Chapter 17: First day of school

A/N: OMG, the fic is part of a community! I am so grateful! E joy the chapter

Shouto woke up groggily. They had gone to sleep late last night, courtesy of Natsuo. He was determined to celebrate Endeavour's arrest. Fuyumi had tried to reason that it was impolite but Natsuo had not paid any attention. They had dragged Shouto in it too, telling him that he needed to learn how to have fun. He thought Fuyumi might disapprove but she had also joined them later on. Shoto still had no clue why Endeavour was arrested. He slowly wriggled out from under Natsuo's body and went to the living room to see if the media was saying anything. He comfortably sat down and turned on the TV, his phone in his other hand to see what everyone else was saying. Immediately, Shouto felt as if someone had given him all the Soba he could eat.

Before his eyes, he watched Endeavour get insulted straight to his face by someone his age. And if that was not enough, the guy had done it intentionally judging from the smirk on his face. Natsuo drooped drowsily and came and sat next to him, "Oh, you didn't see this yet, right? This is the best part!" Natsuo grinned, "Fuyumi! See, they are showing it!" Fuyumi entered the room just to see the sprinklers turn on and extinguish Endeavour's fire before another guy electrocuted him to the point he fell unconscious. Natsuo burst out laughing, "God, that's never getting old," Fuyumi was also smiling, albeit under her hand.

Shoto, on the other hand... was puzzled. He couldn't believe two people his age had taken down Endeavour with such little effort. He felt a bit empty in his stomach as he realized that Endeavour would probably take his anger out on him, but inwardly he was thinking whether he should anger him more by saying that it was foolish for him to surpass All Might when two teenagers defeated him. He pondered on it for a while before deciding against it. It wasn't worth it. Natsuo smiled a bit and turned to Shouto, "And Shouto, you get a holiday too! He has to stay in jail as long as we don't secure bail. God, I love the amount of power we have over him right now!"

Shouto nodded. His senses were still a bit numb, almost as if he were in a dream. Nevertheless, he'd embrace this moment, for now.

Tsukauchi's nose wrinkled at the smell of burnt flesh. He had been called early in the morning by the police commissioner because they found a lot of villains planning an attack on the Kaminari residence. However, someone had burnt them all to within an inch of their lives almost as if to say, the longer you live, the more you suffer.

"Any clue on who it could be?" Tsukauchi asked the commissioner. "Nope," He shook his head, "We couldn't question any of them yet since they are all going through treatment but some witnesses say that there were 2 of them. One was using mostly blades while the other was emitting blue flames from his body. We don't have any sketches or anything to go through,"

"Vigilantes?"

"Possibly. However, I am concerned as to why they were adamant about protecting the Kaminaris. Fighting villains is one thing but specifically defending is not something vigilantes really do,"

"We should step up patrols and get them police protection," Tsukauchi offered.

"I already told Sansa to do it," The commissioner replied.

Tsukauchi nodded. He could already sense that these vigilantes would be a pain in the ass. Elsewhere, a loud scream erupted, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN VIGILANTES!?"

"Oh man, this blew up spectacularly," Watanabe laughed as he watched the media report on Endeavour's arrest again. Natsume frowned, "Don't you have to get to school. It's Izuku's first day, he shouldn't be late,"

"He's still getting ready though," Watanabe replied.

"I'm surprised the hero commission hasn't taken this down yet to tried to mitigate the reports on Endeavour's arrest," Ryuzen commented.

"It would just put them in a worse spot. The best thing to do at present is just sitting tight," Inko replied, "Izuku, hurry up, you don't want to be late!"

"Yes, mom!"

"Aunt Inko is coming with us right?" Watanabe asked.

"Yes, since it's Izuku's first day," Natsume replied.

"How come you aren't coming for my first day?" Watanabe 'pouted'.

Natsume leveled him with a glare, "Very funny. Please don't get the principal to call me again on something you did,"

"Hey, half of those meetings end with the principal saying that I was right for what I did!"

"And he also keeps telling you to handle the situations better,"

"Izuku is going to be alright, right?" Inko asked hesitantly. Both Natsume and Ryuzen had assured her that it was a good school but she was getting hesitant now. What if they said the school was good just because Watanabe could survive with his personality. Would Izuku be able to do the same?

Ryuzen noticed Inko's expression and chuckled slightly, "Don't worry," he comforted, "It's not like Watanabe has survived. It's more like everyone else has survived Watanabe. Look at Denki. He's a nice kid and nothing like Watanabe,"

"I'm sitting here you know," Watanabe grinned.

Inko nodded nervously. She looked up at the clock once more, "Izuku, we are really going to be late now!" Inko called out but didn't get any response, "Watanabe, can you please go check on him?"

Watanabe nodded and went to Izuku's room, "Hey, what's taking so lo-" Watanabe stopped short and twitched. Izuku had dressed himself up properly and cleanly but his tie was a mess. Watanabe swallowed as he struggled to keep a straight face, "Need help?" he offered motioning to his own tie. Izuku nodded gloomily. Watanabe quickly fixed up Izuku's tie and picked up his bag, "Let's go then,"

Izuku huffed, "You've got to teach me that later," Watanabe shrugged in response. They exited the room and followed a pacing Inko to the car. Soon they were driving along the road to the school. Watanabe was in high spirits at being able to go to his own school again but Izuku was nervous. As much as he hated to admit it, he had no idea what to expect. He had not really gone to a 'normal' school. Both his junior and middle school involved him being severely bullied. Izuku nervously glanced at Watanabe. He knew that if he voiced his concerns, Watanabe would try to help him but he wasn't sure how to broach the subject, especially in front of his mom. On top of that, he just didn't think Watanabe would understand. As bitter as it sounded, he felt that Watanabe wouldn't really get it. He hadn't been bullied like him for years and years. So, he just kept quiet and dwelled on the future as they drove, Watanabe completely oblivious to Izuku's feelings.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the school. Watanabe immediately rushed out, while Izuku took his time but neither could get far as there was a crowd right outside. Inko grabbed Izuku's hands and tried to see what was going on. Watanabe motioned for Inko to follow him as he pushed through the crowd to see what was going on. He physically facepalmed as he reached the center while Izuku burst out laughing.

Kaminari was in the center signing autographs. He caught sight of his friend and smiled, "Yo, took you guys long enough,"

Watanabe's mouth was still agape. "Seems like you're quite popular," Izuku grinned.

Kaminari nodded enthusiastically, "Yup, tons of people recognized me while coming. They kept asking for pictures and stuff. The police kept them in check though,"

"The police?"

"Yeah, they thought I might be targeted, so they're stepping up patrols where I live. They did it for you guys too,"

"They did?" Watanabe asked Inko who seemed a bit abashed, "Well, yes but I didn't want to tell you in case you guys got scared,"

"Scared? It's fricking awesome!" Watanabe grinned back.

"I see you are here to finish feeding on our souls," Someone deadpanned to Watanabe.

"Oh you know you missed me, Ogawa," Watanabe grinned back. The boy shrugged. "Anyway how come none of you are asking me for autographs," Watanabe pouted.

Ogawa shrugged, "It's you! There's nothing spectacular or surprising about it considering all the other things you do,"

Watanabe pouted and stung his tongue out, "Talk later. Gotta go meet the principal,"

"Already in trouble?" Someone chortled.

"I am not that bad!" Watanabe grinned as he walked away with Izuku. Izuku sweatdropped at the interaction. Could he act so friendly with them? He was in deep thought when he heard someone scream. He looked up and saw a teacher run away. He looked after him puzzled and vaguely heard Watanabe say, "Hi sensei!"

Inko was surprised too and questioned, "What was that about?"

"Oh, it's nothing. He's just pleased to see me," He grinned, "Right here we are," he stopped in front of the principal's office.

Inko nodded and turned towards Izuku, "Ready?" Izuku took a deep breath and nodded. Inko pushed the door open and popped her head in.

"Ah come in, come in! I am Principal Akira," he said as he extended his hand. Inko shook his hand and sat down with Izuku. Watanabe also entered. The principal gave Watanabe a smile, "The teachers will be pleased to have you back,"

"Of course they will! Daisuke-sensei ran screaming in happiness when he saw me,"

The principal laughed, "I'm sure he did. Now Midoriya-san, I am aware of the... situation at Izuku's previous school. I can assure you that is not the case here and bullying will be met with strict punishment. I have placed him with Watanabe in Denki's class so that he can make friends in a more familiar environment. Daisuke-sensei is really nice too,"

Inko was a bit taken aback. The principal had already fixed up everything for Izuku and solved her concerns even before she voiced them. Inko smiled and nodded, "Excellent. I will be going then,"

"No questions?"

"No, it seems you have already fixed everything. Please do keep an eye on Izuku though,"

"Of course! Not that he needs it considering he has Watanabe as his brother,"

"I take offense at that!"

"You can't take offense at the truth!" The principal huffed, a slight teasing smile on his face.

"Good luck Izuku," Inko said to Izuku with a smile and left.

"Come on, we are going to be late!" Watanabe said and motioned for Izuku to follow. Soon Watanabe and Izuku reached the classroom. Watanabe slid the door open, "Oh good, sensei isn't here yet," Watanabe smiled. He went and sat behind Kaminari who was waving at them. Watanabe motioned for Izuku to sit beside Kaminari, not wanting to put him in an uncomfortable situation by making him sit next to a stranger.

"Who's the new guy?" the boy sitting next to Watanabe asked. Watanabe smiled a bit. Daisuke-sensei would take some time to come, he could have some fun till then, "He's my brother, Midoriya Izuku!" he loudly exclaimed for everyone to hear. Immediately Kaminari facepalmed, already knowing the reactions.

The classroom sat in silence for a while before someone exclaimed, "There's two of you!?"

"Izuku's not going to beat anyone up," Watanabe waved his hand.

"That's not the point. Those guys deserve it. It's more to do with you whispering ways to murder us and pulling all sorts of chaotic shit. Like, who asks the PE teacher for more pushups?"

"I didn't do so much chaotic things,"

"Really?" Someone else deadpanned, "You could have just reported Aki sensei for misbehavior but no. You had to dig up everything about her life, blackmail her and then report her, all the while telling everyone what you found out,"

"That's just one thing!"

"Oh, you want us to list?"

Watanabe grumbled, "Fine. But Izuku's not like me. Be nice to him,"

"Why would we not be nice?"

"Cuz he's quirkless,"

Izuku drooped a bit at that. Denki really wanted to smack Watanabe for being so insensitive but he knew it was better to get it over with and for Watanabe to say it since people were a bit terrified of him. The class was in silence for a bit but eventually, they burst out laughing, "So what? Being quirkless has nothing to do with anything."

Izuku exhaled slightly, they weren't mad. While that made him happy, he didn't understand why they were not mad. Didn't they think he was useless?"

"Wait, is that why you guys sued Aldera?" Ogawa offered, "They bullied Midoriya for being quirkless!?" he asked astonished.

Watanabe didn't reply and instead looked towards Izuku who nodded without looking at anyone. Immediately, the temperature of the classroom seemed to fall. No words were spoken but the silence spoke for itself. "What did they," Someone started to ask when Denki put his hand up. He shook his head. The boy shut up. After a while, the usual chatter began and a few students came by to talk to Izuku and get introduced. Watanabe smiled, unorthodox as it was, it had worked. It was bound to be pulled up sooner or later. At least now Izuku could make friends without the burden of what they would think. He knew that the school did still have some bullies who might try to hurt Izuku. He pinpointed the ones in his classroom. Sure enough, they were talking to each other with a sneer and kept glancing at Izuku. But one glare from Watanabe was enough for them to disperse and act normal. They even smiled at him.

Watanabe sighed, he had two options, always keep Izuku in his sight and terrify the bullies so they wouldn't do anything or 'slip up' and allow them to try and bully him so that he had an excuse to retaliate and have them expelled. He twirled a pencil in his hand as he weighed up the options. Daisuke entered soon after that. The chatter of the class drowned away. Daisuke silently glowered behind the desk. "Good Morning," he said in a low voice.

The students replied. "Why are you so tired today sensei?" Ogawa asked.

Daisuke moved his head towards Watanabe, "You would be too if Watanabe was in your class,"

The others snickered at that while Watanabe pouted, "I act properly in class sensei! It's only in between classes that I do anything,"

Daisuke sighed, "That's not the point. I'd have no problem teaching you. You're a good student. The problem is I'm your homeroom teacher so all the other teachers are going to keep pestering me over what you did,"

"Buuuut, you get compliments on the good stuff I did too!"

Daisuke just gave him a blank stare, "Not worth it. You're too troublesome,"

"Ah but sensei, didn't you and the other teachers tell us about how you missed Watanabe and things were so quiet and depressing without him," Someone chortled from the back of the class. Daisuke turned red, "That, I, we, I mean," Daisuke stuttered.

"Awww, you guys do care, sensei!" Watanabe teased. Daisuke grumbled under his breath, "I told those guys, he'd figure out and hold it on us," Raising his voice now, "Anyway, Jirobo sensei demanded I let him see you. He probably missed you the most,"

On cue, Jirobo entered. He was a bulky muscular man. His clothes immediately gave off the fact that he was the PE teacher, "Ah Watanabe! Glad to see you are back! These guys have been slacking off without you!" he addressed Watanabe like he was an old friend. Some of the students grumbled at that.

"And the way you handled Aldera. I'm proud of you!"

"We aren't really supposed to condone violence, Jirobo," Daisuke addressed his coworker.

"Huh? You were the one who-,"

"Ah! It's time to start class. Watanabe can talk to you during PE," Daisuke hastily intervened.

Jirobo gave a raspy laugh and turned to leave but not before giving his favorite student a knowing wink. Watanabe grinned back in reply. After Jirobo left, Daisuke asked, "Now we have a new student today. Please introduce yourself, your name hobbies, etc."

Izuku gulped and stood up. Nervously he started, "H-hi, my name is Midoriya Izuku. I am Watanabe's brother," At this, Daisuke seemed to stumble but stopped himself from falling although he did seem to mutter, "The principal wasn't kidding!" Izuku pretended to not hear him and continued, "I like analyzing other people's quirks. I do not have a quirk. However, I still wish to become a pro-hero!" Izuku said determinedly. There were a few snickers at that but Daisuke gave them a strong glare shutting them up.

"An admirable goal Midoriya," Daisuke commented. "Here it comes," Izuku thought bracing himself, sure that he'd tell him to give up, "I have no doubt you will succeed and will try my best to help you," Daisuke finished with a smile.

"That was unexpected," Izuku thought to himself. His mind was racing, wasn't he supposed to disagree, tell him it was useless, that he was useless? Was this just an exception or were teachers actually supposed to be like this?

"However, I should add one thing," Daisuke said jolting Izuku back to reality. With a serious expression, he locked eyes with Izuku before asking in a begging tone, "Please don't become like Watanabe! One's enough!"

Izuku blinked for a few moments before laughing, "No problem Daisuke-sensei. Unlike him, I have manners!"

The class laughed as did Daisuke, "Good to know," he gave a look around the class to monitor what people thought of Midoriya. He was pleased to see most didn't care about his quirk status. Some seemed to have already made friends with him. He smiled, he did notice one group sneering, but he'd have to deal with that later, "Alright, we have wasted enough time already, so let's dive into the books..."

"So, how are you liking the classes so far?" Denki asked Izuku who smiled, "It was really nice. All the teachers are so helpful and kind! And people actually want to be friends with me!" Izuku said enthusiastically like a little kid who had just made his first friend. Denki smiled in return. He was happy for his friend but a bit sad that Izuku had to put up with abuse all these years. The marks wouldn't easily vanish.

"Why did Watanabe tell he'll be late?"

"Huh?" Denki said jolting out of his thoughts, "Oh, he likes to talk with Jirobo-sensei about body fitness and new combat moves and stuff like that. Sensei used to be in the military so he knows how to fight and is keen to teach. Most people don't though cuz he's a bit too harsh," Denki explained, "You go grab a table, I have to go to the washroom,"

Izuku nodded. As Denki disappeared, Izuku sort of stood like a statue. It was the first time today that he had been without Kaminari or Watanabe by his side. Unbeknownst to him, Daisuke was watching him with intrigue. He probably should help him but he knew that Izuku wouldn't learn any social skills like that, so instead, he waited to see what would happen. Soon enough, Ogawa started waving at Izuku. Izuku stared at him a few times, looking back to check whether he was beckoning to him. Still unbelieving, he pointed at himself with uncertainty. Ogawa laughed and nodded vigorously. Izuku stumbled a bit as he walked to Ogawa and plopped himself down next to him. He tried to think what to say but couldn't come with anything, instead he turned red.

Ogawa laughed, but not in a taunting way, "It's ok, we don't bite, haha. This is Shisui and Surume," Ogawa introduced.

"H-hi," Izuku said quietly.

"Nice to meet you," Shisui said enthusiastically while Surume gave a lazy nod to acknowledge his presence, "Don't mind him. He's like that with everyone," Shisui grinned.

"O-oh," Izuku said simply. He had no clue what to say really.

Ogawa shook his head slightly, "Look, I know your previous school wasn't that good but really, you can ask us anything, we won't mind. Surume, get out of your stupor already!" Surume grunted but seemed to sit up straighter although his head still drooped while Shisui's grin grew much wider.

"Um, ok," Izuku said offhandedly, "Um, are you guys friends with Watanabe?"

Ogawa laughed, "That's your question? Well anyway, yeah we are good friends with him. Not his best friends though, that's Denki and I guess you. Truth be told, he's friends with pretty much everyone here. God knows how he keeps track of everyone and their interests and dislikes,"

"So, you guys are not special to him?" Izuku asked.

Surume sighed, "You really should learn how to ask people things without offending them first,"

"Surume, that's rude. He probably didn't know that," Shisui replied. Izuku felt a bit embarrassed and apologized, "S-sorry," he mumbled. Shisui huffed, "Now look what you did, he was opening up," he grilled Surume who just leaned away from his friend's jabbing. Finally, Shisui turned to Izuku, "But to answer your question, we are pretty good friends. Just not his best friends. It's... hard to explain. Let's just say we get along really well, well enough to have spent the night at each other's house,"

"Oh," Izuku said. He was a bit hesitant to ask any more questions but luckily they started asking more about him now and soon he was having a nice discussion on which heroes were cool. However, the happiness didn't last long enough, "Oh, look. The quirkless idiot's trying to socialize. I bet they're just sorry for him," A boy said to his lackey. Izuku froze, all of his bad memories at Aldera seemed to rush in his mind. Ogawa scowled, "Get lost Koten!"

"Oh, what are you going to do Ogawa? Upset cuz your sister's quirkless too?" He insulted.

Ogawa turned red and stood up but Shisui held him down. Surprisingly Surume came to his defense, "So what if he's quirkless!? He's twice as intelligent as you anyways. UA would rather accept him probably,"

"HUH! What did you say?" Koten shouted and aimed a punch at Surume. Izuku's eyes widened. He lunged forward to take the hit instead. He braced himself with his eyes tightly shut but the blow never came. Instead, he heard a loud crack and two thumps before silence. He opened his eyes to see Watanabe glaring down at Koten, his arm in a twisted position in Watanabe's hand while his head was being pulled the opposite way. The boy's two lackeys stood in fear and edged away. Daisuke sighed and came out of the corner, he should have stopped it much earlier but he wanted to see what Koten would do. Bad idea. If he had seen Watanabe coming, he'd have stopped it earlier.

"Watanabe," Daisuke said warningly. Watanabe let go of Koten who slammed into the ground and started groaning from the pain. "Koten come with me. We're going to the nurse's office and then the principal's office. Watanabe and you two," Daisuke gave them a pointed stare, "A warning. While you were right, Watanabe, you did take things too far by breaking his arm. Detention for all three of you today after class,"

Watanabe nodded grimly as Daisuke took Koten away. Surume stared at Izuku for a while, "Thanks for trying to save me from the punch,"

"W-welcome. And the stuff you said about me,"

"Don't tell anyone I said that," Surume said.

"Oho, he wants to maintain his 'hip' attitude," Ogawa grinned.

"Come on Wata, lighten up already. You got the guy," Shisui said. Watanabe blinked at him a few times before smiling sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry I got caught up. Pass me the sauce," Watanabe said. The usual chatter slowly broke out again. Clearly, this had happened before, if people's uncaring attitude said anything. Soon Denki came back and took a seat, "You know, I just went for 10 minutes. And by the time I came out of the washroom, I saw Koten howling in the nurse's office. Care to explain?"

Shisui told him the entire thing, even Surume defending Izuku which earned Shisui a pointed glare. At the last Denki shook his head, "Care to tell me what happens when you do this in a hero school?"

"Depends on if the teachers are good or not," Watanabe shrugged as he ate his lunch.

Natsume stood outside the school gates. She saw Watanabe coming and as soon as he was in reach, she pulled his ears, "The first day! And you already start a fight!"

"Ow ow! They were hurting Izuku!" Watanabe argued.

"I am not angry about that! Why did you go and break his arm!? How did you even not get detention!?"

"I did, I told sensei I'll do it tomorrow,"

Natsume huffed and let him go, "Come on Izuku, let's go. Inko will be wanting to hear about your first day. Denki, you got the photos?"

Denki smirked, "Yup. I'm selling these to everyone," he laughed. He had taken pictures of Natsume pulling Watanabe's ears. Watanabe grumbled and stuck out his tongue at his best friend before following Izuku into the car.

A/N: Another update will be up during the weekend. I expect 2 more chapters to be enough to cover the rest before UA entrance exam. Please leave a review and a favorite and follow