Izuku hesitantly stepped up to the open gates of his school. He shouldn't be afraid anymore - he had Shouta, and Hizashi and Hitoshi! And he was ten now, more than old enough to handle a few minor insults... right?
His birthday and Hitoshi's birthday were joined together for one big party. Shouta had tried to contact Hitoshi's parents but they simply said they'd allow him to attend, and that was it. So Shouta and Hizashi paid for everything and surprised the two boys on the 11th - not exactly in the middle of Hitoshi's (1st July) and Izuku's (15th July) birthdays, but it was still between the two, and that's what made the boys happy more than anything else.
Hitoshi's foster parents gave him some strange vibes, but Izuku pushed them aside for now. After all, he's only known Hitoshi for about a month, even if they spent their birthdays together.
While the day itself was long, it mostly consisted of giving gifts, playing board games, and eating food before relaxing on the couch with a few movies. Izuku got some hero merch and some notebooks, and Hitoshi received some cat plushies from Hizashi and Shouta.
Izuku and Hitoshi made each other friendship bracelets for each other for their birthdays and swapped them on the 11th. Now, standing in front of the school that had tormented him for so long, Izuku consecutively wound the bracelet around his wrist for confidence.
He could do this.
---TimeSkip---
As Izuku walked into his new classroom, he realised he couldn't do this. The teacher decided it was a good idea if he moved Izuku's seat to be in front of Bakugou's. So kind.
Izuku sighed, realising he couldn't stay out of Bakugou's sight forever, and sat in his seat.
"Hey, Deku is here already!" He heard a loud voice screech, and he flinched away from it. It wasn't Bakugou but was one of his lackeys. He stomped over to Izuku, who at this point couldn't do much more than quiver in his seat and slammed his hand on Izuku's desk.
"Aren't you excited to be spending this next year with us?" He said, cruel laughter filling Izuku's ears. A few silent tears trickled down his cheeks, knowing he's probably going to be hit in the next few seconds.
"Well? Answer me!" The lackey yelled, before smacking Izuku across the face. He then laughed, realising Izuku was crying. "Wow brat, you're so weak. Maybe we should toughen you up, huh?"
As he continued to attack Izuku, eventually more lackeys entered and were pleased to join in their favourite sport - picking on Izuku.
Eventually Bakugou walked in, and the lackey's approached him.
"Hey Bakugou! Cool we're in the same class, huh?" Bakugou simply growled, and stalked further to his desk, pausing when he saw Izuku.
"What'd you do to him?" He growled.
"Simply were teaching him some manners. Don't worry, we left his forehead clean for you." One of the lackey's piped up, a smirk on his face. Bakugou nodded.
"K... Kacchan?" Izuku whispered, looking up at Bakugou, tears continuing to roll down his face. Bakugou froze, as anger slowly burned within him.
"DON'T TALK TO ME, SHITTY DEKU!"
And Bakugou threw the next punch before everything descended back into chaos.
---TimeSkip---
As Izuku left the school, Shouta was waiting for him by the gates. Bakugou shot Shouta a confused, and slightly concerned glance, before stomping away, glowering at Izuku, who flinched yet again. Shouta noticed.
"... kid."
Izuku kept his head down.
"Izuku."
He flinched.
Shouta sighed, crouching down to Izuku's height. Once he did so, he noticed the bruises starting to form on Izuku's cheeks, neck, and head. While Shouta couldn't see them, he could only assume there was more on Izuku's chest and arms and legs.
"Who... who did this to you?" He growled. Izuku lowered his head.
"N - No one... I just... fell out of a tree during recess."
"Like hell you did." Shouta said, causing another flinch from Izuku. "Kid, I trust you and I love you, but this is ridiculous. I'm not combatting what you said because I don't trust you - because I do - but because I know you. You're the sort of self-sacrificing person who'd give their life to spare someone else of a single punch. I doubt you'd ever tell me the truth here."
He sighed yet again, picking up Izuku.
"I - I'm heavy." Izuku said, concerned.
"You're never too heavy for me, Problem Child." Shouta said, adjusting his grip on Izuku. "It's quite obvious you're not going to fight for yourself kid - so I'm going to fight for you."
Izuku gasped. Fight... Fight for him? No one's ever... done that before...
"You... you don't have to do that Dad." Izuku cried into Shouta's neck. Shouta paused, realising Izuku had called him 'Dad' and felt a surge of happiness flood through him, followed by anger. Something really bad must've happened for Izuku not to realise what he said.
"Yes I do." Shouta said, before walking into the school, Izuku clutching his chest.
Hey! Two chapters in one day - awesome!!!!
Also - we're almost at 5K! That's amazing! Thank you all for your amazing support. We've passed 20 chapters and this story is nowhere NEAR done XD - if you want a rough estimate I planned to conclude the story shortly after the Sports Festival in the anime. And right now that's about 5 years away XD
Written 7th January
Also! I've started a new fanfiction, a Miraculous Ladybug one called Stay by my Side. This story is my top priority, but I will update SBMS when I can 😊
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all again soon!
But for now...
Peachy out! 😊