Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“He keeps smiling… no matter what. Mom, even without a Quirk… do you think I could become like him…?” 

Inko Midoriya stared down at her 4 year son as tears streamed down his cheeks and around that smile he had forced onto his face. He had been diagnosed Quirkless, his dream had been crushed and he had secluded himself to this old computer as he watched that video of his idol on repeat.

She had no choice… she had a responsibility… she couldn’t let her son pursue something as dangerous as heroics while having no Quirk to protect himself.

It would hurt him, but it would be for the best. She knelt down, embraced him, and, “Of course you can sweetie.” She said softly, tears rolling down her face. Izuku didn’t say anything, he just buried his face in his mom’s shoulder, wrapped his arms around her, and quietly sobbed.

“Kacchan… you need to stop…” Izuku’s lip trembled as he stood between his downed classmate and his former friend, backed by a pair of lackeys with wings and extendable fingers.

“What, trying to play Hero again? Get real Deku, you don’t stand a chance without a Quirk.” Katsuki Bakugou, nicknamed ‘Kacchan’ by Izuku, put his fist into his palm and created a small explosion as a means of intimidation. 

When he saw that Izuku refused to back down, he nodded at his goons and let them go first, allowing them to soften Izuku up a bit before he had his fun.

Katsuki stared, more than a little flabbergasted at the green haired boy’s stubbornness as he forced himself to his feet once more.

“I thought I told you, you can’t be a hero without a Quirk!” Izuku barely managed to shield the side of his head with his arm before another explosion sent him sprawling.

Before Izuku could stand again, the winged goon stepped on his back, using his body weight to keep Izuku in place.

“Even without a Quirk… I’m going to become a hero Kacchan… just you see… one day… I’ll catch up to you…” Groaned Izuku, looking at his friend bully through the corner of his eye from his position on the ground. 

Bakugou stared down at him quietly for about five seconds before growling. Izuku barely had time to notice the incoming foot before the world went dark.

“Izuku honey what happened to you!?” Izuku winced in pain. The river of tears coming from his mom’s eyes were effective at washing the grime and dirt off, but he had a few open cuts that were getting a bunch of unnecessary salt into them.

“N… nothing, mom… just trying to protect a classmate from some bullies. I just… was too weak…” He explained quietly as he stared at the floor.

His mom sniffled, tears still in the corners of her eyes as she hugged her son. “It’s good that you stood up for a classmate, but you’re still only one boy, you can’t just try to fight off bullies on your own, that’s for your teachers to deal with, do you know the names of who it was?” She asked softly.

Izuku blinked up at his mom, opening his mouth and closing it. “…no, I don’t.” He replied softly. He didn’t want Kacchan to get in trouble.

Inko took a turn to be quiet before responding. “Alright sweetie, if you say so.” 

“Hey, mom?” Asked Izuku.

“Yes Sweetie?”

“Can I… use the computer again tonight? I want to watch All Might.”

Inko sighed. “Okay Sweetie, I suppose you could use it after the day you’ve had.” She smiled softly. “I’ll make some Katsudon for you too, how does that sound?”

Izuku’s smile was like looking into the sun. “Yeah! Your Katsudon is the best mom!”

“III… AAAM… HEEERE!” Declared All Might on the monitor. Izuku beamed as he watched his idol. He loved watching his debut video. As Izuku moved the mouse to play it again, he wound up accidentally clicking on another video. Blinking in confusion, Izuku watched as some anime from the Pre-Quirk era began to play. It seemed this channel liked re-uploading stuff like that.

“Why don’t you just give up, you don’t have any magic and you never will, you were born a loser!” Laughed some strange guy who seemed to have a Quirk(?) that let him summon chains, which he was using to pin down a boy with a black headband and hair that was a similar color to Kacchan’s.

The boy growled. “Give up…? I’ve had people tell me that my entire life, but let me tell you something… My Magic… is never giving up!” Izuku’s eyes widened at the display of perseverance from the boy on the screen. His 4 year old brain was able to sort of piece together what was going on. The boy must’ve been Quirkless like him, and that guy was a villain, but even so he still refused to give up, he was just like Izuku. And if he refused to give up then Izuku would do the same.

Izuku continued to watch, learning about the Magicless boy named Asta. Born in a world without powers where power was everything, the two of them were alike. Though his personality also reminded him a lot of Kacchan and he couldn’t help but laugh.

He also saw another show, one that had heroes, though none of these Heroes were real and it seemed the logic of this world was very… odd. But he learned through it about a man named Saitama, someone who wanted more than anything to be a hero so he trained every day until he was strong. Stronger than anyone else!

“One Hundred Push ups, One Hundred Sit Ups, One Hundred Squats, and a 10 Kilometer Run…” Izuku mumbled to himself as he wrote down the workout routine.

If he was going to be a Hero then he’d need to do that sort of training too!

He barely got to his fifth push up before his arms gave out and he was left face down panting on the floor.

Clearly he was going to need some practice…

After his mother recovered from the heart attack she got from her son randomly just leaving the house and he managed to explain that he wanted to try running so that way he could train to become a hero, she decided to make him promise to only go on runs with her so that way she could make sure nothing bad happened to him.

Izuku happily promised, he was excited to get to spend more time with his mom while also training to be a hero. Inko Midoriya was truly blessed to have such a sweet son, even if he sometimes scared the living daylights out of her by acting first and thinking second.

She also knew that she had started putting on a few pounds the last couple years, so she figured that going on the occasional run would be good for her. Even if her first run with her son barely lasted half a kilometer before the boy was already wheezing and out of breath.

Baby steps for her baby boy.

Less than a week after Izuku turned nine, something happened that would change the dynamic between him and Bakugou.

For once it was just the two of them, no cronies backing Kacchan up to help hold Izuku down and let him get cheap shots in. Of course that didn’t mean he was gonna tuck tail and run, he didn’t need any help showing this Quirkless loser his pla-

Bakugou’s train of thought came to a halt as he felt Izuku’s fist in his stomach.

Gritting his teeth, he flailed his arm to blast Izuku’s face with his Quirk, who in turn managed to block it with his other arm, though the force was enough to make him stagger back a few steps.

“Where the hell did you learn to punch like that?”

Truly he was Mitsuki Bakugou’s son, not even in the double digits and already slinging curses the same way he throws out explosions.

Izuku hissed as he rubbed his forearm, singed from the blast. He looked over at Katsuki. “Your Quirk is getting stronger Kacchan, helps that you’ve got me to use as a test dummy…” He said. “But I still refuse to stop chasing after you, I’ll chase you for the rest of my life if I have to!” He pointed at Bakugou as he put on the most serious expression he could for a nine year old boy. “Because my Quirk is never giving up!” Bakugou stared at him, dumbstruck by his words before gritting his teeth and charging at the green head.

“Don’t you dare look down on my DEKUUU!”

“KACCHAAAN!” Shouted Izuku in response as swinging fist met exploding palm.

Izuku’s body was exhausted, and his blood felt like it was boiling as he stared at the sky while lying on his back. 

“How…” Came the voice of the boy next to him. “How could I lose to a Quirkless Extra like you…?”

“I don’t think I really won that fight…” Groaned Izuku in response.

“If I didn’t win then I lost. Especially against someone like you. Why are you so damn stubborn!?”

“…Isn’t it obvious, Kacchan…?” Izuku didn’t even have the energy to turn his head to face Katsuki, simply staring at the sky instead. “You’re my Rival. I want to be the number one hero, but that can’t happen unless I surpass you.”

“Like that’s ever gonna happen. Get real Deku, there’s no way you’ll ever beat me again. I’m gonna make sure my Quirk is strong enough to blow you away in one shot the next time I have to fight an extra like you.” Grumbled Katsuki.

Despite his everything hurting, Izuku couldn’t help but laugh. “You laughing at me!?” Demanded Katsuki.

“No, I’m just so happy! Let’s keep making each other stronger Kacchan! Then we’ll become the strongest heroes one day!”

“Yeah right, like that’ll ever happen Deku…” Refusing to let Izuku have the last word, Katsuki forced his bruised body to its feet and started staggering home.

Izuku sighed as he continued lying there. “Guess it was my loss after all…” He said to himself quietly.

Years passed further from there, and Izuku steadily improved. By the time he reached middle school he was able to do 50 Push ups, Sit ups, and Squats before going on a 5k run with his mom every three days.

He insisted that if she let him exercise every day he’d already be at Saitama’s level but his mom had to explain to him how muscles worked and that if he tried replicating Saitama’s routine to the letter then he’d just hurt himself.

Even then Izuku remained stubborn so his mom had to fib a little and suggest that Saitama must have a Quirk that lets his muscles heal fast enough each night to be ready the next day. Izuku wasn’t entirely sure if he bought that but ultimately relented. 

Besides, if he couldn’t exercise every day, then he’d just use those off days to study. He had long since realized that he had a talent for analyzing Quirks. People always were fascinated by the things they couldn’t have after all, and Izuku was no different. He had a shelf dedicated to his notebooks that he filled with drawings and details about just about every limelight hero out there, even a few underground ones.

Inko was almost afraid to ask where he learned what he had about Heroes who specialized in secrecy. Her son could be spooky sometimes, she still shuddered at the memory of the conversation they had when he brought up that her Quirk could be used on a person’s eyes and several of their internal organs. The imagery was graphic to say the least.

Things had changed between Izuku and Katsuki as well. There was no more bullying, no more fights between them both. It seemed like Bakugou refused to face Izuku, both figuratively and literally, until he was strong enough to win. One of Bakugou’s cronies was dumb enough to imply that the two of them had become friends and that resulted in a thirty minute rant about how, “that Quirkless loser,” was not his friend and never would be. Izuku was flattered that he cared so much. As for his other classmates, while they weren’t willing to physically pick on Izuku without their ringleader to back them up, they weren’t against throwing taunts and causing general trouble for Izuku, something that the teachers clearly couldn’t care less about. Why would they? He was Quirkless after all. But Izuku didn’t particularly care how they treated him, because he could just smile and keep moving forward.

This new normal continued all the way through Middle School, until the day came that would change Izuku’s life forever…

Chapter Text

It had been a good day. A great day even for Izuku. He had gotten a front row seat to the debut of two rising star heroes, and managed to put two brand new entries in volume twenty four of his hero notebooks for the future. 

Well, okay, maybe “good” was a stretch, he still had to go to school after all.

Don’t get him wrong! He loves learning! He knows that he’ll need smarts if he ever has any hope of becoming the Number One Hero someday. But Aldera Middle School’s faculty wasn’t shy about their opinions on the Quirkless, and unfortunately their mentality was very infectious to the impressionable students who went there. And it’s not like he could pretend otherwise, not that he would even want to, his red shoes might have well have been a neon sign that said, “I’m Quirkless.” Izuku couldn’t help but be reminded of how in the 1940s, Germany had forced people of certain minorities to wear badges that made it clear tot hair around them that they were a part of said minority. Of course he wasn’t stupid enough to bring up such parallels in public, he didn’t feel like getting another detention because he “provoked his classmates into using their Quirks” or some equally asinine reasoning. Izuku shook his head, compartmentalizing those thoughts before burying them. All they’d do is stress him out if he continued focusing on them throughout the day.

He had been working on his sketch of Mt. Lady’s costume when the voice of his teacher grabbed his attention. “C’mon class! You’re Middle School Seniors! It’s time you started thinking seriously about your futures!” He pulled out a small stack of papers and put them on his desk. “Now normally I would hand these papers out and you’d answer them to help determine your future career course.” Then, with a grin he tossed the papers into the air. “But of course, I know you’re all settled on becoming Heroes, right!?” Izuku went back to sketching. The only thing more obvious than Aldera Middle School’s views on the Quirkless was their desire to ride the coattails of any future heroes that came from their school. Eighteen of his classmates cheered as they started firing off their Quirks. “Yes yes, your Quirks are all wonderful, but try not to use them during school.” Said the teacher, putting so little effort in reprimanding his students it could be barely considered as such.

“Oi teach, don’t lump me in with these extras.” Came the voice at eleven o’clock from Izuku’s seat. His eyes moved to see Kacchan, sitting there with his feet on his desk and a smug look on his face. The corners of Izuku’s mouth Quirked upwards as he saw his rival stand on his desk. “We all know my Quirk’s in a whole other ball game, the comparison is insulting!”

Some of their classmates booed Katsuki for his arrogance but he took it in stride and challenged all of them to come at him. “I’m going straight to UA from this dumpster of a Middle School, you’re all looking at the next Number One Her-”

“Oh yeah, you plan to go to UA as well, right Midoriya?” Izuku felt his blood run cold as the teacher cut Kacchan off, now there were nineteen pairs of eyes on him. Bakugou didn’t turn to face him, they both knew Izuku still hadn’t caught up yet, but he also had no interest in taking part what came next.

Then came the laughing, the jeering, things Izuku was accustomed to. ‘Don’t shout. Don’t react. Don’t get sent to the Principal’s Office again.’ He thought to himself. He took a deep breath. In through his nose, out through his mouth. “Laugh all you like, I’m going to UA. I have to try at least.” Cue another wave of laughter, even the teacher wasn’t holding back. Izuku grimaced, his face looking like he bit into a sour lemon. He sighed before going back to sketching, the paper illuminated by the light of Kacchan’s explosions as he got everyone’s eyes back on him so he can go back to bragging. The school certainly loved stroking his ego…

Izuku was packing his things and checking his phone. Looks like the incident from this morning had made the top of the Hero Forum he was a part of. He reached over for Notebook Twentyfour, only to feel nothing but the hard wood of his desk.

“Lookin’ for something?” His gaze moved to see his notebook being held out of reach in the lengthened fingers of his classmate.

“Please give that back.” He said calmly as he reached over to grab it. Suddenly two more classmates grabbed him from behind, holding him in place.

“‘Hero Analysis for the Future,’ really?” Asked the bully as he looked at the notebook before walking towards the window. “Please, as if ‘Defenseless Izuku’ ever is gonna need this, it’s better off as fish food!” He then tossed it out the window and into the koi pond outside. “Woo! Nailed it!” The classmates holding him back chuckled. Izuku stared at the floor, from the corner of his eye he could see him. Kacchan, hands in his pockets and backpack hanging off one shoulder. Watching the scene quietly.

He felt those long fingers wrap around his head as the bully’s palm pressed into his forehead, forcing his head up so that he could see his face. “Honestly Midoriya, if you wanna be a Hero that badly maybe you could save us all from having to look at your ugly mug and take a swan dive after that notebook of yours. Heck, maybe you’ll get lucky and wind up with a Quirk in your next life.” Izuku’s eyes widened slightly. Did this guy really just…?

The other two’s laughter was a little more awkward, guess even they thought that that was pushing the envelope a bit. “You done? I’d like to go home now…” Izuku said quietly. The bully scoffed before looking at the other two and nodding, they let go and the three walked out of the classroom. Looks like they finally lost interest. 

Izuku crouched down and scooped up his bag from the floor, gathering up what had fallen out before putting it onto his back. He then started walking for the door, just as the two’s paths crossed, Katsuki spoke up. “Surprised you didn’t decide to feed them their own teeth, I saw the way your arm was positioned, one swift elbow to the nose and you’d have gotten loose.”

Neither of them looked at the other as they spoke. “Didn’t feel like stressing mom out with another detention. Besides, winning fights is your thing, I’m more interested in saving people.”

“Whatever you say Deku, at least you’re not crying to me about not helping.”

“Trust me Kacchan, if I needed saving you’d know. And if I ever needed to be the one to save you, I’d do it.”

Bakugou scoffed. “Please, I’m gonna be the hero who always wins, like there’s ever gonna be a situation where you’ll need to save me.”

“Of course, of course, you always win. See you tomorrow Kacchan, say hi to Aunt Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru for me.”

“Whatever Deku…” That wasn’t a no. Izuku smiled a little as he made his way to the exit. On his way out he passed his teacher talking to those three students, a proud look on his face. Hearing him mention ‘Extra Credit’ to those three killed Izuku’s smile.

After fishing out his Notebook, Izuku started heading home, already thinking about how much of a pain it’s gonna be to replace everything in it in a new notebook, looks like Hero Research was going to have to wait tonight. His head kept looping what his classmate said on loop.

‘Take a Swan Dive out the window…’

‘Ugh! No! Ignore them! Ignore that!’ He ordered himself. ‘No way am I gonna let a bunch of bullies deter me. Mom believes in me, Kacchan believes in me!’ He reminded himself. He knew he could do it, he just had to keep his head held-

“Well what do we have here? A guise in Medium Size…” 

Eh?

Izuku slowly looked over his shoulder. Large Man, body composed entirely of liquid save for his teeth and eyes, currently looking over him with his amorphous moving to encase him, gotta move now!

Izuku leapt forward, but he was too slow! The villain grabbed his right arm and leg, and was now beginning to travel up his arm. He called him a ‘guise?’ Realizing the implications, Izuku quickly sucked in a breath and shut his mouth before his mouth and nose were covered. The villain was trying to force his way in.

Ew… he can feel it in his nose… he was going to need a long shower after this. 

“Stop struggling kid… I just wanna use your body for a bit, don’t struggle, it’ll only hurt for about forty five seconds, and then it’ll aaall be over…” Gurgled the villain. 

Izuku actually had to pause for half a second because wow that sentence sounded awful…

Shoot, he let himself get distracted! He went back to squirming, desperately hoping to wiggle one of his arms free so he could try to aim for the villain’s weak points.

“Gotta thank ya kid, you’re my Hero, never thought he would be in town…” The villain seemed to be paying his struggles no mind, he barely noticed Izuku trying and failing to free himself.

‘Dammit… no… not like this… Mom… Kacchan… forgive me…!’ Izuku squeezed his eyes shut as he continued to squirm, even as he found his struggling to be draining himself of energy.

Suddenly there was a loud clanging of metal. “Have no fear, boy!” That voice… Izuku opened one eye. “For I am here!” Declared All Might. “Texas… SMAAASH!” Suddenly the area was filled with a bunch of wind pressure that knocked the villain right off of him. Izuku gasped, finally able to get a refill on fresh air. He grunted as he hit the ground and rolled. 

He lied there for a while relishing the fresh air before sitting up. He was dazed, trying to get a grasp on what happened. At first he didn’t see anything, wondering if that had all just been one big hallucination… then he noticed All Might to the side, crouching down as he seemed to be doing… something.

Izuku staggered to his feet before looking around. Ah, there it was. He picked up his notebook, lucky for him all the wind seemed to have sucked the moisture out of the pages the same way the villain had been pulled off of him.

“Whatcha got there my boy? Looking for a fresh page to ask for an autograph on?”

Eh?

Izuku looked up to see All Might’s face inches from his own, having leaned down to be closer to eye level with him, that smile of his ever present on his face.

Izuku quietly stared for a few moments before his brain finally caught up to reality.

“ALL MIGHT!?” He practically screeched as his arms flailed in surprise, the boy falling on his butt and his notebook going into the air. In the blink of an eye, All Might pulled something from his pocket with one hand while catching the Notebook in the other, before swiftly writing something on two of the pages. Izuku stared in surprise.

“Would this suffice?” He asked before showing the autographed notebook to Izuku.

Izuku let out a very… indescribable sound of surprise(?) as he took the notebook and leapt to his feet.

“Yes! Thank you sir! This is wonderful! It’ll be a family heirloom for generations to come!” He exclaimed while frantically bowing to All Might again and again.

“Think nothing of it, in fact I must thank you young man, this slippery fella almost gave me the… well, slip!” Replied All Might before pulling out a two liter bottle of some weird green liquid that looked very familiar to Izuku. Then he noticed the eyeball.

‘How the hell did he get that guy into the bottle…?’ Izuku wondered to himself. Then he realized something. The Number One Hero himself was here, this was the perfect time to ask, to see what All Might if all people thought about his dream.

“Well, I’m off to deliver this guy to the authorities.” Said All Might as he turned to depart.

“Wait? Already? I was hoping to ask you-” Said Izuku, reaching for the Number One Hero.

“I’m afraid I can’t boy, Pro Heroes are constantly fighting against not only villainy, but time as well! Now then, be sure to keep cheering me ooon!” Said All Might as he squatted down before leaping into the sky.

Toshinori Yagi would’ve breathed a sigh of relief at managing to leave the kid he saved behind before burning out his time limit, but that sort of thing isn’t quite as easy when you’re short a lung and stomach. And if the sounds of a screaming teenager coming from his left leg were to be believed, he didn’t do a very good job at ditching him.

“H-hey!? What’re you doing!? I love my fans and all but this is a little extreme! C’mon, lemme go!” He ordered hastily.

“No way! I don’t wanna die!” The green haired boy cried out in response.

“Oh. Right…” Fair enough.

“Please! I just need to ask you a questionnn!” Exclaimed the boy, the wind doing all kinds of disturbing things with his face.

“Alright alright! Just… close your eyes and mouth until we land please…” Relented All Might. Once the boy hid his face against his leg, All Might turned his head to make sure he’d be able to still stick the upcoming landing.

Feeling a cough coming, he quickly brought his fist to his mouth. ‘Shit…’ He thought when he saw blood on it.

Izuku’s breathing was heavy and his legs were shaking. On one hand he was annoyed at himself for lacking the constitution to handle something like that, though on the other he was fairly certain someone could probably count the number of people capable of handling something like that without getting rattled on one hand.

“That was very reckless young man.” Reprimanded All Might before looking around. They had landed on a roof somewhere in the middle of the city. Thankfully there was a door leading inside they could use to get downstairs. “Is it alright if I unload you downstairs, I really need to get going.” 

“Wait, please, there’s something important I need to ask you!” Exclaimed Izuku as he managed to force himself to his feet.

“Young man, there’s no time-”

“I need to know! Can someone without a Quirk become a Hero!? I’ve spent my whole life dreaming to be a Hero, but I was born without powers…”

All Might’s eyes widened. “You’re Quirk- urgh!” His attempt at responding was cut short by a sharp pain in his side.

“Even so, there are those who believe in me, and I need to hear it from the best of the best, can I ever hope to be… someone… like…?” Izuku’s question was cut short as the Number One Hero was suddenly enveloped in a cloud of… smoke? No, it was more like steam. ‘What the Hell…?’ Izuku wondered, squinting his eyes as he tried to focus on the silhouette of All Might in the cloud. When it dissipated, all that was left in his place was a man who looked more like a skeleton than a person.

“What the Hell!? A-are you really All Might!?” Izuku, unsurprisingly, couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I am he-urk!” The Man’s attempt at responding was cut short as his white T-Shirt was stained with the blood he started vomiting up.

“Th-that can’t be! All Might is a mountain of a man! You look like a corpse!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Y’know how some guys at the pool suck in their gut to make themselves look bigger than they are? Same principle with my muscle form.” Explained All Might as he rubbed the blood from his lips. Izuku was speechless, so the man sighed before grabbing the left side of his shirt and lifting up. Izuku repressed the urge to gag when he saw the scar. “Pretty gross right? A villain gave me that about five years back, lost some organs in the process and I wound up withering into… well, this.”

Izuku stared at the injury for a few seconds before meeting the man’s eyes. “Toxic Chainsaw was able to do that to you…?” 

“Pft, you know your stuff kid. But nah, that guy was just a two bit thug. The guy who did this was so vile he got scrubbed from history. Someone strong enough to obliterate one of my lungs and my stomach. Thanks to him I can only do hero work for about three hours a day.” All Might corrected him, while still impressed with the boy’s knowledge. “Look kid, that smile you see me wear all the time is sadly a mask, meant to keep the hopes of the innocents high and the morale of villains down, because justice can never succumb to villainy, that’s why this injury and form have been kept secret all this time, so I’m gonna have to ask you to keep quiet about it, don’t go telling your friends about it, kay?”

Izuku resisted the urge to scoff. ‘What friends…?’ He almost asked the question aloud.

“A pro is always laying their life on the line, so I can’t in good conscience give you the answer you’re hoping for. I don’t think you should try to be a Hero without a Quirk to protect yourself. There are other professions out there that are just as respectable, like a police officer or a doctor, but a Hero? No.” Izuku stared at the ground, the weight of All Might’s words threatening to crush him.

All Might walked past him and to the door. “There’s nothing bad about having dreams, but we all need to wake up eventually. He then shut the door behind him, leaving Izuku to just blankly stand there and stare for a while.

‘Take a swan dive… and hope you get a Quirk in your next life…’

The familiar sound of explosions woke Izuku up. He looked around, realizing he was standing in some alleyway. How long had he been zoned out, seems it had been less than an hour going off the shadows, his feet must’ve just started moving on their own. Then he noticed the crowd gathering at the alley across the street. It was almost like something was beckoning Izuku to go there, and his legs obeyed.

After pushing his way through the crowd, he finally saw what the commotion was about. That villain from before! It must’ve gotten loose when…

‘No… it’s my fault… and now, someone else… wait, those explosions, and I recognize that hair…!’ Izuku realized who the sludge villain had captured, he was holding Kacchan hostage and was trying to suffocate him the same way! What’s worse is that the Heroes weren’t doing anything to help! Yeah there was fire around and it was too narrow for Mount Lady, but there were at least three heroes standing there and staring! But then again, it’s his fault that this situation was happening in the first place… and now Kacchan was going to… to… and that’s when their eyes met. Izuku could see it, the look of fear in his former friend’s face. He was going to die if someone didn’t act.

And without even realizing it, he acted. With a scream he broke through the crowd and weaved past the heroes, charging straight at the villain. The cries of the heroes telling him to stop went on deaf ears. ‘I can’t stop running, so I might as well make it count.’ Thought Izuku.

“You’re toast kid!” Gurgled the villain as he reared his arm back, preparing to attack him.

Izuku’s eyes widened as it felt like the world suddenly crawled to a stop. ‘Gotta think fast. One villain. Quirk: amorphous body, physical attacks won’t do anything.’ Then his attention zeroed in on the villain’s eyes. They were solid. ‘Right!’

“Think fast!” He shouted as he took his backpack off and threw it, the items scattering out and flying straight into the villain’s face. Something must’ve connected, because the villain suddenly made a sound of pain and moved his head back, one of his eyes now squeezed shut. Those moments were enough to give Katsuki some breathing room, both figuratively and literally. “KACCHAN!” He called to his rival, digging his hands into the sludge as he tried to search for wherever Katsuki’s body was in there.

“What the hell!? How are you here!?” Demanded Bakugou as he watched Izuku try to free him.

“Don’t ask me! My legs just brought me here on their own!” He shouted in response. Crap, the villain was starting to gain his bearings.

In that moment, memories came flooding to Izuku.

“That smile you see me wear all the time is sadly a mask…”

“Of course you can sweetie…”

“I don’t think you should try to be a Hero without a Quirk…”

“I can’t be the Number One Hero until I surpass you…”

Somehow, despite everything, Izuku found himself smiling at the blond boy, though his eyes looked like he wanted to cry. “Isn’t it obvious Kacchan?” He asked before pulling his arms back and then plunging them into the villain. Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled with all his might, enough to yank Bakugou out. Most of him anyway, his feet were still stuck. “There’s no way I could stand by and watch you die!”

Katsuki stared at Izuku in shock as he watched him pull something like this off, before gritting his teeth. “Get. The Hell. OFF MEEE!” He shouted, firing an explosion off in the villain’s face as he tried to propel themselves both away. Unfortunately the villain refused to let go.

“Grrr… that’s it you brats, I’m done playing with you!” He swung his arm at them, and their eyes widened, knowing that neither of them would be able to react to it in time. He could hear the heroes crying out in panic, knowing that the boys were about to die.

Thankfully there was someone else who did. Izuku and Katsuki stared at the broad back of the number one hero. “I really am pathetic, aren’t I?” 

“All Might, but…?” Izuku’s concerns for the pro’s time limit went unsaid.

“I told you the traits that make a great champion, but it seems I wasn’t living up to my own ideals!” Declared All Might as he moved to grab the arms of both boys, holding onto them for dear life as he reared back his arm.

‘Oh boy.’ Was all Izuku could think as he used his free arm to hug Katsuki close to him, knowing what was coming next.

“Pros are always risking their lives, THAT’S THE TRUE TEST OF A HERO!”

“Damn you ALL MIGHT!” Snarled the villain as it tried to attack one last time, but it was useless.

“Detroiiit SMAAASH!” Shouted All Might as he blasted the villain away with a bunch so strong it created a localized tornado in the alleyway. Izuku clung to Bakugou as tight as he could as they both flailed in All Might’s grasp.

Izuku did his best not to meet Bakugou’s gaze, the guy had a scowl something fierce. While Izuku was being chewed out by the pros for being so reckless, he was being praised to heaven and back for how “brave” he’d been in such a crisis.

As for All Might, the man fled the scene like a bat out of hell once the villain was dealt with and the rain he summoned via the tornado dealt with the fires. 

After a while, the boys were let go. Izuku could see the sun setting on the horizon.

It was just the two of them and the silence was deafening. “I don’t like that you helped me, nerd.” Katsuki said abruptly, making Izuku practically jump. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I almost suffocated. Buncha pros standing there like lumps on a log and yet it took a Quirkless Middleschooler to get me loose. How embarrassing…”

“Wouldn’t’ve even been in that situation if not for me…” Mumbled Izuku. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his arm. He gripped his arm before looking over at Katsuki, who still had his fist raised. “Ow!?”

“I don’t know what happened before you wound up in that alley, but if you so much as think about giving up on chasing after me, I’ll blast you so hard it’ll take Auntie Inko weeks to glue you back together.”

Izuku scoffed. “C’mon Kacchan, that’s a nice dream but maybe it’s time to wake-”

The sound of a detonation going off in Bakugou’s fist and a look of murder in his eyes were enough to shut him up. “Deku…” He said menacingly.

“Yes Kacchan, sorry Kacchan, shutting up now Kacchan.” Izuku squeaked.

“Good, now then, I’m going home, you’d better not do anything stupid, nerd.” Katsuki then turned and walked away. 

Izuku silently watched him go before sighing. He wasn’t even sure what the next step for him was from here.

“I AM HERE! To speak to you about an important matter young man!” Looking back, Izuku is pretty sure he leapt at least a few feet into the air when All Might suddenly appeared from around the corner.

“A-All Might!? How long have you been there!?” Exclaimed Izuku.

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about tha-!” His response was cut short by a repeat of the vomiting blood gag. Once he was done, he rubbed the blood from his lips and focused his dark eyes on the boy. “Ahem. Sorry about that. I came here because I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier with that villain.”

Izuku grimaced before bowing. “Right. You’re probably furious with me. I caused that villain to get loose, and forced you to hurt yourself to fix it.” He said, staring at the ground and refusing to meet the eyes of the man he’d idolized ever since he was a child.

“No, that’s wrong.” Replied All Might. “I came here to thank you. After hearing your story, after seeing the things you did for the sake of your… friend, I take it?”

“Kacchan is my rival, not my friend.” Replied Izuku without looking at him. All Might raised an eyebrow, that response had been weirdly quick.

“Regardless of your relationship, you rushed in to save him. You, a boy with no Quirk, did more work on your own than half a dozen pros combined, and then they had the nerve to be angry at you. Self projection at its finest in my opinion.” Replied All Might.

Izuku finally lifted his head, his face one of confusion. “A-All Might… what’re you saying…?” He asked, almost afraid to assume where this was going.

“Most of the greatest Heroes all have a line that they’ve said at one point or another, ‘My body moved on its own before my mind could.’ That’s what happened today with you, isn’t it?” Explained All Might. Izuku felt his knees give out as he stared at All Might, the thin man becoming a silhouette in front of the setting sun. Tears streamed down his face as his idol spoke to him. When was the last time he had cried over something? He couldn’t remember, he’d thought his tears had dried up a long while ago, but here he was being proven wrong…

“I’m not going to say that you can become a hero, because young man, you already are one…! And that’s why, I’ve decided to make you the successor of my power!”

Izuku blinked, tears still in the corners of his eyes. “Eh?”

Huh… looks like it had been a great day for Izuku after all…

Chapter Text

“Huh?” Was the best Izuku could muster as he tried to wrap around what All Might just said.

“I want to give you my Quirk.” Explained All Might, as if that was meant to magically explain everything.

“Quirks don’t… they don’t work that way?” Said Izuku uncertainly.

“Mine does. While it might be officially put down as some generic sort of Super Strength, the truth is that it’s much more complex, having the power to be transferred to someone else, a sacred torch passed from hero to hero, each with the hope that they would make the world a better place, and I’ve decided that you should become my successor.” Explained All Might, pointing his finger right at the boy.

“A… a Quirk that can be transferred to others… fascinating, to think that such a thing was possible would revolutionize the way Quirks are perceived, I can see why something like this has been kept under wraps and…”

All Might blinked as he watched the boy transform into a muttering machine. When did he pull that All Might themed notebook out? His hands never even moved towards his bag. “Uh… kid?” He said, raising his hand to snap his fingers in front of the boy’s face.

No reaction. 

“Kid?!” He asked a little louder. 

No reaction.

“STOP GEEKING OUT FOR A DAMN MINUTE AND LISTEN!” He shouted. 

“Huh?” That did the trick, Izuku looked up from his notebook and back at the Number One Hero, eyes wide and an almost innocent look of confusion on his face.

All Might coughed into his fist before sighing. “Like I was saying, this Quirk is special, with one person training the power before eventually passing it down to the someone else that they chose to be their successor. The name of this Quirk… is One for All!” 

“‘One for All…’” Murmured Izuku in almost awe. Then a serious expression crossed his face. “I’m assuming this is something that I’ll need to keep secret as well.”

All Might nodded his head. “Of course. And I would like to say up front that you are more than free to refuse this power, should you consider it too much a burden to bear.” He said before grinning at him. “Though after the things I’ve seen you do within the first day I’ve met you, I get the feeling that that’s not gonna happen is it?”

Izuku gave him a weak grin before turning serious again. He then raised his hand, with two fingers up. “Two people.” He said.

“Pardon?” All Might raised an eyebrow.

“If I’m to be your successor, there are two people who I have to share this secret with. No, it’s more accurate to say that these two are people that I don’t have the heart to lie to. The only two people who ever had faith in me before I met you today.” Explained Izuku before bowing to him. “If I’m going to become your successor then this is non-negotiable All Might, I’m sorry for making such a demand.” 

“Young Man, you are aware that sharing this secret could put these people in question at risk. Do you truly feel that this is something that you must share with them?” Asked All Might.

“Absolutely.” Said Izuku, raising his head to meet All Might’s. Toshinori could see the look of determination in his eye. The kid wasn’t going to budge on this, was he?

“Pretty gutsy, being offered a gift like this and then turning around to make demands.” Said All Might watching Izuku’s expression. When it didn’t waver he smirked at him. “Can’t say I don’t like it, who are the people you want to tell?”

“The first is my mother. I think it would ultimately be more practical to simply give her the truth at the start rather than dance around it for who knows how long.” Explained Izuku. That gave the old man pause, memories of his own mentor coming to him before shaking them off. She’d been gone for a long time now and he couldn’t let himself be distracted. 

“That’s sound logic.” Said All Might with a 

“Who’s the second person?” 

Izuku chuckled weakly. “Funnily enough you’ve already kinda met him. You remember the person I was trying to save from the sludge villain?”

All Might thought for a moment. “The one that you call your rival, Kacchan was it?”

Izuku had to stifle a laugh at the sound of All Might referring to Katsuki by the nickname Izuku had been using since they were kids. “Y-yes, him. Though ‘Kacchan’ is just a nickname, his actual name is K-Katsuki Bakugou.” Geez, using Kacchan’s given name felt so unnatural Izuku had to resist the urge to bite his own tongue off. “We’re both planning to enroll in UA next year and Kacchan is very smart, I doubt he’d buy any excuse either of us could come up with about me suddenly having a Quirk, and honestly I’d rather not lie to him.”

All Might let out a thoughtful hum. “Well you clearly seem to hold the boy in high esteem, and if what you said is true then it’s entirely possible that he could figure out One For All’s nature even if you didn’t tell him.”

Izuku nodded his head. “He may come across as bold and brash, because he absolutely is, but Kacchan is also incredibly smart and hard working.” He explained before scratching the back of his head with a chuckle. “And he also admired you a lot, just like I do, though he’s way too Tsundere to ever admit it out loud.”

All Might found the admission endearing enough to earn a chuckle out of him. “Now the question is how we go about telling them, this isn’t exactly something you can just drop on them with a text message.”

Izuku sighed. “Right, who would be dumb enough to do something as careless as that? Imagine if someone got into their phone and was able to learn about your secret?”

Not quite what All Might meant but he couldn’t condemn a healthy amount of paranoia from a Quirkless Kid living in a super power society, who knows what kind of Quirks were out there. “If it’s not too much to ask, we could probably just go tell my mom now.”

“Are you sure? I take it she’s not at work right now or something?” Asked All Might.

Izuku shook his head. “No. I guess we’d better start walking though. It’ll probably be dark by the time we get to my house. I take it you don’t have enough energy to transform and jump there?”

“I do not, no.”

Izuku checked his phone. “If we hurry we can probably make it to the next train.”

Toshinori was thankful that nobody questioned why a man as creepy looking, yes he was capable of admitting it, as him was hanging around a middle school boy. He was doubly thankful that they were able to reach the station in time to take a trip to the area the boy lived.

“Izuku Midoriya.” Said the boy.

“Come again?” Asked Toshinori.

“I just realized that with everything that happened, I forgot to tell you my name.” Izuku explained.

All Might blinked once. Twice. Three times. And then he face palmed. “We did end up skipping over introductions, didn’t we?” He said with a sigh.

“Well, I mean, I knew who you were at least, All Might.” Replied Izuku.

“My boy, this may come as a shock to you, but my given name is not ‘All Might’.” Deadpanned the old man. Izuku couldn’t help but give a weak chuckle at that. “Moreover having you refer to me as All Might when I’m like this is a recipe for secrets spilling, and since you’re my student you of all people deserve to hear this, my name is Toshinori Yagi. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Young Midoriya.” He extended his hand to the boy, despite their awkward position sitting next to each other on the train.

Izuku’s eyes widened. Getting to learn All Might’s name was just the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae this day was. “It’s… it’s a pleasure to meet you, Yagi-Sensei.” He replied, shaking his hand with his own. All Might couldn’t help but smile. The more time he spent with this kid the more he grew on him.

“Mom, I’m home!” Izuku called as he opened the door to his home, letting Yagi-Sensei look around and get a feel for his home.

“Izuku baby where have you been, I’ve been so… worried…?” His mother’s concerned questioning faded in favor of her simply staring in shock at the tall blond man, who was in turn staring at her in shock.

“Sweetie… who is this…?”

“Mom, this is Toshinori Yagi, I brought him here to discuss something important with you. Yagi-Sensei, this is my moth- Yagi-Sensei?” Izuku’s attempt at introductions were cut short as he realized that his mentor was still staring at his mentor, wearing the expression of a man who’d just seen a ghost.

“N… Nana…?” Asked the man softly, which only confused Izuku and concerned his mother further.

“Sensei, please.” He snapped his fingers in front of the man’s face.

No response.

“Mom, cover your ears.” Said Izuku before inhaling and cupping his hands around his mouth. “STOP STARING INTO SPACE FOR A DAMN MINUTE AND FOCUS!” He shouted.

That did the trick. “O-oh, right, apologies madam, you just… reminded me of a loved one, it was a bit of a shock…” He explained before politely bowing, which seemed to alleviate… well not all of his mother’s worries but at least a portion of them.

“W-well I suppose I can forgive that, though I still would like to know why you’re here, Yagi-San.” Said the elder Midoriya.

Toshinori turned to Izuku, who nodded his head. The man then took a deep breath before turning into All Might. “I Am Here… to make your son into my successor!” Declared the Number One hero.

Inko’s jaw dropped, she seemed so dumbstruck that she barely reacted when All Might shrunk back down in a burst of steam while coughing up blood. Izuku handed him a paper towel that he had at some point grabbed from the kitchen when no one was looking. Toshinori thanked him before using it to clean the blood off his chin. 

Izuku then turned his attention to his mother. “Mom, please focus, we can’t do the shouting bit back to back like that.”

“Eh?” Asked his mom as she looked over at him, then back at Toshinori. “You… you’re All Might?” She asked uncertainly.

“That’s right. I met your boy while protecting him from a villain… twice,” Explained Toshinori, mumbling that last word over his breath while Izuku suddenly found the wall next to him to be very interesting, “and after discussing some things, I’ve decided to become his mentor. He wanted to introduce me to you so that way I could have your permission.

“You want to train my son? But why…?” Izuku’s mother was still clearly confused.

“I… won’t go into details, but your son helped remind me of what it means to be a hero, and I’ve decided that he’s who I want to inherit my power.”

“…Inherit your what?”

“Maybe we should go sit down mom, this might take a while to explain.” Suggested Izuku.

“Allow me to make sure I understand this properly.” Said Inko, Toshinori's body becoming absolutely rigid as he swore he could feel the temperature in the room drop. “You save my son from a villain, carelessly reveal what is probably one of hero society’s closest guarded secrets,”

“That one was my fault mom, don’t blame-” Izuku’s attempts to argue in his mentor’s defense were cut short with just a look from his mother.

“Crushed his dreams,” His mother continued listing things off, “Left him alone on a rooftop despite knowing that he’s Quirkless and having just crushed his dreams,” All Might felt his blood go cold at the implications, and all Izuku could do was stare at his lap. “Save him from the same villain again, approach him while he was at his emotionally lowest, reveal another of hero society’s closest guarded secrets, and now you want me to trust his care to you? Did I miss anything?”

“No… no… I’d say that is a fine summary of our day.” All Might didn’t have anything to defend himself.

“Mom, please-” Izuku tried to say something but he was cut off, it seems his mom wasn’t done.

“My maternal instincts are telling me I should both figuratively and literally kick you out of our home, number one hero be darned.” Said Inko, causing Toshinori to shrink further under her glare before her expression managed to soften. “But you still did save my son’s life. Twice in fact.”

“What?” Now All Might was confused.

“The first time you saved him, he was simply in danger through bad luck, but the second time you forced yourself to step in at the risk of your own health, saving both him and Katsuki. I’m friends with his parents, and I know they’d be devastated had something happened to them. Moreover I can tell that your offer to him wasn’t born out of manipulation, but out of both a desire to apologize for your previous transgressions and because you truly believe my son is worthy of your Quirk. I’ve done my best to support my son and his dream, even when the rest of the world tried to put him down. Do I think there’s a possibility of him becoming a Quirkless hero? Yes, though I won’t lie and pretend that I’d be constantly scared of the day when Izuku was forced to face something out of his league. What you’re offering isn’t just the ability to fight back against villains, but for him to truly become the hero he wishes to be.” Said Inko, taking a deep breath once she finally finished saying everything that was on her mind before looking at Toshinori. “So, if you can promise me, All Might, that you will do everything you can to train my son to use your power, and everything in your power to protect my son, then I will allow you to become his mentor.”

Izuku could only stare in shock. His mom really was the best wasn’t she? 

“Mrs. Midoriya,” Said Toshinori as he stood to his feet. “I promise that I won’t just do everything in my power to train your son.” He then strained himself in order to buff up one last time. “But instead I will go beyond and help him become the greatest hero the world has ever seen!” He then grunted as he shrank down, steam coming from his body as he pressed his lips together, probably trying to keep the blood in his mouth at bay.

Inko stared at him in silence for a moment before inhaling through her nose, and exhaling through her mouth. “Very well then. And please, call me Inko, Yagi-san.” She said with a small smile.

All Might managed to swallow whatever was building up in his both before forcing a smile of his own. “Very well, Inko-san.” He said politely.

“Now then, I’m assuming you have a plan of sorts when it comes to training my son?” 

Toshinori’s smile faltered for half a second. “Sort of. The specifics still need to be written down, but first we’ll need to start with some strength training to build up his muscles, and…”

Izuku watched his mom and All Might talk back and forth as they discussed his plans for the next ten months, and he couldn’t help but smile a bit.

Once Katsuki finally escaped to his room from the hag’s nagging, he tossed his bag into the corner and practically collapsed in his bed. It had been a long ass day after all and he wanted to rest for just a damn minute.

That minute was cut short by a notification of a text message on his phone. Katsuki swore he could feel a vein on his forehead bulging out. He swore to all that was holy and good in this world, if some damn Extra from school was texting him about what happened today…

-

Deku: Kacchan, Takoba Beach, day after tomorrow, 5AM, meet me.

Deku: Bring your Ultra Rare All Might Card.

Kacchan: ???

Kacchan: Why…?

Deku: Can’t go into details. Confidential. 

Deku: Trust me.

Kacchan: Nerd I swear to shit if you don’t give me specifics I’m gonna rearrange your face at school tomorrow.

Deku: Trust. 

Deku: Me.

-

Katsuki took a deep breath, not wanting to damage anything in his room by exploding.

-

Kacchan: If this turns out to be some elaborate prank I’m going to make you wish you were never born.

Kacchan: IF THE NEXT MESSAGE YOU SEND IS SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF “TOO LATE” THEN I WON’T BE THERE!

Deku: Trust me Kacchan, this is anything but a prank. In fact it’s pretty important, otherwise I wouldn’t be asking you to wake up at the unholy hours and meet me in what is now essentially a garbage dump.

Kacchan: …

Kacchan: Dammit, fine.

Kacchan: See you tomorrow nerd.

Deku: See you, Kacchan.

Deku: Don’t forget your card! I’m bringing mine too.

Kacchan: Yeah Yeah…

-

Katsuki tossed the phone, he had enough Deku for one day, he needed to get some sleep if he was going to meet him that early. He better not be planning something stupid like having them do community service so they can get a recommendation into UA.

And why the hell would he want him to bring his card? That just felt really weird…

Izuku yawned as he put his phone away, looking over at All Might who was standing next to him. “Message Delivered, he agreed to meet us then.” He said. 

Toshinori nodded his head. “That’s good. From what I’ve heard the boy holds a lot of promise, I look forward to meeting him.” Honestly both of them wanted to do this tomorrow, but his mother insisted that it was already too late for him to wake up that early and he needed to get some rest first. As well as take him to get a tetanus shot. All Might had to admit that she made a fair argument. He didn’t want to find out what she’d do to him if he ever got Izuku seriously hurt due to being careless in their training.

Izuku chuckled. “You have no idea Sensei.” He then had a thoughtful expression. “Why did you react like that when you saw my mom? You looked like you’d seen a ghost.”

“Oh, right, that…” All Might scratched the back of his head. “She just… reminded me of my Mentor, right down to the same hairstyle. Though your mother is also much shorter than my mentor was.”

“Well Mom was taller when I was younger. She said it was genetic with her family.” Explained Izuku, before his expression became more solemn. “I… take it she’s no longer here?”

All Might shook his head. “She… died, protecting me from a villain not long after she passed One for All to me. It had been much weaker back then still, so even with the embers of it still inside her, she wasn’t strong enough. All she could do was hold him off long enough so that G… Gran Torino could help me escape.”

Izuku was half tempted to question why All Might seemed almost afraid at the mention of the guy who had apparently protected him but he decided to leave that subject alone. “What was her name?”

All Might smiled fondly. “Nana Shimura, also known as the Pro Hero Nimbus, you’ve probably never heard-”

“Pro Hero Nimbus, Real Name: Nana Shimura.” Said Izuku as he wrote something down in the ‘Real Name’ section of a page apparently dedicated to his late mentor. Again with the notebooks? This one had clouds on it too… “Quirk: Float. A lesser known Hero even during the time she operated, now rarely remembered except by those descended from the ones she saved, focused more on helping people than rising in the ranks of Heroes, thus always maintaining a spot in the low One Hundreds of Hero Rankings. Was known for naming her attacks after various Japanese Cities.”

All Might stared. “Im… impressive. To think your research went as far as to analyze a pro who had died thirty years ago.” He said.

Izuku closed the notebook, the thing vanishing from sight when All Might blinked. “Studying pros and their Quirks is my hobby, I figured having a deeper understanding of them would aid me in being a hero.” He admitted before yawning again. “I should probably go to bed soon.”

“That certainly sounds like a good idea.” Admitted Toshinori with a nod, walking with Izuku to the boy’s room. As he stepped through the doorway, Izuku turned to his mentor.

“Before you go, Yagi-Sensei, I just wanna say, thank you.” Said Izuku quietly, looking up to All Might. “For choosing me.”

Toshinori chuckled. “Of course, Young Midoriya. Sleep well my boy.” Izuku then shut the door and moved to his bed. He was going to need to get a lot of rest in. The Day was coming soon.

Chapter Text

“Ok Deku, now that I’m here, can you tell me why the hell you asked me to meet you at dumpster beach at ass o’clock in the morning?” Katsuki was rubbing his arms with his hands, trying to generate as much body heat as possible. He hated being cold, it made using his Quirk harder.

“Kacchan, you’re my rival.” Said Izuku, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Katsuki blinked. “If you seriously asked me here just to say that I’m gonna blow you to bits.” He said, glaring at the green haired boy. He was trying very hard to keep his eyes on his face and avoid looking at the stupid T-shirt he was wearing that had, “Exercise Shirt” written on the front. How many of those freaking shirts did the nerd have?

“Kacchan, you’re my rival,” Repeated Izuku, not even flinching from the threat, “and you’re someone I’ve known my whole life. I know how serious you are about being a hero. That’s why I convinced Yagi-Sensei to let me share this with you. That and I know you’re smart enough to figure out the truth on your own. Besides, this isn’t something I’m willing to lie to you about.” 

“Why the hell are you being so damn cryptic? And who the hell is ‘Yagi-Sensei?’ I find it hard to believe that you found a teacher who you were willing to trust.” Said Katsuki, an eyebrow raised.

“He’s my mentor, not a teacher. There’s a difference, one devotes their time to helping a student grow while the other made getting off to the suffering of children into a career.” Retorted Izuku, making Katsuki roll his eyes.

“Thank you for not answering my question Deku.” He said in annoyance. “Who. The fuck. Is ‘Yagi-Sensei’?” 

“I am here, to introduce myself!” Katsuki nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice suddenly spoke up behind him. The sand of the beach must’ve muffled the guy’s footsteps or something. Katsuki refused to believe he let someone actually sneak up on him.

He turned to see a tall sickly blond man standing behind him, a weak grin in his face. He leaned over to whisper to Izuku. “Who’s the zombie?”

Izuku probably would’ve been more offended about Katsuki describing All Might in such a manner if he hadn’t done the same thing when he saw the number one hero’s weakened state for the first time. He focused his attention onto his mentor. “Sensei, this is Kacchan. Kacchan, this is Yagi-Sensei. He’s the one who’s going to give me a Quirk.”

Katsuki’s head slowly turned towards Izuku, blinking slowly as his eyes were wide as dinner plates. “What?”

“He’s going to give me a Quirk. More specifically he’s giving me his Quirk.” Explained Izuku.

Katsuki looked at the man, who seemed to be watching the whole thing with some concerned amusement on his face, then looked at Izuku, whose face betrayed no emotion. “Is this… some sort of elaborate prank?”

“No.”

“Did you pay this guy for his Quirk?” 

“No.”

“So you’re choosing to just trust some random old dude who just promised to give you his Quirk? Without Question?”

Izuku shook his head. “Oh I questioned it plenty, but he eventually explained how One for All works. He decided I’m going to be his successor.”

“One for All? Successor? CAN YOU STOP TALKING IN RIDDLES AND MAKE SOME GOD DAMN SENSE!?” Demanded Katsuki.

“Wow, he is a crass one.” Commented Yagi-Sensei.

“Nobody asked you old man.” Snapped Katsuki, turning his head to look at him.

“Go ahead and show him, Yagi-Sensei, that’s probably the best first step to explaining everything.” Said Izuku.

“Show me wh-?” Katsuki’s Question was cut short as the old man suddenly swelled up and became All Might.

“Does this make things a little more clear, Young Bakugou?” Asked the number one hero with a grin. 

Izuku turned his head to see Katsuki, who was staring in shock. He gently reached over and pushed his chin upwards, closing his mouth.

“That’s All Might.” Said Katsuki.

“Yup.”

“He was so skinny a moment ago.”

“We’ll get to that in a minute.”

“Oh my god I called All Might a zombie.”

“I did that too the first time I saw him like this.”

“How long have you known about this!?”

“Two days.”

“Two-!?”

“Also, he suggested that we refer to him as “Yagi-Sensei when in public, to avoid people accidentally connecting the dots between his civilian and hero forms.”

“What in the hell happened to him…?”

Izuku sighed. “He was injured five years ago fighting a villain. It made him like this, now he can only be a hero three hours a day. I happened to learn his secret by accident, and when I asked him if a Quirkless like me could be a hero, he said no, that it’d be too dangerous.”

Katsuki was half tempted to shout at All Might, despite him being All Might. But he could see the look of shame on the hero’s face as he then deflated back into his civilian form. 

“Then the sludge villain incident happened, which made him decide to push past his time limit to save us. Afterwards he tracked me down and explained the truth of his Quirk, deciding that I should become his successor.” Izuku quickly wrapped the story up.

“I… see. And he’s going to give you his Quirk now?” Asked Katsuki, trying his best to digest what he had been told.

“Not exactly. Young Midoriya may be worthy of One for All, but he’s not ready.” Toshinori decided to speak up.

“The h- …eck does that mean?” Asked Katsuki.

“You know how Quirks are like muscles, Kacchan?” Asked Izuku.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Duh, that’s basic Quirkology, what’s your point?”

“One for All is over a hundred years old, imagine how strong a muscle that old would be.”

Katsuki opened his mouth, then closed it. “Well, that explains why he can punch literal tornadoes into existence…” He realized.

“And unfortunately, while Young Midoriya has put in a fair share of work training his body, it’s frankly not enough.” Explained All Might. “Giving him the Quirk now could, at best, shatter every bone in his body.”

“And at worst?” Asked Katsuki.

“I explode.” “He explodes.” The mentor and mentee replied at once. Katsuki may be all for explosions and murdering villains, but something about the mental image of Deku popping like a very messy water balloon made him sick to his stomach.

“Thank you for that absolutely lovely mental image.” He groaned, running a hand over his face. “So, long story short, you’re here to train with All Might and eventually receive his Quirk, preferably before the entrance exam?”

“Yup. Figured I should tell you about it now rather than keep it a secret, let you stew angrily as you assume I’ve been lying to you for the last ten years, wait for you to inevitably explode at the worst possible time, and then you eventually put two and two together because you’re not an idiot.” Replied Izuku.

Toshinori couldn’t help but feel that that was oddly specific, if not rather accurate sounding. “Ok, but why haul trash? Gyms exist after all.”

“I can answer that.” Toshinori said, cutting in. “Did you know that Takoba was once a beautiful location? Though it was left to rot well before either of you were born, I remember the days back before people began to use it as a dumping ground for trash.” He had a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked fondly at the past. Then he returned his focus to the boys. “Being a hero is more than just flashy moves, it’s about doing acts of good too! That’s why I’m having Young Midoriya combine his training with some good old fashioned community service! Pretty smart, huh?”

Katsuki couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the pro’s dramatics, though he could see the logic. He turned his attention to Izuku. “And what, were you hoping I’d train with you or something?” 

“I mean if you want to, I’m sure Yagi-Sensei could find ways for you to get some practice in before the entrance exams.” Said Izuku with a shrug.

Katsuki stared at him for a few seconds, then he turned his head to look at All Might, then back at Izuku. “Deku.” He said after a while. “I think we both know the answer to that.”

Izuku let out a hum. “Yeah, saw that coming, I guess I’ll see you at school then.” 

“Tch, whatever. Don’t think this changed anything.” He said before walking past Izuku. “All Might’s Quirk or no, I’m still gonna keep running in front of you until you catch up to me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Kacchan.” Said Izuku. Even if Katsuki couldn’t see his face, he could practically hear the grin in his voice.

Once Katsuki was out of ear shot, All Might turned to Izuku. “I’m amazed the lad didn’t take the offer. Perhaps less so that you foresaw that conclusion though.” He admitted.

“Kacchan wants to become a hero in his own way, he won’t bend to anything or anyone, his pride and desire to be number one won’t allow it. There’s no way he’d take the same training as me.” Admitted Izuku, a look of pride on his face. Then his expression became a smirk. “Also, five.”

“Five?” Asked Toshinori in confusion.

“Four.” Unsure what Izuku was counting down to, the old man could only stare. “Three. Two. Aaand…”

Then Katsuki came back, jogging quickly. “I almost forgot All- er… Yagi. Could you sign this?” He then held up an Ultra Rare All Might trading card. 

Toshinori looked at the card, then at the boy who seemed to be having a particular interest in his shoes at the moment. The hero couldn’t help but chuckle. “Of course young Bakugou, anything for a fan.” He said before taking the card, and a pen that he had in his pocket, because of course he did, and writing on it. He then handed the card back to Katsuki, who took it from him, taking a moment to admire his signed card. 

He then noticed Izuku smiling at him out of the corner of his eye. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Retorted Izuku.

“And it’d better stay that way or I’m gonna make sure your mouth is permanently shut.” Growled Katsuki.

Izuku then started moving his hands in a way that Toshinori recognized as Japanese sign language, which said, “See you at school-” and then ended it with a sign that Toshinori would describe as, “victory explosion.”

The young Bakugou said nothing, instead slowly raising a hand and giving Izuku the middle finger before walking away, never lowering his hand until he was out of sight.

Once the boy was gone, Toshinori looked at Izuku. “JSL?” He asked.

“When you spend ten years with a guy with an explosion Quirk and a temper to match, you prepare for the inevitability of tinnitus.” Explained Izuku.

“You think young Bakugou would ever go that far?” Asked Toshinori in concern.

“There might be circumstances where he has to push his Quirk further than the eardrums of those around him can handle. It’s only logical to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” 

Something about the way the boy said ‘logical’ gave All Might immediate flashbacks to his interactions with Aizawa. Those two were probably going to get along like a house on fire.

“Now then, we’re do we start?” Asked Izuku.

After about two hours of hauling trash, Izuku was able to drag himself to school. The whispers and looks about the sludge villain incident hadn’t stopped. While Kacchan had gotten more popular for surviving a villain attack, the teachers seemed to think that he had gotten a big head and that it was up to them, or rather their students, to ‘put him in his place.’

On the bright side, learning how to outmaneuver bullies made for good exercise.

Since telling Kacchan about One for All, he and Izuku had gone back to not really interacting at all. Which was fine, they both had ten months to get as much training as they could in, and Izuku was going to be training every day from now on in preparation for those entrance exams. After completing yet another tiring day of the hell that was Middle School, Izuku began jogging back to Takoba, prepared to start moving trash again.

Day in and day out, every morning before school and every evening afterwards, Izuku would haul trash to Yagi-Sensei’s dingy only pickup truck for it to be hauled away, and somewhere in between it all he still found time to research Quirks, usually doing so while shoveling his mom’s cooking into his mouth. She had always been a great cook, fifteen years of practice does that, and the new recipes All Might gave her to work with to help in his training were delicious.

Despite his mentor’s warning against overtaxing himself, Izuku did what he did best and stubbornly refused to listen to the adults in his life and instead acted like he knew best, managing to sneak in his old workout routine on occasion just to give himself that little extra something to get stronger. So what if it felt like his body was coming apart at the seams if it meant he’d become worthy of One for All?

Then, about two months in, fate decided to make Izuku cross paths with yet another peculiar individual.

Izuku grunted as he tugged at the metal door, trying with all his might to get it loose from the trash pile. He couldn’t help but ask himself how in the world some of this junk got here?

“Aha! So you’re the one who’s been stealing my materials!” In his tired state, having an unfamiliar voice speak right into his ear from behind him triggered the first half of Izuku’s fight or flight response as he swung his elbow, prepared to bust the nose of whoever got the drop on him. He just barely noticed that it was simply a girl his age dressed in a black tank top and some overalls in time to stop himself from rearranging her facial features. 

Her hair was in pink dreadlocks, and her facial expression was oddly… manic, her eyes wide and her mouth smiling, but her brows furrowed in a way that made it clear she was not happy. He also noticed how strange her irises looked, having a crosshair-like appearance. A sight based Quirk perhaps?

“Materials?” He asked, still confused.

“Yeah! The name’s Mei Hatsume, future Number One Support Engineer and the person who has been using this junkyard to gather materials for babymaking!” Replied the girl, gloved hands on her hips. “So you can imagine how annoyed I was to realize that things were disappearing faster than I was taking them out! Are you some sort of rival! Trying to sabotage me!?”

“N-no, that’s wrong.” Said Izuku as he tried to step back with his hands raised defensively, the concept of personal space seemingly foreign to the girl as she practically got in his face while shouting her accusations, the whole situation so absurd he was too confused to be upset. “I’m training for the Hero Course.”

The girl, Hatsume, she said her name was if Izuku remembered correctly, raised an eyebrow before grinning. “A UA hopeful huh? Then I suppose that means you could be a potential baby maker for me!” She declared.

Izuku blinked, his brain blanking. “A future what?” He could feel his face heat up, there’s no way she was saying what he thought she was saying, right?

Hatsume then pulled a weird looking bracelet that clearly looked like it had been slapped together using pieces of scrap out of one of the pockets of her overalls and slapped it on her wrist before pointing and aiming her hand at a wooden crate and firing. A thin rope with a steel tipped end shot out of the bracelet and shot straight into the crate.

She turned her head to look at him with a proud grin? “Pretty nifty huh? This baby can let heroes maneuver way better and catch villains more efficiently? You just shoot the rope out with the push of a button, and then when you push it again…” With a click, the rope began retracting, with the crate in tow. “Uh oh.”

Seeing someone in trouble caused Izuku to snap out of his stupor. Thinking fast, he grabbed Hatsume’s wrist with one hand and her opposing shoulder with the other, pulling her body towards his own while guiding her wrist in a way that would cause the crate to swing past them and smash into the trash pile behind them before the rope then finished retracting into her bracelet.

Hatsume let out a whistle. “Impressive reflexes, was that a part of your Quirk?” She asked, looking over her shoulder at the boy who was still holding her close, seemingly completely unphased by what just happened.

With the danger passed, Izuku became conscious of the fact that he now had a girl uncomfortably close to him and decided to put some distance between them by pushing her upright and then taking a large step backwards. “No, it wasn’t.” He replied, praying that she would leave it at that.

“Well then what is it? I need to know what kinda Quirk we’re working with, otherwise I won’t be able to give you the appropriate babies.” Hatsume said as she pocketed the grappling bracelet.

Izuku felt his mouth frown, deciding to get this headache out of the way. “I don’t exactly have a Quirk.” He said.

Hatsume blinked. “Quirkless?” She asked with a tilt of her head.

Izuku opened his mouth and then closed it, thinking for a moment. If this girl really was planning to go to UA, which honestly he could tell she’d be getting in with tech like this that she could make just from random junk, then he was going to have to be dishonestly honest with her. Is that a real term? Well, time to test the cover story he’d been working on. “I can’t use my Quirk yet.”

“Yet?”

“I spent basically my whole life thinking I was Quirkless until a few months ago. My mentor, who has the same type of Quirk that I do, speculated that my Quirk is a power stockpiler that has been lying dormant and getting stronger over the years until my body could handle it. I’m training here to awaken Quirk.” He really hoped that that was believable.

Hatsume crossed her arms and hummed. “So you’ve spent the last ten years thinking you’re Quirkless?” She asked.

“Yes…?” He said, uncertain where she was going with this. 

Then Hatsume clamped a hand on his shoulder, her eyes practically sparkling. “Well Green, once you’ve woken that Quirk of yours up you’d better seek me out! Sounds like you’ve got the potential to be something special and you’d better believe I’m not letting any other Support Course students get their hands on you!” She declared.

“Eh?” Izuku wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction to be honest. “But what if my Quirk doesn’t even end up being real? What if I’m actually Quirkless?” He asked.

Hatsume’s grin only broadened. “Then I’ll become famous for providing the support gear of the world’s first Quirkless Pro Hero!”

Izuku was flabbergasted to say the least. “So you… you really don’t mind that I don’t have a Quirk?” 

Hatsume shrugged. “Meh, a Quirk’s useful but it ain’t everything. Mine only ever helps with making babies in specific situations but I’m not gonna let that stop me from becoming the best Support Engineer!”

Izuku felt like his grasp on reality had become completely undone, she might not have been the first person to support him when it came to be a hero, but something about how Hatsume said it struck a chord in Izuku. “Hatsume, I… don’t know what to say…” 

“Hm… how does, ‘I look forward to working with you’ sound?” Suggested the pink haired girl.

Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “That’s fair. I’m Izuku Midoriya by the way, I look forward to working with you, Hatsume.” He extended his hand to the girl. Hatsume took the hand in her own, although instead of shaking his hand, she instead simply squeezed it a few times, much to Izuku’s confusion. “Er… what’re you-?” Izuku’s question was cut off by Hatsume abruptly releasing his hand and moving behind him faster than his eyes could track. All of a sudden he could feel her hands feeling him up. “Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing!?” He exclaimed.

“Getting a feel for your measurements, gotta know what I’m working with so I can make gear that fits, can you hold still for a second, Green?” Said Hatsume.

“I…” Izuku was at a loss for words.

“Young Midoriya, are you…” The sound of Yagi-Sensei’s voice made his blood run cold. Izuku slowly turned his head to see his mentor standing there, eyes wide as he stared at the scene before him with Hatsume and Izuku. He slowly opened his mouth to say something, but blood simply came spilling out instead. “I-I’ll come back later…” Said the old pro as he turned to leave.

“Yagi-Sensei wait this is a misunderstanding I swear!” Izuku called desperately to his departing mentor.

Chapter Text

After a frantic explanation, that Hatsume only made more difficult when she started talking about making babies which led to another round of Yagi-Sensei barfing blood, Izuku was able to clear up the misunderstanding and introduce his new friend/business partner/source of headaches. Toshinori then pulled Izuku to the side and asked him what he thought should be done about the girl. He had his own ideas but he figured he’d see what the boy thought, almost like a Pseudo test to let him get a feel for the boy, the more he understood him the better after all.

“Honestly I say let her stick around, it’s clear that she’s going to get into UA and she’s not getting in the way by being here. It’s not a bad idea to make connections before the year even starts.” Said Izuku before looking over to Hatsume, who was happily tinkering with that grappling gadget she’d demonstrated beforehand. “Even if she seems a bit odd, I can tell she’s a good person.”

Yagi-Sensei chuckled. “Oh trust me my boy, all support gear inventors are like that. I still remember how I met my old friend David while I was in America.”

That piqued Izuku’s fanboyistic interest. “The world famous inventor David Shield? The man who designed your various costumes over the years?!” He asked, eyes practically sparkling.

Toshinori’s chuckle was even louder than the previous one. “You would know about him wouldn’t you? Hero fanboy you are. Though trust me when I say he was a real wildcard when we were younger. Man saw a guy with a super strength Quirk so strong that the backlash destroyed his clothes and his first reaction was to practically drag him into his car before he could be arrested for indecent exposure and drive off to his home. I woke up the next day with the alpha version of my Golden Age costume ready for testing.” Izuku could see his idol smile fondly at the memory. He had to admit, that was a pretty funny story. “The point is, my boy, you don’t find your support engineer, they find you.”

Izuku nodded his head to the lesson. “Thank you, Sensei, I can tell that Hatsume is very skilled, I’m excited to see what she’ll make once she has access to what UA has to offer.” He smiled fondly at the girl as she continued to work hard, practically numb to the world around her.

“Oh? Do these old eyes deceive me or does my successor seem to have some interest in Young Hatsume?” Asked Toshinori, a smirk on his face.

Izuku blinked before looking up at his mentor with a look of… honestly coming up with a word to describe the emotions on his face was probably impossible. “Sensei, that’s ridiculous! Hatsume and I literally just met! Yes she was a bit… up in my personal space the first time you saw us together but I swear it’s not like that!” He said, frantically trying to shut down whatever ideas Yagi-Sensei was forming in his head. “Besides, I think we both know that the idea of a girl ever having interest in me is more than a little unrealistic.”

Toshinori couldn’t help but frown at that. “Wait, what do you mean by that?” He asked, concerned now.

Either Izuku didn’t hear the question or he simply chose not to answer it as he looked back towards Hatsume, a sad smile on his face. “It’s just… nice to meet a girl my age who hears about what my goals are and her first reaction isn’t belittling me…”

“Does that… normally happen?” Asked Yagi, becoming increasingly worried.

“Sensei, how many Quirkless people do you see these days? How many do you think there are?” Asked Izuku, not looking at him.

“Eh? W-well, we both know that twenty percent of humanity is-”

“And how much of that twenty percent consists of people from my generation?” Asked Izuku with a sigh, taking a deep breath as he tried to keep himself calm.

“Young Midoriya, what are you saying?” 

“The day I met you, one of my classmates had told me I should take a swan dive off a roof and hope I get a Quirk in my next life, and then on my way out of school I saw my teacher talk to that same student and the friends he had had with him as he congratulated them on completing their ‘extra credit’.”

“What?” Toshinori’s voice was flat, the man at a complete loss for words. Then his eyes widened as he realized something. “Wait, and the day we met-”

“Don’t.” Izuku cut him off. “Just… don’t, Yagi-Sensei. I definitely did consider it for a moment, but I didn’t make that choice, and you came to apologize to me later. It's in the past and I just want to move on.”

He was caught off guard when he was pulled into a hug by his mentor. “Even so, I still want to apologize for the things I said back then. It was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it…”

Izuku said nothing, instead accepting the hug quietly, his arms hanging at his sides. 

“Let’s… get back to the original topic, we still need to talk to Hatsume.” He eventually said.

That’s when Toshinori remembered that it wasn’t just the two of them there, much to his embarrassment. Though when he looked over at Hatsume, it seemed like the girl had ignored them completely. She was dedicated to her work, wasn’t she? “Of course, Young Midoriya.” Replied the Number One Hero.

Eventually the two were able to work something out with Hatsume, she was free to go through anything that Izuku carried to the pickup truck to keep for her inventions, and Izuku could continue his training unimpeded. 

As the afternoon came to a close, All Might bid the two farewell as they all went their own ways, though before Young Midoriya went home, Toshinori made sure to get the name of his school out of him.

With a fire in his eyes, he rang up a certain principal. “Nedzu, we need to talk.”

“So, would you be willing to explain why exactly you called this meeting, All Might?” Asked Class 1-A teacher Shouta Aizawa, giving the sickly blond a tired look, to his sides were Hizashi Yamada and Nemuri Kayama, his friends that Aizawa seemed too Tsundere to acknowledge as such, if Toshinori was to understand it correctly. They’d all apparently attended UA together when they were trainees.

All Might shook his head. Focus. “I’ll keep things as straightforward as possible, a couple months back I found a student, a personal one that I’m currently training, who plans to attend UA next year.”

Aizawa seemed to actually scoff at that. “What, some bright eyed brute with a flashy Quirk who punches first and asks questions second? I’m guessing you called this meeting to do something as illogical as send him a recommendation letter?”

Toshinori’s years of media training allowed him to avoid rolling his eyes. Aizawa certainly wasn’t shy about making how he felt about him known. “No, actually. The boy is an incredibly smart individual with an eye for Quirks and analysis that would make those with intelligence Quirks blush. The reason I’m training him is because he’s not capable of using his Quirk yet.” 

This seemed to catch the attention of the faculty. “What do you mean by that? He’s Quirkless?” Asked Class 1-B teacher Sekijiro Kan.

Toshinori shook his head. “According to his official documents? Yes, though I believe this to be a misdiagnosis. For context, I’m going to reveal a secret or two about my own Quirk. See, my Quirk is more than a simple strength enhancer, it’s a power stockpiler, one that had such a high stockpile that I couldn’t use it for the longest time growing up.”

“What are you saying, All Might?” Asked Midnight, wanting to make sure she was understanding the situation properly.

“I spent the first fifteen years of my life mislabeled as ‘Quirkless,’ a label that only went away after I happened to build up my body to become strong enough to use my Quirk.” Replied All Might, much to the shock of his future coworkers. “Now, that may have been three decades ago during an era when Quirklessness wasn’t as discriminated against, but you can imagine what kind of life my student has had to lead thus far. And to anyone planning to ask, yes I am certain that my student holds the same type of Quirk, I know that signs. Frankly, even Quirkless the boy has the brains and drive to be a hero.”

“How bad an upbringing are we talkin’ here pardner?” Asked Snipe. It never failed to impress Toshinori how much the gunslinger managed to pull off a western accent while speaking Japanese.

“The other day he told me a story about how one of his teachers rewarded some of his classmates with extra credit for throwing one of his notebooks on Quirk analysis out the window before telling him to kill himself.” Said Toshinori flatly.

After he said that, the room became so silent one could hear a pin drop.

“Name.” Came a voice that had yet to speak during this meeting. 

“Inui?” Asked Vlad King, looking over to his coworker, the school’s counselor Hound Dog.

“Gimme a damn name to the school that allowed such vile teacherrrs to worrrk therrre!” Snarled Ryo Inui, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. “I’m gonna burrrn it to the damn grrround!” The dog man became so angry that the rest of what he said devolved into a series of barks with the occasional understandable word thrown in.

“So no, the reason I called this meeting wasn’t for something along the lines of ‘favoritism’ like you seemed to assume, Aizawa, it was because I plan to sic’ Nedzu onto Aldera Middle School. Hound Dog isn’t the only one who wants to watch that dumpster heap of a school burn.” Explained Toshinori. Aizawa probably would’ve been more annoyed about being called out like that if he wasn’t so focused on planning how he’d choke the life from the teacher he’d just heard about.

A chuckle from Nezu caught everyone’s attention. “I must say All Might, you’ve piqued my interest. Both when it comes to this student of yours as well as you being so generous as to grant me a Quirkist establishment to bring to ruin.” Toshinori had to admit, his future boss was scary. “I’ll look into Aldera, uncovering the crimes of the faculty so that they can all be ruined sounds like a positively delightful way to spend my time. In the meantime, please tell me more about this student of yours, what you said about his intelligence piqued my interest.” 

Why did Toshinori feel like he just sold the boy’s soul to the devil…?

Izuku grunted as he tossed the old tire into the back of the truck before using his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. His lungs felt like they were on fire after an afternoon of dragging all this junk around. He was definitely making progress though, more than half the beach was cleaned at this point.

“Hey! Hey! Greeeen! I found something good in this pile! Do here next!” Izuku let out an exasperated sigh, a smile on his face as he turned towards the source of the voice, seeing Hatsume standing at the peak of a trash mountain. After three months she was still as high energy about material gathering for baby making as she ever was. 

It’d taken Izuku at least two of those months to be able to use that term without his face turning red. He really had no experience with girls did he?

“Stop moving around up there! You’re gonna bring the whole thing down like a house of cards!” He called as he jogged her way.

“Well then why don’t you stop being so slow!?” Countered Hatsume as she crouched down and started pulling on something in the heap. “I need this piece for my latest baby, and if you’re not gonna get it for me, then I’ll just have to get it myself!”

Izuku picked up the pace. “Hey, hold on, the agreement was that I take care of pulling stuff.” He called to her as he approached the base of the mountain. “Quit it, that’s dangerous!”

“Relaaax, it’ll be fine!” Grunted Hatsume between tugs. “Besides… you can’t… get results… without taking risks!” With one last tug, she yanked the piece free from the pile, standing triumphantly at the peak of the mountain while holding her prize in the air just as Izuku reached the base. “Haha, success! See, you worried over nothi- woah.” Izuku didn’t even have time to breathe a sigh of relief at nothing going wrong before something did, in fact, go wrong.

His eyes widened as the trash mountain started to tremble, preparing to come down just like Izuku was worried it would. “Crap crap crap…” He muttered under his breath as he looked around before quickly moving his feet. “Hatsume, jump this way!” He shouted.

“Eh?” Hatsume turned towards where Izuku stood, holding out his arms in a clearing.

Now, to any sane or rational person, what Izuku was suggesting would be absolutely insane foolishness.

Which of course meant that in the mind of Mei Hatsume, this plan was completely rational. She took a step and then leapt as far as her inventor legs could take her. 

Izuku was able to quickly calculate her trajectory and then his legs moved on their own. Pink collided with green and the pair went down as Hatsume practically landed on him just before the mountain came crashing down completely. Izuku grunted from his position on the ground, he was going to have to work on his footing in the future, that catch left something to be desired since he let the impact knock him over. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he couldn’t see anything. He could however feel something soft on… his… face…

Wait a minute.

Just then, the world regained light as Hatsume used her arms to prop herself up, a smile still plastered on her face, completely unbothered as she pulled her chest away from his face. “Woo! That was fun!” She said with a laugh as she got off of him.

Izuku blinked as he stared at the sky, his brain currently going through a system reboot as it tried to process what just happened. “Thanks for the catch Green, you make for a great crash pad!” Said Hatsume with a thumbs up.

Izuku sighed as he decided to sit up, having enough of that crisis for the moment. “Hatsume, do you even remember my name?” He asked, looking over at the girl tiredly as she examined the piece she’d collected.

Hatsume turned to look at him, smiling and blinking, before responding. “Of course I remember your name! It’s… uh… Izuju Akaya?”

‘So close, yet so far…’ Izuku shook his head. “Green it is.” He said with a sigh. “Anything hurt?” 

Hatsume gave herself a quick pat down. “Mmm… nope, don’t think any of my babies broke on the way down.” She replied.

“I mean are you injured anywhere?” He clarified with a sigh.

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine.” She seemed to care a lot more about her babies than about her own well being. 

“Just try to be more careful, we’re lucky I was able to catch you but imagine what would’ve happened if I’d been too far away.” 

Hatsume scoffed as she turned around and started walking towards the truck with her newest material. “Please, I knew it’d be fine, you said you’re gonna be the hero who saves everyone, right?”

Izuku was actually thrown off by that. “You can’t remember my name but you remember that?” He asked, more than a little surprised.

Hatsume didn’t respond, instead she simply kept walking while humming to herself as she started making plans for how best to use her latest findings.

Time flew by from there, more months and more than a couple more incidents came and went, until it was time for the entrance exams. Toshinori got out of the car he’d driven to Takoba, the sun just coming over the horizon. Inko Midoriya got out from the other side, they’d both come to pick Izuku up for the exam. Hatsume couldn’t come, she had her own exam to prepare for.

“I’m surprised that he was willing to cut it this close.” Admitted Inko as they walked towards the beach. 

“It was a lot of trash, and your son decided to really go beyond when it came to cleaning.” Admitted Toshinori with a proud grin.

Inko chuckled. “Yes, that certainly sounds like Izuku.” 

Toshinori would’ve said something, but the sound of yelling caught their attention, a loud scream coming from the beach. 

“That sounds like Izuku…” Said Inko. The two exchanged a glance before they both ran towards the beach.

They couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw what was waiting for them there. Izuku was standing atop a pile of garbage, the light of dawn reflecting off the sweat coating his body as he screamed in triumph. The adults looked around them, every last piece of trash was picked up, down to the smallest piece of litter. Takoba hadn’t looked this good in a long, long time.

“Oh… my… goodness!” Declared Toshinori as he turned into All Might before moving to catch Izuku as he swayed and fell off the final trash pile he’d gathered up.

“Well done young Midoriya!” Said All Might proudly as he carried his successor. “Take all the time you need to catch your breath, you’ve earned it!”

Izuku chuckled weakly. “I… did it… Yagi-Sensei…”

“Indeed you have, this was an incredible feat for a boy your age, I have nothing but respect for the work you’ve put in!” Declared the pro as Inko finally caught up to them. He put Izuku down gently so that Inko could have a moment to hug her exhausted son. “You’ve become a bona fide vessel, all that’s left now is the entrance exams.” All Might reached up and plucked a hair from his head.

The mother and son looked up at him as he held the strand of hair in his hand. “Take heart kid, you’ve earned this power, you’re officially the ninth wielder of One for All.” 

“Thank you… All Might…” Said Izuku with a smile.

“Now then, eat this.” Said All Might.

There was a beat of silence.

“Eh?” Asked both parent and son.

“The uh… Quirk requires the successor to take in the DNA of the predecessor.” Admits All Might while scratching the back of his head. “This is the least weird way to go about it that I can think of, my mentor did the same kind of thing. And we’re on a time crunch, we need to get going if Young Midoriya’s gonna make it to the exams.”

Izuku stared at the hair in All Might’s hand for a moment before sighing and reaching out with his own.

It tasted really gross.

Chapter Text

Izuku had to admit to himself as Yagi-Sensei’s truck rolled up to UA, the place looked intimidating, and he wasn’t even inside yet. It’d been a couple hours since he’d eaten the hair, but he hadn’t felt anything yet…

“Izuku, we’re here.” Izuku was pulled from his thoughts as he looked at his mom and Yagi-Sensei, who were both looking at him over their shoulders from the front seats. He looked around and realized that the truck wasn’t moving anymore. “O-oh, we are. I guess I’ll be going then…” He said as he climbed out of the truck, holding tight to his backpack. Once he was out, he slung the bag onto his back.

“Izuku.” The boy’s attention was pulled towards his mom’s voice again, who was looking at him from inside the car. “I love you sweetie.” She said with a soft smile. From next to her, Izuku could see Yagi-Sensei giving him a thumbs up and a grin. 

Izuku gave a weak smile. “Thanks mom, love you too.” He said before closing the door behind him.

“Yeah yeah, see you around old hag!” At the same time, Izuku heard a familiar voice from behind him followed by the slamming of a car door. He turned around, and wound up bumping into Kacchan, causing both of them to stumble backwards into their respective cars. “Deku? The hell…?” Kacchan’s confused questioning was cut short as he suddenly narrowed his eyes in realization. He and Izuku turned to look at Mitsuki Bakugou giving them a grin and a thumbs up from her seat, before looking at Inko, who was giving them a much more polite looking smile. Katsuki sighed and face palmed. “Let’s just fucking go already. Cheesy fuckin’ geezers…” He muttered to himself under his breath as he walked away, adjusting his scarf as he tried to preserve as much warmth as possible so that his Quirk would be ready to roll for the physical exams. 

Izuku chuckled as he followed after him. He decided to take in the view, UA was a sight to behold after all, this was the school his idol, now mentor, learned to be a hero at after all. ‘This is it,’ He thought to himself as he almost spun around while walking, wanting to see the entire yard. He’s a fan boy, so sue him. ‘This is the next chapter in my story to becoming the number one hero.’ And then he tripped on his own feet. ‘Ooor maybe this is the epilogue to the story of how I died like an idiot…’ He thought to himself as he fell towards the ground, only to notice that the fall had abruptly stopped. And that someone was touching his arm.

He slowly turned his head to see a cute girl with brown hair and pink cheeks smiling at him as she then used her hands to orient himself upright. He looked down to see himself floating in the air. Some sort of gravity removal Quirk? She then brought her hands up, touching the fingertips of both hands together. “Aaand, release!” 

Izuku immediately felt the sensation of gravity return, and he managed to land on his feet this time without falling over like a fool. The cute girl giggled. “Sorry about using my Quirk on you without asking, but I figured you’d appreciate it if I kept you from falling.” She explained. Izuku opened his mouth and then closed it. The girl then turned and pumped a fist into the air. “Alright then, let’s go ace those tests, best of luck!” She then jogged away into the school.

Izuku continued to stare as she left. ‘Wow, that’s the second girl I’ve talked to that was actually nice to me…’ He thought to himself.

“I don’t think it really counts if you don’t say anything kiddo.”

“Oh hush Fifth, let him have this!”

‘No, what he said is fair… wait, what?’ Izuku blinked in confusion as he realized that he just responded to voices that spoke inside his head. He frantically looked around to see if someone might be using a telepathy Quirk or something.

“Wait, what?”

“Wait, can you hear us!?”

“Well, this is an interesting development…”

‘Oh my god… I’m having a breakdown before the test even starts…’ Thought Izuku as he put a hand over his eyes. But doing so finally let him put faces to the voices in his head. Eight figures, floating in the darkness as he closed his eyes… almost like… ghosts. Each of them seemed to be a different color too, almost like a photographic filter.

There was a purple one with a large jacket that obscured some of his face, his short dark hair parting twice around his narrow eyes.

An orange bald one that wore a pair of goggles, he had a large muscular body with an open jacket and a bandolier over his otherwise bare chest.

A green one with pale hair that parted from his forehead. He had two large scars, almost like cracks over his face.

There was a red one, but Izuku couldn’t see his face, as he had his back to him, he could see that his hair was tied up in a sort of spiky ponytail.

There was a blue one that also had his back turned to Izuku, his spiky hair immediately brought memories of Kacchan to his mind.

There was a white one that looked pale as a ghost, his wavy hair covering one of his eyes, he wore loose clothing, he seemed the most… unalive looking of all the spirits.

There were two more, a golden one who lacked any solid features, almost like he wasn’t all there, but his hairstyle reminded Izuku of Yagi-Sensei, and the other was… Nimbus?

Wait… eight? Didn’t All Might say…

‘Oh my god One for All is haunted.’

That seemed to be the right thing to say because it earned him a few chuckles. 

“Well that’s not an entirely inaccurate description of our situation if we’re being honest here.”

‘Why didn’t Yagi-Sensei say anything about this?’ Izuku had to admit, he felt like this was the sorta thing you shared with your successor before you gave him your haunted Quirk, not after.

“That’s because Toshinori didn’t know, isn’t that right Eighth?”

Nimbus nodded towards the yellow spectre who frantically gave apologetic bows to Izuku. It seems that they could sense his confusion because one of them decided to clarify.

“Eighth can’t speak, he probably won’t become whole until his living self passes on.”

Something about the thought of All Might dying made Izuku’s stomach churn. Nimbus smacked the orange one, Fifth he was fairly certain he’d been referred to as, on the back of his head.

“Show a little more tact man.”

“What, I’m just saying it like it is Seventh!”

Before Izuku could hear any more of their argument, a voice brought him back to reality. “Are you going to go in or just keep standing there with your eyes closed like a weirdo?”

Izuku’s eyes snapped open and he whirled around to see the person standing behind him. He’d been so spaced out that he had let his guard down! Though rather than waste time chastising himself, he decided to see who he was dealing with. A guy with serious eye bags, a messy head of indigo hair, and a pretty scrawny frame. Izuku felt his finger twitch, a little on edge from being approached by someone his own age again, though this one seemed far less friendly than the gravity girl. At the very least his body language didn’t seem all that hostile, he simply stood there with a raised eyebrow.

“…Sorry, it was a Quirk thing, I guess I let the stress get to me.” He decided to say, not really the truth but far from a lie either. The tired guy simply blinked at him before shaking his head and walking past him.

“That was weird.”

Izuku practically jumped into the air. ‘That’s going to take getting used to…’ He decided before turning to see the boy walking away. ‘But I think he was just trying to help. Makes sense if he’s trying to get into UA, it is a hero school after all.’

“You should probably get going yourself Izuku, wouldn’t want you to miss the exam.”

‘Right.’ Izuku jogged into the school while still occasionally engaging in back and forths with the vestiges.

As he found his seat for the written portion, Izuku found the time to get to learn a little bit more about the voices in his Quirk.

First was Yoichi Shigaraki, a sickly man who was rescued from unjust imprisonment by Second and Third.

Second and Third refused to share their true names. Or, more accurately they refused to even really interact with Izuku at all, First explained that they’re just from an older era, the dark age of Quirks in fact, and they were struggling to accept Izuku as the Ninth. They barely tolerated All Might honestly and Izuku didn’t see himself filling those shoes any time soon. First assured him that they’d come around eventually, and that they just had very different opinions from the others when it came to the concepts of Quirks and Heroes.

Fourth was Hikage Shinomori, his Quirk when he was alive had been called Danger Sense, a sort of sixth sense that lets the user know when danger is coming their way. It was up to the user to figure out the details of the danger though, and apparently it’d been pretty mediocre before he received One for All, which practically supercharged it into what Fifth liked to call, “Super Anxiety.” Izuku was shocked to learn that the man was only forty when he died, he looked much older after all. He grimly explained that the human body couldn’t handle having multiple Quirks, it caused his body to slowly destroy itself. He had been on death’s door when he passed it on to his successor.

Speaking of his successor, Firth was named Daigoro Banjo, also known as the pro hero Lariat in life. His Quirk was called Black Whip, allowing him to create and control tendrils made from a sort of dark energy. Really useful for mobility even before he got One for All. His death had been caused by rubble crushing his body during a fight against a powerful villain, deciding to pass the Quirk on to Sixth to keep it from dying with him.

Six’s name was En Tayutai. Quirk, Smokescreen. It let him generate a purple smoke from his body that obscured the vision of those around him, as well as himself. He claims that it wasn’t the flashiest Quirk, but it helped him in his time as the Underground Hero Gaen. Izuku argued against the claim that Smokescreen was bad, he rapid fire listed off numerous uses for the Quirk to support those claims, which seemed to flatter the vestige, and amuse Seventh at the same time. Honestly all the vestiges seemed impressed by Izuku’s sudden analysis, even Second and Third if their body language was any indication.

Izuku was already familiar with the pro hero Nimbus and her Quirk. She explained that Sixth gave the Quirk to her after being grievously wounded by a villain. He was surprised to learn that she met Yagi-Sensei when he was Izuku’s age, a crazy Quirkless Kid trying to fight off thugs using nothing but a metal pipe and dreams to become a symbol of peace. Izuku was shocked to learn that Yagi-Sensei had been Quirkless once upon a time, but it did explain how he managed to live as long as he had without One for All killing him…

She’d also been the first user to actually choose a successor in advance rather than pass the Quirk on in a moment of desperation. The tradeoff being that she got to watch her own body die through the eyes of what had essentially become her adopted son. Izuku’s heart bled for the woman, but there was something that had been bugging him.

‘Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh all died at the hands of a villain, and First, Second, and Third haven’t told me how they died either… What villain killed you?’ 

“One that you won’t have to worry about, because All Might dealt with him.”

‘But who was he? Either you can tell me or Yagi-Sensei will, so please don’t dance around the subject.’ Said Izuku. First looked like he was about to say something when Seventh cut in.

“Looks like the test is about to start Izuku, we don’t have time to go into the story now, but tell you what? If you do really well then we’ll explain, ok?”

Izuku felt like he was being treated like a small child but he decided to relent. He could stress over this kind of thing later. ‘Fine, one last question then. You seem fine referring to me by my name, same with Yagi-Sensei for that matter, but when it comes to his vestige and the rest of you, you seem insistent on sticking to your numerical nicknames. Why?’

There was a moment of silence amongst the vestiges, before one spoke up.

“Because your predecessors are gone, we’re just the memories they left behind.

“…Geez kid, I knew you were smart but that was just absurd.”

Izuku couldn’t help but smile at the compliment as he sat, alone, in the waiting room for those who had finished the exam early. ‘Thanks Fifth, but it wasn’t anything special, I just put in the work studying.’

“Izuku, there’s a difference between ‘putting in the work studying,’ and ‘being able to finish the test twenty minutes early even after answering those last ten questions that I’m pretty sure wouldn’t be on the final exam for a college student.’”

Izuku turned his head, as if he was trying to avoid eye contact with the voices in his Quirk, earning him some amused chuckles. Look, even after training with All Might for ten months, that didn’t erase the eleven years he spent being belittled by adults.

“That’s kinda sad kid.”

‘Are you always going to be reading my thoughts at any given time?’ Asked Izuku drily.

“No, thankfully Second figured out how to sort of… block everything out in order to give the current user privacy.”

‘Well that’s good. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy talking to you all but I’m still a teenager who enjoys privacy.’ Replied Izuku before his eyes narrowed. ‘And Fifth if you try to make a crude joke out of that I will pass One for All to someone else.’

The only response he got was the sound of the bald vestige blowing a raspberry in his mind.

“As amusing as this is, it’s good that you’ve finished early Izuku, we can use this to our advantage to show you how to properly activate One for All.”

“Preferably without you accidentally turning your bones into oatmeal.”

‘Eh?’ Asked Izuku. ‘Wait, didn’t Yagi-Sensei say that I was a proper vessel now?’

There was a feeling of unease, a feeling Izuku could attribute to Eighth.

“Your body might be strong enough to hold One for All without exploding, but you’re nowhere near tough enough to be able to effectively use it the same way All Might does. Maybe you could handle throwing a single punch and that arm would only suffer severe muscle tearing. Maybe. But any more than that and the bones would shatter.”

‘Why didn’t Yagi-Sensei warn me about that!?’ 

“Unfortunately it’s another case of Toshinori not knowing better. He was already taller than me when we first met despite being the same age as you back then, not to mention the Quirk was almost thirty five years younger and didn’t go through the severe training that was his hero career, You’ll need to become a lot stronger before you can handle One for All at its full power.”

“Also, ‘clench your buttcheeks and yell ‘Smash’ from the depths of your heart’ are very, very lousy instructions.”

Well Izuku was glad that Fifth found it funny. At least Eighth had the decency to look apologetic about his living self’s instructions. ‘You said that I’m currently unable to handle One for All’s “full power,” implying that there’s a way for me to handle some of the power, right?’

“Heh, kid catches on quick.”

Izuku nodded his head, glad that he was understanding the situation so far. “So then, what do I do?’

“First, you need to take a deep breath and loosen your body up, become as relaxed as possible.”

Izuku followed First’s instructions, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. Once he allowed himself to relax, he slowly felt a spark of energy flow through his body. He twitched a little at the sensation, but continued to let himself be relaxed.

“Can you feel it? That’s One for All, though only a small fraction of the power. Now you’re going to manifest that power on your own. Slowly though, start from zero and slowly go up.”

Izuku nodded his head and closed his eyes. Remembering the feeling of that spark, he did his best to recreate it within himself. The spark that came for was far much more intense this time, if the first had been a small jolt of static electricity, then this was like a trip to the electric chair.

“Don’t get distracted by metaphor’s Izuku. Feel out the power, see if you can get a measure of it. Sense the full potential, then take from it a small percentage and let it flow through you.”

First sounded a lot more intense when he was giving instructions to be honest, though Izuku could still feel the gentle wispiness in his voice as well.

Izuku focused, he tried imagining One for All’s stockpile of power like a large lake, and he was simply going to take a small handful of it out. Once he scooped out about one percent of the ‘water,’ he began to hear a crackling sound of electricity. His eyes opened to see green lightning dancing across his body through his clothes. He could hear sounds of cheer and congratulations coming from within his mind. It was nice having a support system in the back of his head.

“Now we’re gonna have you try moving. Do it slowly though, we don’t want to risk something breaking.”

Izuku nodded as he stood up. He decided to go through a few of the stretches he would do whenever he warmed up before his training. Huh, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t had the chance to go through his old routine since the day before he met All Might.

”Focus Izuku.”

‘Sorry.’

“Alright, let’s start increasing the power, continue to let it flow through your body and keep going higher. We need to see what your upper limit is.”

‘Right.’

After some more trial and error, Izuku was able to find his upper limit, a percentage where he could move while One for All caused a level of strain without risking any debilitating damage. The comedic irony came in what that percentage was.

“Nine percent. Nine! Of course. That’s hilarious.”

He may be loud, but Izuku appreciated Fifth’s sense of humor. Maybe less so the universe making jokes at his expense but he supposed he could take the small mercies he’d been granted thus far. But for now he needed to tune the vestiges out so he could focus on Present Mic’s explanation of the physical exam. He wasn’t sure how he felt about having to fight robots. Definitely useful to use as punching bags that could be rapidly taken out by those with flashy Quirks that were good for offensive moves or general creativity, but against someone with a more subtle or mental Quirk it’d be a far greater challenge. Thankfully Izuku was confident that his Quirk would be able to-

“Are you trying to sabotage us?!” Izuku was pulled from his thoughts by the shouts of a boy his age. He turned to look at the boy in question, trying not to notice that everyone else’s eyes were on them.

‘Was I-?’

“Mumbling all of that out loud? Yes, yes you were.”

‘Dammit.’

“Do you think that such tactics would be acceptable at such an august institution?!” The blue haired, bespectacled boy continued his badgering. “If so then I suggest you just leave!”

Izuku was feeling bad about causing a disturbance with his muttering, he really wished Kacchan could’ve done something to shut him up, but now he was just feeling pissed as he stood up to the boy. “I was trying to strategize for the test, until your shouting distracted me and interrupted Present Mic. So if anyone is committing sabotage, it’s you.” He snapped back. Katsuki let out an amused huff from the seat next to him. Other test takers voiced their amusement towards the taller teen, though they were treated mostly as background noise.

The boy seemed to actually take in what he said. After a moment he bowed to Izuku, much to his surprise. “You’re right, it seems I let the stress of the test get to me and wound up lashing out at you, I apologize!”

Izuku stared for a moment before sighing. “It’s fine, I need to get a better handle on my muttering. Let’s just sit down and let Present Mic finish his explanation of the test.” The boy bowed again before both of them sat back down.

After a moment, an unfamiliar voice spoke up in the back of his mind.

“Credit where it’s due kid, you at least have enough spine to not take what others say lying down.”

“Holy shit, he speaks!”

‘Second? Or was that Third?’

Izuku got no response from the unfamiliar voice, so another spoke in his stead.

“That was Second, I suppose that display was enough to earn a little of his respect, which from him says a lot more than what I’ve heard from him in a long time.”

Izuku digested that for a second before responding. ‘Thanks, Second.’

The vestige didn’t respond.

As Izuku boarded the bus to take them to the exam site, he shot a quick text to Hatsume wishing her luck with the special exam for the Support Course. Honestly a thumbs up emoji was more of a response than he was expecting from the girl.

Speaking of girls, Izuku noticed the gravity girl who had helped him before. He was tempted to go talk to her, but she seemed like she was busy warming herself up and frankly he should be doing the same. Everyone moved to get into position at the starting line as they awaited the exam’s beginning. Izuku breathed in through his nose as he called upon Nine Percent of One for All. His skin became a light show as his veins practically began to glow and green lightning danced across his body.

The sound of Present Mic’s voice could be heard by all the students, no loud speaker required when his Quirk made him into a walking megaphone. “Ready? And START!” Izuku paused for only a half second before his reflexes caught up and he took off, practically a green blur as he made his way into the fake city.

Behind him he could hear Present Mic’s voice talk to the other examinees. “WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  THERE AREN’T COUNTDOWNS IN REAL LIFE!”

Soon after that, he came across his first robot, a one-pointer. ‘Here goes nothing…’ He grit his teeth, leapt at the robot, reared his arm back, and, “SMASH!” Obliterated its face with a single punch. He examined his handiwork before squeezing his fist a few times. The skin on his knuckles stung a little, he was definitely going to need to invest in gloves for his hero costume.

“Let’s try and see if you can stick to kicks for now”

Izuku liked Seventh’s idea, his shoes protected the skin of his feet. And besides, he had legs, he might as well use them.

“Watch your left.”

Izuku turned to put his fist through another bot, but a laser fired from the stomach of one of the other examinees beat him to the literal punch. “Merci, the distraction was much appreciated, Adieu!” Said the blond boy before taking off. Izuku let himself get distracted. He quickly slapped his cheeks with his hands before focusing again.

It became a whirlwind of metal from there, Izuku ripping and tearing through robots as if they were made of cardboard rather than metal. It seemed like the only one who could even keep pace with him was the loud one from before. It seemed his Quirk involved having engines in his calves that granted him enhanced speed and kicking power. Izuku hoped he passed just so he’d get a chance to analyze his Quirk.

“Don’t space out you Quirk nerd. You’re just barely ahead with forty nine points, Toshinori got a hundred and eight during his exam.”

‘Seriously!?’ Asked Izuku as he jogged away from the wreckage from his latest destroyed robot. ‘How the heck did he manage to get so many so quickly…?’ He wondered to himself. Though any answer that his predecessors gave was drowned out by the sound of a rumbling that shook the entire examination site. Izuku looked upwards to see the absolute unit that was casting a shadow over him and the rest of the test taker.

“What… the fuck?”

Izuku was pretty sure that was the first time he heard Sixth ever curse. He couldn’t say he blamed him given the fact that they were being confronted by a robot that towered over all the other buildings.

“Crap, this is way above your weight class kid, let’s dip and see if we can find some more points somewhere else. You heard that guy’s explanation, this thing’s just a hurdle. A very, very large hurdle.”

‘Right.’ Replied Izuku, turning to leave the area. Unlike the other students, he was actually managing to maintain his composure. That composure was quickly lost however when a sound of pain reached his ears. His head turned and his eyes landed on a familiar sight of brown hair. The gravity girl was on the ground, trying to pull herself free from some rubble that had fallen on her thanks to one of the Zero Pointer’s attacks. And it was slowly getting closer to her. 

Izuku was pretty sure the vestiges were saying something, but it was tuned out as once again, Izuku’s body moved on its own. He could hear the shouts of the vestiges within him, much like he could hear the shouts of the heroes that last time he ran headfirst into danger, but just like it had been in the past with Kacchan, he paid them no mind. Everything was drowned out by the fact that someone right in front of him, someone who had shown consideration and kindness to him, was in danger right in front of him. He couldn’t do nothing, that wasn’t who he was, who he wanted to be.

As he ran, his brain began to work into overdrive. Pulling her out would injure her worse. Digging her out would take too long. Even if he did manage to get her clear, the Zero Pointer would still be a threat to them as they got away, not to mention that other examinees might be in danger. He’d need to get rid of that thing. Impacting it from the bottom would just push it back, or even force it to fall on top of them. No, if he wanted to make sure she was safe, there was only one option. 

Right as he moved past the girl, he allowed One Hundred Percent of One for All to be charged through his legs, before he crouched and leapt into the sky, leaving a crater behind in the ground and clearing away all the dust that the Zero Pointer had kicked up.

He transferred One for All from his legs into his right arm, rearing it back the same way he’d done with his first ever Smash, only this one carried far more weight. Then, from the depths of his heart, he shouted, “SMAAASH!” And caved in the face of the Zero Pointer.

Chapter Text

For those brief few seconds after Izuku smashed the Zero Pointer, it felt like he had been floating in the air. But soon enough the tunnel vision he had developed in his attempt to protect everyone finally cleared away and gravity finally reclaimed its hold on him as he began to fall towards the ground. Now he probably might’ve been able to use One for All to reorient himself, there was just one minor problem. The bones in his legs and his right arm were broken.

“I thought you said his limbs could handle a single One Hundred Percent usage Sixth?!”

“I said that they might be able to. Might. And not without heavy muscle damage either way. I didn’t think he’d test that theory in the worst way imaginable.”

‘I’m falling.’ Thought Izuku as he saw the ground get closer to his body.

“Really? I didn’t notice. Honestly, over a hundred years of fighting that megalomaniacal bastard and One for All’s snuffed out because some naïve brat decided to play hero.”

“Shut up Third.”

“Note the lack of a counter argument.”

“Shut the fuck up Third.”

‘Right, you’re not helping.’ Thought Izuku as he swung his good arm, using the momentum to reorient himself to be facing downwards before he began to charge One for All through his remaining functional limb. ‘I’ll have to use another Smash to stop my fall right before I’m splattered.’ He heard a scoff.

“Hope four broken limbs was a good trade for some girl you just met.”

‘If I see someone in front of me who’s in trouble, I’ll shatter every bone in my body if it means I can save them.’ It seems like Second had no rebuttal to that. However before he could throw his punch, he felt a hand slap his face, completely throwing him off balance to the point that it deactivated the charge in his arm. After a second he realized that he wasn’t falling anymore.

“That also works.”

“Agreed, and look Second, Third, it seems that ‘playing hero’ wound up working out in Izuku’s favor after all.”

“His limbs are still broken.”

“Don’t you have a corner to stare into like an edgelord?”

Izuku turned his head to see the brown haired girl, hovering in the hair on top of the piece of debris that had trapped her foot in the first place. Thanks to her Quick thinking he’d avoided either ruining his one good arm or becoming a gross stain on the ground. She quickly pulled him onto the debris she was floating in before saying, “Release.” Causing the two to fall the rest of the short way to the ground.

Their ‘ride’ broke on impact, causing the pair to roll off of it in different directions. Izuku managed to prop himself up with his arm just in time to watch her gag before barging up her breakfast. Izuku decided to at least try and preserve her dignity by looking in the other direction.

“Poor girl, even with an injury she pushed herself to the point of overtaxing her Quirk just to save you.”

Yeah, guess what Izuku had done wasn’t enough, all he could do was stare at the ground and tune out the noises of sickness the girl was making.

“What, no Izuku you shouldn’t feel bad! You saved her and she saved you! You should be happy!”

‘If I’d been better she wouldn’t have needed to push herself too far to make up for my screw up.’

“Oh just take the damn compliment, brat. Seventh may be way too soft for my liking but she’s not wrong either so quit being such a Prima Donna.”

“Bitch, who are you calling soft? I’ll kick your ass!”

Izuku could have listened to their bickering, but it sounded like the gravity girl was done, so he decided to focus on her instead. “You alright? Sounds like your Quirk takes a lot out of you.”

“You’re one to talk, I’m pretty sure the sight of your legs and arm would’ve made me puke if overtaxing my Quirk hadn’t done that first. But after you did that for me, I couldn’t just do nothing and let you fall like that.”

Izuku was about to apologize, but he could practically feel Second glaring at him so he quickly switched gears. “Thank you… for saving me.”

“Uraraka.”

“Eh?”

“Ochako Uraraka, that’s my name.” Explained the girl before groaning and lying on her back. “And you are?”

Izuku decided to follow her lead, staring up at the sky. “Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya.” He replied. ‘God, how am I still conscious?’

“Adrenaline is a hell of a drug.”

‘Fair enough.’ Then Izuku had a thought. “Now that I think about it, I still owe you one, you saved me twice but I only saved you once.”

“Huh? Oh right, the entrance… I’d almost forgotten… guess you’ll have to pay me back by letting me call you Izuku!” 

“Eh!?” Izuku turned his head to look her way. She looked back at him with a big grin.

“Sounds like a fair trade to me!” She said, continuing to grin. 

Izuku blinked before sighing and chuckling weakly. “Alright, I guess that’s a fair trade, Uraraka.” He said, relenting to the girl’s demands.

“Ohoho no you don’t.” Ochako cut in. “No way am I letting you stick to my last name while I use your first! Call me Ochako.”

“Wait, but then won’t that set us back to me owing you one?”

“Mmm, nope! Since it’s my request that you’re doing, then that means I owe you one now! I’ll be sure to settle that debt once we both get into UA!” 

Ochako then raised a fist and pointed it his way. Izuku blinked in confusion.

“She wants a fist bump you socially awkward tool.”

‘Oh.’ Izuku used his good fist to bump hers, the pair’s arms then collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

The click of a cane against the ground grabbed their attention. “My my, this display is very endearing but I’m going to need the attention of you two now.” Their heads turned to see UA’s nurse standing in front of them.

“The Youthful Heroine, Recovery Girl!” Izuku exclaimed as the old woman approached. She assessed him as he said, “Wish I had my notebook for you to sign.”

“You’ve got your priorities mixed up, young man,” Recovery Girl said. “How did this happen?”

“Overtaxed my Quirk. Saw her in danger and I decided to Go Beyond my limits to help her.” Izuku said weakly as the pain was starting to grow.

Luckily, that was the point where Recovery Girl’s lips extended and she gave him a kiss on the forehead. The pain eased as his bones were restored to their rightful shape, and he finally felt the exhaustion catch up to him as his adrenaline wore off.

“It’s good to see Chiyo again… she’s aged well. And you shouldn’t even be conscious right now you absolute mad lad. Get some rest.”

Izuku felt his eyes beginning to droop as he watched Recovery Girl tend to Ochako. ‘Yeah… that sound… like a good idea…’ He thought. In his final moments of consciousness he tried to reach towards his newest friend one last time, but failed to do so before the whole world went dark.

“Why do you stand against me? Join me in my conquest. My adorable, foolish younger brother.” Said Torei.

Why did Izuku know that name? Who was this man?

“Because what you’re doing is wrong brother!” Said First- no, Yoichi as he grit his teeth and stared down the most dangerous villain the world had ever seen. 

Izuku couldn’t speak, almost everything from the nose down was gone, including his mouth, most of his body being replaced with an odd black and green mist. All he could move was his left arm. He was frozen in place too, it was hard to walk without legs after all.

“What a terrible thing to say.” Replied Torei as he gestured in an almost cartoonishly evil fashion. Man was trying way too hard if Izuku was being honest. “And here I am trying to compromise. Isn’t there even a tiny bit of open mindedness in your so-called righteousness?”

Two brothers… One for All and All for One… a conflict that would span generations to come.

Why did Izuku know these things? Was it One for All? Did All Might receive similar visions?

Izuku continued to watch in almost abject horror, seeing Yoichi’s brother straight up pull a Quirk out of a man before pushing it onto another. He saw things continue to fall into madness from there. He learned the story of the legendary Quirk Thief, who rose to power during the chaotic age that was the Dawn of Quirks, giving and taking powers as he saw fit, creating an army in the process.

He saw as Yoichi was locked away by his brother, a man who was the living incarnation of the sin of Greed and desired that everything would belong to him.

He watched in horror as a power stockpiling Quirk was forced onto Yoichi against his will.

He saw the birth of One for All.

Izuku blinked as he suddenly found himself somewhere new. A strange gray room.

“Good to finally see you properly, Izuku.”

Izuku knew that voice! Though it sounded a little different than he remembered. Looking forward, he saw eight fancy looking, red velvet chairs. Six of them were being sat on by his predecessors, while the remaining two were left vacant. No prizes for guessing which ones refused to take part.

There was something endearing about the way Sixth sat on the chair, almost curled up into a ball.

It was also a little strange to see what they all looked like without those colored filters altering their appearances, Izuku could now see their true appearances within this dreamscape.

“You wanted to know about the villain who killed most of us, I figured it would be the type of story that was easier to show than it was to tell.” Explained First, before chuckling. “I’m sure you have more questions, but we should probably save them until you’re awake and have a functioning mouth. It’d probably be simpler than playing a game of ‘blink once for yes, twice for no’ wouldn’t you agree?”

Izuku blinked once, much to the amusement of most of the predecessors. If Second and Third wanted to continue sulking with their noses in the corners then that was their decision. 

“Even if you can’t speak yet, we can keep you company until you wake up and tell you more about our living selves, right?” Suggested Seventh.

Izuku liked that idea, he was glad to have his predecessors keeping him company.

And so they talked. First they gave a more detailed explanation about Torei Shigaraki, the infamous Quirk Thief All for One, a man who took the worst possible type of inspiration from the comic books Yoichi read as a child, declaring himself as the Demon King who would rule the world. First cringed just from recounting it all.

“Worst of all, he had the power to back up his theatrics.” He said, shaking his head. Izuku couldn’t help but agree, he’d seen how dangerous multiple Quirks used in conjunction could be from the visions he’d been shown. Talk about horrifying, even if it did tickle the curiosity of his Quirk Analyzing brain.

Eventually the subject changed from All for One and the predecessors got the chance to talk about themselves. About their lives as heroes, about what the world was like during their eras. Izuku wanted to interview them about their Quirks but without his notebook, and more importantly his ability to speak, that was something that would need to be postponed until he woke up.

They talked, and talked, and talked. Until eventually-

Izuku’s eyes opened slowly. He blinked a few times as he stared at the white ceiling above him. Where was he? He looked around a little to get a better feel for his surroundings. 

“Nurse’s office if I had to guess. You must’ve been taken here after losing consciousness.”

“Well I’m glad that UA is at least nice enough to send their students somewhere to recover after sending giant ass robots after them. How have they not been sued into oblivion over someone getting seriously hurt?”

‘Recovery Girl’s Quirk. You saw how fast it put my limbs back together despite the state they were in.’ Explained Izuku. ‘As long as she’s here they can afford to keep doing those dangerous tests.’

“I question how effective those tests are, not every Quirk is going to be viable for a test like that.”

‘You’re not wrong, though there’s not much that can be done. This is probably the best they could come up with through trial and error. They are the best hero academy in Japan for a reason after all.’ 

“I guess that’s true…”

Izuku’s head turned to the sound of his phone buzzing. Slowly he reached over and grabbed it. He was met with a wall of notifications. From All Might, from Kacchan, from his mom. Mostly from his mom, it seems Izuku being sent to the nurse’s office distressed his mother. The boy couldn’t help but smile when he saw how much she cared for him. He quickly texted her telling her that he was ok, that he got a little banged up but UA had a healer that made sure his injuries were all healed up, he just needed to take a quick nap as a side effect.

Next it was time to address the message he got from Kacchan…

-

Kacchan: Oi, nerd, how many points did you get in the Practical?

Deku: Forty Nine if my count was right.

-

After a few minutes, Izuku got a response.

-

Kacchan: The hell have you been?

Deku: Nurse’s Office.

Kacchan: How the fuck did you end up in the Nurse’s Office when you’ve got All Might’s Quirk?

Deku: Yeah so remember how All Might said my body wouldn’t have handled One for All Ten Months ago?

Kacchan: Even now it’s still too much?

Deku: Yeah no. Way too strong, Seventh basically said that All Might’s body was just way better suited to the Quirk than mine was upon first being received so he was able to access the full power immediately. And that was before over three decades of using it as the Number One Hero. Thankfully First was able to guide me through tapping into a smaller percentage.

Kacchan: Who the Fuck are Seventh and First?

Deku: Unfortunately I had to go all out against my area’s Zero Pointer and the over taxation shattered three of my limbs almost as badly as how I shattered its face.

Deku: Huh? Oh, One for All’s haunted.

Deku: …

Deku: You’ve been typing a while, are you ok?

Kacchan: Deku.

Kacchan: There’s so goddamn much to unpack from what you just said that it goes beyond the character limit on here.

Deku: Goes Beyond? Plus Ultra?

Kacchan: Shut.

Kacchan: The Fuck.

Kacchan: Up.

Kacchan: Now can you KINDLY elaborate from the beginning in a way that makes FUCKING SENSE?!

Deku: Sigh. Ok. Tl;dr, One for All doesn’t just stockpile power but also the memories of its users. I basically have the ghosts of the previous users inside my head now.

Deku: Except they specified that they’re copies of the originals so it’s kinda hard to explain. There’s even a vestige for All Might but he’s not fully formed. Fifth thinks it’ll stay this way for as long as All Might is alive.

Kacchan: …Good Fucking Grief. Just when I think I’ve heard it all you continue to fucking surprise me.

Deku: Put yourself in my shoes for a minute, I’ve got eight ghosts living in my head! 

Deku: Or are they in my soul?

Deku: I mean, they’re all very nice people.

Deku: Ok, MOST of them are very nice and then there’s Second and Third but at least they seem to keep to themselves!

Deku: Though it’s thanks to them that I managed to last longer than thirty seconds into the test!

Kacchan: That reminds me.

___Deku: Forty Nine if

|

Kacchan: 77 Points, Read ‘em and weep bitch.

Deku: Seriously? Guess I’m still a little rough around the edges when it comes to One for All…

Deku: Hopefully it was enough to pass.

Kacchan: It’d BETTER be, I’ll be pissed if you don’t pass.

Deku: Yeah Yeah, talk to you later Kacchan. Let me know when your acceptance letter arrives in the mail.

-

Izuku sighed and shook his head, texting Kacchan always was… entertaining if nothing else. He moved to texting All Might next.

-

Yagi-Sensei: I saw your performance during the Practical Exam alongside the other teachers, quite an impressive performance my boy.

Yagi-Sensei: I hope your recovery in Recovery Girl’s office went well?

Young Midoriya: Hi Yagi-Sensei, I’m all better now thanks to Recovery Girl.

Young Midoriya: There are some things we need to talk about, starting with the fact that One for All is haunted.

-

“Tell him ‘Nana says hi.’”

-

Young Midoriya: Nana says hi

-

Less than a minute later the door to Recovery Girl’s office slammed open, Izuku turned his head to see Yagi-Sensei standing in the doorway, steam coming off his skin and his shirt splattered in what Izuku safely assumed was his own blood. “C-can you elaborate on that, my boy?”

“One for All stockpiles more than just power, there are vestiges of our predecessors living inside it. It seems when you passed One for All to me, the Quirk hit singularity and I became able to talk to them.” Explained Izuku.

“And… they’re here right now? Nana’s here right now?”

“Always have been Toshinori, I never left your side, even when Nana died.”

“This version of her goes by Seventh.” Explained Izuku. “She said, ‘Always have been Toshinori, I never left your side, even when Nana died.’” After parroting back the message his eyes widened when he realized that there were tears forming in his mentor’s eyes. “Sensei?”

Toshinori quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “I-it’s nothing my boy. Just… thank you.”

“Oi, are the rest of us chopped liver or something!? I’m proud of the brat too! I thought it was badass when he blew that bastard’s head clean off!”

“Crudeness aside, Fifth is right, we’re all proud of how far Toshinori’s come since the day Nana gave him One for All.”

Izuku chuckled. “The rest of the vestiges want to know that they’re proud of you too.” Then the corner of his mouth quirked upwards. “Especially Second and Third.”

“Wait, what?”

“Really?” Toshinori was interested to hear about his predecessors.

“Oh yeah, you should’ve heard the things they had to say, they wouldn’t stop talking about how cool they thought you were throughout your career as the Symbol of Peace.”

“Oh. Oh this is funny.”

“Why you little punk-”

Izuku did his best to keep a straight face as he continued to praise All Might, pretending he was speaking for Second and Third. It was very difficult considering their indignant shouts coupled with the laughter of the other vestiges.

After a while, Toshinori decided to change the subject. “I have to ask, can you explain what happened during the Practical? You seemed fine at first, you were using One for All with little issue, but then when you destroyed the Zero Pointer you broke most of your limbs.”

“Oh, right, that.” Said Izuku. He quickly explained his first meeting with the vestiges and how his body hadn’t been properly adjusted to One for All yet, so they taught him how to use a smaller percentage of the Quirk without damaging himself, but when he saw that Uraraka was in danger he forced himself to use One Hundred Percent to destroy the robot, as that was the best course of action that wouldn’t put anyone else in danger.

“Anyone else besides you.”

‘It was a risk I had and was willing to take.’

“That mentality will get you, and us, killed.”

‘A Hero needs to be willing to throw themselves into danger for the sake of someone else.’

“That doesn’t mean you should throw self preservation to the wind!”

‘That’s the only reason I even have this Quirk!’ There was a moment of silence within One for All, Izuku could practically feel the vestiges staring at him.

“Izuku-”

‘We’re not having this conversation right now.’

“I see,” Said Toshinori, completely oblivious to the literal inner turmoil his student was experiencing right in front of him. “So you only succeeded due to the advice of our successors, rather than any of my own teaching.”

“That’s not true.” Responded Izuku, shelving his own issues once again in order to help someone else. “They already told me that there’s no way you could’ve known that this, any of this, would happen. Seventh said that you did your best with what you had. I never could’ve gotten this far without you. Without any of you.”

Toshinori blinked at the boy, a little dumbstruck by his words. Eventually he let out a chuckle. “Honestly, aren’t you supposed to be my student? And yet here you are trying to make me feel better. Honestly I don’t think I could’ve found a better student if I tried.” 

Izuku managed to smile at his words, while trying to ignore the fact that it had become very quiet within One for All…

After getting home and making sure that his mom knew that he was in fact fine and that as long as he was careful from now on, accidents with One for All will be prevented in the future. It was just a bit of a do or die situation.

His mom was nice enough to make katsudon tonight, his favorite. As he ate he talked about how the test went and how he unfortunately lost to Kacchan when it came to points. His mom reassured him that it was ok, and that keeping that girl safe from the Zero Pointer was more important anyways. They continued to talk and Izuku explained the intricacies of his Quirk, as well as him now sharing headspace with his predecessors.

After he finished describing them, his mother said, “They all sound like very nice people, make sure to thank them for helping you for me.”

Izuku chuckled. “Well they can hear you, but I’m sure they appreciate it nonetheless.” He replied. ‘Right?’

…

But there was no response.

‘Guys? Seventh? First? You there?’ His brows furrowed.

“Something wrong sweetie?” Asked Inko.

“Huh? Oh, uh… they said you’re welcome. Yeah.” Replied Izuku before quickly finishing his meal. “I’m still kinda tired, I think I’m going to go to bed.” He said, standing up. He took his dishes to the sink before quickly heading to his room. He got changed, turned the lights off, jumped into bed, and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for sleep to come so he could get answers.

“That won’t be necessary.”

‘Eh?’ Izuku’s eyes almost opened in surprise, but he was currently seeing First and he didn’t want to risk him going away. ‘So you guys are still there. Don’t scare me like that…’

“Then don’t scare us by saying such concerning things.”

‘Seventh, I-’

“No kid, you need to listen.”

‘Fifth-’

“Izuku.”

‘…Fine.’

“Thank you.”

“Izuku, your desire to help people is admirable, you’re more than worthy of One for All, no matter what Second and Third say otherwise. But you need to value yourself more.”

Izuku remained silent, not wanting to cut in until his predecessors said their piece.

“Think about it this way, you can’t save people if you die or allow yourself to become too injured to protect them.”

“Exactly. You said that you believe the only reason Toshinori chose you was because you were willing to put yourself in danger for someone else’s sake, but you’re missing the point.”

“You were chosen by All Might because he knows you have the heart and determination of a hero, not because he thinks you’ll throw your life away at the drop of a hat. We’re not against your desire to save people, just don’t be so willing to die in the process.”

‘I have no intention of dying.’

“Eh?”

Izuku breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. ‘Alright, I’ve listened to you all, so please now listen to me, perhaps that phrasing isn’t one hundred percent accurate.’ He elaborated. ‘However, hero risks death as a possibility when they face a villain or a disaster, and I’ve accepted that danger. Moreover I’m not someone who can just standby and do nothing when someone is in trouble, it’s not who I am.’

“But then-”

‘But I have no intention of dying. Not until I’m the Number One Hero. I’ll take everything the world has to throw at me, and then go beyond those obstacles. I promise to not be reckless with my health or anything but nothing you say will deter me from pursuing my dream. I’ll overcome the obstacles in front of me by giving everything I’ve got, and save people no matter the cost. That’s what it means to be a hero.’

The vestiges were speechless in the face of the kid’s determination. It was clear that while what they said made somewhat of an impact, his resolve was unshakable. Toshinori was right, he couldn’t have picked a better successor, even Second and Third found it harder to look away the more time they spent with this kid.

Chapter Text

-

Girl Genius: so I take it your Quirk was able to activate

Boy Wonder: What makes you say that?

Girl Genius: I could hear power loader talking about the green haired kid who obliterated the zero pointer

Girl Genius: who else would he be talking about

Boy Wonder: …Fair enough.

Boy Wonder: Ok, so yeah, my Quirk was in fact there and I was able to get it to work. It boost my strength and speed, an overall physical enhancer, though I can also activate it in individual parts of my body at a time, the problem is that right now I can’t control it very well and my body isn’t stronger enough to handle my full strength yet, so I’ve got to stick to only about nine percent of my max strength most of the time. Going all out to destroy the zero pointer shattered the bones in three of my limbs. 

Boy Wonder: Also I’m definitely going to need to invest in things like gloves in order to protect the skin on my hands. My Quirk makes me tough, not invincible.

Boy Wonder: …you there Hatsume?

*Girl Genius shared an image*

Girl Genius: was working on a blueprint think something like would work

Boy Wonder: One sec, let me look this over.

Boy Wonder: Ok, yeah I definitely like what I’m seeing, let me know when you’ve got a prototype for me to test.

Girl Genius: *thumbs up emoji*

-

About a week passed since the entrance exam, Izuku heard no word from All Might the entire time. He occasionally texted the man but had heard nothing back from his mentor since their conversation. He must’ve been really busy to just go full on radio silent like this. In the meantime, he occupied himself by continuing his Quirk Analysis. He had entire sections dedicated to Danger Sense, Blackwhip, Smokescreen, and Float. Turns out he could get a lot of information on those Quirks when their original users lived in the back of his head. He was especially fascinated to learn how One for All enhanced their Quirks, learning that there was a massive spike in its power between when they had just their original Quirk versus once they became a holder. It made him curious what it would’ve been like to have his own Quirk get enhanced had he not been Quirkless when he received One for All.

“Don’t forget Izuku, becoming a holder of One for All is very dangerous in the long term for anyone with a Quirk.”

Fourth tapped the crack like scars over his eye, just to prove his point. ‘I know, I know, doesn’t make me any less curious. But I mean, just imagine what One for All could do for a Quirk like Explosion.’ He replied.

“Well as long as your curiosities remain within the realms of your imagination. We don’t need you forcing One for All onto other people.”

Izuku paused as he looked up, his brows furrowed. ‘I can do that?’ Fourth blinked.

“Er, yes. One for All being passed on is entirely up to the consent of the current holder. So someone ingesting your DNA won’t automatically transfer us over. Similarly you can force the Quirk onto someone else.”

“Essentially, One for All is a Quirk that can only be given, not taken.”

Izuku hummed as he tapped his chin before pulling out one of his notebooks and writing something down. ‘Interesting…’

“Izuku?” His attention got pulled away from his note taking as the door to his bedroom opened and his mom walked in. “Sorry to interrupt you honey, but something just arrived in the mail.” She held out what she was holding in her hand so Izuku could see it.

Izuku blinked as he looked down at the envelope. Once. Twice. Thrice. And then four times before the realization set in. “The exam results.” He quickly took the envelope and practically ripped it to pieces in order to get to what was inside.

“Someone’s excited to see the results. Not that I can blame you.”

A strange, disc shaped device fell out of the envelope and into Izuku’s hands. Mother and son stared at the device in confusion for a moment before a holographic recording began to play.

“Testing, one… two… AM I ON SCREEN!?” Izuku almost jumped when All Might’s entire face took up the recording. The man then stepped back, letting Izuku see his entire body. He seemed to be wearing some sort of formal suit for some reason. Izuku didn’t have much time to ponder before the video continued with All Might surprising him once again by bowing. “I must apologize for cutting off contact for so long, Young Midoriya! It took some time jumping through hoops to get this done, my bad! Thankfully we’ll get to see a lot more of each other in the future, because I’m going to be joining the U.A. faculty as the newest Heroics Teacher!”

Izuku felt the gears in his head grind to a halt. All Might? A teacher? All Might. A teacher. Yes he’d be at UA so surely this wouldn’t be the same as with Aldera, but still, the idea of All Might of all people becoming a teacher was-

“IZUKU!”

Izuku blinked, Seventh’s shout managing to pull him from his downward spiral. ‘Sorry about that. And thanks.’

The vestiges probably would’ve voiced their concerns if Izuku wasn’t so focused on what All Might said next.

“Now then, your test results! I must say, you accomplished what most would have thought to have been impossible! A near record breaking Ninety Nine percent score on the written portion of the exam!” Explained All Might

“Of fuckin’ course he did!” 

Izuku decided to tune out Fifth’s laughter and continue listening. “That alone would make you an honor student amongst the general education course, perhaps even receiving personal lessons from the principal himself, but we both know that’s not what you’re interested in, so let’s talk about the practical!” Izuku was practically on the edge of his seat to hear his results.

“If you didn’t get in, I'm gonna revive my human self just so she can trash UA.”

Izuku appreciated the supportiveness of nothing else. “Now, in terms of villain points you scored a grand total of forty nine, a very impressive sum, even if on its own it wouldn’t break any records, it wouldn’t even be the best score for this year's exam.” Izuku winced, yeah he definitely saw that coming.

“Dang, I get he probably had high expectations of the kid but now it just feels like he’s punching down.”

“I mean when you’re his size I think every punch feels like punching down.”

“Alright, listen here smartass-”

“Thankfully it’s a good thing that defeating villains isn’t the only way you can earn points in this exam! There was a secret, secondary point system that was also in play, Rescue Points!” 

‘Rescue Points?’ Izuku’s confusion seemed to echo across the vestiges as well. 

“But before I explain that, let’s hear the thoughts of some of the other exam takers first!”

The video abruptly cuts to Ochako, wearing a different outfit than what she’d had on in the practical, her own school’s uniform if Izuku had to guess. “Excuse me young miss, you were there in exam grounds C when the zero pointer was destroyed, do you have any thoughts about the listener who smashed it?” That sounded like Present Mic’s voice, looks like he had been tasked with interviewing the other examinees. It must’ve happened while he was unconscious.

“You mean Izuku? Honestly it amazed me what he did, he saved me! Honestly I hope he gets into the hero course on recommendation alone!” She responded with a determined look on her face. Izuku himself failed to notice it, but the vestiges could all see the corners of his mouth slowly lifting upwards. 

The video cut again to the blue haired guy with glasses. “When I first saw him during your explanation, I mistakenly wrote him off as just a careless fool who was here for fun, but then he proved me and likely many others wrong when he rose to the occasion while I and all the others fled. I can only hope that he and I become classmates so I can offer my apologies in person!” He said, rather loudly, while bowing to the camera. The rest of the clips from his fellow test takers voiced similar opinions.

“Il était spectaculaire!”

“I can’t believe someone as cool as that exists!”

“He’s a shoo in for the hero course!”

“Can’t wait to see him go pro one day!”

More and more people voiced their praise for his actions. Izuku didn’t know what to say, how to feel, he wasn’t used to people his age having positive things to say about him.

“As you can see, being able to defeat villains is one thing, but a true hero is one who saves people regardless of risk! Think it’s cheesy? Fine by me! And the judges agree! These points are rewarded to those that the faculty believe acted like true heroes, and you were the truest of them all, so take these Rescue Points, all sixty of them! Raising your score to a record breaking One Hundred and Nine! Congrats my boy, and welcome to Your Hero Academia!” And with that the video cut out.

Izuku and the vestiges sat there silently for a moment.

“One Hundred and Nine. Of course.”

“Did he seriously break Toshinori’s record?”

“I’m impressed, Izuku, it looks like you beat out everyone’s expectations.”

“I give it a week into the school year before he rushes headfirst into danger again and almost dies.”

“Shut up Second.”

While the vestiges discussed, Izuku pulled out his phone.

-

___Kacchan: 77 Poi-

|

Deku: 109. Read ‘em and weep, Kacchan.

-

“Classy.”

“I think the word you’re looking for is funny as shit.”

“Not wrong, I’m just more polite than you are.”

“Says the guy who actually dropped an F Bomb when confronted with the Zero Pointer.”

“I’d say that it was perfectly warranted then.”

With the conversations amongst the vestiges as background noise, Izuku decided to return to his note taking.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

Katsuki Bakugou’s final explosion obliterated the fridge he was using for target practice. He took a deep breath before moving to grab the bottle of water he had laying nearby, downing half of it in one shot.

He wiped the sweat from his brow as he observed his handiwork. He’d been using this abandoned warehouse for years to train his Quirk, demolishing everything inside into barely recognizable charred shards. He knew he’d need to keep his Quirk in top shape for UA. And even despite his training, he still somehow let Deku overtake him.

Sure the nerd had a Quirk now, which was definitely helping him, but that was no excuse for Katsuki to be sitting in his ass when he could be training. He thought he had continued to cement himself as the best when he scored seventy seven points in the practical, and yeah he did get more villain points than anyone else by a damn good margin, but that didn’t change the fact that those Rescue Points still let Iz- Deku overtake him, and him not getting a single Rescue Point just felt like salt in the wound.

Well excuse him for assuming the other examinees could handle themselves! He’s better at kicking a villain’s ass than saving an incompetent ally’s dumbass anyways!

Whatever. Until Deku can beat him in a proper one on one then there’s no way Katsuki was going to properly acknowledge him, and he certainly wasn’t going to let any of his future classmates overtake him either, he’s going to show them that he’s still the best of the best, Second Place be damned.

Katsuki tossed the water bottle over his shoulder and set his sights on his next training zone, a specially made area designed for training his agility with his Quirk. The premise was simple: dodge the swinging spikes or get a very bad case of tetanus. His palms crackled as he started it up.

After about twenty minutes of struggling with his tie and eventually settling on whatever… abomination that was, Izuku turned to face his mom, donning his UA Hero Course uniform. “How do I look, mom?”

Inko looked at her son, then her eyes drifted downwards to look at his tie before eventually returning to meet his gaze. “Izuku, if you weren’t already the spitting image of him, the way you two tie your ties would be all the proof anyone ever needed that you’re your father’s son.”

Izuku sighed, his shoulders slumping. He could hear the vestiges laughing in the back of his mind. Inko took advantage of his lowered guard and pulled him into a hug. “I’m proud of you sweetie.” 

Izuku let out a weak noise, something between a chuckle and a sigh, before reciprocating the hug. “Thanks mom.”

After a moment the two separated. “But if you break any of your bones on your first day of school, you will be grounded.”

Izuku flinched at that. “Yes ma’am…”

After a moment the two couldn’t help but giggle. “I love you Izuku, now go knock their socks off.”

“Will do, love you mom.” And with that, the boy made his way out to his first day of High School.

Izuku made his way through the halls. He couldn’t help but marvel at the size of UA, the faculty had clearly taken into account that Quirks made potential students come in a variety of body types, he hoped that that meant the teachers would be actually encouraging of their students.

“Well, most of them anyways, don’t forget the warning Toshinori gave about 1A’s Homeroom Teacher.”

Right, Aizawa. Izuku didn’t recognize that name from any hero, so he must be someone who was very good about keeping his civilian identity on the down low. He also apparently expelled his entire class last year. Izuku was already dreading the idea of spending time with someone like that for a teacher.

“Can’t say I’m exactly thrilled about the prospect either, why would UA hire someone like that?”

“Perhaps there’s more to this story than All Might knew or was able to tell us?”

That was entirely possible. Well, Izuku would probably get his answer soon enough, seeing as he was standing in the doorway of 1A. He took a deep breath before placing his hand on the door. ‘Here goes nothing, hope my classmates are like the ones from the exam…’ He thought to himself, he’d rather not end up in a similar situation as when he was in Middle School.

He opened the door and was immediately audibly assaulted by the sound of a familiar voice. “Take your feet off that desk! Don’t you realize how disrespectful you are being to not just your classmates, but to all the upperclassmen who once sat at that desk and all the underclassmen who will sit at that desk?!” It was that blue haired guy. Izuku had to admit, he was a lot happier to the guy this time as opposed to their first encounter thanks to that footage of him on Izuku’s acceptance letter. Acceptance video?

And of course, who else would he be lecturing other than Kacchan? “Ha! As if I’d care about something as dumb as that! I gotta ask though, which Middle School did you come from you two bit extra?”

“A private sch- ahem!” The boy was about to answer before correcting himself and standing up straight. “Soumei Junior High, my name is Tenya Iida, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Iida… Iida… wait, Izuku thought this boy looked familiar. He didn’t connect the dots at first because he’s rarely seen without his helmet but this guy bears a striking resemblance to Tensei Iida, the pro hero Ingenium from Team Idaten!

“Ingenium? That name sounds familiar…”

“The Iida family has passed the hero name ’Ingenium’ down for generations, each one having a Quirk that causes engine like protrusions to grow somewhere on the user’s body. The current Ingenium has them on his elbows and it seems Iida here has them in his calves and oh god everyone’s staring I’m talking out loud aren’t I?”

“You sure are.” 

Izuku nearly jumped into the air when a familiar voice spoke from behind him. “Ah! Ochako!?”

The brown haired girl grinned and giggled at Izuku’s reaction. “Hey there Izuku! Glad to see we’re in the same class! I can’t believe I got fourth on the entrance exams! That was insane!”

Izuku was a little surprised. “Wait really, you got fourth? That’s impressive!”

“Mhm, earned myself forty five whole points just for saving you, so I guess that’s another one I owe you!”

“Wait no please, that's not necessary…” Izuku was practically wilting at the girl’s words.

“Excuse me! Pardon my interruption but there’s something that I would like to say in regards to the entrance exam myself!” Izuku threw a silent thanks Iida’s way for that lifeline, he wasn’t used to being the focus of positive attention. “Not only was I rude enough to interrupt Present Mic’s speech, but then I had the audacity to take my anxiousness out on you! Not only were you willing to correct that mistake, but then you proved yourself to be my better when you managed to deduce the true nature of the Zero Pointer, for that I must apologize.” Tenya bowed to him. Izuku couldn’t decide if this was better or worse, but at least Kacchan and Ochako seemed to find this entertaining…

“P… please, Iida, that isn’t necessary. I didn’t deduce anything, I just saw that someone was in trouble and destroying the Zero Pointer was the only way I could keep everyone safe.” He responded, trying to deflect the genuine praise.

That caused Tenya to stand up straight, a smile of admiration on his face. “That only proved my point further, you acted not to earn points but to instead protect someone in danger, you truly are an admirable person…”

After a moment of Tenya staring at him expectantly, Izuku took the hint. “O-oh, right, Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya.” He said, introducing himself.

Tenya nodded his head. “Well then, Midoriya, I look forward to spending the next three years studying at UA alongside you.”

Izuku could hear whispers from their classmates, then saying things about how he was the one to destroy the Zero Pointer and break All Might’s record. 

“Congrats kid, only a couple minutes into your first day and you’re already the center of attention, talk about establishing dominance.”

‘Not helping Fifth.’ Deadpanned Izuku.

“If you came here to make friends, you should get out now.”

Eh?

The three standing teens turned to see the form of a yellow sleeping bag staring at them. 

“That’s one ugly ass caterpillar.”

Izuku’s lips twitched in amusement as the man inside the sleeping bag slowly stood up while taking a sip from a jelly pouch. “This is the department of heroics, and I’m going to be your home room teacher, my name is Shouta Aizawa.”

“So that’s the guy Toshinori warned us about? He looks like a bum. And what’s that thing around his neck, a scarf?”

‘A Scarf…’ Izuku’s train of thought was cut short when Aizawa started talking again.

“It took you all eight seconds to quiet down, how illogical. Life is too short to waste time like that.” He then pulled gym uniforms out of his bag and shoved them into the hands of Izuku, Ochako, and Tenya.

“Pass these around, you’ll see the names of the owners written on the tags. Then put them on and get yourselves to the P.E. Grounds. We’re gonna have a Quirk Apprehension test.” Explained the teacher.

“A test? But it’s the first day!? And don’t we have a ceremony to get to?” Iida seemed to be more than a little thrown off.

“We don’t have time for such niceties, you’ve got three years to become ready for the world of Pros. You’ll understand soon enough about this school’s reputation for ‘freedom on campus,’ a freedom that extends to the teachers as well, now get moving. I’ll be waiting on the grounds, you should be able to find the locker rooms without issue.” And just like that, Aizawa left. Everyone stared at the empty door frame that Aizawa left from.

“Well… he seems interesting.”

“Hmph, nice to see a hero who doesn’t act like a complete tool for once. Maybe this kid’s actually gonna learn something from him.”

“I think if you’re the one who’s praising him then we all need to be worried for Izuku.”

Izuku sighed and read the name of the first tag. “Uh, alright, which one of you is Hanta Sero?” He asked. A boy with black hair and oddly shaped elbows raised his hand. Izuku sighed and started walking towards him. “Alright, you guys heard him, let’s get to work.”

Chapter Text

“Bakugou, you got more villain points than any other examinee.” Said Aizawa. Nineteen heads turned towards the explosive teen that had been singled out by their teacher. Katsuki said nothing, simply keeping his hands in his pockets as he waited for Aizawa to continue his train of thought. “How far were you able to pitch a softball in middle school?”

“Sixty Seven Meters.”

Aizawa beckoned the blond forward before pointing at a circle drawn into the field. Once Katsuki reached the spot, Aizawa tossed a softball his way. “Use your Quirk to throw this, feel free to go all out as long as you stay within the boundaries.”

Katsuki blinked in surprise before a grin appeared on his face, much to the concern of eighteen of his classmates and the entertainment of one. No points for guessing who the odd one out was. He then tossed the ball into the air and caught it, getting a feel for it before getting to position, rearing his arm back, and letting it fly with an explosive boost. “DIIIE!” He shouted, the ball being launched into the distance.

Aizawa held up a device that beeps a couple of times once the ball eventually landed. Seven hundred and five meters. “Before anything else, it’s important to know what you’re all capable of.” He explained. “This is a rational metric that will form the basis of your foundation as a hero.”

“Awesome, we’ll get to use our Quirks? This looks like fun!” Cheered one of the other students, a girl with pink skin and yellow horns. Izuku was curious about the type of Quirk she had.

His curiosities were cut short when Aizawa spoke, somehow making his tired voice sound even more unsettling than it had been up to this point. “Fun? You kids think this is going to be fun? You think being heroes is all fun and games?” He asked menacingly. “You want fun? Alright, here’s some fun for you, the student who places in last will be deemed ‘hopeless’ and thus instantly expelled.”

That got a reaction. “Wh-what!? That’s not fair! We all worked hard to get here!” Exclaimed that same pink girl who had unintentionally started this mess.

“Life isn’t fair, and being heroes isn’t a game, you face a risk of death every time they save someone or fight a villain, if you don’t have what it takes then you don’t belong here.” Explained Aizawa, giving the students an evil grin. “Welcome to UA’s Hero Course, I’d suggest you go Plus Ultra if you don’t want out on the first day.”

That took the wind out of everyone’s sails real quick. Well, almost everyone, there were a few who seemed unbothered, likely either believing the man was bluffing or having enough confidence in themselves that they wouldn’t place last.

Izuku stared at the man, then he slowly turned his head to see one of his classmates, who’s Quirk made her invisible, definitely useful for being an underground hero but even he didn’t see a way that could be useful in these tests. ‘“Rational” my left ass cheek, all he’s doing is trying to single out the best and then ditch the rest. Doesn’t this man realize that being expelled from UA was practically a death sentence to their careers? Forget being heroes, they’d be lucky if there was a single highschool in Japan that would take someone with a mark like that on their record.’

“The things he says hold weight, but I can’t say I agree with how he’s conveying it. This feels less like teaching and more like bullying, did this man forget he’s talking to children?”

Izuku wanted to say something, anything, but the words would die in his throat before they could ever leave his mouth. He felt helpless, this was like Aldera all over again. All he could do was grit his teeth and do his best to stay afloat.

“Just worry about passing for now, do your best Izuku.”

First up was the fifty meter dash. Iida was up first, alongside a girl with dark green hair as well as body and face proportions that reminded Izuku of a frog. Izuku quickly realized that that was because her Quirk was exactly that when she started hopping along while Iida took off using his engines. Iida managed to clear in just over three seconds while the girl took about five and a half.

Izuku continued to stare at Aizawa as he watched over the tests, with him being one of the last students in line. He then noticed Ochako out of the corner of his eye. 

“See something you like?” 

“Ignore him, go talk to her Izuku, it’s clear there’s something you want to say.”

With reassurance from Seventh, Izuku stepped forward towards his friend. “H-hey, Ochako!” He said.

His voice caught the girl’s attention, her head turning to see him approach. “Oh! Izuku! What’s up?”

Izuku took a deep breath, collecting himself for a moment, deeply paranoid about saying something by mistake that would upset her. He’s not used to having friends, sue him. “Can you… tell me a bit about how your Quirk works?”

Ochako seemed confused, going off the way she tilted her head. “…why?”

Izuku clenched his fist at his side a few times while he responded. “I have an idea for how you could use it here, I just wanted to see if my understanding of your Quirk is on point from the couple of times I saw you use it.”

That seemed to pique Ochako’s interest. “Alright then, my Quirk lets me remove gravity on anything I touch with all five pads on my fingertips.” She explained, sticking her hand out so Izuku could see the pads.

“Toe beans.”

“Don’t distract him.”

“I can also return gravity by touching all my fingertips together and releasing the hold of my Quirk. Though it returns gravity to everything at once, I don’t get to pick and choose.” She explained. “And like you saw during the Entrance Exam, if I push too far I can make myself sick.”

“Fascinating…” Mumbled Izuku as he took a minute to think. He then met Ochako’s gaze. “Alright, here’s my plan…”

Aizawa didn’t appreciate Midoriya and Uraraka being all buddy-buddy over there. Sure they had saved each other in the entrance exam, leading to them becoming close, but he’d just talked about how they weren’t here to make friends. “Uraraka, Ojiro, you two are up next.” He called. This got the attention of the two chatterboxes, who exchanged a nod before Uraraka began to jog towards the starting position alongside Ojiro. At the same time, Midoriya seemed to be positioning himself next to the sprint course. He wasn’t sure what the boy was planning, but he knew that if he tried to interfere with the test at all then he could simply use Erasure to put a stop to it.

The students got into place, Uraraka removing gravity from her clothes and shoes while Ojiro got his tail into position, his plan seeming to be using it to propel himself, both practical applications of their Quirks.

“Aaand… Go.” He said. Right before he gave the order to begin, Ochako quickly smacked her cheek with one of her hands, removing her own gravity, then once he gave the go ahead, she used both her hands and feet to push into the ground and launch herself forward. He watched the two students move, Uraraka having a lead thanks to a lack of gravity to slow her down. 

Just as she made it about two thirds of the way across the course, he heard Midoriya’s voice call out, “Now Ochako!”

“Release!” Suddenly the girl released her Quirk, and she then started falling, but thanks to the momentum she’d built up, she was able to actually use gravity to her advantage to gain even more speed and cross the finish line within five seconds, over two seconds faster than Ojiro. She was hardly the fastest student for this, but her creative applications of her Quirk still required praise. That is, if it had been her who was being creative with her Quirk.

Ochako’s hands were on her knees, breathing heavily. She hated using her Quirk on herself because of how awful it made her feel, she said as much to Izuku. His counterpoint was if she was willing to let a little nausea be the reason she got thrown out of UA, if a little nausea was too much to ask for when someone’s life was on the line? His words were harsh, but she understood the logic and it was enough to motivate her to push past her limits, to Go Beyond. 

“Ochako!” She turned to see Izuku jog up to her. She gave him a grin before raising her fist at him. He met her fist with his own. 

“That was a great plan Izuku, it worked exactly how you predicted you would.” She said, complimenting him.

“Hey, you did the work and pushed past the queasiness, I just came up with the plan. Is your stomach feeling ok?”

She waved off his concerns. “Just needed a second to catch my breath, I’m all good nooow- uh oh.” 

Izuku was confused by why she suddenly seemed concerned. “What’s-?”

“Midoriya.”

“Aw shit.”

“Thank you Fifth, your insight is very useful.”

“Why yes it is, thank you for-

Izuku’s eyes widened as the vestiges suddenly went silent, it wasn’t even that they stopped talking, it was as if they weren’t even there. Izuku slowly looked over his shoulder to see Aizawa’s tall frame looming over him, his hair and scarf floating in the air, revealing the pair of golden goggles that had been hiding inside it, as his eyes glowed a demonic red. “I thought I told you that you weren’t here to make friends, and that whoever placed last would be expelled, yet here you are helping your classmates. Aren’t you afraid of being expelled, or has that fancy Quirk of yours given you such an ego that you think it’ll be impossible for you to lose?”

Izuku was fairly certain he’d forgotten how to breathe, the suffocating silence in his head and having a teacher menace him like this was putting him in the worst place imaginable. He needed to focus on something else, so he defaulted to what he knew best: Quirks and Heroes. ‘This Quirk, those goggles, that scarf. Underground Hero, the Erasure Hero: Eraserhead! His Quirk deactivated One for All!’ He swallowed the bile forming in his throat. “I’m confident in my abilities, but I’m hardly a prideful fool who considered himself invincible.” He managed to answer, using all his might to keep his voice steady.

“And yet here you are helping someone that you’re meant to compete against for the right to stay in this school.” Replied Aizawa, his glare continuing to bore into him.

“Isn’t it a hero’s job to help people? And aren’t we at this school to become better with our Quirks? I fail to see how I’m doing anything wrong…” 

“Is that a fact? Are you criticizing my methods, Midoriya? Very well then…” Said Aizawa before turning to the rest of the class who had been spectating this entire thing. “It seems yet another new rule needs to be added. If the person who places last received advice from Midoriya, he’ll be expelled alongside them. Moreover, if Midoriya places last then everyone who received his advice will be expelled alongside him.” As the students began to murmur amongst themselves at the revelation of that new rule, Aizawa turned to Izuku. “Well then Midoriya, do you still wish to help those you’re competing against?”

Izuku was starting to feel his resolve crack under the gaze of his teacher, when he suddenly felt something against his wrist. Three fingers and a thumb wrapped around his wrist, while the knuckle of a pinky finger pressed into his wrist. His head slowly turned to see Ochako, still by his side even under the glare of their teacher, a determined look on her face. Even if no words were said, that look told Izuku exactly what he needed to hear. He took a deep breath before looking back at Aizawa. “Bring it on.”

With that, Aizawa’s Quirk deactivated, his hair and scarf falling back into place. He turned and walked away while pulling eye drops out of one the pouches on what Izuku now realized was his hero uniform.

“Gah! Fuck! That was awful!”

“Izuku, are you ok!?”

Izuku winced at the sudden clamoring of the vestiges in his head. ‘I’m fine! I’m fine… thanks you guys…’ God he missed them, even if they’d only been gone for a brief time.

“We’re sorry we couldn’t be there for you during… that.”

‘It’s not your fault… it’s not your…’ Izuku’s attempts to quell the vestiges' concerns were cut short when he felt Eighth hug him within his own mind. He wasn’t sure how else to describe it, despite not being physical he could still feel the sensation of the vestige’s embrace.

“Izuku… are you crying…?” Izuku turned to Ochako, a look of concern on her face.

Izuku brought a hand up to his face. Yup, there were in fact tears rolling down his cheeks. “Haha… looks like I am.”

“That lousy… making a student cry on his first day, I’ll give him something to cry over…” Izuku couldn’t see Ochako’s face but she sounded positively livid at the moment.

“Can’t say I disagree with that sentiment, honestly I’m embarrassed even being the same type of hero as him…”

Izuku noticed that Ochako was about to march towards Aizawa to give him a piece of her mind, but he grabbed her wrist before she could get far. “Don’t… just, don’t. I’ve had enough talking to him for one day. He gave me a challenge and I’m planning to rise to it. Plus Ultra.” 

“Izuku…” Ochako looked at him, his face still wet with tears, and she then decided to surprise him by pulling him into a hug. Izuku was fairly certain he heard an excited squeal from one of his classmates, the pink one. Izuku was pretty sure Aizawa said her name was Ashido. He couldn’t focus too much on that, he was too busy having his face do an impression of a strawberry thanks to Ochako hugging him. 

“O-O-Ochako- what’re you-!?” He exclaimed in embarrassment.

“I’m making my friend feel better, you dummy.” Replied Ochako.

“Midoriya, you  and Bakugou are up, stop flirting with Uraraka and get over here.” Called Aizawa.

At the word, “flirting,” Ochako pulled away, now embarrassed herself. “Ahaha, well, you heard Aizawa-Sensei!” She exclaimed before composing herself and raising her fist. “Knock their socks off, Izuku.” 

Izuku blinked in surprise as the blush slowly faded. He returned the fist bump before grinning. “Will do.”

“Damn kid, you’ve got game. Between her and the inventor chick, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

‘What’re you on about, Fifth?’

“Ignore him Izuku, you’ve had enough distractions as it is.”

Izuku could have pressed the topic, but Seventh was right, he needed to focus if he wanted to prove himself to Aizawa. No way was he backing down from that guy’s challenge. 

“When the hell did you get a girlfriend, Deku?” Asked Katsuki as he and Izuku got into their starting positions.

“‘Girlfriend?’” Asked Izuku, looking at his rival in confusion. 

Katsuki opened his mouth to say something before closing it and shaking his head. “Forget I said anything, damn nerd…”

Izuku was confused, but decided to drop the issue as Aizawa told them to go. Izuku leapt forward, Full Cowl up and charging his entire body as he sprinted. Katsuki wasn’t all out to let him be passed up by Izuku though, and the two stayed neck and neck all the way to the finish line.

Aizawa looked at them, then at the stopwatch, then back at them. “Four point zero two seconds.” He announced. “For both of you.” Both boys seemed disappointed by the tie. “Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, come on up, you’ll be the last two for the dash.”

As the last two students walked up, Izuku decided to approach them. “H-hey, out of curiosity, would either of you like advice for this test?” Todoroki not saying a word and simply walking past him was certainly a blow to Izuku’s confidence, and Yaoyorozu’s polite declination didn’t help either.

Given that Todoroki finished in just under three and a half seconds and Yaoyorozu four and a half, it was clear that they didn’t need his help.

Izuku didn’t get to feel discouraged for long though when Ochako called to him. “Heeey, Izuku, c’mere!” 

“Eh?” Izuku turned to see Ochako standing alongside a number of their classmates. Confused, he approached them. “Uh… hi, Ochako, what’s this?”

“Oh nothing much, just gathered everyone up so that you could extend your offer to them.” Explained Ochako with a proud grin.

“Wait really? Even you Kacchan?” Izuku was surprised to see his rival of all people here, no way he’d ever accept help, especially from him of all people.

“I’m more here for the spectacle than anything else Deku, we both know I don’t need your help.” 

Izuku deflated slightly, while chuckling. “That definitely makes more sense.” He said, not noticing the glare Ochako was sending Katsuki’s way.

“Don’t be discouraged Izuku, just convey what you want to say and make the most of however they respond.”

First was right. Izuku took a deep breath before facing your classmates. “Hello everyone, first I’d like to properly introduce myself to those of you who haven’t heard my name yet, I’m Izuku Midoriya and I plan to become the number one hero someday.” He said, bowing to his classmates as he introduced himself and his goal. “To do that, I need to first make it through UA’s Hero Course, and as you can see, our teacher wishes to make that as difficult as possible, if those rules of his didn’t make it obvious. However I don’t want to let him dissuade me, and instead I want to offer my assistance to you all during this Quirk Apprehension Test. As you saw with O- Uraraka, I have a talent for figuring out the best way to apply the Quirks of others for these tests, and I would like to offer advice to any of you who’d be willing to take it. Aizawa has given us a challenge and I wish to Go Beyond it. If you would rather pass on your own merits or simply wish to avoid the risk that comes with being associated with me for this test, I will respect your decision.” As he finished he stood up straight, doing his best to keep himself composed while seventeen of his classmates were staring at him.

After a moment, one of them spoke up. “Gotta say, you’re a lot more humble than I was expecting for a guy who apparently managed to take out the Zero Pointer.” It was the purple haired girl with earlobes that looked like headphone jacks.

Izuku looked at her. “It seems there’s some context that you’re all missing from that event. I only destroyed it because Uraraka was in danger, and I decided that obliterating and knocking it backwards was the best way to deal with the situation, a plan that resulted in me overtaxing my Quirk and shattering three of my limbs, and if Uraraka hadn’t caught me I would’ve probably fallen to my demise. It’s only thanks to Recovery Girl’s Quirk that I’m even capable of attending lessons right now. I hope that clears up any confusion any of you had.” 

“Wait, your Quirk hurts you? But you used it just fine during the fifty meter.” Asked the blond with a black lightning bolt highlight in his hair.

“Sort of.” Replied Izuku. “My body basically isn’t strong enough to handle my Quirk at its full power, I have to use it at a lower percentage, going too far above it can make it painful to move and using one hundred percent would at best result in severe muscle tears and at worst shatter my own bones.”

“Another soul burdened with a power that’s more than they can bear.” Said their bird headed classmate with a nod.

“Now then, are there any other questions?” Asked Izuku.

“Well… I mean, I appreciate that you’re offering advice, but I doubt you’re gonna be able to help all of us with every test, I mean not all of us have flashy Quirks like you or Uraraka, and especially not like Yaoyorozu or Todoroki. I mean I don’t exactly see how my jacks could be used for the grip strength test.” Said the purple girl.

Izuku smiled her way. “Don’t be ridiculous, I could see a lot of uses for your Quirk!” She seemed to be a little taken aback by his response. “In fact we can use your example to prove my point, those jacks of yours seem to be prehensile and strong right, almost like an extra pair of limbs?”

“Y-yeah, why?” 

“Then use them that way! Wrap them around the grip strength tester while you’re squeezing it, that’ll definitely up your numbers!” Izuku then frowned. “Unfortunately yeah, creativity can only get some of us so far, sadly certain Quirks just aren’t compatible with this test, a fact that deeply vexes me if I’m being honest.” Izuku didn’t have to say any names, certain students shifted in discomfort at the explanation that their Quirks probably would end up putting them on the chopping block. “But despite that, I don’t think any of you should give up, so let’s do our best and go Plus Ultra. It’s time to decide now, whether you stay or go, it’s up to you.”

“Why are you helping us?”

“Eh?” Izuku turned to see one of his classmates, his shortest classmate who’s hair was purple and shaped like balls. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, there’s no way that ice guy or that big girl are going to come in last, so if you help the rest of us then doesn’t that mean you’re guaranteeing yourself a one way ticket out of the Hero Course, what’s the point of helping people you’re clearly better than!? You should just do your own thing and let someone useless like me get expelled so that way you have a better shot at being the best and scoring plenty of babes!” He demanded. Some of their female classmates made faces at that last statement, but most seemed more concerned with the spirit behind the boy’s message than the phrasing.

Izuku looked down towards him. “Can I… ask your name?”

This seemed to throw his classmate off. “M… Mineta. Minoru Mineta, why?”

Izuku sighed. “Because Mineta, I want to help. I want to be a hero who helps everyone. If I simply ran away the moment things seemed too difficult, then forget being expelled by Aizawa, I’d just walk up to the principal and tell him that I’m dropping out then and there.” He explained, his voice conveying an almost, exhausted sincerity, as if the very idea of doing that took away all his energy.

Mineta seemed to be at a loss for words, he spent a moment staring at his shoes before meeting Izuku’s gaze. “F-fine then, but if I end up in last place I’m gonna use one of my balls to glue your mouth shut!”

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh at the threat. “Sure, that sounds fair. Anyone else want to join in?”

“Are you kidding? After a display as manly as that there’s no way I could turn you down!” Declared a classmate with red spiky hair and teeth like a shark. The rest of his classmates voiced similar opinions. 

Kacchan was the one outlier, he simply patted Izuku on the back and said, “You extras can all follow this nerd’s lead if you like, but I’m doing this my way.” Honestly Izuku wouldn’t expect any less from him.

“All right then everyone, let’s get to work.” He said with a determined smile.

Aizawa watched from a distance. He had to admit, getting sixteen students to join his cause was more than he had expected. He couldn’t help but grin at the display. “This kid is something else…”

Chapter Text

As they prepared for the next test, Izuku took the time to learn the name and Quirks of each of his classmates who’d been willing to put their faith in him. He asked them to try to be up front about as much information as possible so he could get a proper read on their Quirks.

Yuuga Aoyama, Quirk: Navel Laser. The power to fire a sparkling laser from the user’s belly button. He mentioned that he could only use it in short bursts, otherwise his stomach starts hurting. Izuku could sympathize with the need to hold back to avoid unintentional self harming.

Mina Ashido, Quirk: Acid. The ability to create corrosive liquids from her skin. Apparently she could adjust the corrosiveness and thickness of the liquid, which fascinated Izuku.

Tsuyu Asui, Quirk: Frog. Frog-Woman, Frog-Woman can do whatever a froggy can. This one honestly intrigued Izuku. “Frog” was a broad spectrum after all so he definitely was going to ask her later for more specifics on what made her Quirk tick.

Tenya Iida, Quirk: Engine. The engines in his calves grant him enhanced running speed and kicking power. Also apparently it ran on orange juice. Something else for Izuku to run tests on…

Mashirao Ojiro, Quirk: Tail. It’s pretty much what it says on the tin. Basic, but Izuku couldn’t deny that the sheer size of the limb was telling of all the training he put in prior to UA, an observation that he was more than willing to share, much to the bashfulness of Ojiro.

Eijiro Kirishima, Quirk: Hardening. Another simplistic but useful Quirk, being able to harden parts of or even the entirety of one’s body to the point of near invulnerability had a myriad of uses, he could both rescue people from disasters and have the ability to fight off villains, an ideal Quirk for a hero. Voicing his opinions on the Quirk led to another bashful classmate.

Koji Koda, Quirk: Anivoice. He had the ability to communicate with animals and ask for their aid. Izuku made sure to sign to the boy that he saw a lot of potential with a Quirk like that, especially as a rescue hero. That was three for three on embarrassed classmates.

Rikido Satou, Quirk: Sugar Rush. Consuming sugar gives him a boost in his physical strength proportional to the amount consumed. However, going over a certain threshold can make his mental faculties start to decline. He made sure to reassure everyone that that was only temporary though.

Mezo Shouji, Quirk: Dupli-arms. He can transform his numerous hands into other parts of his body and even grow extra limbs. Also he was the biggest guy in their class, which certainly would help in the instance of a crisis.

Kyoka Jirou, Quirk: Earphone Jack. Her earlobes were extended and completely prehensile, the ends being shaped like jacks that she could plug into various things, including walls that let her hear what was going on in the adjacent room or into the ground to get a sort of feel for what’s happening around her from far away. Izuku wondered if it was possible for her to plug one jack into a recording device and the other into an adjacent room and use this as a means of collecting intel. Jirou stared at him like he had suddenly grown a second head. Or maybe she was more concerned about the notebook he pulled out to write down his curiosities.

Hanta Sero, Quirk: Tape. His specialized elbows are capable of shooting a tape like substance out, Izuku was definitely going to want to have the substance analyzed to see exactly the components that make the tape work, since there’s more than one kind of tape out there and it’d be smart to know the specifics with Sero’s. It was also a Quirk with a lot of uses when it comes to mobility, range, and grabbing opponents from a distance, things Hanta’d figured out on his own but still enjoyed hearing praise over.

Fumikage Tokoyami, Quirk: Dark Shadow. Within Tokoyami’s body dwelled a bird shaped shadow monster that was bound to him that he could call upon to act for him. It was interesting meeting another person with a sentient Quirk, even if Izuku sadly couldn’t reveal the true nature of his to his classmate. Izuku had to resist the urge to refer to Dark Shadow as a Stand and instead equated the Quirk and user as conjoined siblings. Tokoyami admitted that while that comparison didn’t do the bond between them justice, it was still probably the closest anyone has come to describing it. Dark Shadow also seemed like a friendly individual though Tokoyami revealed that she could be much more… volatile at night. Izuku still treated her with the same respect and dignity that any sentient creature deserved.

Minoru Mineta, Quirk: Pop Off. Mineta was capable of removing his ball shaped hair, which was composed of a very sticky substance that could entrap virtually anything it touched, save for Mineta himself who simply bounced off them like they were made of rubber. He also revealed that the stickiness seemed dependent on how healthy he was internally, Izuku was curious about what that meant but Mineta didn’t elaborate. He also explained that pulling too many in quick succession could lead to his scalp bleeding.

With the majority of his classmate’s Quirks understood, Izuku was now forced to confront the hardest part that would come with helping his classmates for this test. Or more accurately, the two members of his class he’d have the hardest time assisting.

Denki Kaminari, Quirk: Electrification. He had the power to store and release electricity within his body, though he couldn’t really control the direction and instead had to simply zap everyone and everything around him. And if he fired off too much at once it could scramble his brain.

Tooru Hagakure, Quirk: Invisibility. Another Quirk that did what is said on the tin. Or did it? Tooru’s entire body was invisible, and given Izuku’s understanding of how light works, he had the feeling there was more to Hagakure’s Quirk than she realized, though that was a conversation for later.

Now, don’t get Izuku wrong, Electrification and Invisibility were spectacular Quirks, Kaminari being able to serve as a human taser that could be a menace to anyone who relied on close quarters combat while Hagakure would be the perfect stealth hero. The problem is that in the Quirk Apprehension test, their Quirks wouldn’t be able to grant them any distinct advantages. 

“Please forgive me.” He said, bowing before his two classmates, staring at the ground and unable to meet their gazes. “I’ll do my best to provide advice from a physical perspective but unfortunately there’s nothing I can do in this situation when it comes to your Quirks.”

“C’mon Izuku, don’t be like that, you’re doing your best here.”

Seventh’s words didn’t make him feel any better, there were two things about Izuku that he held any amount of pride in, his tenacity and his abilities as a Quirk Analyst, and unfortunately the latter was currently failing not only him but two other aspiring heroes as well.

“Hey, don’t be like that Midoriya.” Said Kaminari, “I mean, you’re already doing more than I think anyone else was expecting of you. I can’t speak Hagakure but I’m not gonna hold it against you, I mean someone has to lose, might as well be the guy who can’t use his Quirk without risking turning himself stupid.”

“Kamanari’s right!” Chimed in Hagakure, “Well, mostly right. Aizawa-Sensei’s made it clear that this is what the hero course is like, and besides, it’s not like you can save everyone, right?”

Bakugou, unbeknownst to everyone else, actually winced at that. That was probably the worst thing that someone could’ve said to Deku at that very moment, but he was going to keep his mouth shut, Deku could stand up for himself after all.

Izuku was silent for a moment. “Even so, Hagakure, I’m still gonna try.” He said quietly.

“If you’re done with your little group meeting, we need to get back to work.” Said Aizawa drily. “It’s illogical to assume that villains are going to give you all the time in the world.” Looking to his side, he could also tell that Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were clearly getting tired of waiting too. If he noticed the look of contempt on Midoriya’s face when his students turned to look his way, he didn’t comment on it.

After the dash came the Grip Strength test. Izuku immediately got to work advising his classmates who had applicable Quirks for this situation. Jirou’s jacks wrapping around the device alongside her hand to increase the gripping power, Shouji’s large arms and Kirishima’s hardened muscles put in a lot of work, Satou took a reasonable amount of sugar from a packet he was carrying in his pocket that helped with his strength. Dark Shadow put in as much power as it could, Sero’s tape… well, an attempt was made with Sero’s tape, and then subsequently came a mess with Sero’s tape. Izuku decided to push his limits, channeling as close as he could to ten percent of One for All to where he could still move even if it hurt a little in the process as he squeezed down. During the last couple seconds he upped the percentage to ten in order to get the score as high as possible before letting go, he clenched his fist a few times to ease the cramping. The only one to get close to his score was Yaoyorozu, who created a device to do the grip test for her.

Then came the standing long jump. Sero immediately got to not only redeem himself for the grip strength debacle while also showing off the absolute range his Quirk gave him by grabbing some distant trees with his Quirk and launching him forward over the sandbox.

After (passive aggressively) confirming with Aizawa that it’d count as a pass so long as someone made it across without actually directly touching the sand of the sandbox, Izuku directed Mineta to toss his balls into the pit and bounce on them across. Tokoyami, Iida, Uraraka, Kacchan, Aoyama, and Asui were all smart enough to clear the jump on their own even without Izuku’s help. Shouji unfortunately was too top heavy and lacked the leg strength to make the leap, Satou made the decision to hold off on using his sugar and save it for later, having faith in his muscles as they were. He also didn’t make it. Izuku did his best to cheer on Kaminari and Hagakure, but neither of them were able to make it across either. Izuku didn’t really struggle, himself to his limits again with One for All and clearing the jump.

Honestly when it came to repeated side steps, the only ones who got a chance to shine were Katsuki, Izuku, and Mineta, their Quirks being the ones best used for this test thanks to Katsuki’s explosions launching him back and forth, Mineta using two balls to bounce himself back and forth at a frankly ridiculous speed, and Izuku using One for All to make himself faster, though he did lag behind the other two, much to Kacchan’s smugness which was enough to fire Izuku up.

The moment it was time for the ball throw, Izuku marched up to Aizawa and practically yanked the ball from his hand before getting into position. Gripping the ball in his hand, Izuku pushed Full Cowl to the point where it felt like his muscles were going to come apart at the seams before throwing it with all his might. Aizawa held up a score showing in the nine hundreds. Izuku smugly stuck his tongue out at Kacchan before falling to the ground.

“What’s the matter, Midoriya? Unable to continue, giving up before the test is even over?” Asked Aizawa, looming over the boy and staring at him judgmentally. Izuku kept eye contact with the man for about twenty seconds before taking a deep breath and sitting up. He walked back to the others, doing some stretches to deal with the persisting tension in his muscles. Everything was starting to ache but there’s no way he was gonna give Aizawa the satisfaction by slowing down now.

“Just try to avoid doing something that’ll get you sent to the nurse’s office, you don’t wanna see what that crazy nurse’s cane can do when she gets mad. Trust me, I’ve seen All Might earn that lady’s ire enough times to know what I’m talking about.”

Izuku tuned out the sounds of Seventh smacking Fifth over the head for insulting Recovery Girl as he turned his attention to his classmates so he could guide them through this test too. Sero shone once more as he used his tape to swing and launch the ball farther than his arm would accomplish alone, Yaoyorozu shocked everyone by creating an entire canon to launch the ball out of before being outdone by two more of their classmates, first Koda by calling upon a bird to take the ball as far away as it could, easily outdoing Izuku’s score and then both of them were surpassed when Ochako sent her own ball into orbit, nabbing a score of “infinity.” Several boys made a solemn vow to never piss her off, less they risk joining that ball. Todoroki did his best but launching the ball with ice wasn’t enough to catch up to Yaoyorozu. Iida had was thankful for Izuku’s advice when it came to this test. He’d never considered using his kicks to launch something before, and he was certain that he wouldn’t have scored nearly as good had he relied on just his arms.

Next came the sit-ups, Izuku being an expert thanks to his old workout plan growing up coupled with One for All managed to outdo everyone, even Yaoyorozu who created some sort of weird contraption to do sit-ups for her. He should introduce her to Hatsume, with a Quirk like that those two would get on like fire on a house.

Elsewhere, Higari Majima felt a strange sense of dread fill his body as he finished extinguishing the fire in the support course lab. Hatsume had been here for less than an hour and already something had exploded for the third time. She was setting a brand new record and he hated it. And something about this feeling made him think that things were only going to get worse from here.

Izuku grunted as he finished doing his set of sitting toe touches. Running his muscles ragged had made this test absolutely miserable.

“What’s even the point of this one? I feel like there’s not a Quirk out there that could help in a test like this.”

‘Tiger from the Wild, Wild Pussycats. His Quirk would be perfect for this.’ Countered Izuku.

“…Touché.”

Izuku stood up and decided to do a few more stretches as he waited for everyone to finish up before the final test, the long distance run. The test would end once everyone ran out of stamina. Pretty sadistic to make this the final test after having everyone do seven other exercises leading up to it. As he got into position, the sound of Kacchan’s voice grabbed his attention. “You have got to be kidding me.” Confused, Izuku turned his head to where his rival’s voice was coming from and was that a motorized bike? 

Once she finished assembly, Yaoyorozu wiped the sweat off her brow before mounting her creation. “There’s no way that can be allowed.” Said Kaminari. 

“She created it with her Quirk, so I’ll allow it.” Chimed in Aizawa, much to the displeasure of almost the entire class.

“Fuck it, Ponytail can have her special bike.” Said Kacchan, ignoring Yaoyorozu repeating “Ponytail” while she looked at him in confusion as he got into position. “I’m not gonna be shown up.”

Izuku scoffed in amusement. “Good luck with that Kacchan, I’ve been jogging since I was five years old, I can definitely outlast you.” 

“I’d like to see you fucking try, Deku.”

“Less talking the talk,” Said Aizawa, cutting into the boys’ conversation, “And more walking the walk. Or more accurately, jogging. Begin.”

With that, everyone took off, jogging at relatively the same speed to conserve energy, they all continued to run, and run, and run, until some of them stopped having the energy to go on.

First was Mineta, unsurprisingly, his smaller frame wasn’t really built for extended physical activity after all, credit where it was due for trying at least. Once the first was down, others began to drop like flies. Jirou, Kaminari, Hagakure, Aoyama, and Koda, basically those who lacked Quirks that required much muscle to use, all went down in pretty quick succession. Ochako, Ashido, Satou, Asui, Shouji, and Sero all dropped out next, they were all fit but still their stamina had limits. Tokoyami and Todoroki were next to go, the only ones other than Yaoyorozu who had been able to use their Quirks consistently to aid them. Todoroki used his ice to keep himself cool while Dark Shadow would occasionally take over and walk for Tokoyami using her hands, but even they eventually ran out of steam due to it being noon by this point which was basically the worst possible time for Dark Shadow to be challenging her endurance. Kirishima, Ojiro, and Iida were next, the two other students who had clearly put in tons of work training their entire bodies and Iida, the one who’s Quirk was all about his legs, commendable efforts to them to be certain but no match against Yaoyorozu having a vehicle and Izuku and Kacchan both just being painfully stubborn.

“You’re looking tired nerd, ready to give in yet?” Asked Katsuki.

“Did Hell freeze over since we started jogging?”  Retorted Izuku. “Maybe I’ll change my mind if we spot a flying pig along the way.”

“Perhaps it’d be for the best that both of you stop, you’ve already long since outdone everyone else before this leg of the test even began, I fail to see the need to continue pushing yourselves like this.” Chimed in Yaoyorozu.

“Piss off Ponytail, I don’t wanna hear that from the girl who’s not even running.” Snapped Bakugou.

Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could tell that Kacchan’s words left Yaoyorozu feeling slightly dejected. “Don’t mind him, he’s just not used to not having the best Quirk in the class. I have to say though yours is quite impressive, I have so many questions about the mechanics of your Quirk.” Said Izuku. That seemed to make her feel better.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re too nice for your own good?”

‘Occasionally, yeah.’ Admitted Izuku. ‘Not that I’m going to let that stop me.’ He could hear a chuckle.

“Fair enough.”

The jogging continued until Yaoyorozu’s bike suddenly came to a stop. “Oh dear, out of gas.” She said, and the moment she stepped off to deal with that, Aizawa’s voice could be heard.

“That’s enough Yaoyorozu, come join your classmates.” 

“Eh!?” This surprised the Recommended student. “But all I need to do is refuel and I can continue.”

“If one of your classmates got to stop and rest they could continue too, your bike is out of gas and thus so are you.” Retorted Aizawa. 

Dejectedly, Yaoyorozu nodded her head. “Yes sir.” She then made her way back to where the rest of her class watched Midoriya and Bakugou continue to run.

“What the hell are those maniacs made of?” Asked Kaminari.

“Pure, unfiltered manliness.” Said Kirishima.

Ashido snorted in amusement. “Do you know any other adjectives besides ‘manly,’ Kirishima?”

“Does ‘unmanly’ count? Those are the only two adjectives I need!” He declared.

Jirou leaned over to Yaoyorozu. “Who’s gonna explain to them that ‘pure’ and ‘unfiltered’ are also adjectives?” That earned chuckles from her and Kaminari, who was close enough to overhear.

“Seriously though, they’ve been at this for over an hour, “Said Ochako as she watched the boys add another lap to their count, “I’m pretty sure that the only way one will stop is if the other straight up collapses. Or if Aizawa is merciful enough to end their suffering early.”

“So they’ll only stop when one of them passes out then.” Said Hagakure.

“Yup.” Said Ochako drily, much to the amusement of most of those present. 

After another twenty minutes and an entire tic-tac-toe tournament hosted amongst the class, which Jirou very proudly won, something finally gave. That something being Izuku’s leg muscles, looks like the strain of using his Quirk finally caught up to him as he straight up face planted in the dirt.

The moment Midoriya was down, Bakugou immediately stopped a good two paces later, turning to look at Midoriya as he proudly flipped him off. “Ha! Fuck… youuu…” And down he went.

Aizawa sighed before looking to his students. “Uraraka, Shouji, use your Quirks to fetch them.”

“Yes sir.” The two set off, returning not long after with the exhausted boys in tow and laying them on the ground.

“Todoroki, use some ice to cool them down.” Instructed Aizawa, nodding towards the pair. Todoroki quietly followed the instructions, creating a small wall of ice between the exhausted boys. “You two can take five to rest while I have the points calculated.”

One quick rest later and the boys were able to stand up and hear the final conclusion. “After eight tests and a very long two and a half hours, I’m ready to let you all see the final results.” Said Aizawa before clicking a button on the device he was holding. A hologram then popped up for everyone to see.

-

Quirk Apprehension Test Results

1. Izuku Midoriya
2. Momo Yaoyorozu
3. Shoto Todoroki
4. Katsuki Bakugou
5. Tenya Iida
6. Fumikage Tokoyami
7. Mezo Shouji
8. Eijiro Kirishima
9. Ochako Uraraka
10. Mashirao Ojiro
11. Mina Ashido
12. Tsuyu Asui
13. Hanta Sero
14. Rikido Satou
15. Koji Koda
16. Yuuga Aoyama
17. Kyoka Jirou
18. Minoru Mineta
19. Denki Kaminari
20. Tooru Hagakure

-

Chapter Text

Everyone turned to look at Hagakure, who wasn’t saying a word. Thanks to her Quirk nobody could tell what kind of expression was on her face either. She simply stood there, perfectly still, or at least that’s what most of her classmates believed, but a certain one amongst them had developed a knack for reading body language due to years of dodging the ire of Quirkist bullies and teachers.

Gently, Izuku placed a hand on her shoulder. He could be embarrassed about getting this close to a girl some other time, right now there was someone in front of him suffering and he couldn’t help but reach out to them. “Hagakure, I’m sorry-”

“Hagakure.” Aizawa’s voice cut him off. “You placed last in the Quirk Apprehension Test. Midoriya, you decided to offer advice to her. In accordance with the rules I placed you two are to be expelled from UA.”

Izuku bit into his lip so hard it nearly drew blood. He could hear Hagakure sniffling next to him, and noticed the ground at her feet was now wet in a few small spots, as if droplets of water had fallen to the dirt from her face. Around him most of their class watched on, most feeling bad for the duo, save for Todoroki who didn’t seem to care and Yaoyorozu who seemed unconcerned. “Forgive me, I wish there was something I could’ve done.” Said Izuku quietly to the crying girl who’d just had her dreams crushed.

“Quick, go to Toshinori! Maybe he can put in a word to the principal and have you re-enrolled!”

”What’s to stop Aizawa from just expelling him again? And that’s assuming the principal would even listen to him. He may be the Number One Hero but this is UA and it’s also his first year teaching.”

“But still, there has to be something-”

“Is what I would say if my threat of an expulsion hadn’t just been a logical ruse.”

“Eh?”

“What?” Asked Izuku, looking away from his classmate towards his teacher, who was now giving him the smile of a man who felt very proud of himself for some reason.

“I wasn’t planning on actually expelling the loser, I just said that to get you all to bring out your best efforts.” Explained their teacher.

“Honestly,” Said Yaoyorozu shaking her head, “Use your brains everyone, it should’ve been clear that it was a ruse.”

To Izuku’s side, Hagakure abruptly collapsed to her knees in relief. Izuku barely noticed, his arm simply falling down and resting at his side as he continued to stare at the teacher.

“Congrats Izuku!” Cheered Ochako. “You get to stay at U- woah.” She moved to his side, expecting to see a relieved look on his face, instead she saw something very very different. A look of pure rage and hatred was all that she could see on the kind hearted boy’s face, she didn’t think someone as kind as him was even capable of such an expression. He then started walking forwards towards the teacher, Ochako made the smart decision to step out of his way.

“Izuku? Kid? You all good?”

“Seventh, look at the face he’s making and ask that question again, I don’t even need to be in his head to see how the kid’s feeling right now.”

“Tread carefully Izuku, you narrowly escaped expulsion, it would be dangerous to test your luck.”

‘Quiet.’ That single word from their successor was enough to shut all the vestiges up.

Aizawa then noticed the approaching boy. “Hm? Midoriya? Is there something you’d like to-?”

“Don’t feed that bullshit to us Aizawa.” Izuku practically snarled out, much to the surprise of the rest of the class. Much like Ochako, most of them were seeing this side of their classmate for the first time. Aizawa almost reflexively activated his Quirk and capture weapon before realizing that Midoriya had stopped moving as soon as he reached the front of the class. “The others might not know the truth but I sure as hell do. I know about how you expelled your entire class on the first day last year.”

Surprise was stacked upon surprise there, as the color straight up drained from Yaoyorozu’s face as she quickly learned that she misread the entire situation. 

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed at the boy. “Really Midoriya? Is that how you want to do this? Are you that dead set on being a problem child?” He asked drily.

Izuku barked out a humorless laugh. “What’s the matter? Not used to having students stand up to you? Honestly I’m not surprised, this is ‘the best hero school in Japan’ after all, the place that All Might himself studied. I'm sure you’ve had lots of experience walking over and crushing the dreams of countless students since you began working here, it’s what teachers do best after all.” He gestured to Tooru, who had yet to stand back up and was simply watching Izuku. “Did you feel good about yourself? Get a good and hearty chuckle from making one of your students cry because you let her think that her future had been ruined within the very first day of her attending high school!?”

Katsuki sighed and shook his head. He knew Deku had been keeping a lot bottled in since middle school, and it looks like their shitty homeroom teacher was the dumbass who finally cracked the damn dam.

“Honestly I don’t even know why I’m here. I came to this school because I had hope that UA would be different, but it’s starting to become clear to me that no matter where I go, it’s always the same, schools are just playgrounds for miserable bastards like you to single out and torment children.” Izuku’s breathing was becoming heavy, the kid was releasing so much pent up stress and anger all at once he felt like he was gonna pass out, but he refused to do anything other than stand his ground.

“So, that’s the expectations of teachers that you’ve come to develop?” Asked Aizawa. Midoriya said nothing, only glaring at the teacher in response, which caused the man to sigh. “I can’t say that I blame you, going off what I learned about what you went through in the past.”

“What?” Asked Izuku, not entirely sure what the man was implying. Aizawa’s response was to pull out a remote and point it at the main campus building. The outer wall of the building then opened up to reveal a large monitor to the students, who all stared at it in shock.

“They have a giant TV inside the school!?”

“How fucking rich is this place!?”

The television then flickered on, revealing a news broadcast to the students. Izuku and Katsuki’s eyes widened as they realized what location was being filmed.

“We’re here live at Aldera Junior High School, reporting on its permanent closing and arrest of all faculty for evidence of Quirkism and abuse towards their students, as well as a variety of crimes on a case by case basis.”

“What. The hell?” Asked Izuku slowly as he continued to watch. He could see the police ‘escorting’ the teachers out of the school and into their vehicles.

“With us is Pro Hero, and UA Faculty member, Hound Dog. Mr. Hound Dog, would you be willing to share your thoughts on Aldera and its actions?”

“Positively disgusted.” Snarled the dog man. “As the UA guidance counselorrr, I prrride myself in helping students worrrk thrrrough the trrraumas that manifest in the rrroad to becoming a herrro. To see fellow teacherrrs abusing theirrr authorrrity and torrrmenting theirrr students forrr such asinine rrreasons such as how they werrre borrrn makes me ashamed to even call them teacherrrs. That’s why UA made surrre to uncoverrr everrrything we could about these villains to make surrre that even those who don’t go strrraight to jail will have grrreat difficulty everrr finding employment again.”

The reporter lady seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she was cut off by the TV going dark. “That was played on every TV on the campus just now, because the principal wanted a very important lesson to be learned by every student on the campus, from the Business Department first years to the Hero Course third years, discrimination is something that villains do, something that UA doesn’t tolerate.”

“Wait… Izuku, what’s Aizawa getting at with this?” Ochako was the one to voice the fact that many of the students present were lacking context. 

And Kacchan was the one who was ‘kind’ enough to provide it. “Deku and I were students at Aldera.” Well, he provided some context anyways.

Aizawa looked at his students, deciding to pull their attention away from the problem child and back to him by speaking up, “If you want honesty, I’ll give it to you. My intention wasn’t to expel whoever came in last, rather that threat was your first test of many to make sure all of you were serious about becoming heroes. If any of you had made the mistake to not take this seriously, regardless of your placement, you would’ve been kicked to the curb faster than you could say, ‘plus ultra.’ But each of you gave it your all even when your Quirk wasn’t suited for the challenge, that’s why you’re all still here. Being a hero is a dangerous profession and I’ll be damned if my negligence is the reason a student manages to graduate only for me to see your names in the obituaries shortly after.” He then focused his attention on Midoriya. “Midoriya, there’s more that I’d like to discuss with you specifically, everyone else clean up and head back to class.” Feeling the eyes of his students practically boring into him, he sighed before clarifying. “He’s not in trouble, there’s just things that I’d like to discuss with him in private and preferably away from prying eyes and ears.” 

Slowly the students all walked away, Todoroki being the first to leave and most others following close after, talking amongst themselves about the test, their performances, and probably their thoughts on the various bombshells that had been dropped on them all. Soon there were only four people left, Aizawa and Izuku obviously, but right behind Izuku was Katsuki and Ochako. Izuku sighed and looked over his shoulder at Katsuki. “I’ll be fine Kacchan, you go head back with the others.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Deku.” Yeah, Izuku probably should’ve seen that response coming.

When he turned his head towards Ochako, he didn’t even get the chance to say anything. “No way, I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here with you, Izuku.”

Izuku sighed before turning back to Aizawa. “Well, if it’s just my secrets you’re talking about then whatever you have to say to me I suppose you can say in front of them too.”

“You gave up pretty quickly.”

‘I’m too tired to try to fight either of them on this.’ Izuku deadpanned mentally.

”If you insist.” Replied Aizawa with a tired eye roll at the dramatics of his students. “It has to do with your Quirk. I’m assuming that what you displayed today is the most you can use without hurting yourself?”

Izuku sighed and nodded his head. “Yeah, it is. I’m doing my best to raise the limit though, the only way to really do that though is with practice.”

Aizawa let out a hum and nodded his head. “Don’t ever stop trying to improve because you think you’re good enough. You have a lot less experience with your Quirk than your peers, I’d also advise we schedule you for Quirk counseling, since you almost certainly never received that as a child, right?”

Izuku took what he said into consideration. ‘It’s true that I need Quirk Counseling, but I’m certainly hesitant to trust him to do it.” He thought to himself.

“Er… Izuku?”

”No no, let him keep going, I’m starting to find him ripping into authority figures entertaining.”

”What, because it’s a nice change of pace from him trying to take the piss out of you and Third?”

“After all, he’s already proven that he’s more than willing to lie for the sake of a ‘lesson’ so who’s to say this isn’t another elaborate trap?”

“Izuku?”

“Especially since he was more than willing to single me out in front of everyone else without any clear reason beyond potentially him committing to the bit, and with him being able to deactivate my Quirk I’m not sure what I’d be able to do if-”

“DEKU!” A smack to the back of his head snapped him out of the mumble storm he had trapped himself in. He blinked as he looked at Kacchan, who still had his arm half raised after he physically returned him to reality, and Ochako who was staring at him in concern.

He turned to Aizawa, who seemed to be wearing an expression of… guilt? It was hard to tell with the man. 

“Twice in one day? Dammit Deku, you need to get a grip.” 

“…Fuck, I was talking out loud.” It wasn’t even a question, everyone with eyes or ears would’ve noticed Izuku go full motor mouth on them.

Aizawa sighed. “The counselling won’t be with me, it’ll be with Hound Dog and the principal, would that make you feel better.” The man sounded like someone who’d just kicked a small animal by accident and was now regretting their existence.

Izuku nodded his head, keeping his mouth clamped shut lest he say something stupid again. Aizawa nodded his head in response. “Alright, you can head back to class now.” After a moment of silence, Izuku turned and walked away, followed closely by Ochako and Katsuki.

Aizawa waited until they were out of earshot before speaking. “You can come out now, All Might.”

From around the corner of a nearby wall out stepped Toshinori. “Given your track record, I couldn’t help but want to see how you’d treat this year’s Class 1-A.” Admitted the man.

“Translation: you were worried about me trying to come up with a reason for Midoriya to be expelled simply because he’s your student.” The silence was very telling. “I will admit that even after you claimed he was a very different kind of person than you, I still had my doubts, especially after the incident with the Zero Pointer, though realistically that one can be chalked up to the rashness of the situation coupled with his own inexperience using his Quirk. I suppose I felt the need to test for myself what the successor to the symbol of peace had to offer.” 

“And how did young Midoriya do on that specialized little test of yours?” Asked Toshinori.

“The kid went positively Plus Ultra,” Replied Aizawa, “absolutely refusing to back down from helping people that, for all intents and purposes, he should’ve been trying to compete against while also having the ability to not drag them down with him. For someone so inexperienced with his own Quirk, he’s learning to master it shockingly fast while also being able to understand and aid others in using Quirks that they’ve had for at least two thirds of their lives.”

“The boy’s a genius when it comes to Quirks, take a look in one of his analysis notebooks and you’ll see what I mean. A pretty good artist too to be honest.” Aizawa could hear the proudness in the man’s voice. 

It was so wholesome it made him want to vomit. “I will admit though, being compared to the teachers from Aldera was certainly more hurtful than I expected it to be.” 

“Given what the boy’s been through, you practically preying upon his personal traumas probably earned you that comparison.” Admitted Toshinori.

Honestly, despite his opinions on the man, he was still the number one hero at the end of the day and hearing that from him of all people definitely stung. “I know I’m not the best teacher, but I have enough pride in the profession to be angry at educators who don’t have their students’ best interests at heart. And at that moment I lacked a convincing argument to separate myself from them.”

There was a moment of silence between the two men, one that All Might eventually decided to break. “I’m obviously a far less experienced teacher, so I’m unsure whether or not you’d like to hear this from me, but if I’m being honest, when it came to teaching Young Midoriya how to use his Quirk, I was an absolute failure.” Aizawa looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “Besides the muscle building training in order to prepare his body for his Quirk’s activation, my advice for him using his Quirk was simply the phrase, ‘clench your buttcheeks and yell ‘Smash’ from the depths of your heart.’ Given the self destructive nature of his Quirk, I don’t think I have to explain how horribly the Practical Exam would’ve gone for him had he not figured out how to use his Quirk at a lower output on his own.” Toshinori felt slightly guilty about being indirect on how Izuku learned to use One for All, but he decided to still stick as close to the truth as possible for the sake of the message he was trying to convey to his fellow teacher. “Once he explained what happened, I’ve been throwing myself much harder into teaching. I’ve even been reading books about education. If what Midoriya said truly bothers you, try and fix it.”

Eraserhead took a moment to digest All Might’s advice before sighing, “Guess I have to go Plus Ultra myself…”

Toshinori chuckled. “They may say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I say you’re never too old to keep improving.”

“With all due respect All Might, I get the feeling you’re much older than I am.” Now it was Toshinori’s turn for someone’s words to hurt him.

The three students made it to the classroom at last and found everyone still there. Well, almost everyone, Todoroki was long gone by this point. Once they entered, their heads all turned to look at Izuku expectantly.

“Uh…?” Izuku asked as he looked at them in confusion worried he’d offended them somehow.

“This feels familiar somehow.”

“Bro, are you okay?” Asked Kirishima. 

“Eh?”

“Aizawa-sensei got really intense back there,” Kaminari said, scratching the back of his head. “We were all kinda worried about ya.“

Izuku sighed, the emotional exhaustion setting in. Katsuki rolled his eyes before making his way to his seat. “It wasn’t anything as… intense as it was with the Q.A.T. Aizawa-sensei just wanted to schedule me for Quirk counseling. Which honestly I need.”

This definitely surprised the class. Yaoyorozu, already having her expectations thrown out the window once today, was struggling with it happening again, “But you got first place on the test, and you broke All Might’s record on the entrance exam! Surely you of all people don’t need Quirk counseling at this age!”

Izuku shook his head as he elaborated, “I never had it before. My Quirk was dormant most of my life. I thought I was Quirkless until about a year ago. It wouldn’t activate until my body was strong enough to handle its power, and I was only able to meet the physical strength requirement for it to awaken shortly before the written exam.” It was deathly silent as everyone processed this, a couple jaws had dropped at that bombshell.

“You went to the entrance exam and you only had your quirk for a couple of hours?!” Ashido exclaimed in shock. 

“Dude, that sounds metal as hell.” Chimed in Jirou.

Iida hung his head, “If you were that inexperienced, of course you would be nervous. Now that I know this, my behavior towards you transcends rudeness into borderline bullying. Given that you were considered Quirkless, the argument could be made that I was committing a hate crime…” He was utterly devastated by the realization.

“N-no, Iida, don’t be like that! You didn’t know better, and I’ve already made it clear that I’m not upset with you over that.” Replied Izuku, waving his hands as he tried to reassure his classmate.

“Wait… hate crime… Aldera… oh shit.” Mineta said, seemingly coming to a realization. The way Izuku winced at the school’s mention confirmed his suspicion while Bakugou went out the door, having gathered up his stuff he didn’t see any need to stay for this conversation.

“Wait, what about Aldera?” Asked Ojiro looking towards the shorter classmate in confusion.

“Well, we have a school that was just shut down by UA and whose faculty was arrested for Quirkism and abuse of power towards students,” Explained Mineta before gesturing towards Izuku, “and now we have a former student of the school in question who grew up being perceived as Quirkless. Put two and two together to make four, guys.”

The tension that hung in the air after the explanation was so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

“And that’s why you were so… stressed out by Aizawa.” Said Ochako, doing her best to nicely word Izuku nearly having a breakdown near the start of the Q.A.T. Izuku simply nodded his head in response.

“Frankly, if what little we heard about the school holds any weight, then it’s a miracle that our peer here still walks the path of light rather than letting himself submit to darkness.” Said Tokoyami.

“So that’s why you’ve been having to use your Quirk at a lower percentage?” Asked Hagakure. “To avoid repeats of what happened with the Zero Pointer?”

Izuku nodded his head. “Yeah, I haven’t had my power for long, so it’ll probably take a while for me to draw out my full power.” He clenched his fist a few times. “I only took things that far with my Quirk during the exam because I knew it was an all or nothing situation.”

“Wait a minute, ribbit,” Croaked out Asui.  “What percent have you been using?”

Izuku paused before admitting, “So far? About nine percent, though I’ve been pushing to try and up it to ten today, honestly I probably would've been able to outlast Kacchan in the endurance test had I not overtaxed myself.” He chuckled weakly as he remembered that long jog.

His attempt at humor wasn’t enough to draw everyone’s attention from the acknowledgment of how much he’d been holding back against them all so far.

“What the hell… if that was you at less than ten percent, you’re gonna be a monster once you become capable of going all out.” Commented Sero.

“Midoriya,” Said Shouji, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Bakugou mentioned that he was also an Aldera student, did he…?”

“No.” Everyone was a little surprised by how quick he was to reject that notion. “Kacchan and I aren’t… friends, but he was the only person in that damn school to take me and my desire to become a hero seriously. Plus we’ve known each other our entire lives thanks to my mom being friends with his parents.”

Kirishima seemed kinda relieved at that. “Thank god, Bakubro seemed like a pretty manly dude, it’d suck if it turned out he was a bully.”

“I dunno man, he seems cordial with Midoriya,” Said Sero. “But when I tried talking to him he called me ‘Tape Face,’ what does that even mean?”

Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Kacchan isn’t exactly one for names, known him my entire life and he still calls me ‘Deku.’”

“Yeah I was curious about that actually, what kind of nickname is ‘Deku?’” Asked Ochako.

“Oh, it uh… it was a nickname Kacchan gave me when we were kids to make fun of me. It’s an alternate reading of my name, though it does also just mean ‘Defenseless Izuku.’ Which, given we thought I was Quirkless, well…” Explained Izuku with a nervous chuckle.

This earned him a few raised eyebrows. “Are you sure he’s not secretly a bully?” Asked Satou.

“Using such a nickname to refer to someone you’ve known your whole life does not seem particularly heroic.” Stated Iida.

“It just… kinda stuck, and even when bullies at  school started calling me that, Kacchan refused to drop the nickname. It doesn’t bother me when he uses it though.” Admitted Izuku as he scratched the back of his head.

“Hm… well I think I like that name.” Said Ochako. “Sounds kinda like ‘Dekiru.’ Gives off a real ’you can do it’ vibe, right?”

“W-well, if you want to call me that, I won’t stop you.” Replied Izuku, and going off Ochako’s grin she intended to do just that.

“Smooth as gravel, kid.”

Once again, Izuku had to tune out the sound of Fifth getting his shit kicked in by the other vestiges. What he didn’t tune out, was the sound of Ashido slapping her hands on the table. “Speaking of bullies, screw hobo-sensei amirite?” She declared. “If he’s gonna be like that, then I say we all become friends just to spite the bastard, who wants to get some food together? I say that if we’re all gonna be classmates going forward, we ought to get to know each other better!”

Izuku blinked in surprise at the suggestion before pulling out a bubblegum pink notebook from seemingly nowhere. Ochako practically leapt backwards in shock at the abrupt manifestation of the book. “Can I ask you some questions about your Quirk while we’re out?”

Ashido blinked, just as thrown off as Ochako. “Uh, I guess? Where the hell were you keeping-?”

“Then I’m in.” Said Izuku, a grin on his face at the prospect of learning more about his classmate’s Quirk.

Some of the others exchanged glance, before Kaminari and Hagakure stood up. “Hey, if Midoriya’s in then you can count me in too.”

“Totally! There’s no way I’d miss out on something like this!” Agreed Hagakure excitedly. 

Izuku was surprised to see them of all people agree to join in, and even more so when one by one, everyone else voiced their desires to join in on the little group get together.

Izuku couldn’t help but smile and wonder to himself, did having friends always feel this great?

Chapter Text

Izuku’s second day at UA was a lot less… stress inducing than the first. Mainly because he got to experience weirdly normal lessons this time. Besides having Homeroom with Aizawa, there was English class with Yamada-Sensei, the Pro Hero Present Mic. There was something to be appreciated about how enthusiastic of a teacher he was compared to Aizawa. Apparently he was also the one in charge of the Reserve course students of Class 1C.

They had Mathematics with Ectoplasm-Sensei, Izuku had no idea what the Pro’s civilian name was, which shocked the rest of his classmates given his status as a Hero/Quirk Otaku. He had to remind them all that no amount of enthusiasm makes him all knowing. Even then they seemed to have doubts.

There was also Modern Hero Art History with Kayama-Sensei, the Pro Hero Midnight. Despite such a… unique sounding subject, the teacher made sure to make it sound interesting for her students. When her outfit and mannerisms weren’t making a decent chunk of the boys feel flustered.

“Why? Just. Why?”

“I’d argue that this could be a good lesson on helping prepare students for the real world. Villains will be willing to use plenty of dirty tactics to distract heroes, including… eh, flaunting their bodies. The sooner the kids get accustomed to these kinds through their teachers, the less likely they are to get screwed over by a villain deploying these tactics.”

“You just pulled that out of your ass so that you could get Izuku to keep staring at her for your own amusement, you pervert.”

“Oh, up yours.”

“Pass, you’re not my type.”

Izuku subtly walled off the vestiges to let them have their fun(?) bickering inside his head so that he could actually focus on the lesson.

Once noon rolled around, it was time for lunch, class 1A made their way to the cafeteria to be served food by the school’s chef, the Pro Hero Lunch Rush. The man was an excellent chef on his own merits, throw his Quirk into the mix and the class practically dined like royalty. Izuku was pretty sure eating Lunch Rush’s food was the happiest he’d ever seen Ochako. Nearly the entire class wanted to sit together, unfortunately the tables could only accommodate up to twelve students at a time, so they agreed to split off into smaller groups. Izuku found himself sitting with Ochako and Iida of course, as well as Mineta, Hagakure, Sero, and Ashido. Katsuki and Todoroki both went off on their own, but Kirishima seemed oddly determined to befriend the explosive blond, and managed to convince Kaminari, who convinced Jirou, who convinced Yaoyorozu to go after and sit with him, much to Izuku’s amusement and Katsuki’s annoyance. The remaining seven students found their own table close by to eat at.

“Y’know Iida, I’m surprised you were so chill with Kayama-Sensei.” Said Ashido between bites. “I know you’ve got metal in your legs, but I didn’t think you were a full on robot.”

If Ashido’s words bothered Iida, he didn’t show it. “I assure you, I am very human. As for why I can handle Kayama-Sensei’s… eccentricities, it’s simply due to the fact that she and my brother are friends who went to UA together.” Iida had a reminiscent expression on his face. “I remember when I was younger she would come over to work with Tensei on group projects.”

“Wait, your brother is a UA graduate?” That was news to their classmates. 

Most of them anyways, Izuku decided to chime in, “Ingenium, right? Current head of Team Idaten? I recognized that you were his brother yesterday when you introduced yourself. Having the same type of Quirk helped too.”

Iida nodded his head. “That’s correct! Tensei is my inspiration, I wish to become the same type of hero as him!” He declared.

“Damn Iida,” Said Mineta, a slightly resentful look on his face. “Brother of a pro hero, going to a fancy private school for Junior High, having a history with one of UA’s teachers, being born with a cool Quirk, you’re practically playing life on easy mode aren’t you?”

That seemed to catch Iida off guard. “I-I assure you, it wasn’t my intention to claim that I was better than anyone due to my upbringing, and I know Kayama-Sensei would never dare to show bias towards me just because she’s my brother’s friend. Please treat me as if I was just another student.”

Mineta huffed before looking away. Izuku nudged the shorter boy with his elbow, giving him a disapproving look. Mineta stared back for a moment before sighing. “Alright, sorry Iida.” He muttered quietly. Izuku decided to accept that for now. “Say, do you think your brother could hook us up with some… spicy pictures of Kayama-Sensei? If you catch my drift.” And cue Izuku face palming while the three girls present at the table gave Mineta the stink eye. One step forward, two steps backwards.

“Hey, at least the kid has taste.”

“The kid is also a pervert, same as you.”

“Screw you too.”

“You’re not my type either, Fifth.”

Izuku wasn’t sure which he’d rather sit through, the vestiges’ bickering or Iida’s tirade against Mineta about the “appropriate conduct of a hero.” Well, at least UA continued to be interesting.

Speaking of interesting, once lunch time passed, it came time for the most interesting part of being a Hero Course student: Foundational Heroics Studies, and Izuku could already hear their teacher coming from down the hall.

“III… AAAM… Entering the classroom like a normal person!” Declared All Might, as he dramatically walked through the door of Class 1A wearing his Silver Age costume. Izuku’s class were all shocked and awed by the fact that All Might would be their teacher, though a couple students were able to keep their composure better than others. 

The Number One gave the students a moment to get the excitement out of their systems before speaking up. Teaching inexperience aside, the man knew how to work a crowd if nothing else. “Alright 1A, for the Foundational Heroics Class we’ll be doing exactly what it says on the tin: building up your heroic foundations! The means of which being through various trials that’ll be meant to both test and teach you. Today’s trial? The trial of battle!”

Izuku rolled his eyes fondly. He couldn’t see Katsuki’s face but he could easily tell the kind of expression he was making just by going off his body language. He was excited.

“And to go with your first trial,” Continued All Might, “we’ve had special costumes created for each of you to accommodate your Quirks based on the designs you submitted!”

With the click of a button, five compartments came out of the wall, each one containing four numbered suitcases. “The suitcases are numbered based on your seating position, come and get them.” Explained Aizawa tiredly. The students practically rushed over to grab their costumes before making a break to the locker rooms to get changed.

“Kinda curious to see what you designed for your costume, I’ll be honest.”

“Well it’s his first draft, so I doubt we’ll be getting anything particularly groundbreaking, especially since he submitted it before he even got One for All.”

Izuku opened up the case to see the costume inside of it. He’d shown some of his initial designs to his mom and Yagi-Sensei, wanting to get a second and third opinion for what would make for a good costume. Yagi-Sensei had been relatively hands off with the process, saying that a hero student’s first costume was almost always drastically changed by the time time they went pro. He had still been kind enough to answer Izuku’s questions, which he had had plenty of.

‘Sixth has a point, I’ll definitely need to upgrade in the future, but this should do for now. At the very least there’s one part of this costume I’m really looking forward to.’ Responded Izuku as he finished pulling on the initial green under fabric of his costume before moving to put on his belt, shoes, and protective pads over his knees and elbows. Finally it came to his protective face guard and mask, once the guard was in place, he attached the mask and let it hang behind him like the hood of a jacket. He’d put it on all the way once he was heading out. The vestiges got a good look at the design though.

”Don’t tell me you actually based your costume off of All Might.”

Izuku decided to do as he was told, and simply remained silent.

”I think it’s sweet. See, Eighth is flattered too.”

”Yeah well you’re obviously biased, to the rest of us that’s just plain nerdy.”

Izuku decided not to engage with the teasing. ‘Now for the big reveal…’ He thought as he grabbed the final piece of gear. It was the first piece of support gear he and Hatsume designed together, a pair of specialized gloves made to protect his joints and cushion his knuckles when he used his Quirk. Attached to them was a note.

Introducing Hatsume Enterprises first baby to receive field testing: the Green Wonder’s Gloves! Made to serve as compression gloves and a layer of a proprietary liquid for cushioning, they’ll make punching a breeze for those with strength enhancers that hit harder than the heroes can handle! Enjoy!

-Your support technician, 

Mei Hatsume, CEO of Hatsume Enterprises.

Hatsume’s antics put a smile on his face, it was very like her to make her note about the support gear they designed together sound like an advertisement. He pulled the gloves over his hands before moving out to meet his classmates, and together the twenty of them walked towards the field that would be hosting today’s training exercise. As they walked, they could hear All Might’s booming voice. “They say the clothes make the man, and I say these costumes certainly make each and every one of you kids Heroes!”

The kids stepped out, and Izuku got to get a good look at the kinds of costumes his classmates were wearing. 

Conclusion: Everyone looked amazing! Ojiro was dressed in martial arts garb, Iida’s outfit was clearly based off Ingenium’s, Jirou’s outfit looked very punk rock, Aoyama looked almost like a sort of knight, Ochako looked… uh… Izuku certainly wasn’t expecting her costume to be so… form fitting. He was definitely doing his best to keep his gaze focused on her face though.

“Oh great, dealing with a kid going through puberty for the third time, whoopie fuckin’ doo.”

Maybe he’ll look in a different direction, how does Yaoyorozu loo-?

“Good god what is that outfit!?”

Well, from what Izuku understood about her Quirk, she needed to keep her skin exposed for optimal use of her Quirk. That didn’t change the fact that her costume left essentially nothing to the imagination. Maybe Izuku could recommend a poncho or something? 

“I love this school.” Said Mineta from next to him as he also stared at Yaoyorozu, though his shorter classmate seemed to be analyzing her in a very different way than Izuku was.

Izuku rolled his eyes and turned his attention to All Might, who had cleared his throat to get the class’s attention. “The plan for today’s training is an indoor battle. After all, while outdoor fights might be easier to witness, it can be argued that many more crimes are enacted indoors.” Explained the teacher. “And unlike with the entrance exam, we won’t be having you demolish robots. Instead you’ll be splitting off into pairs of hero and villain teams to perform two on two indoor battles. Any questions?”

“How will we determine the victors of each bout?”

“Is it ok if we just blast the enemies away?”

“Are you going to threaten to expel us too?”

“How will you determine groups?”

“Doesn’t this cape look positively fabulous.”

Izuku could see that All Might’s smile was strained a little as he lifted his hands up. “Alright alright, one at a time kids, I’m ‘All Might’ not ‘All Ears.’” That seemed to slow down the questions. With a sigh he said, “To answer the questions I did hear, that’ll be explained soon, no you need to have self restraint when dealing with people, even villains, definitely not, that will also be explained in a moment, and your cape looks wonderful Young Aoyama.” His answers seemed to appease the students. 

All Might then gestured towards a nearby building. “Within that building there is a fake warhead placed that will be guarded by the villain team, the hero team’s job is to capture the bomb within fifteen minutes. Both teams will be given five minutes to strategize beforehand. If the villains either capture both heroes or fend them off for the duration of the battle, they’ll win, if the heroes are able to secure the objective, in this case simply touching the fake bomb will count, then they will win.” All Might quickly rummaged through his pockets before pulling something out. “On the subject of capturing, we’ll be using this special white capture tape. If you can wrap it around your opponent’s body part, they’ll be considered ‘captured’ and thus out for the duration of the trial. As for how your teammates and opponents will be determined, we’ll be using the old reliable,” He then pulled out a large white box. Where was he keeping this stuff? “Lottery!”

“All Might-Sensei,” Interrupted Iida, chopping his hands with every word. Izuku couldn’t even see his face but he could probably tell what kind of face he was making under that helmet. “With all due respect that doesn’t sound like a very efficient method.”

“Think of it this way, Iida.” Said Izuku, doing his best not to focus on everyone looking his way as he spoke. “When a crisis occurs, Pros won’t always have time to pick and choose their teammates will have to make due with what’s on hand.” After a moment’s pause he then added. “Come to think of it, the same could be said for villains, they’re not always going to be an intricate team with great Quirk Synergy, so this can serve as a lesson on both of those fronts.”

Huh, not even All Might had thought of that. The man had to admit he was impressed with Izuku’s creativity. “I see!” Said Iida. “Forgive me for the interruption All Might-Sensei, please continue explaining!”

All Might chuckled. “Fret not Young Iida, it’s a teacher’s duty to answer questions after all! Now then, who’s ready to draw some lots?” The teacher held the box of names with one hand as he raised the other, wiggling his fingers a little in anticipation as an attention grabber before plunging it into the box. Out he pulled two slips of paper. “Team A: Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka!” 

Izuku blinked in surprise before turning to Ochako, who had a grin on her face as she looked towards him.

“Ima be real, I thought he’d be on Team I.”

“Why…?”

“Uh, because it’s the ninth letter? Duh.”

“Fifth I think you’re a little too obsessed with connecting Izuku to the number nine.”

“It’s not an obsession! It’s an observation! I swear the number nine is legit drawn to this kid! Yesterday he was in a group of eighteen kids his age, and what’s eighteen divided by two? Nine!”

Izuku decided it’d be best to block out Fifth’s weird conspiracy theory for now as he focused his attention back onto All Might, who finished determining the teams and was now about to announce the matchups.

-

Team A: Izuku Midoriya & Ochako Uraraka 

VS.

Team H: Hanta Sero & Tenya Iida

Team C: Shoto Todoroki & Mezo Shouji

VS.

Team F: Mashirao Ojiro & Mina Ashido

Team D: Koji Koda & Rikido Satou

VS.

Team I: Momo Yaoyorozu & Minoru Mineta

Team G: Yuuga Aoyama & Fumikage Tokoyami

VS.

Team B: Denki Kaminari & Kyoka Jirou

Team E: Tooru Hagakure & Eijiro Kirishima

VS.

Team J: Katsuki Bakugou & Tsuyu Asui

-

Izuku brought a hand up to his chin as he examined the list. There was certainly a plethora of fascinating matchups to be seen, partnerships with great synergy, partnerships with awful synergy. Matchups that definitely favored one team over the other, as well as matchups that theoretically were dead even. He was honestly a little excited to see how they would go. After his own of course. Most of the students split off to their partners to discuss strategy, save for the couple of lone wolf type personalities in their group, whose partners decided to leave them be and instead converse with each other since they weren’t opponents.

Iida and Sero both entered the building to prepare for the battle trial while the rest of the students, sans Izuku and Ochako, made their way to a separate location that would allow for them to safely observe the match.

“So, Deku, what’s the plan?” Asked Ochako.

“Eh?” Izuku looked towards her, awaiting elaboration.

Ochako held up the map of the building’s layout that she’d been given by All Might before everyone had departed. “You’re the Quirk expert here, I figured you’d already got a plan or three cooked up for how to defeat the Iisero Wonder Duo.”

“‘Iisero…?’” Izuku shook off his confusion before moving to see the map Ochako was holding. “Well, going off their Quirks and personalities, my guess would be that-”

“-I’ll use my tape to create a web of traps that’ll be impossible for them to just float through using Uraraka’s Quirk.” Explained Hanta as he carried more stuff out of the large room they were in. “And with nothing in here for them to use as projectiles, it’ll make getting to us and the bomb even harder. Then you’ll… you’ll… are you even listening?” He pushed a button on the side of his tape-inspired helmet to move the visor away so he could see Iida, who had been pacing back and forth for a while now, a little better.

Iida froze in place like he was a machine when Hanta addressed him directly. “A-ah, yes. Apologies Sero. It’s just… I suppose I’m struggling with this exercise. I’m training to be a hero student after all! Playing the role of a villain, even for an exercise, feels… counterproductive.” He admitted, almost bashfully.

It was weirdly… cute? Was that the word Hanta was looking for? Whatever. “Dude. Iida. You need to chill.” He said flatly.

“…Come again?” Asked Iida as he tilted his head to the side in confusion.

Hanta pointed at him. “You, good sir, are taking this way too seriously.” 

Iida actually seemed a little upset by that. “But this is our first real heroics lesson! Of course I am taking this seriously, we’re at this school to become heroes are we not!?”

Hanta rolled his eyes. “Exactly, it’s our first lesson. This isn’t a final test, it’s not do or die, we won’t get expelled if we lose and we’re not gonna graduate with honors if we win.”

Iida crossed his arms in contemplation for a moment. “Very well, I will concede your point, even if I think it is good to give everything you do everything you have at every given opportunity.”

“That sounds like a good way to burn yourself out.” Mumbled Hanta under his breath as he shook his head.

“However!” Continued Iida. “It doesn’t change how I feel about acting as a villain!”

Hanta stared at him for a moment before getting an idea. “Alright then, think of it like this. We’re training to fight villains, to do that we’ll need to know how villains think. Wouldn’t playing the role of a villain and getting into character for it help us then mean we’ll be better at beating them in the future? By that logic, this is a perfect lesson.” To himself he thought, ‘Geez, Midoriya makes it seem like those motivational speeches come naturally to him.’

There was a moment of deafening silence as he waited for Iida to say something. Then he heard a chuckle, much to his confusion. That chuckle then quickly developed into full on maniacal, nay, villainous laughter. “Mwah hah hah! I see I see Sero! You have swayed my heart to darkness! If what you are saying is true, then I shall devote myself to being a true villain for the duration of this trial!” He declared.

Hanta stared at his laughing classmate for a moment, a little lost due to the sudden shift in personality. He then ultimately decided to roll with it, returning his helmet visor to its original position and joining him in the villainous laughter.

“What… the fuck am I watching?” Asked Jirou as the students stared at the monitors that showed the laughing teens.

“I think they just became friends?” Said Yaoyorozu uncertainly. 

“That’s certainly a… duo of personalities.” Said Kaminari as he scratched the back of his head, a confused but amused grin on his face.

“I think it’s neat! Opposites attract after all and those two definitely feel like they’re attracted to each other now!” Said Ashido. That caused a few students to look in her direction, unsure if she was aware of the way that sounded, but she was too busy watching the monitor to notice.

“Hm… so she’s a fujoshi…” Mumbled Mineta to no one in particular, making Shoji regret standing as close to him as he did. First the comparison to an octopus and how that was, “sexy” and now this. It made the tall teen shake his head as he decided to go stand somewhere else.

All Might reached up and pressed a button on his earpiece. “Boys, I’m glad you’re having fun, but you should know the trial will begin soon so I’d advise that you finish preparing soon.” Students might not be able to hear what the current trial goers were saying, but he could thanks to the earpieces they all were wearing.

His words definitely got the reaction he was hoping for as the boys stopped laughing, and Sero seemed to actually panic slightly. “Aw, crap baskets! Er- I mean, thanks for the heads up sensei!” The two boys then got back to work. All Might then shifted his attention back to Midoriya and Uraraka, who’d been discussing strategy this whole time. 

After a few more minutes passed, a small timer went off, he then reached up and spoke into his earpiece to all four students. “Attention students, the trial will now begin, best of luck to you all. Plus Ultra.”

‘Alright Young Midoriya, Showtime.’

Chapter Text

Ochako quietly crept through the building, doing her best to blend into the darkness while keeping her ears open for a potential sneak attack. Izuku was pretty certain that neither of their opponents would be able to sneak attack them, between Iida’s engines and armor, Sero potentially could pull something off with the proper traps set up, but he was willing to bet that that wasn’t the case. Going off what she’d seen her friend pull off in the short time they’d known each other, she was willing to trust in that judgement.

“So you have arrived, heroes.” And it seems like she was right to do so, because it seems she managed to find Iida, waiting for her in the middle of a hallway, just standing there menacingly. “I hope you are ready to be felled by a truly villainous fiend!” After a moment of pause he then put a hand on his chin. “Wait, would ‘fiendish villain’ have sounded better.” He mumbled to himself before loudly saying, “I hope you are ready to be felled by a truly fiendish villain, foolish hero!” He then put his hands on his hips. 

Ochako couldn’t see his face under that helmet, but she could tell he was positively proud of himself. “Pft.”

“Eh?”

“Pfffa ha ha ha!” Ochako couldn’t hold back her laughter, hands on her knees as she was practically wheezing. She couldn’t help it! His acting was so earnest!

“You’ll make a mistake underestimating me Uraraka!” Declared Iida before pausing. “Wait, where’s Midoriya?”

Hearing Iida question the whereabouts of Deku allowed Ochako to collect herself. “Wouldn’t you like to know, villain?” She asked with a grin on her face as she pulled out her capture tape.

“Hah, do you think you can beat me, hero?” Asked Iida, “In case you didn’t notice, there’s nothing around us for you to manipulate with your Quirk. Moreover, my costume grants me a significant advantage against you, as it covers my entire body. Touching me will only remove gravity from my armor, which will simply grant me all the benefits of a suit of armor without any of the drawbacks! Midoriya was a fool for believing you could win against me!”

Ochako grinned while tilting her head to the side, causing her neck to let out an almost nauseating crack. “Who said I needed to beat you? Perhaps Deku’s plan is just for me to slow you down.”

Iida gave another moment of silence before he moved his hand to the side of his helmet. “Sero, I have engaged with the enemy, be on the lookout for- gah!” His attempt to convey a message to his teammate was cut short as Ochako lunged at him.

“Sero, I have engaged with the enemy, be on the lookout for- gah!” Hanta winced as Iida’s panicked shout rattled his eardrum. Sounds like speedy was a bit distracted. He kinda wished the guy could’ve at least specified what he was dealing with instead of giving him information as vague as, ‘the enemy.’

Oh well, all Hanta could do was continue to pace in front of the bomb. 

This room had been chosen because there was only one entrance. Which means that if the heroes wanted to get in, they’d have to use the door, and Hanta had made sure to shoot as much tape as he could to make this space nice and webbed up so that anyone who tried to get to the bomb would basically have to be a ninja. Iida’s role was to stall the heroes even further outside of the room.

Iida argued that it would be more practical if they fought together to protect the bomb before Hanta gestured around the entire room to remind him that it’d be pretty hard for him to use his Quirk with tape everywhere to trip him up.

Iida conceded the point and wished him luck before departing to patrol the building for the incoming heroes. He had confidence in his classmate, the guy could be rigid, but he wasn’t stupid, so he probably figured out his own way to deal with the heroes-

“Ohiooo…”

Hanta’s brows furrowed as he heard a voice come from the adjacent room. What in the world…?

“SMASH!” 

“Woah!” Hanta shielded his head with his arms as Midoriya came smashing in through the wall using his Quirk. 

Stepping through his newly made doorway, Midoriya gave the room a once over. His entrance dislodged a few pieces of tape but the majority was still up. “I thought as much.” He said. “I figured you’d use your Quirk to lay a series of traps to prevent Ochako or I from reaching the objective, while you send Iida to slow us down.” He then looked towards Hanta. “A very well done plan, and it probably would’ve worked too if I hadn’t predicted it, leading to me having Ochako use her Quirk to send me to the top of the building so I could make my way to you and the weapon while she entered through the front in order to handle Iida.”

Dang, Hanta knew the guy was smart but this was honestly kinda B.S. Though there was something about that explanation that bothered him. “Why not just come together then? Iida probably wouldn’t have been able to get here in time so all you two would’ve had to do is rush me and the win would be yours.”

Midoriya let out a hum as he did a sort of half shrug-half nod. “True, that would’ve been the easy way, but then Iida wouldn’t have gotten to do anything. Besides, I think fighting someone like him is exactly what Ochako needs.” He replied.

The more Midoriya explained, the less sense he made to Hanta. There was one thing that he managed to take away from it though. “You’re always trying to help others, aren’t you Midoriya?”

“It’s what a hero does.” Replied Midoriya as he raised his fist, while green lighting began to crackle across his skin. “Now then, am I correct in my hopes that you don’t plan on just surrendering?”

“Mmm.” Hanta hummed as he put his hands behind his head. “I mean I doubt I’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell of winning against you Midoriya.”

He said before grinning. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t try!” He then fired a strand of tape from one of his elbows. Midoriya managed to duck out of the way before charging at him.

Left. “Will!”

Right. “You!”

Right. “Hold!” 

Left. “STILL!?” 

Ochako flexed her fingers. Iida wasn’t making this easy on her, relying on a strategy of rushing her in this cramped space and attempting to snag her with his own capture tape. If it hadn’t been for Izuku’s advice on how Iida tended to telegraph his moves from the way he positioned himself prior to using his Quirk, she’d most likely have been overwhelmed by his speed by now. Instead she simply continued to dodge him, waiting for just the right opportunity to… now!

As Iida turned again, preparing to use his Quirk, he was surprised to see Ochako suddenly leap forward and smack him in the chest with her hand, his armor briefly glowing a faint pink as a sign of her Quirk’s activation. Ochako then used Iida’s apparent confusion to her advantage and put some distance between them. 

Iida looked down at his chest, then towards Ochako. “Uraraka, I’m not sure what your plan was just now,” He said, maintaining his villain voice, “I fail to see how removing the pull of gravity from my armor will benefit you, but as a villain it would be foolish to waste the opportunity you’ve given me. Prepare yourself, hero, I’ll take advantage of this loss of weight in order to defeat you here and now!” Iida then fired up his engines as he prepared to attack.

Before the force of his Quirk suddenly caused him to fly and spin through the air out of control. Ochako sidestepped her incoming classmate before he could slam into her and then watched as he flew straight into a wall, back first and upside down. Ochako grinned as she pulled out her capture tape and started approaching her downed classmate. “Sick. Wicked Sick.” She said as she wrapped tape around his leg.

“Young Iida has been captured.” Announced All Might.

“Woah, nice!” Some of the students couldn’t help but cheer as they watched Round Face turn the tide of battle in her favor, after seeing her constantly struggle against Glasses’s onslaught.

“Can’t believe Ingenium Junior didn’t see that coming,” Said Raccoon Eyes, amused by Iida’s fumble, “what did he expect would happen if he tried using his Quirk in zero gravity?”

“Because he didn’t think he was using his Quirk in zero gravity, obviously.” Said Katsuki.

“Eh?” Raccoon Eyes looked towards him in confusion, but Katsuki wasn’t planning to explain. She could figure the rest out on her own, a hero who isn’t smart enough to notice what’s going on around them is a hero who finds themself in an early grave.

“Uraraka didn’t touch Iida, she only touched his costume.” Explained Ponytail, a hand on her chin as she observed the screen. “From how she described her Quirk, which requires her to touch something with all five of her finger pads to remove its gravity, logic would dictate that Iida’s armor would’ve protected his body from her Quirk, but it seems she’s somehow defied that logic.”

Katsuki scoffed. “Well, defying logic is what Deku does best.” Speaking of the nerd…

“Gotcha!” Izuku adjusted his stance as he tried to resist the force of Sero’s tape, which had snagged his arm like a lasso that his classmate was using to try and reel him in.

Izuku decided to grab the tape with his hand and attempted to pull Sero towards himself using his own Quirk, but Sero was able to react quickly and disconnect the tape from his elbow, leaving Izuku’s left hand effectively useless with all the tape stuck to it. He then had to quickly jump to the right to avoid a shot of tape towards his feet.

Sero wasn’t making this easy against him, he’d been using his Quirk to its full effect to limit Izuku’s mobility inside the room, and was now trying to tape him up as well. And despite being called “tape,” the stuff Sero created was definitely more durable than the type of stuff you’d buy at the store. Thankfully, with a spark of One for All through his body, he was able to free his hand from its sticky coffin. 

“Heads up.”

Fourth’s warning gave Izuku the time to quickly twist his body in order to avoid another shot of tape. ‘Thanks Fourth.’

“No problem.”

It was no Danger Sense, but having the vestiges being able to see and process what was going on in his peripheral vision served as a sort of faux multitasking system.

“Quit dicking around and actually fight the kid.”

Izuku frowned from underneath his mask. ‘Look, I’ve never used my Quirk against someone, and given what I did to those robots, you can see why I’d be hesitant to punch a classmate.’

“Oh please, quit being a baby.”

“Ignoring Second for now, and for the foreseeable future, you don't need to worry Izuku, this a training exercise and-”

“Left.”

Izuku barely managed to avoid the tape by leaping through a gap in the web Sero made.

“Look, just don’t punch him full force and have faith that Chiyo can fix him up, this is UA, I doubt any injuries that your classmate gets will be permanent.”

Before Izuku could respond, he found his momentum halted and himself in another game of tug of war against Sero. But this time, he decided to take Seventh’s words to heart. In his own way of course.

Right as Sero gave a good hard yank on the tape, Izuku leapt into the air, and used the momentum to pull himself towards Sero. His classmate made an alarmed noise and attempted to grab a wall and pull himself out of the way with his Quirk, but he wasn’t fast enough.

‘And now, for a Two Percent…’ Thought Izuku before calling out, “Detroit Smash!” Activating One for All at about a fifth of his current limit, he threw a punch that connected with the helmeted head of his classmate. The punch sent Sero sprawling to the ground, and Izuku took advantage of his classmate being downed to quickly tear himself free of the tape before running towards the objective.

The moment he slapped his hand against the prop bomb, he could hear All Might’s voice crackle through his earpiece. “The bomb has been secured, the Hero Team wins!”

With the announcement of the trail being over, Izuku sighed as he felt the tension leave his body, he then turned his attention towards Sero before moving to help his classmate.

“Well done, Izuku.”

“Young Sero, would you like to go to Recovery Girl for treatment?”

Sero lazily waved off his teacher’s concerns. “‘M all good, that punch rattled me a little, but other than that I’m fine.” He said with a tired grin.

It’s true, Izuku did hold back a lot since it wasn’t like he needed to render his classmate unconscious or anything to win the bout, just knock him out of the way long enough for him to get to the objective. Heck, thanks to his helmet Sero didn’t even have any bruising. That didn’t stop Izuku from apologizing multiple times, even when Sero tried to reassure him that it was fine.

All Might nodded his head. “As you wish, do let me know if you decide to change your mind.” After a thumbs up reply, he turned his attention to the other two students who’d participated in the match. Iida seemed dejected while Ochako was smiling, it didn’t take a mind reading Quirk to guess how the two felt when it came to their own performances in the Trial, he then turned to address the rest of the class. “Well then, would anyone like to guess who the MVP of this match was?”

The students exchanged glances. “Well, Midoriya secured the bomb, right? Shouldn’t it be him, ribbit?” Asked Asui.

All Might hummed and nodded his head. “A logical conclusion that I can’t blame you for reaching, young Asui. However I’m sorry to say that no, that’s wrong.” He then gestured to Ochako. “Instead, it was young Uraraka here who has earned herself the position of MVP for this match!”

“Wait, what?” Asked Ochako as she looked at All Might in surprise.

“I think I can guess why,” Said Yaoyorozu, “While it’s true that Midoriya was the one to come up with a plan that would not only secure the objective, but also allow for both villains to be apprehended, there are several minor mistakes that were made along the way that prevent him from being considered the MVP. For example, had he misjudged which wall the weapon was next to, he would have risked damaging it and if it had been a real bomb, that could have ended in disaster for everyone.” 

Izuku couldn’t help but wince at that, she had a point. He had been operating under the assumption that Sero would put the objective as far away from the entrance as possible, so he attacked an adjacent wall instead. Had this been a real battle and he misread the situation, things could’ve gone differently…

“Secondly, he chose to confront Sero alone.” Continued Yaoyorozu. “Had he brought Uraraka with him, the pair could’ve overwhelmed him and won well before Iida could arrive to provide assistance. Yes, sending Uraraka after him resulted in the capture of both villains but ultimately the weapon was the objective. And finally, Midoriya held back against Sero, clearly being hesitant to use his Quirk against his opponent until the end when, as seen from the fact that the moment he did use his Quirk, victory was immediately his. In a real battle, such hesitation would be dangerous.” She then turned her attention away from the boy she just verbally dissected in front of the entire class and towards Ochako. “Uraraka meanwhile, played out her part of the plan seemingly perfectly. She prevented Iida from rendezvousing with Sero to provide him backup, heated him in combat, and seemingly even had a sort of Quirk Awakening in the process.”

“Wait, yeah, that actually reminds me.” Said Kaminari, cutting into the conversation. “What was that all about anyways? Because according to Bakugou, you shouldn’t have been able to remove Iida’s gravity because of his armor, but then managed to pull it off anyway, how?“

Ochako, who’d still been grappling with the fact that she’d been designated the MVP instead of Izuku, decided to take the lifeline Kaminari had unintentionally given her. “Oh! That was because of Deku! I wouldn’t really call it a ‘Quirk Awakening’ though, more like he helped me expand my perception of my Quirk…”

“So, if my assumption of the… ‘Iisero Wonder Duo’s’ plan is correct, then I’d say the best course of action would be for you to use your Quirk to send me to the top so I can go after Sero and secure the weapon while you go in through the front to handle Iida.” Explained Deku, pointing at the map to show their intended points of entry.

“Wait, you want me to go after Iida?” Asked Ochako. “Wouldn’t your Quirk be more suited against him? You’d be able to match his speed after all.”

“Well, ignoring the fact that Iida is still currently faster than me,” Replied Deku, “compounded by the fact that this is an indoor fight, not a race, and I’d say that between the two of us, your Quirk is way more likely to counter him than mine would. Without gravity to keep him grounded nor experience with moving through the air, his engines will just make him spin out of control, and you can use him being disoriented to your advantage.”

Ochako’s brows furrowed. “Wait, but how am I gonna remove his gravity?”

“Eh?”

“Iida wears full body armor, if I touch him I’ll just remove the gravity of his armor, but Iida himself will remain grounded, that sounds like it’d do more help to him than harm.”

Deku stared at her for a good ten seconds of silence before calmly saying, “Ochako, use your Quirk on me.”

“Eh?” Now Ochako was even more confused.

Deku took a step back and spread his arms in a kind of, ‘come at me’ pose. “Go ahead, use your Quirk on me, I wanna test something.”

“O…kay…?” Ochako hesitantly reached forward and placed her hand on Deku’s chest. As expected, after a half a moment, the boy then began to rise up into the air.

“Alright, you can let me down.”

Ochako was too confused to do anything other than press her fingertips together and say, “Release.”

Deku then gracefully landed on his feet. “Ok, quick question, why did your Quirk work on me?”

“I… what?” Was Deku fucking with her or something? “I touched you, I used my Quirk on you.”

“No, you touched my costume.” Replied Deku. “Your fingerpads never made contact with my skin, just the fabric of my costume.” 

Wait. Wait a minute. Wait a diddly darn, god damn minute. 

“I think your Quirk might be stronger than anyone’s realized.” Said Deku, reaching out and grabbing one of her hands, holding it gently and examining her fingerpads. “I think you actually have the ability to pick and choose what your Quirk works on, you simply have to perceive what you’re touching as all being parts of the same thing. You were able to remove my gravity because you perceived my costume as being a part of me, and by that logic, your Quirk can work on Iida too. Heck, theoretically speaking this means you could remove someone’s gravity simply by touching the air in front of them, if you are able to perceive that air as being connected to them. That’d probably take some training though. Inversely, you could think like this, everything is made of countless atoms and molecules, if you narrow your perspective and think that you’re not touching a singular object, but rather the a bunch of unconnected atoms, you might gain the ability to comfortably touch things without the constant paranoia of unintentionally negating that thing’s gravity.”

Ochako was floored. Actually, screw that, she was positively fucking shellshocked. In the less than two days they’d known each other, Deku had managed to convince her to not only push past her limits when it came to her Quirk, but had also revealed a hidden layer to a power that she’d had for ten years that nobody else, not even her parents, had figured out. 

Also he was still holding her hand, why is he still holding her hand and why is she suddenly very acutely aware of the fact that he’s holding her hand!?

She quickly pulled her hand away, much to Deku’s confusion. “Ah, sorry about that, I probably made you uncomfortable didn’t I?”

Oh. Well now Ochako felt like a bitch. “N-no, I-”

Her attempt at reassurance was cut short by the sound of All Might’s voice. “Attention Hero Team, the Battle Trial will begin in sixty seconds, stand by for the starting signal.”

“Understood, All Might.” Said Deku before turning his attention to Ochako. “Let’s get ready, ok?”

Despite there being things Ochako wanted to say, she knew that she wouldn’t have the time now, so she decided to keep it to herself and save it for later. Instead she simply raised her fist to him. Deku recognized the gesture and gave her a weak smile before meeting her fist with his own.

Once Ochako finished her explanation (while omitting certain details that would’ve only served to embarrass her) everyone turned their attention towards Izuku. “Dude, I get you’re a Quirk Savant or something but this is just getting ridiculous.” Said Kaminari.

“Eheh… c’mon, it’s not that impressive.” Said Izuku in embarrassment.

“‘Not impressive’ my pink booty!” Exclaimed Ashido. “I don’t think anyone else would’ve been able to figure that sort of thing out, you gotta use those notes of yours that you took yesterday and see if there’s any cool things that I can do with me Quirk too!”

“Me too!” Exclaimed Kirishima, knocking his fists together excitedly. “I gotta see if there’s an even manlier way to apply my Quirk that I wasn’t able to figure out before!”

Before the students could swarm the boy for Quirk advice, All Might decided to speak up. “Alright students, as much as I’m an advocate for growth and experience, do not forget that we’re still doing the battle trials. Let’s focus on that for today, young Midoriya can take notes on your Quirks as you use them and then share his advice after each of you has had their turn, is that alright?” The students seemed to accept those terms. With a satisfied nod, All Might then turned his attention to the first four battle trial participants. “Getting back on topic, let’s finish up our overview of your performance. As young Yaoyorozu said, young Uraraka earned the MVP title for the first battle thanks to her excellent execution of her part of the plan. Speaking of plans, despite losing the match I’d still like to take a moment to appreciate the performance of young Iida and Sero.”

That seemed to cause the boys to perk up a little. “Really? I mean I don’t think anything I did was all that impressive…” Said Sero.

“Nonsense.” Replied All Might. “You came up with a very efficient plan, a solid defense to keep the heroes at bay, and sending your ally out to patrol instead of simply having him wait alongside you in an area that he would be very ineffective at fighting in, your plan was solid and might have worked better had young Midoriya not figured it out in advance, moreover you were willing to stand your ground against young Midoriya even when he derailed your plan, so be proud of what you accomplished today and learn from where you failed, alright?” Sero nodded his head, it seems like he was able to absorb All Might’s words of praise. 

He then turned his attention to Iida. “As for you, young Iida. While it might have taken a pep talk from your teammate before you could fully get your head in the game, the moment you took his words to heart you were able to fully commit to your role and performed to the best of your ability, down to even choosing the optimal location to combat young Uraraka. If not for her leveling up her Quirk, you very likely would have won, be proud of yourself as well.” Much like with Sero, All Might could tell his words touched the young boy’s heart.

All Might then clapped his hands together. “Now then! Young Todoroki, Shouji, Ojiro, and Ashido, you’re up next. You’ll use the building adjacent to the one the first match took place in, so that way as to not have to waste time cleaning up and repairing the first battleground.” Izuku and Sero both awkwardly chuckled at that.

“Yes sir.” The four students departed and the remaining sixteen turned to watch the monitors, wondering what kind of match they’d see next.

Chapter Text

It turns out that the next kind of match Class A would see next would be the kind that barely qualifies as a match.

“Shouji and Todoroki actually make for a terrifyingly effective team, with Shouji being able to pinpoint the location of their opponents Todoroki was able to use his ice to incapacitate them both. Ojiro was taken out of play immediately thanks to being barefoot. Ashido tried her best, freeing herself with her acid and attempting to get the drop on Todoroki, but unfortunately her acid, no matter how corrosive, is still a liquid that Todoroki was able to freeze, ultimately finishing her off as well before securing the weapon. That of course makes him the M.V.P. of round two.”

“…Er, yes, it’s exactly as young Midoriya deduced.” Said All Might with a cough. Izuku couldn’t help but give the man a strained smile as he realized he wound up taking the wind out of the man’s sails by explaining the entire exercise himself.

He also chose to ignore the feeling of Yaoyorozu’s eyes boring into the back of his skull.

“Actually, circling back to Ojiro.” Said Izuku as he turned his attention towards their tailed classmate, who winced under having the spotlight on him. After how the match went he couldn’t exactly blame the poor guy. “I know you’re dedicated to the martial artist aesthetic that your costume is going for and I can respect that, but I hope that if you can take anything away from this match it’s the fact that your costume is very ill equipped to protect you in any sort of treacherous terrain. Invest in a pair of shoes that allows you to still use your fighting style but doesn’t compromise keeping your feet safe.”

“Understood…” Said Ojiro quietly. Izuku gave the boy a comforting pat on the shoulder before turning his attention to Ashido. “Like I said before, Ashido, you did the best you could you were simply at a disadvantage when it comes to your Quirks.”

Ashido let out a weak chuckle and scratched the back of her head. “Gee, well when you put it like that I guess it makes me feel a little better.” She said before grinning and winking at Todoroki. “Can’t say I particularly mind losing to the frozen prince of 1A though.” She was ignored.

“And Shouji,” Said Izuku, turning to the largest member of the class, “while Todoroki was the one to actually claim the victory, your involvement cannot be understated, without you Todoroki’s plan wouldn’t have worked nearly as well, having to forgo the strategy entirely to avoid risking damaging the weapon.”

“Thanks Midoriya.” The response was short and to the point, Izuku nodded his head in acceptance of the thanks before turning back to their teacher. “Anything else you want to add, All Might?”

“No my boy, I think you handled the breakdown quite nicely,” Replied All Might, “I think we’re ready to move onto the third match: Koda and Satou vs Yaoyorozu and Mineta.” The next quartet of students departed in order to prepare.

“We saw one of the recommended students run circles around his opponents, can’t help but be curious to see what the other one has to offer.” Commented Jirou.

“Yeah, especially since this one’s a total babe.” Said Kaminari with a grin. “I’d totally let her kick my butt in a match.” 

Jirou’s head slowly turned to look at her teammate, a flat look of judgement on her face. Kaminari then flinched as her jacks began to start jabbing him his arm and side. “Ow! Ouch! I kid! I kid! Uncle!” He cried in pain. Izuku felt kinda bad, he knew those things were sharp.

“I give it five months until those two are swappin’ spit.”

“I’ll take those odds. Personally I think the purple one is getting very buddy buddy with the rich girl.”

“Huh, she does seem to give off closeted bisexual-slash-lesbian vibes.”

‘Must you?’ Asked Izuku tiredly. Like, he knew they were probably right but that doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t want to hear the adults living in his Quirk discussing the potential love lives and sexualities of his classmates.

“Those two would make for the most Nonbinary couple of all time, they’ve got the color palette for it and everything.”

“Holy shit they totally do.”

Izuku rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the screen to see what the Hero and Villain Teams were up to.

Momo was confident. She was going to win this match. She knew what her opponents’ Quirks were, thanks to accompanying her class to the outing yesterday. Anivoice and Sugar Rush were certainly wonderful Quirks in their own respects, but they stood no chance against her Creation!

Besides, neither of her opponents even placed in the top ten yesterday during the Q.A.T. and Koda’s selective muteness was sure to be a hurdle for the pair since she doubted that he was capable of understanding JSL.

In fact her teammate had placed the lowest amongst the four of them, hence her asking to simply stand by and leave setting up the defenses to her, which he complied with. Mineta might be a bit of a degenerate but at least he understood that he could leave the planning to her!

This was the perfect opportunity to show her teachers her skills, it was the perfect chance to prove that she was better than that attention seeking nobody Midoriya!

…Where did that come from? Momo shook her head as she went back to work, she couldn’t afford to get distracted, she could simply compartmentalize and forget think about that later.

Rikido watched as the pigeon resting on Koda’s finger cooed at him a couple times before his classmate nodded his head. “Thank you my friend.” He said.

It was still strange to actually hear his classmate’s voice, the guy was selectively mute and communicated in almost only sign language, something Rikido didn’t understand in the slightest. But hey, that just meant they’d have to do their best in spite of that hiccup and it would make victory, however unlikely if he was being completely frank they were up against a recommended student after all, all the sweeter.

Rikido held up the map they’d been provided. “Alright Koda, I’m guessing you’ve got the weapon’s location down?” He asked. Koda nodded, hesitantly stepping forward. Rikido simply stood there, letting his shy classmate get close before watching him point at the map.

Rikido nodded his head. “Right there?” Koda nodded. “Are both villains there too?” Another nod. “Alright then… Do you have any other animals you can ask for help? I think I might have an idea, but I’ll need you to cause a distraction.” Koda was quiet for a moment before turning to look at what seemed to be an opening to the sewers, Rikido had to admire the attention to detail UA put in to even include something like that for training grounds. Koda quietly approached the opening before saying something into it. After a moment a fuzzy little head peeked out from inside.

Rikido grinned.

Perfect.

Momo had had complete confidence in her plan. First, the Hero Team would need to figure out which room they were in, then the barricades she created with her Quirk would almost certainly hold her enemies at bay, and on the off chance that they managed to get in, she’d be able to use the weapons she’d created to outmaneuver her opponents. Those three things together would be more than enough to stall Koda and Satou until time was up.

Oh, and Mineta could… throw his hairballs at them or something.

The victory was as good as hers!

Er, theirs…! Yeah…

Unfortunately, Momo forgot to take one thing into consideration: a good plan rarely survives first contact with the enemy.

Her first indication that something was wrong was the sound of squeaking and skittering. Had she been more attentive towards her partner, she would’ve noticed where he was looking and she would’ve noticed the rapidly approaching miniature swarm of rats before they’d reached her and began crawling up her legs.

If she’d paid better attention to her teammate she would’ve also seen the way he winced in sympathy as Momo screeched in terror as she tried to smack the rats off of her, unfortunately a Bo staff isn’t isn’t the best weapon for swatting away a swarm of smaller creatures.

“I don’t need help from a loser like you.”

After being dismissed by Yaoyorozu, Minrou had elected to simply sit on the side and watch her work.

The girl was certainly easy on the eyes, though given how fixated she currently was on her task and him knowing that the video feed didn’t carry over audio, he elected to hold off on the leering. He had to admit, her plan to barricade the entrance and walls with large metallic sheets was a simple, but effective one. And going off the way she placed them, in a near impossible to find location would only serve to buy them more time.

Minoru figured that in a direct confrontation, Satou would definitely give them trouble thanks to his Quirk being able to buff himself up through sugar. Koda meanwhile would struggle without any animals around to call on for help… is what Minoru would say if he hadn’t noticed that pigeon earlier. Their location was likely compromised, but Yaoyorozu likely already knew that, but had decided to stick to this location regardless, she probably lacked the time to set up the defenses all over again and instead she’d simply pretend that she didn’t know that they knew where they were. She was smart like that, way smarter than someone like him.

Though Minoru had to admit that doubts began to form when Yaoyorozu failed to notice the rat swarm until it was too late and they began to attack her.

Well, maybe not attack, they seemed to be content simply crawling on and clinging to her costume. Koda probably told them to avoid doing anything that’d actually hurt her. He was nice like that.

Next came a loud banging sound, it seemed like Satou was trying to force his way in, but was failing thanks to the barricades pressed against the door.

Minoru’s eyebrows raised in surprise as he heard the sound of the door suddenly giving way. Oh, I guess if he couldn’t smash through the door, he’d just pull the thing of its hinges, Minoru barely covered his ears in time to avoid being nearly deafened by the sound of metal hitting the ground as he saw Satou’s yellow clad foot kick the metal sheet that was blocking the Hero Team’s entry from the wall. They were in, what was their plan now?

“Flee, my friends!” Called Koda as Satou charged Yaoyorozu. The rats all fell away from the rich girl, who had been left an exhausted and disoriented mess from fending off the swarm of small opponents, leaving her hair and what little clothing she had disheveled. She quickly manifested a shield to protect herself from Satou’s first punch, and did her best to stand her ground as Satou continued his attack.

With those two distracted, that left Minoru to deal with Koda. He watched the animal user hesitantly approach him, attempting to say something in sign language that Mineta couldn’t understand. With a sigh, Minoru simply stood and held his hands up in surrender before stepping away from the weapon. Koda stared at him, clearly confused. “I know I can’t win, so just go ahead…” Was the most he was going to give for an explanation.

Hesitantly, Koda stepped forward and placed his hand on the weapon.

“The weapon has been secured, the Hero Team wins!” Announced All Might.

Minoru looked over at Yaoyorozu, tired and panting from combating Satou, a look of distraught confusion on her face.

Huh, looks like she couldn’t do this on her own after all…

“Young Satou, Koda, an excellent job securing the win!” Said All Might proudly. Satou had an awkward grin on his face while Koda was blushing and staring at the ground, though still with a smile on his face. Clearly these were two boys who weren’t used to being the center of attention, much less being praised by Japan’s greatest Hero. “Class, which of these two do you think deserved the M.V.P. title?”

Izuku had to admit he felt a little bad for Yaoyorozu and Mineta from the way All Might phrased that, their teacher basically made it brutally clear that both of them had shown a subpar performance and he had yet to even give them a proper assessment.

“I think they could stand for a little humiliation after that display”

Harsh, but not exactly wrong, even if the idea of agreeing with Second on something made Izuku feel like he bit into a lemon.

“It’s hard to say, both of them contributed a lot to their victory.“ Said Iida, a hand on his chin. “Satou was the muscle who held Yaoyorozu back and got them into the room where the villains were, plus it was his plan for the most part.”

“Meanwhile Koda was the one who located the weapon and sent the initial attack, had Yaoyorozu had her wits about her it’s possible she could’ve held them both at bay.” Said Todoroki, surprising just about everyone. The ice (and fire) user kept to himself so much that his classmates sometimes forgot he was there.

All Might and Izuku both individually nodded their heads in approval at the assessment, their thoughts more or less being the same. “Yes, ultimately I think the best thing to do would be to have both boys share the title of M.V.P. I hope that’s alright with you both?”

Koda frantically nodded his head while Satou held his thumb up. “Hey, I couldn’t have pulled this off on my own, I know that for sure.” Said Satou.

All Might then turned his attention to Mineta and Yaoyorozu, the former having just been quietly watching and listening while the latter seemed to be staring off into space, a shellshocked expression on her face. She hadn’t even bothered to fix her hair on her own, Jirou had done it for her.

There was a heavy silence as All Might did his best to try and formulate his words. “Mineta, Yaoyorozu, what happened out there?”

“We lost.”

All Might sighed. “Thank you young Mineta, but I think we both know there’s more to it than that. Why didn’t you put up a fight? Why didn’t you try to help your teammate?”

Mineta tsked under his breath before saying. “Yaoyorozu said she didn’t need help from a loser like me, so I sat on the side and let her work.” He said, then he smirked, “gotta say, it was quite nice getting to watch her flaunt her butt while I just had to sit on mine.”

“I take everything nice I said about this kid back.”

“That little grape headed fuck! I hope Toshinori punts him to the moon!”

“Wow, some real hero material this one is...”

 Izuku frowned at Mineta’s words, there was something about his words that seemed… off, but he wasn’t sure what. Meanwhile the majority of his classmates seemed to be sharing similar sentiments as the vestiges, voicing their displeasure at Mineta, though he didn’t seem to react to it. “Young Mineta, I’m going to politely ask you to not talk about your classmate in such a manner, understood?”

After getting a half-hearted, “yes sir,” from Mineta, All Might turned his attention to Yaoyorozu. “Yaoyorozu,” Hearing her teacher address her directly seemed to help her regain some of her focus, “What possessed you to sideline your teammate and act on your own accord?”

“W-well,” Stammered the heiress heroine, “I was confident that my plan would be able to hold the other team at bay, and I couldn’t think of a way for Mineta to assist in the setup so I simply asked for him to standby while I prepared.”

“And did you explain your plan?” Asked All Might. “Your reasoning? Because to me it seems like you simply came up with a plan for yourself and then acted alone while disregarding your teammate.” Yaoyorozu didn’t respond, instead simply staring at the floor. “Think about the two matches before you and why the two teams that won were able to obtain victory, yes young Midoriya and Todoroki were the ones to secure the objective but they were only able to do so thanks to the support of their teammates. Similarly, young Koda and Satou won because they acted as a team and played to each other’s strengths.” All Might sighed, deciding that he made his point clear before placing a hand on Yaoyorozu’s shoulder. “Listen, it’s only your second day as a Heroics student, I’m not going to expect perfection, you’re here to learn after all, not show off what you already know. Don’t be discouraged by this loss, use it as a learning experience.”

Yaoyorozu might not have been able to meet his gaze, but she was at least able to give All Might a response, “Yes sensei…”

“Next up is Hero Team Young Aoyama and Tokoyami up against Young Kaminari and Jirou,” Said All Might, moving the lesson on to Match Four, “let’s go Plus Ultra for this match as well.” 

“Yes Sir.” The four students departed, Aoyama and Kaminari chatting up their partners as they made their way to the trial grounds.

Once they were gone, Izuku set his sights on Mineta and Yaoyorozu, both of whom had moved to sit near the back of the room, able to still view the match while being separated from the rest of the class. Izuku looked from one to the other, contemplating which one he should go talk to.

“The girl obviously! I feel bad for the poor dear, being forced to work with that ball haired butt muncher!”

The other vestiges all voiced a similar opinion, Izuku could even feel Eighth nodding along with them. Well, the majority ruled he supposed. Izuku walked over and took a seat next to Yaoyorozu.

The pair sat together in silence for a moment, Izuku unsure what to say and unsure if Yaoyorozu was even aware of his presence as she hugged her knees to her chest.

Eventually, he was able to break the silence. “Have you considered a cloak?”

…

“Pardon?” Asked Yaoyorozu, looking at him in confusion. Izuku could see her eyes were red, as if she was trying her best to hold back tears.

“Once I took some time to… get used to your outfit, I realized the practical element you were going for,” Explained Izuku, “leaving as much skin exposed as legally possible in order to use your Quirk to maximum efficiency. Unfortunately it also leaves little protection. After some consideration I thought that a cloak could be a good workaround, a thick material that can protect your body better, and also do a better job of protecting your reputation in the inevitable event of a… wardrobe malfunction.”

“Offering advice to a loser in order to feel better about yourself?”

“Eh?”

“I haven’t seen you take the time to sit down and discuss this sort of thing with any of the winners so far.” Explained Yaoyorozu. “So I can only assume you’re here to flaunt the fact that you, the record breaking student who has been placing first in practically everything, even breaking All Might’s record in the entrance exam, have managed to outdo me, the recommendation student rich girl.”

“I don’t think any of the other losing teams have taken their losses, nor were reprimanded for their choices, as harshly as you and Mineta have. And don’t forget, I might have been on the winning team for Round One, but Ochako was the one to be crowned M.V.P.” Said Izuku, staring down at his gloved hand. “Yes, it may seem like I’m doing an incredible job, but I’m only here because I’ve had the support of those around me. You were there when I revealed that I was a late bloomer. I'm only a part of this class because I had a teacher who was willing to recognize my potential and push me hard enough to reach that potential, and even now I’m still playing catch up. I have to constantly hold back to avoid breaking myself and my opponents.”

“…Why are you trying so hard?” Asked Yaoyorozu. “Trying so hard to help your arrogant classmate who ignored your advice during the Quirk Apprehension Test, who had so much confidence in herself that she then ignored her teammate and cost them the match? Why?”

Izuku was quiet for a moment before a smile formed on his face. “It’s funny, your partner asked me the same kind of question yesterday.” He replied, noticing out of the corner of his eye the way Yaoyorozu’s frown seemed to deepen at his words. “So I’ll answer your question the same way I answered his, I want to become the hero who saves everyone. Be they friend, foe, or just a random civilian that I’m meeting in a different country that I’m visiting for the first time.”

“That sounds oddly specific.” Interrupted Yaoyorozu.

Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at her words before continuing. “Maybe, but yeah. That’s my dream. And for the record I don’t think you’re arrogant. If you want arrogant, you should’ve seen what Kacchan was like when we were kids, he was the most arrogant brat in the universe!” He made sure to say that last part loud enough for the others to hear, Kacchan didn’t even dignify him with a proper response, simply opting to flip him off while continuing to watch the monitor.

Izuku chuckled at that, then he stood up before turning and crouching in front of Yaoyorozu, offering a hand towards her. “It’s like All Might said, we’re still students and we’re still learning. It’s ok to mess up, it’s good even! Making a mistake in class means you’re less likely to make the same kind of mistake after you’ve graduated. Now c’mon, Jirou and Kaminari are participating this time and I’m sure you’d feel bad if you couldn’t cheer your friends on.”

After a moment of silent contemplation, Yaoyorozu reached out and took Izuku’s hand.

Chapter Text

“This round was definitely one that seemed like it would end differently upon first glance. With Tokoyami being one of the top scorers in the Assessment Test, a Quirk as mighty as his would be perfect, especially when fighting in a dark, enclosed area. If it weren’t for the fact that two of the other participants in the trial had Quirks that produced light, Dark Shadow’s main weakness.” Explained Izuku. 

“That,” Added Yaoyorozu, “coupled with Jirou’s Quirk being able to not only grant constant awareness of her opponents’ locations and her support gear speakers giving her plenty of ranged options, it’s unsurprising that Kaminari and Jirou were able to keep Tokoyami and Aoyama on the back foot long enough for time to run out.”

All Might gave the two a proud nod. “Indeed, you boys did your best, and perhaps against other opponents victory would’ve been more assured, but sadly for you today’s victory instead goes to young Kaminari and Jirou.”

“Now make them kiss.”

All Might continued, blissfully unaware of the sound of Seventh gut checking Fifth, “Since young Jirou was the one to come up with a plan of defense, as well as being in charge of enemy surveillance and guiding young Kaminari, I’d say it’s only fair to declare her the M.V.P. Are there any arguments to this decision?”

Kaminari was the one to speak up. “Psh, nah. I know if these were one on ones I would’ve been toast. Without Jirou tellin’ me what to do I probably would’ve just jumped in and either been sniped by Captain Glitter’s laser or been folded like laundry by Dark Shadow, and that’s assuming if I hadn’t made myself go stupid with my Quirk first.” He put an arm around Jirou’s shoulders. “Jirou here totally deserves the ekkk…!” Whatever he had to say next was cut short by Jirou jabbing one of her jacks into his ear, taking him down and out.

The purple haired girl, her cheeks now pink, then walked away from the prone blond, and decided to go stand next to Yaoyorozu instead. Sero and Ohiro were nice enough to help Kaminari stand back up, villain team solidarity it seemed. 

Actually, on that note, Iida, Sero, Ojiro, Ashido, and Yaoyorozu had been the most vocal in their congratulations towards Kaminari and Jirou for their victory. Izuku supposed that after three losses in a row for the villain teams, they had appreciated someone from their side finally managing to win.

Mineta… had chosen not to join in, instead opting to remain where he was seated in the back, alone. The vestiges were still opposed to the idea of Izuku even giving him the time of day.

“Let the brat sulk, don’t waste your time helping someone like him.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and his ass’ll get expelled so we won’t have to listen to his crap anymore.”

“It’s time for the fifth and final match, students.” Declared All Might, giving Izuku something to focus on rather than the voices in his head.

…That sounds really bad out of context now that he thinks about it.

“Hero Team Hagakure and Kirishima will be facing off against Villain Team Bakugou and Asui, be sure to go Plus Ultra like your classmates have all done today!”

The Hero Team both loudly, and happily voiced their agreement while the Villain Team simply nodded her head and rolled his eyes before cracking his knuckles. Izuku could tell that Kacchan had been getting antsy waiting for his turn. He couldn’t tell who he felt more bad for, Asui for having to be his teammate or Kirishima and Hagakure for having to be his opponents…

“Alright Frogger, here’s the plan. You stay here and guard the weapon, and I’ll go out and blast the two extras outside to hell.” Said Katsuki while performing some stretches to warm his body up.

Frogger looked his way. “Uh… no, ribbit.” She replied bluntly. 

Katsuki met her gaze, an eyebrow raised as she stared at him with a blank expression. “Hah? You wanna run that by me one more time?”

“I said no, ribbit. We’re teammates, I’m not your sidekick.” Replied Frog Girl. “Yaoyorozu and Mineta already were kind enough to show us what happens when teammates can’t coordinate.”

“Ponytail and Grapefruit were a pair of extras who fucked around and found out, same as their pair of extras who think they stand a chance against me.” Replied Katsuki, lifting one of his hands up and allowing it to crackle with a series of small explosions. “And you’re an extra too, just like them, I think we both know who’d win in a fight between the two of us. So, are you gonna listen or are we going to have to do this the hard way, Frog Girl?”

Despite his threats, his classmate’s expression remained the same. “Try me, ribbit.”

Katsuki smirked at that before swinging his hand towards her head. “Young Bakugou, what’re you-!?”

All Might’s voice got drowned out by the sound of the explosion. Katsuki lowered his hand to his side to admire his handiwork, a palm shaped burn mark now on the wall next to Frog Girl’s head. In spite of his “attack,” she didn’t move an inch, instead simply staring up at him flatly. “Ouch, my ear.” She deadpanned.

Katsuki scoffed. “Don’t be a baby, that was nowhere near loud enough to give someone tinnitus.” He said with a roll of his eyes. He then focused his gaze back on her. “Gotta admit though, you’ve certainly got guts, was expecting you to run away there, but you stood your ground instead.”

“I was willing to bet that you weren’t stupid enough to actually attack me, ribbit, especially with All Might watching us.” She replied.

“Ha!” Katsuki laughed at her words. “Please, like I care what that fossil thinks, he’s just another teacher, here to be amazed at how badass I am.” When her only response to his statement was a flat stare, it made him roll his eyes again. “Ugh, whatever, thing is is that there’s not a chance in hell I’d ever work with some weak extra, and while the jury’s still out on whether or not you can hold your own in a fight, that display of yours was enough to at least get me to give you a chance…” He trailed off before gesturing a hand to her.

After a beat of silence, she realized that he wanted her name. “My friends call me Tsu.” She replied, introducing herself before walking past him. “So you can just call me Asui, Bakugou.”

That made Katsuki’s eye twitch. He then raised a hand, flipping her off while shouting, “Well screw you too! I’m not here to make friends anyways, Asui!”

Izuku couldn’t help himself, letting out a laugh as he gave a short applause. He might not be able to hear what’s going on, but he knew Kacchan well enough to figure it out.

“Y-you wanna clue the rest of us in, Midoriya?” Asked Kaminari.

“Yeah, what’s got you so happy, Midori?” Asked Ashido, looking at him in upset confusion. “Bakubitch nearly took that poor froggy’s head off!” That earned a laugh from Fifth.

“‘Bakubitch!’ Oh that’s a good one! Hahaha!”

“Guys, if you think Kacchan’s intentions were ever malicious, I think you’re sorely underestimating him as a person.” Replied Izuku before pointing at the monitor that had a picture of the burn marks left by Kacchan’s intimidation explosion. “We all were there for the Q.A.T. yesterday, compared to the explosions he let off then, this was basically a sparkler. He wasn’t trying to attack Asui, something she understood, hence why she remained still and didn’t try to avoid the attack, or even counter.”

“Maybe she was simply betting on the fact that there was no way he’d genuinely attack her when a teacher, All Might no less, was watching?” Suggested Yaoyorozu.

Izuku shook his head. “Now you’re underestimating Kacchan in a completely different way. After all, All Might did try to stop him, he just didn’t listen.” He explained. “Kacchan always has and always will move to the beat of his own drum, which means you’ve got only three options to deal with him: Harmonize with him, Don’t bother playing at all, or find a way to outplay him and make him become willing to cooperate with you. Asui managed to check the third box when she passed that little test Kacchan gave her, earning his recognition. Don’t be surprised if you hear him referring to her by name while he still sticks with nicknames for the rest of you.“

“So what you’re saying is that if we want ‘Kacchan’ to acknowledge us, we just gotta do what Asui did?” Asked Kaminari with a teasing grin.

Izuku let out a thoughtful hum. “I wouldn’t advise that, it might work for one or two of you, but Kacchan doesn’t use the same method for everyone and if he figures out you’re just trying to copy someone else’s method, he’ll just respect you even less. Maybe even blow your face off for real.” He replied. “And trust me, even as a kid those explosions stung like you wouldn’t believe, Kacchan going all out nowadays could probably introduce your gray matter to the pavement.”

Kaminari blanched at that and stepped back. “It is alarming how much you were able to gleam from a short interaction that you could not even hear.” Said Iida.

Izuku shrugged. “I’ve known Kacchan for a long time, I know what makes him tick, that’s all.”

Ashido laughed. “Yeah, I hear you, going to UA with someone you knew in Middle School probably comes with some advantages, right horn-buddy?” She asked herself, looking at Kirishima on the monitor. Everyone then saw Kirishima let out a sneeze, and given the way All Might flinched, it must’ve been a loud one.

“My manly senses are telling me that someone’s talking about me behind my back.” Mumbled Eijiro as he rubbed his nose with the back of his wrist while he and his partner made their way through the Villain Team’s hideout.

“I’d say something about how ‘manly senses’ aren’t a real thing but I get the feeling you’d just ignore me.” Commented Hagakure.

Eijiro gasped as if he’d been offended. “It’s not manly to ignore someone!”

Hagakure moved her hands so that they were on… where he was pretty sure her hips were. “So you’re saying that you’re gonna take my words to heart and not call them ‘manly senses’ anymore?” She asked.

“I never said that!” Argued Eijiro. “I just said that I wouldn’t ignore your words! I can still listen to what you say and decide to continue as I am! A man doesn’t let himself be easily swayed by the opinions of everyone around him!”

“The mental gymnastics you do to always find a way to describe whatever choice you make as manly is equal parts confusing and admirable.” Said Hagakure with a dry chuckle.

“It really is, ribbit.”

Eijiro chuckled at the words of Hagakure and Asu- wait a minute. Eijiro’s head whipped around and he hardened his body as quickly as possible in order to prevent himself from being captured, but all the durability in the world is kinda useless when your opponent can take you out just by tying a ribbon around your arm.

“Young Kirishima has been captured!” Said All Might through the earpiece.

“Dammit, run Hagakure!” Shouted Eijiro, only to see a small pile of discarded socks, shoes, and gloves next to him.

“Don’t worry, ribbit.” Said Asui. “She ran the moment she noticed me capture you. Sorry for the unceremonious defeat ribbit, but Bakugou and I both knew that I wouldn’t be able to beat you directly, so a sneak attack would be the most efficient plan.”

“Then why not capture Hagakure and let Bakubro fight me?” Asked Eijiro as he sat on the floor.

Asui leaned on the wall next to him. “That was my original idea, but he decided that that would be ‘too easy,’ ribbit. He does have a plan though. Which reminds me.” She reached up and pressed a button on her earpiece. “The plan worked on my end, Hagakure is running your way, good luck Bakugou, ribbit.” Eijiro couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, wondering what kinda plan Bakubro was cooking up.

“-good luck Bakugou, ribbit.” Katsuki took his finger off the earpiece and moved into the hallway he’d stationed himself in. Psh, ‘Luck.’ That shit’s just bootleg Skill, and he doesn’t ever settle for bootleg…

He knew this way had no other doors or windows, and if Invisibitch tried to go for the vents she’d make too much of a racket for him not to notice her, so now he just needed to wait, and listen.

With an ear pressed to the ground, he shut his eyes, and listened closely. It took a few seconds, but eventually he heard the noise he was looking for. It was quiet, girl clearly put her skill points into stealth and had made she to make her movements as silent as possible when she wanted to, but she was a highschool girl, not a ninja, she couldn’t negate her noise entirely, and he could hear the faint sound of footsteps running his way. If she’d stuck to walking he might not have heard her, but Fro- Asui’s sneak attack caused her to panic and be reckless, something that had been planned for and was now going to be capitalized on. He moved his head from the floor and put one leg up so that he was only on one knee, while keeping his palms hovering right above the ground.

“Hey Invisibitch, choke on this!” He shouted as he fired off a series of explosions into the ground. From an outsider’s perspective, they’d probably be confused to what his plan was, after all he was essentially firing blind and not even in Invisigirl’s direction, however his intentions began to become as transparent as his opponent as the hall began to fill with smoke from the blasts. His eyes narrowed as he waited for the smokescreen to reveal his target.

Then, he saw it, the smoke swirling around something, as if trying to clear space for an object, or rather a person, that could not be seen by the naked eye. “Bullseye!” He shouted as he swung his left arm, clotheslining the invisible girl and knocking her on her back.

“Ack!” She grunted in pain, before coughing on the ground due to a combination of being knocked on her back and the smoke.

Katsuki walked over and put his foot on her, allowing him to avoid losing track of her. “You give up?” He asked calmly as he stared down at her. Or at least in her general direction.

She coughed again before shouting, “Get your damn boot off my boobs you dick!” 

With a raised eyebrow, Katsuki moved his foot a little to the left before pressing his foot into her stomach. “Better?” He asked in annoyance.

“Let it be known that even if you can’t see me, I am flipping you off right now.” 

“Duly noted.” He said, flipping her off in return. “Now, I’m gonna tell you to surrender, because I think the last goddamn thing anyone wants is for me to get into a wrestling match on the floor with a naked girl.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m sure there’s plenty of guys who’d love to wrestle a naked girl…” Muttered Invisigirl from the ground.

Katsuki decided that he was not going to engage with that line of conversation, instead opting to ring All Might up on his earpiece. “You catch all that All Might? I’ve got her pinned and her partner has been taken out, you mind calling the match so I don’t have to deal with putting capture tape on her?”

“Er… very well, young Hagakure has been defeated, the Villain Team wins match five!” Replied All Might over the earpiece.

“Good job on the capture.”

“FUUuckin’ hell…” Said Katsuki, nearly leaping out of his skin as Asui’s voice from behind managed to scare the living daylights out of him. How was she able to move around so quietly like that? 

After Asui handed over the few articles of clothing that constituted Invisigirl’s costume, she turned her attention to Katsuki. “See, wasn’t working together like this way better, Bakuchan?” She asked.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. “Tch, whatever. I still could’ve taken these two Extras on my own without your…” He paused, his brows furrowing as Asui’s question caught up to him. “The hell did you call me?”

“Bakuchan, ribbit.” Replied Asui, completely seriously (Katsuki thinks, it’s hard to tell since her face isn’t that expressive,) “Midoriya calls you ‘Kacchan’ right? I figured I’d give you a nickname too.”

“…No. That’s not happening.”

“No, it definitely is Bakuchan, ribbit.”

“Oh, but I’m assuming I can’t call you by your nickname?” Asked Katsuki in annoyance.

Asui hummed. “Well, only my friends can call me ‘Tsu,’ so if you’re not my friend then you still can’t call me that.”

“But you’re gonna keep callin’ me Ba… that, even if we’re not friends?”

“Yup, ribbit.”

“Then dammit I’m calling you Tsu!”

Asui looked over at him. “Does that mean you’re gonna be my friend, Bakuchan?”

“If that’s what it takes to get even with you for that nickname then dammit you better believe I am!”

Asui smiled at him, catching the explosive blond off guard. “Ok then, Bakuchan, I’ll happily be your friend.”

Thankfully, Katsuki was able to quickly compose himself. “Well that’s fuckin’ spectacular, Tsu! I’ll be the best goddamn friend you’ve ever seen!” He declared angrily.

From the sidelines, Tooru and Kirishima watched the two talk, a look of confusion evident on one of their faces. “What… am I watching?” Asked Kirishima uncertainly.

Tooru watched Asui give Bakugou a small smile as she talked while he shouted and cursed. “Amphibian mating rituals, I think.” She replied tiredly.

There was a beat of silence between them. “Amphibian whatnow?” Asked Kirishima as he turned to look in her direction. 

Tooru sighed and shook her head. “I’ll explain when you’re older.”

“…Manly?”

Tooru sighed. UA was turning out to be exhausting for all the reasons she didn’t expect.

When the four students returned, the moods of the two teams were vastly different. The Heroes were quiet, likely mulling over humiliating defeat that had been delivered to them. Meanwhile, the Villains were having a very… lively conversation.

“Alright Tsu, you have my number and I’ve texted you which days I’m free,” Shouted Kacchan, “You’d better not wind up falling behind in hero classes, because there’s no way in hell I’m gonna remain friends with a damn weakling. Any questions?”

“You didn’t have any friends in Middle School, did you?” Asked Asui.

“Of course I fuckin’ didn’t!” Retorted Kacchan loudly. “Aldera had nothing but a bunch of weak losers who had to gang up on and pick on losers even weaker than them to feel better about themselves! Or Deku, but we know how that went!”

Izuku cringed a little, Kacchan’s social skills definitely left something to be desired at times.

“Like you’re one to talk…”

Still, this was certainly a sight to behold. This was his first time seeing someone else able to keep up with Kacchan being… himself, Izuku had nothing but respect for Asui’s abilities.

“She’s probably an older sister.” 

‘Eh?’

“The boomer brat is an only child, right? If I’m remembering what you’ve said about him correctly anyway. Frog girl gives off the vibe of someone with younger siblings, boy never stood a chance.”

‘You’re… being weirdly talkative. And knowledge for that matter. You have experience raising kids, Third?’

“…No. I don’t.”

There was silence in One for All after that. Izuku could tell there was probably a story there, but he wasn’t going to pry.

All Might cleared his throat, halting the conversation between Kacchan and Asui. “Young Asui, Bakugou, an excellent performance in the Battle Trial. You were able to work together and claim a swift victory against your opponents on the Hero Team.” He said, earning a small smile from Asui and a smug grin from Kacchan. “Kirishima, Hagakure I think the main takeaway here is that you need to be more aware of your surroundings. If you hadn’t been so engrossed in your own conversation you might have noticed Asui coming before Kirishima was captured. And Hagakure, if you hadn’t panicked and ran when your partner was captured, you might have been able to sneak past Bakugou rather than having played right into his hands.” The Hero duo definitely seemed embarrassed by the experience, and Izuku hoped the lesson would stick. “Now then, who would you say was the M.V-?”

“Asui.” Said Izuku immediately and without hesitation. “Not only was she the one to capture Kirishima and send Hagakure into a panic, allowing for Kacchan to capture her, but she was the one to get Kacchan to cooperate with her, had she not gotten a handle on the situation during the preparation stage Kacchan likely would’ve forgone any planning and simply charged in headfirst, which certainly might have worked but that’s not a plan, that’s being foolish.”

“Tell me how you really feel nerd.” Said Kacchan drily.

“Well… yes that is just about the long and short of it,” Said All Might, managing to recover from being cut off by Izuku relatively gracefully, “Congratulations young Asui for earning the title Round Five’s M.V.P. Students, can we get an extra round of applause for the six M.V.P.s of this year’s first proper Heroic’s Class?”

Eleven of the students applauded the six M.V.P.s, the three who didn’t applaud were Todoroki, Kacchan, and Mineta, due to the first two feeling the need to continue being brooding loners while Mineta continued to brood alone in the back of the room. Though as they clapped, Izuku realized that there was something else that he wanted to bring up that All Might had neglected to talk about. And if he could power through this conversation with Yaoyorozu then he could do it with Hagakure too. “All Might,” He said politely while raising a hand, bringing everyone’s attention to him and causing the applause to die down. “Is there someone you could contact to get Hagakure a better suit?”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing now?” Asked Hagakure.

Izuku turned to look at her. As in, actually at her, not just in her general direction. Hagakure wasn’t sure how, but she somehow felt seen by the boy. “Hagakure, I understand that you’re dressed like that for the sake of maximizing your Quirk’s usage and due to being invisible you can access a lot of loopholes in the law since you’re not technically showing any skin, but just like with Ojiro and his lack of shoes you’re leaving yourself vulnerable to a lot of things. What’re you going to do if you’re on a stealth mission, you decide to abandon your shoes, and you step on a rusty nail or something.”  Hagakure flinched at the mental image. “I’m guessing UA doesn’t have the means to create a costume that can become invisible like your body, but with All Might as our teacher, perhaps he can reach out to someone who can make something that helps you. I doubt any of our teachers want one of their students to be walking around naked and defenseless.”

Hagakure didn’t say anything, but Izuku could tell from the way her gloves were positioned that she conceded the point. “That’s not a bad suggestion Young Midoriya, I’ll see what I can do.” Said All Might. “Now then, why don’t you all head back to the locker rooms to get changed, I’m sure you’re all ready to change out of those sweaty costumes by this point. Excellent work today 1A, I look forward to your next lesson.”

With words of confirmation at his instructions, the students departed. All Might sighed as he felt his muscles begin to let out steam. ‘Well, that wasn’t too bad if I say so myself. I just hope the 1B’s lesson tomorrow will be similarly headache free… Hope you were watching me teach them, Na- Seventh. Hope I made you proud…’ 

Chapter Text

“Gotta say Iida, you had one hell of a villain laugh.” Said Sero with a grin as everyone was changing into their school uniforms in the locker room.

“I- I was simply committed!” Stammered Iida in embarrassment, “Commitment is a valuable trait for someone to have! Especially a Hero!”

Sero laughed, “Dude relax! I’m not making fun of you!” He said, before pausing for half a second. “Ok, maybe I’m slightly teasing you, but it’s just some playful jabbing between buds.” He gave his blue haired classmate a grin, “Besides, your ‘commitment’ was good enough to get me to join in, so don’t sell yourself short.”

Sero’s words seemed to flatter Iida, who put a hand on his chest. “‘Buds…’” He said to himself, as if the concept of friendship was a foreign one.

The wholesomeness sadly was cut short when Kaminari spoke up, “Hey uh, guys, I found something weird.” Everyone looked his way to see that Kaminari was lifting a poster away from its spot on the wall, revealing a hole.

Izuku’s eyes traveled from the hole to the wall as a whole. “Doesn’t that connect to the girls locker room?” He asked.

“Oh that is unmanly!” Said Kirishima, clearly aghast at the implications.

Iida seemed to have snapped back to reality once the implications were put out for everyone to see. “I-I cannot believe that our upperclassmen would do such a thing! This is UA! Spying on girls in the most prestigious hero academy in Japan is absolutely abhorrent!” He exclaimed.

“Outta my way gay boy, I wanna see!” Said Mineta as he moved past Iida and towards the wall. When he noticed almost everyone staring at them, he gave them a smug grin in return. “Aw don’t give me that, just admit that you’re all curious too! Just picture it in your mind!” Now he was practically drooling. “Ashido’s perky pink skin… the way Hagakure’s leggings hug and give you insight into the shape of her thighs, ‘s absolutely beautiful behind, Yaoyorozu’s mega milk melons, Uraraka’s- OW, FUCK!” 

Mineta brought his hands up to the spot on his forehead that now stung, as Izuku lowered the hand that he used to flick him. Hard. He was staring down at Mineta, unamused by his classmate’s antics. 

“Deserved.”

“Man screw this little fruit, somebody needs to report him and get his ass expelled.”

”That’s homophobic.”

“Homoph- NOT THAT KINDA FRUIT YA JACKASS!”

Rather than waste time focusing on the purple degenerate, he instead addressed his other purple classmate. “Jirou, I know that you’re still listening. I’m gonna assume that Yaoyorozu’s Quirk will be an excellent means of sealing the peephole up, so I’ll leave that to you girls. Sorry about the disturbance.” He then turned his attention to Mineta, who was still rubbing the sore spot on his forehead which seemed to already be bruising. Izuku hadn’t even used One for All when he did that. “Be thankful that that’s all you’re getting, anyone who had been stupid enough to look probably would’ve had their eye gouged out by one of Jirou’s Jacks.

A couple of the boy’s flinched and put a hand over one of their eyes at the mental imagery Izuku’s description invoked.

Izuku then turned his attention to Kaminari. “And thank you Kaminari for bringing this to our attention. I'm glad you made the responsible decision and didn’t choose to violate the trust and friendships you’d built with your female classmates.”

Kaminari flinched at that, likely imagining the disapproving looks of two of his female friends in particular, before awkwardly laughing and scratching the back of his head. “Y-yeah, absolutely.” He replied nervously, “I definitely was being responsible and wasn’t interested in peeping in the slightest.” Izuku put a hand on his blond classmate’s shoulder who felt too ashamed to meet his eyes.

“Tch, liar.” Said Kyoka as she retracted her jack from the wall.

“Now don’t be like that,” Said Yaoyorozu, “Even if he contemplated doing it, ultimately Kaminari didn’t act upon his impulses to look.”

“Yeah because Midoriya guilt tripped him out of it and revealed the punishment lying in wait for whatever jackass was stupid enough to try and be a Peeping Tom.” Argued Kyoka with her arms crossed.

“I mean, he could’ve not brought it up with the other guys and just looked first.” Pointed out Hagakure.

“True, ribbit,” Said Asui, “Maybe he wanted a second opinion before doing something like that.” 

Kyoka didn’t bother responding, simply huffing and looking back towards Yaoyorozu. “Well, you heard what Midori said, you think you can seal that up?”

Yaoyorozu brought a hand to her chin. “Theoretically yes, I could create the necessary materials, but I don’t have any experience repairing holes in walls.” She said.

Uraraka then brought everyone’s attention to her when she interlocked her fingers and cracked her knuckles loud enough for the entire locker room to hear. “You can leave that part to yours truly.”

Then, almost as if through the power of divine intervention trying to protect Kaminari from the boys’ judgement, the crackling of the P.A. System served to change the subject. “Attention Students, would Izuku Midoriya be so kind as to visit the Principal’s Office?” 

Everyone looked towards the loudspeaker, then towards Izuku. “The hell’d you do this time, Deku?” Asked Kacchan drily.

Izuku sputtered. “What makes you think it was something I did? Maybe the principal’s just calling me up for a lovely chat!” He exclaimed. When Kacchan raised an eyebrow at him, Izuku sighed and slumped forward. “Or maybe it’s the Quirk Counseling Aizawa mentioned…” He quickly finished getting changed into his uniform before packing up his Hero Costume. “I’ll see you guys around, gotta drop this off and get going.” He then took off through the door.

“Must feel exhausting being that popular.” Commented Satou. Koda nodded his head in agreement.

Izuku jogged towards the Support Course First Year Lab to drop off the case holding his suit and then, almost as if triggered by his very presence the moment he raise his hand to knock on the door, an explosion instead knocked him on his butt. He groaned as he realized his vision had gone dark and a familiar softness was being pressed into his face. “Well well well, how lucky that my favorite baby maker and crash pad came by at just the right moment.” Said Hatsume as she used her arms to prop herself up and remove her chest from his face.

“Hatsume, for the love of all that is holy in this world,” Came the tired voice of her teacher, Higari Maijima, “and all the unholy things in this damn school, please never refer to a fellow first year as a ‘baby maker.’” The Pro Hero Power Loader tossed the fire extinguisher he was holding over his shoulder and into the classroom behind him as he stepped out to meet the two students. Within the classroom, one of his students managed to catch the extinguisher with little difficulty before moving to put it away. It seems that despite it only being the later half of the second day, Class 1H was already well practiced in putting out fires. More accurately, Hatsume’s.

Power Loader gave Izuku an appraising look before turning his attention back to his student. “I’d ask if he was a friend of yours but I don’t think you’re the type who’s particularly interested in making those.” He said dryly.

‘Is that kinda thing ok to say about a student you’ve known for less than a week?’ Wondered Izuku.

“This here is my first work partner and personal babymaker that I met right before arriving at UA,” Explained Hatsume, breezing right past her teacher voicing his desire for her to stop calling him that for a second time, “Izuichi Aoya.”

Power Loader raised an eyebrow at Izuku. Or at least he’s pretty sure that’s what he did, going off the way his head tilted. Izuku couldn’t see his face under that helmet of his. Understanding the silent question, he said, “My name is Izuku Midoriya, it’s nice to meet you Power Loader sir, can I have your autograph?” He held up a notebook for the teacher, as well as a pen for him to use.

“Uh… sure.” Said the teacher as he took the pen into his large fingers before taking the notebook in his other hand and signing it. Izuku grinned at the autograph as he took it back before putting it away.

“Woah, how’d you do that!?” Exclaimed Hatsume.

“Eh?” Asked Izuku, looking towards her in confusion. “Do what?” 

“You pulled that notebook out of nowhere and then put it away in that same ‘nowhere!’ Is there some sort of storage aspect to your Quir-?” Her face met Izuku’s hand, which he put up to keep some distance between them before she could close in and start taking more… ‘measurements.’

“Not when there’s a teacher watching.” Said Izuku tiredly.

“Mashima-Sensei I need you to turn around.” Said Hatsume, continuing to struggle against his arm, while also giving it a few good squeezes, much to Izuku’s embarrassment.

“That’s not the problem here…” Said Izuku in exasperation.

Power Loader leaned down a little to whisper into Izuku’s ear, “You sure about this one? I could get you a different Support Course student to work with before you end up selling your soul away to the pink devil here.”

Izuku took a moment to choose his words before smiling at the teacher and giving his answer, “Your concern is appreciated sir, but unnecessary. Hatsume here was the first friend I made before coming to UA. She believes in my dream and I believe in hers.” He looked down at his pink haired engineer, who had stopped struggling to hear what he had to say, with a warm smile, “There’s no one I’d rather have work on my gear.”

There was a beat of silence before Power Loader relented. With a pat on the back from one of his large hands, he said, “Alright kid if you’re sure, I’ll be leaving her in your care then.” Looking towards his student he said, “You found a good one Hatsume, try not to blow him up.”

“Y-Yes Sensei!” She replied, standing up straight. With a chuckle, Power Loader went back into the workshop.

“The man talks less like a teacher about his student and more like a father blessing a relationship between his daughter and the boy she likes.”

“I think it’s sweet! I wish Izuku could have a homeroom teacher who cares this much!”

“Between his classmate with her physics breaking Quirk and the super genius in charge of his support gear, I have no idea how this lucky dog’s gonna choose.” 

Izuku paid them little mind as he held up the suitcase he’d been carrying. “Speaking of Support Gear, I came by to drop my costume off before going to the Principal Office for… well, whatever reason they felt the need to call me up.”

“My baby!” Exclaimed Hatsume excitedly as she took the suitcase from his hands and opened it up before pulling the gloves she made out and tossing the suitcase back to Izuku, who was able to catch it with little difficulty thanks to his quick reflexes. “How did they do? Did they work? Did you damage yourself at all? Did you damage my baby at all!?” She demanded, firing off rapid fire questions so quickly you’d think her mouth was a Gatling Gun.

Izuku smiled at her. “They worked great, Hatsume. The gloves reduced the backlash of using my Quirk when I hit things, I was able to punch my way through a wall and barely felt a thing!” He then lifted one of his legs up so that his knee was level with his stomach. “We should start making plans for some leg based equipment too, I had to rely on my legs a lot during the Entrance Exam and that made me realize that being able to utilize all four limbs in combat would be a smart idea. Especially since the human leg is, on average, three times as strong as their arm.”

A mischievous grin crossed Hatsume’s face as she let out a devious giggle. “Oh, I’m already coming up with ideas. I can’t wait to get started on blueprints, I’ll catch you later Izuku!” She then snatched the suitcase from his hands a second time and ducked into the workshop. A few seconds passed and suddenly Izuku could hear wails of Despair coming from the students of class 1H. He was about to head in when the loudspeaker crackled to life.

“The first year Support Students will be fine, Midoriya, the Principal is still awaiting your arrival.”

Izuku, and by extension the vestiges, stared at the speaker.

“Ok, that’s just creepy.”

“For once, we agree on something.”

With a sigh of acceptance, Izuku jogged away towards the principal’s office. As he moved, a thought crossed his mind. ‘Wait… did Hatsume actually call me “Izuku?”’

Meanwhile, from within the 1H Workshop, as Mei worked on her newest set of blueprints, she subconsciously brought a hand up to her chest and squeezed the fabric of her tank top. It was strange, for some reason whenever she imagined Boy Won- Izuku, using the gear she made, it caused a weird tight feeling in her chest. Was this heartburn? She may subsist off energy drinks but she’s fairly certain that fifteen was still way too young to experience symptoms of heartburn. Well, she’ll worry about that later. For now, she had a baby to build!

“Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear?  What’s important is, I’m the principal!” Izuku observed the Chimera who was seated at his desk in the center of the room. “Greetings, Izuku Midoriya. Welcome to my office. Have you been enjoying your time here at UA?” Izuku looked over his shoulder at the door he’s entered through, just outside was Hound Dog, who’d been nice enough to give him some words of clarification that he wasn’t in trouble or anything before going in.

“It’s been… an experience.” Admitted Izuku with a shrug and a weak smile. “The teachers have had a variety of personalities. For… better and for worse.”

“Ah yes, your first impressions of Aizawa likely left a lot to be desired.” Izuku could tell it wasn’t a question.

“Well…” Izuku sighed, unable to find a way, or honestly even a reason, to speak in Aizawa’s defense.

“Why the hell would you want to in the first place?”

‘…Reflex?’ Was the best response Izuku could think of. 

“Too nice for your own damn good, I swear…”

Nedzu chuckled before replying, “Rest assured, while he may come across as a harsh taskmaster, because he is, Aizawa most certainly has his students’ best interests at heart, I’ve had the man in my employ long enough to know this to be true.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Well, he seemed to care enough to be willing to keep a distance between us for these counseling sessions.” Said Izuku, before looking over his shoulder again. “Speaking of counseling…”

“Why is the school counselor waiting outside my office instead of being a part of the counseling in of itself?” Asked Nedzu, guessing what the boy was thinking. Izuku nodded his head. “Well I have him on standby on the off chance I say something upsetting, between my difficulty understanding humans and your negative experiences with teachers, I figured it’d pay to be prepared.”

“Well…” Said Izuku with a weak smile. “It’s nice to see how much effort you’re putting in for one of your students.”

“That’s a bar so low the devil’s using it for his weekly game of limbo.”

Izuku barely stifled a laugh. “Oh? Did one of your predecessors say something amusing?” Asked Nedzu.

Izuku coughed into his fist, “Y-yes, I apologize, I-” His eyes widened as he realized what Nedzu said. 

“Midoriya, I am one of, if not the smartest creature in the world, of course I know about One for All, All Might originally became a teacher here in order to search for a successor and if he ever thought he could do that without my permission, he would have been in for very rude awakening.” Explained Nedzu. “Of course I was more than willing to let him when he asked, only for him to find a successor ten months before even starting his career as a teacher, quite an amusing turn of events, no? And circling back to your earlier question, I also had Hound Dog sit this conversation out so that I could freely discuss One for All, which is very much a confidential subject even amongst the Faculty, Recovery Girl is the only other one in the loop in that regard, though I am aware that your childhood friend- apologies, rival Bakugou is also in the know, yes?”

Izuku nodded his head. “My mom and Kacchan are the only ones who are aware of the true nature of my Quirk. I knew trying to lie to them would be foolish at best and have severe consequences down the line at worst.” He replied.

Nedzu nodded his head with a smile. “A smart one you are, I like it.” He then brought a hand (or was it more of a paw?) to his chin. “Speaking of smart, your predecessor has sung your praises about your skills as an analyst, do you perhaps have one of those notebooks of yours on hand?”

And then Izuku managed to genuinely surprise Nedzu, something the rodent didn’t think was possible anymore in this day and age after everything he’d seen, by seemingly manifesting a notebook from the aether, one with pictures of tea leaves and teacups on it.

The Principal managed to keep his composure however as he took the Notebook from him and quickly skimmed through, absorbing all the information held within it about Quirks that belonged to people of various walks of life, from pro heroes to villains to even random civilians. Each entry was very detailed, and while he was hardly a connoisseur of the subject, Nedzu could see that Midoriya was indeed a skilled artist. If his mouth was capable of such a thing, the chimera would’ve let out an impressed whistle.

The boy had put in a lot of work cultivating his skills and knowledge, and for a teacher like Nedzu that was probably his third favorite thing in the world. After tea and tormenting humans. “Impressive. Very impressive young man.” He said, before taking note of the way the boy was staring at him, seemingly deep in thought. “Is something wrong? Does my appearance perhaps seem off putting to you?”

Izuku’s brows furrowed in confusion, seemingly surprised by the question. “No, that’s not it, I was simply thinking of the question you asked earlier.”

“My question?” Asked Nedzu.

“‘Are you a mouse, a dog, or a bear?’” Izuku parroted Nedzu’s little greeting back to him. Nedzu blinked, having been surprised by the boy for a second time in quick succession. “I doubt you’re a singular species, especially if what I’ve heard about your origins is to be believed. Though even if you’re several species spliced together, you must have one that served as a figurative ‘base.’ It’s unlikely to have been a dog or a bear, given your body proportions, but ‘mouse’ sounds like an easy way out kind of answer, though it’s likely that you are some sort of rodent, the question then becomes what kind? Rodents range from mice to beavers after all, so there’s a long list of options, like weasel or mustelid. Can’t be an ermine, your fur doesn’t turn brown in the summer-”

“I do believe that you will make for quite a fascinating student, young man.” Nedzu cut the boy’s ramblings short, much to Izuku’s embarrassment.

“I-I apologize if that came across as rude, I just let my thoughts kind of spiral and once I started going I just didn’t stop and I-”

“And I am not bothered.” Nedzu cut him off a second time before he could wind up getting stuck in his own head. Amusing as it was, there were more important things to focus on. “I definitely would be delighted to have more talks like this in the future, as well as be able to further develop your skills as an analyst. I would say you have a talent but I believe that would be a disservice to the work you have put in.” Midoriya seemed to lack a comeback to his words, so instead the chimera simply smiled. “For now, why don’t we move on to the proper counseling portion of this meeting?” Nedzu was serious when he said he wanted to teach his boy, he was a fascinating specimen. He would definitely need to revisit what humans did and did not consider ethical. Do humans still consider it unethical to be brought into mated couplings based on the likely physical attributes of their potential offspring? Bah, he could worry about such things at a later time…

Chapter Text

“Midorrriya, how has UA been trrreating you so farrr?”

Izuku smiled at Hound Dog. After his talk with Nedzu, the chimera called in Inui-Sensei so that the pair could have a more proper counseling session, to let the Pro talk to and get an understanding of the boy. They could go over his Quirk at a later time. “UA has been wonderful, most of the teachers have been very nice to me, and those who aren’t are at least trying to be less…”

“Harrrsh?” Suggested Hound Dog, knowing fully well which teacher the boy was referring to.

“‘Harsh.’” Repeated Izuku. “Yeah, ‘harsh’ definitely sounds right. Thankfully there wasn’t any incident today like with what happened during the Q.A.T. yesterday. And if the principal is really going to vouch for Aizawa, then I suppose I can at least trust his word.”

“Just don’t think you have to push yourrrself to get rrresults rrright away Midorrriya, you’rrre still a student afterrr all.” Replied the teacher.

Izuku nodded his head again, doing his best to let the counselor’s words sink in.

After a few beats of silence, Hound Dog decided to change the subject. “Have you made any frrriends yet?” 

“W-well,” Said Izuku, stammering over his words a little as he tried to respond, “I don’t know how many of them would go as far as to call me their ‘friend’ per say… I know there’s Och- Uraraka, she insisted that she’s my friend. Kacchan’s my rival though I don’t think that really counts. Most of my classmates seem to at least be willing to listen to what I say, which is certainly an improvement from Aldera.”

“Again. Bar. Hell. Devil. Limbo.”

This time Izuku managed to avoid having to stifle a laugh, though the corners of his mouth did twitch a little. “I did join the rest of the class in the group outing that Ashido proposed.”

“Oh? And would you be willing to tell me how that went?” Asked Hound Dog.

“Well…” Said Izuku as he thought back to the previous day.

The location had been one that Yaoyorozu proposed, and one that none of her classmates had been prepared for. She said that she knew of a casual eatery within walking distance that would take them all, and that she would treat them. That translated to her booking a private room at a restaurant that most of the class’s families would be able to eat at once a year, possibly, if there was a really special occasion. Izuku would later learn that Ochako had been raised by construction workers, as an explanation for the chain of expletives she uttered under her breath that was so creative and disturbing that it probably would’ve made Kacchan blush if he’d been present to hear it.

Of course Ochako wasn’t exactly the only one to react this way, everyone was various levels of shocked at the setting of their little get together, but Yaoyorozu’s earnestness ultimately won out and everyone made their way inside.

Once everyone made it inside, Izuku could see friendships beginning to form as certain classmates began gravitating towards each other. Ochako and Iida both seemed insistent on staying by his side, which he definitely appreciated.

Shouji, Tokoyami, Asui, and Koda all sat together, which made sense since none of them seemed particularly talkative.

Meanwhile Ashido, Kirishima, Hagakure, and Aoyama were all chatting amongst themselves with energy and enthusiasm to spare.

Satou, Sero, and Ojiro seemed to have found some seats near each other, enjoying talking about a variety of topics from martial arts to baking.

Jirou and Yaoyorozu had somehow wound up together and had begun a discussion about different genres of music.

Kaminari and Mineta rarely stayed in one group, both flirting around to different spots to try and chat up those present. Eventually Kaminari settled down with Yaoyorozu and Jirou, though Mineta kept trying to hit on all of the girls at various points.

The food had also been tasty. It wasn’t his mom’s katsudon, he was always going to love that more than any other meal, but he wasn’t going to say that the food this place served wasn’t absolutely delicious. He made sure to thank Yaoyorozu, even if she insisted that this trip wouldn’t even make a dent in her monthly allowance, a reply that Ochako definitely took in stride and was completely normal over, no she did not threaten him to say this he doesn’t know what you’re talking about.

As everyone ate and continued to talk, Izuku took what he saw as a golden opportunity to further investigate the Quirks of his classmates. Each one was fascinating to him, and he wanted to know everything he could. He couldn’t really experiment with their Quirks since they were in a public place, a fancy restaurant no less, but he could still try to pick their brains and learn insight to their Quirks. He made a note about how they’d definitely need to reserve a training field for a day or three so he could really experiment with their Quirks.

He already had so many questions that he had to get answers to, he was just absolutely fascinated by each and every one of them, and he was also doing his best to not push their boundaries too hard. He didn’t have much experience interacting with others but he was all too familiar with how to recognize looks and sounds of discomfort…

After everything was said and done, the class exchanged numbers with each other before parting ways. Izuku had spent a good amount of time staring at all the new contacts he had saved to his phone.

For the last ten months he’d only had six contacts saved and before that it was only five, it was nice to actually have his classmates’ contact information for once since unlike previous years, that didn’t mean he’d have to change his number or have them spam hate-texts at him. He might’ve actually cried a little…

“So, what’s your verdict?”

“He’s a good kid.” Said Hound Dog. “Way morrre good than the worrrld deserrrves given the way it’s trrreated him. Rrrealistically he would’ve wound up becoming a villain. If his desirrre to become a Herrro wasn’t so powerrrful, we wouldn’t be talking about how to trrrain a kid with a self destrrructive Quirrrk how to masterrr his powerrr, but instead how to capturrre a grrreen hairrred villain who was going on a bloody crrrusade against a worrrld that had wrrronged him.”

Nedzu nodded his head. “I agree, Inui. This young man is very capable, and so brilliant it’s almost blinding, surpassed by a desire to become a hero that’s so powerful I would almost rather describe it as being more akin to a feral hunger.”

The counselor let out a breath. “Ferrral is corrrrect, I could feel the kid’s eyes on me, like he was sizing me up and analyzing my Quirrrk. It honestly was a little intimidating. He has the potential to become eitherrr an incrrredible Herrro, orrr a merrrciless villain.”

Nedzu chuckled. “Then I suggest we do our duties as teachers and nurture this boy to become the former.”

“Agrrreed.”

“What kind of lessons does All Might teach!?”

“Is personal space a foreign concept to these people or something?”

“As if a flock of vultures would give a rat’s ass about something like that.”

“Eh…” Izuku made a face of severe discomfort as he tried to lean away from the three different microphones being jammed into his face. “He’s very… enthusiastic?” Was the best he could manage.

“Aw c’mon, you spent an entire class with him, right? Surely there’s gotta be some juicy details that you could be kind enough to divulge to the public!” They were relentless.

“Don’t waste your time talking to them, if you give an inch they’ll take a mile before twisting your words into something they can print on the front page in big bold letters for a nice paycheck.”

“Geez Sixth, tell us how you really feel.”

“From one Pro Hero to another, you know what dealing with this is like.”

“Good point, just run Izuku.”

Thankfully, Izuku didn’t have to run as a hand suddenly grabbed him by the back of his uniform before lifting him up and pulling him through UA’s entrance. “You’re disrupting our students’ learning environment.” Izuku knew that voice. “Leave.”

“We just want to get a word from All Might, I’m sure everyone in Japan was shocked when they learned that the number one Hero decided to join UA’s faculty to help teach the next generation of Heroes! Japan deserves to know his reasons!” Demanded the reporter.

Aizawa sighed as he put Izuku down on the ground before using his hand to half heartedly make a shooing motion. “The man is off duty right now anyways. Now I’d suggest backing up if you wish to keep your fingers.”

“Eh?”

With a beep, a large metal door suddenly came down, sealing the entrance to UA from the press. Izuku could hear a few alarmed screams from the reporters, but nothing that sounded like anyone being hurt.

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Fifth on something, were I alive I’d probably ask to be put down-”

“Hey!”

“But you are too nice for your own good sometimes.”

‘I’m going to be concerned about the wellbeing of others.’ Replied Izuku. ‘Even if they are “vultures.”’

“You alright, Midoriya?” Asked Aizawa, not bothering to look down at the boy.

There was a beat before Izuku replied, “I’m fine, thanks for the save.” He didn’t look his way either.

“It’s what Heroes, and teachers, are supposed to do.” Aizawa then turned around and started walking towards the main building. “Let’s go, unless you want to be late for class.”

Izuku didn’t say anything, instead simply gripping the straps of his backpack tightly as he jogged into UA after Aizawa.

“I took the liberty of reviewing your evaluations when it came to the battle trials.” Explained Aizawa, tapping a stack of papers on the podium at the front of the room. “I’ll keep things brief since I doubt there’s much for me to say that All Might didn’t already cover and it’d be illogical to beat a dead horse.”

Izuku was pretty sure Koda’s expression became a little more sickly at Aizawa’s use of the figure of speech. Not exactly surprising for the guy who can talk to animals, it’d probably be in the same vein as someone talking about beating a human corpse.

“How about we put the breaks on that train of thought before it winds up even more grotesque?”

‘Sorry.’

“Those of you who won, well done. Those of you who lost but tried your best regardless, you also deserve congratulations. Those of you who only have yourselves to blame for losing, I hope you learn from the experience and do better.” Said Aizawa in his usual dry voice. Izuku could see Yaoyorozu’s gaze travel towards her desk at that last part. Mineta meanwhile seemed to just stubbornly cross his arms, but otherwise remained silent. “And Bakugou, try to refrain from threatening your classmates.”

“Tch, yes sir.” Kacchan grumbled from his seat with a roll of his eyes.

Aizawa gave the boy a tired glare before sighing and shaking his head. “Now I hope you’re all well rested, because your next challenge is already here.”

”Do you think it’s another test? Or perhaps some sort of wilderness survival training?”

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you hermit?”

“Absolutely.”

“You need to elect a class president.” Explained Aizawa.

“Oh.”

“That’s oddly… ordinary.”

‘Something School-like could be a nice change of pace.’ Thought Izuku right before the entire class erupted. Looks like everyone wanted to be president. Izuku considered the position, after all “this is UA’s Heroic’s Course, there was probably more to being President than the mundane responsibilities at an ordinary school, this would be someone’s first venture into leading a group, which can translate into experience with being a hero leading sidekicks- aaand everyone is staring at me.” Izuku’s train of thought got derailed when he noticed twenty pairs of eyes presently on him.

“Maybe the pink devil can make you a mask that filters out your mumbling?”

“Are you really gonna use that nickname?”

“Yes, because it’s funny.”

“Thank you for grabbing the class’s attention, Midoriya.” Said Iida as he took a stand. “This allows me to put forth my proposal: a class wide vote.”

“A vote?” Izuku raised an eyebrow, interested in what he was suggesting.

“It’s as you said, Midoriya.” Explained Iida, “This is UA’s Heroics. Think about where you are right now, think about the responsibilities that a role like this would come with. The only fair way to determine such a position would be through a democratic process.”

“But most of us have only known each other for less than a week, ribbit.” Pointed out Asui. “Is that long enough to get a proper grasp on each other? I feel like most of us would still simply vote for ourselves.”

“Well, we could always add the rule that you can’t vote for yourself.” Suggested Kaminari.

“Hm, I think that might actually go against the point though.” Said Izuku. “After all, if we take away our ability to vote for ourselves, that’ll simply leave the winner with feelings of self doubt.”

“Eh?”

It looks like some of the class didn’t get it, so Izuku elaborated. “‘Do I actually deserve this?’ ‘Did they actually want me to lead or did I just happen to win because they didn’t vote for themselves?’ Those kinds of doubts would linger with the winner if we implement this rule into the vote.”

Iida nodded his head. “It’s exactly as Midoriya says, so I will not say that you cannot vote for yourself. Instead I implore each of you to ask yourself three important questions. One, ‘Do I really want these responsibilities?’ Two, ‘Can I fulfill these responsibilities?’ And Three, ‘If not me, then who?’” Iida then looked at Aizawa. “Is this method alright, sensei?”

Izuku looked to see the man crawling into that yellow sleeping bag of his. “Do whatever you like as long as a decision’s made before the deadline.” The man said tiredly.

“Bruh.”

“Bruh.”

“Bruh.”

“How the hell did all three of you manage to do that in perfect sync?”

“Born in the grimdark era that is the Dawn of Quirks.”

“That explains everything and nothing at once.”

Izuku stared at the chalkboard. He reached up and rubbed his eyes a couple times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things before checking again. Nope, that was accurate. He did in fact have nine votes. A fact that Fifth seemed absolutely ecstatic over. 

‘How. The Fuck?’ He couldn’t help but wonder to himself. ‘I didn’t even vote for myself!’

“I’m not surprised, honestly I figured you would’ve gotten more.”

“I wish you’d voted for yourself so that we wouldn’t have to listen to this idiot.”

“You all doubt me, but the proof continues to present itself!”

“You need a hobby.”

“Oh yeah, because there are looots of ways to find entertainment when you’re living in the head of a teenager!”

“It seems I’ve been bested by you once again, Midoriya.” Said Yaoyorozu dejectedly as the two stood at the front of the class.

“I didn’t want this to happen,” Izuku whisper-shouted at her frantically, “I voted for you for crying out loud!”

That seemed to only deepen the lines of dejection on her face. “I cannot decide if that makes me feel better or worse.”

Izuku hung his head in defeat. A reassuring spectral hand on his shoulder from Eighth managed to pull him back to reality though. He gave both of his cheeks a quick smack before addressing the class. “Well everyone, you all voted for me for… some reason so I suppose I’ll just have to do your best not to disappoint you.”

“All hail President Midoriya!” Screeched Dark Shadow. Tokoyami sighed before explaining to his other half that that’s not how it works, much to the amused laughter of most of the class.

“I just… how? Why?” Izuku was still left questioning even into lunch break. 

“Well, simply put Midoriya, they took those questions I asked to heart.” Explained Iida between bites of rice. “After all, given your performance in both the Quirk Apprehension Test and then the Battle Trials, you’ve shown yourself to be intelligent, reliable, and determined. Even as your opponent who didn’t face you directly, you still managed to earn my respect enough to obtain my vote.”

“You voted for me!?” Exclaimed Izuku. 

“He’s not the only one.” Said Ochako with a giggle. “I mean, seriously Deku, the Battle Trial showed that you’ve got the ability to outthink your opponents strategies and with how much you want to help us learn with our Quirks, you’ve definitely got the makings of a good class leader.” If to prove her point, Ochako placed a hand on her food try, causing it, and all the food on it, to start floating into the air.

“Uraraka!” Exclaimed Iida, “Don’t use your Quirk in the cafeteria! That’s a recipe for disaster!” 

Ochako couldn’t help but laugh at the unintended pun there. “Recipe! Hahaha!” She quickly released her Quirk before her food got too high, gracefully catching the tray in her hands when it came back down.

“If it makes any difference, Dark Shadow wanted me to vote for you.” Said Tokoyami, making Izuku flinch slightly. His classmate had been so quiet the entire time he’d almost forgotten he was there.

“Is that right?” Asked Izuku weakly.

“Well after I told her that she couldn’t really be president, she decided you’d be the next best choice.” Izuku was fairly certain he could sense some dry humor in his classmate’s voice.

Izuku looked towards his classmate’s chest, knowing that was the area that his other half generally resided. “Thanks for that, Dark Shadow.”

“No problem.” Came her voice, albeit very softly, “It’s nice to have someone who actually acknowledges me! When I eventually drown the world in darkness, I’ll be sure to leave a nice light spot for you to be safe in.”

Izuku gave a nervous chuckle as Tokoyami sighed and shook his head. “I appreciate that.” He couldn’t help but smile as he watched his friends talk. Besides the four of them, Sero, Ashido, Mashirao, Shouji, Hagakure, Aoyama, Satou, and Koda were all seated at the table and talking (or signing) amongst themselves.

Kacchan, Kirishima, Kaminari, Jirou, Yaoyorozu, and Asui were all sitting at a second table. It seems Kirishima and Kaminari were both still insistent on befriending Kacchan and Kaminari was insistent on dragging Jirou and Yaoyorozu into it. Asui had now joined the group as well. Izuku was glad Kacchan was on the road to making friends, lord knew he needed them.

“Nice to meet you Pot, I think I overheard you talking about your dear old friend Kettle?”

Mineta and Todoroki both left to sit on their own, it seems neither of them were particularly interested in being friendly with the class still, much to Izuku’s concerns.

“Maybe they’re just loners? I can certainly relate.”

‘No, Mineta was more than willing to sit with us yesterday, it seems the Battle Trial has really been getting to him…’ Thought Izuku.

“Honestly I still don’t get why you care so much.”

“Honestly I’m surprised that you still don’t get it.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?”

Before an answer could be given, the deafening sound of an alarm suddenly tore through the cafeteria.

“Security Level Three Has Been Breached. Students Please Evacuate.” Came the Automated voice over the speakers. 

Suddenly the entire cafeteria exploded into a frenzy as all the second and third years began to panic. “What is this? What is ‘Security Level Three?’” Demanded Iida. 

“Someone’s infiltrated the school! This hasn’t happened in three years! We need to get outta here!” Exclaimed a third year.

“Shit, everyone’s panicking.”

“Damn, so much for the ‘greatest Hero School in Japan.’ Moment an incident occurs and everyone goes off the rails.”

“Not helping dammit!”

“Ack!” Izuku couldn’t avoid being swept into the chaos, nor could any of his classmates. He could hear sounds of pain and distress. Iida had his face planted against a nearby window, poor Koda looked scared for his life, Tokoyami was hugging himself, with black arms coming out of his body and writhing about. It looks like the chaos was distressing Dark Shadow. Izuku continued scanning the crowd for classmates, he was worried that they were going to get hurt. He didn’t want his classmates- his friends, he didn’t want his friends to be hurt!

“Ow!” A cry of pain caught his attention. He recognized that voice… Hagakure! Shit, this was the worst possible situation for her, panicked teens weren’t going to notice an invisible girl until they were literally trampling her.

He had to act now! ‘One for All… five percent!’ He kept the charge on the lower side to avoid causing any unintentional injuries before forcing his way through the crowd. He used his eyes to search the crowd as he moved, and soon found what he was looking for, an “empty” uniform on the ground. He was able to calculate the location of her arm and reached out, grabbing her off the ground and pulling her close to him.

“Wh-what? Midoriya!?” She exclaimed.

“Hold tight.” Was all he said before leaping into the air and out of the crowd. He used one hand to hold her close to him while rearing the other back. ‘And now for a five percent… Detroit Smash!’ He slammed his fist into the wall, embedding it to create a hold for himself while planting his feet against the wall. Basically he was performing improvised wall crawling. “Any injuries?”

“N-no… I’m fine. Th… thanks, Midori-”

“IT’S OK!”

The abrupt shout caused both of them to flinch as their heads whipped around to see the source of the shouting. In the process Izuku could feel Hagakure’s hair brush against his face. It was short and fluffy, he realized. The pair then noticed Iida standing on top of the emergency exit sign. Izuku was curious how he even got there.

“IT’S JUST THE PRESS! THERE’S NO NEED TO PANIC! YOU ARE UA STUDENTS, SO ACT LIKE IT AND EXIT IN AN ORDERLY MANNER!” 

“Huh, not bad kid.”

Thanks to Iida, the students were able to calm down and actually organize themselves instead of trying to rush out the door in a panic. The teachers were able to hold the Press off until the police could arrive to… politely remove them from the premises.

Now Izuku was left pondering something. Despite being the Class President, he’d barely been able to do anything, meanwhile Iida had managed to calm the entire student body down and get them to evacuate properly.

Maybe it’d be better if-

“No.”

Eh?

“Your classmates chose you to be their leader, so you don’t get to pawn the responsibility off onto someone else.”

“Speaking from experience aren’t you?”

“Tch, Bruce didn’t let Kudo quit even when leadership was thrust upon him without his consent, and I’m not letting this brat run from his responsibilities either.”

‘“Bruce?” “Kudo?”’ Izuku’s questioning was left unanswered. However what Second said stuck with him. Perhaps there was an alternate solution. He’d need to talk to Yaoyorozu first though…

“Before we initiate the ceremony for the new class president, there’s an announcement we’d like to make.” Said Izuku as he anxiously stood at the front of the class alongside Yaoyorozu.

“Due to his performance during the… crisis earlier today, we’d like to offer a position amongst the Class Representatives to Iida. Perhaps something along the lines of Secretary? Or in general a third voice of reason to turn towards.” Explained Yaoyorozu.

Iida seemed surprised by this development. “A-are you certain?” 

“You voted for me because you trust my judgment, right? Admittedly my first plan was to simply step down as president and let you take over, but I was talked down from that idea, and after conferring with Yaoyorozu, she agreed that we should still offer a position to you.” Explained Izuku.

“Hey, I’m all for it.” Said Kirishima. “Iida was super manly in the lunchroom.”

“He reminded me of one of those emergency exit signs.” Joked Kaminari.

“Is this alright, sensei?” Asked Yaoyorozu.

“Do whatever you like.” Said Aizawa flatly. “Just don’t quickly, it’d be illogical to waste more time than necessary.”

“Hm, well if it’s a request from both class representatives, then I cannot turn it down!” Declared Iida proudly. “I shall do my best to lead alongside you both!”

Izuku smiled at his friend, happy for him as he walked up to join the two of them at the front of class. He was happy with how things were. Too bad this day was about to take a turn for the dire…

Chapter Text

“Before anything else,” Said Aizawa as he fixed a tired gaze on Izuku as he pressed a button, causing a monitor to appear that showed footage of a hallway, with one of the walls having an arm shaped hole in it, with cracks spreading out, showing further damage. “Midoriya, I can appreciate you looking out for a classmate’s wellbeing, but please try to avoid damaging school property. In the future. Being careless when in combat can ruin a hero’s career if he breaks the wrong thing.”

Izuku’s face became one of mild embarrassment. “I’ll… keep that in mind.” He said, looking away from the teacher and trying to not pay the feeling of everyone looking at him any mind.

Aizawa let out a sigh as he turned the monitor off. “Now then, it’d be illogical to allow the incident from this morning to obstruct your studies, especially now that your class representatives have been elected.” He explained. “And Especially since this lesson is to be an important one, headed by a three man team including All Might, myself, and a third faculty member that you’ll all meet today.”

“What is the lesson for today?” Asked Sero with a raised hand.

Aizawa responded by pulling up a card. Izuku squinted to read it. In big, bold, and colorful letters was the word, “RESCUE.” “Today you’re all going to learn how to be the Hero that the people need you to be. Day one was the trial of applying your Quirks in basic exercises, yesterday was applying your Quirks in the Battle Trial, and today we’ll be doing the trial of Rescue.”

“Do you think he just keeps a stack of those somewhere ready for whatever lesson he has planned?”

Between that question, and Kacchan scoffing and grumbling the word, “boring” under his breath, Izuku had to bite his lip to avoid laughing.

“‘Rescue Trial… yeesh, I get the feeling this one’s gonna be a lot harder than yesterday.” Said Kaminari.

“Totally!” Agreed Ashido.

“Aw c’mon guys, we came here to learn how to be Heroes! And a Heroes first duty is saving people! This oughta be our manliest lesson yet!” Exclaimed Kirishima.

“A water environment would be perfect for me, ribbit, so I hope I can see what the flood rescue training will look like.” Commented Asui, before looking at Kacchan. “Though I guess that kind of scenario would be a real struggle for you, huh Bakuchan?”

“Hah?!” Asked Kacchan, turning to give Asui the stink eye. “That a challenge or something, Tsu!?”

“Ribbit, no, just an observation. I doubt explosions and water go together pretty well.”

“Tch, well they don’t!” He declared, loudly explaining, “Water washes the sweat I need to make my explosions away, and if I’m cold it gets harder to produce that sweat!” 

“Wait, sweat?” Asked Kirishima, looking at Kacchan in confusion.

“Kacchan’s Quirk could technically be classified as a mutation,” Explained Izuku, “His palms secrete a special type of sweat that’s similar to nitroglycerin, and then he can detonate it at will. It’s really useful too since that means the longer a fight against him drags out, the more of a sweat he builds up, and the bigger his explosions.” He then turned to look at Kacchan. “I’m suspecting those gauntlets of yours are also designed to be extra warm and store sweat for an even bigger explosion.”

Kacchan scoffed. “Got it one, nerd.”

“As interesting as this is,” Said Aizawa, cutting into the conversation as he opened the specialized wall holding their costumes, “We’re burning daylight, you can continue discussing costume inspirations on the bus. Not all of your costumes might be fitting for these environments at first, so I’d advise bringing a change of P.E. clothes just in case.”

Once everyone was changed, they made their way outside to the bus that was waiting for them. Iida immediately decided to lean into his new position as the class’s sort of tertiary leader and began directing everyone to enter the bus in rows of two based on their seating order.

“I really hope he doesn’t let his newfound power as a class head go to his, well, head.” Said Yaoyorozu. 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Said Izuku with a weak smile. “He’s a stickler for rules but he means well and cares about the wellbeing of others, this morning can attest to that.”

“You’re someone who cares for others too of course, Midoriya.” Countered Yaoyorozu. “After all, while you may not have been the one to stop the panicking crowd, you were the one who was able to ensure Hagakure’s safety and prevent her from getting trampled in the commotion.”

“I just didn’t want one of my fr- classmates to get hurt.” Replied Izuku.

“Ever the modest one, Midoriya. Ever the modest one.”

“Oi, Class Sect! Give it a rest!” Called Sero, causing Iida to take a break from barking orders. Sero, who was standing in the entrance of the bus, pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the inside of the bus. “This thing isn’t structured like a regular school bus anyways, so let’s just get in and get goin’.”

Iida stood there, silently staring at Sero.

“Gosh… darn it…” Izuku patted his friend on the back, as Iida simply sat there, his face in his lap and his fists trembling on his knees.

“Don’t be like that Iida, I think we all appreciated the effort.” Said Izuku in as nice of a voice as he could manage.

“No we didn’t, that shit was obnoxious.” Commented Kacchan.

Izuku gave his rival a flat look as Iida’s body went slack, the boy transitioning from frustrated to just sulking now. “Most of us appreciated the effort.”

“There there,” Said Sero with a grin, “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of more opportunities for you to lecture us on rules in the future.”

Iida sighed before sitting up straight and adjusting his glasses. “Thank you Midoriya, Sero. Your words do make me feel a little bit better.”

That made the two boys chuckle, happy to make Iida feel better. Izuku then noticed that Asui was staring at him. “Uh, is there something on my face, Asui?” He asked.

“Oh damn, are we getting a third one?”

“Wouldn’t it be a fourth? He seemed to have held that invisible one very close to him during the mess this morning.”

“Eh, I dunno guys, pretty sure Miss Froggy is more buddy buddy with the human firework than she is with Izuku.”

“You can just call me Tsu, ribbit.” Replied the frog girl. “I’m a very blunt person, Midoriya, so I’m going to just come out and say what’s been on my mind. Your Quirk is really similar to All Might’s isn’t it?” Izuku’s eyes widened a little at that, the bus going silent at the abrupt accusation. Kacchan was staring at Izuku and Asui, waiting for one of them to say something. Even Todoroki seemed interested in this conversation and he only seemed to interact with them when it was absolutely necessary.

“Oh.”

“Well shit, that can’t be good.”

“I mean, I guess?” Said Izuku with a shrug. “Our Quirks both enhance our strength but that seems to be where the similarities stop and end. All Might’s Quirk seems to have a lot of visual differences from mine. Mine makes me glow and can hurt me if I’m careless with its usage. Comparing our Quirks is honestly in the same vein as saying you and Koda have similar Quirks because they’re both animal based.”

Asui let out a hum. “I guess that’s fair, ribbit. Forget what I said then.” She replied.

“On the topic of your Quirk, you’ve definitely got the perfect kind for being in the top ten.” Said Kirishima. “With something so manly and flashy, every fight you get in is sure to be one heck of a show, especially once you get access to higher percentages.” He then hardened one of his arms. “Can’t quite say the same thing about mine, kinda plain right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kirishima.” Retorted Izuku. “A Quirk like yours is perfect for being a hero. You can become an unbreakable wall that will protect allies and innocents from danger, and I imagine being punched by you wouldn’t exactly tickle.” He summoned one of his notebooks to his hands and then pulled out a pen. “Have you ever tried hardening your hardened skin for a second time? And how long can you maintain your Quirk? Can the period be extended with training? Can-” 

Dumb hair let out a nervous chuckle while Katsuki rolled his eyes at Deku’s ramblings. Once the nerd got the ball rolling it was damn near impossible to get him to shut it. “Well, Midoribro isn’t the only one who’s a double whammy of flashy and powerful, right Bakubro?” Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him. “You and Todoroki are also both have super manly Quirks.”

“My Navel Laser is also both mighty and magnifique.” Commented Glitter Boy with a sparkling smile.

“Yeah, as long as you don’t push to hard and make a mess of your guts by accident.” Joked Raccoon Eyes. Katsuki didn’t know it was possible to glare at someone while still smiling. Honestly he was a little impressed.

“Yeah, what you said about Kacchan and Todoroki is true, but the tradeoff is that their personalities suck.” Snickered Dunce Face.

“The hell you say about me Dunce Face!?” Snapped Katsuki angrily.

“Well, since we have begun to socialize, you’ve made it clear that your personality is about as pleasant as a turd steamed in sewage.” Explained Kaminari in a very mockingly posh tone.

“Quit speakin’ in fancy gibberish! It makes you sound like an even bigger fuckin’ moron!” Shouted Katsuki.

“Honestly, such a foul conversation.” Said Ponytail as she shook her head.

“Speak for yourself, I think this is hilarious!” Laughed Round Face.

“We’re here, so look sharp now.” Called Hobo-Sensei from the front.

“Yes sir.” Responded most of the class, though Katsuki noticed that Deku still had his nose in that notebook of his, so he reached over and smacked the back of his head to quickly return him to the real world.

The sight before Class 1A was a spectacular one. The place had to have been the size of an amusement park, with at least half a dozen different areas to visit. “There’s a flood zone, a landslide zone, conflagration zone, so on and so forth.” Explained a woman dressed in a space suit. “Every disaster you could possibly imagine really, I designed and had this place built myself. Welcome Heroic First Years, to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! But you can just call it the U.S.J!”

“Oh. So it’s just like Universal Studios Japan. Do you think they gave the OK to have this be built?”

“Do you think they were willing to go against a menace like Nedzu and try to oppose it being built?”

“Fair.”

“Omigosh! It’s The Space Hero: Thirteen!” Exclaimed Ochako happily as she grabbed Izuku’s arm and began shaking him back and forth. “She’s the greatest! A gentle hero who specializes in rescues! She’s my favorite!”

“Th… that’s niiice Ochakooo…!” Said Izuku as she continued to shake him.

“Geez, didn’t realize the earthquake training had already begun.”

“Hey, look at the teachers, something seems to be up.”

Through the shaking, Izuku managed to narrow his eyes as Aizawa and Thirteen discussed something. He noticed her holding up three fingers. As someone in the know, he was able to deduce the meaning. ‘Yagi-Sensei must’ve burnt through his timeline for the day already.’

“That irresponsible dumbass.”

“Hey! Watch what you say about Toshinori!”

“He has a responsibility to these kids! What good is it gonna do for him to waste time handling issues that a hundred other people could solve if he winds up unable to handle the things that he’s meant to do!?”

“Alright class,” Izuku silently thanked Thirteen for the unintentional rescue, her voice both managing to calm Ochako down enough to make the shaking cease, as well as distract him from Second and Seventh’s argument. “Before we start, there’s two points I need to go over. Or three. Maybe four…?”

“Focus.” Said Aizawa drily.

“Right.” Said Thirteen, coughing into her fist before holding up her hand. “As I’m sure the majority of you are aware, my Quirk is known as Blackhole.”

“It gives you the power to suck matter into your fingertips and tear it to tiny pieces, perfect for clearing debris and rescuing civilians, right?” Asked Izuku as he wrote down in a notebook covered in planets.

“Indeed, my Quirk is very useful for rescuing people.” Replied Thirteen, her tone then becoming very serious as she said, “But it could easily be used to kill.”

“Oh? Well this is interesting…”

“I’ll spare the squeamish ones amongst you and avoid going into details, but you can probably imagine what would happen if I turned my Quirk on a living person.” Explained Thirteen. “And I run the risk of this happening every time I use my Quirk to say, destroy debris trapping someone’s leg. It’s thanks to years of training that I’m able to target the debris and leave the civilian unharmed. Our Superhero Society puts heavy limits on Quirk Usage, so just like villains, most of you have little practice when it comes to using your Quirks in high stakes scenarios. That’s what the U.S.J. is for, to teach each and everyone one of you how to save lives with the abilities you’ve been blessed with. Thank you for listening to me speak.” The pro gave the students a bow and they in turn applauded her speech.

“Great, now then, to start… with…” Aizawa began to say something, but he trailed off and turned his head towards the center of the U.S.J. Izuku followed his gaze, his eyes widening when he saw it.

A strange black mist portal had appeared, and out of it stepped a strange looking man with pale blue hair, his costume consisting of loose black clothing and several severed hands decorating his arms and head. More portals began appearing as more villains stepped through.

“Everyone stay back!” Barked Aizawa, causing a few students to flinch a little. “Huddle up and don’t move! Thirteen, keep them safe!”

“What the heck is that Sensei? More robots like from the entrance exam?” Asked Kirishima.

“No, that’s wrong.” Said Izuku as he continued to stare. “I think those are villains. Like, genuine villains with ill intent.”

“Midoriya’s right.” Said Aizawa as he pulled his goggles over his eyes. “So stay put and let us deal with this.”

“What kinda villains would be insane enough to attack a Hero Academy?” Wondered Satou.

“Thirteen, shouldn’t there be sensors for intruders?!” Asked Yaoyorozu worriedly.

“There are! They should’ve gone off by now!” Relief the Pro Hero as she looked around. 

“Are they only here or at the main building?” Wondered Todoroki aloud as he approached the front of the group, looking down upon the villains crowding beneath them. “This place is far from the campus, and they made sure to arrive at a time when there wouldn’t be too many people here. They clearly aren’t as dumb as their costumes make them look. They have an objective, and they’ve done some serious coordination to make sure it’s pulled off.”

“Listen up students.” Said Aizawa, bringing everyone’s attention back to him as he stepped forward, his capture scarf and hair beginning to float, signifying the activation of his Quirk. “Thirteen’s going to be in charge of evacuating you back to the school. Kaminari, I want you to use your Quirk and gear to attempt contacting the school. I’ll deal with the villains in the meantime.”

“Aizawa, you can’t fight off this many villains on your own.” Argued Izuku. “Your fighting style is focused on one on one, using Erasure to throw your opponents off and then capturing them. There’s no way you’ll be able to fight off this many of them alone.”

“Then let this be a lesson, Midoriya.” Said Aizawa without meeting the boy’s gaze, “No Hero is a One-Trick Pony. Take care of them, Thirteen.” 

He then leapt into the fray, and Izuku got a bird’s eye view of watching the teacher go to town on the villains, using his goggles so they couldn’t tell which of them was being Erased and even having countermeasures to the villains his Quirk was useless against.

“Well shit, man’s actually holding his own.”

“Hmph, my opinion on him as a teacher hasn’t changed, but I’ll give credit where it’s due, he makes for an effective Hero.”

‘It looks like he can handle himself, a part of me wants to help but I get the feeling that I’d just be a distraction for him at this point more than anything else.’ Thought Izuku.

“C’mon Deku, we need to get going!” Called Ochako from the crowd.

“Midoriya! Please do not dawdle!” Called Iida. “As Class President, you should set an example for your classmates in times of crisis!”

“Right, I’m coming.” Said Izuku as he began jogging to catch up.

“I’m afraid I cannot allow that.”

The entire group came to an abrupt halt as the villain made of black mist appeared before him.

“Wait, how did he…?”

‘He’s a warper. He must've teleported past Aizawa while he was fighting the villains.’ Thought Izuku, staring at the villain with wide eyes.

“Greetings, students of UA, we are the League of Villains.” Continued the Villain. “Forgive our audacity, but we have arrived at this bastion of heroism for a single goal: to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace.”

“Damn, half and half was right, these guys mean business.”

“We were under the impression that he would be here at this time, was the schedule perhaps changed?” He wondered aloud. “Regardless, my role remains unchanged, prepare to meet your end.”

“I won’t let you hurt our students!” Declared Thirteen as she aimed her hand at the Villain, activating her Quirk. 

Some of the Villain’s misty body was drawn towards the Heroine, but that’s when Izuku noticed something, a ball of black mist appearing behind her. Realizing the intention, Izuku tried to dash forward and warn his teacher. “Thirteen, don’t! It’s a trap!”

“Eh!?” Unfortunately it was too little too late. Perhaps if the pro was more experienced with combat she might’ve noticed the trap, but she was one who focused primarily on rescue and thus lacked the same battle instincts as someone like All Might, and had failed to notice the Warp Gate appearing behind her until the back of her suit, and body, were already being torn through by her own Quirk. “Augh!” She cried out in pain, her Quirk deactivating as she collapsed to the floor, blood leaking from her suit.

“THIRTEEN!” Ochako cried out in anguish as her favorite hero collapsed to the floor.

‘Shit!’ Izuku thought, he quickly looked amongst his classmates, trying to decide what the next course of action should be. “Shouji! Protect Thirteen! Yaoyorozu! See if you can create first aid materials for her!”

“Right!” Said his classmates. But before they could move, a loud shout halted them in their tracks.

“DIIIE!” Roared Kacchan as he leapt at the Villain, his hand crackling with an explosion. By his side was Kirishima, swinging a hardened fist at the villain.

To Izuku’s dismay, their attacks moved right through the villain.

“So he doesn’t just create Warp Gates with the smoke surrounding his body, his body is the smoke.”

“A commendable effort, I admire your bravery.” Said the Villain. “As a sign of respect, I shall share the name of the one who will send you to your deaths. My name is Kurogiri. Now then, I am going to scatter you across this facility, prepare to meet your end at the hands and Quirks of my comrades. Farewell, fledgling Heroes.”

The villain’s misty body expanded and began to surround the students. Before everything could be enveloped in black, two students were able to act.

Shouji leapt forward, grabbing his two closest classmates to him, Ashido and Sero, and then threw them down next to Thirteen on the ground before using his arms like a tent to cover all three of them and anchor himself to the ground.

At the same time, Izuku was able to reach his hands out to the two closest to him, Iida and Ochako. He placed a hand on each of their chests and pushed them backwards, just barely moving them out of the Villain’s range.

“Deku!?”

“Midoriya!”

“Iida!” Izuku shouted as the black mist began to engulf him. “As class president I’m ordering you! Get out of here and alert the faculty of the situation! I’m leaving everything to y-!”

And then, he was gone.

Chapter Text

Cold.

Cold Cold Cold!

Oh god the water was so god damn cold!

Just his luck he’d be spat out by Kurogiri’s Warp Gate head first into the flood zone. Izuku paddled his arms as he attempted to reorient himself and start swimming upwards. He didn’t have time to hold his breath before taking the plunge and his lungs were already starting to feel tight. ‘Alright, where was this relative to the central area? I need to get back to the others as soon as possible. If these guys really plan to go after Yagi-Sensei, I need to be there to put a stop to them.’

“You really plan on fighting villains, boy?”

“I think you’re forgetting the day All Might met this little nutcase, he charged headfirst into a flaming alleyway to try and save his friend despite being Quirkless.”

“I wish I could forget a sight that stupid.”

“Hey, it’s the reason we’re here now.”

“That’s my point!”

‘You’re not exactly making it easy for me to focus.’

“You should probably focus on the sound of the Jaws Theme. Check your two o’clock.”

‘Eh?’

“Found you…” Oh. It was a villain.

Oh shit, it was a villain! Some kind of humanoid shark mutant. Izuku couldn’t help but wonder if those goggles were a necessity or simply there for aesthetic purposes.

“Don’t get distracted, or you’re gonna get your face chewed off.”

“Assuming you don’t drown first at this rate.”

“It’s nuthin’ personal kid… but get ready to say goodbye!” He gurgled as he swam towards Izuku, his jaw unhinging and stretching to the point that it was larger than Izuku’s entire head.

Crap, Izuku was at a disadvantage here, he had no practice fighting underwater, and that inexperience was really hindering him now, all he could do was charge One for All up to Nine Percent and hope the resistance from the water wouldn’t soften the blow to the point of uselessness.

“Goodbye, ribbit.” Or, alternatively, Asui could come to the rescue. Diving into the water and planting both feet into the villain’s head before using his face like a springboard to leap out of the water while simultaneously wrapping her tongue around Izuku’s body to pull him out alongside her.

“Thanks for the assist, Asui.” Said Izuku as he finished squeezing the water out of his cowl before reattaching it to his face guard. He then ran a hand through his hair to try and shake out some of the water.

“I told you to call me ‘Tsu,’ ribbit.” Replied Asui flatly.

“I’ll call you ‘Tsu’ if you’d like.” Said Mineta with a cheeky grin.

“No thank you.” She replied without looking at him, making Mineta hang his head in disappointment.

“Alright, let’s see if I understand this situation correctly.” Said Izuku as he wiped some water from his face. Unfortunately he forgot to take his gloves off, leading to his face getting even wetter. He made a face but otherwise continued speaking unimpeded. “They know our schedule, odds are that the media rush this morning was caused by them, using it as an opportunity to get that schedule. With a warper in their ranks such a thing probably wouldn’t be too difficult to achieve with a large enough distraction. Todoroki was right, they planned for this kind of thing, and they planned well.”

“But wait, there’s no way they’d be able to kill someone like All Might, right?” Asked Mineta. “I mean, he’s All Might for crying out loud!”

“Maybe they figured out a way to kill him, ribbit?” Suggested Asui, causing Mineta to flinch. “If they’ve thought this attack ahead, they must have a plan, they wouldn’t just come here to lose, ribbit.”

“That’s not all,” Said Izuku, “I mean, we’ve got a more immediate concern beyond All Might’s life being at risk. It’s pretty clear that the villains want us dead too, and with numbers like that there’s no guarantee we can hold out long enough for Iida to get help.”

“Especially since that fool already burnt through his time limit, so he won’t be able to help us even if the blue blur makes it to the main campus.”

Shit, Izuku had forgotten about that. This situation was becoming increasingly dire by the minute.

“Uh… Midoriya…?” Izuku felt Mineta tug on the sleeve of his costume. Confused, he looked down at his classmate, then in the direction he was pointing. His eyes widened when he saw what, or rather who, was in the water. Villains. It wasn’t just the one that attacked him that was in the water. “There’s a whole school of them!”

Crap. So many villains, all with Quirks clearly suited for aquatic combat.

Wait…

“Guys, something seems wrong here, right?” Asked Izuku.

“What do you mean Midoriya, ribbit?” Asked Asui.

“Ok, walk with me here.” Said Izuku. “Clearly they knew we were going to be here, as the invasion started moments after our arrival. And clearly they knew about the layout of the U.S.J, given the fact that the flood zone is currently flooding with aquatic villains.”

“Yeah, your point?” Asked Mineta.

“So why did they send Asu- Tsu, here?” Asked Izuku.

“Huh?” They seemed confused now.

“A- Tsu said it herself, she’s a master of aquatic terrain, meanwhile someone like Kacchan would have a miserable time fighting here. So why is she here and not somewhere like the conflagration zone?” Asked Izuku. After a beat of silence, he said, “It’s because they don’t know what our Quirks are. That’s how we win, the fact that they’re all hiding in the water supports my theory. One of them already got kicked in the face, I doubt the rest of them want to test their luck.”

“You want to fight these guys, are you insane!?” Demanded Mineta. “What the heck do you expect us to do? What the heck am I supposed to do!? Sure Asui can move in the water like they can, and you have your fancy ass super Quirk, but my Quirk sucks absolute balls! Literally! I’m just gonna be dead weight, so you should all just- OW, FUCK!” Mineta clutched his forehead after being flicked by Izuku for the second day in a row.

Izuku then sighed and crouched down before putting his hands on Mineta’s shoulders. “Mineta, you’re not dead weight and you’re not useless. In fact, your Quirk is amazing and so are you for being able to master it. You’d have to be in order for you to get into UA’s Hero Course, right?” 

Mineta seemed to pause at that. “W-well yeah, but-”

“Then as your class president, I’m going to have to ask you to not talk about yourself like that anymore.” Said Izuku. Suddenly his head jerked up a bit. The villains were getting restless, and they still needed a game plan. Then, as he remembered who he was standing in front of, inspiration came to him. “In fact, it’s thanks to you that I think I just figured out how we’re getting out of here.” That seemed to grab the interest of his classmates, so he started explaining his plan.

Meanwhile…

“DIIIE!” Katsuki roared as he blasted another villain away. He then took a deep breath as he wiped some sweat from his forehead. 

“Watch your back!” Shitty Hair’s warning allowed Katsuki to blast a villain coming from his right side without even looking.

The villain staggered a few times, before a hardened knuckle sent him onto his ass.

“That the last of ‘em?” Asked Dumb Hair as he moved his arms and did a few stretches with them to loosen up.

“These clowns were weak.” Scoffed Katsuki as he shook one of his hands, getting a feel for how much sweat he had stored up still.

“C’mon, the others are still in danger, let’s get a move on!” Exclaimed Shitty Hair. Katsuki rolled his eyes at how frantic he was being. “If we were dropped here, then everyone else must be as well, and they’re facing off against villains like this too. We gotta help ‘em!”

Katsuki gave him a tired look over his shoulder. “You idiot, if they’re against clowns like this, the Deku, Tsu, and the rest of those extras are gonna be fine.” He said, he then fixed his glare in the direction of the plaza. “Besides, if you were listening to Deku, then Four-Eyes should already be working on calling the cavalry, so they’ll be fine. I’m more interested in give the smoking bastard a taste of my explosions.”

“Yeah but-”

“That guy’s probably the only way the villains can get in or out. They’ll need him when things go to shit.” Katsuki then suddenly fired off an explosion behind him. Dumb Hair’s eyes slowly moved to where he attacked, and saw a villain holding a knife stagger before falling over. “You wanna piss off to search a place as big as this to find people who don’t need your help, then by all means. I’m gonna focus on what’s actually important: beating the villains.”

“Y’know, I’ve seen it before, but I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that you’re not just a raging berserker.” Laughed Shitty Hair. “You’re actually pretty darn calm and methodical, huh?”

“Up yours Hair-for-Brains!” Snapped Katsuki as he flipped him off, making the redhead laugh.

“Alright man, you’ve won me over. Let’s get to the plaza and kick some ass!” He declared while punching his hardened fists together.

Katsuki scoffed, but didn’t protest as the two took off.

“Watch your left bolt for brains!” 

“Uwa!” Cried Kaminari as Jirou just barely pulled him away from a villain trying to take his head off.

He stumbled a few times before tripping, falling headfirst into Momo’s chest.

She quickly grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. “Are you alright Kaminari?” She asked.

“Eheheh…” Rather than answering, Kaminari simply gave a weak laugh as he had a dopey expression on his face.

“Oi, quit dicking around and focus Pikachu!” Snapped Jirou as she smacked the back of Kaminari’s head with the hilt of the katana Momo has created for her with her Quirk.

“Ow! Hey! Look, look at her! Don’t act like you wouldn’t have reacted the same if you were in my position!” He countered. Jirou glared at him before glancing at Momo for a few seconds.

Her face started to turn red before she quickly turned around. “Fair. But still! Keep your head in the game and off her chest dammit!” She shouted.

“What’s going on here?” Momo felt kind of lost.

“Don’t worry about it.” Said Kaminari with a weak chuckle. Then his expression became fearful. “Oh shit.” He then grabbed her wrist and pulled, barely getting her clear of another villain’s attack.

“Dammit this is a mess! Can’t you use your Quirk to fry a couple of these clowns!?” Demanded Jirou.

“Weren’t you listening when I explained my Quirk earlier this week?!” Countered Kaminari as he ducked his head. “I’m not Todoroki! I can’t control where my Quirk goes, all I can do is shoot it out! I don’t wanna hurt you guys!” He then jerked a thumb towards his headset. “I’m trying to contact the school but unfortunately we still have that jammer running around.”

“Would a weapon that conducts electricity be to your liking?” Asked Momo as she created and pulled a weapon from her stomach before handing it to Kaminari.

“Eh?” Kaminari took the weapon, which was shaped more or less like a baseball bat. He sparked his Quirk up and it caused the entire thing to become electrified. He smirked before saying, “this is perfect, thanks for the assist Yaomomo!” He then swung it into the stomach of a villain. The impact knocked the wind out of him, before he used his Quirk to fry them and knock them onto their butt.

Jirou let out a tired groan. “We aren’t gonna last much longer like this.” She said. She then turned to Momo. “Hey, I have an idea.”

Once Momo heard Jirou out, she nodded her head. “That’s certainly doable, just make some room for me to work.” She replied.

“Gotcha. Oi! Pikachu! Keep ‘em off us would ya!?” She called.

“Huh!?” Said Kaminari as he scrambled out of the way of a villain trying to take his head off.

Jirou quickly connected her jacks to the amps in her boots and used them to blast the villains with her heartbeat, throwing them off balance enough for Kaminari to smack a few of them away. “All clear Yaomomo!” She shouted.

Kaminari stared in confusion as a large blanket suddenly came out of Momo’s back and covered her and Jirou. “Haha, fuck is this? Cowering under a blankie together kids?” Mocked one of the villains.

“It’s a one hundred millimeter thick insulation sheet, perfect for shielding two people from their ally’s indiscriminate electric attacks.” Explained Momo. “Do it Kaminari.”

Kaminari blinked before a grin appeared on his face. “Sick.” He looked at the villains who all tried to charge him. “Checkmate guys.”

The entire Mountain Zone then lit up like a lighthouse.

“Ora!” Shouted Rikido as he busted a pair of heads together, finishing off the last of the villains. He let out a few coughs. “God, it’s hard to breathe with all this smoke.” He complained. “You good Koda?” From his nearby hiding spot, his rock headed classmate gave a thumbs up. “Right, stay close, we should be able to get out of here now.” He groaned and put a hand on his head. He’d probably used too much sugar, things were starting to get a bit woozy for him.

He flinched when he felt something grab his hand, before relaxing a little when he realized it was just Koda. He gently tugged and pointed to the direction they were gonna go. “Thanks buddy.” He said, deciding to leave the directions to his friend for now.

Koda gave him another thumbs up before the pair departed.

“Vanquish them, Dark Shadow!” Ordered Tokoyami.

“WRYYY!” Screeched Dark Shadow as she attacked and smashed her way through the villains. Mashirao stuck to Tokoyami’s back, dealing with any villains that tried to sneak up on him and attack his blind spots while Dark Shadow dealt with the further away enemies.

“Your assistance is appreciated.” Said Tokoyami without looking towards his ally.

“Guess we make for a pretty good team.” Commented Mashirao as he used his tail to smack away another approaching villain.

“Indeed, this stormy area allows my other half to fight with all her might, though this can lead to her rushing recklessly, meaning defense is harder to handle.” Explained Tokoyami, ignoring the background noise of terrified screaming.

“She’s certainly… a personality.” Commented Mashirao with a weak chuckle as he watched the dentist Quirk work. “I’m glad she’s having fun at least?”

“I’m havin’ the time of my life!” Cackled Dark Shadow.

“Nonlethal means only, Dark Shadow!” Snapped Tokoyami with a glare.

“Yeah yeah, don’t get your feathers in a bunch Fumi.” She muttered as she tossed a villain over her shoulder(?) instead of twisting his head off like he was a doll. Mashirao let out a weak chuckle, his respect for Tokoyami rising as he watched him somehow manage to keep a grip on his Quirk’s metaphorical leash even in these circumstances.

“Watch your left.” Tokoyami’s comment barely gave Mashirao enough time to beat back another swiftly approaching villain.

He shook his head a little, Mashirao deciding that he needed to get his head back in the game. The pair continued fighting their way through the downpour section together.

“You heard what Deku said, right Iida?” Asked Uraraka quietly as she flexed her fingers. The two of them, alongside Ashido, Sero, and Shouji, were the only ones left at the entrance to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. It was thanks to Midoriya and Shouji’s quick thinking that a quarter of their class had managed to remain here.

“Even so, I cannot simply just abandon-” Tenya tried to argue, but Sero cut him off.

“Don’t be an idiot Class Sect!” The sound of their laidback classmate shouting made Tenya turn to look at him in surprise. “The Prez gave you an order, and he had faith in your speed that you’d be able to call for help. We’re relying on you here!” 

“Sero’s right, Iida!” Shouted Ashido. “Now get your rear into gear and start running!”

“Everyone…” Tenya looked at his four present classmates, each of them putting their faith in him, as well as their teacher who was currently bleeding out on the ground. Thirteen would almost certainly die here if he failed to get help in time. After chewing on his lip, he let out a sound of frustration as he fired up his Quirk before sprinting towards the entrance.

“Explaining your plan in front of your enemy. I cannot decide if you are confident or just foolish.” Said Kurogiri as he moved to intercept Tenya, his eyes widened as he saw a warpgate begin to form. “Regardless, it would be quite misfortune if you called upon your teachers, so I shall be sending you far away from them now.”

Internally Tenya began to panic, at this speed and distance from the villain, there was no way for him to be able to avoid being captured. Thankfully like the hero in training he was, his classmate Shouji was able to save the day. He wrapped his six webbed arms around the smokey villain, trapping him and his warpgate in his embrace. “Go Iida! Don’t slow down no matter what!” He shouted using one of his hand-mouths.

Kurogiri let out a grunt of frustration. “I won’t let you!” However he didn’t get very far before he suddenly felt himself being overtaken by a feeling of weightlessness.

His head turned to see Uraraka grabbing the metal collar around his neck, a manic grin of desperation on her face. “Thought so, if a bastard like you’s wearing something like this, then there’s a body to remove the gravity from after all!” She shouted.

Then something stuck to Kurogiri. Sero grinned as he began to spin on his heel, a strand of tape connecting his elbow to Kurogiri collar to his elbow. “And now I can put some distance between you and Emergency Exit!” He shouted, sporting a grin of his own under that helmet of his as he launched the villain into the air. “Have a nice flight, you won’t be Mist!” Once the villain was sent flying, Sero had to shield his head from being smacked by Ashido. “Hey, hey, that was hilarious!”

Over his shoulder, Tenya watched his friends give their all in order to let him escape. As he made it through the door, all he could think to himself was, ‘Thank you, everyone, I won’t let your efforts be in vain!’ He then kicked his Quirk to the highest gear he could maintain before sprinting to the main campus as fast as his armored legs could take him.

“Let’s do this!” Shouted Izuku as he put a foot and his hands on the edge of the “sinking” ship before practically leapfrogging into the air.

“The hell is that kid…?” Wondered one of the aquatic villains.

Another barked out a laugh. “Kid must’ve realized it was useless and is just offering himself up to die first.”

“Delaware…” Izuku curled the middle finger of his left hand and put it under his thumb before charging one hundred percent of One for All through it, he then aimed his hand at the water. “SMAAASH!” And then he flicked his finger.

That boosted finger flick, dubbed the Delaware Smash, created a mighty burst of air so strong it punched a hole in the middle of the water. The villains all cried out in shock as they then began to get sucked into the hole as the water they were in began moving to fill the space.

That was step one of Izuku’s plan, now it came for step two, as Asui leaped into the air to join Izuku, wrapping her tongue around Izuku’s torso to pull him alongside her while carrying Mineta under her arm. 

Then came step three, as with a piercing scream, Mineta began throwing his Pop Off balls into the hole as it sucked the villains in. “You’re a crazy bastard Midoriya!” He screamed, “But damn if you aren’t inspiring! Now suck on my balls you VILLAAAINS!” 

Izuku let a pained grin cross his face as things worked out exactly as plan, the vortex he created sucking the villains in while Mineta’s Quirk stuck them all together and trapped them. “Looks like that’s the first hurdle cleared, ribbit.” Said Asui as she carried them as far as she could from the villains. “Good job you two.”

Mineta sniffled a little, blood leaking from his scalp and onto his face while Izuku did his best to ignore the pain in his finger.

“A crazy plan, but an effective one.”

“I’ll admit, a single finger is definitely an improvement over three limbs.”

“Never gonna let that go, are you Second?”

“Never.”

With an unceremonious splash, the trio fell into the water. Izuku decided to leave getting to shore to the swimming expert and simply focused his breathing so he could do his best to isolate and block out the pain in his finger. He decided to spare his hand a glance, making a face at the state it, or rather the glove he was wearing, was in. The material that’d been around his middle finger hadn’t survived his Quirk at a hundred percent.

‘If we survive this, Hatsume’s gonna have my hide for breaking one of her babies.’ He thought to himself tiredly. 

Chapter Text

Cold.

Cold Cold Cold!

Tooru was starting to think Midoriya had a point, she really needed to upgrade her costume at some point, because running around with almost no clothing while there was ice everywhere was miserable! 

Sure, having Todoroki here to ice the villains and let her avoid the fighting was nice and all, even if she was fairly certain he’d failed to notice she was even there, but their Quirks were just not compatible.

She was really starting to feel for Ojiro when the guy got taken out by Todoroki almost immediately in the battle trial. If she ever fought this guy she’d be screwed.

Thank god for her gloves and boots otherwise she might have actually be contesting with hypothermia. Oh well, looks like Todoroki got whatever information he wanted from the villains, because he just took off towards the central area for the U.S.J.

If he wants to fight that circus then more power to him, she knows when she’s outclassed, being sneaky is her thing, not brawling.

Maybe Midoriya could help her get better at that though.

She couldn’t help but wonder, how was he doing right now…?

Izuku could only stare, a sickening sinking feeling in his stomach caused him to grip the edge of the flood zone as he remained in the water, his hands refusing to let go for fear that the feeling would drag him to the bottom of the pool for good.

It seemed that Asui and Mineta were experiencing similar feelings, as all three of them remained rooted in place as they stared helplessly at the scene in front of them.

Aizawa’s face was being pressed into the ground, blood pooling from somewhere on his body, Izuku couldn’t tell where given the giant monster that was trapping him in place, using one massive arm to keep pushing his face down while the other held his right arm, the limb limp and broken in its grasp.

“Canceling out Quirks is a pretty cool trick, Eraserhead.” Rasped the villain, his voice sounding like he’d never had a drop of water in his life, “But against someone as naturally strong as Nomu, you might as well be Quirkless.” Izuku winced as the monster, Nomu, slammed Aizawa’s face into the ground with enough force to create a small crater.

“Damn… what now Midoriya…?” Asked Mineta as the trio continued to stare.

Izuku wasn’t sure what to say. It was well known by this point on how… complicated his feelings were when it came to Aizawa, given the kind of week it’d been for them all thusfar. Izuku’s mental image of the concept of a teacher and a hero had been at odds with each other his entire time here. It was only thanks to a lack of directly negative experiences with the other teachers that Izuku was able to push down the negative association he had with the concept of teachers and focus on their positives as heroes instead. Aizawa was the obvious outlier here. “I…”

“Guys look, ribbit.” Asui pulled their attention back to the scene in front of them.

“Tomura Shigaraki…” It was Kurogiri, he had returned to his leaders side. His words then caught up to Izuku’s brain.

“Did that motherfucker just call him ‘Shigaraki?’”

“No way, there’s not a chance in hell, All Might turned that bastard’s face into ground beef.”

“Popped his head like a very disgusting zit.”

‘Did All for One leave behind a son before All Might defeated him?’ Wondered Izuku.

“There’s no way a man as self centered as my brother would ever do that. He’s too in love with himself to ever get with someone and way too paranoid of someone inheriting his Quirk to have a child.”

“One of the students escaped, he’s making his way to the main campus to call for reinforcements as we speak.” Explained Kurogiri. Hearing that brought some relief to Izuku. He knew putting his faith in Iida had been the right call.

“What?” Shigaraki practically snarled. He reached up and began scratching at his neck, the thing looks absolutely scarred and raw, so that must be a habit of his noted Izuku. “If you weren’t our escape route I’d dust you here and now.” With a scoff, the man stood up and began walking towards Kurogiri. “It can’t be helped, we only have one Nomu here, there’s no way he can take on the entire faculty. Let’s get out of here.”

“Wait, what?” Asked Izuku.

“They’re leaving, ribbit?” Asui was equally confused.

“Oh thank god, we’re saved.” Said Mineta, holding onto Asui happily. The other two students looked down at the boy, the fact that he wasn’t touching anywhere inappropriate was the only reason they let the hug continue.

“I’ve got a bad feeling Midoriya.” Said Asui.

Izuku nodded his head. “Yeah, to go through all this trouble and then just leave on a whim, what’s going through his head?”

“Perhaps he’s just a sore loser?” Suggested Mineta. “Or some sorta perfectionist who jumps ship the moment things don’t go as planned?”

“Yeah, maybe, but…” Izuku trailed off. ‘Damn, we can’t let them get away. We’ll be in trouble if guys like this are allowed to roam free.’

“But first…” Said Shigaraki as he stepped into Kurogiri, before suddenly appearing in front of the three kids. “Let’s leave the Symbol of Peace the parting gift of departed kids, just to wound his pride.”

In that moment, it felt like time ground to a halt for Izuku. He stared in shock as he saw the villain’s hand move, aimed straight at Asui’s face. In his mind, he could almost see it, the mental image of his friend’s corpse. He wasn’t sure what his Quirk was, but he could tell that a touch from him would mean death.

Izuku was afraid. Afraid of losing those around him. Afraid of someone like Tsu dying because he was too slow to act. Of Aizawa dying for their sakes before he could make things right with him.

Sixth was having similar feelings. He was a hero after all, and he could respect someone who was willing to put his life on the line to save others. Especially a fellow Underground Hero like Eraserhead who was fighting out of his element but going beyond even so. He knew the man had never heard a single negative word from the vestige of the late Underground Hero, but he still wanted the chance to apologize for the things he’d said about him nonetheless.

Izuku and Sixth both shared a common thought, a common desire, ‘I want to save them!”

And through that desire, a resonance occurred.

A large cloud of purple smoke suddenly exploded from Izuku’s skin all at once, making the villain pause in confusion. “What the hell!?”

”SMAAASH!” Rather than an answer, all Tomura Shigaraki received was a powered punch that sent him flying backwards and straight through Kurogiri portal, before continuing to fly through the air.

“Tomura Shigaraki!” Called Kurogiri as he watched his leader fly into the air. With a sound of frustration, he then turned his attention towards the monster pinning Aizawa down. “Nomu! Catch him!” 

The monster reacted immediately, releasing Aizawa and leaving him to continue bleeding out on the ground before running and leaping into the air to catch Shigaraki faster than nearly anyone’s eyes could track.Izuku was able to see it though, and he was able to use that to his advantage as he immediately started moving, charging One for All through his entire body as he rushed towards his downed teacher, picking him up into his arms.

“Mi… doriya…” Wheezed Aizawa through his internal (and external) bleeding as well as his broken, well, everything.

“I’d ask if you’re alright, sir, but I feel like that question would be a bit illogical at this point.” Izuku muttered flatly. Aizawa let out a bloody scoff, guess the man wasn’t in much of a joking mood.

“Midoriya!” Izuku turned his head to see Mineta and Tsu jogging and hopping towards him.

“The fuck was that!?” Demanded Mineta, still looking at Izuku with a shocked expression.

“Eh?” Izuku blinked at him.

“You’re smoking, ribbit. Literally.” Said Tsu, pointing at him.

Izuku looked down at his arm to see that he still had the purple smoke coming off his body, albeit much more slowly than when he used it to distract Shigaraki.

“Smokescreen. This kid just used Sixth’s Quirk!”

“How is this possible, First?”

“I’m not entirely sure. It’s possible that One for All has somehow managed to achieve a new stage of evolution. Perhaps we vestiges hold more than just the memories of the previous vessels, but their Quirks as well.”

“How’re you feeling, Sixth?”

“I feel… odd, like I’ve been asleep for so long but have just woken up. Just like Izuku, I wanted to do something, anything to save them. Both Aizawa and his friends. It seems that wish brought En’s Quirk out.”

“I suppose it’s a Quirk Awakening of sorts.” Izuku decided to (falsely) explain. “I’ve only had access to my Quirk for a short period, so perhaps there are still unexplored avenues to it.”

“FUUUCK, MY RIBS!” Shigaraki’s shouts of enraged pain halted Izuku’s pondering. “I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL THAT GREEN HAIRED BRAT!”

“Damn.” Said Izuku, frowning before turning his attention towards his two friends. He then began handing Aizawa to them. “I’m going to need you two to take Aizawa to the entrance, I’ll keep the villains busy.”

There was a beat of silence before Mineta practically exploded. “I know I’ve said this already, but I guess it bears repeating, ARE YOU INSANE!?”

“You can’t really expect us to leave you here to fend for yourself, ribbit?” Tsu was in a state of similar disbelief.

“Guys, I think he’s made it pretty clear which of us he has it out for.” Said Izuku, his voice calm even as a nervous sweat ran down the side of his face. “I can either hold them off here and let you guys get away or try to protect you while you’re carrying Aizawa. Between the two, only one of those options puts all of us in danger.” 

“You can’t…” Wheezed Aizawa weakly, “fight that thing, that thing is on par with All Might, and its strength isn’t even the product of a Quirk. I refuse to let you fight it.”

Izuku looked towards his teacher as he handed him off to Tsu, who reluctantly took him into her arms, struggling for a moment as she tried her best to balance herself with his long figure throwing her off. He then gave the teacher a smile as he reached behind his head. “I appreciate your concern, but it’ll be fine Aizawa-Sensei,” He said before pulling his cowl over his face, “Because I Am Here.”

“RIP HIM TO PIECES NOMU!” Screeched Shigaraki angrily. His monstrous companion screeched as well as it suddenly rushed towards the quartet.

“Midoriya, no, don’t do this!” Shouted Aizawa using his one good arm to send his capture scarf towards the boy in a desperate attempt to keep him from rushing to his death, but Izuku was faster.

The monster and the heir to the Number One Hero’s Quirk rushed each other, a cloud of purple smoke eruption from Izuku’s body as he clashed with the Nomu.

At first it looked like, at a distance, that Nomu’s right fist had simply collided with Izuku’s left, but in truth it was hardly that accurate.

Right before their fists connected, Izuku tilted his upper body to the right just enough so that rather than the fist meeting with, and subsequently obliterating, his head, it instead grazed his left cheek. At the speed it was going it still was fast enough to rub his flesh raw though, as it would turn red a few seconds from now. Izuku’s own fist meanwhile, collided with Nomu’s beaked face causing the thing to twist in a way that more than certainly meant a broken neck. It swayed a few times before falling flat on its ass.

A pained chuckle came from Shigaraki’s direction, causing Izuku to take his eyes off the fallen monster. “Damn kid, you went straight for the kill against my Nomu, even punched it in a way that it’s Shock Absorption Quirk would barely do anything to protect it. Not too bad, though I guess we can’t exactly call it ‘heroic’ either, can we?.” Said Shigaraki, one hand of his stomach in the spot Izuku had hit him, taking care not to accidentally destroy the fabric of his shirt by having one finger lifted up and away from his stomach as he held it. “I’d be impressed if I wasn’t so dead set on killing you now.”

“While I’m not one for agreeing with the child killing madman, even I’ve gotta admit that I’m impressed by your ruthlessness there kid.”

‘Don’t be.’ Izuku replied calmly. “Can’t kill something that’s not really alive.”

“Eh?”

“Oh? Something you figured out?” Asked Shigaraki in annoyance.

“It moves only when it’s ordered, it’s inhumanly strong even without the assistance of a Quirk, and it continually maintains that blank look on its face no matter what.” Explained Izuku, gesturing towards Nomu with his uninjured hand. “Couple that with the way you refer to it more like a weapon or a belonging than you would as an ally like the way you do with Kurogiri, and it’s safe to assume this Nomu here isn’t a sentient creature. Perhaps it breathes and bleeds, but there’s nothing going on inside that exposed brain of his. Trust me, I felt nothing but pity for this poor creature’s existence, hence why I decided to put it out of its misery.”

Shigaraki stared in silence for a few moments before laughing. “You’re a smart one, kid. But there’s one mistake you made.”

“And what’s that?” Asked Izuku.

“Not considering the fact that an artificial creature like Nomu could potentially be carrying multiple Quirks.”

What?

“Watch your right!”

Fourth’s warning was the only reason Izuku was able to move in time, leaning backwards fast and far enough for him to avoid Nomu’s fist, though he was now the one falling on his ass as a result. Nomu reared its other fist back and swung it down towards Izuku, who quickly rolled to his left to get out of the way before getting onto his feet. His eyes widened as he then actually saw Nomu, standing there with its head still twisted at a disturbing angle. Then with a loud, disgusting crack, its head snapped back into place.

“No fucking way…”

“It can’t be…”

“Well shit, I guess that confirms it.”

“Indeed, a monster with multiple Quirks can only mean one thing…”

Izuku grit his teeth as First spoke the worst sentence he’d heard in a long time.

“All for One is still alive.”

“Now then, I think it’s time for this boss fight’s second phase, wouldn’t you agree?” Said Shigaraki with a vile laugh. “Cue the Latin choir!”

“Fuckin’ nerd.”

Nomu attacked again, though this time Izuku was ready to meet him head on. He knew that he couldn’t just win this fight by punching his opponent into submission, Nomu’s super strength already made it tough and those Shock Absorption Regeneration Quirks of his only made him go from dangerous to downright bullshit.

Thankfully, Izuku had some boons of his own to level the playing field.

First: One for All. While he obviously wasn’t ready to trade blows with All Might yet, he was still proficient in using his Quirk and could at the very least match Nomu’s pace, even if he was a little slower.

Second: Smokescreen. While Izuku wasn’t entirely sure of the mechanism behind the Quirk’s activation, he was still using it and he could figure out the specifics later when he wasn’t fighting for his life. Surrounding himself in with his Quirk limited Nomu’s vision, making it harder for him to land hits on Izuku.

Third: Izuku was smarter. Obviously. Nomu was literally a braindead killing machine that could only follow orders, so Izuku just had to fight smarter, not harder, to keep up with this thing. And with Smokescreen obscuring their battle, Shigaraki couldn’t direct it either.

Izuku figured out the pattern to handling this, “boss fight,” rather quickly. If he couldn’t hurt the Nomu, he’d just outlast it. Rather than attack the Nomu, he opted to dodge and deflect his attacks. The Nomu throws a punch, Izuku punches the arm to redirect it and make it just barely miss him. In the back of his mind, he could hear the vestiges talking amongst themselves.

“What in the world…?”

“What’s wrong First?”

“Can’t you feel it? Izuku’s output is increasing! And his body is keeping up!”

Izuku then realized that even with his Quirk, Nomu still had weak points, for example, any part of his body that was lacking in muscle. Like his knees!

The next time Nomu threw a punch, Izuku found his opening. “Missouri… SMASH!” Shouted Izuku, chopping the monster’s arm to throw it off balance using its own momentum. He then lifted one of his legs so that his knee was practically touching his chest. “And then… ARIZONA SMASH!” He shouted, kicking down. The strike buckled the Nomu's knee, causing it to fall even further forwards.

Izuku inhaled sharply through his nose. ‘One for All… Thirteen Percent…’ He then shouted aloud, “WYOMING SMASH!” He brought his arms up and linked his hands together before spiking Nomu in the head, sending it down with enough force to dissipate most of the smoke surrounding them.

“How is this possible? Up until this point he could only handle nine percent.”

“I’m not entirely sure, I think you of all people realize that this boy is defying the logic of One for All. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say, it’s evolving…”

“Damn it…” Growled Shigaraki. “How the hell is Nomu losing against some brat!? Master said he would be the perfect tool to kill All Might! But instead He’s just getting his shit kicked in by some wannabe fanboy who’s copying his moves!” Shigaraki was clearly frustrated, if the way he was scratching at his neck was any indication.

“Shall I intervene?” Asked Kurogiri.

“No…” Said Shigaraki. “If this unit is such trash that it can’t handle some punk then I’d rather let it get obliterated. Best not to keep our trump cards close for now until we can upgrade our equipment for round two…” His eyes then wandered over to the two hero students who were fleeing up the steps, slowed by having to carry their injured teacher who’d since blacked out by this point. “Though, if what I can understand about this rookie is true, I might have an idea. Nomu! Forget the green one! Take out the other ones!”

“What!?” Exclaimed Izuku as the Nomu suddenly darted away. “Get back here you!” He shouted as he chased after it.

His eyes widened as he saw it close in on his friends and Aizawa-Sensei. ‘Crap crap crap crap!’ He shouted internally.

“Omigod we’re gonna die we’regonnadie!” Screeched Mineta fearfully as the Nomu got closer and closer.

‘DAMMIT, ALL OR NOTHING!’ Izuku screamed at himself. As his right foot planted in the ground, her charge one hundred percent of One for All into his right leg, and leapt. 

At the same time, the Nomu reached the others, its fist rearing back. Right before he could obliterate them, Izuku’s body slammed into his friends, the force of which launched them all to the top of the stairs, where they surprised and were subsequently caught by their classmates. Izuku was barely able to bring his arms up into an X shape to shield his chest before the fist made impact.

It was a devastating blow. Izuku’s left arm bones were completely snapped, and the right were almost certainly fractured. Not to mention the punch sent him downwards with enough force to leave a small crater in the stairs. To add insult to literal injury, using One for All shattered his right leg, so he wouldn’t even be able to move anymore.

Izuku was seeing stars, his ears were ringing, his body hurt all over, and he could hear Shigaraki laughing. “Too bad Player Two, looks like you lose!”

Izuku’s body twitched, his left arm and right leg were useless, but he still had his remaining two limbs. If he could just move… maybe…

He made a pained noise as he was suddenly lifted up by the front of his costume. The Nomu was such a muscled beast that it could pick him up single-handedly without breaking a sweat.

“DEKU!”

“Oh no you don’t, ribbit!”

“Put me down Tsu, I’m gonna send that freak into the stratosphere!”

“We’re inside, and that thing’ll rip you limb from limb before you could ever even touch it!”

“Dammit I don’t care, I’m not letting that thing kill my friend!”

“Ocha… ko…” Wheezed Izuku weakly, recognizing the sound of his friend’s voice, even as he felt his consciousness fading.

“Still though,” Said Shigaraki in a thoughtful tone, “before I have Nomu quite literally punch your ticket, I figure I’d ask the username of my first ever P.K, you get what I mean?”

What, was he asking for his name? Honestly, Izuku could barely understand this guy through all the gamer jargon, and the concussion wasn’t helping either. Still, in his delirious state, a single name came to his mind as he reached his, well he couldn’t call it ‘good,’ so let’s just call it his ‘better arm’ instead. He reached his better arm up, gripped the Nomu’s hand and said the only name that could come to his mind while in this state, “De… ku…”

He then charged One for All at thirteen percent before bending the Nomu’s thumb backwards and using his good leg to kick it in the chest. These two actions managed to break its grip on him and propel him away from the monster. As Izuku flew through the air, he heard voices behind him shouting.

“Sero!”

“On it!”

Izuku then felt something attach to his back before yanking him downwards.

“I got him, I got him!”

When he landed, rather than feeling the cold hard ground, he felt a familiar, warm embrace, coupled with an equally familiar feeling of weightlessness.

“Deku? Deku!? Speak to me dammit Izuku!”

Izuku opened his mouth in a weak attempt to say something in spite of his energy being completely drained away, but then the screech of the Nomu caught his attention. He saw the monster leap into the air and was now falling right towards them.

“Of crap oh crap oh crap, we’re all gonna die!”

“Nebraskaaa… SMAAASH!”

With a mighty roar, came a powerful cyclone of air that slammed into the Nomu and sent it flying backwards, causing it to land in the center of the U.S.J. next to its master. Even as the corners of his vision began to go dark, Izuku found comfort in the sight of All Might’s massive back, as the number one Hero now stood between them and the villains.

“You did well my boy.” Said All Might softly, looking at his successor over his shoulder, before reaching up and ripping off his tie while speaking up to address 1A as a whole. “Now, have no fear students. For I Am Here!”

Chapter Text

Even at a distance, he was able to get a grasp on the situation. All Might had arrived and started trying to kick the Brain Bastard’s ass, key word being, “try.” He must’ve had some sort of Quirk that was dampening his attacks, so he went for a roundabout method, a suplex to quite literally put the freak six feet under. Unfortunately it seems the Misty Mook was a step ahead of him, as the moment the Brain Bastard would’ve hit the dirt, Misty Mook opened a Warp Gate that Brain Bastard went right through completely unharmed, and had managed to trap All Might in the process. He was using the burnt sausages it called fingers to dig into All Might’s sides, almost certainly agitating his injury. He was gonna need to act now or All Might would be screwed.

“DIIIE!” With the aid of his Quirk, Katsuki was able to launch himself right at the Misty Mook. As he flew through the air, he planted a hand against the metal collar Misty Mook was wearing and fired another explosion that disrupted his concentration, while using his other arm at an angle to fire an explosion that sent them both straight to the ground. Katsuki grinned as he kept the Misty Mook pinned right in place.

“Dammit, more brats are butting in…” Muttered Handjob, scratching at his neck in agitation. He then quickly sidestepped right before Shitty Hair could take him out with a jab from a hardened hand. At the same time, a thin layer of frost covered the ground before the right half of Brain Bastard’s body suddenly froze over.

“So I heard scum like you are here to kill All Might, is that right?” Asked the Half n’ Half Bastard, “As if people like you could ever hope for a snowball’s chance in hell to accomplish something like that…”

Dumb Hair quickly jumped away from Handjob, who took a swipe at him. “Damn, almost had him…” He muttered.

“Tch, gotta work on your speed a bit it seems Shitty Hair.” Snarked Katsuki. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed Misty Mook begin to move, so he fired off a couple small explosions, which made the villain hiss in pain before returning to staying still. “That’s right Fog Face, you stay niiice and still. I noticed this nifty little guard on your neck and realized that there might be a bit more substance to ya than you were lettin’ on, and it seems I was right on the money. Now if you don’t wanna be turbo nuclear blasted to fucking Narnia, I’d suggest you don’t try anything funny.”

“Could you try to sound a little less villainous?” Asked Shitty Hair with a nervous chuckle, to which Katsuki responded with a graceful raising of his middle finger. He turned his head when he heard the sound of grunting, and saw that All Might had finally broken free from the Brain Bastard’s hold on him. “‘Bout time. Now the only one we’re missing from this party is Deku, surprised the damn need is draggin’ his feet like this. At this rate he’s gonna miss watching you lay the smack down on these bozos.”

“Yeah, where the heck is everyone else? Were you alone Todoroki?” Asked Dumb Hair, Icyhot then nodded his head in response.

All Might let out a shaky breath as he held his sigh while looking down at the ground. Katsuki raised his eyebrow at that, noticing that something felt off about the number one Hero’s smile now. His confusion only continued to grow when Handjob started laughing. “So, you’re ‘Deku’s’ friend, is that right? Well then, by all means All Might, why don’t you tell the little firecracker what became of the green haired hero hopeful?” He said snidely.

“The fuck’s got you giddy, giggles?” Snapped Katsuki.

“Young Midoriya, as well as Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen, are in critical condition right now.” Said All Might solemnly.

Katsuki’s second eyebrow rose to meet the first. “What?”

“Wait, what? Midobro is hurt?” Asked Dumb Hair.

All Might nodded. “From what your classmates told me, before I could arrive, he was forced to fight off that monster on his own, and their leader employed dirty tactics to allow his monster to claim victory.”

“Where?” Asked Katsuki.

“Eh?”

“Where the hell is Deku now?” Asked Katsuki, his tone disturbingly calm.

“He’s… at the top of those stairs, being looked after by the others, Young Bakugou, are you al-?” As soon as All Might answered his question, Katsuki began tuning him out.

“Kirishima, get over here.” Katsuki beckoned his redhead classmate towards him.

“Bakubro, what’re you-?” Kirishima stopped talking when Katsuki raised a hand towards him, his palm glowing and sizzling.

“Keep this bastard in place, I’ll be right back. If any of the villains so much as twitch a finger, I want you to eviscerate the Misty Mook, capiche?” Kirishima seemed to tell that there was little room for argument, so he simply crouched down and placed a hardened hand on the villain’s metal collar. Katsuki then stood up, took a step back, turned to face the stairs, and fired explosions from his palms with enough force to launch himself to the top of the staircase. During his flight, he noticed a crater in the stairs, and was willing to hazard a guess as to what had been used to make that dent in the ground.

“Gah, what the hell!?” Exclaimed one of the others when he landed. “Wait, Bakugou!?”

“Where is he?” Asked Katsuki, barely paying him any mind.

“Where is…?” Asked Raccoon Eyes in confusion.

“Bakuchan, ribbit.” 

His head turned so quickly that his neck nearly snapped. He saw them, Round Face and Tsu both crouching on the ground, Deku’s body floating and being held close by Round Face. He walked towards them, crouching down to be closer, before reaching out and placing two fingers against Izu- Deku’s neck. He had to hold back the urge to breathe a sigh of relief when he found a pulse.

“He protected us, ribbit.” Said Tsu. Katsuki turned to look at her. “Mineta and I, that Shigaraki guy tried to attack us, but Midoriya managed to fight him off, ribbit. Then he fought that monster so we could carry Aizawa-Sensei to safety. He only lost when that guy told his monster to ignore him and attack us instead, he used his own body to protect us, and now look at him, ribbit.”

“That brave fuckin’ dumbass.” Katsuki was actually surprised to hear someone speak those words at the exact same time as him, especially since the someone in question was fuckin’ Round Face of all people. Katsuki took a deep breath in through his nose, before exhaling. “Take care of him for me.”

“Like you fucking need to tell me to do that.” Said Uraraka quietly. “Keep a look out for its Quirks. It’s strong as All Might and can heal itself.”

Katsuki nodded his head before standing up and turning around. “Bakuchan.” Hearing Tsu’s voice made him pause. “Please don’t die, ribbit.” He didn’t say anything, simply nodding his head in response, before launching himself back into the plaza with an explosion.

“Honestly young Bakugou, I would’ve preferred if you’d stayed up there. Then again I suppose that wouldn’t be in your character, now would it?” Said All Might with a sigh. “I’m still going to have to ask you to stay back and not get involved in this… fight…” All Might trailed off when he noticed the expression on Katsuki’s face.

The upper half of his face, save for his eyes, was obscured in shadow. The disturbing part was that he seemed so… calm, rather out of character for the explosive boy. “I’m gonna send you straight to hell, Handjob.” He said, his tone as unnaturally calm as his face.

Handjob gave an amused scoff. “Damn brat, not exactly all that Heroic soundi-” Katsuki didn’t let him finish that thought as he suddenly launched himself at an almost impossibly fast speed using his explosions. Next thing Handjob knew, Katsuki was right in his face and about to blow him away. “Sh-shit, Nomu!” He cried out, actually sounding fearful for once.

Katsuki heard the sound of ice shattering and flesh tearing, and looked to his left to see the monster that’d hurt Izu- Deku leaping at him with only an arm and a leg, yet still moving ridiculously fast. Katsuki used his explosions to quickly reorient himself mid air so that he was upside down, just barely missing the monster’s punch. He then wrapped his legs around its arm and pulled himself upwards before clapping the Brain Bastard’s ears and firing his Quirk off, causing it to become disoriented with its eardrums blown.

He then released his legs’ grip on its arm and launched himself away from the monster, glaring as he saw it awkwardly wobble with an arm and a leg before its limbs quickly regrew. Right, Round Face mentioned regeneration. “Holy Crap…” He heard Dumb Hair say behind him. “That was manly as hell Bakubro!”

“Damn All Might, your brat just tried to kill me, the hell’re you teaching these kids?” Asked Handjob with a shake of his head. “Then again, if it’s a Hero performing acts of violence, who cares right? That really pisses me off! We both act violent, but some of us are viewed better than others, ‘you’re good, we’re evil.’” The villain could help but let out a humorless laugh. “Kill the red brat, Nomu.” The monster obediently charged Dumb Hair. Crap, Handjob had been stalling until Brain Bastard’s ears would grow back, and he’s way faster with both of his legs. 

“Oooh Shit!” Cried Kirishima as he activated his Quirk, but Katsuki knew that even being as durable as a rock wouldn’t be enough to keep him from crumbling under this thing’s fists. Thankfully All Might figured that out too, as he quickly grabbed the student and threw him to the side before tanking the hit himself. Katsuki’s brows rose a little when he saw that the punch carried enough force to actually make All Might alive a couple dozen feet backwards. He also noticed that his skin was starting to release steam, the telltale sign his Quirk wasn’t gonna be able to hold out much longer. Damn.

“Haha, anything to protect a comrade, Symbol of Peace?” Mocked Handjob. “But honestly, we both know that at the end of the day, you’re just a tool of violence, something I plan to prove to the world when I kill you.”

“Hmph, what a load of hooey.” Replied All Might as he shook his arms a little to loosen them up after that blow. “You’re just messing around and we both know it.”

Handjob laughed again. “Oops, y’got me.” He admitted. Katsuki could tell there was a demented smile under that creepy hand mask of his.

“It’s Four against Three, we can take them.” Said Icyhot, giving a glare to the villains as he watched Misty Mook return to Handjob’s side, having gotten free after Brain Bastard hit All Might.

“Yeah, no way in hell we’re gonna let you guys win!” Declared Shitty Hair, who’d finally managed to catch back up to the group after being thrown by All Might. His Quirk made his landing easier on him, though the same couldn’t be said for the patch of ground he landed on.

“No, I’m going to have to ask the three of you to stand back.” Said All Might, holding a hand towards them.

“With all due respect, sir, you would not have lasted had we not stepped in.” Said Half n’ Half drily.

“And I do appreciate the save, Young Todoroki,” Replied All Might with a shake of his head, “but with this monster’s dual Quirks and regained freedom of movement, I don’t want you to risk yourselves. That attack young Kirishima nearly took made it clear that this thing doesn’t know the meaning of ‘restraint.’ Don’t worry boys, I’m about to show you what it looks like when a Pro Hero gets serious.”

“Nomu, Kurogiri, kill him.” Said Handjob, “I’ll take care of the brats. Let’s clear this level and go home.” He then started charging towards Dumb Hair and Icyhot, who hardened his arms and began generating ice around his right foot in preparation.

“I will stop these villains, because I am…” Declared All Might, as Bakugou suddenly felt an intense amount of pressure emanating from the man. “The World’s Symbol of Peace and Justice!” He then took off like a bullet, so fast that it made Handjob freeze in his tracks in surprise. Brain Bastard charged in turn, letting out a screech as its fist clashed with All Might’s, creating a shockwave that sent Handjob flying backwards. Katsuki and the others had to adjust their footing to just narrowly avoid being blasted as well.

“Weren’t you listening!?” Said Handjob in frustration. “One of his powers is Shock Absorption!”

“Yeah, what about it!?” Replied All Might with a grin as he threw another punch, and another. And another and another and another and another. A barrage of punches so fast that Katsuki lost track of their fists, as their became nothing but speeding blurs. “You said its Quirk was Shock Absorption, not Nullification, that means there’s a limit to what it can take right!? If this big guy was made to handle me firing off at One Hundred Percent of my power, then I’ll just go beyond that and force it to surrender!”

Katsuki stared, feeling awestruck at the display. He saw that All Might was injured, and he realized that the man had long since burnt out his timer for the day, but even so he was giving it his all. He could tell each one of his punches weren’t random either, they were targeted, and firing off at more power than he’d seen the number one pull off in a long time. Moreover, this speed was creating such intense shockwaves that it was making it impossible for Handjob and Misty Mook to interfere.

“A real Hero… will always find a way for Justice to prevail!” Declared All Might as he grappled Brain Bastard midair and tossed it to the ground with enough force to make to form a crater before bouncing. All Might then landed next to the monster and charged up a devastating punch. “Now for a lesson, you may have heard these words before, but I’ll teach you what they really mean, ‘Go Beyond! Plus ULLLTRAAA!’” He then smashed Brain Bastard so hard the thing wound up blasting off through the roof like it was a damn rocket.

The students could only stare. It was Shitty Hair who was the first to speak. “That was like the finishing move in a video game… he punched the shock absorption straight out of him…”

Katsuki turned his head, and he could hear the faint cheering of Deku’s friends at the top of the stairs. Looks like they got to see the tail end of All Might’s show. “Heh… guess I am slowing down…” Coughed All Might, steam coming from his body at an increasingly speedy rate as blood trickled from his mouth and side. “Back in my heyday, I could’ve knocked that guy out in just five punches.” He then brought his fist to his chest. “But today it took over three hundred of those mighty blows.”

“Dammit…” Snarled Handjob. “Dammit dammit dammit! You damn cheater, ALL MIGHT!” He was practically shrieking as he clawed at his neck with his hands, to the point that Katsuki could see the flesh becoming red and raw. “‘You’ve weakened?!’ Could’ve fooled me! You blasted my Nomu away like he was a fucking member of Team Rocket! Did… did he lie to me…?!”

“Well… what now, villains? Will you continue to fight even without your weapon?” Asked All Might, continuing to stand his ground. But Katsuki knew a facade when he saw one, the man was spent, he was just trying to bluff them. “Weren’t you going to ‘clear this level and go home?’ Bring it on, punks!”

“If only we had Nomu… if only we had Nomu…!” Bemoaned Handjob.

“Calm yourself, Tomura Shigaraki…” Chided Misty Mook. “Look closely, it’s clear that the Symbol of Peace did not walk from that clash unscathed. In truth this might be the greatest chance we will ever get.”

Katsuki saw the corners of All Might’s mouth twitch at that. Crap, they’d seen through the bluff! “You’re right…” Said Handjob, his hands falling to his sides as he seemed to calm down a little. “We can do this… the final boss is right there… even if we lost most of our party members, we can still make this all worth it if we make one last gamble…”

“All Might, you take care of these clowns, we’ll go help the others!” Called Dumb Hair as he tried to sort of drag Half n’ Half away with him, achieving rather positive results given the very clear difference in muscles between the two.

“Bakugou, are you coming?” Asked Icyhot flatly as he continued to be dragged along. Katsuki ignored him as he flexed his fingers a few times, knowing that the villains were about to pounce and he was going to have to step in. Whatever these Extras weren’t exactly on the same level as Brain Bastard, he could take them no problem.

“This is for what you did to my Nomu, All Might!” Shouted Handjob as he lunged. Katsuki prepared to launch himself with his explosions, but the sound of gunshots ringing out through the U.S.J. made him pause. Handjob flinched back and cried out in pain as bullets suddenly tore through his left hand and thigh, making him stagger back.

The students’ heads turned towards the entrance as a booming voice rang out. “Apologies for the wait everyone! Secretary of Class 1A, Tenya Iida, reporting for duty!” Shouted Glasses, standing at the top of the steps alongside the rest of UA’s faculty. Snipe, who’d had his sights on Handjob, quickly aimed towards the mountain zone and fired a couple shots before the rest of the teachers quickly leapt into the fray. In short order they managed to smash through and wrangle up the remaining villains in the U.S.J, saving the other scattered students in the process.

Snipe turned to shoot Handjob again, but Misty Mook was faster, surrounding his leader and warping the bullets away. “A shame, it seems we’ll have to depart.”

“No way I’m letting you go!” There was suddenly a powerful wind that began pulling everyone towards the top of the stairs. Thirteen, with the support of Tape Face and Raccoon Eyes, was going in to try and capture Misty Mook one last time.

“Too little too late…” The villain responded as his misty body seemed to get smaller and smaller.

From inside, Handjob’s creepy face could be seen. “This isn’t over… All Might…!” He declared, his voice practically dripping with contempt as he vanished.

Katsuki let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in before turning his attention to All Might. The steam was doing a good job obscuring him, but he knew the man would change back any second, so he decided to act fast. He walked over and grabbed Dumb Hair and Icyhot’s wrists and began to drag them towards the entrance. “Let’s go dickheads, don’t wanna impede the pros.”

“You’re pulling too hard.” Said Half n’ Half in a voice that sounded more akin to discomfort than annoyance.

“Then walk faster dammit.” Retorted Katsuki flatly. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder to see a scrawny arm giving him a thumbs up. Satisfied with his course of action, Katsuki practically manhandled the other two boys all the way up the stairs.

Once at the top, the other two boys were able to see the state that their classmate and homeroom teacher was in. Round Face used her Quirk to remove the gravity of Deku and the injured teachers, in order to make moving the three into an ambulance a much less arduous ordeal. She was forced to release their Quirk once they were loaded up though, as she couldn’t go with them to Recovery Girl’s office. She argued against the authorities on this, but some gentle persuasion from Glasses and Tsu eventually got her to relent. All Katsuki could do was quietly stare as his rival was loaded up and taken away. The thing that managed to break his concentration and get him to remember to blink was the feeling of a hand gripping his. “He’ll be ok, ribbit.” Said Tsu calmly.

“Tch, I know that.” He responded, pretending to be completely confident and unbothered, as if he wasn’t currently squeezing the frog girl’s hand.

“I saw some of your moves out there, ribbit.” Said Tsu. “You were pretty cool out there. Good job not dying after all.”

“Like there was any doubt I wasn’t going to kick their asses.”

“Nope, ribbit, not a doubt to be had.”

“Wheyyy…”

Katsuki looked at Dunce Face, who seemed to be making an even dumber expression than usual. “Hell’s wrong with him?”

“Jamming Whey here overshot his Quirk when fighting off the villains, totally scrambled his brain.” Said Earlobes with an eyeroll, despite having one of his arms resting around her shoulders for support. “Idiot nearly gave us a heart attack when he let that villain grab him.”

“Now Jirou, we can’t blame Kaminari,” Said Ponytail, who was supporting his other arm, “after all, we already knew in advance the drawbacks of his Quirk when we let him use that attack, we were the ones foolish enough to drop our guards and not expect there to be a villain who would be unaffected by his Quirk.”

Earlobes scoffed. “Yeah, well blaming him sure feels easier.” She replied. “I mean, if the teachers hadn’t shown up when they had, then…”

“Wheeey.” Dunce Face seemed to squeeze the arm around her shoulders a little tighter as he gave a thumbs up.

When she looked towards him, she couldn’t help but let the corners of her mouth twitch up a little. “Heh, geez, really hard to stay upset when you make goofy faces like this, you know.” She said.

”Oh ho ho…” Laughed Sparkles. “That endeavor was truly perilous, I bet you’re all curious as to what happened to moi?”

”A bit yeah.” Said Invisibitch, placing a gloved finger against her chin, miming a thoughtful expression.

”Well…” Said Sparkles, a proud look on his face. “It’s… a secret!”

Invisibitch seemed to just stare at him for a moment before saying, “Well I wound up in Todoroki’s area. Dude’s crazy strong, he iced all the villains in no time. Now I feel for Ojiro and Ashido getting their butts handed to them during the trials.” She continued to talk with Sparkles, who’d try to make the conversation about him every so often, which she’d indulge for a second before returning the topic to its original course.

“Hm… interesting… very interesting…” Said Raccoon Eyes, having a hand on her chin as she watched them all talk amongst themselves.

“Got something you wanna share with the class, pinky?” Asked Katsuki drily.

“Oh nothing, just how absolutely adorable you guys loo-” Said Raccoon Eyes, only to be cut off by Dumb Hair.

“Ah leave ‘em be Ashido, we’ve all had a rough day.” He said tiredly as he practically started dragging her away by the back of her shirt.

“No fair!” Whined Raccoon eyes with a pout. “Let me have my fun, horn buddy!”

“Hear that Class Sect?” Said Tape Face as he nudged his elbow. “You saved the day, getting the teacher here. Would’ve been up the creek with no paddle without you.”

Glasses let out a sigh as he adjusted his glasses. “Yes… yes, you’re right, Sero. Your words do… lessen the feeling of guilt that comes from running away while my classmates were in peril. Though the fact that I was too slow to prevent Midoriya from being injured will likely weigh on me for some time.”

“Deku’s gonna be fine.” Said Round Face confidently. “We’re all gonna be fine, I think.”

Katsuki couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head. “Yeah… I can definitely agree with you there, Uraraka.” He said calmly.

There was a brief moment of peace and quiet for the students, who had all just survived the most harrowing experience of their lives.

“Did you just call me ‘Uraraka?’” And then Round Face had to ruin it.

“Oh gee look, I think that guy wants to talk to us about something important now, let’s fucking go do that now.” Said Katsuki as he started storming off. Tsu, who was still holding his hand, followed him while his dumbass classmates all laughed behind him.

Chapter Text

“Hatsume, what are you still doing here?” Huh, that sounded like Mashima-Sensei. Mei wondered for a second what he could want right now? She then lost interest in that wonder and went back to working on her current baby.

Oh right, she should probably say something to him, right? “Hey Sensei.” There, that should work.

Mikamoto-Sensei then sighed. Drats, guess that wasn’t enough, maybe he’d still drop it anyways and let her keep working? “Hatsume, the school closed early today.” He said.

“Why though?” She asked as she gave her blueprints another look, her Quirk enhanced eyes letting her see every small detail of the design.

“Class 1A was attacked by Villains. Three teachers and a student were sent to Recovery Girl’s office.” Explained Moto-Sensei.

That… actually made her pause. Class 1A… 1A… why did that sound familiar to her for some reason? She knew they were a first year Heroics Class, but what about that class specifically stuck out to her? “That’s… a shame. I hope they get better soon.” She said as she pulled a pencil out to take a couple notes on her findings.

Murata-Sensei sighed again before saying, “The injured student was Midoriya.”

SNAP

Mei’s eyes slowly moved down to the two halves of the pencil that she was holding. She then held her hand over her work table and released her grip, allowing the broken pencil to fall. “I’ll be back later, Maijima-Sensei.” She said calmly before booking it out the door and down the hallway.

Power Loader watched her go before shaking his head. “It’s the other way…” He mumbled to himself under his breath. Well, she’d figure it out eventually. Thankfully this gave him the chance to close up the workshop now. He’d be sure to give her her things once she came back.

“He went this way! Get him!” He adjusted the part of his coat covering his face as he continued to run through the building, hearing the sounds of villains closing in behind him. He then gently pressed a hand against his side, giving a content nod as the file he had stored within a special pocket in his jacket remained in place. Losing that would make this whole ordeal all for naught.

Crap, he could hear the sound of approaching footsteps, they were coming. After looking around, he saw a solution.

When the doors busted open, the gaggle of grunts looked around the room, guns in hand as they tried to find him. He resisted the urge to chuckle to himself about the fact that his gambit paid off, instead opting to release a giant smokescreen that descended onto the goons, leaving them clamoring in confusion as they suddenly became unable to see. He descended on them from the bar he’d been hanging from and busted their heads together with little difficulty. He was well experienced fighting in near blind conditions after all, while they were not.

With that wrapped up, he quickly made it outside of the warehouse these guys had been using as their base. His sole mistake was breathing a sigh of relief and dropping his guard just a little too early. This mistake quickly came around to bite him when he heard the click of a gun behind him. With another sigh, this one being of defeat, he slowly raised his hands and turned around to see that there was one last grunt, now holding him at him point, and he knew that if he tried using his Quirk now, he’d be munching on a lead sandwich way before it could do anything substantial.

Thankfully he didn’t have to do anything, as suddenly a black tendril coated in orange energy wrapped around the goon’s gun, pulling it towards and smacking him in the face with enough force before a massive fist came down on the back of his head, sending him to the ground.

The owner of the fist in question let out a hearty laugh. “Well damn, I guess it’s a good thing you invited me out like this after all, I totally just saved your bacon there, Gaen.”

The undercover Hero Gaen, real name En Tayutai sighed and shook his head before saying, “I appreciate the rescue, Lariat.”

The large man gave him a grin. “Hey, it’s what Heroes do.”

“Well then? Is that all you had to offer, Hero?” Asked the Demon that disguised itself in human flesh. En groaned in pain as he was held by the face, he could feel the man tugging, trying to rip his Quirk from him, the one Daigoro had left in his care. He couldn’t allow that…

“You want our Quirk you damn monster…?” He growled out as All for One continued to run his mouth like he always did, you’d think the man would’ve learned better in the eighty plus years he’d been alive. He reared his arm back and fired up as much power within One for All that he could muster before pulling an unexpected move: jamming his hand straight into the villain’s mouth. Going off the surprised look in his eyes, he wasn’t expecting this one. “Then you can choke on it!” He then started producing as much smoke as he could, concentrating all of it to come out of his arm, maximizing the output through using One for All.

He couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction as he saw a genuine look of fear flash across the Demon’s face, and the sight of some smoke coming out of his nose told him that he probably wouldn’t last if he could just keep this up a little while longer.

Unfortunately he couldn’t do that, as All for One suddenly reared his arm back and launched En into the air, before swiping at him with his other arm. Next thing he knew, he was falling towards the ground while being unable to feel his legs or his right hand. He grunted in pain as he hit the ground and rolled a few times.

“Woah, what the hell!? Wait, Gaen, the hell’re you doing here? The hell happened to you!?” He barely was able to keep one eye open as he looked towards the source of that voice. Black hair and a black bodysuit, yellow gloves, and white boots and a cape… oh, it was that hero who’d been making a name for herself in recent years… Nimbus was it? They’d crossed paths a few times if he remembered correctly. Ugh… hard to think while he was losing blood so quickly…

“Hey… I’m gonna have to ask a really big favor of you…” He said weakly, reaching up and plucking a couple clumps of hair from his head.

“Say no more, I’m getting you to the hospital Asap!” Said Nimbus as she crouched down to pick him up, but En simply shook his head.

“Don’t bother, my time is up. I’m going to need you to take my Quirk.” He said.

That seemed to confuse her, not that he could really blame her. “Take your Quirk? The hell does that mean?!”

“One for All, a Quirk that can be passed from one person to the next. Ingest my DNA, and you’ll become the Seventh User in the battle against All for One, a vile demon of a man that has the power to steal Quirks…” He said, doing his best to avoid shivering. He was starting to feel cold.

“But that’s… that’s all…” He couldn’t blame her for being a bit hesitant, he sure as hell wasn’t proud for forcing this burden onto her.

“Please, Lariat trusted this to me, I can’t fail those who came before me. As a fellow Hero you know this is something we both need to do.” He said, mustering the most determined look onto his face that he could. “So hurry, and eat this!”

After a beat of silence, Nimbus donned a determined look of her own as she took the strands of hair and shoved it into her mouth before swallowing. En tiredly let his body go slack as he quickly felt himself becoming fainter. “Now hurry, I don’t know how long that last attack will hold All for One off, you’d best be as far away from here as possible by the time he gets his head on straight.”

“Right…” Said Nimbus, as she turned to leave, she quickly looked at him over her shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” 

He gave her a weak smile, tears streaming down his face. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. But thank you, I have faith that you’ll make for a stupendous Seventh.” With a nod, Nimbus took off running before leaping into the air and seemingly flying away.

Despite everything, he couldn’t help but smile. Despite everything, he had no regrets. He did his best, as a Hero and as a successor. One for All didn’t die with him, so he could at least hold his head high as he moved on into the next world.

And with that, the Underground Hero Gaen died…

…

And a couple hours later, Sixth would awaken to the warm welcomes of Fifth and the other vestiges within One for All…

Izuku’s eyes opened. He was back here again, the meeting room for him and the vestiges. “Welcome back, Izuku.” Said First with a smile.

Izuku couldn’t help but meet the smile with his own. Wait, he could smile? He quickly brought his right hand, the only other part of his body that was presently corporeal in this realm, up to his face. After a few seconds of feeling around his face and head, he confirmed that the majority of it was in fact now physical here. Though some of his hair was still kind of smoky, that didn’t feel particularly impeding. “It’s good to be back.” He said.

“I don’t know if I can quite agree with that, given the circumstances of how you came here.” Pointed out Fifth.

“Circums…” Izuku was confused by what he meant, then his eyes widened as he remembered what had caused him to fall unconscious in the first place. “Oh no oh no oh no, I’ve gotta wake up, everyone-”

“Will be fine, Izuku.” Said Seventh calmly. “After all, Toshinori managed to arrive in time to protect everyone.”

“But All Might’s time limit was already burnt out for the day, how’s he going to be able to fight off that monster Nomu?!” Asked Izuku, his expression clearly fearful.

Seventh couldn’t help but chuckle. “This is Toshinori we’re talking about, he’ll find a way. I think we’re both well aware how good that boy is when it comes to going beyond his limits.” She replied before pointing towards Eighth. “The fact that this one still isn’t all here is proof that he’s still alive and giving the fight everything he’s got.”

Izuku looked towards Eighth, who gave him a thumbs up and did his best to smile at him with his eyes. Izuku couldn’t help but sigh and smile at him in return. “Alright, I suppose you all would know better than most what he’s capable of. If you’re choosing to have faith in him then I suppose I have no choice but to do the same.”

“Wonderful.” Said First. “With that taken care of, I suppose we should move on to the main topics of discussion now.”

“And that would be?” Asked Izuku.

“Well I suppose the first would be what you, or rather we, did.” Said Sixth as he uncurled himself from the ball he had been sitting on the chair in before pointing towards Izuku, then himself.

After taking a couple seconds to connect the dots, Izuku remembered what he was referring to. “Smokescreen!”

“A little slow today aren’cha kid?” Joked Fifth, much to Izuku’s embarrassment.

“Given that he just ‘woke up’ in here after getting slammed into the ground so hard that it made him black out, I can hardly blame him for being a bit off center.” Noted Fourth, which Fifth simply shrugged off with little care.

“Sixth was able to share his own thoughts and feelings on the ordeal, but I wanted to get your perspective to see if it was possible to figure out how exactly this happened.” Explained First.

“I mean, what’s there to explain?” Asked Fifth. “Our living selves’ Quirks are just as alive within One for All as we are.”

“Yeah, but how did Izuku tap into that? And how do we replicate it with the other Quirks?” Asked First.

“The Quirk Singularity Theory.” Everyone’s attention turned towards Izuku, surprised by what he said.

“Come again?” Asked First, tilting his head in confusion.

“It’s a theory I’ve read about online.” Explained Izuku. “I think you’ve all spent enough time with me to know how much of a… Quirk nerd I am.”

“‘S puttin’ it lightly.” Said Fifth drily.

“Sixth, smack him for me would you?” Requested Seventh without breaking her line of sight with Izuku. Sixth quietly reached over and swatted at Fifth a couple times, who used one of his arms as a shield.

“Screw you both.” He said in annoyance.

“Go screw yourself, now quit screwing around.” Replied Seventh. “Please continue, Izuku.”

“Right…” Said Izuku with a nervous laugh. It sometimes was easy to forget that these were All Might’s predecessors. “Anyways, the general overview of the theory is that Quirks will continue to evolve and become more disastrous with each generation. We’re already seeing the effects with some Fourth and Fifth generation users like the Pro Heroes Endeavor and Mt. Lady. They could cause absolute havoc if they turned their powers onto civilians, or even if they weren’t trained professionals and wound up using their powers recklessly. It’s like Thirteen said, Quirks can be used to kill just as if not more easily than they can be used to save.”

“Is there a point to this lecture, or are you simply trying to impress us with how much of a nerd you are?” Asked Second drily, actually deciding to take his nose out of the corner he’d been sticking it in since Izuku woke up and took the time to address him.

Izuku gave him a flat look before sighing. “My point is that I think One for All might be hitting the hypothesized singularity, just at a much faster rate.” He explained, before sticking his hand out, pointing at First, then at Second, then Third, and continuing from one user to the next as he spoke, “One for All is a Quirk that’s been passed down through generations. It might not be the most normal or traditional example, but we could be looking at what is essentially the world’s first ninth generation Quirk. Or at the very least a seventh generation one since Yagi-Sensei and I were both Quirkless and technically didn’t contribute anything to the Quirk itself.”

“Well I wouldn’t say that.” Said Seventh, cutting Izuku off. “After all, Toshinori wielded the Quirk for a good thirty years as a pro Hero, which certainly contributed to the stockpiled power within it, and now you’ve managed to awaken the dormant Quirks, something none of your predecessors have done, not even All Might.”

“Yeah, don’t sell yourself short, kid.” Said Fifth. “I may have poked some fun at ya for being a nerd but I’d say that having a Quirk loving nerd like you brought into the fold could be exactly what we need.”

Izuku, not one who was accustomed to praise yet, despite his classmates singing his quite often, gave a weak chuckle to his predecessors as he reached up and scratched the back of his head. “Th-thanks you guys.”

“Well, we have one half of the mystery solved,” Said Fourth, bringing a hand up to his chin, “But we still need to figure out what the catalyst for tapping into these Quirks is. It’s clear that most of the Quirks are still asleep, considering that Danger Sense is a passive one and has yet to actually do anything, despite the fact that Izuku’s done a very poor job staying out of danger.”

Izuku flinched a little at that. He couldn’t exactly say anything in defense to that statement after all, so he instead opted to think. He thought back to the moment of Smokescreen’s awakening. He thought about all the feelings that had coursed through him in those few seconds of terror. As he saw Aizawa-Sensei bleeding out while pinned under Nomu, as he saw Shigaraki reaching out with his creepy fingers, planning to use his Quirk to kill Tsu and Mineta. Of how, more than anything else, he desired a way to save them. His eyes widened as he realized something, he wasn’t the only one who had felt that way in that moment. “Desire.” He said simply.

“Eh?” It seems his unprompted and unexplained speaking up confused the others.

Izuku turned his attention to Sixth. “Sixth, when Smokescreen was used for the first time, how did you feel? What did you want more than anything else at that very moment?” He asked.

Sixth blinked at him in surprise before thinking back to that moment. “I… wanted to save your teacher.” He said. “I wanted to have the chance to speak to him, even if indirectly, and share my apologies for the things about him.”

“So you could say that in that moment your greatest desire was to save Aizawa-Sensei?” Asked Izuku.

“I… sure?” Replied Sixth uncertainly.

Izuku realized that he was losing everyone, so he decided to get to the point. “In that moment, Sixth and I were of a shared mind, with a shared desire. We both wanted to save Aizawa-Sensei, as well as everyone else. Which, I suppose, isn't out of character for a pro Hero and a Hero in training.” He explained, that last part earning a scoff from Second or Third, though Izuku was too focused to pay them much mind. “Of course, it’s not like I could easily reach Aizawa-Sensei at that moment, with Shigaraki closing in on us and about to kill my friends, we were in a desperate situation, needing some sort of gambit that could tip the scales in our favor. And conveniently enough, Smokescreen was exactly the kind of Quirk that could help in that situation, confusing Shigaraki enough to let me land a hit that could get him away from us and distract the villains long enough to grab Aizawa-Sensei.”

“So, not unlike when a shot of adrenaline can force a person to push past their limits?” Asked Fourth.

“Exactly. I think it was a combination of those factors that brought out Smokescreen.” Replied Izuku, nodding his head as he started listing things off on his fingers. “A shared desire between myself and Sixth, coupled with being stuck in a do or die scenario that Smokescreen could serve as the thing that sparked a resonance within One for All and brought the Quirk forth.”

“So what you’re saying,” Said Fifth, “Is that in order to use our Quirks, you’ll have to leap head first into types of danger that will require our Quirks to pull your ass out of the fire?”

“I mean…” Said Izuku, averting his eyes in embarrassment.

“Yeah, no, vetoing that course of action, all in favor?”

“Aye.” Said the other vestiges who were participating in the conversation. Eighth even raised his hand, since he couldn’t actually voice his opinion. This little bout of teasing actually managed to make a couple of them chuckle, including Izuku.

“Well, I doubt Izuku’s going to have to look for trouble.” Said First, a grim expression on his face. “With All for One being confirmed to still be out there, I’m sure trouble will find its way to him in due time.”

There was silence amongst the users of One for All, First’s reminder of the true direness of their situation bringing the mood down exponentially and immediately. It was Seventh who managed to salvage it, “Then I suppose we’ll just need to train Izuku to be ready.” When everyone turned to her for clarification, she gladly elaborated. “I mean, in a dark void like this, with over half a dozen experienced adults, I doubt there’d be much better conditions for helping Izuku learn about how our Quirks work and allow him to overcome the mental gymnastics that that’ll entail. Even if his awakening to those powers is far off, it’s better to be prepared for it.”

“Honestly fair enough, yeah.” Said Fifth. “I mean, imagine if he’d wound up using Black Whip first without any time to learn its mechanics? With One for All boosting it he probably could’ve obliterated both the handyman and his friends in an instant.”

“How’s Izuku going to train?” Asked Fourth. “Most of his body isn’t even here.”

“Our bodies are though,” Countered Seventh as she stood up before doing a small jump and making herself float. “Until there’s enough of him here to do the training personally, we can demonstrate and explain our Quirks to him. I’m sure he’d be delighted to learn all about our powers.”

All the others had to do was look at Izuku and see how his eyes were practically sparkling to know that Seventh’s words were absolutely correct.

“Tch, you can count us out.” Said Third, continuing to stare at his wall.

“Agreed, I doubt we’d ever be willing to see eye to eye with this brat, and I sure as hell don’t want him anywhere near my Quirk.” Said Second.

“Well you two can continue to sit there and brood like the angsty losers you are, those of us who actually want to get shit done are gonna be over here helping the kid out.” Said Fifth as he flipped the pair off. The fact that they didn’t react seemed to just make him even more annoyed. 

Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at Fifth’s antics before smiling at those amongst his predecessors who had stood up to help him. “Alright then, let’s get to work.” Of course, it was at that moment that-

-he was woken up by the sound of a door slamming open so hard it practically made the room reverberate. It was loud and forceful enough to make Izuku sit up in the bed he was laying in. In his half awake state, it took his brain a couple seconds to realize that he was still injured, and that moving like that very much hurt. “Ow…” He said under his breath, slowly lifting his decent arm up to touch his chest. He could feel bandages wrapped around his body in various places. After taking a few seconds to get a feel for his injuries, his eyes moved towards the room’s entrance, and he was quite surprised to see who was standing there, staring at him.

“Oh… Hi Hatsume.”

Chapter Text

“Oh… Hi Hatsume.” Of all the things Izuku thought he’d wake up to today, Hatsume slamming open the door to Recovery Girl’s Office with enough force to make the room practically reverberate was not one of them. “What brings you here?”

Hatsume looked around, tapping her foot a bit while wiggling her fingers at her sides. For once she wasn’t smiling either, her expression coming the closest Izuku had ever seen her be to ‘distressed.’

“Sensei told me that your class was attacked by villains.” She said, still looking around. “When I found out that you were hurt, I dropped what I was doing and came as quick as I could.”

Wait, what?

“Holy shit, are your ears deceiving me, or did Mei ‘what are social cues?’ Hatsume just admit that she actually took a break from what she was working on to come check on someone?”

‘Geez, when you put it like that you make her sound like some kind of anti-social jerk.’ Replied Izuku. The silence was very telling. ‘FIFTH!’ Sighing mentally, he turned his attention back to Hatsume. “W-well, Hatsume, as you can see, I’m fine.”

Hatsume turned her head, finally facing him directly. She pursed her lips together before walking towards him, and once she was at his bedside, she gripped the blanket covering most of his body and pulled it away, letting her get a much better look at the extent of Izuku’s injuries.

His right leg and left arm were both in casts, as well at his right hand being wrapped up in bandages. An IV was connected to his right arm, which also had bandages covering the majority of it, only leaving an opening for the aforementioned IV. He was shirtless, which let her also get a good look at the various bandages covering his chest. “How did this happen?”

Izuku was silent for a moment before explaining, “The villains had a monster, they called it a Nomu. Its strength was on par with All Might, even without a Quirk, instead it somehow had two other Quirks, granting it self healing and shock absorption.” Hatsume seemed shocked at the revelation of a monster with these kinds of abilities. “They said that it had been ‘created’ to kill All Might, a statement that carried very horrific implications. It seriously injured Aizawa-Sensei, and I had to make the call to have two of my friends carry him to safety while I fought it.”

“And it… did this to you?” Asked Hatsume, looking his injured body over.

Izuku nodded. “I held it off for a bit, but ultimately the villain giving it orders outsmarted me. Had to break my leg with my Quirk so I could get to the others in time to protect them.” He explained. “After that it basically treated me like a ragdoll. If All Might hadn’t shown up when he did, it probably would’ve killed me and then the others.” He gave her a weak smile. “Guess I’m still too weak, huh?”

“No!” Izuku actually flinched a little as she shouted. “No no no! I- it’s my fault! If I had just done a better job creating support gear- maybe- maybe you wouldn’t be here right now!”

“Oh wow, she’s really upset.”

She wasn’t the only one. “Hatsume, this is hardly your fault!” He argued. “I was the one who was too weak to win against that monster!”

“And I’m the one who supplied you with support gear that couldn’t protect you!” She argued back.

“I’m the one who acted carelessly and got injured!”

“You weren’t careless! You were protecting people! You saved people! That’s what you do! That’s who you are!”

“And I was only able to fight because I had your babies protecting my hands!”

“But they weren’t enough to protect your hands! Look, your left one is broken!“

“Because I had to recklessly push my Quirk too far and broke one of my fingers!”

“Yeah, well then I’m just gonna have to invent a baby that’ll be even better than these shoddy failures that couldn’t protect your arms!”

“And I’ll have to become ever better at using my Quirk so that I won’t have to run the risk of accidentally damaging your babies!”

“FINE!”

“FINE!”

The pair were left breathing heavily after that little shouting match. Hatsume looked at his injuries one last time before turning around. “I have work to do, I’ll see you around, Izuku.” She said before making her way to the door.

“Hatsu-” Izuku tried to say something, but he was cut off by the sound of the door slamming behind Hatsume.

On the other side of the door, Hatsume stood there in silence, her back pressed against the door. She then abruptly brought her hands up to her head, her fingers running through her pink dreadlocks as she let out a shout of pure frustration. This wasn’t how she wanted this to go at all! Granted she had no idea how she planned for this conversation to go, but still this was hardly it! After she was finished with her little freak out session and had made a complete and total mess of her hair, she took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. She needed to calm down, freaking out like this wasn’t going to get anything done. She had work to do, and she needed to get started right awa-!

“Hatsume!” She flinched as she suddenly felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her back before she could take off down the hall.

She recognized the feel of these muscles all too well. “I…zuku…?” She said uncertainly.

“Please don’t go…” Said Izuku quietly. “I’m sorry for shouting, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just… didn’t want you to blame yourself either.”

“You…” Said Hatsume, leaning her head back so that the back of her head was touching Izuku’s forehead. “That’s no fair. You’re injured, you should be resting in that bed, yet here you are pushing yourself for someone else’s sake. You never stop, do you?”

“Nope, never.” Said Izuku with a weak chuckle. “Here, let’s… try this again. Let’s talk, without any shouting or self blaming, ok?”

Hatsume took a deep breath. “I will if you will.”

“Deal.”

And so, the two talked, calmly. Izuku gave her a brief recap of what would go on to be known as “the U.S.J. Incident,” explaining his theory that the commotion from this morning was more than likely a ploy by the so called “League of Villains,” to get their hands on a schedule to find out when All Might and a class of students would be away from the Main Campus long enough for them to launch an assault.

Thankfully, though, the teamwork of Izuku’s class allowed most of the class to come away unhurt and he and the injured teachers were able to be taken to Recovery Girl as soon as possible.

Izuku just hoped everyone was ok. Afterwards, Hatsume had him bring out a notebook for her to write down in. Despite his confusion, Izuku complied.

(Hatsume was still curious about how he pulled that thing from nowhere, all he had on at the moment were some pants, but she was too focused on her current goal to pay the inquiry mind for too long.)

She got to work, asking Izuku rapid fire questions about how he’d fought and the new tricks he’d learned in the process, learning that he somehow managed to develop the ability to produce smoke from his skin as a sort of sub-ability of his Quirk was certainly fascinating, as well as the fact that he was apparently able to raise the limit of his Quirk an entire four percent in such a short span of time was also nothing short of spectacular. She knew to herself that she’d found an absolute perfect partner when it came to making her babies.

Once she was done, she showed Izuku the first draft of her newest babies. A pair of gloves that were similar to Izuku’s first set, but much longer so that they could cover and guard more of his arms, as well as a special piece around his wrists that would serve to enhance and focus the wind pressure created using his new “Delaware Smash” technique, as well as a way for him to store and shoot out the smoke from his new, “Smokescreen” ability like a sort of… smoke gun? She shrugged at that last part, wasn’t entirely sure how much usage it might actually get, but she still figured she should try to include it.

Her second baby was a special pair of boots that he could put on that would act as armor for his feet, enhancing the power of his kicks while mitigating kickback from his Quirk.

Izuku’s eyes were practically sparkling at the designs and the prospects of this new gear. “Hatsume these look perfect!” He exclaimed happily as he looked over the notes and the design.

Hearing her partner in engineering sing her praise certainly was an ego boost for the girl, making her put her hands on her hips and proudly puff out her chest, her manic grin returning to her face. “But of course! Would you expect anything less from my babies?”

Izuku smiled up at her, “Well, it seems no matter how high I set my expectations, you always find a way to go beyond them anyways.” He admitted.

Hatsume then took the notebook back and carefully tore out the pages that her new notes and designs were on, taking care not to damage them in the process. “Well then, I’d better get to work!” She declared as she stood up. “Gotta make sure these babies are ready for testing by the time you’re ready to suit back up after all!” She then quickly made her way out the door.

Once on the other side of the door, she took a moment to stare at the design of her babies, specifically the gloves. While these were certainly an improvement over the previous pair, she still held doubts. There wasn’t a chance in hell that they’d be able to withstand punches from someone like All Might, if Izuku fought the same kind of opponent again and wasn’t careful, it’s entirely possible that history could repeat itself. But she was Mei Hatsume! One way or another she’d find the missing piece of the puzzle and make the perfect babies for Izuku. She was sure of it. She then quickly took off down the hallway back to her classroom, she had work to do after all.

(Much to her disappointment though, Maijima-Sensei refused to let her back in, having already gathered up her belongings while she was away before sending her home.)

Izuku blinked as he watched her go, unable to help but smile, the girl really was a force of nature wasn’t she?

“You have great friends, don’t you my boy?”

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE!?” Izuku practically shrieked in fear at the sound of his mentor’s voice.

Yagi-Sensei let out a chuckle as he pulled on the divider curtain that had kept him hidden from view, letting Izuku see that his mentor was just in as rough of shape as he was, perhaps even more.

“Was this clown just sitting there for all of that?”

“I mean, at least he was decent enough to keep quiet and let those two have their moment. It’s not like Izuku can ever get any privacy anymore now that we’re here.”

“Yes, but we have the ability to avert our ears and eyes, All Might meanwhile does not.”

“Well… yeah, but…”

Izuku sighed as Seventh failed to come up with a proper argument. “How’re you feeling, Yagi-Sensei?”

Yagi-Sensei let out a tired exhale as he let his head fall back onto his pillow. “I feel like I lowered my time limit again after that scrap with that monster.” He admitted. “I’ll probably be lucky to even get an hour of time as All Might each day going forward. Gonna make teaching a real pain.”

Izuku frowned at that. “I’m sorry Sensei, if only I hadn’t-”

“Oh don’t you start.” Said Yagi-Sensei as he shook his head. “You did your best, kid. Aizawa and your classmates survived thanks to you, maybe if I’d been a bit faster I could’ve actually arrived before you were injured.”

“I…” Izuku said before trailing off. He then sighed and laid his head back down on his own pillow, “Do not feel like doing a second round of back and forth self blame.”

Yagi-Sensei couldn’t help but let out a weak laugh at that, followed by some coughing.

After a good twenty seconds of the pair simply sitting in silence, Izuku spoke up, “It seems I inherited more than just our predecessors’ spirits.”

“Eh?” Asked Yagi-Sensei, turning his head towards the boy and raising his eyebrow in confusion.

“It seems One for All’s hit a, for the lack of a better term, singularity. Being passed from one person to the next over the last centuries and then some has turned it into a sort of… theoretical ninth generation Quirk.” Explained Izuku, holding up and staring at his right hand before flexing it a couple times. “It seems it’s housing copies of their Quirks as well, I can use Sixth’s Smokescreen now, the same one that was used by the Underground Hero Gaen.”

“Actually, I think your version might be even stronger. You’re able to output way more smoke at once than En ever could, even when it was boosted by One for All.”

“Sixth thinks it might be even stronger than Gaen’s actually.” Izuku relayed what Sixth said to Yagi-Sensei. “I guess that makes sense, actually. Even if you were never using them yourself, all of their Quirks have still been inside One for All as it’s grown over the years, like how a single exercise can train multiple muscles at once.”

“So wait, you’re telling me you essentially have seven Quirks now?” Asked Yagi-Sensei, his voice sounding almost fearful as his gaze moved downwards towards Izuku’s leg.

Izuku failed to notice as he switched into his analysis mode though, “Yes but actually no. See, Fourth pointed out that his Quirk is a passive one that’s technically always turned on, but it’s yet to do anything. I haven’t been able to tap into other powers like Seventh’s Float or Fifth’s Black Whip. Second and Third still won’t tell me their Quirks either.” Izuku definitely wasn’t sulking when he said that, no siree. “After some speculation and recollection, we came to the conclusion that a few requirements are necessary in order to awaken one of One for All’s ‘sub-Quirks.’ Sixth and I managed to meet those requirements when Shigaraki nearly got his hands on Tsu- Asui and Mineta.”

“So your classmates know of this new ability of yours?” Asked Yagi-Sensei, who now seemed concerned for entirely new reasons.

“Yeah.” Replied Izuku with a nod. “Though since they know about how my Quirk ‘came in late,’ I was able to simply explain this Awakening as an ‘unexplored avenue’ of my Quirk.”

“Smart. And believable coming from someone who’s become known for his knowledge on Quirks.” Replied Yagi-Sensei.

“Guess there were benefits to being born Quirkless.” Replied Izuku drily. 

Yagi-Sensei only felt a little guilty for laughing at that since he knew the boy clearly meant it in jest, though he knew that that fact was still a sore topic for them both. “So, do you have any plans for getting your other ‘Sub-Quirks’ to awaken?”

“Not presently, they said I’m not allowed to throw myself into Do or Die scenarios where their Quirks would be applicable.” Replied Izuku, a statement that made Yagi-Sensei cough violently. Izuku waited until he was done before continuing, “Besides, if All for One’s really still out there, then I’m sure danger will find its way to me, one way or another.”

Yagi-Sensei let out a sigh that made him sound as old as he really was. “So, you realized it too then?” He asked.

“The villains’ leader was named ‘Shigaraki,’ and that Nomu had two Quirks, the others were pretty quick to put two and two together to make four.”

Yagi-Sensei brought a hand up to rub his face. “I’m sorry my boy, I’ve unwittingly dragged you into a century long war that I thought I was finished.”

“In your defense, Sensei, the vestiges did show me the memory of you popping All for One’s head like the ugly zit that it was.”

That earned Izuku a hearty laugh from his teacher, followed by some violent coughing. “God it hurts to laugh right now.” Said the man tiredly. He then took a deep breath before saying, “well then, I’ll just have to make the most of what I’ve got left with One for All before the embers burn out completely. I promise not to let a mistake like this happen again.”

Izuku gave the man a weak chuckle, “I suppose I’ll have to hold you to that then, Yagi-Sensei.”

“Pardon me, hope I’m not interrupting any touching moments.” Izuku flinched in surprise as the door opened and an unknown man walked in. “Hey there All Might, it’s been a while.”

Yagi-Sensei sat up in surprise at the man’s sudden arrival, quickly wiping the blood from his lips and chin. “Tsukauchi! I didn’t know you were here!” 

Izuku looked at the man, then at Yagi-Sensei. “Er, friend of yours, sir?”

Yagi-Sensei nodded his head at his successor. “Indeed, ‘why’ you might be asking? Because this man is my favorite detective on the force, good ol’ Naomasa Tsukauchi!”

Detective Tsukauchi let out a laugh, “Quite the odd intro, All Might, thanks for that.”

“I see, it’d certainly be useful for your secret identity to have a man on the inside of the police force, he must be something special if you revealed your secret to him.” Said Izuku.

“Right, yeah, that’s how it happened.”

“Ahahaha… yes, you’re absolutely right my boy, I definitely didn’t reveal my secret to Tsukauchi by complete accident, no siree.” Yagi-Sensei said awkwardly. He then coughed into his fist. “Backstories for another time, there are more pressing matters at hand, right Tsukauchi?”

Izuku and Yagi-Sensei spoke with the detective for a period, exchanging information about what they knew in regards to the attack as well as the other students and teachers. Thankfully, while their injuries were heavy, Aizawa-Sensei and Thirteen were both confirmed by Recovery Girl that they’d make a full recovery, given time to heal from their injuries. Moreover, beyond some bruising from catching the occasional stray from a villain, none of the other students were hurt, though a fair share of them had most likely been scared within an inch of their lives and would need to take a visit or three to Hound Dog to sort through their issues.

However they could do that once they came back to the school at the start of next week, as UA had decided it’d be best to close its doors for Thursday and Friday in order to let the students take the time to recover both physically and mentally before coming back and resuming their studies on Monday.

The next four days flew by, Izuku using that period to spend time with his mother, while occasionally texting his friends, recounting and talking about their experiences fighting for their lives and how they’d felt through it all.

Not everyone was willing to discuss how they felt, but Izuku was still happy to hear how some of his classmates had felt and was glad he could help them air their feelings out and be there to reassure them. He was no therapist, but he figured it would still be good to be there for the others who were willing to talk to him about how they’d felt.

Quelling Iida’s guilt about leaving everyone to fend for themselves by reminding him that he was acting on Izuku’s orders.

He listened to Yaoyorozu and Jirou both separately vent about how scared they’d been when Kaminari had been grabbed by the villain, reminding them that Kaminari was fine, he hadn’t been hurt, the teachers had saved him, and that stressing over ‘what-ifs’ would only make them feel awful.

Ojiro discussed how useless he felt fighting in the downpour zone, feeling like Tokoyami did all the work. When he listened to him discuss how things actually played out, he reminded Ojiro that through that fight, Tokoyami trusted Ojiro to have his back and allow him to focus on offense, and that he was only able to fight so well because he trusted in Ojiro’s capabilities.

It was his discussion with Kacchan that wound up ending in him comforting Izuku. He felt the need to apologize to Kacchan. Apologize for losing that is. Kacchan’s response hit harder than he expected it to.

-

Kacchan: The hell’re you talking about, nerd?

Kacchan: You’re the Hero who’s meant to SAVE everyone, remember? I’m the one who kicks villain ass.

Kacchan: None of the others were hurt, so as far as I’m concerned, you WON.

-

Izuku had actually teared up at that. He had to hold his phone over his head to avoid drenching it in his tears. Once he collected himself, he managed to actually respond.

-

Deku: Thanks Kacchan.

Kacchan: WHATEVER

Kacchan: Damn Nerd.

Deku: :)

Kacchan: *middle finger emoji*

-

“How Tsundere. It’s very familiar...”

Izuku couldn’t help but laugh, First wasn’t exactly wrong after all…

Soon enough, the four days came to an end and Izuku returned to UA.

After Iida tried to direct everyone to their seats, failing to realize that they’d beaten him to the punch and he was currently the only one still standing, much to his embarrassment, everyone’s heads turned to the sound of the door opening and were surprised to see who walked in.

“Morning class.” The students were barely able to make out the sound of their teacher’s voice through the bandages wrapped around his face and head, making him look less like a teacher and more like a mummy that had arisen from the dead.

“Glad to see you doing well Sensei!” Said Iida.

“You call that ‘doing well!?’” Asked Ochako incredulously.

“Worrying for my welfare is far from logical students,” Replied the pro drily as he wobbled to the front of the class before turning to address them, “Especially since your battle is far from over.”

That seemed to scare some of the class, who began whispering amongst themselves, afraid at the prospect of fighting more villains or something. Then, Aizawa-Sensei chose to actually elaborate, “The UA Sports Festival is fast approaching.”

Izuku actually wound up letting his head fall forward and smack against his desk. That was so ordinary! Did he have to scare them like that!?

“Have you met this guy? Of course he did…”

Chapter Text

Aizawa gave the class an explanation of the Sports Festival, an event Izuku was all too familiar with. He practically watched them religiously when they happened each year. All eight classes from a single year will compete against one another in a series of three events that would test their skills, be it mentally, physically, or in terms of their Quirks. The first two events also changed every year, so no one could predict what they’d be getting into until it was time to start, though Izuku noticed some patterns over the years.

The first event was always meant to trim the herd, cutting out about seventy five percent of the students, isolating the best before ditching the rest.

The second event, nine times out of ten, would then be a chance for the remaining students to show off their ability to work together, while also having more time for the spotlight to shine on them as individuals without having to compete against a hundred and fifty nine other students for attention.

The final round would then usually be a tournament featuring direct fights amongst the students, though the exact bracket types would change through the years, sometimes its four rounds of basic one on ones, sometimes it would be tag team fights, sometimes they got really eccentric with it and would have nothing but three way fights or an all out brawl amongst the students all at once.

Sometimes it managed to be all of the above. Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory of that Sports Festival.

The poor audience got a really good view of the last year’s Second Year winner’s junk as a byproduct of his Quirk, him, his mom, and Yagi-Sensei included. The poor man had agreed to stop by and watch the festival with Izuku and his mother, with them having been about a month into his training at the time. He had both learned the wonders of Inko Midoriya’s cooking and then proceeded to nearly choke to death on that cooking when they were all hit by the “Willy Jumpscare” as it came to be known in the future.

Izuku shook his head, he was getting distracted. The point of the festival was so that the students, mainly the Hero Course, could show off their talents to agencies looking to recruit for Internships and potentially as future sidekicks. With these events only happening once each year, students were only going to get three opportunities to show their mettle to the Heroes who’d come before them before they graduated, so Izuku knew he was going to have to make the most of this opportunity.

He couldn’t help but smile as he looked amongst his friends, even after what everyone went through just a few days ago they all seemed as eager for this as he was.

Class 1A bid Ishiyama-Sensei farewell as he departed the classroom, marking an end to today’s Modern Literature Lesson. Everyone was taking advantage of the grace period they were given before Fourth Period and Lunch to talk amongst themselves.

“I’m so freakin’ pumped up!” Declared Kirishma, the broad grin on his face putting his sharp teeth on display for the whole class, “This is gonna be manly as hell!”

“No kidding,” Said Satou as Koda nodded along next to him, “If we can show what we’re made of, we’ll definitely be scouted by the Pros.”

“Indeed, and should the right Hero take us under their wing, we can soar to even greater heights.” Commented Tokoyami sagely.

“Bird puns? Really Fumi?” Asked Dark Shadow, manifesting and resting her head on Tokoyami’s shoulder. “I thought you were better than this…” Tokoyami’s response was to quietly grab his other half by the metaphorical throat and shove her back into his body, before continuing on like nothing happened.

“Everyone’s so excited.” Commented Izuku as he watched his classmates talk amongst themselves.

“What, like you aren’t?” Asked Sero jokingly, ignoring Iida’s demands for him to stop disrespecting their upperclassmen by defiling that desk with his posterior.

Realizing that his words were falling on deaf ears, Iida sighed while adjusting his glasses. “Well, Sero’s words do hold true.” He admitted. “This is our chance to add our names to the ranks of Heroes, who wouldn’t be excited!?”

“Got a real funny way of showin’ it, dude.” Replied Sero drily. Izuku could see his point, the way Iida was tensed up in anticipation made it seem like he needed to go to the bathroom more than anything else.

“Deku, Iida, Sero…” Said Ochako quietly, making the three boys turn and look at their Zero Gravity Classmate in confusion. “Let’s do our best at the Sports Festival, ok guys?!”

“Uh… are you feeling alright Ochako…?” Asked Izuku nervously. The girl had a really… intense expression on her face, like some cross between excitement and a readiness to commit murder.

“Midori’s got a point, Uraraka,” Said Ashido, sharing in his concern, “your face isn’t looking very… well, Uraraka, y’know?”

“Maybe it’s just that time of mon-” Whatever (unnecessary) comment Mineta was going to offer got cut very short thanks to a slap to the face, courtesy of Tsu’s tongue, accompanied by Yaoyorozu giving him the stink eye.

“You hear that everyone!” Declared Ochako, turning to the rest of the class, pumping her fist into the air, “I’m gonna crush this festival!”

“Whoo!” Those amongst their class who were slightly more… adjusted to her more aggressive side were able to match her enthusiasm.

“Heck yeah.” Said Izuku with a chuckle, managing to regain his composure and pump his fist into the air alongside Iida. He was happy to see her so excited, he could vaguely remember how upset she’d sounded during the brief time they were together during the U.S.J. Incident.

He’d had to explain to her and even roll up his uniform sleeves to prove to her that he was, in fact, fully healed up. Recovery Girl’s Quirk really was a boon to the faculty, though he did make the choice to withhold the fact that it took two applications of the nurse’s Quirk to fully heal all his injuries, given how many he had received across his entire body thanks to the Nomu, as well as the backlash of his Quirk. No need to stress her out over incidents that were in the past now after all.

Though he was certainly curious about something now, why was she so hyped for the Sports Festival?

“Hold on, you’re seriously saying that you wanted to become a Hero for the money?” Asked Sero as their little group walked to the cafeteria.

Izuku had acted on the impulse to ask why Ochako had been so excited, and that sort of lead down a rabbit hole to her explaining to them why she wanted to be a Hero in the first place.

The “them” in question being Izuku and Sero, plus Iida as well, as they had been the closest and overheard Izuku ask Ochako that question. She’d agreed on the stipulation that they do it after putting a little distance between them and the rest of the class on their way to the cafeteria.

“Yeah… not the most heroic motives, huh?” Admitted Ochako, looking away in embarrassment.

“Hey, I’m not gonna mock you, I’d be throwing stones in a glass house if I did.” Said Sero, raising his hands in surrender. “I don’t exactly have a great goal or ambition myself the way the Prez or the Sect does, I just wanna be a Hero ‘cause Heroes are cool.”

“Besides,” Said Iida, chopping his hands for emphasis, “there’s absolutely nothing wrong with seeking a job that will lead to a level of monetary compensation that’ll allow you to live a comfortable lifestyle.”

“Well, it’s more than just that…” Explained Ochako as she scratched the back of her neck. “Y’see, the construction company my family runs is poorer than poor, we just don’t get enough business these days. Haven’t in a while if I’m gonna be honest.” She then nervously looked at the boys, “Try to… keep that to yourselves ok? I don’t wanna be pitied by the others after all.”

Given that Yaoyorozu and Iida were two of their classmates, Izuku couldn’t exactly fault Ochako for her self consciousness. “Still, I bet a Quirk like yours could do wonders for their work if you got the right licensing.” He said thoughtfully.

“Exactly!” Exclaimed Ochako. “But Dad didn’t want that, he and mom care way more about me making my own dreams come true first.” She took a deep breath in before sighing as she let it out, then she fixed the boys with a serious gaze, “That’s why I’m gonna do both, I’ll become an amazing Hero that’ll make enough money to let my parents live comfortable lives, and allow me to take them on that vacation to Hawaii I promised them.”

After that, it became Sero’s turn to be bashful. “Well dang Uraraka, after something as moving as that, now I feel like the lame one.” He said with a weak chuckle.

“Don’t be like that Sero.” Argued Izuku. “Like you said, you don’t need some great goal or ambition. If you simply want to become a Hero because you admire them, then there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Sero looked over at Izuku, seemingly surprised before a grin broke out on his face. “Geez Midoriya, you practice saying lines like that in the mirror every morning or do they just come to ya naturally?” He asked, hands on his hips as he looked down at Izuku in amusement.

“Bravo!” Exclaimed Iida, making all three of them jump a little in surprise as he began clapping his hands. “All three of you are inspirational individuals! Truly, we must all do our best together to become the greatest Heroes we could possibly be!”

Ochako and Sero exchanged a look before laughing and then joining in the clapping themselves. Izuku watched them all have fun amongst themselves, seeing his friends talk about their dream to be Heroes and the meaning behind those dreams, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Tape kid has a point, you’re a real cheesy one.”

“I still think it’s sweet! And besides, having natural charisma like this is an absolute trademark of a great Hero!”

“Using All Might as an example I take it?”

“I mean, he’s been the Number One this long for a reason, right?”

Izuku swore he could feel Eighth’s bashfulness at the sound of his predecessor’s praise.

“Young Midoriyaaa IS HERE!” The sudden appearance of All Might from around the corner in the hallway then brought the moment to an end as all four students practically leapt into the air in surprise. “Oh, Iida, Uraraka, Sero, you’re all here as well, wonderful!”

“A-All Might?” Asked Ochako in surprise, “Can we help you with something sir?” 

“Hm… well it’s more specifically something that Young Midoriya can help me with…” Replied All Might as he suddenly pulled out something that he was holding behind his back. “Would you… care to eat lunch with me?”

Izuku watched Ochako out of the corner of his eye slap a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter while saying something that he could barely understand. He was fairly certain he heard the word, “cute” though.

“Could the man try to NOT show favoritism to one of his students? He’s just begging for someone to get the wrong idea…”

As much as Izuku loathes to admit it, Third certainly had a point. He was about to politely turn the offer down when he felt a smack on his back. “Dang Midoriya, look at you go!” Said Sero with a grin. “Must’ve been so badass during the U.S.J. that All Might himself wants to eat with ya, well don’t hold out on our account, might as well make the most of it dude!”

“Crass as Sero’s words are, he is correct.” Said Iida. Izuku looked over to see him smiling while Ochako was giving a thumbs up. “By all means, go spend lunch with him today, the world will not end simply because you chose to not join us today, I’m sure the others will understand as well.”

“If… if you guys are sure.” Said Izuku nervously before turning to see All Might giving him an expectant grin. “I’d love to join you today, sir.”

All Might let out a loud laugh at that. “Wonderful! Let’s be off then my boy!”

Izuku waved goodbye to his friends before jogging off after All Might. His friends meanwhile continued towards the cafeteria while talking amongst themselves.

“Fifty minutes?” Asked Izuku.

Yagi-Sensei nodded his head. “Yeah, I can feel my time limit drop a couple more seconds with each passing day.” Said the deflated Symbol of Peace solemnly. “Of course if it was to protect you and the other students, or anyone else for that matter, I’d gladly burn away every remaining second of my time limit, so don’t apologize, understood?”

Izuku flinched a little at that, was he really so predictable?

“Yes, you are.” Said Kacchan drily. When Izuku turned to look at him in shock, he sighed before saying, “No, you didn’t say that aloud, you’re just so damn obvious I could tell what you were thinking.” Izuku sighed as he hung his head in defeat, Kacchan read him like he was one of his notebooks! “Now then, why are we here?”

“Ahem, right,” Yagi-Sensei coughed into his fist, thankful to Kacchan for redirecting them back to the main point. “Well, I did invite you both to eat with me, both to help update you on the status of my time limit, since you’re both in the know, as well as once again offer my gratitude for your efforts during the U.S.J. Incident.” To emphasize his thanks, Yagi-Senzei bowed to the two students.

Their responses were for Kacchan to scoff and Izuku to smile at him.

“Ah please,” Said Kacchan, “as long as there are villains, I’ll be there to kick their asses and blow them to hell.”

“Come on Sensei,” Izuku at the same time, “as long as there are people in danger, I’ll be there to save them.”

Yagi-Sensei looked at the two boys, unable to help but chuckle. “Goodness, you boys really are two of a kind, aren’t you?” In response, the pair tilted their heads in confusion in perfect sync.

“That aside, boys, as I’m sure you’ve been informed by Aizawa already, the Sports Festival’s coming up.” Said Yagi-Sensei before turning to focus his attention on Izuku. “Young Midoriya, as the current wielder of One for All, it’s up to you to surpass me. This Festival is one that all of Japan will be watching. Take this opportunity to make a declaration to Japan, to tell them, that ‘You are here!’”

“‘That I am here,’ huh?” Said Izuku thoughtfully. “It’s true, this Festival is a big opportunity to make a name for myself in the work dog Heroes, performing well as a first year could be a key factor in my future career.”

“You’d better not be thinking that this’ll be a walk in the park for you, Deku.” Said Kacchan as he elbowed Izuku in the side.

Izuku returned in kind. “With you there, not a chance.” He retorted. The boys continued their back and forth for a bit.

“Well, I’m sure you boys will make an explosive debut to the world of Heroes together.” Said Yagi-Sensei, “Never forget that drive you both possess to reach the top and I’m sure you’ll both accomplish great things.”

The boys put a pause on their back and forth to both look at Yagi-Sensei. They exchanged a brief glance before giving him their full attention. “Yes sir.” They said while nodding their heads.

“Are you ready to go, Midoriya?” Asked Yaoyorozu as she stood next to his desk.

“Almost, let me just finish putting these away.” Said Izuku as he finished sliding the last few of his belongings into his backpack before hoisting it onto his back.

This was something that they were supposed to have done last week, Aizawa explaining to them that they were to go meet the President and Vice President of 1B, the other Hero Class. It was a formality of sorts, having the representatives meet to work things out and avoid future hostilities between their classes.

“Uh… guys? You might wanna come see this…”

Unfortunately for them, that task was going to be difficult to perform, given that the entrance to the hallway was presently being blocked off by a wall of bodies.

More accurately, the first year student body. They were crowding around the entrance to their class, staring at them and murmuring amongst themselves. “Hey! What’s the big idea?!” Demanded Mineta. “You can’t keep us prisoner in here!”

“They’re here to scope out the competition, duh.” Said Kacchan as he stepped forward. He then glared at them before shouting, “Piss off, ya damn extras!”

“Bakugou!” Exclaimed Iida, chopping his hands with a scandalized expression, “Don’t refer to your fellow students as ‘Extras!’”

From the crowd, someone let out an exhausted, yet amused scoff. “Damn, you’re a modest one.” The owner of the voice came forth, his taller frame and mess of purple hair letting him just barely stand out in the crowd. “I wonder if all the hero course students are like this? Gotta say, it’s kinda disillusioning if this is what you guys have got to offer.”

Izuku stared in surprise, he recognized this guy. They never exchanged names or anything but he was fairly certain they’d crossed paths at the entrance exam, right after One for All had awoken inside him.

“Hey!” A loud voice from the crowd caught the Hero Students’ attention, those near the doorway turned to see a muscular guy with silver hair, really large eyelashes, and sharp teeth glaring at them. Or more accurately, at Kacchan. “I’m from 1B next door! I got sent to see what the guys who survived the villain attack had to offer, but all I’m seeing is an arrogant bastard making an ass of himself!”

Izuku sighed and facepalmed. The guy wasn’t exactly wrong, Kacchan wasn’t the best when it came to first impressions after all, the words, “oh my god, I just called All Might a ‘zombie’” still rang in his head loud and clear after all these months.

“Aw piss off Lashes, I ain’t here to play nice with a pack of clowns who couldn’t make the cut.” Snapped Kacchan as he flipped him off. “You wanna say something to me, then say it to my damn face!”

This seemed to kick up the attitudes of the other students, the murmuring amongst them getting louder.

“Damn, this guy’s a dick.”

“Is all of Class A like that?”

“Honestly, where do they get off, acting like they’re hot shit just because they survived against some measly villains?”

“Yeah, big whoop, you get lucky enough to have the chance to bust some heads and suddenly you think you’re all kings of the world or something?”

“Man, how self centered can you get?”

“‘Measly Villains?’” That last one didn’t come from the crowd, but instead it had actually been Izuku who’d spoken up. Everyone, sans Kacchan who simply stepped to the side, turned to see the President of Class 1A storm towards the entrance, now standing between his friends and the other students of their year. “Care to repeat what the hell you just said?” He asked angrily.

“I…” Said one of the students, taken aback, “I was wondering where you guys get off acting like this just because you beat some villains…?”

“‘Where do we get off?’” Echoed Izuku, “‘WHERE DO WE GET OFF!?’ WHERE THE HELL DO YOU GET OFF!?” Some of the students flinched back at his shout as he reached out his arms and gripped the doorframe of his classroom’s entrance. “What kind of victim blaming bastards are you!? We get attacked and have to fight for our lives against villains and you think we’re going to become arrogant over that!? Have you seen what state our teachers are in?! Thirteen was nearly ripped to shreds by her own Quirk and Aizawa-Sensei’s entire body is wrapped in bandages!” Izuku’s arms tensed as he unconsciously activated his Quirk. The sound of something breaking could be heard, and the students realized that cracks were starting to appear in the wall around the entrance to Class 1A, while smoke was starting to come off of Izuku’s body, slowly enveloping and obscuring him from sight, leaving only his eyes that glowed from within visible. “You’re supposed to be students training at the greatest Hero school in Japan, if this is the type of mentality you have then you don’t belong here! NOW GET OUT OF MY DAMN SIGHT!”

Izuku’s intimidation tactic worked, the majority of the students all scattered, not wanting to risk pissing Izuku off even further, even the 1B student  left though the expression on his face seemed more guilty than fearful. Soon the only student left was the purple haired guy who’d come to the front of the crowd. Izuku took a deep breath to calm himself, the smoke around him dissipating as he deactivated his Quirk. “Something you’d like to say?” He asked, now feeling more tired than angry.

The other student, seemingly from the General Course if Izuku was remembering the layout of his uniform correctly, gave an amused huff. “Quite the Quirk you’ve got there, super strength that produces smoke as a byproduct? Really flashy, probably made you popular growing up, and made the entrance exam a total walk in the park.” The other students of 1A exchanged glances at that, after all that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. “Well, I just came here to give a bit of a friendly heads up, there’s quite a few of us in the general course who wanted to make it into the Hero Classes, but we just didn’t quite make the cut. This Sports Festival’ll be a prime time to show off maybe even get ourselves a chance to be transferred in.” His tired eyes met Izuku’s, “Of course, the opposite is also true, you rest on your laurels too much and you might find yourselves joining the ranks of us ‘Extras.’” Despite the exhaustion evident on his face, he still managed to force out a glare, “Consider this a declaration of war, I’m going to be gunning for a spot in the Hero Course, so you’d better watch yourself or I’m gonna end up knocking you Hero students off the pedestals you’re currently sitting upon.”

There was a moment of dead silence in the hall and classroom, then the corners of Izuku’s mouth quirked upwards. “Well, you’re free to try.” He said, before standing up straight and extending a hand towards the purple haired student. “Izuku Midoriya, President of Class 1A, I look forward to seeing you at the Sports Festival.”

The General Student looked at Izuku’s hand, then at Izuku. Rather than taking it for the handshake, he simply shoved his hands in his pockets before turning around and walking away. Izuku let out a disappointed hum and lowered his hand. Just before the purple haired student escaped earshot though, Izuku heard him say, “Hitoshi Shinso.” Izuku couldn’t help but give a small smile at that.

“Geez kid, that was one heck of a reaction there.”

“Yeah, using One for All to intimidate students. How heroic.”

“Oh give him a break, after what he and his friends went through, I can’t blame him for being upset by a bunch of brats belittling a traumatic experience like that.”

“Yeah, well he and his friends are gonna have to get used to ‘traumatic experiences’ if they want to be ‘heroes’ so badly. Newsflash, the world isn’t all sunshine and super powers like they’ve been led to believe.”

“Did you forget that they’re still kids? For god's sake they should at least be allowed to live like kids for a bit longer.”

“Oh, yeah, like you’re the leading authority when it comes to how to raise kids.”

Izuku’s eyes widened a little as One for All briefly went dead silent before everything suddenly exploded.

“You son of a fucking bitch! We may be dead but god help me I’m gonna find a way to kill you again!”

“Second!”

“Man, what the hell!?”

“That was a bridge too far, Second.”

“Sorry chief, but you’re on your own for this one…”

Izuku grabbed the sides of his head, it was becoming so loud that it felt like he was gonna split apart. Thankfully, and perhaps more than a bit ironically, it was being chopped in the back of the head and shouted at that he was able to pull his head out of the argument and focus on something else. Izuku turned to look at the person who’d chopped him.

“Midoriya!” Shouted Iida as he continued shopping his hands at him. “While standing up for your classmates against naysayers is commendable, especially as a Class President, I cannot help but be appalled by you damaging school property, for the second time no less!”

Izuku looked over his shoulder at the large cracks in the walls and flinched a little at the sight of the damage. Hesitantly he looked towards Yaoyorozu for help. The heiress let out a sigh. “In case you forgot, we have a meeting with the representatives of Class 1B to attend.” She said, her words resulting in an even larger flinch from Izuku.

Ochako, ever his hero, stepped forward and put a hand on Yaoyorozu’s shoulder before jerking her thumb towards herself. “Leave the repair process to me, you just gimme tools real quick and you can be on your way, ‘Kay?”

Yaoyorozu sighed and relented, after a couple seconds, she loaded Ochako up with all the materials she’d need to fix the damages. “W-wait, I did this, I should be the one to-”

“To get going already, Deku.” Said Ochako as she practically shoulder tackled him out the door. “Leave this to me and go deal with your responsibilities! Don’t let him out of your sight Yaomomo!” She practically ordered.

“Understood.” Said Yaoyorozu as she abruptly grabbed Izuku’s wrist and began dragging him away. Despite his protests, the Class President didn’t have it in him to resist and simply let himself be pulled along to the meeting. As they walked away, they could hear the sound of laughter coming from his classroom. Izuku couldn’t help but smile a little at the sound, happy he had been able to make them feel a little better, even if it did require him playing the role of the fool for a bit.

After a bit Izuku began walking alongside Yaoyorozu, a determined look in his eye as he already began thinking about what he wanted to say to Class 1B’s president.

Chapter Text

“Midoriya, I require your assistance with something… official.”

Izuku looked up at Yaoyorozu, surprised to have his Vice President approach him like this. Everyone was heading back to their class after lunch for foundational heroicswhen the heiress decided to pull Izuku to the side. His friends stopped as well to watch the interaction questioningly, but after a few waves from Izuku, they agreed to leave the two to talk.

“I wonder what the Material Girl could want?”

“You and your weird ass references…”

“Hey, you understood the reference, so I’d say that says more about you than it does me.”

“Of course I know the references, I’ve been forced to live with you for more than forty years!”

“‘Eesh, testy…”

”Ignoring Baldey and Smokey's bickering-“

“Hey!”

“I am certainly curious about what the girl wants.”

“Perhaps we’re getting the long awaited confession scene?”

“What do you mean ‘long awaited?’ They’ve known each other for a week. Also I though you were shipping the heiress with the electric and sound ones?”

“I’m flexible! I never got to see Toshinori experience a love life because the stubborn boy was practically married to his dream of becoming the symbol of peace, so I’d love to see our Ninth surpass him on that front if nothing else.”

“Is this what you all do in your spare time? Gossip about the love lives of this kid and his friends?”

“In case you forgot, jackass, we have nothing BUT spare time now. Though I guess you wouldn’t know what the majority of us are up to since you and edgelord number one spend all your time brooding in god knows where.”

“Honestly I’m surprised to have you here with us, Third. What made you decide to engage with the rest of us rather than staying with Second?”

At the mention of First’s successor, Izuku could practically feel a tension form in his Quirk.

“I… decided to give the Chief some space.”

“Translation: that shit he said yesterday was a bridge too far even for you.”

“Y’know what, Fifth? You can go-”

Aaand Izuku decided that that was enough of that. While conversations in One for All went way faster than exchanges in the real world, being non corporeal and connected allowing messages to come and go much quicker and far more seamlessly, they still took time and going off the look on Yaoyorozu’s face as she waited for him to say something, this was starting to take a little too much time. “What can I help you with, Yaoyorozu?”

“It’s Mineta.” She said, her answer short and sweet but very telling.

Almost as telling as the look on Izuku’s face was. “What happened this time?”

“His behaviour hasn’t changed since we started our time here at UA, he still continues to offer… uncomfortable remarks about the bodies of our female classmates.” Explained Yaoyorozu folding her arms under her chest as she looked away in discomfort. “ Compliments are one thing but he has a tendency to just…  push the envelope further than necessary. In fact, it feels as if since the U.S.J he’s only become more vocal about his… opinions.”

Izuku sighed as he brought a hand up, letting out a groan as he attempted to rub the tiredness from his mind. “Alright then, I frankly wanted to have this conversation with him for a while but I’ve been continuously shelving it for the sake of other issues that I thought were more important.” He admitted, lowering his hand to give his Vice President a tired look. “But if needs must, then I’ll talk to him.”

“Would you mind me being there for that conversation?” Asked Yaoyorozu. “I’ll leave the talking to you if you would like, I just want to see the way you plan on putting the issue to rest.”

“That sounds fair.” Admitted Izuku. “Let me talk to him after our lesson with All Might, there should be plenty of time after that for me to say what needs to be said.”

Yaoyorozu was willing to accept that.

Momo Yaoyorozu did not like Minoru Mineta.

Truly, a controversial opinion to have. Disliking someone who said comments about her and her classmates… or, friends? Were they her friends? She was not used to having those. Kaminari and Jirou seemed nice enough to her, the former even giving her the nickname of “Yaomomo,” which had started to gain usage amongst the rest of the class. Nicknames were a sign of friendship right? Perhaps she should reexamine that book she’d bought about how one goes about forging good relations with their peers.

Regardless, that friendship didn’t seem to have been enough to earn her enough votes to surpass Midoriya. She was certainly bothered by the fact that she lost, though in all honesty if someone was going to surpass her in that regard, she figured it might as well be Midoriya. Socially awkward he may be due to his… unfortunate upbringing prior to UA, he had a unique way of earning the respect of and imparting wisdom upon those around him, even their teachers and students from other classes were immune to his charisma, if the meeting they’d had with Itsuka Kendo and Nirengeki Shoda was any indication.

Honestly, after her abysmal performance in the battle trial, perhaps she should be counting her blessings that she even made it as far as Vice President of class 1A. Speaking of the battle trial, that… for the lack of a better term, fiasco was part of the reason for her disdain for her vertically challenged classmate. Had he not decided to simply sit on the sidelines while she faced both members of the Hero Team alone

(She was just going to casually ignore the fact that it was her words that had made him come to the conclusion that he should simply sideline himself.)

Honestly, part of her wished for Mineta to simply be expelled. Were it not for the fact that she lacked any physical evidence of his behavior, she would’ve gone straight to Aizawa-Sensei and asked for him to simply remove Mineta from the Hero Course, if not UA as a whole. But she was simply going to have to instead test the mettle of her Class President and pray that he could put an end to the purple menace of 1A, in order to give the others some peace of mind.

Soon enough, their heroic studies come to an end, and after they change from their Hero uniforms into their regular school clothes, Midoriya and Momo manage to corner Mineta. “Uh hey there Midoriya…” Said Mineta looking at their class president in confusion, before briefly turning his attention to Momo. “Yaoyorozu.” He said in a flirtatious tone that made her skin crawl.

Momo elected to say nothing, refusing to give the degenerate the satisfaction, her eyes simply narrowing into a subtle glare.

Midoriya meanwhile, simply sighed and hung his head. “Mineta, we need to talk.” He said calmly.

“Er…” Said Mineta, looking around a little awkwardly. “I mean… we’re talking right now, aren’t we?”

“This is serious.” Said Midoriya. “We need to have a serious conversation, class president to classmate.”

Mineta made a face at that, clearly not liking the implications. “Do we have to?”

“Unfortunately, this is a conversation that needs to happen.” Confirmed Midroiya. “The only real difference is if you’d rather have this conversation with me, or with Aizawa-Sensei.”

Mineta gave Midoriya a blank look for a second, his head slowly turning to look at Momo for a moment before refocusing back on Midoriya. “You, please.”

“Thank you.” Said Midoriya. “Here, let’s go somewhere with fewer… prying eyes.” When Mineta turned to look at Momo again, who simply continued to give him a flat glare from where she stood, Midoriya quickly elaborated. “Yaoyorozu requested to be present for this, but she promised to keep quiet while we talk.”

“So Yaoyorozu is the type to enjoy watching two others go at it.” Said Mineta as he crossed his arms and nodded his head. “I didn’t peg her for the type but in retrospect I think it explains a lot.”

That comment actually managed to get a reaction out of Momo, who tilted her head in confusion before looking to Midoriya for clarification.

“Nope. Not touching that one with a ten foot pole.” Said Midoriya with a shake of his head. “Now quit stalling and let’s go.”

“Fine fine, killjoy.” Muttered Mineta as the three of them walked off, Momo remaining confused all the while.

“So, what? Gonna threaten me to stop hitting on the girls or you’ll have Aizawa expel me?”
Izuku kept his face as calm and neutral as possible at Mineta’s question. The three of them had found a vacant classroom to have their conversation in, Izuku and Mineta sitting at opposite sides of a desk and facing each other while Yaoyorozu watched from the sidelines. Almost as soon as they were seated, Mineta decided to take the initiative in this conversation, opening it with all the tact of a sledgehammer.

“Is that what you think I should do?” Asked Izuku, tilting his head slightly.

“I mean, yeah?” Said Mineta, seeming a little surprised by Izuku’s response. “Isn’t that what this conversation is about? All the girls find me annoying so the rich girl decided to have the class president who’s desperate to show off and be an inspiration to everyone to ‘play the hero’ and get rid of the problem?”

“So you’re self aware of the fact that your behavior bothers the others then?”

“Well… sure. I can see the way they look at me, hear the things they say about me. I know I’m just the worthless midget with a joke of a Quirk who wanted to be a Hero regardless. This is what’s expected of me, right?”

Izuku nodded his head. “I see… ‘expected…’” He said thoughtfully. “So you really do want to be a Hero?”

He could tell that Mineta had no idea where he was going with this, if the expression on Yaoyorozu’s face was any indication then neither did she. Hell the vestiges were even lost, choosing to simply stay silent and let Izuku work. “I-I mean, yeah? Who doesn’t wanna be a Hero? They’re the coolest people, beloved by everyone!” exclaimed Mineta. “I… even someone like me, a baby faced midget with a lame Quirk… if I became a pro Hero, even I would be loved like that…” He said quietly, staring at his desk for a moment before looking back up at Izuku. For a moment, Izuku swore he could see a few of the stages of grief flash across his face, sadness… anger… before eventually settling on a cold, despondent acceptance. “But I guess that’s a ridiculous dream, right? After all, you are here, Midoriya. Here to remove the ‘problem’ of class 1A, get me kicked to the curb so someone else less annoying can take my place. Someone who’s actual Hero material.”

“I thought you were smart, Mineta.” Said Izuku flatly.

“Eh?”

“You’re absolutely Hero material.” Izuku gave his classmate a weak smile. “Don’t you remember? You played a vital role in helping Tsu and I get past those villains in the flood zone, your Quirk was an absolute asset.”

Mineta was taken aback by that. “Y-yeah, well you probably would have made things work even if I wasn’t there!”

“Maybe.” Admitted Izuku with a shrug. “If it was just Tsu and I, she could’ve wrapped her tongue around my waist and simply carried me to safety with a single leap. I wouldn't have had to break a finger in that scenario to boot.”

“S-See! So then-”

Before Mineta could keep going, Izuku cut him off. “But then the villains in the flood zone wouldn’t have been captured. It was thanks to your Quirk that they were all incapacitated long enough for the police to easily capture them. Doesn’t that mean you technically have all those villain captures to your name? I’m willing to bet only the likes of Todoroki could make a claim like that.”

“W-well I guess if you wanna skew the facts like that, you could technically say that…” Replied Mineta, fidgeting a bit in discomfort.

“Mineta.” Izuku’s voice caused him to freeze in place. “I’m not a trained psychologist, but I think you might have genuine issues that you should talk to Hound Dog about, I’ve had a session or two with him myself and I can definitely say that it was nice to get some of the things I’d been keeping to myself off my chest and share them with a trained professional and pro Hero who I could trust not to judge me.”

“I don’t think that’s really necessary-” Mineta could keep trying to deflect as many times as he liked, but unfortunately for him, Izuku was far too god damn stubborn to ever quit when it came to helping someone.

“Mineta, you fought alongside us at the U.S.J, you’re one of us and you deserve to stay with us.” Said Izuku firmly as he reached over and placed his hands on his shorter classmate’s shoulders. “Yes you’ve had more than a handful of hiccups when it came to interacting with our classmates, but we’ve also only been at this school for just over a week, there’s more than enough time to make up for that.” When Mineta still didn’t meet his gaze, he simply said, “You’re my friend, so please let me help you.”

There was a moment of silence as Mineta remained silent, simply staring at his desk. Then Izuku could feel his body start to tremble, and a small puddle began to form on the desk as he realized tears were beginning to fall from his face. ‘I d…” Said Mineta, his voice sounding hoarse as he tried to speak between his sobs, “I don’t… d-deserve a friend… like you…”

“It doesn’t matter whether you ‘deserve’ me or not,” Said Izuku  with a gentle smile, “Because either way, I am here.”

Mineta then stood up and walked around the desk so that he was next to Izuku. He then quietly wrapped his arms around Izuku and buried his face into his chest, continuing to quietly cry. Izuku said nothing, simply reciprocating the hug and letting Mineta let it all out. He of all people knew how nice it could be to just cry until you’ve got no tears left to carry.

Once Mineta was done, he and Midoriya discussed what they should do going forward. The first step was apologies, the rest of their class had already departed by this point, but at the very least there was one female classmate here that Mineta could start with. He stood before Momo, bowing as deeply as he could be, and apologizing as profusely as he could to her. Momo, despite everything she’d seen, still felt hesitant to accept it. Though she was able to tell that this hesitation likely came from her own biases against her classmate, and that realization made her feel disgusted with herself enough that she was more than willing to accept his apology just to spite herself. She did make sure to have him promise to not repeat these kinds of actions in the future, something Mineta promised that he’d do his best with.

Afterwards, he and Midoriya agreed that they’d approach Hound Dog for counseling as a means to get grasp on Mineta’s problems and the best way they could approach coping with them. They were about to set off, but Momo stepped in, requesting a moment to speak with Midoriya alone. After an exchanged glance between the boys, they agree, Midoriya promising that he’d catch up to Mineta once he was done. With a nod, Mineta then set off towards Hound Dog’s office.

Once their shorter classmate was out of earshot, Momo took a deep breath before letting out with a sigh. “You never fail to surprise me, Midoriya.” She admitted.

“What do you mean?” Asked Midoriya, looking at her in confusion.

“You are a stronger person of character than me.” She clarified looking towards where Mineta had walked off towards. “Personally, a part of me was simply praying for what Mineta had been expecting, for you to simply have him removed from UA, because I had simply written him off as nothing but a simple degenerate and refused to attempt to actually understand him. Had I been the class president that’s certainly the course of action I would’ve taken. Though after that conversation I witnessed, I feel as though all that would’ve done was create a future villain, if not a future suicide case. In that sense it could be said that I would be no better than a villain myself.” She then turned back towards him. “In that sense, I am glad that you proved yourself to be better than me. I once again feel humbled by you, and honestly if we were to have a repeat of the elections then I most certainly would have voted for you.”

She could learn much from this. About not jumping to conclusions about someone, and that there was sometimes more to a person than the front that they put up. “I just wanted to do my best to help you, both of you.” Midoriya admitted. “I suppose… that I just know what it’s like to be hated, both by yourself and by others…”

“Of course, I suppose you of all people would be able to understand Mineta.” Momo couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Aldera Junior High was truly a blight against the world of education, she was thankful that the teachers of UA had seen to its destruction, she could only hope that Midoriya was the last person any of those abominable teachers ever hurt. “Well, I have to thank you Midoriya, for saving not only Mineta, but in a way myself as well.” She said, turning to give Midoriya a bow.

Midoriya, ever the humble individual, couldn’t help but scratch the back of his neck and give a weak chuckle. “Your words flatter me, Yaoyorozu, even if I think that saying I ‘saved you’ might be perhaps a bit much.”

“Yaomomo.”

“Eh?”

“It’s a nickname,” Elaborated Momo now being the one to feel a little nervous, “Friends… use those, right? Then I would like you to treat me as such.”

Midoriya blinked at her in confusion before smiling. “If that’s what you want, then sure thing, Yaomomo.” He replied.

Momo smiled at him in turn, before looking over his shoulder and past him. “Now then, I’d suggest catching up with Mineta.”

Midoriya flinched in realization before quickly turning around. “Ah shoot, right, take care Yaomomo, I’ll see you tomorrow!” He shouted as he took off running down the hall.

Momo smiled as she watched him go. ‘The Hero who saves everyone? Yes, if there is someone who can become such a thing, then it would definitely be Midoriya…’ She thought to herself as she turned and began to leave the school for the day.

After he caught up to Mineta, the two approached Hound Dog in his office. Izuku was quick to explain the situation regarding Mineta’s own self doubt and hoped that the school’s therapist could help him. When Hound Dog learned that there was a student who was experiencing such emotional turmoil and he’d failed to notice (while also failing to consider that he and Mineta had never even been in the same room as far as Izuku was aware) he immediately leapt at the opportunity to ‘rectify his failures as a teacher.’ The boys had to admire his dedication to his work. Izuku then bid Mineta farewell, deciding that he should let this session between him and Hound Dog remain one on one before leaving.

Izuku then looked towards the direction of Nedzu’s office, and with a determined look on his face, began walking.

He still had one more person he needed to talk to today, and if there was anyone who could make that meeting happen, it was the principal.

Chapter Text

“Midoriya, why am I here?” Asked Aizawa-Sensei, his voice muffled by the bandages that covered his face as he sat across from Izuku in Nedzu’s office. The student had to appreciate the man’s commitment to his aesthetic, even while in such a physically damaged state, he still wore his usual clothes and capture scarf. Then again perhaps he had simply spent so much time dressed in such a way it was simply what he felt most comfortable in.

“Or perhaps you’re just overthinking it.”

Izuku sighed, unable to disagree with Sixth’s assessment. After all, overthinking was what he did best, such as right now as he was wasting time thinking about Aizawa-Sensei’s state of dress rather than focusing on the discussion he’d requested Nedzu call his teacher in for. He took a deep breath, taking a moment to collect his words, before finally speaking, “Sensei, the day we first met, I really didn’t like you.”

There was silence in the office, broken only by Nedzu’s amused snickering.

“Well I’m glad someone finds this funny.”

“I thought you would be like every other teacher I’d been forced to deal with growing up. You singled me out, threatened to expel not only me if I failed to pass your little test, but anyone and everyone who chose to associate with me. Then you had the audacity to lie about your intentions, attempting to write it off as a logical ruse, and well we both know how that went.”

Izuku paused again, waiting to see if Aizawa-Sensei had anything to say. When he was met with silence from the teacher, he decided to keep going, “Of course you and the rest of the faculty then started to show that perhaps UA would be different, starting with your shutdown of Aldera Junior High and the explanation that prejudice was something you wouldn’t tolerate.” Izuku let out a thoughtful hum, “And then from there you seemed to have done your best to keep your interactions with me to a minimum, only directly addressing me if and when it was relevant or required, am I wrong about that observation?”

For the first time, Aizawa-Sensei finally spoke. “No, Midoriya, I do believe you’re spot on with your observational skills, as usual.” He said calmly.

“Well, I’m glad to know that you have strong confidence in my observational skills, and I’m also glad that you’ve been acting in a way that you were attempting to avoid causing me further distress, like you did last week.” Replied Izuku, before slowly taking a moment to observe his teacher, the state of injury he was presently in. It made his stomach churn, knowing how close Aizawa-Sensei had been to death. “Speaking of last week, what happened at the U.S.J. is actually the reason I decided to have this conversation with you, because I made a couple more observations when it came to you back then.”

“Do tell.” Replied Aizawa-Sensei flatly. Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could see Nedzu tent his paws as he listened to them, seeming very interested in whatever Izuku had to say.

“Well while it might be illogical to bring this up given how obvious it was, I still feel it bears mentioning.” Said Izuku. “The fact that you, an underground Hero that specialized in one on one takedowns, decided to face off against a small army of villains is already a testament in itself as to how seriously you take your duties when it comes to your students, but what happened after that was what was truly special.” Izuku brought up a hand and stared at it for a moment. “When Shigaraki made a grab for Tsu and Mineta, I saw what you did, even if it ultimately hadn’t been necessary thanks to my own awakening.” He fixed his gaze back onto his teacher. “I saw you, even as that Nomu had your broken body pinned to the ground, I saw you use your Quirk in a desperate attempt to protect them. You went further beyond than most would or could to make sure we were safe. And for that, Aizawa-Sensei, you have both my thanks, as well as my apologies for my initial misjudgment of you.”

Aizawa-Sensei let out a sigh at that. “Honestly, Midoriya, did you really make a request of the principal and set up this whole meeting to do something as unnecessary as apologize to and thank me for simply doing my job?” He didn’t sound angry, more exasperated than anything else. He started to move to sit up from his seat. “Honestly, of all the illogical-”

“Yagi-Sensei and I lied to you about my Quirk.” Said Izuku.

Aizawa-Sensei froze in place so sharply at that statement that Izuku actually had to take a moment to glance at the clock on Nedzu’s wall to make sure someone hadn’t frozen time or something.

“Uh, kid, you’re not doing what I think you’re doing, right?”

“Izuku, you realize this is quite the secret to reveal, right? There’s no going back now.”

Izuku could hear chuckling from within One for All.

“Honestly, after everything we’ve seen I’m amazed you can still question the resolve of our Ninth.”

“First’s right, and honestly I can’t think of a better person to tell.”

‘You wanted the chance to apologize, right Ninth?’ Thought Izuku, a brief smile flashing across his lips, ‘Then I’m going to give you that chance.’

“Heh, ever the Hero, aren’t you?”

“Explain Midoriya, now.” Said Aizawa-Sensei firmly, his eyes practically boring into Izuku.

“Me having a Quirk that required a certain amount of muscle mass to be usable was technically true,” Admitted Izuku with a shrug, “it’s just that this power isn’t one I was born with.” He had to hold back the urge to chuckle as he found himself repeating what Yagi-Sensei had told him almost a year ago. “‘This Quirk is special, with one person training the power before eventually passing it down to the someone else that they chose to be their successor. The name of this Quirk… is One for All…’” Izuku stared at his hand for a moment, reminiscing on the day he met All Might, before looking back at Aizawa-Sensei. “Yagi-Sensei was the eighth user, and now I’m the ninth.”

“One for All…” Repeated Aizawa-Sensei, doing his best to keep his voice forcibly calm. He took a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. “There are a lot of things that I want to say, including my thoughts on All Might passing a Quirk as destructive as his onto a child, but I’ll save that for later, for now I want to know why you wanted to share this with me of all people?”

“Like I said,” Replied Izuku, “your actions in the U.S.J. were a major contributing factor. In fact it was your actions that played a part in me awakening to something within One for All that I didn’t think was possible.” Rather than elaborate verbally, Izuku instead decided to simply show Aizawa-Sensei, as well as principal Nedzu, what he meant. He closed his eyes and focused on how Sixth had described the way to activate the Quirk, “think of it like exhaling through your skin.” Slowly, the purple haze of Smokescreen began to seep out of his body, obscuring himself from Aizawa-Sensei’s view.

The teachers stared at him in shock. “I thought that the smoke I saw coming off you back then had just been a product of brain damage.” Admitted Aizawa-Sensei.

“A logical conclusion.” Joked Izuku as he deactivated Smokescreen, allowing it to slowly fade away. “This is Smokescreen, it was the Quirk of En Tayutai, also known as the Underground Hero Gaen. He was One for All’s Sixth User.”

Izuku was fairly certain he could see Aizawa-Sensei’s eyes widen underneath all those bandages. “Midoriya, please tell me you’re not implying what I think you are.”

“I’m afraid I am.” Said Izuku, “It’s not just All Might’s Quirk that I’ve inherited, the powers of his predecessors have all been passed down through One for All as well.”

Aizawa-Sensei remained silent for a moment before allowing his body to lean forward and his head to droop downwards as he let out a long and tired sigh. “So, how many abilities does that mean for you? Seven? Eight?”

“Well I guess that depends on whether you count the passing on and the strength enhancement to be one ability or two.” Explained Izuku. “Both of those come from First, and after him are the Quirks of Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh. All Might and I were both born Quirkless, so there’s nothing for either of us to contribute to the stockpile beyond simply making what was already there stronger. So in total that would be a total of eight abilities.” At the sight of Aizawa’s head drooping even further, Izuku quickly added on, “Thankfully I already know what most of my predecessors Quirks are, the only ones I’m in the dark on still are Second and Third’s Quirks, since they still won’t tell me.”

That statement got a reaction out of Aizawa-Sensei, who slowly raised his head to tiredly look Izuku in the eye. “What do you mean, ‘they won’t tell you?’” 

At the sound of Nedzu’s amused chuckling, Izuku came to the conclusion that he was going to be here for a while…

It took a lot of explaining to cover the history of One for All and its many oddities, but eventually Shouta Aizawa was fully clued in on everything Izuku presently knew about Midoriya and All Might’s Quirk. From the identities of the vestiges inside him, to the details of his extra Quirks, and even the story behind the two brothers, as well as the fact that All Might’s thought to be dead nemesis from six years ago was still kicking and was likely the mastermind behind the League of Villains.

Honestly, the concept of a villain who could give and take Quirks and create monsters by mixing multiple Quirks into a single person. It reminded him of that villain that a certain problem child vigilante had fought a few years ago.

Come to think of it, his current problem child reminded him of that trouble maker, he just hoped that this one wouldn’t go on to become a vigilante, the thought of that alone gave Shouta a migraine.

Once Midoriya was finished explaining everything, he made his way to depart for the day. Just as he reached the door to Nedzu’s office though, he paused and turned to look at Shouta.

“One last thing, Sensei.” He said with a smile.

Shouta rolled his eyes. “Out with it, problem child.” He replied drily.

“I wasn’t the only one who wanted to thank and apologize to you, Sixth shared a similar sentiment to me, both back when we first met and here and now.” Explained Midoriya before bowing to the teacher. “He wanted to say, ‘from one underground hero to another, thank you for everything you did.’”

Shouta stared at the boy for a moment before simply replying, “Get going already, Midoriya. You have a sports festival to train for.”

“Yes sir.” Replied the problem child before making his exit.

Shouta sighed and shook his head to the best of his ability. “A fascinating boy, isn’t he?” Asked Nedzu.

“No child should have to carry that kind of responsibility on his shoulders, especially not one who’s lived the kind of life he has.” Replied Shouta curtly.

Nedzu took a sip of tea. “Perhaps, then again it’s entirely possible that only someone who’s lived the kind of life he has is capable of such a thing.”

“Well I’ll be damned if he’s gonna fight the boogeyman of the villain world before he’s ready, if ever.”

Nedzu smiled at Shouta, “Then I suppose you’ll simply have to go Plus Ultra then, ‘Aizawa-Sensei’ to make sure that boy is ready.”

“I’m a teacher, it’s what I do best.” Shouta then glared. “Now, would you kindly call up All Might, I want to have a few words with him.”

“Do try to make sure he isn’t incapable of teaching tomorrow.”

“What do you say we meet in the middle and have Recovery Girl on standby for when I’m done with him?”

“I suppose I can live with that.”

“Well, I think that went well.”

“Yeah, just make sure you learn Toshinori’s favorite type of flower soon, that way you can leave some on his grave.”

“Oh he’ll be fine, with the state Aizawa’s in I doubt he could actually be that much of a danger.”

“His lower body was mostly healed, and you don’t need arms to kick a man’s ass.”

“‘Arms? Who needs arms…”

“’With Legs like these-’ God dammit Fifth!”

Izuku shook his head and smiled as he made his way through the halls, pausing as he passed by the hall with Hound Dog’s office, seeing Mineta talking to the therapist hero at the entrance. He watched the pair seemingly bid each other farewell, and he could only hope and assume that their first session together went well. He quickly made himself scarce, not wanting to be caught staring as he made his way out of the school and towards home.

He had training to do now.

‘One for All…” Izuku thought to himself, ‘Full Cowl: Fourteen Percent!’ He felt the fire’s of One for All ignite within him and spread across his entire body as he sat cross legged on his bed. He grit his teeth as he felt his body practically screaming at him as he pushed his body to take his Quirk at just a percentage above his current threshold. He felt like glass that was about to crack apart and shatter at any moment. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, allowing him to visualize the vestiges in his mind as they gave their advice to him.

“Alright Izuku, One for All’s stable within you right now, you just need to continue holding this output.”

“You sure this is a good idea?”

“I’m sorry, who’s the one who trained with One for All all by himself for twenty two years?”

“Alright alright, fine.”

Izuku saw the logic in this training method that Fourth proposed, by continuing to push himself to use One for All like this it should cause his body to slowly adapt to the Quirk and increase his ceiling.

He took another slow and steady breath as he continued to hold the meditative position Fourth proposed he sit in, apparently it would double as a good way to hone his concentration. He wasn’t going to argue with the man who spent the larger part of his life training in isolation when it came to physical self improvement, but god would he prefer to be moving around.

“Yes well unfortunately you can’t exactly go for a jog while using One for All due to those pesky Quirk laws.”

“You sound like an anarchist.”

“Not my fault that I happened to enjoy the lawlessness of the wilderness, cut off from all those troublesome people. I only returned and spent my final moments in society out of necessity.”

“My heart bleeds for you, ya asocial weirdo.”

“I think you’re distracting Izuku.”

First was right, all the talking going on the back of his mind made focusing on the real world very difficult. Though now that Izuku thought about it… ‘Please keep talking, the distraction makes this training a lot more bearable.’

“Mmm… I should argue and say something along the lines of, ‘no pain no gain,’ but I suppose as long as you don’t let your Quirk output slip, we can indulge you. The question now is what do we talk about?”

‘Can you tell me more about your Quirks?’ Asked Izuku hopefully. The echoing sound of laughter from within his Quirk made him flinch a little, making him worried he said something he shouldn’t have. Thankfully, Fifth was there to wave his concerns off.

“Aw we’re not laughin’ at you kid, it’s just entertaining seeing how you never seem to get tired of talkin’ about Quirks is all. Alrighty then where do we start-?”

Just then, Seventh cut in, shoving her way in front of Fifth with a grin on her face. From the side, he could see Eighth mime a sigh while putting a hand on his face. Izuku found it endearing, like a child being embarrassed by their parent’s behavior.

“Kid, let me tell you that you are going to absolutely LOVE Float! If you thought Toshinori looked amazing jumping from prefecture to prefecture, then you’re gonna absolutely fall in love with how amazing being able to just float is. It can be carefree and relaxing or it can be a high speed thrill! I can’t wait to see how much One for All’s buffed the Quirk after being in Toshinori for the last few decades!”

Izuku was surprised, he hadn’t expected Seventh to be so eager to talk about her Quirk. Nimbus must’ve really loved it when she was alive. Fifth then decided to get payback against Seventh by cutting in front of her.

“Hey, don’t count Blackwhip out yet! Float’s cute and all but you cannot steer that shit at all! Being able to swing from building to building using my Quirk is just as cool and you can actually have control where you go! Not to mention it’s a great way to grab at goons who think that they’re too far away for you to grab!”

As Fifth and Seventh continued to bicker, Izuku slowly turned his attention to Fourth, who was watching the pair while First and Eighth did their best to mediate. Fourth noticed his gaze, and simply shrugged.

“Danger Sense is certainly a useful ability, though it can be quite the literal headache to deal with. I do not envy what your life will be like once it manifests, especially with how long it’s been gestating within One for All.”

‘Still, an ability that detects danger. Imagine how many people I could save with it!’ Argued Izuku.

“Unfortunately, Danger Sense only alerts the user of danger to themself, it’s also unable to tell you where it originates, and won’t help you protect those around you if something simply targets them instead.”

‘Maybe,’ Conceded Izuku, but before he could let Fourth believe he was simply going to let the matter rest there, he continued, ‘but even so, this Quirk has the potential to help me save people. All of your Quirks do, that’s why I look forward to the day that I awaken to them, because just like with Smokescreen, I know they’ll play a part in helping me save people.’ This statement caught the attention of the other vestiges, putting an end to Fifth and Seventh’s argument. Izuku mentally smiled at them all. ‘Each of you has a wonderful and special Quirk unique to you, and I feel honored to have the chance to take on those powers. I’m sure that together, we can become a great Hero who saves everyone.’

First couldn’t help but chuckle at the statement.

“Yes Izuku, I do believe you’re right. You truly are a spectacular successor to our Quirks. Don’t you agree, everyone?”

The majority of the other vestiges all voice their own opinions and praises towards Izuku. The only ones who failed to partake were the ever absent Second, and Third who found himself unable to meet Izuku’s gaze as he talked amongst the others. Then he heard Sixth say something that struck a chord with him.

“Let’s do our best to become the best, together.”

‘“Together…”’ He thought to himself, allowing an idea to begin forming in his mind.

“You’re slipping, Izuku.”

He flinched at Fourth’s admonishment, quickly apologizing for the slip up. He listened to the others continue to discuss their powers as he let his idea slowly build up in the back of his mind.

Wednesday started off with Mineta making an announcement to class 1A, with the permission of the class president and vice president.

He bowed towards everyone in the class and apologized. He apologized for his behaviour during the last week, to the girls especially but also for all the times that the things he’d said made everyone else uncomfortable as well. He even went as far as to pass around handwritten notes to each of the girls so that he could further, and more privately, convey his apologies towards them.

The reception was… mixed. Some were willing to immediately let bygones be bygones, while others struggled to believe whether or not Mineta was being genuine. He promised that if there was anyone who would rather avoid him going forward, he’d do his best to accommodate them.

No one was willing to go quite that far though, mainly because they were still classmates and that was bound to make things more difficult going forward.

Once Mineta said his piece, the three standing students returned to their seats. Aizawa had begrudgingly allowed this whole ordeal to occur, if only because it was something that both Izuku and Yaomomo wanted done and he could infer that it was important to them, all three of them. Still, spending more time on this than necessary was illogical and he had a lesson to teach.

“Gotta say kid, you impressed me. I wasn’t expecting you to get through to the little degenerate.”

Izuku shrugged. ‘Well, you made your feelings on him clear, and while I respect your guidance, the guidance of all of you for that matter, I still felt that this was something I had to do.’

“Don’t feel like you have to be subservient to our views, Izuku. Yes we may be your predecessors, but each and every one of us had our own way of doing things as a holder of One for All. We’re here to guide you, not tell you what to do. Sometimes you simply have to trust your own judgement, even if those around you do not follow the same flow of logic or agree with your choices.”

Izuku allowed a small smile to cross his face. ‘Thank you, First.’ Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Aizawa-Sensei seemed to stare at him for a moment. Izuku allowed their eyes to meet for a moment before the teacher eventually looked away.

“Case in point. Telling your teacher the truth of your Quirk will definitely have an affect on how he interacts with you going forward.”

‘Perhaps.’ Agreed Izuku. ‘I still believe it was the right choice. If anyone deserved the truth it was Aizawa-Sensei.’ Sixth let out a hum.

“I can’t say I disagree.”

The classes continued throughout the day, 1A having lessons with Ectoplasm, Kayama, and Ishiyama-Sensei to cover their various common subjects as they began to return to normalcy after the chaos that was the U.S.J. incident exactly one week ago. With it now being the same period of the week as it had been when they were attacked, there was a level of tension that could be felt amongst the students, almost as if they were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Just as they were preparing to make their way to the cafeteria, Izuku decided to step forward and speak up, “Everyone, I would like to make a proposal.”

He still couldn’t help but flinch a little when he felt nineteen pairs of eyes on him, old habits and awful experiences were hard to bury after all.

“You are getting better though.”

Izuku could practically feel Eighth’s hand on his shoulder as he heard Seventh’s words of reassurance. They were able to help squash the feeling of anxiousness swelling in him. He took a deep breath before speaking up his plan. “I want all of us to train for the Sports Festival together.” He declared to them.

Chapter Text

“Midoriya. Could you elaborate?” Izuku turned his attention to Iida. He, like the other eighteen of their classmates, had his curiosity grabbed by Izuku when he made his proposal to them.

“In case you guys forgot, the other seven classes have declared war on us.” Replied Izuku, before suddenly feeling slightly self conscious, “Even after I… uh… told them to leave-”

“After you told those obnoxious extras to eat shit and fuck off.” Supplied Kacchan with a smirk, earning a couple chuckles from the others, and Izuku could even hear Fifth snickering in the back of his mind.

Izuku slowly turned his head to give the guy he’d grown up alongside a flat look. “Right.” He said drily, “After doing… that, there’s a good chance they still intend to go after us during the Sports Festival. That’s why I want us to work together. I had some ideas for how you could try to train and improve your Quirks, going off some… analysis that I’ve done while watching you use your Quirks.”

“But aren’t we going to be competing against each other, ribbit?” Asked Tsu.

“Asui has a good point,” Said Jirou, pointing at the frog girl with one of her Jacks, “We might learn a thing or two from you, but we’d also be opening ourselves up to having our weaknesses exploited by one another.”

“That’s a fair concern to have.” Izuku conceded. “If you decide to turn the offer down, I won’t hold it against you. As your class president, I’m simply putting this offer out for anyone that wishes for the chance to improve. The Sports Festival is fast approaching after all, it’ll be an entire year before we have the chance to show the Pros what we can do. I say we put our best foot forward while we’re still first years.”

His words seemed to be reaching the others, as they murmured amongst themselves, considering the idea. It was Yaomomo who spoke up next, “Midoriya, would it be safe to assume that this would be similar to the first day of school when you provided advice during the Quirk Assessment Test?”

Izuku did his best to not make a face at that question, the less he was reminded of that test the happier he’d be.

“Amen to that.”

“That’s right, though it’ll be a lot more productive, given that we won’t have to deal with the immediate time crunch of Aizawa-Sensei breathing down our necks.” Izuku explained.

Yaomomo nodded her head at this information. “Very well, then I have no choice but to accept this offer. In order to rectify my actions back during the day we first met.”

That managed to get a bit of a reaction out of Izuku, “Y-Yaomo- er, Yaoyorozu, you shouldn’t feel pressured into feeling guilty about that, I respected your decision back then and I’ll respect whatever decision you make now.”

“Truly?” Asked Yaomomo, tilting her head to the side and narrowing her eyes, “Then respect the decision I’ve made, and the reasoning I have for it.”

Izuku held eye contact with the taller girl for all of three seconds before folding. “Yes ma’am…” He said quietly.

“Damn, our vice prez is powerful…” Kaminari whispered to Kirishima.

“So manly…” Whispered Kirishima.

“Don’t call someone like Yaoyorozu ‘manly’ you boulder brain.” Said Sero, leaning forward to flick Kirishima in the back of the head. The redhead didn’t even flinch, but Sero did have to retract his hand and shake it, his finger now hurting.

“Besides, as the vice president it’d be best if I accompany you in order to help monitor our other classmates.” Added Yaomomo, giving a reason that Izuku felt far more comfortable accepting.

“By that logic, then as class secretary I must join as well!” Declared Iida, chopping his arms for emphasis. “I look forward to your insight, Midoriya!”

“You’d better count me in too, Deku! No way I’m missing out on this!” Declared Ochako.

“Yeah! I need to see what kinda magic you can work with my Quirk, especially after what happened with the Q.A.T!” Agreed Hagakure.

One by one, students started declaring their desire to join in. It was a bit overwhelming to Izuku, seeing how much they were all willing to work with him.

“Don’t get why you’re so surprised, they voted for you to be their representative  for a reason.”

“Come now, after what he’s been through I can’t exactly fault him. A week and a half of having more friends than you can count on one hand doesn’t exactly undo a lifetime of bullying and social ostracisation.”

“Yeah, though it is impressive seeing how much everyone’s taken a shine to him. I guess it helps that he’s such a good kid… huh, that sounds familiar, wouldn’t you agree Chief?”

The silence within One for All was deafening. Izuku also noticed that there were a couple students who’d yet to voice their opinions on his idea, one being Kacchan and the other was Todoroki. Izuku decided to approach the latter first, walking up to his desk and extending a hand to him. “Well, Todoroki, we’d love to have you join us.”

Todoroki looked at his hand, then his eyes slowly traveled upwards to meet Izuku’s. He then stood up. “Midoriya, I’ll be frank with you.” He said, his voice as cool as it ever was during the rare instances he chose to speak up. “Amongst all of our classmates, you are without a doubt the strongest. I might not have witnessed it personally, but your bout with the Nomu is a testament that you’re powerful.”

Izuku blinked, clearly confused as to where this was going. “Oh! Uh, thank y-?”

“However, I still know that I am stronger still. Therefore I see little need to join in on this training.” Continued Todoroki, cutting him off as he stood up and started walking towards the door. “Moreover, I came to UA in order to become a hero and achieve my own goal. I have no interest in making friends, so I’d advise you to cease wasting your time offering to become mine.” He then exited the classroom, leaving nineteen pairs of eyes to stare at the door he walked through.

There was a silence in the class, broken when Kacchan eventually spoke up. “That motherfucking icyhot shitheel thinks that not only Deku is, but also that he’s stronger than me!? Oooh I’m gonna murder his ass on live television!”

“Wow, only thing icier than his Quirk is his personality…” Commented Satou.

“It’s a shame, honestly.” Said Ashido, her voice reflecting a dramatic sadness. “He has such a pretty face, but I don’t think there’s anyone who would be able to stay close to him without his cold words freezing their heart and shattering it!”

“Have you ever thought about trying your hand at theater?” Asked Ojiro drily.

“I dunno Ashido.” Interjected Mineta, a hand on his chin and a thoughtful expression on his face. “I think there are some girls who’d be into it.”

The Tail and Acid students both gave their shorter classmate a look, their eyes squinted as he continued contemplating. Then Ashido sighed before saying, “I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but you’re probably right.”

“I guess there was some truth to his behavior after all…” Muttered Ojiro.

Ignoring the exchange between their classmates, Yaomomo decided to put a comforting hand on Izuku’s shoulder, who just barely managed to resist his instinct to jump in surprise at the contact. “Don’t fret over his reaction Midoriya, even if Todoroki chooses to abstain from the group training, nineteen out of twenty is hardly a bad result.”

“Eighteen.” Replied Izuku.

“Eh?”

Izuku pointed towards Kacchan, who smirked and stood up. “Yeah, sorry extras, but the next number one’s gonna be flying solo.” He admitted as he slung his backpack over his shoulders.

“Are you sure about that Bakuchan, ribbit?” Asked Tsu. “Do you want to put yourself into the same boat as Todoroki?”

Kacchan turned to look at her, “Bi-” He started to say before pausing and catching himself. “Tsu, Icyhot are not in the same boat. He’s floating along in a shitty little dinghy while I’m captain of a goddamn yacht.”

“Compensating for something?” Snickered Kaminari, before shutting up when he felt Kacchan glaring at him. His glare didn’t stop those sitting around him from laughing though.

“The point,” Said Kacchan, now annoyed, “is that I don’t need Deku’s help and he knows it. The rest of you clowns can flock to him for advice, god knows some of you could use it, but I already know what I’m doing. And what I’m doing right now is getting out of here so I can train.”

“Bye Bakuchan, ribbit.” Said Tsu, waving at him as he left.

“Yeah yeah, see you around Tsu.” He muttered in response as he walked out the door, giving a weak wave to those behind him as he departed.

Once he was gone, Yaomomo turned towards Izuku. “Very well then, eighteen. Of course there’s still the question of where we will be able to train without causing an inconvenience…”

“Oh, I figured I’d ask Principal Nedzu if we could borrow a vacant gymnasium to use for training.” Explained Izuku.

“Do you really think he would allow that?” Wondered Yaomomo.

Just then, the speakers of the P.A. System crackled to life.“Absolutely! There’s a vacant gym that’s not in use right now, I’ll send Ectoplasm your way to take you there and serve as a chaperone for you all, have fun with your training session students!”

The students stared at the speaker. “That… was creepy.” Said Sero drily.

“Was the principal listening in on us the entire time? Not sure how manly that is…” Said Kirishima, looking at the speaker with a concerned expression.

“Well, Principal Nedzu is… a unique person.” Admitted Izuku. “I don’t think he means any genuine harm though, I bet he’s more just making sure things are going ok for us at any given time.”

“That’s an optimistic way to describe being spied on.” Retorted Satou.

“I mean… this is his school, I don’t think that’s something we can really fight him on either way.” Izuku pointed out.

If someone had an argument to that, they didn’t get the chance to voice it as the doorway to 1A opened, revealing Ectoplasm-Sensei standing there. “Nedzu explained the situation to me. I’ll lead you to the vacant gym.” He said.

“Thank you Sensei.” Replied the class President as he and sixteen of his classmates followed after the teacher. They were so busy talking amongst themselves that they failed to notice the one they’d left behind…

“Best of luck with your training, students I will be here should you need assistance with anything, be it questions or simply a Quirk going awry.”

“Thank you Ectoplasm-Sensei.” Said Izuku, giving the teacher a small bow.

“Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that this guy insists on being referred to by his Hero name? No one else in UA does that.”

“Lunch Rush. All Might.”

“Ok, ALMOST no one, smartass.”

“Perhaps he’s just a secretive individual. Or perhaps his name carries some sort of burden, and revealing who he holds relations to could cause trouble?”

“What do you think we are? Comic book characters?”

Izuku left them to their theory crafting, walling off the voices of the vestiges so he could turn his attention towards his classmates. “Alright everyone, who wants to go first?” He asked. “We’ve got a lot of Quirks to go through, so this might take a couple days to be honest. I don’t want to rush through the training and fail to get results.” 

“Ooh! Me me me me!” Exclaimed Ashido excitedly as she pushed herself to the front of the group, a broad grin on her pink face. “From one fluffy head to another, I’ve gotta see what you’ve got on me Midori!“

Izuku nodded his head and pulled out a notebook, a pink one with a design that made the thing look moist and slimy, despite being bone dry. “This here has all the data I’ve accumulated on your Quirk, gathered from the various times I’ve seen you use it during our Heroics lessons.” He said proudly. “From basic knowledge to even speculatory applications and potential support gear you could apply to your costume to increase your proficiency.”

Ashido stared at the notebook in his hand before reaching out and snatching it from his hand. “Geez Midori, this is a lot…” She mumbled as she looked through the pages before pausing and looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “A whole lotta chicken scratch that is, can you even read this?”

Izuku blushed and scratched the back of his head. “I mean… yeah? I’ve gotten used to reading my own handwriting… I just have a tendency to rely on shorthand so that way my hand can keep up with my thoughts. When I try writing normally when taking notes it leads to broken sentences that would give you an aneurysm just trying to read…” He admitted.

“And you have information on our Quirks in this thing?” Asked Sero as he looked over Ashido’s shoulder to read the notebook.

“Oh no,” Replied Izuku as he shook his head, “that’s just Ashido’s.”

“What?” Asked Sero as he turned his head to stare at him.

Izuku then pulled another half a dozen notebooks from the pocket dimension that he seemed to be hiding those things. “I’ve got one for everyone.” He explained.

“Oh hey, that one’s got tape on it, lemme see!” Said Sero as he reached for one of the notebooks, only to lower his arm and sulk when Izuku simply hid his notebooks away. “One at a time, please.”

“Not much point trying to read it yourself Sero.” Said Ashido with a sigh. “I don’t think you could understand a word Midori’s wrote without him there to tell you what it says.” She paused when something caught her eye. “Huh, though these notebooks do seem to come with pictures…” She then held up the notebook, showing a detailed drawing of herself. “Didn’t know you were such a detailed artist.” She then brought the book up to her lips and giggled, “Or maybe I just made for such a good muse that you couldn’t keep your eyes off me until you had me sketched down on paper~?”

“Uh oh, looks like pepto bismol might be stepping up to compete with the other two.”

“I’m starting to notice that he has a tendency to draw pink people towards him…”

“Seriously? And you call MY theories weird?”

“I’m serious. The inventor has pink hair, Ochako’s Quirk glows pink when it activates and her costume has pink highlights, and now we’ve got a girl with pink skin and hair! And hey, maybe the invisible one is a pinkette under there.”

“I don’t think ‘pinkette’ is a word.”

“That is what you choose to focus on…?”

There was a beat of silence before Seventh suddenly spoke up.

”The hell are you idiots staring at!?”

”Well, I mean, if Fourth’s theory holds water then…”

”The FUCK is wrong with you two!?”

Izuku wasn’t sure why, but it suddenly felt like there were two pairs of eyes boring into him, but with so many faces in the crowd of classmates, he couldn’t tell who it was. “I-It’s not like that!” He tried to argue. “I just… pride myself on my attention to detail…” He admitted, now taking his own turn to pout a bit. “Everyone’s notebooks have those same kinds of doodles, even Aizawa-Sensei’s.”

“Wait, you made one for Hobo-Sensei?” Asked Kaminari. To answer the question, Izuku pulled out a notebook that had Eraserhead’s golden goggles printed on the cover. “Well I’ll be dipped…”

“Well, if you insist.”

“Wait, Yaomomo what’re you- kya!” Kaminari barely had time to understand what was going on before Yaomomo put one hand around the electric boy’s waist before using the other to push his shoulder, causing him to fall backwards into a dipping position you’d see performed in dancing. Kaminari stared at her, his eyes wide while her face remained completely serious. They stayed like this for a few seconds before she pulled him back upright and returned her attention to Izuku, seemingly blissfully aware of everyone staring at her and Kaminari as the latter’s face did its best impression of a tomato.

“Lucky bastard…” Muttered Jirou under her breath, which Izuku chose to just breeze right by.

”I think we’re getting distracted.” He admitted as he subtly reached over and took his notebook back from Ashido. “The point is that I’ve got a lot of analysis on your Quirks to share, as well as the means to conduct a couple experiments with some of your Quirks when it comes to certain unconfirmed speculations I’ve made.” To exemplify his point, he lifted his backpack and shook it. The sound of items rattling around certainly inside made his classmate’s curious. “Now then, Ashido, regardless of your sidetracking, you’re still first in line. You ready to get started?”

Ashido couldn’t help but grin at him. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She replied, “Now hurry up and hit me with your galaxy brained Quirk knowledge!”

Izuku couldn’t help but smile, in spite of his earlier anxieties when he proposed this, he had the feeling that this was going to be fun.

Chapter Text

“I know it may sound redundant,” Said Izuku calmly as he skimmed through his notebook on Ashido, “but let’s go over what we know about your Quirk real quick, ok?”

“Alright?” Replied Ashido, tilting her head to the side and staring at him quizzically.

“So, you can produce acid from your skin, and have some sort of control over solubility and viscosity. Of course, you’ve also got acid-proof skin, but only up to a certain point. Anything wrong with all that?”

Ashido shook her head. “Nope, got it in one go, Midori.” 

“Wonderful,” Replied Izuku, dramatically shutting the notebook with one hand before pointing at her, “now riddle me this Ashido, why’ve you been relying on just your arms when it comes to using your acid?”

“Eh?”

“You’ve been relying on your arms to aim and fire your acid, neglecting your legs in almost their entirety.” Explained Izuku.

Ashido looked down at her legs, giving one of them a shake. “I mean, what am I supposed to do with my legs, make an acid ball and play soccer with it?”

Izuku tapped the notebook against his chin. “Y’know, that’s not a terrible idea. If you make some sort of ball made from acid that can temporarily hold its shape and then kick it at the enemy before exploding, you could certainly get a decent amount of range…” He responded thoughtfully, “But I’ve got a better idea.”

Izuku crouched down and pointed at her shoes. “You’ve used your acid to slide before, but I want you to try imagining something. Picture a low viscosity, high solubility liquid on your soles or feet, to minimize friction. Give yourself the right kind of push, and you could go spinning faster than most people ever could even begin to imagine. Throw something in that state, and you could eclipse the pitching score you got at the Q.A.T. many times over.”

Ashido was dubious, but absolutely curious too. “What, like some kind of human top?”

“That’s… not a bad comparison to make, I guess.” Said Izuku, scratching his cheek. “Sorry, not a fan of the idea?”

“No way, I’ve gotta test this out now!” Exclaimed Ashido, “Anyone got a ball I could borrow.”

“Think fast,” Replied Izuku as he suddenly pulled the same type of softball that had been used during Aizawa-Sensei’s test before giving it an underhanded pitch towards Ashido, who caught it before kicking off her shoes and jogging a little bit to put some distance between her and the others. 

“Alright, we should probably start slow just to avoid-” Izuku started to say, but trailed off when Ashido abruptly turned into a pink tornado.

“Ninjaaagooo!”

Izuku made a face. ‘What?’ He asked in confusion.

“Boooo, so uncultured!”

“I don’t think many kids his age know about an American cartoon about LEGO ninjas with elemental powers from the early twenty first century. The show’s older than Quirks are.”

“Doesn’t make him any less uncultured!”

“You should probably stop distracting him before someone gets hurt.”

“Killjoy.”

“Irresponsible bumbling idiot.”

Izuku sighed, both at the vestiges’ bickering and at Ashido’s high speed spinning. “Or, alternatively she could go top gear right out of the gate.” He commented, squinting his eyes as he watched, praying that she just wouldn’t-

Hagakure blinked in confusion as she suddenly saw the back of a hand in front of her face, as well as a few sparks of green electricity. She slowly turned her head to see that that hand was connected to Izuku’s arm, and was holding a softball. Izuku quietly tossed the ball into his other hand before shaking the first one a little. Hagakure then heard the sound of a body hitting the floor.

“Ashido!” Exclaimed Kirishima as he broke through the crowd and started running towards Ashido, who was now on the floor. Izuku sighed as he began walking towards the pair, with Yaomomo and Ochako not far behind him.

The trio approached the pair, and saw that Ashido’s eyes were practically spinning in her head as Kirishima tried to help her up. “This is why I wanted to start slow.” Said Izuku. “It’ll take time getting used to going in that many circles without feeling sick.”

“Here, let me help.” Ochako moved to assist, she of all people could understand how awful nausea felt, given that she was a common acquaintance of the feeling.

After a few seconds, Ashido was back on her feet, though she was still swaying a little. “So, how far’d I get?”

“Well unfortunately I had to catch the ball in order to prevent it from rearranging Hagakure’s face.” Replied Izuku, which caused Ashido to lower her head in shame a little. “However, given that I had to use my Quirk to catch it in time, even while guessing that it was coming, that’s a testament to the potential of this move.”

The praise seemed to perk the pink girl up a bit at least. “Anything else you’ve got tucked away in that notebook of yours?”

“Off the top of my head, two more applications for your Quirk could be using a very thick layer of the stuff to create a projectile blocking shield, and potentially using your hands to recreate a firehose should you get the output right.” Explained Izuku.

Ashido grinned at him. “Wicked sick, I have to try that!” She exclaimed before shuddering and bringing a hand up to her mouth. “Once I’m done feeling plain ol’ sick…”

“I’ll watch her until she’s feelin’ better.” Said Kirishima as he guided Ashido to the sidelines to rest.

“Manly.” Replied Izuku with a thumbs up, electing to ignore the looks all three girls were giving him because the grin on Kirishima’s face was absolutely worth making himself sound like a dork. “Ok, who wanted to go next?”

“U-uh!” Said Hgakure, quickly stepping forward. “If you don’t mind, I’d really… like to…”

Izuku tilted his head a little, confused by why she seemed to be acting so bashful, before smiling at her. “Alright Hagakure, by all means.” 

Hagakure’s uniform moved in a way that Izuku was fairly certain was meant to convey a nod before she approached him. The other two girls split off in order to return to the group, though for some reason Ochako stuck to Izuku’s side for an extra couple of seconds, staring at Hagakure, before following Yaomomo. 

Izuku turned back to Hagakure, his eyes immediately narrowing. This caused Hagakure to actually flinch back a little in surprise. “Er, is something wrong, Midoriya?” She asked, sounding nervous.

Izuku stared a couple seconds longer, tilting his head to the side before his eyes widened and he smiled. “Ok, I think I found them.”

There was a beat of silence that passed as Hagakure stared up at him. “F-found what?” She asked, still sounding a bit nervous.

Izuku responded by raising one of his hands, sticking out his index and pinky finger and using them to point at her face. No, not at her face, he was pointing at, “Your eyes.” He explained. “I was looking for where your eyes were.”

The following silence lasted even longer than the first period of quiet. “Wait wait wait, WHAT!?” Exclaimed Hagakure, this time it was Izuku’s turn to flinch back, surprised by the abrupt upscale in the volume of her voice. “Is this supposed to be some sort of joke, Midoriya!? There’s no way you should be able to see my… my…” She then trailed off as she realized that he was right, he was somehow maintaining eye contact with her. “H… how…?”

“A couple of factors, honestly.” Replied Izuku calmly. “First, while you may be invisible, your uniform isn’t. I can use your clothes and voice to figure out where your head is, and then from there it isn’t too hard to guess the general location of your eyes.”

“This isn’t you looking in the ‘general direction’ of my eyes, Midoriya!” Exclaimed Hagakure, reaching over to grab Izuku before (attempting) to shake him. “I know what that’s like! No, you’re actually making eye contact with me, now tell me how dammit!”

“Talk about a drastic tonal shift, bashful one minute to flipping her shit the next.”

“I can’t really say I really fault her, given who she’s dealing with.”

“True, first he saves her from being injured thanks to the carelessness of another, ironically both incidents occurring exactly one week apart, but then he drops a revelation on her that most likely is shattering her reality.”

Izuku now actually felt a little bad. He didn’t know what they were going on about with all this talk about her being ‘bashful,’ they were likely just imagining things, or perhaps there’s some sort of distortion that affects their perception when they try to view the world through his eyes.

“Good lord I’m starting to think this kid is being intentionally obtuse.”

‘But I probably should give her an actual explanation now so she can stop freaking out, so I’d appreciate the lack of distractions.’ Shockingly enough, that seemed to actually get them to stop yapping for the moment so he could turn his attention to the girl in front of him who was, at this point, shaking herself more than she was shaking him. “Alright, Hagakure, could you please calm down for a minute?” He asked calmly, gently gripping her wrists as she continued grabbing him.

Hagakure thankfully complied, breathing heavily. “Geez, what’re you made of? You didn’t even flinch…” She muttered to herself.

Izuku decided to just… move on from that. “Alright, Hagakure, do you understand how eyesight works?” He asked.

“Huh?” Asked Hagakure, gesturing in a way that made Izuku fairly certain she was tilting her head in confusion.

“Ahem,” Izuku cleared his throat as he started shifting into full on nerd mode. “Hagakure, your Quirk is Invisibility, you refract light from your body, making you invisible to others. A very straightforward Quirk, no?”

“Er, yes?” She replied uncertainly.

“Incorrect.” Replied Izuku, forming an X with his arms. “See, eyesight works by having light hit our eyes to be able to see. So, if your whole body, including your eyes, simply refracted light, what do you think would happen?”

Hagakure’s body slumped slightly, as she took a moment to put two and two together. Once she got to four, she straightened up again and exclaimed, “I’d be blind!”

“Correct!” Replied Izuku, sticking his thumb up, before pointing at her.  “Then, can you tell me why you think you aren’t?”

“M-my Quirk must have found a way to avoid that, of course! Maybe my eyes can partially absorb light, or makes it so my eyes don’t need light to see!” She hastily replied, unsure where he was going with this.

“Mmm, yes but actually no. Quirks don’t just completely disregard physics, after all. They work around it, bend it, if necessary, play with it... but in your case it’s much simpler,” He smiled at her, his smile holding a feeling of comfort and certainty that assured her nothing he said would be wrong.

“You can’t, or rather don’t, make your whole self invisible. Even if it’s smaller than a pin prick, you need just enough of your eyes to stay visible so that light can hit them, and you can still see.” He moved those two fingers up again, repeating the gesture he had before when he identified her eyes. “Honestly most would find it impossible to spot your eyes, the openings are essentially a pair of black dots the size of grains of sand floating in midair. If I hadn’t guessed the potential mechanism, I likely never would’ve noticed.” He admitted. “Even with knowing it, it still took me over a week to find your eyes.” Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head, “Truly an incredible Quirk.”

Tooru stared at him, so did everyone else for that matter. Within just over a week, Midroiya had been able to figure out something about her Quirk that she and every specialist she’d ever visited had failed to notice. She couldn’t decide if it was more amazing or frightening.

What certainly did frighten her was when Izuku suddenly clapped his hands together, making her flinch back in surprise. “Alrighty! Moving on! Because the revelations don’t end here!”  He declared.”

“You’re gonna give someone an existential crisis at this rate kid.”

“I’m almost afraid to find out what will happen once he sets his sights on Dark Shadow…”

‘That’ll be for later.’ Replied Izuku as he started rummaging through his bag. “Tell me, Hagakure, you’ve grown up believing your Quirk is a passive one, correct? Hence why you’ve developed habits of moving in ways that will allow your emotions to be conveyed, since nobody can see your face?”

Tooru actually flinched back at that. The girl knew she was invisible, but this was the first time she’d ever felt someone had seen through her like this. “Yeah…?” She replied, “Wait, don’t tell me you’re going where I think you’re going with this!?”

“Uh, you wanna fill in the peons who don’t secretly have a degree in Quirkology?” Asked Mineta drily.

“He believes that her Quirk might potentially be able to be deactivated.” Elaborated Yaoyorozu. “But I figured Invisibility was a mutation type Quirk?”

“Being one thing doesn’t mean it can’t possess traits of others.” Replied Izuku before pointing at Sero, “Tape might be a Mutant type Quirk but it sure looks like he’s ‘Emitting’ that tape to me.” His comment actually made Sero self conscious enough to cover his elbows with his hands.

“The point- aha!” Exclaimed Izuku as he found what he was searching for, pulling out a laser pointer and presenting it to his classmates, “The point is that sometimes Quirks have secret abilities that people don’t learn about until they fall into juuust the right circumstances. Like so.”  To prove his point, he activated the laser pointer and aimed it at Hagakure. The laser went into one of her arms and then was refracted and sent in a slightly different direction, as if it had collided with some kind of glass.

“There are some different types of invisibility Quirks.” Explained Izuku as Hagakure stared down at her arm and the laser. “Some make the user disappear from people’s eyes, and they simply get ignored. Others make the user ‘unreachable’ by light. Yours, Hagakure, can both let visible light pass through you and refract around you. Take this laser pointer, it's not just passing through you or stopping, it’s being redirected. Imagine the possibilities.“

“I mean, that sounds like a neat trick for parties, but I don’t see that being very useful in a fight…” Admitted Kaminari, before ducking and dodging to try and avoid Jirou’s Jacks as she attempted to punish him for being ‘rude.’

“‘Light’ is a pretty broad spectrum, Kaminari.” Replied Izuku, “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Hagakure, I want you to try and see if you can manipulate this laser. See if you can change the direction it’s refracting. Here, we’ll use your hand so it’s a little less complicated.” After a few shifts in position, the light began shining through her hand. “Keep your hand perfectly still, focus only on the light, and your Quirk, and force the laser to move for you.”

A few seconds passed in silence, as they remained motionless, staring at the red line bouncing on nothing. The invisible girl then dropped her hand. “It’s not working...”

“Try again, please. I think, no I know you can do it.” He pleaded his voice carrying a sincerity that she couldn’t resist. With a barely perceptible nod, she went back to trying. A minute passed… then two…

Finally, the red line wobbled a bit from side to side before going back to its original state. Izuku was fast enough to notice her starting to wobble and darted forward to catch her before she fell. Behind them, there was a chorus of cheers and sounds of shock as their classmates expressed their awe at the feat.

“How was it?” He asked as he helped Hagakure regain her stability.

“It’s... really hard...” The invisible girl muttered, out of breath.

“Like using a muscle you have never used, I imagine,” He offered, putting a bottle of water in her hand. Tooru stared at it for a moment, unsure when he’d even grabbed the thing.

“How? How were you so sure?” She asked, looking up at him for affirmation.

Izuku smiled at her, “I had faith in my friend, that’s all.” Then as the cherry to top off this emotional sundae, he said, “Put in the work, and you’ll have mastery over the light spectrum, you could even become visible whenever you wished.”

Tooru said nothing, what was there left that she could even say at this point? With a smile Midoriya then took her hand and placed the laser pointer in it. “Hold onto this, you can use it for training. Might make for a useful trick in a jam too, you never know.” He then gave her another one of those smiles of his. With a silent nod she pocketed the laser pointer and stood up.

“I’m going to go practice, you can move to the next person if you’d like.” She said quietly.

“Do your best, Hagakure.” Said Izuku.

“Tooru.” Replied the invisible girl.

“Hm?” Asked Izuku, tilting his head.

“After everything you’ve done for me, you could at least use my name from now on.” She explained, staring at him with an expression that he quite literally couldn’t read

Izuku blinked in surprise. “O-oh, sure thing Tooru, if you insist…” With a nod, Tooru moved on to sit with Kirishima and Ashido so she could continue to train. Izuku looked back to the crowd of classmates, with fourteen left to go he decided to choose a friend from the crowd to make it easier. “C’mon Tsu, I’ll do you next.” He raised an eyebrow in confusion as he looked towards Kaminari, Sero, and Mineta, who all had their fists raised to their mouths as they did their best to stifle their laughter.

“Picking three girls in a row Midoriya, ribbit.” Commented Tsu as she stepped forward. “If you’re not careful there might be rumors.”

“E-eh? Rumors!?” Asked Izuku, confused by what she was saying. “I-I mean if you’d rather go later then-”

“Too late, ribbit.” Replied Tsu, “I want to hear what you think about my Quirk now.”

“Ok, Tsu,” Said Izuku, doing his best to focus back onto the original topic after the emotional rollercoaster the frog girl sent him on, “Your Quirk is Frog. Do you know what kind of Frog you are?”

“Ribbit?” Said Tsu in confusion as she tilted her head in confusion.

Izuku took a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth, before linking his hands together and putting his index fingers up to his lips. “Tsuyu Asui, there are over seventy eight hundred species of frogs in the world. That is a very broad spectrum, sure they all have a lot of abilities that are shared amongst them, the kinds that you’ve demonstrated time and time again, but many have their own unique abilities too. So the first step would be narrowing down the type of frog you are. Or if perhaps you’ve got the powers of every species of frog in existence. Or some middle ground. Or perhaps-”

“Or perhaps you’re starting to let yourself get derailed.”

Izuku flinched at that before chuckling sheepishly, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, ribbit.” Replied Tsu, her face remaining in its usually flat expression.

Izuku then pulled out his notebook on Tsu, blue and covered in lily pads. “Here, I took a note of some of the more… noteworthy abilities that different species of frogs have to see if we can figure out what you can do. Ready?”

“Go ahead, ribbit.” Replied Tsu with a nod.

“Can you puff up like frogs do?”

Tsu shook her head, “I’ve tried, I don’t have the right body type.”

Izuku nodded his head as he put a line through that spot on the list. “Can your screams do anything special?”

“I can be loud when I want to, ribbit, but I’ve never seen it break glass or anything.”

Another nod and another part of the list crossed off. “Are there any bright color spots on your skin?”

“None that I or anybody else in my family noticed, ribbit.”

A third thing crossed off. “Can you create poisonous mucus?”

“A little, not enough to be efficient in a fight, ribbit.” Replied Tsu.

Izuku tapped his pencil against his chin. “Let’s talk to the people making your support equipment,” He suggested, while pointing the pencil at her, “We might be able to create something that you can store it in for later use, like how Kacchan’s gauntlets work.”

“Not a bad idea, ribbit.” Replied Tsu with a nod.

“Wait, what’s that about Bakugou’s gauntlets?” Asked Kaminari.

Izuku turned to look at him. “Oh, Kacchan’s gauntlets aren’t just there for aesthetic reasons, they’re designed to store the explosive sweat his Quirk produces. When he pulls the pin it lets him use a Big Bang Attack on the enemy. It’d be like being hit with multiple explosions all at once, good for taking down more durable villains.”

Kaminari paled at the idea of being on the wrong end of one of those.

Izuku returned his attention to the notebook. “Back on track, how about your ur-” He said before pausing. He silently took his pencil and scratched the fifth point from the list. He could not, in good faith, ask his friend about that, especially not when almost everyone else in class was watching. He may love Quirks but even he knew that there were boundaries when it came to this sorta thing.

“You’d gotta admit though, pissing on the enemy would be a hell of a flex.”

‘Shut the fuck up Fifth.’

“Then again, that might end up awakening something in the villains she fights. Or give her a weird reputation and even weirder fans.”

“Dammit Fifth there’s minors in the room with us!”

“Oh they can’t hear us!”

“One of them can! And in case you forgot, you’re talking ABOUT a minor! So shut the hell up you disgusting degenerate dickweed!”

“Alright alright, sheesh…”

Izuku did his best to keep the discomfort and disgust he was feeling at this moment from being visible on his face. “Are your teeth particularly powerful? Or maybe you have venom?”

“Are venomous frogs a thing?” Asked Satou with his arms crossed and his head tilted to the side.

“Yes, actually.” Replied Izuku. “Like I said, there are a lot of different kinds of frogs out there.”

“My teeth aren’t particularly strong, ribbit, I can’t bite through anything that a normal person couldn’t.” Replied Tsu with a shake of her head. “I’ve never tried biting someone though, so I’m not sure if I have venom or not.”

“Welp, only one way to find out.” Replied Izuku as he started rolling up his sleeve, only to flinch when met with a chorus of “No”s and “absolutely not”s from both his friends and the vestiges. “Ok ok, message received…” He said quietly as he moved his sleeve back into place.

“That last one wasn’t ok but this one was?”

‘It’s different!’ Argued Izuku.

“Is it? Is it really?”

Izuku didn’t like the implications there. ‘…Let’s move on.’ He focused back on Tsu as he brought up his seventh and final point. “Can you use camouflage?”

Tsu opened her mouth before closing. “I… don’t know, ribbit.” She replied. “Isn’t that more of a chameleon thing though?”

“Sometimes different species can do the same thing. Convergent evolution and all that.” Explained Izuku with a shrug. “See if you can get your skin to change color, as Hag- Tooru’s shown, it’s not easy to do at first, but you might be able to pull it off with practice. Might need to make adjustments to your suit if you can do it though and-” A weak slap from Tsu’s tongue snapped Izuku back to reality. “Apologies. That’s the end of the list though. For now we’ll focus on you learning color change and then we can talk to the support department later down the line.”

“Gotcha, ribbit.” Replied Tsu with a nod as she made her way to join Ashido and Tooru near the edge of the gym.

“Now then,” Said Izuku as he turned his attention towards the remaining students, “Who’s next?”

Chapter Text

“Uhhh… I mean, if nobody else has a problem with it…”

Of all people, Izuku had to admit that he hadn’t expected Satou to be the one to step up next. “By all means, Satou, step on up and let’s show everyone what you can do.” He said, pointing towards the class’s second largest student, after Shouji.

With a nod, Satou stepped forward. Izuku had to admire his classmate’s build, even without a Quirk he was built like a house, and when Sugar Rush stacked onto it that just made him an even greater force to reckon with.

“It also runs the risk of turning him into a brainless brute, and we can’t have him taking Fifth’s gimmick.”

“Yea- hey!”

Izuku felt the corners of his mouth twitch at the exchange, before shaking his head to focus. He quickly pulled out his notebook on Satou, which was bright yellow and covered in different kinds of pastries. “Sugar Rush.” He said calmly as he thumbed through the book’s pages. “A simplistic looking Quirk on the surface, with an albeit concerning drawback if used carelessly, that has a lot of room for exploration.”

“Really?” Asked Satou, tilting his head and crossing his arms. “I mean, I’m not sure how much there is to explore. I eat sugar, I get stronger. The more, the mightier, though if I go too far it makes me go kinda stupid, the same way Kaminari does.”

“But have you really explored that?” Asked Izuku. “Or have you just failed to think outside the box?”

“What do you mean?”

“Here, let me ask you this. Would it be safe to assume that you have some sort of hobby that involves sugar?”

Satou raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Uh, yeah, I like to bake. How’d you guess that though?”

“Quirks have a tendency to influence the user’s personality and behavior,” Explained Izuku, “there are almost as many powers as there are people, and each Quirk grants the user a unique way of viewing the world, coming with its own pros and cons. Take Ochako for example.”

Being singled out made his friend actually jump, looking to the sides for a moment before pointing at herself questioningly.

“Because of her Quirk, she’s had to remain constantly conscious at all times to never let all five of her fingers touch something, lest she unintentionally remove its gravity. I don’t think that’s something any of us have any experience with.” Explained Izuku. “Tsu is part amphibian, so I’d be willing to hazard a guess that she doesn’t handle cold environments particularly well and can doze off easily as a result, H- Tooru developed overly expressive body language to compensate for people not being able to see her face, and-”

“Ok we get it! Spare us the psychoanalysis for crying out loud!” Exclaimed Sero. The ones that Izuku had unintentionally called out seemed to be shifting a little in discomfort at having stuff like that put out in the open without warning.

The outburst made Izuku flinch, leading to him scratching the back of his head and giving the group a weak smile. “Sorry about that.” He apologized, giving them a quick bow before turning his attention back to Satou, “But you see my point, right? Your power is all about sugar, so it makes sense that you’d find yourself being drawn to sweets as a means of exploring your Quirk.”

“I mean… ok, but so what? What’s this have to do with anything?” Asked Satou, clearly not having reached the point that Izuku was attempting to make.

“So, would you say that all sugar is the same?” Asked Izuku with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course not!” Exclaimed Satou, whose sudden outburst actually made a couple of the others jump. “There’s over a dozen different kinds! I mean the difference between brown and white sugar alone is clear as day, different sweets need different sugars, if you just tried using whatever you had on hand you wouldn’t get food, you’d just get slop, and-!” Satou suddenly stopped talking as his eyes widened in realization. “And you think I’ve been shooting myself in the foot by relying on solely white sugar for my Quirk.”

Izuku snapped his fingers before giving Satou finger guns. “Exactly.” He said, “‘Sugar’ is way too broad of a term. You’re in the same boat as Tsu, relying too much on just the common basics and have yet to try branching out. That’s why I brought these.” From his bag he then pulled fourteen jars, each one containing a variety of, usually white, powders.

“Well that doesn’t look suspicious in the slightest.” Commented Mineta drily, only for Izuku to ignore him.

“Yaomomo, could you make a table real quick?” Asked Izuku. “This’ll be much easier if we can bring these up to our level.”

“Midoriya, could you please share with the class what’s in those jars?” Asked Yaomomo calmly as she lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach as she began producing materials for the class. Jirou made sure no one was looking where they shouldn’t.

“Sugar, of course.” Replied Izuku as he looked around real quick before stepping away. He soon returned, carrying a chair in each hand. “We’re going to do some experimenting to see what different types of sugars will do for Satou’s Quirk.”

“And how is that exactly?” Asked Yaomomo as she and Ochako finished putting together the table she created with her Quirk, before presenting it to Izuku.

Izuku placed a chair on each side before taking a seat and propping his elbow onto the table. “Some good old fashioned arm wrestling of course. If you’re up for it, Satou.”

“At this point I’m more curious when and where you got all these sugars from.” Replied Satou as he examined the jars. “You don’t exactly get some of these at the local corner store. Especially not on short notice.”

“I did a lot of preparation for each of you.” Explained Izuku. “I wasn’t sure who would accept the offer so I made sure that I would be able to help anyone and everyone who asked.”

“Did you even sleep last night?” Asked Kaminari.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.” Was the only response Izuku gave.

“What a mad banquet of darkness…” Said Tokoyami under his breath.

Satou looked at the sugar, then Izuku, before sighing and shaking his head. “Alright, y’know what? Fine. I signed up for this so I might as well see it through.” He said before taking a seat. “Where do we start?”

Izuku gave him a grin. “I figured fruit sugar would be a good starting point.” He said before turning his attention to the others. “Yaomomo, would you be willing to serve as a timekeeper for us? We’ll need to make sure Satou’s current dose of sugar’s run its course before moving to the next, lest we fudge the results.”

“Understood.” Replied the heiress heroine in training with a nod. Izuku was glad the two of them were able to get past their initial rough patch and start working together now, all the better for helping their friends improve…

Fifteen minutes, some tired muscles, thirty wins to zero, and even more tired muscles later, Izuku had gathered enough data to prove that his theories when it came to Satou’s Quirk held water. The fluctuations between so many sugars in such a short window of time had been an… experience for Satou to say the least. Not necessarily negative per say, but the boy definitely was feeling a little zoned out. It didn’t help that Izuku had been slinging math problems his way while they arm wrestled just to see how the different sugars had affected his brain.

He also said that he was glad that they had done the muscovado early on, the texture of that stuff was weird and took at least half a dozen other sugars before the aftertaste finally went away.

“So,” Started Izuku as he continued to look over the data, “these results are very interesting. The differences between the sugar types is hardly a subtle one. The brown sugars, with more molasses, make you at least twenty percent stronger on average, at the expense of even more of your intelligence. More coarse white sugars work similarly to the regular white, but the effect lasts a decent bit longer. And no, it wasn’t an error in the weight. On the other hand, smaller grains seem to decrease the strain on your mind by a lot. Fruit sugar gives you the biggest power spike, which makes me think that your strength is directly related to the sweetness of the product, as it's got the highest numbers in that category. Invert sugar, being liquid, may also be a good balanced choice, since the presence of both fructose and glucose keep your mind and body more balanced.” 

“That mean it worked?” Satou asked, rubbing some of the tiredness from his eyes. 

“More than well.” Replied Izuku, tapping the paper the results were recorded on, “With enough research, we may be able to get you different sources to let you adapt to more situations. For example, where you need a lot of power, you would go for more fructose and brown sugar, since molasses seem to enhance your brute strength. Instead, in a calmer situation where you would still need to reason clearly, superfine or inverted would serve you way better.” Izuku explained with a smile, subtly biting his lip to restrain himself from going on another mumble tangent. He did spend time thinking to himself though, about what combination of sugars would make for the ultimate effect, bringing out Satou’s maximum potential as a Hero. Though they’d have to put a pin in that for now, those kinds of tests would take far longer and require far more resources than what they have handy now. “For now, here’s what you need to work on: First, keep your physical strength high, since I’m willing to bet that your personal muscle mass also is a factor into how strong you are?”

“It is.” Replied Satou with a nod.

Izuku nodded back, “Second, try to keep your mind as sharp as possible too, since I’m willing to bet that the stronger your brain is, the weaker the drawbacks of your Quirk will be.”

Satou seemed far less enthused about that idea, “I’ll… try my best.”

“That’s all anyone can ask of you.” Replied Izuku quietly, before coughing into his fist. “And third, I’d suggest stocking up on sugars of various types, the more you’ve got handy going into the festival, the more options you’ll have to work with.” 

“Gotcha… and thanks, Midoriya.” Replied Satou, giving the shorter boy a soft smile.

“Just doing my best to be a good Class President to everyone.”

“Yeah, I don’t think most Class Presidents go this far outside of anime…” Replied Denki drily.

Izuku raised an eyebrow at him. “Well then, Kaminari, I guess I’ll just have to go Plus Ultra. And so will you, because you just volunteered yourself for going fifth.”

“Nice going, Jamming-Whey.” Snickered Jirou as she slapped the boy on the back and pushed him to the front of the crowd.

“Sheesh, singling out a student just for speaking up? You should consider a career in teaching.” Said Kaminari with a mischievous grin. The gymnasium suddenly went silent at that. Uncomfortably silent, as Izuku stared at the blond, eyes wide like he’d seen a ghost. Kaminari’s brows furrowed in concern at the face he was making. “Y’good man?”

“Kaminari!” Shouted Iida, chopping his arms aggressively, “That was hardly an appropriate comment to make! Do remember Midoriya’s experience with teachers in the past!”

Kaminari finally put the dots together, this time his eyes were the ones to widen as he quickly turned around to face Izuku. “No no no man! I was just kidding! I swear it wasn’t actually anything like that!”

“Smooth as gravel.” Groaned Jirou as she face palmed while Yaomomo shook her head disapprovingly. The girls’ words made the poor boy practically wilt. 

Izuku took a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Let’s… just move on.”

“Yes please.” Replied Kaminari quietly.

Izuku clapped his hands together loudly. “Thankfully, Kaminari, the key to helping you is one so straightforward that it’s physically painful no one’s managed to figure it out yet.” He said.

“Huh?” Replied the blond, tilting his head in confusion.

Izuku pointed downwards at Kaminari’s feet. “Would you kindly take your shoes off?”

Kaminari slowly looked down to where Izuku was pointing, before looking back up at the green haired boy in confusion. “My shoes? Really?” He asked uncertainly.

“Really.” Replied Izuku with a nod before looking over at his vice president. “Yaomomo, if it’s not too much to ask, could you use your Quirk to make a replacement pair of shoes for Kaminari? Something non-conductive more specifically.” Yaomomo’s eyes narrowed for a moment as she looked at him before widening in realization. Without even questioning her president, she quickly produced the requested item, which Izuku thanked her for.

“Dude, what does this have to do with my shoes?” Izuku turned his head towards Kaminari, who’d still yet to connect the dots.

“Everything.” Said Izuku with confidence before raising a leg to show the underside of his own shoe to his classmate. “Do you know what our soles are mostly made of?”

“Rubber.” Came Yaomomo’s helpful comment.

Izuku nodded at her, “Precisely. And rubber is an awful conductor. Which means that a lot of the energy you should be releasing into the ground is just kept in your body. From there it doesn’t take much to imagine why you’re frying your own brain when you overcharge.”

The blond stood there for a few seconds, blinking at the green haired boy before his jaw practically dropped to the floor.

“Kaminari, are you alright?” Asked Iida worriedly as he chopped his arms.

Kaminari slowly brought his hands up before dragging them down his face. Once they pulled away Izuku could see a look of pure exhaustion on the blond’s face. “You’re saying that my Quirk was stopped by my own shoes?” His voice matched his expression, absolutely exhausted.

Izuku shrugged. “One way to make sure, would you?”

Kaminari stared at him for a moment before clenching his teeth. He quickly kicked his shoes off with enough force to send them halfway across the gymnasium before he started walking away from the group. Izuku, with assistance from Yaomomo and Iida, decided to quickly escort the others further away from the blond for good measure.

Kaminari exhaled, inhaled, and then released both a scream of frustration and an energy discharge that made the entire gymnasium practically glow.

“Woah!” Jirou exclaimed, using an arm to cover her eyes.

“That must be more than a million volts,” Izuku surmised, squinting as he witnessed the lightshow Kaminari was creating.

Tsuyu took another step back. “That seems like a lot, ribbit.” She noted.

“We should be fine at this distance.” Reassured Izuku before pointing. “It looks like he’s starting to calm down anyways.”

True to his word, the arcs of electricity began to shrink, and soon the show was over, leaving Kaminari simply standing there, breathing heavily. Slowly, Izuku approached him. “Kaminari?” He asked once he was standing right in front of him. “How do you feel?”

He resisted the urge to jump when Kaminari’s hands suddenly clamped down on his shoulders, the blond’s bright yellow eyes meeting his green ones. “Izuku Midoriya, I could fucking kiss you right now!” He declared proudly. “It worked! I put out way more than I could normally handle and I feel fine! This is awesome man!”

As Kaminari continued to talk excitedly, Mineta couldn’t help but bring a hand up to his chin. “Damn Kaminari, and here I thought I was the fruity one.”

Shouji slowly turned his head to look at him. “Is this how you’re choosing to come out to us, Mineta?” He asked.

Mineta stood there quietly for a moment as Shouji’s words sank in. His head then quickly turned to look up at the taller teen. “Wait, no, that’s not what I meant!” He exclaimed.

“It’s alright, I support you, and I’m sure the others do too.”

“Stuff it you jumbo serving of calamari!” Mineta was shouting loud enough for everyone else to stare at them. “I like girls dammit!”

“That’s very nice Mineta,” Said Iida, “But it’d probably be best if you kept those outbursts to yourself while we’re practising.”

Mineta groaned as he hid his face in his hands while crouching down. “You guys are the worst…” Shouji let out a chuckle as he gave Mineta a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Kaminari, who’d been distracted by Mineta’s outburst, slowly turned his attention back to Izuku. “So anyways, I’m just gonna go rip the soles out of all my shoes when I get home-”

“Please don't," Izuku said as he shook his head tiredly. “Just get the support course to make some specialized shoes for your costume and you’re golden.”

“Oooh!” Kaminari looked absolutely delighted. “What’re you thinking?”

Izuku brought a hand up to his chin, “Well, you could go with some kind of leather, or one of the many synthetic fibers out there. You could even just add some kind of metal addition to let the energy flow freely without destroying all of your shoes.”

“Awesome! What else? What else!?” Kaminari looked like Christmas and his Birthday had come to him early this year, and Izuku was matching his energy as he kept listing off suggestions.

“Well, you could add metal whips and grappling hooks to direct your energy to a certain distance, though you’d have to learn to handle them as weapons. You’d need to be very careful about what metal mixture you’ll be using, since it’ll have to handle very high voltages. Perhaps you may be able to find alloys better suited with enough research. The Support Department should help you with that. Also, using some coins as lightning rods would change the trajectory of your blasts, concentrating them instead of letting them go freely around you. That would let you direct your power without a need to touch a solid or liquid surface. Then-”

“Midori, you’re rambling again!” Ashido, who’d finally gotten her head back on straight, managed to put the brakes on his train of thought.

Izuku looked sheepish again. “Ah, sorry. Well, I hope that’s enough for now.”

“Enough? Man, I’ll have to train for months just to get to all of that! Thanks a lot!” Kaminari laughed, patting the back of his Class Prez. He then turned towards the purple haired girl amongst them. “Hey Jirou, now you won’t have to worry about dragging my dumbass to safety when I go stupid anymore! Awesome right!?”

Jirou shook her head and rolled her eyes, though a smile was still present on her face. “Yeah, absolutely thrilled, Jamming-Whey!”

“Hey!” Exclaimed Kaminari with a distraught expression, “You won't be able to use that nickname now that I won’t have to worry about scrambling my brains anymore.”

“That remains to be seen, Jamming-Whey, right Yaomomo?” Jirou looked to her taller friend for confirmation.

Yaomomo giggled, “Indeed, we’ll have to see you test your mettle in training before you can be rid of that nickname, ‘Jamming-Whey.’”

“Not you too!?” Cried out Kaminari as he fell to his knees. “Why’ve both my beautiful besties betrayed me!?”

“Not half bad with the alliteration.” Noted Izuku.

“Why thank you, Class Prez.” Said Kaminari, springing to his feet with a grin that would make one think that he hadn’t just been crying out in despair mere moments ago. He then turned back to the crowd of students. “Alright, I think we’re good here, whoever wants next can c’mon up!”

Mineta, who seemed to have escaped his own depressive funk after watching someone else get teased, decided that it was his turn to see why Izuku had for him and so stepped forward.

“Ah, Mineta, how nice of you to volunteer!” Said Izuku happily, producing a purple notebook covered in grape designs from nowhere. “I’ve been putting a lot of thought into your Quirk and how you could use it.”

“Really?” Asked Mineta, “I mean, Pop Off can’t be that good, can it?” Izuku silently reached forward and flicked Mineta in the forehead. “Ow! WHY!?” He demanded, holding his forehead.

“Until you end the self deprecation schtick, I’m going to have to rely on this method for snapping you out of the funk you tend to put yourself in.” Replied Izuku.

Still rubbing his forehead, Mineta gave him a flat look, “Y’know, some people respond better to positive reinforcement.”

“You want positive?” Asked Izuku with a raised eyebrow, “Alright, here’s your positive. You have an exceptional Quirk, perfect for capturing both villains and just about anything else it could touch. Imagine creating a net with your Quirk to catch falling debris for example.”

“Wait, how could my balls make a net?”

 Mineta was confused, so Izuku decided to enlighten him, “Your balls might not stick to you, but they can stick to each other, right?”

“Do you have to keep referring to them as ‘his balls?’” Asked Jirou tiredly.

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Asked Izuku, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Jirou stared at him for a moment before sighing, “Fine, whatever.”

“Holy Shit.” Izuku turned to Mineta, who was holding two balls in his hands which were now stuck together, no matter how hard he tugged on them in an attempt to pry them apart. “How’ve I never figured this out before?” He asked, staring at Izuku in awe.

“Join the club man!” Laughed Kaminari as he gestured to himself and the other classmates that Izuku had analyzed thus far, making the green haired boy scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Still, this definitely opens the door for you, Mineta.” Explained Izuku as he pointed at the pair of balls that Mineta had produced with his Quirk. “You could create all kinds of things by combining balls together like this, like whips for greater range or shields for defense. As well as…” Izuku trailed off, as he suddenly felt like he was about to approach a very uncomfortable type of territory for Mineta going off some speculations he had regarding the boy’s Quirk.

“As well as what?” Asked Mineta, looking up at him with an expectant, but otherwise unreadable expression. “Be honest with me, Midoriya.”

“Don’t hold back on him now, he trusts you to be honest with him.”

“After the faux pas he narrowly avoided with the Frog Girl, can you blame him for being a bit uneasy? Getting encouragement from YOU of all people certainly doesn’t help.”

“Man shut UP, I’m sorry for being ass alright, I don’t need to be judged by YOU of all people given how you weren’t exactly being the nicest guy until recently.”

‘Guys, no fighting…’ Thought Izuku tiredly before sighing. “Alright Mineta, if you’re willing to trust me, I have another theory about your Quirk’s mechanics that I think’s flown under the radar in the same way that Tooru’s has.”

The mention of her name made the Invisible girl perk up as she watched the pair expectantly. “Elaborate.” Replied Mineta.

“Your Quirk is made of your hair, right? At least mostly anyways?” Asked Izuku.

Mineta nodded. “My parents had them analyzed a while back, though it wasn’t easy as they kept getting stuck everywhere. They are similar to hair in a way, as they’re a biomaterial made mostly out of protein. The composition changes slightly as the stickiness wears off, which the doctors though was a result of a component drying out slowly. We couldn’t identify it though because, again, the stickiness made it super hard and nobody wanted their instruments ruined.”

Izuku let out a thoughtful hum, “Yeah, I can see the logic behind their concerns, even if it feels like they still should’ve taken the time to be more thorough, since I think their hesitation led to something being missed.”

“Then stop dancing around it and get to the point.” Mineta had to do his best to refrain from snapping at the taller boy.

Izuku took a deep breath before saying, “It’s your blood. That’s the key to your Quirk’s stickiness.” Mineta, and everyone else for that matter, stared at Izuku, so he chose to continue, gesturing to the balls Mineta was holding, “Think about it guys, if the stickiness of his Quirk was based solely on just, ‘how fresh they were,’ why wouldn’t they start deteriorating as soon as they’re regenerated, instead of when he takes them off? There must be a tiny trickle of blood flowing to your Quirk as long as they’re connected to your head, which may also be the reason you bleed when you remove too many of the balls too quickly; the veins can't connect to the new balls before you remove them, so some blood spills out. Heck, that could mean that the balls on your head are just a means provided by your Quirk to use your blood without cutting yourself open. It’s possible that your Quirk’s true key component is in your blood flow. We should ask Recovery Girl later if there’s a way to confirm something like this.”

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you Midoriya?” Asked Mineta quietly as he stared at the balls he continued to hold. “Heh, of course a weenie like me would end up with a blood based Quirk, that sounds like the perfect karma for the type of person I’ve- OW!” Mineta grabbed his forehead as history repeated itself, the spot Izuku flicked throbbing. “Right in the same spot, really!?”

“Let’s visit Recovery Girl after this.” Suggested Izuku. “We can ask her for help to test my theory, if that’s alright with you.” Mineta remained silent, looking down at the floor, so Izuku reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Minoru, I’m doing this because I know you can become a great Hero, and I want to help you become the best Hero you can possibly be. Will you trust me?”

Mineta quietly reached up and put his own hand over Izuku’s. “Using my name… that’s playing dirty Midoriya.” He said softly before giving his class president a weak grin. “Alright, Hero. You win.”

Chapter Text

Scanning those amongst his friends and seeing none step forward, he decided to reach out to one of the first amongst them that he’d met even before becoming a member of 1A. Snapping his fingers and pointing into the crowd, he said, “Iida, you’re next.”

Iida quickly raised a hand and waved it dismissively. “Come now Midoriya, I’m more than willing to let my peers go before me-”

“Oh just take your turn already you darn nerd.” Exclaimed Sero in exasperation as he smacked Iida on the back and pushed him forward.

Though due to the difference in their musculature, Iida didn’t actually get pushed very far. Though the skinnier teen’s words were able to do the heavy lifting and pushed Iida to move forward towards Midoriya. “Very well then Class President, what do you have to say about my Quirk?” He asked, his arms doing their typical chopping motion.

“If this kid was any more of a hardass I’d think the engines were in his butt not his legs. Though now that I say that out loud I can’t help but wonder if anyone in his family’s had their Quirk manifest like that…”

Izuku nodded, choosing to ignore Fifth’s weird speculations before he wound up asking that question himself, “First I want to get some questions asked and out of the way if that’s alright?” When met with Iida’s own nod, he started his inquiry, “I heard you mention gears, which I imagine are similar to those you could find on cars and such. How many do you have and what are their limits?”

“I have managed to access four gears up to this point,” Explained but I do feel like there are more since my brother’s limit is six. I feel comfortable using up to the third gear, as the fourth one burns through a great deal of my reserves and heats up my engines significantly in a short time. It also requires me to warm up for a longer distance, as I can’t start directly at higher gears.”

Izuku brought a hand up to his chin as he speculated on Iida’s words before looking back at him, “Alright then, I’d suggest warming up before moving by stretching a bit. I’ll teach you some movements, and we’ll see if that does it for you. Next, I’ve seen you drink a lot of orange juice during lunch hour. Is that a Quirk requirement or just a personal preference?”

Ida blinked in surprise. “You’re very observant. Yes, orange juice is the perfect fuel for my Quirk. It’s sort of a family requirement. My brother prefers grape juice, but I digress.” He explained with an oddly robotic shrug.

Izuku nodded his head in understanding as he considered the information. There were things he considered when it came to both of these facts, ways to improve Iida’s startup speed, as well as concerns over the idea of food intolerance catching up to him if he relied solely on Orange Juice going forward. “I imagine you would have tried many juices, but I suggest adding other types to your diet. Orange juice is rich in sugar, potassium, vitamin C, calcium and magnesium, so those, or at least some of those, are probably the main components your Quirk requires. Don’t limit yourself to a single option, since your stomach may grow to shun something with age even if your Quirk requires it. It's kind of the same idea with Satou’s Quirk, better to keep your options open.”

Iida nodded in understanding. “That is something I hadn’t thought about, but it is a risk I’d rather avoid. I’ll be sure to experiment then.”

“Do tell me whatever results you might find, I’d love to help make the perfect juice blend for ultimate effectiveness with your Quirk.” Said Izuku, before turning to look at the greater area of the gym. After taking a minute to do some mental math, he walked into the center of the gym. “Alright then Iida, I’d say it’s time we do some literal legwork, coupled with some brain work, your two favorite things I’m absolutely certain.”

“Could you elaborate, Midoriya?” Asked Iida as he walked out to join him in the center of the gymnasium.

Izuku responded by pulling out a series of slips of paper. “You need to get your brain to outpace your legs, not vice versa. Last thing we need is for you to rush headfirst into a trap that you couldn’t react to in time. Or accidentally hit something during a chase because you couldn’t react to it in time. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, if not a trip to the hospital.” He explained.

Iida took a moment to mull over Izuku’s words, and if the look on his face was any indication, his words struck true for the taller teen. “I take it you have a plan prepared then?” He asked, pointing at the slips of paper Izuku was holding.

Izuku folded his hand behind his back, hiding the papers from Iida’s view before pulling out a stopwatch. “Since running circles around your opponents is your specialty, you’re going to run circles around me and read off the number on each paper as I show them to you as fast as possible.” He then tossed the stopwatch into the crowd of students. “Yaomomo! We need you to keep track of time please and thank you.”

The taller girl caught the stopwatch, nodding her head as she prepared for the exercise to start. Iida concentrated as he took off running, looking for the tiniest movement of Izuku’s arms and shouting his answer each time. “Eight! Three! Five! Four! Two!”

“Too slow! Don’t follow the arm! Think about where the tag will turn!” Shout Izuku, quickly moving through papers so fast it was making the heads of everyone else spin.

“One! Seven! Six! Three! Nine!”

“You’re wasting time on numbers that look similar! Trust your instincts!”

“Five! Eight! Four! Seven! Two!”

“Wrong! I showed you seven twice! You can’t miss details, keep your focus!”

After a few minutes, Izuku noticed that Iida was starting to slow down, so he ended the exercise. “Alright, that’s enough of that, rest your eyes a little. How did he do, Yaomomo?”

“There is some progress,” she admitted as she looked down at the various recorded times on the stopwatch, showing the results to Izuku, “He even managed to cut some milliseconds as the exercise progressed.”

Looking at the numbers, he nodded, content with the result. “Not bad for your first time, Iida.” He said proudly.

“That was intense, Midori,” Ashido said, squinting her eyes.

“It was hard to follow and we weren’t even running,” Ochako added, blinking a couple of times.

“It took a bit for me too,” Shouji admitted, despite having half of his arms turned into eyes.

“I don’t think I could have kept up,” Sero admitted as he walked up towards Iida. “You alright man? You look like you’re really going through it.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine Sero,” Said Iida as he rubbed his eyes while keeping his glasses off. “I had never thought about it before, but it is true that I may encounter difficulties while moving at my top speed, thank you for this exercise Midoriya, it shows me where I need to improve going forward.”

“Run fast, think faster.” Said Izuku with a nod before crossing his arms. “There’s one last thing we could go over, though this one might be a bit more on the graphic side so if there’s anyone who gets queasy easily, I’d advise stepping away for a moment.”

The more squeamish amongst them exchanged some glances, but it seems their collective curiosity towards whatever Izuku was planning to propose won out in the end.

With a nod, Izuku started to kneel down towards Iida’s calves, only to pause and look up at his classmate. “May I?” He asked, not wanting to make the boy uncomfortable by getting too close.

“By all means.” Replied Iida with a nod, not being bothered at all by the closeness of a male companion.

Izuku held out a hand near one of Iida’s mufflers, still feeling some of the heat coming off it from him using his Quirk. He found them fascinating, seeing a human body replicate the functions of a man made machine defied logic, but then again in this day and age of Quirks, the ‘logic’ of the past had long since been abandoned. He tapped his knuckles against the muffler a few times, wincing a little at the heat of the material but otherwise continuing his examination. “Fascinating…” He mumbled to himself. He swore that he felt like Fifth was about to say something in the back of his head but Seventh and Eighth managed to make him stuff it before he could distract Izuku.

Once he was done with his examination, he stood up to face his friend. “Alright Iida, I have to ask, are your engines made completely of metal, or are they partially bone?”

“I believe them to be a mixture,” Explained Iida. “My whole legs are a system quite different from your typical ones, starting from their reinforced bone structure. My family gets born with the Quirk, even if it only activates at the proper age.”

Izuku made a show of looking thoughtful, knowing that the whole group was watching and expecting something weird. “Good... Ok, this is the graphic part I was talking about but I’m going to need you to trust me on this... have you ever thought of replacing or removing your mufflers?”

This got the reaction that he’d been concerned about, some of his classmates shuddering or retching at the suggestion. Even Ectoplasm-Sensei seemed concerned. “Dude, that can’t be safe.” Said Sero as he clutched his elbows. “That sounds like it’d just break his Quirk, not improve it.”

“Could you elaborate on this theory, Midoriya?” Asked Iida, folding his arms out of curiosity.

Izuku looked up at him as he responded, “Well I thought it might benefit to research stuff about engines, given it’s the namesake of your Quirk, though I’d hardly call myself an expert on the topic this is only a theory, but I came across a process called ‘muffler delete,’ which means removing the muffler from the exhaust system and replacing it with a pipe. In older vehicles removing the muffler helped boost horsepower, though in current cars the change is less drastic and is mainly about volume.”

“You can hear a lot of motorcycles making a mess in some parts of town,” Jirou commented, rolling her jacks around her fingers. “I don’t know about performances, but the sound becomes loud as heck.”

“And you believe that the same process could be applied to Iida’s engines?” Yaomomo inquired, now curious.

He gave a shrug at the girls. “It’s just a feeling I got, since his Quirk looks kind of ‘retro.’ Maybe it’s nothing, but you could always ask your parents if it’s something you could do. Definitely not something we should do without the opinion of experienced adults.”

Iida let out a thoughtful hum, “I do not know if it is possible, but it won’t hurt to ask. Though, by increasing the noise I produce, I would be giving up most of my stealth capabilities.”

“Dude, given your armor I don’t think you were ever exactly going to become the next Edgeshot.” Said Sero drily, a point that Iida definitely conceded on.

“That was the last thing Iida, thanks for your hard work.” Said Izuku with a smile.

Iida returned that smile, “Thank you, Midoriya, you’ve given me a lot to work with today. I'm eager  to see how I can improve myself going forward.

Izuku then turned his attention to the skinny teen next to them, “Since you’re here, Sero, do you wanna take your turn?”

Sero blinked at the class president in surprise before giving him a grin. “Well hey, if you insist.” He said as he rolled his shoulders a few times. “I’d make some sort of comment about how my Quirk isn’t all that special, but thanks to Mineta being nice enough to make an example of himself when it comes to how you react to people who talk down about their Quirks, I think I’ll spare myself the literal headache.”

Izuku gave him a smile in return, “That would be very appreciated, thank you.”

“Still though, I think we’ve seen me use my Quirk enough time for the basics to be known, so I’ll let you just start hitting me with any questions you might got.”

“I do not believe that was proper grammar.” Commented Iida while chopping his arms.

“I do not believe that I asked.” Replied Sero, mimicking his tone and the movements of his arms.

“First question,” Said Izuku, bringing up a yellow notebook with rolls of tape on the cover, “Have you ever taken the time to have your tape analyzed? Chemically I mean?”

“Nnno…?” Said Sero uncertainly. “I mean, it’s tape, what’s there to analyze?”

“Plenty, actually.” Replied Izuku. “Depending on the chemical makeup of your tape, especially when it comes to what makes it sticky, there could be a lot of unique biological reactions to the stuff. Like if it has methyl acrylate in it, burning it might produce toxic fumes, or at the very least be dangerous to consume.”

“I’m a little surprised you didn’t just take some to an analyst yourself, he leaves the stuff all over the place whenever he’s training during Hero lessons.”

‘I considered it. I also considered the fact that that might be a bridge too far and could come across as “weird” or “creepy.”’ Retorted Izuku.

“It most certainly would’ve. Not to mention that sort of thing probably is more than a High Schooler’s pocket money could afford.”

“Do people eat tape…?” Wondered Jirou aloud.

“If someone was desperate enough to try and chew through Sero’s tape while it was binding them in place they might.” Suggested Yaomomo.

“Plus, people have eaten weird things for weird reasons even before the dawn of Quirks.” Said Kaminari. “You ever hear about the “Tide Pod Challenge” from the late 2010s?”

“The what?” Asked Jirou flatly.

“It was basically this wild internet trend where a series of memes lead to people daring each other to eat actual tide pods.” Explained Kaminari.

“Aren’t… aren’t tide pods a type of cleaning material?” Asked Yaomomo with a concerned expression.

“Ohoho yeah.” Replied Kaminari with a chuckle, “People got super sick as a result.”

“How do you know any of this?” Asked Jirou with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t exactly strike me as the type to be a history buff.”

“I am when it comes to memes. They’re like the genetics of society!”

“Ok guys, this is very entertaining, but let's not get distracted.” Called Izuku, snapping his fingers over his head to regain their attention. Kaminari gave a weak chuckle and an apology for the distraction. “The point is, Sero, depending on what results we get you could benefit from making some additions or modifications to your costume, a respirator to deal with the aforementioned toxic fumes for example.”

“Works for me.” Replied Sero with a shrug. He already had a helmet as part of his costume, so it's not like the design would suffer much from these kinds of alterations.

“We’ll need to analyse your tape thoroughly to get a better idea of what we’re working with, but you see what I mean, right? The more we know about your Quirk the more you can accomplish with it. Of course I’ve got other ideas in the meantime.”

“Do tell.”

“Well, in a similar vein as Ashido, I think your Quirk has the potential to be a good counter to physical projectiles. Though less as a shield and more like a means of catching a projectile and returning it to sender.” Explained Izuku. “Especially if you can adjust your tape to become more elastic and resilient.”

“But I don’t think I can do that.” Replied Sero. In response, Izuku raised an eyebrow before gesturing to Tooru, Satou, and Tsu. It didn’t take long for the implication to sink in. “…Because I’ve never tried to do that kind of thing before, and not experimenting has been a shot in the foot.”

Izuku nodded his head. “One last thing to consider: double sided tape. It’d allow for far more effective traps than what could be accomplished with a singular one.”

Sero pondered that for a moment before slapping a hand over his face. “Y’know, when you say that one out loud I feel like an idiot for not thinking of it myself.”

“Don’t be like that,” Admonished Izuku, “you’ve essentially grown up being conditioned to think that tape is sticky only on one side, so it makes sense you’d end up subconsciously applying that to your Quirk.”

Sero crossed his arms and let out a hum, “Well then, I’d better get to work on all that. Thanks for the advice, Midoriya.”

“Not a problem, Sero.”

“Alright alright, this is sweet and all but some of us want to take our turn while the sun’s still up.” Said Jirou as she walked up to the pair.

After exchanging a nod, Sero split away to go practice with the new potential applications of his Quirk while Izuku turned to give Jirou the entirety of his attention.

“So, need another rundown of my Quirk or do you already have everything you need written down in one of those magic notebooks of yours?” Asked Jirou with a raised eyebrow.

“Just a few questions about more minor traits.”

“Hit me.”

“I’d rather not punch a classmate unless it was for spar-”

“Just ask the damn questions you nerd.”

Once the amused chuckles and exasperated groans from their classmates ceased, Izuku actually got started. “What’s the max length your earlobes can stretch?”

“Up to six meters if I’m really stretching them. But I can hear up to twelve meters beyond that.” Explained Jirou.

“Not a bad range, that must be great for stealth and info-gathering...” Said Izuku thoughtfully, but he knew she was underestimating her full capabilities. “And you’re using those amplifiers on your legs to create sound waves... a good way to counterbalance your overall lack of physical strength.”

Jirou frowned a bit at that, then sighed. “Yeah, most I can do is whip around these things a bit, but that couldn’t bring down someone like Shouji. It sure didn’t make a difference against the villains.”

Izuku shook his head because oh how wrong Mage was. “Oh no, you should understand by now that that entirely depends on how you use them. First, you’re wasting part of your potential by using your lobes only to whip stuff or to hear. They’re a second set of arms, so use them like one.”

“But they aren’t that strong!” She argued. “I can grab and squeeze stuff, maybe poke a sensitive point if I try hard enough, but it won’t deal that much damage...”

“My eardrums would beg to differ…” Whined Kaminari as he rubbed one of his ears. His mouth’s tendency to outpace his brain had earned him a fair share of “punishments” at the Jacks of the purple haired girl.

“You’ve got to think bigger, take advantage where you can.” Said Izuku calmly. “Most people don’t have access to more than two arms, nor do they have the same kind of reach you do. Grab their things and raise them up six meters, they won't be able to do much more than flail around like kids. The enemy’s tougher? Well like you said, you can use your Jacks to hit the opponent’s face directly or their vital points. Most won’t be fast enough to stop four appendages by using only two. Honestly I could try to teach you some hand to hand combat, but I think we’ll all need a class about that soon enough.” Izuku considered bringing the idea up with Aizawa-Sensei. The man had already discussed in the past the importance of not being a one trick pony.

“Yeah, take that Todoroki kid, he’s definitely overpowered when it comes to his ice, but refusing to use the other half of his Quirk and being reliant on spamming from a range means he’s probably susceptible to the classic ‘left, right, goodnight.’”

“Another option would be learning to use a weapon, like a metal bat.” Continued Izuku. “Even better if it’s shaped and can be used like a tuning fork. You use your heartbeat through your amplifiers, with vibrations around a beat per second or little more, you actually manage a good prolonged blast. Steady, but lacks a punch in the long run. What if you needed something strong and immediate? Channel a tuning fork’s vibrations, and you’ll get something really strong really quickly. Plus, you’ve got a weapon you can use to keep enemies at a distance without letting them hurt your ears.” Izuku frowned. “Those won't regenerate if lost, will they?”

“No, they won’t. I’ve been told to be careful since I was little.” Jirou’s face fell a bit, then regained a bit of its shine as she mulled over the boy’s propositions. “A tuning fork, huh? Sounds pretty in line with my style, very metal! I like it!” She grinned as her arms crossed.

Izuku nodded before bringing up his next idea, “You could also keep a couple different endings to attach your jacks to. The small amplifiers are fine, but imagine adding something that can hurt. Ever heard of an oscillating tool blade? You may be able to cut holes in walls with those.”

Jirou widened her eyes at his proposition, and Yaomomo voiced a part of her worries for her. “Midoriya, wouldn’t such methodology come across as a tad too… brutal? People could get hurt with those.”

Izuku didn’t back away from his vice president’s words, giving her a determined look. “It’s like Thirteen-Sensei said guys, Quirks are dangerous tools that can be used to kill, the villains we fought made that fact very clear. But we can also use those destructive powers to save lives.”

He saw them exchanging looks amongst themselves, so he continued to press onwards. “I could obliterate a person with my Quirk, but I can also use my power to lift rubble that they were trapped under and save them. An oscillating blade can cut, of course, but I didn’t say she’d have to use it on people. Use of lethal force, even against Villains, should obviously be a last resort. The same could be said about Jirou’s soundwaves. I bet she’ll be able to tear down trees, perhaps buildings, someday. Imagine using that oscillating blade to dice the aforementioned rubble to bits, freeing a person trapped beneath it. Of course training will be needed to make sure that people don’t get harmed in the process, but that’s why we’re here, right?”

Jirou, after taking a moment to fiddle and fidget with her Jacks, let out a sigh. “Alright Green, I’ll trust you on this.” 

Izuku smiled at her, “That’s all I’d ever ask of you.”

Chapter Text

“Kouda, I’ve been curious about your Quirk, would you mind going next?” The selectively mute boy blinked in surprise at Izuku’s offer, looking to his left and right before pointing at himself. “Yes, you. C’mon up, I’m sure everyone’s just as curious about Anivoice as I am.”

“Dude, I don’t think anyone can compare to you when it comes to how obsessed you are with Quirks.” Said Jirou drily, making Izuku momentarily sulk before moving on as Kouda began to approach.

Izuku interlocked his fingers before a loud cracking sound suddenly echoed through the gym. Everyone stared at the source, that being Izuku’s fingers, as he managed to crack the knuckles in eight of them simultaneously. Instead of saying anything verbally, he instead put his hands to work, signing a message out to Kouda, “Would you be more comfortable speaking like this?”

The animal speaker's eyes shot open from the surprise, standing still for a couple of moments. The group watched in awe as the timid boy smiled before moving his own hands, “Please, I can communicate with people using speech perfectly fine, I simply prefer not to speak unless it’s when I’m using my Quirk.” He explained, before adding on, “Plus if you rely on just sign, then the others wouldn’t be able to understand us.”

“True,” Said Izuku, while continuing to move his hands without them slowing down in the slightest, “of course if we spoke solely in sign, that could ultimately lead to you having knowledge over everyone else, as nobody else would understand what I’m telling you.”

“But I don’t think either of us would be willing to do that.”

Izuku shrugged, “That’s a good point, you’re way too nice to ever willingly give yourself an advantage over your classmates like that.”

The others exchanged glances. Even with one half of the conversation being audible now, some of them were a little lost.

“So.” Said Izuku, clapping his hands together before returning to signing, “Anivoice… a very fascinating Quirk. The ability to communicate with animals and get them to follow orders, that’s a very versatile power. You proved as much against Yaomomo and Mineta in the battle trial.”

He winced a little as Yaomomo and Mineta both slumped in defeat. Clearly still a sore subject for them. “The first thing you could do is get yourself a voice modulator that can let you project your voice. More range means you’re more likely to find assistance.” Kouda seemed to nod along, interested in the idea. “Having an animal feeder and an insect container incorporated into your costume could help to, it’ll make it easier to draw companions your way and keep them on hand.”

Kouda made a face at that. “I’d rather not have insects near me like that.”

Izuku paused before quickly signing, “Entomophobia?” Kouda nodded his head in response. “I won’t force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with, but I’d advise trying to overcome a weakness like that. Phobia or no, having more options always helps.”

Kouda hung his head a little. “I know you’re right, but that doesn’t make me less uneasy.”

“They’re just another kind of animal, no different from mammals, birds, or fish.” Said Izuku. “And I know they scare you, but think of it from their perspective. You’re like a giant monster to them, one that could squish dozens of them underfoot in a single stomp, I’m sure they’re just as scared of you as you are of them.”

“I would never do that!” Exclaimed Kouda, looking at him with wide eyes as his hands moved frantically.

Izuku held his hands up in surrender. “I know you wouldn’t, Kouda, I’m simply making an observation.”

Kouda didn’t say anything at first, but eventually he got his hands to move once more. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I’ll do my best Midoriya…”

Izuku smiled at him. “Of course. Last but not least, I suggest you find a really good animal to keep with you. A trained hawk would probably be the best, and it would be easy to get approval if added to your support equipment requests. Or, you could try and test your luck with a cat... they may be fickle, but they’re good at running away and can get anywhere. And I don’t think anyone at school would deprive you of a service animal, if you asked for one.”

He paused when he saw the look on Kouda’s face, the expression of someone being faced with a daunting task. “Sorry, was I going too fast?”

Kouda shook his head. “No, sorry. It’s just that... I’m worried that I may start to care too much for one friend and cast aside those I don’t know because I’m forgetful. And what if they get hurt? I... don’t want that...”

Izuku shook his head and sighed. Kouda was clearly a pure soul, perhaps to a fault. Every animal he used would be in danger, since he was doing hero work. Would he refuse to send creatures in troublesome scenarios because of that fear? No, that couldn’t be allowed to happen.

“Kouda, please, calm down. You don’t seem like the person to neglect a friend because of another. Just worrying about that is proof of your good heart. And when it comes to getting hurt... Kouda, isn’t that a part of our work? We Heroes put ourselves in danger so that civilians may be safe. If your animal companions decide to take a risk to help you, who are you to stop them?” Izuku shivered as he felt a chill run down his spine. He slowly turned to see the majority of his class giving him a look that made him feel more than a little guilty.

“How nice of your friends to be the ones to call you out so that we don’t have to say anything.”

‘And yet you still said something.’ Replied Izuku.

“Because it deserves to be said regardless! You refuse to listen when it comes to self preservation so we need to make sure to beat you over the head with it so you’ll practice basic self care dammit! Don’t think you’re off the hook for how much sleep you skipped out either, understood!?”

‘Yes ma’am…’

“Good boy.”

“You have a point, Midoriya.” Said Kouda, looking at the ground. “Those who answer my Quirk’s call are choosing to put themselves in danger to save people.”

“That’s right, and in a way that makes them just as heroic as you.” Said Izuku, briefly placing a hand on Kouda’s shoulder before continuing, “Having some animal companions who you train and keep close at hand will be an excellent means of evolving as a Hero while preventing harm from coming to those who you rely on.”

Kouda kept still for a moment before saying, “You’re a very kind person, Midoriya.”

“People keep insisting that, so I suppose I’ll have to trust their judgment.” Replied Izuku with a weak chuckle. “Of course, the same can be said about you.”

“That was wild…” Said Kaminari quietly as he stared at the pair of students.

“You’re very adept with sign language, Midoriya, have you practiced sign language for a long time?” Asked Yaomomo.

Izuku chuckled as he was answering this question once again after a solid ten months. “I figured it would be good to learn. After all, when your rival is a guy who’s all about creating big booms, you’ve gotta prepare for the inevitably of tinnitus.” He explained.

“Has that happened in the past?”

Izuku shook his head. “No, thankfully, Kacchan’s never had the chance to go big with his Quirk before UA, at most he would use it for making himself into an intimidating sparkler.”

“How does one make a sparkler intimidating?” Wondered Mineta.

“Have you seen the kinds of faces Kacchan can make?”

“Nevermind I understand exactly what you mean now.” A good couple of their classmates chuckled at that.

Izuku took a sharp breath through his nose before turning his attention to the next classmate on the list. “Shouji, if you’d kindly step forward?”

With a nod, the youngest member of 1A walked forward, his classmates moving to get out of his way made for a scene akin to someone parting the oceans.

“What’s with the weird analogy? You callin’ the guy Moses?”

“I mean he certainly has the presence with how large he is.”

“…This bit feels oddly shoehorned in, let’s move on before the plot gets any further derailed.”

“…What?”

“What?”

“So, Shouji.” Said Izuku. “Your Quirk lets you duplicate your other body parts onto your Dupli-Arms. And going off your performance in the Battle Trial, you’re very adept on using your Quirk to get a feel for your surroundings.”

“That’s right.” Replied Shouji with a small nod. Izuku couldn’t entirely tell but he wanted to believe the compliment made him happy.

“Out of curiosity, are your replicated sensory organs identical to your natural ones or are they perhaps stronger? Or do you just have stronger senses than the average person maybe?”

The bigger teen shook his head before answering. “The copies are stronger. I can see, hear, taste and smell better. Touch is also improved, but I haven’t found it very useful. Mostly it just means that I feel greater pain when being hit there.”

“Hmm, I thought so, there must be too many nerves bundled up under there,” Izuku mused while taking a closer look, skimming through his notebook as he observed Shouji’s limbs. “I suppose we could theoretically use your enhanced sensitivity to get a sort of read of the surroundings, sensing vibrations in the air and such, useful if you’re, say, in a dark place and can’t see your opponent.” He frowned. “But that might be beyond what your Quirk can pull off, especially when you’ve already got your other senses like hearing and smell to compensate like that.”

“It’s not a bad idea though, if nothing else it’s something I can attempt to train in my spare time. You never know when it could be useful.” Argued Shouji.

Izuku nodded his head. “True, better to have and not need than need and not have.” He replied sagely.  “What's the biggest part you can replicate? An arm? A torso?”

“I cannot replicate a full torso, no,” Shouji shook his head. “Arms and legs are the highest point I can reach. I can also duplicate the copying buds themselves, so my tentacles can grow to some meters in length.” He showed the Quirk growing up to resemble a long whip with the thickness of an arm.

“Oh, that’s cool. A greater range opens a lot of doors, from grabbing to lashing. But there’s something else we should check. We’ll need a weight scale.”

With the object produced and placed on the ground, Izuku directed the teen to stand on it. The display read “104 Kg” in bright red numbers.

“Now try and create as many limbs as you can muster.”

Complying, the tall teen broadened his shoulders and started multiplying his parts. In a few seconds he resembled a thousand-armed god.

“Y’know what, maybe there was some weight to that analogy after all…”

“No kidding, that trick would make for a hell of an intimidation factor if nothing else.”

“That’s my maximum,” a mouth mumbled as Shouji’s whole body trembled, doing its best to remain balanced in spite of the unstable position.

Smiling at the impressive display, Izuku looked down at the measured weight again. “The number hasn’t changed one bit. It’s still One Oh Four.”

“Wait, did it break under the strain?” Ochaco asked, wondering how the towering figure’s weight could match the boy's typical one.

“In that case we would have seen an error or the maximum number,” Yaomomo countered, sure of her creation’s sturdiness. “No, it’s working just fine.”

“But how is that possible? Shouji’s grown to at least twice his normal size.” Iida wondered, a hand on his chin.

“You’re confusing volume and mass,” Izuku explained, signaling to the boy to undo his transformation. Shouji happily obliged, retracting his Lions and practically staggering off of the scale. “When Shouji duplicates, he’s increasing his volume, but that doesn’t change his intrinsic mass. Since we know that those arms aren’t weightless, it’s probable that his whole mass is getting moved around each time he duplicates something.”

“I think I get what you’re saying,” Shouji nodded his head, crossing his middle arms. “But what does that imply?”

“That you could play around with how your weight affects your hits if you can manage to control how the process works,” Izuku said, taking a second to start an illustrative drawing. “Typically, you’d punch with the sole weight of your arm and that’s it. That’s how I and almost everybody else does it. You, though, can create more arms and use them as well. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the total weight behind them is suddenly double, triple, or more. Since the mass is moving around to fill the new empty limbs, you get just a bit less weight behind each hit. Not enough to matter in the short run, but it would probably make you less and less dense as you continue.”

“But isn’t that bad?” Jirou  asked. “The more he makes, the less effective each of them is.”

“It’s a diminishing return,” Yaomomo nodded her head in agreement.

“If you were to consider each punch individually, you would be right. But Shouji can punch with everything he’s got every time. Think about it like this, he’s moving mass from his torso and legs, which he isn’t using, and putting it into his arms and increasing the weight of his hits. Seems like an improvement to me.” Plus Izuku was imagining Shouji just using all his limbs in unison to unleash a barrage of punches, like a Gum Gum Gatling, which he thought would look badass. Even if Fifth insisted on calling him a nerd for it.

“It’s certainly an interesting idea,” Commented Shouji, “but that’s something I’m doing subconsciously already.”

“Yes, but I think that you could try and alter the process. Perhaps you could try and visualize what you duplicate as heavier or lighter to manipulate your Quirk. And, if that still doesn’t work, you should try and use legs instead of arms.” Izuku lit his Quirk up, throwing a punch first, and a kick second. The difference in how the sound produced and air moved was remarkable. “Legs can hit way stronger, so if you don’t need to grab anything they would be better. Plus, imagine the surprise on a criminal’s face when he’s kicked three times over in a single move.”

Shouji nodded, raising an arm and concentrating deeply on the copying process. It took him a good ten minutes of creating and unmaking a good couple thousand arms in the process before he managed to come up with something different from the rest,  “I think I got it. This one feels slightly heavier...” He swung the arm around as he attempted to get a feel for it.

“We’ve got to try it out then,” Izuku offered a couple of the same grip testers they’d used during the Q.A.T. “One per hand. If I’m right, more mass should translate to more muscles and thus more strength.”

Shouji gripped the handles with all his might, stopping after a few seconds to see the results. As predicted, the heavier arm had scored slightly higher than his normal one.

Izuku grinned and patted the other’s back as he looked from under his shoulder. “Just as predicted! Great job, Shouji!”

A tentacle mouth turned his way with a grin. “No, thank you, Midoriya. It’s not easy, but I can’t wait to improve this technique.”

“Wish I could do something like that with my Jacks…” Murmured Jirou, fiddling one of her Jacks as she contemplated Shouji’s new technique.

“Hey, don’t be like that, you’re already doing great.” Said Ochako, giving the girl a careful pat on the shoulder.

“Ochako’s right.” Said Izuku turning his attention towards the girls as Shouji stepped away from him to rejoin everyone else, “We all have our own strengths to play to. While it’s good to expand our skill pools, we shouldn’t spread ourselves too thin in an attempt to create techniques that lack practical application.”

Jirou sighed as she relented. “Yeah yeah, you’re right Green.” She replied.

Izuku nodded his head. “And on the topic of strengths, Tokoyami? I’d say it's time for you and Dark Shadow to take your turn.”

Tokoyami nodded his head. “Very well, I shall strive to rise to your challenges.”

Dark Shadow was far less aloof than her other half. “Finally! You’ve been making us wait forever Zuku!” She exclaimed, popping out of Tokoyami.

Izuku raised an eyebrow before looking at Tokoyami. “‘Zuku?’”

Tokoyami sighed. “She likes shortening the names of those she’s taken a liking to to four letter nicknames. If nothing else this is telling of her fondness for you.”

Dark Shadow moved towards Izuku, hovering around him almost like he was her user rather than Tokoyami. “Well duh, have you met the guy?” She reached up and gently pinched both sides of his face with her claws, much to the concern of nearly everyone else. “Can’t say it isn’t nice to have someone treat me like a person rather than just another Quirk…”

Izuku gently reached up and patted Dark Shadow’s head. The gesture made the Quirk release him and return to her partner. “Alright, I have a few ideas that I’d like to experiment with, if both of you are willing?” Receiving a nod from both partners allowed him to continue, “First I’ve got a question, do you have to speak to communicate, or can you exchange sensations, talk telepathically, or do some other kind of thing?”

“We are able to speak into one another’s minds,” Tokoyami confirmed.

“Well, that’s handy and definitely a boon. So, I’ve seen you fight, and I don’t have many pointers about that, apart from suggesting some kind of martial art or training to synchronize your moves better,” Izuku started, remembering his classmate’s combat trial. “I’ve gathered that light makes Dark Shadow weaker, and that’s a key problem we’ll need to solve. However, it’s intrinsic to your Quirk, so let’s leave it for later. What’s important now is the weakness you’ve shown every time, even if you two may not have noticed it.”

“Every time? As in, even when I’m strong?” The Quirk’s tone made it very clear she didn’t like being judged weak.

“A weakness does not equate to being weak. The fact that nobody’s been able to notice or exploit this weakness is a testament to that fact.” Explained Izuku, which seemed to get Dark Shadow to calm down. “Simply put, every time you move away to attack, you’re leaving Tokoyami wide open. Of course, you may think that he should be able to take care of himself for that brief period, but the fact that he’s weaker without your direct aid is undeniable.” He crossed his arms as he explained. “Also what would happen if Dark Shadow was trapped by some unknown Quirk? Or if a sudden burst of light made it unable to come back and defend you in time? Your mid range combat ability is good, but your close range is lacking.”

Tokoyami took the criticism in stride, thinking back to the U.S.J. incident when he’d been fighting alongside Ojiro. The Tail user had remained close by him to protect him for the duration of their time fighting off villains. Nodding along without complaining, he replied, “What do you propose we should do then? Making my body stronger to cover the weakness would require time.”

“It would, but you’ve got a cheating method right there. You just haven’t thought of it yet,” Izuku grinned, looking up to the Quirk. “Dark Shadow, you can change your form right? You just did so when you moved away from Tokoyami to greet me. In that case, are you limited to your current size?”

She grinned back at him, “Yeah, I can, and I can get bigger than this when I want to.”

“Then try this. Put your form over Tokoyami’s, as if you were a jacket he’s wearing. Circle once between his legs to find a stable hold, then once again around his torso, and then use your limbs to cover his. Your head can go over his like a helmet, connected from the sides and the back, to cover his blind spots.”

The Quirk and their host looked at each other, one smiling wickedly, the other nodding in assent.

Beneath over nearly a dozen and a half concerned gazes, the entity whirled around her master, letting itself be worn like armor. By the end of the process, Tokoyami’s body was clad by the shadowy vest, making him much, much more intimidating.

More than one of their classmates was gulping in nervousness.

“Not bad,” Izuku said, letting out crackling green energy. “Care for a quick spar?”

Tokoyami’s eyes seemed to gleam at the proposal. “It would be my pleasure. I’m not one to cower from a challenge issued courteously.”

“Let’s kick his ass, Fumi!” Dark Shadow exclaimed excitedly as her partner jumped forward, making the first move.

Izuku met their assault, twisting his body to the side to avoid having their claws dug into him before delivering a right hook to their side. The blow had enough force to make Tokoyami slide back a few paces, but otherwise remain standing. “There, see, I take it that that probably hurt a lot less since you have Dark Shadow there to tank the hits.”

They turned and started swinging at him again, Izuku managing to duck and weave out of the way each time. “Stop attacking as a singular force, you’re two minds in one body, use that to your advantage! Communicate with each other!” Izuku chided them as he continued evading the assault. The moment he saw an opening in their offences, he managed to get in close, landing two punches in quick succession into their chest.

The Dark Shadow Armor was definitely doing its job reducing the damage. Izuku leapt out of the way of another attack before swiftly moving behind Tokoyami into his blind spot and striking their back. “You guys have four eyes, use them to track my movements!” He ordered as he prepared to strike again, only for one of Dark Shadow’s arms to decouple from Tokoyami’s and swing towards his head. Izuku quickly brought his arms up to shield the side of his head, the blow actually knocking him off his feet and sending him flying a couple meters. Thankfully he managed to reorient himself in midair and land on his feet.

“Very clever, being able to have armor is one thing, but knowing when to disengage that armor for your own benefit is a whole other matter.” Said Izuku as he shook the arm that took the brunt of the attack. “I though I’d have to teach that one to you guys too but you managed to beat me to it.” When the pair turned to prepare another attack, Izuku held up his good hand and deactivated his Quirk. Seeing the emerald sparks fade told the two that the spar was over, and so they allowed themselves to separate too, Dark Shadow moving to float at Tokoyami’s side like a Stand once more. “What do you guys think?”

“That was fucking awesome! Fumi and I’ve always been ‘one’ if you catch my drift but that was a whole new sensation for us both, right Fumi?” 

Tokoyami nodded his head. “Dark Shadow is correct, this definitely feels like an evolution to our dark power. We will be able to plunge all evildoers into the depths of despair this way.” He said as he stared at one of his hands.

Everyone watched the boy engage in his theatrics, choosing to let him have the moment rather than tease. “You have a name for this new move?” Wondered Kaminari.

The response was almost immediate, “Black Abyss: Piercing Twilight Claws, Demonic Eyes.”

Ok nevermind, now the teasing was allowed. “Your naming sense is terrible, Tokoyami.” Snickered Jirou.

“You think this is bad? Imagine hearing the ideas he doesn’t end up using.” Said the sentient Quirk tiredly.

“Silence, Dark Shadow.” Replied Tokoyami with crossed arms. Dark Shadow gave a childish “bleh” in response before receding back into her partner.

This earned some laughs from his classmates, a sight that put a smile on Izuku’s face. ‘Just a couple more to go.’ He thought to himself.

Chapter Text

“Now for one I’ve been looking forward to. Kirishima, you’re up.” Said Izuku as he called out the class’s manly man.

“Really?” Said Kirishima in surprise as he moved from the crowd and approached Izuku, “I mean I feel like I’ve already said my piece when it comes to Hardening, not really sure what you could offer unless you have ideas for how to get me even harder.” He raised an eyebrow and looked back over his shoulder when he heard the sound of Ashido snickering.

Izuku rolled his eyes at the pink girl’s antics and silently thanked Seventh for making sure Fifth kept his own amusement to himself before turning his attention back to Kirishima. “First things first-”

“Ima say all the words inside my hea- ow! OK! Shutting up!”

“-we’re going to need to do some tests. Yaomomo, if it's not too much to ask, we could use some metal bars.”

“Of course, iron and titanium?” The vice rep replied, already working on taking the two out of her arm.

“Yes, plus two made of stainless steel and tungsten carbide, if you please.”

“Midori, I’m starting to think Yaomomo’s just here so you can use her as a human 3D printer.” Said Jirou drily.

Izuku shook his head in response. “I promise that’s not the case, it’s just that her Quirk is perfect for assisting in my tests. Let it be known that if it ever becomes too much she’s allowed to refuse a request.”

“I promise it doesn’t bother me, Jirou.” Said Yaomomo reassuringly. “As Midroiya’s partner in leading our class, I’m more than glad to offer my own assistance in helping everyone grow stronger.”

“Oh? You’re partners now? Didn’t realize you two had gotten so close.” Giggled Ashido.

Yaomomo tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Well I suppose we are close enough that I allowed him to use the nickname I had been given. His actions since the start of the school year have done a lot to earn my respect. In spite of my initial reservations he has proven to be someone I am more than willing to trust and follow.”

“Hm… So Yaoyorozu likes a competent guy who can take charge. Sorry Kaminari, looks like you’re out of luck.” Said Mineta with a shrug and a shake of his head.

“Ahahaha, very funny Mineta.” Said Kaminari, faking a laugh and a grin before placing a hand on Mineta’s shoulder with a serious expression on his face. “I’d suggest quitting while you’re ahead before I use you for Quirk practice.”

Mineta chose to simply raise his own hands in surrender and take a step backwards.

Once Yaomomo finished creating the metal bars for him, Izuku took them off her hands and approached Kirishima with them. “Now then, we understand the power that Hardening has to offer, turning your body more durable, which in turn allows you to not only take attacks from villains better, but allows you to tap into the deeper reservoirs of your strength than the average person since your Quirk protects you from the backlash of overexertion.

“Wait, what?” Asked Satou. “I thought his Quirk just made him stronger.”

“Nope.” Said Izuku as he shook his head. ‘It’s a similar case as you Satou, where Kirishima’s Quirk is only as strong as it is because he’s absolutely ripped.” Izuku reached up and flexed his arm, allowing the others to see his bicep strain against his gym uniform. “Most humans can only tap into about thirty to forty percent of their maximum strength. Our bodies naturally limit our output to avoid overexertion. If you’ve ever heard those stories about feats of superstrength in times of crisis, that’s the product of adrenaline uncapping a person’s strength for the sake of survival. My Quirk has the same issue where I need to stick to, at the present, thirteen percent or I’ll start losing control and hurting myself.”

He then reached over and tapped his knuckles against Kirishima’s chest. “Hardening works on a similar principle, by reinforcing his skin and muscles, the Quirk allows Kirishima to tap into a higher percentage of strength. Probably not one hundred percent as his Quirk simply makes him stronger, not invulnerable. If he went all out he’d probably shatter himself, literally.” The look on Kirishima’s face made it clear that he didn’t quite like the mental image Izuku’s explanation conjured up.

“But that’s all off topic, we’re not here to test what he can dish out, we want to see what he can take.” Izuku said as he put three of the metal bars down before holding the iron bar, getting a feel for it before looking at the redhead. “You wouldn’t happen to know what your upper limit on durability is, right?”

“Not really?” Said Kirishima with a thoughtful look on his face. “I mean, I was able to rip through the robots in the entrance exam easily enough but I dunno what that really says.”

“Mhmmm…” Hummed Izuku thoughtfully. “Those were probably a mix of iron and various other metals. Are you comfortable with testing how much you can take?” 

“Haha, I bashed my fists against walls for training. This will be nothing!” Kirishima grinned and took a defensive position. 

Izuku nodded, and with a swift motion he impacted it against the teen’s arms, making it bend halfway down its length. 

“Not even a chip,” Said the hardened boy happily. 

Izuku took the tungsten and repeated the process, throwing the resulting bent rod to the ground.

“Didn’t even feel that.” He heard the redhead say so, but he didn't miss the slight change in tone.

Izuku frowned at that reckless bravado of his, but decided to keep going for now. With a smirk, he said, “Thought so. Now grit your teeth.”

The stainless steel hit was on another level compared to the first two. They all heard the crack echoing in the chamber, and the defender took a step back, holding his arm with the other hand. A few gasps could be heard at the sight of the guy whose whole gimmick was being a defensive wall being hurt.

“Sorry, was that too much?” Izuku showed concern by moving closer and offering a bandage, which Kirishima refused.

“Nah, it’s alright, just a bit of numbness. I can go on.”

Izuku sighed and shook his head, “No, hurting yourself further won’t do us any good, and would instead give us false data. Stainless steel is your current one layer limit.”

“Hey, I can-” Kirishima stopped as he raised his head, a look of confusion on his face. “Wait, what do you mean with ‘one layer?’”

Izuku smiled and raised his unbent bar. “Just that. Your defense is made of just one layer of skin as of now. What do you know of skin anatomy?”

“Uh... nothing?” Kirishima responded, as confused as ever.

Izuku looked towards his vice president, expecting some encyclopedic knowledge from the other classmate who had a skin based Quirk.

“Skin is composed of three main layers: epidermis, dermis and hypodermis. While the dermis makes up to ninety percent of the thickness and the hypodermis is the most useful for me, since it stores fats, I believe Midoriya may be asking about the epidermis, the surface layer.” She responded, keeping her exploration short to let him elaborate. 

“Yup. The epidermis is what we may call the ‘protective barrier’ that shields us from bacteria, germs and the elements. And it’s actually composed of five strata, or layers. I think that your hardening may be working only on the outermost strata, the stratum corneum.” He put his finger on the teen’s arm, clicking against the durable stone like spot.

“You can get this much defense with only the first one. You’ve increased something that should be as thin as a fifth of a sheet of paper to scales about two centimeters thick. How much more defense could you get if you could expand that to the stratum lucidum? And then all the way to the stratum basale? And then all the way to the bottom of the dermis?”

Kirishima looked down at his durable arms. He met Midoriya’s gaze with determination. “How do I do that?”

“Try and try again. Imagine a suit of armor under your first one, like rocks piled upon each other or ice layers growing and covering each other. Start with something small, like a hand or an arm. When you’re comfortable with that, try something bigger.” Izuku explained, adding his own advice to the end. “And most of all, don’t give up if a few tries fail. You’ve got to be as thick headed as you want to be strong, Kirishima.”

He was answered with a row of shark-like teeth as the teen started concentrating his Quirk on his hand. “That’s not even hard for me! Hoo-raaah!” 

Kirishima started hardening his skin, looking for any progress as he put his all into that small spot. A minute passed, then two, then three. No one was saying a word, supportive and captivated by the spectacle.

Izuku could see how the guy’s expression was beginning to falter due to fatigue, pushing one’s limit is always a struggle. But it was one he knew how to overcome.

He started circling around the redhead, who was none the wiser. Tightening his grip on the cold metal in his hand, he spoke as loudly as he could, “Kirishima, block!”

As he saw the spark of recognition in the teen’s eyes, Izuku swung the steel bar fast.

The impact was stronger this time and as loud as a bell chime, and the result was vastly different.

The beam was bent toward its end, in the point where it had impacted against a four centimeters thick block along the back of Kirishima’s hand. The difference was clear even to the naked eye.

“Congratulations, Kirishima,” Izuku smirked as he moved the bar away and showed it to their classmates, “You’ve just reached a two layer defense.”

Kirishima’s eyes moved quickly between his hand, the bar, and then back to his hand again as the hardening disappeared. His breath was heavy, but it had been worth it.

“Horn Buddy! You were amazing!” Ashido leapt forward to wrap her arms around the shoulders of her friend in congratulations.

“That was so cool!” Kaminari added in, joining the celebration.

Yaomomo gave an approving nod. “I must say, I didn’t expect a surprise attack to do the trick. Your methods are shockingly effective, Midoriya.”

“Thank you, Yaomomo. Sometimes shock therapy is the best solution.” Izuku gave a friendly nod and a smile as the one to survive his methods aggressively patted him on his back. “That aside, next on the training agenda is Aoya…” He was about to call the next member of their class up, when he noticed a severe issue. “Yaomomo?”

“Yes Midoriya?” Replied his vice president calmly as she searched the crowd with her eyes.

“Where’s Aoyama?”

“I… do not see him.”

Izuku put his hands together and raised them towards his face, resting his fingers over his lips and below his nose. “Did anyone see him leave?” He asked calmly, only to be met by a lot of shaking heads. He then slowly turned his attention towards the teacher who had been supervising them this whole time. “Ectoplasm-Sensei, do you know where Aoyama might be?”

“I believe he went home.” Replied the teacher calmly. “When everyone was gathering up to come to the gym today I noticed your classmate split off from the group and went his own way. I assumed he simply elected to not participate.” Izuku stood there in silence for a moment processing that information.

Eventually he was able to speak up. “Honestly it’s not even the fact that he chose not to participate in today’s training that upsets me.” He said, his gaze not meeting anyone else’s as he voiced his thoughts. “That’s perfectly fine, this training isn’t mandatory or anything, I'm just here to offer advice.” A pained expression then flashed across his features. “What upsets me is the fact that he was missing and I didn’t even notice.”

“Don’t be like that Deku,” Said Ochako as she gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “with how many of us are here it’s not really your fault if a singular classmate slipped under the radar.”

Izuku frowned as he prepared to say something, but Seventh was faster on the draw.

“Izuku, don’t even start with the self doubt nonsense, you’re still new to this and are in a place where you can afford to make mistakes.”

“Seventh is right. Don’t stress yourself out, you can always discuss things with your classmate in the future, for now focus on those in front of you.”

Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Right, let’s not get distracted, there’s still three of you left.” He said calmly, before silently saying, ‘Thanks guys.’

“No problem kid.”

“Ochako, Ojiro, I’m sorry for making you guys wait this long.” Izuku said as he turned his attention to two of his remaining classmates. “Part of it was the fact that I’d already given you some advice in the past and wanted to help the others first before circling back around to both of you, the other part is because my advice for you kind of goes hand in hand.”

That seemed to catch their interest. “What’s that mean?” Asked Ojiro.

“You’ll see. Firstly, Ojiro.” Izuku turned his attention to his tailed classmate. “I’m going to be perfectly honest, what you’re doing with your Quirk is pretty much almost perfect as it is.” 

“Wait, really?”

“Yup, it’s very strong and straightforward, perfect for a martial artist like you. Less so for when it comes to an analyst like me.” Izuku admitted with a chuckle. “So instead of what your Quirk can do, I want to talk support gear with you. We’ve already gone over your need for an implementation of shoes, lest a repeat of what happened when you fought Todoroki comes to pass.”

“Never going to let me live that down are you?” Asked Ojiro, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

Izuku reached over and pat his shoulder. “It’s a bit embarrassing, but at least you learned about it in class rather than against a villain. The other things I think you could benefit from are a weapon and some sort of protective wear for your tail.”

“A weapon?” Asked Ojiro.

“It never hurts to give yourself options, plus if my understanding of martial arts is to be believed, there’s some weapons training mixed in. Something like a bo staff would be perfect for you. It gives you a second option beyond your tail with greater reach and less likelihood of getting injured. Plus it’d give you a bit of a Sun Wukong look.”

Ojiro raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I look like a monkey?”

Izuku paused at that. “…Would that be Quirkist?” He wondered aloud.

“No more than calling Shouji an octopus I suppose.” Sighed Ojiro. “And what was that about protecting my tail?”

“It’s a similar concept to me wearing gloves in my Hero costume.” Explained Izuku. “Having something protective over your skin lets you hit harder without fear of injuring yourself. Granted your tail is probably tougher than my hands, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Ojiro folded his arms and nodded his head. “Yeah, I can see the logic. I’ll definitely give your ideas a look, thanks Midoriya.” 

“Of course.” Said Izuku before turning his attention to Ochako, who’d be standing there eagerly in anticipation for her turn. “Alright, so we’ve already talked about how it’s possible for you to alter what your Quirk affects based on your own perceptions, right?”

Ochako nodded her head. “Sure have! Though I’m still working on long range gravity negation.”

Izuku gave an approving thumbs up. “Keep that up, but in the meantime I’ve got something equally interesting to test.”

Somehow Ochako managed to look even more excited. “Hit me Deku.”

Izuku summoned one of his books and placed it on the ground before her. “Alright Ochako, could you do me a favor and use your Quirk on this?”

As she moved down to grab it, he added, “Just touch it. Lightly. Don’t lift it. I want to check something.”

Curious, she did as he asked, keeping the contact to the bare minimum. As expected, the book began floating, soon rising above her head.

“As I thought,” he said with a grin, snatching the object from the air before it got too far away.

“So, what’s new with her Quirk?” Kaminari inquired, underwhelmed by the experiment.

“Knowing you, it’s gonna be something absolutely insane.” Said Ochako.

‘One could even say, “Bizarre.”’ Thought Izuku.

“Save the Jojokes for the Jobros.”

‘Fine fine.’ Thought Izuku before turning his focus back on Ochako. “What’s new is that it’s another case of undervaluing a Quirk,” he gestured with the book. “Physics question for the class, what happens if you remove the gravitational pull from an object?”

A couple of them exchanged looks, looking for a hidden meaning behind the inquiry.

“It floats, Ribbit?” Suggested Tsu.

“Not really the answer I was looking for.” He waited for a couple more seconds before starting again with a smile. “Let me give you a hint. Gravity is a force constantly acting on every physical object, pulling us towards every other object with mass. The most prominent force of gravity for everything on Earth comes, of course, from the Earth itself. But if all of those forces were to be nullified on an object, what would happen to said item?”

Yaomomo widened her eyes. “Newton’s first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force!”

“In Japanese?” Asked Sero drily.

Kaminari muttered something about being terrible at science while rubbing his temples, but wasn’t given much attention beyond a pat on the back from Jirou.

“If all forms of gravity are nullified, an object should just stay where it is. Unless it’s pushed.” The heiress added, simplifying the concept and receiving a small chorus of “ohs.”

“Right. Which means that Ochako is doing so much more than that,” he specified. “She isn’t only taking away the gravitational pull of the Earth. She’s either reversing it, which brings items to levitate on their own, or doing something much, much more interesting.”

“Like what?” 

With a wide grin, he explained, “I think you may be able to alter trajectories and deprive matter of its mass and momentum.” His revelation was met with silence as the others digested the information.

“That is... quite the theory, Midoriya,” Yaomomo pointed out, thoughtful. “How did you come to that idea?”

Izuki held up the book to show it off before throwing it towards the larger group, it flew through the air in a perfectly straight line until it was caught by Kirishima. “If an object has no mass, the whole gravity stuff gets really weird. But you can feel that it has none now, can’t you?”

Kirishima examined the thing as he held it. “Wait, it doesn’t have any weight yeah, but I don’t know about mass...”

“‘Weight’ is used pretty interchangeably for mass in everyday use, but it’s not exactly the same thing. To keep it simple, mass is intrinsic to an object and weight depends on mass times acceleration, meaning gravity. If something has no mass, of course it would have no weight.”

Yaomomo nodded, going along with a more detailed version of the theory. “The force of attraction between two bodies is directly proportional to the product of the masses-”

“-and is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.” All eyes turned towards Ochako, who had been the one to finish the sentence. “What? I’ve looked into the subject a bit! I wanted to try and improve my Quirk...”

“Which was a great idea. The problem was that they gave you a wrong starting point,” Replied Izuku with a shake of his head.

“But why do you think she can take away mass itself?” Jirou reiterated, taking a hold of the object to try it herself. “It doesn’t seem that different to me.”

“If something has no weight, it simply means it’s not pulled towards other stuff. It’s ‘floating,’ no forces, no movements. But, if something has no mass, then it becomes extremely easy to move around.” He moved closer to Jirou, making her open her palm and letting the book float.

“Here’s my theory. Your Quirk has two effects. The first one affects the momentum.” He started lightly tapping the item, moving it from left to right. “Each time I tap the book, it moves in that specific direction. If I'm not putting in more force each time, the book should just stop or slow down. Instead, your Quirk disregards the object's motion. Mass, velocity, acceleration, nothing matters. It just starts going and then changes direction abruptly.” He caught the book, pointing it at the girl. “And the second one affects the item's mass, specifically how you're taking it away from it. I don’t know if you’re making it magically disappear or just moving it around, but I’m betting on the latter option.”

The construction girl looked confused. “Then why are things floating every time?”

“Honestly? Your Quirk is probably trying to match the mental image you’ve been given of 'zero gravity.’ Things float as if they were in outer space. I think that’s the reason why you get nauseous. Your Quirk is constantly applying pressure to match every gravitational pull on the objects you use it on. It’s mostly the constant nine point eight zero seven meters per second squared from below, but it adds up quickly. I mean, you’re matching Earth’s gravity, for god’s sake. And if all that extra mass is moved to you, it’s no wonder your body struggles to keep itself balanced!”

It was at this point that he realized everyone was staring at him. Perhaps they were still attempting to get a handle on the fact of to what degree Ochako had been casually breaking the laws of reality with her Quirk. “Sorry, I think I went on a bit of a tangent there.”

“Hey man, it’s all good, you’re clearly passionate about this.” Said Satou.

“Indeed, your love of Quirks makes you light up in such a way it is akin to staring into the burning star that illuminates our world.” Said Tokoyami.

“You light up when you get all excited about Quirks.” Translated Dark Shadow, to which Tokoyami simply placed a hand on her head and shoved her back into his body.

“Thanks guys.” Said Izuku with a weak chuckle, before returning his focus to Ochako. “Now that you’ve got the idea down, it’s up to you to expand your perception of your Quirk and how you apply it. It’s the same thing as before, you’ll just need to practice consciously applying effects rather than the subconscious means you’ve been using up to this point.”

Ochako examined her hands, flexing her fingers a few times before grinning at Izuku. “You’ve got it Deku. Can’t wait to show you what my Quirk can really do.”

Izuku smiled back at her. “I look forward to it.”

“So what was the thing that involved both of us?” Asked Ojiro, who’d been standing to the side and had decided to call attention back to the initial topic Izuku’d brought up a while back.

“Oh, right. Ojiro, could you teach Ochako how to fight?” Said Izuku simply.

This seems to throw both of them off. “Eh? Why?” Asked Ochako.

“Simply put, being able to properly utilize your body in a fight rather than simply flailing your arms and hoping you slap a villain is a practical idea.” Explained Izuku. “And as the class’s resident martial artist, I can’t think of anyone better to give you some basic lessons than Ojiro.” He turned his attention to the failed boy. “And you don’t need to turn her into a black belt over the course of the week by the way, just some general pointers to help make her a more efficient fighter would be appreciated.”

“I’ll… see what I can do.” Said Ojiro, seeming a little uncertain about the idea of teaching someone else.

“I’m sure you’ll do great.” Said Izuku. “Both of you, I have confidence that you’ll make it work.”

“Well then I guess I’ll just have to match that confidence.” Said Ochako.

Izuku nodded his head before turning his attention to the final member of their class. “Now then, last but not least, are you ready to learn how insane your Quirk truly is, Yaomomo?”

Chapter Text

“Momo ‘Yaomomo’ Yaoyorozu.” Said Izuku calmly. “I’m going to be completely honest with you, the only thing that can challenge how absolutely terrifying your Quirk is, is how absolutely fascinating I find it.”

Yaomomo blinked at him in surprise, she certainly wasn’t expecting that. “What do you mean?”

“Well, disregarding the fact that if you were a villain you could, say, absolutely devastate the economy by turning yourself into a human money printer, or you could potentially recreate the tragedy that was Hiroshima from two centuries ago if given the time and resources to make a large enough warhead.”

“Oh my god dude, dark much?” Said Kaminari, aghast at Izuku’s words. 

Yaomomo had practically fallen into a stupor as she stared at Izuku, trying to process the metaphorical bomb he just dropped on them all.

Izuku shrugged, “Quirks are dangerous, even something as seemingly good natured as Recover Girl’s could be dangerous if used carelessly.”

“I-I would never do such a thing!” Exclaimed Yaomomo, having finally returned to her senses.

“Never said you would, just that you could.” Replied Izuku. “I’m simply reiterating how potentially dangerous our Quirks can be, the importance that is us training to use them correctly, and honestly how glad it feels that you’re all striving to become heroes and didn’t fall down a path of villainy.” He closed his eyes and folded his arms. “Because honestly, I think just about any one of us could’ve gone down that path had the wrong circumstances or influences had occurred in our lives.”

“Even you, Midoriya?” Mineta seemed to find the notion positively absurd, so Izuku decided to bring that positive down to negative.

Fixing a tired gaze on him, he stated, “Don’t forget, I’m human too.” Despite his best efforts, he found himself briefly flashing back to one of his lowest moments, looking over the edge of that rooftop All Might had left him on, silently considering the advice his awful classmate had given him. In that moment he let his resolve falter and was ready to give up. Not just on his dream but on just about everything else, and pray that things worked out for him in his next life.

That memory was cut short by the sensation of being hugged. He blinked as he realized that the bright golden vestige that was Eighth had moved to pull him into a comforting hug, he could also feel Seventh’s hand on his shoulder. After a few seconds Eighth floated away to the side, letting him get a clear view of his classmates once more, who were all silently and expectantly watching him, ready for what he was going to say next.

Without saying a word, Izuku could tell that Eighth accomplished his goal, reminding Izuku of what he had now, and there was no way he would ever allow himself to falter when he had them by his side. Clapping his hands together, he said, “Apologies for getting us sidetracked, who’s ready to see Yaomomo do some insane things with her Quirk?”

“Hell yeah!” Came an excited cheer from Kaminari. Jirou rolled her eyes while standing next to him, but said nothing.

“Alright then.” Said Izuku as he crouched down and picked up one of the discarded metal bars he’d used to smack Kirishika with. “I’m gonna need you to make another one of these, alright?”

With a confused nod, Yaomomo got to work, sticking an arm and allowing the metal rod to slowly grow out of her skin using her Quirk. Before she could finish though, Izuku abruptly shouted, “Stop!”

With a flinch, Yaomomo reflexively stopped the process, leaving the incomplete bar kind of just… sitting there in her skin.

Izuku walked up and examined the bar, gently reaching out and wiggling it a couple times, Yaomomo’s arm moving with it each time, refusing to remove itself. “I thought so.” He said.

“Notice something?” Asked Jirou.

“As I suspected. You are able to stop your creation midway, and it won’t budge. It’s like a part of you now.” Explained Izuku, looking over at Yaomomo.

“Ain’t that bad?!” Ashido showed a worried look, shared by some of the others in their class.

Izuku shook his head. “I don’t think so. Yaomomo, are you able to let it fall like this? Don’t complete the creation, just let it detach itself.”

She nodded, closing her eyes to concentrate. A second later, the metal bar hit the floor with a clang. A few heads turned towards Kaminari as he started snickering about something, but nobody questioned it.

“That was easier than I thought it would be,” She admitted, surprised by the immediacy of the action.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Asked Izuku, tilting his head. “If you’re not completing it, it shouldn’t take you any longer. Do you think it took less energy to create, or was it just the same as usual?”

She brought a hand up to her chin. “I wouldn’t know precisely... But yes, I’d say it was slightly less tiring.”

Izuku smiled. “Perfect! So, we’ve seen that you can leave your creations partially unfinished, and that they would just stick to your skin if you don’t release them yourself. That opens so many doors!”

“How?” Ochako asked, this time being the one to tilt her head in confusion. “Incomplete things wouldn't work properly, would they?”

The analyst clicked his tongue while shaking his head and waving a finger before bending down to pick up the discarded metal bar. “That depends on what she’s making. Of course, complex devices require their full build or most of it to function properly, but that’s not the case for a lot of stuff.” Looking back at Yaomomo, he said, “For our next trick, I’m going to need you to create a titanium gauntlet. That is to say, not one that can be worn, you’re going to create it around your hand and leave the metal attached to your skin.” After pausing for a moment, he further elaborated, “Stick to just the backside of your hand, leave the skin of your palm exposed.”

Yaomomo’s eyes narrowed in concentration as she nodded her head, focusing her Quirk to create the effects her class president desired. After a couple seconds she held up her arm, her back hand coated in a shiny layer of metal. She then showed her exposed palm to Izuku before squeezing her hand a couple of times to show that it was still operational even with the metal.

Izuku clapped his hands, proud of Yaomomo for accomplishing the results on the first try. The raven haired girl blushed at the praise, bashfully rubbing the back of her head.

“Now then,” Said Izuku, his voice making his vice president focus again as he tapped the half finished metal pole in his hand. “You watched how we tested Kirishima’s Quirk, and being the smart girl that you are, I'm certain you can figure out the next step.”

Thankfully, Yaomomo was able to keep herself from getting thrown off by the praise this time as she quickly brought her arms up, using the metal coated one as a small shield and used her uncovered one to brace it.

“Woah woah woah, bro.” Said Kirishima, stepping forward between Izuku and Yaomomo. “Smacking me around with metal bars is one thing, I’m a man and my Quirk lets me take it, but you can’t seriously be planning to do the same with Yaoyorozu, right?”

Izuku looked at the redhead with a raised eyebrow. “Kirishima, do you think a villain’s going to care whether or not Yaomomo is a girl when they’re trying to kill her?” He asked, before reaching out with the metal bar to poke him in one of his pecs, adding on, “Also, for someone who boasts about being manly, I’d say the implication that a girl can’t take a hit to be very unmanly.”

It seems referring to Kirishima with such an adjective was more effective than Izuku had expected, as the teen wound up falling to his knees, staring at the ground in shock. “Oh god Midori, you broke him.” Said Ashido.

“Eh?”

“Yaoyorozu, I’m so sorry for implying that you’re weak just because you’re a girl!” Before Izuku could question what Ashido meant, Kirishima abruptly leapt to his feet and began loudly apologizing to Yaomomo while bowing at just shy of a ninety degree angle.

Yaomomo and Izuku watched the redhead in shock for a moment before Yaomomo began to frantically wave her hands at him, reassuring him that she wasn’t upset.

“The kid’s a genuine one, I like him. Very manly.”

“A bit hardheaded, but he clearly means well.”

Izuku rolled his eyes at their quips before clearing his throat. “Besides, you guys were only about half right with how this test’ll work. I’m not hitting Yaomomo with the bar, she’s going to hit the bar with her brand new gauntlet.” He explained. “If my theory’s right, she should be able to slam her fist into the thing all she likes without it hurting her hand at all. As long as she had proper punching form anyways.”

“That’s not really reassuring, Green,” Jirou pointed out.

“But he’s been right before now, ribbit.” Tsu argued.

Following the frog girl’s certainty, Yaomomo nodded, “Alright. Just be careful, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. Just give me the best you’ve got.” He held up the bar firmly, like a wooden board that would broken to show the skill of a martial artist, and met her gaze, issuing a challenge to his vice president to give it her all.

She responded in kind by striking the bar precisely in its middle, bending it and making Izuku slide a couple of inches backwards.

“Yeah!” Kirishima whooped as he clapped his hands. “That was a good punch!”

“Good job,” Izuku smiled, holding up the now bent bar between two fingers to show off the damage. “Though I would suggest giving your hits a bit of a twist near the end, puts a bit more ‘oomf’ into the blow.”

“Sorry, I’m not used to dealing direct hits.” Yaomomo confessed, a bit surprised by the result of the experiment as she looked at her arm. “I can’t help but feel unbalanced. It’s heavy.”

“Of course, it’s titanium. But you didn’t feel a thing, did you?” He asked, sounding certain of his previous assessment.

She shook her head. “No, apart from a slight tingle, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“If your skin is in the process of producing an object, it merges with said object until it’s completed. So, for you, the protection you could get from a half-made armor is actually far greater than the one you could get from a complete one. Your skin might get bruised anyway under a layer of plate, but if your skin is the plate, which can also be easily discarded and replaced, you won’t get hurt. Cutting attacks aren’t gonna do much against that.” He explained his reasoning, letting her mull over his words.

Yaomomo was clearly deep in thought, but a fire was growing in her eyes. “So, by only partially producing my armor, I could both lower my lipid usage and get an increase to my protections. Simple, yet effective... But I should take into account bashing attacks and the risk of hitting walls or the floor with my back. My skin may be covered, but my insides would be just as defenseless as they typically are.”

“They would be, true.” Conceded Izuku with folded arms and a nod. “But that can easily be taken care of by creating a layer of padding or an airbag. You’re clearly intelligent Yaomomo, I think you can imagine how many uses this kind of creation could have, right?”

He had seen that the girl was someone who prided herself on her intellect, so if he could just get the gears in her head turning, the rest could be left to her.

“Who needs a sword hilt when the blade can grow out of your hand? What could cut you if your own skin can become the strongest alloy on the planet? Who would risk staying in close range when you can produce a flamethrower from your fingers? Even producing acid isn’t out of the question.”

“Wait, acid?” Ashido raised her head. “Wouldn’t that be like copying my Quirk?”

Izuku nodded, eager at this point as his face morphed into an almost deranged grin. “She wouldn’t have the same resistance you possess, Ashido, but every weakness can be compensated for with proper preparation. Bases can cover you and neutralize any acid that would otherwise touch your skin, and since it would still be fused with your skin you wouldn’t be hurt either way. But there’s more! What do you know of Miss Midnight’s Quirk?”

Yaomomo tilted her head to the side. “I believe it's called Somnambulist, and it allows her to emit a sleep inducing aroma from her skin. Effective, but can be countered by simply avoiding to breathe it in.”

“Yes, but what do you think that aroma is?” He looked at Yaomomo, hoping she would get his meaning.

Her eyes widened as she came to understand. “It can be reproduced... I could replicate her Quirk if I knew the right formula!”

Their classmates gasped as Izuku clapped his hands together. “We have a winner! Creation would let you copy any non living product of Quirks! Kacchan’s explosions for example! You may lack the natural detonation ability that are a part of his palms, but you could produce the same explosive liquid that they produce! And then couple that with Ashido’s acids and then the villains will really be scared.”

Ashido jumped up, catching the heiress’s sleeve. “Yaoyorozu! I’ve got to teach you how to use Acid! We can be walking hazards together!”

“Uh... Thanks?” Yaomomo wore an uncertain smile, a bit taken aback by the sudden support and offer. She was coming to understand the full scope of her Quirk’s potential.

Izuku knew that face. She was thinking about how much she’d have to learn and how she could cram it into as short a time as possible. He wore it himself on plenty of occasions.

“It’s like I’m seeing double. I thought we’d have to wait at least half a decade before you started reproducing but at this rate there’s already gonna be more Izukus in the world.”

“I’m almost feeling bad for my brother at this rate.”

“Seriously?”

“What? I said almost. I’m sure the feeling will fade when I watch Izuku imprinting the underside of his boot onto Torei’s face.”

“I hope that works for you, Yaomomo,” Izuku smiled at his classmate, “Your Quirk is great, it’s only your imagination and perception that set your limits. So go beyond.”

She returned his joy as the group yelled “PLUS ULTRA!” and started laughing.

“Thank you, Midoriya. It’s more than I would’ve thought possible. Even Quirk specialists didn’t reach such a conclusion. You’re incredibly gifted in Quirk analysis.”

Izuku shrugged. “I spent a decade thinking I was Quirkless, I had to get creative in finding ways to circumvent that handicap, and now that I do have a Quirk, I’m going to make the most of my abilities to help everyone else become even stronger.”

Yaomomo let out a hum and nodded her head. “On that note, I do believe it’s your turn.”

“Eh?”

“Oh yeah!” Exclaimed Ashido. “We’ve all heard you talk to death about our Quirks-”

“Which on that note, I think you actually could kill it as a teacher dude,” Interjected Kaminari, “That crazy lung capacity of yours would make you a master at lectures.”

“He has a point y’know, and given your background with teachers the irony would be hilarious.”

“I know the universe is trying to make certain things play out like they’re ’supposed to’ but I’m starting to wonder if it’s trying too hard when it comes to this. Or if it’s just trying to do a bit.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Hm? No idea what you mean, I haven’t said a thing.”

“Then how did you know I was talking to you!?”

“Because you’re predictable.”

“YOU-!”

Thankfully, Ashido served as a welcome distraction as she put a hand on Kaminari’s face and pushed him to the side. “As I was saying, you’ve told us all about our Quirks, we wanna hear about yours now Midori!” She exclaimed.

Izuku scratched the back of his head, realizing that that was a fair point, it wasn’t really all that fair for him to know everything about them but then fail to divulge some secrets of his own. The problem is that when it comes to his secrets…

“Sharing them would compromise their safety.”

‘I know, I know.’ Said Izuku before sighing. He was going to have to spin something clever. “Fair enough. I have technically told you about my Quirk in the past, back during the first day of school after the Q.A.T, but given recent… developments, it’s only fair that I give you guys the updated version.”

“You mean with the whole smoke thing?” Asked Mineta.

Izuku nodded his head and raised a fist, activating Smokescreen and producing a small cloud of purple smoke to demonstrate for everyone. “Right, let’s start with the basics. My Quirk, strength stockpile, was one that failed to properly activate while growing up, leading me to believe I was Quirkless for the first fourteen years of my life. I thought that the Quirk simply had me stockpiling strength, more than my young body could handle, and thus kept itself turned off as a sort of self preservation precaution. It wasn’t until I buffed myself up while training for the entrance exam that I was finally able to tap into my Quirk. Unfortunately I can still only use a percentage of my stockpiled strength, currently that percentage is Thirteen.”

The mention of the number made Ochako look down, more than likely she’d been reminded of her personal hero and the injuries she’d sustained during the U.S.J incident. Even if she had survived and had made a full recovery, courtesy of Recovery Girl’s Quirk, watching their teacher nearly be murdered by her own Quirk was traumatic.

Izuku shook his head, he couldn’t distract himself. “But with the U.S.J incident, I’ve learned that my stockpile contains more than just ‘strength,’ I’d simply only been using it in that limited way thanks to my own misinformation and limited views when it came to my Quirk. The irony, nor the embarrassment, is lost on me.” He admitted with an embarrassed chuckle. “I think my Quirk, in truth, is a mutation of my mom’s who had the power to pull small things towards herself using her hands. But in my case, rather than ‘things’ I think I’ve been attracting and storing a sort of… energy into myself, which I can then apply in creative ways for combat. First there was the strength enhancement.” To demonstrate, he sparked up the green electricity around his hand, before switching back to Smokescreen. “And now I can produce this smoke. It seems my abilities manifest in ways that’ll help me in dire situations. The strength gave me the means to bash in the robots during the exam and my Smokescreen allowed me to ward off Shigaraki, the villain leader with the Decay Quirk.”

“So,” Said Yaomomo with a hand on her chin, “I suppose the question has changed from, ‘what can your Quirk do,’ to, ‘what can it not do?’”

Izuku nodded his head. “In essence, yes. I have some speculations about potential applications and abilities I could unlock, the problem is that they only seem to awaken in Do or Die scenarios, so I’d have to willingly throw myself into danger-”

“NO!” Izuku actually had to cover his ears in response to the wave of angry shouts of denial his entire class redirected his way.

“…Or,” Continued Izuku drily, “Wait until danger inevitably finds me.”

Some of his friends frowned at that, but given that he was clearly phrasing it to show that he wouldn’t be seeking danger out for the chance to make himself stronger, it seemed like they were willing to concede on that point.

“Any ideas for potential abilities you’ll awaken to?” Asked Yaomomo.

“A few.” Admitted Izuku. “One idea off the top of my head is the ability to fly, or at least hover in the air. I could also potentially find a way to produce a sort of physical energy, like a whip, that’d let me grab things from far away. Or maybe a way to enhance my senses in a way to detect danger better. Honestly it’s all super situational so I have no real way of knowing until the awakenings occur, all I can do is try to train myself to be prepared for as many potential different awakenings as possible.”

“Which I guess this training for us actually does double as training for you then.” Said Kaminari, before blinking when he realized everyone was staring at him. “What?”

“What’s that supposed to mean Jamming-Whey?” Asked Jirou, tilting her head in confusion.

“I mean, if Midoriya needs to understand our Quirks in order to help us use them better. That means he must know a lot about how Quirks work in general and different ways to use different powers. So if he ever gets something similar to what we have, he can use that experience as a basis.” Everyone continued to stare at him, so Kaminari had to ask, “What, does that sound dumb or something?”

“N… no.” Replied Jirou nervously. “That sounded so smart that I think we’re all kinda freaked out that you were the first to think of it.”

“Aw, thanks Jirou!” Said Kaminari with a grin, before frowning while his brows furrowed. “Wait, was that a compliment or an insult?”

“…Both?” Said the musician uncertainly.

“Oh come on!” Exclaimed Kaminari in distress, earning a laugh from his classmates.

“That was pretty crafty of you. Finding a way to ‘explain’ the nature of One for All without giving away the truth of your Quirk either.”

“Well there was no way he could tell them the truth, he’d probably rather die than ever actually risk putting them in danger.”

“Because he’s a stubborn fool who believes that he can protect everyone himself and chooses to bear that weight alone.”

There was silence in One for All as someone who’d remained hidden in the background for the longest time decided to show his face once more.

“Second…”

“You’ve got a lot of balls showing your face here, bastard.”

“I’m not going to waste my nonexistent breath with an apology, Seventh.”

“Well good! I wouldn’t accept one from a stubborn ass like you anyways! The only thing I wanna do is stick my boot so far up your ass you’ll taste the rubber of my soles!”

“Kinky.”

“SHUT UP FIFTH!”

Izuku could practically feel Second’s sigh as Fifth retreated into the depths of their Quirk before he wound up discovering whether or not it was possible to murder a vestige.

“Whatever, I’m not interested in playing nice with you, brat. Or any of the rest of you for that matter. Third, if you wanna play and make merry with this kid I won’t stop you.”

“Second I-”

“Just remember what stubbornness earned All Might. One for All won’t survive if you try to burden yourself with everything.”

Izuku’s brows furrowed at that. ‘Are you… trying to help me?’ He asked, though he would get no response as Second vanished into the recesses of One for All once more.

The class parted ways soon after Izuku’s explanation of his Quirk, with everyone promising to meet up again tomorrow for more practical applications of the training Izuku proposed that day. With the Sports Festival fast approaching, they threw their all into their training so that each and every one of them could Go Beyond their limits.

Despite his best efforts to invite him to join, Aoyama and Todoroki both refused to accept, the latter due to his stubborn belief that he was and would continue to be the strongest, and the former simply coming up with an increasingly dramatic excuse each and every time to avoid his class president’s offers.

A week passed from there, and it was on the Tuesday before the Sports Festival that Izuku had an idea, remembering the confrontation their class had gotten into with the other First Years at the start of the previous week. After a moment of consideration, he made his choice and began walking towards Class 1B next door, telling Yaomomo to simple have everyone continue practising, telling her that he would trust her and Iida to supervise the training in his stead, to which she was more than willing to agree.

After knocking the door and entering Class 1B, much to the confused looks of their sister class, Izuku looked around before his focus eventually settled on the one he was searching for.

“Itsuka Kendo. We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

Before Izuku even realized, the final week leading up to the Sports Festival blurred by, now he and his friends were in the 1A Prep Room, doing their best to mentally ready themselves for what was to come. All of Japan and its Pro Heroes would be watching this after all…

“Midoriya.” Izuku turned to look at the person, talking to him, recognizing that cold tone anywhere.

“Todoroki, can I help you?” He asked, looking at his classmate with as composed of an expression as he could maintain.

Todoroki took a moment to observe his class president before speaking again. “You’re strong, certainly stronger than anyone else in our class. I can see why All Might’s taken an interest in you.”

“Uh…” Izuku wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“But I’m still stronger. I plan to beat you, so you’d better not disappoint me today and drop out before I have the chance to defeat you myself.” The expression on his face was just as cold as the words coming from his mouth.

Izuku maintained eye contact with the heterochromic boy before eventually responding, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, Todoroki, but don’t think we’re the only ones in this Festival.” He spread his arms out, gesturing to the other eighteen teens in the room with them. “Everyone’s gone Plus Ultra training for today, and there’s also the students in the other Hero Class as well as those in the other courses who’re vying for a spot amongst us, those who really want to make it are going to be facing us with All their Might. Don’t drop your guard or you’ll be the one dropped before we even get to round three, understand?”

Todoroki stared at him for another moment before letting out a huff and returning to his warmups.

“Damn Midobro, talk about manly!” Exclaimed Kirishima, clapping a hand on Izuku’s shoulder.

“Huh?” Asked Izuku, looking at him in confusion.

“Dude,” Said Kaminari, clapping his other shoulder, “Todoroki threw down the gauntlet and your reaction was to bitchslap him with it, I’m gonna side with Kirishima on this one, that was manly as hell.”

“I think you guys are overhyping me a little, all I did was point out that if he focused solely on me he’d almost certainly lose. He hasn’t seen how far the rest of you’ve come.” Argued Izuku.

Kaminari shook his head, “S.M.H, my dude, S.M.H. We’ve gotta take the time to teach you how to take a compliment for crying out loud.”

“Sorry…” Said Izuku dejectedly as he stared at the ground.

“Class President, it will be time to head out soon.” Declared Iida as he chopped his arms for emphasis.

Izuku stood up straight at the statement, abandoning those negative feelings so he could focus on the task at hand. Class 1A scrambled as they prepared to head out, and after an incident with Jirou mistaking a bottle of pond water that Tsu had on her for green tea, the class made their way out to the stadium. “Alright 1A, let’s give this everything we’ve got. Say it with me, Go Beyond…”

“PLUS ULTRA!” Cheered the majority of the class, raising their fists into the air as they proceeded to set out excitedly to claim victory.

“...First up, you know who I’m talkin’ about! The miraculous rising stars who brushed off a villain attack with their steely willpower, give it up for Class 1A!” At the sound of Present Mic’s voice announcing their class, Izuku and company walked through the entrance and into the stadium. Izuku’s eyes darted around, feeling just a touch self conscious at having all these eyes on him.

“Don’t stress yourself out Izuku, you’re going to blow them away!”

“Just preferably not literally.”

‘Let’s hope things don’t get that out of hand…’ Izuku thought to himself with a tired expression. After the U.S.J incident he’d rather avoid another villain attack or something equally absurd. Then again, that’s what the Pros on patrol are for, right?

“Must be nice getting to laze around and play guard dog for a high school event instead of doing something productive…”

“Thanks for the input Second, it’s crazy how literally no one asked.”

“Next up we have 1B’s sister class in the Heroics Department, followed by Classes C, D, and E of General Education, Classes 1F, 1G, and 1H of the Support Course, and last but not least we have the Business Course Classes I, J, and K!” As Present Mic announced the other ten classes of UA’s First Year’s Izuku felt his gaze wandering towards the other Hero Class.

Going off appearances alone it seemed like there were quite a few bizarre Quirks amongst their ranks too. He also caught the way that the blond boy had been seemingly glaring at him before averting his gaze and smiling as if he was simply another face in the crowd of his class. Izuku’s eyes briefly narrowed before he averted his attention, spotting a familiar mop of lavender hair amongst the students of Class 1C. The corners of his mouth quirked upwards as he felt himself being curious to see just how resolved Shinso really was to join the Heroics Course.

The cracking sound of a whip took Izuku’s attention off the Reserve Course and made him focus on the center stage, upon which stood Midnight-Sensei. “Alright kids, time for the Athlete’s Oath!” She declared.

“Shouldn’t the principal be doing this?” Wondered Tokoyami with a flat expression. “That costume hardly seems appropriate for a high school event.”

“Principal Nedzu is in charge of the Third Years.” Whispered Izuku. “As for your concerns about the costume I’ve… got nothing to say in her defense, it’s like this every year. All M- er, I mean my mom almost had a heart attack when we watched last year’s on the TV and she saw the way Midnight-Sensei was dressed.” Tokoyami let out a noise that was something between a thoughtful hum and a disappointed sigh.

“Silence from the peanut gallery!” Ordered the R-Rated Heroine with another crack of her whip before using it to point at the crowd of students. “Now then, as the one to come in first place during this year’s entrance exam, even managing to set a brand new record of a hundred and nine points, Going Beyond even All Might’s score… We have 1A Class President, Izuku Midoriya!”

Izuku blinked in surprise, looking to his left, then his right, before pointing at himself uncertainly. “Yes, you! C’mon up green bean, you’re keeping the others waiting!” Ordered Midnight.

With a frantic nod, Izuku quickly weaved through the crowd with a level of speed and precision that the General Education students had to do a double take when they noticed he was already at the front.

Even with the surprise, some were able to mutter their own annoyance. “Psh, this guy got first in the Hero Course Exams, big whoop, he’s probably just a muscle headed brute who coasted by using his Quirk.” Muttered a girl whose dark brown hair was styled into a pair of pigtails while her bangs were arched slightly up before coming down.

“Actually, he scored the second highest on the written exam with a ninety nine percent.” Commented Midnight nonchalantly, much to Izuku’s continued embarrassment. The teacher’s rebuttal did cause the General Course student to eat her own words, forcing her to shut her mouth and simply sigh in defeat. Izuku did his best to flash her an apologetic smile, but it seems like she failed to notice, so he simply made his way up to the podium next to Midnight. He stopped in front of a microphone, looking at it for a moment before looking over at Midnight, who simply nodded and smiled at the student, urging him to go ahead.

Izuku reached out and tapped the microphone’s head, causing some feedback to echo through the stadium, much to the discomfort of practically everyone present. With a wince, Izuku took the microphone into his hand and started to speak, “H… hello everyone, students of UA, teachers of UA, visitors of UA. There’s something that I would like to say…” Taking a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth, he declared, “I intend to win this festival today.”

The stadium was silent to the point that Izuku actually tapped his foot on the ground to test that he hadn’t magically gone deaf, before the crowd of students angrily erupted at him.

“Don’t get cocky you A Class Bastard!”

“How dare you show contempt for such an important event!?

“You arrogant bastard!”

Izuku chuckled as he watched the crowd express their anger, and within his peripheral vision he could see his classmates, displaying looks ranging from confusion, to embarrassment, to even amusement (no points for guessing who fit into that last category.)

After giving them about ten more seconds of angry shouting, Izuku tossed the microphone into the air before quickly bringing his hands together, charging One for All through them so that when his hands clapped, the sound was loud enough to echo through the whole stadium, causing the shouts to die down as everyone proceeded to stare at him in shocked silence. Izuku then caught the microphone as it fell down towards him.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself there.” He said, giving the students a brief, but apologetic, bow. “In all seriousness though, I plan to win. Isn’t that the same for all of you?” The students clearly weren’t expecting Izuku to ask them a question like that. Rather than answering, they began murmuring amongst themselves.

Thankfully, Kacchan once again proved to be his Hero as he shouted out from the crowd. “You’re damn right I’m gonna win, Deku!” Declared the explosive blond.

Izuku snapped his fingers and pointed at Kacchan. “Thank you! Honestly, is that all people? Are we the only ones who wanna win?!” 

“No way Deku, I said I’m gonna do my best and you’d better believe that’s still true!” Shouted Ochako.

“Agreed! Putting anything less than one hundred percent would be a disgrace to our upperclassmen!” Declared Iida.

“Hey, I dunno if I can win but I sure as heck will give it my all.” Said Sero with a shrug and a grin.

“I’m gonna blow you guys away and show the ladies how cool I really am!” Declared Mineta.

“I will show the Pro Heroes just what I am capable of!” Said Yaomomo proudly.

Izuku then gave Kendo a side eye, easily picking her orange hair out of the crowd, before giving her a cheeky wink and a nod. With a sigh, the martial artist chose to call out, “Don’t underestimate the students of Class B! We’re Hero Course students too and we won’t make this easy for you!”

Spurred on by their class president’s words, students of Class 1B started to voice their own desires to win. Nodding, Izuku then pointed in the direction of Shinso’s class. “And I know that there are those amongst you in General Education who are gunning for a seat in the Hero Course too. If you want in then you’d better be ready to show that you’ve got the grit to Go Beyond and show the teacher’s that you’re Hero Material!” He then pointed towards Mei’s class. “And you Support Course Students, I’m sure there are those of you itching to show off your skills and inventions to the Pros, hoping to nab yourselves some deals down the line. You better not waste this chance, it’ll be a whole year before you get another!” His words continued to inspire the students, earring cheers and declarations of a desire to win.

Truly, they all wanted to show what they could do now thanks to him. Izuku smiled as he watched them cheer. “First Years of UA, let’s show the world what we can do! Say it with me, Go Beyond…”

“PLUS ULTRA!” Cried almost every First Year student. Izuku couldn’t sway them all of course, there were the stubborn ones who refused to cooperate with him and the edgelords that simply wanted to prove they were different, but Izuku was satisfied with this result. With a theatrical bow, he returned the microphone to its position and reclaimed his spot amongst his classmates.

Once he was certain that none of the other classes could see him, he let out a wheezing noise as he leaned his head forward, resting his forehead against Shouji’s massive back muscles.

“Still not used to talking in front of large crowds, ribbit?” Asked Tsu, a finger pressed against her chin as she watched him quizzically.

“Mmmgh…” Groaned Izuku, “I thought I was gonna mess it up… I thought everyone would hate me… I thought…” The green haired boy devolved into rambles as he listed off all the worst case scenarios that he feared would occur.

Tsu, with Ochako at her side, watched him continue to mumble to himself for a little while before exchanging a glance and nodding their heads. Ochako grabbed Izuku by his shoulders and pulled him away from Shouji before turning him so he was facing Tsu, not that he really noticed that he was looking her way, still lost in his own head as he continued to mumble. The thing to finally wake him up was a solid slap to the face, courtesy of the frog girl’s tongue.

Izuku stood there, stunned, before slowly reaching up to feel his now stinging cheek. After wiping Tsu’s saliva off his face, he looked at the girls and said, “Thanks, I needed that.” In response, Tsu slapped him again. “I needed that too.” After a third slap, he snapped back, “You’re pushing your luck, Tsu!”

There were a few beats of silence before the three students devolved into giggles.

“Credit where it’s due, Izuku, that was a very impressive speech.”

‘Thanks First, I was kind of just making stuff up as I went, if not for everyone’s contributions I don’t think it would’ve landed nearly as well…’ Admitted Izuku, a pained expression on his face as he imagined all the potential ways he could’ve fumbled that speech. He was proud of himself for breaking All Might’s record, but honestly he might’ve preferred getting second place if it meant avoiding future public speaking like that.

“I think you’re forgetting that going Pro will require you to make speeches like that on live television, especially once you start breaking into the higher ranks on the leaderboard.”

Izuku groaned quietly as he brought his hands up to his face, realizing that Fifth had a point, even if he hated it.

“Hey!”

‘I meant that I hate that I’m going to have to do this kinda thing in the future.’ Clarified Izuku flatly.

“Oh…”

“Yeah, Izuku’s too nice to an idiot like you. Insulting you is our job.”

“Oh fuck off.”

“Can’t I’m stuck here and have to listen to your dumbassery for the rest of time.”

“Now then!” Called Midnight, pulling Izuku’s attention away from Third and Fifth’s bickering. “Without any delay, let’s get the first event started!”

“What is there at UA that ever is delayed?” Asked Ochako drily, which made Izuku and Sero snicker a bit.

“Round One is the Qualifier, it’ll isolate the best and ditch the rest amongst you, so do your best or you’’ be sent home crying well before you can make a name for yourself!” Explained Midnight as she pointed towards the large monitor in the stadium, which flashed as it began to cycle through a list of events so fast that nobody could read them. “And now, the fateful first event for this year’s First Year Sports Festival is…” Once the wheel of names came to a halt, Midnight gestured towards the monitor dramatically, “This!”

Izuku’s eyes narrowed in interest as he read the words on the monitor aloud, “The Obstacle Course…”

“All two hundred and twenty students from the eleven classes will partake in a four kilometer race around the entire stadium! But watch out, you’ll be forced to contend with not only your fellow racers, but also the various devious and dangerous obstacles that have been set up throughout the course!” Explained Midnight. “Now, our school is very proud when it comes to preaching of freedom, so as long as you remain on the course any action or usage of your Quirk is fair game! So do be sure to give us quite the show… heh heh heh…”

Something about the teacher’s sadistic sounding laugh made Izuku’s skin crawl.

“Alright then, racers get into position!” Instructed the R-Rated Heroine as she waved her whip around, pointing towards a large metal door with three lights above it.

Izuku followed the crowd as they approached the gate, and as he took in his surroundings he immediately noticed something. The size of the crowd far exceeded the size of the door, if someone wasn’t at the front of the pack and simply charged in without a plan, they were certain to get bottlenecked. Without even realizing it, the First Year students had already approached the first obstacle of this race.

“Ready…” Said Midnight, raising her whip into the air.

Time around Izuku seemed to slow in that moment as he quickly began to take in his options.

His first thought was to simply barrel straight ahead using his Quirk, that method could easily get him through the crowd.

But he quickly disregarded it, if he collided with the wrong student he could get seriously hurt by their Quirk.

But more importantly, simply stiff arming his way to the front and smashing through his competitors was the fastest way to get someone injured. Midnight might’ve said ‘anything goes,’ but that doesn’t mean he was going to resort to injuring his competitors for the sake of a potential lead.

His eyes then moved upwards as the more practical, and viable, option became clear to him.

He quickly looked around himself, wondering if it was possible to grab one of his classmates and-

“Absolutely not.”

‘Eh?’

“You’re not assisting your friends unless you absolutely have to.”

‘Wh- but Seventh I-”

“Seventh speaks the truth, this is a contest Izuku.”

‘First…’

“Look, we admire your wish to help others at any given time, it’s what makes you such a great ninth for One for All. But this is a contest, you can’t just carry all your friends to the finish line.”

Izuku wanted to retort, but he wasn’t given the chance.

“Imagine how they would feel. They’re here to give it their all and show what they can do. Being carried by their Class President would just tell the Pros that they’re too weak to function on their own strengths.”

“Get set…” Said Midnight, as the various other students got into running positions.

Izuku sighed, clenching his fists. ‘You’re right… you’re right, you’re right, you’re right.’ He said before releasing a breath he’d been holding in. Upon doing so, he began to charge One for All through his body, green electricity sparking off his body as he kept his eyes on his target. ‘I’ll have faith in my friends. We’ll all make it through this race together. And I plan to take first place.’

“Go!” Shouted Midnight, cracking her whip like she was waving a flag, the large doors opening up for the students.

As those in the front dashed through in an attempt to make it out and take an early lead while those behind them pushed and struggled with those besides them, Izuku leapt into action.

Literally. Since he couldn’t go through the crowd, he decided to go over it, he grabbed onto the frame of the entrance to the stadium, earning himself a vantage point above all the others, using his Quirk enhanced fingers to literally dig into the structure to keep himself in place.

He then heard the familiar crackling of ice forming, looking down he saw Todoroki dashing to the front of the pack, while ice formed on the floor and legs of those he passed. Not wanting to be upstaged by one of 1A’s heaviest hitters, Izuku leapt from the wall and onto the ground in front of the majority of the crowd. With One for All charging through his whole body at Thirteen Percent, he began to run.

“Wowwie!” Called Present Mic from the announcer’s booth. “And just like that, Midoriya and Todoroki of Class A both pull ahead of the pack using different but equally ingenious implementations of their Quirks! Truly a recreation of the rivalry between Japan’s Number One and Two is occurring in the next generation of Heroes!”

Izuku quickly caught up to his classmate, and as he passed him, he said, “Let’s give this our all, Todoroki!”

From behind, he heard the sound of explosions and a familiar voice shouting, “Dekuuu! Icyhooot! Don’t think I’m letting you bastards steal the spotlight!” Shouted Kacchan as he broke through the crowd.

Izuku watched his rival, along with the rest of the students of 1A, use their Quirks to fling themselves through the crowd and begin running after them.

Izuku turned his attention to the path in front him, and unable to resist the smile forming on his face, thought to himself, ‘This is going to be fun!’

Chapter Text

“Thanks for the assist, Todoroki!” Laughed Mineta as he bounced along a series of hair balls he’d thrown onto the racetrack. “You cleared the way for me to get through, so let me return the favor with a move of my own, Grape Ru-” Though before he could finish calling out his attack, the short student was cut off when he tanked a metal fist to the face and was sent into the sky.

“Mineta!” Exclaimed Izuku as he skidded to a halt, watching his friend fly upwards before beginning his downward descent into the crowd of students behind them.

“Don’t stop, focus on the race Izuku!”

“Watch your six!”

“Multiple Targets Acquired…” Beeped out a deep electronic voice. Izuku slowly turned to see a familiar metallic face staring down at him. The two-pointer robot reared back to strike Izuku next, but the student was faster as he threw a fast jab into the machine, striking it just right to send it flying backwards straight into another, smashing both into bits.

“Every obstacle course needs obstacles…” Explained Present Mic over the loudspeakers, “Starting with… the Robo Inferno!”

Izuku’s eyes widened as a shadow was suddenly cast over him, he looked up to see a Zero Pointer looming over him, flanked by at least half a dozen additional ones.

“Good god, I thought the one from the entrance exam was extreme but this borders on outright goofy!”

Before Izuku could retort, he saw a blur of red and white rush past him, followed by the crackling of more ice forming. His eyes widened as he saw Todoroki, in nearly an instant, froze all the Zero Pointers in place with his Quirk.

“I know it’s rich coming from us, but this kid’s Quirk is just bullshit.”

‘No kidding, he must’ve trained insanely hard to be able to pull these kinds of moves off…’ Thought Izuku as Todoroki started walking towards the robot.

“I kind of wish they had prepared something a little more threatening.” Izuku heard his classmate mutter. “Especially since dear old Dad is watching…”

“What’s that about…?”

Izuku was wondering the same as he began to jog after Todoroki.

“Everyone, quick!” Shouted one of the Business Course students. “He froze them in place, let’s get going!”

“Bad idea.” Todoroki called over his shoulder as he got clear of the robots. “I intentionally froze them in precarious positions…” Izuku’s eyes widened as he looked up towards the sound of ice cracking and metal creaking. “So that they would fall over.”

Izuku froze in place as he quickly looked at the robots, which were now in the process of falling. He’d need to move fast in order to avoid-

The sound of screaming behind him grabbed his attention, and he could see various other students scrambling in a desperate attempt to get clear, but it was obvious not all of them were going to make it, and there was no telling which ones would be able to actually survive having a giant robot fall on them.

And so his legs once again moved before his brain.

“Izuku, don’t-”

‘Veto.’

“Eh!?”

‘SMASH!’ He rocked himself into the air, charging One for All at Thirteen percent and slamming his fist into the robot. It wasn’t enough to demolish the thing, in its entirety like he did to the one from the entrance exam, but with the brittle state the metal was thanks to being frozen, his punch was more than enough to send the thing tumbling in a direction away from the other contestants while causing it to break apart.

He then quickly kicked his leg into the machine, using it to propel himself away from it and towards the second robot, slamming his foot into it and knocking it away similarly to the first one, and then use it as a launchpad to leap at the third Zero Pointer.

He repeated this process for robots three to six, and then as he leapt off the sixth and found himself flying at the seventh and final one, he kicked things up a notch, and did a forward flip as he flew through the air. ‘One for All… Fourteen Percent…’

“CALIFORNIA SMASH!” He shouted as he slammed his fist into the seventh robot, sending it and himself plummeting to the ground, kicking up a large dust cloud in the process.

The other racers stared in awe as the smoke cleared, and saw the leader of Class A standing atop the remains of the seventh Zero Pointer, his messy green hair flowing in the wind as he seemed to be practically staring down upon them.

“Izuku! Quit Aura Farmin’ and start runnin’!”

Izuku winced as he heard Fifth’s voice ring in his head, interrupting him from surveying the carnage to check if anyone had been injured by the falling metal. ‘Right, right, sorry…’

Before he could start moving though, he looked up as he heard the sound of explosions overhead. “SUUUCK MYYY DIIICK DEEEKUUU!” Shouted Kacchan as he flew over and past Izuku, propelling himself with his Quirk.

Damn, he’d fallen to third place now thanks to Todoroki’s stunt, he needed to start running before those two got even more of a lead on him. Charging One for All at Fourteen Percent, he resumed running while everyone else did their best to bypass the metallic carnage Izuku had left in his wake.

For some, it was a simply application of their Quirks, Ochako floating herself over and then returning her gravity at just the right moment to make herself fall towards the ground at just the right speed and angle to resume running, recreating her technique from the long jump, while Sero and Tokoyami used their Quirks to sling themselves over the rubble.

Others used their Quirks more creatively, like Satou and Iida, who both enhanced their speed using their Quirks and replicated the kick and jump technique Izuku used to quickly make it through.

Some were forced to simply stiff arm their ways through, like Koda and Kaminari, whose Quirks couldn’t help them here and had to simply start climbing over the metal or following after those who were tunneling through the rubble, like Kirishima.

And some combined options one and three, using their Quirks to get through while also taking inspiration from those around them to help their classmates get through, like Yaomomo holding onto Jirou with one arm while she generated a pole from her palm to vault them both over, or Tsu holding (a mildly concussed) Mineta with her tongue as she leapfrogged over the metal.

Even students from other classes were getting creative, as Mei flew over the heads of her peers using a jetpack, while Shinso somehow seemed to be climbing a ladder made of people to get to the top of the scrap heap before resuming running.

How he convinced those students to help him was anyone’s guess but they couldn’t focus on that for now.

Others still had to deal with smaller robots gunning for them, though those amongst Izuku’s class who still had the smaller scale robots that hadn’t been iced by Todoroki to deal with. Shouji fired a barrage of punches that broke apart a Three Pointer while Ashido’s acid burned through the armor and wiring of a One Pointer.

Soon enough, the students of 1A were able to find their ways through the first obstacle and continue the race, with the B Class Students hot on their heels.

“You played a dangerous game, slowing down to help your fellow competitors.”

“Especially when we told you to do the opposite.”

‘I refuse to sit by while people are in danger.’ Replied Izuku calmly as he continued to jog down the race track, keeping a steady lead and pace with One for All. ‘What Todoroki did was not okay, he might want to win but those tactics could’ve seriously injured someone. Sure someone like Kirishima or Tokoyami could’ve walked that sort of thing off but most of our classmates, and presumably students from the other classes, lack the durability to tank being crushed under a bunch of giant fucking robots.’

He gave the vestiges a flat side-eye, the closest he could manage to an outright glare without looking deranged.

‘So I Vetoed. I still want to win of course, but if I have to abandon people and let them risk injury to do it, then that victory would be hollow.’

He turned his focus to what was in front of him. He could see Todoroki had been keeping a lead of a good couple dozen meters up until now, leaving various ice slip traps on the floor that made Izuku need to watch his footing in order to avoid slipping and cracking his skull on the ground.

Kacchan had managed to use his Quirk to simply move around and over the traps, and was quickly catching up. However both Izuku and Todoroki had to slow down when it came to the next obstacle.

A huge hole in the ground that was so deep the bottom was obscured in darkness, with various “islands” scattered across it that were connected by ropes. Izuku was willing to bet that going around wasn’t an option.

“The first barrier might’ve been a cakewalk for the heavy hitters of 1A, but let’s see how they handle the second!” Explained Present Mic.

“The rules are simple.” Said Aizawa-Sensei, who’d joined him in the announcer’s booth (against his will.) “If you fall, you’re out.”

“Heroes and Gentleheroines, this is… The Fall!” Declared Present Mic, not letting Aizawa-Sensei’s low energy speaking slow him down.

“On the nose, but if it works it works.”

“Speaking of working, Izuku should start getting to work before those two widen the gap even further.”

Izuku looked at one of the ropes to see Todoroki sliding across it, generating ice from his foot to freeze the rope, reducing friction and allowing himself to just glide through without stopping.

Kacchan meanwhile simply flew over with his explosions, shouting about how he refused to lose. 

From behind, Izuku could also see that the other contestants were beginning to close the distance between them, the fastest amongst them like Iida leading the pack.

Izuku looked around, doing his best to quickly find which combination of ropes he could run across that would be the fastest path, when suddenly Seventh spoke up.

“Wait, this is perfect!”

‘What is it?’ Wondered Izuku.

“This is how we get you to awaken Float!”

Izuku raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.

“Okay, just do a running jump over the pit, and when gravity starts to drag you into the void, your desire to cross will definitely cause Float to activate!”

“That seems… risky.”

“It’ll be fine, the consequence of failure is definitely dire enough to get Float to work without, you know, being life threatening.”

‘Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and having Float would definitely be useful…’ Admitted Izuku as he took a couple dozen paces back before running and leaping as far as he could using One for All. He specifically timed the jump and angle to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to reach the other side.

“Alright. Any second now you’ll start to float.”

Izuku felt gravity begin to overtake his body, making him move downwards while still continuing to hurtle himself forwards.

“Any second now.”

“Uh, Seventh-?”

“Any second now!”

“Seventh I don’t think he’s going to float.”

“That’s quitter talk! He’s… definitely… going to fall… Yeah, he’s falling…”

…

“Shit shit shit shit! What now!?”

Izuku grit his teeth as he quickly shot an arm out and tried to grab one of the nearby ropes. Unfortunately he was already too far away from them to reach them, and he began to descend into the dark void that was the fall.

“Deku!”

“Midoriya!”

Izuku could hear them. The voices of his friends, who’d managed to reach the edge of the pit and had seen him try and fail to make the jump.

“What’s this!? Class A’s Midoriya seems to have overhyped his own abilities and failed to make the jump! Will this be how the A Class’s President meets his end, in the qualifying round!?” Exclaimed Present Mic in dramatic shock.

“Hmph, this is what happens when you put too much stock into your Quirk and allow it to make you act illogically.” Commented Aizawa-Sensei. “Midoriya will have to use this as a learning experience…”

‘This can’t be how it ends…’ Thinks Izuku as he reaches a hand out towards the island as it got further and further away while the darkness below began to envelop him. ‘I can’t lose here, not before I have the chance to get anything done! I can’t let all that effort go to waste!’

“Izuku…I’m so sorry…”

Izuku’s eyes widened. Of course Seventh would blame herself in a situation like this. She’d been the one to propose this course of action. He could feel her spectral arms wrapped around his shoulders, her voice sounded like she was on the verge of crying. She’d only tried to help, and now he was about to be taken out before he even had the chance to do anything…!

No. He refused to let this be how it ends!

He just needed a way to… propel himself…

In that moment, memories of Kacchan flashed through his mind, visions of him using his explosions to fly through the air. Then he flashed back to the U.S.J, and that time he created a large burst of air using the Delaware Smash. Quickly spinning himself around mid air, Izuku charged One for All through his left middle finger and aimed it downwards, gripping his arm with his right hand to focus the aim.

Then he realized that using just one arm might result in an unbalanced propulsion that could throw him off course, so he extended both arms and charged One for All through both middle fingers.

Then he realized that if he was going to use two fingers to carry half the burden, he could rely on just Fifty Percent in each finger.

Actually… if two fingers could each carry Fifty Percent of the load, then why not split it to Twenty Five Percent across four fingers? And across six fingers the burden would be just shy of Seventeen Percent. And if he used eight fingers, then he could use…

‘One for All, Fifteen Percent…’ Izuku thought to himself. “Delaware Smash: Air Force!” All eight fingers flicked at once, and the resulting wind pressure of eight simultaneously powerful shots was enough to launch himself upwards into the air and away from the jaws of defeat.

“What’s this!? Moments before defeat could claim him, Izuku Midoriya finds a creative usage of his Quirk to get himself back into the race!” Cried out Present Mic in excitement.

Aizawa-Sensei scoffed. “Well well, it seems he used this as a learning experience after all.”

The problem with this technique is that Izuku lacked the practice when using it, and the air bursts were not concentrated enough to make him fly nearly as far or as straight as Kacchan did. As a result he was practically somersaulting through the air and out of the pit.

Then, by pure chance as he was passing over the edge and now found himself above ground, he found himself passing by and making eye contact with two particular people: Ochako and Mei, who were both staring at him in amazement and excitement respectively. Time seemed to slow down for him as he stared back at them, that brief fraction of a second feeling almost like an eternity as he stared at their faces.

Had his friends always been this pretty? He barely had the time to register that question in his mind before time began to flow for him once more, and he rocketed into the air even further. Though he didn’t get very far before gravity’s pull finally made him stop climbing. Though before he could resume falling, he twisted his body midair to look back down at the students below him, shouting out, “I’m not out of this race yet! I’m gonna win! Let’s Go Beyond!” He then fired off another Air Force, launching himself through the air and after a few more shots, successfully made it to the other side of the race’s second obstacle.

He focused his gaze on his current goal, Todoroki and Kacchan, who continued to race ahead of him, and resumed chasing after them.

Ochako stared blankly ahead. There had been… a lot of emotions that she was feeling all at once. There had been the rush of excitement she’d been feeling running this race so far, making it past those robots and running alongside her friends and classmates towards the second obstacle.

Then there was the feeling of dread as she watched Deku fail to clear the second obstacle and start to fall, seemingly being the first of their class to get eliminated before they even made it from the preliminary round, even their teachers had counted him out, only for Deku to do what he does best and pull a miracle from his ass and practically teach himself how to fly with his Quirk.

And then for the cherry on top, when Izuku clawed his way back from the jaws of defeat, he wound up right in front of her, their faces so close she could practically kiss him if she wanted to-

Wait wait wait! Nope! Nuh uh! She’s not touching that thought! She’s taking that idea and compressing it into a veeery small box in the back of her brain right now! She can’t be catching feelings for a boy she’s known for a month! Especially during the middle of a competition on live television!

Even if he is kinda cu- STOP!

“HAHAHA! Now that’s what I like to see,  Wonder Boy!” 

Who…?

Ochako turned to see a pink haired girl standing next to her, her entire body decked out in various gadgets as she sported a wide grin on her face.

“Hey, is all that stuff allowed?” Asked Ashido, who’d been standing right next to her.

The pink hair girl maintained her smile as she reached up and tapped a gloved finger against the goggles she was wearing. “Since you Hero Course students get an edge with your ‘practical training,’ the teachers decided to even the playing field a little by letting those of us in the support course use anything we’ve built. This Sports Festival isn’t just for you Hero Hopefuls y’know?”

Then, with a dramatic thrust of her hips that would impress Aoyama if he’d seen it, the girl fired a rope from the belt she was wearing, which sunk into the wall of one of the islands, before leaping off the edge of the cliff. “Don’t take your eyes off me, Pros of Japan!” She declared as she swung downwards to the island. “Get a load of the adorable babies of Mei Hatsume! Future number one Support Gear Inventor of Japan!” She then fired up the rocket boots she was wearing to launch herself upwards and onto the next island, before repeating the process to continue progressing to the next island.

“No way that’s fair!” Declared Ashido in frustration. “C’mon guys! We need to keep going, we can’t let her win!”

Ochako found herself agreeing with Ashido’s statement. She wasn’t sure why, but she had the feeling she’d just found a rival in that inventor girl, and there wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to let her win! “You wanna catch up to her that badly?” Asked Ochako, a dangerous glint in her eye and a feral grin on her face.

“Eh? Ochako, why’re you looking at me like th-?” Asked Ashido, a concerned look on her face before yelping in surprise as Ochako’s hand snaked forward and grabbed her wrist.

The moment Ochako felt Ashido’s gravity get negated, she quickly shifted her posture and swung her arm as hard as she could. “Then I’ll give you a head start!” She shouted.

“Ochako what’re you doIIING!?” Ashido cried out as she was sent flying.

Ochako watched Ashido fly through the air, a hand on her forehead shielding her eyes from the sun. Once she was satisfied, she quickly brought her fingertips together and called out, “Release!” Ashido landed on the other side of The Fall, rolling a few times to break up the force of the impact. The pink girl stood up, turned towards Ochako and shouted something she couldn’t make out from this distance here before waving and turning to resume running.

She then turned her focus on the rest of her present classmates who hadn’t already begun their own treks across The Fall. “Anyone without a convenient means to cross who’s willing to Go Beyond, line up!” She practically ordered them.

Her classmates exchanged glances, deciding that they did not want to find out what happened if they turned down the offer, given what just happened to Ashido, and began to approach her.

One by one, she started tossing them across The Fall. Sure she was sacrificing her spot a bit, but as long as she followed close behind her classmates she should be fine. It’s what Deku would do.

“Hey, don’t think we’re going to let you A Class Bastards One Up us!” Shouted a blond boy from 1B. “Kendo, Fukidashi! Over here, I have an idea!” Ochako decided to leave him be, if she inspired the B Class students to work together just like Deku had inspired her, then she would be more than happy.

After about half her classmates had been successfully tossed across the pit, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. “Hey, gravity girl, would you be willing to give me a hand too?”

She turned her head to face whoever had tapped her shoulder, only to stop when she felt a finger pressing into her cheek. It was that weird purple haired guy with the eyebags who’d declared war on their class two weeks ago, why was he here now?

She took a step back away from him. “Why the heck are you… here…?” She asked, trailing off as she felt her body suddenly become weirdly relaxed as the rest of the world seemed to disappear into a haze…

Chapter Text

“The leads are breaking ahead while the back of the pack is bunched up!” Announced Present Mic. “The racers don’t have a clue how many’ll make it to round two, so they’re all in a mad dash for first!”

Shoto slid to a stop as he found himself at the third obstacle, which seemed to simply be a wider stretch of dirt, though going off the way it had been displaced, he could tell something was wrong with the ground here, almost like something was hidden beneath the surface…

“It seems our leader’s reached the final barrier! That is to say… The Minefield! This carpet of doom has dozens of explosives hidden just beneath the surface layer of dirt! A quick glance is enough to spot the mines of course, so you just need to keep your eyes peeled.” Explained Present Mic helpfully as Shoto began to jog through the field, keeping his eyes focused on the ground as he made sure to sidestep any spots that looked like they had mines hidden in, only to freeze in place at the sound of approaching explosions. “Assuming you’ll be able to while also dealing with your fellow competitors.”

“This shit ain’t gonna slow me dooown!” Dammit, it’s Bakugou! And he was flying his way fast thanks to his Quirk!

‘So this last obstacle is meant to delay those who’ve taken the lead then…’ Thought Shoto as he quickly looked at the ground to find which spots were safe before turning his attention back to his explosive classmate.

Bakugou then swung his hand down at Shoto, who just barely managed to jump backwards and avoid getting blown by him. “Listen up you half n’ half bastard…” Growled the explosive teen. “You made your declaration of war to the wrong person. I’m gonna be the one to take you down, capiche!?”

Shoto let out a noise of frustration as he shifted his footing before swinging his arm, allowing it to drag along the ground for a moment before lifting up, causing ice to erupt from the ground and stab at Bakugou, who fired off a series of explosions that let him move upwards, avoiding the attack before swinging his own hand at Shoto, aiming at his damned left side with the intention of blasting him out of the competition. Shoto refused to make it easy though.

“It’s Bakugou vs Todoroki! The student who got the most villain points in the entrance exam versus the son of the Number Two Hero of Japan! It’s a fight for first place, don’t look away for a second social media, you won’t wanna miss this!” Exclaimed Present Mic excitedly. Todoroki meanwhile simply grimaced at the mention of his old man.

Suddenly, an explosion and a scream caught their attention as they both watched Ashido get launched backwards into the air.

“Er,” Present Mic suddenly spoke up, “Do let it be known that while those bombs might look dangerous, they’re ultimately nothing more than very smokey flashbangs, so those of you watching at home don’t have to worry, we promise your kids will be coming home in one piece still.”

“Maybe with some soiled undergarments if they’re not made of the toughest of stuff.” Chimed in Aizawa, who despite what Present Mic’s laughter might lead one to believe, was being completely serious.

“Don’t take your eyes off me dammit!” Shouted Bakugou as he swung for Shoto again, who barely managed to duck under his arm before sending more ice his way. While Bakugou was working on dodging, Shoto quickly turned on his heel and started making his way forward again.

“The grapple for first continues! Little do these two know that while they’ve been busy fighting each other…” Said Present Mic, whose spectating had largely been ignored by Shoto up to this point, but this time he had the feeling that the Pro had something important to say, before he’d been interrupted by the sound of someone else shouting from overhead.

“MANCHESTER SMASH!” Shoto and Bakugou’s heads both snapped upwards as they noticed a shadow fly over their heads, before a blur of green slammed into the ground. Their eyes both widened as they saw who had just gotten ahead of them.

“Deku!?”

“Midoriya?!”

The pair barely had the time to express their shock before an explosion fired off from the ground, launching the now second and third place racers backwards while Izuku was propelled forwards.

“Clever trick, detonating a mine right there to not only propel yourself but knock your competition onto their asses.”

‘Present Mic said that these aren’t dangerous, so that means a smarter racer can use them to their advantage if they’re clever enough.’ Replied Izuku as he landed onto the ground and resumed running.

“And there’s not a kid in this race who’s a craftier bastard than you, go get ‘em Izuku!”

Izuku smiled to himself at the encouragement, but that smile quickly became a frown as he heard the detonating of explosions and the crackling of ice fast approaching him from behind.

“Probably should’ve realized it wouldn’t be that easy…”

“DEKUUU!” Roared Kacchan as he flew after him, while Todoroki created ice from under his right foot to propel himself towards Izuku.

‘Ah crap… quick question, do you think Fifteen Percent is enough for a New Hampshire Smash?’ Wondered Izuku.

“You’re the Quirk nerd here, why’re you asking us!?”

“Doubtful, or I suppose it’d be more accurate to say that you could do it but the result would be far less effective at your current level.” 

‘Thought so.’ Replied Izuku. ‘Hard way it is.’ He quickly leapt into the air and turned one hundred and eighty degrees before aiming his right arm at the two racers that were riding up behind him. While using his left arm to support his right, he charged One for All up to Fifteen Percent and called out, “Delaware Smash: Air Force!”

A burst of air fired from his hand and rocketed at the pair of boys while Newton’s Third Law worked its magic and propelled him even further. His attack didn’t hit either of his competitors, Kacchan was able to fly over the wind with his explosions while Todoroki simply applied his ice in a way that allowed him to sidestep it, but it still did its job of widening the distance between Izuku and the other two.

“At this point, do you even need Float?”

‘Absolutely,’ Replied Izuku quickly enough that it didn’t even leave room for Seventh to start developing her own self doubts. ‘Air Force is an effective means of propelling myself, but it’s hard to control. Kacchan may make it look easy but that’s because he’s had a decade to fine tune his Quirk, and the level of precision needed to do what he does is frankly absurd. Without Seventh’s Quirk, I won’t be able to fly, I’ll simply just be launching myself in different directions the same way Yagi-Sensei does when he jumps from one prefecture to the next. Her Quirk will be an incredible boon for mid air control.’

“Geez kid, you wanna butter up the rest of our Quirks too while you’re at it?”

“Probably shouldn’t, the audience might get bored if the author continues dragging this out further than he already has. They’ve already forced themself to abandon the bit of all of us talking in numerical order. Granted that one was doomed to fail from the start given Second’s continuous refusal to cooperate.”

“Fourth, for fuck’s sake, can you try speaking in a way that the rest of us can understand?!”

“So, limit myself to words with three syllables or less for your sake?”

“That’s not- oh get over here you son of a bitch!”

“NEW HAMPSHIRE SMASH: MINEFIELD MODE!” While Fourth and Fifth were distracted being… themselves, Izuku refused to let himself be slowed down, punching the ground in a way that would detonate more mines located beneath him in a way that would launch himself further.

If he couldn’t use the New Hampshire Smash in the regular way, he’d make the most of his surroundings and get creative!

“Woah!” Exclaimed Hizashi as he slammed his hands on the announcer booth’s desk. “Another insanely brilliant, or perhaps brilliantly insane, maneuver from Midoriya! Geez Eraserhead, the folks at home must be asking themselves, ‘what in the world are you teaching these kids!?’”

Shouta turned his head to give his classmate turned coworker a tired stare before letting out a sigh.

When the door to the faculty lounge opened Shouta’s ears picked up on the tic in the step of the teacher entering, recognizing him without a need to open his eyelids. Ectoplasm’s prosthetics.

Aside from that detail, only Nishida was that careful. Hizashi and Nemuri were never that calm, and they would have already interrupted his nap by now.

Ah, Ectoplasm, someone who could recognize the need for some sacred silence.

“Eraserhead.”

Nevermind then. Holding back all of his grudges, he replied, “Need something?”

“Not really,” His coworker said, “I’ve just supervised some extra training for the 1A students.”

Shouta raised an eyebrow at that. He did recall Midoriya talking about that earlier this morning. Well, good on them for wanting to be prepared for the Festival. But, wait a minute… “When you say ‘just’ I assume that means you completed some other task between that training and approaching me?”

Ectoplasm shook his head. “Classes ended four hours ago.”

“I am aware.”

“…Midoriya?”

“Midoriya.”

“I know I promised not to call him  a problem child but I swear I think he’s intentionally trying to make me go gray.”

With a tilt of his head, Ectoplasm replied, “I think he’s succeeding.”

Shouta decided against dignifying that with a response. He did however sigh when two of his favorite migraine makers entered the room.

“Heya guys, what’s goin’ on? Looking through homework for the week?” Asked Hizashi.

“Something like that.” Replied Shouta.

“I was just discussing with Eraserhead about the extra training his students were doing that I supervised today.” Explained Ectoplasm.

Nemuri giggled, “Is that right? I guess 1A’s feeling excited for the Festival.”

“What they’re probably feeling is a couple existential crises after the bombshells that Midoriya dropped on the lot of them.”

What.

 “Huh?” Asked Hizashi, looking at Nemuri in confusion who simply shrugged.

“After seeing the revelations about their Quirks that Midoriya brought to light, even I have to admit their potential.”

And again, what? “I know I didn’t have to expel a single one this time. Midoriya might’ve pushed his luck, and honestly I definitely pushed mine, but I can’t imagine much could’ve been gleamed in a single afternoon.”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” He saw the man’s smile grow a bit, even if it was hard to distinguish given the state of his teeth.

Hizashi practically jumped on the other sofa. “What’s going on with those little listeners? Awesome Quirks? Some drama? Come on, spill!”

Nemuri shook her head. “Mic, we’re barely two weeks in. We’ve seen their practical exams and files, Hizashi. There shouldn't be anything we don't already know about.”

Aizawa resisted the urge to say something, given the bombshell he received from Midoriya not too long ago.

And that’s when Nishida started laughing.

“I wouldn’t know about that, Kayama. You’d be surprised. This afternoon, I saw more growth in four hours than I do for most classes in a whole year.”

“What do you mean?” The Heroine asked, suddenly far more interested.

“Nearly every student in 1A, sans three, came in following that Midoriya...” He started, before being interrupted.

“The one that beat the school’s entrance record?” Hizashi asked. “Damn, the kid that destroyed the Zero Pointer is already gathering a club?”

“Is it a club if it consists of nearly the entire class?” Wondered Nemuri.

“If you two stopped running your mouths, maybe we could hear what Ectoplasm actually wants to tell us.” Said Shouta drily, shooting his pair of long time friends his classic, “Stop wasting my time” glare.

“Right. The kid had me come to supervise the training, and I must say, I’m deeply impressed. He dealt with all of his classmates with extreme care, managing to find solutions to problems that most Quirk specialist would have given up on. He gave them hints to let them figure out a lot by themselves, stepping in when necessary to bring forth incredible ideas. I’m not sure, but I believe he may have completely altered how we should view some of their Quirks. For example...”

Ectoplasm kept going about the kids’ work for a while, but each story seemed more incredible than the last.

If what he was saying was true, they’d completely misunderstood the Quirks of their students. Their potential had skyrocketed in a handful of hours.

How many inept Quirk counselors and doctors were to blame for that kind of mishap?

How many others didn’t understand what they could be able to do if only they had the right guidance?

They exchanged theory after theory about what the students had managed to do, how much more room there was for them to grow and how they would need to adapt their lesson in the future.

Vlad, Snipe and Cementoss had joined in at some point, drawn by the heated discussion.

Thirteen, Hound Dog, Power Loader, and Lunch Rush had come in later but were just as prepared to join the debate.

Shouta had even gotten up from his comfortable position lying down, as incredible as that was.

They had found the recording of the kids’ hours in the gym, and had promptly started to examine it in detail. More than once.

As they mulled over Ectoplasm’s experience, they finally heard the sound of the tiniest steps in the school.

“And here I was wondering why all of my staff was stuck in their lounge well beyond the school’s closing time...” Nedzu said, a slight spring to his step and pride in his voice as he entered the room with Chiyo and the shrunken down All Might at his heels. “Nishida must have told you of what happened with Class 1A.”

The hell did the rat menace mean by beyond- oh. Oh it’s already dark out. Their eyes fell onto the big screen where the transformation of Yaoyorozu was happening.

Shouta knew she had an almost infinite potential, given her Quirk, but to see how it could be used... Just like that, a hero that could have been better suited to deal with rescue and support missions had become a primary candidate for combat encounters. There were edges to smooth and learning to be done, but the idea was incredible by itself.

Recovery Girl sighed and shook her head, a tired smile covering her face. “Ah, I knew that little green bush would be a whole lot of trouble after his stunts in the Entrance Exam and during the incident at the U.S.J.”

“Young Midoriya...” Yagi looked at the video in amazement. Was that pride in his voice or more surprise? Honestly Shouta was honestly just amazed that after all this time the man hadn’t gotten his hands on some adoption papers for the kid.

“It’s a sight to behold, isn’t it?” Hound Dog offered, sharing his appreciation. “He’s not perrrfect but, being a Quirrrrk counselorrrr myself, I can say that he’s doing a much better job than most would.”

“Hell, he’s doing a better job than most teachers would,” Vlad added, ending with a bit of hearty laughter.

“I’d love to see what else he could do,” Snipe mumbled, moving his sight onto 1A's homeroom teacher. “What do you think, Aizawa?”

Shota clenched his jaw for a moment. His first assumption had been exactly right, “This kid’s something else. Of course while what he’s doing for his classmates goes beyond the call of duty for a simple class president, it’s still ultimately our duty to provide guidance, especially when it comes to Midoriya’s own… abnormal Quirk.” Shouta didn’t miss the expressions that crossed the faces of Yagi, Recovery Girl, and Nedzu when he said that.

“Well said, Aizawa,” Nedzu interjected, taking a stand in the middle of the group. “I trust you all to take care of our new generation, as always, but remember that we have never lived through more delicate times. Our students need us just as much as we need them. Special case or not." The chimera moved his gaze over the whole group, briefly stopping to look for All Might’s own. “We shall be there for every single one of them. Go Beyond…”

“Plus Ultra!” The chorus of voices replied without missing a beat.

“Plus Ultra…” Shouta nodded as he raised himself, getting ready to leave for home. He had an overly energetic wife waiting for him at home who was probably waiting to verbally rip into him for staying out this late and overworking himself despite his injuries.

But that didn’t matter, he’d look out for all of his troublesome students, no matter how battered and broken his body became.

In his own way, of course.

“You know just as well as me that I can’t take the credit for this, Mic.” Replied Shouta. “These kids were forced to fight for their lives against villains, and they banded together to overcome the challenge. Now they’re continuing to push each other even further beyond so that they’ll be ready to face anything else that awaits them.”

“Plus Ultra.” Replied Hizashi sagely with a nod.

Izuku grunted as he hit the ground and rolled. Note to self: practice landing technique’s once he’s gotten his percentage higher to perform a proper New Hampshire Smash…

Whatever, no time to worry about that now, he needed to gun it straight for the finish line before-!

“DEKUUU!” There it is…

Looks like Kacchan and Todoroki managed to regain their footing and were trying to close the distance once more, though at this rate there’s no way they’d catch up to him!

“When I get my hands on you I’m gonna blow your brains out on Live Television!” Threatened his overly aggressive rival.

And unfortunately, Izuku saw an opportunity and couldn’t resist taking it. Looking over his shoulder, he called back, “Hey hey, easy Kacchan! Save that dirty talk for the bedroom!”

His comeback was… shockingly effective actually. Kacchan was so thrown off by the comment that it caused him to mess up the output for his explosions, setting his course off just enough to make him collide right into Todoroki and send both boys tumbling to the ground. Izuku’s eyes widened before he turned his attention to the remainder of the course ahead of him, bringing a fist up to his mouth as he did his best to resist the urge to laugh, knowing that if he did there’s no way he’d be able to keep running.

Shouta sighed, desperately wishing he had the ability to pinch the bridge of his nose as he listened to Hizashi wheeze with laughter next to him. “Of course, at the end of the day, they're still teenagers…” He said tiredly.

As Izuku crossed through that gate, he heard Present Mic’s voice call out of the speakers. “And… and the winner is… hehe… the one to take an early lead… the one to protect his fellow racers in the first obstacle… the one to bring himself back from the brink of elimination, the one who overtook even his class’s largest powerhouses… President of Class A, Midoriya!” 

Izuku, breathing heavily as he heard the crowd cheering, couldn’t help but grin and pump a fist into the air. “Ladies and gentlemen… I Am Here to win!” He declared proudly.

Chapter Text

Izuku took a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth as he watched the entrance to the stadium, seeing his fellow competitors, classmates, and friends all slowly rush into the stadium.

Todoroki and Kacchan were obviously the second and third to arrive given that they had been right behind him. Izuku elected to look the other way whenever Kacchan glared in his direction, not out of guilt but rather he didn’t want to risk breaking down into a fit of giggles at the moment.

Iida and Tokoyami followed not long after, which was once again very logical in Izuku’s eyes. Speed was Iida’s entire thing and Dark Shadow was a great partner when it came to supporting Tokoyami and helping him through those obstacles, Izuku could practically visualize the various ways they likely worked together.

Sixth place managed to surprise Izuku, as it was a B Class student who arrived, a girl with an expression that Izuku struggle to read and hair that seemed to be composed entirely of thorny vines, that certainly looked useful, and he was itching to pick her brain about the exact mechanics.

Perhaps he’d get the chance to in the near future if today panned out the way he was hoping.

More and more of his classmates arrived, as well as other B Class students. Obviously only one of them could get first place, but he was proud of just how many of them actually placed in the top twenty.

Fifteen of them had placed that high, though it hadn’t been someone from their class, or even from their sister class, who made it in twentieth place, it had actually been Shinso. 

And right behind him was Ochako, who had a very concerned expression on her face, something Izuku felt like he should address in a second.

Though seeing Mei come in shortly after Ochako made Izuku smile, the inventor had a broad grin on her face, even while her body was coated in soot.

“Looks like someone had a blast out there. Literally.”

Okay, that one was kinda dumb, but it wound up finding itself in “so bad it’s good” territory and earned Fifth some laughs from Izuku and a couple of the other vestiges.

Speaking of funny, Izuku had to admit that watching Yaomomo unknowingly carry Mineta in on her back had been kind of hilarious, even if he felt a little bad for the embarrassed heiress who failed to notice until she was already over the finish line. At the very least it seems like Mineta made sure to keep contact with his female classmate to a minimum and apologized to her afterwards. Yaomomo seemed to ultimately drop the issue, so Izuku’s glad that the two of them still seemed to be getting along well enough.

“Are you feeling alright, Ochako?” While students continued to slowly pour in, Izuku approached his friend to check how she was doing.

Ochako blinked at him in confusion, a look of discomforted embarrassment crossing her face as she scratched the back of her head. “Yeah… yeah, I’m fine. I think I just zoned out there for a bit. I don’t even remember how I got past the second obstacle.” She admitted.

Izuku tilted his head in confusion at that. How odd. He then had a brief flashback to when he saw her during the Second Obstacle and the thought that had flashed through his mind. With a slight blush on his face, he looked away from her, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“What happened is that after you helped that guy from the Reserve Course get across, you just left the rest of us high and dry.” Whined Kaminari, who had been standing nearby while they talked, as he wiped some sweat from his forehead using the back of his wrist.

Ochako’s brows furrowed as she looked over at their blond classmate. “I did? Seriously?”

“You don’t remember?” Asked Jirou, who had been next to Kaminari. “He asked you to help and after a bit of back and forth you just kind of… did, and then you left the three of us to fend for ourselves.” She explained as she used an index finger to gesture at Kaminari and herself while using one of her Jacks to point at Kouda.

Ochako maintained a concerned expression as she brought a hand up to her mouth. “That is so weird… I don’t remember that at all. Sorry guys.”

“Eh, it’s whatever.” Said Kaminari with a shrug. “Still was a race after all, maybe you just dipped because you realized you had spent too much time helping others? I mean thanks to purple guy over there you didn’t even make the top twenty. Hope that wasn’t the cutoff…” Now it was his and Jirou’s turn to be concerned, they’d both placed in the mid to late twenties after all.

“Doubtful.” Chimed in Izuku, who’d up until this point been keeping his eye on Shinso as he watched the Reserve Course seemingly blend into the crowd. “We have two more rounds after the race to do still so they can’t cut it down to that few that fast, they’ll need sixteen just for the final round. The preliminary usually leaves about a fifth of the contestants in so everyone who placed before the mid forties should be in the clear.”

That seemed to be the thing he needed to say to take the stress off his friends’ minds as they all simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright folks!” Announced Midnight into her microphone. “Time to announce the top forty two students who’ll be moving to the next round! Mic, if you’d be so kind?” She raised up and snapped her fingers, then the monitor changed listing forty two numbered spaces. The spots started filling in with names as well as pictures of the competing students next to them. The results were as shown:

1. Midoriya
2. Todoroki
3. Bakugou
4. Iida
5. Tokoyami
6. Shiozaki
7. Kirishima
8. Sero
9. Honenuki
10. Ojiro
11. Asui
12. Tetsutetsu
13. Shouji
14. Satou
15. Awase
16. Yaoyorozu
17. Mineta
18. Kaibara
19. Ashido
20. Shinso
21. Uraraka
22. Tsuburaba
23. Hatsume
24. Kouda
25. Jirou
26. Bondo
27. Kaminari
28. Hagakure
29. Yanagi 
30. Kendo
31. Shishido
32. Kuroiro
33. Kodai
34. Rin 
35. Shoda
36. Komori 
37. Kamakiri
38. Monoma
39. Tsunotori
40. Tokage
41. Fukidashi
42. Aoyama

Seeing Aoyama just barely qualify made Izuku breathe his own sigh of relief. While he respected his sparkly classmate’s choice to abstain from group training, that didn’t make him any less concerned about his chances to move to the next round, and after seeing the state the poor boy was in, clutching his stomach as it ached from Quirk exhausting, he didn’t want all that effort to have been for nothing.

“If your name is on this list, congratulations for surviving the first round, and for the rest of you who fell short, you kids should still be proud for giving it your all.” Commended Midnight with a smile, before giving the crowd of round two participants a grin. “Now then, it’s time for things to get really fun! The Press’ll be jumping out of their seats for this next event, so don’t look away!”

As the wheel of round two events went for a whirl on screen, Izuku brought a hand up to his mouth as he quickly ran through a list of potential events and what sort of means and methods he’d have to rely on should they be chosen. When the Second event was selected, he couldn’t help but smirk as he read the name on the monitor, “Cavalry Battle.”

“Somebody’s excited.”

‘Of course.’ Replied Izuku as he half listened to Midnight explain the rules. ‘This event will be a prime chance to show off to the Pros our ability to work with others. All Might might’ve been an island in the field and in battle, but even he had people who he relied upon for support. Plus when it comes to my other ambitions this event will be a boon because of just who I plan to work with.’

“Oh right, I guess you wound up winning your bet with her…”

“Can it really be a bet if the chances of success were basically guaranteed?”

“Well as long as we don’t tell her that, we should be fine.” 

Izuku nodded his head. ‘That’s right, and what’s more, thanks to the chosen event I know everyone’s eyes’ll be on me.’

“What makes you think that?”

“-Five, at the bottom, going upwards.” Said Midnight, who’d been continuing her explanation while Izuku conversed with the vestiges. “Aaall the way to first place, which’ll be worth a grand total of… Ten Million Points!”

“Wait, what?”

Izuku did his best to keep his smirk restrained as he suddenly felt forty one pairs of eyes slowly turn and focus their attention onto him.

“…Y’know Izuku, when you said everyone’s eyes would be on you, I thought you were being poetic.”

“Did you plan for this to happen?”

‘Not really.’ Admitted Izuku. ‘I chased after first because I wanted to win, no more and no less. The Cavalry Battle is just one of the more convenient options for Round Two.’

“Kid, you’re insane.”

‘I thought we’d established this already.’

“I thought we’d established that already.”

There was a beat of silence before Izuku and his predecessors began to snicker.

“Um, Deku?” The sound of a familiar voice from behind him brought Izuku back to reality.

“Ochako?” Izuku turned around to see his friend standing before him, tapping her index fingers together with an awkward expression on her face.

“I was thinking-” However before she could convey whatever it was she wanted to say to Izuku, a very loud and cheery voice cut her off.

“IIIZUKUUU!” Izuku let out an “oof” sound as a pink blur collided with him at nearly Mach speed, sending them both tumbling and rolling across the grassy field.

“Deku!?” Exclaimed Ochako from the distance as she started jogging towards them.

Izuku groaned as he felt a familiar softened pressing into his face. Opening one of his eyes, he saw the face of Mei Hatsume smiling down at him. “Mei.” He said calmly, his voice slightly muffled.

“Izuku.” She responded, her expression never wavering.

“Could you get off me before your chest smothers me?”

“Can you agree to being my teammate?”

“I take it you want to take advantage of the fact that every other team will be after my ten million points as an opportunity to show off your babies?”

“You know me so well!”

“Fine. Honestly I was planning to approach you anyways.”

Mei’s smile bloomed into a full blown manic grin as she moved herself off of his face, now opting to sit on his stomach. “Perfect! I’m gonna show the whole world just how amazing my babies really are thanks to you!” She declared proudly with her hands on her hips.

Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle, though that laughter quickly died down when a familiar, and much more stern, voice addressed him.

“Midoriya.” Izuku craned his neck to see Itsuka Kendo standing behind where he and Mei were at on the ground, staring down at him with a neutral expression. “I’m here to make good on our deal. Though if you’d rather simply continue to cuddle your… girlfriend on the ground, I can find someone else to work with.”

Izuku’s eyes bugged out at that. “I- Me- Hatsume isn’t my girlfriend!” He exclaimed in embarrassment as his face started to turn red.

Mei looked over at Izuku quizzically. “Wait, we’re not friends?”

That actually threw him off balance. “Wh- of course we’re friends! I’m just saying that you aren’t my girlfriend. I don’t want Kendo to come to the wrong conclusions about our relationship!”

Mei let out a thoughtful hum, bringing a hand up to her chin. “But wait, I’m your friend, and I’m a girl… so wouldn’t that make me your girlfriend? Unless you somehow managed to think that I was a boy this whole time?”

“Trust me kid, I’m pretty sure he’s well aware of the fact that you’re a girl.”

Ignoring the unhelpful input from Fifth, followed by the sounds of him angrily complaining at Seventh for punching him in the back of his head, Izuku sighed as he scooped Mei into his arms bridal style before standing up and placing her onto her feet, a feat of casual strength that impressed the many onlookers to this exchange. “Mei, we can have this conversation later, we have a competition to win.”

Mei had a serious look in her eyes as she nodded her head at Izuku. “Gotcha, and speaking of competition…” She suddenly grabbed one of Izuku’s arms and hugged it to her chest while glaring at Kendo. “You’d better watch yourself sword girl! Izuku here’s my partner! I won’t let you take him!”

“Sword girl?” Asked Kendo in confusion.

Izuku’s blush returned with a vengeance as he tried to pull his arm free from the inventor girl’s grasp. “M-Mei, it’s not like that!” He exclaimed before taking a breath and calming himself a bit. “This is a team event, unless you plan to have one of us ride on the other’s shoulders, we need teammates.” After taking a moment to think, he then said, “Also, she’s from the Hero course, same as me. She’s not going to ‘take me from you’ or anything. You’re still my one and only when it comes to Support.”

Mei stared at Kendo for a couple more seconds with narrowed eyes before giving the orange haired girl a smile while extending her hand to her. “Fine then, welcome aboard teammate.”

With the face of a woman who was regretting all of her life choices that had led her up to this moment, Kendo sighed and took Mei’s hand, shaking it.

“Kendo, what the hell!?” And it looked like Kendo’s regrets were piling up from the look on her face as all three of them turned towards the sound of the voice, a blond boy from Kendo’s class. “Why are you teaming up with that 1A Bastard!? That wasn’t what we agreed to!”

“We didn’t agree to anything Monoma! You just planted ideas in our classmates' heads and have been doing your best to perpetuate a pointless animosity!” Snapped back Kendo with a glare. “Midoriya and I made a bet, since I lost I’m fulfilling my end of the deal and joining his team.” She then turned her attention to the rest of her classmates who were watching this exchange. “Honestly maybe some of you should give working with 1A a try, it seems pretty clear they’re not as bad as some people have been trying to get us to think.”

The blond flinched, feeling just a little, and very justly, targeted by that last statement. At their class president’s words, a few members of 1B started exchanging glances and wandering off, attempting to intermingle with students from their sister class.

After a few seconds of watching this happen, Monoma let out a frustrated noise. “Fine then! Change of plans! Tetsutetsu, Kamakiri, over here!” He called. Two of 1B’s students, the guy with the weird eyelashes that’d confronted their class two weeks ago and a boy with green hair and bug-like features jogged towards the blond of 1B.

Kendo sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, “He never rests. I’d admire his drive if he didn’t put it towards such unimportant endeavors.” Izuku placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Somehow he felt like he could relate to that.

“Deku…” Izuku’s eyes widened as he was suddenly reminded that there had been a fourth person there who he had largely ignored up until this point.

Turning around, he saw Ochako standing there with an unreadable expression. She slowly reached her hands up and cracked her knuckles before a grin that didn’t reach her eyes formed on her face. “You’d better be willing to give it your all, because I sure as hell don’t plan on losing!”

“Eh?”

Before he could question what she meant by that, Ochako turned on her heel and started walking towards Kacchan, who seemed to be discussing something with Kirishima and Tsu. ‘What just happened?’

“Oh adolescence, how I’ve missed thee.”

“Way to make yourself sound old.”

“You’re older than me, so feel free to keep throwing those stones from inside that glass house of yours.”

Okay, they’re choosing not to be helpful it seems… “We still need a fourth.” Said Izuku.

“You called?”

“Your Quirk will make for a great defensive measure, method of counterattacking, and even a means of support,” Continued Izuku, choosing to breeze right past Fourth’s interjection, “and Me- Hatsume’s ba- inventions will absolutely be an asset, but I still feel like with one last teammate, our formation will be complete.”

“Good luck inviting someone else to join.” Replied Kendo, crossing her arms. “Unlike Todoroki and Bakugou, people aren’t exactly clamoring to join your team.”

“Well being worth over a million points is bound to put a target on their backs if they sided with me after all.” Admitted Izuku with a weak chuckle. “I mean, you’re only here out of obligation and Hatsume’s here to use the Festival as a giant advertisement commercial for her inventions.” Kendo didn’t seem to be all that interested in rebuking his statement. “You wouldn’t suppose there’s someone from your class who’d be willing to take that risk, right? Because I’m pretty sure the one from mine just left…”

Kendo shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ve definitely got reliable classmates, but I’m not entirely sure if… is that Shoda?” Whatever she was going to say was cut short as her eyes narrowed in confusion while she seemed to be looking at something.

Izuku and Mei both turned their heads to see 1B’s vice president as he seemed to be trailing after that Shinso guy from 1B. He wasn’t the only one either, Aoyama and Ojiro were following him tol. “Wow, your friend’s got quite the flat face. It’s like he’s dead to the world around him.” Commented Mei before squinting her eyes. “Huh, so are the other two hero students for that matter.”

“Is that right…?” Mumbled Izuku. “Excuse me for one moment, I think I just found what we’re looking for.”

“What do you-” Itsuka wanted to say something but didn’t get the chance to finish before Midoriya suddenly took off. “…mean by that?” The inventor girl next to her giggled. “Is something funny?”

She shook her head in response, a much more… normal looking smile on her face as she watched Midoriya’s back. “Oh nothing, it just looks like Izuku’s about to do something insane for the sake of someone else again.”

Itsuka raised an eyebrow at her, and then suddenly thought about the brown haired girl from 1A who had made that odd declaration a moment ago. Then she came to a realization. “Huh, didn’t expect the 1A President to be such a ladies man.”

“Wait, Izuku is both a lady and a man?” Asked the inventor.

That’s when Itsuka decided to jog after her teammate.

So far things had gone exactly as Hitoshi had wanted. He had managed to clear the first round, being creative with his Quirk for those watching without clueing any of the muscle headed brutes who were riding on their flashy Quirks onto how his ability worked.

And now he managed to get some of the other Hero students that nobody seemed to give any attention under his Quirk, which meant that if he could play his cards right he’d be moving to the third round easily enough and could prove that even someone with a Quirk like his could be a Hero.

However when he heard three loud smacking sounds in quick succession, he had the sinking feeling that all his plans had immediately fallen through.

Hitoshi turned his head to see that green kid from 1A standing between him and the ones he’d been controlling just moments ago, all of whom were now holding the backs of their heads and looking around in confusion, free from his Quirk’s hold.

“‘Shinso.’” Said the Hero kid, “Containing the characters for ‘mind’ and ‘manipulate.’ Your Quirk is mind control, I presume?”

The other three students flinched at that, seemingly coming to the understanding that they’d been had. Shinso grit his teeth but remained calm and thought about his options. He could try to use Brainwash on the green one, but given that he already seemed to have figured out his Quirk it was unlikely he’d fall for it, and even if he did he now had at least three others backing him up who could either wake him up for just beat the shit out of him.

Alright, time to negotiate. “So then, what do you want? Here to blackmail me into dropping out?”

“I-” Before Broccoli Head could respond, the monkey covered his mouth with his tail.

“Don’t, that’s how he gets you.” Shinso grimaced, this felt painfully familiar.

What was unfamiliar to him was how Greebie reacted, looking at his classmate before gently reaching up and pulling his tail away. “Don’t worry Ojiro, I think Shinso wants to talk, not use his Quirk on me.”

The monkey, Ojiro, looked at Greenie, glared at Hitoshi, and then looked back at his classmate before sighing and stepping back with his arms crossed. “Fine then.”

“Midoriya!” Just then, the orange haired girl from the B Class showed up, with that crazed inventor girl close behind her. “What I’d miss?”

“Shinso, I’d like you to join my team.”

What?

“What?” Asked the B Class Girl.

“What?!” Exclaimed Ojiro.

“What?” Asked Hitoshi.

All the inventor girl did was fucking laugh.

Chapter Text

After sending Aoyama, Shoda, and Ojiro away, reminding them that they still had to find their own teams, Izuku turned his focus back onto Shinso. “Now then, would you like to join my team? I know that you probably don’t want to deal with having that ten million point target on your back, but I think you’d be a great asset to our team.”

Shinso’s tired eyes moved from Izuku, then to look at Mei and Kendo standing behind him. One was smiling excitedly and the other was tiredly standing there with her arms crossed.

No points for guessing which was which.

“Do I really have a say in the matter?” Asked Shinso drily.

Izuku tilted his head at the question. “I mean, yes? You can say no if you want.” He actually sounded a little saddened at the implication that Shinso didn’t want to work with him.

Unbeknownst to him, the smile on Mei’s face became a lot more unsettling as she practically stared into Shinso’s soul, something that made both Kendo and Shinso sweat nervously. The former even decided to take a small sidestep to put some distance between her and the unhinged inventor, while the latter was unfortunately stuck in place like a deer caught in headlights.

After awkwardly coughing into his fist, Shinso turned his focus back onto Izuku. “Well I really can’t go to anyone else at this point, I doubt I’d have the time or luck to get three more people under my Quirk now that you’ve managed to wake up my initial ‘teammates.’” He said tiredly. “Honestly I’m just amazed the star student of the Hero Course would be willing to expend a precious slot on his team for some Gen Ed student with a ‘villainous Quirk.’”

“‘Villainous Quirk?’” Izuku parroted back in minor disbelief, his eyes widened as he stared at Shinso.

Shinso raised an eyebrow at him before pointing a finger at himself, “Uh, hello? Brainwashing Quirk? Doesn’t exactly scream ‘Heroic’ does it?”

Izuku’s expression of disbelief shifted to one of annoyance. “Are you serious!? Anyone who’s stupid enough to call your Quirk ’villainous’ is a god damn dumbass.” 

It was Kendo and Shinso’s turn to stare with wide eyes as the baby-faced President of 1A revealed himself to actually have a bit of a potty mouth, even Mei seemed slightly surprised by this revelation.

“Shinso, think about the number of ways your Quirk could be used. Catching a villain off guard with it would allow you to make them immediately surrender, bypassing the risks of someone getting hurt. And I know that if there’s ever a hostage negotiation going down, you’d be my first pick for who to call.” Izuku would’ve continued to rattle off various applications for Shinso’s Quirk if the purple haired boy hadn’t decided to raise a hand up in front of his face.

“Alright, alright, I get it, that’s enough.” He grumbled out, putting his other hand over his face and looking away, far too embarrassed to make eye contact with Izuku at this rate. “You think my Quirk is cool, admittedly a first, but I still don’t get why you’re so dead set on helping me.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Replied Izuku, “You want to be a Hero, right?” Shinso lowered his hands, turning his head to look at Izuku in confusion. Izuku sighed before elaborating. “I’m willing to bet that your Quirk doesn’t work on robots, does it?”

Shinso looked down at the grass at that, shaking his head to confirm Izuku’s suspicions.

“Thought so. The entrance exam is generally useful for finding those with flashier Quirks that can pack a punch and are good for marketing, but when it comes to more subtle Quirks like yours it falls short.” Explained Izuku, bringing a hand up to his chin. “That’s probably why events like the Sports Festival exist, it gives General Education Students like you the chance to show what you’re made of and attempt to be transferred into the Hero Course.” He then set his gaze onto Shinso, leaving the boy feeling like Izuku was staring right through him. “If what you’ve implied about your life prior to UA is to be believed, then the fact that you’re still fighting to be a Hero is a testament to your resolve and desire.”

Shinso couldn’t meet his gaze, what Izuku was saying was way too embarrassing.

“You could also say that me helping you now is a way of saying thanks for when you helped me all the way back during the day of the entrance exam.”

Shinso’s brows furrowed as he suddenly looked back at Izuku. “Wait, what?”

Izuku gave him a weak smile. “I suppose you don’t remember it since it was only a brief moment, but at the gates to UA on the day of the Entrance Exam I was a bit lost in my head due to… Quirk related things, for simplicity sake. You called out to me and snapped me out of it. If not for you I might’ve wound up being late to the exam.” Izuku’s smile morphed into a grin. “So thank you, Shinso. And allow me to return the favor you did by letting me help you show off exactly why your Quirk, and you,  are so amazing.”

Good god, it was like looking into the sun, Hitoshi had to avert his gaze once again. His focus settled on the 1B girl, who’d been witnessing this whole exchange with wide eyes and a slightly gaping mouth. It was pretty clear to Hitoshi that this was her first time seeing just how far this Midoriya guy goes for others, so he supposed he could take some solace that he wasn’t alone in this madness.

Speaking of madness, the sound of a girl squealing forced him to look back Midoriya’s way as that pink haired girl suddenly leapt up and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “You guys see it, right!?” She exclaimed. “This is why I chose Izuku to be the one to help be my muse for creating babies! I knew that even if he never got his Quirk to work, he’d make an amazing Hero!”

There was a beat of silence.

“Wait, what was that about making babies?” Asked the orange girl.

“Wait, what was that about his Quirk?” Asked Hitoshi.

Midoriya sighed, they didn’t have time for this so he decided to keep it brief. “She refers to her inventions as babies.” He explained, pointing at Hatsume. He then pointed at himself, “My Quirk was too strong for my body to handle so I effectively grew up Quirkless. The first time I used it was during the entrance exam.”

The pair of students both stared at him, seemingly trying to process this abrupt bombshell. Midoriya decided it was time to shift them back onto the right track. “Mei, you wouldn’t happen to have a baby that can alter a person’s voice, would you?”

Hatsume stared at him blankly. “Izuku, you realize that a baby like that would be super situational and is something that a support engineer is very unlikely to have on hand, right?” There was a beat of silence before she grinned at him, suddenly pulling a strange mouth guard looking device seemingly from the aether. “Obviously I’ve got one on hand.”

Midoriya formed a grin that mirrored Hatsume’s as the two began to go over her inventory of inventions so that he could come up with a game plan.

While those two were doing… that, Hitoshi decided to turn his attention to the only other sane member of his team. “So I’ve gotta ask, how did you get roped into this nonsense?”

Itsuka watched Midoriya and Hatsume continue to be lost in their own little world before sighing and turning to look at Shinso, “Well…”

After a chop to the back of Monoma’s neck calmed him down, Itsuka and Midoriya made their way into the hallway outside of 1B’s Classroom. “So, how can I help the President of Class 1A, Midoriya?” Midoriya gave an awkward chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. “Well I…” He responded, before trailing off and narrowing his eyes. “Quick question, does one of your Classmates have a Quirk that can be useful for espionage?”

Itsuka blinked at him. “What does that-?” She suddenly understood his question as her own eyes narrowed. She quickly slammed the door to her classroom open and settled her gaze on Setsuna’s desk, feeling her annoyance rise as she saw her friend’s headless body sitting there.

Her head then slowly tilted backwards to look up at the ceiling, seeing her classmate’s head staring down at her with a sheepish grin. “Listen,” She said defensively, “When a boy suddenly arrives in our classroom and asks to see our Prez, can you blame a girl for trying to get herself some juicy gossip material.”

Rather than dignify her weak attempt at a defense with a response, Itsuka turns her attention to Ibara. “Shiozaki, kindly explain to Tokage the immorality of spying on friends and betraying their trust.” She said flatly.

Ibara clasped her hands together as a radiant light manifested to shine on her. “As you wish President Kendo, I will gladly educate Tokage in the error of her ways.”

“Hey wait, c’mon, isn’t that a bit much Prez?” Asked Setsuna nervously. Itsuka said nothing, simply closing the door and leaving Setsuna to her fate.

Turning her attention to Midoriya, Itsuka said, “Come on Midoriya, let’s move somewhere with fewer prying eyes and ears.”

Midoriya blinked as he seemed to be taking in the behaviors of her classmates in stride before nodding his head. “Does the gym work?”

With a nod of her head, Itsuka allowed Midoriya to lead the way.

Changed into their gym uniforms and standing in one of the many gymnasiums in UA, Itsuka turned to address the green haired president of 1A. “So, one more time, what can I do to help you Midoriya?”

“There’s a schism that’s formed between our classes as a byproduct of the U.S.J. incident.” Said Midoriya calmly. The choice in subject certainly wasn’t one that Itsuka was expecting. Midoriya wasn’t done talking either. “I suppose it’s unsurprising that your class would feel rather overlooked because of everything that happened. Not only is there the initial stigma of our class’s names being A and B implying that ours takes some sort of priority, but there’s now the fact our class survived a villain attack, making everyone else in our year turn their eyes onto my class and leaving yours largely ignored. The fact that even one of your own classmates came to check us out speaks volumes.”

Itsuka sighed and rubbed her temples. “So Monoma chose to actually go through with that… I know Tetsutetsu wants to see the best in his classmate but would it kill him to realize when he’s being a poor influence?” She asked aloud.

Midoriya winced at that a little. “Yeah, it doesn’t help that the first of my classmates he spoke to left a rather… poor impression.”

“You have your own loud and obnoxious blond who demands to be the center of attention?” Asked Itsuka.

“I’ve known him since we were kids. He’s a good guy once you get past the ego… and the hair trigger temper.” Explained Midoriya with a weak chuckle.

“You have my sympathies.” Replied the 1B President with a sigh. “Now then, back on topic, I take it you’re here to propose some way to bury the hatchet?”

“In a sense.” Replied Midoriya. “I want to show that not only can Class A and B stand as equals, but also be capable of working together, and the Sports Festival will be the perfect opportunity.”

Itsuka raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening…”

“The first round serves mainly as a means to trim the fat in the competition and let the students show off creative applications of their Quirks, only about a fifth of the first years, primarily the first years plus a few from other classes, will make it to round two. That’s when this plan comes in.” Explained Midoriya. After double checking Itsuka’s expression to make sure she was still following him, he continued, “Round Two is almost always some sort of team event, I want to work with you.”

Itsuka pondered that offer. “That’s quite a tall order, Midoriya.” She said. Midoriya said nothing, he simply stared at her with an unreadable expression as she waited for her to elaborate. “Not only do you not really know what kind of event will be occurring in the Second Round, meaning you’re leaving this plan entirely to chance, but there’s still the simple fact that as 1B’s President, making a plan to work with the quote unquote ‘enemy’ could negatively affect their trust in me. You can understand my hesitation, right? Especially when it comes to placing my trust in someone I honestly barely know.”

“So then how about a spar?”

“Eh?” Itsuka wasn’t expecting that kind of response.

“A spar.” Replied Midoriya nonchalantly. “As a martial artist, I suppose an exchange of blows would be an excellent means of learning about someone?”

“How did you know I…?” Itsuka had no idea how he could’ve possibly known that she was someone who trained in martial arts.

“Well knowing how to properly fight is a great means of augmenting your Quirk, which you were kind enough to share with me the day we met.” Explained Midoriya. “That coupled with the way you hold yourself helped me come to that conclusion. Of course it was purely speculation until you confirmed it for me. Thank you for that Kendo.”

Itsuka was actually a little unnerved at that. Midoriya was a smart person, far more intelligent than his unassuming face and demeanor would allow one to believe. She was starting to understand why 1A had chosen him as their leader as opposed to someone who seemed more reliable on the surface like Yaoyorozu.

“How about this, we can also make a wager.” Suggested Midoriya, pulling Itsuka out of her head and back into reality. “If I can place first in the preliminary round, as well as if my speculation about the nature of the second round gets proven right, you’ll accept my offer to work together. Does that sound fair?”

Itsuka considered the offer. The odds that Midoriya would actually succeed were so unbelievably stacked against him it almost felt like he was guaranteed to fail. And yet she couldn’t see a hint of doubt or hesitation on his face. “Why are you so committed to this?” She had to wonder.

Midoriya smiled at her. “Isn’t it obvious?” He asked. “It’s because…”

“‘…It’s because he wants both of our classes to strive towards our dreams of heroism together.’” Said Itsuka calmly, crossing her arms as she finished her memory of her and Midoriya’s encounter in the gym. Honestly a part of her was partially disappointed that they hadn’t wound up sparring after all, she had the feeling that the way Midoriya fights would’ve been a spectacle to behold.

“Good to know our rider has a track record of insane stunts like this.” Said Shinso tiredly as he watched Midoriya and Hatsume continue to talk together at a mile a minute. “I can’t tell if he’s a genius, a prophet, or just insane.”

“Most likely, unlikely, and almost with complete certainty.” Replied Itsuka drily, earning a weak chuckle from Shinso.

“Alright guys.” Said Midoriya, turning his head to look at the gossiping duo, “Come gather round so we can start talking strategy. I’ve been ironing out which pieces of support gear will help us in the battle, now we need to suit up before it starts.”

“Coming Midoriya.” Said Itsuka with a tired chuckle as she approached the President of 1A, doing her best to mentally prepare herself for the ride she was about to be taken on.

“Your fifteen minutes are up!” Called Midnight-Sensei as she did a couple stretches with her arms in order to loosen up her shoulders. “Time to get started.”

“Wakey Wakey Eraser.” Came Present Mic’s voice coupled with the sound of his hand smacking something from the speakers. “The students have formed their twelve teams and are about to take to the field.”

“Hmm… interesting…” Hummed Aizawa-Sensei, “I’m curious to see what they’ll do with these teams.”

“Let’s hear a battle cry everyone!” Called out Present Mic. “Here comes the starting signal!”

“Mei, Kendo, Shinso, are you guys ready for this?” Asked Izuku as he fastened his Ten Million, Two Hundred, and Eighty Point Headband to his forehead while the crowd let out excited cries and cheers, excited to see Forty Two different Quirks begin to fly.

“Mhm!” Mei let out a pleased hum from his right side as she nodded her head.

“Of course!” Said Kendo from the front, a determined look on her face as she stared down the other eleven teams.

“This better work, Midoriya.” Said Shinso from his left, his voice coming through the mask Mei had given him clear as day.

“Blood begets blood in the UA Grand Match!” Declared Present Mic.

“Ready…” Called Midnight-Sensei, raising her whip into the air, “Begin!” It came down with a crack, signaling the students that it was time to charge.

And all eleven teams charged right at team Midoriya.

“No hard feelings, Midoriya, but I still really wanna win!” Called Tooru as she rode atop Jirou, Kouda, and Satou. Izuku couldn’t help but make a face as he realized her entire upper body was invisible save for her headband. Seeing how uncomfortable her riders looked only confirmed his suspicions. He had to admire her determination, or perhaps shamelessness, to be willing to do something like this on live TV.

“Forgive me Lord for choosing to single out a common target, but I must claim that headband for my companions!” Shiozaki of Class B murmured loudly with her hands clasped and a familiar radiant light shining down upon her and her three riders, named Kamakiri, Tetsutetsu, and Tokage by Kendo, the second one being the one Izuku recognized as the Class B Student who confronted his class back then.

“We’ve got two teams coming at us at once.” Said Izuku, “Get ready to move!” 

“Make that a third at four o’clock!” Called Shinso.

Izuku and Kendo’s heads turned to see a third team charging their way, with Shoda from class B as their rider and two guys and a girl from Kendo’s class that Izuku didn’t recognize. One was wearing a headband, the other had pale skin and no lips, leaving his teeth completely exposed. The girl had silver hair and bangs that covered one of her eyes.

“That’s Honehuki! We need to get going before we’re immobilized!” Said Kendo urgently.

Izuku nodded his head as he flexed his fingers. “Alright then. Mei, it’s time to see what these babies of yours can do!” He shouted as he then pointed both of his arms at forty five degree angles towards the ground. ‘Sixth’s Quirk…’ He thought to himself before shouting, “Smokescreen!”

Suddenly, two large burst of a purple haze shot from his hands, augmented by the brand new gloves the Mei had gifted him, and the group was quickly enveloped, now obscured from their competitor’s line of sight, causing all three fast approaching teams to come to a halt.

“Drat, can’t see a thing…” Said the boy with no lips as his team stared into the smokescreen.

“Delaware Smash…” Came a voice from inside the smoke, making all horses back up as they recognized the name of that technique at this point. “Air Force!”

From the smoke Team Midoriya rocketed out, with their initial propulsion offered by Izuku’s technique, and their momentum and control maintained thanks to the rocket boots being worn by the two back horses.

Team Shoda attempted to move, but they weren’t fast enough to dodge. All Honehuki could do was stare with wide eyes as the underside of Kendo’s boot connected with his face.

The team was so focused on simply maintaining their balance that they weren’t able to prevent Izuku from swiping their headband, adding an additional Four Hundred and Twenty Points to their score.

”Nice.”

”Not the time man.”

”What, would you rather I make nine references?”

“Sorry guys, I hope there’s no hard feelings?” Came Kendo’s voice.

“That fuckin’ hurt Class Prez.”

“I think Monoma has some hard feelings towards you.”

“It is a competition at the end of the day, don’t blame yourself for trying to win.”

“I can’t say I completely approve of your choice of teammates.” Admitted Shoda. He likely would’ve said more if not for the fact all four members of Team Shoda’s expressions abruptly went blank.

Shinso reached up and pressed a button on his mask. “Leave us be and continue trying to take headbands from the enemy teams.” He ordered in his normal voice. Silently the four Class B Students rushed off.

“Good job Shino.” Said Izuku, not receiving a proper reply from the Gen Ed student beyond a grunt and a nod. Izuku looked down towards his front horse. “I hope you aren’t too bothered by going against your friends.”

Kendo shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not like I’m the only one going against their friends here. It’s nothing personal. And honestly with how he was at the start of the year I think Honehuki kinda needed that kick.”

Izuku elected against requesting an elaboration there instead turning towards the all too familiar sound of an explosion. He let out a nervous chuckle he stated, “Sounds like Kacchan’s having fun out there.”

There was then a sound of maniacal laughter. “Monoma too.” Deadpanned Kendo.

“Uh, guys, we’ve got company…” Said Mei. The rider and front horse turned to see the heterochromatic eyes of Todoroki staring their team down.

“Good Grief.” Said Izuku as he tugged at his headband. “Looks like the fun’s just getting started…”

Chapter Text

Katsuki held a hand up to his chin as he listened to the extras amongst his class describe their Quirks to him while Tsu and Stupid Hair stood at his sides, waiting for him to select their fourth.

Now, did he know their Quirks by this point?

Yes.

Did he also find the chance to fuck with them funny as hell?

Also yes.

Besides he was actually still contemplating who to select and honestly the more time he made them waste trying to win him or the Icyhot Bastard over, the harder they’d have to scramble to form teams amongst themselves, which would also be funny as hell.

“Oi, Bakugou.” Katsuki raised an eyebrow as the crowd was forced to make way as Uraraka suddenly forced her way through. She had that same look on her face the day that the Sports Festival was announced, which definitely made Katsuki more than a little curious. Soon enough she was standing right in front of him. She then reached forward and grabbed his shirt before speaking with an almost menacing expression, “Team up with me.”

“Hah?” Asked Katsuki. “The fuck’re you doin’ over here Round Face? I figured you of all people would be fuckin’ clamoring to team with Deku. The damn nerd end up rejecting you or something?”

The word “rejecting” earned Katsuki an eye twitch from Uraraka as her head slowly turned to glare at something across the field.

Following her gaze Katsuki could see Deku chatting it up with some pink girl covered in gadgets and some extra from the other Hero Class. Damn, there must be one hell of a story there, especially with the way the nerd just set his sights on that Extra from the course literally made for Extras.

“I won’t lose.” Said Uraraka stubbornly. “And if that means that I’ve gotta work with your asocial ass then so be it. I know you’ve got a better shot than most to make it to Round Three and I’ll take you over Todoroki that’s for sure.”

Katsuki barked out a laugh. “Well at least you’ve got good enough taste in teammates! I would’ve kicked your ass to the curb faster than you could say ‘Plus Ultra’ if you hadn’t come to me first!” He then narrowed his eyes at her. “Still, I need some solid proof that you can actually be useful and that you’re not just gonna be dead weight.”

Uraraka said nothing at first, instead she moved her hand from his shirt and pressed it into his face, pushing upwards as his gravity got removed.

“The fuck-!?” He said angrily, but stopped when he felt her grab his pant leg before he could get too high.

“You like to fly around using your Quirk right?” She asked with her head tilted. “Imagine how fast you could fly without gravity dragging you down. And that’s just from me using my Quirk on you.” With a sharp tug she brought him back down to the ground before swiftly deactivating her Quirk. “Need anything else or will this do for our interview?”

Katsuki glared at her for a second before smirking. “Using your Quirk on me just to prove a point. I’ll admit, you’ve got more balls than most of the guys in our class. Alright Uraraka, you’re in.” Looking over her head, he gave a glare to those amongst their class who’d stayed to watch their conversation. “Alright you damn Extras, team slots’re filled so you lot can piss off!”

The remaining students of 1A all grumbled as they slinked off in an attempt to find other potential teammates to work with.

Just then Dunce Face came jogging up. “Heyyy there Bakubro, would you be willing to be a pal and let your good buddy Kaminari onto the team?”

“Too little too late Jamming-Whey.” Said Earlobes drily as she passed him.

“Goood DAMMIT!” Cried Dunce Face in anguish as he fell to his hands and knees.

Katsuki rolled his eyes before looking at his teammates. “Alright you fuckin’ clowns, let’s talk strategy.”

Tsu then looked at Uraraka and Stupid Hair, “Congrats on getting Bakuchan to say your name, Ochako, ribbit.”

Uraraka grinned at her. “Oh yeah, he did use my name didn’t he?”

Dumb Hair clenched his face. “Bakubro still insists on calling me ‘Shitty Hair,’ even though our hairstyles aren’t even that different!” In an attempt to prove a point, he pointed at his head and then at Katsuki’s.

“You’ll get there someday Kirishima, ribbit. I’m pretty sure Bakuchan’s just being a Tsundere about it at this point.”

Okay, now Katsuki could feel his eye twitching in annoyance. He reached out and placed his hands on Tsu and Stupid Hair’s heads. “Alright dickheads, less flapping your lips and more opening your ears. Here’s how it’s gonna go…”

“We’ve got incoming!” Shouted Uraraka.

“Harden Hair for Brains!” Ordered Katsuki as he sparked up both of his palms just in time to obliterate the projectiles flying through the air. They seemed to be… horns?

He then shifted his gaze to see the massive form of the Octopus running towards his team. “What the hell!?” Exclaimed Dumb Hair. “I thought this was a Cavalry Battle, but all I’m seeing is a single horse!”

“Shit!” Came a high pitched voice from within the tent that the Octopus was making with his arms. “[Let’s try that again] Shouji! We’ll show those A Class Bastard’s who’s in charge!”

“A mouth on this one…” Said Katsuki drily as comically large drops of sweat appeared on the heads of his riders.

“Grape Rush!” Suddenly a barrage of purple balls came flying from the Octopus’s arm tent.

“Damn!” Said Katsuki before ordering, “Uraraka, Zero Gravity on the horse, now!”

“Right!” A few swift smacks later, and their team had become weightless.

“Fuck OOOFF!” With a blast from his Quirk, Katsuki sent his team up, up, and away fast enough to avoid Fruit Bowl’s Balls.

“Two minutes in and the battlefield’s already descended into chaos! At this point it’s not just the Ten Million Point Headband that’s being targeted, team’s are scrambling to get their hands on the other top placers’ points too!” Shouted Loudmouth-Sensei over the loudspeaker.

Katsuki scoffed as he suddenly pushed himself off of his horse. “Woah, Bakubro, the heck’re you-?”

Whatever Kirishima was going to say was cut short when Katsuki shouted, “Tsu, I’m leaving the landing to you, I have some fish to fry.” He then grinned as his hands began to glow. “Or maybe it’d be more accurate to say that I’m about to pluck some grapes?”

“Six out of Ten, ribbit.” Croaked Tsu drily, making Katsuki scoff.

“Go fuck yourseeelf!” He shouted as he blasted off the horse and flew towards the Octopus.

Being weightless made him fly even faster than he would normally, and before the Octopus salad could react, Katsuki was already standing on the shoulders of the largest student in 1A and aiming one hand into the opening between his arms while the other clung onto one of the Octopus’s half dozen triceps for balance. No amount of running or shaking could throw him off either as he peered into the opening with a grin on his face. The wide eyes of both Fruit Bowl as well as the horse looking girl from the B Class stared back at him. “Alrighty you mobile petting zoo.” He snarled, “Either you fork over the headband or we find out what my explosions do in an enclosed space.”

“[We’re not going down that easily!]” Shouted Horse Girl in English as the horns on her head began to spin. Katsuki reacted by setting off a few sparks from his hands.

Before either of them could attack though, Fruit Bowl acted first, placing an arm between him and Horse Girl. “Ease up Pony, Bakugou isn’t bluffing and I don’t wanna learn the hard way how his Quirk feels at this range.” He then used his other hand to tug off his headband.

“What!?” Exclaimed Horse Girl. “[You’re giving up like that!?] Monoma was right! 1A’s full of weenies!”

Fruit Bowl said nothing as he held the Three Hundred Point Headband out for Katsuki to take. Just as he was about to reach out for it though, he paused as he came to a realization. He quickly reached behind his head and fired an explosion, earning him a yelp of pain as the Octopus retracted the extra limb he’d grown and had used to reach for Katsuki’s Six Hundred and Fifty Point Headband.

“Fire Pony!” Shouted Fruit Bowl. Katsuki quickly crouched, just barely taking the brunt of one of Horse Girl’s horns, which instead simply grazed his shoulder. He swung a foot forward, kicking Fruit Bowl in the face and snatching his headband before blasting off, narrowly avoiding another horn being fired his way.

He didn’t even have the time to search for where his teammates were before something long, wet, and pink sudden wrapped around his waist and tugged on him, pulling him straight onto his horse once more.

“Quite the wild gamble, ribbit.” Commented Tsu as Katsuki resituated himself.

“Not reckless if you know what you’re doing and you know it’ll work.” Retorted Katsuki.

Uraraka scoffed at that. “Okay Deku.” She said, barely holding back her laughter.

“Cram it before I demote you back down to Round-” Snarled Katsuki, though his retort was cut short when his head jerked to the side with the feeling of something getting yanked off his head.

“Wait just a second!?” Exclaimed Present Mic over the speakers, “Other than Teams Midoriya and Todoroki, Class 1A doesn’t seem to be doing so hot, what just happened!?”

“It’s quite simple really, Class A…” Came a voice that seemed to just grate at Katsuki’s nerves from the sound alone.

“The Hell did he come from!?” Exclaimed Uraraka, eyes wide as she and the rest of the team stared at that loud mouth blond from 1B.

“Gimme that headband back you bastard, I’m gonna blow you…” Katsuki paused for half a seconds as he got flashbacks to his verbal slip up during the Obstacle Course, “to bits!”

“Nice save…” Said Uraraka flatly.

“So help me god Round Face if you keep talking shit we’re gonna find out how well this ride operates with two horses instead of three.” Snarled Katsuki as he let one of his hands crackle menacingly, earning him little more than an eye roll in response.

A loud cough drew the bickering duo’s attention back to the Blond Bastard, who looked at them with a raised eyebrow before deciding to continue his little monologue. “When Midnight announced the first event, it didn’t take a genius to realize that they wouldn’t be thinning our numbers that much during the preliminary, just down to a solid forty or so to let all the Hero Students get through, plus a couple extras who either got lucky or were really determined to pull ahead. Lo and behold that prediction came to pass. From there we got the perfect opportunity to hold back and watch our soon to be rivals in action, letting them pull ahead so we could see their Quirks and personalities in action. Of course as a byproduct that meant members of our class wound up with far more… modest placements.” He admitted with a shrug.

“Your whole class was in on it…?” Asked Kirishima in shock.

“Bakuchan, ribbit, we’ve got company…” Said Tsu quietly. Out of the corner of his eye Katsuki could see some B Class Extra riding on the back of a literal beast of a student.

“Well, not all of us, despite my best efforts.” Admitted the Blond Bastard. “There are those like the ever virtuous Shiozaki who wished to give the race her all, doing our class proud with that Sixth Place placement.” He then frowned as he glared in Deku’s direction. “And then there are those who were willing to cooperate before they found themselves falling into the honeyed words of that damned President of yours…” This statement honestly got more of a reaction out of the Blond Bastard’s teammates than it did for Team Bakugou, the three of them all mildly cringing at their rider’s antics.

“Focus your animosity on the foe in front of you, Monoma.” Said the B Class whose entire body was pure black, save for his silver colored hair.

“Oh hey, looks like Class B has one too.” Joked Kirishima.

“The loud blond or the brooder in black, ribbit?” Wondered Tsu.

“Yes.” Replied Shitty Hair.

“Now that I think about it,” Said Blondie as he turned his focus back onto Katsuki, “I suppose Midoriya and the son of the Number Two Hero aren’t the only celebrities amongst Class A. We’ve also got the victim of the sludge villain incident right here. I’ve gotta wonder what it’s like being attacked by villains on a yearly basis, must be nice to have all that spotlight on you and your class, right?”

There was a brief period of time where onwards were spoken, as all three teams simply waited for a response from Katsuki.

The Class B duo flanking Team Bakugou from behind made the first move, as the rider seemed to coat his arms and hands in what seemed to be green scales before swiping at Katsuki, seemingly intending to grab for the headband around his neck.

But Katsuki was faster, grabbing his arm with his left hand and slamming his left elbow into the guy’s nose. He then ripped the Hundred and Five point headband off his forehead and fired an explosion off in his face, sending him reeling backwards.

“Tsu. Uraraka. Kirishima.” Said Katsuki slowly and methodically as he fasted his second claimed Headband around his neck. “There’s going to be a slight change of plans.”

“Bakubro?” Asked Kirishima as he looked at Katsuki over his shoulder. Katsuki then interlinked his fingers and loudly cracked all eight while firing off an explosion from each palm. 

“Why does this seem familiar?” Asked Uraraka drily.

Tsu nodded her head, “Deja Vu, ribbit, they really are alike.”

“Before we can beat the brakes off of Deku or Icyhot, we’re gonna have to murder this Blond Bastard first, understand?” Said Katsuki calmly as an aura of murder practically radiated from his body.

His horses all stared up at him for a moment before he heard Kirishima let out a chuckle. “Well, you’re the boss Bakubro.” He said.

“Agreed, I’m willing to let Deku have his fun a little longer, first things first we need to knock this guy down a couple dozen pegs.” Said Uraraka with a nod.

Blondie gave Team Bakugou a grin as his horses tensed up in preparation for the incoming clash. “Oh? What’s this? You’re choosing to approach us? Rather than run away and have some fun picking on those you deem as weaker you’re choosing to confront your clear superiors head on?” He asked arrogantly.

“I can’t murder the shit out of you without getting closer! Now DIIIE!” Roared Katsuki as his team charged the Blond Bastard, who simply laughed like a maniacal super villain while his horses ran towards his own team.

Shoto adjusted his body posture just in time to avoid being jabbed by a blade of grass the size of a giant naginata being held by a black haired girl from Class B before reaching out and grasping it with his right hand, activating his Quirk and causing ice to appear and spread down the length of the blade of grass.

“Ditch it Kodai! Don’t let that ice touch you!” Shouted Ojiro, who was acting as the sole horse for Team Kodai.

“Hm!” Hummed Kodai with a nod and a determined look, releasing the grass and her Quirk’s hold over it, allowing it to shrink down to its original size.

Whatever counterattack the pair had planned wasn’t going to happen though as team Todoroki was faster on the draw, with Yaoyorozu manifesting a pole from her skin that struck Kodai in the stomach, sending her backwards.

If not for Ojiro’s quick thinking, gripping her thighs tightly with his hands and using his tail as a third leg to balance them, she likely would’ve fallen off. Shoto was then quick to swipe her Two Hundred and Fifteen point headband. 

Kodai’s arm darted out to counterattack, and Shoto planned to return the favor with his right hand which was letting off frost, but Ojiro was fast enough to push himself upright using his tail before he could freeze Kodai.

“Sero.” Instructed Shoto calmly.

“Way ahead of you boss man.” Replied Sero as he aimed one of his elbows and fired, his tape wrapping around Ojiro’s legs and tripping the tailed teen up.

Mashirao cried out as he fell forwards, time seeming to slow down as the ground rapidly approached. He then looked up and saw Kodai, her eyes wide as her raven black hair fluttered in the wind as they both continued to fall.

He knew he had to act quick to avoid her hitting the ground and their team being disqualified. Thankfully while he couldn’t move his legs, his arms were a different story.

Mustering the type of strength born from diligent training in martial arts, Mashirao didn’t just lift Kodai over his head, he straight up threw her into the air above him, delaying her fall by a precious few seconds and positioning her over himself.

He grunted as he hit the ground, and then the wind was completely knocked out of him when Kodai landed on his chest. He sat there in silence for a moment before slowly opening his eyes, seeing Kodai sitting on his chest with her back to him, looking at him over her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Asked Mashirao quietly.

Kodai nodded her head.

He followed up with a second question, “Are you touching the ground at all?”

Kodai looked forward, and after a second nodded again.

Mashirao breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Alright. Let’s take care of this,” He said, while moving his tape covered legs to emphasize what he was talking about, “and then get back to work. We’re not out until the blond pro sings.”

After another beat of silence he saw a Determined look on Kodai’s face as she nodded again. “Mhm!”

Hanta looked at Ojiro and that Kodai girl on the ground as Team Todoroki made their get away before the pair could recover from being tripped up. “Damn, lucky guy.” He said aloud, although mostly to himself.

“I fail to see how Ojiro could be considered ‘lucky’ Sero.” Replied Iida, looking at Sero briefly over his shoulder. “His rider has lost the only headband they had, and now his legs have been bound. One wrong move while attempting to return to the battle could disqualify them.”

“Yeah, true.” Replied Hanta with a shrug before grinning, “But at least he got a cute girl to sit on him. If nothing else I’d sure as heck call that a win.” Hanta’s comment was met with complete silence. After a few seconds he put the pieces together. “Geez, why did I have to be put on a team with three sheltered turbo-virgin rich kids?” He lamented aloud with a sigh as he dropped his head.

“Given that we are minors still, I would greatly hope we were all still virgins.” Replied Yaoyorozu. “Additionally-”

“Enough Yaoyorozu.” Cut in Todoroki. “Focus on the battle ahead of us, we don’t want to risk being caught off guard.”

“We’d be at a lot less risk if someone didn’t insist on kneecapping himself by using only half his Quirk.” Said Hanta flatly. The cold glare that earned him from Todoroki out of the corner of his eye felt more frigid than anything the dude’s Quirk had produced so far, and he was on the guy’s left side!

Seriously though, he still found it kind of hard to believe he was on this team. He’d considered going to Bakugou to try joining his team, but for some reason when he saw Iida approaching Todoroki, he found himself switching tracks and following after the guy. After that, well…

“Personally I think Sero would make for a spectacular teammate. His Quirk offers methods of range and entrapment towards the enemy that we are otherwise lacking.” Insisted Iida, his hands chopping aggressively.

“Kaminari also has a level of range thanks to his Quirk, and I believe the enemy will find it very difficult to move after receiving a couple hundred thousand volts of electricity.” Argued Yaoyorozu with her arms crossed.

“But will we not also be susceptible to Kaminari’s attack? The technique is named ‘Indiscriminate Shock’ for a reason after all.” Countered Iida.

Yaoyorozu shook her head, “Not if I create an insulated sheet that can protect the three of us when Kaminari launches the attack.”

Iida raised an eyebrow at that, “That strategy sounds very high risk, Yaoyorozu. I did not expect that of you, Sero would be the far safer option.”

“You don’t win by ‘playing it safe,’ Iida.” Replied Yaoyorozu curtly. “Kaminari is the better choice.”

“I disagree, Todoroki should pick Sero.”

“Kaminari.”

“Sero.”

“Kaminari!”

“Sero!”

“Gotta admit, can’t decide if I’m more embarrassed or flattered.” Admitted Hanta with a weak chuckle as he scratched his cheek with one of his lanky fingers.

Kaminari returned his chuckle with one of his own, “I get what you mean man, I don’t think I’ve seen Yaomomo or Emergency Exit be this passionate about… well, anything beyond ‘nerd stuff.’”

“Honestly I’m surprised you can be so calm, I figure you’d be over the moon having a girl like Yaoyorozu arguing on your behalf.” Noted Hanta before pausing and bringing a hand up to his chin. “Then again maybe a gal like Jirou would be more your speed…”

“Eh?” Replied Kaminari, tilting his head to the side in confusion. “What’re you on about dude?”

Hanta blinked at him, “I mean, with how much time you spent around those two I figured you had the hots for at least one of them?”

“Oh, that?” Asked Kaminari with a laugh. “I mean sure Jirou and Yaomomo are both super pretty girls but they’re probably not interested in me like that. I’m pretty sure they’ve both got eyes on each other if I’m gonna keep it real with you, they’re just oblivious about it for now.”

Hanta stared. “And you’re… fine with that?” He paused when he considered his wording, before elaborating, “Not about girls liking each other of course I mean it’s the twenty second century for crying out loud but I meant more about them not being interested in you.”

“Dude, do you honestly think I’m so shallow that I only spend time with girls in hoping that they’d go out with me?” Asked Kaminari, slightly offended. The silence was telling. “DUDE!?”

“I’m kidding.” Said Hanta with a laugh as he raised his hands defensively. “I can tell that’s not you.”

Kaminari grumbled as he crossed his arms. “Alright then, how about you? You and Emergency Exit are pretty buddy buddy, I bet you’re pretty happy to hear him speak so highly of you.”

It was Hanta’s turn to be surprised. “What, Iida? I mean sure the dude’s built like a Greek God and got more brains than most the whole pantheon put together.”

“Not sure that’s saying much going off what I’ve heard about Greek Mythos…” Admitted Kaminari, earning a laugh from Hanta.

He was soon able to continue what he was saying, “But I doubt he’d exactly be interested in a lanky slacker like yours truly.” To prove his point he held up one of his thin arms and shook it a little, his wrist hanging limply as he did so.

“You say that, but I think you two complement each other well.” Argued Kaminari. “Opposites Attract and all, you seem to have gotten along pretty well as partners during the Battle Trial. Who knows, give it enough time and you two might just be,” he then mimicked the limp wrist gesture that Hanta had unintentionally been doing with a knowing smirk on his face, “after all.”

Hanta rolled his eyes as he lowered his arm. “Haha, very funny man.”

“I’m serious-!” Exclaimed Kaminari, but was cut off when a fifth voice spoke up.

“Enough.” It wasn’t just Kaminari and Hanta, but also both the Vice Prez and the Class Sect who froze up at the sound of Todoroki speaking up. All four of them turned to face him as he finally made his decision. “We’ll be taking Sero.”

“Hell yeah!” Said Hanta as he and Iida pumped their fists in victory while Yaoyorozu and Kaminari both slumped in defeat.

“Could I at least ask why?” Asked Yaoyorozu.

“I thought about what you said earlier when it came to the synergy yours and Kaminari’s Quirks could provide.” Replied Todoroki.

“But then-” Yaoyorozu tried to say before getting cut off.

“And I realized that no one else in our class, likely not anyone in the other classes, has that synergy.” Interrupted Todoroki before turning to Kaminari. “Meaning not only do we prevent Sero from being a boon to another team, but Kaminari can serve as an active hindrance to the enemy teams.”

Hanta could see the poor guy practically wilt. “Kinda cold, man…” He said with a pained expression.

Todoroki said nothing, simply holding up his right hand which emanated mist as his Quirk met the warm air.

“Right.” Said Kaminari with a sigh. “Maybe Bakugou’ll take me. Best of luck out there guys.”

“Kaminari, I-” Yaoyorozu once again failed to convey what she wanted to say as Kaminari jogged off, her arm outstretched towards him as she watched him go.

Hanta couldn’t help but sigh as he looked over at Todoroki, his expression remaining ever unreadable as he simply watched the retreating blond with the same cold expression he always wore.

Hanta shook his head, he couldn’t be getting lost Lalaland right now, this was still a contest, regardless of how guilty he felt about Kaminari. Seeing the poor guy struggle as a part of Team Aoyama certainly didn’t help either, his Quirk making it all the more difficult for Tokoyami to use Dark Shadow.

He grunted as the other two horses suddenly came to an abrupt stop. He looked over at them in confusion before following their gaze to see who they were staring down. His eyes widened in realization when he saw Team Midoriya just a couple meters away from them.

“Midoriya…” Declared Todoroki, “We’re coming for you.”

It wasn’t just their team either, it seems that various other teams were circling Team Midoriya. They seemed less like “horses” and more like sharks.

“Oh boy…” Said Hanta softly. Something told him that this is where the Cavalry Battle really began.

Chapter Text

Izuku’s eyes remained locked with Todoroki, while Kendo stared down Iida. Team Midoriya and Team Todoroki were both watching the other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. What’s more, other teams could be seen on the sidelines of this confrontation, waiting for the opportunity to strike themselves.

In the background, Izuku could still hear the maniacal laughter and explosions that told him that Kacchan and Monoma were still going at it.

“Well, I’m glad your fr- rival is enjoying himself at least.”

“It’s nice that the author’s finally switched back to Izuku, we haven’t been able to say anything for a while.”

“Stuff it Fourth.”

Ultimately it was the leader of Team Mineta who finally broke the stalemate. “It’s all or nothing guys, those two teams have points to spare so we need to get them if we want to stay in the game!” Shouted Mineta as Shouji unfolded the arms he’d been using as a protective cover for his riders and began charging towards the center two teams.

Once the first horse started running, four other teams leaped into the fray too. Two teams, including Team Mineta charged from the right. The other team was Team Shiozaki, who seemed to be sporting the Three Hundred Ninety Five Headband alongside their own Three Hundred Eighty Five one, so it seems they’d already managed to best one of the other teams.

Meanwhile from the left came three more teams. There was Team Aoyama and Team Hagakure, as well as a Team Izuku had yet to face, Team Komori which had a girl who’s mushroom shaped hair obscured her hair as the rider, and two horses consisting of a large yellow guy with holes in his face and a guy who has a speech bubble for a head. They were the only team on the left who still had their headband, being worth a Hundred and Thirty Points.

Izuku looked back at Todoroki and made three quick movements with his head. First he moved his head to the right, then nodded at Todoroki before jerking his head to the left. Todoroki’s eyes narrowed before he nodded his head.

“Incoming!” Shouted Mei, her voice accompanied with the sound of something being fired and flying through their air.

Izuku turned his attention to see a pair of horns flying his way, fired by Kendo’s classmate, Tsunotori. Izuku held up his right arm, bracing it with his left as he aimed while his gloves clicked into place to augment his attack, “Delaware Smash: AIR FORCE!” He shouted as he flicked his fingers, firing a mighty gust of air, further enhanced by the special gloves Mei had gifted him, that not only knocked Tsunotori’s attack off course, but also sent team Mineta flying.

Team Shiozaki would’ve suffered a similar fate if she didn’t use her vines to anchor herself and her teammates into place.

Izuku then blinked in surprise as something swiftly flew past his face, creating a gust of wind that ruffled his hair. Then he heard the sound of something being swatted away, and realized the source of that little burst air of had been Kendo, who’d used an enlarged hand to smack away a disembodied floating hand that had attempted to make a grab for Izuku’s head and. Going off the help of pain that came from Team Shiozaki, it was pretty easy to guess that it belonged to Tokage.

“Dammit!” Izuku felt a chill from behind, and quickly turned his head to see Shinso’s left rocket boot being frozen to the ground. He then moved his gaze upwards to see Team Todoroki running their way, a third Headband now having been added to their collection.

Izuku looked just beyond the Half n’ Half teen to see the other three teams, all frozen in various places. Even all three teams trying to gang up on Team Todoroki had ended in failure it seems.

“Oi, Kneeso, stop jerking your leg around before you end up breaking my baby!” Snapped Mei. “Use the jets of your right boot to thaw the ice, then pull yourself free!”

Shinso looked at Mei in surprise, contemplated correcting her on his name for half a second, and then nodded his head as he activated the jet, melting the ice as quickly as he could.

“Quickly Shinso,” Instructed Izuku, making the mistake of taking just a moment to look away from the enemy to talk to his teammate, “Team Todoroki is coming, we need to-”

“RECIPRO BURST!” Izuku’s words died in his throat as a dark blue blur blitzed right past him, and he felt his head move back a bit as his headband was yanked free. 

Team Midoriya’s horses staggered before turning there stood Team Todoroki, with Iida panting heavily while the rider and other two horses stared them down, Todoroki holding the Ten Million, Two Hundred, and Eighty Point Headband in his left hand.

“The hell was that!?” Demanded Shinso, being the first to break the silence.

“Holy Shit, that Iida kid’s even faster than I thought, I’m impressed!”

“Credit to the Todoroki boy too, he was able to make the most of his teammate’s gambit.”

“Whaddya mean, ‘gambit?’”

“Look, Iida seems to be out of gas, I doubt he’ll be able to pull that stunt again.”

“Let’s hope not, otherwise Izuku’s screwed.”

“I don’t know, that’s a technique of Iida’s that even I was unaware of.” Admitted Izuku.

“We need to get that headband back, there’s no way we can survive with just the Four Twenty one.” Said Kendo.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Said Izuku as he stared at the leaderboard out of the corner of his eyes while Present Mic and Aizawa continued offering a play by play over the speakers.

it currently read as:

-

Team Todoroki - 10001335

Team Monoma - 1365

Team Shiozaki - 780

Team Midoriya - 420 [Nice]

Team Bakugou - 405

Team Komori - 0

Team Hagakure - 0

Team Aoyama - 0

Team Rin - 0

Team Kodai - 0

Team Shoda - 0

Team Mineta - 0 [Eliminated]

-

“We’re just barely holding on at fourth place for now, but that could change in an instant.” Explained Izuku as he flexed his fingers. “I don’t know how long it’ll take Iida to regain the stamina needed for that move, but we should capitalize on his exhaustion. It’s not or never, ready guys?”

“Ready!” Cheered Mei.

“Ready.” Said Kendo calmly.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Sighed Shinso.

“Alright then, get ready Todoroki.” Said Izuku with a grin as he charged up One for All, his body emitting green sparks. “We’re coming!”

BOOM!

“Fuck!” Exclaimed Katsuki with gritted teeth as he felt the skin on his forearms and face as well as his bangs get slightly singed. Small mercies that his skin was somewhat resistant to his own Quirk, because being on the receiving end of one of his own explosions clearly hurt like hell.

“Ohoho, neat!” Said Blond Bastard, a sligh twinkle in his eye. “That’s a nice Quirk you’ve got!”

“Bakuchan!”

“Bakubro, he has the same Quirk as you?!”

Katsuki shook his head like he shook off the concerns of his teammates. “Bastard!” He shouted as he swung his arm at the Blonde Bastard, firing off an explosion in retaliation.

The force was dampened however as Blond Bastard suddenly hardened his arms and shielded his face. “Of course, I’m much better at using it.”

“The heck is this!? We got some sort of shared relative that got the same Quirks as us? He sure as hell doesn’t seem manly enough to be related to me. The Bakugou relationship is a lot more feasible though to be honest…” Said Kirishima thoughtfully.

“No Dumb Hair, he’s not related to us, he’s just a damn copycat.” Replied Katsuki drily.

Blond Bastard snapped his fingers and pointed at Katsuki with a smug smile. “Ding ding, we’ve got a winner!” He declared, “Neito Monoma’s the name, copying Quirks is my game. And if I were you, I’d enjoy that little win that was figuring out my Quirk. It’s the only victory you’ll be tasting today you A Class Bast- ACK!”

Blond Bastard’s taunts were cut short when something long and pink suddenly slapped him like the bitch he was. He was so stunned he didn’t have time to react as one of the headbands around his neck was yanked free and delivered right to Katsuki.

“I know Bakuchan can be a bit of a spotlight hog, ribbit, but I’d advise against taking your eyes off the rest of us, or it’ll cost you.” Said Tsu in her usual flat tone.

Katsuki looked down at the headband she’d handed him. Four Hundred and Five Points. It wasn’t their headband but it sure as hell was a start he told himself as he placed it around his neck with the others.

WOOSH!

THUD!

Katsuki looked down to see one of Kirishima’s fists colliding with what seemed to be a barrier made of air, which was the only thing protecting the plain faced extra who was serving as Blond Bastard’s frontal horse, a look of concern on his face as he took a step backwards.

Next it was Uraraka who managed to surprise him, as he suddenly felt a familiar weightlessness. “Hold this for me you guys!” She shouted as she broke free from their formation and did a run and slide underneath the shield that Plain Face had made.

“Woah, what the-!?” He exclaimed, doing his best to scramble away from her but restrained by the fact that he was still linked to the other two horses and Blond Bastard.

Uraraka’s hand clamped on his leg and she then aggressively yanked, effortlessly pulling him free from his Team’s formation thanks to his gravity being removed.

“Woah woah woah!?” Exclaimed Blond Bastard as he started falling forwards without his front horse supporting him. A few rapid explosions from the Explosion he copied from Katsuki coupled with his remaining two horses grabbing the back of his shirt managed to allow him to regain his balance.

Uraraka meanwhile wasn’t done with Plain Face quite yet, “Up, Up, and Away!” She shouted as she then hurled him over her shoulder into the air.

“UWAAAH!” He cried as he followed the same trajectory as that softball she’d thrown during the Q.A.T.

“Why you-!” Said the left horse of Team Monoma as he lifted his leg up, which began to freaking rotate at a surprisingly fast speed from the shin down before he then stomped downwards at Uraraka. Thankfully she didn’t have the weight of a rider slowing her down so she was able to roll out of the way and quickly link back up with Team Bakugou. “Don’t worry, unlike that softball I sent into orbit, your friend won’t have to worry about getting that far.” She said with a giggle as she quickly pressed her ten fingertips together. “Release!”

Plain Face cried out again as gravity reclaimed its hold on him and he plummeted back to the field.

More specifically onto the part of the field that Icyhot had frozen.

This actually made all seven of the others to actually pause and wince for a moment. “Ooh…” Said Uraraka. “Uh, sorry about that. He’ll be okay though.”

“OWIIIE…!” Came Plain Face’s pained voice from across the stadium.

“Oof! How brutal!” Announced Present Mic, “I’ve heard of throwing hands but not throwing the entire body! Don’t worry folks at home we’ve got Recovery Girl on standby ready to treat any potential injuries.”

“Tsuburaba will be fine.” Said Aizawa.

“See, he’ll be fine.” Said Uraraka with a weak grin.

“Tch, A Class Bastards…” Growled Blondie as he swung his arm again. “Don’t think that’s going to be enough to beat us-!”

“And don’t you think your bullshit’s gonna be enough to beat us either.”

“Eh!?” With a swift movement, Katsuki caught Blondie’s arm in his hand, firing off an explosion that painfully singed the arm in the process, making him wince in pain. He could also practically see the nervous sweat forming on Blondie’s face as he leapt from his horse and stood on the shoulders of Team Monoma’s.

He then released his arm before reaching forward and grasping his gym shirt while holding up his free hand, small explosions crackling within his palm menacingly. “We fought for our lives against countless villains and won, we faced down a guy would could kill with a touch and a monster designed to kill All Might and survived, did you really think the cheap tricks of some B Class Extras running on some ‘holier than thou’ mentality would do anything other than slow us down a little?” He snarled.

He had to admit, the growing look of fear on the Blond Bastard’s face and the sound of one of his horses mumbling something along the lines of, “This guy’s a monster,” did feel kind of satisfying.

He then reared back his arm. “I’d suggest using Stupid Hair’s Quirk for this next one, otherwise this shit ain’t exactly gonna tickle.” He warned before swinging his arm at the guy’s face.

Blondie heeded the warning, hardening his skin and quickly trying to bring his uninjured arm up to his face.

Only to be left in a state of surprise as instead of taking an explosion to the face, Katsuki swiped both of his remaining headbands.

“Eh…?” He said weakly as he made the mistake of dropping his guard and letting Kirishima’s Quirk deactivate. He then took Katsuki’s knee to the chin, sending him falling backwards, this time his riders being unable to save him while Katsuki launched himself into the air before being swiftly pulled back onto his proper spot by Tsu’s tongue.

The moment Blondie’s back hit the ground, Present Mic’s voice could be heard. “Wowie! What an explosive finish for Team Monoma, and a big blast to Second Place for Tram Bakugou!”

“Team Monoma has been eliminated!” Declared Midnight.

“Less than a minute on the clock and Teams Midoriya and Todoroki are still engaged in a heated clash for first place, who will win!?”

Katsuki turned his head to see where Deku was, and his eyes widened at the sight he just barely managed to catch in time.

“Don’t let them near us, Sero!” Ordered Todoroki with a wave of his hand as Team Midoriya charged them.

“Aye Aye Sir!” Responded Sero with a grin as he fired tape at Team Midoriya using his left arm.

Thankfully, Kendo’s well honed reflexes allowed her to react in time, grabbing the out of the air with an enlarged hand before it could give her teammates trouble. She yanked on it sharply in an attempt to break up Team Todoroki’s formation, but Sero was able to detach the tape before she had the chance.

Just then another layer of ice began to coat the field, and began spreading towards Izuku and his team as they continued running towards their opponents.

“Not this time,” Declared Mei, “Now Kneeso!”

“It’s Shinso dammit!” Snapped back Shinso as the pair of them fired up their rocket boots and jumped, allowing them to just barely clear the ice before it could freeze her in place.

“That’s a cute trick Iceman, let me show you how us support engineers keep an opponent in place!” Said Mei with a grin as she pulled a strange looking gun from… somewhere and fired it at Yaoyorozu and Iida.

A weird yellowish blob flew through the air and splattered on the ground at the feet of Team Todoroki’s frontal and right horses, coating their feet in a strange goop.

“What in the…? I can’t move!” Said Iida worriedly as he tugged at his legs, attempting to free them.

“Has anyone ever told you how tacky your glasses look, Iida?” Came Izuku’s voice. “And Yaoyorozu, what is up with the wardrobe malfunction? I know our teacher’s a degenerate, but that doesn’t mean you need to run around looking like an exhibitionist!”

Both the Vice President and the Secretary of Class 1A let out offended gasps at that statement, while Sero’s eyes widened in shock. He turned to look at his teammates, shouting, “Wait guys, that wasn’t-!” But Sero’s warning was too little too late as both Iida and Yaomomo spoke out against the statements against them.

“Midoriya! How rude! I’ll have you know I am quite fond of this style of glasses!”

“For shame Midoriya, you know that I must dress in this state for the sake of my Quirk!”

Their eyes then both widened in momentary shock before becoming completely relaxed as they felt Shinso’s Quirk take hold of them. Luckily for Todoroki, they were still able to at least support their rider. “Stay still and stay quiet like the good teacher’s pets you are while we win this battle!” Ordered Shinso as the gap between the team continued to close.

“Yaoyorozu, Iida!” Said Todoroki, looking at both of his decommissioned horses before returning his focus to Izuku. He gripped the metal staff Yaomomo had given him to help with his Quirk’s range in his right hand before jabbing in Team Midoriya’s direction. “Don’t think this will be enough to stop me, Midoriya!” He shouted angrily.

However his attack got negated when a sudden blur of black and blond passed through the space between the two teams and Todoroki’s weapon shrank practically to nonexistence.

“What!?” Said Todoroki, staring at his empty hand in shock.

“No way…” Said Sero as he stared at what, or rather who just passed them. Todoroki followed his gaze and immediately recognized the person who had proven to be his undoing in this battle.

“Ojiro!?” The two still conscious members of Team Todoroki explained.

The tailed teen looked at them, then at Team Midoriya. “I might not have been too happy with Midoriya for teaming up with that purple prick, but I still owed him one for pulling me out of that brainwashed state. Not to mention we also owed you guys for taping us up and taking our points like that.” His eyes then traveled upwards to look at his rider. “And not to mention, between your team and Midoriya’s, I’m willing to bet Kodai would rather the team with her classmate on it take first, right?”

“Mhm.” Said Kodai with a nod and a more determined look than usual on her usually neutral face.

“Incredible! A quick intervention in the final twenty seconds of the battle from Team Kodai might’ve been just the thing that Team Midoriya needed to clutch the victory for this round!” Announced Present Mic.

“Even if they knew they were unlikely to win, they still chose to act in a way that would support another team that they believed in. How Heroic.” Said Aizawa-Sensei.

Todoroki didn’t have time to respond to that before a shout suddenly grabbed his attention. “TODOROKIII!” It was Izuku, and he seemed to be out for blood as his team got dangerously close to Todoroki’s. As Izuku arms reached out for him, Todoroki’s instincts flared up, and without thinking he raised up his flame coated left arm to protect himself.

Unfortunately for him, Izuku was prepared for a counter of that nature, using his right arm to swat away Todoroki’s left before making a mad grab for the headbands around his neck. “GIVE BACK OUR POINTSSS!” He shouted as he sharply tugged, ripping all three headbands free. He didn’t know which was his so he’d just take all of them!

Team Midoriya’s horses skidded to a stop, their prizes now in hand and all three of them panting after that much exertion. They all quickly turned to prepare for a counterattack, but it seemed like Todoroki had no intention of chasing them, simply sitting there atop his horses as he stared at his left hand in shock.

“Five… Four… Three… Two… One, Times Up!” Shouted Present Mic, announcing the end of the Cavalry Battle. “Alright then listeners, let’s tally up the points and announce which teams are moving on to the final round!”

“Wakey wakey.” Said Sero as he gently slapped Iida’s face in an attempt to snap him back to reality while using his other hand to shake Yaomomo’s shoulder.

“In Fourth Place with Seven Hundred and Ten points, with four students from Class A, we have Team Todoroki!”

“Damn it…” Growled Todoroki under his breath as he continued staring at his hand.

“In Third Place, with Seven Hundred and Eighty Points, with four students from Class B, we have Team Shiozaki!”

“Thank you lord for this opportunity to proceed.” Said Shiozaki as that mysterious light shined upon her once more.

“Well, it’s not first place but at least some of the students in our class are moving on.” Said Tokage with a grin.

“Tch, they might’ve won this time but I’m planning to knock that A Class Boomer and that green haired hotshot down a couple pegs.” Snarled Kamakiri as he put his fist into his palm.

“Hey, I agree when it comes to that Bakugou prick, but let's not group Midoriya in with him.” Argued Tetsutetsu. “If Kendo’s willing to work with him then the guy clearly has some manliness to him. He was willing to stand up for his whole class immediately after they all came back from that villain attack after all.”

“In Second Place, with One Thousand, Seven Hundred, and Seventy Points, with four more students from Class A, it's Team Bakugou!”

“Tch, not first so it’s not good enough.” Said Katsuki with his arms crossed.

“That sounds about right.” Sighed Uraraka. “But still, we’ve survived the Second Round, and we got to knock the smugness right off the blond prick’s face!”

“Heck yeah, Team Bakugou’s movin’ up! All that’s left now is to go for the gold like a real man!” Declared Kirishima excitedly.

“Great teamwork guys, ribbit.” Said Tsu.

“And finally, taking First Place yet again with Ten Million, One Thousand, and Forty Five Points, with a team consisting of four students from Classes A, B, C, and H, we have Team Midoriya!”

“We did it!” Exclaimed Mei excitedly as she wrapped her arms around Izuku, blissfully unaware of the severe blushing that brought out of the green haired boy, as well as failing to notice the borderline aura of malice that was practically emanating from one of the members of Team Bakugou.

“I’m just glad some of my classmates got through to Round Three.” Admitted Kendo as she finished pulling away the tape that was stuck to her hand.

Both girls then turned their attention to Shinso, waiting for him to say something. He looked between the two of them before sighing while removing the voice changing mask Mei had given him. “Well, I suppose I should thank you, Midoriya.” He admitted. “You went out on a limb for a guy you barely knew and I managed to pay you back for it. So thanks.”

Izuku managed to shake himself from his stupor of embarrassment as before smiling at Shinso. “Of course, I was more than happy to help, Shinso.” He replied. “Though we’re not done yet. There’s still the final round.”

“That’s the tournament segment right, showing off our skills in one on one combat?” Asked Kendo.

Izuku nodded his head. “That’s right, the finish line’s fast approaching. And on that note, Shinso, I'd like to make a bet with you.”

“What?” Asked Shinso flatly, his eyebrow raised.

“If I win this tournament, I want you to meet up with me in the gym starting next week. There’s some things I want to go over with you if you’re seriously determined to become a hero.” Explained Izuku.

“That’s a pretty gutsy bet, you really think you can win this thing?”

Izuku grinned at him. “You heard what I said before, right? I Am Here, to win.”

Chapter Text

“I hope you’ve all been enjoying the festivities so far listeners, we’ll be taking an hour long break before we move onto the Afternoon segment. Hey, Eraserhead, wanna go grab some food together…?” Present Mic said, his voice fading away as he and Aizawa exited the booth.

“That was a lot of fun, ribbit.” Said Tsu, the various girls of 1A meeting up to talk after the Cavalry Battle concluded.

Well, most of them did anyways, Uraraka raced off to check on Plain Face as he was carted away, apologizing profusely for his concussion.

Meanwhile the rest of his class were busy congratulating the five members of their class who had managed to survive the Cavalry Battle. Even Blondie seemed pleased, smiling right through the door covering his face as he continued to run his mouth. And it seemed like he ran that mouth his right into a wall as whatever he said earned him a chop from President Yaoi Hands.

Katsuki could tell this was a common occurrence given how fast his classmates were able to react, catching the Blond Bastard before his body had even gone completely limp before resuming singing their praises to the four lane ass Extras who hadn’t teamed with Deku.

“Well I’m glad you had fun, Tsu,” Said Raccoon Eyes with a pout as Class A began moving as a group up to their spot in the cafeteria so that they could relax and refuel while they waited for Round Three. “You and Horn Buddy were hand picked by the God of Victory Bakugou to be carried to victory.”

“Technically we carried him, ribbit.” Countered Tsu.

“And I would hardly say that’s fair, Ashido.” Said Ponytail, “Asui and Kirishima, as well as Uraraka, all played a major part in helping Bakugou succeed. He never would’ve been able to make it on his own.”

“This from the third girl in our class to make it in thanks to her teaming with Todoroki?” Asked Raccoon Eyes dryly. Ponytail actually seemed kind of saddened by that statement. There was a moment of silence between the pair before she sighed. “Yeah, you’re right, sorry about that. Honestly just kinda salty that I won’t be moving on. I would’ve loved to show what I can do in the final round.”

“It’s fine.” Replied Ponytail. “I certainly don’t see the fault in your statement.”

“Why the fuck are you idiots so caught up on this?” Asked Katsuki as they all found their way to their seats. “What part of that Round being a Team event are you failing to grasp? The entire goddamn point was showing off how well you work with others. Being chosen because your abilities compliment each other and showing off creative ways to synergize means you were doing it right. If you ended up fumbling regardless then I don’t know what to tell you beyond, ‘better fuckin’ luck next time.’”

Ponytail seemed a little relieved by his words. “Yes, you’re right Bakugou. I played my part for the team effectively and showed off my ability to work with others. Certainly an improvement from my behavior during the Battle Trials.”

“My ears are burning, what’s going on?” Asked Fruit Bowl, his head popping from behind one of the seats next to Ponytail, making her jump a little in surprise at his abrupt appearance.

“Nothing, Mineta. Just… reflecting on my less than dignified behavior towards my classmates in the beginning of the year.” Explained Ponytail dejectedly.

Fruit Bowl let out a scoff at that. “Lady, you’re preaching to the choir here.” He said, pointing at himself to emphasize his point.

Ponytail looked at him in surprise for a moment before giggling to herself. “Yes, I suppose if anyone could relate when it comes to being embarrassed about their past social faux pas towards their classmates, it would be you Mineta.” She replied.

“Ok well now you’re just being kinda mean.” Replied Fruit Bowl with a smile, the pair devolving into giggles together.

“I’m not the only one who finds it so weird that these two are friends now, right?” Wondered Raccoon Eyes aloud.

Tsu nodded her head as she watched Dunce Face and Ear Lobes each take a seat next to Ponytail. “It is, ribbit, given how they were during the Battle Trial. Though I suppose we’ve all grown a bit since then, haven’t we?”

“Call that the ‘Deku Effect.’” Said Katsuki, who was sitting next to Tsu. “Nerd doesn’t go halfway when it comes to helping people.” He then narrowed his eyes and looked around. “Speaking of Deku, where the hell did he wander off to?”

“Todoroki wished to speak to him. Alone.” Said Octopus, two tentacles with an eye and a mouth appearing near Katsuki’s shoulder.

That statement had caught the attention of a couple of their other keen eared classmates who had been listening in.

Katsuki looked over at the limbs, then towards the doorway they’d entered through. “Is that right…?” He said before standing up.

“Bakuchan-” Said Tsu.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” He said simply as he walked off, hands in his pockets.

“You wanted to talk to me, Todoroki?” Asked Izuku, standing with his icy classmate in one of the vacant hallways beneath the stadium, his back against the opposite of where Todoroki stood. “If we don’t hurry to the cafeteria there might not be enough room left for us to sit.”

Todoroki’s responded by simply keeping his cold glare fixed on him, Izuku unable to do anything but let out a nervous chuckle.

“Sheesh, talk about an icy reception.”

‘I’m not used to his kind of personality, someone bold and brash like Kacchan is more my speed.’ Admitted Izuku.

“Yeah yeah, just remember that if the rivalry goes on for more than seven years, it stops being straight.”

“Your power,” Said Todoroki, pulling Izuku’s attention away from Fifth’s… Fifthisms, “it overwhelmed me. You pushed me to the point that I even broke my pledge, and yet still lost.” 

Izuku’s eyes moved downwards to see the way Todoroki was squeezing his left hand, to the point it was making his whole arm tremble.

‘Todoroki’s been very adamant about not fighting with his left side.’ Thought Izuku. ‘Even in situations where it would be beneficial. If his flames work anything like his ice, then the range it could have offered would’ve made him untouchable. But so far the only time I’ve seen him use his fire is for things like thawing out frozen enemies. So why?’

“In that final clash I felt it from you, something that no one else on your team or mine recognized. An overwhelming pressure, an overwhelming source of power. An All Mighty strength that I’ve witnessed in person before, when All Might fought the Nomu.” Explained Todoroki.

“Oh dear.”

Izuku’s eyes widened at that statement, two of his fingers reflexively twitching as his mind ran through all the possible worst case scenarios, fearing that Todoroki might’ve somehow figured out he’d inherited All Might’s Quirk. Eventually he found himself able to ask, “What are you saying, Todoroki?”

Todoroki fixed his cold gaze on Izuku before asking, “Midoriya, are you All Might’s secret love child or something?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…What?” Was the best response Izuku could offer.

“What’s got you giggling? I haven’t even done anything yet.” Asked Kaminari as he watched Kyoka practically double over while doing her best to quietly laugh to herself.

“I’m not…” She said, between amused wheezes, “I’m not laughing at you, Jamming-Whey. Todoroki just accused Midoriya of being All Might’s son.”

Kaminari blinked at her in surprise. “Wait whaaat?” He said in surprise as he leaned in super close. “How?!” He whisper shouted in her ear, making her cringe a little at the noise.

She looked around a little before pointing down with one of her fingers. Kaminari looked down to see one of her Jacks plugged into the nearby wall.

This made Kaminari pause before hesitantly asking, “Is this legal?”

It was Kyoka’s turn to pause as she chose the best way to formulate her words. Technically using her Quirk like this could be considered a crime, given her lack of a license and the responsible thing to do would be to stop before she gets in trouble.

However, while she may be a Hero student, she’s also a teenager. “If you promise not to anyone I’ll give you a play by play of what’s happening.”

Kaminari barely even spent an entire second contemplating the offer. “Deal.”

“Your Quirks both enhance your strength. What’s more his Quirk seems to cause his body to produce a sort of steam, and you can produce smoke at will, perhaps a mutation thanks to whatever your mother’s Quirk is?”

“Holy shit there’s two of them now. Though it does feel weird seeing it from an outside perspective after all this time.”

Fifth’s comment seemed to be the thing that snapped Izuku out of his stunned stupor.

“Of course being the son of the strongest Hero could and would put a target on your back even under normal circumstances.” It seems like Todoroki wasn’t done talking. “Given that All Might’s never married, that means you would be an illegitimate child. Not only would that turn you into a subject of ridicule amongst your peers but also it would tarnish All Might’s public image, so in that case-”

“Pft.” Todoroki stopped his theory crafting mumble rant at the sound of an amused scoff leaving Izuku’s mouth.

“Is me figuring out your secret truly that amusing, Midoriya?” Asked Todoroki with his arms crossed.

“S-sorry…” Said Izuku, a fist raised to his mouth as he tried to keep his giggles from breaking loose. “It’s just… it’s just you suddenly became a lot less menacing than you were a few minutes ago.”

Todoroki said nothing, simply continuing to stare at him with that unreadable expression of this.

Izuku then stood up straight before saying, “Sorry to disappoint you Todoroki, but All Might isn’t my Dad. I may have a great amount of respect for him, but our relationship isn’t like that.”

Todoroki’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re choosing to commit to the facade that you two aren’t related?” He asked.

Izuku rolled his eyes. “Todoroki, I’m being serious. My father divorced my mom when I was, like, two and moved to America. He still supports us from afar even if he and my mom aren’t in love anymore though.” He explained.

“That just seems like a convincing sounding cover story.”

“Todoroki I have a picture of my father on my desk at home. He’s basically a ginger version of me with sharper features. I have video calls with him once every couple of months just to make sure we’re both still doing ok.”

Todoroki paused at that and thought for a moment, “Paid actor?”

“‘Paid-?!’” Izuku shut his mouth, taking a breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Seriously? At this point I think someone trying that hard to avoid being a father is just kind of pathetic. Do you actually believe any of this or are you just refusing to admit you’re wrong?”

The silence was very telling.

“Honestly, this should count as slander. If Toshinori ever had a kid, even out of wedlock, we all know damn well he’d raise that kid to the best of his abilities! Not hide their existence from the world!” 

“And he certainly never would have a kid until he dealt with my brother, less he create two more people for him to target in his vile attempts to spread misery and chaos in order to hurt Toshinori.”

“Also, the man has like, negative rizz. He’s a crowd pleaser but when it comes to one on one time with a girl he tended to just put his own foot in his mouth.”

“Please god never say ‘rizz’ again, it's not the early twenty-first century.”

“For once I agree with Fifth, I can practically feel the readers, and the author, cringe when Third said that.”

“Oh don’t you start with that.”

“Fine then.” Said Todoroki eventually, “Let’s pretend All Might isn’t your father-”

“He really isn’t.” Interrupted Izuku.

“You still stated that your relationship with the man, ‘isn’t like that.’” Continued Todoroki without missing a beat. “Implying that a relationship between the two of you does exist.”

Izuku tensed up at that. He’d been so busy trying to push down Todoroki’s absurd theory he had let that detail slip. “I- uh, I mean I’m his student. We all are, doesn’t that technically count as all of us having a relationship with him?”

“Nice. Real convincing.”

“Midoriya,” Said Todoroki, his voice somehow managing to sound even flatter than before, “I may not participate in your pointless group bonding and training activities, but I’m not an idiot. I can see the way he talks about and looks at you. Whatever your relationship is or whatever you claim it to be, the fact of the matter is that relationship exists.” The scowl on his face began to deepen. “And as the person who broke made me break my pledge, I need to explain to you which Hero I have a relation to. Tell me Midoriya, are you familiar with Quirk Marriages?”

Izuku’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“‘Quirk Marriages?’ That term sounds familiar…”

“Oh my god…”

“Please tell me he isn’t about to say what I think he is.”

“I haven’t had a body in decades but I suddenly feel like I need to take a shower.”

“A Quirk Marriage is-” Said Todoroki, but stopped when Izuku suddenly raised his palm at him, causing him to flinch back slightly and furrow his brows in confusion.

Izuku silently brought his index finger to his lips before raising his hand and activating his Quirk. He then slapped his hand against the wall he was leaning against, which caused a loud banging noise to reverberate through the entire hall they stood in.

“OW! FUCK!” Exclaimed Kyoka in pain as she brought a hand up to her left ear and flinched with enough force to fall out of her chair.

“Wh- woah, what the!?” Exclaimed Kaminari as he, and Yaomomo, got out of their seats and crouched down to check on her.

“Are you alright, Jirou?” Asked Yaomomo worriedly as her friend writhed on the floor.

Eventually she regained her ability to move. “Ow…” Groaned Kyoka as she rubbed her ear while sitting up, “Ok, fucking hell Midoriya, message received, literally loud and clear.”

“Wait, Midoriya found you out? How!?” Exclaimed Kaminari in shock.

“Hell if I know, dude nearly blew my eardrum out though.” She replied.

“Found out…” Both of them froze as a cold voice suddenly spoke up. They both slowly turned their heads to see Yaomomo, who’s expression had morphed from one of concern into instead a disappointed glare, looking down on them. “About what?”

Kyoka and Kaminari exchanged a nervous glance before looking back up at the harbinger of punishment staring them down, both silently praying for mercy.

Those prayers would go unanswered.

“What was that all about?” Asked Todoroki with a raised eyebrow as Izuku pulled his hand away from the wall, giving it a couple of shakes.

“Something tells me you were about to share something that could easily be overheard by prying ears. So I took precautions to make sure nobody was stupid enough to listen in on us.” Explained Izuku while reaching up and gently tugging on his earlobes.

Todoroki’s eyes actually widened in surprise at that, as he caught the implications that Izuku threw his way.

“Heh, the ‘oh damn this guy’s smarter than I thought,’ look, classic.”

“Focus, don’t forget what he was about to tell us about.”

“Shit. Right.”

“Right. Well, I take it you remember my question, then?”

Izuku nodded his head, “During the Second and Third Generations of Quirk Users, people started dabbling into eugenics and pairing off with people partners whose Quirks would mesh well with their own. Those who held power but found themselves lacking in ethics would find very… effective methods of pursuing their ‘ideal partner.’ Thankfully in this day and age that thing is heavily frowned upon. You’d have to be a very powerful individual to do such a thing without fear of being found out.”

Todoroki nodded his head. “Very powerful. Like, say, the Number Two Hero powerful.”

Izuku’s face became one of pity, “Oh Todoroki…” He knew that Endeavor was an… unapproachable man at the best of times but to do something like this? That was truly vile…

“My father used his wealth and fame to… convince my mother’s family to agree to the marriage. All to get his hands on her Quirk.” Explained Todoroki, staring at his left hand with contempt painfully visible on his face. “He was so desperate to surpass All Might, that since his own Quirk wasn’t strong enough to bridge the gap he’d instead do it vicariously through me. He ‘created’ me to be a tool to fulfill his ambitions. I’m his perfect creation after all three of my older siblings found themselves discarded as ‘failures.’” He glared at Izuku as he brought that hand up to the scar on his face. “I remember it, it’s a bit blurry after ten or so years, but I can still hear my mom talking about how she hated this left side of mine… before throwing scalding water onto my face.”

Izuku clenched his jaw and squeezed his fists, desperately trying to wall off the horrendous sounds of anguish and rage Seventh was making in the back of his mind. He supposes he shouldn’t be surprised by such a reaction, a mother forced to abandon her child to protect him now hearing about another snapping from domestic abuse so badly that she disfigured her own son, he couldn’t blame her for freaking out.

Izuku brough hand up to his face, covering his eyes with his palms while his fingers squeezed down on his temples in a desperate attempt to fight back the migraine forming in his brain and the feeling of anger inside of him that was beginning to boil over so violently it was making him sick. Though what seemed to shock the rest of the vestiges is where that anger was being targeted.

“In short, I’m going to reject both my father and my left side, as a means of enacting revenge against him. By rising to the top with only my right side, I’ll have denied him everything and proved that his Endeavors were in vain.” Explained Todoroki before turning to leave. “Sorry for wasting your time like this. Keep your connection with All Might a secret if you’d like. I’m going to move ahead of you with only my right side, so you’d better be ready to face me in the final round.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

That single sentence was only four words long, but something about the way it came out of Midoriya’s mouth made Shoto freeze in place, a chill far colder than anything his Quirk had made him experience shooting through his spine like a bolt of electricity as he slowly turned to see Midoriya, his hand gone from his face and his green eyes practically glaring into his soul.

“What did you just say?”