He feels it before he knows what it is. A vibrating sensation coming from somewhere under him. The drowsiness coating his mind slowly dissipates as his thoughts clear up. His hand pats his pant leg only to find the offending object in his back pocket. It's his phone.
The blue light makes his eyes flutter and slip shut a couple of times. The brightness too intense for his gaze. His sight adjusts after a few seconds and he's finally able to see clearly.
With a start, he realizes that he's still in Bakugou's room. It seems they fell asleep without realizing it yesterday. Bakugou is asleep on the edge of the bed. Head almost falling off the edge. One hand is dangling from the surface while the other is tucked neatly against his side. A blanked lays on him innocently.
Izuku himself, is propped against the head of the bed. A soft pillow underneath his head and a small blanket, similar to the one in Bakugou's possession, is tucked over his body.
He guesses that their parents found them and decided to take pity on their situation. Probably thinking that they deserved some rest after the day they both had.
The buzzing suddenly stops and he's reminded of the reason behind his unceremonial wake-up call.
Looking back at his phone he realizes who exactly is calling him. It seems also that the buzzing stopped because of his low battery. "Ah shit." He should have asked Bakugou for a charger last night.
Getting up, he searches the nightstand for the blonde's charger. Involuntarily dropping a water bottle on the ground. The resulting thud echoes through the room. The sound is louder than it honestly should be. The silence that follows this kind of hour in the morning, making it worse. "Shit- SHIT"
Bakugou groans, a curse slipping from his lips as he blearily looks around. "The fuck are you doing Nerd." The blonde checks his watch and groans even louder, flopping back onto the mattress dramatically. "It's 5 am for god's sake."
"I forgot to call Yui yesterday." He replies offhandedly. Finally getting his hands on the charger he's been looking for. "She's probably worried sick by now." He says as he plugs it into a nearby socket.
"Who the fuck is Yui? Your girlfriend?" The teen snorts sleepily. Not really, fully awake yet.
"What? No! Of course not." He replies quickly. Not comfortable with that image at all. Yui was his little girl. "She's…uh- She's my daughter." He admits quietly. Still waiting for his phone to turn back on.
At that particular bit of information, the blonde shoots up into an upright position. His eyes are wide, fully awake. "HAH?!" He practically screeches, disbelief and shock written all over his features. Izuku would be laughing right now if he wasn't worried about the phone in his hand. "What kind of game were you stuck in?"
"Hey, it's not what it sounds like…" He mutters under his breath, a pout forming on his lips. "Yui is an AI that Shinsou and I adopted in the game. She was lost in the woods when we found her. Things just kind of worked themselves out after that." It's strange how this time, he didn't hesitate to talk about Shinsou. It just felt natural to him, when talking about Yui. "It's a long story."
The explanation seems to calm the explosive blonde down a bit. His shoulders dropping a little from the surprised tension they'd gathered earlier.
"Aha! Finally!" Izuku calls out in triumph as his phone glows back up to life. Fingers already looking through his contacts, he connects it to the server in which Yui's algorithm belongs to. It rings for barely a second before it's answered. A high-pitch 'Dad!' can be heard on the other end. "Yui! Sorry! I forgot to call you! He hastily apologizes. Knowing she was probably worried sick. "No, no don't worry. I'm fine!" With that, he goes into a lengthy explanation of yesterday's events. Telling Yui about Shigaraki and Laughing coffin. Yui berates him for being reckless and worrying her.
She does calm down after some time though, telling him she's glad he's okay and that he should remember to call her next time.
Honestly, sometimes he thinks that he's the kid in the family. "Hey, Yui, I'm actually at a- uh- friend's house right now so I'll talk to you later." He calls out quietly, not sure if Bakugou qualifies as a friend yet. "No! He's not-"This gets Bakugou's attention, red eyes landing on Izuku's green ones. "Fine, you can talk to him." He says in exasperation, not really up to dealing with an angrier Yui right now.
Panic immediately etches its way onto the blonde's face as he shakes his head hurriedly.
The greenette is unperturbed though.
He hands the phone to the blonde, smirking at the way Bakugou seems to hold it as if it was some kind of bomb. All the while, noting the irony of his train of thought.
Finally, the explosion wielder seems to concede. A deadly glare aimed at Izuku as he speaks the words slowly. "Uh, it's Bakugou Katsuki."
"Hi Bakugou-san! I'm Yui! Kirito and Shinsou's daughter!" Yui says in fake innocence. "You better not be trying to take my Papa's place!"
"Hah! The fuck are you yapping about?" The blonde yells back at the phone. Confusing more than actual anger in his tone.
"Oookay." Izuku interrupts the pair before chaos can ensue. Swiftly taking the phone away and telling Yui that he'll talk to her later tonight. "Bye Yui!"
The phone call ends and he relaxes back into the bed rest.
Bakugou looks even more confused now. His eyes trained on Izuku's own pensively.
"Uh…Sorry about her. She can get a little possessive. Especially now since- uh anyway…" He tries to change the subject. "Let's get ready, school starts in a couple of hours anyway."
With that, Izuku gets up to go to the bathroom. Not noticing the way Bakugou's eyes seem to follow him. The blonde's mind whirling with unanswered questions.
He makes a mental note to ask about that Shinsou guy later.
When they go downstairs, both Katsuki's parents are having breakfast. The couple's eyes find them as soon as they walk into the kitchen.
"Heya sleepyheads. We didn't have the heart to wake you guys up last night. I hope you enjoyed the sleep-over Izuku-Kun." Mitsuki calls out as soon as they take a seat in front of them.
"Ah, good morning Aunt Mitsuki," Izuku says, not knowing how to respond to that. "Thank you! I really needed a good night of sleep." He tries to show the sincerity and gratitude behind his words. He knows that it's the small stuff that counts the most.
Also, he's pretty sure that, if he'd slept alone, he'd probably have woken up screaming. Especially after the day he's had, yesterday.
The meal goes by with little fanfare. Both he and Bakugou, too tired to participate in any form of conversation.
The streets are quiet on their way to school. The only sounds coming from occasional passing cars.
Warm light shines on the concrete pathway as the walk in tandem.
Bakugou knows that he's probably not supposed to ask. That it's most likely none of his business. However, a small voice in his head. The same one that keeps encouraging him to scream at people. Tells him that it's okay to ask. Since the nerd was the one to bring it up in the first place.
Izuku's daughter, and he can't believe he's even saying that right now, spoke as if Shinsou was Izuku's partner or something. So he was with the nerd in that game. It explains how they know each other.
He's probably too curious for his own good.
After a few minutes of walking, he decides to finally speak up. "So… Who's Shinsou? Both you and Yui mentioned him…"
He realizes his mistake as soon as the words leave his mouth. Izuku's shoulders tense up. As if he was dreading that particular question.
The silence stretches between them. It lasts long enough for him to think that maybe, Izuku is just going to ignore him.
However, after a moment, Izuku lets out a heavy sigh, shoulders dropping back down. "You could say that Shinsou was my boyfriend in the game. We even got married…" He speaks in a low voice, soft even. Continuing before Bakugou could voice his shock. "Which is kind of silly, since marriage is just a push of a button in SAO. But it's also a form of complete trust." Izuku knows he's rambling right now, but he can't find it within himself to actually care. "It's like you're giving a person a key to your whole life. All your secrets, possessions…Everything."
Bakugou thinks that he could never understand that kind of trust.
He's glad though. That despite being trapped in a game like that, Izuku managed to find someone that he could trust to that magnitude.
"So, where is he now? Did you find him or did you guys break it off-" He thinks he knows the answer before he's even done asking the question. He sees it in Izuku's eyes. Remembers the way Izuku said 'was'.
"He's dead." It doesn't make it any easier to hear it though. Doesn't make him feel any less of an asshole for bringing it up in the first place. Izuku's voice is flat, almost emotionless. Bakugou would even call him bored if he didn't know better. If he didn't witness the sheer amount of concealed grief and sadness swirling in those big green eyes.
The walk to school is silent after that.
As soon as Izuku walks into the classroom. He knows that things were going to be different now.
With everything that happened yesterday night and this morning, he'd almost forgotten that some of his classmates knew about his past now.
As soon as he looks at the group of students in the room, he knows that all of them must know by now.
Teenagers talk, after all.
He sees it in the way they all look at him. The look he's all too used to by now. The look that speaks of weariness and slight fear. Coupled with pity and misinterpreted curiosity.
Ignoring the whole lot, he makes his way towards his desk. Plopping onto his seat and gazing at the door. Waiting impatiently for Aizawa to arrive.
To his surprise, the first to try and talk to him is Tsuyu. The girl walks up to his desk with no hesitation. Her face as devoid of emotion as his own.
She looks at him for a few seconds, as if contemplating something before opening her mouth to speak. "Hey Midoriya, I'm glad you're okay." That wasn't what he expected, but he nods anyway, silently thanking her for her concern. "Also…" Ah, there it is." Thank you for saving us back at the USJ." The small 'ribbit' that comes out of her mouth breaks him from his momentary shock.
"…Save you?" He finds himself inquiring before he could stop himself.
"Yes. If it wasn't for you, ribbit, we would have been crushed by that monster and Aizawa-Sensei would be dead." She replies bluntly. Her forwardness eases some of Izuku's nerves.
"Uhm… you're welcome Asui." He replies, slightly dumbfounded. "I guess…"
"Call me Tsu. That's what my friends call me." She says almost urgently.
"Friends…" He mutters in complete confusion. Because what the hell was happening right now. This girl just found out he was a player in a death game and she wants to be his friend?
"She's right, Midoriya! You were so manly out there!" Kirishima's voices from behind the frog girl. The red-head is punching the air with his fist. Too excited to notice the confusion probably obvious on Izuku's face. "You were scary man, going all out like that. You didn't even think of your own safety. You were only trying to save us."
He sees the rest of his classmates relax around them. Probably following the lead of both Tsuyu and Kirishima. However, the slight hope that Izuku has for a normal school life is shattered when a voice suddenly speaks up from behind him.
"What are you guys doing!? Are you crazy?" Mineta shouts at the top of his lungs. Gaining the attention of all the occupants in the room. "He's one of those kids in that game! I heard that they spent two years murdering each other! He's a villain! He's going to murder us all!" The purple balled teen screeches in total panic. Not noticing the way Izuku's eyes seem to lose some of their light with every word that comes out of his mouth. "You guys saw how he killed the Nomu! He didn't even hesitate! He's a killer!"
He feels his body moving to stand up. Whether it was to leave or confront the shorter boy, he didn't know.
However, before he even got to do anything. Someone beat him to it.
"Listen up you tiny perverted bastard." Bakugou's voice is calm. Threatening. Body fixed as if to look down on Mineta. Intimidating him by his stance only. "If you fucking spit out another useless word out of that mouth of yours I'm going to explode the shit out of you. So you better sit your ass back down before talking shit about something you don't even understand."
Mineta whimpers slightly, but he doesn't seem to back down. His voice wavering as he tries to reason with the rest of the class. "Are you guys just going to stand there and let him do this? He's a monster! He's-" He doesn't get to finish his sentence before a fist connects with the side of his face.
It's not Bakugou's.
"Shut up Mineta." Kirishima growls. It's the first time Izuku's seen him frowning. "Midoriya is manlier than you will ever be. He's not a monster. He's a hero. He saved us all back at the USJ." He shouts, his eyes seem to almost be watering with the sheer intensity of his words. "Besides, Present Mic was in SAO, are you saying that he's not a hero too?" Kirishima practically spits out, anger radiating from his form. "Midoriya saved us from the Nomu! A monster that was meant to kill All Might! Without him, the villain would never have left! He's the one that drove them away! He saved all of us! If any of you have a problem with his past you will have to go through me." The redhead finishes his speech dramatically. Standing as if to shield Izuku from the rest of the class.
His quirk, Izuku thinks, is a perfect metaphor for this situation. He'd laugh if he wasn't so overwhelmed right now.
"Izuku-Kun." Uraraka's voice is small when she speaks up. Hesitant. "Ah… Can I call you that?" She fumbles slightly with her words but seems to take his silence as an agreement. "I- we saw you from up near the entrance. Saw how you protected Aizawa-sensei. And we, Uhm, we just wanted to tell you that we don't care about your past. In fact, it shows us just how really strong you are!" She states, determination practically dripping from her tone. "So, thank you." She smiles brightly. Her words are echoed by a few other people. Most of the class nodding in agreement.
Izuku for the first time in a long time, let himself cry. It's only a few tears. And they quickly dry up. However, for a moment, he lets his emotions show. Let's the class see just how much this meant to him.
They all nod at him. A few calling out encouraging words and comforting smiles. It makes his heart squeeze in his chest.
Nobody acknowledges Mineta after all. All of them taking their respective seats. Not giving the short purple-haired teen a second glance.
And if later that morning. Aizawa walks in to see that Izuku and Bakugou switched seats, he doesn't question it.
Homeroom passes by faster than he expected. Aizawa tells them about the school's sports festival. The teacher explaining the logistics and the reason behind the event.
It was their chance to display their powers to the heroes. Effectively gaining internships and attention in the process. They had one chance only, each year to prove their worth to the world. They had to make it count.
After asking Aizawa, it appears that he's not allowed any support items unless if they were sanctioned by the principle or if they were indispensable to his quirk. So, his swords were out of the question.
He'd make do without them though.
Soon enough, it was lunchtime.
To his surprise. It seems that a few more people chose to join him at the cafeteria table. Iida, Kirishima, and Uraraka, were the first. However, he wasn't expecting for Tsuyu, Mina, Kaminari and Sero to join. The latter, trailing behind him an irritated Bakugou.
All of them seem hesitant to form any sort of actual conversation during the meal. Now, normally, Izuku would be almost grateful for that. However, this time, he was the one initiating the exchange.
"Hey guys" He began, looking towards Uraraka, Bakugou and Kirishima, as he spoke. "Thank you for what you did and said back there. You guys really didn't have to."
"Hey man, no worries. We just did what we thought was right." The red-head replied without missing a beat. As if it was the simplest thing in the world.
Uraraka only nodded in response, a soft smile directed at him. Bakugou, ever the social butterfly, just grumbled his signature "Whatever, nerd." Under his breath.
The rest of the day went by without a hitch. If not for a slightly tenser English class. The glares directed at Mineta, causing Present Mic to grow slightly suspicious.
Izuku was currently heading towards the classroom door when he found his exit blocked.
The rest of the students had already left. All of them, all too eager to head home and begin their training for the sports festival.
Raising his gaze, he found himself facing a nervous-looking Kirishima.
"Hey Midroiya…"
The boy was jumping from foot to foot. Swaying slightly as he waited for Izuku's full attention.
"Is something wrong Kirishima?"
"No, no! Nothing's wrong. I just… Can you please come with me for a minute? I have kind of a surprise for you" The red-head grinned, albeit a little nervously.
"What kind of surprise?" He couldn't help but narrow his eyes in suspicion. Previous experiences made sure that he never let his guard down. Even in the face of friends. Threats could hide under many different faces. Heathcliff made that all too clear.
"Just- please. There's someone I want you to uh- meet." Looking at the teen standing in front of him. He decided that it was worth a shot. He didn't think Kirishima would do anything either way. The boy had jumped to his defense earlier. In the least, he would hear him out. Meet whoever he wanted him to meet.
However, the last thing he ever expected, upon walking out of UA's gates was this.
There, waiting by tree line on the sidewalk, was a tall man, his back turned away from them. Black hair swaying with the wind as he gazed at something in the distance.
"K-Klein?"