Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya was a sixteen-year-old boy attending the Institute of Science and Technology Tokyo High School. He had transferred just last year, but he was already among the top of his class, with a promising future as a bioengineer. His ultimate goal was to move to America for college, hopefully to study at MIT. Izuku had moved to Tokyo from Musutafu after receiving a scholarship to his current high school. Despite living in Tokyo, his hometown was only a twenty-minute drive away, and he often visited to see his mother. His father had left the picture when Izuku was young, and his mother, Inko, raised him as her only child. He always went home on weekends or whenever he felt lonely. Izuku was often lonely. He wished he had more friends—or any friends, for that matter—his life at school was fulfilling enough that he couldn’t complain about the opportunities he had. Besides, he had never had many friends, except for a brief period in elementary school.
The main reason for his lack of a social life was Katsuki Bakugo, his ex-best friend from his elementary school days. Though, at that time Izuku knew him as “Kacchan”, and Katsuki knew Izuku as “Deku”. They had grown up as neighbors, but one day Katsuki stopped spending time with him. Soon enough, he started mocking him, and things only got worse throughout middle school. Izuku was relieved to hear that Katsuki would be moving to Tokyo to attend a prestigious school. Izuku stayed at his local high school and enrolled in every advanced class he could find. A year later, his achievements earned him recognition and a scholarship to IST, funded by A-Mighty Bio Labs. It was an annual award designed to provide opportunities to gifted yet underprivileged students across Japan.
To Izuku’s misfortune, this brought him back into Katsuki’s orbit, but Izuku saw it as a small price to pay for such an incredible opportunity. To his surprise, Katsuki seemed less aggressive toward him at IST. While Katsuki still ensured no one befriended him, Izuku decided that being ignored was better than being bullied.
When his mother asked about friends or girls, Izuku always told her not to worry. Still, the question made him think: if he were to have a girlfriend, who would it be? Ochako Uraraka from his Bio class came to mind. She seemed nice enough, he had heard other guys call her good looking too. But before having a girlfriend, he figured he should at least have a friend—and he was nowhere close to achieving that.
It was September, and the school year had just started. Izuku’s Bio-Tech club was preparing for a field trip to A-Mighty Bio Labs. Izuku was especially excited since it was the same company that had funded his scholarship. As a bonus, his idol, Toshinori Yagi—the company’s lead scientist—was scheduled to give a speech to the students. Izuku carried his backpack and a notepad with him to the bus and waited for his teacher's instructions.
“I will take roll now,” his teacher announced, “and to ensure your safety on the trip, I will pair you into groups of two. When I call your name, please step forward, take your day pass, and sit next to your partner on the bus.”
Izuku had expected this but dreaded the idea of being paired with someone for the day. What if his partner didn’t like him? What if they wanted to be with their friend instead? He was sure whoever got stuck with him would end up resenting it. At least the teacher was assigning the pairs. If students had to choose their own partners, he knew he’d end up alone—or paired with the teacher.
He tuned out as the teacher called names, only snapping to attention when he heard, “Katsuki Bakugo.” Izuku couldn’t help but notice whenever Katsuki’s name came up; “Bakugo you will be with Eijiro Kirishima... Kirishima?”
“He isn’t here; he has a migraine or something,” Katsuki said flatly.
“Okay, then, Bakugou, I guess you’ll be with Izuku Midoriya.”
Hearing his name, Izuku felt his stomach drop. Not Kacchan. Please, anyone but him. This is the worst possible outcome. He’s going to ruin the day for me. Should I go home or ask for a different partner?
“Hey, nerd, stop standing there and get your ass on the bus. Why are you always so slow?” Katsuki snapped.
Izuku moved without thinking. Once he had time to process, though, he grew even more anxious. Why would Kacchan let this happen? Surely, he’d have insisted on a different partner. Does he want to beat me up or something? Why does he look so calm? Izuku cautiously sat down next to Katsuki, leaving as much space between them as possible.
“It’s a long drive; you should get comfortable,” Katsuki said calmly, looking at Izuku.
Izuku couldn’t believe what he was hearing but meekly replied, “I’m plenty comfortable, Kacchan. I just didn’t want to take up too much space.”
“Your ass is halfway in the aisle. Sit back—you’re blocking the walkway.” Katsuki made eye contact as he spoke, but his expression wasn’t angry like usual. In fact, he didn’t look annoyed at all.
Izuku hesitantly shifted back into his seat, careful to avoid taking up too much room.
With a squeak, the bus began to move. Izuku’s thoughts raced. Kacchan was right—it was going to be a long ride and an even longer day.