25

Chapter 25: First NightNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"You can find panic buttons in your rooms and in every common area. Learn their placements, better not to be caught unaware. Also, remember to check when your own session with Hound Dog will be, and be sure not to miss it. It's important, and I'll be sure to verify that you've all taken at least one. And I believe that should be all," Aizawa ended his speech, both first-year classes of the Hero Department standing before him and Kan waiting to be released from the—mostly unneeded, if you asked his opinion—tour. He could have settled with a quicker speech, but Nezu had insisted. 

"Yes," Vlad King nodded. "I want you kids to remember that, as long as you'll be staying here, we will hold you to a standard a Hero could be proud of. I don't want to hear about monkey business any more than I have to, so please act your age." 

Some gazes moved around at the somewhat contradictive nature of the request. They were teenagers, for god's sake. 

Kan looked at his students. "Kendo, Shoda, I trust you to take care of your classmates, but it's not your job to make them behave, so just give me a call if anything happens." 

"The same goes for you, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu," Shota added lazily, but seriously. "We'll see you tomorrow in class." 

The group bowed to the teachers when the doors closed behind them. 

"That could have gone worse," Kan muttered as they walked back to the main building. 

"... We almost walked into a screaming match an hour ago," he replied, unamused. 

"True," the other grumbled, "but as you said, it was 'almost' a fight. And I trust Kendo to keep them in check for now." Kan must have taken Shota's silence as uncertainty, because he kept going. "Don't you think the same goes for Midoriya?" 

He shook his head. "It's not about keeping them in check." 

"What is it then? Even that Bakugo kid of yours didn't open his mouth once. Of course, he was giving some harsh glances, but he wasn't shouting back at Monoma or Tsuburaba at least." 

Shota clicked his tongue, trying to shake away the apparent distress not to worry his colleague, or at least to turn it into something else. "I guess it's just having that many of them in the same place... And our method falling apart." 

"Ah, yeah, that's a pity," Kan sighed, also displeased by the loss. "I think we'll make do anyway. Who knows, maybe we'll learn something new." 

That... wasn't really part of the problem, just a nice possible gain. 

What Shota was really worried about, as strange as it could seem, was Midoriya. The not-really-a-kid was keeping up a façade like no other and would surely help the rest of the students way better than Kan and himself could ever hope to do. 

But it didn't take a genius to understand how deeply he had bonded with his classmates. During their "real" talks, he'd let slip the word "family" one too many times for it to be a coincidence. 

He wondered if getting them together like this was going to help him... or if it would cause some unforeseen problems. 

Going by logic, the teen would have known if that was a possibility, but Shota could see how Midoriya would do whatever at his own risk if it benefitted his friends. If this dorm was for them, and not for him, Shota had to be sure to check that he wasn't self-destructing. 

Gods, that Problem Child was going to lead him to madness.

"So," Izuku clapped his hands to catch everybody's attention, "we're all finished with the rooms? If not, don't hesitate to ask for a hand." 

"We've all settled fine on the last floor, I just checked," Momo claimed, joined by a "We're also good," from Yosetsu Awase. 

As no arms were raised, he continued. "Good, then I think that we could try and eat a nice meal, all together. I can cook, but if someone else would like to help, I'd be grateful." 

A couple of surprised hums and agreeing voices rose from the group. 

"A great proposal, Midoriya! Of course, I will help." Tenya was the first to step forward, joined by Ochaco and Tsuyu. "Yeah, it'll be fun." 

"Yesterday's dinner was great, I'm game," Hanta grinned, ready to roll up his sleeves. 

"Really? Man, can't wait then," Denki approved. 

"You help too Kaminari, even if it's only setting the table," Mina gave him a friendly nudge, accompanied by Eijiro's nod. 

"We should help too," Itsuka came forward, followed by some of the 1-B students. "It's only fair." 

"I wish to be of service, Sir Midoriya. Just tell me where I should go," Jurota and Nirengeki also gave him their approval. 

"Sorry, but what's going on here?" Neito interjected, as expected. "Since when do we have to mingle with Class A to do anything?" 

Itsuka frowned. "Mon-" 

"I never said you had to." Izuku shrugged, raising his hand to excuse himself to the redhead with a little "Sorry" for interrupting her. 

Even if part of him wanted her to put an end to the whole discussion immediately, he knew that would just pile up resentment in the long run. Furthermore, it would be better if Itsuka stopped handling problems with violence or intimidation, even with things as apparently harmless as a chop or some light threats. She was better than that. 

"We're just offering-" 

"Ah! Offering? You talk as if the place is yours to do as you please, and you're only graciously allowing us to be here if we help," the blonde interjected again, shaking his head theatrically. "What a disappointment." 

"Don't just put words in his mouth," Kyoka grumbled, her jacks menacing. 

"Those were only four words, ribbit." Tsu tilted her head to the side. 

"This is just sad," Hitoshi commented, deadpan. 

"Come on dude, that's not what he said at all," Setsuna rolled her eyes. 

"Well, that's what it sounded like," Kosei, on Neito's side, crossed his arms. 

"I would refrain from making such accusations," Fumikage pointed his eyes at Kosei. 

Shihai, his black form rivaling Fumikage's, placed himself before his classmate. "Or what?" 

"Guys..." Nirengeki huffed, already hating the tension. 

"Have you heard anything Mr. Kan said?" Itsuka grumbled, her hands itching. 

"Can't you see it? They're already on a war path!" Neito proclaimed, pointing at the other half of the room. 

"He's not listening..." Reiko shook her head with a sigh. 

Koji seemed to be increasingly worried as he looked left and right for a solution. 

"You're the one who started spouting accusations!" Minoru cried out, looking around as if to search confirmation. 

Neito feigned shock. "I did no such thing! I-" 

A deafening finger snap echoed in the hall, interrupting the conversation for a moment. 

"If I may continue," Izuku smiled, keeping his fingers raised, "I was saying that I would like us all to work together, or whoever's comfortable helping really. It wouldn't be that hard to make enough for everybody here, and it seems I've already got enough help, so if you don't want to chip in just go relax for half an hour or something. You'll still get a portion."

He stepped forward, extending a hand towards Neito.

"I'd like us to bury the hatchet here. Living under the same roof doesn't have to be hell, if you don't want it to be."

As the blond moved his gaze from Izuku's hand to his face, a thin smile appeared on his own. Izuku knew what he was thinking, but he was in for a bad surprise. 

"I see, my mistake then," Neito showed one of the fakest smiles in the book. "Your proposal doesn't sound that bad, when you put it this way." 

Some of the Class B students, knowing how Neito's [Copy] worked and what power Izuku held, stared at the exchange with increasing worry. 

"Mido-" Itsuka began to warn him, too late. 

Neito took his hand, letting the smile turn into a grin as he tried to apply Izuku's Quirk's superstrength to give him a terrible handshake... Only to quickly turn sour—as he'd found a bad dud— and incredibly confused.

"Ah, so you can copy the Quirk, but not the stockpile behind it," Izuku thought aloud, appreciating the look of pure shock in the guy's eyes.

In truth, Neito would be incredible, but he needed to work on his inferiority complex and terrible ways of dealing with it first. He might have had his reasons to keep their classes distant, but Izuku really couldn't let that happen. He felt sorry for forcing him to come to terms with his problems earlier, but it was better than seeing him dead.

"Y-You! How-?" the blonde babbled.

"It wasn't that hard to get," he shrugged, letting go of Neito's hand. "I mean, you made a show of it against Bakugo's team." 

"That fight was manly as hell," Eijiro grinned, crossing his arms, as some grumbled nonsense came from the back of the room. 

"Yeah. I knew you must have some limits, and just got another confirmation. Come talk to me about it someday, I'll see if I can come up with some ideas to go with it," he offered, stunning the guy and most of his classmate who hadn't seen him work yet. 

"W-Why would I do that?!" 

"Midoriya is a gifted analyst. It's a pity you all missed today's training," Ibara gently called. 

"And a hell of a personal trainer," Hitoshi added from his sinking seat on the couch. His muscles were still hurting. 

"Damn, I knew I should have come earlier," Mashirao grumbled, joined by others who had spent the afternoon working on their rooms, the loudest being Setsuna's "Nooo, I wanted in!" 

"But why would we give Class A the advantage in-" 

"Monoma." As Sen's voice stopped him, the blond came to an unexpected halt. Kaibara was his friend and he had even participated in his plan during the festival. Neito could understand Itsuka and some others being less prickly, but him? "Please, stop. You'll see what we're talking about in a couple of days, and then I'm sure you'll change your mind." 

The idea must have been so alien to the blonde that it left him completely wordless. 

Itsuka snickered. "That's true, just wait until our next Heroics class with Mr. Kan. We'll wipe the floor with you slackers." 

"Really?" Togaru's eyes turned into slits, shooting in the greenette's direction. "It's a challenge then. Fine. Midoriya, we accept your truce. Hope we don't get disappointed." 

"Since when is he the boss?" Kinoko asked Juzo, who just shrugged. Those blades and short temper of his made for a bad combination. 

"Thank you, Kamakiri. I'm sure you won't. And I'm extending the offer to you all. Though we'll probably have to start after our internships." 

"Why? We've got a week before those!" Tetsutetsu asked too loudly. 

"I presume we will be occupied with lessons and choosing our internships," Momo replied. 

"We'll see if we get some free time before those, but don't get your hopes up too high. I bet that Mr. Aizawa is gonna put us through the wringer to make sure we don't make any stupid mistakes." Izuku clapped again. "Well then, everybody who wants to help, to the kitchen. Who doesn't know how to cook can set the tables. Everybody else, give us some space!"

As the group split three or four-ways, Izuku guided the newly minted kitchen staff to their post. The best cooks of the dorm would be decided (or rediscovered) after some weeks of practice. They were missing Kacchan, which was unacceptable, but this was a good start. 

"Leave the pots to me! I don't need mittens!" the steel boy grinned. 

"Just don't bite them," Setsuna joked as she and Ochaco opened the higher cabinets. 

"I can handle them too, if needed." To everybody's surprise, Shoto hadn't left, choosing to help instead. He didn't even know how to boil water (without his Quirk), but he was eager to learn.

"I'll slice the meat," Togaru moved like a man with a mission, ignoring the calls of "Calm down you lunatic!" coming from Sen. 

"Mm," Yui, close to Rikido, pointed towards a photo of the cake from the day before. 

Izuku stepped back as Itsuka and Nirengeki took him to the side for a moment. 

"Sorry for Monoma and the others. They mean well, but..."

"Don't worry, I get it. It's not a big deal." - For now. - "We'll just have to change his mind. You can start by showing him how much he's missing by only using a Quirk's basic functions." 

"We'll try," the Vice Representative sighed, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. 

He nodded with a smile, giving them a quick "I know you will." 

"Midori! We need your help!" 

"Coming~" 

- One step at a time. -

"Come on Midoriya! Open up open up!" Toru shook her fists up and down, eager to start their tour with his room. 

Knowing exactly how everything was placed around the dorm didn't make the whole "tour of the rooms" thing all that interesting to him, but he wouldn't shoo away the company. He just wondered who would win, as Kyoka, Koji, and Pony always came close to the top, with minimal differences. 

And at least this time they had started by room order with Aoyama's shining room. Better for his and Tenya's sake.

He faked a sigh as he relented, letting the group see the interior of his place. Being almost the whole gang of forty, they couldn't all enter, so most of the group had the decency to look from the door. 

"Oh, wow!" Pony jumped in place at the spectacle. 

"So much Hero stuff..." Hiryu looked around, interested. 

"He's got all the credential of the ultimate Hero fan," Yosetsu laughed. 

"How many models are on those shelves?!" Denki asked, incredulous, as Kojiro stared with his mouth wide open.

"You've got one of Thirteen!" Ochaco gushed in glee. 

His room wasn't choked full of All Might gadgets and memorabilia anymore, instead going for a good mix of various Heroes, from the Number 1 to the very end of the list, to some of the most unknown heroes ever, both present and past. He was still a Hero nerd, but this was less off-putting, and he genuinely felt better this way. 

His worship of the Number 1 Hero had been... too much. With Toshinori becoming more of a father figure, the whole affair had started to feel strangely weird. Obsessing wasn't good, and there were so many others that were deserving of praise. Plus, he'd have another excuse to show his analysis later if he showed some of his knowledge now. 

He pointed out a couple of names as the others asked about the respective models before their eyes moved onto the rest of the ensemble. 

"Midori, I didn't know you knew how to draw!" Mina squeaked, pointing her finger towards the number of papers he'd covered his walls with.

"Yeah, I've been writing and drawing a lot since I was little. Mostly Heroes of course," he chuckled. 

"Those look really good, you've got talent!" Manga rejoiced, now very interested. 

"Yeah, they look even better than posters," Hanta agreed. 

"Thanks," he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. With all the skill he had accumulated with rewriting and redrawing his notes it would have been crazy for them to be anything less than beautiful. It was good for him memory too, so it had become a sort of ritual. It wasn't just a compulsive need of keeping his notes orderly, of course not. 

"You really know your Heroes. I don't think I've ever seen some of those you have there," Kojiro, ever the quiet giant, looked at the ones directly in front of his desk. 

"I think I recognize a couple... Are they Underground Heroes?" Hitoshi, who had joined despite the clear need for sleep, asked. 

"Some, but others are just older ones." 

"Oh my, this framed picture is splendid. Who is the Heroine in it?" Momo inquired. 

He didn't need to look to know who she was talking about. 

Most of his drawings were just held up by pins or scotch tape. Only a dozen images in the room had the honor of a complete frame. 

Two were of him and his mother, being the only photos. One held Eraser Head, Present Mic, and Midnight in action, though the setting itself was born of his imagination. Another had All Might, standing and smiling proudly, his size smaller as he'd taken inspiration from his younger days. A painting of Eri was in the corner and was the first picture he had worked on after the entrance exam. In the remaining seven, they would see drawings of six men and a woman. Not that they could recognize them anyway. 

"The Clear Sky Hero: Seventh Wonder," he spoke with as much serenity and pride he could muster. 

"She's stunning," Kinoko breathed, her words approved by Yui's own humming. 

"I've never heard of her, is she not Japanese?" Togaru asked, wondering why some random Hero had a place between current cornerstones of their nation like Kamui Woods, Edgeshot, and All Might. 

Izuku shook his head. "She passed away thirty years ago. Fell on duty, but they never found the culprit."

"Damn," the insect-like teen let out. "Gotta respect that." 

"S-She looked so young," Koji whispered. 

"Ours is a dangerous profession," Jurota sighed. 

"So those other...?" Ochaco was looking at the rest of the "favored" ensemble. 

"My personal favorites. They may be old Heroes, but they're part of the reason I'm here today," he replied while showing determined eyes and a wide smile. "Some don't even have a name anymore, but I found bits and pieces in old books and stories, or with a lot of online digging. I ended up looking into the beginnings of Quirks even. They were Heroes in darker times and deserve to be remember in some way."

"That's sweet, ribbit." Tsuyu and the others seemed to like the story.

"I'm sure they're blessed in heaven for their good actions," Ibara nodded, fingers crossed in prayer. 

"Yeah! But come on, let's hit the next room or we'll be here until morning!" 

Izuku let the group move forward, letting his eyes fall on the frames. He remade those drawings every single time. It was soothing to have them be there. 

"You didn't need to, Ninth," the Third huffed. 

- I disagree. You deserve to be remembered by more than me. - 

"It won't change much anyway, you know?" Hikage said. 

"Maybe for you old sobs, but I wouldn't dislike a couple of flowers on my grave," Daigoro patted En's back heavily, making him stumble. 

"It's nice," the Sixth commented with his usual quietness. 

"They're both right. It's fine, but we don't need more," Yoichi whispered. 

- You won't be footnotes in the pages of history. - 

"We didn't do this to be remembered," the Second called, deadpan. 

- You did it because it was the right thing to do. Same reason as mine here. - 

He could hear Nana sigh. "Just don't let us be the reason why your cover is blown so early, Sprout."  

He snorted a bit, stifling a laugh. As if he cared about that anymore.

Instead of worrying about nothing, he moved to tap on Tenya's shoulder.

Izuku quietly closed his door behind himself, separating the two from the chaos outside. 

"Would you like a seat? Bed or chair, your choice." 

"Ah, thank you, I will take the chair." The guest settled on his pick. "So, what did you wish to discuss, Midoriya?" 

Izuku met his friend's blue eyes, partially hidden by the light hitting the lenses, showing an expression miles more serious than his usual one. 

"You, Ida," he started, taking a spot before him, on the bed, "I wanted to ask how you are feeling." 

"How I'm feeling?" the other replied with stupor. "Tired by a hard day's work, but I assure you it's nothing I can't handle. As soon as our dormmates are finished with this little game of ours, I'll head straight to bed and-"

"You can stop pretending, you know?" Izuku interjected, keeping his tone neutral. 

"W-What are you talking about?" Tenya's voice wobbled for a second as he raised his hand to secure his glasses on his nose. "I'm fine, Midoriya." 

Izuku gave him an unamused stare. "And I would need to be both an inept at reading emotions and a terrible friend to believe that." 

Tenya looked shocked for a few moments, then shook his head with an understanding expression. 

"I should have known you would have seen through it," the bluenette sighed, moving his gaze to the ground and crossing his arms. Bad sign. 

He probably wasn't the only one who had an inkling of Tenya's state. Tsu was terribly perceptive at times, while Kyoka and Mezo had an easier job than most at seeing and hearing those little alarms bells. But all three were too polite to intrude on another's personal problems unless necessity demanded it. Some of the others would have had to wait until the following day to notice anything, and the vast majority wouldn't ever notice a thing. 

"I care about my friends," he replied, "and—believe me or not—it pains me to see you in this state, covering up what you're feeling with that serious façade." 

"You're too good, Midoriya," the teen let out, failing to change the direction of the conversation. 

"Thank you, but this isn't about me. Tonight, and whenever you need me to, I'm here for you." 

Tenya nodded, but kept his silence for a while longer. 

"How's your father?" Izuku asked despite knowing the answer. The complete fact hadn't reached any tabloid yet, so they lacked precise updates. 

"Out of surgery, but still in the ward for at-risk patients," Tenya whispered, all semblances of his sternness gone for the time being. 

He let out a breath from his nose. "At least that's good news." 

"Good news?" His tone was shaky. 

"Your father survived an encounter with Stain, Ida," Izuku declared, now being the firm one. "They don't call him 'Hero Killer' for no reason. It's nothing short of a miracle, and a testament to your father's prowess." 

"My father won't ever get to walk again." Tenya didn't yell, but only because his voice was too strangled to do so. His hands were now two fists held tightly. 

"But he's breathing," Izuku countered. "Which is more than seventeen of his victims can say." 

Silence fell again, the guest ruminating over the words. 

"I don't want to press too much if you don't want me to, but I usually find it liberating to talk about my problems with somebody else. So, how are you feeling?" 

Tenya bit the interior of his lip, breathing deeply in and out. After some eternal moments, he spoke. 

"I don't know. There are too many things running around in my head." 

"We've got time," he calmly offered. "I'm listening, and my mouth is sealed. Whatever you say is safe with me." 

The teen opened and closed his hands a couple of times, coming to grips with his unruly sensations. 

"I feel like I'm breaking down," Tenya confessed. "Like my certainties are crumbling. My family never suffered anything like this. My parents have taken their risk and their worth of damage in their years, but nothing so... definitive. Velocity was a respected name, a Hero close to Top Ten at his peak, and now he's on the verge of death. The doctor said that if the surgery had been delayed by a handful of minutes my father wouldn't have made it through. I'm scared. No, I'm terrified. Of the fact that he may still rebound, that his condition may worsen. Of being unable to make it to his bedside if that were to happen." He swallowed, the saliva feeling like a stone in his throat. "And I can't help but think that my brother could have been there in my father's place, had he not been at the Sports Festival. I can't help but think that Ingenium himself could have been left to die in a no-name alley, and it terrorizes me. I haven't slept comfortably in days." 

His back arched down, his knuckles hitting his forehead as his jaw contracted. 

"And... I'm angry. I know it's not heroic. I know it's base, barbaric, shameful... But if I had Stain at my mercy, now, I don't think I would be able to keep calling myself a good person afterwards, much less a Hero." 

His last words were pushed through his teeth with spite and harshness the previous Tenya wouldn't have thought himself capable of. And that was part of the problem. He didn't understand it. He chastised himself for failing his own standards.

Izuku kneeled before his friend, keeping their heads roughly on the same level. He placed a hand on Tenya's shoulder and started speaking softly, sincerely. 

"It's alright, Ida. What you're feeling isn't wrong or unjustified so, please, stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over." 

"H-How can you say that?" the teen muttered. "I want to hurt him, Midoriya. I want revenge for what happened to my father, I want to take him down before my brother falls to the same blade, before he hurts anyone else. I want to destroy him. How can that be alright?" 

"I won't lie and say the act itself would be fine. It wouldn't. Repaying violence with more violence won't solve your problem. 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.' The next Stain look-alike would just come for your head, and the cycle would just start anew. But what you're feeling, the anger, the sadness, the fear, they're all meant to be there," Izuku whispered slowly, trying to make each word count. "Those feelings are what makes us human, Ida. You're not an unfeeling machine. Your family has been threatened, hurt. It's not wrong to not take it lying down." 

He took a breath, placing both of his hands of Tenya's, lowering them to look the teen in the eyes. 

"What matters now is what you will choose to do with those feelings. Of course, you could run out of here and try to find that heinous criminal by yourself, following a twisted sense of justice to put an end to that monster. But I think that you know, here," he placed a finger on Tenya's chest, "that it would be wrong. That it would just be a bloody revenge with a nicer name. That, without a doubt, it would be a mission with the sole purpose to fill a grave: his, or yours. And I hope that you also understand that, if it came to it, I would never let you head down that road by yourself." 

Tenya's hands were shaking, his blue orbs showing a mixture of sadness, guilt, rage, comprehension, and confusion that would take a genius to untangle. 

"Or, you could use that fire in you to light something greater. You've always been carried by a solid sense of duty and sturdy beliefs, but have you ever done something solely for the sake of it? Have you ever followed your heart?" 

Izuku moved his gaze onto the wall, where All Might's picture stood proudly in his victory pose, soon followed by Ida's. 

"Do you think it's only duty that drives Heroes? Power comes from many sources, but I believe that the strongest hearts are those driven by passion. A drive to protect, to keep safe strangers and loved ones alike, to bring smiles to peoples' faces. Sometimes it's born from suffering, but you're the one who gets to choose whether you want to succumb to it and burn, or if you can tame it, use it as fuel and rise higher." 

He brought himself closer, his arms circling around Tenya's shivering back. 

"You don't have to choose now. Take your time. But know that, whatever you'll pick, I'll have your back. I don't want to lose you." 

- Not again. - 

Tenya didn't reply for a long while, waiting until he could recompose himself inside Izuku's embrace. 

- I'll never lose any of you again. -