Chapter Text
Izuku had a long day of work ahead of him, and he had zero regrets. After learning about the dumpster-fire of a heroics class yesterday he needed to see Aizawa. The man needed to know everything, and while Izuku liked his new friends(?), he didn’t trust them to tell Aizawa everything. In a way Izuku understood. Aizawa was their very intimidating homeroom teacher, if he didn’t know the man he would probably think similarly. So to see the teacher he told… what’s her face, he really needed to learn her name, that he would take over her morning shift at the café. She had warned him that she wouldn’t be able to come in the afternoon, Izuku didn’t care. It wouldn’t be the first time it was just him and Gran running the café for the whole day.
He danced around the cats, swarming him and demanding food like the demons they were, to get the coffee pots brewing and the ovens warming. He then set to work feeding the cats and of course made sure to pay the petting fee after feeding each one. Five butt scratches later, Izuku washed his hands and entered the kitchen. Gran had already made three batches of blueberry muffins and three batches of cinnamon muffins for Izuku to bake first thing this morning. Izuku popped one of each in the oven to start.
During the process of putting together the morning bentos, Izuku felt an invisible weight crushing his shoulders. It felt like his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds. Unfortunately, this occurrence was not unusual. Some days were fine, and he could enjoy his day by chattering happily with whoever was willing. Other days, like yesterday, weren’t the worst. They also weren’t the best either. He would feel like someone was watching, and he’d be constantly jumpy. His work at the café gave him something to focus on and gave his hands a break from the constant abuse they went through otherwise. Days like today were the worst. Everything was fine, he had a purpose for today, so why did his body choose today to shut down. As he brought the last bento to the display area the bell rang, signaling the entrance of his first customer for the day.
He repressed a tired sigh and turned towards the pots to make Aizawa and Yamada their usual coffees. It was time to blunt force his way through this day; he still had a goal. Izuku set the coffees in front of the men, one normally silent and the other unusually silent. Aizawa, as per tradition, tossed the cup back like it was a shot and set the cup down for a refill. Yamada didn’t chide him.
Izuku was nice enough to wait until after Aizawa finished his second and was in the process of savoring the third. “So… Battle trials.”
Yamada looked at Izuku with exasperation in his eyes as the man’s husband thunked his head on the counter. Yamada slowly slid his hand in the spot Aizawa was going to hit his head again so the man couldn’t give himself brain damage.
Aizawa started speaking, not moving his head from lying atop Yamada’s hand, “I told you he was a-“
“An asshole I know Shou, I was there the last hundred times you told me.” The corners of Yamada’s mouth quirked up in thanks as Izuku took his drink to refill that one too. It seemed like the poor man needed it. “Thanks listener,” Yamada said as he took his cup back. “So the rumor mill made it all the way here?”
Izuku was already nodding “yeah, and about more than just the trials.” He looked at Aizawa, making sure to have the man’s attention. “You have stuff to take care of; I talked to some of your students that were there.” Aizawa grunted and nodded signaling Izuku to keep going. “Apparently some kid named, uhhhh… Minta? Meanta?” Izuku scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“Mineta” Aizawa rumbled helpfully.
Izuku snapped his fingers “Right! That’s the name. Anyway, your students said that he’s been harassing the girls.” Yamada’s face twisted, like he smelled something bad. “They seemed hesitant to tell you, so I’m giving you the heads up now.” Aizawa hummed his acknowledgement, but there was a gleam in his eye that spelled trouble. Izuku almost felt bad for the kid. Almost. “Also do you know anything about…” Izuku sighed. Normally his memory was better than this, but just trying to form words felt like trying to talk with a mouth full of peanut butter. “Do you know anything about the invisible girls costume?”
“No” Aizawa glared down at his half-gone coffee, “the moron approved them before I could take a look at them. Powerloader has his hands full this year and hasn’t been able to get their schematics to me yet.”
“This year? It’s been two days” Izuku teased.
“Exactly” Aizawa was completely deadpanned. “It’s been exactly two days and seven of my students ended up visiting Recovery Girl. All Mights’ dumb-assery knows no bounds, none of the departments are safe.”
“Fair” Izuku agreed, “after all it was his decision to approve a hero student to be naked for her hero costume.” Yamada inhaled softly, Aizawas’ nostrils flared. “The same students told me that she only had gloves and shoes so she can stay invisible.”
“The support department can make-“
Izuku cut Yamada off. Oops, “I know I already told them. You have some good students this year,” Izuku started. “They seem really genuine, but they still have that middle school mentality. Not wanting to be a snitch and all that” he flopped his hand lazily, suppressing a yawn. “Hopefully coffee will fix this” Izuku turned around to make the most caffeinated drink he could think of, in addition to an energy drink mocktail. He continued talking “I don’t know how much they’ll tell you, so I wanted to make sure you were made aware.”
The bell chimed signaling the arrival of a customer. “Sensei’s…” a familiar voice greeted awkwardly. Izuku whipped around, and sure enough, Shinso was standing in the middle of the café staring at Aizawa and Yamada. Izuku was glad that Shinso was well enough to still come in this morning.
“Shinso” Aizawa dipped his head slightly in greeting, eyeing the boy critically. He was wearing his Yuuei uniform, and Izuku could see cuts and burns marring his skin. Izuku could recognize Kaachans’ work anywhere, even after all this time.
“Shinso! What are you doing here so early?” Concern laced Yamadas’ every word. Shinso scuffed his foot on the floor not making eye contact with anyone. Izuku could feel the discomfort radiating off the other boy. What a mood. If Izuku didn’t have a loose script from working at the café, he couldn’t say he would be any better.
In his sluggish state, the weight of the atmosphere was too much. “The usual?” Shinso finally made eye contact with him, humming an affirmative. Izuku quirked his mouth up in what he hoped was a smile and got to work.
“I have to be in early to see Recovery Girl” Shinso approached the counter, leaving as much space he could get away with from his teachers; he placed some yen on the surface.”
“This isn’t her office” Aizawa lifted a brow. Izuku was sure the man was hiding a smirk in his capture weapon. Izuku didn’t understand why none of the students believed him when he said the main is a menace to society.
Shinso went to shrug but aborted the motion, “ummm coffee?”
Yamada suppressed a snort, Aizawa seemed to try to stare into the boy’s soul. Once again Izuku broke the building tension, placing Shinsos order with sigh.
“Acceptable” Aizawa nodded. Shinso looked at the man wearily while grabbing his drink. “Come on Mic” Aizawa started walking towards the door, “I’m going to need you to shriek into the morons’ ear.”
Yamada rolled his eyes, following after his husband “bye listeners!”
Shinso thunked his head on the counter with a groan, mimicking Aizawa just minutes before. Izuku blinked slowly at him, eyelids heavy “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to do that.” He turned around to make himself an energy drink mocktail, he didn’t think coffee would get him through the day.
“My teachers were here” Shinso whined.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed” Izuku smirked, back still turned. He poured his drink into a glass cup; he figured he’ll probably make another one later today.
“You are so not funny” Izuku could practically feel Shinso glaring at him. “My teachers were here, and now they know that I’m a moron.”
Izuku turned around and saw another glass cup filled with the drink he just made… Damn. “They don’t think you’re a moron, I’m pretty sure that title is reserved for someone else.” He put the drink he just made in the mini fridge for later, he couldn’t let it go to waste. Shinso’s drink was half gone, when had he drank it? He wrapped his knuckles on the counter, getting the boy’s attention. “Do you want another?”
Shinso hummed in thought before nodding, “I think Recovery Girl won’t be too mad at me if I drink it after my session with her.” Izuku started to start making said drink when Shinso spoke suddenly “are you okay?”
“Yeah” Izuku trailed, furrowing his brows “why?”
“It’s just- well” Shinso started fidgeting with his cup again. “You seem different, and you uh- you look tired. Which is fine” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”
There was something in Shinso’s eyes, Izuku couldn’t place it. The low lights made them have an amethyst glow to them, and Izuku couldn’t dredge up a response. Izuku was stuck between wanting to tell him that he wanted to just collapse on the spot and not wanting to worry him. He clearly had enough to worry about, and Izuku didn’t want to add to it. He stood there, stuck, blinking slowly at Shinso.
The timer for the muffins decided for him. Izuku popped the lid onto Shinso’s cup, “I’m fine, but thank you for asking.” He smiled tiredly at the other boy before heading into the kitchen to grab the muffins. When he returned, he saw Shinso sliding some money over the counter.
“If that answer changes, you can always talk to me” Izuku was sure Shinso was staring into his soul.
“Thanks Shinso, good luck today” the boy saluted him with his cup, leaving Izuku to continue his work.
The rest of his day was a haze. With no goal to keep him tethered, his mind seemed to float. His body moved on autopilot, and he was pretty sure he was concerning some people with his lack of conversation. He knew he spoke just enough to get through the orders, but nothing else. He didn’t try to conjure up any smiles, he suspected they would only come out as a grimace. A numbing tingle overcame him as the day went on, shapes becoming less distinct. Was he even breathing?
Shapes became colors, and the colors were fading.
His lungs, once heavy, fell still.
He couldn’t see. He couldn’t breathe.
Am I even alive? There was nothing. Do I even care?
A hand on his shoulder dragged him to the surface, and he inhaled sharply. He followed the hand to look at the person it was attached to. Gran. He exhaled slowly, shakily. Gran was looking at him, concern painted clearly on her face. She looked like she was waiting for him to answer.
Izuku blinked a couple times “huh?”
“I said” Gran moved her hand from his shoulder to cup his cheek. “You’re done for the day.” They stood there for a minute before Izuku stepped away with a low hum.
“Mkay, I think I’m gonna go run for a bit.” Hopefully it would clear his head and help him settle back into his limbs.
“If you’re not feeling well…” Gran trailed off, her brows furrowing.
Izuku wiped his hands on a towel that was nearby “I’m fine.” At Grans disbelieving snort he corrected himself, “I think it will help.”
Gran nodded slowly, straightening herself, “Alright. If you’re not back in a couple hours I will call Kayama-san to find you.”
Izuku huffed out a laugh and nodded his assent. Midnight was a far worse threat than Aizawa or Yamada. Izuku started off at a light jog, the rhythm of his feet hitting the cement was already clearing away the fog. Izuku ran faster. As he reached the less populated area, he broke into the fastest sprint he could manage. The cool air burned his lungs, Izuku swore he could feel the oxygen waking his body up from the stupor it had been in all morning. Once he stumbled for a third time, he leaned against the entrance to an abandoned alley to catch his breath.
“Don’t you want to be a part of making history?” Okay so not an abandoned alley. The voice sounded raspy.
“I don’t know, that sssoundsss like a ballsssy plan. No. Actually that sssoundsss like you’re begging to be caught.” A womans voice hissed. Snake quirk maybe.
“If you don’t want any part of killing the number one hero while he’s week that’s your loss!” He sounded kind of young, even with the rasp. Should he feel concerned that he was currently listening to someone plan on killing All Might? Probably. Did he? Not really.
“Hey!” The woman snapped, “You asssked ME for help, I didn’t come to you! Good luck with your half-asssed plan with your little ssschedule.”
The man’s voice turned smug “Oh? Didn’t I tell you?” He didn’t wait for an answer before continuing, “I stole this straight from his office at UA today, as a little side quest.” Izuku straightened at that.
This guy broke into the best hero school in the country…and didn’t get caught? He really didn’t want this to become a thing.
The woman hissed again, “how did you manage that?!?”
Izuku didn’t dare peek into the alley, he didn’t want to get caught, however he could practically hear the man shrug. “None of your business NPC, you were the one that refused to join my party.”
“Fine! I’ll do it! If really broke into that ssschool and lived, then I’ve got to sssee thisss.”
“I thought so” the man’s voice was definitely smug, “I’ll send you the location of the spawn point later. We’ll attack when he’s teaching the little hero students at the USJ.”
Great, this is a thing now. If villains wanted to try their hand at defeating the number one hero, fine. Whatever. Wouldn’t be the first time. But using students and other teachers as collateral was unacceptable to him. Now Izuku was involved because for some reason people cared about him so aggressively that he now cared about them, and now those people are in danger, and now Izuku is annoyed. This is why he will never go on a run again, he should have known better. With the day he’s had he really should have known better.
Izuku quietly turned and started back towards the café, “Honestly… Fuck that guy.” Whether he meant All Might or the villain, he couldn’t be sure. Probably both.
He didn’t turn around to notice the red eyes flick over at his grumbled words, towards where he was just standing. Quick enough that they caught on his bright red shoes that disappeared…
Interesting…