1-A Dorm Life: The Ethics of Heroing

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/8686150.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/M, Gen
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero
Academia
Relationship: Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Jirou Kyouka & Kirishima Eijirou, Jirou
Kyouka & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya
Izuku & Kirishima Eijirou
Character: Uraraka Ochako, Kirishima Eijirou, Jirou Kyouka, Midoriya Izuku,
Bakugou Katsuki
Additional Tags: comic books, super heroes, Fiction, Romance, teenage romance,
Existentialism, Heroing ethics, Yoga pants, Growing Up, Responsibility,
Ethics, Slice of Life, Dorms, Boarding School, Study Date, Study Group,
Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Male/Male Relationships,
Platonic Relationships
Series: Part 3 of 1-A Dorm Life
Collections: The IzuOcha Fic Collection
Stats: Published: 2016-11-28 Words: 2755

1-A Dorm Life: The Ethics of Heroing

by KQLXY

Summary

A book report assignment leads to some ample opportunity for nerding out as Kyouka,
Kirishima and Midoriya discuss the dangers, pitfalls and risks that come with pro heroing.
Spitballing during a study group leads to some deeper thinking, especially when it comes to
people Izuku cares about.

Rating for swearing.

Notes

If you read and like this, consider leaving me a comment! I love to hear feedback and it
energizes me to write more. :)

See the end of the work for more notes

Kirishima was excited about homework. This wasn't a regular occurrence.

In today's lecture about heroic philosophy, 1-A had received a new reading list that was a bit out of
the ordinary: instead of a bunch of the classical literature, they were to hunt down various
examples of super-heroics without history.

While his classmates scratched their heads, Kirishima's eyes widened as he scanned through the
list. To him, these were classics — various western comics and home-grown manga that served as
a fantastical template for the society they now lived in.

The assignment was simple: pick one of the works and write a report on the main lesson imparted
by it. For Kirishima, this wasn't that difficult: he still wanted to refresh himself on some of the
volumes he hadn't read in a long time.

So this was how he chose to spend his Saturday: alone, in his manly, fiery room, with stacks on
stacks of tankobon, trade paperbacks and single-issue floppies, getting acquainted with some old
friends. As he didn't have to move far to the 1-A dorms, this was a simple matter of going home for
a visit and coming back with boxes.

Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse. Astro Boy, Cyborg 009, Sentai, Kamen Rider. Again, old friends.

"Aw man, this is the stuff," he thought, cracking open a weathered copy of The Dark Knight
Returns and sipping from a cold glass of water that rested on a side table. However, just before he
could dive into the gritty tale of valor and virtue, he heard a knock at the door.

On the other side were two flustered classmates, coming to the last place they expected for help.

"Jirou! Midoriya! Come on in!" Kirishima said as he opened the door.

"Thanks for having us on such short notice," Izuku said, sheepishly smiling. For all his note-taking
on heroics, this was a little out of his wheelhouse. He was used to seeing video of the heroes up-
close or in real-time, not sifting through decades of apocrypha for "the good stuff."

"Yeah. I'm not sure how else I would've been able to find this stuff," added Kyouka. She was most
out of the loop, mostly because her music taste and this literature didn't often intersect.

The three classmates exchanged idle small talk as they arranged the room to be as comfortable as
possible for their numbers; in the opening weeks of dorm life the whole class decided that the
maximum occupancy of one of these rooms for casual social time was probably capped at four or
five, barring some awkward cramming.

Volumes were cracked open, and for the most part, silent reading and haphazard scribbling filled
the room. Jirou's playlists provided a soft, melodic soundtrack that let time fly by and each person
to sink into the material.

Eventually, she broke the quiet.

"Do you ever think it's... weird that these kind of things are the reason we have jobs to train for?"

Izuku laughed. He'd thought about this before.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it's kind of messed up," he started, thinking to himself. "Like, the
first Quirk is discovered, more start showing up. Who's the first person to think 'alright!
Superheroes!'?"

"To be honest," Kirishima started. "It was probably the day after someone thought 'Alright! Easy
robbery!'"
"I guess," Jirou said, motioning to her choice. "It's kind of a trip to think about. A lot of what I'm
reading here is a bizarre 'chicken or the egg' situation where the villain is saying there wouldn't be
crazy crime and villains without heroes being there in the first place."

"Yeah, I feel you on that," Midoriya started. "What I'm reading out of this is that one 'bad day' is all
it takes for someone with a huge amount of power to become a villain. Spooky stuff."

Kirishima's ears perked up and he smiled. They were starting to get into subjects he'd been
thinking about for most of his adolescent life.

"The Killing Joke is meant to be a trip like that," he said, addressing Izuku. "The Joker decides to
put both Batman and Commissioner Gordon through the worst torture possible in an effort to both
break them and have them understand his 'insanity.'"

"But Batman doesn't relent," said Izuku, his eyes gazing back to the pages. "I think it's meant to
kind of portray him as a bit crazy, too."

"That's where I think it's essential they kept Commissioner Gordon in the story," Kirishima said,
rocking back on his bed. "They have him as the moral rudder to steer Batman's ship. Just when you
think Batman is going to kill the Joker, he says 'Show him our way works, too' or something like
that. Goosebumps."

A slight pall fell over the room as both Jirou and Midoriya pondered this.

"Looking at our class, I wonder what would happen if any of us were put in that kind of messed up
situation," Jirou started. "I mean, it's a wonder Bakugou came back from..."

She noticed Izuku tense up at the mention of his name, and a small look of shame crossed his face.

"... Sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up again."

Midoriya relaxed slightly.

"It's fine. It's just... hard to get over sometimes."

Kirishima searched for the right thing to say.

"I get the feeling this 'heroing' thing isn't as easy as we thought it would be," he started, flipping
through some pages. "I've been neck-deep in this stuff since I was a kid, but it only really feels like
we've pulled back the curtain on this behind-the-scenes craziness."

"Stain. The villain invasions. All Might retiring," Jirou counted on her fingers. She sighed to
herself, looking a bit dejected. "Lots to process."

There was an uncomfortable pause. Suddenly this wasn't about punching the bad guy and saving
the day anymore.

"Sometimes I get... worried," Jirou said. Both Kirishima and Izuku looked over to her, concerned.

"Why?"

"Like.." Kyouka looked downwards, almost ashamed. "My powers are cool, and I wouldn't trade
them for the world, but both of you... hurt a bit less? If I get shot, I'm done. You can harden," she
said, pointing to Kirishima.

"And you," she said, motioning to Izuku. "you seem to be pretty durable yourself with all that
glowy thing you've got going on."

Kirishima and Deku paused. Technically, she was right.

"Reading this, and hearing on the news..." she started. "... sometimes I wonder if we're all a bit nuts
to want to do this in the first place."

"Not trying to be a total downer or anything," she said, with a nervous laugh. "I think that's just
what they want us to consider with this."

"It's always just been kind of... easy?" Izuku said, leaning back against the wall. "It's just been this
thing that I've driven myself to that's never seemed to need thinking about."

"Yeah, I feel you," Kirishima said. "It seemed really cool to just stop bad guys, get popular, and
make some money with this thing I wasn't really going to be able to use otherwise."

He extended his hand and looked at the back of it. He concentrated, hardening the skin to rock-like
ridges and back. He'd done this many times throughout his life, almost to prove it was still there.

"I wonder if I'd be fast enough to stop a bullet," he thought.

"I haven't read a lot of this, but I remember doing some research about what made a 'classic'
costume when I was considering how to make mine," Izuku said. "Spider-Man... man, Spider-Man
seemed to get the worst out of everything."

Kirishima laughed. It was true.

"Man, you're right," he said, reminiscing. "Kid gets bullied, then his uncle dies, and he feels
responsible."

He started counting on his fingers.

"Friend becomes a villain, friend's dad becomes a villain. Accidentally kills his friend's dad. Friend
becomes a heroin addict. Friend becomes the villain his dad was. Rival becomes a dark version of
him. Girlfriend dies due to falling off a bridge..."

Jirou couldn't help but laugh at the morbid laundry list.

"Jesus Christ, the poor guy. I know it's only fiction, but..."

"Still! He keeps going, and going, and just when you're thinking he's going to catch a break..."

"They take away his marriage, his powers, or worse," Kirishima said, flipping down his fingers.

Midoriya couldn't help but drift off as the other two squabbled, with Jirou wanting explanations for
half of the things Kirishima had listed. The others didn't know about the origins of his powers, or
what he was supposed to do with them... they just knew he had this weird thing he couldn't quite
control yet.

All For One... was gone now. But he had friends, and those friends had friends. And he was
supposed to stop them. They knew his face. They knew what he could do. They knew his friends.

Just like Peter Parker's worst fears.

That thought snapped him back to clarity, and induced a bit of panic.
"What if something happened to mom?" he thought, with visions of his mother's kindness flashing
through his imagination. "What if she ends up like Ingenium did? What if they go after All Might?
Or..."

His mind couldn't help but trail to her. The floating girl. The one he'd been too nervous to talk to at
first, but slowly warmed up to. The one that partnered with him during the Battle Trial, supported
him during the Chariot Race, and surprised him during the one-on-one fights.

"Could she take care of herself?" Izuku wondered. He could feel his fists clench and his face warm
up. He had been spending so much time developing Shoot Style that the relative lull in work after
the Provisional Exam had let him relax a bit. The dorms meant she was closer. They had talked
more. He had learned more about the person she wanted to be.

That person brought him calm.

There were snaps in front of his face as Jirou pestered:

"Earth to Deku?"

Shaking his head for a second to clear out the cobwebs, he replied.

"Sorry, sorry, just kind of overthought a little bit there. It's... hard?" he paused. "I kind of just
realized how many people are vulnerable because of us. And like... could use them to get to us."

Kyouka flustered in frustration. This was getting unnecessarily heavy for what was supposed to be
a study session. Eijirou, however, let half a smile cross his face before answering.

"Uncle Ben always said: 'With great power comes great responsibility.'"

"I think we're going to kick some ass out there, but part of that means protecting those people any
way we can."

Deku and Jirou thought about this. Parents. Friends. Classmates. Crushes? All people who needed
them to be the best they could be, not to mention the public who they were supposed to serve first.

"Like, Jirou..." Kirishima started. "If I can, I'll take a bullet for you. That's what I want to do.
Because I can, and it won't hurt me."

Kyouka broke from her frustration and couldn't help but grin a little. It was easy to forget that the
support was there. She jabbed Eijirou playfully in the arm.

"Good, because if I had your power you'd be out of luck, man. I'd be out of there." Laughs that
were sorely needed followed.

The rest of the session wrapped up, and eventually Kyouka and Izuku decided it was time to head
out. Books were borrowed, e-mails exchanged to share notes. They'd get through this assignment.
Then the next one. And eventually get that piece of paper at the end that would allow them to go
out of patrol and make something of themselves.

As Izuku wandered to his room, he couldn't help but think if that's all it would take.

"Alright," he thought, mentally slapping himself on the cheeks with both hands. "There's still time
to hit the gym today."

Clothes were discarded, others pulled on. Water bottle, music player, weighted ankle brace and
wrist supports. Knee brace.

"No time to stop now," he thought.

He decided against the stairs — we can't all be perfectly healthy all the time — and walked to the
elevator. Waiting for it to come down from the upper floors, his heart stopped as the doors open.

Uraraka.

"Hey, Deku!" she said cheerfully. Deku was so preoccupied with hiding his own small blush that
he didn't notice her attempting to do the same. She was still working off seeing him in a pantsless
frantic from the other night.

"H-hey! Where are you off to?" he said.

"Probably the same place you are. Felt I was getting a bit too muddled with that comic reading, so I
was thinking about hitting the weights."

"Cool! Let me know if you need a spot," Izuku said.

"'Need a spot??' Dude, you've got to come up with something better than that." he thought,
mentally facepalming.

"First in boxer briefs, now in basketball shorts," she thought. "And then he's going to sweat. Fuck.
Fuckfuck."

Though it was only one floor, the ride in silence felt like an eternity to both of them. The door ping
snapped them both out of overthinking. At least they were going somewhere, and didn't have to
come up with an excuse to get away from each other.

"What book did you end up choosing?" Deku asked, breaking the silence.

"I've been trying to shotgun All-Star Superman all at once," she said, grinning. "It got a little heavy
at some parts, so I'm kind of just trying to take a break."

Both walked slowly in the evening breeze towards the gym building. It was a clear night, crickets
serving as a soundtrack. The summer finished with the provisional license exam; it would only get
colder from here.

"It's crazy," Uraraka began. "Superman knows he's going to die, but so much of what he does
comes without this second thought. Without hesitation."

A small pause, and a small silence.

"I hope I'll be able to do that myself one day. Just act without thinking."

Midoriya couldn't help but glance over as she was staring off into the night sky. While Ochako was
made up for the gym, the way the moonlight and the streetlamps fell on her body hit Deku like a
truck.

"...lord, she's beautiful."

Thoughts whizzed by in a second. About the support she'd given him, the confidence she'd placed
in him, and how she was one of the people who'd helped him get that stupid card in his wallet. The
one he'd sent a picture of to his mom and mentor. The one that said he was "one step further."
 Sometimes it didn't feel like it. But with her, he felt he couldn't fail.

"You will be, because you're kind," he said, shocking his inner voice. A small blush. She couldn't
see it as she glanced over at him. He met her gaze with a tilt of the head. Izuku threw her an eyes-
closed smile, mostly to avoid melting at what he'd see.

"You're kind. And you push people where they need to go. And we all need that."

She fought the urge to tackle him with a hug.

"And," he said, pausing. He opened his eyes. Genuine smile. "If anything, you'll have me to push
you back. And I mean that. We're all going to get through this, and become amazing heroes."

Izuku was satisfied with himself, mostly because he didn't make too big of a fool of himself.
Ochako, despite the chaos going on in her brain, was genuinely touched. She would probably lift
extra hard tonight. Motivation.

"Deku... thanks," she said, beaming. "Now, what's your bench press? I'm going to beat that, I
think."

Izuku laughed.

"No quirks."

Uraraka feigned disappointment, then laughed. "Shoot. Thought I got you there."

Before they knew it, they were at the gym. Uraraka noted the sweetness of him rushing forward a
step or two to open the door for her. Deku relished at the "thank you," then found his brain short-
circuited. After a reset, a thought crept into his brain.

"Man, whoever made yoga pants is probably rich as hell."

Cobwebs shaken out. Focus on what we're doing here. Get stronger. Fight harder. Be better. For
everyone. For her.

"Maybe I'll ask her to teach me those takedowns sometime," he thought, pushing out the possible
dirty connotations. He grinned as he saw her beeline straight to the barbells. He felt a great warmth
spread through his chest and heart.

"Keep pushing. We'll get there."

End Notes

Thanks for reading!

The consequences of super-heroes existing in the MHA universe is something I wanted to

tackle, mostly because Deku's referenced "silver age" costumes before, and it would be
cool for it to still be fiction. Like, it's a cool idea to think that hero society was influenced
by this fiction that already existed, because if we suddenly got powers, we'd probably still
emulate the same structure.

I have a headcannon that Eijirou is a bit of a nerd about certain things; comics and manga
 make sense because some heroes can be extremely manly.

I wanted to originally have this be Deku and Kirishima alone, but I wanted to add someone
who could be a little bit unsure about the material and for it not to be a total geek session.
Other girls in the class seem like they would tune out completely, and I have plans for
Tsuyu and Uraraka for separate stories.

I'm fascinated by MHA because they've established that a lot of heroes/villains have powers
based on guns, but the concept of that vulnerability hasn't come up. Despite many people
being powerhouses, there are very few people who have implied durability built into their
character.

More soon. Thanks again for reading.

I review MHA and Haikyuu chapters as they come out here: http://jiayoumanga.tumblr.com

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!