The rest of the day after his quick checkup with Recovery Girl was less enjoyable. As soon as Izuku got close to the classroom, he heard screaming. Apparently, Bakugou wasn't going without a fight. The door was closed, so he couldn't see all that was going on, but he could make out the words through the walls and door. People were walking past and slowing down to look at him as though Izuku was the one making it happen, but he ignored their stares and went to open the door so that he could go to class. He knew it was probably better to wait, but he wasn't going to give up any more time to Bakugou's antics, and that started right that second.

As soon as the door opened, everything in the classroom was quiet. Most people were in their seats, quiet as the still air that held a tension Izuku had never felt before. The only people standing were Aizawa, Bakugou and a small rat, or maybe a dog. That was the principal of the school, no way he'd come down here for a single student, unless he was really resisting whatever it was they were trying to say to him. Izuku watched as everyone in the room looked at him in silence, and Bakugou's hand twitched.

"Deku," Bakugou growled, and that one word broke the tension that had silenced the teachers.

"Young Bakugou, if you would please listen, you'd understand where we're coming from. You are hereby expelled, and we must talk privately about another matter which concerns—" Nezu said, but he was stopped from talking as Bakugou shot off across the classroom toward Izuku.

It was like a lightning bolt flying across the sky, and Bakugou was on him instantly. He managed to dodge the capture weapon that Aizawa sent his way, probably wise to its trick after being caught in it before, and pounced from a desk to push Izuku to the floor. Bakugou held him down and got in his face, but his Quirk wouldn't work as Aizawa's red eyes bore into the back of the blond's skull. Izuku tried to push him off, but Bakugou's shaking rage overwhelmed his own power.

"What the fuck did you do? What'd you say to the bastards? What? Huh? Why do you have to ruin this for me?" Bakugou screamed in Izuku's face, spit flying onto his cheek.

"You ruined this for yourself, asshole!" Izuku said.

Izuku tensed his legs and pushed on the ground with all his might, getting Bakugou to topple over him and let go of him. He scrambled away, feeling his heart throb in his chest and his lungs burn with the air that was coming and going too quickly. Izuku saw Aizawa step in front of him and take the chance to wrap his capture weapon around Bakugou as he tried to get to his feet, making him fall again. That brief fight ended just as it had begun, with the class silently watching on as Izuku and Bakugou stared at each other from across the room.

"You think you're some kind of hero, Deku! But no, you're a fucking killer. You're rotten to the core, villain, and they'll all know it!" Bakugou screamed from the ground, causing Izuku to shoot up onto his feet in alarm.

"Bakugou, shut up!" Izuku cried, his voice breaking as he realised what the blond was doing.

"Oh, don't you think they deserve to know?" Bakugou cackled. He knew there was no getting out of the binds once he was caught, so he was attacking with his words now, and those would do far more harm than his fists with Aizawa around.

"Don't listen to him!" Izuku looked around at his classmates, still silently watching Bakugou's quasi-breakdown into a laughing fit after attacking Izuku. Somehow, his gaze immediately landed on and refused to move away from Uraraka's, as she looked at him with concern and confusion.

"He's a murderer. A thing who killed our whole kindergarten class. Tell them, Deku! Tell them how I found you, covered in our teacher's blood and guts as you smiled! Say it! You liked it!" Bakugou ranted.

"Shut your mouth!" Izuku yelled over him.

"No, you shut yours, with all your stupid rambling about being a hero! We all know what you're good for, Deku, you just need to accept it for yourself! You agree, right?" Bakugou said, turning his head to see the class looking at the two of them with wide, uncertain eyes. "Right?!" he screamed, his throat raw from his volume.

No answer. Not even a peep from any of their classmates. They all just stared at Izuku and Bakugou, not making a sound, seemingly trying and failing to register what Bakugou had said.

"Bakugou, you need to stop resisting. It isn't Midoriya's fault you're being punished. You went too far, and this is the consequence," Aizawa said, jolting his capture weapon so that Bakugou got to his feet.

"Indeed. I watched the footage of your battle with Young Midoriya, and I must say that I was appalled. Such a clear lack of empathy and restraint will not be tolerated in this hero course, nor, I suspect, many others. So, if you would please come with us, we can talk about what happens next for you," Nezu said with a calm and chipper tone that betrayed the seriousness of the topic.

Bakugou froze, probably realising that this wasn't some sick joke being played on him. He met Izuku's eyes once again, and his wide, unfocused eyes told him all he needed to know about Bakugou's thoughts at that moment. He couldn't believe that it was real. He was being expelled, and it had to have been because someone other than him did something to get him in trouble, not because he'd admitted to murderous intent on camera, the idiot. Izuku felt his hands uncurl from their tensed state, and he looked at Bakugou as Aizawa led him out of the classroom with the principal and closed the door behind them.

In the silent aftermath of that outburst, Izuku could finally relax. Hopefully, he wouldn't be seeing Bakugou again, even if he wasn't jailed for his attempted killing. The only reason Bakugou even looked at him at all was because they were in the same class, hopefully he'd just give up entirely on making Izuku suffer after getting a karmic lesson in it. Izuku didn't really think that a few days into the school year would end up being as hectic as they had been, but he wasn't really going to complain if it rid him of Bakugou once and for all. Unless he dodged jail time and stalked Izuku in his free time. Or actually decided to become a villain. Or … Izuku thought it was best not to think about it.

That was when Izuku noticed that the class was still silent, still staring, but this time it was at him alone, which made Izuku's skin crawl with how many eyes were on him. Izuku took a deep breath to settle his nerves, and then turned to face the class. They all immediately looked away, except for Uraraka, who met his eyes with a grim sort of understanding. She wasn't smiling, or even looking concerned anymore, there was a simple expression of emerging realisation on her face that made her look so different to how she normally did. It pained Izuku to see the flicker of hurt in her eyes that was quickly covered up when she noticed him looking.

"Look, I—" Izuku started to explain to the class, but his worries were pointed at Uraraka.

"Was that true? What he said?" she asked.

"Yes. Partially," he answered truthfully, and a few hisses of air were sucked in around the room. "It's not exactly how Bakugou said, but there was some truth to that, and it's probably what you're already guessing."

A hand went up, and Izuku almost lost his mind at how much he really didn't want to be doing this. Nonetheless, he looked at a red haired boy he hadn't really spoken to yet, and nodded.

"Is it true that people got hurt?" he asked, which made Izuku smile. That was a nice way of putting it.

"People did die, and my Quirk was the one that killed them, but it was an accident. It was my first time using it, and I was six. I had no clue what was going to happen, but my Quirk does work on … biological matter," Izuku said.

"And what exactly does your Quirk do? We saw it yesterday, but we haven't known each other very long at all, and so we haven't gotten a true explanation yet," the cool girl with the ponytail said.

"That's true. You've already had to sit through two massive arguments because of me and my issues, so I guess I owe you an explanation. My Quirk is called Decimation. It breaks down solid matter that I touch with all five fingers. I …" Izuku had to pause to calm his trembling hands. "The first time I used it, I killed twelve people. I despise that use of my power, though, despite what Bakugou will tell you. I hate that I'm responsible for all that death and destruction, and I'm doing my best to make up for it by saving as many people as I can when I'm a hero. I won't ever use my Quirk on a person again. That kind of end isn't something I get to decide for anyone. I hope you'll believe me, but I can understand why you wouldn't. It's not exactly hard to believe that someone with my power could easily flip to the villain side."

"What? Nah, dude. After you stood up for us during Aizawa's tests? I don't think any one of us have any reason to turn on you like that!" the blond boy with a black lightning streak in his hair all but shouted.

"Yeah, he's right. You're a total bro!" the red haired boy cheered.

"And even aside from that point, you don't owe us anything. Much less an explanation of what has to have been a terrible experience for you," Iida called out, who was supported by a cry of 'yeah' from Uraraka behind him.

Izuku fell silent during the wave of assurances from his classmates. He really had to learn those other boys' names to thank them later. Right now, though, was the time for crying, as a few tears rolled down Izuku's cheeks and he had to hurry to hide them from everyone, even if he knew that they saw anyway. He was at the front of the classroom and everyone's attention was on him, of course they saw him crying. So he let it out. He'd been so worried about how people would react to his Quirk at UA, if they'd hate him like his middle school peers, if they'd overcompensate and pretend to love it like he was sure All Might was trying to, or if they'd be supportive but not pushy, like Uraraka's blessing of a friendship had been so far. He felt his gratitude for their positivity and belief in him well up inside and burst out in the form of a flood of tears, and Izuku's legs gave out from the headspin of so many different feelings escaping him at the same time. Nobody moved to help him, but he wouldn't have wanted it. He needed to feel this, to let them know how much this meant to him. This was good. He had to remind himself of that sometimes.

After a moment, Izuku composed himself. He stood back up and dried his face with his sleeve, hating that it'd get all gross later. Oh, well. This was worth it, to feel this floaty relief and gratitude. He turned to the rest of the class, and laughed lightly, though it came out as more of a scoff.

"If you could not tell Aizawa about this, I'd appreciate it. I get the feeling he's not one for such a public display of emotion. Or any at all," Izuku said, getting a few chuckles that broke the tense atmosphere the class had practically been drowning in since he'd arrived.

Eventually, Present Mic arrived for English, and the class moved on with the day without a Homeroom session, which Izuku could tell felt odd. It felt like the further into the day they all got, the more the class was able to put the chaotic beginning of the day behind them and focus on doing their best in classes. Izuku wasn't among them in that regard, however, and neither was another of his classmates. Uraraka was almost certainly looking at him throughout most of the day, not even trying to hide it. Whenever Izuku looked over in her direction under the pretence of looking around the classroom, as he still had some shame, she was looking straight at him with no attempt to cover up her staring with any sort of pretence. She was just staring at him, like a deer in headlights, her face stuck in a wide eyed, thin lipped expression that Izuku thought could either mean disappointment or that she was going to walk right over and kiss him. Not that he wanted that. At all. Welp, now he's got that stupid massive smile on his face again. Izuku briefly wondered if his brain was even on his side, but quickly came to the conclusion that it never had been.

It wasn't until lunch that there was a moment alone to talk with Uraraka. As everyone was filing out of the classroom, Present Mic stopped at the door and lifted an eyebrow at the two of them, who hadn't moved an inch from their seats. They were just staring at that point, eyes locked onto the other's and face set in a determined stillness. Present Mic simply shrugged and closed the door behind him, sensing that whatever was about to happen wasn't going to hurt anyone, and wasn't his business. That left Izuku and Uraraka alone in a silent, empty classroom where they could just talk about things. Izuku didn't exactly feel much like talking, but he had to now. He'd promised.

Uraraka slowly got up, and Izuku did the same. Her expression had shifted slightly, just slightly, so that she looked the tiniest bit angry. That would've intimidated Izuku if it didn't make her look like a little kid trying to be scary, with her puffed out cheeks and pout. She began to walk, march toward Izuku with an attitude Izuku had never really seen from Uraraka, and it made him a little bit nervous if he was being honest with himself. Uraraka had the Quirk to punt him into the sun if she wanted to, and him not sharing his whole deal with her even though she'd given him multiple chances to do so would be deserving of it in Izuku's mind, and he wouldn't do a thing to stop her.

When she got close, Izuku tensed and closed his eyes in preparation for shouting, but none came. Instead, stiff arms wrapped around his torso and embraced him, with Uraraka holding herself against him gently. He opened his eyes to see that Uraraka hadn't come over to yell at him, or hit him, or do anything that he'd been expecting, deserving, but she'd hugged him. It felt … well, it felt nice, warm, but also kind of horrible, because this was way too close contact for him right now, with all his messed up feelings about Uraraka specifically. Izuku was sure he was red in the face at this point, but his attention was more on his stomach squirming and the way his heart felt like it was about to break his ribs with how hard it was beating. It felt like Izuku was going to explode. This was just too much for him too soon.

"I'm sorry, what is happening?" he asked with a faint voice. He tried not to breathe, to not come off as if he was some creep or something, trying to smell her.

"I'm so sorry. I pushed so much to get you to tell me what was happening with you, but I should've realised you weren't ready," Uraraka sobbed, and Izuku realised that she was crying onto his blazer. It must have been going around.

"No, it's not your fault! It happened so long ago, it's not even a big deal for me to talk about it. Really, I was just being silly!" Izuku tried to argue, but Uraraka just hugged him harder.

"No, I saw you. Your hands. I know that it was hard for you, so I'm so sorry if I made you feel like you had to relive those horrible things you said," she said, her body, and Izuku's by proxy, trembling slightly.

"Hey, don't cry. I was going to tell you all about my Quirk sooner or later. 'Sooner' was just sooner than I thought!" Izuku tried his best to lighten the mood, but clearly Uraraka wasn't in the mood, as she just sobbed harder.

"You shouldn't have had to do that at all. It must have been horrible, experiencing all that so young. How selfish am I to feel entitled to an explanation after so little time knowing you?" Uraraka continued.

Izuku's arms were pinned by Uraraka's, due to not preparing for the hug in any way, so he stiffly raised them and put them around her as best he could to reciprocate the hug. It was so incredibly awkward for Izuku to be in this situation at all, let alone with Uraraka, who he still wasn't sure of his feelings towards, but she was upset, and he had to be there for her as her friend, even if he was the thing he was upset over. He felt her cling to him tighter at feeling him reciprocate, which was doing so much to his heart, but he kept at it.

"And how arrogant do I have to be to think I could keep it from you? I don't blame you for anything. I should've admitted it at any of the points I could've, but I didn't. That's my fault. The only thing you did was support me and offer a helping hand in an admittedly tough time, which I was, am, and will forever be grateful for. Thank you, Uraraka, for trying to help me. Honestly, you've kind of been my hero through the last few weeks," Izuku said, letting a sad smile crawl onto his face.

Uraraka broke the hug and stepped back to look him in the eye. Her eyes were slightly redder than before, and her cheeks were wet with tears, but she still had that charming innocent look on her face that made Izuku jittery. She looked up at him with a clear question in her eyes, but she went ahead and voiced it anyway.

"What do you mean?" Uraraka asked, her voice thick from crying.

"I have no other friends. I haven't for a long, long time. Maybe ever. Everyone I've talked to in the last nine years has known me as a villain first and a person second. Only my mom ever treated me like I was a normal kid, which I guess I'm realising is a stupid thing to ask for, since I'm not really a normal kid, am I?" Izuku laughed. He saw Uraraka open her mouth to protest, but he cut in before she could. "I'm not trying to self-deprecate or anything. No normal person wants to go out of their way to battle crazed maniacs and fight losing battles against natural disasters. There's a reason why heroics, despite being so glorified in the media, is a very small profession in the grand scheme of things," he clarified.

"Still, I'm not anywhere close to being anyone's hero, yet," Uraraka said, casting her gaze down toward the floor, which Izkuu noticed.

"I disagree. This has been the hardest string of days I've had in years. Yet they've been bearable because you've been by my side, bearing it, too. You're the first friend I've had in almost a decade, and probably the first actually positive influence other than my mom. Without knowing I had someone to talk to about this, without someone in my corner, I probably would've been screwed. I want more than anything to be a hero and to prove the people that don't believe in me to be wrong without a doubt. I don't think I could do that without someone who does believe in me, and that's why I'm so thankful that you've been pushing me, because that just means that I can get to my goals even faster. So, thank you, Uraraka, for being here to keep me going. Even though I …" Izuku hesitated to say what he really wanted to, what he'd been thinking ever before the battle trial. It would be so easy. 'Even though I think I want something different'. Say it. "… I'm not sure I deserve it." Shit.

Uraraka was silent for a moment. She looked at him with those deep brown eyes, and Izuku felt his face warm up, but he kept his composure, which was a miracle. He could barely handle this conversation as is, he didn't need more factors to add onto his current suffering. She began wringing her hands a moment before speaking up.

"I want to be a hero for money!" she all but yelled in a hushed flurry of sounds that took a second for Izuku to process.

"Huh?" he asked intelligently.

"I … want to be a hero … for the money," Uraraka repeated, squeaking out the words.

"Well, that's perfectly fine," Izuku said simply.

"What? Really?" Uraraka shouted again, taking a step back in shock.

"Yeah," he said. Looking at her now, it was clear that she was nervous about admitting this, but he stayed quiet and let her get there on her own terms.

"It's just … you have such a good reason! It's almost like you're on a mission! But I don't have anything nearly as noble. See, my parents own a construction company, but we're kinda broke, so I figured that if I was able to use my Quirk to lift all the materials, we could sell all our equipment and make some money! Mom and Dad told me to 'follow my own dreams', but my dream is to make sure they have a good life! It's so unfair that they give up so much so that I can do what I want, but I can't do the same. So, when I'm a hero, I'm gonna donate a lot of my pay to them so that they can take it easy, as repayment for their encouragement to pursue my own dream. I know it's not a very heroic dream, but—" Uraraka rambled on and on, but Izuku was hooked on every word. She seemed to notice this and cut herself off, much to his surprise.

"You're so amazing," Izuku mumbled, and immediately regretted it.

Both of them immediately took a few steps back from each other, trying to hide how red in the face they'd both gotten. Izuku almost tripped over his chair and fell over, but managed to save it with little to no fuss. He leaned against his desk and put on a big, fake smile for Uraraka, but it felt hollow, so he immediately dropped it. She looked down at her shoes and continued fidgeting with her hands, the fresh silence between the two of them being allowed to stretch on for several moments. When the awkwardness in the room reached critical mass, Izuku cleared his throat, but ended up just making his voice break instead, which was absolutely cool.

"So, lunch?" he tentatively asked, still not able to meet Uraraka's eye.

"Yeah, lunch! Let's go and do that. Right now," she said with an equally stilted voice.

The two of them stood still for a second, not wanting to be the first one to move. Izuku finally looked back over at Uraraka to find that she was doing the same thing he was, which was waiting so that the other was the first to leave, because he didn't want to look desperate to get away from Uraraka, but he really, really needed some fresh air, so they were stuck in a logic loop that Izuku decided to break first.

"After you?" Izuku suggested, and Uraraka immediately uttered a small 'yep' and dashed out of the room.

Now alone, Izuku slumped into his chair to hold his head in his hands, wondering how he was going to survive, even with Bakugou gone. This was going to be one hell of a year, Izuku knew it. He just hoped he'd survive the inevitable cardiac arrest he'd go into during his second, maybe third term.