Mashirao was training at one of UA's gyms. He went through a set of martial arts drills and forms. The moves came naturally to him like breathing. He was meticulously going through the steps and the motions. His body was covered in sweat and he was shaking, his form was sloppy. He was breathing heavily. Mashirao kicked a dummy in frustration he'd been putting extra hours in to get this training. If he was training this much and still not improving what good was he? He wasn't stupid he knew overtraining wasn't good for the body but how was he supposed to compete with his classmates. They were all so amazing and they stood out and he just faded away. Because Mashirao Ojiro was just Mashirao Ojiro and Mashirao Ojiro wasn't good enough. It wasn't good enough to just be him. He then slumped in defeat and went back to the dorms.

He heard some of his classmates hanging out with each other in the common room. They rarely invited him, it was fine he never really shifted into the respective friend groups. Besides, he wasn't really into big social gatherings. It sometimes felt like he drifted away from his classmates even though he knew that wasn't true. They cared about him, he was sure. But he felt so insecure sometimes.

His muscles were so tired, he didn't think he'd even have the energy to hang out with them anyway. He took a hot shower, brushed his teeth and fell on the bed exhausted.

He woke up to the sound of his alarm and the sunlight streaming in the window. God he felt so exhausted, it was like he didn't get any sleep at all. He tried to get up but he fell back into bed. His muscles were aching and he just wanted to sink in the comforter and never come out.

Then he heard the voice of a certain lovable class rep.

"Ojiro, are you up? You promised we could study"Iida asked cheerfully.

Iida's voice was way too loud and way too grating on his senses. He did promise Iida they would study though but his body didn't wanna listen to him. He dragged himself out of bed and gritted his teeth at the pain it caused him to just move. He then stumbled over and opened the door.

"Hello Ojiro, how are you this fine morning?"Iida greeted him with a smile.

Mashirao wanted to respond but his vision was blurry and he was getting this headache that sent pulses of pain through his head. He stared blankly at Iida and watched spots come into his vision.

"Are you ok?"Iida asked in concern.

Mashiro was barely aware of Iida talking and felt like he just wanted to collapse. He could hear iida's voice but it was muffled, like he was underwater.

"You look like you're about to fall over"Iida noticed and continued to stare at him with a worried expression.

Iida then grabbed Mashirao by the armpits and gently dragged him back to bed. Mashirao's brain felt fuzzy and he toppled on his sheets. Iida then rested his hand on Mashirao's forehead. Iida's cool hands felt nice against his burning skin.

"You're burning up"Iida withdrew his hand and forced Mashirao to lie down.

Was he? Mashirao was pretty sure he was too delirious to tell. He continued to just blink at Iida while Iida fussed over him like a mother hen.

"As Class representative it is my duty to make sure you do not exert yourself"Iida informed him loudly while making the choppy hand movements he always does.

The choppy hand movements were getting blurry...probably not a good sign. Why was he so nonchalant about this?

"No...have to...train"Mashirao insisted, trying to get out of Iida's strong grip.

Mashirao felt himself topple forward off the bed but then Iida caught him by the shoulders and forced him down.

"It would be foolish to train in such a condition Ojiro!"Iida reprimanded him, nearly yelling now as he tried to force Mashirao under the blanket.

Mashirao wanted to tell him that the noise was making his head pound but he was too tired to bring it up.

"Need...to do...better"Mashirao brought up instead opting to not argue with Iida at the moment.

If he never got over his own weaknesses, he would never get stronger. That was just a fact, he could handle a little overexhaustion.

"While I admire your hard work it's necessary to take a break"Iida's voice took on a gentler tone and his face softened.

Mashirao then went quiet and stopped struggling to look up at Iida. The hypocrisy was getting really apparent. Iida never relaxes from his Class President duty. But he was too tired to argue at this point.

"Get some rest, I'll inform everyone of your condition"

Mashirao was already losing focus and suddenly Iida's words were getting muffled. His vision went dark and reality slipped away.

When he awoke the universe decided to be cruel and his headache was somehow worse and his muscles were sore. But at least he was somewhat more aware of his surroundings which could either be a blessing or a curse.

As soon as his vision gained clarity he took note of a figure sitting at his desk. He blinked at a certain orangish-blonde teen with the identifying black lightning bolt streak.

"Why are you in my room Kaminari?"Mashirao asked, using his elbow to support his body weight.

Kaminari spun in the chair to face Mashirao and a grin lit up on his face.

"Ojiro you're awake, awesome!"

Mashirao stared at Kaminari, patiently waiting for an answer to his unanswered question. Kaminari was slow on the uptake but realized he should say something when the silence got stifling.

"I'm keeping you company bro"

Kaminari bounced up and down in the chair at this announcement. Mashirao's brain was still playing catchup and he stared at Kaminari for another second before responding.

"Ok"

Mashirao then turned over from his position on his side to lie on his bed face down. He propped up his head with his arms and stared at the headboard. Mashirao didn't know why he didn't expect anyone to check up on him, Kaminari, Iida and Koda were on the same floor as him.

"Iida said you were still trying to train"

Kaminari should've supposed it wasn't too much of a surprise given how much of a hard worker Ojiro was but still he's going a bit far.

"So what?"Mashirao snapped in irritation.

He then realized how out of character it was to be getting angry. He never raised his voice at anyone in Class 1A, but he was so mentally exhausted that he just didn't want to be questioned. He didn't want to hear a lecture from anyone else from the Class Rep. It was to be expected from Iida but not from Kaminari.

"Ojiro, dude, you can barely walk, much less train right now"

Kaminari was getting worried now, Ojiro wasn't acting like his usual self so what was bothering him? Mashirao sighed in defeat and buried his face in his pillow. He suffocated himself in the bed sheets that smelled like lavender and wished for Kaminari to leave him alone.

"If I don't put in the extra hours then how can I say I deserve to be here"Mashirao suddenly confessed as he stared at his bedding.

Kaminari's expression turned to one of surprise and now he was fully paying attention to Mashirao. Why did Ojiro think he didn't deserve to be here?

"Ever since I came to UA, I feel like I haven't done anything,"Mashirao continued, keeping his back facing toward kaminari. So Kaminari wouldn't see the tears welling up in his eyes. Kaminari didn't understand this mentality that Ojio had and it bothered him.

"Man you always dissolve your worth every time you think you aren't good enough"

Kaminari stared at Mashirao with disbelief as if he never expected Mashirao to have such low self esteem.

"You don't always have to knock yourself down Ojiro"

Kaminari couldn't believe the self-deprecating words coming out of Ojiro's mouth. Did he really think so lowly of himself? The dude was insanely good at hand to hand combat and got better grades than him, what was he so worried about?

"Why not?...You guys do it all the time,"Mashirao retorted with a look of indignation.

He then looked away as if he just realized he said that. Mashirao couldn't believe he actually said that. That was so stupid and so selfish of him to burden his friends with self confidence issues. Kaminari's look of shock and hurt was so surprising and it made Mashirao feel bad. Mashirao realized it hurt saying that because it was the truth.

A period of tense silence passed between them.

"I'm sorry"Kaminari apologized while still refusing to look at Mashirao, instead twirling a lock of his hair.

"For what?"Mashirao asked, looking at Kaminari with genuine curiosity.

Kaminari had nothing to apologize for, Mashirao shouldn't have said that. Even if they sometimes said stuff that made Mashirao feel insecure, they probably didn't mean it.

"For...everything I guess...we...we never meant to make you feel worthless"

Kaminari liked to think he was good with words and he had tried to build up his friend's self worth but he didn't know if it worked.

"No it's fine, I shouldn't have said anything...it's not even a big deal"

Mashirao hoped Kaminari would forget about this and not tell the rest of the class. Mashirao knew it wasn't a big deal but why did these feelings hurt so much then.

"You clearly hate it though"

Mashirao went quiet at that, he had no argument left. He did hate how everyone looked at him and saw a boring ordinary person.

"So it is a deal if not a huge one"

Then for some inexplicable reason, Mashirao laughed at that. It was really odd word choice and he couldn't take the situation seriously anymore. Kaminari looked at him weirdly and asked what was so funny but Mashirao just kept laughing. Until both of them were laughing for no reason, Mashirao supposed he was still slightly delirious, that could've been the reason for the inexplicable laughter.

The door smacked open with a bang startling the two of them and Iida was standing in the doorway.

"Ojiro I have brought pain medication that should relieve your muscle pain"Iida barged into the room cheerfully.

He then left the package on the desk next to Kaminari who proceeded to balance said package on his head. Iida then noticed Mashirao's face which was a bit surprised at the interruption.

"Oh my mistake, I should've knocked first, how could I neglect such basic manners?"

Mashirao tried to calm Iida down while he was apologizing and saying he failed his duties as Class Rep. While Kaminari didn't help by saying that Iida should relax and that stirred Iida into a frenzy as he said a good Class Rep doesn't relax. Mashirao decided it was best to change the subject and distract from the current topic

"What are you holding Iida?"Mashirao asked, gesturing to the squirming ball of fur in Iida's arms.

"Oh, Koda sent his bunny, he thought they might cheer you up"Iida answered, smiling down at the cute bunny.

Iida then handed over the bunny to Mashirao who held the soft animal in his arms. Mashirao looked at the bunny and a tender smile formed on his face. Iida and Kaminari noticed the smile and grinned at each other like mission accomplished.

"Thanks guys and I'll thank Koda when I see him"

Mashirao glanced at the both of them with a grateful expression. Being a part of class 1A has made him realize that even if he feels lonely, he's not alone.

"Know that as Class Rep I always have your back"Iida assured him readily.

Kaminari gave an enthusiastic nod in agreement. Then they all realized it was dinner.

Kirishima and Shoji were a floor above and on the way to the main floor stopped at Ojiro's room.

"Hey man, you doing ok?"Kirishima asked with Shoji in tow.

Kirishima looked so concerned for his wellbeing and Shoji too gave a gesture of assent. It warmed Mashirao's heart

"I'm ok thanks"Mashirao answered and relaxed at the two classmates' looks of relief.

"We're heading to dinner, you coming?"Shoji informed them, not speaking through his duplicate mouths.

Shoji waited patiently for Mashirao's answer and so did everyone else. Everyone glanced at Mashirao and he finally nodded yes. Mashirao thinks he's feeling better mentally, he doesn't know if he's ok though. Having everyone affirm that they did care really helped. He really did have friends here and they all accepted him for who he was and that's good enough for now.