Hitoshi wasn't having a good day.
Well… it hadn't all been bad.
Talking to Tenya earlier in homeroom had brought a smile to his face after his friend had accepted him so wholeheartedly despite his lack of voice; after that though, things had quickly gone downhill.
Even though he had no idea how, the raid was in fact the main topic of conversation around the hallways of UA, everyone seemed to know something about what happened and so he was finding it hard not to hear the whispers and rumours being spread like wildfire around him.
'It's those brats in 1-A again, I swear they're gonna' get us shutdown.'
Their voices were so loud.
'Hey did you hear, that guy in 3-B, you know, the Big Three guy, apparently he lost his quirk during the raid, crazy right?!'
'I know; I heard the green-haired kid and traitor had something to do with it.'
'No way!'
They all just wouldn't stop.
'So we can't get moved up into the hero course but that fucking villain kid causes a whole bunch of shit and makes Togata lose his quirk but he still keeps his place?!'
His hands felt as if they'd been shaking for hours.
'I thought Aizawa-sensei was strict, did he forget how to fucking teach, why is he still on the hero course?'
He didn't have a voice to speak up.
'The guy's a freak, he doesn't even talk.'
So they just kept coming.
'That's the only reason he got moved up from General Studies it's ridiculous. Aizawa-sensei is blind, why the fuck did they move him into 1-A?'
Sat in the lunch hall he couldn't help but feel the eyes of his fellow students staring into him. It wasn't hard to overhear their conversations.
"Isn't he Aizawa-sensei's son?"
"Woah, did Aizawa-sensei have a kid from before he met Mic-sensei?"
"Wait, Mic-sensei and Aizawa-sensei are dating?"
"They're married dipshit."
"He would have been like fifteen when he was born, he can't be his actual kid, unless the hero guide got his birth year wrong, doubt it though."
"So how the fuck did he end up with the League of Villains? Did he sign up with them even though his Dad is a pro hero?"
"Woah woah woah, rewind a little; they don't look anything like each other."
"Are you kidding, they're like identical besides hair colour, I mean, they even use the same support shit."
"Isn't his surname Shinsou?"
"It was Komatsu when he was in my General Studies class."
"What the fuck?!"
"And now it's Aizawa."
"So he's adopted?"
"Who the fuck would want to adopt him?"
"Wait, so if he was Komatsu in General Studies, and then was Shinsou in the sports festival, that means they adopted him after that."
"Which is also after the USJ when he apparently waltzed in with the League."
"Dude what the actual fuck, why the hell did they want anything to do with that fuck?"
"Wasn't Aizawa-sensei like beat to fuck after that attack?"
"Oh yeah, he like legit nearly died."
"And Shinsou was the traitor, I remember reading about it, he totally sold UA out. So not only did what he told them mean that all of 1-A could have died, but Thirteen-sensei and Aizawa-sensei nearly died too, and that whole building got totalled."
"And he still adopted him, is he insane?!"
"That shit is why we had to move into the dorms too."
"No that was because the fucking League kidnapped him and that cocky Bakugou kid back at the training camp, then he got his ass handed to him by Shigaraki and All Might had to save him."
"Oh yeah I forgot about that."
"How, I'm sick to death of seeing that photo."
"So I used my quirk once by accident in the corridor and they nearly expelled me but this fucker can nearly get half the staff killed and his entire class but that's just fine is it? This school is ridiculous…"
He suddenly wasn't hungry.
Shoving the lid back on his bento he shoved it along with his chopsticks into his backpack before quickly leaving the lunch hall and heading down the hallway to the front entrance.
"Hey, Hitoshi!"
He simply continued on as the voice called for him.
But they caught up regardless.
Blonde hair and a huge smile appeared in front of him a few seconds later before the expression changed to one of concern.
"Hitoshi?"
He shook his head as he tried to hold his composure together.
"What's wrong, kiddo?"
They didn't even have a way to communicate, Mirio-senpai didn't know sign language so what was the point, the third year was just wasting his time.
"Oh right, sorry, Aizawa-sensei mentioned that you're not up to talking right now, that's okay; hey I know, why don't we go for a walk together?"
Hitoshi simply continued walking.
"Do you want to write it down?"
He hoped his expression said everything it needed to about that suggestion.
"Yeah maybe not."
Mirio-senpai exhaled.
"You want me to just leave you alone don't you?"
Hitoshi nodded.
"Sorry but it's kinda' a personal rule of mine to not leave people who are feeling down on their own so you're either stuck with me or we can go and find your cousins or your Dads."
He threw his head back with a groan.
'FINE' He signed before motioning to himself. 'I FINE' Even though he knew it meant nothing to the member of the Big Three.
"You're not fine, Hitoshi."
Hitoshi's eyes widened.
"Don't get your hopes up too much, that's one of the like eight things I know in JSL. So, what's it gonna' be, me, cousins, or Dad?"
He pointed to Mirio.
"Okay." His senpai smiled before pulling out his phone. "Is texting okay?"
After looking the messages through Mirio couldn't believe what he had read. Turning to the kid he sighed.
"Hitoshi…"
He shook his head; the last thing he wanted was pity, especially not off the person he'd caused to lose his quirk.
"That wasn't your fault. I don't care what these nosey bastards say they weren't there, I was. Nothing that happened during that raid was your fault, and you especially weren't the reason I lost my quirk. Chisaki was aiming for Eri and I saw you turn to take the bullet yourself; there was no way I was letting that happen so I dived in front and you know everything after that. I don't have a quirk because I made a choice back there in that compound, I stand by it and I don't regret the decision I made, do you understand?"
His eyes were wide in disbelief of what he was hearing.
Why didn't Mirio-senpai blame him? How could he so casually say that losing his quirk was a choice he made, it was his quirk and it was gone all because he couldn't act quick enough?
Did he really mean that?
"Hitoshi, you don't need my forgiveness because you have nothing to apologise for."
Tears welled up in his eyes.
Mirio-senpai placed his hands gently on his shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze.
"You were incredible back on that raid and you saved Eri, these people talking about you, they don't know anything, they're just stupid. You know exactly what you achieved and you should be proud of what you accomplished, I mean, you're still in your first year and you were personally invited to be a part of the mission; that should be the coolest thing ever."
He smiled.
"Have you talked to Mic and Aizawa-sensei about what these guys have been saying?"
Hitoshi shook his head.
"Do you not think it would make you feel better if you did?"
He tapped into his phone.
Mirio-senpai went to read it.
"Scared."
He looked down, suddenly embarrassed and wishing he could take the admission back.
"Well I think that would be the bravest thing ever, and with you being a super cool provisionally licensed hero and all it should be a piece of cake. Rather than helping a civilian you're just looking after Hitoshi for once."
Mirio-senpai offered a smile.
"They love the hell out of you, kiddo, you shouldn't keep things like this from them, you'll only make them worry more, and they'll actually be able to help, I mean, they're teachers here."
Hitoshi nodded.
"So promise me you'll think about it, yeah?"
'OKAY'
"Good."
The bell rang.
"Come on, I'll walk you to your class."
He smiled.
'THANK YOU'
"No problem, Hitoshi."
