Work Text:
When he accepted the invitation to study for finals, Shinsou thought it would be a good way to get a look into what the hero course was learning. He also thought it would be taking place in a cafe, UA’s library, or even crowded around a coffee table in the apartment of one of the few students who lived alone, the commute too far to manage. He hadn’t prepared himself for the possibility of meeting in a mansion nearly the size of UA. The chair he was sitting in had a higher net worth than him. Given the leery looks of the others gathered around the massive banquet table, they were thinking the same thing. Ashido pulled a pair of neon pink quirk-inhibitor gloves from her bag, tightening them around her hands before daring to fold them on the table. Sitting next to Shinsou, Sero and Kaminari removed books and study guides from their bags and sat them before them as if they would detonate at the slightest impact. Next to Mina, Jirou’s gaze was fixated on a somber oil painting of the Yaoyorozu family hanging over the fireplace at the far side of the room, tapping the tips of her earjacks together.
As Yaoyorozu returned, pushing a rolling cart filled with cakes and tea ahead of her, Shinsou took a moment to be glad she was unaccompanied. He would have an aneurysm if he had to face the reality of someone his age having employees, though the middle-aged man who opened the door for them looked nothing like her, and was not featured in the portrait.
“Mother arranged for a little bit of everything, but if there’s anything you would like feel free to let me know and we can have it delivered!” she cheered, setting a silver tea tray at the center of the table. Shinsou made a move to reach for it, hoping to break the tense silence. However, Kaminari chose that moment to lean into his field of vision, clutching a textbook to his chest.
“Shinsou-kun, my man, how are you with chemistry?”
~~~~
“Dude, are you a genius, or am I an idiot?” Kaminari whined as Shinsou finished walking him through the final set of practice problems.
“You’re an idiot,” Jirou cut in without looking up from her literature study guide.
“I’m not a genius. Gen-ed covered the types of chemical reactions last unit, so I’ve had a few weeks to get used to the formulas.”
“Wait, seriously? What are you guys doing now?”
“Our last unit for the semester was net ionic equations.”
“Really? But we aren’t starting those until next semester!” Yaoyorozu exclaimed.
“Didn’t you say you were going to focus on the practical instead of reading ahead, Momo?”
“I mean, yes, but—“
“Wait, are you further ahead than us in all of your classes?” Kaminari squawked. Shinsou glanced at the various open textbooks and worksheets scattered across the table’s surface. While there were a few ethics or law subjects he didn’t recognize, most of what they were reviewing had been on the gen-ed midterms. He shrugged in hesitant affirmation.
“But you’ve been working with me for like, an hour! I thought we were suffering together!”
“Oh. I just thought you wanted help.”
“No—I mean, I do, don’t get me wrong, but not if I’m weighing you down!”
“This’ll still be on the final, and teaching is a good way to review. Besides, I’m really not looking forward to reviewing proofs.”
Kaminari grimaced. “Do I even want to know?”
“Stay innocent while you can,” Shinsou replied ominously, turning back to his work.
Kaminari made a visible effort to not ask for help for all of two minutes before cracking and turning to Sero to compare Geometry answers, his expression falling when his friend made several corrections to his work.
“Um, Shinsou-kun? By no means do you have to tell me, but I was wondering what your score was on the entrance exam—the written one, I mean,” Yaoyorozu asked.
“I got a 97,” Shinsou hummed, not looking up from his work. Every conversation around the table ceased at once, all eyes turning to stare at him as he raised his head. “I mean, it’s, uh, well, I figured the majority of you did about that well, given UA’s standards. Most of the Gen-Ed students were in the 80th percentile in middle school.”
“No way man, I got, like, an 83,” Sero whined.
“83?! I only got a 77,” Kaminari thumped his head against the table.
“I got a 97 as well, and I believe Iida-kun told me he got a 96,” Yaoyorozu added, unsubtly moving her notes closer to the pair.
“And here I was, proud of my 84,” Kyouka moaned.
“It’s not ranked or publicized like the practical, but dang dude.”
“A genius and a heartthrob,” Ashido sighed, eyeing someone across the table. Shinsou tried to follow her gaze, only for Kaminari to slap his hands against its surface, his teacup rattling in its saucer.
“If that’s true, then Gen Ed is going to be way ahead of us after the summer self-study!”
“Self-study? You mean the training camp?” Shinsou asked.
“No, like, the homework we have to do… Over the break?” Kaminari hesitated, clutching Shinsou’s hands pleadingly in both of his own, “please tell me you have homework over summer vacation, too.”
“Gen-ed doesn’t have to do any work over the break. Well, except for some reading for Mic-sensei and Ishiyama-sensei’s classes, but that’s technically extra credit,” Shinsou said, subtly leaning back as Kaminari continued to encroach on his personal space.
“What!? Seriously? You don’t have to do anything like—“ Kaminari shoved Sero to the side, all previous trepidation towards Yaoyorozu’s furniture thrown to the wayside as he dumped the contents of his overstuffed backpack onto the table, “THIS?!”
“No,” Shinsou struggled to keep his voice level, pressing his lips together to keep from smiling.
“Hey! Don’t laugh! You’ll be suffering with the rest of us next summer, then we’ll see how funny it is!”
“If I joined the hero course, that doesn’t mean there would be any less work for you. In fact, I might just make the curve go up,” Shinsou thumbed through the topmost stack. He happened to grab a packet of literature assignments, most of which were already complete.
“It doesn’t look like you’re having too much trouble,” Shinsou noted. Kaminari’s answers were surprisingly articulate, even if his handwriting was a bit all over the place.
“Huh?” Kaminari leaned to look over his shoulder, “oh, that’s just lit. I usually listen to audiobooks on the train anyhow. It’s no big deal.”
“The first memorandum of Osamu Dazai’s, No Longer Human establishes one of the running themes of the novel, discussing the ways in which the main character, Ōba Yōzō, goes through life feeling as if he can never reveal his true nature for fear of rejection, distracting and disarming those who would try to look deeper with humor—“ Shinsou quoted, cut off as Kaminari snatched the paper from his hands.
“A-anyways! Literature is the easiest subject, right? I mean, obviously, it is if I think so.” His shoulders hiked up nearly to his ears, his face flushed behind the paper he shielded himself with.
“I think you’re forgetting the fact that UA has incredibly high educational standards,” Shinsou said, making pointed eye contact with Sero, whose gaze was flicking concernedly over Kaminari’s hunched form, “there are three gen-ed classes, and not all of them are gunning for a spot in the hero course.”
“Unlike you,” Sero shot back, taking his cue and inserting more sass than strictly necessary.
“Yeah, well maybe I should do some self-study over the break as well. I can’t have you all getting ahead of me without a fight.”
Kaminari laughed softly, the flush fading as Sero helped him shuffle all of the papers back into his bag. The tightness in Shinsou’s chest eased.
Maybe they were more alike than he thought.