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Hitoshi found himself seeing a lot more of Class 1-A than he had before.
While most of his life had been fundamentally changed, school was almost the same. His classes went on like usual, and aside from the few awe inspired gazes he sometimes got after his sports festival performance, most of his peers still ignored him. He supposed he was at least cool or something now, but still nobody’s friend.
The one major difference was that his mentor turned guardian was a teacher at the school. 1-A’s homeroom teacher. And Hitoshi would never admit it, but he was starting to become a little clingy. 1-A definitely noticed Hitoshi showing up at the end of the day. They’d started greeting him by name even.
Something in him still feared his new flock would leave him again. He couldn’t fly yet. It would be so easy to take off without him. Especially when Aizawa had a much better group of fledglings right here.
One day, Aizawa wasn’t there when Hitoshi arrived. He figured he’d go find Yamada instead, but before he could walk away a voice called out.
“Oh, hey Shinso! Are you looking for Aizawa-sensei? He said to tell you he had a last minute staff meeting” one of the students called out.
It was Midoriya. Of course Shinso had the terrible luck of having to interact with the person who’d thrown him out of the sports festival.
“Ah. Thanks” Hitoshi tried to leave. A staff meeting meant Yamada would be busy too. He’d just go home and wait for them there.
“You can come hang out with us instead if you want? A few of us were going to head to the mall. And get ice cream. Todoroki’s never had it” Midoriya offered tentatively.
Hitoshi had never had ice cream either, actually. Not that he was going to tell them that. Not when he was looking at the guy who’d thrown him out of the ring. The guy with the perfect quirk that nobody ever cut his wings over. Midoriya had perfect wings, just like everyone else in this class. They were a vibrant green, with a little bit of red right at the front.
And yet for some reason he kind of wanted to go. Maybe it was better to get it over with anyway. The sooner they realized he wasn’t worth their time, the sooner they’d stop trying to befriend him. Because if he turned away now they’d definitely try again.
“Fine. But I can’t fly there. I hurt my wing in training yesterday” Hitoshi threw together a quick excuse.
“That’s alright! We can walk! The mall itself is a no–fly zone anyway” Midoriya assured him.
Hitoshi ended up following him outside, where a small group was waiting. He recognized everyone present, and he wasn’t sure whether that was because of the Sports Festival or listening to Aizawa complain about his job. Sometimes about what the students did, but mostly about grading their work. Hitoshi probably knew the worst essay writing habits of everyone here.
There was Uraraka, with her pink wings and gravity quirk. Ida with his dark blue wings and white tipped feathers, and of course the obvious engine quirk. And Todoroki, the guy who apparently hadn’t had ice cream. His wings matched his hair, red upper feathers and white primaries. And Hitoshi could never forget his quirk after the Sports Festival.
Hitoshi didn’t say anything at first. He raised his hand in a brief wave, but didn’t know what else to do. He’d never been around a group like this that wasn’t somehow mean to him. His wings shifted uncomfortably. When had they started doing that? He was usually so good at keeping them still.
“I passed on Aizawa-sensei’s message and figured I’d invite him along with us since it sounded like his plans were cancelled!” Midoriya said to the others.
Oh great, he’d been invited without notice.
“That’s a great idea! Nice to properly meet you Shinso!” Uraraka said.
“Indeed! You put on an impressive showing at the Sports Festival!” Ida added.
Todoroki just kind of stared at him. Hitoshi stared back. It got uncomfortable fast.
“We’ll need to walk to the mall. Shinso said he hurt his wing” Midoriya shared.
And somehow, everyone was just fine with that. Where were these people when Hitoshi was younger? Everyone he’d known in middle school acted like walking was the worst thing ever. Maybe hero students just got injured so much they were used to it?
The staredown with Todoroki continued as they walked. Hitoshi eventually broke the silence between them in hopes the tension would end.
“So. Never had ice cream huh?” he tried.
“No. My father never allowed it. Midoriya and Ida were really upset about it. Is it that good?” Todoroki asked.
Huh. Hitoshi could relate.
“Dunno,” he admitted.
“Guess we’ll find out,” Todoroki shrugged.
And that was their entire interaction. Others were quick to fill in some blanks though. Apparently they’d learned about Todoroki’s tragic lack of ice cream in his life during internships. While in the hospital.
The group wandered the mall before heading for ice cream. Hitoshi got thoroughly distracted by Present Mic’s merch when Midoriya dragged them into the hero merch store. It was weird seeing the guy on merchandise after living with him. Midoriya took his staring for interest and started going on about which ones were limited edition. Hitoshi ended up leaving with a limited edition figure. For some reason. He was going to regret that when he got home. There was no way they’d let him live it down.
“Do you think Aizawa-sensei has any merch?” Hitoshi wondered. He definitely hesitated before tacking on the ‘sensei’ there, but nobody seemed to notice.
“I’ve never seen any officially! But I’ve bought fanmade stuff before. He works underground, so he doesn’t really do the PR aspects of heroics. Still, some people know who he is and make their own stuff. Like this keychain!” Midoriya held up his own keys to show a little chibi image of Aizawa in his hero gear.
“Are you sure he won’t expel you for carrying him on a keychain?” Hitoshi said.
“He… hasn’t seen it. I don’t take out my keys in class” Midoriya admitted.
That actually earned a laugh out of Hitoshi.
“You’re carrying around a keychain of your homeroom teacher like it’s contraband?”
“I had this before I met him! He’s a cool hero!” Midoriya defended.
Uraraka was there to laugh at the exchange. The other two seemed to be going through something. Ida was staring at a large poster of Ingenium like it was haunting him. Todoroki glared at any depiction of Endeavour murderously, his wings puffed up with anger.
“Should we. Take them somewhere else?” Hitoshi muttered.
“Oh. I’m sorry! You guys could have stayed outside! Come on, let's go get that ice cream” Midoriya called when he realized what the others were doing.
And as they walked out of the store Midoriya casually brushed his wing against Hitoshi’s. It took all of Hitoshi’s willpower not to freeze where he stood.
He knew people did that. The others had been doing it to each other the whole time. Todoroki was the only one not to initiate it, but Midoriya and Ida seemed to be making a point to do it to him. Hitoshi himself had even started doing it to Aizawa and Yamada without thinking at home. But aside from those two, no one had ever done it to him. Certainly no one his own age.
It could have been a fluke. But then Uraraka did it too, while they were examining the ice cream flavors. And Hitoshi had to shove aside his crisis to try and actually pick a flavor.
“What’s the best ice cream?” Todoroki asked.
Everyone had a different opinion, and Shinso had none.
“While we all have different favorites, chocolate and vanilla are typically considered the most essential ice cream flavors” Ida eventually offered.
Hitoshi went with vanilla. He didn’t want to overthink it. This made Todoroki pick chocolate, figuring they’d cover both flavors that way. It was actually really good. Apparently ice cream wasn’t overhyped. Poor Todoroki got stared down as he tried his, everyone eager to see what he thought. Hitoshi was glad he came across as indifferent rather than outing himself as never having it either.
“It’s good,” Todoroki declared in his usual quiet manner.
And the others actually clapped. Like he’d just been presented an award and given a speech. Hitoshi laughed, his wings stretching out slightly as he relaxed.
Then he realized he’d just done that. Why were they developing a mind of their own? He’d just shown the whole table his clipped feathers. And they’d noticed. Except for Todoroki, whose face rarely changed to begin with, they all looked upset.
“Shinso-” Midoriya began, but Hitoshi didn’t stick around to listen.
He bolted. He didn’t want to hear it. Their inevitable rejection. Why would they want to hang around him now? They had good wings. Beautiful wings that actually worked. It made Hitoshi want to rip his own off. They were getting better, but why couldn’t he just be normal already? When would he stop looking so pathetic next to everyone?
Aizawa would choose those students over Hitoshi. Easily. Aizawa had perfect wings too. The best ones Hitoshi had seen actually. Though maybe he was biased. Aizawa was everything Hitoshi wanted to be after all. Why would someone that good and heroic want Hitoshi when he literally had twenty better options? Twenty other kids who could fly. Who had wings that actually could rival a hero’s.
Hitoshi ended up in a small corridor that led to the bathrooms. He shoved himself the farthest possible corner, bundling himself in his own wings. No point in hiding them now anyway. And he broke down completely.
Why did this even matter so much? He’d known it would happen eventually. But… he’d actually been having fun. It had actually been nice. He’d felt normal. He just had to go and get too comfortable. He’d done this to himself really.
“Hey” Todoroki said, startling Hitoshi. When had he gotten here?
Hitoshi just glared at him.
“Are you alright?” Todoroki tried.
And this time Hitoshi laughed. A dark and miserable laugh, with tears still running down his face.
“Are you serious right now?” he questioned.
“Ah. So you’re not” Todoroki said, sitting down next to Hitoshi.
What an observation. Hitoshi never would have guessed he wasn’t alright.
“You didn’t have to follow me. I know you’re all just going to tell me to get lost” Hitoshi grumbled.
“Why would we do that?” Todoroki asked.
Hitoshi kind of hated Todoroki then and there. Because the dude seemed genuinely confused. But of course he was. He didn’t even know how to choose an ice cream. Todoroki didn’t know anything, and now Hitoshi would have to spell it out.
“I can’t fly. My wings are useless. And ugly. No one wants me around. You wouldn’t get it. You have nice wings” Hitoshi growled. Slowly. As if talking to a five year old.
“Mine were pretty ugly for a while. When I was younger. After I got this scar. I developed a really bad plucking habit. Father eventually scared me out of it” Todoroki shared, dropping his trauma in the same tone of voice he used for everything.
Hitoshi just kind of stared at him for a moment, because what the hell? Who just says that without a hint of emotion? It left a strange feeling stirring in him. Todoroki might just understand. Nobody ever understood.
The words that left Hitoshi’s mouth next were utterly ridiculous, “I… I hadn’t had ice cream before either”
“It was good,” Todoroki hummed. Then he brushed a wing against Hitoshi’s. Slowly, hesitantly. Not like the others who did it without a thought.
“Yeah. It was good” Hitoshi agreed.
“Shinso! Are you alright?” Midoriya yelled, rocketing in out of nowhere and skidding to a stop just in front of them. Green lightning flickered around him. Had he been charging around looking for Hitoshi with his quirk?
“He thinks we’ll want him to leave,” Todoroki supplied when Hitoshi shrank into himself rather than answering.
“Oh! No, not at all! We were just worried about you! It’s perfectly ok if you can’t fly! But if someone is hurting you we want to help!” Midoriya said so quickly his words nearly blurred together.
“It’s fine. Like… really, I’m not just saying that. I’m… not in that situation anymore” Hitoshi settled on.
Midoriya visibly relaxed.
“Deku! Did you find him?” Uraraka’s voice called from somewhere beyond their little hallway.
“I did! Go tell Ida, we’ll be back in a moment!” Midoriya answered her quickly before turning back to Hitoshi, “Why don’t we go finish our ice cream? We left Ida watching it”
He offered a hand, and after a moment’s hesitation Hitoshi took it and let the other boy pull him to his feet. Todoroki stood up too, moving next to Histoshi and offering yet another awkward wing nudge. Hitoshi couldn’t stop crying. Why were they so nice?
“He hadn’t had ice cream before either,” Todoroki shared as they got back to the group. That traitor.
“It’s good,” he muttered, before they could ask. If they’d wanted more than Todoroki had given they were going to be disappointed. Hitoshi picked up his spoon and continued to eat his now somewhat melted ice cream. It was enough to finally stop the tears.
The whole group stuck close to Hitoshi as they left the mall. Like a flock protecting their most vulnerable member. He found himself in the middle of everyone as they went back towards UA, constantly being offered reassurance in the form of gentle wing brushes.
He hadn’t realized just how much he’d wanted actual friends. The steady presence of them around him soothed away the last of his anxiety.
Maybe everyone didn’t hate him. Maybe some people out there really did care. And he was so lucky to have found them.