2/2/2021: new cover art made by Soma! Be sure to say thanks if you're in the discord.
See end of chapter for major chapter triggers. Thanks to those of you who are sticking around. :)
CHAPTER 6: Unclogging Drains
Izuku had enough time to swing by a twenty-four hour convenience store to pick up breakfast on the way.
Shigaraki's threats kept circulating in his brain. As someone with anidiotropia Izuku'd gotten comfortable with the fact that he wouldn't live for very long so he wasn't afraid to die. He and his mom had cherished their first ten years together knowing that his time was limited. She'd never complained about the hospital visits and went with him to every single appointment, even when she didn't have to because dad was there.
Dad was the reason Izuku had learned to speak English alongside Japanese, as he worked in the US. He and Mom were both Japanese people and Izuku wasn't sure where in his family history the American genetics came in – if they were on his mom or his dad's side – but it didn't really matter to him. When Izuku was nine, Dad died in a tragic shipwreck. It had apparently been a freak accident that'd caused the boat to capsize, an issue with the bilge pump or something. The hull had filled with water in the middle of the night and there hadn't been enough time to so much as launch the lifeboats before it sank. Everyone aboard died.
Perusing the aisles of the store for something with low sodium concentrations to eat, Izuku hummed the little sea shanty his father had taught him so long ago. It was the first English song he'd ever learned, a lullaby from when he was a baby that was unique to the Midoriya family.
I need to make up for what I didn't eat yesterday, he thought and picked up a bag of dried fruit, some roasted walnuts, and an onigiri that he would eat on the way. He grabbed something for Iida too. Before he could think twice about it, the orphan wandered into the magazine section, hoping for a new hero issue. Instead, his eyes fell upon the front cover of a parenting periodical. Air seemed to fill his head and he grabbed it off the shelf without thought, flipping through it mindlessly.
Mom had starting acting differently after dad died. She'd had less time for Izuku, stopped taking him to his doctor appointments, and started adding strange herbs to their meals.
Even as an anidiotropic he had been a remarkably healthy kid. Obviously, he was still anidiotropic and there wasn't a cure for that so he'd received regular treatment from a specialist up until a few months prior to Dad's death, when his mom stopped taking him. In the months leading up to his tenth birthday she'd been more skittish than before, almost overprotective of Izuku, and was often up late at night talking to someone on the phone. Even so, his mom had been his whole world and he would have done anything just to make her smile. Shortly after his birthday he'd come home and found her hanging there in the foyer, body blue and lifeless.
Blinking the image away, Izuku smoothed down the cover of the magazine and put it back, deciding he would look for the next periodical of Rising Heroes: Japan later.
On his way to checkout, however, something caught his eye.
JQANON; THE MYSTERY ONLINE QUIRK ANALYST JOINS THE RANKS AS ONE OF JAPAN'S TOP 20 ANALYSTS. (BEGINS PAGE 17)
He added the magazine to his basket and bought his items, pretending not to notice when the cashier saw the big, color coded 'QUIRKLESS' tag on his ID and raised the prices with a disgusted glare. He paid and left without a word exchanged. That was Izuku's normal more and more often these days– it's just how things were when a political figurehead encouraged prejudicial segregation. Fighting such things only proved the stereotypes right.
The therapist Izuku'd been assigned to after mom died had told him everything one needed to know about suicide, all while assuring him that it wasn't his fault.
But nothing she'd told him had ever made the guilt go away.
Finishing college, the one thing Mom had nearly begged him to do, was all he had left of her. He wanted to make her happy again, to make her proud. Because no matter what anyone said, Izuku should've given her something worth staying for.
In the gutters of Izuku's own life, where a festering potjie of all the horrible things that had happened to him backed up his mental sewars, he'd learned that one good thing could unclog an entire network of other people's sewers. Little by little, his small acts of kindness helped to unclog his own, too.
The world was filled with capable people who spent their whole lives watching the little things pass by, never doing anything – maybe not even noticing them. Izuku couldn't protect people from falling buildings or fire balls but he could help someone's grandmother with her groceries, teach Bunko-kun how to read, and help a friend learn to grieve.
Life was worth living if it meant he could make someone else's a little better.
Izuku didn't really expect Iida to show up, though he knew his message had been read. He waited anyway, shoulder against the wall of the corner store, trying not to lose track of time and keep his eyes focused on something. He would have been on his phone but the battery was almost dead and he didn't have his portable charger. Izuku counted seconds and watched the gulls to keep himself grounded. The sky was steadily getting brighter.
Hardly three minutes went by before the sound of approaching footsteps caught Izuku's attention and he looked over his shoulder. "Good morning, Iida-kun," he smiled.
"Good morning, Midoriya-kun," he replied. He didn't smile back.
Iida Tenya had counted on his big brother to always be there but hadn't noticed how much he needed him until he was gone.
People kept reminding him that Tensei wasn't dead, he was just paraplegic. It was like they thought his brother's hopes and dreams and all the effort he put into his future meant nothing. Tensei was alive, yes, but it wasn't the same.
Tensei wasn't the same.
Ingenium was dead and Tenya couldn't reach Tensei anymore.
No-one could.
And the only thing anyone could tell either of them was that it would get better. The sympathy in the eyes of those around Tenya angered him like nothing ever had. He caught himself wondering more than once if this was what Bakugou-kun felt like.
When Midoriya-kun looked at him that morning, though, it wasn't with sympathy. The sadness in his eyes almost looked half-mutual. Knowing what he did about Midoriya-kun's interests, that irritated him just as much. Fanboys like him disgusted Tenya at times, so engrossed with their obsessions that they couldn't see the line anymore and acted like they had the right to pretend their loss was the same as the families heroes left behind.
"Well, let's go then," Midoriya said and started walking.
Midoriya was usually a mess, in Tenya's opinion. He was always sporting a new wound, his face was always pale, gaze always a little haunted. His stutter made his speech messy and difficult to understand. Tenya wasn't in the mood for it, but he was training to be a hero and he couldn't let someone like Midoriya wander around alone at night.
"Do you often go for walks at night like this?" Tenya asked, eyeing the state of his clothes and the stiff way he held his left arm, the dark bruise on his jaw and the bandage on his nose. From the state of it, it looked like Midoriya hadn't bothered to change out of his uniform after school yesterday.
"Not as often as I used to," Midoriya answered vaguely. His voice was quiet, much more respectful of the hour than Tenya's. "How have classes been?"
"The same."
Neither spoke until they arrived at a beach. The sign they passed said it was Takoba Municipal Beach Park. Tenya had heard a while back that someone had cleaned it but hadn't visited. Sand wasn't particularly great for his thrusters.
It was low tide as they stepped off the road. Midoriya surprised him by walking away from the viewing pier and gazebo he'd seen.
"I used to live in this area," he said, "the gazebo is a nice place to watch the sunrise but now that the beach is clean more people are probably using it. As a former resident I know of a nicer spot, anyway." Midoriya reached down and picked up an empty bottle with a resigned sigh. "Mostly clean," he amended.
"How long will this take?" Tenya asked, eying the brightening horizon. He looked back when Midoriya didn't respond only to find he had kept walking. Frowning, Tenya hurried after him. Deciding to just check his phone, he hardly noticed when they reached the end of the beach and Midoriya kept walking.
"Iida-kun?"
Tenya looked up. The much shorter boy had begun to pick his way across a wide bed of barnacle covered rocks. "Midoriya-kun, I must ask you where you intend to go. I'm not here to sightsee with you and it isn't safe to– Midoriya-kun, please wait!"
Midoriya went back to navigating the sharp and slippery rocks as Tenya spoke, disappearing behind the outcropping that marked the end of the beach. Irritated, he chased after him, noting that he couldn't use his quirk to make his pace faster. When he rounded the bend he found Midoriya sitting inside a hidden sea cave, waiting for him.
Neither said anything until Tenya was standing over him, angry and exhausted.
"That was very dangerous! These barnacles are sharp and it's still dark out! You could have slipped and sliced your leg open, you idiot! This is exactly why I didn't want to leave you alone. You're more trouble than anyone I've ever known!" Once he'd started, Tenya couldn't stop. As his distressed snowballed he stopped thinking about Midoriya and started thinking about someone else. "How could you be so selfish? Your family worked hard to raise you and yet you purposely put yourself in harms way! Why are you always so careless? You're practically quirkless now!" Iida was so caught up in his lecture he didn't see Midoriya flinch. "Your life is valuable! Think about how others would feel if you died! Don't you know there are people–!" he gasped, warm tears rolling down his cheeks. His throat constricted, a vice tightening around the words he struggled to say, "don't you know that I'd miss you?!"
As soon as he realized he wasn't talking about Midoriya the tears knocked him down to his knees, choking on his words, "I'm sorry, please forgive me–" He cried loudly, ugly sobs wrenching their way out of him like his body was rejecting something foreign.
"Iida-kun," Midoriya's voice was soft and somehow incredibly soothing. A handkerchief was pressed into Tenya's palm a minute later so he wouldn't have to search through the smudges on his glasses for it. He used it gratefully and when the tears dried and he could finally see again he looked for Midoriya. Thankfully, he wasn't far away, appearing to have kept himself close enough to touch if Tenya had needed to reach for him.
Tenya could see something different in his friend now that the sky had grown brighter but it wasn't the tears in Midoriya's eyes or the smile on his face. He'd never seen it before so he couldn't quite pin down what it was, only what it wasn't.
The younger student's grin was soft as he patted the sand beside him in an open invitation that Tenya wasn't sure he deserved. The way he'd treated Midoriya was quickly catching up to him. Shame and self-loathing curled around in the back of his throat. How could this person still want to be friends with him?
"You're allowed to be sad, Iida-kun," Midoriya said knowingly, "you're allowed to be angry. Your brother's life has suddenly changed so dramatically and you want to help him but you don't know how and that's ok." It occurred to Tenya just how wise his friend could be.
"I can't give you your brother's career back and I can't force you to-to sit here. But I can be here with you so that you're not alone." As he spoke he unzipped his backpack and took out a can of green tea. A gentle breeze fluttered into the cave, tassels of knotweed and blooming wisteria swaying freely around it's rocky lips. The sweet scent helped ease the ache in Tenya's chest but not so much as the look on Midoriya's face when he held out the can and said with a smile as warm as the sunrise, "it's not ok now, but it will be again someday, Iida-kun. In the meantime, I'll be here to keep you company so long as you need me."
Tenya accepted the tea, wiping his eyes again. He sat down next to his friend and together they watched the sun peak over the horizon.
There was a strange peace in this little cave that made it seem detached from the rest of the world, hidden from all of life's problems. He felt untouchable here, safe and protected. It made sense that Midoriya would go to a place like this.
"Midoriya-kun," he began eventually and looked down at the drink in his hands, "how can you be nice to me? I'm ashamed. I would understand if you hated me now. So why don't you?"
"Do you think you should be punished for grieving?" the freckled student asked and Tenya frowned, hands tightening around the tea.
"Grief doesn't make my treatment of you excusable. I'm clearly not as good as you are at conversations like these but, you always look so lonely. You've gotten a little better since Tsuyu joined our weekly get togethers but some days its like nothing can touch you. When that happens it's like you've gone somewhere none of us can follow. If you can look like that and still smile, then I should be able to handle myself without lashing out."
The sun had fully crested the horizon now and was rising quickly. Midoriya took so long to respond Iida felt compelled to check on him. The light brought out the other boy's olive skin tone and darkened his freckles, lifting the green of his irises in an otherwise vacant gaze.
"When I was eight my d-dad died in a shipwreck," Midoriya said before Tenya could say anything else. "And my mom killed herself just after my tenth birthday." The bespectacled UA student gaped at him. His stomach dropped and a burning chill raced down from his scalp to his toes. Thankfully Midoriya didn't try to smile when their eyes met. "I know grief intimately, Iida-kun. I had to learn how to cope with my hurt and I did."
"How do you do it?" Tenya heard himself rasp, stunned. "How do you cope so well after all that, Midoriya?"
"By doing something for someone else, even if people think it's useless. Most especially because people think it's useless. Saving lives is easy, Iida-kun. What's hard is making them worth living."
All Izuku could think about after parting ways with Iida that morning was how someone had to stop Stain from hurting more people and how Izuku needed to make sure it wasn't Iida who tried.
If that meant he would have to fight the Hero Killer by himself, then so be it.
[INPUT NO. 811315/TRANSCRIPT OF ABEGAWA NEWS STATION BROADCAST ON THE QUIRKLESS SUICIDE CLUB'S UNETHICAL PROTESTS/ MON. MAY XX, 2XXX, AT 1827 JST]
ANCHOR: A quirkless suicide club, with purportedly as many as 200 organized members, have started protesting the Prime Minister's allegedly anti-quirkless order by – you guessed it – killing themselves en masse.
[SOFT LAUGHTER]
ANCHOR: You people are so horrible, really, think a little bit– don't be so disrespectful. I'm sure they have excellent reasons that have nothing to do with the discontinuation of their favorite yogurt.
[ANCHOR SOUNDS AMUSED]
[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]
[ANCHOR GESTURES FOR SILENCE]
[ANCHOR CONTINUES]
ANCHOR: Last Monday, fifty-four teenage girls claiming to be quirkless committed suicide by jumping in front of an oncoming train. Now, I want to–
[BOOING]
ANCHOR: –Yes, I know, I know it's such a tragedy– I want to express my condolences to their families and loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you all. It's such a tragedy– what a horrible thing to happen, truly– But I can't be the only one thinking they're doing Yoshihide-sama's job for him, right?
[CHEERING]
Aizawa sighed and sat back, too angry to continue reading. It disgusted him that such suicide baiting was not only scripted and sanctioned by the Abegawa director, but that it took over a dozen lawsuits just to get a written apology for it. Two decades ago and this behavior would have never been broadcast, let alone broadcast live.
With no further leads, the search for the hero who had warned them of the USJ attack had been put on hold, pending dismissal by the hero committee. The running theory was that whoever had left them that warning had likely done so at the cost of their own life, hence the silence from their end. It was strange, however, that no-one could find any records permitting anyone to infiltrate such a high-ranking group of villains.
What had Aizawa's attention now was Midoriya. He hadn't seen the kid in almost five days, barely able to confirm the boy ever made it home. And last night Midoriya hadn't. Shota had even picked the surprisingly sophisticated lock on his door to check.
Something had happened.
Something had been happening, likely, ever since the night he first met the child and thought he was just another potential suicide victim. And whatever it was, it was getting worse.
Looking over the transcript with a frown and a worrisome sense of foreboding Shota resolved to find and talk to the kid properly tonight.
[Qᴀ ᴀᴘᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ #83963]
[9:23:37 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: To summarize, your quirk works as follows:
1. Cannot be used on more than 1 person simultaneously but you can control more than 1 person. You're not sure where the number of people controlled maxes out but the greatest number you've ever controlled before was during the second half of the sports festival, which was around 6.
2. Target must give you a verbal response for your quirk to be activated and you have to be able to concentrate on it, thereby putting you at a disadvantage in heavy/large scale firefights or against mutes.
3. Once activated, you can "control" select instructions from the frontal lobe of the brain easily but your directions/orders cannot involve the use of more complex brain activity like talking. *Very interesting!
4. Targets can break out of the quirk with either intense internal stimuli or deliberate external stimuli. An example of each might be; a startle response invoking fight or flight, and, physical pain.
[9:28:13 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: Does that sound right to you?
[9:28:22 JST] PurpleFoxer60: Yeah that's everything
[9:28:27 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: Based on this I think we can conclude that while your quirk isn't particularly flexible and therefore doesn't adapt well to new situations on its own, it still has tremendous potential.
[9:28:45 JST] PurpleFoxer60: gee thanks that's so helpful :/
[9:28:47 JST] PurpleFoxer60: I haven't heard THAT before
[9:28:47 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: f
[9:28:49 JST] PurpleFoxer60: did you just–
[9:28:49 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: moving on.
[9:28:54 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: What sort of support items do you have?
[9:28:55 JST] PurpleFoxer60: none
[9:28:58 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: …I need you to start taking this seriously.
[9:29:00 JST] PurpleFoxer60: I'm paying and I'm being serious. My quirk doesn't need a lot of support. It's troublesome.
QuirkAnalystmain is typing...
...
QuirkAnalystmain is typing...
...
[9:30:34 JST] PurpleFoxer60: ?
[9:31:29 JST] PurpleFoxer60: I really don't need any.
QuirkAnalystmain is typing...
QuirkAnalystmain is typing...
QuirkAnalystmain is typing...
[9:42:48 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: If you were one of my normal buyers I might've added a tolerance tax to the final price just for that.
[9:42:50 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: I'm going to include some suggestions for support gear in your finalized analysis at no extra charge.
PurpleFoxer60 is typing...
[9:43:01 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: No complaining.
[9:43:15 JST] PurpleFoxer60: fine
[9:43:20 JST] QuirkAnalystmain: I should have everything ready for you by Tuesday, if all goes according to plan. Let me know if you have any questions before then regarding payment, terms of agreement, etc.
[9:43:22 JST] PurpleFoxer60: ok
'All Might disappears from Sports Festival during the ending ceremony! Medals were scripted to be awarded by the number one hero before an urgent matter pulled him away on Friday. Japan's Symbol of Peace is–'
"Deku-kun!"
Izuku looked up from his phone to greet his friends with a smile and a somewhat stiff wave. The tendonitis he got for saving that girl earlier this week was more prominent in his aching scars today, foretelling the rainstorm that was to come soon. He absently rubbed at the old burn on his trembling upper arm.
The sight of Todoroki-kun walking behind Uraraka and Tsuyu made him pause only a moment before he rushed to put his phone back in his backpack. He hadn't been sure what to expect when they'd asked him if it was ok to bring a new person to today's meet but it wasn't this.
"Todoroki-kun?" he asked, climbing nimbly off the rock.
"Ah. It's you." In his own way, Todoroki seemed surprised to see him too.
"You two know each other?" Uraraka looked between the two, noting the familiarity.
Tsuyu put a finger to her lip thoughtfully, "so that's why you wanted to come with us today Todoroki-chan."
"Oh! N-no, no, no we just met by ch-chance once! That-that's all!" Izuku explained frantically, waving his hands around. He didn't think the other boy would want to talk about it.
"It's true," Todoroki nodded but his eyes never strayed from Izuku's face. More specifically, they never strayed from the ugly bruise on his jaw. The older boy's expression was nerve-wracking with just how closed off it seemed in daylight. Izuku bit down on the instinctive urge to ask if he was alright, to look him over for wounds like his own. "It is nice to meet you, Deku. I am Todoroki Shouto," Todoroki said formally with a small incline of his head.
"A-Ah! Ye-yes!" Izuku awkwardly bowed back, blushing at the reminder that he hadn't properly introduced himself. "I'm Midoriya Izuku but you can keep calling me Deku if you want. Are you here because you're having trouble with your quirk?"
"I am."
"Alright!" Uraraka cheered, "just wait till you see how much I've improved, Deku-kun! I can hold my quirk for almost ten minutes now."
Izuku looked at her and felt like he'd missed something. "You're g-going to use your quirk?"
"You didn't see the news, kero?" Tsuyu asked and pulled out her phone while Todoroki and Uraraka put down their bags.
Izuku's hope that they'd received special permission to use their quirks due to the upcoming internships crashed with the news headline Tsuyu showed him.
YOSHIHIDE ABE PROPOSES NEW BILL ALLOWING HERO STUDENTS THE RIGHT TO PRACTICE THEIR QUIRKS FREELY OUTSIDE OF CAMPUS HOURS.
"We were late because people were protesting, kero."
He gave the phone back and pursed his lips together nervously. That would explain the chaos on the train today. He'd assumed it had more to do with police inaction regarding the recent string of quirkless suicides.
Izuku tended to keep an eye out for anti-quirkless rights protests more than he did anything else. Usually, especially as of late, there wasn't anything else. But he'd been so focused on his conversations with Iida and Shinsou-kun he'd barely paid any attention.
It didn't help that he was going almost thirty-six hours plus without sleep and–
"Oh, do you guys mind if I eat while we work?"
Uraraka blinked at him, a bento already in her hands. She cocked her head and smiled fondly, dimples filling out, "you don't have to ask, silly!"
Izuku blushed and ducked his head, "r-right." It was difficult to focus from then on, caught up as he was in his concerns about the riot. It felt as though he was the only one in their group who understood the danger but he was adamant that no-one use their quirk today.
In the past, practice had been more about their quirk factors with only small exceptions. While the law tended to be pretty forgiving of public quirk use so long as there wasn't a lot of damage, UA's policies were very strict – particularly for the hero students.
He did his best to help them. Todoroki-kun wanted to practice his flames but was struggling with the fine control and didn't have a lot of opportunity to practice them at school yet. Without an external fire source it would be difficult to test his quirk factor today and so they'd need to wait for next time. Uraraka was still trying to push the duration she could use her quirk for so he recommended goggles or ear aides that could help her brain tolerate equilibrium changes.
A group of people carrying signs with quirkist messages scrawled across them passed by at the top of the hill, ending the quirk factor practice and moving them all on to homework.
Izuku was helping Todoroki with a particularly difficult math problem when he started nodding off. The sun chased away the strange, ever present chill that lingered in his bones these days, added with the soft warmth against his cheek, the buzzing cicadas, and the good meal in his stomach, it all came together to be so soporific that he fell asleep without meaning to. Quiet conversation floated around him ineffectually as he transitioned from sleeping to dozing to sleeping again.
"–kun?"
A shuffling noise.
"–ooks like he– … –asleep."
"Todoroki– you ok?"
"I'm fine– ith it."
Eyes were watching him.
Hairs on the back of his neck rose.
The surface against his cheek moved.
He should react.
"– ied about him, too."
But he was so, so tired.
"I've never seen– konked out–"
Papers being set aside.
"–clothes– …not really– … –ent for summer…"
The heat was pressing in.
"–paler lately–"
Surrounded.
"–bruises? Do you– … –ink its– than bullies?"
He felt surrounded.
"–hiding something…"
Something started to slide Izuku's sleeve up, exposing the gauze-made compression sleeve on his bad arm and making his old burn scar sing. He wasn't awake when he reacted, not even when his eyes opened, body moving too fast for his muddled mind to keep up with. Distantly, he heard a shout of alarm, felt his knees dig into something soft and uneven, and his fist grab someone's wrist, yanking their whole arm down and back in a way that was sure to dislocate their shoulder before they could lock it. A band wrapped around his midriff and yanked him off when the surface beneath him began to roll.
The rapid changes in position and the belt of pressure around his midriff made his ears ring and his vision swim. When he hit the ground his diaphragm spasmed, stomach lurching as he twisted onto his side and started coughing. The beating of his palpating heart against his chest coupled with the clenching of his stomach made him so nauseous he started salivating and sweating.
Hands patted his back and gently pulled his hair out of his face. People were – his friends, he realized – trying to talk to him.
"Deku-kun! Deku-kun, can you hear me? What's wrong, what happened?!"
"I'm sorry for pulling you with my tongue so hard, Midori-chan, are you ok?"
Izuku felt their concern and distress like a hand on the back of his neck and shuddered with the primal need to shake it off. He wanted to assure them he was fine but he couldn't get enough air in his lungs to do so.
"Midoriya," a smooth voice slipped through the chaos in his head, comfortingly calm, "I'll help you sit." Todoroki-kun grabbed Izuku with hesitant hands and eased him upright. In the background he could hear Tsuyu reasoning with Uraraka, who had offered to use her quirk.
The analyst didn't need much help once Todoroki got him going and situated himself into a seated recovery position with his head bent forward between his knees. Thankfully, it didn't take him long before he was well enough to relax and look up, rubbing at his chest to sooth his racing heart. There were scuff marks in the grass, a few papers scattered, and a green smear along the side of his shoe. Mentally measuring the distance he found they'd moved roughly fifteen yards away from where they'd started. A row of ice spread in an arc across the bank approximately where Izuku remembered sitting.
"Uh'whuh-what, what just hap-p-p-happen–" Izuku felt like punching himself in the face, "–happened?" he managed to ask, voice raspy. He took in the lingering alarm in the faces around him, concern present even in the well-masked depths of Todoroki-kun's otherwise emotionless gaze.
"I'm sorry, Deku-kun," Uraraka sat down in front of him and for a second he was afraid she might bow. "We noticed bandages on your arm while you were sleeping and I tried rolling up your sleeve to get a better look. I didn't mean to scare you, I swear. I'm really, really sorry. I won't do it again, ok?"
"H-huh?" Izuku thought back to what he knew but couldn't find any fear in what little he'd felt or what Uraraka could have possibly done to warrant an apology. There wasn't a whole lot of cognition that went into his reaction. "I don't understand…" he trailed off, looking at Tsuyu for an explanation with mounting concern, "did I hurt someone?" Before he could get far enough to stand and search them for injuries Todoroki moved to show the grass stains on his shirt.
"You attacked me," he said, deadpan. Izuku's stomach dropped and his face lost what little color it had left. "It's ok. I'm not hurt. You're reaction time is impressive."
Wrongfooted by the straightforward compliment, Izuku blinked at him a few times and stuttered through a thank you.
"He's right about that, kero. I was surprised by how quickly you moved, Midori-chan," Tsuyu noted, "were you really asleep, kero?"
"A-aah! Yes–yes, I really was." Izuku cursed quietly in English before continuing. "I must've been sleeping pretty deeply. I don't remember much," he confessed. "You're all really ok? I really didn't hurt anyone? I'm the one who should be sorry!" Bowing would be appropriate right now, he thought, but as he got down on his knees Uraraka braced her hands against his shoulders to stop him. Her expression was wide open with concern and when he looked at Tsuyu hers was the same. "Wh-what?" he squeaked, suddenly afraid they wouldn't want to be friends anymore. The way Iida had said the word 'quirkless' this morning still stuck to his thoughts like a briar.
"Deku-kun, you're our friend. You know you can come to us if there's something wrong, don't you?" Uraraka told him gently.
"We're worried about you, kero," Tsuyu agreed, adding, "and Iida-chan, too."
Guilt closed around the back of his throat and a sour taste filled his mouth. Telling them the truth – about the League, his QA popularity, his resolve for Stain, his quirklessness – was just going to make them feel worse. So, instead, he put a smile on his face and told them he was fine.
Izuku was able to convince Uraraka and Tsuyu that he was ok but apparently not Todoroki, who insisted on walking him home. He didn't say anything but Izuku could feel his heterochromic eyes on the back of his head. It made him feel flighty, like at any given moment he would have to bolt.
"You live in downtown Hosu?" Todoroki asked as they stepped off the train, though it sounded more like a statement. After so much silence the sound of his voice made Izuku jump.
"S-sorry," he said, not quite sure what he was apologizing for but unable to stop himself.
"It's fine."
"Oh. Ok. Good?"
"Yes."
The awkward conversation dried up again and the silence that replaced it bit at Izuku's nerves. The entire journey he'd made subtle attempts to tell Todoroki to go home but none of them seemed to register.
Izuku'd never had someone over before and he wasn't too keen on letting someone like Todoroki-kun see the pigsty he lived in but he didn't think he could refuse him entry if he asked. He glanced at his laconic companion out of the corner of his eye, noting the stony face.
Todoroki-kun obviously wasn't as unfeeling as his expression or usual intonation suggested but it was difficult even for Izuku to pick up on his mood. He tried not to think too hard about the kind of trauma that could make a person so apathetic it became a fundamental part of their personality.
Reaching the point at which he would need to turn off the more populated city streets, Izuku stopped and turned to address Todoroki at the mouth of an alleyway.
"My apartment is kind of, um, off in the slums a little so, if that makes you uncomfortable we can part ways here. I'm really sorry about earlier, Todoroki-kun, I'll figure out how to make sure it doesn't happen again so," Izuku fidgeted, unable to meet his companion's more intense gaze. "I hope you'll join us again next time."
"I'm not uncomfortable. We can keep going," the UA student said and waited patiently for Izuku to get moving again.
Izuku figured it was unlikely the LOV would have any interest in taking Endeavor's son, considering their ultimate target was All Might but they weren't the only ones the analyst needed to worry about anymore. He wasn't sure how much he believed that the Shie Hassaikai had been as disposed of as Shigaraki implied. Motion following security cameras started popping up specifically around Izuku's usual stores and it was easily twice as hard as before to shake off his increasingly persistent nighttime stalkers. Izuku wasn't sure what they were waiting for– or even if they were all from the same organization – but he wasn't particularly keen to find out.
Nightfall was still a few hours away and Todoroki was staring at him expectantly. In theory, there would be plenty of time for the popular UA student to get home before dark.
With a sigh of defeat he couldn't quite suppress the freckled orphan led the way to his apartment.
Izuku was scribbling notes about Stain's striking habits and territories onto a map of Tokyo so large it didn't fit on his kitchen table when someone knocked on his door. He froze for a moment, then checked the time.
12:34 AM.
Shit, was the first thing he thought. Double shit, was the next when a second knock sounded.
Pressed into the floor Izuku waited and listened, hoping whoever was there would go away. He could tell they weren't drunk by the way they knocked and that obviously didn't mean anything good for him. He glanced at the sink where he'd found a false floor and was keeping his emergency gear – gear that included a few homemade flash and smoke grenades. There was an old stapler in there, too, that sounded almost exactly like a gun being loaded and cocked when you fiddled with it right.
As quietly as he could he rolled up the map, grabbed the stapler, and moved towards the entryway. Izuku's apartment was a cheap studio with a sliding door being the only thing separating the bedroom and the cramped kitchen. There were no rails to keep it in place so Izuku kept the blocks the last tenant used to hold them upright. His front door and his bedroom ran parallel to each other but the kitchen was a few steps to the left after the entryway. The QA put his back to the humming fridge.
An aggrieved-sounding sigh came from the other side of the door just as Izuku started unhinging the stapler and a familiar voice filtered through.
"Kid. I know you're in there."
Izuku furrowed his brow and moved towards it, wishing that he was tall enough to reach the stupid peep hole. Cracking it open, he looked up at Eraserhead, then left, then right, then back at him. The man stared at him expectantly and, although confused, Izuku eventually let him inside.
"Aizawa-san?" he asked once he'd locked the door again. The pro hero invited himself into the kitchen and set a bag on the table.
"So?" he asked and sat down, gaze sweeping across the clutter of pens, papers, and rulers with little interest.
"S-so?" Izuku echoed and made a silent offer by gesturing to the tea kettle like this was all perfectly normal. Aizawa nodded once and took a pair of bento boxes out of the bag so the boy set to making some tea for them. He could feel his dark eyes on the back of his neck and tried not to shiver or cover it with his hand.
"So what is your answer?"
"Ah." This time Izuku wasn't as successful suppressing it and a cold tremor traveled down the length of his spine, instincts suddenly in charge of his reactions as he stuttered through an apology. He couldn't remember what the parting question had been anymore.
"It's fine. I'm sure there will be time for more later," Aizawa-san said and accepted the tea Izuku set down for him.
Unsure of what to do with himself, Izuku fell back into old habits and tucked himself against the wall with the tea tray held to his chest. He looked away to give the adult in his home some privacy while he ate. The orphan barely noticed his own behavior, even mentally returning to the tactical analysis he'd been working on prior to Eraserhead's unexpected arrival.
"Midoriya."
Surprised, Izuku jumped and turned to face Aizawa with the most ungainly voice crack, "y-yes, sir!"
"You should sit, kid."
That sounded like bad news, Izuku thought, schooling his face and trying to figure out what he could be in trouble for with an underground pro hero. He looked at the chair opposite Eraserhead and the bento on the table in front of it, feeling like he was looking at a bomb. What did I say about getting paranoid, Izuku? He chastised himself.
"It's alright, Midoriya." When Izuku still didn't move, unsure about what to do with this strange and confusing situation, Eraserhead sat back and stared him down a moment before asking a question no-one had ever asked him before, "are you in danger?"
Looking at the sincerity in Aizawa's eyes made his own feel warm but he swallowed the swell of emotion. No more crying, Izuku. Your life is changing and it's time to toughen up. He even managed to return a smile– though it was probably a bit shaky. "No, I'm fine."
There was no way Eraserhead would believe him if he told the truth.
The look on the teacher's face said he was hardly convinced by the claim but, thankfully, he didn't push it. Instead, he gestured again to the bento across the table. With just a second more of hesitation, Izuku sat down.
As was custom in many of the foster families he'd been placed into, the orphan waited for Eraserhead to take the first bite before he even so much as opened his own bento. If he noticed, Aizawa didn't say anything.
"How's the heart been?"
"Good."
They managed a few minutes of casual chatter until Aizawa put down his chopsticks and waited for Izuku to finish chewing before he asked, as gently as an underground hero could, "what do you know about suicide-baiting?"
Izuku hardly had a chance to blanche when a loud thump came from behind the paper screen door shielding his bedroom from view and a red and white head poked around it into the kitchen.
"Sensei?" Todoroki-kun asked, staring owlishly at Eraserhead.
Izuku took this development the same way someone might take a punch to the ribs. He near leapt out of his chair, mentally willing his heart to calm down as he stuttered and twittered through a hopeless explanation.
He had completely forgotten about Todoroki-kun! Apparently – as he had confessed after welcoming himself into Izuku's apartment with the kind of bland expectancy the analyst figured only a rich person could have – he'd never intended to leave.
"I don't want to go home tonight," was what he'd said, "and I won't be in your way."
And how could Izuku turn that kind of person away, knowing the things he did? He honestly hadn't anticipated Todoroki to be quite so good at being out of the way in this tiny apartment, though. The guy must have fallen asleep hours ago.
From the state of his hair there was no doubt he'd just woken up, at least.
The surprise on Aizawa's face melted away and he gave Todoroki an expression that clearly expected coherent answers.
"We were training our quirks," Todoroki answered unhelpfully. Aizawa's eyebrows shot upwards and Izuku leapt to interject, waving his arms in the air and flushing so brightly he might've felt lightheaded if not for the adrenaline.
"No, no, no!" he squeaked desperately, "Uraraka-san, Tsuyu-san, and Todoroki-kun met with me today for help with their homework–"
"–and quirks–" Todoroki interjected.
"–factors! Quirk factors! And it's not really training at all, I swear it! It'd be really dangerous for all kind of reasons no matter the laws in place. And I'm really just a novice there's no way I can actually help heroes let alone heroes in training. I promise I'm not doing anything bad! I–"
"Why not?" Todoroki interrupted again, looking at Izuku.
"Because it's illegal, Todoroki-kun!" the analyst said, whirling on him.
"But you're really good at it."
Izuku whined loudly and hid his face in his hands, "Todoroki-kun."
"Shut up the fuck up, assholes! I have work tomorrow!" a pounding sounded through the wall next-door and Izuku flinched. Why him? Why was it always Izuku?
Why?
"Sorry!" he called back.
"Shut up!"
"This explains the suspicious improvements I've been seeing in the class lately," Eraserhead said, once a proper explanation was given. He sighed and set down his teacup. Having gotten to know Midoriya over the course of the last month and a half he had no doubt his students' success had something to do with his advisement. The kid's understanding of quirk theory was astounding enough and he showed huge potential as an analyst.
It had taken some negotiation with Nedzu for footage of the entrance exam practical before Aizawa'd made the connection between Midoriya and a certain quirkless student who had withdrawn from UA after receiving an acceptance letter.
Midoriya Izuku was the first student in UA history to not only get a perfect score on the written portion of the exam and cancel his own enrollment, but he was also the school's only quirkless candidate to have ever received rescue points.
Initially, Shota hadn't been happy to learn that Nedzu was planning to poach a – presumably unstable – anidiotropic from Gotemba High. But now, he couldn't help but feel relieved. Hopefully it wouldn't be too difficult to change his foster parents' minds.
"Sorry," Midoriya apologized forlornly, "I won't help them again, Aizawa-san." The poor kid looked absolutely crushed by his own decision. Aizawa was at least appreciative that he understood the silent social laws better than his own students.
Shota pinched the bridge of his nose and tried not to sigh too loudly at the absolute insanity the prime minister was causing.
"You'll be able to help them a lot better on campus under my supervision. You said you meet them every Saturday afternoon? Todoroki will make a reservation for a room in gym gamma for next Saturday. Even if the prime minister's bill does somehow pass, UA's policies concerning public quirk use will not change. Do not use your quirk outside of school. Understood?" Todoroki nodded his head. He'd started trying to use his fire more since the festival. Aizawa figured he had Midoriya to thank for that. It would be interesting to see what the two could accomplish. "Good. If there is nothing else, then I'll be on my way. Midoriya?"
The boy squawked, his whole face alight with a joy Aizawa hadn't seen in him before. The hero couldn't resist a smile and pointed at the unfinished bento, "finish your food, Problem Child."
CT: Increasing prejudice, mentions of mass suicide, protests
Xs/Os please!
New updating schedule, starting today, will be every Friday night/Saturday morning.
See this story on AO3 for a link to the discord. There were a lot of really juicy sneak peaks for this chapter that got posted there.
Thank you to everyone who is still reading. :)
Cheers!