Of course, given the fact that two of the three people trying to arrange a good time to meet up are pro Heroes, and the other works at a Hero Agency, it takes longer than expected for all three of them to find a good time to meet up. Izuku had a sneaking suspicion that Shouta had ended up flat out rearranging something once Izuku and Hitoshi had managed to hammer out a few hours early in the day to spar.
Hitoshi: This is a tragedy. I will never forgive you for this. You are a cruel, unjust best friend.
Izuku: Calm the fuck down, it's literally ten in the morning. You'll survive.
Hitoshi: I loathe the very air you breathe.
Izuku: Yes yes, your life is obviously a tragedy. I feel the need to point out the man with two jobs isn't bitching about the time we decided.
Shouta: To be fair, I'm used to having to get up at ungodly hours for ridiculous things. This is at least productive.
Izuku: Nedzu?
Shouta: Nedzu.
Hitoshi: I'm suddenly very concerned.
Izuku: Were you not concerned about the Rat God before? Because now I'm concerned for you. Hitoshi: Rat God? Izu, are you high?
Shouta: I've failed as a mentor if I haven't warned you about the Rat God.
Hitoshi: Letting you two meet was a mistake I bitterly regret.
Izuku bowed his head and laughed, deeply amused. Obviously Shouta was decently close to Nedzu if he felt comfortable joking about him, and that relaxed Izuku even further in regards to the other man knowing where he lived. He'd already been mostly ok with it, but Nedzu would have warned him about Shouta if there had been any reason for concern-as he had done for the majority of the HPSC.
Finishing his lunch quickly, he dove back into his analysis, thrilled to finally be able to see
Eraserhead in action the next day. But of course, Izuku making plans he was excited about was a signal for the Universe to try and collapse, so for a solid fourteen hours he had case after case come in needing immediate analysis. The rush was done around 8 AM, and Izuku looked at his watch, sighed, and decided that food, a shower, and coffee were the name of the game. If he hurried, he may even have time for all three before he was set to meet up with the other two.
Of course, the second he stepped out the door Shouta was there-which should have surprised Izuku, but it didn't. "I thought we agreed that if you were working late like that you'd at least drop it in the group chat, even if you didn't want to text me directly." Izuku paused for a moment, before continuing to walk so he wasn't impeding other pedestrians. Shouta settled by his side, keeping pace easily. The other man was standing up straight for once, his mouth tight and his shoulders a rigid line of tension.
"I'm sorry," Izuku began slowly. "I didn't mean to worry you. I thought you'd only meant for me to text if I was going to be walking home late at night, I didn't realize you'd meant if I was working over until the next morning." He hesitated, but ultimately refrained from saying anything further. He wasn't going to promise anything else to a man he'd spoken with for probably a total of a half hour, if that. He wasn't that far gone with his crush. Yet, anyways.
The tightness around Shouta's mouth eased slightly, but the tight line of his shoulders remained. There's a fluidity to his movement today that outs him as a Pro Hero-it hadn't been there the other night, which is probably the biggest indicator of how upset he is, given that Izuku knows most Underground Pro's prefer to keep themselves less obvious than their Limelight counterparts. "I appreciate the apology," he finally said. "Let's get you home." Shouta paused for a moment. "Are you still OK for today? I can always text Hitoshi and let him know to stay home."
Izuku waved that idea off. "Nah, he and I have sparred on way less sleep than this before, I'll be fine. I'll just have to give him a heads up, because I'm not as nice when I'm running on fumes as I am normally," he joked lightly. That earned him a small huff and a bit of the tension bled out of Shouta's form as he slouched slightly, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"The brat probably deserves it," he deadpanned, making Izuku let out a surprised snort.
"Probably," he agreed as he opened his door. "Would you like to come in, or do you need to get going?"
Again, there was an odd edge to the smile Shouta offered as he accepted the offer to come in-like he'd won something instead of just agreeing to come into an apartment. "Hitoshi is bringing my gear, so I'm good to come in for a bit."
Izuku smiled cheerfully, mentally crossing a shower off of the things that he was going to be able to do today. "Cool, I'm going to grab food and coffee. You want anything?" He shrugged at the negative response. "Let me know if that changes-Toshi told me how you can get about coffee," he added with a grin.
"Oh? The brat's decided to tell stories about me?" Shouta smirked faintly. "Remind me, after you've had coffee, to tell you about the first time he tried to use the capture weapon. It went-well, it went, to say the least."
Izuku choked on his laughter. "Oh, I would pay cash money for that story." A quick breakfast- dinner really, all things considered-was quickly put together, and Izuku drained his second cup of coffee before beginning to eat. "Would it be too much to ask to hear it now?" He asked carefully, pleased when Shouta agreed without hesitation. It was different, to have someone so willing to speak with him outside of work and Hitoshi, but he was going to enjoy it for however long it
lasted-even with the weird preoccupation with knowing when he was getting off work.
Shouta smiled as he told the story, detailing how Hitoshi had tangled himself up in the capture weapon and it had taken them almost ten minutes to untangle him without resorting to ripping or cutting the expensive piece of equipment. By the end Izuku was wheezing slightly from laughter, his eyes bright as he watched him.
"Ok, I can't even with that," Izuku laughed, picking up his dishes and dumping them in the sink as he glanced at the clock. "Damn, I didn't realize how much time I was taking. Give me five to change, and I'll be ready to head out."
"Take your time," Shouta shrugged, leaning back. "Hitoshi will wait."
"True, but if I feel like I'm inconveniencing someone I will literally die," Izuku returned drily before ducking into his bedroom to grab his workout gear. It was quick work to toss on the athletic shorts and sweatpants over top, along with a t-shirt that, to his eternal amusement, said 'dress shirt' on it and a less ragged pair of sneakers. He tossed a few items in a bag so he could shower and change after the workout, and then he tossed that over his shoulders. "Alright, I'm ready."
They made their way out of the apartment, Izuku careful to lock his door-he didn't, sometimes, but he was well aware what Shouta's reaction to that would be like-and started on their way. The gym they were headed to had private rooms you could book ahead of time, and Izuku and Hitoshi took advantage of that on a regular basis now that they were out of UA and unable to use their gyms anymore. Izuku bit on his bottom lip to contain his mumbling, thankful that the gym was close enough that he didn't have to worry about containing his chatter for too long.
"You're late," Hitoshi deadpanned when they walked in the door.
"I will make you eat mat," Izuku returned sweetly as they checked in and got the room number they were in this time.
Hitoshi grinned. "But Sensei is here this time, he won't let you beat me up," he joked.
"No?" Shouta asked mildly. "I think I might actually muster the energy to shout some encouragement today." Seeing Hitoshi's grin widen he added, "To Izuku."
"Rude!" Hitoshi huffed indigently, before dropping to stretch with Izuku once they'd entered the room.
Shouta watched them both approvingly for a moment before going to change, continuing to watch as he started his own set of stretches. He listened silently for a while, amused at their teasing trash talk.
"Who's first?" Izuku asked after he completed his set of stretches.
Hitoshi grinned. "I think you and Sensei should spar first." He shrugged at Izuku's arched eyebrow. "I don't think it's fair for him to be able to watch you spar first. He should be surprised by you like I was the first time I got my ass handed to me."
Izuku sighed, but Shouta stood from his final stretch with a cool look towards Hitoshi. "I'm not opposed to sparring with you first," he told Izuku. "I've been looking forward to it," he added, pointedly not looking at Hitoshi when he let out a small, surprised noise.
"Me too," Izuku admitted readily, smiling and bouncing slightly on his toes. "I enjoy sparring with
different people-it helps me learn."
"That's a good headspace to be in," the older man said quietly as they walked to the middle of the mat and settled across from each other.
Izuku breathed in and out, rolling his shoulders and relaxing his body as he watched the man across from him. He wasn't going to win this, and he knew that. But he hadn't been lying when he had said that part of the appeal was learning something new. Shouta moved abruptly, lunging towards Izuku, and he let the man take him down-he could practically taste the disappointment-and there. The grip loosened just slightly, almost unconsciously, but just enough that Izuku could move with the lunge, turning it into a roll that Izuku managed to escape.
He caught Shouta's arm, and where he would normally drop into an arm bar for Hitoshi he twisted and caught his knee on the other man's back, twisting the arm behind him. Shouta grunted and threw himself back. Izuku swore, landing hard on his back, Shouta on top of him for a brief moment before he released the arm he still held and used the momentum the older man still had to launch him over his head, hearing him hit the mat with a thud as Izuku shoved himself up.
By the time Izuku had turned to face Shouta, the other man had gotten to his feet. His breath caught, because the dark haired man looked dangerous in a way Izuku hadn't seen on a hero before. It was far too attractive, and yet again Izuku questions his taste in men. Izuku caught how Shouta rolled his wrist and flexed it, and felt oddly proud of that. Shouta shifted and Izuku matched him, unable to help the slightly wild smile that curved his lips.
After that it was a blur of movement and soft snarls and grunts as they tossed each other all over the mat. Like he had suspected, as soon as Shouta started controlling the rhythm of the spar and stopped letting Izuku get momentum to toss him, he managed to pin him. But Izuku was pretty damn proud for lasting as long as he did against a Pro Hero, even in a friendly spar.
Shouta had captured both of Izuku's wrists and had them pinned about his head, pinning his hips to the ground with his own. Breath catching as the dark haired man looked down at him, Izuku's mind began blaring warning signals. "Yield," Izuku managed, breathless-and not just from the spar. It took a few moments for the other man to move, but he finally rolled off of him to sprawl on his back.
"I am not going to lie, that was more of a workout than I thought it would be," Shouta admitted, propping himself up on his elbows to see Izuku and Hitoshi. He shot the purple haired boy a warning look when he caught the amused look on his face, but focused back on Izuku after a moment. "I never saw you at any of the hand to hand classes at UA. Where did you learn to fight?" Shouta would have seen him if he'd been at those classes, he was the one who typically ran them.
Izuku paused for a long moment, sitting up and considering the question. Hitoshi had so much faith in his mentor, and Izuku had always appreciated how fiercely the man defended those with 'weak' or 'villainous' quirks. How would that translate to Izuku though?
Watching concern slowly cross Shouta's face, he finally murmured, "I'm Quirkless." His lips twisted a little bitterly. "I had first hand practice." Izuku's stomach twisted when Shouta's face went blank. "Something wrong?" He's careful to keep his voice even, careful to not let it shade sharp like he wants to. Hitoshi would be upset if Izuku upset his mentor-unless the man said something blatantly Quirkist. Then the purple haired boy would probably punch the man in the face himself.
"I'm well aware of the statistics for people who are Quirkless, Izuku," Shouta finally murmured.
"Applying those statistics to someone you know is not pleasant." He hates the sharp look on Izuku's face, it seems unnatural for someone he's only really seen smiling, but he doesn't know how to make this better. And he hates that too, because it's so rare that he doesn't know what to do.
Izuku is well aware of how the tensed line of his shoulders relax, but the one thing in his life he never apologizes for is expecting the worst once he tells someone he's Quirkless. A lifetime of experience has told him to always expect the worst, and to be pleasantly surprised if someone doesn't immediately change once they're told. It was nice to realize that the high expectations both he and Hitoshi had for Shouta had been met.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "The statistics are ugly."
"What statistics?" Hitoshi asked, very quiet. Izuku winced. The Quirkless statistics had been something he'd always quietly avoided talking to the other boy about. There wasn't anything he could do about it, and it would have only made Hitoshi angrier at Bakugou, which had been the last thing they'd needed. Their fights had been ugly enough at the best of times, and they hadn't needed to make them worse.
But Izuku'd had these statistics memorized since he was a child, so he gave the dry statistics about suicide, bullying, hate crimes, unemployment and medical discrimination. The percentages were flat, but like Shouta had said, they were hard to think about when someone they applied to was right there beside you.
"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Hitoshi asked after several moments of silence, his voice rough with emotion.
Izuku sighed softly. "It wasn't anything I wanted to think about Toshi. I knew my options, I knew how likely it was that I would end up unemployed even after graduating top of the support class at the top school in the country. I just..." He trailed off and sighed again, frustrated that his words were failing him.
"You didn't feel the need to talk about something that neither of you could do anything about at that point," Shouta filled in, his voice a little rough as well.
"Yeah," Izuku muttered. "Exactly that, actually." He smiled gratefully. "Thank you, I couldn't figure out how to put that."
Hitoshi huffed but nodded, accepting that. "I'm glad you're here, with us Izu," he said quietly. "You're my best friend and my entire life would be less without you in it."
Izuku's eyes promptly filled with tears, and he let out a watery laugh. "Damn you Toshi, I was almost at a record number of days for not crying," he managed, swiping at his eyes roughly as he shoved himself off of the floor.
Rolling his eyes, Hitoshi hopped up and grabbed Izuku in a hug. "It's useless to try, you're just wired to cry at everything," he muttered, burying his face in Izuku's neck for a long moment before stepping back. "Anyway. Ready to watch me get my ass kicked?" He asked Shouta drily.
He pouted when his mentor calmly dropped himself on the floor to the side and said, "I certainly am."
Izuku and Hitoshi got settled on the mat, and then Izuku spent about thirty minutes tossing his friend all over the mats. Unlike Shouta, Hitoshi hadn't realized that the secret was not letting
Izuku get the momentum going to use his own momentum against him and either toss him around or send him stumbling.
After thirty minutes Izuku called it, laughing at the purple haired boy's fake pout as he laid on the mat dramatically moaning about how he was dead. "You are ridiculous," he informed his friend fondly.
"I think he might actually be getting worse as he gets older," Shouta agreed blandly as he joined them in the middle of the mats.
Hitoshi's pout got more pronounced. "You traitor," he sulked, somehow managing to slump while laying on the ground.
Shouta snorted. "It was a good sparring session," he said, pointedly ignoring his dramatic student. "Hitoshi, what did you learn?" He asked, curious to know what his takeaways from these sessions tended to be.
He stopped pouting and sat up, seriously considering the question. "I think every time we spar, this time included, I learn a little more about how to maneuver around an opponent that outclasses me in both hand to hand combat and tactics." He grinned a little then. "Izu never goes easy on me, so the fact that I'm lasting a little longer every time is how I know I'm getting a little better at it as we go along."
His mentor smiled fondly. "That's good Hitoshi, that's exactly what you should be learning. It's a good thing to learn in a controlled environment as well-it's why we do the classes at UA." He sighed faintly. "Of course, given your class's...everything, those lessons didn't take as well as I'd hoped they would, or even as well as they had in previous years."
Hitoshi grimaced faintly before waving off the thought of the class that had been so standoffish to him. "What about you Sensei?" He asked curiously, ignoring the warning look from his green haired friend. "Did you learn anything from sparring with Izu?"
"I did," he said, looking amused at Izuku's startled look. "You were very good at making me think I had you in my opening gambit, and made me leave an opening that I hadn't realized. It's always good to have a reminder to not underestimate someone, even when a fight seems to be going your way."
Izuku couldn't help but smile, even as he flushed and glanced down. "I'm pretty small," he said quietly, " So I'm used to being underestimated. It's useful, so I use it as much as I can get away with. Especially in fights," he added with a small laugh.
"Yeah, Izu is small but scrappy," Hitoshi said cheerfully, before adding, "I'm pretty sure the only reason he's Quirkless is because otherwise he would already be our benevolent overlord."
"Shut up," Izuku laughed, covering his face in embarrassment.
Hitoshi shrugged with a smirk before tilting his head and asking, "Izu, what did you learn from the sparring today? Since we're having circle time," he added sarcastically.
Izuku rolled his eyes, but considered the question. "Well, sparring with you," he tipped his head at Hitoshi, "I definitely noticed that you're still struggling with controlling the tempo of a fight, so I've learned how to try and encourage that more with you while still making sure to not go easy on you."
His friend nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. And against Sensei?"
"Well," Izuku began, "He's a stronger opponent, so I always enjoy stretching my skills and observing new moves. I can't say I would have considered just launching myself backwards when someone was trying to pin me before. And I definitely learned that I need to work more on my options when I'm not able to create momentum."
Shouta hummed. "To be honest, a lot of Pro Heroes would have trouble with you in a solely hand to hand fight," he said. "I'm more skilled than the majority of them given that I technically fight Quirkless, especially against mutation Quirks, and it was a workout for me." He hesitated, frowning slightly.
Izuku frowned back. "What's up?" He asked cautiously.
"Why didn't you try for the Hero course?" He asked abruptly. "Even if you couldn't have passed the Entrance Exam, given how biased it is towards physical Quirks, you could have placed well enough in the Sports Festival that you could have transferred in. And after expelling Mineta, there was an open spot in the class."
Izuku felt frozen. Fucking Eraserhead was asking why he hadn't tried to get into the Hero course, like it was an actual option. "I was told," he began slowly, the blood pounding in his ears, "That as someone who is Quirkless, I would be a liability in the field and that I should be more realistic."
"What the fuck told you that?" Shouta looked incredulous. "You're obviously driven and intelligent, you understand that if you don't have a physical Quirk you have to mitigate that with physical training, and according to everyone I've spoken to at the Agency your analysis-even your on the spot analysis-is the sort of thing that I would have killed to have in my class. You would have made an amazing Underground Hero."
"All Might," Izuku said blankly, stunned by how highly the older man already thought of him. "All Might told me I would be a liability and I needed to be more realistic." The fact that Shouta had asked around at the Agency about him was noted and then promptly shoved away to be dealt with later.
Shouta's face went completely blank. "I didn't need another reason to dislike that man, and yet here we are," he muttered irritably.
Izuku breathed in, breathed out, and thought about Abe-San's advice. "Focus on what you can control in the here and now," he murmured, smiling faintly. "Nothing we can do about terrible advice given when I was thirteen now, all we can do is move forward." He shrugged. "Besides, I'm actually really happy with where I am right now."
Sighing, Shouta nodded in agreement. "As long as you're happy with where you are in life, that's what matters now. I'd be a hypocrite to say otherwise, since I've always been very clear about the fact that being a Hero is not the only way to help people." He paused. "Although I'm going to make sure All Might is aware of how terrible his advice was."
Letting out a startled squeak, Izuku waved his hands frantically. "No, no, it's fine. You don't need to do that!" He yelped, looking wide eyed and a little bit shocked. "There's no need to bring up something he probably doesn't even remember!"
"So there was nothing about that situation you think I should bring up to him?" Shouta questioned doubtfully, triumph sparking in his face when Izuku faltered.
"Well," Izuku murmured finally. "Maybe telling someone who's Quirkless to be more realistic and then leaving them on a roof was poor decision making, given the statistics on Quirkless
suicide."
He glanced up in confusion at the immediate, smothering silence that covered the room. And then, Hitoshi and Shouta together hissed, "He left you on a fucking roof?"
Ah. Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned that.