Silent Suffering

Chapter 9 - Imposter Syndrome

Izuku subconsciously hummed along with the song that was stuck in Todoroki's head as they browsed the shelves together. Not that it generated much sound. The green head had joined his friends on the weekly grocery shopping trip, silently picking things from the list Iida made them.
"Do you think we need any more of these? Last time I checked the pack was almost finished" Uraraka asked, taking a box of cereal from the shelf.

"No, I think there's still some in the pantry room" Tsu answered as Izuku scanned their list for an answer. Nope, Iida hadn't put down cereal.
"Alright" Uraraka hummed, putting it back. The girls continued to chat and browse the shelves as Shoto pushed the cart, Izuku silently walking next to him.
"Oh look, they have a hero merch section" Todoroki pointed out, instantly catching Izuku's attention. And sure enough, there was a hero corner in the supermarket.

I already thought Midoriya might find that interesting. Not sure if there is anything he doesn't already own, though.
"You wanna go check it out?" Uraraka asked, seeing the stars in Izuku's eyes. Deku is such a hero fanatic. Oh, but he gets so adorable when nerding out about them! Even though his muttering can be really scary... Well, he can't talk right now so that leaves adorable fanboy Deku!

Izuku didn't really know what to think about that, and decided to push those thoughts away for a moment as Asui spoke up.
"I can go with Midoriya while you two continue the shopping. There's a hero doll that came out recently and I want to buy it for my little sister"
And with that Tsu saved Izuku from embarrassment!

They browsed the little hero corner together, Tsu mentally describing what she was looking for. Izuku subconsciously helped her search, picking out the doll before Tsuyu found it.
"That's the one I was looking for, how did you know?" she asked as she took it off his hands. Oh fuck. How was he supposed to react to that?!
"But then again, I'm sure you're aware of every new hero merch release... Thank you for helping me find it" she added, making Izuku sigh in relief.

"Is there anything you want to buy?"

Was there? Izuku wasn't sure. Todoroki was right when he assumed he already owned most of what this store had to offer. His eyes fell on a bright red feather, a Hawks themed night light. He already wrote an entry about Tokoyami's fear of the dark in his notebook, but he hadn't done anything to help his classmate out. Tokoyami likes Hawks, right? The red would tie in well with his room interior...

He decided to buy it. Even if Tokoyami didn't want it, it was still a fun trinket for his collection. Izuku didn't own a lot of Hawks' merch anyway. A night light huh? That's cute. Wonder if Midoriya-kun is scared of the dark... It was a genuine thought, not meant to make fun of him. It was one of the things he liked about Asui: she wasn't one to judge quickly. Always calm and cool, assessing the situation before acting.

Quite the opposite of him, to be honest. Izuku tended to rush into action without knowing all the variables, took the path that first came to mind, which wasn't always the safest one. At least, that's what Aizawa sensei mostly lectured him about. And now Kacchan was confirming that every time they spared together.
"Let's join back up with the others" Tsu suggested. Izuku nodded, following her around the store until they were back with Uraraka and Todoroki.

Later that day, Izuku would place a small box in front of Tokoyami's room, holding the night light and a small note attached to it. There's no need to be afraid of yourself. It's okay to trust others to protect you. Hopefully the light would help him, give him a little peace of mind.

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Quirkless sparring was something Izuku looked forward to. Aizawa sensei made them do this exercise about once a month to make sure his students didn't only rely on their quirks. There are scenarios where you can't use your quirk, after all, and Izuku found some kind of silent recognition in the training exercises. It made him realize that quirkless people aren't as useless as society says they are, something he came to believe after being told countless times. Yeah, quirkless sparring was something Izuku liked to do.