Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For five years, Inko Midoriya had allowed herself to wear heavily tinted rose-colored glasses. She didn’t allow herself to question the excuses Izuku gave when he came home bruised and bloodied. Of course, her baby boy was inevitably going to fall down a few times while playing with his friends. As long as she didn’t think too hard, there was nothing to be worried about.

The rose-tinted glasses had to come off eventually.

Inko hears the front door open then close, followed immediately by Izuku calling out, “I’m home!”

“Welcome home, Izuku!” Inko calls back, smiling softly as she waits for Izuku’s usual reply of the events of his day. When it doesn’t come, she frowns a bit and sets down the plate she was washing. After pulling off the rubber gloves, Inko heads into the hallway to check on her son. 

Izuku is sitting down, pulling his shoes off. “Izuku, honey, is everything okay?” she asks. 

No response. 

Inko takes a step forward only to stop when Izuku stands up and turns around to see her. He blinks, holding his arms out slightly like he’s dizzy and needs to regain his balance, and then smiles at her, but Inko can’t find it in herself to smile back. In all honesty, she’s in shock. 

Izuku’s ears and the skin near them, reaching just beyond the top of his cheekbones, are red and blistering. The scars themselves seem to be shaped almost like the action bubbles in graphic novels, different length spikes jutting outwards from the center point each of his ears acts as. The hair around his ears is brittle and host to seemingly endless split ends from whatever happened. There are little trails of blood coming out of Izuku’s ears, staining the shoulders of his shirt. On his arms are dark bruises in the shape of hands like he’d been held down and had struggled to be let up. Despite all of this, Izuku still smiles at her. Inko wonders if he’s just that strong or if a combination of shock and adrenaline are protecting him from the pain. 

“Mom? What’s wrong?” Izuku asks, looking worried when she still doesn’t smile at him. 

Inko tears up and quickly wipes them away. She needs to be strong right now. “Put your shoes back on Izuku. We’re going to the hospital,” she tells him. 

She sees the moment Izuku realizes something is wrong. The way his face scrunches slightly in confusion before his eyes widen with fear. “M-mom? I-I didn’t hear what you said,” he tells her, his breathing starting to pick up a bit. 

Inko immediately falls to her knees in front of him, holding him gently by the arms. “Deep breaths, honey,” she says. She takes an exaggerated breath, symbolizing the action by taking one of her hands and raising it from her navel to her chest. Then she does an equally exaggerated exhale, moving her hand downwards from chest to navel. 

After a few seconds, Izuku understands what she wants. He grabs her hand, gripping it tightly as he breathes deeply with her. Once he’s calm, Inko points to Izuku, then to the spot on the floor, and then holds a finger up as she says, “Stay here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

She waits for Izuku to nod before smiling reassuringly and getting up. Inko heads into Izuku’s room and grabs a spare backpack. It’s All Might themed and beat up from years of use. She packs a few notebooks, some changes of clothes, and two plush heroes (All Might and Present Mic) before zipping the bag up. 

Once that’s packed, Inko grabs a few snacks from the kitchen. She doesn’t know how long they’ll be at the hospital and she doesn’t want Izuku to get hungry. Her purse is the final thing and then she’s back in the entryway with Izuku.

While she was gone, Izuku had pulled his shoes back on. He’s staring down the hall, obviously waiting for her if the way he lights up is any indication whatsoever. Inko forces herself to smile for his sake. She crouches in front of Izuku, pulls out a notebook and a pen, and writes, Izuku, honey, I think your ears must be hurting a lot, so we’re going to go to the doctor to get them checked.

Izuku reads over the message she shows him twice before slowly nodding. “Okay, mom,” he says, looking up at her. He blinks and frowns, crossing his eyes to look down at his mouth. Izuku raises a hand to his lips and once again says, “Okay, mom.”

It takes a moment for Inko to realize that Izuku must not be able to hear even himself right now. She gently grabs his hand and squeezes it before writing, I can hear you, Izuku. Put on your bag and let’s get going.

Izuku bites his lip as he nods, tearing up as he grabs his bag. Inko hates seeing him in so much pain. Once the bag is on his back, she reaches down and picks him up, something she hasn’t done in a while. Still, there’s nothing that fuels a mother's strength quite like seeing her child in pain. 

Once he’s settled, forehead pressed to her shoulder and careful to make sure his left ear doesn’t bump into her neck, Inko picks up her purse and leaves. She locks the door behind her, double-checking out of habit before getting a determined look and heading to the nearby hospital. 

Four hours. It had taken four hours for a doctor to come into the room Izuku had been placed in. Granted, nurses had seen the state of his ears and got to work disinfecting and wrapping them as best they could, but still. Four hours. 

Inko supposes she should be more understanding, given the fact that a villain with a disastrous quirk apparently attacked nearby. But what’s thirty people with broken bones when her child can’t hear ? 

Inko forces herself to take a deep breath when Izuku tugs on her sleeve and gives her a worried look. He’s already stopped talking, too disturbed by the inability to hear his own words. She smiles gently and glances at the clock. 

Four hours is much too long to just sit around in a room. She picks up the pencil lying on top of the notebook between them. I’m going to go ask a nurse if we can take a quick walk. Just to get a stretch in.

She waits for Izuku to read and nod before getting up. Inko quickly presses a kiss to her son’s forehead before leaving the room. There’s a nurse’s station right across from it, so she heads right up to the desk and smiles politely at the man there. 

“Sorry for bothering you, but could my son and I take a quick walk? We’ve been cooped up in that hospital room for a while now and would just like to stretch,” she says. 

The nurse hums softly in thought. “Let me make sure it’s okay with the doctor. I'll let you know in a minute,” the nurse promises. The nurse then gets up, looking around for a moment. He must spot the doctor because he leaves the station and walks towards a group of people. 

Inko watches him for a moment before going back into Izuku’s room. She leaves the door open for now, just so they feel a little less trapped. She holds up a finger to Izuku, signaling that they’ll know in a moment. 

Thankfully, the nurse doesn’t disappoint. He comes to their room ten minutes later, knocking on the door lightly to pull Inko’s attention away from her phone. “The doctor said it’s fine for Izuku to walk, Ms. Midoriya. She noticed your son’s plush toys and wanted me to let you know that Present Mic is currently visiting the children’s ward if you think Izuku would like to meet him. It’s still going to be a little while before any of the doctors will be able to see him,” he explains. 

It’s certainly not the explanation Inko wanted, but she knows that meeting Present Mic will definitely make her son’s day. He needs some kind of happy memory associated with today. “Will it be okay? The nurse before said Izuku would be sensitive to loud noises,” she says. 

“I’ll come with you and speak to Present Mic and the other kids beforehand. They’re all pretty understanding about when they need to be quiet,” the nurse promises. 

Inko considers for a moment, looking down at Izuku. Her sweet boy is looking between the two, confused and obviously frustrated with his current impairment. Yeah, getting to meet a hero will definitely make him feel better. “Okay, that sounds good. Thank you,” she finally says. 

The nurse smiles brightly at them. Inko helps Izuku out of the bed, grabbing the notebook and pencil before giving him the Present Mic plush. He holds tightly onto her hand as she follows the nurse out of the room and down the hall. 

It’s clear when they’ve entered the children’s ward. Suddenly the walls are filled with color, bright paintings making the place a little less clinical for the sake of children who have to be there long-term. Inko can also hear Present Mic when they get closer. She can’t make out words just yet, but she’s heard his voice enough times during news interviews to recognize it. 

They stop outside the doors to the playroom where Present Mic and the other kids are. The nurse looks over as he places a hand on the knob. “Just a moment,” he says, waiting for Inko to nod before slipping in and making sure the door shuts behind him. 

Chapter Text

Izuku isn’t really sure what’s happening. He knows his mom got permission for them to go on a walk. He just doesn’t know why the nurse came with them. Or why they ended up in a very colorful part of the hospital. Why couldn’t this be the emergency room? It was so much nicer than the stainless steel and white of the rest of the hospital. 

His mother must notice his growing impatience because she squeezes his hand gently and smiles. She says something he can’t hear and runs a hand through his hair, fingers passing through his locks easily. Right now, all he can hear is just a near-constant ringing. Sometimes it stops, but it’s been going long enough that he’s used to it at this point. He huffs softly and hugs the Present Mic plush closer to his chest. 

The bandages over his ears and part of his hair are kind of itchy. He got his hand pulled away the last time he tried to scratch at them, though. Izuku guesses it makes sense, considering the burns are painful and his ears hurt a lot. Scratching would definitely just make things worse. 

After a few minutes, the nurse comes back out with a happy smile. He says something to his mom before opening the door to let them both into the room. The first thing Izuku notices is the other kids, most his age but some a little older. He shifts so he’s hiding behind his mom’s skirt, gripping the material with his free hand and peeking out to make sure none of the kids come close. After all, who knows how they might react to him being quirkless. Just look at the way Kacchan reacted. 

Izuku looks up when his mom places a hand on his back, gently nudging him forward. He’s confused for just a moment before he sees Present Mic. The hero is sitting in a chair that’s much too short for him, legs bent with his knees nearly level with his chest. He’s got a big smile and waves to Izuku, motioning for him to come over, saying something that Izuku can’t hear. 

He only hesitates for a moment before his excitement and curiosity gets the best of him. Izuku runs over, clutching his Present Mic plush in both hands. He’s practically vibrating when he gets in front of the pro hero. 

“Ohmigosh! You’re Present Mic! It’s so exciting to meet you! How does your quirk work? Did you have to practice to get the range you had or did you already have it? How loud can you get? Does your quirk affect your heari-”

Izuku cuts himself off, hand flying to his mouth. His lips had been moving, right. He hadn’t heard anything, though. Was he not actually talking? He starts to tear up, realizing he might not be able to actually ask his questions to Present Mic. He doesn’t know how to write all of them, yet. 

A hand on his shoulder makes him look up to see a very sympathetic expression on the hero’s face. Present Mic says something, but Izuku can’t make it out over the ringing and muffled silence. He feels tears start to trail down his cheeks and quickly wipes them away. 

His mom crouches down next to him and smiles gently, wiping away tears with her thumb. He watches her say something to Present Mic before giving him the notebook and pencil. Present Mic seems to understand immediately and starts writing in the notebook. 

After a few moments, he turns it around and shows it to Izuku. There’s a block of text and Izuku gets a watery smile as he reads:

Hey there, little listener! I can make really loud, high-pitched sounds that can apprehend villains. It wasn’t this strong when I first got it. A lot of time was spent developing it and making the handy device around my neck to help me direct the soundwaves. The support item does a lot of the work, actually! My voice gets loud enough to make people’s ears bleed, including mine! So I’m actually deaf in both ears and use hearing-aids.

Izuku blinks when he reads that last sentence and looks up with wide eyes. He tilts his head, trying to see Present Mic’s ears. There are little devices in his ears, a small green light blinking in the middle of them. 

“Woah, I didn’t know you had those,” he says. He can feel the vibrations of the words in his throat, something he’s just now realizing. Izuku presses his fingers to his throat. “Did you lose all your hearing?” he asks, lighting up a bit when he realizes he can, indeed, feel the vibrations of his words. He knows for sure now that he’s definitely talking. Hopefully, the words still sound right. 

Present Mic laughs, somehow realizing what Izuku has just discovered and looking proud of him. It’s a weird feeling, knowing that a pro hero is proud of you. Still, it’s the best feeling he’s had in a while. 

He once again watches the pro hero write in the notebook. When he turns it around, Izuku reads, You’re pretty smart, little listener. I lost pretty much all my hearing, so I had to learn sign language. Would you like me to teach you some?

Izuku blinks at the words, processing them for a moment. He grabs the notebook, squinting at the words just to make sure he’s reading them right. Then his head whips up and he nods excitedly. “Please!” he says, bouncing again. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the first genuine smile his mom has had all day. 

What follows is almost two hours of Present Mic teaching Izuku and the other kids some basic phrases in sign language. His mom writes the word being signed in the notebook, holding it up so they can all see it as Present Mic does the actual signing. By the end of the lesson, Izuku is able to sign “mom,” “hungry,” “thirsty,” “tired,” “please,” “thank you,” good night,” “good morning,” and “love.”

Izuku soaks it all up as fast as he can, wanting to learn even more. He’s never considered that there may be a way of actually talking without having to speak. It’s exciting to know he isn’t confined only to reading messages that people write. 

They only leave because that nurse comes back and says something to his mom. She looks slightly relieved and turns to Izuku after writing, The nurse says the doctor is back and ready to see us now. Say good-bye to Present Mic, Izuku.

Izuku slumps a little but nods anyway. He goes up to Present Mic and tugs on his sleeve. When the pro hero looks down, Izuku signs, “Goodbye.”

He gets a blinding smile and a “good-bye” in return. The Present Mic asks his mom something, receiving the journal a moment later. He writes on a new page before handing it back to Izuku’s mom, who’s eyes widen at reading the words. 

As curious as he is about what Present Mic wrote, he doesn’t get a chance to ask because the nurse is motioning for them to hurry along. So he just waves to Present Mic, who grins at him and ruffles his hair, before running over to his mom and taking her hand.

He decides, as they walk away and the walls turn white and boring once more, that Present Mic is pretty cool. Maybe not as cool as All Might, but definitely the second coolest hero Izuku knows about. He hugs the plush closer to his chest, unable to help his happy smile. 

When he looks up, his mom is smiling, too. She glances down at the notebook every so often and Izuku is just barely able to see a string of numbers on the page. He’s not sure what it means, but it must be something good. It feels like things are finally starting to look up.

Chapter Text

“Your son has tinnitus, which is either a constant or a come-and-go ringing in the ears. He also has permanent hearing loss in both ears, but it’s not so bad that he can’t use hearing aids. They’ll be able to help a bit, but he still won’t be able to hear all that well. The scarring on and around his ears is also going to be permanent. The bruises on his arms, at least, will fade with time.”

Inko feels an intense deja vu as she stares at the doctor, hearing the words but not registering. She slowly looks over at Izuku, who hadn’t noticed the doctor’s entrance and is writing down notes about Present Mic in his notebook. It’s just like when they were told he was quirkless. Inko’s heart aches and she reaches up, clenching the fabric of her shirt over her heart. Why does the world have to be so cruel to her baby?

“How did the damage happen?” Inko asks, looking back over at the doctor. 

Before she answers, the doctor flips through pages in a folder she’d brought in with her. Inko supposes it holds all kinds of charts she wouldn’t know how to read. She wishes she could, though. “The damage is equivalent to the kind caused by being close to an explosion. But, in this case, it’s more like several tiny, contained explosions went off right on his ears several times in a row. Do you have any idea what might have caused that?” she asks, looking up at Inko.

Inko stares at the doctor, feeling dread in the pit of her stomach. Of course, she knows. She doesn’t want it to be true, though. Izuku never complained about Katsuki before. But, well, she supposes it’s the only reasonable explanation. What else could create the effect of tiny explosions going off in her son’s ears?

The doctor stays quiet for a few moments, letting her process. “Ms. Midoriya,” she says, “I have some pamphlets here about hearing aids and their costs. There’s also one about sign language and where to find classes to learn it.”

    When the pamphlets are held out to her, Inko takes them. She’s working on autopilot right now. She’s close enough to Izuku for him to notice her movements and he looks up with a smile, blinking at seeing the doctor. “Oh, hi! Did you just get here?” he asks, smiling at her. 

It’s a wonder, Inko thinks, that he’s still able to smile. She reaches over and takes the notebook, making sure to use a new page to write, The doctor has been here for a few minutes, honey. We’re almost done talking and I’ll tell you what she said when she leaves. Izuku hums as he reads it over and then nods, taking the notebook back and going to the page with his notes again. 

Inko takes a deep breath and looks to the doctor. “Thank you. When can I take Izuku home?” she asks. 

“Well, we’d like to keep him overnight, just to make sure he’s still doing okay. If nothing has happened by morning, you’re free to go. I’ll also be sure to have a nurse show you how to change his bandages,” the doctor says. 

It’s not what Inko wanted to hear but she understands. She nods a little and manages a weak smile for the doctor as she leaves the room. The door is shut quietly and Inko allows herself to slump in her chair. Looking over to Izuku, she hates that she’s going to ask him who did this. She knows, but she needs to know if her sweet boy is going to cover for someone he really shouldn’t consider to be a friend. 

She places a hand on his shoulder, smiling when Izuku looks up and takes the notebook. Izuku, I need you to tell me what happened for you to get so hurt , she writes. Inko turns the notebook around so Izuku can read.

Inko waits patiently as she watches her son. His eyes widen slightly in panic. He looks up at her for just a moment and then quickly looks away again. Izuku pulls the All Might and Present Mic plushies closer to his chest, biting his lip. Even without words, just his reaction is enough for Inko to know she’s right. 

“I-It was my fault,” Izuku finally says, his voice quieter than it’s been all day. He won’t look up to meet her eyes and Inko realizes that Izuku knows just how unconvincing that sounds. She wants to argue with him, but the look in his eyes tell her that’s probably a bad idea. 

Izuku looks desperate for her to just drop the subject for now. So she does. Inko lets out a slow breath of air before nodding. She grabs the notebook and writes, It’s okay, Izuku. I need to make a call, but I’ll stay here so you aren’t alone.

She pushes the notebook back and Izuku nods in understanding. Inko gets up and goes over to her purse, pulling her cellphone out. There’s a missed call from Hisashi, which means he’d finally managed to hear the voicemail Inko had left earlier. She really hates the time difference between them when something important happens. 

Pressing the “call back” button, Inko raises the phone to her ear. It rings three times before her ex-husband answers, “Inko? What happened? Why are you in the hospital?”

Inko can’t help a tiny smile, reminded of just how caring Hisashi is when it comes to his son. Maybe they weren’t meant to be, but he was still a good man, someone she could rely on. “It’s a long story, Hisashi. Do you have the time?”

“Of course. Work can wait.”

When she’s done relaying everything from Izuku coming home to asking him what happened, Hisashi is quiet for a long moment. “He’s too nice for his own good,” he finally says after a moment. “You’ve raised a good son, Inko.”

“In this instance, I wish he wasn’t so good,” Inko admits quietly. 

She hears Hisashi sigh and knows he agrees. “It’s okay. We can still take care of this without Izuku confirming our suspicions. What are you thinking?” he asks. 

Inko hugs her stomach, leaning against the wall of the hospital room. From here, she can see Izuku playing with the plush heroes. It looks like they're possibly fighting each other but she can’t be sure. “It’s dangerous for Izuku to continue going to school with him. And we live next door to them, too. As much as I like Mitsuki, I can’t let Izuku be in any danger,” she says. 

“So you should move. Transfer Izuku to a different school. You could come to stay with me in America,” Hisashi offers. 

It’s tempting, so very tempting. But Inko doesn’t want to uproot their lives that much. She wants to stay in Japan, where she’s comfortable and feels more confident in her decisions. “Thank you, Hisashi, but I think we’ll just move to a different part of the city,” she replies. 

Hisashi hums. “Let’s divide and conquer, Inko. You look for a new school. Once you find one, text me the information and I’ll find you a good home near it,” he says. 

It feels like too much to ask, but Inko needs things to be a little easier for her right now. “Okay, Hisashi. I’ll start looking once we get home tomorrow. Thank you. I know this is a lot and I really appreciate your support,” she says.

The line is quiet for a moment before there’s a soft huff of laughter. “You make it sound like this is a bother. He’s my son, too, Inko, and I care about both of you. If there’s something I can do to help, then I’m happy to do it.”

Inko gets a genuine smile at that. Granted, it’s still small, but it’s genuine. “You’re right. I’ll let you go now. Thank you, again.”

“Of course, Inko. Give Izuku a hug for me.”

With that, the line clicks and Inko lowers the phone from her ear. She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, feeling lighter than she has all day. Things are going to work out, she’s sure of it. Maybe it’ll take a while and the road will be bumpy, but everything is going to work out in the end. 

She’ll do everything she can to make sure Izuku is never hurt like this again. 

Chapter Text

His mom is asleep now and Izuku thinks she really deserves the rest. A nurse had just come by to take their empty dinner trays, which means there shouldn’t be anyone else coming for a while. Since his mom was already asleep when the nurse came, Izuku smiled and made sure to thank the nurse for her. Now, though, the door is closed again and she looks peaceful for the first time today. He doesn’t think the couch looks very comfortable, but sleep is sleep. 

Izuku looks away from his mom and down at the notebook. For once, writing hero notes in it doesn’t feel very appealing. He feels restless, like he’s been cooped up in this room for way too long. The only thing that can help is going around for another walk. Maybe, if he’s careful enough, he won’t disturb his mom and will be able to sneak out. 

Very carefully, Izuku lifts the blankets off him and sets them aside. He can’t really hear if he’s making any noise, but if he moves slowly and carefully, then he should be good. Getting out of the bed is a bit harder since he can feel it move and possibly creak. He checks to make sure his mom is still sleeping once he’s standing, relieved to see she is. 

Izuku grabs the Present Mic and All Might plushies. He glances between the two and then sets the All Might one next to his mom’s head. All Might is a great hero, and he’ll only trust the best when it comes to protecting his mom. He smiles a little and then slips out the door, double-checking that she’s still asleep before shutting it. 

Seeing people moving around, talking to each other, but being unable to actually hear them is unnerving. All Izuku can hear is that faint ringing. It had stopped earlier, but it’s back now. He wonders if anyone else is hearing it. Maybe it’s normal or there’s some kind of nonemergency related alarm going off. Either way, nobody seems panicked about it, so it must not be important. 

He decides to try finding the children’s area again. Maybe some of them will still be up and he can play. They were all pretty nice and there was even another quirkless kid there, a girl with orange hair and bright eyes and an IV attached to her arm. She was really nice and yelled at another kid who apparently tried to make fun of them.

The hospital feels bigger and more confusing now, though. There’s no nurse to guide him and his mother isn’t there to hold his hand. Izuku squeezes his Present Mic plush and scolds himself. After all, what kind of hero gets scared just from an empty hospital hallway? With a new determination filling him, Izuku straightens up and walks down the hall towards the elevator. 

He can just barely reach the buttons but using his plush to push them works. Izuku looks over the directory, seeing a lot of kanji he doesn’t really recognize. Finally, he sees the one for children and pushes the button for the fifth floor. The elevator jolts and Izuku stands in the center of it, waiting patiently. He watches the numbers climb, going from two to five. The elevator jolts once again when the number stops at five. It probably dings, but he only knows that from having been in an elevator before. When the doors open, he smiles and steps out, proud of himself for getting this far. 

The next challenge, though, is figuring out which hallway to take. One of them will lead to the children’s area and the other will just make him even more lost. Izuku looks at the sign for the left hall and then the right hall. It’s a bit too high up for him to see clearly and he huffs. “Which way?” he whispers. At least, he thinks it’s a whisper. He doesn’t feel any vibrations in his throat from the words.

The decision is made for him when he notices a group of nurses walking down the right hallway. They’re coming towards the elevator and Izuku knows enough to know that he shouldn’t be out of his room. He turns and heads down the left hall, turning the corner as quickly as he can to avoid being seen. 

After a few seconds that he spends standing utterly still and holding his breath, he peeks around the corner. Izuku doesn’t see anyone and he slumps with relief. So far so good. He looks around the hall he’s in, noticing that it ends in an area a lot like where his room is. 

The space is like a huge square. In the middle is the nurse’s station where two nurses are currently on the computers. Around them, along the walls, are doors that lead to patients’ rooms. A few doors are open and Izuku’s curiosity gets the best of him, making him take a few hesitant steps to see what kind of patients are being held in this area of the hospital.

Both of the nurses are facing away from Izuku so he sticks to open doors on this side of the space. The first one is empty, making him pout at the possibility of them all being empty. Still, he tries the next one and isn’t disappointed. 

This room is a lot different from his. It looks like it’s meant for people who have to stay for a long time. The person inside is sitting at a table in front of a large window. Izuku stares at the pretty lady with white hair. He’s not really close enough to see her eyes, but he can just tell that she’s really sad. It reminds him of when he’s sitting at lunch and gets hit with the sudden and undeniable fact that nobody is sitting with him; that he’s eating alone again. 

Izuku must make a sound or something, because the woman suddenly tenses and looks over at the door, blinking when she sees Izuku standing there. He can see her eyes now, they’re a pretty grey and the loneliness in them makes him ache with familiarity. 

Her mouth moves and Izuku realizes she’s talking, but he doesn’t know what she’s saying. When he doesn’t move from the doorway, she looks confused and speaks again, this time motioning for Izuku to come inside. Okay, that he can understand. 

He slips into the room and glances at the door for a moment before hesitantly walking over to the woman. Izuku looks up at her shyly, stopping a few feet away. She has a kind smile, one that reminds him of his mother and puts him at ease. Her lips move again and he shakes his head. 

“I….I’m sorry. I can’t hear anything,” he says, hoping his voice is quiet. The vibrations in his throat didn’t feel too strong, so he thinks he did all right. 

This makes the woman pause, though, and she nods. She motions for Izuku to sit in the empty chair as she gets up and goes over to the bed. Izuku watches her for a moment before climbing up into the chair. He sets the Present Mic plush in his lap as she takes out a small notepad from a drawer in the nightstand. 

She comes back over to the table and sits down. Then she writes, My name is Rei. What’s yours?

Izuku blinks and looks up. Rei is smiling at him once more. She looks kind of tired, something that he only notices now that he’s closer. “Izuku,” he says. 

Hi, Izuku. Does your mother know where you are?

Izuku frowns slightly and looks down at the table before shaking his head. He knows he probably shouldn’t have left like that and he’s only now realizing how worried she might be if she wakes up to find him gone. Still, he needed to get out of that room so badly. “No. She’s sleeping right now,” he replies. 

I see. Why did you leave your room?

“I’ve been in it all day and I felt trapped. I needed to get out for a bit.”

That’s okay. What brought you to the hospital, sweetie?

Izuku curls in on himself a little at that question. He glances up at Rei and sees only concern in her eyes. There’s none of the desperate hope that his mom had when she’d asked him what had happened. He knew that she didn’t want to really know what Kacchan had done, so he hadn’t told her. But Rei doesn’t know Kacchan and she doesn’t know him; she’s just someone who seems genuinely concerned and wants to talk to him. 

“I was playing and got hurt. My ears are burned really bad. Mom said the doctor said I’d lost my hearing forever,” he explains. He looks down at the plush and idly tugs on the hair of it, needing something to do with his hands. 

A really cold hand settles on his arm and Izuku looks up. There’s some weird emotion in her eyes that Izuku can’t really place. Maybe sympathy? Or regret? He doesn’t know, but he thinks it’s what motivates her to hug him gently. She pulls away a second later and cups his cheek for a few seconds before dropping her hand. 

Do you know what ice sculptures are, Izuku?

Izuku blinks at the random question and looks up. He doesn’t really get any explanation from her face, so he decides to go with it. “Yeah,” he says. 

Rei nods a little and cups her hands in front of her, brows furrowed in concentration. Izuku tilts his head and stands up on his chair, trying to see what she’s doing from a higher vantage point. She gets a soft, amused smile at that. 

A moment later, she holds her hands out to Izuku. In them is an intricate snowflake made entirely of ice. Izuku’s eyes widen and he carefully takes it. The snowflake is cold, but not in a way that hurts. When he doesn’t feel any of it melt from being in his warm hands, he looks up. “Is it forever?” he asks quietly. 

When Rei nods, Izuku looks back down at the snowflake with a bright smile. He wants to wear the snowflake as a necklace and looks around for something to use as a chain. When he notices his shoes, he lights up and unties one, pulling the shoelace out. Then he threads one end through a space in the snowflake and ties the ends together as tight as he can. Once that’s done, he puts it around his neck, incredibly proud of his creativeness. 

He looks up at Rei after putting his shoe back on and finds she has a bright smile and her shoulders are shaking. Izuku realizes she’s laughing. “What’s so funny?” he asks curiously. 

Rei takes a moment to calm down, taking a few deep breaths. Then she reaches for the notepad. She has an incredibly fond smile as she writes. 

You reminded me of my youngest son. He used string to make a bracelet with the first snowflake I gave him.

Her laughter and smile make sense now. Izuku nods a bit and looks up at her. “Do you get to see him a lot?” he asks. Rei looks sad when she shakes her head. Izuku looks down, feeling bad for causing her to be upset. Well, he guesses a change in the subject might help. “Can I ask you questions about your quirk?”

When Rei nods, Izuku lights up, straightening in his chair. The snowflake feels cool in a comforting way. It won’t ever melt, which makes it one of the most reliable things in Izuku’s life right now. The weight of it makes Izuku smile as he asks his questions, Rei never getting impatient or frustrated when they just keep coming. 

Izuku isn’t really sure how much time has passed when Rei suddenly stops and looks back over at the door. He blinks and turns in his seat, feeling guilt settle deep within him at the sight of his mother. She looks relieved beyond belief, like she’d just spent too much time wondering where her son was and if he was safe. 

She runs into the room and collapses in front of Izuku, pulling him into a tight hug. Izuku can feel tears dampening his shoulder and it makes him start to cry. He’d never meant to make her feel this upset. 

“I-I’m sorry mom,” he says, not really caring too much about how loud he might be right now. 

His mom just shakes her head and kisses his forehead. Then she kisses his cheeks and wipes the tears away. Izuku looks up and sees her smiling, the same gentle smile Rei had when he first came in. 

It takes a few minutes for them both to calm down. Izuku doesn’t know if Rei said anything during them. He looks up to see her watching the two of them with slightly widened eyes, like she’s surprised to have seen the affection in front of her. 

Izuku’s mom stands up and turns to Rei, bowing deeply in what Izuku realizes is apology. He doesn’t know what they say to each other, but it eventually leads to his mother laughing. The two are smiling at each other now and Inko reaches out for the notepad. She writes something on it, gives it back to Rei, and says something that makes Rei’s eyes water.

When his mom turns back to him, she signs, “Goodbye,” and then gestures to Rei. Izuku blinks and nods, going over to Rei. He looks up at her before hugging her. “Thank you for the snowflake. And I really hope your son comes to see you soon,” he says. 

Rei smiles gently and places a hand on his head before hugging him back. She lets go after a moment and nods. Izuku glances up when she says something to his mom, but doesn’t get the chance just yet to ask what it was. 

Instead, his mother just picks him up like he weighs nothing. Izuku squeaks in surprise and clings to her neck. He sees her say goodbye to Rei once more before walking out. Izuku waves and returns the soft smile Rei flashes them before she’s no longer visible. 

Izuku stays quiet and glances up at his mother. She doesn’t look angry at all, which makes him feel relieved. “Can we visit Rei again?” he asks, whispering since they’re so close. 

His mother blinks before nodding, smiling at Izuku. She says something and then kisses his forehead. Izuku smiles back and rests his head on her shoulder. He falls asleep on the walk back to his room and dreams of snowflakes. 

Chapter Text

Izuku never got the chance to say goodbye to Kacchan. It took two weeks to find hearing aids they could afford, make sure they fit Izuku properly, and get cleared by the doctors to go back to school. With how busy they were, he never got a chance to see Kacchan beyond the occasional glance. In all that time, Izuku still didn’t tell his mom who exactly caused his deafness and scarring. She still made him transfer schools.

The new school isn’t that bad. Nobody there makes fun of him. Well, nobody really talks to him. Not because he’s quirkless; they don’t actually know that about him. Rather, Izuku doesn’t really try talking to people. Sometimes the hearing aids will need to be adjusted halfway through a conversation and, by the time Izuku has them working properly again, the other kid will have walked away. It makes talking difficult. 

In fact, everything feels difficult right now. Their new house is really nice, but it’s so different from their apartment. His room is bigger and he had space left on his walls once he’d put up all his posters. It made the room feel emptier. They’d had enough things for their apartment to feel cozy but not enough to do the same for this new house. There are some nice things about it, though. They have a backyard now and Izuku’s dad had bought him a trampoline as a surprise. Apparently, kids in America really loved them.

Izuku tends to lay on his back in the middle of the trampoline, staring up at the blue sky. He’s started doing this every day when he gets home from school. The hearing aids usually hurt his ears by the time he gets home, so he always takes them out and sets them on his chest. Instead of faintly hearing dogs barking and cars driving by, he just gets a muffled silence and the occasional ringing. Nothing can disturb him when he does this. It’s only him and the clouds drifting across the sky.

He’s lonely. 

Inko is worried about Izuku. He’s not nearly as energetic as he was before all of this. He used to smile so much more before this, too. Now, as she watches him lay on the trampoline through a window, she decides she has to do something. They’d moved here so that Izuku could be safe, but what’s safety when he isn’t happy?

It takes some digging through still unpacked boxes, but Inko eventually finds the notebook they’d used in the hospital. She flips through the pages until she finds the one Present Mic had written on. At the bottom was a phone number the hero had told her to call if she or Izuku ever needed advice on how to work with his deafness. 

She stares at the number for a long moment, debating with herself. Despite Present Mic giving it to her, actually calling the number feels like a line she can’t uncross. One more look at her son on that trampoline solidifies her resolve and she picks up her phone, dialing the number.

It rings five times before someone answers. Instead of the loud voice Inko was expecting, she gets an aggravated one asking, “What?”

She blinks, silent for a moment before realizing she should reply. “Oh! Sorry, um, my name is Inko Midoriya. I got this number from Present Mic when my son Izuku and I met him at the hospital,” she explains. 

Inko holds her breath. The person on the other end sighs and then she hears a slightly muffled, “Hizashi! It’s for you!”

A second later, the voice she’d been expecting the first time around comes on. “Hello?”

“Hi, Present Mic? This is Inko Midoriya,” she says, really hoping he remembers her. It would be incredibly awkward if he didn’t.

She is, wonderfully, spared the awkwardness. “Oh! Hey! How’s the little listener doing?” he asks. 

“Well, that’s what I was calling you about. He’s not really been himself lately and I don’t know what to do. He hasn’t really made any friends at school and he doesn’t smile anymore and I’m so worried,” she admits, voice cracking at the end. 

Inko realizes she’s tearing up and sniffles. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all of that on you. I was wondering if you had any advice,” she adds. 

Present Mic hums softly, quiet for a long moment. “Are you doing anything this weekend?” he finally asks. 

“No, we didn’t have anything planned.”

“Great! This is the number for my work phone, so could you text your address to it? As long as you’re comfortable with that. I’m thinking me and a friend of mine could come to visit the little listener and try to cheer him up,” he explains. 

It’s so much more than Inko expects and she wants to cry tears of gratitude. She manages to keep them at bay long enough to agree and hang up. Her vision is slightly blurry as she texts their new address to the number. Inko sets her phone down and takes a deep breath, hoping she’s taking the right steps to cheer Izuku up. 

On Saturday morning, Inko keeps glancing at the clock. Present Mic never really specified what time he’d be coming over, just that it would be before noon. Izuku is out on the trampoline again. 

This time, at least, he’s sitting up. She can see that he’s hunched over, face scrunched in concentration as he fiddles with his hearing aids. They’re not very good ones, considering Inko didn’t have a lot of money. But they work, most of the time. That’s what matters for now. It’s okay if they need the occasional screwing around with as long as they keep working.

Finally, just when Inko feels like she’s going to go insane with impatience, the doorbell rings. She slumps slightly, feeling some of her tension leave her shoulders. Then she goes over to the front door and opens it to see Present Mic and another man with him. 

Present Mic is in his hero costume but his friend is just in all black. He looks incredibly tired, too, with the bottom half of his face hidden by an incredibly long scarf. It makes the bags under his eyes stand out and Inko has the sudden instinct to make him go take a nap. 

“Good morning, Ms. Midoriya!” Present Mic says, smiling brightly as Inko steps aside to let them in. 

She smiles a bit and shuts the door. “Thank you for coming, Present Mic,” she replies. 

He waves his hand as he and his friend take their shoes off. “No need to call me by my hero name in your own home! I’m Yamada Hizashi and this is my friend Aizawa Shouta,” he says. Aizawa merely nods in greeting when he’s introduced. “He’s the underground hero Eraserhead.”

That name, at least, rings a bell. “Oh! Yes, Izuku’s told me about you. You’re one of his favorites. He says that seeing you basically fight quirkless gives him hope that he can still be a hero,” she says, smiling a little wider.

She leads them through the house and towards the back door. “Your son is quirkless?” Aizawa asks. Inko recognizes his voice as the one that answered her phone call first. 

Inko looks back at the two and nods. “Yes. He was devastated when he found out. All he wanted was to be a hero and it crushed his dreams. I’m afraid I didn’t really help at the time since I was just so worried for him,” she explains, arms crossed as she watches Izuku through the window. She bites her lip, clearly worried about her son. 

“Do you mind if I go talk to him?” Aizawa asks.

She pauses and slowly shakes her head. “No, please go ahead. I’ll take any help right now,” she replies. 

All she gets from Aizawa in return is a nod. Then he’s opening the door and going into the backyard, shutting it behind him. Inko turns back to Yamada and smiles softly. “Would you like some tea?”

Chapter Text

Izuku groans in frustration at his hearing aids. The little green light isn’t coming back, instead staying an annoying yellow. He clenches his jaw and wants to throw them across the yard, but can’t risk them breaking. That’s what makes things worse. He can’t break these to get new ones because they could barely afford the broken ones. 

Everything feels like too much and tears blur his vision. They’re fat and he moves the hearing aids out of his lap just in time for them to start falling. He can’t hear himself crying, which makes his frustration even worse. If he wasn’t deaf, none of this would be a problem. His frustration is his own fault. 

Izuku tries to wipe away his tears in vain. They just keep coming and eventually and pulls his knees up to his chest and hugs them. The action presses the snowflake around his neck into his skin, the coldness of it making him feel a little bit better. It makes him think of Rei, her warm smile and the sadness in her kind eyes clear in his mind now.

He feels the trampoline dip as someone sits next to him. It must be his mom since he gets pulled into a hug not a moment later. It doesn’t occur to Izuku that the person is too muscular to be his mom. Right now, he just wants the support. Besides, why would he think someone other than his mother would be the one hugging him? He doesn’t know how to explain any of this to his mom, but he’s glad that she’s there for him anyway. 

After a while, Izuku’s crying has become little sniffles. His head hurts a bit, but it’s manageable. The hearing aids are gently placed in his hands, the yellow light now green. Izuku smiles gratefully and puts them in before looking up. He blinks at seeing a man with messy black hair, bags under his eyes, and a very familiar-looking scarf. Eraserhead. That’s who he’s looking at. 

“Better?” Eraserhead asks. 

Izuku nods mutely for a moment. “You’re Eraserhead. The underground hero Eraserhead,” he says, his voice hoarse from the crying. 

The hero in front of him just raises his eyebrows slightly, as if to ask why that matters. “I’m not working right now. Call me Aizawa,” he says.

Part of Izuku can’t even begin to fathom ever calling this man anything other than Eraserhead. The other part, though, knows that he’s certainly not going to refuse anything a hero asks of him. “What are you doing here, Mr. Aizawa?” he asks. 

Aizawa frowns slightly but he doesn’t comment, so Izuku guesses the Mr is okay to keep. “Your mom was worried about you. So she called my friend and he brought me over, too,” he explains. 

Izuku frowns a little, trying to figure out who his mother would call that would have also known Eraserhead. He looks over at the house and sees his mom talking to Present Mic. Well, that makes sense, he guesses. “Why you?” he asks softly, looking up. 

“I’ve got experience with depression,” Aizawa says simply. 

“Depression?” Izuku asks. He’s not really sure what that has to do with anything. 

Aizawa looks unsurprised and nods. He turns to face Izuku, making the trampoline bounce slightly. “I’m gonna explain it. When I’m done, tell me if any of it sounds familiar,” he instructs. 

There’s really no arguing, so Izuku just nods. He doubts that any of it will apply to him, though. Is he sad? Sure. But who wouldn’t be after all of this? It’s a lot to go through in less than a month.

“Everyday feels exactly the same. There’s nothing exciting about life anymore. You see other people enjoying themselves but you can’t figure out how. Every time you try to join them, it’s like there’s a screen keeping you apart. Things you enjoyed are no longer enjoyable. You want to be alone, but that also makes you feel worse. Small things build up and spill out in fits. Doing anything is too much to even think about, so you do nothing.”

Aizawa stares at Izuku when he’s done talking. It’s a lot to take in and Izuku hates to admit that almost all of it sounds similar to how he’s currently feeling. He’s depressed. Great. Just another thing to add to the pile. 

Part of him wants to cry again, but he’s just so tired. For once, he doesn’t really have the tears to spare for this emotion. This realization, that there’s just one more thing wrong with him, just makes him lose all his energy. There’s no point in trying anything, right? Why should he cause his mother the stress of watching him try to fix himself only to fail?

“I should run away,” he says after a moment. Izuku stares at his lap, thinking about how he’d do it. Then he feels something wrap around his stomach. He blinks and looks up, seeing the scarf around Aizawa’s neck is floating slightly and holding onto him. 

Aizawa looks annoyed. “If you think running will make things easier on your mom, it won’t. She’d be worried sick,” he says.

“What am I supposed to do then?” Izuku asks. 

“Do you want to be a hero?”

Izuku blinks. Where did that question come from? It was so out of the blue that Izuku just feels confused now. “I can't,” he finally manages to say. 

“Why not?”

Is Eraserhead stupid? Well, Izuku won’t actually ask him, but he’s tempted. It’s perfectly obvious why he can’t be a hero. “I’m deaf,” he points out. 

“So is Present Mic.”

“I’m quirkless.”

“And?”

“What do you mean and? And nothing. Quirkless heroes don’t exist. Especially not deaf quirkless heroes,” Izuku says. He’s not sure why Aizawa isn’t understanding this. 

Aizawa just sighs, shaking his head. Izuku thinks there must be some big thing he’s just not seeing for the underground hero to be reacting like this. “So be the first, problem child,” Aizawa finally says. 

Oh. Izuku stares at Aizawa for a moment as things click together in his head. He looks away, eyebrows furrowing as he realizes what Aizawa is saying. “Heroes didn’t always exist. Somebody had to be the first,” he says softly.

He looks back to Aizawa to see if he’s on the right track. When he just gets a nod, Izuku feels himself smile. It’s the first one he’s had in a while. “So if quirkless heroes don’t exist, then I’ll just have to be the first,” he declares. If he didn’t know better, he’d say that Aizawa might have looked proud. 

“Great. You’ll start tomorrow,” Aizawa says, his scarf letting go of Izuku as he climbs off the trampoline. 

Izuku blinks and hurries after him. “Start what tomorrow?” he asks. 

Aizawa looks down at him, giving him a look that Izuku is coming to recognize as a “you shouldn’t have to ask, it should be obvious” expression. “Training. If you’re going to be the first quirkless hero, you need training. The sooner you start, the better.”

Based on everything that just happened, Izuku can logically make the assumption that Eraserhead, underground hero Eraserhead , is offering to train him to become the first quirkless hero. That’s ridiculous, though. Of course, he isn’t, but he is telling him to start training. 

When they get inside, Izuku has an excited smile. He’s going to ask Aizawa as many questions about how he should train as possible. Then he’ll do the same with Present Mic. He’s ready to tell his mom about it when Aizawa speaks before he can. “I’m going to train Izuku.”

Izuku blinks, noticing the equally surprised expressions his mom and Present Mic are sporting. “You are?” he asks. 

“Why are you surprised, problem child?” Aizawa asks.

“I mean, I just didn’t, you know, think you’d do it. I thought you’d give me pointers and stuff and that would be that,” he admits.

Aizawa huffs and looks over at Inko. Izuku figures it’s because he technically needs permission from his mother to train. He looks over with wide eyes and a hopeful smile. She looks between the two, biting her lip before sighing. “I have conditions,” she says. 

“Of course,” Aizawa replies. He goes over to the table and sits down next to Present Mic. Izuku hurries over and climbs into the chair next to his mom, practically buzzing with excitement. 

“You teach him self-defense first.”

“Naturally.”

“He doesn’t touch a weapon until he’s thirteen.”

“Okay.”

“If his studies slip, he’s stopping.”

“Sure.”

“And he needs to learn sign language.”

Present Mic perks up and grins. “I can totally take care of that, yeah!” he promises, looking over at Izuku and sending two thumbs up his way. It makes Izuku huff out a laugh. 

“I have something to add,” Izuku says, leaning forward. 

His mother looks at him and smiles. “Of course, honey. What is it?”

“I wanna go visit Rei at the hospital,” he says. The snowflake feels a bit heavier around his neck when he thinks of Rei being there all alone. Izuku knows exactly how that feels and he doesn't wish it upon anyone. So if he can make her feel less lonely, then he will.

Aizawa and Present Mic pause and share a look. Izuku can’t figure out what they’re silently saying to each other, but neither of them are objecting. He looks up at his mom and sees her nodding. “I think that’s a great idea, Izuku,” she finally says.

She looks over at the two heroes and they both nod. “If everything there is okay, let’s talk about scheduling,” Present Mic says, grinning brightly at them. 

Izuku watches as the three grown-ups start to discuss his training schedule and what he should be eating from now on. It all feels a little surreal. He thought his chances of ever becoming a hero were gone for sure when he became deaf, but right now that dream is more achievable than ever. 

Chapter Text

A year later

Izuku regulates his breathing the best he can as he runs. Normally, he’s fine, but he’s been running for almost an hour now. The sun is just starting to rise when he finally finishes a full circle of the park. He comes to a stop in front of a bench and pants, hands on his knees. As much as his lungs are burning, he still feels pretty good. 

Once he’s caught his breath, he checks his watch. He’s still got fifteen minutes before Aizawa gets there. Even though it’s the weekend, he’s still got four hours of training with the underground hero. After that is fine-tuning his sign language with Present Mic. 

It’s a bit more than he’s used to for a weekend day, but his training regimen gets upped at regular intervals. His birthday is one of those intervals. Given that he turned twelve a month ago, it makes sense that his training has increased. It’s tiring, but it’s definitely paid off. 

Izuku takes a deep breath and pulls his hearing aids out of his tracksuit pocket. He can’t wear them when he runs. If he sweats, they could go on the fritz and that’s the last thing he needs. He smiles softly and puts them in, adjusting the volume. Now, instead of the normal ringing and muffled silence, he can faintly hear birds chirping and someone laughing somewhat maniacally. 

He blinks and frowns, standing and looking around for the source of the laughter. In the distance, he can see someone standing in front of something that’s sparking. Izuku doesn’t think before running over to investigate. As he gets closer, the person becomes clearer and he recognizes her from school. It’s hard not to since he doesn’t know anyone else with pink dreadlocks and yellow eyes.

She’s in a different class but stands out enough that almost everyone knows of her. Izuku just doesn’t really know her name. He doesn’t pay attention to that stuff and people still don’t exactly talk to him. He does know her quirk lets her zoom in on stuff and that she’s super smart, constantly tinkering with gadgets. 

“Uh, are you okay?” he asks when he gets closer. Izuku can see what’s sparking and it’s a cat-shaped robot. He blinks and stares at the thing that’s shorting out pretty bad if the jerking of its head is bad enough to cause sparks. It’s still trying to walk, too, but can’t actually take any steps. If he’s being honest, it’s kind of terrifying. 

The girl suddenly stops laughing and whirls around to see Izuku, getting uncomfortably close. Izuku laughs awkwardly and tries to take a step back, only for her to follow. “I know you! You’re that deaf kid, right? Your hearing aids are constantly shorting out, right?” she asks. 

Izuku tenses up and looks away. “Uh, yeah. My name’s Izuku Midoriya,” he says. He’s not really sure what else to do in this kind of situation. They don’t formally know each other, so introductions are probably in order. He thinks.

She leans back and takes his hand, shaking it vigorously. “Nice to meet you! I’m Hatsume Mei and I make super cute babies!” she says.

“You make what? ” Izuku asks, trying to take a step back. She’s holding onto his hand too tightly to do so and she gets a manic grin.

Hatsume drags Izuku closer to the glitching out robo-cat. “This is one of my super cute babies! Its name is Robeko!” she says, an arm out to present the machine proudly.

Izuku blinks. “Ro...beko?” he asks unsurely. It’s a very weird name, but Hatsume seems ecstatic that Izuku got it right on the first try. “Uh, yeah, it’s super cute.”

This is, apparently, the right thing to say because Hatsume lights up and picks the cat up. She presses a button on the side that makes it power down. “Sleepytime, my sweet baby,” she croons before looking up at Izuku. “I’ve never met someone who understood my babies so well before. Izu, we’re going to be great friends,” she says matter-of-factly. 

The sudden nickname makes Izuku blush slightly. Well, that and the unwavering determination in Hatsume’s eyes. He wonders if that’s just something that happens when she makes a decision. Then again, that kind of determination makes him think she’ll be a good friend to have. Plus, you know, having a friend his age sounds pretty great. 

Izuku gets a bright smile and nods. “Okay, Mei Mei,” he replies. She absolutely lights up at the nickname given in return. “By the way, why are you out here with Robeko?”

“Oh, my mom said to stop testing out my babies in the house and the park is the closest place with enough space,” Mei explains, shrugging a little at her own words. 

Izuku gets a slightly concerned smile, glancing down at the robotic cat in her arms, before just nodding. “Uh, right,” he says.

Mei doesn’t seem to notice his concern, too busy using a screwdriver to open a panel on Robeko’s back. “So what’s got you out here so early?”

“Training. I’m training to be a hero and my teacher says I need to run at least three miles in the morning,” he explains. “I just finished when I heard your laughter.”

“A hero? What’s your quirk?” Mei asks. She gets an excited glint in her eyes that Izuku doesn’t really trust. 

Still, her words make him pause and he looks away. It’s not exactly a secret at school, but Mei seems like the kind of person who doesn’t pay much attention to anything that doesn’t concern her interests. Izuku looks back at her and sighs. “I don’t have one. I’m training to be the first quirkless hero,” he says. 

Izuku tenses up, waiting for the insults, for Mei to tell him it’s impossible, or to be told that he can’t be a good hero because people without quirks are just useless. None of that happens. He looks over at Mei to see a predatory look in her eyes. “Uh, Mei?” he asks. 

“Do you know what this means, Izu?” she asks. He shakes his head, part of him kind of terrified to find out. “You have no quirk, which means you’ll be relying entirely on support items. More specifically, you’ll be relying entirely on the support items I make for you. You’re the perfect advertisement for my babies!” she exclaims. 

Izuku blinks, staring at Mei for a moment as he works through the implications of her words. He starts to light up, already having ideas of things she could make him. “You’re right! We can design my costume together and then create support items that will give me a range of skills in villain fights,” he replies. 

He watches her start to bounce a little in place and he wonders if he’s doing the same thing. “You’ll become the number one hero because of our teamwork! I create the gadgets, you use them to save people and defeat villains, and we’ll create our own agency!” 

Izuku gets ready to start spouting out ideas, but a scarf wraps around his head and yanks him back, making him cry out in surprise. “Before any of that can happen, you need to continue training, problem child,” Aizawa says.

The scarf unwraps and Izuku looks up, pouting at him. “I wasn’t trying to skip out or anything,” he promises. He straightens up and smiles brightly at Aizawa. “This is Hatsume Mei.”

Mei perks up and grabs at Aizawa’s scarf, trying to inspect it even as Aizawa keeps moving it out of her way. “I think you mean this is problem child number two,” he replies, looking less than impressed. 

“I’m going to make all of Izu’s support gear and together we’ll become an unstoppable force of nature!” Mei tells him, eyes lit up in a way that makes Izuku worry for a few seconds. 

Aizawa looks over at Izuku, taking in the slightly apologetic smile that he has. After a few moments of her trying to catch it, Mei is restrained by the scarf and struggling against it. Though, it seems less like she wants to get out and more like she wants to test its limits. 

“Um, anyway, Mei goes to my school. So she’s my friend now and she thinks I can be the first quirkless hero, too!” Izuku says, lighting up brightly. 

Mei wiggles enough that Aizawa sighs and lets her go. “Of course you can be the first quirkless hero. That’s what I’ve been saying,” he points out. 

Izuku blushes and looks away, fidgeting slightly. “Well, yeah, but it’s different hearing it from someone else,” he says quietly. 

Aizawa sighs and Izuku hopes he isn’t too annoyed with him right now. Even with two pro-heroes backing you, it can still be hard to feel confident. Being quirkless just makes it worse sometimes. On bad days especially, he hears a particularly cruel voice calling him a deku and calling his dream pointless. 

“Yeah, I get it, problem child,” Aizawa says after a moment.

A phone starts to go off and Mei blinks, digging around in the pockets of her tool belt until she pulls her phone out. She reads through the messages there and sighs. “Mom’s calling me back home. Izu, here’s my number,” she says, writing it on his arm with a marker she pulled out of the belt. “Text me when you’re done with training and we can start talking about all the wonderful babies I’m going to make you.”

With that, she picks up Robeko and salutes them before running off. Izuku waves after her with a huge grin before turning back to Aizawa. “Good job on making a friend. Now run another three miles for making me wait,” he says. 

Izuku blinks and groans, but knows better than to argue. He takes out the hearing aids, carefully placing them in his pocket. Once he’s sure they’re secure, Izuku breathes in and takes off running again.

Chapter Text

“Izu! Come home with me!” Mei says, smiling brightly at Izuku.

He blinks in surprise, noticing that a few of the other students have also paused in the hallway to look over at the two. Mei looks up at Izuku expectantly, not at all paying attention to their surroundings. “Uh, yeah, sure,” he finally says. 

Mei positively lights up and grabs Izuku’s arm, tugging him down the hall and towards the entrance. It’s a good thing Izuku had already grabbed his bag; he doesn’t think anything short of a villain fight could convince Mei to stop right now. “I fixed up Robeko and I can’t wait to see what you think of him now! Plus, we can start talking about the support items I’ll be making for you. If you want to get good at using them by the time the U.A. entrance exam comes around, we need to get them done as soon as possible,” she explains. 

Izuku blinks and nods a little. That actually makes a lot of sense. Even if he’s got almost two years until the exam, he needs to use all of that time getting ready. Who knows how long it will take for Mei to perfect support items enough to be used at the exam. “You’ve really thought all of this out, Mei Mei,” he says brightly. 

The smile he gets in return is equal parts blinding and concerning. Izuku suddenly realizes that Mei probably hasn’t had anyone get as excited about her inventions as she does. It’s just like Izuku never had anyone his age support his hero dreams. He smiles, glad to be able to give Mei the support she deserves. After all, she’s doing so much for him in return. 

"Hey, Izu," Mei says, looking over at him, "Why do you have a shoelace around your neck?"

The rumbling of the train makes it a bit hard for him to focus on Mei. It's so loud and making his ears hurt enough that he's tempted to pull the hearing aids out. "What?" he asks.

She huffs and reaches over, tugging on the shoelace around his neck. Izuku blinks in surprise, raising a hand to stop her as she pulls the snowflake out from under his shirt. He watches for her reaction, not really expecting her to lean closer to inspect the snowflake. "It's, um, from a friend," he says quietly.

"How's it not melting? It feels cold to the touch. Do they have an ice quirk or something? Will it break or is it super strong?" Mei asks. Even though she's closer now, she doesn't lower her voice. It makes it easier to hear her over the train.

Izuku can't help lighting up at her questions. They're some of the same ones he'd asked Rei when he first met her. "That's her quirk! It won't melt, but it can break. I try not to wear it on training days, but I find it comforting," he explains.

"Then what's with the shoelace?" she asks.

"Well, I met her in the hospital mom took me to after my accident," Izuku explains, gesturing vaguely to his ears. "I wanted to wear it right away but only had my shoelaces to put it on."

Mei looks up at him, letting go of the snowflake but not pulling away. He tucks it back under his shirt, watching the way she's now staring at his ears. "How did your accident happen anyway, Izu?"

He blinks and frowns at the question. He hates it. Why can't people just let him forget about the reason he's deaf? He never wants to think about Katsuki again. Besides, he knows Mei has asked his mom the same question before. She won't get a better answer from him. "It happened at my last school. Somebody and their friends held me down and they did this. It's in the past, though," he says, shrugging.

He gets a frown in return, but Izuku doesn't care too much. He shrugs at her and looks out the window of the train to watch the city go by. Thankfully, Mei doesn't ask about his ears again.

Mei’s room is pretty close to what Izuku thought it would be. The bed is pushed into the corner by the closet and the rest of the room is a workshop. Blueprints cover the walls and the desks are filled with tools and half-finished projects. Mei goes over to one of the tables and sweeps everything off of it, slamming down some blueprint sheets on the now clean surface. 

“Talk to me, Izu! Tell me about your deepest desires and the heroes you look up to,” she says, watching as he sits on the bed. That dangerous glint is back in her eye and Izuku is suddenly glad they’re on the same side. 

He hums softly, pulling his bag into his lap. Izuku tugs out his current hero notebook and starts to flip through it. “I really like the way Present Mic’s voice can be used to repel enemies and objects. I don’t know how you’d create something like that, but it could have different levels so I can control the power of it. They should be like soundwaves or something. I don’t think aim matters too much, but as long as I can direct it the way Present Mic’s support tool lets him, then it should be fine,” he says. 

Mei cuts him off by sliding a filled up sheet off of the desk and nods. Izuku stares at how much she was able to get down from just a few sentences. He doesn't quite understand all of the stuff written on the page, but he's impressed by the speed of her thoughts and writing.

“Okay! On to the next one, Izu!”

Izuku flips the page and grins a bit. This is one of the ones he’s excited about, actually. “This one is based on an American hero called DareDevil. He’s got these nunchucks that can snap together and create a staff. So when Aizawa lets me choose a weapon, I’m going to use the bo staff. That’s a bit longer than what DareDevil’s nunchucks become, but it’s great for long-range attacks. Maybe it could also be collapsible, too? Kind of like a folding cane so I can carry it on my utility belt? It needs to be durable for sure, so maybe it can be made from tungsten?”

He hears the sound of a blueprint page being swiped off the desk and grins wider, flipping to the next page in his notebook. This is a lot of fun, actually. He’s never been able to talk to someone about this and keep their attention. They’ve never participated before, either. 

“Next! This one is based a bit on All Might’s punches! They’re fingerless gloves that will have brass inserts on the knuckles. This way I can still cause damage even if I lose my staff and have to resort to hand-to-hand combat. They’ll pack a stronger punch this way. I’m sure there’s more that can be done for them, but I really only have the basic concept mapped out right now.”

He hears the blueprint being swiped off the desk and looks up, smiling apologetically. “Sorry, Mei Mei, that’s all I’ve got for now. Is it enough to work with?” Izuku asks, looking up at Mei.

“You’ve given me plenty to work with, Izu!” Mei replies, looking up at him with a bright grin. 

Izuku nods a little, watching as she pushes her chair away from the table and rolls over to a pile of half-finished inventions. She digs around, pulling out random odds and ends from the pile. He recognizes what are springs and, he thinks, circuit boards. But he doesn’t know what anything else in the pile is. 

“Why do you like inventing so much?” he asks suddenly. 

Mei pauses from sorting the pieces she grabbed and looks over at Izuku. She hums softly and folds her left leg under her to get comfortable. “You know how every kid wants to be a hero when they’re little? I wasn’t any different. My quirk was really a reality check,” she says, reaching up and tucking some hair behind her ear. “I was pretty sad, you know? And then my parents’ microwave broke. We had to get a new one but I took the old one apart and managed to put it back together. It didn’t work, but I realized that I could make things. And, if those things were good, heroes would use them to save people. So, if I become one of the best in the support business, I’m still saving people and being the hero younger me wanted to be,” she explains. 

When she’s done, Mei shrugs a little and turns back around to keep working. Izuku stares at her for a long moment. He never really thought about support items like that. Of course, looking back, he now realizes that Present Mic wouldn’t have been as good a hero without his directional speaker. He gets the feeling, though, that he’s going to gain brand new respect for support items through his friendship with Mei. 

Chapter Text

A month after their brain-storming session, Izuku finds himself holding a bo staff that Mei has deemed done enough for testing. He looks up at Mei and then over at Aizawa. “Are you sure it’s ready to use, Mei Mei?” he asks, remembering vividly the first time he met her and saw Robeko. 

Mei waves him off from where she’s sitting against the wall of the training room. They’re in a facility specifically for testing out support items. Once Mei had told Izuku, and Izuku had told Aizawa, that a prototype was ready for use, Aizawa brought them there. 

In front of him is a test dummy usually used for martial arts practice. “Stop worrying, Izu. The point isn’t to be right on the first try. The point is to see how my wonderful baby works and what needs to be improved,” she tells him. 

Aizawa nods in agreement, leaning against the wall next to her with his arms crossed. “She’s right, problem child. Just start and we’ll figure things out along the way,” he says. 

“Fine, but you’re the one telling mom I started using a weapon before thirteen,” Izuku replies, looking back down at the staff. 

At the moment, it’s about the length of his arm. In the very middle is a seam, which Izuku knows will let him pull the staff in half and then connect it back together again. Just to the right of that seam is a small button. Izuku presses it and the two ends of the staff smoothly extend outwards. He holds it upright, one end on the ground, to compare it to his height now. It reaches the top of his head and he nods a little. 

He presses the button again and the two ends retract, leaving it the length of his arm once more. Izuku considers the seam and twists both halves in different directions. It snaps in two and he frowns slightly in confusion at the metal prongs on the ends where it will snap back together. 

“Hey, Mei Mei, what’s up with these?” he asks, looking over. 

Mei grins a bit. “Oh, I was thinking of other ways to make them useful, so this version doubles as two cattle prods. There are small buttons you can press to produce electricity and shock someone,” she explains. 

Izuku slowly nods and looks for the buttons. He finds them and sets the left half down, holding the right half away from his body. When he presses the button at first, nothing happens. Then there’s a spark and the electricity travels up the rod and into him, shocking Izuku painfully and making him drop the club. 

His hearing aids start to short circuit, creating a painfully high-pitched ringing that makes him gasp. Izuku quickly pulls them out, tugging on his ears and irritating the burn scar because of his rush. The world goes silent when he pulls them out. He quickly sets them on the training mat, watching them spark for a few minutes. 

A hand taps his shoulder and he jumps in surprise, looking up to see Aizawa. “Are you okay?” he signs. 

Izuku nods a little. “They shorted out. I think they’ll be fine, though,” he replies. 

Aizawa nods and he turns to Mei, who’s rapidly writing in a notebook. Izuku will later learn that, according to her, this was a pretty successful first test. 

Izuku sighs, looking down at the newest version of the bo staff. The last time he’d held it, his hearing aids shorted out. It had taken some work to fix, but he and his mom have been dealing with them long enough to know how to fix them. “Are you sure you got rid of the cattle prods?” he asks, looking over at Mei.

She is, once again, sitting against the wall with Aizawa standing next to her. “Of course! The point of support items is to help the hero, not hinder them. If electricity like that is going to mess up your hearing aids, it’s gotta go,” she explains. 

Izuku nods a bit and twists the two halves apart again. He’s relieved to see no metal prongs in this version so he moves on to testing how their weight feels. They feel solid enough in his hands and he nods. “What are they made of?” he asks. 

“Steel, for now. I wish I could use adamantium for it, but that’s just so hard to get,” she says dramatically, looking up at Aizawa with big eyes and a pout. 

“No.”

“Fair enough.”

Izuku smiles a little in amusement and hums, twirling one of the halves in his hand. Since the first bo staff test, Aizawa has let him start training with a regular bo staff and billy clubs. They still haven’t told his mom. He gets the feeling Aizawa doesn’t intend to let his mother ever know he touched weapons before his thirteenth birthday. 

He determines the weight of the right half to be good and switches over to the left. Having the same strength and skill in both hands is a bit difficult, given his dominant hand is the right one. Aizawa has had him training to build up his left hand’s strength but they've only just started that, which means his left hand still isn’t quite as coordinated as his right. 

Izuku twirls the left half and grins. He does it again, glancing over to see Mei’s reaction. In hindsight, that’s probably what doomed him. The only warning he gets is Aizawa’s eyes widening just before the left half of the staff slams into his face, making a very concerning crunch sound echo in the air. 

“Fuck!” Izuku exclaims, dropping both halves and cupping his hands over his nose. His eyes are watering and all he can focus on is the pain radiating from where his nose broke. It’s definitely not the worst pain he’s ever been in, but it’s the most pain he’s had in a while. 

Aizawa is in front of him in a second and pulling his hands away from his nose. “Where the fuck did you learn that language, problem child?” he asks, inspecting his nose. 

Izuku squints at him, about to respond when Aizawa grips his nose and pushes it back into place. The action makes Izuku swear again and tear up even more. He reaches up and wipes the tears away as best he can, trying to glare at Aizawa but failing miserably.

Once he pulls away, Mei is in front of Izuku with bright eyes. “That was great, Izu! Now I know it’s definitely a sturdy enough material! Maybe soon I could get some vibranium to use for the staff,” she says, glancing over her shoulder at Aizawa again. 

“No.”

The wide-open space of the outside training field is a much different setting than the training room from before. Izuku takes a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. His nose has mostly healed from the last time they tested out one of Mei’s items but it’s still a little sore. 

They aren’t testing another bo staff this time. Instead, Aizawa insisted on giving that a break and trying something else. So Mei had told him about her “sonic babies” and asked if they could try those out instead. Aizawa had been quick to agree, which brings them to the open field and a small device that looks like a tiny speaker. 

“So, Izu, you see this switch on the side? It lets you choose the strength of the soundwave. Right now it’s off. If you move it to the right, the strength increases. What you want to do is hold your arm out straight in the direction you want to aim the wave. You’ll have three seconds after switching to the strength you want before the soundwave is produced. It will only last for a few seconds, so even if you happen to let go it will turn off,” Mei explains. 

Izuku nods along and flashes her a bright grin. Mei runs back over to stand next to Aizawa. Both of them are several feet away at Mei's insistence, which doesn’t entirely give Izuku a lot of confidence. Still, there’s no improvement to inventions that aren’t tested. 

He slides his feet apart into a more grounded stance. Then he holds out his right arm, making sure the speaker is aimed away from him and uses his left arm as support. Izuku braces himself before flipping the switch to the lowest strength. 

Izuku counts to three in his head, further bracing himself. Nothing happens and he blinks, frowning slightly. He straightens up and looks over at Mei and Aizawa, obviously a bit confused. Mei looks disappointed and has taken a step towards him when the soundwave is suddenly produced, strong enough that its force throws Izuku back a few feet. 

He lost his grip on the speaker in the throw and it’s now just aimed up at the sky. Izuku groans, covering his ears to stop the horrible feedback the hearing aids are creating. It doesn’t occur to him to turn the hearing aids off until the soundwave stops. 

Izuku sighs with relief and opens his eyes, seeing Mei leaning over him with a smile. “So, I guess I need to fix the strength and timing, huh? Or maybe you just need to get sturdier. I bet there’s something I could make to help keep your feet planted so you don’t go flying back again,” she says. 

She helps him get up as she talks. Izuku sees Aizawa kicking the speaker gently, just to make sure it won’t go off again, before using his capture scarf to pick it up. It’s better not to risk anything, after all. 

Just after Izuku’s thirteenth birthday, Izuku finds himself in the training room once again. Mei and Aizawa have taken their usual spots against the wall. This time, instead of the bo staff, Izuku has on fingerless gloves. 

They’re a dark green and leave the upper half of his fingers exposed. The weight of the knuckles is kind of comforting to Izuku, reminding him of Rei's snowflake, and acting as something that can keep him grounded during a fight. He raises his hands and curls them into fists, feeling the knuckles inside shift a bit. “Did you use brass?” he asks, looking at Mei. 

“I found some tungsten! It’s one of the strongest metals on earth since I don’t have access to anything better,” she explains, looking up at Aizawa. 

“No.” 

Izuku smiles a bit in amusement and hums softly. He looks at the practice dummy in front of him and throws a punch. It lands and, instead of the pain he’d been bracing himself to feel, there’s just the slight pressure of landing a hit. Izuku blinks and uses his left hand to punch the dummy, getting the same result. 

He lights up and looks over at Mei. “I didn’t break anything! They work great!” he says excitedly. 

Mei lights up and jumps to her feet, running over to Izuku. “My babies work!” she exclaims, grabbing him in a hug and spinning him around. 

Aizawa lets them celebrate before using the scarf to separate them. “Congrats, the metal gloves work,” he says. 

“Since those work, I have one more thing for Izu to try out,” Mei tells them, wiggling until the capture scarf lets her go. She heads over to her bag and pulls out a brand new version of the collapsible bo staff. “Here you go, Izu, the latest attempt.”

She throws it and Izuku catches it easily, humming softly. This one is completely black and feels sturdier than the last one. He presses the button and the two ends extend, just as they did before. Izuku twirls the full staff now, nodding in approval, before bringing the staff down on the dummy. It doesn’t break and there isn’t any backlash. 

Izuku gets a smile as he retracts the two ends. He twists the staff apart and attacks the dummy with both ends. He gets the same successful result and lights up, looking over at Mei. “I think you did it! This is the best one yet, Mei Mei!” he says.

“I’m not entirely done with it, but yeah! I have a plan for an upgrade that will hopefully help on your entrance exam, but otherwise you should start training with that one,” Mei explains. 

Izuku nods and looks over to Aizawa, who has a slightly impressed look. If he hadn’t known the underground hero for all these years, he wouldn’t have been able to tell. Still, if Aizawa is impressed, then they must be on the right track. 

Chapter Text

The walk from the train station to the Musutafu hospital always makes Izuku feel a little bit on edge. The familiar weight and cold of the snowflake around his neck helps, though. He doesn’t wear it very often since it could still break, but he always wears it when he goes to visit Rei. The first few times he came by himself, he’d been absolutely terrified of hearing a certain voice. Thankfully, he hasn’t yet but the snowflake does wonders to ease his nerves.

When he gets into the hospital, Izuku relaxes just a bit and heads over to the elevator. By now, he knows the hospital like the back of his hand. He also knows several of the nurses. He supposes, for the nurses who had taken care of him when he was ten, it’s hard to forget a patient who keeps coming back. 

Rei’s door is open and Izuku knocks on it gently, flashing a bright smile when he gets her attention. “Oh, Izuku, I didn’t know you were coming today,” she says, waving him inside. 

Izuku walks over and sits down in the chair next to her at the table. He places the small potted plant he brought on the table, being mindful of the letters there. The little bamboo makes Rei smile and he counts it as a win. “I wanted to surprise you,” he explains, shrugging a little. 

She hums softly, looking up at him with a knowing glint. “You’re nervous about something, right? You only bring me a bamboo when you’re nervous,” she points out. 

He sighs softly and slumps a bit in his chair. “Okay, yeah, I’m a bit nervous for tomorrow,” he admits quietly. 

“The entrance exam, right?”

Izuku nods and there’s a long moment of silence. He knows from experience that Rei won’t speak until he’s said what he needs to. The silence, at least, gives him a moment to collect his thoughts. “Even with Aizawa’s and Mic’s training, what if I don’t get in? I mean, I’m quirkless. Sure, there’s no rule against me applying, but what if I still can’t measure up to the people with quirks?” he asks, looking down at the ground. 

A cold hand covers his own and he glances up to see Rei smiling kindly. Suddenly, he feels like he’s ten again and meeting Rei for the first time. “I think you’re one of the most heroic people I’ve ever met, Izuku. If they don’t let you in because of your quirklessness, then it’s their loss. You’ll find another school. Besides, you’ll have your friend’s support items, right?” she asks. 

He nods again. “Yeah, Mei has been working nonstop on fixing any little kinks so they’re ready for the entrance exam. Aizawa already got them all approved, too, so I’ll be able to use them,” he explains. 

It had been a surprise to find out that he needed to get them approved. Though, it probably shouldn’t have been. If most of the other applicants were going in with nothing but their quirk, then it would seem unfair to let someone in with a support item, let alone three. He doesn’t think he’d have any chance of passing the practical exam without them, though. 

“But, if I do get in, what about when my classmates find out I’m quirkless? I’ll be an outcast again. Mei’s applying, but she’s going into the support course, so she won’t be in any hero classes with me,” he says. 

Rei shrugs a little. “So what? If they’re too blinded by their own power to recognize a fellow hero, then they don’t deserve to be there. Don’t let their opinions stop you from being the best hero you can be,” she tells him. 

Izuku considers this for a moment and grins as he nods. “You always know just what to say to cheer me up, huh?” he asks. 

She smiles but stays quiet. Rei leans back in her chair and stares at the bamboo plant for a moment, obviously thinking of something. Izuku returns the gesture from before and stays silent, waiting for her to speak. “I’ve told you about my youngest,” she begins, looking back at Izuku. 

“Shouto, right?” he asks. 

Rei nods before continuing, “Fuyumi has told me that he’s also going to U.A., based on his father’s recommendation. It might be a lot to ask of you, but could you try to befriend him, Izuku?”

Izuku blinks in surprise at the request. “We might be in different classes, though,” he points out. 

“I know, but he grew up so isolated. If anyone could get through to him, it would be you. Please, just promise me you’ll try? I don’t want him to be alone anymore,” Rei says. 

He couldn’t say no even if he wanted to. Izuku meets Rei’s eyes, studying them for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I promise to become his friend and make sure he isn’t lonely anymore,” he says, reaching out and squeezing her hands. 

“Good. Even if he doesn’t come to visit me, I’m just glad to know you’ll be his friend, Izuku.”

Izuku frowns slightly but nods. “I’ll give you updates, too, so you’ll know how he’s doing,” he promises. 

Rei’s smile is watery and tears fall down her cheeks. Izuku gets up and grabs the tissue box from her nightstand, placing it on the table in front of her. She nods gratefully and takes one, wiping the tears away and taking a deep breath. 

“Thank you, Izuku. You’re such a sweet boy,” she says, cupping his cheek gently before pulling away. 

It makes Izuku smile, glad he could help to make her feel even the slightest bit better. He knows that she doesn’t get visitors very often. With the entrance exams so close, he hasn’t been able to come by as much as he usually does, something that’s been making him feel guilty. He resolves to make up for it by coming to visit her more once he’s gotten into U.A.

Of course, this means that he needs to get into U.A. There’s a lot riding on his entrance right now. His hero career, proving to himself that he can be a hero despite being quirkless, and the promise he’s made to Rei. 

Chapter Text

The test was easy, but Izuku had enough faith in his hero knowledge to know it would be. He’d been in a room with way too many other students to count and had turned his hearing aids’ volume down to let him focus. He only realized time was up when he noticed other students closing their test booklets, handing them to the test proctor coming around to collect their exams. At the very least, knowing he did well on the written exam is helping him focus on the practical exam.

Izuku swallows thickly as he looks up at the entrance to the practical exam. He doesn’t know what’s on the other side of those doors, but he can only hope it’s something he can handle. Nervously, Izuku reaches up and adjusts his hearing aids. He’d take them off for fear of sweat shorting them out, but he can’t risk being at all deaf for this. He can only hope that, by some miracle, they survive through the entire practical. Izuku tugs on his gloves to ensure they’re secure before he checks his belt to make sure the sonic speakers and his bo staff are there. It's probably a little ridiculous to be checking his equipment so much, but he can't think of anything else to do to calm his nerves.

Suddenly, someone slams into him from the side and Izuku barely keeps them both from falling, blinking at the faceful of pink hair he gets. Mei pulls back with a wild grin and Izuku stares at her. “What in the world are you doing here?” he asks. 

“I have some last-minute babies for you!” Mei exclaims, drawing attention from several of the applicants around them. There's one especially, with blue hair and stern-looking glasses, that seems to be gearing up to approach them.

Izuku smiles sheepishly at him and looks back at Mei. “What do you mean?” he asks warily, now noticing the weird braces and the black staff in her hands.

Mei sets the braces down and holds the staff out. “First, this one! It’s just like your current one but with an added surprise! When you need to slice something, press these buttons right here,” she explains, pointing out the buttons on both ends of the arm’s length staff.

He takes the staff and twists it apart, pressing the buttons. A blade slips out of the ends where they should meet and Izuku blinks. “ Mei, what the fuck,” he hisses, quickly pressing the buttons again to make sure nobody saw. 

She just has a proud look. “They’re made from tungsten, too! So they should be good to cut through anything that isn’t stronger than them,” she explains. She forcefully takes the old staff off of Izuku’s belt and puts the new one in its place. 

“Okay, fine, what’s up with the braces?” he asks. 

Mei grins and crouches, starting to attach them to his legs. Izuku feels his face get bright red and hides it in his hands. “Lift your feet one at a time,” Mei instructs. Izuku does so and he feels her strap something to his shoes. When she stands, she taps his hands. 

“What are they?” Izuku asks, hoping she’ll answer this time. 

“I was thinking that you might need to do some really high jumping, but couldn’t make actual boots for it in so little time! So, I made these braces instead. If you need to jump, choose the strongest setting on the sonic speaker, stand right on top of it, and you’ll go flying! When you land, ideally, the braces will absorb all the impact! The landing is the hard part, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Izu!” she explains. 

Before Izuku can even think of saying anything, she hugs him again and runs off. Izuku stares after her, wondering why she had such a specific last-minute addition. Then again, Mei is crazy enough to give him this just to see how well it works. He gets the feeling he’d better use the braces just to satisfy her and give a report after. 

Izuku takes a deep breath just before he hears a familiar voice coming from the front of the crowd. He looks over and sees a speaker at the very top of the gates, blasting Present Mic’s voice over the group of applicants. “OKAY, EVERYBODY! YOU HAVE THIRTY MINUTES TO COMPLETE THIS PORTION OF THE EXAM!”

Right as the words cut off, the doors open and reveal what looks like a small city. Everyone rushes in and Izuku blinks, panicking at already being behind. He runs after them, grateful the weight of the added braces don’t slow him down too much. 

People start to break off from the group and Izuku blinks, not sure if he should go off on his own or not. He decides not to at first and sticks with the small group of people who stayed together. He needs to observe the kind of “villains” they’re up against first. Even with the explanation from Present Mic beforehand, it's just smarter to see another group fight against a robot before he goes off on his own.

Only after he’s seen a two-pointer get destroyed by some kid with a laser coming off his belt does Izuku run off towards another section of the city. For just a moment, he considers finding that kid again after the practical portion is over. Mei would absolutely love to know how that belt worked and where he got it. That will have to wait for after the exam, though. For now, he avoids any groups as much as he can. It's a bit difficult, considering they're all trying to attack the same robots. 

The first chance he gets to use his billy clubs is a few minutes later when he runs into a three-pointer. His eyes widen slightly and he quickly twists the staff apart, pressing the buttons and making sure the blades have slid out before rushing it. He jumps when he gets close enough and runs up the arm of the robot. When he gets to the top, he slices that arm off. The blade cuts through the metal easier than he thought it would, making Izuku grin. 

He makes pretty quick work of the three-pointer, slicing off key parts until it can’t move. He doesn’t stop to admire the damage he caused, only running off in search of more robots to take apart. The first one took too long, which means he needs to figure out a quicker way. If they’re all set up like the three-pointer, though, then the best way to inhibit them would be to take advantage of the chinks and openings in their bodies. What allows them to move will be what allows Izuku to disable them. It's probably easy to figure out, but especially so if you've had close contact with robots before. There’s no way he would have known that if not for listening to Mei rave about her babies. 

Izuku takes down as many robots as he comes across. He doesn’t bother thinking about the points of them. A robot is a robot and they’re all worth something. By the time he reaches a more crowded part of the “city” there’s a litter of robot parts on the street from the other applicants as well. He thinks it means that most of them have probably been taken care of, so the exam should be over soon. 

The ground suddenly shakes and Izuku blinks, shifting his stance to regain his balance. Dust blows out in the wake of the huge robot coming around the buildings, causing them to fall with its sheer force. There’s a huge “0” on its chest and Izuku realizes it’s a zero-pointer. Izuku’s eyes widen and he feels his heart stop for just a moment. The ringing in his ears that he’d been ignoring suddenly feels like all he can hear.

Everyone else is running past him, trying to get away from the zero-pointer. “YOU’VE GOT TWO MINUTES LEFT!” Present Mic’s voice is ringing through the area and Izuku swears under his breath. He should be using those two minutes to find another robot or help people run away from this one. 

Just as he turns to run, he hears someone call out, “Help! I’m stuck!” Izuku turns to see a girl with short brown hair and round cheeks on the ground. Her leg is stuck beneath some rubble, trapping her right in the path of the zero-pointer. 

Izuku doesn’t really think at all, instead running over to her as fast as he can. He tries to lift up the block of cement, but can’t and panics. Looking around, he can’t see anything to help with getting her out and realizes he’ll have to stop the zero-pointer to save her. 

He looks up, noticing how far it is and nods. “Stay here,” he tells the girl before running back down the street. It doesn’t occur to him that she can’t exactly go anywhere if she’s trapped. Izuku pulls out one of the sonic speakers and switches it to the strongest setting, dropping it on the ground and standing on top of as best he can. He bends his knees just in time to get shot into the air at high speed. 

WHAT THE FUCK, MEI?! 

That’s all he can think as he flies through the air and nearly goes past the zero-pointer’s head. At the last second, he extends the blade on his left club and slams it into the robot, getting caught by the metal itself. It jerks him back, yanking his shoulder painfully but he doesn’t let himself think about it. The best thing he can do right now, in fact, is turn all of his thoughts off so he can focus on saving the girl trapped under the rubble.

Izuku’s heart is absolutely pounding and he just knows all the sweat is making his hearing aids short circuit. Still, he doesn’t let that stop him right now. Instead, he finds the chink in the zero-pointer’s neck and cuts through the wiring there, sawing through the metal in order to reach it. It takes much too long, in his opinion. The zero-pointer is getting closer to the girl still struggling, so he starts to saw faster until he feels something give. When it finally stops moving, red eyes going dark, Izuku cries out in relief. 

Then it falls backward and Izuku is thrown off balance. He’s suddenly in the air again and watching the ground come at him faster than he can comprehend. He grits his teeth, frantically searching for anything that can save him but he doesn’t know what can. The ground gets closer and Izuku accepts that he’s going to die in about ten seconds. It was a nice life, he supposes. At least he made it to the entrance exam before dying, so there's that.

He squeezes his eyes shut as the ground gets closer, bracing himself for the immense pain that will preface his death. Then he feels a stinging slap against his cheek and he stops falling, floating instead. Izuku blinks and looks down, heart pounding in his chest. The ground is right there, but he hasn’t hit it. The only pain he's feeling is the burn of his cheek from where he was slapped.

When he looks over to where the slap came from, the girl he saved has her arm outstretched and is panting, looking a little green like she might be sick. She presses her fingers together and says something, but Izuku can’t hear it and realizes his hearing aids have shorted out. Izuku blinks as he’s no longer floating and hits the ground from a much more reasonable height. 

Izuku groans in pain. Getting up seems like the worst idea in the world right now. He lays there for a few seconds, only sitting up when he feels someone shaking his shoulder. It’s the girl, sitting in front of him with a worried expression. She’s talking, but all Izuku can hear is the familiar high-pitched ring and his blood pounding in his ears. 

He reaches out and grabs her shoulders. “My hearing aids short-circuited. I can’t hear you,” he says slowly, feeling weird at having to work off the vibrations in his throat once more. It’s been a while since he’s had to rely on them.

The girl looks lost for a moment, unsure of what to do. He can’t really blame her. Most people don’t have to deal with someone that’s deaf in this sort of context. Well, most people don't have to deal with someone that's deaf in any context at all. Izuku smiles at her reassuringly and shakily stands up, his legs a bit weak from the rough landing. At least the braces are helping him stay upright. “Can you walk?” he asks. 

She nods, then shakes her head. He hums and reaches a hand out to her, helping the girl to her feet. The leg that was trapped looks like it might be broken, so he makes sure to take as much of her weight as he can. Slowly, they make their way over to the entrance again. Along the way, they run into Recovery Girl and Izuku feels relief flood through him when she kisses the girl’s leg to heal it. 

The older hero turns to him and says something, but he only blinks, trying to read her lips and unable to focus well enough to do so. He's not sure being focused would have helped either way. Reading lips is still something that's hard for him. Mostly because it just feels awkward to be staring at someone's mouth as they talk. The girl gets her attention and they talk for a moment before Recovery Girl nods and waves them away. 

Izuku lets the girl lead him out of the testing center. When they get to the entrance once more, the huge doors still open and several of the students resting just on the other side, he pauses. The girl looks confused, but stops with him, watching Izuku turn to look back at the fake city. His future rests on how well he performed on those streets and he wants one last look at them just in case. If he doesn’t get in, he’ll let this last look motivate him to try harder.

He looks back at the girl and smiles apologetically before nodding towards the doors. She nods in return and he follows her out. Izuku looks around for a bit and spots Mei waving at him. She’s probably shouting, based on how big her mouth is opening and the weird looks she’s getting. 

Izuku waves back and then points to his hearing aids, shaking his head. He sees his best friend blink and nod before running over. Mei says something to the girl with him before taking Izuku’s arm, pulling it around her shoulders, and leading him away from the group. 

It’s not until they’re halfway home that Izuku truly realizes the test is over. He took his chance and did the best he could. Now all he can do is wait and see if he’s managed to get himself a few steps closer to achieving his dream.

Chapter Text

Izuku knows Mei must be getting impatient. After all, they’ve been standing outside the main U.A. building for the past fifteen minutes. It’s just that Izuku is both excited and scared shitless all at the same time. He got in, something he still can’t quite believe. Not only did he get in, but according to the results, he’d ranked number one in the practical. He’d stared at that ranking for a long time, unable to fully comprehend the score even as rescue points were explained on the hologram. 

“Izu, come on already! We need to actually go inside to start the day,” Mei says, grabbing his arm and forcefully pulling him inside. Izuku stumbles at first but rights himself and allows his friend to lead him towards his class. 

“You really don’t need to drop me off, Mei Mei,” he says nervously. On the train ride over, she had insisted on walking him to his class. Part of Izuku knows it's because she's just worried about him. Another part is fully aware that she's also going to his class to see other people's quirks and brainstorm ideas for support items.

That earns him a dubious look from Mei. Yeah, it didn’t sound that convincing to him either. He’s a bit of a wreck and having someone there that he knows will help, even if it is only for a few minutes. He knows Present Mic is supposed to be teaching there, but beyond that, he’s kind of clueless. 

Izuku takes in the school with wide eyes as they walk through. Everything is just so big. When they get to the 1-A door, he blinks, feeling utterly dwarfed by the door. “Why is it so big? What's with the whole school just being this big?” he asks, looking over at Mei. She hums before shrugging and just pulling it open.

The moment it’s open, he can hear someone ordering, “Don’t put your feet on the desk!”

Izuku blinks and glances at Mei just before he hears the dismissive reply of, “Nope. What junior high did you go to, you side character?”

The voice is familiar in a way that makes Izuku tense, his heart beginning to pound in his ears as he sees blonde hair and red eyes. “Izu?” Mei asks, her voice sounding far off and muffled even though Izuku knows his hearing aids are working. 

Those red eyes meet his own, widening in surprise before narrowing as Bakugou stands and stomps over. “Oi! Where the fuck do you get off showing up out of nowhere, you fucking deku?” he demands, hands sparking in an all too familiar way. 

Izuku can’t breathe right now and he takes a step back. He’s spiraling. He knows he’s spiraling because he doesn’t feel fourteen anymore. 

He’s ten again, being held down by Kacchan’s friend with Kacchan sitting on his chest. “Stop squirming so much you deku,” he says, palms sparking as he grins above him. “It’s just a game. Besides, you’re the one who wanted to play with us.” The other kids with Kacchan voice their agreement, but he can't focus on their words through his panic.

Izuku wants to argue, wants to tell them he doesn’t want to play this game. He wants to play hide and seek or something, anything, else. Instead, he keeps struggling to get free but to no avail. The hands holding him down are so painfully tight and he's just some scrawny kid. Getting free is impossible.

He doesn’t notice Kacchan’s hands getting so close until they’re both exploding right in his ears. It hurts so much that Izuku finally manages to scream, “STOP PLEASE!”

It doesn’t, though. Instead, they keep going. So many mini-explosions that Izuku can’t keep count. The pain is making him breathless, unable to comprehend anything except the explosions and the occasional word coming from Kacchan as he talks above him. 

Izuku doesn’t know when he stops hearing. He just knows that he hears Kacchan call him a deku and then the only thing he can make out is the explosions. His skin is burning and he’s crying, the salt from his tears somehow making it worse as the smell fills his nose. Even in the middle of his panic, he somehow just knows he'll never be able to forget it. 

And it just won’t stop. The explosions never stop, never let up, continuing to make his ears ring and hurt in a way he’s never felt before. He knows this is the kind of pain nobody should go through. So why does he have to?

Mei stares at Izuku, unsettled by the way his usually lively green eyes are glassy and unfocused. The explosive kid in front of them has sparking palms and keeps yelling, demanding for Izuku to explain himself. He keeps calling Izuku a deku, too, whatever that means. 

Izuku’s eyes fill with tears that start to fall immediately. And then he starts screaming. It’s primal, almost, the way he sounds like he’s in so much pain that he won’t ever survive. She watches her best friend collapse to the floor, curled in on himself and covering his ears. “STOP IT PLEASE JUST STOP KACCHAN PLEASE!”

Her eyes widen slightly, looking from Izuku to the boy with the sparking palms. He looks just as surprised, eyes widened for only a second before he looks angry all over again. “What the fuck are you talking about, huh Deku? I haven’t done shit to you yet!” he shouts back. 

The other boy in the room, the one with blue hair and stern glasses goes over and grabs the blonde, pulling him away. “I must ask you to stay away from him! He is obviously panicking and your presence is either the catalyst or making it worse!” the boy demands. 

Mei decides to ignore them in favor of focusing on Izuku. She crouches in front of him, lifting his head so he can see her. “Izu, it’s okay, I promise you’re safe. C’mon, you know I wouldn’t let anyone hurt my best friend. Come back to me so I can tell you all about my newest baby ideas,” she says, desperate for this to work. 

It only works insofar as he stops screaming. Izuku is now begging in whispers for this Kacchan to stop hurting him. Mei pulls him into a tight hug and looks up, noticing that girl from the practical exam staring at them with wide, worried eyes. She thinks her name is Uraraka.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” she asks. 

Mei is lost for words for a moment, Izuku clinging to her as tight as he can and still begging for it to stop. “A panic attack, I think. I don’t know. We just came in and that blonde kid started yelling and he panicked,” she explains, glancing over at where the blonde kid is glaring at Izuku.

She looks back to see Aizawa standing behind Uraraka, eyes narrowed slightly as he looks down at Mei and Izuku. Mei would be scared if she didn’t know that’s the look he gets when he’s analyzing a situation. “Move,” Aizawa says, Uraraka yelping in surprise before quickly jumping out of the way. 

“Hatsume, take Midoriya into the hallway,” Aizawa says. 

Mei needs a moment to remember that Izuku’s last name is Midoriya. She sort of immediately forgot it when they first met. Still, she nods and picks Izuku up from the floor, carrying him into the hallway and setting him down right beneath the window. 

She crouches down in front of him and talks soothingly. The only other time she’s seen Izuku have a panic attack was when she’d spent the night and he woke up screaming. Inko had come in and talked him down and Mei is doing her best to remember what Inko said that calmed him. 

“It’s okay, Izuku. Deep breaths. You can still breath, I promise. Need a distraction? I figured out how to make Robeko do flips! Isn’t that great? I’ll show you the next time you come over. Robeko’s really missed you, you know. All my babies miss you, actually.”

Mei continues to ramble, noticing that it’s helping. Izuku has calmed down, at least. He’s clinging to her shirt and his eyes are starting to focus again. She wants to cry with relief but doesn’t want to risk making Izuku spiral again. So, instead, she just keeps talking.

When Izuku starts to become aware of his surroundings, he’s no longer in the classroom. Mei is right in front of him and he’s clinging to her shirt, fingers aching from how hard his hands are clenched. She’s all he can see right now and, though her voice is still muffled, he can at least hear it over the ringing in his ears. 

He gulps down air, realizing he feels like he hasn’t breathed in five minutes. It helps to calm him down enough to look around. They’re in the hall now and several students are staring at him and Mei. He shrinks into himself, whimpering softly at what he thinks are judgemental looks. 

“What the fuck are you all looking at? Move along,” Mei orders. Izuku looks up in time to see her scowling at them as the students quickly move. Some of them go into the 1-A classroom and others move down the hall. 

“M-Mei,” he says, his voice cracking. He winces but is relieved to see her look back at him. “I’m fine now,” he promises, managing a shaky smile. 

She looks less than convinced, but nods and stands, pulling him to his feet as well. Izuku leans against the wall, focusing on his breathing and not falling down. He reaches up and turns off the hearing aids, needing the world to be silent for just a few minutes. 

He feels a gentle tap on his shoulder and glances up at Mei, seeing Aizawa standing next to her. He has a frown that he can tell is concerned, even if it does look annoyed. “Are you okay?” Aizawa asks. 

Izuku takes a deep breath and nods. “Yes. I’m sorry for causing trouble,” he replies. 

If anything, Aizawa just frowns even more and Mei looks upset. “You having a panic attack isn’t causing trouble, Izu! What happened anyway?” she asks. 

Izuku looks away and just shakes his head. He doesn’t want to talk about. What happened that day is something that he hates to remember. It’s something that’s going to stay untold for as long as he can help it. Besides, if Bakugou is here at U.A., it must mean he has the potential to be a good hero. What kind of person would Izuku be to take that away from him?

“It’s nothing. Please, let it go. Mei Mei, you should head to class before you’re late,” he signs. 

She looks like she wants to argue, but Aizawa says something that stops her. Mei looks up at him with a glare. After a few seconds, though, she looks away at huffs. “Fine. I’ll see you at lunch, Izu,” she signs. Mei hugs him quickly before walking off down the hall. 

Izuku stares after her until she turns down another hallway. Then he looks at Aizawa. “I’m sorry,” he signs again. 

“You lost your hearing due to explosions. Bakugou’s quirk is to create explosions using the nitroglycerin in his sweat. Didn’t you used to live next door to him?” Aizawa asks, eyes narrowing slightly at Izuku. 

He blinks and tenses up, hugging his middle and looking away. Izuku shakes his head again and looks up at Aizawa. “Class should be starting soon. Please just let me pretend this didn’t happen,” he says. 

Aizawa takes a deep breath, looking like he wants to argue. Finally, he just nods and gestures to Izuku’s hearing aids. Izuku smiles gratefully and turns them back on, adjusting the frequency. 

He takes a slow, deep breath and shakily exhales. There are hushed voices coming from inside the classroom and Izuku feels nerves settle in his stomach at the thought of having to go inside. Aizawa sets a hand on his shoulder and he looks up. “You’ll be fine,” he says. 

Izuku gets a little smile and nods. He straightens up, adjusts his bag, and goes into the classroom. It goes completely silent when he walks in and he blushes slightly. Aizawa comes in behind him and goes up to the board. He writes out the new seating arrangement. “Sit down, we’re getting started,” he says. 

Glancing at the board, Izuku finds his seat and quickly walks over, head down as he slides into his seat. He glances to his right and blinks at seeing a boy with red hair and a scar over his left eye. When the boy glances over at him, Izuku sees the grey eye and white hair and realizes that this is Shouto. 

They stare at each other for a moment, Shouto’s eyes drifting to the scars on Izuku’s ears and upper cheekbones. His expression doesn’t change as he meets Izuku’s eyes again. Instead of saying anything, Izuku just smiles warmly at Shouto before looking back at the board. 

Aizawa looks out at the students blankly. “Welcome to U.A.’s hero course. Go put on your gym clothes and meet on the pitch.”

Chapter Text

Izuku frowns a little, standing towards the front of the group. Bakugou is on the opposite end as him and Izuku is doing his best to not look over. He doesn’t need a repeat panic attack. Even though the other students are just in their gym uniforms, he has on his utility belt since Aizawa told him he’d probably need it for this activity. 

“We’re going to do a quirk assessment test,” Aizawa says, watching them all with an unimpressed look when they freak. He glances at Izuku and he just barely shrugs at his teacher.

Uraraka is the first one to talk. “What about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?” she asks, eyes wide. Izuku glances over at her and kind of feels bad that he’s the only one who’s used to Aizawa’s training methods. If you aren't ready for them to get intense, then freaking out is a pretty reasonable response.

“There’s no time for such leisurely activities if you’re going to become a hero. U.A.’s selling point is the unusual approach to education, so deal with it,” he says. Aizawa turns to them and holds up a phone with fitness tests listed on it. “You’ve been doing these fitness exams since junior high but without the use of your quirk, right?”

Izuku nods along with the class. Aizawa hums and looks over the students, eyes pausing on Izuku before moving on. They stop on Bakugou and he asks, “Bakugou, you finished second on the practical exam, right? What was your best softball throw in junior high?” 

Bakugou blinks. “Sixty-seven meters.”

Aizawa nods and throws a softball to him. “Do it with your quirk.”

Bakugou looks between the ball and Aizawa for a moment before nodding. He steps into the circle drawn with chalk and stretches his arms. He steadies himself and winds his arm back. When he throws the ball, it’s with a loud shout of “DIE!” and a huge explosion. 

Even though he was expecting it, Izuku’s breath hitches and he flinches at the explosion. Several of the other students glance at him and he blushes slightly, looking away. He meets Aizawa’s eyes and frowns slightly, suddenly getting the idea that Aizawa wanted to see just how Bakugou’s quirk worked.

When the ball lands far away, the phone in Aizawa’s hand beeps and he turns to the group. He holds it up, letting them see the “705.2 m” on the screen. “Knowing your maximum first is the best way to build a foundation for hero training.”

The class bursts into noise at seeing Bakugou’s score. Izuku glances around at them, noticing how most of them are excited at getting to use their quirks to complete these fitness tests. He frowns a bit, knowing he’s already at a disadvantage. This would explain why Aizawa told him to bring the utility belt. 

As he listens to them, Aizawa gets a smirk. “You think it’s fun, huh? Fine, then. Whoever comes in last place after all eight tests will be punished with expulsion,” he announces. 

Izuku’s eyes widen and his stomach drops. He’s not going to make it. All this work, years of training, and he’s not going to make it. Aizawa meets his eyes once more and narrows them. Izuku blinks and forces himself to take a deep breath. He came first place in the practical despite being quirkless. He can avoid last place in a series of fitness tests. 

When he looks back at Aizawa, he notices the slightly sadistic grin. Izuku recognizes it as the one he gets right before a training day from Hell. That feeling of sympathy towards the other students only gets stronger. 

The 50-meter dash is up first. Izuku watches the others go as he stretches. None of his gear will help here, so he’s just going to have to run it as fast as he possibly can. He reaches up and pulls out his hearing aids, putting them into their pocket on his belt. Then he crouches at the start, his entire focus on the end goal. Paying any attention to who he's running with will only serve to distract him.

Aizawa moves so Izuku can see him wave his hand down to start. Izuku kicks off, only to fumble when an explosion goes off before his eyes and Bakugou flies ahead. His heart picks up but he forces himself to swallow down the panic and finish the dash. He doesn’t put his hearing aids back in fast enough hear what his time is and decides he doesn’t want to know. 

The ball throw is the last test. Izuku hangs back, feeling a little discouraged from the rest of the tests. He definitely did a lot better than he ever had in junior high. The summer of intense training can be thanked for that. He’s just not sure if it’s enough to keep him in the class. 

Uraraka’s throw is impressive, even if she doesn’t really throw it. Her quirk is powerful, and Izuku is glad that she’d been there to save him from hitting the ground. He should thank her properly at lunch or something. 

Before he knows it, everyone else has gone for the ball throw. “Midoriya, your turn. Hurry up so we can get to the results,” Aizawa says. 

Izuku blinks and nods a little. He can feel eyes on him as he steps into the circle. He looks down at the ball in his hand and then up at the sky, a frown on his face. “Mr. Aizawa, you might want to step aside,” he says as he pulls out one of the sonic speakers. 

Aizawa sighs and nods, stepping out of the way. Izuku thinks for a moment to figure out the timing. He needs to plant himself and flip the switch. Then he’ll only have three seconds before the speaker goes and he’ll have to get the ball into the soundwave. If he times it just right, the soundwave will carry the ball far away at the speed of sound until the speaker stops, but the ball itself will continue to fly. 

He nods after a moment, shuts off his hearing aids, and slides his left foot back in order to brace himself. Izuku takes a deep breath, holding the speaker out in front of him with his right hand. It’s at a slight upward angle so it will shoot the ball in a wide arch. He uses his thumb to switch the speaker to the third setting. Izuku then counts to three before throwing the softball into the soundwave and quickly using his left hand to brace his arm. 

As he expected, the ball shoots off into the air with the soundwave. Izuku grits his teeth, happy for the support braces on his boots, and counts down the five seconds the soundwave will last. When it ends, he drops his hand, panting and wincing at the slight stiffness of his arm. Izuku rolls his shoulder and can’t help the proud grin he gets. 

He turns his hearing aids back on and looks over at Aizawa, who nods a bit. He turns the phone around for the class to see “1750 m.” Izuku looks at it and nods, thinking that sounds about right. The rest of the class is silent and he blinks.

“Midoriya, bro, how’d you get it to go such a manly distance?” Kirishima asks, eyes wide and obviously impressed. 

Izuku blinks and looks over at Aizawa, who just shrugs and motions for him to go ahead. He lights up and holds up the speaker. “With this! It’s a sonic speaker, which means it lets out sonic strength soundwaves. It works on a delay, so once I choose a setting, I have three seconds until it goes off. I chose the strongest setting, counted to three, and then threw the ball into the soundwave right as it started. The speed of sound is three hundred forty-three meters per second. The soundwave will last for five seconds. So those two numbers times each other equals one thousand seven hundred and fifteen meters. Taking into account for the distance the ball will go before landing, that gives us the seventeen hundred and fifty-meter throw,” he explains.

When Izuku is done explaining, he notices the blank looks most of the class has and his shoulders slump a little. Mei would have been excited about that explanation, but not everyone is Mei. The only students who don’t look lost are Iida, Shouto, Tokoyami, Shouji, and Yaoyorozu. Well, at least he knows those few could appreciate the science behind his throw. 

Mineta raises his hand as he says, “Mr. Aizawa, it’s not fair that Midoriya got to use support items instead of his quirk! Shouldn’t he be the one expelled for not following instructions?”

At his words, everyone blinks and Izuku watches them all realize Mineta is right. Bakugou looks especially confused, something which Izuku just knows will lead to an angry outburst. Before anyone can say anything, though, Aizawa says, “That’s because Midoriya is quirkless.” 

There’s a moment of shocked silence before everyone screams, “WHAT?!”

Chapter Text

Thankfully, Izuku doesn’t actually have to deal with anyone’s questions until lunch. Once Aizawa releases them, though, almost half the class is surrounding his desk and he can’t really stand. “Um, hi,” he says, looking up at them all. 

“You’re quirkless and still got first place on the practical exam. How?” Iida asks curiously. 

Izuku blinks and flushes slightly. “Oh, well, one of my support items is a bo staff that can separate in two. There are buttons that release blades sharp enough to cut through most things. I figured out the weak points of all the robots and exploited them. Then I got those rescue points for taking down the zero-pointer that was going to crush Uraraka,” he explains.

“I didn’t even consider the possibility of a secondary point system. Truly, you are better than me,” Iida says, frowning a bit and Izuku wonders if he should feel guilty about that. 

“How in the world did a quirkless person even get to take the exam?” Mineta asks, his face scrunched up.

Izuku stares at him for a moment and frowns. “There’s nothing in the rule book against it,” he replies. 

“Well, there should be. Quirkless people are more of a hindrance than anything else,” Mineta says. He makes it sound like an undeniable fact and Izuku clenches his jaw, glaring at the desk. 

He can’t take this right now, so he stands up. “Excuse me,” he says, reaching up and shutting off his hearing aids before pulling them out. Izuku isn’t sure of any other way to make them realize he absolutely does not want to talk. He puts them in his pocket and gently pushes his way out of the group of people. 

In the hallway, he notices Mei and smiles, waving to her. He makes sure nobody from the group around his desk has followed him out before putting the hearing aids back in. “Hey, Mei Mei,” he says, “They found out I was quirkless.”

Mei blinks and frowns. “Do I need to punch someone?” she asks, utterly serious. 

“What? No! They were just asking questions, I guess. Let’s just go to lunch,” he says, grabbing her wrist and tugging her towards the cafeteria. 

It’s already pretty crowded when they get there. Izuku looks around with a slight frown, pausing when he notices Shouto sitting at a table by himself. He looks at Mei and nods towards the other boy. “That’s Rei’s son,” he says. 

"Oh, yeah, are you gonna tell him you know his mom?" Mei asks, looking over to where Shouto is sitting.

Izuku studies Shouto as he thinks over Mei's question. He looks lonely. Seeing Shouto by himself reminds him of how alone he was before he met Mei. He hates the thought of someone going through that, son of a friend or not. "No," he decides.

Mei glances at him. "Why not?"

"Well, it wouldn't seem like I actually wanted to be his friend. It'd sound like I was just trying to talk to him because of his mom, not because I actually want to get to know him. Besides, he hasn't seen his mom in years, right? How weird would it be for some random kid to just walk up to you, sit down, and introduce himself by saying he knows your mom? It'd be weird to me, at least. And I don't think I'd really trust that person very much. I'd constantly be wondering if they actually enjoy my company or just have to be around me because my mother asked," he explains, just speaking his own thoughts towards the end.

Mei nods along. "I see. Well, good luck! I'll grab us lunch and join you," she says, grinning as she pushes him towards the table.

Izuku rolls his eyes fondly and walks over. He sits in the seat across from Shouto, smiling at him when the other boy looks up. “Hi, you’re Shouto Todoroki, right?” he asks. 

“Yes. And you’re Izuku Midoriya. What do you want?” Shouto asks in return. 

Izuku hums softly and decides honesty is the best policy. “I want to be your friend,” he replies. 

Shouto frowns slightly. “I’m not here to make friends,” he says.

Izuku blinks at that and pouts a little, trying to figure out what to say that could get Shouto to warm up to him. Just then, Mei gets back with two trays and sits down next to him. She sets a tray in front of him and he lights up at the katsudon there. “Thanks, Mei Mei,” he says, smiling brightly as he picks up chopsticks. He looks to Shouto to introduce her but gets cut off.

“I’m Hatsume Mei, Izu’s best friend. I made all of his support gear. You’ve got the half-hot half-cold quirk, right? Have you ever considered regulators? How well can you aim your flames? What kind of strength does your ice have? Is it colder than normal ice or is it just studier?” she asks. 

Izuku notices the way Shouto seems to shut down a little and places a hand on Mei’s arm. “Maybe go a little easy on him, Mei Mei. He’s not used to rants yet,” he points out. 

“I’m not going to be used to them at all. Leave me alone,” Shouto says, glaring at the two of them. 

Izuku’s shoulders droop a little and he looks down. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy to become Shouto’s friend, but that didn’t stop him from being hopeful. “Hey, you could be a bit nicer, you know. If Izu’s trying to be your friend then you should feel honored! There’s nobody I know more supportive or encouraging or optimistic than him,” she says, voice getting louder by the end. 

Shouto blinks and narrows his eyes at the two before standing. “I don’t care. Leave me alone,” he says before picking up his tray and leaving. 

Izuku watches him go and he groans, dropping his head on the table. “I’ve failed Rei. Kill me now, please, I don't think I can stand to see her sad,” he whines. 

He feels Mei pat his back soothingly as she says, "You know it's just the first day. There's plenty of time to win him over." Suddenly she stops and shakes his shoulder instead. “Not to cut your mourning short, Izu, but that blonde kid from this morning is stomping over here and he looks pretty angry,” she says. 

Izuku’s head flies up and he looks around with wide eyes before spotting Bakugou. Seeing how angry he looks makes him panic and jump up. He'd very much like to not deal with any of Bakugou's anger directed at him ever again. The last time didn't exactly turn out so well. “Thanks for the warning, Mei Mei. I’m gonna run now,” he says. 

He waits for Mei to give him a thumbs-up before literally running out of the cafeteria. Izuku hears an angry shout from Bakugou, but he doesn’t follow. He can only assume that Mei has distracted Bakugou to give him time to escape. 

The school is still confusing and he has no clue where he’s going. It reminds him of being ten again and in the hospital. That time, he’d ended up following his instincts and had met Rei. This time, following his instincts makes him run into someone and fall on his butt. 

He blinks, dazed for a second, before looking up. The person he ran into is huge and has a giant smile on his face. “ ALL MIGHT?! Ohmigosh, I’m so sorry for running into you! Please forgive me!” he says, scrambling to his feet and bowing repeatedly in apology. 

Booming laughter makes him pause and he looks up. All Might doesn’t seem upset at all. Instead, he seems amused. “Young Midoriya! I was just looking for you,” he says. 

Izuku stares at him with wide eyes. “You were?” he asks quietly. 

All Might nods and places a hand on Izuku’s back, leading him down the hall. “I wanted to speak with you, actually. I saw your performance at the entrance exam as well as your performance in Aizawa’s little apprehension test,” he explains. 

Izuku can’t talk. He’s still a little too starstruck, so he just nods along. “I’m especially impressed that you’ve done all this quirkless. It seemed impossible, but I guess there’s a first time for everything,” he says. 

Something about that makes Izuku want to pause. He frowns slightly and is about to ask what All Might means by that when Aizawa finds them. “All Might, what are you doing with my student?” he asks. 

All Might puts his hands up, grinning good-naturedly at Aizawa. “I just wanted to tell young Midoriya here that I was impressed with his results from the entrance exam,” he explains. 

Aizawa looks at Izuku and subtly tilts his head to the side, telling him to run along. Izuku nods and bows to All Might. “Excuse me,” he says before backing away. He quickly heads down the hall and decides to just go back to the classroom. Maybe he won’t run into any more people. 

The class is empty when he gets back to it, making Izuku slump with relief. He goes to his desk and sits. Izuku feels like a lot has happened in one lunch period, but the most disappointing thing is that he’s probably made Shouto dislike him. He glances over at Shouto’s desk, wishing he knew what to do. 

“Uh, Midoriya?” a voice calls out. He looks up to the doorway and sees Uraraka. 

Izuku blinks and smiles at her. “Oh, Uraraka! I’ve been meaning to thank you for your help during the entrance exam. You really saved my life there,” he says. 

She stares at him for a moment before running over, hands slamming on his desk and eyes wide with disbelief. “I saved your life? It’s the other way around! I might not be here if you hadn’t taken down that zero-pointer. And you did it quirkless, too!” she exclaims. 

Her voice is loud enough to make Izuku wince. “It was nothing, really. I don’t get why everyone has to get so hung up on the quirkless thing,” he mutters. 

“That’s because you’re an inspiration, Izuku!” Uraraka says. He doesn’t get the chance to comment on the fact that she used his first name. Instead, she just keeps going, “Imagining how much and how hard you must have trained makes me feel inspired to push myself even harder.”

Izuku looks up at her and gets a little smile. “I had so much to catch up on if I even wanted to consider matching up to everyone here. You’re all worlds ahead of me, really. But I’m going to keep doing my best. Being here doesn’t mean I can slack off any in my normal training,” he explains. 

Uraraka stares at him before getting a determined smile and nodding. “You’re right! I’m gonna work extra hard and catch up to you, Izuku!”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Izuku watches Aizawa come into the classroom and go straight to the podium. “Today, you’ll be having a class with All Might,” he says. 

Yaoyorozu raises her hand. “Excuse me, Mr. Aizawa, should we really be starting class without Mineta?” she asks. 

Aizawa gets the same sadistic grin from the day before. “Mineta is no longer with us,” he says. Izuku blinks and glances around, notices almost all the female students let out a sigh of relief. 

“What does that mean? Is he dead or something?!” Kaminari asks, hand raised. 

“It means he’s no longer with us. That’s all you need to know. As I was saying, today you’ll be having a class with All Might,” Aizawa says. 

Just as he says that All Might burst through the door. “I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!” 

Izuku winces at his volume and reaches up, turning his hearing aids down a little. He doubts All Might is going to get that much quieter. Still, he’s excited to be taught by Japan’s number one hero. He perks up a bit in his seat, much like the other students, and leans forward on the desk to make sure he soaks up everything All Might says.

All Might struts up to the podium and stands there, fists on his hips. “I teach basic hero training. It’s where you will train in different ways to learn the basics of hero work. This is the subject you’ll take the most units in as well!” Izuku notices most of the other students nodding along. He has to admit, this is really exciting. “Today’s class will be combat training!”

Izuku blinks in confusion. As All Might speaks, panels in the wall slide out, revealing several compartments with their class number on them. He hears All Might explain that their costume requests are in the box with their number. He frowns slightly, not sure what Mei would have put in for his requests. They’d worked on it together, but Mei undoubtedly has her ways and it wouldn’t surprise him if she made last-second adjustments. 

“Get dressed and then meet me at Ground Beta!”

Izuku looks down at his costume, getting a bit of a smile. It’s the jumpsuit his mom had gotten him, a green one-piece, but with a few adjustments. There are guards along his forearms and calves so he can block hits without worrying about breaking something. His utility belt goes on over it and his red sneakers easily accommodate the leg braces. According to Mei, there should be a new version of them for him to try out soon.

He stays towards the back of the group when they get to Ground Beta. The fact that he doesn’t know what to expect makes him nervous and excited all at once. Izuku scans over everyone else’s costumes, having to do a double-take when he gets to Shouto’s. His entire left half is covered by what seems to be a huge chunk of ice formed to his body. It’s concerning and Izuku frowns at it. 

“Now, it’s time for combat training to begin!” All Might announces. 

Iida raises his hand immediately and asks, “This is one of the exam battlegrounds, right? Will we be conducting urban battles once more?”

All Might shakes his head. “No! We’re jumping ahead two steps! If you notice the ratio, the more heinous villains attack inside buildings. For today’s training, you’ll be split into two groups: heroes and villains. You’ll be fighting 2-on-2 indoor battles,” he explains. 

“Without basic training?” Asui asks. 

“The best way to understand those basics is by experiencing a real battle! This will be more than just beating up robots!”

“How will wins and losses be measured?” Yaoyorozu asks.

“Can we beat them up anyway?” Bakugo asks. 

“Will the punishment for losing be expulsion like with Mr. Aizawa?” Uraraka asks. 

“How shall we be split up?” Iida asks. 

“Isn’t this cape crazy?” Aoyama asks. 

Izuku blinks at the last question and looks over at Aoyama, taking in the way he’s showing off the very sparkly cape. He looks back at All Might and feels kind of bad for him, given all the questions being asked. 

“Listen up and I’ll answer all your questions!” All Might announces. He pulls out a little booklet and Izuku blinks when he realizes it’s a script. “Villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their hideout. The heroes are trying to dispose of that weapon. The heroes must either catch the villains or get the nuclear weapon before the allotted time is up. The villains must protect their weapon the whole time or capture the heroes. Teams and opponents will be drawn with lots!”

With that, All Might holds out a yellow box. The teams get made quickly, with Izuku being paired with Uraraka. He notices that Iida and Bakugou get teamed up and hopes that Iida will be okay. Shouto gets paired up with Shouji and Izuku will admit that he’d been hoping to team up with the other boy. 

“I’m counting on you, Izuku!” Uraraka exclaims, looking excited to be paired with him. Izuku nods a little, not really sure what to say. This whole situation is making him nervous and he’s got a feeling his luck is about to get shitty. 

All Might has two new boxes, one labeled “Hero” and the other labeled “Villain”, and he pulls out a ball from each. He holds up the “A” and “D” balls and Izuku realizes his gut had been correct. He glances over at the “D” team consisting of Bakugou and Iida. 

They’re given their assignments, Izuku and Uraraka being the heroes while Bakugou and Iida are the villains. He glances over at Bakugou, his breathing getting a little panicked at seeing the other boy glaring at him so seriously. Uraraka pulls him aside as the others head to the monitoring room. “Don’t worry, Izuku, we’ll be just fine,” she promises. 

The villain team is sent into the building first to set up, giving Izuku and Uraraka five minutes to plan. “What should we do, Izuku?” she asks. 

Izuku frowns as he thinks. “Hmm, I bet Bakugou will try to come after us and leave Iida in charge of the weapon. He seems brash enough to do that. I can distract him while you try to sneak in behind Iida and grab the weapon,” he offers. 

“Are you sure? The last time you had Bakugou’s anger directed at you, it didn’t go well,” she points out carefully. 

Izuku takes a deep breath and forces himself to smile reassuringly. He can’t be a good hero if he’s constantly afraid of going up against someone from his past. “I’ll be fine! When I do run into him, I’m going to turn off my hearing aids so I can’t hear him,” he explains. 

Uraraka looks a little less than convinced but nods anyway. “Okay, Izuku. I trust you.”

The building is quiet as he and Uraraka make their way through it. That sets Izuku on edge more than anything else. Just as they’re about to turn a corner, Bakugou jumps out from it and aims for the two, his palm sparking as he yells. 

Izuku blinks and grabs Uraraka, shoving them both out of the way of his attack. “Come on, Deku! Don’t dodge,” Bakugou growls. Izuku swallows nervously and forces himself to his feet. His whole body feels tense and the blood in his veins has gotten colder, but he can’t let himself freeze up again. 

He pushes Uraraka to the side just as Bakugou rushes him. Instead of running away, Izuku rushes in, grabbing the arm that was reaching out to attack. He slides his left foot out and flips Bakugou over his shoulder, slamming him into the floor with as much strength as he possibly can. 

Izuku drops down into a fight stance, watching warily as Bakugou stands up again. “I’m not some scared little kid you can beat up anymore! You might still call me Deku, but I still scored higher than you on the entrance exam! There’s no one here to hold me down for you, so come at me without any help this time!” he shouts, his fists tightening as his eyes narrow. He knows that he’s still shaking slightly, but it’s something he can’t help, especially when mini-explosions start to burst across Bakugou’s palms. 

“You still think you’re better than me even though you’re shaking! That’s what I fucking hate about you, Deku. You don’t know when to get out of the damn way!” Bakugou shouts back. 

Bakugou launches himself at Izuku, going for a flying kick that Izuku blocks with both arms. He’s grateful for the guards as he pushes his arms out to throw Bakugou off him. He notices Uraraka runs in the opposite direction and hopes she can find the weapon.

“You’ve got some confidence, looking away during a fight!” Bakugou tells him. He uses the momentum of the wall he gets thrown into to kick-off, flying at Izuku once more with an explosion aimed to hit him in the face. Izuku ducks and rolls out of the way, the explosion hitting the wall where his head was. 

He takes the moment of the smoke clearing to reach up and turn off his hearing aids. It’s hard to focus with Bakugou yelling at him, each word making him want to spiral down into horrible memories. Right now is about proving he’s no longer that quirkless, helpless kid that Bakugou lorded power over. He’s not helpless anymore. 

Izuku waits for the smoke to clear, letting Bakugou see him. He grits his teeth and turns, running down the hall as fast as he can and turning a corner. There’s not enough time to take his hearing aids out and he just accepts that he’ll have to fix them after the exercise. 

He slides around one more corner, panting for breath as he crouches on the ground. Fear and panic threaten to overtake him, but Izuku forces it down. He can panic once this is all over. Not now, though. Not when Bakugou is the threat. 

He feels the explosion instead of hearing it, the metal wall behind him vibrating from the force of it. Izuku jumps up and pulls the staff off his utility belt, twisting it in half. He doesn’t bring out the blades, not wanting to cause lasting damage. Though, he’s sure the same can’t be said for Bakugou. 

Izuku turns the corner and blinks at seeing Bakugou already there. He furrows his eyebrows and crouches, clubs at the ready. “C’mon! I’m not scared of you anymore!” he shouts. 

He can’t hear Bakugou’s response, but he sees him raise his hand, the grenade shaped gauntlet flashing red. Bakugou reaches up and cocks it before pulling out the pin. Izuku’s eyes widen when, a second later, a huge, concentrated explosion shoots out at him. 

Izuku quickly raises his arms over his face, crouching into a ball. He still gets thrown back by the impact, landing painfully on his back a few feet away. Air is forced out of his lungs on impact and it makes him painfully breathless. Some of the explosion must catch a few strands of hair because he can smell the all too familiar singed scent of it. That alone threatens to send him into a spiral, but he shakes his head. His eyes can tear up all they want, but he refuses to let himself freeze up in this fight. 

The explosion causes the wall behind him to blow outwards. Fresh air floods the hallway, helping Izuku just a bit. He pushes himself up, relieved that he’d managed to hold onto the clubs. As the smoke clears, he sees Bakugou walking towards him. The gauntlet on his right hand is flashing red now. It’s all too familiar, too like that day so many years ago, but worse because of how much Bakugou’s power has grown since then. 

Bakugou has a wide sadistic grin as he faces Izuku. Adrenaline floods through him, forcing him to get up despite his shaking limbs. He can’t hear what Bakugou says. He wouldn’t have been able to even if his hearing aids had been on, the ringing in his ears louder than it’s ever been. Izuku connects his clubs and presses the button that extends it into a bo staff. He shifts his hold on the staff, ready to force Bakugou into keeping this a long-range fight.

All Might must be saying something to Bakugou via his earpiece, because he looks up and to the side. If anything, Bakugou looks even angrier now. He shoots off towards Izuku, his face looking murderous.

Izuku lowers his stance and watches Bakugou. He’s about to go for a counterstrike when Bakugou creates a small explosion right in front of Izuku’s face. He rears back and notices the other boy vaulting over him. He’s too high up to punch, but Izuku traces his trajectory in his mind. He shifts his grip on the staff, spinning on his back foot to meet Bakugou’s. 

In the air, Bakugou’s legs are spread from the vault and he’s at a weird angle above him. Izuku’s eyes narrow and he swings his staff through the air, aiming for the easiest to hit target. He feels the staff hit something solid, and moves with the momentum of his swing, throwing Bakugou to the floor once more. 

Izuku pants, staff raised and ready to go again as he looks at Bakugou. He blinks when he realizes that Bakugou is curled up into a ball, holding his crotch with tears streaming down his face. He stares down at him, needing a moment to comprehend what exactly happened before he jumps into action and quickly wraps Bakugou up in the capture tape. 

Once Bakugou is secure, Izuku reaches up and turns his hearing aids back on, wincing at the feedback he gets. He figures that Iida and Uraraka must be on a top floor, so he starts to run up the first set of stairs he finds. He’s not sure how much time is left, but he hopes it’s enough to help. 

When he finally manages to hear Iida yelling at Uraraka, he bursts into the room where Iida is guarding the warhead. He sees Iida hugging the warhead and runs towards him, twisting the staff in half and pulling it apart once more. “IIDA!” he shouts, getting the other’s attention. 

The only choices Iida has are to stand and fight or run away. Either way, his attention is taken off of the warhead. He chooses to fight and powers up his legs to rush Izuku. Luckily, Uraraka sees it as the opportunity it is. Izuku watches her make herself weightless and crouch against a pillar. 

Iida charges him and Izuku lets himself get tackled, gasping out in pain. He quickly wraps all his limbs around Iida, yanking on him to get him off balance. They fall to the ground, Izuku on the bottom and taking the brunt of the weight of Iida’s armor. His vision blurs, but he doesn’t let go of Iida. 

He turns his head in time to see Uraraka push off from the column, floating towards the warhead as fast as she can. She releases herself just in time to fall onto the weapon, officially “retrieving” it. Izuku manages a smile, hearing All Might’s excited, “HERO TEAM WINS!!!” coming from Iida’s earpiece. Then, the world goes black.

Chapter Text

When Izuku gains consciousness, everything is absolutely silent. It’s one of those rare times that his ears aren’t ringing. Usually, he takes a second to appreciate that, but memories of exactly why he’d passed out flood through him and Izuku’s eyes fly open. 

He blinks, staring at the white ceiling above him. It’s familiar in the way that only hospitals feel. God, he hopes he isn’t in a hospital. Izuku glances around and realizes he’s actually just in the U.A. infirmary. He sighs with relief and carefully pushes himself up.

Immediately, his head spins and Izuku squeezes his eyes shut. He holds his head in his hands, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. It only takes him a few seconds to do so, which is a bit surprising. Somehow, despite the promise to himself that he could panic after the fight, he doesn’t feel the need to. Maybe he freaked out in his sleep. Or maybe it’s just waiting to catch him off guard. Either way, he’s glad it’s not happening right now. 

Izuku looks up and looks around, noticing his hearing aids on the nightstand next to the bed. He grabs them and puts the right one in first, turning it on to test that it still works well enough. When he only gets feedback for a few seconds, he puts the other one in. They both work and Izuku smiles softly with relief. 

“I see you’re finally awake,” Recovery Girl says as she walks over to his bed. 

He blinks and looks at her. The last time they’d met had been at the entrance exam, but he hadn’t heard her voice yet. “Oh, yeah, thanks for taking care of me. How long have I been here?” he asks. 

Recovery Girl frowns a little as she checks him over. “About a day. We had to keep you overnight because you started thrashing in your sleep. You said some worrying things, you know,” she tells him, looking up with a knowing glint in her eyes. 

Izuku quickly looks away, annoyed with how everyone keeps trying to find out about his past. He can’t exactly say he’s done with it, but he wants to be. How can he do that if everyone keeps bringing it up? “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I get nightmares,” he replies. 

He feels a gentle hand on his cheek, fingers just barely reaching where his scar reaches out. “Nightmares or memories, Midoriya?” she asks. 

The question makes Izuku jerk backward. “It’s nothing important. Am I allowed to leave?” he asks.

Recovery Girl looks like she wants to say no, but he supposes there’s no real reason to keep him there any longer. “Your mother came by with a change of clothes for you. You can use the bathroom to make yourself presentable and then go. Everyone should be at lunch right now,” she says, pointing to the canvas bag sitting next to his backpack on the floor by the bed.

With a nod, Izuku grabs the bag and gets up. He feels dizzy for a moment and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opens his eyes, he smiles reassuringly at Recovery Girl before heading over to the bathroom. 

Inside the bag is a change of clothes, a hairbrush, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. His mom really thought of everything, huh? Izuku smiles and pulls out the hearing aids, setting them on top of the clothes in his bag, then washes his face. 

He can’t believe he was kept here overnight. His mom must have been worried sick about him. Izuku frowns a little at the thought as he looks at himself in the mirror. He’ll have to call her when he gets the chance. Or text her, at least. 

Once his face is pat dry, Izuku puts the hearing aids back in and changes into his clothes. He’s only just put the dirty ones back into the bag when an alarm starts to go off. At first, he wonders if it’s the normal ringing, but realizes there’s too much of a pattern for that to be the case. 

He opens the door and looks over to Recovery Girl. “What’s going on?” he asks.

“It’s the alarm for trespassers. Normally, I’d have you evacuate, too, but according to Nezu, it’s only the press. There’s no need to panic,” she says.

Izuku slowly nods, hearing absolute panic outside the doors now that he thinks to listen. “What about everyone else?” he asks, looking over at the doors. He wonders if Recovery Girl would allow him to go out into the hall and tell them everything’s fine. 

He doesn’t get the chance to ask because she pushes him gently towards the bed again. “Don’t worry about them. You sit down and wait for the alarm to stop. I’ll let you go to class then,” she says. 

Izuku sighs but doesn’t argue. Instead, he takes the chance to text his mom and thank her for the clothes. She responds almost immediately and Izuku can just visualize the relieved tears she’s crying. He feels bad for making her worry, but there’s not much he can do to change what happened. 

The alarms stop a few minutes later and the shouting in the hallway dies down a bit after that. Izuku blinks when he realizes and looks up at Recovery Girl hopefully. She sighs, pulls out something in a plastic package, and goes over to him. “You missed lunch, so eat this on the way to class,” she tells him, holding out a meat bun. 

Izuku smiles blindingly at her and takes it. “I will, thank you!” he says, bowing to her before he runs out of the infirmary. He tears into the meat bun, walking slow enough to finish it by the time he gets to the classroom. The fact that he’s going to be entering while everyone else is already sitting down doesn’t occur to him until he’s opened the door. 

Yaoyorozu is standing at the front of the class, but everyone else is sitting at their desks. They’re all looking at him now that he’s standing in the doorway. Izuku tenses slightly and manages a shaky smile. “Um, sorry for interrupting,” he says. 

“No, you’re actually just in time, Midoriya. You were voted class rep and now we need to pick the other officers,” Yaoyorozu explains. 

Izuku blinks and looks around at the others in the class, a little panicked at the sudden information. Uraraka smiles apologetically at him. “I nominated you, Izuku. You were just so cool during the combat exercise,” she explains. 

He doesn’t get the chance to answer before Yaoyorozu is leading him up to the front of the class as well. Izuku stares at his classmates for a moment, looking around. “Thank you, but I can’t accept. If it’s okay, I’d like to nominate Iida. Every time I see him, he’s trying to do what’s best for the class and our education, so I think he’d make a much better rep,” he says. 

Everyone starts talking and Izuku is relieved to hear that most of them are agreeing. He hears something about Iida looking like the guy who calmed everyone down but doesn’t really know what that means at all. 

A tired voice from his right says, “You’re wasting time. Just hurry up and do whatever you’re going to do.” 

Izuku looks over and isn’t too surprised to see Aizawa in his sleeping bag. He smiles a bit in amusement and looks back at the class. Iida is standing now with a determined glint in his eyes. “If the class rep has nominated me, then I must accept. I, Iida Tenya, will do my best to carry out my duties as the class representative,” he announces. 

Iida’s excitement makes Izuku smile a bit more and he steps down, gesturing for Iida to take his spot at the front of the room. He heads back to his seat, forcing him to not look at Bakugou despite feeling the glare from him. 

When he sits, he notices Shouto glance over at him with what might be worry. Izuku smiles reassuringly. “I’m fine,” he whispers. 

“I didn’t ask.”

Shouto looks away after that, back to the board and Izuku slumps slightly. Getting to be his friend is definitely going to be harder than he thought. 

Aizawa stands at the podium and looks over the class, frowning slightly at seeing the discouraged look on the problem child’s face. He doesn’t need to think too hard to find the reason for it. He knows about the promise Izuku made to Rei.

Putting Izuku at the back of the class had to happen. For the most part, he knows the boy wouldn’t have been able to focus at all if Bakugou wasn’t within his sights. He’d have been too nervous, despite his insistence otherwise. It was just lucky that Mineta is gone and it wasn’t too difficult to rearrange the seating to place Izuku at the back, next to Shouto. 

Huffing softly, Aizawa looks at the other students. “Today we’ll be doing rescue training. The facility is off-campus. Decide if you want to wear your costumes or not. Meet me at the bus in ten minutes,” he tells them, opening the panels for them to grab their costumes. 

He spares one more glance at Izuku before leaving the room and heading to the bus. There are so many ways for a problem child to get into trouble during rescue training.

Chapter Text

Izuku feels bad for Iida on the bus ride over. He’d tried hard to make them all file into the bus in pairs, but the bus seats had made that kind of useless. He’d ended up sitting between Satou and Asui, watching Iida with a sympathetic smile. 

“I tend to say whatever comes to mind,” Asui says before looking over at him. “Midoriya, a lot of people think you shouldn’t be a hero because you’re quirkless.”

Izuku blinks, staring at Asui. “I’ve heard that all my life, but I’m not going to let that stop me, Asui,” he replies. 

“Please, call me Tsu.”

Kirishima leans over with a grin. “It’s super impressive, though! You came in first place at the practical and beat Bakugou without a quirk!” he says. 

Izuku flushes slightly and looks away. “I’ve just had a lot of training. Since I was ten, actually, I’ve been training for the entrance exam,” he explains. 

“That’s impressive, Midoriya! I must admit, when I first saw you at the entrance exam, I thought it was unethical of you to have so many support items already. Especially when that Hatsume girl brought you even more. Now, though, I see it was just to level the playing field so you could compete,” Iida says. 

“Oh, yeah, Mei Mei has been making me support items since we were twelve. She’s one of the first people who believed I could be a hero despite the quirklessness,” Izuku says, getting a fond smile at the memory of first meeting Mei.

“Hey, how did you manage to come in first place anyway? Those robots were tough to beat,” Ashido says, tilting her head as she tries to think about it. 

Izuku blinks and lights up. “Oh! That was easy! See, all robots have weaknesses, you just need to know where to look for them. I’ve grown up with Mei Mei constantly talking to me about inventing and robotics and eventually you start to understand things you never thought you could. So the robots at the practical had chinks in their armor. All the openings that allowed them to move were also their weaknesses because they allowed me to access their wiring and disable them,” he explains. 

“Oi! Shut the fuck up with your nerd rant!” Bakugou shouts, scowling at Izuku. 

Kirishima looks over. “You’ve got a real flashy quirk, man. It's obvious how you did so good! Don’t get so upset that we wanna know about Midoriya,” he says, smiling at him. 

“Bakugou has a nice quirk, but it’s hard to be popular if he comes off as angry all the time,” Tsuyu points out. 

“What the hell?! You wanna fight?!” Bakugou asks. 

“See?” Tsuyu says, pointing over at him and looking at Izuku. 

Izuku tenses up as the others start to tease Bakugou. He can’t believe what he’s seeing. He never thought there’d come a day when someone could make fun of Bakugou and not get the living daylights beat out of them for it. 

He notices Tsuyu staring at him thoughtfully and blinks. “Sorry,” he says, looking away. 

Before she can say anything, Aizawa looks to the class. “We’re here. Stop messing around,” he tells them.

The class quiets down and Izuku watches the dome of the training facility come into view, excited to learn another part of hero work.

Their second instructor meets them inside. They’re wearing a spacesuit and their voice comes through it a little bit muffled. Izuku has to stand towards the front to hear properly, but he’s still excited to be taught by Thirteen. 

The inside of the USJ is huge, with several different areas that offer varying terrains for rescue missions. Looking around with wide eyes, Izuku spots the water rescue area and pauses. He’ll just have to pull out his hearing aids or something if he works over there. It’ll be inconvenient, but he’ll work it out.

Thirteen turns to face them before they head down the stairs. “A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, etc. Welcome to the training ground I designed with different types of disasters in mind. Welcome to the USJ!” Thirteen announces. 

Aizawa walks over to the space hero. “Has All Might arrived yet? He’s supposed to meet us here,” he says.

Izuku can’t really hear the response because Thirteen leans in and talks quietly. He does see them hold up three fingers, though, and wonders what that’s about. “He said he should be here towards the end, though,” Thirteen says, this time loud enough for Izuku to catch. 

“It can’t be helped. Let’s begin, then,” Aizawa says. 

Thirteen nods and turns to the class. “Before we begin, let me say a few things. You all know my quirk, Black Hole, right? I can suck up anything and turn it to dust. It’s a power that has allowed me to save people from many disasters. But it’s also a power that could easily be used to kill. Some of you have quirks like that too, right? In our society, quirks are very heavily regulated, so it doesn’t seem like an issue at first. 

“But don’t forget, many quirks could kill with one wrong step. Your training before this has revealed the limits of your abilities and the dangers of fighting using these quirks. Think of this class as a fresh start. You will use your quirks to save lives. These powers you have are not to harm others. I hope by the time you leave, you’ll understand how to use those powers to save people. 

“That is all. Thank you for listening!” Thirteen bows at the end of their speech and Izuku claps with the rest of the class. Their words made sense, especially when he thinks of how easy it would have been for Bakugou to kill him at their training. He can’t let that discourage him, though. 

Before Aizawa can get them started, the electricity in the dome short circuits. Izuku blinks and looks up with a frown before turning to Aizawa. The dark mist opening in front of the fountain at the bottom of the stairs makes his eyes widen. “Aizawa! The fountain!” he shouts. 

Aizawa turns and Izuku can’t see his expression as someone starts to emerge from the mist. He does see the way he tenses, though. “Everyone! Gather together and don’t move!” he orders. “Thirteen, protect them!”

Izuku blinks and takes a step forward when he sees more people emerging from the mist. “Don’t move! Those are villains,” Aizawa says, pulling his visor on. Izuku takes a step back, bumping into Iida on accident. 

Even more villains come out of the mist. There's a weird looking one, standing taller than the rest. Their brain is exposed and Izuku feels his heart jump into his throat. He wishes Mei was there, but he knows wishes are useless right now. 

He reaches down and unclips his staff from his belt. Twisting them apart, he grips the two halves tightly. Hopefully, it won’t be necessary, but there’s no harm in being ready. “Stay together!” Aizawa orders once more. 

Izuku knows he’s going to disobey that order. 

Chapter Text

Izuku can’t hear what the villains are saying. The main one has hands covering him all over and the one over his face keeps Izuku from trying to read his lips. The other students manage to hear, though. “All Might? They came for All Might?” Jirou says, her voice shaking slightly in fear. 

He understands the fear. It’s pounding with his blood through his veins. That feeling is familiar to him, though. This kind of fear, he’s been dealing with it a lot more in the past few days. That fear of thinking what you see in front of you might be the last thing you ever see. Before coming to U.A., the last time he’d faced that kind of fear was four years ago. 

Izuku is so tired of that fear controlling his life. 

Aizawa’s capture gear rises in the air around him as he gets ready to head down the stairs to meet the villains head-on. There’s so many of them and he’s only one man, something that makes worry settle deep into Izuku’s bones. 

“Thirteen, I thought there were sensors to watch for villains,” Yaoyorozu says. 

The space hero turns to face them and nods. “There are, usually,” they say. 

“Did they appear only here, or around the whole school? If the sensors aren’t responding, they must have someone with them with a quirk to take care of it. They’re foolish, but not dumb, considering they attacked an isolated campus where only one class of students were supposed to be present. They must have some goal in mind,” Shouto says, frowning a little.

The villains are approaching the stairs now, seeming unafraid of the pro heroes there. Aizawa steps forward. “Thirteen, try to evacuate the students and try to contact the school. Kaminari, see if you can contact the school with your quirk, too.”

Izuku can’t help himself. He steps forward again. “Aizawa, what about you? Are you really going to face all those villains by yourself?” he demands, hands shaking with how tight he’s gripping his clubs. “With that many, you’ll get overwhelmed sooner or later.”

He can see the way some of the students balk at how informally he addresses their teacher. Izuku doesn’t care right now. “I’ve got more than one trick up my sleeve, problem child,” he says before turning to Thirteen. “I’m leaving them to you.” 

With that, Izuku watches as Aizawa jumps down the stairs, flying to meet the villains head-on. He stares after his teacher, half-tempted to run down after him. “This is no time to analyze! Hurry up and take shelter!” Iida calls to him. 

Izuku turns and nods, reluctantly running after the rest of the group as he returns the staff to his belt. They’ve barely made it halfway to the door when black mist appears on the ground before them. A villain that seems to be made of the mist, no more than a vaguely person-shaped mass of air, rises up from the portal. “I won’t let you,” the mist says.

It rises above the class, looking down at all of them. Thirteen tenses as it speaks, “Nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It might be presumptuous of us, but we have come into this hero high school to make sure All Might, the Symbol of Peace, takes his last breath today. I believe All Might should have been here. Was there some kind of change?” 

Nobody answers, all of them tensing up and getting ready to defend themselves. Izuku watches the villain closely as it spreads what might be its arms. “That is unimportant to this moment. I have a different part to play here.”

Thirteen moves to hold a hand out, but they get cut off by both Kirishima and Bakugou rushing the villain. Bakugou aims an explosion at the mist, causing smoke to fill the area. “Did you really not think you’d have to get through us first?” Kirishima calls out. They both have confident looks, but Izuku gets a bad feeling. 

This feeling is only confirmed when the smoke clears to reveal the villain undamaged. “Oh dear, that’s dangerous. But still, you make excellent diversions.”

“You two! Move out of the way!” Thirteen calls. Bakugou and Kirishima turn back to look at the space hero, starting to take steps to get out of their way. 

“My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!” the mist announces. With that, the mist shoots out and surrounds them in inky blackness. It rushes over and around them like wind, making Izuku feel like he’s going to be blown away any second now. The next thing he knows, he’s been thrown off balance. 

Izuku feels himself falling and moves his arms away from his face. He finds himself in the air, being shoved out of a portal directly above the water in the shipwreck area. His heart stops as he plummets towards the huge pool. Izuku reaches up to his ears, scrambling to pull out the hearing aids. 

There’s no way the two aids will survive the water, but they’ll definitely short circuit upon impact. Even that tiny bit of electricity might be dangerous in the water. Izuku’s panting, just managing to get the hearing aids out before he hits the water. He takes in as much last-minute air as he can, but he already knows it isn’t enough. 

He’s getting zapped by his hearing aids. It’s nothing all that strong, at least not when compared to Mei’s cattle prods attempt, but it still hurts. Izuku forces himself to let go, watching the hearing aids sink to the bottom of the pool far below him. 

That ringing is all he can hear now as he pushes himself towards the surface. His mind races, trying to think of a plan for getting out of the water and helping to get the others safe. He feels a disturbance in the water before he sees a shark-faced villain shooting straight for him. Izuku opens his mouth to scream on instinct, quickly covering it when water rushes in. 

There’s nothing he can do. His sonic speakers won’t work. Sure, the compartments on his belt are waterproof, but the moment he opens them the speakers are ruined. Izuku squeezes his eyes shut, bracing for impact and pain. When he feels another rush of water wash over him from the side, he opens his eyes, never more relieved to see Tsuyu in his life. 

She kicks the villain off course and then looks over at Izuku. Her mouth moves and Izuku thinks she says his name, but he really can’t tell for all the bubbles in the water. Then her tongue shoots out, wraps around him, and she shoots through the water towards the surface. Izuku is dragged along behind her, but can’t complain since it means he’ll get air faster. 

When he breaks the surface, he gulps in air as quickly as he can. Tsuyu places him in the ship they surface near before climbing up herself. Izuku sits up as she comes over the side of the ship, dropping onto the deck. “Thanks, Tsu,” he says. 

She replies, but her tongue sticking out makes it impossible to read lips. Izuku blinks and reaches up on instinct to turn his hearing aids on. His fingers twitch when there’s nothing there. He feels empty as he looks over towards the water, the gravity of the situation hitting him. 

His hearing aids are gone. At the bottom of the pool and absolutely dead. There’s no way to salvage them. His mom doesn’t have money for new ones. Izuku is completely and utterly deaf for the rest of this villain attack. 

He starts to shake, gulping in air but never feeling like it’s enough. Izuku puts his hands over his ears, for some reason thinking his hearing aids will appear magically if he just wishes hard enough. 

A tongue smacks into his face and Izuku blinks, slowly looking over at Tsuyu. She’s got a sympathetic look, but determination in her eyes. She stands, pulls Izuku to his feet, and points out to the water. Multiple villains are swimming rapidly towards the ship and Izuku knows this isn’t the time to panic. 

He nods, starting to think as quickly as he can. The ship is in the middle of the water, which puts them at a slight disadvantage when it comes to actually getting away. He looks over at Tsuyu and blinks as he realizes something. “They don’t know our quirks,” he says. 

Tsuyu pauses and looks over, tilting her head in a slightly exaggerated manner to show her confusion. Honestly, Izuku appreciates the gesture. He really is just working off facial expressions right now. “They don’t know our quirks. If they did, they definitely wouldn’t have sent you to the shipwreck area. You’d have been sent to the fire or the landslide. It puts us at an advantage. They think sheer number will be enough to take us out,” he explains. 

Izuku watches as Tsuyu’s eyes flash in understanding and she nods. He crouches and forces himself to think of how they can get out of this situation. They need to run, really. Incapacitating the villains would be the best thing, but the important part is getting safe. Before he can even start to form a plan, the boat rocks dangerously and tilts. 

He looks up, seeing a giant hand made of water pull away from the ship that's now cut in two. Izuku stares for a moment, realizing the villains are trying to get them into the water to attack. He looks over at Tsuyu, who’s staring at the villains. “Tsu. You’re basically like a frog, right?” he asks. 

She nods and Izuku stands, opening one of the pouches on his belt. He pulls out a sonic speaker and takes a deep breath. “You can jump really high, even while carrying me, can’t you?” he asks. 

Tsuyu thinks for a moment before nodding again. “Good. Wrap your tongue around me and then let me get on your back. When I say go, jump as high as you can. I’ll put the sonic speaker on the highest level and aim it at the water. The concentrated soundwave should cause a whirlpool to trap the villains,” he explains. He’s trying to keep his voice quieter, just in case any of the villains can hear. He can only hope it works. 

Tsuyu gets a smile and nods. Her tongue shoots out and wraps around Izuku. Once it’s secure, he looks around and notices ice at the landslide zone. That’s as good a place as any to aim for, so he grabs Tsuyu and adjusts her stance, their backs now to the landslide. Tsuyu crouches and nods for him to get on her back. Izuku climbs on, holding tightly. 

He feels Tsuyu tense up beneath him, ready to jump when he says to. Izuku watches the water below them get closer as the ship sinks. He strengthens his grip on the sonic speaker and gets ready to switch it to the third setting. “Jump!” he shouts. 

Tsuyu springs into the air and Izuku flips the switch a second later. He takes the three seconds they get to wrap his legs around Tsuyu’s waist and hold the speaker out with both hands. It’s aimed at an angle towards the water, just enough to blast them towards the landslide area. 

The soundwave bursts through the speaker and he sees Tsuyu wince at the volume. He can’t hear it, but it still makes his ears ache. It works as planned, though, and a whirlpool traps the villains as Izuku and Tsuyu fly through the air towards the landslide zone. 

For a moment, Izuku doesn’t realize the vibrations he’s feeling are coming from his own throat as he screams. He instinctively flips the switch to turn the speaker off, which means they’re now free-falling through the air. Izuku feels Tsuyu’s tongue loosen its hold and his heart jumps into his throat as he falls out of her grip. 

He looks down and the ground is hurtling towards him.

Chapter Text

When Shouto realizes he’s falling through the air, he thrusts his right hand out, creating a ramp of ice to slide down. It wouldn’t do to be injured and unable to defeat the villains that will, undoubtedly, meet him on the ground. He takes in the zone he was transported to, realizing it’s the landslide one. Shouto frowns. 

The landslide zone is, arguably, one of the best for his ice quirk. There’s plenty of foundation for his ice to spread across. Not much is going to hinder his movements since he can just slide down the side of the mountain by icing it down. It seems foolish to have sent him here instead of someplace more advantageous against his quirk, like the windstorm zone. 

Villains attempt to rush Shouto the moment he hits the ground and he huffs, more annoyed than anything else. Ice encases them all, making them immobile. “I hate to say this, but you just look like a bunch of guys with quirks you don’t know what to do with,” he says, looking over the group with an unimpressed expression.

Shouto sighs and makes his way through the frozen villains. He can’t help hearing them talk about him, but does his best to ignore. He’s starting to rethink just how thought out this plan of the villains’ is. Obviously, they only got as far as knowing All Might should have been here. 

A villain jumps out at him from behind a rock while he senses another one trying to rush him from behind. Shouto steps out of the way, ice shooting from his foot on the ground to freeze the villain at the front and grabbing the staff of the villain from behind. 

If these villains were smarter, they’d stop trying to attack him head-on. Something smarter, sneakier, would be much more effective. With only four or five actually dangerous villains, the rest of them can only be called thugs. As useless as they are, though, these thugs might have information that could help him. After all, if they’ve come all this way here, they must have something that gives them the ability to take out the Symbol of Peace.

Shouto looks at the villain who’d attacked from the front. “Hey, at this rate, your cells will slowly die. I’d like to avoid something that cruel, since I want to be a hero,” he says, holding a frosted over hand out in front of the villain’s exposed face. He might want to avoid it, but that doesn’t mean he can’t use it as a threat. “On what basis do you think you can kill All Might?”

A sonic boom distracts Shouto from his interrogation. He blinks and looks over to the shipwreck zone where the sound came from. Shouto’s eyes widen slightly as he sees two green dots flying through the air towards the landslide zone. He tries to trace the trajectory of the two and runs to be able to catch them. 

Shouto blinks when he sees one of the specs let go of the other. He’s close enough now to see Asui’s tongue shoot back out to catch Midoriya, only to miss. She can’t risk trying to catch the screaming boy if she wants to land safely. Instead, her tongue shoots out again and wraps around a pole sticking up from the ground. 

No more than a glance is needed for Shouto to know that Asui is going to be fine. The only one in any real danger right now is Midoriya. Shouto pushes himself faster, getting closer before he uses an ice blast to push himself into the air. He puts as much strength into jumping off the end of the ice when he’s high enough, crashing into Midoriya midair. 

He creates a ramp once more, sliding down it to the ground. When Shouto makes it to solid ground, he pants, crouched slightly to accommodate the slightly rough landing. “Midoriya,” he says after a moment, looking down. 

Midoriya had ended up in a bridal carry, arms wrapped around Shouto’s neck and holding on tightly, burying his face in Shouto’s shoulder. He’s shaking and that worries Shouto more than anything else. This close, he can hear Midoriya making quiet, scared noises. It’s unsettling to see someone who’s usually so positive look so absolutely terrified. 

Shouto tries to set him down, but Midoriya only tightens his hold. “Please, don’t, please, I can’t,” Midoriya whispers. He’s trying to breathe, but Shouto thinks it’s a little too labored to be considered normal. Sure, he did basically just free fall for a few seconds, but he should know that he’s safe now. 

“You’re fine, Midoriya,” he tells him. He doesn’t get any indication that his words were heard and he blinks. 

“His hearing aids are currently at the bottom of the shipwreck zone’s pool. Izuku can’t hear anything right now,” Asui says as she hops over to them. She frowns in clear worry. “It’s weird to see him like this. He started to panic on the ship, but was able to avoid it when I pointed out the villains getting ready to attack us.”

Shouto frowns and straightens up slightly. “Does he not have backup hearing aids?” he asks. 

Asui shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so. He wouldn’t have panicked so badly if he did,” she says. She watches Midoriya, humming softly. “You know, he realized the villains don’t know any of our quirks. And then figured out a way for us to escape while not getting hurt and incapacitating the villains at the same time. It’s impressive, given how useless his quirklessness should make him.”

He hates to admit it, but Asui is right. Midoriya is pretty impressive given the fact that he doesn’t have a quirk. How much training must he have gone through in order to come in first place on the practical? Not to mention the successful plans he comes up with under pressure. “How?” Shouto asks, looking up at Asui. 

“He had me wrap my tongue around him and then jump into the air. Then he used that speaker to send us flying, but aimed it at the pool so the villains would get trapped in the whirlpool. I’m not too used to getting sent through the air, so I’m afraid I let go without meaning to. It’s a good thing you were here to catch him, Todoroki,” Asui explains.

By the time Asui has finished explaining things, Midoriya has calmed down significantly. Shouto doesn’t really want to set him down if he’s not ready, but his arms are starting to strain a bit. Though, before he can start to lower Midoriya again, the boy in his arms stiffens and jerks away to look up at him. 

Shouto blinks, staring into Midoriya’s wide and slightly panicked green eyes. Neither of them say anything for a moment and Shouto notices that Midoriya’s face keeps getting redder and redder. His own face heats up a little in response. 

Asui clears her throat and Shouto breaks eye contact, looking over at her. She has a knowing look, but Shouto doesn’t know what she’s got that look about. Midoriya quickly jumps out of his arms, taking a few steps away and avoiding looking at him. For a second, Shouto thinks he misses the weight of Midoriya in his arms. He quickly shoves that thought away, never to see the light of day again.

“Th-Thanks, Todoroki,” Midoriya manages, his voice cracking slightly and Shouto wishes he knew why. 

Chapter Text

Izuku doesn’t know if the pounding in his chest is from adrenaline or something else, but it’s not really something he can focus on right now. He turns, taking in where they are and how much of the rest of the USJ they can see. The three of them are near the bottom of the landslide, close enough to have a view of the facility’s center. For a moment, Izuku wishes they didn’t. 

On the ground by the fountain, that villain with the exposed brain is crouching over Aizawa, twisting his teacher’s arm backwards at a painful angle. It’s clearly already broke and there’s blood everywhere, but Izuku can’t tell where Aizawa himself is bleeding. Before both of them is the villain with hands covering his body. The one on his face is moving slightly, but Izuku doesn’t really know if that means he’s talking or not. 

He feels himself take a jerky step towards the three. He takes another, pulling his staff off his belt. Izuku takes a third step, feeling more angry than scared now as he twists the staff into two halves. How dare this villain think he can waltz in here and hurt his friends, hurt his teachers, and get away without a single scratch. 

A cold hand grabs his right arm while something wraps around his middle. Izuku whips around, ready to attack, but stops when he sees it’s just Shouto and Tsuyu. “They’re hurting Aizawa. Let me go,” he says. Their grips tighten and Izuku wants to scream in frustration. 

Tsuyu says something to Shouto, who nods in agreement. Before Izuku can jerk away, Shouto is pushing up the sleeve of his jumpsuit. He starts to trace something on his arm and it takes a moment to realize he’s tracing out letters. 

P L A N

Oh. They’re not stopping him, they’re forcing him to think before going. Izuku closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before nodding, looking up at the two. They let go but seem ready to grab him again just in case. 

“A sonic speaker won’t work here. It could hurt Aizawa even more and damage his hearing. If that big one was able to take him down, then it’s nothing to laugh at, but we need to make sure the other villain is restrained. We don’t know his quirk, but we’ll just have to work around that. Sho-Todoroki, would you be able to freeze him?”

If Shouto notices the slip, he doesn’t give off any indication. Instead, he just nods once. He glances over at the fountain behind Izuku, apparently taking in the area around the standing villain. 

“Good. I’ll go down there and distract the smaller villain. I think he’s the one in charge, so getting him out first is important. While I’m doing that, Todoroki can come in from the side or from behind and freeze him. Hopefully, that bigger villain will get up to help and that’s when Tsuyu will grab Aizawa with her tongue.”

The two look back at him, Izuku only knowing they’re skeptical because of Tsuyu’s expression. Shouto’s is blank and that makes Izuku swear he’s going to break down those emotional walls and befriend this boy no matter what. 

He looks between the two and guesses, “What if it doesn’t get up?”

Shouto nods once and Izuku frowns slightly. “Then I’ll rush it and make it let go of Aizawa.”

He holds up his clubs and presses the release on the blades, sliding them out of the ends. Izuku looks between the two. “Everything has a weakness. What’s a villain compared to a robot when someone is in danger?” he asks. 

At the very least, they don’t seem to object this time. Instead, Tsuyu nods and they both look at Shouto. He seems like he’s a bit unsure of the plan but eventually nods as well. Izuku smiles reassuringly at him before turning. He sheathes the blades once more, deciding to keep them as a surprise factor. With that, he spares one more glance for Shouto and Tsuyu before heading down to the center of the USJ.

It feels only natural that they don’t even get a chance to enact their plan. Instead, they’ve only just made it to the bottom of the landslide when the mist villain from before shows up next to the smaller one. Izuku figures the conversation must not be good since the hand villain starts scratching at his neck frantically. 

Suddenly, he stops and turns towards the three of them. Izuku tenses up and notices Shouto and Tsuyu doing the same out of the corner of his eyes. Before they can even think, the villain is right in front of them, hand reaching out and covering Tsuyu’s face. 

When nothing immediately happens, Izuku glances over to see Aizawa’s eyes glowing red. The hand villain does the same, pulling away slightly in surprise. Aizawa is cutting off the quirk, but the big villain raises his head slightly before slamming it down. Izuku looks at the hand villain and raises his right club, intending to bring it down on the villain's arm. The blade is released since Izuku figures that the villain can't use his quirk if he doesn't have a hand. It doesn’t make contact with him, though. 

Instead, that huge villain that smashed Aizawa’s head into the ground somehow moves fast enough to intercept the move. His blade cuts through the villain, but Izuku didn’t put in enough force for someone so big. 

He feels the air behind him grow colder as the huge villain grabs his arm painfully. Izuku cries out, knowing exactly how much damage can be done to him. A huge hand looms closer towards his head and Izuku can barely think. He wants Shouto to run, but he doesn’t know if he’s actually managed to scream it at him or not. 

For a second, he sees moments of his life flashing in front of him. The doctor when he was six, the classroom when everyone found out he was quirkless, the red eyes above him when he’s ten, Present Mic and a colorful hospital playroom, a blue sky and Aizawa, a sparking robotic cat, heterochromatic eyes staring into his own. All the things he’s done in his life had led him to this singular moment. So much training, so much struggling to prove himself, and it’s all wasted. At the moment when it truly mattered, there’s nothing he can do. 

Tears sting at his eyes and he thinks that, maybe, Bakugou had been right when they were kids. A quirkless nobody shouldn’t try to be a hero. All he’d done is waste people’s time. Aizawa’s, Present Mic’s, his mother’s, Mei’s, everyone. He squeezes his eyes shut, willing himself to at least not cry while he’s dying. 

Chapter Text

Something wraps around his middle just as the hand is about to crush his head. Then, for some reason, the hand stops and he’s pulled out, held in the air by Tsuyu’s tongue. Izuku blinks and looks to Shouto, seeing him staring up at the entrance. He shifts his gaze up there, seeing the unmistakable form of All Might, and relief floods through him.

All Might leaps to the bottom of the stairs, easily disposing of the villains there and grabbing Aizawa. Despite the relief Izuku feels, he can’t help noticing the fact that All Might isn’t smiling. He's supposed to always smile, so there must be something wrong, right?

With Aizawa in his arms, All Might turns to look at Izuku, Tsuyu, and Shouto. There’s a rush of wind and suddenly Izuku is being set on the ground with the other two. All Might crouches before them, a hand on Aizawa’s back protectively. 

He turns his head, saying something to them that makes Shouto and Tsuyu nod. Still, it doesn’t matter what he says. Getting Aizawa safe is the most important thing right now. Izuku clips the staff back to his belt and crouches, carefully shifting Aizawa until he’s able to carry the teacher on his back. Tsuyu helps to support his weight and Shouto looks tense, like he’s waiting for another attack to protect them from. His hand is even starting to frost over in anticipation.

As they’re walking back over to the entrance, Tsuyu and Shouto keep glancing back to check on the fight. Izuku never really looked away. He only spares the occasional look forward to make sure he doesn’t trip on something. He happens to be doing just that when All Might suplexes the huge monster of a villain, the resulting blast of wind nearly threatening to throw Izuku off balance. There's smoke and dust blocking his view of the fight when he looks back again.

He wants to go help, but he knows he’d probably be in the way more than anything else. They should trust All Might with this. He’s the number one hero, after all. Even that knowledge doesn’t ease the weird feeling Izuku gets in the pit of his stomach. Years with Aizawa has taught him to notice the small details and, even if he doesn’t know what they all mean, he can usually tell if the small details add up to something that could be dangerous. 

The smoke clears and Izuku freezes when he sees the portal beneath All Might and the villain. It lets the villain twist and grab All Might by the stomach, claws digging into the hero’s sides and causing him to bleed through his shirt. It’s subtle, but Izuku can see the way All Might is shaking, almost like the claws are digging into a weak spot. 

All Might lets go and sits up, unable to go anywhere in the villain’s hold. He tries to pull the claws out of him but it’s not working. Izuku stares with wide eyes, realizing why they were so confident in attacking a class at the USJ. They had a plan to kill All Might. They had the means. And they look close to succeeding. 

“Tsuyu. Take Aizawa,” he says, looking over long enough to transfer the passed out teacher into her arms. 

He looks away, taking one step forward and hesitating for just a moment. All Might starts to get sucked down into the mist of the portal as it begins to close. Izuku doesn’t need to think too hard about what might happen if it closes over only half his body. Before he knows it, Izuku is running towards them as fast as he can, clubs in hand with the blades released. 

He sees All Might’s mouth moving, but decides it’s a good thing he can’t hear. When he’s close enough, Izuku leaps forward, club raised to cut off the clawed hand. Just as he gets close, the mist villain materializes in front of him, portal opening. Izuku realizes he can’t throw himself out of the way and braces to go through when an explosion goes off in front of him, knocking the mist villain out of the way. 

Bakugou shouts something as he holds the villain down by the metal collar beneath its eyes. A second later, ice shoots towards the monster, encasing its feet and trapping it. The ice extends through the portal, going all the way along the right side of the monster, stopping at the wrist. 

Izuku watches All Might grip the monster’s hand and tear it free. He gets just enough room to jump out of the monster’s grip and land next to Shouto, who looks like he wants to trap Izuku in his ice as well. Maybe it’s because Izuku just ran headfirst into danger, but who can say for sure. Izuku feels his eyes tearing up from relief as Kirishima gets there too, looking ready for a fight.

He quickly wipes them away and clenches his jaw. Now isn’t the time to be emotional. Now is the time to protect everyone. Izuku looks over at the villain covered in hands. He tightens his grip on his clubs, ready to fight for the safety of his friends. 

It doesn’t seem like a fight is happening, though. The villain still standing is doing just that: standing. His hands are folded in front of him and Izuku doesn’t see any movement coming from him whatsoever. 

Izuku looks over at Shouto. “Is he talking?” he asks. 

The question makes both Shouto and Kirishima blink and look over at Izuku. Kirishima just looks confused as he nods, making an “isn’t it obvious” expression. Shouto gets it a second later, though, and looks to Kirishima, saying something while pointing to his ears. 

“His face is covered. I can’t tell,” Izuku says, hoping the extra explanation will help. Kirishima, for some reason, looks kind of impressed. Izuku has no clue why, but he guesses he’ll figure it out later. 

He looks back over at the hand villain, seeing the way he’s stiffened slightly. Izuku wonders if it’s because of him. He gets an idea and calls out, “If you’re monologuing right now, I can’t hear you! I’m deaf and your face is covered, so it’s kind of pointless.” The words make the villain start to scratch at any uncovered skin on his neck. It’s an interesting response that Izuku files away for later. 

The villain seems to force himself to stop and turns to the monster still stuck in the portal. A second later, it pulls itself out despite the ice encasing half its body. Once the monster is out of the portal, pieces of the frozen body break off. That doesn’t stop it, though. 

Izuku senses movement from his left and glances over, seeing Shouto take a step back with the shock obvious on his face. Not a second later, the last of the ice bursts off the monster’s body and muscle starts to form a new arm. The same happens with its leg. 

All Might flings his arm out in front of them, motioning for them to get back. For the moment, he feels inclined to agree. He grabs Shouto’s arm and tugs him back, but doesn’t let go of his weapons. Even with All Might there, the hero was seriously hurt and there’s no telling what might happen. 

The villain turns to the monster and not a second later, it’s flying at Bakugou. The impact blows all of them off their feet, Izuku wincing at the pain in his lower back as he sits up. He looks over, blinking at seeing Bakugou next to them. There’s no way he was able to dodge that. When Izuku looks back, he sees that he’s right. Instead of Bakugou being paste against a wall, All Might threw him out of the way and took the hit himself. 

All Might lowers his arms, bruised from blocking the hit, and shouts something at the villain. Izuku thinks the villain must start monologuing again because his arms spread wide but he does nothing else. Izuku notices Shouto get ready to fight and glances to his other side, seeing Kirishima harden his arms. Right, fighting time it is, he supposes. 

Before they can do anything, though, All Might once again holds his arm out in front of them. Izuku is starting to get tired of this. Sure, they’re students, but right now it looks like All Might could use all the help he can get. As if reading his thoughts, the hero looks over his shoulder at Izuku and gives him a thumbs up. He looks confident in himself.

The monster rushes All Might, their initial impact sending Izuku flying. This is the third time today and it’s really starting to get old. He lets himself tumble, rolling over his shoulder before landing in a crouch, Mei’s braces absorbing any impact that would have thrown him off balance. This is the first time he's really been able to use the braces for their intended purpose, which is a bit annoying. He'd have liked to use them sooner, like maybe when he was falling towards the landslide zone. Then again, being caught by Shouto was kind of- wait, no, not the time for those thoughts. 

Izuku looks around, locating Shouto, Kirishima, and Bakugou. They all look okay for the most part, which is a huge relief. There’s barely any time to brace himself before another gust of wind sends him sliding backwards. He’d have gone flying again if not for Shouto grabbing his arm, helping to keep them both grounded. 

All Might’s fight with the monster is brutal, seeming to be over in less than ten seconds. The impact of the monster crashing into the ground from above makes the whole facility shake. Izuku leans into Shouto, gripping his arm to stay upright. One punch from All Might sends the monster of a villain flying through the dome and disappearing into the air. 

Dust surrounds All Might when Izuku looks over at him. He’s definitely bruised and a bit beat up, but he’s still standing, appearing fine for the most part. Izuku smiles with relief and looks up at Shouto. The other boy is staring at All Might with an odd expression. Like he’s determined and concerned by what he had just witnessed. 

Izuku looks over, seeing the hand villain scratching at his neck again. Then, he throws his arms out, leaning forward like he’s demanding something, before scratching his jaw. It’s an odd movement, but Izuku figures it probably makes sense with the context of speech. 

He feels Shouto begin to step away, tugging him along. Izuku looks over, noticing that Kirishima and Bakugou have started to move, too. With the main threat taken care of, there’s not much reason to stick around for a fight. Izuku glances back as he takes a step and stops at what he sees. 

Smoke. He frowns, narrowing his eyes to get a better view. It’s definitely smoke coming off of All Might. Izuku has no clue why All Might would be smoking unless he’s somehow bluffing his strength right now. But why would he need to bluff about strength he clearly has?

When he looks closer, paying more attention to subtle things, he notices the way All Might’s body is shaking. It’s almost like he’s trying to move, but can’t. Like just holding that confident pose is sapping up all his strength. Izuku doesn’t really know what’s going on, but he knows it means All Might is in trouble. 

Chapter Text

The villain’s frantic scratching of his neck stops when the mist villain leans forward. Izuku watches the way both look to face him and the others before surveying the grounds. A few of the less powerful villains have started to sit up. The hand villain's shoulders relax, like whatever he'd been worrying about was resolved. “They’re going to attack,” Izuku whispers, eyes widening with the realization of this fact.

Izuku moves just seconds before the hand villain does, running full force to intercept. He can’t use a sonic speaker. There’s not enough control and he could hurt All Might more than he already is. He needs to take out the mist guy, who’s also started moving, but can’t count on having enough strength in his staff. The clubs will complicate things a bit in this close of combat, which leaves him with one option. 

He connects the two halves of his staff and clips it back to his belt. Izuku clenches his fist, feeling the steady weight of the brass knuckles in his gloves. When he gets close enough, he pulls his fist back to throw a punch at the metal part of the villain, only for a portal to open up right in front of his target. One of the other villain’s hands reaches through and Izuku feels the deja vu so intensely it hurts. 

Just before the hand can connect with his face, close enough that he can feel some of the heat coming off of it, the hand jerks to the side. Izuku loses all momentum and falls to the ground, the air getting knocked out of him. He blinks, frowning in confusion until he sees the hole left in the villain’s hand. He jerks his head up and sees Snipe at the top of the stairs, gun smoking as he turns and shoots again. The sight of their teachers makes him smile. He loses it, though, when he notices how tense Present Mic is, suddenly remembering the state of Aizawa.

The hand villain starts to retreat, only to be shot multiple times by Snipe. The mist villain covers him and they start to disappear, but Thirteen seems to have recovered enough to start sucking them into their gloves. It does nothing, though, because the two villains still manage to escape, disappearing into the portal and leaving nothing of themselves behind.

Izuku hasn’t gotten up yet, his eyes lowering to the ground now that he knows they're safe. Everything that just happened, his utter uselessness in all of it, suddenly hits him. He couldn’t actually do anything against the villains that mattered. His hand curls into a fist as he shakily pushes himself up. “I couldn’t do anything,” he says, hands coming up to his ears. 

He sees movement in the peripheral of his vision and looks over. The dust and smoke still surround All Might, but the right half of his body seems to have deflated. He looks like half a skeleton right now. Izuku’s eyes widen as he takes the sight in before meeting the hero’s gaze. There’s something in his eyes, something like determination. All Might is saying something, but Izuku drops his hands, revealing the ears devoid of hearing aids. 

The hero closes his mouth and just nods. Smoke still surrounds him and Izuku feels like he’s seen something he definitely shouldn’t have. 

Izuku is still staring at All Might when the hero looks to the side, fully deflated now and eyes widening in panic. He looks over himself and sees Kirishima running towards them. Behind him, Present Mic is herding Bakugou and Shouto off towards the entrance. 

Kirishima looks worried, and Izuku is touched at the concern from someone other than Mei, but panics when he realizes that skeletal All Might is probably a secret. He pushes himself up to stop Kirishima, but a wall of dirt comes up, doing the job for him. Izuku sees Cementoss and sighs with relief, collapsing back onto the ground. 

All Might collapses to the ground as well a second later, looking up when Cementoss comes around the wall and smiles at them. Izuku watches the two speak for a moment before both look over at him. He tenses up, eyes flitting between the two and wondering what’s about to happen. 

Both the teachers look behind him and Izuku turns, seeing Present Mic. He blinks and jumps to his feet, rushing over to the hero and hugging him tightly. Mic returns the hug for a few seconds before pulling away so they can talk. “What happened? Where are your hearing aids?”

Izuku slumps at the question and looks over to the shipwreck zone. “At the bottom of the pool. I lost them at the beginning of the attack.”

“You mean you went through all of this deaf?” Mic asks.

Izuku looks up and nods. He glances over at All Might. “I get the feeling I saw something I shouldn’t have. But nobody else seemed to notice that he wasn’t actually as strong as he was claiming to be.” 

Present Mic slowly nods, frowning slightly. “We’ll explain later. For now, go join the other students at the front.”

He hesitates for a moment but eventually relents and nods. Izuku glances at All Might before heading over to the entrance. The class is being grouped together by the police. Once he joins them, a detective leads them outside and goes through a class roster, counting each of them. 

Izuku looks around and notices Shouto, taking a step towards him before someone slams into him from the side. He looks down and blinks at seeing Ochako. Her mouth is moving and he’s able to catch a word here and there from reading her lips, but it's nothing solid. He puts his hands on her shoulders and pushes her away. “I lost my hearing aids,” he says.

She pauses and tilts her head, looking at his ears before nodding. Uraraka grabs his hand and drags him over to the front of the crowd where Tsuyu is standing. Iida is there as well and he nods to Izuku. It seems like he’s not going to get to leave them, which sucks since he wanted to check on Shouto. 

Seeing Aizawa unconscious in a hospital bed is hard. Izuku crosses his arms, aware that his is bottom lip is trembling with tears yet to fall. The worst part is that there’s nothing he can do for his teacher. Well, he supposes Aizawa is more like a father figure at this point, along with Present Mic. 

A hand lands on his shoulder and he looks at the reflection in the window, seeing Present Mic. He offers a shaky smile to the hero but isn’t surprised when he doesn’t get one in return. “I was useless,” he says after a minute. He looks down at the ground so he won’t see Mic’s reaction. 

The hand on his shoulder tightens, but Izuku won’t look up to see what Mic wants to sign. “It’s true. I couldn’t do anything. My presence was more trouble than anything else. That’s what I realized when that Nomu was about to kill me. That I’d only ever caused trouble. I should’ve just accepted that I can’t be a hero. Even after all that training, coming first place in the practical, what use was it? When the big stuff happened, I was worthless,” he says, his body shaking with sobs now. 

Izuku reaches up and tries to wipe away the tears, but they’re coming faster than he can handle. His throat aches from crying already and his heart feels broken. It’s the same feeling he got when the doctor told him he was quirkless. That feeling of utter hopelessness, looking at the door to your dreams slamming forever. 

Present Mic pulls him into a hug, holding him tightly so he can’t turn his head to look at the window anymore. Izuku grips the hero’s shirt, sobbing into his chest. It helps for now, but it doesn’t change the way he feels. 

Chapter Text

School is closed for two days after the USJ attack, something that Izuku isn’t sure he’s all that grateful for. School would have given him a distraction from his thoughts. Now, though, he’s forced to listen to them. Without hearing aids, there’s nothing else to block out their sound. The ringing has come back with a vengeance as well, high-pitched and unending. Somehow, Izuku thinks it’s more annoying than before. 

He spends the first day home in the backyard, on the trampoline. It’s almost nice, coming back to the blue sky above him. Izuku hasn’t done this in a while. Occasionally, his mom will come outside and try to talk to him, but he’ll smile and ask for a little more time to process. It’s worked so far. 

The second day, Mei comes over and barges into Izuku’s room. Izuku jumps at her sudden arrival, blinking at her from the bed. “IZUKU I HAVE COME TO SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS!!”

Her expression is wild enough and her movements so exaggerated that she’s basically shouting at him in sign. Izuku smiles fondly and nods, sitting up and making room for her on the bed. “What is it?” 

Mei jumps onto the bed in front of him, bouncing a bit on the mattress. She reaches into her tool belt and pulls out a box. It’s small and wrapped in green paper. Mei shoves it into his hands and watches him excitedly. 

Izuku stares at it for a moment before shrugging and carefully pulling the paper off. He opens the box and blinks, staring at what are obviously hearing aids. When he looks back up at Mei, she motions for him to put them in already. 

The hearing aids are light when he picks them up. They’re definitely different from his old ones. These have see-through casings, allowing him to see the wires and mechanisms inside. They also feel stronger, like he could throw them at the wall and they wouldn’t break. 

Izuku places them in and turns them on. He blinks when he can suddenly hear birds chirping and looks at the window. “Is there a bird right there?” he asks quietly. 

Mei jumps up, runs over to the window, and throws it open. She leans out as far as she can, even twisting to look above her, before pulling back. “There isn’t! Which means it works!” she says excitedly, tackling Izuku in a hug. 

“What? Mei Mei, what are you talking about? Where’d you even get the money for these?” he asks. 

His best friend pulls away with a huge grin. “I didn’t, Izu! I made them for you. I’ve been working on a design for better hearing aids since we were twelve! They were supposed to be a surprise for after the entrance exam, but they still weren’t working quite right. And I didn’t want you to have them until I was sure they’d be perfect. See, the casing is super durable, so it can withstand a hit. And, I made these waterproof. You could take them swimming if you really wanted to! I also made their range super long. That’s something you can control, too. If you want a shorter range, there’s a small dial on the right one that you turn backward. To lengthen it, turn the dial forward,” she explains. 

Izuku listens to all of this, utterly speechless. He reaches up, finds the dial, and turns it forwards. Slowly, he begins to hear more than just the bird. He can hear his mother cutting vegetables in the kitchen, kids playing outside, a car honking on some street that isn’t in front of their house. Izuku turns the dial back until he can’t hear the bird anymore, figuring that’s a good default setting. 

“Mei, this is so awesome! I can’t believe you’ve been designing these since we were twelve!” he exclaims. 

She pulls away, letting him sit up. Once he’s up, she goes off on a long, incredibly detailed explanation of her process in designing the hearing aids. Izuku nods along, following it easily after spending so much time with her. 

“Hey, Izu,” Mei says, getting his attention, “Do you really think you were useless during the attack?”

It’s a few hours later and Mei watches Izuku quickly look away. His shoulders slump and he lies down on his bed again, staring up at the ceiling. Mei gets the feeling that he’d be laying on the trampoline right now if he could. “I was,” he replies. 

“How so?” she asks. She can’t imagine Izuku actually being useless. She’d found Asui when they’d all gotten back to the school and asked her what happened. From what she could tell, Asui believes she’d be gravely injured at best if it weren’t for Izuku.

Izuku sighs and is quiet for a long moment. “When it mattered most, there was nothing I could do. That guy, Shigaraki, was going to disintegrate Tsuyu’s face and I couldn’t do a thing. All this training from Aizawa and Mic and I couldn’t even save her,” he says. 

“You did save her, though. From the shipwreck zone. You’d just lost your hearing aids and you saved her instead of panicking.”

“That’s different, Mei. Tsuyu would’ve been able to get herself out of there without me. I just happened to make it a more dangerous escape by launching us into the air,” Izuku says. 

Mei watches him for a moment before getting up and sitting down next to him. She shifts until she’s also lying on the bed, their shoulders pressed together. “Remember when we first met?” she asks. Izuku hums softly, turning his head to look at her. 

“You told me you were gonna be the first quirkless hero. There was so much confidence in your eyes. I knew that I had to connect myself to you, in any way I could. Even if you didn’t have my support gear, you’d still have managed to become a hero. There’s no doubt in my mind of that fact. 

“You didn’t need a quirk to come in first place at the practical exam. You definitely didn’t need a quirk to beat Bakugou during the combat training. A quirk wouldn’t have made a difference at the USJ. You saved people, Izuku. You did exactly what a hero does. I mean, you should be celebrating, but instead, you’re worrying about things that just aren’t true.”

Izuku is quiet for a long moment before he turns and hugs Mei, burying his face in her shoulder. “I was so scared,” he whispers. Mei hugs him back and hums softly in understanding. “Aizawa got so hurt and I thought we were going to die.”

“I think being scared sometimes is part of being a hero,” Mei says softly. 

Her friend nods a bit into her shoulder. “I guess, for a quirkless deaf person, I didn’t do too bad during the villain attack,” he finally says after a moment. 

Mei can’t help the laugh that escapes her. “Didn’t do too bad? I heard you used my sonic baby to trap those villains in a whirlpool! I’m kind of more upset you didn’t get footage of my babies in action than I am about the villains attacking.”

That sets Izuku off into laughter, rolling off of her and holding his stomach. Mei grins, watching her friend. She hates to see him so upset and harsh on himself. The best Izuku is one that's smiling and laughing. “You know what else Asui told me?” she asks. 

Izuku looks over, a smile still on his face. “That you and a certain half-cold half-hot quirk user had a moment,” she says. 

She knows she’s right when Izuku turns bright red and hides his face in his hands. “ Mei! ” he whines. 

“You were cradled in his arms, Izuku! You stared into each other’s eyes and only looked away because Todoroki remembered another person existed! If that’s not love, I don’t know what is,” she says. 

“We’re not even friends. It can’t be love,” Izuku says. 

Mei nudges him with her elbow. “I wouldn’t be so sure about the friends thing. I think you two are a lot closer now than you were before,” she points out. 

Izuku lowers his hands, looking over at her as he thinks. Then, he gets a soft smile. “Yeah, I think you’re right. We’re at least on our way to being friends now,” he says. 

She hums in agreement and immediately starts teasing him again. By the time she has to head home, she knows she’s managed to make Izuku feel better. Now she just needs to figure out how to make sure he never feels helpless ever again. Mei grins, already coming up with support gear to make Izuku unstoppable. 

Chapter Text

There’s a lot of sounds Izuku had completely forgotten existed. When you don’t hear something for almost four years, it’s easy to forget doors creak, windows squeak, and chairs can scrape against the floor. He’s still getting used to all of this when he goes back to school. 

The walk there with Mei is fascinating. He can actually hear the wind rustling the leaves in the trees above them. When a squirrel runs across their path, he can hear the little squeaking sound it makes. The doors of the school make a whooshing sound when they open, something Izuku doesn’t exactly realize until he gets to his class. 

He stops and stares at the door, blinking in confusion. Izuku steps out of the classroom and shuts the door before opening it with the same amount of force and speed. It makes that noise again and he lights up. Such a subtle noise and he’s only now hearing it again. 

“Uh, Midoriya, dude, what are you doing?” Kaminari asks. 

Izuku blinks and looks up, door halfway shut so he could hear it open again. Several of his classmates are standing behind him, all looking more than confused. “Oh, um, Mei gave me new hearing aids. My old ones were really cheap and always broken, so there are a bunch of noises I haven’t heard in, like, four years. I forgot that doors make noises when they open,” he explains, blushing slightly at getting caught. 

They’re all quiet for a while, something that makes Izuku blush brighter and look down. He knows it’s probably really weird to them, but it’s so exciting to him. This morning he nearly cried at hearing his mother humming because the last time he’d heard it had been so long ago. Izuku fidgets and he slowly pushes the door the rest of the way open, making sure it doesn’t make any noise this time. 

“Sorry. I know that’s kinda weird,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Suddenly, Ashido has jumped in front of him and is holding out her pen. “Push the top,” she says. 

Izuku looks at her like she might be crazy but nods, reaching out and taking the pen. When he looks over to Kaminari, Sero, and Hagakure, they all look curious to see what he does. Well, he thinks Hagakure is curious. She’s kind of just a bouncing uniform right now, so it’s hard to tell. 

Still, he slowly looks the pen over before pushing down on the top. It makes a neat click sound and Izuku blinks. He pushes it again. And again. And again. “Have they always made this noise?” he asks, looking up with wide eyes. 

Ashido has an excited grin as she nods, pink hair puffing up a bit more. “This is gonna be so much fun! Let’s introduce you to as many noises today as we can!” she says. 

“What’s going on?” Ochako asks, looking a bit confused at seeing everyone standing around the entrance to the class. 

Iida frowns and steps forward. “It’s a safety hazard to block the entry to the classroom like this! You should move out of the way so people can come and go freely,” he tells them, hand chopping the air. 

It makes a much more rapid whooshing sound compared to the door and Izuku lights up. “That makes noise, too?!” he asks excitedly. He then holds his arm out and chops it down, making a sound of delight when he can imitate the noise Iida’s arm makes. 

“I….don’t understand what’s going on,” Iida says, watching Izuku chop the air with child-like delight. 

Sero moves closer to him with a wide grin. “Midoriya’s got these new hearing aids that let him hear stuff he never could before. Like, ya know, a door opening or a pen clicking. It’s got him excited,” he explains. 

A throat clearing behind them all makes everyone stop. Izuku looks up to see Aizawa wrapped in bandages like a mummy, both arms in casts and held up by slings. “Good morning. Get to your seats,” he says.

“Mr. Aizawa, you’re back way too soon!” Ashido says. 

He glares at her through the bandages and she quickly runs to her seat. The others follow and pretty soon it's only Izuku still standing in the doorway, staring at Aizawa and all his bandages. “Problem child, sit down,” he says. 

“R-right. Sorry,” Izuku says, quickly turning and heading to his seat next to Shouto. He glances over at the other boy and smiles slightly, getting a little nod in return. The small action makes his heart soar and he realizes that maybe Mei was right about him starting to get a crush. 

Aizawa limps towards the podium at the front of the class. As he does, Iida raises his hand and asks, “Mr. Aizawa, are you really okay to be working?”

“My well-being doesn’t matter. What does is that the fight isn’t over yet,” Aizawa replies. Izuku stiffens slightly and looks to the front of the room, feeling his stomach drop. “The U.A. Sports Festival is drawing near.”

Izuku breathes a sigh of relief while the others gasp in surprised excitement. “That’s a super normal school event!” Kirishima shouts out, obviously giddy. It’s loud, though, and Izuku winces. He reaches up and adjusts the volume on his hearing aids, turning it down just a little to accommodate everyone’s excitement. 

“Wait!” Kaminari says, shoving Kirishima back into his seat. 

Jirou raises her hand. “Is it really okay to have a sports festival so soon after the villains got inside?”

“What if they attack us again or something?” Mashirao asks, looking up at Aizawa worriedly. 

It’s hard to tell what Aizawa is thinking with his entire body wrapped. Izuku isn’t sure if he’s annoyed or agreeing with the questions. “Apparently they think it’s a good way to show our crisis management system is solid by holding the event. There will also be five times the security in comparison to previous years. The sports festival is too important to cancel just because of a few villains.

“The sports festival shows the major hero agencies your talents and your potential. You only get one chance a year for three years to prove yourself. If you understand how important this is, then don’t slack off on your training!”

Aizawa glances over at Izuku when he says that and the boy nods once. He’s going to need to kick his training up a notch in order to stay on equal footing with everyone. There’s no telling what he’ll have to face in order to prove himself. A good amount of time should be devoted to gear building with Mei, too. He has some ideas to improve his items.

“Homeroom is dismissed.”

Chapter Text

By the time lunch comes around, Izuku is ready to drop. It’s hard to focus on his classes now when every new sound catches his attention. He pushes himself up and stretches, watching as everyone gets into conversations about the sports festival. 

“Everyone is so into this,” he says.

“And you’re not? We enrolled here to become heroes, of course we’d get fired up!” Iida says. He’s bent forward now and is holding his hands into fists in front of him, moving from side to side like a video game character in those old fighting games.

Tsuyu looks over at them. “Iida, you have a unique way of getting fired up. It’s weird,” she says.

Iida ignores her and leans over to Izuku. “Midoriya, you don’t feel the same?” he asks.

Izuku blinks and is about to answer when Ochako grabs their attention. “Izuku, Iida, let’s do our best at the sports festival,” she says, voice gravelly and face scary with its determination. 

“Ochako! Your face, what’s wrong?” Izuku asks. 

Ashido hums behind him. “You’re not looking as carefree as usual, Uraraka,” she points out. 

Ochako just widens her stance and thrusts her fist into the air. “Everybody, I’m gonna do my very best!” she declares.

“Hey, Ochako, why do you want to be a hero?” Izuku asks, looking over at his friend as they walk to lunch. Mei had told him that she’d join them later if she wasn’t still too wrapped up in her latest baby, which means she probably won’t be joining them. 

Ochako pauses and scratches the back of her head sheepishly. “Well, um, because of the money,” she admits. 

Izuku blinks. “For the money? You want to be a hero for the money?” he asks. 

“In its simplest form, yes, but it’s more complicated than that. It’s a bit embarrassing since you two have such noble motives,” she replies.

Iida steps forward. “Why? How is having a goal to support your livelihood not admirable?” he asks. 

Izuku nods in agreement. “It is a bit unexpected, though.”

“My family owns a construction company, but we haven’t gotten any work at all, so we’re broke. I wanted to help using my quirk when I was younger, but my dad said no since he’d rather see me achieve my own dream,” she explains. “So I’m going to be a hero, make money, and make sure my parents can live easy.”

Iida starts to cheer her on but all Izuku can do is smile a little. It’s impressive that Ochako wants to be a hero but is still keeping reality in mind. It’s something that Izuku hadn’t done at all. The reality of being a quirkless hero and the dream of being one are two very different things, as he’s been finding out. 

“YOUNG MIDORIYA IS HERE!” comes a booming voice from the hall next to them. Izuku winces but looks over to see All Might in his muscular form. 

“All Might?” he asks. 

All Might nods and holds up a small lunchbox. “Lunch! Want to eat with me?”

Izuku glances over at Iida, who just nods that it’s fine. Next to him, he sees Ochako trying to cover her laughter with a hand over her mouth. Izuku smiles a bit and walks over to All Might. “Sure,” he says. He has a feeling he knows what this is about. 

The moment the door to the private teacher’s lounge closes, All Might smokes up and becomes skeletal again. Izuku stares at him, more than a little concerned, even as the hero motions for him to sit. “Young Midoriya, you saw something at the USJ that I had not intended for anyone to see,” he says. 

Izuku nods a bit. “I figured, considering Cementoss wouldn’t let Kirishima get close,” he replies. 

All Might nods a bit. “The truth is, I am growing weaker. A battle years ago nearly killed me and doctors had to remove my stomach and a few other internal organs. Ever since then, I have been unable to maintain my heroic form for very long. This is how I truly am,” he explains. 

“This is a secret, right? I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I’m pretty good at keeping secrets,” Izuku says. 

He notices the way All Might’s eyes glance at his scarred ears and flushes, looking down. He didn’t mean that one, but he supposes it still counts. “That is not the only reason I asked to eat lunch with you today,” the hero says. 

Izuku looks up and nods for All Might to continue. “My power is called One for All. It is something that was passed down to me and that I can pass down to someone else. That person would gain my strength, and that of the seven previous owners added to their own. I need a successor, someone who can take this power and continue doing good with it. You, Young Midoriya, have a true hero’s heart. You do not think before running into battle to save someone because you simply know it is the right thing to do. So, I would like to pass this power on to you,” he explains. 

The room is so silent following those words that, for a moment, Izuku thinks his hearing aids have suddenly stopped working. Then he hears the couch rustle when he shifts and he knows it’s just because of his own surprise. Izuku looks down, frowning in thought. 

He’s never heard of a quirk that could be passed down, but he supposes the immense power All Might has makes sense if it can be. One person adds to the strength and the next person gains the benefit. And Izuku could be the next in that line. It’s almost too good to be true. How many nights had he stayed up hoping, wishing, dreaming, for a quirk to suddenly manifest? How many times had he looked down at his hands and wished he could pull an object to him like his mother? How many times did he nearly suffocate himself trying to breathe fire like his father?

What All Might is offering is like a dream come true to a quirkless kid. If Izuku had been ten, he’d have immediately agreed. After all, he’d have a quirk. He’d no longer be useless, a burden to heroes, only getting in the way of those destined for greatness. He takes a deep breath and looks up. 

“I always wanted to be a hero. And that dream was crushed when I was six. And then crushed even further at ten. All my life, people who didn’t know me or didn’t think I was worth their time have told me that I should just give up. A quirkless nobody becoming a hero is impossible, especially if they’re deaf. I heard that so much. 

“But I’m here, right? I’m sitting here in U.A., as quirkless and as deaf as ever. I proved that I could get here despite my lack of power. For years, I trained to catch up to the people who had been all too willing to leave me behind. And I did. I trained so hard that I even managed to surpass some of them.

“I think if my life had gone in any other direction than the one it did, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. Your offer is like a dream come true to a quirkless kid. Going from absolutely no power to your immense power? It sounds like an easy decision, doesn’t it? But right now I can’t. 

“All the work I’ve done with Aizawa and Mic would be wasted. Not to mention, my own dream is now entangled with my best friend’s. I would be damaging her ability to achieve her goals if I was no longer quirkless. And my own goals. I want to be a hero, but I want to be the first quirkless hero. I want to stand at the top and save the people who would mock me. Not because I want to spite them, but because saving people is all I’ve ever wanted to do. 

“So, right now, I can’t accept. I don’t expect your offer to still be available when I’ve established myself. That would be asking too much. But I can offer to help you find a successor for your power. The world needs a Symbol of Peace, and I won’t be the one who keeps that from them.”

He watches All Might for his reaction, honestly a little surprised to see the smile he gets. Izuku wasn’t sure what to expect, but a smile after being rejected definitely wasn’t it. “Your reasoning is admirable, Young Midoriya. I understand. Should I not have a successor by the time you have established yourself, and you wish to have the power then, it is yours. But I will continue to look for one in that time,” he says. 

Izuku smiles brightly at All Might and nods. “Thank you for understanding, All Might,” he says. 

The hero waves him off. “That’s weird to hear in this form. My name is Toshinori Yagi. At least call me Toshinori when I’m like this,” he says. 

Izuku blinks but nods. “Thank you for understanding, Toshinori.”

Chapter Text

The talk with All Might keeps weighing on Izuku’s mind. Part of him is proud that he’d denied the power the hero was offering, but another part is calling him foolish for doing so. It’s stupid to waste such a wonderful opportunity to finally have a quirk. But then, four years of intense training are utterly worthless if he does take the quirk. No, for now, it’s better that he refused. 

He’s still wrapped up in these thoughts by the time Present Mic shows up for their English class. “Hey, listener Midoriya, how’s it going?” he hears Mic ask. 

Izuku is distracted enough that he forgets he’s in class. The only thing he notices is that Present Mic’s voice takes on a whole different inflection when he speaks in English. “Now that I can hear more than your words, your voice sounds really different in English, Mic,” he says, looking up. He expects Present Mic to be across from him at his dining room table, their usual location for English lessons, and blinks when he gets the classroom instead. 

The other students have turned to look at him. “That sounded almost flawless,” Jirou says, staring at him with wide eyes. 

“It was flawless,” Yaoyorozu tells her. 

“Midoriya, as impressed as I am with your English speaking, you must have more respect when addressing our teacher!” Iida tells him, shouting across the room. 

Izuku sinks down in his seat, covering his face with his arms as he nods. “S-sorry,” he says quietly. 

Present Mic starts laughing, leaning on the podium for support. “Don’t worry, listeners, it’s all good! Let’s get back to the lesson,” he tells them. 

Izuku only uncovers his face once Present Mic has started talking again. Nobody is looking at him anymore and it’s more than a relief. He’ll have to be more careful from now on, but this can just be written off as a one-time accident. 

It’s not like Present Mic or Aizawa really care if anyone knows his connection to them. It’s more that Izuku doesn’t want people to know and accuse them of favoritism. So he’d told the two heroes to just pretend that he was another student, not one they’ve known since he was ten. Aizawa agreed easily, but Present Mic tried to argue that nobody was going to care. Eventually, Izuku had changed the promise to not telling anyone unless they specifically asked. 

If he plays his cards right, nobody would have enough suspicion to ask anything. 

His cards are picked up, thrown on the floor, and danced upon during their next break. English had just ended and Aizawa had come back to the classroom, ushering Present Mic out for the sake of “some damn peace and quiet” while the students started talking to each other. 

“Midoriya, man, you gotta help me out with English,” Kirishima says, leaning on his desk. 

Izuku blinks and smiles at him. “Oh, sure! We can start studying in the library during our free period,” he offers. 

“Ooh, I want in, too!” Ashido says. 

Her voice attracts the attention of other people and soon quite a bit of the class is surrounding Izuku’s desk. He looks at all of them, his smile growing. It’s kind of nice to have so many friends. While he wouldn’t trade Mei for the world, it’s still good to be able to hang out with more people. 

Thinking of Mei must summon her because the door is suddenly slammed open and she bursts into the room. “Aizawa!!” she says, her eyes wide with a familiar glint.

“What?” Aizawa asks. 

The rest of the class turns to watch them and Izuku stands, moving towards the front of the group. “Mei Mei, is now really the time?” he asks. 

Mei waves him off. “Of course it is, Izu. Power Loader said I wasn’t allowed to have any uranium or adamantium without Aizawa’s permission,” she explains, looking back at the teacher with a hopeful smile. 

“Absolutely not,” Aizawa tells her.

“ Please ? It’s for Izu’s new support gear, I swear!” she says. 

Aizawa looks over at Izuku and, despite the bandages covering his face, he just knows he’s getting a silent order to take care of this. “C’mon, Mei. I’m sure you can make whatever it is without those,” he points out. 

“I can’t! I really, really can’t! Use your puppy eyes, Izu. Those always work,” Mei says, walking over and tugging on his arm. She must be desperate if she’s asking him for the puppy dog eyes. 

He hesitates and glances at Aizawa, who visibly sighs. “His puppy eyes haven’t worked for two years and you know it,” Aizawa tells her. 

Mei looks over with a smirk. “You say that, but I distinctly remember you buying Izu a limited edition All Might poster a year ago because of his puppy dog eyes,” she says. 

Aizawa narrows his eyes and his capture scarf wraps around Mei. “No. Stop asking. The day I let you get your hands on anything beyond tungsten is the day the world is ending,” he says. He pushes her out of the room with the scarf and shuts the door behind her. 

“Sorry. You know how she gets,” Izuku says, smiling apologetically at Aizawa. 

His teacher holds Izuku’s gaze for a moment before shifting it to the utterly silent students behind him. Izuku blinks and looks over his shoulder, finding the class actually speechless this time, each in various states of confusion. 

The first one to speak, surprisingly, is Shouto. “Midoriya, are you Aizawa’s kid or something?” he asks. The moment he asks that the rest of the class erupts into sound. Everyone is talking over each other and Izuku doesn’t know who to focus on first. 

It’s starting to become a bit overwhelming, his brain feeling scattered and pulled into fifteen different directions. “All of you, quiet down, now,” Aizawa orders. Almost immediately, the class quiets down and Izuku can breathe easily again. “Midoriya, explain.”

Okay, never mind on the breathing easily. Thank you, Aizawa. Izuku glances up, fidgeting a little. “Okay, well, I’ve known Mei since I was eleven. But I’ve known Aizawa and Present Mic since I was ten,” he says quietly. “So Mei has been around the two of them as much as I have for three years, almost.”

“Are you his adopted kid then?” Satou asks. 

Izuku shakes his head furiously. “No! It’s more, well, Aizawa and Mic were the ones training me to be a hero before I got into U.A.,” he explains.

“Dude, that sounds harsh,” Kaminari says. 

“But it gave you some super manly results! I’m impressed,” Kirishima adds. 

Izuku relaxes a bit as he gets a smile. Then someone slams their hands on a desk and he jumps, shoulders tensing all over again. He looks over and sees Bakugou glaring at him, smoke coming from the small sparks lighting against the desk. “How the fuck did you manage to convince two pro heroes into training your sorry ass, Deku?” he asks. 

“Th-They’re the ones that offered,” Izuku replies, taking a step back. He bumps into the podium and has nowhere else to go. 

If anything, that makes Bakugou angrier. He looks up at Aizawa. “What the fuck about this piece of shit made you decide to train him?” he asks. 

Aizawa looks blankly at Bakugou, silent for long enough that even Izuku feels a little unnerved by it. “His potential and his drive. Everyone sit down, the break is over. And Bakugou,” he says, “A week’s detention for your language and for damaging the desk.”

Izuku hurries back to his seat, giving Bakugou a wide berth.

At the end of the day, when Izuku promised to go visit Mei, getting out of the class is impossible. The doorway is blocked by a huge group of people, some of which Izuku recognizes from seeing around the school and others he doesn’t. 

“What’s going on here?!” Ochako exclaims, staring at all of them with wide eyes. 

Iida steps forward. “What business do you have with Class 1-A?” he asks them. Izuku can see him going into Class Rep mode. 

“They’re all blocking the door,” Kaminari says quietly, frowning a bit. 

Bakugou walks by, not caring about any of this, apparently. “They’re scouting out the enemy, dumbasses. We’re the ones who made it out of a villain attack. They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival,” he says, walking towards the crowd so he can leave.

He stops right in front of the crowd, glaring at them. “There’s no point to it. Get out of my way, extras.”

Iida perks up and starts chopping his hand in the air. “You can’t keep calling people extras just because you don’t know them!” he says.

Someone in the crowd with purple hair pushes forward. “I came to see what Class 1-A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant,” he says. The boy’s hair is wild, sticking up with no direction, and he looks tired with so many bags under his eyes. “Are all the students in the hero course like this?”

Bakugou looks like he’s about to argue when the purple-haired boy reaches up and scratches the back of his head. “This is kind of disillusioning me. There’s a lot of people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they couldn’t make the hero course. Did you know that?

“The school has left those of us a chance, though. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they’ll consider our transfer into the hero course. It seems they may also transfer people out. But your class has an opening, so I guess you’d have to really mess up to get transferred out.

“Scouting out the enemy? I, at least, came to say that even if you’re in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I’ll sweep the feet out from under you. I came with a declaration of war.”

Izuku stares at the boy with wide eyes. The boy meets his gaze and gets a lazy grin. “Then again, I might not need to try so hard. I just have to do better than the quirkless kid who managed to trick his way in,” he adds. 

Izuku blinks, taking a step back. Is that what people think? That he tricked his way into the hero course? He doesn’t get a chance to respond, though.

“Hey, hey! I’m from Class B next door! I heard you fought villains and I came to hear ‘bout it,” a new boy announces. His hair is silver and there are silver markings around his eyes. In a way, he kind of reminds Izuku of Kirishima. He’s bold, too, because he starts reprimanding them for being too arrogant before the fighting has even started. 

Bakugou just ignores him and starts to leave, pushing through the crowd. Kirishima jumps up, going over to the door. “Bakugou, wait a minute. It’s your fault everyone’s starting to hate on us!” he says.

“It doesn’t matter,” he replies, “It doesn’t matter as long as you rise to the top.” 

With that, he disappears into the crowd and Izuku looks over at Kirishima, seeing a tear in his eye as he calls Bakugou’s answer manly. He doesn’t really get it, but okay. Though, he supposes Bakugou does have a point. Their goal is to come out on top. People are bound to hate them along the way. 

Chapter Text

In the days leading up to the sports festival, Izuku splits his training between Aizawa and Mei. With Aizawa, they focus on his hand to hand combat and stamina, since there won’t really be many breaks during the festival itself. With Mei, they focus on improving support gear and figuring out what could be successfully made by the time the festival comes. 

Currently, Izuku is with Mei in the workshop. She’s hunched over his gloves while Izuku does pull-ups on a bar they installed. “So, what are you planning exactly?” he asks. 

“I was thinking about how impractical the sonic speakers are in a pinch. Pulling them out and turning them on takes up too much time. Plus, you’ve been using them more to jump, right? So I’ve been trying to figure out how to make them more efficient but still usable,” Mei explains. 

Izuku blinks and drops down from the bar. He walks over and sits across from Mei at the table. She’s very carefully stitching the center of his glove. “So what does that mean?” he asks. 

“I’m putting two small speakers in your gloves. These are more for attack or keeping someone away. Stuff like that. Their setting is only the first of the original ones,” she says, straightening up to look at him. She points to where his braces are and grins. “I’m putting more in your braces, though. If you’re going to be using them to jump, then it only makes sense.”

“So, the ones in my braces, are they going to be the second and third setting in strength?” he asks.

Mei nods as she focuses back on the gloves. “Yeah, basically. I’ll put dials on the braces for you to choose the strength. You can also choose how long it goes on for. If you just need a quick boost, then you can have it only go for two seconds. I’ll make it as long as twenty, though,” she explains. 

Izuku hums softly and, a moment later, Mei pulls away from the gloves with a huge smile. “Okay, put them on,” she says. Izuku nods and carefully pulls the gloves on. He can feel a coin-sized speaker against his palm and frowns in confusion. “It’s a bit small,” he points out. 

“Yeah, that’s so it can be more durable. I don’t want it breaking if you get into a fistfight,” she points out. 

“How do I work it, then?”

Mei leans over and turns Izuku’s hand so he’s looking at the side of the glove. There’s a small button close to the base of his pointer finger that would have probably gone unnoticed if Mei hadn’t pointed it out. “Right there, you press that button once for the speakers to give you three seconds before going. But if you press it twice really fast, they’ll start right away. This time, they’ll only turn off if you hit the button again,” she explains. 

She points over to the pile of junk. “Try it out,” she says, eyes wide with excitement to see how it works. 

Izuku nods and stands up. He faces the pile of junk and holds out his left hand, hitting the button once with his thumb. After three seconds, the soundwave comes out and hits the junk, sending some of it flying before he turns it off. Izuku then holds out his right hand, hitting the button there twice. The soundwave comes out instantly and he can hear Mei’s excited screams as he turns it off again. “It works!!” she says. 

“Of course it does, Mei Mei. Do you want me to try the braces now, too?” he asks, looking back over at her. Izuku tugs the gloves off and gently places them down on the work table. 

Mei shakes her head. “No, I still need to adjust those,” she says. 

“How’d you even come up with the idea to put the speakers in the gloves anyway?” Izuku asks. 

“Oh, there’s an American hero who doesn’t have any powers, either. He’s super smart, though, and built himself a super suit. His gloves help him fly, along with his boots. They also shoot blasts of energy at people,” Mei explains. 

Izuku nods a bit in understanding, knowing exactly which hero Mei is talking about; Iron Man is one of Izuku’s biggest inspirations, given that he’s quirkless as well. That seems to be less of an important factor in America, now that Izuku thinks about it. There’s a whole team of heroes, in fact, where three of their members don’t actually have quirks. 

“You used to know Bakugou, didn’t you?” Mei suddenly asks. 

Izuku blinks and looks over at her, frowning a bit. “What are you talking about?” he asks. 

“Don’t avoid the question, Izu. Did you and Bakugou know each other as kids?”

After a moment of silence, Izuku realizes she isn’t going to give this up. He sighs and sits down, looking at a burn on the worktable. “I used to live next door to him. Before we moved,” he replies. 

“You were friends?”

“We used to be.”

“What happened, Izuku?”

Izuku shakes his head and looks up at Mei. He can see that she knows already, but what’s him to say it out loud. What’s the point, though? That’s in the past. Bakugou has changed since then, he thinks, and so has he. Telling anyone now could take away the other boy’s chance of being a hero. Despite everything, Izuku knows Bakugou’s potential is too great to let it go to waste like that. 

“We were friends, I moved, we grew apart. It’s simple as that,” he tells her. 

He knows it’s not what she wants to hear. The frown Mei gets tells him that much, at least. “I don’t get why you’re covering for him! The first time you see him after four years, he sends you spiraling into a panic attack so bad you collapsed! Someone who can make a person do that doesn’t deserve to be a hero,” she argues. 

“It’s in the past, though. Whatever you think may have happened, would have happened years ago. We’re both different people now,” Izuku tells her. 

“But it’s not fair! You have to deal with the consequences of what he did to you for the rest of your life. And he gets to go on thinking the fucking world of himself because nobody bothered to tell him he isn’t hot shit.”

Izuku smiles reassuringly at Mei. “It’s okay, Mei Mei. What he may or may not have done doesn’t matter, because I’m still here anyway. So, please, let it go,” he says. 

Mei is quiet for a moment, glaring down at the table. “I’m entering the sports festival.”

“What?”

“I’m entering the sports festival. I have some babies that you won’t be able to use, but I still want to show them off. So I’m going to compete in order to do that,” she explains. 

Izuku feels like she’s got some much more ulterior motives for this, but he doesn’t argue. It’ll be fun to compete with and against his best friend. He smiles brightly at her and nods. “Okay! You should start training with Aizawa and me,” he says. “As much help as your babies are, you still need to build up some more stamina.”

They spend an hour coming up with a training schedule for Mei that works within her already packed workshop schedule. In the end, it’s decided they’ll just have to meet up for jogs early in the morning and meet for a few hours on the weekend.

“Did I trick my way into U.A.?” Izuku asks. The capture scarf he’s spent the last ten minutes dodging pauses just long enough for Izuku to catch his breath. Then, it grabs his legs and binds them together, forcing him to the ground.

He huffs and squints at the sun in his eyes before Aizawa leans over him, blocking its light. “What gave you that idea?” he asks. The scarf still hasn’t let go of him and Izuku sits up, looking pointedly at his bound legs before looking up at Aizawa. 

When the scarf lets him go, Izuku pulls his knees up to his chest, frowning as he thinks. That purple-haired kid’s words are still weighing so heavily on him. “The sports festival. Gen Ed and other courses participate, too. And there are spots they could possibly get in the hero course, right?” he asks. 

Aizawa nods and crouches in front of Izuku, wincing a bit at the movement. He ignores the look Izuku gives him. “Right. What’s that got to do with anything?”

“You didn’t give me special treatment or anything at the entrance exam, right? I got into this school on my own merit, right?” he asks. 

“I wasn’t allowed to score your entrance exam. Hizashi wasn’t allowed either. We wouldn’t have been objective enough. So, no, we didn’t just let you slide in,” Aizawa says. 

Izuku sighs, knowing that even the thought of that is ridiculous. There’s definitely no way that Aizawa of all people would let him get into the U.A. hero course unless he was absolutely qualified. He knows this insecurity of his is probably ridiculous, but he can’t help it. Being quirkless already puts him at a disadvantage. He’s not surprised some people think he tricked his way into the hero course. 

“What if there was someone who deserved my spot more?” he asks. 

“Is my training shit?” Aizawa asks. 

Izuku blinks and looks over. “No, of course not. Why do you even ask?”

“You got in because of my training. If you think you didn’t earn your place in the hero course, then my training must be shit,” Aizawa reasons. 

“Of course it isn’t! Your training is the only reason I actually got in!” Izuku exclaims. 

Aizawa nods. “Exactly. Stop doubting your place in the class. If you doubt yourself, then you’re also doubting me,” he explains. 

That makes Izuku pause. It’s something he definitely hadn’t considered before. With how much time and effort both Aizawa and Present Mic put into him, failing at all would be failing them. And doubting himself would be an insult to their abilities to train future heroes. 

Izuku looks up at Aizawa and nods. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” he says.

His teacher nods and stands up. “Good, let’s get back to it. If there’s time to chat, there’s time to train,” he says.

Izuku pushes himself up and grins. With Aizawa’s intense training, there’s no way he won’t be ready for the sports festival. 

Chapter Text

Izuku sighs as he tugs at his gym uniform. It’s not exactly easy to wear his utility belt and braces over it, but he isn’t allowed the body of his costume. Even getting his support gear approved was a challenge. There was so much paperwork he and Mei had to fill out that his head had been swimming by the end of it. Still, at least he had been approved to use all of his support gear. He doubts he really would be able to get through much the festival without it. 

He adjusts the tightness of his belt. There aren’t loops on the gym uniform like on his costume, so he’s just going to have to pray it doesn’t fall off. Izuku double-checks the straps on his braces as well. He didn’t get that much time to test them out, but Mei was confident in their readiness. 

The door slides open and Iida steps in. “Everyone! Are you ready? We will be entering soon!” he announces. 

Izuku takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. He’s nervous enough to wish he was able to wear the snowflake Rei gave him. It sucks that he can’t. The risk of it breaking during the events is too great to even consider. 

“Midoriya.”

Izuku blinks and looks over, seeing Shouto standing in front of him. His left hand is tucked into the pocket of his gym uniform. Izuku smiles a bit. “Yeah, Todoroki?” he asks. 

“Looking at things objectively, I know I’m stronger than you,” he says, making Izuku blink in surprise. It’s not really a surprise given that just about everyone in the class is, objectively, stronger than him. “But, you’ve got at least two pro heroes backing you. I’m not going to pry. But I am going to beat you.”

It takes a moment for Izuku to realize what he’s saying. When he does, his eyes widen in surprise. Shouto declaring war actually means a lot. It means that Shouto sees him as competition worthy of acknowledgment. It means Shouto sees him as someone who inherently has a chance to win, even if there wasn’t a declaration. 

“Woah. The strongest in the class is making a declaration of war?” Kaminari asks. 

Kirishima walks over and places a hand on Shouto’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? Not now, we’re about to start!”

Shouto just rolls his shoulder to knock Kirishima’s hand off. “We’re not here to play at being friends. So what does it matter?” he asks, turning and walking towards the door. 

Seeing him walk away makes Izuku take a step forward. “Todoroki, I don’t know what you’re thinking when you say you’ll beat me. But of course you’re stronger than me. Just about everyone in this class is stronger than me. But I think you’re more capable than most people, too, looking at it objectively.”

“Hey, Midoriya, there’s no need to talk so negatively about yourself,” Kirishima says, smiling reassuringly. 

Izuku just shakes his head and keeps going. “Everyone in the other courses are aiming for the top with everything they’ve got. I have to prove myself just as much as someone in the other courses. So I’ll be going for it with everything I’ve got, too,” he says. He looks up and meets Shouto’s eyes.

Their gazes stay locked for a few seconds before Shouto nods. “Yeah,” he agrees.

Izuku shifts a little at the entrance to the stadium. He can hear Present Mic announcing the beginning of the festival and tries to will his heart to calm down. When they exit the tunnel leading in, he’s among the front of the group. 

The stadium is huge and the crowd is overwhelming. Izuku frowns and reaches up, adjusting his hearing aids so they don’t scream in his ear too much. He glances around, noticing the announcer box where both Present Mic and Aizawa are standing. Izuku nods just slightly in greeting, getting a bigger smile from Mic and a subtle nod from Aizawa.

All the other classes walk out of their own tunnel as Mic announces them. Izuku looks around, seeing a few people he recognizes from the crowd that formed in front of their classroom. They all meet in the middle of the stadium, where a small stage is set up with Midnight standing on it. 

Izuku looks around and grins when he sees Mei, waving her over. She’s got on her usual goggles as well as some kind of harness strapped to her. Mei slips through the crowd over to Izuku, coming up next to him. “You nervous, Izu?” she asks. 

“Yeah, it’s overwhelming. I’m just glad I can finally turn my hearing aids down instead of taking them out,” he admits. 

Midnight raises her whip in the air. “Everyone, pay attention!” she says. 

The stadium goes as quiet as it can with this many people filling it. Midnight sweeps the whip to the side. “Representing the students is Izuku Midoriya from Class 1-A!” she announces. 

Izuku stiffens slightly before nodding and pushing his way through the crowd. He forces himself to walk with his back straight, despite how badly he wants to curl into himself so he won’t see people staring. Walking up the steps is even harder, but he manages to do it. When he gets to the microphone, it gives off a high-pitched whine and Izuku winces, taking a small step back so it will stop. 

He glances out at the crowd and notices Mei giving him a thumbs up. Izuku gets a shaky smile and takes a deep breath. “We’re all here to prove ourselves and come out on top. We should all put in our very best, to prove that we deserve the spots we’ve earned,” he says, glancing around and pausing when he notices the purple-haired boy. “Or to prove that we deserve a better place than the one given to us. So, let’s give it all we’ve got, to prove ourselves to the world.”

Izuku takes a step back from the microphone, his nerves growing when it’s quiet for a moment. Then the stadium bursts into cheers and he sighs with relief. He steps off the stage and moves to stand next to Mei again, smiling a little awkwardly at all the people congratulating him. 

“Now, let’s get started right away!” Midnight says, “The first game is a qualifier! Many people drown in their tears here. Now, let’s see what it is!”

Behind her, a huge screen pops up. There’s a bar in the middle with multiple options flashing through it until it finally lands on “Obstacle Race” and Midnight grins at them. “All eleven classes will participate in this race. The course will be the outer-circumference of the stadium, so about four kilometers. As long as you stay on the course, it doesn’t matter what you do to win. Now, take your places!”

Izuku’s heart is already pounding in his chest as he takes his place towards the front of the huge group. He crouches down, watching the lights above the huge exit to the obstacle course track. The moment the lights all go green, Izuku takes off as fast as he can. It doesn’t stop him from getting caught in the crowd of students.

He feels the warning of cold air before the ice starts to spread to trap them. At the last minute, Izuku grabs onto someone’s shoulder and heaves himself upwards, avoiding the ice and just missing getting hit by the person he used as leverage. The first ones to make it out of the ice are Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, Aoyama, and Kirishima. Izuku is among the next few. 

The ice is slippery and trying to slide along it just isn’t working. Izuku groans in frustration and grabs his staff, twisting the two halves apart. He releases the blades and then proceeds to use the clubs as skis. His shoes are smooth enough even with the braces for him to just slide along. It’s not as fast as he’d like, but it’s definitely faster than most of the people trying to walk without falling. 

The ice suddenly stops and Izuku stumbles, barely managing to catch himself. He blinks, wondering why they’ve all stopped before he notices three robots, all of them from the entrance exam. His eyes widen in surprise and he frowns. They’re only the zero-pointers and Izuku clenches his jaw. Even Shouto seems a little unsure of how to proceed at first.

One of the zero-pointers moves forward to attack. Before it can do anything, though, Shouto builds up ice and swipes his hand through the air, encasing the entire zero-pointer in a block of ice. Izuku’s eyes widen as he watches Shouto, hair flying from the force of the ice. His breath is visible when he releases it and Izuku feels his heart skip a beat. 

The frost in the air hasn’t even cleared yet before Shouto is running ahead through the frozen robots. Before anyone can follow after him, though, the robots he froze over begin to collapse. Izuku blinks, realizing he had done that on purpose to block more students from being able to get through. 

Once the dust is starting to dissipate, the other robots move forward, blocking the way through. Izuku huffs and decides now is as good a time as ever to give Mei’s new braces a try. He crouches on the balls of his feet, making sure the speakers are off the ground and can shoot him easily into the air. Izuku reaches down and moves the dials on his braces, choosing to have the sound boost going for seven seconds at the second level of strength. He just needs to get over the robots, after all. 

Once both dials are set, Izuku finds the small buttons on the braces. He presses both twice at the same time, immediately being shot into the air by the soundwaves. Izuku thinks he barely hears Mei screaming something about her babies. It’s hard to tell over his own screaming, to be honest.

Izuku clears the robots easily, coming to realize that he now has to figure out landing from this height. He takes a deep breath and, when the soundwaves stop, uses the speakers on his hand to ease his fall. He aims them downwards, letting the smaller soundwaves slow his fall so he lands on his feet. It’s a little rough, twisting his left ankle at a painful angle, but not too bad for his first time around. Even so, he doesn’t stop to celebrate, taking off at a run again only a second after landing. 

The next obstacle is a valley with various pillars of stone to jump across. They’re all at various distances, all of them out of reach from each other and connected by wires. Izuku frowns and pauses a few steps away from the edge of the valley in front of him. He doesn’t need to adjust the dials again, so he just hits the buttons once and takes a running jump. The soundwaves propel him across the valley and he can see Shouto. Izuku once again cushions his landing with his gloves.

He stumbles on the ground but looks back, noticing other people are starting to get there, too. Mei is laughing loud enough that he can hear her and he grins when she starts bragging about her babies. She shoots something out of the harness on her and then jumps off the edge. Izuku knows she’ll be just fine, and is having plenty of fun if her crazed laughter is anything to go by, so he takes off running again. 

“Oi, Deku, stop fucking cheating already you nerd!” Bakugou shouts from behind him. 

Izuku looks over his shoulder and sees Bakugou blasting himself through the air, an enraged look on his face. He blinks and stumbles from not paying attention, letting Bakugou blast ahead of him. The other boy passes too close when he does, an explosion going off right in Izuku’s face and making his skin burn slightly from the heat. 

His breath hitches and he falls, heart pounding at the close call. Izuku stays there for a moment, eyes squeezed shut as he forces himself to calm down. “Pull yourself together. You’re not ten. You’re not helpless,” he whispers to himself. 

Izuku is able to push himself up and he forces himself to take off running at full speed again. He’s lost precious seconds trying to avoid a panic attack in the middle of the obstacle course. Because of it, people managed to get in front of him.

He freezes when he gets to the minefield. Ahead, Bakugou and Shouto are carefully making their way through, avoiding the mines as best they can. They’re both fighting, ice and explosions being exchanged as they try to take the lead without stepping on any of the mines. It’s not at all efficient, but they’re still far ahead of everyone else. 

Izuku studies the minefield for a moment. He’d use the speakers in his braces, but there are too many people who would be in the way of their soundwaves. The mines are throwing people into the air, making them flip in a random direction. If he can just collect enough mines to get far enough, he could use the speakers in his gloves to propel him forward. There’d be less risk of damage to other people, but it would still be strong enough to make him a contender for the lead. 

He carefully digs in the ground, gathering a few mines together in a small pile. Once that’s done, Izuku takes a step back. Just as he’s about to start running to jump off the mines, he gets rammed into from behind and picked up. 

“Izuku!! How’s it going?” Mei asks, grinning as she holds him in a bridal carry. He realizes a second later that she seems to be literally flying over the minefield, weaving in and out of people. Izuku cranes his neck over Mei’s shoulder to see hoverboots and sighs. 

“Mei, did you pick me up to show off the hoverboots?” he asks. 

She just grins widely and nods. “Of course I did! I need to show these babies still work when carrying more weight!” Mei explains. 

As slightly embarrassing as it is to be carried by her like this, Izuku has to admit it’s not a bad idea. Usually, he’d be upset about the help, but there’s no guarantee his original idea with the mines would have worked. Besides, he’s used to Mei’s help by now and knows better than to try arguing with her. 

“Fine, but you have to let me go at the end,” he tells her. 

He can’t see her eyes because of the goggles, but he knows how dangerous her current grin is. “Oh, Izu, you didn’t think I’d carry you all the way across, right?” she says. 

Before he can ask what she means by that, Izuku finds himself getting raised into the air over Mei’s head. “What are you doing?!” he asks. 

“See you at the finish line!” she yells instead of giving an answer.

Izuku then feels Mei chuck him through the air as hard as she can, laughing as she does. Meanwhile, Izuku is pretty sure his life is flashing before his eyes. He’s much closer to both Bakugou and Shouto, the two pausing in their fight when they hear him screaming as he flies towards them. 

For a second, Izuku thinks Shouto looks like he’s ready to catch him. It must be a trick of the light, though, because he’s got a determined frown the next moment. Izuku, meanwhile, would really rather not crash into either of them. So he does the first thing he can think of. 

Once he’s in the air over them, Izuku turns on his gloves and aims the speakers at the ground right in front of the two boys. When the soundwaves hit the ground, it sets off several of the mines, throwing both Bakugou and Shouto back. At the same time, it pushes Izuku through the air and to the end of the minefield. 

There’s not enough time for him to land safely. Izuku shouts in pain when he tries to brace his landing with his hands, feeling the painful break of his bones as he tumbles head over foot. He somehow manages to get his feet under him and keep running. 

The pain in his wrists is all he can think about right now, but he’s definitely felt worse than this. He doesn’t bother looking behind him, focusing only on pushing himself faster and faster towards the finish line. When he gets into the tunnel, the sounds of Bakugou’s explosions and Shouto’s ice forming echo around him. There are tears streaming down his face, blurring his vision. 

It doesn’t matter, though. Izuku doesn’t need to see to run in a straight line. He somehow manages to get one last burst of speed and charges into the stadium. Present Mic announces his coming in first and Izuku collapses on the ground. He can’t breathe, the tears in his eyes are mixing with his sweat, and his wrists are pulsing in pain, but he won. 

All that matters is he won. 

Chapter Text

There’s no time to take care of his broken wrists. All he can do is let Mei make him temporary splints until he can have Recovery Girl fix them. “Are you gonna be okay, Izu?” she asks worriedly, looking up at him. 

Izuku clenches his jaw and nods once. “This is nothing. I can’t let it stop me,” he replies. He looks around, noticing people have already started to team up. It’s understandable that nobody wants to be on his team. He presents the most risk, with his ten million points and broken wrists. 

“I feel like this is my fault,” Mei says softly.

Izuku blinks and looks back at her. “Of course it isn’t. You helped me win, Mei. Just like you always do. Even if it’s just the two of us, we’re still an unstoppable team,” he says, smiling brightly at her. 

“Izuku! I wanna be on your team!” Ochako says as she runs up to them. 

He looks at her for a moment before smiling even brighter. “Really? You mean it?” he asks. When she nods, he bursts into tears of relief. 

“This isn’t the time to cry,” Mei says, nudging him. 

Izuku nods and wipes the tears away, wincing at the strain to his wrists. “I’ve got an idea,” he says, looking around. He notices Iida and leads the other two over to him. “Iida, let’s talk.”

Iida looks over and nods once. “Go ahead,” he says. 

“I’m a liability, I know that. But being on my team and keeping my points is a guaranteed win. With your engines, Ochako’s antigravity, and Mei’s support items that let her float, we could play keep away from the other teams easily,” Izuku explains.

He looks at Iida hopefully. They’re friends, after all, and they would make a great team. “Midoriya, your plan is impressive. And you’re a great friend, but Bakugou and Todoroki aren’t the only ones who see you as a rival. I want to challenge you, too,” he says, face pointed down in a serious expression. 

Izuku looks at him for a long moment before nodding once. “Okay, I understand, Iida,” he says, smiling at his friend. Iida nods and turns, heading over to Shouto’s team.

Despite having no issues with Iida choosing a different team, it does make this a lot harder. Everyone is an enemy and he’s right at the top. If he fails, he brings Mei and Ochako down with him. If he fails, he fails Aizawa and Present Mic as well. 

So he just can’t fail. 

As much as it wasn’t his original idea, his team works. Tokoyami takes up the front, Dark Shadow giving them a long-range ability they wouldn’t have had otherwise. In a worst-case scenario, Izuku can still use the speakers in his gloves to keep people away, but it will only worsen the break in his wrists. 

Mei is holding him up on the right and Ochako is holding him up on the left. The weight of Mei’s jetpack on his back is unusual, but he gets the feeling that it's going to be their saving grace. He’s not wrong when the cavalry battle starts and every team rushes for them. 

“Run away!” he orders, only for the ground beneath them to start sucking them in. He blinks and looks up, noticing a guy with all his teeth exposed. It must be his quirk. “Mei, Ochako, turn your eyes away!” 

Once the two girls have, he hits the button on the jetpack control, relieved when they make it free of the ground. It’s weird, to have people holding onto him in air, but it’s keeping them safe. Jirou’s earjacks come at them, but they’re blocked easily by Dark Shadow. “Keep an eye on our blind spots, Dark Shadow,” Tokoyami says. 

“Tokoyami, your Dark Shadow is great! It’s giving us the extra protection that we need,” Izuku says, relief obvious in his voice. 

The jetpack starts to turn off. “We’re landing!” Ochako announces, aiming the hoverboots so they can easily start running once they’re on the ground. 

“Mei Mei, your babies are amazing! We should have no problem now,” Izuku says, looking down at her with an excited grin. They just need to keep out of reach of anyone else and they’ll be fine. 

They’ve only been on the ground for a few seconds when they get rushed again. “We’re going off again!” Izuku shouts before pressing the button for the jetpack. Just as they’re getting higher, though, they jerk to the left. 

Izuku looks down to see what’s wrong. “I’m being held back!” Ochako says, trying to kick off the tongue wrapped around her left boot. Izuku follows it to Tsuyu hidden in Shouji’s arms. 

“Damn it! Mei, can we unhook the boot?” he asks, looking down at her. 

Mei looks like she wants to shout in frustration, shaking her head. “No, we can’t,” she says. 

Izuku panics for a second before getting an idea. He ignores the pain in his wrists as best he can, grabbing his staff. “This hurts,” he mutters, gritting his teeth as tears fall while he twists the staff into the two clubs. Izuku twists around and leans back, smacking Tsuyu’s tongue with the left club as hard as he can. “Sorry, Tsuyu!” he calls as her tongue lets go and they shoot into the air. 

Just as he thinks they’re safe for a few more seconds, Bakugou comes flying at them. He’s propelled through the air by explosions from his palms. Izuku’s eyes widen as Bakugou raises his arm, sparks dancing across his palm as he reaches out for the headband. “Tokoyami!” he shouts, ducking down as Dark Shadow blocks the explosion. 

Bakugou falls back, caught by Sero’s tape so he doesn’t actually hit the ground. Izuku takes a deep breath, hands covering his ears for a moment. “Izu, he’s gone now. Focus,” Mei tells him. He nods and straightens up in time for them to land. 

“Thanks, Tokoyami,” he says, squeezing the boy’s shoulder and ignoring how it sends sparks of pain up his arm. 

Tokoyami glances over his shoulder at Izuku. “You’re the one who chose me,” he points out. He’s quiet a moment as he runs. “Your reaction to Bakugou was interesting, Midoriya.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Izuku says instantly. “We need to focus on staying in the battle for now.”

They’re suddenly jerked back once again. “I’m caught!” Ochako says. 

Izuku looks down and sees ice keeping Ochako stuck to the ground. He jerks his head up, locking eyes with Shouto. The intense gaze makes him pause, eyebrows furrowing slightly. “Izu, this is no time to be admiring how pretty Todoroki is,” Mei whispers. It makes him blush brightly and break eye contact. 

“Mei Mei, this isn’t the time to be teasing me either!” he replies. 

“Oh, Izuku, do you like Todoroki?” Ochako whispers. 

Tokoyami hums, glancing back at them. “How cruel fate is, forcing you to face the object of your affections on the battlefield,” he notes. 

Izuku whines softly. “Guys, please stop,” he begs.

“This is no time to get distracted!” Iida shouts at them from Shouto’s team. 

Along with Shouto’s team, four others are gunning for Izuku’s ten million points. Apparently, Class B gained points by sneaking headbands off the other teams while they were all fighting for Izuku’s, if Mic's narration is anything to go by.

“Ochako! Do your best to get us free!” Izuku says. 

She nods and struggles. A few seconds later, they’re jerked up into the air, off-balance because of ice breaking off one of the boots. “My baby!!” Mei cries, looking down at the broken piece still on the ground. 

“This isn’t the time, Mei Mei!” Izuku tells her. He shifts his grip on the clubs, ready to use them to keep people away. 

Mei notices and her eyes widen. “Izu! You’ll only mess up your wrists more,” she tells him. 

Izuku just nods. “I’ve been through worse. If this leaves a scar, what’s one more?” he replies, looking down at her and flashing a reassuring grin as they land. 

A second later, Izuku sees the lightning coming towards them. His eyes widen and he goes to cover his hearing aids, unable to risk them being shorted out. Luckily, Dark Shadow comes up to defend them, taking the brunt of the electricity. 

When the electricity vanishes, Shouto freezes the ground via a pole Yaoyorozu had created. It captures the other teams, keeping them stuck in place and unable to come after Izuku’s headband. On top of that, Shouto makes a wall of ice around their two groups, making it impossible to retreat.

Izuku is about to order that they fly up again when he feels a jolt of electricity from the jetpack itself. “Mei, it’s acting up!” 

Mei leans back and checks before grinning at him. “The baby has room for improvement!” she announces. 

Ochako can’t aim her singular hoverboot, which means they’re just going backwards in a straight line. “We’re stuck!” she tells them. 

Izuku looks up at Shouto still rushing towards them. “I’ll restrain them!” Tokoyami says. Dark Shadow shoots out towards the group, only for his hand to be stopped by a block made by Yaoyorozu. Dark Shadow pulls back as the hoverboot keeps them tilted slightly. 

“Yaoyorozu’s creation is too difficult to deal with,” Izuku says. 

“No, Kaminari is the issue. Dark Shadow would have been ripped apart if his attack were more light-based,” Tokoyami says, glancing back up at Izuku. “As long as he keeps up the electric attacks, there’s not much I can do.”

Izuku looks behind them quickly, noting that they’ve been backed into a corner. “We’re stuck. There’s nowhere to go. I can’t use my braces because it could hurt you. My range of motion isn’t that great either, given the state of my wrists. I can use my clubs but the staff would be better for keeping them at a distance. It can support Dark Shadow for the most part. But if we get close it would be better to have the clubs in order to block people reaching for the headband,” he mutters.

He looks up and studies Shouto for a moment. “Keep to his left, so stay to our right. He won’t risk getting Iida with his ice,” he says softly, making sure only his team can hear. They all nod and, for the next five minutes, play keep away like that. They stay closer to Shouto’s fire side so he can’t ice them without compromising Iida. 

One more minute. They have to keep this up for one more minute. Then Izuku can get Recovery Girl to check on his wrists. He’s pretty sure that tears have been falling down his cheeks this whole time. They’ve become normal by now, though. 

Suddenly, Iida crouches down, telling them all to hold on tight. Izuku tenses, watching as flames shoot out of the engines on his legs, turning blue after just a second. He sees them tense and starts to tell Tokoyami to move, but then Shouto is already past them and he feels the headband being pulled away. 

Izuku is frozen in shock, staring down at the ground for a moment before slowly turning his head to look at Shouto. His eyes lock on the headband Shouto is holding, the one that was just wrapped around his forehead, the one that would have easily let them move on to the next round. Everything is riding on that headband. And Shouto took it. 

“Um, Izuku, are you okay?” Ochako asks. 

He looks down at her, eyes darkened with determination. “We’re getting it back,” he says lowly. 

“A betrayal that hardens the heart of a lover,” Tokoyami murmurs, heading lowering as he focuses on Shouto’s group. 

Mei grins a bit. “It’s about time you got serious, Izu. Just don’t get too crazy. Your wrists are still fucked up,” she points out. 

He shrugs her off, holding his clubs up. Izuku watches as Shouto’s eyes widen just slightly and Kaminari says something, looking slightly worried. Shouto shakes his head and narrows his eyes once more. 

“We’re getting that headband back if it’s the last thing we do,” Izuku says, for once able to completely ignore the pain in his wrists as he focuses entirely on retrieving the white headband in Shouto’s hand. “Charge them!” he orders. 

Immediately, they’re rushing towards Shouto and his team. Izuku drops his left club into Mei’s hand and raises the right club as they get closer, getting ready to use it as a diversion. If he can make Shouto focus on his left side where Kaminari is, then he and Dark Shadow can both attempt to reach for the headbands from Shouto’s right. 

There’s too much riding on his shoulders to fail. His worth, his proof that he deserves to be in the hero course, is riding on that headband. The training he received from Aizawa and Present Mic is also riding on that headband. The dreams of his friends, too. There’s too much in that headband to allow it to be taken so easily. 

As they get closer, Izuku raises the right club, going for the attack as he notices flames envelop Shouto’s left arm. With his left hand, he reaches out to grab for one of the headbands. Shouto’s right arm moves up to block and Izuku thinks that he can’t let it be this easy to block him. 

At the last second, instead of hitting Shouto’s arm with the club, he uses it to knock Shouto’s flaming arm to the side. He sees the way Shouto looks at his arm in surprise, like he hadn’t meant to use the fire. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn’t ever seen Shouto’s arm flame up before. While Shouto is distracted, Izuku reaches out and grabs a headband the moment he feels cloth against his fingers. He would grab more if his fingers could move more. 

Once they’re past Shouto, he looks down at the headband in his hand with a wide grin, only for it to drop when he just sees a 70 instead of the ten million. He jerks his head back towards them. Shouto still seems shocked, but Yaoyorozu says, “We switched them around just in case. You were naive to think we wouldn’t, Midoriya.”

He hears the timer buzz and Present Mic announce ten more seconds left in the game.

“Tokoyami!” he shouts. 

Dark Shadow shoots out to grab more headbands but is stopped by Kaminari’s electricity. With absolutely no warning, Bakugou jumps over the wall of ice, shouting out, “DEKU!”

Kaminari is out of commission, having used too much electricity. Ochako aims her remaining hoverboot so they shoot towards Shouto’s team. Bakugou sees the change in direction and does the same, hand out to grab the ten million headband. Izuku scowls at seeing him and crosses his left arm over his right towards Bakugou. He double clicks the button, grunting in pain when the speaker kicks in and jerks his wrist. Still, it does the job of knocking Bakugou off course.

When he sees Bakugou falling, Izuku turns off the speaker and looks back at Shouto. As they approach, Shouto gets another metal rod from Yaoyorozu and covers it in ice. Izuku can play that game and gets ready to use his club to meet the rod. 

Just before they can reach Shouto, though, the buzzer rings once more and time is up. Bakugou falls face-first on the ground. Izuku doesn’t have the will to feel at all amused. This is it. He utterly failed. Everything was for nothing and he brought three friends down with him. 

Everything seems to hit him at once. The pain in his wrists is suddenly so much worse and it feels like all he can hear is that high-pitched ringing. He stares at the headbands in Shouto’s possession blankly, arms hanging at his sides now. Izuku thinks Mei takes the club out of his right hand, but he can’t tell. 

His team lets him down and Izuku looks over at Mei and Ochako. “I’m sorry. I failed you all,” he says softly. 

Ochako blinks and grins, shifting out of the way and pointing behind her to Tokoyami. Izuku pauses and looks at him with widened eyes. “Todoroki was clearly shaken by your first attack. I had hoped to get the ten million points, but things don’t always go as you wish. Even so, I got one,” he explains. 

Behind him, Dark Shadow comes into view, holding up a headband with over five hundred points. Izuku’s eyes widen and he feels tears of joy replace the ones of pain. “I was able to take the one on his head thanks to you, Midoriya, for creating an opening.”

As he says this, Izuku hears Present Mic announce his team as the one to come in fourth place. They made it. They really made it to the next round. He can’t help the way he starts bawling, throwing himself at Mei and hugging her happily. She laughs and hugs him back.

When he pulls away, he has a bright grin. He looks at Mei. “I’m in so much pain right now,” he says, unable to help the laughter that accompanies the worrisome statement. “I don’t think I can stand anymore,” he adds, looking down at the wrists that have become even more bent. They’re definitely broken worse and all that exertion definitely didn’t help. 

“Izu?” he hears. He looks up, noticing that Mei seems kind of fuzzy. He opens his mouth to reply but collapses to the ground before he can. The cheering of the crowd is what he hears as he passes out. 

Chapter Text

Shouto’s team came in first place, but he wonders if getting the ten million headband was actually worth it as he watches Midoriya pass out and crumple to the ground. He blinks, his team not noticing that he’s still in slight shock, both from the flames that were dancing up his arm just seconds ago and from seeing the other boy pass out. 

For a second, he thinks nobody else has noticed. Then Hatsume cries out, “IZUKU!” That gets the attention of his other teammates and they all crowd him, trying to wake him up. It doesn’t work. 

Hatsume shoves the jetpack off Midoriya’s shoulders and then picks him up in a bridal carry. He’d take time to be impressed by her strength if he wasn’t so confused by the concern he feels for the other boy.  As he watches Hatsume carry Midoriya away, he takes a half step forwards, as if to follow them. 

“Todoroki! Thank you for letting me be on your team. We all worked well together,” Iida says, standing in front of him. 

Shouto blinks and nods. “Yeah,” he agrees, looking away only to see that Hatsume has already disappeared from the stadium. 

When Izuku wakes up, it’s to Recovery Girl wrapping his wrists. She’s working on his left one, so he glances down at the right. They don’t really hurt anymore. It’s more like a gentle throbbing of pain that’s getting weaker as time goes by. There’s new scarring there, though. “I guess it was bad,” he says, looking back at Recovery Girl. 

“It was foolish of you to continue participating with two broken wrists. At the same time, I’m a bit impressed by your pain tolerance,” she tells him. 

Izuku smiles weakly and shrugs. “I’ve had worse,” he says simply. He looks away so he doesn’t have to see Recovery Girl looking at the scars along his cheekbones and ears. “Did Mei bring me?”

Recovery Girl hums and nods, moving to the other side of the bed so she can wrap that wrist. “She wanted to stay, but I made her leave so she could eat,” she explains. She finishes wrapping his right wrist a moment later and nods. 

“Thank you.”

She looks up at him, frowning. “I don’t like that you’re seeing me more than your classmates. Just because you’re trying to prove yourself, it doesn’t mean you can be reckless with your body. Keep that in mind,” she tells him. 

Izuku blinks and nods. She lets him go and he pulls on his braces before grabbing his gloves and belt. He winces as he tugs the gloves on, walking slowly down the hall. They rub against his sore wrists in just the wrong way at first, feeling slightly better when he adjusts their grip. By the time he gets to the end of the hall, Izuku has the belt around his hips once more. 

He hears footsteps and looks up to see Shouto walking towards him. Izuku blinks, not sure what to do right now.

“Midoriya. Let’s talk.”

They end up near one of the exits, each standing against the walls opposite to each other. The arch of the exit casts a shadow over half of Shouto’s face, leaving only the scar in the light. Izuku fidgets a bit under the other’s intense stare. He has no clue what Shouto wants to talk about. The best way to find out is to ask, right?

 “What did you want to talk about?”

Shouto doesn’t say anything and Izuku is starting to think that maybe his look is a glare. The silence between them stretches, making him think that maybe he should turn off his hearing aids to see if there’s a difference between this silence and the silence of being deaf.

“I was overpowered,” Shouto suddenly says, “So much so that I broke my pledge.”

Izuku glances down to the left hand tucked into Shouto’s pocket. He’s never seen him use flames before, even if it would have been more to his advantage than ice. Shouto looks down, holding his left hand up and staring at it. 

“Iida, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Uraraka. None of them felt it. At that last instant, I was the only one who was overpowered. I don’t get it,” he says. 

He’s quiet for a moment and Izuku wishes he knew what the other boy was thinking. “What does that mean?” he asks. 

Shouto looks up at Izuku. “You’re quirkless. Defeating you should be no issue. So what does it mean that you, of all people, overpowered me?” he asks. “Midoriya, are you sure you’re really quirkless?”

Izuku’s eyes widen for just a moment, utterly shocked by the question. He just stares at the boy across from him. “Well, are you?” Shouto asks. 

“Of course I am!” he exclaims. Izuku takes a step forward. “Why would I be doing all of this if I wasn’t?! You’re the one who challenged me, Todoroki. You shouldn’t be surprised when I prove to be difficult to defeat,” he says, frowning as he looks up. For a moment, he feels upset enough that he wants to punch the wall. In the face of more silence, Izuku sighs and just leans back against his wall.

Shouto huffs softly. “Endeavor’s my old man. I’m sure you know that he’s been stuck as the number two hero forever. My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world. As a hero, he won a name for himself with crushing force. Because of that, the living legend, All Might, is a great eyesore to him. Since he couldn’t surpass All Might, he moved on to his next plan,” he says, his eyes averted from Izuku the whole time. 

A feeling of dread floods through Izuku as he listens. He knows this story. He’s pieced it together over the years, getting little bits from Rei each time he went to see her. The thought of hearing it from Shouto, having the fact that it really happened to him made true by his own words, makes him want to run away. But he won’t, because that would be leaving Shouto all alone. And he refuses to do that. 

“What are you trying to tell me, Todoroki?” he asks. 

Shouto looks over at him now. “You’ve heard of quirk marriages, right?” he asks. 

Izuku wants to scream yes. He wants to tell Shouto that he doesn’t have to continue, that everything he’s about to say is something Izuku already knows. Instead, he just nods once. 

“The thing that became a problem for the second and third generations after superpowers appeared. Choosing a spouse based only on strengthening your own quirk and passing it down to your children, forcing people into marriage. The old-fashioned way of thinking brought about by a lack of ethics. 

“He is a man with both money and accomplishments. He won over my mother’s relatives and got ahold of her quirk. He is trying to fulfill his own desire by raising me to be a hero to surpass All Might. I refuse to become the tool of scum like that.

“In my memories, my mother is always crying. ‘Your left side is unsightly’ my mother said as she poured boiling water on me.”

Shouto’s hand is covering his scar now and Izuku wants nothing more than to hug him. He knows he’s got tears in his eyes, ones that he reaches up to wipe away but they seem to keep reforming. 

“Basically, I picked a fight with you to show him what I can do, without using his damn quirk. I’ll reject him completely by winning first place without it,” he says. 

Izuku looks up at Shouto. He doesn’t say anything more, just pushes himself off the wall and starts to walk away. Izuku blinks and reaches out, grabbing his right arm to stop him. He does, looking down at the hand on his arm before looking up to meet Izuku’s eyes. 

“When I was four, the doctor told me I was quirkless. I was devastated. When I asked my mom if I could still be a hero, she just apologized to me. My classmates found out and for six years, I lied to my mom about the bruises and scrapes I came home with. And one day, I came home with fresh burns,” he says, gesturing to his ears and cheekbones, “but I was in so much shock that I couldn’t even feel them anymore. 

“At the hospital, the doctor told me I was permanently deaf. It was like another nail in the coffin of my dreams. One of the only good things that came from that day was meeting Present Mic. 

“Mom knew it was a kid from school who’d done it, so we moved without saying goodbye to anyone. I was ten years old, deaf, quirkless, and depressed because of everything. Aizawa is the one who snapped me out of it, made me realize I could still be a hero. Because of him, I realized that if there were no quirkless heroes, I’d just have to be the first.”

Izuku takes a deep breath, his throat closing up. He raises a hand to his ear, stopping just before he can touch the scars. “The doctor said the scarring and deafness could only have been caused by multiple explosions going off right by my ears over and over,” he says softly, looking up at Shouto and seeing his eyes widen just slightly. 

“The last thing I ever heard, ever truly heard , was my former best friend calling me Deku, worthless, useless. For the week until I got my first hearing aids, those were the last things I’d ever heard somebody say to me. 

“When I got to U.A. it had been four years since I’d heard Bakugou’s voice. And when he called me Deku right away, I was suddenly ten and my ears felt like they were being blasted off all over again while his friends held me down. After I’d started training with Aizawa, I had promised myself I’d never feel that helpless again.

“So I know what it means to have something to prove to yourself and others. I’m constantly questioning my place in this class because of my quirklessness. I’ve only gotten this far because of the people who supported and believed in me. 

“I’m striving for first place, too, Shouto. But I’m not alone in that, and you shouldn’t be either. So as much as I may be competing with you, I’m still going to support you.”

Izuku looks up to Shouto as he says this, a determined smile on his face. 

He notices someone waving behind Shouto and focuses on them, seeing Mei. Izuku waves to her and looks at Shouto, his smile softer now. “I need to go, but I’ll be cheering for you, Shouto,” he says before running off to meet Mei. 

“What was all that about?” Mei asks, getting a teasing smile. 

Izuku just waves her off. “Don’t worry about it, Mei Mei. I’m starving, though, so can we get food?”

Mei perks up and nods, grabbing Izuku’s arm and tugging him along. Izuku spares a glance back to see Shouto staring after them, so he gives a little wave before focusing on Mei’s theories about how to improve her babies. 

Chapter Text

Shouto stares after Izuku and Hatsume, not sure where he should even start in processing what’s been said to him. Does he start with Izuku’s promise to support him or with the fact that, apparently, Bakugou is the one who scarred Izuku both mentally and physically when they were ten? What about starting with Izuku calling him Shouto instead of Todoroki? Or, maybe, does he start with the fact that he’s now thinking of the other boy as Izuku in his mind, instead of Midoriya?

In the end, he decides that it’s something for him to analyze later. After the sports festival, he can think it over all he wants. For now, though, he heads over to the cafeteria to get food. The one-on-ones are next and he needs to make sure he’s at the top of his game

The only match-ups that Shouto pays attention to are his own and Izuku’s. Apparently, Izuku is going up against the purple-haired kid from Class C. Shouto doesn’t know what his quirk is, something that worries him more than he likes to admit. 

He’s just walking around to find a place where he can wait for the matches to start when he happens to notice Mei. She’s sitting in a hallway, one of her gadgets in her lap with parts of it spread around her, huge goggles covering her eyes. He blinks when he realizes it’s the boot that broke because of his ice that's in her lap. Now that he can see how focused she is on fixing it, he almost feels kind of bad for being the reason it broke. 

Shouto watches her for a moment, suddenly realizing that maybe she can give him more context about what Izuku told him. Surely, she knows the whole story. He walks over and stands next to her, leaning against the wall. 

“I hope you’re here to apologize for breaking my baby,” she says, not bothering to look up. 

He blinks. Honestly, apologizing hadn’t really crossed his mind. Sure, he felt bad, but apologies don’t exist in his household. He’d grown up taught they were a sign of weakness. Shouto figures it can’t hurt, though. “Sorry,” he says. 

Mei looks up at him, pushing the goggles off her eyes with a grin. “All is forgiven! What can I do for you?” she asks. 

Shouto shoves his hands into his pockets, looking at the wall across from him. “Izuku told me,” he says. 

“Told you what?”

“That Bakugou is the one who caused his scarring and deafness.”

The hallway is utterly silent for a moment before Mei jumps to her feet and gets right in front of Shouto’s face. “He told you? Izuku specifically said it was Bakugou?!” she demands, grabbing the front of his gym uniform and pulling him down. 

Shouto blinks in confusion. “Yes. Had he not told you?” he asks unsurely. He’d figured it was something Izuku would have told his best friend. 

“Of course not! I suspected, but he never outright confirmed anything,” she explains. Mei lets go of his uniform and pulls away, pacing the hall in front of him as she thinks. “Izuku never told anyone it was Bakugou. Even when it first happened, he refused to name the person who did it. For four years, he wouldn’t even tell his mom. But he told you.”

She looks up at Shouto and he’s finding it hard to read her expression. Something she said, though, makes him pause. “I’m the first person he’s ever told,” he says, not exactly sure how that makes him feel. 

Mei frowns as she nods. “Honestly, I’m kind of upset that he told you before me. Then again, he feels differently about you. So it’s not that surprising,” she admits, shrugging a little. After a moment, though, she looks back up at him again. 

Shouto doesn’t have much time to brace himself before she’s grabbed his uniform once more and pushed him into the wall. Sure, he could easily break free, but the hard look in her eyes is telling him it’s better to not even try. “Listen up, Todoroki. Izuku is my best friend. He’s the greatest person I’ve ever met. You know this now, but he’s been through enough shit in his life that he deserves the fucking world. So if you make one wrong move, cause one singular tear to fall down his cheeks for some reason other than joy, I will not hesitate to hunt you down. Got it?”

He stares down at her with wide eyes, not really sure where this sudden threat came from. Shouto nods, knowing that’s what she wants him to do. It’s the right thing, considering she flashes him a huge grin and lets go of his uniform. 

“I’m glad we understand each other,” she says. 

Shouto walks away from that conversation feeling like there's even more he doesn't understand.

By the time his match is about to start, Ojiro’s words are still flying around Izuku’s mind. Shinsou’s quirk is nothing to laugh at, considering how easy it would be for him to win if Izuku does respond to anything. In fact, it's probably what Shinsou is relying on to win the match. He’s still thinking of what to do when he walks into the arena, Present Mic introducing him. 

Shinsou looks bored if anything. Though, Izuku is starting to think that’s just how the other boy always looks. They meet near the middle of the platform set up for the fight. All Izuku has to do is push him past the lines and he'll win. 

It shouldn’t be too hard. Shinsou is probably relying entirely on his quirk to win this, which means he’s likely to be so-so at hand to hand combat. Izuku tugs on his gloves nervously, flexing his fingers as he takes a deep breath. He’d already decided he’s not going to use any support item besides the brass knuckles in his gloves. Shinsou wants to prove himself, so Izuku is at least going to give him a fair chance to do so by making this as even a fight as possible. 

Izuku locks eyes with Shinsou, nodding once in acknowledgment. Shinsou doesn’t return the gesture. He just starts talking, “This is a fight to test the strength of your spirit. If you know what you want for your future, then you can’t worry about appearances. That monkey was going on about his pride….”

Right in the middle of Shinsou’s little speech, Izuku hears Present Mic shout, “START!” He immediately reaches up and turns off his hearing aids. If he can’t hear anything Shinsou says, then he won’t be tempted to respond. 

His actions seem to throw Shinsou off for a moment, looking just slightly confused before he tries to keep talking. All Izuku can hear, though, is the ringing in his ears. For once, it’s a little comforting. He can focus on that sound instead of instinctively trying to read Shinsou’s lips. Izuku cracks his knuckles and shakes out his hands as he walks forward, jaw lowered and eyes hardened with his determination to win. 

Izuku doesn’t go straight for the punch. Instead, he shoves Shinsou backwards when he reaches him. He sees the obvious surprise in Shinsou’s face as he shouts something. When Izuku doesn’t respond, Shinsou punches him straight across the face. 

His cheek bursts in pain as his head snaps to the side. Okay, Shinsou packs a pretty good punch. Izuku feels blood trickle out of his nose as he looks back, pushing the purple-haired boy towards the boundary line once more. 

Shinsou looks behind him and his eyes widen. Suddenly, he’s grabbing Izuku’s wrapped wrists and twisting them, making Izuku cry out. He gets shoved back and then kicked for good measure to make sure he’s away from Shinsou. 

It’s really a fight now and Izuku can’t help the excited grin he gets. He looks back up at Shinsou and wipes the blood out from under his nose. Izuku rushes Shinsou, punching him across the face to return the one he received earlier. He throws another, but Shinsou manages to block it for the most part. 

Their fight brings them closer to the boundary lines. Izuku can feel the blood pounding in his ears along with the ringing. He glances behind him, frowning at how close he is to the white line. When he looks back, Shinsou has started to rush him. Izuku blinks and doesn’t move, waiting for just the right moment. 

He crouches and, when Shinsou gets close enough, Izuku grabs his arm. He slides his left foot out to brace himself and then turns, flipping the boy over his shoulder and slamming him onto the ground. He sees the way Shinsou’s eyes widen in surprise as he’s flipped through the air and gets the breath knocked out of him upon impact with the ground.

Izuku pants, still bent over from the momentum of throwing Shinsou. He looks up to see everyone cheering and blinks, turning his gaze back. Shinsou’s feet are outside the boundary, which means Izuku won the match. He reaches up and turns his hearing aids back on, wincing at the sudden booming cheer of the crowds. 

He looks back at Shinsou and smiles, holding a hand out to help him up. “You fought a good match,” he says. 

For a tense moment, Shinsou doesn’t move, just staring up at Izuku. Then, he reaches out and takes his hand, letting Izuku pull him up with an even wider smile. “I underestimated you,” he admits, pulling his hand away once he’s standing. 

Izuku shrugs a little. “A lot of people do. You aren't the first and you won’t be the last,” he replies. “Shinsou, why do you want to be a hero?”

Shinsou is quiet for a moment. “You can’t help the things you want,” he finally says.

Chapter Text

After getting his wrists checked once more by Recovery Girl, Izuku is allowed to go back to his class' seats. Now he's nervously bouncing his leg as he watches the fight between Shouto and Sero with a slight frown. He’s nervous about having to fight Shouto. It’s obvious that the other boy is stronger than Izuku. There really is no denying that fact. Izuku just needs to figure out a strategy that will let him win. Or, at the very least, last longer than Sero does. 

Someone sits down next to him and he glances over at Iida, smiling a bit. “How are you, Iida?” he asks. 

His friend looks troubled after his match with Mei. “I understand her thought process, but I feel used,” he admits, looking over at Izuku. 

“Yeah, Mei Mei can do that. She’s not always aware of how other people will feel because of her actions. I’m kind of surprised she beat you, though. As far as I know, her original plan was to just forfeit after showing everything off,” Izuku explains. 

Iida blinks at Izuku. “You knew she planned to do that showcase?”

“Well, yeah. It wasn’t too hard to figure out. I had planned to tell whoever had to go against her,  but I couldn’t find you before the match,” he says, smiling apologetically. 

That seems to calm Iida down a bit and he nods, sitting back in his seat. He turns back to the match, still sporting a slight frown. Izuku is about to ask him what’s wrong when a phone goes off. He blinks and looks around to see who brought in a phone, pausing in surprise when he sees Iida pull his out. 

“Excuse me, I need to take this,” Iida says, getting up as he answers the call. Izuku watches him leave the seating area, unable to help the concern he feels for his friend. Still, he can ask Iida about it when he gets back from the phone call. Izuku looks back to the fight, unable to really focus now that he's worried about Iida.

Eventually, after a slightly concerning amount of time has passed, he can't help himself and just gets up, going out into the hallway. Iida is standing there, staring at the wall with his phone lowered from his ear. Izuku walks over and leans into Iida's line of sight. "Are you okay, Iida?" he asks gently. Iida blinks and looks over at Izuku. He seems conflicted, as though he isn't sure whether he should tell Izuku about what's bothering him or not. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just know I'm here for you."

For a moment, Iida is quiet before exhaling softly. "It's my brother, Tensei. He's in the hospital," Iida says quietly.

"What?! What happened?" Izuku asks.

"He was attacked by the Hero Killer Stain. He's in the ICU now, but the doctors can't say anything conclusive about his condition," he explains, glaring down at the ground. Izuku softens a bit, knowing that glare. The one that means Iida feels helpless, wanting to do something but completely unable to do anything.

Izuku reaches out and gently places a hand on Iida's arm, making the other boy start slightly. When he looks down at him, Izuku smiles gently. "It's okay, Iida. Ingenium is a great hero. He'll be fine before you know it. Stuff like this is just an occupational hazard for heroes," he says gently.

Iida's shoulders seem to slump a little. "You're right, Midoriya. Thank you," Iida replies. Izuku studies him for a moment, about to say more when he hears Present Mic announce Shouto to be the winner of the fight between him and Sero.

"Your fight is coming up, right? You should go get ready. I'll be cheering for you," Iida tells him.

Izuku nods a little and gives Iida a quick hug. When he pulls away, Iida looks a little confused and unsure of how to respond. "I'm here if you ever need to talk," he promises, smiling at his friend before heading off towards the waiting room where he's supposed to get ready for his fight.

The hallway Izuku is walking down is quiet. That’s honestly a relief given how insane the stadium is right now. As exciting as he thinks everyone’s battles are, he’s glad for the brief amount of time between them. His own against Shouto is coming up and being alone is calming.

He smells flames before he sees or hears Endeavor. Izuku pauses just as the flame hero turns the corner and he tenses, forcing himself to not shrink under the intense gaze Endeavor aims at him. Silence stretches between them and Izuku refuses to be the first one to break it. 

“You, boy,” Endeavor says, his voice gruff and grating on Izuku’s ears, “You’re going up against my Shouto in the next round.”

Izuku clenches his jaw but nods, still refusing to give this man the courtesy of actual words. “It’s a disgrace Shouto hasn’t overtaken a quirkless competitor sooner. If U.A. really let you into the hero course, their standards must have fallen exponentially. Do me a favor and get out of the way of my Shouto. A quirkless kid is just a distraction and a liability,” Endeavor says.

He pushes past Izuku and walks down the hall. Izuku stares at where he was before slowly turning. “Endeavor,” he calls. The flame hero pauses and looks over his shoulder. “I know what you did to Rei and I refuse to let you do the same to Shouto. He may be your son, but he will never be you.”

Izuku doesn’t give him any chance to respond, holding Endeavor’s gaze as he reaches up and very obviously takes out his hearing aids. He turns and walks down the hall, knowing how much of a risk this move is. Doing this, turning his back on someone he’s just insulted after impairing himself, shows that he doesn’t consider Endeavor a threat. It’s the exact kind of thing that would provoke the flame hero. 

When he makes it to the waiting room, he lets out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. Izuku puts the hearing aids back in and shakes out his limbs, trying to get rid of pent up energy from that conversation. 

Izuku feels his heart pounding in his chest as he stares at Shouto from across the platform. He feels too warm and too cold all at once, but he doubts it’s because of Shouto’s quirk. He thinks it’s nerves. He hopes it’s just nerves. When he glances at the seating area for the pro heroes, Izuku sees Endeavor’s constant flames and his scowl. That right there is enough for his nerves to go away, replaced by a conviction to help Shouto in any way he can. 

Present Mic announces their names and Izuku braces himself, planting his feet firmly on the ground as he gets ready to hold up the speakers in his gloves. Soundwaves can break the ice Shouto creates, so these will be vital in staying in the match as long as possible. The blades on his clubs can do the same, but not at the rate as his speaker. 

He holds up his hands and, the moment Present Mic tells them to start, double-clicks the buttons. Just as ice comes shooting towards him, the force of both speakers' soundwaves hits it. The ice shatters apart before it can reach Izuku and he grins. 

When the frost and the wind clears, he can see Shouto’s eyes glued to him, narrowed and calculating. That makes sense. It should be easier to defeat someone like Izuku, given Shouto’s impressive power. Izuku won’t let it be easy, though. This is a victory he’ll make Shouto work for. 

Shouto tries to use his ice two more times. The first time, Izuku destroys it with his speakers once more. The second time comes right after the first, though, and there isn’t enough time for Izuku to reset the speakers. He jumps out of the way of that one, vaulting to the side and popping up to meet another attack. It comes from above, with Shouto creating a ramp and running towards him in the time it took for Izuku to dodge and recover. 

Izuku blinks and jumps out of the way again, just in time to avoid the ice that forms right where he’d been standing. This is bad. He can’t just keep running. He needs to find an opening, something that will let him actually land a hit and force Shouto to take this seriously. 

That thought makes him pause long enough to realize he’s had an epiphany. Izuku grins and Shouto comes at him again. It seems like they’ve switched to close combat instead of long-range, so Izuku grabs his staff and pulls it apart. On the left, he brings out the blade so he can break any ice that comes at him. 

Blocking attacks is easy. Landing them proves to be harder. Ice just keeps coming and Izuku has to resort to both blades in order to cut through it. This has turned into an endurance match, something that he’d wanted to avoid. Objectively, they could both last a while, but Shouto would win in the end. 

Izuku narrows his eyes and uses one of the second long breaks between attacks to reach down and press the button on his left brace. He needs a few seconds to think and being in the air will give him five. 

The trickiness of only activating one speaker, though, is that he has to keep his balance. He’d worked on it with Mei for a bit, so it wouldn’t be too bad, but leaning just a little too far in one direction would be detrimental. Izuku’s sudden ascent seems to shock Shouto, though, which gives him a few precious seconds to analyze the situation. 

Logically speaking, Izuku knows he has a very slim chance of winning. He’s still giving this his all, but it’s still slim. This match is more about him figuring out how he can help Shouto than it is about showing off. To do that, he needs to see how Shouto fights and how his quirk affects him. 

That’s when he notices the frost and ice forming on Shouto’s right half, the way his arm is trembling because of it. His breath is coming out entirely in visible puffs and Izuku realizes that’s his limit. If he only uses the right, he’ll get frostbite. Shouto has to use the left in order to regulate that, something he’s refusing to do in battle. 

As he falls to the ground, Izuku uses the speakers in his hands to cushion himself and break the ice that comes up to meet him. He lands roughly but manages to not fall over. “Are you done defending and running away?” Shouto asks. “I have to thank you, though. Because of you, that old bastard’s face is clouded over.”

Izuku frowns and holds his arms out to both sides. “What are you thanking me for? I’m still standing, right? You haven’t won yet, right? Shouldn’t it be easy to beat the quirkless deaf kid?” he asks. 

Shouto’s eyes widen and he scowls, ice rocketing towards Izuku. It’s hard to tell, but it’s getting sloppy. Izuku blasts it away with his speakers. “You’re trembling! Quirks are physical abilities and your ice is limiting you from using it so much by freezing you, too. Isn’t that something you can solve with the heat from your left side?” he asks. “Everyone’s fighting with everything they’ve got to win and get closer to their dream.”

He looks up at Shouto, spreading his feet and grounding himself a bit more. “You want to win with only half your strength?! Look at me, Shouto! You haven’t managed to lay a scratch on me! Come at me with everything you’ve got!” he shouts.

Shouto’s eyes narrow, hardening into something as cold as the ice he can form. “Midoriya, what are you playing at? Did my old man pay you off or something?” he demands, not giving Izuku a chance to answer before rushing him. Izuku pauses when he notices his movements have slowed down because of the ice. 

He doesn’t move, waiting for Shouto to get closer. The moment he raises his right fist, Izuku meets him, body ducked down as he drives his fist into Shouto’s stomach with as much force as he can. It doesn’t exactly send him flying, but the added force of the brass knuckles does knock him back quite a bit. 

“I ran into him right before our match. Wanna know what he said to me? He told me a quirkless kid in U.A. is just a distraction and a liability, proof that their standards have gone to shit. He told me to get out of your way. But I’m not moving, Shouto.”

Shouto scowls and tries to come at Izuku again, this time with ice. He’s so much slower now, though, and his ice definitely isn’t as strong. It’s easy to dodge it or break it with just one of his speakers. It becomes a game of back and forth, with Shouto trying to land a hit and Izuku dodging it rather easily for the most part. 

In all honesty, it’s starting to annoy Izuku. 

“Why won’t you just give up? Why are you going so far?” Shouto asks, puffing as he looks up at Izuku. 

He’s out of breath himself, the dodging and defending taking up his energy sooner than he would have liked. “Because I want to be a hero. A hero doesn’t give up just because they’re tired and they don’t fight with only half of their power,” he replies. 

“I told you before why I refused to use his power,” Shouto says. 

He looks like he’s going to say more but Izuku cuts him off. “It’s not his, though! So stop being so stubborn!” he shouts, wishing the boy in front of him will finally understand.

The look of shock Shouto gets is the exact opening Izuku needs. He punches Shouto in the stomach again, following it up immediately with a left hook that makes Shouto bleed. Izuku decides he can feel bad about that later. “Stop half-assing this fight! Are you not taking me seriously because I’m quirkless? Are you going easy on me because you think I can’t handle a real fight?” he demands.

He’s panting now, watching as Shouto stands up straight and wipes the blood off his face. “Of course not,” Shouto says, looking up at Izuku. He can see smoke starting to come off of Shouto. 

“Then stop acting like it. It’s your quirk, Shouto! It’s your power! So come at me with everything you’ve got,” Izuku says. 

Shouto stares at him, eyes wide. The smoke starts to increase and then Shouto’s entire left half bursts into flame. It’s like an inferno of heat that makes Izuku step back. He grins, though, glad he finally got through to Shouto. Although, it’s pretty clear now that he can’t really win this fight. Still, he’ll give it his all.

When the flames clear away enough for Izuku to see Shouto again, he crouches and braces for the next attack. It doesn’t come right away. “Even though you want to win….you still helped your enemy. Which of us is messing around now, Izuku?” Shouto asks, looking up at him. 

He has a huge, slightly crazed grin as excitement dances in his eyes. With the flames lighting him up, dancing across his skin, Izuku realizes that Shouto looks beautiful like this. Maybe not the most important thought to be having during a fight, but it’s the one Izuku focuses on. He returns Shouto’s grin and connects the two clubs together, extending it out into the full bo staff. 

“Why are you smiling? With how tired you are, you must be crazy to have encouraged this,” Shouto says. Izuku just shrugs a little, noticing the ice that’s growing around Shouto’s foot. “Just don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Izuku’s eyes widen slightly as ice shoots for him. He slams his hands down on his braces, airborn just in time to avoid the ice. That doesn’t stop a wave of fire from coming at him and he angles himself out of its way. Just like he thought, Shouto using both quirks makes him a much more formidable opponent. A game of cat and mouse begins, with Izuku just barely managing to stay out of Shouto’s way. 

His clothes are singed in multiple places by Shouto’s fire and he’s both sweating and freezing. Izuku doesn’t think he’s ever felt more alive. He finally manages to get close enough to hit Shouto with the bo staff, landing a hit before dancing away to avoid ice and flame. 

In the end, Izuku is defeated because his movements had slowed down from exhaustion. Before one of the hits from his bo staff can land, Shouto grabs the staff, ice covering it and freezing Izuku’s hands to the metal. Izuku’s eyes widen in alarm as Shouto uses the momentum of his swing to throw Izuku out of the boundaries. 

There’s definitely a little too much force behind it, something Izuku realizes as he’s hurtling towards the wall. He can’t move his hands at all, which means he isn’t able to use the speakers in his gloves to cushion the impact. Izuku at least manages to turn so he doesn’t hit face first. He feels the impact of his back against the cement, the breath knocked out of him so quickly it hurts more than usual. He hears the worrying crack of his head against the wall.

Despite all of that, Izuku gets a breathless smile at Shouto taking their fight seriously. As he slides down the wall, the last thing he sees before blacking out is Shouto’s wide, horrified eyes.

Chapter Text

Mei’s original plan in her fight with Iida had just been to show off her babies and then forfeit. That went right out the window after her conversation with Todoroki. These one-on-one battles were the perfect way for her to punch Bakugou, something she desperately wants to do. Really, she’s always wanted to punch whoever caused Izuku’s deafness. She’s never had a name until now, though. 

As much as she likes Iida, and appreciates how gullible he is, she can’t let him win their battle. And she doesn’t. Sure, she still takes most of it to show off her babies to the support companies there, but she doesn’t walk outside the lines like she originally planned. 

“Thanks for the help showcasing my babies, Iida, but I’ll have to force you out of bounds now,” she says, grinning at him. 

Iida blinks and frowns. “This was unsportsmanlike behavior, Hatsume! You can’t call this a fair fight,” he says. 

Mei just shrugs a little. “It may not seem fair to you, but it is to me. I don’t have a quirk like yours. All I’ve got are my babies, so why wouldn’t I use them to win?” she asks, pulling out her capture gun again. 

She shoots a net out at him, watching Iida fall and struggle to get free. Mei walks over and smiles at Iida as she grabs onto the net and drags him over to the line, pushing him beyond it and winning the match.

All Shouto can think about is the crack in the wall where Izuku hit and the smile Izuku had right as he passed out. He hadn’t meant to throw him with that much force. He’d just gotten caught up in the thrill of actually fighting someone, going all out against an opponent without fear of retribution for doing so.

Shouto tries to go see Izuku in Recovery Girl’s temporary office, but she doesn’t let him in. “I have to heal him. Something I can’t do if you’re standing over my shoulder,” she tells him. She gives him a hard look before shutting the door. 

If anything, that just makes him worry even more. Shouto doesn’t even know why he’s so worried. It was a fight. Of course they’re going to get hurt. But, for some reason, the thought of Izuku being hurt because of him makes him feel significantly agitated. Shouto knows he wouldn’t have cared this much if Sero had gotten any injuries from their fight. So what’s the difference?

Shouto leans on the wall next to Recovery Girl’s office, frowning as he thinks. Izuku just makes him feel different in general. He felt safe opening up to Izuku about his father and his home life. Izuku opening up to him in return had made Shouto feel like they’d crossed a line. They were connected now by an understanding of similar traumas if nothing else. 

Izuku’s words, though, had really gotten to him. They’re supposed to be rivals, yet Izuku has been cheering him on every chance he gets. Even in the middle of their fight, he was cheering Shouto on. And Shouto had thrown him into a wall hard enough for the concrete to crack. 

He groans softly and slides down the wall, sitting on the ground. Why is he so affected by some quirkless kid? What about Izuku makes him feel this way? Maybe it isn’t one specific thing. Maybe it’s just Izuku in general. Shouto’s pretty sure he’s never met someone like Izuku before. 

“Shouto?”

He blinks and looks up, seeing Momo at the end of the hall. She has a worried look on her face and Shouto can’t help noticing the bandages from her fight with Tokoyami. Izuku is going to have bandages, too, isn’t he? There’s no way he wouldn’t. 

While he’s stuck in his thoughts, Momo walks over to him. She’s quiet for a moment before silently sitting down next to him. “You should talk about whatever is bothering you,” she tells him. Shouto knows she knows what’s bothering him, but he appreciates that she’s pretending not to. 

“I hurt him really bad,” he says, looking down at his hands. He wants to hate his left side even more, but he can’t even blame his fire for something he did by throwing Izuku himself. 

Momo hums softly. “I don’t think Midoriya will see it that way. He wanted you to take your fight seriously, to take him seriously enough to go all out, and you did. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would get mad about that,” she points out. 

Shouto hates to admit it, but she has a point. He sighs and leans his head back against the wall. “Then why do I feel this way? Why do I want to hear Izuku say he’s not angry at me?” he asks. The hall is quiet for a moment, long enough for Shouto to glance over at Momo. She’s looking at him with an expression he can’t read. “What?”

She shakes her head, getting a soft smile as she gently nudges Shouto’s shoulder with her own. “I know you’re confused right now, but these emotions are something you need to figure out for yourself,” she says. 

That doesn’t really help him at all. If anything, it just makes him even more confused. What is there to figure out? “I don’t really get what you’re saying,” he admits. 

“You will soon,” she promises. 

Shouto just frowns, not sure what she means by that. It sounds ominous more than anything else. Momo just flashes him a reassuring smile and he nods. 

“C’mon, Shouto. Your next fight is coming up,” Momo says, pushing herself up. Shouto huffs and stands, following her back to the arena. In all honesty, he couldn’t care less about the sports festival right now. 

It’s not that Shouto isn’t trying to take this fight seriously, it’s just that he’s distracted. Every movement from Class A’s section of the stands makes him glance over to see if maybe Izuku has gotten back from Recovery Girl. It causes him to get hit by Hatsume more than a few times. 

He huffs in annoyance as he dodges another capture net. Someone in his class’ section sits down and Shouto looks over again, frowning when he sees that it’s just Iida. “You seem distracted, Todoroki,” Hatsume calls out. “You keep looking up at the stands.”

Shouto frowns and shakes his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replies. Except he does. He does know what she’s talking about because he just can’t stop checking. He doesn’t want to fight right now, he’d rather go wait for Izuku to wake up so he can apologize for hurting him. 

“Is it because you gave Izuku a light concussion? Are you feeling guilty about that, Todoroki?” Hatsume asks, her boots easily moving her out of the way of the ice he shoots into the sky after her. He knows it’s obvious that he’s not really put much into this fight. At the very least, he appreciates the fact that this is definitely pissing off his father. 

“Wanna know why I defeated Iida after showing off my babies?” she asks.

Shouto blinks and looks up at Hatsume. For now, she’s lowered her capture net gun and he doesn’t try to attack her. “Why?” he asks. 

Hatsume gets a dark look, her eyes hardening and her free hand clenching at her side. “There’s someone I’ve been waiting years to punch, but I never knew their name. Now, I finally do. Unfortunately, Iida was in my way of doing that, so I had to beat him. Nothing is going to stop me from getting to the final match against that person. If you want to fight, fine, but you will not win, Shouto Todoroki,” she says.

Her anger is definitely scary, making Shouto glad that it’s not aimed at him. He’d feel sorry for Bakugou if he didn’t already want to punch him himself. Though, he can see that Hatsume gets seniority when it comes to wanting to beat him up for hurting Izuku. 

“If you forfeit now, you could go wait for Izu to wake up, you know,” she points out. 

Shouto has to admit that she has a point. Why should he bother fighting if he’s not going to give it his all? He’d much rather be trying to convince Recovery Girl to let him wait for Izuku to wake up. Of course, that in itself is a bit worrying. He still doesn’t know why he feels this way, just that he does. 

He looks up at Hatsume, studying her for a moment. “I see your point,” he says. Shouto glances at the stands, noticing his father watching near the pro hero seats. Oh, that’s another reason to forfeit. There’s honestly no better fuck you that he can think of than just giving up the match to someone from support. Shouto might face hell for it later, but he can put it off by staying with Natsuo for a few days. 

The two options are easy to choose between. Stay here and fight even though he doesn’t want to, or forfeit and go wait for Izuku to wake up. Shouto looks back at Hatsume, holding her gaze as he walks backwards towards the boundary lines. He can hear Present Mic freaking out over this turn of events and really can’t bring himself to care. 

“Don’t hold back,” he tells her before stepping over the line. The stadium explodes with confusion and Shouto can see a pillar of angry flames where his father is standing. He can’t really find it in himself to care as he turns and walks out of the arena.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s head is pounding when he wakes up. He whines softly and reaches up to hold it, pausing when his hands come in contact with bandages. Why would he have bandages? Gently, he pushes himself up, wincing at the pain in his back and sides, and opens his eyes. He recognizes Recovery Girl’s temporary station at the sports festival arena and suddenly remembers exactly how his fight with Shouto ended. 

When he looks down, he can see the fresh bandages on his hands, now covering him from his wrists to the tips of his fingers. He sighs and blinks when he realizes he couldn’t hear the sigh. Izuku looks around, spotting his hearing aids on the small table next to his bed. There really isn’t much to hear when he does put them in, just the distant sound of Present Mic’s announcing. Recovery Girl doesn’t seem to be in the station either.

There’s really not much point in staying there if he doesn’t need to. Izuku looks to his gear on the ground and shifts to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulls on his braces and his belt, but can’t find his gloves. He frowns and looks around, hanging off the edge of the bed to look under it when he hears the door to the station open. 

“What are you doing?” Shouto asks, making Izuku jerk up to look at him. A sudden wave of dizziness hits him and he blinks, falling back on the bed. 

Shouto walks over and sits on the bed in front of him. “My gloves. I couldn’t find them. I thought they might be under the bed,” he explains. 

“Hatsume has them. I assume she’s going to use them in her fight against Bakugou,” Shouto explains. 

That makes Izuku frown in confusion. “Wait. She’d have to defeat you to fight him, right?” he asks. 

Shouto nods. “Our fight just ended. I forfeited halfway through,” he admits. 

“What?! Why would you do that?” Izuku asks, moving closer to Shouto. Maybe this isn’t actually Shouto. Maybe this is some hallucination or something. 

That suspicion is proved wrong when Shouto meets Izuku’s eyes. There’s no way he could ever hallucinate those eyes right. “I’d rather make sure you’re okay than continue fighting in the festival,” Shouto says simply. 

Those words are like an arrow through Izuku’s heart. He sits back, staring at Shouto with wide eyes and feeling his face heat up. Part of him wants to be upset that Shouto gave up on the sports festival so easily, but the much larger part of him that’s making his heart pound isn’t find too much of an issue with that right now. “Really?” he asks softly. 

“I also wanted to apologize for hurting you so badly. Hatsume said you had a mild concussion,” Shouto replies. 

Izuku blinks. Huh. That would certainly explain the bandage around his head. He’s not upset about it, though. “You don’t need to apologize, Shouto,” he promises, smiling reassuringly at him. “It was a good fight and I’m not upset with you at all.”

Shouto looks down at the bandages on Izuku’s hands and his face twists slightly, obviously conflicted. “You’ll have scars.”

“And they’ll be the first ones that will make me happy when I look at them,” Izuku tells him. He reaches forward and grabs Shouto’s hand, squeezing it gently. “I’ve never had a scar that had good memories attached to it. I do now, thanks to you.”

Heterochromatic eyes meet his own and he gets a soft smile. Shouto’s eyes seem to widen slightly, as though he’s realizing something, and his face turns red. In the blink of an eye, Shouto is smoking. “Uh, Shouto, you’re smoking,” Izuku says, pulling his hand away to wave some of the smoke off of Shouto. 

“I’m what?” Shouto asks, seeming a bit distracted as he looks to where Izuku is waving the smoke away. He blinks and quickly stands from the bed, using his right hand to ice the areas that started smoking. “Sorry,” he says. 

Izuku can’t help the laugh that escapes him and he shakes his head. “It’s fine,” he says. He watches Shouto for a moment before realizing something. “Wait, when is the match between Mei and Bakugou supposed to start?”

Shouto looks over at the small clock on Recovery Girl’s temporary desk. “About five minutes,” he says. 

That makes Izuku jump up, forgetting about the dizziness until it makes him take a step back. He feels Shouto place a steadying hand on his back and looks up, smiling gratefully. “C’mon, I wanna see their fight,” he says, grabbing Shouto’s hand before pulling him out of the station. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to leave?” Shouto asks. 

Izuku looks back to see him staring at their hands. He hesitates, loosening his grip a bit to pull away. When Shouto responds by tightening his grip just slightly, Izuku feels his heart skip a beat as his face heats up again. “I’ll tell you if I feel like I need to come back,” he promises. 

Shouto looks up at him and nods. Izuku thinks he can see the tiniest hint of a smile and beams at him in return. 

This is the moment Mei has been waiting for ever since she learned the story of Izuku’s scarring and deafness. Sure, she never knew who exactly she was going to beat up until earlier that day, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is she finally gets to avenge her best friend. Izuku probably wouldn’t approve of her motivations, but he definitely can't stop her now. 

She tugs on Izuku’s gloves to secure them. The plan is simple. Mei doesn’t have to win, but she is going to get at least one punch in before she loses. If she happens to win, great. It’s not that important to her, though. 

Bakugou is sizing her up, she can tell. He keeps glancing between all of her babies, likely trying to figure out what each one does. As much as Mei might dislike Bakugou, she has to admit that he isn’t as thick-headed as he comes off. He does actually think before battles when he needs to. 

The match starts and Bakugou uses his explosions to propel him towards her, shouting something about this being too easy. Mei is pretty sure he’s trying to psyche himself up. She rises into the air and unclips the capture net gun from her belt. The first net doesn’t hit its mark and Bakugou is suddenly in the air in front of her. 

This explosion is right in her face, knocking her back. Her skin burns a bit, but it’s nothing permanent. Still, that burning sensation just reminds Mei of Izuku’s scarring and it makes her scowl. 

“Do you know why I wanted to make it to this match, Bakugou?” she asks, pulling out the flame retardant nozzle. It won’t do much, but it’s more to distract and confuse than anything else. 

Bakugou dodges the first spray. “I don’t really give a shit, Goggles,” he shouts back. He doesn’t manage to get out of the way of the second spray. As Mei predicted, he gets confused for a second before his anger gets the better of him. 

Explosions dance across his palms. “Get the fuck down here and fight already!” he shouts. 

Mei smirks. “I am fighting, Bakugou,” she replies, shooting the capture net gun again. This time, he doesn’t manage to dodge it and roars in frustration. 

Even as he tries to explode his way out, Mei shoots off the gun until it runs out, leaving Bakugou encased in the nets. They won’t hold him forever, of course, but they will hold him long enough for Mei to do what she wants. 

She drops to the ground in front of Bakugou and grabs the nets, yanking him up so he’s standing. Mei keeps him slightly off-balance so he knows that she’s the only thing keeping him up. “I know what you did to Izuku, you bastard,” she hisses. 

Bakugou freezes for just a second, looking up to her before getting that enraged scowl again. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he spits back. 

Mei just smirks. “I think you do. This is for Izuku,” she tells him before winding her right fist back and hitting him across the face as hard as she can. She thinks she hears something crack but that doesn’t bother her too much. 

She lets go of Bakugou immediately after punching him. Mei braces herself, waiting for the explosive anger and to defend herself. All she has to do is make it to the boundary lines before he can hurt her. 

It never comes, though. Instead, there’s the roar of the stadium as they all cheer. She can hear the loudest cheers from the section where the other support students are sitting. Mei blinks and looks down at Bakugou, seeing him knocked out from her one punch. She pauses and looks down at her right fist, seeing a speck of blood on the knuckles. 

“Oops.”

Izuku definitely never thought he’d see Mei standing on the first-place podium at the end of the sports festival. She’s got a wide grin, though, and is looking directly at the section where support company representatives are sitting. He can understand her excitement. There’s nothing quite as impressive as winning the whole sports festival with just her babies. 

He looks to where Shouto is standing on the third-place podium with Tokoyami, talking to him. Izuku smiles a little. “I think you two would look really cute together,” Ochako says suddenly, startling Izuku. 

His face turns red and he hides it in his hands. “Please stop. I just got him to be my friend. I kind of doubt the feelings are mutual,” he tells her. 

Ochako shrugs, smiling knowingly. “You never know, Izuku,” she says. “Bakugou’s less upset about second place than I thought he’d be.”

Izuku follows her gaze to where Bakugou is standing on the second-place podium. He’s definitely angry, but he has to agree with Ochako. “It’s probably because Mei Mei won fair and square. Her support gear replaced her quirk and it was a punch that knocked him out, none of the gear itself,” he explains. 

Kirishima comes up on Izuku’s other side with a huge grin. “Bakubro is mostly upset about losing in general, not the way he lost,” he tells them. 

“How do you know?” Izuku asks. 

“It’s in the way he’s standing and not demanding a rematch,” Kirishima explains. 

Ochako smirks at him. “That’s very observant of you, Kiri,” she says.

It apparently gets the exact reaction she expected, since Ochako giggles at the way Kirishima blushes slightly. He doesn’t get to defend himself since All Might quite literally drops from the air in front of the podiums. 

Izuku doesn’t pay too much attention to what All Might says. He’s too busy watching Shouto and occasionally glancing at Mei to make sure she’s mostly behaving. One of the times when he looks back to Shouto from her, he meets his eyes. Izuku blinks, but Shouto doesn’t look away, so Izuku smiles brightly at him and waves. 

Izuku’s heart soars at the little nod he gets in return. 

Chapter Text

Shouto stares up at the hospital, nervously tightening his grip on the bouquet of flowers in his hand. He hadn’t intended to bring flowers, mostly because he hadn’t really thought to when he decided to come here. But then he’d seen a florist on the walk over and decided that flowers were a good idea. The man running the shop had said purple hyacinths were flowers that meant asking forgiveness, so Shouto had gotten a bouquet of them. 

He takes a deep breath, glancing down at the bouquet to see frost starting to cover the paper sleeve it’s wrapped in. Shouto frowns and gently wipes the frost off. He can’t stand in front of the hospital forever, so he forces himself to take that first step towards the doors. Every step is easier after it. 

He goes straight for the elevator. Fuyumi had told him that morning which room belongs to their mother, something he’s grateful for since it means he doesn’t need to ask a nurse. The familiar head of wild green hair coming out of the elevator is a bit of a shock to Shouto. “Izuku?” he asks, getting the boy’s attention away from his phone. 

Izuku blinks when he sees Shouto and then lights up with a bright smile. His head and hands are still wrapped in bandages, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by them. “Shouto! What are you doing here?” he asks as he walks over. 

“I was coming to visit my mother,” he says, glancing down at the flowers he has. If anything, that somehow makes Izuku brighten up even more. He’s not really sure why, though. “What about you?” he asks. 

“Oh, I was visiting some friends of mine. This was the hospital my mother brought me to when I was ten, so I know a few of the nurses here and some of the extended-stay patients. I try to come visit them all at least once a week. Though, that’s getting a bit harder to do with school and all,” he says. Shouto finds that he doesn't mind when Izuku starts to ramble.

Shouto hums softly in understanding. “Are you leaving now?” he asks. 

Izuku looks up at him and nods. “Yeah, I need to get back home. Mei Mei apparently has some new baby she wants me to try out,” he explains. 

“Be careful,” Shouto says, blinking when Izuku laughs. It wasn’t a joke, but he’s not going to tell Izuku that.

“I will,” he promises, glancing down at his phone. Izuku frowns a bit at the time. “I really need to go. I’ll see you at school on Monday, though.”

Shouto nods and lets Izuku walk around him. He turns to watch him leave before suddenly thinking. “Izuku!” he calls out, hurrying after him. 

The boy blinks and turns. “Yeah?” he asks. 

“My number. Let me give it to you,” he says. 

Izuku blinks and his face gets red. Shouto wonders if it’s because the hospital is warm, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on it. Izuku is already opening a new contact on his phone and Shouto recites his number when he’s ready. 

“I’ll text you later so you’ll have mine, too,” Izuku promises, smiling up at Shouto. 

He just nods in understanding and Izuku waves before actually leaving this time. Seeing Izuku helped his nerves just a bit. This time it’s easy to go to the elevator and press the button for his mother’s floor. 

Shouto finds himself standing in front of his mother’s door sooner than he expected. He holds his hand up to knock and hesitates, staring at the door in front of him. What if his mother doesn’t actually want to see him? What if coming here will somehow make her health worse?

His hand starts to lower a bit before he frowns and pushes the thoughts away. Even if his mother doesn’t want to see him, at least he’ll have that as an answer instead of staying away from her forever. Shouto is so tired of being scared of how she’ll react. He’s ready to ask her forgiveness for never coming to visit; he’s ready to build his relationship with her again. 

Shouto knocks on the door twice and opens it when the familiar voice inside asks him to come in. His mother is sitting at a table by the window, smiling at a small potted bamboo. She looks up and her eyes widen at seeing him in the doorway. His mother doesn’t speak for a moment. 

Shouto is just about to offer to leave when her face softens into a familiar kind smile. His nerves leave him almost immediately and he shuts the door behind him. 

“I didn’t expect to see you,” she says, gesturing for him to sit at the table next to her. Shouto walks over and watches her as he sits down. She looks better, healthier compared to the last time he’d seen her. 

“I’m sorry for not coming sooner,” Shouto says quietly, holding the flowers out to her. 

His mother blinks and takes them, a finger idly brushing over one of the buds, before she smiles at him. “These are beautiful, Shouto,” she tells him, gently placing them next to the bamboo. 

“I’m glad you like them,” he says honestly. 

“I love them. We have a lot to catch up on, though. Tell me about school. Do you like it?” she asks. 

Shouto isn’t really sure what to say. He hums softly in thought before finding a good place to start. “There’s this boy named Izuku.”