Chapter Text
It feels like middle school all over again; his name floats around the class and passing glances are thrown his way. He feels like he’s being left out all over again.
Izuku is scared, he thought UA was supposed to be different. He's made friends, he has a quirk, and hell he works with pro heroes on a day-to-day basis but now? His friends are doing stuff without him which is ok. He does stuff without them too sometimes but they keep talking about him. Whenever he tries to talk to anyone about it the person he's talking to either 1) freezes up 2) trails off and starts a different conversation or 3) giggles… fucking giggles.
Did they find out he was quirkless and didn't want to be friends anymore? Did they find out about the bullying and taunts? Do they hate him? Did he do something wrong? Izuku doesn't know, but what he does know is he doesn't feel safe. They keep away from Izuku, he can tell especially when they look to check if he’s following them. They purposefully walk away when he tries to talk to any of his friends and they sit at a different tables.
At least the teachers are still acting the same, Kacchan too. He isn't being marked any lower than he should be and they still answer his questions the best they can even when he rambles on. They correct his posture in training and give him helpful tips on how to smooth over his attacks. Kacchan is acting the same as always too, other than maybe sticking a little closer to him in training. It's nice that at least he can depend on them while most of the class pushes him away.
The planning is going smoothly for the rest of the class; they have banners ready, presents wrapped, and cake to be picked up!
“Deku’s gonna love~ this party! We’ve worked so hard on it and got everything laid out for the big day! ”
Uraraka beams talking to the rest of the self-named ‘Deku-Squad’ as they huddle around the kitchen island.
“Yes, this party should be quite satisfactory. Especially for such a big birthday”
Iida waves his arms up and down as he speaks, causing the rest of the small group to giggle.
“Yeah, kero, this is surely a party to remember, kero. I hope he doesn't mind that we did all this for him though, kero, he can get a little anxious about big things like this, kero. ”
Tsu adds on, her tongue sticking out of her mouth just a smidge. Uraraka thinks for a second before throwing something out.
“Tsu’s not wrong about that last part though… I hope he doesn’t mind but asking him would take away the surprise element of the whole surprise party.”
They sit in silence for a moment before Bakugou barges into the kitchen space.
“Tsu’s right about the whole anxious thing, you just gotta play your cards right so he doesn’t go full-on freak out on you guys about the whole thing. Now get out, I'm cooking dinner for you assholes. ”
The ‘Deku-Squad’ shimmies their way out into the common areas where most of the class sits like always, some are studying for some test in Yamada’s class, a few play games together, and others sit on the couches and just talk. The only thing out of the ordinary about this scene is that Izuku is nowhere to be seen.
Izuku hides in his room letting his thoughts flow, on his notebook paper, on his arms, and on his walls. He really should be studying or doing something productive but his thoughts keep him glued to the chair where he sits. He’s still in his uniform from school hours before but he can't seem to gain the strength to take it off and put something else on for his free time.
A knock at the door startles him into quick movement. Tossing off his uniform and into one of his favorite shirts and a pair of pajama pants and opens the door. Bakugou stands outside his door looking bored, Bakugou does a quick glance at the state of Izuku and his room before talking.
“I made katsudon tonight ‘cause you’ve been off… I know I'm not the best person to talk to but if you need it I'm here. But anyway, get your ass downstairs, food will make you feel a bit better... At least for tonight.”
Izuku’s eyes lit up at the thought of Bakugou making his favorite food to help cheer him up.
“Thanks, Kacchan I really appreciate it… thanks ”
He flashed a sunshine smile at Bakugou and then preceded to bolt past him
“Bet I can beat you to the kitchen Kacchan!”
At that, Bakugou jumped into action trying to catch up to Izuku, His loud voice booming as he ran.
“The fuck you will!”
Izuku giggled as he hit the stairwell trying and failing to slide down the rail twice before Bakugou entered the stairwell screaming-
“Get back here you broccoli bitch!”
Izuku screamed, resorting to sprinting down the stairs which was not a good idea seeing as when Bakugou caught up to him, he tripped and fell bringing them both tumbling down the rest of the stairway. They cracked up making their laughs travel up the stairway and echoed back at them making them laugh even more tears sprouted from their eyes before they got to calm down Iida came sprinting to the stairs.
“What are you doing? This is very un-hero-like behavior!”
At those words the pair laying at the bottom of the stairwell cackled only standing back up after a glare from Iida, still gasping for air Izuku spoke.
“That was great! We need to do that again sometime but for now, we need to call a truce, I am far too hungry for any more of this right now. ”
Iida finally left to go back to whatever he was doing before and left the two to sort the ‘battle of the stairs’ out.
“Fine, but next time I am totally kicking your ass!”
They made their way into the kitchen to get dinner, and Izuku giggled at Kacchan’s words.
“Sure you will, Lord Explosion Murder God Dynamite, Kacchan.”
Bakugou almost dropped the pork he was picking up from how hard he snapped his head to the side.
“My hero name is amazing, shut the fuck up.!”
Food in hand they eat in a comfortable silence at the kitchen island as their classmates filter in grabbing the food, thanking Bakugou, and heading out of the kitchen area. Once everyone has grabbed a plate Izuku finally pipes up.
“Why is everyone acting so weird, they won't talk to me… it feels like middle school all over again…”
Bakugou Grimaces, thinking a moment before speaking.
“I don’t know Deku… I'm sorry about middle school. By the way, I know by now it means nothing but still, I'm sorry.”
Izuku's eyes glisten with tears as he smiles,
“You’re right it is a bit late for an apology but still, thank you… it means a lot that you finally said sorry, you've grown a lot.”
Bakugou puffs but lets his face rest in his small smile.
“Yeah I have, don't let this make you think I'll go easy on you during training though asshat.”
Izuku jumps up from his seat and falls into a quick fighting stance.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Kacchan! ALL FIGHT!”
Bakugou jumps up and tackles Izuku to the ground, they wrestle around for a moment, and this gains the attention of some of their classmates most carrying confused and worried faces before stopping to laugh at their antics.
“We haven't done that in forever, thanks Kacchan.”
They stand to clean their dishes, and their classmates go back to what they were doing. Izuku may hate how his class is treating him right now, but at least Bakugou is at his side this time. They chat for a while longer before heading up to their dorms for the dorm's quiet time.
Izuku checks his go-bag making sure he has everything he needs then glances at the calendar. His birthday is coming up; He is going to be 17 soon. 14 he met all might and was bullied, 15 he was a UA student, 16 he was at war, and 17 he would be on the run from his classmates all over again.
Izuku hates it.
Things were better here. Why the sudden change? Kacchan was better. The teachers were better. But why was the rest of his class suddenly turning on him? He didn’t know, and he didn’t plan to find out.
The surprise party was tomorrow and class 3-A was buzzing with excitement! The cake was picked up, last-minute presents were wrapped, and balloons were ready to be filled. The class clambered around the ‘Deku-squad’ checking to make sure everything was in line with the plans they had laid out, this was until Aizawa walked in to start homeroom. The class went on as usual with a few extra remarks from Aizawa to keep side conversations outside of his classes. The class was basically vibrating even the more shy characters in the room seemed unable to sit still. Aizawa looks at the class flashing his red eye as a quick warning to the class to quiet down, then he proceeds to sigh and speak.
“I don’t know why you are all so hopped up today and frankly I do not care. I am far too tired for this so use the rest of this as study time, and don't wake me up. ”
The class seems stagnant as their teacher slips into his normal spot in the corner and snuggles down. Once Most of the class is sure he’s asleep they burst into movement and noise causing the yellow caterpillar in the corner to shift causing everyone to quiet down a bit but continue on with their chats.
“I can’t believe we get to do this for him-”
“Deku’s gonna be-”
“What did you get-”
Izuku shrinks at the sudden uptake in noise and then even more at the sound of his name. Why do they keep talking about him why- Bakugou turns in his chair to Izuku Causing his quickly spiraling thoughts to come to a pause.
“Oi nerd, stop thinking so loud, we got a test to study for and I sure as fuck don’t wanna do that with the dipshits so your the next best bet.”
Izuku smiles shakily before pulling out his notebook for their Algebra 2 class and a pencil.
“Thanks, Kacchan your right let's get a head start on that”
Bakugou throws his own notebook onto his desk before they start up their studying; helping Izuku let his mind slow down a tad. The same routine he had built on over the last month or so continued today, classes went on, he sat with Bakugou at lunch, Heroics was challenging, the class avoided him, and he started his walk back to the dorms alone. He hates it. He was done with it. He wanted to be-
“Young Midoriya! This an early present for your birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday by the way!”
All Might's voice boomed over Izuku’s thoughts causing him to startle some.
“Hey All Might, you know you didn’t have to!”
His mentor chucked before handing the gift to Izuku.
“It’s fine, I wanted to anyway. You deserve a present after all the hard work you’ve done this last year, take it, as a token of my appreciation.”
Izuku glowed at the older hero flashing his brightest smile
“I- Thank you All might! I know I'll love whatever it is.”
With a slight opening of Yagi’s arms, Izuku comes in for the hug, cuddling into the larger man as a hand plays in his unruly green curls.
“Of course Young Midoriya, I'll be here whenever you need me.”
All Might eventually let go when Bakugou and his friends start walking near them. After another bright smile is thrown All Might's way, Izuku runs up to Bakugou to talk about the upcoming exam in Ectoplasm’s class.
Izuku crawls out of bed after staring at the ceiling for too many hours and grabs his go-bag, his toothbrush, and the present all might gave to him off of his nightstand and tucks them safely away into his bag. He double-checks to make sure the dorms are silent before he jumps into the night all while mumbling a quiet 'im sorry' into the breeze.
The class wakes up before the sun rises to get Izuku’s surprise party fully set up. The cake is on the kitchen table, gifts are piled neatly in the common area, banners are tied up high on the walls, all while balloons float around the ceilings and drift around the floor. The time comes and passes too fast according to most of the class and after 20 minutes of waiting for Izuku to come down after the time he normally does Bakugou is sent up to his room to pull the birthday boy from his room to show the party they had worked so hard to set up.
He isn’t there.
Izuku.
Is.
Not.
There.
Bakugou sprints down the stairs screaming.
“He’s gone! Izuku is fucking gone.”