"I thought I told you to take care of yourself! How on earth did you manage to worsen your wounds Midoriya?! You were supposed to rest! Now they're going to take twice as long to heal." Recovery girl scolded as she fussed over him. She changed the bloodied bandages and cleaned his wounds, applying new dressings once she was done.
"I'm- I'm sorry" He apologized weakly, voice low and tinged with guilt. He gave no explanation as to why he came this morning with additional injuries and bruises worse than the previous day. He'd been too tired and in too much pain yesterday to change his bandages, he hopes coming here wouldn't prove to be a mistake.
Recovery girl seemed to look him over suspiciously. Deciding that she had scolded him enough, she finished wrapping up his injuries and gave him a quick peck on the forehead. The aching he'd been feeling seemed to lessen. Leaving in its place a bone-deep sense of tiredness and drowsiness. His energy instantly seeping away. He gets up from his seated position on the infirmary bed and makes his way towards the door. He lingers by the exit, looking back sheepishly, he thanks the heroine for her healing and hopes that he managed to show her the sincerity of his gratitude.
The elder woman waits a couple of moments after he left and promptly takes out her phone to make a phone call.
Izuku walked up the hall to his classroom. His visit to Recovery girl's office took more time than he had anticipated, he ended up missing his morning class. He could already hear the buzzing of his classmate's voices through the door, their excited and happy chatter probably louder than they'd intended. Gathering whatever resolve he had left he opens the abnormally large door to his classroom. As soon as he walks in, all eyes turn his way. You could have heard a pin drop as a deafening silence falls on the room. However, as abrupt as it came it was quickly interrupted by an outburst of exclamations from many of his classmates all at once. They all gathered around him, rapidly bombarding him with questions and expressing different emotions, varying from worry to praise.
"Midoriya! You're back!" A girl with pink skin and horns on her head exclaims. He thinks her name was Mina Ashido, she had a quirk that could let her produce acid from her body.
He doesn't have time to actually respond as a series of different greetings interrupt him.
"We were worried about you dude! One moment you were fine and the next thing we knew the screens went dark!" A blonde guy with black, lightning shaped strands in his hair yelled." My name is Kaminari Denki by the way!"
"Kirishima Eijirou! A boy with spiky red hair called out, he recalled him to be the guy with the hardening quirk, he had the ability to harden his body into a sturdy rock-like material. "You were so manly out there! You took out Bakugou and destroyed that building like it was nothing!" He grins up at him. His teeth, despite their sharpness and originally intimidating appearance, radiate nothing but kindness and friendliness.
"Ahh..." He tries to form some kind of response but his mind seemed to have short-circuited at all the positive emotions directed at him. It's stunning, to say the least. He's come to be used to the constant negative emotions and malicious intent directed towards him. He can't help it now but feel overwhelmed. He's just so confused. All his life he'd been raised to believe that he's nothing more than a burden. Worthless and useless to those around him, he didn't deserve any kindness. So why were they being so nice to him now? Didn't they know how pathetic he was? What made them believe that he was worth anything. His mother was right. He was nothing more than a nuisance. His heart rate spikes up at the thoughts going through his head, the rest of the chatter turning to static in the background as he slowly worked himself into a panic attack.
Thankfully Iida seemed to notice his predicament and decided to step in. "Give him some room. You need to be considerate of your classmate's personal space!" He shouted, his posture stiff and hands moving in a shopping motion.
His classmates realized their mistake and quickly stepped back, guilty expressions on their faces. Izuku took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves and internally scolding himself for his reaction.
"I- It's nice to meet you guys, s- sorry for ruining the exercise for you." His voice barely a whisper amongst the uproars around him.
"Deku!" his posture stiffened, his body tensing up automatically at the nickname. He had to remind himself that Kacchan wasn't here." You're okay! oh my god Deku. You can't believe how scared I was!" Uraraka called out as she ran towards him. He barely had the chance to react before the brunette engulfed him in a bear hug, her arms tightening around him as if she couldn't believe he was actually here.
"Indeed Midoriya. I must apologize for not coming to your aid sooner. You gave us quite a scare." Iida continued, his voice firm but his eyes swirling with many emotions. Recovery girl mentioned that they were the ones that found him, Apparently, Iida had stayed with him through it all.
"N-No Iida, I should be thanking you. They told me you were the one that helped me when I was injured." He bowed as much as his wounds let him, trying to convey his gratefulness.
Iida accepted his thanks and wished him a speedy recovery. Of course, he then prompted the rest of the students to take their seats and wait for Aizawa-Sensei to get here.
Homeroom went fairly smooth after that, Aizawa announced that they were going to elect the class president and to everyone's delight and Izuku's surprise and discomfort. He had four votes. Coming up first next to Yaoyorozu, the girl with the creation quirk, who had three votes.
His classmates had chosen to elect him? why would they do that? Was it some kind of joke? He couldn't dwell on it though, as the class bell rung and they had to go to lunch.
The cafeteria was bursting with noise and motion, groups of people scrambling around trying to get their food and find someplace to eat with their friends. Izuku froze at the entrance, his anxiety acting out at the thought of being in a crowd. He didn't like feeling trapped. It reminded him too much of the dark box. He panicked internally when a voice called out to him from one of the nearby tables.
It was Uraraka, she was waving at him, her excited and bubbly demeanor making it impossible for him to ignore her.
"Hey Deku! Come sit with us!" she shouted from across the room.
He nervously walked over to her table. Iida, Kirishima, and Asui were also there. Asui was a very straightforward girl until now. She, like him, had green long hair. Her quirk giving her the characteristics of a frog. She seemed like a very nice person.
"Hey Midoriya!" they greeted in unison. "congratulation on the position class pres.!" Kirishima added with a smirk.
"H- hey guys... about that, I actually don't think I'm suited for the job. I don't know who in their right mind voted for me." He laughed nervously rubbing the back of his neck.
"None sense! As one of the people who voted for you, I can assure you that I think you all perfect for the job. You have very good analyses and from my experience at the battle exercise, I believe you are capable of acting graciously under pressure." Iida spoke up, his tone firm, leaving no space for doubt or discussion.
"Yeah man, you'd be a great class president! That's why we voted for you" Kirishima continued, gesturing at the rest of the table's occupants. The ones in question giving affirmative nods in response.
Izuku's eyes widened in disbelief. Were they serious? Did they really all vote for him? Even Asui?
"What-I- I don't know what to say, you guys." He teared up, what did he do to make them believe in him so much.
"I think you'd make a very Good class president Midoriya-chan, you were pretty cool yesterday. Ribbit." Asui stated, her face neutral of any expression.
"T- Thank you Asui" He hoped the smile on his face reflected the emotions he felt.
"You don't have to thank us Midoriya-chan. We did what we thought would benefit the class best. call me Tsuyu by the way, were friends, now aren't we?" She replied bluntly.
"Okay, Tsuyu" His face heated up at the informal greeting but he thought it was worth it if it meant he had a new friend. His giddiness grew at the thought.
The conversation continued, they discussed normal topics, variating from favorite foods to hobbies but they were interrupted by the deafening sound of the school's alarm.
"INTRUDER ALERT! BREACH OF SECURITY ON LEVEL THREE. PLEASE REMAIN CALM." A mechanical voice rung out of the speakers distributed around the room.
Of course, the first thing people do when they're warned to remain calm is simply the opposite. In a matter of seconds, the whole cafeteria is found scrambling towards the door, people pushing each other and knocking into one another. Izuku and the rest of his tables occupants are no better, Iida urges everyone around him to remain calm but his voice is swallowed by the cacophony of the bursting noises that surrounds them. They are immediately separated from the group as people begin to push them.
He feels trapped, his body's being knocked around by the students around him trying to force their way through the crowd. His vision blurs and his breathing quicken. He's hyperventilating now. IT'S JUST TOO MUCH. He feels like he's back there again like he's still trapped in the void. He's not standing in the middle of the cafeteria anymore but he's trapped inside the dark box again. Clawing his way out, his nails dig in the refrigerator's metal frame, fingers bleeding from the strain. He needs to get out of here. He's suffocating. He needs to breathe.
Suddenly a familiar voice is heard. It grounds him and reminds him that he's not in there anymore. He's not trapped. He's at school, surrounded by his new classmates. Friends he reminds himself. Iida's voice gets him back to reality. He follows it and finds his friend floating by the cafeteria's door, probably a product of Uraraka's quirk. He's in a weird position, trying to right himself with the doorframe. His figure vaguely reminding him of the emergency sign.
"Calm down! The intruders are simple reporters! There is no reason to panic! We are UA students! Behave like the elites you are! Some of you are future heroes! You need to live up to that. Now please exit in a fashionable order!" He calls out to the students.
The people in the cafeteria finally quiet down at the mention of the press and the evacuation goes smoothly afterward.
Izuku stands in front of his classmates. They're in class now, having settled down after the chaos that went on in the cafeteria. Izuku asked Aizawa if he could make an announcement.
Now, standing in front of twenty pairs of eyes, all looking directly at him with curiosity. He thinks that it may have been a mistake. A miscalculation on his part. However, he needs to do this. It's only right after all. With renewed resolve and determination, he looks ahead and speaks up.
"I- I t- truly appreciate that some of you thought I'd make a good class president, but after what happened in the cafeteria today. I believe that someone else is better suited for the job." His eyes sweep across the classroom and lands on Iida. They make eye contact as he says the rest of his announcement. "I think Iida is the right person, he not only remained calm in today's chaos but he also managed to assure the rest of the students and organize the evacuation. I believe he should take my place." His voice begins small and uncertain but the more he talked the firmer it got.
The class seems to agree and they back up his statement, they somehow gave Iida the nickname exit sign Iida. turns out he wasn't the only one that saw the resemblance. Iida thanks him profusely and accepts the position, promising to live up to the class's expectation.
Unknown to them, it wasn't the reporters that managed to turn the front gates to dust. Somewhere out there, a dark and shadowed figure is sitting on a bar stool, speaking to an unknown figure through a monitor. They're planning something. They managed to get the information they needed today, using the press as a diversion. Soon the symbol of peace shall fall.