Waking up at 5AM is an unpleasant task for everyone involved. Even prim and prompt Iida cannot prevent the yawns that escape from his mouth as they gather in the field outside. Shinsou rests his chin on Izuku's head and drowsily leans against him, and the smaller boy is too tired to push him off.
Aizawa, somehow, seems entirely unbothered by the early hour as he goes over the day's training regime in a monotonous voice. He has Kacchan do the same ball toss as he did on the first day of school, and then essentially goes on to tell them that their quirks are weak. They'll be pushing their quirks to their limits to make them stronger.
"It'll be so hard you'll feel like dying," Aizawa says with a maniacal grin, "But try not to actually die."
Everyone shivers, except for Izuku, who just gives Aizawa a very unimpressed look.
"Yes please." He sniffs.
Thus begins the training camp from hell.
The rest of the Wild Wild Pussycats arrive, and with their diverse quirks, they're able to provide each and every one of the students with the perfect exercise to improve their quirk. It's very intense training, and Izuku is desperate to keep an eye on everyone- quirk overuse is no joke- but Aizawa has him spend most of his time sparring with Shinsou. The purple-haired boy has progressed in leaps and bounds during Izuku's absence in their lessons with Aizawa, so it's a good opportunity for him to catch up on what he's missed. And he's missed a lot, turns out.
It's a bit frustrating, knowing that Shinsou has been learning and getting stronger while Izuku has just been stuck at home resting. He was already starting to catch up with Izuku skill-wise in hand-to-hand combat simply because he's able to train more often with Aizawa, but it really shows now.
Izuku grunts when Shinsou flips him onto his back and pins him to the ground. A moment later, his weight shifts off him and he's helping him up, but Izuku is all too aware of the way Aizawa not-so-subtly eyes them the entire time.
"You alright?" Shinsou asks.
"Fine," Izuku wheezes, brushing the dirt off his pants.
Shinsou pauses. "We can take a break-"
"No." Izuku stifles a cough, ignoring the way his throat burns. "Keep going."
He raises his arms and Shinsou reluctantly falls back into a fighting stance. They keep sparring, and Izuku can immediately tell that Shinsou is going easy on him. A flash of irritation sparks in his chest. Quickly switching to the offensive, he darts forward and takes him down, probably a bit more harshly than he needs to.
Shinsou coughs as the air is knocked out of his lungs. He sits up on his elbows and arches an eyebrow at Izuku. The freckled boy puts his hands on his hips, not quite glaring down at Shinsou, but giving him a hard look as if to say 'don't act like I don't know what you're doing'. Shinsou is different from his other friends. He's kind, but he isn't afraid to be blunt and straightforward even if it might seem rude. He's a lot like Aizawa, in that regard.
And he's the last person Izuku would expect to treat him with kid gloves.
One of the reasons Izuku loves their sparring sessions so much is that he gets all sweaty and bruised. Everyone else always treats him like he's fragile, but Shinsou has never seemed to be afraid to punch him too hard. Maybe it's because Izuku had so much more experience in fighting than Shinsou that the other boy had to work so hard just to land a hit on him, that why the hell would he want to hold back? Whatever the reason is, Izuku needs him to remember it right now.
As he gazes down at Shinsou on the ground, Izuku arches a brow and thinks to himself, 'Don't you go forgetting who your second teacher was. Just because I'm in a funk doesn't mean you get to go easy on me.'
He stretches out his hand. After a moment, Shinsou smirks and takes it. Then, he starts fighting for real.
Izuku immediately finds himself on the defensive. Shinsou's a real bitch to fight nowadays, using his height and his long limbs to his advantage. While his swings and kicks were once too wide- and therefore much easier to see and dodge- now they're quick and controlled.
Because he took Izuku's advice.
What an ass.
Izuku should be proud of him. He is proud of him. He reminds himself of this every time Shinsou knocks him down. He's only able to do so because Izuku helped teach him. And it's not like Izuku's completely getting his ass kicked here! He swipes Shinsou's feet out from underneath him and pins him down plenty of times. He's just being… moody because Shinsou's winning more than he usually does. It's like he's progressing so fast and Izuku's just… not? Is he getting any stronger? All his other classmates are training their quirks, but there's not much he can do for his right now, considering the circumstances. He supposes Shinsou is in the same boat, although maybe he can help him train his quirk later…
But all he can do is train his body. That's what he and Shinsou are doing, but Shinsou's progressing a lot faster than him for some reason. Why? Izuku was only out of action for two weeks, and yeah, Shinsou does get to train with Aizawa pretty much everyday after school, but Izuku has been taking self-defense classes for years. Or, well, he was.
So… what's different? Is he just in a funk? Maybe he needs to find himself a stronger sparring partner. Maybe Aizawa? Someone that can teach him new things. Someone that can help him progress more.
Or maybe he's just weak?
The traitorous thought distracts him, allowing Shinsou to land a kick to the side of his head that he normally would have been able to dodge easily. Shinsou clearly expected him to too, because he startles when Izuku is knocked to the ground and rushes over to him.
"Midoriya-kun!" He exclaims, dropping to his knees beside him, "Shit, are you alright?! I'm so sorry, I thought you'd dodge that!"
Dazed, Izuku pushes himself up on his elbow and lifts a hand to his head, wincing in pain. All around him, everything seems to stop. People nearby glance over, students from class A and B stop what their doing, stop their training, just to look over at him, just to worry about him because of course it's poor little Izuku that got hurt again, Lord knows he'd break like glass if he doesn't have someone protecting him-
Heavy footsteps brush against gravel.
"Midoriya-kun."
Shit.
"I'm fine," Izuku croaks, broken and hoarse.
Aizawa's shoes enter his line of view and then the man is kneeling in front of him, tilting his chin up to peer into his eyes. Izuku turns his chin away. "'t's not a concussion." He's had a concussion before- in fact, Aizawa's seen the one and only concussion he's ever had- and this isn't one.
Still, Aizawa stubbornly grabs his chin and forces him to look at him again, going through all the motions of checking for a concussion before he's finally satisfied.
"Take a break," he orders gruffly.
"I'm fine," Izuku insists.
"That wasn't a suggestion." Aizawa narrows his eyes. "What did I say about pushing yourself?"
Izuku tries to glare, but quickly shrivels and averts his gaze.
After a long moment, Aizawa says, "It's no good fighting when you're distracted. Take a break, ice your head, and get back to it later."
His tone leaves no room for argument. Izuku watches as the teacher straightens up and leaves, then clumsily gets to his feet with the help of Shinsou.
"Sorry," the purple-haired boy apologizes again.
"It's fine," Izuku grunts.
"Oi, Shinsou-kun, take it easy on 'im!" A boy from class B shouts over to them.
"Sorry!" Shinsou says louder. Izuku stifles a grumble and turns on his heel.
He starts heading back to the facility and Shinsou follows, probably to keep an eye on him even though he's walking fine. He knows his friend means well, but he can't help the bitter indignation that burns deep within his chest. Other students deal with plenty worse injuries and don't get nearly as much fussing over.
"So," Shinsou says, coming up to walk by his side. Izuku glances at him and the taller boy arches a brow questioningly. "Are you distracted?" Izuku blinks. "You're frustrated about something. I can tell."
Izuku frowns at his feet. "I'm fine," he mumbles.
"Is that all you can say?"
Izuku's eye twitches. He rounds on Shinsou. "Well, what do you want me to say?"
Shinsou appears unphased by his unusual hostility. "How 'bout the truth?" He smirks teasingly. "Don't make me use my quirk on you."
"Wha- You- You just- Gah!" Izuku is too upset and frustrated to deal with this right now. He whirls around and stomps into the facility, grimacing in pain from both his head and his throat. "Go away! Go back to your training! I don't need your help putting an ice pack on my head!"
He slams the door unnecessarily loudly behind him.
By the time dinner arrives, Izuku is a little ashamed of his behavior during the afternoon. Even though he's frustrated at… well, his lack of progress in his physical ability, taking it out on Shinsou was very inappropriate. And rude. Shinsou's his friend! He doesn't deserve to be treated that way.
After icing his head and giving himself time to cool down, he'd gone back to continue sparring, only to see Aizawa training Shinsou's quirk with a few other students. So he'd kind of just… hung around until dinner time, during which he'd seen Shinsou and Aizawa speaking in hushed voices, glancing at him occasionally.
Great. Shinsou probably told Aizawa about Izuku's little temper tantrum. His behavior this afternoon was so out-of-character, they'll probably take it as evidence that he's not ready for this, that it's too soon, he needs more time to recover. But he doesn't, he's fine, he's just acting this way because everyone's treating him like he's made of glass!
However, when Shinsou comes to sit down next to him at the dinner table, all he says is, "Tomorrow, I'm gonna catch you up on the new capture weapon moves Aizawa-sensei taught me while you were gone. Think that'll be okay with your throat?"
Oh. He panicked over nothing.
Izuku blinks, gives himself a mental shake, and nods. "Oh. Yeah, that should be okay, I think."
He later notices that Kota has wandered off during dinner time, and just like before Mandalay makes no move to follow him, so Izuku takes the initiative and follows the boy's footsteps up the mountain, taking a plate of curry with him. He's met with less hostility than before, although Kota clearly wants to be left alone and denies being hungry. This leads to Izuku going on a very long rant about the importance of food to young growing boys, using as many big words as he can, until Kota gets annoyed and caves.
"Alright, alright, fine!" He snaps irritably, "Just leave it there!"
Smiling in victory, Izuku bends over and sets down the plate a couple of feet away from Kota, who glares at him with more anger than a five year-old should have. He's about to turn away when Kota suddenly snaps, "I don't get you!"
Izuku blinks and glances back at him. "Huh?"
"I saw you today," Kota says accusingly, "You have a healing quirk, but you were out there trying to fight like you're some sort of hero!"
"Oh," Izuku says, "Healers have to be good at fighting too. For self-defense, you know? In case we ever get attacked by villains…"
Kota pauses for a moment, digesting his answer, then his eyes harden again. "But you did! And you got hurt and your voice is all weird now! You got injured 'cause of the heroes' failure, you should hate them! Why would you use your quirk to help them?"
Ah. Izuku understands now. From what Mandalay told him, Kota seems to have an intense hatred for heroes that's no doubt uncommon for boys his age. Or for anyone, really. He's looking for a kindred spirit here. But he won't find one in Izuku.
"I don't blame the heroes for my injury, I blame the villains," he says simply. He hesitates for a brief moment, then adds, "I heard about what happened to your parents." Kota tenses up. "It was an unfortunate incident. I remember it…"
Kota grits his teeth. "Everyone's crazy. Calling each other stupid names like "hero" and "villain" and killing each other. Talking about quirks and stuff. It's because they're all showing off that they ended up like that… stupid…"
Izuku looks up at the dark sky glittering with stars, pondering. "The life of a hero is a dangerous one," he muses, "And it probably seems reckless to some, but I guess that's why I want to help them. To make sure that… what happened to your parents never happens to anyone else…"
"You-You can't promise that…" Kota whispers.
"No," Izuku admits, "But I can try."
With that, he turns and leaves.
While they're getting ready for bed, Izuku finds himself massaging Kacchan's sore wrists. Even though he's not allowed to use his quirk to heal his classmates, Aizawa said nothing about using traditional methods. Thanks to Shinsou kicking him in the head earlier, he doesn't have to worry about his quirk activating from skin contact. Kacchan's head nearly lolls as Izuku applies firm pressure with one thumb and slides it up his inner forearm.
"I've never seen Bakugou-kun so chill before," Ojiro whispers to Shinsou.
"Shh! You'll ruin the moment!" Sero shushes.
"Fuck off, you fuckers," Kacchan growls, but it comes out more like a moan. His head finally slumps against Izuku's shoulder as he works his way up the blond's tense forearms. The other boys snicker. A weak, muffled "fuck you" comes from Izuku's shoulder.
"Is this how you tame him, Midoriya-kun?" Shinsou asks.
"A curious tactic," Iida comments thoughtfully.
Todoroki pauses as he walks by and glances down at Kacchan practically melted in Izuku's lap. He blinks. "Can I get one next?"
Just the thought of giving Todoroki a massage sends Izuku's mind to no-no land and he immediately flushes, but thankfully Kacchan tightens his grip on Izuku and grumbles, "Fuck you, he's mine."
"Actually," Izuku says, trying to glance around as much as he can with Kacchan's poofy hair pressing against his face, "Not a bad idea. Is there anyone with injuries I can possibly help through traditional means?" There are a few boys missing- namely Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sato since they failed the final exams- but they didn't seem too injured last Izuku saw. Izuku is a bit worried about the effects of quirk overuse for Kaminari though.
Sorry Aizawa, but Izuku doesn't really think hooking a teenage boy up to a car battery is a valid form of training. But whatever, what does Izuku know anyway? It's not like he's been religiously studying the human body for the past year. He's absolutely certain that the guy that couldn't even pronounce 'sternocleidomastoid' correctly totally knows what he's doing when he's talking about electrocuting a fifteen year-old's brain.
Sure.
He really needs to have a talk with that man, doesn't he?
Eh, he'll add it to the growing plate of things he needs to do.
"You already gave me some more anti-nausea pills, monsieur," Aoyama says, "I am doing as well as I can be, otherwise."
Sero rubs his elbows gingerly. "Do you have any vaseline or lotion I can put on my elbows? My quirk makes 'em dry out."
Izuku nods and detangles himself from Kacchan, who grumpily flops down on his futon in defeat, and retrieves the vaseline from his medical pouch.
Shinsou saunters up to Iida and wraps an arm around his shoulders, leaning his weight against him. "I'm sure Iida-kun would love a leg massage, but he's too polite to ask for one." He gives a toothy smirk when the blue-haired boy sputters.
Izuku pauses. Iida has been running around all day. So, he ends up kneeling down in front of an awkward Iida who insists that he doesn't have to do this and Izuku has to remind him multiple times that 'dude, it's my job to look after you guys, shut up' while he massages his legs. It's a bit odd to see the exhaust pipes sticking out of his friend's calves up close, but Iida seems to appreciate the massage once he actually manages to start relaxing after a few minutes. His poor muscles are probably so overworked, and he's going to have to do this all over again tomorrow. He'll have to be careful not to get any cramps.
Izuku also ends up massaging Ojiro's tail, which is a whole other experience all of its own. Once he's finished treating the boys, he politely knocks on the girls' door and asks if they need any treatment as well. They're a bit better off, although once they hear about the massages, he's guilt-tripped into rubbing a few of their shoulders'.
…
If the whole healer thing doesn't work out, he should become a masseuse.
Afterwards, it's nearing bedtime and Izuku knows he should be heading back to the boys' room, but he hesitates. Class B worked just as hard as class A did today, it seems unfair that he would treat his own classmates and not them. So, with his medical bag in hand, he makes his way over to class B's side of the facility. He manages to find Kendou, who greets him warmly and helps him gather up her classmates when he tells her his intentions. The class B students are nice, but it's a little strange. He supposes he doesn't really interact with them very often, but they practically swarm around him, gazing at him like he's so fascinating, or like he's a cute puppy that was just dropped off at their feet. It's a little overwhelming, and very confusing, but… eh, at least they're friendly. Izuku's too tired to try and figure out how the hero student mind works right now. He hasn't even figured it out with his own classmates yet.
When he returns to the boys' shared room, it's past their bedtime and the lights are out. He's about to consider taking out his phone to help light the way to his futon when suddenly a small flame erupts from the center of the room.
Todoroki.
His flame provides just enough light for Izuku to pick his way across the dark room without stepping on any of his sleeping friends.
"Thanks," Izuku whispers as he sets his bag down next to his futon, getting under the covers.
Todoroki nods, shrinking the flame so that it's smaller, more like a soft candlelight between them. "You're lucky none of the Pussycats caught you on your way back."
"And what would they have done?" Izuku scoffs lightly, rolling his eyes. "I'm a healer, I get to get away with stuff." He grins teasingly.
Todoroki's soft smile is illuminated by the dim light of his flame. "You sure do," he whispers. Before Izuku can ponder what he means by that, the flame disappears. "Get some sleep."
Without the fire, darkness descends once more, thick and heavy. Once Izuku's eyes adjust, however, he can see the dim outline of Todoroki's form laying in his futon next to him. He's still facing Izuku, eyelids closed and expression lax.
Izuku swallows and rolls over to face Kacchan instead. Red eyes meet his.
'Gay,' Kacchan mouthes with a silent sneer.
Izuku kicks him in the shin and rolls over to face Todoroki, buries his head underneath his blanket, and somehow forces himself to fall asleep.
Izuku wakes up feeling very warm. His blankets are a heavy, comfortable weight around him that practically radiate heat. He shifts slightly, noticing that one side is noticeably cooler. Inhaling deeply- that's such a nice, musky scent, what detergent did his mom use to wash his blankets with?- Izuku wraps his arms around his warm bundle of blankets and tugs it closer to his chest.
Only, it feels kind of firm for a blanket. Izuku drowsily splays his hands out, fingers trailing around. Feels like fabric, his sleep-addled mind can process that much, but what's underneath it is hard. Warm, but hard. He presses a little. There's some give to it, but not much.
He opens his eyes. Can't see much. He tries to move. Can't move much. Actually, can't move at all. His blanket is too heavy for some reason.
Izuku blinks rapidly, trying to get used to the dim light. It must be early morning, there's a faint dawn glow peeking in through the windows, but there's also something really close to his face, which is making it hard to see. He turns his chin, blinking in the low light.
And nearly has a heart attack.
His blanket is not in fact a blanket, but an arm. A beautiful, bare, muscular arm belonging to Todoroki, who he is currently tangled with. His breath hitches in his throat and he immediately freezes like a deer caught in headlights. Todoroki's face is so so close to his. He can feel Todoroki's breath puff against his curls from where his head is pillowed against the boy's disgustingly comfortable bicep.
Izuku gulps, struggling not to panic. But that's an impossible task, because he's now realizing how the rest of their bodies are positioned. Todoroki's left arm, the one not underneath Izuku's head, is loosely flung across his side. Izuku's own arm is curled a bit more daintily around Todoroki's ribcage, which he tries to remove except Todoroki's arm is kind of on top of it so he'll notice if he tries to move it. Their legs are a whole other story.
Izuku doesn't think his face could burn any hotter. Actually, this whole situation is way too hot in general. And not in a sexy way. Todoroki is like a furnace, and Izuku is so embarrassed he's literally sweating. Hey, maybe he'll sweat so much he'll be able to slip out of Todoroki's grasp because honestly that might be the only way he'll be able to get out of this one because oh my God his leg is trapped in between Todoroki's thighs.
Literally, his thigh is like one inch away from being pressed against his crush's crotch. Can someone please kill him now?
And there's no escaping this. He knows that. You wanna know how he knows that? Because those thighs he was fawning over looking at during the endurance training at the pool? Yeah, he can feel just how muscular and strong they are now, and holy shit, they would be so attractive if they weren't also going to be his demise.
Izuku takes a deep, shuddering breath, then curses himself when he exhales too hard on Todoroki's collarbone. Will Todoroki even wake up if he breathes too hard on him? He doesn't know and he doesn't want to find out. How the hell did they even end up like this?
He glances at dim light pouring through the window. It doesn't matter. He just needs to get out of this before anyone wakes up. Preferably also without Todoroki waking up. Yesterday's training was super tough, so he should sleep like a rock, right? This shouldn't be too hard.
Swallowing, Izuku holds his breath and slowly, ever so slowly, shifts backwards. Todoroki doesn't react. Izuku pauses, then shifts again, this time moving his head a little too. He doesn't dare move his thigh yet. Todoroki is silent. Izuku gets a bit braver and slides a little further out of his grasp.
Todoroki suddenly inhales deeply and Izuku tenses up. Then those arms are wrapping around him and pulling him flush against Todoroki's chest once more. Hot breath washes over his scalp as a nose nuzzles against his curls. The leg that's thrown over his own lazily hooks around his calf, and the arms around him gently squeeze once before relaxing. Todoroki takes another deep breath, and then his breathing evens out again.
Blood pulses in Izuku's ears as a million cuss words run through his mind. Shit, shit, shit, why does Todoroki have to be such an octopus when he sleeps? It seems so out of character, he's never really been one for any type of physical affection, let alone cuddling.
See, if it were anyone else, Izuku might not mind it. They could laugh it off. But this is Todoroki. Not only would it totally make things weird between them, but Todoroki would never be able to live it down if the others woke up and saw him- Mr. Tough-Guy, top-of-the-class Todoroki- cuddling with Izuku .
And Kacchan would be laughing at both of them for ages.
So with those fears to spur him onward, he tries again to wiggle out of the other boy's grasp without waking him. After a moment, the arms around him tighten, and a low, warning growl rumbles in Todoroki's chest. Izuku freezes.
What. The. Fuck. What the fuck was that noise?! Izuku didn't even know Todoroki could make that noise!
It almost sounds downright possessive and Izuku can't help but shiver in Todoroki's hold. The arms around him move, the left sliding up to press a hand between Izuku's shoulder blades and the other sliding lower to Izuku's waist. The freckled boy tenses up when the right hand trails over his hip. Instinctively, he flinches away, but Todoroki's muscular thighs keep his leg trapped firmly between them.
The hand between Izuku's shoulder blades practically burns. Izuku bites his lip. He can feel the strength in that forearm pressed against his back, keeping him pinned against Todoroki's chest. Even in his sleep, Todoroki is so strong, so beautiful, and Izuku is so, so weak for him.
Todoroki then lets out a content sigh, sounding very much like a satisfied feline that has found the perfect patch of sun to bask in and is more than content to lay there all day.
Which is adorable, except Izuku needs him to MOVE.
Being totally honest with himself, if they weren't surrounded by their sleeping classmates, and if he wasn't terrified that this might ruin their friendship, then yeah, sue him, he would love to stay here and let himself be cuddled by sleepy-octopus-Todoroki. Seriously, he is so fucking cute right now. But unfortunately, Izuku can't let something bad come of this, so he's gotta be the one to pry himself away from his clingy, sleepy, beautiful crush that he's totally going to be dreaming of in this scenario for a few weeks after this.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Fuck.
Izuku all but launches himself away from Todoroki, legs getting tangled up in the blankets and tripping him up, causing him to fall face-first into Kacchan's futon. Kacchan lets out a strangled yelp as the air is knocked out of him and immediately starts screeching.
"ZUKU, WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Sorry, sorry, Kacchan!" Izuku jumps off, then falls over, his legs still caught up in Todoroki's blanket. A pissed off Kacchan pounces on him, rolling them both over onto the greenette's futon where he pins him down and snarls. Izuku gulps.
Kacchan, when sleep-deprived, is not one to be messed with.
"The fuck are you doing?" He snaps irritably, the volume of his voice matching the noisy shrieking of the alarm clock that pierces the sleepy silence of the room.
"Nothing!" Izuku croaks, then winces, "Shh, Kacchan, not so loud!"
Meanwhile, everyone else is still groggily trying to wake up, Todoroki included. Lucky for him, though, he apparently got a head start when Izuku kicked him awake in his haste to get away from him. He pushes himself up on his elbows now, blinking at Kacchan pinning down Izuku next to him in confusion.
When his gaze meets Izuku's, he pauses. Then he frowns. A spark of hope flickers in Izuku's chest. But then, Todoroki's eyes widen in utter horror. A light flush blooms across his cheeks, and Izuku's stomach sinks.
No…
Kacchan is still glaring down at him, but when he sees the change in his expression, he follows his gaze to Todoroki. Noticing the lack of blanket on the other boy, Kacchan turns his glare back to Izuku and looks down at his legs, which are still tangled up. Looks at the blanket beneath Izuku, the one that actually belongs to him. Izuku watches with dread as Kacchan connects the dots. It takes him a moment, because his mind is still pretty groggy with sleep. The scowl slowly fades away, replaced by shock. For a brief second, Izuku thinks he sees a flash of rage flicker across Kacchan's eyes, but it disappears the next moment. Then, he tosses his head back and lets out a bark of laughter.
"Kacchan!" Izuku hisses, but his best friend ignores him, keeping him pinned as he leans back on his haunches and laughs, loud and obnoxious. Todoroki glares while the other boys, still in the midst of waking up, yawn and blink at him in confusion. Someone slaps off the screeching alarm clock.
"Bakubro?" Kirishima asks sleepily, rubbing an eye, "What's going on, man?"
"Why are you on top of Midoriya-kun?" Iida frowns as he puts on his glasses.
Kacchan just shakes his head as he comes down from his laughter. Still chuckling, he curls his lip and leers at Todoroki, baring his teeth in a silent challenge. Despite his apparent humor, his eyes burn. Todoroki just keeps glaring.
Shifting uncomfortably beneath Kacchan's weight, Izuku sits up and pushes at his chest. "Kacchan, c'mon, just-"
He squeaks when Kacchan pushes him back down with one hand before standing up. The blond steps over to Todoroki, who makes to stand up as well, except Kacchan puts one foot on the boy's chest and forces him back down before bending over to sneer, "Don't get too comfortable, IcyHot."
He flashes Todoroki a feral grin, then ruffles Izuku's hair with a bit more force than necessary as he walks past to grab his stuff from beside his futon before he stalks out the door.
Silence fills the room.
"What just happened?" Kaminari asks drowsily, still wiping the sleep from his eyes.
Izuku glances at Todoroki, who's still glaring after Kacchan. His eyes land back on the blankets loosely tangled around his ankles, and a blush creeps up his neck.
Stupid hero-types! They're all stupidly possessive and competitive and hot-blooded and stupid and confusing and stupid and charming and aggressive and stupid and- AGH!
Izuku yanks his blanket- his own blanket- over his head and buries his face into his pillow, stifling a groan.
Izuku spends a rather disappointing morning training with his capture weapon. He'd never really been good at using it before his injury- Aizawa had barely begun teaching them how to use it- but it seems that during his two weeks of rest, Shinsou progressed ahead of him even in this. It's not even that complicated of a move; they're just taking turns tossing and hooking their weapons around each other from a distance, but it's clear that Izuku's struggling a lot more than Shinsou is. He's always seemed to struggle more with the capture weapon than Shinsou; he blames it on the fact that it's the one thing they're starting on the same level on, and Shinsou's getting more practice with. Still, it's frustrating, but he tries to swallow it down and forces himself to be patient and listen when Aizawa comes over and helps him.
They switch back to sparring during the afternoon. And once again, even though he has more experience, he keeps getting his ass kicked. The frustration mounts, making him slip up in his desperation to focus even harder, and Shinsou notices, taking advantage of every single instance of his distraction to knock him off his feet. After about the ninth time this happens, he doesn't let him back up, instead keeping him pinned to the ground.
For a few moments, he simply pants above Izuku, purple strands of hair clinging to sweaty skin as he gazes down at him with piercing eyes. Then, "What's up?"
"Huh?" Izuku squints up at him. The hot sun is beating down on them, but Shinsou casts a shadow over him.
"What are you doing?" The taller boy blinks lazily. "You've been acting weird lately, and your fighting's sloppy as shit. What's up?"
A spark of annoyance flickers in Izuku's chest. "Nothing." He squirms. "Get off."
Shinsou keeps him pinned. "Make me." He smirks, arching a brow as he gazes down at Izuku through hooded eyes, looking entirely unconcerned- and Izuku hates that. He hates that he can look at him that way, like Izuku's not even enough of a threat for Shinsou to be on guard, because why would anyone ever feel threatened by Izuku? He's just a healer, he doesn't have a combative quirk, he can't even protect himself, let alone hurt anyone-
Rage pulses through his veins and he surges forwards, catching Shinsou by surprise as he flips the heavier boy over, switching their positions. Izuku reels his fist back and Shinsou's eyes widen, hastily catching his fist before it makes contact with his nose. A knee jams into Izuku's back and he yelps. Shinsou quickly hooks a leg under Izuku's knee and grabs his shoulder before using his lighter weight against him and throwing him off of him.
Now separated, they both hurriedly scramble to their feet. Still trembling with fury and indignation, Izuku immediately goes on the offensive and darts forward. Shinsou blocks his punch and aims a kick to his side that he dodges before attacking again. He's relentless, fueled by adrenaline and frustration and an underlying, sickening ball of fear that sits like a rock in the pit of his stomach, and he forces Shinsou to remain on the defensive because he knows that it's one of his weaker areas. But Izuku's not used to being on the offensive for so long either; his style of fighting is more evasive, to stay quick on his feet and out of his opponent's range, only darting in for brief, quick attacks. It's a good fighting style for someone short and agile like him, but all he can think now is it's not good enough, not strong enough, he needs to be stronger, he needs to be STRONGER-
Shinsou is watching him carefully, some calculating look glistening in those periwinkle depths. Izuku can't read his expression, but he feels set off anyway, like he's exposed, vulnerable, and it makes him react with hostility.
In a sudden burst of energy, Izuku launches himself at the taller boy, intending to use his momentum to knock him over. Shinsou, however, anticipates this, and braces himself properly, grabbing onto Izuku when he crashes into him and swinging him around in a graceful movement. Then, Shinsou is forcing Izuku to the ground, and the two wrestle with each other for the next few minutes. Limbs flail, hair is pulled, and dust flies into the air as the boys roll around in the dirt.
Shinsou grunts when Izuku's fist sloppily punches his cheek and grabs it. Izuku snarls and tries to yank his hand back, but Shinsou refuses to let go, rolling so that the smaller boy is pinned beneath him.
"Get off!" Izuku hisses, frustrated tears pricking his eyes.
"No," Shinsou says, blocking the other fist that comes flying towards his face. He grabs it and pins both hands beside Izuku's head. Izuku grunts and struggles to push back, but he's at a disadvantage both position and strength-wise. Still, he continues to thrash around stubbornly for a few minutes, Shinsou holding him with an iron-grip and waiting patiently. Eventually, the fight begins to ebb out of him and his breath hitches.
"Da...Da-Dammit!" Izuku hiccups, tears streaming down the sides of his face, "Damnit, damnit, damnit!" His chest heaves as he gasps for breath. He glares unseeingly at Shinsou's chest through blurry, wet eyes as he grits his teeth. "If-If I can't-can't beat you, then how-how am I ever going to beat-" He cuts himself off, but Shinsou heard.
"Beat who?" Shinsou asks. Izuku turns his head away, but Shinsou squeezes his wrists and peers down at him intently. "Beat who?"
"I don't know!" Izuku cries out brokenly. "I just- I just need to beat…" He tries to wiggle his arms free, to bring them to his face, to hide behind them, but Shinsou still won't let him go. A pathetic whine of frustration escapes him. "I just need to be strong!" Shinsou frowns. Izuku averts his gaze, hiccuping and struggling to control the tears pouring out of his eyes. "I don't- I don't like making my fr-friends worry about me. I… I wanna be able to get strong. Show 'em that- that I'm not as fragile and helpless as they th-think I am."
"Wha…?" Shinsou's jaw drops a little. "Midoriya-kun, they don't think that."
"Yes they do!" Izuku insists, "They do! They always think that! You do too! You were going easy on me yesterday!"
"Yeah, 'cause you're just coming back from recovering from a life-threatening injury!" Shinsou says defensively, "You would've gone easy on me too if our roles had been reversed. And besides, I stopped when you made it clear that you didn't appreciate me taking it easy on you."
Izuku opens his mouth to retort, then just groans, "Urgh, okay, well, but it's not just that! It's just, this is like my entire life! My mother, Kacchan, everyone always acts like I'm this precious little thing that needs to be protected at all times, and I get it, I understand, part of me is flattered and charmed that I have such protective hero friends, but damn it, don't you understand how that can also be just a little bit insulting? I'm not made of glass, you know! Treating me like I am won't make me any stronger! I just- I just… GAH!"
He lets out a frustrated noise that sends a jolt of pain through his abused throat. The adrenaline vanishes entirely, leaving him trembling beneath Shinsou as he gasps for breath.
"You… you all looked so sad," he wheezes, his voice breaking on the last word, "When- when you heard my voice… after… after I came out of the hospital… You were all blaming yourselves and I- I… I'm so sorry." His breath hitches, tears squeezing out of his eyes. "I-I never wa-want you to-to blame yourselves for me be-being weak. And you- you're so strong, Shinsou-kun, and- and I want to be strong too so- so they don't have to worry anymore…" His words make more sense in his head than they do out loud and he finds himself trailing off, sniffling pathetically.
Shinsou is quiet for a long time, watching him as he struggles to compose himself.
"You know," he finally says, then pauses. He opens his mouth, hesitates, then continues, "They're always going to worry about you no matter what." Izuku lets out a frustrated sigh, but before he can say anything, Shinsou adds, "Just like you'll always worry about them no matter how strong they get. It's not an insult to their strength, it's just… you worrying about them because… you're their friend and… you care about them…"
Izuku gazes up at him tiredly, tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. Tilting his head, Shinsou admits, "I know it probably feels… different, and it probably is, a bit- er, but they're not trying to be insulting. You know that."
"I know…" Izuku mumbles, "I just wish they would trust me…"
"Trust you?" Shinsou questions.
"Trust me… to be able to handle myself."
Shinsou pauses. "Can you handle yourself?" Taken aback, Izuku blinks up at him. Shinsou sighs through his nose. "I… I won't pretend to understand that part. I've always been able to rely on my quirk to defend myself with. But you… Your quirk not only is non-combative, but also makes you a target. I… I can't imagine how… vulnerable that must make you feel…"
Izuku gazes up at him in awe. Shinsou notices all that? He's never seemed particularly empathetic...
"Listen, it's good that you wanna get strong, but you should do it for the right reasons. Do it for you." He releases Izuku's wrist to boop him on the nose, making him smile a bit. Shinsou smirks. "And hey, never underestimate the power of being underestimated. If your opponent is stupid enough to assume that you're weak, take advantage of that."
Izuku sniffles, taking a deep, shuddering breath. Shinsou watches him with solemn eyes, smirk slowly fading. He doesn't ask out loud, but Izuku can hear the silent question of 'are you alright now?' loud and clear.
Blinking away tears, Izuku gives him a wobbly smile. "Thanks," he croaks. Honestly, Shinsou didn't really tell him anything that Izuku didn't know deep down, but it felt good to get that all off his chest. He definitely still has some issues to work out, but for now…
Shinsou dusts off his clothes as he climbs to his feet, Izuku wincing as he rubs his numb wrists. He glances over at Aizawa, who is very pointedly not looking their way.
"So…" Shinsou drawls, "Wanna go again?"
Izuku sputters incredulously, "Seriously?" Shinsou shrugs nonchalantly. "I almost beat the shit out of you!"
The other boy ponders, then snickers. "Oh, I'm about to give you a reason to beat the shit out of me."
Izuku frowns as Shinsou pauses dramatically. Clears his throat. Then,
"So… You and Todoroki-kun, huh?"
Izuku freezes, eyes widening in horror.
Shinsou gives him a cheshire grin.
He saw.
Izuku attacks.
And wins.