Chapter Text
Shinsou had always had a special talent for drawing conversation out of people, especially strangers, but it was a different story altogether when it came to friendship and social relations in general. If he had to say, he’d describe himself as a floater, a vagabond who wandered from place to place without making any deep, meaningful connection with others. Not that it was his fault entirely; kids and adults alike could be mean, and Shinsou gave up on trying to earn their trust long ago.
So, it was to his pleasant surprise that he’d been welcomed so warmly into class 2-A. No one seemed afraid of him or his quirk (which, to be honest, wasn’t that surprising in hindsight because if they weren’t fazed by someone who sweated explosives, surely they wouldn’t be fearful of a mind-control quirk), and he’d gotten offers from his classmates on multiple occasions to help him train it, seeing as that wasn’t something he could do on his own.
Despite this almost effortless acceptance into the 2-A pack, he’d always known that this day would come. He blinked at Bakugou apprehensively, the other boy having cornered him after third period, which was right before lunch. Bakugou had roughly pulled him into the boys’ washrooms and dragged him into a stall, locking it and shoving Shinsou face-first into the divider wall. Bakugou kept him pinned there until the halls had emptied. He released his grip on Shinsou and stood facing him with his arms crossed over his chest. Now here they were, standing in silence.
“Can I help you with something?” Shinsou asked as he cracked his neck, feigning nonchalance. He was pleased that his voice came out so steadily while his insides felt like a hive of angry bees. One would think, since he’d been given these shovel talks over the years, that he’d be used to it by now. Shinsou decided to blame this anxiety on the menacing alpha pheromones rolling off Bakugou in waves. It made the air difficult to breathe.
“Listen here, fuckface,” Bakugou’s voice was just a hairsbreadth away from becoming a growl, and Shinsou could feel his knees grow weak, “I’m letting you get chummy with my friends and Deku for now, but if you ever hurt them or force them to do anything they don’t want to do …”
Shinsou had to remind himself to breathe.
“…I’ll rip your fucking throat out, you hear me?”
Shinsou nodded, eyes resolutely trained on a bit of graffiti on the wall behind Bakugou.
“Give me a verbal answer, asshat. Is that clear?” Bakugou snarled, gripping Shinsou by the shoulders and shaking him harshly. Shinsou resisted the urge to cradle his head where it’d collided with the wall behind him.
“Crystal,” Shinsou replied dryly.
Bakugou released him with a grunt and stomped out of the washroom.
Shinsou gingerly touched the tender spot on his head. Well, this was bound to happen anyway¸ Shinsou thought absentmindedly. Two weeks…huh I think that’s the longest I've ever gone before getting 'a talk' from protective friends. It's just a shame that he's my soulmate too.
Xx
“Hi, can I help you?” Shinsou’s voiced was strained. Today was just the day for records, wasn’t it? Two shovel talks in one day. Whoopee.
The other boy ran a hand through his hair, accidentally tousling it so that the red and white halves mixed together, no longer neatly parted down the middle.
“Listen…I don’t think that you’re a bad person, Shinsou,” Todoroki said. Shinsou had to resist the strange urge to burst into laughter. It was only for a moment, but Shinsou had gotten a glimpse of his own mark on the other boy’s inner forearm when he was reaching up to scratch to his head. The universe really was pulling his leg. Someday, the universe might just rip it clean off. “And I would like to believe the best in you, but I still feel that it's my responsibility to let you know that you're an outsider here. You’re clever, Shinsou, so I hope you understand. There is no doubt in my mind that one day you’ll become part of the pack, but it will be quite some time.
“We’ve all gone through so many things together, life and death. Our bonds are very close, and we’re all very protective of each other. We hope that you’ll become close with us too, but you need to understand that the closer you become to someone, the more deeply you can hurt them.
“I know that many of our pack members have been friendly and welcoming to you and have already started bonding with you, but if I must play the part of the 'bad guy,' then so be it.
“Hitoshi Shinsou, do not take my classmates’ kindness for granted. I hope you know what sort of risk you take by becoming closer with the class. And knowing this, I hope you’ll accept whatever vengeance I will seek upon you if you hurt them.”
“…Of course,” Shinsou bowed his head politely.
“Very good. I’m sorry for the abruptness of this, but I thought it would be better to do this sooner rather than later. I will see you later tonight at dinner.”
Shinsou did not lift his head until he could no longer smell Todoroki. His face was hot and his vision blurred as he allowed himself to slide down the wall (somehow he always managed to get cornered against walls, huh?) in a brief moment of weakness. He sniffled and roughly rubbed the heels of his palms against his eyes.
Somehow, Todoroki’s detached, cool, calm, and thinly-veiled threat was so much worse than Bakugou’s violent manhandling. Perhaps it was the logical way in which Todoroki had stated his thoughts and feelings, laying out the facts of the case as they were, and showing Shinsou that he didn’t belong and never would.
Shinsou wanted to scream at the top of his longs that his life wasn’t fair but didn’t. He’d made it into class 2-A, the dream. This was more than he could have ever hoped for. He just had to make sure he was careful and watched himself, taking care not to incite the wrath of Bakugou and Todoroki. If there was one thing Shinsou was, it was careful and watchful. Really, this entire tantrum was petulant. All he had to do was ignore his own hurt, suck it up, and be grateful for what he got, because this was certainly the most he’d gotten in a very long while.