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On the day of the Sports Festival, Shinsou found himself hanging off of a wire over a deep dark cavern. He gritted his teeth and pushed past the pain in his arms to swing himself forward. Cheers, faint in the distance from the arena, stung at his nerves. He wondered how well the other students were doing, most didn’t have the kind of quirks to get past this kind of obstacle.
Just then his hand began to slip.
The Sports Festival, his last chance at the hero course, became mere seconds away from failure.
Getting past the robots had been easy enough, he only had to follow the path of destruction the hero students left. But crossing the cavern was another story, he had to rely on his own strength to pass it.
His lungs screamed as he pushed himself forward again, rushing to cross the cavern. His reckless actions became more rapid as he went. He couldn’t let himself slip, he had prepared for this day for too long. Today was the last day for him to achieve his dream.
Shinsou pulled himself onto one of the pillars, starting to crawl his way towards the last wire across. A girl landed ungracefully next to him, barely clearing the cavern. He reeled, eyes wide and ready for a fight, but it didn’t come as the girl began to teeter off of the pillar. A scream leaped up to her throat, her feet perched on the edge of the pillar, and her arms began to swing at the air like a swimmer in water.
She was going to fall, she would probably die if she did.
In the back of his mind, he knew that was irrational because UA wouldn’t just let its students fall to their deaths like this, but fear clung to his chest and his hand shot out. He sprung to his feet and raced forward, grabbing her and pulling her back. For a moment, he thought that he was going to accidentally throw himself off the pillar.
Then he realized how tightly he was holding onto her and he pulled back, making sure she was steady.
“Are you okay?” Shinsou asked. “I didn’t mean to grab you like that.”
The girl nodded. “Thank you for saving me!”
Shinsou felt his heart skip a beat and he looked away, letting himself take in the moment that he had just saved someone. I just saved someone, holy shit.
But he didn’t have time to take in the moment anymore, the girl disappeared from his side with a large jump. Her jumping quirk sent her well over the wire, completely clearing the cavern.
Shinsou took a deep breath before he swung himself down onto the second wire. Fire rippled through his muscles as he forced himself to move. His shoulder cried with each movement that he made, swinging himself forward like a child on a playground. His legs dangled underneath him, kicking at the air.
Should have just brainwashed someone into carrying me over, this sucks.
Suddenly an explosion went off in front of him, raining down pink powder and glitter over a poor victim. Shinsou frowned at the sight, but he’d rather deal with that than climb across another set of wires.
The next few seconds were grueling, but he managed to swing himself up and climb off the second wire. He stood up and faced the minefield with narrowed eyes, taking in the rest of the students.
Two hero course students were duking it out at the front, furthest away from him. Behind those two, students were carefully picking their way across the field. Every so often, a student would be sent flying by an explosion, which usually resulted in another explosion going off the moment said student landed.
Shinsou shook his head, he wouldn’t be any faster than the students picking their way through the field. He had to find a faster way across the field, something that allowed him to not worry about the mines at all.
His first instinct was to look for the girl with the floating quirk… but she was puking at the beginning of the minefield.
Turning to examine the rest of the students, he frowned.
The only other person that had an ability close to floating, or even flying, was the bird-headed hero student from 1A. The problem there was that his quirk was sentient, Shinsou wasn’t sure that his own quirk would work in that case. He could probably brainwash him, but what if his quirk came after him in retaliation?
“Looks like the old fashion way it is…” Shinsou rolled his shoulder and turned to the minefield. “Let’s see how many times I can get myself blown up.”
As it turned out, he didn’t blow himself up at all. One of the hero students made a path of ice that passed over all of the mines, making a beeline for the end of the course. Shinsou moved quickly, running over the stretch of field and jumping onto the icy path. His feet slid, nearly sending him onto his back, but he found his footing and pushed his body forward.
Numerous students let out shouts, following him onto the path of ice, but he didn’t glance back. He focused on moving his body as fast as possible, glaring at the back of the hero students in front of him.
How can I catch up with those pompous assholes? They think they rule the school just because of their quirks…
His legs pumped faster and his lungs took in deep gulps of air. Shinsou thought back to all of the training he had been doing. If he had to guess, he’d spent over a year training his body. A year for the Entrance Exam, the months leading up to the Sports Festival, all led to the muscles that he had now. Even with that, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to catch up to the students racing in front of him, they had the quirks for this kind of test.
The arena came back into view, then the tunnel, and then the court. Bright lights flashed around him as he slid to a halt, his eyes wide and his heart thundering.
7th place, not too bad!
Shinsou smirked to himself and stood tall, his back cracking loudly. One of the students next to him jolted and looked at him, mouth wide.
“Holy shit, that was loud, man!” The redhead shook his head. “Good job by the way! You were just ahead of me!”
Shinsou tilted his head. “Better luck next time, hero.”
Before the hero student could reply to him, Midnight called their attention with a wave of her whip. Shinsou wondered for a moment if the next game would be more beneficial for his quirk.
---
The pavement hurt his fists. His quirk had been perfect for the cavalry battle, he had done so well to get as far as he had… but the points he gathered had just missed the passing mark.
Blood ran down his knuckles, tears soaked his cheeks.
His dream lay shattered at his feet.
“Young man?” A voice called out.
Shinsou jolted and swung around, about to curse out whoever had wandered in on his breakdown when his voice fell short. All Might stood tall and blinding as if light radiated from himself.
“What’s the matter, young man?” All Might asked. “You’ve busted your knuckles, I see.”
Shinsou frowned, feeling a deep well of resentment fill his chest suddenly. All Might was the most famous hero to ever live; he had the perfect quirk, the perfect personality, the perfect smile. Passing the UA Entrance Exam had probably been easy for him, winning the Sports Festivals definitely had.
“It’s nothing.” Shinsou bit out and turned away. “I’m fine.”
All Might made a rumbling hum, moving closer. “I see, well, I was trying to find you anyways!”
What the fuck?
Shinsou swung back around. “What? Why?”
All Might puffed out his chest, his smile radiating once more. “I saw how you acted during the Sports Festival! You saved that young girl from falling into the cavern and you fought valiantly during the Cavalry Battle. If I had to guess, you’re looking to become a hero, right?”
The swirling feel grew in his chest and he glared at the number one hero. “What about it? Going to tell me to be more realistic or something?”
“Nonsense!” All Might waved the thought away. “I think you can become a hero!”
I must be dreaming, what the fuck is going on? Shinsou shook his head, letting out a little laughter at the thought. His head began to spin.
“I think I’m dreaming, there is no way you’d ever really say that to me.”
“You’re not dreaming!” All Might placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I have a lot to discuss with you if you’re willing.”
Shinsou looked up at him, his knuckles still bleeding, tears still staining his cheeks. “You really think I can become a hero?”
The smile that All Might gave him could have killed him. “Of course I do, young man.”
“All Might!”
Shinsou’s heart leaped to his throat as the principal appeared at their feet. His tiny black eyes stared up at the number one hero with narrowed eyes.
“Principal Nezu!”
All Might deflated.
Shinsou blinked, his heart freezing, his lungs spasming. “What the fuck? This really is a dream.”
“I’m afraid not,” Nezu said, “but this does complicate things. Shall we all continue this talk in my office?”
The two nodded as the small principal showed them the way.
Shinsou felt his stomach begin to flip, he took a deep breath and tried to force down the confusion fogging his head. He glanced over at Nezu, then at the deflated All Might, and frowned.
This wasn’t a dream, but he had no idea what was going on. Hopefully, this wasn’t some kind of elaborate prank, but he doubted the teachers at UA would sink so low. A shiver ran up his spine at the thought and he quickly shook his head, refocusing on following Nezu through the building.
Nezu’s office wasn't what Shinsou had expected; while it was crisp and clean, it was absolutely filled with teapots and cups. Everything was normally sized too, despite the fact that the principal was far too small for it. Instead of sitting at the desk chair, the principal stood and leaned over the desk with a large shelf of decorative teapots behind him. The only thing that seemed in character was the chessboard hidden away in the corner.
“Now, now,” Nezu said, “Don’t be shy, take a seat!”
“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Shinsou asked, but took his seat nonetheless. “I feel like I’m at the wrong end of some elaborate prank.”
“This is no prank!” Nezu declared and then beamed at All Might with a menacing look in his eyes. “But there were better ways of approaching the subject matter that must be discussed with you now.”
All Might shrunk back in his seat if that was even possible in his now skeletal form.
“Why does All Might look like a starving feral cat?” Shinsou demanded.
Nezu smiled again. “Why don’t you explain your quirk, All Might? Don’t leave a single detail out, I want Shinsou to know everything.”
The number one hero gulped and nodded. The skeletal man began to speak, weaving a story of two brothers and quirks. The two-hundred-year tale took dips and turns, it revealed dark secrets hidden by the criminal underworld and by heroes of the past. A boogie man with the power to steal quirks and the heroes that had died facing him, because they had one quirk that he could never steal… one that he had given away a long time ago. One that could be passed down from successor to successor.
“All for One and I fought a terrible battle,” All Might recalled, “We both sustained great injuries. While it’s unlikely he survived from the ones I inflicted upon him, I managed to survive with the help of doctors and surgeries.”
Shinsou stared at him.
He lifted the edge of his shirt, revealing a deep and winding wound that tore through his left side.
“My stomach was removed, parts of my lungs too.” All Might let go of his shirt. “I can no longer use my quirk the same way, I can only last a few hours in my hero form.”
Shinsou looked from him to Nezu, then back to him. Suddenly everything clicked into place, like a lightbulb turning on in his head.
“You want to give me your quirk, don’t you?” Shinsou asked.
All Might nodded. “I came to UA looking for a successor, when I saw you save that girl… well at first it seemed unimportant, but then I saw the way you acted in the cavalry battle.”
“What about it?”
“You didn’t win, only because you decided to protect your teammates from injuries.”
Shinsou frowned. “Well, obviously I didn’t want them to get hurt…”
“But you knew if you saved them, you wouldn’t win, but you still did it.”
“Why does that matter?”
“It means you have the true heart of a hero!” All Might puffed up, becoming his larger form once more. “That’s exactly the kind of requirement for my quirk!”
Then he deflated again, coughing up a large amount of blood.
Shinsou stared at him, feeling a little bit of warmth swell in his chest. All Might thought that he had the heart of a hero, that wasn’t just any small praise.
Nezu hummed, catching their attention once more. “Shinsou, it is important that you understand what you are being offered before you choose to accept it or not.”
Shinsou looked down at his hands suddenly, his mind buzzing. “I… I’ve wanted to be a hero my whole life, but I don’t… how would receiving All Might’s quirk change that?”
“Regardless of whether you accept it or not,” Nezu said, “I’m willing to begin your transfer to the hero course.”
His heart pounded in his chest, his eyes widened. “Really?”
Nezu smiled, far wider than he ever had that day.
---
Darkness helped him think, he was pretty sure that was the reason he was an insomniac after all. His little foster brother snored away across the room, reminding him of a white noise machine. Shinsou shook his head and turned onto his side to look out of the window.
One for All…
If he had had that quirk, getting into the hero course would have been easy… but did he really need that quirk now?
Nezu was going to let him join the hero course whether he accepted the quirk or not. He didn’t have any reason to accept if it wasn’t going to help him become a hero, yet he could still feel the pull in his chest and the interest in his heart. Ever since he was a young boy, he had wished for a heroic quirk that would make people trust him… for something other than the quirk that he had now.
That chance was just a few words away, all he had to do was take it. But was he really sure it was the right thing to do? He wanted it so badly, but what if he didn’t deserve it?
The window reflected back at him, showing his laying figure and narrowed eyes staring. He hadn’t changed, he knew he hadn’t as he stared into the reflection. He wanted to be a hero, the best hero that he could be… he wanted to be an underground one, to help people like him.
It would be so easy to do that with One for All… How could he say no?
That’s how Shinsou found himself inside Nezu’s office once more, a hand scratching at the skin on the back of his neck. The weird animal principal climbed up into his chair and stood, turning to look at him with his beady eyes.
“I take it that you’ve decided whether or not you want to receive One for All?” Nezu asked.
He nodded. “Yeah… I wanted to ask you some questions first though.”
“I appreciate a curious mind..” Nezu hopped onto his desk. “I’m sure that you’ve contemplated many factors in this, such as training and support systems.”
“I did… I was wondering how learning a new quirk would affect me getting into the hero course and if you and All Might would be the only people that know.”
“I’m sure that learning a new quirk will slow the process down a little bit, but with the right mentors that difference would be marginal,” Nezu replied, “There are other people that know about One for All. For example, Recovery Girl, one teacher here, and three others that you may meet. Your parents should also be informed.”
Shinsou huffed, almost a chuckle, and nodded. “Well, that decides it then… I want to receive All Might’s quirk.”
“Interesting, let me go find All Might and inform him of your choice. For now, get back to class and focus on your studies.”
---
Days later, Shinsou stood inside one of the many training gyms, full of cement and pillars. His foster parents had been informed of the situation, brought into the loop, and they had given permission for it. He had never felt more grateful for them in his life.
Now, he just had to meet with All Might and one of his possible mentors to receive the quirk.
Until then, each minute ate away at his nerves. He clenched his hands together and bit the sound of his mouth, waiting for the doors of the gym to open.
The first person to arrive was All Might, rushing through the doors with a large smile on his face.
“Young Shinsou,” All Might said as he walked over, “It’s nice to see you again!”
Shinsou nodded to him. “Do you know who we’re supposed to wait for?”
“Oh, yes, about that…”
Suddenly the door flew open and Nezu walked into the gym, his paws behind his back. Following him was another student, with wild green hair and a freckled face. His eyes were wide-eyed, buzzing around the room as if to take in every detail.
“Hello, I believe we are all here now.” Nezu waved a paw to the student beside him. “Shinsou, this is my personal student, Midoriya Izuku.”
Nezu has a personal student? Shinsou thought. The world is going to burn.
“It’s nice to meet you!” The green-haired boy dropped into a bow, a strained smile on his face.
Nezu smiled creepily. “Midoriya is very knowledgeable with quirks and has been waiting for a chance to study One for All. I think that he would be a great fit for helping you learn to master it.”
Midoriya turned red but managed to stutter out his next few words. “I promise I’ll do my best to help you!”
“Now, let us call in a teacher to catch you up!” Nezu clapped his paws. “I was thinking Aizawa!”
Midoriya hummed. “Eraserhead… is a really good underground hero and his quirk…”
Shinsou didn’t listen to the rest of the green-haired boy's mumbles, he was too caught up on one thing: ERASERHEAD TEACHES HERE?!
“Now, now, young Midoriya,” All Might said, “Let’s get back on task.”
Midoriya froze and looked up at the number one hero with wide eyes, his hand dropped back to his side and a strained smile grew on his face. “Sorry, All Might.”
“Young Shinsou.” All Might stepped forward. “Are you ready to receive my quirk?”
Shinsou looked away from Midoriya to All Might, taking a steadying breath and standing up taller. He lifted his eyes to look at the number one hero and set his face in stone.
“I am.”
“Eat this!” All Might held out his hand, a piece of hair in fingers. “You need to swallow my DNA for the quirk to transfer!”
“That… is disgusting.”
Midoriya jumped forward. “There are other ways, All Might, aren’t there?”
All Might frowned at him. “This is the easiest way.”
“Ugh, fine,” Shinsou said and took the piece of hair, “I’ll do it.”
Midoriya gave him a somber look and took a step back, looking down at his feet.
The hair didn’t taste like anything, but it scratched the back of his throat as he swallowed. With his eyes squeezed shut, Shinsou did his best to not gag. His breakfast began to climb up his throat, but he forced himself to swallow again and grimaced.
Then he opened his eyes and looked at All Might, who was staring at him expectantly.
“I don’t feel particularly different…”
Nezu made his way forward. “That isn’t that much of a surprise, considering it is new to you and it is currently still transferring.”
“Should I try it out?”
“That’s dangerous!” Midoriya stammered. “Considering how powerful One for All is, you could end up hurting yourself somehow…”
All Might glowered. “Well, he has to try it sometime, my boy.”
“Obviously, All Might.” Midoriya side-eyed him. “But if he hurts himself, having Recovery Girl on hand would be a much better scenario.”
“Midoriya is right!” Nezu squeaked. “I have already called for her, and for Aizawa.”
Shinsou’s heart leaped in his chest at the mention of Aizawa, of Eraserhead. Ever since he was a kid, he had idolized the underground hero. The way that he had been able to subvert the rules emplaced by hero society had inspired him. To think that he was possibly going to train him… his younger self would die of jealousy.
As the minutes went by, he tried to find any source of energy underneath his skin. Nothing surged, nothing stood out apart from the feeling of his own quirk. Brainwashing sat at the base of his neck, like a cord connecting his voice to his brain. While he had no idea what One for All would feel like, he was pretty sure such a powerful quirk would have a powerful effect on his body.
Yet, he felt nothing.
He shook his head and looked over to Midoriya.
The green-haired boy hunched over, with his hand to his mouth, while muttering. The words tumbled out of his mouth like a rushing river, spilling across the floor. His eyes flickered across the room, blown wide in the search for answers to questions that Shinsou didn’t understand.
Shinsou wondered where Nezu had found him and what kind of quirk he had.
Midoriya wasn’t like anyone he had ever met; simply because he was weird. Being that weird was a feat itself, in a world of quirks. He acted like a leaf about to fall, trembling as it clings to the branch, but he jumped to the situation with a purpose beyond his years.
What drove him?
The door of the gym opened.
Eraserhead stepped into the gym.
Shinsou was going to have a heart attack.
Aizawa stood with a hunch in his shoulder, his eyes scanning the entire room. Those same eyes narrowed as they flickered between All Might and Shinsou, even more so when they landed on Midoriya.
“What did you do this time, Problem Child?” Aizawa turned his stare onto Midoriya.
The green-haired boy let out an odd sound, somewhere between an embarrassed gasp and a scared yelp. His face burned red and he quickly began to shake his head, throwing his hands up in the air.
“Not me!” Midoriya said. “Not this time!”
The pro-hero didn’t look convinced.
Nezu appeared beside Aizawa, using his scarf to climb up onto the hero’s shoulder. The principal settled there before speaking.
“This is about One for All.”
Aizawa stiffened, his eyes sweeping away from Nezu’s personal student. Shinsou felt his insides freeze over as the pro’s eyes rested over him, piercing through his soul. He mustered what strength he could to keep a calm face, but he could feel the trembling in his hands and feet. His whole body was shaking.
Several thoughts flew through his head as the hero looked away. He looked down at his feet, feeling the buzz in his arms and legs. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment and pushed his thoughts away.
“When Recovery Girl arrives, try to activate your quirk.” Nezu leaned off of Aizawa’s shoulder.
Shinsou looked up at him and nodded, before forcing himself to turn to All Might. “How do you usually activate it?”
All Might puffed out his chest. “I reach deep inside of myself, to the part of me that wants to save someone, and I think SMASH! ”
Shinsou deflated, That’s not exactly helpful advice.
Midoriya seemed to agree.
“Can you explain what it feels like?” He asked. “It could help Shinsou differentiate between activating One for All and activating his own quirk.”
“Well, I… I don’t really know.”
“How did you become a teacher again?” Aizawa mused. “Look, kid, Shinsou was it?”
Another heart attack. “Yeah, my name is Shinsou Hitoshi.”
“What’s your original quirk? What does that feel like?”
Darkness loomed over him, a cold hand circled around his heart. Memories popped up before him, whispering in his ear, replaying this scenario over and over in his head. He shook his head again.
“It’s Brainwashing,” Shinsou said, “It feels like a tug at the base of my neck.”
“That’s so cool!” Midoriya gasped. “Think of the implications for hero work; it could be used to save hostages, stop villains before they hurt one, or so much more! There are so many possibilities, I need my notebook!”
Something hit his heart, he stared at the green-haired boy.
He didn’t even think of me as a villain… he thought… he thought of the way I could apply it as a hero.
Shinsou bit back the tears welling up in his eyes and looked away, the trembling returning full force.
“Indeed, Midoriya,” Aizawa said, “But right now it’s not helpful.”
“Why not?” All Might asked.
“Because it’s a mental quirk!” Midoriya turned to him with a wide smile. “Which is really cool by the way, super exciting! But that’s vastly different from One for All, which is an emitter quirk. So they’ll probably feel vastly different while having vastly different activations.”
“You know a lot about quirks, don’t you?” Shinsou rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to laugh.
Midoriya turned red. “Well…”
“That’s an understatement,” Aizawa scoffed. “I think right now it’s just best if you try to punch something.”
“As soon as Recovery Girl gets here?”
“Yeah, then hit that pillar over there. The padded one.”
Shinsou looked down at his hands, trying to imagine the feeling of One for All beneath his skin. If All Might’s explanation of it was anything to go off of, he’d guess that it would feel like energy running within his veins. He had expected to feel a river flowing just beneath his skin, buzzing through his bones and muscles, but he felt nothing.
Maybe once he activated it, he would feel something.
He glanced over at the pillar that Aizawa had gestured to. It stood in the middle of the gym, with mats tied around it. Perfect for students to punch, without hurting themselves, although not as good as a punching bag.
What the hell does UA use their money on anyway? Shinsou mused. Oh, that’s right, fixing their big media mistakes.
The thought almost brought a laugh out of him, but he focused further on moving over to the pillar and trying to claw One for All out from deep within him.
His memories spoke up again, reminding him of the moment that his own quirk had manifested and the moments that happened afterward. He looked down at his hands again.
I’ve always wished to have another quirk.
The moment that Recovery Girl arrived in the gym, he reached deep into his memories and pulled at the scars they had left. Then he punched.
All he felt was pain.
---
Recovery Girl’s office was like a community hospital room, with almost everything she needed to be a mini-clinic.
Shinsou leaned back on the bed, ignoring the ache in his arm as he stared at the wall. Using One For All had shattered the bones in his arm, he was lucky that he hadn’t needed surgery, that he hadn’t had any scars. It painted a picture though; this wasn’t going to be an easy journey. Learning to master One for All was going to hurt, it was going to take patience. He felt something shoot through him, a deep sinking in his stomach, the feeling of his throat closing up. It scared him, more than he wanted to admit.
The door opened and Aizawa stepped in.
Shinsou felt his stomach swoop as he sat up taller, thinking back to the moment that he had shattered his arm and the surprised yell the pro-hero had let out. Said pro-hero walked silently across the room, his eyes trailing over his arm before reaching his eyes. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, his capture scarf wound around his shoulders. His goggles sat loosely around his neck. His idol was everything he expected, but somehow not at the same time. He was far more quiet, far more intimidating than he had ever imagined.
“Recovery Girl informed me that you were all healed now.”
“She’s only keeping me to make sure I don’t fall asleep in class…” Shinsou shrugged. “I’m an insomniac, so even when I’m this tired…”
“I understand, I’m the same way.” The pro stood at the end of the bed. “Is it alright if we talk about what we want to do moving forward?”
Shinsou looked down at his hands, trying not to fiddle with his thumbs. “Yeah, I don’t exactly want to keep breaking my bones.”
“It will probably happen again, but we’re going to do our best to make sure it doesn’t. I spoke with All Might to learn more about One for All’s basics… from what I understand, you need to become physically stronger to handle it. We can probably make some kind of support gear for you too.”
“Sounds like a lot of working out, huh?”
Aizawa nodded. “You’ll probably need to adjust some aspects of your life, but we’ll figure that out as we go along.”
“I’m willing,” Shinsou promised, “I was when I agreed to take the quirk, that isn’t going to change now.”
“That’s good to know, kid.” Aizawa stood taller, meeting his gaze. “I’m going to ask a lot of you, not just because of this quirk, but because you’re behind my current students.”
Shinsou gulped and nodded.
“I’ll be here for what you need, you only need to call.”
Aizawa held out a slip of paper, setting it at the end of the bed. He felt tears begin to fill up in his eyes, he nodded and forced himself to look away.
“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“See you tomorrow.”
His new teacher left the room, glancing over his shoulder as he did. Shinsou wondered briefly if he had left his wild class 1A to their own devices while visiting him.
The thought didn’t last long as the door swung open again and the green-haired Midoriya came bounding in. A smile enchanted his face as he spotted Shinsou. There was a notebook cradled in his arms.
“Hi, Shinsou!” Midoriya said. “I’m glad you’re okay! I was really worried for you.”
How should I respond to that? Is that friendly? What should I do?
“Uh, yeah.”
Shinsou mentally hit himself, but Midoriya didn’t seem to notice as he took a seat next to the bed and smiled brightly.
“I brought you this notebook, it has everything I can think of when it comes to One for All.”
“Wait, really?” Shinsou jolted in surprise, taking the notebook offered to him.
He opened up the notebook, letting himself look through the pages. With each flip of a page, his heart began to lift and his eyes widened. The work was detailed and thought out, though most of it was theoretical. The first section scanned over basic and true known facts about the Quirk, then the second section dove into aspects that he should keep an eye for, and finally the third section was full of theories that went well over his head.
“This is amazing,” Shinsou breathed, “How did you do this?”
“I’ve been working on it for a while,” Midoriya admitted.
“What? How long have you known about All Might’s quirk?”
Midoriya blushed. “Let’s not worry about that.”
Shinsou frowned, but he didn’t want to push the smaller teen into uncomfortable territory. He still wasn’t sure how to interact with others, but he would do his best.
Taking a deep breath he nodded and smirked, “So, you like quirks?”
“Yeah! I’ve been studying them since I was a little kid.”
“That’s pretty inspiring,” Shinsou admitted.
“You think so?” Midoriya blushed again, immediately beginning to rub the back of his neck. “I don’t even know why I started, well actually I do, I guess it has to do with All Might? But even then… maybe with Kacchan… I just always loved figuring them out and watching people discover more about their own! They’re such a new part of society, well not that new, but considering how long humans have been around… anyways, I think that there is a lot we can learn about them! Imagine all of the things we could accomplish or create, it’s amazing!”
Shinsou blinked, wondering just how much of that he had had actually caught and retained. He forced a smile, trying to show that he was listening, even if it was a bit overwhelming.
“Well, I’m glad you’ll be helping me then, right?” Shinsou said.
“Right! Plus Ultra!”
---
Weeks passed, full of sweating hours and draining days. Aizawa had Shinsou running through more drills than he could imagine, while Midoriya had him testing out the limits of One for All and his Brainwashing. At first, he had been worried about how his insomnia would affect his ability to stay focused on their tasks, but he was left completely drained at the end of the day and always fell asleep. There probably was something unhealthy about that, but he didn’t want to bring it up just yet.
Instead, he raised another bottle of water to his lips, letting the refreshing water gloss over his throat. Sweat dribbled down from his forehead, sliding along his chin as he leaned back against the cool wall. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the buzz of One for All fall quiet beneath his skin.
“That was really good!” Midoriya called. “According to this reading, you put out far more energy than ever! That explains the lightning by the way, just as I suspected…”
A waft of pride shot through him and he felt himself begin to smirk. Quickly he pushed that thought away, I don’t want to become like all those condescending jerks.
“Do you have anything else you want me to try?” Shinsou pushed himself from the wall. “I’m almost beat, but I could go another round or two.”
“Hmm, maybe… Well, I’ve been thinking about a few things.”
“Yeah?”
“All Might has an American boxer fighting style, but you’re being taught more of Eraserhead’s style.” Midoriya opened a new notebook, starting to scribble on a page. “I was wondering how you could implement One for All into it, in a way that gives you maximum use of your quirk.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, like… using One for All for balance or for footwork, rather than just punching and kicking.”
Shinsou blinked. “I never really thought about that… but they do take a lot of strength and muscle memory, right?”
“Yup!”
“We could ask Aizawa about it, he can probably point out muscle groups in certain fighting styles.”
He scoffed. “He’s probably busy with those jerks from 1A. Why is it that people with strong quirks are always assholes?”
Midoriya looked up from his notebook, his pencil coming to a stop. “I don’t think that’s very fair, Shinsou.”
“What?” He scoffed, feeling something hot shoot through his chest and up to his neck. “Are you really going to tell me that Bakugou isn’t an asshole with an easier life because of his quirk?”
“Don’t talk about him like that.”
“I’m not wrong though.”
Midoriya’s pencil snapped in half and his green eyes beamed into his soul. His heart skipped a beat, but he raised his chin to meet the green-haired boy’s gaze. He felt something hot pool into his chest, he felt his hands clench. His memories of his middle school came back to him, of all the people that had treated him terribly for his quirk.
All of them had a better quirk than him, a heroic quirk.
All of them had treated him like he was less than shit.
“You are wrong,” Midoriya replied after a moment, “people aren’t assholes because of their quirks.”
“Oh yeah?” He scoffed and raised an eyebrow. “Having powerful quirks makes them think they can get away with everything, so they do what they want without a care. That’s why people with strong heroic quirks are assholes.”
“Really, is that really what you think?” Midoriya scoffed. “Sure, quirks can be connected to personalities at some level, but they don’t determine a person’s moral fiber.”
“Sure, whatever.” Shinsou crossed his arms, the heat rising to his throat. “Tell that to everyone they discriminate against, just because their quirk is weaker.”
“Shinsou, don’t talk to me about quirk discrimination.”
“So what? You probably have some kind of strong quirk, how else would you have become Nezu’s personal student?” Shinsou turned his back on the green-haired boy, remembering the kids that had looked down upon him. “If anything, you shouldn’t talk to me about quirk discrimination.”
He heard movement behind him, the sound of a backpack unzipping and a pencil case closing. When he turned back around, he saw Midoriya packing his bag and standing up. His heart skipped another beat and he narrowed his eyes.
“You’re leaving?”
Midoriya didn’t answer him, only turned and began to walk to the door.
The raging anger in Shinsou’s chest began to fade, to only be replaced by a deep sense of confusion. He glanced back at the mess across the gym and bit his lip, alarms ringing in his head. Then he looked back at the green-haired boy.
Midoriya stopped at the door, he looked back at him but didn’t meet his gaze. “Shinsou.”
“What?” He hated how full of venom it sounded, how angry he was at his only friend.
“When you think that someone is an asshole because they have a strong heroic quirk, you’re doing the same thing when they think you’re a villain because of your quirk.”
Then he left, the door closing behind him with a soft click.
Shinsou felt the noise echo through him, shaking him to his core. He shuddered and shook his head, turning back to clean up his stuff.
---
He didn’t see Midoriya until two months later when the end of the school year drew closer. The green-haired boy had resorted to sending him emails, rather than talking to him face to face.
What he had said to him still echoed through his head, bouncing around in the back of his thoughts as he sat in class or as he trained with Aizawa.
It felt like he would never see Midoirya again, and get to tell him that he had thought about what he had said. Until one day the green-haired boy walked into the gym, carrying a large bag with him as he did.
Shinsou looked up, startled at his appearance during the lunch hour. “What are you doing here?”
“I figured now was the best time to give you this stuff,” Midoriya said with a nod to the bag, “You have a bad habit of training during the lunch period.”
“What’s in the bag?”
“Support gear.”
Something grabbed Shinsou’s heart, squeezing his chest tight. He frowned at the bag, feeling his hands form fists by his sides.
In the months since Midoriya had walked out on him, it felt like he hadn’t made any improvement. He could barely use One for All still, let alone learn to harness it in his fighting styles. His dream of being a hero never seemed further away, if that was even possible.
He wasn’t good enough on his own, now he needed support gear…
“Whatever,” Shinsou said as he walked over.
Midoriya glanced at him, frowning, before opening the bag and pulling its contents out. A pair of boots, gloves, and a thin capture scarf.
Shinsou took a deep breath and picked the items up, letting himself examine them. His eyes kept catching on the capture scarf, pulling at his heartstrings and bringing up whispers of his childhood. He closed his eyes, remembering the nights he had spent at his window… hoping to see a glimpse of Eraserhead running by.
Even if he never had, he always swore that he had seen him once.
“Test them for a bit,” Midoriya said, “I’ll take them to get adjusted afterward.”
Shinsou slipped the boots and gloves on easily but hesitated when he reached for the capture scarf.
He had One for All now, but he didn’t feel like a hero. The capture scarf, was he even really worthy of it?
“I think I’ll wait on the capture scarf,” Shinsou said, “I want Aizawa-Sensei to be here for it.”
“That’s fair, he is a master with it.”
Shinsou turned back to the gym, holding up his hands in a fist. “What do these do?”
“The gloves should help support your arms so that you can use One for All at a higher percentage. Also, along with that, they help with something called Air Force. Basically, it’s when you hit the air, preferably with a flick of your finger, and cause a pressurized airwave.”
“All Might mentioned something like that before…”
“Yeah, I had to figure that out for myself, but I spoke with some support students and we figured this would help the best. Try it at somewhere between fifteen and twenty percent.”
Shinsou raised his hand, aiming it in front of him and moving to flick his finger. He imagined raising One for All to a higher percentage, letting it come to life around him. He took a deep breath, then flicked his finger.
At first, nothing happened, then there was a loud bang from across the gym and dust lifted up from the ground, spewing about as if a strong wind had gone by. He gasped, looking down at his hand. Holy shit.
“Good job.” Midoriya appeared next to him. “Next, your boots. They also should support One for All at a higher percentage. However, they can also absorb some of the force of you jumping around and release it when you kick something. They’re made partially of iron.”
He opened his mouth to reply to the boy. Shinsou wanted him to stay longer, not because he helped him become a better hero, but because he was the first person he considered a friend.
Then the door swung open and a blond-haired hero student stepped in.
Red hot rage shot through him and Shinsou turned to yell, to demand to know why he was here and interrupt them, but he didn’t get the chance.
“Deku!” Bakugou’s voice echoed across the room. “Is this where you’ve been hiding all day?”
Midoriya turned bright red. “Kacchan! I’m busy!”
Kacchan?
Bakugou glanced over at Shinsou and scowled. “Quirk stuff again? Lame.”
“It’s not lame.”
“Whatever.” The blond turned, walking over and looming over the green-haired boy. “I know you skipped breakfast this morning, what do you have to say for yourself?”
Midoriya stammered and looked away. “Nothing, Kacchan.”
“Then you better get your ass to the cafeteria before Lunch Rush stops cooking, dumbass.”
“Okay!” Midoriya began to pack up his stuff, eying the support gear Shinsou wore. “I will, I promise.”
The blond scoffed at him once more, before turning and storming out of the gym. The door slammed behind him, shaking the walls.
Shinsou took a deep breath. “You’re friends with that jerk? No wonder you were angry at me before.”
Midoriya’s head snapped to him, his eyes glaring once more. “No, I was angry at you because you implied he was an asshole because of his quirk. He might be an asshole, but I knew him before he had his quirk, so I know he’s been an asshole his whole life.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.”
“Can you please stop being so rude to him?”
Shinsou looked down at the ground and bit his tongue, taking a moment to sort his thoughts. Then he began to take off the support gear, taking a deep breath with each movement. He could feel Midoriya’s gaze on him as he did, searing into his bones and pulling at his nerves.
Sadly, he knew that this was his last chance to tell Midoriya what he had been thinking about.
“I’ve thought about what you said…” Shinsou set the support gear to the side. “And you’re right.”
Midoriya blinked at him.
“I’m prejudiced,” Shinsou admitted, “I’ve been beaten down and discriminated against, it makes me hate those with powerful quirks. I blame them for… for almost everything, if I can.”
“I understand, I’m the same way sometimes.” Midoriya picked up the support gear. “I’m working on not thinking like that… I know it’s wrong. They aren’t the problem, it’s the societal norms and structures that were created before they were born that are the problem.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t help that most of them don’t recognize it.”
“Some do though, like Kacchan. He knows he only got into the Hero Course because of his quirk, not because of who he really is. I’m proud that he knows that, I hope more people learn to understand that in the same way that he does.”
“I don’t think that will happen, Midoriya.” Shinsou shook his head and let himself sink to the floor, taking a seat.
He thought back to all of the people who took advantage of the systems created years ago, of all the people who were beaten down because of those same systems. Quirk discrimination was more than just name-calling and acceptance, it was much deeper rooted and harder to understand problem. One that a lot of people didn’t care about, because why would they change something that they grew up with? Something they already understand at its face value?
“I disagree.” Midoriya stomped his foot, causing Shinsou to jolt and look up at him. “I know it’s unachievable to see complete change in my lifetime, but if I can be the spearhead that pioneer’s that change, I would be more than happy.”
His eyes widened as he stared up at the green-haired boy, who stood with a determined face and light on his back. He looked like a hero.
“You really… really believe in that?”
“I do.”
“That’s… that’s really cool,” Shinsou admitted, “I guess I didn’t really understand you before.”
“No, you didn’t, but that’s okay.” Midoriya zipped up his bag. “I changed the way you thought about it, didn’t I? Therefore, I can change the way others think about it too.”
“Damn, you’re right… I’m really sorry about how harsh I was being before. You were right, it wasn’t fair… and I was mimicking the behaviors of those who treated me like a villain for my own quirk.”
Midoriya looked at him, then he smiled wide. A smile that could transcend existence, one that could stop a war. “I’m glad, thank you.”
“So… Can we be friends again?”
“Yeah, I’d like that… but if you ever try to condescend me about quirk discrimination again, I will punch you.”
Shinsou laughed.
---
“I wish you had met him!” Kaminari said, years later, flopping onto their shared bed. “Midoriya was so nice, he’s nothing like Bakugou.”
Shinsou reached over, pushing his hand through his fiance’s hair and humming gently. “So, did I win my bet?”
“Oh yeah, by a landslide!” Kaminari pushed into his hand. “He’s a quirk scientist and analyst, he’s very passionate about it. Kinda reminds me of how passionate Bakugou is with hero work.”
“And I thought you said he was nothing like Bakugou.”
“Hey! Well, mostly!”
“I’m glad you enjoyed meeting him.”
“I’m glad I met him, he really mellows Bakugou out.”
A laugh broke away from him before he could stop it. “Bakugou? Mellow? Don’t make me laugh.”
“He does! And he calls him Kacchan. Like, how cute is that?”
“It sounds to me like you want a cute nickname.”
“I’d die on the spot if you gave me one.”
Shinsou turned and smirked at him, feeling the familiar buzz of One for All just beneath his muscles as he leaned close to his fiance. He pressed a kiss to his cheek, then his nose, then his lips.
“I’ll have to surprise you then, my love.”