16

Chapter Text

Sunday evening came and passed with little incident. Inko suspected nothing, going on to talk about the time Izuku had spent at Mei's. 

Izuku - still somewhat drained from last night's experience - had planned for such a scenario occurring beforehand, and begrudgingly lied his way through the whole thing. It still didn't feel right to Izuku — lying to his mother — but he powered through it anyhow. He didn't need to worry her any more than she already was after the whole U.S.J. fiasco.

After dinner, Izuku snuck back to his room and took out his newly initiated costume from his backpack. The black and grey piece was moderately damaged, and would need work done on it before it was ready for another outing with it — not that Izuku planned on having another one anytime soon. 

For now, the piece would reside far back into his closet, buried behind his past prototypes. He'd patch it up in the future, whenever that urge sprung back up into his subconscious.

With his task of hiding any of his more… questionable belongings complete, Izuku collapsed on his bed, exhausted. 

He sighed, falling into the cushy comfort of his sheets. After a moment, he reached into the terrarium by his bedside. His hand reached for the centipedes kept within, direct descendants of his dear Rikai. A few of them began to crawl up his arm, already used to Izuku's presence after all the years.

This "Centipede March," as Izuku come to calling it, was in its own way a soothing experience. The little creatures running up and down his arm, tickling his senses, were great to lose himself in, the worries of the day falling away. 

He often times resorted to this, whenever there were days where Bakugo was a bit rough, or his bugs were getting a bit antsy. His weekend activities weren't all that different if he ignored the mortal peril he was in. Alas, after a few minutes respite, Izuku fell into sleep.

"So, what'd you do this weekend, eh?" asked Mei, bounding up beside Izuku. "What was so super secret that you wouldn't tell me anything about it, hmm?"

Manga butted in, voicing his intrigue. "Oh? A secret? What secret? What did our dear Izuku do over the weekend without telling us, hmm?"

"I… well… I'd rather not say," muttered Izuku, averting his gaze.

"Why not?" asked Pony, face fixed in scrutinization. "Hmm…" Pony stepped in front of Izuku, stopping him in his tracks. Her face came closer to Izuku, further unnerving the already anxious boy. "You didn't go out on a date or something, did you?"

"Wha— What!?" exclaimed Izuku, red rising to his cheeks. "No! Of course not! Why would you think that?!"

"Eh." Pony shrugged. "Because… why not? It was just a guess."

"Well, I for one don't believe that it was a date," admitted Mei. "He was gone for most of the weekend." Mei tilted her head. "Hmm… Unless…"

"No!" Izuku retorted. "What is wrong with you guys? I just… went out, is all."

"Went out?" asked Manga. "And here I was thinking you'd finally fallen for someone." 

Izuku shook his head. "I promise, it's nothing like that. But… It is private."

"Private enough for your mom not to know, eh?" asked Mei. "I had to redirect her calls twice, you know. Not to mention when my dad got ahold of the phone of your mom's third call. Ha! It's a good thing I know how to disrupt the phone signals at my house." 

"Yeah… Sorry about that, Mei. I'll try not to put you in a situation like that again."

"No, no. Please do. You'll just be giving me more favors along the line."

"I'll keep that in mind. But anywho, if you guys really want to know, maybe I'll tell you guys in the future. By then it probably won't even matt— Gah!" Izuku screamed.

A cooing grey bundle had just plunged itself onto Izuku's head, startling him and the others around him. The ruffling mass of feathers took roost in Izuku's green hair - stomping around until setting itself down - much to the dismay of the boy.

"What the heck?" mused Manga. "It's a pigeon."

"Huh, strange," muttered Mei, poking the pigeon. The bird simply cooed in response.

"A pigeon? Why would a pigeon— Never mind. Look, can you guys get it off?"

"Uh-uh. Nope. It might bite me," professed Manga.

"Bite you? You could just use you head!"

Pony began laughing softly.

"Pony? A little help, please?" begged Izuku.

 "Manga can do it." She voiced her refusal.

Izuku sighed, shaking his head. The bird refused to get off. The other three around him laughed even more.

Higher up, above the friends' heads, two other birds were perched in their branches, surveying the scene below. One began to take off, its mission objective complete. Leaving the other behind, it began its way back towards U.A. High School.

Within the classroom of class 1-A, a meeting among students had just come into fruition. Aside from an incoming Midoriya and an absent Bakugo, all of class 1-A was present. All eighteen present students had come to class under the insistence of Yaoyorozu and Iida, both garnering their attention towards the rest.

"Alright everyone, I'm sure you're all questioning why we're all here so early…" started of Yaoyorozu, Iida at her side.

"I wished I'd gotten here earlier. Maybe then I could've—"

"Yeah, what exactly is this all ab—"

"Yo betcha! I could still be sleeping right now!" exclaimed a somewhat irate Ashido.

Yaoyorozu turned her gaze in Ashido's direction. "I wouldn't be so carefree about this. This meeting actually concerns some of us in this class, you included, Ashido."

"Oh…" Ashido breathed. "What about?"

"It's abo—"

"Uh, excuse me, Yaoyorozu-san?"

Said girl turned towards the boy who had interrupted her. "Yes, Sato-san?"

Sato rubbed his head earnestly, projecting his apologies. "Sorry, it's just that I, uh. I made some 

food. When I heard yesterday that we were all having this early morning meeting, I thought that some of us wouldn't be able to eat breakfast on time. So…" Sato pulled out an array of food, portions ranging from crepes and tarts to donuts and French toast.

"Mmm! Magnificent!" expressed Aoyama.

"It's not really a traditional breakfast, but I'm really only good with sweets," admitted Sato.

"Ah! Breakfast!" exclaimed Ashido. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" 

Yaoyorozu sighed. "Alright then. But hurry, we have a time limit he—" 

At that moment, a pigeon flew in through the open window. Some of the class reeled in surprise, though most calmed down when the bird landed on Koda's desk. The boy quietly conversed with the bird, nodding his head while doing so. When he was done, he took out some bread crumbs for the bird, which the bird promptly ate and took off.

Koda looked at Yaoyorozu and Iida, silently voicing his thoughts.

"Thank you, Koda," said Yaoyorozu.

Koda nodded vigorously in response.

"Okay everyone! We only have a little over eight minutes before we meet our deadline! Get your food and take your seat!" exclaimed Iida.

Everyone scrambled for the food, and after a minute or so, everyone had retrieved their choice in food and sat back in their seats. The few exceptions to this were Todoroki and Shoji, both who didn't move from their seats in the rush for Sato's food.

Iida nodded in satisfaction. "Okay! Good. Now, everyone listen to Yaoyorozu-san. She has a few words for some of you."

"Thank you Iida," Yaoyorozu said. "Now, as I said, you're all probably wondering why we are here today. To put it plainly, we're all here because of Midoriya."

"Where is Midoriya-chan, anyways?" Tsu spoke, voicing her insight. "I mean, Bakugo not being here is something I understand. But of anyone, I'd expect Midoriya to be here."

"And usually you'd be right," admitted Yaoyorozu. "The truth is, Iida and I purposely left Midoriya out of this conversation due to his involvement in the matter."

"Is this about U.S.J.?" asked a sheepish Kaminari.

"No, it is not," Yaoyorozu tensely replied to the boy. "Rather, I'd like to talk to you all regarding the way some of you acted towards Midoriya last Friday. I'd like to cut this in the bud before it spirals out of control."

A few in the class visibly gulped at the accusation.

"What are you talking about?" asked a confused Mineta.

Yaoyorozu ignored his question. "You all know who you are, and the extent of what I am talking about."

Kaminari's voice rang out. "Are you kidding?! You all saw what he did! That swarm was terrifying! And those villains! We could've ended up just like them!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" interrupted Kirishima. "Kaminari! That's not cool man. Midoriya wouldn't have done something like that! Besides, are you forgetting that he saved you from that guy with all the hands?"

"Yeah! Midoriya-kun isn't a bad person!" exclaimed Uraraka.

"But still…" Kaminari said apprehensively.

"I don't know, Kirishima, Uraraka. Kaminari kind of has a point…" trailed off Hagakure.

"But it is not a valid point, if I am to say so myself," Iida added.

"But how about you, Iida? You were just as freaked out as the rest of us!" exclaimed Sero.

Iida simply nodded. "Indeed I was. Who wouldn't be, standing in the middle of that swarm. And I will admit, I was a bit uneasy at first. But I'd like to think of Midoriya as a friend. He did what he did to protect us. You all saw how badly the villains got the jump on us. And you all saw how the swarm acted. It could have gone after any of us. But it didn't. It only went after villains."

Ashido swallowed her strawberry tart, following up on Iida's statement. "But he still.. His bugs…" She fell silent, thinking back to the incident at U.S.J., and exactly how dire it was.

"He did save us, I guess…" Ashido said in quiet revelation.

"Yeah. All Might himself said that the bugs helped beat that Nomu guy," muttered Ojiro.

The two current heads of the class allowed a moment of silence for the class to ponder about what was just said. Eventually, Yaoyorozu spoke up.

"Are you seeing our points?"

A few of the class nodded. Yaoyorozu continued on.

"After class on Friday, when Midoriya and I stayed behind by way of Aizawa-sensei's orders, we talked to each other regarding this. Midoriya was visibly distressed concerning what you all thought of him."

Again, some of the class uncomfortably shifted, reacting to the news. 

"I'd imagine that the way people view him matters a lot to him, considering his quirk. So, I'd like you all to at least understand what Midoriya did in his perspective. He was trying to save all of us. He wasn't doing anything malicious."

Ojiro cut in. "I shall apologize to Midoriya when he arrives. How I acted to him last Friday was unjust and dishonorable, disrespecting someone who was essentially our savior. I see that now."

"I suppose that he wasn't at fault," said Sato. "I've decided. I'm going to make an apology cake for him tomorrow."

Yaoyorozu nooded. "The rest of you?" she asked.

The ones guilty for acting cold towards Midoriya nodded in response, though some did so more hesitantly than others.

"Good. I expect all of us to forgive past transgressions and treat Midoriya as we did before. We can't be going around forming grudges or enmity toward each other. We are all going to be seeing each other a lot for the next three years, after all."

Another bird flew in through the open window, flapping over to the class's resident animal whisperer. Yaoyorozu understood what that meant; Midoriya was almost within three blocks of U.A. She turned to Iida. "Iida-san."

Iida nodded. "Thank you for listening, everyone. I like to think that we as a class can learn to overcome such hurdles. If another one of us were to go through a similar situation, I hope we don't have to go through something like this again."

Iida cleared his throat. "But if there is one thing I'd like to impose, it's the importance of everyone here to refrain from mentioning this meeting to Midoriya. Let's keep it all on the downlow. It's best if Midoriya comes to class happy that we have turned around our digressions to him. I hope you all understand?"

A few nodding heads took up the classroom.

"Alright!" Iida said, taking the attention of the class. "Let's all act as normal, then! We have just over a minute until we fall into Midoriya's range."

Izuku made his way to his classroom, somewhat curious to how the day would go. If last Friday was any example to go by, his classmates would probably still be a bit uneasy around him. The teachers who were just as uneasy would probably still be watching him for any minute hint that he'd go off like he did at U.S.J. 

Izuku thought that he'd probably be more worried about these things if he was back in elementary. The fact that the kids back then had constantly berated him for his quirklessness probably wouldn't have changed all too much even if he did demonstrat to them his acquisition of his quirk - however late it was. The point of the matter was that the seed of his inferiority had already been planted; he'd be hard pressed to believe that kids that age would change their interactions with him just on a whim

Izuku knew that now, but at the same time he knew that that early environment was what probably shaped the way his psyche was today, with him afraid of how his bugs would make others think of him. 

Izuku had thought he'd grown out of it, with the early support of Manga and Mei. All Might's nonchalance to his quirk furthered that prospect, even.

But the fear of rejection and isolation crept back up on him when he realized what was happening on Friday. Sure, he'd still have people like Manga, Pony, and Mei. Maybe even Tsu, or Mineta if his cluelessness was to be counted on. 

But Yaoyorozu 's talk to him last Friday eased his worries somewhat. The thought that the people he'd be spending the next three years around, hating or even fearing him? It scared him. Yaoyorozu's insurances that the scenario wouldn't come to pass was relief to Izuku's ears.

But after he thought it over, on his train rides to Kanagawa, he realized how unlikely it would be for his classmates to change over the course of the weekend. They probably would stay the same, acting uneasily around him, unless a who— 

"Midoriya!"

The exclamation spooked Izuku, the startled boy backing away. He was so deep in his thoughts that he neglected to pay attention to his connection with his bugs. It barely even registered to him that he wasn't already at his classroom door. Such inattentiveness would not a good habit if he wanted to— 

"Midoriya."

Izuku looked at the voice's origin. It was Ojiro.

"Look… I'm sorry for the way I acted last Friday."

Huh?

"I... wasn't really all too well, considering recent events. U.S.J. was still pretty fresh in my mind and.. So were the bugs. I was a bit freaked out, if I'm to be honest. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Izuku stood in place, blinking, taking in the boy in front of him. "Uhm… It's— It's no problem, Ojiro-san. Thank you, though. I'm relieved, in a way."

Sato cutted in then, the boy holding out a tray of breakfast sweets to Izuku. "I'm sorry as well, Midoriya. I wasn't just to act so cold to you on Friday. Take this as a part of my apology, I made breakfast for everyone, and I still have plenty leftover. Oh! And be ready for tomorrow, too. I have some more food to make in mind to display how sorry I am."

"There's— there's really no need for such a thing Sato-san. I already have—"

"Nonsense, Midoriya. I'm truly apologetic for my actions. My baking is another extension of how sorry I am."

Ashido was next, appearing in front of Midoriya. "I really am sorry too! I don't have any food for you like Sato-san does, but I'm still sorry! I wasn't really thinking on Friday." Ashido pulled Izuku into a hug, further confounding the already startled boy. "Please forgive me?"

"I— Al… Alright, Ashido-san."

"Yeah!" exclaimed the pink girl. "Let's put this all behind us, yeah?" She nodded, walking back to her desk.

Once Izuku regained his senses, he found a gathered trio of Hagakure, Sero, and Kaminari 

"We're sorry too," Hagakure admitted in quiet manner.

"Yeah… I acted rather… cold last Friday," muttered Sero.

Kaminari nodded, though stayed silent. 

"It's, uh, really alright guys," Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head. The rapid-fire apology train was definetely getting to him. "Like you said, just lingering effects from U.S.J, right?"

"Yeah. So—"

"Stop blocking up the doorway!" came the sudden and abrupt voice of Bakugo. "You extras and Deku here should move out of the way!"

Izuku sighed. He began walking back to his desk, nodding to the gathered trio of Hagakure, Sero, and Kaminari as he passed them. He didn't care to acknowledge Bakugo, instead complying with his demands. He didn't need the morning ruined with an irate ex-childhood best friend getting in his business.

As he found his desk, Izuku quirked an eyebrow when he found Sato's sweets from before atop it. He looked up to Sato, who was nodding at him, giving him the go-ahead to splurge himself. Izuku nodded back in appreciation.

As he sat, grabbing and nibbling at one of the tarts - blueberry, with all its gooey goodness - he looked over a Koda. The boy seemed more relaxed, unlike last Friday when he'd been basically shivering by sharing the room with Izuku. While he may not have confronted Izuku himself, it was to be expected considering his shy nature. Izuku mentally checked off that he was acting back to normal as well. If anything, the only ones he was still unsure of was Hagakure, Sero, and Kaminari. But such things would be worried about later. 

Izuku took another bite of his tart, savoring the taste. Sato really knew how to bake.

By the end of the day, Izuku came to appreciate his classmates' reversion to normalcy. The lack of cold stares and shuddering really did a lot to ease his mind, even if teachers like Present Mic and Cementoss were still acting like he had some sort of fuse like Bakugo did. 

But of course, his newfound relief was met with another snag by the time the still-completely bandaged Aizawa mentioned the upcoming Sports Festival. The day really was filled with too much general confusion for one jumpy vigilante to handle.

Izuku's bugs had picked up a huge bundle of activity outside the classroom's door as he went to leave for the day. Analysis over the commotion revealed a whole crowd of students were hanging around out there, as if waiting to confront the first person to walk out of class 1-A.

"Midoriya-kun, is something wrong?" asked Uraraka. The rest of the class too noticed his abrupt stop before the exit.

"No, not exactly," Izuku responded. "It's just— Well, there's a whole crowd of people outside."

"A crowd?" asked Kirishima. "Any idea what for?" 

He tilted his head. "Don't know… Why don't we find out?"

As he opened the door, Izuku was met with the faces of various students from all around campus. However, those most prominent seemed to be around his age group, notably from class 1-B next door. In fact, his bugs spotted Manga and Pony far off in a corner.

Izuku took his time to glance at all the gathered students, refraining from speaking a single word in an effort to gauze their reactions. However, before any progress could be done, Izuku sensed the incoming form of Bakugo approaching his rear, steadily advancing to the class's exit.

"Get out of the way, Deku," the boy ordered.

"No," Izuku spoke.

Bakugo's face twitched. "What the fuck did you—"

Izuku's bugs filtered out from his hair, the few flying ones present buzzing angrily at Bakugo.

Many of the gathered students visibly jumped at the sudden appearance of the insects. Some, who had recognized Izuku's quirk as the one which ceased the cafeteria stampede last week, merely recoiled in surprise. One purple haired student quirked an eyebrow, intrigue evident in his face. 

"You can go around," Izuku spoke to Bakugo. "There's plenty of space."

Bakugo audibly growled, but made no move to argue. Instead, he met shoulders with Izuku, shoving him to the side before departing into the crowd.

Crisis averted, Izuku recalled his bugs back into his hair, laying his attention back to the gathered students. "So… To what do I owe the pleasure of all of you coming here?" hw spoke in a polite voice.

Nobody moved at first, somewhat intimidated by the boy before them. However, a certain purple-haired student took the initiative and walked in front of Izuku. 

Before the boy could so much as open his mouth, Izuku held out a hand in greeting. "Izuku Midoriya, pleasure to meet you."

The boy took a pause, looking at the offered hand, then back to Izuku's face. After a few moments, he shook it. "Hitoshi Shinso, General Studies. I came here under the assumption that 1-A was filled with a bunch of self-entitled brats. So far, first impressions seem to be proving me right."

"Ah, that's just Bakugo being Bakugo," combatted Izuku. "He's always been like that. My apologies if he soured initial introductions. I hope that you'll come to think of us differently from now?"

"Hm. We'll have to wait and see." He took a glance at the rest of 1-A. "You know, some of us enrolled into U.A. hoping to get in Hero Studies, only to be forced to fall back onto other options. Depending on the results that some of us receive during the Sports Festival, it's possible for us to be transferred into the hero course."

"Meaning what?" asked Mineta, further back in the class.

Shinso eyed the boy. "Meaning, I wouldn't get too carried away if I were you, since the school can just as easily transfer students from the hero course out." 

A few of those in 1-A shivered at the prospect.

"That's good to know," Izuku said.

Shinso glanced back to Izuku, tilting his head in observation. "Good day, Midoriya." Izuku nodded a farewell.

As Shinso left, another student took the crowd's attention, albeit with a more aggressive manner this time. "Hey! What's to say that the rest of you aren't like that Bakugo guy?! He seemed like a real jerk! And you don't seem any better!"

"You don't know Bakugo like I do, I assure you," Izuku retorted. "And most of my class is unlike him, despite recent events that may influence such an attitude."

Before the boy could retort back, another came in to view. This time, it was a boy Izuku recognized easily, given his blond hair.

"I'd like to believe that you 1-A idiots are just a bunch of lucky glory hounds, riding off of their sudden claim to relevance. If that Bakugo guy is any sort of example, I'm sure that the rest of you are not far off." Monoma then turned to Izuku, hastily coming to praise him. "Except you, Midoriya-kun. If anything, you are the exception. I can only hope that your greatness can rub off on the rest of your classmates. Perhaps then they'd be a little bit more— Gah!"

"Monoma," scolded an orange-haired girl. She'd hit Monoma, stopping him in the middle of his rant, and was currently holding him by the collar. "Sorry about him. I've come to think that there's a hole where his heart should be." 

"Kendo…" Monoma whined.

"Come on." The girl — named Kendo, apparently — proceeded to drag off the dejected Monoma.

Unfortunately, Monoma didn't seem to be last wanting to have a go at 1-A. A few more students noted their declarations against the class, spouting out their own anger or jealousy. 

Izuku decided to leave after the second additional student's rant of 1-A riding off of the coattails of the U.S.J. attack. Izuku said his farewell to his fellow 1-Aers, departing with little spectacle. Iida and Uraraka followed after Izuku shortly after, and the two joined up with the already retreating backs of Pony, Manga, and Izuku.

Notes:

I'm gonna be honest with all of you here, this chapter wasn't originally going to play out like this. There was going to be a bit of the Sports Festival and stuff, but the whole meeting idea just ran off in my head. So sorry for those anticipating the Sports Festival. But it's coming! I promise.