Chapter Text
“Hey.”
Shinso looks up from the cold bench, wiping his face quickly as the approaching figure reaches him. He’ll never understand how quickly Midoriya moves when it comes to issues with his friends. He’s never understood it from his observation from the beginning of the term, and he certainly doesn’t understand it now. The only thing he can take from it is that Midoriya cares enough to come comfort him in the middle of the night, breaking curfew and sneaking out of his much more secured dorm to do it. Gotta protect the high and mighty, oh so important hero students, after all.
“Hey, now. Don’t hide your tears.” It’s a quiet croon, one that he can barely here over the squeal of tires and other noises of the city life.
Shinso coughs, angrily wiping at his face. It’s his first nature, to show that he’s not weak. He’s like this because of what life did to him and what it will undoubtedly continue to do.
Midoriya sits down, rough fingers carefully pulling his hands away from his face. Shinso sniffs for a second, before the tears start to drop again. Midoriya can’t do anything beside hug him, hoping that he’s comfort enough.
“It just sucks. It sucks and I’m so angry, and sad, and god, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” Shinso breaks the silence between the two, words harsh as they fall from his lips. He’s whispering, despite it not being entirely necessary. They’re far from UA, down in the town below, in the middle of the night. A look at the homeless person (who struggles to make it clear that they weren’t listening) changes his mind. Maybe whispering is necessary.
Regardless, Midoriya sighs, reaching out to take Shinso’s hand in his own.
“Why won’t they even consider it? Why can’t they just hear me out?” Shinso coughs, chest heaving as he takes a shaky breath. “I just want to explain what I can do. Why won’t Nezu just, listen? Am I really not worth that? God, I’m being selfish. I’m being so selfish, and I’m making you listen to me whine because my life “isn’t fair.” I’m sorry, Midoriya.”
It wasn’t his fault that UA was dealing with a situation involving him in a terrible way. He’d been shopping for his dad, UA uniform still on when a person approached him and accused him of being a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’d walked away, and when a person ended up pulling a weapon on the store, he’d done what he could and saved lives. Doing that got him in hot water with the police- And instead of UA protecting him and standing up for him, he was reprimanded for using his quirk in public and told that he’d be dropped from UA’s general studies course in return for his record staying clean. A price for the chance to get into other schools.
He’d fought tooth and nail with the teachers, begging Aizawa-sensei to intervene for him, anything. He didn’t want this to be the end. He wanted to be a hero, and even if the people in that store thought he was, he wanted to be official. He wanted to save lives all the time.
He wouldn’t get to, now. Not at UA. He’d never be an alumnus from this school.
“Shut up, Shinso.”
He stills, looking up from his tear-stained hands to the boy frowning in grim determination beside him.
“Life isn’t fair, obviously. Not all men are created equal. Some are born into good lives, some are born into bad, and some lose theirs. Some people are born with great quirks, some are born with none.”
“What does that have to do with-“
“I was quirkless, Shinso. I understand you more than you know. What I’m going to tell you is a secret, one that only 2 people know. All Might’s quirk, the one he never mentioned? He gave it to me. That’s why he’s not a hero anymore. That’s why what you said at the sports festival stuck with me, and that’s what made me want to become your friend. You understand life isn’t fair. I understand too.” He interrupts, face blank as he speaks. Shinso’s horror grows, and the guilt in his stomach threatens to make him puke.
“I’m so selfish.”
“No, you’re not.” Midoriya cups his face, turning so he looks back at him. “You’ve been wronged, terribly wronged. The school failed you. This school can claim to be the best, but it’s not, is it? Some other school will be. Shiketsu, for example. Ketsubutsu, Seijin High, Isamu. There’s so many more chances for you, and I guarantee someone will see your potential and seek you out. Just because UA is ranked as the best, it doesn’t mean it’s the best for YOU.” He presses a finger to his chest, and Shinso’s tears come to a stop.
“God, Midoriya. What did I do to deserve you as a friend?”
Midoriya smiles, a sad one that doesn’t really reach his eyes. He’s been doing that a lot lately. It hurts Shinso because he knows that look. He had to practice it in his mirror, after all. He doesn’t want to see the boy so strongly determined and happy at the sports festival fake his smiles.
“By being yourself, silly. By being my strong friend who deserves better than the hand of cards life gave him.”
“So do you.” Shinso wipes away the last straggling tears, and Midoriya sighs again.
“I’ve been doing some thinking, Shinso-“
“Hitoshi. You can call me Hitoshi, after that crying fest I just had.”
Midoriya smiles, the shine in his eyes back temporarily.
“Then you can call me Izuku. But… I’ve been thinking about everything. I know it’s selfish to think like this because you’d do anything to be in my place in class, but I don’t WANT to get attacked on the daily. I know it’s my own fault that I keep getting hurt and everything but that’s because I don’t want to die. I don’t want to live every moment when we’re training worrying about if I’m going to die. I know the teachers try, but I don’t… I don’t feel safe here. I have to be a strong force and god, this place was my dream but…”
He bites his lip, nails digging into the chipping paint of the bench.
“…I don’t think so. Not anymore. Not after the way they treated you. You’re a hero, Hitoshi. And you deserve to be admitted into the hero course. And I’m sorry that you didn’t get that. And…”
He looks up at him, troubled green eyes meeting sad lilac.
“I think that I’m going to come with you.”
If life had a record scratch moment, it would be then.
Hitoshi’s eyes widen as his mouth drops, and immediately starts to shake his head.
“No. No way. You worked your ass off to get in this school. I am not going to let you throw away your dream for me.”
“Dreams change. This isn’t my dream anymore, my dream is the horizon. If UA treats students like that, when I know that they have every ability to make sure you stay, I don’t want to graduate from here and give honor to them. Nezu is one of the smartest beings in the world- do you really think he couldn’t find a loophole? He could. But just like the biased entry exam, the students with the strong quirks are the most valued here. I’m not going to give them satisfaction. My mom… she doesn’t want me to stay at UA, anyway. I’m doing her a favor by following this. I’m leaving with you, and you can’t stop me.”
Hitoshi shakes his head, a warm feeling in his chest as a slight smile graces his lips.
“You’re crazy, Izuku.” He leans down, eyes sparking again. Izuku’s eyes sparkle back dangerously, the smallest of smiles shining.
“I know.”
Their lips meet in the noise of the night, eyes drifting closed as scarred hands find their way into lilac hair, and despite the uncertainty of the future, things are okay.
“I beg your pardon?”
Izuku sits still, eyes flickering to the paper in front of the principal. His mother sits beside him, hands in her lap and a fierce expression on her face.
“I’m leaving UA. You won’t convince me otherwise.”
Nezu opens his mouth to speak, but before he can get a word in, All Might slams the door open and storms in with the force of a hundred men.
“Young Midoriya, What on earth are you doing?” His voice booms, and Inko winces slightly.
“I’m leaving UA, All Might. I’m sorry. You’re the one person I’m sorry I have to hurt.”
His dangerous gaze snaps to Nezu, narrowing slightly. The Principal places one paw over the other. He knows what this is about, now.
“If this is about your friend, Shinso, I truly do apologize for the way things turned out. But I gave him the chance to succeed elsewhere.”
“You took away everything he lived for!” Izuku yells, a hand slamming down on the desk with a satisfying bang. The teacups rattle.
“All his life, he’s been treated like a villain. He saved those people and for the first time in his life, the people of the world viewed him as someone they could trust. And how do you reward such a valiant display of heroism? The heroism this school just lives for? By kicking him out of the school. Consider yourself lucky, Nezu, that he has me, or you could raise one of the most dangerous villains to ever cross the earth.” He hisses, eyes narrowed. Inko matches her son’s glare, and All Might swallows nervously at the showdown.
“Of course, when Iida, Todoroki and I took down the hero killer, we got in trouble. Did we get kicked from school? Of course not! Students with heroic quirks get to stay, and even if we didn’t get to tell anyone, that was fine. You could’ve easily brought forth NDAs for everyone in that small store, and you could’ve exploited every loophole you could find because you are one of the smartest living beings on the earth. But you didn’t, and because of that, I will never give you the enjoyment of watching me graduate from your school. I’m leaving, and I’m going to bring glory to another. Goodbye, Principal.” He stands to his feet, stiffly bowing once.
“I’ll be collecting everything from my dorm today. Remove me from all rosters. I’ve already been accepted elsewhere; thank you for the training so far.” He turns to the door, trying to quell the shaking in his hands and the nauseous feeling in his stomach.
Another moment of his bakugo-inspired temper, he supposes.
He just yelled at NEZU. If he wasn’t moving to another school immediately after packing, he’d fear for his life.
He steels his gaze, and as he turns out into the hallway, almost runs straight into the obscured form of Aizawa in the shadows.
“Sensei.”
“Midoriya. I won’t try and change your mind, but…” The man sighs, an uncharacteristic smile appearing on his face. “Good luck with that school. You’re gonna need it.”
Izuku nods, and it’s with an internal sigh that Aizawa notices that the smile he usually would receive is nowhere to be seen. There’s nothing but cold determination in the green eyes, and instead of a forest green, it’s a hunter’s. Green is always a color he’d associate with happiness, but the look in his ex-student’s gaze is far from it.
“I regret not getting to learn under you further.”
He gets a bow from his student, and a thankful nod from his mother.
UA just lost a great student. It wouldn’t take a genius to notice that.
He just lost one of his kids, and not by his own choice.
He doesn’t really know how to feel about it.
It doesn’t take long to pack his things- far shorter than he expected, honestly. His classmates are currently in the school, so it’s not like he’s going to be interrupted. It leaves the perfect window of time to write a few letters to the people he likes, and to get out of here in time to catch the train.
For once in his life, he doesn’t have a crystal clear view of what he wants his future to be. There’s no developed plan, no 500 steps, no notebook dedicated to it. There’s just him, with a new relationship and a clear slate. The sky’s the limit, after all.
He nibbles on the pencil, words failing to address what he wants to say.
He’ll never stop being angry over the treatment to Hitoshi. He wants to change society, starting with this issue in particular. Maybe at his new school, he’ll be able to do that and be taken seriously. Who knows?
The words finally show themselves, and it’s with frantic scribbling that he finishes the last letter. There. His last act as a UA student.
Grabbing his pencil, he looks around his empty dorm room. It leaves him with a sense of curiosity and bittersweet sorrow, for something that could’ve happened but didn’t. For a future he’s unable to see, and one that might’ve been different.
No use dwelling on what’s done, though. He will forever defend his friends against what the world throws because he’s been at some of the worst parts of it. And if that means that he can only help by leaving? Then that’s what he’s going to do.
He slips the letters under the doors quickly, and with one last longing look at the place he’d come to call home, walks out the door.
Hitoshi is waiting on the steps, beanie shoved over his un-gelled hair and coat wrapped tightly around him. At the sound of the door, he looks up and smiles, eyes crinkling at the edges. It’s a smile only Izuku sees, and it’s one he knows is true.
He smiles back, hopping down the stairs and into Hitoshi’s waiting arms.
This is worth it.
He’ll build a new dream, with his partner by his side. Nothing else could be better than that.
“Welcome to Ketsubutsu Academy! I’m Ms. Joke, and I’ll be showing you around and helping you get settled in!”