Simple Misunderstanding

2 | My Fault

Todoroki sat on his bed, seemingly in a daze. He had heard the others say that Midoriya looked upset yesterday during breakfast. Unsurprisingly, on that note, he didn't want to do the prank anymore. He had brought this up with Ashido earlier, but she said it would strengthen his mentality without a doubt.

He tried to disagree again, but she had said he'd already agreed and there was no way out after agreeing. It frustrated him. He wanted to laugh with Midoriya, talk with Midoriya, hug Midoriya even, which was unusual for the haphephobic teenager.

It wasn't fair what the others were doing to him, but he couldn't stop it either. He'd already agreed, hadn't he?

Still, he wanted to help Midoriya any way he could, either by giving him food discretely or talking to him behind the dorms where no one could see them. He wanted to help Midoriya any way he could.

Even if that meant breaking the rules.

Midoriya walked down the hallway. U.A was surprisingly quiet when he walked through. It was kind of nice, you know, the silence. It was peaceful, a break even for the normally overwhelmed greenette. But he soon learned why it was so quiet and it broke his soul.

"Did you hear about him?"

"Everyone knows."

"Apparently, he was a quirkless nobody before All Might pitied him and gave him his quirk."

"He's the reason we don't have a Symbol of Peace."

"Midoriya? You're kidding, right?"

"He cheated his way into this school. I'm surprised he hasn't been expelled yet."

How did they all find out?

He kept his head down, refusing to give any of the students a reaction. Soon enough, he reached his classroom: Class 1-A. He hoped they wouldn't believe the rumours. He hoped they wouldn't believe the things the other students were saying about him, even though they were true. They were his friends after all, right?

He walked in and all commotion stopped.

A moment later, his friends started to whisper. It started off as small, incoherent phrases as they whispered in each others' ears, but soon, the whispers grew louder and louder until they were audible.

"I can't believe a quirkless freak is apart of our class!"

"He should be expelled for cheating his way into U.A."

"I can't believe he's the reason the No.1 Hero retired!"

"I bet he told the villains about our training camp."

"He's the reason Bakugou was kidnapped. If he wasn't here, we'd all be fine."

Tears brimmed in his eyes.

They all know..

He tried to hold them back. But, he couldn't help but let a few tears escape as he realized the truth of the situation. They all knew his secret. He put his head down, refusing to let his classmates see him cry in a situation like this.

An ash blonde walked up to him, sparks popping in his palm. "You should have taken my advice, nerd." He said, as the sparks grew bigger. Izuku looked up, eyes widening as he remembered the advice Katsuki had given him on their last day of middle school. "If it wasn't for you, All Might wouldn't be retired. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been kidnapped. If it wasn't for you, none of this would've happened."

"N-no.. no.. it's.. it's n-not my fault!" Midoriya shouted to no avail, backing up until he hit the wall.

"Face reality, Deku." He grew his sparks closer, the familiar sound of popping and smell of burnt caramel making itself known.

"It's all your fault."

Midoriya woke up abruptly, sitting up. He felt a warm liquid running down his face. Tears. The nightmare still played in his head, both visually and audibly. He could still hear their words clear as day.

I can't believe a quirkless freak is apart of our class!

He should be expelled for cheating his way into U.A.

I can't believe he's the reason the No.1 Hero retired!

I bet he told the villains about our training camp.

He's the reason Bakugou was kidnapped. If he wasn't here, we'd all be fine.

You should have taken my advice, nerd. If it wasn't for you, All Might wouldn't be retired. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been kidnapped. If it wasn't for you, none of this would've happened.

It's all your fault.

It was true, wasn't it? If he had just taken his advice, refused All Might's power, none of this would've happened. All Might would still be the Symbol of Peace. Katsuki wouldn't have been kidnapped. The league would've left U.A alone.

It was all his fault.

He got up. He didn't have an appetite right now, so what was the point in wasting food? He could train instead to fix what he caused. To fix what was his fault.

He got his training clothes on before going downstairs. He didn't bother talking to the others. He was the problem, they probably all knew now anyway and would just ignore him like his middle school classmates did. He didn't blame them. His quirklessness was a disease anyway, just like they all said it was.

Going outside, he felt the cool breeze passing by. It was peaceful, reminding him of his times with All Might at Takoba Municipal Beach Park. Maybe he could sit out here somewhere and just relax. He shook his head, pushing away the thought as he reminded himself to focus on heading to the training room.

To fix what was his fault.

Uraraka and Iida had noticed it yesterday. The sad, rejected emotions he had worn as a result of the class ignoring his presence.

But today was different. He seemed set on a goal and didn't try talking to them like yesterday. That only told them that something was wrong.

They suspected something had happened in the past for him to be reacting this way. Either that or he was incredibly sensitive and emotional. His increasing anxiety was also a possibility. But still, something didn't seem right.

It also appeared to them that Bakugou might know something. They were childhood friends after all. He must know something, right?

They did try to get out of this mess earlier. They tried to stop the prank. They tried to opt out of the devious plan Ashido had created. She herself had said it would be harmless, now look where it got them. But, Ashido had said the same thing as she did to Todoroki.

Once they had agreed, they couldn't opt out.