Chapter Text
Midoriya shifted the strap of the dark leather messenger bag he wore on his shoulder, relieving him momentarily from the heavy strain of the three textbooks housed in it. He held his favorite notebook in his opposite hand, clutching it with chilled fingers in the cold morning air. His trademark pen tucked behind his left ear above the white wire that led to his phone. One of the only luxuries he allowed himself was his music. Taken by the melody that took him to another world of relaxation and peace. His music this morning was a distraction from the anxiety that pumped his blood. First days were always stressful no matter the activity and with Midoriya’s track record this first class would end like every other he had experienced. He shook his head as he followed the signs around the large academy campus, towards the administration office.
Several students were as early as him, probably from the before school hour classes they offered; swimming, ceramics, art, most of the artsy or non core classes were held either before or after school. They weren’t classes persay, more like monitored free time with a focus.
Red sneakers dragged across the mat just through the door as his body was enveloped with warmth. A head popped over the computer screen across from the door with a wide smile.
“Can I help you, Sir?”
“Ah yes, I’m here to meet with Principal Nezu. My name is Midoriya Izuku, today is my first day.” He said pulling his plugs away from his ears and shoving them inside the outer pocket of his uniform blazer. Rapid tapping with probably unnecessary movements erupted behind the desktop screen.
“Oh, sure! Here you are, just take a seat over there. He’ll come out soon!” She smiled, slapping a large red button on the end of the desk. Midoriya watched, a bit uneasy with the eccentric woman. Honestly, the overly large red framed glasses and bright pink low cut top should have given her away as an oddball sooner. He stepped in the direction of the hallway she gestured to, a lone door with four chairs, two on each side, waited at the very end. The pasty white walls were interrupted by the numerous professional photographs displayed. He walked slowly, taking in each one. His favorite that he had seen was the photo of a black silhouette with arms stretched to almost give the blinding sunrise a hug.
“Mr. Midoriya, are you enjoying the photographs?” a voice said to his left, startling him slightly. He turned to peer down slightly, with their difference in height, at the hunched white haired man smiling at the same picture he had been enamored with.
“Yes, very much.” Midoriya smiled, turning back to it. Principal Nezu hummed in agreement before turning towards the door and crossing the last few steps into the spacious office, Midoriya following close behind. He gestured to a chair in front of the desk and Midoriya lifted his bag’s strap over his head, setting it on the ground by his feet.
“I’m glad you came to this school!” Principal Nezu began, “with your academic accomplishments, I’m happy to have such a bright mind in my family.” Midoriya’s face scrunched in confusion.
“Your family, Sir?”
“Oh, I apologize. I must explain some things that aren’t really in the brochure.” He leaned back in the large chair that seemed to engulf him. “This school is more than just an educational facility to me. Each one of my students is one of my children I long to pass my knowledge onto. Just because it's big doesn’t mean I neglect anyone. I’m actually the school counselor!” He laughed and it echoed loudly in the room filling his ears and easing some of his tension. He came down to chuckles quickly and smiled warmly.
“I will always lend an ear even if it is just to speak and not for advice. I want you to feel comfortable here so don’t be afraid to speak to me or a teacher. The class representatives are also trustworthy and picked by the faculty rather than the students.” Midoriya mentally jotted that down. It was very strange for the class reps not to be picked by popular vote.
Principal Nezu clapped his hands together.
“Now then, it is ten minutes before class starts and I must do the morning announcements soon.” He picked up a neatly folded paper off his desk and handed it to Midoriya. “This is your class schedule. I’ve called your homeroom class representative already, she should be waiting outside. I hope you have a good day!” he smiled and waved as Midoriya slung his bag back over his shoulder and walked back through the hall of pictures, nodding to the dramatic wave he got from the receptionist, “Mrs. Midnight” etched on her desk placard. He opened the door and a gust of cold air hit him, causing an involuntary shudder.
“Good morning!” A cheery voice sung next to him. Short brown hair in a simple bob cut with a wide smile that reached her large doe eyes, greeted him with a wave. He gave a small smile back.
“Morning.”
“You nervous? Nezu said this is your first day.” She turned to start walking and he stepped in stride beside her.
“Yeah, school’s not my favorite thing.” He grimaced. He loved to learn but he held no fond memories of school.
“Well, I like school! It’s where I can spend time with my friends everyday!” She flashed an equally large smile as the first and Midoriya hummed in response.
“Oh! I’m Ochaco Uraraka, I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself! I’m the Class Rep for Sunrise Classroom!” Ochaco didn’t seem to really walk, more like a hop skip at walking speed.
“Sunrise Classroom?”
“Yeah, Nezu thinks numbering them is too mainstream.” she snickered, using air quotes. “So all the classrooms are labeled by the mural painted on them. Makes them easier to find too.” she pointed to a classroom to their right that had a mural of the night sky with more colors than he thought was possible to put in a dark painting. “That’s Stargazing, and that..” she pointed to our left. “..is Sunset.” Another breathtaking artwork had made the building it's canvas.
“Are they all named after parts of the day?” Midoriya inquired.
“Oh no, there are over 100 building on this campus. I don’t think that would be possible.” she grinned. “There are others like Meadow, Iris, Waterfall, Milkyway, but all of them are things you find in nature. Depending on the subject there are some named after historical figures!” she stopped as they reached the precipice of the center walkway before it started down hill. She pointed over the trees to a cluster of dark roofs.
“Those are the history classes. World History, Geography, US History, War History, Art History, Archeology, Evolutionary History.”
“Evolutionary History?” he raised his eyebrows at her.
“Yeah, though I think it should be with the science buildings..” She pointed some distance away to a cluster of green roofs. “Geology, Physics, Biochemistry, Biology.. It goes on but I’m not an expert on every class.” she shrugged. “Are the roofs color coded?” he asked.
“Yeah, everything on campus is designed to make the day as non stressful as possible. As the motto goes, “happiness and success go hand and hand.” Midoriya laughed.
“Pretty sure that’s not accurate.”
“Well I think it’s a good goal to go for, right?” She smiled, hands on her hips. Midoriya smiled and nodded in agreement.
“Oh, I’m Midoriya Izuku by the way” He gave a nervous grin.
“Nice to meet you!” She patted him on the shoulder and started down the hill. “All the core classes are completed in your first year and the remaining three are spent in elective courses so you can pick which fields and specific subjects interest you the most. Our classes are the time related ones, and Sunrise is our home room. We better hurry, class starts soon.” She walked a bit faster.
They made it no more than a minute later and they stepped into a classroom of maybe 40 students. The chatter was loud like a cafeteria with the tall ceiling echoing the voices. Ochaco smiled and waved at her friends who called her but to his relief she stuck by him as they walked across the front of the room together. She stopped in front of a good sized desk with a messy surface. Papers were scattered and pens littered the pages. A laptop was put off to the side away from the mess and a small extension held an assortment of empty coffee cups.
“Ochaco reporting!” She said in that same sing song tone as her first greeting to him was.
“Oh, Ochaco, this is the new student?” The man looked extremely sleep deprived with dark under eye circles and pale skin, a scruffy 5 oclock shadow covered the bottom half of his face and his long black hair fell in a mess over his head.
“Another all-nighter, Aizawa?” She asked a small empathetic smile took her lips and he just nodded with a yawn. Without warning he slammed his hand down hard on the wooden desk making midoriya jump slightly. The loud sound echoing over the voices and like a magic trick, all voices went silent and students adjusted quickly to take their seats.
“Good morning, Class.” An echo that reminded him of his elementary school days resounded back. “I know it's a few weeks into the year already but we have a new student.” he looked towards Midoriya. “Would you mind writing your name on the board and introducing yourself?" Midoriya shook his head and set his bag down, turning and grabbing a red dry erase pen off the white board lip, popping the cap he spelt in elegant practiced hand writing Midoriya Izuku on the board.
“Hello, my name is Midoriya Izuku and I’ll be joining you starting today. I hope we can all get along.” he smiled kindly.
“Would you mind sharing 10 things about yourself?” Aizawa asked. “It was the first day's activity.” Midoriya clenched his teeth but nodded anyways.
“Uh.. well I hate public speaking for one.” Chuckles and giggles rang around the room. “For two, my favorite food is curry. Three, I’m 15 years old. Four, I’m an only child. Five, I love to learn so I’m kind of a nerd, I suppose. Six, I have played soccer for 10 years.” It was something his mother and him agreed on to get him outside and active when he was younger. “Seven, my birthday is July 15th. Eight, I’m gay. Nine, I have been to six different countries. And Ten, my favorite season is fall.” Midoriya gave a nervous smile. His last school was very homophobic and apparently he had a “Gay vibe” so might as well get it over with now. He waited for the noises of disgust or the whispering to start but instead he heard hoots and hollers. A rowdy group of boys in the corner were teasing one boy in particular. He had blonde spiky hair and a very loud voice as he could hear his crass language from here. He saw smiles instead of disgust and he never felt this shocked before.
“Alright, thank you very much. You can sit wherever you like. I’ll give you a minute to find a seat.” he said sorting through his mess of papers. Midoriya started walking down the center aisle between rows of desks before a shout from the same group as earlier called his attention.
“Hey, Midoriya! You can sit here!” a boy with bright red hair waved at him pointing to a desk beside the crass blonde. Said crass blonde looked completely indifferent to his surroundings. Midoriya looked at the desk then looked around again, spotting a desk towards the back that was empty.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll go sit over there.” He smiled and turned to the empty seat. The blonde turned towards him then, looking almost offended that he rejected the redhead’s offer. Midoriya paid him no mind and sat down in the empty seat.
“Heya! Welcome to Sunrise! I’m Mina Ashido.” The girl seated beside him said, Midoriya smiled in return.
“Thanks, Nice to meet you too.” This girl looked a bit eccentric as well. She seemed to have a bubbly personality to match her bubblegum colored hair but she was considerate of him and not overbearing. True to his word, Aizawa began the English lessons on Shakespeare. Midoriya pulled his notebook and textbook from his bag, following along with the material and reading with the teacher. His nearly photographic memory allowed him to remember the broad terms and facts without much studying but he wrote down the small things and details that would have been easy to overlook. He could feel the gaze of his desk mate but paid her no mind since she didn’t interrupt him. He absorbed the material like he had done so many times before and as the lesson came to a close he jotted down the homework assignment into his pocket planner. The bell rang and he quickly snapped his book shut and placed them in his bag.
“You seem like a really good note taker!” Mina complimented between lessons. The 15 minute break had begun and his desk had been swarmed almost immediately with girls.
“I guess. It’s just the best way for me to remember things.”
“Midoriya, where did you transfer from?” another girl with large eyes and long black hair asked.
“Er.. Moragami High.” he hesitated.
“Oh it makes sense why you transfered. That school is notorious for being homophobic.” a tall busty girl with volumized black hair in a high ponytail commented.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know anyone’s names.” he scratched the back of his neck in a nervous habit.
“Oh, where are my manners! I’m Momo.” Ponytail said, laying her palm on her chest.
“I’m Asui.” the other girl said. Midoriya nodded in acceptance of the names, smiling at the nice girls that were polar opposite of the girls at his previous school. They had been cruel and continuously harassed him.
“Say why didn’t you go sit by Bakugo earlier? Kirishima offered you his seat and everything!” Mina voiced up, the other girl’s leaning in for the explanation, eyes twinkling. Midoriya pursed his lips, uncomfortable with them invading his space.
“Bakugo?” he questioned choosing to not mention their proximity yet. Ochaco giggled.
“Bakugo is the school all star! Perfect grades, Athletic, Handsome, the total package!” Mina gushed. Midoriya grimaced, making a mental note to stay as far away from him as possible.
“I’d rather not get in his bubble.” Midoriya gave a look of contemplation.
“Probably wise. His temper and language have much to improve.” Momo nodded her head, pony tail bobbing with her.
“Oh, he has a temper too, even more reason.” Midoriya crossed his arms and huffed. The girls laughed with mirth.
“I can’t wait to see what happens! I can’t remember a time that Bakugo has ever had someone wanting to avoid him!” Ochaco slapped her knee at the image of a miphed Bakugo. A familiar smack of hand against wood sounded and again silence fell over the room, the girls giving quiet waves goodbye and class resumed. Midoriya fished out his math textbook and a new notebook before flipping to a clean page. Out of curiosity, his eyes wandered to the star of the previous conversation.
Emerald green met violent ruby and Midoriya flinched back at the anger in those orbs. He focused his attention back on the lecture and for a brief moment his stomach fell at the realization that this wasn’t a dream school after all. Some things never change.