A Silent Kind of Strength

Chapter 21

The next day started off much the same, Izuku reviewing his altered schedule on the train ride before he met up with his friends. He had coding first thing and he was super excited about it. Hatsume-san had done a lot to build off of his self taught foundation. But having a teacher who specialized in the subject meant he would probably learn even more tips and tricks.

He was hoping to write a program for tracking quirk subtypes amongst criminals and villains. He hoped it could be used for pinpointing at-risk kids, making it easier to step in while they were still young and set them on a better path. That was the theory anyway.

As he stepped onto the platform he sensed something coming at him from his right and braced himself to catch a caffeinated Mei. "Good morning Zu-kun!" He looked over her shoulder and saw their other friend standing out of the way of other commuters. Shinso rubbed tiredly at his eyes as he waved his hello. Cute.

"W-what are you two d-doing here so early?" He questioned. Last night, after dinner, Hatsume-san had received a reply from Nezu, asking Izuku to come in early for a meeting. The teen hadn't slept at all, stressed about how the meeting would go. Especially since Bakugo would most definitely be the main topic. He'd never had a good experience talking about the walking explosion with teachers.

"Aw. Shame on you Zuku if you thought we wouldn't get up early to support you!" Mei fake pouted at him as Hitoshi grabbed them both gently by the arm to guide them out of the way of passengers who were still trying to get off of the train. "Y-you really di-didn't have to. It's just a m-meeting, besides Hatsume-san will be on vi-video call the whole time…"

"Did you eat?" Shinso asked over his shoulder. Izuku looked confused at the change of topic, meeting purple eyes and tilting his head in question. "It's a yes or no question Greenie."

He had to think about it for a second, cheeks dusting pink in slight embarrassment. "I ah… no?"

The other boy gave him a knowing smirk, letting go of Mei's wrist to dig around in his messenger bag. After a moment he pulled out a small paper bag with the logo of their favorite coffee shop emblazoned across it. Green eyes lit up eagerly as he accepted the bag and opened it to find a large green muffin. "Matcha and lemon. Something green for good luck."

"But isn't MIDORIya green enough?" Mei chimed in, playfully elbowing said boy in the ribs. "Ah but see, he's MY good luck charm. Therefore when he needs luck he has to get it from elsewhere."

That last comment once again made the greenette flush. "W-what?!" Violet eyes met his as their owner tossed a small smirk over his shoulder. "Well yeah. Come on Zuku. Ever since I met you my luck has been really good! I've made friends. Found a place to call home. Got into my dream school." He led them out onto the street. "Hell I haven't even been muzzled lately!"

He jerked to a sudden stop, turning around in confusion at his unmoving friends who were staring at him in horror. "Muzzle?" Mei whispered imploringly. "Uh yeah? It's a common punishment for kids with voice quirks? Surely you saw it one or twice in middle school? The teachers were pretty free with it, especially the first two years…"

"I-no? I never saw a muzzle on anyone?!" Shinso hummed thoughtfully tugging on their wrists to get them moving again. "Well… they did take it off for lunch and stuff. And since we were in different classes I guess you just never caught sight of it. Besides, that one wasn't even that bad! It was padded and everything!"