Resistance is Futile

This was it.

This was the test deciding whether he would be enrolled in the hero course, Hitoshi Shinsou was certain of it.

After his failure at the U.A. entrance exam, after his loss at the Sports Festival, after months of training with Aizawa, filled with pain and frustration at being left so far behind his peers... he was finally given a chance to prove himself. There was no way he was letting the opportunity slip past him ever again.

He was not the same person he was before; over-dependant on his power, insecure in his capability of becoming a hero with a villain's quirk. Eraserhead had told him directly that if he didn't have the potential, he wouldn't have wasted his time on him. Shinsou believed him. Now, he stood in front of the students from the hero course, confident that he could do it. He would show them he had the right to stand among them, general education or not.

"All of you here today," said Shinsou, glancing a moment longer at Midoriya, who had nullified his Brainwashing and defeated him without even using his quirk "Are obstacles that I must overcome." He straightened his shoulders, showing how serious he was. "I have no intention of making friends," he finished looking at class 1-A with determination.

All of a sudden, everyone had strange, sympathetic expressions on their faces. Even Eraserhead was giving him a pitying look.

"What?" he asked defensively, a mysterious sense of foreboding coming over him. He felt like he was being silently patronized or something, which he really didn't appreciate.

"Moron," Bakugo suddenly spoke out loud. "You have no idea what you've just done, do you."

Shinsou frowned, confused, and was about to speak when his eyes landed on Midoriya again.

Who looked very happy for some reason. No... happy was not the right word for it. He was smiling, but it wasn't a comforting kind of smile - actually, it was kind of terrifying. The kind that a predator would make before pouncing on its prey, but completely out of place on a face so benign-looking as his.

A shiver of dread went down Shinsou's spine.

Why is his face like that...? he thought. A hand suddenly fell on his left shoulder. He turned to see a familiar red-white head.

"I'm so sorry," Todoroki told him sincerely. "It's too late now."

"Huh?"

"You fool," Aizawa told him with a sigh. "You enabled him."

"Deku took your words as a challenge," Uraraka, who had somehow materialized at his right side, explained. "He won't rest until he becomes your friend."

"What...?" Shinsou looked back at Midoriya. In the past few seconds, the expression on his face intensified, now completed with stars in his forest-green eyes and an adorable flush of determination on his freckled cheeks. Shinsou involuntarily took a step back at the thought.

"I just said, I'm not going to be your friend," he said, trying to sound firm, but it only added more sparkles to Midoriya's eyes.

He gulped nervously.

"He reminds me of early-Todoroki," Sero said with nostalgia.

"Was I really like that?"

"Yup."

"It is imperative of heroes to make allies with each other in order to successfully fight against villainy!" Iida exclaimed, waving his hands. "As the class 1-A representative, I fully approve of Midoriya's endeavor!"

"Dude," Kirishima stepped forward, a sharp grin on his face. "That's so manly! I take up the challenge as well! By the time the exercise is over, I will win over Shinsou as my friend too!"

"H-huh?!" Shinsou stared at him, startled.

"There is no way I'm passing up a challenge made by Kirishima! I'm in!" Tetsutetsu roared, slamming metallic fists together with a clang.

"What the heck, I'm in too," the pink girl hopped closer, much to Shinsou's dismay. "Hi! I'm Mina Ashido. We're going to friend you so much, Shinsou!"

He was surrounded.

"H-hey! I never agreed to this!" Shinsou shouted, but no one was listening to him. Desperate, he turned to his mentor for help, but Aizawa pretended not to notice. Traitor.

"I bet you class 1-B will make friends with Shinsou faster than you!"

"Oh yeah? You guys are on!"

"But...!" Shinsou weakly protested.

"Like I said," Todoroki sounded sympathetic. "It's too late to stop them now."

Bakugo huffed, rolling his eyes. "You never stood a chance, idiot."

By the time the exercise was over, nearly everyone in classes 1-A and 1-B claimed to be Shinsou's friend - they even forced his phone number out of him. And added him to both of their class forums. The only problem was, he didn't really have a solid argument as to why is wasn't true... and okay, he supposed they weren't all that bad. They were all kind of alright, if he were to be honest with himself. Even Midoriya, who started the whole mess without as much as saying a single word.

(...yeah, Midoriya was fine. Even if his stubbornness and drive were utterly terrifying - he was kind of a madman, really. Still, he was alright.)

It didn't mean they were his friends, of course not. They were just... not-obstacles.

Yeah. That.

But at least Shinsou was officially enrolled in heroics next year. So everything was good.

And if Shinsou left with a barely visible smile on his face afterwards, no one was there to judge him beside Eraserhead, who pointedly ignored it.

(Meanwhile, Aizawa was so done with the problem child stirring trouble in his class.)

The End.

Author's Note:

The picture's by Oddonna on Tumblr. It inspired me to write this, alongside a couple of other similar comics. It was just too funny to resist...

The conversation might not have gone like that, but I totally consider it cannon. I mean, come on - Izuku freaking SMILED when Shinsou said that he had no intention of making friends. No one can stop that boy. Shinsou never stood a chance...

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