Chapter 28: Should I Be Sorry?
Shinso didn't think he'd see Midoriya at all for the rest of that evening. He had dinner in silence with the rest of his new class, distancing himself the best he could. After that, he was directed to his room by student 14, Tokoyami, with the bird head, who was also on his floor. Shinso stared at the light switch on his wall for a moment, which was beside a rather worrying message that warned him not to turn off the corridor lights, at risk of 14's shadow Quirk going crazy and attacking them all. Oh, and next to him, was student number 1, whose laser power just might burst out unexpectantly and destroy the walls (it wasn't a ridiculous warning – Shinso had heard the rumours). And of course, the person who roomed right next door to Shinso, was the infamous student 18, Midoriya himself, who looked just about ready to stab someone, last Shinso had seen of him.
This didn't make Shinso at all relaxed, especially when after brushing his teeth and trying to make his way back to his room in one piece, the door next to his creaked open.
"Err, hi?" Shinso said nervously to Midoriya, who stood blankly in his doorway, head hanging low.
18 cleared his throat, "Yeah, um… hi," he sighed and looked up. He seemed exhausted. "Look… I'm sorry about earlier – I just… wasn't in a good mood."
"Yeah, no kidding." He only realised that was probably a little harsh after he'd said it.
Midoriya shuffled side to side awkwardly. "Yeah… I'm really sorry…" he repeated. "You didn't deserve that. I know you needed us to be accommodating or something, and I was being anything but. I just…" he sighed, "I had a bit of an argument with Kacchan – B-Bakugo – um, 17? Explosion guy? …Earlier. We… don't get along very well and… I-I don't know."
"…It's ok," Shinso nodded. "You're not the only one who lashes out at people from time to time." It would be rather hypocritical of Shinso to say anything otherwise.
Midoriya just nodded, giving him a weak smile, "Anyway… um, I should probably warn you. The alarm clocks all go off at the same time in the morning and I haven't gotten around to taking them apart and stopping them from doing that. So… yeah, sorry, you'll probably be forced to wake up quite abruptly."
"Not your fault," Shinso shrugged.
"Well… I thought I'd warn you anyway."
"Oh, um, speaking of warnings – the… light switch?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow are doing pretty well at the moment, you can turn off the light."
"I can?"
"Yeah, it'll be fine."
"…Well, if you're sure."
"Yeah… well… good night."
"Night."
And Midoriya closed the door again.
Shinso stood there for a moment, mulling the interaction over in his head. He supposed these people were only human – they were kids too, like him. Midoriya suddenly felt an awful lot less terrifying. He was just upset. Shinso got like that too.
Even though he knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep that night, Shinso felt a whole lot more comfortable after that.
Mirio was a diligent student – and although he'd never say it himself, he was probably the best in UA at the time. And… with some extra help from All Might, he was probably still the best when compared with numerous other times of UA.
You see, Mirio had a bit of a secret. He was in this position for a very good reason. Although his mentor insisted that he could have made it to the top alone, there was no ignoring the assistance he'd had getting there.
Mirio's Quirk, naturally, was a lot more simple than it displayed itself now. For his entire life, he'd only been able to pass through solid objects once his Quirk had been activated. He'd learnt to be tricky with it – find every little method and clever idea to get this blade to have a real gleam to it.
He was doing well, at the beginning of his third year at UA. He could remember clearly, sitting in the lunch hall and closely watching the arrival of the new class 1-A. He'd seen three of them come and go now, but this one didn't seem to be going anywhere. And when they arrived, Mirio noticed something particularly special about the green haired boy who soon became class president. And it was something about that conversation he'd had with the first-year hero course in front of the whole school on that fateful day.
He remembered talking to All Might about it.
"Sir, do you know much about class 1-A?" he had asked.
All Might blinked at him from over his cup of tea, sitting opposite each other in the little room they'd speak in from time to time. They'd only really known each other for a few months prior to the beginning of the school year, but Mirio already owed this man more than he could ever seem to appreciate.
"Not so much," the currently skeletal-looking hero admitted. That was the big problem with All Might's power at the moment – it was failing him. "Why do you ask?"
Mirio frowned as he put his empty cup down on the table, "I overheard something at lunch. It made me think of… the story you told me – about your power."
"Our power, my boy."
Yeah, that was the other thing…
All Might's power wasn't just super strength or flight or anything like that. His real power was the ability to pass it on. One for All was its name. The ability had cultivated over nine holders now, growing stronger as it went, picking up more and more with each hero. Mirio was next.
Mirio had laughed, "I suppose you're right!"
"Well, what did you hear?" his mentor pressed.
"Oh, right – you see. I remember you saying… One for All has a mirror power, right? All for One?"
All Might's expression grew dark, the way it always did when this subject was at hand. He nodded. "The power to take."
"Yes… Well, one of the class 1-A kids – I think he has something similar."
All Might nearly chocked on his drink. "Principal Nezu never mentioned that!"
"Did he not? That's kind of strange!"
"What did you hear exactly?"
"Oh, well, I saw a few of class 1-A speaking to class 1-B. I knew something was going to happen, it always does between those two classes. It did when I was in 1-B; there's always some kind of rivalry. Anyway, one of class B has this copy Quirk. I suppose that holds similarities to All for One as well, but that's not what I'm talking about. There was this other boy – from 1-A – he took the copy power. The copy Quirk boy was left without his power at all! It was super weird – had to be a Quirk. I asked around and apparently this guy – the kid with 18 on his back – has the ability to steal other Quirks."
All Might stared at him for a moment. "Wait a moment, did you say 18?"
"That's the one!"
He furrowed his brow for a moment, deep in thought, before clapping his hand over his forehead and letting out a sigh of relief. "No, no. 18 doesn't have anything like All for One. You scared me for a minute there, young Mirio."
"Oh? Then what's his Quirk?"
"18's real name is Izuku Midoriya – and he's completely Quirkless."
Mirio soon learned the history Midoriya and All Might had. He winced at the thought. It clearly wasn't an encounter that went well on either end.
Midoriya became an area of great interest for All Might for a good while after. There was the incident at the USJ – then the numerous escape plots – and let's not forget the ruckus he caused at the Sports Festival. This was why, when the home visits rolled around, the hero Mirio was interning under, All Might's old side kick, Sir Nighteye, suggested that he applied for the class 1-A watch-over job that UA offered to the third years. A chance to practise what it's like patrolling a neighbourhood. You weren't just keeping an eye on the troublesome first years, but also protecting that area. It was a good experience, especially for those who never got the opportunities Mirio had been presented with. He wasn't going to sign up for exactly that reason – give others a chance. But if Sir Nighteye suggests something, you do it. He had a foresight Quirk, after all (not that he'd use it on trivial matters such as this).
So, he signed up. All Might made sure he got assigned to Midoriya. Maybe he would have been better off around someone like Shoto Todoroki, but Mirio wasn't complaining. He'd never met Midoriya before, but from the looks of it at that mini parent's evening before class A went their separate ways for their home visits, the class utterly adored him.
And when he caught Midoriya climbing out his window, insisting that he was going to Hosu, Mirio knew that this wasn't just some trivial matter. Midoriya was smart; resourceful. Mirio knew the value in predictions such as these. The alert on his phone saying that Dabi was in Hosu, almost immediately after Midoriya had suggested as such, Mirio knew he had to let Midoriya do this.
All in all, it turned out pretty well.
"What were you thinking?!" Sir Nighteye bellowed at him; hands slammed down on the desk.
"Nighteye, please. He did a good job –" All Might tried to interrupt.
Sir simply pinched his forehead and groaned, "You're as bad as each other. Reckless, stupid! You should have escorted Midoriya right back home – not gone with him!"
Mirio had told the two of them the whole truth behind what had happened that night, whilst they met up at the Nighteye agency to discuss what had happened around Stain. He may have… stretched it in front of everyone else, but he owed them so much, they deserved to know.
"It worked out!" Mirio insisted with a smile. He didn't at all regret doing that. He'd had faith in Midoriya, and it had been well placed.
"It might not have," Sir hissed. "You have to balance these scenarios – weigh the outcomes against each other. You were extremely lucky it played out the way it did."
"It was the best thing to do," Mirio insisted. Sir could be stubborn – but he wasn't going to back down either. "Midoriya wasn't going to give up. And if he hadn't gone, Iida would be dead, and who knows what would have happened to Todoroki. Besides – Midoriya is very persuasive."
All Might opened his mouth, likely to agree (with all points apart from the last), but Nighteye pointed a warning finger at him, "Not a word," he snapped.
All Might sheepishly kept his mouth shut.
He turned back to Mirio, "Midoriya has a track record of lies, manipulation, and trying to run off."
Mirio shrugged, never wavering from his smile, "He's not what you'd expect! I'd have to admit! He just gives people the wrong impression at first!"
While he spoke, Sir Nighteye had leant back into his chair with a deep sigh and was now cleaning the lenses of his glasses.
"To my knowledge, the boy only gives the right impression to those who have something to give him. You know what he knows." Sir gestured towards All Might, who shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot, as though embarrassed that he gave away his secret of weakness to one of the most objectively dangerous teenagers in the country.
"He doesn't know about One for All though," Mirio blinked. "Or All for One – or he would have never pretended to have that Quirk."
Sir shook his head slowly whilst he put his glasses back on, "The kid is Quirkless. Yet, he wants to be a hero."
"Well, I was born Quirkless," All Might admitted.
Mirio perked up at that. He had no idea.
"I had the same dreams," he sighed, rubbing the side of his head, "although I definitely didn't go about them in the same way…"
"Midoriya is… unsafe," Sir nodded. "He knows too much and has the motivations to do something with that knowledge, something that could spell disaster for the likes of us. That is why he is at UA. And why you definitely shouldn't have taken him to Hosu," he said, snapping the attention back to Mirio.
"He was under my protection," Mirio insisted surely. "He wasn't supposed to leave my sight. But I managed to find him again and with your teachings of predictions, Sir, my abilities simply outperformed his own! And all legal matters were in place – it's not like it was vigilantism, Sir!"
All Might gave him a soft smile, "I think you did an amazing –"
"– Stop," Sir interrupted, "Stop. Don't encourage him. What am I supposed to do with the two of you? All Might – I've told you before and I'll tell you again!" He stood up, straightening his jacket as he did so. "You are heading towards a dangerous future! You will die an… an unspeakable death – and if you want to… to do anything you can – anything – to avoid that…"
Mirio could see a real fear in Sir's eyes. A real sadness, and regret. Mirio let his smile drop. All Might did too.
"If you want to avoid that," Sir continued, "you do as I say, and the two of you stay away from that kid."
"Midoriya?" Mirio frowned. "But he's not a villain! He doesn't like All Might, but he certainly wouldn't do any harm to him!"
"Nor do I believe he is capable–" Sir Nighteye's gaze flickered back to All Might's as he added – "physically."
The two had clearly had some sort of argument about this behind the scenes, Mirio realised. He could tell by the way the two held their gaze for a moment longer than necessary.
Sir sighed, turning towards the clock on the wall as he watched time tick past. "All for One and creatures with multiple Quirks," he said to no one in particular. "Nomu and the League of Villains… Shigaraki, and Izuku Midoriya. I don't like the direction time is taking us."
"Well, there's little we can do about that, Sir," Mirio admitted. "But I still don't think Midoriya is a real problem in all this. He's just trying to look out for himself – and his friends. I think he feels like the world is against him. We shouldn't add to that number."
Sir gave him a look – not a harsh one, no, quite the opposite. Almost sympathetic, as though he was pitying Mirio for his ignorance.
"All villains start out small. Midoriya has started down the path. UA can't stop him now. And the situation in Hosu was proof enough – the League of Villains isn't just after Todoroki now, they want Midoriya too."
"He isn't a villain," Mirio insisted, now finally standing up too. He was putting his foot down on this. He truly believed Midoriya was on their side. Even if Midoriya wasn't quite sure himself yet. He would be – when it came down to it.
…Right?
Midoriya wasn't sure what he expected to happen in terms of him and Kacchan next, but nothing at all changed for a good while. Tension hung thick in the air, the atmosphere as heavy and solemn as it had been at the very beginning of class A.
Midoriya just… he was ready to move on now. He'd had enough of this. Of course, he'd spoken to Mr Aizawa on more than one occasion about changing classes – about getting away from this and starting anew, but every time he'd managed to convince him otherwise. Now, in the moments where Midoriya's mind drifted away from schoolwork, usually when he sat alone in his room, staring at the filled pages of his notebook, stuck on what else to add, he found himself thinking about the ways Mr Aizawa had convinced him he could be a hero before.
Not all of it… not all of it really made sense, now he was thinking about it. Or maybe that was the problem – he was thinking about it. Mr Aizawa simply appealed to the part of Midoriya that really, really wanted to be a hero – a part that still existed, no matter how hard he tried to snuff it out, it would always be there, as it always had been.
If only he had a Quirk – any Quirk. It could have been as minor as the ability to change the colour of his hair at will. Literally anything. Anything at all, and none of this would matter. He'd find some weird and wonderful way to apply that Quirk to hero work, and people wouldn't target him – call him names – insist that he wasn't worth it.
Midoriya would do anything for a Quirk.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. Midoriya was left to fantasise about having that ability he faked in front of Monoma, way back when. Stealing other Quirks – wow, he'd love that.
He'd been daydreaming a lot, lately. He'd often find himself irritated at interruptions to his tranquil solitude, like when Kirishima knocked on his door to spew his apologies for forcing him and Kacchan to try and talk it out. Midoriya didn't mind; he knew Kirishima meant well. Besides, what Kacchan had said was something Midoriya needed drilling into his brain. Other interruptions included the time when Uraraka arrived to say sorry for making such a fuss about Hagakure, explaining that she was feeling rather emotional and run down after her home visit, and it all overflowed. Midoriya understood – he knew the feeling all too well. Then Iida would consistently turn up to insist that Midoriya came down for food, but he rarely felt like it. Yaoyorozu would do the same but was far less insistent and would give him a cup of tea and left him be, which he appreciated. Tsu would routinely arrive about half an hour later with a spare plate of food that she left on his table without a single word – Midoriya appreciated that too. Shoto was the only other one who would appear to try to talk, but he never seemed to know what to say.
The week passed them by slowly and quietly by class A's standards. It really put into perspective how much of their mayhem was directly correlated with Midoriya, because now that he wasn't doing much, neither were they. Mr Aizawa seemed to genuinely think something was wrong with them and postponed their new hero class schedule for another week in response.
By the time they finally started, Midoriya had begun to feel a little better. Not in himself, particularly, only in the concept of not being a hero. He just needed to calmly trudge on through the course, enjoy learning about hero law and stuff he'd been completely invested in ever since he was a kid, and suffer through gruelling training exercises that Mr Aizawa was now putting them through in PE. In a very strange, and inhuman way, Midoriya kind of enjoyed them too, because it stopped him from thinking for once.
Iida started his week's detention that Monday too. Midoriya thought it would mean they were both washing dishes at class B's for an hour every evening, but Mr Aizawa seemed to think the punishment was better served if they were separated, meaning the two alternated between helping the support course and helping class B. Toga and Mei always seemed to be testing the most dangerous and explosive equipment whenever they had Iida on call, because he nearly always came back covered in soot and scorch marks.
The only other thing of importance to note was the new addition to class A, that being Shinso. He was quiet and secluded. He didn't talk much to anyone or care to involve himself in the drama. The only thing Midoriya had managed to learn about him was his worrying love of coffee – and his disapproval of the fact that class A only had access to the instant stuff. Regardless, he went through more of the stuff than the rest of the class combined.
But it would have been foolish of Midoriya to think that this lull would last forever. Something was bound to change. And out of all the things it could have been – of all the people who could have stood up and insisted Midoriya got his head out of the gutter, it ended up being the worst possible option.
"Hey, Deku!" snapped Midoriya's favourite person before he had the chance to slip upstairs for a minute before his detention with class B.
Midoriya took a deep breath and sighed, "What?" he said a little more harshly than he'd anticipated, one foot on the bottom stair and his arms wrapped around his various homework notebooks.
It took him about one second to realise that this was an interaction that Kacchan absolutely did not want to initiate and was being forced to. This realisation came mainly from the fact that numerous other members of his class were now leaning over the backs of sofas and holding their breath, whilst Kirishima nudged Kacchan forwards.
Midoriya rolled his eyes, "What is it?"
The attitude made Kacchan's teeth grind together in clear frustration. "Apparently, we need to talk," he forced the words out of his mouth.
Midoriya found himself sighing again – much more audible and deliberate this time. He wasn't going to be able to avoid this, was he? "Go on then," he said, walking back over to the common room and dropping his books down on the corner of the closest table.
There was silence for a few moments too many.
Kacchan looked to Kirishima for a moment, who just grinned and nodded in encouragement. Kacchan tutted and turned back to Midoriya, "Apparently," he said with even more sarcasm, "I need to say sorry."
Midoriya wasn't even amused, "I didn't know that word was in your vocabulary."
Kacchan's fists shook with rage.
"Not that it matters," Midoriya continued, cocking his head to one side, "There's nothing to apologise for."
"EXACTLY!" Kacchan exploded (figuratively – important to add) and turned back to the others. "I have nothing to freaking apologise for so shut the hell up!"
"This was a terrible idea," Jiro perked up from the other side of the room.
"Look at that," Midoriya droned, "We actually agree on something – can I leave now?"
Kirishima grasped Kacchan's shoulders and turned him back around to face Midoriya. "You're clearly upset," he smiled genuinely, "So, Bakugo would like to say sorry –"
"Well there's nothing to be sorry for!" Midoriya yelled. The act even surprised himself. Everyone blinked at him as though to wonder if this was actually Midoriya speaking, or some alien imposter.
There was silence for a moment more.
"…He said you can't be a hero," said Shoto.
Midoriya turned around to see him standing behind him. "So?"
"…So that was wrong."
Midoriya gave him a look that only he would know how to decipher.
"– Because I'm a villain and you're just the Quirkless kid pretending that he can be a hero!"
"It was wrong," Shoto repeated.
Midoriya blinked furiously and reached for his notebooks to leave, not wanting to participate in this anymore. Shoto realised and darted ahead to take them out of his reach.
"Let me leave!" Midoriya said a lot more pathetically than he might have hoped.
"No," he said with a hint of concern. "Y-You can be a hero."
"Shut up," Midoriya hissed in a tone not too dissimilar to Kacchan's own. "I can't."
He yanked his notebooks out his friend's grasp and tried to walk away.
"Huh." Midoriya turned to see Kacchan look at him strangely, his arms crossed, and brow furrowed. "All these freaking years and now you listen to me? What the actual hell."
"Leave me alone."
"No, what the hell?!" Kacchan exclaimed, marching closer. "All these years and now – now we're this freaking close to a hero course examination – and I get it through your thick skull?!"
"Well, no need to rub it in!"
But he carried on anyway – almost laughing, "Go on then! Say that I'm freaking right!"
Midoriya stormed up to him to look the taller boy in the eye, tears pricking at his own, "You were right."
"Bakugo –" Kirishima tried to interrupt.
Kacchan prodded Midoriya in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards a little, "You can't be a hero."
"Maybe I can't!"
"Not freaking maybe –"
"I can't! I can't be a freaking hero! And I'm not going to be! Happy now?! Huh?!"
"Yeah, I'm freaking happy!"
"Good!"
"Good."
Midoriya turned around, slammed his notebooks into Shoto's chest, and whilst ignoring the pleas of his friends and classmates, pulled on his shoes. Moments later, he slammed the front door behind him and marched the short distance to the class B dorm building for detention.
Shoto dropped the notebooks to the floor. Seconds later he had Bakugo's collar in his right hand, ice already creeping across the latter's shirt, and his left fist smouldering, ready to punch his lights out. It helped that Shoto was a few centimetres taller than him.
There was a sudden commotion in which the likes of Kirishima and Sato tried to pull the two apart, but Bakugo merely laughed and waved the two of them off, "Bring it on, Half n' Half!" he sneered. "I'll take any of you on!"
"How dare you talk to Midoriya like that?" Shoto said in barely a whisper.
"Well someone's gotta do it!" Bakugo growled, slapping Shoto's hand away and brushing the ice from his front, "You're fricking welcome."
"Midoriya is more of a hero than any of us!" Shoto retorted, rapidly raising his voice.
"It doesn't matter how he freaking acts – it's about what he can and can't do! And he can't be a bloody hero!"
"He can! More than you," he snarled, looking him up and down.
Bakugo prodded him in the chest as he had with Midoriya, but Shoto didn't stumble backwards. "Deku doesn't have a Quirk. Like it or not – he needs a power to be a stupid hero! It's the basic freaking requirement! It's like wanting to be a lifeguard without being able to swim – or a singer whilst being mute! It's not going to happen!"
"Bakugo," Kirishima finally stepped between the two of them.
Shoto stepped back and onto Midoriya' work. He sighed and stooped down to gather it up, soon joined by Tsu who was doing the same.
"Bakugo, man that… that wasn't on."
"What do you freaking mean – that wasn't on? Huh?" Bakugo repeated with a sneer. "I'm right."
"That doesn't matter," Kirishima sighed. "Please man, you have to give him a chance –"
"It doesn't work like that!"
"Midoriya is different!"
"Yeah – as in he's bloody useless! He can't be a hero!"
"You don't know that man!"
"I DO KNOW THAT – YOU KNOW THAT – WE ALL FREAKING KNOW THAT!"
"Bakugo!"
Shoto stood up beside Tsu, blinking at Kirishima. He didn't think he'd ever heard him raise his voice before. Even Bakugo seemed taken aback.
Kirishima sighed, "You can't be a hero. You just can't."
Bakugo blinked at him. He let out a couple of huffs of laughter, "Yes I can."
"No," Kirishima said, shaking his head, "Man, you… you can't. Not like this."
He clearly didn't know what to say for a moment. Glancing around, Shoto saw Bakugo's eyes drift from classmate to classmate, each avoiding his gaze. He turned back to Kirishima with a growl, "You don't know the first thing about what it takes to be a freaking hero."
Slowly and calmly, Kirishima pushed down the finger that Bakugo pointed at him accusingly, "Do you?"
"I…"
Silence.
Shinso slurped his coffee in the corner.
Everyone stared at him.
"…What?"
Bakugo pushed Kirishima harshly out the way. He made sure to knock shoulders with Shoto has be passed, causing him to drop the books and paper he'd collected up again.
As he stormed upstairs and out of sight, Kirishima sighed and bent down to collect the papers for Shoto. He handed them back, "I'm sorry – this is my fault."
"It's not your fault, ribbit," said Tsu, passing the rest of the paper to Shoto. "That's all Bakugo's doing."
"Maybe Midoriya should have gotten him expelled when he had the chance," Sero perked up.
Shoto agreed.
Kirishima's sigh didn't seem to suggest an alignment either way.
"Look I don't know the history behind those two," said Shinso, "But it looks like that altercation has had a long time coming. Not anyone's fault in particular."
"You have no idea, man," Kirishima groaned, running his hands down his face.
"I really, really don't. I have no idea what half your names are."
"I just hope Deku's ok…" Uraraka mumbled from the sofa where she sat with Hagakure.
"He doesn't like that name," Shoto snapped.
"I – S-Sorry… I'll stop using it…"
Shoto turned to the window facing the class B building, vaguely catching the silhouettes of their sister class.
Midoriya had done so much for him. Was… was there anything at all he could do in return?
So, Monoma was in a bit of a predicament.
"Guys," he whispered to his classmates in the common room.
"What?" replied Setsuna, her mouth full of biscuits.
"Where's Honenuki?" he grimaced, glancing around for the boy in question.
"Shower," Sen replied simply.
"Why?" asked Pony curiously.
Monoma hesitantly pointed back to the kitchen, "I think class-A-wonder-boy's upset."
"What, Midoriya?" blinked Kendo, standing up.
Monoma nodded, a little nervous to glance back into the kitchen area and check on him.
"Well… go and ask if he's ok," Kendo insisted as she walked over.
"What?!" Monoma said a little too loudly. He lowered his voice again, "Anyone but me! He hates me!"
Kendo rolled her eyes, "He doesn't hate you."
"He threatened to stab me at the Sports Festival!"
"That never happened," Sen retorted.
"He had a sword at my neck!"
"Different thing."
"The point stands!"
"Just go talk to him," Kendo sighed, turning him around and starting to push him towards the kitchen where 18 was supposed to be cleaning their dishes.
Monoma dug his heels into the ground in a futile attempt to resist. "Please someone get Honenuki – or you do it! You're class president!"
"He knows you better," Kendo insisted. They were almost there now.
"But –"
"Go!"
And she pushed him into the kitchen. He stumbled and only just managed to not trip over. He whirled around to give Kendo a look, but she'd already disappeared around the corner and out of sight.
Unsurely, Monoma turned around and expected to find 18 staring right back at him with that angry green glare of his. Instead, he hadn't seemed to have acknowledged his presence at all. 18 sat in exactly the same position that Monoma had found him in the first time, sunk to the floor under the sink, hugging his knees and burying his face, his shoulders silently shaking.
Monoma sighed. "Um, hello?" he said cautiously as he approached. He noted how 18's shoulders stiffened, but he made no move to tell him to leave him alone or anything, so Monoma ended up sinking down against the cabinets beside him.
Now sitting on the kitchen floor, he tried again, "Are… you alright?"
18 sniffed. He finally looked up, revealing a tear-stricken face and reddened eyes. He wiped them with the back of his sleeve and didn't meet Monoma's eyes.
Monoma blinked. He… didn't know what he had expected – and it was probably this, to be honest – but he didn't exactly know what to do about it.
"Um… what's… What's going on?" Monoma attempted.
18 said nothing and just tilted his head further away, staring blankly at the wall on the other side of him to Monoma.
He was so terrible at this – so, so terrible. But if Monoma wanted to be an actual hero, he had to get better. He had to start somewhere.
"Something to do with class A, right?" Monoma guessed. He couldn't see why – since class A had all been as thick as thieves… probably not the best simile – but regardless, they'd all gotten along well since the beginning of the year. What could have possibly changed so quickly?
But 18 still wasn't cooperating in any way shape or form, and was still silently crying, curled in on himself again. It was weird, because Monoma had never seen him in this state. 18 had always appeared tough, frightening, and in complete control of himself and everyone and everything around him, despite his Quirklessness.
Gosh, it was so weird that he was Quirkless. Monoma could never have guessed. But seeing him like this suddenly put it all into perspective. Midoriya wasn't unbreakable, or some horrible villain to defeat. Right now, he just looked like… someone who needed… help.
Monoma wasn't sure if he was the right person to deliver that.
"I'm sorry about what I said at the Sports Festival," Monoma said anyway.
Midoriya actually looked up at that, finally looking at him.
He hadn't really meant his apology as much as he should've had, back at the Sports Festival, when it all kicked off and 18 ended up pointing a sword at him. "Look, I-I don't know what's going on or why you're so upset. But I guess I can at least settle that. So… um… congratulations on getting third, I guess…"
Midoriya rubbed the tears from his eyes again, "T-Thanks," he stammered.
"And… err… when… when did we last speak?"
He sniffed, "U-Um… probably when we last did an escape attempt."
"Oh yeah and you fell in Honenuki's quicksand trap twice!" Monoma barked in laughter. He quickly caught himself and cleared his throat, "I-I mean… yeah… then."
But Midoriya gave him a slight smile, "That was kind of funny."
Monoma let out a huff of laughter, leaning back so his head hit the cabinet behind him. "Two-nil to us."
"But we won the Sports Festival."
Monoma pouted, "Yeah, whatever."
"A-Also, didn't Uraraka tackle you to the ground last escape attempt and you weren't able to do anything to stop her."
"…Moving on –"
Midoriya snorted.
"Moving on! I… err… um, yeah – why are you upset?"
He sighed, rubbing at his eyes again, "It's a long story…"
Monoma glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Well, you have fifty minutes of detention left."
And so he told him. About how he and Bakugo (or Kacchan, as he called him) had grown up together – and how Bakugo got his Quirk and Midoriya never did. About how, despite all this, Midoriya had dreamed of being a hero all his life – no matter how many people tried to tell him it was impossible or give him this pitiful look as if they knew right from the start that his dreams were doomed to fail. He explained how Bakugo's merciless taunts built up – how they got worse and worse until… finally, he snapped. The manic smile Monoma knew so well rose back up again as Midoriya explained how he did it – how he got Bakugo into class A. The security cameras, his hacking and piling evidence – how he walked into a police station one day, dropping his papers and notebooks on the front desk and proclaiming that he was here to file a complaint, and in excruciating detail, the look on the officer's face as they combed through the files Midoriya provided, and how piece by piece, he brought down the entire school, and sent Bakugo to UA, to the wrong class – 1-A.
Then, Midoriya explained how Bakugo was attacked by a villain made of sludge, and how the heroes on the scene were going to let him die. How he stepped in instead, and in a fit of rage, shouted and screamed at anyone who would listen about the incompetency of the heroes. And all that led up to what went on behind the scenes at UA – stuff he'd never even admitted to his closest friends. About how Bakugo had hit him more than once – and how he laughed in his face at the realisation that no, Midoriya could never be a hero, not without a Quirk.
"– A-And I just d-don't know what to do anymore," he finished, hands over his eyes.
"You really, honestly want to be a hero?" Monoma asked, just to doubly make sure – even Midoriya seemed a bit confused – reaffirmed by the way he shrugged and stared at the ceiling.
"I-I feel like everyone who says that I can be a hero at this point are only saying it to make me feel better – or out of pity. They don't actually believe it." His speech was muffled by his hands.
Monoma sighed, "You know, we're not actually too different."
"Hm?"
"I've been… thinking about what you said, back at the Sports Festival – you probably don't even remember, but it's kind of been ringing in my head for a while."
"…Is this when I pointed a sword at you?"
"Might have been. Anyway, you said something about… thinking about why I was really here – why I wanted to be a hero and all that. And I think I initially signed up because I wanted to prove that I was something, you know? It's hard, with my Quirk. Because… well, it's never really mine. I have to copy someone else's. In a way, I'm kind of Quirkless."
Midoriya scoffed.
"Well, it's true."
"Yeah, yeah – I get where you're coming from."
"So, we're the same!"
"Err…"
"Just agree with me."
"…Ok."
"And because I don't really have a Quirk – I've had a lot of people say that I can't be a hero either, because it would be too difficult. And I got lucky on the entrance exam day because there were enough people with powerful Quirks around for me to exploit, alright? And most of them weren't using their powers in the right way to get the points they needed."
"People can be so stupid with their powers," Midoriya mumbled.
"Right?! I can always use them so much better than –" He caught the look on Midoriya's face and stopped his train of thought. He cleared his throat again, "R-Right, yes, so, I was lucky. And I guess I, like everyone else, was rather caught up in the idea that there was one villain class and one hero class, and we were supposed to be against each other. And… you're supposed to be the leader of the villains… so…"
Midoriya smiled softly, "I get it."
"You… do?" because Monoma wasn't even sure what he was talking about at this point.
"Yeah."
…Well. That's that then.
"…Hey, where did you learn to sword fight?"
"Yaoyorozu."
"Just… class A?"
"Yeah."
"Wait, so you just… picked it up at school last term and that's it?!"
He grinned and nodded.
"…But you're so good at it!"
He smiled a little wider, "I wouldn't say that…"
"Is it like with hacking? You just pick stuff up easily?"
"Um, maybe? I-I don't really know. Those are the only two things –"
"You should try some more hero-like stuff," Monoma nodded to himself, "Like… parkour or martial arts. I'd bet you'd be good at that too."
He seemed unsure, but as though he appreciated the thought, "…Thanks, Monoma. You know, you're a lot nicer when you're not so riled up over something."
"…I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do – you were completely obsessed with the idea that we were up to something back at our first escape attempt and got yourself into trouble because of it."
"But I was right!"
He gave him a look and pointed to his cheek, "I am permanently scarred."
"O-Oh… Whoops."
"Whoops?" Midoriya laughed in disbelief.
"What else do you expect me to say?!"
"Sorry?!"
"Well, sorry!"
He just laughed again, as though he didn't really care. That's good because Monoma really didn't know what he could do about that one.
– whoops.
Suddenly, Midoriya stood up, "I should probably go."
Monoma blinked at the clock, "Oh, it's been an hour already?"
Midoriya nodded as he pulled his blazer back on. He must have tossed it aside whilst he washed the dishes. Monoma was about to make some excuse about him not being able to leave until they were all finished, but soon found that they already were. He must have done them all very quickly.
"Hey, wait!" Monoma called after him, before he could reach the front door. "Is it you or 4 who's coming tomorrow."
"Iida."
Monoma was painstakingly aware that the rest of his class were staring and grinning at him from across the room.
"…Can you make him go to support instead?"
Midoriya smiled, "Sure. See you tomorrow."
And he closed the door behind him.
"Aww," Setsuna gave him a toothy smile, "Monoma made a friend."
"It was a truce," Monoma retorted.
"I told you Midoriya's nice," Honenuki, who had since emerged from his shower, shook his head in disbelief at how long this had taken them all to figure out.
"Why didn't you come and help me?!" Monoma pointed at him accusingly. "Midoriya actually likes you!"
"He's calling him Midoriya instead of 18 and everything," Setsuna whispered rather loudly to Kendo, "They're totally friends."
"Would you cut it out?!"
"You guys were actually having a nice conversation," Honenuki shrugged. "It's not that bad to be friends with class A."
"Yeah, don't be embarrassed, Monoma," Setsuna tried not to laugh.
"SHUT UP!"
"Ok, line up."
It had been a while since Aizawa had taught a hero class. He'd gotten used to the way the infamous class 1-A worked; the patterns that those lost teenagers displayed in their behaviour – those which could be carried over from one situation to the next. But although all the kids of his current class held those same issues, same patterns, the group was… different. And there was only one factor he could think of – the only difference from years before. Quirkless Izuku Midoriya. Speaking of which –
"Where's 18?" he asked the class standing before him. There was a sizeable gap between Yaoyorozu, student number 20, and Bakugo, number 17.
"Detention, sir," Iida dutifully responded, ever keen to prove himself after being demoted from class vice president.
Aizawa frowned, Midoriya's detention should have finished an hour ago. That was why Iida was able to be here, since the two had detention at the same time.
Regardless, it wasn't compulsory for them to be here. This was an extracurricular activity, of sorts – hero practise, extra PE lessons, whatever they wanted to call them. Getting into the provisional licensing exam was one thing – passing it, was another. It was notoriously difficult, and many hero courses elect to only send in second-years. First-years risk failing and lowering the school's national placement. UA could afford to take the hit, and first-years more often than not pass the exam with flying colours, considering the challenging entrance exams they needed to pass in the first place. UA would then enter a second group of hero students half a year later, for all those who failed and those who transferred into the course since. Class 1-A was an entirely different situation. They'd had none of the training class 1-B had experienced, and would be competing with hundreds of other, well-versed hero students from across the country. Rumour has it, the licensing exam was going to be even tighter than usual this year, only giving those precious licences to a handful of examinees.
Class 1-A has what it takes – Aizawa was sure of it. The class was unusually talented. Most, if not all, of those with dangerous Quirks now had a solid enough grip on their powers for graduation, and the rest were hard working, enthusiastic, and driven. It was all thanks to Midoriya, of course – the reason that they were all happy to pursue this path of heroism. It had taken some convincing, and some difficult steps along the way (some more recent than others) – but Aizawa was now confident that none of them felt forced to do this. They wanted to – and that was good enough.
Strangely enough, the only one who still seemed uncertain, was Midoriya himself.
Aizawa ordered them all to take laps around the track as the light began to dim. He stood in the middle and observed silently, thinking. Midoriya was likely with Toga and her friend, right? Aizawa couldn't see why he'd want to spend a second more than necessary with class B. The only other person who was missing was Shinso, which was also a little concerning. Aizawa wasn't even sure if the kid knew about class A's plan to get into the licensing exam – not great considering he also was within a shot. He'd expected Midoriya to explain – and for that to be who Shinso grew close to. The two had a lot in common. There was the small chance, of course, that the two were together, since they were both not here. But it was unlikely – Shinso was probably sitting in his room, having no idea where the rest of his new class was.
Not good. Something had definitely happened – and it had happened to Midoriya.
Aizawa sighed. Might as well focus on the rest of them for now – let them distract themselves from whatever teenage drama they'd cooked up for a while.
After their laps, Aizawa had constructed a simple activity – just to test something… Something specific to the fact that Midoriya was missing.
"Here's what we're going to do," he began once they'd lined up again. "Remember capture the flag? We'll be simplifying that down to one objective." Aizawa pulled from his pocket a piece of red cloth. "20, come forward."
She did just that, confused.
"Yaoyorozu and I will be standing here, in the middle of the track. I will be holding this flag, and 20 will be stopping your advancements the best she can. Defence only – no attacking. Your objective is to get the flag off me. You just have to take it out of my grasp. That's it. Step outside the track and think up a plan. You can start whenever you want after that."
Already exchanging murmurs of ideas, the remaining seventeen students hurried to the outside of the running track.
"Um, Mr Aizawa?" Yaoyorozu spoke up after a moment of silence.
"Hm?"
"Why am I the one defending?" she blinked curiously.
"Because you're vice president."
"…Oh."
"And I think it would be good practise for you and your Quirk. Strategy and quick thinking will be a vital skill for you. Have confidence. I would have given you a partner for aid if I didn't think you were capable of holding them off for long enough for me to see what I need to see."
Yaoyorozu smiled softly at the compliment, but this quickly morphed into a frown, "What are you looking for?"
Aizawa grinned, "Teamwork."
The first attack came quickly.
With a yell and confused shouts from his classmates, Bakugo raced forwards, powered by his explosions. Aizawa let his eyes flash red – the boy fell to the ground but was undeterred, continuing on his charge. It wasn't long before Yaoyorozu was holding the infamous net-gun she'd utilised in the Sports Festival, against Ashido. Bakugo dodged one but not the other, and with Aizawa's gaze locked on him, he had no way of escaping.
"17, you're out," Aizawa announced.
"WHAT?!" he yelled, struggling against the net.
"If you were part of a hero team and we were villains holding a hostage or any valuable, you have just been disarmed and immobilised. You're dead."
"YOU DIDN'T TELL US THAT WAS PART OF THE FREAKING GAME!" he snapped in frustration, as Yaoyorozu wandered over and started to drag Bakugo out of the ring the running track provided.
"You should never expect that you are capable of taking on a villain alone," Aizawa replied calmly, but loud enough so that the rest of the class could hear. "And you cannot expect that an opponent will follow the same rules and morals as yourself. There are few hero teams out there, and most work alone – mainly because of the money and pay load. But whether or not you stick together once you become heroes, you will be expected to team up on the regular, possibly with people you don't know. Therefore, quick thinking and teamwork is the only option in modern-day heroics. 17 – stop thinking that you're good enough to go alone – it doesn't matter if you are. You work in a team regardless."
Bakugo had burnt the net off himself whilst Aizawa was speaking, since his gaze was finally averted. Yaoyorozu had made a sword and shield and stood ready before Aizawa. He had yet to figure out why she was so –
She kicked at mid-air, hit something solid, picked up the net launcher and caught an invisible mass before them.
"Same goes for you, 16," Aizawa sighed at Hagakure. The stand-alone villains of the group were also going to face this trouble. He half expected Uraraka to try the same, but she had grown well in her time at UA – keen to work with her friends.
But it wasn't just Bakugo and Hagakure who peeled off. After what seemed to be about a minute of talking, Mina, Sero, Kaminari and a few others turned away from Iida, who was seemingly trying to organise them all, and spread out across the pitch, not really talking much, but at least more ready than the other two had been. Regardless, without support items, quite a few of them could do nothing useful – evident from the fact that Kaminari quickly knocked both him and Sero out of the game when he tried and failed to send a stream of electricity towards Yaoyorozu using Sero's tape. Mina at least got somewhere, melting Yaoyorozu's nets and shield, but with Aizawa's Quirk erasing ability, she didn't get far before she too, alongside Kirishima and Sato, who had stepped in to protect them, were sitting outside with Bakugo and Hagakure.
Aizawa would have liked to say that the rest of the class formulated a reasonable plan of attack, but after about twenty minutes, the only ones who remained were, strangely enough, Midoriya's close friends. Iida, Uraraka, Asui and Shoto stayed outside the ring. Iida looked a little panicked. He'd been trying and failing to get everyone to listen to him this entire time, although Aizawa couldn't quite hear what they were saying. After a minute more, Asui took charge.
Their method was something along the lines of what Aizawa was expecting to begin with. Shoto charged forwards first. With his ice and fire, he created steam, obscuring the pitch, and numerous pillars of ice for shelter and stealth. Very smart – Aizawa let him do it.
He could see Uraraka jump from pillar to pillar, closely followed by Asui. In silence, the four spread out across the pitch, and Aizawa unravelled his scarf with a grin.
Iida charged first. Yaoyorozu tried to send forth a net but missed in his burst of speed. Aizawa caught him in his capture weapon, however, before his hands could reach the red flag hanging out of his pocket.
Now occupied, he could do little when Shoto reappeared, sending a wave of fire at Yaoyorozu, who was forced to protect herself. The two engaged in combat at the same time that Uraraka dropped from the sky. Her abilities in martial arts were more than impressive. She could manoeuvre unlike any other; few could match her skill, but Aizawa was one of them. He was evading her advancements whilst also ensuring Iida stayed put, trying to add her to his net of fabric in the meantime. He could had done it, as well, if it weren't for Asui's arrival at the last minute, wrapping her tongue around his arms to give Uraraka the opening she needed to grab the flag and wave it around her head enthusiastically, cheering and bouncing up and down.
"Well done," Aizawa sighed, releasing Iida as Shoto's steam-cover began to settle around them.
"Look! I got it! I got it!" Uraraka cried to the rest of the class as they hurried over, clapping and shouting.
"Well planned and well executed," Aizawa praised, "Asui – good initiative and leadership, I will tell Principal Nezu that you can take part in the licencing exam. The same goes for Yaoyorozu."
Uraraka seemed even more excited than them at the prospect. Aizawa just wanted a little more time before he confirmed her. She was one of the more dangerous as a villain, after all.
"The rest of you were disorganised and out of line," Aizawa said, their grins quickly fading. "Iida did the right thing, stepping in for a leadership role, but none of you were willing to listen, which made him unsure and unable to lead. Iida, you need to be stronger with your words – be sure of yourself."
"…Yes, Sir," he nodded glumly.
"Imagine this was a hostage situation," Aizawa continued, referring back to his earlier explanation. "Time and pride is not something you can afford to sacrifice here. It doesn't matter who's in charge, and none of you can expect that it will always be you. You have to be willing listen, and you have to be willing to lead. You should be able to work alone, but more importantly, able to work together. You seem to be able to do that when you were trying to escape UA. Why couldn't you do it now?"
Silence.
"Anyone?" Aizawa blinked at them expectantly. "You know the answer."
Kirishima was the one to speak up, "Midoriya's not here."
"Correct."
"We don't freaking need him," Bakugo mumbled.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm freaking sure!" he yelled. "Anyone could have been the bloody leader – you just didn't tell us we'd be out if we got caught!"
"You had more than enough people on your side to never have needed to get caught. Even if you were organised enough to attack all at once, you would have been within a shot. But the exercise caught you off guard, and you were unable to strategize quickly enough."
Bakugo opened his mouth to retaliate again, but Aizawa was quicker, "We'll be repeating this exercise now. This time, the team that was successful will be helping Yaoyorozu and me."
"But Sir –" started Ojiro.
"I'd get planning if I were you."
They were a little better, Aizawa had to admit. Bakugo took the lead, and it was clear he wasn't stupid when it came to battle strategy; he knew what he was doing. But Bakugo was abrasive, loud, and rude. Not everyone remaining in that group was keen to follow his lead. Yes, they were successful, but it was nowhere near as clean and quick as it could have been.
The answer was clear, and they all knew it. They'd done so well so far because of Midoriya's lead. Would they have done so well in the Sports Festival without him? No. It wasn't just them letting Midoriya to the finals – it was him getting them all through.
So… what to do about Midoriya himself?
"We've been here before," Mr Aizawa began.
It had been a while since Midoriya fell out with class A. They were quiet around him; unsure. They ate lunch together, but… it just felt awkward. Like they didn't know what to say. Probably because they didn't. There wasn't anything they could do to make Midoriya feel better; he knew that. He supposed Mr Aizawa would see eventually that something was up. Him asking for a chat after class was hardly unexpected.
"…Yep," Midoriya replied, tapping his feet against the floor under his chair. They sat in their classroom, empty apart from the two of them. Midoriya was at his desk, and Mr Aizawa had pulled Kacchan's chair around to face him.
"What happened?" he insisted.
How exactly was he supposed to go about explaining this? Did he want to at all? No. But it looked like he was going to have to. Mr Aizawa acted like a doting parent, even if he tried to pretend otherwise. And to think he was kind of scared of him at the beginning of UA.
"I had an argument with Kacchan," he admitted with a shrug, "It's not like it's an uncommon occurrence."
Aizawa sighed deeply, "What did he say to make you upset?"
Midoriya laughed slightly, "I'm not… mad at him – I don't want him to get in trouble."
"Midoriya, you never want Bakugo to get in trouble. Frankly, it's concerning. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd consider him as a good friend, the way you always stand up for him."
"W-What?!" Midoriya exclaimed, jolting upright in his seat, "He is not my friend," he snarled. "He just… I want him to have a real chance… at being a hero."
"Why?" he said in his low, gravely voice. There was a hint of anger in it.
"B-Because… I don't know! I just do!"
"Is it because he never gave you one?"
"…What?"
"A chance. Do you give him a chance because he never gave you one?"
Midoriya blinked. He'd never really thought about it that way before.
"N-No… No – He just… He has a powerful Quirk – he could use it to save a lot of lives. It would be selfish of me to stop him from doing that," he insisted, crossed his arms and averting his gaze from his teacher's.
"…Hm. And I thought we decided that powerful Quirks aren't what make a good hero?"
Midoriya rolled his eyes. He'd had just about enough of this. "Look, I get it, alright? You can stop the act – Quirks are everything in this world. And I don't have that everything – so I don't get anything."
Aizawa didn't flinch in his expression, "So, he convinced you that you can't be a hero again, huh?"
Midoriya stood up. He wasn't dealing with this today. "Someone had to do it," he said as he picked up his bag and tried to leave.
"Sit down, Midoriya," Aizawa called out, not moving an inch.
Midoriya got halfway across the classroom before he stopped, pulled a face and walked back over, slumping into his chair once more.
"Why can't you be a hero?" he asked that same damn stupid question.
"I just can't ok?!" Midoriya found himself yelling. "I can't. I don't have a Quirk. The whole reason we have heroes in the first place is so that they can fight fire with fire – Quirks with Quirks. And I don't have a Quirk! So, by definition, I can't be a hero!"
"So, does that mean I can't be a hero either?" Mr Aizawa queried, raising an eyebrow.
Midoriya stood up, his chair sliding backwards and hitting the front of Shinso's empty desk. He slammed his hands down on the table, "It's not the same!" he cried. "It's not the freaking same! You can level the playing field! I can't! I don't have anything!"
"You have more than you realise," he replied, not at all bothered by Midoriya's outburst.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, growing in his frustration. "WHAT?! Just… exactly – what do I have that could match up to… to – to Kacchan to Shoto or Uraraka or Momo or Iida or any of them?! I couldn't beat them in a fight!"
"The Sports Festival suggests otherwise."
"It was a fluke!" he insisted as he flopped back down into his seat. "And she could have – I know she could have taken me down!"
"But she didn't."
"What?! Because she pitied me? Because she knew that I needed to win for us to fulfil Nezu's challenge?! It doesn't count!"
"Hm…" Mr Aizawa simply said.
Midoriya felt like crying. Just breaking down, right there. He… he wanted to go home.
"…Do you think Nezu could beat any of your classmates in a fight?"
Midoriya blinked, hating how his voice cracked when he said, "W-What?"
"I don't think he would either," he nodded, brushing his dark, greasy hair from his eyes. "But you know, he does have a pro-hero licence."
Midoriya sniffed and rubbed at his eyes before any tears could leak out of them. "Y-Yeah, but he's Nezu."
The corner of Mr Aizawa's lip curled upwards for a moment, "And you're Midoriya."
He sniffed again and with utter disappointment in himself, realised that he really was crying. Tears pouring down his face, Midoriya rested his head down on the table and covered it with his arms, sobbing hysterically, shoulders shaking.
Mr Aizawa said nothing for a while; just sat there. Then, Midoriya heard the chair squeak against the floor as it was dragged around to his side of the table.
He felt a hand on his shoulder – kind and gentle.
Honestly, just that simple gesture meant the world.
They sat there for who knows how long. Eventually, Midoriya lifted his head, eyes all red and puffy. He wiped away the water from his vision and gave a glum smile to Mr Aizawa, "I-I'm sorry…" he almost whispered.
Mr Aizawa didn't say anything in response, just took his hand away and gave him a soft smile in response. Hey, he could actually smile nicely.
"I really do think you can be a hero," he insisted after a moment longer.
Midoriya shook his head, too tired to cry anymore. "No… N-No – I've had enough. I can't… I just can't."
"So, is it really your lack of a Quirk, or is it the people, holding you back?"
"I-I don't know… both?"
"Hm. I think it's only one."
Midoriya let out a chuff of sad laughter, "The Quirk thing?"
"No, the people. You let them get to your head."
"It's… it's really, really hard to… for them to not to."
He nodded, "I know. But what do they know, really? What I know, is that you have real potential. And I don't give people hope if they don't deserve it – if they don't really have a chance. Because you do."
"I-I do?"
Another nod – sure, confident. "Not just anyone can face one of the most dangerous serial killers in the country, if not the most – and come out with nothing but a scratch and a few bruises. Your classmates didn't manage that. But you did."
Midoriya let out another laugh. Less… sad, this time. He did do that, didn't he?
"But… either way. If I became a real hero… I couldn't do much," Midoriya acknowledged.
"Well, you couldn't fight the biggest, toughest villains," Mr Aizawa admitted. "At least… not alone."
There was something in the way he said that.
Midoriya frowned, "What do you mean?"
He sighed, glancing around the classroom for a bit. He gestured towards the empty chairs. "Your classmates need you. You've been missing from the after-school hero training sessions. Your absence is felt."
Was he talking about leadership? "Well… can't Yaoyorozu or Iida take charge?"
"I don't think it's quite the same as you," he said as though he was genuinely curious about it. "I think that… the fact that your Quirkless, makes them respect you. Respect – it's very important. It's how I choose class presidents every year – I wait for the class to. It's no accident that you came out on top. You're a natural born leader. Every single one of your classmates takes your word, your judgement, to heart. You convinced them to be vigilantes, and they were going to do it – as long as you were there to lead them. Now, you've convinced them to be heroes. But they're going to fall apart if you don't lead that charge too."
It was obvious that he was being completely honest. Midoriya just stared at him, unsure of what to say, or what to think.
Mr Aizawa just continued, "Yeah, you wouldn't be like any ordinary hero. But you would be capable of working alike to me – underground heroics may not be the dream of many, but you save lives. Maybe not from falling buildings, but that's not quite your style anyway – or mine. And it's not just that. Something that heroics today is really missing, are real, put together hero teams. I'm not going to pretend; I know you know about All Might's weakness."
Midoriya stiffened for a moment, although, that should have been obvious.
"At the rate he's going, soon enough, the man's going to have to retire," Mr Aizawa sighed.
That was so weird. All Might had been number one for as long as Midoriya could remember. Of course, the guy wasn't immortal – he'd have to step down eventually. He supposed he'd never really thought about it before.
"All Might is the symbol of peace," said Mr Aizawa in a mocking kind of tone. "The problem with that is, once he's gone, he'll leave a power void in his place. It's looking like Endeavor will take number one afterwards, but I think we both know that just won't cut it." He gave Midoriya a look.
He knew – he knew something was up. But that wasn't Midoriya's secret to spill, not yet.
Realising he was going to say nothing, Mr Aizawa carried on, "Having individual people with so much on their shoulders is unstable – literally and metaphorically. We need change, and hero teams are what is going to fill that gap. It makes the most sense.
"And I have never seen a class like yours. If you can hold them together – if you can pass the licencing exam together – if you can graduate and stay together. The lot of you can rise to the top. And I mean the very top. Your Quirks and abilities are diverse and already well formed from your times as villains and vigilantes. You cover all areas. And when you, and only when you – are the leader, in control, your teamwork is impeccable. Midoriya, you are the only person who can do this. You could change the face of heroics forever."
Midoriya was gaping at him, drinking in every word of praise and reigniting that mischievous spark in his eyes. And suddenly, he could see it. It had always been so obvious, but he'd been so… so blind. Because no, he couldn't be a hero on his own, not in the way that he'd always wanted.
But… who says he would be alone?
And it wasn't just that – it wasn't just those words that changed it. It was the thought of how… just imagine – imagine the class 1-A graduates, a team of heroes. Imagine how that would look to the likes of a younger Uraraka, or Shoto, or Tsu – like… like Tsu's little brother? Or people stuck in the horrible situations described across his class?
And who better to be at the head of such a team – such a vision – than someone who didn't have a Quirk at all?
In that moment, he thought back to the first time Mr Aizawa had ever used his name – not 18. His name. It was the day he'd pretended to have a Quirk in front of Monoma. And he'd said –
"There is power in powerlessness," Midoriya whispered, eyes wide.
Mr Aizawa nodded. Midoriya hadn't even realised he'd said that out loud.
He looked down at his hands. Empty, plain, boring hands. They had no special ability – no uniqueness to them, just like the rest of him.
He clenched them into fists and smiled.
"There is power in powerlessness."
