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"Sorry Deku, I already promised the girls I'd help them out with our Hero Art History homework!"
Uraraka clasped her hands together, looking sheepishly at the ground as Izuku was left a little surprised by her change of plan - he was sure they'd planned to go sparring today for an hour or two...
It was a bright, sunny Sunday morning, and even with the day being their only one off from school, Izuku always made sure to use the time wisely...even being a second year of the hero course, he still had to fight to get his quirk under control, although he had come pretty far. But he was still lacking. He needed to keep working, he needed to keep getting stronger. Especially as the villains did so themselves, behind the scenes...the last few months had been tough, thanks to them. But they, as a class, had fought through it all. Truly, Izuku didn't think he would be where he was today without his friends by his side.
They were some of the first friends he'd ever had. So of course, he'd been looking forward to today, seeing as he and Uraraka always tried to spar on the weekends once a month or so.
"Oh...are you sure?" Izuku tried not to sound too bummed out - after all, he could always go ask someone else. But Uraraka was a really great sparring partner to have; even with power on his side, the other teen was quick and nimble on her feet, and thanks to her internships her skills had only progressed with hand-to-hand combat.
"I'm really, really sorry!" she sent a a smile at Izuku, cheeks flushed. "I forgot all about it, and Ashido and Hagakure really need some help with their projects...Yaomomo's going to be there too, but they wanted 'all hands on deck', as Ashido put it."
Izuku scratched the back of his neck as she bowed her head and apologised again, sounding so sincere. "Ahh...it's alright! We can always spar next week, if that works for you? I can always go find Iida or Todoroki to have a go with, maybe even Kirishima or Ojirou..." Izuku had descended to mumbles towards the end, and Uraraka's smile turned to a big grin, nodding her head vigorously.
"Yeah, yeah! I'll make sure to do it next week...again, I'm really-"
Uraraka's insistence made Izuku chuckle, and he quickly cut his friend off. "Go on, don't worry, I'll just find someone else to spar with. There's more than just you."
Uraraka had the gall to look a bit smug. "No one can throw a mean uppercut like I can."
Izuku chortled. "Is that a challenge? I know I kick now, but I can still pack a punch."
"Oh, I know. Sero's still bruised up from Thursday's hero class!" Uraraka jabbed at Izuku's shoulder playfully before stepping out of arm's range, "But I ain't going down like a pansy, y'know! One touch and it's over."
Izuku let out a breathy laugh at his friends antics, before gesturing his head towards the elevator. "Ashido's going to have you done in one touch if you don't hurry, we both know how she is if she feels like you're stalling. Kaminari still has a hole melted in his floor thanks to her quirk."
"Right, right! Ahh, I'll see you later, Deku!" the pink-cheeked teenager proclaimed, now suddenly aware of what their pink-skinned friend was capable of. "Try not to get too beat up in training," she turned and scurried to the elevator, throwing an afterthought over her shoulder, "and make sure to drink water!"
"That was one time!" Izuku called after her, knowing that she nor Iida would take too kindly if they found out he wasn't keeping himself hydrated during workouts. They'd already found out once, prompting the pair to constantly remind him.
Uraraka's laughter was his only answer as she hopped into the elevator, leaving Izuku to his own devices in the common room, now kind of stuck on what to do. Of course, there were always his other classmates to go training with, like he'd thought of before...but on a nice of a Sunday as this was, on second thought they might rather enjoy their time with the weather. Really, Iida and Kirishima were probably the only ones up for some sparring...or Kacchan.
Maybe not Kacchan...last time we had a spar, we almost crashed into the first years' dormitories.
He could still see the shocked, almost terrified faces of the new hero course students who bore witness, as well as Mr. Aizawa who had come to collect them. He hadn't been happy at all.
Izuku huffed at his predicament short of a sparring partner, padding into the kitchen and opening the fridge, and grabbing the first water bottle he could reach. He'd just train with himself today - maybe practice on his kicks, or a new technique he'd recently come up with for One For All. There was always room for improvement, especially with a quirk as constantly expanding as his, throwing more and more hurdles in his way. He was only a second year, he'd made leaps and bounds with his quirk usage, but he was still so far behind.
I have to catch up. Being able to use so much of One For All doesn't equate to twelve, sometimes more years in quirk usage that the others have. I have to catch up.
A sigh escaped as he headed towards the front entrance of the huge dorm building, slipping his indoor slippers off and quickly changing them for his classic red sneakers at the entrance. Sparring alone would give him room and time to think about his movements. He didn't want to accidentally bruise anyone up too badly, either.
The quicker I catch up, the more people I can save in the future, the less I worry others...I can do it, I can't slack off.
Slipping out of the dorms, the teenager didn't think anything of the empty common room after Uraraka had gone upstairs, assuming everyone had already gotten something to do or somewhere to be. It wasn't a big issue.
Not until it was.
"Ah, sorry Midoriya," Iida's smile looks tense the following day of Monday, the taller boy pushing his glasses up for the fourth time since class had ended, attempting to keep them in place. "I've got plans, I'm afraid I can't do a study lesson today."
"...plans?" Izuku asked, only a little baffled. Iida was the last person he expected to have plans, the bespectacled boy always keeping atop his studies. He'd even asked the other student about the pair of them possibly studying after classes that very same day.
"Correct!" Iida pauses, stiffly, before turning away, "Tensei wanted me to call him today! He's been looking into alternatives within the hero industry and enlisted my help."
Izuku perks up a little at that, eyes growing round. "Oh! I could help if you want, my notebooks-"
"Thank you for the offer, but we'll be fine!" it was a surprise to have Iida cut anyone off, let alone a friend. "Tensei's already got a few ideas. He merely wants to talk it out - any opportunity to look deeper into heroics and other options it can provide to us should be taken!"
There was no malice in Iida's tone, and Izuku decided to back off, "I mean...if you're sure."
"Next week, I'll make it up to you," Iida's tone had softened a smidge, and he smiled, "It just...unexpectedly came up. I'm sure you understand."
"I guess..."
A short goodbye, and the other boy was off, hurriedly rushed the rest of the way to dorms, leaving his shorter friend at a much slower pace. Izuku could only frown, staring around as he noticed everyone else had gone ahead, too. As if nothing had happened, leaving the boy in the open, the hot summer breeze pushing against his curly locks, an indescribably feeling coiling around Izuku's heart.
It only serves for a pit to grow in Izuku's stomach.
The pit only grows and grows, as the week continues to move at a snails pace, and the weird behaviour began to grow among his friends.
Kirishima and Ojirou were quick to excuse themselves whenever Izuku asked the pair about sparring, which was strange for a pair would fight as they slept.
Kouta and Satou would see Izuku coming in their direction, and not-too-subtly say they had something else they needed to be doing.
Tsu, Todoroki and Yaomomo all seemed busy, seeming apologetic whenever they had to turn the other boy away, saying they were working on an important project.
Aoyama's smiles towards him now were slightly...sad, and something else Izuku couldn't place, whilst Kaminari, Sero and Ashido were awkward, as if the trouble-maker trio were hiding something, or knew something he didn't.
Tokoyami and Shouji seemed a lot more reclusive to themselves, and Mineta, who previously enjoyed Izuku's company...seemed to avoid him.
Jirou was always blasting music, enough to keep Izuku at bay in an attempt to not disturb her, and Hagakure was more subdued and hushed, quietly going about her activities and really only engaging in small talk whenever Izuku himself was around.
Even Kacchan was acting differently, almost ignoring Izuku. He didn't snap, he didn't shove, he didn't yell. He...he was quiet. Clipped. He'd slip away as soon as Izuku gave up getting any information from him, and any attempt of a push from the freckled student would cause the blonde to just scoff and mutter something too quiet for him to hear, leaving the situation before it could possibly escalate.
A miserable sort of feeling overtakes him whenever his friends say they are too busy to spend time, or that they have something they need to finish, or "oh, we'll reschedule!". It felt bad. Izuku felt bad. He'd always considered himself so blessed during his time at U.A, but now...
It seemed like all of that was metaphorically going down the sink. As if he was being pushed back to square one. He felt small, meaningless, not there - a feeling that hadn't risen since the Shie Hassaikai Raid. A feeling of true despair and loneliness of a degree he hadn't seen since middle school. The warped part of his heart wanted to say that his friends had moved on, had seen that he wasn't worth being their friend, that he wasn't worth their time.
That he was just Deku.
His stomach clenched, gritting his teeth. You're a second-year, get yourself together. You're almost seventeen. he'd berate himself day after day, often staring up at his ceiling as he lay in bed. His gaze over the past days naturally avoided the display of All Might merchandise covering almost every inch of his room, even the thought of his mentor sent his stomach churning despite not seeing the man in person.
You're being silly. If they had a problem, they'd tell you, they wouldn't avoid you...right? Izuku didn't want to doubt his friends. Not Uraraka, or Iida, or even Kacchan...none of his classmates deserved that. He had to give them more credit then that - surely there was a reason. Surely, something would come up. It would all be clear, Izuku was certain.
Izuku's eyes trailed towards his closed dorm door, loneliness settling deep in his chest, ignoring the familiar well of tears.
He wasn't sure what would happen if it wasn't.
That didn't lessen any of the weight.
"Ah, so you fear they've forgotten you?"
"I...wouldn't say that," Izuku sighed, hating the fact he sounded so uncertain. "I just...I guess I feel excluded."
The ocean waves lapped gently at the sandy shore of Dagobah Beach, dusk beginning to creep in the very corners of the sky, giving everything a subtle, dull overcast on what was another, should-be normal Sunday. Izuku fiddled with his mobile - not really paying attention, but keeping it on him just in case.
It hadn't rung at all today, except for when All Might had sent a message earlier that day, whisking the boy away early in the morning before he could protest and with no reason, and a message from his own mother. His heart, a heavy stone, had only sunk lower as the day went on, even as his mentor tugged him along all over the city, seeing the sights, only to end up here. To where it started, Izuku's journey. A place with many fond memories for the boy...it brought him a little comfort, seeing the place he'd tried to hard to clean in all of its glory, once again becoming a hotspot for tourists.
But aside from the two of them, as the sun slowly sunk lower into the horizon, the beach was empty. Calm. The salty air burned as he breathed in...but it was nice. It was different. He didn't feel...lost.
"That's the same thing, my boy," All Might spoke fondly, bringing Izuku's attention back to their conversation. "You feel left out, and upset that your friends aren't talking to you."
A frown pulled at Izuku's lips. "I don't know what I did wrong."
"It doesn't always mean you did something," All Might tells him, patting the boy on the shoulder. The pair sat on the steps leading down to the beach, Izuku's bare feet digging into the soft, grainy sand, having taken off his sneakers as to not take the whole beach back to school. "Something might have happened, and perhaps they don't want to let you in on it yet."
"I wish they'd tell me." Izuku huffed. "Not that I'm 'entitled' to know...but we're friends. If they're all in on it...it hurts, that they're keeping something from me. I'd like to think I'm understanding enough, as a friend. They know I'd listen if something was wrong."
All Might hummed at that, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, Izuku supposed. "I wouldn't be so quick to judge them if I were you."
"I'm not trying to!" Izuku insisted, only a little frustrated by the predicament.
...okay, maybe a little was a bit of an understatement.
For a moment, the silence settled rather comfortable between the two. Despite everything, All Might still managed to make him feel a little lighter.
All Might turned his gaze up to the sky, watching as the stars began to bleed into visibility, white pinpricks against the orange-purple sky. "It can hurt to know you might have done something wrong. But you built truly strong bonds with all of your classmates...I don't think what you all have is something that can be erased so easily."
Izuku stared down at his lap, running a thumb over the cool screen of his mobile device.
"Just give them some time," All Might told him reassuringly, "you mean more to them than you might think."
Izuku's lip was set in a firm line, before he pocketed his phone, thinking the words over. These were his friends...of course, they meant everything to him, and he was sure the feeling was mutual. "...thanks, All Might. I think I'm ready to head back." he murmured, feeling tension bleed away from his set shoulders.
His mentor chuckled, nodding as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. "I suppose you're right, Aizawa won't be too happy if we miss curfew."
Izuku missed the way the elder hero sneaked a glance at his own phone, a message buzzing through when the kid wasn't paying attention.
Izuku cast his gaze out to the endless ocean once more, feeling a smile tug the corner of his mouth, although a bit sad...he did feel better. All Might never failed to do that, even his physical presence alone was enough. "I'll try talking to them tonight," he decided, looking back at the bony form of his mentor. "Maybe...we can sort it out."
A hand placed itself in Izuku's curls, ruffling the bed of hair as All Might chuckles good-naturedly overhead, a broad smile on his slim face. "You'll figure it out, my boy." he affirmed wholeheartedly. "They'll listen."
Izuku could only hope that his teacher was right.
As the two brushed sand off their clothing, slowly making their way back in the direction of campus, Izuku missed how his phone lit up with a new message, again from his mother.
"happy birthday izuku!!!"
Once the pair entered U.A grounds, All Might had patted his protege on the shoulder and said Recovery Girl needed him for something - but he would catch up with the boy later that night, and to make sure he headed straight to dorms before Mr. Aizawa came out to drag the boy himself.
Izuku had only laughed and said Recovery Girl should be who he was worried about if she caught him loitering about, but regardless hurried back, not wanting to risk cutting it too close to curfew. He'd already broken it once, during his first year - and he was not looking forward to doing it again.
Mr. Aizawa wouldn't go easy a second time.
By now, the walls of the several dormitories growing larger as Izuku trudged closer to his destination, the sun had mostly sunk down below, settling behind the tall main building of U.A. It blanketed the sky in its inky vice grip, and Izuku himself couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of him whenever he wasn't walking under one of the lampposts lighting the path. He didn't mind, the teen having walked this same path many times before, already knowing where to go as his feet fell into a familiar pace.
It also gave him room to think over what had been occurring for the last week, and time, as well as a clear mind, to think of how exactly he was going to talk to his classmates.
He didn't want to be too insensitive when bringing it up...but he knew he couldn't hide how much the exclusion was hurting him. His friends didn't deserve the teen to lie to them, especially when he was already bringing something like this to their attention.
He missed being with his friends. He missed sparring with Uraraka, Kirishima and Ojirou. He missed studying with Iida, Yaomomo and Todoroki. He missed sipping hot chocolate with Tsu when neither could sleep, nightmares causing the two to often bump into each other. He missed messing about with Hagakure and Ashido, and he missed cooking with Satou and Aoyama. He missed jamming to music with Jirou and Kaminari, talking about the latest books and movies with Tokoyami and Shouji, talking about pre-quirked heroes with Sero, spending time with Kouda's little rabbit - hell, he even missed his small, daily conversations with Mineta. Even the squabbling he'd get in with Kacchan over something minor...
Izuku missed it all.
He never really knew how it'd feel to have it all gone, even for just a week...he truly was, had been, blessed by his friends.
And he needed to sort this out - for peace of mind, so he knew where to go from here, so he knew that their friendship hadn't just been a fluke. His talk with All Might had helped levitate some of the fear of what they would say - but didn't dispel it completely. It was still there, settling uncomfortable and refusing to budge, knowing that a part of Izuku, no matter how minor...was prepared for the worst.
He was prepared for them to mock him. To hate him. For things to go back to how they were during middle school. He had a quirk now...but did that really change anything? Did he change? He was the same old Izuku...without his quirk, he was still worthless little Deku.
No one wanted to be associated with quirkless, worthless little Deku.
Izuku stopped in his path, bringing a hand up to wipe at his face, doing his best to push those old, self-deprecating thoughts away. Uraraka and Iida weren't like that. Kirishima and Yaomomo weren't like that. His classmates weren't like that - did he really not have that much trust in them? Was his mind really so quick to latch onto the idea that they didn't care?
They didn't deserve that, especially not from Izuku.
He started up walking again, trying to close down those particular thoughts vehemently. They were his friends, they were, and they meant a lot more to him than his mind was trying to credit them for. He didn't care if a small part of him maybe was a little scared - Izuku had never had friends before U.A, really, ever since Kacchan got his quirk. But this was different.
Izuku wasn't four. He had a quirk. He was in the school of his dreams, and had made such great friends - that wouldn't change if he was quirkless. That wouldn't change if he was weak. That wouldn't change.
It wouldn't.
Izuku repeated that in his head, an echoing mantra as he finally came up to the front of the 2-A Dorms. Due to being so pre-occupied whilst walking up, he hadn't noticed beforehand, but looking now he noticed no lights seemed to be shining from the building.
He frowned, swiveling his head to gaze at the front windows on either side, before taking a few steps back so he could garner a look at the upper floors. But there was no light - even in the curtains had been drawn closed, some warm light from within would still spill out. But there was nothing.
Izuku felt a cold vice grip his heart, leaping up to the porch entrance-way. He didn't stop to untie his shoes, instead gripping the doornob and throwing it open, his heart racing in his chest. The darkness consumed Izuku as he stepped in, eyes wide and already fearing the worst. "Hello?! Guys, are you here!?"
A fearful silence washed over the boy, and Full Cowl flickered over his body as he swung his head around, trying to remember where the light switch was in a slight panic. Had a villain broken in? Were his friends okay? Were any of them hurt, bleeding out somewhere, needing his help? He needed to hurry-
Izuku heard a click before he was momentarily blinded by a bright light, flinching backwards as he heard something shuffling. His hands shot up to cover his eyes as he waited for the sting to fade away, and the room began to burst into noise.
"Happy Birthday Midoriya!"
A weight barreled into the boy and he yelped, nearly tumbling backwards if it wasn't for what - who - had crashed into him keeping them upright. His eyes finally opened, no longer being burned by the bright light, and was met with confetti slowly falling around him and the entrance-way, the grinning faces of his classmates second as they all began to surround Izuku, energetic energy bouncing off the group.
"H-huh?" Izuku's mind blanked, looking between all of his classmates in a confused manner. "Did I miss something? What's going on?"
"Really, Deku?" Uraraka, the one who had thrown herself into a hug with the curly-haired boy, looked up at him with amusement in her brown gaze. "You don't know what this is?"
A quick glance around, spying all the decorations pinned up around the first floor of the dormitories, Izuku was still drawing a blank, not processing any of it. "N-no?"
"It's for your birthday, dude!" Kirishima piped in.
"Ehhh?!" Izuku's bewildered gaze took his group of classmates in, a stuttering in his chest. His birthday...? Without shoving Uraraka off, the student quickly dug for his phone, and upon taking it out of his pocket, he looked at the lit-up screen.
July 15th.
Izuku's mouth went dry, a knot forming in his throat as he looked at his classmates once more. "I...you guys..."
Uraraka, after one last squeeze, finally let the boy go and stepped back, a wide smile stretching across her face. "We're sorry we've been avoiding you the past week! A lot of us remembered how we couldn't really celebrate much last year, thanks to the Summer Camp and Kamino. So we wanted to do this for you!"
"It means a lot to us," Iida spoke up, now by Izuku's side. "...but perhaps it took much more effort than we were intending."
"You can say that again!" Kaminari was there, slinging an arm around Izuku's shoulder and leaning on him with a dramatic sigh. "It took so much time to set this up that we never really had free time! We kept having to make excuses so you wouldn't get suspicious or anything, dude. It was hard."
"We're lucky All Might agreed to take you out today," Yaomomo spoke up, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Not to mention Mr. Aizawa offering to help set up...he just stepped out to go fetch Eri and a few others."
"I thought..." Izuku faltered, seeing all his classmates glance at him, before he spoke up again, voice cracking. "I thought you guys...were excluding me..."
Izuku's tone had turned watery, and before he could wipe his eyes and assure them all that he was alright, Uraraka hugged him even tighter, a few others joining in as to assure the curly-haired boy. "We're so sorry, Deku!"
"We never meant to make you feel like that, man. Really." Sero and a few others looked a little ashamed, trying their best to comfort Izuku.
"But you've helped all of us in immense ways, mon ami," Aoyama spoke up, tone soft which was unusual for the blonde. "We wanted to show you just how much you mean to us, as a companion."
"You're always tossing yourself into danger, and yeah, that's what a hero does. But you've done it a lot more than the rest of us have had the chance to." That was Jirou, twirling her earphone jacks with a finger. "We wanted to make it up to you, we were never supposed to make you feel bad."
"You should've said something, kero," Tsuyu also hugs Izuku, looking up at him with her usual wide eyes. "We would've changed how we handled everything. You're our friend, Midoriya."
"As class president, I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner."
"D-don't worry about it, anymore!" Izuku insists, sniffling and giving a wobbly smile. "You guys didn't mean to do it, it was all just a misunderstanding. But maybe...next time-"
"We'll work on it." Todoroki adds, a small smile on his face before he pulls back from the group. "Come on, Midoriya, you haven't seen everything just yet."
"There's more?"
Suddenly, his classmates are quick to move, a few pulling Izuku's arms and dragging the boy deeper into the dorms. They pulled the boy to the common area, and before they even stopped, Izuku teared up at the sight.
Izuku had never had many good birthday parties as a small child, due to his quirklessness. After turning five, not a single soul stepped into the Midoriya apartment to celebrate the day. Every year had ticked by, being just the boy and his mother - who did everything she could to make up for the gaping emptiness, the lack of cheer...but there was only so much one person could do. Izuku had just seen his birthday as another normal day, not important enough, not needed. A day to say he had made it another year, his inner turmoil feeding off the lack of positive energy. Even at school, the other kids had usually avoided him unless Kacchan had been feeling "generous".
But this...
The couches usually surrounding the large TV had been moved back a bit, and both on and around the coffee table the usually rested in the middle - wrapped gifts. A bit more than nineteen - so with the last of his clear mind, Izuku could only assume that there was probably something from Eri there, too. Maybe even Togata, and Shinsou...
...and then Izuku promptly burst into more tears, causing his classmates to start freaking out.
"Oh, no Deku, don't cry!"
"We're sorry Midori - is this too much!"
"We can tone it down, man..."
"Stupid crybaby Deku..."
"Midoriya!!"
"I'm fine!" Izuku failed to convince his friends, rubbing at his face in a failed attempt to quell the tears trailing down his face, only serving to dampen the sleeve of his shirt. "I'm fine, don't worry! See?"
Izuku looked up and gazed at his friends, feeling a warmth spread through his chest, almost bursting through. With his previous fears stomped out, he managed to give them a smile - the biggest, most genuine one he had managed to pull off all week.
This was, by far, the best July 15th Izuku had ever experienced. Because he wasn't just anyone. He wasn't just worthless Deku - not to them. Not to his friends.
"Thank you...all of you!"