Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shinsou slumps down in his couch, tea in hand and tired as fuck. He glances at his phone before placing it on his living room table. It’s a little past 8pm, and he’s already exhausted. He sighs.

Mondays.

Mondays are the bane of Shinsou’s existence. They’re the bane of any teacher’s existence, really, and being a kindergarten teacher makes it all the worse. Sure, he loves his kids and he loves teaching, but Mondays are the days that his screaming, squirming, four-year-old students release all their pent up energy from the weekend. They’re the days with the most outbursts, where kids forget their school behavior and daily, in-class routine, and instead wreak havoc with their uncontrollable quirks.

One of his kids tried to test if farts were flammable today and lit their pants on fire.

Three times, in fact.

Shinsou groans thinking about it. He almost wishes he had hero work to do right now, so he could stop thinking about his class. But Mondays are also his day off from working with Aizawa. On any other day, a day off wouldn’t matter – there’s always the possibility of Aizawa calling him in or asking him to do background research for future work. But on Mondays, his dad knows not to contact him. And no one but his dads ever contact him, so Mondays are typically pretty quiet once he gets home to his apartment.

Given this, he’s surprised to see his phone glow on the living room table. Hizashi, his other dad, has a radio event tonight, and Aizawa should be doing underground hero work – so if one of them is texting him, it must be an emergency. Shinsou panics and grabs his phone.

[from unknown number, 20:14]: hey Koda! Long time no talk

[from unknown number, 20:14]: ik we havent texted in like 5 years?? But i hav an emergency

[from unknown number, 20:14]: i was omw home and there was this box?? on the road

[from unknown number, 20:15]: so i went 2 check it out and !!! there was a kitten inside !!!

[from unknown number, 20:15]: but it was all sad and wet and lonely cuz its raining so i took it home

[from unknown number, 20:15]: + now I have a cat in my apt and i realized..,,, i have never owned a pet ?!? in my life !??!

[from unknown number, 20:15]: i have no idea wat to do but its cold n wet n needs help ASAP

Shinsou stares at the texts. He has no idea who Koda is, but it’s sure as hell not him. He could reply and let the stranger know he has the wrong number, but… what will happen to the cat? If he’s texting some guy he hasn’t talked to in five years, the stranger obviously has no idea what to do. As Shinsou weighs his options, his cat jumps off the floor and into his lap. He stares at Gummi, who stares back at him with his judgmental gaze.

[image attached]

[from unknown number, 20:17]: pls help ;n;

Fuck, that was one cute kitten. It was a small ball of fur with blue-grey eyes. But the wrong number wasn’t kidding – the kitten is dirty and soaked, and has definitely seen better days. Its fur was in clumps, and it’s hard to tell the color of the cat through all the dirt caked onto it. Its eyes were pleading for help. What kind of monster would leave this baby in the hands of an absolute disaster?

[to unknown number, 20:20]: First, make sure you warm it up. Try to dry it off gently. After its dry, get a heating pad and put it on low. Wrap the kitten in towels, then lay it on the pad. It needs to be in a warm, draft-free place for the next few weeks. Once you set up a place for the kitten to rest, you’re going to need food. It’s probably really hungry right now. Since it’s still a kitten, you’re going to need to buy a nursing kit and some kitten formula. I don’t know if you’re planning on keeping it, or bringing it to a shelter, but for the time that it’s in your hands, you’re going to have to check up on it every 2-4 hours to make sure it’s fed. You should also get in contact with a vet, and have a check-up ASAP to make sure it’s healthy.

It’s the longest text Shinsou has ever sent in his life, but he wants to make sure the kitten lives. His phone vibrates almost immediately after sending.

[from unknown number, 20:20]: holy shit u responded

[from unknown number, 20:20]: ur actually an angel omfg

Shinsou stares at the texts and feels himself blush, even though the text isn’t meant for him. He should probably tell the stranger that he’s not Koda, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to put the kitten at risk.

First I’ll make sure the kitten is safe, then I’ll let them know and stop texting, he assures himself as he types out his next text.

[to unknown number, 20:21]: Let me know if you have any questions.

After hitting send, Shinsou starts stroking Gummi, who’s still on his lap, and tries to remember what he was planning on doing with his night before reading these texts. His thoughts are interrupted shortly by another vibration. He takes a sip from his tea as he opens the notification.

[from unknown number, 20:26]: she needs 2 b checked on every 2-4 hours?

[from unknown number, 20:26]: a needy bitch like her daddy ;)

Shinsou chokes. Didn’t this guy say he hasn’t texted “Koda” in five years? Who texts that after five years of silence?

[to unknown number, 20:27]: How do you know it’s a girl?

[from unknown number, 20:27]: i can jst feel it

[from unknown number, 20:28]: ok im gonna do the stuff now

[from unknown number, 20:28]: im def gonna hav questions tho if thats ok

[to unknown number, 20:29]: That’s fine. I’ll be up for a while anyways.

True to his word, the stranger texted him every now and then over the next two hours, asking for advice. He has to go out to buy a lot of the materials he needs, and Shinsou receives a handful of image texts asking for help identifying and choosing the right stuff. Their whole conversation is evidence that Shinsou made the right decision in responding – after all, there’s no way a guy who thought “buy a nursing kit” meant “you’ll be breastfeeding” should be left to his own devices. And the way he said it…

Never thot a kitty wud suckle my teats

The text just affirms Shinsou’s perception of the dude as an actual disaster. Yet these disaster texts make him laugh, and Shinsou realizes he’s laughed more the past two hours of texting a stranger than he has in at least a month, though probably longer. He tries to stop that thought from sinking in.

[image attached]

[from unknown number, 22:51]: ok, her lil home is all set up!

[from unknown number, 22:51]: she’s warm n full of food n cozy now : )

[from unknown number, 22:52]: + i got a vet appt for tmrw!

The photo might be one of the most adorable things Shinsou has seen. The kitten was all wrapped up in a pastel yellow towel dotted with tiny Pikachu faces. After being cleaned and dried, it turns out the kitten has grey fur, with a white patch on its face and some darker grey stripes. Its ears are tiny, barely poking out of the towel wrapped around it. And its eyes no longer look pleading – instead, it looks calm and drowsy. Shinsou feels his heart melt at the sight.

[to unknown number, 22:55]: Cute

He didn’t mean to text it, but sent it on reflex after seeing the kitten. The reply is immediate.

[from unknown number, 22:55]: ik I am ;)

Shinsou rolls his eyes. He starts typing up a reply when he gets another text.

[from unknown number, 22:56]: but rly thank u so much for helping me

[from unknown number, 22:56]: ur the best, Koda!

 Right. The stranger thinks he’s flirting with some dude named Koda, not him. He erases his message and sends a different one instead.

[to unknown number, 22:57]: By the way, you have the wrong number. I’m not Koda.

Shinsou hits send and holds his breath. He’s not sure how the stranger will respond – will he be angry at Shinsou for tricking him? He doesn’t get a reply for a few minutes, which is a long wait for the rapid texter on the other end. That probably means this conversation is over. Forever over. The thought hurts a little, and Shinsou’s not sure why.

He gets up from his couch and starts heading to his room to get ready for bed. Gummi trails along, a few steps behind him, only to run into his leg when Shinsou abruptly stops.

Because his phone vibrated.

[from unknown number, 23:10]: oh my god

[from unknown number, 23:10]: so ur a total stranger who doesn’t know who i am

[from unknown number, 23:10]: but u’ve been texting me 4 over 2 hours to help me with my cat????

Shinsou feels a pang of guilt. It was probably a weird thing for him to do, not to mention deceitful.

[to unknown number, 23:11]: I’m sorry. I should have said something sooner.

The reply comes seconds later.

[from unknown number, 23:11]: y r u apologizing ???

[from unknown number, 23:11]: ur an actual angel omfg

[from unknown number, 23:11]: IM the one who shud apologize, i've been bothering u for HOURS w my stupidity

[from unknown number, 23:12]: so yea sry for bothering u :(

Shinsou feels himself blush. No one has called him an angel before, that’s just not who he is.

[to unknown number, 23:12]: You’re not stupid, you’ve just never done this before. And if it was a bother, I wouldn’t have replied.

[to unknown number, 23:12]: I like cats, and I’m grateful you saved this one from the streets. I wanted to make sure it’s going to be okay. So you have nothing to apologize for. Thanks for listening to my advice and taking care of it.

[from unknown number, 23:13]:  oh my god

[from unknown number, 23:13]: im

[from unknown number, 23:13]: ur my hero (TToTT)

[from unknown number, 23:14]: rly thank u so so so much for helping me i owe u my LIFE

[to unknown number, 23:14]: It’s really no problem. I’m glad I could help.

Shinsou stares at his phone. This is probably the last text he’ll send the stranger. Then, they’ll never talk again and forget this exchange ever happened. But…Shinsou actually had a lot of fun tonight. He isn’t used to texting people, but their conversation felt natural. And the cat photos were really cute.

I’m doing this for cat photos, Shinsou convinces himself as he types. What’s there to lose?

[to unknown number, 23:15]: If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out.

[from unknown number, 23:15]: wait…. u mean i can keep texting u???

[to unknown number, 23:16]: I mean, if you were texting a guy you haven’t spoken to in five years for advice, I’m guessing you don’t have many people to ask about these things. I get that it’s kind of weird to text a stranger, but we don’t have to share information about ourselves or anything. I can just give cat advice when you need it.

[from unknown number, 23:16]: omg r u srs

[from unknown number, 23:16]: im taking u up on ur offer no taksie-backsies

[from unknown number, 23:16]: is there anything i can do 2 repay u???

[to unknown number, 23:17]: Yeah. Send pictures of your kitten. It’s super cute.

Shinsou should have known the reply he’d get, given the conversation they’d had that night.

[from unknown number, 23:17]: id send u cute pussy pics any day ;)

Shinsou saves the number as “Disaster Cat”, wondering what exactly he signed himself up for.

Chapter Text

“Bye bye, Shinsou-sensei!” his student, Mamura, calls over his shoulder as his mother guides him out the classroom door. He’s usually the last student picked up at the end of the day, and today was no exception. Shinsou responds with a small wave just before the door closes behind them.

Alone in his classroom, Shinsou sighs and subconsciously brings his hand to the back of his neck. Today was okay – much better than Monday was, at least. There were less outbursts, and most of the kids were pretty invested in their lessons. Shinsou just always feels like he can be doing better.

In their superhuman world, kindergarten is a tough time for everyone. It’s when many children start discovering and developing their quirks. And these powers get to their heads. Childhood friends become enemies, best friends cast each other aside for powerful quirk users, and, if unwatched, bullying breaks out. It happens everywhere – Shinsou can attest from his own kindergarten experience. It happens everywhere, and teachers around the world just… accept it.

It happens everywhere, and it’s absolutely fucked.

Shinsou does his best to make sure it doesn’t happen in his classroom. He teaches tolerance and acceptance of all, quirks or no quirks. He praises strong, flashy quirks just as much as he praises mental quirks, or mental resilience if they have no quirk at all. His students are all good kids at heart, and they’re slowly learning and changing.

It’s hard, though, when his classroom is an anomaly. When his kids go home, they turn on their televisions and only see flashy heroes. They’re surrounded by people who judge others loudly and openly. During parent-teacher conferences, he hears the adults in their lives say things that are banned in his classroom. It makes his blood boil, but what can he do?

Shinsou walks over to his desk, sits down, and pulls out his lesson plans. He can’t be the only one preaching about acceptance. And Shinsou has an idea to fix this, but he really needs his dad’s help for it. As he reaches for his phone to message his dad, he notices notifications on his screen.

Many notifications.

Shinsou has never had more than three notifications on his phone in his entire life. And that’s definitely not because he only has three contacts on his phone: his dad, his other dad, and his little sister, Eri.

As he reads the notifications, he remembers that that’s not true anymore. After last night, he now has four contacts.

[from Disaster Cat, 12:30]: jst got back frm the vet!! update: shes a girl :D

[from Disaster Cat, 12:30]: and shes not sick! jst needs 2 eat + rest in a comfy home :) what a relief

[from Disaster Cat, 12:31]: wat shld i name her

[from Disaster Cat, 12:31]: Pikachu

Shinsou rolls his eyes. Isn’t Pikachu a mouse? Definitely not a cat name. Though, given the Pikachu pattern on the towel Disaster Cat used, he’s probably a huge fan. He continues reading the notifications.

[from Disaster Cat, 12:31]: Zappy McZapFace

Was… was that a meme reference? Is this guy really thinking of naming his cat after a meme? Shinsou doesn’t think the suggestions could get worse. Then he sees the next text.

[from Disaster Cat, 12:32]: Queen Explosion Murder

Shinsou laughs. How does someone come up with that for a name?

[from Disaster Cat, 13:00]: …

[from Disaster Cat, 13:15]: im rly indecisive pls help

[from Disaster Cat, 14:01]: if u dont reply im naming her Queen Explosion Murder and its UR FAULT

Shinsou unlocks his phone and opens his messaging app.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:15]: Please don’t name her that.

His phone vibrates immediately.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:15]: HE LIVES!!!

Shinsou smiles to himself as he types out a reply. Now that the life of a kitten isn’t at stake, the conversation feels a lot more casual. It’s…nice.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:15]: Bold of you to assume I’m alive.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:16]: O shit

[from Disaster Cat, 14:16]: I guess that explains y uve been..,,,, ghostin me

[to Disaster Cat, 14:16]: I’m deleting your number.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:16]: aww u hav it saved?? <3 <3

[to Disaster Cat, 14:17]: I’m *blocking your number.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:17]: NOOOOOOOO pls i need u ;n;

[from Disaster Cat, 14:18]: u can take as long as u need 2 reply as long as i can keep textin u ;n;

Shinsou stares at the text. That was actually… really sweet. No one’s ever wanted to talk to him this much before.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:18]: I was kidding, I’m not blocking your number.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:19]: And I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner, but I don’t text in while I’m in school.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:19]: wait..,,,, school?

[from Disaster Cat, 14:19]: O my god

[from Disaster Cat, 14:19]: am i ,… texting a minor

[from Disaster Cat, 14:20]: DID I SEND HEARTS..,,TO A MINOR

[from Disaster Cat, 14:20]: I;m s o S o R R y

Shinsou snorts as he wonders whether Disaster Cat ever thinks before typing. Is he always like this? He can’t imagine how disastrous he’d be out in the world with no brain-to-mouth filter.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:21]: Maybe you should think about what you text before sending it to someone you literally know nothing about.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:21]: But no, I’m not a minor. I’m a teacher.

Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. He was the only who texted the other night saying they wouldn’t share any personal information. Shinsou’s inner turmoil was cut short by a vibration.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:22]: a teacher?

[from Disaster Cat, 14:22]: thats hot

He’s not sure what he expected, but he shouldn’t be that surprised given that it’s Disaster Cat he’s texting. It’s not surprising, and it definitely didn’t make Shinsou blush.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:23]: also…,,, ho

[from Disaster Cat, 14:23]: i kno at LEAST 3 things abt u

[from Disaster Cat, 14:23]: 1. u like cats

[from Disaster Cat, 14:23]: 2. ur a teacher

[from Disaster Cat, 14:24]: 3. u text like a 40yo man

[to Disaster Cat, 14:24]: I do not text like a 40-year-old man.

[from Disaster Cat, 14:25]: yea, keep tellin urself that mr perfect punctuation + spellin

[from Disaster Cat, 14:25]: wat young psn texts like that

[to Disaster Cat, 14:26]: Me.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:26]: I’m only 24.

I guess I’m throwing this whole stranger danger rule out the window, Shinsou muses as he looks at the text he sent.  It wasn’t that much information, was it?

[from Disaster Cat, 14:26]: o shit same

[from Disaster Cat, 14:27]: 2 24yos textin each other by chance..,,

[from Disaster Cat, 14:27]: i think i saw this in a movie

[from Disaster Cat, 14:27]: is this the pt whre we confess our love 4 each other n elope

[to Disaster Cat, 14:27]: What the fuck

[from Disaster Cat, 14:28]: kidding ;)

[from Disaster Cat, 14:28]: anyways I g2g 2 work soon

[from Disaster Cat, 14:28]: but dont worry I got our kitten a bb sitter

[to Disaster Cat, 14:29]: Our?

[from Disaster Cat, 14:29]: ttyl!!

Shinsou glances at the time and realizes he spent 15 minutes solely texting Disaster Cat. He sat down at his desk to do work, not goof off. But Shinsou knows that if Disaster Cat hadn’t ended the conversation, he probably would have kept texting. He sighs. Is he really this lonely?

Shinsou pushes the thoughts aside. He has to work. He opens his messaging app again, starting a conversation with Aizawa. He drafts a pitch for his idea for integrating his classroom lessons with the outside world, reads it over a few times, then sends the request to his dad. Shinsou really likes his plan, and he’s sure Aizawa will agree with his intentions, but he’s not sure how willing his dad will be to take on the extra work. Shinsou would owe him big time for sure. But, then again, his dad is secretly a huge softie, so “owing him” really means “come home and eat dinner with the family more often”, even if he never says it directly.

Shinsou puts his phone down and focuses on formally drafting his idea for the principal. He manages to work undisturbed for half an hour, but is distracted when his phone vibrates. Aizawa usually doesn’t reply quickly, so the notification is unexpected. When he looks at the screen, he’s surprised to see it’s not his dad.

[image attached]

[from Disaster Cat, 15:03]: almost 4got to send ur daily pic ;) Bye 4 real this time!

In the picture, the kitten is looking up at the camera with its big, grey-blue eyes. Its tiny paws are on a bottle, which it's drinking from. Its wrapped in the same Pikachu towel from the other day, though Shinsou can see that the swaddled kitten is lying on top of a pair of black pants, not its makeshift bed. There’s also a hand supporting the kitten – it’s mainly blocked by the towel, but he can see a light, slender finger peeking over the edge of the photo.

He saves the photo to his camera roll, and has a small smile on his face the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

Beep beep beep beep

Shinsou groans at the sound of his alarm. It’s hard enough to fall asleep with his insomnia, and it’s especially hard after a night of patrol with Aizawa. Forcibly waking up to loud noises is definitely on his top five list of worst things in the world – all alarms must have a special place in hell.

Shinsou’s tired, but there’s no point in hitting snooze, since it would take him hours to fall asleep again. He rolls over and grabs his phone off of the nightstand. After shutting his alarm off, he notices he has two notifications.

[image attached]

[from Disaster Cat, 03:15]: ghost has NO RIGHT 2 look dis cute while depriving me of my beauty sleep > : (

The kitten is yawning. Her tiny mouth is wide open, eyes screwed shut, and her tongue is extended out of her mouth. Her arms are stretched forward, resting on Disaster Cat’s thigh, which is littered with tiny Pokéballs. Shinsou huffs in amusement at the Pokémon pajama pants. He already knew Disaster Cat was a fan from the Pikachu towel, but if he also owns pajama pants, he probably has a lot more paraphernalia in his house.

Shinsou smiles at the photo and saves it. Kitten pictures make up all of his recent photos, but who could blame him for saving these? The photo makes waking up worth it.

[to Disaster Cat, 06:03]: Ghost? I’m surprised. I thought you’d name her worse.

[to Disaster Cat, 06:03]: Also, if you look anything like how you type, no amount of sleep can help you.

After sending his texts, Shinsou stretches and rolls out of bed. School doesn’t start until 8:30am, but he always gets to school at least an hour early to prepare for the day. After making his bed and getting dressed, Shinsou walks into the kitchen and turns his coffee maker on. While putting food out for Gummi, he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out and looks at the notification.

[from Disaster Cat, 06:13]: first of all..,,, rood

[from Disaster Cat, 06:13]: secondly..,,, ROOD. I’ll hav u kno im v attractive > : (

[to Disaster Cat, 06:14]: Sure you are.

[to Disaster Cat, 06:14]: How’d you come up with the name Ghost?

[from Disaster Cat, 06:14]: shes named after u, duh

Shinsou stares at his phone in confusion.

[to Disaster Cat, 06:15]: What?

[from Disaster Cat, 06:15]: i thot it wud be cute 2 name her after her hero but idk ur name

[from Disaster Cat, 06:16]: but then ystrday u were like “bold of u to assume im alive” + i was like haha he a ghost

[from Disaster Cat, 06:16]: + then I was like..,, wait thts cute

[from Disaster Cat, 06:16]: so i named her ghost!

Shinsou reads the texts. Then, he rereads them, to make sure he read it right. He feels his face combust. Disaster Cat named his kitten after him. Cool. It’s no big deal – people name their cats after random shit all the time, right? Except this wasn’t random – it sounds like he’s been wanting to name the kitten after Shinsou, but was having a hard time coming up with ideas since he didn’t know Shinsou’s name.  He’s glad that Disaster Cat doesn’t know his name though, because no kitten deserves to be named “people user”.

[to Disaster Cat, 06:18]: I’m not actually a ghost, but I appreciate the thought. Thanks.

[from Disaster Cat, 06:18]: the only thot in my head is u ;)

[to Disaster Cat, 06:18]: I retract my thanks.

[from Disaster Cat, 06:18]: : (

[from Disaster Cat, 06:19]: Ghost is sleepin again so imma cash in 3 more hrs of sleep

[image attached]

[from Disaster Cat, 06:19]: bye bye!

This time, Ghost is lying in a fluffy pet bed (Shinsou wonders when Disaster Cat could have bought it). She’s fast asleep, and in her paws there’s a tiny, stuffed blue bunny plushie. It’s such a gentle, pure photo. Ghost is so cute and delicate – he really can’t believe she was named after him.

Shinsou is still thinking about his namesake as he drinks his black coffee and eats his breakfast. This whole texting situation is… bizarre, to say the least. Shinsou has never had friends in his life. He’s never had strong desires for friendship, and never let anyone outside of his family get close. Yet here he was, texting a stranger consistently for three days. And, in those three days, they’ve somehow developed a relationship close enough that a cat was named after him. Is this what friendship’s like?

No, probably not. Friends probably talk about more things than cats. They probably ask about each other’s days, help each other out – they probably genuinely care about each other, whereas Disaster Cat only talks to him because he gives kitten advice. Although, come to think of it, he didn’t ask for any advice in their last conversation…

Shinsou’s thoughts are interrupted by a loud meow, followed by Gummi jumping into his lap. He huffs as he moves a hand down to stroke Gummi’s fur.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to ignore you.”

He meows again and rubs his head against Shinsou’s stomach. Shinsou smiles. He keeps Gummi on his lap for the rest of breakfast, until Gummi tires of his affection and jumps off.

After Gummi abandons him, Shinsou looks down at his watch and sees the time. He’s running behind schedule. Shinsou goes through the rest of his morning routine as quickly as possible, and makes it to school only a few minutes later than usual. Apparently, those few minutes make a difference, because usually, no one’s around when he arrives. Today, he runs into another teacher in the hallway. He’s not one of the teachers from the classrooms that neighbor his, and while Shinsou’s definitely interacted with him before, he doesn’t know him that well.

“Good morning, Shinsou-san!” the man greets with a pleasant smile.

Shinsou nods his head in reply, running through all the faculty he knows in his head in an attempt to remember this teacher’s name.

“Hello, Sugawara-san,” Shinsou replies, finally finding the right name.

“Please, just call me Suga,” Suga laughs. Right, he brought that up at their beginning of the year staff meeting. He feels bad for forgetting, but to be fair, he learned a lot of information that day. Shinsou’s still in his first year of teaching, and as the only new hire, he had a lot of attention on him, with many people trying to teach him about the school at once. 

“I don’t think I’ve run into you in the morning before,” Suga comments, bringing Shinsou out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m running a bit late today,” Shinsou says as he brings his hand to his neck. “I should probably get to my classroom.”

Suga smiles at him.

“Sorry, I’ll stop bothering you now,” he says, turning to leave. “But Shinsou-san, don’t be a stranger! You’re always welcome to hang out with the other teachers here.” 

“Thanks,” Shinsou replies, then watches his co-worker walk away. The moment passes, and he walks into his classroom.

It honestly never occurred to Shinsou that the other teachers in the school hang out together. He’s never thought much about them – each classroom is pretty independent of each other, so he doesn’t need to interact with any of his coworkers regularly. But that’s true of the other teachers, too. If they hang out together, then it’s because they want to spend time together, and Shinsou’s never been invited to join them, so they probably don’t want him to. Ever since he was young, his presence has made people uncomfortable, so he’s learned that it’s better to avoid gatherings. He can’t imagine this workplace is any different.

Shinsou replays his conversation with Suga in his head. Open initiations like “You’re always welcome” are too ambiguous. While it’s possible he’s actually invited to join them, Suga could have said it out of politeness. But if it was out of politeness, why would he bring it up unprompted? Shinsou’s head is starting to hurt from thinking this much this early in the morning.

This is why I don’t talk to other people, Shinsou concludes internally, then casts the whole train of thought aside to focus on preparing for the day. Their preschool is a Montessori school, so morning preparations usually consist of cleaning all of the lesson materials, sweeping the floors, and restocking art supplies. Learning is hands on, so Shinsou makes sure to clean everything thoroughly and regularly, since everyone knows kids are walking, talking germ factories. He loses track of time tidying his classroom – by the time he finishes, students are arriving.

By Wednesdays, his students are fully adjusted to their daily school routine. They arrive anytime between 8:30am-9:30am, and are free to play on the playground until their morning gathering at 9:30. At the morning meeting, Shinsou sits down with his students on the gathering rug, greets everyone, goes over any announcements, and officially starts their day. After that, the kids are free to roam around the classroom and play with whatever materials they want, so long as they’ve had lessons on how to use them. In these two hours before lunch, Shinsou teaches students who ask him for lessons, and reaches out to those who haven’t learned anything new in a while – however, most of his time is spent observing, making sure everyone is behaving and getting along. In general, his class is fine – everyone slips up every now and then, but it’s never too serious.

That is, except for one student – Mamura. He’s gotten better since the beginning of the year, but the kid has a mean streak – he’s the one who instigates any bullying in the classroom. And he usually targets one student in particular, Hana, for her “villainous” quirk. Shinsou does his best to prevent intertwining his personal feelings with his work, especially since the Hana’s situation hits close to home.

After breaking up another of their disputes, the day goes on. They have lunch at 11:30, then move on to the activity period at 12:00. The activity they do changes daily and lasts until 1:00 – on Wednesdays, it’s arts and crafts. The beginning goes smoothly, but in the middle of their art session, one of his students trips while fetching supplies – Shinsou manages to catch her, but she dowses him in glitter in the process. She looks at the mess she made and starts tearing up.

“I’m sorry, Shinsou-sensei,” she says, voice wobbling. Shinsou knows it will be a pain to remove later, but he smiles and pats her head.

“It’s okay, Mayuri-chan. If anything, you helped me – I look better in glitter.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. Then, her mouth quirks up into a smile and she starts to giggle.

“No fair! I want to dress up Shinsou-sensei, too!” someone pipes up from behind him.

The class devolves from there. His students start working on Shinsou instead of their projects, and he lets them have their fun. By the end of the hour, His face is adorned with stickers, his hair has uncountably many hair ties (used for both ponytails and messy braids), and he has a handful of drawings on his arms. He’s glad Eri and Hizashi aren’t around to see him – they would definitely be taking tons of photos to document the moment.

After putting away their arts and crafts supplies, his students have thirty minutes of free time again, before taking on their end-of-the-day clean up duties at 1:30. By the time the kids finish cleaning up, it’s 2:00, and their parents start arriving to pick them up. When the first parent walks in and bursts into laughter, Shinsou remembers he’s still decorated like a cupcake, and it’s too late to remove it all.  The reactions he gets from each of his students’ parents vary, and they match his perceptions of them. Some smile or laugh softly (Shinsou smiles back); some think it’s a riot, and a few of the super friendly parents ask for pictures of Shinsou with their kid (he obliges); and some are quick to scold their child and apologize for their behavior (he assures them they did nothing wrong).

After a wave of parents come and go, Mamura is the only student left. It happens so often that Shinsou is used to it – he pulls out some paper and crayons, and gestures Mamura over to a table. In the few months Shinsou’s been teaching his class, he’s found that his problem student calms down and opens up while drawing. And it’s his favorite hobby, too – as soon as Mamura sees the crayon box come out, his dejected expression washes away, and he runs to Shinsou’s side.

Shinsou draws with him for a few minutes in silence, allowing the kid to relax. Once he’s calm and settled, Shinsou begins talking. He keeps his head facing their paper, but his eyes are on his student.

“So, you fought with Hana-chan today.”

Mamura keeps drawing, but Shinsou sees his mouth quirk down.

“Sorry, Shinsou-sensei.”

“Do you know why you got mad at her?” Shinsou asks quietly. He sees Mamura’s eyebrows furrow, though the kid stays silent and keeps moving his crayon. Shinsou continues to draw with him.

“…Her face,” Mamura replies, minutes later.

“What about her face made you mad?” Shinsou asks gently. Mamura’s hand pauses abruptly, creating a jagged edge on the line he was drawing. Then, he continues moving like it didn’t happen.

“She looked like my-”

His sentence is cut off by the sound of the classroom door opening. The two of them look up from their paper.

“Mommy!” Mamura calls as he jumps up from his seat. Shinsou sees the boy’s mother glance between him and her son. Her face twists for a moment, before returning to a smile – if Shinsou wasn’t observing her, he would have missed it. And, while she only had the expression for a moment, he could recognize the emotion it conveyed.

She looked disgusted.

Shinsou stands up to greet her.

“Hello, Mamura-san.”

“Hello, Shinsou-sensei,” she replies. “It looks like you had fun today.”

“Yeah, I was the art project of the day,” Shinsou smiles, then turns to Mamura, discretely searching for any abnormalities in his behavior. “Do you have all your things?”

“Yes, Shinsou-sensei!” He chirps. “See you tomorrow!”

Shinsou waves them off, and watches them as they go. He makes a mental note to look into Mamura’s family and observe for any weird signs like he saw today.

With the classroom now empty, Shinsou cleans it properly – he has his students clean up every day to form good habits, but they aren’t the most trustworthy. He works especially hard to clean up the glitter, which reminds him of his ridiculous getup. Before cleaning himself off, he goes to the bathroom to take a picture in the mirror. He’s not one to keep pictures of himself, but he knows it will be useful the next time Eri has a bad day. After taking sufficiently embarrassing photos, Shinsou finishes tidying his classroom and begins working at his desk.

Shinsou is still working at his desk when his phone starts ringing an hour later. He glances at the caller id before answering.

“Hey dad, what’s up?”

“I found someone,” Aizawa responds. He sounds tired. Understandably so – he must have finished teaching the last of his classes not long ago. Kindergarteners are hard to deal with, but heroes-in-training are probably around the same level of hyperactive. 

“…for a case we’re working on?” Shinsou’s pretty sure they know all of the suspects involved in their most recent hero job.

“No, for your class.”

“Oh. That was really quick.”

Shinsou sent his classroom idea to his dad yesterday, and hadn’t gotten a reply. He assumed Aizawa was considering it, not actively taking part in his idea already.

“You want some heroes to visit, right? To talk to your students about their work and the wide variety of quirks they and their teammates have?”

“Yeah.”

“I emailed a few of my past classes,” Aizawa says with a sigh. “They’re too excited about the idea.”

“Really?” Shinsou asks, incredulously. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Yeah. One of them said they could make time next week, if that isn’t too soon.”

“Are you serious? That would be great,” Shinsou gushes. “Thanks, dad.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Aizawa replies. “You don’t know who it is.”

“Oh no, who is it?” If its someone who graduated from Aizawa’s class, they can’t be that bad.

“Chargebolt.”

“Ah. One of the flashiest heroes out there.”

Shinsou doesn’t know the stun gun hero well; he knows that he’s on the news a lot, along with all the other students from class 1-A, and he remembers his pitiful display at the UA Sports Festival their first year, before Shinsou transferred schools. But Chargebolt’s quirk and personality seem to be the exact opposite of the lesson he’s trying to teach his students. As if reading his mind, Aizawa replies.

“He’s probably the furthest hero from what you had in mind for this, but that could be a good thing, if he talks about the topics you want.”

“I guess…”

“No one else is free for the rest of the month,” Aizawa sighs. “He’s a lot, but he’s a good kid. If you’re okay with it, I can set it up.”

“He’s better than nothing,” Shinsou relents. “Could you set it up? Thanks again.”

“Sure,” Aizawa says, then pauses. “but make sure you come home on Saturday… Hizashi misses you.”

Shinsou smiles. Hizashi misses him. Sure.

“He’s the only one who misses me?” Shinsou asks, feigning hurt. He can practically hear Aizawa’s eyeroll through the phone.

“Brat. See you tomorrow for patrol.”

With that, Aizawa hangs up. Shinsou can’t believe his luck – getting a pro hero to visit on such short notice was nothing short of a miracle, even if it was Chargebolt. But the short notice means Shinsou really has to finish filling out all the paperwork for his visit, make a list of discussion topics, move lesson plans around, and prepare permission slips for all of his students. He won’t be going home for a while.

Shinsou looks at some photos of Ghost for motivation, then puts his phone away and cracks down on work, praying that next week’s hero visit goes smoothly.

Chapter Text

It’s 6am, and Shinsou’s day already fucking sucks.

He stares at his reflection on his broken coffee machine. Shinsou looks exactly like he feels – that is, like shit. Last night, he stayed up later than he intended texting Disaster Cat and slept restlessly, so he really needs his morning coffee. Especially since he has to be extra presentable and friendly today for the hero visiting his class. He was hoping he could get to school earlier than usual to prepare for the event, but now he has to stop for coffee on his way to work. Great.

Shinsou still can’t believe today is happening. Last week, shortly after his call with Aizawa, he received an email from Chargebolt’s PR team to organize today’s visit. The emails he exchanged with the agency were all formal, and while Shinsou has yet to talk to the hero himself, he has a feeling the guy is anything but that. No, Chargebolt gives off the super friendly, outgoing, and extremely chatty vibe, the type of person Shinsou avoids the most. He can carry conversations just fine – after all, his quirk requires people to respond to him – but he hates the superficial small talk that always comes along with meeting people. He’s really not looking forward to all the moments he’ll have to deal with the visiting hero outside of the classroom event.

Shinsou looks at the last picture of Ghost he saved for a mood boost as he heads back to his room to get dressed. He and Disaster Cat have been texting for just over a week now. Disaster Cat still asks for advice, and they mainly talk about Ghost, but sometimes their conversations momentarily stray from cats. The tangents are brief, but Shinsou feels like he’s learned a lot from them – he knows Disaster Cat really cares about his friends (Shinsou’s heard about them occasionally – especially “Blasty” and “Kyo”, who seem to cat-sit for Ghost the most),  loves memes and other internet trends, and is a huge nerd for video games and literature.

Their conversation last night was a fun one – Disaster Cat was panicking in the beginning because Ghost had an upset stomach, but after smoothing things out, they continued texting into the early morning. One of the last texts he received plays back in his head:

is there anything u need help w ??? ur always helping me if theres anything I can do lmk

Yeah, can you take my place today? Shinsou thinks to himself as he heads out of his apartment. He snorts as he imagines Disaster Cat interacting with Chargebolt. Based on the clips he’s seen of the hero, he thinks the two of them would get along. They both seem overly friendly, a bit chaotic, and, if the hero’s unofficial nickname is anything to go by, flirty. Chaotic flirts. That duo would definitely not be kid friendly.

Aside from the death of his coffee machine, Shinsou’s morning goes by smoothly. He arrives at school later than he hoped he would, but manages to organize his classroom and his notes in time. His students are practically vibrating from excitement at their morning gathering, but promise to focus on their lessons before the pro hero arrives after lunch. And, while they are louder and more energetic than usual, they manage to keep their promise.

Before he knows it, it’s lunchtime. Everyone is busy chatting and eating when someone knocks. All of the children stop what they’re doing and turn towards the door.

“Is that Chargebolt?? Is it, Shinsou-sensei?” a student cries in excitement. The classroom breaks out shouting. Shinsou can make out some of it: he hears Haru tentatively ask a friend, “Will he eat with us?”; Mayuri exclaim to no one in particular, “I’ll give him my pudding!”, and an overconfident Mamura declaring “I hope he lets us fight him!”.

“Quiet, please,” Shinsou says as he stands from his seat. “Remember, you all promised to be on your best behavior today.”

The shouting dies down, but the kids are still buzzing, whispering their words instead. They all watch, eyes sparkling, as Shinsou walks to the door and opens it. He’s greeted not by a hero, but the teaching assistant from the classroom next to his. He hears disappointed whines and groans from behind him.

“Hello, Shinsou-san,” the assistant says cheerily. “I was asked to step in for you momentarily. It seems there’s a guest waiting for you in the front office.”

“Thank you,” Shinsou replies, moving out of the doorway so she can walk in. “We’re finishing up lunch right now, but if you could get them to clean up and sit on the gathering rug by 1:00, that would be great.”

“Of course,” she responds. “I’m glad I can help. Although, is it okay if I ask for a small favor in return?”

Shinsou raises an eyebrow, suspicious of the request. “That depends on the favor.”

She smiles sheepishly. “Could I… stay here for a bit? I’m a huge fan of Chargebolt, I would love to see him if I can.”

Shinsou pauses. Would Chargebolt mind if there are a few extra people around? He’s probably used to people ogling over him. Moments like these remind Shinsou why he’s glad he’s an underground hero.

“As long as you don’t get in the way,” he decides, then walks out the door and leaves his class in her hands.

As Shinsou makes his way to the front office, he wonders how his coworkers would react if they found out he was a hero, too. No one but the principal of the school knows about it, to protect his identity and to keep the students safe. Maybe he would get used to the attention if he were a public hero. There were definitely benefits of being known, the biggest being that if there were a public pro hero with a power like Shinsou’s, it would be easier to promote inclusion of quirks. At the same time, though, he’s seen Deku, the number one hero, in interviews – stiff, nervous, and incredibly awkward – and gets secondhand embarrassment from them. He would never want to deal with the press, or with crazy fans.

I don’t have the personality for it, Shinsou thinks to himself as he opens the door to the front office. In order to deal with the hassle, you’d have to be-

“If I were a math teacher, I’d say one plus one equals me and you,” Chargebolt says with an exaggerated wink to the principal.

The principal, who is a 70-year-old, married woman.

Crazy. You’d have to be crazy, Shinsou finishes his thought as he stares at the scene in front of him.

The principal snorts. “I’m afraid you’re 45 years too late, but that’s very sweet. Shinsou, would you like to take my place?”

The principal is a kind lady and a wonderful boss, but she loves teasing all of her employees. Shinsou steels himself, refusing to react to the bait.

“No thank you, Nakamura-san,” Shinsou replies. Chargebolt turns away from the principal and looks straight at Shinsou.

The first thing Shinsou notices is how golden the hero’s eyes are. He’s seen Chargebolt a few times on video and even fewer in person, but usually, he’s wearing glasses as part of his hero outfit. He’s in his uniform today, but the glasses are propped up in his hair, so Shinsou has a clear view of his face. He’s surprised he didn’t notice Chargebolt’s eye color earlier – it’s unique. Attention-catching. Pretty.

Shinsou breaks eye contact with a bow, mentally cursing at himself for staring.

“Thank you for taking the time to visit our class. The kids are very excited to meet you.”

“No need to thank me, sensei!” Chargebolt replies cheerily. “I’m happy to be here!”

Shinsou straightens and looks back at the hero, who’s eyeing him with a hand on his chin.

“Is something wrong?” Shinsou asks, confused.

“Wow, with a face like that, you must be real popular with the ladies.”

Shinsou blinks. “Excuse me?”

He tears his eyes away from the hero when he hears a cackle.

“You really live up to your nickname, Mr. Flirty Hero,” Nakamura-san comments with a wide grin.

Chargebolt laughs.

“Hey, my ‘flirting’ is cheesy pickup lines. I’m just making an observation here,” he says, putting both hands up. “Look at him and tell me I’m wrong.”

The principal turns to Shinsou, her grin still spread across her face. He tries his best not to blush. He wonders what he’s done wrong in his life to deserve being double teamed like this –  maybe this was the karma Eri spoke of when he refused to share his apples with her the last time he visited home.

“We should head to the classroom now, if that’s okay with you,” Shinsou says, ignoring the scene around him.

“Sounds good! Please take me,” Chargebolt replies with a smile. Nakamura-san snorts, and the hero’s face immediately heats up. “there. Please take me there, not like-“

“Let’s go,” Shinsou sighs and turns to leave. Chargebolt scrambles behind him.

“Have fun, boys!” the principal calls out as they leave. As the door closes behind them, Shinsou wonders if their first interaction could have gone any worse. He’ll get back at Nakamura-san later.

For a brief moment, they walk down the hallway in silence. It’s brief because apparently, silence doesn’t sit well with Chargebolt.

“Sooo…”

Shinsou turns his head to look at the hero. His face is still a bit red. His brain is reminded of the term he used earlier – chaotic flirt.

“Did your PR team give you the questions I sent them?” Shinsou asks in an attempt to bring the conversation back to work.

“Yeah, they did!” Chargebolt replies. “Not gonna lie, I was kind of surprised by them. Usually people ask a lot of questions about, well, me, not the people I work with.”

Shinsou feels his mouth twitch, and the words come out of his mouth before he can stop them.

“Do you want me to ask about you?”

Chargebolt falters, his face heating up once more. “Wh- I- Buh?”

He looks at Shinsou, who can’t hide the amused smirk on his face.

“First the principal, now you – what is with this school and teasing me?” Chargebolt complains lightheartedly. “But no, I like what you sent! It’s actually way easier talking about other people – lots of heroes I end up working with are amazing, but they only do local work, so they don’t get the spotlight they deserve. I could talk about them forever if I had the chance.”

“Well, you’ll have an hour, so talk as much as you’d like,” Shinsou replies. “But if you could focus on the variety of their quirks, and include some heroes who don’t have flashy ones, that’d be great.”

“Can do, sensei,” Chargebolt responds and winks. “Man, I’m so excited for this!”

“So are my students. Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“Glad to be here,” The hero grins back. “And I’ve reduced my work hours for the next few weeks, so it’s really no big deal.”

Shinsou’s curious to know why Chargebolt’s taking time off of work, but as he’s about to ask, he realizes they’ve already made it to his room.

“This is my class. I’m going to go in and make sure everything is organized, could you wait out here for a moment?” Shinsou asks. “I’ll open the door for you after calming the class down. When you walk in, you’ll see everyone sitting on an oval rug to your left, and you can take the chair at the front of it.”

Chargebolt gives him two finger guns in reply, which Shinsou takes to mean yes. When he enters the classroom, he sees that his students are already sitting, talking loudly and bouncing with excitement. The assistant notices Shinsou at the door and claps her hands, catching the attention of his hyper four-year-olds.

“Quiet down, everyone! Shinsou-sensei’s back!” she announces. His students whip their heads around to stare at him in the doorway.

“Hey guys, our special guest is here. Before I let him in, please promise you’ll be on your best behavior. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, Shinsou-sensei!” his students chirp.

“Good,” Shinsou smiles, then puts his hand on the doorknob. “Now, please give a warm welcome to our guest, Chargebolt.”

Shinsou opens the door, and the blonde hero steps inside.

“Welcome, Chargebolt!” His students shout cheerfully, eyes glued on the guest.

Chargebolt greets them all, takes his seat, and starts talking. He introduces himself at first and talks about his quirk. He doesn’t talk about himself for long, though – he quickly shifts topic to talk about the agencies that work with his, his favorite team-ups with local heroes, and the accomplishments of others. Some of the kindergarteners ask questions, and most of the questions are about the heroes he mentions. He talks about heroes that aren’t at the top of the charts, so their names are unfamiliar. The kids ask about them and their quirks, and Chargebolt answers enthusiastically, giving detailed descriptions of their powers and what they can do. It’s really fascinating – Shinsou almost wants to take notes, so he can look them up later and learn from their techniques.

The talk is engaging and interactive, and time flies by. Towards the end of the hour, Chargebolt changes up the topic of discussion.

“How many of you guys wanna be heroes?” Chargebolt asks with a big smile. The kids start shouting out choruses of “me!”’s and raise their hands enthusiastically. All but one, whose hand tentatively goes up. Chargebolt notices, and makes eye contact with the girl when she looks up from the floor.

“Hey! What’s your name?” he beams.

“H-Haru…” Haru stutters, face red with embarrassment.

“Hi, Haru-chan, nice to meet you! What kind of hero do you wanna be?”

Shinsou debates whether or not to step in – he’s impressed by how observant Chargebolt is, and can understand why he’d reach out to Haru after seeing her hesitation, but at the same time, she’s one of his shyest students, and is especially reserved because of her quirk. Raising her hand at all is a huge improvement since the start of the year, and he doesn’t want to pressure her too much. Before he can say anything, another student interrupts.

“Haru-chan can’t be a hero, she has a villain’s quirk!”

The class erupts at the statement. Many students start shouting at Mamura for what he said, and Mamura shouts back. Despite having most of her classmates on her side, Shinsou sees Haru stiffen, eyes watering. In front of all the chaos is Chargebolt, who’s frozen in his seat, probably shocked at the scene in front of him.

“Quiet down, everyone,” Shinsou says, loudly and sternly. He uses his authoritative voice, which is rare – he almost always talks to his students gently, even when they misbehave. The room quiets almost immediately. He scans over all his students, warning them silently with the eye contact, before locking onto Mamura.

“Mamura, you know you shouldn’t say that about other people’s quirks. We’ve talked about this.”

“Sorry, Shinsou-sensei,” Mamura mutters, looking somewhat apologetic. “But her quirk is super scary.”

“All quirks are scary!” Chargebolt interjects before Shinsou can respond. He turns to look at the hero, who’s now animated in his seat. Chargebolt holds out his hand and lets out a few tiny sparks.

“My quirk was super scary when it first manifested. I shocked so many of my classmates, literally,” he laughs. “People were too scared to come near me! But I learned to control it, so it’s not scary anymore.”

“but my quirk isn’t like yours, Chargebolt…” Haru says softly. “I make people see things that aren’t there. It’s scary.”

Chargebolt doesn’t hesitate at the admission and replies almost instantly.

“That’s SUCH a cool quirk!” he gushes. “And it can be so useful! Like, you could scare off villains by making them think there are heroes coming from one direction, but actually make them run into the authorities! You could save people without having to hurt anyone! I think that’s super heroic.”

“I…I could?” Haru asks, eyes widening in surprise.

“Yeah, totally! Haru-chan, when you become a hero, I’d love to work with you!”

The class breaks out into shouts of excitement. Some students ask if they can work with Chargebolt, too; others get up and swarm Haru, babbling about how awesome she’s going to be as a hero. He hears Haru, voice louder than he’s ever heard her before, declare: “I’ll be your best sidekick ever, Chargebolt!”. It’s complete chaos, and Chargebolt sits at the head of it, laughing, smiling, and answering as many of the questions thrown out at him as he can.

Shinsou’s shocked. He made it clear to the hero that the main motivation for this visit was to promote quirk inclusion, so he knew Chargebolt wouldn’t react negatively, but most people are wary of mind quirks. Even when people try to react positively, there’s always a tell – a pause, a slip in their expression, something – that gives away their actual thoughts. Shinsou knows – he’s been on the receiving end his whole life. But Chargebolt’s reply was immediate – he didn’t have to pause to craft an appropriate response. His words were genuine. He really believes everything he said.

At that moment, Shinsou realizes there’s much more to Chargebolt than the media depicts. Shinsou doesn’t actively look at hero gossip, but he’s not blind – he knows Chargebolt is an infamous flirt, and is often portrayed by others as a popularity-seeking hero. And, while Shinsou knows the media can be toxic, he’s never had any reason to believe otherwise. He now knows his perception was wrong – Chargebolt is more than a flashy, flirty hero. He’s the kind of hero who can save people from physical harm, but who can also save people’s hearts. But, if he’s actually as good of a person as he seems – which Shinsou’s now convinced he is – then why does he go along with his public image?

For the first time in his life, Shinsou wants to learn more about someone else.

“Please sit back down!” The assistant says loudly after clapping her hands together to grab the kids’ attention. It grabs Shinsou’s attention, too – he tries not to acknowledge how he got lost in his head thinking about the visiting hero.

“Chargebolt has to go soon, but we have time for one last question,” Shinsou announces. Hands immediately fly up in the air. Shinsou looks around the room, deciding who to pick. It’s a hard decision, especially since there are twenty adorable faces staring up at him with little pouts and pleading eyes.

“Mayuri-chan,” Shinsou finally decides, then turns to Chargebolt in an attempt to avoid looking at the disappointed expressions on his other students.

“What does it feel like to get shocked by you?” Mayuri asks. “Does it make people’s hair look funny like on TV?”

Chargebolt chuckles at the question.

“I don’t know what it feels like, because I’m the one doing the shocking,” he answers, putting his hand on his chin as he considers what a shock would feel like. “But…”

A grin breaks out on the hero’s face.

“…we can find out.”

“Please don’t shock one of my students,” Shinsou interjects before any of the kids on the floor can volunteer for this experiment.

“I never said I’d shock one of them,” Chargebolt replies, holding his hand out. Shinsou looks down at it, then back of Chargebolt. Oh.

“It’ll be a really small one, I promise.”

Shinsou looks at his class, who are staring at him, eyes sparkling in anticipation.

“Please, Shinsou-sensei?” Mayuri begs with a tiny pout.

Shinsou sighs. The things I do for these kids, he thinks to himself as he reaches out and places his hand on Chargebolt’s.

As soon as their hands touch, there’s an instantaneous, prickly feeling. It tickles a bit, but it’s also sharp, as if there are hundreds of pencils poking his hand. He feels the muscles in his arm twitch, involuntarily contracting. But it’s a quick feeling, and as soon as it disappears, his body is left tingling. Shinsou looks up from their hands to Chargebolt’s face. His golden eyes are staring right at him, and Shinsou’s no longer sure if the feeling on his cheeks is from the electric shock or an embarrassed blush. Their eye contact is broken by Chargebolt, who throws his head back and laughs.

“Y-your hair,” he gasps, eliciting laughter from the rest of the class. Shinsou reaches for his phone in his pocket and opens the camera. His hair is practically floating. It’s sticking out in every direction, though the majority is straight up. He looks ridiculous, like…

“I look like Eraserhead,” Shinsou mumbles. Chargebolt hears him and guffaws.

“Oh my god, it’s true,” he wheezes, leaning forward in his chair and gripping harder for support.

Oh. We’re still holding hands.

Shinsou’s thoughts are interrupted by a loud ringing. At the sound, Chargebolt attempts to calm his laughter, and he reaches into his pocket to answer his phone.

“Heyo, Chargebolt here,” he says into his phone. “What’s up?”

Shinsou can’t hear what’s being said on the other end, but he sees Chargebolt’s smile drop – the crinkles at his eyes disappear, his eyebrows furrow, and his eyes narrow. Shinsou has never seen the stun gun hero this serious, but he’s pretty sure he knows the cause of this expression – he’s probably being told about a villain attack.

Sure enough, as soon as Chargebolt ends the call, he gets up and turns to Shinsou.

“Sorry, but I’ve got to go. There’s a villain near here, and the heroes on sight are requesting backup.”

“There’s no need to apologize, it’s your job after all,” Shinsou replies, then gives the hero a genuine smile. “Thanks for coming, and good luck out there.”

Chargebolt stills, eyes glued to Shinsou. Shinsou is about to ask if something is wrong, but is cut off by his class.

“Good luck, Chargebolt!” They cheer, breaking the hero out of his trance. He flashes a smile at the class.

“Seeya, future heroes!” He says with a wave, then runs off.

After Chargebolt leaves, the class eventually calms down and continues as usual. The assistant returns to her classroom, his students finish up their lessons and clean up, and before he knows it, all the kids have left with their parents and he’s alone.

As Shinsou goes about his end-of-day clean up routine, he finds himself thinking of the stun gun hero again. His visit was completely different from what Shinsou expected. He was right to assume Chargebolt was friendly and outgoing, but his concept of it was wrong – lots of friendly people talk to everyone, but the conversations are small talk. They’re thoughtful attempts at interaction, but Shinsou finds them awkward and tedious. Yet there wasn’t any awkwardness talking to Chargebolt. Sure, his flirting was embarrassing to watch, but talking to him flowed smoothly. He seems like the kind of guy who says whatever’s on his mind, regardless of how well he knows the people he’s with. His lack of hesitation before responding to Haru is evidence for that observation.

Chargebolt’s interaction with Haru was completely unexpected, but exactly what Shinsou had hoped for from his Hero talk idea. She was so much brighter for the rest of the day – Shinsou has never seen her talk and smile so much. He has hopes that the effects of today will last, because knowing there’s someone out there who believes in you can make all the difference. He would know: he can’t count all the times he’d felt like giving up in high school, but kept going after thinking about everything Aizawa had said and done for him. Yet, while he’s so grateful for his family, Shinsou can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to meet a hero as encouraging as Chargebolt as a kid.

It would be nice to have someone like Chargebolt in my life.

The thought catches Shinsou off guard. He’s never wanted to spend time with people, outside of Aizawa, Hizashi, and Eri. And yet, here he is, wishing for – for what, exactly? To get to know the hero? Talk to him more? Or is it, that…

…I want to be friends.

The realization is shocking. This is a new feeling for him, and Shinsou isn’t sure how to handle it. Should he do something about it? Maybe he could reach out, and try becoming friends. But…how? That’s when the truth hits him.

Shinsou is twenty-four years old, and has no idea how to make friends.  

His four-year-old students know how to do this, yet he doesn’t. It’s mortifying. Should he google how to? He definitely couldn’t ask his family – that’s way too embarrassing to talk about with them.

is there anything u need help w ???

Last night’s text pops into his head. It’s worth a shot – he doesn’t actually know Disaster Cat, so it wouldn’t be too shameful to ask, and he did offer to help with anything. Shinsou reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.

[to Disaster Cat, 14:45]: I need your help.

There’s no immediate reply, so Shinsou assumes Disaster Cat is either asleep or working. He puts his phone away and continues cleaning. He doesn’t get a reply until a few hours later, when he’s already back at his apartment.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:05]: O no wats wrong ????

Shinsou stares at the text, wondering if he made a mistake earlier. Should he really be asking about this? It was too late to turn back now though.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:06]: Nothing’s wrong, it’s just…

Except, was it too late? Shinsou feels his dignity crumble as he types out his question, and debates whether he can really send it. His phone vibrates.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:07]: O my god

[from Disaster Cat, 18:07]: u used a …

[from Disaster Cat, 18:07]: u nEvEr use tht

[from Disaster Cat, 18:08]: r u dying holy sHIT dude

Shinsou can’t help but laugh at the response. It’s interesting that Disaster Cat picked up on the change in his texting style; Shinsou’s not sure what to think of that, but whatever he’s feeling, it’s warm and pleasant.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:09]: if ur ok txt 1 if ur ded txt 0

[to Disaster Cat, 18:09]: How could I text if I were dead?

[from Disaster Cat, 18:09]:  1 or 0

[to Disaster Cat, 18:10]: You’re ridiculous.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:11]: 1.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:11]:  ok so ur not dying, but wat?? is wrong ???

[to Disaster Cat, 18:12]: I’m not dying, I’m just embarrassed to text this.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:12]: txt wat??

[to Disaster Cat, 18:13]: How do you get to know someone?

[from Disaster Cat, 18:13]: !!!!

[from Disaster Cat, 18:13]: OMG!!!!

[from Disaster Cat, 18:13]: ur interested in sum1???  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Shinsou feels his face burn red at the implication. He was not interested in Chargebolt like that. Definitely not. He just wants to be friends, that’s it.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:14]: No not like that. Just, forget I asked.

His phone vibrates immediately.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:14]: no no no pls come bak im sry !! i can help!

Shinsou stares at the reply and debates whether it’s worth it to keep this conversation going. On one hand, he could end it and let his dignity remain intact. On the other, he wants to understand friendship. The latter wins.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:16]: I met someone today who seems like a great person. I want to get to know them better, but…

[to Disaster Cat, 18:16]: …I’ve never had a friend before, so I don’t know how to.

Shinsou reads over the texts he sent, feeling more vulnerable than he has in a long time. He may not know Disaster Cat in person, but he still cares about his opinion – he really hopes the guy doesn’t think he’s weird. A new notification pops up, and Shinsou opens it quickly.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:17]: im sry wat

[from Disaster Cat, 18:17]: uve never had friends??

Shinsou feels his heart sink at the reply. It wasn’t what he hoped for, but he should have expected it.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:18]: Yeah, never.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:18]: wtf literally how

[from Disaster Cat, 18:19]: ur literally the coolest + nicest psn ive ever talked 2 in my life??? how r people not flocking all over u???

No one has ever said that to Shinsou. He has no idea why Disaster Cat has this impression of him – he isn’t the best texter, his replies come off as cold, and the dude has literally never met him. The texts make his face heat up, and he can’t help himself from smiling, but at the same time, he feels like he’s deceiving whoever he’s messaging.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:20]: you’ve never met me.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:20]: and…? my pt still stands >: (

[from Disaster Cat, 18:21]: jst talk 2 this psn! if any1 actually has a convo w u theyll kno how gr8 u r and want 2 get 2 kno u better

Disaster Cat is too nice for him. There’s no way anyone would feel this way if they spoke to him in person.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:22]: I doubt it.

[to Disaster Cat, 18:22]: Also, I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:23]: did u get their #??

[to Disaster Cat, 18:23]: No.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:23]: well fuck dude

[from Disaster Cat, 18:24]: hopefully u run into them again but w no way of contacting its up 2 fate : (

[from Disaster Cat, 18:24]: but I promise u, if u see them again, all u hav 2 do is b urself 

[from Disaster Cat, 18:24]: talk joke have fun 

[from Disaster Cat, 18:25]: they’ll love u

Shinsou’s not sure if he’s learned anything useful about making friends from this conversation, but for some reason, he feels much lighter than he did before. Talking to Disaster Cat is always fun, but something about their discussion today is different. Maybe it’s because Shinsou opened up a bit, and they’re still texting. Maybe it’s because Disaster Cat listened and is actually trying to help as best as he can. Shinsou’s not sure if he can pinpoint the difference exactly, but whatever it is, it’s…really nice.

His phone vibrates again, and Shinsou glances at the notification.

[from Disaster Cat, 18:26]: i kno i do ;) ;) *3* <3

Although the moment from earlier is ruined, he can’t help but laugh out loud, wondering if any message could be more endearingly in-character for Disaster Cat.