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Tenya Iida is a model student, a model child, and a model hero. He is what others aspire to be. He knows this. He knows he must uphold this reputation.
When Tenya was just a child, he remembers learning about the Iida history.
“We come from a long line of heroes,” his mother had explained to him, flipping through a scrapbook with old magazine cutouts and news headlines, all of them complete with the Iida name.
“Heroes?”
“Yes, Tenya. Our duty is to help and save people. That's our job, first and foremost, understand?”
He nodded and shook his head quickly. “What if I’m not very good at helping people? What if I don’t want to be a hero?”
His mother stared at him fondly. “Don’t worry, you will. You’ll be the greatest hero in Iida history.”
Tenya had been an obedient child, a perfect child. All throughout middle school, he scored perfect on every test. He never gossiped or played with other kids. He spent all his time studying. He went to bed at 9:00pm every night. Most of all, he never, ever, complained. He did what he was told.
Yet it wasn’t enough. His brother, Tensei, was already a full-fledged hero. He was the greatest hero ever! He was strong and saved people and showed up on the news! He was amazing.
“How many people did you save today?” Tenya bounced up and down in his chair, leaning forward to interrogate his brother.
“Tenya, give your brother time to eat before you bombard him with questions,” his mother chided.
Tensei waved her comment off, swallowing his rice and putting his chopsticks down. “I saved five people today!” he said proudly. Tenya’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
“Really? Really?”
“Yeah, really. You want to know how?”
“Tell me!”
Tensei grinned. “First, you’ve got to tell me what you’ve been up to in school.”
Tenya swallowed, suddenly his silly grade school awards didn’t seem so impressive. His brother had saved five peoples’ lives and he’d gotten an A on a math test. It just wasn’t the same. How could Tenya ever measure up?
“I’m going to get into U.A, don’t worry,” he replied quietly. He had to get into U.A. It was a necessity. He had to become a hero and live up to the Ingenium name. Until then, nothing else was worth mentioning.
“That’s not what I asked,” Tensei said gently, “you haven’t really talked about school lately.”
“My grades are fine.”
“Tenya-”
“You’re so amazing, I can’t believe you saved so many people.” Tenya stood up suddenly, tripping over praises. “I’ve got to be more like you. I’ve got to go study.” And then, Tenya bolted out of the room, forgetting to put his dishes in the sink.
When Tenya got into U.A., he didn’t really feel a sense of accomplishment. He was happy, of course, but he couldn’t share the pure joy his family seemed to share.
“You got in!” his mother exclaimed.
“This is fantastic!” his father praised.
“Knew you could do it.” Tensei clapped a hand on his shoulder.
Tenya smiled. “It’s not a big deal. Everyone in our family gets in. They probably saw my
name and admitted me in.”
Tensei scoffs, “You know that’s not true. You crushed that exam!”
Tenya just kept smiling.
U.A. is soul-crushing. Tenya loves the campus, he loves his teachers and his classmates. For the first time, he feels as though he has actual friends. He hangs out with Izuku, Ochako, and Shoto after school. In the dorms, they have movie nights every week. They’re a true family.
That’s the problem. They’re too good for Tenya. In middle school, everything came easy. Grades, praise, awards, they were all second-nature to Tenya.
But in U.A. where Aizawa threatened to expel the class on the very first day, praise is as hard to come by as proper safety precautions against villains. Iida just doesn’t get it. He tries his very hardest, he studies for hours every night. He gives it his all in every training exercise. Yet, physically, he’s so much weaker than Shoto, Bakugo, and Izuku.
He’s happy for them, of course. He just doesn’t get it. What’s he doing wrong? Izuku barely had any control of his quirk on the first day, yet he’s already surpassed Iida. Iida trained his whole life with the best of heroes for U.A. and Izuku surpassed him in a year.
He’s not even the best academically. No matter how hard he tries, Yaoyorozu has him beat. How can Iida be the best hero if he isn’t even the best in his class?
And then Iida messes up. Iida makes a fatal mistake. He lets down his parents, his family, his friends, and U.A. Iida is a disappointment.
Iida knows what he wants. He knows himself. He knows his likes and dislikes. He knows the rules he has to follow.
Tenya Iida loves rules. Rules are good, they keep chaos under control. Rules are stable, trustworthy, reliable. Laws are the same. Laws are just rules for citizens. Laws are good.
Tenya Iida broke a law by going after Stain. His brother was wounded, his career on the brink of ending, and Tenya, out of pure selfish anger, went after Stain. He caused more trouble for his family.
His brother was in the hospital and instead of patiently tending to him, Iida ran off and nearly got himself killed. If Shoto and Izuku hadn’t shown up, he would’ve died. What if Tensei had passed away, too? His parents would’ve lost two children in the span of a week! Had he no shame? No consideration for others?
Tenya got off easy, he knew that. If he was Aizawa, he would’ve expelled himself. Aizawa was probably only keeping Tenya around because he was an Iida. A poor excuse of an Iida.
Tenya will prove he deserves his spot in U.A. He will repent and be a good Iida. He will live up to Ingenium name.
The first thing Tenya does when he returns to the dorms is write himself a list. He writes down all the rules he must follow. When he’s done, he holds the list in front of him like a trophy. No matter what, he’ll abide by these rules.
- When someone asks you to do something for them, always accept.
- When someone tells you not to do something, don’t do it.
- Obey U.A.’s rules and the law.
- Study every day, no matter what.
- Never, ever, be selfish. Do not hurt others.
Tenya smiles at his rules. They will be sure to help him. To guide him back on the path of a hero.
There’s a knock on his dorm room. Without waiting for a response, Kaminari swings open the door. “Yo, Class Prez, I was having some trouble with the homework and Bakugo told me to get lost, so here I am!”
Tenya smiles, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling he gets every time someone addresses him as “Class President”. He didn’t earn that title after all, Izuku gave it to him because he felt bad.
“Of course, Kaminari,” he says, ignoring his own homework and remembering the first rule on his list. “You can sit over here.”
“Sweet! Thanks, bro!”
As U.A. 's curriculum picks up pace and villain attacks become common, Iida finds himself taking on more and more.
It starts small, a request here and there.
He’s in the kitchen after dinner, cleaning up after the rest of the class. Sato, who’s planning tomorrow’s dinner, spots Iida.
“Hey, Iida, could you remind me to pick up milk at the grocery store tomorrow?”
“Certainly!”
Another time, class has just gotten out and people are rushing towards the door.
“Would you like to do homework together when we get back to the dorm?” Iida asks.
“Sorry, I’ve got to go visit Recovery Girl,” Izuku says sheepishly. “Could you remind me when I get back?”
“Of course.”
The rest of his friend group pipes up, all asking to be reminded. Iida just smiles and nods.
With the stress of school and villains, Iida becomes a much needed shoulder for the rest of the class to lean on. Iida is ecstatic, of course. He’s happy to be of use. It’s just that…
“Iida, I’ve got an appointment tomorrow!” someone yells from the common room as he bustles around the kitchen.
“Got it!” He’ll figure out who exactly spoke to him later.
“Iida, is there anything I’m missing?” Ochako is sitting casually on one of the couches.
Iida pauses only briefly from his task of helping Sato make bread. A gentle bump to his shoulder from the boy reminds Iida to resume kneading.
“Did you do your literature homework yet?”
“Aww, I totally forgot! Thanks, Iida!”
Iida heaves. His head is pounding. Training has left him exhausted but he can’t rest. His friends need him. He’s already taken over most of their chores as he saw how worn out they were. Internally, there’s a voice that tells him he needs rest even more than they do. He ignores the voice.
Last time he had a break, he used it to go after Stain and plunge his friends in danger. Besides, he has to live up to Ingenium name. He isn’t enough as he is. He must work. He must prove he’s just as good as his brother. Tensei never went recklessly after a villain…
“Is everything alright, Iida?” Sato asks softly, snapping Iida out of his trance.
He musters a smile. He feels like he’s floating and the room is warm, too warm.
“Of course, Sato. Why ever would you ask?”
The boy hesitates. “I know you said you wanted to help me make bread but… you seem really tired. Maybe it’s a better idea to head to bed?”
Unworthy. Incapable. If he’s incapable of even making bread, then what is Iida worth? If he can’t handle helping his friends, then is Tenya even a hero? If he can’t get through the day without conveying his exhaustion, then is he even an Iida?
“Nonsense, I’m here to help. I appreciate your concern, Sato, but I am perfectly alright.”
Sato furrows his brow. “Iida, you know it’s alright to take a break, right?”
That makes Iida falter. His smile fades ever so slightly. “Of course.”
Tenya slams against the wall. The air leaves his body in one desperate breath. Ash and dust fills his senses. He coughs wildly. Wheezing, he slides down the concrete wall, keeling over.
Faintly, he hears a whistle blow. Bakugo stops his attacks immediately, jogging over with Mr. Aizawa. The rest of his classmates notice as well, stopping their training exercises.
Mr. Aizawa doesn’t reprimand them, focusing instead on reaching Iida. I must look bad if Mr. Aizawa isn’t yelling at everyone to focus, Iida thinks dully.
He needs to stand. He needs to get up and fight again. This is why he lost to Stain. This is why he put everyone in danger. In a real fight, he won’t have the luxury of Mr. Aizawa’s whistle.
Iida leans against the wall, putting weight on his legs. The pain is sudden and blinding. There’s a scrape of metal against concrete as he falls again. Gasps of horror echo around him. Hot shame colors his cheeks.
He tries again, pulling himself up. Before he can attempt to stand again, Midoriya’s shoulder’s under his arm, lifting him up. Embarrassment. Disappointment. A disgrace to the Iida name.
¨Are you alright, Iida?¨ Midoriya asks, ¨That hit seemed really rough.¨
Iida barely musters a quiet, ¨I´m sorry.¨
Midoriya frowns, ¨What for?¨
Before Iida can explain that he´s a fraud, a failure who´s wasted his family´s resources and U.A.´s time, Bakugo barrels through the crowd of gathering classmates.
¨Oi! Four eyes! What was that?¨
¨Bakugo, I sincerely apologize-¨
The boy scoffs. ¨You´re looking down on me, Four Eyes. Don´t spar unless you can give it your all.¨
But I am, Iida wants to say. He's trying his very best. Maybe… maybe this is it for him. Everyone keeps saying Iida will reach greater heights but maybe they're wrong. Maybe this is his limit, the most he's ever destined to be, a subpar hero student.
¨Ignore him,¨ Ochako says from beside him.
Mr. Aizawa stands in front of the three students. ¨Uraraka, Midoriya, get Iida to Recovery Girl.¨
The air still smells like dust and concrete. From the back of Iida´s throat, he can taste metal. There's more to be said. Something in Aizawa´s gaze tells Iida that this isn´t over, not by a long shot.
But for now, Tenya just hobbles off, trying to regain his dignity and not lean on his friends too much.
Bruised engines. He didn't even know that was possible. He´d forgotten that his quirk was still a part of him, not just another addition that came with the Iida name. Bruised metal. How can metal bruise?
Recovery Girl didn't know either, speed quirks like his weren´t deeply studied. But there's a bent part of metal on his legs, purple shining through. When Iida runs his finger along the metal, a dull pain runs through him.
How could this have happened? His failure had defied the laws of quirks. Maybe Iida was being dramatic. Maybe he should get up and off his bed. Maybe he should keep trying to convince Aizawa that he can still train, that he doesn't have to be locked up in the dorms like this.
The blankets are soft against his body, wrapped around him. The lights above him are warm. And before he knows it, Tenya can't even keep his eyes open.
When Tenya wakes up, the sun is high in the sky. He stretches, yawning. Clamor from downstairs rouses him. He grabs his glasses and checks the clock. Instantly, his heart drops.
It's nearly 4:00pm. He missed classes. He missed classes. His breaths come out in wheezes. Maybe… maybe his teachers are still at school. Maybe if he runs now, he can apologize and swear he'll do better. Oh god, what if they don´t believe him? What if they finally realize that he's not Ingenium, not even close, and kick him out? All he has is his name, all he has is his name, without the Iida name he is nothing.
His engines fire up involuntarily, sending him speeding into the elevator. This is wrong, Tenya shouldn't be using his quirk inside. But he can´t stop, can´t think, can't do anything but feel his heart beating in his chest. It's difficult to breathe. It's so hard. He knows he needs to breathe, he knows this, but he can´t.
The elevator door dings and Tenya bursts through. The nineteen shocked faces of his classmates greet him. Everyone freezes.
His eyes scan the room wildly. Finally, he finds the door. One recipro burst and he´ll be outside.
Just as his engines rev, à hand grabs onto his sleeves, startling him. His engines rev desperately into the carpet, causing his toes to chafe against his shoes.
It’s Midoriya, with a worried expression. “Are you alright, Iida?”
Tenya tries to respond but a wheeze just comes out instead. It’s horrifying. Shame and embarrassment heat his face. He’s burning. He’s burning. Everyone’s watching. They’re crowding in on him curiously. Stop, he wants to yell, get away.
Let go, he begs Midoriya internally. Let me go.
Instead, he only manages to say, “Teacher, I need-get… I’m late.”
He needs to get to the school or he’ll be expelled. He needs everyone to stop paying attention to him. He needs to be alone.
He can hardly breathe, hardly registers his classmates misinterpreting him as they rush out to get Mr. Aizawa.
Todoroki kneels down to meet his eyes. When did Tenya get on the ground? He doesn’t know and that’s what scares him most.
Control yourself, restrict yourself, you’re an Iida. But Tenya can’t. He can barely even remember to breathe. The world turns and his eyes blur with tears.
He’s a failure and now everyone will know. No one will trust him anymore. They’ll realize he’s not a true Iida, just an imposter.
The air smells like ash and metal. Stain is crouched above him, grinning down at his paralyzed figure.
“You’re all just a bunch of fake heroes.”
Maybe Stain was right. Maybe it would’ve been better if Tenya had been left in that alleyway. That way, everyone would know the truth sooner. Less people would have been disappointed.
He sees Ochako and Tsu’s lips moving as they try to talk to him but he can’t hear anything. He’ll find an adult, a teacher, himself. He’ll admit to being a failure.
Tenya rushes up, accidentally shoving his classmates aside. Guilt weights in him but he can barely feel it. He can’t feel anything but the rapid pounding in his heart.
Just as he’s about to reach the exit, Mr. Aizawa flings open the door.
His red eyes flare as he stops Tenya in his tracks.
Relief floods in Tenya. An authority figure. Finally. Adults are good. Teachers are good. They aren’t like him, impulsive and moody. They’re reliable.
Suddenly, the capture scarf snakes out, attempting to wrap Tenya up. Tenya screams at the sudden movement, flinging himself desperate out of the way-
And right into a chair, the wood splinters at the sudden collision, sending Tenya tumbling down.
Tenya shakes. Oh god, he’s really done it this time. He’s the perfect kid, the one who’s not supposed to mess up. People aren’t supposed to worry about him. And now he just vandalized school property. He hasn’t learned at all from Stain at all.
“That’s not true!” Midoriya shouts. Tenya is suddenly very, very, aware of his classmates' presence. His breath speeds up until he’s heaving.
“What’s going on?” someone, maybe Mina, asks.
“Is he going to be okay?”
“He’s breathing really heavily-“
“There’s splinters in his arm!”
“Quiet!” Aizawa’s voice echoes in the room, shutting up his classmates immediately.
Aizawa approaches Tenya slowly. Like he’s a wild animal. He might as well be. Look! A failed Iida! How rare is that?
“Iida,” the voice is stern but kind, “can you hear me?”
Blinking, Tenya immediately moves out of the pile of splintered wood. He winces internally at the pain the movement causes but immediately falls into a bow on the floor. Pieces of wood stab his hands.
“I-I apologize for the trouble I've caused.¨
The man stares before sighing. Tenya flinches at the sound. Of course. Of course Aizawa´s used to hearing apologies. He probably thinks Tenya´s words are empty.
Tenya adds hastily, ¨It's no excuse. I´ll be sure to take my punishment and discipline in stride as it´ll make me a better hero-¨
Gasps echo around him. He squeezes his eyes shut, bowing even lower, until his forehead is on the ground.
There´s a gentle hand on his shoulder, steady and yet so light, a single movement can throw it off.
¨Iida, you´re not in trouble. Let's go to my office, alright?¨
That's not possible. Even Aizawa´s sentence is contradictory. Only horrible, horrible, children who get expelled go to the offices of teachers. Realistically, in the back of his mind, he knows that isn't true. When Izuku displayed a little too much eagerness to throw himself in battle, without fear of getting hurt, Aizawa pulled him into his office. Now Izuku goes to Hound Dog every week and is visibly better. When Kaminari kept shorting out and couldn't focus during tests, Aizawa had a conversation with him and Kaminari takes medicine and he's much calmer. But that's different. It's different because Tenya´s supposed to be the kid nobody worries about. He's supposed to be the example of what a kid should be.
Not that his classmates aren´t, his classmates are good, so good. They deserve to be comfortable and accommodated for. Tenya doesn´t. Because Tenya, he's only a burden.
Aizawa helps Tenya up gently. Tenya stumbles away and out of his teacher´s grip.
¨I don't get it,¨ Tenya says slowly.
Aizawa glares at the moving students, freezing them in place. He turns back towards Tenya. ¨Are you comfortable going to my office or would you like to go somewhere else?¨
Tenya doesn't answer, stumbling back, nearly tripping over the broken chair. Shouts echo around him. They bounce through his mind, causing his ears to ring.
He cups his hands over his years.
¨It doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense,¨ he repeats. ¨None of this makes sense.¨
This teaching… this rewarding, this concern, for Tenya´s horrible mistakes. It doesn't make sense.
“Tenya…”
“I failed. I even missed classes,” Tenya mutters, running a desperate hand through his hair. His hand stops halfway through. He pulls desperately at the blue strands.
“Iida,” Aizawa’s firm voice cuts in. He seems to sense that Tenya won’t be moving any time soon. “I’m going to come closer to you, alright?”
Tenya doesn’t hear him. Doesn’t hear anything. His red eyes flash with panic. He can’t be expelled. He can’t because, “I promised Tsu I would help her study English. And I need to help Yaoyorozu with the study group.”
He ignores the guilty faces of his classmates around him. He desperately yanks out hair, urging himself to remember. Remember his responsibilities. He has to pull himself together, “And Ochako needs me to go shopping with her. And Izuku’s running out of scar cream and I think everyone hates me because I messed up the dates for that movie last week so now no one can see it-”
Someone, probably Midoriya, reaches out to pull him into a hug. The touch burns on his skin. He inhales sharply, wanting to shrink inside his own skin.
“Don’t touch him!” Mr. Aizawa demands. As the person slinks away, Tenya can finally breathe again.
“Everyone back to their rooms!” Aizawa says sharply. At the reluctance, he raises his voice. “Now!”
The students disperse quickly.
Tenya breathes in-and-out over and over until the world doesn’t feel like it’s too much and his body doesn’t feel too small and he feels alive again.
Mr. Aizawa is crouched next to him. When did he get there? When did either of them get on the floor?
“Are you back?” Aizawa raises an eyebrow.
Tenya manages to nod slowly.
“You want to tell me what all that was about, kid?”
Tenya swallows the lump in his throat. He’s gonna get expelled, he’s gonna get-
“Hey.” Tenya looks up. His teacher’s expression softens.
“You aren’t in trouble. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. We have other adults at U.A.”
Tenya shakes his head. He’d rather tell Aizawa, the quiet kid who hung out with Tensei and liked cats, then Nedzu and his parents.
“I… don’t…”
Aizawa sighs, leaning back against the wall. “You’ve been overworking yourself.”
Tenya doesn’t reply. He just stares at the broken chair in the middle of the room.
“Tsuyu. Yaoyorozu. Uraraka. Midoriya. Who else are you helping?”
Tenya thinks carefully. “A-Aoyama has a dentist appointment and he doesn’t have a way of transportation so I was going to ask you-”
Tenya cuts himself off shakily. “Hagakure is feeling a bit down about constantly being ignored. I was going to help her do makeup. Kirishima needs more protein powder. Tokoyami has nightmares so I was going to give him a nightlight. And… I think… I think that’s it for now.”
Tenya waits for Aizawa to scoff at his list. To tell him that he cracked under so little pressure. Instead Aizawa just nods.
“That’s a lot.” Tenya hums.
“I’m sorry.” He blinks, his eyes wide. “What?”
“I’m sorry you had to take on responsibilities that I should’ve been doing. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be sure to check in with all of your classmates.”
“That’s not what I-”
“Tenya. You are enough. You are doing enough. When I tell you to take a break, when I tell you to go back to the dorms and sleep, I mean it. You don’t always have to be running for improvement. Sometimes, improvement comes from sleep, from taking breaks.”
“But… but… Iidas’ don’t…”
“Don’t what? Take breaks?” Aizawa snorts. “Every time I came over when you were younger, you thought Tensei and I were studying?”
“Of course not! We were playing the latest video game, eating junk food.”
Tenya looks down, ashamed. Of course. Heroes take breaks. Tenya was so arrogant before, thinking he could work and work forever when much greater heroes take breaks.
“Tenya, you deserve to be here. You are a wonderful Iida. But more than that, you are a wonderful student, a good kid. You deserve peace. You deserve rest. That isn’t something you should have to fight for, something you should have to prove.”
Slowly, Tenya nods. The room is soft now, warm now. Just like when he fell asleep. And maybe Aizawa has a point. Aizawa has never lied to him before, why would he now? Even if everything in Tenya is denying and rejecting Aizawa’s words, maybe Tenya can trust him. “I think I’m going to take the rest of the day off.”
Aizawa cracks a small smile, as close to a genuine and not scary “logical ruse” smile he’ll ever get. “I think that sounds like a good idea.”
As Tenya picks himself off the floor and towards the elevator, Aizawa says, “Even the best kids can’t handle it all. That’s why you have friends, family, and mentors. Don’t be afraid to rest.”
And when Tenya straightens his messed-up sheets and crawls into bed, he thinks he believes him.
When Tenya wakes up, the sun is shining. Tenya doesn’t look at the clock, he just admires the blue sky through the window. He melts into his bedsheets. It is Saturday and there’s nothing to worry about.
The common room is clean when he walks down. A new chair in place of the old one. Ochako’s putting away her newly-bought groceries.
When she sees Tenya, she exclaims, “How are you feeling? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the pressure I was putting on you.”
“It’s fine. I’m doing better.”
She grins, “Then in that case, can you do me a favor and try out these cookies I made? It’s a new recipe that Sato gave me!”
Iida obliges. Slowly, his classmates descend from the stairs and he notes that they all seem well-rested, even Tokoyami.
They all greet Iida, each apologizing for the extra tasks they’ve asked him to do. He feels warm and loved.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, he can work on being the next Ingenium, the fastest hero in Japan. But for now, he’ll take today slow.