Shouto sat in a hallway behind a door labeled 'Employees Only' and tried not to feel sick. He was pretty sure that his hands were shaking. On either side of him, several seats away, were the others, also waiting. Deku, he thought, looked just as scared as he must feel, while the other boy looked more angry than afraid.

This was very bad.

The skin around his eye began to itch. He might have scratched it, but the Doctor, Fuyumi, Touya and even Father, had all told him not to. Besides, touching the skin there made it feel tingly.

He watched the clock on the wall tick, and wondered how long it would take.

A few teachers had stayed behind to make sure everything got straightened out.

The blond glared at Shouto. "This is your fault you fuckin teacher's pet."

Shouto scowled but didn't say anything back.

If anything, he thought privately, it was an even split.

The invisible barrier between Shouto Todoroki and his peers had never been more apparent than when Ito sensei asked everyone to pair up to be "field trip budies". It felt like a signal had been given because in a flash everyone had snapped each other up. All except for Shouto.

Odd numbers were, as Touya would say when Fuyumi wasn't around to censor him, a bitch.

"Would anyone like a third member of their group?"

Shouto felt a numb sort of horror as no one looked up at him or Sensei. He wished the ground would swallow him whole.

Ito sensei sighed and patted Shouto on the shoulder. "Well then, Todoroki-kun, I'll be your field trip buddy."

Shouto was 'socially stunted', as Itsuka Sensei said in the teacher's lounge, but even he knew that having a teacher be your partner wasn't cool. But more than that, he found out as the day dragged on, it wasn't even fun. Sensei was busy organizing everyone and trying to make sure that everybody stayed in the group and didn't get left behind, while also trying to keep them on schedule and from being too rowdy. So, Sensei wasn't really a 'buddy'.

The field trip was to the local museum- it had surprisingly varied content, mostly focusing on science but with a large section of history; Shouto really liked the dinosaur skeletons.

Another school was on a field trip as well, Shouto observed. There were kids swarming everywhere, all in casual clothes instead of the uniforms of a private academy. The only way Shouto even knew that they were all from the same school was because of matching stickers they all had on their shirts, proclaiming their school, class and name.

It was an okay trip, really, it just dragged on without a friend to talk to and get excited with. Sensei was too busy to really be much fun, and Shouto understood. He was nice though, and he did try to check in with him when he had time.

But for the most part Shouto was alone.

It wasn't a surprise, just disappointing.

Watching his classmates laugh and talk to each other, while Shouto was stuck basically on his own, made the skin around his eye itch with embarrassment. He wished that he'd lost the eye, then he'd have a good excuse to wear an eyepatch. There were some cute ones. He'd found the pamphlet in Father's office. If he had an eyepatch nobody would stare or ask questions, and they might even think it was cool.

Shouto wasn't cool.

He ate his lunch at a crowded table and listened to the conversation flow around him. Fuyumi said he should try to engage, but…how did you do that? Was there a space to talk that he kept missing? Wasn't it bad manners to interrupt like that? He just didn't know.

There were lots of rules that came with talking to people that Shouto didn't understand. He was the only one to bring a lunch from home, and he saw the way some of the boys snickered. Fuyumi had given him some extra money just in case he wanted to buy lunch instead, but then the food would be wasted, and Fuyumi had made it for him.

It was all so confusing.

At the end of the trip it was time to go to the gift shop. Shouto was dismayed at how crowded it was; it seemed that the other school was in there as well.

Everything was expensive and stupidly fragile looking. Originally he'd wanted to get a gift for everyone, but he didn't have enough money to do that. It was disappointing. In the end Shouto settled for a magnet- that way they could put it on the fridge, so it was sort of like a gift for everybody. A crappy gift, but a gift.

Everyone else was cramming around the toys, and Sensei was busy trying to organize everybody. It was too crowded, so Shouto stepped outside the giftshop to wait.

There was a group of boys from the other school out already, their purchases in hand. They were examining and comparing and playfighting. One of them had wings.

It wasn't until the smaller boy got shoved that Shouto realized something was wrong.

"Kacchan give it back!" The smaller boy shouted, getting back up. He was red in the face and he looked like he was trying not to cry. He had an All-Might backpack.

The other boy held his purchase- it looked like a notebook- away from him and grinned. "What're you gonna do, Deku! Cry at me!"

Shouto watched the display and felt his eye itch. He glanced behind him, but the teachers were still in the store. Why wasn't anyone saying anything?

'Deku' tried to take the notebook back, but 'Kacchan' made a small spark with his palms- it sounded and looked like a small firecracker. The problem was that as he set it off, he shoved at 'Deku'. 'Deku' who yelped and stumbled back, palms slapping at his chest.

"Loser!" One of the other boys sneered.

Shouto felt cold all over, but it didn't stop him from walking over. His knees didn't even tremble.

"Who're you?" Kacchan sniffed. "Your hair looks stupid."

"It's not nice to pick on people. And it's illegal to use your quirk like that." Shouto said quietly. Kacchan sniffed and glared at him.

"Yeah? What're you gonna do, teacher's pet?" He flicked the breast of Shouto's uniform, and sneered, "you go to that fancy school, don't you?"

"I go to Pola Matzis, yes."

"So what, you think you can come over here and boss us around? Who do you think you are?" Kacchan is nearly nose to nose with him and practically spitting fire.

Shouto's a little confused- why does his school make a difference?

But the other boy steps out from behind Shouto, all hunched up like he's bracing himself for another blow, and that alone makes Shouto stand his ground.

"It's okay," he says, smiling uncertainly up at Shouto. "We were just playing."

No you weren't, he wants to say.

"No, you weren't." He said, looking back at the blonde boy. "You were bullying him."

Kacchan puffed up like a bird at that, and to Shout's surprise actually shoved him. If Father were here and had seen, Shouto would have been punished and made to run drills. It was only the surprise that threw him off. It wouldn't happen again.

"Do not touch me." He said. Frost crept up his hand.

I can't use fire here. It's not safe. He thought distantly. Fire was for home, where they had safety measures.

"Or what? What're you gonna do?"

Deku was the one to cut in again, looking desperate but determined. "Kacchan, stop! He doesn't even go to our school, you can't just start trouble with-"

"Shut up Deku!" And then he set off his palms again. The flinch that Deku gave had Shouto moving before Kacchan could stop him, shoving him in the chest, hard enough to send him sprawling on the ground, rather than just upset his balance.

Deku made an 'o' with his mouth and went white with fear, but Kacchan was up in a moment and screaming.

Where were the teachers?

One thing was for sure- Kacchan didn't mind fighting and he didn't back down, even with Deku trying to pull him away from Shouto. There was the sting of sparks on his skin, singing through his uniform, but Shouto was used to heat. Kacchan was not used to the cold.

By the time that museum security stepped in, everybody was burned, frosted and bruised.

Because it was a public incident involving kids from different schools everyone's parents had to come, and the police had to be notified because of the quirk usage.

Shouto wasn't scared of the police.

All that meant was a stern talking to.

But Father?

They had to call him at work to come here. Because Shouto was a disappointment.

He felt like he was going to be sick.

Deku sniffled weakly at his side and said "I'm really sorry you're in trouble."

"It's okay." He murmured back.

Were they supposed to be quiet? Ito-sensei just said to sit there and not move.

"My name's Izuku." And Shouto squinted at him in confusion.

"Izuku- not Deku?"

Dek- no, Izuku shook his head no. "Kacchan just calls me that, because, um of how my name is spelled." He explained.

Useless

They'd been calling him Useless. Shouto had called him Useless.

"That's not right. He shouldn't call you that." Shouto said quietly. He wanted to kick his legs a bit, but he was too old for that now.

Izuku didn't say anything else for a minute.

"My name's Shouto Todoroki."

"Nice to meet you, Shouto."

And both of them started giggling.