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Chapter Text

Hitoshi wakes up, and knows immediately, that something is wrong.

Sitting up slowly, he pushes his blanket back and looks around the room. It's- well, it's his room, there's really nothing that special about it. There’re all of his posters, and his hero figurines lined neatly on the top shelf just in front of his books. There's his desk, still littered with yesterday's incomplete homework and the coffee cup he forgot to return to the kitchen. There're the doors to his closet, closed, and the cat poster his mom bought as a joke. A pile of clothes sits inconspicuously just besides his bed, along with the book he must have fell asleep reading and knocked off the bed. The window across his bed is open, just like it is every morning because of his mother's routine, and a summer breeze blows in and reminds him there's a whole day ahead of him. 

But something feels off. 

This is his room but... it's not supposed to be? It seems too big, which it really isn't, but like he's used to smaller. There's the large cat plush at the foot of his bed that he likes to pretend watches over him like a guardian angel during the night but it- it's not supposed to be here? But where else would it be? Just that- if his room was smaller, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep it and would have had to leave it back... at... home? 

But this is home? 

"What the fuck." 

Sitting there on his bed, sunlight dappled around his room yet something in the air feels off, Hitoshi tries to puzzle it out and maybe set himself straight. Maybe this feeling is because of a dream? That happens sometimes, like waking up and feeling like you're forgetting something. That's probably it actually, but the feeling still persists and Hitoshi wishes it would go away and stop making him feel off kilter. 

- 

Hitoshi heads for the bathroom real quick before coming back to change his clothes. He can hear his mother puttering about in the kitchen, and from the smell coming from downstairs breakfast ought to be good. He absentmindedly wonders if his father has already left for the hospital, or if today is an even day and he stays for breakfast.  

Five minutes of looking around in his closet, and he can't find his uniform. Great. 

"Hey mom?!" 

"What?"- comes the reply from downstairs. 

"Have you seen my uniform?" 

"It's in your closet Hitoshi!" 

It is not. 

"I can't find it!" 

There's a clatter and then footsteps, and even before his mother comes upstairs, he knows the face she'll be making. He backs away from the closet and sees the 'are you kidding me' face, along with the, 'have you really looked or was it easier to just call me?' set of her lips. She bustles past him as he goes over to start packing his bag, but not even a moment later his mother is standing there, uniform in hand. "Really Hitoshi? It was right there." 

She hands the uniform over to him before roughly ruffling his hair as she goes back downstairs. Hitoshi has the strongest urge to pout after her, because everyone knows for a fact that there are some things you could spend all day looking for, and your mom could probably produce it from thin air in five seconds flat, from the spot you'd already checked six times. 

But then, he looks down at his clothes and they're not... 

It's a middle school uniform. It's not his school uniform, but a middle school uniform. 

What? 

He vaguely recognizes it but- it's not- his uniform wasn’t all black? It was- well- his middle school uniform had been all black but-. It- it feels wrong, because this is not his but it is at the same time? 

What is up with today? 

He puts it on, nonetheless, and heads downstairs for breakfast. His father is nowhere to be found, but he's left lunch money on table for Hitoshi today that Hitoshi pockets without a second thought, still caught up in the feeling of wrongness permeating the air. Breakfast is a quiet affair, and his mother is busy with something from her work, so he doesn't bother her too much. He finishes quickly, gives his mother a small kiss on her forehead, and heads off to school. 

And then it gets weirder. Walking to school is like- he knows where he's going but at the same time has no idea where he's headed. The way to school is ingrained into his mind and his feet subconsciously follow the correct path, but there's nothing familiar enough about his surroundings that would suggest he takes this route to school every day. It’s just- it's another thing on the growing list of things that aren't adding up about today. 

School is- okay. The building is like any other, and to be honest it's actually a pretty nowhere school in the first place. Not that it matters because Hitoshi's going to U.A, no matter what. 

U.A. 

Something nostalgic pangs in his chest, but gets buried under all of the other things he's been noticing today. 

And then he sees a boy he immediately recognizes, because how could he ever forget that head of green hair? Midoriya did beat him in the- 

The- 

The thought slips from between Hitoshi's fingers like water, and it's just another discrepancy. He's starting to get frustrated, with all this forgetting and remembering, and everything that doesn't make sense with today. It's like the whole world is playing a joke on him, and he's just missing the punch line. In fact, he probably is the punch line, if today is proving to be the joke. 

Again, he shakes the feeling off, and moves to greet a familiar face. 

"Midoriya. Good Morning." 

Midoriya turns around and he's- nothing like how he usually is. He's smaller than Hitoshi remembers, scrawny built only accented by his short height. It doesn't help that he's curled in on himself, slightly, hunched protectively over the notebook he hugs to his chest. His eyes flicker, first to Hitoshi then behind him, as if looking for danger. 

This image of Midoriya does not match up to what Hitoshi knows of him. 

"Midoriya?" 

The smaller boy jolts, "Shinsou-kun. G-good morning. Ah- uhm- is there... something I can help you with?" 

For the first time since Hitoshi met Midoriya, he looks scared of him. It doesn't- the expression doesn't suit him, why- 

"Oi, get the fuck outta my way, loser." 

Hitoshi jolts as someone shoves past him, and the sight of familiar blonde spikes send a wave of mixed feelings down Hitoshi's spine. He shouldn't be happy to see Bakugou, but he has that annoying familiarity to him that Hitoshi just can't seem to place. 

Just like always, Bakugou's two cronies, whose names Hitoshi can't be bothered to recall when they're not even in his class, follow after him like lost little ducklings. One of them snickers and mutters, "What, is today like, buy one loser and get one free?" 

The other guy laughs while Hitoshi just rolls his eyes. 

"Deku. I said get out of my fucking way!" 

Midoriya flinches back hard, and his back slams against the shoe-lockers behind him. Hitoshi almost steps forward to check if he's okay, and maybe say a few choice words to Bakugou while he's at it, but stops when Midoriya gives him a wide-eyed look from the corner of his eyes and minutely shakes his head. Bakugou's 'friends' are too busy laughing with each other to notice the action, but it makes Hitoshi clench his teeth in annoyance none the less. Midoriya turns his attention back to Bakugou and ignores Hitoshi completely, and Hitoshi’s not stupid, he sees this for what it is. 

There's no point in stepping in. He's just as much of a social outcast as Midoriya, there's not much he can do against these bullies without incriminating his own name. In fact, one wrong move and he might even make this worse, for both him and Midoriya. 

The best he can do right now? Leave. 

And fuck, it goes against his every instinct, but that's what he does. 

- 

"I would pass these career aptitude forms out, but I know you all want to be heroes!" 

A huge cheer rises through the classroom as people display their quirks like proud peacocks. Hitoshi only rolls his eyes and sinks further down his seat, doing his best to look as bored as he possibly can. He knows their teacher will just have someone collect those forms from the floor later and pass them on, because that slip they were given in the morning counts for nothing. Half the people in this classroom probably just wrote down their name for heroics for shits and giggles. It's how they fill the official form to be filed with the school that really counts. 

None the less, the teacher goes on, as if his whole class from this nowhere middle school will even make it anywhere close to the heroics industry. "Bakugou, you want to go to U.A, don't you?" 

A mummer rises up, as people look at each other in disbelief. Everyone knows that U.A is the best hero school there is on a national level, with an acceptance rate that falls at less than 0.2%. Hitoshi grits his teeth and hunkers down, because even though Bakugou is an asshole, he has the best chance out of anyone here in getting into U.A, thanks to that perfect hero’s quirk of his.  

It’s obvious Bakugou knows this, how he eats the attention up and boasts his ideals out for all to see, going on about how he’s going to be the first one from this school to get to U.A. Bakugou has never had to worry about people telling him he couldn’t achieve his dreams, not with his type of attitude and quirk. 

Of course, he only stops when their teacher says, “Oh yeah, Midoriya, Shinsou, don’t you want to go to U.A too?” The slimy satisfaction in the man’s voice makes him freeze, and Hitoshi can’t help but scowl at the cruel glint in the bastard’s eye. 

Bakugou freezes too. So does Midoriya. The class looks at them for a silent second before bursting into a cacophony of sounds, but mostly laughter. 

“Midoriya?! You’re kidding, right?” 

“Dude, how delusional-“ 

“Shinsou? Making it to U.A?!” 

“There’s no way you’re getting into the hero course without a quirk/with a villain’s quirk!” 

While Hitoshi keeps a steady poker face and eyes fixed to the front of the classroom, Midoriya makes one last ditch effort at saving his pride, “A-Actually, they got rid of that rule! I could be the first one…” 

Hitoshi side eyes him incredulously as their class laughs harder. I mean, don’t get Hitoshi wrong, he sees no reason why Midoriya can’t be the first quirkless kid to get into U.A, but saying it out loud? That’s basically asking to get your dreams ridiculed in the cruelest way imaginable. Hitoshi doesn’t know where Midoriya seems to be getting this frankly suicidal bravery, but maybe he should tone it down a little? 

Case in point, Bakugou slams a heavy hand onto Midoriya’s desk with a bang, and Midoriya goes tipping backwards and right out of his chair. ”Listen up Deku! You’re even worse than these damn rejects you quirkless wannabe! You think they’d let in someone like you when they can have me?!” 

“Huh?” Midoriya waves his arms wildly in denial, “N-no, you’ve got it all wrong! R-really! I’m not trying to compete against you!” The boy lowers his gaze to the floor, something vulnerable in the twist of his lips, “It’s just- I may not have a quirk- but I can still try my hardest, can’t I?” 

Hitoshi shuts his eyes as Bakugou poses threateningly over Midoriya, “You’d never be able to hang with the best of the best! You’d die in the exam! Defenseless Izuku.”  

Hitoshi looks back out of the corner of his eye and meets Midoriya’s gaze. They have that same look from this morning. Abruptly, Hitoshi is sorely tempted to step in, to do something, but he knows better. If the teacher, who is right there, won't stop this, actually encourages this because no way was he oblivious to the repercussions of his 'careless' statement, is doing nothing about this, then what can Hitoshi do? He'd probably just get himself and Midoriya sent to the Principal's office and neither of them need that on their records, not if they want to go to U.A. 

So, like the coward he is, he turns away. 

-

He doesn't stick around after the final period ends, and if Midoriya is smart, he won't either. A few students try to slow him down with deprecating comments, trying to get a rise out of him to see what he'll do just so they can get him into trouble, but he ignores them all resolutely and heads straight back home. He's long since learned how to tune them out, and even if their words hurt, there's no way in hell he'll give them the satisfaction of showing it.  

He gets home feeling washed out, like someone scrubbed his mind and left it feeling raw. He probably looks as tired as he feels, because his mother takes one look at him and bustles him into the kitchen and tells him to take a nap after he's eaten. He doesn't argue with her, because it's not a bad idea at all, and before he knows it, he's back in his too-big-but-not-really room, tucked into a bed that smells like freshly washed sheets. His eyes drift close before he knows it, because even the weirdness of today can't keep away the exhaustion and he falls asleep. 

He somewhat wakes up a few hours later, does his homework and goes down for dinner. He still feels tired though, so he finishes as much of his work as he can before going to sleep early even despite his afternoon nap. 

- 

Hitoshi wakes up, and the first thing he notices is that the weird, off-kilter feeling from yesterday is still crouched snugly in some corner of his brain. He lays in bed for a while, just thinking, trying to fit together memories into something that might give him a clue, but it's like trying to complete a puzzle when half the pieces are missing. 

There's no point to it, in the end. He gets up from bed, and starts getting ready for school. He finds his uniform this time around, thank goodness, and even though he wasn't able to quite finish his homework he should be fine if he gives it some time during lunch. Heading downstairs, he wonders if he can ask his mum to give him some money for the vending machine to get something to go with his packed lunch, but then remembers that his father will be downstairs too, and his father always gives Hitoshi change when he asks if he's convincing enough about it. 

Entering the kitchen, though, his father is nowhere to be found. He could still be in his room, but his mum is already seated and eating her breakfast, albeit distractedly as she works at something on her laptop. 

"Hey mum?" 

"Mmmm? Food's on the counter, and don't forget your milk." 

"Yeah, okay. Where's dad?" 

His mother frowns down at her work, or maybe Hitoshi's question. "It’s an odd day, sweetheart." 

That makes Hitoshi pause, because- "Wasn't yesterday an odd day?" 

"23rd today. He'll be here tomorrow Toshi." 

Huh. Funnily enough, the first thing that strikes in Hitoshi's mind is that he wrote the wrong date on all his work yesterday, and he'll have to fix that once he gets to school. Breakfast is, once again, a quiet affair. He gives his mother a peck on her cheek in goodbye after finishing up and heads to school. 

Again, school is as unpleasant as always. It’s always too crowded for Hitoshi's taste to be anything but. Shouldering his way through the hallway, he sees Midoriya by the shoe lockers again, and while the urge to greet him does arise, he curbs it quickly with a reminder of yesterday's interaction. He heads over to his own locker, planning on changing his shoes quickly and getting the hell to class instead of doing something stupid like talking to another human being, when he hears- 

"Get the fuck outta my way Deku." 

Oh good God, are they seriously doing this again? 

Hitoshi 'casually' tries to glance at Bakugou and Midoriya but instead, thanks to his horrible luck, catches the eye of one of Bakugou's lackeys. The guy sneers at him and leans over to his friend and says, "What, is today like, buy one loser get one free?" 

It catches Hitoshi completely off guard, because that's what he’d said yesterday? Like literally, he said the exact same thing, word for word. His friend is busy laughing his head off, like this was the funniest thing he heard all day, and Hitoshi really doesn't know what to make of that. He instead turns his head in time to catch Bakugou shoulder past Midoriya, and Midoriya flinches back so hard that he crashes straight into the locker with a loud bang. Bakugou sees the look in Midoriya's eyes and just like yesterday, again, "Hah? You got something to say to me, you quirkless piece of shit?" 

Midoriya vigorously shakes his head and happens to catch Hitoshi's eye just as Bakugou sneers out a, "Thought so. You're just as pathetic as always, huh Deku?" 

There must be a look in Hitoshi's eye, as he watches this whole interaction happen a second time, which he really doesn't know what to make of because no one around him seems to be showing any recognition of the fact that it feels like these people are reenacting yesterday's event down to the insults they spit. Midoriya sees the look in his eye and shakes his head minutely, conveying a silent, 'don't step in and make this worse'. 

Just like yesterday. 

And Hitoshi is reeling, trying to make sense of this, so he quietly slips away. 

- 

He gets to class and their teacher gives them the same slips from yesterday, and Hitoshi knows. 

- 

"I would pass these forms out, but I know you all want to be heroes!" 

Hitoshi's not even listening at this point. The whole day has been like a bad case of deja vu, except worse, because he actually did live this yesterday. They've done the same work in class, Hitoshi has caught snippets of conversations that he caught snippets of yesterday, word for word. Bakugou does the same thing he did yesterday, where he knocks Midoriya's lunch out of his hand just as the green-haired boy tries to scamper out of the classroom to avoid the very thing from happening.  

And now their teacher is ignoring the mess he’s made by mentioning that the quirkless kid and the kid with the villainous quirk want to join U.A. Like yesterday, Bakugou's little grudge against Midoriya means that soon, he has everyone's attention focused on him and Midoriya by making as much of a scene as he can, and Hitoshi can continue being quietly ignored as he tries to figure out what the fuck is going on. 

By the end of class, he is no closer to the answer, but this does mean that he's so out of it that most insults and jabs fly completely over this head. People just assume he's ignoring them when he isn't even hearing what they're saying, probably something they've said already. But being so lost in his own confusion means that he misses the class emptying out, and he's still here when almost everyone has left except Midoriya, Bakugou and the two kids who follow him around when his usual cronies aren't in his class. 

Hitoshi notices how the three approach Midoriya, who’s too busy packing his bag to notice them coming. He considers stepping in but really, where would that get anyone? The most he’d accomplish is making a new enemy out of Bakugou and no one needs that in their life, least of all Hitoshi. So, he tunes the four out, focusing on gathering his stuff as quickly as he can so he can get the fuck out of here.  

He’s not paying attention, until he hears, "Here's some advice, why don’t you take a swan dive off the roof and hope for a quirk in your next life?” 

The callous remark make Hitoshi go cold all over, and he misses it completely when Midoriya meets Bakugou's eye and Bakugou brings up a palm popping with explosions, "What, got something to say nerd?" 

Midoriya shakes his head no and Bakugou leaves. 

Hitoshi doesn't know what to do. After a lot of hesitating, where Midoriya completely ignores him in favor of sorting his stuff out, Hitoshi very tentatively speaks up, "Are... you okay?" 

Like Midoriya has completely forgot about the other person who saw all that, he flinches, before pulling up a shaky smile that fools no one, least of all Hitoshi, "Oh- uh- yeah! It's- it's not the worst- and- yeah, I'm- I'm fine." 

But his voice is shaking too much for it to be convincing, except Hitoshi himself doesn't know what else to say. He can only watch Midoriya awkwardly mumble a half-baked excuse and quickly slip out of the classroom, leaving him feeling like a horrible human being for not stepping in. 

He goes home that day, with a lot of regret weighing heavy on his mind. 

- 

Hitoshi wakes up, and the first thing he does is scamper downstairs and ask, "What's the date today?" 

His mom looks up surprised from where she has a report in one hand and two chopsticks in the other, "Hitoshi? It's the 23rd I think. Is something wrong, darling?" 

No shit something is wrong. He keeps waking up on the same fucking day, over and over again. This is the third time, and the last thing Hitoshi ever imagined happening to him was him getting stuck in a time loop. What even happened? Did he get hit by someone's quirk? If so, wouldn't he have realized? When did it happen?  

"Toshi? You're just standing there, are you alright?" 

He wrenches his focus back to the present and on his mother's worried frown. "Ah, no, I'm fine. I just- yeah- I got a bit mixed up and- Yeah. I'm fine." 

His mother eyes him worriedly, "You sure?" 

And Hitoshi can't help but roll his eyes fondly, because even in this mess, at least he still has her. "I'm fine mom. You focus on that natto.” 

She eyes him a while longer before turning back to the stringed beans with a shrug, mixing slowly. He doesn't bother waiting for a reply, instead opting to head upstairs and start getting ready for the day. Putting on his uniform gives him time to think about his situation, but there's not a lot he can do. I mean, what are you supposed to do in a time loop? Oh yeah, people usually try to find the cause of one, right? But where would he even start? He has no idea whose quirk is making this happen, doesn't know what their motives could have been or if this is all just an accident. Hell, he doesn't even know when he got hit by such a quirk. Maybe he needs to... do something? Complete some task? Achieve some goal? What could it be, anyways, and how the fuck is he supposed to know?  

The whole thing makes his head hurt. 

So, for now, he just heads downstairs and eats breakfast with his mother. 

- 

Walking into school, he wonders if he's going bump into Midoriya again a third time just before he sees him by the shoe lockers. He knows what will happen next, when Bakugou will come charging through like an angry bull. So, instead of waiting for that to happen and letting Bakugou's lackey's make comments in poor taste, he marches up to Midoriya just as the boy is straightening up from where he’d just slipped on his school slippers. The boy catches sight of him at the last second and startles, "O-Oh! Shinsou-kun, is- is there something I could help you with?" 

Hitoshi nods very seriously and barely hold himself back from outright grabbing Midoriya's arm and dragging him away before trouble comes along, "I need to ask about the material we covered in last English class.” Hitoshi bullshits, “Can you help me with a few doubts I have?" 

"Oh- uh- I-" 

They don't have the time. Bakugou's bound to come bouncing along any second now, and Hitoshi doesn't want to do this again. So, he gives in and grabs Midoriya's arm, muttering a, "Yupp, that's great, thanks." And starts dragging him along and most importantly, in the opposite direction of an incoming Bakugou. 

Midoriya stumbles after him with a lot of half stuttered questions, just barely managing to keep pace with Hitoshi when half the crowd moves against them, but Hitoshi doesn't stop until they've reached their classroom. He finally let's go of Midoriya's arm when they're inside and lets out a huge sigh of relief at having avoided that confrontation, before turning back to his present company just as he looks up at Hitoshi in what looks like worry. "Um- Shinsou-kun, are you alright?" 

"Fine," Hitoshi waves the question away, "Just needed to get out of the crowded hallway. I'm sorry for the hurry." 

"No- Ah- It's- it's fine, I don't mind. Um- so- about English?" 

"Yeah," Hitoshi distractedly follows Midoriya to his desk, "English." 

- 

Bakugou looks marginally more annoyed than he did yesterday, and Hitoshi catches him giving him the stink eye more than once. He wonders what he did wrong, probably exist, but Bakugou doesn't usually have a problem with him, so what happened that he does now? Lunch comes along, and unfortunately Hitoshi isn't able to stop Midoriya's lunch from getting knocked over, but when Bakugou thunders across the classroom to leave, he purposefully shoves past Hitoshi's shoulder and mutters a heated, "Watch it, brain rot." 

Hitoshi very much wants to bite back a comment in reply, because there's no point, and he just about manages to hold himself back. 

The last class of the day starts, and the teacher pulls his shit again. The moment Bakugou draws attention away from Hitoshi, and Hitoshi promises himself that if the day resets again, there's no reason for him to keep writing an honest answer on that stupid slip. He doesn't need to keep being honest if his choices are just going to get mocked. 

"And you! You think you can get into a U.A with weak ass quirk like yours, huh troll doll?" 

With the attention of the whole class focused on him, Hitoshi turns to Bakugou with expression that says, 'Huh? Me?' 

Bakugou only sneers at him, "Keep dreaming, fuck face! You heard me! No one is getting into U.A. but me." 

Hitoshi purses his lips to keep himself from speaking some several choice words as the teacher calls out for Bakugou to settle down. There's no helping it though because again, the only one who'll get into trouble is him. 

When class ends, Hitoshi sticks around just like he did last time, so when Bakugou corners Midoriya and his lackeys laugh at the fact that Midoriya doesn't fight back, he calls out, "Maybe you guys should stop ganging up him like a bunch of wannabe villains." 

Everyone pauses. 

And then, slowly, Bakugou turns around, with a terrifying scowl on his face, "What'd you say brain rot?" 

Hitoshi blinks at him, bored, and leans casually against his desk. "You heard me." He offers a one shouldered shrug, "But then maybe you didn't. What, do your explosions make you deaf too?" 

The moment he says this, he regrets ever opening his big mouth in the first place. Watches as Bakugou's facial expression goes from enraged to surprise to even more enraged. A loud bang comes from Bakugou's palm that sends Hitoshi's heart rabbiting away in his chest. "You fucking- I'll kill you!" 

Bakugou charges forward, and Hitoshi stands up straight and gets ready to scramble out of the way, but he doesn't have to. A hand catches Bakugou's arm, instead. "Kacchan, no!" 

"Get the fuck off me!" Bakugou violently knocks Midoriya back, and Midoriya goes crashing into the desk behind him. Bakugou glowers down at Midoriya's cowering form. "Don't get in my fucking way Deku." 

"Don't hurt Shinsou." Midoriya pleads, "Please." 

Hitoshi bristles, "You don’t have to-" 

"Fuck off. Nobody needs your fucking protection Deku. If he's so tough that he can talk back, then he can fucking fight back too." 

"Uuuhhh, Bakugou?" 

Bakugou whips around to look at the lackey who spoke, "What?" 

The other guy shuffles from foot to foot, looking very much likes he wants to be anywhere but here, "Why don't we just leave, man? These guys aren't worth your time." 

The first one nods, "They get it. Let's just go." 

And for a moment, Hitoshi thinks that he's going to argue, but in the end, Bakugou just stuffs his arms in his pocket with a scowl. When he passes Hitoshi, he bares his teeth at him, "Better watch it, fuck face. Next time, I won't hesitate to beat your ass." 

The moment he's turned out of the room, Hitoshi just slumps against his desk. He tiredly runs a hand down his face and mutters, "That could have gone way better." 

"You shouldn't have done that." 

Hitoshi looks at Midoriya through his fingers, "Are you kidding? The guy was being an ass to you." 

But Midoriya only sighs tiredly, "Look, Shinsou, I- I really appreciate the help, but it's unnecessary. Kacchan only gets angrier when someone gets in his way, and it's best to just stay out of it. I know it didn't look like it, but I could have handled it." 

Hitoshi stares at him blankly, to which Midoriya winces, "I know okay. But it's- it'd really be better to just- ignore it. Please." 

"I don't get- why? Why do you want that?" 

"It's easier for me, okay? Kacchan's been- been picking on me for a long time now, I'm used to it. And it really is better if no one steps in and just- let's him get it all out." 

Hitoshi stubbornly crosses his arms, "That doesn't mean you should stand there and take it." 

Midoriya is starting to look annoyed too, "I- that's not what I do, I-" 

"-oh really?" 

"-yes really! Just, stay out of it Shinsou, I don't need your help!" 

"Fine!" Hitoshi throws his hands up in defeat, "I won't 'step in'. You do what you need to do then." 

"Thank you." It’s the most aggressive 'thank you' Hitoshi's ever heard, when Midoriya walks past him and leaves him as the last person in the classroom. 

- 

Loop four, because he checked that it really is the 23rd again and it is, and Hitoshi is still angry with Midoriya from yesterday. 

So, when he gets to school in the morning, and sees the boy by his shoe locker, he doesn't bother greeting him, only stopping by long enough to change his shoes. Of course, this is long enough that Bakugou comes along anyways, and just like the last few times, insists on being an asshole to Midoriya. Not like Hitoshi can do anything about that anyways, because Midoriya made it plenty clear he didn't want him interfering, so he won't. But just as he's turning to leave, instead of the lackey’s or Bakugou's eye, he catches Midoriya's, and when he continues moving, there's a resigned dejection that has Midoriya's attention snapping back to Bakugou just as he's shoved back. 

But Hitoshi keeps moving, because it's none of his business. 

- 

This time, he doesn't put his school choice down as U.A, so the little attention he had gotten in last period doesn't happen anyways, which he's glad for. Midoriya is pushed around again, but he'd made his position clear, so when the last period ends Hitoshi packs up quickly and heads out. Walking out of the school building, Hitoshi realizes that he should start trying to figure out why he's in these god damned loops in the first place but again, he has no idea where to start.  

Couldn't there be a guide on how to do this? A step-by-step instruction on how to break yourself out of a time loop? Couldn't he have like fake memories planted in his head to undo and figure out the missing pieces or something? 

His attention is caught, however, when a notebook comes sailing through a third-floor window, which he belatedly realizes is his own classroom window. The notebook lands in the koi pond with a sad splash, and Hitoshi wanders over to fish it out before the fishes can snack on it. He should have caught it, he muses, but he didn't and there's nothing to do about it, so he does his best to dry the soaked pages by wiping them across his shirt, which doesn't do much good. He pulls out a hanky after that and tries to soaking a little water, but he's not getting very far with that either, when someone approaches him from behind. 

"O-oh, Shinsou-kun. I-I didn't expect to see you- here. Um-" 

Hitoshi turns to him, and realizes that the slight twinge of anger he feels is misguided, because Midoriya never did anything to him this time around, so he squashes it down. He waves the soggy notebook at Midoriya, "This yours?" 

"Yes- um-" Midoriya reaches for it and takes it from his hands with gentle care. The action's useless though, when the pages stick together with water that mixes with running ink. He stares blankly down at it. "It's ruined, huh. I-" 

Hitoshi watched Midoriya blink furiously, and realizes with a horrifying clarity that the boy looks like he's about to cry, which would not be good at all. So instead of letting that happen, Hitoshi rushes to do damage control. "Hey- uh- it's fine! I'm sure you can go home and dry the pages and- recover most of the work." 

Midoriya looks up at him, and shit, his eyes are still shiny, but he gives Hitoshi a wobbly half smile, "Guess so. Thank you for getting this for me, Shinsou-kun." 

"Right." Hitoshi rubs the back of his neck subconsciously, "No problem." 

Midoriya waffles around for a bit, clearly struggling to come up with something to say, before he just gives up. "Yeah, uh, thank you. I'll- I'll see you around- Shinsou-kun." 

Hitoshi nods even as he backs away from this awkward confrontation, "Right, yep, see you." 

Wow he is never doing that again. 

- 

Loop five, and Hitoshi feels better about Midoriya's words. The kid was just trying to protect himself, it's not his fault that Hitoshi can't seem to keep to his own business. Then again, seeing the same thing happen again and again, can you blame Hitoshi for trying to step in? 

This morning, Hitoshi rushes to get out of the house just a little bit early. What this does is that when he gets to school, he finds Midoriya not by the lockers but just walking in. When he's in ear shot, he calls out to him. "Midoriya, wait up!" 

Midoriya looks back at him, bewildered, probably wondering why Hitoshi was talking to him of all people. "Shinsou-kun? Is there- is there something I can help you with?" 

"Right, uh-" Fuck he doesn't have an excuse prepared, what does he say to get Midoriya to come along with him? "I- need your help? With something? And I was wondering if we could like- walk to class together? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but- well-" 

"It's fine, Shinsou-kun." The corners of Midoriya's eyes crinkle when he gives Hitoshi a nervous smile, "I don't mind. Let me just change my shoes and we can head up, alright?" 

Hitoshi rubs the back of his neck and he can feel the tips of his ears turn a light red. "Right, okay. You do that and I'll just- yeah." 

They head up to the classroom much earlier than the previous days, and the walk there gives Hitoshi time to think of something plausible to ask for help in. He thinks he can pass this off as incomplete English homework that he doesn't understand, again, but the main point of this exercise has already been completed, which was to get the fuck out of there before Bakugou came trouncing along.  

They get to class, and Midoriya 'helps' him with his work until the bell rings. He looks much more content than Hitoshi's ever seen him, and he counts that as a win, while Bakugou too isn't sending him any poisonous glances today. There's a small possibility Hitoshi considered yesterday, that Bakugou probably saw Hitoshi bustle Midoriya along the loop before and thought Hitoshi was trying to get Midoriya away from him, which he was, but Bakugou didn't need to know that.  

Lunch came along, and Bakugou did his usual of 'Haha look at me I'm such an asshole and I knocked all of your shit to the floor because you're the pathetic one', but Hitoshi swoops in with his own lunch ready, which he packed specially so he would have enough food for two people when you also counted his lunch money. He's able to offer to share with Midoriya when no one's around. Midoriya looks like he's going to say no, but Hitoshi only reassures him that he has money to buy himself something from the canteen anyways, and that he'll be fine if the green haired boy eats some of his lunch with him. 

For a while then, Midoriya looks like he wants to cry, but seems to be making a valiant effort not to. 

The main problem now though, was last period. 

No matter how much he wanted to, it wouldn't be favorable to step in. The only way that would end would be Midoriya getting upset, like last time, and Hitoshi didn't know how to help and avoid that. He hated that Bakugou had to do this every time, that this was one of things staying constant with every loop no matter what anyone around Bakugou did. It was like his personal grudge against Midoriya was so saturated with visceral hate that not even the butterfly effect could challenge happenstances because of it.  

If only Hitoshi knew why that was. 

Last period comes and attention falls to the scene Bakugou makes. He threatens violence against the whole class, then Midoriya, but while the former means that everyone complains as one unit, because there is strength in numbers even against the king of the school, there is no helping the one singled out. It's the bystander syndrome at its finest, and Hitoshi loathes to take part when he's been on the other side too many times to count. People will only help you if you're one of them, but the quirkless and the villain quirked have no place amongst the general populace it seems. Or maybe it's just that Bakugou has emphasized that fact so many times that it seems like the norm. 

Whatever it is, Hitoshi holds back his anger at the cowed look in Midoriya's eyes as he tries to fold in on himself and disappear. Hitoshi locks that anger away in some dark part of his mind and ignores its screams of rage as best as he can when the school day ends, just like it has the five times on the same date as today. He can't bear to watch the next interaction between the bully and his victim, because his anger is still burning with an urge to hurt, to avenge, to do something, but he can't without messing everything up. So, he leaves. He leaves the classroom as soon as he can and he climbs down the steps of this hell hole as calmly as he can. Emerging outside, to the wrong side of freedom because tomorrow the day will repeat and nothing will have changed, instead of walking out of school Hitoshi heads over to the koi pond, and waits. 

And when a notebook is carelessly tossed through an open window, he's there to catch it just before it falls in the pond and meets a soggy end. 

Five minutes, of flipping through charred pages and admiring surprisingly meticulous diagrams but illegible scribbles that might be the explanation to those very drawings, Midoriya finally emerges from the inside of school and starts walking in the koi pond's direction without seeing Hitoshi. He's looking at his shoes, dragging his steps and seemingly trying to collect himself with the way he furiously rubs at his eyes. Hitoshi wants to call out to him, to make his presence known so he doesn't surprise the boy, but doing so now will only startle him. Still though, he's getting closer by the second, and he'll spot Hitoshi at some point if not now. 

"Uh, hey." 

As expected, Midoriya's head snaps up in surprise. He looks at Hitoshi with wide eyes before realizing that his face is probably covered in tears tracks, which he furiously rubs away. There's no point to it though, when Hitoshi's already seen them, but Midoriya sure does try. "S-Shinsou-kun! I- I thought you'd have gone home by now." 

Hitoshi nods, carefully keeping his expression blank. "I was, but I saw someone... drop- this out the window. Is this yours?" He holds up the notebook. 

Midoriya's mouth parts around unsaid words, before he visibly pulls himself out of his train of thought by startling forward to say his next words. "That- yes, that's- that's mine. Th-thank you for- Um- for catching it." 

Hitoshi hands the notebook over and watches Midoriya cradle it protectively to his chest. "No problem."

Midoriya spends a moment flipping through the pages to see the damage, while Hitoshi experiences the mounting pressure to say something, anything at all. It can’t just- end here, can it? There’s got to be something he can do, to make Midoriya’s day better or- something.

“Hey- uh- I saw that you’ve got some entries on pro-heroes. Do you, like, analyze them?” Oh yeah, ‘Do you analyze them’, go Hitoshi.

“I- um- yes. I like to watch- uh- hero fights.”

Midoriya still looks frightened, and Hitoshi really doesn’t know how to do this, “That’s- cool. I think I saw Mystic in there and- well- they’re an up-and-coming Underground hero, right?”

“They… are. They don’t get a lot of media coverage because- well- underground, but I think they’re quirk is cool.” It’s like, the longer Midoriya speaks, the further he unfurls from that frightened slouch, the one that probably expected Hitoshi to be antagonistic towards him, “It’s really clever how they- how they- um- they use their suggestions to cause panic in groups, but only when they know no on has- has a lethal weapon.”

“Yeah, Mystic takes it as personal failure when their takedown is lethal so…”

Midoriya glances up at him in surprise, “How do figure?”

“I-“ Because Mystic was just like that? They were actually a very calm person, and someone Hitoshi felt was not suited for underground heroics because of how messy it could get in the underground, but how does Hitoshi know that? It’s not like he’s… met… them, right?

(But he has. He’s- Eraserhead and him- a mission with-)

“I’ve just got a feeling, I guess. I’m more surprised how you’ve seen their quirk in action, since its notoriously difficult to get footage of underground heroes.”

“It is! But- people still run into them, right? And- well- there are forums, which you can find with a little bit of dedication. It did take me a few hours, but I- uh- a friend of mine online had run into them and managed to get footage of the fight even though it was- uh- shaky, but nothing I couldn’t work with, and- oh- s-sorry- I didn’t mean to- sorry- I-”

“No, no, it’s fine. You’re- uh- fine.” Hitoshi thinks its kind of cute how Midoriya sort of went on a little ramble then, but that’s neither here nor there. So instead, he says, “Hey, I’m pretty sure we’re headed in the same direction so- if you don’t mind- you can tell me more about it while we walk?”

“Oh! Uh-“ Midoriya flushes red and okay, yes, this is adorable but Hitoshi really shouldn’t laugh, “O-okay? I mean!- o-only if you’re okay with it then- then I-I’d love to! Um- that is-“

“Okay,” Hitoshi hoists his bag higher up his shoulder, “Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

- 

Hitoshi never gets all the way home, and neither does Midoriya. Because it seems that, no, the day hasn’t already been bad enough, it needs to get worse. 

They have the same route home for about fifteen minutes before they’d probably need to slit up. Until then, Hitoshi’s content to let Midoriya ramble away, actually encouraging the boy to go on whenever he stops himself self-consciously and starts furiously apologizing. It’s easy, because Midoriya’s admittedly been doing the profile analysis thing for a while so he brings up a few interesting details. And not only that, he doesn’t just gush over mainstream heroes and them alone, but also underground ones, which Hitoshi knows more about because he himself would like to go into underground heroics.

(And isn’t it weird, because he doesn’t remember wanting to go into underground heroics… before. People liked to say underground heroes weren’t actually heroes, more like glorified vigilantes, and didn’t Hitoshi want to become a hero because he wanted to prove people wrong? To show everyone, that a quirk like his could be a ‘hero’s quirk’ too. But- somewhere that dream changed, he supposed, though he can’t exactly recall when.)

(Maybe when Aizawa showed him he was being stupid, if he only wanted to become a hero out of spite)

Soon, they’ve reached an underpass, and Hitoshi knows that they’ll be wishing each other goodbye in another turn or so. It smells dark and damp in here, and Hitoshi can see the sunlight just ahead. Midoriya’s talking about Gyroscope, another up-and-comer, when all at once, they aren't the only two people there. 

There's a clatter behind them, and then a sound like water collecting itself and rising, except water doesn't do that, and a feeling of alarm washes over Hitoshi. He turns around, words dying in his throat because his eyes meet a terrifying grin and a lilting voice that says, "Well, now, what's this? Two for the price of one? It must be my lucky day!" 

There’s a sound of rushing water and a startled shout, maybe from Hitoshi or maybe from Midoriya, and Hitoshi tries to scramble back but the villain isn't looking at him. Oh no, he has his eyes set on Midoriya, who is soon swept up in his mud like body and lifted. The villain cackles and Hitoshi falls backwards and fuck, he can see Midoriya trying to claw his way out from under all that slime. He looks terrified. Hitoshi feels a bottomless fear reflected in Midoriya's own eyes as the villain covers his mouth and his friend starts to struggle anew.  

"Don't worry kid! This'll only take 45 seconds!" 

45 seconds until what? 

Hitoshi scrambles to his feet, hands trembling and heart kicked into overdrive in the face of danger. There's adrenaline in his veins and his flight instinct is screaming at him to run, to get the fuck out of here but the one thing that roots him in place, makes it impossible to turn his back and scamper, is Midoriya. There's someone, right there, who needs his help and Hitoshi can’t run. He stumbles forward, voice crawling from the back of his throat and already shaping into words on his tongue, quirk reared at the forefront of his brain and ready for a response.  

And yet, before he can ask that golden question, and make this villain respond, damn him, another someone emerges from the man hole. His bangs stick up in that signature v for victory, that boundless smile that chases away all fear as long as you're on the right side, the side of good, and a glorious shout: 

"Fear not! For I am here!" 

Holy fucking shit it's All Might. 

"SMASH!" 

For the second time in five minutes, Hitoshi falls on his ass. 

- 

The first thing All Might does after scraping the leftover of the villain off the walls, literally, is check on Midoriya. By this point Hitoshi is already kneeled beside his unconscious friend, desperately trying not to panic because holy fuck where would they be now if All Might hadn't show up? Would Hitoshi really have been able to do something? Or would he have made things worse? 

"It's quite alright, my boy, he's perfectly fine, just unconscious!" 

The confirmation makes the tight feeling in Hitoshi's chest ease a little, until he can breathe a little easier around the slowly receding panic. He looks up in time for All Might to give him an encouraging thumbs up to accompany his trademark grin, before All Might turns his attention back over to Midoriya and starts to lightly pat his cheek. 

"Kid, Kid! Wake up, come on, don't leave us hanging! Ah- there- are you quite alright my boy?" 

Hitoshi watches Midoriya blink his way back to consciousness, blearily squint at All Might as if wondering if he's hallucinating or not, before promptly realizing that no, this is very much real, and yes, that is very much All Might. At which point the green haired boy's eyes go comically wide and he scoots away from under the hero as fast as he can, the beginnings of a stutter forming on his lips.  

"A-A-All Might?!" 

Hitoshi winces at the high pitch while All Might just laughs, seemingly unperturbed by the hero worship clearly shining the Midoriya's eyes. Hitoshi thinks that this is the first time that he's seen the boy this… starstruck and happy, as he scrambles to find the word to express his adoration to someone he clearly admires. After everything that happened in school, and then the villain just now, Midoriya more than deserves to meet someone who makes his words go all loopy like this, because it's worth the awe in his eyes. 

All Might laughs, all loud and lively. "Yes! I'm glad to see you're awake my boy!" 

"W-What are you doing here?" 

All Might simply shakes the bottles in his hands, the ones filled with the body of the villain who looks much smaller and a lot less threatening like this, "I was chasing this villain, you see. I'm glad that I was able to make it in time before something terrible happened." 

"Thank you." In comparison to Midoriya's flustered shrill pitch and All Might's liveliness, Hitoshi's voice is quiet, no thanks to that little bit of shock, but nonetheless grateful. He really was thankful, All Might had not only saved the day, he'd also made them feel just better by being here. 

All Might's smile widens just a smidge in return, looking all the more genuine, "You're quite welcome my boy." 

The man then gets up and stretches before pocketing the bottles. "Well! I better drop these off at the police station. It's always a pleasure meeting fans, but I best be off!" 

"Wait!" Midoriya scrambles to his feet and then scrambles over to his fallen backpack, "C-Can I have an autograph? Please?" 

And All Might only laughs, boisterous and loud, as Midoriya flips to an empty page only to see a signature as large in life as the man himself stretched across two pages. Midoriya gasps very loudly in pure delight, dramatically enough that it makes even Hitoshi give a tired smile. There's something to be said about how alive Midoriya looks right now, post villain attack but in the presence of his hero. 

Midoriya seems to admire the signature for a second before snapping back into himself. And then, just as All Might looks like he's about to leap off or whatever he'll do to 'be off', Midoriya stumbles forward and calls out, "A-All Might, w-wait, I have a question!" 

All Might shakes his head, "I'm sorry, but I insist that I must take my leave!" 

Several things happen at once. 

Midoriya reaches All Might just as the man springs up, powerful leg muscles flexing. His feet leave the ground, and in that split second, Midoriya latches onto the hero's pant leg. 

And then they're gone. Like they were never there in the first place, except a scream follows after their trajectory that can only belong to Midoriya. 

Hitoshi blinks at the empty space that used to have two people occupying it, but now has none. He stands there, stunned and wondering if he's hallucinating maybe, and that when he blinks again, they'll be right there. Maybe even just Midoriya, if that whole villain attack was a dream. 

No one appears out of the thin air. 

"What the fuck." 

He goes home that day, confused and a little worried but still confused as fuck. He can only hope All Might takes care of it then, but viciously promises himself that he's not going to lose Midoriya to being spontaneously kidnapped by a hero knowingly and not so knowingly, when the next loop comes.  

- 

Loop six, Hitoshi is just a smidge too late in slipping out of the classroom at the end of the day, before Bakugou starts his tirade. It never gets easier, this part, where Hitoshi feels every drop of anger collate into something all too real and burning. Has to hold back every last bead of that anger, because he’d love to otherwise turn back and deck Bakugou in his smug face. It never gets easier even when this is, what, the fourth time? Hitoshi really doesn't want to keep count; it just makes him angrier as the urge to give Bakugou a piece of his own medicine grows. But then, even though he's too late in slipping out of the classroom to feign at complete unawareness, he's still somewhat halfway out in the hallway. And then, in that moment, he’s looking back and looking at Midoriya, just like he has so many times before. 

Midoriya looks… scared. Cowed, shamed into submission. Like the one truth he shared with the world after so long of being pushed down, only to get ridiculed for this too, again. He meets Hitoshi's eye, and something changes right then. Because maybe, Hitoshi's anger must show, just a little bit, in the tense purse of his lips and his stiff body movements, because Midoriya looks scared but relieved that Hitoshi is choosing to back down instead of stepping in. Like he has any way of knowing just how angry this makes Hitoshi on his behalf, but is thankful that Hitoshi chooses not to give his hand away so carelessly. 

It will never fail to hurt, this, Midoriya's reckless need to put others before him. Because that’s why, isn't it? Why he was so upset the one-time Hitoshi did step in. Because he didn’t want this to be Hitoshi’s problem, Hitoshi's burden, a target on Hitoshi's back. 

There's nothing Hitoshi can do, because that's what Midoriya wants. Hitoshi can only be there to pick the boy back up again. 

- 

"This belongs to you, right?" 

- 

When the sludge villain strikes, this time, Hitoshi is prepared. The sludge villain overtakes Midoriya in a wave of slime, but Hitoshi's not going to stand around and wait for All Might to come save them, not when he can do something. 

And he can do something. 

"Hey! You're just going to let me go then?" 

Hitoshi takes a step back so he's out of the villain’s reach, when there’s no use giving the guy easy access to himself as well. Not that it would matter, since Hitoshi suspects a goddamn flood of living sewage probably flows faster than his skinny 14-year-old legs can carry him away. The villain eyes him with deep red eyes, and a cruel smile, effortlessly keeping Midoriya trapped. There’s is panic in Midoriya's eyes, and Hitoshi needs this villain to respond. 

"You can try brat." The sludge villain says looking just a little smug, "But I'll catch-"  

Got ya. Because Hitoshi will always be listening for that golden reply. 

"Let him go!" Moments after the command, the villain starts to drips off of Midoriya's body like candle wax drips off of a burning candle, and Midoriya falls to the ground on his knees, coughing loudly and gasping for breath. Hitoshi's by his side in the next second, thumping his back as globs of green sludge fleck on the floor, Midoriya's coughs raw as he spits them out. The sludge villain rests only a foot away in a subdued puddle right now, all but forgotten in the face of Hitoshi's bigger priorities. 

"Are you okay?" 

Midoriya sucks in a huge breath and shakes his head, tears slowly sliding down his cheeks. He's shaking, Hitoshi steadies Midoriya as the boy sits back up, hands coming up to wipe his mouth. His head lolls against his chest, eyes shadowed by his hair, and Hitoshi’s worried. Hitoshi reaches for his back-pack off and maybe get some water for his friend, but before he can do any of that, they're joined by their missing fourth party in this damp tunnel. 

"Worry not, for I am here!" 

Hitoshi flinches at how All Might's words echo loudly in the tunnel. His control slips from the villain just in time for the poor man to catch sight of Japan's number one hero, start with, "Oh fuck-" before he's once again reduced into a splatter on the wall. 

Midoriya's head snaps up at the sound of All Might's signature shout, eyes becoming impossibly large in surprise. Hitoshi sits back then, amused, as Midoriya recovers in record time and scrambles to his feet, already starting to stutter his way through his first words to his all-time favorite hero, "A-All Might!" 

"Yes!" All Might stands proud, not overly worried about collecting the villain splattered at the side of the tunnel, "It is me! Could it be that you're a fan my boy?" 

And oh, there's a mischievous twinkle in All Might's eye as Hitoshi watches him work his charm on Izuku, coaxing the boy into helping him scoop the villain into two soda bottles and giving him something better to do than sink into the terrified helplessness of almost falling victim to a villain attack. It's still such a wonder to watch All Might bring such a bright smile to Midoriya's face. Hitoshi could really have never known the boy could look so happy when they're at school. 

Or, maybe, better yet, it's a smile that their school has squashed out of him, something that maybe used to come naturally and with such genuity. It's a shame, because Hitoshi can't help but think that the expression suits Midoriya, that the boy should be allowed this kind of happiness more often. 

Hitoshi scoops himself and Midoriya's bag up from the ground, handing over a notebook as Midoriya babbles about getting All Might's signature. It’s not needed, however, where the man has still somehow managed to sign the unluckily singed notebook 13 despite Hitoshi having watched him for most of this encounter, but maybe that's the magic of being the number one hero. Signing your fans notebooks at superspeed before they can even ask for the autograph. 

And then: "All Might, w-wait! I have questions I need to ask you!" 

"I'm sorry young man, but I must take my leave! Maybe some other time!" 

Midoriya steps forward and Hitoshi reaches out to grab the strap on top of his backpack, doing his best to pull the boy back from making this mistake again. But Midoriya isn't deterred, far from it, actually, and with one last surge of strength still manages to grab onto All Might. 

Hitoshi feels it when Midoriya is wrenched into the air, because he's still holding the back of the boy's bag too, and instead of letting go, well- 

Hitoshi tightens his grip, and flies. 

- 

Hitch-hiking a pro hero's super powered jump is utterly terrifying. Hitoshi leaves his stomach behind on the ground anyways, but the wind still finds a way to rip a scream out of his lungs two second into him being airborne. Midoriya desperately clings to All Might's leg like a particularly clingy koala, while Hitoshi does his best with the bag on Midoriya's back. 

Over the roar of the wind, Hitoshi doesn't quite catch which words All Might shoots back at Midoriya when he catches the two guilty and severely-regretting-their-life-choices passengers, but not a moment too soon he's being scooped under an arm until they finally land on a rooftop in the middle of the city. 

Hitoshi collapses onto his knees and takes huge gulping breaths while Midoriya stands bent over his knees besides him, doing the same.

“My whole life just flashed before my eyes…” Hitoshi gives Midoriya an incredulous side-eyed stare, replying with a wheezing, “Dude, I think I almost died.”   

“Not a very smart move!” All Might calls back, standing there, looking over the city with his back to them, hands on his hips, “Bang on the door for a while, and someone will let you in.”

He starts walking to the edge of the roof, raising a hand in goodbye, “I have to go! See you on the flip side!” 

This seems to spur Midoriya into action, because he takes a desperate step forward to follow after the hero, “Wait, not yet! I have to ask you something!”

Hitoshi snags Midoriya’s sleeve before he can get too far, not too keen on another flight across the city, “Midoriya, just let him go.”

Midoriya pays Hitoshi no attention, just absentmindedly pulling his sleeve out of Hitoshi's grip, but even All Might sounds just a little agitated as he refuses to turn back, “No. I don’t have any time.” 

“I have to know!” Hitoshi startles at the sheer desperation in Midoriya’s voice, watching wide eyed as the green haired boy refuses to back down. “Is it possible to become a hero even though I don’t have a quirk?!”

All Might freezes. He looks back at them with a single glowing blue eye, “Without a quirk?”

As if right from some dramatic ass action movie, smoke seems to surround All Might. Hitoshi stands a little straighter as All Might seems to curl up slightly, desperately holding onto his side, before the smoke, which Hitoshi realizes almost looks like it's coming from the man himself, obscures him from view almost entirely.

When the smoke clears, All Might is gone, in his place standing a skeleton of man who looks like he could be knocked over by a strong wind.

Hitoshi's jaw drops in surprise, while Midoriya takes a halting step back, "N-No, what? You're not- where's All Might? You're not him, you're-" because All Might is supposed to be a giant of a man, who saves the day with a fearless smile. It'd be a miracle if this guy manages to save himself from kneeling over and dying of whatever sickness plagues him.

Nonetheless, the man stares at them resolutely, "Not pretty, am I? I'm-" The man is interrupted when he bursts into a bloody cough that has Hitoshi stepping forward with the same instinct that compels people to ask if the elderly need help carrying their groceries. But the man seems to recover quickly, and after dabbing at his mouth with an already bloodied handkerchief, slowly sits down to lean back against the railings that circle the rooftop. 

"I am All Might, I hope you know. But- look, I'm going to have to ask you kids to keep silent about this whole thing. I hope you can do that."

And then the man lifts his shirt to reveal his abdomen, and it get worse. There's a horrific scar taking the whole left side of his stomach, muscle pushed in to a crater at the center of the hit and then lumps of poorly healed muscle circling it, like his whole stomach had been caved in at some point, "You're seeing me like this right now because of this."

Distantly, Hitoshi realizes that his hands are shaking, unable to look away. Midoriya flinches, and his hand knocks against Hitoshi's.

All Might, against all odds, continues, "I got this injury somewhat six years ago. Ever since then, well- it took my whole respiration system and most of my stomach. I've been worn out by all the surgeries and I- I can only do hero work for three hours a day."

"Did-" Midoriya starts, then stops, then forges on, "Was this from the- the fight with toxic Chainsaw? Is that how you- how you got that injury?" 

All Might smiles, a small, sad thing, "Not quite, but you certainly seem to know your stuff. No, most of the world has never heard of this fight. I did everything I could to keep it under wraps." He keeps going, like now that he's started, he can't stop. "I’m supposed to be the guy who’s always smiling right? The symbol of peace. People everywhere have to think I’m never afraid. But honestly? Sometimes you just have to smile to hide the fear inside."

Hitoshi watches as All Might gives Midoriya an appraising look, "There are too many dangers like this in the heroics industry. You asked me if I think you could become a hero without a quirk. I think… no, I don’t think you can." 

Midoriya inhales sharply from beside Hitoshi, "I-I-"

“Pro-heroes are always having to risk their lives and some villains just can’t be beat without power.”

Hitoshi supposes he saw it coming. Because, well, All Might has already said it but- “So, no, I honestly don’t think you can become a hero without a quirk.”

All Might shakily rises to his feet, and Hitoshi suddenly feel… cheated. Who does All Might think he is, to tell anyone they can’t be a hero?

“If you want to help people, there are plenty of others ways to do it. You could become a police officer. They get crap because the heroes capture most of the villains, but it’s a fine profession.”

That’s- unfair. Police officer? Seriously? Does All Might really think a quirkest society like theirs would see someone quirkless become anything less than dead? Does he think that Midoriya won’t get laughed out of everywhere he goes, just like he always has been? Did he think about that at all, think about what people have probably been telling Midoriya his whole life that there’s no way he could amount to anything? It’s such a- infuriating thing to say, become a police officer, as if it’s that easy.

(Hitoshi thinks he’s so angry because this could have been him. Standing in front of the number one hero, asking if he could become a hero with a villainous quirk. He thinks about All Might looking him in the eye and telling him no, because society would never except people like Hitoshi, like Midoriya.)

“You don’t get to say that.”

It isn’t until they’re both looking at him, does Hitoshi realize that he’s the one who spoke. But he feels- cheated, like All Might told him the sky is red when it’s not, and anyone who wants to be a hero should be given a chance to realize that dream, no matter what their quirk is.

“You-“

“Young man,” All Might cuts him off and Hitoshi has to clench his jaw shut from snapping at the symbol of peace, “Your friend asked for my opinion, and I have given it. It will do no good to give him false hope.”

Harsh breaths echo in the silence, and All Might is wrong. Hitoshi doesn’t know why he feels so strongly about this, but he just does. It’s the same thing that has had him finding Midoriya, day after day, loop after loop, trying to find the right combination of words, actions, information to make the boy’s day easier. Just one day, that Hitoshi wants to give him, because- because- 

Because no will. (Because Midoriya is going to be a hero, the best anyone has ever seen, better than even All Might. Hitoshi can feel it, deep in his bones, that Midoriya will be the kind of hero who puts himself in danger if it means saving just one more life. Hitoshi owes it to him, just this much, because Hitoshi wants to be a hero too.)

All Might sighs, deep and weary, but Hitoshi can find no sympathy for the man, “I’m sorry. I hope you understand, it would do no one any good for me to be dishonest. But- I think this where I must take my leave. I hope you both understand.”

All Might leaves two boys alone on the rooftop.

Hitoshi’s still trying to pull himself together, head tilted down as he reins his anger into something manageable, when he hears an explosion in the distance. His head snaps up just in time to see a plume of smoke rising from several blocks away.

“A villain attack...” Midoriya mummers and Hitoshi turns to meet his eyes, something vulnerable and lost that he doesn't know how to take back, “Do you- ah- want to go see…?” 

“Sure.” Hitoshi hitches the straps of his bag higher on his shoulders, “Let’s go.” 

They walk in silence, both lost in thought. It must be a lot, Hitoshi thinks, when Midoriya had been so brave to ask his hero the ultimate question. Can I be hero, without a quirk? Only to be let down so brutally… Hitoshi wants to say something, discredit all of All Might’s words, because he is wrong, but he doesn’t know how. He doesn’t how anything he could say that would mean anything more to Midoriya than something hollow but- Hitoshi just knows. He knows that Midoriya’s going to be a greater hero than all of them, combined.

It’s easier to spot the place of the attack when they catch sight of the fires that take up a whole street when they get close enough to see it. A crowd is gathered just at the opening of this particular alley, watching as the hero’s do their best to keep the damage from reaching the civilians. Kumui Woods deposits a few people with the crowd, already swinging into action and looking for more, and Hitoshi realizes that this already a bad match for the wooden hero. He sees Backdraft, putting out the fires, but the source of them still seems to be active, because it’ll take more than one lone hero to handle the flames alone. Hitoshi catches a glance of Death Arms, standing a little way in front of the crowd and-

Midoriya’s hands rise to cover his mouth as a sick feeling twists in Hitoshi’s gut.

It’s the sludge villain.

The crowd shifts in front of them, restless, “Shit- why aren’t the heroes doing anything?”

“I don’t think they can,” a lady says, “Didn’t you see-“ 

“-Hostage? I can’t see a-“

“-Some kid-“

The crowd shifts, restless, and Hitoshi catches sight of scared red eyes. He knows them, and their owner, but he's never seen Bakugou like this, terrified and drowning.

Before Hitoshi can even gather himself together to make a plan, Midoriya has already taken off running. 

-

Hitoshi doesn't really remember much about the part where Midoriya ran into an active villain attack to save his childhood bully.

But what he does remember is watching All Might appear in his 'inflated' form, which is still so fucking weird to say, and save the day with a single punch, while also single handedly changing the weather with said punch. He'd been pushing through the crowd when All Might said something to Midoriya, but Hitoshi doesn't really know what that was because All Might left quickly after. Probably because the man had already pushed through his three-hour limit and had made that last save running on fumes, but really, what did Hitoshi know.

He remembers making it to Midoriya, hugging his friend (friend? Sharing two life-death experiences makes you friends with a person, right?) as he got checked over by the paramedics, and then watching him get scolded by the heroes for recklessly endangering his life.

He remembers promising to get him safely home.

Hitoshi let's Midoriya have his silence, vary of the next big thing that might happen to them. He doesn't want this, any of it, and God, why can't the day just end? He's lived through this same day six times and would very much like to reach tomorrow, thank you very much. But even that isn't a guarantee, because for all Hitoshi knows he'll probably be waking up to a redo of today, again.

Actually, it's about time he... start looking elsewhere for ways to end this loop, because- well- Hitoshi can't just live like this, right? And no matter how much it rankles him to leave Midoriya's side, which is such a weird feeling because they hadn't even talked before today, he wants to get out of today. He wants tomorrow. He wants breakfast with his father, and he wants nothing to do with running into Bakugou at the lockers and having to offer his lunch to Midoriya because Bakugou knocked his food onto the ground. He wants nothing to do with leaving the classroom early after the bell rings, leaving Midoriya behind because there's nothing he can do about the suicide bait. He wants to be Midoriya's friend, proper, and not just be there to pick up the broken pieces from the ground because he can’t figure out a better way.

He wants to move on. 

This has been the most... interesting loop by far, and Hitoshi just hopes that he can see Midoriya get home safely and finally put this mess of a day behind him.

So of course, because the universe seems to have a grudge against Hitoshi personally, Bakugou fucking Katsuki comes around the corner.

"Deku-"

"No." Both boys stare at Hitoshi in surprise, but Hitoshi is just fucking done, "No, okay? Look, I don’t know why you're here, or what you have to say but just- no."

Bakugou snarls, "You fucking-" 

"Stop-" Even to himself Hitoshi sounds just a little deranged, "Bakugou, everyone's had a long day and it's very obvious you're not here to say something nice so can you just drop it? Can we do this tomorrow? Because me and Midoriya would really like to get home right about now after getting attacked by a fucking villain and fucking- sleep this off or something. Please."

"You weren't the one being choked by that fucker dumbass!"

"Midoriya was!" Hitoshi shouts right back, "You weren't there and I'm not interested in recounting the details so just leave."

"You-" 

"Kacchan." Bakugou looks at Midoriya with barely contained rage, and Hitoshi isn't so good in a fight but he's had his quirk ready the moment Bakugou started speaking. If Bakugou takes another step forward, he's not going to remember his walk home, "Shinsou- he's-" It’s like its physically painful for him to say, but then, Hitoshi doesn't think he's ever seen Midoriya talk back to Bakugou like this, "We've all had a rough day so can we just..."

Midoriya peters off but the message is clear. Bakugou stands there fuming for all of five seconds before letting out a loud, "FUCK!", turning on his heel, and stomping away.

They watch him go in silence before Hitoshi says, "I'm sorry."

"It’s fine." Midoriya has a strange look of resignation in his eyes, "I'll deal with it tomorrow."

"We'll deal with it tomorrow." Hitoshi corrects mildly. When he sees the surprised look on Midoriya's face, he lets out a rueful chuckle, "What, you think he won't remember this? That I dared to talk back to him?"

"Shinsou..."

"It was my choice," Hitoshi says, because Midoriya is starting to look guilty for something that isn't even his fault, "I knew what I was getting into when I spoke back."

"But-" 

"Listen-" Hitoshi bends slightly to grip Midoriya's shoulders tightly in his hands, "It doesn't matter okay? What's done is done, and let Bakugou hold all the grudges he wants. I don’t care." 

They move on after that. Hitoshi can tell Midoriya is still stewing silently with guilt but Hitoshi’s too wrung out to start dealing with that mess of guilt, so he lets the boy be.

They stop at a corner and Midoriya stares determinedly down at his red sneakers, "My house is just up ahead so- Um- Thank you for walking me home."

"No problem." Hitoshi turns on his heel to leave, but stops when Midoriya grabs his sleeve. "Wait!"

He tilts his head back, watching the boy fidget and then slowly let go, "I-um-" it takes a while but- "T-thank you, for today. I- it was- easier. Having you there for- well-"

"Its fine." Hitoshi watches curiously as Midoriya seems to shrink into himself. Its... cute. "Today sucked but I'm glad I could help with that a little bit."

He still doesn't feel like he did enough, like he could have done more. But this- this was the best he could do, for now, and well...

"Thank you."

Hitoshi smiles, "You're welcome."

- 

Hitoshi's almost far enough to miss it when he hears- "A-All Might!" and lets out a string of curses that would have made his mother look on in horror.

He runs back, viciously regretting ever getting involved in Midoriya's business because for fucks sake the boy was a trouble magnet. Hitoshi couldn’t leave him be for one second, could he?

He's almost there, just has to walk around the corner to nose his way into this conversation, but stops just short when he hears- "- I came here to thank you."

All Might continues, sounding strangely subdued as he says, "If you hadn't told me about your life, if you hadn’t run into that fight, I would have been a worthless bystander watching from the crowd. So, thanks."

Hitoshi leans against the wall as he imagines Midoriya straighten, "Oh! No- it was my fault he was there to begin with." Hitoshi could argue with that, could argue none of them saw the villain's escape coming, not when the whole thing was one huge mistake, but it isn’t his place. He’s not really even supposed to be here right now. "I got in the way of your work. I wasted your energy and- not to mention, your time."

"I'm not done."

Hitoshi leans his head back against the wall, watching the clouds swirl lazily above. "You told me you didn’t have a power. So, when I saw this quirkless timid boy try and save a life, it inspired me to act too."

What had Hitoshi done, then? He had just let Midoriya run in, hadn't he? Alone but determined to save even one person, no matter his history with them. No matter that his hero had told him that he couldn’t be a hero without a quirk. Does that make Hitoshi a coward, then?

"There are stories about every hero," All Might continued, "how they became great. Most have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think."

Hitoshi hears the hitch in Midoriya's breath, he can imagine the tears that follow.

"Today, that’s what happened to you.

"Young man, you too can become a hero"

He slides down the wall until he's sitting against it, feeling light-headed with- relief? Content? Because- well. Well. What an ending, huh? What a day.

Hitoshi feels black encroach the corners of his vision and oh, that isn't good, is it? But it's like the world is right again and oh, does this mean the time loops are over? Or is this as far as he can go in the loop and- and-

God, he can't wait to go back to U.A again. He imagines Aizawa must be worried because- 

Because that's just Aizawa, isn't it? He worries, for his kids, even though- even though he pretends not to.

That’s- right. U.A. He's not in middle school, he's- 

Hitoshi loses conscious. 

Chapter Text

Hitoshi comes back to the living world with a gasp. 

The first thing he notices is that he is most certainly not in his dorm room. There are green curtains drawn on either side of his bed and a faint antiseptic smell in the air, which probably means that he's in the school infirmary right now. His heartbeat slows down a little at the familiar space then, but with his memories starting to fill in Hitoshi's almost desperately confused, because they make no sense.  

He was- in middle school? And- Midoriya was there and so was Bakugou but- Hitoshi doesn't know those two from middle school. He doesn't even know where Aldera is. He doesn't know what was happening, and the more he thinks about it, he'd really believed he was fourteen, hadn't he? He was fourteen again but somewhere he's never been, but it hadn't been like that in his memory. Or whatever it was that Hitoshi just woke up from. It was- oh, a time loop, fine, but- that still isn't much better. 

So he was in a time loop, with Midoriya and Bakugou as the only two people there that he actually knows now in real life and- then what? Had Bakugou and Midoriya known they were in a time loop? Had they also felt that wrongness creep on them throughout the whole thing- because Hitoshi certainly had. He remembers several instances where he could have sworn something was wrong but hadn't been able to put his finger on it. That was obviously his real memories trying to break through and- 

God, it's so confusing. What was the point of the whole thing, anyways? How did he break the loop in the end? What happened? 

Hitoshi sits up, then, determined to maybe talk to someone and set his own head straight, because he has way too many questions and little to no answers. He wants to know what happened, how it happened and if he was the only one. 

He pulls back the curtain to his left to see that Recovery Girl's desk is empty, which means she's probably stepped out for the moment. Fine then, she'll probably be back soon so he just has to wait- 

Behind him, someone else draws back the curtain that was separating the two cots in the infirmary. Hitoshi had a feeling that the other bed was occupied, but what are the chances that a familiar nervous lilt speaks up behind him. 

"Shinsou?" 

Hitoshi sighs in relief and turns around, "Midoriya. Do you know what's happening?"  

But Midoriya is silent. He's staring at the floor and Hitoshi can't see his eyes, body one taught trembling line. "...Midoriya?" 

"You're okay." Midoriya sounds... wrecked. 

"I am." He can't get a reliable read on Midoriya, so Hitoshi ends up falling back on something that has usually worked in the past. "Do you... want a hug?" 

Midoriya nods tightly, and Hitoshi gently rises from his cot and goes to sit beside Midoriya. He raises his arms in an open invite, and holds steady when Midoriya finally curls against him with a desperate half sob. 

"Shinsou, " 

"Hey," Hitoshi holds onto his friend, feeling as though he could have seen this coming but not knowing how, can only be there for when Midoriya crumbles, "It's okay, you're okay-" 

Midoriya is an easy crier, by never like this, desperate and quiet yet still sounding like someone tore his heart out.  

His hands reach up to grip tightly at the back of Hitoshi's shirt like Hitoshi is a life line, like Midoriya's afraid Hitoshi will disappear if he lets go. He's crying like they just escaped a life-or-death situation, and Hitoshi doesn't know what to make of it. 

"You're fine, you're okay Midoriya." Hitoshi guides Midoriya's head to rest on his shoulder, starting to trace mindless circles onto his back. Like this, Midoriya feels so small somehow, something crushed and hurting. It's a startling contrast to Hitoshi's image of him from their first meeting at the Sports Festival, standing determined and steadfast in a stadium of cheering crowds, desperate to prove himself.  

Hitoshi wonders, abruptly, if this has anything to do with the loops. It could make sense, but Hitoshi has a feeling that that's not it. He imagines that if it really was Midoriya back there, and not just echo of something not all real, then Midoriya wouldn't have- things wouldn't have happened like they did. Midoriya has never struck Hitoshi as a pushover, or someone who'd let himself be walked all over. It just- doesn't fit? Not with how many times Hitoshi has seen Midoriya stand up to Bakugou, refusing to take his shit.  

And besides, in the loops, or whatever they were, Midoriya was quirkless. There's no way they were real. 

So here, Hitoshi has no idea what could be wrong, but he's determined to help once Midoriya has calmed down enough to tell him.  

- 

"You okay?" 

They've moved in the past few minutes. Hitoshi managed to coax Midoriya into letting him shift backwards so he could lean against the headboard and not have to support all of Midoriya's upper body weight. Midoriya's breathing is still heavy, but at least the tears have dried up. His head tucked against his chest, head resting against Hitoshi's collar, but Hitoshi doesn't care. He's ended up resting his own head against the side of Midoriya's, and they're sitting close enough that they don't have to look at each other to have this conversation. 

"Midoriya?" 

Midoriya hums, listless, and Hitoshi wants to make it easier, somehow. "What happened?" 

There's silence. Hitoshi thinks maybe Midoriya isn't ready to talk about this, whatever this is, or maybe he's too afraid and- 

Midoriya shifts slightly, hand twisting in the hem of his shirt, "Do you remember what happened?" 

"... I don't?" 

"Before you were- asleep, do you remember what we were doing before that?" 

Hitoshi racks his brain, trying to think past the time loops, the questions that burn on his tongue, desperately wanting answers. Instead, he moves past them, to before, when it was just a normal evening and- 

"Our patrol routes crossed." 

Midoriya nods, "They did. Both our supervisors were called in to resolve a conflict-" 

"-but we got hit by that- by that guy's quirk." 

Midoriya stills, getting quieter by the second. "We did." 

It... makes sense, but doesn't explain the loops, the missing memories and hallucinations and- "What happened then?" 

"They still aren't sure yet." Midoriya breathes out a shaky sigh, "Aizawa-sensei was there when they questioned the man on the specifics of his quirk, but he... refused to say. Unless they find his file on the database, no one can be really sure of what exactly happened after we went unconscious." 

"I was-" 

"-stuck in a loop?" 

Hitoshi flinches. He goes to move back, wants to see what expression it is that Midoriya's making, but Midoriya doesn't let him. He just clings tighter, head still tilted low, like he's afraid of Hitoshi seeing him. Hitoshi sighs, and curls his arm tighter around Midoriya's shoulders, "You were there too?" 

He prays Midoriya will say no. Prays that Midoriya will tell him that it was only Hitoshi who got hit by that stupid quirk and it wasn't him living the life of someone quirkless. Wasn't Midoriya who was beaten down and mocked, told to jump off the roof, told- 

"Not in yours." 

Hitoshi let's out a breath but then the words register in his head, "Mine?" 

"Yeah. We saw-" a shuddering breath. Voice shaky, falling apart, "We saw different things." 

It's just then that the door to the infirmary opens, revealing a steely eyed Recovery Girl who marches into the room knowing damn well she owns the place. Aizawa slinks in after her, but it's the file tucked under his arm that draws Hitoshi's eye. 

- 

"I don't understand why me and Midoriya have to be briefed separately." 

All Might had shown up a little while ago and taken Midoriya with him, while Aizawa had sat down in front of Hitoshi.  

(He hadn't been able to meet All Might's eye right then, memory of a forgotten rooftop still fresh in his mind. A young voice, asking, "Is it possible to become a hero without a-) 

"It's better this way, trust me." 

Hitoshi runs a tired hand over his face, "You're scaring me Sensei."  

It's supposed to come off light hearted, something to cut through the tension. But Aizawa doesn't deign him with a response, just looks at him before passing the file to him. It's open on a quirk profile, and Hitoshi immediately places the man as the one who they ran into yesterday (yesterday? It seems like so long ago when him and Aizawa had answered that call for backup). 

He runs a hand over the page, noting details like height and age before finding his way down to the quirk description. 

'Memory Scape only comes into effect on two or more people. When two people are affected by this quirk, both are sent into one of the other person's 'memories'-' 

'-the person who the memory belongs to believes it to be the 'lowest moment in their life'. Both parties fall into a coma like state-' 

'-only comes to an end when each person lives out the memory almost exactly as it occurred in real life-' 

Hitoshi can't breathe. 

It doesn't- this doesn't make any sense because- 

"What you saw, was something that happened to Midoriya sometime in his past." 

His breathing is- Hitoshi can't feel the air reach his lungs properly. It's like if he breathes too loud everything will- 

'-lives out the memory almost exactly as it occurred-' 

("Is it possible to become a hero even though I don't have a quirk?!") 

"Kid?" 

("-Swan dive off the roof-") 

Hitoshi stays very very still because- 

("This will only take 45 seconds!") 

Because- 

("No, I honestly don't think you can become a hero without a quirk-") 

Because- 

First by the lockers. Again. At lunch. Again. Last period. Again. After school. Again. In the underpass. On the rooftop. Walking home.  

Again and again and again. 

("Is it possible to become a hero even though I don't have a quirk?" 

"No, I honestly don't think-") 

"Shinsou." Aizawa's voice cuts through the silence like a knife through butter. Hitoshi flinches. His breathing is still shallow, and his hands are shaking. Aizawa is crouched in front of him, in the space between the two cots. His eyes are dark, pitch black like something to hold onto. "Kid. Talk to me." 

Hitoshi opens his mouth, and a pained hiss is the only thing he can manage. He shakes his head.  

"Do you want me to call Midoriya back in?" 

Hitoshi nods and Aizawa stands up. A hand lands on his shoulder, but Hitoshi's hands are shaking where they hold the file, "Stay here." 

He doesn't know how long Aizawa is gone for, just that he is, just that Hitoshi's thoughts feel like they might crush him. 

Real, all of it was- 

"Shinsou?"  

The words on the file are blurred, shapeless and flowing into something unreadable. His own breathing feels like it's grating against his throat, lungs pumping in and out but there's no air. 

(All of it was-) 

"Hey, can you look at me Shinsou? Please?" 

Hands, trembling as the file is pulled out of them. Midoriya gets up, slowly, carefully, maybe so Shinsou could tell him no if he needed to. Say, I don't need this, I need to be left alone. 

But he does need this. 

Arms, around him and Midoriya is warm. He's warm and sturdy and there, not small and shaking and beaten, not ragged breathed and drowned. Not teary eyed and a cobbled smile, on the last few wisps of a broken dream, grateful for the one person there to maybe help him up from where he'd fallen. 

Here, complete and whole. A hero. 

Hitoshi gasps as the first few tears slip and now, he's the one who feels like he can't let go. Like if he does then the nightmare will come back, and he'll be fourteen again, trying to look out for a kid who the world seemed determined to crush under its heel. 

It's- two U.A students, in the hero course and out of a nightmare, trying to steady each other as they weather through the storm. 

When Hitoshi's breathing feels steady enough to risk words, even as unsteady as they might be, he asks, "Is it true?" 

Midoriya hums quietly, always steady, "What is?" 

"That you were quirkless," Hitoshi breathes in a ragged whisper, "In middle school, you didn't have a-" 

"Yes." Quiet, but Midoriya wouldn't lie about this. 

"Fuck." Hitoshi breathes that truth in, an experience he doesn't want to impress on Midoriya. Being quirkless is- well, Hitoshi saw it first hand, didn't he? He saw first fucking hand what being quirkless might look like. Did look like. 

A drop of heavy silence, and more question well on Hitoshi's tongue. He wants Midoriya to tell him that the rest of it isn't true, that the meeting on the rooftop- 

"Were you alone?" Hitoshi's hands scrabble against Midoriya's back, desperate to look at Midoriya when Midoriya gives him an answer, "Were you alone, on that rooftop, when All Might said- said-" Hitoshi cuts himself off. He can't even say it, can't imagine not being there as the horror mounts into something very real.  

Because Midoriya pulls back and his eyes are blank, lifeless and shaded as he looks at Hitoshi and says, "Yes. I was." 

Hitoshi stares back at Midoriya, lost for words. 

Alone. 

Alone, as Bakugou picked on him in that classroom. Alone, as he walked home. Alone, as he was drowned by that villain. Alone, on that rooftop, asking his favorite hero- 

("Is it possible to become a hero even though I don't have a quirk?" 

"No-") 

Hitoshi doesn't know how to reconcile the differences. He doesn't know how to make it better. 

- 

"You okay?" 

Hitoshi feels... drained out, having told the last of his story. He feels like someone washed all the color out of him, leaving him muted and grey.  

"I'm fine." His voice feels too loud, in this too-small interrogation room, with only Aizawa and the guy they called down from the police station as company. He'd been told that Midoriya had already given his statement, given that he'd woken up first. Hitoshi doesn't even want to think about what Midoriya might have seen, what might look like 'the lowest moment' in Hitoshi's life. He doesn't have the emotional energy left to deal with anymore of this, and just... wants to go back to the dorms. Go back to his room and sleep. 

Aizawa is watching him like he knows Hitoshi isn't 'fine' but also understands that pushing will make it worse. So he walks with him to the front of the building where they meet All Might and Midoriya in the midst of a goodbye. Specifically, All Might with a hand on Midoriya's shoulder and parting words, "-take care of yourself my boy. It would do no good to burn out." 

Something ugly wells up in Hitoshi at the sight. He knows it's probably been a long time since the rooftop, and Midoriya and All Might have clearly moved past it. But for Hitoshi it was only a scant few hours ago that he woke up from the loops, and a bitter part of him can't help but ask, what right does this man have, to speak to him that way? When he broke his dreams, left him on a rooftop, alone- 

"Let's go Midoriya." 

Midoriya flinches under All Might's grip, surprised. "R-right! Let's go." 

The walk back is silent, save for Midoriya trying and failing to start a conversation. Eventually, Hitoshi takes pity on him and says, "It's fine. I'm just tired right now." 

"R-right." Midoriya twists his fingers in that bad habit of his that all of his friends have been trying to get him to break for a while now, "W-will you be alright?" 

"Yeah." The dorms are right there, like nothing ever changed, waiting for them to come back, "I'll be fine." 

- 

The first thing that Hitoshi hears on stepping into the common room is a loud grating voice that says, "You fucking dumbass. You just had to get hit by a quirk, didn't you nerd?" 

And, oh boy, Hitoshi feels angry. 

One moment a clamor rises up, worried voices calling out for assurances of their recovery. Worried and too-nosy-for-their-good classmates grouping around them, asking if they need anything, and to never scare them like that again, and Midoriya, you didn't break a bone again, did you? 

But everything is washed out by the dull roar of anger in Hitoshi's ears, a voice that said ("Take a swan dive off the roof-!") burning words followed by burning hands, and nobody is able to stop Hitoshi from pushing through the crowd and decking Bakugou right in the face. 

He doesn't think he's ever seen Bakugou startled into inaction, not when it's about a fight coming his way. He doesn't think anyone's ever had the gall to just walk over and sock him right in the face either. But Hitoshi's done both of those things and doesn't feel even a smudge better for it because in the end, it changes nothing. 

Before anyone can react, he's already dropped to his haunches and pulled Bakugou up with a hand twisted into the front of his shirt, leaning his face in dangerously close so that's it's only the two of them who hear his next words. 

"If you ever treat Midoriya like you treated him back in middle school, I'll string you up from the dorm roof myself." 

Bakugou's hands reach up to tear off Hitoshi's grip from his shirt, already popping with explosions. But: his eyes are wide, surprised and caught completely off guard. Hitoshi shoves him back and gets to his feet, and before everyone starts fussing again, walks away. 

He walks away, and refuses to look back.