Simple Misunderstanding

8 | Questioning Reality

Izuku's eyes fluttered open, the sweet smell of hot chocolate lingering in the air as he sat up. A familiar ravenette sat down next to him, covering him with a blanket. It was thin, but it still provided some kind of warmth to the boy as he sat up more.

"Sleep well?" He asked, voice gruff as he spoke in a low tone.

Izuku nodded as the ravenette handed him a mug. It was warm, whipped cream covering the top so he couldn't see the liquid inside. Marshmallows were scattered on the cream as well as sprinkled chocolate powder.

He held it with both hands, marveling at the sight. Accepting the heat it gave him, he looked up at his teacher with a smile plastered across his face. "Th-thank you.."

Shota smiled warmly at the boy. "No problem, problem child." His face darkened as he remembered what he had to tell him. He looked at the boy who was happily drinking his hot chocolate and sighed deeply. "So, I found out why they were ignoring you."

He perked up. "Why?"

He averted his eyes to the floor. "It was a prank. Ashido apparently thought it would strengthen your mentality."

Pranks..

You really think I'd be seen with someone like you?

There's no way in hell I'd ever be friends with you.

Jokes..

Dude, did you see his face? The loser really thought I'd wanted to start over.

Did you really think I'd apologize?

Their joke..

God, you really are delusional. Who would ever want to be friends with your kind?

Honestly, I don't know a single person who'd want to be friends with people like you.

They were just joking...

Right?

You're useless. I don't know why you're still here.

Maybe you should just take Bakugou's advice. No one wants you here anyway.

Something shook him. He blinked several times, clearing his eyes of the mysterious clear liquid leaking out of them. He looked up, meeting the dark irises of his teacher. He seemed concerned, like All Might would be, instead of the usual annoyed faces his middle school teachers wore.

He put a hand up to his cheek, feeling the liquid still running down his face. Tears. He was crying, but why? He should be used to those insults now. He was normally fine. What had changed?

"Are you alright, Midoriya?" Aizawa asked him, hand still resting on his shoulder. "You zoned out and began crying."

Izuku nodded hesitantly as he noticed his mug on the coffee table. "I-I was just th-thinking about something in the p-past.."

"Well, can you tell me about it? I might be able to help you."

He averted his eyes, unable to keep eye contact. "O-Okay.." He took a deep breath. "I-In middle school, a lot of p-people would pretend to b-be my friend because I was supposedly q-quirkless. S-So, when you told me it was o-only a prank, it just triggered bad m-memories from the past, I g-guess..."

Shota could feel his blood boil. He didn't realize how bad quirk discrimination had gotten in today's society, but obviously it had gotten worse, way worse than he could have imagined. He didn't realize how much his problem child was actually carrying on his shoulders, but he vowed to help him better from now on.

He pulled him into a hug, feeling his shoulder dampen. He put his hand behind Izuku's head as he rubbed circles on his back. "I didn't realize how much you've been carrying on your shoulders, problem child. I'm going to help you from now on, alright?"

Izuku nodded slightly as he separated himself from his teacher. "Th-thank you, Mr Aizawa.."

"Just call me Aizawa. No need for formalities here, problem child." He smiled at him again, earning a small one in return. That was a start.

He picked up Izuku's mug from the table and handed it back to him. The greenette smiled at him again as a way of saying, 'thank you'. As he took a few sips, the warm liquid soothed his hoarse throat.

"There is one other thing you should know, Izuku." He addressed him by his first name, getting the boy's attention. "I suspect that you don't want to go back to the dorms, so you'll be staying here with 'Zashi and I in the teachers' dorms." He looked at him understandingly. "Of course, it's your decision, so you can tell us if you want to go back to the dorms anytime. We aren't going to trap you here."

The greenette nodded again, but his mind was in a different place. He wanted to stay here, yes, but he felt like he was burdening his teachers by doing that. Apparently to his past teachers, he was nothing but a burden they had to unfortunately take care of to avoid getting in trouble with the law. It had hurt at the time, always hearing them talk about him like some inanimate object. But he got used to it. He always had to get used to it.

He wondered if his teachers felt the same.

No, he knew they felt the same.

No matter how convincing their acting was, or how realistic their expressions looked, he knew it was all a lie. He knew they wore masks to conceal their true feelings from him.

I know I'm just a burden.