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Izuku enters the second floor bathroom, grimacing a little at the sweat making his hair stick to the back of his neck ( gross, gross, gross- ). He’d been practising with Todoroki, and don’t get Izuku wrong, he’s super happy to have people to train with but- Todoroki’s fire was so warm that it made him sweat so much more than usual… which made Izuku want to shower even more than he usually did after training.
He’s about to enter the shower rooms, when he hears something coming from the toilet stalls. Izuku frowns, shuffling closer. It’s someone sobbing, muffled enough that Izuku is pretty sure that they’re using a hand to cover their mouth to hide the sobs.
“Uh-” He starts, before realising he doesn’t know what to say, “Are- are you okay?”
It’s a stupid question, and the crying person seems to agree because there’s a quiet, watery giggle. He doesn’t recognise it, which is weird because it has to be someone in 1-A since no one else can get into the dorm building. He shifts a little, pulling on his shirt so it isn’t sticking to his back.
The bathroom stall door opens and… it’s Aoyama. His hair is messy and his eyes are red and watery, but he gives Izuku a smile as if he’s fine. Izuku isn’t convinced, and the other boy clearly knows it.
“Aoyama-kun…” Izuku starts, but he trails off when Aoyama shakes his head,
“I am fine!” The french boy says, “There is nothing to be worried about, mon ami, your sparkling classmate is
fine
- There is nothing wrong…!”
Izuku gets the feeling Aoyama is more trying to convince himself than he is trying to convince Izuku, and he reaches a hand out to touch Aoyama’s shoulder. Once they make contact, Aoyama bursts into tears again. Izuku freezes for a moment, but he pulls the other into a hug and mutters platitudes.
“C’mon, Aoyama-kun…” He says, “I’ll get you back to your dorm-”
“Non- Ne me laisse pas seul- S’il vous plaît!” Aoyama begs, “Don’t let me go, please-”
Ochaco frowns, resting her head in her hand as she glances around the library, “Where
is
Deku?”
Shoto, sitting across from her and pretending to do his homework to avoid the wrath of Tenya ( Tenya was one of her best friends, but he was really passionate about schoolwork… ), shrugs and puts his pen down, “He said he was going to take a shower.”
Tsuyu croaks from her position, stretched out across a few chairs and her head in Tenya’s lap, “ Kero, maybe he’s found a shower villain.”
Ochaco giggles at the idea, and she’s about to ask do you think he’s okay? when all of their phones buzz. Tenya is the first to grab his phone, loudly announcing, “Izuku is asking for our assistance in Aoyama-kun’s dorm room!”
“Aoyama?” Shoto asks, as he starts packing his things into his bag, “That’s…”
“Aoyama-kun is the first student in class, with blonde hair.” Tenya informs, chopping his hand, “I know you struggle with faces, Shoto, but it is polite to remember the names of your classmates!”
“The French one.” Ochaco adds, when Shoto still seems confused, “He’s…”
“Sparkly,
kero.
” Tsuyu stands up and gets her bag ready (
Ochaco is pretty sure she didn’t even unpack her bag in the first place, just arranged the chairs and laid down on them
), “He’s very sparkly.”
“Oh,” Shoto says, nodding in realisation, “He
is
sparkly.”
They make their way back to the dorms, and Ochaco can’t help but twiddle her thumbs anxiously as they walk. Sure, Izuku had texted them which meant he was
probably fine
, but what if he wasn’t? Maybe he’d gotten hurt, or it was a trap by a villain that somehow got in…
Tsuyu nudges her, “He’s going to be fine, kero. Aoyama-kun probably just needs help with something, didn’t you say his room was super sparkly? Maybe he got a new mirror or something,
kero.
”
Tenya swings his arm as he reprimands them for making fun of their fellow classmates , but he’s clearly also amused. Ochaco starts teasing him, and the tension fades as they walk.
Tsuyu waits impatiently whilst Tenya knocks on Aoyama’s door (
knock-knock-knock-knock, pause, knock-knock, pause, knock. Tenya explained he’d started doing it as a kid because it had the same amount of syllables as ‘Ingenium is the best’. Tsuyu thought it was cute
), even though she'd reassured Ochaco that Izuku would be fine… she is a little worried.
“Come in,” she hears Izuku’s voice call out, and he sounds winded. Tsuyu sees Tenya’s eyebrows scrunch in confusion as he opens the door. Tsuyu feels exactly the same when they see what’s inside, Izuku is holding Aoyama in a tight... Maybe a hug? But it looks more like he’s restraining the other, and Aoyama is writhing and sobbing like he wants to get out.
“Izuku!” Tenya starts, arm swinging, “It is improper to-”
Izuku cuts him off, “Uh- I have a reason for this, I swear! I found him crying in the toilets, so I took him back to his room but then he started freaking out and trying to hurt himself and I- I didn’t know what to do so-”
Tenya nods, realising the blond student is having an episode or breakdown of some kind (Tsuyu wonders if Tenya recognises it because he had one similar after his brother was attacked. She doesn’t ask though, now’s not the time) , “I will get the teachers!”
Tsuyu watches as Tenya rushes from the room (it reminds her a little of the USJ, which is a thought she swiftly ignores), before turning back to Izuku and Aoyama. It’s pretty sad to look at, she thinks, because Aoyama is really distraught, taking huge gasping breaths as he wails.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen!” The boy wails, “I- let me go! I’m fine! Let me go, Midoriya!”
Shoto steps past Tsuyu and Ochaco (
Ochaco was frozen in the doorway in confusion, and Tsuyu hadn’t even thought about moving
) and tilts his head, clearly thinking.
“I could freeze him in place,” Shoto offers, like this is a normal occurrence and nothing out of the ordinary, and Tsuyu sees Ochaco baulk at the idea. Aoyama doesn’t seem to like it, and he thrashes harder. Izuku nods reluctantly, because he can’t just hold Aoyama in place until a teacher arrives, and Shoto carefully freezes Aoyama’s hands in place behind his back as Izuku shifts out of the way.
“What happened,
kero
?” She asks, sitting down on the floor as Aoyama leans against Izuku and cries harder, “He seems really upset...”
Ochaco settles down next to her, leaning against Tsuyu with a frown. Izuku is about to explain what he knows but Aoyama interrupts with a broken sob, “Th- I am- there is this medication in trial- to get rid of bad quirk side effects, and my parents signed me up for it and it
works-
and I can use my quirk but
-
but it makes me so
sad!
Je pensais pouvoir le cacher, but- but it makes me miserable and I couldn’t hide it and I wanted t-”
Whatever Aoyama was going to say is cut off by Tenya returning with Present Mic, who looks pretty bewildered ( Hizashi is very much bewildered. Seeing one of his students in makeshift ice handcuffs, sobbing into the shoulder of another student… it’s not what he expected at all ). Tsuyu doesn’t blame him, really, she feels similar. She glances at Ochaco, Izuku and Shoto as they’re led out of the room by Mic and they look just as stunned.
‘ Meet me in my room, ’ Ochaco mouths to them all, and Tsuyu nods. She has… so many questions .
No one sees Aoyama for a few more days, and Izuku spends the whole time terribly anxious. He tries asking Aizawa about him, but Aizawa just says it's private information and Aoyama will tell you if he wants to. He’s pretty sure his friends are equally anxious, based on the talk they had right after Aoyama left with Present Mic (”What just happened?” “I… I dunno.” was the general consensus, along with hoping Aoyama was okay) and he checked Aoyama’s desk every morning in case the blond was back.
He doesn’t see the other in class though, the next time he sees the boy is when someone knocks on his dorm door whilst he studies with Shoto and Tenya. He opens the door to see Aoyama, looking subdued with a hospital wristband still on his wrist and clutching a wrapped gift in his hand.
“Aoyama-kun!” He says, “How are you? I was really worried, are you okay now?”
The blond nods, giving Izuku a tired smile and thrusting the box out for him to take, “I am very sorry, Midoriya-kun! I didn't mean to drag you into my problems and I am very sorry for worrying you! Please accept this gift as an apology, Je suis désolé!”
“Woah-” Izuku holds his hands up, “It’s ok, Aoyama-kun! I’m just glad you’re feeling you’re better. You are feeling better, right…?”
“Oui, oui…” Aoyama nods, “I am feeling better- the medicine I was on made me very depressed, but I am now feeling as excellent as I always am!”
“That is good to hear!” Tenya says, swinging an arm, “Would you like to join us in studying, Aoyama-kun? We can help you catch up with the work you missed whilst away!”
“If… if you are sure,” Aoyama nods, uncharacteristically nervous as he enters, “Merci… this is very kind of you all.”
(It’s the start of a nice friendship with Aoyama! He doesn’t always sit with them at lunch, explaining that he likes the time by himself, but when he does Izuku enjoys his presence a lot.
And the gift was cheese, which Izuku liked more than he was expecting! Shoto, it turns out, was also a big fan of cheese and he and Aoyama became fast friends thanks to it.)