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Chapter 19: Confrontation

After leaving Todoroki, Midoriya hurried straight back down the stairs; ran all the way to his designated waiting room and proceeded to pace in circles, staring at the ground beneath his feet blankly as his mind raced...

"–Selectively mute."

The class turned and stared at him, and Midoriya sunk further into his desk, bile rising up the back of his throat as his shoulders began to shake.

Whatever words further droned from his teacher's mouth fell short of Midoriya ears. All he could hear was a ringing noise – like the sound which reverberated around him when Kacchan used his Quirk.

BOOM!

There it was.

"HEY, WHAT THE HECK DID HE MEAN BY THAT?!" Kacchan yelled.

So loud – always so, so loud.

And not a good kind of loud either – not like All Might – not like Present Mic on the radio – this was a scary loud.

The teacher had gone now – Midoriya realised. How long had he been gone? How long had he been sitting there, lost to the mess that his mind had become?

"How can you be selectively mute?" scoffed one of those blank faced people who never told him their name. There were too many names on the register. And why would Midoriya cast any of them to memory, if not all bothered doing the same to his?

"So, what, you just choose not to talk to certain people?" frowned another. "In which case – I'd like to be selectively mute too," they laughed.

Not funny. Really – not funny.

"Basically – he just doesn't want to talk to us."

"How on Earth do you think he managed to get a doctor's note for it?"

Why were they talking like he wasn't there?

"It's just pathetic, Deku," snarled Kacchan. "Bet you think you're above us all, huh? Too smart to be associated with losers like these!"

"Hey, Katsuki! Watch your mouth!"

"Yeah, at least Midoriya's got the decency to not insult us to our faces!"

"Oh, right he can't – remember, he doesn't want to even speak to us."

"I'm getting into UA's hero course – and even if you get into general studies – you'll be eating my dust whilst I become the number one hero, and you'll be left in the gutter!" Kacchan told him, tossing his books on the floor.

Midoriya scrambled off his chair to retrieve the scattered paper.

"He said he'd be a paramedic, right?"

"Said is a loose term."

"How can you help anyone if you refuse to speak to them? Just seems rude, to be honest."

He fumbled with his notes, almost dropping them again as he wished being mute meant no one could speak to him either.

"Defenceless Izuku – look at him, he's practically shaking in his boots!"

"Come on, Deku – speak to us!

"Yeah, come on, already!"

"Just leave him. If he doesn't want to speak to us, then he's not worth our time."