The Emerald Prince

Chapter 28: Open arms

The trio followed him outside of the canteen, to see that he'd found Iida...or by the slight flush on the taller male's face, Iida had found him.
They joined the pair and soon most of the class were together and Shinsou was about to go back over general studies when he found a hand grasping his own.

"Stay?" Izuku asked, seeming faintly surprised by his own movements.

Shinsou hesitated then shrugged. Wasn't like there were rules separating classes, they just did. He moved back to the group, not forgetting to send a smirk Bakugou's way.

It wasn't long after that episode, Hatsume bounced over, earning a glare from most of 1A, which she appeared not to notice.
"Izuku! My hero, mind if I join you? My class won't talk to me!"
"Welcome, honorary members of class 1A!" He proclaimed, and began to introduce everyone.
They finished introductions just in time for Midnight's speech to continue.

A Battle tournament.

The class watched as two of the students requested to withdraw. The first, Ojiro, on account of Shinsou's quirk.

Izuku took Shinsou's hand in his quietly, and squeezed it. Shinsou turned but was unable to hide the pain in his eyes.
"You used your quirk the best way you could." The greenette whispered softly, and squeezed the teen's hand again. This time Shinsou answered with his own squeeze before letting go.
Izuku moved away to give Ojiro a brief hug before he left.

They returned their attention to Midnight as she laid out the rules of the tournament.

Shinsou smiled slightly, wondering if Izuku had any idea what it was like to have a friend for the first time in his memory. He was clueless just how well Izuku understood.

———

The class strode together back to their waiting room. Since no one had stopped them, Shinsou and Hatsume had stayed with the group.

"So," began Todoroki eyeing Izuku, gaining the attention of the class. "Have you thought of an answer to my question?"
The class gazed in confusion.
Bakugou jumped conclusions and had a minor heart attack.
Seeing Bakugou's reaction...Shinsou among others also jumped conclusions and had minor heart attacks.
Izuku smiled, oblivious, "You do you. If you're only using half your power, I'll do the same in support!"

"What?" Asked Bakugou in more confusion than curiosity.
Izuku nodded cheerfully, and his voice rang clear enough for the whole class and class 1B behind them to hear him.
"I'm going to fight my way through this whole tournament, quirkless! No holds barred combat wise of course, but no quirk manipulation I promise."
Seemingly oblivious to the bombshell he'd just dropped, he continued to the waiting room humming lightly. Todoroki followed him.

Behind them, the world of miraculous possibilities suddenly opened up.
No one had expected to beat Aizawa Izuku. They simply hadn't been trained for it. Everyone consciously or subconsciously, had given up on number one, but now...

Bakugou could almost cry, what he'd said on that podium was nothing, fucking air, compared to what Izuku had just casually proclaimed.
But...unlike the rest, he had taken note of the term 'no holds barred', he glanced at Shinsou who had also trained with the guy, and their expressions mirrored each other.
Izuku wasn't going to use his quirk and make their losses forgivable... he was going to go quirkless and humiliate them with five second flat wins.
And there was nothing they could fucking do about it.

And Shinsou was up against him for the first fucking round.

———

They were completely wrong of course.
It simply wasn't Izuku's style.
He didn't have enough cruelty in him to do such a thing... unless he went up against Monoma perhaps.
Bakugou should have known. He'd done it before when they practised sparring. He watched with shocked realisation as Izuku stood opposite Shinsou and mouthed 'ten'.

Shinsou didn't even bother trying to use his quirk, he wasn't going to waste those ten opportunities where Izuku wouldn't attack him. Even if he'd never land a hit, this was Izuku giving him a gift.

He could see it as he hurled attack after attack, how Izuku moved slower than Shinsou knew he could, enabling the fight to seem closer.

He hated the charity. But knew he needed it, and could deliver on any gains he received from it. So when, after ten moves, within a blink he found himself unhurt and out of bounds...he took Izuku's offered hand and smiled.

———

Izuku parted ways with Shinsou as they left the stadium, only to come face to face with Endeavour.
He grimaced internally, Todoroki's story still fresh in his mind. He was too distracted by the presence of the man facing him to realise Todoroki himself was around the corner.

"You have a powerful quirk." He stated coldly.
Izuku raised his eyebrows.
"Do you deliberately make your voice that gruff to sound like an arsehole?"
"HOW DARE YOU-"
His shout drew attention of bystanders.
"I dare." Izuku's voice was soft. He forced it to sound calm, but standing up to abusive parents wasn't exactly his strong point and his heart trembled in his chest.

"MY SON WILL-"
"Todoroki Shouto is an amazing person with a heart of gold and I hope he will do what he goddamn chooses, without reference to you, me or anyone else."
With that, Izuku went to move past the hero, but Endeavour grabbed him by the arm, tight.
The greenette knew it was coming, so managed not to flinch this time. His eyes burned hotter than Endeavour's eyebrows as he raised his head to look at the 'hero'.

"Whatcha gonna do, hit me?"

The pair gazed at each other, drawing quite a crowd, but eventually Endeavour let go.
Izuku strode away, the bystanders parting to let him leave.

———

Shoto found Izuku in the infirmary, bandaging his arm, a red hand mark branded into it.

"You didn't have to do that." He muttered, eyeing the injury guiltily.
Izuku laughed. "I wouldn't have been true to myself if I hadn't. I'm sorry though. I haven't had the chance to fully think over your story. I've probably made things worse for you, haven't I?"

Todoroki moved forward and took the burn cream and bandages, treating the injury himself.
"It was the best thing I've ever seen. It'll be worth whatever comes."
"Shoto...do you have a curfew?"
He glanced up from his work to find warm green eyes on his.
"Sort of, but it's adjustable."

"If you can go home late at some point, I want to show you to where I live. If you EVER need to escape for a while. Or just can't take it. I swear to you, we can take you in for any length of time, from half an hour to a month, perhaps even longer. Aizawas know when not to ask questions. There will always be hot meals and a bed for you."

Izuku's gaze was steady and honest, and Todoroki fought the urge to cry again. He did something even rarer. He smiled. "Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to know you are welcome somewhere."

Izuku's expression seemed to stiffen slightly, he did have an idea after all. But all he said was, "You're always welcome, Shoto."