"Oh, and I was lying about expelling the student who came in last," Aizawa had said with a cheeky smirk. "It was simply a rational deception, to ensure you all gave it everything you had."
You kept replaying those words over and over in your mind, going through the motions of the day on autopilot. To anyone else it seemed as though your half-lidded eyes were glazed over with an ever present apathy, but internally you were going through the five stages of grief.
You trudged back into the locker room to change clothes along with the other girls.
Denial . There was no way that the professor of such a prestigious institution would be so quick to fabricate a story to his students. Right? How the hell were you expected to have any sort of integrity in this man or his word now? Rational deception, my ass. You are a liar , sensei!
Yaoyorozu was going on about how she'd guessed that Aizawa was being deceitful from the very start. Her arrogance was well deserved (it's obvious she's brilliant) which only made it that much more annoying to deal with.
Anger . What gave Aizawa the right to play with your emotions like that?! This was your future as potential heroes we were talking about here! He didn't even apologize for that unnecessary falsehood. Hell, he barely batted an eye. The man didn't seem to care at all! Maybe you should give him a piece of your mind.
The pencil in your hand snapped clean in half, and you wordlessly added it to the pile of broken writing utensils stacked on your desk. That was your last one. Ah well, not like you were taking notes anyway. A few of your classmates cast worried glances in your direction, but you were too consumed with your thoughts to take notice.
Bargaining . Although… this did mean that you weren't going to be expelled from UA in a shame filled display after all. The quirk assessment test scoreboard had been clear as day, its results haunting your every waking moment. You came in dead last, after Hagakure and Midoriya.
The green haired boy was still in the infirmary after his little kamikaze stunt. The invisible girl sat beside you at lunch, talking animatedly while you ate silently.
Depression . Truthfully, that's what upset you the most; had the consequences of that assessment been real, you'd be on the first train back home, expelled from uni on your very first day. The disgraceful reality of that fact twisted your stomach in tight knots.
You vomited the contents of your lunch into the bathroom toilets before rinsing your mouth out in the sink. You stared at your haggard reflection in the mirror through bleary, tired eyes. Your reflection stared right back.
Who are you?
Who do you want to be?
Acceptance . Fine, as it stands you were at the bottom of the class. But that meant the only place you could go from here was up! Sure, your classmates and professors might underestimate you from here on out, but that just meant it'll be all the more satisfying when you blow them out of the water with your improvement. There was no way you were giving up, not when you had this second chance. It was time to push yourself, it was time to go beyond!
"PLUS ULTRA!" You blurted out suddenly, slamming your fists on your desk.
Judging by the late afternoon sun streaming through the window, class was just dismissed for the day. A few students were startled at your outburst, and you sunk in your seat, wishing for the floor to swallow you up, but most of your peers echoed cheers right back at you.
"HELL YEA!" Kirishima's pointy shark teeth gleamed. "I'm pumped now! Even the sleepy girl is gettin' all fired up!"
"That's right, let's show 'em what Class 1-A is really made of," Kaminari and Sero fist bumped enthusiastically.
You sighed in relief, relaxing in your seat. You'd forgotten how strange everyone else in your class was, too. With newfound determination, you slung your bag on your shoulder and made your way out of the building. Just before you could cross the threshold, someone called out your name.
You're half expecting it to be Hagakure complaining that you didn't wait for her, so you're already gearing up for something sarcastic to say in reply. Which is why your breath hitches when you spot bouncy green curls and freckles bounding your way. Your body stiffens automatically, and you contemplate just making a run for it, but your deliberating takes too long and he's standing over you in no time at all. The stinging humiliation you felt before comes rushing back to you so powerfully that it almost makes you keel over. Your score: 20th, last , burns so brightly in your mind that you're unsure if it will ever fade away. You can't meet his eyes and instead find your gaze glued to his finger, no longer broken and purple, instead newly branded with a jagged pink scar.
"A-ah, don't worry," Midoriya said quickly, flexing the digit. "It barely even hurts anymore! Recovery Girl fixed me right up, but she also kinda yelled at me."
You didn't know what to say to that, so you stayed silent. Midoriya continued rambling, and when you spared a glance at his face, it was still plastered with that wobbly smile. But why? Isn't this the part where he says how much better he is, how much stronger he is, how you're lucky they even let you into this school? There's no way anyone could be so kind, so genuine, so sickeningly sweet. This had to be part of his ploy. An elaborate scheme for you to let your guard down.
When he noticed your pointed stare, Midoriya flushed a deep scarlet and stammered profusely. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, clenching his fists. You winced. Here it comes—
"C-can I w-walk you home?" He blurted, voice pitched up an octave. "O-or to your dorm room? Wait, I don't mean it like that! I just— whether you're on or off campus, then I'd like to escort you." He holds up his unbroken index finger. "M-My mom taught me to always offer if I see a girl walking around campus alone—"
"Why?" Your voice was barely above a whisper as you interrupted his speech.
He frowned. "Well, safety of course. There are all sorts of unsavory types—"
"No," you shook your head. "Why are you being so… nice to me?" Your eyes locked onto his scarred finger once again. "You're strong, even if you pretend like you're not. So why align yourself with someone weak, unless you're just trying to make yourself look better—"
"Weak?" The genuine shock in his tone made you finally snap your gaze up to his. Green eyes shined down sadly into yours, but with an air of understanding not pity. "Is that really what you think of yourself? Did you forget that you're the one who saved me ? If it wasn't for you…" His eyes flitted back and forth between yours, searching for an emotion you didn't dare name before quickly averting his gaze with a nervous laugh. "A-and All Might of course! Without you two, I wouldn't even be here… I'm sorry that someone made you feel as if you couldn't help people with your quirk. I know what that's like."
Your lips parted, eyes widening up at him in surprise. It was as though he'd dusted off the cobwebs that had collected over your heart after so many years, switching the old organ back on for the first time in a very long while.
Finally, it clicked in your head. The two of you must be like two sides of the same coin. While you'd grown up suppressing your quirk for fear of hurting others, he must've grown up suppressing his for fear of hurting himself . Now that he was here in a carefully controlled and monitored environment, clearly Midoriya was hell-bent on mastering his quirk, driven forward by his unwavering determination to become a Pro hero.
You owed it to yourself, to your mother , to do the same.
This boy… he was many things. Dorky. Socially awkward. Even now, he was stuttering and overthinking about what he'd just said to you, apologizing for possibly overstepping. Yet for any negative trait you could conjure about him, there were a dozen more positive qualities pouring out of him. Courageous and resolute. Kind and genuine. Thoughtful and considerate. Strong yet unfathomably humble.
He wasn't even a hero yet, and he was already inspiring to behold.
"I'm staying in the dorms," you finally broke your stunned silence, effectively bringing Midoriya's ramblings to a halt. "If you still want to walk me, that is."
He smiled brightly, the ever present blush on his freckled cheeks darkening. He nodded and hummed in response, moving to hold the door open for you. The cool breeze rustled your hair as the two of you walked outside, heading towards the dormitory.
"Are you gonna hold my books, too?" You asked with a teasing smile.
"O-oh sure!" He replied instantly until he saw the look on your face. "Wait, you're messing with me! That's mean."
"Sorry~" You stifled a giggle, deciding to spare him. "Are you living on campus, too?"
"No," he sighed. "I wanted to, but my mom burst into tears at just the thought. She loves me a little too much, ya know?"
"Ah," you tried to keep your tone even, light. "It's a good problem to have."
Perhaps Midoriya sensed your mood shift, because he quickly continued, "At least now I can tour the dorms. It was mostly the reason I asked to escort you."
You scoffed with dramatized indignation, hand to your chest. "And here I thought a future hero was prioritizing my safety!"
He laughed, the look in his eyes telling you that he was only getting payback for before. The two of you walked in a comfortable silence for a while until he spoke up again, a thoughtful expression on his boyish features. "I read that the dorm rooms are personalized for each student and can even accommodate their quirks… Hmm, I wonder what yours looks like."
You put a gloved hand to your mouth, scandalized. "Are you trying to say what I think you are, Midoriya-kun?"
His entire face erupt with color as he sputtered and shook his head. "N-n-no!! I didn't mean— not like that! I just meant, with your quirk and all, I bet it's really cozy!"
You had to bite your lip to keep from grinning. His purity, his innocence, it brought out a sick and sadistic side of yourself that you didn't even know existed. Clearly he was raised to be a gentleman, but somehow that just made it even more fun messing with him— especially when his reactions were so cute! It made you curious, though. What would it take, if anything, to make him abandon his carefully constructed morality and fall victim to his most carnal desires? What would he look like falling apart in front of you? The image of him flushed, drooling, and panting popped into your head, and you sighed in content. You had to school your debauched thoughts from your mind as the tall dormitory came into view.
"Well, with my quirk, it's easy for me to fall asleep anywhere— even standing up," you stated simply. "So I didn't need anything extra in my dorm. Through direct physical contact, I can put others to sleep, too."
"I see!" Midoriya's eyes twinkled. "At first I thought you had some sort of paralyzing quirk when you used it on the sludge villain. But I remember you saying 'it's sleeping now'. Back then I thought it was just your cutesy way of saying you'd knocked him unconscious." He beamed at you. "Wow, so you're really like a sleeper agent!"
So many thoughts came rushing to the forefront of your mind at once. You still weren't used to someone reacting so enthusiastically to your quirk. It wasn't very flashy, and there were so many limitations. Not to mention you've only recently started using it intentionally, so you were still figuring out quite a lot. Even so, his praise made you squirm a bit. Also that's definitely not what a sleeper agent is. But above all else… cutesy ? Your face grew warm at that.
"Whoa," Midoriya gasped at the five story building towering above you. "I'm so jealous!"
"Maybe you can convince your mom to let you stay next semester," you offered as he held the door open for you.
He made a noncommittal sound before slipping off his shoes and bouncing around the common room with childlike wonder. By the time you'd removed your own shoes, Midoriya had already complimented the kitchen, living area, and the courtyard. There were legit stars in his eyes. It was your first time seeing the dorms too, but he had more than enough excitement for the both of you. You watched him enthuse about the most mundane of features (yes, Midoriya, that is a very fancy espresso machine!) until a yawn ripped through you.
His eyes found your tired ones from across the room. "Ah, I should probably get out of your hair."
Your feet were already shuffling to the elevator. "I thought you wanted to see inside a girl's room?"
"That's not—!" He huffed but followed you with a pout. "Don't say it like that."
You hummed with a bemused smirk, punching the fifth floor button. There seemed to be only a few people on this floor, and it didn't take long to find the door marked with your name. A few small boxes sat outside your door, and you recognized them to be the few small things you'd brought from home. Midoriya offered to carry them inside as you unlocked the door, but you both gasped as it swung open.
"I-I think they saw my quirk and got carried away," you started in awe, "but I'm not mad at it… wow."
The dorm was bigger than your room back home, complete with its own bathroom, fridge, and balcony. There were fluffy clouds covering the ceiling that glowed with a soft ambient LED light. Your bed was round and impossibly soft as you sat down on it, cloud shaped pillows piled all around. Shelves adorned the walls equipped with incense and succulents. A simple desk sat in the corner beside a lily shaped record player. There was also a huge beanbag set up near a well stocked bookshelf.
"Wow is right," Midoriya set the cardboard boxes down on your desk. "It's like the ultimate nap room!" You watched him subtly as he took in the surroundings while you unpacked the boxes. "So you have a green thumb?"
You hesitated slightly before answering. "My mom did. Succulents are harder to kill, so I thought I'd give 'em a try."
He hummed softly, continuing to peruse the shelves. You pulled a vinyl from the box and placed it in the record player. As the music notes filled the room, you felt yourself transported back in time. This song was one your mom used to play when you were little, singing along until you fell asleep. One of your earliest memories was that of her holding you close while she sang. Her voice wasn't the best, but it never failed to bring you a sense of peace and comfort. That was so long ago. You can barely remember the sound of her voice now.
"Hey, I think I know this— are you okay?"
You blinked back to the present just as Midoriya's hand was reaching to your face, his eyes full of concern. You retreated from the warmth of his outstretched palm quickly, bumping into the wall behind you as your hand flew up to your face. He almost touched you there, like it was no big deal. He knew what your quirk was, what it did, so why? The pounding of your heart was so loud that you were convinced he could hear it as well. Droplets of water formed beads atop the leather of your glove, and you realized belatedly that you'd been crying.
"I'm fine," you lied. "Just sleepy."
"Ah," he looked like he wanted to say something but decided against it. "I should be heading home. See you tomorrow."
"Right, see you in class."
You took the needle off the record as he left, then lit an incense. The scent of lavender filled the room as you changed out of your school uniform. You curled up in bed, gazing up at the color changing clouds on the ceiling until you drifted off into another dreamless sleep.