That Isn't a Flesh Wound

The Hideaway

Midoriya Izuku had a lot of notebooks since he was young.

It began with hero sketches and barely legible notes that he took from when he was a kid. Then it evolved into his hero analysis books that spanned well over 10 notebooks with pages filled back to back. There were notecards, sketches, post it notes plaster all over the pages and pages that have started to fall out.

And he was currently writing in a new notebook for his vigilante hero's journey.

But now he has to start a new notebook with a small one he got from the 100 yen store just for his goal of friendship. The first few pages were from advice columns and information he got from the internet. And the following has some dos and don'ts from his own experience with his more healthier bond with Kacchan.

The number one step is establishing a connection with Shinso. Shinso wants to be a hero, and he was already one. An illegal one, but that counts somewhat.
Shinso is already interested in his tragic backstory, he knows he is. And maybe he could find out Shinso's backstory when they bond.

Speaking of bonding, he will need to do a lot of it which means trying to dig into what Shinso's interests could be. As far as he can tell, Shinso has a black backpack with a little cat keychain on one of the zippers. This could be a lead!

"What are you writing, nerd?" Bakugo's voice interrupted his growing thoughts of how to find out if Shinso likes cats. He was pretty sure that showing a cat meme would be an acceptable way to start.

Izuku tapped the pencil against the blue lined pages. "I'm trying to pinpoint the ways I can acquire friendship points with Shinso."

His blonde friend's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Who?"

"Purple haired guy, eyebags..." Izuku tried to detail his classmate only to receive a look that was both confused and frustrated. Right, this was Kacchan he was talking about. "He was outside the door when all those students were confronting you the other day. He said he wants to get into the hero class. Ring a bell?"

"Nah. Don't know him." Bakugo shook his head with a half hearted shrug. His mouth twisted before he asked. "Why are you so invested in becoming his guy's friend?"

"It's a feeling in my gut." Izuku grinned back at Bakugo who was staring back at him, one eyebrow raising up judgmentally.

"...Okay?" His friend still looked a bit thrown off by his eager answer. "Did you ever get shitty..." Bakugo made a vague wave motion towards the notebook in his hands. "...friendship notebook before?"

"Nope." Izuku replied. Bakugo glanced at him as they continued walking. Bakugo went around a telephone pole in front of them with Izuku following after him on the same side. "I didn't need it for you since we've hung out forever. Although I think I still have a few bits of information just about you liking spicy food and hiking from when we were younger."

"Is this eyebags guy going to take up the entire book?" Bakugo questioned, looking down at the tiny, handheld book.

"It shouldn't," Izuku responded, flipping through the stack of pages. The beginning pages had tiny script from the online tips and steps he reviewed. He doesn't think the profile he will start on Shinso wouldn't be too long. It would just need to focus on the likes and dislikes he can pick up on. Oh, and his birthday! "It means I get to have more friend profiles here. Ooh, I can make your page the first one."

"Fucking better," Bakugo grumbled as they walked together. Izuku saw him glance at the hero store where an All Might poster was hanging proudly with the bold colors he was known for. They both made a noise he can only describe as noncommittal grunt, Bakugo's grunt was louder than his.