First of all, thank you to whomever clicked on this. I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish here. My therapist told me I needed some sort of outlet, and this is the only one I'm fairly good at. The past few months have been rough with work (healthcare) and some new breakthroughs (and dug up repressed memories) with my therapist, so I hope this is a good way to help me get all the darkness out of me and into something creative.

There will be ups and down with this, depending on how my ADHD works out. I stopped watching after the fourth season, and haven't had time to pick up and watch the fifth so bear with me. This is an OC brainstormed between a friend and I, and hopefully won't become too stupid. This story is also set in their second year of UA.

I'm keeping it M mainly for situations and language. Also, Trigger Warnings for abuse ahead.

I don't own MHA/BNHA

"You won't be shit, you'll never be a damn hero! Just give it up already!" A fist was coming down toward him…

The teenager gasped awake, clutching his face. It was a dream, but he could still feel the sting in his nose. The ding overhead made him jump, and had gotten his attention. "This is your captain speaking, thank you for flying with us today, and let me be the first to welcome you to Japan. We will be landing here shortly in Musutafu."

Outside his window, the clouds broke away to a sprawling city underneath. It was beautiful, but frightening. "You okay, young man?" the older lady next to the teenager asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"I think so…why is that, ma'am?" "You were making quite a ruckus in your sleep, I'm afraid." A hint of red rose in his cheeks. "I apologize. Bit of a nightmare," he responded, playing it off with a soft and familiar fake smile.

The skyline was something else. He saw distant puffs of smoke, indicating perhaps some villain was attacking. He chewed on his thumbnail. Maybe it's far away from the airport. Shit, maybe they're close. Maybe the plane will get hit! This is an abomination, being in this gigantic metal tube, soaring through the air and throwing up two middle fingers to God or whatever deity might exist! We shouldn't-

The plane jerked slightly as they touched down a half hour later. His heart rate increased slightly. He took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself. New world. New faces. New language. It was terrifying. A cold, knobby hand clutched his, making him tense. "Don't worry, dear. This place is great, you'll enjoy it!" Either the old lady had some kind of mind reading quirk, or she just new the look of an impending panic attack. Either way, it calmed him down a little, bringing him back down to earth.

Another panic attack threatened him as he stepped out and through customs. "Reason for visit?" the lady asked, monotonous tone drawing out like she'd done this 1000 times already today, and probably has. "School." A loud stamp made him wince. "Baggage claim is to your left. Welcome to Japan." He continued walking through and followed the signs. There, he stood next to a man with three horns, and a kid with flipper feet. He looked over, seeing a father with his daughter on his shoulders, looking at the conveyer. His heart tugged, looking back down. It took several minutes, but he found his duffel bag quickly and retreated.

He ended up somewhere around the food court. The smells weren't all too foreign to him, with a burger and pizza place being the norm. But other food items tickled his nose. He wanted to follow it, but knew he didn't have time, as he quickly turned on his heel and proceeded towards the exits. He needed to get to his chauffer that was taking him to the school. He wasn't the type of person to make someone wait. He didn't want to disappoint or anger them.

Another set of stairs led downward to an exit. He grabbed his phone and looked at it again. No messages. His heart felt tight again, thousands of scenarios playing in his head. He then clicked on an email, reading it again. "Exit…4," he read out loud before pocketing his phone and walking through the crowd of people. So many people. His 6'1 frame was getting thrown around. Almost there. Almost to the doors. He can do this. He can…

He burst through the doors, exhaling a breath he didn't even know he was holding. The air felt good, and so did the feeling of ground under his feet. The ebbing of his panic attack subsided as the student leaned against the building, taking a few breaths of fresh air. "Slade Freeman, I presume?" He slowly turned toward the voice. "Y-yes?" The man was around his height, with long black hair and a look of permanent exhaustion. Those bags under his eyes...were those bags? They looked like scars. And that scarf...well, he wasn't one to judge.

Next to him, how ever, was about the most opposite from exhaustion one can be. The man's sunglasses and huge smile matched his tall blonde hair that stood on high, reminding him of Guile from Street Fighter. He held a white sign adorning the teenager's name in black marker.

"Free Man! What's happenin'?" Slade's eyes looked at the two, trying to figure them out. "I'm Shota Aizawa, this is Present Mic. We're from UA." "Put'r there!" Mic extended a hand, smiling wide. "Sorry…I'm not too touchy…" Slade said, pulling his bag more onto his shoulder. "We're here to take you to UA. Follow us." Aizawa was fairly blunt with his demand. Slade was used to that. The back trunk of a black car popped open, as the student deposited his duffel bag in there. "That all you brought, dude?" "That's all I have." Slade's response caused Mic to stiffen up, looking at his coworker. "Get in."

Slade was silent for a good part of the trip. He looked out the window, admiring the scale of everything. "Guess it is around noon. You hungry?" Aizawa asked, as Slade slowly nodded. "You can speak up…" "Y-yes, sir. The in-flight food was…less than adequate." Mic turned, his smile unnerving Slade. "Well, Free Man, what would you like?!" "A-anything works…I'm not hard to please. I just don't like onions…" he said quietly, looking down and becoming aware of his twiddling thumbs. He promptly stopped, looking back out the window. "Well, we don't have time to sit and eat. Let's grab something to go."

"I know a place. Couple blocks that way. Back-" Their voices started to fade out as Slade focused on the outside world, his brain fogging up. Or, 'disassociation', as his classmates called it. He liked it. He preferred it. It was quiet. Peaceful. Like, a computer going into screensaver mode. Time passes quicker.

"-eman…Freeman!" He snapped back to reality as he looked at a Styrofoam clamshell being held out Aizawa. Again, like time travel. "Oh, sorry. Thanks." "No need to apologize, kid." The car continued driving as Slade slowly opened the food container. "Kinda remind you of Midoriya, don't he?" Mic pointed out quietly to Aizawa.

Meanwhile, the steam hit Slade's eyes, making them water up a little. But the smell...oh god, that smell that followed was amazing. It looked like two rice balls, with a sliver of something green. He delicately picked it up, looking it over. Slowly, he blew on the hot food to cool it before taking a bite.

First the rice was sticky, but then the salted fish taste hit afterwards. An audible sound was heard from the back, causing the adults to look back. "Oh my god, what is this?! It's so good!" "It's Onigiri. I got you the salted salmon kind, figured it was safe," Aizawa said, looking back as the teenager stuffed the rest of it in his mouth. Mic promptly passed back a carbonated drink, which he quickly needed as the sticky rice was sticking in his throat.

XXX

The class was chatting after their lunch. They split into their usual groups, as time for afternoon classes drew near. "CLASS WILL START IN ONE MINUTE! EVERYONE TAKE YOUR SEATS!" The always attentive president, Iida, was barking at the others while chopping like usual. Everyone just waved their hands dismissively before going to their respective seats at their own pace as they've grown used to this behavior by now. "QUICKLY!" "Shut up, four eyes!" Bakugo yelled in his usual annoyed tone. "Yeah, you're being rather…exhausting! Hahah-OW!" Kaminari's celebration of his own horrible pun was cut off by a rather invasive ear jack to the temple.

The clock stuck class time, as they awaited the arrival of their teacher, Erasurehead. And waited. And waited more. "It's not like him to be this late…" Kirishima murmured to himself. "Maybe he was called out for an attack?" Mina suggested, but was quickly dismissed by Midoriya. "No, there's nothing on the news about it." "I know. Maybe he overslept!" Sero suggested. "All I know is, we're 7 minutes before we can legally leave and they can't do anything about it!" "That's only in the movies, dunce face!"

XXX

Present Mic had taken off to prepare for his class, as Slade followed Aizawa into the dormitory. "This is it. Kitchen, dining area, television and couch. Boys are left, girls are right." Slade looked around, taking it all in. It was beautiful. "Come on, this way." He quickly went off to the left, following his teacher up the stairs to the second floor. He looked, seeing plaques of his floor mates. He didn't even want to try and pronounce some of them. "Tokoyami…" he muttered, feeling like he nailed that one at least. They reached the end of the hall, as Slade barely read the word 'Mineta' before Aizawa spitefully ripped it off. "We'll get you a new one." He unlocked the door and let him in.

"I'll let you settle in. Get well rested. Your first class starts tomorrow. Welcome to UA." With that, his teacher turned and walked off, probably to his classes as well. Slade shut the door, looking at his room. It was big. Bigger than his own in the States…but a broom closet was bigger than his. He set his bag on the bed and pulled out his clothes to hang up. Three graphic shirts, two pairs of jeans, various tank tops, and gym shorts found their resting place in various areas of the room.

Sitting on the bed, he let out a soft groan before flopping down. "In too deep now…" His phone buzzed, and he nearly tore his pants trying to get to it. It was a text, with one word. "Safe." He sighed, allowing himself to have a first genuine smile of the day. A few hot tears started to roll down the sides of his face. It worked…

XXX

The cacophonous noise of the classroom was cut off quickly when the door slid open. Aizawa stepped in slowly, closing the door. "Apologies for being late. I had something to take care of." "What was it?!" Kirishima blurted out loud. "I'll tell you later. Now quiet down. Today's lesson will be-" "Sir! If I may! What was so dire that it made you late to your own class?!" Iida asked, his hand straight into the air. Aizawa gave a long, exhausted sigh before turning. "Fine." Everyone sat forward, waiting with baited breath.

"As you know, over the summer a certain classmate of yours managed to get themselves expelled…" The class looked back at the empty seat behind Midoriya. "Well, now that there is an empty spot in the class, the school thought maybe to accept a new student; one that was from abroad."

The class started murmuring fast at this. "We're getting an exchange student? That was fast." "Wonder if they're strong!" "Wonder if they're hot!" "Wonder if they're manly!" The teacher sighed and opened his eyes, casting a glare at the class that shut them up immediately. "Now, he's been moved into the dorms, and is in a room next to Midoriya. Also, there's some things you should know about him. Firstly, he's from America." "HA! So he's gonna be fat, loud, and obnoxious!" "Kachan, don't be so mean!"

"On the contrary. He's quiet, and very much…withdrawn. He's also jumpy, so don't do anything too abrupt to set him off. That means no getting in his face, Bakugo." The blonde teenager just scoffed, looking away. "He's jetlagged and sleeping, so don't wake him when you return to your dorms, okay? Now, back to class."

XXX

"That was fuckin' lame. Capture the flag without quirks?!" Bakugo was protesting the last course for the day as they made their way, as a group, back to the dorms. "I'm just interested what the new kid will be like." "Hopefully nothing like the last one, ribbit," the frog quirked girl said in response to Ururaka. "Wonder why Aizawa said to be careful around him?" Kaminari asked out loud. "Maybe because he's weak and timid!" "That's not nice, Bakubro!" They reached the door, opening it slowly.

There he was. The newbie. He was tall, the same height as Sato and Koda. His dark hair was down, almost to his shoulders. The company froze, looking at him. "Whoa, dude's a tank!" Kirishima was correct, as the teenager had gone for a more muscular approach then lean, as the black tank top showed. "H-hey!" Kaminari yelled, but got no response. The newbie was cooking up something on the stove, which they recognized as some ramen. "Great, he's deaf. Whatever, I don't have time for this," Bakugo said as he sat on the couch in front of the television. Midoria's eyes caught something under his hair. "Wait, no I see earbuds."

"So he can't hear us. Great. Someone should go say hi!" After that suggestion from Sero, everyone took one step backward. Everyone but Midoriya. "W-wait, what?!" "You have the less stabby face, Midoriya!" Sero said, in an odd compliment sort of way, before Kirishima jumped in. "And we'll be here to help if he does!" This did pique the interest of Bakugo, now turning around to watch. "I have to see this! If Deku gets shanked, I can't miss it!"

"Joking about a classmate being stabbed is never funny!" Iida's protest fell on deaf ears, though. "Alright..okay. Can't be that bad. Just go up and say hi. How bad can that be?" Midoriya's rambling continued as he slowly stepped closer to the teen, now within arm's reach. "H-hi!" Nothing. He turned, as the class gave an encouraging thumbs up. Facing the mysterious student again, he slowly reached a shaky, scarred hand up and gripped the teenager's shoulder.

It all happened in one fluid motion. Midoriya's hand was slapped away, and his collar was gripped before shoved against the counter. The teenager's other hand, that was holding a couple chopsticks, was now held like a knife, poised to strike. Midoriya, and much of the rest of the class, let out a loud scream at this action. "W-W-WAI-T STOP!" Midoriya stared into his eyes, which darted around before staring into his own.

The dark brown eyes suddenly went from murder to pure shock. He dropped the chopsticks and stepped back, taking a deep bow before pulling his earbuds out. "I'm so sorry!" Bakugo was cracking up on the couch, as Midoriya tried to steady his heartrate. "I-it's f-fine…" "No, please. I apologize. You scared me." The teenager then turned, seeing the whole class standing there with various looks of surprise.

"You all must be my classmates." Slade stood tall and took a bow. "I'm Slade Freeman, it's a pleasure to meet you." "I-it's really okay, you don't have to bow," he told the new student, who stood back upright. Iida cleared his throat, stepping forward before anyone. "I'm class president, Tenya Iida! *chop* And although you were frightened by Midoriya here, *chop* I would request that you please refrain from any more attempts *chop* of stabbing classmates!"

Slade really wanted to listen, but his eyes kept following the teenager's hand motions. "Why…is he doing that?" he asked while imitating Iida's chops. "He just does that. Come on, you can meet the rest of the class!"

After Slade got his bowl of ramen prepared, everyone came up and introduced themselves. "To be honest, I am horrible at remembering names for the first month. I might have to resort to nicknames up until then, if I may?" "Of course! Just make sure mine is a cute one!" "And nothing vulgar!*chop*" Iida demanded, as Slade smirked. "Sure thing, Mr. Roboto." That got a sharp "HA!" from Bakugo.

"We have to know, though, what is your quirk?" Midoriya asked, looking like he was going to explode if he didn't find out. Slade, who had just taken a bite, took the longest slurp of ramen to add to the tension before he gulped it down. He had eyes on him, and a pair of floating clothes aimed in his general vicinity. "Earth."

There was a deafening silence for the first few seconds. "E-earth?" Slade nodded, taking another bite. "What do you mean?" Kaminari asked, as Slade finished his bowl. "Earth. I control earth. I have to have contact with it, though," he noted before returning to wash his bowl in the sink. The class looked at each other. "That sounds oddly simple," Jiro pointed out.

"Think of it as, I'm an earth bender." A collective "ooooh" rang out through the common room. "Well, sorry to cut this short, but I'm dog tired. Uhh…little green, mind helping me find the class tomorrow? I think we're neighbors." "O-oh, yeah, of course!" Midoriya nodded, smiling.

After the teenager disappeared up the stairs, the class, stood around the common room, chatting. "Well, he seems normal." "Aside from nearly killing Midoriya," Kaminari pointed out in response to Yaoyorozu. "I can sense a shell that is not easily penetrated. It might be a time before he is fully comfortable with us. What do you think, Midoriya?" Tokoyami chimed in.

Midoriya was looking at his hand, rubbing this thumb and pointer finger together. "Hey, nerd!" "H-huh? O-oh, yeah. Well…I think we should just help him out, like Tokoyami said. He's no different from us. He came in late, and doesn't have the experience around everyone, but we shouldn't exclude him." He looked down, brushing dust off his hand.

XXX

Slade shut the door behind him, sliding down it until he was sitting before swearing loudly. He replayed his actions in his head, gripping his hair. "You stupid fucker…" he muttered to himself, banging his head against the wood. "You can't just shank someone for touching your shoulder…"

He hugged his knees, resting his forehead against them. "This is why you don't have friends…they'll probably never want to be around you…" He continued the assault on himself for several minutes before a loud knock snapped him out of his stupor.

"Probably Erasure telling me I'm expelled already," he muttered, slowly getting up and opened the door. However, to his surprise, he was met with the little green-haired boy he almost stabbed.

"H-hey. Thought I'd come up to tell you that there's no hard feelings for what happened." Slade blinked at Midoriya's acceptance, watching his classmate even smile and extend his hand. "I hope we can be friends, alright?" Slade looked at his hand. The skin was heavily scarred, most likely from battle or something else. Slade felt some kind of peace in this, as he extended his own hand toward him. The duo shook, both noting the strength of each other's grip.

"Just…don't try to do that…because Mr. Aizawa don't take kindly to others trying to stab his students," Midoriya pointed out while keeping that cheesy grin and rubbing the back of his head. Slade just chuckled, nodding. "Noted. Again, sorry for my reaction. My school…always had us being constantly vigilant."

Lies! Why are you lying?!

"O-oh, I know nothing of the American school system, but that's okay." Midoriya shifted his weight between his feet, in a side-to-side rocking motion like an ADHD tic. "But, you won't have to worry about that here. No one's trying to get you, or jump you here. It's…fairly safe. We've only had one or two villain attacks here." "That's reassuring," Slade said back with a hint of sarcasm, as both teens shared a laugh.

"Well, I'll let you get back to sleep…tomorrows a big day for you. I'll meet you by the front doors, alright?" Slade nodded as a response. "Will do. And…thanks." He watched Midoriya stepped away, and closed his door.

"Wow…" he muttered softly to himself. The other kid was so quick to forgive him, be couldn't believe it. He almost chalked it up to pity, but he shook that from his head. With a grunt, he flopped back down on his bed.

Next door, Midoriya tossed his bag into his room, closed the door. He looked down, rubbing his fingers together again. "Dust…" he muttered to himself. Quickly, he grabbed his notebook, thumbing to a new page and started scribbling. He mentally kicked himself for not getting his new classmate's hero name, but it didn't stop him.

Name: Slade Freeman

Alias: *blank*

Height:185cm (give or take)

Build: muscular

Hair: dark brown

Eyes: dark brown

Quirk: earth

Quirk details: *blank*

Notable attributes: has dust on him

A/N: kinda short, but it's a good start, I think. It's rather heavy on the angst here, but it's a teenager with a troubled past. I assure you, there'll be more uplifting in the future. Maybe in the next chapter we'll find out what happened? Maybe y'all already know, I don't know. Maybe we'll find out what happened to Mineta. I'm not a pro writer. I'm doing this to blow off some steam.