#platonic fuyumizu
Text
Midoriya-sensei AU
Chapter 12: Sports Day
I've decided I'm going to officially change updates to the 15th of every month, because I just don't have to time to post twice a month considering the chapters seem to be getting longer (who's fault could that be? ^^') and I don't want to disappoint
Also, I made a POLL regarding a minor side plot, so let me know if you're interested or not!
Part 11 | Ao3 | Part 13
[Sunday 8th October]
Me [1812]: I'm sorry im watching ths news and.erm did you jut use YOUR FIRE???
Me [1813]: Thats so amazing you look great I'm so proud of you!
Me [1814]: I will be screaming to you about this next time I see you but for now I'll just scream over text
Me [1814]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1833]: 🔥
***
Izuku, understandably, felt extra excited when he walked into work Monday morning. It had been over a week and not only had Shoto taken what he’d said to heart, but he’d actually started training his fire!
Initially, Izuku had been concerned—Shoto’s replies had been slow and abrupt since their hangout, and Fuyumi had even noticed that he’d been staying back at the agency later than usual—but after his friend’s shift yesterday evening, a phone call had quickly put those worries to rest. It turned out that Shoto had simply spent the past week training his left side; he’d even called for private coaching from Eraserhead and Endeavour, the latter of which was surprising but logical.
‘He’s not a complete bastard wank anymore, and what good is my father if I can’t take advantage of his knowledge?’ He could practically hear the shrug in Shoto’s voice. ‘He was pretty helpful, and Eraser was his usual brutal self. I learnt a lot.’
‘I’m really glad!’ Izuku’s cheeks hurt from smiling. ‘So you’re feeling more confident?’
‘The past week’s been hell, and I still have a lot of catching up to do, but yeah.’ A pause. ‘I feel confident to begin using my… my fire, in the field.’
Izuku honestly couldn’t wait to see Shoto’s growth. He was already so proud of his friend, and he knew his family would be too, especially Rei. It was a huge step—he was going to need to compile a new notebook dedicated solely to Shoto's left side.
He was still grinning about it, even as he walked across the field, setting up the obstacle course for the students.
Part of Izuku was also thankful for the timing, as Shoto's news was what was currently suppressing the anxiety bubbling in his stomach. After all, today was sports day, and while the event was typically one of his favourites in the academic calendar, they were also using it to implement their last minute plan to help Hiru.
They couldn't afford for anything to go wrong.
‘Hey.’ Fuyumi walked over, smiling gently. She’d already finished helping one of the other teachers set up the beanbag toss. ‘How’re you doing?’
‘Ask me again in approximately eight hours.’ He chuckled humorlessly as he lined up the tunnels, before positioning the skipping ropes on the other side. 'I'll be honest, I'm feeling a nervous poop coming.'
'You sound like Natsuo.' She snorted, immediately reaching down to help him with the equipment.
‘I’ll take that as a complement.’ He stuck his tongue out in response. ‘Thanks.’
His lower body grumbled with discomfort and he pulled a face. ‘Once this is finished, I’ll pop over. Just the sacks left after this.’
‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll finish off here.’ Despite her kindness, there was an assertive air to her voice which told Izuku that she wasn’t accepting no for an answer.
That was fine with him.
‘Really? Thank you! You’re the best honestly!’ He immediately dropped everything and ran to the building. Once inside, he beelined for the staff toilets. ‘Thank fuck…’
Once he was finished, Izuku checked his phone to find that it was only a few minutes before the first bell. Luckily, his classroom wasn’t too far. Anxiety still lingered in his body—he suspected it would for the duration of the school day—but it wasn’t overwhelming; he still smiled brightly as he greeted his students and took the register, before leading them to the assembly hall. They had all come to school in their PE kits, so it was rather amusing to see them wearing their usual school shoes instead of their trainers, due to being inside.
Izuku then took his place next to Fuyumi, like clockwork, and the two of them watched the other students filter in.
‘Did you get sorted okay?’
‘Yeah, all good.’ She shrugged. ‘Did you have a good poop?’
‘Y’know, I’m still not sure… but I certainly needed it.’ He answered shamelessly. There wasn’t really a filter between them at this point—they’d seen their students do more horrifying things over the years.
The Head soon began with the usual topics—reminding the faculty about the HQA information session that was coming up in a few weeks—before he eventually brought up the giant elephant in the room.
‘I can practically hear you all vibrating with excitement, even without my quirk, so no point delaying. As you’re aware, today is sports day!' He paused while the students cheered. 'This year, however, we’ve put a special twist on it…’
Usually, grades were kept separate—the two classes competing against each other—but this time, there would be four distinct teams: Lemillion, consisting of classes 2B, 3A and 4B; Dynamite, including classes 2A, 3B and 4B; Shoto, of which Fuyumi’s class, 1B, was a part of, as well as 5B and 6A; and All Might, encompassing the final three classes—Izuku had been fierce in his demand to be put on the latter team. So, while each grade would still go around each activity together as a whole, the allotted points they’d accumulate went to their designated teams.
That meant that Hiru and his antagonists had to rely on each other to win, and the prize was a trophy for each winning class.
The formal reason behind the team set-up was to encourage the different grades to support each other and build a rapport. Hopefully, it might also allow certain individuals to reflect on their differences.
Hopefully.
‘Now that you all have your teams, it’s time for the schedule.’ The Head brought up the next powerpoint side, showing a table. ‘Some of you will notice that your homeroom teacher is running an activity. That is why each grade will walk around together. So, for example, grade one will follow Todoroki-sensei, while Midoriya-sensei runs the obstacle course. Make sense?'
A sea of heads immediately bobbed up and down.
The Head smiled. 'Great! Now, your teacher will also have a copy of the schedule, so there's no need to memorise it…'
There were a few more minutes of technicalities—a few kids clearly becoming impatient—before everyone was finally released. While Fuyumi gathered their students together, Izuku quickly made his way back out to the field, along with a few other teachers. Some parents were already congregating around the activities, eager to support their kids. He smiled in greeting and exchanged pleasantries with a few, but otherwise remained silent as he waited.
He rocked back and forth on his feet, imagining all the different outcomes of the day. Hiru was the fastest runner in his grade—probably the older ones too—due to his quirk. That was why they’d deliberately scheduled the whole school for the relay race at the end of the day. That way, they could set it up so each team could cheer each other on for the final event.
His thoughts were interrupted before he could truly get lost in them, as a flock of children suddenly swarmed the field.
There were five other events, not including the obstacle course and relay. Tug of war was fairly self-explanatory, as was dance; along with the bean bag toss—throw as many beanbags into your team’s basket as possible before the time runs out—and the cavalry battle. Admittedly though, the latter wouldn’t be as impressive as UA’s infamous cavalry battle due to the lack of quirk usage.
The event that was often the most confusing for foreign students was oodama, but that was just because of the name, which was just “giant ball”. Essentially, each team had to carry a giant inflatable ball together to the goal point; if they dropped it, they’d have to start again. Izuku really hoped Hiru had brought along his personalised cover for his quills, otherwise they might have some issues with that one.
‘Namaste, Midoriya-sensei!’
He smiled as the sixth graders surrounded him, all bowing simultaneously. They were the year below his previous homeroom class—when he’d had India for global month—so naturally, they’d all joined in during the legendary “Namaste phase” and made sure not to let it die out entirely.
Indulging them, he put his palms together and bowed.
‘Namaste, bachche! How're you all doing?'
He snorted when they immediately began speaking over each other—clearly excited—and waited until they’d all calmed down before taking them through the usual rules. There would be six races, with roughly ten students per race. Then, the winner of each race would enter the final, and points would be assigned based on their placement.
It wasn’t too difficult considering the sixth graders had already done the course before—with just a few minor changes—but once they’d moved on, his next group was the first graders.
‘Hey, Sensei!’ His students greeted excitedly. ‘We just did our dance routine!’
‘Did you?’ He gasped. ‘How did it go?’
‘It went really well!’ Hana jumped up and down. ‘Our parents all watched as well, which was super fun! Okaasan took pictures!’
‘We didn’t win though.’ Haku pouted, crossing his arms as class B joined them.
‘It was really close!’ Fuyumi tried to placate. ‘You were all really good! Like professional dancers!’
‘Like Pinky?’ Izuku offered, knowing his students would appreciate the comparison. When Fuyumi quickly agreed, they brightened up significantly, and he explained the rules.
It ended up being a close one, but after the first set of races, the finalists were decided: four from class B and two from A. Luckily though, Hiru and Touta managed to bag the top two spots, bringing the scores to a tie as they went off to the next activity. Izuku waved farewell as he quickly prepared everything for the second graders.
By the time lunch came around and the scores were tallied, team All Might were in joint second with Dynamight, while team Shoto was in the lead. It was pretty close, which was to be expected—especially to build suspense and competition—but it still made Izuku nervous.
His leg was twitching.
'Stop overthinking.' Fuyumi nudged him from where they were sitting: a picnic bench in the playground, as the children played around them. 'We've set everything in motion, it's up to the kids now.'
'I know.' He sighed, exasperated. 'But I'm a worrier!'
'And I'm not?' She scoffed with a laugh. 'Come on. There's nothing else you can do for now.'
'Only because I haven't thought of something yet.' He argued weakly.
Maybe there was some way he could figure out a plan to have the different grades work together, or set up an ethical way to jeopardise-
‘Nope. Not going there.' Fuyumi interjected, before slurping up more noodles. He must've been staring at his bento for too long and mumbling out loud. 'Tell you what, I'll change the subject. How was your weekend?’
Not even subtle… but Izuku chose to take the bait. Worrying made his stomach hurt.
‘Pretty uneventful…’ He shrugged, using his chopsticks to move his food around. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite keep the smile from his face as his mind recalled a certain hero. ‘Y’know, other than the obvious. You?’
‘Yeah, I was pretty much the same.’ She laughed halfheartedly. 'You really must be nervous for Hiru, considering you haven't even brought up Shoto until now, and that was with some prompting.'
'I've just not had the time to properly gush about it.' He placed a hand over his chest, then eyed his friend cautiously. 'Plus, I wanted to check first: how're you feeling about it?'
She flashed him a grateful smile, then shook her head affectionately.
'It's… I'm feeling hopeful, I think.' She pursed her lips, pondering. ‘It was just… surprising, to say the least. As you know, we were all concerned about him the past week, but then, before he went to work yesterday, he told us to keep an eye on the news and promised that it was nothing bad…' Her tone turned sarcastic. 'That didn't worry us at all.’
‘Of course.’
‘So we kept the tv on during dinner, then all of a sudden, okaasan called my name, and I rushed in, and on the screen was Shoto using his fire to catch a villain, like some kind of fever dream!’
She hesitated then; Izuku tilted his head to the side.
‘Was that good or bad?’
‘Oh, definitely good!’ She was quick to clarify, then looked down at her noodles in thought. ‘We just… never expected it. Shoto had always been so against using it in combat. Something must’ve happened.’
She paused and slowly looked up to meet Izuku’s eyes. ‘Hang on.’
He chuckled nervously.
Her eyes narrowed. ‘You never said what your argument was about when you hung out at the house, just that you disagreed on something. Come on, spill.’
As she looked at him expectantly, Izuku tapped his index fingers together and bounced his legs under the table.
‘He kinda… told me about why he didn’t use his fire, so I kinda… to sum it up, basically called him immature and explained why he was being dumb.’
‘Izuku!’
‘I know, it was stupid, I don’t know what I was doing. I guess I was just…’ He faltered. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. 'I was just…'
‘Being your usual self.’ Fuyumi eventually finished for him, causing him to look at her quizzically. ‘He’s needed telling for years, but he’s stubborn and all of us were afraid of the consequences. Our family’s been through so much, we didn’t want to risk breaking it again.’
She sighed. ‘After everything that happened, I think he’d resigned himself to not using his left side… because otherwise he’d have to admit to not “giving it his all” against Touya. He didn't "try hard enough" to save him, if that makes sense?’
‘I didn’t think about that.’ Izuku murmured, guilt immediately washing over him as he slapped his forehead. ‘Of course he feels responsible for what happened, and I was so insensitive.’
He groaned, twitching as he recalled the argument. He made several more little noises of annoyance and shook his head. Fuck, it’s a wonder he doesn’t hate me…
Fuyumi regarded him carefully, chewing the inside of her cheek. She was used to his stimming by now, so didn't mention it, which he was thankful for.
‘I don’t know what you said specifically.’ She began slowly. ‘But whatever it was… it worked, so don’t beat yourself up too much like I know you’re currently doing.’
‘You know me too well.’ Izuku snorted. 'Gahhh, I just… he looked so sad and angry.'
‘He’s been sad and angry for a while, but he used to be worse.’ She conceded, but her tone wasn't accusatory. ‘Therapy has done most of the work to get him where he is today, but he’s always been so adamant about his fire… until now. You don’t need to feel bad for telling him what he needed to hear, promise.’
Izuku tightened his lips and searched her expression.
‘Are you really sure?’
She snorted.
‘If Shoto hated you, you’d know it by now.’ She told him simply. ‘Has he messaged you today?’
Izuku paused.
‘Well, yeah... He wanted to wish me luck.’
‘See?’
‘All right, all right, fine.’ Izuku smiled despite himself, as he took his phone out of his pocket. ‘It was really thoughtful-’
He paused when he realised Shoto had actually messaged him a few minutes ago.
‘Yeah, he fretted over the wording for ten minutes this morning.’ Fuyumi divulged—Izuku doubted her brother wanted him to know that little bit of information—before taking a sip from her drink. ‘So you’ve got nothing to worry about… and I know that smile, you’re looking at his messages, aren’t you?’
‘Hush.’ He stuck his tongue out, but before he could unlock his phone, one of his students suddenly appeared at his side. ‘Oh, hello, Nagisa-chan.’
‘Hi.’ She swung her arms out. ‘What happens when you die?’
Fuyumi choked on her drink, while Izuku just took a moment to process the question.
‘Erm… me specifically, or just people?’ Despite asking for clarification, the answer would remain the same: he didn’t have a clue.
‘Well, is it different for you?’ She tilted her head to the side.
Point taken.
‘I’ll be honest, Nagisa-chan, I’m not sure.’ He admitted. ‘That’s the thing about dying… you can’t really come back and let everyone know what happens.’
‘What about people who die and then they come back to life with the electric oven gloves.’
Izuku’s left eye twitched.
‘You mean a defibrillator?’ He asked, slowly.
‘I like my name better.’
‘Yeah, me too.’ Fuyumi chipped in.
Izuku hoped the name comment would distract her from the question, but alas, Nagisa continued to stare at him expectantly.
‘Er… well, I guess if they’re brought back to life, they couldn’t have been truly dead?’
‘Even Jesus?’
‘Do you… believe in Jesus?’
‘Not really.’ She sighed, looking over at where some students were playing hopscotch. ‘So what DOES happen when you die?’
Izuku bit his lip to prevent any muttering—he could go to various lengths about different religions and their beliefs, along with potential theories—but figured no one would appreciate that.
‘What do you think happens?’ He asked instead.
‘Hmmm.’ She placed a contemplative hand on her chin. ‘Probably… if you’re a good person, you turn into a dog or maybe a butterfly, but if you’re bad, you turn into… a wasp.’
‘A wasp?’
‘Yeah. No one likes wasps.’
‘What about good people who don’t like dogs?’ Fuyumi asked.
‘I guess… then maybe you turn into your favourite animal if you’re good.’ She twirled some of her hair around her finger. ‘And if you’re bad, you turn into something you don’t like.’
‘I can get behind that.’ Izuku agreed, then finally asked what had been on his mind since the start of the interaction. ‘What made you ask the question?’
‘My goldfish died last night.’ Nagisa pouted. ‘Okaasan flushed Floella down the toilet.’
‘That’s sad.’ Izuku frowned.
‘Yes, very.’ She put the hair she was playing with in her mouth and started chewing. ‘Anyway, see you later, sensei.’
Before he could say anything else, she sprinted off to join those playing hopscotch.
‘That was lovely.’ Fuyumi commented, as the two of them watched her go.
‘I think I have whiplash.’ Izuku deadpanned, before finally looking at his phone.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1239]: Hope it’s going well
Me [1250]: So far so good! How’s work?
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1251]: On my lunch now, so can’t complain
‘Mei-chan, don’t you dare put that worm in your mouth!’ Fuyumi suddenly shouted, before bolting off towards the aforementioned student. ‘It’s every other day with this girl.’
Izuku snorted, then scanned the playground. The rest of the children seemed to be enjoying themselves, whilst most parents chatted with each other around the many picnic benches; some families stayed together, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Me [1253]: Same… 7 more minutes left tho
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: That’s rough buddy
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: What time do you get off?
Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.
‘Have you finished your lunch?’ Fuyumi was suddenly at his side, a little out of breath. When he nodded, she scooped up his container. ‘No problem, I’ll pop these back in the staffroom while you chat up my brother.’
‘I am not-’ He faltered when she quickly sped away out of earshot, then grumbled as he turned back to his phone. ‘I wish.’
Me [1255]: The school day finishes at 3 15 but I won’t be leaving till half past. Why?
He tapped the edge of his phone as he waited for a reply, periodically monitoring the students.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1257]: Just wondering for when Fuyumi comes home
Izuku tried not to feel disappointed with the answer.
Me [1258]: Fair enough. Anyway, I gotta start rounding up the kids. Speak to you soon!
He quickly put his phone in his pocket and got to his feet.
Once everyone was organised and lunch was officially over, Izuku left the first graders with Fuyumi and jogged back over to the obstacle course, anticipating the fourth graders. In truth, he handled them relatively easily. They were especially boisterous, but the rowdiness didn't manifest into disobedience, and the parents watching from the sidelines cheered them on in good sport.
It wasn't until they left and grade five appeared that Izuku felt anxiety return. He tried not to let it show as he explained the rules to the students, who seemed particularly riled up, as teams All Might and Shoto were currently tying for first place.
'Ugh, I hope those annoying first graders don't ruin it for us!' One rolled his eyes, while his friend groaned with frustration.
'I bet they do! They're so useless!' Hiru hadn't provided him with names, but Izuku knew enough to suspect who the bullies were. 'Especially that mutant porcupine-'
'Have you got something you want to share with everyone?' Izuku interrupted, stern. When the rest of the grade turned to share at the duo, embarrassment flooded their cheeks and they shook their heads. Izuku tried not to pay attention to the way some parents turned to whisper to one another and even point at him. 'Well then, I hope you were discussing the rules, because it’s time to split into teams.'
His smile returned as he continued on with the event. However, his eyes did occasionally scan certain individuals for longer than he usually would.
'Is that him?' He'd hear some of the adults whisper. 'The Quirkless one?'
He'd heard similar questions and hushed comments throughout the day—not all malicious, mainly curious—but right now, Izuku was struggling to ignore them. Maybe it was because there were parents among them who were overtly and dangerously quirkist. Realistically, he knew that he was safe and that he was doing his job to the best of his ability, but he still felt like he was under the spotlight; if he fucked anything up in front of them, then he was setting a bad example for his fellow HQ community.
Luckily, whispers aside, the remaining forty five minutes passed without any incidents, and Izuku exhaled with relief once he was left to pack everything away while the students and parents made their way to the athletics track. It was only a brief interlude—it was easier putting everything away compared to setting it all up this morning—but he welcomed it all the same. It gave him a chance to briefly recharge and gather his bearings.
Once everything was sorted, he—along with a few other teachers who had also been on clean-up duty—jogged over to join the rest of the school. It was loud, many voices cheering and whooping. From the look and sound of it, the third graders were competing, which meant that there were only two more races left.
He hadn't missed the final then.
Izuku spotted the first graders sitting together with Fuyumi, and smiled as he strode over
'How's it going?' He nudged her gently and joined her on the grass, leaning back on his ankles. He tried not to alert the students of his presence so they could enjoy the race. 'Miss anything?'
'Your initial predictions were right, as usual.' She crossed her arms and nodded towards the blackboard by the finish line. 'If team Lemillion win, which looks like it's about to happen, then no matter how team Dynamight do in the grade two race, they still won't be higher than third. That puts our kids competing for the overall first place in the final round.'
'Seriously?' His eyes widened. 'I never expected it to go that smoothly, especially considering I don't know the other grades as well as ours.'
'Yeah, but I distinctly remember walking into your classroom after school to snap you out of your three hour strategizing session because housekeeping was about to kick you out.' Fuyumi shrugged. 'Once you get fixated on something, that's it, so I was pretty confident with what you'd come up with... even if it requires me having to console my poor students after their inevitable defeat.'
'Look, it's not my fault the fastest first grader is in my class.' Izuku grinned when Fuyumi mock sneered at him. 'I just hope it's worth it.'
His friend hummed, but didn't comment further, as the race came to an end. As expected, team Lemillion won—which meant both teams were out of the running for first—but that didn't prevent the second graders from giving it their absolute all in their race for third place. While that was going on though, Izuku tapped his class's four candidates on the shoulder.
'Hey, sensei!' Hana and Tomoyo both exclaimed, while Hiru waved.
'Are you here to escort us to the start line?' Touta asked, straight to the point.
'You bet I am!' He smiled, gesturing for them to get up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fuyumi do the same with her students. 'Are you ready?'
'Yes!' They jumped up.
'Do your best!' Haku called out, prompting the rest of the class to shout their good luck.
'I believe in you!' Nozomi pumped her fist. 'Show them what you're made of, Hiru!'
'Gotta go fast!' The aforementioned giggled, as they made their way around the course.
Instead of the typical 400m relay, they had painted a track half the size; therefore, to run a full lap, each student participating would run 50m. It was the ideal size, as it meant everyone had enough space to spectate, including the parents.
By the time they made it to the starting line, the penultimate race concluded, as teams Dynamight and Lemillion shouted accordingly—the cheers outweighing the groans of the losing team. Izuku wasn't quite sure who had won, until he heard Tomoyo inform Touta that Lemiilion had made a last minute comeback and had beat Dynamight by one point.
'Alright, everyone!' The Head announced through a loudspeaker; Izuku winced at the volume. 'Has everyone enjoyed today?' He paused as the field filled with whoops and excited "yeah"s, before continuing. 'It's time for our final race of the day and the battle for first place! Show some support for the first graders!'
Amongst the noise, the students got into position and the first runners were given their baton.
'I was telling the others about how you can start running before your partner gets to you.' Touta informed Izuku. 'That way, there's no stopping, which could slow the race down, but I also told them not to start running too early. Don't worry, we practised yesterday during playtime!'
'Is that so?' Izuku nodded in understanding. 'How did that go?'
'Very well! I'm confident we'll win!' Touta nodded firmly, before getting on the ground into the proper position, unlike the other student, who was just standing normally and side-eyeing him.
Izuku quickly stepped to the side and gave a thumbs up. Anticipation set in as the Head counted them down, and suddenly they were running. Touta—ever idolising Ingenium—had an intense look of concentration as he hand chopped with each stride; somehow not losing the baton.
True to his word, Tomoyo started running as he came closer—not too fast and with her arm stuck out ready—and the transition was fairly smooth. Despite Touta's start, the race was still neck and neck; the class B girl running against Tomoyo was very fast—Izuku could feel Fuyumi’s smirk from here—so they quickly took the lead. His heart almost burst as Tomoyo’s face went red in her attempt to frantically catch up, but it was no use.
It wasn’t over yet though. Once the baton went to Hana, they were able to make back some of the gap. By this point, everyone was cheering and shouting—Izuku included, whilst trying not to let the desperation show in his voice—hoping for victory. Hana did well to pick up their pace, and once Hiru started running, nothing could stop him; he easily overtook his opponent and sprinted towards the finish line. His quills shook where his sports shirt had been modified, his nose bounced with each step, but his face was determined, focusing only on one goal.
Izuku looked around him, searching everyone else’s expressions. Most were watching with amazement, others with delight, whilst those on team Shoto were clutching their heads in anguish. When his eyes scanned over the fifth graders from earlier, he was glad to see them staring at Hiru with wide eyes; their mouths agape with shock. That was progress, at least, and when Hiru crossed the finish line—an easy victory—they punched their fists in the air and cheered with everyone else.
Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and turned back to Hiru—who was being crowded by the rest of class A—and joined them in their congratulations, making sure to commend the other runners as well. The background noise all mingled into one, so once he'd said his piece, Izuku made his way back to Fuyumi, a smile on his face…
Until he passed the adults.
'To let a mutant participate in this event is ridiculous.' He overheard one of the parents complain. 'They clearly have an unfair advantage.'
‘Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying for the past three years!’ Another chimed in. 'They should have their own category or something, especially when the normal kids aren't allowed to use their quirks.'
Izuku's jaw tightened and he turned.
'Excuse my intrusion.' His heart pounded against his chest. What was he doing? 'But I hardly think a children's sports day warrants any extra categories based purely on physical attributes—we don’t split the beanbag toss up depending on height, after all. Plus, one member of class B's relay team also had a heteromorph quirk, so I don't think there was any "unfair" advantage.'
'Of course you would think that.' The first parent rolled her eyes. 'Everyone has an advantage over someone quirkless, so it's all the same to you.'
Wow, no hesitation there.
That stung, but Izuku wasn't about to submit.
'I have a joint-honours degree in both teaching and quirk studies, with a postgraduate specialisation in the development of quirks.' He replied, easily. 'So I don't think you can just write me off as not knowing what I'm talking about simply because I'm quirkless, which is a prejudiced argument if I've ever heard one.'
'Well if you're so smart, then you should know about how these genetic mutations are illnesses-'
'Illnesses?' He couldn't help but scoff. 'Do you believe everything Speak Out tell you? Do you know the studies they cite are super dodgy and often anecdotal?'
'That's because the scientists doing peer reviews are politically motivated.'
'No, it's because the studies' methods are shi- rubbish, and the word "illness" is thrown around too liberally.' Izuku remained steadfast. Luckily, they hadn't attracted a crowd yet, but he could tell some of the other parents were looking at them. 'Anyone with critical thinking knows that.'
'Are you saying I have no critical thinking?'
'Well, if the shoe f-'
'Midoriya-sensei.' Fuyumi suddenly appeared at his side, her smile placating. 'Why don't you let me take over? Kimura-san and Shimizu-san’s children are in my class. I'll meet you in the staffroom.'
She looked at him deliberately, but Izuku didn't retreat straight away. He held her gaze for a few seconds first, clearly not happy about the situation.
'Alright.'
Casting the parents one final glance, he took his leave. As he made his way through the crowd though, he clenched his fists tightly and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent any angry muttering.
It's always one step forward, two fucking steps back.
***
'So, you told me to ask again in eight hours.' Fuyumi said as they walked out of the school building. 'How're you doing?'
Izuku sighed, kicking a small stone.
'At least the kids are acting in a friendly way.' He tried to focus on the positives. 'Those fifth graders even called Hiru cool.'
'Yes… But that's not what's on your mind.' Fuyumi stated pointedly. 'It's that conversation with the parents that would’ve escalated if I hadn’t intervened.'
Izuku chuckled humorlessly, still staring at the ground.
'You got me.' He conceded, spreading his palms in surrender. 'It was just so frustrating.'
'I know.' Fuyumi waved at the school caretaker over by the bins, prompting Izuku to also wave politely. 'I wasn't able to talk much sense into them after you left, I'll be honest, but I pointed them to the information session we'll be hosting—they said they'll be there.'
'Yay.'
'You stop that now.' She swatted him without any real malice. 'You were the one who…'
Izuku turned to look at her when she trailed off, only to find her staring at the school gate, mouth agape. Confused, he followed her gaze and baulked when he saw red and white hair.
'Shoto-kun?'
The aforementioned was leant against the wall, still in his hero costume, and scrolling through his phone. When he noticed them approaching, however, he pocketed the device and nodded in greeting.
'What a lovely surprise.' Fuyumi sounded almost amused. 'What brings you to this side of the world?'
'Midoriya told me what time you'd both be finishing, so I thought I'd walk home with you.' Shoto answered easily, like this was perfectly normal behaviour. 'I figured if he was going to scream at me, may as well do it in front of an audience.'
'Scream?' Izuku took a moment to process what he meant. 'Ooooh, the texts. I said I'd scream at him next time I saw him because he used his fire… Good screaming.'
'I was beginning to worry.' Fuyumi snorted. 'Good idea. Izuku could definitely do to let off some steam with a distraction.'
Shoto's expression immediately shifted into concern.
'That bad?'
Izuku sighed.
'I'll tell you about it later, but for now…' He paused for dramatic effect. 'Tell me everything about your fire!'
By the time they parted ways—the Todorokis turning left at the crossroads and Izuku going straight on—he couldn't deny he was definitely in a better mood than he had been an hour ago.
#midoriya sensei au#tododeku#todoroki shoto#midoriya izuku#todoizu#todomido#dekutodo#izushou#teacher au#teacher midoriya izuku#teacher todoroki fuyumi#quirkless midoriya izuku#quirkless discrimination#todoroki fuyumi#platonic fuyumizu
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Midoriya-sensei
Part: 9 Gains
Because so many people enjoyed the concept of Shoto reading through the kids’ letters, I’ve added a little something on the end for you all ^^
Part 8 | Ao3 | Part 10
'Y'know, when I first got into teaching I thought, "things are going to be different". I was going to be the change I always wanted to see when I was a kid, but no matter what I do, it's always the same shit bringing them down, and I feel powerless to stop it.'
Izuku reached out and spotted Todoroki as she came out of her final squat and returned the barbell. 'Good job. Your form is looking a lot better.'
'Thanks.' She grabbed her bottle of water and took a swig. 'And I get what you mean. It's tough.'
Izuku adjusted the weights—easily lifting the 25kg plates with one hand—while Todoroki got her breath back. Her hair was starting to come loose from its ponytail, while her cheeks were flushed a deep pink. She'd decided to leave her glasses in the car, so when she finally looked at Izuku, it was with slightly squinted eyes, as he positioned himself under the bar.
Feet firm, he squeezed his shoulder blades and lifted the weight, stepping away from the rack, before dropping low into a squat. He checked his form in the mirror in front of him as he straightened up, then repeated the process.
Todoroki positioned herself behind him, although she didn't follow his movements. Instead, she looked contemplative and, after a few reps, she broke the silence. 'What happened then? Another quirkless incident?'
'Ah, no.' Izuku pushed out of his squat. 'It's Hiru.'
She hummed with acknowledgement, but otherwise remained silent as Izuku finished his set with a grunt. Once they'd removed the weights for Todoroki's set—it was a good little workout for the arms, instead of having two separate barbells—and she was ready to begin, Izuku decided to elaborate.
'He overheard a couple of fifth graders saying stuff about how quirkless people are a "weaker breed", so he went up to them and said he disagreed—you know how he's best friends with Nozomi, he can get defensive—but then they turned on him. Nothing physical, it was all verbal, but it shook him up pretty bad. Apparently, this isn't the first time this has happened as well. Hiru has a tendency to correct anyone he thinks is wrong, so I think they've learnt to deliberately say stuff to antagonise him. It's so shitty.'
Izuku had called Hiru's mother during lunch and explained the situation—they'd spoken plenty of times before and got along well—but it was heartbreaking when her response sounded more resigned than shocked. At the time, he'd assured her that he'd do everything he could to resolve the issue at the school—if she could just keep an eye on his well-being at home—but now, he was doubting how much power he really had.
‘It’s gotten… worse recently.’ Todoroki gasped as she completed her last rep, and Izuku helped her place the barbell on the hooks. ‘Thanks.’
‘No problem.’ He bit his lip. ‘What do you mean it’s getting worse?’
She didn’t reply straight away. Instead, she looked around, seemingly for any eavesdroppers. The main con about going to the gym after work was that it was incredibly busy. Izuku tended to prefer the early morning workouts—even though he hated waking up early—but he knew that it was forbidden to even suggest such a thing to Todoroki.
Eventually, she sighed. ‘This is your last set, right? Once you’ve finished, we’ll head somewhere less packed, then I’ll explain.’
Izuku nodded—taking his place on the power rack and lifting the bar—before squatting low. He'd planned on doing high-intensity lower quarter squats to finish, so, after taking a breath, he pushed up until his thighs were not quite parallel with the ground, before dropping down again. His movements were quicker—given that he wasn't doing full squats—but his legs burned, and by the time he finished his last rep, the bar was slipping from his shoulders from the sweat accumulating there.
With a choked growl, he straightened up and returned the weight, noticing that Todoroki wasn't even trying to assist him. Confused, he glanced behind him to find her with her phone pointed at him instead.
'You're a shit spotter.' He commented, breathing heavily. 'Are you filming me?'
She tapped the screen, then seemingly began typing.
'You were squatting twice my bodyweight, I doubt I could've done anything to help—that's what the rack's for… probably.' She shrugged, before pocketing her phone. 'So, I figured I'd film you and send you it, so you can check your form later.'
Izuku narrowed his eyes as he scanned her face—he wasn't sure what he was looking for, so it was mainly for show—then eventually hummed out a "fair enough", and began putting away the weight plates. Todoroki joined him in the process, and after they'd cleaned the barbell down, they strolled through the gym.
Looking around, Izuku poked his head into a side-room, which consisted of numerous floor mats in a row, along with a weights rack and a line of mirrors along the walls. There was one other person in there, but they had headphones in and looked like they were doing cool down stretches. All in all, it was pretty private.
'You want to work those abs?' He turned back to Todoroki, who was looking at her phone with an amused smile. 'Am I interrupting something?'
'No, not at all. Abs is fine.' She typed something else, before following him to the mats. 'Sorry, Shoto just messaged me to say he'd set the smoke alarm off in his office.'
'Oh shit, is he okay?' Izuku looked at her, troubled. 'Does that happen often?'
'It's all good, don't worry about it.' She waved him off, still smiling. 'Just don't tell him I told you, or he'll get embarrassed.'
She seemed insouciant about the whole situation, so Izuku forced himself to do the same as he sat down and tucked his tank top into his shorts. He then set up his own phone with the timer in full view, and turned to Todoroki.
'Okay. We'll start with leg raises for one minute. Sound good?'
'Yes, boss!'
They got into position, and Izuku set the timer going. In truth, he hated ab workouts the most, but if he told his friend that, she'd probably convince him to shorten it. So, he persevered, through both the leg raises and the vertical leg crunches they did afterwards. Only two sets, but Izuku already wanted to die; at his side, Todoroki clearly felt the same.
She collapsed onto the mat and huffed. 'Fucking dreadful.'
'Language, Todoroki-sensei.' Izuku teased, clearing the timer. 'Next up is "mountain climbers". It's like plank, but-'
'Woah there. I heard enough when you said "like plank".' Todoroki gawked at him and raised her hands. 'I might sit this one out, but you go ahead and I’ll explain what I meant earlier.'
Izuku rolled his eyes affectionately, then manoeuvred into a press-up position. Once Todoroki pressed the start button on his phone, he tensed and brought his right knee forward—towards his chest—then back, before repeating the action with his left leg.
He continued alternating legs as his friend let out a big sigh. ‘I’m actually surprised you don’t know, to be honest. You keep up with the news, right?’
‘Mainly hero news.’ He panted. ‘But the big stuff too.’
‘Ah, that makes sense.’ Todoroki hummed. ‘Natsuo is very involved in the political sphere and the little things that major news outlets don’t tend to report, so it was him that initially told me, but a new hate group against HQA has popped up. They call themselves “Speak Out”, and build their audience through “based” takes, arguing that they’re only saying what other people are afraid of saying, but they balance the discriminatory stuff with genuine issues facing Japan, so it’s easier to lure people in… Apparently, they pepper in little things about how people without quirks are at a biological disadvantage—they frame it like it comes from a place of sympathy instead of hate—but Natsuo was saying how it’s slowly getting worse. They also try to use shoddy studies to prove that heteromorphs have genetic disorders that need fixing. That sort of thing.’
Izuku tapped the timer and lowered his stomach to the mat, before pressing his hands against his forehead.
‘What the fuck?’
‘They’re not big enough to have any major influence…’ Todoroki spoke slowly. ‘But we both know that things can escalate. I suspect some parents are watching their videos and it’s influencing their kids, because I’ll be honest with you, our school has had the lowest bullying rates in the prefecture for the past three years; this can’t have come out of nowhere.’
‘It’s never-ending, isn't it?’ Anger bubbled inside him, but partnered with the previous exertion, it manifested as exhaustion, and he just felt drained. ‘How long has this been going on?’
‘They’ve been active for a while, but they’ve gained more traction the past couple of months, according to Natsuo.’ She sounded guilty. ‘I’m sorry, I should’ve told you sooner. It was wrong to assume that you’d know just because…’
‘No, it’s not your fault.’ Izuku pushed himself up into a sitting position, and smiled sadly as he exhaled through his nose. ‘I need to talk to the board about this, set up some sort of intervention or something. We can’t influence the parents, but we can provide facts and promote a more open mindset.’
‘I’ll be right beside you.’ His friend left no room for argument. ‘Any emails, meetings, phone calls, I’m with you.’
Izuku reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
‘Thanks, Todoroki-san.’
She smiled in response, patting his hand. He felt so blessed to have such a good person by his side. Growing up with only his mother's support, fighting injustice was almost impossible, but now, things were different. With Todoroki's support, they might be able to do something.
It gave him hope.
‘Hey, I think we’re at that point now where you can call me Fuyumi.’
Izuku's stomach jumped and a blush quickly dusted his already heated cheeks. Suffice to say he had not been prepared for that. He'd never gotten to the point in a friendship where given names were used, so it was almost overwhelming to process. He almost wanted to ask Todoroki if she was sure, but maybe that was insulting.
'Only if you'll call me Izuku.' He smiled warmly, bumping their shoulders. 'You're a good friend, Fuyumi-san. The best I've had.'
'You're not so bad yourself, Izu-kun.' She winked, before her expression relaxed into a more relaxed one. 'What do you want to do now?'
Taking the hint, Izuku got to his feet.
'I think we should call it there and do a cool down.' He answered, bending his left leg forward and stretching the other out behind him to target his calf. 'The only thing that could make me more depressed than hate groups right now is another ten minutes of abs.'
'Oh ditto.' Fuyumi mimicked his position, seemingly considering her next words. 'Let's change the topic to something more lighthearted.'
He hummed.
'What were you thinking?'
When she didn't respond straight away, Izuku glanced out of the corner of his eye as he switched legs, only to find his friend looking at him pointedly; eyebrow raised as if to say, "really?".
'What was the original reason for this little meet-up?' She asked, slowly. 'It certainly wasn't because I wanted to exercise after a nine hour shift, I can tell you that.'
The penny dropped.
'Oooh…' Izuku chuckled nervously. 'Yeah, sure I guess.'
Silence fell between them—excluding the rustling when they switched to stretch their hamstrings—before Izuku realised he was supposed to start talking. 'It was… really nice.'
He smiled to himself as he recalled yesterday's events. However, he must've gotten stuck in his thoughts, because-
'Come on, I usually can't get you to shut up, Mr Mumble!' Fuyumi waved her arm, gesturing to him to continue. 'Tell me more!'
'I resent that nickname.' He stuck his tongue out, but indulged her. 'He booked us lunch together at midday, but he took me for a tour of his agency before that… at my request, but he'd already organised a visitor's pass for me beforehand, which was surprising but sweet! He's so kind, Fuyumi-san.'
'I'm sorry, did you say you got food together?' She practically exclaimed. 'Like a date?'
'Not a date!' Izuku quickly corrected. 'But I'm not gonna lie, it felt a little like one. There was a bouquet on the table and he insisted on paying for everything—and it was not cheap, let me tell you—and I think we really connected, y'know? We did a little back and forth with questions, and before we left, we both confirmed that we do see each other as friends, and he looked so excited and goddamn cute. Fuyumi-san, you were right, I want to marry him.'
He grinned dumbly, turning his head, only to find her eyeing him knowingly; cheeks puffed out and lips pursed into a restrained smile.
Izuku scratched the top of his head. 'Too much?'
Fuyumi's cheeks deflated like a balloon as she laughed, then she quickly slapped a hand over her mouth.
'No, no! Definitely not too much!' She waved her free hand as they moved to stretch their quads. ‘As long as I can be maid of honour at your wedding.’
‘Stooop!’ He groaned, shaking his head. ‘You’re so mean!’
‘Oh, hush.’ She snorted, before her smile turned gentle. 'For the record, I wasn't laughing at you maliciously. It's just… you were so cute, and you've got this little blush that's not from the exercise, and I’ve never seen you look so happy, except when you’re talking about hero stuff, but even that’s different to this.’
Izuku’s heart beat a little faster.
‘You think so?’
‘Mhm.’ She nodded, then her smile transitioned into a smirk. ‘I also can't believe how much of a dork Shoto was… Actually, no, ignore that, I absolutely can. I bet he got a straw-'
'He got a strawberry milkshake, Fuyumi-san!' Izuku finished with a dramatic whine. 'He had a milk moustache!'
'Of course he did.' She rolled her eyes, sounding disgusted. 'That bastard.'
‘Yeah…’ Izuku sighed, like the sap he was, and finished his leg stretches, before moving on to his arms. ‘It’s a shame he only sees me as a friend.’
Fuyumi looked at him for a moment, squinting more than usual, like she was considering something, before settling for an unamused huff.
‘You’re both hopeless.’
‘That’s rude.’
She giggled in response, which had Izuku shaking his head fondly. Neither pursued the topic though. As much as they were best friends, Izuku couldn’t ask Fuyumi for details about Shoto or his opinion on him; he knew not to cross that invisible social line.
Nevertheless, the silence wasn’t awkward—filled by the energetic gym music, along with the occasional clank of a weight—and by the time they’d finished their cool down and were walking towards the exit, Izuku was starving; he couldn’t wait to have his hitsumabushi and protein shake when he got home.
'You should come around for dinner at some point; meet the rest of the family.' Fuyumi suggested—perhaps she’d subconsciously heard his stomach growling. 'Are you free Thursday?'
Izuku bit his lip, unsure. It wasn't a question of whether he was free—his social life was pretty abysmal, if he were honest—more that he was worried over the idea itself. What if they didn't like him? What if he screwed up somehow? There were so many possibilities and potential things to go wrong; he didn't want to embarrass both his best friend and his crush.
'Are you sure?’ He rubbed the back of his neck. 'I don't want to impose.'
'Well, put it this way: if you don't come to dinner, even though I already told the fam that I'd be asking you, then Shoto will cry.' Fuyumi lightly bumped their shoulders. 'And we don't want that, do we?'
Izuku immediately accepted defeat. While he didn't think the hero would actually cry over something so trivial, he wasn't keen to test it.
'Thursday, it is.'
*****
Shoto took a sip from his teacup, eyes fixed on the paper in his hand. He'd taken it from one of the three piles on his office's slightly singed chabudai: letters to read, ones already read, and actual paperwork.
When Midoriya had messaged him asking if he was at the agency and whether he was busy, he hadn't thought much of it. However, when one of the receptionists had then rung up to say he was in the foyer, Shoto found himself rushing down the stairs to welcome him.
'Oh! Shoto-kun!' Green eyes widened with surprise. 'You're out of breath. I thought you said you weren't busy.'
'I'm not. I just didn't want to keep you waiting.' He replied honestly, watching as Midoriya shuffled on his feet in response. 'Is everything okay?'
'Y-Yeah, all good!' He smiled wobbly, holding Shoto's gaze a second too long before gripping the straps of his backpack a little tighter. 'It's just… I won't keep you, but basically, we had a grammar lesson at school yesterday, where the kids all wrote you letters about what they want to be when they grow up, but then they asked if you were actually going to read them, and I didn't want to dampen their spirits or lie, so I gave a vague-ish answer. But then I was just passing by your agency, and I've got the letters with me, so I thought I'd ask if you wanted to read them. Of course, you can say no, but I just figured… yeah, I'll stop talking now.'
Shoto took a moment to simply admire the blush that slowly formed across Midoriya's cheeks.
'Why were they writing letters to me?'
His friend tilted his head to the side, as if he was shocked Shoto had actually been listening, before laughing nervously. He then brought his two index fingers together and tapped them, thumbs still hooked around his straps.
'They k-kinda found out that you and I are friends whilst in the middle of class, so it was the only way I could get them to settle down effectively.'
'Ah.' That was reasonable. 'Okay, I'll read them.'
Midoriya blinked dumbly.
'You will?' When Shoto nodded, a huge grin lit up his friend's face. 'Aw heck, you're the best! Thank you so much!'
'It's no problem.' He assured, lips twitching. 'I'll sign them too so that they believe you. When do you need them back?'
Midoriya looked like he was going to start vibrating, as he took off his backpack and began searching through it.
'W-Well, I'm coming to your house on Thursday for dinner. I could pick them up then? Or do you need longer?'
'That should be fine.' Shoto watched him pull out a folder designed to look like his own hero costume, and huffed. However, he didn't comment on it when Midoriya handed it over. 'I'm glad you decided to come over for dinner.'
Those freckled cheeks somehow flushed an even deeper shade of red.
'M-Me too.' He scratched his temple awkwardly, before suddenly zipping up his bag. 'Anyway, I should really get going. I promised my mum I'd cook, so I don't want to be too late, but thank you again for doing this, Shoto-kun. I really appreciate it and I'm glad you don't think it's weird.'
'Don't worry about it.' He waved his hand. 'Tell your mother I said hi.'
The smile Midoriya flashed him in response could rival the sun.
Shoto shook his head fondly at the image, biting his bottom lip as he read through the letters. The kanji was a little hard to decipher on some of them—he suddenly had a new-found respect for teachers and their ability to read even the worst handwriting—but that didn’t stop him from clicking his pen and signing the bottom with a little doodle next to his name.
It was honestly refreshing to read through what he could understand. He could tell how enthusiastic the children were, and even the uncertain ones made him smile. He didn’t want to compare it to his own childhood and sour the mood—like he’d tarnished this activity with his past—but it was inevitable. He grew up with one goal beaten into him, and he never did have the option to even think about anything other than heroism.
Shoto wasn’t bitter about the outcome. He wanted to be a hero for his own reasons, not his father’s, and he’d attained that. It was just interesting to see the variation in these letters.
He picked up another, reading the kanji that looked like it said “Nozomi”, and hummed.
“I want to be a hero, just like Shoto-san and Midoriya-sensei.”
Shoto clicked his pen with a smile, then drew a stick figure of a girl in a cape to accompany his name; heroes came in all shapes and sizes, after all.
And if he found himself daydreaming a little too long about his friend when he reread the kanji for “Midoriya”, then that was his secret.
#Midoriya-sensei AU#midoriya izuku#todoroki shoto#todoroki fuyumi#teacher au#teacher midoriya izuku#teacher todoroki fuyumi#platonic fuyumizu#tododeku#todoizu#izushou#todomido#dekutodo#quirkless midoriya izuku#quirkless discrimination#AgarJelly writes
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Midoriya-sensei AU
Part 10: The Not-So-Hellish Todoroki Family
Thank you to @humangerbil for This Post that helped get me through writing this chapter ^^’
Part 9 | Ao3 | Part 11
Izuku swallowed heavily as he approached the Himura-Todoroki house.
Apparently, Endeavour had built it shortly before the war with the intention of giving it to his family so they could live their lives away from him. Izuku thought it was a nice gesture, even though he still personally hated the man for everything he'd done. That being said, he respected Fuyumi's decision to forgive her father, and if Izuku were to ever meet Endeavour, he'd behave in accordance.
Luckily though, he'd been informed that Todoroki Enji would not be attending tonight.
Fuyumi, Shoto and their mother all would be, as the three inhabitants of the house, as well as Himura Natsuo, who lived with his partner but visited often. That left Izuku as the only outsider, and while he was thrilled and honoured to be invited to dinner, he was also experiencing levels of stress not dissimilar to his first ever job interview.
He'd never been invited to a friend's house before—excluding Kacchan's when they were four—so suffice to say he had no clue what to expect. He'd dressed smart-casual, just in case: a green t-shirt with "Fancy Shirt" written across the chest, a dark brown blazer over the top, accompanied by fitted jeans of a similar colour and his red trainers. The late summer weather was pleasantly cool—Izuku had initially worried about sweating too much, but he'd ought not to—and only a slight heat flushed his cheeks when he finally made it to the porch and knocked.
A few seconds passed—silent if not for the unintelligible conversation inside—before the door was opened by Shoto, whose eyes widened slightly for a brief moment. His long hair was completely down—tucked behind his ears—and he donned a purple button-up with blue jeans.
They stared at each other, Izuku swallowing thickly, then a warm smile played at Shoto's lips.
'Midoriya.' He nodded his head, opening the door fully and gesturing for him to come inside. 'It's good to see you. You look nice.'
'L-L-Likewise.' He replied, then quickly bent down to take his shoes off, simultaneously hiding his traitorous blush. 'How have you been?'
'Good.' Shoto waited until Izuku had straightened up, before leading him down the corridor. 'Paperwork was interrupted by a villain attack, so, as the boss, I decided to go home early.'
'How very professional of you.' Izuku snorted, fiddling with his hands out of habit. 'I wish I had that excuse.'
'You do?' Shoto tilted his head to the side.
'Better than "I didn't do it because I didn't want to".' Izuku shrugged, admiring the photos adorning the walls. However, when his eyes landed on a specific frame, he stilled, prompting his friend to do the same. 'Oh my god.'
'What?'
Izuku covered his mouth with his hand as he stared at a photo of Fuyumi as a child, sitting up straight and smiling at the camera with a happy but determined expression. In her arms was a sleeping Shoto, not even a year old, wearing a grey onesie; his little wisps of red and white hair were just as distinguishable as always.
Izuku's heart melted and his eyes watered.
'I'm sorry, but you guys are so goddamn cute.'
'Oh…' Shoto looked at the photo, contemplative. 'Thank you?'
'Is he cooing over the childhood photos?' Fuyumi suddenly shouted, presumably from the room they had been heading towards.
'Yes!' Shoto called back, eliciting a triumphant shout from Fuyumi. He then gestured forwards with a nod and continued walking, voice returning to its usual volume. 'Everyone's in the kitchen.'
Izuku reluctantly followed, but not before sneaking a quick photo on his phone. Once he caught up, Shoto slid a door open, revealing the rest of the Himura-Todoroki family. Before he could get a proper look, however, Fuyumi barrelled into him.
'You actually came, I'm so proud of you!' She squeezed where she'd encased him in a hug, before pulling back. The splodges on her glasses were the same colour as those on her lilac apron; her tied-up hair had turned frizzy from humidity. 'I'm nearly finished, so I'll let Shoto introduce you to everyone.'
'Are you sure you don't want any help, dear?' A gentle voice came from behind Fuyumi. 'We've barely done anything.'
'Nee-san never lets us help, kaasan, you should know that by now.' Another unfamiliar voice added, and Izuku finally peered around his friend to look at them fully.
His eyes automatically landed on who he assumed was Himura Natsuo, given that he practically towered over the rest of them—including Shoto, who was at least six foot. He definitely took after his father appearance-wise: the face shape, broadness, height. However, that didn't take away from the softness in his expression; despite the white hair and grey eyes, he looked incredibly warm.
Izuku lowered his gaze, and gasped when he realised what was poking out from underneath the varsity jacket: a black "Fancy Shirt" shirt.
'We're matching!' To emphasise his point, he grabbed his own shirt. 'I can't believe it!'
'Brethren!' Himura exclaimed, rushing over with his palm raised and cheering when Izuku met him for the high-five. 'Oh, guys, I love him already. Neither of you told me he was a fashion connoisseur!'
'Because he isn't, and neither are you.' Fuyumi shot back, as she returned to the oven. 'Shoto.'
'Ah yeah.' The aforementioned cleared his throat. 'Midoriya Izuku, meet Himura Natsuo, my brother. He's very loud.'
'Shotouto, you wound me. My volume is perfectly acceptable.' Himura clasped his chest to feign hurt, albeit he was still smiling when he turned to Izuku. 'Nice to finally meet you, Midoriya. You're kind of a celebrity in this family.'
'O-Oh…' He covered his face with his arms, bashful. 'It's nice to meet you too, but I don't think-'
'Oh no, Natsuo's right. You're all these two ever talk about.'
Izuku lowered his arms—face still flushed—to find the siblings' mother regarding him with an amused expression. She was incredibly beautiful; her white hair settling just past her jaw bone, framing her aged but peaceful countenance. He'd always known Fuyumi and Shoto had inherited most of her attributes, but the resemblance really was uncanny, especially when they were all in the same room.
'Midoriya, this is our mother, Himura Rei.' Shoto introduced without delay. 'Kaasan, meet Midoriya Izuku.'
'It's a pleasure, Himura-san!' Izuku bowed so low, he was parallel with the ground. 'Thank you for having me.'
'Oh, my. So polite!' When he looked up, she was covering her mouth delicately. 'The pleasure is all mine, Midoriya-kun. Please, call me Rei.'
'Thank you very much… Rei-san.' Izuku smiled wobbly at that, honoured, but unsure what to say next.
Luckily, he didn’t need to fill the silence.
‘While Fuyumi finishes the pork shumai, let’s take what's ready to the table.’ She suggested, gesturing to the adjoining room. ‘We’re crowding her.’
‘Thanks, Kaasan.’ She called from the kitchen counter. ‘I’ve already set the dining table.’
Izuku cast her one final glance, then followed the other three, grabbing a dish to carry. He chose the two hot bowls of mapo tofu—inhaling, then sighing at the smell—and made his way into the next room, gasping at how beautiful it looked.
As expected, it was more traditional than his own home, with a cream floor-sofa and rug, a low coffee table, tall corner lamps and a chestnut set of drawers, on which a modest tv stood. All of this furniture was atop a wooden floor, which took up about half of the room. The other half was separated by a raised platform, where the long chabudai table sat, in front of the framed glass back door that looked out onto the garden. Everyone's individual rice bowls and miso soup accompanied the usual dinner set, including empty glasses for drinks.
The family gravitated towards the chabudai—setting the food down before taking their seats on the pillows set out—while Izuku stood nervously, not sure whether there was a specific seating arrangement he had to adhere to. After all, Rei was at the head of the table, with Himura on her left and Shoto on her right—they hadn’t even needed to discuss it—so did that mean Fuyumi had a specific seat? What if Izuku accidentally sat in hers?
Was he overthinking this? Probably.
‘Midoriya.’ Shoto patted the cushion next to him invitingly. ‘You can put the mapo anywhere, then sit next to me.’
Izuku simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief that the decision had been made for him, and internally jumped for joy because Shoto wanted them to sit next to each other.
His heart thudded as he nodded quickly, put the bowls down and took his seat, shuffling his bum on the pillow until he was comfortable. He then rubbed his palms against his legs, internally grimacing at how sweaty they were. Even though they were friends now, he still got butterflies around Shoto.
He suspected he’d always feel that way.
Shoto turned to face him—for a split second, Izuku worried he’d thought that last part out loud. ‘Are you okay? Your face is red.’
‘Just a little warm.’ He shrugged off his blazer with a nervous laugh. ‘I’ll calm down in a few minutes.’
‘It’s okay, I can use my quirk, if you want?’ Shoto held out his hand to demonstrate his point. ‘You’re already on my right side.’
That evidently did not help the situation, as his cheeks burnt even hotter.
Izuku was torn. On the one hand, he knew that he’d be teased to no end if he agreed—not to mention that he would inevitably embarrass himself by saying or doing something stupid—but on the other, he really wanted to use Shoto as his own personal air conditioner for entirely selfish reasons; plus, he really didn’t want to smell of sweat right now.
‘Uh- Er… sure, if that’s okay with you?’
‘Of course it’s okay. It was my idea.’
Shoto settled his hand so it wasn’t quite touching Izuku’s back, before quickly activating his quirk. The sudden cold wasn’t overwhelming like he’d expected—his control over his ice was incredible—and Izuku instantly found himself relaxing with a sigh.
‘That’s so much better—thanks, Shoto-kun.’
He smiled wobbly at his friend. It was only then that he realised just how quiet the room was and faced the rest of the table. While Himura was smirking as he typed on his phone, Rei was pointedly looking out at the garden.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, which immediately prompted her to look back at them.
'Would everyone like a drink?' She reached for the jug of water at the centre of the chabudai. 'I hope water is okay, Midoriya?'
'Oh, yes! Thank you very much!' Izuku nodded quickly, holding out his glass as she poured.
Shoto held his out next, followed by Himura, who finally put his phone down. He then rested his head between his palms and regarded Izuku curiously.
‘Now that we’re all settled,’ He paused to look pointedly at him and Shoto, ‘I gotta know, Midoriya, do you have any funny work stories?’
Izuku blinked dumbly.
‘Depends what you mean by that. That's a very broad question.'
'Oh, y'know, like funny stuff kids say or do, where you really wanna laugh but you can't.' Himura waved a hand in the air. 'Fuyu-nee never tells me anything, she can be a right bi-'
'Natsuo.' Rei chided. 'You should know, being a nurse, that confidentiality is important.'
'That's a bit different though.' Himura rolled his eyes. 'She can share anonymous stories and it's fine, but healthcare is a whole other kettle of fish.'
'There's fish in healthcare?' Shoto interjected.
'Yes, Dipshit. They're just doing their jobs like everyone else, don't judge.' Himura didn't miss a beat. 'But yeah, nursing is different! Plus, even if I was allowed to share stories, there's only so many x-rays of things stuck up people's asses before it gets old.'
Izuku snorted at that, while Rei covered her grin with her hand; Shoto, meanwhile, pinched his chin in thought.
'You were lying about the fish, weren't you?'
'Nah, I was 100% serious.' Himura then turned to Izuku and clasped his hands together pleadingly. 'Please, Midoriya-kun, give me something!'
Izuku smiled at the dramatic display, then decided to indulge him.
'Well… there was this one time where I had this really shy student—real quiet, but nothing to worry about—and one day, he wasn't doing his work, just kinda sitting there looking… constipated, for lack of a better word. So, I wandered over to ask if everything was okay, but just as I got there, he turned to his desk buddy, who was new, and shouted "I'm sorry but you are so pretty and I can't concentrate! Midoriya-sensei, please move her away from me!".'
Himura spluttered out a laugh that was quietly echoed by Rei. Even Shoto was smiling with clear amusement.
'Poor kid. What happened?'
'I moved him to the front of the class for the rest of the morning, but later, I took him aside and suggested that maybe he should talk to her at lunch so he can get used to how pretty she is, but he just looked at me solemnly and said he'd never get used to it.' Izuku chuckled at the memory. 'He took my advice though and they ended up becoming best friends.'
'That is so goddamn cute, but also hilarious!' Himura squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his chest. 'Do you have any more?'
Izuku stroked his chin in thought, before sniggering to himself.
'Okay, last one. We had a lesson on careers, and we were talking about what everyone's parents did, so one kid puts their hand up and says in a very serious manner, "my dad fixes boobies!". Now, I didn't want to press too much, but naturally, I was curious. Luckily, her parents were very nice, so when they came to collect her, I asked about it. The mum explained that the dad was an anesthesiologist and his favourite surgery was b-b-breast surgery, because he always gets to sit at the patient's eye level and confirm to the surgeon that they're both even. I had a hard time trying not to laugh at that one.'
'Bahaha, that checks out!' Himura cackled. 'I'm a scrub nurse, so I've sat in on a few of those surgeries in my time—they're dope!'
'Okaasan is right here.' Shoto grumbled.
'Sweetheart.' She smiled gently, reaching out to pat his hand. 'Just because you don't appreciate boobs doesn't mean others are the same.'
Izuku's jaw dropped and his cheeks flushed as he stared at Rei, gobsmacked. Admittedly though, he was impressed.
'You tell him, Kaasan!' Himura immediately latched onto the support. 'Stop being a prude, Shotouto!'
'Don't call me that.' His frown was accompanied by a slight pout, which Izuku couldn't look away from. 'I just have taste and don’t think with my dick.'
Himura opened his mouth to retaliate, but before any arguments could start, Fuyumi called out something Izuku didn’t quite catch, and brought through the remaining dish: pork shumai, complete with peas on top.
Now that he finally got a chance to properly look at the food around him, he couldn't help but be amazed. She really had gone all-out with dinner, it was practically a buffet! In addition to the shumai, there was the mapo tofu he'd brought through earlier, tatsutaage and tamagoyaki, along with cabbage rolls, gyoza dumplings, salad, miso soup and dipping sauces.
'I can't believe you did all this, Fuyumi-san!' Izuku exclaimed. 'Is this, like, a normal dinner for you guys?'
'Oh, no. You think I can be arsed doing this every day?' She snorted, taking her seat. 'Only when we have guests over.'
'You don't usually do this when I come over.' Himura retorted.
'Because I don't like you.'
'Hey!'
While they bickered, Izuku took a moment to simply appreciate the banquet in front of them and the sentiment behind it. Fuyumi really had put so much effort into it; he didn't even know where to begin in expressing his gratitude.
'This really is amazing.' He eventually decided on saying. It didn't feel like enough, but the smile his best friend flashed him in response put those worries to rest.
'Thanks, Izuku-kun.' She looked around the table. 'Please go ahead.'
A chorus of "itadakimasu" was spoken in response, then everyone began plating up, using the opposite ends of their chopsticks to transfer the food. Izuku particularly liked the look of the tatsutaage—the fried chicken was second only to the pork shumai—but made sure to wait until everyone else had taken their portions before grabbing extras. Additionally, he made sure to gather an equal amount from every plate to be polite, then began eating.
It was simply wonderful. He had no idea Fuyumi was such a good chef, although in hindsight, he should've realised as much from how amazing her bento boxes always looked at lunchtime.
Several minutes passed, and he'd already finished half of his food.
‘Hey, Midoriya.'
He looked up to find Himura's lips curling playfully as he watched him.
'Yeah?'
'Are there any kids you can’t stand?’ He asked nonchalantly as he reached for another gyoza. ‘I know you’re a cinnamon roll of goodness, but there’s gotta be at least one.’
Izuku swallowed thickly.
A few notable faces passed through his mind. He often prided himself on his ability to see the best in everyone, but he was by no means perfect. The memory of Katsuji and Muneo in particular had him shivering.
The duo had been in Izuku's assigned homeroom class when he'd initially started at Musutafu Shōgakkō. They seemed to have really bonded with their previous homeroom teacher, so openly resented Izuku for "replacing" him. Honestly though, he had never held that against them—they were children experiencing a big change, it was understandable—plus they weren't alone; most of the class had taken a while to warm up to him.
No, what made these two stand out was their resemblance to Kacchan when he was their age. They'd openly criticised Izuku for his Quirkless status, refused to listen to him—resulting in multiple behavioural warnings—and several times, they'd even used their quirks on him. They were powerful as well: Katsuji was able to control the terrain around him, while Muneo had the ability to teleport small objects.
Izuku remembered slipping on ice that immediately turned back to normal afterwards; he remembered when thumbtacks were teleported to his chair as he sat down at his desk—it had taken him a while to trust sitting down again after that. He remembered having their parents complain about him, saying that Izuku was targeting their children with "unjust" punishments. He remembered how he had to get security footage to prove to both them, as well as the Head, that he was telling the truth.
'Yeah, but I really don't want to talk about them.' He answered awkwardly, before shoving another load of rice in his mouth. He knew it wasn't what Himura wanted to hear, and he was aware of the tense silence that suddenly fell upon the room, but he didn't know what else to say.
Think, Izuku. Think…
He looked around the chabudai, noticing that one person had already finished eating.
'Erm, Rei-san. I've been wondering… what do you like to do in your spare time?' He tried instead, turning to the aforementioned. 'I haven't heard much, but Fuyumi-san said you like crocheting?'
She wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled, seemingly not expecting the question.
'Ah, yes. Crocheting, knitting—I learnt whilst in the hospital.' Her smile wobbled ever so slightly; only Izuku seemed to notice, eyeing her as he drank some miso soup. 'It passed the time, and I was able to make things for my children. I have to say though, since my discharge, I do enjoy gardening the most. I grow all sorts of herbs, fruit and veg—we even have a greenhouse and allotment at the back of the garden.'
'That's so cool!' Izuku lowered the bowl. 'I really admire your patience, I don't think I'd make a very good green thumb.'
'You already have green hair.' Shoto offered.
Fuyumi snorted.
'Well spotted.'
'I think you should give yourself more credit.' Rei ignored the other two and regarded Izuku. 'After all, your job requires an inordinate amount of patience.'
Huh…
He'd never thought of it that way. Teaching just felt so… natural, he'd been doing it for so long, he didn't really need to think about the core elements too much; he just did them. That being said, Rei was right, patience was a necessity, especially with children so young.
Izuku supposed though, when it came to people in general, he'd always had an infinite amount of patience. He never really knew how to give up.
'I guess that's true.' He tilted his head to the side, deciding not to pursue the topic, and circling back around to Rei. 'What's your favourite thing to grow?'
'That's a tough one.' She looked up, furrowing her brow as she tapped her chin in thought. 'Strawberries are a pain to manage, but the reward is really worth it when I get to bring them to work.'
'Oh, you work at the library, right?' He remembered Fuyumi previously mentioning that over the years.
'Yes, but only part time. It gives me the opportunity to meet new people and make up for lost time.' She spoke about it almost nonchalantly—as if she hadn't spent over a decade isolated—although he supposed that it was easy to become sanitised to the topic once having lived through it.
'That sounds nice.' He smiled. 'Manageable.'
'Yes, definitely.' She nodded. 'But anyway, during the summer, we get lots of children coming in, so I always bring in the freshly picked fruit and we have a "strawberries and cream" day.'
Automatically, the mental image of strawberries and cream reminded Izuku of the man sitting next to him—he hoped the quick glance in his direction was subtle—then tried not to blush.
'Sometimes, Okaasan gets Shotouto to come too because of his hair.' Himura added, a mischievous grin on his face. Not subtle then. 'His popularity ratings always skyrocket as soon as the parents put the photos online.'
'That's not why I do it.' Shoto frowned.
Izuku smiled endearingly.
‘I think that adds to why people like it.’ He reasoned. ‘Part of the reason people like you so much is because of how kind you are without even realising it. At least, that was the case with me.’
‘Still your second favourite hero though.’ Shoto grumbled quietly, prompting a snigger from Izuku.
‘Anyway, does the library organise any other events during the year, Rei-san?’
The conversation continued in a similar fashion after that. Izuku listened animatedly as she spoke, finding the interaction surprisingly easy. It was also nice when the other three contributed, smiling and joking with their mother as they all finished the rest of their food.
By the time they had all emptied their plates, the topic had moved on: Himura was talking about his career, after being prompted by Izuku.
'A lot of my mates keep saying that they'd hate to work with their girlfriend because they'd get sick of each other, but like… not to sound like a simp, but I love spending more time with her.'
'Simp.' Both Shoto and Fuyumi deadpanned, earning them two simultaneous middle fingers.
'Like, we have shared interests with work and stuff—we make a great team—then when we get home, we can just spend time chilling or doing our own thing. We just work well together—always have, that's why we're engaged, after all. Why would I complain about seeing her too much?' He waved his hands, then froze, suddenly very aware of his movements. 'Fuck, I really am a simp.'
‘At least you’re self-aware now.’ Fuyumi patted her brother on the back.
‘Fuck you.’ Himura rolled his eyes.
'I think it's great that you love working together!' Izuku piped up. He decided not to mention how he grew up dreaming of becoming a hero and saving lives with a nameless love of his life. 'It's really sweet.'
'Thanks, Midoriya.' Himura smiled softly, then fell into a contemplative silence—searching Izuku's expression—before deciding on his next words.
‘On a more serious note, it’s also good because I know I’ve always got someone who'll have my back, especially on bad days where both patients and other staff give me shit.’
Izuku immediately understood the previous look and what Himura was searching for then: they shared an understanding that none of the others in the room had. He didn’t need to ask what Himura had meant by the comment—after all, he experienced similar situations at the school—but it did make him wonder.
‘Out of interest, do you need to disclose your quirklessness to your patients?' He tapped his fingers nervously. 'Like, I understand staff finding out, but being forced to almost “out” yourself to patients sounds super shady.’
‘Oh yeah, it’s illegal.’ Himura looked pained, even as he tried to mask it with indifference. ‘So I’m not obligated, but a lot of people are able to make the connection between me and the Todoroki family, and well… it is what I’m known for.’
At Izuku’s confused look, he huffed through his nose. ‘Touya-nii was the batshit crazy one, Fuyu-nee is the girl, I’m the quirkless one and Shotouto’s the family redemption arc… We’re like the dysfunctional Spice Girls.’
When Himura then laughed at his own joke, Izuku had a feeling it was because it was all he really could do. He hated it. He wasn’t quite sure how to help the situation; it was a complicated topic, and while he certainly had his own thoughts, he didn't want to say the wrong thing.
Luckily, Himura broke the silence. ‘Anyway, I heard there’s some shit going down at the school with those Speak Out bastards?’
Izuku took a swig of his water.
‘I’m assuming Fuyumi-san’s already told you the details, but yeah. We spoke to the Head and after some talk, we’ve decided to do an informative day with the kids that the parents can also come along to. The idea is to combat any myths and provide references that are readily available for anyone to access. Of course, I don’t expect that to fix everything.’ He noticed Fuyumi nodded in agreement. ‘So, we haggled—well, mainly Fuyumi-san-’
‘It was your idea though.’
‘Sure, but basically, we’re going to organise something that will hopefully help with the bullying. There’s no set specifics yet, but one example would be throwing a conditional pizza party, where students only get the pizza if they win a quiz, then manipulate it so that the deciding question falls on the bullied individual—of course, the question has to be one they’ll obviously know the answer to—so then when they win, they’re seen as the “hero”. It builds comradery and such.’
He trailed off, frustrated that he still hadn’t thought of a way to implement this idea with Hiru. He didn’t have time to dwell on it for long though.
'There's no manual when it comes to children.' Rei spoke quietly. She looked almost lost in a memory. 'I hope whatever you come up with works.'
‘Yeah, I dunno how effective that’s gonna be.’ Himura hummed, sceptical. ‘There’s no guarantee—how do you know it won’t make things worse?’
‘We don’t…’ Fuyumi acknowledged. ‘But this is the best way to address the issue without targeting individuals, which often escalates bullying.’
'I agree.' Izuku nodded. 'I will admit though, as long as the group is active and gaining traction, it's going to be difficult to prevent things from getting progressively worse.'
Silence washed over the table after that, no one quite sure what to say. It was only then that Izuku noticed how silent Shoto had been during the conversation. When he turned to look at him in question, his friend was tight-lipped and tense.
'Shoto-san?' He prompted gently.
The aforementioned blinked, before realising that everyone was watching him curiously. He then scratched at his scar and pointedly avoided eye contact.
'I can't go into detail, but with regards to the Speak Out group, just... be patient.'
Izuku bit his lip, searching Shoto's expression, but it was carefully blank; only familiar determination seemed to shine through. It wasn't much, but that alone filled him with reassurance.
It felt like a promise.
***
Shoto-kun 🙏 [2053]: Hey Midoriya?
It hadn't even been ten minutes since Izuku left the Himura-Todoroki abode, when his phone buzzed in his pocket, revealing the message from Shoto.
Intrigued, he texted as he continued walking down the street.
Me [2054]: Miss me already?
It was an innocent joke—he would've messaged Fuyumi the same thing—yet his heart thudded against his chest, completely unrelated to the exercise.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [2055]: Yes, but that's not why I'm messaging
Shoto-kun 🙏 [2055]: You forgot to pick up your class's letters
‘Oh shit.’ He’d completely forgotten about that. He decided to stop completely as he typed.
Me [2057]: Damn, It just completely slipped my mind! I can head back now or ask Fuyumi to bring them tomorrow
Shoto-kun 🙏 [2057]: No, don’t worry about it.
Izuku frowned at that.
'What?'
Shoto-kun 🙏 [2057]: In fact, I was actually gonna ask if you wanted to hang out at the house tomorrow night anyway… that is, if your class can wait a few more days for their letters
That familiar heat returned; Izuku could literally feel his face turn red. More time with Shoto? How could he possibly refuse?
Me [2058]: Sounds good to me!
He sent the message and began walking again, a little faster than before. He was full of excited energy he had no idea what to do with. He’d have started running, but he didn’t want to upset his full stomach.
It wasn’t until he got home that he realised his phone had buzzed again during his journey, unbeknownst to him.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [2106]: Oh btw, Fuyu and okaasan will be at Natsuo’s so we'll have the place to ourselves. You good to come over 6ish?
Izuku tripped over his own feet and landed on the floor with an "oof".
Alone
Me [2120]: See you then!
#tododeku#midoriya izuku#todoroki shoto#todoroki fuyumi#todoroki rei#todoroki natsuo#todoizu#todomido#izushou#dekutodo#Midoriya-sensei AU#teacher midoriya izuku#teacher todoroki fuyumi#quirkless todoroki natsuo#quirkless midoriya izuku#quirkless discrimination#teacher au#platonic fuyumizu
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Midoriya-sensei AU
Part 8: Monday
Part 7 | Ao3 | Part 9
Excluding Todoroki, the other teachers thought Izuku was a try-hard.
They were right, of course. Izuku wasn't ignorant—he knew he was a try-hard. Maybe it was because he wanted people to like him; maybe it was because he wanted to prove himself; maybe it was the result of being forced into silence his entire childhood. The reason didn't matter. At twenty five years old, Izuku was a try-hard, but regardless of what his co-workers thought, he persisted.
He rocked on his feet, hands clasped in front of him, as he waited for his students to arrive.
He'd set up the "Greeting Board" shortly after starting at Musutafu Shōgakkō. The others—sans Todoroki and the Head—had told Izuku not to bother; it was a waste of time. He remembered smiling politely and pointedly ignoring them.
The concept was simple: the board was split into six sections, containing a number and a drawing, and when a student tapped one of them, he greeted them accordingly. The number one accompanied a picture of two people bowing to each other, number two signalled a high five, three was a fist bump, four was a little dance, five was a hug—demonstrated by a picture of six year old Izuku hugging a giant All Might plushie—and number six was a comment.
Izuku smiled as his first student skipped towards him.
'Hi, sensei!' Nagisa chirped, tapping the number four, before flapping her arms and twirling.
'Hello to you too!' Izuku mirrored her moves with a laugh. 'Your dancing is getting better every day.'
She giggled as she entered the class, while Touta speed-walked towards him at an alarming rate. After he firmly tapped "1", the two of them bowed.
'Good morning, sensei!' Touta straightened up and adjusted his glasses, then followed Nagisa inside. Now that Shoto had pointed it out, he really did have a likeness to Ingenium… How hadn't he noticed sooner?
As the rest of his students filtered in, Izuku found that dancing and comments were the most popular—as was usual for Monday mornings. Distantly, he wished he had as much energy as they did.
A few more minutes passed, and just before the first bell chimed, his final pupil arrived.
'Hi, sensei!' Hiru panted, examining the board for a moment, before pressing the number six and looking up at Izuku expectantly.
Hiru was best friends with Nozomi, and was one of the three heteromorphs in his class. His quirk was called "Hedgehog", so while most of his body resembled a regular—if not hairy—human, his head was covered in fur, accentuating his pointy nose, beady eyes and rounded ears that were similar to the small mammal. His uniform also had to be custom-made to accommodate the plethora of spines on his back.
Izuku thought he looked super cool, but knew from experience the sentiment was not shared by his student.
'Hi, Hiru-chan.' He smiled warmly, noting how skittish he looked and how rumpled his clothes were. 'You're energetic this morning! Too much sugar over the weekend?'
'Nope, just eager to get to class!' He laughed nervously, whilst looking over his shoulder.
'Hey.' Izuku crouched down to be at eye-level, which gained Hiru's attention. 'You can talk to me if something's bothering you. We're HQA buddies, remember?'
HQA stood for the "Heteromorph and Quirkless Alliance", which was formed as the original safe space for people whose discrimination was a result of quirk-focused society. They still had a long way to go with acceptance, but the alliance was internationally recognised, as well as part of the reason why their rights were protected and enforced by law. Most high schools had a HQA extracurricular club, but Izuku had been the first to set one up in a Japanese primary school—after pestering the Head until he finally signed off on it—so he could support his students and assure them they always had someone to talk to.
Izuku was a try-hard, sue him.
'We are.' Hiru said slowly. 'But I don't think you'll be able to help this time, sensei…'
'What makes you think that?' He tilted his head to the side, patient.
‘Because if I tell, it’ll only get worse, because they’ll know I told.’ Hiru rubbed his arm, looking at the ground. ‘And I don’t want to get people in trouble.’
Izuku pulled his lips into a thin line. He knew this behaviour and mindset well; the closed off posture, the averting eye contact, the lack of trust in the school to solve a problem, not wanting to incriminate anyone. He'd been the same growing up, and despite his best efforts, it was now happening to his student.
'Hiru-chan, I want you to know that I will always have your best interests at heart.' He smiled softly. It was difficult territory, especially with the school's policy around safeguarding; depending on what Hiru did disclose, this could escalate. 'You can talk to me, and if something is wrong, the only people I would tell would be those who can help the situation. Okay?'
His student fidgeted, unsure, and held his chin in his hand, while his pointed nose twitched in thought. However, when the bell chimed, he jumped and looked up at Izuku, hesitant.
'Can I think about it, please?'
Izuku regarded him—expression never wavering—then nodded.
'Of course.' He slowly got to his feet and gestured for them to enter the classroom. He knew better than to force the issue. 'I'm here when you need me.'
Hiru bowed, then crossed to the middle of the class, where he took his seat next to Nozomi. Izuku sighed, smile faltering slightly, before he shut the door and walked over to his own desk, facing his students.
At the start of the year, the classroom had looked clinical, the only decoration being the kanji and maths cut-outs scattered around the walls, along with the All Might poster he had pinned up at the back of the room. Even after just one term though, everything was significantly brighter: blank display boards had been filled with creative work, personalised workbooks were neatly organised on shelves, and several drawings now surrounded All Might.
Some teachers called them distractions. Izuku thought they were miserable fucks in the wrong profession, much to Todoroki's amusement.
'Okay, Mighty Minions!' He clapped his hands twice, and the class fell silent. 'I hope you all had a great weekend. I'm going to quickly do the register, then we can head down to the assembly hall.'
Izuku called out each name with no issues—only one explained absence—and soon, he was leading his students to the main hall. Luckily, they weren't the last class to arrive, and after his kids were seated, he stepped over to the side of the hall, next to Todoroki.
'Hey.'
'Morning, Midoriya-kun.' She smiled, eyes crinkled; it was that rare time of the day when her glasses weren't smudged in some way. 'How was your weekend?'
'Good, thanks.' He pointedly looked away as he felt his ears redden. Despite the nonchalant way she'd asked the question, Izuku knew for a fact that she was privy to what happened yesterday. 'I was going to text you, I promise, but I needed to recharge after everything.'
'Mhm.' Todoroki crossed her arms and leant forwards into his field of vision with pursed lips, which were upturned with amusement. 'So, when am I going to get all the juicy details? Shoto's given me nothing, and it's driving me bonkers! It's like you're his little secret—it's like the boy has forgotten that you're my best friend, damn it!'
Izuku's mouth pulled into a gentle smile, filled with affection.
'We're best friends?' He searched her eyes, and when she shot him an unimpressed look, he fumbled. 'L-Like, it's obvious that you're my best friend, but I figured you had tons of others to choose from.'
'Honey, we've got to work on your self-esteem.' She patted him on the shoulder, both of them watching the last class enter. 'Of course you're my bestie, and I wouldn't have it any other way… even though you dodged my original question.'
Izuku's eyes shone with emotion—he quickly blinked them away—before releasing a wet chuckle, which was thankfully swallowed by the idle chatter of the rest of the room.
'Okay, bestie.' He nudged her playfully. 'How about we head to the gym after school, and I'll tell you everything that happened?'
'Ugh, you're insufferable.' Todoroki rolled her eyes, just as the Head cleared his throat and called for everyone's attention. As the hall fell silent, however, she tilted her head towards him and whispered, 'Fine, but I'll need to go home and change first. Didn't think I'd need my PE kit today, for some reason.'
'You fool.' Izuku teased, then crossed his arms and leant against the wall, turning his attention to the Head.
The assembly was nothing special; mostly formalities and reminders about Sports Day, which was coming up soon, along with a brief lecture about leaving the getabako clean and tidy. However, the final topic did gather Izuku's attention.
'As you all know, we had a very important visitor last week: number two hero, Shoto.' The Head flashed his first smile of the day, while his ant-like antenna rubbed together. His quirk allowed him to use their vibrations to detect the quietest of sounds. It was useful for determining who was paying attention, amongst other things, but Izuku didn't like to think about what kinds of unorthodox conversations he'd likely heard through the years. 'Let's take a moment to thank Todoroki-sensei for making that possible.'
The room clapped on cue, but with more enthusiasm than usual. Todoroki flushed at the attention and bowed.
Once the noise died down, the Head continued. 'Now, before Shoto-san left, we had a little chat, and I want you all to know that he was very impressed with every single one of you. You were respectful and eager to learn, and he's sure many of you will make amazing heroes one day, so you should all be very proud of yourselves.'
Automatically, Izuku's eyes sought out Nozomi, who was practically beaming. The sight resonated something within him, and his own smile played at his lips.
Shortly after, the assembly came to an end, and Izuku bid Todoroki farewell, before escorting their students back to homeroom. Once they were settled, they began the first lesson of the day: Basic Japanese. To start with, he used the chalk board to take them through sentence structure and placement of nouns, then wrote up an example for his kids to figure out themselves. Once they seemed confident, Izuku decided it was time to start the individual activity, but was interrupted by Hana raising her hand.
'Sensei?' Her eyes were wide and she was smiling—her look told him that she wasn't excited about the Japanese. 'Is it true you're friends with hero Shoto now?'
Izuku swallowed heavily and cleared his throat to deter from the quickly rising blush on his face.
'Hana-chan, that's not an appropriate question to ask.' He lightly chastised, trying to ignore how much more interested his class suddenly appeared.
'Sorry, sensei.' Hana, to her credit, looked a little apologetic, but it didn't stop her adding, 'It's just that my nii-san saw you two talking outside Shoto-san's agency yesterday, so I was wondering.'
Immediately, the class was in uproar—shooting questions and exclamations—far too quick for Izuku to comprehend, and he froze. Usually, he could handle their rowdiness, but this was unexpected, and the volume was overwhelming. Luckily, he'd trained to be able to persist in these situations.
'Alright, that's enough.' He raised his hands and clapped twice, loudly. 'Five, four, three, two, one!'
There were a few murmurs, but mostly the class quietened down—albeit they still looked excited. Izuku sighed as he watched them, even though they were settled, he could tell their concentration would be harder to repair. That being said, an idea suddenly emerged in his head; one that could turn out inordinately effective.
'Okay, I understand you're all excited, but there was no need for that.' He scanned the room, emphasising his point with a disappointed frown, before relaxing back into his usual expression. 'As a one time thing, however, I will answer your question, Hana-chan, but only if you all promise not to go crazy again.'
He waited for them to nod, before cutting the suspense. 'I did hang out with Shoto-san yesterday. We are friends.'
There were audible gasps throughout the class—several students even shook their desk buddy with excitement—but otherwise, they kept their promise. In all honesty, Izuku was surprised; he was proud of their restraint.
'That's so cool!' Daisuki whispered from his seat just in front of Izuku. His eyes were squeezed shut as he clenched his fists with passion, reminiscent of Red Riot.
'It is very cool, yeah.' Izuku smiled, doing well not to get carried away himself. 'So! I have an activity for you all. Using what we've learnt today about sentence structure and the placement of different kanji, I want you all to write a letter to Shoto-san about what you want to be when you grow up and why. Any questions?'
Haku's hand shot up, eyes wide.
'Is Shoto-san going to read our letters?'
Izuku's mind immediately pictured Shoto in his office, going through each one as he sipped his tea—a cute furrow in his brow as he read—before shaking himself.
'Maybe.' He shrugged, smiling. 'Depends on how well you write them. Heroes are very busy, after all. He would only have time to read the ones with perfect grammar.'
When there were no more questions, Izuku grabbed some lined paper and handed them out to his eagerly awaiting students, along with an array of stationary. Once everything was set up, the class got to work, surprisingly quiet. Occasionally, someone would raise their hand to ask whether a certain sentence was correct, and Izuku was always happy to walk them through it.
'Five minutes left.' He called, as their first period almost came to an end. 'Time to add finishing touches, and if you're already done, read through your work to see if you're happy with everything.'
By the time they moved on to second period—maths—Izuku had a pile of letters on his desk, and a room full of happy students.
Even Hiru seemed affable when he approached Izuku before lunch, resolute and determined.
'I've decided I want to talk about what happened, if that's still okay?'
Izuku smiled encouragingly.
'Of course.'
#Midoriya-sensei AU#midoriya izuku#todoroki fuyumi#platonic fuyumizu#tododeku#izushou#teacher au#quirkless midoriya izuku#quirkless discrimination#teacher todoroki fuyumi#teacher midoriya izuku#todoroki shoto#original child characters
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With the Midoriya-sensei AU, I was wondering will Shoto talk to Fuyumi after tddk first meet?
Heck yeah!
Part 5.2 of "Breaking the ice"
Part 5.1 | Ao3 Link | Part 6
'So…' Fuyumi's voice rang out from across the kitchen, where she was boxing up the leftovers. 'What do you think of Midoriya-kun? Spoiler alert: if you think he's anything less than amazing I will disown you.'
'You wound me.' Shoto deadpanned as he continued with the washing up; he was particularly fixated on a stain that refused to come off one of the bowls. Switching the sponge to its abrasive side, he scrubbed and added nonchalantly, 'I gave him my number.'
Silence echoed through the kitchen, almost deafening, then Fuyumi squealed with what Shoto could only assume was delight, and the sound of footsteps on the tiled floor preceded the sudden warmth he felt when his sister wrapped him in a hug from behind.
'Did you actually?’ When Shoto didn’t bother answering the obvious, she pounded on his back. ‘I’m so proud of you! Wait…’
When Fuyumi stepped back, Shoto raised an intrigued eyebrow and turned his head to find her regarding him suspiciously; hands on her hips and eyes narrowed. ‘Is that why you’ve been practically glued to your phone all night?’
Shoto squinted back.
‘Perhaps.’
His sister pursed her lips—unnecessarily dragging out the tension—then she flashed him a wide smile.
‘Yes! I just knew you’d hit it off! So, tell me more! What do you think of him?’
Shoto swallowed heavily and turned back to the soapy water, adding the now clean bowl to the draining rack before making a start on one of the plates. What did he think of Midoriya? Well, to start with, he was inordinately kind despite his situation—of which Shoto only knew extremely surface-level details, but he could make reasonable inferences—and he was attentive to other people; he was great at his job; he had a smile that made Shoto feel at ease, and Fuyumi had been right he was…
Handsome… Very handsome.
'He was very nice.' He shrugged, not entirely keen on sharing the full extent of his thoughts. 'You were right about him. At least, from what I've seen so far.'
'Like what you see, huh?'
He could practically hear Fuyumi's smile, and felt his cheeks burn. He understood the double meaning well enough, and he wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of an answer.
It didn't take long for her to relent. 'Come on, I'm joking… sort of.'
'Very funny.' Shoto frowned as he continued washing up, contemplating his options. He could very easily leave the subject there—over the years, Fuyumi had learnt not to pry too much with him, which he was thankful for—but in all honesty, he didn’t exactly want to stop talking about Midoriya.
It wasn't until he heard his sister return to her previous task that he decided to keep the conversation going, and gathered the courage to call out, 'Don't make a big deal out of this… but I invited him to meet up with me after my shift on Sunday.'
He closed one eye when metal clattered onto the countertop in response.
'Really?' He didn't need to look to know Fuyumi was staring holes into his back. 'Like a da-'
'Not a date.' Shoto whipped his head around and immediately regretted it when he locked eyes with his sister, smiling knowingly. 'I want to get to know him… myself, not just through your work stories.'
That smirk quickly retreated.
'So just as a friend? You don't like him like… that?'
She peered at him curiously and bit her lip with worry. Shoto refrained from asking her why she looked so disappointed.
'He's… attractive.' He clarified, sighing as he grabbed the hand towel and turned around properly to face her; stray puddles of water dampened the back of his shirt as he leant against the counter. 'But you know I don't date people just because of that.'
'You don't date full stop!' Fuyumi exclaimed, with a little excessive flamboyance, if Shoto were honest. 'Actually, I think this is the first time in twenty four years that you've admitted to actually finding someone attractive… not counting your secret celebrity crush on Hawks back in high school that we've all collectively decided not to comment on.'
'So why are you commenting on it?' Shoto huffed under his breath, trying not to let his embarrassment consume him.
‘Okay, okay. It won’t happen again.’ Fuyumi waved him off, tone lacking any sort of sincerity that she’d maintain that promise. ‘But you’ve got to admit though, this is a big deal. It’s one thing to admire someone you’ve only heard stories about, but another to meet them in person and feel a connection, and whether that connection ends up being platonic or something more, it doesn’t matter. You go well together, you'll see.'
She paused for a moment, tone becoming gentle. 'I’m happy for you, Shoto. I’ve got a good feeling about this.’
Suddenly bashful, Shoto turned back to the sink, albeit he couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he brought his shoulders to his ears.
‘Me too.’
#tododeku#todoroki shoto#todoroki fuyumi#izushou#todomido#todoizu#dekutodo#AgarJelly writes#Midoriya-sensei AU#teacher au#teacher midoriya izuku#teacher todoroki fuyumi#quirkless midoriya izuku#platonic fuyumizu#lovely people
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Midoriya-sensei AU
Part 2: Todoroki-sensei
Part 1 | X | Ao3 | Part 3
‘Wow, look at you, Midoriya-kun. Did you get into a fight?’
Izuku looked up from his mug of coffee and met shining turquoise eyes, staring at him with concern. Todoroki Fuyumi, the other first grade teacher and Izuku’s only friend at work.
‘Ha, me? Noooo!’ He smiled, looking at his bruised hands. ‘Late gym session last night. Imagined some parents a little too vividly when I let loose on the punching bag, that’s all.’
‘That bad?’ Todoroki winced, sympathetically. ‘I’m sorry you have to go through that every year.’
‘Don't be sorry. It’s not your fault.’ Izuku waved her off. ‘I’m used to it now anyway.’
‘You shouldn’t have to be.’ She sighed, looking out of the staff room window. ‘I remember when Natsuo first started at medical school. He was constantly forced to prove himself, so much more than the other students. It didn’t help that he goes by Himura as well. Sometimes, I think that maybe if he’d stuck with Todoroki, they’d have bothered him less.’
‘I can understand that though, given the lingering controversy around Endeavour and Dabi.’ Izuku pinched his chin in thought. ‘But you’re right, the Todoroki name still means something, especially considering Shoto’s hero presence.’
‘Yeah.’ She pulled her lips into a thin line. ‘But Natsuo’s gone by Himura since high school. He’s wanted to put the Todoroki name behind him for years, and I don’t blame him.’
‘What about you? Do you not want to?’ Izuku furrowed his eyebrows. ‘Not that you need to answer that. I'm sorry, I know it’s a sensitive topic.’
‘It’s okay. I trust you.’ Todoroki flashed him a gentle smile. ‘I guess, to put it simply, changing my name wouldn’t change who I am. The world knows about how father treated Shoto and Touya, but it was very different when it came to Natsuo and me, you know? We were pretty much thrown to the side and forgotten. My entire life, all I wanted was a normal family, but I understand now that that’ll never happen.’
She twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger and tilted her head to the side. ‘So, for me, I make the Todoroki name my own. I won’t be defined by my father. Shoto’s the same too, but I suspect he’ll probably take his partner’s name if he ever reaches that point with someone.’
'Thank you for telling me.' Izuku smiled warmly. 'It can't be easy to talk about.'
'It isn’t, but you get used to it after all these years.' Todoroki waved him off. ‘Besides, I think we’ll be friends for a long time.’
Izuku's heart warmed in response. He hadn't had many friends growing up; his longest friendship being incredibly problematic, while the few others he'd ever made had ulterior motives, and then left when that was achieved or they got bored. In truth, his friendship with Todoroki was probably the most genuine he'd ever experienced, and even after three years of knowing each other, she still wanted to be around him.
So, it was only natural that Izuku felt incredibly touched, but then Todoroki beamed—a hint of playfulness behind her smile—and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Maybe there was an ulterior motive.
'What?'
'Nothing.' She shrugged, grin never faltering. 'Just, we'll always have a place in each other's lives. Plus, I wasn’t lying. One day, Shoto might take his partner's name and become a Midoriya, and we'll be family too.’
'Todoroki-san!' Izuku exclaimed, wincing when the other teachers grumbled from the other side of the room. He called out an apology that fell on deaf ears, before lowering his voice. ‘You have no idea what you’re talking about! There’s no way Shoto-san would even look twice at me, let alone-’ He huffed, not daring to give voice to the end of that sentence. ‘That is just- I- er… I revoke my friendship card!'
‘Naw, don’t be like that!’ She giggled. ‘I’m just speaking the truth.’
‘You’re teasing me is what you’re doing!’
‘So you’re no longer denying that you’ve got a crush on my famous baby brother?’ Todoroki’s eyes were crinkled with mirth. ‘Took you long enough.’
‘That’s not- I don’t-’ Izuku floundered, pressing a hand over his chest to exacerbate his scandalised look. 'It's every time with you! Just because he's my second favourite hero and I think he looks cool and beautiful and strong doesn't mean I have a crush!'
It absolutely did. Ever since he'd debuted, Shoto had quickly become one of Izuku's favourites—he had an entire notebook dedicated to him, after all. Not only was his raw power something to marvel at, but his strategy and calming presence was incredible… And if Izuku stared a little too long at his athletic body, then so be it.
'Whatever you say.' Todoroki shrugged, not at all sounding convinced. 'Then I suppose you won't mind me asking the Head if Shoto can come in to give talks to each class about heroes?'
Izuku's mind screeched to a halt. Todoroki Shoto? Here? At the school? In Izuku's classroom? While he had to look after a bunch of seven year olds who loved heroes almost as much as he did? She was bluffing, surely?
He looked into mischievous turquoise eyes and felt his stomach drop… She was not bluffing.
'What's brought this on?' He asked instead, resting his cheek against his palm and raising an eyebrow. He hoped his voice wasn't too high.
'Shoto doesn't like interviews because there's always certain expectations, but he still wants to do PR and inspire others. He wants to be a hero who makes others feel safe.' Fuyumi ran her finger along the edge of her mug, a fond look on her face. 'He gets on well with children—they don't sugarcoat things and they take things literally, just like him—so I suggested coming here. Now, I just need the school on board.'
'That's really thoughtful of you.' Izuku reached across the table and patted her free hand. 'Damn, I wish I had a sister like you, nee-san.'
'Well, if you manage to get along with Shoto then that wish may come true one day.' She smirked, while Izuku pulled his hand back with a gasp, as if burnt. A new record: two Shoto marriage suggestions in less than five minutes. 'Think of him visiting as a reward for getting through another parents' evening. I know how much you love heroes, after all.'
'Right, but that's not a reward, that's a disaster waiting to happen!' Izuku waved his hands in front of him. 'You know I mumble when I'm nervous and what if he hates me?'
'It shouldn't matter. He's here to talk to the children, isn't he? Your reward is just being in the same room as him.' Fuyumi raised an amused eyebrow. 'Unless they wouldn't mind sharing his attention with you.'
'That's not- I- you!' Izuku sputtered as he tried to form a coherent sentence, but alas, the universe hated him. Luckily, he was saved by the chime of the first bell. 'Oh damn. Look at my wrist, it's time to go to class.'
His chair scraped against the floor as he stood up and moved over to the sink to rinse his mug, before bolting for the door. He tried to ignore the other teachers’ eyes that were glued to his back, while Fuyumi laughed without a care in the world.
'A pleasure talking to you as always, Midoriya-kun.’
#midoriya izuku#todoroki fuyumi#todoroki family#todoroki shoto#tododeku#todoroki natsuo#quirkless todoroki natsuo#todoizu#Midoriya-sensei AU#teacher au#quirkless midoriya izuku#teacher midoriya izuku#AgarJelly writes#platonic fuyumizu
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