Chapter 18: The Club
The Club of Unrecognized Talent meets in a second floor classroom that day. Inazumi is still quiet, Shinsou is looking around like a weary animal, and Izuku isn't really sure what he is supposed to do. His closest friends – Katsuki, Mashi, and Mei – were all very outgoing and usually took charge when it came to conversations, but this was different. Izuku was the one trying to get them to come out of their shell. He was the one that came to them, not the other way around, and he needed to lead the conversation. He didn't want to rely on Mashi doing it for him all the time.
"So…" he begins slowly, tapping his hands on the podium, looking over everyone. Inazumi has taken to sitting at a desk in the back, quietly looking at a manga, but obviously not reading it, his eyes distant. Shinsou is sitting at a desk in the front row, looking out of place and anxious, but that could be because Mashi has decided his desk is the perfect place for her to perch. "I guess… Our first order of business is making it clear what the club is for."
"Proving everyone wrong!" the redhead yells, grinning proudly as Shinsou leans away from her in surprise, his tired eyes widening. Izuku felt for him. It would take a while to get used to the girl's energy.
"N-no…" Izuku raises his hands to hopefully calm her down at least a little. "No, we aren't here to prove anyone wrong… We're here to work on becoming the best we can possibly be. We are not going to allow how others see us change what we can become."
"So…" Shinsou leans to the side, looking around Mashi and at Izuku with a blank expression, "We're proving everyone wrong."
Izuku stares at him for a second, then to a victoriously grinning Mashi, then sighs, defeated. "Fine, yes, we're proving everyone wrong."
"Good," the purple-haired boy nods then settles back into his seat.
"But that's not why you should be here!" Izuku splutters. He was not doing too well at this. "Y-you should be here for you, and for others like us, not out of spite…"
"I dunno! Spite's a pretty damn good motorcycle! Wait…" Mashi's brows furrow as even she realizes she said the wrong thing.
"Motivator."
"Right! Motivator…" she waves a finger at Izuku, smiling brightly, then hesitates. "Hey, Zuzu, could you build me a motorcycle?"
"Maybe when you're older…" the green-haired boy's head drops forward into both his hands as Mashi cheers, taking that as a yes, because why not? This meeting was already a disaster.
"I think…" Shinsou suddenly speaks up and both Mashi and Izuku turn to look at him. His lips pinch shut at the sudden attention, eyes widening marginally, before he clears his throat and schools his expression. "I think it's fine to do things both to better yourself and out of spite."
"Or just because you want to…" the quiet voice is just loud enough for them to hear and they glance back at Inazumi. He's given up on his manga and set it down, watching them with a tired but familiar bored expression.
Izuku, after the initial surprise of hearing the boy speak again, nods slowly and ducks his head in shame. He was right. People did things for all kinds of reasons, or maybe they had the same reason, but different ways of practicing it. Izuku was realizing that quickly, especially with these two new additions to his group, and he felt terrible for assuming his own way was the only right way.
That didn't solve anything. That didn't better the world.
His whole goal in life was for people of all kinds to understand and respect each other, to work together despite their differences, but he had only been looking at the physical differences, and that was no good.
"You're right," he replies, running a hand through his loose hair, "You should do this for whatever reason you like, but… our goal is still the same!" Izuku stands up straight and raises his robotic hand to clench it into a fist, a strong look in his eye. "We're here to better ourselves and get ready for the world."
"Ready for the world?" Mashi repeats, one brow arched, before she smirks and sticks her chin up high. "PSH! The world should be ready for US!"
Izuku snorts at her but nods. "Yeah, that works too," he agrees before addressing his entire audience of three, a bit more confident in himself now. "Now, the way society is built we were all born with a disadvantage. Everyone is expected to succeed naturally, rather than work hard. Well, we're going to work hard, and we're going to help each other, and we're going to show the world never to look down on us again!"
"FUCK YEAH!" Mashi cheers, leaping off the desk, and throwing both her fists in the air.
"Woo," Shinsou waves his pointer finger in the air sarcastically before leaning both arms on the desk and looking up at Izuku with a slightly suspicious expression, "All this is great wishful thinking, but how exactly are we planning on doing any of it?"
"Oh!" Izuku straightens up and his eyes immediately begin to sparkle, a smile growing on his face. "You're right, not much save for some planning can really be done here, which is why we have another location that will serve our purposes much better!"
"Right…" Inazumi begins slowly, scratching at his cheek as he thinks back to something, "You did mention last week we'd mostly be here to plan and do homework…"
"If we work together we can finish that here more quickly, and then we can get down to the serious stuff," Izuku agrees, remembering talking about that with the other quirkless boy.
"So… where exactly is this other spot?" Shinsou questions, eyes thinning dubiously.
A ding inside Izuku's head alerts him to a new message in his chatroom and for a split second he pulls it up. He had been simultaneously messaging with Katsuki this entire time, the conversation reading:
TheMightyTitan: Hey, Kacchan, you remember that club Mashi and I were trying to start?
KingKill: The club for unfortunate nerds? Yeah, what about it??
TheMightyTitan: We finally got our fourth member and wanted to bring them by the clubhouse today. You going to be there?
KingKill: When the fuck am I NOT here???
KingKill: Of course I'm going to be there!!
KingKill: Why? What the fuck do you want??
TheMightyTitan: Well…
KingKill: Is it something stupid???
TheMightyTitan: How do you feel about being in charge of showing the newbies around?
KingKill: Is scaring the shit out of them an option?
TheMightyTitan: Nothing too graphic.
KingKill: I'm fucking in
Izuku smiles at the most recent message and turns to Mashi, nodding. She grins back at him, a knowing look in her eyes, then turns to their two, new friends.
"We are so fucking glad you asked!"
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When they had first posed the suggestion of bringing the CUT to the clubhouse Katsuki had not been pleased. He had yelled about how this was no one else's space but theirs, had been furious at the thought of opening it up to strangers, but Mashi had been the one to talk him down.
This had begun as a clubhouse, and they were definitely the founders, but it was quickly turning more and more into a headquarters instead. This was where they worked and prepared for the future, and where they were safe from the judgmental eyes of the world and its views. Yes, they had started it, but its purpose was so much bigger than just them.
Plus, it was a huge building, and they hardly even used half of the space already fixed up for them. There would be plenty of room for two more kids.
Eventually Katsuki had conceded, and they'd managed to get him fully out of his grouchy mood by watching a movie of his choice. There would be plenty of time for him to get used to the idea of allowing some new people into their clubhouse/headquarters.
Now that it was actually time to bring their two new friends to the clubhouse, despite Katsuki's agreement, Izuku couldn't help but be nervous.
When the CUT had first entered through the cloaking shield they hadn't been given much time to admire it before Katsuki was in their faces, letting out a series of loud, colorful explosions. Shinsou freezes up, eyes wide, Inazumi shrieks, Mashi falls backwards, and Izuku smacks a palm to his face. Well, Katsuki certainly was living up to the "scaring the shit out of them."
"Welcome to hell, assholes!!" Katsuki roars, a wild grin on his face, hands up as he lets off a few more colorful explosions thanks to his Rainbow Rockets.
"You bitch!" Mashi roars, suddenly in his face and swinging at him. The blond lurches back, avoiding the strike, grin turned sneer, and the two begin throwing strikes and explosions at each other, screaming insults.
While they work out their issues Izuku turns to Shinsou and Inazumi, a sheepish smile on his face. "Uh… right, so welcome to the clubhouse! It is entirely cloaked and hidden from the outside world thanks to my EAARDs. No one can see or hear us while within the dome, and…" Izuku turns towards his loud, arguing friends. They weren't yelling insults anymore and were instead on the ground, grappling and screaming nonsense. "That is my oldest friend, Kacchan."
"He's a dick…" Inazumi mumbles irritably, trying to recover from the scare, while Shinsou looks between the fighting kids and Izuku, his grip on his bike handles that he had been walking with since the school tightening.
"Your friends are…" the purple-haired boy begins but fades off, face pinching as he tries to think of an appropriate way of describing the two.
"Loud? Violent? Explosive? Destructive? Childish?" Izuku offers with a deadpan tone. Whatever he wanted to say, Izuku had already heard it all.
"Colorful?" the tall boy offers with an unknowing scowl. Apparently he was going the friendlier route.
"Bat crap crazy?" Inazumi offers instead, obviously NOT going the friendlier route.
Izuku eventually manages to break the two apart, yanking Mashi away with the superior strength in his robotic arm, knowing she was volatile, but wouldn't instinctively attack him like Katsuki would. Shinsou and Inazumi watch on, unimpressed and mildly concerned.
Once everyone has calmed down Izuku and Mashi give Katsuki the reins, letting him show their newcomers around, following and adding on tidbits of information as they go, like the purpose of all the plants outside or some of the details about the EAARDs.
Shinsou and Inazumi, now that the fighting is over, look around them with varying degrees of wonder. Shinsou mostly looks normal, walking with his hands in his pockets, his bike set back against the wall, but his eyes are wide and flicking around quickly, taking in the environment. Inazumi was a bit more open with his shock and amazement, but not by much, his head up and turning back and forth at everything.
"You… seriously built all this?" the tiny boy questions as they reach the front door, looking back at Izuku, his brows raised. Shinsou looks back as well and Katsuki, up front, crosses his arms and waits grumpily for the attention to come back to him.
"Uh… y-yeah, I did," Izuku says sheepishly, ducking his head and blushing a little, one hand playing with a strand of hair dangling in his face.
"And your arm…" Shinsou says, tone careful. He looked anxious and hesitant, but it was obvious curiosity was getting the better of him. "You built that, too, didn't you?"
"And his eye!" Mashi exclaims, grinning as she throws an arm around Izuku's shoulders and pulls him close, "And his spine!! Isn't he just the coolest?!"
"Mashi…" Izuku whines quietly, blush growing as the embarrassment grows. Yes, they knew about his arm and his eye, now, but that didn't mean he wanted to brag about it or anything. And honestly, despite them being part of their club, he didn't know how they felt about disabilities like his, or how they treated them.
"That… is pretty cool," Izuku looks up in surprise, catching Shinsou's impressed, purple eyes. The tall boy startles at the eye contact but quickly is back to his neutral expression.
"The coding for something like that must be extensive…" Inazumi whispers, looking down at his feet, a hand at his chin.
"I could get you a copy of some of it… I-if you wanted to look at it," Izuku offers hesitantly, now looking to the small boy, nerves fraying more and more when blue eyes look up at him, wide and surprised.
"Really?" Inazumi questions and Izuku, after a moment, nods. They stare for a second, silent and uncertain where to bring the conversation now, before slowly a small, thin smile grows on Inazumi's face. He hadn't smiled in a while, not since PE, and it felt like an invisible weight was suddenly lifted.
"Fuck, you're another nerd?!" Katsuki cuts in, arms still crossed as he's suddenly leaning into Inazumi's space. The white-haired boy's shoulders stiffen and he leans away, eyes widening in surprise as the angry blond stares him down.
"He likes coding," Izuku cuts in the second he sees Inazumi go into panic mode, the white-haired boy shutting down and ducking his head. Katsuki looks to him, eyes narrowed, then back to the silent boy. He must notice the tense air, the way everyone has seized up, ready to spring to action if necessary, and he slowly, slowly leans away. He gives Inazumi a look, then glances over at Izuku, saying with his eyes that he wants answers later, before he turns away with a scoff.
"Whatever. Just don't get obnoxious," the blond growls and pushes open the front doors.
Izuku and Mashi exchange a look and release their held breathes. That could have gone a lot worse, but it still wasn't perfect. They glance over to Inazumi, who has fallen completely silent as they move into the building, and the redhead quickly shuffles over to his side, not saying a word, just letting him lean towards her space as they walk.
Izuku can't help but smile at them, as Mashi continues to stand strong for their new friend, and they continue on with the tour. The entry room is still pretty devoid of furniture, but they've cleaned it up a lot more.
"We're thinkin' of painting it!" Mashi exclaims and Katsuki, who had been in the middle of talking, glares at her.
"We aren't painting the damn room, it looks fine!" he snaps and Mashi hums in disagreement.
"I dunno! I think it could be better! White is so booooooring!"
"It is a little bland," Izuku agrees absently, also looking up and around them at all the blank walls and columns. "But it's really not our number one priority right now." Mashi pouts at that, shoulders slumping, then growls when she spots Katsuki flipping her off with a smirk on his face.
Before they can begin fighting again Shinsou is taking a step forward and asking, "What do you even do here?"
"Preparing to fucking wreck the hero scene!" Katsuki announces loudly, grinning widely and flexing his hands.
"If you want!" Izuku adds on quickly. Yes, they were using the clubhouse to prepare for becoming heroes, but he had no idea what Shinsou and Inazumi wanted to do with their lives.
Katsuki glares at Izuku before scoffing and placing his hands on his hips. "Fucking fine!" he looks between Shinsou and Inazumi, his glare intense and irritable, "Preparing for whatever the fuck you wanna do, I fucking guess."
"I have a worktable back home, but here I have a lot of room to work on a huge variety of inventions," the green-haired boy offers, stepping through the group to join Katsuki at the front, "Including a lot of stuff for Kacchan and Mashi. He's actually wearing an old invention right now!"
Katsuki had been grumbling angrily about the tour being taken over, but the second Izuku looks to him and gives him the opportunity to show off, he's back to grinning and raising his hands. "My quirk is pretty fucking badass on it's own, but with these I can out-style anybody! My Rainbow Rockets!" he exclaims, letting off a series of colorful explosions, much like as he'd done when he'd greeted them.
"I call them his Gay Guns!" Mashi yells over the explosions and he swings on her, regular explosions going off in his palms while she cackles. He opens his mouth to begin screaming but Izuku suddenly lurches in front of him, cutting off his view from the redhead.
"ANYWAY!" he exclaims, voice cracking and mildly panicky. He notices that Inazumi has lowered his head and his shoulders are shaking, but when he spots Mashi's grin he realizes the small boy was actually laughing under his breath. Good, that was good. Inazumi was relaxing again, despite all the yelling and explosions.
Izuku turns his smiling face towards Shinsou now, hoping to see a similar reaction, that the other boy was relaxing and finding the teasing funny, but Izuku's good mood quickly plummets.
Shinsou didn't look happy at all. He didn't look angry or sad either, though. He just looked lost, his head down a little, staring at the floor with a confused, baffled expression. Izuku was beginning to feel his anxiety build quickly as he steps towards the taller boy and everyone's attention turns to them.
"Shinsou-kun?" he asks quietly and the purple-haired boy looks up, seeming to realize he had just been standing there, and shakes his head out of the daze he had fallen into. Izuku doesn't know what they had said to upset him, but he didn't want the boy being nervous around them. This needed to be a safe space for all of them.
"You said… you're working on becoming heroes?" Shinsou questions quietly. He can't seem to decide on what to look at, everyone's eyes on him, but when Izuku begins to speak the frantic, purple eyes focus on him.
"Yeah… we are. Kacchan, Mashi, and I are all aiming to become heroes. Remember how I said we all needed a little extra help? Well, Mashi and I are using technology for our heroics instead of quirks. I've developed a lot of helpful tools for us and… Shinsou-kun, are you okay?" Izuku steps fully towards him, hands hovering in front of him as the taller boy ducks his head again and raises his hand to rub at the back of his neck. He was shaking a little, but only Izuku could see that from being so close.
"I thought… You guys were just talking about leadership training, or something. I didn't realize you were aiming to be heroes," he says quietly. Izuku bites his lip and looks back frantically at Mashi, who shrugs, uncertain what to do herself.
"You don't have to do what we're doing but… If this is too intense…" Izuku turns back to Shinsou, trying to figure out the best course of action. "You don't… have to be in our club anymore…" The desire to see the purple-haired, tired boy succeed was still strong in Izuku's heart, but hero work couldn't be for everyone.
But then Shinsou is looking up again, an intense look in his eyes that makes Izuku jump, his hands clasped into fists at his sides. "My entire life I always wanted to become a hero, but no one thought I could with a quirk like mine."
Izuku's eyes widen at the admittance, standing up straighter. Wait… Shinsou wanted to be a hero too?
"Heroes always inspired me. I never really knew WHY I was drawn to them, but I just… was. All my life," Shinsou continues, a quiet flame building behind his eyes.
"The whole point of CUT, and this place, is to get ready for our dreams!" Mashi calls over, her emerald eyes gleaming. "And you wanna be a hero just like us?! Hot damn!! We're gonna be the most badass hero team EVER!"
Izuku grins and nods at that, but he doesn't take his eyes off Shinsou, watching as the boy straightens up even further, the flame growing. "Shinsou-kun… I think this very well might be fate," the genius says, grinning even wider, and the taller boy snorts a little in good humor. Slowly, a small smirk grows on his face and he nods down to Izuku.
"I guess it is," he replies quietly. He looked excited, but also very tired, like this kind of energy was foreign to him and he wasn't sure how to manage it.
"Man, I just wanna be a programmer," Inazumi suddenly comments once everyone falls silent and Izuku snorts in surprise, turning around and smiling at the smaller boy. Katsuki is giving the boy an odd, slightly unimpressed look, while Mashi grins a bit more nervously.
"Aaaaand… we will support that too!" the redhead says, trying to keep up the energy as best she can.
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The energy does, in fact, stay with them. They tour through the fixed up areas of the building, showing off Mashi's room filled with her old timey memorabilia and her massive pile of blankets and pillows where she relaxes. Katsuki won't let them see his room and Izuku isn't at all surprised. Katsuki was a relatively private boy, after all.
The workshops are a big hit, making both Shinsou and Inazumi stare in wonder. The biggest room is filled with what look like robotic animals scattered all over the place. Izuku explains they all will have some purpose controlled by a specific AI, each named after a Greek god or goddess, and will help him in his hero work.
After the tour is done they let Shinsou and Inazumi pick out empty rooms for themselves, which seems to get them excited. Inazumi picks a room far down the hall, away from everyone, and immediately begins talking about filling it with his computers, his video games, and his anime stuff, which makes Katsuki sneer and say, "Uhg, he's a nerd AND a weeb?"
"I know, right?" Mashi whispers back at him and Inazumi shoots them both an icy glare.
"It's called style," the boy snaps, sticking his nose high in the air.
"Are you super sure about that?" Shinsou replies dryly and Inazumi makes an offended noise that doesn't sound like it should come from a human being, making everyone giggle.
Inazumi shoos them away angrily so he can get back to planning his room and Mashi and Katsuki decide to head outside and spar. They'd been doing that a lot lately after Nemuri had suggested it. They both needed to work on their techniques since they weren't getting the in depth training Izuku was from Aizawa, and since they always wanted to fight each other anyway, why not do it in an actually helpful form?
Often times it still ended up turning into a brawl, though…
Izuku goes off on his own to one of his smaller workshops while Shinsou looks for where he wants to put his room. This workshop is a bit more private, a curtain put up in the doorway since they still hadn't gotten any doors for the interior of the building. Katsuki had used a curtain for his own room, which was where Izuku had gotten the idea.
Inside it is littered with parts and half built arms, eyes, and spines. This was where he worked specifically on the parts that connected to himself. He had all kinds of ideas and varieties for everything, mostly his arm, but working on these things was… intimate. He didn't want other people seeing this, or being part of the building process.
He didn't know how to exactly explain it, but by keeping this to himself it felt like he was taking back some of his control of the situation. Even with robotic replacements… he still didn't have an arm, or an eye, and his spine was still jacked up. Yes, he could function again, but actual parts of himself had been ripped away from him. He had been fighting to retake control for years now, and he still struggled. He struggled every time his back began to ache, or a thunderstorm made him stiffen, or the phantom pains made him cry.
Yes, Katsuki helped him plan, Mashi helped him install, but the building? This was all his, and his alone. It was great having support from the people he loved, but this was HIM taking back his own control, on his own.
Izuku looks down at his humanoid, robotic arm. He was sure he would still need it one day if he ever wanted to go incognito, but… Now it was time to be himself. He couldn't control how people saw him, but he could control how he reacted, and he was going to show them that yes, he was broken, but he was not destroyed.
He removes the humanoid arm and lays it in a cushioned, specialized drawer just for it, sliding it closed with a vacuum hiss, and then opens another and removes his usual arm, the shiny, silver-blue metallic Hera gleaming back at him, hiding black cords and all kinds of features.
For a second he allows himself to admire his work. He was proud of what he had accomplished, and now it was time to show it off.
"Whoa," the voice startles Izuku as he was about to attach the arm and he swings around. His eyes are wide and wild, hair everywhere, and Shinsou, who is standing there in the doorframe, startles backwards, his own eyes widening. His mouth opens and closes for a while, not sure what to say in the suddenly tense atmosphere. "Uh… I was… I was just going to ask something, but… I-I can leave," the purple-haired boy says quickly, hands raising, and Izuku deflates.
"I-it's fine…" Izuku mumbles and falls back into a chair. He was exhausted, he realizes. After the school day, the bully, worrying about the club meeting, and now worrying that everyone was happy and getting along it seemed he was finally crashing with this unexpected situation. "This is just kind of… a private workshop."
"I'll… wait outside, then," Shinsou finally decides on, voice falling quiet as he backs out, looking anywhere but at Izuku.
When he's alone again Izuku lets out a long breath and finally attaches the arm, feeling relieved at the familiar feel as he goes through the process of checking all it's movements and functions. He takes his time as he also switches out eyes, using a hanging mirror as he inserts the eye that has more functions, but that definitely looks more robotic.
When he steps back out into the hall he frowns when he sees Shinsou standing, leaning against the wall, looking blankly ahead. Before Izuku can say anything, however, the other boy is saying, "Maybe I shouldn't be here," and Izuku's stomach drops.
"W-What?! Because you saw my workshop?!" He questions and Shinsou shakes his head, lips pinching together, a stormy look on his face. Izuku wants to press for answers but he's reminded suddenly of Aizawa, and how he gathers his thoughts before he speaks, or Mashi and how she has issues with her words and needs time sometimes. Maybe Shinsou just needed a second?
"I keep screwing it up, it feels like," the purple-haired boy whispers, which has Izuku's brows furrowing in confusion. Okay, he knew now to allow the boy time for his answers but… Screwing what up? "I usually don't care too much about what people think of me or how I act. I'm a weirdo, I get it, but… I keep staring at your arm, or your scars, and I keep doing stupid stuff that makes you uncomfortable."
"When did I say I was uncomfortable?" Izuku questions, brows lowering, and he moves to stand across from Shinsou in the hall, leaning slightly against the wall as well.
The other boy looks up at him. Now it's his turn to look confused. "Aren't you, though?" he questions and his eyes snap towards Izuku's arm, before looking back at him, a guilty shine to his eyes, and just like that Izuku understands.
"You aren't used to dealing with handicapped people, are you?" the boy says slowly, a small, gentle smile growing on his face, and Shinsou looks away, his ears turning pink and a hand coming up to lay on the back of his neck.
"I'm not used to dealing with people," he admits quietly and Izuku can't help but laugh a little. Yes, he thinks he understands that some.
So Shinsou was worried he was making Izuku upset. He thought he was doing some kind of reprehensible damage to Izuku by being inexperienced and curious. "Well, first, don't assume anything," Izuku begins, tilting his head, "Like whether I'm uncomfortable or not. Yeah, I don't like my arm, face, or back being touched by new people, but that doesn't mean I'm uncomfortable. Just… do what you're doing now and talk to me."
The taller boy looks up at him, brows rising marginally in surprise, and Izuku smiles back at him. "What about… right there?" he asks, motioning with his hand towards the closed, maroon curtains leading to Izuku's private workshop.
"It's not like you knew about that," the genius shrugs, "And it's not like it's a secret that I don't have an arm. Not anymore." Shinsou doesn't look convinced so Izuku shakes his head and tries again. "All I, and anyone else, ever wants is for people to respect me and treat me as a normal human being. I have boundaries and limitations just like everyone else, except most of society isn't built to work with my particular limitations…" Izuku tilts his head and smiles, "And if you don't know about a boundary just ask. I'd much prefer you asking me first instead of assuming anything and making something more difficult than it needs to be."
For a long moment Shinsou is silent, staring down at his shoes, and Izuku waits. "What if I have a question about something? I don't want to make things bad or make you upset…"
"That's more than can be said than other people…" Izuku mumbles, remembering back in elementary school, or during his public volunteer experiments, some questions people would throw at him with little care for his feelings. "Questions are fine. This is a part of who I am…" Now it's Izuku's turn to look down as Shinsou looks up to watch him. "It took me a while, and I still have a lot of trouble, but I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud of what I've accomplished. Honestly, people asking me questions would be great, just don't be invasive or rude."
"How do I know if I am or not?" Shinsou asks and Izuku reaches up to adjust his curly hair a little bit.
"You might not," Izuku admits. "Usually you will, common sense and all that, but it's not like you can read minds and know what questions are okay or not until you ask them. Here's the big difference though…"
Izuku looks up at Shinsou meaningfully, raising his flesh hand to point at him and he stiffens. "If you ask something that I don't want to answer, I am going to tell you I don't want to answer it. It'll be awkward, especially the first few times, but if you're being nice and accept that I don't want to answer something than I'm happy and we can move on. It's when people actually get rude and demand I answer something or say I'm being wimpy or just… don't respect my answer not to answer… that's where it's a problem."
"Do people… actually do that?" Shinsou questions, his brow furrowed and his expression looking slightly mortified under his tired eyes and Izuku can't help but be a little grateful that this is Shinsou's response.
"Oh yeah. One time someone was getting a little too interested in the… specifics of my accident and I asked them to stop. They ended up yelling that they were only asking, that we – Mashi was there too – were being rude for no reason, and that if I didn't want to share anything than I should have just said so."
"But… that's what you did…?" Shinsou whispers, mortified look turning baffled and disbelieving. Izuku finds he quite liked the boy's expressions. They were refreshing and a little silly when compared with his bored, tired look.
"Yep!" Izuku nods, mouth thinning in frustration at the memory.
Shinsou falls silent again, looking away as he considers all this new information. "I've never… had any friends before," he admits eventually and Izuku stiffens. "I've never had any reason to give a shit about what people thought of me. I guess I just don't want to screw it up…"
"You aren't," Izuku says immediately, taking a step forward and holding up a fist in front of his chest. "You're doing great, Shinsou-kun! I promise!" he smiles brightly for a second, before his own shoulders slouch and he steps back again. "Honestly, I'm not very good at making friends either… All my close friends are the one's who tend to take charge and be really brave and easygoing, I hardly had to do anything…"
"So we both suck at this…" Shinsou observes, his body slowly beginning to relax and Izuku huffs a small laugh.
"Yeah, I guess so," he agrees with a nod.
"Well… so far I like you, Midoriya-kun" the purple-haired boy stands up from against the wall and Izuku huffs another, brighter laugh, smiling up at him.
"Well, so far I like you, too, Shinsou-kun!"
They have a moment where they say nothing, finally finding themselves at a kind of understanding, moving forward in their friendship, until it begins to get awkward and Izuku clears his throat. "So, what did you need to ask me?"
Shinsou blinks slowly, expression back to the bored, tired look, before he looks down the hall towards where everyone's rooms are located. "Oh… yeah… I wanted to know what I could bring for my room."
"Anything you want, really," Izuku says and they both turn to walk down the hall, at ease, a calmness to their nerves. "What were you planning?"
"Nothing crazy, just a few things here and there…"
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For a while Izuku helps Shinsou plan out his room, looking over the space and mapping out everything in his eye. He offers to help out Inazumi as well, but the boy shoos him off, saying he's got it all handled.
As they plan, it becomes abundantly clear Shinsou intends to really make this into his space, planning for a bed, clothes, a desk, and all kinds of other things Izuku wasn't expecting.
"You know… we aren't expecting you to move in or anything," Izuku half-jokes at one point, but Shinsou doesn't reply, just pauses for a second then gets back to planning. It's concerning, but Izuku doesn't think they're close enough for him to begin prying into his personal life.
"Where's the living room?" says someone behind Izuku and he turns around to see Inazumi in the doorway, arms crossed and looking impatient. When Izuku just stares at him he groans like this is a bigger issue than it really is. "Living room? Or break room? Or family room? Take your pick, where is it?"
"Uh… we don't have one?" Izuku offers finally, voice getting higher at the end like it's a question, and Inazumi looks absolutely insulted.
"Don't have one? This place is huge! Look at all those empty rooms, and you honestly don't have a living room?" he questions, scandalized and Izuku glances back at Shinsou, who shrugs at him, telling him this is his problem, not Shinsou's.
"I guess not?" Izuku turns back to Inazumi. He hadn't really thought of everything they could actually put into the clubhouse until now. Mostly he had been interested in getting the necessities finished, like having working plumbing and electricity, and getting his workshops running, but now that Inazumi was asking it probably wasn't a bad idea to begin considering other rooms.
"You can make one, if you like, I wouldn't mind," Izuku continues, "And everyone can help, of course." Inazumi gives him a side glare for a little while longer, weighing the option, before huffing daintily and turning around.
"I suppose I must," he says, hurrying off at a speed that reveals just how excited he actually is to do this.
It has Izuku thinking, though, and he forgets he's helping Shinsou plot out his room. A living room wasn't a bad idea at all. A place where everyone could meet up, relax, play, eat. A kitchen would be a great addition as well, especially since Katsuki was such a good cook. This place was supposed to feel safe and homey, so adding these rooms could only help in the long run.
There were also plenty of additions they could add on to assist with their work, not just Izuku's workshops. A gym, a firing range, testing rooms… It would take them a long, long while to actually do all of this… With more space to work Izuku could probably build more efficient robots than his Bendies to work on the clubhouse, but even then it would take a long time.
It was still a good plan, Izuku thought, and he makes a note of it in his built in computer. He had… a lot of notes and ideas. He really needed to organize those.
The calm of the moment doesn't last much longer, Shinsou quietly working on his plans as Izuku considers an organization system, as suddenly he hears the front door being slammed open in the distance.
"GET OUT HERE, YOU NERDS!!" Izuku hears Katsuki scream.
"WE GOT A LITTLE PROJECT FOR YOU!!" Mashi yells next and, oh no, that can't be good. The two of them were working together? Weren't they sparring? What had happened there?
Slowly, after a glance between them, Izuku and Shinsou make their way out to the entry room, cautious but curious. Mashi and Katsuki are standing next to each other, looking wild and intense, Mashi grinning and Katsuki scowling. Nothing looks too out of the ordinary thus far…
"HEEEEEY!!!" Mashi shrieks towards the doorway leading to the majority of the rooms in the clubhouse. "GHOST BOY, HURRY UP!!"
"Ghost boy?" Izuku questions, brows furrowing. She obviously meant Inazumi, but where had that nickname come from?
"'Cause he's pale as shit," Katsuki growls with an eye roll, like that was supposed to be obvious.
Before Izuku can ask any follow up questions there's a stomping from the hall and Inazumi is storming out, looking furious and frazzled. "I was working, you loud savages! What do you want?!"
"Rite of passengers!" Mashi yells.
"Passage," Katsuki snaps.
"Passage of passengers!" Mashi yells just as loudly as before.
"I actually hate you right now," Katsuki turns his red glare on the girl, but she doesn't flinch, fully aware of what she was doing to infuriate him.
"Noted!" she grins, not missing a beat, still focused on the three boys in front of them. "Aaaaaaanybutt! You both have picked out a room, right?" Shinsou nods and Inazumi crosses his arms, not responding, just waiting for them to get to the point already. "Well, now we got a little project for you!"
"We had to do this shit, so now you do, too," Katsuki says angrily and turns and stomps back outside. Mashi is close behind, expecting them to follow.
"This is a waste of time," Inazumi snarls as they walk after the two loudest members of the group. Shinsou shrugs, not seeming to really care what they were doing now. Not getting the response he wanted Inazumi snaps his head forward and down and begins grumbling to himself.
When they finally step outside Izuku lets out a surprised bark of laughter, the pieces finally coming together for him.
Five box planters are set on the ground, cleaned and fixed up, and the Haganehato cart has been filled with tons of new flowers and dragged onto the grass. Izuku isn't sure when Mashi and Katsuki had planned to do this, or when they had executed their plan, but he was definitely impressed.
"When we first were able to work in the clubhouse we also planted toooooons of flowers and plants!" Mashi explains as Izuku comes over to inspect the cart of flowers, leaving Shinsou and Inazumi to stand together, very much confused.
"We noticed that," Shinsou says, trying to be sarcastic, but too confused for it to fully come out right.
"Well, we all also got our own personal planters for our rooms and got 'em all pretty and shit!" the redhead motions over the empty planters in front of them with a big flourish.
"NOW IT'S YOU NERDS' TURNS!" Katsuki roars, right beside Mashi, making her jump in surprise, then turn and glare at him. He smirks right back at her.
"Why are there five out, then?" Inazumi questions, moving hesitantly closer, like he's worried the planters will bite or something.
"We already did ours, yeah, but it's a good bonding experience!" Mashi says as she lifts up a large bag of soil from the cart, lugging it over to the five planters and dropping it in the middle, "And there's a bunch of other planters that need flowers anyway."
"Our challenge is agreeing on which flowers should go in all the other planters," Izuku comments, scanning over all the little plastic cups of flowers with his robotic eye to read their names and meanings.
"Easy! Me and Firework over there already figured it out!" Mashi says, sliding over with a wide grin, and Izuku gives her a cautious expression. They had already decided? And AGREED? What on earth was happening? What alternate dimension was he suddenly in?
The redhead ignores her friend's baffled look and picks up a big tray of a colorful assortment of flowers. "Chrysisisiss! No, wait… Uh…" Mashi lifts up the tray to get a look at the labels on the flowers, brows furrowed. "Chryseesum? Chrysmasumum? Chrysthusmum? Christmas— I give up."
"Chrysanthemum?" Izuku asks, a smile on his face at Mashi's attempts, and the redhead nods.
"Yeah! That's the one!"
"So you want us to… make our own flower planters?" Shinsou questions, walking over to the cart as well. He looks over all the flower options, brows raised in surprise.
"Didn't we say that?" Katsuki snaps and Shinsou looks over at him with an unimpressed look, frowning a little deeper, before turning back to Izuku and Mashi. The green-haired boy smiles up at him apologetically for his explosive friend.
"This is so ridiculous!" Inazumi exclaims, standing by the five planters and glaring down at them like they had somehow offended him. "I didn't come here to get dirty, I came here to get my brother off my back and to practice my coding in peace!"
Mashi lets out a harsh, frustrated breath, setting down the tray of chrysanthemums on the cart. "You're just planting some flowers, chill!"
Izuku can see the argument mounting. Even with Mashi defending Inazumi and being by his side, it was clear that didn't mean they suddenly would get along on a normal basis.
"Inazumi-kun!" he cuts in quickly, raising his hands towards the pale boy. "I have some spare lab coats inside you could borrow? And we have plenty of gloves, too!" Inazumi turns to him, his blue eyes still thinned in his frustration, but he relaxes a tiny bit while addressing Izuku.
"You want me to do this, too?" he questions and Izuku shrugs.
"Honestly? Yeah… They aren't wrong, it's a nice bonding experience, but nobody is going to make you do it if you don't want to. RIGHT, Mashi?" Izuku looks to his side where the redhead is pouting angrily, arms crossed. When she realizes she's being addressed she looks up, brows rising in surprise, before huffing and nodding.
"Yeah, yeah, we won't make ya…" she grumbles.
"Good," Inazumi snaps, "because I'm not doing it." He turns with a snap and marches right back into the clubhouse, not allowing anyone to argue against his decision any further. Izuku frowns sadly at the boy's prompt retreat, shoulders falling a little. He wanted Inazumi to be included and happy, but if he honestly didn't want to do this than they would need to accept that.
"I like these," Shinsou says and Izuku looks over to him, he had approached the cart so quietly, as he holds a few flowers in his arms. One of his choices is a pretty assortment of anemone flowers in multiple colors and the others are beautiful phlox flowers the deepest purple Izuku has ever seen.
"Oooooh!" Mashi leans towards him, looking over his choices with sparkling eyes.
"Great! Can we get fucking started already?!" Katsuki snarls as he marches over and picks up the chrysanthemums since Mashi wasn't bringing them over. Izuku arches a brow as the blond storms back to the planters, thoughtful and amazed.
He wasn't sure if Katsuki was in a good or bad mood. He was actively working alongside Mashi, he was volunteering to do activities he had previously been furious to do, and he was even eager to show off their clubhouse, if just so he could be in charge. Izuku had been so happy that things were going well with him, but now he was beginning to wonder. It felt so out of character now that maybe it wasn't such a great thing? Perhaps something else was going on he couldn't quite see.
Izuku knew Katsuki had issues when it came to being left out, that he got angry and insulted, taking almost everything more personally than they needed to be. Izuku didn't blame him for that, he knew Katsuki didn't actually mean to feel that way, didn't WANT to feel that way, but he also knew that no one was truly to blame. Not Katsuki, not Izuku, not Mashi, not the CUT, not anyone. It was all usually just a big misunderstanding.
Izuku is suddenly being nudged roughly in his side and he looks to his left at Mashi, brows furrowed in confusion. She's looking back at him with an earnest expression, frowning lightly. "Stop worrying, he's fine," she says quietly, pulling him over by his arm to pick up some more of their flowers.
Izuku's brows rise in surprise, but really he shouldn't be. Of course she was able to read what was bothering him. Of course she knew what was going on in his head and the things he was worried about. "How do you know?" he questions lowly, taking a tray for his own planter. Shinsou has since gone over to pick his own planter and is currently sitting on the ground and staring at it, uncertain how to begin.
"Well… he wasn't earlier," Mashi replies, pulling at her braid and releasing a few wild strands of hair. She bites her lip and glances back at their explosive friend, who is grumbling as he preps his own flowers and soil. "We came outside to spar and he was… extra angry? So we talked while we were fighting, he got some angry crying in, punched me in the ear, which HURT, and then I suggested we do something all together because… y'know… we're all a team, now, whether he's at school with us or not."
"That was really amazing of you, Mashi," Izuku whispers. He hadn't noticed his two, closest friends bonding that much. What he had seen was them bickering, and yelling, and fighting, but evidently he had been missing something. Evidently they had connected at some point, even if they still argued, and Izuku had been completely unaware. He felt a little bad for not paying close enough attention, but it was short-lived for the flood of joy and pride in his friends.
"I actually suggested he be part of CUT, too, even though I really, really didn't want to," the redhead grumbles, glaring down at the flowers in her arms. "He turned it down, though. Said he didn't want to be part of something for 'nerds like us,' which I think means he recognizes he isn't 'Unrecognized,' or something."
Izuku glances back towards Katsuki, who is now yelling at a very irritated Shinsou for not doing something right, and they really should head over soon to make sure they don't kill each other, but something in what Mashi had said makes him pause. He turns back to her.
"Why didn't you want him to join…?" he asks, leaning in some to make sure their conversation stays private. He was just beginning to assume she and Katsuki had been bonding, so why wouldn't she want him to join the CUT? Yes, Katsuki was right, he wasn't Unrecognized, so he wouldn't really fit into the purpose of the club, but why was Mashi so against it?
"Honestly? I didn't really want Purple-zawa to join, either," the redhead mumbles and Izuku has to take a breath so he doesn't laugh at Shinsou's nickname. It seemed he wasn't the only one that noticed the tall boy's similarities to Izuku's neighbor.
"Why not? He's been mistreated by society, too," Izuku replies gently, and Mashi looks away, obviously frustrated.
"Yeah, I know that, but… After everything people with quirks have put us through, it's… it's hard to… I don't know, it's just hard!" Mashi snarls, shaking her head, giving up on finding the right wording, and Izuku cringes in sympathy.
He couldn't really blame her, could he? They were both quirkless, had both been treated terribly for it, and to suddenly be faced with the reality that the quirkless weren't the only ones harmed by quirk society… It didn't feel right. Not for any of them.
"The world isn't as black and white as we'd like it to be…" Izuku says, looking down at the flowers, summing up what his friend was saying, nodding in agreement. Maybe, for this particular situation, being handicapped had been an advantage for him. He had seen kids, with and without quirks, in that children's ward all those years ago, all hurt and trying their hardest to recover and go back out into the world. They all knew, at such a young age, that it wouldn't be the same, that they would be treated differently, and it had nothing to do with their quirks.
Izuku had already seen that society saw what it wanted, labeled as it pleased, and anyone could be a victim. Mashi didn't have that. Not quite to the same level. She had only ever been quirkless, she hadn't seen all those kids at the hospital, her only frame of reference was that people with quirks beat down those without.
"I'm trying, Zuzu," the redhead suddenly says, voice cracking, and Izuku realizes there's tears in her eyes. "I'm really trying to accept that… people with quirks get treated like shit too, because you're accepting them, and you're right about so much—"
"You shouldn't do it for me, Mashi, you should do it for them and your own sanity," Izuku cuts in and the redhead looks over at him, face wet and brows turned up in distress. She stares at him for a long moment before snorting and ducking her head.
"Yeah… you're right…" she mumbles, "As always." There's a pause but it doesn't feel like they're done. "I like Purple-zawa…" she mumbles, "He's awkward but he's nice and he doesn't judge us for not having quirks… I don't like that people are mean for his quirk, a-and I want to want him in the CUT…"
"That's all you can do," Izuku says and the redhead sucks in a breath. "All you can do is try and work hard to be better. It's not like we can just… flip a switch and forget years of abuse and prejudice." Mashi lets out her breath and nods, head still bowed.
"Yeah…" she whispers and for a while she just stands there and breathes, trying to compose herself. When she finally seems to have calmed down and she rubs at her face with her shoulders, she turns to smile at Izuku, small but sincere. "Thanks, Zuzu… Now… Enough of the squishy feelings, please? Let's go plant these flowers, already—"
She's cut off when the front door to the clubhouse is slammed open, making them all jump and look around to see Inazumi standing there, wearing one of Izuku's lab coats, frowning deeply at them all. "Alright, alright! Nobody fret! I'm sure you all were very upset with my absence, but I have decided to join you and fill those big holes in your hearts," he announces, sauntering down the porch steps and towards their group. On the last step the long lab coat catches under his shoe and he stumbles, arms flailing, but manages to catch himself at the last minute and stand back up straight.
Mashi deflates beside Izuku, grumbling irritably, and says, "You kill my heart, that's what you do." Inazumi shoots a glare over at her, but doesn't offer any response, then glances back over at the planters. His brow furrows in confusion when his eyes fall on the pair currently trying to plant their flowers.
"What's up with the explosion kid?" he questions and Mashi and Izuku look over to find Katsuki working on his planter, as they had last seen him, but now he is completely quiet, his eyes devoid of all emotion like a zombie. They all slowly look to Shinsou, who blankly stares back at them, blinking slowly and with no shame.
"He was very loud," is all the purple-haired boy says and Mashi cackles loudly while Izuku lays his face into both of his palms.
"I'm certainly not complaining," Inazumi huffs as he makes his way over to the cart of flowers, grabbing a couple of white roses and a large amount of lovely, blue hyacinths.
"Please release Kacchan, Shinsou-kun," Izuku groans and Shinsou smirks a little bit at him, before conceding and releasing the blond boy. For a second it is silent, Katsuki sitting there, blinking wide-eyed, before he explodes, quite literally, and begins yelling at Shinsou.
"Don't you fucking dare burn those flowers, Street Flare!" Mashi screams over at him, marching over with her own tray of chrysanthemums, leaving Izuku to exchange an exhausted look with Inazumi.
Despite all the yelling, and Shinsou's smug little smirk, and Inazumi's flaunting, Izuku can't help but smile. This felt right, sitting down once they've mostly all calmed down, planting even more flowers for their clubhouse.
It felt like they were officially becoming a team.
----------
The flowers get planted and Mashi plays more music.
("LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS!" Mashi takes a big breath, "TO DEFEAT!" another big breath, "THE HUNS!!"
"Apparently she's in a Disney mood," Izuku mumbles after having listened to her sing along to at least six Disney songs on his Shoulder Speaker.
"DID THEY SEND ME DAUGHTERS!" Katsuki roars, voice cracking on his screams as he and Mashi belt out their favorite Disney song together. "WHEN I ASKED… FOR SOOOOOONS!!"
"Please let Shinsou shut them up now," Inazumi growls, rubbing his temples, and Izuku tries really hard not to actually go with that idea.)
They all finish up with what they wanted to do at the clubhouse. Inazumi has a few pages of graph paper Izuku let him borrow with plans for his own room and a living room sketched on them. Shinsou mostly just has his plotted out in memory, though he also has Izuku's helpful notes. Mashi got some more practice in working on her gunstaff, and Izuku and Katsuki worked together on a few more of Izuku's large builds.
It was a full day, but as the sun began to set they decided it was time to go. Katsuki had to leave first and hurry off to catch a train home. Inazumi was next to leave. His home was in the complete opposite direction as anyone else's and he wanted to leave before it got too dark.
In the end Izuku, Mashi, and Shinsou all walked home together as the last kids left. Shinsou's bike tires click with every rotation as he walks with it by his side and Mashi yammers on about all kinds of nonsensical things. Izuku can't help smiling as they go, listening with half an ear, a bit of sympathy for Shinsou as Mashi mostly focuses on their new friend. The tall boy looks a little anxious, leaning away from the loud redhead.
As they walk Izuku considers his previous thoughts on organizing his notes and plans. His super computer could manage a huge amount of data, WAY more than what Izuku was currently using. It needed to. With everything Izuku had planned for his eye and the computer built into his brain it would need to handle a lot of functions. That just meant Izuku would have even more he would need to figure out how to organize… but how?
He had a lot of systems he was planning on building, all being lead by some kind of AI, perhaps he should make another one? A personal assistant, of sorts, but what to call it, and what to make its job specifically? What would it focus on? What would it be required to think about and consider? All were questions he would need to work out first.
"Earth to Zuzu," Mashi cuts into his thoughts and he looks up to find they have stopped at a fork in the road. This was a familiar spot by now. This was where he and Mashi would split if they weren't both heading to one of their homes. Izuku would continue straight and Mashi went right.
"Sorry," he smiles sheepishly, looking between the knowingly smirking redhead and the curious but mostly tired Shinsou.
"Eh, I'm used to it," Mashi shrugs, "But anyway! I'm off for home! Mama's cookin' tonight!" Now that sounded good. Haganehato Mottai was a whiz when it came to cooking meats and making them just the right texture with just the right juiciness and tenderness, but Izuku wouldn't be joining them tonight. He had his plans to work on, after all. Plus, he preferred to plan these things ahead of time with his mother, unlike Mashi's spur of the moment visits.
"You enjoy that, then," Izuku smiles and Mashi grins back, yanking him into an expected, but still jarringly powerful hug. She luckily spares Shinsou, just giving him a strong smack to the back instead of a hug, and then she's jogging off, braid swaying behind her like a tail.
"She's really… energized, isn't she?" Shinsou questions, rubbing his back where the girl had smacked him, scowling a little. Izuku shrugs and nods. What could he say? Shinsou was right, and it wasn't like much else could be added that he didn't already know.
They start walking again, both heading straight, the sound of Shinsou's bike the only thing filling the silence that settles between them.
"You know… I could see if I could fix that… if you want," Izuku says into the tense air. They still weren't certain how to be around each other. When they had something to do, like planning Shinsou's room or planting flowers, it had been easier, but this was just walking.
"My bike?" Shinsou questions to clarify, glancing down at the front, clicking wheel. It was an old thing, the color it once was long faded and chipped away. It was held together now just out of sheer stubborn energy. "There's really no point," he says with a shrug, looking forward again. "I'd be better off just getting a new one… if that could ever happen."
Izuku stares at him for a long moment. There was a lot in that single statement, a lot that needed unpacking, but he wasn't sure where to even begin. So he continues with what he knows. "I could still see what I could do. Maybe upgrade it some."
The purple-haired boy turns to look at him, eyes sharp and considering. "You'd really do that? Why?"
"We're friends now, aren't we? Besides, I like helping people out!" Izuku offers up a big smile, "Makes me feel all nice and warm inside."
Shinsou's eyes stay on him for a while longer, silent as he thinks, and Izuku begins to sweat at the stare. This was nothing like their conversation in the hallway. Shinsou was guarded now, perhaps because the subject matter had more to do with him than anything. "You can take a look at it," he finally concedes, looking back down at his bike, and the green-haired boy lets out a tense breath.
"Great! I promise I'll be gentle!" Shinsou looks back at him, one brow arched, and a pink blush creeps onto Izuku's cheeks. He clears his throat and looks away quickly. "That came out wrong."
The taller boy hums in agreement, but from the corner of his eye Izuku sees a smirk grow on the other's lips.
"Do you live nearby?" Izuku asks, looking around them at the buildings. There aren't many apartment buildings in this particular area until they get to Izuku's home, but perhaps Shinsou lived past that? Or he might split off soon like Mashi had.
"You want to take a look now?" Shinsou questions, one brow arching as he gives Izuku a baffled look. The boy just shrugs. Why not? There was plenty of time for him and a bike fix really shouldn't be too hard, so long as he wasn't taking Shinsou too far off his path.
The purple-haired boy sighs deeply, realizing all he was getting was a shrug from Izuku, and looks ahead of them down the street. He looked frustrated for some reason, and Izuku wasn't sure why. "I live a few blocks down this way," he explains, then proceeds to give Izuku the directions to his home from where they are. So he was past Izuku's apartment, and not too far away either. They were hardly neighbors, but out of everyone in their group they were definitely the closest.
Izuku explains where he lives, and how they're getting nearer, and Shinsou takes a few beats to think about that, before his back straightens. "I could stick around while you look over my bike, then. Then I don't have to come and get it later," he suggests.
The green-haired boy begins to nod, thinking the idea is reasonable, and it would give them a chance to get to interact more, but then something in the back of his head begins making noise. Warning bells, but not for his own safety.
Pieces of a puzzle begin to piece together, pieces he has only gathered today in the short time he has known Shinsou Hitoshi, but they are beginning to make a lot of sense.
Izuku stops walking and Shinsou does too, looking down at him with a confused curve to his brow. The quirkless boy stares back, a thoughtful, and slightly concerned look to his eyes.
"Shinsou-kun… is everything okay at your home?" Izuku asks slowly, voice careful and not at all combative. He didn't want to start any arguments, but he wasn't sure if he was pushing the boundaries of their not-even-one-day-old friendship.
When the purple-haired boy stiffens Izuku begins fretting, rambling quickly, "I-it's just, you seemed pretty eager to come to my house instead of heading to your own, which was fine, but you also were pretty set on making your room at the clubhouse like a bedroom and you were quiet when I joked about it and I really don't want to pry but I'm worried, I'm a worrier, it's what I do and—"
"Midoriya…" Shinsou cuts in suddenly, his head ducked, and the smaller boy chews his lip but falls silent. Right, Shinsou was the kind of person that needed time to consider his answers. "There's nothing wrong back at my house…" he begins and Izuku is about to let out a breath, planning how to apologize for assuming when he had told Shinsou not to assume anything about Izuku, but then the taller boy continues. "Because there's nothing at all back at my house. My parents don't really… care what I'm doing. They just feed me, make sure I have a roof over my head, and do everything parents are required to do by law and that's it. I don't…" Shinsou hesitates and the look on his face looks like he's physically hurt by what he's trying to say. "I don't even think they ever really wanted me…"
Izuku stiffens, a heavy lump forming in his throat and his eyes widen. He had been worried something was wrong back home for Shinsou, but he hadn't actually been prepared for what it might be. "I'm sure that isn't true…" he whispers. It was a little tough to breath all of a sudden.
"One time I ran away from home. I was gone for three whole days. When I got back they hadn't even realized I'd left," Shinsou all but snarls, glaring down at the pavement with an anger Izuku has never witnessed before. An anger from hurt, from betrayal, from a child to their uncaring parents. It's so alien to him.
"I…" Izuku begins but stops the apology forming on his tongue. No, that wouldn't help Shinsou at all. "I wasn't expecting that…" he decides on lamely, his own head falling as tears begin burning at his eyes. What right did he have to cry? He wasn't the one hurting, yet somehow, because Shinsou wasn't, Izuku felt like maybe he should instead.
"You asked," the purple-haired boy shrugs and now he just sounds tired and lonely and Izuku really, really hates it.
"I'll help you move your bed into the clubhouse?" the smaller boy offers, half joking but honestly prepared to help out any way he can. It must be the right thing to say because Shinsou lets out a surprised, weak chuckle and Izuku looks up at him. He was eying Izuku oddly, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle.
"How about you just focus on the bike, first?" Shinsou says, voice quiet but a bit clearer. He seemed almost relieved they were quickly moving away from the subject of his home and his parents.
"Hey, now, I'm a great multi-tasker! I work on all kinds of projects at once. Moving a bed and fixing a bike at the same time would hardly be a challenge," Izuku huffs, pouting a little bit and Shinsou smirks at him.
"Good to know," is all he says, and it sounds like they should keep walking but Izuku is still glued to the spot, considering the purple-haired boy. Shinsou shifts from one foot to the other, head tilting in uncertainty.
"You can come over to my apartment whenever you want," Izuku finally decides and Shinsou's brows rise in surprise, not expecting that.
"What?" he questions, his hands on his bike's handlebars tightening.
"Yep! Anytime you want. My mom won't have an issue, I know it. If anything she may end up wanting to keep you," Izuku continues and Shinsou's ears turn pink, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. "I'm serious. She has a habit of taking in people she thinks might need it."
"Sounds fun," Shinsou coughs, looking away, obviously not sure how to react to that information. Izuku smiles at him, finding the response to be pretty funny, before finally they turn to start walking again. "I'll… consider it," the taller boy laments after a while.
"That sounds fine," Izuku agrees, smiling over at the other boy. "Did you still want to come over tonight? You could join us for dinner."
"What are you having?" Shinsou questions, looking back at the smaller boy, who shrugs.
"I'm not actually sure. Mom didn't tell me what she was making tonight," he admits and an odd look passes over Shinsou's face and he quickly looks away.
"Home cooking?" he whispers, half to himself, and Izuku's brows furrow, before he realizes with a sympathetic pang that if Shinsou's parents were really as uncaring as he said, they likely never made food for him at home. Home cooking was probably a rare, or even a foreign experience, and Izuku really hated that. He hated that Shinsou had to put up with this. He hated that any parent would ever treat their child this way.
"Yeah…" he whispers back, "Home cooking."
Shinsou nods a few times and looks off to the side so Izuku can't see his face. The taller boy takes a second to scrub at his face before he clears his throat and turns back to Izuku. "Sounds like a plan," he finally agrees, voice carefully blank.
Izuku offers up a kind smile and he nods. He had been joking about his mother adopting Shinsou the second she saw him, but it was quickly becoming apparent she wasn't going to have the chance, because Izuku was doing it for them. It seemed like both the Midoriya's were eager to take in those in need, to look after people that lacked someone to look after them the way a family could.
"Yeah," he breathes and Shinsou slowly smiles back at him, "Sounds like a plan."