Izuku is scared, he can admit that, at least in the privacy of his own mind and the shaking of his hands. He's terrified.
He knew this day would come, as much as he would have loved to keep visiting U.A. everyday and spend his time in Yamada-san's office writing about quirks, it wasn't meant to last.
Yet another new beginning, he hopes desperately he'll be lucky again and it's another nice one but he's probably used up all his luck getting to stay with Yamada-san and Aizawa-san. They tried to reassure him and promised if it didn't work out they'd find something else. Izuku doesn't want to be a burden but he's so scared standing outside his new classroom waiting to be introduced to his new tormentors classmates.
He grips his backpack straps harder as he hears his name called and opens the door.
-
The school year is only half over and Hitoshi is ready to be done. It's not terrible, not that Hitoshi's previous schools are very fair comparisons. It isn't great either, he's left alone for the most part but he does wish for friends sometimes.
Maybe he's hoping for too much. He already got incredibly lucky with his family, his social worker really screwed up there. Forgot to fill out the paperwork properly and left him with an actual nice couple. God, he hopes she got fired over it. Now if only he could sleep through the night.
He puts his head down on his desk, he won't actually fall asleep, it's stupid to be vulnerable like that, but maybe he can rest his eyes a little.
He lifts his head once class starts and half pays attention to the announcement of some new student. Poor kid looks terrified out of his mind. His hands are shaking and he looks at the ground rather than at the student's faces. Yikes, that's not a great sign of confidence. This school does have bullies after all even if they can't shove kids within eyesight of a teacher.
"H-hi, My n-name is Mi-um-Yamada I-Izuku, It's n-nice to m-meet you all." He does a nervous little bow and begs the teacher to get him out of the spotlight with his eyes.
Hitoshi takes a moment to examine the new kid, he's very... green. Not that he has anything to say on that front, being very purple himself. His uniform is neat and new, his backpack is too. He glances down and oh...
No wonder he's so nervous. Hitoshi doubts anyone else will notice or, if they do, have any idea what those shoes mean. Hitoshi certainly isn't going to say anything. He's known two quirkless kids in his life and he knows better than to out him.
They're nice shoes and new too, that along with the name correction half way through is giving Hitoshi a pretty good picture. He hopes he's right for this kid's sake and he's found people to love him too.
-
Izuku screwed up! He hopes no one noticed, he was just so flustered by everything he defaulted to Midoriya, maybe he should have practiced saying his new name. That would have been so embarrassing though! What if Yamada-san or Aizawa-san heard him?
He just wants to sit down and be as invisible as possible until he can find somewhere to hide at lunch. Oh no! Lunch, he's the new kid again and he didn't tell anyone he's quirkless, people might want to talk to him!
Why does this have to be so hard? Izuku just wants to go home.
-
Hitoshi got kicked out of another foster home, it's pretty typical, what with how much everyone seems to hate him. He wishes they didn't, he promises not to use his quirk but it doesn't matter.
The social worker assigned to him hates him too but half of that is how much work it is to keep him in one place. He doesn't dare say it might work out better if she stopped setting him up to fail with notoriously bad homes.
His muzzle got broken again and she can't find a temporary placement willing to take him for longer than tonight, he hopes she doesn't hit him.
She pulls him out of the car too roughly and shoves him in the door. The new adults are already sneering at him, he just wants to be left alone.
There's a little kid in the room they stuff him in, more of a closet than anything, based on the hissed comment about his quirklessness and Hitoshi's quirk and how he flinches away from Hitoshi it's a punishment for both of them. Hitoshi isn't going to be a villain though, no matter what everyone says, he's going to be a hero. Heroes don't hurt scared little kids even if they hate them for something they can't change.
They sit in tense silence for awhile, neither one of them is likely to get any sleep tonight, even without how cramped it is. Hitoshi should be brave, that's what heroes are supposed to be, so he reaches out his hand. Talking probably wouldn't be appreciated since they told the other kid how his quirk works so he just gently takes the other kid's hand in his and squeezes it a little in reassurance. He tenses up impossibly more before slowly relaxing and squeezing lightly back.
"Um, m-my name's I-Izuku. Y-you can t-talk if y-you w-want, I-I'm not sc-scared." Comes a very timid whisper, Hitoshi almost didn't hear it.
"my name's Hitoshi, it's nice to meet you." He returns equally quiet, there's a sound of someone moving in another part of the house and they fall quiet again in fear.
They spend the rest of the night in silence, holding hands. Eventually Izuku drifts over and leans on Hitoshi's shoulder and they fall into a fitful sleep.
In the morning Hitoshi's dragged off to another foster home, the one that becomes his last, certain he'll never see the little quirkless boy again.
-
Izuku gets away as soon as the bell rings for lunch. He doesn't stop to talk to anyone, just grabs his bento and leaves. It's not like anyone's going to want to talk to him soon anyways. The purple haired kid has been looking at him and crinkling his brow all day and Izuku knows he made the connection with his shoes. Soon the whole school will know that the new kid is quirkless, not worth your time unless you're showing him his place.
He makes it to the roof and hides next to the air conditioning unit. It's a little cold but hopefully people don't come up here, he'll have to figure out a better spot tomorrow.
Opening his bento Izuku breaths out slowly to steady himself. School might be the same as always but not everything is. Izuku smiles at the note Yamada-san left him. Its full of encouragement and well wishes and silly little doodles to make him smile, it makes him feel a little better.
Coming back to school was harder than he'd thought it would be. He's survived school before, maybe being away for so long left him with only the worst memories and fears of the experience.
He's shocked out the his thoughts by the roof door opening and cautiously peaks around the corner, hoping it's just a janitor here to tell him he's not allowed on the roof.
It's not, it's the purple-haired kid, obviously looking for someone, probably Izuku. At least he didn't bring any friends, he hopes he doesn't ruin the lunch Yamada-san worked so hard on.
-
Hitoshi needs to talk to the new kid. He spent the whole morning replaying that night in his mind and it was too dark to remember what the other kid looked like but he remembers his name. And honestly what are the odds of two quirkless kids around his age both being named Izuku.
He hopes he's right, he'd long accepted he'd never see him again but maybe there's a chance...
He tries the roof on a whim, it was his go to hiding place the first day and while he's found better spots since there's no way the new kid is going to know them.
Seeing him, Hitoshi's struck first by the fact he has no idea what to say before he notices how resigned he looks, like Hitoshi came here to hurt him. Say something! Fix it!
"I'm Hitoshi, It's nice to meet you." He flinches faintly, way to go, that definitely helped.
Hitoshi's desperately trying to figure out how to remedy this without revealing himself as the horribly awkward kid that he is or pouring his trauma out to this potential random stranger.
"H-Hitoshi?" He's screwing his face up in thought, apparently confused by the turn of events.
At least he doesn't look so scared anymore.
-
Izuku knows a Hitoshi, he knows he does.
Why does he know a Hitoshi?
"Um, I think we met once." Comes a hesitant voice, "I don't know how to put this." He rubs his neck awkwardly and squints at the sky. "Is it ok if I eat up here with you?"
Izuku doesn't know what else to do so he just nods.
Hitoshi sits and takes his own lunch out, Izuku stares at him before realizing that might be rude and glancing down to stare at his own food. Eventually, it's clear that Hitoshi probably isn't going to randomly jump him. Izuku takes the time to passively study his face in between cautious bites of food. He really doesn't recognize him at all but the name stirs something inside.
The thought comes idly. They must have met somewhere dark.
He drops his chopsticks and narrowly catches them before they hit the ground.
"Brainwashing quirk!"
Hitoshi flinches and Izuku remembers exactly where he got that little piece of knowledge. His foster parents thought it was funny to lock him in closets with kids with villainous quirks and explain all the awful things their quirks could do to him. He should have known better than to blurt like that.
"S-sorry, I-I, s-sorry."
"I'm used to it."
"I-I wasn't l-lying before. I'm n-not s-scared."
"right."
The atmosphere is suddenly tense and Izuku doesn't have the faintest idea how to fix it. He never wanted this to happen.
"I-I really l-like quirks a-and I, af-after you l-left I thought about y-yours a lot." He's almost whispering, remembering how quiet that house was. "I-I think it's great."
"Really, you think my quirk is great?" Izuku flinches a little at the tone but he won't be deterred.
"Yeah, I th-think it's c-cool. I'm s-sorry."
-
Hitoshi was hoping this would go better but he can't help his instinctive wariness when it comes to his quirk, sure this kid was nice to him at the time but he was also terrified. Hitoshi doesn't want to freak him out but his intentions obviously aren't coming through very well.
His more or less unwilling lunch companion keeps glancing between him and the door. He lets out a long sigh and tries to make his face less vaguely tired and annoyed. He politely ignores the nervous little jump it gets him.
"Why don't we start over, my name is Shinsou Hitoshi, I'm eleven, I like cats and my mom's hot chocolate. I'm going to be a hero."
"Um ok, I-I'm Y-Yamada Izuku, I'm eleven t-too, I like c-cats and um, baking, I d-don't know what I'm g-going to be." They both pause, uncertain of how to continue. "I th-think you'll be a g-good h-hero."
"Why's that?" Hitoshi tries to keep any suspicious skepticism out of his voice, he isn't sure he succeeds.
"Y-you were n-nice to me before, n-not many people are a-after they f-find out. It's im-important for heroes to be n-nice I think."
Hitoshi chokes down all the feelings that statement gives him and manages to croak out a quiet thanks.
There's so much he wants to say.
I'm so glad you're alive. How are you still here? Are you safe? I wondered about you sometimes, whether you were dead. Did your social worker screw up like mine did? Did you find people to love? Did they love you back?
He swallows those thoughts and settles for something a little less emotionally vulnerable and a little more appropriate for a second meeting.
"What do you like to bake?"
Hitoshi hopes the two little kids locked in a closet get their happy ending.