Insomniac Club (ShinDeku)

Arcade

Stars glittered overhead in defiance of the light pollution. The plane engine above broke the near silence of waves colliding against the shore. Busted microwaves and battered tires formed mountains upon the beach. Red sneakers dug into the sand as Izuku craned his neck. The jittery hum of the airplane rang through his head like laughter. The same taunting sound followed him through school hallways.

He yearned to ram his index finger into his ears, anything to drown out the noise so similar to the rumble of explosions – but Izuku's hands were a little preoccupied. Years of All-Might merch piled up in the cardboard box nestled in his arms. The posters were crinkled and torn from when he had ripped them off the walls the day of the sludge villain attack. The chibi keychain of the number one hero made the mantra Izuku has been telling himself every day resurfaced. You can't be a hero without a quirk.

Clutching the box, he waded into the ocean. Water sloshed around in his sneakers with every step. He would probably fuss over the mold that would fester in his shoes for the next few days, but in that moment he did not care. He reached for an All-Might hoodie and tossed it a few meters in front of him. Socks. Games. Books. With each sunken piece of memorabilia, Izuku's head grew lighter. The revelation on the rooftop was drowned by the splashing before him. Sure, getting rid of his belonging was dramatic – but that was hardly out of character. After all, he cried literal waterfalls for God's sake.

A groggy voice behind him said, "Littering at 11 pm, huh."

The box plummeted from Izuku's hands as he stumbled backward. As he hit the sand pain shot through his head. Wincing, Izuku rubbed the back of his skull and cracked his lids open. A boy stood above him with purple hair that rivaled Izuku's disheveled green locks. Dark circles framed his eyes he smirked and held a hand out to Midoriya.

Blushing, Midoriya accepted the boy's offer and stumbled to his feet.

"Right. Sorry, I really should have been more considerate. Global warming has gotten out of hand enough as it is, and we don't need more pollution than there already is. I'll go fish everything out right away."

Shinsou placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Leave it be. This beach is gonna be a dump either way."

Izuku shook Shinsou off and marched toward the sea. "No, I need to fix up my mess. After all, 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean annually – not to mention other kinds of trash. It wouldn't be fair if the sea life had to suffer just because I decided to do some...spring cleaning."

"True." Shinsou kicked a stray can. "Though I doubt most people would consider All-Might trash."

Midoriya's cheeks lit up red. "He isn't. I don't think so. I swear. He's the symbol of peace, so wouldn't insulting him be an attack on the idea of peace itself?"

"Sure. But you did throw his merch away."

"I aged out of my All-Might craze, okay."

"I can respect that. He's always been too flashy for my taste," Shinsou said.

"I suppose though I don't see why that would be bothersome."

Shinsou's eyebags deepened as he let out a sigh. "It's kind of obvious. He sounds like a broken record. It's always I am here. We get it. How about instead of being here you go away and shut up for a goddamn minute?"

Izuku smirked. "So what you're saying is that the catchphrase freaks you out."

"No. Yes. Whatever. It's unnatural – no real person can have that much enthusiasm twenty-four-seven."

Izuku scrunched his eyes and angled his smile to the edges of his cheekbones. Leaning in toward Shinsou, he belted, "I AM HERE."

Shinsou flopped over onto the sand and covered his ears. He kicked at Izuku while the scrawny boy drew close with the All-Might impression still etched onto his face. Swatting Izuku away, Shinsou laughed, "You are the worst."