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Iida Tenya likes to believe he is a man with impeccable self control.
Ever since he was a child, he has had great maturity and patience. That is, until he went through early puberty at ten and busted a kid's nose at school for fake sleeping to get out of doing homework. The very next day, he apologized profusely and promised to help his fellow student with their homework. His parents put him into anger management sessions, and all was well. When he got into U.A., the personalities of his classmates further proved his beliefs. He was the opposite of Bakugou, who exploded at the slightest annoyance. His self control was much better than the impulsive Kaminari. Uraraka wore her emotions on her sleeve, and Iida prided himself in his ability to breathe and work through his own. Of course, Iida is aware of his intensity and passion that can come off as unhinged and forceful. He holds himself at a higher standard and wishes others would do the same, so, he is constantly reprimanding his classmates and encouraging them to do better.
However, every now and then, Iida feels the timer start ticking. Like with the incident involving his brother and Stain… Iida looks back on that moment with disdain. He is disgusted and embarrassed by his previous behavior and the danger he put his friends in. Iida ended up doubling his scheduled visits with Dr. Heiwa and was prescribed emergency medication if he were ever to feel a compulsion that strong again. It was a one time thing, he assures himself.
But, he should really know better by now.
He relapses into his rage on a day that starts like any other: Wake up at five in the morning, run twenty-five miles, finish at seven with enough time for a brisk shower and breakfast, leave the dorm and arrive at school twenty minutes before the first bell. Iida uses his time wisely and never breaks routine, since it grounds him - another piece of advice he’s taken from anger-management. He uses the extra time to review his homework and take mental note of his peer’s attendance. Iida holds in the sigh of disappointment whenever Mineta walks through the door, and his school day officially begins.
Aizawa alerts the class that they’ll be using first period to study for an upcoming exam and falls asleep in his sleeping bag. Iida encourages his classmates to actually study, but only ten percent follow the direction: himself and Bakugou. To be fair, Midoriya tries but is quickly distracted by Uraraka asking for help with her unfinished English assignment due next period. Iida understands, since Uraraka was out the previous weekend assisting her family with their business. He allows them to whisper quietly to each other while taking deep breaths. Iida shouldn’t be so worked up over something with an obvious excuse, but his internal timer has been slowly counting down for weeks now. Every little thing is pushing the hand closer and closer to the zero, and Iida recognizes it as a warning. Nevertheless, Iida would hate to distract his class by rummaging through his bookbag to find his pill bottle. So, he perseveres.
A mistake, in hindsight.
The beginning of the end is Mineta’s nasally, disgusting chortle. It makes the hairs at the base of Iida’s neck stand on end, and he finds himself slowly rotating in his seat to make sure the disgrace isn’t doing anything. The sight that greets Iida is what finally makes his timer ring.
Mineta is underneath Yaoyorozu’s desk. He has somehow managed to sneakily lay on the floor and scoot himself so he, in his short stature, can stand in between her legs with a view right up her skirt. Iida’s conscience and all logical thought shut off with a blink of his eyes as he processes what he sees. He calmly faces forward again, takes off his glasses, and places them on his own desk before sliding out without making a sound. Uraraka and Midoriya both look up as he stalks past her desk, and he sees Uraraka out of the corner of his eye flush a scarlet red and slap Midoriya’s arm repeatedly. Iida can hear her whisper fervently to their shared friend, but the small gasp that comes from Midoriya barely registers in his mind.
With only two long strides, Iida is standing - hovering over Yaoyorozu's desk. His vice president looks up at him with a small smile in greeting before her face falls. Iida isn’t in the mindset to realize what he probably looks like, but he’s sure it isn’t friendly. He can feel his lips pulled down in a frown and his eyebrows furrowed tightly on his forehead. Iida’s jaw is clenched so stiffly that his teeth creek from the pressure. Iida wears glasses for his nearsightedness, so his vision is clear enough to watch the color drain from Yaoyorozu’s face.
“You look upset,” Todoroki, Yaoyorozu’s desk neighbor, softly says to him, but Iida pays him no mind.
“Excuse me,” Iida speaks through his gritted teeth and doesn’t wait for a reply before he is grasping Yaoyorozu’s desk with his hands and lifting it in the air, classmate and all.
His right hand is practically breaking the plastic of the flat top surface, and his left hand is looped through the hole in the back of Yaoyorozu’s seat. She gasps and jerks in surprise as he slowly raises the desk in the air. It isn’t until he is holding it above his head, so he can see the offender below, that he stops. Iida is fueled by anger and adrenaline, so his arms do not shake. The classroom is so silent that he can hear Mineta’s teeth chatter in fear as he stares down at the boy trembling on the tiles. Iida is so worked up, he can’t even speak, so he just glares into Mineta’s soul. His red eyes are like lasers that burn right through, and Mineta is soon crying at the attention. Due to the silence of the room, Iida is able to hear the unzipping of Aizawa’s sleeping back, and the footsteps that signal his teacher’s arrival by his side. Iida doesn’t bother turning his head to acknowledge him.
“Iida,” Aizawa’s monotone voice doesn’t give any clue to his reaction to the situation. “Please put Yaoyorozu back on the ground.”
Iida follows the direction immediately, taking a step to the side so he can gently place Yaoyorozu’s desk in front of Todoroki’s in the aisle. He refuses to take his eyes off of Mineta though, who looks like he’s pissed himself. Yaoyorozu doesn’t get out of her seat but does turn so she can gape at Iida with a wide, astonished look. She doesn’t consider herself to be a petite girl, so the fact that Iida could hold her and her desk up like that is a shock.
“Mineta, care to explain?” Aizawa joins Iida and leers at the student he should’ve expelled on the very first day.
Mineta stutters and sniffles and gulps but can’t get a word out. Iida cocks his head, like the killer in a horror movie would, and Mineta freezes.
“Seems to me like he was peeking under Yaomomo’s skirt,” Todoroki helpfully supplies, leaning to the side so he, too, can coldly scowl at Mineta from behind Iida’s imposing frame.
“Is that true?” Aizawa questions Mineta, and the boy actually tries to lie and shake his head.
Iida can feel a blood vessel in his forehead throb, and he has zero control when he reaches forward and tangles a hand in Mineta’s school uniform. He has to crouch to do so and looks like a furious owner that caught his scrappy dog humping the poodle next door and has it by the scruff. Iida holds Mineta out in front of his body and gives him a sharp but short shake. Mineta starts crying again.
“Y-Y-Yes,” Mineta realizes the predicament he’s in. “I-I snuck un-under her desk to lo-look up her skirt-t.”
“You’re expelled,” Aizawa swiftly states, and Mineta is sobbing now. “Iida, please escort this ex-student to Principal Nezu’s office so he may be sent home.”
“With pleasure,” Iida speaks for the first time, and his tone drips with dark satisfaction and venom.
He continues to hold Mineta like a handbag and leaves the classroom with purpose. The next time he blinks, he finds himself Mineta-less and outside of Class 1A’s homeroom. Sense is seeping back into his brain, and Iida flushes with embarrassment at his etiquette, or lack thereof. He had lifted Yaoyorozu as if she was a prized catch in a fishing competition and then toated Mineta across campus like he was a Shih Tzu. Iida practices his breathing techniques and grounds himself by cracking every bone in his body before sliding open the door. All chatter stops, and it stays deathly silent during his walk of shame to the back of the classroom. He bows a full ninety degrees in front of Yaoyorozu - who seems to have gotten help moving her desk back to its rightful place - and apologizes exuberantly for his behavior. She accepts and reassures him she is okay and isn’t upset by his actions. Iida can’t help but use his quirk to shoot himself back into his seat, where his glasses, a fresh water bottle, and a pill bounce on the flat surface.
Iida’s eyes squint in confusion before peering across the room for who would’ve known about his medication. He is ashamed of his anger issues and hasn’t mentioned it to anybody. Red eyes meet his own, and it suddenly makes sense. Bakugou jerks his head upwards, whether in solidarity or in warning, before returning to his studies ahead of him. Iida wastes no time swallowing the pill, and downing half of the water bottle, before he follows suit.
It’s no surprise that everybody gives him a wide berth for the remainder of the day.