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People often forget the most trivial of details when they believe something else entirely. For instance, his entire class loves to hold the notion that he is an ultimate 'cinnamon roll.' That he is merely an optimistic, self-sacrificing son of a bitch that only cares about everyone else; they are only half right. They choose to ignore how easy it is to rile him up, how quickly he steps forward for a fight no matter who the opponent is. He has always been this way. Always be the first to throw a punch or the first to step in front of someone. He knows why his mother is in a constant state of worry when it comes to him; additionally, he never really learned how to not speak his mind. He wasn't afraid to destroy someone, to put someone in their place, and walk away without a shred of remorse. Kacchan knew this and was the one constantly stepping in to stop him. Even when the two of them went their separate ways during middle school, or more like Kacchan tried to develop a toxic masculinity hard shell, they still knew/understood each other.
Kacchan knew that Izuku was a massive asshole who didn't care about other's feelings, but Izuku also knew Kacchan. When people see Kacchan, they see a loudmouth, aggressive, hard head that can't think anything through or have any other feelings; they are wrong. Kacchan is the 'cinnamon roll.' He is the one that is sweet and caring of others. Kacchan was the one who would stop to help the old ladies cross the street, the one who would rescue a cat from a tree and always be aware of how others felt around him. In fact, when they were both younger, and even to the present day, Kacchan was the one who could sweet talk them out of any trouble Izuku had dragged them into. He was the one that had rescued and nursed five stray dogs back to health in their neighborhood; they even still come around to receive affection from the exploding blonde. Alas, people love to make assumptions about those they don't genuinely know. Their classmates embraced that ignorance.
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Living in the dorms was possibly one of the smartest and dumbest decisions he had ever made. Izuku knew that fighting for the ability to stay at the dorms was gonna come back and bite him in the ass. He just didn't realize that it would be in such an explosive way. They had just finished up the school festival with a bang, he got to see Eri smile, and honestly, that was all he really wanted to see. Nothing else mattered to him besides seeing a young girl who had been put through unbelievable torture be able to smile. So, he was riding a little bit of a high after he wished Eri and Mirio a good night and made his way back to the dorms. His mind must have still been riding that high as he walked through the door because what he walked into was disturbing.
You see, Izuku Midoriya was raised by a single mother after his father decided to fuck off just after his 10th birthday. Inko Midoriya is the reason he has any sort of respect for those around him. She was the person who reinforced emotions and caring about those who are less fortunate than yourself; she was also the one who taught him how to punch when he was five. Therefore, when Izuku walked into the common area of the dorms and found Mineta cornering Momo, even utilizing his quirk to force her further back, Izuku's good mood quickly turned sour. He saw no one in the room, but he could hear some of his classmates in the adjacent kitchen. Mineta must have not heard him because the grape pervert reached one of his hands towards Momo’s legs and that's when Izuku saw red.
In an instant, he was across the room, green lightning flashing around his body as he grabbed his classmate by the throat and slammed him against the back wall. Mineta was a well-known pervert and typically harmless, mainly making lewd comments that resulted in someone calling him out on it. This, however, crossed that very thin line that Mineta liked to walk, and Izuku was done with the other boy.
"I am going to give you 5 seconds to try and explain what the ever-living fuck you were doing. If I don't like your answer, and I probably won't, I will make you alias a fucking reality." Izuku spoke, his voice pitched low and steady as he stared the other boy down.
The sudden noise of Mineta being slammed against the wall must have alerted those in the kitchen because as soon as Izuku spoke he heard the pounding of slippers grow closer. He, personally, didn't care what they all thought of the scene they walked in on; there were bigger issues to deal with.
"M-Midoriya," Mineta gasped, his small hands grasping at the hand currently around his throat.
"I told you I wanted a fucking explanation, you pervert grape." Izuku said, his fingers tightening around the other's neck.
"Midoriya what are you doing?" Idia asked, his voice shaking as if he didn't know how to process the scene in front of him.
Izuku knew what he looked like when he allowed his quirk to flow through him, he knew his eyes glowed an unnatural green, and the lightning shot all around his body at a staggering rate. The only difference between his 'normal' look during fighting to now was that his smile was gone. Instead, a deep, set scowl sat in its place. He didn't care, he didn't care what his classmates thought, he didn't care that his classmates might see this 'darker' side of himself, he just didn't care. Mineta had overstepped that line for the last time, and it was time that someone finally put him in his place.
"Listen here you little grape shithead, I want nothing more than to punt your tiny ass into the stratosphere but unfortunately that wouldn't look good for me. So, what we are going to do is you are going to get the fuck out of my sight and stay the away from the girls or so help me." Izuku said directly in front of Mineta's face before dropping him onto the floor.
Mineta stared at him for a singular second before scurrying away, tripping over his own feet as he ran for the elevator. Izuku just smirked at the utter fear he had finally placed into the smaller boy, fear that should have been there already but tomatoes, tomahtoes.
"Midoriya, what the hell was that?"
With a little turn of his head, Izuku acknowledged the small congregation of his MALE classmates with a single raised brow. They all appeared to be torn between being terrified and bewildered. Denki was, apparently, the only one to have some form of courage, but the look of sheer dread on the blond's face was sufficient enough to be comical. Shrugging his shoulders, Izuku turned towards where Momo had fallen to, her entire body trembling. Squatting in front of, probably, the most brilliant woman he had ever met, Izuku gently placed a hand on her left shoulder. The slight touch seemed enough to snap the young hero out of whatever daze she was in because the small grin that she sent was all he needed.
Extending his other hand out for her to take was all it took for her to gracefully push herself back onto her feet. Once steady, Izuku gave a slight bow to her before turning and walking towards the stairs.
"Wait! Midoriya," he heard Denki shout after him.
Sighing, Izuku stopped right before the stairs and contemplated whether to berate his classmates or not. It was hilarious, utterly hilarious that they are more 'concerned' about his behviour over Mineta's inability to keep his hands away from young ladies. It was laughable almost, but alas, these people truly were oblivious to everything around them, especially their own classmates. Fuck toxic masculinity and that stupid ass 'bro code.'
"That was me taking care of a pervert, good night." He responded before continuing his journey towards his room and away from the ridiculous nature of his classmates.
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"So, I heard you scared Dunce Face and half of our male classmates last night."
"Kacchan I'm not in the mood this morning."
The clock on the stove read 05:33. It was a standard protocol that he and Kacchan were the first ones up in the morning, even if little sleep had been had the night before. Their early morning breakfasts were one of the few times they both felt relaxed enough to simply be themselves. There was no need to pretend to be someone they weren't, even if they weren't pretending. Other than that, this was also the only time he could get Kacchan to make him whatever he wanted.
"How did you even hear about it? I thought you were asleep," Izuku asked the blond, watching as he moved around in the kitchen with a grace that a dancer would be jealous of.
"Nah, I was still up, had to finish that book you got me because I just couldn't deal with the whole 'will-they-won't-they' thing the author had going." Kacchan responded with a wave of his hand and a small blush working its way up his cheeks.
"And did they finally get together?" Izuku asked, smirking as he did because this was his favourite side of his friend.
"No, they did not, 'Zuku! Do you realize how hard that was to read? To know that two characters are meant for each other, but they don't get together in the end…do you know how hard that is to read?" Kacchan exclaims, hands waving around as he goes on his rant.
Izuku just sat at the table and smiled. He loved watching Kaachan rant about the ridiculous nature of book characters and how the authors had no idea what they were doing. Everyone had different facets about them, each slightly different from the next one, but they all joined together to create a person. That's what their classmates don't seem to understand. They each have different sides to them that make them whole. Some sides shine a bit brighter than others, but that doesn't take away those that are a bit dimmer. Izuku loves to see the resident 'asshole' ranting and raving about the various romance novels he has read; he doesn't even care that Izuku has never read any of them. It's just another side of a complicated person, a person who has so much love for his friends and those around him, whether they know that or not.
Izuku was interested in seeing how their classmates would react to any other side of their resident 'asshole' boom boom boy; if their reaction to him was anything to go by, it would be a rather humorous meeting.
-----
Izuku was able to get his entertainment surrounding his best friend and classmates after the joint training session with class 1-B. It had been quickly decided that a dorm-wide dinner would take place once everyone had bathed and seen Recovery Girl if needed. The training session had been intense for them all; they all were a bit more on edge than normal after leaving the training ground. Hell, Izuku was just done with everything; seriously, One for All had to act up at that exact moment. Idia had convinced the entire class to give him some space, that while they all had questions, so did the boy in question. Izuku had never been more grateful to have a friend in their class representative than at that moment in time.
Even with the thought of his quirk on his mind, Izuku was able to enjoy the night with his classmates. The dinner Kacchan and Asui had prepared for everyone had been delicious, was the perfect mixture of too much food and not enough. The lovely dessert Satou made had been the perfect cherry on top (pun completely intended). With dinner finished, dishes slowly being worked through, and a Friday night laid out in front of them all, a movie night had been called. Mina had been the one to call for it, to have something to do as a class and something that normal teenagers would do. However, Mina forgot about the utter diversity of their class, and that goes for taste too.
"We are not watching The Conjuring!"
"It's better than Moana!"
"Denki you did not just say that!"
"Aww crap…Krishima I need back up!"
"Nah dude, that was totally not a manly thing to say, you are on your own."
"Traitor! Hagakure stop!"
"Not until you learn!"
The laughter that rang throughout the dorm hall had been missing for what felt like weeks, and all it took was a random movie night. Izuku sat back on the couch and watched his friends' banter and negotiate what movie they should all watch. In his mind, all was good in the world, and for once, it felt like he was a normal 16-year-old with nothing better to do. Leaning his head back against the cushion, he closed his eyes and just listened, wanting nothing to do but simply be.
"' ZUKU!"
The yelling and laughter that had been underway suddenly stopped at the obscene nickname that fell from the mouth of their most explosive blond. Izuku, on the other hand, merely turned his head towards where the kitchen was and slowly opened one of his eyes. Standing in the kitchen doorway, phone clutched tightly in his hand, and a massive smile forming on his face was non-other than Kacchan. Chuckling slightly, Izuku turned back to his original position before even beginning to engage with the other when that specific smile formed.
"Yes Kats?" He already knew the rest of the class was going to have their undivided attention towards the pair now that Kacchan had shouted his old nickname across the dorm, so why not throw on more fuel.
"THE BROADWAY CAST OF THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA HAS BEEN RELEASED!" Kacchan screams, not in his typical gruff, raspy voice but rather in a high-pitched fangirl squeal. "They are going to have a black Christine Daaé! This is absolutely huge, the West End production of Phantom recently had Lucy St Louis being the first black Christine not even a month ago."
Izuku merely groaned at the blond's statement. Not only had he dealt with the most recent rant about everything happening regarding Kacchan's other 'interests,' but this was a whole other level. Not only had the blond spent the past week detailing the most recent drama unfolding in that stupid UK reality show 'Love Island,' but he was still going on about the finale of 'Loki.' There is only so much a singular person can handle.
"The longest running Broadway show is finally getting with the times and bringing on a woman of colour! I can't believe this! This is amazing and considering how successful Lucy has been on West End, maybe now Broadway will stop being so racist and finally embrace everyone that loves the magic that is Broadway. It sucks I can't fly over there and watch Ms. Emilie Kouatchou perform…guess I'll have to wait for those 'slime videos' to be uploaded." Kacchan rambled, moving towards where Izuku was seated, completely unaware of the rest of the room.
Izuku knew better than to stop Kacchan, he had tried that one morning after a particularly terrible night of sleep, and the consequences from that were not something he wanted to deal with again. So, he just leaned back on his section of the couch until Kacchan was close enough for him to reach out for. Of course, he had to watch out for those flying hands; when Kacchan gets extremely passionate, he will start to sign at the same speed of his speech, if not faster. It wasn't uncommon for Kacchan to start signing; the boy was 60% deaf in both ears from the dual nature of his quirk and being born already hard of hearing. By the time both were 10, they started learning JSL together to ensure they would be able to communicate in the future no matter what. Kacchan even has custom-made hearing aids; they were a subtle orange colour because 'there needs to be synchronization in every outfit, 'Zuku!'. Of course, none of their classmates choose to utilize their observation skills in the slightest. Koda had stumbled upon them signing during class one day, and the three of them struck up an easy camaraderie, another thing the rest of the class was ignorant to.
"… it'll be ground-breaking when she does perform and I can imagine she has the pipes to play Christine but the only production I can find her in is the Unknown Solider: The Worst Town in New York but she was only an ensemble member, ugh I can't wait that long to hear her sing 'Phantom of the Opera' hitting that E6…." Kacchan mumbled, his hands constantly in motion as he paced behind the couch where Izuku sat.
Sighing again, Izuku reached a hand behind his head and grasped onto any part of the blond his fingers brushed against. Thanking his lucky stars, it was the blond's tank top this time and not an actual body part; Izuku yanked on the article of clothing. It wasn't a hard yank, more of a 'hey-maybe-be-aware-of-your-surroundings' kinda yank to get the other's attention out of his head. It worked because, within a few seconds, a very soft whimper came from the other boy before the sound of him dropping behind the couch followed.
"I hate you so much right now, 'Zuku," Kacchan whined, his voice muffled by the couch's presence hiding him from everyone.
"This is not my fault in the slightest and you fucking known that," Izuku said. "Besides, watching you get all embarrassed is hilarious as shit, plus it doesn't help you look so cute with your face all red and flustered."
"Shut up!"
"Who knows maybe one of our classmates is also a theatre nerd and you can talk to them instead of me, since I could give two shits about that annoying crap." Izuku said, not caring about the teasing nature in his voice.
"IT IS NOT ANNOYING! Musicals and plays have been around for centuries. They are the epitome of artistic storytelling, Andrew Llyod Weber, while an old white man, has written masterpieces with gut-wrenching scores. Phantom of the Opera is the longest running musical on Broadway, has been going since 1988!" Kacchan says, shooting up from behind the couch and glaring down at the One-for-All user. "I do not know how many times I have to tell you this."
Izuku didn't even try to hide his eye roll. The number of times he had to listen to his friend defend the creditability of theatre and its legitimacy within the music world was far too great. However, teasing Kacchan was easier than sending a text message. The other boy tried to put on such a tough guy exterior, but really, he was just nerdy and hopeless.
"Yes, and each time we have that conversation I tell you that a, I do NOT give a flying fuck and b, it is absolutely annoying. You only like it because you are the true nerd between us and are a hopeless sap who thrives off of disappearing from reality." Izuku says, smirking as he watches Kacchan's glare slowly disappear, and a deep red blush takes over his entire face.
"Izuku, you suck so fucking much."
"My door is always open if you ever wanna take a step back into reality," he said, sending a wink to the other boy causing another wave of red to spread across the other's face before ducking behind the couch.
"Okay, I need a pause on whatever is happening and full-on explanation like yesterday!" Mina says, her voice rising with each word as her impatience seems to reach its tipping point.
Izuku shrugs. It still bewilders him how his classmates are so obtuse to everything happening around them. He knows that the scene playing out in front of them feels like something out of Twilight Zone but seriously, it's not that obscure. Besides, seeing the varying degrees of exasperation and confusion written on his classmate's faces brought a smile to his face; the entire thing was just too funny. Just how did his classmates believe that either he or Kacchan were merely one-dimensional, did they not understand the notion of growth or character development. He couldn't even try and stop the laughter. In no universe could he keep this feeling of pure and unadulterated joy inside him.
"Did Toga somehow infiltrate the class because I am beyond confused right now," Sero says, concern evident in his voice.
Nothing was better than this right now, nothing. He couldn't stop his laughter anymore, especially when he heard the soft giggles coming from behind the couch; both had awful laughs that they constantly tried to hide, but once they were let loose, it was over for them both.
"Midoriya since when are you mean?" Sato asks, his confusion evident in his question.
"Deku is always mean, that's just how he operates," Kacchan says, his soft giggles making him sound unlike himself.
"Aww Kacchan don't be like that, it's not my fault you're such a massive softie who can't allow their emotions to take over." Izuku says to the other boy.
Before anything else can be said, a body flies over the couch and stands in front of where Izuku is sitting. The glare that Kacchan was sending his way was almost laughable; while the explosive blond had perfected his 'if-looks-could-kill' glare, he had never once been able to direct it towards his childhood friend.
Izuku simply smiled at the blond. There was nothing else for him to do. He was rather comfortable on the couch and seeing the emotionally constipated blond unable to hide behind his 'mask' added to his entertainment.
"You can glare all you want blondie, but you know damn well that I have the upper hand here, don't even try and act like you're a top." He said to his friend.
"Holy shit."
"You are such a fucking dick," Kacchan says, sticking his tongue out at him before walking back towards the kitchen.
"But you love this fucking dick!" He shouts as he watches the blonde's back disappear back into the kitchen.
Seconds tick by in utter silence before he breaks out in laughter because, honestly, this was the best way for the day to end. The past couple of days had been stressful with the dreams and then suddenly getting a new quirk, so yeah, this was great. Plus, he wasn't even the only one who was laughing. He had seen Uraraka, Koda, and Jiro all standing off to the side with mischievous little grins on their faces. They might be the only ones in the entire class who had any indication of Kacchan's and his 'true' personalities.
Everyone else was staring at him. And he just let them stare. He wasn't gonna explain anything because he didn't want to and it wasn't their fucking business.