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Izuku rubbed his cheeks falling in step beside Yamada-Sensei as the door to Principle Nezu’s office slid shut behind them.
The voice hero looked a little concerned and confused but gave him a kind smile nonetheless and began leading him to the teacher’s lounge.
A slight headache had settled into his head and his nose was stuffy from crying so much. Yet… somehow, he felt so… so light. Like a weight he didn’t know was there lifted off of his shoulders.
He hadn’t thought that Aizawa-Sensei would help.
He had fully expected to be packing his bags at this very moment. Telling teachers about his problems in the past had never helped. Why would that fact have changed? Teachers either saw him as a weak person to pity, or not worth their time. They ignored the bullying and abuse from his peers. Some even went as far as to encourage it.
When the bullying began, Izuku quickly learned that not only would the teachers either disregard or punish him for seeking attention, but it also encouraged his bullies.
He’d even gone to the police but the moment they had learned of his quirk status, he was turned away. They didn’t want to waste their resources on a quirkless.
So, he’d quickly learned not to ask for help.
He hadn’t planned on telling Aizawa anything. Not about All Might’s dying, not about Sir. Nighteye, and definitely not one for all and its legacy.
He’d cracked when Aizawa-Sensei brought up the work studies.
The thought of Eri clinging onto him at the entrance to the alley… The pure terror that gripped her when Overhaul had come up behind her. The slight chance that he may not be able to help her had done it.
He’d cracked.
Instead of being brushed aside or blamed for the problem Aizawa-Sensei had offered help.
No one helped before. Why had he helped?
Why had he cared?
Sure, Izuku trusted Aizawa-Sensei. The man had risked his life for his at the USJ sustaining serious injuries to keep them safe until help could arrive. He had launched himself into the horde of villains despite his clear disadvantages.
Aizawa was his best teacher with no competition whatsoever.
Still…
He found it hard to talk to others about his problems. Especially teachers. The fear of being ignored or blamed overtook his rational mind.
The staff room was empty when they arrived and Izuku took a seat on the couch as per Yamada-Sensei’s request.
“Here little listener.” Izuku looked up from his hands as a blanket fell onto his lap. Yamada-Sensei offered him a kind smile. His eyes were pinched in the corners in what looked like concern.
Izuku offered a smile back, but he could tell even without seeing his own face that it was a pretty sad one.
He was too tired to pull out the smile that his friends compared to literal sunshine. When he smiled that smile Uraraka would get this look in her eyes that he could never quite place and Iida would smile back fondly. Tsu would ruffle his hair and Todoroki would have a sparkle in his eyes that lasted for a while. He’d flush and stutter every time they complemented him, and it only seemed to encourage them.
His current smiles weren’t as wide. Weren’t as bright. Too many things weighed it down. Eri. Overhaul. Nighteye. All Might.
He’d known that they were worried about him. Their class was like a family despite only knowing each other for less than a year. He’d been through so much with his various classmates. The USJ, Hosu with Iida and Todoroki, the League of Villian attack at the summer camp, Kamino Ward, and then the implementation of the Dorms had brought them even closer still.
Thinking of his friends Izuku froze.
Iida and Todoroki.
Oh! He was such a horrible friend… They- They’d only wanted to help him. They’d seen he was struggling and reached out to him. And what had they gotten in return?
He’d yelled at them. The two people who’d cared.
He looked down clenching his fists around the blanket that lay on his lap.
“Hey…” Yamada-Sensei sat down next to him placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Did he? His friends always told him that talking about stuff helped. He hadn’t followed their advice though, and just bottled it up until it exploded.
“…I- I yelled at Iida and Todoroki…” Izuku confessed guiltily after a few moments of silence. “They- They just wanted to help… They- they’re gonna hate me…”
“Hey, little listener… They’re not going to hate you for that.” Hizashi assured the tired looking teen.
“…People have hated me for less…” Izuku said quietly.
The poor kid… “I’m sure Todoroki and Iida aren’t mad. In fact, I’ll bet they’re really worried about you.”
Hizashi’s assurance only seemed to make Midoriya look sadder. “…I hate making them worry. I don’t want them to worry about me.”
“…Midoriya, they worry because they care about you. They’re your friends.”
Izuku didn’t reply, instead pulling his knees up to his chest and the blanket up to his shoulders. He leaned his head against the arm of the couch curling up into a ball and closing his eyes.
Within a few minutes, the kid was fast asleep, exhausted by his emotional afternoon, and leaving a still confused Hizashi looking after him.
Thirteen popped into the lounge a few minutes later, confused to see the student asleep on the couch. “What happened, Hizashi? Is he alright?” The younger teacher inquired worriedly, pressing the button on the side of her helmet to take a closer look at the exhausted student.
“Sho’ didn’t give me any details, just asked me to stay with him while he spoke with Nezu.” Hizashi replied.
“Poor kid.” Thirteen said sympathetically. “He’s seemed kinda out of it lately…”
Hizashi nodded his agreement.
Both teachers startled as the door to the teacher’s lounge slid open and a murderous looking Aizawa stalked in. He took sight of Midoriya asleep on the couch, and he paused, a strange softness coming over his gaze. It left so quickly though, that Thirteen and Hizashi almost believed it never happened.
“Have either of you seen All Might?” Aizawa spoke slouching into his capture weapon scarf as he took in the two teachers.
“I saw him heading towards the cafeteria a few minutes ago.” Thirteen supplied helpfully.
Aizawa nodded his head in thanks as Hizashi inquired, “Why do you need All Might? Does he have something to do with the little listener?”
“He’s contributed however unwittingly, as have I. I made a major misjudgment concerning Midoriya. ” Aizawa replied. Hizashi furrowed his brow at his guilty tone, but before he could press further, Aizawa spun on his heel and stalked out the teacher’s lounge door. Presumably off to find All Might.
Hizashi and Thirteen shared confused looks as Aizawa left the room.