Chapter 13
Chapter Notes
I would say sorry for the wait but I am an unapologetic little shit and I put that "painfully erratic update schedule" tag there from the beginning so what I will say is y'all have Alphabeti-Spaghetti to thank for blackmailing me into writing this chapter now. I don't appreciate your methods, Alphabeti, but I do respect them. Well played. Enjoy your ill-begotten chapter.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Izuku offers to let me copy his notes about the Sports Festival, as if I ever bother taking notes in Aizawa's dumbass homeroom anyway, and when the bell rings for the end of homeroom I make sure to remind everyone to "take a packet, Extras, you'll need it for afternoon assembly!" Which, despite the various protests at being called "Extras" that rises up in response, they obey. Izuku quietly reads "Student resources…" to himself, and the look he gives me tells me he is very aware that I have not seriously considered speaking to one of the school counselors myself, despite his and Recovery Girl's suggestions. (In my defense, what am I supposed to tell them? "Yeah most of my problems stem from the poor combination of suffering from PTSD since before my birth and the natural explosive rage that seems to be this body's only possible reaction to any kind of hormone imbalance like whoo boy this puberty thing is Not Fun.")
I ignore him with the ease of long practice and make my way out the door toward our next class. Or at least, I try. The Extras are all crowded around the entrance to the classroom, blocking my path and ruining my dramatic exit. Fuck.
"What the hell?" I demand, shoving Bird Face out of the way and ducking under Octo-Arm's massive biceps to get a clear view of the doorway. There are even more Extras gathered outside of the door looking in, as if this is some sort of zoo exhibit. What the hell? There were not this many people in this class last time I checked.
"Who the fuck are you guys?" I step out into the little circle of no-man's-land between the two groups of morons, squinting at the newcomers and searching for a hint of recognition. I get something about just like Kirishima! From the guy with the weird eyeliner, so I decide immediately that I am going to steer clear of him forever. "What are you doing loitering around here? Do you not understand how doorways work? They are meant to be passed through. You're in my way." All things considered; I think I handled that fairly diplomatically. I even took the time to explain their mistakes to them so they can maybe grow and become more than just two-dimensional filler characters.
"So, this is the infamous 1-A." An irritatingly bored voice chimes in. "Tell me, are all of you this arrogant, or are you just special?" The speaker steps forward slightly, and I'm irritated to realize he's taller than me. He's got lavender hair like some sort of bitchy troll doll, and the bags under his eyes look like they've been painted on with eyeshadow.
"Only the good ones." I retort, and the instinct to flip longer hair over my shoulder in a show of dominance is repressed in favor of simply tossing my head arrogantly. Whoever this guy is, he's testing my patience.
Shinsou Hitoshi, my brain whispers. And…
"Oh," I realize, "You're that brainwashing guy."
The chatter of the crowd immediately stops, and a few students inch unsubtly away from Eyebags. It's one of those rare moments where I regret my habit of speaking without thinking about other people's reactions. Shit, I didn't mean to out him like that. The way he's glaring at me could strip paint, so I seriously doubt that "I didn't mean to" is going to be good enough for him.
"And you're the kid who deepthroated that Slime Villain last fall." He responds venomously. I can't quite hide a wince. Wow. This kid's fucking brutal.
"Shit. Sorry, I didn't- fuck." I can feel myself getting angry at my own stuttering. I hate feeling awkward. "I meant you're that kid who got brainwashed in that hypnotist show right?" I cover, badly, but maybe at least the really stupid ones will fall for it? "That was so lame. God what a loser."
"Hey, I like hypnotists!" Some dumbass with a Lego piece for a face chimes in indignantly. I decide that's good enough for trying to rectify my mistakes. This feels out of character anyway. I'd rather stick with being angry and kicking ass, thanks.
"Whatever. Here," I say, shoving my pamphlet into Eyebag's hands on whim. "You probably need this more than me."
"Student resources…? I got one of these at orientation." Almost all of the venom has drained out of Eyebag's voice, replaced with straight confusion. I groan.
"Right. I forgot that some teachers actually do their job." I say, deliberately loudly enough for Aizawa to hear where he's watching this all go down from his desk. Fucking asshole. "Whatever. You should still look at it again. Those dark circles look psychological." And with that I decide I've had enough of socializing and make my exit through several of the more annoying-looking Extras, who squeal and scatter at the first pop-pop-pop of my quirk.
At the time we would normally go to our Hero Fundamentals course with All Might, we instead head to the main auditorium in the east building, with Aizawa reluctantly leading the way. It's the first time I've set foot in the auditorium since Present Mic explained the rules of the entrance exam to us… was that seriously less than two months ago? It looks much bigger with only our measly class filling the first two rows of center seats.
"It really feels different coming here as students, huh?" Izuku is saying behind me. "Like a whole new space."
"Yeah!" Gravity Witch chimes in, eerily cheerful as usual, and from too close for my comfort. I walk faster to put some distance between us. "It's amazing how long ago it feels!"
Garbage Legs chimes in with some boring comment about school facilities and I manage to put Sparkles and Octo-Arms between me and the Nerd Herd before we take our seats. Thank god. Frog Girl gives me an odd look when I practically throw myself into the chair next to her, but she doesn't say anything, surprisingly. Normally my glares are not enough to make her keep her huge mouth shut.
"Hello students!" Nezu claps cheerily from where he's standing on what looks like several overturned crates next to All Might's inflated form. He's comically small in comparison. "You
may be wondering why I called you here today on such short notice. As you are aware, the events at USJ were an unprecedented lapse in UA security, and we are working with experts to increase our defenses in time for the Sports Festival to continue on as usual." I can feel my eyebrow twitching at the mention of that damned Sports Festival. Is that all anyone at this school cared about? "However, what is most valuable to UA is not our security system or the pro heroes who teach here, but you, our precious students. And so today we have called those of you who were present for the events of USJ together in order to touch base and debrief about your experiences." At this point, the mouse stops his utter bullshit and turns unsubtly to look at All Might.
The giant man is frantically flipping through notecards that look like fortune cookie papers in his giant mammoth hands.
"On behalf of the heroes and first responders to the USJ incident," He begins abruptly after a slightly-too-long pause. "I want to thank all of you for your bravery and resilience during this difficult time. It is thanks to your actions and your determination in the face of a situation you should not have encountered for several more years that we did not have any losses on our side, and no permanent injuries." I can see why he's the number one hero at least. Even reading bullshit off a notecard he radiates sincerity. Disgusting.
"However, even experienced heroes need support and help after particularly trying experiences." At this, several of my classmates turn to stare at Aizawa curiously, and I grin at him, viciously smug. If his face wasn't entirely covered by bandages, I imagine he'd probably be scowling at me right now.
"Even I, the Number One Hero, have people whom I talk to after difficult or harrowing rescues. It is thanks to the emotional support and accountability that these few individuals offer that I am still here before you today as the Number One. If I had tried to continue alone, I would have burned out and retired long ago." I wonder how true that is. All Might does not really seem like the type of person to rely on others. From what little I know about him; he's got some sort of serious injury that keeps him from working more than a few hours a day and causes him to be emaciated and cough up blood. If he really had a proper support system, there's no way they would let him continue like that. Hell, Izuku is one of the few people who might be considered the Big Guy's "inner circle" and that green idiot isn't about to try to tell his idol he needs to quit hero work for his own good. He'd be way too blinded by his admiration to ever attempt to stand up to the guy. Hell… I can't think of anyone who isn't blinded by admiration for All Might. Even his enemies seem to think he's some sort of paragon of Goodness that needs to be defeated.
"It is for that reason that UA has called in specialized counselors to be available to all members of the student body in the upcoming weeks, and who will be leading us in a discussion of the events of USJ today. It may be difficult to speak of your experiences, and I understand that you may wish to keep your peace, but please remember: the longer you do not speak about what happened, the harder it becomes to say. And speaking freely of your experiences is an essential and often ignored aspect of recovery and emotional wellness!" The clenched fist is a bit much, in my opinion, but he's really trying his best to sell these pre-packaged one-liners about mental health to a bunch of self-destructive teenagers. I guess if anyone could do it, our Modern Messiah All Might probably could. "I turn the stage over to the experts now, and I expect all of you to consider what they have to say as seriously as you would any lesson from me or your other teachers here. Plus Ultra!"
"Plus Ultra!" My classmates echo in eerily indoctrinated enthusiasm. I sigh. The frazzled-looking counselors step forward, skirting around All Might's bulk with awed stares, and launch into a slightly-disorganized discussion of the potential effects of traumatic situations. Their clear efforts to encourage audience participation and student discussion of the events of the USJ are met with a somewhat awkward silence on our side, and I lean back slightly in my chair in anticipation of a
long, frustrating assembly.
Hitoshi spent the rest of his morning doing damage-control with his classmates over that 1-A asshole's thoughtless remark. Most of them let it drop after a little while, writing it off as "hero course strangeness", but several of them were still eyeing him distrustfully, and it grated. He'd managed to keep his quirk mostly under wraps so far, waiting to take the Sports Festival by surprise. But now some random hero course student knew his quirk, which meant that his classmates probably all knew his quirk as well. Did they know the trigger? Did the hero course get information on all the students' quirks, or was it just the "villainous" ones they were warned about? God, this was so typical. He should have known it would leak. Why did he think UA would be different than every other school he'd been to?
Nothing pulled him out of his 1-A induced funk until the principal came on the intercom near the end of the day to make a school-wide announcement. Considering the last school-wide announcement had been to inform the students that there had been a villain attack on a UA facility and that the school would be going into lock-down, there was a notable tension in the student body when the intercom buzzed to life without warning as they were beginning to pack their bags.
"Good afternoon students, it is I, your mysteriously anthropomorphic and adorable principal!" Principal Nezu's voice filled the halls easily. Hitoshi's shoulders relaxed slightly at the ridiculous introduction. It was nothing like the uncharacteristic seriousness that the USJ announcement had contained. "This announcement is to inform students of all departments and in all years that specialized counselors have been brought in and will be available for any student to speak with between 7am and 5pm Monday through Friday over the next month. If you feel the need to speak with one of our counselors about recent events at UA or any other problem, simply speak with your teacher and they will write you a pass to come to the offices for this purpose. We highly encourage you to take advantage of this resource in order to keep yourselves healthy and performing to the best of your abilities. Have a good day, Plus Ultra!"
"Plus Ultra!" Hitoshi echoed absentmindedly along with his class, while frowning down at his bookbag. He reached down to pick up his homeroom notes, only to brush against the packet that 1- A asshole had handed him this morning. Student Resources at UA. His hand hovered over it for a moment before stuffing it into his bag with the rest of his books. It's probably nothing.
It was definitely not nothing.
Hitoshi hadn't meant to pay attention to 1-A. God knows they get enough of it from all their adoring fans. But still, after meeting the explosive blond of the class for the first time, it was a bit difficult not to notice him as he went about his day. The boy was loud. And bright. And not just the explosions that he regularly let off from his hands. Hitoshi was absolutely sure that he did not eat lunch in the main cafeteria with most of his peers, because there is no way he would have missed the virulent blond before this point.
Which made it all the more surprising to sit down to eat his lunch with a couple of his quieter classmates only to hear a gratingly familiar voice echoing across the cafeteria's linoleum floors.
"Mind your own business, Deku!" Blasty Boy snarled at the freckly green-haired kid that seemed ready to vibrate out of his skin with excitement over something. "I can eat wherever I want." The group of students following him were buzzing, and Hitoshi barely withheld a groan when they sat down at the table across from his.
He tried to tune them out, he really did, but when the word "counselors" popped up in the other group's conversation, he couldn't help but perk up a bit, remembering the resource packet from yesterday.
"… not sure about going to see them." A red head with sharp teeth was saying to the group. "I just feel kind of awkward missing class or training time for something like that. I mean, nothing bad even really happened to me, you know?"
"Ah, that's true." Freckles took a bite of his lunch thoughtfully. "Maybe it's better to work toward bettering ourselves instead of thinking too much about what happened…" Are they talking about the USJ? Hitoshi frowned at his own food, wondering.
"You're going to go see them." Blasty said with finality, and Hitoshi choked on his bite as discreetly as he could. What the hell was up with this guy? He risked a glance up at the group only to find Blasty frowning at the freckly green kid like a disappointed mother. Freckles stared back with an intensity that reminded Hitoshi of religious fanatics, before nodding once, perfectly calm.
"Okay, Kacchan." He seemed to have decided this was perfectly normal. Was Hitoshi missing something here? He was pretty sure this was weird as hell. "I'll go see the counselors after school."
Hitoshi swallowed his food with some difficulty and reached for his water to help it down. Okay, that was Highkey Creepy. What kind of relationship did those two have?
"Izuku, bro!" Red head broke the silence as if his words had just burst out of his chest. "That's so manly! Trusting your friend to know what you need like that. Maybe you're right. Mental strength is just as important as physical strength, right? I'll go talk to them too!"
"Me three!" A bubbly-looking girl with pink cheeks said, throwing a fist into the air.
"I will also make a time to discuss how best to handle these events with one of the school's professionals." A blue-haired boy built like a grown man said, emphasizing his words with oddly stiff hand gestures. The neighboring table dissolved into a series of weirdly emotional pep talks about mental health, and Hitoshi quickly finished his meal and escaped before he had to listen to any more uncanny interactions.
What the hell is wrong with 1-A?
Throughout the next week, Hitoshi came to the conclusion that nothing was wrong with 1-A outside of the usual hero student headstrong bullshit. No, the pervasive strangeness that followed the class everywhere they went was in fact due to a single, obnoxious source.
Bakugou Katsuki.
He had learned the explosive blond's name after coming across a conversation between him and another blond with a black lightning bolt in his hair that looked like a shake-down to Hitoshi at first. He stopped to observe for a moment, wondering if the angry blond was trying to steal the other's lunch money or something, only to hear "… don't you fucking imitate Aizawa's destructive behaviors!"
… What?
"Yo, Bakugou," A tall kid with spindly limbs and strangely bulky elbows interjected from the sidelines, holding his hands up placatingly. "He's just posturing dude, it's normal."
"Fuck normal it's TOXIC is what it is!" Bakugou snarled, still holding the other blond by the collar of his uniform. The pink girl was standing next to Elbows cheering on the violence.
"Hell yeah, normalize self care and mental health services!" She pumped a fist up over her head as if this was sporting event. Lightning Bolt stopped struggling in Bakugou's grip and turned wide eyes to Pinky.
"Oh, shit man," He said in a tone of realization. "I didn't mean to imply that." He looked so distressed Hitoshi actually felt a bit bad for him.
"We know you didn't." Elbows reassured him. Pinky, once she noticed her friend's guilty face, also calmed down and spluttered "Yeah, Yeah, Kaminari, we know you didn't mean it like that!" But the slightly shorter blond remained slumped sadly against the wall. Bakugou clicked his tongue and let go of him.
"Just remember what All Might said about heroes accepting help." He said, stepping back. Kaminari (Hitoshi was not sure if that was his first name or his family name, but it was all he had so far) perked up at that cryptic reminder, and seemed to gather his determination.
"Yeah, that's right! Even heroes need support, especially the ones at the top! I'll go make an appointment with the counselors right now!"
"Yeah, heroes set examples!" Pinky cheered, and Elbows shrugged and joined her. They all turned to, Hitoshi assumed, drag Bakugou into their newest resolution, only to find that he had already disappeared into the crowd during their conversation.
And from then on, he saw him everywhere.
He watched Bakugou argue avidly with the weird French-speaking kid from 1-A about "beauty sleep" and how "concealer can't fool me I am a makeup PRO," only for the conversation to devolve into a discussion of their favorite beauty youtubers.
He saw the weirdest staring contest of his life between Bakugou and the kid with a Bird Head in the hallway just outside the library when he was trying to pick up a book he would need for his upcoming essay (he had to keep his grades up if he wanted to have any hope of transferring after the Sports Festival). The two 1-A students stared silently into each other's eyes until Bird Head suddenly nodded regally, and Bakugou looked satisfied and walked away. Hitoshi was bewildered.
He saw three more arguments about heroes setting examples and support systems, one of which was with a pair of students from 1-B who seemed to have made some sort of comment about the number of 1-A students advocating for counseling lately.
There was an incredibly amusing confrontation between Bakugou and the short kid with the purple spheres for hair, who seemed to believe that Bakugou was going to devour his soul if the look of absolute terror on his face was any indication. Hitoshi actually stopped and waited to see how this one would play out, curious about the first 1-A student to show real fear of the angry loud blond.
Then Bakugou huffed something about it being "even more important to talk about when you feel like you did something wrong." And stomped off, yelling over his shoulder, "-AND I KNOW ABOUT YOU GROPING TSUYU SO YOU BETTER TALK TO A FUCKING COUNSELOR ABOUT THAT TOO BEFORE YOU HAVE TO SEE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT KIND OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, GOT IT?"
Does… Does this qualify as being supportive? Hitoshi wondered. If it does, it really shouldn't.
When the next day at lunch brought Bakugou striding into the cafeteria once again, Hitoshi was not the only one watching the other boy out of the corner of his eye. At least half of the cafeteria was staring. And the rest quieted down to pay attention the moment it became apparent that Bakugou was not heading toward the friends he had eaten with the other day, but instead toward the only student in 1-A even more popular with the rumor mill than he was: Todoroki Shouto.
The dual-colored son of the Number Two Hero (and god damn how it grated to know he got into UA on his daddy's recommendation) glared at Bakugou as he approached. If they weren't in the hero course Hitoshi would say they looked like a pair of rival gang bosses meeting, based on the furious scowls and violent body language alone.
"Holy shit." One of Hitoshi's usually-quiet lunchmates whispered reverently. He couldn't disagree. This was going to be a fucking disaster. He was on the edge of his seat.
Bakugou did not seem deterred by Todoroki's glare of death in the slightest, walking up to the other boy with his usual stomping, arrogant strides (that kid should really just start wearing heels, he obviously wanted people to hear him coming). When he neared the table where Todoroki was eating (empty aside from one petrified-looking Support Class student), Bakugou reached into his pocket. Hitoshi had a moment of horror where he imagined the angry hero student pulling out a weapon of some kind and attacking the other, only for the scowling blond to slap a slightly crumpled piece of paper down in front of his classmate's lunch tray. He didn't even wait for a response, just turned on his heel and walked right back out of the lunchroom, the same scowl still in place.
The Chimera of class 1-A looked at the paper in front of him suspiciously, and Hitoshi and the rest of the lunchroom were openly staring. There was no way he hadn't noticed by this point. Todoroki unfolded the note and took a moment to read it. His scowl transformed into a frown and then his face went oddly blank, before he stared after where Bakugou had left intensely. Hitoshi would give anything to see what was in that damned note. When Todoroki folded it up and put it in his wallet, that was the final straw.
Hitoshi stood up, taking his lunch tray with him absently and making his way over to a table he had studiously avoided until this point in the year. It was the table where his noisiest 1-C classmates gathered, occasionally gaining or losing a member but always revolving around Suzuki Rei, a girl with a simple quirk that allowed her to make her voice into the sound of a bell chiming. She was also the biggest gossip in 1-C, and potentially the entire school, and so he avoided her like the plague. Until now. The table quieted down and stared at him as he approached, and Suzuki's bell- like laughter cut off as she noticed him.
"Shinsou-san?" She asked, eyes sharpening as she looked him up and down. I already regret this, he sighed. "What brings you here?" She tilted her head curiously, and he took that as an invitation to step forward and set his tray down at an empty seat on the other side of the table from her.
"Bakugou Katsuki." He said after a moment of hesitation. He had avoided interacting with his classmates as much as he could this year, but after getting outed by Bakugou and then all the chaos of the last few days, he couldn't stand it anymore. "What do you know about him?"
The sharp look in her eyes was replaced by an unholy glee. She pushed her empty lunch tray aside to lean forward and make a frankly uncomfortable amount of eye contact. Hitoshi wished he could have just brainwashed her into telling him this.
"Bakugou? Oh, yeah." Something that could loosely be called a smile spread across her face. "Let me tell you everything I know about 1-A's Mom Friend Cryptid."
Chapter End Notes
I hated writing this chapter because it felt so much like filler, but it sets up at least 2 plot points so there's that. Welcome to Shinsou's Arc! Don't worry though, we'll be right back to our boy Baks' POV next chapter.
For any of you wondering what Kaminari did to set Bakugou off, he was echoing Aizawa's "this is nothing for a Pro Hero" remark and saying that the USJ was "nothing for a future Pro!" Poor Shinsou just missed it.
Hopefully I will get to the Sports Festival next chapter because I am bored and that bit is going to be totally jokes.
I read and get excited about every comment I get, and I definitely do write faster when people ask me to, because I am a doormat of a human being and I crave approval. So thank you so much for everyone who has commented so far on this story. Y'all are great, even when you blackmail me with nice things.
Chapter 14
Chapter Notes
Some of you did not take that "painfully erratic update schedule" tag seriously but it's been there since chapter 1 so y'all were WARNED.
I don't sleep much leading up to the Sports Festival. Every time I close my eyes images of people I know play out behind my eyelids like a fever dream. Classmates I vaguely recognize from the halls of UA desperately trying to keep their balance as they cross a man-made ravine on swaying ropes. Frost and sparks flying in a closed space while mostly-untrained children dodge desperately, nothing but their flimsy gym uniforms offering the barest illusion of protection. Izuku, flying through the air on a piece of scrap metal, hurtling toward the hard ground from a height well over what it would take to break his neck. Izuku, reaching his hands into Todoroki's flames to try to snatch victory from around the taller boy's neck. Izuku, with his arms mangled beyond repair, smiling like a psychopath until his opponent agrees to use his untrained fire quirk against his classmate in a school festival.
To resist strangling the main character, I channel all my energy into my ongoing campaign against Nezu and his shitty counseling services. Might as well get something done during the night if I'm not going to get any sleep anyway. And the more I research laws and regulations regarding education – specifically hero schools – in Japan, the more I want to gut-punch a bureaucrat.
The worst part is that none of it is technically illegal. As long as the people using their quirks on the students are licensed heroes, the law has no problem with it. But if a student were to use their quirk for self-defense, they would be tried as an adult without question for their "advanced use" of an ability that the law states would only be masterable through experience and maturity. In other words, those with exceptional quirks can be tried as adults no matter their actual maturity, whereas an unruly or uncontrollable quirk could be twisted to disqualify someone from rights or positions that require one to be considered an independent and consenting adult.
And someone with a quirk that destroys with a touch would be legally and socially treated as a man-child at best, and a societal burden at worst. I grimace at the vague twinge of sympathy for Bad Touch McGee, but it's true that many of the villains I see on television seem to have inherently immutable quirks. Even the slime villain-
I click over to another tab and start a search on general human rights, ignoring the slight shaking in my hands. Sleep deprivation a method of torture for a reason; it has a profound effect on people both mentally and physically. It's a good thing I don't need to be in top condition to be head and shoulders above most of my classmates, or I'd be fucked.
As it is, almost no one notices a difference in my behavior in the days leading up to the festival. Izuku does, obviously – he always knows when I'm wearing concealer somehow – but I manage to throw him off the trail a bit by just going all-in with foundation and my signature black eyeliner instead of only covering up my dark circles. If I normally only do my makeup in tandem with my hero costume, I can just say that it's part of my look as a hero in and out of uniform and Izuku won't question it. He's surprisingly delicate about subjects like that.
"Wow, Aoyoma! That's amazing!" Kirishima's voice is starting to become less jarring, despite still being as loud as always. I guess I'm getting used to my more excitable classmates. "Did you do that yourself?"
A glance tells me that Kirishima and Mina are gawking at Aoyoma's nails. Painted a surprisingly modest gray to compliment his uniform. Aoyoma on the other hand is unsurprisingly not modest about his "master nail art technique", and offers to do their nails "as a once-in-a-lifetime chance!" Mina takes him up on it without hesitation, choosing a vivacious pink that manages to look subtle against her skin tone. It's so rare to find myself approving of one of my classmate's fashion choices that I actually turn to watch, amused at the fact that Aoyoma apparently keeps a UV gel kit in his backpack.
It's a relaxing way to pass a free study period, and before I know it my eyes are beginning to droop. Aoyoma finishes Mina's nails and turns to Kirishima with a blinding grin while I admire the smooth sheen that he managed to get on such a thick gel color.
"Et pour toi?" Aoyoma sing-songs. It takes me a few seconds to notice something seems off, in my half-asleep state. I blink a few times to clear my eyes and turn to look at Kirishima, who is looking between Aoyoma and Mina's nails uncomfortably, grinding his teeth in what seems like a stand-in for biting a lower lip with teeth that would pierce it unhesitatingly. Aoyoma's grin is stiff on his face, but his eyes give away his panic; he hadn't considered that one of our most socially confident classmates might feel awkward getting a manicure from our most flamboyant member. A vague niggling at the back of my mind is saying something about insecurity, self-consciousness, and the mental image of Eyesore with black hair, smiling with his lips closed to hide his weird-ass teeth makes my lip curl.
"Black matte stiletto." I interrupt the increasingly awkward silence, holding out a hand lazily. "If you think you can manage without fucking them up too much." I'm not about to be seen with some cheap-looking manicure when I could get a professional one from one of Mom's clients for free any day.
Off-Brand Prince Charming manages to do a half-decent job, although close inspection would show that it was done by an amateur. I finish examining them and notice Aoyoma watching me with badly hidden anxiety. I roll my eyes.
"Calm down, they're fine." I say, and then make a point to show off the way they make my hands look dangerous as hell by picking up a pencil and spinning it between my fingers. Fuck yeah. "Besides, I could make anything you did work." The statement is meant to be arrogant, mildly antagonizing, to get that slightly-sparkly look out of Aoyoma's eyes, but it backfires when Eyesore suddenly straightens up and clenches his fists passionately. Fuck what did I do to set him off?
"Bakugou's right – a real man doesn't follow society, he leads it!" He abruptly bows to Aoyoma, a bit too deep to be anything but awkward for the poor blond. "Aoyoma-san! Please paint my nails for me!" There's a beat of bewildered silence before Aoyoma pulls himself together.
"Bien sûr, mon ami – what color would you like?"
"Red, to match my hair and costume!"
And the class settles back into its usual routine of exuberant nonsense with little fanfare. I pass the time playing with my pen and trying to keep my eyes open. It's a little easier with my new manicure to admire. Not bad, Twinkle Toes.
The bell for lunch rings and I watch Kirishima pull Aoyoma along to his usual lunch table,
babbling questions about "how did you learn to do nails, Aoyoma-san?" and "Is that your natural hair color? I have to dye mine!" It's a pretty vivid reminder that these are still just kids – one interaction is all it takes to spark a lifelong friendship.
"Kacchan?" Izuku appears by my elbow, startling as always. He's lucky I've gotten used to it and don't instinctively try to blow his face off anymore. It still wakes me up from my half-trance with a jolt of adrenaline, though. "Are you coming to lunch?" He looks after Kirishima and Aoyoma with that eerily calculating glint in his eyes. At least I'm not the only one it's directed at.
"No way." I try to wave a hand dismissively, but it's more of a tired flop. "I'm gonna take a nap while I can finally get some peace and quiet." I wait for the usual but Kaaachan only to feel considering eyes on the side of my face. I turn to meet Izuku's contemplative look with a glare. What?
"Okay, get some rest Kacchan." He says abruptly, and then high-tails it out of the classroom before I can explode at his stupid statement. Don't tell me what to do – you're not Auntie Inko!
Damn nerd. Always keeping track of my habits way too closely. Probably has some sort of monitor in my room to track exactly how much I sleep at night.
Whatever. I'm too tired for this shit. I stand up from my desk with a yawn and head off to find somewhere my classmates won't bother me.
"You're amazing Aoyoma!" Mina waved her hands around as she talked, showing off her bright pink nails with glee. "You even got Bakugou into it – I never thought I'd see the day!"
"That was surprising." Yaomomo agreed. "Bakugou always seemed too… practical for a manicure like that."
"You mean how he hates your guts because he thinks your quirk doesn't make sense?"
"He does not hate my-!"
"You're right, he hates Uraraka's guts."
"Hey, leave me out of this!"
Izuku couldn't keep the little smile off his face as he listened to his classmates – his friends! He had friends other than Kacchan! – banter. They teased each other often, but it was always in good fun. Not at all like his old middle school classmates.
"Bakugou doesn't hate Uraraka – he's afraid of her." Izuku murmured absently, only for the attention of the whole table to focus on him abruptly. He straightened up with a surprised little yelp. "W-what?"
"Afraid of me?" Uraraka repeated in disbelief. "Did you see what he did during our first hero training? He looked me in the eyes while he detonated that fake nuke. I felt my soul leave my body, Deku-kun!"
Hearing Kacchan's nickname for him coming from someone else was always a bit weird, but he couldn't help but love the little thrill of belonging he felt knowing that people were using a friendly
nickname for him. "It's true!" He defended. "Kacchan is afraid of a lot of things, it just doesn't stop him from doing them. That's why he's so amazing!" He blushed a bit when he realized his voice had gotten loud enough for a few students at the surrounding tables to glance over. He lowered it. "You just need to know what to look for and it's obvious."
"Say, Midoriya…" Kaminari chimed in after a moment of contemplation. "You know Bakugou pretty well, right?"
"Yes?" Izuku frowned at him uncertainly. "We've been friends since we were babies."
"Then can you tell us what's, you know-" Kaminari made a vague gesture that could have been anything from help I'm choking to I'm a mime trapped in a box, "-up with him?"
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked, unsettled by the way everyone seemed to be leaning forward a bit in their seats. What is going on? "Or - what do you want to know, exactly?" There was a significant pause, and Izuku could imagine Kacchan's exasperated eye roll vividly. They don't even know what they're asking, he'd complain.
"Why is he so violent?" Tsuyu broke the silence. Several others laughed and chimed their agreement, but Izuku frowned.
"He's not violent." He defended. "His quirk is really strong, so if he wasn't super careful not to hurt anybody, people could get seriously injured. Kacchan studied really hard to be able to use his quirk to subdue villains, and he's here to learn how to get better at it. He can't help that his quirk makes his fighting style kind of… aggressive." Izuku winced at how lame that sounded, but pushed on. "He even makes his own desensitizing solution and keeps it with him!"
"Where?" Kirishima asked in disbelief. "Does he hide it in his hair or something?" Izuku blinked at him in confusion.
"He usually just carries it in his bag, but his costume has it built in. You really haven't noticed?" Heads shook around the table. Izuku despaired inwardly. Kacchan, you need to open up more! "The collar of his costume is metal, and it has holes all along the front, right? The solution is inside, pressurized – he can trigger it to spray in an emergency and desensitize his sweat to avoid civilian casualties or a villain with a fire quirk using it against him."
"That's… very practical of him." Iida said thoughtfully. "It is good to see that side of his personality contributing to his studies!"
"Yeah, yeah, so he's a nerd." Kaminari dismissed. "I want some real gossip!"
"Like what?" Izuku floundered.
"Like – like why Koda isn't scared of him!" Mina burst out excitedly. "You've got to admit that's weird, right? Koda flinches every time Present Mic-sensei talks but Bakugou could throw you out a window and Koda wouldn't even bat an eyelash. He's one of the only people in class I've seen Koda actually speak to!"
"Kacchan has never thrown me out a window!"
"It was just an example!" Mina waves her hand dismissively. "But I'm totally right. It's weird that Koda doesn't flinch when Bakugou gets all… Bakugou around him. Did you guys know Koda growing up too or something?"
"No, we met on the first day." Izuku answered instinctively. He gulped as all eyes on the table
focused on him with the realization that he was actually going to answer them. "Kacchan asked Koda for a favor on the first day of class and they… became friends, I guess? They talk about animals sometimes during free period, so I think they're friends. It's hard to tell with Kacchan, sometimes." He blinked. "Also, flinching when Present Mic-sensei raises his voice is a perfectly rational reaction to a quirk that creates force proportionate to the decibels produced."
"Yeah yeah, you're a nerd too, we get it." Mina nodded. "But what's this about a favor? And Bakugou talks to Koda about animals during free period? Like, how they can be used to fight villains or something?"
"Uhhhh," Izuku hedged, Kacchan's going to kill me. "Not exactly? Kacchan loves animals. But they don't really like him. So Koda talked to the animals around UA and told them that Kacchan just wanted to be their friend, so Kacchan is really grateful and tries extra hard not to startle Koda during exercises and stuff, and they chat about how the animals around campus are doing and if they need to put food out for the strays and stuff."
"No way." Kaminari burst. "Bakugou likes animals? Like, fuzzy little bunnies and shit?"
"Especially fuzzy little bunnies." Izuku said, dead serious. Kaminari choked on his lunch.
"Nuh uh, I call bullshit." Mina scoffed. "That boy would bite a bat's head off Ozzy Osbourne- style."
"He would never!" Izuku gasped, scandalized.
"Well, the bat in that case was already dead and if it was just to intimidate… maybe as part of a strategy in a battle?" Uraraka pondered. The betrayal must have shown on Izuku's face because she held up her hands apologetically and hastily backtracked, "I don't think he would ever hurt a living animal or anything!"
"You guys seriously don't believe me, do you?" Izuku frowned. He got several sheepish or apologetic looks, but Mina, Kaminari and Tsuyu just shrugged and shook their heads.
"I don't think you would lie to us, but it is difficult to believe without proof." Tsuyu explained. Izuku appreciated her straight-forwardness but sometimes it could sting.
"You just want proof?" Izuku asked. He resisted the urge to shrink when the stares redoubled. "Kacchan probably doesn't realize I know where he goes to avoid me, since he thinks I wouldn't leave him alone if I did, so he should be in his usual spot. We can see it from the corner of the roof."
"Izuku, bro…" Kirishima shot him a pitying look, but Izuku pushed on.
"If we finish eating before lunch is over, I can take you up and show you." He decided. He wondered if he had made a mistake when the conversation was replaced with the somewhat repulsive sound of eight high school students eating as quickly as they could without choking. He rushed to finish his own meal before they dragged him away.
The school roof was a popular lunch spot for students whose quirks or mutations made them more comfortable outdoors – Izuku waved to a Gen Ed student whose quirk allowed them to photosynthesize as he passed. The student languidly waved back from their spot lounging in a patch of sun with only a mildly curious glance at Izuku's entourage. Postprandial somnolence, Izuku thought absently, I wonder what he does to avoid falling asleep in the sun and producing too much energy...
"Just over here…" Izuku murmured, heading toward the northeast corner of the roof. He leaned against the railing and searched the grounds below. It should be… "There! You guys see those three trees that were planted too close together by the gymnasium? Thanks to those and the bushes along the path down there, the hill behind it isn't visible to someone passing by. Kacchan likes to go there to nap." He pointed proudly and looked over to see if his friends were looking in the right direction.
"I want to ask how you found this out but I feel like I'm probably better off not knowing." Mina shrugged. Izuku flushed slightly in embarrassment. Am I being creepy again? "Three trees, you said? Where, over there?"
"No, by the blue trash can." Izuku corrected, pushing down his discomfort. His friends huddled around, squinting down at the grounds as if examining a particularly challenging textbook.
"I see him!" Kaminari said, and soon the others were joining in with their own exclamations of excitement and surprise. These only lasted a moment however, before Kaminari followed up with, "Is that… a deer?"
Izuku tilted his head, looking down at the animal that Kacchan was resting peacefully against in his hiding spot. It looked a bit like a dog from this distance, but its neck was too long… It didn't have antlers but it was hard to tell. Maybe a small doe?
"It's a fawn." Yaomomo chimed in, and Izuku looked back to see her holding a pair of binoculars with her name on the side. Did she make those?
"Now we really look like stalkers." Uraraka said cheerfully. Izuku let out a high-pitched noise of shame and she laughed.
"A fawn?" Mina squealed. "Oh, let me see, let me see!" Yaomomo passed the binoculars over and they cooed over the sight together. Kaminari seemed to have frozen with his mouth half-open, staring down at his sleeping classmate as if he was looking at proof that aliens had come to earth.
"We sometimes see deer around during class, but they don't really approach the students." Tsuyu said thoughtfully. "Kouta really must have spoken to all the local animals on Bakugou's behalf."
"This is a little surreal." Kirishima admitted. "I'm not really sure how to feel."
"Well, none of you believed me, but here it is. You've seen your proof." Izuku shifted uncomfortably. "Now you can stop thinking Kacchan's scary or mean or whatever – he's just… gruff." There were several beats of silence as his classmates stared at him in disbelief, but he stood his ground.
"What the fuck." Kaminari said finally, like a prayer. "He's actually a fairy tale princess under a curse."
By the time the Sports Festival actually arrives, I'm half-convinced the sleep deprivation has caused me to lose my mind. I'd finally given in and popped a couple of melatonin the night before to power through the nightmares, but even with a solid 10 hours of sleep in my system, I feel like I'm trapped in a surrealist flash mob as I watch Two-Face declare war and flaunt his friendlessness in front of a goddamn Shounen protagonist like he doesn't realize this is just waving a red flag in front of a raging bull. It looks exactly like it did on the television screen in another life, in another universe, and when I blink, I can almost imagine everyone as two-dimensional caricatures of
themselves. The same expressions of nervousness or discomfort, the same nervous laughter, everything's the same until…
Until it continues on. Izuku stutters out a response to the challenge that basically amounts to "let's both do our best!" and looks like he might faint at the cold look IcyHot gives him. Kirishima says something to the frigid boy about sportsmanship or whatever, but I can't get over the sense that something is missing from the scene. It feels a bit like reaching out to touch something familiar only to find it is entirely the wrong texture. You're convinced it's wrong but there's no way to explain why you think it should be a different way when it is the way it is.
Izuku manages to handle IcyHot's aggressive staring for about 3 minutes before he makes his way over to hide behind me. The ponytail holder he holds out to me is a flimsy excuse and I make sure he knows it when I roll my eyes before taking it from him and kicking out the chair next to me so he can take a seat.
"What are you doing, Izuku?" Frog Face asks curiously, while I dig in my bag for a boar's hair brush. Izuku still uses fucking 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner so I don't even know why I bother, but if I'm going to waste my precious time on something you can bet your ass I'm going to do it well.
"Kacchan helps me with my hair, since I can't reach the back well." Izuku replies cheerily. Froggy makes a weird little ribbit-y hum like this is something very puzzling, and I get started on attacking the green rat's nest in front of me. You can't tell just looking at it, but the underlayer of his hair is always in a dozen knots.
"I've been meaning to ask you," Tsuyu continues as I pick at a particularly stubborn tangle with my conveniently pointed manicure. Thanks Sparkle Spanx. "Where did you learn to braid your hair like that, Izuku?"
"Hm?" Izuku hums mildly, shoulders loose as I run my fingers through the newly-detangled section of hair to get any last tangles out. "What?"
"Oh yeah!" Uraraka chimes in. "You've done some really complicated ones! I was going to ask if you could do that crown braid on me sometime, but I'm not sure my hair is long enough."
"I could do it." I answer absentmindedly, running the boar's hair brush down the back of Izuku's hair in long, even strokes to distribute the oils along the length of his hair. Oh hell yeah, look at that shit. I'm amazing.
"You…" Uraraka echoes, sounding odd, and I stiffen as I realize which of my classmates I was speaking to.
"Oh yeah!" Izuku interrupts, and I don't know if I want to throttle him or thank him. "Kacchan braids my hair for me on the train every morning, since I'm no good at it. It keeps it out of my face during class, and he likes to do different kinds sometimes depending on what our schedule is for the day?" He tries to turn his head to look at me, probably to verify that this observation is correct and not just speculation (it is, but I'm not about to tell him that), but I tighten my grip on the five- strand braid in my hands and yank until he yelps at the sting in his scalp and stops moving.
"If you keep fucking wiggling, I'm going to throw this shit in a ponytail and then cut it off." I threaten mildly. Izuku huffs but stays still.
"That's a good point though." Kaminari chimes in, looking at me weirdly but not saying anything. I glare back and he turns his eyes to Izuku with a stiff, somewhat terrified smile. Good. "If it's too
long for you to manage yourself, why don't you cut it?"
"Because Kacchan likes – eep." Another yank has Izuku shutting his no-good gossiping mouth, and he quickly changes tactics. "I mean, I like having Kacchan braid my hair?" He tried. "And uh, if I cut it, he wouldn't braid it anymore?"
You idiot. I think in despair, closing my eyes and resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. I open my eyes and tie off the end of the braid, foregoing loosening it for extra volume in favor of keeping it tight and sleek for the Sports Festival. No one says anything as I finish up.
"Deku-kun…" Uraraka finally whispers, voice full of pity. Izuku's head tilts to the side like a confused puppy, and it's painfully obvious he has no idea what's going on. Mina, Uraraka, and Yaomomo are all looking at him with a mixture of pity and glee that feels familiar in a way that Whoever I Was felt whenever she saw teenage girls whispering in packs.
"How pure." Yaomomo whispers, looking like she might tear up. I give in to the despair and drop my face into my palm with a sigh, even as Izuku looks between our classmates in increasing distress.
"W-What?"
"Don't worry Deku-kun, we'll support you." Uraraka says strongly, taking both of his hands in hers. I can see his ears turn red from behind him, and I'm sure his whole face is matching. She's as oblivious as he is, I think in despair, those two are going to take years to get together, I can see it now. "Even a hero can have a maiden's heart. In fact, I have a magazine that I think you should check out…"
Izuku looks back at me for help as he's dragged away to sit with the girls in the corner of the waiting room, but I just meet his eyes and think you brought this on yourself, and his look of betrayal tells me he got the message. I hide a mean little smirk behind a yawn and turn away.
I have a speech to prepare for, after all.