The Art Project [Two-Shot]

Chapter 1

It had been an ordinary day so far. Midoriya had gotten up to his alarm, had breakfast with his friends, ignored Kacchan's usual morning temper as he shouted some colourful curses... Yeah, nothing to indicate this would be one of the worst days of his life. Here he was, listening to Midnight as she explained the new assignment for their social studies class, none the wiser about his incoming doom.

"Hero society has many perks but also many shortcomings and there's still a lot of discrimination based on one's quirk, gender, sexual preference and so on. It's part of a hero's job to help tackle these social problems by boosting campaigns and spreading awareness" Midnight explained while writing some stuff down on the blackboard.

"This is what we'll focus on for your next assignment! I will give all of you a topic about a form of discrimination. You'll do your research and pick whatever aspect of the problem that speaks to you and make some sort of artwork about it. Painting, drawings, a photo, a collage, it doesn't matter! Be creative! As long as the piece represents what that problem means to you! This exercise is meant to teach you respect and understanding, so take it to heart!"

She smiled as she turned back to the class after writing down 4 topics on the blackboard. Midoriya's eyes widened when his eyes fell on the last topic, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Quirkless. That should've been a warning for what was about to come. By the way Kacchan tensed up in front of him, he'd seen the word as well. Hopefully he won't get that subject... What are the chances of that happening anyway? Surely he'll get one of the others.

"Now, as for the topics! Each row of students will get one. So first up, Aoyama, Ashido, Asui, Iida and Uraraka! Your topic will be discrimination against mutation quirks. Ojiro, Kaminari, Kirishima, Koda and Sato. You will be handling gender discrimination. Shoji, Jirou, Sero, Tokoyami and Todoroki. You'll tackle villainous quirks, which don't necessarily have to belong to a villain. And lastly, Hagakure, Bakugou, Midoriya, Mineta and Yaoyorozu. You'll be making something about the discrimination against the quirkless. It's become more and more rare these days, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist!"

Midoriya should know better than to challenge fate. He felt his veins freeze up as his blood ran cold, trying his best to stay calm. This was fine. Everything was fine. It was just an art project. He could handle that! Yeah, he's not the same person he used to be. He's stronger now! This shouldn't be a problem! Why was he even worrying? He'll just look up a picture online and print it out, it wouldn't even be a lot of work.

"At the end of the week, you'll present your piece in front of the class and explain what you made and why, so do your best!" Midnight added. "Plus Ultra!"

A presentation..? They had to present their artwork...in front of the entire class...and explain- No, he can't possibly do something like that! He's already anxious in front of crowds and he's the worst at presentations! Let alone about something as personal as this! It just... It hit too close to home for him... Maybe he could ask Midnight if he could change his subject? Yeah, that was worth a shot. He'll ask her after class.

With that he was able to calm down a little, but it was still hard to focus on class. His notes were a mess and he couldn't concentrate on what Midnight was teaching them. In the end, he didn't get half of the stuff they covered, but he couldn't make himself feel guilty about it. Iida will lecture him later when he'll ask for his notes, but he'd let Midoriya copy them anyway. They were always super neat and clear, nice to read and good to study from. No wonder he gets such good marks.

He was getting sidetracked... Come on, focus! He had a mission to complete!

To his big surprise, he wasn't the only one seeking out Midnight after class ended. Kacchan was packing up his things agonizingly slow compared to his usual fast pace. Midoriya didn't think much of it at the time. No, he had bigger things to worry about. He took a deep breath, heading straight to the teacher's desk with a determined look on his face.