Worthless Necessity [HitoZuku]

Chapter 60 - In the dead of night

Aizawa frowned, and watched as Midoriya tiptoed around Shoji carefully. Shoji lunged, and Midoriya was a second too low in sidestepping, which resulted in him being caught. The green haired boy didn't even struggle as Shoji easily restrained him, walking to the side of the box and carefully depositing him out of bounds.

Midoriya had easily beaten Shoji before, and he currently had access to all of the same equipment, which were his regular hero costume, and the white strips of cloth that were wrapped around the bandages on his arms; he had apparently taken Kaminari's suggestion into consideration. Aizawa wasn't even sure that Midoriya had heard him that time; he had assumed that the boy was preoccupied with his arms after straining them too much.

Then again, it wasn't too surprising; Midoriya had always been a perceptive person, if the five pages of notes he had made on every student said anything. Plus, if Midoriya was able to discern the details about the League's quirks while they were torturing him, or just talking to him, then surely he would be able to capture Kaminari's comment about him using the bandages as a makeshift capture weapon. He did not want to question how on earth Midoriya knew how to use it as a capture weapon either; Aizawa already had way too many questions, and if there was one thing he knew about Midoriya, it was that one question would become two, then four, then eight, until eventually there were just too many questions to even count. It would just be easier to accept that Midoriya just... knew things. Then again, he was a vigilante; he had to learn fast. and know all sorts of things in order to survive.

Aizawa was worried at how dazed and lost Midoriya looked. No matter what happened, Midoriya never gave up, not against the League, or against Stain, or against the Nomus, or even against Muscular. It was uncharacteristic of Midoriya to just... stop trying. Midoriya was one for action, not words, but now, he spent a lot of time thinking, the period of time when he dismisses the students to practise their super moves on their own to him actually moving and making a move getting longer and longer as the days went by. His expression hadn't changed the slightest, always emotionless, stoic, calm, but it seemed like Midoriya had just... given up. He knew that trauma from his kidnapping and being at the mercy of the League would linger, and while Midoriya didn't seem to suffer from any normal symptoms of emotional and psychological trauma, Midoriya did have a tendency to hide all of his pain. Just because he wasn't showing it... didn't mean that he didn't feel it.

And that was scary, seeing a strong willed, determined, stubborn child like Midoriya just falling apart from all his pain, all his inner turmoil.

Being quirkless and bullied for most of his life was bad enough, losing his parents and subsequently being forced into the foster system did absolutely no favours him. Midoriya was already closed off, and it had taken Shinsou, Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki and Koda months of slowly easing their way into Midoriya's life to understand him and learn where the boundaries were. Months of knocking gently on the solid metal vault to Midoriya's heart, slowly getting him to open up.

And now, it seemed like Midoriya had just welded the door firmly shut.

And Aizawa wasn't sure how to help him. Midoriya was pushing all the teachers out; he noticed the subtle glares that the green haired boy shot at him out of the corner of his eye, Midoriya trying to do his best to stay out of his line of sight, being quiet and mild as usual, trying to not draw any attention to himself at all. He knew he couldn't help Midoriya at all; he could only hope that Nezu, Reiko, Ryuto, and his classmates would somehow get through to him.

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Midoriya stuffed his english worksheet into his bag, before flopping down on his bed.

He was tired, but there were so many thoughts running through his head that it was just impossible for him to fall asleep.

Nobody cares about you, you worthless child.