>Seven | Paper Crown<

The glances from Katsuki's peers increased, only a few set their eyes on him at the start but now he has two extra pairs of eyes on him. Tenya and Ochako. It wasn't one of awe or amazement much to his dismay, it was a glare of disgust and horror, as if he had gone rabid and ripped out every chunk of their loved one's guts and tossed it haphazardly without any care of the world.

Izuku changed.

He spoke to them.

They hate him.

Katsuki wasn't naive-- hotheaded and overconfident in his abilities but naive wasn't the word choice used to describe him. He knew how to put one piece with another and sew together the fabrics of lies left by his childhood friend. He didn't know what exactly he told them but he didn't take this as a chance to back down. Instead he decided to use such a chance to prosper in his character, after all, everyone was just a side character-- nothing more then a pebble in his pathway to top place.

He glanced over to Izuku who walked up to the centre of the circle where the ball tossing was happening. Arms swinging round in circular motions and a leg crouch down whilst the other stretched.

Some pebbles were just harder to kick then others.

"I'll guess just toss I guess." Muttered Izuku, he felt Katsuki's eyes glower on his body and the zestful feeling surged through his body, exciting him and almost challenging him. He loved that feeling. He opened his mouth and blew flames onto the ball, which easily caught fire and burnt the palm of his skin but he didn't flinch-- he felt worse in other circumstances-- his arm fell back and he shot the ball at a specific trajectory.

"Seventy-nine metres, ain't bad but the flames were really necessary." Said Aizawa.

Izuku nodded, "it's flashy right? Can be a great distraction." Aizawa grunted and shrugged his shoulders but in his mind, he was wondering why was Midoriya interested in distractions rather then his exclusion? Was his lies so full of unloosed knots that it could easily unwoven? By a student nonetheless?

Izuku saluted and walked away and there Aizawa caught a glimpse of a burn mark on Izuku's hands. "Midoriya, your hand, is it alright?"

Izuku looked at his hand which was pulsing with blood and wrinkly as if he bathed for a long period of time. He clenched it tightly and felt his classmates wince but he didn't. "I've been through worse."

Aizawa frowned. He knew that it was probably him putting on a heroic act-- it usually was the case-- but the tone taken on and his behaviour movement wasn't one of just an act. There was also Ochako's glaring at Katsuki, not that he hadn't done anything to not deserve it, but it wasn't something she had done at the start. Does she know something?

"Anyways, I lied. No ones getting excluded." Aizawa sighed whilst reaching his arm to the back of his neck and itching it sloppily. Everyone seemed to yell in shock of this odd predicament excluding Momo. Disappointedly for Aizawa, Izuku had a shock expression on his face.

Just when I thought he seemed aware. He thought and pulled his arm back to his side.

Momo pushed her hair back and the wind helped carrying the load as a nearby breeze carried it away from her neck, "what do you think it was? Do you really think that we'd be excluded on our first day? U.A may be prestigious and strict but that really takes the kick." She informed her fellow classmates.

"Then what was all that for? Lying to students! Isn't that misguidance?" Yelled Tenya violently conducting his arms around at the orchestra of students who stood before him.

"Well, you guys thought it would be fun, but when it comes to fighting capabilities in immobilising villains there isn't any fun there. I needed you to do your best." Aizawa told his students. The muttering began to rise up once more but it was of acknowledgement of Aizawa's true motives.

Aizawa reached into his pockets and brought out a slip.

"Here." The emo looking man said as he handed over to Izuku who outstretched his burnt hand. Aizawa frowned and grabbed Izuku's other hand, he put the medical slip on the epicentre of Izuku's palm. "Go to the medical room and get it checked out."

Izuku didn't grasp the note but his eyes did wonder to Katsuki for a brief second and he felt his mouth twitch. He looked down to the ground and began trembling purposefully, glancing at Katsuki every once in a while.

"It's alright." Said Izuku. "It'll heal."

"Do you really want to be a he--" he was interrupted and he began frowning.

Izuku yelled acting jumpy, "of course! Though others don't think so."

"Pardon?" This wasn't the expected response. Aizawa looked over at Katsuki who was kicking the gravel below his feet. "Just go. Don't complain it's a bother to other students around." Izuku bowed and went to the nurses office.

-

Recovery Girl looked towards his hand and let out a relieved sigh from her voice box, "luckily it ain't seriously burnt, thought you'd have tougher skin for as Quirk like your own."

"Yeah, it's kind of a drawback but I'll have a lot more resistance." Izuku gently smiled at the lady sitting on a high stool, he brought his arm upwards awkwardly and pretended to flex his muscles getting a more awkward response then initially planned.

"Now let's not play hero." Sighed Recovery Girl reaching for her stick which resembled a injection. "Please try not to injure yourself again."

"It wasn't myself." Muttered Izuku when Recovery Girl headed towards the next student who had managed to gain some sort of harm. Her head turned to him not hearing what he had said, one eye opened a small amount. "Ah, it's nothing." Izuku mumbled again.

She pressed her lips onto his forehead and Izuku watched as the wound began to heal at a fast rate, though he felt a little depleted from his energy. Izuku fell back onto the bed and close his eyes for a second. Recovery Girl rose a brow and looked at the small boy.

"Don't worry if you're tired, it's just my quirk. Here, have some candy." She said handing over tiny balls of sugary sweets. Izuku took it delightfully and popped one into his mouth, it was a little bit sour and made him squint a little.

"Thanks." Izuku smiled politely.

"Any other injuries?" She asked again, using her stick to lift up Izuku's shirt for a brief moment, showing his muscles and red blotches in his skin. "You need to tell me all of your injuries, I can't heal what I don't know! Kids these days!" She scowled once again, her lips puckered against his skin once more and the blotches were still there, but not as painful or as red as they use to be.

"Sorry." Softly Izuku spoke. "That should be it."

Recovery Girl doubted that statement, "let me see your back." She grumbled looking down for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head, Izuku smiled sadistically as she had done this. His green eyes hazy and spaced out as if he weren't focused. Once Recovery Girl looked up at him again. He wasn't smiling but frowning. "Come on now! I can't let you leave knowing you're possibly injured."

"Of course!" Izuku jumped out of his boots and began to show her his back. It had scratch like marks and burns created by friction of the ground and skin. She winced unwillingly and frowned.

"What on Earth are you doing to get so many marks, was it Aizawa?"

"Huh? Oh no, it was my... clumsiness? I don't exactly remember how I got it. My pain tolerance is pretty high, so I can't really see it." Said Izuku. "Do you really need to heal it? I mean, I don't want to sleep in class."

Recovery Girl looked at the boy, his eyes brimming with what seems to be earnest then most students. He got up and preformed the perfect bow at a 90° angle.

"I- fine," she went into the cabinet and reached out for some items, "here, let me put some ointment on it and you! Visit me after school."

Izuku smiled. "Yes ma'am!" She placed her now gloved hands into the ointment and rubbed circles on Izuku's back, the cold touch scared him but he soon relaxed a little. When it was a satisfying amount she threw her gloves into the bin.

"Now get dressed, and try not to injure yourself again." She tutted. Izuku pulled up his P.E uniform.

"I'll try." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with a hesitant grin.

He got up off the comfortable spot of the bed and left the infirmary. As soon as he was out of sight his trademark sadistic grin came upon his face, the evidence was now planted but the tiny seeds have yet to grow into a giant tree. Izuku planned to water it with hatred and leaving out to bask in the rays of pity until the tree of broken dreams rises and stops Katsuki in his pathway to heroism.

He reached the door of his homeroom and gave a softer smile as he entered. Ochako watched him and approached warily looking down at his hand.

"Are you alright? It look really bad and you took your time coming here." She mumbled.

"It's nothing serious, it's almost gone anyways!" He reassured her calmly, placing a hand onto the back of his head and letting out a faint chuckle. The other students came close to him and started talking.

"You, like, only used your quirk a few times?! And still managed to get an amazing score? How in the hell were you able to do that?" Yelled a red hair boy, Eijirou Kirishima, "that was super manly! Ultra manly!" He gave a thumbs up.

"You just held the fire like it was nothing! And you were injured but you were like: nothing will ever injure me cause I'm strong." A girl with pink skin complemented him this time. Mina Ashido.

"I didn't actually say this though." Uttered Izuku quietly to himself but finding the large amount of compliments satisfying good. No wonder Katsuki acted like a snob, probably getting years of compliments made him sick. The nicest form of poison still manages to pollute his mind. Izuku thought sickly.

"Still, it was kinda cool! I'm Kaminari Denki by the way!" The lightening boy said.

"I'm Kirishima Eijirou!"

"Ashido Mina, don't be afraid to call me Mina though!" Winked Mina with a coy smile on her face.

"Midoriya Izuku, nice to meet you." Izuku introduced.

"You're much politer now, in the morning you looked super unapproachable." Said Denki aloud getting a gentle smack on the back of his head from Jirou. "Oh right, sorry."

"No, I was a little distant. I had problems in my other school that's probably why. I apologise." Izuku bowed once more and showed a reassuring, small smile on his face. His eyes wavered over to Katsuki who slouched down on his chair and put his feet onto the top of the table, he was sneering -- as usual -- but he didn't even look at Izuku once.

Izuku's heart pounded.

This feeling in his chest was choking him silently.

He couldn't understand why during P.E he felt on top of the world when Katsuki bore his eyes over Izuku's figure and watch him. It wasn't a feeling of superiority, he'd never be like Katsuki, or inferiority. He disliked that feeling too.

Love didn't feel like the right feeling either. How does one love an abuser anyways? It's just ain't right.

The green haired, freckled boy silently kissed his teeth before listening into the teacher's voice.

"Everyone sit down." Said Aizawa in a bored tone.

I don't want him look away.

He didn't deserves to act so nonchalantly in Izuku presence. He didn't deserve to act so uncaring.

<Seven | Paper Crown>

A/N:
I plan no romance at all, no one will get together at all. Some things may be implied but that's as close as I'll get to romance only because I wanna focus on Izuku's growth and achievements. And now I must say this.

How? 1.99k? Is this a damn hallucination and I'm in my dream? I can't believe that I have gotten so many readers so I want to thank you so much for reading my story. 😭 👌 👏

I apologise for not updating, I had the chapter written but for some reason in my eyes it looked "off" and I couldn't place my finger on why that is. I needed to rewrite it a few times before I was actually happy with the result of it.

Thank you 😊