Finally, the end of the semester was near. Just a few weeks till graduation and the 3rd years of Aldera High were moving on to high-school. Many were hyped for summer vacation, while others pondered on what high-school they were moving on to. Though, for the students in class 3-B, that wasn't the case as the mass of the students were sure of the future profession they were chasing after: Pro-heroes.
A lot of teens had already begun training to get into their desired hero school, including Katsuki and (Y/n), who's quirks had improved severely compared to their first year. The two had already turned in their forms for the famous hero school, U.A. to their homeroom teacher, but they weren't the only ones.
The freckled boy Izuku, although quirkless, also had the dream to get into U.A. Had. Nowadays, he's not too sure as he'd watched his friends progress and develop. Getting stronger. Moving on. Without him.
Along with the pressure of trying to get into the top hero school with no quirk, bullying for the boy had gotten a lot worse in his third year. Unfortunately, both (Y/n) and Adelaide had gotten moved to different classes, meaning that Izuku was left alone. With Katsuki. The number of times that he'd come back to class to see his own damaged or destroyed items, or went home with-easily concealable-bruises was concerning.
Steadily, Midoriya's mental health was deteriorating by the day. He only held onto the hope that it'd get better in high-school. Secretly, he hoped that Katsuki wouldn't get in and it'd just be him and (Y/n). But that reality was unlikely as the male, once again, didn't have a quirk. A power. Something that made him strong. Yet the boy could dream, and dream he would as the school year neared it's end. For now though, he'd just have to get through a school day.
Much to his relief, the familiar chiming of the lunch bell had just rung out through the halls, indicating a small moment of peace with a certain medium. Nowadays, she was the only hope he held onto if he wanted to keep his sanity, but lately, to Midoriya, it seems like they've been drifting apart. Not that it was (Y/n)'s fault. If anything, she was the main one trying to keep the bond strong between them, but the rift was growing stronger. Maybe the fact that they were in seperate classes came to play? Nonetheless the two would try to hang out as often as they could with their new schedules.
Walking to his locker, Izuku's mood dimmed further upon noticing that it was already open, the-now broken-lock on the ground and a gigantic burn mark around the metal it was latched on. Crossing his fingers, the freckled male winced as he peered into the locker, his green eyes landing on his packed lunch, or at least what was left of it.
The lunchbox it was in had been torn apart, and inside lay little to no food compared to what his mom, Inko, had made him that morning. Whatever wasn't eaten, had been smushed or crumbled, making a mess of his locker. Thankfully though, none of the food had touched his books and the mess was relatively easy to clean. Though, as he worked to rid of the mess of his locker, Izuku heard quiet snickers from various passerbys. He paid them no mind as he threw it away and headed to the rooftop to meet (Y/n), hunger growing with every step he took.
Silently enjoying her food, (Y/n) enjoyed the peace she had on the rooftop of Aldera as she waited for Midoriya. The girl didn't have to wait long as the familiar sound of the large door opening disturbed the silence.
Peeking her (e/c) eyes open, she smiled brightly at said boy's direction and waved him over to the bench she sat on. "Hey! Zuku!" She called out to him, noticing his sluggish behavior as he walked over. Sitting down, Izuku released a long sigh and leaned forward, resting his face in his hands, earning a worried look from the medium as she placed a hand on his back and rubbing it slightly, not noticing him flinch slightly. But Nanashi did. "Hey, you okay?" (Y/n) asked, observing her hunched over friend with a concerned gaze before she noticed something. "Hm? Where's your lunch?"
She didn't expect such an instant response as the taller boy shot up, rubbing his neck as his emerald eyes darted around. "O-oh! I must've forgot it at home," he lied, sweating from the analyzing pairs eyes that pierced him. The boy was taken by surprise as a Scooby-Doo-themed lunch box plopped onto his lap. "You can have the rest of mine then!" (Y/n) chirped, smiling at Izuku, who flushed and shook his head. "What? N-no, I-I can't ta-take your lunc-" "You're not taking it silly, I'm giving it to you. I'm not even gonna finish it anyway," The (h/c) haired girl shrugged nonchalantly before standing.
Izuku looked at her with a curious glance to which she just winked. "I'm gonna go grab a drink from the vending machine. You want anything?" The quirkless teen shook his head and the girl hummed. "I'll be right back then." With that, (Y/n) began to walk away, leaving him alone with a lunch and a dead boy.
Staring at the box that sat on his legs, Midoriya noticed that it was just about full of food, seemingly untouched. The boy sighed, a small smile adorning his face as he murmured, "I don't deserve her." Chewing on a sandwich, the male's brows furrowed as a small voice piped in from his head.
'You don't deserve anything.' Unlike, what you'd expect, this voice wasn't unfamiliar to the green haired male. Infact, it was always there, in the back of his head, ready to pick on him when his tormentors weren't. The boy recognized it as his own as it grew louder near the end of his second term, when the bullying had begun to get worse. Sometimes, he was able to just ignore it, but there were days where the sun didn't shine and darkness prevailed. Today was one of those days. Setting down the leftovers of the food he'd begun to eat, Izuku closed (Y/n)'s lunch box and thought back, 'Maybe you're right...'
"So, as third-year students, it's time to start thinking seriously about your futures. I'll pass out handouts for your future plans now, but.." Midoriya's new blond teacher, Mr. Tsuneo had begun to touch on the upcoming subject of his students' futures, but trailed off as he took the thick stack of papers he'd pulled out, and threw them up in the air, laughing as he continued. "Why bother? You're all pretty much planning to go into the hero-course, right?"
The rest of the classroom erupted into cheers, showing their quirks off for all to see. Well, two students were an exemption from this group, being Katsuki Bakugo, and Izuku Midoriya, both of which, strayed from the competition in the spotlight for two different reasons. As Mr.Tsuneo had begun to calm his class down, a scoff from the blond was heard as he called out to the older man. "Teach! Don't lump us all in the same group! I'm not gonna be stuck with the rest of these rejects!" He spat out the last part, looking pointedly at a certain Green haired male, who shrunk deeper in his seat in fear. No one seemed to notice the boy, or care for that matter as the class focused on the cocky blond, shouting disagreements at him, not that he cared to listen. "Shut up extras!"
"Oh! That reminds me!" Changing the subject, the blond man was once again able to calm his rowdy class down as he spoke. "If I remember correctly, you're tying to get into U.A. High, right Bakugo. And so the cycle repeated. Class 3-B just couldn't keep quiet as the teens surrounding said male broke out into chatter, stunned at the fact.
"U.A.? That national school?!"
"It was in the top 0.2% this year, you know!"
"Their acceptance rate's always really low, too!"
"That's exactly why it's the only place worthy of me," Katsuki claimed, cutting into his classmates' murmurs. All eyes turned to him as the male jumped up from his seat, landing on his desk and pointing a thumb to his chest. " I aced the mock test! I'm the only one at this school who could possibly get into U.A. I'll definitely surpass All Might and become the top hero! My name'll be inscribed on the list of top earners!" He declared arrogantly, getting many stares of awe as the class had been stunned to silence. That is, until Mr.Tsuneo decided to speak up. "Oh yeah! Midoriya, you wanted to go to U.A., too, right?"
The mere mention of his name made the boy want to disappear as all eyes landed on him, some more scornful than others. The room was silent for a moment before abruptly bursting into hysterics all at once. Peers laughed and pointed at the quirkless boy as they all looked down on him, mocking his dreams as he desperately tried to hold back tears.
" Midoriya, you're kidding right?"
"There is no way you're getting into the hero course without a quirk."
"Uh-Actually, th-they got rid of that rule!" A sudden burst of courage flowed through the timid boy's veins as he stood from his desk, looking at his classmates with a wavering gaze. They only continued to laugh as the boy was blown away, landing harshly on his back with a grunt. Sitting up, Izuku groaned as he rubbed the back of his head, feeling several bruises forming on his backside. Fearfully, he looked up and met the eyes of his childhood "friend", who glared at him with disdain and pure hatred as he remarked. "Listen up Deku! You're even worse than these damn rejects! I'm not even competing with you at this point you quirkless nobody. Do you really think they'd accept you when they can have someone like me instead?" The blond smirked cruelly as the boy at his feet cowered away, scooting back from where he lay on the ground as he tried to defend himself. "Wait, you've got it all wrong! I-I'm not trying to compete against you or anything! It's just been my dream since we were little.." 'You should know that..' He thought, his quivering voice dying out as he continued. "I know I don't have a quirk, but it can't hurt to try.. right?"
Katsuki scoffed as he, and the rest of the class loomed intimidatingly over the smaller boy, smoke emitting from his palms as he retorted, "Try?! Are you taking the test for fun or something? You'll never be able to hang with the best of the best! At this point, you'll die in the exams Izuku."
As the class continued to jeer and mock the poor boy, he put his head down, letting a shadow cast over his eyes as he bit his quivering lip whilst trying to hold back oncoming tears that threatened to slip from his jade eyes.
'That doesn't sound like such a bad idea...'
From the class of 3-A, several students jumped in surprise, looking up from their work and to the back wall as a muffled explosion went off in the other room. One of these students including a certain (h/c) haired female, who cast a worried glance to her un-dead friend, who met her eyes with an unwavering gaze, but didn't say anything. Looking away, (Y/n) then turned her eyes to the inside of her desk, where her lunchbox sat, barley touched.
The girl was slightly disheartened when she found that Izuku hadn't eaten the lunch she made. Truthfully, she'd noticed the lack of food he'd often have when they met up at lunchtime, and she'd began to grow worried, so purposefully, she made two lunches, ate her own, and made it look like she only had one when she offered it to the male.
Though, it wasn't just his meals, or lack of, that she was worried about. (Y/n) also noticed his change in demeanor overtime. She'd known how Midoriya's natural nature was usually bashful or timid, but lately, he was coming off as more reserved than usual. Like he was trying to shut her out. It was strange, but deep down, she knew he had his own reasons. But something about it just rubbed her the wrong way.
Lost in her own thoughts, the girl jumped when a paper ball hit her on the forehead, landing on her desk. Looking around, she missed the snickering face of Nanashi as she met the expecting, chocolate brown eyes of Adelaide, who gestured for her to read the note before turning back around in her desk. Pouting, (Y/n) stuck her tongue out at the girl and picked up the crumpled piece of paper. 'I'm sure midoriya's fine. Finish ur work before mr.renzo catches you spacing out >:(' The note read. It was like Adelaide had read her mind and was there to soothe her.
Coincidentally, loud laughter was heard from the freckled teen's class, as if to back up the transfer's claim. That was enough to soothe the girl's nerves as she sighed in relief, focusing her attention back to the work laid in front of her.
And so, the final bell rung for dismissal and hallways had begun to crowd fast. Some students, however, lingered in their classes for awhile longer, packing their bags or talking to friends before they went home.
This category of students was not limited to Izuku, who was occupied with packing his yellow bag as he was beyond ready to go home. The boy was mentally drained and humiliated from the events that occurred throughout the day and didn't think he'd be able to handle another confrontation. After that scene in the last class period, he'd run off to the bathroom to cry, and could still feel the slight puffiness of his eyes as he grabbed books from his desk, his hand pulling out the all too familiar Hero-Analysis he'd been working on for a while.
Just looking at the notebook sent a small surge of hope through him as he flipped through the pages slowly. That good feeling was ripped from him as a hand snatched the book from him. Midoriya's eyes widened and he grimaced as his green eyes met a familiar pair of crimson ones. Dangling the notebook above his head, Bakugo glared at the boy and spat, "I don't know what you're doing, but we're not done talking yet, Deku."
The blond's lackeys soon followed up behind him, snickering as one asked, "Huh? Is that his diary?" Though, the other got a closer look at the title and rolled his eyes. "You're really trying to take notes on how to be a hero? How pathetic," He stated. "Fucking delusional.." The bully's counterpart trailed off.
Izuku sighed, reluctantly reaching out a hand to Bakugo. "Can I just get it back please?" He asked, already knowing the answer. What he didn't see coming, was the red-eyed male setting off an explosion to the book, damaging it severely. "No!" The boy shrieked, standing up and looking at the trio with a gaping expression. Once again, Izuku held tears as he watched Katsuki toss the book out the window behind him, continuing to stare at him with a cruel gaze as a slight smirk addressed his features. "Most first string heroes show potential early on. People look at them and just know they're destined for greatness. When I'm the only student from this garbage junior high to get into U.A., people will start talking about me like that. They'll realize I'm legit, the next big thing," He monolouged, ignoring his trembling victim and slightly aggravated minions, who only rolled their eyes from behind him.
Putting a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder, Katsuki half-activated his quirk on him, displaying a smile full of ill-intent as they made eye contact. Tightening his grip on Izuku's already steaming shoulder, Bakugo gave the downhearted teen a warning. "Here's a word of advice nerd: Don't even think about trying for U.A. Or else." Izuku whimpered as the three began to make their way out the door, fists clenched by his sides as he let hot tears spill from his emerald colored eyes. However, Bakugo stopped at the door, landing the finishing blow to Midoriya's mentality as he added, "You know, if you wanna be a hero that badly, there's a quick way to do it. Believe that you'll be born with a Quirk in your next life and take a last chance dive off the roof!"
The door then slammed shut, yet Midoriya could hear their boisterous laughter echoing down the halls as he grit his teeth. Vigorously wiping the tears from his eyes, the teen sniffled, running a hand through his curly hair as his thoughts wandered to various places; none of them being good. One thought spoke loudest amongst them all. It was the voice from earlier. It rang throughout his head as he shook in place.
'He's right. You wanna be a hero right? Maybe you should listen to him. Kacchan is your best friend, right? He only wants what's best for you..'
The light dulled from Izuku's eyes as he took in a deep, ragged breath. Making up his mind, the boy turned around. Walking to the door, Midoriya opened it and made his way to the rooftop. . .
Artwork used not mine
Lmao a cliffhanger. But yeah, here's the new chapter. More angst to come so beware of the next chapters, cause I'm gonna be touching some sensitive topics. That is your warning. I'm working on another story and trying to finish school-work atm also, so updates may be delayed. That's all for now. Thank you all for reading!
-M.M.