Chapter Text
“We got a new transfer student today, but he seemed really off during his intro to the class. The guy was quiet until our teacher straight up told him what to say about himself,” Izuku said as he stocked the shelf of the skate shop with more wheels. “He said he’s from Canada, so it must be a big change coming to Musutafu.”
Aizawa muttered a “maybe” as he rearranged the decals and small items along the counter, his little Fennec Fox, Eri, trotting close by, supervising. The door opened with a skater carrying his board under his arm, “Hey, I was wondering if I could get some adjustments made to my board and add some art?”
“Sure. Hey Izuku, once you’re done with the wheel restock, get the boxes into the compressor so they’ll be ready when the recyclers come by,” Aizawa said before continuing to speak with his new customer.
Izuku emptied his last box of wheels and set them in line on the shelf before adding the empty box to the pile on his cart. His left arm was still bandaged and in a sling from his latest race, though he was thankful that his boss didn’t continue to scold him on his recklessness during the match.
Once he was done stocking the shelves, Izuku broke the boxes down flat and went out back to the compressor, resetting the machine so it could take more cardboard. While he was outside, Izuku caught some nearby voices that snared his attention, the loudest one being all-too familiar.
“Go for it, American! C’mon, you can skate, right?! I thought you all were so much better over there!” One of the older delinquents in the gathered group shouted out when Izuku saw the white-haired transfer student from his class waver as he held his foot over the skateboard at his feet.
“For the last time, I’m Canadian, not American. You do know they’re totally separate countries, right?” the new guy said, scowling down at the ground.
Izuku rushed over, too late as the boy stepped onto the board, only to lose his balance and fall hard. The crowd hovered over him, laughing as their leader kicked up the board and pointed it at him. “Looks like it doesn’t matter where you’re from, loser!”
Stepping in front of him, Izuku stared down the crowd and grew angry. “You think this is funny, Dabi? Then you’ve completely missed the point on why skating is supposed to be fun! Even if we’re new, we keep skating until we get better! So if you think it’s funny, you’re all a bunch of fakes that don’t get skating at all! We support each other, no matter how many times we bail!”
“You’ve got a lotta balls stepping up to us like that, Deku! Funny how you call us fakes when you’re the one that can’t make it through a single beef without busting your ass,” Dabi said, gesturing to Izuku’s injured arm. “Maybe we’ll just save time and beat your ass right here.”
Izuku braced himself, standing in front of the new guy sitting on the ground when he noticed Dabi looking over his shoulder and changed his expression fast. When he looked to see what caused it, he saw his boss, Aizawa, standing behind him with his arms crossed over his chest, staring daggers into the group and its leader. “Is there a problem here, children?”
“Tch, not at all, Eraser. Just wanted to put the foreigner in his place, we’re done here,” Dabi said before walking away, the group following him out.
“Jerks,” Izuku said before turning around to find that the new guy wasn’t where he’d last seen him. Wandering further back in the alley, he found the white-haired victim, tucked away in a corner. Izuku kneeled down so they were both at each other’s eye level before speaking. “Hey, those guys took off, no reason to hide out anymore, okay? You got a name, new guy?”
“New guy?” was what he said in response, looking around as he stood up from where he’d been sitting in the alley, Izuku rising to his feet with him. Finding himself alone with the exception of Izuku, he stepped out into full view.
“Yeah? I mean you are the transfer student that just joined my class, after all. My name’s Izuku, and you are?”
“Tenko. Tenko Shimura. Sorry I didn’t realize you were a classmate,” Tenko said quietly. “This is my father’s hometown, so it’s been a bit of an adjustment from when I lived in Canada. Those guys caught me by surprise, but it felt wrong to ignore them.”
Izuku shook his head and braced his hand against Tenko’s shoulder. “They obviously don’t get what real skating means. You don’t set someone up to fail just to make yourself feel better. I’m sure if you weren’t expecting to get taken advantage of by those losers, you could have skated circles around them!”
“That was my first time on a skateboard,” Tenko said flatly, leaving Izuku in a mild state of shock.
“Wait, what?” Izuku recovered from the sudden shock of Tenko’s admittance gradually before questioning it. “Hold up, so if you never rode a skateboard before, why would you bother to listen to those jerks and try to skate?!”
Tenko looked unsure of how to answer Izuku’s question, sinking even further against himself and the wall near them. “For some reason, seeing the skateboard and trying to get on it felt familiar, easy and safe,” Tenko shared, his voice soft. “It reminded me of when I used to snowboard with my family.”
Crimson eyes were lost in the Okinawa sun as Tenko remembered his past snowboarding runs with his father. They were some of the best runs he could recall. He squeezed his fingers shut as he recalled his sister Hana tugging him along by his wrist to the next hill run, their mother laughing as she watched them and yelled words of encouragement.
“Well, uh… If it feels familiar to you, maybe you’d like to give it another chance? We have beginner boards that you can practice on, and I’d totally be willing to help you adapt from a snowboard to a skateboard. What do you say?”
Tenko looked away from the freckled boy’s grin, “I… don’t think I deserve another chance.” Izuku looked confused as Tenko stepped away and walked past the still-present Aizawa, who looked at Izuku with lazy curiosity. Just before he got out of earshot, Izuku yelled out to Tenko once more before the white-haired boy turned the corner.
“If that’s true, you wouldn’t have let those losers convince you to get on the board! If it’s something that makes you feel safe and happy, you should give it a try! What would you have to lose?!”
Tenko heard Izuku and leaned his head forward, touching his fingers against the deep scars over his eye and mouth, remembering the accident that caused them. “What would I have to lose?” he pondered to himself, knowing he’d already lost everything the last time he was having fun on a board.
Could it be possible to lose even more if he let himself try again?