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Just when life seemed to be going upward for Midoriya, chaos had to ensue.
Midoriya was happy he got into UA High School. He was bullied for being a plain looking nerd all his life so at least he could say being a nerd got him into the best school in Japan. He convinced himself it was because he was perceived as an easy target and nothing they said held any weight.
So what if he had freckles? It didn’t matter that his hair was untamable and he had a babyface. It wasn’t like he was in control of his appearance.
Of course the same line of thinking didn’t apply to him being a bookworm. He couldn’t help it and he didn’t want to change a thing. He loved reading, studying, and growing smarter with each passing day. Education and knowledge was far more powerful than being popular.
None of that mattered once he entered the most prodigious school in all of Japan. Only the smartest people in the world got a chance to attend. Sure, a person may want to present themselves in the way they want to be perceived, but no one was getting into the school just because they were popular or they had status.
After their first round of exams passed, students' rankings were announced. Midoriya was ranked fourth in his class of twenty. He did his best, but he also focused on maintaining a social life and worked out daily.
Meanwhile Momo Yaoyorozu, number one, and Tenya Iida, number two, focused a lot more time on studying and less on other aspects of their life. Bakugo, who placed third, studied a lot, but also prioritized sleep.
It was a miracle Midoriya was so smart and it was a mystery to him how he managed to keep his rank at number four. He was always doing something and mainly studied enough to get by. He supposed he was gifted to a degree, but tried to avoid thinking of himself in such a way. It was disrespectful to his friends.
On the topic of friends, everyone in class 1-A loved Midoriya. He was passionate, charismatic, and humble. To many in the class, it was refreshing to talk to someone so goofy, but down to earth at the same time.
Within the first month of being at the school, Midoriya had bonded with everyone but Bakugo. That was to be expected.
Bakugo was Midoriya’s childhood rival. Ever since they were young, Bakugo has been insistent on making everything a competition. Midoriya didn’t mind, but he always wondered what made Bakugo so hateful toward him.
It was hard to swallow, but Midoriya knew the only reason he was bullied growing up was because of Bakugo. If Bakugo hadn’t been so cruel, his old classmates wouldn’t have targeted him. Still, Midoriya could have punched Bakugo in the face, but he wasn’t going to risk his record.
Uraraka was the first person Midoriya became friends with. They met the day of the entry exam. She stopped him from falling. The entrance exam consisted of two parts: a written exam and a practical section.
The practical section consisted of five intelligence based challenges a duo had to complete under a short time frame. Uraraka and Midoriya chose one another and he helped her pass when he carried the partner section of the exam. She made some great points, but the pressure of the challenges being timed frazzled her.
Todoroki was quiet and withdrawn. Midoriya was worried why he was so bitter and later helped him out in the middle of an important debate. Midoriya was stern, but genuine when he disciplined Todoroki on his attitude. The two were inseparable ever since.
Iida and Midoriya got along for multiple reasons. They were both academic scholars, they always seemed to help each other grow even during the moments when they butted heads. Midoriya even saved Iida when he was planning to use his skills to blackmail his brother's workplace when they unfairly fired Tensei.
Those were just three people in the class Midoriya bonded with. Midoriya also got along with Ojiro, Tokoyami, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and the rest of the long list.
Despite how popular Midoriya was, no one really knew about his hobbies. Midoriya was a comic book nerd and loved doing hero analysis. Many people knew he liked analyzing things, but he never specified what.
No one knew Midoriya worked out either. The school uniforms hid away each perfectly developed muscle he trained hard for. Midoriya spent two hours every day at the school's gym. UA High was a large boarding school so it made sense they had a bunch of random facilities.
Sure students could leave campus, but offering different options for the students was for their safety. While it was horrible, there were people who would attempt to rob the students. UA High did have a stigma that only rich people attended. At least that’s what the parents of the teens who didn’t pass would convince themselves.
There were a couple of students who regularly trained at the gym that Midoriya became friends with. Mirio Togata was the main person Midoriya talked to and he was a third year. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, in class 1-B, was another person who Midoriya often saw at the gym, but they weren’t close.
Midoriya was minding his business, happily talking with Todoroki, Uraraka, and Kirishima in between classes. Suddenly someone came up to the group with a phone and a strange gadget.
“Midoriya!” shouted the random person with a chipper tone.
“Hello! What can I do for you?” questioned Midoriya, turning his attention to the mystery individual.
The girl with long periwinkle hair flashed a bright smile. “Mirio was telling me all about you and I just have to know your result!”
“Oh, you must be Nejire! What result are you talking about?” reiterated Midoriya, still confused about what she could want.
“Your grip strength. Mirio just bought this to track his progress and said he was curious about your score,” explained Nejire, holding up a grip strength hand trainer.
Midoriya flashed a smile, happily taking the instrument from Nejire. “Okay! Let me do this quickly.”
Uraraka, Kirishima, and Todoroki were confused. They recalled that Mirio was part of the big three, but they’d never met him before. The three were mainly shocked that Midoriya knew Mirio.
Kirishima pulled out his phone to record the exchange. The class may or may not have had a group chat without Midoriya in it to gush about everything he did. This was going to be one of the things they talked about.
Uraraka and Todoroki were busy watching Midoriya squeeze the grip strength hand trainer. Midoriya bent his elbow and squeezed tight, eyes closing and he tried to not grit his teeth too hard.
Letting out a sharp breath when he was done, he looked at it before turning it to Nejire. “A little over sixty kilograms!”
Nejire’s jaw dropped. Todoroki’s jaw dropped. Uraraka’s jaw dropped, Kirishima’s jaw dropped.
“Thank you! Gotta go,” shouted Nejire before bolting away in excitement.
“Of course!” called out Midoriya with urgency, a bit startled by her sudden evacuation.
Midoriya turned back to his friends, bowing. “Sorry for interrupting our conversation! Anyways, you were talking about Mina throwing a banana at Kaminari.”
Kirishima held up a hand, forcing Midoriya to pause. “Hold on dude. You have a grip strength of sixty kilograms! What the hell?”
“What? Is that bad?” asked Midoriya in a panic, worried he disappointed his friend.
Kirishima shook his head dramatically with wide eyes. “That’s super good! I’ve never met someone who’s even gotten close to the score you just got. You work out?”
“Yeah! I do cardio in the morning and I weight train two hours later in the day,” revealed Midoriya shyly. He didn’t think anyone would find that aspect of his life interesting.
“So that’s why you seem to disappear!” gasped Uraraka, connecting the dots. “I find it kind of amazing that you manage to dedicate two hours every day to working out.”
“Could you lift me?” asked Todoroki curiously, not bothering to try and hide his intentions.
Midoriya smiled, holding a thumbs up. “Yes! I can do it after school if you’d like.”
Todoroki nodded with a small grin. “Please.”
Kirishima jabbed a thumb to his chest as he shouted. “Me too!”
“Me three!” pitched in Uraraka, more than happy to be lifted like a princess.
A warmth flooded Midoriya as his friends showed interest in what he put a lot of effort into. Still the conversation made heat rush to his face. It wasn’t everyday he got this kind of attention.
Midoriya kept his promise, but the rest of class 1-A was quickly filled in. Bakugo was pissed by the news. He couldn’t believe Midoriya was somehow one step ahead of him. Marching to the gym, Bakugo could already tell it was empty except for Midoriya.
Walking into the large area filled with untouched equipment, Bakugo spotted Midoriya in the back. He made his way over, ready to shout and tease Midoriya when he was stopped in his tracks.
The sight in front of Bakugo was godly. Midoriya had a barbell with an insane amount of weight on it. Midoriya seemed unbothered as he back squatted the large amount of weight. Midoriya was wearing some gym shorts and a baggy tee shirt, but Bakugo could see enough.
When Midoriya squatted, he brought his knees over his toes. Midoriya also hit incredible depth with his butt just inches above the ground. Bakugo watched as Midoriya’s shorts rode up enough to show his leg muscles flexing. Midoriya was mainly training his quads so Bakugo got a good look at just how impressive the muscles were.
Bakugo couldn’t even feel mad about Midoriya’s muscles because it was clear Midoriya worked incredibly hard to get to this point. Still, Bakugo would find a way to poke fun at Midoriya.
When Midoriya racked the barbell, Bakugo stalked forward with a smile.
Midoriya noticed Bakugo and quickly slipped off his headphones. “Kacchan!”
“So the rumors are true. You are a meathead,” remarked Bakugo, smirking as he crossed his arms.
Midoriya sat down his headphones and grabbed his water. It was nearing the end of his workout so a break was greatly appreciated. “Rumors?”
Bakugo stopped a couple feet before Midoriya and rolled his eyes. “The extras were showing everyone videos of you lifting them and the grip strength shit.”
Midoriya’s hand rose to cover his face as his heart began pounding in his chest. “Oh god. They recorded that?”
“They sure as hell did Nerd.”
“This is so embarrassing. I don’t want people knowing I work out,” cried Midoriya, throwing his head back.
Bakugo raised a brow, crossing his arms. “The fuck… why not?”
Midoriya swallowed hard before sitting down on a bench. “It’s stupid. You’d make fun of me.”
“Probably, but I still want to know,” admitted Bakugo, walking to stand before Midoriya again.
“I’m insecure of my body. I always felt too skinny and that clothes fit me weird. So I started training to gain weight. I guess I’m still not satisfied and I’m worried everyone will start making assumptions or begin to have an opinion on my body,” rambled Midoriya, struggling to explain what exactly he was feeling and thinking.
Bakugo rolled his eyes before kicking Midoriya’s leg. “You’re an idiot.”
“Waa-chan!” yelped Midoriya as he threw his legs away from Bakugo’s direction.
“Why does anyone's opinion of your body matter? You’re already smarter than all those losers so you should be more worried about them taking advantage of your mind,” commented Bakugo, trying to process the fact Midoriya didn’t like his body.
Midoriya wilted where he was sitting, bowing his head as he rocked his feet back and forth on the heels before he sighed, “You’re right.”
Bakugo was quiet for a moment, already regretting what he was about to say. “Your body is fine the way it is and anyone would be jealous of your legs.”
“You think so? I always try to hide them,” confessed Midoriya, looking down at his muscular thighs.
“You shouldn’t. If I had a body like yours I’d show it off. If anyone has a problem with your body, that's a personal problem and has nothing to do with you,” argued Bakugo, getting irritated at the mere thought of someone picking on Midoriya for his body.
“That’s… really nice of you to say. Thank you, Kacchan. It means a lot, truly,” thanked Midoriya with a small, flattered smile as he stared up at Bakugo through his eyelashes.
Bakugo felt his cheeks heat up and he was quick to have another explosive outburst as he barked, “Shut it Deku! If you keep spending all your time training you’ll never be number one.”
Midoriya suddenly felt a little bold and teased Bakugo back. “It wouldn’t matter anyways, you’ll always be the best.”
“Damn right!” shouted Bakugo, quickly turning on his heel and leaving the gym. As he made his way to the door, his mind was racing.
No way in hell am I going to stay here and get all soft and cheesy for Deku of all people. Not a fucking chance.
Bakugo thought this to himself as he saved the pictures and videos he just took of Midoriya working out to his hidden folder. The groupchat could starve for once.
Bakugo may have gotten the privilege of stalking Midoriya in the gym, but everyone in class 1-A got the blessing of seeing Midoriya’s muscles. After Bakugo complimented Midoriya, Midoriya was given the confidence to wear shorts around the dorms.
Besides, he happily lifted Todoroki, Uraraka, and Kirishima outside all at once. The entire class was able to watch him activate a large portion of his impressive muscles without even seeming a bit overwhelmed by carrying three people. Many pictures were taken.
Uraraka, Todoroki, and Kirishima may or may not have set one of the pictures taken as their phone background.
“Wow, Midoriya’s legs are impressive,” commented Jiro one afternoon as she was eating yogurt.
“Your welcome,” grumbled Bakugo, before stuffing his face with curry.
Everyone in the kitchen shot their gaze to Bakugo before looking to where Midoriya was standing. Suddenly the kitchen was filled with countless Midoriya lovers shouting. “What!”
Midoriya smiled bashfully while Bakugo laughed at the rest of the group's frustration. Midoriya walked away, no longer hiding his smirk. He’ll never let a soul know he set the entire situation up.
That’s how you remain humble while establishing dominance.
I have an AU in which Kiribaku students study in the same group as art teachers like me. There is a lot of fanfiction on ficbook by my authorship (this is for Russian-speaking dudes)
Sometimes I illustrate it. That's it
Izuku’s been off his anxiety meds too long.
Based on the incredible fanfic “Quirk:Knife!” By: @brightredwings