Sonzuku and Dadzawa Oneshots

38V (Compliments)

Credit to the artist!

Third POV

Those who know Midoriya can tell you he hands out compliments like they are very cheap candy. Those who know Midoriya can also tell you he truly means the compliments. So, their hearts flare with love whenever they receive one of the Midoriya compliments. A few people, including his teacher, who is not soft-no, have noticed the kid outright refuses compliments. Of course, it isn't so obvious that everyone notices, but more and more people have picked up on it as time has passed. It is only when Iida brings it to Aizawa-sensei's attention after school one day that the teacher figures he has to do something.

Dadzawa POV

If one of the densest people in class noticed, then the situation is probably worse than I thought. Besides, with the improvements the child has been making, Problem Child certainly deserves a confidence boost. Wait, I snap my fingers. That's it!

I watch one afternoon, waiting to see a successful mission, to get very confused when Nezu gets avoided by a very flushed Midoriya who says one thing to the principal before rushing off. Nezu frowns. It must not have worked. Dang it. I know for a fact whatever Nezu said about the child is true. Nezu doesn't give out compliments, even if prompted, that are false.

At school, the class surrounds Midoriya after he defeated them in mock quirkless battles. He fought five of them to win. He still manages to smile and deflect every single compliment, all the while dishing out his own. My class does not seem to like this. I don't either. How do you even get good at that?

I get an epiphany one day. I don't have to tell the compliments to his face and it would seem rude to comment on them, especially if he does better than the rest of the class, as he usually does except for a few students. Even then, he has seemingly no bad subjects. The others do. They just make up for it with their strongest subjects. I watch with a hidden grin of satisfaction as the boy's body flushes as he receives his paper back. I don't stop for him to say anything or shake his head at me or anything else he might do to deflect the compliment. Not today. Besides, writing you're doing good on an assignment in which a student got a hundred should be accepted as a normal thing anyway, especially when the said student seems to think otherwise. Later, the kid refuses to meet my eyes.

My satisfaction increases when Nezu invited me to his office one day. He mentions attempting to compliment Problem Child again. He claps his paws together and explains, "I'm just going to guilt him into it! If I bring up my intelligence and then his intelligence, he would be insulting me to try and argue it." That sounds like it might work. I suppose it might help if he is caught off guard because of my successful compliment earlier in the week. Nezu has me climb into my sleeping bag, conveniently under his desk, just before the child arrives.

"Hello, Midoriya! I would like to play a game of chess today!" They talk throughout the match. I almost get shocked into making a noise when I hear the outcome. A stalemate. Against Nezu? Supposedly the smartest creature on Earth tied with a sixteen-year-old.

"Well played, Midoirya!" I peek out and see the frozen face of Problem Child. He seems to be stuck in a state of confusion between denying the compliment (Something so small, why is it so hard to accept?) and trying to not be rude. He really cannot deny it after tying with Nezu, that would really be insulting my boss.

I watch as the kid gets ambushed on Friday before going home as well. He goes to the bathroom a few minutes before school lets out and I watch as all of his classmates shuffle to his bag. They are lucky he chose to go. I only watch as they do it, not bothering to continue what I was saying before the child left. They fill up his bag with notes. I manage to read smartest person I know and very sweet on two of the notes. They rush back to their seats as soon as they finish, only to attack the boy with compliments as he steps into the room. He turns to me, likely believing I will "help" him. I do help him, though.

"You are the hardest worker I know. Also, the one who is best at deflecting things. Both of those are heavy compliments, Problem Child. You should listen to your future colleagues and pro heroes. Their words speak the truth." I get a few looks for the mini-speech, but the class agrees anyways and continues with the assault.

Third POV

(Midoriya's compliments do not stop at classmates. He constantly compliments teachers, his principal, heroes, heroes-in-training, people from other classes and schools, and strangers. Each one makes a person feel like infinity, so much so people are starting to wonder if the compliments alone could convert villains. Nezu has plans. Many of them.)