This document beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida
21. The Cost of Manners
Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
― Edmund Burke
Dinner that night was a loud and noisy affair. Class 1B made it back not long after 1A did, and together they sat down to a buffet style meal with soup, rice, and a few protein options. Izuku happily loaded down his dish, and for once he didn't need to remind Mei to eat, as she eagerly snagged a plate of her own. They sat down together with their new companions, laughing and enjoying the food.
Once more, Izuku noticed that Bakugo was isolated. He walked off and sat by himself, his back to the others, seemingly unconcerned about being alone. When most everyone was done eating, to Izuku's surprise Bakugo silently walked over and started helping wash the dishes, despite no one being asked to do so. Mandaly actually told Bakugo he didn't need to help, but he simply ignored her, disappearing into the kitchen with a tray of dishes.
"What's up with Bakugo?" Izuku asked Kirishima.
The other boy looked up, confused. "What do you mean? He bothering you again? We'll take care of that if-"
"No, I mean, he's always by himself, and, well I've never seen him offer to clean up before," Izuku explained.
"Who cares," Kaminari said, letting out a loud belch. "He quit trying to hang out with us after Kirishima told him off."
"Well, I mean, it's more like we quit trying to hang out with him," Kirishima admitted. "I dunno, I thought he was kinda manly and all. But to find out he'd bully a quirkless kid and a disabled girl I-"
"Who'd he pick on that was disabled?" Mei demanded. "That jerk!"
Kirishima and Kaminari blinked at her. "Um, you," Karminari finally managed.
Mei suddenly went bright red, her hands clenched into fists. "I. Am not. Disabled," she growled. "I'm smarter than you are, fried brain." Mei suddenly stood and stalked away, muttering about checking on her babies.
Izuku froze, staring after her, feeling as though someone had just punched him in the gut. Was he going to be responsible for alienating Mei again?
"What's eating her?" Kaminari complained. "She is autstic or whatever, right?"
"Um, yeah man. But uh, maybe she doesn't like being called disabled?" Kirishima guessed. He suddenly let out a yelp as a loud smack resounded through the air. Kirishima's head wacked into the table, leaving a bunch of splintered wood as he'd involuntarily activated his quirk. Behind him, Ashido glared down, her yellow irises seeming to glow in her dark eyes.
"Of course she doesn't like being called disabled!" there was another smack, and Kaminari let out a squeal.
"What'd you do that for, Ashido?!" he snapped, glaring at her.
"That was me," Jiro said, examining her fingernails. "I figured you probably deserved it. Look, Mei might have gotten her ass kicked by Bakugo, but that's just cause fighting isn't her thing. She's an incredible support."
"I mean sure, but she's still disabled and stuff," Kirishima said with a shrug, learning a glare from Ashido.
"Come on, Midoriya! She's your girl! You've got to stand up for her! Do something!" Ashido lectured.
Izuku felt helpless, unsure of what to do or say. He wanted to help Mei, to make her feel better, but wasn't this his fault? He was the one who'd told the others about Mei's autism. He felt tears of frustration well up in his eyes. How could he stand up for Mei when he was the problem!
"Um, sorry if we crossed a line or something," Kirisima said, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't think, she'd you know, care. She's kinda strange. Ow! Knock it off Ashido!"
"Only if you stop being a moron," Ashido sniffed. As soon as Kirishima looked away, she winced and blew on her fingers, then shook out her hand.
"I, um, didn't realize she felt that way," Izuku said, getting to his feet and wiping at his eyes. He felt like everyone was staring at him, but he made himself move anyway. "Er, I guess I'll be back later."
"At least one of these boys isn't too stupid to see the nose on his face," Ashido sighed.
Jiro nodded. "The good ones are always taken."
That made Izuku blush, though when he glanced at Jiro he noticed a sly grin on her face. Was she teasing him? Izuku couldn't quite tell.
He found Mei where he expected to, working on the Power Suit. Unsure of what to say, he simply started helping, removing panels and checking damage. Mei was muttering to herself, mostly about technical readouts from the suit, but occasionally grumbling about "idiots" "fry brains" and "not disabled."
Suddenly, Mei put down her screwdriver and whirled on Izuku. "Do you think I'm disabled?" she demanded.
Izuku paused, unsure at first. He swallowed, then looked at Mei. "I don't know. Do you think I am?"
Mei blinked, then frowned. She looked back down at the screwdriver. She picked it up, and thrust it under Izuku's nose. "Is this disabled?!"
"N-no!" Izuku said, jerking back slightly.
"But it's bad at pounding nails!" Mei ranted, waving the screwdriver around. "It can't measure current or solder! So it must be disabled!"
"But it's for putting in screws," Izuku said, gently taking Mei's hands in his arms and pulling her close to him. "It's not supposed to do all those things."
"Yes," Mei agreed. Tears sprang up in her eyes. "There's nothing wrong with it. And there's nothing wrong with me. Or you. You're quirkless. I'm autistic. So what? You're a really great screwdriver. I'm a wrench. No, I'm a super cute arc welder. And you're a multimeter! It's not our fault they're all stupid ugly hammers." Mei really started to cry, hiccuping and sniffling. "I just...I wish sometimes I could pound nails too."
"I know," Izuku whispered, pulling Mei into a hug. "But I think I love you anyway. Even if you're an arc welder or a wrench."
Mei's head bobbed up and down on Izuku's shoulder. "And...and I love multimeters. I mean, I love you, Izuku. Hari said I should say that more. I think I said that already, but if I say it again I'll remember."
"And I'm sorry I said you were disabled," Izuku said.
Mei suddenly stiffened and pulled back, looking horrified. "You think I'm broken!?"
"No, no!" Izuku said hurriedly waving his hands. "Just...people always said...something was wrong with me. Because...because I'm different. So...so I guess I believed it. And...and when you were different too, I...I wanted you to be like me. So...so I thought we were both disabled."
Mei frowned and spun around, pacing away. Izuku raised a hand after her, then let it drop. He'd done it again. He'd ruined everything. Mei was going to leave him and hate him, just like Bakugo, just like his dad, just like-
Mei suddenly turned back around and stalked back to Izuku, poking him hard in the chest. "We're not disabled," she snarled. "We're an arc welder and a multimeter. There's nothing wrong with us! We're just different, OK? And that's alright! I thought something was wrong with me too! Until...until you came! And you never made fun of me or told me I was bad or said I should be different or anything! So you can't...you can't think I'm disabled! Or you're disabled! You understand me? I don't have the right words! Argh! All these words, and I can't-"
Mei spun around and picked up her own welder. She lit it up, and began to weld on a patch where the Power Suit had been damaged.
After a moment, Izuku started to work alongside Mei. They did that for about an hour, patching or replacing the various parts damaged in the long journey to the camp. At last, Mei put her tools away. She turned to Izuku. "Do you understand?"
"I think so," Izuku said, coming to stand beside Mei. "Just...know that I believe in you, Mei. That you can do whatever you set your mind to. You can create any super cute baby you want. And...and I do love you. Ok? Even...even if I'm dumb, or I hurt you sometimes. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"
Mei nodded. "You do understand. I think I forgive you. It still hurts though. Hari...Hari said that sometimes loving someone hurts. I didn't know what she meant. I think...I think maybe I'm learning."
"Hari's pretty smart," Izuku agreed.
"Yes. Sometimes, I think she's smarter than me."
"No one's smarter than you Mei. And...and I think you're really pretty too. And...and cuter than the power suit."
Mei turned to him, her usual grin back on her face. "That was a very good thing to say. I am going to kiss you now."
Izuku was ready when Mei just about pounced on him. He didn't really think he understood her, he realized as their lips met. But that was OK. He did love her, even if he was bad at it sometimes.
After a few minutes, even Mei's boundless enthusiasm faded after the arduous day they had. They made their way back to the eating area, where Pixie Bob told them about the steam baths.
"You two look like you could use a bath too. Head on over. Boys on the left, girls on the right."
"Yes, I will remember," Mei said firmly. "I won't get mixed up again. I am working hard on my social skills. Izuku doesn't like it when I forget."
Pixie Bob gave Mei an odd look, but shrugged. "Honey, if I thought I could take a bath with my boyfriend, I might just try. Because I'm still 18 at heart! But don't even think of that here. Ragdoll has her eye on all of you, so to speak. Don't worry, she won't peak."
Izuku and Mei made their way over to the bathhouse, parting ways at the entrance. Izuku grabbed a towel, then headed out, gratefully sinking into the warm waters and letting out a sigh.
"Everything OK with Hatsume, man?" Kirishima asked, sounding worried. "Sorry if we screwed things up for you."
"No, I think maybe I did that on my own," Izuku sighed. "But Mei's pretty amazing. And...and I'm sorry I called her disabled. That's… well, a lot of people used to treat me like I was, so...so I guess I just thought of myself that way."
"Gee, wonder which asshole that was," Kaminari muttered.
Shinso opened one eye, glaring at the other boy. "Give it a rest. He's self flagellating enough as it is."
"Yeah, he is a flagellate," Kaminari agreed.
Kirishima groaned. "You have no idea what that is, do you?"
"It means a jerk, right?" Kaminari said. When Kirishima snorted, Kaminari repeated himself. "Right?"
"You are so dumb sometimes," Kirishima chuckled.
"Well what's it mean then?" Kaminari demanded. "Hey, Iida, what's a flagellate?"
"I'm not getting involved," Iida said with a sigh, lowering himself further into the heated pool. "Look it up on your own later. It would do you good to improve your vocabulary."
Silently, Shinso got up, climbing out of the large pool most of them were relaxing in. He walked over to where Bakugo was sitting alone, lowering himself into the pool.
"What do you want?" Bakugo growled.
"Nothing," Shinso said, letting out a contented sigh and closing his eyes. "It was just too noisy over there.
"Hmph. Aren't you one of Midoriya's buddys? You gonna talk smack too?" Bakugo demanded.
Shinso opened one eye. "Only if you don't shut up and let me relax."
A slow smirk spread over Bakugo's face. "Whatever. Suit yourself. I'm not moving."
Shinso just grunted, laying back in the water.
Izuku studied the two of them for a moment, thinking. He looked away when Bakugo frowned and cracked open one eye, glaring at him, and quickly looked away.
"Um, so Koda, that was pretty cool, how you could use the birds to blind the dust monsters and stuff. I, um, I hope none of them got hurt."
The quiet boy smiled at Izuku, then shook his head and then gave a thumbs up.
"They're all alright? That's good," Izuku said, feeling a bit relieved. "I'd feel bad if one of your friends got hurt saving us."
Koda smiled more widely, then bowed slightly to Izuku. Then he lowered himself into the bath, letting out a sigh.
"He doesn't say much," Kirishima observed. "I can respect that in a man. The strong, silent type."
"Perhaps you should emulate him," Tokoyami muttered.
"Yeah! Shut up!" Dark Shadow squawked.
"I cannot believe any of you," Mineta declared, suddenly standing up.
"What now?" Sero asked with a groan. "Please tell me you're not about to do something perverted and dumb."
"Well, then I won't tell you," Mineta said, standing and waddling over to the fence that separated the two halves of the bath house.
"Mineta…" Iida said, looking up with a worried expression. "What are you-"
"Think! There's girls on the other side! Midoriya! What would you do to see Hatsume naked?"
Izuku blinked. "What?"
"She's your girlfriend, right? Tell us, what does she look like?" Mineta pressed his face against the fence. "She's got all those curves, but she looks kinda muscled too. Oh, just to think of her, and the other ladies, and their young, nubile bodies!"
"Mineta!" Iida snapped, standing. "Don't you dare!"
"I can't take it anymore! It's the duty of every real man! I have to see!" Mineta cried. He reached up to start to climb.
Izuku wasn't quite sure how he did it later, but he did know why. For a moment, all he saw was red. The next thing he knew, he'd lept out of the pool, slamming his fist into Mineta's face, just as he used his sticky balls to begin to climb the fence. The other boy sailed across the baths, falling with a splash into the pool where Bakugo and Shinso were sitting.
Shinso opened one eye, a disgusted look on his face. "Looks like a turd fell in our water."
"He's out cold," Bakugo observed. He fished Mineta out with one hand, holding the smaller boy out of the water. He glanced at Izuku. "Nice hit." Then he rapidly shook Mineta, until the other boy coughed and spluttered.
"What happened? Where am I? Did I die and go to heaven! I'm injured! Let me see the boobies!"
"You are a freak," Bakugo muttered. He climbed out of the pool, still holding the struggling Mineta with one hand. "Come on. We're gonna have a little chat."
"Yes! Finally! Someone understands!" Mineta cried. "Come on Bakugo, with your strength and my perverted instincts, we can-"
"You know, I think you're actually the only person I could beat the living hell out of in this class and everyone would cheer me on," Bakugo observed as he walked toward the exit, dragging Mineta with him.
"Need some help?" Shinso called at the same time that Iida cried, "Bakugo! Don't you dare!"
"Relax. It was a damned joke," Bakugo muttered. "I actually am going to talk to the horny little bastard. So cool your jets, rocket legs. Go back to your relaxing or whatever. Now your two least favorite people won't be around to bother you."
Shinso climbed out as well, silently following after Bakugo.
"I didn't ask you to come," Bakugo snarled as he exited.
"I don't remember asking if I could," Shinso stated dryly.
"You're the one who wants my spot. Maybe you'll get it if you make nice," Bakugo snapped, whirling around to glare at Shinso. Mineta babbled and wept, apparently terrified.
"I'm not very good at that," Shinso said with a shrug. "Besides, I'd like to hear what you have to say. Maybe I wanted to see some boobies too, and need a lecture."
"Dumbass. We ALL wanted to see naked boobies," Bakugo snarled. He suddenly paused, then glanced at Aoyama, who had his hair up in a towel and was rubbing some sort of weird green dirt into his face. "Um, except maybe him. But that's what I'm going to explain to this idiot! So unless you want to hear a stupid ass rant, stay back!"
"Nah. That sounds more interesting," Shinso said.
Bakugo growled, but turned around. "Fine. Maybe you can talk some sense into him. I suck at that."
Izkuku blinked, watching as the three boys left, Mineta pleading for mercy.
"Hey, Shinso's cool, right?" Kaminari asked worriedly. "He wouldn't like, help Bakugo hide the body?"
"Um, no. But...but I don't think Bakugo would kill Mineta either. And if he did, well, hiding the body isn't what he would do," Izuku said. He quickly shook his head. "I mean, no! Bakugo wouldn't kill someone! He...well, I don't know. But Shinso wouldn't."
"The teachers are watching," Iida said sounding worried. "They wouldn't...well, they'll keep an eye on things."
"Um, yeah," Izuku agreed. But he sat there and thought. What was going on with Bakugo?
After the bath, they all made their way to the boy's cabin, where they all slept on mats scattered throughout the room. Before bed, Izuku went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, where he found Shinso completing his own toiletries.
"Hey," Shinso said, nodding as Izuku came in.
"Um, hey," Izuku said. He paused, his toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, then looked up at Shinso. "Thanks...thanks for being kind to Bakugo."
Shinso frowned, looking at his own reflection in the mirror. "He reminds me of myself."
"R-really?" Izuku asked, startled.
Shinso nodded. "He's mad at the whole world, and the world seems to hate him right back. I think he got a taste of his own medicine, and realized it was a bitter pill to have to swallow."
"W-what do you mean?" Izuku asked, stepping closer to carefully put an exactly pea sized drop of toothpaste onto his brush.
Shinso glanced at Izuku, frowning. "What, you couldn't tell?"
"Um, no?" Izuku guessed.
"He's been ostracized," Shinso stated. "By the entire class."
"W-what? But, Bakugo was always popular! He's strong, and talented and-"
Shinso shook his head, and Izuku fell silent. Shinso pointed towards the bedroom. "Izuku, everyone in that room is strong, and talented, and smart, and whatever else you were going to say about Bakugo. The difference is, they also know how to be nice to people and not act like a complete asshole."
"Y-yeah, but-"
"Did you notice how they treated you?" Shinso demanded, turning to stare into Izuku's eyes. "Have any of them ever been cruel to you? And I don't mean poked fun at you, or been sarcastic or whatever. I mean really tried to hurt you. Especially for being quirkless, or even beating them in the Sports Festival."
"Um, no. Everyone's...everyone's been really great," Izuku admitted. "They know...they know I'm quirkless, but...but it's like they don't care."
"Because they don't. They know what they are. And they're comfortable with it. They all want to be heroes. And for most of them, that means being a decent goddamn human being too," Shinso explained. "Hell, they don't even treat me like a freak because I can take control of their minds. They figure, they're good people, and I must be a good person too because I say I want to be a hero."
Izuku blinked. "Oh."
"Yeah. It's almost painful. Bakugo's the only one of them I really get." Shinso looked back in the mirror, letting out a heavy sigh. "Hell. Bakugo's the only one who treats me in a way that feels normal."
"Shinso...you know you're my friend, right?" Izuku asked, feeling confused and a bit unsure.
Shinso smiled, then looked at Izuku. He nodded. "Yeah. Hell if I know why. And, well, don't think that just because I'm hanging out with Bakugo means I hate you. You're my friend too, Izuku."
"Yeah. Once...once Bakugo and I were friends. I don't...maybe we could be, again, but it would be hard. And we aren't friends now. But...but I would be happy if he did have a friend."
"Hell, Izuku. Sometimes you make me wonder if you're even real," Shinso said, shaking his head.
"Huh?" Izuku was totally lost now, completely confused.
"And they say Mei's the one with no social skills," Shinso chuckled. He patted Izuku on the shoulder, then walked away. "Don't change, Izuku. The world needs more people like you, and less like me and Bakugo. Otherwise, we'd never realize we could be different."
That left Izuku confused, but he was too tired to think straight. He brushed his teeth, finished his toilet, then went back and laid down, exhausted. In moments, he was drifting off to sleep. Surrounded, he realized, for perhaps the first time in his life, by a group of people that actually liked him.