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Something is wrong with Midoriya.
Tenya is… concerned, to say the least. He has no right to be, given he has only known Midoriya for a few short days, but the Midoriya who sits in his desk barely shares a resemblance to the boy from yesterday.
Where yesterday, Midoriya had been a bright beacon of knowledge, his mouth moving miles per minute as he analyzed his new friends' quirks, this Midoriya is silent. He stares straight ahead, does not turn to look at his friends when they enter the classroom, and seems rather… distressed.
Tenya is from a long line of heroes, dating back nearly a hundred years. Back then, most quirks were weaker, but spirits were higher. More people wanted to make a change, to make others feel safe. It’s why his great-great grandparents founded Iidaten.
So Tenya has grown up with heroes - his parents, his brother, their numerous sidekicks who are the glue that holds the agency together. He has learned not only to save a person physically, but to reach out and help save their minds as well.
Despite this, Tenya has no idea how to possibly help Midoriya. He’s still as a statue, and it does ring some alarm bells. He almost considers that Midoriya has been replaced by a villain - but U.A. is a prestigious school, and their security system is nothing to laugh about. So this unfamiliar figure, this quiet and subdued Midoriya, cannot be anyone but himself.
This is why Tenya is concerned. They have a special rescue training with All Might today - while Aizawa-sensei has not told their class, his brother has mentioned Aizawa’s tendency to throw his classes into the deep end in the first week. If Tenya’s brother told him, Tenya has no doubt that All Might has told Midoriya as well. In which case it makes sense for the boy to be nervous , not whatever odd caricature he displays now.
Unless there is something more going on - perhaps something in Midoriya’s personal life. It’s not implausible that perhaps something has happened in his family in the sixteen hours since he last saw Midoriya, but the boy shows no emotion, his face carefully set in a facade of calm confidence with just a touch of fear.
But whatever is going on in Midoriya’s personal life is none of Tenya’s business, and the boy would undoubtedly be more upset by Tenya’s prying, so he resolves to find another route of help.
It’s quite a secret that Tenya grew up around Aizawa-sensei. The man was starkly different in the classroom than in his own personal life, having babysat Tenya occasionally through his childhood. That had been surprising - how his babysitter, who often poked and prodded at him to bend the rules just a smidge, had threatened to expel a student on the first day.
Despite the circumstances, he knew the man could be trusted. Once homeroom was over, he would get the teacher’s attention and relay his concerns.
At least, those were his plans, before Bakugou burst through the door, head wildly swinging as if on a hinge, before making long and deliberate eye contact with Midoriya. Midoriya, whose gaze had not wavered from the board at the front of the class in nearly a half-hour. Midoriya, who had nearly been attacked by Bakugou not two days ago, then once again attacked quite brutally yesterday.
Tenya doesn’t know what to expect when the two gazes clash, but the last thing he expects to see from Midoriya is relief, overflowing from his eyes where tears trace down the side of his face.
“Kacchan,” he whimpers, whines even, and the loud, explosive boy is near silent as he stalks to his desk, dumping his own backpack on the ground and grabbing Midoriya’s hands. Tenya is about to intervene when Bakugou speaks.
“Deku. Was that… real?” His voice is rough, as if he’d woken from a particularly distressing nightmare that morning. His palms, red as a cherry, back up the theory. Tenya can almost imagine him waking, screaming, his palms crackling and nearly setting his bedding on fire.
Something is wrong with Midoriya and Bakugou.
Class begins, Aizawa beating the ethics of heroism into their heads, but for once, Tenya is inattentive. Instead, despite being at the front of the class, he keeps his head turned, eyes boring into the two boys. Bakugou is similarly facing backward, hushed whispers with Midoriya as they discuss something Tenya can’t hear. He’s not the only one who notices it - Jiro’s ear jacks are swiveled pointedly at the two, and Shoji is not subtle in his own listening in.
Even Aizawa, unsurprisingly, takes notice of the two’s distraction. He leaves them be, seemingly content in the fact that the two seem to be getting along, not so much at each other’s throats.
The tense atmosphere receives a shot of adrenaline the moment Jiro raises her hand.
“Sensei, are we going to the USJ today?” Both Midoriya and Bakugou’s heads snap to face her, blood draining out of their faces so quickly they look like spectres of themselves.
“We are,” the man drawls, “and where did you hear this information?”
Jiro turns to look directly at both boys, whose eyes are wide in what is either fear or surprise. Tenya has a difficult time distinguishing which, especially on Bakugou’s face, who he’d only seen a constant expression of rage on.
“And how did the two of you find out this information?” Aizawa’s hair begins to float as he glares down at the two of them. Midoriya opens his mouth and a strangled noise comes out, as if he’s trying to speak, but someone is holding him off the ground by his throat.
It’s then that Tenya realizes that, while neither boy is acting like themselves, they can’t be villains in disguise, leaving the only option to be -
“Sensei, I believe Bakugou and Midoriya must be under the effects of a quirk!” He shouts, standing from his desk. His arm slices through the air towards the two. “Midoriya has been subdued and quiet, almost still, all morning! Bakugou, despite his actions in the prior two days, has seemed to almost have developed a camaraderie with Midoriya overnight. This sudden change of attitude could indicate a quirk being used on both of them.”
Aizawa sighs, running a hand down his face. “Figures,” he sighs again, as if nothing will take the weight off his shoulders. “Midoriya, Bakugou, are you under the effects of a quirk?”
The two boys lock eyes for a long, silent moment. Then, Midoriya turns back to Aizawa and lifts his chin, only for his head to snap side to side in a pantomime of a no. Bakugou slams his hands on Midoriya’s desk, muttering just loud enough for Tenya to hear, “Okay, so non-verbal is out, what about writing?”
“Tried that already, Kacchan. No dice,” Midoriya replies, equally as quietly. “Sign language is also out.”
Aizawa looks concerned, now - more so than earlier, when he just seemed exasperated. “Let me get this straight, the two of you are under a quirk which is limiting your methods of communication?”
“No,” comes the chorus of voices, sounding frustrated in their own response.
“You’re not under a quirk?” Aizawa clarifies, raising an eyebrow.
“We’re-” Midoriya cuts off, choking again, struggling to say something, and Tenya feels so helpless. “-not.”
“Right. Tenya, could you escort Midoriya and Bakugou to Nedzu’s office? I expect he’ll want to hear all about this quirk that isn’t plaguing our two troublemakers. Come back as soon as you’ve dropped them off.”
Midoriya squawks at the comment, but makes no move to deny what is, in reality, pretty true. He and Bakugou have caused trouble on both days of their school year. Tenya nods, face set in determination. “I will escort them with the utmost priority, Sensei!”
The boys share a considering glance before Bakugou grunts, shrugging toward the door. Midoriya grabs his bag, dashing out of the classroom, Bakugou and Tenya following in suit. Tenya is silent for a majority of the walk, mulling over the last hour in his head. Eventually, he speaks, voice soft.
“Midoriya, you know if something is going on, I’ll do my best to help you, right?” Midoriya’s eyes shine with unshed tears and he sniffles.
“Don’t go,” he says, quietly.
“Sensei specifically instructed me to return to class-” Midoriya cuts him off.
“No. Later. Don’t go later.”
Tenya searches for whatever hidden meaning may be in Midoriya’s words, then nods. “Okay, Midoriya. I’ll stay behind later.”
Midoriya looks relieved, so relieved he begins to cry again as they approach the principal’s door. It swings open without knocking, the principal standing at the entrance. “I’ll take them from here, Iida. Thank you for bringing them here. You may return to class now.”
Tenya nods, mulling over Midoriya’s words as he departs. Don’t go later , the boy had said. Tenya will honor that promise, he decides. He’ll stay after, waiting to hear what odd quirk has befallen his classmates. As he returns to the classroom, his classmates are gathering their costume cases, Ashido excitedly bouncing in her seat.
“We’re doing rescue training!” Uraraka tells Tenya as he returns excitedly, her eyes betraying her nerves as she glances back at Midoriya and Bakugou’s empty seats.
“It’s important for heroes to be well rounded,” Tenya replies, “We must do our best in this training so that when we have our licenses, we’re prepared for whatever might be thrown our way!”
“Yeah!” Uraraka exclaims, pumping her fist in the air. “Let’s be heroes!”
Her excitement is enough to chase away any of Tenya’s lingering concern as the class heads for the buses. Tenya takes his class representative job as seriously as he can, especially knowing that it could be the difference between a good job when he graduates and a less preferred sidekick position. He forms a line for the bus, letting each student on one at a time, trying to shake the confusion and unease that Midoriya’s comment left lingering in his mind.
He takes the seat next to Aizawa as he boards, leaning over to speak quietly to the man. “Midoriya has requested I stay late today.”
“Hm,” the man grunts, pulling out his bottle of eye drops and administering them carefully. Tenya is no stranger to quirk backlash, his own Engine occasionally leaving him bedridden for days after overdoing it. “May I accompany you to the principal’s office after training?”
“Sure,” the man says, looking every bit as exhausted as Tenya feels from the events of this morning.
The bus begins to move, causing a jolt in Tenya’s stomach. He swallows down the feeling, trying to steady himself. “...Do you think Bakugou and Midoriya will be alright?”
“Focus on your rescue training,” Aizawa advises, “Midoriya and Bakugou will be fine as long as they’re with Nedzu. They may miss out on training, but I’m sure you’ll give them the cliffnotes when we return.”
“Yes Sensei!” Tenya says. It’s an exuberance he doesn’t quite feel in the moment, distracted by the odd sensation in his stomach. As they approach the USJ, the feeling crests. Casting a glance around the bus, he can see he’s not the only uneasy one - even Uraraka is clutching her stomach, brows furrowed.
The bus comes to a complete stop just outside of the doors of the USJ, and Tenya nervously directs his classmates off the bus. As they move through the doors, it’s clear that everyone is feeling unsettled at the very least. Tenya stumbles into the building, the feeling in his stomach increasing in intensity until it almost feels like it’s pulling him away from this place.
Someone gasps, drawing his attention from himself and outward, towards the plaza. The gasps spread contagiously from one student to another as a dark portal begins to open, villains streaming out into the plaza.
Oh, Tenya thinks, Midoriya didn’t mean after school.
Sensei springs into action, and Tenya is falling through the same portal that opened into the plaza. He uses a burst from his engines to turn himself around mid-air, and finds himself stories above the ground, plummeting. As he hits the ground, bones shattering, the tugging finally turns into a pull, and Tenya wishes he could have just one more chance before his vision abruptly plunges into darkness.
The classroom is nearly empty as Tenya enters this morning, save for two students. One whose cheeks are stained with tears, and the other who looks ready to burn the world.
Something is wrong with Midoriya.