Somehow Shinsou looked even more exhausted than usual when he opened the front door. Violet eyes landed on the excited face of Izuku briefly before the door almost immediately closed on his face.
Izuku blinked, but before he could really question what had just happened, Shinsou reappeared with sunglasses in place. "Now I can handle your smile. Let's go, Sunshine Child."
"I can't wait!" Izuku said, practically bouncing along the pavement.
"Are you going taser shopping? You'd probably get some free stuff. A new self-defense store opened in the mall, and they say that you're the reason business is booming. They even sell those awful fanny packs that you love so much," Shinsou said, eyeing the offensive article in question.
"It was a gift," he said, adjusting the Save My Fanny Pack - he preferred that name, especially when he was wearing it with one of his labelled t-shirts. It fit with the puns on them. He just had to be careful to call it the Don't Rape Me Kit in front of Saito and Sasaki.
"It looks like a bruised banana fused onto your waist," Shinsou deadpanned.
"What was that? You want one for Christmas?"
"Midoriya, you wouldn't," Shinsou said in a warning voice. Izuku said nothing, only walking faster. Worried, Shinsou also picked up the pace. "Midoriya! Get your broccoli butt back here!"
Breaking into a run, Izuku sprinted through the mall entrance, expertly dodging the hoardes of people. But Shinsou wasn't far behind. Dashing around the mall courtyard, he turned back to taunt, "I think lime green would really make your eyes pop!"
"Midoriya, I swear I'm going to- wait, watch out!"
Just as Shinsou called out, Izuku felt, or rather, didn't feel his foot strike the ground. Stairs. He had survived the sludge villain, a kidnapper, and even the Hero Killer, but he was going to meet his end via stairs. Izuku readied himself for the fall that would break a bone and finally make the police station get him a protective bubble, but it never came.
He hadn't realized he closed his eyes until he opened them back up - he felt odd, weightless, and standing in front of him was-
"Sorry I just used my quirk like that," said Uraraka. "I figured you wouldn't want to fall. Oh, I know you! Hi Midoriya!"
Izuku easily got his feet under him once more and she released her quirk, returning Izuku's world back to normal.
"Thanks for the save, your quirk really is amazing!" Izuku gushed, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt. "I mean, I already knew that, but-"
"Hey, Midoriya," Ojiro interrupted, sensing that he was about to get lost in a more embarrassing tangent than usual. "What brings you to the mall?"
Izuku cleared his throat, thankful for the direction in conversation. "Oh, nothing in particular, I just had free time for once, so I convinced Shinsou to come with me…" he trailed off awkwardly, suddenly noticing the palpable tension between the 1-A students and Shinsou.
The boy in question didn't bother to take off his sunglasses, he just lazily glanced at them over the frames. "At ease, 1-A. I'm not here to fight you. Besides, Midoriya is a bit of a stickler for following quirk laws. I suppose your class is here to get ready for your mysterious summer camp."
He had recognized a few students from 1-A, but seeing the majority of the class there made Izuku's mouth go dry. "O-oh, you must be waiting for your other classmates, then."
"Just Ashido and Tokoyami," Ojiro said. "Bakugou and Todoroki aren't coming."
A redhead with remarkably sharp teeth broke into the conversation before anyone but Ojiro and Shinsou could pick up on Izuku's relief. "Midoriya… You're the guy that took down Stain, aren't you? That's super manly, bro! How do you know Ojiro and Uraraka?"
"He was one of the EMTs after the USJ incident, he was super nice!" Hagakure said, startling a few people around her.
"Midoriya goes to the same dojo as me," Ojiro said in his calm manner.
"And he helped train me at my internship," Uraraka said brightly.
"Oh wow, you must be really good then," said a blond standing just a tad too close to the earphone jack girl.
"Duh, he took down Stain," she said, her jacks forming a cross to ward him off.
As the class fawned over Midoriya, Ochako stood back and observed. The boy seemed more confident than the last time she'd seen him, but she felt the need to thank him. Even more, she felt the need to know him, to be his friend. It was strange and rare, but unexplainable.
Tenya watched Uraraka watching Midoriya and felt duty-bound to give Midoriya the opportunity to at least talk to the girl alone, yet in an appropriate setting such as this. When there was a lull in the conversation, he broke in, hand chopping the air with each syllable. "Midoriya, you and Uraraka should take this opportunity to get to know one another outside of a professional capacity, as you have been able to with Ojiro and myself. This appears to be extremely fortuitous timing."
"Ooh, like a date?" Ashido asked, appearing out of nowhere and startling Izuku. "Who's the green bean?"
"B-b-but I came here with Shinsou," Izuku said in a panicked mutter, his arms contorting into crazy shapes as he sought to hide his red face. "I can't just leave him alone!"
"Shinsou could accompany me while I seek out more durable glasses frames-"
"I would rather die."
"-or we could all meet up afterwards, perhaps to get a healthy smoothie!" Iida said proudly, ignoring Shinsou's comment altogether.
"Smoothies sound good!" Kirishima said.
Ashido looked around helplessly. "Seriously, who is Midoriya? How does everyone know this kid but me?"
Izuku and Shinsou parted ways with 1-A, much to their relief. Izuku knew exactly what Iida was trying to do, and while he appreciated it, it was bad for his heart. He just knew if they stayed any longer he would make a complete fool of himself. At least Iida hadn't attempted to whisper anything to him.
Shinsou was just glad to get away from Class 1-A.
The two wandered the mall, looking at anything that intrigued either of them (which translates to anything that interested Midoriya). It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but Shinsou made it no secret that Midoriya would be buying him lunch.
When Shinsou still showed complete apathy an hour or so later, Midoriya looked a bit like a kicked puppy. He'd stopped teasing Shinsou about buying him a Save My Fanny Pack. (He really still couldn't say "Don't Rape Me Kit" without blushing.) But now Midoriya looked like he was about to cry, and Shinsou didn't know if he was emotionally equipped to deal with that.
"I'm sorry I made you come with me, I just thought we should do something fun while we both had time. I'll text Iida and tell him we had to leave early and-"
"Hey, it's fine, Midoriya," Shinsou said, cutting off the other boy's mumbling. "I'm actually enjoying this more than I thought I would. I just don't know how to deal with people. Or emotions. It's a miracle I haven't scared you off yet."
Izuku sniffed. "You promise you're not just saying that?"
"Nah, I wouldn't lie to you. Hey, we should go into that shop. I can get something for that blond jerk from 1-A."
"Just made sure it's not traceable," Izuku said, feeling a bit better as they made their way towards the joke shop in question. "I would hate to have to solve your murder."
Shinsou squinted at him. "You seem to be very well informed on Mr. Compensates-With-Explosions."
"Ooh, look, they've got Chinese finger traps on sale!" Izuku said brightly. "Apparently these are specially made to withstand minor strength-enhancement quirks."
"Nice subject change. Hand me that powder that apparently makes everything you eat taste like radishes by your hand."
The two spent quite some time in the joke shop until Izuku noticed the food court rapidly filling up. "Shinsou, I'm going to buy my stuff and go get a table for us. I'll meet you there!"
"Fine, go make sure everything is perfect for your date," he replied. "Though are you really buying twenty Chinese finger traps?"
"It's not a date," Izuku muttered, red staining his cheeks.
"Semantics. Go make Space Girl proud."
Still blushing, Izuku scuttled away, clutching his purchases close to his body. He likely would have skipped though the mall if there had been less of a crowd. As it stood he was jostled back and forth, and he worried about finding a table until he saw it - there was a pocket in the food court that was practically uninhabited, he just had to claim it.
He had to hustle, but Izuku made it to the largest table the area offered before anyone else could. He grinned happily - it would be fun to have smoothies with his friends at the mall. Part of him almost didn't believe that any of this day was happening. It had seemed like maybe he would never get to experience these normal teenager things.
There was some time before everyone would get there, so Izuku pulled out his phone. Dr. Meiji had had some feedback on his last analysis, and he hadn't gotten the chance to read it yet. He was so absorbed in reading it that Izuku didn't realize anyone was near until that person sat directly next to him and rasped, "Wow, I recognize you! You're that kid from the news, the quirkless boy who stopped Stain."
Izuku's head jerked up, his eyes meeting the man's red ones framed by pale blue hair. He couldn't help but notice how dry and cracked the man's lips were, which was somehow his most distinguishing characteristic. An uneasy feeling settled into Izuku's gut, but he took care to breathe steadily and deeply even as the man slung an arm over his shoulders.
"That was quite the accomplishment, taking down Stain with nothing but your little pack. It was all the media could talk about for weeks. It must be so frustrating for you. They still talk about him, but you've been forgotten or mocked by the public, along with the other things that happened in Hosu that night."
Drawing as far away from the man as he could, Izuku slowly asked, "You mean those Nomu things that attacked the city that night?"
The man had some nervous tics, and one of them seemed to be playing with the neck of his hoodie, fingers curled like he wanted to scratch at his neck. The neck of his hoodie was frayed, and - no. The edge of the fabric wasn't frayed, the fabric was flaking away in a pattern that he had only seen once before. Images of Aizawa's destroyed elbow flashed through his mind - this was not good.
"Oh, you remember at least. Tell me quirkless boy, you've been pretty mistreated, haven't you? Even after you were the one to take down Stain, he gets all of the attention and praise. Doesn't it just piss you off?"
Reaching for his fanny pack was too noticeable, too obvious, and as four fingers came to rest on his throat, Izuku swallowed heavily. He couldn't make or cause any abrupt movements, not without losing his esophagus. Aizawa had been happy to explain this particular quirk to him.
"It definitely pisses me off," the man continued, despite Izuku's failure to respond. "But we could fix that for you."
"Are you trying to reform society or something?" Izuku asked, his fingers silently snaking into his bag.
"Well yes, but I was talking about your quirklessness," he said as if it meant nothing. "I should introduce myself, I do want us to be comrades, after all. I'm Shigaraki Tomura, leader of-"
"Leader of the League of Villains," Izuku interrupted.
"So you've heard of me," Shigaraki said with a grin that showed too many teeth. "I've taken an interest in you, Midoriya. Do you know why that is?"
Izuku found what he wanted in the bag, holding it steady in the hand that wasn't in Shigaraki's direct line of sight. He had one shot at this. If he screwed up, he was definitely dead, and it would inevitably endanger countless civilians as well. Trying to sound normal, he asked, "No, why are you interested in me?"
"Because we're the same, Midoriya," he rasped. "Abused, overlooked, neglected by heroes…"
"So what are you proposing?" Izuku asked, his voice deceptively calm and confident.
"Join us. Join us and you'll have the power and the quirk to get back at everyone, even the heroes that have failed you."
In his passion, Shigaraki's grip on Izuku's throat loosened. Time seemed to slow down, each of Izuku's heartbeats pounding through his body. He struggled to keep his mind calm, taking a few deep breaths before he struck.
Moving as quickly as his body allowed, one hand wrenched back the finger that wasn't resting on Izuku's neck while the other hand jammed a Chinese finger trap onto that finger. While the man yelled in surprise, Izuku's hand darted out and snatched the first finger he could on Shigaraki's other hand, brutally shoving it into the other end of the trap.
"What do you think you're doing, brat, I can-"
Before Shigaraki could even really threaten Izuku, he shoved a second Chinese finger trap onto the man, cementing Izuku's temporary safety.
Fury lit Shigaraki's eyes, a feral fury that made Izuku shake in his seat. "I'll kill you, Midoriya. I'll find everything and everyone-"
"Yo, who are you, some crusty creep that likes to prey on young boys?" a new voice broke in.
"HOW DARE YOU, I'LL KI-"
"Step away from Midoriya and shut up," Shinsou commanded in a flat voice.
When Shigaraki did as commanded with a vacant stare, Izuku put as much distance between the two as possible, breathing deeply, trying to keep his tears from falling. "What did he do, Midoriya?"
"H-he was trying to recruit me," Izuku said. "I need to call Tsukauchi. That's-"
"Is that the leader of the League of Villains?" Iida hissed in a whisper, which meant that only people within a ten-foot radius heard.
The members of 1-A that had just gotten to the table gasped and began asking questions all at once as Midoriya began babbling into the phone. Their noise only grew, and Shinsou felt his eye twitch a few times. "All of you, shut up! Ojiro, you know Midoriya best, comfort him. Class President, go get mall security," Shinsou commanded before prying the phone out of Izuku's hand. "Detective, this is Shinsou Hitoshi."
"Shinsou, what's going on?" a frantic Tsukauchi demanded over the phone. "I couldn't make out what Midoriya was trying to tell me."
"Hey, Pikachu, don't you dare touch the crusty dude," Shinsou hissed at Kaminari, who was curiously sidling a little too close to Shigaraki. "Detective, you should probably get to the mall as quickly as possibly. It appears that Midoriya has caught the leader of the League of Villains in a Chinese finger trap."
By the time Shinsou had explained all he could and hung up, Ojiro had Izuku calmed down and Iida was coming back with two mall cops in tow. A handful of the 1-A students had actually made themselves useful and begun herding people away from the area.
"Midoriya, should I release my quirk to avoid legal ramifications, or command him to come along peacefully?"
"Technically any unauthorized public quirk use is illegal. I would let it go and we'll all just conveniently forget that it ever happened," Izuku said, meeting eyes with the various members of 1-A.
Ojiro watched, fascinated as Shigaraki immediately transformed into a screaming, flailing child. As the mall cops descended, Ojiro said, "I have to apologize, Shinsou. I see now that I judged you and your quirk on my own ideas of being a hero. You're just doing the best you can, just like the rest of us. I'm glad Midoriya could see past that when I couldn't."
"Please don't start crying," Shinsou said. "But I judged you a little too harshly too. Thanks for helping Midoriya."
Izuku glanced between the two with shining eyes until Shinsou deadpanned, "We're not going to hug it that's what you were waiting for."
A/N: Sorry for this chapter being so late, my little sister just graduated high school and so we had an absurd number of people at my house, which meant that I had little to no writing time. But I'm back! Thank you as always for your comments, it really helps me! I've been ordered to tell you all that Kit completely disapproves of how Izuku took care of Shigaraki, but I think this might have been my best idea yet. Let me know what you all think.
Side note, I've been toying with the idea of starting a Tumblr. Thoughts? Would anyone actually read what I posted? Let me know and see you next time!