Chapter Text
Prologue
“Kacchan!”
Bakugou Katsuki turned around, watching as his best friend, Midoriya Izuku, ran up to him. The little boy was panting, his freckled face red with strain, but despite all of that he had on a beaming smile. Katsuki couldn’t help the returning smile, and he waited for the boy to catch his breath. “What is it, Zuzu?”
“I- I have something for you!” Izuku said, thrusting his hands out. Katsuki looked down, shocked to find the All Might action figure they’d both been eyeing in the convenience store. When he and Deku had gone last week, there had only been one left. Neither of them had the money to buy one, and they’d left the store feeling downtrodden and depressed. Katsuki shakily reached out and took the action figure, staring at his best friend with wide eyes.
“How did you get this?” he asked, in awe. Izuku’s beaming smile seemed to glow impossibly brighter, and he giggled.
“I got some allowance from my mama! I had just enough to buy us both one!” He reached into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out a matching figurine. “See! Aren’t they cool?”
Katsuki looked back down at his gift, feeling the beginnings of tears welling up in his eyes. “Y-yeah,” he said, sniffling. “Yeah, it’s cool. Thank you, Zuzu.” He hugged the figure to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Of course! Kacchan is amazing, so I wanted to get him something!” Izuku stepped forward and grabbed Katsuki’s hand. He had only recently developed his quirk, and due to fear from other classmates, Izuku was the only one still brave enough to hold his hand. Katsuki would never tell him how warm it made him feel inside. “Let’s go play, okay?”
Katsuki smiled, squeezing Izuku’s hand. “Okay.”
One
Uraraka Ochako watched in fear as the massive robot stomped toward her, its footsteps shaking the ground beneath. She struggled to twist her body to reach behind her, praying desperately that she could just touch the damn rubble! She knew that even if she was able to get the rubble off of her, her ankle was still broken. She wouldn’t be able to run away.
“Please,” she found herself muttering, tears welling in her eyes. “Someone help me!”
She went limp, no longer trying to get the rubble off of her. Surely, U.A. wouldn’t allow a child to be crushed underneath a giant robot… right? Unless they didn’t see her… it was rather dusty, and the screams of the students around her were probably covering her cries for help. Her body began to tremble as she accepted her fate, the tears that had been building escaping her eyes. Was she really about to die here, crushed to death during the U.A. entrance exam?
And then she heard the most beautiful sound in the world.
“Don’t worry! I’m here!”
She looked up as a boy ran up to her, panting and smudged with dirt from the dust swirling in the air around them. He was somewhat short, wearing a teal tracksuit that was rumpled from all of the action. His messy green curls shone in the light, and when she looked closer, she realized that some of the smudges on his tan skin weren’t dirt, but rather a smattering of freckles. His face was somewhat plain, but his wide green eyes were filled with determination.
He looked up, squinting through the blinding sunlight at the massive robot that was almost upon them. As Ochako watched, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, sharpening his features into something… powerful. To her surprise, she felt her heart skip in her chest. When he looked back down at her, he was smiling. “I’m going to save you.”
And then he was gone. She blinked, looking up toward the zero pointer, only to see- holy shit , he had jumped all the way up in the air! She watched as he cocked his fist back, glowing lines of power encircling his arm. When he released his punch, it didn’t even touch the metal of the robot, and yet like magic, the thing crumpled inward . The force of the wind behind his punch had made the thing crush in on itself like a tin can. Ochako stared in surprise before the boy began to fall. She realized probably at the same time that he did that a fall like that would kill him. A new kind of resolve set within her, and she found herself twisting, arching until the very tips of five of her fingers brushed the rubble.
It was all it needed to lose its gravity. She grabbed hold of it and allowed herself to float upward, toward the boy’s falling body. They met moments before he would have hit the ground, and with one last burst of strength, Ochako reached out and slapped his cheek. He immediately halted in the air, his gravity reversing until he was floating. She barely had a moment to feel proud of herself before an intense sense of nausea hit her.
When they both landed safely on the ground, she threw up. But they were both safe … and it was all because of him.
Two
Yaoyorozu Momo sat in the hallway of the U.A. Sports Festival colosseum, hugging her knees to her chest as she cried. She’d been so sure that she could make it to the end stages of the festival, and yet in her very first fight against Tokoyami, she had lost . It hadn’t been hard for Dark Shadow to push her out of the arena, because she’d been too stupid and self-assured. It was her lack of a plan that was her end. She was so, so stupid.
“Hey,” a timid voice said, breaking her out of her self-hatred. She quickly looked up and blinked, surprised to find Midoriya Izuku standing in front of her. He crouched until he was eye level with her, a gentle smile on his face. She wiped the tears off of her face, hoping that she didn’t look as pathetic as she felt.
“Hi,” she said back, biting her lip. “What are you doing here? I thought you would be watching the fights.”
Midoriya shook his head, easing himself down until he was fully sitting. Momo realized that his finger had been healed, a bit of medical tape wrapped around it to keep it in place. “I wanted to check on you.” It took her a moment to process what he’d said. Her mouth opened, then closed again as she tried to think of what to say to that. Midoriya seemed to realize her struggles, because he laughed, although there was nothing mean about the sound. “You had some great ideas, you know. Making it to round three is nothing to sneeze at.”
Momo rolled her eyes, hugging her knees a bit tighter. “That’s easy for you to say. You beat Shinsou-kun.”
“Yeah, I did,” Midoriya replied, cocking his head. “But I still fell under his quirk, didn’t I?” He sighed, shaking his head. “And I’m still breaking my bones. You …” his smile came back, more calculating this time. “You have one of the best quirks I’ve ever seen. That’s saying something, because analyzing quirks is kind of a hobby of mine.” He reached up to rub the back of his neck, like he was embarrassed or something. Momo couldn’t help but smile. Midoriya was so endearing, like a little baby bunny. Despite his round cheeks and wide eyes though, there was something quite handsome about his features. Like maybe he would grow into them as time went on.
“You have a pretty amazing quirk too, you know,” Momo found herself saying. “I mean, you break your bones when you use it, but it’s still very powerful.”
“Yeah…” Izuku looked down at his lap. “I have to work on it. I’ll get there someday.” He looked back up, his smile turning into a small smirk. “Wait for me at the top, okay? I want to have a real battle with you one day.” With that, he stood up, holding out his hand to help her as well. She took it with a fluttering in her chest, especially when he pulled her to her feet like she weighed nothing. She knew she was not light, mostly because her quirk forced her to stockpile the fat in her body.
“Okay,” she said softly. “I look forward to that day.”
Midoriya beamed. “Good. We should get going if we don’t want to miss Uraraka-san and Kacchan’s fight.”
Yaoyorozu followed him down the hallway, feeling slightly dazed. What was that feeling she’d had before? Was it really possible… Was she developing a crush on Midoriya Izuku?
Three
Kirishima Eijirou was having a bad day.
It had been a few weeks since the Overhaul incident, and he’d been waking up with nightmares more often than not. Most times, the nightmares consisted of watching the classmates who had been involved die at the hands of Chisaki Kai, but other times, they were all about Sir Nighteye and his untimely death. It was getting harder and harder for him to force himself to go to sleep, knowing what awaited him in the dream world.
That was why he was standing in the dorm kitchen, sipping at his cup of chamomile tea, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. He just wished that for once , he could fall asleep and not dream. Was one night really so much to ask? It was beginning to affect his studies, as well as his training when he was in class. Aizawa-sensei was understanding with the four of them who had been involved, but Eijirou felt bad. He didn’t want to be this way, especially not when it seemed like Uraraka, Asui and Midoriya were perfectly fine. For the first time, he was beginning to understand why Bakugou refused to do anything that might be perceived as weakness. It didn’t feel good.
“Kirishima-kun?”
Eijirou nearly jumped out of his skin, sloshing his lukewarm tea out of his cup and onto his hand. He cursed, looking into the darkness. Midoriya Izuku stepped further into the kitchen, a worried expression on his face. “Midori-bro! What are you doing awake?” He forced a smile, although he knew it looked fake. Midoriya’s frown deepened.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, glancing down at the mug in Kirishima’s hand. “Chamomile?”
“Yeah,” Eijirou answered, watching as Izuku crossed the kitchen, opening the cabinet where Yaomomo kept all of her nice tea. She encouraged Class 1-A to take as much as they wanted- after all, she could afford it- and at times like this, Eijirou was really grateful for it. He would have to remember to thank her in the morning.
Midoriya plucked out a bag for himself, turning to the electric kettle that Eijirou had left on the stove. “I was having a nightmare,” he said, seemingly out of nowhere. He brought the kettle to the sink, where he dumped out the water Eijirou had used for his own tea. He glanced up at the redhead through his lashes, gauging his reaction.
“You- you were?” he asked, a bit surprised. He would never have known anything was wrong, if Midoriya hadn’t said anything. Sure, his hair was a bit messy from sleep, but otherwise, he looked as awake and relaxed as he always did. Kirishima couldn’t help but wonder how he had gotten so good at hiding his struggles.
“Yeah,” Izuku answered, filling the kettle with tap water. “Ever since the whole incident with Overhaul, and Eri…” he trailed off, clearing his throat. “Well, it’s been hard to get to sleep. I assume that’s why you’re awake, too.”
Eijirou’s throat closed, making his voice rough when he replied. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I… I’ve been having nightmares for weeks.” He winced a bit and looked away. “Sorry, that seems stupid. I didn’t even directly fight him, or see Nighteye get… get…” he cleared his throat. “Well, you know. You had it worse than me.”
Suddenly, a finger touched the bottom of his chin, forcing his head back up. Izuku was standing in front of him, peering right into his eyes. Eijirou found himself sucked into those swirling emerald depths, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. It took an embarrassingly long time to realize that Izuku was speaking.
“It’s not a competition,” he was saying. “It’s not about ‘who had it worse.’ We both experienced really traumatic things, so let’s not minimize each other’s pain, alright?” His smile was small, but genuine. “Since neither of us can sleep, why don’t I show you this funny youtuber I’ve been watching recently? I think you’ll really like him.”
Eijirou sucked in a breath, nodding vigorously. “Y-yeah, okay. That sounds good.”
Izuku grinned and put down the kettle, forgetting about his tea. Kirishima put his mug down as well, and Midoriya took his hand, leading him into the common room. The two of them sat on the couch directly across from the flat screen tv mounted on the wall, and Midoriya picked up the remote. He began chattering about the youtuber and what kind of content he created, and Eijirou listened intently. Midoriya was right, the guy was funny. Soon enough, he forgot about his nightmares. He forgot about his sleepless nights, about the visions of blood and gore that flashed behind his eyes whenever he closed them.
He wasn’t sure exactly when he fell asleep again. Only that when he woke up, his head was in Midoriya’s lap, and he felt more well-rested than he had since this whole incident had begun. Midoriya’s fingers were still buried deep in his hair, and Eijirou had a vague recollection of the boy combing his fingers through the ungelled red strands as he drifted off to sleep.
He stayed there in Midoriya’s lap for a few minutes after he woke up, breathing in the scent of fabric softener, coconut shampoo and something woodsy that was just Midoriya . He felt safe laying there, like nothing in the world could touch them. It was a nice feeling to have.
Four
Hagakure Tooru had been struggling with her insecurities for as long as she could remember. Her quirk was a mutation type, which meant she’d been born invisible. It also meant that Aizawa-sensei couldn’t erase it, so she would never get to see what she even looked like. It was hard sometimes, to know that whomever she ended up marrying in the future would never be able to look into her eyes. She would never get a genuine compliment about her attractiveness, and she would never be able to cut her hair in a stylish way, because she would never even see it.
It was hard not to feel bad about herself, but she thought that she covered it pretty well with her overly-cheery personality. She dolled herself up in cute clothes whenever she got the chance, and surrounded herself in cute, fluffy things. It helped her feel a little less like an imposter, although it couldn’t completely erase how she felt about herself.
She never thought she would ever feel beautiful. Not until Midoriya Izuku stumbled upon her sitting alone in the dorms one evening. She’d been curled up on an arm chair, silently crying just in case anybody came in and spotted her floating clothes and decided they wanted to talk to her. She had learned one thing about Midoriya in the almost-year they’d known each other- he was very observant. He always seemed to know when she was in a room, even if she was completely naked, and thus completely invisible.
Sure enough, when he stumbled into the common room around ten o’clock that night, his eyes immediately zeroed in on her form in the arm chair. A smile lit up his face, and he walked toward her. She quickly sniffled, clearing her throat a bit in an effort to not sound like she was crying. “Hey, Hagakure-san! What are you doing all alone?”
“Hi, Midoriya-kun,” she said, forcing cheer into her voice. “I’m just hanging out! What about you?”
Izuku’s smile immediately melted, his eyebrows raising in a startled expression. “Are you alright? Have you been crying?”
Tooru bit her lower lip, unable to keep the tremble out of her voice. “Y-yes,” she admitted, raising her hands to wipe her face, even though he couldn’t see it. “How did you know?”
He slowly eased himself down on the ground in front of the chair, crossing his legs applesauce-style. “I could just tell,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
She sniffled, swinging her legs until she was sitting normally in the chair. “I just- I’m so tired of my quirk! I’m tired of being invisible, and I’m tired of never being able to look at myself.” She put her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she held back her sobs. “I just want one person to say that I’m pretty, and mean it.”
A hand touched her knee, causing her to look up. Midoriya’s face was soft as he spoke. “I think you’re pretty, Hagakure-san.”
She couldn’t help the condescending laugh that escaped her. “You don’t have to say that.”
“I mean it!” He said earnestly. “You care about your friends so much, and you’re such a great hero! You have a very nice laugh, and you always dress nicely. I’d say all of those things make a very attractive person, wouldn’t you?” He reached up until he was cupping her cheek, swiping his thumb across the wet tracks there. “I don’t have to see you to know you’re beautiful at heart, Hagakure-san.”
Her lip began to tremble, her chest filling with warm affection for the boy in front of her. In an instant she had flung herself into his arms, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. He didn’t so much as flinch, like he had been expecting the armful of crying teenage girl. The best part about what he’d said was that Tooru knew he had meant it. She had never thought that someone would think she was attractive. “Thank you,” she whispered, squeezing him just a little bit tighter.
He hugged her back, resting his chin on her shoulder. “You don’t have to thank me. I just said what I thought was true.”
She laughed a bit, smiling to herself. This boy was too good for the world.
Five
Tokoyami Fumikage flipped through his poetry book as he sat on his bed, the slight purple glow of his nightlight doing wonders to keep Dark Shadow at bay. The creature was hovering just over his shoulder, reading the words on the pages along with him. He felt very calm and relaxed, despite it being night time.
He was startled out of his peace by a knock on his bedroom door. He looked up, calling for whomever it was to enter his room. The door creaked open, and Midoriya poked his head into the room, smiling at him. “Hi, Tokoyami-kun! I just came to ask you a question about the homework for Ectoplasm’s class!”
Tokoyami nodded and put his book down, retracting his legs to give Midoriya room to sit on his bed with him. The green-haired boy took the silent invitation and sat down, beginning to talk about one of the hard math problems Ectoplasm had given them. As he spoke, he reached out and began to gently scratch at Dark Shadow’s head, making the bird creature close it’s eyes in ecstasy. Tokoyami blinked in surprise, a little floored that the shadow was being so open with the boy invading it’s space. Dark Shadow was usually a bit volatile about anyone but Fumikage touching it, so the fact that it seemed so familiar and at-ease with Midoriya was shocking, to say the least.
“So, did you understand it?” Izuku asked. Fumikage blinked again, shaking his head a bit to get rid of his thoughts.
“Ah, I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” He couldn’t help the slight blush that rose when Izuku’s smile widened. Dark Shadow was making small crooning noises as Izuku began to pet his plumage.
“Your quirk is so cool,” the other boy muttered, practically making heart eyes at it. Dark Shadow preened a bit at the compliment, making Fumikage roll his eyes.
“Careful, he’ll get a big ego,” he warned. Midoriya didn’t stop petting the quirk as he recounted his question about the math homework, this time making sure that Tokoyami was listening. Fumikage could feel himself relaxing just as much as Dark Shadow, Izuku’s voice lulling him into a sense of security and safety. He had always admired the other’s strength, especially after he had come up with a plan to save him from Dark Shadow’s rage during the summer camp from hell. He’d also led Tokoyami to the third round of the Sports Festival with his ingenious plan during the cavalry battle, which ended in the shorter boy getting third place in the rankings.
Tokoyami ended up helping Izuku with the rest of his math homework that night, all while Izuku complimented his quirk, and Fumikage’s own use of it. The bird-headed boy went to sleep that night with a slightly giddy smile on his face. It was nice to know that Izuku wasn’t afraid of him or his quirk, despite the bad times he’d seen with it. Dark Shadow seemed just as serene as Fumikage, if it’s silence for the rest of the night said anything.
+ One
Class 1-A
(RockHard, KngXploKill, Pikuwu, UGravity, and 16 others)
IcyThot: When is the Deku fan club supposed to meet tonight?
UGravity: Todoroki-kun, oh my god, wrong chat!
Pikuwu: dude, not cool!
KngXploKill: way to go fucking half and half bastard
RunSonicRun: Please try to read the group chat title in the future, Todoroki-kun!
GodHerself: That’s Iida-speak for “I’m pissed.”
Kermit: Yaomomo’s right, you’d better run.
Deku: wait, when is the what meeting?!
TailMan: nothing.
EmoLesbian: nothing.
MindFuck: nothing.
RockHard: nothing.
Deku: it’s obviously something! why do I have a fan club??
KngXploKill: don’t fucking worry about it, Deku.
Scotch TM : guys, abort mission
OctoDad: Every man for himself!
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IcyThot: Bakugou started it.
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Deku: kacchan??
KngXploKill: i’m going to fucking murder that guy.
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Deku: what the fuck?
(Deku has left the chat)