A/N: Hey, so, I'm totally new to the fandom and my characterisation's probably going to be way off, as well as what everyone calls each other (do they use their last names? Their first names? Their hero names? Who the fuck knows? Not me!). I have tried to get it as accurate as possible, though. Enjoy the read!
"Mind your own fucking business, nerds." Bakugou growled, glaring at the students stood in front of him before turning away.
"But… but surely you've seen him, right? You and Deku used to be friends!" Uraraka argued, ignoring the steam rising from the hands of the boy she was interrogating.
"For the last time," Bakugou started, his voice barely containing his rage, "I was never that bastard's friend! All he ever did was follow me around, that's all."
"Did your school never have any parent's evenings or family fundraisers? Surely you would have at least seen his parents picking him up at one point?" Kirishima reasoned as more members of class 1-A joined the discussion.
Asui, who had missed the first part of the conversation, quickly caught on to why people were bothering "King Explosion Murder" this early in the morning.
"Why don't you just ask Izuku about his dad?" she asked Uraraka, who frowned slightly at the question.
"Earlier on today, I was asking Iida about what he was doing for father's day, and Deku instantly made an excuse to run ahead towards the classroom." She answered. "And I know what you're gonna say, Deku's always running off places because that's just Deku, but… he mysteriously disappeared again when I got to the classroom and brought it up to other people. It's weird for him to just avoid us like that."
Iida was nodding vigorously next to her as she spoke.
"It got us thinking about how he's never actually mentioned his father, and it may be a sensitive topic. As class president, it is up to me to know about all of my fellow classmate's family situations, which is why we are asking Bakugou for information."
"And I'm telling you that it's NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS, FOUR-EYES."
To Bakugou's dismay, his yells were starting to have a frustratingly mundane effect on his classmates who were way too used to his tantrums by now.
"So that means that you know of Midorya's father and you're just not telling us." Tokoyami quipped, flipping a page of his book as he pretended not to have any interest in the new class gossip.
"I don't-"
"Oh god, he hasn't passed away, has he? Surely Deku would have mentioned something like that…" Uraraka worriedly spoke over Bakugou, causing steam to rise out of his palms again.
"We mustn't jump to conclusions. Perhaps this is all a coincidence and his father just isn't interesting enough to mention." Iida added thoughtfully.
"Maybe he just doesn't get along with his dad." Kaminari said, glancing at Todoroki. Everyone followed his gaze thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, the only person in the class who was genuinely uninterested and uninvolved in the conversation raised his head as he felt multiple eyes land on him.
"…What?"
"Nah. Midorya's daddy issues don't seem that big." Sero said, drawing everyone's attention away from a now very confused Todoroki.
Jiro sighed, wanting to just get an answer before class started. "So what's Midorya's deal then, Bakugou? Just tell u-"
"I don't know what happened to his dad, okay? I don't fucking know! Nobody knows! Even Deku doesn't fucking know, so can you all just shut the fuck up already?" Bakugou yelled, slamming his sparking hands on his desk upon being asked the same thing again. "Now stop breathing the same air as me and go die, you fuckin' vultures."
The class were initially stunned at his outburst before they began to take in what he said.
"Oh… I guess that makes sense, then." Uraraka murmured before heading to her chair along with the rest of the class. She noted that Deku still hadn't returned, even though the bell signalling the start of class had already rung.
And then, thinking back to what Bakugou had said, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Is… is that why you call Deku a 'bastard', Bakugou?" she asked, her voice a lot more level than she expected it to sound.
Everyone's jaws dropped as they heard it come out of her mouth. Their eyes then widened when they realised the connotations of the word they had previously thought was just another one of Bakugou's long list of generic, meaningless insults.
All eyes were on Bakugou as he glared at Uraraka wordlessly.
"Dude…" Kirishima uttered, raising a scarred eyebrow at his friend.
Bakugou's glare switched to him in a snap.
"I don't mean it like that." His voice was quiet, but not menacing.
"Maybe you take pride in exercising your power to use slurs like that from the comfort of a house with both parents around." Uraraka countered, not flinching when Bakugou instantly stormed up to her, his chair hitting the floor with a thud.
"You don't fucking know me or my intentions, so stop pretending you do. I said I don't mean it like that. It's just a word."
"Either way, you've crossed a blatant line." Todoroki interjected, still sat calmly at his seat.
"Either way," Bakugou mimicked him mockingly, "Deku doesn't need or want your fucking pity party. Unless you think that weakling can't fight his own battles?"
Uraraka's glare deepened, the facial expression feeling foreign to her. She couldn't remember ever getting this… angry over something.
She'd never appreciated the way Bakugou treated her friend but this… this really got to her. Was it because she actually pitied Deku that much over the fact his dad was absent? He'd still turned out fine, right?
No… it was Bakugou's nerve that bothered her. There are some things you just can't get away with.
At this rate… he would never pass the test to get his provisional hero licence. Not if he emotionally abused everyone he was supposed to be protecting.
That thought alone was enough to allow her to back away, taking a deep breath as she took her seat, no longer acknowledging Bakugou's existence as he raised an eyebrow at her apparent surrender.
"Did something happen when I was gone?"
The tension in the room melted away, leaving a lingering awkwardness as people fumbled trying to decide whether to tell Midorya what had just gone down, and what/who it was about.
Luckily, Bakugou had a fast recovery time.
"Nothing, idiot. Sit the fuck down."
The rest of the day passed without hindrance, which was a rare occurrence at a school like U.A.. The awkward atmosphere emanating from class 1-A eventually faded as the day went on and the students found other things to talk about and bicker over. All seemed forgotten by the time the trio of friends left the classroom to head back to their dorms.
"You asked Kacchan about my dad, didn't you?"
His tone was more curious than cold. Nevertheless, both Uraraka and Iida froze, having been under the impression that Deku simply didn't care about the tense atmosphere he had walked in on since he hadn't asked about it at the first possible opportunity.
"Uh.. well-"
"You both seemed really excited about what you were doing for father's day earlier, and now it's like you're avoiding the subject. Probably because I kept avoiding it, right? And instead of asking me, you decided to ask Kacchan because he's known me for longer. Unless I'm wrong and what actually happened was that you asked Kacchan about his dad, though I don't know why he would get angry about that, unless he went to sleep late last night and he just happened to be extra cranky today, or-"
Uraraka and Iida exchanged weary glances as their friend continued to mumble different scenarios to himself, muddled with contradictions and wild stretches of logic. After a few seconds, Iida loudly cleared his throat, bringing the mumbling to a stop.
"We apologise, Izuku. It's true – but we didn't mean to pry into sensitive topics, and we completely understand if you'd rather not talk about it. Please forgive our tactlessness." Iida declared, bowing his head whilst using his hand to force Uraraka to copy the action.
Midoriya smiled slightly at their sincerity, looking down.
"I know I kept avoiding the topic – but it really doesn't bother me that much. Above everything else, I'd rather just not dwell on it." he confessed, frowning before continuing, "What did Kacchan tell you when you asked him?"
"He mainly told us to mind our own business, but eventually he blurted out that he didn't know about your dad and, uhh… you didn't either." Uraraka said delicately.
"So why did everyone look like they wanted to punch him when I walked in?"
Aaaaand the awkwardness came back, full force.
"I don't want to say it." Uraraka mumbled after swallowing, looking at Iida for help.
"He called you – no, he has been calling you a name for a long time, and we, along with our fellow students, have only just realised that he uses it to mock your family situation. And quite frankly, it's unacceptable."
Midoriya's eyes widened in realisation.
"Oh! No, Kacchan doesn't mean it like that!" he said, putting up his hands.
"That's what he said, but-"
"Yeah, I get how it looks, and uhh… thanks for getting angry, I guess." Midoriya interrupted Uraraka, blushing slightly. "I know Kacchan's a bully, don't get me wrong, but he only really cares about things that make himself seem better, you know? He'll make fun of someone for having a weaker quirk or not being good at fighting, but having a dad around doesn't make him any more powerful. It's just not something he's going to taunt people over. He meant it when he said he didn't mean it that way."
Uraraka and Iida noticed the firmness of his voice; he genuinely believed that he knew Bakugou that well. And the more they considered it, the more it made sense. It seemed it was just a generic insult he used without really thinking about it.
"Well… as long as it doesn't bother you, Deku." Uraraka concluded.
"It doesn't. I just… I avoid the topic of my dad because I don't really know how to feel about it. I don't even have any memories of him – all I know is that he had a fire quirk and he left shortly after I was born."
"Aren't you…" Uraraka started, struggling to find the next word.
"Angry?" Iida finished for her.
"That's the thing. If he deserted me and my mum on purpose then yes, I guess I'd feel anger. But it's also possible that he disappeared because something bad happened to him, in which case I wouldn't be angry at him. I don't want to assume his intentions, only to find out I've been dwelling on the wrong emotion for years. Besides, I've never really needed a dad. My mum's enough."
It took a few seconds for Midoriya to notice that Iida had stopped walking; he paused and glanced behind to see the boy in deep thought, a proud a smile on his face.
"That's very composed of you, Izuku. One of the defining qualities of a hero is staying in control of one's emotions – waiting before reacting once the full context of a situation is known." Iida declared, clapping Midoriya on the back with more force than intended. Meanwhile, Uraraka scolded Iida for practically attacking Deku.
Having been winded, Midoriya quickly recovered to grin at his friends.
"Thank-"
"Midoriya, my boy!" yelled an approaching figure, running up to the three of them. "Iida, Uraraka, I trust you two enjoyed my lesson today?"
He barely waited for their answers before putting his hand on Midoriya's shoulder.
"Great! I do aim not to bore you young heroes. I must say, I'm very impressed with the progress of class 1-A. Now I hope you don't mind if I borrow Midoriya here for just a second?"
Uraraka and Iida shook their heads, smiling at their dork of a teacher before they watched him walk off, his hand still placed caringly on Midoriya's shoulder.
They stayed watching as their friend talked animatedly to his hero, looking happier and more comfortable than he had all day.
With one last knowing glance at each other, the two students turned around to head home.