Chapter 1 : Broken Bones

AN:Disclaimer : The characters depicted, settings, and some terminology in this fan work are the property of Kohei Horikoshi. The views and opinions of this fan based work in no way reflect the views or opinions of Kohei Horikoshi. This is a fanfiction written purely for entertainment purposes and nothing more. The author of this fan based work receives no profit gain in writing this.

AN: Hello! If you have read any of my other on going fics please don't worry updates are being worked on, but it will be some time. I also wanted to let everyone know I also post on AO3 as well.

"Your quirk is amazing Shinsou-kun!"

These words often repeated in Shinsou's mind. He still wasn't exactly sure he believed them, but they were spoken so earnestly it was becoming difficult not to believe it. His entire life he'd been marked as a villain in the making. Even more so the freckled boy wasn't afraid to speak to him. After his loss at the sports festival he assumed things would go back to normal. He figured he'd go back to his general studies like nothing ever happened, but Midoriya kept popping up, usually unexpectedly. He kept flashing that bright smile his way. He'd wave at him whenever their paths crossed in the halls, and even invited him to eat lunch with him outside once. Shinsou wondered if Midoriya would have smiled at him if he'd agreed to eat lunch with him that time instead of declining. He wasn't accustom to such warm smiles or friendly gestures. He craved the warmth but it also burned him.

He heaved a deep sigh as his feet carried him toward the Hero course's dorms. His features indifferent as the warm sun beat down on his back. In his right hand held a folder of papers his left hand rested in his pants pocket as he walked leisurely. He uncharacteristically volunteered to drop off some papers to some dolt who forgot his folder in Midnight's class. His eyes trailed over the name on the folder. Kaminari Denki. He remembered him from the sports festival. He was loud and energetic and hard to miss in a crowd. He'd spoken to the blonde a handful of times in passing, but they definitely weren't very close. Although, if he thought about it he wasn't close with anyone. Did he even have anyone he'd consider a friend?

"Oi! Move out of the way extra!" yelled a gruff voice pulling Shinsou from the beginning of some depressing thoughts. He looked in time to see a book collide with his face. "Kaaaachan! You can't just throw stuff like that!" The next thing Shinsou heard was a rush of footsteps in his direction. His eyes clenched tight with a hand over his nose. He could feel the wetness of blood seeping through his fingers.

"Shit that hurt." he muttered pulling himself up to seated position the ground. His eyes burned and his face throbbed. He wondered if he'd broken his nose. Damn, that would suck. He could feel someone standing in his space and cracked his eyes open for a peek. He was startled to see forest green staring right back him. Midoriya knelt in front inches from his face with tissues in hand.

"Bakugou! How many times do I have to tell you not to throw things! I've warned you that someone would get hurt, and its exactly what has happened!" Iida scolded the blonde vehemently air chopping his hands the whole time. "Chill he'll be fine and it's not like I purposely aimed for him four-eyes. I even tried to warn him." Bakugou huffed looking away from Shinsou.

"What the hell hit me?" he groaned looking around for himself. He ignored the tissue in Midoriya's hand as he staggered to his feet. His head was pounding so hard he was nauseated, and he felt dizzy. The folder he was holding was unscathed not that he cared that much about it, not after all this trouble. "Sorry! It was my notebook that hit you!" Midoriya yelled his apology with a deep bow.

"Shinsou-kun! Please let me as class 1-A rep to escort you to recovery girls office." Iida offered aggressively with a bow. "And please accept my sincerest apologies for Bakugou's behavior!" he yelled again causing Shinsou to flinch from the volume of his voice. His whole face hurt like hell. His nose was probably broken.

"Geeze, you're such a noisy bunch." his tone was very nasally and blood seeped past his fingers. "I'll be fine on my own, but do me a favor rep give this to it's owner." he handed Iida the folder before he turned to walk away. It was definitely much more trouble than it had been worth. His lips formed a frown and he could feel the blood running down the back of his throat. Gross.

"Wait! I'll go with you!" Midoriya called frantically scooping up his notebook before taking off after Shinsou.

The walk was silent for the most part. It was hard to talk when his face throbbed so much, not that he really had anything to say to the freckled teen. He listened on to Midoriya's frenzied muttering apologies and some stuff he couldn't quite catch. He wondered why Midoriya bothered to follow him, and maybe he could have figured it out if the pain wasn't so dizzying. So distracting.

He must have looked unsteady on his feet because suddenly scarred fingers gripped his shoulder. His first instinct was to shrug the hand off, but he couldn't do it. Midoriya looked so guilt-ridden, and the warmth of his touch was oddly comforting. It had been so long since someone touched him so gently. He couldn't decide if he hated it or liked it.

"You okay?" Midoriya asked. His eyes full of concern, but why was he so concerned over someone like him? At worst his nose was broken, and he'd likely have a black eye or maybe two if the pain was any indicator. He looked back at Midoriya who seemed to be silently waiting for an answer to his question.

"'m fine." he muttered looking away.

His response seemed to somewhat appease Midoriya. He felt a sigh leave his lips as Midoriya's hand finally left his shoulder. It was bittersweet. The warmth replaced with icy cold, but he'd be fine. He always managed to be okay. They were able to catch Recovery Girl as she was about to leave for the day. She took one look at the two with a hand on her cane and her head shaking at them.

"You boys better not have been fighting!"

"No, it was an accident." Midoriya exclaimed nervously having had plenty of lectures from the Pro Healer, and he wasn't looking forward to another. Her scrutinizing gaze pierced through the teens. Midoriya shifted nervously and besides having a broken nose most likely he seemed fairly indifferent to Recovery Girls gaze.

"Well come on I haven't got all night you two." she sighed but her tone wasn't as menacing as they'd anticipated.

Recovery Girl motioned for Shinsou to follow her and Midoriya sat on the bench outside the office giving them space. He wanted to go in, because this was all his fault. It was his notebook that hit Shinsou. He strained his ears ears to listen in on the two. He hoped Shinsou's nose wasn't broken. He was no stranger to the pain of broken bones, and he's luckily never broken his nose he's heard it's very painful.

He waited patiently flipping through his notebook. Hero notebook # 14. He'd started a new notebook at the beginning of this term. It was different from his other notebooks this one was larger and thicker unfortunately for Shinsou. He grimaced. He wanted for Shinsou to be his friend, but it didn't seem like the universe wanted them to get along. He heard footsteps nearing the door and a muffled voice.

"Now make sure you eat a proper dinner and go to bed early young man. My healing takes a lot of energy from you so please take care not to over exert yourself." Midoriya could hear Recovery Girl's voice right before the door opened, and she ushered out Shinsou.

"Ah, Midoriya-boy good you're still here." she stated pushing Shinsou forward. "Be a good boy and walk Shinsou back to his dorm. You know how much healing takes out of person." He did know because he'd once passed out trying to go back to class from being healed after ground beta fight against Kaachan.

"O-oh right of course!" he slammed his notebook shut and jumped up from his seat.

They watched as she left quickly muttering about having a shift at the hospital she was late for. Shinsou watched Midoriya's nervous posture. It wasn't odd for people to be nervous around him. However, it was typically because of his quirk. Midoriya had made it clear he thought his quirk was amazing. So why was he nervous then?

"I'll be fine on my own no need to babysit me." his tone came out harsher than he'd expected, but Midoriya seemed unbothered by it.

"It's really no trouble, plus it's kind of my fault you ended up here anyway." he fidgeted and shuffled his feet. He really wanted to make Shinsou like him. He wanted to be his friend.

"Fine." he conceded starting his walk toward his classes dorms. His steps were slow and his body did feel very weak. He'd been tired from a long day before his nose had been broken and healed so now he just felt exhausted. Maybe he'd get a decent amount of sleep he mused. "Is that the book that hit me?" he decided to try his hand at conversation since Midoriya always seemed to be trying to talk to him.

"Yea...sorry about that."

"I guess it's my fault for declaring war against a whole class of trainee heroes." he admitted his lips pulled into a scowl.

"No, you've got it wrong! Kaachan was teasing me because of my note taking habit and he took my book away and threw it at random. He wasn't aiming for you. I swear!" Midoriya explained excitedly waving his hands around looking extremely guilty still.

"Everyone takes notes why tease someone for that?" he asked before giving it much thought. He had been talking more since moving away from home, but it still made him feel anxious to speak a lot. His gut flopped whenever Midoriya would look sideways at him.

"Oh yea I guess you wouldn't know much about me, but since I was a kid I've been analyzing heroes and their quirks. I take notes about their abilities, their costumes, and theorize the limits of their quirks. I'm on notebook # 14 now." he let out a nervous chuckle holding up the book for Shinsou to see. "It's pretty lame, but I guess it's something I enjoy doing." he cut himself off before letting slip he'd never had anything else to do. Never had friends before attending UA.

"Why does that matter?" he asked clearly perplexed why it would matter to others what Midoriya does in his spare time.

"W-well Kaachan didn't like my assessment of his quirk, and it's possible range of ability. I basically wrote he wasn't using his quirk to the best of his capabilities. So yea, he got pretty mad. Although, old Kaachan would have blown it to pieces instead of just chucking it." and maybe beat my ass on top of that, he caught himself before adding.

"That guy's an asshole." Shinsou stated offhandedly.

"Yea...he can be a lot of the time." he grinned anxiously. "Anyway...how's your nose feeling?" he asked awkwardly.

"It's sore, but I've had worse." he casually confessed. He watched Midoriya's brows furrow, and wondered what he was thinking about. He almost asked, but thought better of it. It really wasn't his business what Midoriya thought about.

They walked in an awkward silence. Midoriya's mouth set in frown. He didn't know what to do to make Shinsou smile. Sure this was progress. It's the longest conversation he'd ever held with Shinsou. He was surprised Shinsou wasn't as combated with his words outside of the ring. He seemed a lot more laid back and way more quiet than he'd expected. Although, he supposed that would make sense given his quirk relied on getting people to answer him, so riling people up was a good strategy in a fight. He had to remind himself that he was also a very different person outside of a fight. According to Uraraka outside of the ring he had the demeanor of a baby bunny.

Midoriya found himself stuck wondering how to proceed to friendship from acquaintanceship. Usually people shared interest or hobbies, or even took part in similar activities. However, other than attending the same school he really didn't know much about Shinsou. All he really wanted was to get to know him better.

Shinsou glanced over to Midoriya who had been muttering softly half of their walk, and wondered why he looked so troubled. It tied his gut into knots for some reason to see him like that. He strained to hear what he was saying to himself, but the only word he could make out was friendship.

"What about friendship?" Shinsou asks curiously with a smirk.

Midoriya's pace slowed to a stop realizing he'd been muttering this whole time. His face flared red with embarrassment as he slapped a hand over his mouth. He watched as Shinsou stopped and turned back to him. His brow quirked with a questioning gaze.

Here goes nothing.

"I just wanted to be friends with you." Midoriya revealed nervously. Making friends had always been difficult for him even now. He could feel his stomach churning. He knew realistically Shinsou wouldn't be mad at him, but that didn't automatically mean he'd be able to gain his friendship either. He watched the other boy shift his weight from one foot to the other. His hand came up to cradle the back of his neck in an awkward gesture. Midoriya felt his gut begin to drop as Shinsou spoke.

"Sorry, it's not like I dislike you or anything I'm just not here to make friends or play games. I'm going to become a Pro and I don't have time for anything else."

"Right...we've all got goals we're trying to reach. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that." He shuffled uncomfortably. His gaze pointedly anywhere but Shinsou's face. He really messed this up. He wanted to become Shinsou's friend ever since the sports festival. He said a lot things during their fight that really hit him personally. Things that resonated with his soul. "You can't help what the heart yearns for." It was so true. He was the same as Shinsou before he received OFA.

"I...thanks for walking with me." He tried to see Midoriya's face but the boy kept his head down. He tried to ignore the clench of his gut. He wasn't intending on making friends it had nothing to do with Midoriya personally. In fact Midoriya wasn't a bad guy in Shinsou's opinion, and if he were going to make friends he wouldn't mind being his friend. He was nearly startled when Midoriya spoke again.

"Yea of course! Get some rest like Recovery Girl said. You must be pretty tired." Midoriya smiled but it wasn't his usual bright smile and his voice had a strain to it. He opened his notebook and tore a piece out and scribbled something on it. "Here, it's my phone number in case you change your mind about being friends." his smile brightened after Shinsou accepted it.

XXX

Shinsou laid in bed staring at the now slightly rumpled piece of paper in his hand. He thought about what that number represented and it made him anxious. Friendship. He hadn't thought about that in a long time, at least not since elementary school before his quirk manifested.

Ever since his quirk manifested he'd been an outcast. Feared by most even his teachers. No one wanted to be around or alone with the kid who could brainwash them. He recalled how the few 'friends' he'd managed to make in middle school treated him. Now that he thought about it even as they pretended to be his friends they were afraid of him. The three of them never spent any time one on one with Shinsou and always made comments about the unsavory ways he could use his quirk. The thought of which always made him queasy.

Midoriya though wasn't like them at all. He had no qualms speaking with Shinsou one on one. Shinsou's frowned deepened. His mind instantly went back to their fight during the sports festival. After their match Midoriya had held his hand out to help him up. He remembered how he seemed genuinely apologetic for slamming him down so hard. How trusting he was even after Shinsou purposely hijacked his mind twice after the fight in a rare teasing moment. He cringed at the thought. He used his quirk on Midoriya twice after the battle ended and he still seemed to trust him.

His eyes scanned the number. If he was being honest he longed for friendship. He was still human after all. Somewhere in the depths of his mind he wondered if he deserved to have friends with a quirk like his. He knew he shouldn't believe those self depreciating thoughts, but even now at UA it was hard to kick those thoughts entirely. They would always be there in the background.

He shifted to his side placing the number on his night stand. He'd spent enough time over thinking and he had classes tomorrow. He switched his lamp off and tried to get comfortable. His eyes drooped closed and he fell asleep easier than he had in a long time. It must have been Recovery Girls quirk.

XXX

"Oi! Shinsou! Some hero course kid is here to talk to you." called a shrill voice through his closed door interrupting his studies. The voice no doubt belonged to Togeike Chikuchi. Her impatience clear in her voice as she rapped her fist against his door again louder.

Shinsou closed his text book with a pencil in the binding to save his spot and sluggishly made his way to the door. "Yea, yea I'm coming." It was only the briefest of moments that he hoped it was Midoriya's bright smile waiting for him behind the door. He quickly dismissed that hope and opened the door.

"Finally I've been waiting forever and I'm not escorting him out of here that's your job." she snapped giving the blonde standing next to her a scowl. Shinsou's gaze shifted to the blonde standing in his doorway. His golden eyes followed Togeike.

"I'm not sure what her problem is?" he muttered as the elevator door closed behind her.

"She doesn't like you hero course kids, in fact most of us don't." he responded indifferently.

"Right...I probably shouldn't have asked her out on date then huh?" he laughed nervously.

"So you're here because..." he drawled out his words staring expectantly at the blonde before him. He recognized him from the sports festival. He couldn't remember his name but he knew his quirk at least. Electrification.

"Oh yea I almost forgot!" he smiled brightly and laughed before continuing. "I wanted to thank you for bringing my folder. Seriously dude thanks. I was going crazy looking everywhere for it! Thought I was gonna fail again without that study guide!"

"I'd say it wasn't a big deal but you know I kind of got my nose broken." he replied sarcastically.

"Yea I'm sorry about Bakugou. He has the personality of flaming garbage steeped in sewage, but he didn't mean to hit you with that book. It really was an accident so on his behalf I'm sorry!" he ended bowing slightly.

"It's fine I guess." He eyed Kaminari suspiciously. He appeared to be sincere in his apology.

"Looks like Midoriya was right." he stated with a smile at Shinsou's confused look. "You're actually a nice guy huh? I mean you were pretty intimidating declaring war on our class and almost taking out Midoriya, but he said you were cool, and if Midoriya is cool with you I'm cool too." he finished with a goofy grin and gave him a thumbs up. "Here take my number maybe we could hang out some time." he added fishing his phone out of his pocket.

"Sure." he responded pulling his phone out and exchanged numbers with the blonde. He'd thought about it a lot the night before and maybe having a friend wouldn't be so bad this time around. He wasn't sure yet, but he didn't have to use the number just because it was in his phone after all. His stomach clenched thinking of how he turned down Midoriya's offer of friendship. He pretended not to notice the way his face fell and how he wouldn't make eye contact. Damn.

"Thanks again man! I've gotta get back to studying or I'm seriously gonna fail!" Shinsou waved him off letting him leave on his own. There was no way he'd get lost. The dorms were all set up exactly the same. He didn't care that Togeike would be upset he just wanted to get back to his day.

Shinsou found that getting back to studying was much more difficult after Kaminari visited. He found his thoughts wandering. Vibrant green hair and bright smiles flashed into his thoughts. He frowned slamming his book shut. It was clear he couldn't concentrate like this. He knew why he felt guilty. He considered possible friendship with Kaminari after telling Midoriya to basically take a hike. His gut flopped thinking of how Midoriya would feel if he found out. Crap. Reluctantly he grabbed his phone off his desk and flopped down on his bed. In one hand held his phone and the other grasped the piece of paper Midoriya had given him.

He heaved a heavy sigh as he typed in the number into his phone. He had a foreboding feeling this would eventually become troublesome, but Midoriya did seem to be genuinely interested in being his friend. He held his breath as he typed and sent his text to Midoriya.

SHINSOU- OKAY LET'S BE FRIENDS

MIDORIYA – REALLY? (* ^ ω ^)

SHINSOU- YEA

MIDORIYA- ANY PLANS FOR TODAY?

SHINSOU- TRAINING MOSTLY

MIDORIYA- WANT TO TRAIN TOGETHER?

Shinsou was unprepared for the immediate friendship obligations, or maybe activities was a better term? Either way he'd never had anyone offer to train with him before. Most people didn't want to be near him let alone offer to train with him where he may use his quirk. He stared at his phone trying to decide what to say to the freckled teen. Ultimately he decided to try because apparently Midoriya thought he was a good guy and the thought of letting him down caused his gut to clench.

SHINSOU- I GUESS ITS OK

MIDORIYA- YAY! ヽ(^o^)丿

MIDORIYA- I'LL COME TO YOU!