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As Izuku lays on the ground, clutching his jaw, and staring up at Kacchan as he rants about being paired together, he has a sudden thought of:
“ Ochako would never do this to me”
That stops him and makes him think back. Ochako, his first friend in a decade, his future hero partner, and someone he admires greatly. Ochako who cares about him and has shown him compassion from day one. Ochako who is a proper rival and someone he takes inspiration from daily. She wouldn’t hit him, or scream at him, or blame him for constantly being paired together because the teachers don’t want to work on bettering Kacchan. Oh no, it’s Izuku’s fault so Izuku has to fix it. He’s distracted from his thoughts for a moment as a giant gust of wind and dust blows over the both of them, and All Might makes his grand entrance. Before he can really think about it, he ducks into a nearby alleyway and takes stock of himself. Slight pulses of pain from his tailbone and elbow from how he landed, and the hit on his jaw is definitely going to bruise but nothing painful enough for him to not be able to run. Because that’s what he will be doing after that move from Kacchan. They can’t defeat All Might together, let alone separately, and teachers did say retreating was an option. He feels a bit bad about leaving Kacchan to All Might’s mercies but that IS what he wanted. . . . unbidden, a thought echoes loudly through his head.
“Besides, an ally who attacks you is no longer an ally, but an additional threat.”
…That’s right, where did he hear that before? The voice was feminine so maybe Midnight-sensei? But before he can get too lost in thought he is distracted by Kacchan yelling something back at All Might about beating him and crappy villain speeches, and Izuku jumps into action, quickly moving through the maze of alleyways towards the exit. The sounds of brutal fighting quickly get farther and farther away and distantly he hears All Might yell about ambushes and how Izuku won’t be able to sneak up on him so he might as well just come out and join the fight, which makes Kacchan scream in rage. The sounds of explosions and fighting pick up again and he finally spots the exit, timing his leaving to the sound of one of Kacchans’ gauntlets going off. He makes out the massive doors with no problem and the buzzer of the test ending is loud in the resulting quiet. But Izuku doesn’t stop, he doesn’t get back on the bus, he just keeps walking back to the observation building, tears in his eyes and anger in his bones, never looking back. About half way back he hears All Might come up behind him and try to rest a hand on his shoulder, but Izuku shrugs him off, never stopping his fast walk to the observation room, but most importantly to his classmates who don’t hate him, to his friends who love him and care about him and don’t use him as a goddamn punching bag.
As they enter the observation building, Aizawa-Sensei is there waiting for them and scowling.
“What was that Midoriya?” Aizawa-Sensei demands.
“That was us completing our final.” He responds, trying to keep an even tone.
“You abandoned your teammate-” Aizawa-Sensei starts but Izuku cuts him off.
“He hit me! Me! His teammate! Which means he wasn’t my teammate anymore, just another threat!” Izuku all but yells.
“There’s been many laws passed and protocols put in place for situations where supposed teammates turn or start attacking allies. Since he was of sound mind attacking a teammate, it's perfectly reasonable to leave and prioritize evacuation and getting allies more equipped to handle a S level threat.”
The feminine voice pipes up again, and Izuku is too distracted to realize it’s not a memory. But he repeats what it said back to Sensei and there’s a moment where they pause and regard each other. Eventually, Sensei lets out a breath and mutters out a
“We’ll talk more after I hand out official grades.”
And something in Izuku snaps .
“What else is there to talk about? Because Kacchan and I didn’t work together? Sure we did, I followed his orders of leaving him alone and got out and completed the final!”
“Midoriya-Shounen-” All Might starts, but Izuku whirls on him and cuts him off.
“No! I’m tired of being Kacchans punching bag, his minder, his fixer! I’m tired of being blamed for his actions!” He turns back to Aizawa-Sensei. “I’m tired of being paired together and expected to work together! I have been trying to get him to work with me since we were five! I’ve tried and tried and tried but nothing changes! He doesn’t see me as a friend or a rival or even as a human being!” His yelling echoes in the silence, his heavy breathing loud in his ears. “I’m done being his punching bag. I told him that in middle school and I’m telling you now. You want him to work as a team, pair him with some else. Because I’m done waiting for him to see me.” With that he turns and heads to his groups of friends and buries his face in Ochako’s neck, letting his tears fall silently. He feels Toto-chan, Ten-chan, and Tsu-chan circle around him, laying comforting hands on his back or reassuring words in his ears as Ochako hugs him and gently rocks them side to side. Aizawa-Sensei lets out a heavy sigh.
“Right, class dismissed.”