Compulsion

Chapter 27: Resting Won't Change Anything

Izuku leaned forward on his stool, propping his feet up on the bar and elbows on his knees. He was before the plasma cutter which had become a reoccurring thing. The jumpsuit, apron, mask, and glove combo kept him safe from the machine while trapping heat, causing discomfort. His fist rested against his palm while one of his legs bounced on the ball of his foot. The light of the cutter flashed and the metal sizzled and hissed. When the itch ripped It would stop and it would move and it would light again. The sudden flash made him flinch, and each time it did, the sound of the metal caving to the heat grew louder and louder. A ringing that wasn't there rumbled in his eardrums. Splotches that were healed suddenly burned again.

"You're below the rejects! You're Quirkless!", cried Bakugo.

"Midoriya, in the Hero Course, what a joke...!", a voice laughed.

A younger voice asked, "How worthless can you be, Deku?"

"Ah, no!" cried Uemura. Izuku shot up, turning to look at the source. She had dropped onto the floor, peeking underneath a workbench. He stood up and walked over. "My phone~... No..."

"I'll get it!" cried a thirteen year-old Izuku, rushing to the lockers in the back of the classroom. He dropped to the ground and strained his arm, trying to swipe at the device.

Someone else walked up as his fingers grew and extended, "Jeez, get out of the way man." Izuku did so, awkwardly scooting away.

He easily dipped his fingers below the lockers, picking the phone out like tweezers.

He dropped it into the girl's hands, "Ah, thanks, Ito!"

Ito smiled, "No problem." He turned and leered at Izuku, "Can't even manage that, huh, Deku?"

Okuma barely spared a glass from his workstation, "Shouldn't have had it on your bench then."

"Shut it, Okuma!" she shouted.

"Scoot," said Izuku; muffled by his welding mask.

She looked up at him, blinking, "H-Huh? Oh..."

Izuku stood at the corner, gripping either side of the bench's leg. He tested its weight for a moment before leaving it for a moment. "I'll lift it; you get it, okay?"

"Y-Yeah, got it," said Uemura.

Izuku took a breath, "One... Two... Three...!" He gritted his teeth and lifted the bench, hearing it creak and the items atop it topple.

"Got it!" said Uemura after she swung underneath the table, swiping her phone from the wall.

Izuku asked, "I didn't make too much of a mess, did I?" as he set the bench back down.

Uemura shrugged, "Nothing I can't fix." She punched his shoulder, "Thanks, Midoriya."

"Anytime," he shrugged as he went back to the cutter.

"Mr. Midoriya!" shouted a voice from the workshop's entrance.

"Dr. Yaritezawa?" said Izuku, looking at the source.

She held a smile while her hands never left her pockets, "Heya, kiddo."

Izuku could easily note that the smile didn't reach her eyes, "Are you... okay?"

"Oh, little ol' me?" she hummed as she walked up to him. "Ha..." She pointed up at his face, "Nice mask, can I see it?"

He handed it over, "U-Uh, sure..."