“You're cheating.” Hitoshi accuses.
Izuku doesn’t respond, shifting the cards in his hand a little so they’re easier to hold and avoiding eye contact.
Yamada-san told him once that the best response to a ridiculous accusation is often none at all. There’s no use denying a rumor that most people didn’t even know existed until you opened your mouth to defend against it.
Of course, this was said while scowling at a television host speculating about his love life and whether or not Midnight is a woman scorned, so perhaps Yamada-san’s advice was not quite intended for this situation exactly.
Actually, now that Izuku thinks about it, he’s pretty sure there was muttering about a cease and desist letter in there somewhere before they changed the channel.
“I can’t believe this.” Hitoshi complains, leaning into Tsu-chan’s side dramatically.
Izuku is pretty sure he can’t send cease and desist letters to his friends over cheating at card games allegations.
He doesn’t even have an attorney.
Do you need an attorney for cease and desist letters?
“Now who’s cheating?” She pushes at his shoulder and shifts away so Hitoshi can’t see her cards.
“Still Izuku.” He insists.
He’s not cheating, he’s paying attention!
Tsu-chan takes her turn, prim and above both accusations and defenses.
“I'm-, I am not cheating.” Yamada-san’s advice can only go so far, especially without legal support.
“You keep blocking my good moves!” He argues.
Alright, so that may be a little accurate.
Izuku sits up a little straighter, dignified and not like someone who knows which card Hitoshi is planning to play next.
He doesn't know which card Hitoshi is planning to play next.
He just has an educated guess.
Tsu-chan nudges him lightly with a finger.
“Your turn, Izu-chan.”
Izuku takes a deep breath and pulls a card from his hand.
Hitoshi groans, deeply aggrieved.
Izuku blinks.
“Look at those eyes, Toshi-chan.” Tsu-chan hides a grin. “Those eyes would never count cards, they’re too innocent and pure.”
Izuku widens his eyes a little, trying to project innocence.
He doesn’t think it works.
“Devious.” Hitoshi insists.
“Aizawa-san?” She calls.
The man grunts from the kitchen counter, he’s glaring at student essays and not supervising at all.
He told them to let him know if they were planning to set anything on fire or if they needed food and has been ignoring their chattering ever since.
Izuku is not planning on setting anything on fire.
A snack might be nice after this round though.
“Is counting cards cheating?” She asks.
That’s actually a good question.
Izuku doesn’t think so, he isn’t trying to cheat, he’s also not entirely sure how to count cards.
Is he counting cards?
“No.” Aizawa-san says, not looking up from his papers and ruthlessly marking mistakes as he talks. “It’s only cheating if you use electronics or a quirk to help, also I don’t think he’s counting cards.”
“What? Why not?” Hitoshi protests.
“You're playing Uno.” He looks up for a moment, looking supremely unimpressed. “Card counting is a Blackjack strategy.”
“See! I’m not cheating!” Izuku puffs up.
He’s been vindicated!
Hitoshi grumbles a little as he draws a card and huffs.
Ah, not one he wanted so it definitely isn’t red or yellow.
Wait a second…
Tsu-chan places a card down.
“Uno.”
What.
Izuku and Hitoshi whirl around to look at her.
Sure enough, unbothered and grinning, Tsu-chan sits… one card left in her hand.
When did that happen?
Hitoshi and Izuku make desperate eye contact.
They’ve been out-matched!
Izuku doesn’t know what she has! Tsu-chan is much harder to read than Hitoshi so he hadn’t focused on her as much and now he has no idea!
He fiddles with the wild card in his hand, the only power he holds to change the tide, he glances at Hitoshi.
He thinks… that he has a +2 card and it might be blue, maybe, Izuku takes a deep breath and commits.
“Blue.” He announces.
Hitoshi’s face is not triumphant at this news.
Shoot.
He guessed wrong.
That isn’t good.
Well, hopefully Tsu-chan’s last card is red or something.
“Your turn, Toshi-chan.” Tsu-chan reminds them, victory in her eyes.
That is not the expression of a girl with a red card.
They’re doomed.
Hitoshi sighs, looks through his hand one last time and pulls out a regular blue card with an air of defeat.
“Thank you.” Tsu-chan smiles.
She sets her last card down with a flourish.
Izuku leans forward to see.
It’s a wild card.
They’ve been duped.
“How!?” Hitoshi demands.
“You lost track of the enemy.” Aizawa-san intones, sounding bored. “You got caught up in the details and forgot the bigger picture.”
Tsu-chan looks smug.
Izuku and Hitoshi both splutter.
“It’s Uno!”
“You underestimated the enemy to your doom.” Aizawa-san looks serious, as if they’ve made a grave error, but Izuku can see the way his expression twitches in amusement.
“Ugh.” Hitoshi slumps in defeat, his face pressed against the table in despair. “We’ve been bested."
“Truce?” Izuku holds out a hand.
Hitoshi twists around to examine his intentions and nods.
“Truce.” They shake on it.
“We’ll have our revenge!” Hitoshi announces.
“We’ll see.” Tsu-chan returns, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Let me know when you’re ready for lunch.” Aizawa-san turns back to his grading.
Izuku meets Hitoshi’s grin with a smile.
There are still moments he can barely believe any of this is real.
It is.
He may doubt, he may wonder.
They’re still here.
He trusts them to stay.
Hitoshi finishes shuffling the deck.
Tsu-chan wins again.
They don’t stand a chance.
Izuku honestly doesn’t mind at all.