Chapter Text
As it turns out, nothing good can ever last.
Not in, like an edgy, teenage angst kinda way, but more so in an annoying “Why us?” kinda way.
So, Class 1-A is taking a trip to the mall… all together. You’d think the first time would have taught them.
And it did! Midoriya thinks. But maybe it just didn’t work out like it did. Because really, he promises that the plan was just him, Iida, Uraraka, and Todoroki going to the mall to get supplies for the dorm. Restocking snacks, buying throw pillows and blankets, and maybe some hero merch to hang in the common room.
But, well, maybe Todoroki wanted to invite Sero, which was fine, one other person doesn’t matter. But then Uraraka wanted to invite Tsu, which yeah the group is getting a little big but a few extra hands to carry the grocery bags is good, right?
After that, Sero asked if he could invite Kaminari so he wouldn't feel left out. Midoriya would feel terrible if Kaminari felt left out, so of course he said yes. And Tsu invited Hakegure because she didn’t realize it was an exclusive thing—which Midoriya never meant it to be! He just wanted to go to the mall to pick up some supplies! But that’s fine. Eight people really aren’t that many anyway, so he’s sure it’ll be fine.
…Kaminari invited Jirou because he promised to hang out with her that day. And okay , the reasons aren’t really that convincing anymore, but it’s just Jirou. Hakegure told Ojiro that he could come too, and it’s not like Midoriya is the ring leader – he doesn’t have to approve just so someone could bring another person, plus he’s not the kind of guy to exclude people (he’s also not the kind of guy to say no) so he guesses they’re a group of ten now.
Ojiro to Shoji, then Jirou to Yaoyorozu, Shoji to Kouda, Yaoyorozu to Ashido, Kouda to Tokoyami, Ashido to Kirishima…
And well, you see the pattern, and soon enough the whole of 1-A was invited to this mall trip, and as usual Midoriya doesn’t want to create conflict by telling some people to drop out so he’ll deal. Even though the last time this many of them went to the mall together he was almost turned to dust.
Aizawa-sensei caught wind of this little mall plot and also took it upon himself to create his own invite. Midoriya feels, marginally, safer– if not a little miffed.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Because barely an hour into their trip where they’ve all reconvened in the food court, the whole class gets first class seats to a quirk awakening. A truth quirk. A very, very ,
Very, very, very, very, very, very thorough truth quirk.
The clamor was expected. As UA students, anytime they went anywhere there was an expected gawking at their presence. So it was only when the stares and shouts turned from being on them to being right next to them that they really noticed something was going on. And if that wasn’t going to absolutely bite them, Aizawa-sensei’s probably going to have them training hero-awareness for the next week . (“You have to be aware of your surroundings, a situation can always get worse. You need to be able to anticipate what will go wrong when it does– because it will.”) He can already hear the lecture in his head.
The glowing kid was a sight to behold as he coughed and sputtered. He was looking directly at their class like the rest of the dining hall had been. Which honestly, probably wouldn’t have happened if there had been less of them. He’s not bitter about that, but maybe if he had been a little more firm with his classmates, then maybe none of them would be in this situation.
The kid’s arms raise, but they shudder like he’s in pain to do so. And he really doesn’t look all there. His eyes naturally glaze over as his shaking palms spray an impressive amount of water(?) onto the entirety of 1-A, minus Aizawa-sensei who had the sense to jump away at the last minute.
The real issue is when the nature of the quirk is revealed barely a few seconds later. Or at least Midoriya reveals the issue because he’s becoming the issue.
Uraraka is looking at him with those big worried eyes and asks him if he’s alright. He barely has any time to properly formulate a response before his mouth is moving. Which in itself is not odd, but it’s the fact that he can’t stop his mouth from moving even after he blurts out,
“Mentally or physically? Because physically I’m fine but mentally I’m pretty much always in a state of panic.”
Which whoa , way too much information! His mind is already moving a mile a minute trying to pinpoint the nature of the quirk. He’s already figured out that it’s a compelling quirk, most likely compelling people to tell the truth– and clearly American truth, he snorts, because it was stuck on “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Otherwise, when Uraraka had asked him if he was fine he would’ve been able to stop at “I’m fine.” Because he is fine… physically.
He’s muttering again because he can feel his classmates' eyes on him, or maybe, actually it was from the concerning statement he just made about his mental health– but that’s hopefully not actually the case because he doesn’t want to talk about that.
The little kid seems to have recovered, staring in awe at his hands which are covered in an oil-like substance. It was probably what he sprayed onto the class Midoriya realizes belatedly (Not water then– possibly sweat-based?). But even in awe at his amazing feat, the kid looks up at the class and begins to cry.
Midoriya doesn’t even realize he’s walked over until he’s huddled down next to the kid giving him a small smile.
“Hey, hey. It’s alright.” Midoriya comforts him easily, “That must have been pretty scary, huh? But it’s okay now and you’ve got a really cool quirk.” The kid –eyeing him suspiciously, like he thinks Midoriya might be mad– nods, but Midoriya just keeps up his soft tone and small smile.
“I know, when my quirk came in it was definitely really scary,” and it was- there’s no denying that. “But after I learned how to control it I was able to start helping people.”
The kid has stopped crying and looks up at Midoriya earnestly, “Do you really think I’ll be able to help people with my quirk?” He snuffles out, with a determined pout gracing his already tear-stained face.
Still struck by the quirk, not two seconds later Midoriya is blurting “Without a doubt, quirks are tools and you have a very powerful one.” Thankful that the quirk gives him some wiggle room in the word vomit department, (probably based on what the person thinks is necessary as the “whole” truth- stop muttering good god ) He sighs gratefully. He could’ve just info-dumped all the quirk analysis he’d just built up in the barely minute and a half he’d known the kid but that’s not exactly true or relevant , that’s more of advice.
The kid runs off to his mom and he turns back to where the rest of the class is looking at each other with thinly veiled suspicion and Aizawa-sensei is talking to a mall security officer. Rejoining them is a matter of seconds as Midoriya strides back over to where they're all standing. He hears the tail-end of the Mall cop and Aizawa-sensei’s conversation and tilts his head.
“--really sir, there’s not much to be done. The quirk manifestation is something that cannot be regulated by quirk law. I can file an incident claim but my hands are tied. I can’t unquirk your students and calling the police wouldn’t do anything because there’s nothing to do.”
“I understand. I want on record all that happened today and have the footage and audio sent to UA as soon as possible. As well as, for it to be deleted from all servers. UA has a lot of sensitive information and with the students being hit with a truth quirk I want to be sure nothing makes it out of this building unless it is straight to Principal Nezu.”
The guard looks worried about his teacher’s request but he can’t say he blames the man. Hell if the League of Villains knew about this they’d come in like bloodhounds to search for their weaknesses.
As it is, once the guard promises to have all footage sent to UA and then promptly deleted Aizawa-sensei corrals his students out, and back to the dorms. All of them still looked as if any one of their fellow classmates could turn on them at any moment.
Once they’re back in the dorms Midoriya is itching to crawl into his bed and cry with all of the embarrassing stuff he’s said today, however, Ashido apprehensively calls the class to gather around after Aizawa-sensei had left to drop a report off to the Principal.
“Look,” She says, still looking a little wary, “I know this isn’t the best thing right now, but what if we make this into a fun trust exercise? Where we’re allowed to ask each other non-serious questions so we can get to know each other a little better.” She looks around as if to gauge how receptive the class is, “After all if I’m gonna be living with you guys I want to at least know some of you, past just what I know from class.”
He hates that it makes sense. He hates it because Midoriya has way too many secrets to want to participate in a game sharing secrets. A game where he physically cannot hold himself back from sharing said secrets. This, he thinks, is going to go even worse than an entire class mall trip.
Most of the class seems to be agreeing with Ashido, whether they just find the idea fun or just don’t have much to hide Midoriya doesn’t know. He doesn’t want to shut her down either, especially not when he thinks she’s right.
Aizawa-sensei comes back disgruntled and annoyed. Also, clearly surprised that the class is still all together in the common room.
“What are you all still doing here? Aren’t you problem children going to go let the quirk wear off?” He crosses his arms grumpily.
“We’re gonna do a game like truth or dare. Since we’re all living together now we figure we should know each other past just being classmates. And what better time than when none of us can lie.” Ashido gives him a bright smile. It does nothing to negate how Aizawa-sensei’s eyes darken at her every word.
“That,” he comments, “Sounds like a very dangerous activity, that could leave more than one student upset.” His arms are still crossed at his chest.
“But Aizawa-sensei!”
“C’mon! It’s gonna be fun!”
“There’s nothing we haven’t all faced as a class anyway!”
Multiple complaints are raised from various of Midoriya’s classmates.
Aizawa-sensei doesn’t say anything, but he does sigh. A long, suffering, eye-rolling sigh.
“Please?” Ashido asks.
“Fine.” He relents, and before anyone can cheer he cuts through his statement again. “But if you are doing this there needs to be regulations so that if someone does not want to answer a question they don’t have to.”
Midoriya’s classmates look thoughtful at their teacher’s stipulation. Midoriya himself thinks about what Aizawa-sensei had said.
“How about–” He pauses as all eyes turn on him. “What if we made it so that before you asked your question you had to ask if it was okay to ask your question…? Does that make sense?” Midoriya rubs at the back of his neck as multiple of his classmates cock their heads at him. He hardly realized he’d asked a question until a bunch of “No’s” were coming chorused from his friends.
“Ah- what I meant was that if you wanted to ask someone what their favorite color was you first asked them something like ‘Is it okay to ask you what your favorite color is?’ and due to the honesty stipulation the person would have to say if they were truly okay answering the question without needing to answer the question due to the quirk.”
Some people ‘Oh’d’ and some still looked confused but Midoriya looked at Aizawa-sensei who looked like he was thoroughly regretting being alive. He made eye contact with the man and Aizawa-sensei turned his head thoughtfully before saying,
“That would ensure that no boundaries are crossed and that you could play the truth game. But even if you all do plan on playing, I will supervise. And if anyone I mean anyone ” he punctuates his last word with the activation of his quirk and flashes his gaze at each of Midoriya’s classmates, “tries to cross a line that someone is not comfortable crossing, then I have no issues putting you on cleaning duty for the rest of the year.”
A few students gulped looking around warily, but it didn’t do much to deter the class and soon everyone was in a sort-of circle on the common room floor. Even those hesitant to participate were spurred on by the excitement of their classmates. And when Bakugou tried to leave Kirishima turned and asked him if he really wanted to go. Pretty much everyone stopped when Bakugou out loud admitted:
“Not really, I like spending time with you guys even if you nerds can be stupid. But I have a reputation to uphold so I have to act like I don’t want to be here.” He turns a bright red and goes to leave but Ashido jumps up and grabs him from behind in an attack-hug.
“Awwww Bakugou! You do have a heart!” She teases, but there’s no fire behind it– somehow Bakugou gets even redder, a scowl permanently resting on his face. It doesn’t do much since he’s practically the color of a tomato and he aggressively pushes Ashido off by her face, but he proceeds to sit down anyway.
That breaks the tension set in by Aizawa-sensei and soon everyone is laughing because full truths are sometimes entire stories and sometimes barely coherent sentences. Midoriya is holding his belly in pain from laughing so hard as Sero recounted his most embarrassing story as asked by Uraraka. (Once okay-ed.)
“So,” Sero started, face a blinding red. “I was practicing my parkour moves with some of the older kids in the neighborhood. And well, I was twelve I think…?” He looks up consideringly.
“Basically, I was at the age where I really wanted to look cool. So pretty much all that was important to me was impressing them. And yeah bros, I definitely did not impress them with the stunt I pulled.” He rubs at his neck embarrassedly, still colored as bright red as a traffic light.
“So I was using the tape on my arms to, like, propel myself and like, pull myself up to do flips and stuff.” He mimed the action with his hands but it was still sorta vague. “And well I was laughing and they were looking pretty impressed so… I guess I got a little over-confident and y’know tried to do a flip that I definitely could not do.”
“Oh my god what happened?” Ashido was leaning forward over her criss-crossed legs and Midoriya honestly didn’t know how she didn’t fall over.
“Well, that’s the thing. So when I-” he buried his face in his hands “God, It’s kinda mortifying dudes. But I just- flailed? a little bit? in the air? So when I went to throw my tape to steady myself I accidentally,,, maybe, just a little bit, stuck it on one of the older kids' faces ???” He pushed his face even further into his hands as everyone began to laugh at the thought of Sero sticking tape on someone’s face after trying to impress them.
“That’s not even the worst part!” He bemoaned. “Since I was practically hurtling at them at top speed I barreled into them and tied both of us together, bros.” He practically wailed in embarrassment. “Even worse than that! The other kids were laughing so hard no one helped us for like ten minutes, and when they did help us one kid had to run back to his house to grab scissors from his mom and we both had to wait longer for him to run back.” He was smiling through the embarrassment now.
“God, I didn’t show my face around the neighborhood for weeks and even now I still avoid the kid that I taped myself to.”
“Okay get me out of the hot seat now, I’m embarrassed enough as it is. Tokoyami!” Sero called out unceremoniously. “Okay, I’ve actually been dying to know this, is it okay if I ask you if you and Dark Shadow share thoughts? Like do you ever think ‘Oh I want some Ramen’ and Dark Shadow interrupts like ‘I want Tonkatsu?’ it’s been eating at me, man. Do you ever like brain-interrupt each other?”
Tokoyami seems taken aback for a minute and then holds his beak in what looks to be laughter. He tries to quickly regain his composure before nodding at Sero as an okay. Sero asks the question again, sans the first seven words and Tokoyami starts to explain.
“No, we don't share thoughts. However, that notion is particularly humorous. If I were to speak aloud, however, Dark Shadow would have no issues interrupting me to insert their opinion.” It’s surprisingly succinct for the drawn-out stories that the others have been sharing. Still, others giggle and there is none of the previous tension in the air.
Tokoyami then opened his mouth to ask the next person a question, but he was interrupted by Kirishima.
“Wait since that question was for both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, who goes next? Is it Dark Shadow or Tokoyami?” He’s holding a hand out in front of himself like a Traffic cop and Midoriya would giggle at the position if his question wasn’t so thought-provoking.
Tokoyami closes his beak and looks down at his lap introspectively. Around the room, several people murmur and turn to each other. Aizawa-sensei has a fond smirk tucked into his capture weapon.
“Ooh, ooh!” Uraraka holds her hand up before looking around to realize there was no one to call on her. Embarrassed, but still enthused, she goes on to say; “What if they did a two-part question? Like whoever goes first gets to ask a question and whoever goes second gets a follow-up?” She smiles to herself as everyone nods and looks around.
Once in agreement, Tokoyami opens his mouth again, “Asui, would you mind if I asked you two questions about your darkest secret?”
She puts a thoughtful hand on her chin, seemingly mulling it over before she opens her mouth with an “I wouldn’t mind, kero.”
Tokoyami nods again and turns to her. “What is your darkest secret that you don’t regret? And that you wouldn’t mind sharing with us of course.”
“Hmm, well it would probably be the time I gave two eight-year-olds trauma for bullying my younger siblings, kero.” All mouths dropped at the confession and nineteen heads turned to stare like she didn’t already have their attention.
Various “What!?’s” were heard from around the room while other people stood stock still. That was still way too little to understand what had really happened, Midoriya reasoned.
Luckily, Dark Shadow had all of their backs as they turned and asked Asui for the full story.
“Well, I guess it all started when their Bento boxes would come home filled with dirt.” She shrugged. “My younger siblings and I are quite neat because of the bad reputation mutant quirks have for being ‘dirty animals.’”
A few people looked angry at that statement. But, some others looked sheepish. Midoriya inwardly sighs at that. Intrinsic bias is hard to dispel, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
“Whenever I would clean their bento boxes out to make their lunch the next day they would be filled with flies and bugs and mud. Some of them are permanently grass-stained due to it. Then it was when they would try to hide their mutant traits. They tried to hide it pretty much any way they could. With gloves, or long pants or scarves in the dead of summer.” She looked down at her hands and everyone could see the sadness in her eyes.
“I knew I had to step in when I walked in to find my little sister with a kitchen knife trying to cut the webbing out of her hands.”
Gaps sounded and Midoriya caught a lump in his throat, no one– no kid should ever feel like they have to do that. Others were looking a little green, or in a few cases red. Even Aizawa-sensei looked ruffled. His capture weapon was angrily bunching up at his neck like spiked fur.
“Anyway,” She plowed on, ignoring the reaction of her classmates. “I took it upon myself to stop whoever was getting it in my sibling’s heads that their quirks were bad. I had to tail them to class after middle school started and it’s the only absence blot on my record.” She says with no small amount of satisfaction. “I watched two little mean-spirited kids spout nasty words to my siblings and I knew I had to stop it. I guess this is where my imagination might’ve gone a little wild, kero.”
A few people raised their eyebrows, still unbelieving that Tsuyu Asui could possibly traumatize kids.
“I had been watching a lot more Western media and documentaries and I found one about these ‘Killer-Clowns’ that were popular, or, I guess feared for a few years in the 2000’s. I decided to get the roster from my parent’s e-mail and find where those two mean kids lived and scare the living quirkism out of them. It was pretty easy to get everything together. I told my parents I was doing a project on Halloween and they let me order anything I needed for the costume.” She was very nonchalant but Kaminari had pulled out his phone to look up what the killer clowns looked like and was waving the image silently pointing it around while Asui told her story.
Many people paled upon seeing the images.
“Once I had everything put together I crawled up to their windows at around 8:00 at night, just past bedtime. I knocked on the window and ribbited where they couldn’t see me, and once I had them spooked a little bit I jumped at the window with a fake knife covered in red acrylic paint. I used my frog mutation to widen my smile and I made sure to give them nightmares all while telling them to never discriminate again.” Asui looked pretty pleased with herself and Midoriya had to hold back the urge to clap. Others were holding back shivers.
“Holy shit Tsu! I never knew you had it in you. I mean, like, I thought you and Midoriya were like the most innocent ‘wouldn’t-hurt-a-fly’ people!” Kaminari’s mouth was permanently dropped open and he was gawking at both Midoriya and Tsu. “I mean like- Deku what’s your darkest secret? Tell me it’s not something terrifying like that!”
“SHIT, KAMINARI YOU CAN’T JUST–”
“Kami, no-”
“He has to answer now! You should’ve been more caref-”
“That was not considerate Kaminari! You must think before you-”
Midoriya’s throat constricts with effort and he can practically feel the bile rising in his chest.
Oh God, All Might-sensei was going to be so mad! This was so, so bad. If the class knew he had One for All it would put even larger targets on their back than they already had. He’s hoping, praying that he can hold it down but it’s no use.
This is it, this is the moment that all the cover he’s laid down goes to waste, he’s scrabbling at the carpet even as his face begins to purple. His throat was already starting to close and he was beginning to choke as the truth quirk did what it did best– pull out the truth.
Before he can even think he blurts out:
“I catfished Kacchan on Discord for two years in middle school!”