Back after years of hellish health and family being awful... I hope you all enjoy this update (and the updates for my other stories)!
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What Heroes Would Choose
Chapter 17
Midoriya wasn't exactly surprised when All Might and Aizawa quietly argued the entire way to the training center, knowing it was about him. It seemed in the end, All Might lost because he was the one to call Midoriya aside when they entered the enormous building, his face grim and apprehensive.
"That's the short of it…" All Might finished explaining, though Midoriya had already anticipated everything his mentor had 'explained' to him. "No training that could set off your quirk."
"Okay, All Might," he replied with bland acceptance. "So, it's back to basic strength training again?"
The blonde looked him over with shock and an edge of suspicion, clearly having expected significant pushback. "Young Midoriya, is everything alright?" he finally asked, reaching out to lay a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You don't have to put on a brave face with me. It's entirely understandable if you're frustrated with the situation; you can tell me what you're feeling without judgment. You know that, don't you?"
There was a momentary sting of emotion that Midoriya quickly squashed down, his face remaining mostly neutral. "I know that, All Might." He responded, carefully choosing his words. "I am frustrated that I can't train with my quirks since I still haven't mastered them, but I understand why Mr. Aizawa thinks it's too risky for me to try. I'll just have to work that much harder once I'm allowed to use my quirks again."
All Might grit his teeth at the declaration, not missing the momentary darkening of the boy's usually happy eyes. He couldn't help but remember what Aizawa had said to him; about how his influence could be pushing Midoriya too far.
"Hey, kid… Look, I know how this must all feel to you, especially with the League of Villains back on the upswing, but you don't have to rush. We've got to take the time we need to train you not just well, but safely too." All Might expounded, trying to get his pupil to see the bigger picture that he'd missed during his time as the Symbol of Peace. "You're already working hard and progressing just fine; this temporary limitation isn't going to change that. Alright?"
Midoriya again nodded in understanding, a subdued smile fighting to form and remain on his lips. "You'll still try to convince them to let me off of the medicine soon though, won't you All Might?"
The old pro sighed but ultimately agreed, knowing that he was just wasting words trying to convince Midoriya that doing push-ups was somehow as important as learning to control multiple quirks. Truth be told, he'd feel no differently… But it didn't appear that Midoriya was going to express whatever it was he was feeling in any way other than quiet disagreement.
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A knock at his door interrupted Midoriya's intense 'meditation', his designated time to destroy his emotions so that he could keep his heart under control as his predecessor had advised the year before. He hadn't had much of a chance to practice expressing emotions he wasn't feeling yet, but, it couldn't be all that hard. All Might had smiled for nearly six years while his injury slowly destroyed his body without anyone realizing the truth.
"Hey, Deku! Open up!" Ochaco called, knocking again for good measure.
Taking a quick look in the mirror to check his expression, Midoriya did as requested, smiling widely at his friend. "Hey Ochaco, oh, and Iida too. What's up, guys?"
"It's dinner time, Midoriya," Iida responded, gesturing to the elevator. "We saw how hard you pushed yourself today during training and as the class rep and your friend, I feel it's my job to ensure you receive proper nourishment."
"Yeah, and Bakugo is cooking tonight so you know it'll be good." Ochaco agreed, even more bubbly than usual; probably overcompensating due to her worry over him.
Midoriya did need to eat and had planned on coming down as soon as he'd finished 'meditating' anyway, but he didn't want to get caught up in conversation. He had planned to bring the food to his room to eat while studying, another area he desperately needed to improve to be the best.
Tempting though it was to tell them he'd catch up later, Midoriya knew he had to be even more careful about his behavior than he'd previously believed. "Right!" he chirped in false enthusiasm, quickly slipping on his shoes and gesturing for them to go.
Midoriya's deception appeared to work, Iida and Ochaco smiling happily at his willingness to come with them this time. "Ochaco, I saw you floating today during training; it looked like you were hardly getting sick at all even though you were spinning!"
The girl's brown eyes surged with sparkling encouragement, her head rapidly nodding. "It's another move I'm working on!" she explained proudly. "Remember at the training camp how I needed Tsu to throw you guys after I'd made you weightless? Well, I got thinking and…"
Midoriya nodded along after her, though only half paid attention to her animated voice. The common room was crowded with their other classmates as it usually was during dinner time—especially on the nights when it was Bakugo or Sato's turn to make the meal.
Scenting the area, Midoriya's stomach twisted sickly; Bakugo had made his favorite dish, Katsudon. Not particularly a difficult dish to make and one that was well received by his classmates, but still, Midoriya couldn't help but believe that it was being made specifically for him; He couldn't let his suspicion show though.
Midoriya had more pressing concerns anyway, like the sudden onslaught of 15 students rushing towards him like they'd been apart for years rather than an hour. Flickering his eyes around at the blurring voices, he found Bakugo glancing back in his direction too, still at the stove finishing his 'masterpiece'. Next was Todoroki, also in the kitchen.
It appeared that the dual user was more or less helping Bakugo with the cooking, something that Midoriya knew the blonde had never needed or wanted help with before. Even after they'd mended their relationship and become close again, Bakugo's pride simply wouldn't allow help from anyone. Yet there he was now, letting the one student he'd spurned all the way up to their kidnapping do the very tasks Midoriya had pleaded to do himself time and time again.
'They… They said they'd put aside their differences, but so had we! Kacchan and I were back to how we were when we were little kids. Better than that! But he's letting Shoto in more than he ever let me…'
Midoriya's mind reeled at the sight, the realization of just how close the two had become in the past few months more than he was prepared to handle. This was a different kind of pain than he'd begun 'meditating' for and it wasn't just that—there was a deep, swirling jealousy mixing in too. This was bad. He couldn't give in, not ever, but especially not surrounded by his classmates.
Midoriya forced his mind to replay the way they'd shunned him in the hospital, the ache in his chest dwindling from the more familiar and more easily dealt with emotions. A smile bubbled to his lips right after, hands flying up in excitable nervousness to encourage some personal space.
"Woah, hey!" He squeaked in laughter, backing away from the swarm of individuals who'd all said something to him in the minute it had taken him to analyze the current situation. "Slow down, I didn't catch a single thing you all were saying!"
Kirishima's boisterous voice rang most clearly through the slew of apologies, the teen coming forward to slap an arm around Midoriya and lead him through the overwhelming greeting. "Sorry man; We're all just so pumped you actually came down to eat with us tonight; it seems like forever since you've done that!"
'Yeah, because I have work to do that can't get done when everyone is all over me like this.' Midoriya grumbled internally, still trying to find a way to get out of what would no doubt end up being five minutes of eating followed by an hour of useless conversation like it always was.
"Well, I do really have to get back to studying…" he stated, testing the waters to gauge everyone's reactions. Not good; the worry they'd attempted to hide behind their overzealous greeting flickered to the surface, a few even exchanging glances.
Midoriya's mind spun quickly to salvage the situation. "I missed so much on medical leave that it feels like I'll never catch up! But I do really miss hanging out with you guys!" he spewed, still keeping his upbeat tone and smile despite the half-lie. "Yaoyorozu, do you think maybe you could give me some tips or help me study sometime? Once I get back on track, I'd have way more time to spend with everyone."
The girl's eyes lit up at the question and readily accepted. Midoriya had done all of his homework and testing at home while he was away, and his grades had remained pretty much the same, so he wasn't actually behind at all. But as long as he got a single answer wrong on any quiz or exam he might as well be dead last.
Scanning his friends' faces once more, Midoriya was relieved to find his scheme had worked. The nervousness they'd had from his apparent lack of socializing was eased by his assurance that he was just having an extended cramming session, and knowing Yaoyorozu, they likely believed Midoriya would be caught back up in no time.
Momo was the top student in their class, so it followed that maybe she really could offer help, Midoriya reasoned, deciding to make the most of the situation. "Awesome, thank you so much!" He gushed, lips splitting into an appreciative smile. "I'll get everything together tonight that I need help with and then maybe tomorrow we can set up some times throughout the week to get together, okay?"
With her approval and thus the domino approval of everyone else, Midoriya successfully managed to get himself out of most of the time-wasting portions of the evening, at least for a little while. He hoped that with time, everyone would get used to his absence and leave him alone.
"Hey, Extras', come get your food!" Bakugo shouted, he and Todoroki already having their plates filled with an additional one in hand. "Deku, I've got yours right here."
Wonderful. Now he wasn't even trusted enough to scoop his own portions like everyone else. Were they planning on cutting the meat and spoon-feeding him as well? Only embers of the flaming emotions he had remained in his chest, however, allowing him to shuffle to the table Bakugo and Todoroki had sat at with only minimal feeling attached to his thoughts.
"Thanks, Kacchan! This smells really good!" Midoriya hummed, settling in between the two where they'd placed his food. "You didn't sneak those ghost pepper flakes in again to mess with me, did you? Because I couldn't taste anything for weeks after that!"
His joke was well received by the students waiting in line, but Bakugo hardly did more than smirk ruefully and shake his head.
"I assure you that the food is properly seasoned this time, Izuku," Todoroki explained, the tone of his voice barely a sliver above neutral. "I watched carefully to make sure there were no attempts to sneak anything in."
"Ah? You two act like I'm some deviant bastard intent on ruining Deku's food!" Bakugo grunted, finally getting over his anxiety, it seemed. "It was one time, and I only did it because the little nerd started shit when he purposefully underseasoned MY food on his cooking night."
Midoriya was aware he should feel the impulse to laugh loudly at the playful insinuation; this whole conversation was built around a joke that he'd started after all. But at most all he felt like doing was chuckling. It was like a flower bud that should have blossomed but didn't. This development was unexpected; negative emotions were what he'd been striving to siffle, yet it seemed the 'treatment' he'd created to deal with them had farther-reaching effects.
"I'd never do that, Kacchan!" he forced out along with the laugh that wouldn't have existed otherwise. "You got your food from the same pan as everyone else; it just seemed extra underseasoned to you because you've already destroyed all the taste receptors on your tongue from the ultra-spicy food you eat all the time!"
The blonde responded by pulling out the exact bottle of ghost pepper flakes he'd spiked Midoriya's food with before, rapidly shaking the bottle to douse his current meal with the flesh-melting spice. His face was set in a smirk, clearly enjoying the looks of horror he received from his classmates that were slowly trickling over.
"That's a lot, even for you, Katsuki. I won't use my ice to cool your tongue if it ends up being too much." Todoroki hummed disapprovingly, though otherwise didn't intervene.
Again, another flair of jealousy. Todoroki wasn't calling him Kacchan, a name that only Midoriya himself was allowed to use, but his chest burned all the same. Midoriya was quickly shoveling food into his mouth, at least as fast as he could without drawing too much unwanted attention, but he really wanted to get out of there.
Somehow, sitting between them made their friendly banter even worse than if he'd been watching from somewhere else. Midoriya was the third wheel without a way to slink away unnoticed, caught in the middle of their unnervingly close friendship.
He scolded himself internally, hating that he was so bothered by the very thing he'd been begging for since he and Bakugo had rekindled their friendship. His two best friends were finally getting along with each other and there he was upset by it: a toddler throwing a tantrum for no good reason.
"Jeez, Deku!" Ochaco gasped, finally having gotten her plate and claiming a seat across from him. "I don't think I've ever seen that much food disappear so quickly!"
Though they'd done more talking than he had, Midoriya was aware that Todoroki and Bakugo were barely reaching the halfway point in their meals, and he'd just inhaled the final piece of his own. Obviously, this had been his intention, spurred on by the confused feelings he wouldn't dare show, but he wished the girl hadn't brought so much attention to it.
"You haven't tried it yet, Ochaco!" he explained, patting his stomach for emphasis. "It's really good and I just couldn't stop myself!"
"Would you like more, Izuku?" Todoroki questioned, his movement making it evident he was prepared to go and refill the empty plate.
Midoriya shook his head quickly, bashfully encouraging the dual user to go back to eating his own food. "I'm stuffed but thank you! I think I'll go back upstairs and start getting that stuff together like I told Yaoyorozu; the faster I get caught up, the faster I can get back to hanging out with you guys, right?"
Though Todoroki and Bakugo seemed rather glum at his declaration, Ochaco had a fire burning in her eyes. "That's right, Deku! Go Plus Ultra!"
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As always, thank you for reading and for your patience with my health problems! I'm updating most of my stories, so, check them out if you're interested!