A/N: Welcome back to your weekly update of A Robin's Nest! First, I'd like to answer some concerns. A few people have pointed out to me that the mentioned SHIELD is Marvel. I'm sorry, I totally spaced that for a moment. I'm still learning Marvel vs DC and all that stuff, so please go easy on me (it was only ever intended to be mentioned anyhow).
Second, I've had a few people bite my head off regarding the Izuku Abuse situation. I did not just put it in there for shits and giggles. It has a plot purpose, and while yes, Robin could easily put his Father behind bars, he chooses not to because he's afraid of what will happen to his mother (for all he knows, his Father can use his connections to kill her while he's at school or something). With the information he has, and the situation he's in, he is CHOOSING to keep things how they are, because he feels it's the best way to protect his mother. This will be further explained in later chapters, so please be patient, and my reasonings will eventually reveal themselves.
Now, without further ado, please enjoy~!
Chapter 4: Battle Scenario
As promised, Kirishima met Izuku at the station. The latter was a little tired, having still gone on patrol that night (not that Aizawa knew that), but he was far too used to getting no more than 3 hours of sleep a night. In fact, he found that, unless he was sick or hurt, he physically could not sleep for longer than 4 hours. It was a bat thing.
The two made conversation on the ride over, and met up with the other three in front of the school gates. From there, the five went about their first normal school day.
Nothing of note happened until they hit English with Present Mic.
"All right, everybody heads up!" Present Mic called out in English, before switching back to Japanese. "Let's get this party started!" He grinned.
Yamada-sensei, Izuku learned, had the annoying tendency to switch between Japanese and English (which was fine for the radio show, but annoying during class). While Izuku was fluent in both, it only made things harder since sometimes he forgot that what he was hearing was supposed to be foreign for him.
"Midoriya!" He called upon Izuku in the middle of class. "Please read and answer question five for the class!"
The question was easy. "It reads, 'combine the following two sentences into one. 'Kyle wanted to play with his friends. Kyle asked his father.' To combine them… 'Kyle wanted to play with his friends, so he asked his father.' Or something like that. You could also phrase it as 'Kyle asked his father if he could play with his friends.', but that would leave out the part about him wanting to play with them, though it is inferred…" He trailed off when he noticed the class staring at him. "What?"
"Midoriya…" Iida blinked. "You were speaking in English."
"Oops…"
"Your answer is correct!" Yamada-sensei grinned. "Though next time, let me know that you've already got experience in English! Stay behind to speak with me after class."
"Hai, sensei!"
After English had ended, Izuku stayed behind as instructed.
"So, you're fluent in English?" Yamada-sensei asked. Izuku grinned.
"Yep~! Though I'm familiar with American English, rather than European English." He responded in the same language.
"Geez, Richie, and you didn't tell me? I thought we were friends!" He pouted, as Izuku chuckled. "What other languages do you know?"
"I know English, Japanese, German and French. A little Russian and Spanish, and a splash of Polish." He thought for a moment… he was missing something. "Oh! And Latin!"
"Wait, Latin? The dead language?" Yamada had been so surprised that he switched back to Japanese.
"Erm… yes?" Izuku had honestly forgotten. In this day and age, almost nobody knew a lick of Latin. Sure, they knew a few base words because it was a root language, but much of the language's secrets had been lost over the last three hundred years. He sighed, pulling out a notebook.
His Quirk Notebook was written in Latin, for added security (because it was more than just Quirk analysis, now. He used it to observe a person's fighting style and weaknesses, too). It was coded to look like a journal of sorts, too, just in case. So if (for whatever reason) someone knew Latin, the most they'd get out of it would be a written account of his (non vigilante) life.
He handed it over. Yamada's eyebrows shot up as he recognized the language. "Damn, Little Listener! I'm impressed!" He grinned excitedly. "Now, obviously, the course syllabus for this class is way below your capabilities." He pointed out. "So, I'm going to give you separate homework and studies from your classmates to keep you challenged."
"Thank you!" Izuku matched his grin with one of his own.
"Now I see why Shouta wants to apprentice you." Yamada chuckled. "Would you mind if I kept a hold of this for the day? I'll give it back to you tonight at the radio station."
Izuku really didn't want to, but he was confident in his code. "Sure. Just don't forget it in the Teacher's Lounge or something."
"Have you so little faith?" He grinned.
"It has nothing to do with faith, and everything to do with what Aizawa-sensei has told me about you."
"Che." Yamada pouted. "Of course, Shou would blab." He couldn't hide his fond smile. "Then in retaliation, I'll tell you some stories about him while we're off the air tonight." Izuku didn't bother to hide his grin.
"I'll look forward to it."
It wasn't long before he was allowed to head off to his next lesson, taking the late slip from Yamada so he wouldn't get in trouble. Cementoss didn't mind, and allowed Izuku to slip into his seat with no trouble.
"Welcome to Modern Literature and History. I am Ishiyama Ken. Hero Name: Cementoss. You may address me as Ishiyama-sensei or Cementoss. To start with, I'm going to have you write an essay on any major war you wish. The more detail you can give me, the higher your score will be. Please also include why you chose this particular war as your topic. You have until the end of class."
Obviously, Izuku couldn't be normal and write about one of the well-known major Quirk Wars. Nope. He chose to write about World War II—a war that, while touched upon briefly even these days, was not studied in-depth as it was back in the early 2000's.
He remembered when Bruce had once taken him to the Camps. Izuku clearly remembered the chill that had gone down his spine as he and Bruce traversed those accursed hallways. He could practically hear the cries and screams of people long passed. The scent of burned flesh seemed to still linger in the air, and the aura of absolute hopelessness seemed to spark a determination within the boy, renewing his passion for heroics.
Bruce had urged him to never forget. "It's people like this… that we need to help. We must never forget our origins. I know you're from another time, but carry these memories with you into the future. Never turn away from someone who needs you. You never know when a kind word or a simple action will stop someone from a grand path of destruction. Did you know? Adolf Hitler was originally an artist. I still wonder if this genocide would have happened if someone had simply encouraged him in his youth." Bruce sighed and looked at Dick with a soft smile—the kind he reserved for the BatFam. "You are a hero, Robin. So do everything in your power to make sure nobody suffers as these people have."
Izuku abruptly shook himself out of the memory (flashback?). He put his pen to paper and started to write. By the time the class was over, his essay was five pages long. Whoops.
Eventually, lunch came around and the five of them sat together. "So what did Yamada-sensei want to talk to you about?" Uraraka asked as she started eating her food.
"Since I'm fluent in English and stuff, he wanted to let me know that I'll have different course work than the rest of you. He wants to make sure I'm challenged." Izuku replied.
"Dude, I'm so jealous! Help me with my English work please?!" Kaminari begged.
"I'll help you, but I'm not going to do it for you." Izuku smirked. "The English I know comes from America. I also know bits and pieces of a few other languages."
"You're so manly, Midoriya!" Kirishima cried. "Is there anything you can't do?!"
"I can't harden my skin." Izuku grinned as he snarked back, causing the others to laugh.
Then, after lunch, was their Heroics Class. Izuku would be lying if he said he wasn't excited.
Until he realized All Might was their teacher.
About ten months before the exam, Izuku had had a run-in with the #1 Hero. In a moment of weakness, he'd asked the man if a Quirkless person could become a hero.
Though he was a successful vigilante, he'd still been worried. What if heroics had different qualifications? What if nobody gave him a chance? Bruce told him he could, but the man was from a time without Quirks. Of course he'd say yes. He'd never asked someone from the Quirked era, keeping his dream of being a Hero a secret from his classmates. He knew they'd laugh, and he was bullied enough for being Quirkless as it was. Only Bakugo had realized that he'd never given up on the dream.
So when he met All Might, his second favorite Hero (right after Eraserhead), he found the words tumbling from his mouth on that rooftop.
And he said no.
Izuku had understood his reasoning, but it was still frustrating and humiliating. After being told to kill himself by his former best friend that same day, undergoing a nasty beating from his Father, and then surviving a villain attack (that slime villain was just a bad matchup for him without his ice capsules) he'd been having a shitty day. But then All Might had to go and crush his dreams and what little self-confidence he'd had left before leaving him alone on the roof.
It had been the anniversary of the day the Grayson's, his adoptive parents, had been murdered.
It had been so tempting to jump off that roof… to join his family in the realm of the dead. But he didn't want to see Bruce's disappointed look. The frown on Alfred's face. The anger in Barbara's eyes. The tears on Wally's cheeks…
He couldn't do it.
And so he'd headed home to another beating from his Father. He'd gone out that night with a vengeance and was nearly seen as the vigilante Robin. And he decided to flip All Might the proverbial bird and become a goddamned hero anyways. Not that he hadn't already been planning on doing so in the first place, but now he could spite someone while doing so.
So when All Might dashed into the classroom with that huge grin on his face and introduced himself as their Heroics teacher, Izuku did not grin and cheer with his class. He wanted to punch something (preferably All Might) or cry.
But he did neither, and instead grabbed his costume as instructed before heading to the changing rooms. He lingered a moment, not wanting to be the first one out there to stand alone with All Might.
Luckily, his friends wanted to chat while changing.
"You don't seem overly excited to be taught by All Might." Kirishima noted as he donned his costume.
"I've… erm… had a bad experience with the guy." He admitted, drawing Kaminari's attention.
"What happened?"
"I asked him if a Quirkless kid could be a hero and he said no." Izuku sighed. "And then he left me alone on a rooftop after a very bad day."
"He left you alone on a roof!?" Iida stared in horror. "That's just–!"
"Yeah. He's not exactly my favorite hero, if you know what I mean. He's a great hero, don't get me wrong. And I've still got a lot of respect for the guy as a hero, but… I just hope that he'll give me a chance this go-around."
"Yeah, well, you'll just have to prove him wrong!" Kirishima grinned, clenching a fist to prove his point.
"Let's just get out there." Izuku finally said.
His outfit was one that he'd been very specific about. This was why he remained unseen as the Vigilante Robin. His red shirt and dark green tights… his long black cape with bright yellow inner lining… and his Domino mask. His yellow utility belt…
It felt good to be back in his Robin costume. What he'd been using as a vigilante was something he'd made himself. And while it looked similar, it wasn't the same as something made from the best and most protective materials in the world. And he'd been very specific about the materials his costume was made out of. Kevlar never felt so good.
He planned to add a few more things to the outfit himself to get it back up to snuff, but for now, it would work.
He stepped out, and was pleasantly surprised to see that he wasn't the brightest outfit in the bunch.
And then the show really started. Iida and Bakugo vs. himself and Uraraka. Yikes.
And he saw something in All Might's expression, too… He purposefully pitted me against Bakugo. That fucking… I can't believe this! He's still trying to convince me to quit being a Hero.
"Uraraka… When this starts, Bakugo is going to come after me. I want you to bypass him while I distract him. Take this with you—it's a flash grenade. It should take Iida out just long enough for you to reach the bomb. If not…" He hesitated a moment before pulling out another capsule. "Throw this on the ground after the flash grenade, at his feet. It's a sticky substance and should keep him from running all over the place."
"Wow, Midoriya! You really think of everything!"
"If you have any trouble, radio me. I'll come."
"Be careful, okay?" She smiled as All Might called for the lesson to start.
As predicted, Bakugo made a beeline for him, leading with his signature right hook.
"Did you really think I didn't remember your movements, Kaachan?" He mocked the blond. He knew using the old nickname would rile him up, and that was exactly what he wanted. Bakugo fought better angry, but when he was like that he only had eyes for the person who angered him.
Bakugo never noticed Uraraka sneaking away as Izuku—Robin as he was in his Hero Costume—led him to a more open room to fight.
He was doing extremely well, fending off Bakugo's attacks and hitting him back with attacks of his own. He was trying to figure out how to subdue the kid without hurting him when Bakugo smirked, one hand held out towards Robin while the other was on the pin attached to his grenade-like gauntlet.
It only took Robin a moment to realize that those were filled with Bakugo's sweat—filled with nitroglycerin. His eyes widened, even as he heard All Might try to stop Bakugo's action.
"Stop! He'll die!"
"Only if he doesn't dodge!" Bakugo grinned as he pulled the pin.
Robin didn't have time to dodge. He hoped that the support team made his cape like he asked them to, and fell into the familiar position of hiding behind it. A rush of nearly unbearable heat followed by a deafening explosion knocked him back into the wall. It was all Robin could do to keep himself protected. The cape was smaller than he'd asked them to make it. He clenched his teeth against the pain as his left leg suffered from the unexpected miscalculation on the Support Course's side.
A moment later Robin was back on his feet, staff out. Bakugo stared in surprise, as Robin wasted no time in rushing him.
It took only two seconds for Bakugo to react, but that was two seconds too late. Robin already had the Capture Tape wound tightly around his foe.
"B-Bakugo has been captured!" All Might's voice rang through the building. Robin knew the cameras were toast, so he guessed that there was a sensor or something that told him when someone had been caught by the tape.
Robin took that moment to assess the damage to himself. His left leg was badly burned, and he abruptly realized that if he hadn't had that cape, he would've surely died from his injuries.
And All Might still hadn't called off the stupid exercise. What an idiot. What if I'd died? Or been seriously injured? The cameras are out, and so are the microphones in the room. There's no way of knowing if I'm alive or dead, and you're just letting things go on. Fuck you too, asshole.
Okay, so maybe he was being a little harsh, but in his defense, he was in quite a bit of pain. It's not like he'd regularly encountered burns during his time in the past. He was used to bruises, broken bones, the occasional knife wound or toxin, not burns. Luckily, though, pain was still just that—pain, and he was able to push it to the back of his mind with a practiced ease. He ignored Bakugo's raging demands to know what the fuck was going on with Izuku, and ran up the stairs to join Iida and Uraraka.
"HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might's voice cried out as he arrived at the room. Iida was stuck to the floor, and Uraraka had a hand placed on the 'bomb'.
"Whelp, guess you didn't need my help, after all." Robin smirked as he approached Iida. He was glad he'd brought along his own utility belt instead of having the Support Course make his (they'd probably take away all his toys).
He pulled out his handheld laser. "Don't move, Iida. I don't want to accidentally hurt you." The other boy froze, obeying his orders as Robin carefully broke a freezing capsule over the gunk before shattering it with the laser. "There. All free." He grinned.
"Is that even allowed?" Iida gave the laser a pointed look.
"I dunno. I made it myself, so I never asked." Robin shrugged before turning to look at Uraraka. "Glad that you were able to pull it off!"
"Your plan was amazing!" She smiled.
"I was not expecting the flash grenade." Iida admitted, impressed. "Once again, I acknowledge you as my better, Midoriya."
"It's not a competition, Iida." Robin chuckled as they made their way back.
"You're hurt!" Uraraka realized when they stepped back into the observation room. "You're limping!" But her concern was dodged when Kirishima and Kaminari came up to him, grinning.
"Dude, that was amazing!"
"You fight incredibly well!" Jiro beamed.
"Bakugo." All Might leveled a look at the explosive blond. "You disobeyed my orders, and another student was hurt because of it. If you pull that again, I will pull you out of practical exercises for the foreseeable future, do you understand?"
"Yeah, I got it." Bakugo replied nonchalantly.
"Midoriya, are you okay?" All Might asked. It was dark in the room, and there was no way to accurately assess the severity of his injuries without light. But Robin couldn't help but twitch at the tone the man used. It was as if he didn't really care. As if he was asking out of politeness instead of actual concern. He wondered if he was just being biased?
"The blast only hit part of me." Robin answered carefully, before All Might nodded and resumed the lesson. He blinked in shock. You're shitting me.
With a sigh, Robin made to leave the room.
"Where are you going? Class is not over yet." All Might chastised.
"I'm injured. I'm heading to Recovery Girl. Burns get worse the longer you leave them, and I left my first aid kit in my locker." Robin answered curtly.
"Very well, then." All Might answered before resuming the lesson. A few students looked after him in concern.
"I'll escort him to the nurse!" Uraraka volunteered, but All Might shook his head.
"No sense in you missing the lesson, too. Please stay behind while we talk about your match."
Fuck. You. Robin shook his head and walked out of the room, fists shaking. Not just because he outright refused to treat Robin as an equal to the other students, but because he hadn't recognized him. He could tell. He hadn't put two and two together at all. And Robin would admit that it hurt that the man didn't recognize the child whose dreams he'd crushed. You'd think the guy would remember someone he revealed his weakness to, at the very least.
"Midoriya?" Robin blinked up at Aizawa, who stood in the empty hallway with him. He leaned on his uninjured leg as he realized he'd been lost in his thoughts. "What happened?"
"Bakugo didn't listen when All Might told him not to use the gauntlet in battle training. The Support Course cut some corners and took off a few inches from my cape, which I hadn't realized until I went to use it as a shield. I had it fireproofed for this exact reason."
"All Might didn't send someone with you?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Robin snorted.
"That idiot didn't even send me to the nurse himself. I had to leave of my own accord, and got chewed out for it." Robin shook his head. "I think he paired me with Bakugo on purpose to prove a point. I know he doesn't approve of a Quirkless Hero." It came out a bit more bitterly than he intended.
"I'm sensing a story here." Aizawa sighed before carefully picking Robin up, causing the boy to struggle against him. "Hold still. You shouldn't walk on that leg. You can explain everything while I take you to Recovery Girl."
They were quiet for a few minutes, the sound of Aizawa's boots clicking against the floor echoed in the empty hallways. He relaxed into his teacher's arms, picking up on the steady thrumming beat of his heart. It made him feel calm and safe.
"I met him ten months before the Entrance Exams." Robin started quietly. "I'd been having a… bad day. Let's just say that aside from several class members suicide baiting me, a slime villain attacking me directly after school was the icing on the cake." Aizawa had stiffened when he mentioned the suicide baiting. "I didn't have any of the support items I needed on me, so I tried to evade the villain. As it just so happens, I'd been injured at the time, and he managed to capture me. He nearly suffocated me before All Might showed up and saved my life." He paused, feeling oddly comfortable against the warmth of his teacher's arms. He really is like Bruce. A calm, dark, strong, quiet figure. He didn't know why he was so damn comfortable around the man, but he was.
"All my life… Everyone but my mentor always made fun of me for wanting to become a hero. Nobody thought a Quirkless kid could do it. And my Mentor's been gone for a long time." He took a deep breath. Talking about Bruce still hurt like a bitch. "All Might was my favorite hero as a kid. And by middle school, he was my second favorite… right after you, actually." He smirked as Aizawa blushed lightly.
"Problem Child…" He muttered under his breath.
"So… I asked him. I asked him if a Quirkless kid could ever hope to be a hero." Robin shook a little as he remembered that day. "He told me no. Showed me his weakened form and explained everything. Said that I should stick to more 'realistic' goals and then left me alone on top of a very tall building. Right after crushing my dreams." Was that his imagination, or was Aizawa shaking, too? "I'll admit it… I almost jumped that day. But I'm glad I didn't."
"Kid… Izuku. I'm going to say this once." Aizawa looked him in the eyes. "I'm glad you're alive. I'd say 'you'll make a great hero someday', but you're already a great hero. You just need to get the license, now. You're more prepared than any of your classmates, and I'm damn proud to be your sensei." He was blushing a little darker as he said it.
"Aww, you do care~" Robin couldn't resist the urge to tease him.
"We all do, Problem Child." He gently set Robin down on the bed in Recovery Girl's office.
"Love you too, Dad~!" Robin cackled as Aizawa bristled like a cat, stiffening in shock. Oh, he wished he had a camera as the man's normally carefully controlled expression melted into one of horrified realization. It was hilarious.
"Come now, I don't need two of you in my care." Recovery Girl chastised as she shooed Aizawa out of the room. "Don't you have a class to get to? Shoo."
He made to leave the room, but stopped at the door. "Thank you for telling me your story." He gave Robin a meaningful look over his shoulder, and Robin understood. Your trust is not misplaced. It said.
Aizawa Shouta honestly hadn't known what to expect that day. It was the first time in a while that he hadn't expelled the majority of his class, and perhaps the first time he'd never expelled a single one. He knew the other teachers kept eyeing him with suspicion. (He didn't know why, he could still expel everyone tomorrow—it wasn't like he graduated a full class of 20 students).
Hizashi had even asked him if he was an imposter—to which he'd proceeded to create an ungodly concoction of coffee, red bull, 5 hour energy, sprite, and pure powdered caffeine before calmly downing the entire hell's mix with a smirk on his face, even as a few of his coworkers proceeded to twitch in expectance of his impending heart attack. Hizashi, Kan and Midnight (all of whom he'd attended U.A. with as a student) confirmed his identity when, even after drinking such a travesty, he managed to curl up in his bright yellow sleeping bag and take a short nap.
But even still, Shouta should've known that today wasn't going to be a normal day for him. First it was Hizashi. He strolled into the Teacher's Lounge with a huge grin humming some upbeat tune that aggravated him.
"What's got you so happy?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Shouta~! That apprentice of yours, Midoriya, he's incredible! I knew he was something special when I offered him that part-time gig on my radio show, but I didn't know he was this good! He's fluent in English, French, German and Latin! LATIN!" Hizashi gushed, drawing the attention of Maijima and Snipe, who were also in the lounge.
"I thought Latin was an ancient dead language?" Snipe raised an eyebrow.
"It is! But look at this!" He held up one of Midoriya's notebooks. Sure enough, Shouta was able to recognize Latin on the pages, even if he couldn't read it himself. Damn, this kid… was there no end to his surprises?
"So I talked to him about giving him personalized assignments instead of the class assignments. He can hold an entire conversation in English, you know! Sounds like a native speaker and everything! Learned it in America."
He kept gushing about it until Cementoss came in, having just finished teaching Class 1–A.
"Aizawa, that Midoriya kid of yours is something else." Was the first thing out of his mouth. Shouta groaned.
"Isn't he?!" Hizashi grinned, retelling his discovery of the kid's gift with languages.
"What's got your interest piqued, Ishiyama-kun?" Midnight inquired, having entered the room partway through Hizashi's original gushing.
"You know how I assign a small essay the first day? Kids can choose one war to write about, so I can get a gauge of how much history they know, and what their writing style is like." He waited for the nods. "Well, Midoriya not only managed to write five very detailed pages, but his topic was… a very old war. World War Two, actually."
"Damn, most kids don't even remember that one." Hizashi blinked. "I know I had to hunt in the library for that one report on it in third year…"
"Yes, well… Midoriya wrote a very detailed five-page long essay on it, including dates, names, locations, and even the smaller countries and who they were allied with. He even noted how Hitler had once been an aspiring artist—something I had to look up, myself, to verify."
"In other words, keep an eye on the promising kid in our classes." Snipe noted.
"Honestly…" Shouta rubbed his temples. "As if the kid being a vigilante wasn't bad enough."
"Come on, Shou~ It's not like being good in school is a bad thing!" Hizashi draped an arm over his shoulder.
"You know, I wonder how he's faring in All Might's class right now?" Midnight idly spun her pen between her fingers.
"I'm more concerned about how All Might is faring in his first class." Maijima chuckled.
"I'm going to head over to my classroom. I need to finish grading some papers without your distractions." Shouta sighed, gathering up his supplies.
"Aww~ Shou-kun~" Midnight pouted.
"Don't you 'Shou-kun', me, Nemuri." He sent her a half-hearted glare. "And don't pout, it's unbecoming for a teacher."
"Ha!" Hizashi laughed.
"I'm so done with you all." He turned and left the room, leaving chuckles behind him.
He was halfway to his classroom when he noticed his student walking down the halls. "Midoriya?" He asked, startling the kid out of his thoughts. He took a moment to assess the situation. He was hurt. His leg was badly burned, and he looked more despondent than anything else. Moreover, he was alone. Is he trying to get out of going to Recovery Girl? "What happened?"
"Bakugo didn't listen when All Might told him not to use the gauntlet in battle training. The Support Course cut some corners and took off a few inches from my cape, which I hadn't realized until I went to use it as a shield. I had it fireproofed for this exact reason." He answered like it was a simple thing.
I am going to have to talk to Bakugo later. And why did All Might allow him to use said gauntlets in the first place? Early training exercises should be highly controlled and preempted with a strict talk about the dangers of using one's Quirk on another human being. He mentally groaned. Looks like I'll have to have someone else give them that talk.
"All Might didn't send someone with you?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Midoriya snorted.
"That idiot didn't even send me to the nurse himself. I had to leave of my own accord, and got chewed out for it." I'm sorry, what?! Shouta couldn't believe it. How had All Might not sent him to the nurse? And to lecture a student for caring about his own physical well-being?! "I think he paired me with Bakugo on purpose to prove a point. I know he doesn't approve of a Quirkless Hero." The kid's tone became bitter, and Shouta knew there was something more to this entire situation.
"I'm sensing a story here." Shouta sighed as he carefully picked Midoriya up. There was no way this kid was going to walk on a leg that injured. He doubted the kid even realized how badly he was hurt. "Hold still. You shouldn't walk on that leg. You can explain everything while I take you to Recovery Girl."
The silence enveloped them for a bit, which was fine by Shouta. He'd let the kid talk whenever he was ready, he wasn't going to force it. But he was pissed at All Might. If he really was discriminating because Midoriya didn't have a Quirk…
"I met him ten months before the Entrance Exams." Midoriya started quietly, startling Shouta out of his thoughts. "I'd been having a… bad day. Let's just say that aside from several class members suicide baiting me, a slime villain attacking me directly after school was the icing on the cake."
Suicide baiting? Was this normal for him? The kid spoke far too calmly for Shouta's liking. He knew the kid had probably been bullied for most of his school life. Those with Quirks unsuited to heroism tended to be treated badly, so he could imagine how rough someone without a Quirk would have it. Though the fact that he spoke about being told to go kill himself with such nonchalance startled and infuriated him. He tightened his arms around Midoriya. He wasn't going to let this kid face that shit again. Not alone, at least.
"I didn't have any of the support items I needed on me, so I tried to evade the villain. As it just so happens, I'd been injured at the time, and he managed to capture me. He nearly suffocated me before All Might showed up and saved my life."
He felt a small trill of fear run through his veins. He nearly died before I even actually met him… He realized. I would've forever wondered what happened to Robin…
"All my life… Everyone but my mentor always made fun of me for wanting to become a hero. Nobody thought a Quirkless kid could do it. And my Mentor's been gone for a long time."
Not for the first time, Shouta wondered who the hell this kid's Mentor was. Who taught a child how to be a vigilante? Taught him four different foreign languages fluently? How to hack a goddamn government?! But the way Midoriya always spoke of him… he was obviously still grieving the man's death, and Shouta knew better than to push for information.
"All Might was my favorite hero as a kid. And by middle school, he was my second favorite… right after you, actually." He smirked as Shouta found his face uncomfortably warm. He wasn't used to being someone's hero like that. He was an Underground Hero for a reason, and not many people even believed he was a hero because of that. Fans? He hardly even had any merchandise.
"Problem Child…" He muttered under his breath. Only you…
"So… I asked him. I asked him if a Quirkless kid could ever hope to be a hero." The kid started trembling in his arms, and he held him closer, hoping to help stave off any flashbacks. He already figured what the idiot blond had said. "He told me no. Showed me his weakened form and explained everything."
Well, that wasn't expected. All Might had insisted that nobody tell anybody about his weakened form. The man hadn't even given them an explanation of it, just that an old injury had finally caught up with him. He refused to answer any questions after that. But the kid sounded like he knew more than they did.
How irrational. Telling a perfect stranger about your weakness. A child, no less.
"Said that I should stick to more 'realistic' goals and then left me alone on top of a very tall building. Right after crushing my dreams."
Shouta nearly froze. He… left him?! On a rooftop? He shook with anger. How dare All Might crush a child's dreams—regardless of the fact that Shouta did partially agree (but Midoriya was a special case, and it seemed that even the seemingly impossible was possible with him)—and then not even assure the child's safety?! The psychological trauma of not only having an idol humanized and weakened, but being denied that hope of a dream… At least when Shouta crushed dreams by expelling students, he made sure they made it home safely.
"I'll admit it… I almost jumped that day. But I'm glad I didn't."
"Kid… Izuku. I'm going to say this once." Shouta looked him in the eyes. He needed him to understand that there were people who wanted him alive. That he wasn't better off dead like his mysterious mentor. "I'm glad you're alive. I'd say 'you'll make a great hero someday', but you're already a great hero. You just need to get the license, now. You're more prepared than any of your classmates, and I'm damn proud to be your sensei." He was blushing a little darker as he said it. He wasn't used to expressing his feelings, but Midoriya was an expressive kid. He didn't want to risk him misreading something when the message was so damn important.
For a moment, he thought the kid was going to cry. Shouta was very aware that he was probably the first person to fully support his dreams (again, aside from this mysterious dead mentor, but Shouta was alive and therefore now the only living person to openly acknowledge this kid's dream). But then the kid hid behind his snarky attitude, as was likely his defense mechanism.
"Aww, you do care~" He was glad that the door to Recovery Girl's office was a push-style door instead of a sliding one. It was much easier to open with his hands full.
"We all do, Problem Child." He gently set Midoriya down on the bed in Recovery Girl's office.
"Love you too, Dad~!"
Shouta's brain short circuited. Dad?! Was that how Midoriya saw him? He knew that the kid already had a dad, and this was likely his way of teasing him, but the way he said it… There was some genuine emotion there that had Shouta panicking and flailing about mentally. He was very grateful when Recovery Girl came in.
"Come now, I don't need two of you in my care." She chastised as she shooed Shouta out of the room. "Don't you have a class to get to? Shoo."
He made to leave the room, but stopped at the door. "Thank you for telling me your story." He gave the kid a look. He needed him to understand that Shouta was someone he could trust. Someone who cared about him, and someone he could come to in the future when things got tough.
Midoriya gave him a small smile. Good. He got the message. Shouta returned it with one of his own before heading to find All Might and give him a very heated piece of his mind.
Yeah, he hadn't known what to expect from today. But it seemed to be a good day after all. And if he got to punch the Number One Hero, well… then it was just going to get even better.