is in fine shape.” Toshinori frowned as he continued on to the part he knew would upset Eraserhead, “It’s just… I messed up with Midoriya-kun, by asking him some questions that it seems like I shouldn’t have.”

Eraserhead was outright scowling now. “Explain.”

Toshinori winced at the harsh word. “I asked him about how his mother was doing, since during my previous encounter with him I dropped him off at the hospital where she was admitted. Midoriya… didn’t react well, and left without answering, so I’m guessing her situation... ”

Present Mic frowned, and looked at Eraserhead in a questioning manner. Eraserhead’s scowl deepened and he brought a hand up to hold his temple. He sighed, “There’s no details in his records, but his primary contacts are listed as legal foster guardians. Whatever happened, he’s not with her anymore.”

Toshinori sat his weary body down in a chair. He stared down at his designated desk. “Then I brought back unpleasant memories… I have to do something to help him feel better.”

“No. Leave him be.” Toshinori glanced over at Eraserhead’s scowling face. “If he was so uncomfortable about you bringing it up then he’d wouldn’t appreciate you sticking into his business even further.”

“I won’t ask about it anymore, I just want to help– ”

“Even if you don’t directly mention it, he’ll know the thing that you’re trying to cheer him up about. If he comes in pretending like nothing happened, then he wouldn’t like you trying to address it even indirectly. Just give a basic apology so he knows you won’t ask again and drop it.”

Toshinori’s frown deepened, it made the lines of his emancipated face sharpen even further than usual. “But him pretending like nothing happened isn’t a particularly good way to do things either.”

“He’s got a point, Shouta,” Present Mic spoke up for the first time.

Eraserhead rubbed at his eyes. “Don’t call me that during school hours. And I know that, but frankly we as teachers can’t push anything unless we start seeing more concerning behavior from him. As soon as it looks like he’s in need of an intervention, we’ll do something. But until that happens we have to respect our students boundaries. And really, what is there to bring up with him right now– “We don’t like that you don’t want to talk about your possible deceased mother with All Might”? That’s just ridiculous.”

When he put it that way, it was a ridiculous thing to get worked up about. Of course the boy would try to avoid talking about that kind of thing. It’s nothing to be concerned about.

Toshinori may have accidentally caused him some sorrow, but as long as he doesn’t do that again things should be okay. 

But despite this, he noticed that Present Mic wasn’t as satisfied with that answer, going by the frown he was still wearing. “Even though you know that, you’re still preparing for him needing an intervention though. There’s something else about him that makes you worried, right?”

“ ...His demeanor is very anxious, but he doesn’t let it show. That might just be how he is or because of his history with his quirk, but that kind of thing can be indicative of other problems, especially if he’s grieving over a parent. I just want to make sure we’re watching him carefully for that.”

“I see…” Toshinori muttered to himself. He didn’t like that thought.

Hopefully Midoriya was handling his grief well, but… Eraserhead was right that it’s better to be prepared than not.

Hitoshi had come to terms with the fact that he apparently has a massive crush on Izuku.

It was obvious how that crush came to be; They spent so much time with each other, literally living in the same room, and he was basically the only consistently positive human interaction Hitoshi had. That along with his cute face, his earnest affection, and goodwill, and Hitoshi’s brain didn’t really stand a chance.

He tried to deny it at first, but after the first night of his realization that he thought Izuku would look hot with earrings, he caught himself purposely not looking at Izuku as they changed in their room for bed. That’s when he had the mental connection– Oh, shit. I really want to look at him.

It got worse when they started UA and Izuku actually got said earrings. It shouldn’t be possible for a boy with a face as baby cute as his to look hot, but he did, dammit. And his hero costume was as cool as it was edgy.

But then they got home on the day Izuku had his first Hero Basic Training class, and Hitoshi had to come to terms with something else…

“I really want to live for you, I promise. I won’t leave you”

–This situation doesn’t feel right… None of it feels right–

When having a crush, most people would be worried about said crush rejecting their feelings. And while he’d vaguely had that thought, his mind was leading into a totally different direction now.

Because while it was true that Izuku might still not feel the same way as him, it was also true that if Hitoshi let him know how he felt, Izuku might try to reciprocate even if his heart wasn’t in it.

“Is there anything I could be doing? Anything you want me to do for you? It doesn’t matter what it is– I’d do anything for you”

It’s not that he thought Izuku would outright lie to him, but in his attempt to please Hitoshi he might end up thinking– “Hitoshi wants this, and I want to give Hitoshi what he wants, so that’s like wanting to be with Hitoshi, right?”

Wrong. Totally wrong. Those weren’t the same things at all.

The situation reminded Hitoshi of his quirk. Because Izuku was so emotionally dependent on him, Hitoshi could tell him to do whatever and he’d do it gladly, but that didn’t mean it was really what Izuku wanted to do. In the case of him telling Izuku not to kill himself that was a good thing, but it wouldn’t be good for any circumstance that wasn’t just Hitoshi trying to keep Izuku from hurting himself.

Hitoshi could probably tell him to do something ridiculous like give up his spot in the hero department so Hitoshi could transfer in, and Izuku would do it even if he was emotionally killing himself and his dream in the process. All because Izuku felt like he owed Hitoshi for something as simple as having basic human decency.

–That’s not right… He’s not an expert when it comes to friendship, but even he could tell that’s not what being friends means. He doesn’t quite know what it actually means, but it’s surely not that–

Even if he wanted to try to act on his new feelings, he can’t. Because he can’t take the risk that he’d be taking advantage of Izuku, and Izuku probably wasn’t emotionally in the right place for that kind of thing anyway. All Hitoshi could do was ignore these unnecessary thoughts.

What it came down to was that right now, Hitoshi had too much emotional power over Izuku. He knew that would end up happening due to his dedicate your life to me spiel, but when he was reminded of it to this extent, it disturbed him.

However, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Now that Hitoshi’s seen what UA has to offer firsthand, he’s more optimistic about that outcome. Not only did Eraserhead seem to be a promising candidate for a Reliable Adult Figure that Hitoshi might be able to convince Izuku to confide to about his suicidal thoughts, but it looked like Izuku is taking the right steps to having friends in 1-A…

“This is Uraraka Ochako and Iida Tenya, who– uh, you actually met the other day, I just thought it’d be good to reintroduce you. And this is Tokoyami Fumikage, who I fought against in the battle trial yesterday, and this is Tokoyami’s friend and our other classmate Shouji Mezou!”

“Nice to see you again, Shinsou-kun!”

“I’m pleased to see you could join us for lunch this time!”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance. The darkness dwelling in your eyes is not misplaced with this group.”

“Nice to meet you,” the multi-handed Shouji ended the roundtable greetings with a sentence that was almost hilariously simple compared to the bird headed Tokoyami’s which had come before it. Shouji grew extra eyes to stare at Tokoyami, obviously aware of the discrepancy.

“Nice to meet you all too…” Hitoshi had to force himself from adding on an I guess… at the end of that, since that’d probably make his greeting more controversial than it needed to be. He glanced at Izuku to see he was smiling at everyone, as he always did. It wasn’t one of the true smiles Hitoshi’s seen from him but he seemed pretty relaxed, so he was probably feeling positive about this whole thing.

He’d committed to his promise to join Izuku for lunch today, but only because he’d already strategically gone some days not sitting with Izuku to hopefully get Izuku to interact with his classmates more, and it seems like it’s paid off. They’ve only just started the school year, and his friend is already introducing him to four different people.

…Four people, huh? Maybe that number’s not really a coincidence

He sat back and let the hero kids take over the conversation. According to their rambling, the class had voted for their representatives today, and Izuku got the most votes, though the number was admittedly low due to most people just voting for themselves. Why they didn’t make it so that people couldn’t vote for themselves like normal logic dictated, Hitoshi hadn’t the slightest idea. But privileged kids with privileged hero quirks did tend to be not quite right in the head.

Izuku, visibly repressing awkwardness and embarrassment at this point, explained that he turned the position down, and so it fell to the runner up named Yaoyorozu, and that they were still deciding on the vice president. Uraraka, Iida, and Tokoyami all needled him about that –since all three of them had voted for him– but Izuku just brushed off the question by saying that he wasn’t comfortable with that type of role.

While that was true, Hitoshi suspected that there was more to it. He wouldn’t ask Izuku about it in front of the hero kids, though, as he obviously didn’t want to tell them his real reason.

They also talked about other things, like how Iida was part of that famous hero family with Ingenium being his brother –Hitoshi had been right on the mark with his privileged hero quirk kid thought, some people just got all the luck straight from birth– and how Uraraka wanted to be a hero so she could support her parents.

That was more along the lines of what people with less fortunate backgrounds wished they could do, so he was more sympathetic about that. Anyone who tried to tell her that it was a shallow reason like Uraraka feared clearly never had to worry about food being on their plates. Hitoshi was extremely aware that he was only getting by on the goodwill of the Harukas’, who were in a good enough place that they could offer their home to five children that weren’t their own. He might criticize them in his thoughts about their fear of his and Izuku’s quirks, but he’s not so ungrateful that he wouldn’t give them credit for that.

Tokoyami and Shouji also gave their own explanations on how they ended up trying to be heroes.

“It seems like something that’s within the reach of my abilities, and I’m physically strong enough to do it, so I felt like I should. It’s natural to want to help people when you know you’re capable of helping, isn’t it?” Shouji explained with a shrug.

“The darkness of my soul is pervasive to the point that my quirk reflects it, but I would like to use that darkness for good. Things that are dark are not fated to be bad,” Tokoyami intoned with closed eyes and a single nod of his head.

“Those are cool reasons! What about you, Midoriya-kun? Why are you trying to be a hero?” Uraraka turned her shining eyes and smile on Izuku, and from next to him Hitoshi could feel unseen tension enter his body.

“Um, well…”

He never got to answer, as the sound of the school’s level 3 security system alarm system cut him off, but Hitoshi suspected he hadn’t wanted to answer in the first place.

There was a huge commotion over the alarm –an upperclassman explained it was because a level 3 security breach meant that someone had infiltrated the campus.

That was concerning to say the least, but once they pushed their way out into the hallway, a look through UA’s ceiling to floor windows showed it was only the press.

Those media bastards! As though Izuku and him hadn’t had a hard enough time this morning turning down their poor attempts to solicit interviews on “What is like to have All Might as a teacher”. Now they were outright causing panic and trespassing on private property! If he was down there he’d Brainwash them to take their asses back out the door without restraint! Izuku would agree it’s the perfect way to exercise the “non-violent resolution” advantage of his quirk.

The hero kids he was now involved with apparently couldn’t leave things be, going so far as to have Uraraka send Iida flying into the exit sign just so he could get everyone’s attention. This led to people finally chilling out and stopping their stampede. Izuku got lost during this process, so Hitoshi was internally relieved when he popped back up again relatively unscathed.

With the eventful lunch period over, Hitoshi parted from Izuku to head back to general education. During his time in boring classes that were still going over introductory material, Hitoshi let his mind wonder to his observations concerning the hero kids.

The first major step to having Izuku transition from “living for Hitoshi” to “living for himself” would be to reduce his dependency on Hitoshi by expanding his social interactions. The more people that could act as a reason for Izuku to want to live, the more motivated he would be to stick around.

Hitoshi had had the vague hope that UA would be able to offer Izuku what his middle school life lacked, and it looked like that was becoming a reality. All four of the 1-A students Hitoshi met seemed like they would at least object if Izuku mentioned something about no one caring if he was alive or not, so that was one thing in their favor. But when it came to Izuku having deep relationships with them, Hitoshi was less sure.

Iida and Uraraka were both the standard “optimistic, keep your spirits up!” type, and that would just motivate Izuku to keep up his “always have to be happy” mentality. Hitoshi knew the two of them wouldn’t mean to support Izuku keeping up fake emotions like that, but Hitoshi was sure that at this point any time Izuku’s anxiety or depressive attitude showed itself, their first response would be to try to cheer him up, and that Izuku would respond to that by pretending to feel better. That would make it harder for Izuku to actually feel better.

In his opinion, their approach to things was the last thing Izuku needed right now, and he could easily imagine it spiraling into a repeating cycle of their true optimism feeding into Izuku’s fake optimism.

Shouji wasn’t so clear cut on the optimism vs pessimism spectrum, but Hitoshi’s overall impression of him was that he was a fairly normal guy, so Izuku might want to keep up appearances that he was “normal” because of it. And Izuku’s version of normal also included being “happy”.

However, Tokoyami was another matter entirely.

Hitoshi had never been so relieved to not see a person crack a smile once over the course of a full conversation. He was clearly the edgy chuunibyou type, the kind of person that found interest in “dark” subjects like Izuku –hell, he’d repeated the word “dark” at least a couple of times in the few sentences he’d spoke– and Hitoshi could easily see Izuku bonding over that. The other boy was always elated whenever he could ramble on to Hitoshi about whatever occult knowledge he was thinking about at the time, and having someone that already had an active interest in that was sure to fuel that fire. Tokoyami would reassure Izuku that his non-typical interests weren’t a bad thing.

But most importantly, Tokoyami was a person that didn’t require Izuku to act cheerful, since the boy himself was on the opposite spectrum from that. Given enough time, Izuku would realize this himself and hopefully let go of his habits when with Tokoyami. Maybe that was wishful thinking on Hitoshi’s part, but there was at least a higher chance of Tokoyami being able to achieve that kind of honesty from Izuku compared to say Uraraka or Iida.

With that in mind, Hitoshi left class feeling more optimistic about Izuku’s chances to get to a better emotional place during their time at UA.

The two of them were soon reunited at the end of the day. Izuku met him out by the gate like usual, and together they made their way to the train station. The sun was behind them, extending their shadows on the concrete in front of them, but not yet low enough to change the blue of the sky. It was a beautiful day, with the birds still out and the leaves on the trees still green in the midst of spring

Izuku glanced back that the backpack he was carrying, fiddling with one of the straps. His face was relaxed into a natural, neutral look. “Because of what happened at lunch, we all voted Iida-san to be the vice president! I wasn’t able to give the others the charms I picked out for them because of that too… but I guess since Shouji’s tagging along with Tokoyami, that was probably for the best. I wouldn’t want him to feel left out. I’ll pick one out for him first.”

Hitoshi frowned as he thought about the implication of Izuku giving the hero kids what he assumed to be good luck charms.

“Are you giving them charms to ward off your quirk?”

“ …I know you think I don’t need to, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I hear giving gifts is a thing that friends appreciate, anyways,” Izuku mumbled guiltily and averted his eyes down towards the concrete.

Hitoshi had to keep himself from sighing. He knew that Izuku honestly felt more secure knowing Hitoshi always carried that rabbit’s foot charm with him, since Hitoshi spent so much time with Izuku and therefore Izuku’s quirk. But he wished that Izuku could truly understand that he had control over Jinx and that precautions were unnecessary.

As long as he thought like this, he would always think he was at fault for his mother’s accident.

Is that something else Hitoshi could work on with him? But his words alone aren’t getting anywhere, he doesn’t know how to get progress…

He decided to keep the conversation going instead of prodding, “Tokoyami seems like exactly the kind of guy you’d want to hang out with.”

The corners of Izuku’s mouth curled up into a small smile. It made something inside Hitoshi feel elated at the sight. “Right?! He likes my costume too, and his quirk is some kind of sentient shadow! Do you think maybe he likes occult and stuff?”

“I would bet real money that he likes occult, Izuku. He speaks like he’s living in a Lovecraft novel.”

Izuku gasped slightly, his hand coming up to cup his chin in thought. “Do you think he’s read Lovecraft?! That’s such an old foreign author, even if they’d heard of him most people wouldn’t bother to read his works!”

“Maybe? He might have watched those old horror movies too, I wouldn’t be surprised.” The night that Izuku had pulled Hitoshi into a mixed binge of black and white relics and other century old Japanese produce horror films was a night that Hitoshi somewhat regretted. The black and white movies had been as laughably out of date as the Japanese films had been genuinely terrifying, and for a couple nights after Hitoshi had been on edge at the possibility of girls with long black hair in white dresses appearing out of nowhere. Sure, they still made movies like that now, but the inclusion of the characters’ or the ghosts’ quirk tended to distract from the supernatural feeling.

Izuku, however, had already watched all those movies and had been happy to rewatch them, so Hitoshi didn’t mind too much.

“I’ll have to ask him when I see him next time…” Izuku’s face minutely shifted from geeky relish to unemotive once more, and he looked back up at Hitoshi to continue speaking, “So Hitoshi-kun… have you made any friends in your class?”

That made him take a mental pause. “ …Not particularly? I mean, so far no one that I’ve introduced my quirk to has tried to avoid me or talked shit about it, so it’s going better than it normally does so far.”

Izuku frowned slightly. He glanced away for a second, before refocusing his green eyes on Hitoshi again. “I see… That’s too bad, I’m sorry. I was hoping that by not eating lunch with you for the first couple of days you could make some friends, you know?”

Hitoshi blinked stupidly at Izuku. “That… was exactly what I was doing, too…”

He managed to get a momentary half-smile from that, but it left Izuku’s face as soon as it came. “I know you don’t plan on staying in 1-C, but maybe you should try finding people your comfortable with, at least. You might have to stay there awhile. If you get put in 1-A you’re already off to a good start now though!” Those green eyes glance back down at their still moving feet.

“I… I just think it will be better for you if you have more friends than just me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always stand by you and be your friend, but… I feel like I’m not enough to give you what you need. Not alone, that is.”

Hitoshi found himself unconsciously stopping his steps. Izuku stopped with him a couple steps ahead and looked back at him. He couldn’t name what Izuku was feeling based on his expression, it was too blank.

That’s right… While Hitoshi was all Izuku had, Izuku was all Hitoshi had. He’d been so focused wanting to fix the first part that he didn’t even think of the second part as a problem.

–What would he do when Izuku gained all these new friends that Hitoshi wanted him to have? Izuku will move on to bigger and better things with future heroes while Hitoshi’s left behind again, back to where he started. Alone–

It was unbearable to think about. There was a crushing pain in his chest.

“…Hitoshi-kun, there’s no need to have that look on your face.” Before he knew it, Izuku stepped in front of him to hold his cheek, his palm so warm against Hitoshi’s skin it almost burned. His face was cast in Hitoshi’s shadow, and he smiled at Hitoshi in a sad sort of way. “It doesn’t matter who I meet or if I get more friends, you’ll always be the most important person to me. The only reason I’m here to meet all of them is because of you, after all.”

“I– I don’t want that!”

–That’s exactly what he wants–

“If you find someone that becomes more important then that’s fine. That’s life!”

–It’s not fine, he hates the very idea of it–

“Just be with your classmates normally and let things happen the way they happen. You don’t have to coddle me.”

Hitoshi truly, desperately wished that he could tell his irrational emotions to fuck off. He could only hope that they weren’t showing on his face.

Izuku stared a him a bit longer, and only then dropped his hand. It moved to take one of Hitoshi’s and guide him back into walking away from UA. He wasn’t looking at Hitoshi as he said, “If that’s what you want, Hitoshi-kun…”

They made their way back to the house. The blue of the afternoon sky fell into the orange and red of dusk, which fell into the black of night.

Instead of being kept up by imaginary ghosts, Hitoshi was kept up by the haunting thought that Izuku’s response was a deflection, and not a real agreement.

A couple days later –on the day of a certain fieldtrip for 1-A– Izuku walked into their shared bathroom, and when he looked in the mirror it shattered.

He stared at it with a vacant expression, much like he did that day Hitoshi caught him trying to jump off Orudera’s roof. Hitoshi quickly pulled him away, worried about his mental state.

After a minute, Izuku pulled himself together and took out his phone. Looking over his shoulder, Hitoshi could see he was looking up the daily horoscope. “Ah… It says Cancers will face ill fortune today, so Jinx is acting up. What a bad omen…”

Izuku glanced up at Hitoshi with a dull look in his eye, and he could tell what his friend was thinking.

“Nothing’s going to happen to me today, I promise. I’m just going to be in class.”

“ …Just make sure to wear your charm today, please?”

Hitoshi rubbed the back of his head and sighed, “Fine… Nothing will happen probably, but since you do have training today, contact me if you get hurt or something. Okay?”

“Oh– I don’t really care too much if something happens to me… Uh…” Izuku quickly backtracked upon seeing Hitoshi’s fierce scowl, “Right. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”

Hitoshi placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, hoping he could reassure the worries he knew the other would still have. “UA is probably the safest place in the area, nothing major will happen there. Especially with All Might around. Just try to remember that.”

Izuku nodded, but he didn’t smile. That was a good thing, because the smile would’ve been a lie anyway. “I’ll try. Thanks, Hitoshi-kun.”

What he said shouldn’t have been wrong –with UA’s notorious security, it should’ve been the safest place to be. But as it was… while nothing happened on Hitoshi’s end, the same couldn’t be said for Izuku.

Chapter Text

Today 1-A were going on a field trip to a site off the main campus, everyone packing into a bus with their hero costumes adorned in preparation for the rescue training they would be undergoing. Everyone buzzed with excitement, chattering joyfully with the classmates they’d begun forming bonds with to pass time before their arrival. Izuku was participating in his own conversations to match the rest of them, but his mind was distracted.

“If you find someone that becomes more important then that’s fine. That’s life!”

“If that’s what you want, Hitoshi-kun…”

What he had said to Hitoshi hadn’t been a lie, because knew that wasn’t what Hitoshi really wanted.

Hitoshi understood Izuku, so he was preoccupied with worry for him, but because of that he overlooked that Izuku also understood him. Izuku understands that Hitoshi was lonely before, that Hitoshi doesn’t have anyone else. There was no way Hitoshi would every really want Izuku to become better friends with someone else, because that would mean they would no longer be equally important to each other. Hitoshi would think of Izuku as being more important than Izuku thought of him.

–That wasn’t acceptable. He’d never let it happen–

It put things into perspective for Izuku. His ultimate goal is still to get Hitoshi into the hero course, and he’s prepared to offer up his own spot to accomplish that. He needs to keep that in mind whenever he interacts with his new “friends”– he needs to remember that this would probably only be temporary.

Because he’d give them all up if he had to. Uraraka. Tokoyami. Aizawa. All Might– he’d leave them all behind without a moment’s hesitation for Hitoshi. None of them will ever mean as much to him as Hitoshi does.

Even though things with All Might were less awkward since the hero had given a short apology and dropped his questioning. Even though having the person who’s been his favorite hero since he was a child was an amazing feeling...

Even though Izuku had been doing his very best to match the efforts of the rest of his soon-to-be hero classmates, going so far as to start purposely saving up energy that he would’ve let leak out and wearing leviathan cross charmed bracelets under his school uniform sleeves along with his inverted cross earrings to generate even more energy throughout the day. Last year he never would’ve tried such a thing, too afraid of the misfortune it would bring, but with the amount that he used per exercise it was needed if he wanted to keep up…

Even though things were fun in this hero class. Even though he’s starting to get used to using his quirk…

None of it mattered. Hitoshi is his number one priority. He deserves everything Izuku can give to him.

As Tokoyami helped Izuku explain the age of B-horror to Uraraka, Iida, and Shouji –Izuku had learned before going on the bus that Tokoyami also enjoyed those classics, to both their delight– he thought that all of this would work out well. As long as Hitoshi joins them for lunch, he’ll be making friends with Izuku’s new friends, and when they switched out he would already have a social group going into the class. Hitoshi won’t be alone, and it will be like nothing had changed.

“ –While the films from before the 1980’s were the start of the genre, it was truly defined during that decade and after. Friday the 13^th, for example, came out during that time.”

“Friday the 13^th was one of the first majorly popular slasher film franchises. The film Halloween proceeded it and could be considered the start of the American slasher flick trend. It came out just before the 80s, but close enough,” Izuku added.

Uraraka tilted her head in curiosity. “You both know so much about this! Tokoyami-kun seems like that type, but for Midoriya-kun it’s sort of a surprise.”

Before he could start internally panicking about being seen as abnormal, Shouji added with one of his other mouths, “You wouldn’t expect them to have similarities concerning how different they act, but when Midoriya wears his hero costume it bridges the gap.”

Iida raised his hand like they were in class. “Were people not afraid that the rise in popularity of serial killer movies would lead to moral degeneracy of the public?”

He’s one of those types, should’ve guessed that… Tokoyami responded, “Certainly there were worries, but frankly speaking if a movie is all it takes to get someone to attempt their own murdering spree, then that person probably would’ve become a villain later anyway. Though, they weren’t “villains” back then.”

“It’s the responsibility of the viewers to know right from wrong. Your average person won’t be tempted into that kind of thing,” Izuku agreed. Tokoyami glanced at him to give him a sage nod.

While he was willing to give it up… he’ll still miss this, he thinks…

At this point, the conversation going on about quirks with the classmates sitting next to them caught Izuku’s attention. Asui voice chimed, “If we’re talking about powerful cool quirks, Bakugou and Todoroki are at the top of the list. But Bakugou’s so unhinged he’ll never be popular– ”

“The fuck did you say frog-face?!”

“See.”

“We’ve only just started socializing and you’ve already proven how unpleasant your shitty personality is,” the person with the electricity quirk and lighting bolt hair, Kaminari, laughed.

“I’ll pound your face in too Mr. Vocabulary!”

Izuku had to contain a wince –He won’t miss all of it, though…

Soon, they got off the bus at a building referred to as the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, the USJ. Aizawa brought them inside to the overlooking platform, showing a wide range of environments all within the dome of the building. The Space Hero: Thirteen was already inside, donning their bulky and almost alien looking astronaut hero costume, and Izuku noticed they were emanating slight bad luck. He supposed that was to be expected, considering the name.

While everyone was looking around, Izuku noticed Aizawa’s usual frown deepened. He spoke quietly to the other teacher, “Thirteen, where’s All Might? He was supposed to be here for this class.”

“He just about reached his limit during his morning commute, so he won’t be joining us for a while.” Thirteen held out three fingers as they said this. It seemed like more was being said than just the words themselves, though Izuku didn’t know the meaning. Aizawa scoffed in annoyance.

“Before we start, I have one or two points to go over. Or three. Or four– ”

Which is it?!

“My quirk is called Black Hole, it can suck in things and tear them apart.”

“And you’ve used it to save many people during rescue operations!” Uraraka spoke up with a bright grin. As an inspiring rescue hero herself, it seemed she was a fan of Thirteen’s.

“Indeed. However, my power could easily kill people as well. I’ve no doubt there are some among you with similar abilities.”

“I love you dear”

Izuku had to keep his smile from falling off his face when his chest panged.

“In our super-powered society, the use of quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem like a stable system, but we can’t forget it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable quirk for people to die.”

–As though he would forget that. It was another reason why he was better off giving his spot to Hitoshi–

Thirteen cast their arm to the side, gesturing to all the rescue areas down below. “Through All Might’s battle training, you experienced the danger that your quirks can bring to others. In this class, you’ll get a new perspective! You’ll learn how to utilize your quirks to save people! I hope you leave with the understanding that your powers aren’t meant to harm, they’re meant to help people.”

With the end of the speech, the class applauded, and Thirteen took a bow. Energy bustled through his classmates from their excitement, but Izuku was still stuck in place.

His mind turned Thirteen’s words over, as though it could look at them from an angle that would help make more sense of them.

He knows theoretically that Jinx could do good… but can he truly believe that? That a curse which has plagued his life is meant to help and save?

Surely anyone would look at his quirk and think it’s meant for the opposite, and that Izuku was simply choosing to use it in a way that wasn’t meant to be. He wasn’t like the rest of his classmates. He wasn’t meant to be here… Would this class be able to teach him otherwise?

He would never get the answer to that question.

With an intense expression unlike what Izuku’s seen from Aizawa before, their teacher shouted, “Huddle up and move back! Thirteen, protect the students!”

Izuku’s stomach instantly dropped to the floor, but out of habit his expression didn’t drop with it. No way…

Kirishima put a hand over his eyes to get a better look, as one of the students still not understanding the situation –not understanding their class’s misfortune. “Are those robots like from the exam?”

“Don’t move! Those are real villains!”

Down in the plaza next to the fountain, a swirl of black emerged, and from within it the small figures of people walked out, a full crowd of them. One of them had what looked like hands grabbing all over his body. The optimist energy of the class instantly dropped.

Yaoyorozu spoke in a rush, “Sensei, aren’t there sensors that alarm for intruders?!”

Aizawa responded calmly, even as he lowered his googles and move to descend upon the villains, “They must have a villain that can block the signals, and probably calls for help. Thirteen, evacuate and try calling the school. Kaminari, try using your quirk to send a signal as well.”

“G-Got it, Sensei!”

Izuku realized he was planning to go alone, and his feeling of dread increased. “Aizawa-sensei, you– you can’t erase so many quirks at once! Your style of fighting relies on quick capture, a straight-forward battle like this i-isn’t in your favor– ” 

“No hero is a one-trick pony. Thirteen, take care of them,” that was all he said before leaping down the stairs that separated them from the hoard and into the fray.

He held up well even as outnumbered as he was, but Izuku still felt uneasy. Thirteen tried to lead them all to the doors, but the blackness appeared before them. It swirled outward in a mist, with two lights shining in the dark like eyes.

“Greetings, we are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but we’ve come to this bastion of heroism today…” the voice reverberated softly, even as it’s words became harsh, “ …to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace.”

Izuku’s heart pumped fear through his veins, and the shock finally breeched his expression.

All Might… They were here for All Might?! But how could they hope to defeat the Number One hero? What did they have in store for them–

Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw one of the fingers on Thirteen’s glove flip open, clearly preparing to use their quirk, but they had to pause as the more eager of the students attacked. This consisted of Kirishima with the strong physical defense and attack of his Hardening, and predictably Katsuki with an explosive attack.

The dust of Katsuki’s explosion cleared to show the villain remained unharmed. “That was close. While you may be students, you’re still the best of the best…”

Unable to use Black Hole with the two in front of them despite seeing the danger approach, Thirteen cried out, “Both of you get back!”

The black mist swallowed Katsuki and Kirishima whole, and soon Izuku followed. Everything went black for a second.

When his vision returned, Izuku plunged into water. The liquid burned his eyes, and the little that he swallowed before holding his breath burned his lungs. He tried his best to move past his shock to tread water.

His breath was taken away again at the sight of a frightening shark-like villain. He opened his gaping mouth to charge at Izuku with sharp teeth.

Izuku snapped. It wouldn’t be heard underwater, but it was the motion that was important, not the sound.

The villain had to pause as a random piece of floating plastic got stuck in one of his gills. Reaching to pull it out with his hand, he choked out, “Ack! Stupid– litterers! Ugh– ”

Asui kicked the villain in the face with one of her frog-feet. Wrapping her tongue around Izuku, she pulled them both to the surface.

“I guess we know that villain doesn’t litter, kero. I don’t like people that do that very much either.”

“People with animal characteristic quirks are probably more inconvenienced by it, yeah,” he replied casually if a bit tired, as though they weren’t currently under the threat of death by villains.

Asui collected Mineta and threw both of them up onto the nearby boat one at a time. Izuku hit the wooden deck at a painful angle, but immediately worked past the pain to start flipping all his charms around to be unlucky. Even though once he got to 12 out of 12 his quirk became uncomfortable, it had to be done. If these were villains out to get All Might, he couldn’t afford to be overly cautious. He needed all the energy his quirk could push out …Though of course he would still avoid killing them, so he wasn’t going too far.

He looked out over the flood zone to see a crowd of villains in the water. Much more than the three of them could fight on their own.

He inverted his last horseshoe just as Asui pulled herself up, dripping water onto the floor. She croaked, “Seems like we’re in trouble.”

Izuku spoke about what’d been bothering him about this set up, “They knew our schedule, maybe they got it during the media break in. Either way they’re well prepared.”

“But they’re no way they could actually kill All Might, right?! Let’s just wait for him to take care of the villains!” Mineta objected.

“If they’re here, they must have a plan for that too. Why would they come here if they weren’t sure of success?” Asui responded seriously, “And who’s to say we’ll even last that long. We might die before All Might even gets here.”

Izuku contained a wince. That’s certainly true. It’s sort of bad for moral to say it out loud, but still… He definitely wasn’t counting on being lucky enough for All Might to arrive just in time to save them.

–If anything happens...–

“If there’s even a chance they can kill All Might, we have to fight. There’s no getting around it,” he declared with a weak smile, trying to emulate All Might to instill confidence in both himself and the others. His fist clenched tightly.

He didn’t say this lightly. He doesn’t like using his quirk to fight, but when it came down to it… if he needed to use his quirk to help his classmates and All Might, then so be it. The short time he’s had in this hero course has prepared him for that, at least.

Mineta immediately freaked out, his eyes bugging out while his arms flailing around while also pointing at the water where the villains were. “How can we possibly fight people that might even be able to kill All Might?! We need to wait for rescue!”

“Even though Asui-san’s quirk is good for aquatic regions, they put her in the flood zone, so they must not know our quirks– ”

“Why are you ignoring me?!”

“Call me Tsu-chan.”

Izuku continued to ignore Mineta, “S-Sorry Asui-san, but I’m not comfortable enough for that yet, anyway– That’s why they’re trying to overwhelm us with numbers. But they still have the disadvantage of not knowing what to be prepared for… ”

“And your quirk is good for being unpredictable, too,” Asui added on, it looked like she was on board with Izuku’s plan to fight, “You can do a wide range of things that people won’t even expect from quirks in general.”

“I– I guess so, yeah.”

“Do you think you can do anything like that now? Anything that can hit them all at once or would work well with our quirks? It’s okay if you don’t, we’ll think of another strategy. You could probably already tell, but my quirk Frog lets me do things a frog can do; like jumping high, sticking to walls, and secreting a low potency poison. I’m also a really strong swimmer. Mineta, what’s yours?”

The other boy startled at being called upon. “Ah– My quirk is Pop Off! My hair can pop off in balls that I can make sticky at will.” He reached a hand up to his strange hair to pull off a ball-like object, then stuck it to the wall of the ship next to it.

The two of them stared at Mineta in silence for a couple of seconds.

“Like I said– we should wait for help! My quirk sucks for fighting people!”

Izuku spoke up, “Oh, uh… Actually, I think it’d be really useful right now. It’s great for incapacitating opponents by trapping them, and that’s just what we need!” He just has to avoid thinking about how Mineta’s quirk is essentially sticky balls…

Mineta’s expression did a sudden 180 from fearful panic to bashful pride. He rubbed at the back of his head with an annoying grin. “You really think so? Hehe…”

“Midoriya-chan’s right, we could really use your help.”

Mineta’s bashfulness exploded into pure smug. He rubbed his hands together while his grin turned into a squinty-eyed smirk. “Hahaha! Well I guess there’s no helping it then! If a cute girl needs me I gotta give it my Plus Ultra!”

Now that Mineta was dealt with, they could have a plan that included all of their skills. But before they could talk further, an attack by one of the impatient villains shook the ship and caught them off balance. The shockwave ruptured the haul of the ship and split it in two.

Mineta began freaking out again. “They’re already attacking?! What are we gonna do?!”

“That was really dangerous. The middle of the ship is usually where the fuel tank is… It’s probably leaking now,” while she was shaken, Asui still managed to remain collected. She assessed the damage to the ship, before focusing back on the villains.

“Fuel tank… Asui-san, do you know if we could remove it?”

She immediately caught on as to what he would want a gas tank for. “Can your quirk cause it to ignite?”

“Independently, probably. But regardless it’ll definitely be able to in this situation, since all it needs to do is cause something to make a spark. There’s a battery somewhere in this mess.” He waved a hand toward the rest of the ship. “Actually, I could electrocute them if there are cords in the water. I wonder which would be better?”

“It’s sort of weird to say, but an explosion or fire would probably be safer. If the voltage is too high electrocution might kill them.”

A chill ran down his spine upon imagining dead bodies floating limply in the water, but he kept his tone level, “Right! That would be bad… Looks like we’ll do this Katsuki-style.”

“The fuel tank is usually bolted, but if you use your quirk to break the screws we should be able to take it out. I think I see it at the bottom there.” Asui pointed a large finger towards the other piece of the ship at one of the hollowed sections. A clear fluid mixed with harsh black oil was dripping out of it.

He let a false smile appear on his face as a show of optimism. “Great! First I’ll try to break it out before you try anything, cause– uh, I might accidently set it off. If everything’s clear after I snap, then grab it with your tongue quickly and fling it at them please!”

“It’ll be disgusting to taste, but the plan sounds good. Kero.”

“You guys…” Both Izuku and Asui turned around to look at a shaky Mineta staring at them. “You guys are scary! How can you calmly talk about gas tank explosions and electrocution like that?! Not to mention Midoriya might accidently set it off right now?! Are you crazy?!”

A wave of guilt silently swept over Izuku. Mineta was right, isn’t it morbid to be talking about these things? Even if they’re going with gasoline and not electrocution, there’s still a very real chance those people could get hurt–

“There’s no helping it. If we don’t go on the offensive they’ll kill us. We’re only students and this is an emergency; we don’t have the luxury to handle this with minimum injury to the villains like a pro could,” Asui stated as a matter of fact.

…That was also very true

–If anyone dies...–

Like all major problems in his life, Izuku ignored his internal crisis.

They had Mineta start throwing balls out into the water as far as he could to buy a few seconds and set up for his part of the plan. Izuku noticed that the villains were extremely wary of them, treading water from a good distance away like poison could spout from them any second. This both proved that they didn’t know what quirks they were dealing with, and that they had enough common sense that they would start swimming away as soon as a gas tank was thrown at them. Which was good, since that meant they were less likely to die…

While this was going on, Izuku snapped with the vague wish to release the gas tank. Even though he could see part of the tank, he couldn’t see any sort of screws from this distance, so vague was all he could do. It seemed to be successful though, as he felt a small portion of his bad luck being used up without any explosion or fire following it.

Like he directed, Asui’s tongue stretched out to grab onto the box, and flung it towards the villains in front of them. It was thrown to the side in such a way that the leaking gas spewed into the water in a wide arc surrounding the boat, with the gas tank itself being at the end closest to the part of the ship they weren’t on. The villains startled away.

“What– ”

“Get back– !”

Before their opposition could even finish their shouts, Izuku snapped with the thought: Ignite

Asui jumped far with Izuku wrapped in her tongue and Mineta under one arm. They dived into the water a little ways away from the boat right before the gas tank erupted just before hitting water. The gas trail that sprouted from it lit up into a path of fire. Before Izuku ducked under, he glanced back and saw the flames followed the gas leaking from the ship itself, which instantly transformed into a rapid explosion inside the wreckage. The inferno raged on top of the water fueled by floating hazardous liquids and burning wood.

They dived down deep to avoid the chaos, but were still close enough to see the villains run into the many balls surrounding them in their panic, getting stuck to each other. Even after they get it together, pursing the three of them would be too difficult.

After they gained some distance and the need for air couldn’t be put off any longer, they resurfaced. Izuku looked back to see that the entire ship was now on fire and smoking along with the water immediately surrounding it. The façade rescue scenario was now a true shipwreck.

They trended water heading towards the shore with the sound of cracking fire and screams fading away in the background.

“I didn’t see anyone in mortal peril, so I think that went well,” Izuku said just to have something to say. He peeled the fingerless gloves off his hands in a hopeless attempt to de-prune his skin, storing them away into one of his pockets. He wished he could also take the dragging and extremely waterlogged cloak off, but it’d be unwise to lose all his extra accessories for the sake of comfort.

Asui nodded, looking much more content in the water than he did, which was logical since her costume must’ve been made for the water. “They all looked like strong enough swimmers to keep away from the fire.”

“ …I still think you guys are kinda scary.”

They decided to stop by the plaza instead of avoiding it and the villains that Eraserhead was dealing with there. While the latter was the smartest plan, Izuku was worried that Eraserhead might not be able to make it until backup arrived. Asui agreed to look and see if there was a way they could help their teacher without getting directly involved in the fight.

“Your quirk is suited for that kind of subterfuge, so I don’t have a problem with trying. Kero, we just have to be careful about being seen.”

“But don’t you think that’s just asking for trouble?! We’ve got someone that’s straight up unlucky here, our odds aren’t good! The fact that we made it past one set of villains is already– ”

“Mineta! Don’t say that!” Asui cut the boy off with a shout. Instead of her usual neutral expression, she was glaring at the startled Mineta. Izuku felt himself tense up.

“W-What– ”

“Don’t you realize how mean what you said was? Just because his quirk makes bad luck doesn’t mean Midoriya-chan’s bad luck. You should apologize!”

Mineta looked away awkwardly. “I– I guess, yeah, but… you have to admit he might be. I usually wouldn’t care but in this kind of life or death scenario I don’t wanna risk anything pushing me over to the death category! Even if it’s superstitious!”

Asui was still obviously discontent. Before she could argue though, Izuku stuck a hand into one of the hidden pockets of his cloak –which were thankfully water-protected– and took out his blessing omikuji roll. “Here, Mineta-san, these omikuji are good luck. If you have a strong one on my quirk is less likely to affect you. You should have one too, Asui-san.”

Mineta blinked in surprise, and an uncomfortable smile came on his face. “R-Really? Um… Thanks Midoriya. I’ll take one.”

Big black eyes glanced at Izuku, Asui’s frown shown in them. “Midoriya-chan, you don’t need to– ”

“It’s fine. I insist, actually.” Izuku smiled at the frog girl and held out her own great blessing. “He’s right that it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“ …If you really want me to,” Asui finally relented, though she still didn’t look satisfied.

As much as he tried though, the omikuji wouldn’t stick. His classmates were too wet everywhere for the sticker side of the paper to work, so instead he just gave them some to hold onto. It was nowhere near as effective as actually wearing them, but it would give both Mineta and Izuku peace of mind at least.

His eyes traced over the black ink of the kanji, and he ignored the deadened feeling weighting down his chest.

This is… probably his fault, isn’t it?

What were the chances that their class would be the only on to face an attack on UA grounds like this, a place that was known for its top of the line security? There’s no way it’s just a coincidence– it was straight up misfortune. They were Jinxed.

–It’s just like what happened with Mom. If anything happens, if anyone dies, it’ll be his fault–

But he didn’t speak about any of this. Instead, they made their way to the shoreline of the plaza in anxiety-ridden silence.

Izuku hadn’t truly been hoping for the best –that always just ends in disappointment for him– but he hadn’t been expecting the worst either. And when they arrived, they weren’t presented with the absolute worst, but it was about to dissolve into it.

Within the average scene of a plain concrete plaza and fountain there was the lanky grayed out man with hands that he’d seen from the entrance, and there was a hulking mass of black muscle with a beak and a brain on full display that he wasn’t sure was human or not. Eraserhead had been leaving a trail of unconscious villains in his wake, but when it came to those two he was out maneuvered.

With a touch of his palm the hand villain crumbled the skin of Eraserhead’s arm away. It was a frightening quirk in and of itself. And when that was halted, he ordered “Nomu” to fight.

Their teacher became a broken doll in its hands.

His arms were crushed and snapped by its grip. His already bloody head was slammed into the ground, the concrete cracking it its wake. All Izuku could do was blankly watch the scene unfold, the shock reaching into his core.

Then all at once, he couldn’t do nothing anymore.

With his hands covering his mouth, Mineta whispered quickly, “This– This is too much! Midoriya, surely even you’re rethinking– ” 

“You two… You should get away from me. Start swimming away or duck under the water.”

That fusion between a person and a monster was hardy, even though Izuku still had a good amount of energy it might not be enough. He felt around his hidden pockets again and located his thirteen small mirrors. It’s not enough if he wants to use them more than once, he needs to remember to get more.

 “Midoriya-chan!” Asui reached her hand towards him, but he was already standing up in the water. It rolled down his body and weighted down his cloak and clothes, but he sloshed forward regardless, climbing onto dry land.

“I’m about to make myself a really big target right now,” he continued with a calmness that didn’t betray the dangerous waters rushing underneath the surface of his skin, “so you should stay away from me.”

If anything happens, if anyone dies–

The Nomu pulled up Eraserhead’s head up in preparation to slam it into the ground a second time, but the main villain’s attention was drawn away. He looked at Izuku through the gaps between the fingers on his face, his eyes a striking red color. At first he looked surprised, then his surprise turned into sadistic amusement.

The villain’s voice was as dry as it was full of malice, “One of the kiddies came out of hiding! Trying to save your precious “sensei”? No one would blame you if you run, you know. He’s only been your teacher for how many days? You’ll be better off leaving him for dead– this Nomu was built to match All Might’s specs!”

“Even if that’s the case, I can’t do that. It’s not my lucky day, but it’s not yours either,” was all Izuku replied.

His face felt different than usual, masking itself with a blank expression instead of one of fake happiness. And unlike usual, that blankness wasn’t a reflection of his deadened emotions, but instead a sign that even now he continued to push down the raging tidal wave of dread, anxiety, and fear so that it was felt by his entire body except for his face.

It’ll be his fault. He can’t let it be his fault. He can’t let anyone die. He can’t let Sensei, Hitoshi’s hero die. He can’t, he can’t, he can’t–

The only acceptable causality today was himself. No one else.

Just as the Nomu brought the hand clutching Eraserhead’s head down again, Izuku snapped for the fourth time that day. There was an echoing crack and a shriek of pain.

The Nomu’s grip involuntarily let go of Eraserhead to let the limp man’s face land harshly on the ground again, but it was better than a full attack. The hand that had been holding the hero’s head was shaking in a partly clutched form. Izuku guessed that the metacarpals had been broken based on the way stark white bone peaked out of the black flesh.

The Nomu examined the injury like it didn’t understand where the pain was coming from. The other villain took a step back, Izuku vaguely noticed he seemed startled. “Nomu– ”

Another snap, and all the mirrors in his pocket broke in one loud shatter.

The effect was instantaneous; Jinx kicked into overdrive and the amount of energy in his body amplified much more than 13 times. There was so much of it that it was physically painful to the point where he wanted to cry. He couldn’t even contain all of it– some leaked out like that gas tank from just before, a fuse waiting to ignite.

It was visible for the first time ever as a sickly green glow, wafting into the air around him.

But he didn’t care, and he didn’t cry. Just like always.

Now that the danger was obvious the villain grew weary and started to move, but Izuku had already started rapid firing snaps.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten–

There was a shriek for every snap. The strength of the sixth broke the spine. The seventh misfired and only broke an already broken finger. The eighth broke one arm, and the ninth broke another, and the tenth broke a leg. The Nomu fell into a broken heap.

He didn’t have any particular body parts in mind other than bones, so it should’ve been hard to keep track of what broke when, but the green light emanating from his misfortune made it much easier to keep track. Like a noose, it wrapped around whatever its target was in the same moment he snapped.

He’d always known deep down exactly what Jinx was capable of. He was willing to admit that it’s good at destroying, it’s good at breaking, whether the thing that it breaks is technology or buildings or anything in between– If it’s something that can be broken, it can break it.

The hand villain started blurring towards him during this, but he was already on snap eleven with his target adjusted. The villain tripped with a loud and angry curse as his ankle broke underneath his weight. Compared to breaking the Nomu’s bones, the amount of energy it took was significantly smaller.

–He hadn’t wanted to admit that people were so easy to break–

He’d always imagined it would be harder, like the exorbitant decline in the morality of such a thing would physically translate into the action, but all it took was a snap. Just like everything else.

–He hates it–

The painful pressure underneath his skin was lightened. He’d apparently used enough that the energy now stayed put obediently, no longer so potent that it was visible. His heartrate slowed, he let himself take a breath. He couldn’t remember when he’d stopped breathing in the first place.

The black mist from the entrance appeared before them in a swirl. He took one look at the scene with wide lit-up eyes and gasped out, “The Nomu– Shigaraki Tomura! How did a mere student accomplish such a thing?!”

“Wait.” On the ground, the now named Shigaraki held a hand out towards the other. His eyes were trained on the Nomu. He must still be in pain, but it couldn’t be heard in his voice, “This is a good checkpoint test…”

Izuku didn’t even have a second to wonder what the villain was talking about before the grotesque sound of bones cracking filled the air once more.

His head swerved back to see that the Nomu’s body was independently realigning itself. The white bone pulled back into the black, and the muscles surrounding them budged out until they settled back into place to presumably be refused together.

The hand fixed itself first, then the limbs, its arms dragging it across the ground where it’s legs still failed it. And then finally the spine was fixed, as its legs regained their movement to allow the thing to stand up again. It was like a B-horror monster, except on steroids and genuinely terrifying.

Dread flooded back into him. Thunder sounded off from above like a bad omen, the excess use of his quirk had again caused the once clear blue sky to darken.

It wasn’t enough. How could it not be enough? What he had left over was nowhere near what he used up. He went as far as he could and gave as much as he could– What else can he do?

Shigaraki raised himself back up on one leg. A smirk could be heard in his voice, “As expected, the Nomu’s regeneration is up to par. Our last boss would hardly be enough for All Might if broken bones could stop it. The thing that pisses me off more is what he did to me!”

Thunder rumbled above a second time. His eyes flicked upward for a split second to see the barrier the reinforced glass dome provided to separate them from the gloom.

Izuku was reminded that while the Nomu’s regeneration had been insane, while this was something that seemed to have been brought specifically to fight All Might, that didn’t mean it was invincible. It was just invincible where it needed to be for All Might’s strength.

It still couldn’t move its lower half until the spine repaired itself– Its nervous system was normal.

The warping villain still seemed unsettled. “Even so, there are still… complications. I successfully incapacitated Thirteen, but a student managed to flee to call for help. It was one with a speed quirk.”

Shigaraki seemed to mentally pause. He brought his hands up to scratch so harshly at his neck over and over that it was painful to watch.

“Kurogiri… if you weren’t our warp gate, I’d turn you to dust right now!”

But the Nomu’s not as likely of a target as that robot had been, he needed more energy to overcome that.

With all twelve of his charms Jinx is producing more at a fast rate, but it’s not fast enough. He needs it to be like when he first broke all the mirrors. What was it that caused that reaction? The sheer amount of misfortune he gained in that instant? No– the physical sensation of Jinx itself is too close to how it felt in that moment to be that. Then it must’ve been because–

“It’s over… Game over!” Shigaraki let his hand fall to his side to cry out, “We can’t beat tons of pros like that! We have to leave… ”

Izuku carefully didn’t turn his gaze when he caught a flash of green out of the corner of his eye where Eraserhead had gone missing. Asui and maybe Mineta were still here, having retrieved their teacher during the opportunity that Izuku had given. That was a good thing, but it was also a bad thing since it meant they were still here.

He discretely felt around his hidden pocket. The only things he had left were the omikuji paper –useless since he’s too wet for it to stick– his backup lucky charms –the opposite of what he needed right now– and tons of mirror shards. 

An idea rose to the surface of his mind from within its random jumble of superstitions. He could use the shards… But was it really necessary? Maybe if he just stalled for time All Might will be here soon, and they mentioned they were leaving. However…

The memory of the mirror shattering that morning played in his mind’s eye. It was just like that morning when his mom died, just like that morning he almost killed himself–

“Let’s just leave a couple dead kids to wound the Symbol of Peace’s pride– ”

He can’t count on good fortune. If anyone dies it’ll be his fault.

He needs at least 13 to push his quirk to that level. If he doesn’t have a 13^th, he can make one–

His hand gently wrapped around the biggest shard he could feel. In a single, fluid motion, he withdrew it to stab into the top of his still bare wrist on the back of his hand.

He dragged the edge down to his knuckles quickly to push aside the pain, then removed it from his hand to stab below his wrist underneath the beginning of the line. He dragged it across horizontally to complete a bloody cross. Lifting up the hand so his fingers pointed upward inverted it. Red streaks dyed the skin of his palm and arm, dripping down onto the ground below.

He had less than a second to process too many things at once –how the pain was almost numbing, how Jinx was so forceful it was hurting again and yet his blood rushed through his veins like he was high on adrenalin, how energy seeped from his cuts as a green glow, how the blood cross was so much more potent than any of the metal omens he currently wore, how that green glow could also be seen in the eyes of his reflection in the blood-covered mirror– before he snapped. A small section of the dome above them shattered.

He snapped again, number thirteen, with the Nomu as his target.

With a deafening crash and a blinding light, the lightning bolt struck from the hole in the roof. The Nomu didn’t even have time to shriek before it was gone, leaving only the energized atoms in the air surrounding its victim.

The scent of burnt flesh weighted in the air as it dropped heavily, its muscles twitching at random. Izuku used up all of his stores. With the main villain’s walking impaired, all that should be left to deal with was the warp gate. He didn’t know what the hell he could do about that other than stall for time until the still overdrived Jinx made more energy or someone else comes.

He hadn’t noticed until his vision cleared that Shigaraki had already moved right next him.

Red eyes like the blood on his hand stole the breath from his lungs, just as rough fingers pressed against the left side of his face right over his eye.

It hurts, it hurts –

Half his world went dark at the same time that a pain much more intense than what he’d given himself burst in his head, like there was an icepick in his eye. An agony he’s never felt before enveloped his senses for a second that lasted for an eternity.

He felt himself scream bloody murder more than he heard it. No sensation reached him other than pain.

Then in the next instance the pain died down, but it still pulsed. He was on his knees even though he hadn’t felt himself fall, and when Shigaraki retracted his hand Izuku replaced it with his own instinctively. It pressed hard against his face. He hardly felt the warm blood seep out and onto his palm in comparison to the burn that side of his face had become.

His right eye was trying to focus on the blurred concrete beneath him, but he heard Shigaraki talking, “A bit late there, Eraserhead! And a word of advice for you, kid– stubborn villains who know what they want like me won’t stop for distractions or just one broken leg, you should’ve gone for both. I wouldn’t make the same mistake of not being proactive when you’d already proved that was a bad idea.”

From somewhere far away, Izuku could hear the familiar sound of something breaking, or rather, something being absolutely demolished. He could also hear Shigaraki’s echoing laughter, and he glanced up to see an unidentifiable gray figure already halfway into the black mist.

“The Symbol of Peace is finally here! Between helping a child and following the escaping villains, I’m pretty sure of what you’ll choose…”

Within the span of a blink he was no longer stationary on the ground, but instead he felt the sensation of movement as the wind and indecipherable colors of the world rushed by him.

Izuku was cradled into a large arm with his face pressing into a firm chest, and he could only vaguely notice he was bleeding right onto a white shirt. He pawed at All Might’s shirt with the hand that wasn’t against his eye, the one that wasn’t cut up. His voice was weak and croaking from the roughness of his throat, “W-Wait… Eraserhead…”

“I have him right here, my boy. You don’t need to worry anymore– I’m here.”

Relief finally settled into Izuku’s body, only matched by the unbearable pain of his head. He couldn’t see Eraserhead from where he was, but he guessed he was in All Might’s other arm.

“But what about… everyone else…”

“No one other than you and the teachers were seriously injured, I checked with your other classmates about that before leaving. You’re going in and out of consciousness, so you weren’t aware when that happened.” That… was slightly concerning. He hadn’t even noticed. “The rest of the teachers were almost there along with the police and ambulance, but I’m backtracking with you two and Recovery Girl. You’re both in need of immediate medical attention. Thirteen was too unstable for me to transport, so I dropped them off with an ambulance.”

“S-So no… no one died, then? And A-Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen-sensei were the… only ones who were hurt? That’s… That’s good…”

The arm holding onto him tightened. “And you, Midoriya. And you.”

That doesn’t really matter, though…

Even if he was out of it, he knew better than to say that thought aloud. He blinked again, and his view changed to that of a ceiling. He was lying down in some sort of bed.

It seemed like All Might was just in the middle of laying him down, as the arm underneath him pulled itself out. But when his eye trailed up an unfamiliar withered, boney arm, it landed on a gaunt tall figure instead of All Might’s wide stature. He stared down at Izuku with shadowed eyes and a deep grimace.

“All… Might…?”

The much smaller figure of Recovery Girl popped into his field of vision above his head. “Midoriya, I’m putting you to sleep now to stabilize your injuries and see what I can heal with my quirk. You’ll be sent to the hospital along with Eraser afterwards. Just relax and let yourself rest, dearie.”

He wasn’t sure what she was doing to medicate him, but he could already feel it taking effect. Lethargy replaced the pain in his body, finally giving it relief, and his eyelid drooped involuntarily.

“Contact me if you get hurt or something. Okay?”

“W-Wait. S-Someone… tell Hito… Shinsou Hitoshi… Where I’m…”

His words slurred together until he was unable to talk entirely. The world fell into darkness.

Chapter Text

“Shit… I think that kid broke my ankle.” Now that he was lying against the wall on the wooden floor of their base, Tomura took the time to lift his leg up to examine the damage. The ankle in question was obviously swollen and definitely hurt enough to be broken instead of just a sprain. “What the hell was his quirk even, anyway? That lightning was completely different from what he was doing before!”

A few seconds later, and Kurogiri rematerialized in the room. He bowed his head in shame towards Tomura. “I failed to retrieve the Nomu before All Might got too close, and right after he left the other heroes arrived to secure it. It was too risky to make an attempt.”

“Dammit! All Might didn’t show ‘til later, Sensei! We couldn’t even test the Nomu or see for ourselves if All Might had actually gotten weaker! That kid fucked everything up by fighting it himself! The only thing we accomplished was fucking him over!”

From the speakers of the staticky TV monitor in the room, Sensei finally spoke, “And after all the trouble we went through to make it as strong as All Might… What a shame. I suppose that if a student was able to deal with the Nomu then we were too hasty, though. Did you injury him enough to cause a fuss?”

“Most definitely,” Kurogiri responded, “From my perspective Shigaraki Tomura did quite a bit of damage, even if it was only to the head. I’m certain their inability to protect even one student will bring criticism to their doors.”

“He had it coming with what he did to my weapon and ankle,” Tomura sulked with crossed arms.

“But of course… It’s unlike you to leave him alive though, Tomura.”

“One of the other kids pulled up Eraser’s head so that he could use his quirk on me half-way.”

“But if you wished to kill him, it would’ve been simple for you to destroy enough of his head to do so even if the time was short. That suggests you held back.”

Tomura mentally paused at that. Thinking back on the moment, it was true that he’d been more focused on hurting the green-haired kid rather than killing him, but it’s not like he’d wanted to spare him either…

“Tell me more about this child’s quirk… You mentioned that it was unusual, but also that it was affective against the Nomu– Did he have strength similar to All Might’s?”

“No, it was completely different,” Tomura was able to answer that at least, “He powered himself up somehow, then all he needed to do was snap to break my ankle. He also broke the Nomu’s bones like that. Then after the Nomu regenerated, he…” Tomura hesitated as he realized that the kid’s actions were even weirder looking back on them then they had been in the moment, “He cut his hand to repower himself, then when he snapped, the Nomu was struck by lightning. I messed up his eye after that.”

“That’s a strange change in ability, indeed… What sort of theme was his hero costume? They tend to reflect their abilities in their design choices.”

Kurogiri added his own thoughts, “Now that you mention it, his costume was unusual, too. I wasn’t present long enough to get a good look at it, but it didn’t seem very hero-like…”

“ …He looked like a witch,” Tomura mused. He racked his nails over the flesh of his throat in agitation. “It was like a try-hard witch cosplay without the hat. He was also wearing a bunch of pentagrams and crosses like an occult freak, and the cut he made in his hand was cross-shaped… What the hell kind of quirk does that match?”

“Well there are as many different kinds of quirks as there are quirk-bearing human beings. But regardless, we have enough information to know what you were thinking, Tomura… I think you saw potential in that boy,” there was a grin in Sensei’s voice when he said that last part.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that when you saw what that boy could do, you realized that he had a quirk meant for destruction, just like yours. Maybe you saw a bit of yourself in him.”

“He was nothing like me. Even though he was able to trash the Nomu, he didn’t seem happy about it at all like I would be.”

But then Tomura thought of how the boy had looked in those moments. He hadn’t looked happy because he hadn’t shown any particular expression at all.

He stared at Tomura, the enemy who had come to cast a plague upon his class, with piercing green eyes that glowed with power and nothing else. There was no fear for his life, no anger towards the forces that had been about to kill his teacher. Even when he broke Tomura’s and the Nomu’s bones as easily as breathing, there was no sense of accomplishment or distress or hatred, there was only a void. Like he hadn’t cared what happened.

And yet he chose to single himself out. He chose to continue his attack even after that failure. He’d decided on his next course of action within the timeframe of just a short conversation– He had known exactly what he wanted to do and had been determined to see it through, even if he had to outright hurt himself in the process. So the kid had obviously cared, and was just particularly talented at not wearing his heart on his sleeve.

But regardless… that kind of emotional dissociation from such an intense situation wasn’t normal. That kind of hazardous determination wasn’t normal.

It was a hallmark of a broken person; because quirks made to destroy break everything, including the people that use them.

“ …But I guess some things are similar.”

During the middle of English class on the day Izuku had his fieldtrip, Present Mic’s lecture was interrupted the ringing of the classroom phone. After he answered it in a quiet conversation, he turned to the class to say that one of the other teachers would be by to escort them to the gym, and left in a rush. 1-C broke out into whispers in his wake.

It got worse once they were taken to the gym only to find that all the other classes at school were also headed there. The teachers present had all the students line up by class to take roll call, and then announced what was going on.

“There has been a report of intruders on a site off the main campus. While the main campus has no sign of similar intruders, protocol dictates that we place all the students present in the same area so all the teachers and heroes can supervise everyone. The Principal, All Might, and many other hero teachers have left to apprehend the intruders. Until we have received word that everything has been secured, please do not leave this room. There are bathrooms connected to this gym as well as vending machines with snacks and drinks to use for your convenience.”

The entire gymnasium broke out into harsh whispers as a nervous energy overtook the crowd. Hitoshi felt his breath choke in his lungs as he made the obvious connection between a remote location intruder attack and 1-A’s remote location fieldtrip. Swerving his head around, the 1-A kids he’d met were all notably missing from the class lineup.

“Please remain calm! As I said, the UA staff is already in the process of dealing with the situation, and there are no signs that we here at the main campus will be affected!”

That doesn’t mean the people not here won’t be affected…

A blond-haired student from the third-year section walked up to the front of the gym. He spoke with a much different voice than the teacher Hitoshi didn’t know; it was young, bright, and full of confidence, “Don’t worry everyone! Our UA teachers are the best of the best, and All Might himself is even going! They’ll take care of what’s going on no problem!”

The upperclassman’s attitude and words seemed to permeate into the student body. The atmosphere became lighter, and Hitoshi noticed that his own class came down from their anxious tension.

However, Hitoshi himself couldn’t feel the same. He wouldn’t relax until he knew for sure that Izuku was safe.

“Thank you for your kind words, Togata-kun. Please return to your classmates now.”

“ …Shinsou-kun. Shinsou-kun!”

He jolted and looked behind him towards the direction of the high-pitched voice. One of his classmates, Tomoyo was her name if he remembered right, looked at him with a worried expression. “Are you alright, Shinsou-kun? You didn’t even notice I was calling you, and you look so pale!”

Another classmate with a similar look on his face, Kinomoto, joined in, “Tomoyo-san’s right. You’re usually not very bothered by things, this isn’t really like you… Do you need us to get you a teacher?”

Hitoshi’s bewilderment transformed into annoyance at the mention of getting an authority figure. He scowled at the two of them. “No, don’t. I just…” He debated whether he should be honest or not before decided venting would be appreciated. He turned his scowl downwards toward the floor. “I’m just worried about what’s going on with 1-A. I have a friend in that class.”

“Now that you mention it, one of the hero classes are missing… ” Kinomoto glanced around like Hitoshi had a moment ago. When he looked back, he gave Hitoshi a reassuring nod. “But you don’t need to worry, All Might’s going! All of the class will be safe with him there.”

Tomoyo smiled gently at him. “I see why you would be worried. Like senpai and Kinomoto said– All Might is going to help, so try to remember that. I’m sure your friend will be okay.”

Hitoshi knew they meant well, but there wasn’t really anything their reassurance could do for him. It felt like a long time passed before it was announced that the heroes had finished apprehending the intruders, and that the rest of the day’s classes were canceled.

He made to file out the double doors like everyone else, but was stopped right after passing the threshold. Present Mic had returned, with a serious look on his face that didn’t match the laidback attitude Hitoshi had come to expect from him. Hitoshi was sure his face paled even further.

Hitoshi followed Mic, walking briskly down the hallway without knowing where they were going. He didn’t particularly care, though, since as soon as they were far enough away from the other students Hitoshi could ask–

Present Mic beat him to it, glancing back at him without pausing his stride to ask, “Are you friends with Midoryia Izuku? He asked for us to notify you.”

He knew it. He knew that’s what this was about. He’d noticed that Izuku had refrained from telling any of his hero class friends the full details, but he also knew it was best if the teachers were aware. “Yeah, we live with the same foster family.”

If Mic was surprised by them being fostered, he didn’t show it. All he did was nod in understanding. “You look like you’re on edge enough as it is, so I’m gonna get right to the point; Midoriya is alive, and he wasn’t fatally injured, but he was hurt pretty badly during a villain attack. They’ve already transferred him over to the Musutafu General Hospital.”

Hitoshi felt his face pinch as fear settled further into his stomach. While it was good to hear that Izuku wasn’t dead or dying, the fact that he had to be hospitalized still wasn’t pleasant news.

“That’s all I know about the situation currently, but I’m sure after the hospital’s done treating him they’ll tell you more.” Present Mic placed a steady hand on Hitoshi’s shoulder. “Do you want me to take you to the hospital right now, or do you want to meet up with your and Midoriya’s foster parents and go with them? They’ve already been contacted.”

“I’d rather go right now.” He didn’t even need to think about his answer.

Present Mic nodded again with a pat to Hitoshi’s shoulder. He must’ve already guessed what Hitoshi’s answer would be, since their walk through the halls ended at the entrance to the school’s main driveway and parking lot. They hopped into what Hitoshi assumed was Mic’s car and drove off.

The only time Mic spoke after that was when they arrived at the hospital parking area. As he led Hitoshi into the building –which was a bit unnecessary, since he didn’t need a chaperon for this– he stated, “He’ll be okay, little listener. Even if Midoriya is hurt… he’ll still be okay.”

Hitoshi didn’t reply, but his thoughts responded with, That was easier said than believed…

The receptionist informed them that Izuku was currently being operated on. Present Mic asked after Eraserhead and Thirteen, which made Hitoshi feel even more uneasy to know that two of the UA teachers, especially Eraserhead, also landed in the hospital. But it also explained why Mic had come in with him. They were also being operated on, so it would be a waiting game for both of them.

They sat in the nearby waiting room together with the hero trying to make small talk. Hitoshi answered for stuff he thought was relevant –like when he and Izuku first met, who the Harukas were, and what their living situation was– but for other basic questions like what his hobbies were or how school was going he just gave noncommitting answers. Eventually Present Mic accepted that he didn’t want to talk, and they sat in silence.

It felt like a lot of time passed before both Haruka Nori and Naru showed up, but there still wasn’t any new news. Haruka Nori fussed over Hitoshi before squeezing him in a hug that he awkwardly accepted, while her husband introduced them to Present Mic. Mic reexplained the situation with the addition that the Principal would visit them soon to discuss things in detail, and that UA was taking full responsibility for what happened and would thus cover any medical costs.

The Harukas didn’t linger on that part too much, but Hitoshi got the sense that they were somewhat relieved. That was understandable, considering having an unknown amount of medical bills on top of providing for five children would be a lot to handle, but Hitoshi didn’t care about any of that shit. He just wanted Izuku to be okay.

“He’ll be okay, Shinsou-kun,” Haruka Nori quietly spoke from her seat next to him, “I know you won’t accept just assuming everything will be okay, so I’ll just say that… Even if there’s lasting damage, they say that having a positive outlook is half the battle when it comes to recovery. I’m sure that Midoriya will bounce back with a smile, like he’s done before.”

Hitoshi knew that she really, really meant well. Technically, she was even approaching it from an okay position since she was taking into account that Hitoshi thinks the regular “he’ll be okay” shtick is unfounded bullshit. But by God does she not even know what she’s talking about.

And he knew that Midoriya had purposely made it so that the Harukas didn’t know shit about how he actually felt, but Hitoshi couldn’t help the frustration he felt at their ignorance.

The four of them waited in that room for a long while, and even the slight weight of the lucky rabbit’s foot that Izuku had given him that one day wasn’t a comfort anymore. The only thing that would bring real comfort to him now was to be told by doctor that Izuku was truly okay, but that wasn’t feasible. So all he could do was wait.

The first thing Izuku noticed was the sound of incessant, rhythmic electronic beeps. The second thing he noticed was that when he tried to fully rouse himself from sleep, only one of his eyes would open, and the other eyelid felt like it had something pressing on top of it. The colors around him solidified into actual scenery, which he quickly identified as being a bleached-out hospital room upon turning towards the source of the sound to see it came from a heart monitor placed next to an IV.

There wasn’t any more time to process things after that, since a monitoring nurse came into his sight to smile and say she would be retrieving the doctor. When she left the room, Izuku examined what he could see of himself –a light hospital gown under the covers, a bandage covering up his left hand…

Then he remembered what happened and realized, Oh, that’s why I’m here…

The doctor entered with a short but kind introduction, running through the normal set of patient checkup questions, and informed him that he had been sedated for a full day. She sat down so that she wasn’t towering over Izuku, and seemed like she was trying to provide a professional but comforting atmosphere.

Izuku immediately knew what bad news he was receiving.

“While the damage to your skull and skin was repaired, we unfortunately couldn’t save your eye. The villain’s quirk disintegrated the majority of it to the point that Recovery Girl’s quirk couldn’t fix it.” The doctor gestured at the diagram she brought featuring the cartoon rendering of a bisected human head.  “The flesh of your eye socket was healed and cleaned up, and we’ve inserted a temporary plastic piece to keep it from collapsing.”

“The only follow up left is to watch for possible infection, and eventually insert a prosthetic. Current day prosthetics have advanced quite a lot compared to previous generations– depending on the kind you choose, you can regain full vision. Though admittedly those types tend to aesthetically mimic biological eyes less, whereas a many non-functional prosthetics often pass at the real thing. Ultimately the decision is fully up to you; price won’t be a problem since UA is footing the bill.”

As the doctor stood up, she held a leaflet out towards him. He took it without unneeded drama, hoping that the average response of a person finding out they were missing an organ was to face it with quiet acceptance. He really didn’t know how else to react.

It didn’t seem like quite the right attitude. The doctor carefully looked over him, probably looking for signs that he was still impaired by the drugs. “This pamphlet lists most of your available options from a variety of medical device companies, but you don’t have to look at it right now. Your family is waiting to see you, would you like me to send them in?”

Izuku immediately wanted to know if said “family” included Hitoshi, but he wasn’t sure if the doctor who’s name he’d already forgotten would know. He decided to just ask, “Yes please, but– Um… do they know about…?”

Thankfully she didn’t make him finish that question, “Your family has already been informed about your eye, yes. We finished working on it last night and were just waiting for you to wake up. You have no other injuries apart from your hand, which now only has scarring, so after another night of monitoring you can be discharged.”

“Th-Thank you.”

After the doctor removed his IV and heart monitor electrodes, she left. Her presence was quickly replaced by Hitoshi and the Harukas.

Hitoshi looked about as worried as Izuku thought he’d be –which is to say, extremely worried. He examined Izuku with watery eyes like he was confirming Izuku was awake and living, before wrapping his arms tightly around Izuku’s torso with his face pressed against a shoulder. Izuku returned the hug, bringing a hand up to sooth the back of Hitoshi’s head. The Harukas stood back for the moment, just giving Izuku small, concerned smiles. They were letting Hitoshi have this time.

Hitoshi released a shuddering breath into Izuku’s shoulder. He grimaced at the sound. “Sorry I scared you…”

“Izuku, please don’t fucking apologize for being hurt. You did nothing wrong.”

He tastefully chose not to comment on that last sentence. “Still, I feel bad about it… Do you know anything about what happened to Eraserhead or Thirteen-sensei?”

Hitoshi finally let go of Izuku, leaning back into the chair placed at the side to rub at his eyes. “Yeah, I heard from Mic-sensei that they’re both here too. Last I heard Thirteen’s still out, but Eraserhead woke up. And before you ask, they’re both slated to recover fine, and no one else needed any treatment.”

Izuku remembered that from his blurry memories of All Might, but that brought with it a whole other set of questions Hitoshi couldn’t answer. He chose to focus on his teachers for the time being. “I see… Hopefully Thirteen wakes up soon, but at least they’ll both be okay. I guess things didn’t end too badly...”

Hitoshi’s kind gaze turned into an outright jaw-clenching glare. Izuku leaned away and backtracked, “O-Other then what happened to… my eye, of course.”

Hitoshi’s glare shifted into something that wasn’t angry but was much more pained. As his friend ran a hand over his face, Izuku thought he would’ve preferred Hitoshi staying angry.

The Harukas took that as their cue to approach the bedside. They glanced at each other, and Haruka Naru spoke up, “It’s good to see you’re up, Midoriya-kun. How are you feeling?”

Empty on the inside like always? “I’m a little tired, but I don’t feel any pain. I’m okay.”

Haruka nodded with a awkward smile. “That’s good… I know this is a huge shock, and you’ll have all the time you’ll need to process it, but there are somethings we need to talk you about–  ”

“You’re bringing up that bullshit now? He’s only just barely woken up!” Hitoshi scowled up at Haruka with a cutting edge that was matched by his voice.

Haruka Nori stepped forward to try and calm Hitoshi. “We know Shinsou-kun, but some of the UA staff are coming tomorrow along with the police for his statement, and they’re sure to ask about it then. We need to give Izuku some time to think of his answer.”

“But the reason why they’re asking is different from your view on it!”

Izuku didn’t have to deal with the others’ vagueness for long, as Haruka Naru promptly stated, “The school is asking if you want to withdraw from the hero department. You can choose to join the general or business courses, apply for another school, or stick with the program. No matter what you chose, they’ll still cover the…” Haruka involuntarily glanced at his bandaged eye. “…medical expenses.”

Hitoshi loudly interjected, “The Principal said they’re only asking because you went through a traumatic experience that might change your mind about pursuing heroics, which is true, and if you feel that way fine. But it has absolutely nothing to do with your quirk!”

“Shinsou…” Haruka Nori reached out her hand to put on Hitoshi’s shoulder, but he shrugged her off. Her eyes were starting to tear up slightly. “Naru and I don’t mean to be cruel, but… just look at what’s happened! Midoriya’s only just started school and he’s already lost an eye! We’re worried that hero work is just too dangerous for him…”

“It wasn’t his fault!”

Her husband held out a calming hand. “We know that. All of the fault lies on the sick villains that came after you kids, not Midoriya’s quirk. But you have to admit that he might be more at risk than other people. Being a pro hero isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay!” Haruka furrowed his brows as he looked at Izuku beseechingly, like he wanted Izuku to understand. “We just want you to be safe, Midoriya. I know the both of us, me especially, haven’t handled certain things well when it comes to you, but that’s always what we care about the most– That all of you kids are safe and well taken care of. It’s why we started fostering in the first place.”

Izuku had known that the Harukas were normally kind people and that their superstitions towards his quirk just got in the way of that kindness. But this was the first time he could truly see it. Even after they agreed to take him in, he just felt like it was out of some moral obligation and had been waiting on eggshells for when they saw Jinx in action. They reacted as he expected, but he hadn’t expected them to still think he mattered as a person afterward. His teachers and middle school classmates hadn’t.

Perhaps if he was more optimistic, he would think that they might eventually change and come to see his quirk in a better light, too.

“Are you… Are you telling me to drop from the program?”

Haruka Nori gave him a kind but sorrowful smile. “No, we’re just asking that you think about that when you decide what you want. We won’t stop you from making your own decision, it isn’t our place.” She stepped away from the bed, linking her arm with her husband’s as she did so, and they both walked to the door. “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome, so… just relax for now and enjoy your time with Shinsou. UA cancelled school today, so he can stay for a while. Shinsou-kun, we’ll be in the cafeteria when you’re ready to go.”

The door thudded closed, and in the quiet they could hear footsteps fading away. Hitoshi sighed, and finally looked back at him. “I know you probably think getting hurt was your own fault cause of your quirk, but it wasn’t, okay? You have control over what it does, remember that.”

“Well… if I’m being honest I do think that, yeah, but also it was my fault for more than just that. I acted out and that made me a target…”

“Can you tell me what happened? All that we were told was that you were hurt by the leader of the villains that infiltrated the USJ.”

Izuku went on to explain what happened the best that he could. Starting with the sudden entrance of the villains and what their goal had been, how he was split from the group and worked with two other classmates to get past some average-grade villains, and ending with the very not average-grade villains that took out Eraserhead. He explained how he couldn’t stand by, and how he took out the villain that had been brought to combat All Might and how he thought he impeded the leader.

“I figured that I had a good chance of me ending up injured or… ” he paused, skipping over to admit, “But I didn’t really care what happened to me.”

Understanding the end of Izuku’s unfinished sentence, a look of grief overcame Hitoshi’s face.

“Didn’t… Didn’t you say you wouldn’t try anymore?”

“I wasn’t trying to die! I promise!” Izuku shouted in alarm. He grabbed one of Hitoshi’s hands with to hold it between his own. “I just– I couldn’t let anything happen to anyone else! I… I didn’t want it to be my fault again.”

Hitoshi’s hand trembled in his grasp. Izuku swallowed harshly when he saw his friend’s eyes became watery again. When a couple of teardrops spilled over, Izuku realized this was the first time he’d seen Hitoshi cry.

–Why can he never do anything right?–

“Izuku… what happened to your mom wasn’t your fault, and what happened at the USJ wasn’t your fault either. It’s just your paranoia that’s making you feel that way. Please, please try to understand that.”

When Izuku glanced down at their hands with guilt and failed to respond, Hitoshi pulled his hand out of his. Izuku panicked for a second, thinking that Hitoshi was leaving him, but instead Hitoshi just wrapped his own hands around Izuku’s.

“I… I can’t stand that you care so little about yourself that you don’t care if you die, that you would outright hurt yourself like you had to.” Hitoshi’s thumb gently swiped over the bandage on his left hand.

“That you don’t care that you were permanently maimed. I was so scared when I heard something happened to you, and even now I’m still scared. Because I know that you won’t care if you end up here again. You won’t care if you don’t make it back. How am I supposed to trust that you’ll be okay when you won’t even try to stay okay? When I know you’ll just let yourself die?”

Izuku felt his own hands start to shake. His voice became a croaking whisper, “It’s not… It’s not like that. I don’t want to leave you, Hitoshi. I don’t want to die and leave you alone, so I’ll try to stay okay.”

“Then why didn’t you do that this time? And before you think I’m saying it was your fault; I’m not. You fought because you had to, but you weren’t fighting to keep yourself safe along with everyone else. That’s important.”

“ …Because it was my fault.”

“Izuku, whenever something like this happens, you’ll always think it’s your fault! That’s the way you’re stuck thinking!” Hitoshi’s voice rose in desperation, before he forced it back down, “You have no self-preservation instincts and it shows. If things stay the same… next time, you’ll still get hurt.”

With his head bowed over their hands, Hitoshi’s quiet words almost couldn’t be heard, “Everyone kept trying to tell me that you would be okay, but I couldn’t believe any of them, because they don’t know you like I do. And I know that… you’re not okay. It’s not your fault –not the villains coming or the villains hurting you– but you’re still not okay. You’re still suicidal.” Hitoshi raised his head to look into Izuku’s eyes, pleading and tear tracks shining on his cheeks.

“Be honest with me– are you still at where you were before, where you don’t want to die but you don’t want to live either, or are you worse. Do you want to die?”

“I don’t want to leave– ”

“I didn’t ask how you feel about me, I asked how you feel about dying. Nothing else,” Hitoshi cut him off.

He felt like he wasn’t breathing even though his chest still moved. The outside world was dull except for where his hands were held in Hitoshi’s, and his focus was involuntarily set on the feeling underneath his skin.

It was weak, hardly a drop in the well compared to overflowing fullness he felt the other day, but it was still there– his misfortune.

–He hates it–

Why did he even bother trying? He already knew what would happen, trying to reach for impossible dreams like being a hero and being helpful. He was less than useless, he was a hindrance.

If he never tried to be more than he was, his classmates would’ve been safe. His teachers wouldn’t be in the hospital. He shouldn’t have let himself be with them, he should’ve stayed away.

And if he had stayed away from Hitoshi, Hitoshi wouldn’t be in so much pain.

–If only he had succeeded that day last year, then maybe none of this would’ve happened. No one would’ve gotten hurt–

Izuku wanted Hitoshi to feel better, but he knew Hitoshi didn’t want him to lie. He knew Hitoshi saw right through him, and he couldn’t deny what the empty void in his heart told him.

“ …It’s worse.” I want to die.

Hitoshi nodded solemnly without a change to his expression, like he had already known Izuku’s answer. “Izuku… whatever you choose to do, can you please think of telling someone that? You need help, and I…” Hitoshi scowled down into his lap, his self-frustration clear, “I don’t know what to do. I can’t always be with you to make sure you’re… you’re safe, especially if you stay in the hero course. Someone else that can help you needs to know.”

He grimaced at the thought. Changes to his expression come so naturally when he’s around Hitoshi now. “I… I don’t want to tell anyone. I’m sorry”

“Just think of it, Izuku. And I have to tell you that– ” Hitoshi hesitated, then sat up straighter as a sign of commitment to his decision, “If I think you’re going to get hurt again, I’ll tell someone. We know at least one teacher that cares about you. Even if it’s not what you want… it’s the right thing to do.”

His jaw dropped in shock. Not at the fact that Hitoshi would report him, but the fact that Hitoshi had someone he trusted enough to report to. “You… You trust Aizawa-sensei that much? Even though you haven’t even met him?”

Hitoshi’s eyes drifted closed. “ …I overheard some of the nurses talking to his doctor. If his head had taken more damage, it might’ve been fatal. He tried that hard to protect you and your classmates, and even though he was heavily injured, he pushed past it to save you. You’re missing an eye, but at least you’re here.” Hitoshi opened his eyes to look at Izuku with confidence. “I feel like you’ve regressed to the point where I need to be prepared to tell someone, so if I have to… he’s the best option.”

They sat in tense silence. There was nothing else to be said– Izuku knew nothing he said would change Hitoshi’s mind, and Hitoshi knew nothing he said would change Izuku’s. So all that was left were conflicts that couldn’t be resolved.

But that was okay, because Hitoshi was still sitting with him. As long as he had that… he didn’t need Hitoshi to not go against his wishes.

Izuku removed his hands from Hitoshi to pluck a tissue from the box placed on his bedside table. He gently rubbed it over Hitoshi’s face, even as the other showed obvious confusion.

“Sorry, I just want you to be comfortable.”

Hitoshi flushed slightly, then pulled the tissue from his hands to wipe his eyes himself with a pout. “I don’t need you doing shit I can do myself…”

Izuku braved a small smile. “But I want to, Hitoshi-kun.”

Hitoshi didn’t respond, but Izuku got the sense that he was transitioning from bashfulness back to melancholy. They just sat together in silence for a few minutes, with Hitoshi’s gaze going back and forth from Izuku’s face to his bed.

He was still processing Izuku’s injury, whereas Izuku felt like there wasn’t much for him to process at all. With how horrible his luck is, he always figured something like this would happen.

It may just be that he isn’t processing it and is just emotionally ignoring it…

–It made sense, though, that someone who had been planning on killing themselves wouldn’t really care about lasting bodily damage–

Izuku was about to reattempt conversation, when there was a short knock on his door. He and Hitoshi glanced at each other and he announced, “Come in!”

The door creaked open. There was a shuffle of feet.

A thoroughly bandaged mummy with long, stringy black hair slowly creeped into the glaring light of the patient room.

Hitoshi shot up in alarm, stepping back from the cryptid while keeping Izuku behind him. Izuku had to stare at the sight for a few seconds to comprehend the situation. The lightbulb of recognition went off in his mind. “Aizawa-sensei?! Should you be walking around like that?!”

“Aizawa– Eraserhead?! That’s your teacher?” Hitoshi did a once over of the still approaching mummy, trying to see a person beneath the bandages. It made sense that Hitoshi didn’t recognize his hero with his face covered, considering that even though he knew what he looked like he’d never met him in person.

Eraserhead spoke in a muffle from behind the bandages, “Sorry to disturb, but I wanted to speak with Midoriya about school matters real quick. Can you come back in twenty minutes to continue your visit?”

Izuku was still confused. “Sensei, you should be resting, not working! Can’t this wait?”

Eraserhead denied his obvious logic, “No. UA is going to want an answer from you as soon as possible, and I’m well enough to walk within the hospital. That’s all I need for right now.”

“You heard about that already? While in the hospital?”

Hitoshi looked from Eraserhead to Izuku, and shrugged with a sigh, “I wouldn’t want to get in your way… I’ll be back soon, Izuku.”

While Hitoshi left the room, Aizawa slowly made his way forward to sit in the now vacant seat, making sure to avoid bumping the casts for both his broken arms into anything. He leaned forward towards Izuku, making Izuku wonder if the man was somehow able to see him with his face covered and his eyes surely still in recovery.

“Sensei… this about UA’s offer to let me transfer out of heroics, right?” Izuku was hesitant to discuss this, but even he couldn’t avoid a problem that had already arrived at his doorstep.

“That’s right. I thought you would benefit from some teacher counseling, to help you make the decision best for you.”

“What decision do you think is best for me?”

“I don’t know your perspective of things, so I can’t make that call. It’s better if you think things through first without another person’s bias.” Damn. Now he doesn’t know what the normal answer would be…

Izuku let himself examine Eraserhead. His entire upper half and head were buried in bandages, a mark of how close he’d come to death.

He hadn’t wanted it to be his fault, and yet–

“It’d be better if I… ” –wasn’t here– “ …wasn’t in the class,” Izuku fit his vague suicidal ideation into the context of the situation to make it a normal thought.

Despite not knowing if Eraserhead was looking at him or not, Izuku got the sense that he was the full focus of his attention. “Why do you think that? Are you afraid of getting hurt again?”

Izuku thought about what was okay to admit and what wasn’t. He must’ve taken too long, as Eraserhead continued to speak, “It isn’t a sign of weakness, if you feel that way. Losing an eye is a big toll, especially for a child, and it’s true that as a hero you’d continue to face that kind of danger and more. If that makes you rethink what you want from your life, that’s okay.”

“No, that’s not the problem.” Izuku forced a smile at Eraserhead, despite not knowing if it would be seen. “It’s just… better if I’m not there to put everyone at risk. Since we’re only students, I hadn’t taken that threat as seriously as I should’ve. I’m sorry.”

Eraserhead straightened his posture in a sudden movement, and Izuku immediate knew he’d given a “wrong” answer.

There was no inflection in the hero’s voice as he said, “So let me get this right… You think that you are an active threat to your peers, and that the USJ was related to that threat? Because of your quirk?”

Oh no… He was used to people just accepting that his quirk was a risk by default, but he’d assumed too much. Aizawa-sensei acted differently about his quirk and he’d failed to translate that to it reflecting he didn’t see Izuku’s quirk that way. Now he looks suspicious…

He kept his casual smile and went on the defense, trying to make the thought sound more reasonable. “I mean– I’m only being realistic. My quirk causes random misfortune to happen to me all the time, it’s logical that that would apply for bigger events too. Maybe that wasn’t the case here, but I can’t say for sure that it isn’t. I just want to be transparent with the school about that possibility.”

It felt weird to have to argue the point that the Harukas’ had naturally assumed just a little while ago. While having people like Hitoshi, Uraraka, Asui, and Eraserhead say that Izuku wasn’t a threat to his friends and family was a nice, it also made him feel worse to know they had expectations of him that he couldn’t match.

–He’d tried so hard to keep it under control, but Katsuki still got hurt, Mom still died, villains still came to the school. Can’t they understand that? It’s better if they all stay away–

Eraserhead “stared” at him a bit longer, then fell back against the seat rest. His tone was still carefully controlled, “I pride myself as being a hero that understands what’s practical. Will you hear my opinion on that “side effect” of your quirk?”

He felt like this was leading into a trap, but there wasn’t any other answer he could give. “Yeah.”

“If you’ve seen evidence of you being “unluckier” than the people around you, I could see your point in your quirk maybe influencing some of those things. However– ” his tone became firmer, this was the trap Izuku had been expecting, “I think you’re overestimating the capabilities of your quirk.”

Izuku couldn’t help but blink at that. Overestimating? Someone had to have told Aizawa-sensei how he’d thoroughly broken the Nomu’s bones and struck it with lightening… right? “Uh… I’ve found that my quirk is capable of achieving more things than it isn’t, so with enough energy I don’t think it’s too far out there to say– ”

“That’s not what I’m referring to. Actually, you put it best in your written quirk description; that example you gave about possibly using your quirk to “make the police arrive at the scene faster”, do you know what I’m talking about?”

The mental concept he’d come up with to explain his quirk emerged from his mind easily. “Of course.”

“If you have enough energy to make the events necessary for it to happen, Jinx can do it, and if you don’t have enough energy or it’s physically impossible, then it can’t,” Eraserhead reiterated, then moved to his point, “What you’re failing to consider is that causing the attack on the USJ is an event that falls into being physically impossible.”

Izuku felt his smile fall as his mouth opened in surprise, then realized he’d kept his smile on for that long. Was it weird to smile when having this type of conversation? It probably was, he should’ve ditched it when it turned serious… He’s just making all kinds of mistakes now.

He still kept his tone neutral, “Why… Why do you think that?”

“Your quirk manipulates probabilities, in other words, it requires the events it causes to have a probability assigned to them. Even if the chance of being struck by lightning is incredibly small, if a storm producing it is present, it isn’t fully zero.”

“ …Right. From what I can see, the energy from Jinx is used to drive the event into resulting in that probability. Even if I have a 50% chance of winning a coin toss, Jinx can “choose” the losing side to be the one that comes up.”

“Then my understanding of it is accurate.” Eraserhead leaned forward again. Izuku couldn’t tell if he was an intimidating presence, or something else. “From my experience, I know that a villain attack of this nature is not something decided by chance. They retrieved lesson plans to work around prior, they gathered a force to fight for them, they developed a weapon to use against All Might, and then they initiated the attack at the prime location and time where All Might would supposedly be present. There was no randomness, it was all planned.”

Izuku’s mind blanked for a bit, and Eraserhead leaned forward even further. “Considering all that, do you really think it’s possible for your quirk to be the deciding factor of their arrival?”

He faltered at coming up with another explanation. “W-Well– not that, no, but it might’ve influenced our class being the one that was with All Might at that time slot instead of 1-B. That wouldn’t require as much– ”

“The skeleton of the lesson plans is decided before the school year starts, the specifics are decided at least a week prior, including the scheduling of the two different hero classes. Do you think your quirk is capable of influencing an event a week prior to it happening, and on people that you aren’t in contact with during the moment that would be the deciding factor?”

…Maybe? Even with his pessimism, that’d be a stretch to believe though.

But for some reason, he couldn’t admit that aloud. There was some part of his brain that rejected the idea that he wasn’t at guilt for absolutely everything wrong with his life.

It insisted that there must be something he’s doing wrong, some curse he’s casting on himself and those around him. The world wouldn’t make sense if that wasn’t the case.

“You’ll always think it’s your fault”

Eraserhead seemed to understand he was still processing everything. He got up out of the chair, and ended the discussion by walking back to the door.

“Regardless of what you choose, UA wants you to go to at least one counseling session for you to work through the trauma of the event. You don’t have to have your answer now, but just know this– If you’re trying to think this through logically, then logically, you weren’t at fault for what happened. You should not assume you’ll be at fault for future incidences of a similar nature. That should not be a factor in your decision. So if that’s the only reason why you’d want to leave my class… then I’d suggest not leaving.”

When Hitoshi heard footsteps from the room, he rushed down the hallway as to not get caught eavesdropping.

He knew that this was a violation of Izuku’s privacy, but God Damn, he was going crazy with worry. He needed to know ahead of time what bullshit he’d fed to Eraserhead, just in case he somehow got the hero to agree with his paranoia.

So much had happened to his friend in so little time, so much of his progress had been undone, and he’d been hurt in a way that couldn’t be fixed. Hitoshi couldn’t take chances anymore.

Izuku was at the point where if the wrong person said the wrong thing to him, it might lead to a second suicide attempt.

That risk just wasn’t worth it. Hitoshi needed to be prepared for damage control like he needed air to live.

But as it turned out… he hadn’t needed to be worried when it came to Eraserhead.

The hero had not only denied Izuku’s self-blaming, he’d also managed to prove that Izuku was blameless, something that Hitoshi had been trying and failing to accomplish for the better part of a year.

On one hand, it was frustrating to know that a solution had been there, that all Hitoshi had needed was to think through the situation in terms of quirk mechanics and not feelings –because of course Izuku would only accept an answer that was backed by quirk theory and probability theory. He was as much of a nerd as he was a superstitious occultist– But that was overshadowed by the relief that finally, some progress had been made. That there was someone near them that could handle Izuku’s mind and steer it right.

Hitoshi knew that there was much more that had to be done. Izuku still undoubtedly blamed himself for his mom, and he would continue to blame himself for other things, like what happened to his eye. But if Izuku could come to accept that he wasn’t at fault for this one incident, then there existed the chance that he could one day accept he wasn’t at fault for the majority of the things he blamed himself for.

He doesn’t know anything about probability manipulation, but he’ll find a way to drive Izuku towards that chance. There’s nothing else he can do to help.

Despite the heaviness of his thoughts and what was to come, for the first time since yesterday Hitoshi felt a smile creep up onto his face.

Izuku had been right when he said Eraserhead was cool, though. He was cooler than Hitoshi had ever thought possible…

Chapter Text

“Sensei, should you be here like that?! Also, what do you know about Midoriya-kun?”

“Sensei, why didn’t Midoriya come to class today?! Also, please sit down and rest a bit!”

“Kero, is Midoriya-chan okay? He looked like he was really hurt.”

“Is Midoriya at the edge of death, barely keeping himself from falling into the abyss? I can’t help but assume the worst…”

“You guys need to calm down and let Aizawa-sensei speak if you want any answers,” Shouji finally spoke some sense to the group. Shouta watched –as well as he could in his condition– Uraraka, Iida, Asui, and Tokoyami all sit back down in their seats and forcibly calm themselves. The rest of the class were wary but looked like they were all managing well too.

That was all about to change, though. There was no way this news would be taken lightly.

First he insisted, “I’m fine. I’m already healed, so it looks worse than it is– ”

“We literally can’t even see your face and both your arms are in casts.”

“ –Thirteen is also going to be okay, they just need a little more recovery time. Midoriya is being discharged from the hospital this morning, and he’ll be taking the day off to rest at home.”

All of the students immediately perked up, glancing around at each other to share their relief. Uraraka was the one to cheerfully say, “So Midoriya-kun’s okay? I’m so glad…”

Others murmured similar sentiments, making it hard for Shouta to say what he needed to. But he had always been known for being the harsh bringer of reality. He’ll do it here, too.

“For the most part, yes. However, he did suffer a permanent injury.”

Silence reigned as the jovial atmosphere disappeared, everyone looked back at him with worry again. He noticed Asui’s gaze lower down to her desk, casting most of her face in shadow. “ …It’s his eye, right? That didn’t look like something that could be fixed.”

Shouta nodded solemnly. “It was irrecoverable. Midoriya will have to get a prosthetic.”

The students went wide-eyed with shock. The ones that Shouta had noticed were part of Midoriya’s friend group looked particularly shaken, with hands clenched on their desks or covering their mouths. Tokoyami grit his teeth as his shadow stirred underneath his desk. Trouble controlling his quirk in certain circumstances. To be expected with a quirk that has sentience, he’ll have to train the boy on that.

“I’ll telling you all this in advance so that if Midoriya comes back, you all know to be mindful of this. If you pester him about it or overreact it will just make things harder for him. Please be considerate to how he’s feeling during this time.”

“If he comes back…?” Unexpectedly, Bakugou was the one to speak up about that. Though perhaps wasn’t too unusual, seeing that even with his attitude towards the other Bakugou’s known him throughout their schooling years from what theirs records indicated.

Shouta glanced over at him to see the student was watching him with a glare, but his hands were similarly clenched against his desk. It was like he didn’t know how else to express his anxiety at the situation other than through anger. He’ll note that as another thing to watch, then.

“The school has given Midoriya the option of leaving the hero department to explore other avenues for his future, considering he might not want to continue down this path after what happened. They are expecting his answer today.” Shouta’s eyes roamed over all of them.

“I implore all of you to consider that possibility for yourselves as well. Hero work is not and will never be something everyone can do, even without factoring in quirks. This is a front-line emergency responder position that will risk your lives at times. What happened at the USJ was the fault of the school, none of you should’ve been subjected to that level of danger this early, but down the line it will be expected of you. If after seeing it firsthand you’re having second thoughts, now’s the time to back out.”

Silence. No one moved a muscle.

Until, one person raised their hand in the air.

“Sensei… I want to switch to general education,” Mineta spoke quietly at his desk, even with his hand partly raised. He didn’t look up at Shouta.

Several students startled. The nearby Sero questioned, “Mineta?! Why– ”

“Why? Are you stupid?! Why wouldn’t I wanna switch?!” Mineta changed from quiet whispers to brash shouting. He stood up abruptly with his hands slamming on the surface of his desk, and he looked at the rest of his peers with fear in his eyes. “I was there, you know! Those villains beat Sensei halfway to death, and then Midoriya was so cool when he stood up to them, but he was also so scary! Did you hear what he did? He broke the bones of that monster they brought to deal with All Might like it was nothing and brought down a freaking lightning bolt! But even that wasn’t enough! He still ended up like that! How is someone like me supposed to do anything when even a person like him can lose his eye like that?!”

Mineta glared down at his shaking hands. “If those are the type of villains I’m gonna have to face as a hero… I want out! Even with the fame and money you get, only a crazy person would sign up for that! All I wanted was to be popular, this is too much!”

“If you wanna leave then leave, dammit! I don’t need an extra like you dragging me down!” Bakugou stood up so harshly his chair clattered onto the floor behind him. His glare and words were both boiling over with rage, “But don’t think just because you’re too chicken shit to be a hero that the rest of us can’t handle it– ”

“Stop shouting! Both of you calm down!” Shouta had to raise his voice to interrupt, “Mineta, we’ll do the paperwork for your transfer today, so don’t worry about that. Bakugou, just because Mineta wants to leave doesn’t mean he’s “chicken shit”, and no one else that wants to leave is cowardly either.”

With order restored, Shouta pushed through to get the other important news he had out. “With that being said, UA also has the Sports Festival coming up in two weeks.”

“We’re still doing that?! Even with what happened?” Kirishima exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s so big of an event to cancel that doing so would just bolster the idea that the villains are becoming unmanageable. Security will be drastically increased, which will be a deterrent in and of itself. I know that this is a lot of pressure to face right after such stressful time, but please persevere and show your best efforts. This is an important chance to advertise yourselves to scouters that only comes up once a year– you can’t afford to miss it.”

With homeroom time almost up, he started walking towards the door. “Mineta, come with me. As for the rest of you, don’t worry about what Midoriya choses. It’s out of your hands and you’ll know soon enough. Just worry about yourselves, and what you want from your own futures. If you want to transfer, come speak to me, and if you want to stay, get started on training for the Sports Festival. That’s all you can do for now.”

Mineta walked over with his stuff in tow, and Shouta had him go out the door first. Before he’d even left the students fell into whispers, taking his leave as permission to discuss everything. And as he walked through the doorway, he heard soft sniffles.

“It’s my fault, kero… I was right there but couldn’t even help him! He told me to stay away because he was going to be a target, and I just did what he said! No, even more than that– even if I stayed with him, I don’t think I would’ve been strong enough to do anything…”

Uraraka’s voice answered her, “Tsu-chan, it’s not your fault! You stayed out of sight to save Sensei, I’m sure that’s what Midoriya-kun wanted! Part of what he was doing was making himself the distraction.”

“But was that really the right choice to make? Midoriya wouldn’t have been hurt, but Sensei might’ve died, I just don’t know…”

Shouta’s jaw clenched painfully as he closed the door behind him. Nothing screamed failure as a teacher and hero more than your students feeling responsible for your own short comings.

“I heard you’re going with the Principal to visit Midoriya. Why?”

Toshinori jolted in his seat in the teacher’s lounge. Not only was Eraserhead’s voice harshly blunt, but when covered in casts and bandages the man looked remarkably like a mummy. It put Toshinori on edge, matching with the guilt that bubbled up at the visual reminder of how he’d failed.

He didn’t take Eraserhead’s brash attitude personally, though. Toshinori was aware the teacher was going through a lot, with Midoriya missing the first day back for a short medical rest and another one of his students dropping from the course. Not to mention how the rest of the school was becoming combative towards 1-A due to their newfound fame from the villain attack and the incoming Sports Festival.

And ever since the day before and continuing into today, the media has been blaring about how UA “let one of their students be heavily injured”, with no care given to how both teachers at the scene put themselves in the hospital trying to prevent even more injury. They managed to legally enforce Midoriya’s privacy as a student and minor to avoid both his name and the extent of his injury being investigated and reported, but that wouldn’t last for long with the Sports Festival.

Unless Midoriya choose to get an eye that perfectly replicated a biological one, it would be obvious who the victim was and how he was affected. At that point the media would get even worse.

–If he hadn’t been so careless, none of this would’ve happened…–

“I want to see how he’s faring. And also… he caught sight of me at the end of my transformation, I just barely got you both settled when I ran out of power,” Toshinori admitted shamefully, gaze falling onto his lap, “I need to check and see if he remembers that. We’re going before school lets out so that I have the chance to talk to him alone.”

Eraserhead sighed in frustration, like Toshinori expected, but didn’t comment on his second failing. “Whatever. I need to tell all of Midoriya’s teachers this before he comes back to UA… or rather, if he comes back to UA, but if you’re seeing him I need to tell you now; If you see any red flags when it comes to emotional distress, concerning behavior, or living situation, report it to me immediately.”

Toshinori unconsciously straightened his posture in alarm. “Is something wrong with him? Though– I suppose with a missing eye, that’s to be expected…”

“That’s the problem– it seemed that when it came to his eye, there was nothing wrong with him. He handled it too well. And on top of that, he was under the impression that the entire situation was his fault to begin with because of his quirk.”

His jaw dropped slightly at that. “His fault– He’s the last person at fault for this! He’s the victim!”

“I know, but I had to explain to him in detail how it was impossible for his bad luck to trigger a planned villain attack. The only concern he brought up about staying in the class was that he considered himself a threat to the other students.”

“Is that because of how others have reacted to his quirk in the past? That poor boy…”

Eraserhead sighed again, “People with “villain” quirks are often at the receiving end of harassment and unwarranted blame. I recognized certain behaviors from him that suggested he was subject to that as well, but he was so certain that his quirk was a threat… That along with a lack of reaction to a major injury makes me worried about his mindset. Perhaps he does care about it but won’t show it. Perhaps he didn’t care because he thought of it as his “punishment”. Perhaps he doesn’t care enough about his health to care about his eye, Asui mentioned how swiftly he turned to self-harm as a way to increase his power against the Nomu. We don’t know the details, but none of these are signs of anything good. Worst case scenario is that he’s an active threat to himself.”

The lines on his face deepened as tension pulled at his mangled gut. “How do we help him?”

“The only thing we can do now is identify behavior that we can confront him about. He’s evasive. If we try to talk to him without hard evidence, he’ll probably lie and come up with an excuse. That’s the impression I got whenever I’ve spoken with him.”

“Is he really so…” Deceptive was too negative a word in this context, but it was the only word that came to mind.

He couldn’t see Eraserhead’s face, but the air he gave off was unimpressed. “What the hell do you think he’s doing? Doesn’t pretending to be okay with a smile ring any bells? He’s acting the same way you do!”

Toshinori was still processing that thought as Eraserhead left the room.

Izuku had been aimlessly lying around with everyone either gone to work or school, trying and failing work up the energy to be productive. Hitoshi and the other kids were set to come home soon, along with Haruka Nori who had a half day so she could retrieve Izuku from the hospital and come home early to speak with the people that came from UA.

He had ultimately decided on taking advantage of the empty living room to watch horror movies. Usually the artificial fear of the murderers and ghosts on screen helped breathe life into him, but he was too distracted by how off-setting it was to only have half his field of vision. Even just walking around the house had been tedious. The process helped reassure that a functioning prosthetic was his best bet, even if that meant giving up some of the veil of normality that he always tries so hard to maintain. He knows he would get used to it eventually, but the chance to have it back to normal was too good to pass up.

The movie was mainly a backdrop to his scrolling through the internet. He’d started with hero news, then after seeing how the headlines were congested with the USJ attack and UA’s “unidentified hospitalized student” he quickly migrated to that one forum page he frequents listing current cryptid sightings in Japan. There were disappointingly few new entries since the last time he visited it. Even the more common sightings of urban legends like the Kuchisake Onna weren’t being claimed. It was like the world was trying to be boringly average on purpose.

He’d already made his decision last night, so having to wait to give it officially was sort of agonizing…

It was a full hour before the scheduled meeting time that someone rung the doorbell. Izuku looked down to see he was wearing a T-shirt labeled “T-shirt” and not anything particularly satanistic or goth, and that his left hand was still lightly wrapped in bandages. He was also avoiding wearing his earrings or bracelets, not wanting to be reminded of his quirk at the moment.

Seeing that everything was in order, he looked through the peep hole to make sure it was actually people from UA and not a serial killer. The large figure of All Might, the small figure of the Principal on the hero’s shoulder, and a person in a trench coat were all on the other side. Assuming that the person with the trench coat was with the other two and therefore not a murderer, he opened the door to greet them.

He noticed that after a single glance at the white medical eyepatch covering his eye, none of them paid it any mind. “We weren’t expecting you this early. Neither of my foster parents are here yet, sorry.”

The Principal laughed him off with the wave of a small paw, “There’s no need for that. We came here early on purpose, after all. It’s us that should be apologizing! As this is our first personal meeting, I’ll introduce myself– I’m Nedzu, the principal of UA. Am I a bear? Or a dog? Or a mouse? Who knows!”

“N-Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Midoriya Izuku.” Izuku led them through the threshold.

Only to hear a blood curling scream from the TV and realize he forgot to turn it off.

As they all sat down at the nearby dining table, he quickly grabbed the remote to shut it off, then turned to them with an apologetic smile. “Uh… sorry about that.”

All Might chuckled heartily, “Again with the apologies! It’s good to see you’re enjoying your day off properly! Are you a fan of horror?”

Izuku made sure to keep his smile pristine and steady as he rubbed the back of his neck and sat down across from the three. “I guess you could say that…” He let his eye trail over to the unfamiliar man. “Are you the police officer they mentioned would come for my statement?”

“That’s right, I’m Tsukauchi Naomasa. A pleasure to meet you, Midoriya-kun.” Tsukauchi pulled out a badge to display. “I’m the detective on this case and a friend of All Might’s. That’s why I was the one sent.”

Izuku glanced up at All Might in surprise. “You two are friends…? Wow, I haven’t heard of you being friends with anyone not in the hero industry!”

“Well, being the Number One hero comes with a lot of risk. We tried keeping it under the radar to prevent villains from trying anything. Though he’s not quite a civilian, so the risk wasn’t at the same level…” All Might’s tone trailed off into something less cheerful, “In a way, that sort of thing is related to why we came here before your guardian got back.”

Izuku’s mind flashed to the memory of the frail man who had placed him in Recovery Girl’s ward when it should’ve been All Might there instead.

He had been turning that scene over in his mind, and while the body type was obviously different, both the skin tone and the hair color still matched. Considering that…

“That was you that I saw before… wasn’t it?”

All Might’s gaze lowered to the table. There was a sudden puff of steam, forcing Izuku to look away. But when he glanced back as it dissipated, the same frail man that he’d seen before was now in All Might’s chair, the iconic hero suit laughably loose on him. He bowed his head toward Izuku.

“Precisely… Allow me to fully introduce myself. My real name is Yagi Toshinori, and this is how my body looks when I’m not using my quirk. I was in an accident years ago that greatly affected my health and resulted in me only being able to use my quirk for a limited amount of time.”

It was startling news even with his previous suspicions. All Might lifted his head to stare straight at Izuku. He was frowning, much like how Izuku had seen him before. “This information is all top secret, with Naomasa being one of the only people to know outside of the UA staff. But I already decided I’d explain everything to you if you remembered, so that I could take full responsibility.” His hand, while withered, was still large. It came up to clutched at the now lose fabric of All Might’s hero costume.

“The day of the USJ, I used up most of my time during the morning commute when I stopped numerous times to resolve incidents. During the time I thought this was the right thing, but because of that carelessness I wasn’t there when you all needed me the most. If I had been there from the start like I was supposed to, your eye wouldn’t have been a casualty, and you wouldn’t have had to defeat the Nomu on your own.” All Might inclined into a low bow. “Because of this… I must give you my sincerest apologies.”

Izuku froze like a deer in traffic at the absurd sight of All Might bowing at him. “Th– There’s really no need! It’s okay! I mean– ” He was about to say it was his own fault, before he realized All Might could react similarly to Eraserhead about that. He didn’t need even more scrutiny. “ –You were just trying to save everyone you could like always, and you had no idea a villain attack would happen. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

All Might straightened up back into the hunched posture he’d previously shown. Izuku noticed that with current gauntness of his face and without his normal smile, All Might’s shadowed eyes were considerably more intimidating. “Even with that, I still wasn’t living up to my responsibilities as a teacher. But thank you for your kind words. I’m also here to ask that you please keep what you saw and this new information a secret– it’ll cause a lot of trouble if villains became aware of it.”

“Of course! Don’t worry, I’m good at keeping secrets.” It’ll be strange to have to also keep it a secret from Hitoshi, now that he’d gotten so used to telling him everything, but before Izuku really had never told anyone anything. It’ll be just like that, but for a better purpose.

There was more that unsettled him about the situation than just that, though. This version of All Might was different than how the hero usually was. It was clear that his sense of heroic duty and desire to help was still there, but the other aspects people most associated with All Might –his grin, his constant optimism and cheer– were nowhere to be seen.

“Midoriya-kun, I know this is surprising information, but I’d like to move onto the other aspect of this meeting,” The Principal spoke up from the middle seat between Tsukauchi and All Might. He was just barely tall enough to lean his arms against the table. “Do you know whether you want to continue the hero course or not?”

Izuku had to keep from shifting nervously under the beady eyes of the Principal. He’d thought over what Eraserhead had told him carefully. If he took what the hero had said to be the truth –that it was physically impossible for Jinx to have caused the attack– then that was relieving, but it didn’t assure that he wouldn’t be a threat to his classmates in the future.

–Why did he even bother trying?–

“If that’s the only reason why you’d want to leave my class… then I’d suggest not leaving”

He’d try to ask Hitoshi what he wanted Izuku to do, but was seen through right away. Hitoshi told him that he didn’t want this to be a decision Izuku made for Hitoshi, he wanted it to be a decision he made for himself. He’d asked him, “What do you really want, Izuku?”

He doesn’t know. All he knows is that he wants to stay by Hitoshi’s side and he wants to die, and that one of these things is something he shouldn’t want.

He wasn’t sure if he could that accept his quirk wasn’t at fault for the villain attack, and even if he did accept it, he wasn’t sure he could believe that it wouldn’t be a danger in the future. But he also wasn’t sure if leaving the class would be a good thing.

He still wanted to help Hitoshi become a hero, and help Hitoshi catch up to and join the class. He’s been going over what they learned in Basic Hero Training, but it wasn’t very helpful since the class was mostly practical based. Leaving now would open a spot, but as it’s before the Sports Festival, Hitoshi hasn’t had the chance to show he’s the best candidate. For all Izuku knows there’s a dark horse in some other class and his opened spot will go to someone else.

This would be a worst-case scenario involving Hitoshi, since it meant that Izuku wouldn’t be able to tell Hitoshi what he was missing and he would’ve wasted the only chance he had to insure a spot was open for Hitoshi at the right time. The worst-case scenario involving his quirk was, of course, everyone being brutally killed in some accident or incident cause by Jinx. The second scenario was objectively the worst, but was also much less likely to happen than the first, which actually has a good chance of happening–

Basically, the entirety of his night was spent thinking in circles like that. So trying to think of what he “wanted” hadn’t helped, and trying to think of risk management hadn’t helped much either.

In the end, he defaulted to opting for previously established behavior. As a rule of life, Izuku found that in times when he wasn’t sure what to do, the best thing to do was to continuing doing as he’s done before.

When he felt like he couldn’t face Katsuki but couldn’t miss school, he went to school like nothing was wrong. When he’d first noticed that it’d been a long time since he’d felt happy outside of his home but didn’t want to worry Mom about it, he left every morning with the same smile he always had before.

Enacting change was hard –It always came with fear. Even if he was discontent with the current state of things, trying to change something might’ve just led to something even worse. And when nothing changes, the only thing to do is move forward with the way things are.

Life doesn’t stop moving, so he can’t stop even if he wants to.

–Unless he killed himself, but he was trying not to think like that this time–

That’s why after he breathed a deep inhale to help steady his resolve, he told Principal Nedzu and All Might, “I would like to stay in the heroics course.” Both of the UA heroes smiled at that, and even the detective gave a small one of his own.

Ultimately, there was no immediate need for him to drop out. He could always just wait until after the Sports Festival when it seems more likely for Hitoshi to get in. Until then he may be risking his classmates, but it was unlikely for anything of the same caliber as a villain attack to happen in a short time frame, and once he did drop, he would simultaneously succeed in both his goals of helping Hitoshi and keeping the class safe. It was the win-win scenario.

“UA is glad to see that even when faced with such harsh circumstances, you’re still choosing to follow the path of heroes. You have such a unique quirk that will make for unique solutions, it would’ve been a little disappointing to not see it used to its full potential. Though of course, I wouldn’t have discouraged you from leaving if that was what you wanted,” Principal Nedzu spoke with accolades that made Izuku wonder if his hearing had also been damaged during the fight.

It was one thing for the Principal of UA to pick out a student from his school and know their quirk, and it was another to actively think their quirk had potential. How the hell had Izuku’s quirk gotten noticed as being potential hero material and not potential threat to the school material?

He had the smile on his face grow a little wider to show the usual signal that he was pleased with the praise, but for all that Principal Nedzu was smiling back at him, the look in his eyes was one of intense examination still.

Eraserhead most likely explained how Izuku felt about the USJ to prep the principal on the situation, so he was probably looking for a sign of discontent. It made Izuku wonder if what the chimera-like being had said was truly benign, or if it was a test to see his reaction.

He also wondered if it was possible for someone to know another person had suicidal thoughts just by looking at them and having an intelligence quirk. Surely they would still have to see a sign, right?

Unknowing of the tense thoughts that had passed through Izuku’s head in the short seconds after the principal spoke, All Might chimed in good-naturedly, “I’m also glad to hear that, my boy! It speaks highly to your determination and bravery –though just the fact you fought is enough to prove that. I’m sure the other teachers won’t mind me speaking for them when I say that we will do our very best to make sure a situation like this doesn’t happen again, and that you’re as safe as you should be while attending UA. I won’t fail you again.”

He hated seeing All Might take his injury so personally. It made it hard to not insist that it was his own fault instead, and that Izuku fighting had nothing to do with determination or bravery and everything to do with his guilt complex and lack of self-preservation, but he was nothing if not an expert at withholding his feelings.

“That… That’s means a lot to hear you both say that. Especially you, All Might, you– ” His smile became less tense, as it turned from a forced expression to simply being there due to Izuku’s genuine feelings toward the legend in front of him. “ –You’ve always been my favorite hero. The one I looked up to most when growing up.”

All Might humbly bowed his head. “I’m glad I could bring hope to you. Thank you for your support.”

“You don’t need to thank– ”

“Uh– I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be that guy but…” Tsukauchi gave All Might a suggesting look. “I’ve known you long enough to know that if you have someone responding to you in kind, this kind of thing can go on for a while, and I still need to take his statement…”  

All Might flushed slightly and coughed into his fist. “Right. Go ahead.”

And so Izuku gave his account of the USJ attack, not going into extreme detail with the knowledge that Asui and Mineta would’ve told the police anything he could tell them, but making sure to include the more significant aspects. Detective Tsukauchi let him go through his story without interruption.

At the first sound of the lock on the door being opened, All Might transformed back into his “hero” form, as Izuku would think of it for now. Conveniently, Haruka Nori was the one who entered, and after the usual amazement at All Might’s presence and greetings the Principal explained that Izuku had already given his decision. After confirmation of her okay, he explained their request of Izuku to have one or more sessions with a counselor. Haruka was pleased and agreed, while Izuku pretended like the idea didn’t bother him. After that were talks of the medical costs and how they would be billed to UA.

Principal Nedzu looked between Izuku and Haruka as he said, “We suggest that Midoriya decides on what model prosthetic he wants within the next week so that he can have it for the Sports Festival. Of course, if he wants to take longer to decide there’s no problem with that, but it would make competing easier for him. Once he knows the model, it will be ordered as quickly as possible and Recovery Girl can install it.”

Haruka frowned slightly, glancing at Izuku out of the corner of her eye. “Does he have to participate? That festival always seems really strenuous, and with his injury…”

“I’ll be okay!” he declared with a smile at Haruka, “The wound itself is healed, the eye is just… missing. It won’t make competing harder.”

All Might answered, flashing his iconic grin and thumbs up, “Well said, Midoriya my boy. Though if you wanted, you could choose not to participate given the circumstances. I just wouldn’t recommend it if you don’t feel like it’s needed. Not only is it one of the limited chances you have to show what you can do to outside pro heroes, but you especially will gather a lot of attention due to being the representative of your year. Many of the top students in the past who gave the Athletes Oath also used it as an opportunity to have a speech to encourage the other students or everyone watching. Are you planning on something similar?”

“…”

The silence went on for too long, much too long, until Izuku brain rebooted so that he could sheepishly grin and chuckle, “Not particularly? I think just giving the pledge is fine! Haha…”

That’s right– He was the top scorer of the hero exam, so he’s the one that has to speak in front of literally millions of people

How the fuck did he forget that?! Is it too late to change his answer and drop from the course? Of course it is, that would look so weird–

“Is there something wrong, Midoriya-kun?” Nedzu asked in a knowing tone. Izuku swore the Principal knew exactly what was wrong and was just messing with him.

Izuku just continued to smile and waved him off. “Nothing at all! It just, uh– hadn’t crossed my mind that I was the representative. I’m sure it’ll be fine, though.”

It won’t be fine! Everything was wrong! The chance of him getting through everything without having some bout of misfortune that embarrasses him in front of the whole nation is 0%! Zero! What the hell is he gonna do?!

The meeting ended without Izuku showing signs of his internal screaming.

He and Haruka walked the three visitors to the door when All Might asked for a short moment to talk at the doorstep. Haruka happily stayed inside the house, guessing that Izuku would like having the chance to talk to All Might, and Tsukauchi and the Principal went to ready the car they came in.

All Might smiled down at Izuku, but spoke in a softer voice, “I’d just like to thank you one last time for putting up with all this, and especially for putting up with my request about you-know-what when you don’t owe me any favors.”

“What are you talking about? Don’t you remember you saved me that one time– I owe you for at least that!”

“You basically defeated the sludge villain on your own and I just cleaned things up, I would hardly consider that something to owe me for. And even if it was, theoretically my failing you this time would’ve canceled that out, so now we’re back to being even and you not owing me anything.”

Izuku had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at that. “Detective Tsukauchi wasn’t joking when he said you could go for a while like this, huh?”

All Might’s grin gained a little embarrassment. “Perhaps… Is there anything you’d like to ask about me before we leave, then? You didn’t get the chance to ask your questions before, so I thought I’d let you have the chance now.”

Izuku knew the best answer would be to decline and let All Might go on his way. But he did, in fact, have one question. It was a question that shouldn’t be asked, but it stabbed into his consciousness with a need he couldn’t ignore.

He ended up asking it, keeping his tone as casual as possible, “Do you… not usually smile when you’re– you know? You always smile, so I was a bit caught off guard.”

All Might leaned back, slightly caught off guard, but gave a hearty laugh with his response, “Haha! I can see why that’d be confusing! As you probably know, my belief is that a hero always needs to smile even in the face of adversity so that the people they save can know their confidence and feel secure. Keeping your joy through hard times will help you find strength.” All Might’s grin subsided slightly, not disappearing but merely decreasing in size and energy. “However… it’s impossible to always smile and always have joy, there are just times where that isn’t possible, and that’s true for even me. I do my best to act otherwise so I can be a proper Symbol, but at the end of the day… I’m still just a man. I hope this doesn’t disillusion your view of your “favorite hero”.”

As always, Izuku smiled without feeling it. “Not at all! You’re still the best hero there is, you’ve always been just a man.”

All Might stared at him for an extended second, before nodding sagely and patted him on the shoulder. “I suppose there’s truth in that, yes… Thank you, young Midoriya.”

Izuku continued to smile as he waved the leaving car goodbye. He stood on the step for a little too long.

There was a feeling in his chest, something discontent and uneasy like he was looking a picture he didn’t like– Or rather, a picture that had something wrong in it. A minor detail among the numerous colors and lines of a beautiful setting that almost ruined the whole thing. It felt like something was wrong with him, but also with something else.

Was All Might right? Had he been disillusioned to know his hero wasn’t more than human? Maybe, but it was more than that. There was something wrong about this that was much, much more than that…

–He knows what’s wrong, he just can’t admit it–

Toshinori waited until he and Nedzu were dropped off back at UA to speak about the meeting with Midoriya. As much as he trusted Naomasa with his own deadly secrets, the privacy of his student’s affairs was something that can’t be breeched simply based on “trust”.

Nedzu seated Toshinori in his office, in the modern and elegant lounging area he used to create a casual feel during intimate business talks. Seeing that Nedzu was enjoying a cup of tea, he took that as his cue to initiate the conversation. “He seemed a lot better off than Eraserhead said. He didn’t mention that he felt like the attack was his fault. Did Eraserhead’s words reach him that quickly…?”

“Hmm, he was certainly trying for that.” Nedzu lowered his cup to the table, and leaned forward to give Toshinori a serious expression. The way he steepled his paw belated how the brilliant principal was deep in thought. “Frankly speaking, there aren’t many instances where a guilt as deep as what Eraserhead described would go away just like that, even after being convinced otherwise. It’s much more likely that Midoriya learned from Eraserhead’s reaction and adjusted accordingly. That behavior is concerning in and of itself.”

Toshinori frowned solemnly, trying to reason a more hopeful alternative. “Are you sure it was on purpose? Perhaps he just thought it wasn’t his place to mention those kinds of troubles to figures like us.”

“Taken on its own, perhaps. But there’s much more to it than that. Eraserhead was also right that he didn’t seem distressed about his eye. In fact, he acted like nothing had changed, and there was definitely “acting” involved.” Nedzu tapped the underneath his eyes with his stubby fingers and smiled.

“I’m not sure if you humans notice this, but since I’m an animal that recreates human facial expressions, I catch certain details. Though, I suppose my quirk also helps with the observation for that. You can often tell when people are truly smiling based on if they’re “smiling with their eyes” –that is to say, their lower eyelids are shifted upward by the muscles contracting for the smile.”

“So he wasn’t smiling with his eyes?”

“No, he was. However, the movement of his eyes was delayed by about half a second compared to his mouth. That means that he was actively telling his face to smile like that. You do that too when you’re forcing yourself, by the way.” Toshinori winced slightly. Nedzu’s paws left his face as he let his expression turn neutral. “So he knows the requirements to fake a smile convincingly and it’s something he has practice in. During our time with him, I don’t think he actually smiled once, even though he was “smiling” the entire time. That means he feels like he needs to be “happy” for the majority of social interactions and is compensating.”

Nedzu leaned back while picking up his cup again. “This is just a long-winded way of saying that Midoriya is the type that puts on a brave face while suffering in silence, and actively goes out of his way to keep that silence. Eraserhead was right to think that directly confronting him without evidence that he’s in need of help would just lead to him trying to work around it or claim it’s unnecessary.”

Uneasiness turned in Toshinori’s ruined gut. He held his chin in his hand while wondering aloud, “I suppose his actions during the USJ wouldn’t be evidence of him not caring for his wellbeing, since all of the kids were basically doing the same thing as him. He was more extreme by confronting the leaders, but I’m sure that some of the other stronger students would’ve done the same.” His eyes glanced down to the corner of the room as he admitted, “When I told him I thought his actions were brave, that wasn’t a lie, though. I do think he was being heroic. But is that not something to be proud of if he was doing it out of recklessness instead?”

Nedzu took a long sip of his drink, before speaking in a carefully even tone, “That’s just the kind of people that are attracted to hero work; brave and eager to put themselves forward, they’re all reckless, in a way. It’s the job of us hero educators to properly identify when a student is “properly heroic”, “recklessly heroic”, or –what Eraserhead fears might be the case with Midoriya– when they are “heroic” because they lack fear for themselves. Those are very important distinctions.” Nedzu set down his drink again to count off his fingers.

“The first is our goal to steer them towards. The second is something that inevitably happens just due to the nature of heroes, but is something the student themselves know should only be the last resort. The last one, however, is a very dangerous place to be in… A person that is willing to hurt or dispose of themselves for the greater good is often thought to be the basis of a “hero”, but to expect people to commit to that is cruel, and that is why those heroes are the seen with the most splendor. It’s the moral “reward” you humans give to each other to help foster that behavior, and it’s because of this that if a person harms themselves in the context being “helpful”, that is rewarded.”

Nedzu stared at Toshinori with a look in his beady eyes that made him want to shrink back, despite the other being less than half his size.

“Let’s look at a certain Symbol of Peace, for example. You hurt yourself irreparably to finish All for One, and then continued your career despite the toll you knew it would have. You do this “for the people”, but the reason you can make such a decision so easily is because you’ve already cast aside yourself as a priority. You’ve accepted the future Nighteye saw for you, because you won’t let you care for yourself. And yet the public, unknowing of the details, continuously praises you and your heroism, making you even more determined in your decision. Is that wrong?”

Toshinori’s frown turned into almost a scowl, though it was more of sadness than of anger. “I still stand by that decision. It was the right thing to do.”

“That’s not the point of this. The point is that heroes that don’t care for themselves are more likely to put themselves in positions to get hurt. They are more likely to take unnecessary risks, and ultimately, they are more likely to die because of them. A student that is praised for their actions because people saw them as being “recklessly heroic” will not recognize that their decisions to take those risks and their thoughts towards themselves are wrong, and will continue to endanger themselves.”

Nedzu leaned forward to deliver his ultimate point, “It is the duty of hero educators to ensure that they aren’t accidentally leading their students into an early grave, and that is why not just any person or hero can also be a hero teacher. Mistakes in this building can be just as fatal as mistakes out in the field, though they will never be apparent until much later.”

Toshinori’s teeth were clenched together so hard that it was almost painful.

He thought of all the moments he’d seen Midoriya during class during the short amount of time it’d been– the only time anything truly seemed wrong with him was after Toshinori’s blunder in asking after his mother. Every other time, from when All Might was talking to the boy himself or when Midoriya was talking to his classmates, there had always been a smile on his face.

It was the kind of typical positivity seen in hero-hopefuls and children in general, but it seemed even more prominent when taken together with his quirk. To have a quirk that literally created misfortune while still looking upon life brightly, it showed strength. It was the thing that All Might looked for in heroes.

To think that same smile, every time he’d seen it, might have just been a mask… It was sad. Not just because Midoriya hadn’t been happy those times, but also because he forced himself to pretend like he was. What purpose did he have to do so? Was it for the benefit of his classmates? To make sure his teachers didn’t worry?

Was it because that behavior was rewarded, like what the Principal had talked about?

When strength is proven by “smiling through adversity”, and everyone tries to “fix” unhappiness by bringing joy, wouldn’t the most prudent thing be to always be happy, even when you aren’t? Being unhappy is the “wrong” state and being happy is the “right”; therefore, if you cannot be happy, you must force it otherwise to make yourself “right”.

–That was the method used by All Might himself. When on job, he couldn’t afford to not be a symbol of strength. He couldn't afford to bring worry by being “unhappy”, that was the purpose of his eternal smile– 

“Doesn’t pretending to be okay with a smile ring any bells? He’s acting the same way you do!”

“Is this my fault too…?” the words slipped out of his mouth without him even having thought them beforehand.

Nedzu glanced up from his tea to make sure Toshinori was looking at him, before saying, “I wouldn’t go that far– Humans have always encouraged happiness over any other emotion because happiness is the most enjoyable, even though expression of all emotions is necessary to maintain healthy functioning. It’s a folly produced by the biologically driven desire to continue behavior that “feels good”. However… it is true that your brand as a hero supports that ideology. It’s an ideology that inspires hope and helped stabilize the security of our society during the era of All for One’s fear, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have pitfalls.”

Toshinori didn’t know how he should feel about that. He’s brought the reign of peace that he wished for, but had his method not been the right one, or was that the best that could’ve been hoped for? As much as people tried to claim about All Might, there was no such thing as a perfect person, and therefore there was no such thing as a perfect hero. He knew that intimately and strived to be the best that was physically possible.

But even that best was not the best, and that was why they were in such straits with Toshinori having to pass on his quirk. Will Togata be an effective pillar in time for All Might’s departure? Even though they’ve only just started the learning process, it was clear that One for All now was more than what All Might had handled, and Togata wasn’t the freak of nature natural at it that Toshinori had been. There was so much for him to learn before graduating…

Toshinori leaned back to stare up at the ceiling with a sigh, “Why is it that even after you think you do something successfully, when you look back at it all you can see are the ways you could’ve done better?”

“The natural desire to learn from deficiencies to improve is what helped humans evolve,” Nedzu answered the rhetorically question with the same analytical thinking he always used. As he took another sip of tea, it seemed like he gained a little amusement from Toshinori’s sulking. “It’s also true that that tendency has plagued you all with terrible anxiety, though. Or at least those of you who are most prone to that thinking. Another folly of nature.”

Despite the seriousness of his called out “anxieties”, Toshinori rolled his eyes. “Mice are known for being anxiety ridden too!”

“But am I a mouse? Or am I a rat? Or a bear? Or a dog? Who knows!”

“That’s the second time you’ve used that joke today!”

“And yet it still isn’t any less true. How about that?”

Toshinori let himself heave a great sigh, playing up the moment. But he knew it would pass, and he would go back to worrying about the state of the world and of his new students.

Tomorrow when Midoriya returned, when the teachers would be able to keep close watch over him, when the Sports Festival began in two weeks time… those will be the moments that decide how much of their worries are unfounded and how much were true. There was nothing to do for now but wait and observe.

Though… he supposed there were other things concerning Midoriya he could look into for the time being

Chapter Text

Things were awkward in the Haruka home. Everyone except Hitoshi was trying to act like everything was normal, but they kept having to force themselves away from looking at his eyepatch when they talked to him. Even the usually bold Natsume was hesitant to start anything. Whether that was due to her own discretion or how it was also hard for her to interact with Izuku, he wasn’t sure.

The hardest reaction besides Hitoshi was little Aki’s, who looked up at Izuku with watery eyes and fled to her room without a word. He knew that the last time she had to deal with people being hospitalized and heavily injured had probably been during the crash that killed her parents– No other explanation was needed for why it would be hard on her to see such things a second time, even if Izuku wasn’t particularly close to her.

In their shared room when Hitoshi caught sight of him changing the bandages on his hand, his friend examined it in concern. The scar that had been left over wasn’t very big, but it was long, stretching from exactly where he’d cut into above his wrist down to his knuckles, complete with the short perpendicular line that crossed right below the start of it at the wrist.

“It doesn’t hurt and there’s nothing wrong with it, I’m just covering it up so I don’t have to deal with its effects.” He let the hand rest at his side and felt the small dam it provided to Jinx’s energy, then held it back up again to feel the flow overcorrect. “It changes from a regular cross to an inverted cross just by me moving my hand. It’s inconvenient to have to hold it a certain way all the time.”

“They weren’t able to heal it without scarring?”

“They said they didn’t know why it wouldn’t heal, actually. It was shallow enough that Recovery Girl’s quirk should’ve gotten rid of it completely when she was healing my eye socket.” A sarcastic smile overcame his face. Hitoshi scowled at it. “I guess that’s what happens when you run bad luck through an injury like a current. It’s probably cursed now.”

“Are you… going to use it? Like how you use your other things?”

An unfocused green eye drifted down to his hand. He continued through the motions of wrapping the bandage, and as soon as the cloth was crossed over the image for the first time, the bad luck it emanated dissipated. He slowly wrapped it again and again.

“ …It’s sort of funny, I’ve never felt the need to cut myself, even when I was suicidal.” Am suicidal, his thoughts corrected. “But now that I have, it turns out that it’s incredible powerfully for my quirk. It was better than any of my normal omens, and even as just a scar instead of a fresh wound it feels potent, though not as much as it was before. I guess black magic is associated with blood magic and sacrificial offerings and such…”

A hand covered his now fully wrapped one. Izuku looked up to see Hitoshi’s purple eyes gaze down at him with a pinched expression.

“Maybe it’d be better for you not to use it. There’s no need to bring unnecessary… temptation.”

“ …The fact that it’s synergistic with my quirk makes me want to cut myself less, not more. Don’t worry about that.” His remaining eye traced over the hidden lines on his hand. “Though I don’t really feel good about using it, either. I’ll just make another omen to incorporate into my costume to be my thirteenth item.”

Hitoshi and Izuku went to UA together like usual the next day, with Hitoshi explaining that it was probably a good thing Izuku missed yesterday since the other classes had been gawking at 1-A. Hitoshi himself didn’t have any problems talking to Izuku like normal, he just occasionally gained a solemn look in his eyes when they glanced over Izuku’s eyepatch.

Hitoshi had been happy at Izuku’s news that he was sticking with the hero department, but he had also seemed like he wanted to ask something else. Izuku guessed it was whether or not Izuku would tell anyone about… anything, and that he’d decided to let Izuku think more on it before bringing it up again. That was good, since Izuku still had no intention of doing what Hitoshi wanted when it came to that, and it killed him a little on the inside.

Everything was supposed to be for Hitoshi, so why did he faulter now when Hitoshi had told him exactly what he wanted?

This is all just proof that even though he’s living for Hitoshi, he’s still selfish. Hitoshi was honestly scared for what he might do to himself, and he can’t even bear with the hardship of actively reaching out for help to let his friend feel better. It was just too hard.

–If everything was so hard, then why was he even still here? It’d be better if he didn’t have to try at all–

The awkwardness continued with his classmates. All of them were accommodating, right when Izuku first stepped through the door everyone was telling him about how they were glad he came back, his new friends especially. Katsuki had only looked at him once after confirming he showed up, then seemed to actively not pay attention to him. Izuku wondered what he felt about Izuku coming back, and what he felt about the USJ.

–He probably thinks it’s Izuku’s fault, right? Or at the very least the losing his eye part. Katsuki knew what his quirk was like, after all, and had been plain about its status as a “villain” quirk since its inception–

But he could feel the rest of the class’s gazes linger, and he could feel the tension of the classmates that he wasn’t so familiar with yet. And of course, his friends examined him with worry that they waited until lunch to address.

“Midoriya-kun… are you doing okay?” Uraraka was the first one to step up, eyebrows furrowed together. Including her, Izuku, Hitoshi, Tokoyami, Iida, Shouji, and the new addition Asui, there were seven people at the table, but all the attention was focused on him. He didn’t let his nerves show in his smile.

He decided that going too in on being “alright” wasn’t the best approach for this situation, so he tried for something more in the middle of the road. Izuku let his smile become a bit weaker. “Yeah, I’m just… adjusting still.”

Shouji nodded stiffly with his arms crossed over his chest. “When I form and deform eyes it was quite disorienting before I got used to it. It must be even worse to lose a real one…”

“Ah– Shouji-kun! Perhaps it’s best not to be so direct about the matter while he’s still processing it…” Iida glanced back from Shouji to Izuku in worry.

Izuku gave him a purposely weak smile. “Oh, uh– it’s okay, Iida-san. I don’t mind. I was the one that brought it up, anyway.”

“Midoriya-chan…” He looked over to the other end of the table to see Asui crouched in on herself, her hands clutching her knees tightly.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you more, kero. I really wish there was something I could’ve done to prevent you from getting hurt.”

Izuku kept his eyes from widening in surprise. “What? Asui-san, it’s not your fault at all! You got Aizawa-sensei out of the way, didn’t you? You did great! I just– ” he stumbled over his words as he repeated the phrase he’d known intimately since he was four, “I just wasn’t very lucky, is all…”

The pep talk didn’t seem to help Asui’s mood much, she still stared down at the table without moving her chopsticks to eat the food that was growing cold in front of her. Izuku tried to push the conversation into a different direction, “Come to think of it, where’s Mineta-san? He wasn’t in class today. He also helped with Sensei, right, so I thought he came out okay?”

Those who had been eating paused their movements, and Izuku realized he’d just moved from one landmine to another. Tokoyami was the one to look at him and say, “Mineta dropped from the hero course to general education.”

Next to him, Hitoshi straightened his bad posture in shock. Izuku also allowed himself to lean back a bit as a show his own shock.

“ …He dropped because of what happened at the USJ?” Izuku phrased it like a question, but he was pretty sure that was his guess was right.

“Essentially, yes. Both his and your experience with the villains led him to see it as being too dangerous for his liking.”

“T-Tokoyami-kun, is it really okay to say it like that?” Uraraka spoke up again, glancing at Izuku in earnest, “Don’t misunderstand and think it’s your fault, Midoriya-kun. It was still the villains that scared him off.” He kinda, sorta does think it’s his fault still, but he can also see that Uraraka’s logic that it was what the villains did to him that was the real factor, not him…

“Technically speaking, Mineta did have the most normal reaction to that kind of threat compared to everyone else, kero. Bakugou gave him a hard time about it, but he also didn’t get up close to the leader and Nomu like us three, so I’m not sure if he truly understands or not.”

“ …Even if he met them, I think Katsuki would still have that opinion. He’s not the type to run from adversity, and people that don’t do the same aren’t worth thinking about in his eyes,” Izuku admitted.

He wondered if part of the reason why Katsuki hated him so much was because he’d been able to sense that when it came down to it, Izuku had run. He ran so far that he almost ran himself right off a building. Though, another major part of it was that Katsuki hated liars, and Izuku was basically a pathological liar at this point.

“You and Bakugou are that familiar with each other then? His behavior did seem off when Aizawa-sensei said you might not come back, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking…” Iida pondered, bringing his hand up to cup his chin.

Izuku didn’t really know what that was supposed to mean. He didn’t let himself think too much on it, though. He preferred to think as little of Katsuki as possible. “We used to be childhood friends. We’ve gone to the same school since preschool, and we’re usually in the same class.” Because Izuku’s luck is crap.

“Huh… Having to work with him for so long seems tough.” Shouji’s eyes, including the ones not on his face, glanced at Izuku. He wondered if Shouji purposely brought those out or if it was an unconscious reaction to their previous conversation. “He’s not the type to get along with others.”

Tokoyami questioned seriously, “Has he always been a gremlin of violence?”

Uraraka immediately slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. “G– Gremlin of violence? Tokoyami-kun’s character becomes more defined yet more unpredictable by the day!”

Izuku smile became a little easier to keep up. “He’s basically always been like that, yeah. Things have been… an experience, I guess is one way to put it.”

“He’s gonna be tough competition during the Sports Festival. Not only because of his ability, but also because of his drive and lack of restraint,” Shouji mused out loud. A couple of his extra limbs turned back into hands to drum their fingers on the table while Shouji’s main right hand fiddled with his chopsticks.

Come to think of it… have they ever seen Shouji eat? He gets food at the same time as them, but then keeps it for later instead of eating it right away. Why does he do that? Does he dislike taking off the mask covering the lower half of his face?

Izuku jolted out of his thoughts when Uraraka suddenly stood from her seat to punch her fist into the air. There was fire in her eyes as she declared, “Even if that’s the case, I’m not gonna let him beat me! This is a war for the best of the best!”

“Uraraka-kun, please lower your voice! That volume is inappropriate for a lunchroom setting!” Iida yelled in an equally loud voice. Izuku had to keep himself from shrinking back when he felt other people’s eyes start to stray their way.

For the first time they’d sat down, Hitoshi spoke up with a deadpan stare set on Iida. “You’re literally yelling at her not to yell.”

“He’s right. You need to keep it down too, Iida-chan,” Asui backed up Hitoshi’s unimpressed comment with a more neutral tone.

“ …Gah! You’re both right!” Iida coughed into his fist then continued with his volume properly adjusted, “In order to maintain the rules, it’s important to not overlook them yourself in moments of passion. Thank you for reminding me that.”

Uraraka slowly sat back down with a sheepish grin and slightly flushed face. “Sorry about that. I’m just so hyped up for the festival now that I know Midoriya’s staying with us!”

“It was rather hard to feel the broil of anticipation when we were uncertain of Midoriya’s fate.” Tokoyami nodded in agreement. His eyes trailed over to Hitoshi in curiosity. “Shinsou, will you be attempting to get moved into the heroics department during this trial? A couple other students from your department that came to witness our supposed grandeur mentioned that was a goal many of them aim for.”

“I think after seeing Bakugou’s personality they’re all hoping he gets dropped, but I doubt that’s gonna happen…” Asui added on.

Hitoshi’s posture straightened up again as his gaze turned from uncaring into something more serious. The way he stared back at Tokoyami was almost confrontational. It made Izuku tense up a little. “Yeah, that’s right. What about it?”

“I was just thinking that the chance of someone being transferred into our class would be high, since there’s already a spot open. This was good timing for you all.”

It really was good timing. Izuku had been thinking on that ever since they mentioned Mineta, just as Hitoshi surely had been. He didn’t want to feel excited about one of the class leaving, but he knows that he would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad things ended up this way.

Whether a spot would open up for Hitoshi had always been the most unpredictable factor in whether Hitoshi would get into the hero course, that was why Izuku had been so determined to plan dropping the course at precisely the right moment for him. Technically someone else might end up taking Mineta’s spot, still, but now they had two chances to get Hitoshi in. If he doesn’t get chosen for this spot, Izuku still has his own to give up.

But it also brought up the possibility of Hitoshi getting in now, and Izuku not having to give up his spot. If that was what happened… would he just stay in the course with him?

–No. He can’t do that. He needs to stay away. It’ll be his fault again–

Iida chimed excitedly, “I’m sure you would be a wonderful addition to 1-A, Shinsou-kun! Though I don’t know enough about you to say how you’d perform against us and our classmates. Come to think of it, I don’t think I even heard what your quirk is…”

Hitoshi’s mouth stretched into a smirk. “Yeah, that was on purpose. No point in giving up my advantage even if I’m playing nice with you all.”

“Oh, that’s smart thinking! You’ve had your sights set since the beginning huh?” Uraraka gave Hitoshi a boorish grin that Izuku could almost expect to see on Katsuki’s face, and raised her fist to him. “That’s great! May the best fighter win!”

“It’s going to be less about fighting about more about general strategy when it comes to Shinsou, probably. Not only do we not know his quirk, but Midoriya might’ve already told him most of ours. They’re good enough friends that I don’t think he would’ve thought to keep that kind of thing secret for our benefit.” Shouji glanced at Izuku in what he hoped was a non-judging look. “Am I wrong?”

Izuku’s smile became stiff. After a second to decide how to react, he let his eyebrows furrow together in a show of embarrassment. “Uh… My bad?”

“We’ve lost the advantage that much?!” Uraraka cried out in horror. He noticed that she kept her pinkies lifted ever as she held her cheeks in her hands.

Asui croaked before her voice smoothed out, “Kero, it’s not like any of the others who knew you knew people outside the class told you not to say anything. I doubt most of us were thinking that far ahead like Shinsou was. Though that’s just my opinion on it.”

“No, you’re right. We didn’t think of that at all. This is a folly of our own hubris.” Tokoyami shook his head like he was looking down at his past self.

After more conversation that thankfully avoided the topic of Izuku’s eye, lunch ended. They all went through their classes, and eventually school was let out.

He went through his day as he normally did, pretending there was nothing wrong with the world, but his friends and classmates still sent him wary glances. In a class full of people who wished to grow into adults that would save the world, they were all looking for ways they could help the perceived problem at hand. Only to fall short when Izuku didn’t show that help was even needed.

And their help wasn’t needed. Not for his lack of feeling when it came to his eye, and not for any of the despair that weighted down his mind. He’d be able to handle everything either on his own –like he always had– or with Hitoshi’s help. Anything more would just be an unnecessary hassle.

There hadn’t been any gawkers this time at the end of the day, but Hitoshi met up with him in the hallway instead of the gates like usual just in case. As they got further from the main first year classrooms, Tokoyami caught up with them. Izuku noticed that Shouji wasn’t with the other like he usually was from what he’d seen of their after-class habits.

They paused to the side of an emptier hallway, with the main stream of students filing through the adjacent hallway nearby by to head out of the school or to various clubs. Tokoyami seemed unsure of himself at first, startling at having been noticed. But then he lifted his beak and cleared his throat, and took the few remaining steps towards them.

“Perhaps this is obtuse of me, but considering your circumstances, Midoriya, I don’t believe you can truly be as well as you seem.” Izuku carefully didn’t react to that, but Hitoshi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Tokoyami pushed forward to say, “The brightness of our fellow classmates may be too much for you to want to dim, but if that is the case, you can place your worries upon me instead. The darkness of the human mind does not frighten me.”

Tokoyami’s red eyes stared at Izuku with a steady calm, very unlike the red eyes he was used to seeing on his old childhood friend. He placed a pale hand over his own chest to gesture to himself. “Is there anything that you wish to talk about? Even if it’s something you’ve already discussed with Shinsou, perhaps a second person will help lighten the load further.” Tokoyami’s eyes moved from Izuku to Hitoshi, and twitched in a wince. “Not that I wish to imply Shinsou is inadequate help. I am… unfamiliar as to how to ask after these things, so please forgive any offence I might’ve brought unintentionally.”

“No, it’s fine. I understand what you’re getting at,” Hitoshi quickly responded. He watched Izuku carefully, waiting to see if he would accept the offered hand.

Even though he didn’t say anything, Izuku knew Hitoshi wanted him to accept Tokoyami’s offer. His plea for Izuku to ask for help was mainly a plea to get the guidance of their teachers, the people that would most be able to help with keeping Izuku safe from himself, but he also probably figured that any branching out for help was a step in the right direction.

Maybe it was a step in the right direction, but it still wasn’t the direction he wanted to go

As a compromise, Izuku thought of something that had been on his mind for a bit that wasn’t as heavy but had still filled him with indecision. Tokoyami would be the perfect person to ask about it and he hadn’t gotten the chance to tell Hitoshi either, so this seemed like a good opportunity to bring it up.

“Well… now that you mention it, there is something I’d been thinking about.” Hitoshi’s eyes widened in surprise, before squinting in confusion as Izuku pulled off his backpack to search through it.

His fingers brushed hard paper. Catching onto it, his still bandaged hand pulled out the brochure the doctor had given to him. He flipped to the dog tagged page to present to both Tokoyami and Hitoshi, who both leaned forward to get a better look.

He pointed at the eye model on the page. It was probably the furthest you could get from a human eye without straight up not making it look like an eye at all– with ink black filling in place of white and a glowing red pupil ringed by more red. The specs were all listed next to it and marked the model as a high-end functioning prosthetic that not only provided standard vision, but could be installed to have various enhancements.

It wasn’t the kind of prosthetic a civilian would need, so it was almost certainly designed with heroics in mind.

“Do you think this would look too weird? Out of all the options, this is the one that I like the most…”

He could feel Hitoshi stare at him with a squinty-eyed look, like he was trying to say “this isn’t the worry you should be prioritizing”, but Izuku did his best to ignore it.

Tokoyami’s eyes lit up even as he scoffed, “Who cares what the plebeians think, the aesthetic is perfect! Like the combination of a ghoulish supernatural and a robotic overlord! What more could you want from an eye?”

Izuku pointed at Tokoyami excitedly, and tried to make his smile match that excitement. “Exactly! That’s exactly the kind of aesthetic I want! If I’m already missing an eye, I might as well replace it with something cooler than a normal eye, right?”

“Yes, precisely!”

“Not how people normally think about losing an essential organ, but okay…” Hitoshi commented under his breath.

“It’s just that I don’t want people to be intimidated by it, you know…” Izuku turned the page to look at it himself. “It’d probably be creepy on an actual person.”

“Isn’t the point of the aesthetic that it is creepy?” Tokoyami asked, tilting his head in a bird-like manner.

“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want to creep people out. I just want to look in the mirror and go– “Wow, so cool!” …if that makes sense?”

“It does. Don’t worry, I’m following your logic.”

Hitoshi didn’t comment on that part, so Izuku wasn’t sure if he was following Izuku’s logic, but he did ask, “It says you can modify it to have two additional feature. Is that part of why you want it? Which ones would you get?”

Izuku internally brightened at Hitoshi picking up on that. “Yeah! I want the far distance vision, which would let me see details for up to a couple kilometers, and night vision!”

Hitoshi responded with an agreeing nod, “With your sight-based quirk that would be perfect. You should get it, don’t worry about other people.”

Izuku glanced away with an uncertain hum. “If that was the only thing I was thinking of, I would. But…” He glanced up and found a corner of his mouth curling into a guilty half-smile. “…I think I really like the eyepatch look too.”

“ …You wanna keep the eyepatch?”

“I didn’t want to say anything lest it be seen as unsightly… but I also think the eyepatch is a great look on you,” Tokoyami admitted in a sheepish tone.

“Are you guys serious– ”

“Right?! But I also still want to be able to see out of that eye. So I don’t know if it’s worth giving up half my vision just for aesthetic.”

“It’s not. Please don’t,” Hitoshi deadpanned with an incredulous stare.

Tokoyami scratched his beak in deep thought, before his eyes lit up in realization.

“I think the solution to both your problems is right in front of you, Midoriya.” He pointed at his own eye, and reveled his wisdom, “Why not do both?”

“ …Do both?” Izuku repeated in confusion.

“Do both?” Hitoshi repeated in exasperation.

“Get the eye, but also keep the eyepatch. That way people won’t see the eye on a regular basis, but in times of need, it can be revealed to even greater affect.”

Tokoyami covered his eye with his hand, then suddenly pulled it away as a form of demonstration. “By day– an average human, by night– a cursed being of the dark! That’s the kind of image you could have!”

“ …Tokoyami,” Izuku uttered the name in reverence. His lips fully curled into a true smile at the mental image he had been given. “You’re a genius! How are you so good at this?! That’s perfect!”

“I really don’t wanna rain on your parade, but how are you gonna still be able to see out of that eye if you wear an eyepatch most of the time?” Hitoshi asked the obvious question.

“I could use see-through material, like what’s used in cosplay and various hero masks.”

“So basically you’re trading out the non-functioning eye for a non-functioning eyepatch. For aesthetic.”

“ …Is that weird?”

After staring at Izuku for an extended second, Hitoshi shrugged with a smirk. “Maybe, but it’s also very you. Go for it.”

With the smile still on his face, Izuku rode that high that came from both Hitoshi and Tokoyami’s agreement as well as his own imaginings of his robo-eye eyepatch combo.

Then came the time where he had to explain that idea to a regular person, where he realized that actually, it sounded really stupid and unnecessary.

“So you want this eye model, but you also want to have an eyepatch that it can see through too? So you can still wear an eyepatch even though you have a working eye?”

Izuku had to keep himself from squirming under the raised eyebrow that Recovery Girl gave him. Despite being much taller than the elderly woman, Izuku felt smaller than her within the confines of her infirmary.

He tried not to think about what happened the only other time he’d been here…

Izuku made sure to keep his casual smile firmly in place. He spoke hesitantly and carefully, “Is that… a problem? For my normal eyepatch I was thinking it could just be something that looks like the medical one I already have, and then I would order a different design for my hero costume…”

Recovery Girl waved him off with a sigh, causing the tension in his chest to relax. “You aren’t the first hero to use an eyepatch just for the sake of it. Though, admittedly I don’t understand these current day trends you youngsters have. It’s just that the high-quality function of the prosthetic will be impaired by the eyepatch even if it’s see-through. You’ll have to take it off to use the telescope and low-light processing, is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s no problem. I expected that.”

“Alrighty dear.” Recovery Girl turned to her clipboard to write somethings down. “We’ll put in an order that should arrive in a couple days. Inserting a regular prosthetic eye is fairly simple –you just plop the thing in there– but with a functioning one it’s important to make sure the orientation is precise so that it can properly connect to your nerves. It’ll be a quick procedure still, though, so you’ll still have time to adjust to it before the Sports Festival.”

Speaking of the Sports Festival, Izuku had been doing his very best work at ignoring problems when it came to the fact that he was going to have to speak in front of the entire nation. Even as he begrudgingly started wearing his inverted cross earrings and leviathan cross bracelets to stock up on energy again, he tried not to think about it.

But as he managed to store more and more energy, even keeping his amulets on during his sleep to utilize the extra hours, the little accidents that tended to occur around his quirk started up again. More broken dishes. More almost tripping on the sidewalk on the way to school only for Hitoshi to catch him. Just the usual set of misfortune that had been gracefully light ever since Izuku started using his quirk on a regular basis at school. Hero Basic Training provided the perfect outlet for stray energy, but when building up his reserves there was no getting around the side effects.

The minor but errant activity of his quirk increased his internal tension, along with him noticing overtime how all of his teachers seemed to be watching him careful. They weren’t outright staring, but he could feel their lingering attention on the back of his neck. Were they looking to see if he was breaking? If his injury was getting to him? Or was there something more to it? He couldn’t tell for sure.

So during his meeting with the counselor, he put on his best performance of a child having lost something great but was coming to accept it and start to move on –which after some thinking and research is what he decided would be the most expected response from a kid in his situation. The counselor listened kindly and reaffirmed Izuku’s thought that that thought process was normal, then suggested at least one follow up after the Sports Festival to see how he’d progressed. It was the perfect set-up, since it meant in that meeting he could show that he’d “recovered” and finally put an end to those worries in a realistic timeframe.

All that was left to deal with was the festival itself.

It was the night before he was set to install his prosthetic when the light in his and Hitoshi’s room flickered out again, and he leaned back from where he had been doing homework to admit defeat.

“I’m going to die of embarrassment on national television, and it won’t even be on purpose.” And it wouldn’t come with the benefit of literally dying, but he wasn’t going to say that to Hitoshi’s face.

Despite being rudely put into darkness, Hitoshi didn’t seem to mind it from where he laid on his bed. Izuku couldn’t see him that well, but he could tell the other was looking at him. “I’m gonna ignore that last part for the sake of continuing the conversation, but don’t think I didn’t notice it. Are you talking about your athlete’s oath? If you practice it, you should do fine.”

“Speaking without messing up is only one part of it!” Izuku counted on his fingers as he went through his mental list. “I have to walk toward the stage without tripping. I have to walk up the steps and onto the stage without tripping. I have to speak into the microphone without breaking the microphone or speakers. I have to actual say the oath. And then I have to step back off the stage and walk back to my spot, without tripping, again. Frankly speaking, I don’t think I’ll be able to do all of that without messing up at least one of them.”

“ …It sounds like your main problem is potentially tripping. That kind of thing happens by accident, so try paying a lot of attention to how you’re walking to catch any slip ups. As for the microphone and everything, try to keep your energy contained like you normally do when you’re being paranoid about it. If no energy is directed at it nothing will happen. And like I said before, practice is the best way to help with the public speaking portion.”

Even though he knew Hitoshi couldn’t see it in the dark, Izuku sent him a thankful look. “You make everything seem so much easier than how I think of it in my head, what would I do without you?” Then he frowned to himself as he mentally answered his own question, and said, “…Wait, don’t think about that. Sorry.”

As he stood up to fix the light, he felt more than saw Hitoshi hold his face in his hand.

The next day Izuku was excused from his morning classes so that Recovery Girl could insert his prosthetic. Before heading to school, Izuku allowed himself the one chance to look at his empty eye in the mirror to tap at the white plastic piece that was soon to be removed. The vibrations it transferred to his flesh were loud and uncomfortable to his ears –not to mention how it made his head feel like someone was tapping on it like the wall of a fish tank– but it also gave him the physical satisfaction of having resolved an unimportant curiosity.

A blush entered his cheeks when he was caught by Hitoshi in the middle of this, but his friend just chuckled at him with a strange fondness.

That was very much not the reaction a person should have when seeing another person poking at their eye for no good reason. He wondered if whatever caused him to have unusual tendencies was contagious, and Hitoshi was finally showing signs of having been infected.

The school offered to let one of his guardians be present for the procedure, but Izuku declined, seeing as it wasn’t that big of a thing anyway. All Recovery Girl really did was put it in, he didn’t even have to be unconscious for it. And after a few adjustments to the eye that felt extremely weird but weren’t actually painful, Recovery Girl had him close his eyelids to let the eye boot-up on its own.

When he next opened his eyes, his vision was just like how it was before losing one.

Recovery Girl had him track the movement of her pen for a bit, then watched the movements of his eye closely, then had him go through a color chart, then tested his depth perception– basically the bulk of the time he missed class was solely for quality checking the installed eye.

Finally at the end of it all, he was given a mirror to look into. His reflection showed his normal, green-colored eye –the color he got from his mom– and a polar opposite false black sclera with a dimly glowing red pupil. His first thought when seeing it was that if he covered the normal half of his face, he’d probably look like a demon of some sort, similar to Dark Shadow’s eyes but in human form.

Wow, so cool!

He was given a new eyepatch that looked exactly like his old one, but when he pulled the strings over his ears and set it in place, the eye was able to adjust to the one-way translucent material and see like normal. Recovery Girl explained that regular see-through material would still be disorienting to work with for single eye use due to the color of the material, so they made him an eyepatch with the material that was used for full eye covering hero masks, which allowed the hero to see through it without the masking filter normal cloth would usually have.

He was a little touched that UA went so far for what was surely an unusual request. But once again, Recovery Girl waved him off.

“This school is known for two things; being the best of the best, and being accommodating to the hero teacher’s “freestyle” methods. If we can’t also accommodate for “freestyle” student methods, then how could we be the best?”

He went about the rest of his day normally, but the false smile on his face was much easier to keep up than usual. It was probably the most content he’d felt since the USJ. And at the end of school, he excitedly pulled the only two of his friends that knew in full detail what eye he had gotten into an empty classroom to pull off the eyepatch with what he’d hoped was a dramatic flourish.

Tokoyami got equally excited in that way Izuku now knows he gets, where he tries not to let it show but it shines through in his vocabulary and mannerisms, and Hitoshi gave an approving nod and agreement it was “cool”, though he mostly just looked happy that Izuku was happy. The whole experience of being able to share his excitement with two people instead of the none he was used to before Hitoshi pushed it to new heights, and the smile on his face became real again for that moment.

He wasn’t sure when he’d let his other classmates see it. He didn’t know what they’d think of it, and he didn’t know what they’d think of him still wearing an eyepatch purely for aesthetic. So like many other worries with his life, he decided to push it back as much as possible and not think of it at the moment. At the very least, he’d be able to cover up his apprehension by explaining it as a strategic decision to not let his competition know he now had his full vision available for the Sports Festival.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the Sports Festival itself. The days passed by much too quickly. Soon there was only a week before it. And then the weekend passed. Almost like how he counted his snaps, the days counted down.

7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2– Oh shit, it’s tomorrow?!

The day before the festival was rife with anxiety among all the students. The tension was growing to its peak, and it followed both Izuku and Hitoshi home that day in their minds. Which was why both of them were caught off guard by the greeting that awaited them.

“It’s whatever you two want for dinner tonight! Just make sure to get a good night’s sleep and do your best!” Haruka Nori declared with a cheery smile. Her husband shared her sentiments with a firm nod.

While Izuku blinked in surprise, Hitoshi eyed the both of them with suspicion. “You said you didn’t want Izuku to stay in the hero course.” Izuku knew Hitoshi still held a grudge over the Harukas’ reaction to the USJ, but Izuku himself didn’t hold any spite over it. It would be hard to, considering he mostly agreed with their judgement that his quirk does make things more dangerous for him. Even if everything isn’t his fault, that part still holds true. That’s just how it is when probability is manipulated against you.

“That… That doesn’t mean we still can’t cheer for him. It’s a school event, I’m sure nothing like what happened before will happen there.” Haruka Naru averted his eyes during his awkward explanation. Oh don’t go Jinxing it now. His chance at not dying of embarrassment is low enough as it is…

“I think it’s so cool you guys get to be in the Sports Festival!” Izuku and Hitoshi turned away to see Fuyuki was beaming at them. He hadn’t expected the younger boy’s enthusiasm after going so long with Fuyuki not knowing how to interact with Izuku after his injury.

He caught Fuyuki giving his eyepatch a quick glance after facing him, but the boy got back on track right away, “All my friends are getting to together to watch it, and I told them and the rest of my class about you guys! Even though they don’t know you they still think it’s really cool, so we’ll all be rooting for you two! Especially you, Shinsou, since you’ll be like an underdog against the hero classes. The festival’s always more fun to watch if there’s surprise students from other courses that stand out too, so if you do well you’ll get real popular real fast!”

Hitoshi seemed taken back by that, but Izuku brightened at Fuyuki’s words.

This was proof that Fuyuki had gotten used to Hitoshi’s “villain” quirk, and was now at the point where he can root for Hitoshi instead of thinking he wasn’t hero-like enough to do well. Thinking back, his change in thinking probably started when Hitoshi was accepted into UA –he’d also congratulated Hitoshi about that even though it’d come as a surprise– and now he’s gotten used to Hitoshi being in UA enough to look forward to how he’ll do at the school. And through Fuyuki’s own acceptance, he was able to pass on that attitude to his friends as well, who might’ve written off Hitoshi for his quirk under normal circumstances.

This is exactly the kind of thing Hitoshi wants to do by becoming a hero– he wants to prove to others that people are more than just their quirk, that someone like him can overcome all the odds and doubts to reach for something people say he can’t. By just getting into UA at all, he’s already started that change, even if it’s just with someone he knows.

Natsume’s unimpressed voice broke the moment, “That’s only if they do well, you know. There are a lot of nobodies every year too.”

Fuyuki looked over at where Natsume was sitting on the couch to glare at her, and she seemed surprised by it. Fuyuki usually worked around Natsume’s more obtrusive personality, so this was probably the first time Izuku’s seen any tension between the two of them. “Even if we don’t know how they’ll do we could at least cheer for them still! And at the very least, Midoriya’s guaranteed to do well since he placed first in the practical. Do you really not care how they do even after living with them all this time? This might be the only chance you get to root for someone you personally know from UA!”

Natsume flushed in embarrassment and stumbled through her words, “I– I’m just saying! And it’s not like we’re friends…”

Haruka Naru looked back and forth between all of them with discontent coloring his expression. He nervously tried to bring the mood back up again, “Let’s just… have a nice dinner. Please try to be a bit more positive about this for Midoriya and Shinsou, Natsume-chan. It’s a big moment for them.”

Natsume glanced away sullenly but didn’t object.

It was also true that, just like Fuyuki’s perspective had gradually changed, other people would be harder cases. Natsume had always been more judgmental about their quirks compared to Fuyuki, so it made sense she still doesn’t consider Hitoshi or Izuku to be hero material.

They had a filling dinner of katsudon, bringing back slightly unwanted memories of his own mother’s katsudon that made it harder to enjoy what used to be his favorite meal. And afterwards before Izuku and Hitoshi could start getting ready for bed early, they were stopped in the hallway by Haruka Nori.

“Aki-chan has something she wants to give you two.”

They both turned to see Haruka gently smiling down at Aki, who came out from behind her legs with a nervous pout. The quiet little girl looked down at the colored papers in her hands, before holding one out for each of them. Izuku and Hitoshi both accepted them, and Izuku examined it to see it was covered in messy hiragana and stick figure drawings.

Aki kept her gaze down towards where her hands were fiddling with the hem of her shirt, and spoke hesitantly and softly, “I-I… I told my friends you’re going to be in UA’s festival… and Emi-chan said she always makes a card for her big brother when he has a big game, so… we made those together to say good luck…”

Looking over the card, Izuku was able to spot several different kinds of handwriting all spelling out “good luck!”, and the set that he recognized from bits of Aki’s homework that he’d seen floating around also had the small scrawl of “get better soon” next to it.

“You– You both have scary quirks, but you’re both always nice too, so… I hope you do good.”

The familiar pressure of wanting to cry pressed against his normal eye and unexpectedly against his fake eye as well, even though no tears came to them.

Is it because of the card, and how he’s never gotten anything like this from someone that wasn’t his mother before? Was it because even now, this little girl still thought his quirk was scary? Or was it because even though she thinks that way, she still wants to tell him “good luck”? He doesn’t know…

Hitoshi also seemed greatly affected. When Izuku looked at him, he was trying to give Aki an uneven smile. “Thanks, Aki, that… That means a lot to us.”

Hitoshi speaking helped Izuku find himself again. He knelt so that he could smile at Aki directly. “Hitoshi-kun’s right, thanks so much Aki-chan! I’m sure our cards will help us do our very best! Can you tell your friends we said thank you to them, too.”

Aki stared at him with wide eyes but nodded her head in a small motion. Her cheeks were tinged pink, but there was a slight, pleased smile on her face.

To have people you know and people you’ve never even met before rooting for you… To have a child look up at you with a smile to say good luck… The feeling it gave him was indescribable. It was like the void that was usually empty except when he was with Hitoshi was suddenly filled with something unknown.

–…Is this what it feels like to be a hero?–

That thought stayed with him through the night and into the next day.

Even after parting with Hitoshi and sitting amongst the bustle of class 1-A in his PE uniform, he carried the thought that there were going to be people watching from their homes to see him on the screen, and in a few cases, were specifically looking forward to seeing him. He had though that without his Mom, he wouldn’t have any of those. To know that perception was wrong was almost jarring.

What would they see when he did these trials?

Would they see a hero-in-training trying to keep up with his classmates? Would they see a poor boy that didn’t understand he was meant for a different path? Would they think he was normal? Would they think he was strange?

Would they think “this is the kind of person I could see saving me”? Would they think “this is the kind of person that might eventual hurt me”?

Izuku had thought that he had been numbed to others assuming the worse of him, because it was the attitude he first expected. Because he’d already given up on trying to change it or continuing his life so what was the point of caring anymore. Because Hitoshi was the only person that really mattered to him, so why should he worry about what other people thought of him. But it was only now, right before the moment of truth, that he realized if he came home to Aki or Fuyuki or the Harukas’ being actively fearful of what he could do… it would be painful.

Even though he hadn’t ever truly felt a connection with them, even though they were all acquaintances at best. Even though he didn’t know any of the other people that were watching, thinking about what they all might say of him was so painful.

But if it flipped the other way– If people saw a hero-in-training, if they thought “this is the kind of person I could see saving me” or “this is the kind of person I want as a hero”…

–Wouldn’t that be such a wonderful thing?–

If he had to put words to the feeling he felt when Aki looked up at him with a smile, or put words to the feeling he had moments before he would enter a stage with all of Japan as his audience… The only description that came to mind was that he was on the precipice of either heaven or hell, but didn’t know which he was about to fall into.

How strange that when he had been literally about to fall to his death without knowing what was on the other side, he hadn’t felt like this. He hadn’t felt this fear. He hadn’t felt like he was about to die, or questioned whether it would end in despair or elation, all he had felt was relief–

“Midoriya.”

Izuku forcibly blinked himself out of his spiraling thoughts to look up from his seat and see Todoroki Shouto looking down at him with a cold but neutral expression. His first thought was vague surprise that the other boy even knew his name –despite there being no reason why Todoroki wouldn’t have picked it up by this point, he clearly wasn’t like Katsuki and his inability to remember the background characters in his life– and his second was to note that most of their classmates had paused their conversations to listen in, but all he responded with was, “T-Todoroki-san? Is something wrong?”

Todoroki seemed to give him one final look over, and Izuku noticed his gaze didn’t linger that long on his eyepatch or still bandaged hand, despite those things being what people would find most attention-catching about him. He looked Izuku straight in the eye as he said, “Objectively speaking… we both have raw power in different kinds of ways, and we’re both technically skilled in different kinds of ways. But overall, I’d say I have more experience using my quirk than you, and that would give me the edge. Not only that, but you don’t have any of the add-ons you get with your hero costume. They even made you take off the earrings– that means you’ll be weaker.”

Izuku’s hand floated up to brush against his bare ears, he didn’t notice that Todoroki had looked at them. “Well, uh… as much as Aizawa-sensei lets me get away with it in class, having a quirk booster for an official competition where we don’t even have our costumes is a bit much.” –Not to mention how the media and internet would cry to hell and back about how he’d “cheated”, or the image he’d get as the UA student that wore the symbol of the anti-Christ to the Sports Festival. It was awful just to think about that potential shitstorm– “But it’s not like I wasn’t stocking up in advance for that… I– I hadn’t realized you knew what those were for.”

“It’s only natural to observe and try to figure out the quirk of your biggest opponent. If they were only for decoration, you wouldn’t have been changing their orientation as often as you had been.” –He noticed that too?! How much has Todoroki been watching him without him noticing?! It’s a good thing he doesn’t let his feelings show on his face by pure habit…

“None of the details really matter, though…” Todoroki’s eyes narrowed to the slightest degree, but the effect it had on his gaze was immense. “The only thing that matters is that I will beat you.”

“Ooh~ a declaration of war between the strongest kids in the class?!” Kaminari exclaimed in both shock and excitement.

Kirishima, despite seeming like the kind of guy that would like these sorts of declarations, pulled at Todoroki’s shoulder with a frown. He was shrugged off nonchalantly. “Hey man, we’re about to go on! Why’re you picking a fight?”

“I don’t really care. I’m not here to make friends– ”

“Uh… Okay?”

Everyone’s head swerved back to Izuku. He let a small, nervous smile grow on his face. “I mean… I don’t really know what you expect me to say to that. I’m going to try my best, but it’s not like I know if my best if better than yours. I don’t care about being first place as much as I do just– ” Not fucking up? “ –performing well overall. So while I’m gonna try to beat you, if you end up beating me instead it’s… not that big of a deal?”

The room was filled with questioning stares and tense silence. Apparently Izuku should’ve bullshit an answer, because giving his actual opinion had been the wrong one, much like it always is.

The silence was broken by the crash of a chair against the floor. He didn’t even have to turn his head to know Katsuki was raging towards him.

“God this is fucking bullshit! Why did you bother to come back if you don’t care about being the best?! Why the hell did you even come to UA in the first place if you don’t care about being the best?! If you don’t think you can be a hero, then just leave already! Stop wasting my time and forcing me to see your fake-ass face every day!”

Izuku finally looked up to see Katsuki glaring down at him with familiar red eyes, his fists actually shaking from the power of his anger. After a beat to understand the situation, Kirishima placed himself between Katsuki and Izuku to push the aggressor back. “Wh– What the hell is this, dude?! That was way too harsh! I know you’re more manly than that!”

“Shut up! You don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

A sense of déjà vu overcame Izuku as he weakly smiled up at Katsuki from his seat even as his heart thumped loudly in his ears, just like how he had in middle school and all the times before that. “I don’t need to be the best to become a hero, Kacchan. Just getting to be a hero and doing my best at that is enough.”

…Or at least that’s what he would think if he was actually trying to be a hero

Katsuki glared him down with increasing intensity, before all at once, he turned his back to Izuku. Everyone parted out of his way as he stalked towards the door, watching him leave with nervous glances. Izuku watched his back as he got further away, like he always used to do.

Katsuki’s still angry voice was almost quiet as he said, “You haven’t fucking changed at all…”

The whispers erupted as soon as the door slammed shut. Izuku was instantly surrounded on all sides by his friends, various looks of worry on each of their faces.

“M-Midoriya-kun, are you alright?” Uraraka was the first to ask.

Izuku kept his smile weak on purpose as he nodded minutely at them. “Yeah… That’s just how Katsuki is, he takes everything personally.”

“Even if he thinks its personal, it’s still horribly unjust to speak to you like that! We’re all aiming to be heroes in our own way!” Iida announced with his arms crossed over his chest. It said a lot that he wasn’t even trying to chase after Katsuki to wait in the room with the rest of them and follow proper procedure. There were probably only a few more minutes until the proverbial curtain call, so as long as Katsuki stayed close by it shouldn’t be a problem.

They spoke more about what happened, but Izuku didn’t absorb any of it. The fear of the precipice had been swallowed up by his emptiness, and while he felt more level-headed now, he didn’t know if it was a good thing. Katsuki’s words had been an unwanted reminder.

He doesn’t hate Katsuki, exactly, but there were things about him that Izuku almost felt strong enough about that some might consider it a dampened form of hate. And the thing that he’s always hated most about Katsuki wasn’t his words, or his attitude, or his actions, or anything like that…

It was that despite knowing so little truth about Izuku, Katsuki also somehow knew so much. Too much.

–It all made sense in the end. Katsuki hates how Izuku’s a liar, and Izuku hates how Katsuki can tell he’s a liar. By their very natures, they were never meant to be friends in the first place–

But even with that knowledge, whenever Izuku watched Katsuki’s back as he left, just as he did now… There’s always been that tiny crack of regret in his chest that came with him wondering what could have been, if things had been different.

Chapter Text

“HELLOOO~ MASS MEDIA! Welcome to the UA SPORTS FESTIVAL! The yearly extravaganza where our heroes-in-training compete in a RUTHLESS BATTLE TO THE DEATH!!! …Though for legal reasons, please note that that was a hyperbole, and that killing is not a legal action within the confines of this festival or anywhere else.”

“Then why do you say that every year…”

Present Mic ignored Eraserhead’s logic to continue announcing, “Coming into the arena now– You all know who I’m talking about! The miraculous rising stars who fought off a villain attack with their hearts of steel, one of the first year classes of the hero course– IT’S CLASS A!!”

From the darkness of the spacious hallway, they all walked out into the giant arena to the cheering of the equally giant crowd. The sun shining brilliantly down on them. The spiked sensation of nerves along with the malevolent energy of his quirk lanced through Izuku’s chest at the sight of it all, even as he made sure the stiff smile on his face stayed in place. Along with everyone spectating in person, they were also being filmed. Now wasn’t the time to have a sudden bout of honesty.

“We’re expected to give our best even with this many people watching. I suppose this is just another skill UA is training us on to become heroes,” Iida commented while looking up at the stands.

Not to mention they expect Izuku to be able to speak in front of this many people. Talk about a brutal school…

As they made their way to the stage at the center, the other classes filed out of different entrances with Present Mic running through the list. “This class hasn’t gotten as much screen time, but it’s still full of talent– IT’S CLASS B! Then come the general classes– C, D, and E– ”

He’s going through the non-hero classes too fast… It’s expected since this is mainly an event for the hero course and there isn’t as much to say, but he hopes Hitoshi-kun doesn’t feel slighted by it.  

Lined up in a neat square, everyone looked up at the gray stage to see the R-Rated Hero: Midnight at the mic. Her whip cracked in the air to catch their attention. “Now for the Athlete’s Oath!”

“Is it okay for her to work at a school even though she’s R-rated?” Tokoyami quietly questioned.

Ignoring his impending doom, Izuku commented, “Well high schoolers watch rated R movies all the time, so I guess it’s okay.”

“Kero, I don’t really think this is the same as that…”

“The students will be represented by Midoriya Izuku from class 1-A!” Midnight cracked her whip for extra emphasis.

On cue, Izuku stepped forward and started his perilous trek. Even while making sure his head was held high, his eyes were carefully watching his feet. Ready to catch any rock or mishap that might send him tumbling over himself like the unfortunate embarrassment he is.

“Midoriya’s the representative?! Good luck, Midoriya-kun!” Uraraka cheered him on as much as she could while whispering.

Sero responded, “It must be cause he placed first in the entrance exam.”

“In the hero course entrance exam, you mean.”

The snide feminine voice distracted Izuku enough for him to glance back part way between the stage and the mass of students. Eyes automatically tracking to the area it came from, Izuku first caught sight of Hitoshi, then a female classmate that was standing nearby him. Instead of the distain he was expecting, the girl looked at him with wide eyes that spread to the people in view around her.

Oh– this is the first time other classes are paying attention to him. They must be noticing his eyepatch…

Hitoshi mouthed the words keep going. Izuku took his advice and looked away to make his way up the stairs of the stage. He watched each step he took with care, and as he took the first step onto the stage proper, the camera finally focused on him while he went to the mic.

He could hear whispers from the unfamiliar students that were surely a reflection of the crowd’s indistinct murmuring.

“Wasn’t there a 1-A kid that landed in the hospital after the villain attack? Is that him?”

“It’s gotta be him, unless he already had the injury before starting school.”

“It’s been two weeks and it still hasn’t healed? You think…”

“Maybe it doesn’t work anymore? That’s gotta suck.”

“How did the hero course student that did the best on their practical end up being the most hurt? That doesn’t make sense! I thought that meant they were supposed to be the best– ”

Izuku stepped fully in front of the microphone and looked over the staring of the students before him and the thousands of heroes and people in the stands, the thud of his foot on the stage echoing too loud in his ears for what the actual volume must be. Even as his teeth pressed together painfully in his mouth, his small smile hadn’t faltered.

Nothing to get worked up about. It’s just like how it was before, with everyone talking about him behind his back. Easy for him to handle. Just put all of the focus on the not easy part of this.

Misfortune swirled underneath his skin in his concentrated effort to not let it leak out. With only a slight stutter at the start, he ran through the generic and scripted Athlete’s Oath that he’d practiced with Hitoshi, then tacked on a generic cheer for “everyone to do their best” so that it didn’t seem completely without life. After the obligatory applause, he walked back towards the stairs, and started his way down them.

It was sort of a miracle that everything had gone off without a hitch at this point. The only thing left was the final stretch–

On his fourth step down, the bolt on one side of the step gave in with a metallic shriek, and the sudden lack of support set him flying forward with his arms flailing.

See?! What did he say! Sorry Hitoshi-kun, but it looks like this is where he dies today–

Powerful claws caught his torso before he could finish his full body faceplant.

His eyes trailed up from the black to see more black on the face of Dark Shadow, who was stretched out far from Tokoyami. Behind his quirk near the front of the crowd, Tokoyami gave him a thumbs up and declared dramatically, “I won’t let you die, Midoriya…”

As Dark Shadow placed him firmly on his feet, Izuku clutched at his chest. “To– Tokoyami-kun…”

“It’s good he caught you, but you both know that he wouldn’t have actually died from that, right?” Hitoshi muttered under his voice.

“Midoriya Izuku was saved from a nasty fall by his classmate Tokoyami Fumikage! What a wonderful display of friendship!”

Eraserhead followed up Present Mic’s commentary with, “They haven’t even started yet, hold off on the announcements…”

“What’s with this rusty bolt?! This stage is supposed to be UA quality! Someone fix this oversight immediately, we can’t have a festival with a busted stage!” Midnight shouted towards one of the hallways where backstage workers probably resided, having come down to inspect what happened, before looking at Izuku directly. “Sorry about that, Midoriya-kun.”

He was pretty sure that was his fault, but he decided not to complicate things further by telling her that.

Once he made it back to his original spot, Midnight explained that the first round would be an obstacle course without mentioning what said obstacles would be. It went without saying, though, that it wouldn’t be anywhere near what normal obstacle courses looked like.

The starting gate was set right at a large passageway that lead to the outside of the arena with all of the students clustered together. Izuku tried to ignore the claustrophobic feeling he got from so many strangers brushing up against him, and managed to not look back at those who were stealing glances at the mysterious student representative.

He then felt a bit better when he realized that the eyepatch probably did make him seem very mysterious, and therefore very cool.

“READY! Aaaaand STARTTTT!!!”

Everyone tried to shoot forward at once, inevitably getting smashed together trying to pass through the gate. Izuku could see Todoroki break out of the crowd to send a sheet of ice back to crawl over everyone’s feet and immobilize them. Rather than waste some of his very valuable energy, Izuku did his best to jump over the ice and run forward without sliding everywhere.

A lot of his fellow classmates did similarly, having known the kind of threat to expect from Todoroki, and Katsuki in particular blasted forward with his quirk to follow the lead Todoroki was giving himself. Glancing around, Izuku also found Hitoshi and saw that he had a handful of competitors holding him up away from harm. He felt a burst of excitement seeing his friend was off to a good start.

Once they made it past the ice, Izuku saw they were quickly approaching a line of robots taken straight from the practical exam, including a couple massive zero-pointers.

“The first obstacle is ROBO-INFERNO! We’re putting our leftovers from the entrance exam to good use– how will the students handle these massive mechas?!”

“The hero course kids fought those?!”

“There’s way too many to get past!”

Izuku felt a little bad for the rest of the students. Only the ones that tried out for the hero department would have experience fighting these. But he also knew that the students that couldn’t fight them like Hitoshi would be able to slip past once the fighters had done all the work and thinned out the line.

Todoroki, who was the first to reach them, showed no hesitation in freezing up an entire zero-pointer despite having not seen them before. His ice rushed up the side of its legs in what looked like an effortless movement of his hand. When he ran through its now stationary legs, he called out behind. “I wouldn’t try to follow if I was you, they were frozen in unstable positions– ”

As though they were waiting for his words, the zero-pointers tipped over. Most of the students that had been quick to hop on the opportunity Todoroki’s path seemed to provide dashed back quickly. But Izuku noticed that Kirishima and one other person were still there when the hulking metal crashed into the ground with a thunderous thud.

“ –so they’ll fall.” You said that way too late!

Present Mic’s voice boomed over the speakers, “Todoroki Shouto from 1-A is busting through while also sabotaging the others in a single move! What a cold guy! He’s way ahead of the pack, it almost feels unfair!”

“Are they dead?! I didn’t think you could die during this!”

How unfair is it that now that he’s actively suicidal but trying not to be, he would just be presented with a convenient way to die like this? Though, death by being crushed seemed like an unpleasant and elongated way to go. Definitely wouldn’t be his first choice…

Hoping that Kirishima had been using his quirk, Izuku thought of how best to break open the part of the robot the other student was caught under. Only for both Kirishima and a shiny metallic boy to pop out of the robot’s shell like larvae emerging from a carcass.

“Todoroki that bastard! If it was anyone else but me, they’d be dead!”

“Class A’s full of bastards! If it was anyone else but me, they’d be dead!”

“Both Kirishima Eijirou from 1-A and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from 1-B were flattened! Ouch! Also, aren’t their quirks a little too similar?!”

Someone actually named their child Tetsu– nevermind. The only thing that matters is no one’s hurt.

Suddenly remembering he was in a competition and that he shouldn’t be stopping to help his opponents, Izuku starting running towards the line of robots where the smaller ones were at beside the feet of the zero-pointers. A couple of his classmates including Katsuki and Tokoyami had jumped over the towering giants rather than stay and fight, but he would have to go through them instead. Someone else from class B suggested those on the ground work together to make a path forward.

It was as simple as it had been during the exam. When two normal sized robots approached him from the front side by side, he focused on both of them, and snapped his right hand while wishing them to break. One jolted to a stop with a spark shooting out of its head area, and the other broke its knee joint to collapse on its side. He ran right past them without pausing, but glanced back to see the internally malfunctioning robot had started up again, apparently having rebooted itself.

As usual, targeting two separate things at once split the energy between them to make it less effective. He hadn’t needed them to be permanently incapacitated, so it worked perfectly to save energy.

“Most of the students gaining the lead are from class A! That firsthand experience is showing itself clearly now!”

A loud shot rang out, and a zero-pointer was struck in the head by a cannon ball, plume exploding out along with the explosion. Another one of the giants were sent falling to the ground, and there was finally a clear enough path for the bulk of the contenders to move forward, Izuku going with them.

He looked back to see Yaoyorozu had undone her shirt to produce a full-fledged cannon from her stomach. Recommendation students really are scary… both Yaoyorozu and Todoroki easily took out something he needed a lot more effort to destroy. No wonder they’re given a different practical.

Running forward with panting lungs, Izuku finally slowed down once he approached what looked like a ledge. Him and the rest of the competitors that were by him looked out at what could only be described as a treacherous canyon made of individual columns of land with long stretches of rope connecting them all.

“Looks like the first obstacle was too easy! But how about this– fall and you’re out, crawl across to make it to the other side! It’s THE FALL!”

Looking down the first ledge he was presented with, Izuku noticed that this fall was much higher than the one from his school building that he’d been planning to kill himself with. He wondered if there was a net further down that couldn’t been seen from up here, or if the teachers had so much confidence in the students they just thought they wouldn’t fall, and he really would fall to his death if he jumped.

…This festival is officially not made for suicidal competitors. Though he supposed that should’ve been obvious from the start. Hopefully Hitoshi-kun won’t freak out too much about this…

In the distance, Izuku barely caught sight of Todoroki sliding down the ropes on ice –is he just not afraid of death?? Surely anyone that wasn’t suicidal would be when trusting their stability on ice with a fall like that– and Katsuki a bit further behind him using explosion and explosion to fling himself through the air. A little ways ahead of him Asui was confidently crawling across a rope with her froggy grip, and some other student he didn’t know was decked out in support gear galore to jump across the wide gaps.

There was nothing Izuku could do this time but lock up the energy humming under his skin and hope that his quirk doesn’t break the rope while he crawls across.

He lost a fair amount of time that way. By the time he was crawling over his last rope to the other side, many of his classmates and other students had already passed him by using their quirks to get over quicker. Running towards what looked like a plain dirt field ahead, Izuku noticed that everyone was progressing much more slowly through it.

“The last obstacle is a full-on MINEFIELD! You can see the mine’s locations, so keep your eyes open and watch your step if you wanna make it out! They may not be deadly, but they’re loud and flashy!” Why is this the only one that’s specifically not deadly?! Does that mean they really might’ve died during the other ones?! Speak more clearly about these things, Mic-sensei!

Seeing a good opportunity to try out his cool new eye, Izuku glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention, and discreetly unlatched the string of the eyepatch around one of his ears. He closed his normal eye to focus hard on the distance. The robo-eye adjusted itself with a metallic whirring sound he could hear inside his head, and with pristine vision Izuku was able to see the detailed figures of Todoroki carefully stepping through the field, only for Katsuki to be close behind flying over the danger entirely. It forced Todoroki to change strategies and start fighting the other off.

“WE HAVE A NEW LEADER! Get excited, mass media! You love this kinda SHIT!”

“We’re on national television with children watching,” Eraserhead immediately snarked.

“RIGHT! Sorry! We swear our content is family friendly! Don’t sue us!”

If he wanted to, he’d be able to target them right now to halt their lead, but there wouldn’t be a point in doing that. It’s not like he cared about getting first.

He let the eye relax back to normal while setting his eyepatch back into place. If he went at this at the pace everyone else was, he might not make the cut. While he knew they would let a fair amount through this round since it was only the first one, it hadn’t been specified what ranks they had to make it into.

But that was okay, since he had the perfect way to get through while just running normally.

Examining the field carefully, Izuku found a portion that was the most cleared of other people. He imagined a line straight ahead that went to halfway down the clearly visible field, and focused on a set of earth mounds that were closest to him. He only had a second to internally pray that the mines weren’t set up so close that he’d blow the whole field up, before he snapped for the second time.

Ignite

In a burst of light and deafening sound, the mines he had been looking at all went off at once, triggering a set that were next to them further down. Then more, then more, until everything went silent and there was just a path of ruined dirt clear of mines that went halfway down the field. While the competitors that had been nearest to the chain explosions –some of them probably having to jump out of the way or even being caught on the outskirts of the blast– stared at the leftover mess in confusion. Izuku went sprinting down his new runway.

“WOAH! Midoriya Izuku just purposely blew up the field to make a path! Guess that’s one way to do it! This kid might not be leading the pack right now, but it’ll be bad luck if you underestimate him!”

“None of the spectators or viewers will understand that joke.”

“Can’t you give me something more than unbridled sarcasm to work with? I’ll explain his quirk later if I have to! It’s the announcer’s job to know when to talk shit up and when to wait on it to dramatically reveal later!”

“Weird. All this time I thought you were running your mouth off with no filter.”

“So mean! But I also love it when you sass me!” What exactly is Eraserhead and Present Mic’s relationship??? “It looks like things are shaking up now as a whole bunch of people are trying to get in on Midoriya’s newly made path!”

He ran down the field quickly, but up ahead some of his competitors jumped into the almost trench like rut the explosions left in the ground. It was counterproductive to let people stay ahead of him when he was trying to improve his rank by bypassing them, but if he tried taking them all out with only one snap there’s no way it would be effective…

…Actually, did he really need to target them specifically when they were surrounded by a literal minefield? All the mines in his line exploded, but there should still be some on the edges.

Directing his eyes to the ground beside the group up ahead, Izuku snapped for the third time, and an explosion sent them all thrown off to the side while screaming. He called out an apology as he ran past them.

“Midoriya just blew them all up! How surprisingly cutthroat for such a meek guy!”

“Didn’t you just say not to underestimate him?”

Reaching the point where his path ended, Izuku had to finish the other half of the field but was worried that the extra energy of the fourth snap might lead to someone getting hurt this time.

It was then that he realized he was getting close to Katsuki and Todoroki’s fighting now that he was approaching the latter half of the field. They were still further down it, but any path he made would have to go right by them.

Should he just do the rest of it normally? He contemplated for a split second.

“Looks like the rest of the competition is willing to risk possible fire for the chance to use the shortcut! There’s a whole bunch trailing behind Midoriya, will he take them out or leave them be?”

He glanced back after Present Mic’s commentary to find that there were a bunch of people following him, including some of his classmates, but the thing that caught his eye was a flash of purple in the midst.

Hitoshi was using this path. Izuku’s own strategy could also help Hitoshi do better.

That was all he needed to know to decide what to do. Snap number four caused a burst of new explosions right down his path, but it also branched out. Katsuki, Todoroki, and a couple of others that were in the lead either lost their footing or were blown back for a small fall. He was relieved to find no casualties.

“Midoriya’s done it again, but this time he also targeted Todoroki Shouto and Bakugou Katsuki! Aiming to slow down the leaders while also pushing forward– what marvelous ambition!” That’s wrong, Mic-sensei, that was completely by accident…

Regardless, Izuku ran onto his new path and kept going, his breathing getting more labored the further he went without pausing. The further he went, the more people he passed, until…

Right at the end of the minefield where Izuku was approaching, Katsuki glanced away from Todoroki to catch sight of Izuku with a glare.

Desperately glancing around, Izuku found that most of the people that’d been ahead of him had been offset by his explosions, and were just getting back into their speed. Did he really get so far ahead?!

Todoroki and Katsuki speeded down the shadowy hallway with their quirks, half focused on mobility and half focused on pushing the other away, while Izuku finished getting off the field.

“It’s gonna be a close one folks! Between the fiery Bakugou and the icy Todoroki, who will be first place of the first round?!”

“Why do you not use your black magic against them?”

Izuku yelped in surprise as he realized that wasn’t Eraserhead’s follow-up commentary that he’d come to expect. Swerving his head to glance beside him while still running revealed it was Tokoyami who’d spoken.

Tokoyami, who was currently being held in the clutches of his quirk so both of them could glide over the land without touching it.

“Tokoyami-kun?! You can fly?!”

“I suppose one might call this flight. I hadn’t realized my own hidden power until my clash with you, Midoriya. I’ve been getting used to it over the course of this race, but my heart still betrays me when I’m too far off the ground, and I’m not that fast. Perhaps I instinctively fear following the path of Icarus– ” Tokoyami frowned as he abruptly cut himself off. He shook his clenched fist in the air. “That’s not what I came over to discuss! Curse my endless prose and wandering thoughts!”

Izuku smiled kindly at Tokoyami. It wasn’t quite real, but it wasn’t too hard to form. “I’m close enough that I could target them, but I don’t really need to. My rank as it is should definitely qualify for the next round now.”

Tokoyami stared at him for a few seconds as they crossed the threshold where the dirt path of the course and the concrete of the arena hallway started. It was during that time when Present Mic blared over the speakers, “And the winner of the first round is none other than the golden boy TODOROKI SHOUTO! Followed closely by Bakugou Katsuki in second place! It was sorta predictable, but Bakugou put up a good fight!”

Ahh… Katsuki isn’t going to like that…

“Hmm… Well, Iida was right in that we’re all trying to be heroes in our own way, and you do have to be conservative with your quirk use considering how it works,” Tokoyami hummed before looking away. Izuku wasn’t really sure what he had been looking for. “Don’t hold it against me for going on ahead, though.”

As soon as they crossed the line between the sunny day and the dark hallway, Dark Shadow grew slightly in size. It seemed to translate into increased power and speed, as Tokoyami was jolted ahead of him. He reached the finish line in no time. Izuku just stayed focused on running past it himself, but he couldn’t help but watch the harsh black back of Dark Shadow as the distance between him and Tokoyami increased.

“Tokoyami Fumikage comes in third, while Midoriya Izuku is fourth! I guess it’s another sign of their friendship that they finished one after the other!”

“What does their placement in the race have to do with friendship?”

“Don’t know! All I know is that I should’ve bet money on Midoriya coming in fourth, sixth, or thirteenth– It’s so obvious in hindsight!”

“Him getting fourth was purely by coincidence… And it’s illegal to bet on these games!”

“SHIT! You’re right! Everyone forget what I said just then!”

“Why are you like this?”

Coming to a stop, Izuku hunched over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. A person from class B crossed the finish line, then another. Then he stopped paying attention to that. The energy inside him was sporadic, having grown slightly with his cursed placement, but he still lost a considerable chunk of power even with that. He was still more than half full, but he wouldn’t be in a few snaps.

He’s noticed that the most snaps he’s gotten are thirteen snaps, since even when he had a lot of energy he used it all up for high-energy events. It was like that for the practical exam when he also hadn’t had anything to supplement it, so he should expect to get about thirteen snaps over the course of the day. Though if he was more conservative in energy use and could supplement it somehow, he could probably get above thirteen…

The screaming cheers of the crowd were deafening, but he couldn’t tell if any of it was for him. It didn’t feel like it. It felt like it was all for Todoroki, who came in first. For Katsuki, who tried to beat Todoroki with everything he had. For Tokoyami, who advanced his quirk technique to advance his rank.

–What did he do to earn this spot? It hardly feels like he did anything–

His gaze was stuck on the ground, but he heard Tokoyami come beside him to speak hesitantly, “Midoriya… Are you– ”

“To think you’ve both bested me in a race, a trial that my quirk should’ve given me an advantage in!” Izuku straightened up quickly to watch Iida speed-walk towards them, the other’s name having been announced during his haze. Iida did a knife-hand for emphasis. “I must work on improving myself even more!”

“Why are you the one complaining, Iida-kun! I’m the one that did the worst out of our classmates from our lunch group!” Uraraka groaned, shaking her fist while coming next to Iida. Shouji and Asui were following shortly behind her, probably having finished around the same time.

Asui proved his assumption by saying, “We didn’t do that much better than you, Ochako-chan. Kero.”

“All of us placed well, we should be proud,” Shouji agreed with a nod.

“But I’m trying to win! It’s not over yet, so I’ll just have to do even better in the next rounds if I want to beat Todoroki-kun and Bakugou-kun…”

Seeing that a lot of people had finished, Izuku looked through the crowd to find Hitoshi. When he caught sight of the other’s stand-out purple hair, Hitoshi made eye contact with him and gave a thumbs-up, but he didn’t come closer. Izuku wondered if it was just because he was treating the rest of their friends like serious competition, or if he was treating Izuku like competition.

That last thought made him feel like he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t know what he’d do if Hitoshi… if…

“Midoriya…” His head swerved to the side in a jolt to see Shouji watching him carefully with multiple eyes, and Tokoyami frowning next to him. It was Shouji who spoke, “Midnight-sensei told us all to gather around again. You didn’t hear her, right? You’re starting to act like you did right before the festival started… Is something wrong?”

Everything’s wrong, his internal voice answered even though there was nothing actually wrong. Izuku tried to make his smile seem sheepish. “Um… What do you mean by that, exactly? Like how I’m quiet? I’m just kinda thinking deeply. Sorry.” He started walking towards the rest of the group, with the other two walking by his side.

“Well, there’s that, but you’re also sort of smiling into space when you’ve been quiet even though you don’t look like you’re thinking about something happy. I don’t think I’ve seen a person do that when people watching before.” Of course you haven’t. That’s not the way a normal person processes their emotions! It’s only cause he’s gotten so used to smiling when he’s feeling awful that he just does it automatically, he’s trained his face to have the opposite reaction that it should! How is he supposed to explain that?!

When you can’t explain something, change the subject pretending like you forgot what you were supposed to talk about. That’s a rule that’s saved Izuku many times. “You people watch, Shouji-kun? I guess that makes sense. You have so many enhanced senses it probably just happens, huh?” He stepped in line with the others, who had all stayed together.

“Huh? Oh… yeah, I guess so. But anyway– ”

“Time to go through the results!” Midnight-sensei’s loud declaration interrupted Shouji. Just like Izuku had hoped, he failed to get the conversation back on topic in time.

Midnight explained that the top 42 students –another cursed number? This one didn’t even have anything to do with him!– would qualify for the second round, with the challenge being a calvary battle where the teams’ starting points were determined by the rank the group’s members got. The goal was to steal other teams’ headbands to increase their points, and the group with the most points would be first place. Even if your headband was stolen or your formation was broken, all teams would be active until the end. They had fifteen minutes to form teams, and whole the match would last another fifteen.

The most important thing though, was that the first-place winner of the last round was given ten million points instead of following the regular scoring system. It was clear that if you were aiming for first, it didn’t matter how many other headbands you got if you didn’t win Todoroki’s.

As soon as the timer to form teams started, Tokoyami turned to Izuku. “You plan to not attempt to covet the grand prize, and instead focus on stealing smaller bands to be a runner-up. Is that correct?”

Izuku let his eyes widen in surprise. “T-That’s what I was thinking, yeah! UA always has at least sixteen students in the final tournament, so they need to pass more teams than just the first-place winner this round.”

“Hmm, your perspective on these chaotic tribulations made me think that would be the case…” Tokoyami stared at Izuku again as he seemed to nod to himself. “Usually I would like to aim for first, but Todoroki will be a difficult opponent for me to win against given the brightness of the day. Shall we prove our blood pact through the trial of battle?”

A grin felt like an appropriate response to that. “We don’t have a blood pact, but if you wanted to do one we could! I always wanted to try that kind of ceremony!” He glanced down at his bandaged hand. “Though– with my quirk, it might be better if we found a substitution for the blood.”

“Of course…” Tokoyami’s eyes narrowed as he mulled over his thoughts. He turned to Izuku with owlish blinking eyes, like he’d just figured out what Izuku said. “Wait. You really want to try one? Like for real? Can we do that?”

…Did his occult fascination just surpass the limits of Tokoyami’s gothness? This is bad, they’ve been in synch about so many other things that he just assumed this would be the same! “Uh– Haha, just kidding– ”

“There’s no way you were joking, don’t lie to me. I didn’t say I wouldn’t consider it! I just…” Tokoyami glanced away such that Izuku though he’d be blushing if he had a regular face. He admitted in a quiet voice like he was admitting a great shame, “ …I don’t actually know what you do for a blood pact. I just mentioned it cause I thought it sounded cool.”

“ …Oh, is that all?” The tension in his chest relieved slightly, making it easier to smile. “Well, there isn’t one true way to do a blood pact– ”

“I leave you two alone for one round and you’re talking about blood pacts… Not even surprised. No wonder Shouji gave up on listening to your conversation to leave and go find a team,” Hitoshi’s deep voice huffed. Izuku quickly turned to see his friend walk up to them, and his smile gained sincerity from the uncharacteristic joy he felt rise up. The anxiety he’d felt from Hitoshi’s previous distance dissipated into nothingness.

Because if Hitoshi was approaching instead of keeping away like he had been before, that meant– “Do you want to team up, Hitoshi-kun! That’d be so much fun!”

He latched onto Hitoshi’s arm to smile up at him, knowing how much Hitoshi liked to see him happy. He didn’t pay any mind to the way Hitoshi’s cheeks flushed with the touch. “I never would’ve thought I’d get the chance to team up with you… There’s no one else I’d rather have by my side! It would be so great! Please– ”

“Why’re you asking so much when you know I’m gonna say yes?! Don’t make such a big deal out of this!” Hitoshi averted his eyes similarly to how Tokoyami did just before, his face flushing deeper the more Izuku spoke. “You’re strong, you know. Of course I’d want to team up with you. My quirk isn’t good at activating against multiple people at once, so it’s easier if I get a team where I don’t have to use it a lot.” His eyes tracked to Tokoyami at that last part. He was avoiding specifying what his quirk was still.

“Great! Oh, Tokoyami’s on my team too! Are you okay with Hitoshi joining, Tokoyami-kun?” Izuku glanced at Tokoyami without letting go of Hitoshi.

His other friend blinked once slowly. Red eyes focused on Izuku, then Hitoshi.

Then, a huge smirk formed on Tokoyami’s beak. When he spoke, his drawling prose almost sounded teasing, “Who am I to separate such a fated pair. It seems I’ve misunderstood your relationship up until now, but the light of your hearts shines clearly through the fog of concealment. I’m pleased to have learned more about you two today.”

Voice filled to the brim with irritation, Hitoshi responded with a sneer, “I think you’re having a misunderstanding right now, Tokoyami. What exactly do you think you’ve learned about us?”

“I do not believe that needs explaining– ”

“Seven minutes left to finish forming teams!”

“Ah! We got too off track!” Izuku released Hitoshi’s arm at Midnight’s announcement to glance between the two of them. “Hmm… with my and Tokoyami’s quirk we could probably get by, and Hitoshi’s might help for a last-ditch effort, but we’d really do better if we had a person that could help with grabbing the bands from a distance while Tokoyami defends against the other teams’ retaliation. Is Asui-san– ”

“Student Representative-kun! I couldn’t help but overhear your plight!”

Izuku tensed as he was pulled away by the shoulder to have some gadget shoved in his face. He realized that the person who was holding onto him was the pink-haired girl with support gear he’d seen during the race. The unknown competitor gave him a somewhat sleezy grin with her eyes shrouded by her googles. “Allow me a quick introduction– I’m Hatsume Mei from the support department, and I have just the baby that you need! The grappling launch system I used for mobility during the last round can have its head exchanged for one that can grab items. With a clear shot, you’ll be able to take those bands right off the competition!”

The “baby” that she shook in Izuku face was a launcher with a long cable that had something similar to a crane grabber attached to it. It would need careful aiming, but it definitely looked like it was something they could use.

“A-Are you okay with not trying to get the ten million band?”

“Haha~ what use would I have for getting first place? My sole interest is to advertise my babies as much as possible! Todoroki Shouto shot down my offer, so teaming up with this year’s rep is the next best way to gather attention!” So that was her goal, that made more sense than just her wanting to team up with them randomly…

Hitoshi insistently pried Izuku out of Hatsume’s grip with a smoldering grimace at the girl, but it was Tokoyami who spoke next, “It looks like Asui teamed up with Uraraka and Shouji, while Iida has joined Todoroki’s forces of light. If the darkness needs another to join it, the crazed inventor will probably be the best we can do.”

Izuku still needed to ask, “Are… Are you okay with your stuff possibly accidently breaking? My quirk has the tendency to do that to electronics, but since I’ll be using it against other things it’ll probably be okay…”

Hatsume frowned at that, but responded, “My babies are all precious to me, but it’s inevitable that they’ll break once used in actual combat, so it’s fine. What is your quirk, anyway?”

This would be another test, then. “Well… I’ll spare the details, but basically I make bad luck. In the context of this round I’ll probably be trying to trip people and make them miss attacks.”

“Interesting! I wonder what kinds of equipment would complement that type of quirk best– It’s important to be able to make babies for more unique quirks as well, what a great challenge!”

…He supposed that was one of the more positive responses he’s gotten, even if it was unconventional

As they reported their team and got into formation, Izuku took his time examining the competition.

Katsuki was looking as murderous as always with his glare focused only on Todoroki, his team consisting of Kirishima, Ashido, and Sero for a total of 670 points. Todoroki was looking as cool as ever even under what must be mounting pressure, with Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and as Tokoyami mentioned before Iida being his choices. Their headband was, of course, a little over ten million points.

Shouji and Uraraka were in a strange formation with Shouji hunched over and Uraraka just holding onto him from behind, with Asui being absent but Shouji’s webbed arms conspicuously raised up to cover his back. Assuming Asui was wearing the headband and was on Shouji’s back inside the protective dome, it’ll be difficult for anyone to steal it. Though, he didn’t particularly want to try to steal his friends’ headband when there were others to choose from.

Other people from 1-A formed various smaller groups, and 1-B had their own set of groups. Theirs was the only set that intermixed classes, as it was easier to work with people you were already familiar with. It seemed that Hitoshi and Hatsume were also the only non-heroics students to make it past the first round.

It was a harsh system. Everyone knew that the UA Sports Festival was mostly just to advertise the heroics students, but that’s what will make Hitoshi’s accomplishments here look even greater.

He might’ve told Todoroki he doesn’t care if he gets beaten, but as long as Hitoshi winning depends on Izuku winning, losing isn’t an option. They have to get into the finals no matter what.

Tokoyami took point, Hitoshi and Hatsume flanked him, and Izuku was the one hoisted up to lean against Tokoyami’s shoulders. Hatsume’s modified crane-gun-thing was on his back to be used by his right hand when necessary, with his left hand staying free to snap. He secured a headband with the number 485 printed on it tightly around his head.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

“Blood begets blood in this brutal battle royale! Are you all ready for the second round of the festival?!”

From in front of him Tokoyami kept his gaze on the competition as he spoke, “The battle is upon us. Blood will be shed on this hour…”

“There’s twelve teams of bright-eyes students here, but only a few will make the cut! Here’s the countdown– ”

“I don’t think it’s gonna get quite that violent, but as long as it’s not our blood its fine, right?” Hitoshi answered what was supposed to be a rhetorical statement with a drawl.

“Threeeee!”

“My babies will shed as much blood as you like!”

“Twoooo!”

“That’s literally not what that thing is for…”

“Oneeee!”

The corner of his mouth, already set in its default smile, twitched in amusement. He’d ended up in a somewhat strange group, but he supposed that’s how he knew it was the right one.

“And STAAAARTTTT!!!!!”

Chapter Text

“Threeeeee! Twooooo! Oneeeeee! And STAAAARTTTT!!!!!”

Everyone moved at once. Bakugou’s team rushed towards Todoroki’s at the same time Hagakure’s and Testustetsu’s did.

The sinking ground provided by Honenuki Juuzou’s quirk was iced over. With an insulating blanket provided by Yaoyorozu to protect themselves, Kaminari released a burst of illuminating electricity to stun all the surrounding teams, which was then supplemented by Todoroki icing over their feet. He’d clearly learned how easily avoidable that move was from the first round.

Team Todoroki retreated with Iida’s speed helping them make haste, but the fight had only just begun. Team Bakugou dissolved the ice with Ashido’s acid, allowing Bakugou to lead the charge once again. The rowdy boy jumped off his “horse” with explosions to propel him, only for Todoroki to repel him with a column of ice. A safety line made of Sero’s tape pulled the Bakugou back on before gravity could take hold.

“Is leaving your unit even allowed?!”

“Here it is, yeah! As long as his feet don’t touch the ground, he’s safe!” Midnight answered Present Mic’s query with a thumbs up and grin.

There was a lot to take in this round. From Honenuki turning Team Tetsutetsu’s icy prison and the ground underneath into a puddle so they could advance, taking a headband from a 1-A team with Shiozaki Ibara’s vines when they went passed, to Jirou using her own quirk to break apart Team Hagakure’s with the sound of her beating heart assisted by Satou’s strength. Team Asui made a startling appearance with Shouji bounding towards Todoroki only for a pole made by Yaoyorozu to intercept the hidden Asui’s tongue, and several more teams ran after Todoroki’s. One could easily make the mistake of only focusing on the students fighting for the ten million band.

But the Number One hero wasn’t the type to make mistakes, so Toshinori made sure to watch everyone carefully.

When paying attention to the leaderboard, there was a notable trend of both smaller 1-A and 1-B teams dropping down to zero points. The teams responsible for this were the 1-B team led by Monoma Neito, and the inter-class team led by young Midoriya.

“Those two teams ended up using the same alternative strategy of picking off headbands from teams preoccupied with Todoroki’s,” while he spoke with a cheerful tone, Togata Mirio had the same nuance to his voice that Toshinori had often heard from Nighteye. Toshinori turned his gaze from the field below their vantage point of a windowed room in the arena to look down at young Togata. There was a smile on his face even as his eyes diligently tracked the first years’ movements. “That’s only to be expected –it wouldn’t be smart if every single team tried to win by getting the ten million points– but at this rate the points might end up too distributed between the two.”

Toshinori hummed in thought, “As long as only one other team besides the one with the ten million band has a significant amount of points, both of them will still make it.”

“So they are going with passing the top four, that’s what I thought. Things might work out for them then! I wonder if Todoroki Shouto can keep his headband all the way through, though… You teach Hero Basic Training for both first year classes right? So you must know all their quirks. Got any insight as to how it’ll go?”

“It’s hard to say. While class A is getting all the attention, class B does have their own formidable quirks.” Toshinori’s neutral expression turned into a frown as he thought of his failure again. “That said, class A still has the advantage of experiencing villains firsthand, and the one who experienced that the most was undoubtedly young Midoriya.”

“The one who knows about you now, right?” Togata commented casually about the explanation of that mess up Toshinori had given him. “Even just fighting villains once makes a world of difference in how you fight. Seems like 1-A will come out better than 1-B, then, and you’re betting on Midoriya for sure! Though if he sticks with his strategy, he won’t be first place this round. Not that that’s an issue when you’re playing for the long game.”

“Seven minutes in, a lucky number! Let’s see how the teams are lookin’ …Hey, what happened here?! Team Bakugou’s down to zero points while 1-B’s Team Monoma’s climbed higher!”

Right on cue, Bakugou turned his sights onto Team Monoma and promptly forgo going after Todoroki to retrieve their own headband. Monoma countered one of Bakugou’s explosions with a hardened arm that’d evidently been copied from Kirishima.

“Hmm~ it’s probably for the best Team Bakugou switched targets. Winning against Todoroki is more of a gamble than fighting against a team that’s been gathering headbands through mainly hit-and-run tactics instead of power.”

“I doubt they’ve permanently given up on Todoroki’s band, young Bakugou isn’t the type to be content with second place. But he’s also not to type to let people get one over him, so it seems that’ll end up getting in the way of him getting “first” in the conventional sense.”

That’s right– there was a world of difference between those who aim for Number One and everyone else. It was always clear to see for him.

Team Monoma’s strategy was sound, but it failed to take into account a personality like Bakugou’s, who was so set on winning that he would compromise on nothing. All Might became the hero he was by not compromising on saving people and reaching the top, and he knew it lent with it a certain kind of unstoppable momentum that, when subsidized by strength and power, led to the undefeated Symbol of Peace. Becoming a good hero required a certain amount of this uncompromising attitude, even if it wasn’t directed at actually climbing the hero ranks.

For example, young Togata’s goal was to “become a hero that saves a million people”. It was the kind of goal that Nighteye approved of– not something totally impossible like “saving everyone” and having an actual metric that success can be judged by. But it didn’t need to be more than that. What was important was that Togata set a goal that was considered almost impossible to accomplish, and fully planned on surpassing that goal in a true Plus Ultra fashion. He was like Toshinori without being quite the same as him, which was why Nighteye had sponsored him to be One for All’s successor.

Togata could be here to watch the first years due to the set up of UA’s Sport Festival. The school wanted to be able to advertise all three years of their students equally, and only had one arena anyway, so they separated the different years to different times so that everyone could watch all three. The first years were always first, this time being placed in a morning to afternoon slot, in the late afternoon running into the night would be the second years. And then finally on the morning after, the third years would go with the Principal acting as the host. All three years had different first and second rounds planned so that the second and third years couldn’t plan their strategies ahead of time.

Knowing this, Toshinori asked, “If you were to face this trial in your Festival, would you aim for the ten million or not?”

Togata cupped his chin as he hummed thoughtfully, “Hmm, well… Usually I don’t do well in these anyway. But since I’m aiming for first this year, I’d definitely want to aim for the ten million even if it’s harder. Having the most impact by winning multiple rounds would be the best-case outcome! But first I have to make sure I don’t accidently break my arms using One for All, haha!” Togata spoke that last sentence sheepishly, a hand coming up to rub the back of his head with a grin.

Toshinori didn’t know whether he should be concerned or not about how easily the boy had been able to brush off breaking both his arms in his first attempts at One for All. Luckily Nighteye had been much more helpful in working through the quirk with Togata than Toshinori, who had never had a problem with it, and now Togata could successfully use a small percentage of One for All’s power without breaking anything. His experience with fine-tuning his own precision-requiring quirk had been a great boon. It was no wonder why both Nighteye and Nedzu had advised him to choose the young man.

While contemplating the mentality of his new successor, Toshinori couldn't keep his thoughts from straying to another student that had caught his interest, though.

Young Midoriya… Toshinori thought while watching the boy send a team to their knees …are you also aiming for the top in your own way yet? It looks like you might still have further to go before you reach that mindset.

That Monoma guy just screwed himself over by targeting Katsuki and egging him on like that. Now Katsuki will hound him ‘til the gates of hell. It’s too bad, the 1-B student on his team with pitch black skin probably has a really cool quirk Izuku won’t get to see now…

The first half of the match had gone well enough. With the majority rushing after Todoroki, they were given the prime chance to get behind some of the groups and take their headbands right off them. It took a shot or two to get used to the mechanics of the claw gun and the kickback from shooting it, but he’s been able to take off the target band as long as it catches onto one of the ends. They got two small ones from 1-B groups that way.

Izuku had noticed that another 1-B group had been following the same strategy, though choosing to prey on 1-A headbands instead. Hagakure’s was taken off this way when they failed to notice the other group close behind them, and their blond-haired leader was looking smugly satisfied with his growing collection.

There was a strange moment when Izuku was watching this unfold and the still unknown boy glanced his way and made eye contact. There was something sharp in those blue eyes, the familiar look of someone judging him, and he wasn’t sure what the other came away with when those eyes diverted without acknowledgement. He had thought it might mean that Monoma didn’t think he was worth acknowledging, but then the other had started talking shit to Katsuki, and now he thinks maybe he should just be glad the 1-B student didn’t feel strong enough about him to belittle and stir up conflict.

Flashing Katsuki’s stolen headband in his face, Monoma drawled out an explanation in a way that wasn’t far off from how villains on TV shows explain their diabolic plan, “When Midnight-sensei first announced the race, it didn’t take much to figure out they wouldn’t be thinning out the numbers that much. It was the perfect chance to hang back and observe your guys’ quirks and abilities. We placed more modestly in exchange for more information to help with the coming rounds.”

“The whole class was in on it?!” Kirishima exclaimed in surprise. He didn’t complain about how tight Katsuki was surely gripping his shoulders in his barely repressed rage.

“Not everyone, but that wouldn’t have been a bad idea. It’s better than aiming for some fleeting first place like a dog chasing after a bone.” Monoma turned his back to Katsuki with a wave as his team started their retreat, simply glancing back to smirk at his victim. “You talked such a big game that day when everyone went to see what the fuss was about, but you aren’t even the best of your class! You’re not a recommendation student, and you’re not the year’s representative, which means you were already beaten once in the practical exam. My theory is that either fighting some lackey villains or being born with a flashy quirk gave you a big head. Let this be a learning experience for you!”

To probably no one in class 1-A’s surprise at all, Katsuki gained a demonic aura and shadowy face as he growled out, “Change of plans. We go after half ‘n’ half after I take our headband back from their corpses!”

Watching Team Bakugou start their literally explosive comeback while keeping up their own momentum, Hitoshi commented from his right. “Bakugou was Todoroki’s major competition, wasn’t he? With him raging after someone else it looks like Todoroki’ll get to stay on top.”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t count everyone else out just yet either,” Izuku responded for his classmates’ benefit, despite not feeling very confident in them either.

Todoroki once again used his team’s electricity and ice combo to halt more teams, with this set being less able to get out. Izuku’s team was entirely made up of pragmatic people. Hitoshi had grinned wide at the easy pickings, and Izuku complied.

“Ah– Hey! Our headband!” someone Izuku didn’t know from class B cried out as Hatsume’s claw retracted back to them with a white cloth in its clutches. It brought the other teams’ attention to them as well, causing them to lose the advantage of surprise.

But they had ways around that. Their next target was an all-girl 1-B team. When Izuku fired the claw, the leader scowled and grew her hands to an enormous size to swipe at it, only to clash against Dark Shadow’s claws. The metallic crane whirred past red hair, bringing the headband with it, and retracted back to Izuku again. The red head huffed in frustration, her team members still unable to move.

“How dare you take advantage of Kendou’s team’s plight!”

Izuku blinked as he glanced back to see Tetsutetsu yelling out them with a literally iron fist in the air. He mentally cursed as the ground beneath them transformed into mud, making them sink down past their ankles.

The leader of the team they were coming to the rescue of, who Izuku now knew was Kendou, didn’t sound happy about the situation either, “What are you doing Tetsutetsu?! Don’t let what’s happening to other teams distract you from trying to win!”

The skeleton faced student that formed the mud answered, “Sorry, Kendou-san, but I agree with him this time. You’re not the type of president that leaves classmates to fend for themselves, and Monoma’s also getting help. No reason why we can’t do the same.”

“Monoma’s getting help because the teams that are helping him don’t have any points anymore. They’re trying to help his team win since they can’t. This is the opposite of that!”

“Well if we take some headbands while doing this it’s fine then, right?!” Tetsutetsu objected.

While the two teams had their conversation, Izuku had thought up a counter move. “Hatsume-san, turn on your jetpack. Tokoyami-kun, have Dark Shadow help pull us out.”

Only one of them needs to fall…

While his team burst out of the mud, Izuku set his eyes on the vine girl from team Tetsutetsu, and snapped for the fifth time.

She cried out in pain as one of her ankles twisted while they were in the middle of running towards Izuku’s group. The sprain caused that leg to collapse, causing their formation to break for a split second as she fell to the ground on her knees. The other two “horses” stopped to pull her back up while she used her vine-like hair to hold up her side of Tetsutetsu and support her remaining leg. It’ll be difficult for them to move around anymore.

“WOAH! Looks like Midoriya landed a major hit on Shiozaki Ibara from Team Tetsutetsu –or at least I’m pretty sure that was him? It’s hard to tell sometimes…”

“That was him.”

“WOAH! Helpful commentary from Eraserhead! You must be hyped about this!”

While the other helped pull her back into formation, Tetsutetsu glared down with gritted, sharp teeth. “Shiozaki! You bastard, what did you do?!”

“The Lord giveth… and the Lord… taketh away,” Shiozaki recited under her breath. Her expression was screwed up in pain, but she wasn’t crying out anymore.

–Broken so easily. He hates it–

Izuku winced at the familiar feeling of guilt and blame. “Sorry, but I really can’t have you coming after us again– ”

Hitoshi cut him off, “Hey you over there, don’t think I don’t see that hand!”

“Crap– ” the green-haired girl on Kendou’s team cut off her words with a vacant expression in a clear sign of Hitoshi’s quirk.

As their team set back on solid ground to rush a retreat, Izuku only then noticed the floating disembodied hand that had probably gotten too close to their headbands for comfort.

“What a cool quirk! But– uh, thanks for the save Hitoshi-kun. Sorry I didn’t notice…”

“You were all preoccupied, it’s fine. I don’t think I showed enough for anyone to catch on anyway.” Hitoshi smirked at Tokoyami as he said this. To which the other boy responded with a grimance.

“Indeed, I am still left with many questions as to the mystery of my own teammate’s quirk. And to think you had been holding back during our fight, Midoriya… It displeases me.”

“S-Sorry, but I don’t really like doing stuff like that.” He wouldn’t have done it if Hitoshi wasn’t on his team. “Also since you have Dark Shadow, that wouldn’t have even helped with you.”

“Hmm… I suppose so.”

“But anyways…” Izuku’s eyes trailed over to where Kendou was scolding the partly immobilized Team Tetsutetsu, and then found where Team Monoma was being shielded from Katsuki’s wrath and quirk by smaller 1-B teams. “It looks like their class is a lot more unified than ours. Why is that?”

“I noticed that too! In the support department it’s every inventor for themselves, so I’d thought it would be like that in all of them,” Hatsume commented in curiosity.

“Hmm… We’ve already made a “debut” with the USJ attack, and class B all has to make up for falling behind us in the eyes of the public. It could be as long as some of them gain recognition over us they’ll be satisfied with the outcome. And perhaps their teacher encourages such behavior as well? Aizawa-sensei forces us to do our upmost best, especially when competing against each other in a simulation of the real-life hero industry. If there hadn’t been a round specifically endorsing teamwork, I doubt any of us would have offered aid over trying to improve our own results.”

I would’ve offered help if any of you guys had wanted it, he thought to himself but knew better than to say anything aloud.

That morning had already taught him he wasn’t in the majority when it came to his more laxed ambitions towards the festival. Either the people watching will see him as an almost hero or an almost villain; there wasn’t much more to it than that at stake for him, and he could hardly choose which way the opinions would lean. All he could do was try to give a good showing and hope for the best.

“Looks like with three minutes left on the clock, Team Todoroki is holing themselves up to wait out the rest of the time! Smart move! I don’t think anyone’s getting past that wall!”

His head swerved around to find what Present Mic was looking at. He caught sight of Shouji charging at Todoroki one last time with Asui’s tongue flung out in an advance, only for Iida to pull the rest of the team away and past where Todoroki had been growing a solid block of ice off the wall leading up to the high-rising seats. The ice gleamed in a tall, heavy fortress that lengthened until the team behind it was shut away.

Anyone besides Katsuki would have a hard time breaking down the wall with the little time there was. Todoroki had obviously seen an opportunity and saved this move for last. Izuku himself could probably break open part of it, but again, that’s not where their goal lied. He wondered if Todoroki was counting on that, too.

A quick glance at the leaderboard showed Todoroki to still be in first at ten million, followed by Team Monoma in second, their team in third, and Team Tetsutetsu in fourth all somewhere above a thousand points. Team Asui had their original score of 430, then everyone else had been cleaned out to show a string of zeros. “Everyone prepare to defend! Without Todoroki’s headband in play, everyone will be trying to get points from the high-ranking teams left.”

“Right there with you, Izuku.”

“My babies don’t feel fear and neither do I!”

“Understood. Our foes cannot defeat the darkness that broils from our depths.”

“Looks like trouble’s coming for Team Midoriya! Without the ten million prize to take the fire, they’ve become the favored target!”

“Sorry guys– ” Jirou called out, her earjacks flying toward them. Team Hagakure was the first to approach them, with Ojiro and Aoyama in a two-man squad behind them. “ –but we really need some points right about now!”

Dark Shadow swiped away the earjacks, but Izuku foresaw a bigger problem with Aoyama’s navel laser. There was also the problem that as the only leading 1-A team available, two of the still mobile 1-B teams were running towards them as well. Their team had become backed into a wall with all of their competition coming from the same side.

The sixth is a big one, so it’s better to spread it out anyway

Izuku mentally chose one person from each team in his field of vision and snapped– Stop them

Ojiro tripped over a ditch before Aoyama, who was on his back, could align his shot at Dark Shadow. Ojiro caught himself but his partner went flying to the ground in an almost flashy crash. One 1-B team ran into some glue that seemed to have been left behind by one of their classmates, and all they could do was tug at the captured leg. The second 1-B team accidently ran into Jirou’s thin and hard to see earjacks, wrapping around the horse-like girl’s horns.

Both Jirou and the 1-B girl screeched as the horse girl tried to pull her head away, only to pull at Jirou’s ears and cause her to cry out in pain. Satou, Kouda, and Hagakure all fretted over Jirou on their end but weren’t able to do anything to help. The horse girl’s insect-like partner fretted as he began to carefully unravel what looked exactly like tangled flesh colored earphones, only to pause his hands and yell, “Hey wait a second– Tsunotori, your quirk is detaching your horns! Stop panicking and just detach them!”

“S-Sorry, can you speak… slower I think is the word? Still learning Japanese~ tehee!”

“DETACH YOUR DAMN HORNS ALREADY!”

“Stop pulling on my damn ears that fucking hurts!”

“Hang in there Jirou-san!”

“Aoyama! Are you okay?!”

“O-Oui!” There was an ominous crack sound a couple meters away where Aoyama had landed. “ …Non. Give me a moment please.”

Well shit…

“RUN FOR IT!” His three teammates didn’t need to be told twice. They fled to the relative safety of the inner field.

He didn’t expect it to be that affective split between four people. Maybe it’s because it was four? He can’t go higher than that without thinning it out too much though, probably.

“The field’s dissolved into MASS CHAOS! Did Midoriya really do all of that?! Three teams have been temporarily incapacitated while the last one’s not goin’ anywhere! What the hell just happened?!”

“He’s minimizing his quirk use by taking advantage of the need to stay in team formations and only targeting single individuals in the groups to halt the entire group’s progress. A good strategy.”

“And Eraserhead gave even more commentary! You must really like Midoriya! Is he your favorite?”

“I don’t have a favorite. Favoritism is unprofessional.”

“I didn’t hear a ‘I don’t like Midoriya’ in there, Tsundere-sensei!”

“Who the hell is Tsundere-sensei?!”

Izuku couldn’t help the flush that overcame his cheeks at the attention. At his side, he heard Hitoshi give a bark of a laugh, “Ha! Did you see the looks on all their faces! I’m watching that segment when I get home, it’ll make for some good comedy.”

Hatsume sounded off cheerfully, “It was hilarious! Way to draw that attention to us, student representative-kun! This is just what my babies need!”

“Truly a work of unbridled chaos, as Mic-sensei said,” Tokoyami agreed with a nod.

“There’s only one minute left now! Todoroki’s still safe and sound, but looks like there are still some groups fighting to the last breath!”

“FUCKING DIEEEE!!!!”

Izuku tried to keep his guard up, but couldn’t help watching as Katsuki flew through the air at Team Monoma. He broke through some invisible shield to tear two headbands off the competition, splitting Team Monoma’s points.

“Team Bakugou brought themselves up to fourth while Team Monoma falls down to fifth! Last minute game changers are the best!”

He couldn’t quite see Monoma’s face this far away, but he guessed the other boy was scowling now instead of smirking. “Tch! That won’t be enough, we need at least one more band– !”

“Don’t think I’m done with you yet! I’m getting all your points motherfucker!”

“We need more points! Look over there– that team is still slow from what Midoriya-kun did!”

This time Izuku tracked the sound of Uraraka’s voice shouting over the field. It seemed like at this point Uraraka was keeping her quirk constitutively active so Shouji only had to deal with her weight, which was much lighter than his own, giving him enhanced speed that had Uraraka flailing her legs while dangling onto him from behind.

In a superhuman leap, Shouji jumped over the mud pit surrounding Team Tetsutetsu that had been put up as a protective barrier and passed them. His many arms swat away the vines that attacked them, and Asui’s tongue flew out at just the right moment to grab the white headbands. An iron hand came up to grab at them as well. Some bands retracted with the tongue while one stayed in Tetsutetsu’s grip.

“Team Tetsutetsu saved their original headband but lost all their extra points! They fall to fifth while Team Asui jumps up to fourth! Class 1-B’s been knocked out of the rankings! Thirty seconds left– Ah! Bakugou’s beating up on Team Monoma again! Losing his points must’ve really pissed him off!”

Sure enough, Izuku looked to the side to see Team Bakugou being pulled down a slick acid path at high speeds using Sero’s tape as leverage. They zoomed right past Monoma for Katsuki to swipe the headband off his neck.

“Twenty seconds!”

Katsuki set his sights on the ice wall and banged on Kirishima’s head with a yell to change their direction. He doesn’t really think he could still get the ten million in this amount of time, does he?

“Ten seconds!”

Katsuki propelled himself over the wall with a fiery blast. His three teammates tried hanging onto Sero’s tape as it hung over the side like a fishing rod, but without anyway to see their teammate, there was nothing they could do.

“Three! Two! Oneeeeeeeeeeee! The Calvary Battle is officially OVER!”

There was the sound of a body falling onto the ground on the other side of the wall, followed shortly by a loud curse. As expected, Katsuki failed to get the headband from Todoroki.

“The top four teams of this round will go onto the finales!” Midnight announced from the stage with another crack of her whip, “In first is Team Todoroki! Second, Team Bakugou! Third, Team Midoriya! And finally in fourth, Team Asui!”

“Ahhh what a relief! We just barely made it!” Izuku heard Uraraka cry out in the distance.

His own team also shared a look to celebrate their victory; with Hitoshi smirking, Tokoyami wearing a coolly satisfied half-formed grin, and Hatsume grinning like Doctor Frankenstein reincarnated. Izuku himself gave them all a bright smile, but on the inside he was feeling dull.

It’s just like last round…

However, Midnight wasn’t finished with her announcements, “The finale is a tournament between all the students. As there was one odd numbered team of three, we will be pulling one lucky student from the runner-up team– Team Tetsutetsu! Decide amongst yourselves who will get the honor!”

“AHHHHHHHH SERIOUSLY?! Why did we have to lose?! We were so close ‘til the last second dammit! Now only one of us gets to go on and the final round is overrun by 1-A bastards!” Tetsutetsu shouted with his hands clutching his head.

Shiozaki closed her eyes forlornly and brought a hand to her chest. “I must apologize… If my movement had not been hindered, we would’ve made it all the way through without our headbands being stolen. I must repent for my sins– Even the heavens are frowning down upon us.”

“That wasn’t even your fault! It was the mystery quirk 1-A representative!” –Is how people were thinking of him now? He supposed it really was hard to guess just based on all the random events he caused…

The fourth member of the team, who Izuku still didn’t know the name of, sighed, “We should be thankful even one of us gets to go considering we lost. Nothing else we can do about it… But the weather is turning bad, huh? That’s weird. The forecast for today said it was gonna be sunny all day, perfect weather for the Festival.”

Izuku glanced up to see dark clouds were starting to form above the arena. Right. That was his fault, too. It’s nice for when he needs to use it, but if he doesn’t want to change the weather it’s really inconvenient. He doesn’t even know how to stop it…

It was hard to feel good about winning when Izuku won by hurting another person and ruining their team’s chances. He knew it was a competition, and that spraining someone’s ankle was well within the limits of what Recovery Girl could easily heal, but it left him feeling empty like usual instead of fulfilled like accomplishment was supposed to.

However, one thing he could feel good about is that his win helped Hitoshi win as well. When he thought of Hitoshi being able to go to the finales and prove his right to be in the heroics department, it made Izuku feel like it was worth it.

Tetsutetsu ended up being the one nominated to continue to the next round, probably because his team saw him as being the most passionate about it and also because he saved their last headband that put them in fifth. Midnight announced that there was a lunch break before the finales, after which the lots to determine the tournament brackets would be pulled. With knowledge of who they would be facing, competitors were to prepare for the tournament while both non-competing and competing students could do various games and activities for the crowd.

During lunch, Hitoshi pulled Izuku aside privately to the locker-room to give him a bag. Looking inside, he could see if was filled with a variety of small pocket mirrors. There were thirteen in total, of course.

“H-Hitoshi-kun! This is– ! I couldn’t– !”

“Of course you can, you’ve got two classmates that both eat to fuel their quirks don’t you? Refilling your stores to prepare has to be allowed. Why else would they give you rest periods?” Hitoshi sighed and shook his head, “I figured you’d think that way. That’s why I got them for you instead.”

“But you had to pay for these, didn’t you? I don’t want to waste your money!”

At that, Hitoshi smirked like a cat who caught the canary. “I asked the Harukas to pay for them to ‘properly support their charge in his schooling endeavors in exchange for their lack of emotional support with him returning to his studies’. They know I got them specifically for you to break, so it’s fine.”

“When you say it like that, it kinda sounds like you bullied them into it…”

“Financially providing for us is part of their job description. And it wasn’t that expensive anyway– mirrors like this are pretty cheap.”

Hitoshi shoved the bag into Izuku’s arms, before leaning forward to look over him with a half-lidded stare. “Just use these before whatever matches you want… Don’t let your guilt for the losing students drag you down. They were working against the competition to get here just like you, and you just used your quirk like you needed to. You don’t need to feel guilty for that.”

Izuku let his face pinch into a winch. “You could tell I was feeling like that…?”

“Visually, no. But I know you enough to know that’s what you would feel…” Hitoshi’s voice dropped into a hush when he asked, “During the first round with the canyon fall… how did you feel about that? Did it remind you too much of… ”

A neutral frown formed from his lips, but Izuku’s tone was slightly sarcastic when he replied, “I didn’t particularly feel like killing myself on national TV if that’s what you’re asking.”

Hitoshi winced, before recovering into a scowl. “That’s not– That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to make sure it didn’t make you feel bad…” Guilt immediately filled Izuku’s chest. He looked away in shame.

“I– I know Hitoshi-kun, I’m sorry. It’s just… I just feel irritated when it feels like you expect me to try something every time you turn around. The intensity of the feeling comes and goes, and when it comes I know better than to act on it. I’m still in control of myself. You don’t need to be so worried or try to push me to telling someone.”

“ …You don’t really talk about it a lot, so I didn’t know that’s how it feels. And even if you feel in control, how do you know you’ll always– ” Hitoshi cut himself off, seemingly deciding to change what to say, “ …I just want you to be safe. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize… How about I start telling you more about what I feel like? That way I don’t need to talk to anyone else about it, since you’ll feel more secure that I’ll be okay.”

He thought it was a good compromise, but Hitoshi still looked discontent even as he nodded in agreement.

Izuku stuck the mirrors in the locker her put his stuff in to save for later, then the two of them got lunch together. He didn’t have much of an appetite, but he ate anyway, knowing he would need the energy.

When they all gathered together in front to the restless audience, Midnight-sensei pulled out the box they were supposed to pull out lots from, and Izuku realized that they were making him decide what bracket he was being put in. Were the teachers trying to make him lose on purpose? If he’s involved in the process, it’s not random!

But there was nothing Izuku could do about it. Rules were rules. So when it was his team’s turn, he sucked in his breath along with his bad luck and hoped for the best.

–Why did he even bother trying?–

When the tournament set up was shown on screen, Izuku looked for his name. Then promptly stopped paying attention to everything else that was written.

The first round was him versus Hitoshi

“Oh… that’s…” Tokoyami was next to him along with Hitoshi. He looked between the two of them with great apprehension. Hitoshi just sucked in a sharp breath and grit his teeth, not saying anything.

Izuku sighed deeply with closed eyes. And when he opened them, he smiled.

“That’s just what happens when you don’t have luck. It’s okay though, I think we can work this in our favor.”

“Izuku…”

Hitoshi’s voice sounded a bit strangled, but Izuku kept going regardless. He took both of Hitoshi’s hands in his and smiled up at him, speaking quietly so the only one that might overhear them was Tokoyami, “It’s okay, Hitoshi-kun. All you have to do is use your quirk on me to win and go to the next round. That will be a good demonstration, and hopefully– ” Izuku looked at the rest of the chart. Though it was mean to say, the outcome of the match after them was rather obvious. “ –hopefully Todoroki-san won’t learn enough about your quirk from that to know the trigger– ”

Hitoshi roughly pulled on his grip to lead them away from the others and into a hallway alone. Izuku glanced back to see Tokoyami watching them leave with a conflicted expression. No one followed them, and they were all disbursing anyway to clear the field for the intermediate activities, so the two of them didn’t look out of place.

His hands were slapped away from Hitoshi’s once they reached the shadowed hallway. Izuku glanced up in shock to see that Hitoshi was glaring him down, fists clenched and shaking.

“Is that supposed to make me feel happy?! You just losing on purpose like that! What kind of person do you think I am?!”

“H-Hitoshi-kun…” Izuku stumbled over what to say while taking an involuntary step back. He hadn’t expected Hitoshi to be so against the idea. “It’s– It’s just more practical that way. I don’t care that much about moving on, but for you getting into the hero course is on the line! Between the two of us of course you should be– ”

Hitoshi didn’t let him finish the sentence, objecting with, “Didn’t you tell the people that would be watching us you’d do your best?! Letting me win isn’t your best!”   

“None of them matter compared to you! I don’t want to win if it means I get in your way!” Izuku finally shouted back.

While Izuku was panting from the force of his yell, expression falling into a stinging scowl, Hitoshi lowered his voice into a quiet but harsh drone, “And I don’t want to win if I can’t win against you properly. Do you think you losing on purpose will help me look good? They know we’re friends! Present Mic took me to the hospital for you and Eraserhead saw me there! If you just let me use my quirk, they’ll know you did it on purpose! They won’t respect that kind of win.”

“Then I’ll just drop out ahead of time so you can go onto Todoroki without him knowing anything! If you can win against him of all people, that’ll prove how your quirk can overcome more powerful ones– ”

“Are you listening to what I’m trying to say? I want you to fight me for real! If I can’t prove myself against you then I don’t deserve to move on!”

“You’re the one that’s not listening… I’d rather die than get in your way Hitoshi! Don’t you understand that?!”

Hitoshi took a gasping breath as his jaw dropped. His anger falling away from his face in his shock. He looked as though Izuku had slapped him across the face with his words.

Izuku looked at his friend beseechingly, trying to get him to understand. “I’m not here to compete, Hitoshi. I’m not here to win. I’m not here to be a hero. I’m not even here to prove anything to anyone. I’m in this class because I want to help you. If I’m just a hindrance instead, then what’s the point of me even being here?”

He wasn’t just talking about being here in the class. He was talking about being here at all, alive instead of falling over the side of a building or canyon. The reason why even now, even when he feels empty and like he’s at fault for people’s misfortune, he isn’t planning another attempt is because he’s here for a reason. Hitoshi.

–If he’s just going to bring misfortune to even Hitoshi, then why does he even bother trying? He might as well just give it up as a lost cause. Give everything up–

Hitoshi’s face pinched together, brows furrowing in clear frustration and concern. He spoke softly this time, “ …Is that really all you care about? Even after all this time, do you still not want to be a hero? Not even a little?”

The other day flashed through his mind. Fuyuki telling them he would cheer them on. Aki working up the courage to give them her card. The mirrors the Harukas had bought for him.

And all his other days at UA came to mind, too. All Might teaching their class. Eraserhead sticking up for him. His friends, and their unyielding ambitions and reasons.

“What about you, Midoriya-kun? Why are you trying to be a hero?”

–Wouldn’t that be such a wonderful thing?–

He couldn’t answer Hitoshi. Instead, he clenched his jaw and looked down at the concrete.

“ …You felt it, didn’t you? You felt how good it was that people were rooting for you. I know, because I felt it too.” Hitoshi’s hand came up to grasp at the fabric of his jersey in front of his chest. “It’d feel great, wouldn’t it? To be recognized as a hero even with our quirks. To take your power everyone said could only be used for bad and use it to save people.”

“But even if that happened, I don’t want… I don’t want…” Izuku objected without him even knowing what he wanted to say. It was too much to put into words.

Nothing was worth more to him than Hitoshi. Nothing. Not even that.

A heavy hand on Izuku’s shoulder forced him to look back up. Hitoshi’s expression was pensive and full of melancholy, but it had lost its bitterness and anger. Like someone that had moved on to accepting their grief.

“I can’t force you to fight if you don’t want to, but Izuku… the thing I want even more than being a hero is for you to live your life properly. I won’t be happy to win if it means you’ve given up on your chance to regain your dream. If you want to be a hero, even a little bit… then think about trying to live for yourself this once and see me in the ring prepared to do your best. I don’t want to be your only reason forever…”

Hitoshi’s hand left Izuku’s shoulder as he walked past Izuku and back into the shining mid-day light right outside the hallway. Izuku watched his back as it got further away.

Ah, this feeling… it’s just like with Katsuki, and just before with Tokoyami. The feeling of the people around him moving forward with their lives.

The feeling of not being able to move forward and watching as other people do. The feeling of not being able to live and getting left behind…

“I love you dear”

Even when he could no longer see where Hitoshi had gone, Izuku stayed standing in the hallway looking out to the light. Then when he got tired, he sat down with his back to the cold wall. Wrapping his arms around his legs, he curled forward to hide his face in them.

What kind of face is he making? he wonders. He can’t tell anymore. He can’t feel anything.

This is bad. He doesn’t know what time it is, or what time he was supposed to go on. What if he just sits here until everything’s already over? He supposed that would be fine, too, but Hitoshi would be mad. He doesn’t want that.

Why does everything have to be so hard? If his luck was better and he didn’t get set against Hitoshi, this never would’ve happened. Why does everything have to be his fault…

–It really would be easier if he just stopped trying. Maybe he should’ve let the villains at the USJ kill him. If it was someone else that did it, it wouldn’t be his fault–

“Mi… Midoriya…”

Izuku startled at the sound of Tokoyami’s voice. His head flew up from his knees to find the other standing just inside the hallway, the sun a sharp backdrop against his figure. Izuku smiled his same empty smile at him. “Tokoyami-kun! Sorry I didn’t notice you, I was just tired. I must’ve dozed off a bit.” He rubbed at his real eye, feigning drowsiness.

Tokoyami didn’t look reassured. “ …Shinsou sent me to look for you. Said you two had a fight, and that you might still be here.”

–If he’s worried why doesn’t he come get me himself? Why did he leave me behind in the first place? Why do I have to have a reason other than him?–

Izuku pushed down those caustic thoughts into that box where he put all his unwanted feelings. He smiled apologetically at Tokoyami. “Is that so… Sorry to be a bother, then. I was going to leave soon.”

He moved to get up, but Tokoyami stuck a palm out to signal him to stay put. Instead, the bird-headed boy walked over and slide down next to him, sitting cross-legged. “I heard what you were telling him, before… That’s what your fight was about, right? Why would you want to give up your chance in the Festival like that? Even if Shinsou’s trying to get transferred, both of you worked hard to get to this round. You don’t have to give it up so easily for him.”

–Just another person that doesn’t understand. Even if they have similar interests, their perspectives are still too different–

Izuku considered faking an answer, but he didn’t know a normal answer that would justify him giving up the match. It was impossible to explain without being somewhat honest when Tokoyami had already been informed this much. The most he could hope for was being vague about it.

“ …Have you ever been saved before, Tokoyami-kun?”

Tokoyami tilted his head in bird-like curiosity, not recognizing the relevancy of the question. “Like by a hero? No. I haven’t had the misfortune of being in a situation that would require…”

Tokoyami trailed off as he realized his accidental use of the word “misfortune”, something that he probably pegged as something that might upset Izuku in this context. But really, that just helped Izuku get his point across better. “I’ve always been misfortunate, but Hitoshi-kun saved me. That’s why I don’t want to get in his way. He’s already a hero to me. So even if he says he would prefer I fight… I don’t think I could.”

“How did he save you?”

“Ah, well… That’s a secret, sorry.” Izuku brought a pointed finger up to his smile, trying to pass the avoidance off as something casual. Tokoyami just frowned deeper at it.

However, Tokoyami thankfully didn’t linger on the question. He hummed in thought before responding, “When you put it like that… If he’s that important to you, then he’s like your biggest hero, right? So it’s like an All Might fan having to fight All Might.”

“That’s a good way to put it, yeah.” He also wouldn’t like fighting All Might either…

“But every All Might fan that aims to be a hero is basically trying to compete with him. If you become a hero aiming for Number One, that’s the same thing as declaring you don’t want to lose to him. Would you say that that makes them not true fans?”

Izuku thought of Katsuki. He’s always aimed for being Number One, and he’s always been an All Might fan, too. It was probably the only thing they had in common. “ …No. It’s because they’re his fans that they want to be like him.”

“Precisely. So you competing against Shinsou doesn’t mean you’re rooting against him, it just means you’re trying to be his equal. Also…” Tokoyami glanced away in hesitation, before looking back to Izuku. “I don’t know him as well as you do, but based on Shinsou’s personality, isn’t he also most likely upset that you’re just assuming that you’re going to win?”

Izuku sat up straighter in shock. He felt the slight sensation of his face falling to match his stunned emotions. “What? I– I never assumed that! I know Hitoshi’s capable of beating me! He– He’s at a major disadvantage, since I know how his quirk works, but he can still work around that.”

“Then why are you so hesitant to fight? It’s like you think that if you actually try to win, you’ll win for sure. There’s still the possibility that you’ll try your best and he wins instead. That’s why it’s important that both competitors in a fight give it their all.” Tokoyami raised his fist up to Izuku, as though trying to inspire a fighting spirit. “Both sides fight for their aspirations as equals, and the one most capable ends as the victor. It may make defeat bitter for the one that lost, but at least they know their struggle and fortitude was respected. I know if the other side pitied me and forfeited, that would just hurt the pride I have for my ambitions. Some people may feel differently, but for me the thing that’s worse than losing is winning without being capable of feeling the accomplishment of it.”

“Hitoshi is very pragmatic, but…” Izuku averted his eyes to stare at his knees, his eyelids falling into a contemplative, half-lidded gaze. “That sounds like something he would think too, if it was a fight that’s important to him.”

“To think you had been holding back during our fight, Midoriya… It displeases me”

“If I can’t prove myself against you then I don’t deserve to move on!”

This whole festival he’s felt like what Tokoyami described– winning without feeling the accomplishment of it. Part of the reason for that is just because his emotions are duller than they should be about a lot of things, but another part of it is that he hasn’t really been giving it his all. The most important thing he wanted from the festival was out of his control, so he’s just been playing it safe to get by. So that he doesn’t stand out too much, so that he can’t stand out in a negative way.

It’d be one thing if his overall goal had been to ensure his progress to the next round so that he could eventual try to win the tournament, like what the ringleader from 1-B had attempted, but he hadn’t really cared about winning the tournament or any other part of the festival. What he had cared about was is this too much? Would people think he’s cruel for this? Would he hurt the others too much, if he did this?

Of course he hasn’t been trying his best. How can he when he’s too scared about what his best is?

After giving him a moment to think, Tokoyami started speaking again, “Midoriya… what is it that you really want? For yourself, not for anyone else.”

“…I want to win against my luck.”

“I haven’t faced your struggles, but I know that with mine the only way to come out on top is to face it. I have to face my quirk so that I can eventually control it fully. So why don’t you try facing yours? It’s said that fortune favors the bold– you can’t progress if you don’t take the risk to try.”

You can’t live if you don’t take the risk to try

“ …Tokoyami-kun, if I wasn’t here… would you be sad?”

“You mean if you weren’t at UA? Of course I would be. That’s why I was despairing when it had been said you may not return, after the USJ,” Tokoyami didn’t truly understand the question, but he answered without hesitation.

“I see… It makes me happy to hear that.” Even though he was happy, he didn’t force a smile on his face to match it. He wasn’t quite at that point yet, with his conflicted emotions and active quirk still hovering underneath his skin, and he wanted to enjoy the moment fully. He hoped Tokoyami didn’t take his stoicism as evidence that he was lying.

Looking up at the artificial light of the hallway, which wasn’t lit due to the light of day still illuminating the area, Izuku thought of the light he’d broken to stop that sludge villain from suffocating him. He hadn’t been trying to save himself for himself back then, too, but he had still tried, hadn’t he? It was because he tried then that he at least got far enough to meet Hitoshi, and because he met Hitoshi he got far enough to be sitting in this place with Tokoyami.

He’s lived more than a year longer than what he’d planned on.

Has it really been that long, and that short? It feels like that all happened an eternity ago.

‘Good things come to those who wait’– He hadn’t thought that saying applied to him, but it looks like in some ways, it has.

“ …I guess trying a bit harder might lead to something good, then.”

Ten minutes before the start of the first match, Izuku went back to the locker-room and broke one of the mirrors Hitoshi had given him.

Chapter Text

“HEY GUYS, ARE YOU READYYYY?!”

Hitoshi took a deep breath, using the time he had hidden away before entering the field to calm his nerves. The crowd was going wild with the start of the most anticipated part of the festival, but there wasn’t even a guarantee that this first fight was happening. It hadn’t been called off yet, so there was that, but he could only wait and see if it stayed that way.

“You’ve all been through hell and back to get here, but now it’s time for the one-on-one tournament! You’ve only got yourself to rely on– even if you’re not a hero, there’ll be a lot of times where that’s how it is!”

He knows that. He’s always known that. For the longest time all he had was himself. He’s gotten complacent, getting used to Izuku’s support.

Back during the first round, he knew that part of the reason Izuku chose a strategy to make a path that others could potentially use had been for him. That was just something he’d do.  And during the second round, he knew that Izuku would agree to team up with him even when the other competitors wouldn’t. He had thought about trying to compete against him then –to prove that he didn’t need Izuku’s help with this– but it was smarter to work with him instead. Izuku was powerful when he let himself be, and he showed it when he brought their team victory. Again, probably partly for Hitoshi’s sake. He wondered if Izuku still would have gone so far as to sprain someone’s ankle, directly damaging their body, if he hadn’t been on Izuku’s team.

“Spirit, technique, strength, wisdom, and knowledge– Use them all to show us your best!”

“I’d rather die than get in your way Hitoshi! Don’t you understand that?!”

If he was smarter, he would’ve just taken up Izuku’s offer. He had been right that if Hitoshi had successfully used his quirk on the unsuspecting son of Endeavor, it would’ve been an almost guarantee for him getting into the hero course. But he couldn’t be smart about it, cause he was too pissed off.

It’d pissed him off so much when Izuku first suggested to give the match, but he shouldn’t have been so harsh to him. He knows that Izuku’s mood can fall to dangerous depths with even just the wrong choice of words, especially if they’re said by him. He asked Tokoyami to look after him, something he usually wouldn’t entrust to other people, but it was necessary since he hadn’t been in the right state of mind to handle it himself without getting overly emotional. Tokoyami was the only real choice to go to out of the other students. He hoped the other had been able to help more than Hitoshi had.

Hitoshi is too much of a sore point for Izuku. No matter how much he said that he wanted Izuku to face him for real, Izuku would always just say that he wanted to do things for Hitoshi’s sake.

–He’ll throw a match for Hitoshi’s sake but he won’t believe that Hitoshi can win on his own? Does Izuku really think he needs his hand held through this? Even if he was the one to suggest Izuku joining the hero course to help Hitoshi through it, this hadn’t been what he meant–

Hitoshi knows that Izuku wants to prove himself to the world, just like himself. But even more than that, Hitoshi wants to prove himself to Izuku. Even more than the people and heroes that are watching from their homes and in the stands. Even more than the teachers that would decide whether he gets into the hero course or not. Even more than his personal hero Eraserhead, who’s watching up in the announcer’s booth.

It’s only natural that a guy would want to be acknowledged by the person he likes, but it’s still embarrassing that it would get him this worked up…

There was nothing more he could do, though. Either Izuku will fight him or he won’t. Whatever decision he made, Hitoshi would have to accept. It was Izuku’s right to make whatever choice he wanted. Hitoshi just hoped the decision Izuku made would make him happy, and he wasn’t sure if Izuku would decide based on that.

With a loud exhale, Hitoshi walked out of the dim hallway and into the harsh brightness of the field. The sky was only partly covered by the clouds Izuku’s quirk had summoned, so the sun was still shining through clearly. The roaring surrounding him got louder, and he could see that Cementoss had renovated the center to have a large cement fighting ring.

Across the field, he could see the small figure of Izuku walking towards the center too. It made his stirring anticipation grow.

As they stepped past the threshold between the grass and the cement of the outer ring, trudging up short steps to get to the elevated inner ring, their two images appeared on a split screen and Present Mic announced, “For the first match! Staying cool under the pressure and conflict with his usual pleasant smile, it’s the first year representative Midoriya Izuku of 1-A! VERSUS! He didn’t stand out much but worked with Midoriya for the second round, it’s Shinsou Hitoshi from the general studies 1-C! Despite being in different classes, these two are actually good friends! So this match is much more dramatic than it seems– Ack!”

Hitoshi presumed that Eraserhead must’ve done something to shut him up, because the hero added on, “You don’t need run your mouth that much…”

When they looked at each other from across the ring, Izuku smiled at him just like he had been on the screen. But Hitoshi hadn’t expected him to not smile now. Not when everyone was watching him. However, he looked at Hitoshi head on with a stare more intense than his causal smile belayed, his remaining green eye even more stunning than Hitoshi usually found it.

“Sorry Hitoshi-kun, but since you asked me to prepare properly, I used one of the gifts you gave me. I hope you don’t regret giving them to me.”

Well, he really screwed himself with that one, didn’t he? But a grin stretched across his face despite the thought. The worried nerves in his system replaced itself with more adrenaline.

Izuku decided to fight

–He thinks Hitoshi can fight him–

“ –G-Gah! Hold on a sec, I didn’t finish! Anyway– the rules are simple! Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them, or getting them to give up! Don’t be afraid to bring the pain, we’ve got good ol’ Recovery Girl on standby! And don’t be afraid to fight dirty! There are no ethics within these death games!”

“You’re still calling it that…”

“Don’t worry, I don’t regret it in the slightest,” and with that the board had been set. Hitoshi’s quirk was in place, but he doubted that Izuku would be careless enough to answer from just that.

He didn’t foresee the “getting Izuku to talk” part of his plan to be pleasant or fun for either of them. If the people in the stands could hear what he was going to say, they’d probably think Hitoshi was cruel. But with the distance and cheers, not even Midnight or Cementoss would hear anything from their stations on the field, and Present Mic had said that fighting dirty was in the clear.

It’s not like there’s any other way Hitoshi can fight, for that matter…

“Though like I said before, no actual killing! You’ll be disqualified! Save it for the villains! Now– READYYYYYYYYYY!”

As much as Izuku knowing everything about Hitoshi and his quirk was his weakness, Hitoshi knowing everything about Izuku was also a weakness. Hitoshi knew a plethora of things that he could say to Izuku that would get him to crack, and a good chunk of them would’ve been so cruel and awful to say that he wouldn’t do it even if it meant winning.

But there was a large weakness of Izuku’s that he didn’t mind shit talking about, so there was no need to go that far.

“STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART!”

Face going blank, Izuku rushed forward to push his palms into Hitoshi’s shoulders, forcing him to back away or fall to his knees. When one of Hitoshi’s feet slipped a bit, he caught it before he could fall, and realized that Izuku must be using their proximity to target ambient “bad luck” energy at him. He pushed back to avoid giving more ground, but Izuku didn’t budge. He was getting more training than Hitoshi as part of the heroics course, giving him the physical advantage despite Hitoshi being bigger than him.

He doesn’t need that, though, for a mental battle.

“Man… Tokoyami really got you to do this, I almost can’t believe it,” he started slowly, his voice more strained from the effort of keeping himself in place than he would’ve liked. One of his knees buckled when his heel caught on a crack that shouldn’t be in brand new pavement. He switched tactics by letting himself drop onto his knees, with the lack of support causing Izuku to almost trip over him before he pulled back his momentum. Hitoshi needed to get right to the kill.

When Izuku backed away a bit, Hitoshi stood back up with a bitter grin. His poisonous doubts and self-frustration spewed from his lips easily, despite having kept them bottled up so much, “Even though I stopped you from dying, even after all this time I still haven’t saved you. You still can’t live for yourself. But somehow Tokoyami can get you to. It’s no wonder why he’s in the hero course with you while I have to cheer from the sidelines.”

Izuku aborted his movement forward, his jaw dropping open only to screw up tight in an obvious attempt to force silence. He still kept himself under control –something he was experienced in– but he was disturbed enough that his actions were forgotten. Hitoshi had him hooked.

“In the end I was just all talk, I didn’t know how to help you take that next step. And even worse than that– You were right about what you said before, about me wanting to stay your most important person. Even though I should be glad you’re getting closer to Tokoyami and that he can help you, I… It makes me feel like you don’t need me anymore.”

It hurt to admit that out loud, and Izuku looked like he was hurting keeping himself quiet. All of his fake cheer had been washed away and replaced with a large, distressed eye. Hitoshi was even worried about this ruining Izuku’s progress making friends outside of Hitoshi, but it was also the thing Hitoshi hated most about himself right now. The easiest thing to find the right words to target it.

It didn’t start that way, when he tried to get Izuku to talk to Tokoyami and he got advice about his eye. He’d been truly glad that there was someone that understood how Izuku felt about these things that he loved. However, it’s become clear to him that Tokoyami was much more able to help Izuku in some ways, more able to keep up with him.

Tokoyami was the one who won his place in the hero course along with Izuku. Tokoyami was the one with the useful quirk that could catch Izuku when he fell. Tokoyami was the one who finished the race together with Izuku while Hitoshi lagged behind, Tokoyami was the one Izuku picked first to team up with in the calvary battle –which is a stupid thing to get hung up about since they had already been standing right next to each other when it was announced, but still.  And now, Tokoyami was the one who managed to get Izuku to fight for himself when Hitoshi was too upset and bitter to put any of his brewing self-doubts into words.

He should be happy about Izuku getting closer to Tokoyami, but it was hard to when he felt jealous whenever he looked at the two of them without him there.

–What a pathetic person he was–

“I’m such a pathetic person,” he repeated aloud, “To know how badly you need other people in your life and still be bitter when it happens. I should know that you won’t leave me behind, but my feelings don’t understand that. And now I’m saying all of this even though I know it could hurt you because I want to prove myself to you and win that badly. I’m trying to get into the hero course, but… a person as selfish as me doesn’t deserve a place there any– ”

Izuku finally lifted his head to glare at him with proverbial fire spitting from his eye and mouth, “SHUT UP! How could you say that?! Just– How could you think you haven’t–  ”

Izuku’s face turned blank when Brainwashing took hold, and Hitoshi had to reorient himself from the success.

He’d thought that Izuku would call out to him in distress, maybe be close to tears, but that reaction had been significantly angrier that he thought it would be…

…He was really in for it when this thing’s over. Fuck.

“After what looked like a one-sided debate, Midoriya Izuku has yet to reinitiate his attack! What’s going on Midoriya?!”

Present Mic’s voice reminded Hitoshi what he was here to do. In a firm voice he didn’t really feel, Hitoshi ordered, “Walk out of the ring.”

Izuku turned sideways to walk towards the side of ring with slow steps. Present Mic accented the moment with, “What the hell’s Midoriya doing now?! Why is he giving up?!”

“Like I thought, it’s another case that proves how impractical the entrance exam is. I have their specs here– Shinsou’s Brainwashing couldn’t help him pass the exam but is a tremendous ability to have in anti-personal battle. Midoriya probably knew what his quirk was and how it worked, but he still managed to successfully trigger it.”

“Eraserhead gave a whole paragraph of commentary! Also, Midoriya’s been brainwashed?! Can you even fight that?! Is this the end for Midoriya?!”

Eraserhead’s praise bolstered his will. He didn’t look away from where Izuku was approaching the end of the ring.

This will be worth it, when he gets into the hero course to be with Izuku in his class and they eventually work towards being heroes together. When Izuku can look at him after the match in a new light, with the knowledge that Hitoshi has what it takes to stay by his side. He can work himself back into being supportive later, right now his illogical jealousy was a tool to be used.

Hitoshi heard a faint cracking sound, and looked down to see Izuku’s last step had left a new line in the concrete. His quirk must’ve been left on high from when he was using it against Hitoshi–

One of Izuku’s feet inexplicably lost traction, causing him to collapse in on himself and faceplant into the concrete. With Brainwashing in place, there was no instinct to catch himself, so Midoriya fell straight onto his face without even bracing himself with his hands.

Silence.

Pure silence surrounded Hitoshi. He couldn’t say anything. The crowd couldn’t say anything. The nation-wide loudmouth Present Mic couldn’t say anything. They were all too busy staring at the body on the floor in disbelief.

Too slowly for Hitoshi’s comfort, Izuku arms crept forward from his sides to plant their palms onto the ground, and with his back facing Hitoshi, Izuku pushed himself up centimeter by centimeter. When he got back on his feet, he turned to look at Hitoshi with a blinking, confused expression. Blood was gushing from his nose, which may or may not be broken, and had stained the bottom corner of his eyepatch red.

Present Mic was finally the one to break the vigil, “ …Did Midoriya’s quirk do that? And did he do it on purpose?”

“ …I have no idea.”

“Eraserhead has no idea! I’ll tell you now folks– Midoriya’s quirk is Jinx, it makes bad luck! But was this bad luck for Shinsou or Midoriya?! I really can’t tell! What a mysterious quirk!”

Hitoshi couldn’t hold it in anymore. His lips curled up with a snicker, which then broke into full-body laughter. He let himself have a couple of seconds to curl his arms around his stomach and get his overly loud laughter out of his system. It caused Izuku to blink at him more.

“Hahaha! What the hell? What the hell?! Of course that would happen! Only you could fall and break your nose and have it be a good thing, Izuku!”

As Izuku wiped away some of the blood with his unbandaged fist, a smile came back on his face. Hitoshi thought it wasn’t entirely fake, considering it looked a bit… evil was too harsh of a word, but mischievous was too soft. Set above the innocuous smile, the gleam in Izuku’s green eye was wicked, like a cat that’s about to push something off the countertop. Evidently, he did not appreciate Hitoshi laughing his ass off at him.

Without answering, Izuku smeared two fingers in the still flowing trail of blood and drew two familiar lines on the bandage he used to cover the scar on his left hand. Lifting it up revealed a smeared inverted cross.

Oh shit–

Izuku ran at Hitoshi to push him back with momentum. Hitoshi couldn’t do anything as he lost ground sliding back towards the line indicating the boundary of the ring, until he managed to elbow one of Izuku’s hands away to halt the progress and strengthen his stance. That hand was Izuku’s marked hand, which he pulled back in to hit Hitoshi in the stomach. The pain it caused was secondary to force of it pushing him back too much, causing his balance to give out. A misplaced recovery step led him to slipping on a small rock, and the battle against gravity was lost.

He landed on his back with his head bouncing against the concrete, making his eyes squeeze shut with a hiss. He forced them open to turn his head and look down. His upper body had passed the line.

“Midoriya caused Shinsou to fall out of the ring! Midoriya Izuku progresses to the next round! …But am I allowed to say that the way he drew on himself with his own blood was sorta freaky?”

“No, you’re not.”

“ …I guess I’m not then, even though it’s an obvious observation.”

“It had a strategical purpose that applies to his quirk. Whether it’s freaky or not is irrelevant.”

“Really? What a mysterious quirk! See, it’s a good thing I asked you to help me! How were we supposed know what’s goin’ on with Midoriya’s quirk without your experience from teaching him?”

“You’ve said that line twice now. And All Might could’ve done that for you, too.”

“No offence to our Number One, but I don’t enjoy his company as much as I do yours~ ” What exactly is Eraserhead and Present Mic’s relationship…

Hitoshi gave himself a moment to just stay lying on the ground to huff in self-pity. The crowd cheered loudly at the conclusion of the battle, but within the cheering, Hitoshi heard a few cries of his name.

“Shinsou, you were great out there!”

“You’re the star of general education!”

“You did just as well as the student representative of the year!”

Hitoshi blinked in surprise as he picked himself up off the ground. He looked up at the stands to see a bunch of his classmates were leaning over the edge to wave down at him. He could see that Tomoyo and Kinomoto were in the lineup, grinning brightly despite his loss.

The heroes in the crowd were murmuring loudly among themselves about him, too; “That quirk would be great against villains, I wish I had it”, “What’s UA doin’ putting him in general education?”, “There’s only so much you can do when there’s such a large gap in battle experience”

Tomoyo cupped her hands around her mouth to shout, “You hear that, Shinsou-kun?! Everyone thinks you’re awesome!”

An indescribable feeling filled his chest, bringing lightness to the heavy weight that usually sat there. Tomoyo may say it was everyone praising him, but Hitoshi knew that there would still be people that didn’t think like that. However, that was okay, because those people cheering in the crowd for him right now… his classmates and various random heroes, they all saw him as someone that could be a hero now.

And it wasn’t just him they were talking about, too. After all, he wasn’t even the winner of the match.

“A bad luck quirk? Mic’s right to call that mysterious, but it looks really useful from what he’s shown.”

“That’s an understatement! Don’t you realize he turned the entire tide of the battle in his favor? That’s why they were falling or about to fall over so much.”

“That’s what it was like in the second round too– luck was never in his opponents’ favor. The advantage that gives shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“He blew up those bombs and destroyed those robots with it too, right? That’s a lot of destructive potential given the right scenario! It’s no wonder he placed first in the entrance exam…”

Do you hear them, Izuku? Those people… believe in our potential. Because you didn’t forfeit, you got the chance to prove yourself.

The two of them faced each other in the middle of the ring to give a formal bow of respect. And when Izuku lifted his head, Hitoshi saw the smile on his face was still fake.

Oh… so he was still pissed, then. Now he feels like he kinda ruined Izuku’s moment…

Hitoshi turned around to walk back to the hallway he came out of, but glanced back when he heard footsteps following him. Izuku smiled at him without comment as he went with Hitoshi to the wrong hallway. When some miniature robots rolled up to him to guide him to the infirmary for his nose, he waved them off saying he could get there on his own. Really pissed, then…

“Ah, Midoriya! The competitors are supposed to go back to the separate areas they exited from– ”

“What’s that, Midnight-sensei?! I can’t hear you!” Izuku glanced at Midnight without breaking his stride, blatantly lying to her face, “Just come tell me after I leave the field, okay?!”

Hitoshi sighed under his breath as he accepted his fate. As soon as the two of them crossed into the shadows, hidden from prying cameras and eyes, Izuku launched himself at Hitoshi.

He hadn’t expected it when Izuku wrapped his arms around Hitoshi in a crushing hug and buried his face into Hitoshi’s chest.

That wasn’t really the right reaction for someone that was angry, but since when did Izuku have the right reaction to anything? He wrapped his own arms around Izuku, too, his hand coming up to cradle the back of his dark green curls. It was the least he could do.

“Hitoshi saved me…” Izuku spoke in a breathy, wobbly whisper that was muffled into Hitoshi’s shirt, “He saved me. Not just that one day, but every single day after. Every day I feel tired, every day I feel guilty, every day I want to give up– He saves me every single time. No one is allowed to say he hasn’t saved me. No one is allowed to call him a pathetic person. Not even you, Hitoshi.”

Hitoshi sucked in a sharp breath. Izuku was trembling in his arms, so he held him tighter.

He couldn’t see Izuku’s expression with his face hidden like this, and he almost wanted to cry. “I… I’m sorry, I know– ”

“You didn’t know, or you wouldn’t have said that! Just because– Just because I’m not completely better, doesn’t mean I haven’t been saved. It’s only because I was saved that I’m still here to get better. Do you understand?”

“I understand…” The hands clutching his back tightened their grip. Hitoshi rushed to say, “I– Don’t stop being friends with Tokoyami, okay? I’m just feeling irrational about him. It’s good that you’re friends.”

“ …I would stop if you asked me to.”

Hitoshi’s heart sunk lower in his chest, the heaviness retuning. “I know, that’s why I’m telling you that’s not what I want. Understand?”

“ …I understand. It would make me sad if I couldn’t be friends with him anymore, so I’m glad. But Hitoshi– ” Only then did Izuku lift his head to look up at Hitoshi. He belated realized that Izuku could’ve gotten blood on his jersey, but thankfully it looked like the bleeding had stopped. “Part of the reason I decided to fight was because Tokoyami said you were probably thinking that I didn’t think you could win. There wasn’t anything about him personally that convinced me, it was still you.”

His face heated up at being caught. Had he really been so obvious that Tokoyami could see that? He guessed they were both the prideful type, but still… “So you weren’t thinking like that?”

“No… But it’s true that I hadn’t considered the outcome of fighting you and losing. I made me feel better to know that even if we fought, I might not get in your way.”

Hitoshi scowled in displeasure. “You shouldn’t feel bad about winning, Izuku. You did a great job. You aren’t responsible for how well I do in this competition.”

“I know…” Izuku narrowed his eye at Hitoshi with a slight pout. “I felt better about trying to win after you laughed at me for falling on my face on national TV, too.”

“Hey, that happening was a good thing for you! It’s the reason I lost!”

“I also decided to fight because… it seemed like good has come out of when I’ve tried to keep going, like meeting you and being with you, so I wanted to keep trying. And it did have good. I almost can’t believe all those people were cheering for me, for us. This is the first win today that I’ve really felt like I won, but…” Izuku’s mouth screwed into a frustrated scowl. “I still hate that I won instead of you. It’s bittersweet.”

“Well don’t be. It’s true I would’ve preferred winning, but I still got to impress people. Eraserhead even said my quirk was a tremendous ability. And I’m glad that…”

Hitoshi didn’t finish his sentence, embarrassed about what he’d say, but Izuku just looked at him with a knowing look in his eye. “I’m always watching you, Hitoshi-kun. You don’t need to prove yourself to me any further, you’re already the highest bar there is. Other people just can’t measure up to you in comparison.”

His face heated even more, and he was sure it turned bright red. He couldn’t find any words to say and had to avert eye contact, but Izuku just huffed a small laugh and pressed his face into Hitoshi’s chest again. He felt a smile form on Izuku’s face.

“ …Uh. Excuse me, but I need to go through here…”

The two of them practically jumped apart to look down the hall leading further into the arena. Standing there awkwardly a couple meters away was Todoroki Shouto, who just blinked at the two of them.

“T-T-T-T-Todoroki-san! How long have you been waiting for?!” Izuku cried out, even he couldn’t keep his calm under these circumstances.

“Not for long. I was hoping you’d finish quickly and leave, but my match is on right now, so…”

“I’m so sorry! We’ll get out of your way!” Izuku grabbed Hitoshi by his arm and fast walked down the hall. Hitoshi made sure to be right behind him, trying his best to not let his overwhelming embarrassment stop their escape.

They got to the locker-room right on time to see Todoroki bury the tape kid from Izuku’s class in a literal glacier on the small TV stationed in the top corner. Hitoshi frowned at the display, while Izuku got right to switching his bandages and eyepatch for a fresh, not covered in blood set.

“You know how you’re going to fight him?”

“Not quite, I was more preoccupied with just trying to fight you…” Izuku stared stoically at his hand as he wrapped it, his eyepatch having been the first thing changed out. “But I’ve decided… since you lost to me, the best way to make you look better now is if I keep doing good. That way when the teachers think of how you lost, they’ll think ‘There was no helping it, he fought against the winner of the tournament in the very first round. If he got put against someone else, he would’ve gone much farther.’”

Hitoshi’s eyes widened as he realized what Izuku was saying. “You…”

Having finished tying up the bandage, Izuku stretched and curled his fingers to test how it fit. His expression still hadn’t changed. “I’m going to win. All of it. I fought this battle for me, but the rest of them I’m going to be fighting for you.” His eye slid over to gaze at Hitoshi without turning his head. “I know you want me to live for myself, but… right now, that’s still the best way for me to stay motivated.”

Hitoshi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well… one step at a time for these things is fine. You already did good today, with just that.”

When they left the locker-room to drop by Recovery Girl to let her quickly check Izuku’s nosebleed, there was a slight curl on one end of Izuku’s lips. Hitoshi thought it made him look brighter than when he’d given his best smiles to the cameras outside.

When Izuku rejoined his classmates, his friends congratulated him on his win. Or at least, those of his friends who were present. They all had fights coming up, so some of them were in their waiting rooms getting prepared, and had come back after.

After Todoroki’s iceberg was thawed away, Shouji went up against Kaminari. It was a rather strange fight, since Kaminari immediately knocked out Shouji with his electricity, but he also used his max voltage which meant that his brain had short-fused. And if Jirou and Yaoyorozu’s sighs of frustration and disappointment were anything to go by, he might not recover by the time his next match came around. So even though Kaminari won the battle, he wouldn’t be winning the war.

Next was Iida versus Hatsume, and that somehow ended up being even weirder. Hatsume gave a portion of her support items to Iida –who had probably been tricked by some lie she made up about “wanting it to be a fair fight”– and spent an entire ten minutes evading Iida with her gear while also advertising all the items in play on the field. After she’d gone through everything, she stepped out of the ring with a satisfied grin. Seeing Iida shout in despair reminded Izuku of what Tokoyami had said about it being harder to win without accomplishment than to lose.

–If Hatsume was allowed to use her match just to advertise her merchandise, he should’ve been allowed to use his match to let Hitoshi move forward…–

He pushed that thought down into the box like everything else. He’d already made his decision, he would stick with it.

Ashido and Asui went next. Going into it, Izuku had thought that Asui would be at a major disadvantage since, even if she could use her tongue to throw people from the ring, Ashido was a chemical hazard waiting to happen. But despite this, she still threw her tongue out to wrap about the sliding Ashido, who then used what Izuku assumed was a mild acid on Asui’s tongue.

But Asui didn’t let go. With a pinched face, she finished winding up her tongue to toss Ashido from the ring.

“Tsu-chan… even though it must’ve hurt, she kept holding on anyway. That was her resolve…” Uraraka looked down at the field with her brows furrowed in concern. Izuku glanced down at his bandaged hand at that thought.

Tokoyami went against Yaoyorozu following that. While Yaoyorozu was strategic and could make anything she needed, Dark Shadow was too powerful to delay. Tokoyami didn’t give her the time she needed to make more intricate items, and the shields and other simple things she could make weren’t strong enough to defend against his claws. She was forced out of the ring, much to her obvious frustration.

After seeing the last of their lunch group go, Uraraka headed down to a waiting room to prepare for her fight against Katsuki. Izuku really didn’t envy her about that, but when he’d tried to give her advice, she said she wanted to handle it on her own.

Uraraka might win, but… if Izuku goes all the way to the finals, there’s a good chance he’d have to fight Katsuki. That sorta makes him want to lose before then…

But he couldn’t lose, because Hitoshi lost his match because of him. If he was going to take that from Hitoshi, at the very least he needed to keep going for him. He wouldn’t let his friend lose in vain.

Izuku had been planning on staying for Kirishima’s match against Tetsutetsu, but right after Tokoyami’s win, Todoroki approached him. He asked Izuku to follow him to talk somewhere.

All Izuku could do was agree while hiding how dumbfounded he felt. Was this about what he overheard from his and Hitoshi’s conversation? How much of that did he even hear, anyway?

The Sports Festival arena was a large and sprawling building, with many empty passageways and rooms to go through. Todoroki ended up bringing him to one that was close to the competitor’s area leading to the field, but not directly next to it as to not be disturbed when either Kirishima or his class 1-B opponent passed through.

His mind was spiraling trying to figure out what Todoroki would want with him, but he didn’t show it on his face as he smiled at the intimidating boy. “What did you want to talk about? Does this have to do with before? I’m really sorry about getting in your way like that– ”

“It’s fine,” Todoroki cut him off curtly. His expression didn’t even twitch at the mention of what must’ve been a very awkward encounter for him. “And it isn’t directly about that, but… I’ll admit that I was wondering, are you dating that guy from general education?”

Izuku’s mind blanked for a full ten seconds, before uncontrollable heat rushed up his neck and face.

He was stuck between trying to maintain his casual smile and his face naturally wanting to cry out at his internal combustion, so in the end he probably looked like some weird mixture of expressions, having an obviously strained smile and stiff, flushed face. He barely managed to keep his voice at a normal pitch, “That’s– No. We’re– we’re friends…”

“ …Are you sure about that?” Before he could try to defend himself in what surely would’ve been a painful stammer of nonsense, Todoroki glanced away thoughtfully. “Though, I guess I don’t know anything about either being friends or being in a relationship. So friends can act like that too, huh…”

…He feels like he’s giving Todoroki the wrong idea about a lot of things, but he wasn’t exactly wrong? They aren’t dating, they just have a very complicated friendship that goes way beyond being casual “friends”. Saying that Hitoshi was his reason to live and the most important person in his life would be too much to admit, though.

“Like I said though, I have something more important to discuss.” Usually Izuku would’ve felt anxious from such a serious lead up, but it was a relief to move past that topic. His relief was short lived when Todoroki continued on to say, “You… Before you said you didn’t really care about winning, but in that last match you did. You tried to win even though you didn’t want to win against your friend.”

Izuku felt his insides turn a bit cold at that reminder. Todoroki continued to stare at him neutrally, not implying any sort of provocation. “I want you to try to win against me too. Beating you wouldn’t be meaningful with what I’m trying to prove if you don’t try your best to.”

“If you want a real fight so bad, why don’t you talk to Katsuki about this instead? He’s the one that’s been your runner up this whole time.”

“It’s because he hasn’t been able to beat me that I’m more confident I can win against him. It’ll be a tough fight, but I’ve already seen what he can do and know that he’ll come at me full force.” Izuku kept himself from wincing at Todoroki’s dismissal. It’s a good thing Katsuki’s not here to hear that… “You’re the one that I don’t know enough about. From what I’ve heard about that monster that was at the USJ… If you can beat it, then surely you’d be able to beat me. I haven’t seen that power from you yet, but I know it’s there, and I want to fight against it to prove myself.”

The mention of what he did to the Nomu, even if Todoroki didn’t know much of the details, wasn’t something he wanted to think about.

Todoroki probably had no idea he was basically asking Izuku to break all his limbs. Technically if he could push past the pain he’d still be able to use his quirk, and in this context it wouldn’t be a smart strategy on Izuku’s part, but he’s pretty sure that’s not what Todoroki had in mind for their fight...

“…May I ask what you’re trying to prove, Todoroki-san? It sounds like this is about more than just winning.”

“You know who my father is, right?” Izuku nodded in affirmation. Everyone in their class must know that Todoroki was the son of Todoroki Enji, the Number Two hero Endeavor. Izuku even caught sight of the hero second to only All Might in the stands earlier. “I’m going to prove to him that I don’t need the fire quirk I inherited from him to become a hero, and that starts by only using my ice quirk to win this tournament. He keeps trying to pressure me to start using that side of my quirk again and is persistent, so it would be better if you –one of my biggest competitors– gave me a hard fight to win. He’ll have less to complain about that way.”

Izuku let his brow furrow in confusion. “Why would you not want to use that side of your quirk?”

From there, Todoroki’s features became colder, and he explained the circumstances of his birth. How Endeavor set himself up in an arranged quirk marriage with Todoroki’s mother for her ice quirk to have a child with a powerful quirk combination. How Endeavor’s ultimate goal was to surpass All Might but the man saw he was uncapable of that himself, so Todoroki had been forcefully trained to surpass the Number One as his proxy. And in not so many words, how Todoroki’s mother became so fearful of Endeavor, that she saw Todoroki’s left side as a reflection of the man, and eventually lashed out.

“She said that she couldn’t stand to look at my left side, right before she threw boiling water at me. She was taken to a hospital, and I haven’t seen her since.”

Izuku felt a breathless sort of dread just from hearing those words, a cold sensation embedding in his spine. Todoroki just continued speaking with a firm, hard tone, “That man… I hate the thought of being a tool for him to achieve his ambitions after what he’s done. By denying his quirk and winning this tournament without it, I’ll deny him the thing he wants most. I won’t give him that satisfaction. Do you understand why I’m asking you this, now?”

His mind reemerged from its blank but overwhelmed state. He wasn’t sure what the appropriate response to these kinds of revelations was, whether it would be a benefit or a hindrance to the person most involved to act emotionally on it, so he was stuck with an empty stare that he hoped didn’t come off as being callus.

It was a wonder why Todoroki would even talk to him about this in the first place. While Izuku had asked him about his motives, he was hardly obligated to reveal such personal information. But he hadn’t even hesitated to explain it all to someone who didn’t even know what they had been asking about, to someone that he already made clear he only saw as competition. Izuku doesn’t understand why that is. He knew that if it had been him, he would go to the grave without uttering a word about what had happened.

It made him feel like he needed to repay Todoroki in some way by showing him the same amount of respect and honesty. What else could he do in the face of such a thing? Even if he’s unsuited for it, he should try his best for Todoroki’s sake.

He spoke slowly while gathering his thoughts, but his words were steady, “I understand, yeah… I knew that your quirk was strong, Todoroki-san, but I never knew you were such a strong person too. I’d never be able to endure the kind of life you’ve lived.” He would’ve tried to kill himself much earlier, with a mother that was gone and had hurt him, and a father he was better off without remaining. “I feel like… I owe you a bit of an apology.”

“Why? You haven’t done anything wrong towards me. It’s not like you owed me a good fight, I’m just asking for my own benefit.”

“It’s not about that. I…” Izuku had to look away from Todoroki’s unyielding gaze. He wasn’t brave enough to speak directly to it about things he would rather never discuss. “For the longest time, I’ve believed that there are two kinds of people in this world; those who are born lucky, and those who are not. I guess when your misfortune is so obvious, it’s just natural to categorize people like that.”

The wall of the hallway was dull with muted colors. Professional but not pretty to look at, but he didn’t know where else to set his gaze, and he felt like it matched his mood. “To me, people that are born lucky are those who have everything that I don’t. They’re born with good quirks, they have good families and friends, and because of this they live happy lives. When looking at the world like that, it helped me explain to myself why I’m not happy. The only part of that I had was a good mom, and then… I didn’t even have that anymore. I don’t really feel strong enough about people with luck to think of my view of them as being emotional, but I think most people would interpret it as envy.”

He hadn’t thought much about Todoroki before today, but even with that, he knew how he viewed him. It had been an easy call that he hadn’t even needed to consciously decide.

Izuku had to push the words out, as he arrived at the point he had been leading up to, “I thought that you were born lucky. Born with a powerful, perfect hero quirk, and the child of a respected and wealthy hero. I suppose anyone would think that way, but that was the wrong assumption to make. I didn’t realize that depending on a person’s life, even a good quirk could be hated, and that having a good quirk doesn’t mean you’re happy. I’m sorry for that.”

He had to glance back to see Todoroki’s reaction, which was mainly Todoroki staring at him like he was trying to figure out what his eyes were seeing. It was an unfamiliar look on him. “Okay, but… That’s not really that big of a deal. It’s not like you said any of that to me before, and you’re right that most people would think about me like that. Right now, the thing that I really care about is your resolve.”

“My resolve… My resolve is to beat you, now. Hitoshi, my friend that I fought this round, this festival is his chance to get noticed and transferred to the hero department. I cut that short for him, so I owe it to him to try my very best. So even if you have such an important reason to win… that doesn’t matter. I can’t afford to lose to you or anyone else anymore.”

Izuku finally brought himself to form a small smile, trying to make his tone more encouraging, instead dour and serious like previously, “I do wish you the best though, Todoroki-san. It’s good that you can still be a hero without using the part of your quirk that you hate. I already know that being forced to bear with it just makes things harder. So I hope you achieve your dream the way you want to, since you have that option.”

“That’s…” Todoroki seemed like he was at a loss for what to say, and his stare became even more questioning. Izuku wasn’t sure why that was, everything seemed pretty clear to him. Maybe he hadn’t come off as encouraging as he wanted? “Are you saying that you don’t want to use your own quirk?”

Izuku’s face fell back into neutrality, but he gave into the reflex of tilting his head in vague confusion. “Well, yes. Who would want a quirk like mine? I’m just using it because I have to.”

There was an extended moment of silence that quickly turned awkward. Soon, loud cheers echoed down the hallway as the match going on came to a close, with Present Mic declaring it a tie and that the one going forward would be decided by an arm-wrestling match. Kirishima must’ve been fighting Tetsutetsu for a while now.

“Sorry, Todoroki-san. I would like to go back to watch Uraraka-san’s match. Is there anything else you wanted to say?”

“ …No, I suppose not,” even as he said this, Todoroki sounded hesitant. But he started walking away from Izuku and back to their area of the stands anyway. Izuku followed behind before passing him, rushing in consideration of his time limit.

He made it back just after the match had begun. His thoughts were split between the rough battle Uraraka was facing and his thoughts for how he would handle his own upcoming fight.

Todoroki’s power wasn’t something that could be beat with just luck. Izuku could probably break up his ice before he got caught in it, but he’ll definitely run out of energy before Todoroki runs out of ice –if the other even runs out of his quirk at all. The only way he could win is if he finishes the fight relatively quickly.

Uraraka put up a great fight, one that Katsuki was being cautious against even as some of the crowd didn’t see her as a threat to him. After what appeared to be uselessly trying to fight against Katsuki’s more powerful explosions, a look in the air revealed how she had been collecting his own debris to use as ammo for a miniature meteor shower.

However, Katsuki was able to defend himself against even that with his quirk. Even against someone like Uraraka, who had a good quirk that was useful for many different things, the disparity between her quirk and one that was “perfect for heroics” as had often been said by many people at their old schools was clear. It would be one thing if Katsuki was just coasting on his quirk, but he had been training it and his strategy for it more than most. Moreover, he had been prepared for Uraraka to counterattack due to him not underestimating her –that was a point that he seemed to have improved on since the start of school.

Having exhausted herself with her quirk use and the injuries she sustained from Katsuki’s attacks, Uraraka collapsed. Katsuki was declared the winner.

When two people both took things seriously and did their best, the natural outcome was for the person with the better suited quirk to win. That’s just what happened when people weren’t born equal. Izuku had always known this, and he knows that between the two of them, Todoroki had the better quirk. He knows the most probable outcome is for him to lose.

He doesn’t know if changing the luck of the match will be enough to change that, but there wasn’t much else he could do but try. He had to try. He couldn’t bear facing Hitoshi if he lost right after making him lose. And he does have a bit more than luck to use too, since he has useful information on his opponent. It had already seemed like Todoroki wasn’t using the fire side of his quirk, but confirmation was a good thing to have.

Chapter Text

During the short break between rounds, Izuku went back to the locker room and broke six mirrors. When he went to the prep room to get ready, he was brimming with energy swirling underneath his skin. Six mirrors wasn’t as much of a boost as thirteen, but it was still a lot. It was what he would need if he wanted his snaps to be strong enough to break Todoroki’s huge ice without his usual enhancements.

Uraraka was still there when he entered the room. She smiled at him softly despite her recent loss.

“Aw man! I’m just gonna have to work harder for next time, right? Haha…”

He recognized that her smile was a lie. She had wanted to win so badly, but was given the rotten luck of having to go against Katsuki for the first match.

So he did he the curtesy of smiling at her kindly, dismissing her concern when all his time had passed and he needed to head to the field, and left her to her thoughts. He hoped that she had someone she could be honest with, but he felt like he couldn’t be that person. It wouldn’t be fair to her considering he hasn’t revealed himself in kind.

In the middle of his trek to the field, though, footsteps thudded down an adjacent hall towards him.

Endeavor’s figure –tall, big, and literally on fire as part of his costume– stepped forward and glanced down at him. Izuku could only stare up at the man with wide eyes.

The Number Two hero halted his stride, but he looked down at Izuku with in a way that was too cold to be considered interest. And his voice was the exactly the same deep, harsh voice that Izuku had only heard on the TV or in videos prior, “There you are. The student representative of the year.”

He had been looking for him? Izuku would rather he had not… “Y-Yes?”

“I have to say, based on your performance so far I’m surprised you managed such a thing. Usually someone with a quirk like that explosion quirk would score first in the practical. You’ve done decently but rely more on tricks than power. It’s not the kind of match up I had been hoping Shouto would get with this year’s representative,” Endeavor spoke curtly, obviously not caring how Izuku would take what most would consider an insult. He didn’t usually react to criticism of his quirk –he’s much too used to it at this point, and frankly Endeavor’s isn’t the worst he’s gotten by far– but the misfortune inside him became agitated at the man’s tone.

But regardless, his face and voice were blank of any evidence that he was bothered, “I see. That’s unfortunate for you.”

Endeavor’s eyes narrowed slightly at the plain response but didn’t react to it otherwise. “All I’m here to say is that you need to bring out more of your power against my son. He’s too good to have trouble against anything but the strongest abilities, and you must have that potential if you were first in the practical. Even if it’s not like All Might’s power, at least try to be a good stepping stone for his learning, will you. The other competition besides the explosion quirk are too abysmal for his level, it’ll be a waste of a tournament if he doesn’t face anymore challenges than that,” it wasn’t a request, but an order. Apparently having said all he came for, Endeavor turned his back to Izuku and started walking in the opposite direction of the field.

Jinx’s energy became even more agitated at the dismissal of his friends’ and classmates’ effort, and even more than that, it prickled at the barrier keeping it from the world at how Endeavor still managed to speak so uncaringly about his son even when he was only preoccupied with him.

As a replacement for his quirk, Izuku allowed the words he would’ve kept at bay to be spoken, “He really is unfortunate…”

Endeavor paused just enough to glare over his shoulder at Izuku in annoyed confusion, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Todoroki-san.” Izuku gave Endeavor a polite smile that he knew would be dissonant with his next words. That kind of thing tended to bother people more than glaring, in his opinion. “He’s unfortunate to have been born to such a horrible father. I would know, since I’m an expert at unfortunate things.”

The whiplash was immediate. Endeavor’s eyes widened in both shock and rage while turning fully towards him, undoubted caught off guard by the rudeness after Izuku had gone the whole one-sided conversation being silent and complacent. It was Izuku’s turn to turn his back to the other, and slowly walk towards his match where Todoroki would be waiting.

Part of the reason why he was walking away dramatically like this besides just out of spite was that he thought it would look cool, but that was beside the point.

“Because of that I know that luck isn’t distributed fairly, Endeavor-san, but you should still tread carefully. People will scoff at the notion, but… to me, misfortune is a very real thing indeed. Karma is only a superstition until it’s arrived at your doorstep.”

He’s lying. Blatantly lying. While misfortune is real and Izuku leans on the superstitious side, he has no idea if karma is also real. If it was, surely he would’ve gotten some good karma at some point as compensation for all the pain he’s been put through?

But it didn’t matter whether he thought it was real or not, or even if Endeavor thought it was real or not. What mattered was that it was unsettling to think about.

Izuku allowed himself to glance back once, and saw that Endeavor was boring at him with a piercing glare, the fire on his face wafting off in stronger twisting flames than before. It gave Izuku a bit of satisfaction.

–Spreading this kind of misfortune can be sort of fun, too…–

He locked that thought away, it was too much like the one he had when he’d been using his quirk in the Battle Trial. Endeavor’s barked out response made Izuku think he was saying it just to have something to say, “Your quirk’s gone to your head, boy! You place too much stock on mere luck!”

“People only think that way until it runs out for them.”

“I’ve never relied on luck, I worked to get to where I am! Relying on luck to stop villains is a sign of an incompetent hero, and I won’t let a child who hasn’t even set foot into this industry imply that I’m that sort of hero!” at this point Endeavor had gone from objecting to sounding downright insulted. Must be a sore point.

Izuku had to pause his steps at that. “Then what kind of paperwork did you submit to be able to get such a powerful quirk, Endeavor-san? I’m not sure what quirks his siblings have since they aren’t featured in the news that often, but I’m guessing he’s the only one that has a good enough quirk for you, right? It takes luck to be born with a good quirk, after all.”

“You– !”

Izuku didn’t bother looking to see how Endeavor reacted after that, he needed to hurry to make it on time. He had said more than he had meant to.

–He really does hate talking to people that are so busy going after what they don’t have that they ignore what luck they’ve been granted–

He didn’t want to hear Endeavor tell him what he already knew. Izuku knew he couldn’t beat Todoroki if he held back with his quirk. He knew that pushing Todoroki out of the ring would be too hard when he could stop himself with his ice, unless Izuku did something about it.

People are broken so easily, he hates it, and he hates that his quirk can break them. Ever since that day years ago, Izuku’s known just how easily they can break, and he made it a point not to use his quirk to make sure it wouldn’t hurt anyone. And yet somehow, somehow… Mom still…

But ever since starting UA, he’s known that he has to use his quirk now. He knows he has to hurt people with it to keep up with the course. And the villains at the USJ proved that in the case he did try to become a hero, he would need to use it to hurt people then, too.

And now that he’s reached this point. Now that he’s tried his best to beat his reason for being alive and won at the cost of Hitoshi’s progress… He can’t afford to hold back now.

He knows, theoretically, that he can control his quirk. That he can keep it from going too far. He’s never trusted that, and he still can’t trust it now, but he’s going to have to bet on his own capabilities.

He has to win for Hitoshi, no matter what

“Both of these competitors stand out in their own way, but only one can move forward! It’s Midoriya Izuku! VERSUS! Todoroki Shoutooooooo!”

Shouto stood across from his competitor, a good distance set between the two of them. However, Midoriya didn’t look like someone that was waiting for a fight to start– no pent-up tension or determined expression like what Todoroki has seen of others so far.

Instead he just smiled at Todoroki from across the way like he was saying hello at the start of a normal class period. Not like they were about to battle in front of countless people both surrounding them and watching remotely. It was something that he did often, as Shouto’s noticed.

Is it confidence? He doesn’t give off that impression. But then why is he even smiling in the first place? If he’s not happy, why does he smile?

“READYYYYYY!! STAAAAAAAAAAAAART!!!!!”

He jumped right into it, raising his right hand to send fast-growing spikes of ice, the opposite of an iceberg pace. In that same instant, Midoriya snapped, and it shattered into glass-like shards like a great force had hit it. Chunks of ice burst apart randomly, being sent all over the ring and field.

Only a thin icy trail remained behind. As the cold debris and mist scattered, Shouto took a step back when Midoriya emerged from the left side. He was sprinting forward while bending away from the path of leftover chunks of ice that were left, and his forearms were in the middle of lowering themselves, having been lifted to protect his face.

Midoriya’s trying to use his weakness. It won’t be enough, he had to win against his father.

But even while Shouto thought that, the usually feeling of anger and determination that accompanied it never came. Instead, all he felt was uneasiness that pulsed tension into his chest, straining his breath and lungs.

“It’s good that you can still be a hero without using the part of your quirk that you hate … I hope you achieve your dream the way you want to, since you have that option”

–Midoriya agreed with him, he agreed with what Shouto was trying to do. So why had Shouto felt like what Midoriya had said was wrong?–

Shouto only just caught a glimpse of red blood and the sharp shard of ice impaling one of Midoriya’s arms before he shot more ice at the approaching boy. It seemed he had expected the second attack, as he preventively dived into a roll to dodge. And when he launched himself up and at Shouto again, he snapped to destroy the third shot from Shouto’s ice.

He had to turn to aim that time. Midoriya had moved to the side enough that he was approaching from Shouto’s left. He needed to focus on the in-coming threat, on the battle that was before him, but his thoughts had been racing ever since the end of their conversation. They refuse to die down.

Did it feel wrong because he had said Shouto hated his quirk? He hadn’t thought about the fire of his quirk being his quirk, it was his father’s. Like how his ice was from his mother. Shouto denying his fire was about denying Endeavor and Endeavor’s power. Referring to it as hating his own quirk felt like it was missing the point.

That’s right. The entire point of this was for Shouto to separate himself from his father. Calling the fire his quirk contradicted that.

Midoriya was close enough that Shouto decided to switch tactics. Instead of a booming and large condensed attack, he spread out his hand wide to make a curve of icy spires that acted as a barrier. It was too spread out to evade without losing momentum, and Midoriya had to use another snap to break a hole in the middle and not be frozen by the wave of ice.

It caused him to stop momentarily, which is what Shouto had wanted. Having already launched himself towards Midoriya, he caught the other off guard with an up-close burst of ice. Midoriya tried to back away, but he wasn’t fast enough to stop ice from capturing his foot up to his shin.

Now that his opponent was immobilized, Shouto huffed out a cold breath that could be seen in the now cooling air, trying to alleviate the cold that was spreading through his limbs after persistent and full power use of his quirk. He suppressed his shivers to lift his right hand to freeze the rest of Midoriya –as long as his hands were free, he could get out– but in the short pause Midoriya crouched down and slammed the palm of his bandaged hand onto the ice.

Fresh blood stained the white in the form of a symbol. The ice shattered.

Since Midoriya was right next to Shouto at that point, he launched himself at Shouto, his hand scraping for purchase at the back of Shouto’s uniform while pushing him to the side. Shouto’s first instinct was to swiftly stop their momentum by bringing up a short wall of ice, but he should’ve prioritized counterattacking instead, as Midoriya immediately retreated right after.

It was like what Midoriya did against his previous opponent. In class, he had always needed to snap to activate his quirk. Could it be easier for him to use it on things in contact with him? That complicated things…

Shouto also noticed then that Midoriya had pulled out the ice that had been stuck in his arm, and the wound was now bleeding heavily. It might’ve gone all the way through.

“You’re going to bleed out a lot at this rate.”

Midoriya grimaced from the pain, but didn’t look too worried. “There’s no helping it when it comes to those seventh snaps. As long as we finish before I lose enough to pass out, it’ll be fine.” What was he even talking about? That doesn’t sound fine…

“I’ll do you a favor and finish this soon, then.” He was tired of Midoriya maneuvering around his quirk, the other had more power than he expected coming into this fight considering in class he fought with support items for his quirk. Did he do something to prime it for the fight?

It doesn’t matter. Shouto still has to win.

But again, uneasiness came with that thought. He had to force himself to ignore it as he sent another powerful conglomerate of ice Midoriya’s way, but his competitor was close enough that he could dodge it. It didn’t have enough distance to grow very big.

He’s distracted. How can he be distracted now, when he’s here to prove his ambition? That man is watching him in discontent right that moment, but he couldn’t focus on the fight.

“It’s good that you can still be a hero without using the part of your quirk that you hate– ”

“I don’t understand you,” he finally had to admit it aloud.

Midoriya froze up, having expected an attack. But it was clear Shouto would be off his game until he cleared up his thoughts, so he continued to speak anyway, “The way you were talking before… It’s like you’re okay with hating a part of yourself. Don’t you think that’s strange? I hate my father and his quirk, not my quirk. I see it as being separate from me. But you just admitted so easily how you didn’t want to use yours… it gives the impression that you don’t see it that way with your own quirk.”

Midoriya stared at him a bit with an unreadable look in his one eye, before he spoke slowly, “…Are you sure you really think of it that way?”

Shouto’s eyes narrowed at that unpleasant assertion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… I can’t speak for you, since you’re obviously quite different than me, but if my mom had said something like that and hurt me for it… I would definitely hate the part of myself that she rejected. It’s about more than just how Endeavor treats you and what he did, right?”

All at once, his lungs felt empty of air and his chest felt empty of feeling, like the ground was no longer steady underneath his feet and he was falling. Like the world around him had shattered like his ice.

No. That’s wrong, that can’t possibly be right– He knows his mother loved him, all the way leading up to her breakdown. He knows the reason she felt like that was all because of that man–  

Shouto lashed out with a towering and wide wave of ice, desperate to finish the fight now that he was faced with an internal one he couldn’t handle. Midoriya snapped to break apart the ice that would’ve hit him, this time a wide section leading all the way to the top crumbing into pieces that forced Midoriya to bring his arms up defensively to protect his head as they tumbled down.

Shouto was so preoccupied trying to calm his speeding heartbeat, trying to contain the trembling of his limbs that stemmed from the chill of both his ice and his thoughts, that he failed to see debris was falling his way too, including a large chunk of ice. There was only a split second where he glanced up to see something fall from the sky, before he was struck in the head with a cold, heavy weight.

He fell to his knees and barely caught himself with his hands. One of them reached up instinctively to press against the pounding, sharp pain at the top of his head. It felt wet, and when he pulled his hand back to look at it, his blurry fingers were red with blood. He pushed himself to stand and found that his legs were unsteady, and his sense of balance was off. The ring surrounding him seemed to be spinning.

It’s probably a concussion, the part of him that still remembered his training noted.

“I really am sorry, Todoroki-san…” Having been leaning forward to steady himself and take stock of everything, Shouto glanced to the side to see Midoriya was scowling down at his own hands, one arm still bleeding. He wouldn’t look at Shouto in the eyes.

“I hate using this quirk like this, but the person I want to win for is the most important person to me …He’s also much more important to me than Endeavor is to you. I won’t lose because of something like that!”

With that last sentence, Izuku leapt at him. Shouto reflexively sent a pillar of ice at him, only for a snap to ring out causing it to break apart like all the other ones. The two of them were both knocked to the ground and slid on the slick, icy ground.

It would be disorienting at best even normally, and with a head injury Shouto could hardly tell up from down now. He could just vaguely feel that Midoriya was clinging to his left side.

If he uses fire, he could win–

“I can’t do it anymore. The children, they’re… like him more and more every day. And Shouto, his left side… sometimes I look at him and think it’s unsightly”

Shouto couldn’t tell how far they slid until their momentum stopped. When he blinked his eyes open, having not realized he closed them in the first place, it was to a sky that had darkened. Black clouds filled the once partly cloudy sky to fully block the sun, and there might’ve even been a distant thud of thunder contained in them, though there was no rain yet.

“B– Both of the competitors passed the boundary, but Todoroki passed it first!” he heard Midnight call out, acting as the referee.

Using his hand to support his upper body, Shouto looked back to see that the two of them had passed the line of the inner ring, and that Midoriya was on the side closest to the line. There was also a ghastly trail of blood that led to their spot following the ice they slid on. He couldn’t tell if it was his, Midoriya’s or both of theirs. Next to him, Midoriya was also still on the ground, panting with his eye squeezed shut while clutching at his wound with his other hand.

It might’ve gotten caught underneath them, which would explain the trail of blood. He really is unlucky…

“Uh… Both sides aren’t looking too good right now, but Midoriya managed to get the hard-won victory against the previously unbeatable Todoroki! What an upset! How did he pull it off?!”

“He enhanced his quirk’s affects by marking Todoroki.”

“When did that happen?!”

The crowd started roaring much too loud for the pounding in his head to handle. He winced and had to contain a hiss, and from his place still lying down, Midoriya stuttered out, “T-Todoroki-san, are– are you alright?”

“I don’t think either of us are alright.” In more ways than one…

The two of them were picked up by Recovery Girl’s medical robots to be transferred onto gurneys. When Midoriya tried to object saying he could still walk since it was his arm that was bleeding, he tried to prove his point by standing up, and promptly fell over either due to the dizziness of blood loss or the pain of his aggravated wound. The robots took the both of them away with the mechanical nurses berating the “human” for “not comprehending the volume of blood necessary for optimal functioning”.

Shouto blinked into and out of existence for a bit, until Recovery Girl pressed a kiss to his forehead and the heaviness in his head was alleviated along with the pain. She told him to take a moment to rest and closed a curtain around him, but he could hear her muttering to Midoriya about how she needed to clean out his arm before healing it. She also berated him for running around while he was bleeding, and Midoriya just responded with a nervous chuckle.

With the background noise of the other two fading to his ears, Shouto was left with only himself to focus on. After processing that he’d lost the match so abruptly, he didn’t feel the frustration or anger that he thought he would.

Instead, he didn’t really feel anything at all. It was like he was empty, now that his body lost the sensation of righteous fury or pained nostalgia.

“It’s good that you can still be a hero without using the part of your quirk that you hate… I hope you achieve your dream the way you want to, since you have that option”

No… That had never been an option in the first place, had it? He lost this fight because he couldn’t use his fire. If that had been a real fight, with real villains like from the USJ, he can’t afford to lose like that.

This hadn’t always been about his father. Shouto remembered when he had first felt the wish to be a hero; he had been watching TV and saw All Might, a man as big as Endeavor, but with a kind smile instead of an intimidating scowl. It made him wonder if he could be like that, instead of like Endeavor.

His mother had told him then that he could be a hero if he wanted, that he was capable of being a hero. She had been his only source of love, before. She held him when he cried after father had done something. She sat by him when he watched All Might on TV. She pleaded against Endeavor when he was pushed past his limit and kneeling on the ground, even when she knew it would lead to him hitting her away and her crying from the pain.

And she also couldn’t look at his face anymore, as that incident approached. It was only by chance that when he peered around the shoji door and overheard her conversation with her mother –a grandmother he’d never met– it was his left side that looked up at her.

When she had looked down at him, the whistling of the kettle getting louder by the second, her face was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot. Like she’d seen a monster.

His left hand drifted up to clutch at the scar surrounding his eye. He couldn’t remember much after that, the pain had been overwhelming, but he thought he had heard his mother crying and apologizing. That was the last he could remember of her.

–That had hurt more. It hurt more than anything Endeavor had ever said or did to him–

He hadn’t wanted it to hurt more. He knew that she had been in so much pain, having endured living with that man for years before he had even been born. Having to watch silently as he neglected her and the children they made together. It was because of him that she had hurt Shouto. So he wanted it all to be Endeavor’s fault.

But it was because she loved him that what she did hurt so much more than when Endeavor hurt him. He’d never known his father’s love and had never expected it. He’d only expected to be hurt and used. But he knew his mother had loved him, and he had expected her to always love him and be kind to him. So when she had looked at him with those eyes and thrown that scorching water at him…

His hand dragged away from his scarred eye to cover the both of them, blocking out the room around him. He had to swallow down the feeling rising up his throat and pressing against his eyes.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had wanted to cry.

He really had hated himself for that. It felt like it had been his fault. He hated that there was a part of him that got in the way of his mother’s love, but there was nothing he could do but hate the man that had given him those features. Hate the man that was the reason his mother thought about that side of him like that. He hates his quirk because it was something he inherited from that man he hated, the man that hurt both him and Mom, but he also hates it because his mother had hated it.

He had to focus all his hate on Endeavor, or else he would have to admit there was a part of himself that he hated, too. He would have to admit that Mom had hurt him, too.

After all these years, he’s never gone to see his mother. Endeavor hadn’t wanted him to –having become wary of the possible consequences– but he hadn’t truly fought that decision either.

How would she look at him now, if she saw him? Had she been watching him during this festival? Depending on what the doctors thought, they might not have let her…

“ …Todoroki-san, are you awake?” Midoriya’s voice was quiet, like he didn’t want to disturb him in the case that Shouto was asleep.

Instead of answering, Shouto sat up to pull away the curtain between them. He was pleased to note that being upright was no longer disorienting. On a nearby bed, Midoriya was rubbing at the newly formed skin of his forearm, and Recovery Girl seemed to have gone somewhere for the time being.

Midoriya frowned at him apologetically. “I’m sorry about hurting you– ”

“You don’t need to apologize. You did what we were supposed to do… Why did you agree with what I said, before?”

“Why…?”

“If I always just avoid using my left side, I’d be taking the easy way out and avoiding trying to change how I feel about it. But if you’re using your quirk now, aren’t you trying to change how you feel about your quirk?”

“ …I wouldn’t really say that. Eventually that’d be something I need to do, but right now I’m just trying to get over… other things. Trying something like that is just too much at the moment.” Midoriya looked away from him to start rewrapping the bandage for his hand. Shouto caught sight of a scar in the shape of a cross, before it was covered up by the white. “From how I view you and your quirk, though, it would be possible for you to just get by with only your right side. I think that would be nice, since even if you never feel better about it, you’ll always have one half of your quirk that you don’t hate. It’s all or nothing for me. If I can’t overcome it, that’s the end of it.”

“So you’re just assuming the worst right from the start?”

“Ah… I do tend to do that, yeah…”

Seeing that Midoriya had finished with his bandage, Shouto’s eyes shifted to stare down at his own left hand.

“I think… I’m going reconsider how I want to become a hero. My mind still rejects the idea of using my fire, but logically speaking I can see that’s not very practical now, so… I need to think about what I really want.”

“Really?” Midoriya blinked at him, before his lips curled into a soft smile. Shouto still felt like he couldn’t tell what the other was thinking, though. “That’s sounds great, Todoroki-san. You really are so strong. I’m not sure I’d be able to do it, if it were me.”

Shouto got the sense that this was a case of the blind leading the blind. Midoriya had showed him how he was wrong to keep following the path he’d intended on walking, but only by also being wrong about the way he thought about things. He had been so obviously wrong that Shouto realized by association that he himself was also wrong.

Surely there was a more direct way to figure these things out…

There was a knock on the door followed by a deep voice calling out to Midoriya, to which Midoriya gleefully told the other to enter. The purple-haired general education student, Shinsou Hitoshi, walked in, eyeing Shouto cautiously before dismissing him in favor of approaching Midoriya.

“Good job with winning, but it was hard to watch it in action. You really pushed it with how much you were bleeding back there. The battlefield almost looked like a murder scene by the time you were done! Do you even know how much blood was coming out of you? How did you even win when you’re the one that almost bled to death?!”

“I didn’t almost bleed to death, I’m pretty sure Recovery Girl would’ve told me if that was my condition. While it was bleeding a lot it was still better than, like, what happened to my eye. So I knew I had a bit of time before symptoms would start up. Because I had blood available it gave me better options, so I was able to make a plan to finish quickly.”

“Your eye getting destroyed should not be the standard that you go by!” Shinsou huffed in frustration, before he calmed down with a sigh, “Still though… congratulations. I know that must not have been easy or something that you wanted to do…”

Color flushed into Midoriya’s face as his smile became a bit softer. “Thank you, Hitoshi-kun… Oh Todoroki-san,” Midoriya turned his head to address him, and pointed to a spare PE uniform on the counter, “Recovery Girl put that out for you. She said that we can leave when we want, but you should change before you go. You won’t want to go around having your back look like that…”

“My back?” Shouto spotted a full-length mirror in the corner of the room, and stood up to walk to it. Facing his back to the mirror and glancing over his shoulder, he immediately saw what Midoriya was referring to.

It was smudged from lying on his back, but the basic shape of one long vertical line and one shorter horizontal line crossed over it near the bottom was familiar, in the context of Midoriya. His mind flashed to when Midoriya tried to grab his back. He must’ve been pretending so that he could draw this, instead.

“I really wouldn’t want to go around with blood stained on my back, yeah… Why did you need this? Would you not have been able to hit my head?”

“For my tenth snap, I was trying to break your ice, hit your head, and give you a mild concussion while also not giving you serious head trauma. That seemed like a lot to happen at once. Having the target be unlucky helps boost both the power of my quirk and its accuracy, so I thought that would be the best way to do it.” Midoriya’s smile faltered for a moment, and he averted the gaze of his single eye from Shouto. “To be honest… I was sort of terrified that it’d go overboard, so I’m relieved it worked out.”

“ …Well this was good for you, then. Now you know how precise your quirk can be and can train more using it that way. I’m glad you didn’t hold back.” Midoriya glanced back at him in surprise, and Shouto continued to speak steadily, “After asking that of you, I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the same thing. Not only because of my reluctance with my left side, but also because I wasn’t really focused on the fight, either. I was too bothered by our talk, and it was getting to me.”

“It did seem like you were thinking about it a lot… You don’t need to worry, Todoroki-san. That kind of thing doesn’t bother me. But maybe I shouldn’t have said anything before, sorry– ”

“No, I’m glad you did,” Shouto cut him off. Midoriya seemed like the type that apologized too frequently. “I think... this is something I needed to think about, it’s just that the timing was bad. But now that I don’t have any more fights, I can think more on it. Good luck with winning the rest of the tournament.”

Something in Midoriya’s eye brightened up at that, which made Shouto realize in hindsight it had looked rather dim, before. “Thanks, Todoroki-san!” When the other hopped off the bed to walk towards the door with his friend, he paused after opening it to glance back at Shouto. “Uh… I know you said before that you didn’t want to make friends, but do you think… you’d like to try being friends, too?”

The questioned caught him by surprise, but he didn’t think much on it before he answered, “Sure, but…” his eyes unconsciously strayed towards the boy standing next to Midoriya, who stared back with a cool expression.

He remembered what he saw of them right after their match. He started overhearing them around when Midoriya complained about falling on his face, which somehow led to him calling Shinsou the “highest bar there is” or something while they were all over each other. Shouto was fine with Midoriya talking to him like this, but the thought that he’d start fawning over him like that was strange. “Is friendship always so intense? It seems a bit intimidating…”

There was a beat of silence, before both Shinsou and Midoriya burst into red. Shinsou choked on his own breath, while Midoriya rushed to him to whisper loudly, “T-Todoroki-san– That’s– I know I said we aren’t dating, but our friendship isn’t exactly normal, either.”

Just as Shinsou seemed to get himself under control, he choked even louder at Midoriya’s statement, having to turn away to lean against the wall for support. Shouto tried his best to ignore it for the other’s sake. “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s just– Hitoshi-kun is a very special person to me, so I can get pretty affectionate with him and… intense, like you said. I– I don’t act the same towards my other friends, and I wouldn’t do that with you. Please don’t get any weird ideas about how friends are usually like. It’s normally a causal thing! …I think.”

“I see…” He almost wanted to ask if Midoriya’s sure he doesn’t want to date Shinsou, but that would be impolite after he’d already questioned him on their relationship. Perhaps there are circumstances that would lead to two people being only friends while also embracing like lovers, Shouto wouldn’t know. “In that case I would like to be friends, yes.”

“G-Great! See you in a bit, Todoroki-kun!” Midoriya helped Shinsou flee from the room much like he had last time, by grabbing onto the other’s arm and pulling him away while he was still overwhelmed. Shouto wondered if there was something wrong with the gen ed student to have such a reaction. Maybe he needed Recovery Girl to look over him too?

He had a moment to catch his breath and relax the tension in his muscles brought on by all his fighting today, quickly changing into the clean uniform provided for him. It was short lived, though, since as soon as he stepped foot out the door to the arena’s infirmary, a large, flaming man finished making his way down the hallway. Displeasure curled in Shouto’s stomach at the sight of him.

“Good timing,” Endeavor remarked without thought. His eyes, framed by his iconic mask of fire, narrowed as they stared down at Shouto in disapproval that was even more obvious than his flames. “Are you done with your temper tantrum, then? You lost your chance to the be the best of this tournament against a boy with a villain quirk. Do you finally understand what I’ve been telling you? I made you to be the best, but you can’t live up to that if you half-ass things! Give up this pointless rebellion of yours and start listening to me!”

Displeasure grew into anger at Endeavor’s mention of Midoriya.

The scowl that he usually directed at his father came back on his face as he shot back, “Don’t talk about him like that! Even if you are the Number Two hero… when it comes to character, you’re much more of a villain than Midoriya will ever be! Regardless of your impressive quirk that you oh so kindly bred into me and his literal curse of a quirk, the person that has no problem with hurting their own family is the one people will think of as the villain, right?! What right do you have to say that anyone who’s not a villain has a villain quirk?!”

New flames burst from Endeavor’s shoulders like Shouto flicked a switch. He yelled loudly, “What?! You’re going too far, boy! To call me a villain of all things– I demand respect– !”

“Why would I respect you?! You’ve done nothing to deserve it other than what you do for your paycheck! Just because you’re respected as a hero doesn’t mean I have to respect you as a person and my father! That’s why I was doing all this in the first place!” Shouto didn’t see the point in continuing this conversation, so he turned his back on Endeavor to start stalking down the hall to get back to the stands.

“I’m going to be reexamining the part of my quirk I got from you, but don’t think it’s because of anything you did. I just realized that… things are different than how I thought they were, and I feel uneasy about holding back when everyone else has to give it their all.”

Behind him and his echoing footsteps, he heard Endeavor scoff, “If you feel the need to keep up pretenses, fine. As long as you accept the power that will let you surpass All Might, it’s all the same.”

Shouto paused for a moment.

“Surpass All Might… Maybe I’ll be able to do that, but if I do, it’ll be because of me. Because of my power.”

Glancing back over his shoulder, he gave the man who was examining him with a pinched face a steady, narrow-eyed look. “Not because of you.”

With that said, Shouto continued walking away. Endeavor, whether it be because he already got what he wanted or because he didn’t know how to response, didn’t try to follow him.

Chapter Text

The fact that Izuku actually managed to beat Todoroki in their fight was unexpected to say the least. Sure, he wanted to win no matter what –even going so far as to relentlessly take advantage of Todoroki’s inability to use his fire, take the chance of giving him a head injury, and making a one chance only plan based off of these things– but he hadn’t been very optimistic about his chances. There were many ways it could’ve fallen apart.

And yet none of those things happen. His plan went off without a hitch discounting the deep gash he received, and his place in the semi-finals was secured.

Their fight was the first of the set, so Izuku got caught up as to how everyone else fared. He missed Iida’s fight during his time in the infirmary. Though, said fight was non-existent due to Kaminari still being struck dumb by his own electricity from the previous fight. From what Izuku was told by a fuming Iida, Midnight called the match before it even started to save everyone the embarrassment of watching it, and Iida was forced to accept his win without having done anything for it a second time.

“Things will be different for our fight Midoriya-kun, mark my words, “ Iida promised vehemently to both Izuku and himself, shaking his fist in frustration, “I will come at you with my very best, and I expect you to do the same! My family is watching this and my brother will watch it later, I must show them I am worthy of my placing and am honoring our family name! Though of course I do not expect to win against you easily. I look forward to seeing how we perform.”

Izuku braved a smile for his slighted friend. “R– Right.”

He also missed a good chuck of Tokoyami and Asui’s match, since Iida’s had taken no time at all. They were both best a mid-distance for this kind of set up, with Tokoyami using Dark Shadow to try and push Asui from the ring and Asui trying to use her tongue to grab and throw Tokoyami out. But ultimately, Dark Shadow was not only stronger but also had more utility in terms of being both defense and offence, leading Asui to being bulldozed out of bounds.

“ ‘Twas not as impressive as your own win over Todoroki, but I am pleased to move on nonetheless. Asui was a formidable opponent,” Tokoyami spoke gravely with closed eyes and a nod.

It’s strange to think that he is now considered the benchmark in terms of fighting performance instead of Todoroki. Hopefully once this tournament is over, Todoroki will outshine him in class again and his classmates pay less attention to him…

The outcome of the final match of the round wasn’t a surprise to Izuku. Kirishima’s Hardening may be a very versatile defense, but Katsuki’s Explosion was a supercharged offence. While Kirishima lasted much longer than anyone who wasn’t made of rock, once Katsuki rapid fired his explosions one after the other Kirishima’s defense was broken through and he was beaten.

When Izuku went down to the prep room during the short break between rounds, Hitoshi met up with him on the way. He looked over Izuku with a concerned furrow in his brow. “Izuku, you… You’ll probably end up fighting Bakugou at this rate. I wasn’t too worried about it at first since you were on opposite ends of the bracket, but now…”

“ …That’s not set yet. I have to beat Iida-kun, and he has to beat Tokoyami.”

“From what I’ve seen Tokoyami’s quirk isn’t good at dealing with light. That’s why you moved to stop all those teams once the naval laser guy came out, right? And while I don’t know much about Iida other than that he’s faster than you, I’m sure you can get around it.”

Everything Hitoshi said was stuff that Izuku already knew. His fight with Iida will be much simpler than his fight with Todoroki, in that it’ll be decided the moment it begins. Either Izuku’s quirk will successfully stop Iida the first try, or it won’t and Iida will push him from the ring right away. Iida was too fast to deal with any other way. Izuku knows he can get one snap in, but that’s all he’ll get. And considering his own observations of how Dark Shadow grows stronger in the shade and his reluctance to face Todoroki directly, Izuku’s fairly sure without Tokoyami having outright said it that he’d be weak against Katsuki’s quirk.

That’s right. He knows what this is leading up to, because that’s just how his luck is. But it doesn’t matter…

“Even if that’s the case, I still have to try to win against him,” he declared aloud for the first time, “If my fight with Iida ends in my favor, I’ll only have to use one snap against him. I can save the thirteenth for the beginning of my fight with Katsuki and also use the last of your mirrors to boost my energy into a couple extra snaps after the thirteenth. I can’t say I’ll win with confidence, but… I’m not going to give up just because it’s him.”

“Izuku– ” Hitoshi caught him by the arm just as he was about to open the door to the room, forcing him to turn and look at his friend’s worry straight in the face. “But is that really what you want?”

“What are you saying? I want to win for– ”

“You want to win for me, I know. But do you actually want to fight Bakugou to do that? With the history you have… aren’t you scared? It’s okay to give up if it’s too much.”

“ …You’re the one that didn’t want me to give up when I didn’t want to fight you,” Izuku tried to keep his words from sounding like an accusation, but the undercurrent running through them couldn’t be denied.

Hitoshi flinched back slightly at that. “I– I know… I asked that not only because I felt like it would be good for you, but also for my selfishness. If you really couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t have held that against you. But you were ready for that, just like I thought you were. You were ready to make a step towards fighting for yourself. Is this a step you’re ready for too? I’m not sure about that, and I’m not sure whether you know about that, either.”

Is this a step he’s ready for– that’s a good question to ask. One that like Hitoshi suspected, Izuku himself didn’t know the answer to.

But that didn’t matter. If Izuku was fighting Katsuki for himself, he would’ve run no questions asked, but he’s fighting him for Hitoshi. And he would do anything for Hitoshi, even the things Hitoshi didn’t ask him to do. Therefore, the unanswerable question turned into a very simple one; What’s more important to him, avoiding Katsuki or doing his best for Hitoshi?

The answer was equally simple. This wasn’t something that would uproot his life like confessing his problems to someone the way Hitoshi had actually asked of him. It was just one fight, just this one day. It may be something he’s internally flinching away from, but he could bear with this temporary discomfort. He’ll choose Hitoshi every single time.

A bigger problem would be what would happen after the fight in the unlikely case Izuku wins and Katsuki is left in a state of unbridled fury at having lost to him. That has the potential to turn into a long-term problem, but there’s no point fretting over that when he probably won’t even win. That’s a bridge he can burn if he gets to it…

In a gentle motion, Izuku took Hitoshi’s hand off his forearm to give him a small smile. Hitoshi didn’t look encouraged by it. “Life doesn’t wait for me to be ready about a lot of things. I don’t see how this is any different.”

Hitoshi opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but failed to find any words. Izuku entered the room at that point. Hitoshi didn’t follow him in, knowing that he had to get ready for his fight with Iida and finding no issue with this round like he had with the next.

Soon, Izuku was called out to the field for his third fight and was facing across the ring from Iida with a carefully pleasant smile. Iida seemed to appreciate it, nodded back at him stiffly but with energy bursting in his movements.

He probably realized, just like Izuku had, that this fight would be decided soon. The moment it started would also be the moment it ended.

“It’s the beginning of the semi-finals folks! This round is an exciting match between the turner of the tide Midoriya Izuku! VERSUS! He’s done well in the first two challenges but hasn’t been lucky in his opponents for this tournament, Iida Tenya! Will Midoriya continue that streak of bad luck, or will Iida turn the tide for himself?! I can’t wait to see!!!”

An unnerved feeling swirled inside Izuku along with his energy at Present Mic’s mention of him bringing bad luck, even if it was good natured. The feeling subsided a bit with his teacher’s droning tone, “Is such a long introduction really necessary?”

“Hey Tsundere-sensei, this is Iida’s first real opponent, ya know? I just wanna make it up to the little listener by giving it a little extra pizzazz!”

“Stop calling me that! And if you keep adding so-called ‘pizzazz’ he’ll never actually get his fight!”

“Right– Anyway! READYYYYYYY! STAAAAAAAAAAAART!”

Like the sound of a gun firing, Iida shot towards him with his engines revving loudly at the exact same moment Izuku snapped his right hand. He wanted Iida to trip off course.

Within just that split second, there was a sound like an engine misfiring as a burst of black smog trailed from Iida’s exhaust pipes. Iida was moving too fast for Izuku to see clearly, but the other became a blur as he presumably failed to stop his momentum and tumbled right out of the ring. The velocity and acceleration he had jumpstarted at Izuku with was so great, that he blurred all the way over the field and faceplanted into the wall of the arena that the stands were placed atop of.

After his momentum had been fully and painfully halted, the force of gravity overcame him and Iida flopped down onto the grass. In the distance, Izuku could see a smaller trail of smoke was still rising from his legs.

“It’s already over?! That was fast! Iida’s quick speed sped him right into a car wreck!”

With those words, a switch flipped inside his brain. Izuku finally processed what had happened within the span of a couple seconds.

He found himself running over to Iida with urgent haste. Iida was just pushing himself upright when Izuku fell down onto his knees in the grass beside him, reaching out his hands to try to find major damage, but stopping short in apprehension. He breathlessly stammered, “I-Iida-san, are you– I’m so sorry! That– I wasn’t trying to– ”

His words and thought process halted when a steady hand pressed into his shoulder. Iida looked at him without his glasses getting in the way of his stare –they must’ve been lost at some point in the tumble. His blue gaze was heavy with concern, like Izuku was the one who got hurt. “Midoriya-kun, I’m perfectly fine! This is hardly my first crash with my quirk, my top speed used to be too much for my reflexes before, and it’s nothing that Recovery Girl won’t be able to fix quickly.”

“But– But your quirk– !” He eyed the smoke that Iida’s Engine was still emitting.

“It works mostly like an actual engine, all I’ll need is a tune up. Maybe switch out some minor parts at worst. I’m okay, truly.” Iida shifted over more so his other hand could grasp Izuku by the forearm, and it was only after it held his arm still that Izuku realized he was shaking. “I’m more worried about you! You’re so pale… You didn’t hurt me, so there’s no need to be scared. Please.”

He could tell that Iida was trying to calm him down, and he knew that the normal thing to do would be to let himself be calmed, but the words weren’t reaching. His mind was too filled with adrenaline to think, a fight or flight response that didn’t know what to do. “I– I-I’m still sorry, I… I should’ve been more specific. I wasn’t careful enough. Y-You were going so fast, that could’ve been…”

It was exactly like Present Mic described it, a car wreck. High velocity means greater injury. His mind sees it so clearly– Iida’s head slamming straight into the concrete of the ring at his top speed. It’d surely crack right open.

–It would’ve happened again. He would’ve killed someone in a crash again, or sent a friend to the hospital again. It would’ve been like both those accidents. Is that how she died, with her head being crushed into the pavement? No, she had still been alive when she reached the doctors–

“What are you saying? You used exactly the right amount of force necessary. There’s no need to doubt yourself when nothing bad happened.” Iida picked himself up off the ground to sit on a stretcher like it was formality, making Izuku realize Recovery Girl’s robots had showed up. He kept one hand wrapped around Izuku’s wrist to guide him along while the robots moved him. “Come with me to Recovery Girl, she might have an herbal tea that could calm your nerves. Your breathing is still too fast, and you’re still trembling.” He looked down at the stretcher he was sitting cross legged on, rather than lying down like for normal use. “Actually, would you like to sit with me on the way there? There’s room, and it– ”

“Iida, I don’t need your stretcher! There’s nothing wrong with me! You’re the one that’s hurt!”

Having moved off the field, the hallway was silent except for Izuku’s steps and the whirring of the robots. He immediately felt awful and backtracked, “I’m sorry. I– I didn’t mean to shout…”

“There’s no need to apologize. You’re very high-strung right now.” Iida looked over him with a frown. “Perhaps you’re in shock? Or could this be a panic attack? I’m still not trained enough to differentiate between high nerves or something that needs to be treated, but my brother has mentioned conditions like that can occur in stressful circumstances. Regardless, the best thing would still be for you to go to the infirmary with me. Please don’t be concerned, try to focus on your breathing.”

His brain finally fully caught up with the situation. When he pulled his wrist from Iida’s grip to stop walking, his friend looked up at him in surprise. “I’m okay, Iida-san. I don’t need to take up Recovery Girl’s time when she’ll be busy with you and other patients.”

He was able to control his face enough to smile again, but his still racing pulse betrayed him, not that Iida could feel it. The robots continued ahead, and Iida tried to get them to stop. “Please wait! Midoriya, even if you feel okay now, I really do suggest– ”

“Izuku!” Both of them glanced over to see Hitoshi racing down the hall toward them.

When Hitoshi arrived to lean over and pant in exertion, Izuku immediately latched himself to his arm and smiled reassuringly at Iida. “It’s okay, I’ll be with Hitoshi-kun. That’s all I need right now.”

Feeling the slight tremor still in Izuku’s hands, Hitoshi soothed his shoulders with his free hand and examined him. Already mostly down the hall and knowing that he wasn’t alone, Iida wasn’t able to object. However, he let himself be carried off with an obvious look of discontent.

When the robots turned a corner and it was just the two of them, Hitoshi asked, “What was that about?”

“ …He wanted me to go to the infirmary.”

“Izuku– ”

“I can’t go. Recovery Girl and Iida will ask why I freaked out.” He pressed his blank face into Hitoshi’s shoulder, letting the contact ground him further. Physical contact with people didn’t use to be calming, quite the opposite. But now that he’s gotten comfortable with Hitoshi’s presence, the sensation of holding him helped reassure his mind everything was alright. “Besides, I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t need it.”

His breathing and pulse were already beginning to even out, though heavy anxiety still turned in his gut.

There was a moment where Hitoshi was debating internally, before he sighed in acceptance that this was another thing Izuku wouldn’t listen to him about. He switched to addressing the problem himself, “What Mic-sensei said– that didn’t mean anything, Izuku. He wouldn’t have said it if he’d known what you’d think of it. What happened to your mom wasn’t your fault, and this isn’t like what happened to her.”

“It could’ve been,” was out of his mouth without thought.

“But it wasn’t. What happened was like what happened to Todoroki. You attacked them in a controlled manner that was appropriate for the school’s training, and neither of them were seriously hurt.”

“I knew exactly the outcome I wanted with Todoroki. For Iida I was just trying to trip him, and– and my quirk chose to trip him by busting his legs! That was chance, I didn’t choose that!”

“But that’s the way you usually use it. Like with the calvary battle, Jinx chose how to stop the four teams that were coming at us based on what was efficient. It worked then, and it worked now. The most natural way to use an ability based on luck is by leaving things to chance, isn’t it? You don’t need to feel guilty about this.”

“But what if… What if…” What if the worst happens? What if I accidently kill someone? What if I do something unforgivable, because of what my quirk chose on its own? Because of luck that I didn’t control?

So many questions in his mind all asking the same thing. A familiar downward spiral that tended to end on the conclusion he was better off giving up and letting the world be without him than to live with risk. In that period of time after his mother’s death before Hitoshi stopped him, he used to comfort himself with the idea that these thoughts would end along with everything else, once he takes that swan dive.

But he can’t take the easy way out anymore. Just like how he has to live with the ever permeating guilt, the listless emptiness, the feeling of watching people live their lives while he’s stuck in limbo, he has to live with the panic-inducing anxiety that comes with using his quirk on people. He had been getting used to it, using his quirk in training without anything bad happening. But all it takes is one instance of misfortune…

“Again, nothing went wrong. I know you can’t help worrying about ‘what if’s, but just try to remember that.” Hitoshi’s hand rubbed soothingly at his shoulder again, and the arm he was still holding onto was warm. “You managed to place in the finals, you did good today. Just let yourself rest now.”

It came back around to Hitoshi wanting him to give up his fight with Katsuki. After the sudden reminder of why he’s gone so long hating his quirk, it was honestly an appealing option. He’d already had an accident with Katsuki that had been a centimeter away from going too far, why take that risk a second time?

But his strategy for Katsuki’s fight wasn’t particularly violent. There wasn’t anything available to readily concuss or knock him out like Todoroki’s ice provided. Its main focus was going to be to dampen Katsuki’s strength rather than boost his own, hopefully so that he could last long enough that a misplaced trip could bring Katsuki out of bounds.

It’s just that as he knows, one bad trip is all it takes…

Stuck on the border between convictions, Izuku couldn’t find an answer to give Hitoshi. Hitoshi wavered at his silence, like he was rethinking the words that he said.

“I don’t mean to say that you should be afraid of using your quirk, because I know that’s how you’re thinking of it. I’m just trying to tell you that it’s okay to back away from things sometimes. It’s okay to give yourself a break and not have to force yourself.”

He confessed his confusion, “ …That’s all I ever do, though. Back away, avoid my problems, run from them.” –Run all the way to the grave away from them– “I thought… I thought I was supposed to try and stop doing that?”

Hitoshi looked away while rubbing at his neck in a tell that showed Izuku he was just as confused. “That’s true, but– How do I put this? That’s all for the purpose of helping you. Avoiding your issues in the long run hurts you, that’s why you need to face them eventually. But is fighting against Bakugou something that will help you, or will that just hurt you more right now? That’s what’s important to think about… Fuck, I seriously sound like a therapist now.”

“I think that means you’re doing a good job,” Izuku reassured, but he still didn’t answer the question. How was he supposed to know that? There was only one real way to find out, wasn’t there…

At some point in their mutual silence, Present Mic announced that Katsuki won against Tokoyami. It snapped Izuku out of his stupor and caught Hitoshi’s attention, neither of them having realized so much time had passed. Hitoshi cursed and tried to lead Izuku somewhere, but on their way back to the main hallway leading to the prep rooms, they caught sight of Katsuki, who had been heading back in from the field.

“I figured you’d still be around here.” Katsuki marched up to Izuku, who put on his best face. Katsuki himself was looking about as angry at the world as usual. “You better not chicken out of our fight, Deku! I know what happened with glasses freaked you out! But you better leave your bullshit behind and head out to that ring when it’s our turn like you did for half ‘n’ half, cause I’m fighting you even if you don’t show up! I’ll just do it after the tournament’s over instead!” He probably would’ve grabbed Izuku by the collar to emphasize his point if Hitoshi hadn’t been there glaring daggers at him. As it was, he just sneered at the both of them and jabbed Izuku in the chest with his finger.

Izuku didn’t react to it, but Hitoshi slapped it away anyway, to which Katsuki refocused all of his sneer onto the offender. “He’ll fight if he wants to fight! But you’re not making a very good argument for why he should, fucking spoiled brat. When you don’t get your way you just pick fights outside of class? Is that the kind of hero you’re gonna be? I’m not afraid to snitch to Eraserhead you know!”

The red in Katsuki’s face along with his audibly grinding teeth told Izuku he really wanted to yell, but he didn’t, already knowing that Hitoshi would use his quirk on him again. It seemed like a close thing.

Izuku pushed his way in between the two, keeping his front to Katsuki but glancing back to send his fake reassuring smile towards Hitoshi.  The other scowled at the sight of it. “It’s fine, Hitoshi-kun… You’ll get your fight, Kacchan.”

“Izuku– ”

“I said it’s fine. Even if I try to run away now, we’ll have to go against each other in class at some point anyway. Might as well get it out of the way so he stops bothering me about it.”

Katsuki interrupted in offense, “You think fighting me’s gonna be that easy for you?!”

That was nowhere near what he had said. Why is Katsuki arguing when he’s agreeing to do what he wants?! “That– That’s not what I meant…”

Red eyes stared him down with an unfamiliar look to them, still glaring, but contemplative at the same time. With a huff, Katsuki walked past and jerked his head for Izuku to follow. “I’m dropping you off at your room to make sure you don’t make a break for it! Get moving!”

He internally startled at that. Katsuki was demanding, but he was never overly… proactive with making sure people did what he wanted outside of using intimidation… Which made it sound like he was proactive, but it’s not the same as this.

He was usually like how he was when he yelled at Izuku and told him to jump off a roof after hearing Izuku planned on applying to UA; He threatened and was mean, but he didn’t, for example, follow Izuku around to make sure he never showed up to the entrance exam. Even when he found Izuku on the day of, he was willing to bet Katsuki would’ve just gone off with a huff on his own even without Hitoshi there to force him, instead of actually making sure that Izuku didn’t enter. That was just too much of a hassle for him to deal with, just like making sure Izuku went to the prep room to be ready for their match should also be too much of a hassle.

“Are you fucking kidding me– ”

“Hitoshi,” Izuku cut him off, “It’s fine. We’d be going the same way anyway. Why don’t you head back to your seat?”

Hitoshi looked at him like he said he planned on murdering everyone in the hallway. “What? I’m not gonna leave you alone with this guy! Why would you even want to– ”

“Hitoshi…” With an apologetic smile, he waved off his friend. “I think Kacchan’s trying to say he wants to talk about something without actually saying it, so please…”

The fact that Katsuki didn’t angrily shout about how he was wrong was all the proof he needed. Hitoshi didn’t look anymore pleased with the idea of leaving, but he sighed before digging into his pocket to hold out his phone. “Call me the instant you need me, got it? I won’t go unless you promise.”

“You think I’m gonna beat him up before our match or something dead eyes?! I’m not fucking stupid!”

Izuku ignored Katsuki in favor of responding to Hitoshi, “I promise.”

He wasn’t really sure what he was hoping to get out of this. Did he want to know what Katsuki thought of him now? If he still thought his quirk was a villain quirk? Did he want to know what other lies Katsuki had seen through, in an attempt to try to be honest with him?

–Did he want to question Katsuki about what the fuck his problem was and what he’d done wrong enough to deserve being told to die? No. He already knew the answer to that–

He threw that thought out the window as soon as he had it. Regardless, Izuku was pretty sure he was trying to get some form of closure, and he was also pretty sure he would not be getting closure. What was he even doing…

Even when the two of them walked down the hallway, Hitoshi stayed rooted in place watching them leave instead of heading back. It was only after they’d almost reached the first prep room and he was out of sight that Katsuki started speaking.

“ …What happened to Midoriya-san?”

Izuku stopped breathing. Not in a dramatic reflex like he started choking, but just a natural pause of the breath that didn’t come when it was supposed to. He then noticed they’d stopped walking, and Katsuki was looking back at him seriously.

Katsuki explained further, “I overheard you talking to half ‘n’ half, you said you ‘don’t have’ her anymore. What the hell happened? Is she– ” While he had been steady when he began, frustration started to show in Katsuki’s glare now. “You– You didn’t even act like anything had happened! When did this go on?! Last year?!”

Izuku had to blink himself out of the mental hole he fell in. The last time someone had asked about Mom, when it was All Might asking without knowing anything, he’d felt overwhelming anxiety and dread. But with Katsuki asking… he just felt like the emptiness in his chest had returned and grew to the point where nothing else was there. It was a lack of feeling that was entirely unnatural.

It was like his body was tired of inflicting pain on itself, so it just died without actually dying…

“Oh… I– I’m sorry. Y-You didn’t know her that well and it’d been a long time since you’d seen her, so I just… didn’t know when I should mention it.” –Or if he should mention it at all– “She… passed away in an accident last year, yeah. A car accident.” It was like you always said; my quirk was a curse. My quirk was a villain’s quirk. If she had been the mother to a different child, a child with a good quirk like you, she wouldn’t have–

Katsuki grew paler as he spoke. All his frustration and anger had left him, and he could only stare at Izuku in pure shock, like he was a single step away from being horrified. “You… Why… Why the hell are you smiling right now?”

A hand reached up automatically to touch his face, and like Katsuki had said, his lips were still forming a small smile. He couldn’t even feel it.

His words started breaking like the façade of his expression. “I– I’m sorry. I just– It’s not going away. I can’t– I need to be alone for a second– ”

He fled to the door of the nearest room that was in sight and slammed it shut behind him. Leaning back against it, he slid down to the ground panting and shivering like he’d seen a ghost –except seeing a ghost probably would’ve been more pleasant for him.

Fuck. He’s so fucked up. He couldn’t– He truly couldn’t change his expression in that moment, even when he’d been talking about–  

His hands slapped into his face again, this time to feel he was panting past a proper frown. It was okay. He had it under control now.

–It was not okay in the slightest. He knew he’d trained himself to not show when he was feeling bad, but exactly how much did be break himself that he felt like he had to smile in front of someone even when talking about his mother’s death? It was messed up. It was too much. He’d thought he was getting better–

He wasn’t getting better about that though, not really. He’d gotten himself used to not forcing himself in front of Hitoshi, but he’d promptly stopped at that point. Everyone else he still put on a show for. Even when he showed negative reactions like slight discomfort, it was controlled. On purpose, as to make sure he wasn’t reacting abnormally, or sometimes just to be honest on a whim. The most natural reaction he’d had in awhile was just before, when he’d panicked from comparing Iida’s crash to what had happened to his mom. When he panicked over his quirk.

It made sense how something like this could happen. Before UA, some days he had just constantly felt like dying, but had to pretend like he was okay. If he was in front of people, he smiled even when he felt like dying. He smiled even when he was in pain. He smiled even when he was empty, and thought smiling was pointless. It had become natural to smile no matter what was going on or what he felt like. Doing so in front of Katsuki in particular had been honed into an instinct over years of interacting with him.

Hell– when villains had been invading the school, the most he’d gotten was just looking neutral instead of how terrified he’d felt. It wasn’t natural for his face to be in synch with his emotions anymore. He hadn’t really cared about that before, since he didn’t care that he wasn’t letting himself express what he was feeling for those things.

But this… this was completely different. He shouldn’t just pretend like everything was fine, not when it came to his mom.

So just because it made sense didn’t mean it wasn’t absolutely awful

Izuku stayed like that, seated on the floor until it was time for the match. It was only then that he looked up and realized he was in the locker-room, exactly where he needed to be to get ready.

He pulled himself up to break his six remaining mirrors, because he just didn’t care anymore. Might as well fight Katsuki at this point, why not? It’s not like his life isn’t already an unfixable mess.

Katsuki hadn’t tried to follow him into the room that entire time, and when he exited the room to head to the field, the other boy was already gone. Izuku just left towards the field with a pang of regret that he didn’t get the chance to call Hitoshi. He hadn’t meant to make his promise a lie…

“It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for– the grand finale of this tournament of death! Two of the best UA has to offer go head to head!”

“Just get on with it already…”

Katsuki agreed with his teacher on this. He didn’t give a fuck about dramatics or flare, all that mattered was the fight before him. Present Mic putting on a show for the crowd of extras watching was just a waste of time.

His opponent stood before him on the opposite end of the ring. The sky above them was dark, clouds rumbling faintly. It was a shitty atmosphere for a sports festival, but Deku was smiling like always. The fucker. You’d think after basically having an emotional breakdown he’d give it a rest already, but he couldn’t even do that. Katsuki had always figured something was wrong with him.

He just hadn’t realized that something was really, really wrong with him until he’d calmly explained how his mother had died to Katsuki with an empty smile on his face.

“We have to do this right! It’ll only take a minute and I already wrote everything out, just wait a sec! Anyway, it’s gonna get real now folks! It’s the unstoppable fiery force of BAKUGOU KATSUKI! VERSUS! The unmovable and unwavering object that is MIDORIYA IZUKU! Which one will be the best of the best?! We’re about to find out RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!”

As annoyed as he was with the useless commentary, Katsuki found himself agreeing with the sentiment.

That’s how it’s always been– Katsuki was the unstoppable force, with an unstoppable quirk, an unstoppable ambition. He’s gonna be a hero or die trying. No– there wouldn’t even be a “or die trying”, cause there was only he’s gonna be a hero. Period.

And Deku… Deku was Izuku, the meek boy he’d met in preschool, who should’ve just been like everyone else.

He had followed Katsuki around for a while with admiration that grew even more when Explosion showed itself, just like the other extras. Katsuki had been pleased with that. He’d been happy whenever the teachers told him he was meant for great things. He’d been happy when all the kids told him his quirk was so cool and perfect for a hero. Izuku had just been another voice among the many. And then his quirk appeared.

Kids were attentive to how adults treated things. Things that they were happy with are supposed to be good, things that they were not are supposed to be bad. That was how they learned, and their preschool class hadn’t been different. It was slight, hidden, but the teachers and other adults that knew Izuku suddenly became skittish of him –like his quirk was something to be feared– and everyone picked up on it. The rest of their class shied away, talking behind his back about how they “told mommy and daddy about Midoriya-kun’s quirk, and they said that’s a villain’s quirk!”

Katsuki had been the only one different at the time, because he was the best. He didn’t need the adults telling him how he should feel about Izuku, he didn’t need to ask his parents what they thought, and he didn’t need to follow what the rest of the sheep that were their fellow preschoolers were doing. He could decide everything for himself. And what he decided was that Izuku’s quirk didn’t matter, because his quirk would always be the best.

Katsuki was strong, he was gonna be a hero better than All Might. It didn’t matter if Izuku’s quirk was supposed to be some villain’s quirk, because no villain would ever defeat him, and neither would Izuku. It wasn’t something Katsuki needed to fear like the rest of those powerless nobodies.

So for a while after that Katsuki was the only one that let Izuku stick around, and the other boy just stuck to him even more for it. He got the rest of his posse to shut up about not wanting to play with Izuku, because he’ll “play with whoever he wants and if they don’t like it, then just leave!” He’d enjoyed that time, too, until Izuku actually figured out how his quirk worked.

It had been a summer day just like any other; clear blue sky, green plant crap growing everywhere, all that basic shit. They had been exploring the forest by the park, with Katsuki in the lead as was his rightful place, and Izuku right behind him with the others trailing. “I wish my quirk was strong like yours, Kacchan, all it does is make me trip and lose at rock-paper-scissors…”

“It is a useless quirk,” he’d agreed thoughtlessly, not caring that it sounded harsh, “If you could use it on other people on purpose it might be an okay quirk, though. Not as good as mine, but better than others.”