Chapter Text
Izuku wiped the sweat off his forehead, a wave of nausea falling over him like a wave crashing on the shore.
“Tired already, Young Midoriya?” All Might rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. “We’ve done this drill more times than I can count. You should be a master at it by now.”
“Sorry, All Might,” Izuku stood up, wobbling on his feet as he tried to see straight. “I’ll get it right, I swear.” He huffed out his words, already close to collapsing.
The blonde man sighed, “Forget it, kid. We’ll continue tomorrow afternoon.” All Might walked over to the doors of the gym and slammed them behind him as he walked out, making Izuku wince.
His heart was in his throat, and he could feel the tears beginning to spill. “Ah,” he sniffled, “I really am pathetic. Why can’t I just do the stupid exercise?”
Izuku screwing up drills seemed to be a recurring issue. Every afternoon All Might would personally train the freckled teen until late into the night, ending with the former storming off and the latter feeling like he did something wrong.
Though it was true the man had explained to Izuku exactly what he was supposed to do with his hips as he twirled mid-air, the boy just couldn’t seem to keep his upper body at a slower pace than his lower body.
“Lock your hips. Don’t let them lead the rest of your body.” All Might had said. And Izuku had heard, but apparently his body just didn’t agree with the simple concept.
He sat on the ground in the middle of the gym, placing his head in between his legs, tucked close to his chin. He was tired. He didn’t want to leave the floor, and he supposed he didn’t have a reason to. Curfew was still half an hour away, anyway.
His mouth was dry, and his lips were chapped. When was the last time he had any water? He guessed it had been more than a few hours by now. He hadn’t eaten anything today, either. No wonder his stupid body refused to keep up with the simplest tasks.
And yet, he didn't move to get up from his spot on the floor, the bright ceiling lights blaring down at him. Tears spilled relentlessly, and Izuku let a sob out. He never meant to disappoint his mentor. Really. He was trying his absolute hardest in every after-school training session the two had.
When All Might had first declared him the next user of One For All, Izuku had been ecstatic. No one could have imagined the emotions he’d experienced that day, especially after Kacchan being taken by a villain. Then becoming Japan’s number one hero’s successor? He just couldn’t help but weep right then and there.
Of course, he had never questioned that he was the perfect fit for the next holder of One for All, but only because All Might said so. And whatever he says goes, right? Well, that’s what everyone always thought.
Now, however, Izuku was wondering if he really was worthy.
Every word his mentor yells at him was implanted into his brain, carved there for the rest of life by the sharpness of Toshinori’s tone.
“Faster, Young Midoriya! Use your legs properly for god’s sake!”
And slowly, over the last year or so he’s known the adult,
“This isn’t how I taught you, kid. Your problem is you don’t try. Get rid of that nasty habit of floating around space while I’m talking.”
The big, bright, and once beautiful smile planted onto his mentor’s face,
“Young Midoriya. I’m trying so hard to help you and all you’re doing is making this hard for the both of us.”
Turned into a condescending sneer that seemed to scream ‘you are below me,’
“Kami, Midoriya. Can you please just listen for once? You’re doing the complete opposite of what I’m asking and it’s exhausting.”
‘and you may never forget that.’
“I expected more from you kid. Honestly, I just can’t tell if you’re ever actually listening anymore.”
And god was it tiring.
When Izuku had finally returned to his dorm room that night, he collapsed onto his bed, not bothering to change out of his gym clothing. He rolled onto his back, glaring up at his ceiling. His entire room was filled to the brim with All Might posters and merch.
He wanted nothing more than to rip it all to shreds and feed it into an open fire in front of the man. He wanted to spread the ashes retrieved from the fire into the ocean, never to be seen again.
He wanted All Might to watch as his mentee, the person who was supposedly closest to him, showed him just how much contempt he feels. He wanted to make All Might eat his own hair and his own goddamn opinion over what was right and wrong.
Oh, what Izuku wouldn’t give to be the one screaming out orders for just one day.
But Izuku wouldn’t do that.
He couldn’t do that.
The teenager would never do anything to displease his mentor on purpose.
That was be absurd.
Insane.
So many people would—literally—kill to get a chance to even be in the same building as the man, so who was Izuku to shit on the golden opportunities fed to him on a platinum spoon by that very same man?
Nobody. He was less than dirt compared to All Might, and everyone, including himself, was well aware of it.
So, not for the first time, Izuku cried himself to sleep. He wondered why he just can’t be better. All he wanted was to be someone All Might can show off to the world and be proud of, and he couldn’t even do that.
Pathetic.
Izuku estimated that he got a full two hours of sleep before his All Might alarm clock went off.
“I am here! Time to wake up! I am here! Time to wake up! I am here! Time to wake—"
The teen threw his fist over the large button on the top of his alarm clock, and the loud noise stopped repeating. He looked down at his body and sighed, remembering how he didn’t shower or change the night before.
He quickly got out of bed, shoving off his dirty gym clothes and grabbing his uniform off the edge of his desk chair. There wasn’t any time to go and shower now if he wanted to get to class thirty minutes early, as usual.
He couldn’t risk messing up his routine and having someone notice and point something out.
He looked into the mirror above his desk and scrunched his face. Must his hair be so unruly? It was a real pain in the ass, especially when on a tight schedule. Izuku attempted to smooth his bedhead down a bit with his hands, to no avail.
He groaned.
The worst part was that he couldn’t even blame his mother for bad genes. Her hair was always silky smooth and perfect, which meant he got his free bird’s nest from his father, who he’d never even met.
Clicking his tongue, he looked in the mirror one last time, made his tie a little more crooked than it was, and made his way out of his All Might-infested dorm room.
--
Down in the kitchen, Kaminari and Tsuyu were eating breakfast together. The girl beckoned him over, a giddy look on her face. He sighed playfully, a small smile on his face as he complied.
“What’s up, Tsu? You look happy today.” He leaned over the kitchen bench, his smile growing with hers.
“Kaminari and I were just planning to go out for a bit after school, since we got permission from Aizawa to leave campus for a few hours.” Tsuyu beamed as she spoke, practically bouncing out of her chair in excitement.
Izuku raised an eyebrow, amused. “Oh? And where are you two planning to go?” He asked.
“Well, about that,” Kaminari looked over at the girl beside him and the two giggled like teenage girls sharing secrets about each other. Straightening up, the blonde coughed into his hand like he was about to announce something big. “We actually asked Aizawa if the entire class could go out together!”
Izuku’s smile froze.
What? Why would they need to do that? There wasn't any reason to leave campus, and definitely not as a class. Izuku really didn't like going out in public. Surrounded by judging eyes and whispers everywhere.
“What?” Mina shouted, sprinting down the stairs.
Her and her talent for hearing anything interesting sure are something else, Izuku thought to himself in amusement.
“Are you serious? You actually managed to convince that caterpillar to let us go outside of school?” She grabbed Kaminari’s hands, her eyes shining brighter than the morning sun. “Oh, this is great! I can’t wait to tell everyone!” The pink girl practically sang her words, bouncing back up the staircase to supposedly tell all of the girls she was currently having a sleepover with.
“That’s great!” Izuku clapped his hands together as he turned around, hiding his face from the two ecstatic teenagers behind him. “I’m sure everyone will love the idea.” He didn’t want them to see he was already on the verge of tears just thinking about the anxiety to come.
He opened the refrigerator and grabbed out the milk, pouring himself a cup, then one for Jiro, who was sure to come down the stairs in three… two… and…
“A sneaky little birdie told me we’ll be going out after school this afternoon?” And there she was, still in her pyjamas. Jiro had a big smile on her face, obviously excited as well.
“I wonder which sneaky bird you’re referring to,” Izuku smiled as he handed her the glass of milk he had poured for her. She took it with gratitude. “Kaminari and Tsu were just telling me about it.”
Jiro grinned into her cup as she took a sip, “Well, it was quite pink. I thought perhaps it was a rare breed.”
Everyone in the kitchen giggled.
“Me and Tsu were thinking about going down to a park earlier, maybe even watching some people perform on the streets? Street concerts are always fun to sing along with!” Kaminari tapped a rhythm with four fingers on the countertop as he spoke.
It only seemed to get louder. Izuku was tempted to pour his glass of milk on him. “That sounds lovely,” he said instead. His headache aside, it wasn’t all that bad anyway.
“Do you think everyone would want to come join?” Tsu asked, humming thoughtfully.
“Well, duh!” Kirishima walked over, obviously overhearing the conversation, already dressed for school save his hair, which was still down and covering his face. In Izuku’s opinion, it suited him better than the spikes. “Why wouldn’t anyone come? It’s gonna be awesome!” The redhead threw an arm over Kaminari, who barked out a laugh.
“Well,” Izuku started, making everyone’s eyes turn to him. He immediately wanted to turn his back to them to avoid the questioning stares. “Maybe not Kacchan.” But, once again, he refrained from doing so.
Kaminari, Kirishima and Jiro snickered, and Tsu grinned knowingly.
“That’s alright!” Kirishima flashed a mighty grin and a thumbs up and Izuku. “Leave that to us!” He gestured between himself and Kaminari, who nodded in agreement.
The freckled teenager took that as his queue to leave. He downed the rest of his milk and said goodbye to the four behind him, who were all probably only going to show up about five minutes to the bell. As usual.
That was how Izuku preferred things.
Izuku arrived to class twenty minutes early. It wasn’t exactly ideal, but it wasn’t that big of a change to his usual routine, either. Certainly not something anyone in class that was usually there before him would comment on.
Iida greeted him with a friendly smile, and Shoji waved. Izuku greeted Iida and waved back at Shoji with a smile on his face like every other day.
Tokoyami nodded at him and Izuku’s smile automatically brightened in response. He plopped down into his seat, hiding his mouth behind his hand as he rested his elbow on his desk. Smiling on demand was something Izuku was long used to, but it could sometimes still hurt his cheeks if he didn’t rest them.
He looked out the window and watched people in older grades mess around in one of the gardens UA had, laughing and smiling. Izuku couldn’t help but envy them. He wondered if he would ever be able to smile so effortlessly like that. To laugh so easily and so passionately that you end up keeled over with your hands on your stomach was something he could only dream of.
And Izuku didn’t dream very often anymore. It was either dreamless nights or nightmares. No in between.
He wondered if it was a side effect from constantly breaking his body, and his mind is punishing him for all the times he limped over to recovery girl with a purple limb or two. The nightmares only seemed to get more and more gory.
Dreaming of Uraraka being dropped from a height so high she dies. Aizawa getting his head smashed in by the Nomu at the USJ and dying. All Might dying at Kamino and All For One becoming so powerful everyone kneeled at his perfectly clean shoes on bruised knees.
Then there were the nightmares of middle school. Those were Izuku’s least favourite.
Izuku’s arm being blown off by Kacchan. His hair being ripped out of his hair by one of Kacchan’s lackies. His teacher smashing his head into the desk repeatedly for not answering a question correctly.
Himself hanging from a thick tree branch in Aldera Junior High uniform, people throwing rocks and poking his limp body with sticks, laughing.
A loud bell suddenly went off, cutting off his train of thought. He looked around and realised his classmates were all seated at their desks. Including Kacchan, who only liked to show up the moment the bell goes. Had he really been zoned out the full twenty minutes he had before the bell went? He must really be out of it today.
The door slid open, and in came Aizawa. He walked in front of the class, smirking like a madman when he saw everyone tense up at his presence. None of class 1-A was quite used to his glare just yet, and apparently the man found it quite amusing.
Aizawa began to call roll, each person replying immediately. Izuku was sure that Aizawa knew everyone was in class. All of the desks had someone sitting at them, and the greenette had definitely seen the adult analyse the room when he had first walked in with calculating eyes.
Midoriya glanced out the window, only to find the trio of third years he had originally been watching gone. He supposed it made sense, since they were supposed to be in class like any other normal students.
He wondered where their classes were. The students that had been in other areas of the garden had all looked at the three third years with admiration. It was quite a curious scene.
"Midoriya," Aizawa called his name out loudly, startling Midoriya from his thoughts. He was glaring at the teen, and Izuku could tell that the man had definitely called on him more than once before he had heard. He took a quick glance around the room and saw everyone gazing at him with curious and expectant eyes.
Midoriya wished for something to come out of the ground and eat him right then and there just so he wouldn't have to deal with it. He shrank into himself, chewing the inside of his lip, picking at his already dull nails. Nervous habits, he knew.
"I'm here. Sorry, Sensei." Midoriya's voice had gone raspy, his throat tightening at the increasing sternness on his teacher's face. But it was over the next second, as Aizawa moved on to call the next student. The freckled teen let out a sigh of relief and slumped in his chair, releasing the tension he hadn't realised was in his body.
What a day already, he thought, silently praying for the bell to come sooner.
Midoriya eyed the notebook and pen in front of him. He wondered what everyone's reaction would be if he just... threw the bloody things across the classroom.
Would he get in serious trouble if he ran out of the room and hid somewhere where no one would find him? If he managed to escape everyone's prying looks, would he ever come to regret abandoning all reason to get away?
Or would he finally be carefree? Perhaps he would finally find peace, never having to look over his shoulder when someone got too close. Maybe he wouldn't have to shove all of his effort into his schoolwork to avoid looking anywhere else but his desk and the blackboard Aizawa wrote on.
There could be a chance that if Izuku really managed to run away, his years of anxiety would fade behind him with every step he took forward.
Wishful thinking. He sighed, opening up his book and picking up his pen as Aizawa began to write on the blackboard, no doubt expecting all of his students to copy everything down to a tee in their notes.
Homeroom was probably one of the biggest changes from Junior High to High school. Who wants to take revision notes first thing in the morning?
The moment the bell rang to signal second period was over, Midoriya—and everyone else in the room, to Mic's unsurprise—practically slammed his notebook shut and packed up his bag, immediately making a beeline for the door.
He was about to make it outside of the classroom, when someone grabbed onto his shoulder.
Izuku froze. His heart jumped out of his chest, beating rapidly. No one from UA would punch him when he turned around, right? He slowly—very slowly, turned around to look at who grabbed his shoulder.
Todoroki looked back at him with a strange expression. "Midoriya?" He questioned, as if he couldn't recognise who was in front of him.
At the sight of his friend, Midoriya immediately released all tension from his body, a sheepish smile on his face. "Ah, you scared me for a second, Todoroki!" He laughed awkwardly.
The red and white teenager in front of him didn't look convinced that 'scared' was the right word for what he'd just seen. "Yeah..." he said rather than prying any further. "I was just going to ask if you were going to join us for lunch." Todoroki straightened up, removing his hand from Midoriya's shoulder.
He assumed Todoroki was talking about the people he usually sat with at lunch—Todoroki, Iida, Uraraka and Tsuyu.
"Oh," the greenette swallowed, not sure what to say. "I—uh, I was just going to go train a bit during lunch today. Maybe next time?" he looked away, not able to maintain eye contact any longer.
"Alright. Would you like me to walk you to your tree?" Todoroki offered, as if he didn't care.
Midoriya froze for what felt like the tenth time today. "You know about my tree?" he asked quietly, like that would make the question seem less embarrassing.
"Yes," Todoroki said. "Recently you've been going to eat under one of the maple trees rather than going into the cafeteria with the rest of our class."
How observant, Midoriya thought. He sighed, scrubbing his face with his palms as if to rid himself of any bad thoughts.
It was exhausting going into the cafeteria, surrounded by loud voices and many gazes all throughout lunch. His classmates were the famous first class who had been targeted by villains and survived, after all. People walked past Midoriya and his group of friends, recognising them from the sports festival as kids from 1-A, notorious for going against actual villains.
Something none of any other classes or grades had done before.
They whispered to each other as they walked past, some giggling, some glaring. Some even wanted pictures. It was overwhelming, being one of the centres of attention. Midoriya hated it with a burning passion. So, he began to avoid the main building during lunch at all costs, choosing to sit by himself under a maple tree in one of UA's gardens.
"You caught me!" He suddenly brightened his expression, clapping his two hands together. "I think I'll take up on your offer earlier. Would you like to walk with me to my tree?" While the tree wasn't actually Midoriya's, no one else except him sat there, so it became a habit of calling it his own.
And with that, Midoriya and Todoroki set out to walk to Izuku's maple tree.
--
It didn't take long to reach the garden. Midoriya turned around as they approached the maple tree, facing Todoroki. "You can join the rest of our friends in the cafeteria now. Sorry for taking up your time, Todoroki." he smiled brightly at his friend. "It wasn't a problem." Todoroki gave him a small smile.
The two exchanged a few more words, and then Midoriya was staring at Todoroki's back as he walked away. He sighed, letting the smile fall off his face. He walked over to the tree, plopping down against it as he took out the leftovers from last night's dinner. It was cold, but it was still food, so he didn't pay the temperature much mind.
He took out another one of his notebooks, the one that had information about his classmates, flicking through the pages until he found the one he wanted. He looked over his notes about his friend. He didn't have much on Todoroki other than his quirk and quiet personality.
"He's a lot more observant than I had originally thought," he mumbled to himself. "I don't think he's quiet. Or at least, not as quiet as I had put him down as. I think Todoroki is more closed off, but if I can get him to open up, especially around children, he could use his calm voice to his advantage in bad situations. Children typically like collected guys right? Not too loud or threatening."
Izuku spoke out loud as he scribbled out and erased his previous notes, replacing them with new ones. Talking aloud always helped to organise his thoughts.
"He could probably upgrade his costume into something more fitting with his personality. Maybe add in some ice like he had at the beginning of the year? Adding ice around his right side should help cool his body down so that he doesn't get too hot. If Todoroki can get into the habit of automatically replacing the ice on his face when it melts off, he could add temperature to his fire with less backlash." He hummed thoughtfully.
"Adding ice near his eyes could give off same effect of make-up. Women typically like good-looking guys, so it could increase his number of fans. That's always good." Izuku continued adding notes to his two pages of research on Todoroki until the bell went, and he had to get to third period with ectoplasm.
Getting to know his classmates personally was a big step on being able to know what they could do to improve their performances in front of audiences. Izuku planned to do the same with every single person in 1-A. Maybe even Aizawa if the man ever let his walls down.
On his way back to his dorm, Kirishima practically jumped on Midoriya just as he was about to start going up the stairs. "Kirishima?" he asked. All he wanted was to sleep for a couple of hours before All Might dragged him to gym Gamma again.
"Hey, Midobro! You're coming with the class to the park, right?" The red head asked. His grin was wide, showing off his sharp teeth.
I wonder if he could chew someone's neck out... "Oh, I totally forgot about that!" Midoriya plastered on his smile once again. "I think I have training with All Might this afternoon, though. I might not be able to make it."
Kirishima's demeanour shifted completely. His eyes were blown wide, like his entire world had been shaken to its core. "What?" he shouted. "But it's a Friday! Can't you ask All Might to train you tomorrow to make up for it today? When are we ever going to get another opportunity like this?" he whined, crashing into the wall him his hands on his head, elbows sticking out.
Someone laughed behind him, "Come on, Kirishima. You know how much Deku values his training." Uraraka bouncing up to Izuku, linking their arms together. "I'm sure Aizawa-Sensei will let us go out some other time, and Deku can join us then!" She beamed.
I'm so lucky to have her, Izuku thought. Never in a million years would he imagine having such a wonderful friend.
"About that," Iida, who supposedly had been eavesdropping, walked up to the three of them, a bright smile on his face. "I heard Kaminari had asked Aizawa and All Might for permission for us all to go out as a class. So that means that Midoriya is free to come with us!" The blue-haired teen looked overly proud of himself for eavesdropping on his classmates.
If anyone was honest, no one had expected that from the class president when he was first appointed.
"And since Bakugo and Midoriya just got out of house arrest, it will be a good bonding experience for the class!" Kaminari threw an arm over Kirishima, who had calmed down. Midoriya put on his smile, "What a great idea! I've been looking to get closer with you guys, anyway, and this provides the perfect opportunity! You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for, Kaminari."
Kaminari made a show of bowing, "Why thank you, thank you. It had been quite a long time since someone has paid heed to my extravagant talents!" He smirked at the way everyone laughed.
Iida clapped his hands twice, making everyone look at him. "Everyone, go get ready to head out! Meet down in the common room in fifteen minutes!"
Midoriya was the first to comply, practically running up the stairs. He walked down the hall and was just about to open his door, when suddenly, someone spun him around by his shoulder.
"What the fuck was up with you this morning?" Bakugo scowled down at Izuku, his grip on the greenette's shoulder tightening. Izuku hadn't even realised Bakugo followed him up the stairs.
"U-uh, what?" he panicked, not sure how to reply to the fuming blonde. "Don't fucking stall! Do you have any idea how pathetic you looked, spaced out today?" Bakugo asked, shoving Izuku against the wall.
The freckled teen gasped as his back hit the hard material, his mind spinning for answers. What was he supposed to say? Apologise? Why did Kacchan care, anyway? Izuku was the one who had to deal with everyone looking at him!
"I'm sorry, Kacchan. I just—" he was cut off.
"Just what? You think it's funny to embarrass yourself, huh?" Bakugo shoved his shoulder again. It stung, as if the blonde had burned it with his quirk. "If you do that shit again, and make my class look stupid because of your shittiness, I'll blow you sky high. Don't be an idiot in public."
And with that, Bakugo stormed off, leaving Izuku shocked with a throbbing shoulder. "His class? He really doesn't even acknowledge the fact we're in the same class?" Then, Izuku realised, he probably did acknowledge that they were in the same class, but refused to accept it.
Typical Kacchan, not wanting anything to do with someone that had been a quirkless wannabe for over ten years.
Now that he wasn't quirkless, he was just some random wannabe that Kacchan didn't want to be publicly embarrassed by. Nothing Izuku couldn't deal with. It wasn't like he wanted to be around Bakugo, either.
With a sigh, Izuku went into his room. He should probably have a shower before going out. He felt gross.
--
Ten minutes later, Izuku made his way downstairs in his signature 'Midoriya outfit'. He had on his t-shirt that said t-shirt on it, plain beige shorts, and of course, his bright red sneakers. Everyone else was already downstairs, save for Mina, who was probably trying to decide which one of her hundreds of perfumes she was going to wear.
Todoroki and Tsuyu were the first to approach Izuku. "Hey, Midoriya! I see you're still wearing that silly shirt, huh?" Tsu grinned, and he smiled sheepishly. "I can't help it! I've always liked these kinds of literal shirts, you know?" The girl laughed and Todoroki smiled. "It does suit him, though."
In reality, the only reason Izuku wore the same kind of shirts and pants and never seemed to change them was because his mother refused to buy him anything different. She had said that if she was the one buying, she was the one that was going to choose what he wore. Izuku couldn't argue with that.
"Sorry I kept everyone here!" Mina ran out of the elevator in her purple tights, a black crop top and an overly fluffy pink jacket.
Jiro whistled as she walked over to the pink girl, "Lookin' good, Mina!" She sniffed the air in an exaggerate manner, "And is that new perfume I can smell?"
Mina beamed, "It's the new release from Hero Mania! Isn't it great?" She twirled and Yaoyorozu smiled, "It's nice."
"Is everyone here now?" Iida asked, doing a quick head count. "Alright, let's go." He opened the doors, and everyone shuffled out one after another.
Midoriya walked out behind Bakugo, who had shoved him out of the way with his shoulder so he could walk past. He turned his head and glared, then shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked away.
Todoroki looked sideways at him, "Are you alright, Midoriya? You're quite pale." He asked, moving closer to Izuku's side. The greenette looked up and smiled, "I'm alright. He just gave me a bit of a fright."
A bit of a fright was an understatement. Izuku was terrified he was going to slap or hit him for a second, and it had the colour of his face draining and his heart rate rapidly increasing.
"Stupid jerk," Uraraka mumbled from Izuku's other side. "He only ever pushes people around! Even Kaminari and Kirishima are starting to stay away from him. Those two were set on being best buddies with him at the start of the year!" She huffed.
"I do see them hanging out with him less and less. I guess the only one to blame is Bakugo and his crap personality." Todoroki hummed, staring at Bakugo's back with a look of contempt.
Izuku's envied his ability to do so without being scared out of his mind, "Kacchan has always been like that. I'm sure Kaminari and Kirishima will be friends with him again in no time!" He was lying to himself, and he knew it.
Ever since Izuku had known Bakugo, people either stuck by his side, or left it without looking back. When people began to avoid him or distance themselves, they typically stayed away. And for good reason.
"Well, I hope they don't. Being friends with a meanie like Bakugo can't be good for the soul." Tsu placed a finger on her chin as she thought, "or the heart. Being scared all the time can be really bad for you."
Midoriya chuckled at that, "I don't think they're scared, Tsu. I think they've just realised trying to get Kacchan to be their friend is ultimately useless."
"Good for them." Uraraka cheered.
Yeah, Izuku silently agreed. Good for them.
--
"We're going to be hanging out at Bennard park?" Ojiro questioned.
Mina squealed, "Oh my gosh, I haven't been here since I was a little girl!" She tugged Yaoyorozu by her arm, abandoning the rest of the class.
"This is supposed to be a class bonding experience, but I suppose everyone can do their own thing just this once. It has been quite the stressful year already." Iida smiled as his classmates set off with one or two other people to play in the park.
There was a large sandbox with swings and a slide, trees to climb, stalls to look at and buy from, and benches to sit at and relax. Iida and Todoroki walked behind Midoriya, Uraraka and Tsu. There were just as many people as Midoriya thought there were going to be, and soon enough, his hands began to tremble.
Everyone gave them looks as they walked past, some in interest, some had jealous eyes, and some looked at the five of them in awe.
Izuku wanted to run away.
What he wouldn't give to be the invisible kid no one gave more than a glance to again. How was he going to be the next symbol of peace if he couldn't handle the attention he was getting now?
Not for the first time, Izuku wondered if he really was the best choice as All Might's successor.
Just as he was about to crouch down on a bench to avoid everyone's looks, loud voices and pointing fingers, his phone went off. He pulled himself to the side and opened the message.
ALL MIGHT!!!(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧:
Young Midoriya. I know I allowed you and your classmates to hang out this afternoon, but know that I will give you more work tomorrow to make up for it.
Don't think that this is an opportunity for you to slack off, young man.
Izuku Midoriya☆:
Yes, All Might.
ALL MIGHT!!!(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧:
Remember to help out anyone that looks like they're in trouble. You have your provisional licence now, use it wisely.
You're going to be the next symbol of peace, and it's always good to start to get a good reputation early on.
Izuku Midoriya☆:
Yes, All Might.
ALL MIGHT!!!(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧:
Good.
Izuku sighed as he put his phone away again. He excused himself for a moment, saying he had to tie up his shoelace and promising he would catch up.
Todoroki looked like he was going to say he can stay with him, but Midoriya shook his head.
The half-white-half-red teen was smart. He would figure out that Izuku just wanted to be left alone for a bit. Todoroki nodded and dragged everyone away, pointing at some random stall, saying he wanted to go check it out.
Uraraka looked over her shoulder with a sad look before she walked away.
"I guess she saw through me as well. My friends are all smart." He sighed with a small smile as he plopped down onto the nearest bench.
Not even five minutes later, someone sat almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Izuku.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes. There were so many benches around and this person decided to sit right next to him? Really?
He cast them a sideways glance, only to see that they were fully dressed in black. That is not good, he realised. He got a shiver up his spine, knowing whoever just sat next to him was not a civilian. He couldn't tell what it was, but something about them gave an off feeling.
The same kind he got when he was around villains.
He was about to stand up and walk away—he couldn't just punch someone without reason, could he? He needed good reason and damn good proof to start a fight, otherwise the provisional hero licence he got a week ago would be taken off of him—when the person in black grabbed onto his wrist.
Midoriya whipped his head around and froze. Dabi's grinning face stared back at him. "Where ya going, hero?" he asked in a mocking tone. "We aren't done just yet, kid." The smile disappeared off the man's face, and a black and purple mist appeared behind the bench.
"Hey!" Midoriya yelled out, trying to gain the attention of the public. Surely, he thought. Surely someone will scream, and then someone from my class can come back me up—
He let out a shriek as Dabi tugged his arm forward, sending Izuku flying into the bench. "Oops," he said. "I meant to throw you over." Dabi was clearly amused. Izuku could hear the smirk in his voice.
Green lightning surrounded his body, and a group of people gasped. "Shit," the man swore. "You really have a knack for gaining public attention." Izuku looked at the family across the path from him. He could feel the blood fade from his face. They needed to get out of here.
"Villains! Tell everyone to run!" Dabi grabbed Midoriya's arm, throwing him onto his feet again. He sagged his weight purposely, falling to his knees, just to make sure he had enough time to yell. "Tell the police the League of Villain's are at Bennard Park!" The man grunted at the added weight of the teenager. Izuku didn't stop screaming. "Get to safety! Everyone!"
Dabi finally managed to get him off the floor, his fire catching on some of Izuku's shirt. It's a warning, Izuku knew.
The villain was basically saying 'I can burn you to a crisp at any time I want to' by lighting some of Izuku's clothes on fire. He was telling him not to use his quirk, because he wasn't afraid to use his own.
The teenager was thrown over Dabi's shoulder like a sack of ripe potatoes.
The one family Midoriya had been yelling to had suddenly turned into a crowd of over twenty people, some looking horrified, and most of them with their phones out. Izuku struggled against Dabi's hold, squirming around like a madman. "You're so loud!" Dabi yelled. Izuku responded by punching him in the back of his head as hard as he could without his quirk with both hands.
He noticed some teens within the crowd looking just about ready to run in and help him. He almost wanted to smile, proud of how fearless the future generation of heroes was going to be. "I'll be fine, so leave!" he yelled instead.
He grit his teeth. He couldn't use One for All now and risk breaking any of his bones. He would definitely need them more in a few seconds.
He screamed as loudly as he could this time, "Run away! I don't know how many villains there are—" Izuku was cut off as he was thrown though the portal.
Someone screamed, and that was the last thing he heard before crashing onto hard flooring.
A deep voice laughed at his bad landing, "Quite the fight you put up, Midoriya." I know that voice, Izuku groaned. "How smart of you not to use your quirk and break your bones so early in your interaction with us!"
The freckled teen looked up, and immediately wished for someone to come and eat him alive. Shigaraki was kneeling next to his body, the biggest grin on his face. It was pure nightmare fuel.
"Shit!" Midoriya yelled, suddenly exhausted. His head hit the cold surface as his neck gave out. "Shit indeed." Shigaraki cackled.