A Silent Kind of Strength

Chapter 46

Izuku fought valiantly against his yawns as they walked to the teachers' lounge. He had spent a late night wishing for something to tinker with while he debated the pros and cons of his chosen hero name. In lieu of a gadget he had pulled his practice balisong out of his bag and worked on a few new tricks, the various bruises on his hands and arms showed the progression of his exhaustion as his brain continued to second guess itself into the early morning hours. He did have the knuckleduster trick down pretty well now though.

He made it to the door first and knocked politely with a quiet 'ojyama shimasu', ignoring Mic snickering a bit at his manners when he was technically opening the door for teachers too. He slid the ridiculously large door aside and bowed a bit as he stepped in, looking around for the teacher he was meant to speak to.

Midnight was reclining in her office chair, feet propped on her desk as she read from an old paperback novel. When she noticed their entrance she grinned and slid a bookmark free to mark her place. "Good morning cuties!" She greeted them cheerfully. Shinso just huffed and wandered over to the couches in the small lounge area, flopping down face first and doing his best impression of a dead log.

Izuku smiled at his friend's theatrics, hoping for his sake he was able to nap a bit before class, he was well aware that Hitoshi hadn't slept at all the night before, the quiet whispers of the animal crossing villagers had lasted until their alarms had forced them from their rooms.

He hesitantly walked over to the female pro, doing his best not to crumple the form in his hands from nervousness. "G-good morning M-midnight sensei! I uhm, I settled on a n-name…"

She grinned, setting her book down and holding out a hand for the paper. He smiled back shyly and handed it over. She looked over the form, making sure it was filled out correctly before her eyes alighted on his choice. She felt herself grinning again. "Oh yes. I think that has a nice ring to it, honey. Yes. That will do nicely. Approved!" She reached over and gave his hair a gentle ruffle before she woke her computer to begin filing his request.

Izuku bowed to her, a pleased thanks falling from his lips before he excused himself to go chat to Mic about an upcoming assignment. He was ecstatic that a pro hero who relied so heavily on marketing approved of his choice of name. And now that he was over the hurdle he felt himself relaxing a bit.

The teachers' lounge in the early morning was a peaceful place. Izuku found himself leaning into the quiet atmosphere, watching as the other heros and staff trickled in in ones and twos. Most of them bee lined towards the large coffee bar in the corner, the only thing keeping most of them sane. Speaking of the coffee bar, Aizawa approached Yamada's desk from that direction, hands expertly juggling four large mugs.

Green eyes blinked up at the dark haired man in confusion when one of the mugs was set down in front of him. Instead of an answer he just got a hair ruffle before Aizawa moved to place another mug in front of his husband. The teen looked down at the mug that was obviously meant for him and noticed a cartoon watermelon printed on the side along with the english pun 'ya'll gon' make me lose my rind'.

A chuckle drew his gaze back to Mic. "Sho has a talent for picking out personalised mugs. He found that one after he saw you in that tie dye shirt the other day." The boy tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, the mug is mi-mine? I thought I was just going to b-borrow it for today?"

The blonde smiled fondly. "Nah lil listener. Since you and Hitoshi will more than likely end up here most mornings we made sure to get you your own. The daily struggle for the communal mugs isn't worth it. That being said, make sure you rinse it out and hang it on your labeled peg before you head to class ok?" Izuku nodded hesitantly, picking up the mug and taking a sip, eyes lighting up at the delicious brew. "Oh! This is good!"

That earned him another chuckle and a nod. "Yeah. Nezu keeps us stocked with the best beans and fixings. And Sho is a master at finding the perfect mix." The teen hummed appreciatively as he took another drink. Most of the coffee he'd had recently had been the basic corner store stuff Mia brewed at the shop. It wasn't good, but it kept him going. But this was fantastic, nutty and smooth with just a hint of chocolate sweetness. It made him miss going to the coffee shop with his friends. They should go again soon. He settled in as Mic went over the study guide he had been given for the test needed to receive his JSL certification. Once he had that then he would have a tiny bit more wiggle room for his classes. He giggled at a joke the English teacher made and leaned forwards to look at the paper.

Things at school were finally leveling out a bit. Now all he had to do was keep busy and keep his mind off of the issues with his home life and he would be fine.

___

had never had to use lacing hooks before, they weren't commonly offered on quirkless shoes after all. But then Mei showed him a trick to do them up faster by holding both laces spread between the fingers of one hand and he promised himself he would practice so he wouldn't be slowed down changing into costume later.

The boots themselves felt nice, nothing pinched or rubbed wrong. The only weird bit was that he was currently standing flat footed. But that would be fixed with the addition of soles with a motor in the heel and some insoles. He tried not to tear up any as he texted his friend to give his thanks. These were the coolest shoes he had ever had. And the first that weren't two sizes too big and/or the quirkless signal bright red.

When he was done walking around to check the fit he quickly switched out and left his new favorite thing on the worktop as he raced to class. He really did have the best friends.