Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     Midoriya Izuku was having a good day. Or, at least a normal day. School had just let out; they had played a game sort of like hide and seek for hero training. Hagakure won, of course. It was kind of inevitable, no one can beat her when it comes to stealth. Uraraka and Sero tied for second place; no one even considered looking up until the end of the game. Midoriya figured he had done alright through the whole game. Instead of finding a hiding place like everyone else, he opted for trying to stay behind the seeker and out of sight. Present Mic, who was acting as the seeker, didn't find him until other kids were found, and they became seekers. Once half the class was looking around, it was kind of hard to stay hidden. Still, though, he did pretty good.

    And so it was a little bit surprising when Aizawa asked to see him after class. Midoriya didn't really have a clue as to what he was in trouble for. Maybe because he didn't exactly find a hiding place for the game? Did he somehow find out about-- No, he couldn't have. Midoriya walked stiffly down to Aizawa's classroom, wringing his hands. He cracked his knuckles, trying to prepare himself for whatever conversation was about to happen, and opened the classroom's door.

    “Midoriya.” Aizawa stated, as soon as he heard the student walk in. It looked as if Aizawa had been grading papers, their tests from last week were strewn across his desk. As Midoriya walked closer, he searched the desk for his, trying to figure out his grade. He found it, but it hasn't been graded yet. So, this conversation probably wasn't about that.

    “Yes, Mr. Aizawa?” Midoriya responded. Aizawa didn't look up from the papers. He scribbled on one of the tests in red pen. Lots of red pen. Midoriya felt bad for whoever that test belonged to.

    “Monoma Neito, from class 1-B, has a quirk that allows him to copy the quirks of others.” Midoriya nodded, knowing the student. Most people in 1-A knew him, Monoma made his disdain for the entire class well known. “He’s volunteering at a daycare, and recently came up with the idea of copying little kids’ undeveloped quirks in order to figure out what they are. We need someone who's good at analyzing quirks. Can you think of anyone who fits the bill?”

    As soon as Aizawa said the phrase ‘analyzing quirks’, Midoriya was almost vibrating with excitement. Aizawa exhaled through his nose in amusement.

    “I'm pretty good at analyzing quirks,” Midoriya said, beginning to pace. “I know that maybe someone more experienced would be better suited but oh my god please let me go, this is what I was born to do, quirks are like my thing , Mr. Aizawa for the love of god please --”

    “Why do you think I asked you to come here in the first place?” Aizawa asked drily. Midoriya stopped pacing, and turned to face Aizawa.

    “Thank you so much I won't let you down when can we go?” Midoriya asked, making direct eye contact, and still kind of shaking in excitement. Aizawa sighed.

    “We're having the kids brought over today. Some of the other teachers and I will be supervising. Head down to the back of the school in about a half hour. You're dismissed.”

    As Midoriya walked away, eagerly anticipating this unique chance to see tons of new quirks, and have the opportunity to take notes on them and be invited to analyze the quirks, and god, Midoriya was going to have a field day. Every new generation had more and more complex quirks, which was always interesting. A typical class at UA a few generations back would have students with quirks such as ‘water manipulation,’ ‘telekinesis,’ or ‘strength’. Now, though, quirks were a lot more unique and versatile. As quirks combined, and children were, ah, made, quirks developed and really, Midoriya thought the process was so incredible. He had always wondered what kind of quirk he could have developed, with his mom's telekinesis, and his father's fire breathing. Maybe moving fire around? Telekinesis with a fiery aura? Midoriya couldn't really come up with anything too complex, but he assumed the options were endless. Well, now he needed to find a way to wait out the half hour until the kids arrived.

    Who was he kidding, he was just going to wait behind the school at the hero training area until everyone else was there.

__________

    “Alright, is that everyone?” Aizawa asked. A group of 13 children, most of them around 3 to 4. Most of the kids at the day care Monoma volunteered at had developed their quirks by now. These kids were the only ones young enough to not have their quirks, and who's parents consented to their children’s quirks being discovered by someone else. Generally, someone using their quirk for the first time is like a baby's first steps, or first words. Definitely a special moment most parents would want to witness. A crowd of excited parents sat a bit away from where the children were gathered in a group of chairs set up earlier. Midoriya stood a bit closer to where the action would be, giving him a better view.

    “Yup, that's everyone,” Monoma responded. “Ready to get started?” Aizawa, All Might, Present Mic, and Midnight gathered next to where Midoriya was standing. All Might sent Monoma a thumbs up. Monoma walked over to the group of the 13 kids, and grinned.

    “Who wants to go first?” Most of the kids seemed pretty nervous about the whole ordeal. After all, there was a lot of people. No one looked like they wanted to be first. Monoma studied the group for a second, and came to a decision. “Watanabe, would you do me a favor and go first?” Watanabe blinked in surprise, then grinned.

    “Yeah, alright!” Watanabe puffed out his chest, and walked over to the chalked out circle. Monoma followed him, and activated his quirk.

    “Alright, first I'm gonna check and see if you have an emitter quirk…” Monoma said, trailing off. He held out his hands towards empty air, a precaution in case he emitted something dangerous. He tensed his entire body, holding the position for a few seconds, then relaxing. “Alright, looks like it probably isn't an emitter quirk. Write that down, 1-A,” he said, glancing at Midoriya.

    “Let's check for a transformation type quirk next,” Monoma said, widening his stance. He breathed in slowly, then exhaled. Starting from his hands, scales formed up his arms. They glimmered in the light, and continued to spread.

    “All right, there we go,” Monoma said with a smile. “Watanabe, you've got a really cool quirk!”

    “I didn't expect anything less!” Watanabe said proudly. Monoma flexed his arms, and the turquoise scales pointed outwards. He relaxed, and the scales relaxed as well.

    “Hmm… I wonder…” Monoma pointed sharply, flexing his finger. A scale shot from his finger, and imbedded itself into a nearby tree. Midoriya scribbled madly, and Watanabe grinned. “Who wants to go next?” Monoma asked, releasing his hold on the quirk. 12 hands shot up as the scales disappeared.

__________

    About 5 other kids’ quirks had been checked by now. The coolest one, Midoriya thought, was the quirk that Monoma used to turn into a giant wolf. That quirk belonged to a little girl in a tutu, which wasn't what Midoriya thought she would have had. She seemed thrilled, though, so that was a lot of fun.

    What wasn't fun is that the current quirk Monoma was trying to figure out didn't seem to be appearing. Midoriya was kind of afraid of this. It wasn't a very good way to break to a kid that they were quirkless. Monoma had tried everything he could think of. Eventually, Midoriya started yelling out suggestions, which Monoma wasn't happy about. Now, though, Midoriya figured that he should just give up. He was fully prepared to go up to the poor little kid who was trying their hardest not to cry, and try to convince them it wasn't so bad to be quirkless. Monoma tensed his hand one more time, clenched his eyes shut, but nothing. He sighed.

    “I'm sorry, Saito,” Monoma began, turning to the poor kid. “I--” Aizawa inhaled sharply, then collapsed. Monoma quickly turned to the slumped over teacher, and stared at his hands in confusion. “O-okay, Saito, you definitely have a quirk,” Monoma said. “I felt that, and…” Monoma's head jerked up, and to the right. His wide eyes met Midoriya’s. “You--!” He began.

    Midoriya wasn't quite sure what happened next, because his vision blurred, and his feet gave out. Darkness swam in his eyes, and the last thing he heard was an “Oh, shit!”

__________

    A few hours later, and neither Aizawa or Midoriya had woken up. The whole event was called off for now, the parents and the kids sent home. Aizawa and Midoriya were put in Recovery Girl's office so she could watch over them. They had been breathing normally, pulses are normal, eyes darting around as if they were in REM sleep. They were just left to sleep, and hopefully would wake up in the morning. Uraraka had promised to take notes for Midoriya, and Midnight promised to sub for Aizawa. All in all, the next day would most likely go on as usual. It wasn't as if Midoriya hasn't been injured before. Before bed, Midoriya’s ‘squad’ came to visit him. Iida, Uraraka, and Todoroki sat in chairs near his bed. Really, they were used to him injuring himself by now, but this wasn't caused by the usual recklessness. Whatever quirk that kid had could be affecting Midoriya and Aizawa horribly. It definitely was pretty scary.

    But, just when the three were about to leave and go to bed, deciding that there wasn't really any use in sitting there and staring at his body in glum silence, Midoriya groaned. The three immediately turned back towards him.

    “Midoriya, are you alright?” Iida shouted. Recovery Girl sent him a look, and Iida immediately quieted down. Recovery Girl is scary.

    “Yeah, Deku, you just fainted out of nowhere! Mr. Aizawa is still asleep, over there,” Uraraka said, gesturing towards Aizawa.

    “What?” Midoriya said, holding his head. He looked up at them, and squinted. His expression… was strange, to say the least. It was like he had no emotion, at all. Usually, Midoriya was pretty expressive, wide eyed and well, Midoriya-ish. Now, though, he had a flat expression. He made direct eye contact with Uraraka, and furrowed his eyebrows.

    “Are you alright, Izuku?” Todoroki asked him.

    “ What .” Midoriya asked, his voice dripping with disbelief.

    “Um, uh, Recovery Girl, I think something's wrong with Deku,” Uraraka started. Midoriya turned his head sharply to glare at Aizawa.

    “ Fuck, ” He cursed. “I swear to god, this can’t be happening.” Iida swallowed, and glanced towards Todoroki as if to say ‘Something is horribly wrong’. Midoriya doesn't swear. It just wasn't something that was allowed.

    “Language,” Recovery Girl said, walking over. She took a flashlight, and shined it into Midoriya's eyes. She seemed satisfied, and set the flashlight down on a nearby table.

    “Well, Midoriya, you seem to be alright. The child's quirk that Monoma used must have just been one that caused you to faint. I would recommend resting for the rest of the day, and coming back to see me if anything unusual happens.”

    “Shūzenji,” Midoriya said to Recovery Girl.

    “Midoriya! That is incredibly disrespectful! You shouldn't--” Iida reprimanded.

    “Shūzenji, something has gone terribly wrong.”

    Before Midoriya could elaborate, Aizawa shifted in his bed, which drew everyone's attention. Midoriya was acting incredibly strange, so Aizawa could possibly bring some understanding to the situation. He coughed, and opened his eyes. Seeing Iida, Todoroki, and Uraraka, he sat up.

    “Oh hey guys! What time is it?” Aizawa asked. Then, he glanced over at Midoriya, sitting in the other bed. Aizawa's jaw dropped. He looked at his hands in disbelief. Then, he started screaming.

    “ OH MY GOD WHAT OH MY GOD HELP HELP HELP HELP WHAT THE HELL NO WHAT OH MY GOD PLEASE HELP” He gibbered. Aizawa began wringing his hands and hyperventilating. Recovery Girl hurried over to Aizawa, concerned due to this uncharacteristic behavior. Midoriya sighed.

    “Alright, it seems like that kid has a quirk that swaps bodies,” Midoriya said. Everyone in the room froze. “Monoma swapped me and Midoriya's bodies.”

    “ HHHHhhhhHh ,” Aizawa responded.

    “So, er, you,” Uraraka said, pointing to what looked like Midoriya, “Are Mr. Aizawa, and he's Deku?” Midoriya, who looked like Aizawa, nodded with a tight smile.

    “Yup, uh huh, I'm in Mr. Aizawa's body, ahahaha!” Midoriya said. “Recovery Girl, could you please do me a favor and sedate me? I don't want to be conscious right now.”

    It was extremely weird, in Uraraka's opinion, to see Midoriya's expressions on Aizawa's face, and Aizawa's expressions on Midoriya's face. Midoriya’s face was flat, lifeless. He didn't have the eye bags but his face just screamed Aizawa. Aizawa sighed, for about the 40th time today.

    “Midoriya, this could have been a lot worse. Tomorrow we can just ask Saito's parents to bring him back to UA so that Monoma can fix this.” Aizawa got up out of the bed. “Now, if everyone’s done panicking, I'm going to go home.” Recovery Girl nodded.

    “Really, the best thing for you two would just to continue with life as normal until you can switch back. Now, I have other patients to attend to.” She walked away, because really, there was nothing she could do in this situation.

    “Are… you okay, Deku?” Uraraka asked. He laughed weakly. Okay, she was never going to get used to Midoriya expressions on Mr. Aizawa's face.

    “Nope, nuh-uh, definitely not, Mr. Aizawa is in my fucking body, haha oh my god,” Midoriya said, babbling.

    “Midoriya!” Iida said sharply. It was still wrong for him to swear, even if it technically came out of Aizawa's mouth. “There's no need for that kind of language! The situation does not warrant this much distress!”

    “Alright, imagine if you were in Mr. Aizawa's body, and he were in yours,” Midoriya stated flatly. Okay, that expression looked more like Aizawa. Todoroki shuddered.

    “Alright, I suppose I see where you're coming from,” Iida conceded.

    “Yeah, that would… really suck,” Uraraka added. “Guess that doesn't really help, sorry.”

    “I think I should be allowed one or two fucks, considering he's in my fucking body ,” Midoriya said, his voice a pitch higher than usual. “Shouto, can I talk to you about something?” Todoroki blinked in confusion, and nodded. The two left Recovery Girl's office, with a goodbye to Uraraka and Iida. They started walking towards the dorms, while Midoriya worked up his courage.

    “Shouto, he's going to see the--” Midoriya cut himself off and grimaced.

    “Probably. But it'll only be a day, so there's always the chance that he won't see them,” Todoroki responded. “I wouldn't mention it unless Mr. Aizawa brings it up first.”

    “Yeah, I guess.” Midoriya was quiet for a moment while they walked towards the dorms. “Do you think I'll get kicked out of UA if they find out?”

    Todoroki stopped walking, and turned to stare at him in disbelief. For a second, he's confused because he has to look up to make eye contact, but he shakes off the weirdness of the whole situation. “Izuku, they wouldn't kick you out for--”

    “I know, I know, I just.” Midoriya stared at the ground. “Heroes are supposed to be strong and… I just, I don't know.”

    “It'll be okay, don't worry. I'm sure you aren't the first hero to--” Todoroki glanced around, looking for any people nearby. Todoroki saw Present Mic speed walking towards them.

    “Shouta!” He shouted. “There you are! I was so worried!” As Present Mic made it to where they were standing, he moved to embrace Midoriya in a hug. Midoriya shoved Present Mic off of him, backing up.

    “Sorry Present Mic,” Midoriya apologized quickly. “But nope, this is just way too weird.” Present Mic looked hurt, and deflated a bit.

    “Hizashi, I was looking for you,” Aizawa said, approaching the three. “Are you ready to head back to the apartment?” Needless to say, Present Mic was very confused. First, his boyfriend shoves him off when usually he's happy to be hugged, or at least tolerates it. And now, what looks like Midoriya Izuku shows up and asks if they want to go back to their apartment, and generally, Present Mic just wasn't sure about this situation.

    “I, er, what?” Present Mic said. Aizawa slapped his head, while Midoriya stood next to Todoroki Shoto, cringing. “Aizawa, what?” Present Mic asked, turning to fix the man with a confused stare.

    “I'm uh, Midoriya,” Midoriya, in Aizawa's body, said meekly.

    “They were hit with a body swap quirk,” Todoroki stated.

    “Oh, gross, eugh. Is it going to like, wear off?” Present Mic asked.

    “It was a three year old's quirk, so we don't really have an idea of what's going to happen,” Aizawa said. Present Mic huffed.

    “You're sleeping on the couch until you stop looking like a 15 year old.” Present Mic stated. Midoriya sputtered.

    “Wait, you two are…?” Todoroki asked.

    “Say that a bit louder Hizashi, I don't think all of our students heard you,” Aizawa said pointedly. Midoriya gagged.

    “Oh, shit, sorry kids,” Present Mic apologized. “To answer your question, yes, we're dating, and yes, you should pretend like you've never heard any of this.”

    “Wish I could pretend I never heard what goes on in your apartment at night!” Midnight called out as she left a nearby building.

    “Alright, I've heard enough, I'm going to bed.” Midoriya turned and kept walking towards the dorms. Todoroki followed, grimacing.

    “Well, at least we know the rumors are true now,” Todoroki said to Midoriya.

    “I do not want to think about it.”

__________

    Aizawa walked up to his car, and dug in his pockets for his keys. He panicked for a second when all he pulled out was lint, thinking that someone pickpocketed him, when he remembered. He probably didn't have his keys, because these weren't his pockets. Or his pants. Or his legs. Why was he so short? Aizawa guessed he should just ask Hizashi for a ride home, and he could pick up his car later. Usually, they drove to UA in different cars, because Hizashi likes to wake up at 6 am and Aizawa most certainly does not like to do that. Hizashi was currently unlocking his car, a few parking spots away.

    “Hey, Hizashi,” Aizawa said to him.

    “Er, yeah, Midor-- Shouta?” Present Mic fumbled.

    “Can I get a ride back to our apartment? I don't have my keys.”

    “Haha yeah, that, and you're too short to drive,” Present Mic said, opening the car door and getting in. Aizawa walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door.

    “Eugh, fuck,” Aizawa said, grimacing. He grabbed at his wrist.

    “What's wrong?” Present Mic asked.

    “I don't know, but my joints are killing me. Probably the results of Midoriya's quirk.” Aizawa said, climbing into the passenger seat. He fastened his seatbelt, and rotated his arm, checking it out.

    “Oh man, that sucks. Wait… can you use Midoriya's quirk? Cause’ like, you're in his body.” Aizawa stopped, and pondered the question. He glared at the windshield for a few seconds, then blinked.

    “Definitely can't use my erasure quirk,” Aizawa confirmed. “Don't want to try to use Midoriya's, because that could tear up what's left of his ligaments pretty fast.”

    “Yeah, true. Anyway, let's go home. Sorry you have to deal with the whole body swapping thing,” Present Mic said.

    “I don't want to think about it. Seatbelt,” Aizawa reminded, nodding at Present Mic. He sighed, and put on his seatbelt. He stuck his key into the ignition, and started up the car. Aizawa found himself staring through the window, much in the way someone does when they're pretending they're in a sad music video. Midoriya's teenage hormones appear to be affecting him. Present Mic started driving.

    Today really wasn't a very good day. It started out alright, but god, this was weird. It would have been strange just to be in any other body besides his own, but being put into a 15 year old’s body just felt so incredibly wrong. Aizawa had no clue as to what was going to happen tomorrow. He didn't want to miss out on teaching for another day. Last time he took a sick break was after USJ. Well, compared to that, this situation didn't seem that bad. Still pretty terrible, though, Aizawa thought.

    He looked down at his hands. Well, perhaps, not his hands. He looked down at Midoriya’s hands. They were incredibly screwed up, pale scar tissue flickering across the skin of his palms like flames. What kind of quirk did that kid even have that would destroy his limbs so thoroughly? He seemed to have a handle on the quirk by now. The damage had already been done, though. Aizawa grasped his wrist again. The school uniforms the students were required to wear were apparently itchy. Aizawa had never been a fan of uniforms, or suits. The last time he had worn a suit had been after Bakugou Katsuki had been kidnapped. If Aizawa could help it, he would never wear a suit again. He longed for his purposefully comfortable hero gear. He lamented the fact that he would most definitely have to sleep in this scratchy-ass shirt, considering he sure as hell wasn't changing. Aizawa groaned and leaned back in his seat.

    “What’s wrong, kiddo? Ah, shit, uh, I meant Shouta, sorry,” Present Mic fumbled.

    “Isn’t much fun swapping bodies with a 15 year old,” Aizawa stated.

    “Hey, don't worry, Mi-- Shouta, we can get it fixed tomorrow. It’ll be alright!”

    “Yeah,” Aizawa sighed, looking back into the window. This was going to be a long night.

__________

     Aizawa and Present Mic's apartment was quiet and completely dark, save for the TV's sound and the light it shone onto the teachers’ faces as they sat on the old couch. Present Mic reached over to the small table that sat to the left of the couch, and grabbed the remote. He turned down the sound. Aizawa yawned, staring into the TV. He wasn't that interested in whatever was playing, but instead considered the evening in content silence. Weak bruises littered his limbs, caused by most of the furniture strewn throughout the apartment. They haven't moved any of the furniture for long enough that Aizawa could move through it blindfolded and not bump into anything. Now, though, the proportions of his body were all wrong. Steps he took in the dark were half as long as they used to be. He found himself stumbling into every table and chair placed in the apartment. Eventually, though, Present Mic and him had sat down and started watching TV. That didn't take as much wandering around.

    After a few fun hours of watching Netflix with Present Mic, Aizawa figured it was probably time for bed. He was tempted to distract himself until dawn so that he could collapse easily, but that wasn't really the healthiest thing to do. He stood up from the couch. Present Mic was still wrapped up in an episode of… Whatever it was that they were watching. So far they'd dug their way through everything they could find that looked remotely interesting, and so now they were onto what remained. Needless to say, most of what was left of the Netflix selection didn't capture Aizawa's attention very well.

    “Alright, babe, I'm going to bed.” Aizawa said, walking towards the hallway. Present Mic coughed.

    “Uh, wait. First off, please don't call me babe when you look like a 15 year old. And second, you are not sleeping in there. That would just be weird,” Present Mic said.

   “Fine, I'll take the couch. You should go to bed soon, it's getting late.”

    “Yeah, I guess you're right. See you later, Mi-- Shouta.” Present Mic stood up, and walked past Aizawa into their bedroom. Aizawa turned around, back to the couch, and sat down. Sleeping on the worn-down couch always hurt his back, but luckily a younger spine would most likely fare better. Gah, the uniform was still uncomfortable. Aizawa decided to roll up the sleeves, because that would at least help a bit. No sane person would sleep with long sleeves. As he rolled up the sleeves, Aizawa stared down at Midoriya's arms again. The scars caused by his quirk continued all the way up his arms. They were thick, short, jagged. Looked as if his skin had torn itself apart. Higher up on his arms, though, were scars that were a lot thinner, and longer. These ones most likely came from after Midoriya had learned more about his quirk. Aizawa had seen a sudden and drastic change in the kid's ability after field training with… Grand something, as far as Aizawa remembered. Most of the other students had improved considerably afterwards, but Midoriya had a complete change in style, it almost looked as if he had a different quirk.

    As Aizawa looked down at his arms, contemplating the kid's growth, he had a realization. The change in style wouldn't really have changed what the scars looked like, right? It wasn't as if he damaged his limbs in a different way. Fuck.

    “Hey, Hizashi?” Aizawa called. Present Mic walked out of the bathroom, a toothbrush in his mouth, and a cup in his hand.

    “Yeah?” He garbled, toothpaste foam spilling onto his shirt. Aizawa stood up, and walked over to him.

    “What do these scars look like to you?”

    Present Mic glanced down at his arms, and then jolted. He took the toothbrush out of his mouth.

    “Yeah, that's about what I thought,” Aizawa said. He sighed.

    “Those are…?” Present Mic asked.

    “Self harm, from what it looks like,” Aizawa confirmed. Present Mic shook his head in remorse.

    “It might not be,” Present Mic said hopefully. “That kid gets hurt more than the rest of 1-A combined,” Present Mic said, spitting toothpaste into the cup he was holding. “Lemme look at your arm closer,” he suggested.

    Aizawa pulled back his sleeve further, and held his arm up as Present Mic walked over. His arm was covered in the thick, jagged, scars that were caused by overuse of his quirk. The scars appeared to stretch all up his arms, like a spiderweb of pale skin. Over those scars, thin lines of white, all parallel to each other, covered the back of his forearm. From a distance, the scars were nearly invisible.

    “Well, at least they don't look fresh,” Present Mic said.

    “The thin cuts are over the quirk scars, though,” Aizawa stated grimly.

    “So these were made sometime after his quirk developed, so he must have been at least 4,” he said.

    “Best case scenario, Midoriya got help a long time ago and he's fine now.” Aizawa sighed. “Worst case, he cuts somewhere else now.”

    “Fuck,” Present Mic cursed. “You're right.

    “We should probably bring this up with Midoriya tomorrow,” Aizawa stated. “Should we refer him to one of the school counselors?”

    “Wait, we have those?” Present Mic asked.

    “Hopefully!” Aizawa said, throwing his arms up. “God, maybe we should just pass the information along to Nedzu, and let him deal with it.”

    “You could try talking to him? Try and gauge how bad he's doing, see what the problem is?” Mic suggested.

    “Yeah, I guess,” Aizawa sighed, walking back to the couch. He slumped over. “Might just pass the information along to All Might. God, I'm just going to go to bed now.”

    “I hope the kid's okay. Night, Shouta,” Mic said, walking back to the bathroom. Aizawa supposed that he could deal with this in the morning. Sigh.

Chapter Text

     “Well, I'm heading to bed,” Todoroki said with a yawn. It was about 12 am now, and the dorms had mostly settled down. Officially, the curfew was 9 pm, meaning that no one could leave their rooms. Though the building was entirely surveyed by both cameras and pro heroes, the curfew didn't particularly do much. A quick trip to get a drink of water in the middle of the night wouldn't even earn you a slap on the wrist. And so, Todoroki and Midoriya would often hang out in each others rooms far past the curfew. Tonight, Midoriya's room was the location. Todoroki had insisted that it would have been ‘distressing’ to see his teacher hanging around in his room.

    “Wait, you're leaving?” Midoriya asked, looking put down. Usually, neither of them felt any need to leave for their own room in order to sleep. Midoriya even kept a sleeping bag in his closet, just for him. Leaving this late would be a bad idea. Would only make it more likely for someone to see them, and though they most likely wouldn't get in too much trouble, it's just tempting fate.

    “Er, yes?” Todoroki said, as though this were obvious. Midoriya immediately started backtracking in his head, searching for whatever argument had brought this up, but he found there was nothing recent.

    “What, what’s wrong, what did I do?” Midoriya asked, beginning to ramble. “I know I can be annoying at times but--”

    “Izuku,” Todoroki cut him off. “I just don't want to sleep in the same room with you when you look like, well,”

    “Ohhhhhh,” Midoriya realized. He snorted. “You wouldn't think it would be easy to forget--” he gestured to himself. “--This, but if I distract myself enough I almost can.” Midoriya chuckled weakly. “God, I hate this.”

    “I definitely would not want to be where you are right now,” Todoroki confirmed.

    “And it’s not just that it feels incredibly gross and weird,” Midoriya started, standing up from his bed, beginning to pace. “Because it does feel incredibly gross and weird. He's going to see the cuts! And what if he looks for more? Then he's going to see all the other ones--”

    “He isn't going to be looking for more, that would be gross.” Todoroki stated calmly.

    “I'm gonna get forced down to the counselor--”

    “If it makes you feel better, I'm not sure UA has counselors,” Todoroki continued.

    “And then they'll tell my mom, and I'll get hospitalized, and then I'll just get worse, and then it's a year later and I have no hope of ever graduating UA!”

    “Izuku, breathe, it's okay,” Todoroki started, standing up and holding his hands out soothingly.

    “And that's IF they don't just kick me out immediately for being weak, and dumb, and--” Izuku choked back a sob. “I could've hid it, Shouto, I could have just waited for all the scars to fade but Mr. Aizawa'll notice them, and look for, for more, and he'll see how bad it is, and,” Midoriya collapsed back down on his bed. He stared dejectedly at one of his many All Might posters on the wall. “I don't want this to keep me from becoming a hero,” he said, choked up.

    “Hey, it's alright,” Todoroki said awkwardly, sitting down on his bed next to him. Todoroki was genuinely concerned for Midoriya, but it was also disconcerting to see what looked like Aizawa break down into tears. Todoroki patted Midoriya on the back, still feeling out of place. Were Midoriya in a different body, Todoroki would have offered a hug, but… He just couldn't get past it.

    “Izuku, even if he does somehow miraculously identify the scars on you as self harm, that's not going to get you kicked out of the school. And you won't be hospitalized that easily, as far as I know. The very worst case scenario is that you have to go to therapy, and honestly,” Todoroki said. “You probably should.”

    Midoriya nodded glumly. “I know, I just, it’s terrifying. If I ever get therapy, I want to choose to do it, not get hospitalized, and forced to open up, and just,” Midoriya sighed and hung his head. “I'm just not ready for this.”

    Todoroki shrugged. “You don't have to be,” he said simply. “Just say you're sick, and everyone will assume it’s because you don't want to be walking around in Mr. Aizawa's body.”

   “I guess,” Midoriya said.

   “We should go to bed,” Todoroki suggested.

    “Yeah.” Midoriya turned and crawled onto his bed, wiggling under the blankets. “Are you going to stay?”

    Todoroki grimaced. “I'm sorry Izuku, I just uh,”

    Midoriya snorted. “I'm kidding, don't worry.”

    “Oh thank god, I don't think I could… eugh, no offense but,” he said, embarrassed.

    “Alright, Shouto, I'll see you the morning,” Midoriya said to him, shifting under the blankets. He smirked. “Sleep well,” he said, winking saucily. Todoroki gagged, and Midoriya cackled as he left the room. This situation really isn't ideal, but maybe it would be okay.

__________

    All Might really couldn't help but be concerned. He had been there, when young Monoma was checking the children's’ quirks, and he saw Aizawa and young Midoriya collapse. He had visited the two when they were in Recovery Girl's office, of course, but he hasn't heard anything since then. It was the next day, and he could only assume the two were still asleep. What kind of quirk could that child possibly have?

    Oh! All Might saw young Midoriya walking down the hallway. Considering that he's out of Medicine Girl's office, he must be okay. The quirk was most likely similar to Midnight's, then. Aizawa must be alright as well; it wouldn't make sense if a quirk had two different effects at once.

    Though, it might be possible, he thought to himself as he approached Midoriya. He looked tired. Hunched over, baggy eyes. All things considered, he looked a lot worse than he usually did. Poor kid. Maybe he could try to cheer him up.

    “Young Midoriya!” All Might called out. “I'm glad to see you're awake!” He walked over to the boy, and put his hand on his shoulder. “Though, you aren't looking so well. What's the matter, my boy?” Midoriya rolled his eyes. Strange…? That wasn't exactly… a typical response.

    “All Might, this is Aizawa. The kid's quirk was a body-swapping one. Have they not informed the rest of the staff yet?” Midoriya, no, Aizawa asked. Well, that explained a lot. All Might removed his hand sheepishly.

    “Ah, sorry, Aizawa,” he said. “Where is young Midoriya, I can't imagine the whole… ordeal of switching bodies would be pleasant.”

    “Most likely still asleep, considering that it's,” Aizawa said, glancing at his wrist. He sighed. “Don't have a watch.”

    “Ah, 6 AM,” All Might supplied, looking at his phone.

    “Right. But anyway, there's something I need to talk to you about.”

    “Oh? What's the matter, my boy?” All Might asked, not realizing his mistake. “Shit, I mean, uh,”

    “This is something I would rather not discuss in a hallway,” Aizawa interjected. “Let's go to the lounge.” All Might nodded, and the two walked through the hallway, past the classrooms. The lounge was close to the lunchroom, though with walls purposefully thick enough for conversations to be private. Breakfast was being prepared in the kitchens, and most students were not awake as of yet. Save for the ones that used the morning to jog, such as young Iida. As the two teachers entered the lounge, All Might closing the door behind them, Aizawa sat down with a solemn look on his face. Which looked particularly strange on the freckled face of young Midoriya.

    “Look, All Might, have you ever noticed anything… Off, about Midoriya?” Aizawa asked.

    “I, er, whatever do you mean,” All Might fumbled, looking away as he sat down in the chair opposing Aizawa's. Internally, he was panicking. Aizawa, perhaps, wasn't the worst person for his secret to get out to, but it would be preferable that no one found out at all. Midoriya's quirk… He supposed someone would find out eventually, besides young Bakugo.

    “So, you know.” Aizawa said bluntly. All Might nodded, grimacing.

    “I would appreciate it if you were to keep quiet about the whole matter. This is a secret that's been held for generations upon generations.”

    Aizawa squinted. “What?”

    “Ah, it might help if I explain some more. But please, remember, no one must know about this. It would have been better if you had never figured it out in the first place, but I suppose it was inevitable. So, it all began when All--”

    “Let me stop you for a second,” Aizawa interjected. “I'm talking about Midoriya's mental health. I know nothing about whatever that was.”

   “Oh,” All Might said lamely. “I, er, alright then.” He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Wait, what's the matter with Midoriya’s mental health?” All Might leaned forward in his chair.

    Aizawa held out his arm, and pulled up the long sleeve of the uniform. “The majority of these scars were caused by Midoriya's quirk, correct?” Aizawa asked. All Might nodded.

    “Yes, overusing his quirk causes the physical backlash. However, he's moved away from the self-destructive punches, and with the help of support items, will most likely not have the same issues with his legs.”

    “That's not the problem,” Aizawa stated. All Might frowned in confusion. Elaborating, Aizawa stood up and walked over to him. “See these thinner scars, higher up?” Aizawa held his arm up higher, compensating for his unusual lack of height.

    “Yes, but,” All Might faltered. “Oh.” All Might sank back into his chair. “Oh dear.”

    “Yeah,” Aizawa said, walking back to his own chair. “It might not be what it looks like, but I figured you might know something about it if anyone did.”

    “No, I,” All Might sighed. “God.”

    “It may just be that it's from one of the kid's numerous injuries,” Aizawa suggested.

    “The scars were too orderly for that to be the case,” All Might said bitterly. Aizawa nodded. “I must admit, I'm not exactly the most experienced when it comes to, er, kids,” All Might confessed. He clasped his hands, looking down at the ground.

    “I figured, but since this is your kid, I wanted to get your take on it before I moved forward.”

    All Might sputtered, coughing up blood. He pulled out a tissue as Aizawa grimaced.

    “Uh, my kid?” All Might asked. “He's not, I mean,”

    Aizawa snorted. “Right, sure, whatever you say.” He sat in silence for a moment. “What do you think we should do? Just shuffle the whole thing over to Nedzu?”

    “Maybe. I'd like to talk to him about it, though. Just, why would he…?”

    “No clue. Whatever the reason was, it wasn’t a good enough reason.”

    All Might sighed. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Have you told anyone else about what you saw?”

    Aizawa nodded. “Present Mic. I wanted his confirmation that this was what it looked like.”

    “Ah.”

    The two teachers continued to sit there, both solemnly staring at the table sitting between them. Neither were intent on breaking the silence. After a moment, All Might spoke, his voice raspy.

    “I've talked plenty of people down from roofs before,” he said. “Watched a fair number jump, too. Even had a couple that I couldn't catch in time.” Aizawa nodded, knowing the feeling all too well. “Somehow, this feels different. Those people, I didn't know their problems. Young Midoriya, though, he's my student. He's asked me for help, before, but never with this. Perhaps I just missed him asking for help.”

    “The cuts,” Aizawa began. “Look old, at least.” All Might leaned forward in his chair. “They're layered over the quirk scars, so all we know is that they were--” Aizawa paused, searching for the right word. “--Made, some time after he developed his quirk. There's the possibility that he did--” He paused again. “--This,” he said, gesturing towards the cuts with his hand, “Years ago. He must have been at least 4.” All Might visibly deflated.

    Of course, Aizawa had no clue that Midoriya had first begun using his quirk just over a year ago. At least, these were most likely some time before his switch to using his legs.

    “I could talk to him about it later today,” All Might suggested. It pained him to think of his student-- student not entirely covering the fatherly feelings All Might had for him-- hurting in this way.

    Aizawa quirked an eyebrow. All Might was still not used to his expressions on Midoriya's face. “Are you sure you want to do that when he's occupied with being in another body?” All Might frowned, considering this. “From what I've seen in Shūzenji’s office, Midoriya isn't going to be focusing on anything else any time soon.”

    “That is true, but…” All Might trailed off. “In the case,” he began again. “That this situation is making Midoriya upset, now may be the best time to step in before he hurts himself,” he continued. “Or you.”

    “In all honesty, I'm more concerned about him hurting himself than him cutting up my body,” Aizawa said. “You're right, though, we should probably step in now.”

   “Later today, then. I doubt that he'll be attending his classes, so I will speak with him after school.”

    “If I see him before you talk to him about it, what should I say, considering that he'll be suspicious of me, and not you?” Aizawa asked. All Might considered this for a second, then answered.

    “Acting as if you haven't noticed anything is probably the best option. Most likely you won't see him, though. If he's staying in his room, and you are as well, then there isn't much of an opportunity for conversation.”

    Aizawa looked at him strangely. “Why would I be in my room? I still need to teach.”

    “Oh! Sorry! I assumed that…” All Might paused. “Nevermind.”

    “Right,” Aizawa stated, still confused. While it was uncomfortable and upsetting to be in the problem child's body, it didn't warrant him taking a day off.

    “Also,” All Might said. “I was thinking, do you want to go with me when I talk to young Midoriya? You're much more experienced than I in matters such as this.”

    Aizawa nodded. “Probably for the best. I'll see you then.” He stood up, heading for the door. His class was first thing in the morning; he needed to begin preparing for class. All Might had the majority of the day to prepare.

    “See you,” All Might said as Aizawa left the room.

    All Might really was worried. He never would have expected this from Midoriya, not ever. The boy was, or at least looked, perfectly alright at almost any given time. But, his arms showed otherwise. At some point in the last year or so, Midoriya had done-- All Might grimaced. --That, to himself. It hurt just to think about. He leaned forward into his chair, face in his hands. He could only hope reaching out to the boy would help.

__________

    Midoriya stared directly into his eyes, glaring at a mirror. Or rather, Aizawa's eyes. They were bloodshot, crusty, and constantly dry. God, it was annoying. As well as that, his face was scratchy and uncomfortable. He probably needed to shave, but Midoriya was ashamed to admit he had no clue how. And picking up a razor probably wouldn't be a good idea, not now.

    He shook the thought from his head. Thinking about that would only make it worse. Midoriya looked away, his eyes sweeping the room. His gaze landed on his dresser, adorned with stickers supporting random heroes. Some of the more recent ones were Eraserhead and Lemillion; underground heroes didn't have that much merch, and he had only met Mirio recently. God, Mirio. He was going to have a hard time living up to his name and saving a million considering that he didn't have a quirk anymore.

    Midoriya clenched his fists, snarled, and squeezed his eyes shut. Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up--

    He gasped, choking out a chain of shuddering sobs. He attempted to compose himself, and stop the tears before he truly started. Breathe, Midoriya, breathe, you can't let your eyes get red and puffy, people will see, it'll be okay, it'll be okay, someone will find a way to fix his quirk, it'll be okay,

    He stood there, trying to calm his breathing, until his heartbeat finally slowed back down. He needed to get ready for school.

    He looked up, back towards his dresser. The clothes he was wearing-- the clothes Mr. Aizawa was wearing when the kid's quirk swapped their bodies-- were feeling pretty nasty by now. He assumed they had only been worn for about a day and a night, but he felt gross and sweaty regardless. Midoriya, however, resigned himself to the fact that there was nothing he could do.

    He could change clothing, except for the fact that it was impossible for two reasons. One, he had no clothing that would fit this body. Two, he sure as hell was not changing. There was the other option of showering, but that was even worse than the idea of changing, so much so that Midoriya felt like vomiting.

    So Midoriya would have to wear this for the rest of the day, which already felt gross. His eyes hurt, and his hair was greasy, and Midoriya was just generally uncomfortable with the body he was in.

    At least his joints didn't hurt as much. Wait, that must mean Mr. Aizawa's joints are hurting because his joints are my joints and oh my god I need to apologize

    He promised himself he would try to find Aizawa and apologize after school. He definitely wouldn't be teaching today; Midoriya knew his classmates and it wouldn't be fun to try to teach them when he looked like that. Shit, hopefully Mr. Aizawa can explain himself before Bakugou can do anything.

     Midoriya pulled out his-- Aizawa's, --phone from his conveniently large sweatpants pockets and checked the time. He still had about an hour before he needed to be at class. Aizawa's internal clock was screwing with him. Usually, he'd be asleep right now.

    It wasn't any use trying to go back to sleep, though; there wasn't enough time to get any sleep in before he had to go to class. Midoriya was a fan of getting more sleep than this. As soon as he had his real body back, Midoriya would take a shower and nap for a consecutive 2 days, thank god for the weekend. Of course, he could skip today, and then his nap could be three days long. He could skip Monday, too, then he wouldn’t have to deal with that. Tuesday, and Wednesday, and why was he even in UA, anyway?

    Midoriya sighed. Hold out until spring break, then you can give it another go. If he failed in his attempt, he would be home alone while his mom was at work. That way, he could clean up and everything would be fine. He couldn't exactly try anything here, cause’ a failed attempt would mean getting sent to some hospital, forced into therapy, examined, poked, prodded.

    He guessed a productive use of his time would be figuring out how to prevent that from happening.

    Aizawa had only been in his body for one night. His quirk scars might have hid the self harm on his arms well enough. Hard to notice unless you were specifically looking for a pattern. Midoriya didn't think that his personality broadcasted ‘sad child, check for scars’, but he knew Aizawa was perceptive. In case he saw them, and recognized what they were, Midoriya would need to be ready for the inevitable ‘getting sent to the school counselor with a “We're concerned, Midoriya, what's wrong?”’

    Wait, did the school even have a counselor? Midoriya hoped so, because having to talk to a teacher he knew about it would be infinitely worse. He doubted that anyone would contact his mother, at least not at first. Still though, he needed a story.

     Back when I thought I was quirkless, I got bullied pretty consistently. One time I tried self harm. Didn't do much for me, wasn't a fan. Once my quirk developed, the bullying stopped. I'm okay now, can I back to class?

     If they didn't believe him, he could just stop talking. No one could force him to go back to class. All he had to do was get through this day, and then the next, and another, until it was finally spring break and he could end it. In preparation, maybe he should make a note? A personalized one, for each member of his class. He had plenty of time before spring break to get it done. But no, that was stupid, no one would want to read one of those. He considered not leaving a note at all, but that might open an investigation into murder. It would probably be best for him to write a short note that covered everything he needed to say.

    Of course, there was a lot that Midoriya needed to say to a certain person before he could die. He would need to explain the situation, leaving out his suicidal plans, and convince him to follow through on what needed to be done. If all went well, he would go through with it, and Midoriya could kill himself with no consequences. If it didn't go well, then he could trick him into it, confirm it worked, and then off himself with similar results. He would also have to make sure to tell him to go to All Might.

    With Midoriya's hair, Mirio could become the next symbol of peace, and do what Midoriya couldn't.

Chapter Text

     Bakugo Katsuki was early to class, as usual. He entered the room, walking past the front rows of desk. The rest of the ‘Bakusquad,’ as Sero had dubbed them, were yet to arrive. The only other person in the classroom was Iida, usually rivaling Bakugo’s affinity for punctuality. He strode over to his desk, dropping his backpack in the aisle by his desk. Slumping in his seat, Bakugo glanced over at the door. While it was nice to get some time in the morning where he was sure he wouldn't be bothered by the extras, he somewhat tolerated the presence of a few of his classmates.

    Which is to say, he was looking forward to seeing them in class. Usually Kirishima and Kaminari arrived together, sprinting to the door just before the bell rings. They almost always beat Aizawa, who was frequently late to class. Or rather, exactly on time, entering just as the bell rings. Bakugo was almost entirely sure Aizawa did it on purpose.

    Now though, Aizawa walked into the room, his shoulders drawn in close to his body. He swept his gaze across the room, doing a double-take when he saw Bakugo. He approached Bakugo’s desk.

     Fuck, what is it this time? Bakugo didn't think he had done anything that bad recently. His grades were as good as ever, his test scores were more than satisfactory, and he'd been performing pretty fucking well in hero training, if he did say so himself. If this was another talk about something he was supposedly doing wrong that wasn't related to school, Bakugo probably wouldn't be able to remain as respectful as he usually was. He really didn't want to deal with this so early in the morning.

    Aizawa continued to approach him, head down. Still wearing the grimy black sweatsuit that may as well be made into Eraserhead merch at this point. Bakugo stared him down, but Aizawa refused to make eye contact. Something was up.

    Bakugo squinted when Aizawa walked right past him. He sat down, in Midoriya’s seat. Bakugo usually tried to ignore Iida at any given opportunity, but now, he stared at him, wondering what the shit was going on. Well, might as well ask. Bakugo turned in his seat to face Aizawa.

    “Oi, Aizawa, what the shit are you doing?” Bakugo asked eloquently. Aizawa startled, staring at Bakugo with wide eyes.

    “I, what? I'm uh, preparing for class? Wait, Ai--” Something clicked in his mind. “ Ohhhhhh . Kacchan, I'm--”

    “The FUCK?” Bakugo shouted, standing up, backing into his desk. His gaze darted over to Iida once again. Iida shook his head. “Deku?”

    “Uhm… yeah?” Midoriya said. “Yeah, uh, me and Mr. Aizawa got hit by a quirk yesterday, and uh, yeah.”

    “God, we can never have a single normal fucking day, can we,” Bakugo sighed, sitting back down in his seat, still facing towards what was actually Midoriya. “Did you know about this, glasses?” He shouted over to Iida.

    “It became evident after visiting Midoriya in Recovery Girl's office. Mr. Aizawa was unusually… Anxious,” Iida responded, standing up and walking over to the two. He sat down in Jirou's chair, and turned towards them. “How are you holding up, Midoriya?”

    “I try not to think about it too much,” Midoriya mumbled. “This isn't really, the most ideal situation. Hopefully we can get it fixed before too long.”

    “How the hell did this even happen, shitty Deku?” Bakugo demanded.

    “Monoma was copying some little kid's quirks, kids young enough to where their quirks weren't visible yet. He kind of struggled to activate one quirk from a kid named Saito, and according to the people who saw it, me and Mr. Aizawa just, sort of collapsed,” Midoriya said.

    “Mr. Aizawa woke up in Recovery Girl’s office, and we all thought it was Midoriya,” Iida explained.

    “Worst moment of my life,” Midoriya whispered.

    “Er, Midoriya, what about that one incident with Stain?” Iida asked.

    “Maybe the summer camp?” Bakugo stated. “You know, when I was kidnapped?”

    “Or USJ!” Uraraka chirped, walking into the conversation out of nowhere. She sat down in Sero's empty desk. “Oh, sorry, I just overheard the conversation, and, Deku, how could this be the worst moment of your life?”

    “Okay, first off, in all of those situations, I could have died. In this situation, I just want to die,” Midoriya said. Hopefully they all interpreted that as the typical depression joke and not as something more serious. Tokoyami got away with it, Midoriya considered he would as well.

    “I don't know, Deku, it sucks, but you've dealt with worse! You can get through this,” Uraraka exclaimed, punching through the air in excitement.

    “I can't change my clothes or shower, I feel so incredibly disgusting and there's nothing I can do,” Midoriya stated deadpan.

    “Why can't you--” Iida started.

    “Think about it,” Midoriya said, cutting him off. Iida paused.

    “I see your point,” he conceded.

    “Not to mention the fact that he's in my fucking body!” Midoriya said, his voice rising an octave.

    “I guess it is kind of fucked up to think of Aizawa waltzing around in a Deku suit,” Bakugo said. “Wait, which one of you do I beat the shit out of in hero training?”

    “Uh, neither?” Midoriya asked hopefully.

    “Deku, that's crazy-talk!” Uraraka interjected.

    “Are you sure you are well?” Iida asked, concerned. “Perhaps we should walk you back to Recovery Girl.”

    “Deku, the shit? You know I always gotta beat you up in hero training, dumbass.”

    “Ha-ha, very funny guys,” Midoriya responded. “I'm probably not going to do hero training at all, because I don't have my quirk. And Mr. Aizawa's probably not leaving his house today, which... I can understand.”

    “Alright, I'm done with this,” Bakugo declared. “Glasses, Chubby Cheeks, get the shit out of here. These desks aren't for extras.”

    “Kacchan, isn't that uh, a little--” Midoriya began.

    “Can it, shitty Deku, I'm doing homework.”

    The aforementioned ‘Glasses’ and ‘Chubby Cheeks’ left Jirou and Sero’s desks, respectively. Midoriya half-heartedly waved at them as they left for the back of the class. The bell was probably going to ring soon. He glanced at the door, a few other students trickling into the room. Midoriya shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This desk wasn't made to house someone of Aizawa's height. A handful of the desks in the school were specially made, but the first years didn't get anything like that. It was expected for a handful of students to be expelled by the end of the year. With Aizawa's track record, sometimes a majority of the class. So, it sort of made sense that they all had to use the typical equipment. Midoriya never had a problem with it, but he knew it was an issue for some of the students who had mutation type quirks. Poor Shouji could barely fit into his desk.

    The bell rang. Midoriya immediately glanced over at the door, to see the last few students scramble into the room, darting for their desks. After them, a small, green-haired boy walked into the room.

    Midoriya was already getting weird glances from his classmates. At least, those not privy to the events of yesterday. All around him, students whispered. Midoriya wanted to sink into the floor. Now, though, every teen in their room had their attention jerked from what appeared to be their teacher to what seemed to be Midoriya. Aizawa walked to the front of the room. The room was silent.

    “I'm sure you all have some questions,” Aizawa stated. Everyone erupted into confusion. The only student bothering to raise their hand was Iida, forgotten in the back of the class. Aizawa waited again for silence. Of course, his authority went unnoticed. Midoriya stood up.

    “Class, settle down,” he said, his new vocal cords allowing for a perfect impression of Aizawa. His classmates did as he asked, and settled down. Midoriya walked to the front of the room, trying as hard as possible not to start cackling.

    “Midoriya, sit down, the bell rang,” Midoriya said to Aizawa, who’s expression did not belong on the face he was currently wearing. Aoyama leaned towards Aizawa.

    “Mon ami,” he whispered. “You probably shouldn't upset Mr. Aizawa, not now. You've heard the rumors!”

    “What rumors?” Aizawa asked, now accepting the role Midoriya forced him into. He probably could have taken over the class at this point, but rumors were somewhat difficult to come by when they were purposefully hidden from him and well, Aizawa was curious.

    “Mr. Aizawa, you do not want to hear them,” Midoriya said, stepping in front of Aoyama in order to prevent any rumors from being shared to the wrong person. Iida's hand waved incessantly in the back of the class.

    “Oh, I most certainly do,” Aizawa said, moving to stand beside Aoyama's desk. “After which, I will proceed to break every bone in my body. Evening plans consist of confronting a villain and trying to get myself killed.”

    “I don't sound like that! And it's not like I try to get myself killed, most of the time,” Midoriya protested. Aizawa filed away the last part of that sentence for later. The rest of the class was left to try and follow the conversation, most of them failing miserably. The persistent waving of Iida’s hand slowed, and he finally lowered his hand. He stood up.

    “Mr. Aizawa and Midoriya were hit by a quirk that swapped their bodies!” Iida stated loudly. “That,” he said, pointing to Midoriya. “Is Midoriya, and that,” he now pointed to Aizawa. “Is Mr. Aizawa! Now, may we please continue on with class?”

    Once again, the room erupted with questions. Midoriya ignored them, choosing to go back to his seat. Behind him, Mineta festered in the beauty of this new revelation.

    “Mr. Ai-- I mean, Midoriya, do you think you can get me and one of the girls’ bodies switched? You can imagine how much fun that would be! How'd you do it?”

    “I’d help you, but whoever had your body would probably castrate you,” Midoriya responded. “To be honest, I'd probably help.”

Mineta grimaced and held out a thumbs up.

    “Right! Point taken! Have a nice day!”

    Midoriya turned back to face the front. Aizawa was still getting assaulted with questions; it seemed nothing else was getting done in homeroom today. If this was going to happen every period, he might as well just go back to his room and work on his spring plans. His mind wandered off, thinking of the things to come. He ignored the questions of everyone around him, and simply laid his head on his desk.

    After a few minutes, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped, the chair under him screeching against the floor. He turned, quickly, in order to face whatever had touched him.

    Oh. It was Tokoyami. He was still in class. Tokoyami held out a slip of paper. It was folded over itself multiple times, until it was small enough to fit in his closed fist. Blushing, Midoriya turned back around, holding out his hand behind him. Tokoyami set the note in his open palm, and tried not to feel too disturbed seeing Midoriya’s expressions on his homeroom teacher's face.

    Midoriya had no clue why someone would bother passing a note when they all had phones. He was sure he had the number of everyone in his class, and quite a few people in class 1-B too. Still, he should read it. Hiding the folded piece of paper under his desk, he discreetly opened it and began reading. It was Todoroki's handwriting, and--

    “Midoriya, please abstain from passing notes in class,” Aizawa said, standing next to his desk. “Hand it over,” he said, holding out his hand. However, Midoriya had seen the note, or at least part of it. He didn't want it in Aizawa's view. He stood up.

    “I, uh, promise not to send or read notes in class anymore,” Midoriya promised. Aizawa continued to hold out his hand.

    “Right. However, I will need to confiscate your note.” Sufficient payback for Midoriya keeping the rumors from him.

    “By the way, I'm uh, really sorry about your joints. I mean er, my joints, because they hurt, a lot, uhH not that I'm complaining, it’s just that you have to deal with it, and uh, yeah, sorry,” Midoriya said, attempting to change the subject.

    “It's fine. The note, please?” Aizawa said, bringing the conversation back on track.

    “Why don't we just go back to me sitting down, and you teaching the class about what we're learning!” Midoriya said, as a last try.

    “And what was class about?”

    Midoriya fumbled. “Er, it was about, um--” Aizawa grabbed for the note.

    Aizawa was objectively faster than Midoriya. More agile, as well. It wasn't that Midoriya was particularly poor with skills related to speed. In fact, had Midoriya received the full amount of training he needed, and acquired the amount of experience Aizawa had gathered over the course of his life, Midoriya would be much more agile than Aizawa. Now, though, Midoriya was slow enough, without the usage of his quirk, that they simply weren't in the same league.

    And so, it made sense, that Aizawa wasn’t fast enough to grab the letter. Instead, Midoriya held it high above both of their heads.

    “I really would prefer if this letter was, uh, not seen. By anyone.” He continued to hold the letter up beyond Aizawa's reach.

    The entire class was silent in disbelief. The whole situation seemed entirely preposterous. Aizawa didn't particularly seem like the kind of person who had papers held over his head, but here it was, happening in front of everyone. Aizawa couldn't help but remember his days when he was younger, and entirely less intimidating.

    “Midoriya,” Aizawa stated. “Give me the letter.” Midoriya swallowed, his throat dry and scratchy. He lowered his hand, shaking. Aizawa tensed in preparation. In all honesty, he didn't particularly care about the note all that much. However, it was apparently important, according to the author of the damned slip of paper. And, there must be one hell of a reason as to why Midoriya would go to such lengths to keep the letter out of his reach. He has to realize he's now earned himself enough detentions to last the rest of the month. The first of which, happening today, would likely be the most unpleasant of all of them. At least, for Midoriya. Aizawa would need to bring up Midoriya's mental health during the detention, most likely after they both got their bodies back. Midoriya continued to slowly lower his hand, cautiously waiting for Aizawa to strike and grab the note.

    In the blink of an eye, Midoriya swiftly brought the letter to his mouth, prepared to destroy the evidence at all costs. However, Aizawa was prepared this time. Before the note could make its way into Midoriya's mouth, he snatched the note out of his hand. The light in Midoriya's eyes died. Todoroki breathed out in relief.

    “See me after school. Detention,” Aizawa stated. He walked back to the front of the class, jamming the note into his pocket.

    Midoriya was so screwed.

__________

    Homeroom was over now, and Aizawa didn't have any classes to teach until hero training. It looked like it was going to be a warm day today. Beams of light shone through the classroom's windows. Aizawa was sitting at his desk, drinking his second cup of coffee. He hadn't slept well, of course. In his situation, who would? It took him hours to find a comfortable position to sleep in. No matter how hard he tried, every position still made it obvious he wasn't in his body. Sleeping curled up was a bust, cause’ it felt too incredibly weird. Aizawa just seemed to be perpetually uncomfortable in this body.

    Midoriya's body wasn’t even used to waking up at a decent hour; even his usually reliable alarm clock went unnoticed. He woke up late. And though he could have made it to class incredibly early if he chose to do so, his talk with All Might, and later, Todoroki, kept him from arriving any earlier than he usually did.

    Aizawa thought back to the discussion he had with Todoroki. It was short, and strange, and the whole ordeal left Aizawa entirely confused. Todoroki had warned him that he would be passing a note to Midoriya during homeroom, and according to him, it was important for Aizawa to intercept it and read it. It made no sense, not to Aizawa, at least. If Todoroki had something to say to him, he could just approach him after class.

    Still, though, Aizawa followed his request, and now he had the note. Midoriya had seemed very nervous about the letter, and was very reluctant to give it up. There was one of two ways this note could go; overtly sexual, or related to some secret Midoriya didn't want him knowing. For the sake of Aizawa's sanity, he sincerely hoped it was the latter.

    Luckily, it could be counted on that Todoroki wouldn't do something like that. Kaminari, of course. Mineta, he wouldn't put it past him. And thinking about it, Aizawa knew Mina was just as likely to ask him to read something he really didn't want to see.

    He wanted to wait until he could approach Todoroki, and ask what made this note so important, and why he couldn't just pass the information along through conversation like most other people. But, most likely, Todoroki wouldn't tell Aizawa jack shit. If he were going to spill, he would have done it before class, when he had the chance.

    And so, Aizawa unfolded the letter and read it.

__________

   Todoroki left homeroom just a second after the bell rang. They weren't necessarily allowed to wait by the door, but Todoroki had to leave that class immediately. He pushed past all of the other kids packing up their bags, and past the kids walking towards the door. He didn't want Aizawa to initiate a conversation with him. He supposed that he would be looking for one, considering the confusing nature of the last conversation they had this morning.

    Todoroki knew that the note would help a lot. The entire contents of the note were:

     ‘Izuku, are you feeling okay? I know that your depression and addiction to self harm can be difficult to deal with. By the way, do you think Mr. Aizawa has seen the scars on all of your limbs? Hopefully not. There are a lot of them. Sincerely, Shouto.’

    Todoroki had tried his best to construct a letter that would send the message that Midoriya needed help, while not making the note too suspicious. Midoriya, after all, read the letter for a few seconds. If it had been something close to ‘Someone call 911, Midoriya's suicidal, Mr. Aizawa I'm talking to you, for the love of god help, this letter is meant to be taken by the teacher,’ then Midoriya would probably feel pretty betrayed.

    Most likely, Todoroki would be getting an earful from Midoriya later about how Aizawa most certainly knows about his issues because he read the note.

    He could have just gone to Aizawa in the first place. That would have made this whole ordeal a lot simpler. But, in Todoroki's opinion, that did feel entirely like a betrayal. Going behind Midoriya's back and spilling all of his secrets for him? That wasn't something Todoroki wanted to do. But, it was undeniable Midoriya needed help, and quickly. Todoroki hoped to god that what he'd seen was the extent of what was wrong, but somehow, he didn’t feel like that was the case.

    An intercepted note alerted Aizawa to the issue, and Todoroki wouldn't have to betray Midoriya. In a couple of days, if Aizawa still hadn’t done anything, then he might have to resort to more drastic measures. But, for now, this was probably enough.

    Todoroki continued to speed out of the class, just short of a jog. Once he was an adequate distance away from the classroom, he slowed to a stop. Next, he had English. He had about 5 minutes to make it to the room, but he was almost there, anyway.

    He weaved through dozens of other students, all trying to make it to their respective classes. Midoriya was heading to the same class as he was. But, Todoroki was avoiding him too, for now. The fight that was sure to come wouldn't be fun. Even if this caused Midoriya to abandon their friendship, it was worth it. Todoroki was entirely sure he would rather have Midoriya as an ex-friend than a dead one.

    Todoroki walked into the English classroom. Present Mic was sitting at the front of his room, behind his desk. He was fairly early, but Todoroki liked to get out all of his stuff well before class started. They almost certainly would be writing notes; he might as well set those up now. He pulled out his English notebook, along with the folder he kept the majority of his paperwork in. He opened it, considering the other note he was concerned about. A love letter.

    This one was to Midoriya, as well. He had written it a while ago, and rewrote it again and again until the pencil marks were too deep to erase. The copy he had in his folder was nothing more than a rough draft; he would have to write another letter that was much more neater.

    Todoroki wasn’t even sure he wanted to confess to Midoriya at all. He was dealing with so much right now. It was incredibly difficult for anyone to keep up with classes at UA, and Midoriya was struggling more than anyone. Not with the classes necessarily, but struggling in general. The added pressure of trying to figure out a relationship would probably be too much for Midoriya. If he needed anything right now, it would be a friend. And help, definitely help. Todoroki wanted to be both of those for him.

    He doubted Midoriya would want to be with him anyway. The first sentence Todoroki said to him was a declaration of war. And then, the two beat the shit out of each other. Todoroki didn't consider himself a master of relationships, but he could assume that wasn't how friendships, let alone romantic relationships, started. The two were friends, of course, Todoroki was almost entirely sure. They were on a first name basis with each other, something that Midoriya didn't have with Iida, or Uraraka, or Tsuyu.

    Well, everyone's on a first name basis with Tsuyu. But still, Todoroki didn't think it was the same.

    Todoroki pulled out the love letter from his folder, and unfolded it until all the writing was visible.

     ‘Izuku, are you feeling okay? I know that--’

    Wait. Holy shit, no. Todoroki couldn't believe what he was seeing. No, there must be something wrong. He misread the letter. Just to double check, he tried again.

     ‘Izuku, are you feeling--’ Todoroki hadn't misread the note. He was seeing it correctly.

     Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck--

   At least Todoroki could be sure that whatever his expression was at the moment, it wasn't accurately showing the panic he felt. Todoroki suddenly felt a flash of gratitude towards past him. Thank god for being able to keep his expression neutral.

    But at the same time, he wanted to beat the shit out of past him. Because holy fuck, he gave Midoriya the wrong letter. Midoriya read the wrong letter.

     Oh my god, how much did he see?

    And then it hit him. Aizawa saw the letter, too. He was most likely reading it now. And there was some incredibly personal shit on there, and it wasn’t even his final draft.

    Todoroki didn't legitimately want to die in this moment, but he sure as hell wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from the rest of humanity.

    Yet still, his face remained faithful to the ever present neutral stare. Midoriya hasn't made it to the English class yet, but he was going to get one hell of a let-down as soon as he did.

    And maybe worst of all, he would have to re-do this all over again so Aizawa could get the goddamn information. Todoroki sighed, emotion breaking through his walls. His reputation would be going down the drain, but it was worth it to get Midoriya some help.

    ‘ Anything would be worth it for Midoriya’ , he thought. And then, Todoroki had to desperately try to fight back his blush in the middle of English class.

Chapter Text

     Goddamnit, Todoroki. Aizawa was pretty sure he had figured out his students this time around, but then, of course someone throws him a curveball. The oh-so-important note that Aizawa had to confiscate was literally just a love note towards Midoriya. Why did Todoroki think he needed to see this? Was this a roundabout way of asking for relationship advice? Because if that were the case, Aizawa was not looking forward to it.

    Also, why in the ever loving fuck would Todoroki try to confess to Midoriya when he looked like him? That brought up an entirely different host of problems. Aizawa didn't want to think about it. Next time he saw Todoroki, he would just ask what the hell this was about and give him back the letter.

    Aizawa downed the last of his second cup of coffee. He probably shouldn't make another one, but he considered it for a good moment. Probably wouldn't be good for Midoriya’s body, so he decided that he'd just get through the morning. Which may be difficult to do because all of his students, it seemed, were intent on messing with him.

    He supposed he could handle the Todoroki note thing after Midoriya’s detention. Speaking of which, he should tell All Might the conversation will be happening directly after hero training.

    Aizawa glanced over at the clock on the wall. Third period was ending. It was now lunch. Another 3 classes before hero training. He had plenty of time to talk to All Might, so Aizawa wasn’t all that concerned about rushing to find him. And, he reminded himself, after the dreaded conversation, he should deal with the note.

    Or not. Todoroki burst into the classroom, his eyes wild. He hurried over to stand in front of Aizawa's desk, staring down at him. Aizawa hated being this short.

    “Alright, guess we can have this conversation now,” Aizawa said. “First off, Todoroki, what the--”

    “It was the wrong note,” he interrupted. He fished something out of his pocket, and dropped it onto the desk. “Also, can I uh, have the other note back?”

    “Well, that explains a lot. Also, kid, did you mean for Midoriya to see that?” Aizawa asked. Todoroki turned his gaze to the floor and waited. “Alright,” Aizawa said, sliding a heavily folded piece of paper from a pile of work over to him.

    “Thanks,” Todoroki stated. He picked up the note, quickly refolding it and jamming it into his pocket. He turned to leave.

    “Wait.” Aizawa said, stopping him. Todoroki turned back towards the desk, still refusing to make eye contact. His only solace was that it was Aizawa that found out. While still incredibly awkward, he could count on this particular teacher to not freak out over him being gay. Considering what Present Mic was saying last night, he figured it wouldn't be that much of a problem. As long as it didn't get back to Endeavour, Todoroki would be alright.

    “Why did you need to write this as a note,” Aizawa continued, holding up the note he was supposed to receive in homeroom. “Instead of just talking to me?”

    “Don't want to betray him more than I have to,” Todoroki answered. Aizawa quirked an eyebrow, but Todoroki didn't elaborate. Todoroki turned back towards the door, and made to leave. He stopped at the doorway.

    “I'm not sure how much you know,” Todoroki continued. “But however bad you think he is, it's much worse than either you or I know.”

    Once Todoroki finished his sentence, he continued out the door, closing it behind him.

    Aizawa wasn't completely sure what Todoroki was talking about, but he had a good guess. He grabbed the new note sitting on his desk and carefully unfolded it.

    ‘Izuku, are you feeling okay? I know that your depression and addiction to self harm can be difficult to deal with. By the way, do you think Mr. Aizawa has seen the scars on all of your limbs? Hopefully not. There are a lot of them. Sincerely, Shouto.’

     Aizawa guessed correctly. He supposed this was Todoroki's way of trying to alert him to Midoriya's problems. According to the note, there were a lot more scars he hadn't seen yet. Aizawa was willing to take this on good faith, and he had no intention of looking for them. Because, of course, that would be absolutely disgusting.

    And, this note confirmed something much worse. This was recent, and ongoing. If Todoroki felt that Midoriya needed help badly enough that he would go behind his back, then something was horribly wrong. Aizawa had the growing feeling that Todoroki was right about it being a lot worse than he knew. Along with that, this was Todoroki . Definitely not someone who would air out another student's dirty laundry, and definitely not his friend.

     Or his crush, according to the first note, Aizawa thought drily. He really wished he hadn't seen that first letter. Although, he definitely has seen worse. He shuddered, thinking back to the time Mineta asked him for a type of advice he wasn't comfortable giving to a minor.

    Pushing the thought out of his mind, Aizawa considered the increasingly worrisome problem. Or rather, the increasingly worrisome problem child . He listed the facts he knew, trying to organize his thoughts.

    One, Midoriya cuts himself, regularly. Two, he has depression. Three, Todoroki knew this, and was concerned enough to break his trust and go behind his back. Four, Todoroki knows he's hiding more than this.

    Aizawa was convinced that Midoriya needed an intervention, immediately. He didn't want to wait the rest of the day. But, he couldn't exactly pull him out of his classes and force him to talk. He would most likely have to wait until the end of classes. Maybe, he should ask someone to talk to Midoriya with him. All Might would be an important resource. Midoriya would probably open up to him easier than Aizawa. He had made up his mind, All Might could help.

    Aizawa stood up, and left the room. He needed to find All Might so he could keep an eye on Midoriya as well.

__________

     Holy shit, Todoroki likes me . Midoriya sat in the bathroom of his dorm, finally allowing himself to think about the events of the last few classes. Midoriya knew that his thoughts were visible to anyone looking at his face, because of how open his facial expressions was. He had pushed all thoughts out of his head until he had the chance to be alone. He hadn’t said a word to Todoroki. Once the bell rang for lunch, Midoriya sped towards the dorms and into his room.

     Shouto likes me. Midoriya was in disbelief. He stared at the wall of his room, pointedly avoiding the sticker covered dresser. The Sir Nighteye one was on the side, not able to be seen from his bed for a reason.

    Todoroki liked him. He wasn't sure whether to be giddy or devastated. He really did like Todoroki, and he had for a while. It had killed him to see Todoroki avoid him completely after he passed the note, probably beating himself up because it was confiscated. Once Midoriya gathered his thoughts, he would go tell him that it wasn't his fault.

    However, once he opened up that conversation, he knew it would lead to whether he returned his feelings or not. And of course, he did. But Midoriya would be dying soon, and it would only hurt Todoroki more if he said yes to the proposal. He thought back to the contents of the note. He was grateful that he was able to read the entire thing before Aizawa stopped him.

    ‘ Roses are red, violets are blue.

    Please go out with me.

    -Shouto.’

    Of course, that was only the first part of the note. Midoriya knew Todoroki wasn't exactly the best at poems, but this was his best one yet. And really, Midoriya loved it. The rest of the writing on the note was even sweeter, and when he had read it in class, Midoriya could barely contain his tears.

     ‘Alright, sorry, I know my poetry isn't very good. It wasn't actually a serious attempt, which I'm sure you've gathered. I think Cementoss would finally snap if I turned something like that into my Modern Literature class.

    I’m not that good with words. I wish I could think of a really romantic way to say everything I want to in a concise and neat letter, but something tells me that isn't going to happen. I don't know, maybe I'll scrap this note and make a new one. But yeah, just like the note insinuated, I like you. And like it flat-out asked, do you want to go out with me?’

     Midoriya had never been asked out before. No one really wanted to date the quirkless loser, and by the time he made it to UA, he was just the one kid who broke his bones every other day. Needless to say, this came out of nowhere. And of course, Midoriya was dying to go hunt down Todoroki and tell him ‘Yes, yes, of course, please, for the love of god yes!’

    But, Midoriya would be dying soon. If not this season, by the end of spring. Really, it was selfish of him to keep getting closer to people when he knew he was going to die. Of course everyone would be alright after a few days, but he didn't want to hurt anyone more than he had to.

    Maybe, the right thing to do would be to let him down gently and slowly distance himself. Perhaps this is a good first step, spending lunches in his room. Uraraka and Iida would have to go too, of course. He didn't want any friends being too upset about his death.

    Midoriya really wished he could be with Todoroki. But, in his heart, he knew that it wouldn’t cure him. He'd still want to die. And one day, he would follow through, hurting Todoroki irreparably. And besides, Midoriya wanted to die more than he wanted to date him. And Midoriya really wanted to date him.

    But Midoriya had to do this. He had worked so hard on his plan. Midoriya had to turn him down, hurting him now in order to prevent him from being hurt much later.

    Still, though, the note was so sweet. Wait.

     Holy shit, Mr. Aizawa has the note. He read it. Eugh, oh my god i feel bad for Shouto. Thank god I'm the one that has detention with him later, instead of Shouto. Wait, fuck, I have detention with him later. Oh my god, why does life hate me, holy shit.

     Midoriya hoped desperately that Aizawa didn't bring up the contents of the note while he was forced to sit through detention. He didn't think that he'd be that cruel, but he was still terrified. Not to mention that'd Aizawa would probably have him doing push ups or something. And right after hero training. Detention was going to hurt so bad.

    ‘ One handed push ups while writing lines on a chalkboard’, Midoriya imagined. ‘ I will not be wooed by Todoroki in the middle of class, I will not be wooed by Todoroki in the middle of class,’

    Midoriya just wanted to sit here on his bed for the rest of the day. But then, Midoriya considered, he probably could. It wasn't as if Aizawa was going to hunt him down, and physically force him to sit through detention. If Midoriya really wanted to, he could just skip it.

    And really, he didn't even have to go to the rest of his classes. He could claim that after the whole ordeal of swapping bodies, he wasn't ready to continue with classes. Midoriya could just sit here for the rest of the day, until the one kid and his parents arrived at UA. No one would blame him.

    The bell might have rung by now. You could only hear it in the main building, because students weren't expected to be in their rooms during school hours. He might as well just stay here.

    He leaned backwards into his bed, until he was flat against the mattress and staring at the ceiling. The capture scarf around his neck felt strangling. Midoriya sat back up, pulling the scarf off. He set it down gently on his nightstand. It was probably pretty expensive, considering how durable it was. He flopped back down onto the bed.

    His longer-than-usual hair tickled his neck, and Midoriya was uncomfortable. Ever since he was forced into this body, he felt uncomfortable. Partially because every time he tried to relax, something reminded him of his predicament. Every time he moved, he felt the unfamiliar clothes all over his body. Every time he looked in the mirror, he flinched. He couldn't look himself in the eyes. Speaking of which, his eyes always hurt . It sucked, and it itched, and Midoriya hated it.

    And he always felt so gross, and he was pretty sure he smelled really bad, and today just sucked. And then, Midoriya had an entirely different issue.

    He really had to go to the bathroom. Midoriya became twice as suicidal as before, and promised himself to just try and hold it until he and Aizawa could switch back. He could do this. The alternative was unthinkable.

__________

   A few hours later, Midoriya exited his bathroom, thoroughly traumatized. He probably made the right decision. Aizawa wouldn’t have been happy if he got his body back only to find he had apparently shit himself. Midoriya could say, with complete honesty, this was the worst day of his life. For a moment, he considered forgetting the plan altogether and pulling out his favorite razor to end this nightmare of a day. But no, he stopped himself, because if he died now, so would Aizawa's body.

    And he couldn't even cut himself to calm down, because that would hurt Aizawa too. Midoriya really wanted to cut. It was like an itch under the surface of his skin. He scratched at his arms, absentmindedly, not even realizing what he was doing. After a moment, he forced himself to stop. He really didn’t want to hurt Aizawa. He supposed a decent alternative was just to fantasize about it, and just cut later.

    Midoriya resolved to just try to fall asleep. Before doing so, he should probably check his phone and see how long he had before he needed to show up to get his body. He would probably need to meet everyone behind the school about a half hour after classes, considering that was the time they began testing quirks yesterday. God, it had really only been a day.

    Midoriya was thankful he didn't have his phone on him when he swapped bodies, because then he wouldn't have it now. He pressed the power button on the side of the phone, and glanced at the screen. Oh fuck, he was late. Very late. If he hurried, he could probably make it there before they give up and send Saito's family home.

    Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. Midoriya quickly sat up, and his gaze darted towards the noise. He broke out into a sweat. What if he had missed it, and he had to wait another day? The person could be here to tell him he had to keep waiting for his body. Midoriya didn't think he could handle it.

    After a moment, there was another knock. Before the person at the door could leave, Midoriya stood up from his bed and scrambled over to the door. There was a chance that he wasn't too late to get his body back today. No one would ever have to know the horrible things he did. Including the self harm, and taking a shit. God, Midoriya hated life so much.

    He turned the knob of the door, mentally preparing himself to talk to whoever was there. If he was lucky, this person wasn't here to talk to him about how late he was. Maybe it was just Uraraka, bringing him homework or something.

    Midoriya opened the door, slowly. He brought his gaze down to see-- Himself. What?

    ‘ Oh fuck it’s Mr. Aizawa, holy shit I shouldn't have skipped the detention I'm about to die, oh thank god I'm about to die, wait oh no he saw the note, kill me faster please, Mr. Aizawa, I can’t do this oh no oh fuck i--’

     “You're mumbling again,” Aizawa cut in drily. Midoriya straightened his posture, still looking down at the ground.

    “Sorry! I uh, so um, I,” Midoriya fumbled. “How… much of it did you…?”

    “It was inaudible. What don't you want me to hear?” Aizawa asked. After all, he still was curious about the so-called rumors Aoyama had mentioned in homeroom. He was still a little bit irked that Midoriya kept him from hearing them.

    “Nothing!” Midoriya answered quickly. The fastest way to convince someone that you're hiding something. “Any, anyways, are Saito and his parents here yet?”

    “Yeah, and they have been for a while,” he said. Midoriya drew in his shoulders and tried to sink into the floor. “What did you think was supposed to happen during detention?”

    “Oh…” Midoriya said softly. He cleared his throat, still not making eye contact. “Should… we get going?”

    “Yes,” Aizawa stated. “As well as that, your detention will be after we're done.”

    “I thought the detention was just for the quirk thing? Wasn't it another logical ruse?” Midoriya said, confused. He still was afraid to bring his voice above a whisper.

    “No, you actually have detention. Though I was going to let you off easy. Before you decided to try and skip.”

    “Right,” Midoriya responded meekly.

    “Alright, let's go.” Aizawa turned, and started walking. Midoriya followed, leaving his phone behind to let it charge. Aizawa strode with a brisk pace, probably just as anxious to get his body back. They continued moving through the hallway, pushing past kids walking to their dorms, and made it to the elevator that would take them downstairs. As Midoriya followed him into the elevator, he continued to keep staring at the ground. He didn't think he could make eye contact with Aizawa, not after all that's happened.

    “I'm sorry that all of this happened,” Midoriya apologized, eyes glued to the floor. “If I weren't there, then we wouldn't be stuck like this.”

    This particular choice of words concerned Aizawa to no end. If he weren't there…

    Aizawa was honest with himself. In that sentence, Midoriya probably didn't mean anything by it. But it struck the same chord that many of Midoriya's words did:

   ‘ The world would be better off without me in it,’ Midoriya thought to himself.

    “You really need to fix that mumbling habit,” Aizawa said. “And it isn't your fault. Even if you had been in the dorms, the quirk still would have fired off, and two people still would have been switched.”

    Midoriya clamped his mouth shut, hoping to god that Aizawa hadn't heard what he had been thinking. And anyway, he didn't know what to say in response to that. Midoriya settled for just standing in silence. The elevator dinged, alerting both of them to the fact that they were at the ground floor. The doors slid open. When Aizawa paused, perhaps thinking that the conversation would continue, Midoriya walked quickly out of the elevator in order to prevent it from continuing. Almost at a speed walk, Midoriya hurried to the front doors.

    “Hey, slow down,” Aizawa called out, walking at his regular pace. Midoriya did as he advised, but continued to move, pointedly avoiding any conversation Aizawa may want to start. He pushed the doors open, and made a sharp turn to the right. Midoriya could easily outpace him with his now longer legs. He didn't, though. He figured he would embarrass himself if he started jogging. Aizawa caught up with him.

    The two continued to the back of the school, where the rest of the teachers-- along with Saito, his parents, and Monoma-- were waiting. No chairs were set up this time; hopefully this would be a quicker affair. This time, Recovery Girl was here as well, most likely because Midoriya and Aizawa would pass out.

    “Alright!” Monoma called out. “Let's get this started!” He approached Saito, crouching down in order to be closer to his height. “Are you ready?”

    Saito nodded, and walked with him over to where Midoriya and Aizawa stood. Monoma took a step back. Everyone tensed, waiting to see what would happen. He held out his hand, focusing on Midoriya and Aizawa. He clenched the muscles in his hand, and everyone held their breath. Nothing happened.

    “It took a second to work last time, it probably--” Monoma started. “Oh, there it goes!”

    Midoriya crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Recovery Girl rushed over to him, Midnight helping her move Midoriya to a stretcher. Everyone looked towards Aizawa.

    He collapsed as well. Once Midoriya was secured on the stretcher, the two moved to help Aizawa. Midnight began to lift him, but--

    “Uh, what are you doing?” Aizawa asked groggily. He lifted his head, and looked around. “Did it work?”

    “Uh… young Midoriya?” All Might asked. Aizawa blinked.

    “No…?” He looked down at his body. “Oh thank fuck,” Aizawa said in relief. He was, in fact, in the right body. Midoriya would most likely wake up in his soon.

    “I wonder why you woke up so early,” Monoma said. “And why Midoriya hasn't yet.”

    There didn't really appear to be a pattern to it. Either way, Aizawa couldn't care. He was back in his own body, he could finally fucking go to the bathroom, he didn't have to sleep on the couch anymore, he could change , this may have been the best day of his life.

__________

    Midoriya was now absolutely, one hundred percent sure that this was the worst day of his life. He struggled, fighting as hard as he could. His mind was a whirlwind of ‘ LET ME GO LET ME GO LET ME GO LET ME GO .’

    Midoriya hated being restrained like this. Ever since that one day with that god awful slime villain, when he couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything except writhe, Midoriya has hated being restrained.

    It got so bad, for a while, that if he even thought about how he couldn't move, in any given situation, he immediately panicked.

    Midoriya never could use sleeping bags. Even blankets were sometimes too restricting if he thought he couldn't immediately move. Hide and seek was his worst nightmare, and he was glad he did well enough yesterday, because he would never cram himself into a tiny hiding place like that.

    He didn't think that what he had was claustrophobia; small spaces didn't bother him unless his limbs were immobile. All of it reminded him of that goddamned villain, and how he had jammed his putrid slime into every orifice he had. His mouth, down into his throat. His ears, up his nose. Midoriya could even feel the slime all over his eyes , writhing inside of his sockets. Every time he thought of it, Midoriya felt like throwing up.

    Now, though, he didn't have enough control of his body to throw up, even if he wanted to. He tried to scream; his jaws didn't move a muscle. He tried to thrash his limbs around, and nothing happened. Midoriya was panicking, he couldn't stop, he needed to move .

    Midoriya hated being held down like this with every fiber of his being. He couldn't stop thinking, but his heart rate couldn't even change. He felt like vomiting. He was thinking about the slime villain.

    He wanted to rip the ribs out of his body, he couldn't breathe , he couldn't move, he had to do something. Thoughts raced through his mind, to where he couldn't understand what was going on around him. Midoriya thought for a second, that maybe he was dead. Is this what the afterlife was? Alone and terrified for eternity?

    Midoriya just wanted to go home. He felt like throwing up.

__________

    Aizawa threw up. It had came out of nowhere, and it had more than surprised him. One second, he was being congratulated on being back by Present Mic. Another, he was spewing all over him.

    As Aizawa apologized, hurriedly trying to help clean him up, he felt confused. The vomiting thing was probably just the aftermath of the quirk, one which was known to have strange side effects, with the fainting and all. But he just felt weird, indescribably weird. It felt like the beginnings of a panic attack, but Aizawa had no clue what was wrong.

    Still, though, he couldn't stop thinking.

Chapter Text

      Midoriya had calmed down by now. After panicking for a full hour, he simply just didn't have enough energy to keep going. Luckily, he didn't have to do much if he didn't feel like it. And if he did feel like it…

    Well, more rest was never a bad thing. Not after a day like this.

    Midoriya was pretty sure he knew what was going on by now. For the past hour, Midoriya had been panicking enough to where he wasn't aware of his surroundings in the slightest. He didn’t notice if his muscles moved, because he wasn't the one to command him. But, when Midoriya had calmed down enough to really notice what was going on, he realized.

    He was walking somewhere. He felt the muscles in his legs bunch up, he felt the ground against his foot, he felt the socks he was wearing, he felt his clothes. He was moving, but he didn't know why.

    Midoriya's first assumption had been that Shinso was involved somehow. He's felt something like this before, during the sports festival. So for a while, he watched and waited as he walked to wherever he was going. Then, he stopped, and his head turned. Of course, he had no say in the matter at all. His eyes moved, and he met the gaze of Present Mic.

    The eye contact made him uncomfortable. He struggled to look away. When nothing happened, Midoriya stopped fighting it. His jaw opened.

    “Yeah, I'm just really glad to be back,” he heard himself say. Though, it wasn't in his voice. He searched his mind for a second, and realized who it was. Aizawa.

    Suddenly, Midoriya came to the realization of what had actually happened. Of course, Shinso had nothing to do with this.

    Both Aizawa and Midoriya were trapped in the former's body, and Aizawa had no clue he was there.

    Really, Midoriya felt like laughing. This would have been hilarious, if it weren't for the fact that he had to deal with this. If Midoriya was in control of any body right now, he would be doubled over with laughter. Midoriya probably wouldn't be able to stop.

    Thinking about it for a second, he might mean sobbing instead of laughing. Wait, Present Mic had said something.

    “Sounds like a great idea to me,” Aizawa responded. Dang, Midoriya had no clue what this conversation was about. Either way, it probably didn't matter. Midoriya's main focus right now was trying to figure out a way to make Aizawa aware of the situation. If they could contact Saito and his family just one more time , maybe they could get this right.

     As Aizawa kept walking, with Midoriya trapped inside, Midoriya became aware of where they were going. They were approaching the parking lot.

    Which made sense, really. It was the end of the day, they were probably going back to their apartment. But Midoriya wasn't really concerned with this, because none of it had to do with his present situation. If he were in control of the whole matter, and wasn't indescribably terrified of being locked inside his teacher's body for the rest of his life, then Midoriya might be interested in eavesdropping.

    But really mattered was trying to find a way to contact Aizawa. He figured that struggling wouldn't work, considering that he had done that for a straight hour, with absolutely no progress (as far as he knew, he panicking the entire time, for all he knew, he was actually in control at that point).

    Then something cold touched his hand, and Midoriya was startled out of his thoughts. He focused on what his-- or rather, Aizawa's-- eyes were currently looking at. Oh, he had just grabbed the car door's handle. Midoriya felt himself get into the car, pulling on the seatbelt. He focused on his hearing, trying to see if anyone else was still there. He didn't hear a voice, so Present Mic was most likely gone.

    Midoriya decided to try out another method of alerting Aizawa to the issue. Simply asking him.

    ‘ Mr. Aizawa, can you hear me?’

    “What?” Aizawa said aloud. Midoriya mentally gasped. Of course, he had no actual way to inhale. But, this proved that there was hope! He could maybe break through Aizawa's thick skull with enough work. He tried again.

    ‘ I'm here, please listen.’

     He felt his eyes shift around, but overall, Aizawa didn't seem to notice or care. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and jammed one of them into the car's ignition. Damn, Midoriya probably shouldn't bother him now. If he startled Aizawa while he was driving, he might swerve, and kill them both.

    Considering that Midoriya now had a plan, he allowed himself to calm down even further and focus on his surroundings, instead of how everything will go wrong.

    Their hand moved to the radio, and a press of a button released music from the car's speakers.

    “Four, tres, two, uno,” the speakers blared. It was entirely too loud for Midoriya, and this wasn't even a song he recognised. Luckily, Aizawa turned the music down slightly. Considering they shared the same ears now, it must have been hurting him as well.

    “Listen up y'all, cause’ this is it,” the song continued. This really wasn't the genre Midoriya thought Aizawa would be into. Really, Midoriya couldn't imagine what he would listen to at all. Smooth jazz, maybe?  

    “The beat that I'm bangin’ is de-li-cious.” Actually, now that Midoriya thought about it, he recognised this song. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he thought he had heard it before. Wait, maybe he does know--

    “Fergalicious definition make them boys go loco,” the speakers rung out, Midoriya’s mind going still with shock.

     Oh my GOD Aizawa listens to Fergalicious. Wait, this isn't radio. WAIT, Aizawa has a CD with Fergalicious on it. Oh my god, no one will ever believe me.

     Now, Midoriya would absolutely be cackling if he were physically able. Not that there was anything wrong with him listening to music like this, but it was unexpected. Oh my god, it was unexpected.

    After Midoriya had finished metaphorically laughing until his sides metaphorically hurt, he slowly calmed himself back down. Now, this was amazing, but--

    “I be up in the gym, just working on my fitness he's my witness.”

    “Ooohee,” Aizawa continued, supplying the noise made by the accompanying singer that wasn't Fergie. Immediately, Midoriya fell back down into the rabbit hole of being unable to stop laughing. It got even worse when Aizawa legitimately began singing along to the song.

    “I'll be tasty tasty, I'll be laced with lacey, it's so tasty tasty, it'll make you crazy,” he sung.

    If Midoriya were in control of his lungs, he might have passed out from a lack of air.

    Now, say it were Present Mic singing along to Fergalicious. Midoriya wouldn't have batted an eyelash. But, dear god, this was so unlike his homeroom teacher, Midoriya was afraid he might burst one of Aizawa's organs.

    After a while, the song came to a close, and Midoriya was granted sweet relief from this glorious hell. Then suddenly, he noticed that the car had been at a stop for a good while. He focused on his surroundings, and came to the realization that they were at the apartment. Aizawa apparently lived really close. Though, Fergalicious was a 5 minute song.

    Midoriya felt their head turn towards the left, and another car pulled up into the parking spot beside the one Aizawa's car was currently parked in. Oh, that must be Mic.

    Now that it was late winter, and school was well beyond halfway over, the weather was slowly starting to improve. Midoriya had always preferred warm temperatures, he really just did not like the cold. Thankfully, Aizawa was wearing warm clothing. And even if he weren't, Midoriya supposed he would only ever be as cold as Aizawa was, because he didn't have his own nerve endings. Midoriya really hated not having his own body. It was bad enough to be in someone else's, but at least then he was in control. Now, he couldn't do anything when their body turned towards Present Mic's car. Midoriya watched him get out of the car, and he felt a smile on his face.

    “Hey, Shouta, you ready?” Mic said to him. Aizawa shut the car door behind him.

    “Yeah, I'm good,” Aizawa responded. Midoriya felt the grin on his face grow wider, and his eyelids drooped.

    “Y'know, Shouta, I really missed you,” Mic said. Aizawa snorted.

    “I was here the whole time, just in a different body,” Aizawa said.

    “Yeah, I know, it just felt, different, I guess. Really uncomfortable to see you just like, hanging around the apartment.”

    “You wouldn't even let me sit next to you on the couch,” Aizawa complained. Midoriya couldn't shake the feeling that he was intruding. It was fun to see Aizawa belt out Fergalicious like no one was watching, but now, Midoriya just felt like he was disrespecting the privacy Aizawa and Mic thought they had. Still, if he were to try and make them aware of his presence now, it would look incredibly strange to the handful of people lingering outside the building. He probably wouldn't be doing Aizawa a favor if all his neighbors thought he were going crazy. Midoriya resolved to just wait until they were inside and alone.

    “Yeah, like I said! Uncomfortable!” Present Mic retorted. “I didn't want you cuddling up next to me when you looked like my student!”

    Suddenly, Present Mic wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable. Midoriya detested that mental image. Maybe he should give the ‘taking over’ thing a try, right now.

    “Actually, yeah, you're right, I get your point,” Aizawa said with a shiver. “Alright, I'm gonna head up to the apartment. You coming?”

    “Not yet, I'm not,” Present Mic said cheekily. Midoriya felt Aizawa's face get warm.

    No. What? No. Midoriya must have heard him wrong. Please, he must have heard him wrong. Right. Okay, just to be sure, Midoriya needed to fix this. Right now.

    ‘ Hey, uh, Mr. Aizawa, I'm trapped in your body, please hear me,’

    Aizawa and Present Mic walked towards their building, hands entwined. Midoriya desperately tried to make his voice heard, to no avail.

    The two-- or three, really-- continued up, into an elevator, and into what Midoriya assumed was their apartment. It wasn't a bad place, to be honest. Kind of messy, but that was a given if Aizawa inhabited the place.

    Though, considering recent events, perhaps Midoriya didn't know his teacher as well as he thought. Midoriya didn't really care about Aizawa's choice of music at the moment, because both him and Present Mic were headed into what looked like a bedroom. He needed to stop this, dear god he needed to stop this.

    ‘ Hey no, quit that, Mr. Aizawa, listen to me, do literally anything else’

    “Hey, Hizashi, should I take a shower first? I feel really gross. It's been like two days,” Aizawa said.

    ‘ No, not that either, what the hell, no’

    “It's fine, Shouta, you can shower afterwards,” Mic said to him kindly. He smirked. “For now, though,” he trailed off. Mic moved forward, and softly kissed Aizawa.

    ‘ HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, ’ Midoriya mentally screeched.

    When Aizawa faltered, Present Mic moved his hands over to Aizawa's waist, and--

    “OH WHAT THE FUCK,” Aizawa shouted, grabbing at his head. Present Mic stepped forward in concern, moving to place a hand on his shoulder to steady him, but Midoriya backed up, holding his hands in front of him to keep Present Mic away.

    Wait. Midoriya backed away, and not Aizawa. Midoriya was in control.

    Somehow, the distress Midoriya was in at that moment was enough to break through, and he was able to take control.

    “Shouta, are you okay?” Mic asked, wanting to comfort him. But when he stepped forward again, Midoriya stepped back as well, tripping onto the floor.

    “Keep it in your pants you horny bastard!” Midoriya shouted at him. Present Mic looked like he was about to cry, so Midoriya steeled himself and tried to elaborate.

    Meanwhile, Aizawa was extremely confused.

    ‘ What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck-- ’

    He went on like this for some time. Midoriya took a second and tried to find the right words to explain.

    “Er, Present Mic, this is uh.” he glanced over at Mic's face, who was still struggling not to cry. “This is Midoriya, you're speaking to right now, and uh, yeah.”

    Suddenly, Present Mic stilled. He gazed numbly down at Midoriya, who was still on the floor, backed up against the wall.

    “You're…” Mic said in disbelief.

    “Midoriya Izuku, a 15 year old who is not interested in whatever the hell was about to happen?” Midoriya supplied helpfully.

    ‘ Oh no oh my god what have I done oh dear god what the hell why--’ Aizawa ranted mentally.

    “Oh my god, I am so fucking sorry ,” Mic whispered, his eyes wide. He still didn't move a muscle.

    “It's fine, you didn't know, I just really would not like to, uh, see, that.” Midoriya said. “Or, feel it, considering me and Mr. Aizawa now share nerve endings, apparently,” he continued, his voice rising an octave. Present Mic looked as if he were about to throw up.

    Midoriya could feel Aizawa's mental panicking, though it was difficult to separate it from his own. But, he was in front of two teachers right now, and he simply could not afford to break down. Then they would see something was wrong, and they'd look into it, and--

    Midoriya forced himself to take deep breaths and focus on the present.

    “Really, sensei, it's alright, you didn't know,” Midoriya said after a moment of silence. Mic said nothing in response, just stared at him with a pale face. Then, he spoke, still refusing to move from where he stood, his arms in front of him, slightly shaking.

    “I am incredibly sorry you had to experience, er, that, and it will never happen again, I am so sorry.”

    Then, Midoriya felt Aizawa's soul writhing in the back of his mind. Aizawa probably wouldn't have recognized it when Midoriya was freaking out, because he didn't know what to look for. Either way, it seemed like Aizawa wanted the body for a moment.

    “Alright, uh, I think Mr. Aizawa wants to be in control of his body. I'm gonna hand it over,” he said to Aizawa. “Just please, ah, keep your pants on.”

    Midoriya didn't really know what he was doing. Maybe if he were to--

    Aizawa's body slumped against the wall. Midoriya was still conscious, but all of his muscles were completely relaxed. He tried his best not to tense at all, and eventually, the body stood up without Midoriya trying to. He had successfully handed over control of the body.

    “Well,” Aizawa said. He breathed in deeply, and looked away. “That, was something. Uh, if you can hear me, Midoriya, I'm sorry that er--”

    ‘ It's fine,’ Midoriya thought to him.

    “Oh!” Aizawa said, startled. Present Mic looked concerned, and reached forward for a moment, but drew his hand back. He kept his arms firmly at his side.

    “Er, what’s wrong?” Mic asked.

    “Nothing, just apparently I can hear Midoriya think,” Aizawa said.

    “Oh dear god, what did you hear?” He said. Then, thinking better of it, Mic continued. “Wait, you know what? I don't want to know. I'm gonna go grade tests.” Mic walked past Aizawa, and into the hallway.

     ‘Wait!’ Midoriya called out mentally. He then realized Mic wouldn't hear him, and his dislike for this entire situation grew.

    “Wait,” Aizawa said, stopping him. Thank god for Aizawa. “Midoriya’s trying to say something. Mic had turned back to face them, and hearing this, he flinched and looked back down at the ground.

    ‘ First off, could you tell him that what happened wasn't his fault? It was just the equivalent of me walking in on, uh, you get the idea.’

     “Okay, he says, uh, him seeing all of that, was not your fault,” Aizawa said to Mic.

    “Okay… still, I'm sorry you had to see all of that,” Mic apologized for the umpteenth time.

    ‘ Second, could you ask him if I can change some of my answers before he grades my test?’

     “Midoriya, you can't change your test answers,” Aizawa replied with a sigh. Mic squinted in confusion, but he got the general idea of what the question was.

    “Yeah, no, sorry, kiddo.”

    Midoriya was grateful for his apologies, but in all reality, it wasn't his fault at all. And luckily, it all stopped before it became too bad. If Midoriya were ever forced into therapy, then he could just talk it out there, and he'd probably be fine.

    “What was that?” Aizawa asked sharply. Mic startled, and glanced behind him. Seeing his confusion, Aizawa elaborated. “No, sorry, Midoriya just mumbled something. Midoriya, what did you just say?”

    Oh, fuck. Midoriya really needed to get that mumbling habit under control. Still, though this situation was probably salvageable. He had a plan.

    “Oh! Is he, uh, you know, like--” Mic started, cutting himself off. He couldn't think of a way to ask if this had something to do with his mental health issues without alerting Midoriya to the fact that they were supposed to snoop around.

    As Midoriya was about to begin the plan, Aizawa said something and interrupted him.

    “Hey, kid, weird question, but do you know JSL?” He asked.

    ‘ No?’ Midoriya thought to him. Aizawa grinned.

    “Great!”

    Midoriya then felt his hands move in a variety of shapes. He could guess that it was most likely sign language. Once Aizawa lowered his hands, Mic signed back. They held a conversation for a few minutes, until Midoriya got bored.

    ‘ And anyway, the whole watching-and-feeling-you-guys-make-out thing wasn't the worst experience I've had today, ’ Midoriya thought to him, in an effort to move the conversation to a place where he could understand it. At least they had made an effort to keep Mic caught up. They were just blatantly having a secret conversation in front of him. Well, they kind of had the right to. There were definitely things he didn't want them knowing.

     “Ah, sorry Hizashi, Midoriya just said something,” Aizawa said. Mic looked over, interested. And slightly worried. Hm, that wasn't good.

    Midoriya repeated himself. ‘ I’ve seen worse things today than what just happened a few minutes ago.’

     “Midoriya has apparently seen worse things today,” Aizawa parroted. Then, he paled. “You saw me--”

    ‘ Yes, I saw you singing along to Fergalicious. It was amazing, thank you for that.’

     Aizawa inhaled, and then sighed heavily. “You know what? No one's gonna believe you.”

    “Anyone wanna tell me what's going on?” Present Mic interjected, now leaning against the bedroom's door. Aizawa walked over to the bed and sat down.

    ‘ Mr. Aizawa, could you please tell him about--’

     “Nope,” Aizawa said, to both Midoriya and Mic. He leaned back onto the bed, now laying down. “I'm going to bed.” He turned onto his side and grabbed a pillow.

    “Hey there, no no nope, you get off of the bed,” Mic scolded, walking over to push him off. Then, he stopped, holding his hands back. “Seriously though babe, you are not sleeping on this bed right now.”

    “For god's sake Hizashi, it isn't even Midoriya's body,” Aizawa complained, refusing to move

    ‘ For what's it's worth… I don't really want to touch that bed,’ Midoriya thought to Aizawa. He sat up and rubbed his temples, sighing.

    “I'm done. I'm done with today. I'm gonna go sleep on the couch, love you, Hizashi.” Aizawa got up from the bed.

    Mic flushed. “Shouta, there are children present!”

    Aizawa sighed once again, and walked out of the room. He walked through the hallway and into the living room. The old brown couch would once again be his bed for the night. He grabbed the one throw pillow on the couch, and leaned into the couch's right arm. Shifting slightly, trying to get comfortable, Aizawa curled into the fetal position.

    Meanwhile, Midoriya was desperately trying to contain his own thoughts to his mind. Now that it was silent, it was extremely difficult to stop his brain from running and churning out random thoughts. Some of which Aizawa most definitely should not overhear. However, Midoriya had prepared himself for a situation like this. Or at least, a situation in which his mind would be open to others. He had developed a foolproof method of keeping his thoughts blank. Midoriya had never had to try it before, but he was sure that it would do the job.

    ‘ No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no--’

     “Kid, what?” Aizawa said aloud.

    ‘ No no no no no no no no no--’

     “Are you… alright?”

    ‘ No blank no no no blank no grey red orange purple green magenta violet beige yellow red fuck already said red orange yellow green blue purple--’

    “ I assume you're trying to keep from mumbling?” Aizawa asked drily, done with keeping his eyes shut.

    ‘ Yes sorry red red red red Todoroki red red--’

    “ Jesus Christ,” Aizawa groaned. “Just, try to go to sleep Midoriya, I'm not going to judge you or anything.”

    ‘ Quirk red red orange grey yellow beat blue black blood Quirkless grey sorry sorry sorry sorry fuck shit bitch damn’

     Aizawa decided to just stop talking while Midoriya tried to figure this out. He was obviously very uncomfortable, and Aizawa could relate. He couldn't blame him for panicking, this was a difficult situation for everyone involved. Still though, if this kept up, neither of them would get any sleep. But, Aizawa had an idea, and he figured it was worth a try.

    ‘ Bruise cut grey brown orange Todoroki burn slash grey grey blank’

    “Oh, you stopped,” Aizawa said aloud. “Or at least I can't really hear you anymore.” This, of course, was a lie. But Midoriya would never calm down if he didn't do something. Aizawa wasn't particularly concerned with hiding his own thoughts, considering that concealing such things was valued in the hero industry. Quirks related to the mind were somewhat common, and heroes were trained to resist them. Eventually, in the third year, if Aizawa remembered correctly, UA would cover that unit, and Midoriya would probably great at the whole thing.

    ‘ Oh thank god I don't have to keep spamming my mind with words’

     And soon enough, Aizawa legitimately couldn't hear was Midoriya was thinking, which was nice. Aizawa really hated this whole situation. Now would be the perfect time to ask Midoriya about his mental health, and the cuts, because he quite literally couldn't hide anything or run. Still though, Aizawa couldn't do that. Invasion of privacy and all.

    Then, he realized something. He was supposed to talk to Midoriya today. He had planned to do it directly after they both got their bodies back. Then, Midoriya skipped detention, so it took longer to get everyone gathered and ready. But of course, Midoriya had never woken up.

    Aizawa now knows why that is, but it still irked him that it had gotten put off for so long. He supposed he could discuss the matter now, even though All Might wasn't there. But, once again, it would be cruel to do that when all of his thoughts were out there.

    And anyway, Aizawa knew for sure that he was safe, and wasn't harming himself. He was only more worried, though, because he had seen some concerning things these past few days. Todoroki attempting to alert Aizawa, all of Midoriya's mumbles, and what he had overheard just a few minutes ago. ‘Cut,’ ‘beat,’ ‘blood,’ ‘burn,’ ‘slash.’

    Aizawa couldn’t help being extremely concerned. As soon as everyone was back in the right body, Aizawa needed to talk to him about his mental health. For now, there was nothing he could do.

    He couldn't even do work for now, because he didn't want to wake up the kid. He wasn't quite sure how this whole thing worked, but most likely if he moved around too much, Midoriya would wake up. He should probably just start actually trying to sleep so that they can get Midoriya the hell out of body.

    God, this sucked.

Chapter Text

     Midoriya startled awake, a gasp on his lips. He had no clue what the nightmare was about, and he was kind of glad. Whenever he remembered his nightmares, he usually couldn't fall back asleep. Now, though, Midoriya figured he should probably just try to calm down and go to bed. First, though, he was going to go to the commons to get a glass of water. Midoriya opened his eyes and sat up.

    Upon seeing that he was in fact not in his room, Midoriya began to worry. He glanced around again, checking to see if he recognised any of the furniture, but it was too dark to see anything. A nightmare might have woken him up in the middle of a sleepover in someone else's room. That had happened before, and he usually woke up pretty disorientated. One time, he thought he was being kidnapped, and drop-kicked Mineta. That got him in trouble, because everyone assumed that he just took the opportunity to drop-kick Mineta.

    But Midoriya didn't remember any sleepover invitations, and he could definitely tell this wasn't his room. He wasn't even on a bed. It felt like a couch, or a futon, or something like that.

    Wait, was he in Todoroki's room? He had a futon. But they had been avoiding each other all day, so that didn't really make sense. Unless they talked about it at some point? Midoriya didn't think he would have been ready to just go sleep in Todoroki's room again. And why was he even on the futon, Todoroki kept a sleeping bag for him. Wait…

    Oh dear god, what has he done.

    Midoriya stood up from the futon, and began to pace around, avoiding the indistinct shapes of furniture. Okay, so there was a chance he slept with Todoroki. And by slept, Midoriya meant--

    He blushed. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he paced. Wait, oh hell, these aren't even his pants. Yeah, his first hunch was correct. He had definitely slept with Todoroki.

    Though, in Midoriya's opinion, that wasn't really that bad. Actually, pretty nice. Midoriya did really like him. And once he was less sleepy and disoriented, maybe he could remember it a bit better? Where even was Todoroki, though? They were apparently at that point in their relationship, so it probably wouldn't be a big deal if Midoriya went up to him and kissed him. Man, kissing Todoroki…

    ‘ For the love of god, STOP, MIDORIYA,’ Aizawa thought at him as forcefully as he could.

    In a flash, Midoriya realized what was actually going on. He wasn't at Todoroki’s, he was at Aizawa and Present Mic's apartment. And he was sharing a body with Aizawa, instead of sharing a bed with--

    ‘ Kid, I really don't want to hear about this,’ Aizawa reminded him.

    “Sorry!” Midoriya said aloud, blushing. He sat back down onto the couch.

    ‘ Why are you even awake?’ Aizawa asked. ‘ I don't know what time it is, but it's too early.’

     “No reason!” Midoriya quickly said. Heroes didn't have nightmares, and he didn't want to look weak.

     ‘Who the hell told you heroes don't have nightmares?’ Aizawa said. ‘ I'd have a hard time finding a hero that didn't have nightmares.’

     Oh god, Aizawa heard that. Every minute, Midoriya hates this more and more.

    “I didn't really… want you to hear that,” Midoriya mumbled.

    ‘ Yeah, I guessed. But sadly, I can't help overhearing it, so is what it is. But really, Midoriya, it's alright to have bad dreams sometimes,’ Aizawa reassured. ‘ Do you… want to talk about it?’

     “Nope, I'm fine,” Midoriya said through gritted teeth. He really didn't appreciate his own brain leaking all of his thoughts to everyone. Would've been nice if he could, you know, keep his secrets to himself? But every fucking time he thinks about anything, it's just out there in the open. Like one of those psychiatrists with their brain-picking mind quirks.

    ‘ Psychiatrists aren't legally allowed to use their quirks in that way, if that makes you feel better.’

    Aizawa knew he was pushing it, and he should probably quit responding whenever he heard something he wasn't supposed to hear, but pushing Midoriya towards therapy was worth it.

    “Okay! I'm going to bed. It's been fun, but I’m not a big fan of this. Night,” Midoriya stated, flopping down onto the couch. Midoriya wanted to--

    He felt like--

    He couldn't stop--

    He wouldn't let himself think about anything he needed to keep secret. Which was very difficult, considering all the thoughts that were currently bouncing around in his brain.

    But he could do it, he really could. He just had to focus.

__________

    Now that it was actually time for Aizawa to start getting up, he found that he was apparently in control of the body as of now. Midoriya must be asleep. Finally, Aizawa was alone again. Most likely not for long, but it was nice. He wasn't afraid of his thoughts leaking out into Midoriya's consciousness, so it didn't really make much of a difference. But still, it was nice to know nobody was watching him. Aizawa really wanted to go talk to his boyfriend, he really missed him. He wasn't going to try anything, of course, because that was trauma waiting to happen.

    Still though… maybe they could hold hands? Aizawa stood up from the couch, the furniture now visible from the daylight leaking through the window. He stretched, and walked over to the hallway. He wasn't really used to getting this much sleep at night. Usually, Mic woke him up when he got out of bed. Of course he likes to wake up at around 4 am, which is entirely too early for Aizawa. It was probably around 5:30? Either way, he should start getting ready so he wouldn't be late.

    After washing his face, brushing his teeth, and cautiously changing his clothes, Aizawa felt much less like a trash can. He was pretty sure that Present Mic was avoiding him, because it was pretty impossible to not run into each other in this small of a space. It would have hurt Aizawa if he didn't know that Mic was most likely avoiding Midoriya and not him.

    Still, Aizawa missed him. It had only been a few days since he had been in his body, alone, with everything as it should be, but to Aizawa, it felt like an eternity. Conversation with Mic had been tense and concise. He couldn't effectively teach like this, and he couldn't do any hero work either. All he could think about was being uncomfortable and how concerning Midoriya’s behavior was.

    Speaking of which, he really needed to talk to Midoriya about what he had seen and heard. But , he couldn't do that until they were both back in their bodies. But, they couldn’t get their bodies back until Saito was available. And so they were stuck until Saito's parents were off of work. And so, they had an entire day of waiting around and being uncomfortable.

    Unless he could somehow convince them to get over to the school earlier. Or even just get Monoma to copy Saito's quirk while Aizawa waits outside the daycare. Wait, scratch that last one. He can’t exactly pull Monoma out of school so he can go to the daycare.

    Still, the whole ‘convincing Saito's parents to leave work’ idea had some merit. Aizawa didn't think he could handle another day of this, and the much needed conversation with Midoriya shouldn't be put off for much longer.

    He heard Mic in the kitchen, maybe he'll have an idea. Hopefully he wouldn't start running as soon as he approached him. Aizawa stood up from the bed in his bedroom, and walked through the hallway and the livingroom to make it to the kitchen. He yawned as he walked in, still exhausted. Aizawa was no morning person.

     The pleasant smell of frying eggs wafted through the air. Mic stood in front of the stove, most likely preparing breakfast. He was still in the clothes he had been sleeping in, sweatpants and a t-shirt. He was wearing headphones, and whistling softly to a song he couldn't hear. He danced along to whatever he was listening to, and flipped an egg. God, Aizawa loved him.

    “Hey, Hizashi,” Aizawa said as he walked over. Mic paused, and turned to look at him with a grin.

    “Morning, babe, it--” Mic stiffened. “Sorry Midoriya! I mean uh, morning, Shouta!”

    Aizawa sighed, shaking his head. “He isn't even awake yet, Hizashi. And somehow I think he'd survive you saying the word ‘babe’.”

    “Yeaaah, I just--” Mic cut himself off. “Wait, he isn't awake yet? It works that way?”

    “Hell if I know,” Aizawa said with a shrug. “Either way, he’s really quiet.”

    “Hey, don't swear, he might still hear it,” Mic protested.

    “Fuck. Shit. Damn,” Aizawa said with a shit-eating grin. Mic stared at him with a deadpan look.

    ‘ What's with all the swears?’ Midoriya thought, finally waking up. Aizawa's grin dropped.

    “Sorry, kid,” Aizawa said.

    “See? Shouta? This is why you don't swear in front if the children. What if he picks it up?” Mic said.

    “I swear to god, you teach teenagers. You know very well much worse has come out of their mouths,” Aizawa replied.

    ‘ Please tell him I'm swearing violently right now,’ Midoriya requested.

    Aizawa gasped. “Midoriya, you can't say that!”

    “Wait, what'd he say? Oh my god, what did you teach him?” Mic demanded.

    “I shouldn't say it,” Aizawa said, turning away. “And anyway, I have an idea.”

    Mic immediately became more serious, under the impression the conversation had shifted to a topic that required less humor.

    “An idea that needs to be discussed in sign?” Mic asked.

    “No, I just wanted to ask Saito's family if they could take some time off work to come over to UA early. Getting everyone back to where they need to be is something I would like to do with haste.”

    ‘ Could not agree more, this is my personal hell,’ Midoriya agreed. Aizawa snorted, and Mic gave him a weird look.

    “Isn't… it Saturday?” Mic asked, confused.

    “Oh, don't get my hopes up, Hizashi,” Aizawa said, pulling out his phone. “Apparently it is,” he said in surprise upon realizing that it was in fact Saturday.

    “Hizashi, text Nedzu in the group chat and tell him to call up Saito's family! I am going to UA!” Aizawa declared, his mood improved greatly. Things would finally be back as they should be, and life could go back to usual. At least until he got around to the Midoriya thing, but at least he would get to shower .

    ‘ The teachers have a group chat?’ Midoriya asked. Aizawa gave Present Mic a quick peck on the cheek, and then ignored the scandalised look on his face.

    “Midoriya is right there !” Mic said, incredulously.

    ‘ The Fergalicious was worse. And anyway, can I join the teachers’ group chat?’ Midoriya thought.

    Ignoring all of this, Aizawa left the kitchen, jammed his feet into his shoes, and left the apartment. He would finally be alone in his body.

__________

    Todoroki really wasn't having the best morning. He both came out and confessed to Midoriya yesterday, and they haven't talked since. That was mostly because Todoroki was avoiding him, and most likely wasn't because Midoriya hated him. Now it was Saturday, and he probably wouldn't talk to him for the rest of the weekend. Monday was going to suck so hard.

    He had wanted to talk to Midoriya after classes, and after he had a chance to gather his thoughts. Lunch would have worked too, but he just disappeared as soon as they left for lunch. Midoriya was probably avoiding him. That's alright; Todoroki hadn't expected Midoriya to actually like him. He just hoped that their friendship could still be salvaged. Last night, before going to bed, Todoroki tried to let him know that he wanted to talk.

    He had texted: ‘Hey, Izuku, I know you probably don't want to talk right now, but whenever you feel up to it, I'd like to talk’

   Waking up in the morning, Todoroki saw there was no response. And that was fine, it really was. Just, Todoroki really hoped they could still be friends after this.

    He didn't really feel like leaving his room today. But, maybe hanging out with other friends would make him feel better. He reached over to his nightstand, to where his phone was plugged in.

     ‘Uraraka, do you want to watch a movie?’

    ‘sure! should i text iida?’

    ‘No, it's alright, I’ll ask him.’

    Todoroki switched over to message Iida.

     ‘Do you feel like watching a movie with me and Uraraka?’

    ‘Alright, should we meet in the commons?’

    ‘Sounds good to me.’

   ‘See you then.’

    There, now Todoroki had plans with friends. That should prevent him from lying around in his room all day. As long as he distracted himself until Midoriya felt like talking to him, he'd be fine.

__________

    Eventually, just a little bit before noon, everyone was ready to try to fix Midoriya and Aizawa's bodies for the last time. Like always, the teachers stood behind the school, waiting for Aizawa to show up. Saito and his family were there as well, somewhat tired of the constant back and forth. Monoma, of course, was off by himself, trying to psyche himself up.

    Aizawa sped into the area, almost at a jog. “Okay, are you ready, Monoma?” he asked. Monoma walked closer, and nodded, a determined smile on his face. Recovery Girl was there in the group of teachers, next to a stretcher that held Midoriya's uninhabited body.

    “It's still worrying that young Midoriya hasn't woken up,” All Might said to himself. Present Mic glanced over to him.

    “ Someone hasn't been very active in the group chat,” Mic said. “Basic summary, both Midoriya and Aizawa are trapped in Aizawa's body.”

    All Might grimaced. “That… can't be fun.”

    “Nah, can't imagine it would be,” Mic responded. In front of them, Monoma had already copied Saito's quirk. He walked over to Aizawa, and cracked his knuckles.

    “Okay! Hopefully, this time no one will pass out. I think I'm getting better at this quirk,” Monoma said. He widened his stance, focusing completely on trying to move Midoriya's essence into the empty husk lying on the stretcher. He breathed in, slowly, and then out. Aizawa stumbled, but stayed conscious.

    Midoriya sat up on the stretcher. “Oh my god, I'm finally back,” he whispered. “Sweet body, how I missed you.”

    Aizawa sighed with relief. Then, he paused. “You know what, just going to get this out of the way before everyone leaves-- Anyone still trapped in here, speak now.” He waited for a moment, making a show out of holding his finger up. When he heard no demented screaming, he decided he was probably alone.

    “Alright! This has been great, but I'm gonna go,” Midoriya said, getting up off of the stretcher. Jesus Christ, he needed a shower. “Thank you Monoma, these have been the worst days of my life, and I hope to never experience anything like this ever again.” He began to walk back to the dorms, when Aizawa stopped him.

    “Wait.” Aizawa walked over to where Midoriya stood. “You still need to have your detention,” he said. With a glance over at All Might, making sure the other teacher got his intention, he continued. “Meet me at 2 PM in my classroom.”

    Midoriya sighed. “And if I skip this one?”

    “Then we have the detention in the middle of the dorm room,” Aizawa stated drily. Midoriya grimaced. Yeah, he wasn't getting out of it this time. Still, this couldn't bring down his spirits. He could go shower and change and not be incredibly uncomfortable while doing something as simple as breathing. Really, this detention wasn't a big deal. As long as Aizawa didn't bring up the note.

    ‘ Wait no hell don't think about it he-- ’

    Then Midoriya realized he was back in his body, and his mind was his own again. With a manic grin unsuited to someone who was just assigned detention, Midoriya walked back to his dorm room.

__________

    And then Midoriya realized he could go back to cutting. He would probably regret doing it on his forearms, but they would most likely heal before long. And besides, it was winter, and long sleeves were to be expected. After bandaging up his arms, he would be fine. Midoriya was finally back.

__________

    Well, it was finally time. Aizawa sat in his classroom, waiting. All Might was there too, sitting on the same side of his desk. The two sat in silence, staring at the desk as they waited. Aizawa mindlessly played with a pen lying on his desk. Clicking it, taking it apart, putting it together, and clicking it again. Needless to say, the silence was mind-numbingly dull.

    “He should be here in a few minutes,” Aizawa said aloud. “If not, we have to go find him. Can't put this off any longer.”

    “It's only been a few days since you found out,” All Might consoled. “And you couldn't exactly do anything at the time.”

    “I guess you're right,” Aizawa said, sighing. He settled back into his office chair, staring at the back wall of the classroom. All of the seats were empty, of course. Aizawa had moved two of the students’ chairs over to his desk, to where there were two chairs on one side and a single chair on the other. Aizawa didn't exactly have a psych degree, so he had no clue what the best chair configuration would be. Most likely, it wouldn't matter, but he couldn't help worrying about every aspect of this conversation.

    “What do you think we should say to him?” All Might asked after a moment of silence.

    “Well, we definitely have to talk about the cuts,” Aizawa said. “And I don't remember if I told you, but Todoroki came up to me the other day.” All Might looked over, to show that he was listening. “After some failed attempt at informing me through a note, he told me that Midoriya is apparently doing worse than anyone knows.”

    All Might furrowed his brows. “Young Todoroki? Wouldn't expect him to approach you and tell you about this.”

    “Yeah. I think the main thing we should do is try and make sure he gets some form of help. Advise him to talk to someone. I looked into it, and apparently Hound Dog is the school's counselor. Though it is my job as a homeroom teacher to be a counselor in that way..” Aizawa said, trailing off.

    “He can never have too much support,” All Might responded.

    “True. But I think he would open up to you the easiest out of all of us,” Aizawa said.

    All Might sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “Er, yes, most likely. Still, I am no professional, and Hound Dog most likely would make a better therapist.”

    “Oh yeah, no doubt. Still though, it's worth a shot. We have to convince him to get in therapy before anything else. And it would probably be a good idea to get him to tell us what's wrong.”

    “Right,” All Might said. “How was he doing yesterday?”

    “Well, when we first realized he was there, he was really upset. He calmed down pretty easily, though, and seemed to be fine until a nightmare woke him up in the middle of the night.”

    “That doesn't sound too good… Do you have any clue what caused him to be so upset?” All Might asked.

    “Er, yes,” Aizawa said, not wanting to explain. All Might blinked, waiting for him to elaborate. He sighed. “Mic and I were,” he coughed. “Being rather intimate, and Midoriya was distressed enough to take over.”

    “Oh,” All might said simply. “Well, I'm sorry that happened. That… doesn't sound like much fun for anyone involved. Including me, because I have to hear about it.”

    “Just don't let Midnight know something like that happened,” Aizawa sighed. “She'd never let me hear the end of it.”

    “How much did he see? I'd like to put off the sex-ed unit for as long as possible,” All Might said.

    “Are you guys talking about the time I watched you and Present Mic make out?” Midoriya asked, walking into the room. “Because if my punishment is reliving the experience, I think I would just prefer to be expelled.”

    All Might sputtered, and spewed blood onto Aizawa's desk. Aizawa yanked a handful of tissues from a tissue box sitting on his desk. He offered them to All Might, who began to sheepishly clean up the blood.

    “Once again, sorry about that,” Aizawa said. Midoriya walked past the desk where they sat, and over to his desk. “Wait, Midoriya. Come sit over here.”

    “Isn't this going to be detention? Where I sit without talking for an hour, and then leave?” Oh man, I was right about the one armed push-ups, wasn’t I?”

    All Might finished soaking up the blood which would most definitely stain the desk. “Young Midoriya,” he said gravely, looking at the boy. “We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

     Midoriya chuckled weakly. “We need to talk? Should… I be worried?”

    He had absolutely no clue what this could be about. Test scores, grades, nothing really jumped out at him as concerning. Then, Midoriya wanted to facepalm. Aizawa was in his body for a day, this was about the cuts. Oh, thank god he figured out a story. He was prepared for this, he could do this, as long as he didn't break down.

    “No, Midoriya, this'll be good for you. We just want to know, is there… anything wrong? Me and All Might have been concerned about your mental health. Do you want to talk about whatever is bothering you?”

    “There most definitely is something wrong,” Midoriya said, solemnly. “My first kiss was with Present Mic. But beyond that, no.”

    All Might choked again, and Aizawa wordlessly handed him a tissue.

    “Look, I think I know what this is about.” Midoriya leaned forward in his seat. “A few days ago, you saw my scars, right?”

    Midoriya wanted to break down sobbing, but he could hold it back. He could do it. Just had to get through this conversation.

    “Yes. They were hard to see over the scars caused by your quirk, but eventually I did. Am I correct in assuming the origin of those cuts?” Aizawa asked.

    “You can talk to us, young Midoriya. We won't judge you,” All Might cut in.

    “I was bullied a lot as a kid,” Midoriya began. He had to keep it together. “And for a while, I felt pretty sad. At one point, I decided to try cutting. I did it a couple of times, but stopped as soon as the bullying did. I haven't done it since maybe the 6th grade, and I don't plan on cutting again.”

    Midoriya leaned back in his seat, confident that his story would hold up, and eager to get out of the room so he could break down. “So… One-armed push ups now?”

    Aizawa was reluctant to believe that this was the truth. There was always the chance that Todoroki was being dramatic, but he really didn't think that was likely. Still, those scars did look old enough for his explanation to make sense.

    “After we're done, you can leave. But first, Midoriya. Are you telling the complete truth? All we know is that the cuts are over your quirk scars,” Aizawa pressed. All Might inhaled sharply, remembering what Aizawa wasn't aware of.

    “Yes, I'm telling the truth. Can I go now?” Midoriya wanted to run. He needed to run. If he started crying now, everything would be over.

    “And you said that you haven't cut since the 6th grade?” All Might asked.

    “Give or take a few years, yeah. I'm not exactly sure when, but it's been at least a couple of years.”

    “And the cuts were on top of your quirk scars?” All Might continued. Midoriya froze, realizing where this was going. He was screwed.

    “All we know is that they were made some time after your quirk developed. You must've been at least 3 or 4,” Aizawa said, oblivious to the staring contest going on between All Might and Midoriya.

    Midoriya opened his mouth, and then clamped it shut. All Might knew he was lying. Okay, okay, don't break down. This was still salvageable. He could say it was after the entrance exams, he thought he had failed. He could do this. He could do this.

    “Which would make sense, except for the fact that you developed your quirk in the middle of the entrance exam,” All Might said grimly.

    He couldn't do this.

    “ What ?” Aizawa said in disbelief. “No one has ever gotten their quirk that late in life. All Might, how do you know this?”

    Midoriya stared at his feet, his eyes shut closed. He was trying desperately not to cry.

    “I met him a long time before his quirk developed. He discovered my true form, and so I decided to train him. When his quirk appeared out of nowhere at the end of the exam, it was a complete surprise,” All Might answered.

    Okay, that was apparently the story he had to go with. Midoriya didn't know why All Might would reveal this now. No one except him, his mom, and Bakugo knew that his quirk is new. Why would he do this?

    “So you mean to tell me,” Aizawa said stiffly. “That you have had this quirk for just barely a year?”

    “I'm sorry,” Midoriya stammered, barely holding on. “Please don't kick me out, I-I can still be a hero! I know I'm behind everyone else, but, but, my grades are doing okay, and I'll work really hard, and--”

    “Midoriya,” Aizawa said, stopping him. “I’m not going to kick you out of UA.”

    He tried to calm his breathing, and play his part. He had to be a good actor, and convince them he was okay. He just, he had to, he can do this.

    “I’m just amazed that you’re at the top of your class when all of your peers have at least 10 years of experience on you. Midoriya, that's insane ,” Aizawa said, leaning back in his chair.

    Midoriya sat there silently, still staring at his shoes. He had to grow really fast in order to catch up with everyone else, but, he was only here now because of the help other people had given him. Without Gran Torino, he would still be destroying his body with every punch. Without All Might, he wouldn't have his quirk at all. When you considered that, Midoriya should be much better than he his. He was wasting all of the work that his mentors had put into him. He was a failure of a successor.

    “But really, young Midoriya, please tell us the truth,” All Might said, bringing the topic of the conversation back to where it originally was. “Are you feeling okay?”

    “Well, right now, I-I, no, I don't, I'm not really enjoying,” he gestured to the both of them, now looking up. “This,” he continued. “But, the last time I cut was after the entrance exam, I swear!”

    Aizawa leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk. “Are you comfortable saying why you did it, kid?”

    “I-I, uh, I don't really--”

    “Please, young Midoriya, we just want to help you,” All Might said gently.

    Midoriya was close to giving up. He wanted to just break down and cry. But, if they knew how bad he really was doing, he would be forcefully hospitalized. He would be watched. He would be put into therapy, his mind picked apart without his consent. They would tell his mom. He wouldn't be able to keep training to be a hero. And worst of all, he wouldn't be able to die.

    No, Midoriya couldn't tell the truth. At least not all of it.

    “I just-- Okay,” he relented. “I thought I failed the test, and I felt the urge, so I did it. The addiction never really goes away, and so I just, I just,” he cut himself off.

    All Might gazed at him with a sad expression on his face.

    “Is there anything else you want to tell us?,” Aizawa asked. Midoriya shook his head.

    “Please know that we're here for you,” All Might said to him. “And really, we would like you to consider talking to Hound Dog. He is the school's guidance counselor, and I think he would be a great resource for you.”

    Midoriya forced a small smile onto his face, hoping to god it was believable. “I'm thankful that you guys care enough about me to make sure I’m okay. Back at my other schools, none of my teachers intervened when the bullying got bad. But really, I think I'm okay now.”

    “There's no shame in needing help, Midoriya. But if you truly feel alright, you can leave.”

    Midoriya stood up, thanking every deity he could think of. He made it through, and he had convinced them that he was okay. He did it.

    “Wait,” Aizawa said. “Midoriya, could I see the old cuts on your arms?”

    He still needed to follow up on Todoroki's warning. Most likely, he had been exaggerating, but Aizawa needed to be sure. Most likely, if Midoriya were still cutting, it wouldn't be on his arms. However, Aizawa had no intention of having someone check all of his limbs. He just wanted to check and make sure one last time.

    Midoriya's smile faltered. He had new cuts. Made just an hour ago. Most likely, taking off the bandages would open them back up. If they saw his arms, all of his work would be for nothing. It would immediately open up another string of questions, and Midoriya probably wouldn't be believed after lying twice. He pulled his arms in close to himself, rubbing them in order to comfort himself, and flinched when he felt the wounds reopen. They were bleeding again.

    And the flinch let Aizawa knew something was up.

    “Well, I don't, I don't really like people looking at them,” Midoriya said.

    “We just would like to see,” All Might said gently. He was concerned, as well.

    “No, I'm sorry, I can't,” Midoriya said, turning to walk away. When Aizawa stood up, Midoriya began to walk faster. He wasn't convincing them, they knew, they were going to hospitalize him, he needed to get out of here.

    “Midoriya, we aren't done yet,” Aizawa said. Midoriya continued to back up, closer to the door.

    “I'm sorry, young Midoriya, but we really need to see your arms,” All Might apologized. Aizawa was tempted to just run over and pull back his sleeve, but he really shouldn't do that. He slowly approached Midoriya, and with every step he took, the boy moved back as well.

    “I can't, please don't, I,” Midoriya stammered. He reached behind him for the doorknob, and Aizawa took a step back, trying to keep him from running.

    “Midoriya, you're still in detention, and you're not allowed to leave,” Aizawa reminded him. Midoriya’s breathing became labored, and his eyes were unfocused. He needed to keep his arms a secret. “I won't force you to show us,” Aizawa said. “I really just don't think that you're telling the truth.”

    “I am, I am, I swear! I didn't cut!” Midoriya promised, his voice growing louder. He held out his arms in front of him in a placating manner, trying to keep the two teachers away.

    The movement of his arms caused one of his sleeves to slide down. Not far, but far enough.

    All Might stood up, and walked over, pulling the sleeve the rest of the way down tentatively. “Oh, Izuku…” he whispered. Blood had soaked through the bandages, showing distinct lines across his wrists. The bandages were almost completely soaked through, with barely any white visible. Aizawa reached out, and tugged down the other sleeve. Midoriya didn't move, blink, or breathe. His other arm looked much the same.

    “I didn't… I didn't cut,” Midoriya whispered.

    Aizawa sighed. “Come on, Midoriya, let's rewrap your arms.” He walked Midoriya back over to his desk, and pulled out a first aid kit. Midoriya stood there numbly, his arms at his side. He had failed. They knew. Tears leaked from his eyes, and he stared blankly at the desk.

    All Might pulled him into a hug, as Midoriya began to shudder through a sob. He didn't want this. He didn't want anyone to know. He didn't want to be hugged, he didn’t want therapy, he just wanted to die. But now, they knew, and they'd be watching. He couldn't wait until spring. He needed to do something soon, before his chance was gone forever.

    Aizawa pulled out gauze and ace bandages from the first aid kid. All Might stepped back so that they could fix up Midoriya's arms. When he kept his arms at his side, Aizawa sighed.

    “Kid, we really should rewrap your arms. Did you disinfect them before you bandaged the cuts?” Aizawa asked. Midoriya didn't respond, still looking at the floor. Aizawa gently grabbed his arm, after a moment, and pulled back his sleeve to the elbow. He found the end of the bandage, and began unraveling it.

    All Might winced as he looked at the damage underneath. He had of course, seen so much worse, but he couldn't stop thinking about the source of his injuries. He wanted to press further, keep asking what was wrong, but Midoriya seemed exhausted. He wasn't entirely sure how to proceed.

    Aizawa discarded the soaked bandages, and pulled out a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide from the first aid kit. But after looking closer at the still bleeding cuts, he set the bottle back down.

    “Alright, this needs Recovery Girl,” Aizawa stated.

    “That… actually might require stitches,” All Might said, looking closer. He sighed, and gazed sadly at Midoriya, who was still avoiding eye contact.

    “Come on, let's go,” Aizawa said, packing his supplies back into the first aid kit. When Midoriya didn't move, Aizawa glanced over at him waiting. “Look, kid, we've gotta take you to Recovery Girl.”

    Midoriya stayed silent, staring at the ground. After a moment, though, he stood up. Aizawa placed the kit back into his desk. Midoriya began walking towards the door, All Might following him.

    The three walked in silence for a while, making their way through the empty hallways. Aizawa kept glancing at him, and Midoriya hated this. He really did.

    At least they still didn't know the full extent of how bad it was. Midoriya had kept the suicidal ideation to himself, and all the attempts were secret. If he didn't reveal any more of his hand, then he could still kill himself before anyone would be able to stop him.

    Okay, now he needed to gather his thoughts. He needed to figure out what he needed to say to everyone. They didn't know about his attempts. They didn't even know he was suicidal at all. But, he was still most likely being watched, though. He had to be careful.

    And now, Aizawa knew that his quirk was relatively new. Midoriya cursed his luck, wishing that All Might had never revealed it. Bakugo hadn't said much about his quirk when he first saw it, and so absolutely no one knew, except for All Might and his mom. Midoriya had tried to keep the secret just as well as he kept All Might's secrets.

    But now Aizawa knew. And it only made him look even weaker. But, Midoriya thought, consoling himself, soon enough he wouldn't have to worry about that. Mirio would be a better hero than he ever could have been. And, it was only fair, considering that it was Midoriya's fault Mirio lost his quirk in the first place.

     No, don't think that, you can't break down yet, focus, think of a plan

    For a while, Midoriya thought. They walked into an elevator and back out. They were on the first floor now, close to Recovery Girl's office. He would have been worried, afraid of opening up even further. But he wasn't scared,  because now he had a plan.

     I've had a cutting addiction for a long time, and I feel like I have to do it even when I'm not even sad. It's an addiction like any other, even if I’m not depressed, I still have to do it.

     That's what he would tell them. And, of course, it rang true the slightest bit. Midoriya still cut even when he felt okay. He was suicidal, though, and he was depressed, so the majority of his explanation was a lie.

    And after he was finished explaining, someone would ask:

    ‘But you don't have to do it! We'll help you through your addiction!’

    Then he'd throw out a handful of his razors into the trash, throw them a sad smile, and he'd be well on his way to “recovery.”

    The next part of the plan, of course, involved getting out of this situation as fast as possible.

    A quick talk with Mirio, give him a present, and Midoriya would be ready. He could do this. Only another few days at most, and it would be over.

__________

    This whole walk was incredibly uncomfortable. It had been a solid 10 minutes, and it really just sucked, in Midoriya's opinion. All Might just wouldn't stop glancing over at him, pity and concern in his eyes. Midoriya resented that look of pity. Aizawa looked at him that way, though he wasn't as obvious about it.

     This was why Midoriya didn't want anyone knowing he self harmed. Now he was the weak student, the one that needed to be protected. What kind of symbol of peace would he make if he couldn’t protect himself? All Might really had made a mistake when he had chose Midoriya.

    “Don't say things like that, my boy,” All Might said sadly. Midoriya jolted, realizing that once again his habit of mumbling had ruined him. Goddamnit, he didn't want anyone knowing what he was thinking.

    “Fine,” Midoriya responded stiffly. But you know it's true, he didn't say.

    Aizawa looked over again, wondering what he had said. All Might met his gaze and shook his head. Aizawa shrugged in response and turned back.

    They were almost at Recovery Girl's office, now, they only had to walk a bit longer. Midoriya could see the door.

    He knew that this would be uncomfortable, and invasive, and he would have to lie through his teeth just to get through it. Which wouldn't be easy, considering that he would be working against three pro heroes.

    But then, what was even the point? Even if they did find out everything , Midoriya could outrun everyone in the building. As long as he surprised them long enough for Midoriya to get out of Aizawa's scarf's range, no one could stop him. So, that was a decent backup plan. Run, hide, and end it all.

    Still though, he would prefer to go about it with his first plan. He needed to talk to Mirio before anyone else. Then, he would be free.

    “We're here,” Aizawa announced. Midoriya was jolted out of his thoughts. He needed to put all of his focus into the task ahead. That, and make sure that the door was unlocked.

    ...Though, there are windows, if need be. As long as he survived the fall long enough to get the hair to Mirio. No matter how much he wanted to end his life, he respected One for All too much to let the quirk die.

    Aizawa opened the door, and when Recovery Girl saw them, she walked over.

    “What has Midoriya done now,” she sighed. She jolted, seeing the damage done to his wrists. “Oh, poor boy,” she whispered. She turned and started walking back into her office. “Come now, we need to get you patched up.”

    When Midoriya didn't move, All Might placed a hand on his shoulder.

    “Let's go, young Midoriya,” he said softly. Midoriya walked numbly over to where Recovery Girl stood, waiting. Aizawa and All Might followed him in, closing the door behind them. Aizawa nodded at the other teacher and waited by the door, effectively trapping Midoriya in. Damnit.

    “Now, my child, why would you go and do something like this?” Recovery Girl asked gently as he sat down on the bed he had been sent to so often in these past few days. Midoriya stayed silent as she rolled his sleeves back and assessed the damage.

    “You really should talk about this,” All Might advised. “You can't keep things such as these bottled up.”

    Midoriya looked away, refusing to make eye contact. “I already did talk about it, though. I'm fine, I just, I can't stop,” he said, beginning his plan. “It's an addiction, I have to do it whenever I get the urge to, even if I'm not sad.”

    “But you don't have to do it,” All Might said, just as Midoriya thought he would. “We can help you, my boy.”

    “Thank, thank you,” Midoriya said, a small smile on his face. His plan was working, maybe this would be alright. Throw some blades away, everything'll be okay. He repeated that to himself like a mantra. For the first time, Midoriya was hopeful.

    Recovery Girl leaned down, planting a kiss on the bloody, torn up surface of his arm. After kissing the other, she stood back up, wiping the blood off of her lips with a grimace. Midoriya watched as his skin grew back together, the only proof being the dried blood over his arms.

    “Let's go get your arms washed off,” Recovery Girl advised. Midoriya stood up and followed her over to a sink. He turned the knob, water rushing out of the faucet. He scrubbed the surface of his wrists, lamenting the fact that the sting from the cuts was all gone. He could always make more, of course, but now he would have to be more careful.

     Once all the blood had been washed off, Midoriya shook his arms, flinging the water droplets

    “Well, I'm going to go back to my room now,” Midoriya said. “I have work I need to catch up on from today.”

    “When you skipped half of your classes and the detention you were supposed to go to,” Aizawa said drily, still standing in front of the door. Midoriya walked over, expecting Aizawa to move. When he stopped in front of the greasy teacher, and Aizawa didn't move, Midoriya blinked in confusion.

   “Kid, we still need to talk,” Aizawa said. All Might walked up to them, while Recovery Girl left them alone to talk.

    “But I'm fine--!” Midoriya started.

    “Yeah, no, you're not. You lied twice about cutting,” he reminded, as Midoriya shrank. “We need to continue this conversation.”

    “Go easy on him,” All Might said to Aizawa. “This has been a hard day.”

    “I know, but Midoriya, we need to make sure you don't have anything you could hurt yourself with. If you really want to recover from your addiction,” Aizawa said. “This is the first step.”

    Midoriya hid his grin. Everything was going exactly as he wanted it to. Now, he just had to get rid of some of his razors, and then it’ll look like he actually wants to get better.

    “Alright,” Midoriya said glumly. All Might placed a hand on his shoulder.

    “I'm proud of you, young Midoriya. Perhaps I don't tell you this enough, but you're an amazing success-- student.”

    Midoriya didn't have to try to hide a grin anymore. He's wrong, I'm a horrible successor, he could have done so much better, I'm--

    “You're going to be a great hero, kid,” Aizawa said to him. Now, tears filled Midoriya's eyes, and he looked down to try to hide it. I'm not going to be a hero because I'm going to die in a few days but it's for the best it's for the best Mirio will be better he deserves my quirk I'm useless I'm--

     “Thank you,” Midoriya said, simply. He closed his eyes for a moment, successfully fighting back his tears. He looked up at the two of them, a sad smile on his face once more. “Should we go get rid of my razors now?”

    Aizawa turned and opened the door. Raising his voice to thank Recovery Girl, he led Midoriya and All Might out of her office. They were already on the ground floor, and so it would be a quick walk to the front door. Then, to the dorms, up to Midoriya's room, and they would be there.

    It was yet again, a silent walk. Midoriya didn't want to talk to either of them. He didn't think that he would ever want to talk again. He didn't want people picking his brain, he wanted his feelings to be kept to himself. No matter what any of them said, Midoriya wouldn't go to therapy. Even if they kicked him out of the school, who cares? He would be dead in a few days. Maybe all of that mattered to him when he thought he had months to live, but now, nothing made a difference. Either way, Midoriya wasn't going to live long.

Chapter Text

     Midoriya stood in front of the door to his room, Aizawa and All Might behind him. He opened the door, and walked inside. He turned, and began to pull the door closed, but--

    All Might stopped him. “Young Midoriya, I think it may be best if we didn't, er, leave you alone in a room full of razors for now,” he said apologetically. Midoriya nodded, and left the door open. The two teachers continued to stand there, watching.

    Midoriya had plenty of things to hurt himself with in his room. Nothing that could be considered a weapon, though. That would get probably get him expelled. But, he had shaving razors, and scissors, and pencil sharpeners. He had matches, and pieces of shattered ceramics, and maybe just his own two hands.

    Midoriya could fill a box with his self harm supplies and still have plenty of tools to keep him busy.

    But Midoriya figured that he shouldn't reveal anything other than the razors. If they knew he had been desperate enough to dismantle that many pencil sharpeners, that would warrant even more concern.

    He wanted to reassure them he was getting better, not that his mental health was even worse than they had thought.

    So Midoriya dug through his room, pulling out stashes of razors. One under his bed, in his drawer, taped under his nightstand, behind a poster. Of course, he had plenty more razors, but once again, he needed to keep the extent of his issue a secret.

    He walked back over to his teachers, who were both still waiting at the door. In both of his hands he held about half a dozen of razors. Aizawa leaned forward to look at them, filled with dread.

   The majority were thoroughly used, covered in dry blood and flecks of skin. Both of the pro heroes have, of course, seen gore so much worse. The cuts on Midoriya's arm were infinitely more gruesome than some used razors. But still, as All Might gazed sadly at the pile of stainless steel, he couldn't help the ache in his chest.

    “All right, that's all of them,” Midoriya said, dumping them into a trash can by the door. He jammed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

    “And you didn't just put any in your pockets?” Aizawa asked drily. Midoriya rolled his eyes.

    Why would he need to try and sneak some by? He already has enough razors to last him the rest of his life. Which is to say, he has enough razors to last him another few days at the least. Midoriya snorted, laughing at his joke.

    Both his teachers took the laugh the wrong way.

    “Young Midoriya,” All Might sighed. “Give us the razors in your pocket.”

    Midoriya frowned. “I didn't put any in my pockets.”

    His teachers’ instincts were good, but it wasn't as if they were infallible.

    “Kid,” Aizawa said. Midoriya turned his pockets inside out, and did jazz hands.

    “You caught me! Pocket lint!” Midoriya said sarcastically.

    He wasn't really the type of person to be so sarcastic and bitter. In most cases, he wouldn't be. But today, his teachers had stripped him of his dignity, questioned him, and made him get rid of his blades. Midoriya cared about All Might and Aizawa, he really did, but right now, he was upset with them. Midoriya figured he had the right to cope however he wanted to. If he wanted to cut himself, then he would. If he wanted to die, then he would get to. In his head, it was as simple as that.

    Midoriya couldn't help resenting the people who tried to help him, because he knew that he would be hospitalized if they knew everything. Maybe the hospital wouldn't be so bad, and perhaps it would help him. But the idea of being forced into a building he couldn't leave from until strangers decided he was safe to be alone angered him.

    He knew they only wanted to help. But Midoriya didn't want it.

    “Look, kid, you can't blame us for not trusting you about this,” Aizawa stated. “How many times have you lied about not cutting in the past hour?”

    “Yeah, I know,” Midoriya said. “Can I close the door now? I still have work to catch up on.”

    All Might sighed in defeat. He had given up all of his razors without a fight. If he didn't have anything he could hurt himself with, then there was no reason they shouldn't let him be alone. And after all, they would eventually have to stop watching him.

    Aizawa was less trusting that his student had actually gotten rid of everything. Still, though, there wasn't much he could do at this point beyond contacting Nedzu and Midoriya's mother. Speaking of which…

    “Alright, you can go,” Aizawa said. Midoriya moved his hand to the doorknob, and began to shut the door. “Wait,” he continued, stopping the door with his hand. “We'll have to tell your mother about all of this.”

    Midoriya's hand dropped from the doorknob. He figured this would happen, goddamnit. “Is there a chance of me asking you not to, and out of the kindness in your heart you decide to keep it between us three?” Midoriya said hopefully.

    “We will need to tell her, young Midoriya, unless you can give us a reason why we shouldn't. If us telling her won't put you in danger, we have to,” All Might said apologetically.

    “...She doesn't deserve to have to worry about it?” Midoriya said, already knowing his attempts were futile. Aizawa shook his head.

    “Sorry kid, it's for the best.”

    “Right,” Midoriya said in acceptance. “See you guys Monday, then,” he said, shutting the door.

    Now he was really glad he didn't get rid of all of his tools.

__________

    Midoriya didn't leave his room for the rest of Saturday, and all throughout Sunday. During his weekend of solitude, Midoriya called his mother, hoping to let her know what happened before the teachers could.

     “Oh, hello Izuku! This call's a surprise, usually we call on Wednesdays! How've you been doing?”

    “I'm doing pretty good, Mom. I just wanted to tell you, I uh,”

    It had been hard for Midoriya to find the words.

     “It's okay sweetie, you’re allowed to love whoever you want,” she had said gently.

     “Wait, no, I-- Well, that means I don't need to have that conversation, but that isn't what I mean,” Midoriya had responded. “I, you know how I used to get a lot of cuts and bruises when I was younger, around middle school?”

    “Bakugo?” She guessed. Midoriya had shook his head, though she couldn't have seen the gesture.

     “Most of them, but… some of them were made by me. And before you say anything,” Midoriya added quickly. “ I never, uh, actually stopped. And my teachers found out, and then they saw uh, new cuts, and then, uh--”

    “Izuku,” Midoriya Inko had said. And Midoriya prepared for the crying, and the ‘it's all my faults’ that were sure to be heard from the other end of the phone. But then, she continued.

     “Izuku, I'm sorry that you felt that you couldn't talk to me about it,” she started.

    And Midoriya was quick to jump in with a: “No, Mom, it wasn't your fault, I--”

    “And I want you to know that you can and should talk to someone about what's wrong,” she had said, effectively cutting him off. “It doesn't have to be me. Maybe a friend, or a teacher, just, you need to talk to someone.”

    “Mom, I, I trust you so much, I know I can talk to you about everything, it's just, I didn't want you to worry.”

     “ Izuku, it's my job to worry about you. I'm a mom. Please, next time you feel like hurting yourself, just, talk to me. I can't stand the thought of you--” She had cut herself off. “ But I want you to know I'm not angry that you did.”

    “Just disappointed, huh?” Midoriya had finished, fighting back tears.

    “ No, honey. It's alright. It isn't alright that you hurt yourself, but I'm not upset with you. You need to stop, but I know it's hard.

   “I-I'll try,” Midoriya had lied, wanting for the first time in forever to maybe, possibly, consider stopping. Maybe getting help. Perhaps seeing a therapist. Coming clean about everything else, too. The words had been on the tip of his tongue. Midoriya had opened his mouth.

    “ I love you, mom, ”

     “I love you too, Izuku. I'll most likely be getting a call about what your teachers found out? And that's why I'm finding out now?”

    “Yeah, yeah I uh, sorry.”

     He had heard a sigh through the phone's speaker. “It's okay honey, just please, don't be afraid to talk to me.”

     “Okay, Mom, I'm going to go work on homework now.”

    “Alright, sweetie, I love you!”

    “Love you too, bye.”

    And after that one moment of human interaction, Midoriya hadn't left his room since then. When he skipped dinner, no one noticed.

    After he hadn't shown up to breakfast the next morning, Uraraka and Iida had went to his room to ask if he was feeling okay. He said he was feeling sort of sick, and so they left after a few minutes.

    When he had skipped lunch, they showed up again, with Asui this time. He still wasn't feeling well, so they left, again. Todoroki was still avoiding him.

    Midoriya skipped dinner. All Might was at his door, this time.

    “Are you really feeling sick, my boy?” He had asked.

    “Yeah, I have been, but I think I'm over the worst of it,” Midoriya said with a small smile.

    “When was the last time you ate?” All Might questioned. Midoriya was silent for a moment, then sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

    “I'm not sure? Me and Aizawa left his house before breakfast, so--”

    “You mean to tell me you haven't eaten in two days?” All Might said sharply. Though he could no longer maintain his larger form, the man could be plenty intimidating if need be. Midoriya winced.

    “...Maybe?” Midoriya admitted.

    With a sigh, All Might rubbed his temples. “Come with me, my boy.”

    The two had then gone to Nedzu's office. Midoriya waited outside, while All Might went in to speak with the principal. After a few minutes, his teacher returned.

    “What's going on?” Midoriya asked, slightly fearful.

   “We're going to go get some McDonald's,” All Might replied grimly.

    Now, in that moment, Midoriya was truly upset that his habit of not eating had been noticed by his teacher. However, the way in which All Might had said ‘We're going to McDonald's,’ was entirely hilarious.

    And so it made perfect sense when Midoriya started cackling, harder and harder, until his eyes watered. He kept going until each laugh was indistinguishable from a sob.

    Maybe, really, he was just crying.

    But like All Might had said, the two were in fact, going to McDonald's. Along with Aizawa and Present Mic, of course.

    According to Nedzu, All Might was not adequate protection from any villains looking to hurt Midoriya. And it was a blow to All Might's pride when Nedzu had said that he was just as much of a target as Midoriya was. And so, protection had to come along with them, because the former #1 hero and his successor would be pretty tempting to any villains looking for hostages, or even worse, captives.

    So All Might drove the car, with Aizawa in the passenger seat, and Present Mic in the backseat with Midoriya. They all sat in silence, vaguely uncomfortable.

    “So…” Mic had said, after a solid 3 minutes of silence before All Might had even started the car. “Why are we doing this, again?”

    “Yeah, why exactly are we taking the problem child, and just the problem child, out for fast food?” Aizawa questioned.

    “When was the last time you ate, young Midoriya?” All Might said, in lieu of a response.

    Midoriya didn't answer. But when everyone just kept staring at him--

    “I don't know, okay? A few days ago, before I made out with my teacher?” Midoriya said, lashing out the slightest bit. Bringing that up always made everyone uncomfortable.

    Aizawa pushed through. “You haven’t eaten in two days?” He said incredulously. “Kid…”

    “I know, I know,” Midoriya said, staring out the window into the parking lot.

    “Little listener, you're training to be a hero ,” Mic said. “Do you know how many calories that burns?”

    “I don't usually do this, it's not a big deal. You see me at meals, I eat enough,” Midoriya said defensively.

    “Still, my boy, it's unhealthy to go days without eating ,” All Might reminded.

    “I know, can we just get this over with?” Midoriya asked, tired.

    All Might started the car, finally. He pulled out of his parking spot, and drove out of the lot onto the main road. After a minute of silence, Midoriya spoke.

    “Hey, Mr. Aizawa, can you turn on the music? You've got good taste, I trust you with the aux cord.”

    Aizawa grimaced, and tried to ignore him. Present Mic, though, was interested.

    “You and Shouta like the same music?” Mic asked.

    “I didn't expect that,” All Might said, surprised. Aizawa sank into his seat, groaning.

    “Well, to be fair, I've only heard one of the songs he likes. But,” Midoriya said, after pausing for effect. “He really liked the song.”

    “Wait, what was the song?” Mic wondered, curiously.

    “Oh my god, Midoriya, what did I ever do to you?” Aizawa whispered from the spot he had sank into in the chair.

    “Well, I'm not quite sure. He was singing and dancing to it, though, let me think..” Midoriya said, making a show of pretending to remember.

    “Singing and dancing?” All Might said, incredulously. He wouldn't have believed it if it weren't for Aizawa's reaction.

    “Oh! I remember part of the lyrics, it was uh, ‘Honey, get some patience; Maybe then you'll get a taste; I'll be tasty, tasty; I'll be laced with lacy; It's so tasty, tasty; It'll make you crazy,” he quoted.

    All Might burst into laughter, while Aizawa somehow shrunk even further into his seat, groaning. Present Mic did the mental math. His eyes widened.

    “Babe, Fergalicious? That's my jam, and you,” he said, faking a sob. “You said you hated it.”

    “Maybe he can make up for it by reenacting the event,” Midoriya suggested.

    “Don't push it, kid,” Aizawa said weakly.

    “Yamada, would you please text Nemuri for me?” All Might asked from the front wheel.

    “ For the love of god, no ,” Aizawa said, straightening.

    “Awe hells yeah, teacher group chat,” Mic said, grinning.

    “Oh yeah, can I be added to the chat?” Midoriya asked. “Mr. Aizawa wouldn't let me last time.”

    “Aight, kiddo,” Mic said, pulling out his phone.

    “Hizashi I swear to god,” Aizawa started.

    “Not around the children, you don't,” All Might reprimanded.

    “Awe, fuck, really?” Midoriya said, deciding to be a cheeky little shit.

    “No teacher group chat for you,” Mic swiftly decided. Aizawa sighed in relief.

__________

    The underpaid McDonald's cashier almost fainted when he saw All Might approach the counter. Though the retired hero could no longer remain in his recognizable form, his real face was now known to the public. While some people may not realize he was All Might, the majority of his fans-- and enemies-- made it a point to memorize his real face.

    And so, the pimply, anxious, and exhausted, teen was confronted with the former number one hero.

   “Er, uh, um, All Might! It's uh, it's an honor! What are you doing he-- No, Eiko, dumb question he's here for food, I'm so sorry sir I'm such a big fan, may, uh, may I take your order, All Might sir?”

    Present Mic was slightly miffed that he hadn't been recognized. Though he was in his civilian clothing, which made him look entirely different from his hero persona, but still.

    Aizawa was indifferent, because he was an underground hero, and he didn't want fame in the first place.

    “I don’t particularly want anything,” All Might said. “You three go on.”

    “And who's not eating?” Midoriya said under his breath.

    “My boy, I don't have a stomach .”

    “You know what, good point. Can I get uhh,” Midoriya said. “Chenkin Nungets?”

    Aizawa sighed, loudly. “Sorry about him. Quarter pounder.”

    “Same here, thanks,” Mic said. “Oh yeah, uh, a blizzard, too.”

    “Ice cream machine broke,” Midoriya predicted with a whisper.

    “Sorry sir, but the ice cream dispenser hasn't been working quite right recently,” the cashier apologized.

    “Understandable, have a nice day,” Midoriya said, turning to walk away and find a table.

    The McDonald's was mainly empty. Only a couple of families, and a few lone people sitting by themselves. Midoriya picked out a booth that appeared large enough to hold the other three pro heroes he had with him. Leaving his cup of sprite at that table in order to keep anyone else from taking the table, Midoriya continued to scan the restaurant.

    You know, his mom always told him not to talk to strangers. It was dangerous, of course. But Midoriya's natural penchant for trouble caused that little thought to be rocketed out of his brain. Something was wrong, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

    One of the tables, in the very back, had a single man sitting at it. Most likely just a little bit older than Midoriya. He wore a black sweater, the hood leaving his face shadowed. The man scratched incessantly at his face, and Midoriya could hear the mumbling from here.

     ‘Failure-- Sensei-- Heroes-- Failure,’ the man whispered to himself. Midoriya was somewhat relieved to know someone else in the world had the same issue he did. Chronic mumbling truly was a horrible condition to be afflicted with. Midoriya walked over to the man, hoping to help.

    He sounded like he was upset with himself. He kept saying failure, referencing his teacher. Midoriya couldn't hear much else besides that. Still, though, if there was anything he could do in order to make the obviously distressed man feel better, Midoriya would do his best to do it.

    “Hey, um, are you doing okay, dude?” Midoriya asked as he approached. Suddenly the man jerked. He slowly turned to face Midoriya.

    “Midoriya Izuku?” Shigaraki asked in confusion. Midoriya’s mind immediately went blank.

    “Oh,” he responded, simply. “Oh, fuck, you're going to kill everyone, oh fuck, oh fuck oh, fuck--”

    “God, shut up,” Shigaraki groaned, leaning back into his chair. He picked out a single fry from where he had dumped them onto his tray. “Look, if you walk away right now, I won't do anything. I just wanna eat these nuggets.”

    “Hey, Shigaraki, I'm back with the--” Dabi started, walking over with two drinks in his hand. He stopped, seeing Midoriya. “Aw, fuck, really? I was looking forward to my blizzard…”

    “Uh. Hey, Dabi,” Midoriya said, confused. “I'm just gonna. Walk away?”

    Dabi set the drinks down onto his and Shigaraki's table. “Aight. Hey babe, gimme some of your fries.”

    “Are you guys… on a date?” Midoriya asked. He was still incredibly confused, slightly scared, and extraordinarily freaked out.

    “Fuck off and let me eat my nuggets,” Shigaraki said, beginning to grow impatient.

    “Cool, alright, yeah,” Midoriya said, backing up. Most likely, the rest of the trip would have gone without incident, if it weren't for the fact he was with 3 pro heroes.

    “Oh shit, it's the handyman!” Shouted Present Mic, who had froze upon walking closer.

    “Who?” All Might asked, a tray full of greasy food in hand. Seeing Shigaraki, he came to a realization. “...Just say Shigaraki next time, Yamada.”

    “For the love of fuck, I just want to eat my McNuggets,” Shigaraki said, now fully pissed off. He slammed a hand down onto the table, and picked up his tray (pinkie extended) with the other. The table slowly decayed under the touch of his fingers.

    “Really, Shigs?” Dabi asked, deadpan. A portal opened up next to them, and Dabi hopped in, holding his food as well. Shigaraki kicked over a chair, then moved to walk into the portal.

    But… Midoriya spotted a plastic bag that looked suspiciously like a happy meal toy. And so, of course, Midoriya had to snatch the toy off of Shigaraki’s tray.

    Shigaraki angrily threw a french fry at Midoriya as he disappeared into the portal. Midoriya shot him a smug look, and pocketed the toy. Worth it.

__________

    “Was that really necessary?” Aizawa sighed. All four of them were back in the car now, having filled up on grease. It was fully dark now, about 7 pm.

    “Mr. Aizawa,” Midoriya said, deadpan. “Look at it.” He tossed the happy meal toy over to the exhausted teacher. Aizawa examined it, slapping his forehead.

    “Congratulations, you have merchandise,” Aizawa said. “Still, quit aggravating the villains.”

    “They'll only start hating him more once he starts puttin’ em’ in jail,” Mic reasoned.

    Sitting behind the wheel, All Might jumped in as well. “Besides, he's already a target. The League of Villains most likely consider him a good friend by now.”

    “You aren't being a very good dad right now,” Aizawa told All Might. Midoriya sputtered, blushing.

    “Wha-what?” Midoriya stammered. “I already have a dad! And anyway, All Might isn't, I mean, he's not, where did you get that idea?”

    All Might sunk into his seat, visibly embarrassed and disappointed. He liked being a father figure to Midoriya. Even if Midoriya already had a father, he considered himself maybe just a bit more than just a teacher. But, if that's how Midoriya felt, then maybe he should stop trying to fill that role in his life?

     ‘God, I wish All Might were my dad ,’ Midoriya mumbled.

    ‘ Oh, nevermind, then,’ All Might thought. Midoriya was just embarrassed. There was absolutely no reason for him to hold back on the ‘Dadmight,’ as young Todoroki had said one day.

    “Anyway, Midoriya, this has been an interesting trip to McDonalds,” Aizawa said, after a moment of silence. “But don't forget why we came here in the first place. You didn't eat for two days straight ,” Aizawa reminded.

    “I know, I won't do that again,” Midoriya said, truthfully. In all honesty, Midoriya didn't think he would live another two days. He planned on talking to Mirio after school.

    “Are you doing any better, little listener?” Mic asked, tentatively. He had been recently updated on the situation last night.

    “Does everyone in the staff know about what I did?” Midoriya asked with a sigh.

    “Just us three, along with Nedzu,” All Might responded. “But really, my boy, are you doing better? You haven't self harmed since yesterday, correct?”

    “Nope,” Midoriya said, popping the p. He was lying, of course.

    “Well, alright then, that's good to hear,” All Might said, relieved. He glanced over at Aizawa, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Aizawa nodded, and All Might inhaled. Oh man, now what?

    “Midoriya, my boy, we've had an idea. If, perhaps, you asked one of your friends to routinely check you for cuts, you could be sure that you were on the road to recovery,” All Might proposed.

    “Aaand if I don't want to do that?” Midoriya asked.

    “Then we would be much less convinced that you actually got rid of all of your razors,” Aizawa stated.

    “And we are proud of you for taking that first step, little listener,” Mic said. “But this could be a decent way to make sure you keep on the straight and narrow!”

    “Right, everyone gang up on me when I'm in a moving vehicle and can't walk away,” Midoriya complained, tired of having to deal with all of this.

    “If you really don't like that idea,” All Might said. “Then you could also try counseling, with--”

    “Alright, sounds great, weekly self harm checks with one of my friends,” Midoriya scrambled to say. He really did not want to go to therapy. And Midoriya was pretty sure Hound Dog was a low-level empath with his quirk.

    “If that's what you prefer,” Aizawa said, slightly concerned with Midoriya's reaction to the word ‘counselling’.

    “Perhaps you could ask young Todoroki?” All Might suggested, oblivious.

    “I'll ask someone else,” Midoriya said, not wanting to explain why he didn't want to ask his best friend.

    “Wait, why not Todoroki?” Present Mic asked. “Aren't you two like, super close?”

    Midoriya stayed silent, looking out the car's window. They were almost back at UA. Once the car had slowed down enough, he may jump out the window just to leave this conversation faster.

    “...Not right now,” Midoriya answered, cryptically.

    Aizawa sighed. “Midoriya, have you really not talked to him since--”

    “Please keep what you overheard to yourself,” Midoriya said, cutting him off.

    “Wait, what happened?” Mic asked.

    “I don't want to talk about it,” Midoriya answered sharply.

    Really, the whole topic hurt Midoriya immensely. Because he did love Todoroki. A lot. But he was about to die, Midoriya couldn't do that to him. He had to stay strong, and keep him at a distance. It would be indescribably cruel to ask him out, get his hopes up, and then die. No, this was the way things had to be. Midoriya had to stay away from all of his friends. He especially had to stay away from anyone who could become more than a friend.

    “Young Midoriya,” All Might said, gently. “You can't keep everything bottled up like this. You need to talk to someone , even if it isn't us.”

    “Is there anyone you usually talk to about these sort of things?” Aizawa asked, setting a trap.

    “Todoroki,” Midoriya answered, falling into it.

    Aizawa grinned. “So… why don't you talk to him about it?”

    Midoriya glared. “You know why.”

    All Might and Present Mic sat there, listening to the two spit words at each other like a verbal tennis match. All Might gripped the steering wheel, adjusting his grip and keeping his eyes on the road.

    “Kid, if you like him back, then what's the big deal?” Aizawa pressed.

    “Oh-ho-ho, someone's in love --” Mic snickered.

    “What part of I don't want to talk about it do you not understand?” Midoriya asked, his patience wearing thin.

    All Might leaned over, still watching the road, and whispered to Aizawa.

    “Toshinori--” Aizawa started. “No! You don't have to give him the talk, jesus--”

    “All Might nO--” Midoriya sputtered.

    “ EYES ON THE ROAD EYES ON THE ROAD ,” Mic requested, his quirk activated.

    All Might swerved, realizing he had been slowly edging towards a ditch. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and there was a moment of silence. When Midoriya saw all three adults open their mouths, presumably to give him unwanted love advice, Midoriya decided that he had enough.

    “But you are, er, well, you know how to use, er, protection, and all that, my boy,” All Might started. Midoriya didn't answer, his face blank.

    “Oh you are not having this talk while I'm in the car,” Aizawa said, stopping him.

    “Shou, it's important!” Mic protested. “But, uh, yeah, if I could be excluded from your guys's father-son talks, I would be grateful.”

    And still, Midoriya was silent.

    “Do you think we should look into a sex-ed unit, for all of the kids?” All Might pondered.

    “Hell no, who do you think would have to teach it?” Aizawa asked, angrily. “Either the duty would be handed off to the homeroom teacher, or Nemuri would get to do it! And you know she would want to!”

    “Okay, I don't want the kids being put through that,” Mic said, raising his hand. “They would get less education on health, and more on, well--”

    All Might shuddered, while Midoriya had no reaction.

    Midoriya was sincerely hoping that if he stopped talking, everyone would as well. But no, the conversation continued, much to his dismay.

    Luckily, the school was visible. As the car pulled into the school grounds, and into the parking lot, Midoriya prepared to run. The muscles in his legs bunched, and he curled his toes in anticipation.

    All Might's old car slowed to a stop, and Midoriya threw open the door.

    “Thanks-for-the-McDonald's-bye,” Midoriya said to them, right before he sprinted to the dorms. Full cowl activated. In fact, he might have actually just safely used at least 5% more One for All than he usually could.

    A small victory in comparison of the great feat of escaping The Talk with All Might.

    And a less embarrassing, and more emotionally-revealing talk about why he would never let himself love Todoroki.

Chapter Text

     It was Monday morning, and Todoroki Shouto was exhausted. He had spent the weekend distracting himself and avoiding Midoriya; there had been two seperate movie marathons. He didn't want to lie awake at night thinking about how Midoriya hated him, so he forced himself to stay busy until he collapsed.

    Todoroki got so much homework done last night. He was proud to say that he was completely caught up; and he hadn't cried about what happened with Midoriya more than once a day.

    It wouldn't have been as bad if it weren't for the fact that Midoriya obviously didn't want to talk to him, maybe ever again. He had only sent one text, true, but it had never even been opened. He was desperate to fix things. At one point, Todoroki walked over to Midoriya's room, and considered knocking. Just as his hand was about to make contact with the wooden surface of the door, Todoroki thought better of it, turned around, and fled the scene. It was probably best to wait for Midoriya to be ready to talk. He just had to be patient.

    On Sunday, Uraraka and Iida had started talking about how neither of them had seen Midoriya out of his room since lunch on Friday. Not even at mealtimes. Which was concerning, to say the least.

    It made Todoroki consider that maybe Midoriya wasn't avoiding him; he was avoiding everybody.

    Now, this wasn't a good sign for two reasons. First, Midoriya was isolating himself. Midoriya's never really done this before. But Todoroki did some research on the symptoms of depression ever since Midoriya revealed that he most likely had the mental illness. And according to Wikipedia, isolation was a huge sign of depression. Which could mean that Midoriya was getting worse.

    And another big issue was that Midoriya wasn't seen at meal times. So he wasn't eating.

    Needless to say, Todoroki was incredibly worried. But really, it wasn't his place to try and check up on him when Midoriya had shown no sign of wanting to talk. If he hadn't accidentally asked him out, then Todoroki wouldn't even think of leaving Midoriya alone. But Midoriya probably needed space, and maybe hated him forever. So Todoroki just hoped for the best.

    He was in homeroom now, and class was yet to start. The majority of the class was here already. Of course the usual people would be late, and Iida had most likely walked in at 4 am.

    Midoriya wasn't here yet. He had skipped half of Friday, so he might not show up at all. Of course, that would be a given if he were still in Aizawa's body.

    But Todoroki was 99.9% sure that Midoriya was back where he should be. According to Uraraka and Iida, at least.

    So Midoriya should come to class. Unless he was getting worse. Therefore, if Midoriya didn’t come to class, his depression was worsening.

    Todoroki didn't think he would be able to give Midoriya the space he wanted if he didn't show up to class.

    Luckily, just as Todoroki was considering how to best break down Midoriya's door to make sure he wasn't a half rotted corpse suspended by a rope, hanging from the ceiling, Midoriya walked into the classroom.

    Todoroki couldn't help the relieved sigh he released when he saw the green curls of Midoriya's hair. The freckles covering his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. His ever-sparkly forest green eyes that always looked so determined. Midoriya's lips always looked so soft, Todoroki couldn't help imagining if they truly were.

    Midoriya walked down the aisle, heading towards his seat. As he neared, Todoroki continued to stare, running his eyes over the other boy. Then, Midoriya glanced at him. Todoroki quickly tore his gaze away, trying to pretend that he hadn't been ogling.

    Midoriya didn't say anything. He really must hate Todoroki.

    He stayed lost in his own thoughts for the next few minutes, sitting at his desk and staring into the back of the kid sitting in front of him. Tokoyami didn't seem to mind.

    Just a few moments after the bell announcing the beginning of class, Aizawa walked into the room. He trudged over to the front of the room, most likely to make an announcement.

    Class 1-A had learned all too well that if Aizawa was going to say something, everyone needed to shut up and listen. Even Bakugo deferred to the greasy teacher.

    Each student turned to face the front of the room. Aizawa cleared his throat.

    “All right, class, today isn't going to be a regular day. The majority of your classes will be shortened in order to allow your hero training to be twice as long as usual. At the end of the day, you will have a two hour hero class.”

    Asui raised her hand, resting her elbow on the desk in front of her. Aizawa nodded in her direction, acknowledging her question.

    “Sir, what will we be doing? We've never had a 2 hour hero class before,” Asui said, putting a finger to her chin in curiosity.

    “Yeah!” Kaminari said loudly, not bothering to raise his hand. “How badly are we gonna’ be beaten into the ground this time?”

    “Something every pro has to learn how to do,” Aizawa answered, purposefully vague. A few more students raised their hands. “And no, I'm not elaborating. You'll find out when it's time for the class. That's all for now.”

    Aizawa walked over to his desk, sitting down in his chair. Todoroki watched him pull out a stack of papers.

    He couldn't help but be curious as to what they would be doing today. If it warranted shortened classes, it must be something incredibly important. Though, of course, Endeavor had pretty much beaten everything he needed to know into him. Todoroki couldn't appreciate it, though. He would have much rather found his own way to be a hero. It was too late for that, though; everyone would only ever see him as Endeavor’s second coming.

    So really, Todoroki wouldn't need to relearn whatever the class would be about. Stealth? Interacting with civilians? Wait, actually, Todoroki could use some work on that. If he didn't want to be Endeavor 2.0, he would need to distance himself by being a decent human being.

    …Todoroki had never been really good at talking to people, though. Usually, he didn't get the opportunity to. Until he had met Midoriya, he had never had a friend. He'd barely even talked to anyone his age. Todoroki had always been homeschooled.

    It was a journey to begin showing emotions again, and talking about things. Every day, he struggled to let people into his life. When Jirou had asked what kind of music he liked to listen to, Todoroki completely shut down.

    That day at the sports festival was the first time he could remember anyone genuinely caring about him. Usually, he was just a vessel for the quirk he had been ‘blessed’ with. Midoriya was a window into the rest of the world.

    It had only gotten better when the dorm rooms were built. It had taken Endeavor a while to agree, but Todoroki promised to keep training religiously, and so he had given in.

    Training was almost fun if Endeavor wasn't involved.

    Looking back at all the progress he had made in just one year, Todoroki couldn't help but be amazed. And he didn't mean his hero training.

    A year ago, he had no friends, and he was happy that way. He had thought he needed to focus on becoming a hero, and nothing else. Now, though, he spent an entire weekend with friends. He asked out his crush (though accidentally). This was progress.

    It made Todoroki think that there could be a world outside what he had always known. And the first step had been Midoriya's doing. He didn't know where he would be right now if someone hadn't reached out to help.

    Considering that Midoriya had snapped him out of a life-long rut, he couldn't help falling in love with the boy.

    Todoroki didn't regret accidentally asking Midoriya out. Maybe, hopefully, they would be able to move past this and stay friends. And now that he had gotten a clear rejection, he could begin trying to move on.

    It would take effort, but Todoroki was sure that he could push the feelings out of his mind. It was just a crush after all. It wasn't as if he loved Midoriya or anything like that. In fact, maybe it was just misplaced feelings of admiration. Actually, what if he was just overreacting to feelings of friendship?

    Todoroki had never had a friend before, so that was actually pretty likely. Thinking about it now, he was sure. He never actually had feelings for Midoriya. This was all just a big misunderstanding.

__________

    Todoroki was lying to himself, of course. And he knew it wholeheartedly.

__________

    Now that there were only about 10 minutes left until lunch, Midoriya couldn't help feeling anxious. He stared down at the papers on his desk. Math homework, which he had yet to start. They had been given a chunk of time to start the packet, and Midoriya had used none of it. He picked up his pen, and leaned back in his chair. Absentmindedly clicking his pen, Midoriya visualized everything he would have to do today.

    He wouldn't be dying today, but Midoriya knew that it was almost time. He had decided that he would write a note, if only to make sure his death wouldn't open up a murder investigation. As well as that, he would need to advise Mirio and All Might to talk to each other. He wouldn't be specific, but he was sure that they would figure it out eventually.

    And that brought up the issue of how he would transfer One for All to Mirio. He didn't exactly want to just trick him into taking it, but Midoriya figured that was the only way. If he flat-out asked Mirio if he wanted to have One for All, he would most certainly decline.

    Idly, Midoriya snorted at the thought that suicidal people usually give away their belongings before death. Guess he was no different.

    Still, though, he needed to trick Mirio into ingesting some of his dna. He could invite him out to eat, and sneak a hair into his food?

    But a hair would be noticed, removed, and thrown away.

    Grind up the hair maybe? Put it in a drink? But then, there would be no guarantee he ingested a piece of it. Midoriya couldn't let One for All die, especially not when the holder was so unworthy.

    Then, an idea came to him. It was so simple, Midoriya wanted to slap himself. He really did have a problem with copying All Might.

    It was so easy; spit in his drink, and it would diffuse throughout the liquid. As long as he made sure Mirio drank some of the drink, then One for All would continue. Even if Mirio legitimately did not want the quirk, once All Might figured out what was going on, he could take the quirk back, or ask Mirio to give it to someone of his choosing.

    This would work. He would get to die! As long as he got Mirio to drink something he had spit in, One for All would survive.

__________

    Aizawa had no clue as to why he thought Midoriya's problems would be solved as soon as they had proof that he needed help. He had imagined that as soon as they expressed their concern, Midoriya would open up.

    Obviously, that wasn't the case. It had been two days, and Midoriya had yet to show any sign of improving. The most that Aizawa had gotten out of him was a fumbled explanation that he addicted to self harm. Which didn't touch upon the reason why .

    Midoriya had always worn his heart on his sleeve, but somehow, he had made it through an entire hour dedicated to talking about his problems without actually talking about his problems .

    God damnit, problem child. And then, he proceeded to isolate himself and stop eating. All signs pointed to the discussion making him feel worse. Which wouldn't have scared him if it weren't for the fact that Midoriya obviously hadn't gotten rid of everything he uses to hurt himself. He wouldn't be so quick to give up what he was addicted to. More thought had to be put into this matter, and Aizawa would have to keep an eye on him.

    His efforts at helping obviously hadn't done much. But he had shoved himself into the situation, and now there was no backing out. Still, though, he had a plan.

    When lunch had rolled around, Aizawa had seen Midoriya leaving the school building and making his way over to the dorms. Obviously skipping another meal. So, Aizawa did the smart thing.

    Crawling into the common room's window, Aizawa kept one eye on the front door. He scrambled to sit down on a nearby couch in the empty room, looking casually disinterested.

    Aizawa heard the door open, and then footsteps. He watched Midoriya walk past him, heading towards the elevator.

    “And where do you think you're going?” Aizawa asked mildly.

    “Oh, come on…” Midoriya muttered dejectedly. “I was… I forgot something in my room, and I didn't get the chance to come get it until now?”

    “Alright, I'll wait for you, and then I'll walk you over to the cafeteria,” Aizawa said.

    “Great!” Midoriya said through clenched teeth.

    Midoriya then walked to the elevator. Aizawa looked away towards a clock, deciding that if he weren't back in 2 minutes, he would go check on him.    

    While Aizawa wasn't sure that he was hurting himself, he also couldn't be sure that he wasn't.

    A few minutes later, just as Aizawa was about to stand up and go make sure the problem child wasn't dead, the elevator doors opened. Considering no one had entered the building, it was either Midoriya, or Kaminari was seriously late again.

    The problem child walked out of the elevator, his head down. Aizawa watched as he walked past the couches, pointedly avoiding Aizawa's gaze. Before Midoriya could open the front door, Aizawa stood.

    “Hey, kid, can I talk to you for a second?”

    Midoriya nodded and walked over, head still down.

    “...You really can tell me anything, Midoriya,” Aizawa said after a moment. Midoriya nodded, looking up. His eyes were red and puffy, contrasting the forest green of his eyes. He sniffled, trying to look as if he hadn't been crying.

    “I know,” Midoriya responded. The two continued to stand there by the couches, waiting for the other to say something.

    “Even if you don't want to talk to me, you should talk to someone, anyone,” Aizawa continued hesitantly.

    “Yeah. I do.”

    “Have you considered talking to a professional?” Aizawa said, trying to get Midoriya to say an entire sentence.

    “Gonna’ in a few weeks. Appointment is scheduled.” Midoriya didn't particularly care if Aizawa called his mother to ask if that were true. If all went well, he would be dead tomorrow, so it didn't really matter.

    “...Alright then,” Aizawa relented. He didn't actually believe him, but it wasn't as if the two could just sit there and stare at each other for the rest of the day.

    “Well, anyway,” Midoriya said, forcing a smile onto his face. “I'm going to go find my friends! See you later, Mr. Aizawa!” He said, cheerfully.

    Aizawa sighed, letting him leave the building. He really had no clue as to what else he was able to do in this situation. Midoriya obviously was not doing alright. But, Aizawa tried to look on the bright side.

    Midoriya was willingingly seeking out a friend. And perhaps he was actually going to talk out his problems with his friends. Aizawa just had to hope things would be alright with him. If Midoriya was truthful about actually having an appointment with a therapist, then maybe he didn't have to worry that much.

    ...Still, he would worry, anyways.

Chapter Text

     It was finally the last class of the day: hero training. All of the students were in their seats, tired from the day. Aizawa found it kind of funny that he only ever taught the kids when they were exhausted; either from just waking up, or after going through an entire day. He might not be able to recognize them without the bags under their eyes.

    It was a sunny day, though it was still cold. From the warmth of the classroom, though, the sunlight filtering through the windows could be enjoyed to its full extent. On most of the trees, flowers were just beginning to bud. Soon enough, they would be blooming, and another school year would begin again. The end of the year always flew by, in Aizawa's opinion.

    He looked over the classroom, watching as the students talked amongst themselves. The two main friend groups which had asserted themselves in the beginning of the year continued to thrive, of course. Half the class was under the wing of either Midoriya or Bakugo. The rest of the class, though, tended to stay out of the spotlight and to themselves.

    However, he was glad to say that almost no one in his class was entirely alone or friendless. He had seen it all too often as a teacher. There were always a handful of kids who would never really make friends in their class. Which was troubling, considering that heroes worked together almost constantly.  Becoming a pro was difficult without a net of support.

    This year, he couldn't see that loneliness in any of his students. Excluding Mineta, whom no one wanted to be associated with. He would have to address that at some point. Though really, he couldn't blame them. Even if Aizawa didn't like to pick favorites, he had no issue picking students he didn't like. He had his reputation for a reason.

    And so in order to have Mineta really connect with the rest of the class in more than shared notes and forced group projects, Aizawa would have to convince the kid to quit sexually harassing his classmates.

    Either that, or just expel him and be done with the whole thing. Honestly, Aizawa was completely done dealing with him. Mineta had gone too far a multitude of times. There were more complaints against him than there were female students in the hero course. If he put one toe out of line, Aizawa figured he would have to give up trying to go one year without an expelled student.

    The rest of the class, though, seemed to be progressing just fine. They had all grown tremendously over the course of this year. Aizawa would never admit it, but he was proud of them.

    “Alright, class,” Aizawa said loudly to 1-A, once he deemed class ready to start. Everyone slowly quieted, and turned to face the front of the room. “Today you won't need to change into your gym uniforms. And we won't be leaving the classroom, either.”

    Mumbled discussions broke out all across the classroom, the moment of silence gone. Everyone was thankful they didn't have to leave the building; the cold March weather wasn't fun. Still, they had their winter costumes for a reason, and a classroom hero lesson wasn't something they had done before.

    Uraraka raised her hand. Aizawa called on her, allowing her to ask the question everyone wanted to.

    “Um, sir? What are we actually doing?” Uraraka asked in behalf of the rest of 1-A. Aizawa grinned one of his rare smiles and unabashedly met Midoriya's bored gaze.

    “A mental health unit!” Aizawa announced, watching Midoriya's expression shift to shock, dread, and then practiced indifference. That's about what Aizawa had expected from him.

    He quickly glanced over the rest of the class, gauging their reactions. The majority of the class looked moderately curious. A handful of the students looked uncomfortable, though-- those would be the ones he would have to watch carefully over the next couple of hours. Bakugo, Kirishima, Tokoyami, Uraraka, Iida. Asui too-- though she only stiffened, her expression not changing.

    Perhaps the most difficult part of his job was carefully keeping track of the mental states of 20 teenagers. Of course he had to basically parent them while they were in the most emotional parts of their lives. This unit was generally done in the third year of UA, but considering the events of this year, Aizawa had pushed Nedzu to allow him to teach it now. Midoriya's recently discovered issues caused him to choose to do the class as early as possible.

    It didn't surprise him that all of the students who've done internships were uncomfortable at the idea of a mental health unit. They, too, were the reason for the early class. Even if they hadn't known Sir Nighteye, they had still witnessed the incident. This course was needed, desperately. Aizawa cleared his throat, silencing the room.

    “So a basic rundown of what'll be happening today is that we're all going to be working out our problems and getting rid of some stigmas. We're having professionals brought in, along with some other teacher. Everyone, get into groups that you're comfortable being in,” Aizawa directed.

    Each of the students stood up, and made their way into groups as he told them. Of course, Bakugo, Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Mina grouped together. No surprises there. Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, and Asui, of course. Sato, Shouji, and Mineta-- the only two students that tolerated the little bastard. Then Koda, Tokoyami, and Aoyama, which Aizawa wouldn't have predicted.

    The rest of the students split off into pairs; Ojiro and Hagakure, Yaoyorozu and Jirou.

    And of course, that left Midoriya, isolating himself once again. Damnit, problem child.

    “Midoriya,” Aizawa called out. “What group are you in?” Aizawa asked, rhetorically.

    “Oh! I'm with Iida, Uraraka, Shouto, and Tsuyu,” Midoriya explained. “Just from far away.”

    “Go stand with your group,” Aizawa sighed, exasperated. Midoriya shuffled over to the aforementioned group of friends, avoiding Todoroki. He supposed that he knew which group he would be talking to first. However, he would first need to address the class a bit longer.

    “Alright, everyone sit down with your group. Doesn't matter who's seat you're in.”

    He waited for the screech of chairs against the floor to die down.

    “So I wanted to start off by saying that there's nothing wrong with needing help. The typical day of a hero can be exhausting, terrifying, mentally painful. I doubt that there's a hero out there who doesn't need help. If there is one, they aren't doing their job.” Aizawa paused, gathering his words.

    “You all remember the first aid course we had, earlier this year?” Aizawa asked. He was met with quiet murmurs of confirmation. “The brain is an organ like any other. It can be hurt, it can be healed, and no, I'm not talking about concussions,” he said, drily. “Bottling your problems up in order to look strong will get you nowhere, and only end up hurting you in the long run.

    “In order to become the best heroes you can be, you need to take care of yourself. If you were to break all of the bones in your body, you wouldn't keep trying to run out on the battlefield, right? You would only be a liability.”

    “Midoriya,” Kaminari coughed under his breath. Midoriya blushed as giggles erupted throughout the classroom.

    “I cannot emphasize this enough, there is nothing wrong with needing help . Just like in the last exam, sometimes a hero needs to know when to step back and get help.”

    Aizawa paused for a moment, trying to make the message sink in. “Every one of you that goes on to become a hero will see indescribably horrible things. Some of you already have,” he said, thinking of the internship students. “The purpose of this course is for all of you to get used to the fact that it's okay to accept help.”

    Aizawa looked over at Midoriya, who refused to make eye contact. Hopefully, the problem child in particular would absorb this message.

    “So, the other teachers will be here soon, along with the professionals. Feel free to keep talking to each other,” Aizawa said, already knowing there was nothing he could do to stop the classroom from at least whispering.

    Aizawa continued to stand at the front of the room, watching over the class. The majority of the students had recovered from whatever discomfort they had felt. Midoriya, though, still looked troubled. As did Todoroki, really. It was difficult to read his expression, as always, but something seemed off about him.

    Why did teenagers have to be so difficult?

__________

    It took Midoriya a while to figure out, but now he was sure of it. Aizawa definitely hated him. I mean, there was no other explanation as to why they had to take this class now . This was like Midoriya's own personal hell. There had only been about 10 minutes of the class, and Midoriya was considering faking an illness to escape. The speech/lecture Aizawa had given had hit way too hard. Midoriya had to struggle not to break down in tears right there. But now, the professionals were coming.

    Uraraka, Iida, and Asui were talking about one of the worksheets they had gotten in English. The rest of the class seemed to be treating this situation in a similar way. Midoriya could not figure it out for the life of him.

    He could say in all honesty that he would rather fight Muscular again than have to deal with this. Well, he would rather fight Muscular, as long as Kota wasn't there. At the end of the battle, he would get to die, so that wouldn't be a big deal as long as no other lives were on the line.

    This, though? Midoriya had never felt such fear. Maybe he could lie to his mom, and maybe he could lie to his teachers. But these were professionals , probably all with mind-reading quirks. Midoriya would soon have to face down a room full of empaths who were all dedicated to ‘helping’ him.

    At least Todoroki seemed to feel a similar way. Midoriya had only known him for about a year, and for a few months of it, they didn't speak at all. But Midoriya could say truthfully that Todoroki was his best friend.

     ‘Not anymore, because he hates me now, he won't even talk to me. I can't believe I thought he was serious when I first saw the note. I was so fucking happy, what an idiot. What, you think you can actually date him? That he likes you? I probably embarrassed him with my lack of social skills. He definitely hates me. He hasn't said anything, god, I should talk to him but he probably hates me now he never actually liked me he asked me out as a joke I'm such an idiot goddamnit I--

     “Hey, Izuku,” Todoroki said tentatively. “You okay?”

    Those were the first words Todoroki had said to him in a while. Midoriya was shocked out of what was beginning to become a panic attack.

    “I uh, yeah,” he fumbled. “What about you? This whole class is like…”

    “Our own personal hell?” Todoroki finished with a sad smile.

    “Yeah,” Midoriya said. The conversation died quickly, and the two sat there in an awkward silence. Midoriya cleared his throat. “Hey, I'm uh, I'm sorry about how I reacted with the whole, er, note thing.”

    “It's fine,” Todoroki said, closing off and clamming up. “I know you're not like, gay, I just, hope we can stay friends after this.”

    “What?” Midoriya said, shocked.

    “Okay, fine, we don't have to be friends, I--”

    “No, Shouto, of course we're still friends! And I am, uh, I am bi,” Midoriya said, quietly. He didn't know how his other friends would react, and he didn't want to risk it. Still, if it would make Todoroki less hurt, then Midoriya would have to come out to him. It was no question, Midoriya would do anything for him.

    “And er,” Midoriya continued, quietly. “I do uh, return your feelings. But,” Midoriya said quickly, before Todoroki could get his hopes up too high. “I can't-- I'm not ready to date anyone right now. I just don't have the time in my life to be a good boyfriend.”

     ‘Especially considering that I'm going to die tomorrow-- No No there are empaths here they can hear you don't think don't think--’

     “I'm glad that this won't change anything, then,” Todoroki said. “I'm not going to pretend that I'm not disappointed, but, I'm really glad we're friends.”

    “Me too. Thank you, thank, thank you for understanding, Shouto,” Midoriya said, tears beginning to fill his eyes from too many different reasons.

    Aizawa clapped, slowly. He walked closer to stand in front of the two desks in which Midoriya and Todoroki sat.

    “And that, ladies, gentlemen, and anyone else-- is how you work through your problems in a calm and constructive matter. Nice job you two.”

    Midoriya blushed, furiously. Todoroki’s left side began to smoke the slighest bit.

    “I, you, you heard all of that?” Midoriya asked in an octave higher than usual.

    “Woah, what happened, Deku?” Uraraka asked from a nearby seat.

    Okay, considering that the people directly next to them didn't hear, they were probably good. Besides, as long as it didn't get back to Endeavour, Todoroki would be fine.

    “Yes, and what the conversation was about wasn't important. What is important is that you two are talking about your problems like reasonable adults.”

    “Does this mean we can take the rest of the day off?” Midoriya asked, hopefully.

    “No,” Aizawa stated. “Get back to work.” He then walked away, off to other students who may need help.

    “What did you two do?” Iida asked, curiously.

    “Talked about our problems like reasonable adults,” Todoroki said, gracefully skating around the topic of their conversation.

    “Yeah, but like, what was the conversation about?” Uraraka pushed.

    “Our problems,” Midoriya said, nonchalantly.

    “And what are your problems, ribbit?” Asui asked, as a last-ditch attempt at getting an answer.

    “I, uh,” Midoriya fumbled.

    “Alright,” Aizawa announced loudly at the front of the room. “At this time, I'm gonna ask the students in Midoriya's group to come with me so we can have a private discussion, along with some guests.”

    “Alright, haha, bye guys, guess I can't answer your questions, we have to pay attention, haha!” Midoriya jumped up from his seat and strided over to Aizawa.

    “Ribbit, I'm sure there's time,” Asui stated, following him.

    “Oh! Right, haha, yeah--”

    “It's okay if you don't want to say what you were talking about with Todoroki, ribbit. If it's private, then it's private,” she said, face as neutral as ever.

    “...Thanks, Asui,” Midoriya said, relieved.

    “Call me Tsuyu,” she responded.

    The two waited with Aizawa for Iida, Todoroki, and Uraraka to walk over.

    “Couldn't get anything out of Todoroki,” Uraraka said glumly.

    “We don't really want to talk about it, sorry,” Midoriya said apprehensively.

    “Oh! That's alright, Deku, no prob!” Uraraka said, lightly punching his shoulder. “Besides, I think I've got a pretty good idea of what it was, anyway.”

    Kaminari turned around in Aoyama's seat to face the conversation.

    “Use protection!” He said, cheerfully. Midoriya made a small noise, blushed, and tried to disappear into his jacket. Todoroki began smoking, once again. He quickly stopped it, fearful of accidentally causing a fire drill.

    “...I don't want to hear about this,” Aizawa said, sighing.

    “And I didn't want to make out with Present Mic, but here we are,” Midoriya said, irritated.

    “Izuku, what?” Todoroki asked, confused. “You…?”

    “Mr. Aizawa, do I need to call the police?” Asui asked, calmly.

    “No, guys, it was just body switching shenanigans,” Midoriya explained, still blushing. “I'm just glad it didn't go any farther, because it… sure looked like it was going to.”

    “Well, now you know what you need to talk about in therapy!” Uraraka suggested brightly.

    “Yeah, I'll have to talk about that with the counselors too, I don't want to think about that,” Asui said.

    “I'll have to agree with that statement! Midoriya, that must have been a horrible experience!” Iida shouted.

    “Sure as hell was, and I would know,” Aizawa said drily. “Now, if everyone's done, let's get back to the point of this lesson. Now, we've only been working at this for about 20 minutes. How many of you have had the chance to talk to one of the professionals?”

    He was met with silence. Everyone was suddenly very interested in the floor.

    “...How many of you have seeked out a professional? That is what they're here for today.”

   Once again, silence.

    “Alright, give me a show of hands. How many of you were approached by one of the guests and you turned them down so you can continue bottling up your feelings?”

    Uraraka slowly raised her hand. Then Iida and Asui. After that, Todoroki. Midoriya stood there, looking at all of them in pretend shock.

    “Gasp, really? Everyone, not wanting to open up to complete strangers? It’s more likely than you'd think,” Midoriya said sarcastically.

    “Like it or not,” Aizawa responded, pretending as if he hadn't heard Midoriya's remark. “Pro heroes have to learn how to talk about their problems. Maybe not today, but one day. And we still have almost an hour and a half.

    “You all were split up into groups so that you could talk about your problems in a comfortable space, around people you could open up to. No one here will judge you for your feelings. Please know that it is important for you to learn how to talk about these sort of things. Now, each of you go find a counselor, and get to it.”

    Aizawa was pretty much just repeating what he had learnt in training. In all reality, he had no clue how to talk to children about these sorts of things. Hopefully Midoriya didn't catch onto this, considering he had heard this exact speech from Aizawa at least twice before.

    “Alright, that sounds good for everyone else, but me and Todoroki already talked through our problems,” Midoriya reasoned.

    “Go find a counselor, problem child,” Aizawa said, leaning up against a wall to observe the five children.

    Asui paused, thinking. “Mr Aizawa, who's watching everyone else?”

    “Yeah, uh, is it really a good idea to leave everyone by themselves?” Uraraka asked.

    “Yaoyorozu is still there!” Iida said, his exclamation accompanied by a signature hand chop. “As the vice president, she can handle it!”

    “Besides, Mic is there,” Aizawa reasoned. “Now, quit stalling and--”

    “ BAKUGO, NO--” Present Mic shouted, quirk activated.

    Then, explosions. Screams. The wailing of a child. The five members of Midoriya's group all glanced at each other. Aizawa then sighed.

    “All women are queens, Mineta,” a voice loudly claimed. It sounded as if it were possibly Mina.

    “If she breathes… she's a--” Mineta's voice was cut off. Glass shattered. Then, silence.

    “GAY RIGHTS!” Someone shouted.

    “Um, Mr. Aizawa?” Uraraka said. “Maybe you should, uh…”

    The screaming started again. Laughter, as well. Aizawa rested his face in the palm of his hand.

    “Yeah, I'm going to go figure out what happened. You five--” he said, gesturing to the students. “Get to work. Talk about your issues. Grow.”

    He walked over to the open door, and went inside. He shut it behind him, muffling the immense amount of noise.

    Iida blinked in surprise. He pulled out his phone, unlocking it.

    “I got a text… it hopefully is not someone who's in school right now! Though they don't seem to be doing much learning...” Iida stared at the phone for a moment, his face blank. “Yaoyorozu says… that she ‘Did her job as the vice president’. Somehow, I am incredibly concerned.”

    “Who the hell threw Mineta out the window?” Aizawa loudly demanded, clearly audible through the closed door.

    “Is this pride?” Uraraka asked. Midoriya pretended to sniffle.

    “She’s all grown up,” he said, a prideful twinge of sadness to his voice. “There’s nothing more we can teach her.”

    “Midoriya Izuku! A voice shouted. A moment later, someone barrelled into Midoriya, and he was knocked down onto the floor.

    “Uh, hi, what?” Midoriya asked, only half sure this wasn't another League of Villians attack.

    He looked up to see a thirty something year old woman. She was wearing semi-professional clothing, and looked a lot like the guest counselors meandering around the area. Oh.

    She reached down to offer him a hand. “Sorry for bumping into you, my name's Dr. Yamamoto!”

    Midoriya took the hand, and Dr. Yamamoto pulled him up to his feet. “Nice to meet you! I'm Midoriya, but I guess you recognized me?”

    “Alright now everyone!” Iida exclaimed, a little bit aways from Midoriya and Dr Yamamoto's conversation. “Follow Midoriya's lead and find a counselor!”

    “Yeah!” The doctor responded. “You've made quite a name for yourself so far!”

    “Well, thanks, that's great to hear,” Midoriya said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I hope you've heard good things about me!”

    “Oh, definitely! I'm excited to help you out with all this therapy junk and stuff,” she said.

    “Therapy junk and stuff?” Midoriya said with finger quotes. “All the doctors I’ve spoke to before all used really complicated terms.”

    “Well, I like to build a bond with all of my patients, you know!” She explained, cheer in her voice.

    “It's a nice change of pace!” Midoriya said, matching her tone. “Should, we uh, get started?”

    Midoriya really was not looking forward to this. He didn't want a therapist. This could only end badly. For now, he just had to hope that whatever her quirk was, it wouldn't reveal too much. He just needed to lie, and everything would be okay. Just an hour and a half. Midoriya could do this.

Chapter Text

     Midoriya followed Dr. Yamamoto away from the 1-A classroom. They walked away from the hallway where the rest of his group was, and soon enough he couldn't see the door. Dr. Yamamoto must be heading towards one of the private conversation rooms; All Might had talked to him in those many times.

   Midoriya had been surprised to find that they were scattered all throughout the building. The one they were headed for was apparently disguised. The counselor stopped, Midoriya slowing to a halt behind her. As she opened a door marked ‘cleaning supplies’ and led him into a soundproofed, windowless room, Midoriya couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

    He knew that in reality, she had to be a trained doctor and go to medical school for years just to be allowed into UA like this. But still, his anxiety was going off the charts.

    It was like there was a part of him screaming that something was horribly wrong, he needed to run, what if that door locked from the outside, what if she told everyone his secrets, what if her quirk was something really horrible?

    By the time he had walked into the room, and the door had clicked shut behind him, Midoriya was sweating bullets.

    The room itself was like all of the other private conversation rooms Midoriya had been dragged into; two chairs, a small coffee table, and a moderately cozy atmosphere. The room smelled like wood, as if the room had only just been finished.

    Midoriya chose one of the chairs, and sat down, sinking into the cool fabric surface. He really wished he could get one of these chairs for his room, it was insanely comfortable. Something about it made him feel just the slightest bit nostalgic. The yellow-green flower patterns covering the entirety of the armchair looked like something an elderly relative would own.

    He leaned back into the chair, taking a deep breath. Therapy, or at least reaching out for help, is an important step in the process of getting better. If this were something that Midoriya had the option to refuse, then he would in a heartbeat.

    Not even considering the fact that he was trying to hide his suicide plans, he just didn’t want someone poking around in his head. Even if Midoriya wanted to recover, he wasn't sure if he would be able to open up to a doctor like this.

    Midoriya would prevent himself from breaking down at all costs; he could not talk about his feelings. It simply wasn't on the table. He needed to lie, and he needed to lie well. As long as he made it through the day, got the hair to Mirio, and got some alone time, Midoriya would be just fine.

    “So,” Dr. Yamamoto said, sinking into the chair opposite Midoriya's. “Is there anything in particular you would like to talk about?”

    “Um, yeah, I uh, do, but first, sorry to ask-- but uh, what's your quirk? I don't mean to be rude, I just don't-- I'm kind of afraid of, psycho, psychological quirks.”

    The doctor gave him a warm smile. “That's perfectly alright, Midoriya! My quirk is dust manipulation, nothing related to my job at all.”

    Midoriya let out a sigh. “Thank you, I just, uh, had to be sure. So, um, I guess what I should probably start with is when my dog died, a few years ago.”

     I've never owned a dog before. His name could be… Fido? No, that's an obviously made up name.

    “His name was Biscuit, and I loved him a lot. For a couple of weeks afterwards, I couldn't, uh, sleep without…”

     Nightmares? Too difficult to come up with. And, a little too close to the truth. Maybe insomnia? I don't know, hmm-- Okay I've paused too long I'm going with--

     “Wetting the bed,” Dr. Yamamoto said, knowingly.

    “Yes!” Midoriya said, cringing. “And anyway, I was sad about poor little, er, Biscuit, for a while afterwards. Even thinking about her now, I just--” Midoriya, paused, closing his eyes.

    “I thought Biscuit was a boy?” The doctor asked, slightly confused. Midoriya nodded sadly.

    “I never was sure,” he said, sighing. “I checked, but, I just didn't know.”

     You can't make mistakes like that, keep your story consistent--!

    Dr. Yamamoto frowned at that. “Sorry to ask, but now that you're older, can you tell the difference between…?”

    “Yes I can, don't worry,” Midoriya responded quickly. “I'm good.”

    “Well, alright! I'm sorry to hear about your dog, that sounds pretty bad,” she said.

    “Yup, it was pretty… bad,” Midoriya said. The two sat in silence for a minute. Midoriya had run out of material. He could make up a runaway twin sister? Patricia the clown?

    Midoriya seriously considered this for a second, legitimately not realizing that a clown twin living in America wasn't exactly a believable topic. Before Midoriya could come up with some more equally terrible ideas, Dr. Yamamoto changed the subject herself.

    “So, I don't mean to pry, but from what I saw out in the hallway with your friends… You have a crush on Todoroki Shouto, don't you?”

    She sounded almost disappointed.

    “Who?” Midoriya asked, sweating. Worst case scenario, he needs to bring up his daddy issues ASAP. No, too close to the truth-- he really does have daddy issues.

    “Oh, Izuku, you don't have to pretend,” the doctor said, coyly. “I know how you really feel about him.

    “Is, is Tokoyoki the one with the frog quirk?” Midoriya asked shakily.

    “You know who he is,” she said with a wink. “But I bet you'd be happy if he had that tongue--”

    “w OAH ,” Midoriya said, standing up from his chair. “Look, can we change the subject? I don't want to talk about this.”

    “Izuku, you know you want him,” Dr. Yamamoto pressed. “My quirk isn't really dust manipulation. Whenever I touch someone, I can dig through their feelings, picking apart their brain and all that. I know everything now. Your feelings, your thoughts.” She narrowed her eyes. “Your urges.”

    “Okay,” he said, beginning to get upset. “I asked if you had a quirk like that. I’m uncomfortable with this. I'm leaving now, have a good day.”

    “Izuuukuuu,” she whined. “I've been all up in your head! Poking, prodding, digging around. Can't we be best friends now that we know each other so well? Maybe Shouto would even let me be friends with him, too!”

    “...Don’t call me Izuku. And leave Shouto alone. If you lay a finger on him,” he said through clenched teeth. He would never use his quirk on a civilian, but Dr. Yamamoto was approaching villain territory dangerously fast.

    “Oh, spoilsport! But don't worry, there's no need to get so protective, Izuku! I'll back off, you can be the only one to lay fingers on him,” she said, smirking. “Or anything else.”

    Dr. Yamamoto then made a variety of lewd gestures.

    “I, I'm not even sure what that's supposed to be, but I don't like it!” Midoriya said, raising his voice. “You are way too old for me!”

    She gasped, feigning hurt. “I'm 17! How old do you think I am! And anyway, we already know so much about each other, it shouldn't matter.”

    “I barely know anything about you, and I want to keep it that way!”

    “Well, I'll share first, and then you can! Okay, so--!”

    She stepped one foot onto the coffee table. Jumping off of it into the air, she aimed a kick at Midoriya's head, planning to throw her body weight into the kick.

    “First off, my name isn't really Dr. Yamamoto! Maybe it was a little bit obvious,” the stranger said with a giggle. “I really let my disguise go!”

    Midoriya dodged to the left, towards the door. The stranger's foot hit the back of the chair he had just been standing in front of, knocking the chair over. They stood on top of the back of the chair, shifting into a fighting stance, right leg back. Midoriya sprinted for the doorknob, but a knife flying towards his hand caused him to flinch back.

    “I don't think our session is over quite yet, Izuku!” They said, not even breathing hard. “You love him! Admit it!” The stranger demanded, throwing another two knives meant to impale Midoriya's torso.

    He darted to the side, once again, narrowly missing the knives. He powered up One for All, full cowl.

    “Why won't you say it!” Toga Himiko screamed, her disguise melting off her body to reveal her true face. “If you won't love me, then just say it !”

    She sprinted towards Midoriya, a knife in each hand. Midoriya jumped up, narrowly avoiding slamming into the ceiling by catching himself and forcing his weight back to the ground. Toga dodged out of the way of his kick, slashing into the air in order to catch him on his way down. He dodged, again, bouncing off the walls until he landed a solid kick into her leg.

    Toga stumbled, for a moment, but caught herself. She slammed into Midoriya, pinning him against the ground. She grabbed a knife, jamming it through his hand to keep him pinned to the floor.

    He couldn't help but remember Stain.

    “Now, stay and talk about your feelings, Izuku! I know you love him. You want to hurt him, you want to see him bleed --”

    “No, I don't ! Whatever you saw in my head, I would never hurt him! I don't have the creepy blood obsession you do, I would never, I wouldn't hurt him, ever !”

    “Maybe not blood, but--” Toga smiled cheekily. “Other fluids?”

    “God damnit Toga, quit it!” Midoriya said, kicking her off of him. She slammed into the wall, knocked off of her feet. Midoriya reached over and yanked out the knife from his hand, wincing.

    “You want to touch him, I saw, I saw, you love him--” Toga giggled.

    “Seriously, shut up!” Midoriya yelled, getting to his feet.

    “Izuku and Shouto, sitting in a tree, f-u-c-k-i-n--” Her singing was cut off by a punch to her throat, which she gracefully dodged. “It's true, it's true I saw it all!” She said, cheerfully.

    “You can't even copy quirks, just shut up--!”

    Midoriya kicked her head, landing the hit. She fell to the ground, but rolled out of the way before he could make another move. She jumped to her feet, and giggled.

    “You’re right! I don’t even know what her quirk was , you were just really obvious! The way you undressed him with your eyes, I wonder… did you ever sneak a glance in the locker room~?” Toga whispered.

    Midoriya blushed, embarrassed but furious. He increased the amount of One for All he was using.

     5 percent to 7, to 10, to 14, to 25 percent!

     He wasn't sure if he could maintain this without hurting himself, he had never used this much successfully before.

     Focus on the microwave, focus on the microwave,

    His foot slammed into her torso, and she hit the wall. She slid down, finally beaten. When Midoriya was sure she was actually unconscious, he walked over to make sure she was alright. Midoriya was pissed at her right now, she said a lot of things that he didn't want to hear, no matter how true they were.

    But he didn't want to be a murderer. And Toga was 17 , apparently. Just a kid, like he was. If Midoriya let Bakugo have a second chance, (and a third, fourth, fifth..) then why shouldn't he let Toga? Maybe, what she really needed, was help. He was still incredibly angry , but--

    He was glad to feel the pulse on her throat, and see the rise and fall of her chest.

    Midoriya picked her up, holding her bridal style. Probably would have been easier to just haul her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes, but that would give her easy access to his spinal cord.

     Okay, keep that thought out of your mind, eugh .

__________

    In the 1-A classroom, Yaoyorozu sat alone in the back of the classroom, her punishment for what she had done. The isolation was lonely, and it hurt to be forced to be alone.

    ...Luckily, everyone else's punishment was to be in the back as well, and so there really was no change at all. Considering that she had assaulted a fellow student, the punishment most likely should have been a lot greater.

    According to Aizawa, though, it had been self defense.

    And even if she had gotten in more trouble, it would have been worth it. All of the girls in 1-A thanked her profusely, glad to finally be rid of the grape.

    “Yaoyorozu did surgery on a grape!” Mina whooped, cartwheeling across the classroom. Aizawa had left again, something about supervising the group he had taken outside. Considering that Iida was apart of that group, the classroom was chaos.

    Kaminari was currently taped to the ceiling, his mind numb due to overuse of his quirk. Sero was carefully standing under him, cautiously watching the tape slowly lose its stickiness.

    The quiet kids of the classroom-- Shouji, Tokoyami, and Koda-- had barricaded themselves behind all of the desks, now unable to be seen.

    Hagakure figured out the password to Aizawa's laptop (Catsandcoffee) and she was currently digging through his information with glee.

     With Bakugo and Kirishima arm wrestling (Sato refereeing the match), Ojiro testing his tail's strength by hanging out the window, and Aoyama dancing on Aizawa's desk, Yaoyorozu was exhausted.

    At least her girlfriend wasn't being too rambunctious; Yaoyorozu couldn't handle it if she were the only sane one in the room. She sat in her desk, a book in hand. No one was really looking forward to the whole therapy thing, but at least it wasn’t their turn.

    “...Hey, Momo, wanna make out?” Jirou asked.

    You know what, fuck it.

    Yaoyorozu shrugged, nodded, and Jirou grinned. A few minutes later, Mina screamed.

    “Mr. Aizawa's coming!”

    Quickly, everyone rushed to get everything and everyone back into position. The desk fortress was dismantled, much to Dark Shadow's sadness. Aizawa's laptop was shut, the arm wrestling match was called off, and Ojiro climbed back into the room.

    In only 60 seconds, everyone was back in their seats, breathing heavily due to the shared panic.

    Aizawa calmly opened the door, walking into the classroom.

    “Bad news, everyone, problem child's missing,” he stated. “Bakugo's group, you're up next once I find him, get ready.”

    He did a quick head count. “...Where's Kaminari?”

    “Wheyy!” Kaminari exclaimed, falling from the ceiling directly onto Aizawa.

    Luckily, Aizawa caught him, and turned to drop him on Sero's desk. Just as he was about to open his mouth and ground everyone for eternity, his laptop went off.

    “There are 15 detected viruses on your computer! Click now to wipe the viruses now, before it's too late,” it blasted. Aizawa sighed, and walked over to it. He opened the laptop.

    “Who the fuck was watching porn on my laptop?” He yelled.

    “Goddamnit you fucking Kecleon, you didn't clear the history?” Bakugo complained. “Now he's gonna cancel the goddamn Amazon purchases!”

    “Well it's not my fault Mina wanted to see his search history afterwards!” Hagakure protested, earning her a huff from Mina.

    “What a mad banquet of darkness,” Tokoyami said.

    “Why can't all of you be like Yaoyorozu?” Aizawa asked with a sigh. “Just, sit there, quietly, for 10 minutes?”

    “Well, we can't all make love to Jirou, at least not at once,” Aoyama pointed out.

    Blushing, Yaoyorozu hid her face.

    “...Really, Yaoyorozu? In class ?” Aizawa asked. “Alright, I'm going to go find Midoriya. I don't want to hear about any of this. And I'm taking my laptop with me.”

     Well, she still managed to keep out of trouble. Once Aizawa closed the door behind himself, the click of the door like a gunshot in the silent classroom, chaos promptly resumed.

    “Wanna keep making out?” Jirou suggested.

    “...Yes,” She responded, still blushing.

__________

      ‘Horny fucking teenagers, why did I even become a teacher in the first place? ’ Aizawa thought grumpily, stomping through the hallways.

    ‘ Swear to god, if they ever make the teachers move onto campus, I'm sleeping in the soundproofed conversation rooms .’

    Wait, shit, the conversation rooms. Midoriya could be in one of those. But, they were all over the place. Oh dear god, where was Todoroki?

    ‘ Horny fucking teenagers,’ Aizawa whispered under his breath.

    “Aizawa, there you are!” Recovery Girl said, walking quickly into view. “Come with me, you need to help!” Okay, he guessed that he would find Midoriya later, then.

    ...He didn't want to walk in on anything, anyway.

Chapter Text

     Mineta sat alone on a chair just inside Recovery Girl's office. She wasn't here right now, sadly. Both arms and a leg were broken; he was lucky that he would come away from this without any permanent injury. Getting thrown out of a window four stories up generally wasn't a very safe activity.

    Honestly, he didn't think Yaoyorozu had it in her. Not due to a lack of strength; everyone in 1-A could pick him up easily. Shouji and Midoriya had a contest a few months ago on who could bench press Mineta the most times. No, it wasn't that he didn't think Yaoyorozu was strong enough.

    It was just that she was always so shy . When Mineta would harass her, she wouldn't even yell at him or anything, at least at the beginning of the year. He could make as many lewd jokes as he wanted without any repercussions.

    Now, though, Yaoyorozu fought back. That isn't to say Mineta didn't like a chick who fought back, just that sometimes he wanted someone who would just shut up and let him ogle.

    Mineta sighed, and then immediately winced. Any and every movement was agony. He had no clue why Midoriya hadn't dropped out the first week when he was breaking all of his bones. It hurt .

    He had only just been escorted to Recovery Girl’s office by Aoyama, who hadn't even been the slightest bit friendly. Everyone in his class seemed to hate him, and Mineta had no clue why. He wasn't really concerned about it, though, he knew he was better than everyone else, at least personality-wise. Maybe a few of the other kids were better heroes, for now, but Mineta knew he was great.

    Once Recovery Girl healed him back up, he could go and take another try at asking out one of the ladies. Jirou, maybe?

    Mineta sat there with a grin on his face, thinking about what'd he say the next attempt.

    Then the door to his right opened, Recovery Girl walking in. Mineta turned to face her, wincing as the motion jostled his arms.

    “Recovery Girl!” He said. “I got thrown out of the window, come heal me! Both my arms are broken, and so's one of my legs, and it really hurts!”

    “Sorry, dearie, I'm on break,” Recovery Girl said, the stab in her voice passing right over Mineta's head. “You'll be fine.”

    “But, but it hurts! And it's your job to serve me! You're a female!”

    “I'm a female who's on break,” she said in a bitter tone. She turned to leave through the open door, but paused. Mineta's heart soared, thinking she had changed her mind.

    “Finally, you've stopped being so hysterical,” Mineta laughed. “Alright, carry me over to the bed.”

    “No, I see an actual patient,” Recovery Girl said, staring out into the hallway. “Oh dear god, it’s Midoriya.”

    “Who cares! He deals with injuries all the time, heal me !” Mineta cried.

    “Recovery Girl!” Midoriya said, running into the room. In his arms was an unconscious blonde girl, who looked thoroughly bruised.

    “Oh, nice dude!” Mineta praised. “Leave some for me!”

    “Mineta, shut the hell up or I'll throw you out another window,” Midoriya spat, still angry from Toga's words.

    “Is that… Toga Himiko!” Recovery Girl gasped. “She's hurt, but--”

    “She's just a kid. Please, can you help her?” Midoriya asked.

    “...Alright,” she conceded. “Bring her over to one of the beds, and I'll heal her. First, though, go get Aizawa or any other teacher you can find.”

    “Um, sorry, I, uh, don't really want to leave you alone with her, uh, sorry,” Midoriya apologized, Toga still in his arms.

    “I could beat her!” Mineta protested.

    Raising an eyebrow in skepticism, Midoriya gave him a deadpan look. “With three broken limbs, you want to fight Toga Himiko?”

    “No, no, but I could!”

    “Right. Sure. Anyway, Recovery Girl, I’ll stay here and watch her. Do you like, have anything I could restrain her to the bed with?” Midoriya asked. Mineta opened his mouth, and Midoriya threw him a glare. He closed his mouth.

    “Yes, there are some handcuffs in the drawer for precisely situations like these,” Recovery Girl said. “Alright, I'm going to go get help.”

    She turned away and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Midoriya placed Toga down onto the bed in front of him, none too gently. Her words had struck multiple nerves.

    He pulled out two pairs of handcuffs from a drawer next to the bed, cuffing her wrists and ankles to the metal frame of the bed. Satisfied that she wouldn't be able to escape if she woke up, Midoriya stepped back to wait for Recovery Girl to come back with help.

    “I still haven't gotten healed yet,” Mineta whined, his lip sticking out in a childish pout.

    “...Mineta,” Midoriya said after a moment of silence. “Do you know why everyone hates you?”

    “Yeah, because they're jealous,” Mineta asked without a moment's hesitation.

    “No, it's because you treat women like objects and make everyone uncomfortable.”

    “But that’s how men are supposed to treat females, they like it! All of ‘em are just playing hard to get.”

    “Mineta, all the girls in our class hate you,” Midoriya said bluntly. “And 1-B, 1-C, 1-D, and so on. You've even got a reputation in the upper years!”

    “Uh, yeah, they're jealous!” Mineta insisted.

    “No one is jealous of you,” he sighed in response. “Women do not like it when you treat them the way you do. I made my first friend since preschool this year and even I know that!”

    “So a friendless loser is trying to give me love advice?” Mineta said drily.

    “Well I have friends now , which is more than you can say!” Midoriya snapped, standing up to face him. Mineta's words were a bit too familiar.

    “I have friends!” Mineta protested.

    “Name. One.”

    “Mina, Uraraka, Jirou, Yaoyorozu--”

    “Yaoyorozu literally threw you out of a window just 5 minutes ago!” Midoriya said in disbelief.

    “She was playing hard to get!”

    “There’s no helping you,” Midoriya said, holding his face in his hands. “I don't know why I thought I could do something about you, you're just so, ugh!”

    “I'm so what? Awesome? Popular? Just get out of my face, what'd I ever do to you?”

    “Nothing!” Midoriya shouted in exasperation. “But you keep messing with all of the girls, and none of the teachers care, and I'm just so tired of teachers letting bullies get away with hurting everyone! You're going to become a hero. You're going to be popular, and amazing, and you'll have fans screaming your name. You'll get everything you've ever wanted, just because no adult ever cared to tell you what you did was wrong.

    “You hurt everyone around you, and all of our teachers turned a blind eye! You beat me, you used your quirk against me, you turned the entire school against me, you told me to kill myself on one of the worst days of my life. And you know what? You know what, Kacchan? I almost did! I didn't even mean to be on that rooftop, but I was! And I wasn't prepared, but I tried! I tried so hard!

    "But it didn't work, so I'm still alive, and I hate it. I hate you! You've never even said sorry. You aren't sorry. You're going to be an amazing hero, Kacchan, but you'll always be a horrible person, I--"

    “Oh, hey, Mr. Aizawa,” Mineta said to the teacher standing behind Midoriya. Recovery Girl walked into the room, as well. She silently picked up Mineta, carrying him to a bed in the corner of the office, simply to give Midoriya and Aizawa some privacy. She then came back into Midoriya’ eyesight, next to Toga's bed. Recovery Girl injected her with something, then went back to Mineta.

    “Midoriya,” Aizawa started, concerned. He had overheard the end of the rant.  Midoriya glared down at the floor, tears dripping from his eyes. He hated that he always cried when he was angry. “Did you really try to…?”

    Midoriya leapt out of the chair, full cowl activated. He sprinted past the door, slamming it shut behind him as he ran. Aizawa jolted after him, but just as he left the room, Midoriya passed a corner, gone.

__________

    Midoriya was so stupid . He couldn't believe that he had just started ranting like that. He was such a fucking idiot, quirkless loser, useless nobody, a goddamn Deku.

    Now, Aizawa knew. Maybe not everything, but he knew. Soon enough, he would tell everyone. His mom, All Might, everyone in his class. Midoriya wouldn't be able to die, because everyone would be watching .

    He only had a little bit of time before the alarm was raised and everyone began searching. He was an idiot for running, too. He could have just said he tried once a long time ago. Now, it looks like he's running because he's off to kill himself.

    ‘ Which I am! ’ Midoriya thought hysterically, laughter bubbling out of his throat. He sprinted through the school grounds, moving so fast that everyone he passed was just a blur. No one could catch up to him, and no one could stop him. That is, as long as he just kept running.

    Once the metal fence surrounding the main campus was in view, Midoriya only sped up. When he was just a few feet away from colliding with the fence, Midoriya bunched his legs up, and easily leapt over the fence. He landed, rolling against the ground in order to save his ankles and prevent from losing speed. Behind him, someone shouted. He took no notice of it, and just kept sprinting. He was still on campus, just in the far border of the plot of land.

    He darted in between trees, leaping over anything that would take too long to move past. He didn't really have a direction to run in, he just knew that he had to get out of there.

    Perhaps 10 minutes later, and who knows how many miles, Midoriya slowed to a walk. Now deep, deep into the campus, he leaned forward, exhausted. His lungs burned as he panted, never having run this hard in his life. Or at least, he's never sprinted for that long.

    Midoriya would have taken a moment to be proud of himself if it weren't for the fact that all of his progress meant nothing.

    He reminded himself that he should be so much better than he was. He had been trained personally by All Might for 10 entire months, not even including his time at UA, and so many of his classmates were leaps and bounds ahead of him.

    While his classmates pushed to move past their own limits, making themselves stronger and smarter, Midoriya wasn't doing any of that. He couldn't.

    As of now, right this moment, Midoriya could use as much of One for All as he wanted. He could use more than that, too, he even has before!

    But he couldn't do it without ripping his limbs apart and grinding his bones into dust. Another few times, and he wouldn't even be able to use his hands.

    While everyone else was giving it their all, using one hundred percent of their quirks at any given moment, Midoriya couldn't. He could use about twenty percent of his quirk on a good day.

    Bitterly, he reminded himself that he didn't even have a quirk. Midoriya was quirkless. He was just borrowing All Might’s quirk, nothing more. He was an empty vessel, taking a brief break from being so useless . The next of many holders, only meant to keep the flame alive until his time on earth was over.

    And his time on earth was over. Mirio would be great. His smiles came so easy, he reassured everyone around him, and just as a third year he was already a symbol of peace, in his own way. He would be perfect.

    Midoriya wondered if it was his own fault for Nighteye's death, because Mirio could have saved him if he had One for All.

    Funny enough, if All Might hadn't have saved Midoriya from the slime villain, then Nighteye would be just fine.

    If not that, then if Midoriya hadn't failed to commit suicide that day on the roof, when All Might left him there.

    ...All Might could never find out how close he was to killing him, albeit indirectly. Luckily, he was vague enough in his rant. ‘The worst day of his life’.

    Accurate.

    Still, though, Midoriya had rested enough. He needed to keep moving. There were tracking quirks, and technology could do just as well. But before running off again, he needed to figure out where to go.

    He made a checklist of what he needed to do before he die. It was short.

     ‘Find Mirio.’

     Well, he supposed he knew what he was doing next, then.

__________

    School was technically over, for Mirio, at least. Homeroom, regular classes, and then hero training. But his last class of the day wasn't exactly something that he could participate in, not after today.

    He tried, at first, once he was back from the hospital. And then, he got hurt in a mock battle. Nothing Recovery Girl couldn't fix, it wasn't really a big deal, really.

    But Mirio had been a liability to the rest of his team. They had to spend the rest of the match watching out for him, because he could barely even walk at the time.

    No one wanted to say it, but everyone was thinking it, he could tell.

     ‘What if it had been a real battle? I would have been useless, a danger to everyone else. Without my quirk, how can I ever be a hero?’

     Everyone had just looked at him sadly once the match was over. Knowing that his days in the hero course were numbered. Class 3-C had his name written all over it.

    The embarrassment and shame made Mirio wish he could sink into the floor. Both to avoid the look on Tamaki's face, and because he really just missed his quirk.

    Mirio had tried to use it, in the mock battle. He had paused, right in front of his opponent, with a grin on his face. It had just startled him when his quirk didn't come to him.

    It didn't matter though, it really didn't! Because he knew that there would one day be a way to get his quirk back. Through Eri, or cross-engineering a drug out of the stuff that had gotten him into this mess in the first place! He couldn't lose hope.

    ...Though, the difference between Eri and the drug that had been shot into him was small. It disgusted him to know that her cells were in that drug. Overhaul disgusted him. It was over now, though, and Eri was safe. If he had a chance to give up Eri for his quirk, Mirio would never even consider it, not even for a moment.

    Even if he never got to save a million people like he had promised himself, he had saved one. And that was enough, it really was.

    Mirio walked out of Recovery Girl's office, ignoring the sad feeling in his chest. He couldn't let these sorts of things keep him down. He had mourned his quirk, but he could get it back, eventually.

    Mirio continued walking down the hallway, ready to head back to the dorms. Just as he turned the corner, though, something barrelled into his chest and he was knocked off his feet.

    “Mirio!” A familiar voice shouted. From the electric crackle of lightning surrounding the small teen, and the green mop of hair on his head, Mirio immediately identified him.

    “Oh, hey Midoriya! What's the rush?” Mirio asked, getting to his feet.

    “Sorry! For, uh, bumping into you, I-I mean. Uh, no rush, really, but um, we need to leave, right now , trust me let's go--” Midoriya said in lieu of an explanation. Before Mirio could question him further, Midoriya picked him up and sprinted.

    Everything was a blur, and Mirio was incredibly confused. And a little bit impressed that Midoriya could carry him when Mirio was almost twice his size.

    He didn't ask any more questions until Midoriya had slowed to a stop, far into the woods at the far ends of campus.

    It was beautiful in this part of the school, though the greenery in the area had obviously been cleared out. There was no undergrowth in the area, nor bushes. Only tall coniferous trees covered the expanse of the land. Close enough together to prevent most light from reaching the damp forest floor.

    “So!” Mirio started goodnaturedly. “What was that all about?”

    Midoriya giggled nervously, anxious out of his mind. Rocking back and forth on his feet like a scolded child. “Sorry, I just, uh, wanted to have a um, private conversation where, no one could overhear us?”

    Mirio frowned. “I know you’re a first year, but those conversation rooms are all over the place . I would’ve thunk they were common knowledge in your class by now.

    “Hah, I remember back in the first couple of years, when we didn’t have the dorms for private areas. Man, those were some--” He blushed. “But that isn’t important right now! Anyway, what was so important that we had to come all the way out here?”

    Midoriya winced, embarrassed. “...You know Nedzu has cameras in all of those, right…?”

    Mirio's smile slid off of his face. In a high pitched voice he responded, “Peachy!”

    “But, um, I just wanted, uh, some… advice? And I brought drinks, uh, here you go!” Midoriya tossed a bottle of blue liquid to Mirio.

    He skeptically eyed the unlabeled, already opened, plastic water bottle.

    “It's kool aid,” Midoriya explained. He grabbed his own bottle, red. Specifically kept the colors different so there would be no silly mix-ups. Mirio opened the bottle, and took a swig. Midoriya did his best to hide his grin

    “Alright, so what did you need advice on?” Mirio asked.

    “Ah, uh, well, I--” Midoriya cut himself off with a sigh. “I don't need advice, I just wanted to talk.”

    Midoriya figured he needed to get Mirio to drink all of the kool aid before the hair clippings could settle to the bottom. Midoriya had only needed a single hair from All Might, so a couple more drinks and he should be good.

    “Don't like kool aid?” Midoriya asked.

    “Huh? No, kool aid's good, thanks for making me some.” Mirio took another drink as if to prove his gratitude. “But, is something wrong, Midoriya? What needed this level of secrecy?”

    “Sometimes, it, just, uh, I just like to get away from the crowds, sometimes,” Midoriya said.

    “Wait… you're supposed to be in class right now, school isn't out yet. Midoriya, why're you skipping?”

    “Just, uh, takin’ a break, no biggie,” he said, avoiding the question. He took a long drink out of his own, hairless, kool aid bottle. Mirio did as well, unconsciously mirroring Midoriya's actions.

    Mirio sighed. “Look, I'm not going to snitch on you, but you shouldn’t make a habit of skipping class. You're going to be a really great hero, but if you let yourself fall behind, it'll be hard to catch up!”

    “I'm not,” Midoriya said quietly. “Not going to be a hero, I mean.”

    Mirio gaped at him. “But… but, Midoriya, isn't that all you've ever wanted to do? I haven't known you for that long, but you love hero stuff, why would you…?”

    Midoriya hung his head, and spoke in a calm voice. “If someone were to say that they could give you a quirk, and that you could keep training to be a hero, would you accept it? Would you go through learning how to use a new quirk, and follow your dream?”

    Mirio took a second to ponder the question. “I dunno, probably not. Someone having to lose their own quirk, I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I had to. No, I probably wouldn't accept.”

    The answer didn't really surprise Midoriya, he knew that Mirio was amazing like that.

    “Could you take another drink of the kool aid, please, Mirio?” He asked, quietly.

    Mirio complied. “Where'd that question come from, anyway? It’s not like quirks can even be passed down, anyways.”

    Midoriya shrugged. “No reason. Hey, let's finish the rest of these drinks and I'll throw the bottles away.”

    Mirio chugged the last of his drink, bottle perpendicular to the ground. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Man, what is it with you and kool aid today,” Mirio laughed. “I get staying hydrated is important, but…”

    The gears turned in his head. “It’s important, but… Midoriya, why aren't you going to become a hero?”

    “You know, I developed my quirk late. Very late,” Midoriya began. “I first realized I had one in the last moments of the UA entrance exam. It broke every bone in my body. Even though it hurt, and even though I thought I had failed the exam, I was still happy, because I had a quirk .

    “My whole life, I had been bullied mercilessly for something I couldn't help. Countless burns, bruises, cuts. There wasn't a single person in my life who believed in me. When I asked my mom if I could be a hero, she just cried and said she was sorry. When my friends all left me, and I kept trying to catch up, they'd just turn around to shove me back into the ground, where I belonged. No one ever stepped in. Teachers, parents, nobody.”

    “Midoriya…” Mirio said.

    “When my dad walked out on me and my mom,” Midoriya continued. “The only explanation he gave was that he didn't want a broken son. Now, I don't even remember his face.

    “What really hurt the most, though, is when the hero I had looked up to all my life saved me from a villain. I asked him if I could be a hero, and he told me no, because quirkless people couldn't ever become pros.”

    Tears sprung to Mirio’s eyes, and he couldn't help but think of the mock battle.

    “Familiar, right?” Midoriya said, bitter. “You deserve to be a hero, Mirio. And you'll be an amazing one. Better than I ever could have been.”

    “Midoriya, you can't just-- It's your quirk! You, you've always wanted to be a hero, why would you?” Mirio said, tears spilling over onto his cheeks. He gripped the plastic bottle with a tight fist, and it collapsed under the pressure.

    “Like I said,” Midoriya smiled sadly. “Only one of us can have this quirk. And you’ll be great.” He turned, ready to sprint farther into the woods, and eventually away from UA altogether. Facing away from Mirio, not able to look him in the eye, Midoriya continued. “Talk to All Might. He has answers for you. And If you really don't want my quirk, he’ll have solutions, too.”

    “I thought you, you wanted to be a hero?” Mirio said softly, tears still cascading down his face.

    “I do. But I need this more.” He looked back at Mirio, then, and gave him a soft smile. Midoriya was crying, too. “Save your million people for me, won't you?”

    Mirio blinked, and the only thing showing that Midoriya had been there at all were the rustling branches of the trees, moved by the quivering vestiges of One for All.

__________

    Somewhere in the distance, Midoriya’s body was wracked with sobs as he ran. He tripped, and slid across the ground, dirt smearing all over his clothes. He took a moment to lay there, wailing. He was quirkless again, a Deku as always.

     It was never my quirk in the first place. He'll be better than I ever could. God, why did I tell him all of that? I just have to shut up, damnit.

    He got to his feet, wiping his eyes, sniffing. He had to keep moving.

__________

    Mirio stood there, for a minute, not wanting or able to move. He didn't know what this conversation had meant, how could he? But still, he was worried.

    He didn't move at all until the phone in his pocket vibrated desperately. He numbly reached his hand into his pocket, and pulled it out to see that Aizawa was calling him. Which was weird, considering that the last time he had spoken to the man was when the big three talked to 1-A. He answered the call.

    “Mirio,” Aizawa said, his voice showing more emotion than Mirio had ever heard from him before. “Have you seen Midoriya recently? Your classmates said he came by, asking where you were. If you have any idea where he went, please, we need to find him immediately.”

    “He, he wanted to have a private conversation with me, he took me to the woods on campus. We talked for a while, about some-- about some intense stuff, and then he ran away deeper into the forest. I'm really worried about him…”

    Aizawa gave a sharp bark of laughter that had no humor in it. “We have reason to believe he is going to hurt himself. What area of the campus did he head to? We need to find him fast, we think-- we think he might be about to really,” Aizawa sighed. His voice sounded choked.

    “The west side. I, is he going to be okay? What do you mean by hurt himself? I feel like… this isn't going to be quirk overuse,” Mirio said nervously.

    “He accidentally said that he has attempted suicide before, and then bolted.” Aizawa said robotically. Then, he went silent for a moment. “Hound Dog has his scent, west side of campus like you said. We're going to find him, don't worry.”

    “He-- He-- I, he gave me, something really, really important to him, and, he wouldn't, he made sure I wouldn't be able to give it back. Oh my god, I'm such a, I--”

    “Hey,” Aizawa said, a crude imitation of a comforting voice. Still, Mirio knew he was trying his best. “It isn't your fault. We'll find him. I’ve gotta go help look, I need to be able to cancel out his quirk if he tries to run. I'll update you on the situation. Bye,” Aizawa said, ending the call.

    Mirio brought the phone down from his ear, placing it back into his pocket. He numbly sat down on the ground, not particularly caring about the dirt.

    How could he have let Midoriya run off? If he dies, Mirio knew that it would be entirely his fault. He couldn't let that happen.

    He swore to himself that he would give Midoriya’s quirk back. Promising that he would be okay.

Chapter Text

     Midoriya Izuku remembered the day he met All Might. That day was an extraordinary rollercoaster of highs and lows. His notes were destroyed, he was captured by a villain. He met his hero, and he told him that he would never be able to follow his dream. He saved his own bully from a slow and painful death, and All Might decided that yes, he can become a hero.

    He remembered the joy he had felt when All Might brought back Midoriya’s hope for his dreams. It was like stars bursting inside his heart, superheated plasma splattering against the chambers and ventricles. Countless universes were born inside his chest in that moment, and in between each heartbeat one burnt out.

    Maybe that was joy? He didn't know.

    For the first time in his life, someone believed in him. And it was his hero . It was All Might! In that second, everything he had ever been through had been worth it. The pain, the crying, the cuts, the burns, the bruises. Every time Bakugo pushed him down and tried to stifle him, Midoriya had gotten back up. And now, all of his determination had paid off. The chance of a lifetime, of a century, the chance of a millennia. That day had been the best in Midoriya's life, simply because for once, he had hope.

    But that day had been one of the worst in his life, too.

    Midoriya Izuku remembered the sludge villain, forcing his slime down his throat, slowly suffocating him. Gallon after gallon after gallon, into his lungs, his stomach. He couldn't even vomit.

    He remembered his hero revealing that every day of his life was pain, that his smile was fake, and he was afraid. His one positive male role model in his life telling him that he only went on for the good of the public. Shattering his dreams, throwing at him the idea of police work like a participation trophy.

    He remembered his old middle school teacher betraying him, offhandedly mentioning his application to UA as if he didn't know what saying that meant for Midoriya. His teacher watched it happen every day, how could he not know? How could he let this happen, and why did it continue? Why had every adult in his life failed him, on that day and all the others before?

    Midoriya remembered what had been the worst of all. He remembered what Bakugo had said to him, before destroying his notebook and throwing it out the window.

    “Believe that you'll be a hero in your next life, and take a dive off the roof!”

    Bakugo hadn't really thought that through. After years of knowing Midoriya, how could he think that he would want to die in a way like that? Of course he would never even think of doing something like that.

    Jumping off a roof? God, never. He would slit his wrists, or perhaps his throat. A noose, pills, maybe? All three, just for good measure? But anyway, Bakugo really should know him better by now. Midoriya didn't want to die in such a visible way.

    He knew, of course, what trying to commit suicide would mean for him. What taking the elevator to the highest floor of the dorm room would mean.

    Someone would see him through the numerous cameras, and follow him to the roof. They would try to talk him down. Midoriya is weak. He knows he's weak. If someone tried to talk him down from the roof, he would break.

    And if he were strong? If he didn't back down? If Midoriya leaped off the roof, finally shoving down the cowardly feelings of terror that had plagued him his entire life?

    Someone would catch him, of course.

    So no, it was too risky. He would be convinced to step down.

    He didn't want to be talked down from his plans. He didn't want help. He didn't want someone to hug him and tell him it would be alright. He didn’t want to go to therapy, spilling his guts to some stranger who was paid to tolerate him. He didn't want everyone to look at him with that look, that goddamn look, pitying him with a glance. He knew that if he was talked down, what he did would follow him for the rest of his life.

    Deku: The Useless Hero, the one who couldn’t even save himself.

    No, that wasn't how Midoriya Izuku would commit suicide. Midoriya knew what he was going to do. He would die alone, and by the time someone found him, it would be too late. Midoriya didn't want help. He wanted to die.

__________

    The woods were beautiful, this time of day. It was the afternoon, and so the winter sun was close to setting. The sky was a pleasant blue. Not the pale azure of noon in the summer, but a softer, darker, color.

    Though it was early March, and most of the trees had yet to grow their leaves back, the needles on the conifers in this forest had kept their greenery throughout the winter.

    The forest was perfect in this way; if you didn't have some sort of quirk to aid you, it would be virtually impossible to find him in time. Though, he was sure someone in the faculty had a tracking quirk, so he should really hurry up.

    Midoriya leaned back, breathing in the crisp winter air. Out of his pocket he pulled everything he would need.

    A note, prewritten. A razor blade, one of the many that he had neglected to remove from his dorm room. And a small tarp, folded to fit into his pocket.

    Just to be safe, Midoriya would do the job underneath the tarp, so that anyone who wasn't ready to see the body wouldn't have to. He would pity any General Ed kid that went out for a stroll and discovered a corpse.

    Before he threw the tarp over himself, though, he wanted to look up at the sky.

    Midoriya laid down on the damp ground, mud most likely seeping into the backs of his clothing. He would have been worried about washing the dirt out of his hair, but Midoriya knew that it wouldn’t be his problem, soon enough.

    ...Maybe he should add something on his suicide note to apologize to the mortician.

    But really, he needed to hurry. They could be here any minute. The note would have to be left as is; he had already said enough. It would most likely go unread, considering that everyone would be relieved at his death, anyway.

    With practiced ease, Midoriya gripped the razor in his hand, and brought it to his neck. He turned his head to the right, revealing the artery he would need to puncture so he would bleed out in time. He would need to make one swift cut, hopefully slashing his throat deep enough to cause him to suffocate. One potential death wouldn't be enough; Midoriya needed to cover all of his bases.

    He breathed in, and out, and then looked up at the sky.

__________

    And as Midoriya brought the blade down onto his skin, Iida studied for the upcoming math test.

__________

    As he dragged it across the flesh of his neck, Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, Bakugo, and Sero were out singing karaoke, with the permission of their teachers, of course.

__________

    And as Midoriya’s throat burned, Uraraka and Tsuyu teamed up against Todoroki in Super Smash Bros.

__________

    And as he breathed in a shaky breath, still staring up into the cracks of sky in between the needles of the trees, Midoriya Inko invited her neighbor over for dinner.

__________

    And as his vision grew hazy, and he knew that he didn't have long, and he was relieved that it was over, and he dragged the tarp over his head to cover at the very least his oozing throat, only a select few understood that something was very wrong.

__________

    And as Midoriya’s skin grew into a clammy pale shade, his teachers raced through the woods, desperately searching for where his body laid.

__________

    And as his heart sputtered, bravely attempting to oxygenate itself, Aizawa, Hound Dog, Recovery Girl, and All Might burst into the clearing in which his body bled out.

__________

    And as his breaths came out in quick, shuddering, gasps, Recovery Girl peeled back the tarp and pressed her lips to his forehead.

__________

    And as Midoriya made a full recovery, he had lost too much blood to realize that it was too late, he was saved. He fell unconscious, a smile on his face.

__________

    The first thing Midoriya could hear was the beeping. And of course, it was familiar. How many times had he woken up in Recovery Girl’s office? He didn't even need to open his eyes to know where he was.

    Just as familiar was the confusion upon waking up, though. He had his reputation for a reason; he was consistently scared and confused whenever he woke somewhere that was not his room.

    Now, though, he figured he had just hurt himself in training once again. His arms would definitely be fine, he didn't use those with One for All much anymore. And his leg braces would protect him from any permanent damage in his legs, so really, Midoriya wasn't that concerned.

    He opened his eyes, yawning as he sat up. Smacking his mouth, feeling tired in the way that one does after waking up after a nap. Midoriya cracked his knuckles, pulling his hand up to scratch his nose. His hand stopped halfway, and a metallic clank startled him. He glanced down to see his wrist handcuffed to the frame of the bed.

     ‘Don't think about it the cuffs aren't there you could move if you wanted to you they aren't there think of anything else, wait--’

     ‘Oh, fuck, I switched bodies with Toga, oh god,’

    But no, his hands were scarred furiously, and he recognised them as his own. So what had happened?

    Before he could set his brain to work, inevitably coming up with an incredibly off-the-mark conclusion once again, the door to Recovery Girl’s office opened with a creak.

    “Oh, hey Mr. Aizawa!” Midoriya said brightly. “Uh, why am I chained to the bed? Also, can I be let go? Immediately?

    Because, after all, he couldn't stop thinking about the slime villain and he was barely holding it together. It was okay, though, nobody knew about his weird claustrophobia thing. He had made sure nobody knew he was weak.

    “...You don't remember, do you,” Aizawa stated, his sentence no where close to a question. “We're-- We figured that you would try and run as soon as you realized what was going on.” Aizawa walked over to stand by Midoriya's bed.

    Immediately, Midoriya's mind went into overdrive, recognizing that if they thought he would want to run, then he needed to run .

    He needed time to think, and that had to be done alone. Luckily, handcuffs couldn't stop him. He activated full cowl, quickly jerking his wrists away from the bed, fully expecting the metal to bend, and then break under the force.

    Instead, they just dig into his wrists. The absence of the familiar electric green lightning shocked him into silence.

    “Why's… why can't I…?” Midoriya whispered.

    “Actually,” Aizawa said in confusion. “I'm not sure. I didn't erase your quirk, so why..?”

    “Oh my god,” Midoriya whispered. His mind connected the pieces.

     ‘Missing quirk-- Mirio-- Handcuffs-- Hospital-- Handcuffs- Suicide-- Handcuffs-- Handcuffs-- HANDCUFFS HANDCUFFS HANDCUFFS--’

     “Let me go,” Midoriya said quietly.

    Aizawa shook his head. “Kid, for your own safety--”

    “Let me go,” Midoriya said louder, a warning. Aizawa just shook his head once again, and the panic of being restrained caught

up with Midoriya. He writhed on the bed, sheets twisting, and oh god his legs were cuffed to the bed too --

    The heart monitor next to Midoriya's bed went wild , the spaces between each beat were barely noticeable.

    “Kid, I'm sorry, but it's for your own safety," Aizawa said loudly, over the heart monitor's panic. Midoriya didn't respond, the only noise coming out of his mouth was a whimpering sob.

    “Please,” Midoriya gasped, still writhing furiously, the cuffs impressing on his wrists and ankles. He couldn't move, he couldn’t-- he needed to-- he has to--

    "Phobia-- god damnit," Midoriya choked out, tears streaming down his face.

    Aizawa froze. Then, he quickly dug into the drawer by Midoriya’s bed, and pulled out a key. Swiftly, he unlocked each limb, swearing furiously.

    Midoriya hyperventilated, curling into a ball. He still couldn't take full breaths, his lungs felt constricted by his rib cage, he needed to breathe , he dug his fingers into his chest, prepared to rip his rib cage out of the cavity.

    Aizawa jerked his hands away, and placed his hands on the panicking student’s shoulders, grounding him.

    “Midoriya, breathe with me, slowly. In and out,” he said, demonstrating the way in which he should be breathing. Slowly, Midoriya calmed down from his panic.

    Once Midoriya had calmed enough for Aizawa to feel that he was alright, he backed up.

    “We won't handcuff you to the bed again,” Aizawa promised. Damnit, why wasn't there a file on all of his student's phobias? There were healthy ways to confront your fears, and then there was traumatizing incidents that would only serve to make it worse.

    Midoriya nodded. “Thanks,” he said, in between slowing gasps. "Slime villain, last-- last summer, I'm sorry, I just, I'm sorry."

    "Do you wanna talk about it, kid?" Aizawa asked. Midoriya shook his head. He was quiet, then. He rubbed his wrists where the cuffs had bit into his skin. Then, he stretched out his limbs, reassuring himself that he wasn't restrained any longer.

    Midoriya hated that he was so afraid of this. How could he be a hero when this bothered him so much? If a villain ever tied him up, he would be useless. Hell, whenever Aizawa used his capture weapon, Midoriya couldn't even watch. He was just thankful his exams weren't against him, because Midoriya knew he would have been too anxious to pass.

    Recovery Girl walked into the room, unaware of what had occurred. She glanced over the scene, seeing Aizawa's tight grimace and Midoriya's tear stained cheeks. She sent a questioning look towards Aizawa.

    “He apparently has a phobia of being tied up,” Aizawa told her in a tight voice. Recovery Girl frowned, realizing the problem

    “Oh dear. I'm so sorry, my child,” Recovery Girl apologized. “

    “It's fine.”

    In reality, Midoriya was far from fine. He had gone so far beyond panicking that he was calm once again.

    It wasn't just the handcuffs. Now, he had realized why he was here in the first place. He had failed . He was a quirkless Deku once again, he could never be a hero, and he wouldn't ever even get to die. But he couldn't break down. Not here, not in front of others.

    “So what now?” Midoriya said, his voice choked. He knew what was going to happen. He would be hospitalized, far away from UA. He would remain quirkless. And he would never be able to achieve either of his dreams.

    “I don't know,” Aizawa stated bluntly. Midoriya blinked in surprise.

    “...Can I go back to my dorm, then?” He asked, hesitantly. If he somehow got the opportunity to finish what he started, he would need to take it before it was too late.

    “Mumbling, problem child, keep it in mind,” Aizawa sighed.

    “And no, you cannot go back to your room, Midoriya.” Recovery Girl said gently.

    “Worth a shot,” Midoriya responded, his voice breaking. He curled up into a ball, pulling the blankets of the bed over himself. He refused to cry. He wouldn't cry until he was alone.

    Aizawa wished that he knew what to do. He had never been good at this. Confronting him had only made him push everyone away. He opened up once, on accident, and immediately attempted suicide. Aizawa tried giving him some space, and he starved himself. Aizawa was loath to admit it, but this situation was entirely beyond him.

    Recovery Girl was no counselor, either. She went to UA, and she went to medical school afterwards, as well, but this wasn't something she was trained to do. She knew what she was legally required to do, of course. All teachers were mandatory reporters; alert the higher ups, call the parents, push the kid towards a counselor. Beyond that, nothing else. Really, it was up to Midoriya Inko, now.

    They'd contacted Nedzu, the rat had said he would stay aware of it. Aizawa called his mom, and apparently she already knew. Everyone had been not-so-subtly trying to get him to go to a counselor, or at least open up to someone , and it apparently just wasn't something he wanted to do.

    ‘ So yeah,’ Aizawa thought. ‘What now?’

     “...The best option as of now is hospitalization,” Recovery Girl said, once Midoriya's sobs had quieted. She recognized that Midoriya needed help that she couldn't give him, as well.

    “Yeah,” Midoriya whispered in resignation. He wondered what sort of job he would have to get now that his dreams of being a hero were really, truly, dead. It didn't matter, he would find a way to die eventually. He had to. Before then…

    “Can I speak to All Might?” Midoriya asked softly. “Alone?”

    Aizawa shook his head. “For safety reasons, someone physically able to stop you from hurting yourself should be in the room at all times.”

    “Funny that a quirkless teen is considered stronger than the former symbol of peace,” Midoriya said with no mirth in his voice.

    “Sweetie, you aren't quirkless,” Recovery Girl reassured. “Your quirk may have came in late, but--”

    “No,” Midoriya said, cutting her off. “I'm quirkless, now. It's gone. Please, I need to speak to All Might.”

    “...I'll go get him,” Recovery Girl said, walking away to leave the room. Once the door clicked shut, Aizawa turned back towards Midoriya. The boy kept his eyes down, refusing to look at Aizawa. He knew if he did, he would start sobbing again.

    Aizawa wanted to ask him to elaborate on what he meant when he said he was quirkless. But really, now probably wasn't the best time to prod for answers. Instead, he turned away from the bed, walking over to the corner of the room to sit and watch him. Most likely, Midoriya had insisted that he was quirkless in order to lower everyone's guard. But as long as he was in Aizawa's eyesight, he could stop his quirk.

    All Might walked in with Recovery Girl, after a few minutes. Midoriya couldn't bear to look at him. Recovery Girl went to the back of the room, trying to give Midoriya and All Might as much privacy as she could. She knew, anyways, that she wouldn't be any help in stopping him if he chose to run.

    All Might stepper over to his bed.

    "My boy," All Might whispered, barely audible to Midoriya. He didn't answer. "Izuku, why would you…?"

   When he had followed the other teachers into the clearing where Midoriya's body lay, he had been catatonic. Gone were the cheerful grins All Might had fundamentally trademarked. He didn't think he would ever unsee what had lain under the tarp. A throat slashed in a cruel imitation of a smile, from one carotid to another. On the tarp had been a suicide note, messily scrawled onto a wrinkled piece of notebook paper. Once Midoriya had been kissed, and his injuries had sewn themselves back together, All Might read it in the hospital room.

    ' Sorry that you had to see this, and please don't blame yourself for being too late. This is what I wanted.

     Sir Nighteye, I'm sorry that I killed you. I should have been stronger. You're right, it should have gone to someone else. I fixed it, and I'm sorry that I didn't give it away sooner. See you soon.

    Mirio, I'm sorry that you lost your quirk because of me. If I had been stronger, maybe you wouldn't have lost it. I know that what I gave you won't really make up for what happened to you, but at least you can still follow your dream. If you really don't want it, talk to All Might. Save your million people for me, and I hope you can get your quirk back one day.

    Eri, I'm sorry that I didn't save you the first time I met you. I didn't care how much Overhaul would have hurt me, you deserved to be saved no matter the cost. Please, keep smiling.

    Mr. Aizawa, I'm sorry that you saw the cuts on my arm. I know that as a teacher, you have to do something about it, and there's better uses of your time than trying to save a quirkless loser who was doomed from the start.

    All Might, I'm sorry that I wasn't good enough. You put so much work into training me, and I never gave anything back. My body really just wasn't meant for it. You were right, I can never be a hero. I gave it to Mirio, he'll do better than I ever could.

    Mom, I'm sorry that I always made you worry, and I'm sorry that I wasn't a better son. Now, you can really live your life. Maybe Dad'll come back now that I'm gone. I'm sorry that I didn't develop a quirk in time, it's my fault he's gone. Please, I just want you two to be happy together.

    Iida, Uraraka, Tsuyu, I'm sorry I wasn't a good friend to you all. Guess I just wasn't used to it, didn't know what to do. Thank you for caring so much.

    Shouto, I'm sorry that I never asked you out. I've wanted to be with you for a long time, but I only realized it recently. I couldn't date you because this would have hurt you so much more. Find someone else who can be a better boyfriend, please.

    Kacchan, I'm sorry I didn't take your advice sooner.

    Sorry to everyone else who I didn't mention. I didn't want to go on for this long, but I figured that I should make sure everyone knows this wasn't a murder. Thank you all so much for putting up with me.'

    There were tear stains all over that note now, and less of those were Midoriya's than All Might wanted to admit. How could he not see how amazing of a hero he was already? What could All Might do? Where had he gone so wrong?

     "I don't have it anymore," Midoriya stated, after a moment. "Mirio does. Don't worry, I would never let myself die with-- with something as important as that."

    "Who cares about One-- That, all I'm worried about is you, Midoriya!" All Might said, desperate to fix whatever was wrong.

    "It's more important than I am," Midoriya said simply. "That's just an undeniable truth."

    "It's just a-- it's only-- it's--" All Might disbelievingly exclaimed. He was wary of Aizawa sitting only a few feet away.

    "Alright," Aizawa sighed. "This isn't something I should be listening in on. I'll leave, but you're staying in my eyesight, problem child."

    He stood up and walked to the farthest part of the room, to where Recovery Girl was. He watched from a distance, their conversation too far away to be audible. All Might was thankful they could just talk, now.

    And Midoriya wished that he had a reason to keep things to himself. If this went on for too much longer, he wouldn't be able to keep himself from breaking down, and he couldn't, not in front of All Might.

    "My boy," All Might said gently, sitting down onto the hospital bed. Midoriya was sitting near the headboard, his legs crossed, his head down. "Please, what can I do to help you?"

Chapter Text

     "Please, what can I do to help you?"

    In all honesty, Midoriya didn't know. Maybe if he had wanted to get better, he would've had at least an idea. But really, Midoriya didn't want to be helped. All he wanted right now was left alone. Preferably with something sharp.

    "It doesn't matter. I don't have One for All anymore, I gave it to Mirio. I think he's pretty upset about where our conversation left off, maybe you could go talk to him?" Midoriya said. Now that he was no longer All Might's successor, there was really no reason for them to talk. Midoriya just needed to let All Might know where One for All was.

    "He's talking with one of our counselors right now. I'm here for you, my boy," All Might said, tentatively scooting closer. Midoriya just glanced away, knowing that he couldn't look him in the eye. "Tell me, Midoriya, what do you need? What drove you to-- to--"

    "To slit my throat open and bleed out in the middle of a forest?" Midoriya finished drily. All Might grimaced. "All Might, I-- I'm just," he sighed. "There's no hope for the future. I can barely even use One for All, I'm miles behind everyone else. And, and, I've gotten so many people hurt , my mom worries every day because of me, and Nighteye, oh-- oh god, Nighteye, I don't even have the right to feel sad about him, I--

    Midoriya cut himself off. He hadn't meant to say that much. All Might had picked up on what was left unsaid.

    "My boy, what happened isn't your fault," he told Midoriya.

    "Yes, it was," Midoriya responded quietly. "If I had been better, if Mirio had One for All instead of me, then, then maybe, I don't know, I just," Midoriya said, his voice wobbling.

     'Don't cry can't cry don't do it no don't cry no can't no hold it in goddamnit you useless--'

     "If you weren't here, then we wouldn't have even known Eri existed in the first place. In all honesty, she most likely wouldn't be free right now. My boy, you'll be an amazing hero, and you already are one."

    "But I can't be a hero without a quirk, so I'll have to drop out of UA," Midoriya said, resigned. "Even if I still had your quirk, I'm going to be hospitalized soon enough anyway."

    "...I spoke to Mirio, while you were unconscious, and he doesn't want One for All," All Might said.

    "So find someone else who's worthy, All Might. I'm just, not."

    "Midoriya my boy, do you think I chose wrong when I asked you to become my successor?" All Might asked. He knew without a doubt that Midoriya looked up to him enough to believe he could ever make a mistake.

    "Yes." Midoriya answered without a trace of hesitation. At this moment, he had a grasp on his tears, but he knew he would break with a moment of distraction.

    His answer surprised All Might. He wasn't quite sure if this was self doubt, or something else. If it wasn't self doubt, then maybe… Did Midoriya ever really want One for All? For now, he figured he should assume this is just self doubt. Midoriya had said over and over that he wasn't worthy, which simply wasn't true.

    Besides, All Might reminded himself, what was important right now was comforting Midoriya. Everything else could come later.

    "Why?" All Might asked, prepared to refute every reason the boy may give. Midoriya inhaled.

    "My body can't handle One for All, I'm mentally weak, I'm reckless, I'm quirkless, I can't just reassure civilians like you can, I'm useless, I'm not smart enough, I'm just a goddamn Deku, I--" Midoriya snapped his mouth shut, his teeth clicking. He needed to shut up , he didn't want to talk about this, he--

    "You're in training, my boy. You don't need to be a perfect hero. This is your first year at UA. You're one of the top students in your grade. You've successfully dealt with more villains than anyone else in your class. Midoriya, you are the very definition of 'Plus Ultra,'" All Might said. "I could never find a better successor, and I've never regretted my choice, not for a second.

    "Everyone deserves better," Midoriya whispered, as if trying to convince himself.

    "Midoriya, you're more than the world deserves," All Might told him with a sad smile. Then, Midoriya moved just a bit closer to him. All Might leaned in the rest of the distance, touching his shoulder to Midoriya's. "Please, just, never hurt yourself like this again."

    "I don't, I don't think I can promise that," Midoriya admitted. "I can't, it, thinking of not getting to, I don't even want to think of a future where I'm alive."

    "Besides dying, what else do you want from the world? Do you-- do you still want to be a hero, my boy?" All Might asked, gently.

    Tears finally broke free from Midoriya's eyes as he smiled. "Yeah, of course I do. But above everything, I just, I just want to die. It'd fix everything , and I can't keep-- keep living like this."

    "Like what?" All Might asked gently.

    "Look up any symptom of depression," Midoriya said in lieu of an answer. I'm always tired, and no matter how happy I should be, I'm just, I'm not. If this is what my life is going to be like forever, then what's the point? If I'm always sad, and everything I care about feels pointless, then why should I live? Even if I try to get help, I'll just get worse again. And then I'll kill myself, and I'll be dead, just like I wanted. It's inevitable, I'm either going to get myself killed in battle or do it before anyone else can. I can't save anyone, I'm so fucking useless, why--"

    All Might rubbed soothing circles into Midoriya's back as he sobbed. It occurred to him, then, how little he ever saw Midoriya cry. He was quick to tears, of course, but the sobs that wracked his body were something entirely new to All Might. He turned, opening his arms. Midoriya accepted the hug he had offered. Still shuddering with sobs, Midoriya whispered.

    "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-- I--"

    "It's okay, my boy, you'll be alright."

__________

    It had been late in the night, anyway, when Midoriya came to. So it did make sense that he decided to go promptly to bed as soon as his crying had slowed. All Might was reluctant to leave him, Midoriya had seen it in his eyes, but he really did just want to be left alone right now. He had a lot to think about.

    He wasn't really trying to sleep, not now. He probably couldn't-- too much going on in his mind. No, instead, he just laid on the bed, cool white sheets covering his hospital gown. He stared up at the ceiling, memorizing the dips and bumps of the drywall ceiling. The steady beep, beep, beep, was more calming than it should have been. After all, Midoriya had spent a lot of time recovering in hospitals over the years.

    So, he had failed. Midoriya had given it his all, but in the end, he had been too late. He had remained unconscious until late in the night, almost early morning. He was probably going to skip school tomorrow. And, of course, the foreseeable future. They would discuss hospitalization plans in the future.

    Midoriya wanted right now, more than anything, to just get up from this bed and find a way to finish what he started. Anything would work, really.

     'Vase, over on that end table-- Scalpels, there's so many in this room alone-- Toga, I could convince her to kill me if I set her free-- Those look like some nasty chemicals-- That window, wouldn't take much to break it and maybe this was the first floor but he could escape--'

     But no, he would be easily captured. It wasn't as if he still had his quirk.

     'Not your quirk, it's All Might's, it was never yours--'

     And there were teachers watching him on shifts. It had been Aizawa first, he had been there already in Recovery Girl's office. Now it was Snipe, someone who Midoriya couldn't ever remember talking to. He didn't like that his dirty laundry had been aired to the entire staff. Hopefully, the information was kept away from his classmates. If they ever found out, Midoriya would-- he would--

    Well, there was nothing he could really do, right?

    He sat up, growing tired of the position he had been in. Snipe startled, but Midoriya forced himself not to look over. He'd like to avoid any conversation a stranger would have with him right now.

    Though, to be fair, a conversation with someone who wasn't a stranger would be even worse. The one he had with All Might certainly was. That was the first time he could remember ever opening up to someone. He hadn't cried like that in front of a person who cared in a while. Midoriya was ashamed to admit that it felt good.

    It felt good to open up, to talk about it, to cry, to be hugged. It had hurt, it had been embarrassing, but really, he had just felt lighter after he had cried himself out.

    To be honest, All Might's unwavering faith in him had shocked Midoriya. He had considered himself as nothing more than a vessel, a place to store One for All until he could pass it down to the next generation. Because, of course, if All Might had been looking to create a real hero, he would have chosen someone who had a chance.

    And yeah, okay, maybe Midoriya was selling himself short. He had done a lot of notable things in a short amount of time.

    But really, wasn't that all just because of One for All? If he hadn't been told by All Might that he could be a hero that day, Midoriya knew for a fact that he would be dead.

    When Midoriya had run into the heart of the fight with the slime villain, he had been trying to save Bakugo, of course. He had moved without thinking, only seeing the fear in his (friend? bully? rival?)'s eyes.

    He had known that he wouldn't really be able to do anything, though. Besides, of course, being a willing sacrifice.

    It hadn't worked, though, so Midoriya planned on finding another rooftop after the battle. Heading towards a residential area-- apartments have fire escapes, he could get to the top-- All Might had stopped him. Not knowing where he was going, of course, but he had stopped Midoriya nonetheless.

    Thinking about it, now, he really had almost committed suicide three times in one day.

    Sometimes Midoriya wondered what counted as a suicide attempt, and what did not.

     'A little too careless in traffic-- Maybe I'll cut myself on my neck this time, what if I cut too deep, god I hope I cut too deep-- I'll break my bones in this fight, who cares if I make it home-- I'm only sitting on this rooftop, nothing else-- '

    And before he knew it, he was crying again. Snipe stood up and hurried over, concerned.

    "Hey, hey, little fella, what's the matter?" Snipe asked, standing next to his bed.

    Midoriya shook his head. "Please, just--" he started, his voice choked. "Just leave me alone."

    "Well, alrighty, but if ya need anything, I'm just over yonder," Snipe said, hesitantly turning to walk back over to his chair.

    "How could I ever forget," Midoriya snapped, sniffing. He sighed. "Sorry, Snipe, that was uncalled for. I just--" he sighed again.

    "...It's been a hard day, little fella, it's alright. I reckon that ya've got the right to be feelin'a little down ," Snipe chuckled. He left, sitting back down and leaving Midoriya to his semblance of privacy.

    Maybe he was getting used to crying in front of people, but that didn't mean he wanted to do this in front of a stranger. So, Midoriya did what he always did, and shoved it back down. For now, he should try and calm down so he didn't have another breakdown. Once was enough for Midoriya.

    He noticed his phone on the nightstand by his bed, and grabbed it. He winced at the drained battery shown on the screen. Lately, he's been pretty bad about charging it. He unlocked it, zeroing in on the notifications shown at the top of the screen. Several messages.

    He skipped over Mirio's texts, already knowing he wasn't mentally ready for that conversation. Instead, he chose to message Todoroki back first, figuring he deserved some attention after the days of avoiding each other. Hopefully, they could stay friends, and the whole we-both-like-each-other-and-want-to-date thing wouldn't affect their friendship that much.

     'But now that I can't die, why can't I date him?' His mind supplied.

    He shook the thought away. No, he was going to try again as soon as possible. And besides, Todoroki would never want to date someone as useless as him.

     'But he asked me out, he does want to date me, he said so himself, and OH wouldn't it be nice to date him, maybe we could hold hands for a while, oh man that sounds nice, I--'

     Midoriya could think about this later, when he wasn't being observed. He could feel the blush on his face, as well as Snipe's curious eyes. He focused on his phone.

Shouto 2:14

Aizawa told the class that a villain impersonated a counselor and attacked a student. Izuku, is this why you never came back from class?

Izuku 8:03

haha yeah, toga kinda,, was looking for me

don't worry tho i beat her, shes in the recovery girl's office now

Shouto 8:04

Why am I not surprised that out of everyone in the class, you're the one with villains chasing after you?

Izuku 8:04

hey well it wasn't me who got kidnapped, so like i think it's just 1A in general?? idk

Shouto 8:05

Anyway, where are you? Your room's empty.

Izuku 8:05

oh! don't worry, im at recovery girl's

Shouto 8:05

Are your bones intact?

Izuku 8:06

yess, im fine, just watching toga for recovery girl

Shouto 8:06

Really, can you blame me for worrying?

Izuku 8:06

guess not haha

Shouto 8:07

Also, I wanted to say, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It wasn't my intention to pass that note, though all of it was true.

Sorry for bringing it up, I just figured I should apologize.

Izuku 8:08

no really, it's okay! and i do feel the same way, in fact i really want to date you and it took me a long time to realize it and god, wow haha im an idiot FUCK

...Midoriya deleted that last message before it could send.

Izuku 8:08

no really, it's okay! i do really like you, there's just been, stuff, in the way?

Shouto 8:08

I get that, and I don't want to pressure you into anything.

Izuku 8:09

oh yeah, btw, what note were you trying to pass me if the one you gave me wasn't the actual one?

Shouto 8:09

I wanted to know if you were doing okay. Are you?

Izuku 8:09

this isn't something i should tell you over the phone, so good? don't worry

Shouto 8:10

I'm coming to Recovery Girl's office.

    That last message made Midoriya panic, of course. His hands shook as he pressed the power button on the side of the phone, turning it off. He placed it back onto the nightstand, breathing in with a shudder. He should have just said that he was fine.

    "Hey, uh, Snipe? My friend's going to come over, is that-- is that okay?" Midoriya asked.

    "Yeah, but I'm going to have to stay here. Gotta watch you, and all that," Snipe responded.

    Midoriya nodded. He didn't want to have this conversation with Snipe listening, or at all. But Todoroki was coming, so he supposed he had no choice.

Chapter Text

     Todoroki walked swiftly through the halls of the dorms. It was only about 9 pm, and so the majority of his classmates were still awake, hanging around in the commons. He could feel the eyes watching him, but Todoroki paid them no mind. Each step he took was purposeful, the sound muted against the carpet of the floor.

    Something was wrong. Something was wrong and Todoroki knew it. He wasn't quite sure what, Midoriya had dodged the question, but there was something .

    Midoriya had been steadily growing worse over the past few days, and Todoroki was all too aware of it. As far as he could remember, it had started on Thursday, when he had woken up in the hospital in the wrong body. Then, Aizawa saw the cuts, and Midoriya was isolating himself, and he never went to the meals, and now?

    There was apparently something that couldn't be talked about over text. Todoroki was tempted to call him and say that this isn't text, tell me what's wrong and how I can help you.

    He doubted Midoriya would answer to that, though. No, Todoroki needed to go to Recovery Girl's office. According to what Aizawa had announced to the class, Toga had been moved to a more secure place, where the psychiatrists helping her would be safe.

    And he had seen Mineta sulking in the corner just a bit ago, so he was no longer there, either. If they were lucky, he and Midoriya could have their conversation alone. If not, the two can probably find another place to talk.

    He picked up speed, his calves burning as he struggled not to break into a jog. Maybe this situation didn't warrant this much concern, but he had a bad feeling in his chest.

    He quickly made it to the elevator, pressing the button to open the doors. Todoroki stepped inside, tapping his foot impatiently. He pressed first floor, anxious to just get out of the dorm building and over to where Midoriya was.

    Once the doors had closed, the elevator had descended, and Todoroki rushed out of the building, he used his phone as a flashlight to make his way over to the main building. Recovery Girl would most likely be closing up her office soon, considering that she had no overnight patients to care for as of now.

    Hopefully, he could catch Midoriya as he left. He burst into the main building, losing any semblance of serenity. He was worried, damnit, and he had the right to be, considering how things have been going lately.

    He made it to Recovery Girl's office, and he quickly opened the door.

    Midoriya was sitting in one of the beds, Snipe carefully watching. Midoriya was in a hospital gown . He must've been hurt. Both of them turned to look at Todoroki when he walked in.

    "Uh, hey, um, hey Shouto," Midoriya said quietly. He wouldn't look at Todoroki, and just kept bunching the sheets in his hands.

    ' He's in a bed why is he in a bed is he hurt what did Toga do oh god--'

     "Hey, Izuku," Todoroki said. "Recovery Girl's office is most likely closing soon. Want to head back with me to the dorms?"

    "God, I wish I could leave," Midoriya muttered under his breath.

    "Hm?" Todoroki questioned, not having heard what he said.

    "Oh, uh, nothing," Midoriya said. "Snipe, can I uh-- can I go?"

    Snipe sighed, not wanting to tell him no.

    Todoroki didn't know why he needed permission when he wasn't even leaving the campus. Was he not allowed to leave the office? Was he badly injured?

    "Are you injured?" Todoroki asked. "If you can't leave, that's okay, Izuku."

    "Yes! I'm injured!" Midoriya said, his voice pitched a bit higher than usual. "That's why I can't, uh, can't leave."

    "Lil' fella, you really shouldn't--" Snipe started.

    "Leave!" Midoriya said. "I know!"

    "Well, er actually, I was gonna' say--" Snipe continued.

    "I get it, Snipe," Midoriya hissed. "Anyway, Shouto, how are you doing?"

    Snipe sighed once again, leaning forward in his chair to rest his elbows on his knees.

    "I'm… doing okay. What about you? I was worried about what you texted."

    "Me? Oh, no, I'm fine. Just-- injured. Toga really did a number on me, haha!" Midoriya said, still not looking at him.

    Todoroki walked over by the bed, sitting on the edge. He looked over at Midoriya, who's head was hung, curly green hair covering his eyes.

    "Izuku--" Todoroki started.

    "Really, I'm fine. Got hurt, but I'm going to be fully healed soon enough," Midoriya promised, his voice choked.

    "Please, tell me what's wrong," Todoroki said. Midoriya pulled his knees into his chest, into the fetal position.

    "Mr. Aizawa saw the cuts. A while ago. I tried to keep everything else a secret, but-- but I couldn't," Midoriya muttered.

    "Everything else?" Todoroki asked softly. He didn't like where this was going. But, he needed to know.

    Midoriya was silent, for a moment. "Snipe, could-- could we have some privacy? I don't want to, I don't, this is a private conversation, and, just, please?"

    "Now, y'all know why I can't," Snipe said gently. "I'll do m' best not to eavesdrop, but it's for yer own safety."

    "Right," Midoriya whispered. "So, uh, a few times. I've, I've uh, tried to-- I've tried to commit-- I tried to-- goddamnit. Shouto, he found out that I've tried to kill myself," Midoriya stated.

    Todoroki inhaled softly. "It-- your depression got that bad? You tried to-- you attemped suicide?"

    He was quiet again. "About three times. Today was four."

    Todoroki jolted, staring at him in shock. "Izuku-- you, today? Why? Why would you--" Todoroki cut himself off. He took a deep breath. "Please, never do that again."

    They were both silent for a moment, until Todoroki hesitantly held out his arms, an offer of a hug. Midoriya blinked in surprise, but scooted forward, a bit, letting Todoroki move the rest of the way into his arms. Of course, it meant nothing romantic, Midoriya didn't think he could even handle a relationship right now. But still, it was nice. Midoriya wrapped his arms around him, shuddering out a sigh. Once he pulled back, he saw the blush on Todoroki's face. With a quick glance over at Snipe, Midoriya saw that he was thankfully looking away, trying to give them some resemblance of privacy.

    "Why-- why did you do it?" Todoroki asked softly.

    "Shouto, I'm sorry, but I just-- I don't want to talk about it. It happened, it's done," Midoriya said, tiredly.

    "So you're not going to-- to do it again?"

    "God, honestly, I'm considering jumping out that window right now," Midoriya said, gesturing with a tilt of his head.

    Snipe subtly loaded his gun with tranquilizer darts. Of course, he has a plethora of different bullets for every situation. He was picked to guard for a reason.

    "Don't joke about that!" Todoroki said. "You are, you are joking, right? Snipe?"

    "Yeah, yeah, I was joking," Midoriya muttered. "Everyone's watching now, I'm never going to get to die. I won't try it."

    Midoriya kicked the sheets off of his legs, cracking his knuckles. Todoroki tensed, preparing to stop him. Midoriya threw his head back and laughed, humorlessly.

    "The blankets were just too hot. I'm quirkless, I know I can't do anything."

    Todoroki regarded him with confusion. "What are you talking about, Izuku?"

    Midoriya swung his legs over to hang off the edge of the bed. He laid down against the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

    "Not really my secret to tell, anymore. But yeah, I don't have a quirk anymore." He raised one arm up, staring at the back of his hand. "Can't use full cowl."

    Todoroki frowned. "Are you okay? I don't really know how you can lose a quirk, but--" Todoroki stopped, shock painted on his face. "Didn't one of the third years lose a quirk? The one you were interning with? Were-- did you get hit with one of those bullets?"

    "Wasn't that," Midoriya muttered. "Gave it up. Can't talk about it, it isn't my quirk anymore." He sighed. "Anyway, can we just-- can we talk about something else? Anything else? I know you're worried, but, I really just don't want to talk about this."

    "...Okay," Todoroki said.

    The two fell into silence, unable to think of another topic. Snipe glanced over at the clock on the wall, and clicked his tongue.

    "Well, alrighty, Present Mic should be coming over pretty soon. Once he gets over here I'll have'ta get goin'."

    Todoroki noticed the oppurtunity for a new conversation topic and took it. "Why is Mr. Aizawa the only teacher that doesn't go by their hero name?" He asked Midoriya, figuring that he, as the resident fanboy, would know the best.

    "Don't know," Midoriya said, not particularly wanting to continue the conversation.

    "Oh."

    The two sat in silence for a bit longer. Snipe, uncomfortable, broke it.

    "Well, er, Aizawa's always been different. I remember when he just a lil' first year like all y'all. Swear, I didn't hear him say a single word until halfway through the year."

    "Can't imagine Mr. Aizawa being shy," Todoroki pondered.

    "Oh, no, don't get me wrong, that man's never been nowhere near shy. First thing I ever heard him say was--" Snipe cut himself off.

    "Well, it ain't exactly something I can say to kids." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Anywho, he was just one of them strong silent types."

    Present Mic walked in, quietly. Todoroki was surprised to see that his footsteps didn't make a sound.

    Then, he saw that no one was asleep, and dropped the attempt at stealth.

    "Hey, listeners," he said. Gone was the usual excitement in his voice. Todoroki couldn't blame him, considering the circumstances of why he was here.

    "Well, alrighty then," Snipe said. "I'll head off, y'all have a good night."

    With a tip of his hat, Snipe left the room. Mic awkwardly sat down in the chair that had been recently occupied by so many teachers. Midoriya had grown used to looking away from that spot.

    "Hope I didn't interrupt anything, sorry guys," Mic said.

    Midoriya shook his head. "You're fine. Just wish I didn't have to be babysat."

    Mic winced. "Sorry, Midoriya, but it's for your own safety."

    "Honestly, I'm kind of happy you're being watched," Todoroki admitted.

    "Thanks," Midoriya said bitterly. "Guess once I'm forcefully hospitalized I'll be monitored 24/7."

    "You're going to be hospitalized?" Todoroki asked with a frown.

    "It's not like they can keep me in this room for the rest of my life. Eventually I'm just going to be dumped at some hospital where no one'll ever see me again. I'm quirkless, now. That's all my future holds."

    Present Mic leaned forward. "Little listener, is that really what you believe?" He asked in concern.

    Midoriya shrugged. "It's the truth, isn't it?"

    "No!" Mic said, conviction in his words. "Midoriya, even if you are hospitalized, it's only until you're better! It isn't like you're going to jail," he reasoned.

    "Mom's a lot happier than she was back then," Todoroki said softly.

    Midoriya shook his head. "It's different with her. She's away from her bad situation now. My bad situation--" he said, pointing to his temple. "Isn't going anywhere."

    "That's what therapy's for, little listener," Mic said.

    "I can't talk away my messed up brain," Midoriya stated. "Nothing's going to help me."

    "If it's a chemical imbalance, Izuku, doesn't that just mean you need medication?" Todoroki said.

    Midoriya was silent, thinking. After a few minutes of quiet, Todoroki was pretty sure he just wasn't going to respond.

    "Either way, isn't it worth it to try to get better?" Present Mic asked.

    "I don't know," Midoriya answered honestly. As of now, all he wanted was to die. But saying that would only make his situation look worse.

    "By the way, Todoroki, I wanted to thank you for telling Aizawa about Midoriya's dep--"

    Todoroki cut him off with a panicked shake of his head.

    "...Telling Mr. Aizawa about my what?" Midoriya whispered. He could tell what Mic was going to say, though. He could tell what Todoroki had done. "Shouto, you-- you told him?"

    Todoroki swallowed. "Yes. I did."

    "Why."

    Midoriya couldn't help it, he couldn't help the anger he was feeling. That was his secret. He had told Todoroki in confidence. When he had seen the cuts in the locker room, Midoriya thought he would be safe to tell. Because of course he would be, right? He was keeping a big, dangerous, secret himself. Todoroki knew what it was like.

    But apparently, Todoroki betrayed him. And maybe Aizawa knew already, but his intentions were the same.

    "I could tell you were struggling, and I figured you needed help. I guess he already knew when I told him," Todoroki answered. "I just wish I could have stopped you from-- stopped you from trying to kill yourself."

    "Right," Midoriya said bitterly. "So I guess it doesn't matter what I want?"

    "Not when what you want is to die," Todoroki said with a frown.

    "I'm sorry," Midoriya said.

    "It's okay, as long as you never do it ag--"

    "I'm sorry that I ever opened up to you in the first place," Midoriya finished.

    Todoroki inhaled in surprise. He had figured Midoriya would be upset, but it still hurt.

    "Izuku-" He began.

    " Don't call me that when you've been such a shitty friend ," Midoriya hissed, cutting him off. "It's your fault I'm stuck here!"

    "He already knew, Izuku, me telling him about your depression didn't change anything."

    Midoriya backed away from him, and stood up from the bed. Mic tensed, but Midoriya gave him no thought. He just paced around the room, not far enough to get out of their lines of sight. He knew, in the back of his furious mind, that straying too far would only get him in trouble.

    He growled in frustration that he couldn't even be angry in privacy.

    "Little listener--" Mic started.

    "I think," Midoriya said loudly. "That I want to go to bed. Shouto, please leave."

    "I'm not sorry for telling him," Todoroki stated. "I know I did the right thing."

    Midoriya snorted. "And I keep your secrets for you."

    "Hey, watch it," Todoroki warned. "Mic is right there ."

    "Yeah. I won't say anything. I know what happens if I do."

    Mic was concerned, but not aware of what they were alluding to.

    "Hey, little listeners, if there's something else going on…" Mic said.

    "There's not," Midoriya sighed. Then, he turned to Todoroki. "See what keeping a secret looks like?"

    "Izuku, you know it's different. I put you out of danger by telling him." Todoroki said, beginning to grow angry as well.

    "Just get out of here, Shouto," Midoriya said tiredly.

   Todoroki nodded stiffly, and turned to leave Recovery Girl's office. He reached the door, and looked back. Midoriya was glaring at his own feet with a purpose. Todoroki opened the door, and left.

    Midoriya wasn't wearing shoes, someone must have removed them when he was put into the hospital gown. Still, he stomped his way over to his bed. He laid down, and threw the sheets over himself with a flourish.

    "Midoriya--" Mic began.

    "I don't want a lecture," Midoriya bit. "Just let me sleep."

    Present Mic was reluctant, but nodded. Midoriya hugged his pillow, uncomfortable under his stare. He doubted that he would be able to sleep like this, but either way, he wanted to keep conversation away. As a distraction, he leaned over to the nightstand and grabbed his phone.

    It was getting later, but Midoriya didn't want to be alone with his thoughts. Messing with his phone should keep them at bay, for now.

Chapter Text

     Midoriya didn't fall asleep until much later that night, but his plan had worked; everyone had avoided talking to him until he really did fall asleep. He really was grateful for that. As of now, all Midoriya wanted was to stew in his anger at Todoroki.

     That's why he was laying in the hospital bed, pretending to be asleep, even though he could have gotten up hours ago. He didn't know what time it was. Midoriya could assume that there was someone watching him, so he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to move.

    After all, as soon as he woke up for real, he would be hospitalized.

     Or have to talk to his mom. Midoriya didn't know which would be worse.

     Though, the last talk he had with his mother really hadn't as went as horribly as he thought it would. He had figured that coming clean about his self harm would hurt her, irreversibly. Seeing that he didn't hurt her all that much was nice. She was concerned, but she wasn't sobbing.

     Midoriya knew his mother, though. He could tell that as soon as she hung up, she would go straight for the tissues. He couldn't blame her.

     And when she was told about this , she would surely come here in person. And that conversation would hurt a lot, for both of them.

     So Midoriya decided that he would wait as long as he could before getting up. He kept his eyes clamped firmly shut and made sure to not even twitch a finger. But still, when your teacher is a pro hero, some things just can't be helped.

     "I know you're awake, Midoriya," Aizawa said quietly, in the off chance that he wasn't.

     Midoriya groaned, and sat up. "What gave it away?"

     Aizawa got up from the chair that Midoriya was beginning to hate and stretched. "Your breathing. When someone's asleep, their breathing is a lot slower."

     "Oh," Midoriya said, the word drawn out with a yawn. "Am I late for school? Ah, what am I talking about, I don't go here anymore, right?"

     Aizawa sighed. "Your schooling options are for you and your mother to discuss, but as of now, you're still enrolled in UA. I'd like to emphasize the fact that you aren't getting kicked out."

     "So, should I call her so she can tell me what hoops I need to jump through now, or…?"

     "She's coming here in a few hours," Aizawa stated."

     "You already called her about what happened?" Midoriya asked. This probably made it easier, not having to explain.

     Aizawa nodded. "Do you want to change out of the hospital gown before then?"

     Midoruya cracked his knuckles, and swung his legs to hang off of the bed. "Nah, I'm just going to trade one hospital gown for another."

     "Alright, but you'll be heading down to the cafeteria for breakfast, just so you know," Aizawa said.

     Midoriya sighed. "Is there any way I can… not do that? I really don't want to have to talk to everyone right now."

     "If you really don't want to, I won't force you. I'll ask Hizashi to bring some food if Recovery Girl gives the okay," Aizawa told him.

     Midoriya nodded, and stretched out one leg, his hip popping with a click. Then, he paused.

     "...How much did you hear, when you walked in on me and Mineta yesterday?" Midoriya asked. From what he had seen of UA, the teachers here didn't take kindly to bullying. He didn't want anyone to find out the extent of what Bakugo did to him.

     ...Midoriya would need to talk to Mineta later.

     "Not much," Aizawa said honestly. "Only something about you hating Bakugo."

     Midoriya stopped, for a moment. Really? Aizawa had heard just that little?

     "Man, I really overreacted," Midoriya chuckled humorlessly. "If I had just laughed it off, I could have left and killed myself without anyone ever knowing."

     Midoriya didn't miss Aizawa's flinch.

     "Well, what do you expect? Just because someone stopped me doesn't mean I want to live all of a sudden," Midoriya stated. 

     "...I get that, Midoriya. But eventually, you will stop feeling like this."

     "Wow, really? And after that, I bet I develop a bunch of new quirks, defeat the league of villains single handedly, and become the number one hero. And after that , my dad calls on my birthday! All perfectly reasonable things."

     Aizawa winced, but then carefully composed his face into a neutral expression. "Alright, you want the truth? Depression is something physically wrong with your brain. This whole thing is just… healing. This is something a lot of heroes go through."

     Midoriya looked at him dubiously. "And if I don't want to heal?"

     Aizawa clapped his hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "You will anyway."

     He removed his hand when his phone buzzed a few seconds later. Pulling it out and checking the screen, Aizawa walked over to the door. The door creaked as he opened it, and the room got a whole lot louder.

     " HEYYYYY --" Mic screamed, his quirk cutting out with a flash of Aizawa's eyes.

     "How's my favorite listener?" Mic asked.

     "Good, how're you," Midoriya answered automatically, in the way that one does.

     "Fine, fine, anyway, I brought you some food down from the cafeteria! Breakfast just ended-- I scored you some porridge!" Mic continued excitedly.

     "Thanks," Midoriya said. He took the bowl when it was offered to him. Without much interest, he stirred the bowl absentmindedly.   

     Midoriya grew uncomfortable under their expectant stares, after a minute.

     "What?" He said.

     "Kid, you're going to actually have to eat it," Aizawa stated.

     "Fine."

     He placed the bowl in his lap, and brought the spoon to his mouth. His free hand doing jazz hands, he swallowed.

     Honestly, the cafeteria's food was really good. Lunch Rush was amazing at his job. But still, it slid down his throat, and Midoriya hated how both of the teachers were still waiting . Like sure, he didn't eat for a while that one time, but what are they trying to do, analyze him? Try and figure out exactly what's wrong with him?

     ...That's exactly what they're doing, probably. Midoriya hadn't even gone to therapy yet, but his brain's getting picked apart anyway.

     He brought the bowl up to his mouth, and tilted his head back. Spoon in one hand, Midoriya shovelled the rice porridge into his mouth, eating it as fast as humanly possible.

     The spoon clinked against the porcelain bowl, all of the porridge consumed.

     "Alright. Can I be left alone now?" Midoriya asked.

     Aizawa nodded, and he left to the corner of the room, Present Mic following him. Midoriya, still bitter, yelled after them.

     "Keep it PG, there's things I'm trying to forget over here!"

     Aizawa sighed, but didn't respond.

     Really, Midoriya just wished that this whole thing had never happened. He never should have gone to the quirk testing with Monoma. If nothing else, Monoma should've grabbed Midoriya's soul and thrown it into the sun. But no, it was too late, now. Midoriya would never get to die. He would never get to be a hero.

     It was a sobering thought. No matter how he tried, he couldn't think about anything but that. His future, his lack of one. If he ever got out of the hospital, he'd be quirkless, and soon? Jobless. Everything in this world needed a quirk. It was just the way that things were. Midoriya had deluded himself for long enough; he needed to be realistic, now.

__________

     Midoriya was beginning to hate these conversation rooms. At least this time, he had tea. And was much less likely to be stabbed.

     But really, wouldn't being stabbed be so much better than this?

     Midoriya Inko would be here soon, any minute that door would open and another seat would be occupied. Right now, the only people here were him, Aizawa, and Nedzu.

     The tea, of course, was Nedzu's idea. It was one of those things that was undeniably true. The sky is blue, grass is green, Nedzu makes tea. Midoriya had only ever been to his office a few times, but no matter how brief the meeting, there was always tea.

     Midoriya was grateful for this now, because the mug of tea was scalding his hands, and he had gone far too long without being hurt. These past few days, his self harming had become more and more frequent. On a good week, he only cut a few times. Lately, he'd been doing it twice a day.

     So naturally, the withdrawal hit hard when he was forced to quit cold turkey.

     It was alright, though, he found discreet ways to do it. Not cutting, of course-- Midoriya doubted he would ever be allowed near something sharp ever again-- but whatever he could think of.

     In the late hours of night, when the teachers forced to babysit him were so sure that he was asleep, it could get particularly bad. Sometimes, Midoriya would find himself shaking, unable to think of anything but getting the urge to stop. Sometimes, he would find that he would do anything to make it stop.

     Teeth marks were a lot more embarrassing than burns or cuts.

     But anyway, what was important was that one hell of a conversation was about to take place. Midoriya wished that he could have some privacy while talking to his mother about what he had done. But of course, he needed to be babysat so that he couldn't start running.

      'I don't even have a quirk, who couldn't outrun someone as useless as me--'

      Nedzu was twiddling his thumbs-- toes-- beans-- Oh my god, Nedzu has beans --

     "I prefer to call them fingers, Midoriya," Nedzu said, amused. Aizawa's cough sounded awfully like a stifled laugh.

     Midoriya clamped his mouth shut, a blush rising to his face. "Any-- anyway," he said, attempting to keep his dignity, "Does everyone know about-- about what happened?"

     "All of the staff does, but other than Todoroki, no students do," Aizawa answered.

     "And somehow you know about Todoroki," Midoriya sighed. He really hated this whole having-no-privacy thing. "Goddamn teacher group chat."

     "Language, please," Nedzu said idly, stirring his tea. Midoriya nodded.

     "Any chance of me being able to talk to my mom alone?" Midoriya asked, already knowing the answer.

     "Sorry kid, but--" Aizawa started.

     "It's fine, I know," Midoriya cut him off.

     That's something Midoriya had noticed, too. He had been pretty rude to everyone lately. It wasn't something he wanted to be-- why would he? But still, it didn't seem like he could help it. Only after conversations did he notice that maybe, he could be a little bit less of a dick.

     It didn't help that everyone seemed intent on pissing Midoriya off. Sure, they were all trying to help, but no one seemed concerned about what he wanted. If he was lucky, maybe his mom would listen.

     The door opened. Present Mic walked in, Inko following. Mic lead her to sit on a couch next to Midoriya, while he took a seat on the couch opposite to them, already occupied by Aizawa and Nedzu.

     Midoriya was sure that the arrangement of their sitting was deliberate, most likely some sort of mind game whipped up by Nedzu-- but he really wasn't that interested in solving puzzles right now. Midoriya was here for 2 reasons: Comfort his mother, and keep himself out of a hospital. Idly, he realized that he should have planned out this conversation.

     "Thank you for coming, Ms. Midoriya," Nedzu said warmly. "First off, we would like to apologize. Midoriya was placed under our care, and it was the fault of UA that we allowed this to continue for so long."

     "No, it wasn't UA's fault," Inko stated simply. This shocked Midoriya, really, because he had fully expected her to explode at them for allowing him to be endangered once again. "I'm perfectly aware that there's almost no decent way for a school to deal with mental health issues. You pushed him towards the school counselor, yes?"

     "I advised him to speak with Hound Dog, and offered to listen as well," Aizawa said.

     "Then you did all you could. Thank you for your efforts. Now, something else that should be discussed is what happens next. Obviously, hospitalization is one of the first options that comes to mind," Inko said.

     Midoriya flinched.

     "However, in the end, I believe the decision should be up to Izuku," she continued, turning to him.

     "...I really, really, don't want to be hospitalized. If I could-- I'd just like to keep going to UA. I want, I want to be a hero."

     Inko nodded. "If you promise to speak with the counselor here regularly-- biweekly, even-- then you won't have to be hospitalized." She turned to Nedzu, then. "The current arrangement, what you've been doing for the past day-- is that something that can be continued, or will that be an inconvenience?"

     "Yes, it can be kept up until Hound Dog gives Midoriya the okay," Nedzu said.

     "So, this arrangement works for everyone?" Inko asked. Midoriya nodded, confused that everything had been sorted out so easily. "Also, keep in mind, Izuku-- if Hound Dog doesn't end up being the therapist for you, we can find someone else." 

     Midoriya slowly nodded once more. "Why-- why aren't you making me-- I didn't think that I would get to walk free."

     Inko sighed. "Taking you away from all of your friends, and ending your career as a hero probably wouldn't do your mental health any favors. And anyway, I know what this is like." She inhaled, slowly and carefully. "Mental illnesses run in families-- I should have looked out for the signs."

     "It's alright, mom, you didn't know," Midoriya said, hugging her.

     "So!" Nedzu said, clasping his hands-- paws-- whatever -- together. "Midoriya will continue to attend UA, living in Recovery Girl's office while attending therapy with Hound Dog."

     "Do I really have to live in the office?" Midoriya asked meekly.

     "Sweetie, it's for the best," Inko said gently. "If everyone's happy with these arrangements, then is there anything else that needs to be discussed?"

     "No ma'am, I think we've hit everything!" Nedzu said cheerfully. Midoriya was still uncomfortable with the fact that everyone knew . Hopefully, no one would try to talk to him about it anymore. If he could convince Hound Dog that he was alright, no one else would have to know, and he would never have to talk about it again.

     But god, therapy is not something Midoriya was looking forward to.

     "Alright then," Inko said. "Now, I don't think it would be a good idea to have Izuku leave campus right now-- But is it possible for me to leave and come back with food so that we can eat lunch together?"

     "There's no need!" Nedzu announced. "Lunch should be starting soon, and I'm sure Lunch Rush would be happy to provide! Whatever you decide to eat, you can eat in privacy here-- with Aizawa, of course, for now."

     Inko smiled, and nodded. "Thank you, principal Nedzu." She stood up, and so did Midoriya.

     "What're you going to get, mom?" Midoriya asked, as they walked over to the door, Aizawa trailing from a distance.

     "Hmm, I'm not sure, I think I'll have to see what's available, first."

     "Oh, the food is so good here! Whatever you get, I'm sure you'll like it," Midoriya promised.

     "I've certainly heard good things! Also, how's school been going lately, besides, uh, besides the obvious."

     Midoriya opened the door, and held it open while Inko and Aizawa walked through. "Oh, I never told you about the whole body-swapping thing, right?"

     "Body-swapping?" Inko asked, curiously.

     "Okay, so, last Thursday, a bunch of little kids came over to UA," Midoriya began. He really did love to talk to his mother. And now that he didn't have any secrets left to hide, it was so much easier.

     ...It made him wonder, what if everyone was right? What if he really could get better? Did he want to?

     Maybe this whole thing really just was a chemical issue in his brain. Maybe, he really could become a hero.

      'Not without One for All, not when I'm so weak --'

      That was a sobering thought. But either way, he had a story to tell.

     "And Monoma-- he's a kid from the other hero class, he can copy quirks-- decided to try and figure out what their quirks were by copying them. Now this one kid, Saito, turns out he has a body-swapping quirk, or something like that. So Monoma uses it, and--"

     He really did love talking to his mother.

Chapter Text

     Midoriya was glad to be able to just spend time with his mom. School had been keeping him busy, lately, and usually the best he could do was call on Sundays. Moving into the dorms had been jarring, in this way. He had went from living with his one and only friend to living with so many others.

     Midoriya was happy here, really. Well, as happy as he could get, considering whatever was wrong with his brain. He remembered times when he was doing much, much, worse, back in middle school. Earlier this semester, he had gone out with friends, participated in hobbies, eaten regularly, 8 hours of sleep each night. It was almost as if he was a regular, functioning, human being, you know?

     He knew it couldn't have lasted for very long. The death of Night Eye and Mirio's quirk had caused him to spiral, and fast. Maybe the wound was just too fresh? Midoriya didn't know.

     Either way, the past few hours he had spent with his mother were good ones. She had left only a bit ago. Midoriya was back in Recovery Girl's office, now.

     Today had been the best in a while. He wasn't happy, no, but at least he wasn't sad. They got to have ice cream, and Midoriya got to have a conversation not revolving around what he did to himself.

     And that was another thing. His mother had been so understanding . And, according to what she said, depression runs in families. Midoriya was glad that someone truly understood what this was like, but at the same time, thinking of his mom going through this made him want to hurl.

     Did she cut herself? Did she skip meals? Has she ever tried to commit--

     Midoriya couldn't think about that. He couldn't . Thinking about that too hard would make him burst into tears. Instead, he reassured himself.

      'She said she was taking antidepressants, and I've always known she goes to therapy. Figured that she was just anxious about my line of work and stuff. Is that self centered of me? Gah, I don't know, I just-- I want her to be okay.'

      The best thing he could do right now is keep an eye on her. Maybe he could ask Aunt Mitsuki to keep an eye on her? He knew that she and his mom were friends from high school. Most likely, she already knew about his mom's depression. Still though, it wouldn't hurt to make sure someone's there to take care of her.

     He swung his legs from where he sat on the hospital bed. Midoriya glanced over at Hound Dog, the most recent babysitter, and grabbed his phone. He scrolled through his contacts to find Mitsuki Bakugo, under 'Auntie'.

Midoriya 1:03

hey auntie, i wanted to ask something if now's a good time

Auntie 1:04

Yeah what do you need

Midoriya 1:04

could you keep an eye out for my mom? i just want to make sure she gets out of the house every once in a while

Auntie 1:04

Sure kiddo I planned on asking her out for drinks soon anyway

Midoriya 1:05

thanks mitsuki!

Auntie 1:05

No problem

     As soon as Midoriya saw the last text, he came to a realization. He slapped himself in the face, because of how big of an idiot he was.

     He recognized that someone he cares about has a problem. He contacted people who could help. He did exactly what Todoroki did.

     But Midoriya did the right thing, right? He's only looking out for his mom. And Mitsuki probably knew anyway, so it wasn't as if he actually made a difference--

     God damnit.

     Midoriya sighed heavily, and leaned back onto the hospital bed. He groaned into the palms of his hands. He's a massive hypocrite, isn't he?

     But that begs the question: who's right, Midoriya or Todoroki? Does he have the right to be mad? Did he do the wrong thing when he texted Mitsuki?

     Midoriya flipped over to lay face down on the bed.

     "What's wrong, pup?" Hound Dog asked from the dreaded corner.

     Midoriya didn't move, but he startled. He… didn't know that Hound Dog could talk . Last time Midoriya heard him speak, his words had been horribly broken up by growls and snarls. Oh well, guess you learn something new every day.

     "Nothing, really," Midoriya said. He was glad that the guidance counselor at the school had a quirk like the one Hound Dog did. Heightened senses wouldn't dig into his brain like other quirks would. 

     "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Hound Dog said. "But we do have a session scheduled for later today."

     "Forgot about that," Midoriya sighed, sitting up. He turned to where Hound Dog was in his peripheral vision.

     "If you don't think you're ready to start therapy yet, we can reschedule."

     "No, it's fine. Should probably rip the band-aid off quick." Midoriya cracked a knuckle. "You're… different, from how you were at the assembly."

     Hound Dog chuckled sheepishly, his laugh a deep rumble. "Yeah, I was pretty upset. Wait, weren't you one of the kids that was out fighting?"

     Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, me and Kacchan. He was upset about something, and he's just the sort of person who needs to punch away his feelings."

     Hound Dog hummed. "If that isn't a healthy method of dealing with emotions, then what is?"

     "Bottling them up until you can break down in privacy?" Midoriya responded. "It's only polite."

      Hound Dog leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "Do you really believe that?"

     "Course' not," Midoriya snorted. "But is beating up everyone around you any better?"

     "Definitely not. But if you knew he would listen, what would you recommend Bakugo to do about his feelings?"

     Midoriya paused for a second. "Probably just tell him to find a therapist. Maybe journaling? I don't know," he answered honestly.

     "So if those methods are healthy ways of dealing with emotions, would you use them?" Hound Dog asked.

     Midoriya looked away, his gaze down. "I'm happy with what I'm doing now."

     "If you were really happy, why are you here?" 

     "Because I'll get sedated if I try to leave the room?" Midoriya said.

     "I meant why you tried to commit suicide," Hound Dog elaborated.

     "I didn't try to kill myself because I was sad ," Midoriya said, as if it were obvious.

     "Then why did you?"

     He paused. Thinking for a moment, he crossed his legs, and pushed up imaginary glasses.

     "I'm sorry, that's all the time we have for today," Midoriya mocked. 

     "Look, pup," Hound Dog said with a sigh. "I'll back off of this topic if you want. But what was wrong in the first place, when we started talking?"

     Midoriya went quiet. Maybe Hound Dog could actually help him with this. He did, after all, need advice.

     "My friend told Mr. Aizawa that I was cutting myself, when I thought he would keep my secret for me. I just found out my mom had the same problems I have, and so I asked her friend to look out for her. I did the exact same thing as my friend," Midoriya ranted.

     Hound Dog nodded. "And so you're not sure if you're a hypocrite?"

     "Yeah. Because he really hurt me when he did that, you know? I don't want to be here," Midoriya sighed. "In this room, or alive. But he went behind my back, and even if it was to help me, he broke my trust. And then I went and did the same thing !"

     "I think your participation in what your friend did is tainting your point of view. If you knew your friend was going to kill himself, you would try to stop him, right?" Hound Dog asked.

     Midoriya gaped. "Of course! I'd never let him-- oh."

     "Exactly," Hound Dog stated.

     "I guess," Midoriya started. "I guess I never thought of that, cause' I was relating it to his secret. And that's different, because me telling puts him in danger, while him telling put me out of it."

     "Your friend is in danger?" Hound Dog asked, cautiously. "Is this a friend you have at UA?"

     "Don't have any other friends," Midoriya said, waving him off. "And I don't want to talk about his secret. Anyway, what should I do now? Me and my friend just made up from a fight, and now there's this."

     "That depends on what the last fight was about," Hound Dog said.

     "Oh. Uh, it um, he--" Midoriya stammered. "He accidentally, uh, asked me out, and I, uh. Didn't, I-- I avoided him for a while."

     "It made you uncomfortable?"

     "No, I-- I uh, I was actually-- I was, I--" Midoriya stuttered.

     "Take your time to answer if you need to, pup," Hound Dog said, hiding a snicker.

     "It uh, made me happy to hear that, but, I um-- I thought that I was going to die soon, so I didn't want to-- I figured I should push everyone away."

     Midoriya shifted awkwardly on the hospital bed. He didn't think he would encounter homophobia at UA, especially not from any of his teachers. In general, it was a thing of the past. Still, though, there were a few stragglers-- Endeavor was oh-so-certain that Todoroki needed to produce grandchildren-- and so Midoriya was still worried. But to be honest, he would be just as uncomfortable talking about any crush to a teacher. Because really, who would want to do that?

     "So you avoided him?" Hound Dog asked.

     Midoriya nodded. "Yeah. I regret it now, I guess I was just hurting everyone. But it wasn't like I could date him, you know? I was about to kill myself."

     "What happens now, when you aren't going to commit suicide?" Hound Dog prodded.

     "Who says I'm not?" Midoriya said with a smirk. At Hound Dog's grimace, Midoriya shook his head. "I'm not going to try again, at least not now. But really, I'm more concerned about our friendship than anything else. Even though, that uh-- that would be nice."

     "The only thing is," Midoriya continued. "What do I say now? Do I apologize, do I ask him to?"

     Hound Dog sighed. "He betrayed you, but at the end of the day you would have done the same thing?"

     Midoriya nodded.

     "Let him know that he hurt you, and talk it out with him. If you both want to be friends, then there shouldn't be a problem."

     "I guess…" Midoriya said. "Thank you for the advice."

     "Of course, pup, it's my job. And besides, I like to help people," Hound Dog said with a smile.

     "Oh my god," Midoriya said in realization. "You were doing the therapy thing."

     "The therapy thing?" Hound Dog asked in confusion.

     "Like, is-- is this what therapy is like? No getting chained to tables and tortured for information?" Midoriya said in disbelief. "I'm exaggerating, but, I figured this would suck a lot more."

     Hound Dog chuckled. "Yeah, that was pretty much a standard therapy session, or at least what I usually do."

     "Wow," Midoriya said, leaning back into the bed, propping himself up with his hands.

     Wow. Midoriya had been dreading therapy, and this kind of sucked, still, but it wasn't as bad as he thought.

     "Now, keep in mind," Hound Dog started. "In some sessions, things can get pretty heavy. That's necessary, if you really want to get better."

     There's the other shoe.

     "And if I don't want to get better?" Midoriya asked quietly.

     "Then you'll get there eventually," Hound Dog promised. He glanced over at the clock. "Oh, I've got to head back pretty soon. If I remember correctly, Ectoplasm's next."

     "This was… not nice, but not as bad as I expected," Midoriya said. "Thanks again."

     Hound Dog nodded with a smile, and stood up when the office's door opened. Ectoplasm walked in, and Hound Dog left. Midoriya waved at him in greeting, but decided to avoid conversation for a bit. He had a lot to think about.

__________

     Midoriya ended up skipping the scheduled therapy session he was supposed to attend that day. It made sense, really, because he had basically already went to one.

     Which hadn't gone that bad, actually. Midoriya was still kind of unsettled at the idea of therapy, but that conversation had reassured him just the slightest bit. Because if that was what therapy was like, then maybe he didn't have to worry about it?

     Now, don't get him wrong, he still wasn't that excited about the whole living thing, but this was still more appealing than the other option of hospitalization. Just… Midoriya wasn't sure if therapy was as bad as he had imagined it would be.

      Not that he actually wanted to get better. Nope, the only route for Midoriya Izuku was pretending to get better until he could leave and end it all. Definitely.

    But still, he wanted to get to know this a little, first. Maybe. Maybe.

Chapter Text

     Aizawa didn't see his logic in the whole 'skipping therapy' thing. Once school let out, Aizawa had showed up at Recovery Girl's to give him a piece of his mind. And dinner. 

     Midoriya could tell Aizawa was holding back from scolding him too harshly, though. And he didn't say anything when Midoriya ignored him to scarf down the food he had brought. Midoriya didn't feel too bad about skipping therapy, though. He was pretty sure that he made the right decision. He didn't need to go to two different therapy sessions in one day. He knew that he'd have to go eventually.

     Still, though, Midoriya didn't have anything to talk about right now that wasn't incredibly deep or important. He didn't exactly want to jump into his second meeting with someone ever and break out the daddy issues. Once he had gone through his first day back at school, he'd have a lot more cannon fodder. Even though he couldn't go to hero training due to his lack of quirk.

     ' So, yeah, today I learned the verb conjugations for the word 'to eat', and in order they are I eat, you eat, he eats, she eats, we eat, they eat--'

      Yeah, Hound Dog probably wouldn't be very happy that he was dodging the whole 'actually doing therapy' thing. But supposedly you're supposed to wade into it. So technically, it's allowed.

     So all he had done that day, beyond talking with his mom and later Hound Dog, was sit around on his phone. Which to be honest, sucked.

     Now that it was 7 am, with a half hour before school started, and Midoriya was about to leave Recovery Girl's office for school, he couldn't help but be excited.

     It dampened his mood when he learned he still wasn't allowed to be in his room by himself. He was forced to change in the designated bathroom that didn't even have a mirror .

    Midoriya understood that they were worried, and he also understood that he would hurt himself given any opportunity, but he thought this was a bit much. It almost inspired him to start looking for ways to self harm again, if only to stave off the withdrawal.

     But no, he didn't want to be stopped from going to school. He could start again once they stopped checking him.

     For now he just tolerated changing in the time-out bathroom, brushing his teeth, and being escorted to homeroom by Aizawa.

     The aforementioned teacher needed to prepare for class, and so they arrived earlier than any other student. Iida was most likely on his morning jog right now, and Bakugo was legally required to destroy a punching bag every morning before school. The routine had driven Midoriya insane, back when they still had sleepovers.

     Oh. There's a sad thought, better avoid that.

     So in order to prevent any other rampant thoughts from invading his consciousness, particularly those involving Todoroki, Midoriya started doodling.

     Tongue poking out the corner of his mouth, pencil gripped in hand, Midoriya began his work of art. It was only on notebook paper, but the drawing still meant a great deal to him. It represented his hatred of being imprisoned in Recovery Girl's office.

     Once he was done, complete with shading, he stood up to show it to Aizawa. Hopefully, the man would appreciate Midoriya's art.

     Aizawa squinted down at the sheet of notebook paper.

     "Mr. Aizawa forcing me to change in the time-out bathroom," he read aloud. "Don't put me in gay baby jail."

     Aizawa steepled his fingers, and sighed.

     "Midoriya," he stated. "You know you can't be left alone in your room for your own safety."

     "Of course," Midoriya said, nodding. "It's only rational."

     Aizawa was quiet for a moment, thinking. "I'm giving this to Hound Dog and it's going in your file."

     "I can make more of these if we need to thicken the file up," Midoriya offered.

     "Great," Aizawa said, rubbing his temples. "You do that."

     Midoriya threw him a thumbs up and walked back to his desk.

     "Me doodling so that I don't think about how he hates me," Midoriya muttered, as he sketched out the beginnings of his next drawing. Before he could start lining it with a more forceful stroke, the door to the classroom opened.

     "Oh!" Iida exclaimed. "Midoriya, you're here!"

     Iida strode over to Midoriya's desk, and Midoriya set down his pencil.

     "I've been wanting to talk to you about something!" Iida said loudly. At Midoriya's nod, he continued. "Lately I have noticed that your attendance has been declining! The same happened to me after the sports festival! I would like you to know that you may always talk to me about anything, Midoriya. And though I do hope you continue to keep attending as frequently as usual, your mental health comes first! However, it is not healthy to close yourself off as I have learned--"

     "Thanks for caring, Iida," Midoriya said, cutting him off before the rant can go on for too much longer. It wasn't that Midoriya disliked it, it was nice to have a rival in ranting. Just, he didn't like people talking to him about his mental health issues. If he could avoid that, it would be nice.

    "Of course! I consider you to be one of my best friends," Iida told him.

     Midoriya smiled genuinely. "Yeah, me too! So how have you been doing late--"

     The door to the classroom opened once again, and Midoriya cut himself off when he saw the white and red hair. Todoroki.

     Iida noticed the expression on his face.

     "Didn't you two work out whatever issue you had a few days ago? At least, that's what Mr. Aizawa announced."

     "Yeah, this is uh-- this is something new," Midoriya whispered, looking down. He didn't know how to feel. Angry? Ashamed? Hound Dog's talk gave him a lot of mixed feelings on the whole thing.

     Todoroki didn’t even look at him. He just sat down at his desk. Midoriya tried to ignore the stab of pain in his chest and the tears in his eyes.

     Iida didn’t miss his flinch, though.

     “Do you want to talk about it?” Iida asked. Midoriya shook his head, not trusting himself to talk. Okay, Todoroki was pissed. Still, Midoriya pushed it all down and put on a smile.

     "There's nothing to talk about!" Midoriya lied.

     Iida raised an eyebrow, but let it be. "Well then, would you like to be left alone right now?"

     Midoriya shook his head. He was tired of sitting quietly in Recovery Girl's office, and he didn't come to school to sit quietly in class.

     "Anyway, you showed up to class a lot later than you usually do," Midoriya said.

     "Ah, yes, I found someone getting mugged while I was out on my morning jog," Iida explained. "I've heard Tensei complain about all the paperwork, but I think I understand now."

     Midoriya gaped at him in shock. "You just, casually stopped a mugging before school. Like, no biggie. Were you even going to say anything if I didn't ask why you were late?!"

     "It isn't much of an event," Iida said, frowning.

     Midoriya raised his hand, staring over at Aizawa. When he didn't immediately notice, being too busy making out with his mug of coffee, Midoriya spoke anyway.

     "Mr. Aizawa, Iida stopped a mugging! Can we throw a party to celebrate his debut?" Midoriya asked.

     "We shouldn't throw a party! Finals are next month, we need to be preparing! And anyway, it really isn't much of a debut, I didn't even tell her my hero name!" Iida protested.

     "I'm going to go get Uraraka," Midoriya announced. "Mr. Aizawa, can I leave? Or do you have to babysit me?"

     Aizawa grunted from his desk. Midoriya wasn't quite sure if that was a positive or negative answer, but he stood up anyways.

     "R-really, Midoriya, this isn't necessary!" Iida said, chopping the air.

     "I'll be right back!" Midoriya said, running towards the door. Iida sat down in the seat next to Midoriya's with a huff. As soon as the door clicked shut behind Midoriya, Todoroki stood up and walked over.

     "I can't be over here long, but, congratulations, Iida."

     "Thank you, but why can't you stay?" Iida asked with a frown.

     Todoroki paused. "...Midoriya and I are fighting."

     "I gathered that from his reaction when you entered the room," Iida admitted. "What about?"

     Todoroki sat down in the seat next to Iida, hoping to use him as a barrier between him and Midoriya if the green-haired boy came back.

     "I told someone a secret of his," Todoroki said. Iida opened his mouth to chastise him, but Todoroki stopped him by continuing. "He was in danger, and I helped him by telling Mr. Aizawa. The issue is that he didn't want to be helped."

     "Oh," Iida said. That was different from simply going around and telling secrets. "You should talk to Midoriya about it, that's really the only way to reconcile."

     "I know, but I don't think he wants to talk to me," Todoroki admitted. "If he tries to initiate conversation, maybe."

     The door opened, once again. Uraraka bounced into the classroom.

     "Hey guys!" She said.

     "Good morning!" Iida responded. "Is Midoriya with you?"

     "No, why?" Uraraka asked.

     "He was out looking for you," Todoroki stated. Uraraka sat in the seat in front of Iida's, turning the chair around to face him.

     Aizawa stood up, suddenly. "You don't know where he is?" He asked, urgently.

     "Haven't seen him!" Uraraka announced cheerfully."

     "Goddamnit, he's loose," Aizawa cursed, rushing towards the door. Once he had cleared the classroom, the three were left alone.

     "Anyway, what were you guys talking about?" Uraraka asked. "You all had such serious expressions, haha!"

     Todoroki opened his mouth, most likely to deny that anything was going on, but Iida beat him to it. "Todoroki and Midoriya are fighting, and Todoroki doesn't want to talk to him about it," Iida explained.

     "Because he wouldn't want to talk to me," Todoroki stated.

     Uraraka gave him a look . "You know that he probably thinks you hate him now, right? That's just how Deku is."

     "You didn't see how he reacted, though. If anyone hates anyone, it's him," Todoroki explained calmly, as if the very concept didn't rip his heart into shreds.

     "We're talking about Deku, right?" Uraraka laughed. "He'd never hate you."

     "I think," Todoroki said slowly. "I wouldn't blame him if he did."

     Uraraka bopped him on the head with a rolled up homework packet. "Hey! None of that, now."

     "Ow," Todoroki said, halfheartedly.

     "Isn't that aggravated assault?" Iida asked.

     "Says the attempted murderer," Todoroki said.

     Uraraka gaped. "Todoroki can make jokes?" She pretended to swoon.

     "Todoroki!" Iida shouted, chopping the air. "We are legally required to keep that a secret! And I heavily regret that time in my life, I'll never do anything like it again!"

     "Wait, you were joking, right?" Uraraka asked, concerned. Todoroki only blinked.

     "Anyway, I'm going to wait until he talks to me. He already hates me enough."

     "I can't force you to do anything," Uraraka said, giving up the slightest bit. "But I know for certain he doesn't hate you!"

     Before Todoroki could respond, the door to the classroom opened.

     "That's my cue," he said, walking away before Midoriya entered. Todoroki left to sit at his desk, pointedly staring into his notebook.

     Uraraka sighed, but knew it was pointless.

     Aizawa walked into the classroom, holding Midoriya's forearm.

     "For the last time, I was going to the bathroom!" Midoriya protested.

     "It wasn't an approved bathroom," Aizawa answered grumpily. Midoriya was placed back into his seat, disgruntled. 

     "...Approved?" Iida asked. Midoriya shook his head in response.

     "Don't worry about it," Midoriya said cryptically. Uraraka shrugged, and the two students oblivious to the situation were happy to leave it at that.

     Todoroki kept in mind that his other two best friends didn't know anything about the whole situation. It was good that he didn't let anything slip.

     But it didn't matter now, because more students were filing into the classroom, and Aizawa directed everyone to their own seats. These conversations had to be put on the backburner for now.

     What was important to Todoroki right now (but never as important as Midoriya) was getting through homeroom. And so with the ring of a bell played through the speakers spread throughout the school, class began, and everything else ceased to exist for that moment.

___ _______

     Midoriya wasn't quite sure if he should tell anyone else what happened. He knew that things would be different, if he did. Maybe they'd avoid him like Todoroki was doing.

     But no, those situations wouldn't be comparable, because he and Todoroki were fighting about something completely different. Well, something related. But anyway, it wasn't as if him telling people would make him lose all his friends, right?

     ...Midoriya supposed it didn't matter, because he could always kill himself if it went wrong, anyway.

     And so here he was, waiting outside the lunchroom like an idiot. He had instructed his closest friends to meet him here, and follow him to somewhere they could talk in private. Perhaps the corner with the broken vending machine. Or maybe another damned meeting room. Either way, Uraraka and Iida were approaching. 

      'Maybe I should talk to Mirio, too? '

     But there was no time for that, not right now. That particular thought had to be put aside.

     "Good afternoon, Midoriya!" Iida exclaimed, tray of food in hand. "What did you want to talk about?"

     "Yeah, Deku, what needed this much secrecy?" Uraraka laughed. "We could just eat in the lunchroom, y'know!"

     "Haha, sorry, guys," Midoriya apologized with a small smile. "I just don't really want, uh, anyone to know." His face shifted into a sadder, more regretful look. "I'm not even sure if I should tell you guys."

     "Don't worry about it dude," Uraraka said, a bit softer. "You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to."

     "But of course!" Iida said, with a little bit less tact. "If it's a secret that puts you in danger, then please do make us aware!" Iida, of course, hadn't forgotten about what Todoroki had said.

     "Don't worry, I'm not in danger anymore, I just-- I tried to--" Midoriya cut himself off, and then sighed. "Can we have this conversation somewhere else? Too many people nearby," he explained.

     Uraraka shrugged, and the two followed Midoriya to a more secluded corner of the area.

     UA was a rich school, the best of the best. Even the worst kept spots of the building were pristine. Still, dirt gathered at the edges of the floor, and the posters on the wall had been there for far too long. In the corner sat a stack of hard plastic chairs, the outdated relics which had been long replaced.

     "Broken vending machine corner?" Uraraka said with disbelief. "Okay, this must be big."

     Midoriya glanced from side to side, scanning for any unseen people. A figure ducked away, out of view.

     "Okay, looks like we're good," Midoriya said, unaware of the spectator.

     "So what do you need to tell us?" Iida asked, anxious to get back on track.

      With a deep inhale, Midoriya began.

__________

     Bakugo didn't know why he was hunched on the ground in the nastiest part of the school. Hiding behind a trash can filled with whatever that is was entirely beneath him. And yet, he was here.

     The nerd had been different, lately. Different in the way that he had not been for a long time. Not at UA, never here. Bakugo could remember him being like this back in middle school. Quiet, closed off, the way a quirkless loser should be. But now Midoriya was different, better. Stronger, smarter, more intense. A rival worthy of Bakugo's attention, what the two had promised to become so long ago. A hero.

     He was still a loser, now, don't get Bakugo wrong. But what kind of rival would he be if he let Midoriya wither? What kind of rival would Midoriya be if he didn't give it his all?

     There was nothing Bakugo hated more than an opponent that half-assed everything. 

     So maybe when Midoriya had said that there was something secret he needed to tell the geek squad, Bakugo recognized that they were about to get the answers he had been looking for. So what kind of rival would he be if he didn't tag along?

     The two members of the geek squad hushed when Midoriya began to speak, and as did Bakugo's rampant thoughts.

     "For uh, for about 6 years now, I've um, I've-- I've been really depressed. And uh, not in the sad kind of way. I mean-- that too I guess? But there was more to it, with the not eating, and the uh, sleeping all day, and all of the-- oh man, I'm rambling again, sorry."

     Midoriya snapped his mouth shut, sheepishly. He wouldn't take his eyes off the ground.

     "Midoriya, I-- six years?" Iida asked in disbelief.

     "I don't really know if it was six to be exact, I only really figured out it was depression in like middle school," Midoriya said quietly.

     "And you mean depression with a capital D?" Uraraka said. "Like-- like the mental illness?"

     "I went through something similar for a while, when Tensei-- but six years?" Iida said.

     "That was when the self harm started, at least," Midoriya said quietly.

     "Oh," Uraraka said simply.

     "Midoriya!" Iida barked. "You stopped, didn't you?"

     Midoriya winced. "I mean, the teachers made me, a-- a few days ago. I'm basically escorted everywhere now. Mr. Aizawa's waiting outside this corner. Glad he's giving me a bit of privacy with this," he said, laughing sadly.

     "Are they like, legally allowed to do that?" Uraraka asked. "I'm glad they are, though, don't get me wrong."

     "I mean, it's suicide watch, so I guess they have to?" Midoriya said, already bracing himself for their reactions on the word suicide.

     "Suicide watch, as in you-- Midoriya, did you try to…?" Iida questioned, quietly.

     Bakugo had to bite his tongue to keep himself from shouting and revealing his position.

     When Midoriya was silent, it was answer enough. Uraraka dropped her tray of food.

     "Deku!" Uraraka cried out, her eyes wide. "You didn't!" 

     "Fifth time," Midoriya said under his breath. "Maybe."

     Iida hugged him, after putting his tray down on the floor, Uraraka joining after just a half-second.

     "Please, please, never do that again," Uraraka whispered, her voice choked.

     Midoriya couldn't help the tears that spilled over, and he couldn't help hugging the both of them back.

     "I'm sorry," he whispered back.

      And he couldn't help wishing that he only had the opportunity to run away and die, either. But it really did seem that it was off the table.

     "We should, we should get back to lunch," Midoriya said, wiping the tears from his eyes. He was smiling a little, because this whole situation was kind of nuts. And wow, he loved his friends. "You guys go ahead of me, I just wanna- I wanna compose myself a bit."

     They nodded, reluctantly, but left, Iida picking his tray back off of the ground (Uraraka gathered the spilled food onto hers).

     Midoriya walked over to wall, turned around, and slid down. He leaned against the wall, staring up into the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. He counted all the weird stains he could see, and closed his eyes. When he opened them and glanced over to where his friends had been, he saw that they were gone. For a second he missed them, but he was still grateful to have this moment of being alone, truly alone.

     And then he remembered how Aizawa was still probably watching, from somewhere. Damn babysitter.

     He sighed and stood up from the floor, rotating his ankle. He turned to walk after Uraraka and Iida, hopefully getting lunch before the bell rang for the next class. Before he could take a single step, he noticed the figure standing in front of him.

     "Deku."

     Bakugo prowled closer, a barely contained snarl on his lips. There was hatred in his eyes, but something else as well, something Midoriya couldn't place. He had more pressing issues, anyway.

     "How long have you been here?" Midoriya asked, already knowing the answer and dreading it.

     "Since you, Four-Eyes, and Round-Face started talking," Bakugo answered stoically. "You actually fuckin' tried to kill yourself, huh?"

     Midoriya flinched, and looked away. "So?" He was already beginning to cry again. He hadn't wanted Bakugo to find this out. 

     "Why?"

     "Why what," Midoriya muttered. Bakugo strode closer, and Midoriya flinched once again.

     "Why the fuck did you do it?" Bakugo spit out.

     Midoriya laughed a dry, humorless laugh. "You're going to have to be more specific." He smiled at the ground, sadly. He didn't know why he thought Bakugo would've been guilty. If Bakugo had to ask 'why', then he hadn't been paying attention. "There were so many times, after all."

       Bakugo punched him. In the eye, and it was the third flinch of this conversation. Bakugo didn't say anything more after that, and so Midoriya was content to just walk away. Bakugo didn't stop him.

__________

     "Hey Deku, what took you so long?" Uraraka asked. Midoriya smiled. His eyes were red, one of them a bit more so than the other.

     "Just wasn't done crying yet, I guess, haha!"

Chapter Text

     "And then he just fucking punched me!" Midoriya ranted. He paced around the confines of Hound Dog's office. It was a cozy place; warm colors, blankets, a big couch. Modeled after some of the therapy places for kids that Midoriya had looked into in his spare time. Back when he had considered it, for a while. He wasn't quite sure if this whole design was something that fitted highschoolers, but he certainly was grateful that this place was so welcoming.

     "Language, pup," Hound Dog admonished. He seemed pensive. "He punched you?"

     "Where else would've this come from?" Midoriya said, gesturing to his bruised, swollen, eye. It had swelled up pretty bad, now that it was a few days after his confrontation with Bakugo. He had been eagerly awaiting this therapy session, or as Midoriya liked to call it: Hound Dog is paid to listen to me vent.

      'It's funny ,' Midoriya thought, because only just a few years ago, he would have passed out at the thought of just even meeting any pro hero. And now, here he was, talking about his feelings to one. 

     "True," Hound Dog conceded. "But you get yourself hurt so often I couldn't be sure."

     Midoriya could tell Hound Dog was joking, just to contain his anger. That white-knuckled hand around his cup of tea was a dead giveaway. Still, Midoriya was glad to see that his therapist was doing his job, too.

     Midoriya waited until Hound Dog had finished taking those deep breaths. "Hurt as in reckless endangerment or hurt as in self harm?"

     "What's the difference?" Hound Dog asked. Midoriya was silent, realizing he'd derailed the conversation into somewhere he wouldn't like to be. He got back on track.

     "Still, I'm just so pissed at Bakugo," Midoriya muttered. "I thought we were past this. But no, he finds out I tried to kill myself, and boom, back into his old ways."

     "His old ways?" Hound Dog asked. Midoriya swore under his breath. If therapy was supposed to be a place where he could talk about anything, why did he always feel like he was supposed to play this game of keeping his mouth shut? "Bakugo has targeted you before?"

     "Rhetorical question," Midoriya responded. Who can't feel the hatred wafting off of Bakugo at all times? Though, Midoriya didn't lie. He had been getting better about his whole Deku-and-Deku-alone-must-die thing.

     Hound Dog nodded. "Yeah, but I'd like to get your take on this."

     Midoriya sighed, but chose to elaborate. "He's been my own personal bully since elementary school. Along with everyone else in the world."

     "Do you know why?" Hound Dog asked, leaning forward in his plush armchair that was all too comfortable. UA spared no expense.

     "Dunno," Midoriya lied with a shrug. "Kids are mean."

     Hound Dog, of course, didn't know about the whole tragic backstory. Midoriya figured all of that needed an entire session, and not-- he glanced at the clock-- fifteen minutes.

     "And anyway, it never even got that bad," Midoriya said, a continuation of his lie. "He's never even punched me before."

     "Pup," Hound Dog sighed. "We're not going to get anywhere with you lying to me like that."

     Midoriya froze. It wasn't really a shock, how could he expect to trick a pro hero?

     "If you don't wanna talk about something, just tell me, and we can move on. The point to all'a this is for me to help you figure out your problems. You're making great progress, and it hasn't even been a week since the event," he said, skirting around the word describing what Midoriya had done. "If you aren't ready for this particular conversation, we can stop here."

     Midoriya went quiet. He was grateful for the fact that he could back out of this at any time, if he wanted. He could crack a joke, say that the problem he wanted to work on were the ones in math class, and leave. There were only a few minutes left in the session, Hound Dog would probably just let him go.

     But Midoriya wasn't quite sure if he wanted to do that. Shouldn't he tell someone what Bakugo did to him? At least one person? Maybe not everything , but-- he felt like he needed to tell someone . Not enough to get him into any trouble, but just-- he needed this.

     "We, uh-- he, he used to be my best friend. But when he got his quirk, he changed. Mocking me, refusing to play with me. Eventually, he turned all of the kids at our school against me. When middle school started, it only got worse. He would-- he'd, he told me-- w-well, it's over now. He stopped once this year started."

     Hound Dog was quiet, somber. Contemplative. "What do you think was the worst thing he ever did?"

      Midoriya swallowed with a dry throat. He couldn't get Bakugo into trouble, he just couldn't. "He uh, he made up the nickname Deku?"

     "And that was the worst that it ever got?"

     Midoriya thought for a moment, unsure if he should say anything else. "His uh, his quirk hurt a lot, I guess?"

     "He used his quirk on you?" Hound Dog asked sharply. 

     Midoriya backpedaled like Bakugo's career depended on it. "No! He never-- he never did anything like that! He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

     He winced at how bad the lie sounded.

     "Pup--" Hound Dog began.

     "Please don't expel him! Kacchan's going to be a great hero, you-- you can't!" Midoriya begged.

     "Midoriya, he's not going to be expelled. Talked to about it, definitely, but not expelled."

     "If he's not going to get in trouble for it," Midoriya said meekly. "Should I tell you about everything else?"

     "Everything else?" Hound Dog said, back into business mode.

     "He'd steal my stuff, destroy it, oh! One time I had to go to the hospital for a skin graft-- man, that sucked, he kept destroying my homework, like what was I supposed to tell the teacher? He hated me too! And there was that one time he told me to kill myself, like nice job jackass, I tried to! And then in the 6th grade, he convinced me that it was pajama day, but then it wasn't! It wasn't, and I got sent to the office for not meeting dress code! They made me wear clothes from the lost in found, and those sweatpants smelled disgusting!" Midoriya ranted.

     When he paused for a second, and inhaled as if to continue, Hound Dog stopped him.

     "Pup," he said gravely. "He made you attempt suicide?"

     "W-well, I mean," Midoriya stammered, clamming up, because he wasn't supposed to talk about that part. "I don't know if that was what he meant when he said it, he might have just been kidding?"

     Hound Dog opened his mouth, but Midoriya pressed on. "And he didn't think I would actually do it! He was surprised when he found out today!"

     When Midoriya seemed to run out of things to say, Hound Dog saw his chance. "Midoriya. Everything you've said here could get Bakugo expelled, easily."

     Midoriya froze. "No," he said.

     "Why not? He's tormented you for years. He should not be allowed to become a hero," Hound Dog said reasonably.

     "Yes he should!" Midoriya shouted, standing up. "He's, he worked so hard for this, all his life! He deserves to be a hero! Besides, he's better now! He doesn't do stuff like that anymore!"

     "Then why do you have that black eye?"

     Midoriya huffed, and looked away. "That was my fault. I shouldn't have told anyone about what I did."

     "Do you really believe that?" Hound Dog asked.

     Midoriya wasn't really that sure, actually. Did he do the right thing? Did Todoroki? When do you know to step in? Should he have told about Endeavor? When do you know to step in?

     Midoriya went quiet. Then, after a moment, he spoke. "I think we're done for today. Sorry." He needed time to think, after all. And before he was sure that he was in the right, he didn't want to say anything else.

     "Alright, there wasn't much time left anyway," Hound Dog said. "But know, pup, I'm gonna have to tell Nezu about Bakugo."

     Midoriya flinched, but said nothing. It was pretty obvious that nothing he could say would change his mind. He nodded, and walked away. He opened the door of Hound Dog's office, and walked out. Hound Dog sighed.

__________

     "Will Bakugo Katsuki please report to Nezu's office," the speakers of the dorm building blared.

     Bakugo carefully slid the glass container of uncooked casserole into the dorm's oven. He carelessly slammed the oven door shut, and slid off the two oven mitts he had been wearing. Ignoring the announcement for a moment longer, he picked up the timer from the countertop and set it to an hour.

     "Ooh, someone's in trouble!" Kaminari teased. Ashido, Sero, Kirishima, and Kaminari were waiting on a couch just a bit away from the kitchen. Rarely, Bakugo was allowed to cook a meal for him and his friends. Most other times he was supposed to simply head to the cafeteria. But still, with a little bit of swallowing his pride-- and really, the simple fact that he would do this proves how much he has grown-- Bakugo convinced Aizawa to let him cook in his free time.

     Now, though, something had obviously come up.

     "One of you dumb fucks take the casserole out if I'm not back in time," Bakugo demanded. He reached around behind his back, and fiddled with the strings of his apron. After a few moments, he pulled the bow lose, and tugged the apron off of himself.

     "You got it, homeslice!" Ashido said with a click of her tongue and finger guns. Bakugo groaned, but chose not to comment on the insane choice of words. Instead, he stomped off out of the room, and over to the elevators.

     The height of these buildings at UA meant that the elevators moved, in Bakugo's terms, slow as fuck. As he stepped inside the elevator, the doors closing shut after he pressed the button, he figured it would probably just be faster to jump out of the window and blast his way down.

      'That's what you convinced Deku to try, huh, dumbass?' Bakugo thought bitterly.

     Because of course it was his fault, wasn't it? Who had started the bullying? Who had beaten him to a pulp time and time again? Who had told him to kill himself?

     But it didn't matter anymore, not really. The damage was done, he'd tried to kill himself already.

      'Wonder how he did it? Maybe he tried to take a swan dive off of a roof--'

     Bakugo clenched his teeth and forced the thought away.

     The elevator doors opened, and Bakugo marched out, and kept going until he left the building.

     The main school building was where Nezu's office was. He obviously hadn't gone home yet, even though school had let out a few hours ago. Bakugo wasn't sure whether he just lived on campus, or was staying behind. It wasn't hard to imagine him living in the walls.

     But that was the kind of comment that would earn Nezu's fury, so even though the idea made Bakugo chuckle, he forced that thought away too. He was lucky that this office was on the first floor, less elevators to deal with.

     He entered the main building's doors, and headed towards the principal's office. The secretary that usually guarded Nezu and Hound Dog's offices was gone, due to the fact that school was over and she went home. So Bakugo walked past that desk, carelessly.

     The main office was almost entirely empty. Most other teachers had already gone home, aside from those that were assigned the night shift-- someone had to guard the school.

     Bakugo waltzed over Nezu's office. He tried not to snicker at the tiny handles on the door, around the height of his kneecaps. Instead he grabbed the human-sized handles, and tugged the doors open.

     "Oi, Nezu, what's this meeting about, anyway?" Bakugo asked carelessly.

     "You may come in, Bakugo," Nezu sighed. Bakugo ignored him, and stomped over to the seat opposite Nezu's. Beside the mammal sat Hound Dog. Three steaming cups of tea sat on the desk in front of Bakugo. He ignored them.

     The three sat in an awkward silence for a moment. Hound Dog broke it with a siiiiip from his cup of tea. Nezu cleared his throat.

     "We called you here today because we think you might be able to explain the events leading to Midoriya Izuku's… incident," Nezu said, smile never leaving his face.

     "You want me to go behind the loser's back and spill his tragic backstory," Bakugo translated. 

     "Something like that," Hound Dog said. "As well as that, I feel we should talk about UA's policy on assault."

     "In case you didn't read the handbook as thoroughly as usually recommended, I'll give you a refresher. Generally, assault is frowned upon," Nezu announced cheerfully.

     "And this is about Deku's black eye, huh?" Bakugo muttered. "Yeah, alright, I punched him. Sue me. What am I getting, detention?"

     Hound Dog let out a low growl.

     "That very much depends on how many times something like this has occurred!" Nezu said. "According to Midoriya, you have stolen and destroyed his property, frequently assaulted him, verbally harassed him, turned the entirety of your previous schools against him, and told him to kill himself. Expanding on that last bit, apparently he did try to kill himself after you said that, about a year and a half ago."

     Nezu was still grinning. Bakugo's blood ran cold. This, he didn't know. But it was obvious, right? The dumbass had tried to kill himself around six times. Of course one of the attempts was directly caused by him, if not more than one.

     "Anything to say for yourself?" Hound Dog growled. Bakugo was silent, contemplative.

     "Alright then!" Nezu said. "We will be contacting your mother, and we will then discuss the extent of your punishment during that meeting."

     "It's probably safe to assume you'll be packing your bags by the end of the week," Hound Dog said. Nezu said nothing to contradict this.

     "Well, that's all for today! You're dismissed, Bakugo," Nezu announced.

     The teen stood up, still slightly dumbstruck, and turned to walk to the door. He didn't make a sound as he moved. Without looking back, he left. He needed to find some punching bags to destroy.

__________

     Midoriya sat curled up under the covers of that dreaded bed in Recovery Girl's office. The one with the clean white sheets that always felt a little bit too cold. It was humiliating to hide under the blankets like a child throwing a tantrum, especially when there was the teacher du jour sitting a few feet away. And yet, there Midoriya sat.

     He desperately clung to his legs, and tucked his head between his knees. Those clean white sheets did absolutely nothing to hide his sobs.

     Snipe sat uncomfortably in that chair in the corner.

     Bakugo was going to be expelled, and it was all his fault . If only he had left the session earlier, if only he had refused therapy, if only he had succeeded in his suicide attempt. If only, if only, if only. It didn't matter. What was done was done. Midoriya had tried his best, but Bakugo was on the chopping block and he could already see the blade rushing down. It was only a matter of time.

     What would it take, days, maybe? Mitsuki would come in to UA as soon as possible. Then he would only have to pack.

     And all of this was Midoriya's fault.

     It wasn't supposed to go like this. Midoriya and Bakugo knew what their futures would look like from the moment they heard the word hero. They'd both grow up to be pros, Bakugo would be number one, and Midoriya was content to be somewhere below that.

     But now? Bakugo would be kicked out of UA (and no other refutable hero school would take him in with a record like that ), and Midoriya would most likely die in the next month. Best case scenario, of course. (He couldn't afford to be pessimistic and consider the possibility that he wouldn't be able to die).

     So instead of being pessimistic, Midoriya decided to think of how his future was over and there was no hope left in the world. Otherwise known as going on a walk.

     He threw off the blankets, and rolled out of bed. Without as much as a glance towards the cowboy guard, Midoriya waltzed over to the office's door.

     "Hey, wait, where'd'you think you're going?" Snipe said, loading his gun with the tranquilizers.

     "Walk," Midoriya stated, his throat hoarse from the crying.

     "Not without me you ain't," Snipe said standing up to follow him. Midoriya sighed, but let it slide. Some fresh air was well worth the babysitter.

    As he opened the door and walked through, Midoriya realized that he's personally ended three heroes careers. Well, four. First, there was Mirio-- can't a be a hero without a quirk, he knows this now (but Mirio still has One for All theres's a chance there's a chance ). Then, Sir Nighteye-- it was Midoriya's fault that he was dead, of course. After that, himself-- gave away his quirk, there's no hope for him anymore. And now, Bakugo.

     " I'm the goddamn Hero Killer," Midoriya whispered, once both of them were outside the building. "I fucking killed all of them."

     "You h'what?" Snipe said, confused and concerned, pausing in the middle of his stride. Midoriya stopped walking, too.

     "I've personally ended 4 hero's careers," Midoriya mumbled. 

     "I'm sure it's not your fault." Snipe patted Midoriya on the head, awkwardly.

     "Neglectance killed both Sir Nighteye and Mirio's career," Midoriya said, holding up two fingers. "Snitching killed Bakugo's," he continued, holding up another. "And I can say with certainty that I've tried to end mine like twice."

      This gave Snipe a little bit more context. He knew all about the Overhaul incident, of course. "Now listen here, lil' fella, none of those were your fault, not in the slightest. The only person who did any wrong was Overhaul. Y'all didn't kill Nighteye, he did. Same goes for Mirio. The only person at fault is the one who did it."

     Midoriya was quiet, contemplative.

     "And while what'ch'you did to yourself was yer own decision, that don't mean that it wasn't an influenced one. You needed help that'ch'ya weren't gettin'," Snipe continued. "And while I don't reckon I know what happened with Bakugo, as far as I know, he's gonna make a mighty fine hero."

     That was where Midoriya cut in. "I told Hound Dog some-- something about me and Bakugo's past. Something that apparently is going to get him expelled."

     Snipe went silent. "Oh. Do you wanna, er, tell me what he did?"

     Midoriya was surprised at how easy it was to say it this time, now that he knew the harm was already done. "He was a pretty big bully."

     Snipe relaxed. "Oh, yeah, I've seen how he's been towards ya."

     "No," Midoriya said. "This year, he's been so much better. Last year, he'd burn me, and beat me up, and destroy my stuff. Worst of all was when he told me to kill myself, just because I tried to apply for UA."

     The cowboy bristled. "S'cuse me?"

     Midoriya nodded, and started walking again. "Don't think he should be expelled for it, but I guess I can see Nezu's reasoning. I dunno."

     Snipe seethed with anger, quietly. He gripped his gun tighter. He kept walking, after Midoriya.

     "Don't be too mad at him, though," Midoriya said. "This whole thing is my fault. I shouldn't have told anyone in the first place. Past is the past, y'know?"

     "Sorry to say that I can't quite see what'cha mean," Snipe said. "That sorta behavior's completely against what a hero should be. Ever wonder why there's no other bullies here at UA? Anyone with a record gets their application denied."

     "He stopped bullying all of the regular kids when we were about four, and none of the teacher really liked me, so…"

     Snipe turned on him. "You mean to tell me all yer teachers allowed him to hurt you just cause' they didn't like you?"

     "My quirk developed kind of late, so…" Midoriya muttered. Crap, he wasn't supposed to let people know about that. Snipe was just too easy to talk to, gah.

     "How late?" Snipe asked, curiously.

     "UA entrance exam," Midoriya said, then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. Snipe's jaw dropped.

     "You've been trainin' all this time with only a year of experience?" Snipe questioned.

     Midoriya groaned. " This is why I don't wanna tell people! Now all of a sudden I'm weak, just because my quirk came in late."

     "No, you got me wrong, pardner, I'm proud!" Snipe said. "And you should be too! You're keepin' up with everyone else in your class even though they've got a bunch more experience than you."

     "That's what Aizawa said," Midoriya muttered. "But I trained with All Might himself before UA. I should be ahead of everyone else."

     "And Todoroki trained with Endeavor," Snipe said, not seeing Midoriya's wince. "And Yaoyorozu had tutors, and Ojirou had his instructors, and I'm pretty sure everyone in your dang class had some sort of personal teacher. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in UA did. And even though the playin' field is leveled against'ya, you're still at the top of your class! Be proud, lil' fella!"

     Midoriya smiled, for what felt like the first time in forever. "Thanks."

     "Yeah, don't mention it pardner, it's what I'm here for."

     Midoriya feigned confusion. "Wait, I thought you were here to shoot me with those tranquilizers?"

     "Oh, shut it," Snipe said with a laugh. The two finished their loop around the campus center, and started heading back to the main building.

     Midoriya still didn't think that things were going to turn out any good. Bakugo was in trouble, that was for sure. But Midoriya knew that wallowing in his sadness and regret wouldn't get anything done. He needed to save his career. And in order to do that, he has to do the hardest thing he's ever done in his life. Try.

Chapter Text

It was Friday. A sunny, beautiful day. Bakugo knew his friends had made plans to head over to a nearby lake. He knew this because he was supposed to be over at the lake, right now. Instead of that, he was in his dorm room. Packing.

     He'd really hated that whole discussion. The one about how he was a major fuck-up, and was getting expelled. Both his parents had been there, Aizawa too. And Nezu, and of course, Hound Dog. And worst of all, Midoriya. The little shit was apparently the one who snitched on him. Not that Bakugo could really blame him for it. He almost killed the little bastard.

     Still, though, it hurt. He wasn't naive enough to think that his career as a hero would continue. Now, he had to figure out something else to do for the rest of his life. As of now, he couldn't think of a single goddamned thing.

     But now wasn't the time, anyway. What he needed to do now was clean out his room. He had a few garbage bags for all of his clothes; had to clear out his dressers before moving them. Before he could even open a drawer, though, there was a knock on his door.

     "Hey Kachaan?"

     Bakugo swore. He didn't want to deal with this right now. First the bastard gets him kicked out of UA, and now he shows up to gloat?

     "What?" Bakugo answered rudely.

     "Need some help?"

     Well, that-- that wasn't what he expected. Bakugo guessed that he shouldn't have assumed someone like Midoriya would immediately go to gloating. He was always so backhanded about it, never direct.

     Like after the sports festival, he kept congratulating him and shit. Midoriya knew that victory was empty. Little shit was mocking him, cause' Todoroki went all out for him. But not for Bakugo.

     Without answering, Bakugo opened the door. Midoriya shuffled in, sheepishly rubbing his forearm, looking around. Aizawa walked in, too. Bakugo changed his mind, Midoriya better leave right the fuck now if he was going to be dragging in half the school.

     Bakugo avoided both pairs of eyes watching him. Aizawa radiated disappointment, staring down at him.

     "S-so, uh, Kachaan," Midoriya started. "I wanted to um, to say sorry. For uh, getting you, uh, expelled."

     Bakugo turned, crossed his arms, and glared at him. "Thanks."

     Midoriya looked away. "But, but uh, at the same time, I apparently did the right thing?" He said, his voice rising as if it were a question. He glanced at Aizawa for approval. "According to uh, to quite a few people, it was right for me to tell them about-- about what you did to me?"

     "I don't blame you for it. I almost killed you," Bakugo said bluntly. He turned away, and slid a drawer open. Haphazardly, he grabbed clumps of clothing and shoved them into a garbage bag.

     "Believe that you'll be a hero in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof," Bakugo quoted. He didn't miss Midoriya's flinch.

     "Y-yeah," he responded. "So, so um, in conclusion, sorry, but I did the right thing?"

     Aizawa nodded. "Think that covers everything."

     "Cool!" Midoriya said, clasping his hands. "Then, um, could you, uh, could you give us some time to talk? Alone?"

     Aizawa stared him down, for a moment, and Bakugo could see the calculations he was making. After a long, awkward, sixty seconds, he nodded, and left. With the door cracked, of course.

     "Thank god," Midoriya said, breathing a sigh of relief. 

     The two sat in silence for much longer than was comfortable. But either way, Midoriya was happy to just finally be alone in a room that wasn't completely bare, shorn of all sharp objects. Though he supposed that soon enough this one would be too.

     "What're you going to do now?" Midoriya asked. "Sorry if it's uh, if it's insensitive to ask."

     Bakugo shrugged, and kept working.

     More silence.

     "I've got an idea," Midoriya said. Bakugo didn't turn to face him, but he did stop moving clothes, if only for a second. "Not for what you should do after-- after this. I mean maybe, I could ask Nezu to let you stay. I could work out a deal."

     "I don't want your help. I did what I did, there's no fixing it. You shouldn't want me to stay," Bakugo stated. He went back to working.

     "But I do!" Midoriya burst out. "You were always going to be such a great hero, and it isn't fair that you can't now! I have to do something . You didn't deserve this."

     "If I'm not fit to be a hero, I'm not fit to be a hero. I'm not going to fight it."

     "Shut up!" Midoriya shouted. That got his attention. Bakugo turned to look at him with a dead expression. "You're just a kid, you're changing! Something as small as this shouldn't ruin your career completely like that! I tried to kill myself, but I'm still here! They shouldn't be expelling you, it isn't right!"

     Bakugo huffed.

     "What if, what if you promised to get therapy? Anger management, I mean. And you should at least get a few warnings before just, expulsion!"

     "It is what it is," Bakugo stated.

     "Will you let me try? To convince Nezu, I mean." Midoriya asked in a quiet voice, a sharp contrast to his shouts just a few seconds ago.

     "Sure. Fine. Whatever. Do what you want, it won't work," Bakugo said, obviously getting just the little bit pissed off.

     Bakugo knew he wasn't going to be able to do it. Most likely, he'd just get him into even more trouble with his parents. And of course Midoriya didn't actually want him to stay. Bakugo knew what he did, and he knows that he never stopped, not really. Why should someone like him get to be a hero?

     "I'll convince him. I'll make sure you can stay, Kachaan," Midoriya promised. Bakugo rolled his eyes.

     "Have fun." Lost cause.

     Midoriya marched off, with renewed vigor. He knew he could do this. He could save Bakugo! And then he'd be able to become a hero, like he was always supposed to. It didn't matter, in Midoriya's mind, that Bakugo had already given up. He just had to keep fighting.

__________

     Aizawa didn't regret the decision he had made. He didn't particularly care about the reputation he had gained over the years. The meanest teacher, the one who expels everyone. Parents say he's lazy, that he just doesn't want to teach. Sometimes, just for fun, he looks up his name on twitter and reads everything said about him.

     How funny is it that he's known more as a teacher than as a pro hero?

     It didn't really matter. He knew he had done the right thing by expelling Bakugo. He would have grown into a cruel, narcissistic hero. This country didn't need another Endeavor.

     Though, Aizawa would catch himself thinking. Bakugo really had made an improvement over the course of the school year. Less of a bully, calmer, more willing to do the right thing. And Midoriya had said that the bullying had stopped.

     Aizawa just wasn't sure if that was because of the policies against bullying here or not.

     No, Aizawa did not regret his decision. But that didn't mean that he wasn't unsure.

     He leaned back in his rolling chair, and sighed. Gazing down at all the ungraded papers he really should be working on, he cracked his knuckles and picked up a red pen. Coincidentally, the first paper he saw was one that he most likely didn't need to correct. Not because it was flawless-- though to be honest, he got close, on the best of days-- but because the name scrawled at the top of the paper said Bakugo Katsuki.

     The chicken scratch was dark, etched into the paper with a heavy hand. Aizawa imagined that if he turned the paper over, he'd still see the name.

     It was fascinating how much a person's handwriting could show. Aizawa had never really had a knack for graphology, nor an interest, but the idea was interesting in and of itself.

     He picked up the paper, and just as he was about to crumple it up--

     "Mr. Aizawa!" Midoriya shouted, bursting into the empty classroom. Class was long over, but Aizawa usually stayed a few hours behind, just in case students had any questions.

     "Yeah, problem child?" Aizawa said. Before Midoriya could say anything else, there was a shout.

     "HEY SHOUTA CAN YOU WATCH HIM UNTIL NEMURI'S SHIFT?" Present Mic screamed, from who knows how far away.

     Aizawa sighed, but said nothing. Mic, of course, would not hear him. He waited.

     And in under a minute, Mic made it to the classroom, huffing.

     "Okay, huff, he's, huff , alive," Mic panted.

     Midoriya frowned. "It's been like a week, why do I still have to be babysat? I haven't even done anything."

     "Take it up with Recovery Girl and Hound Dog," Aizawa said. "And yeah Hizashi, I'll watch him. What do you need, kid?"

     "I wanted to talk to you about Bakugo," said Midoriya, as Present Mic walked out of the classroom.

     "Oh dear god, what did he do this time," Aizawa muttered.

     Midoriya's black eye had been steadily healing, and now it was a nasty yellow color. From what Aizawa could see, after a quick scan, Midoriya had no other injuries beyond that one bruise.

     "Absolutely nothing! I just don't think he needs to be expelled," Midoriya protested. "He didn't do anything to me, it's been a year!"

     "Look, kid," Aizawa sighed. "A year isn't such a long time. And the point is that he's the kind of person who would do that."

     "He never even did anything that bad," Midoriya complained.

     "What?" Said Aizawa, in genuine confusion. "Midoriya he--"

     "I know what he did," he said, frowning. "I know about a lot more, too. But just because he was the ring leader didn't mean he was the worst. You really think that was the only time i've been told to kill myself?"

     Aizawa inhaled, sharply. He should've thought of that.

     "I'd find razor blades in my locker, sometimes taped to my stuff, just to where I wouldn't feel it until it was too late. If I didn't watch my water bottle, there was no telling what could be in it. First time I made that mistake, I couldn't stop vomiting for like an hour. And then there were the times when they would follow me home. Or try to, anyway-- I never let them. Sometimes I just wouldn't go home, y'know? Just keep walking, and they'll never find you."

     Shit. He said too much again.

     "Hey, Midoriya…" Aizawa said. After that, nothing more. As if he didn't quite know what to say.

     "All I'm saying is that Bakugo was hardly the worst of it," Midoriya reasoned. "And that was only the kids at my school. The adults, god, the adults were so much worse."

     Aizawa swallowed with a dry throat. He was filled with an irrational anger, because who in the hell thought it was okay to hurt him like this?

     "Can you honestly say that you treat quirkless people the same way you treat the quirked?"

     Aizawa wasn't sure.

     "Please, talk to Nezu," Midoriya continued, when Aizawa gave no answer. "Or I could, too. He doesn't deserve this. Kacchan should get to be a hero," Midoriya said. He couldn't quite place the point in time when he had calmed down and became deadly still, but he sure did. "I think he needs therapy, more than anything. Don't you see the potential in him?"

     "I'll think about it," Aizawa said truthfully, because apparently what Bakugo had done wasn't that bad in comparison to the rest of the world. Maybe a lot of this conversation had been tainted by Midoriya's unending kindness, but still. It was something to look into.

     "I just-- the hero course wouldn't be the same without him. I don't like him, not really, but--" Tears pricked at the corners of Midoriya's eyes. He wasn't faking them, though he was hoping it would convince Aizawa to save him just the bit more. "Please."

     And then, both quietly and calmly, Midoriya walked out of the classroom.

     To be honest, it really wasn't up to Nezu whether Bakugo would be expelled or not. It was one hundred percent Aizawa's decision. He supposed it was fair to assume that Nezu had the final say, considering that he had been at the talk with Bakugo's parents, and he had been the one to make the calls. But really, Aizawa didn't have to tell Nezu jack shit beyond 'Bakugo will not be expelled.'

     Or at least, he won't be expelled yet. As long as he made an effort to improve, and he truly did --

     Then well, why shouldn't he get at least one chance?

__________

     Just about a half hour later, Bakugo's walls were bare. His room was empty of almost everything but the furniture. A bookcase, a desk, a dresser, a bed. His whiteboard was taken down, placed onto his bed. A few weights still rested on the bottom shelf of the bookcase. All he needed to do now was move the weights, the blankets off his bed, grab the whiteboard, and take down the rest of the posters. At most, it would take about 10 minutes to take out everything but the furniture. Then, he could call his parents over to help with that.

     And yet, Bakugo loitered.

     He examined each weight carefully as he picked them up, noting every spot where the paint had chipped off. Five pounds, then ten pounds, twenty, thirty. All of the heavy duty stuff was kept in the main building, UA's private gym. Bakugo had bought his own equipment to use up in his room, because most of the time there were people in there. Bakugo was always a fan of showing up the extras, but sometimes he just wanted to focus on actually improving. That, and the gym was in a completely other building.

     He supposed he didn't have to worry about it now.

     "Shit!" Bakugo cursed, after dropping a weight onto his foot. One of the ten pounders, wouldn't be a big deal. Still, his pride hurt more than his foot did.

     Well, that had been the last weight; all of them had been moved into a tote bag. Next was the posters.

     Before Bakugo could even take a step towards the one All Might poster he still had up, there was a knock at his door.

     Damn, his parents were probably here. He had taken too long to gather his shit, and now surely someone was pissed. Besides him, of course.

     Okay, his mom wouldn't have knocked, she would've just ripped the door off its hinges. So this is definitely his dad.

     Bakugo swung the door open. "Goddamnit Dad, I'm almost done!" He shouted. Then, he blanched when he saw Aizawa standing in the doorway, greasy as ever.

     He raised an eyebrow. "Language, Bakugo."

     In response, Bakugo swore under his breath-- hopefully, inaudible to Aizawa. "What're you here for, Aizawa ?"

     Aizawa frowned. "Mr. Aizawa to you, isn't it?"

     For a moment, Bakugo considered slamming the door. It wasn't as if he could get in any more trouble. He was gone, there was nothing more they could do to him. "Not anymore, it ain't."

     "Bad news, Bakugo," Aizawa said drily. "Sadly, you get to stay at UA." He glanced around the room, noting the emptiness of it all. "Unpack your bags."

     Bakugo snorted. "Yeah, nice one. And I bet All Might's decided to go back to being a hero again, huh?"

     He, of course, bought none of Aizawa's bullshit. At this point it was just cruel to rub in his mistakes like this.

     With a sigh, Aizawa made one more attempt to convince him. "Midoriya came and talked to me. I decided to tell Nezu to let you stay. It is, obviously, my decision whether you stay or not."

     Bakugo leaned onto one foot, crossing his arms. "And why the fuck would you let me stay?" Then, he swore, once again. "I have to do the goddamn therapy thing, don't I?" It had sunk in that Aizawa was telling the truth. 

     "Yes, Bakugo, you have to go to the goddamn therapy thing. Your choice, keep packing up, or sign up for Hound Dog's sessions. That, or another therapist-- As long as you actually go."

     With a scowl, Bakugo made his decision. "It's a no brainer. Sign me the fuck up for the goddamn therapy, Mr. Aizawa."

     Aizawa sighed, because he had still been sort of holding out on the hope that he wouldn't have to deal with Bakugo ever again. But no, he knew that he didn't truly want to expel him.

     He only ever wanted to expel kids without potential. And Bakugo was filled with it.

     "Alright," Aizawa said. "See you in homeroom."

     And then, with the click of a door closing shut, Bakugo was alone in his room once again.

     In all honesty, Bakugo still wasn't quite sure this was happening. He had been in a permanent state of numb ever since he had punched Midoriya in the eye. Or more accurately, ever since he heard that he'd attempted suicide. The next few days afterwards had all been a blur. I'm getting expelled? Alright. Midoriya wants to stop it? Okay. Apparently it worked? Fine.

     God knows why the nerd wanted to save him in the first place. Bakugo hadn't even stopped hurting him, not really. And he was only just beginning to realize that maybe he was in the wrong for all of his childhood. 

     The best thing he could do now, Bakugo supposed, was say thank you when he got the chance.

__________

     Midoriya sat glumly in Recovery Girl's office, idly filling in a math problem or two every couple of minutes. The worksheet was nothing too difficult-- school had never really been that much of a challenge to Midoriya, though UA had upped the difficulty-- but the worksheet did take a long time. And really, he was just not feeling it today.

     Aizawa had gotten back to him about Bakugo, and Midoriya was pleased to know that he was not being expelled.

     It was kind of funny that not a single student--  other than Midoriya and Bakugo, of course-- knew about what had happened. Most of his friends knew about his mental issues, but not the root of them. They didn't even know about how he was raised quirkless. He doubted they even knew about his father.

     When had he come to rely on adults more than his friends? Hell, since when did he have friends at all? He'd been ignoring them, for a while now. Midoriya's been better about it lately. Now that his leash was a little looser, he could even-- gasp-- go over to people's rooms. And sure, there was always a teacher waiting outside, and the door had to be cracked, but at least he wasn't completely confined to this office.

     Maybe, one day, he could go back to being friends with Bakugo?

     It would take time, Midoriya supposed. He didn't know. He didn't want it to take time.

     He sighed, and glanced back down at his homework. It would be nice to be able to do this in his room. It was always weird to have teachers in there, though. So he would prefer to just sit here and trudge though this math worksheet.

     Though, he did have the entire weekend to get through it. It wasn't due until Monday. Midoriya stood up from his chair and looked over towards Snipe.

     "I'm going over to Bakugo's, you coming?"

     It was a rhetorical question, of course; Snipe had to come. At least standing up didn't immediately put him on guard anymore. Midoriya had convinced everyone that he wasn't going to try to kill himself again. He didn't know what to do with that newfound trust.

     Snipe nodded, and soon enough the two were standing outside Bakugo's dorm. Newly redecorated, though the closed wooden door didn't reveal much. Midoriya raised his hand up to knock on it.

     "Deku," a voice said from behind him. There were only two people in all of UA who call him that-- when he's not in his hero suit, of course. And this was not the cheerful voice of Uraraka.

     "Kacchan," Midoriya greeted. He was ecstatic that Bakugo got to stay, and that he would get another chance. That didn't necessarily mean that Midoriya was looking forward to dealing with him.

     Neither of them knew what to say after that. Midoriya had absolutely no clue where this conversation was going. An apology? He's dropping out? A declaration of war? He wasn't sure.

     "I'm not getting expelled," Bakugo stated.

     Midoriya nodded. "Mr. Aizawa told me." When the conversation lapsed into silence once again, Midoriya began planning a discreet way to get out of there, right now immediately.

     "Why did you convince him?" Bakugo said, in the place where most people would have put a thank you. Midoriya turned around.

     "Because what you did was a long time ago, and you don't do it anymore," Midoriya said simply. "It shouldn't end your career."

     Bakugo shook his head. "You know I haven't changed, right? The only reason I stopped is because the teachers here wouldn't let me do what I do. I'm not suddenly a better person now."

     With a smile, Midoriya disagreed. "The fact that you know you're wrong means you've changed a lot, Kacchan."

     Another pause.

     "They're forcing me to go to therapy."

     "Take it seriously. Talk to him. Genuinely. That's the only way to get better."

     "Is that what you did?" Bakugo asked.

     Midoriya swallowed with a dry throat. "Can't tell if I'm better yet. Think I am."

     The two stared at each other for a moment, sizing one another up. Bakugo was hunched over himself, unlike the usual puffed up chest, paired with a snarl. Midoriya just looked blank. Too used to being cornered after class. Still had that black eye.

     "I shouldn't have punched you," Bakugo stated, the closest thing to an apology that had ever came out of his mouth. 

     "I shouldn't've slit my throat," Midoriya said with a small smile. "Let's both try to be better, huh?"

     Bakugo gave a brisk nod, and Midoriya walked past him, away from his dorm room. Snipe followed him, not saying a word. The teacher had been around Midoriya long enough to know that he wouldn't appreciate it. 

     Bakugo watched them both go, long after they had turned a corner and gone out of view. He didn't know what he was doing. No, he really didn't. 

     But what he did know was that heroes weren't supposed to hurt people. Maybe he didn't get that when he was younger, but Bakugo was pretty sure that he was beginning to.

Chapter Text

     "It's all well and good to take time for yourself, Midoriya," Hound Dog said, leaning forward in his plush, leather, armchair. "But when it comes to the point where you're running away from everything else, or isolating yourself? That's when it becomes a problem."

     Midoriya was curled up, comfortable, on the couch opposite him. With one hand, he held a steaming cup of tea. The other was firmly around a plushie.

      The first few sessions he'd been too nervous to do something as simple as sneeze. It felt weird to look back and realize that he was now cuddling a stuffed rabbit and creating dirty dishes for his poor teacher.

     He sighed. "I know, I should talk to Mirio, and Shouto-- but I don't know if I'm ready to have those conversations. I guess Shouto did the right thing when he told Aizawa, but-- it still hurts. And Mirio , god, Mirio, that just brings up the whole issue with--" Midoriya clamped his mouth shut with a click of his teeth.

     "Pup, these sessions won't do you any good if you aren't honest with me. If it's something you're not ready to share, then I won't push it, but my job is to help. I can't do that unless you open up about what's on your mind." Hound Dog sat back in his chair, folding one leg over his lap.

     Midoriya took a long sip from his mug. "It isn't that I don't want to tell you or anything, it's just not my secret to tell. Though it definitely would do me some good to have someone to talk to about it other than…" Midoriya began to mutter. "Anyway, I'll ask him about it and see if I can tell you. Or if he can tell you."

     All Might most likely wouldn't be opposed to Hound Dog being told-- after all, he had known about All Might's true form even before the general public. All the teachers did. Still though, even if Midoriya was pretty sure that All Might would be fine with it, he shouldn't do it without him knowing about it.

     But really, Midoriya figured, isn't it his own business now? It is his quirk after all--

     And then Midoriya grimaced and remembered that he had given it up, it no longer belonged to him, he would never become a hero, he wasn't even allowed to do the hero training classes anymore he just had some stupid study hall, god, why did he have to give it away? No, no, Mirio deserves it, he deserves to be a hero and it was Midoriya's fault that he got his quirk taken away in the first place. It was fair , he did the right thing, he deserved this, but it hurts so much he misses it so bad he--

     "Breathe, pup," Hound Dog said, sitting next to him on the couch, and when did he get there?

     "Sorry," Midoriya muttered.

     "No need to apologize, this is my job ," he said with a small smile. "But yeah, it would probably do you some good to be able to talk about whatever it is that's bugging you."

     Hound Dog didn't move back to his armchair, and Midoriya was indescribably glad.

     "I guess if the Mirio thing is too big of a hill to tackle right now, should I try to talk to Todoroki?" He was dreading it.

     Hound Dog slowly nodded, and looked thoughtful. "You said that you distanced yourself from him because you weren't sure that you were going to live, right?"

     Midoriya nodded back. "Yeah. I'm-- still not really sure about that. I guess maybe I'm still avoiding him, because-- let's be honest, this is all a fluke. I'm going to get worse some day, and then I'll off myself. It's inevitable, right?"

     "Not necessarily," Hound Dog said. It was still amazing to Midoriya how Hound Dog could take statements that usually scared the bejeezus out of everyone without as much as a wince. "Medication is always an option, depending on the individual."

     Midoriya scoffed. "I don't really want to be on drugs for the rest of my life, y'know?"

     Hound Dog shook his head. "Some people have asthma, they use medicine. Some people have arthritis, so do they. And some people have a chemical imbalance in their brain."

     "I guess…"

     "Depression is usually triggered by either life events or a chemical imbalance. The first kind can be talked through with therapy, in most cases. The second kind may need medication."

     "You're probably right," Midoriya admitted. "It just feels like I'm never going to get any better."

     "It isn't an immediate change," Hound Dog said. "It's a slow, gradual, process, and you often don't even notice until you look back and notice the difference.

     "When am I going to be well enough to be off suicide watch?" Midoriya asked.

     Instead of answering the question, Hound Dog posed another question. "Earlier you said that you didn't think you were going to survive because of your depression. Is that because you feel a relapse is inevitable, or because you're planning suicide right now?"

     Midoriya froze. He wasn't sure. Because, of course he had planned to kill himself as soon as he got the chance. But it had been days, no, weeks, since he had actually made concrete plans. When was the last time he even cut himself? He knew he sneaked a few times in during his stay at Recovery Girl's office, and he could during so many times in the day! So why couldn't he remember any recent times he had…?

     Midoriya gave a hollow laugh. "I guess recovery really does sneak up on you, huh?" He took a sip from his tea, which was almost finished. "To answer your question, I don't know. I guess I haven't planned anything in a while."

     Hound Dog hummed. "Then I guess you're pretty close to being off suicide watch. Nice job, pup." Hound Dog was genuinely proud of him-- that is, in the case that he was telling the truth.

     Midoriya glanced up at the clock. "Oh, shoot, the session's just about over. Homework is to check up on Todoroki, right?"

     "Don't feel pressured into any conversation you aren't ready to have," Hound Dog reminded. "Whenever you feel up to talking to him about what happened. I'll see you next week, Midoriya."

     "See you, Hound Dog!"

__________

     Todoroki wasn't quite sure how to feel about Midoriya anymore. He still liked him, of course. But every time he saw Midoriya in class, or in the hallways, or at lunch, there was just an immediate stab of pain in his heart.

     It was hard for Todoroki not to associate Midoriya with heartache.

     He knew he did the right thing, he knows it, but he hasn't spoken to Midoriya in weeks and he almost regrets telling Aizawa about Midoriya's mental health issues. Almost.

     Todoroki didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he could say to make it right. Sometimes, he'd head over to the hospital wing, and just wait outside the door. Not because he was injured, but because he desperately wanted to visit the boy inside. Every time, Todoroki just walked away.

     It was a good thing Todoroki had other friends to rely on. Uraraka, Iida, Tsuyu, all of them supported him. It was obvious to everyone that he and Midoriya were fighting, but they didn't pry. They just-- they just let him in.

     He was pretty sure that they would agree he had done the right thing. Midoriya was in danger, and what he did only proved that more. He did the right thing. He did the right thing. So then why did it hurt so bad?

     His phone buzzed. If he had been in class, he probably would have just ignored it. But he's in his room, sitting on his futon. Saturday, around noon. Todoroki had nowhere else to be. No reason why he shouldn't check the message.

     The notification showed that it was the person Todoroki desperately wanted to talk to. The one who hadn't said a word to him in weeks.

     It really hurt, but Todoroki understood why Midoriya ignored him. He would have done the same, he won't even pretend that he wouldn't.

Izuku 11:34

can we talk?

Shouto 11:34

Are you in Recovery Girl's office?

Izuku 11:35

i'm outside

     Todoroki glanced over at his door. Didn't give him much time to mentally prepare. Wished he had the opportunity to plan out what he needed to say.

     Instead of responding to Midoriya's message, Todoroki just walked over to his door and opened it. Just as his text had said, Midoriya was waiting outside.

     He looked a lot better than he did the last time Todoroki had seen him. The bags under his eyes were gone. He didn't look happy, per say, but he didn't look the way he did before the incident. Or afterwards.

     "Hey," Midoriya said, keeping his gaze a little bit left to Todoroki's head. Couldn't look him in the eye.

     "Hey," responded Todoroki. Wordlessly, he stepped aside to allow Midoriya in. If he was here to apologize, then Todoroki really just wanted to make it easy for him. Get this out of the way. Go back to being friends. Todoroki was great at holding grudges, but that didn't necessarily mean he wanted to. He doesn't want to.

     They both sat down on his futon. Todoroki stared at his feet, waiting. Midoriya started the speech to come with a sigh.

     "Look," he began. "You were right. I just-- I'm sorry."

     "Apology accepted," Todoroki said, as if it were as simple as that.

     Midoriya gaped. "Shouto, I-- I yelled at you. I threatened you with spilling your secrets. I ignored you for weeks, when we had just made up. You can't, you can't just forgive me so easily!"

     Todoroki blinked. "I don't forgive you," he said, and Midoriya's heart shattered. "You were a dick. But I would've done the same thing. I just want to be friends again, Izuku. You were an asshole, but what else can I ask but for you not to do it anymore?"

     "The being an asshole, or the suicide attempt?" Midoriya asked.

     "Please don't do either."

     Midoriya laughed. "I'll see what I can do." He went quiet, for a moment. "I really am sorry, though. I shouldn't've lashed out."

     Todoroki shrugged. "You were going to lash out at someone, eventually. I wouldn't expect you to come out of-- that, with a smile on your face.

     Midoriya leaned backwards into the futon, with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "And yet, here I am."

     "Here you are," Todoroki repeated.

     The two lapsed into silence.

     "I really do think I am getting better. Whether I want to or not."

     "I'm glad. It, it really hurt. To see you like that."

     Midoriya's expression faltered when he thought of something.

     "What?" Todoroki asked when he noticed. Midoriya sighed.

     "I guess I shouldn't wait to tell you this…" He muttered. "I don't-- I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now. I really like you, and I want to be with you! It's just, I don't think I can right now."

     "Okay," Todoroki said with a smile.

     Midoriya groaned. "You have to stop accepting everything so easy. You're supposed to be angry at me right now."

     "But I'm not," Todoroki said simply. "I'm just happy we get to be friends."

     "...Was I really your first friend?" Midoriya asked.

     "And I only met everyone else because of you."

     Midoriya was quiet for a moment. "I, I think I'll be ready to date, after a while. But please, don't feel like you have to wait for me. That's unfair to you."

     A small smile grew on Todoroki's face. "I'd always wait for you, Izuku."

     Midoriya smiled back.

     There was a sharp knock at the door, and both Midoriya and Todoroki jumped.

     "Come in," Todoroki said.

     It creaked open, and the two saw that it was Aizawa standing in the doorway. He looked tired as ever, but seeing that the two students were talking, he gave a small smile.

     "Just checking in to make sure everyone is alright," Aizawa said.

     Midoriya nodded. "Still alive."

     Todoroki blinked. "Are you still under suicide watch?"

     "About that, I asked Hound Dog this morning when I could be taken off of that. When can I be taken off it?" Midoriya asked Aizawa.

     Todoroki shifted forward in interest.

     "Soon. Generally, suicide watch lasts for a few days. We were just keeping you for longer because the arrangement didn't seem to upset your life all that much," Aizawa explained.

     Midoriya's expression dropped, and he glared at Aizawa. "I've been dealing with this all week when I didn't even have to?"

     "It couldn't have been that bad," Todoroki said. Aizawa shot him a grateful look.

     "I have a nightmare. I open my eyes and the first thing I see is Nezu standing over me. And then my sleep-addled brain realized he's too short to be able to do that. And way too close to my face. Because he is literally standing on my stomach. "

     Aizawa furrowed his brow, while Todoroki looked as if he were desperately holding in laughter.

     "He didn't even say anything, he just stood there. Honestly, I think he was asleep. I just, layed there until morning and pretended to be asleep when he woke up."

     "Nezu isn't even assigned to watching you, where was the teacher who was?" Aizawa asked, confusedly.

     Midoriya shrugged. "When I went to bed, it was Midnight. Oh well, one more thing to talk about in therapy. But either way why am I still on suicide watch when I don't need to be?"

     "It's debatable whether you need to be or not," Aizawa said with a sigh. "Most likely, you'll be taken off of it soon with good behavior."

     Midoriya huffed. "You know what? I'm going to go hang out in the showers, where you legally aren't allowed to go."

     "Kid--" Aizawa began, but Midoriya cut him off with a wave of his hand. It showed how much this whole month had put the two of them through, because Midoriya used to be absolutely terrified of the man at one point.

     "Shouto, want to come with? I'm making a pillow fort."

     "Damnit, problem child," Aizawa said, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

     "If you get the snacks, I'll gather up the rest of the squad," Todoroki said.

     Midoriya nodded solemnly. "I also have to hit up Yaoyorozu for a tarp, the shower floor is nasty ."

     "Then don't do it in the showers," Aizawa suggested pointlessly.

     "But then that would defeat the purpose of getting to be alone for some precious few days," argued Midoriya.

     "Days?!" Aizawa exclaimed.

     Yes, Todoroki was very happy that he and Midoriya were friends once again. The whole fight had been unbearable, but he was glad to know that things had finally gone back to not-quite-normal. They'd get there one day, though, and maybe, just maybe? Midoriya would be ready for a relationship one day.

Chapter Text

     The snacks had been gathered. Popcorn, trail mix, pretzels. Chips and dip. A veggie platter. The kitchen was absolutely demolished by now, Midoriya had done his job well.

     Each member of the Deku squad had been alerted. Iida, Uraraka, Tsuyu. Along with the obvious Midoriya and Todoroki, of course.

     Supplies had been found. The tarp, created by Yaoyorozu. Blankets, pillows, stuffed animals. A projector, an HDMI cable, and last but not least: Aizawa's laptop. If you paid Hagakure the right price, she would gather any sort of intel you asked of her. The password had been easy to acquire.

     Everything was ready. This would most likely be the best party any of them had ever seen, or even imagined.

     ...Okay, no, the Baku Squad most definitely threw more intense parties, but that wasn't what they needed right now. (While Sero's brownies were fun, and Ashido always smuggled in the best booze, Midoriya didn't think he was quite ready for that. Also, there was no way he could have Aizawa tail him to the party).

     Midoriya stood outside the men's bathroom, his own pillow and blanket in hand. Along with an All Might plush stuffed under his shirt so Aizawa wouldn't see it. Dear god, he'd tell All Might about it so fast, and that was something Midoriya didn't want to think about. Instead, he gave a last glance over to Aizawa, who was upset that he had to chaperone at a party he wasn't even allowed into. But that was the point of the location. Midoriya missed being able to exist out of earshot of a teacher.

     "Thanks for letting me do this," Midoriya said to him.

     Aizawa snorted. "I don't know what you mean."

     "You could have told me that I can't be alone for that long, but you didn't. Thank you."

     Aizawa let the gruff facade fall. "You need this, problem child. It's good that you're with your friends again."

     Midoriya grinned at him, and turned away to face the entrance to the bathroom.

     He was the last to arrive at the party-- Uraraka, Tsuyu, and the laptop had to be snuck in. The laptop because technically they stole it from Aizawa, and the girls because they weren't allowed in the men's bathroom. Everyone figured that once Midoriya arrived, Aizawa was there to stay. And so, he needed to be last.

     When he walked in, bombarded with the scent of febreze-- courtesy of Tsuyu-- he was happy to see that the party had in no way started without him. Instead, he saw that the projector was already set up, Netflix had been brought up, and the floor was prepared. 

     Even though he was the one to come up with the idea for the party, it felt as if this were all meant for him. Midoriya's heart felt full as he kicked off his shoes, setting them off of the tarp, and sat down onto the blanket-covered ground-- which was softer than he had ever expected the shower floor to be.

     "Hey, Deku!" Uraraka greeted, a bag of cheetos in hand. "We were just about to break into the snacks!"

     Iida was manning the laptop-- he had been lied to about its origin. "What movie do you all want to watch?"

     Tsuyu set a finger on her chin, thinking. "Heathers, maybe."

     "Oh, I think I've heard of that! Isn't that a pre-quirk movie?" Midoriya said.

     Todoroki sucked his teeth. "That one seems a little bit too soon, Tsuyu."

     "Huh?" She questioned.

     Uraraka froze. "Uh, yeah, bad idea."

     "Wait, why?" Midoriya said, a confused tone in his voice.

     "A uh, a major theme in that movie is suicide," Uraraka explained. She, of course, had first seen it with Tsuyu. Cough, date night, cough cough.

     Midoriya winced. "Yeaah, don't think that's the movie for me right now."

     "Oh, alright," Tsuyu said, and all of them were content to leave it at that and pick another movie.

     And then Midoriya realized that he never actually told Tsuyu about what happened.

     Todoroki found out first, the day of. Iida and Uraraka were told maybe a week after. But Tsuyu had been sick that day, and so she hadn't gone along. Which meant holy hell, she doesn't know.

     Should Midoriya tell her now? Would that ruin the mood? Maybe, only if he let it? If he cried, the mood would definitely plummet. Okay, he could do this. He could do this. He could do this.

     "Hey, uh, Tsuyu?" Midoriya said, as Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki debated movies.

     "Yeah?" Tsuyu answered, holding a stuffed frog close to her chest.

     Midoriya scooted over to where she sat, hoping to get this conversation over with quickly. "I have to tell you something. I, uh, everyone else here knows, but you were sick the day I told them. Sorry I waited until now," he rambled.

     "It's alright," she said. "What did you want to tell me?"

     Midoriya took a deep breath. "I uh, I have depression. And I tried to kill myself a few weeks ago."

     Tsuyu dropped the plushie. But other than that, she didn't say a word. Midoriya continued, the words flowing out of his mouth like a leaky faucet.

     "And uh, the teachers already know, that's why they follow me everywhere, and um, I'm going to therapy, and I'm a lot better now!"

     Tsuyu was still quiet. She looked contemplative, but other than that, no expression showed.

     "I'm going to be off suicide watch soon, and uh, it's not really a big deal I guess, I just figured you should know?"

     "Of course it's a big deal," she whispered, too quietly for Midoriya to understand.

     "What was that?" He said.

     "It's a big deal!" Tsuyu burst out, catching the attention of the other three. "Don't you ever imply your life isn't important, Midoriya."

     "That wasn't what I meant," said Midoriya. "Just, it's in the past now, you know?"

     "That doesn't mean that it doesn't matter, or that I wouldn't care." Tsuyu sighed. "Thank you for telling me, Midoriya."

     "Of course," he said, nodding. "You're one of my best friends. I didn't even mean to keep it a secret. At least, not until I told everyone else."

     "Is everyone alright?" Iida asked tentatively, walking over to where the two sat alone.

     "Midoriya told me about his-- his attempt," Tsuyu said.

     Uraraka gaped. "She didn't know?"

     Sheepishly, Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck. "She was sick when I told you guys, and so I sort of… forgot? Sorry," he added.

     Suddenly, Tsuyu hugged him. "Don't be sorry about that. Be sorry about your attempt," she said. Midoriya lifted his arms and returned the hug. "And please, never try again."

     Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki joined in on the hug. Once more, Midoriya felt as if his heart were full.

     And then it hit him that this feeling was happiness. He wanted to experience things like this again. He wanted to watch movies. He wanted to hug people. He wanted to keep going, if only to be with his friends.

     It had been so long since Midoriya had truly, completely, one hundred percent, been sure that he wanted to keep living.

     He hugged tighter.

__________

     A few hours later, and the party has yet to stop. Of course, someone eventually had to leave to go steal Aizawa's charger. And someone had to get snacks. And it would only make sense to tell everybody else in 1-A about the party, right?

     And once the Bakusquad made it, of course the party got turned up to 11.

     Aizawa stood outside the men's bathroom, shaking his head in annoyance. Every time he turned his head, another kid tried to sneak into the door behind him. He felt like an underpaid bouncer.

     The party's music was blasting, and Aizawa had to keep a distance from the door just because of how loud it was. He winced as it brought up memories of Present Mic at karaoke. At least it wasn't that bad.

     Aizawa was ninety nine percent sure that there were illegal substances in there. Nothing that would get the kids jailed, but he doubted many of them were sober as of now.

     And yet. He still wasn't allowed in. To check.

     Aizawa ground his teeth, because he hadn't anticipated Midoriya's party location to be so infuriating.

     Then, to Aizawa's relief, Monoma came marching over to the men's bathroom. Monoma wasn't really the type to partake in wild parties, and so Aizawa hoped he would break it up. That, or he was just here to use the bathroom.

     "DEAR GOD WHY IS EVERYONE ON THE CEILING," Monoma screamed, a few moments after he walked in.

     "CHILL OUT DUDE, IT'S ONLY LIKE 3 PEOPLE," someone shouted back, probably Sero.

     Then, multiple explosions could be heard. The music shut off, all talking ceased.

     "WHICH ONE OF YOU FUCKS SPILLED MY DRINK," Bakugo yelled. 

     Absolute silence. Then, Midoriya creeped out of the bathroom, tailed by Iida, Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Todoroki. They all carried the party supplies they had first brought in.

     They sneaked over to the women's bathroom. They walked in, and Aizawa could only assume that another party had started.

     He sighed.

__________

     The next day, half the class was hungover, and the other half hadn't stopped drinking. Needless to say, the party was a hit. Nevermind the fact that the hosts left halfway through-- it had still been great while it lasted.

     Now, Midoriya was back in Recovery Girl's office. Suicide watch continued, he was forced to soldier on. But now, at least, he had confirmation that it would be ending soon. In the eyes of Hound Dog, Aizawa, his mother, and anyone else who controlled his life with a steady hand, Midoriya was better.

     He couldn't find it in his heart to disagree.

     Midoriya stretched across the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling lazily. His earbuds were in, and for the past half hour or so, he'd been listening to a playlist Todoroki had put together for him. Now, he could listen without guilt.

     Midnight was his babysitter as of now, and she was content to absentmindedly scroll through her phone, leaving Midoriya the slightest bit of privacy.

     It was early morning, Sunday. Which meant he got more visiting time with his mom! She had texted yesterday that she would be here later than usual, some time in the evening. So that left the entire day to find something to do.

     Usually, when Midoriya had time to himself, he'd spend it either sleeping for hours on end or staring at his phone in a dark room.

    Oh, man, that was the depression. Weird.

     But Midoriya didn't feel like doing that anymore, so he decided to head over to the dorm building-- just to see who's hanging around.

     "H-" Midoriya started.

     And then Monoma burst into Recovery Girl's office, a wild look in his eyes.

     "Where is she?" Monoma cried desperately.

     "What?" Midnight responded. "Recovery Girl?"

     "I don't have time for this," he growled, tugging at his hair. Then his gaze shot over to Midoriya. "You! Are you good with kids?" He demanded.

     Midoriya shrugged, and made a so-so motion. Seeing this, Monoma ran over, grabbed his arm, and tugged him out of bed. Midoriya gave a pleading look to Midnight.

     "I'm on suicide watch? Busy?" Midoriya said, the pitch of his voice rising up because he was kind of frightened at this point.

     Midnight blinked lazily, recognizing that he wasn't actually in any real danger. "I'm still watchin'."

     Soon enough, Midoriya had been dragged out the door to see a grumpy kid. Saito, the one with the… quirk…

     "Okay, who are you?" Midoriya asked 'Monoma'.

     "Present, Present Mic, and I am freaking out ."

     Midoriya had to stifle a laugh, but at the same time he remembered what it had been like for him. He couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

     "Okay, so just copy Saito's quirk and fix it," Midoriya suggested.

     Mic shook his head rapidly. "I, I don't know how , and so many other people are swapped ,"

     "Get yourself together Mic, you're a pro," Midoriya said with a dead expression.

     Mic waved him off, laughing. "Okay, yeah, I was messing with you. But seriously though, the school's a wreck and I don't know how to use this thing. Basically, you're the best with quirks in this entire school-- well, there's Nezu, but he's kind of preoccupied at the moment. Anyway, you're our best shot and we need to keep down the panic."

     Midoriya sighed, and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Midnight?" He called into the office. "I'm leaving with Present Mic!"

     "Kay!" Midnight said.

     Midoriya was kind of looking forward to seeing what had happened.

     "So, Saito, do you have any clue how this happened?" Midoriya asked in a cheery voice.

     Saito glared at him.

     "This little fella' missed his nap time," Mic explained, grinning. "D'aww," he said, scratching the kid under his chin. Saito continued to glare.

     "Hizashi," Aizawa said, Midoriya realizing why the glare was so familiar. "Don't do that in Monoma's body."

     "God this is so weird," Midoriya said to himself.

__________

     All Might had been quietly eating his yogurt that morning. Woke up early, did some of the stretches his doctor recommended, completed his skincare routine, drank water.

     Just a normal Sunday.

     And then some random kid ran in screeching, and suddenly he was three feet tall.

     All Might felt like breaking out one of his American curse words. Not in front of a child, though-- the child now inhabiting his body.

     All Might broke out his patented American curse word.

__________

     Aizawa didn't like waking up this early. He really was not a fan of it. But he did it every day, even so. The cup of coffee he was currently holding was the only reason why he could do it. Plus, the sleeping bag. Had he even even got out of bed, honestly?

     Something that woke him up fast was the small child running into his classroom. One he recognized, the kid with the swap quirk. Why was he here? What?

     "Hey, kid, are you--" Aizawa began.

     "Aizawa!" The kid said. "It's me, Yagi! Something has, ah, gone horribly wrong."

      Aizawa swore, and climbed out of his sleeping bag.

     "But, good news!" All Might said. "I know how to fix it!"

     Aizawa raised an eyebrow, but before he could protest, he--

     Was three feet tall. Aizawa swore again.

     "Ah… that wasn't, what, I meant to do," All Might said from Aizawa's body. " Wow , your eyes are messed up."

     "Where's the actual kid?" Aizawa asked. All Might gave a helpless shrug.

     "His legs are tiny, and he figured out how to get into my muscle form."

     "He WHAT--"

__________

     Bakugo was finally done moving back in, and everything was back in its place. So waking up in the morning felt exactly as it should. Everything was right in the world.

     He glanced at his phone to see that it was later than he usually got up. It's alright, though, he still has time to work out-- the entire day in fact. And once he's done he can probably go see what his dumbass-- yes, his dumbass friends were up to. Not lackies, or extras, he reminded himself. Friends.

     Bakugo grinned, imagining the looks on their faces when he tells them he almost got expelled. They'd probably be happy he wasn't, right?

     He got up out of bed, rotating his wrists. He cracked his knuckles. And then, All Might himself burst into his window, shattering the glass.

     "What the--"

     All Might was crying, tear tracks streaking down his cheeks. His rose was running, his lip was puffed out in a pout. Apparently, he was an ugly crier. And Bakugo had no clue what he was crying about. He shouldn't even be able to be in his muscle form.

     Then, All Might, Symbol of Peace, protector of Japan, literal god, started bawling like a child. Not in the way a person does when they're inhumanly sad, but like-- but like a child?

     Bakugo thought back to when the whole bodyswap bullshit was going on, and his eyes widened.

     And All Might body tackled him.

__________

     Present Mic had just finished his Saturday night radio show, about when all the normal humans woke up. He was yawning into his fist, absolutely exhausted, treading back to the parking lot, when he ran into Monoma, who was looking frantic.

     "Hey little listener," Mic said sleepily. "What's up?"

"I-was-babysitting-and-he-just-developed-his-quirk-and," Monoma took in a gasping breath. "He's-gone-mad-with-power-and-now-Nezu-and," another gasp, "Mineta-are-switched-and-Mineta-got-into-the- cameras--"

      Mic had heard enough, and put together the puzzle pieces. He was completely awake. "Alright, we need to stop this," he said, a determined look on his face.

    They ran back into UA, keeping an eye out for anyone who wasn't acting quite right.

     Which, apparently, was every single person they came across.

     "Monoma!" Tsuyu said sharply, her hand chopping forward. "No running in the halls!"

     Todoroki ribbited.

     Mic just kept running. 

     Next, there was Shouji, freaking out because he suddenly had 6 limbs. Present Mic couldn't even tell who that really was. He kept running.

     And eventually, they came across Saito. Mic kept his guard up, not completely sure if it was actually Saito.

     It was, because Saito had only just barely escaped. Hadn't even made it to All Might's office yet.

     "Okay, little listener," Present Mic said in a calm voice. "Why would you go and do a thing like this?"

     "I-I don't know, it keeps happening!" Saito wailed.

     And then Present Mic was shorter than he used to be. He glanced to the left, to the right, and confirmed that he and Monoma had changed places.

     "Oh, no, no!" Saito cried. Then, he ran off. Neither Monoma nor Mic were adept enough in their new bodies to catch him.

     Both of them swore.

     "Language, Monoma," Mic said, ever the hypocrite.

__________

     "And then I found Shouta, who is Saito because of Yagi? I guess?" Mic explained.

     Midoriya furrowed his brow. "Wait, Present Mic, do you know if Monoma copied Saito's quirk beforehand?"

     Mic blinked. And before Aizawa could stop him--

     All three of them were in Saito's body, while Midoriya and Monoma's bodies were slumped over on the floor.

     Three swears, simultaneously. Then, two Language, Midoriya,'s at the same time.

     "I can't tell if it feels more crowded because it's a smaller body or because there's more people," Midoriya said aloud using Saito's mouth.

     "Maybe both?" Mic said aloud, as well.

     "Wait, was that Hizashi or Midoriya?" Aizawa asked.

     "Me," one of them said, and Aizawa still couldn't be sure.

     "Alright," Midoriya said. "Who's in charge right now?"

     All of them attempted to move, and Mic found that he was.

     "Let's go!" Present Mic said, stumbling as he began to run with the stubby legs.

     ' Wait!' Midoriya shouted mentally. 'Maybe switch me back to my own body?'

      The host body nodded, and no one was sure who exactly it had been. All of them tried their hardest, making the motion of activating their own quirk, and--

     "Oh thank god," Midoriya said, getting up off the ground. He felt his hair, just to be sure, and yes, the mop of curly hair was his.

     "Okay, now we need to go find Saito," the body of Saito said. Midoriya nodded, determined, and the two-- three? Headed off the dorm building, where Saito most likely was.

     Eventually, they came across their latest 

piece of evidence.

      Bakugo ran up to them, a desperate look on his face. "You! Deku, is that actually you?"

     Midoriya nodded. "Yeah, quick question, have you seen anyone acting like a three to four year old? We need to get him back into his original body."

     Saito's body shot Bakugo fingerguns. All Bakugo could do was stare down at it.

     "Say a word and I'm giving you detention," the child said in a dry voice.

     "The kid's in All Might." Then, Bakugo walked off, deciding he'd had enough today.

     Midoriya and Saito's body ran off in search of All Might. Or at least his body.

     And then they found him, huddled up in a corner, sucking his thumb. Quite literally sucking his thumb.

     Midoriya approached with caution, trying to act as if he wasn't immensely weirded out by what he was witnessing. "Hey, champ, how're you doing?" He asked softly.

     "My tummy hurts!" Wailed Saito, and suddenly everyone in the area over the age of five winced. Right, right, the kid probably wasn't used to… missing organs… Yeesh.

     "Hey, Aizawa, Mic?" Midoriya said. "Think you could switch him into his own body?"

     Saito's body nodded, and then the real Saito noticed it.

     "Hey, that's mine! Give it back!" Saito whined, standing up, stumbling over.

     Aizawa worked as fast as humanly possible, because most likely this kid didn't know his own strength and he could very easily destroy his own body with a tap.

     In the blink of an eye, Saito was in his own body and the two teachers were crammed into the body of All Might.

     "Okay, Saito," Midoriya said, after giving the kid a second to calm down. "Now we have to go get everyone back to their own bodies, okay?"

     Saito sniffled, relieved to be back to normal. "Okay."

__________

     It had taken until the end of the day to track down every single student on campus and check to see if they were alright. Monoma had apparently been shoved into Nezu's body, and the boy seemed a bit traumatized from seeing the inner workings of Nezu's brain. But now, everyone was back to normal, and Saito had very gently gotten a lifetime ban from UA.

     Then Midoriya sighed, realizing that he had completely missed his time with his mom. Because, you know, absolute pandemonium tended to upset the visiting hours a bit.

     Still, though, his mom didn't work the next day, so Midoriya had planned with her another chance to catch up. Hopefully this time, they'd actually get to.

Chapter Text

     Iida gently placed the pop quiz down onto Midoriya's desk as if it were so fragile it would break. Midoriya just wasn't sure what was so fragile: the paper, the desk, or himself.

     Because he sure as hell did not study for this thing. And his grades have been dropping as is. It's been a difficult month, and Midoriya was just getting back on track.

     And yet, there was a pop quiz. This time, math. 

     Midoriya picked up his pencil and scrambled through the questions, skipping all the ones he didn't quite remember how to do. He didn't start a problem until number five.

     This didn't make any sense, Midoriya's always been good at school. His grades have always been stellar-- at least, when his mental health didn't get involved.

     He was sweating, hard. He found himself fumbling basic addition, refusing to add up 13 and 8 with the calculator because he could do it in his head and he had to prove it to himself--

     And soon enough, Ectoplasm called the time. Midoriya hadn't written a single answer down. He'd stumbled through at least three questions, giving up halfway into them.

     Then Ectoplasm said to the class "Switch your papers with a partner!" and Midoriya realized that someone would be grading this in front of him .

     This day got worse and worse.

     He picked Todoroki, because of course he did. He'd understand, right?

     Eventually, he got the paper handed back with a frowny face and a zero. Todoroki had tried to lessen the blow, but it didn't do much, cause the paper Midoriya had graded-- Todoroki's-- was completely perfect. Midoriya went over the neat, perfectly structured answer, and still couldn't make sense of it.

     He just didn't get it.

     Midoriya was asked to stay after class. Ectoplasm had gone on a long rant about how if he needed extra help in Math, he shouldn't be afraid to ask for it.

     But Midoriya didn't need help. He had always been great at math, what was wrong? What was wrong?

     He blinked, and found himself in his dorm room. Alone. He wasn't supposed to be here.

     Midoriya opened the door and looked outside. The whole place was empty, silent. Which made sense, considering he was supposed to be in class right now. Had he skipped? Was it the end of the day?

     Honestly, he couldn't tell. As soon as he had gotten his quiz results back, everything had blurred.

     It felt as though he were watching himself through a screen. Only a viewer, never an active participant in what was happening. He idly realize he's somewhere else. Moved to another location before he could think about it.

     Now, Midoriya focused again and noticed the knife held tight in his fist. When did he take his pants off? When did he grab the knife? When did he decide to fall back into his habits like nothing had happened?

     It was like seeing an old friend for the first time in a long while, simply by chance. Like bumping into them in a store. Like finding that even though it's been so many years, you could fall back into the routine and chat with them like it had been nothing.

     Or at least, Midoriya figured that it would have been. That's what it felt like every time he uselessly tried to quit his addiction. He figured that the latest attempt was just as futile.

     Getting worse was inevitable, and it was foolish to think otherwise.

     Midoriya pressed down gently on the flesh of his thigh, meeting blade against skin, no force behind the movement. He pressed down harder. Harder, harder, until the skin surrounding the blade was white from the pressure. It wouldn't hurt until he moved the knife. His grip on the weapon tightened.

     ...He didn't do it.

     Midoriya's knuckles were white around the blade. He tossed it into a corner of his room, greedily inhaling gasping breaths, not remembering when he had started holding his breath.

     The tears fell free from his eyes, cascading down his cheeks, dripping off his chin.

     He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to cut. Midoriya knew that if he let himself do this, then he'd do it more, and get worse and worse.

     Midoriya knew that if he let himself do this, he would end up attempting suicide again. Maybe he'd succeed.

     He didn't want to.

     So Midoriya burst out of his dorm room, and ran through the halls looking for anyone, someone, please, make sure I don't do this.

     Please, please, someone, stop me, I don't want to die.

     He made it out of the dorm building, and onto the main campus. And like before, there was only one person here who could stop him.

     Mirio was outside, and Midoriya didn't know why, he didn't care why. He just ran to him and sobbed loud, ugly sobs.

     Mirio looked on, confused, yet scared, because the last time he'd seen Midoriya--

     Well. It hadn't been a good time for either of them.

     "I'm so sorry," Midoriya wailed, and Mirio couldn't take it any longer-- he hugged him. Midoriya hugged back, desperately holding him as if he were the only thing keeping him grounded.

     "Midoriya," Mirio said softly. "I don't know what's wrong, but I'm sure you couldn't have done anything that bad." He hoped. He really hoped.

     Midoriya shook his head. "You know, I-- I-- I shouldn't have put you through that, I shouldn't have let you know what I was about to do, I-- I-- hurt you, and I'm so, so sorry," he cried.

     Mirio held him tighter, and waited for him to calm down. Once the kid stopped shaking so much, Mirio tried to reassure him. "Hey, don't worry about that, okay? I'm glad I was there, and I wish I could've helped you. I'm okay, and so are you, right?"

     "I don't-- I don't know," Midoriya whispered. "There was a pop quiz, and I, I was going to cut--" When Midoriya saw the look of horror on Mirio's face, he was quick to explain. "But I didn't! I didn't. Just, I'm going to get worse. I'm going to get worse, and I can't stop it. What's the point if I'm just gonna wind up dying before I even graduate?"

     "Hey, don't say stuff like that," Mirio chided. "It's different now. People are here to help you, you have tools to use when you get down again. You looked for help when you needed it, right?"

     "I guess…" Midoriya said softly.

     "You will get worse again," Mirio said. "But you'll get better, afterwards, too. It's just something that'll stick with you for the rest of your life. You're gonna be sad sometimes, but isn't it worth it for everything else?"

     "Yeah, I guess so," Midoriya said, wiping the tears from his eyes, the embarrassment only hitting him then.

     "We should probably go get Hound Dog. Do you want to go over to his office?" Mirio asked.

     Midoriya nodded. "Probably a good idea," he said, laughing weakly.

     "You know, I was looking for a chance to give it back to you," Mirio started. "Do you think you'll be ready after we talk to Hound Dog?"

     "Yeah, I think I'm ready."

__________

     Midoriya stood off to the side of the stage, waiting anxiously. He was just behind the curtain, in one of the wings of the stage, and the audience couldn't see him quite yet. 

     It wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that Midoriya was the last person to come up on stage. Bakugo had went, and so did Todoroki. But Midoriya was last, and so he had no one here to wish him luck.

     Nezu had only been talking for maybe a minute, but it felt like he'd been waiting for his cue for ages .

     And then, just as Midoriya had started considering faking an illness, Nezu said the magical words.

     "And now, introducing the class of 2189's valedictorian, Midoriya Izuku, or better known as Deku, the hero that never gives up!"

     Midoriya walked stiffly out into the main stage, and took a deep breath as the audience roared.

     "This has been a crazy three years," Midoriya started. "In fact, I think it might be accurate to say that they've been some of the most defining years of UA's history. The League of Villains, All Might's retirement, the Paranormal Liberation Front, dorm rooms."

     "Well, you may think the dorm rooms weren't that big of a deal," Midoriya said. Then, he glanced to the left, to the right, and cupped his hand with one mouth as if he were whispering a secret, instead of talking to a crowd of thousands. "But that's because you didn't have to deal with Kacchan in the morning. Let me tell you, much scarier than anything else I went through in high school."

     "But seriously, though, everyone in the class of 2189 has almost died. Many, many times. But," Midoriya said, clenching his fist with a determined grin. "We all made it through, stronger than before! We defeated the league, we defeated All for One when he escapes from tartarus, we restored peace to the world!"

     "We did that," he said, calmer. "So when we go out there on our own in the big world, and life throws a new bad guy at us, I know for sure that we'll be able to take them on. We're the class of 2189, and we are strong! Plus Ultra!" He yelled, throwing a fist up in the air triumphantly.

     Cheers, claps, and whistles erupted as Midoriya walked off, back behind the curtain. In the background, Nezu continued his speech, wrapping up the section of the ceremony. Next, diplomas would be awarded, and Midoriya had to hurry into line.

      Midoriya took his spot in the line of students, 'D' for Deku in between Creati and Earphone Jack. Everyone was silent, not wanting to disrupt the ceremony. Still, the hard part was over, at least for Midoriya. Now, all he had to do was walk up there, grab his diploma, get his picture taken, and walk into the audience and grab a seat. Easy-peasy, compared to the speech he just had to give.

     So first up was Class 1-A, of course, it came first alphabetically. When Koji was called up first-- Anima started with an 'A', after all-- Midoriya couldn't help but wince. The shy boy probably wouldn't have went first if he had the choice. But still, he's made great strides over the years, and he went up onto the stage with his head held high. Next was Sero-- Cellophane, Kaminari-- Chargebolt, and Yaoyorozu-- Creati.

     And then for the second time, Deku was called up on stage. The music was playing, tears were in his eyes, and Aizawa had the proudest look on his face, standing up on the stage with Nezu. Midoriya went up there, shook Nezu's paw, and was handed his diploma. He looked up to face the camera, and it flashed as it took a picture-- one which would showcase the grin on his face.

     Midoriya walked off, still grinning, and found his seat in the audience to watch Jiro walk up.

     It was insane to think that he was here, now. An actual pro hero. Maybe he wasn't in the official rankings, yet, but the public knew him well and from what he guessed--

     Well, he'd be giving the number one hero, Lemillion, a run for his money.

      Midoriya planned on opening up a agency with Todoroki. After Endeavor had been arrested, Todoroki's whole hero plans had sort of… fell through. Now that he's back on track, and sure that he wants to be a hero, Midoriya just, couldn't wait to do this with him.

     Class 1-A had survived UA, and so had Midoriya. He knew for sure that everyone would become amazing heroes, and Midoriya was eager to be there.