A Ray of Hope for Tenya Iida

Dinner

(TW: swearing, bullying [unknowingly], and ruminating thoughts)

Midoriya's pov: Denki walked in again with the usual smile on his face, but it seemed off, like something wasn't right. He looked like he was a bit nervous, did something happen? I watched Kacchan plate some food and one by one, my classmates all got their food. Except Iida. Where was he? Aoyama looked at me suddenly when I thought that. What? Denki grabbed his food and smiled brightly at me, and I noticed that his knuckles had something on them. What was that? Bruises? He must've hit something really hard to bruise on the knuckles. I stopped him for a moment. "Hey Denki!"

"Oh, hey Midoriya! What's up?" He asked, before chuckling, "other than the ceiling, y'know. Don't say the sky either, that's already taken by moi!" He looked a bit proud of his joke. I didn't get it that much, so I just smiled, though it felt like it looked weird.

"So, what happened to your knuckles? Why are they so bruised?" I gestured to the knuckles on his strong hand. He looked down at them before smiling it off.

"Oh, that! I just punched something too hard, I wanted to see how good I was at it! Nothing to worry about, see?" He held his plate with that hand alone, and it was all fine, and he even poked his knuckles to demonstrate that he was alright. 

"You probably shouldn't poke it, though!" I laughed a bit, trying not to make anything awkward. He smiled at me and then just ran up to Mina and Sero who were practicing a dance together. Sero looked like Mina made him do it because she kept having to correct him and he'd just roll his eyes at her and laugh while doing it wrong. I walked over to Kacchan and grabbed my own plate. "Hey Kacchan! Did Iida come and get his dinner yet?" Kacchan looked at me for a moment before replying.

"I told him to come down a while ago, he's still holed up in his fucking room. I don't know what he's doing but I don't give a shit, I don't wanna see whatever annoying nerd shit he's doing, it's fucking boring." That was a lot of swears in just two sentences. 

"Alright, should we check on him?" I fidgeted with my sleeve for a second. Just as I said that, Iida walked out of his room and walked over to us. Was that a bruise on his cheek? "Iida-kun, what happened to your cheek? It looks like it hurts-" I went to touch it, but Iida flinched. What happened?

Iida's pov: Midoriya went to touch my cheek, and I instinctively flinched. Why did I flinch? He wasn't dangerous, so why was I afraid? I cleared my throat, and quickly thought up an excuse. "Midoriya, you don't touch other people's injuries. That's unheroic." I was quieter, hoping not to cause a scene. "I wasn't careful and tripped, that's all. I hit my face on the doorknob, I know it wasn't very smart of me to not watch my step better when I tell all of you to be careful, I'll work on it from now on." Denki stared at me, why was he staring at me? Midoriya looked between looking me in my eyes and looking at my cheek.

"Oh, that's alright Iida-kun! You should let someone take care of that soon, though, it looks pretty bad. But for now, why don't you get dinner? I didn't see you eat breakfast or lunch, but I might've just missed you at that point." He scratched the back of his head, ruffling his hair a bit.

"Of course! And hello, Bakugou! How are you doing?" I looked at Bakugou, but he was giving me an odd look. He seemed to know something was off. 

"I'm fine, you extra, are you looking down on me?!" He snapped. 

"No, of course not, Bakugou! I'm just wondering how you're doing because as class representative, it's my responsibility to make sure everyone in this class is in top shape!"

"Just shut the fuck up and take your plate." He pushed it towards me and I gratefully accepted it. 

"Thank you for the meal, Bakugou!" I bowed in respect and walked to sit down. I hadn't eaten anything before this, so I was rightfully very hungry. I started eating once enough people were eating and listened to the others talk. Midoriya and Uraraka started debating on the use of different support items and how important they are for a hero. It wasn't too interesting if I'm being honest, I already understood their points completely, but I used active listening skills to make sure no one thought I wasn't paying attention. Denki kept looking at me. Was something wrong about the way I was behaving? I adjusted my posture and started chewing quieter, then used a napkin just in case. He didn't stop staring at me. I continued to eat my food, pretending not to notice his eyes directed straight at me. I didn't like being stared at like that, especially by someone who I'd had a conflict with recently. Maybe my presence was making him upset? He wasn't eating as much, it might be interfering with his ability to take care of himself. I started eating a bit quicker to avoid making any kind of an issue. Someone seemed to notice, it was Aoyama. 

"Why such a rush, Iida? Is there something we don't know about?" He looked at me with a somewhat odd expression, as if he knew something that he wasn't supposed to.

"No, I'm just eating a bit faster than usual, I suppose. Why?" I adjusted my glasses, which were more prone to slipping while my head was tilted slightly down. 

"No reason, I just figured you'd take your time while eating during a conversation on how important the rules are, along with giving input, don't you find that stuff interesting, mon ami?" They'd changed the subject without me noticing? Along with that, it was to something I'm interested in! How'd I miss that?

"Oh, of course I find this interesting! I figured you might as well discuss it first before I get involved, right?" Everyone stared at me. Did I say something wrong?

"Uhm, Iida, I hate to break it to you, but Kirishima and Sero got into a heated debate on Among Us, Aoyama just said that to test if you were paying attention." Uraraka smiled gently, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep me from being embarrassed. I looked in Denki's direction as a sharp movement caught my eye. It was Denki, chopping his hand through the air. He was whispering just loud enough that I could hear. 

"Pay attention, you're being unheroic... huh? What's going on? I don't even know what conversation we're having!" Denki chuckled, but I still didn't find it funny. Why was he laughing at me? I wanted to shrink into myself, but I was in front of everyone, and I was still being stared at by mostly everyone. 

"Ah, you'll have to excuse my inattentiveness, I must've blanked out for a moment. Continue with your debate on..." I had to think for a moment, then I remembered what they were debating on, "Among Us? Is that right?" Kirishima and Sero both gasped and looked at each other.

"Dude, he remembered the name!" Sero exclaimed.

"Yeah, bro! Next step is getting him to play a round!" Kirishima pumped his fist in the air. I finished up my dinner quickly so I wouldn't get dragged into that subject. 

"You two continue your conversation, I'll be in my room if anyone needs me, goodbye!" I bowed to everyone before going up to my room. Jesus, I was tired.