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It felt familiar. Sure, they practiced during the month of training but those times didn't hold the intention they did now. No. Right now it felt like the Sports Festival again. It shouldn't have been comforting. Knowing what was going to happen next - what was happening now - would change Class 1-A forever.
He could see the vestiges looking at him sadly. Comforting him.
Pitying him.
And he was brought back with a shot to his chest.
Logically speaking, he should feel sad. Angry. Furious. That's what Hitoshi Shinso was expecting. Bracing for.
He's afraid of you.
He is afraid of me.
As he should be.
Letting out a sigh, he turned to face his classmate. Because that's what they were. Classmates. If they were anything more then he would've thought about what he was doing twice. Scratch that. If they were friends, he would've thought about it. About how it would feel. Shinso always talked about how hard life was for him. Because now that Midoriya has a flashy quirk, perfect for heroics, it means that he's the problem. Again.
And again.
A n d a g a i n.
Problem child really is a fitting name, isn't it?
Anything would've been better than the blank stare Midoriya was giving him through the mirror. But what else was he supposed to do? Trust Midoriya?
Yes.
He needed this win.
Are you really winning here?
It wasn't his own fault. Midoriya approached him and asked for his help.
Because he trusted you.
Look where that got him.
You're still pointing the gun.
A sigh broke him out of his trance as Midoriya turned to face him. Looking at him without the glass in between them broke all false confidence he still had left, leaving him to idly stare at the floor.
"It wasn't just you, was it?"
It was framed as a question, but Hitoshi knew he knew. But the silence was deafening and he didn't want to go back to that again.
"No."
"All of you?"
If he could look any lower he would. Couldn't Midoriya tell how hard it was for him? To make the choice? To shoot someone who was willing to seek them out for their potential? If he couldn't understand that then he clearly wasn't the person Hitoshi thought he was.
And what about him?
What about him? Sure he'd been quirkless for 14 years of his life, but he's fine. He has a quirk. A strong, hero's quirk. He should be fine.
Liar.
Liar.
All he could do was mumble a quick, quiet sorry. Which Midoriya heard.
And it was just Midoriya. It would never be anything else.
"I don't care."
"All I learnt over the past month is that when it comes down to it, when it's between me and you, you'd never choose me. None of you would choose me. So why should I choose you anymore?"
The hall was silent. It was as if time itself stopped moving.
"Honestly, I'm quite fucking tired of being your punching bag. Being the one who has to break their bones to keep you warm. To keep you comfortable. Because what the actual fuck do you expect from me? To be okay after you created a back handed tactic - which, by the way, wouldn't even work in a practical situation - just to make sure you don't have to fight?"
"Midoriya..." It seems as though Aizawa thought this was a good time to butt in. Now. When he's losing control. Not when Kacchan Bakugo punches the shit out of him. Not when Bakugo attempts to murder him. Not when they decided this was a good tactic. Now he decides to be a good teacher.
"I'm not done."
His wide eyed stared showed that he wasn't expecting that. No one was.
They don't know you.
And Kirishima decided that he shouldn't interrupt as well.
"Is it really that big of a deal? It was just a game, bro."
That seemed to shake people out of their stupor, considering the grunts of approval sounding from around the room.
Pathetic.
"If it was just a game you wouldn't have needed to use that tactic. I'm glad to find out that playing with my emotions seems to be some sort of fun game for you though, Kirishima."
That seemed to shut them up again.
Good.
They had a choice. They could have decided that the decision they were making was a bad one. They could have stood up to Bakugo. He did and he didn't even need a quirk to do that.
"But anyways, I have a track record of taking my losses well and I don't intend to lose it because none of you have foresight. So congratulations. To your victory only brought about by your wonderful leadership skills, Bakugo."
And Midoriya turned around and left.