Right, so I kinda fell off the face of the Earth for almost two months. That one's on me, so I'm sorry for that, and I'm gonna try and stockpile chapters to toss out if I forget to write for a bit. Anyway, I'm not dead obviously, and I never will be, so you're stuck with me. If you really care to know, I had exams from mid-May to the end of that month, and three of them were for classes I wasn't in. You would think that I would actually study those classes in my free time during the school year instead of writing fanfiction, but you would be thinking incorrectly. Anyway, I learned the course material for all three classes in two days without sleeping and cleared the exams, so I was feeling good. Then my laptop broke and that made it really difficult to upload.
Anyway, enough of my long dumb life, here's new chapter, I'm really excited for the next few so I think they'll be out pretty quickly. I hope you enjoy! ^w^
"Izuku, what happened?"
Asui had arrived in his room when he had been late to breakfast, and his appearance spoke volumes to his tardiness. He had dark circles and bags under his eyes, and they seemed to be red and irritated. His eyes were absolutely bloodshot, as if he had been staring into a bright light for hours on end. She wouldn't be surprised if streaks of red poured down his cheeks from his tear ducts at this point.
"…h-hey Tsuyu, how are you?" he smiled meekly.
"I'm fine, but you look like you haven't slept all night," her shock was evident on her face, a rare sight.
"Well… about that…" he shifted in his bed, which he was sitting on.
"Izuku, what time did you go to bed? And 'no' is not an acceptable answer."
"Well I went to bed at 3am!" he spoke as if that was the right answer, or even acceptable. "But I couldn't sleep. So after about an hour or two, I gave up on it."
"Izuku… nightmares again?" she asked. He fidgeted again before nodding. "I thought I told you to come wake me up if that happened," her care and concern was present in her voice, but masked under a sort of disappointed tone.
"You did? I don't remember that," his voice was growing dry.
"I sure did. I'll say it again, come to my dorm if you're having nightmares. I'll help you through it." He nodded. "So what was it this time?" she took a seat next to him.
He looked down shamefully, "I-It was Kacchan again, b-but this time… we were kids. He… h-he wouldn't stop kicking me. The other bullies weren't there either, j-just me and him. He wouldn't stop kicking. Just kicking and k-kicking and…" he lost all of his withering composure and began crying into Asui's shoulder. She wrapped her arm around him and rubbed his back.
"It's ok, ribbit," she was trying to maintain her own composure as she spoke, "he won't hurt you as long as I'm around."
Midoriya looked up, "You mean it?" She nodded, and Midoriya pulled her into a hug. After he let go, he stood up slowly and wiped his eyes.
"You ready for breakfast?" she asked him. "I think Satou still has some pancakes left. Otherwise you're on your own with whatever's in the kitchen, ribbit." The pair made their way downstairs and found Kaminari and Mineta eating the last of the pancakes. Midoriya looked a little downtrodden, so Asui started digging through the kitchen cabinets for something he might like. After unearthing the last box of cereal, he took it happily and poured himself a bowl. They both sat in the dining room across from the pancake thieves.
"Hey, Mido-bro!" Kaminari greeted, "how're ya doing?"
"I'm fine, how are you?" Midoriya responded, a bit confused by the nickname. But before Kaminari could open his mouth, Mineta nearly jumped over the table.
"Hey dude!" he shouted, pointing angrily at Midoriya, "what's your problem?! Playing goody-two-shoes with your hot girlfriend, huh? Save some of her for the rest of us!"
Both Midoriya and Asui froze at the gremlin's accusations, flustered and offended. Asui realigned herself much faster than Midoriya.
"We aren't dating," she said smoothly, despite her red face, "and I'm not gonna let you of all people lay your dirty hands on me."
"Aw c'mon!" Mineta whined, "just a little feel?" Midoriya turned to him.
"Hey, th-that's not a nice way to talk to g-girls y'know," he stuttered.
"Man, I thought you were one of us!" Mineta cried, "I thought you were single and dry like the rest of us! But nooooo! You just have to rub it in that you're getting pounded daily!" Midoriya went red in the face again and displayed his confusion on his face, not quite understanding what Mineta was saying. He started eating his cereal a little quicker.
"Sorry about Mineta," Kaminari felt the need to apologize for his friend's obscenity, "he's a bit… forward. But he brings up a good point, why aren't you two dating?"
"Umm…" they both said in unison, looking away from each other awkwardly. Kaminari picked up on their "situation".
"Well never mind that!" Kaminari saved the conversation. "How are you two settling in with the whole dorm situation?"
"It's nice!" Midoriya smiled, his face still burning. "I'm really glad to be surrounded by so many cool people," he turned to Asui.
"Ribbit, I agree," Asui chimed in, "though I do miss my family…" Midoriya saw the remorse gently find itself on her face, something the other two didn't see at all. Midoriya put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"Hey, it's ok," he murmured gently, "you video called them a couple days ago, right?"
"Yeah, that was nice," she smiled subtly, going unnoticed by the other two again. Midoriya then finished his cereal and stood up to wash his bowl out.
"How about you two?" he called over his shoulder.
"I'm doing great!" Mineta began frothing at the mouth, "All these hot girls living in the same building as me! It's crazy!" Kaminari shot him a dirty look. That's not to say that he hadn't thought of that same notion earlier, but he would never say it out loud. Especially in front of one of the girls in question.
"Mineta, you shouldn't talk like that!" he scolded lightly. "I've been doing pretty well," he shifted the focus to himself and pretended that Mineta never opened his mouth. "I've been having trouble sleeping though…"
Midoriya returned from the kitchen and stood next to Asui, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Are you having any issues that could be affecting your sleep?" he asked innocently.
"Well…" Kaminari spoke quietly, almost shamefully… "I uh… y-yes, there are." Midoriya noticed that he was uncharacteristically quiet, compared to his usual loud and over-the-top attitude that everyone had noticed ever since they moved in.
Midoriya walked around the table and sat down next to him, "What's wrong? You don't have to tell me, but it'll be a lot healthier if you get it out." His smile was blinding.
"I—" Kaminari almost began crying. His eyes grew a little puffy and his breathing was ragged. He was clearly uncomfortable. Mineta figures that this would become some mushy kinda thing and left to go spy on Yaoyorozu. Midoriya put his hand on Kaminari's shoulder and rubbed it lightly, almost perfectly paralleling Asui in how she rubs his back.
"Hey, it's ok," Midoriya spoke calmly and kindly, "take a deep breath. If you want to write it down or something, you can't. You aren't forced to tell me."
"N-no!" Kaminari jumped, "If I don't tell you now, I don't think I'll end up telling anyone. Ever." He took a deep breath and sighed, "I… I'm worried that I'm annoying people… that nobody likes me because of who I am. I-I try to stay calm, b-but sometimes I get really excited and have trouble keeping it down, and, and…" he sniffled and wiped his eyes, "and now I'm annoying you too…"
"Hey, no you aren't," Midoriya gripped his shoulder and looked at him directly. "You aren't annoying me by telling me this. I don't think you're annoying anyone. It sounds like you're too deep inside your own head and you're overthinking everything… trust me, I still do that. But listen, I think the most annoying thing you can do is hold your feelings in like this. It hurts me more to know that my friend is suffering and I can't do anything about it than anything you could say."
Kaminari wiped his eyes again and returned Midoriya's stare, "I… I'm your friend?" he asked incredulously.
"Well of course!" Midoriya let go of his shoulder. "You have plenty of other friends here too! Just ask them and they'll tell you themselves. But it's not healthy to assume the worst in the people around you." He smiled yet again, "Worst case scenario: I'll still be here for you." Kaminari nodded and gave Midoriya a hug.
"Thank you, Midoriya!" Kaminari left a few tears on Midoriya's shoulder before separating.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Midoriya tried to play it off like it was nothing. "Ah, while I'm here, I was planning on going to the store soon, is there anything you want? My treat."
"Uhh," Kaminari was about to say that he didn't want anything out of politeness, but Midoriya's stern look told him not to. "Could you get me some McDonalds?"
Asui was snapped out of her thoughts by the word "McDonalds", being thoroughly impressed by Midoriya's counseling. She was about to laugh at Kaminari asking for fast food, but considering how he just poured out his insecurities, she forced herself to maintain her blank stare. Midoriya stood up and smiled at her.
"Hey, wanna come with me?" he grinned. Asui nodded, and they began heading to the staircase to their dorms. On the way, they were met with Bakugou and Sero.
"Watch where you're going, shit face!" Bakugou barked at Midoriya, though not as intensely as usual. "Just because you actually have a chance to become a hero now doesn't mean you get a pass from me!"
"B-but Kacchan, I didn't even touch you," Midoriya protested. Bakugou turned to shout at Midoriya some more, but Sero stood between them and told Bakugou to keep going.
"Don't tell me what to do, you flat face fucker!" he stormed off.
"Ah…" Sero chuckled a bit, "you sure are… interesting."
"O-oh, h-hey Sero?" Midoriya worked up the courage to talk to Sero before he walked away, "y-you're friends with Kaminari, right?"
"Yeah man, he's probably my closest friend here," Sero replied.
"You… you should tell him that. I think he'll appreciate it," Midoriya told him. Sero nodded and went after Bakugou before he did something stupid. Asui and Midoriya smiled at each other before departing at the stairwell.
… … …
"There's a McDonalds on the same street as the grocery store, so we should stop by there on the way back," Midoriya began pathfinding as they left the campus grounds.
"I'm still surprised that he asked for a fast food burger of all things," Asui giggled quietly. "I mean, you're picking up pork cutlets and cereal, those are real foods."
"Heh heh, maybe hamburgers are just his comfort food or something?" Midoriya laughed. He looked over and saw Asui's eyes light up, a rare sight to behold.
"Ribbit, Izuku," she stated very firmly, a complete tone shift from her previous expression.
"Yeah?"
"You need to get Kaminari a happy meal."
"Wh-what?" Midoriya stifled a laugh. Asui couldn't do the same and broke out.
"Haha, come on!" she chuckled, "you know he would like it!"
"…he would like it, wouldn't he?" Midoriya laughed with her. They eventually calmed down before Asui turned to look up at Midoriya.
"You know, ribbit, I'm surprised at how well you handled that situation with Kaminari. You managed to calm him down and quell his insecurity. And now we're off to get him a burger and fries. The old you wouldn't have done any of that."
"Well thank—huh?" Midoriya paused for a moment to process what Asui just said. "What do you mean ' the old me'?"
"Oh you know, the jittery, uncomfortable, sad Izuku who couldn't talk to a statue without apologizing for stuttering. You're a lot more mature and confident since I met you."
Midoriya blushed vibrantly and scratched the back of his neck, looking for some way to occupy his arms, "W-well thanks, that's really nice of you to say…" he wore a silly grin that made Asui very happy.
"Come on," she started walking faster, "you'll revert back if you keep that up! Let's get going!" Midoriya snapped out of his stupor and matched her pace as they approached the supermarket.
… … …
"We're back!" Midoriya called as he and Asui returned to the dorms. They saw Kaminari, Sero, and Bakugou playing Mario Party in the common area. He set down the groceries in his hands and held out a red, smiling box to Kaminari, facing away to hide his grin.
"Here you go, Kaminari!" he forced out, restraining his laughter, "one happy meal!" Sero and Asui immediately broke out laughing as Kaminari took the happy meal.
"Wow, thanks bro!" he smiled gratefully as he dug into the happy meal box. "Wow, they still have the Pokémon toys! That's so cool! Thanks Midoriya!" Asui and Sero started laughing even harder.
"W-well actually, it was Tsuyu's idea," Midoriya turned to Asui, who was holding onto the wall, trying not to fall over laughing. Once she realized that people were watching her, she stopped and froze for a moment before clearing her throat.
"Oh um, yeah, I thought you might like it," she tripped over her words a bit, feeling like a deer in headlights after being caught laughing like she was. Kaminari didn't notice and kept smiling.
"Thanks Asui! That's really thoughtful of you!" Kaminari started digging into his food.
"I-I told you to call me Tsu!" Asui stammered. "Anyway, I need to go now!" she pivoted on a dime and made a break for the stairs. Her startling, sudden action confused everyone, and while Midoriya tried to stop her, he didn't react fast enough.
"I should go see what's up with her," he almost ran away without addressing the three on the couch, and the groceries at his feet. "Uh, can someone put these away? Except for the meats, those go in the fridge. I'll be right back!"
He was stopped yet again, Bakugou's voice cutting through the air, "Hey dork, where's my fucking happy meal?" Midoriya was startled for a moment, but dug into a bag really quickly and tossed him a burger.
"I got you your favorite, no pickles or mustard!" he called over his shoulder as he booked it to the stairwell. Bakugou took the burger and started eating it.
"Damn fucking straight there's no mustard…" he mumbled under his breath as he ate.
… … …
Knock Knock.
Asui turned to her closed door upon hearing the knocking.
"Who is it?" her voice came out a bit drier than she expected.
"Uh, it's Izuku," the sound came through the door muffled.
"No, not Izuku! He's gonna think that I was being weird and judge me for not staying composed and running away! I just want to be alone…" Asui was struggling with her thoughts, but stopped upon hearing her doorknob rattle.
"I'm coming in," he said, swinging the door open. He saw her curled up in her bed, hiding under a blanket. She covered her face with the blanket and hoped that he would leave. "Ok, now you really have to tell me what's wrong."
"Ribbit, I…" Asui struggled to find the right words to describe her problem. Midoriya walked over to her bed and sat next to her, rubbing her back gently.
"It's ok, let's just talk…" he whispered calmly. "You started acting all nervous when everyone saw you laughing, is that why you're here?" She replied with a croak and a nod under the blanket. "Was it your laugh? Because I think you have quite a nice laugh—" he stopped when he heard her stifle a laugh from under the blanket.
"No, it's not my laugh," she shrugged off playfully. The smile that Midoriya assumed was on her face faded into a frown as she lifted the blanket over her head and settled it on her shoulders, sitting up and looking down. "It's… people must think I'm weird now for laughing like that, ribbit. It's so… out of character for me…" her voice grew shaky as she continued. "It's such an irrational thing to be upset about, b-but people have always seen me as the quiet, emotionless frog girl, so to break that so unceremoniously… it feels wrong…" she buried her face in her hands.
"You know," Midoriya began, still rubbing her back, "you're more than just a character, or a facade that you wear. You have a bit more depth than just 'emotionless frog girl', and it's ok for people to see that. I don't think anyone's perception of you has changed that significantly, if anyone even thought to read into it. If anything, I think people see that depth a bit better, and understand that you're a full, complex person and not a stereotype or persona that you've built. You have more qualities than just your quirk and your stoicism, and they're great. You shouldn't be ashamed of yourself. You can't really escape these qualities, so why not embrace them? Make them your own, and maybe people will see you in a better light than they already looked at you in, y'know? I thought your laughing was nice, it's a treat to see you let go sometimes…" Midoriya was staring at the wall as he continued on his speech, and didn't notice Asui break into tears. He finally looked over at her to see her big, watery eyes stare back at him.
"I…" she tried to form some kind of response to him, but eventually gave up and hugged him tightly. "Y-you're right, ribbit… thank you, Izuku…"
He returned the embrace and smiled, "And this is one of those times…"
"Huh?" she looked up at him.
"One of those times where you drop the facade and show your true self. Well, the facade isn't really untrue to you, but… you know. This is the most 'you' that you can be, if that makes sense. And I really like it…" his face was bright red and he tried to sort out what he wanted to say.
Asui wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged him again, "You know, if you weren't going to become a hero, you'd make a phenomenal therapist. Well, at least… you know how to make me feel better, ribbit…" she blushed and pulled away. They shifted the conversation topic away from her to more general chatter before returning downstairs for lunch. Asui apologized for running away and they broke into the foodstuffs that they had bought earlier. The rest off the day passed uneventfully, and after dinner, everyone returned to their dorms, realizing that their first day of class was tomorrow.
… … …
"Ok, All Might!" Midoriya shouted confidently from the moonlit field, "I'm ready! Show me the technique!"
We're finally getting to the classes and that's exciting. Anyway, I've been writing a lot more outside of this story and exploring my style, as well as exploring my and other peoples' emotions and their importances. I think it's really interesting, and I think that it's something not a lot of other people think about. Because of this, I'm planning on working more emotional issues into the story as a means of not only character progression and development, but as a means of sharing emotional troubles I've felt and witnessed in hopes that people who have similar struggles can try to understand themselves better and maybe even find solutions. You might've noticed an increase in these emotional conflicts, since there were three (Midoriya's nightmares, Kaminari's hyperactivity, and Asui's break in character) in this chapter alone, instead of one ever other chapter or something.
Long-winded paragraphs aside, I guess I'm trying to say that if you liked how this chapter was written, expect more like it, and if you didn't, let me know and I'll dial it back or something. I just think that emotional struggles aren't talked about much and I want to spread awareness through the medium of story. It also helps me balance the story so that I can work on character development more and improve that area while not hindering the plot progression either. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I've got some big things behind the curtain for this story, so I hope you stay with me! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, and I hope you have a great day (especially if you bothered to read this)! ^v^
