Chapter Text
w heroes
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chargebolt: so guys
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: Immediately no.
chargebolt: ????
chargebolt: I DIDNT EVEN SAY ANYTHING YET
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: Keep it that way.
chargebolt: WHY DO YOU HATE ME KACCHAN!!!!
red riot: what's up denki !!!
pinky!: yeah ignore kacchan what do u need princess
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: STOP WITH THAT FUCKASS NAME.
chargebolt: shut up at least SOME OF MY FRIENDS gaf about me
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: WE AREN'T FRIENDS YOU IDIOT.
deku: Kacchan it's really not for all that..
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: DIE.
deku: Okay sure anyways
deku: Did you need something Denki?
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: DON’T FUCKING BRUSH ME OFF ME SHITTY LOSER
chargebolt: soo remember how we left over the summer and visited home and everything
cellophane: yea
chargebolt: erm
chargebolt: so i left my essay there
chargebolt: all 50 pages
cellophane: ….
cellophane: bro. 😭
froppy: you mean… *the* essay?
froppy: the one aizawa-sensei gave us all summer to do?
froppy: the one that is going to be 80% of our grade going into the semester?
froppy: the one he kept reminding us about?
froppy: the one he told *you* in specific to not forget to do?
froppy: multiple times?
froppy: every day for the last two weeks of school ?
chargebolt: YES TSU THAT ONE OKAY THAT ESSAY.
chargebolt: BUT I DIDNT FORGET TO DO IT I JUST
chargebolt: FORGOT IT
chargebolt: TWO DIFFERENT THINGS !!!!!
earphone jack: yea man ur cooked
earphone jack: rip
chargebolt: DONT SCARE ME PLEASE
chargebolt: this is still salvageable!!!!!!
chargebolt: where there's a will there's a way!!!
nighthide: yeah i sure do hope you wrote a will cuz aizawa-sensei is going to kill you
chargebolt: STOP IT
chargebolt: toshi please you're his son he birthed you he’ll listen to you if you tell him not to kill me
nighthide: okay first of all he is not my father and you people need to stop saying that he is
shouto: You still haven't provided any concrete evidence against my theory.
shouto: You and Izuku both.
deku: Shouto please.. 😭
nighthide: go do something productive.
nighthide: and second of all denki
nighthide: you should be a little more responsible in the future because this is getting to a point.
chargebolt: please don't lecture me im into that
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: OKAY.
chargebolt: KACCHAN LET ME COPY YOUR ESSAY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT: Die.
chargebolt: FUCK
cellophane: idk what you were expecting from him man 😭
chargebolt: @tentacole my bro help a guy out
tentacole: Not a good idea.
chargebolt: .
chargebolt: @uravity girl u love me right ?
uravity: Um not that much!!
chargebolt: WHAT THE HELL
chargebolt: @pinky! bff…?
pinky!: girl i didn't even do it
invisible girl: MINA ????
pinky!: literally forgot about it until 5 hours ago and have decided to js accept my fate
chargebolt: oh my god
chargebolt: @anima u love me right..?
anima: sorry denki but i don't want to get in trouble…
chargebolt: THERES TEARS IN MY EYES RN.
chargebolt: DO YOU ALL WANT AIZAWA-SENSEI TO MURDER ME???? IS THAT HOW LITTLE I MEAN TO YOU PEOPLE????
red riot: denks i think you're out of luck..
red riot: i mean he would definitely notice immediately if you completely plagiarized an entire Essay bro
chargebolt: okay well i wouldn't call it plagiarism
nighthide: what else could you call that.
chargebolt: just think about it this way!!!
chargebolt: in this modern world of AI
froppy: here he goes
cellophane: even He don't know wth he on abt rn 😭😭
chargebolt: people take others’ works all the time and use it to train their artificial intelligence, which only ends up destroying our environment
chargebolt: so instead of using ur hard work to train an environment destroying machine
chargebolt: use it to train your dear friend in need!!!! who's also totally super mindful of the environment!!!!
shouto: Don't you still use plastic straws?
pinky!: LMAOOO
chargebolt: DO YOU EVER STOP TALKING SHOUTO
earphone jack: denki even if someone did let you plagiarize their essay
chargebolt: *train my brain
earphone jack: you wouldn't have enough time.
earphone jack: we’re back to class tomorrow morning.
deku: Yeah um
deku: I’d suggest you accept your fate like Mina did..
pinky!: come die w me twin 🌱
chargebolt: IM SO FUCKING SCARED 😭😭🥀
ingenium: Fellow classmates! It is nearing 8pm! I highly suggest everyone shuts their cellular devices off, gets into bed, and prepares their minds and bodies for tomorrow!
ingenium: Also, Denki. Language.
chargebolt: don't even rn man this is literally my last night alive.
nighthide: that's rather dramatic don't you think
chargebolt: whatever u say gorjus
nighthide: ??? what the fuck did you just call me
ingenium: Language, Hitoshi!
chargebolt: u heard me 🤤
creati: Denki honey, that is not how you spell that word.
chargebolt: wait fr
chargebolt: gorejus
deku: No not that either..
chargebolt: gorgis
froppy: how are you getting further and further away from the correct spelling
chargebolt: fuck
chargebolt: is there like a silent o or some shit
chargebolt: gorjous
chargebolt: that's gotta be it
chargebolt: toshi u r gorjous
nighthide: that's gotta be a new slur or smth
chargebolt: HOW THE FUCK DO YOU SPELL THIS STUPID WORD
cellophane: denks man just use the mic feature
chargebolt: gorgeous
chargebolt: THATS SO STUPID YOU DONT EVEN PRONOUNCE IT LIKE THAT
invisible girl: yeah um maybe it's best for aizawa-sensei’s sake that he won't have to read whatever the hell you wrote in that essay denki..
earphone jack: 😭😭😭
chargebolt: I HATE YOU ALL
pinky!: look at the bright side princess
pinky!: at least we know aizawa-sensei loves us too much by now to expel us !!!!!
tentacole: You seem very confident about that.
pinky!: DONT LOOK AT ME AND TELL ME HE DOESNT DUDE
pinky!: he's just aura farming all the time beneath that stoic exterior is a man who loves us as his children trust ❤️🩹
chargebolt: wait cook…?
cellophane: whole kitchen just burned down
cellophane: his only children are eri and hitoshi guys don't delude yourselves plz 💔
nighthide: he's just simply not my dad.
nighthide: remind me again why the fuck everyone is taking shouto's half baked theory as fact ????
shouto: How dare you call it half baked.
shouto: This was crafted from many months of careful observation and critical thinking.
shouto: I know what you are Shinsou.
nighthide: ????
red riot: did shouto just call toshi gay bro
uravity: I mean.. that theory wouldn't be wrong either
nighthide: okay.
shouto: That's not a theory though, that is a proven fact.
nighthide: HOW WOULD YOU KNOW????
invisible girl: just look at you toshi!!!
earphone jack: yeah man it doesn't take much to figure it out
froppy: yeah don't you have falling in reverse and mcr posters in your room?
chargebolt: little itty bitty waist man
cellophane: didn't u pick hound dog over midnight when we played smash or pass
deku: And your favorite book is Giovanni’s Room…
uravity: And you have an eyebrow piercing !
pinky!: and like Look At You.
pinky!: like okay purple hair and pronouns wtvr u say !
nighthide: .
nighthide: yeah gn.
earphone jack: dude nobody here actually goes to sleep at 8 besides bakugo and iida ur not fooling anyone 💀
earphone jack: gay ass excuse
deku: Okay guys leave Hitoshi alone 😅
nighthide: screw you too man you added on to that shit too
deku: Sorry…
shouto: It's okay, Izuku.
nighthide: like it's your place to say that ????
shouto: Yes, he’s forgiven.
deku: Awh you're sweet Shouto! ☺️
nighthide: . oh but i'm the gay one
nighthide: alr
froppy: well yes
uravity: You can't blame us Toshi! Deku and Shouto’s pining is waaaayyy old news
shouto: Our what?
deku: WHAT???!?!!?
uravity: You're the newest to the group, so we’re much more interested in whatever you've got going on!
chargebolt: agreed !!!
red riot: i think ur interested in much more than just that denks
chargebolt: oh yeah i want him bad
nighthide: do you always just say whatevers on your mind?
chargebolt: pretty much bro!
chargebolt: please kiss me.
nighthide: .
nighthide: i'm going to bed.
chargebolt: without me?
chargebolt: lol
chargebolt: just playin bro!
chargebolt: unless you don't want me to be
chargebolt: then i'm so serious.
chargebolt: u there toshi?
chargebolt: toshi?
chargebolt:
CAN’T STOP TWINKLING!!!: mom amour please stop this at once!
CAN’T STOP TWINKLING!!!: all this secondhand embarrassment is dulling my sparkle! ✨
chargebolt: LEAVE ME ALONE YUUGA
tsukuyomi: I must agree.
tsukuyomi: This is becoming a problem Denki.
pinky!: guys leave my princess alone
chargebolt: thank you daddy…
pinky!: yw babygirl..
invisible girl: oh wow
sugarman: Yeah that’s a lot.
tsukuyomi: Um…
red riot: what you guys never heard them do this before ?
froppy: is this like a Thing with them?? 😭
pinky!: this is no simple “thing”
pinky!: denki is my princess sugarbaby sweet sexy magical girl and i have dedicated my heart to him
chargebolt: yeah what she said !!!!!
chargebolt: our souls r all enturtyned n shit
creati: Sorry, what??
chargebolt: u know like locked in
creati: Um…
earphone jack: the hell are you on about denki
red riot: do u mean intertwined bro?
chargebolt: is that how u spell it ???
cellophane: oh nah 😭
tailman: We’re in super hell.
pinky!: look at my future hero dawggg😭💔🙏🏾
“Kaminari, what are you doing back here?”
Denki let out a poorly concealed shout as Shouto’s voice pierced through the anxiety-ridden silence the blonde teen had created around himself, his neck making an irregular cracking noise as he whipped it over to look at the two-toned boy. “Christ Shouto, you need to stop sneaking up on people like that!”
He had shrieked, which only resulted in a slow blink from the other.
“Sorry.” Shouto began, sounding not sorry at all. “I assumed incorrectly that after a full year of professional hero course training, your senses would have been honed enough to hear someone approaching directly behind you.”
Somewhere far off, the amused bark of laughter from Hanta nearly drowned out the wounded noise that tore itself from Denki’s throat. “Wha- Shouto! That's so mean!”
“Oh? I did not intend for it to be.” He simply shook his head before tilting it slightly, seeming curious despite the monotone encasing every word. “Anyways, as I asked- what are you doing back here?”
“N-Nothin’ man! Just.. just chillin’, you know?”
“Behind a potted plant?”
“...Y-Yeah, man..”
“He’s hiding, 'Roki.” Hanta decided to unhelpfully pitch in as he approached, that annoying grin on his face as he threw an arm over Shouto’s shoulders. “Scared Aizawa-sensei’s gonna kill him today.”
“Don't say that with such a relaxed smile! He's seriously gonna do it this time!” Denki shrieked once more, fingers twitching as he jerkily moved to tangle them in his hair. “Tsu said it, I really screwed up… Aizawa-sensei warned me like a billion times and I still messed it up..! What if he hangs me with his capture scarf?!”
His voice had nearly dropped an entire octave with dread, each word coming out choked and heavy. Hanta, the prick, only grinned wider.
“Wow, you are super dramatic man. I don't think hangin’ you would be real heroic of him, so you can probably forget that possibility.”
“No, you're right… He’ll do it in a way that'll leave no traces back to him!”
“Denki.. I’m sure it'll be fine.” Izuku chimed in with an infuriatingly kind smile, his hands clumsily securing his uniform tie around his neck. “No offense or anything, but Aizawa-sensei probably already assumed this would be a likely outcome. I doubt he’ll be as enraged as you think he will.”
“Izuku! That's somehow meaner than what Shouto said!”
“Ah- Was it?! I'm sorry!”
“It's okay, Izuku.”
“No it isn’t!” Denki shouted with a look equal parts distraught and angered. “Stop forgiving him for other people, Shouto!”
“He didn't mean it. Leave him alone.”
“Nobody’s even attacking him!”
“Give it up, Denki.” Kyouka smirked as she walked by, idly tossing an apple up and down in her right hand before taking a crisp bite. “There's no changing Shouto’s mind when it comes to Izuku.”
Izuku, for his part, at least had the decency to look embarrassed, a light flush to his cheeks as he turned his head away and lightly scratched the back of it. “G-Guys, come on… Shouto’s just being nice, that's all.”
"Anytime, Izuku." Shouto mumbled, a few tones softer than he usually did for anybody else.
Denki dragged both hands down his face, groaning into his palms like a man slowly being lowered into molten lava. "Oh my god, can you two stop flirting for five minutes?! I'm literally experiencing my final hours alive and nobody gives a damn!"
"You aren't dying," Shouto repeated, monotone once more, like someone forced him at gunpoint to offer emotional support.
"You don't know that!" Denki hissed, clutching the leaves of the potted plant like it was a life raft. "You weren't there when he told me, 'If you forget this, you will face consequences.' Consequences, guys. That means death! Or worse.."
Hanta snorted loudly. "What's worse than death?"
"Disappointment," Denki whispered, shivering.
That, evidently, struck the entire group silent.
Even Shouto paused. "Hm. Fair point."
Izuku, still fully flustered, tried again. "D-Denki, seriously, it'll be okay. He's not going to kill you or... uh... hang you with his scarf."
"He could!" Denki shrieked, voice cracking in three different keys. "He's creative like that! He could do the thing where he silently drops down from the ceiling and knocks bad guys out. Or he could trap me in that scarf cocoon thing and leave me outside for the crows!"
Kyouka blinked. "Why would he leave you for crows?"
"I don't know, I'm not him!"
"Man, you gotta calm down before you pass out," Hanta grinned, completely unhelpful as always.
"Passing out would actually be optimal," Denki muttered. "Then I could avoid this entirely."
While Denki spiraled fully into his despair, more students trickled into the hallway, all of whom had the exact same energy as people approaching a dramatic wildlife scene: curious, mildly entertained, and ready to record if things got crazy.
Eijirou arrived by them next, stretching his arms above his head with that signature toothy smile. "Morning guys! Denks, why're you behind a plant, man?"
"Trying not to die," Denki responded instantly.
"Oh, word," He said, nodding with no further questions, most likely because he had seen far stranger things from Denki specifically.
Mina pranced over, pink hair bouncing, taking one look at Denki and clasping a hand to her chest like she was witnessing a tragedy. "Princess! You look so pale! Did you sleep at all?"
Denki, trembling, reached out one weak hand toward her. "Mina... if I pass, remember me as I was-"
"As a dumbass?" Kyouka chimed from behind, making another loud bite into her apple.
"I WAS GOING TO SAY BEAUTIFUL, BUT SURE, WHATEVER!" Denki snapped before immediately recoiling. "Sorry, Kyouka. I'm very fragile right now."
Kyouka shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Don't worry. Aizawa-sensei won't kill you. He'll just do the disappointed sigh thing and make you run laps or something."
The group collectively winced.
Izuku nodded grimly. "Yeah... that's pretty rough."
Eijirou shuddered. "Oh man, the sigh.. The one that makes you rethink your entire life is super sucky to be on the receiving end of."
"Damn, damn damn!"
A second later, as if his morning wasn't horrible enough, a certain blonde marched into the dorm common room like he was actively trying to set the floor on fire with the friction of his sheer rage. His brows were furrowed harshly, his jaw locked so tight it could've crushed metal, and he looked like someone who had woken up, immediately remembered that other human beings existed, and became furious about it.
His eyes immediately zeroed in on Denki still half-crouched behind the plant like a frightened cat, and his scowl only deepened. "The hell's wrong with you?"
Denki instantly jerked up. "Please save me, Kacchan!"
"Don't fucking call me that." Katsuki took another stomp forward as he wrangled his tie looser than it already was around his neck, and Denki made a squeaking noise not heard in nature at the movement.
"Kacchan, he's scared," Izuku tried.
"Good," Katsuki snapped. "He should be. Dumbass can't keep getting away with this crap."
"...heartless," Denki whispered, tears filling his eyes. "Dying alone and without my friends to love me..."
Katsuki only crossed his arms and glared down at him. "You're fucking ridiculous, you know that? Maybe if you actually put some effort into your shit sometimes you wouldn't have these problems you damn idiot!”
Mina threw herself between them far more dramatically than necessary, her arms spread out wide in a defensive stance. "Kacchan, don't hurt my princess' feelings! He's suffering enough already!"
“Yeah!”
Katsuki made a face like that was the worst possible sentence he'd ever heard. "Stop calling him that, what the fuck-"
"Jesus, you people always this loud in the morning?"
Denki practically collapsed in relief at hearing the new voice, abandoning the potted plant entirely as he launched himself forward–arms outstretched–straight at the tired figure emerging from the hallway.
"Toshi!!"
He clung to the taller boy like a koala. Hitoshi didn't fall or stumble- he just stiffened slightly under the sudden weight, letting out a soft, resigned grunt. His hand hovered awkwardly midair for half a second before settling on Denki's shoulder in a quiet, subtle return of contact he would absolutely deny if questioned.
Denki sniffed, burying his face into Hitoshi’s shoulder. "Toshi, oh my god, I'm gonna die- Sensei's gonna murder me, please kiss me goodbye- make sure they play really good music at my funeral, and-"
"You're not gonna die," Hitoshi muttered, rolling his eyes. "You're just gonna get chewed out. Again."
"That's worse!" He practically whined.
"You'll live."
"Will I?!"
Hitoshi sighed again, adjusting his grip so Denki didn't actually slide off him and collapse onto the carpet. "Calm down. Did you type it up or physically write it down?"
"T-Typed..?"
"Okay. Then you should have the backup still stored on your laptop or something. Just print it out in the library and-"
"Backup?"
"...You saved it to your drive while you were writing it, didn't you?"
"Drive? Like a car?"
“..."
Unhelpfully loudly, Katsuki barked out a horrifically demeaning laugh. "Hah! Are you kiddin' me?! You're slower than I fuckin’ thought, Pikachu!"
Denki twitched and collapsed fully against Hitoshi like he'd been physically stabbed. Katsuki’s damn near evil laughter was only cut off by Eijirou harshly prodding a hardened elbow into his side, and his mirth quickly transformed into very loud enraged shouts.
"Don't listen to him," Hitoshi murmured, although his voice held the tiniest, traitorous lilt of amusement. "You're not dumb. Just.. uh... yeah."
"What the hell does that mean?!"
“Class is starting soon, we should get going.”
“Don't ignore me, Toshi!”
Unfortunately for Denki, the time came for them to all start filing out of the dorms and towards the main building for their official first day back. Hitoshi was forcibly volunteered by a very smug looking Tsuyu to carry their despondent and inconsolable classmate, who suddenly, did not look very despondent nor inconsolable as Hitoshi lifted him onto his back. The blonde’s grin from over his shoulder was mirrored by every single one of their classmates as Hitoshi passed them by- though theirs were arguably more shit-eating than Denki’s.
It was another strange thing about these people that he was still getting used to. See, Hitoshi wasn't particularly used to the concept of having ‘friends’. He’d grown up almost completely isolated from his peers, spending more time reading cheap ¥50 hero catalogues beneath the play structures at recess rather than engaging with any of the others. It was simpler that way, because he could honestly spend hours reading all about those amazing underground heroes, and marvel at how different their quirks were from heroes like All Might or Endeavor. Especially Eraserhead. He was always one of Hitoshi’s favorites.
In any case, it wasn't like he tried to become a complete loner, but, well… He'd already learned long ago that interaction with his young classmates only ended in two ways.
- He told them about his quirk when they inevitably asked, and they would run away from him like he had a contagious disease.
- He lied and told them he was quirkless, and they would run away from him like he had a contagious disease.
It stopped hurting his feelings by the time he was in second grade. He didn't care anymore, and that was mainly because he had more important issues to focus on. Particularly, his constant moving around from home to home.
Hitoshi found out that he was, for lack of better terms, fucked. For life. And it was all because of his damned quirk. He couldn't speak too much–or at all–around his foster families. But when those families already had other children, that made him an all too easy target for fingers to get pointed at him when the little brats did something wrong. All they’d have to do is wail and point a chubby little finger towards him, and he would be the one punished for everything. And it wasn't like he could defend himself- speaking would just result in a worse punishment anyways. Hitoshi learned that keeping his mouth shut just made sense. He could bide his time, prioritize survival over pride, and keep silent while he worked hard to become a hero and prove them all wrong that way.
Turns out, that was harder than it sounded when he was finally placed in his current home…
…But he didn't want to dwell on that. Because he finally made it. He managed to (somehow) do well enough in that joint training exercise last year (even though he still cringed at night when remembering how awful he did with certain parts of it), and was swiftly brought into the hero course towards the last two months of classes. He was honestly surprised by that, having thought he would need to wait until their second year came around- but then a pink girl sprinted up to him and started yapping his ear off about how he seemed like a much better ‘purple’ to have in their classroom, so long as he wasn't a creepy awful pervert too. He assured her that he wasn't, and the grin she shot him was so bright he almost winced. He figured out soon after that he was someone’s replacement, but he assumed nobody was going to resent him for it, judging by how happy they looked to say bye to the guy leaving.
But he was grateful. So, so grateful. Those two months gave him time to catch up on everything he missed from the others’ first year in this course, and Aizawa-sensei even agreed to continue to train him throughout the summer so he could focus this time in class only on studying and covering the curriculum he had missed. (He still couldn't get over the fact that fucking Eraserhead was his mentor now. And secretly, he would inwardly giggle every time his new classmates would tease and call him his son, but that was something he was taking to the grave.)
Which, in fact, was another thing these people did that surprised him. Sure, it was the teasing he had mentioned before, but the aspect of it that shocked him the most was just how.. effortlessly they spoke to him. How eager they were to welcome him to their class, and the sheer amount of prodding they kept doing to try and drag him into various group activities. Rikidou kept pestering him until he agreed to bake a cake with him, which he royally kept fucking up because he had no idea how to make anything edible. Ochako, Tsuyu and Izuku kept insisting with those horrifically convincing puppy eyes that he joined them in reading circles every week, until he eventually stopped refusing and started actually looking forward to it. Denki would not stop flirting with him, and it was getting to a point that Hitoshi didn't know if he was kidding or not anymore. Eijirou insisted that he started joining him and Katsuki at the gym, and even as the blonde loudly rejected this idea, Eijirou assured that he really didn't mind it. Kyouka and Fumikage had jam sessions in the girl’s room that they had, apparently, taken one look at him and surmised that he’d be into the same music as them, and promptly made him join in on. (They were right. He did have the same music taste as them, but he was a little annoyed that he had so clearly fit into a stereotype.)
That was just a few of them. If Hitoshi listed every annoyingly kind activity his classmates had forced upon him, he'd be speaking for hours, and as previously established- he wasn't used to that.
He came here with a firm declaration that he wasn't looking to make friends.
He found out very quickly that he had no say in it.
“Wanna listen to music?” Denki suddenly asked, his chin resting far too comfortably on Hitoshi’s shoulder as he waved his phone in front of his face. “That band you like put out a new album last night, right?”
“Oh- Uh, yeah.. How'd you know?”
Denki grinned. “You mentioned they were making a comeback after like, 15 years right before summer started! I've been waiting for us to get back so I could listen to it with you!”
“...Oh.” Hitoshi couldn't meet his eyes all of a sudden. “..Okay, cool. Um, sure.”
“Awesome! Here, put the earbud in.”
“Denki, I’m carrying you. I can't.”
“Oh, my bad! I got you!”
Denki twisted around on Hitoshi's back with the kind of reckless confidence that suggested he'd either never known fear or had simply punted it out a window at age six. Hitoshi immediately tensed- not just because of Denki's hands bracketing his jaw to slip the earbud in, but because Denki was way too close and smelled faintly like citrus shampoo and the strawberry gum he constantly chewed.
"Hold stilllll- okay, there!" Denki chirped, triumphantly stuffing the earbud into Hitoshi's left ear while balancing with his thighs around Hitoshi's waist like an overgrown barnacle.
"That was... unnecessarily complicated," Hitoshi muttered, refusing to acknowledge the heat creeping up the back of his neck.
"Yeah but it was totally fun!"
Before Hitoshi could come up with a response that didn't sound like a flustered croak, a familiar, even-toned voice drifted over from behind them.
"You two look comfortable."
Hitoshi scowled.
Denki just waved his free hand cheerfully.
"Shouto! Heyyy! Don't be jealous, I'm sure 'Zuku would be more than willing to-"
"I am not jealous." Shouto said immediately, effectively cutting him off.
Izuku, trailing just behind him, was clearly fighting the urge to chuckle into his notebook. "Denki, please don't tease him on the first day back," he pleaded, although the glimmer in his eyes said he absolutely wanted to see how far Denki would push it. (Or at least, that's how Denki read it. He didn't think he needed to ask for clarification. Or wanted to, for that matter.)
"I mean, if Shouto does need a ride that bad, I'm sure Toshi can carry two-"
"No." Hitoshi's voice was firm. "Absolutely not."
Shouto nodded once. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience him."
Hitoshi exhaled, a small exasperated huff leaving him as the sound of distorted guitars and gritty vocals crackled through the earbud. Denki, already swaying his legs beside him with zero awareness of how much he was bouncing on Hitoshi's spine, whispered, "Ohhhh this is so your vibe."
"Please stop analyzing my vibe."
"Nah."
They stepped out into the courtyard walkway, sunlight reflecting off the polished stone path and throwing an obnoxious glint straight into Hitoshi's eyes. Denki lifted a hand to shield his face- from the sun or from Katsuki's passing glare, unclear. Probably both.
"Oh? You guys are listening to some music?"
"Yeah man!" Denki grinned at Izuku, waving the phone around with so much energy that Hitoshi had to tighten his hold under Denki's thighs to keep him from toppling backward. "Wanna listen too? Here, I'll unplug the headphones!"
"No. Do not." Hitoshi quickly hissed, roughly jerking Denki on his back to prove his point. "That's embarrassing as hell. Don't be that guy."
"Wha- Mean! What d'ya mean that guy?"
"Like how Kirishima tends to blast his music out of that small, low-quality speaker everywhere he goes." Shouto supplied, actually helpful for once. "It can be very annoying."
"Agreed. So don't associate me with that." Hitoshi grumbled, fully ignoring the huff he got in return from the blonde hanging over his back.
"You're no fun... 'Zuku, don't worry! You and I will have our own super sick jam session without these losers later, 'kay?"
"Oh- Uh, okay! Sounds fun!"
"Izuku... You find me to be a loser?"
"What- N-No no no! Not at all, Shouto!"
"Jesus christ." Hitoshi groaned under his breath, much to Denki's very clear amusement. "How long have they been like this?"
"Since the sports fest, man. 'Zuku was all awesome towards him and made him enter the flow state ‘cause he totally validated his whole life and autonomy ‘n shit, and he's been whipped since."
"Mm. Right. Whatever that means."
"A-Anyways!" Izuku practically squawked, shuffling a few steps forward so he could meet Hitoshi's eyes. "A-Aren’t you excited? First day back, new year, new classes- and Hitoshi, you finally get to start with the full schedule from day one! Isn't that great? I'm so happy for you, really!”
"Yeah." He nodded simply- but there was a faint upward curl to the corner of his mouth that Denki noticed immediately.
He leaned closer with a jerk, cooing, "Awww, someone's happy. Look at you. So proud. So academic. So heroic."
"I swear, Denki. Throw me off balance one more time and I’m dropping you."
"Jeez, you're about as fun and as ruthless as your dad." Denki grumbled, the smile wiped from his face as he rested his cheek flat against Hitoshi’s shoulder.
"Eraserhead. Isn't. My father."
"I beg to differ."
"Nobody asked you, Shouto."
Musutafu, Eight Years Ago…
Touya never guessed his bones would be so heavy.
Granted, he never particularly had a reason to think about carrying severed chunks of his own bones and how heavy they may or may not be, but even still- who knew, right?
He collapsed against the side of the dusty alleyway wall, his breaths coming in quick and short gasps as he had to wheeze for air- again. He was pretty sure his larynx was completely singed up. It didn't help that humidity today was apparently at an all time high for the first time in 18 years- but then again, Touya never had particularly good luck anyways. Of course there was going to be horrendous weather on top of his near death experience. Why the hell not? Might as well throw in a group of muggers while fate was at it. Maybe they would finish the job and end his miserable and horrendously painful existence. He almost prayed for it at this point.
“Touya-nii… Is this really a good idea? You’ll make him angry, you know that!”
“Oh, shut it ‘Yumi! What do you know?” Touya had sneered, the bandages on his cheeks crinkling from the tug of his agitated expression. He curled a burnt fist around another shirt from his dresser, stomping back over to his half-filled suitcase and shoving it inside. “The old man will hardly even notice I’m gone. He’s too busy with his perfect creation.”
He spat the words out as if they disgusted him to even have on his tongue, and a brief flicker of blue flame darted up from the top of his head in his anger. Fuyumi winced at the sight, but remained as firm as she could in her stance. “That's not true.. Dad doesn't want you to leave! Mom too, she's-”
“Do you think I believe that crap? Mom doesn't know her left foot from her right, and Dad has just been waiting for me to get out of his life!”
“Don't-” Fuyumi clenched her jaw, her fists now shaking at her sides. “Okay. Fine. Think whatever you want about them, but what about Shouto?”
Touya’s movements faltered for the briefest second at that- but Fuyumi caught it just as well. “What about him.”
“I know you worry about him, Touya-nii. You're the only one of us who can even see him back where Dad does their training, who’s going to be there to stop Dad from going overboard if you leave?”
“He’s eight now. He can handle himself.”
“We both know you don't believe that.”
“What the hell do you want me to do Fuyumi?!” Touya barked then, whirling around to face her with a look of rage-laden despair. “This is never going to end! I can't keep living here knowing I’m his biggest failure, watching Shouto get his little ass kicked all because I wasn't good enough! No amount of my attempts at getting stronger have done anything to fix this, and I can't just sit back and keep watching it happen!”
Fuyumi froze then, her face falling in a look of such pity that it made Touya’s tightly clenched fists flicker with flames. “Touya-nii… don't tell me you're really blaming yourself for what’s happening to Shouto-”
“Shouto, Mom, you, Natsu- everyone! If I had just been strong enough from the beginning, Dad would have never had to go to these crazy lengths! He's obsessed and it's because of me! I can't fucking fix it- so I’m leaving! This is torture, I can't- I can't fucking take it anymore!”
Touya gasped as his blood hit the ground- thick, blackened, half-congealed, half-boiling. It sizzled on the concrete like oil in a frying pan. For a second, he just stared at it, swaying, the world pitching in that fun way things do right before you pass out and/or die. Honestly, either option sounded pretty good right now.
His right arm barely resembled an arm anymore. The flesh hung half-melted, peeling like wet wallpaper, white bone poking through in sickly gleams. His ribs throbbed with each breath- if you could even call the ragged, wheezing noise he produced "breathing." More like air trying to escape a crushed bellows.
But his eyes.
His eyes burned brighter than the rest of him. Unhinged. Wild. Gone.
Yet focused–pinpoint, razor-sharp–on one thing.
Endeavor.
“S-...Stop it! Just leave mom and Shouto alone, you fat bastard!”
“Get the hell out of my way!” A large, flaming hand grabbed him by the throat, singing the flesh there for an agonizing five seconds before it threw him across the room. Vaguely, he heard his mother scream his name from her spot on the ground, but it went in one ringing ear and right out the other.
“T-Touya-nii, no!” Shouto’s little voice broke on his shout, a weak puff of ice shooting from his tattered right fist as he pathetically swung them both at their father’s leg. “Stop! S-Stop bullying them!”
Endeavor didn't even spare the eight-year old a glance. His eyes, full of nothing but contempt and rage, were completely zeroed in on Touya. The boy hardly had a chance to stare back in his terror, before a foot slammed directly into his ribs.
The blow forced the air out of his lungs in a strangled ‘guhk’ that hardly counted as a sound. His body skidded along the polished training room floor, leaving a streak of scorched blood in its wake. The burns on his throat pulsed, bubbling nerves lit up like electric wires.
He tried to push himself up. His arm collapsed under him.
"Don't you-" Endeavor's voice tore through the room like an explosion, "-EVER raise your flames at me again."
Touya barely had time to look up before another blazing fist came down. It cracked against his jaw with enough force to dislocate it; the bone screamed under the pressure, refusing to break only out of spite.
Another blow.
Another.
Another.
Each one hotter than the last.
Touya could only choke on the smell of burning flesh–his own burning flesh–melting under Endeavor's knuckles.
"Enji, STOP!" Rei sobbed, scrambling to her knees, dragging at his arm before he threw her off like she weighed nothing. She hit the ground with a shrill cry and stayed there, trembling.
Shouto's little frame trembled, too–smaller, thinner, and so utterly terrified–yet still trying to put himself between his father and brother as his quirk sputtered out in little flashes of cold. "D-Don't hurt him! Y-You bully, don't!"
Touya's rage spiked for a heartbeat. His flames licked at his palms-
But it was drowned instantly by the next punch.
This time Endeavor grabbed him by the hair–what wasn't already singed–and yanked him upright. Touya's feet barely skimmed the ground as those enormous fingers closed around the side of his skull, flames crackling to life around his father's knuckles.
"You think you can speak to me however you damn please?! Do you think you run my home?!" Endeavor roared, spittle flying, the heat distorting his face into something monstrous. "You're nothing. A defective first draft. I have had it with your insolence."
The flames ignited fully.
Touya shrieked.
It wasn't dignified, and it was by no means strong. It was raw, hellish agony, tearing itself from the bottom of his lungs, cracking several times along the way. Fire seared into his cheek, down his neck, across his collarbones. The skin blistered instantly- bursting, melting into a grotesque, wet mess that hissed every time his father's flames flared hotter.
The sound of Touya's burning drowned everything.
Even his own thoughts.
Even Shouto's screaming.
Even Rei's frantic sobs.
At least until-
"...M-Mama?"
For whatever reason.. Touya heard Shouto's voice so clearly then.
His eyes rolled upward through the haze of pain. Rei had stumbled to her feet again- shaking, pale, her hands trembling so violently she looked like she might collapse.
But she did something she had never done.
She turned her back on him.
She grabbed Shouto by the shoulders, fingers digging in as she hauled him toward the door.
"NO!" Shouto shrieked, thrashing, tears streaming down his red blotchy face. "No–NO–Touya-nii- he's hurting him! Mama, HE'S- LET GO! LET GO!!"
Rei choked on a sob, her body folding over Shouto as she forced him toward the hall. "I-I can't- I can't–God in heaven forgive me–Shouto, we have to go-"
Touya's stomach turned to ice.
'M-Mom..’ His voice came out as a horrible, broken rasp- yet only in his own head. He couldn't work any of his face's muscles by this point. 'Don't... don't go. Please.. Don't- leave-'
He reached toward her with a shaking, melting arm.
Rei didn't turn around.
Shouto clawed at the doorframe, his tiny fingernails breaking as he screamed Touya's name until it shredded his throat.
And Touya- Touya felt the moment they both disappeared from the room like a blade sliding between his ribs.
'No...' The thought barely existed. His mind was too exhausted to shape it properly. 'Mommy... please don't leave me...'
Endeavor slammed his head into the ground.
Everything went white.
Then black.
Then hot again.
Then something far worse- nothing.
The bastard's silhouette still replayed behind Touya's eyes every time he blinked, like a brand seared onto his mind.
He coughed, then gagged, then choked on nothing. His throat couldn't decide what bodily function to prioritize. The sound that came out was halfway between a growl and a dying teakettle. "I’ll..." He swallowed hard, tasted blood and smoke. His vocal cords felt like they were peeling apart. "...kill him."
The words were a whisper, but they shook with enough fury that the dead air around him quivered.
He dragged himself farther down the alley, one agonizing step at a time. His shoes were long gone- burned off in the explosion or melted to nothing. Each step scraped raw, exposed nerves along broken pavement. His vision doubled, then tripled, then warped entirely before snapping back into clarity in a way that made his stomach lurch. He leaned hard against the wall, his blistered shoulder sticking to the bricks before peeling off with a wet sound that made him hiss. The smell of his own burnt skin followed him like a disgusting perfume- sour, sickly, nauseatingly human.
His mind buzzed- too hot, too loud. He saw flashes of it all, twisting and overlapping like broken film:
Shouto screaming.
Mom leaving.
Natsuo sobbing.
Fuyumi screeching and banging on the door.
Endeavor's flames roaring like a monster that deserved its own name.
Touya hadn't even been thinking- just moving. Throwing himself between Shouto and their mother, and those damned flames with an inhumane scream. The explosion that followed had been deafening, white-hot, and final. The kind of blast that carved trenches into the earth. The kind that left him stripped bare, skin sloughed off, hair burned to ash, nerves screaming.
He should have died.
Maybe he did.
But alas, something far uglier than death kept him breathing. He staggered, nearly fell face-first into a rancid puddle mixed with garbage and oil, but caught himself with his good hand. His palm slid in the muck before finding purchase.
"Shou...to," he rasped, the name scraping out of him like broken glass. He squeezed his eyes shut- and his brother's tiny face flickered, crying, terrified, shielded behind Touya's collapsing body as Endeavor raged.
Touya's ruined lips peeled back in something like a snarl. The now thin skin of his cheeks ripped open with the movement. He barely felt it.
"He'll... never touch... you again." His chest shuddered violently, and for a moment, a thin puff of smoke wafted from his mouth with the exhale- his body attempting, failing, to muster flame. "I’ll... make….. sure, so… don’t wor..ry. T-Touya-nii... is her..e..."
The alley spun around him, narrowing into a choking tunnel. His knees buckled, and he slid down the wall until he hit the ground with a sodden thump. But his eyes stayed open. Burning, deranged, and wholly unbreakable.
"Endeavor..." His voice cracked, barely audible. "..you're gonna pay... for everything."
Blood dripped in slow, rhythmic taps on the concrete. Touya reached forward, fingers dragging lines through it like signatures, a horrible excuse of a laugh dragging itself through the melted muscles of his throat.
Then he crawled–because walking was no longer an option–dragging himself deeper into the shadows of the alley, breath hitching, limbs trembling, body failing but will refusing to.
He then decided that if death wanted him, it would have to work harder.
Because Touya wasn't finished.
Not until he wrapped his own scorched digits around Endeavor's throat.
He was a good big brother. He would save his siblings. He had to save his siblings.
Enji Todoroki.. would die by his hands.