Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

*BRIIIING*

Uraraka’s ancient phone screamed into the silent, tiny apartment. 

*BRIIING*

The vibration shook the nightstand where it stood, drawing the girl’s attention away from her textbook. With a grunt of annoyance, she grabbed her phone. I mean, it was past midnight! Who would call at this hour? 

Well, it could always be an emergency. 

With a sigh, she answered. 

“Hello?” She tried to keep her voice neutral, to keep her annoyance to herself. Now, usually, a teenager of her age wouldn't pick up a phone call from an unknown number. But in Uraraka’s case, her phone was so old and cheap it didn't even have caller-ID. It was an ancient flip phone, looking straight outta the pre-quirk era. The only people who even had her phone number at this point were her parents and a girl named Tsu from school. 

The phone was new after all. 

The voice that came from the other side was not one she recognized. Hesitant and dull, shaky and tired. Young sounding. Male.

“H-Hi…” There was a pause where she could hear the… boy? Man? On the other end gulp. He sounded young at least. 

“Is this the suicide hotline?”

…

Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no .

All at once Uraraka’s annoyance and fatigue was replaced with shock and panic. 

Oh fuck .

“Um...” the voice came over from the phone again, cutting into the girl’s panic.

“Oh! Um. No. this isn't…” Her voice was stilted and hesitant.

“Oh.”

There was an ugly pause.

“I-I'm so sorry to have b-bothered you” The boy’s voice came out in a hiccuping whisper. 

“I-it was just a mistake, I'm sorry. I’ll hang up now….” His voice sounded empty, so quiet that Uraraka could barely hear it over the hiss of the phone receiver. 

“W-Wait!” before Uraraka could even think, she was speaking.

“Do you need me to get the right number for you or something?”

The voice hesitated. 

“N...no. This was a mistake anyways.” He sounded so defeated . 

Uraraka felt something stir in her chest over the panic. A deep swirl of worry tore through her insides as she took a breath. 

“Well, obviously it wasn't a mistake. You sound upset.” She was taking a risk, calling him out like this. It was very likely he would just hang up but she didn't know what to do .

There was another pause, and Uraraka held her breath.

Please don't hang up please don't hang up pleasedonthangup….

“I-I'm not upset…” he spoke very slowly, and then all at once “Iwasjusthavingabadnight” he sounded close to tears.

“There's nothing wrong with having a bad night. I'm glad you called for help” It felt as though someone else was speaking through Uraraka’s mouth, saying something close to correct. Before she could overthink it, she continued. 

“Why don't you talk to me for a little bit! I can't promise it will help but it's better than being alone, right?” 

Why the fuck did I say that?!? I have no idea what i'm doing!

But I can't leave him alone, not until I know he will see tomorrow.

“I…” he sounded conflicted from that single syllable.

“If you’re worried about bothering me, don't. I was just studying and really needed to do something else before I lost my mind.” She offered the olive branch, hoping he would grab it.

“A...are you sure?” He sounded so small. So broken .

“100 percent.” She let some steel in her voice, hoping to reassure him. 

There was another pause that stretched longer than she was comfortable with, but right as she was about to say something he spoke again. 

“Why?” she couldn't even tell the emotions swimming through his voice.

“What… what do you mean?” 

“Why would you help someone like me? You don't even know me, and if you did you would have hung up as soon as you heard my voice. You wouldn't have even picked up…” His voice trailed off.

That made her pause. Who the hell would treat someone who obviously needed help like that?

“Well…” she hesitated, putting her thoughts together.

“Well, if it makes you feel better I don't know who you are. And to an extent, it doesn't matter. You could be a villain, you could be a child or you could be All Might himself. I would have no idea. It doesn't matter who you are. You obviously need help, and if talking will help I'm more than willing. I want to… help, I guess. If I can.” She felt like she was rambling and cut herself off before she said something stupid. 

There was another pause, and Uraraka couldn't help but fill it.

“We are two total strangers. It doesn't matter who you are, all that matters is that you need to talk to someone. You get what I mean?”

There was another pause, and Uraraka felt like her heart was going to explode from the anxiety. 

“How are you so nice…” his voice was soft, and Uraraka gave him time to speak. And after a time, he did. 

“I… I don't want to bother you…” 

Uraraka felt a bubble of frustration rise in her. Please, please understand.

Maybe this guy just needed a different approach. 

“Well, think about it from this point of view.” This could either go really well or really poorly. God, how Uraraka wished she had had any kind of training in this. She's gonna need to ask for some advice from her teachers if she made it through tonight. 

“Not only would you be keeping me company, but you’d actually be helping me a little bit.” She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

“I'm… I'm in a hero school, ya know? And I really wanna know how to help people. This is my first time talking to someone who needs some help… and I wanna help. I wanna know what to do and I want you to feel better.”

Her sentences barely made any sense, but she hoped he understood what she meant. 

“L-like… training?” His voice had an edge of interest in it under the exhaustion. 

“If you wanna think about it like that, Yeah! When I'm older it's gonna be my job to help people, and think about it. Imagine I run into someone who is having a bad day when I'm an actual hero, and I know what to do! it'll be really good! So it's a win/win!”

Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.

“I-”

She cut him off.

“And it's not like I'm using you or anything. I don't want you to think that you’re just training. I am actually interested and want you to feel better.” Her words were rushed, almost scared. 

There was a pause, then a snort. 

Then… giggling?

Oh god please be a good sign . 

“A hero in training…” he sounded wistful. 

“God, you’re so poisonously positive,” he spoke in a positive way, even while… insulting her? Was that an insult?

“I.” his voice dropped back to just… tired. 

“I want to be a hero so bad…” his voice fell back down to where it was before, but it sounded less tired? 

“Well, what's stopping you? You sound pretty young! You could probably get into a school!” her hope bled into her voice, but was met with silence.

“I-I'm quirkless” his voice was a whisper again.

Uraraka’s heart dropped. A lot of things were clicking really fast. And it didn't look good. Suicide rates in the quirkless were nearly four times that of a regular person.

Uraraka flinched. “regular” . Fuck.

It doesn't matter. She just needed to keep going.

“That must be really hard for you… But that shouldn't stop you from chasing your dreams!” she spoke softly, yet with conviction. He needs to know you’re serious .

“I…” he choked. 

“You’re the first person to ever say that. To not instantly tell me how stupid it is to try to be a hero without a quirk…” he sounded like he was starting to cry. 

“Well, why would I. It's not any crazier than trying to be a hero under any other circumstance! The only difference is the scope.” she spoke reasonably. 

“S-Scope?” he was definitely crying. 

“Well, it would be incredibly dangerous to be a loud and flashy daylight hero, ya know? You couldn't be the next All Might because you’d probably be killed.” oh god too harsh, reel it back. “But you would be perfect for underground heroics. Like, have you heard of Snipe?” 

She paused to let him speak but he said nothing, so she just continued. 

“He's not exactly an underground hero, but he's not daylight either. But his quirk and gimmick is just, gun , ya know? With enough training and skill, anyone could be almost as good as him. Or Eraserhead? He does all his fights quirkless! Even Midnight could be replicated with some knockout gas. For someone quirkless, it's not impossible, you just have to know where you would shine!”

“Underground…” he sounded… almost hopeful?

“Yeah! Ambush - fuck em up - and get outta there! In many cases using quirk underground can cause problems because they draw so much attention. You would just need to be super skilled. Are you up to put in the work for that?”

There was a pause. 

And then he was Sobbing . 

oh fuck

“Y-Yeah! I am!”

Oh thank god good sobbing . 

“Hell yeah you are!” she pumped her fist, excitement getting the best of her. 

A laugh ripped itself through his sobs. 

“T-Thank you…” his sniffles subsided.

“Of course dude! You got someone to help you train?” she kept moving forward. Maybe giving him some hope about the future would get his eyes off the now. 

“I… I have my mom…” he went back to sounding hesitant. Uh oh. Careful area. 

“How is everything with her?” another olive branch, something he could easily take or ignore. 

“She… She's the best thing that could have ever happened to me!” he was crying again, and she let him. 

“I… she would be so worried if she knew what happened tonight… She would be so worried if she knew I still wanted to be a hero…” He was crying to the fullest again. 

Oh. He was probably feeling… shame?

“I think she would be happy.” He made a confused sound, and Uraraka continued.

“Happy that you reached out, happy you’re still here, and happy she still has her son, ya know? Worry isn't always bad.” he still cried, and Uraraka continued. 

“How about… tomorrow, you make sure to let her know how much she means to you?” Uraraka spoke softly, encouragingly. 

“Instead of feeling bad for worrying her, thank her for all she does for you!” 

There was another pause as the boy’s crying petered off. 

“How… how do I do that?” 

Uraraka hummed in contemplation. 

“Well, what does she usually do for you that you really appreciate? Maybe you could try doing that for her! Or just tell her straight up how you feel! That always works.” 

“How… How are you so positive.” 

Uraraka paused.

“Well, to be honest, I'm not. I feel bad and get into negative spirals all the time. What I’ve found is key is to take one thing, and focus on it. Then take that one thing and twist it on its head in the most positive way! It doesn't always work, but when it does it's really nice.” She took a breath. 

“Like, you felt bad for worrying your mom. Instead of feeling bad for worrying her, I took that idea and twisted it to plan how to thank her for how amazing she is. Now, instead of feeling bad for something you can't control, you can focus on something to do in the future that's positive! It doesn't always work, but it's usually pretty nice.” 

“...”

“Thank you”

Uraraka smiled. 

“Of course!”

And came to her.

“Hey! Why don't we save each other's numbers! And then you can text or call me whenever you need someone to twist something bad to something good?”

A friend!

“I… are you sure?” 

“Of course! All you gotta do is give me a name to save you under, and then we can talk whenever!” then she realized. “Oh! It doesn't have to be your real name. I would understand if you wanna stay anonymous. I just need something to call you on my phone, you know?”

“I think I’d like that” he sounded like he was smiling. 

“You can call me… Deku.” 

“Oh! Like Dekiru? Like ‘I can do it’ ya know? I like it!” she smiled, but got the feeling that isn't how he meant it. 

“S-sure…”

“And you can call me…” A few ideas came through her mind before one stuck.

“You can call me Gravity! Because if you ever need me, I’ll bring you back to earth!” she winked, before remembering this was a phone call. He laughed. 

“O-Okay… Gravity. I… I think I'm going to go to sleep now. I… Thank you. For all this. You didn't have to be so nice.”

Uraraka smiled. 

“I'm glad I was able to be so nice. You sounded like you needed it. Get some sleep!” 

With a soft goodbye, he hung up. 

Uraraka took a deep breath. 

That felt… good? She felt good. 

But… there was a weird feeling in her chest. Unease. 

With a frown, she flipped open her phone and entered a text chat. 

Gravity - 

Hey! Just to make sure! You are like okay right?

Deku -

Haha. yeah I think I am. Better than before at least. Thank you again.

Gravity - 

Im glad! Text or call me tomorrow! I wanna know how it goes with your mom!

Uraraka hesitated before sending the message, worrying about being overbearing. With a shake of her head, she sent it.

Deku -

Okay! I’ll try my best :D

Uraraka snorted. That was such a strange text compared to the way he sounded just minutes before. She would have to be careful about that. 

Gravity -

Yeah! Goodnight Deku :D

Deku -

Goodnight Gravity

Checking the clock, Uraraka groaned. It was 1:30. She was going to be tired tomorrow. 

But it was worth it, she thinks. 

Chapter Text

Midoriya woke up slowly. Blinking, he felt the daze of sleep slowly fade as he stared at his ceiling. All Might’s shining face stared at him from every available surface, posters seemingly glaring at him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget the look of pity All Might had given him when he had told the man he was quirkless. He couldn't forget that the hero had said that his dream was unobtainable. But then he remembered the words from last night. The plan.

Wait.

Last night .

In a panic, Midoriya scrambled for his phone. 

Oh fuck.

It wasn't a dream.

The name Gravity wishing him a good night. He had done that last night

Overwhelming shame and panic flooded his system. He had called some random girl. And made her talk to him. The fact that she hadn't called the cops had been a fucking miracle. 

Midoriya had been awake for 30+ hours when he got… bad. He was half asleep and fucking delirious and he had bothered some poor girl for…

An hour and a half.

Holy fuck.

Holy fuck .

He was going to kill himself out of fucking shame at this point. 

He was staring at the text messages between himself and this random girl. 

Gravity - 

I wanna know how it goes with your mom!

His mom .

God. Last night he was going to kill himself.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't wish he were dead.

Fuck.

Midoriya laid his head back on his pillow. 

He closed his eyes in a feeble attempt of falling back asleep. At least asleep he wouldn't have to deal with the fucking nightmare he had created.

An underground hero.

It wasn't what his child self had imagined, but in all honesty it wasn't a bad idea. Without a quirk, he would always be at a disadvantage in a fair, one on one fight. There were two good solutions, and Gravity had brought them both up. Weapons and ambush strategies. If he could harness both of those, he could cut it as a pretty good underground hero.

And Gravity had thought of it on the spot. 

She was smart. 

And nice.

And he had wasted her time when she should have been asleep.

And he spilled all his emotions all over her. 

Fuck .

He checked his phone again. 

5:23

He didn't even have to get on the train for another two hours. 

In fact, being awake at this point was a bad sign. He had been awake for a day and a half and had gotten… maybe three hours of sleep?

Show your mom how much you appreciate her!

Gravity’s infectious positivity was just as powerful in memory. She was right. It was a good idea. He couldn't make his mom not worry, but he could let her know how much he appreciates her. 

Maybe it'll make it hurt less when he's gone. 

His ledger would be level. 

Midoriya shook his head. He had been awake for less than ten minutes. 

Those thoughts could wait for later. 

With a sigh, Midoriya got out of bed and prepared to take a shower.

Midoriya stood in front of his stove, brow wrinkled in thought. It was rare that he would be awake before his mother, and he intended to use it. She almost always made breakfast for the two of them and he was gonna repay the favor. The only issue was, he had no idea what to make her. 

They had recently gone to a western-style restaurant for breakfast, and he knew his mom really liked the American omelet, but they just didn't have the ingredients for that. Mainly, cheese. He could always make a normal breakfast, but that didn't feel very special. Scrolling around on his phone he found an interesting idea. 

A French omelette. It was similar to stuff he had cooked before but had a few major differences. Namely, monstrous amounts of butter. Luckily, they had that in the house. 

The only issue is that it wasn't really a self-contained meal the way an American omelet was. It was absolutely made to be eaten with other foods. Well, to be fair, the American omelet was also made to be eaten with toast or something, but in all honesty? It didn't need it. This one, however, did. 

Well, he could just do whatever, and see where it led him. 

Midoriya took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. 

Holy shit breakfast was monstrous . American pancakes, French omelettes, miso soup and rice. Well, one french omelette. The other one was brutalized to the point it was just scrambled eggs at this point so that one would be his. He had made soup because it seemed good, but then had to make rice because the soup couldn't just be there for no reason. And the pancakes? They were simple and sounded good. Though they didn't have maple syrup, so he had some jellies and jams they had floating around. It was a horrible cacophony of a handful of cultures' breakfast foods, loosely tied together on the same table. 

“Honey… what…” 

Midoriya turned around to see his mother on the last step of the stairs, staring at the table in confusion. Luckily not the abject horror that he had expected. 

“I… Uh.” Midoriya placed down the jam he had in his hand.

“I made breakfast?” 

Inko Midoriya blinked. Then she laughed. A beautiful high sound, like the tinkling of bells. 

Midoriya blinked.

“It's… uh. It's kind of a mess. But it should be pretty good!” He tried to sound confident, but honestly he had no idea. 

Inko got a look in her eye, then strode across the room with large steps. In one fell swoop, she grabbed her son and squashed him into a massive hug. 

“Thank you” her voice was muffled as she squished her whole face into Midoriya’s chest. With a jerk, she separated.

“Let's eat before it gets cold!”

It was one of the… stranger culinary experiences he had had, but Midoriya would be hard-pressed to say that the meal was bad. Especially with his mom smiling at him from across the table. 

Midoriya was finishing his pancake when he decided to just go for it. 

“I just.” he started and stopped abruptly. His mom set her utensils down and looked at him, giving him room to speak. 

“I just want to say thank you. For always being so amazing as my mom.” he averted his eyes, staring down at his food. 

“I… I was really lucky when I got you as a mom. I just… wanted to let you know. Thank you” near the end he was speaking in broken sentences, too afraid to look up. 

There was a sniffle from his mom as Midoriya played with his food. 

“I love you, Izuku. You know that right?” Inko spoke softly, tears in her eyes. Honestly, it was a miracle that she had not exploded in a fountain of tears yet, but that could wait until after her son left for school.

He would never need to know. 

Midoriya looked his mother in the eye.

“I love you too mom.”

Inko smiled, wide and true. 

“Let's clean up! Wouldn't want to be late for school!”

Midoriya was sitting on the train, looking at his phone. Thinking back, the morning had gone better than he had expected. It was… nice to be able to give back, if only in the kitchen. It was something, at least. 

Underground hero .

It was so simple, yet he had never thought of it. 

It would be perfect if he was willing to push himself that far. 

And was he?

Yes. Yes, he was. He was more than willing to do whatever it took to become a hero, daylight or otherwise. 

But where to start?

Before he could start down that path, the train stopped at his stop. It was time to go to school

Walking onto the U.A campus was a shock, each and every time.

Having to go to the general education class was a different kind of shock. 

U.A was one of the best schools in the country. Even getting into general education would be a major boost to his future, as long as he graduated. 

And all the classes were taught by Pro Heroes, which was nice. He had stopped freaking out about the heroes around week two when the press broke into the school. Something about that event just drained all enthusiasm out of him. 

Maybe it was the fact that it was about All Might. 

Midoriya didn't know where he stood on All Might anymore. On one hand, he had been such a major figure in his life for so long. On the other, he crushed his dreams and left him for dead on a rooftop. 

The duality of the famous.

Never meet your heroes. They’ll just disappoint you. 

The school day passed by quickly and without much to note. That was until about halfway through the day. It was simple, a class-long group project. The problem was that Midoriya couldn't work alone. 

See, regardless of the status, his class in U.A had been much like his classes anywhere else for the most part. Luckily, without bakugou the abuse was kept to a minimum. And the teachers were much better. But the students? He's treated with the same apathy or pity that he sees everywhere. And Midoriya would be lying if he said it didn't hurt. 

And when it was time to get into a group? Well, who would want to work with the quirkless kid? 

A big huff brought Midoriya out of his thoughts. A slam of books and the slump of a kid in the seat next to him. It was the quiet kid with purple hair. 

“Let's just get this over with.” The purple-haired kid spoke with little emotion other than exhaustion. The bags under his eyes only underlined how tired the kid seemed. It made Midoriya worry.

But then again, who was he to say anything. 

They worked quickly and quietly, only speaking when absolutely necessary. And honestly? It was driving Midoriya insane.

Not like from a mental standpoint, but with every moment he was getting more and more anxious. The boy would just… not speak. And when he looked at Midoriya it was either completely apathetic or with some barely held contempt. Honestly, he didn't know how much more he could take from the boy. 

Luckily the class ended before Midoriya broke. 

Thank god. 

It was lunchtime, which meant almost an hour of uninterrupted time for Midoriya. With a sigh, he trudged his way out of the building. 

The back of UA was a massive amount of land. Honestly, the school ‘campus’ was more like a city, with assorted buildings and forested land stretching what seemed like miles in every direction. Students were allowed to go outside during lunch, within reason. 

Midoriya liked to spend his lunchtime in a secluded area of the… lawn? Grounds? 

It didn't matter.

All that mattered was that there was a bench for him to sit at and a tree for shade. The boy threw himself on the bench with a huff, pulling out his phone. 

He had stopped eating lunch at school around a year back. Eating was never easy in public to begin with, but back in middle school it was basically impossible to have lunch without losing most or all of his food. At this point it was a habit to not eat. 

Midoriya flitted between apps, nothing keeping his attention for more than a few seconds. 

Underground hero.

No matter what he did, he just couldn't get the thought out of his head. 

An Underground Hero. Using tools and stealth to even the playing field. Gravity had even brought up a gun last night. But was that even feasible in japan? 

Well, Snipe had a gun.

But that was a part of his quirk. Surely they wouldn't give just anyone a gun. But then again maybe it was a hero thing? If All Might went in and said he wanted to add a gun to his hero costume there was no way they would tell him no. 

But how would he get training? That probably would have to wait until he was an adult. 

A quick google yielded… confusing results. 

Some websites just simply said no. There was no way for a minor to get time with a firearm, legally. Others said there were private firing ranges that allowed minors as long as they were accompanied by an adult with a permit. There were quirk exceptions, of course, but those didn't apply. 

With a huff, Midoriya closed his phone. In all honesty, the best way to figure this out would just be to ask someone who knew. But then the question goes to, who to ask? 

It's not like he could just walk into a police station and ask how to shoot a gun. All the firing ranges in Tokyo were connected to police stations or heroes. 

Heroes

There was Snipe. 

Midoriya’s heart dropped. 

He could always ask Snipe. The shooting hero with a gun on the school campus he was on. With the gun and the knowledge of how to teach children how to shoot guns. The hero. That was somewhere in his school. 

That Snipe. 

Almost instantly Midoriya wrote it off. 

To ask Snipe he would have to do it either at lunch or after the school day because Snipe only teaches third years and there was no way he could ask after school because his train-

If he wanted to know he would have to ask Snipe. At lunch. Like this lunch. 

Like right now.

Fuck .

He couldn't do it. He couldn't just… ask him . That would be crazy. To just go up to a hero and say ‘hey I wanna shoot a gun’. 

His hand found its way to his texting app on his phone, and before he knew it he had opened the chat with Gravity. 

“ Text or call me tomorrow ”

…

Before he could stop himself he sent a text. 

Deku -

Hey

Oh god oh fuck oh god oh fuck oh fuck why why why why why why why why why whywhywhywhy

Gravity - 

Hi! Glad to hear from you! Hows it going?!

…

Oh right.

She was… dangerously nice.

…

Deku - 

Honestly? Im in a predicament. 

Gravity - 

Lol

Predicament

What kind of predicament?

Midoriya took a deep breath

Deku - 

Ive been thinking about what you said. About being an underground hero. I wanna do it. I really wanna do it. And you said I should look into using weapons and theres a person I can ask about that but its a teacher and I am freaking out?

Gravity -

Well, whats the worst that could happen?

Deku - 

He would say no. and then be annoyed at me for bothering him at lunch. 

Gravity - 

You said this person was a teacher? Its their job to help you! I say go for it!

Deku - 

But I dont wanna bother him!

Gravity - 

But you wanna be a hero.

Midoriya paused. 

He did. He really did. 

He wanted to be a hero so bad it hurt. 

Gravity -

I know its not fun, but I say go for it. If you think there is even a chance it could help why not! The worst that happens is they say no and tell you why not. Then you get to learn!

Deku -

Youre right. I should do it.

Gravity - 

Yeah! I believe in you Deku!

I believe in you Deku.

No one had ever said that to him before. Not so bluntly, not subtly. Not ever.

Gravity believes in me. 

Midoriya stood up from the bench. 

Finding the teacher’s lounge wasn't that hard, in all honesty. Opening the door on the other hand. Was hard. Very hard. 

In fact, Midoriya had been in front of this door for minutes on end, trying to work up the nerve to open it. 

Apparently chanting “Gravity believes in you” wasn't a cure-all. 

The door opened. 

And out walked-

“All Might….”

What.

What.

This. wasn't in the plan. The plan was to open the door and talk to Snipe. If Snipe wasn't there, the plan was to ask where Snipe was and find Snipe, or maybe come back another day. The plan was not to see All Might of all people. 

Fuck. 

Fuck

Fuck .

All Might’s thin frame sputtered.

“Y-You?” All Might spat up a mouthful of blood in surprise.  

Midoriya was frozen, fight and flight going wild. He didn't even feel like he was breathing. Maybe he wasn't. 

Oh god oh fuck he was in front of All Might, again, except this time he wasnt breathing. 

It felt like his head was full of cotton, and to be honest? He had totally checked out of what was happening. 

Distantly he felt a large hand on his arm guiding him to… well he didn't know really. Sounds were muffled, and it felt like he was seeing the world through a telescope. 

Distantly he felt himself sitting on something. 

He couldn't breathe. 

He couldn't breathe .

God, it felt like he was on fire and his chest hurt so much and-

“ Breathe ” 

Distant, like from a dream. A single command. 

Breathe. 

“Follow me. In and out.”

He felt something press against his chest. He breathed in. the thing was removed. He breathed out.

It did it again. He copied it again. 

And again.

And again.

Slowly, Midoriya came back to himself.

Turns out, the reason he wasn't seeing was because he had closed his eyes sometime back, and just… didn't open them. 

Hesitantly cracking open an eye, he took a peek at where he was. 

Ah great. The infirmary. 

Recovery girl was in front of him, worry clear through her face. Worry and… disappointment. Behind her stood…

Ah. right. 

All Might. 

Still deflated. 

The bastard. 

“You with me young man?” Recovery girl’s voice was soft, yet firm. Not trusting himself to speak, Midoriya nodded. The woman nodded in return and turned on her heel.

Faster than he could track, her cane swung from where she was leaning on it and beamed All Might right in the face. 

Midoriya couldn't help it. 

He laughed. 

Loudly. 

Recovery girl whirled onto Midoriya, eyes aflame. But she softened. 

“All Might has something very important he needs to say to you. But if you would rather he leave I'll kick him right out.” She sounded mad, but strangely like she was mad at… All Might? 

“I-” Midoriya tried to speak, but only a pained croak came out. Recovery Girl looked at him and hurried a paper cup of water into his hand. 

Taking a long drag from the cup, Midoriya drained it. Cleared his throat, and spoke.

“I-Its alright. It's not his fault.”

Recovery girl’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

“No. I'm afraid the fault falls square on me.” A deep voice resonated into the room, and suddenly Midoriya remembered that All Might was actually here. 

“No, I-”

“Young Midoriya. Please” All Might raised his hand, asking for a chance to speak. Midoriya gave it to him.

“I was wrong to say what I did. To do what I did.” he dropped his hand from where it was rubbing his cheek. It looked like that hit to his face was going to bruise. It was almost comical that the man that could lift a skyscraper would be bruised by being smacked by an old lady, but instead, it was just a rather frank reminder of just how weak the man had become. how human.

“I. Have a whole host of reasons why I said what I said, but as I have been told I was wrong. I still believe that heroics is a dangerous field. One that should be entered with hesitance and the strongest of wills. But I was wrong to tell you to give up. I'm sorry”

To Midoriya’s horror, All Might dipped into a low bow. 

In a panic, Midoriya waved his hands around and blurted out-

“No! Please stop!”

Recovery girl looked like she was about to smack All Might again, but he rose up before she could. Midoriya spoke again.

“You weren't wrong” At that, All Might opened his mouth again, but Midoriya continued. 

“Heroics are dangerous. You are the proof. The strongest man in the world was almost ripped in half fighting a villain. And then some stupid quirkless kid asks you if he can be the next you” Recovery Girl went to speak here, but Midoriya continued on, staring at the bed.

“I could never be you. I will never be the next All Might. Not as I am. Not ever.” Midoriya clenched his fists. 

“But that doesn't mean I can't be a hero.” He raised his eyes to meet All Might’s. The man’s hollow, piercing blue stare meeting swirling emerald. In Midoriya’s eyes he saw… hope? Rage? Determination.

“It's about scope. I can't be you. But I can be my own hero. And I will be, and nothing will stop me.” Midoriya’s hands shook with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long, long time. 

Rage.

“You were right and wrong. But not even you will be enough to stop me.” He spoke with conviction. Determination. Truth. 

He wasn't saying. He was speaking. Demanding. Declaring. 

“I will be a hero. I will save lives. Even If I have to do it alone.” 

All Might smiled. Small at first, before it grew. And grew. And grew.  

With a puff of steam, the frail, rail-thin man exploded into All Might . The symbol of peace. The hero. 

“Yes you will young Midoriya!” All Might struck a pose, and Midoriya couldn't help his smile. 

With another puff of smoke, the skeletal form returned. his eyes were mournful.

“I was wrong to ever say you couldn't, or shouldn't. I want to ask you a favor.” 

Midoriya cocked his head. 

“Let me make it up to you.”

“What?”

All Might nodded. 

“You said you would be a hero even if you have to do it alone. I refuse.” The electric blue eyes stared into Midoriya’s soul once again. 

“You will need help. I want to be that help, if you will allow me.”

Midoriya hesitated. Tears in his eyes.

“You want to help?” His voice was small, almost childish. A complete 180 from the way he was speaking a moment ago. 

All Might nodded.

“I planned on apologizing and wishing you the best, but. In all honesty, you inspired me. Determination like that is rare. I can't allow a resource like that go to waste. I want to help”

With tears in his eyes, Midoriya nodded. 

“Yes please!”

*

“I damn near had a heart attack when you said you wanted to help, Toshinori.”

Recovery girl continued to scold him as she tidied the bed that Midoriya had been occupying. The lunch period had ended, as had the next class. Luckily there was one more before the day ended and they had ushered the boy out of the infirmary. 

“I thought you were going to offer him… you know…” Recovery girl trailed off as she fluffed the pillow. 

All Might hummed. 

“I won't lie, I considered it. When I met him he was an absolute fountain of knowledge, with a quiet kind of hope. Now, with unyielding determination…” All Might trailed off, before clearing his throat. 

“Young Midoriya would make an amazing vessel. But even if it was him, now was not the time. Now it was about righting a wrong. I will give him my full support, see him blossom. Then, and only then will I consider giving him One for All.”

Recovery girl hummed.

“Hmph. You're right about one thing. You need to clean your mess. I can't believe that you of all people would tell a young boy that he couldn't be a hero. You! And why? Because he was quirkless? Bah! I should tell Torino, let him take care of you.”

All Might paled.

“Don't get too drastic on me! And look! He understood what I was trying to say! In fact, it looks like he came out stronger! What's the harm!”

Recovery girl scoffed.

“I still can't believe he asked for a gun.”

*

Midoriya sobbed into his pillow, heavy and hard. He was trying his hardest to muffle the sound, trying to keep it secret just how broken he felt. 

All Might had apologized. The bastard had apologized . As if that made everything okay. And Midoriya had taken him on it! Forgiven him! As if it was water under the bridge. As if an I'm sorry fixed everything. 

The rational part of his mind cried out that, no, All Might had offered to make up for his mistakes. 

Midoriya’s emotions told his rationality to shut the fuck up. 

All Might had apologized. Offered his support and told him he could be a hero!

Why didn't he feel better?

Why did it still hurt? 

Why did it hurt more?

Fuck. 

God fucking FUCK. 

He just wanted it to go away. 

For the pain, the sorrow to stop .

He could distract himself, the best thing in the world could happen to him, but the second he let his guard down it came back. With a vengeance. 

It's like he was being punished for making progress.

Why is the pain worse when anything good happens?

God fucking Damnit. 

He just wanted it to be over.

He just wanted to stop crying.

He just wanted to die. 

Midoriya flopped onto his side, taking a deep breath. Letting fresh air hit his tear-stricken face. The tears were gone but he was still hiccuping. 

He just wanted to die. 

For the pain to stop.

I just want to die.

Midoriya curled into himself, pulling his pillow to his chest as the tears came back full force. 

It wasn't that he wanted to die. He yearned for death. A missing piece of his soul. Like a fragment of his was missing. A gaping hole that could only be fixed if he just gave up and died . 

Honestly? He didn't know how much longer he could put up with this. 

As his tears petered out, he felt a small ember of something light in his chest. It was as if a voice whispered to him from the back of his mind, hidden under mountains of anguish.

If I'm going to die then I'll be damned if I don't make the world a better place on my way out .

I'll be a hero. I'll help others.

Then I can die.

Midoriya woke up to the sound of his phone buzzing. With his brain full of fuzz, he opened his phone. The clock read 7:47.

Panic ran through Midoriya before he realized that it was pm.  

Oh thank god . 

On the front of his phone was a message from Gravity. 

Gravity -

Hey! How did it go today! Make any progress with your mom? Or that guy you wanted to talk to?

A small smile tugged at Midoriya’s lips. His fingers flew across the screen as he responded.

Deku - 

Well, it went wonderfully and horribly. 

Gravity -

Oh no! What happened?!

Deku - 

Well, to start I made breakfast for my mom

She loved it. I told her how much she meant to me and she seemed really happy 

It went really well!

Thank you for your advice!

Gravity - 

Im glad it went well! But what do you mean horribly?

Deku - 

Well, when I was trying to find the man who could tell me about guns and stuff, I ran into another guy. He. kinda told me I couldn't be a hero. Ever. and to give up on that dream. 

Gravity - 

D:

Who the hell was it I’ll fucking kill them

That made Midoriya smile. He continued. 

Deku - 

Well. I apparently had a panic attack. Or something similar. Never had one of those before. 

Gravity - 

Jesus Christ

Deku - 

Yeah. 

So the guy took me to the school nurse and when I calmed down he apologized. 

Gravity - 

Oh thats good!

...

Ill still kill him tho

Midoriya smiled even harder.

Deku - 

And then he offered to help me. 

Be a hero I mean. 

I dont really know how to feel about that to be honest :/

I said yes though. 

Gravity - 

Well. 

Thats a conundrum

Deku - 

Lol conundrum

Gravity -

Honestly. Im glad you have someone irl to help you with your dream. But I wish it was someone nicer >:(

Also shut

But look, if anything happens with mister dream crusher you can just drop his ass, then forward me his address and Ill burn his house down.

Deku - 

You dont even know me and you’re offering to commit arson for me?

Thats not very Hero in Training

Gravity - 

Dont care.

Bastards pay for their crimes

Midoriya laughed.

Deku -

Its crazy. Talking to you is so easy. 

And you make me feel better. 

Thank you

Gravity - 

No need to thank me!

Now if I commit arson and get arrested for you? I fully expect you to break me out of jail.

Making you feel better? Thats my reward :D

Midoriya’s heart clenched.

Could he consider Gravity a… friend?

He hadn't had a friend since Bakugou. And that had ended… poorly. Honestly, the only reason Bakugou had... stopped was because he didn't know what class Midoriya was in. 

Deku -

Youre too nice. For all you know I could be a serial killer.

Gravity -

Dont care.

That just means I can use your help to kill the bastard that told you you couldn't be a hero. 

Join me in murder, murder friend.

Deku - 

Youre really murdery tonight, gravity. 

Gravity - 

Yup! 

School went bad today and there is a certain classmate who I want to impale and slowroast over an open flame :D

So today anyone who hurts you gets the fucking noose ::DD

Deku - 

Jesus Christ

Does that mean I get the noose for hurting myself?

Midoriya smiled, waiting for a response. 

But none came.

And quickly Midoriya realized his mistake. 

Before he could do anything, his phone rang. It was Gravity. 

He answered. 

“What do you mean hurt yourself.” Her voice was soft but rushed. 

Midoriya sighed.

“I didn't mean like that. I just had a rough day. Technically my brain is the one fucking me right? I'm doing this to myself.”

There was a pause.

“No. Nope. nada. Absolutely not. You don't get to blame any part of you for being like this. You’re in pain and hurt and need help. Not blame. Shut up. Nope.”

Her voice was rapidly changing volume, as though she was shaking her head as she spoke

(she was)

Midoriya couldn't help it. He let out a laugh.

“Okay.”

Gravity huffed. 

“Okay?”

“Okay. I'm not to blame. Even though I am I'm not.”

There was a pause, then Gravity spoke. 

“Good enough.” She sounded satisfied. 

“Now what do you mean you were having it rough. You mean at school?” her voice took on a more conversational tone. 

“Ah… no.” Midoriya sat up, cross-legged in bed. 

“I… kinda broke down when I got home” for some reason, it was easier talking to her right now. No hesitancy, no stuttering. Midoriya felt… good.

There was another pause. 

“You should have called me” Gravity sounded upset. Midoriya frowned. 

“I didn't want to bother you. Besides. I have to be able to get through this stuff alone.”

“Yeah, eventually. Right now it's okay to lean on someone else until you’re strong enough to get through it alone!”

“I got through it okay!”

“...”

“Did you?” her voice was soft again.

Midoriya hesitated.

“No… not really.”

“Okay. Do you want to talk about it?”

Midoriya let a frustrated noise out of the back of his throat.

“No? Yes?”

“Why not?”

“Because you're a stranger and I shouldn't be spilling all my bullshit on some random nice person just because they’re willing to put up with me!” Frustration rang through his voice, unsure and angry.

“Hm.” Gravity made a humming noise. 

“Well. you’re not ‘spilling your bullshit’ on me. You are unwell. There is a difference. And I want you to.” she spoke simply. Midoriya was dumbfounded. 

“I-”

“You need help. I want to help. Unless I can convince you to go to therapy?” Gravity paused but shook her head. 

“No, even if you were in therapy I’d want you to still talk to me.”

Midoriya said nothing, and Gravity continued. 

“You called me and now we're friends. Good luck getting rid of me because I'm here for you and will fight anyone who tries to stop me. or hurt you. You need help and company and a friend and I can be that for you. So I will.”

She said it so simply like it was a fact of life. Gravity was his friend. Not only did she want to be his friend, but she was his friend. 

Midoriya couldn't help it. He started crying. 

“I-I’ve never had a friend before-” He was cut off by a sob

Gravity’s heart broke at that. 

“Well. you have me now,” she spoke softly. 

“And I’ll be here for you.”

Chapter Text

I’ll be there for you

Uraraka couldn't help but squirm. It sounded so fucking… weird. Nerdy? Overconfident? Maybe it just sounded cliche. 

But it worked. Deku had seemed appreciative. So all's well that ends well. 

She really should have brought this up with a teacher. Or her friends? Parents? Honestly, any advice would be good. 

But after everything that happened yesterday with training and Bakugou, she had gotten a little preoccupied. But today? Today she was going to find some advice. While she had been doing well, there was a large element of luck to it. Yes, she and Deku clicked in a very natural way but that doesn't mean she couldn't or wouldn't make a mistake. And when a mistake means someone gets hurt… you do your best to avoid it. 

The question was who to ask for advice. As much as she would love to ask her friends for advice, at the end of the day they were still teenagers. They couldn't be perfect. Not to say an adult would be, but it would probably be better. Going off of pure experience, asking a teacher would probably be the best. They would actually have experience and they were all pro heroes. 

Wait.

On the first day of school, she had been given a pamphlet, a kinda overview of the services provided by U.A, along with the general outline of her first year. In the pamphlet they mentioned that U.A had a dedicated student counselor. Like, for mental health reasons. 

To her utter frustration, Uraraka could neither remember who the counselor was nor find the pamphlet. 

With a huff, Uraraka started getting ready for school.

Unfortunately, she would have to ask Aizawa. 

Not that Aizawa was bad! It was just awkward. The last thing she would want would be for her teacher to think she was having some major crisis so early into the school year. 

Although, this would probably fall under the ‘crisis’ umbrella. 

Fuck.

It was Hound Dog, a canine-esque hero. Apparently, despite his intimidating appearance, he was an extremely accomplished counselor. Like Uraraka had assumed, it had been pretty awkward to ask Aizawa, but the hero had just given her the information and written her a slip in case she was late for her next class. It was… nice. He hasn't asked any questions, just given her what she needed and moved on. Although, the slip had a kind of weight to it. Like there was no choice but to see Hound Dog. 

With a deep breath, Uraraka knocked on the door labeled “Counselor”.

Almost instantly the door opened and she was at eye level with a massive chest. The man in front of her was easily three times her size, with broad shoulders and what seemed to be a pelt coming out of parts of his body. His face vaguely had a snout, making his entire head almost cone-shaped. A muzzle hung around his neck, apparently, the hero having taken it off for the time being.  

The man made eye contact with her, eyes unreadable. With a grunt, he opened his door wider. As she entered, his hands went to his neck, picking up and fastening the muzzle to his mouth.

His office was smaller than what Uraraka had expected. There was a decent sized desk with a computer in its center, faced away from the door. Alongside the desk was a couch, a comfortable distance away and facing the desk. The room had a comfy, if clinical, feeling.

Hound Dog took long strides, crossing the room in a few steps and flopping into his desk chair heavily. Uraraka stood awkwardly, looking around the room. Hound Dog gestured to the seating across from his desk, offering a seat. Uraraka sat on the edge of the couch. Hound Dog typed on his keyboard for a few minutes before speaking. 

“Uraraka Ochaco, right?” 

Uraraka blinked. 

Now, she didn't know much about Hound Dog. Only that he was the Canine Hero and things of that nature. But she was led to believe that his speech was rough, often losing himself to howling and growling. He sounded… normal? Not even a note of altered speech.

“Um… Yeah!” 

Hound Dog grunted, apparently adding something to whatever he was doing on the computer. After a few more clicks and clacks on the keyboard, he turned and faced Uraraka. He was sitting on a swiveling office chair. For some reason, Uraraka found it cute.

“So. What can I do for you?” He spoke in blunt, short sentences. His jaw looked overly restricted by the muzzle.

Uraraka squirmed under his gaze. 

“I uh… I guess I need some advice?” Hound Dog stared her down for what seemed like an eternity before nodding, leaning back in his chair. 

“I should be able to help you there. What do you need advice about?”

“So I have this friend…”

Around halfway through her explaining the story of how she and Deku had started talking, Uraraka started to understand why he was wearing the muzzle. When she had mentioned the suicide hotline, he had started gritting his teeth. Hard. When she told him about Deku’s panic attack trying to get help from a teacher he was almost frothing at the mouth. What was strange was the aggressive behavior didn't upset her, but rather almost made her feel protected. Like standing behind a guard dog. It was very clear that he wasn't mad at her, but rather at Deku being in pain. And honestly? She could relate. She had only known Deku for two days and she already wanted to track down whoever had hurt this boy and break every bone in their body. Then maybe launch them into space for good measure. 

“- and we talked for a few hours last night. We mostly kept it calm, just talking about school and stuff. We actually talked about his future as a hero a whole bunch, which was really fun. He seemed better when I hung up, but how could I really know, you know?” Uraraka took a breath. Her mouth felt a little dry after having talked nonstop for so long. 

“I guess I just. I think I'm doing okay, but I don't know how to help him, you know? Like, it's clear he needs some professional help. But how do I get him from here to there?” she moved her hands as if pushing an invisible box. 

“You’re… grrrr … right that he needs professional help.” The dog hero seemed to be trying to reign in his anger but was still having animalistic splurges in his speech. 

“And to start, I…” He swallowed what seemed to be another growl. “I want to say that you’ve done wonderfully.” Uraraka fidgeted slightly under the praise. 

“You shifted his attention without antagonizing him. You painted a hopeful future that he could get to if he worked for it. You did wonderfully. It’s damn impressive.” His anger seemed to subside as he praised Uraraka. 

“But there are a few questions I would like to ask you.” his lip raised under his muzzle again, showing off elongated canines. 

“What do you get out of this? Why are you… grrr … why do you want to help him? What are you going to do if you can get him help?” The hero managed to choke out his last sentence before making a small chuffing sound as if repressing a bark.

“I…” Uraraka paused.

What did she want? That was easy. She wanted Deku to be happy. To not be in pain. To never feel that bad again. 

Why? That was harder.

There were a whole host of reasons why. Common decency, the fact that they clicked so easily, empathy, hero training, she found Deku neat, and on and on. There was no One Reason. 

And what would she do if she did get him help? Well… hopefully, they could still be friends! Maybe even meet him in person. Based on his number he was at least on the main island of Japan! He seemed so cool and honestly really smart. Even from the little she's known him, she knew that if he gave up and wasn't a hero it would be a massive waste. She wanted him to succeed, and she wanted to be his friend while he did. 

Now just to say that in words….

“I'm gonna take those in order if that's okay.”

“The first one is easy. I want Deku to be happy. He's… really sad. He has a lot of problems and he seems really really nice. If in the end he could be happy? Live his dream? That would be great. Why help him though? That's a weird question. Who wouldn't help someone who called them and obviously needed help?!” Uraraka stirred a little on the couch, agitated at the thought that someone would choose to leave him alone.

“He's a person and he was in pain and he needed help and I could. Does there need to be any more?” She stopped and stared at Hound Dog, as if daring him to challenge her. 

“That is why you helped him at first. Why do you want to continue to help him?” There was something akin to sympathy in the hero’s eyes, even as he spoke gruffly. 

Uraraka deflated.

“He's really nice. He said he's never had friends before. He's smart and nice and kinda funny and if we met in person I think we would be good friends. He needs help and he called me, so I'm going to do my best.” Uraraka couldn't lift her head. Hound Dog hummed in confirmation. 

The girl cleared her throat. 

“I hope he can be happy, really. I mean, I would love to be friends and meet him in person one day. But I just want him to be happy and follow his dreams. He's so nice and smart. He would make an amazing hero. He just needs some help.”

Hound Dog smiled, then spoke.

“I’ll be honest. I worry about this whole situation.” The smile faded as he looked away. 

“Both you and he are put in a situation of placing a large amount of energy into an anonymous person that could, at any time, stop talking to you. Distance and anonymity leads to a lack of direct control or influence. But this is a very real relationship you two are forming.” The hero leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.

“I am in no way saying that you should stop or pull away from him. What I am saying is that you need to be careful, and understand that no matter how good you are or how often you speak to him, you can't control what is happening. This ‘Deku' is clearly mentally unwell. And as noble as it is to be there for him, you cannot fix him. Not even professional help can change him. He is the only one who can change himself. The best you can do is to do what you are doing now. Be considerate, be there for him, and encourage him into healthy habits and mindsets. That, you are doing amazing at. Try to encourage him to seek professional help, but if you push too hard he might draw away.” Hound Dog leaned back again, taking a deep breath. 

“Now there are two more things I want to bring up, then you’re free to go if you’d like.” Uraraka almost laughed. He made it sound like she was here against her will. She very, very much appreciated being able to talk to someone about Deku.

“Number 1,” The hero raised his index finger.

“Deku is quirkless. That comes with an entirely different state of being compared to how you have experienced your life. Now, I hope things are going well for him, but the reality might be different. For example, you encouraged him to seek out a teacher for advice. That, in and of itself I would usually praise you for. Teachers are here to help and you should have no hesitation in seeking assistance. However, Deku is quirkless. As much as we like to pretend there is no discrimination against the quirkless, the reality can be and usually is much different. I'm not saying don't encourage him to find others, I'm just saying be mindful that people might treat him poorly just for being him.”

That was… a lot to take in. 

But it made sense. 

Hell, Uraraka herself struggled with not thinking about the quirkless in a different light. It was an unfortunate reality that she had failed to take into consideration. Huh. 

“And two.” The canine hero raised his middle finger, forming a peace sign. 

“I want you to come and check in with me every so often. We like to think of mental illness as not being contagious, but the reality is that being the sole or main lifeline for someone struggling can take a massive toll on your mental health. I'd like for you to check in with either me or another adult you trust every so often. It doesn't have to be more than once a week if you don't want it to be, it's just important to have someone check in on you as well. It will also help if you need any advice about how to act with Deku.”

The hero smiled again. It was amazing how much he looked like a dog when he smiled, the big dopey smile so common on dogs and puppies visible under the self-imposed muzzle. 

“I have to say, you have been doing amazing for someone thrust into such an unfortunate position. I just wanted to let you know that my door is always open for you, if you need help with Deku or if you need any help with anything else in your life. You have a good head on your shoulders-”

He suddenly perked up.

“Oh! Here.” from his desk he grabbed a business card. 

“I know the idea of you and Deku is that you are anonymous, but if you ever need help with anything past school hours, that has my personal number. If you ever believe you or Deku are in genuine danger, please don't hesitate to call me. If you give me Deku’s phone number in an emergency I should be able to track him down, under the worst-case scenario. Though I do have to ask that if it's not an immediate emergency, please send a text and I’ll call you as soon as possible.” 

Uraraka smiled. 

“Thank you so much.”

It was… sobering to hold, but nice to have an emergency plan in case Deku got too bad. Honestly, Uraraka didn't know how she felt holding it. Everything felt much more real, she guessed. 

Hound Dog stood up.

“If there's nothing else you’d like to ask, it's about time you should get back to class.” When Uraraka shook her head, the hero moved to the door and opened it. With a polite bow and a ‘thank you' Uraraka moved to leave the canine hero’s office.

“Oh. and don't go passing that number around.” the hero said offhandedly. 

“I won't!”

With a loud slam, the door shut behind her, and Uraraka continued back to class.

She got about halfway down the hall before she could hear wild barking and howling coming from the hero’s office. 

It was nice to know he cared.

Chapter Text

Midoriya woke up feeling wrong . 

Not… bad perse, but just wrong. Like his head was screwed on the wrong way. 

This wasn't the first time this had happened. Everyone wakes up in a bad mood sometimes. What people don't tell you is how horrific it can be when you're already mentally ill and wake up in a bad mood.

He could already tell this was going to affect his entire day. 

He felt like he was filled with angsty cotton, wanting to explode out everywhere and make such a mess. It kind of made him want to light himself on fire. 

He stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't even tired, so going back to sleep and hoping he felt better when he woke up wasn't going to be an option. Part of him just wanted to stay where he was, with this painful numb feeling radiating throughout his body while he stared at nothing. Unfortunately, the world never cared what Midoriya wanted. 

With a shrill screech, his alarm went off. Almost against his will, his eyes shifted to look at the offending clock. It was early, but he would have to get ready for school.

With a grunt Midoriya sat up, turning his legs to dangle over the edge of his bed. With sleep-laden dexterity, he managed to slap off his alarm clock. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and took a second to just… feel.

All at once, it felt like gravity was crushing him. He couldn't move if he wanted to, sitting on the edge of his bed with his eyes closed. His chest felt tight and his limbs felt heavy. He wanted to cry but his soul was just so fucking empty . There were no tears to cry. 

He opened his eyes, and the apathy returned. 

He had a long day ahead of him. He didn't have time to feel today. 

He knew his mother knew something was wrong. Her long, worried glances betrayed her open optimism. He saw her jaw moving when he looked away like she was trying to speak but just couldn't . Part of him felt guilty for worrying his mother, but today wasn't the day. Today was the day things happened, not the day when he felt. 

He didn't have time to feel today.

It was days like today when he was glad he didn't have friends at school. No one to worry, no one to talk to, not even a second glance for the quirkless kid. Days like today his isolation was complete. He was alone, and that's how it should be. The only person who even looked at him was the boy with purple hair, but his uninterested eyes shifted before long. It allowed him to shift his totality into whatever work was put in front of him. 

Days like today were double-edged swords. He felt nothing and was treading the thin line between apathy and a breakdown. He'd been through this enough to know that one wrong push would send him spiraling. On the other hand, the complete lack of mentality allowed him to put his all into what was in front of him, with no distractions, emotional or otherwise. 

It was in math class when he came to a realization.

Even as an underground hero, no one would want to work with the quirkless. Why would that not extend to the support companies? 

And if they refused to work with him, where would he get his supplies?

Well, he would have to make it himself. 

This was always the path. If he wanted to help others it would be a long, painful journey, alone. Relying on others had always ended with him hurt as they brushed him off carelessly, or painfully in the case of Bakugou. He can't go to others, he can't afford the risk. 

So he would do it alone. 

Maybe instead of trying to get into the hero course, he should focus on support first. Make his own supplies and train his body, and when he was enough he would become a hero. 

A long path. A lonely path.

It was what he deserved. 

After math was lunch, and this time he intended to use his time wisely. As soon as the bell rang he was on his feet and moving towards the first-year support department. 

Part of him screamed in his head, begging for him to stay alone, to not bother the support department. But he didn't listen. 

He was in control today. His emotions had to take a back seat if they wanted to or not. He was in control.

He was in control

He was in control.

Before his mind could stop him, he swung open the door to the support lab. Strangely, it wasn't as empty as he would have thought it was. In the makeshift workshop were a handful of students gathered around large white sheets of paper. Off to one table was a girl with pink hair, surrounded by heavy machinery. No-one turned as he entered. 

The lab reeked of oil and metal, with a hint of something he barely recognized. It smelled like scorch marks. The stench fire leaves on a non-flammable surface. 

A smell he was familiar with. Seems Bakugou was good for something. 

Maybe he could be a police dog in his next life. 

He would have laughed, but his eyes finally found his target: Power Loader. He was the only teacher he was aware of that was solely in charge of support classes. While he mainly dealt with hero costumes, as far as Midoriya was aware, he should have the information he was looking for.

With as little hesitation as he could manage, Midoriya strode over to the hero in question.

In all honesty, Power Loader looked a little strange. The most striking thing about him, aside from his shirtlessness, was how young he looked. The man easily passed for his early twenties, though was presumably older. His eyes were hidden behind the massive excavator head he called a helmet, though his rough ginger hair fell to his shoulders. His feet were up on his desk, helmet leaned back in seeming relaxation. As Midoriya approached, the massive… helmet? Shifted in his direction.

“You’re not in any of my classes, are you?” The hero’s voice was gruff, but not unkind. 

“No. But that's what I'm here to talk to you about.”

The hero took his feet off his desk and leaned forward. Midoriya felt like he was making eye contact with him but couldn't tell through the helmet. In fact, how did the hero see through the thing? Obviously, he could see through the massive hole in the front, but that was focused closer to his neck than his eyes. With that he would only be able to look down. How the hell did he see?

“Are you looking to transfer?” His voice was all business. 

“I'm more looking to see what it would take to transfer. I'm in gen-ed and I want to know what it would take” Midoriya spoke as calmly as he could, but began to shake. While his mind isn't reacting, his body was. Damn anxiety wouldn't leave him alone for one day.

The hero leaned back again with a hum.

“Well, ideally you would have some kind of past with some kind of robotics or construction. Usually, kids in this course were in a robotics club or something of the like. Basically, any course or experience working with your hands.” The hero stroked his chin. “U.A only takes the best of the best, so the opening exam was to create a device that did… something. So some basic understanding of construction, engineering, and wiring is usually required.” Power loader shook his head slightly.

“To transfer into the support course is significantly easier, considering you’re already in U.A. There's a short exam and you have to submit a device of some kind. Something to prove that you already have basic knowledge of creation.” The hero paused as Midoriya soaked that in. 

Well, that's not ideal. 

He had no experience with anything of the sort. Robotics, engineering, basic coding, electrical wiring. Hell, he hadn't even torn apart electronics for fun.

“They don't have to be fully-fledged devices, however. One year we had a student get in who made a suit. Admittedly, an impressive, padded, and armored suit stitched by hand, but that's not the point. If you can prove that you have some skill that you want to hone, generally we will accept transfers.” 

Well, that's better . But not good . Midoriya’s gut twisted. 

Of course he wouldn't be able to just transfer into the support course! He spent his whole life chasing hero fights and fanboying over All Might! He had no marketable skills - no skills at all! 

His mood was souring. He could feel it. 

Goddamnit.

“Does the support class hold any clubs or classes?” his mouth moved faster than his mind, but as he said the words he realized what a good idea that was. He could learn. 

Power loader smiled.

“Not exactly, but we do hold mentoring and tutoring. Basically, we would tie you to another student. You would be allowed in the studio under the supervision of at least one teacher and your student mentor and they'd show you how everything works. We can also supply books and the like for studying if you want.” 

The twist in Midoriya’s gut lessened. 

There was a path .

Power loader must have noticed something change in Midoriya because he continued. 

“Now this won't be easy. You can't be in here during school hours, so you can only really practice during lunch and after school.” Midoriya’s face soured.

“If you’re worried about the support student, they get a reduced workload and extra credit for assisting you. In fact, a lot of kids in the past looked at this as a chance to work on personal projects using professional equipment. All they have to do is watch over you and mentor you. Every time we offer this service the kids are jumping at the bit!” the hero chuckles, looking out to the class.

“But, I think I already have the perfect student for you. The time requirement won't be an issue for her, but she's a bit much.”

Midoriya was reeling. 

This was… a lot of information. 

On one hand, he would get hands-on experience making his own equipment, with multiple mentors. On the other, it was a massive time commitment and… he'd have to talk to another student. 

He didn't know how he felt about that. 

Well, he knew it filled him with a feeling of dread, but past that he had no idea. Well, there was one thing he needed to know. 

“If I do the mentorship, would I have to transfer?” 

That made Power loader pause. 

“Well, technically I don't think so? We don't generally offer mentoring for those not intending to transfer. I guess we’d have to ask Nezu about that.” 

If the end goal was to join the hero course, why transfer twice? If he could learn what he needed from the mentorship and self-teaching, why not do that and transfer to the hero course? That way he would get the best of both worlds. 

Why not?

Well, there were tons of reasons not . The mentorship was temporary, usually only three or four weeks at the longest. And if he was to use his own creations while being a hero he would have to get a support license. Doing both was… not feasible. 

Midoriya bowed. 

“Thank you so much Power loader.”

The hero nodded and smiled. 

“If this is the route you want to go down, just talk to your homeroom teacher and we’ll start the proces-”

BOOM.

Midoriya jumped as the hero suddenly rocketed to his feet. 

“MEI!” Power Loader thundered. 

The girl with pink hair turned from where she was standing, a sheepish smile on her face. 

“That's it! You’ve lost lunch privileges!” the hero crossed his arms as the students gasped. 

“Go eat food with everyone else like a normal kid” He turned away dramatically as the girl - Mei, apparently - gaped like a fish. 

“But-”

“NO!” He cut her off. 

“Out! Now!”

Everyone froze as Mei and Power Loader stared each other down.

Eventually, the hero won, and the girl hung her head and shuffled out of the… power loader had called it a studio? With a huff, the hero flopped back into his chair. He turned away, and Midoriya took it as his sign to leave. 

No one said anything as he slipped out the door. 

As soon as the door shut, his heart rate rocketed. 

What had he been thinking? 

Like he of all people could just transfer into the support department! God! He was so stupid. 

But there was a path . 

and if he started the mentorship right now, it would be over around the sports festival. 

It could work. 

He just needed time to think. 

God, it could work.

School ended faster than he would have thought, but in all fairness, his mind was elsewhere during his final classes. The thought of making his own support gear was infectious. If he only had the skill, he would be able to single-handedly even the battlefield, if only a little. 

Most support gear was made to enhance the users' quirks, and protect against harm. Very few pieces of gear were made to be self-contained weapons, and the few that were were like Snipe’s gun, only given to heroes in conjunction with their quirk. Maybe part of it was specialization, but there were very few that were just mass-produced weapons. Or just weapons on their own. And of course, there were benefits to having specialized machinery designed for your quirk and only your quirk, but that wasn't applicable in Midoriya’s position. 

To just be given free rein to make whatever he wanted, and be able to use it. Limited only by time and his imagination. 

It was something he had always wanted, even if only slightly.

Self-sufficiency.

How intoxicating an idea. 

As he was leaving his classroom, set on going home, he was stopped. By All Might of all people. 

“Midoriya!” He sounded happy to see the child. 

Strange. 

The hero was in his deflated form, waiting outside of his classroom, waving wildly. Midoriya looked at him and waved back, small and hesitant. 

“Can we speak in private for a moment?” 

All Might led him to an office, set with a pair of couches around a coffee table. There was a desk shoved into the corner of the room, away from large pane windows. 

Midoriya sat on the edge of the couch, closest to the door. The hero went to the desk and rifled through a stack of papers, before pulling something out with an exclamation of success. 

“So! I looked into it!” All might said as he strode to the couch, taking his seat opposite Midoriya.

“Turns out a minor is technically allowed to learn how to shoot under certain circumstances in Japan.” He gave the boy a small smile. 

“Usually that is reserved for those with projectile-based quirks, but it's not limited to that. In fact, I was able to get these for you.” All Might handed Midoriya a handful of papers. Glancing through them quickly, there were a few with obvious places for signatures and a few others with excessive writing. All about different types of firearms and…

A plan?

“I spoke to a friend of mine in the force and he told me he could personally oversee your experience. You would have to take a couple of lessons at a police station, but then you would be taken to a range and given the experience. The cost will be covered by me if you’ll allow, and my friend would be the one teaching you how to shoot. Though he would not be overseeing the class” Midoriya felt like his heart was going to explode, but All Might continued. 

“Honestly all we need is your signature and the signature of your guardian. The class would be held on a Saturday, however. So there goes part of your weekend.”

All Might had actually gone through with it… And so fast! 

Honestly, he had said that he wanted to learn to shoot a gun almost as an afterthought, yet the hero had gone and organized it in a day . 

“I-” Midoriya felt something rise in his throat. Tears , he realized to his horror. 

Oh god please don't let All Might be what breaks me today.

“Thank you.” His voice was small and shocked. All Might smiled.

“It's no problem, my boy! When you have the paperwork filled out you can give it back to me or go to the address listed on the back of one of those sheets. Just ask for the name on the back and you’ll be fine” All Might’s smile was warm and inviting, even in his skeletal form.

Midoriya was overwhelmed.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry. 

“I- Thank you” 

Midoriya stood up and bowed, hiding his face.

“Of course!”

With a hasty goodbye, Midoriya went home. 

Deku - 

Hey.

What If I learned how to make support equipment?

Gravity - 

Hey!

I mean, if you want to do it why not!

Deku - 

If I could do that I could make my own equipment

Gravity - 

Oh!

You mean like that lol

I thought you meant become an engineer for like a job

I think that would be great!

There was a pause as Gravity waited for him to say something. When nothing came through, she continued.

Gravity -

How was your day?

Deku - 

It could have been… better.

Gravity - 

Oh im sorry :(

Anything you want to talk about?

There was a long lapse before Midoriya responded.

Deku - 

No I don't think so

I’ll feel better after some sleep

He could almost feel Gravity frown as he hit send. 

It was strange. He had known her for less than a week but he felt like he knew her. If anything, knowing her made him want to tell her less. She was so kind. She didn't deserve to deal with his bullshit. 

Midoriya shook his head. He had been down this path already. 

He had gotten through the day without a breakdown. He wasn't gonna crack now. The cotton was still in his head, but it was mostly gone. He almost felt… normal. There was just an innate feeling of vulnerability sitting within him. He knew that at the lightest prod his paper armor would tear. 

Gravity -

Okay

Its not like im gonna force you to talk about things you dont wanna talk about

I did some training today that was really fun!

Wanna hear about it?

Midoriya smiled.

He really, really did.

Chapter Text

Turns out the classes were less classes and more one long, boring lecture. Not to say that the information they went over was unimportant, but the way of obtaining the information was so boring . 

A balding man wearing what Midoriya would assume was ‘business casual’ stood in front of an electronic board, going over information thoroughly, yet slowly. The object of the class was simple: bring the attendants up to speed on the basics of firearms. The general structure of a gun, the basics of firearm safety, what to do in case of an active shooter. Things of that nature. It was informative, yet dull. The most exciting part came at the end of the class, when it became clear why it was being held in a police station. An officer went into the armory and brought out an unloaded standard-issue sidearm. In other words, a handgun. They took the class one by one and let them hold and see how the weapon worked and felt, while under careful observation. Any break of firearm safety and they would instantly fail the class. It was almost an exam of sorts, as the officer asked them where certain parts of the gun were and how it worked. 

“What part of the gun is the barrel”, “How do you eject the magazine”, “How do you check if the weapon has any rounds chambered”. 

It was quick, yet exhilarating. 

After the hands-on demonstration, they went over laws regarding ownership and use of firearms in Japan. In short, owning a firearm was near impossible unless they were required for your profession. There were recreational firing ranges in the country, but they were few and far between, usually tied to either the military or police force. Occasionally a hero would own or partially own a range, but that was rare. It was possible to own a firearm as a citizen, but difficult and required massive amounts of training and certifications. You also weren't allowed to hold your firearm in your home. 

It sounded like a nightmare. 

Luckily, Midoriya had no interest in being a civilian. Becoming a hero would sidestep the majority of these laws.

The class ended with a short quiz, covering what they went over. It was very basic, feeling more like a formality than an actual examination. It took less than five minutes. 

At his release, Midoriya started his way out of the police station before being stopped by a rather plain looking man. 

“Ah- Midoriya right?” 

Midoriya froze like a deer in headlights, not expecting to be spoken to. Anxiety almost instantly overwhelmed him as it felt like all higher brain function stopped. 

The man seemed to notice. 

“Oh! Don’t worry!” he raised his hand over his mouth to whisper at Midoriya conspiratorially. “All Might asked me to help you out” he straightened up and smiled, offering his hand. 

Numbly, Midoriya took it. 

“I’m detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, you can just call me Tsukauchi.” He shook Midoriya’s hand.

“N-Nice to meet you.” Midoriya tried to sound normal, but his voice came out as more of a whisper. Tsukauchi smiled. 

“What do you say we go to the range?”

“I-I thought I needed more classes for that?” Midoriya cocked his head, anxiety dampened by his confusion. Tsukauchi nodded as he began to walk to the back of the station. Midoriya followed. 

“Normally you would, but you’re a special case” The detective opened a door and stepped in quickly. 

“From what I understand you’re not actually looking to own a gun, but just experience shooting. And you’re a minor.” Tsukauchi paused. “And All Might vouched for you” he added, almost as an afterthought. The man shook his head before continuing.

“You’re looking to be a hero right?” Midoriya nodded. “So, you don’t need to go through all the training required to own a firearm as a civilian, as that won’t be your situation. You’re also too young to own a firearm anyways.” He continued to talk as they walked. 

“So we put you through the bare minimum classes, and I’ll be personally overseeing your firearm training until you join the hero course, where you’ll get more targeted training.” They stopped in front of a desk built into the wall, an opening covered in what looked like thick glass. Tsukachi filled out some information on a sheet of paper before handing it to Midoriya.

“Just sign here please,” he tapped a box on the far right with the pen. Midoriya signed. Passing the sheet back, an officer took the paper and looked it over. Nodding, he stepped out of sight. 

“This isn’t a situation that happens often, and honestly usually wouldn't be allowed in most circumstances. But for what it’s worth, I’m happy to be able to teach you,” The detective gave him a smile, something Midoriya tried his best to return. 

The officer behind the glass came back with a box of ammunition, two sets of what looked like headphones, a paper target, and a gun. He checked something on the gun and wrote something on the sheet before placing the equipment on the desk and sliding it under the glass. Tsukauchi thanked him and took the weapon. He handed the ammo box and paper target to Midoriya before continuing to an attached room. Inside was what looked like an indoor firing range.

Seemingly at random, the detective stepped into a section and placed the gun on the table, barrel facing down the range. 

“Okay, so this is how we’ll start-”

Shooting was anxiety-inducing, horrifying, and amazing . The headphones were noise dampening, protecting his ears from the explosive bangs coming from the gun. Tsukauchi took him through the steps. First, how to load ammunition into a magazine. It was harder than you’d think, pushing a round casing against another down into the metallic box. Then he showed him how to stand while firing, one foot in front of the other, body turned slightly toward the target. He showed him how to chamber a round, and how to properly aim. Then, finally, how to fire. 

Faster than Midoriya would have figured he was ready to fire. Eyes focusing on the iron sights of the gun in his hand, finger on the trigger, but scared to pull it. See, he knew nothing bad would happen, but there was a certain level of hesitation that he couldn't seem to push through. Just the knowledge that if this was pointed at a person it could kill them was enough to make him hesitate, let alone the fact that he was essentially pulling a trigger to cause an explosion in his palm. He knew the recoil would… happen, but he didn't know how it would feel. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Letting it go slowly, he pulled the trigger. 

It was… uncomfortable in all honesty. The top of the gun pushed back into his palm, making him want to tilt his wrist. It was explosive, in one large crack. It was over in an instant, but his arms were shaking, from what he didn't know. 

“Good! Now, see where it landed?” Midoriya looked down at where he was pointing the gun. The bullet had landed to the upper right of the target, not hitting the target but still hitting the paper. 

“Using that, try to adjust your aim. Looks like you need to aim a little lower and to the left.”

Midoriya took another deep breath and fired. 

“You know, you’re better at this than most of my first-time cops,” Tsukauchi said after Midoriya had fired his second magazine’s worth. 

“W-What?”

“Yeah. I mean, your aim is still rough, but most first-time shooters have a hard time adjusting to a gun. You’re adapting your aim and stance way easier than most, getting more and more accurate. It usually takes months to learn to adapt to your weapon. You said you’ve never been shooting before?”

“N-no, sir. This is my first time…” 

“What about airsoft guns, or even videogames?” 

Midoriya shook his head and Tsukauchi let out a hum.

“That’s even more amazing then. I see All Might picked you for a reason” He gave Midoriya a smile. 

Midoriya sputtered as the detective clapped him on the shoulder, chuckling. 

“Load up another one. Let’s get the most out of our time.”

Midoriya couldn't figure out why, but what the detective said bothered him. He wasn’t special, or naturally talented. Hell, half the bullets still missed the paper entirely. The detective talked about adaptability, and Midoriya guessed he would have to give him that one. The boy was being careful to watch what he was doing and doing his best to change with every mistake. If anything, he had learned that from watching heroes. The best ones were always changing what they do depending on the situation. If he wanted to be a hero, emulating what the best do just sounded like a good plan. 

Midoriya let out a laugh to himself as he loaded the next magazine.

Maybe all that hero watching could be applied to something after all.

…

Wait. 

An idea hit Midoriya as he was loading a magazine. 

He spent all his time watching heroes and recording quirks and quirk usage. It’s what he was best at. 

What if that was applicable in other places...

Holy shit . 

Was it even possible? Could he even do that? 

What if he could replicate quirks with support tech? 

Obviously, it would never be as good as having a natural quirk, but if he could simulate quirks he saw, and use them in different scenarios? 

Well, some would be easy to simulate. Others would be impossible, like any kind of telekinesis. 

An idea hit him. A perfect idea, something that would be amazing. All he would have to do is make it. 

The last bullet slid into the magazine, and Midoriya smiled. 

Deku - 

Hey! I have the coolest idea!

Gravity -

oooooooooooo

Hell yeah! What you got!

Deku -

If I start studying to make support items and I try to make stuff that can emulate quirks?

Like, if I could emulate other peoples quirks and have multiple then I could use the right one at the right time! 

Gravity -

That sounds so cool! But is that even possible?

Deku - 

Honestly? No idea. I’m about to look into it. But I already have an idea of what to make if it’s possible.

Gravity -

Oooo 

Wanna share?

Deku -

If it’s possible you’ll be the first to know. 

Gravity - 

That’s fair. 

Holy shit. 

It’s possible. It would just be incredibly difficult.

The idea was simple. He was looking to emulate one part of a quirk: A fire quirk’s ability to increase resistance to heat. 

Honestly, if he made this he might have to give Bakugou royalties. It was because of the explosive boy that Midoriya learned to hate burns so fucking much. If he could make equipment that would make his body more resistant to burns? He would cry. 

But looking into it, it seemed like something like that would be super complicated. The easiest way would be to make some kind of paste that was resistant and spread that on his body, but that wasn’t rational, really. He would have to re-apply all the time, and it would only work where he put it. On top of that, he was looking to make some kind of machine, not a cosmetic product. But looking more into it, an idea hit him. 

Oh god, this will be so complicated. 

There was an article he found where an American technician combined DNA from a hero able to make transparent shields and combined it with hologram technology, essentially making a holographic shield. It was used as a support item for the hero, a sort of portable quirk. Potentially, if he were to learn how to adapt that technology and add someone else’s quirk… if he were able to refine it…

It would be amazing. 

Midoriya sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Well, there was nothing to do but start.

The jarring sound from Midoriya’s alarm shocked him out of the stupor he had fallen into. With bleary eyes, he shifted his attention from his notebook to the screaming clock, brain barely processing what was happening. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he read the clock.

It was time to get ready for school?

But… it was Sunday? He had taken the class on Saturday, and yeah he had pulled an all nighter, but that only made it Sunday. Why was his alarm clock going off? It was only programmed to wake him up on weekdays…

With a grunt of annoyance, he grabbed his phone. 

Well, this wasn’t good. 

It was Monday. 

What the fuck happened to Sunday?  

Panic began to well up in him as he went back to his notebook, flipping through the page he had filled with notes.

Holy fuck . 

There were an easy fifty pages of information. 

Well. Somehow a five hour study session had turned into a thirty hour study session. Looking down at his notebook, Midoriya’s heart rate began to steady. This wasn’t good, but it could be worse. His head just felt… blurry. Almost like everything was taking an extra second to render properly. Though at this point he had been awake for going on forty hours, so it wasn’t exactly strange. 

Oh god, he had to go to school.

Fuuuuuuuuck . 

That means he wouldn't get to sleep until at least 5 pm. Fifty? Fifty-five hours of consciousness? 

Not ideal. 

Now, Midoriya was no stranger to long hours, but at this point the longest he had been awake was like… a day. 

Part of him wanted to crawl into bed, but to be honest he didn't even feel tired. Just… wrong. Like, his body wasn’t tired, but his brain was suffering. It wasn’t bad, especially in comparison to some other states he had been in. It was just weird. His eyes burned and blinking didn't help. He felt generally just… grimey. Sweaty. Bad. But not horrible. 

Well, this was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a shower. 

A shower isn’t a replacement for sleep- Midoriya’s mind whispered to him. He ignored it. 

Opening his door he heard something clink. Looking down, there was a plate. Dinner, it looked like. 

Mom .

All at once, Midoriya was overwhelmed. Tears sprung to his eyes faster than he could process. His mother was just… so good.

 She was just.

Good. 

He leaned down, picking up the plate. It was nothing special, and at this point was ice cold. But it wasn’t the food, it was the message. 

God, how Midoriya Izuku loves his mother. 

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the feelings down just far enough to be able to take a breath. He could deal with this after a shower, when he felt better. 

Being clean was amazing, especially after not noticing how gross he had progressively gotten. As he was showering, he heard his mother wake up. Damn, he must have taken a longer shower than he thought. He was hoping he could make her breakfast or something. He would have to thank Gravity for that advice again. When he was overwhelmed with emotions about his mother, being able to focus them into an activity gave him a branch, something other than spiraling into guilt and tears. 

After the shower he felt better, but still not great. He felt clean and had a rush of energy, but his brain was still lagging behind everything. There were worse ways to be, he guessed. 

Walking into his living room his mother looked up from where she stood, working in the kitchen. Her gentle smile quickly turned into a look of worry. 

“Honey…” she paused, cooking utensil pointed up as she froze. 

“How are you feeling?” she spoke hesitantly, as if scared she would spook him. Midoriya suddenly felt much, much heavier as he flopped into a seat at his dining table. 

“I thought it was Sunday.” 

“W-What?” it was strange to hear his mom stutter like that. She suddenly sounded a lot like him. The thought made him smile, though it was sour. 

“I knew I pulled an all-nighter, but I thought it was Sunday. I guess I just got so absorbed in what I was doing that I just… forgot to sleep?” He let out a small chuckle, thumping his head against his table as he slumped forward. 

Inko was bewildered. 

“I… you’ve been awake since Saturday?” 

Izuku hummed, not moving his head from the table. 

A gear clicked in Inko’s mind, finally. Lowering her utensil, she went back to cooking. 

“Well, guess you’re not going to school today, then.”

Midoriya’s head shot up so fast it almost scared her.

“No! I have to go to school!” 

Thrown for a loop again, Inko froze… again. Izuku had never been… against school but it had never been an easy process for him. He didn't complain, but he was never… excited to go either. Excited to learn, maybe, but never to go to school. What’s stranger, he didn't sound excited. It sounded more like he was… desperate. Like he had to go, not wanted to. 

“You don’t have to go Izuku. You’re doing fine with your grades. Honestly, going today would probably do more damage than good. Aren’t you tired?” 

“I wanna talk about switching into support! I have an idea for some gear and it would be so cool if I could just do it.” 

Well, this morning was just throwing Inko for a loop. 

“You want to switch to the support course?” Midoriya sat up straighter and blinked, mouth in a silent O shape. 

He had completely forgotten to include his mom in his plans. Well, it’s not like he could tell her everything. If she knew how he met Gravity… it would not be good. And Gravity had been the one to give him the idea and… he just hadn’t told her. Come to think of it, he hadn’t even told her why he wanted to learn how to shoot a gun. She had just said yes after reading over all the information in the packet. 

Why had she done that? What?

Midoriya’s brain was too tired to process all this information. It just wasn’t clicking, more questions coming than he could deal with. Well, he could give her an… edited version of events.

“So, I came to some realizations.” He paused, collecting his thoughts. It was harder to condense than he thought it would be. 

“I can never be a major hero. I can never be like All Might.” While he had come to terms with this, it still stung a little to say out loud. 

“But I can be a hero in other ways. It’s not as popular, but there is a whole division of heroics that focuses on protecting the public and staying away from the spotlight. Not the major, world-changing fights that All Might does. Little acts. Stopping a mugger, making sure drunk people get home safe, stopping minor villains.” He was purposely avoiding just how much more dangerous underground hero work was as he continued speaking. 

“An underground hero! They’re heroes that work with stealth and try to stay out of the media. If I were to be a hero it would be how I would have to do it. Either that or be a small-time daytime hero. I like this one more.” He started to ramble as his brain took him down a tangential line of thought. Realizing he was losing himself, he shook his head and refocused. 

“Because I don’t have a quirk I would have to rely on weapons, And I was thinking it would be really good if I learned how to make them. And armor, and tools and stuff. Then, even if Heroism doesn’t work I still have something to lean back on!” It was really obvious that he was trying to over-explain the good, but it was keeping him from talking about the bad. 

“That’s what I was doing yesterday. Or… Friday? Whatever…” Midoriya cleared his throat. 

“I talked to the support teacher and he said transferring wouldn't be hard, but I’d have to make something. So I was looking at something I wanted to make. It’s really cool! I just… got lost in the science…” He let his sentence peter out, shifting his eyes to finally look his mother in the eye for the first time since he entered the room. Whatever she was cooking was actively burning, smoke raising in small whisps. Tears were in her eyes, face frozen in shock. The moment their eyes met she seemed to snap from her… state. 

“That’s great honey! Is that why you want to go to school so badly today?” Her voice was light, but Midoriya could tell something was off. But not off in a bad way? She was smiling, and for the first time in a while, her eyes didn't look sad. 

“Uh… yeah. I wanted to pitch the idea to the support teacher, see if he thought it was possible. And I’m pretty sure it is. If he signs off on it then I wanted to know how soon I could start.” Something was off with his mom. What the hell was it? It was worrying him and it was worrying him even more that he couldn't figure out what was wrong. He was staring at his mom as she very clearly avoided eye contact, staring intently at what she was doing. She stirred something and looked up, smiling wildly. 

“I’m so happy for you!” 

Her smile was true, real. Like pure joy had erupted and she couldn't help herself. She was shining . 

“What if we call it a half-day, then?” Her smile returned to something more contained as she started serving the food. 

“You can get the processes started and then come home. Get some good sleep and be able to start work tomorrow!” He could feel the positivity radiating from his mother. It was infectious, even through his exhaustion. 

“Yeah! That sounds good!”

“By the way, before I forget. Thank you so much for dinner.”

“Oh! Did you eat it?”

“No, I found it this morning…” 

Inko couldn't help herself but laugh. She didn't think there would ever come a day when she didn't adore her son with her whole heart. 

Midoriya came into his homeroom with more energy than usual. Though, considering he tried to sneak into class as silently as he could most days, that wasn’t saying much. Clutched in his hand was a blue spiral notebook. He made his way to his seat as fast as he could, throwing his bag into his chair and the notebook onto his desk. It was times like now when he was unendingly glad he no longer shared a class with Bakugou. The explosive boy would have taken one look at the notebook and blown it up without a second thought. Maybe only lit it on fire, if he was having a good day. As it was, no one in his class even looked at him. 

Well, all except the purple-haired boy. He usually kept to himself, prickly exterior out in full force every time he was forced to interact with another person. He was unendingly private. Midoriya thought his name was Shinsou, but honestly couldn't remember today. His mind was on one thing, and that was the contents of the spiral notebook. Strangely, his usual hesitance was gone today. There was nothing in his head except for this one burning desire to make . 

In any case, the purple boy was looking at him.

It was strange, but he didn't really mind. 

Thankfully, his teacher was in the classroom, waiting for the day to start. With as little hesitation as he could manage, he came up to his homeroom teacher. Before the teacher could say anything, Midoriya was already speaking. 

“Can I go see Power Loader?”

The design studio was a much different place in the morning than it was at lunch. For one, it was full. Fifteen or twenty students, all working on their own pieces. No one looked up as he entered. Nor did they look up as he walked to where Power Loader sat. 

With a bang, he slammed his notebook on the desk in front of the hero. 

“I have an idea. I want to join. I want to make it.” 

The hero smiled. 

“That’s what I like to hear! Is it in here?” he gestured to the notebook. Midoriya nodded and Power Loader gently took it. He flipped through it quickly, seemingly skimming but it was long enough to give Midoriya heart palpitations. 

The hero’s mouth was one of the few facial features that could be seen under the massive headpiece, so Midoriya got a full view when his face went from carefully neutral to a feral grin. 

“Oh yes. Oh yes yes yes. This will do quite well. And you’ve done nearly all the research already!” he flipped through a few more pages. 

“To think that we could have missed you…” He snapped the book shut. 

“What do you say to a trial day, before you commit?” the hero’s grin faded back to a carefully schooled neutral look. Midoriya couldn't nod fast enough. 

“Great! I’ll get you set up with a mentor and contact your homeroom teacher. Stay right here” The hero went off with Midoriya’s notebook in tow. The student watched as his potential teacher walked across the room with determination, taking a girl with pink hair by the shoulder and talking to her quietly. The girl flipped through the notebook as the hero spoke. The girl was visibly becoming more and more excited. 

“Where is he!” her voice boomed over the quiet chatter of the room. No one in the room responded to the outburst, seemingly used to it. Power Loader laughed. 

The girl followed the hero back to his desk, where Midoriya stood in wait. Around halfway to the desk she seemed to realize where they were going and took off at full speed. She almost knocked Midoriya over as she grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him. 

“Hi! I’m Hatsume Mei! You’re the one who made this, right?” She shook his notebook violently in front of his face, almost too close to see without going cross-eyed. She stood so close Midoriya could notice that her eyes were unusual. They had strange crosshairs, most likely as a result of her quirk. 

“I-I… Yes! I did!” Midoriya felt like the words were being physically shaken out of him as Mei continued. 

The girl stopped shaking him, and Midoriya was able to get a good look. She was around his age, which confused him. He was under the impression that his mentor would be a third year, or at least a second year. Older than him, with experience. This girl seemed young and... manic. 

“Perfect! You’ve never made something before? No engineering or tinkering or wiring or anything?” 

“N-No. I haven’t.”

“Hmmmm. We’ll have to start on the basics then. Blueprinting, conceptualization, basics of wiring, basics of holograms. Then find a willing subject…” She paused. 

“You wouldn't happen to have a fire quirk, would you?” Midoriya shook his head and she tsked. 

“Figures. We can just borrow one of the hero students then! Even with teaching you, if we really get down to it, we could have a working prototype in a month, maybe less!” the crosshairs that made up her irises shifted. 

“And then you’ll owe me!” 

What?

“God, Mei. Don’t go running off like that! You shouldn’t be running in the studio at all!” The pro hero scolded the girl, but she didn't even seem to register she was being spoken to, instead staring intently at Midoriya. The hero huffed. 

“Well, looks like you two met. And Midoriya! You didn't run in fear! Progress, Mei.” His words dripped sarcasm, and again Mei didn't even twitch. With a grunt of annoyance, the hero waved his hand in front of Mei’s eyeline. She jumped. 

“Earth to Mei.” He was gruff, but not unkind. Almost fond, if anything. 

“So, here is how today will work!” the hero clapped. 

“You two will-” Power Loader cut himself off there was a sound of his phone going off. Wordlessly, he pulled the phone out and checked it before going very very still. 

“Change of plans. Mei, run him through the very basics, try not to set anything on fire. Class!” He called out, students hesitantly raised their heads from their projects. 

“This will be a free work period. Work on personal projects, or the like until I return. Moshiro!” a student in the back perked up. 

“You are de facto in charge until I’m back. Make sure nothing blows up” The hero not so subtly side-eyed Mei, who deflated. The student, Moshiro, apparently, nodded. Power Loader returned the nod and just… left. 

“Come on!” 

Mei was a good teacher, regardless of her… unhinged approach to creation. She spoke at lightning speed, something Midoriya was barely able to keep up with. What Midoriya really appreciated is that she didn't stop for input, rather just continued to teach. It made Midoriya feel better for some reason, to not have to interact, to only have to observe and understand. She paused every once in a while, allowing Midoriya to catch up as he studiously took notes of her impromptu lecture. She would look over his notes, making sure he was writing down the right thing, but her eyes seemed to move at light speed. Then she was back to talking. 

It was… great. Maybe it would be better if Midoriya had gotten a full night’s sleep, but as it was his lack of sleep was actually helping him in the situation. She was allowing him to throw his all into something, give no mind to any outside distractions and just focus . As he was, his mind was begging to focus, too tired to take in too much stimulus. Everything else melted away as Mei rushed through what seemed like years of experience in minutes. 

They were just starting on how to properly calculate energy requirements when Midoriya was forcibly ripped from the process. 

His phone rang. Barely recognizing the buzz, he absently grabbed the device and swung it in front of his face. All at once, it was like the world stopped. 

On the front of his phone, one word. 

Gravity . 

With a half-baked excuse, Midoriya excused himself from Mei and found his way into the hallway. Panic filled his chest as he answered. 

They were both students. If she was calling him in the middle of the day?

His mouth ran dry. 

The first thing to come through the phone was a sniffle, barely legible over the hiss.

 “H-Hi.” His voice was tight with worry. Another sniff came through, then another. Then a sob. 

“I-Im sorry! I didn't have anyone else to call!” her words were choked through her tears. It sounded like it hurt to speak. 

Oh god oh god oh god. 

This was not good. While Midoriya didn't know Gravity in person, they spoke enough for him to know she was tough. Really tough. For her to be in this state, something really bad must have happened. With his heart in his throat, Midoriya tried to swallow. 

Be rational. Come at this the best you can. You’ve been pretty fucked up before, if you can understand what is wrong, maybe you can help. 

She said she didn't have anyone else to call. You know how that feels. Make sure she's okay.

It was strange, even as he spoke to her, his internal voice sounded like Gravity. A strong, calm voice of reason, whispering what to do. He took a deep breath. 

“A-Are you okay? Are you hurt?” a spike of frustration tore through Midoriya. His stutter always came out at the worst time. 

She seemed to compose herself a little at his words, taking several deep breaths. 

“I… I'm okay. It's just. Awful” A dry laugh tore itself out of her throat. “I'm okay. I got lucky.” her voice was low, haunted.

Well, that set off alarms in Midoriya’s head. 

“What happened?” 

There was a pause, Gravity breathing heavily over the phone. Suddenly, her breath hitched again.

“I-It was supposed to be a field trip!” her voice cracked as another sob tore itself out of her. 

“But then villains showed up! I-” it sounded painful, for her to be talking. It felt like every word she said was tearing out chunks of Midoriya’s heart. 

Villains? Gravity had said she went to a hero school, and was around the same age as him. Dear god…

“Was anyone hurt?” Midoriya’s voice was low, but it felt like he was outside of his own body. This was… so much. How the hell did he help with this?! He was barely functional as it was! 

“Y-yes” Gravity was obviously speaking through tears, and it hurt to listen to. Hurt so much. 

In a split second, Midoriya made a decision. 

It didn't matter. Yes, he was barely functional. Yes, he had problems.

But he only had one friend, and that one friend had just gone through possibly the worst day of her life. Maybe he couldn't do much, but he could do something. 

“A few students got hurt… and my teachers.” The tears were calming down as an emptiness filled Gravity's voice. 

“God Deku, there was so much blood. Aizawa, Tsu…”

Okay, maybe he was ill-equipped to help. 

But it’s not like he had much of a choice. He didn't even know who Gravity was. There was no way to get someone better to help her. All he could do was his best. 

Midoriya didn't think he had ever been so scared. 

“B-but help came, right?” 

Ooooh this was a gambit. If anyone died, this would backfire. If not, this could go well. 

“They’re getting help now. You made it through.” 

There was a pause as Midoriya prayed, praying Gravity hadn’t had to witness someone die today. 

Finally, a sniffle. 

“Y-yeah. We got through” Her voice sounded broken, but Midoriya took the win. 

“That must have been so scary, I'm so sorry you had to go through it…” He tried to put everything he felt into his words. To show that he meant it. He wanted to let her know that she wasn't alone anymore. Not if she didn't want to be.

I am here.

All Might’s catchphrase was warped, poison in his mind. But it rang true. After all, there was a reason he said it. Reassurance that all bad things come to an end, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. That you didn't have to go through anything alone. 

Midoriya would make sure Gravity knew that he was here for her. 

“I-I’m sorry.”

Goddamnit! Every time he settles on reassuring himself, she goes and twists on her head! 

“No! Don’t be sorry! I… I’m glad you’re not alone, even if it’s only me.” he said the last part in a whisper. Silence filled the void after his words, so he cleared his throat and continued. 

“Today must have been… horrifying. I’m so sorry you had to go through that. But now… you shouldn’t be alone. I want you to talk to me, or anyone really. I-’m always here for you, just… let me know how to help…” 

Another silence. Then, 

“Thank you, Deku.” her words were soft but rang with… something. An emotion Midoriya couldn't really place, not right now at least. Relief, maybe. 

“I just… the police left. I…” She broke off again, seemingly gathering herself. 

“I just didn't want to be alone.”

That’s when it clicked. 

Tsu. Tsuyu. 

What felt like a lifetime ago now, Gravity had mentioned her new school. In short, censored words of course, but the name Tsuyu had slipped through. The only real friend she had made since school started. Of course, she knew most of her class and was on good terms with almost everyone, but something about this ‘Tsu’ was different. Her only real friend, she had said. 

Tsu and blood. 

No wonder she didn't want to be alone.

“Then you won't be. I'm here for you.” 

There was sound coming from her phone, seemingly in the background. It sounded like someone talking, but Midoriya couldn't make out what it was over the phone’s distortion. Gravity made an affirming noise, and the voice seemed to leave

“I. I have to go. Thanks… Deku” her voice was hesitant, but better than it was before. She just sounded… tired. 

“Of course. If you need to talk to someone later, I'm here. “ It sounded lame to him, but Midoriya hoped she was listening.

“Yeah… maybe we can talk later…” She sounded very non-committal. It was shocking how different she sounded than usual. It was like all of her personality had been sucked from her body. It really worried Midoriya. 

“Okay.” he tried smiling, but was glad they weren’t talking in person. He didn't need to see his face to know that his smile was awful. He felt like he was grimacing. 

“Bye…” The phone clicked as Gravity hung up. 

Midoriya’s arm dropped to his side, finally removing his phone from his face. 

Holy shit .

The world felt like it was swirling around him. 

Gravity had almost died . She was attacked, and here he was, playing with gears. The overwhelming nature of it all pushed on him all at once. 

She had almost died. 

He had one friend, and he could have lost her today. 

Midoriya dropped to the floor, his back to the wall of the school hallway. 

He had not been prepared for today. 

It could have been a minute, it could have been an hour. Honestly, the concept of time was beginning to lose meaning. However long it had been, Mei poked her head outside the door. 

Midoriya met her eyes, and she seemed to freeze.

“Uh… Did I break you” her voice was strange. She had been talking with so much energy before. She sounded almost worried. 

Midoriya let out a grunt. 

“Uhg. no. It's just… A day,” Mei physically deflated in relief. 

“Oh. okay.” She paused as Midoriya let his head hit the wall with a thump. 

“You wanna come back?” 

Midoriya took a deep breath. 

There was nothing he could do. Literally nothing. Sitting here in the hallway was beyond useless. He was just… relishing in it. 

With a sigh, Midoriya stood. 

“Yeah.” 

Mei was noticeably taking it easy on him. The information was good, but she spoke in calm, low tones. It kinda felt patronizing at times, but Midoriya appreciated it. Power loader came back near the end of the day. He was quiet, reflective. Or at least more than usual. 

The day came to an easy end. Midoriya putting the finishing touches on a set of blueprints for the first pass of sorts. Mei was glowing with pride. She seemed to take joy in his progress. Or maybe she just wanted to make the thing. Honestly, Midoriya was beyond understanding at this point. His trip home passed in a blur. 

His mom was gone when he got home, most likely at work. He didn't mind, simply making it to his couch before falling. 

He was asleep before he could take off his bag. 

Waking up face down on a couch was weird, especially because he was still wearing… everything. Shoes, school uniform, school bag. His face felt squished and warm. Blinking, he noticed it was significantly darker than he expected it to be. Rolling off the couch, Midoriya hit the floor with a bump. Taking out his phone, Midoriya checked the time. 

It was 9 pm. 

If his mom was home, she was most likely asleep. She should be home, at least. 

As the bleariness of sleep slowly left his eyes, Midoriya saw the notification under the time. A text from Gravity from… 2 minutes ago. 

Oh. That's why he had woken up. 

Gravity - 

Hey.

Um

Sorry about earlier. 

Deku - 

Oh dont worry about it. Are you okay?

Midoriya blinked at his phone. The small symbol in the corner showed that she was there. She started typing, then stopped. Then started. Then stopped. 

Gravity - 

I dont think so. 

That was fair. In all honesty, Midoriya wasn't either. But his mind was still dull from sleep as he responded.

Deku - 

Thats fair. I mean. Today must have been horrible. 

There was another pause. 

Deku -

Do you want to talk about it

Gravity - 

I should

But not right now. 

I dont think I can

Not right now at least. 

Well damn. Midoriya could sure as hell relate to that. 

Deku - 

Thats okay. 

You dont have to. You just should you know?

Eventually. 

And it could be to anyone! It doesnt have to be me

Okay, Midoriya would admit it. He had kind of panicked there at the end. But at this point he was still fuzzy. 

Gravity - 

Thanks

There was a pause where Gravity’s icon kept flashing, indicating she was writing. Midoriya gave her time as he stood up and made his way to his room. 

Gravity-

Well, now you know where I go to school I guess :)

What . 

What?

Deku - 

What?

Gravity - 

The news

Oh . 

That made sense. A first year hero class was attacked by villains on campus. The news would be all over that. 

That means.

Deku -

Oh

Gravity - 

I mean I dont mind. 

Have you not seen already?

Deku - 

I came home and passed out. 

I havent seen the news yet. 

Gravity - 

Well, I might as well rip the bandaid off now. 

I go to U.A.

Fuck. 

*

Chapter Text

Going back to school so soon after a villain attack was… disconcerting to say the least. The attack happened on a Friday, and here Uraraka was, walking into the school on the following Wednesday. 

How would they even hold classes? Aizawa and Tsu had been injured. Going to school without them just felt… wrong. 

With a deep breath, Uraraka walked through the gate. 

She was right. The classroom felt wrong. Almost everyone was present when she walked in, well before the bell rang. The room was also silent. Gone were the days of Kaminari rushing in at the last second before the bell rang, scrambling to get to his seat, Mina chatting with Sero and Jirou.

Tsu, waiting for her to find her seat. 

In fact, there were three seats empty. 

Tsu, Mineta, and Araki. In other words, everyone from the sunken ship section of the USJ. 

The thought made Uraraka shiver. 

Uraraka barely made it to her chair before the door to the classroom opened with a crash. Eyes darting to the crashing sound, she was filled with surprise watching none other than Aizawa come into the classroom. The man had a cast on every limb, lines, and lines of cloth wrapped around his head keeping bandages in place. There was a single slot on his head, leaving an opening for one eye. His black hair tumbled from the top of his head, cascading over his bandaged shoulders in stark contrast to the white cloth. He almost looked like a mummy. 

It would have been funny if she hadn't been so worried for him. 

The man barely made it a step in the room before the shouting started. 

“Sensei! Shouldn't you be resting”

“Oh no! Are you okay to be back!”

“What are you doing here?!” 

Concerned voices of her classmates overlapped as the man took careful steps, aided by twin crutches under each arm. As he took to the podium he took a deep breath. 

“Quiet.” He didn't need to raise his voice. Silence fell over the classroom like a sheet of snow, chilling them all to the bone. His voice was dry and raspy, exuding an air of frustration. He didn't sound unkind, just. Serious. 

“Good.” the man cleared his throat, but it did little to help with the state of his voice. 

“Let's just get this all out of the way, then you can ask as many questions as you want.” He sniffed. 

“First, to address myself. I am clearly not in good shape” He tried to gesture to himself, but the casts didn't allow for much movement, so he just kinda wiggled his left arm. “But I have been cleared to teach, granted I am unable to do anything too physical. Any and all physical activity and training will be overseen by other teachers until further notice. As far as the student body…”

The class collectively held their breath as Aizawa continued. 

“Both Mineta and Araki have opted to drop out of the course. While Mineta has chosen to remain at U.A, Araki will no longer be found on campus. While Asui is now in a medically stable condition, she has been given an extended break from class. There is no word on if she will remain in class or not. While well wishes are appreciated, I do recommend you give her time , both to recover and make her decision.” His eye glowed red, underlining his point. Tsuyu was not to be bothered. 

“Now, in less serious news, the school has decided to move forward with the Sports Festival as originally planned.” 

Conspiratorial whispers broke out in full force. A general air of worry fell over the class. 

“You are more than able to drop from the festival if you so choose, however, I do not recommend it. The sports festival is a televised opportunity to show the world what you’re made of, and more importantly, gain the attention of heroes. This is a key time for your young careers, and your performance here can make or break your futures. On top of that, security will be tightened, to assure everyone's safety.” Aizawa’s voice was carefully flat, yet there was a tightness in his voice. 

“This is a prime time for heroes to recruit you for your internships. Now is your last chance to take a deep, hard look at what you want in the future.” The mummified man shuffled from side to side slightly. 

“What you went through should never have happened.” His voice was suddenly iron, as if a switch had flipped. “It was unfair and brutal. Horrific. You shouldn't have had to experience that, especially not so young.” His visible eye swept across the room, making momentary eye contact with each student. 

“As a hero, you will have to face situations like that often. Situations where the odds are never in your favor. Situations where you or people you care about can be hurt, or even killed” his eyes drifted off, staring into the distance. 

“This is the future you face in this profession. It's not for everyone. If you can't handle this future, now would be the time to change your course. That is what your classmates Araki and Mineta realized. There is no shame in this route.” he paused. 

No one spoke up. 

“Then let’s move on to the last topic today.” His tone was far lighter. 

“To accept hero internships you need codenames, or in other words, today-”

For the second time this morning, the door burst open and none other than Midnight shot her head into the room.

“You’ll be picking your hero names!”

Staring at the whiteboard in front of her, Uraraka thought she would be more excited. As soon as Midnight had barged into the room the entire class had burst into excited shouting, as if forgetting everything Aizawa had said. But Uraraka couldn't. 

While it was no secret no one held any love for Mineta in their class, the loss of Araki was shocking. He was sort of secretive, holding to himself mostly. But he was strong, both physically and of will. Having one of their own drop out was shocking. And Tsu…

Would she recover? And when she did, would she leave? Part of Uraraka wanted to text her, reach out and see how she was doing, but that had its own host of issues. Aizawa said very clearly not to bother her and to allow her to make her own choice. and Uraraka’s phone… 

Opening her phone made her… unhappy.

Deku stopped responding to texts a few days ago. 

Well, that was an over-exaggeration. 

He still responded, but in clipped, short sentences. Almost like he was just doing the bare minimum to assure her he was still alive. 

It was worrying, but at the same time, Uraraka didn't know what to do about it. There was a good chance she was going to lose her only friend in class, and now her only other friend was… being distant. 

And she almost died. 

To put it clearly, she was not doing well.

Now she had to pick her hero name. To be honest, she wasn't feeling very heroic at this moment. At the USJ, she had done nothing. She stood there and watched as Thirteen, her favorite hero, was nearly ripped in half. Then she had to watch helplessly as Tsuyu floundered in the water, Aizawa was nearly crushed to death and her classmates almost died. And all she could do was watch while Iida ran for help. 

She stood there and watched as the world fell, helpless.

That’s not a hero. 

And here she is, trying to pick a hero name. 

Uraraka, an observer, who couldn't even help her friend over the phone, let alone when being attacked by villains. 

A hero. 

Could she be a hero? In the future, could she go into a situation like the USJ and be All Might? Have her smile reassure everyone in danger? Could she be that person?

As much as she wanted to say yes, she didn't know.

It wasn't just the USJ either. There was always something that stopped her when she could have been a hero. As early back as the emergence of her quirk. Her parents had stopped her from helping them at work. As small as it was, she was always on the backburner. She had never been a hero before. 

There was only one thing that had ever made her feel like a hero in her life. 

Deku . 

Something so simple, yet so complex. Being able to help someone when they needed help. Wasn't that what being a hero was? 

With a sigh, Uraraka flipped open her phone. Going through it quickly, she opened her chat history with Deku. The last message had been from her, seen but not replied to, sent almost a day and a half prior. 

The one good stroke in her life, the one time she could be a hero and she was even fucking that up. 

Part of her was infuriated, enraged that nothing could ever just work. Frustrated beyond words that as soon as Iida had left the USJ she had just stood on the entrance, watching as Sero and Momo put Thirteen back together, bandage by bandage. Watched as Aizawa was shattered like a porcelain doll by that monster. 

Watched as Tsu was taken out of the building on a stretcher. 

But more than frustration and rage was a feeling of guilt. 

It hurt to her core. A kind of ache that wouldn't go away. Staring down at her whiteboard only made it worse. 

She watched as everyone around her suffered. Her parents monetarily, Deku mentally, Tsuyu and Aizawa physically. And the best she could offer was a kind word. 

And she was always left unscathed. 

It… hurt, but there was something that made it a little bit better. 

She was here. 

U.A. The best school in the country to become a hero. Maybe she wasn't a hero yet…

But… could she be? 

That's what she was here for anyways right? To become a hero. So that the next time something happened she wouldn't just stand there and watch. To be the kind of person who acts, next time. 

She wasn't a hero, and asking her to pick a hero name was just proving that fact. 

Next time, she would be. 

“Uravity. My hero name will be Uravity.”

*

The last few days have been… difficult. 

Not difficult because of any challenge or complex works that needed to be done, no. More difficult in the way of how mundane it all was after a few days. 

Midoriya woke up, went to school, sat through his general classes, and worked on his gadget in his free time. 

The simple nature of it all helped him sink into a routine. To an extent, it almost felt like he was on autopilot. It was a simple routine but had more than enough depth to keep him active at all times. More than active enough to allow himself to forget certain… issues. 

Like Kacchan. 

Or the Sports Festival. 

Or Gravity. 

On the bright side, Kacchan and Gravity could be lumped into the same issue, to an extent. 

The news had been none too kind to U.A., focusing on how Hero Class 1-A had been attacked on a routine outing. One student had been hurt, and the teachers present have been hospitalized but the media didn't care. If anything, the fact that people had been injured had just put fuel on the fire for the different broadcasting teams. 

Of course, it had only been a few days. 

What’s worse was Midoriya’s mom had gotten a call the night after the attack. Apparently, Midoriya was right, Kacchan had gotten into U.A. And more than that, he had made it into 1-A, the class that had been attacked. Inko had been sure to share that information with Midoriya. Turns out Gravity and Kacchan were in the same class.

If anything, that makes the issue of U.A. a little easier for Midoriya. He just had to avoid 1-A altogether, the class with Kacchan and Gravity. All he had to do was keep his routine and he would never have to interact with them at all. It could be… a non-issue. 

Part of him knew he was in the wrong. 

Every time he responded to Gravity’s texts with a single word, every time he went to the development studio rather than the lunchroom on the off chance he would see someone from across the common space there was a voice telling him he was wrong to ignore his friend. It was an uneasy, brutal kind of peace. The kind of peace that left a pit in his stomach.

But then there was the Sports Festival. 

An unavoidable event that would force the different classes together. The only chance Midoriya had to get into the hero course. And an unavoidable meeting with the issues he had been avoiding. 

There was no way that Kacchan wouldn't excel in the sports festival. If Midoriya was going to use the sports festival to raise into the hero course, then they would no doubt meet. And Gravity…

Gravity was a whole can of worms that Midoriya felt very, very incapable of dealing with right now. She… she means so much to him, but now that he knows who she is… at least a little. He was scared. 

Though that was stupid. There was no reason to be scared of her. She already knew the worst about him and embraced him wholeheartedly. For all intents and purposes, he should be ecstatic that they go to the same school, that they could easily meet up at any time and just… be. But that's not how it worked. That's not how any of it worked. 

Because how could he know if it would work out? 

Gravity was a hero, doing her hero-ey duty by talking to him, by being his friend. What happens when they meet in real life and she realizes, “oh. It's just… Midoriya”? 

What happens when she chooses to leave like everyone else. 

The only person he had ever had in his life that chose to be around him was his mother, and for all her love and how amazing she was, there were times when it seemed like she was only his mother out of moral obligation. Every friend, every acquaintance, every teacher, and half of his family had just… left. All individually decided he was not worth their collective time and just walked out of his life. And for all that Midoriya wants to, he doesn't know how to make himself worth Gravity’s time. 

How does he convince her not to leave? 

How does he prove that he's worth keeping? 

He's never been able to do it before. What makes now any different? 

He didn't know. So he did the only thing he could do, kept Gravity at arm's length while he tried to figure out what to do. It hurt, but it hurt far less than losing her would.

So he just lets himself fall into routine, until Mei got it in her head that routines are for wimps. 

“Come on! You need this anyways!” The pink-haired girl was all but dragging Midoriya by the hand through the twisting hallways of U.A.

“B-But-” Midoriya tried to voice his complaints but was cut off.

“NO BUTS!” Mei cackled as she sped up, now all but running through the hallway.

Sooner than Midoriya would have liked, they were standing outside the 1-A classroom. And they weren’t alone, it seemed. A small horde of students stood in a semi-circle around the 1-A door. The hoard was quiet, intense. The door was shut, and not a single student seemed willing to open it, rather, they just stood and waited. 

It was eerie, a group of near fifty kids just standing still, staring at a door. Though, Mei, with all the social grace of a bull in a china shop, made it to the group and instantly started elbowing her way through. 

“Pardon us! Coming through!” Mei’s boisterous voice seemingly echoed over the quiet murmuring of the crowd. All eyes seemed to lock onto the strange pair, setting Midoriya instantly on edge. 

Then, as if it couldn't get any worse, before they reached the classroom the door opened. 

And Kacchan was on the other side. 

It was like the world stopped in the moments that followed. 

Kacchan’s crimson eyes locked onto Midoriya at the speed of light and Midoriya could only gape in return. This… This was Midoriya’s hell. Kacchan’s mouth opened, presumably to say something, but it was too late. 

“Move aside blondie! Coming through!” Mei blew through Kacchan without a second thought, Midoriya in tow. And the moment shattered. 

Kacchan was left with his mouth hanging open as Mei dragged Midoriya through the door and to the back of the classroom. Midoriya eyed Kacchan, but the other boy just closed his mouth with a decisive snap. As Midoriya got dragged past the first line of desks, the other boy turned on his heel and just… walked away. 

Well, that wasn't what Midoriya expected. 

“Excuse us! Coming through!” Mei continued on her conquest as Midoriya realized his other problem. Gravity was somewhere in this room.

Gravity was somewhere in this room . 

All at once, Midoriya’s panic doubled, tripled, and quadrupled. If he was feeling lightheaded from all the attention before, he was about to pass out now. 

Mei, be it with the grace of God or the most wicked of sadism, didn't notice and just continued to the back of the class. 

Glancing around the room as quickly as he could, Midoriya counted the girls. There were four he could see, and one floating female uniform. 

Oh lord, that was even less than he had expected. One of five. Wait, she had talked about what she looked like, and she hadn't said anything about invisible. She had said she looked plain…

That ruled out the girl with the pink hair and skin. And the other three… One girl with ear lobes that looked like headphone jacks who looked perpetually blas é to the events around her. One girl who had an upper-class air about her, if her posture and look had anything to say about it. And one girl with a  shock of brown hair and big brown eyes. She caught Midoriya’s eyes and the boy felt his heart stop. 

Oh god, that was her, wasn't it? 

Her face was rather circular, her hair extenuating that fact with its bob-esque cut. Wide brown eyes stared back into Midoriya’s as he simultaneously tried to commit her to memory and stop this meeting from ever happening. She had what looked to be permanent blush marks on her cheeks and an easy, if worried, smile gracing her face. 

The mixture of panic and realization sunk in all at once, Midoriya’s brain simply shut down. 

It was a strange feeling, one that he hadn't felt before, at least not to this extent. 

He could tell he was still seeing things. His brain whispered what was in front of him. Gravity, hero student, desk, Mei . Sound from the class hit him in muffled waves, indistinguishable from an overwhelming hiss overtaking his brain. He almost felt himself go limp, but Mei’s steady hand in his pulled him forward, just enough movement to force him to keep his balance. Distantly, he could hear a shout, followed by some general clamoring. Then, all at once, Mei forced him to a sudden stop with a jolt. 

Honestly, it felt like Midoriya was just… not present in his mind at all in this moment. It would have felt good if not for the incessant feeling of wrong permeating his entire body. He felt overheated, nauseous, dizzy. 

They had stopped in front of a kid still sitting at his desk and pieces of information began to filter their way into Midoriya’s mind. 

Red and White hair, stoic face, strong. Different colored eyes. Heterochromia?

Deku wanted to say something, maybe ask about the coloration, but he could barely think over the overwhelming feeling of static in his head. 

The boy said something, staring at Midoriya. Midoriya felt something jostle his shoulder. 

Oh right. Mei . 

Turning slightly, Mei was instantly in his face. 

Her eyes have those crosshatches. That's probably her quirk, right?

Sound began to fade in as the roar of fuzz in his head lowered to a hiss. Mei was saying something, but Midoriya was still struggling to make it out. 

“-oriya! Hey!” she jostled him, though for once she seemed to be somewhat gentle. Well, as gentle as Mei could be when it came to people. 

“Wha-” Midoriya’s mouth felt wrong, like it had been filled with cotton. 

“You okay there buddy?” Her voice was that weird tone of soft again, like it was after the call with Gravity. 

“I’m-” Midoriya tried to swallow, but it didn't really work. “I’m alright.”

Even Midoriya could tell that Mei clearly didn't believe him. He just kinda looked at her, catching his breath from whatever that was. 

“Hmmm.” Mei’s crosshairs twisted, no doubt zooming in on his face. Midoriya stood as still as possible. Reluctantly, Mei seemed to give in. 

“Fine.” She turned quite suddenly, turning both their attention to the boy who was thankfully still sitting in his seat, though he looked far more confused. Or well, Midoriya thought he looked confused? The boy was very… stoic. 

“Anyways!” Mei’s voice was back to its loud, boisterous self. “You’re Todoroki Shouto, right?!”

Todoroki… Shouto?

oh.

OH.

Todoroki! Endeavor's family name! That means…

“Jesus Christ Mei!” Midoriya called out, a mix of exasperated and enlightened. “Why didn't you tell me we were coming to see him?!” 

Mei smiled sheepishly.

“I didn't say anything?”

“No! You didn't!” 

“Oops…”

Todoroki’s eyes shifted rapidly from one to the other, confusion quickly turning to irritation. He let out a little huff and moved to stand up. 

“Wait!” Mei turned back to Todoroki, slamming her hands on his desk. 

“We have a business proposition for you!” Todoroki froze again, confusion washing it's way back over his stony features. 

“Midoriya needs you to help him with his baby!” 

Midoriya facepalmed.

“Mei…” 

“What?” Todoroki’s voice was… deeper than what Midoriya had expected. He would have to clear this up or Todoroki might just leave altogether.

“Hi! I'm sorry about my friend!” Midoriya put on his best customer service smile. “I am Midoriya and this is Mei from class 1-F, the support department. Well, she’s from 1-F, I’m actually a general education student…” Midoriya trailed off before clearing his throat. 

“I-I'm trying to make a gadget and I kinda need help from someone with your… skillset?” Midoriya wasn't sure how to ask this. Again, some forewarning would have been nice, Mei . 

“My… skillset.” Todoroki’s voice was flat. 

Mei nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yeah! We need your quirk!”

Todoroki’s face fell like an avalanche. 

“No.” it was only now that Midoriya realized how polite the boy had been being before. Now, Todoroki sounded… cold. Dead. 

“B-But-”

“I don’t care what you need a fire quirk for. I need to get to lunch.” The boy stood up abruptly, almost knocking over his desk in the process. 

“A-Ah! Wait!” Midoriya scrambled as Todoroki began to stride out of the room. Offhandedly, Midoriya noticed the room was now empty, save for one blonde boy. 

“I don't really need your fire quirk! I need your fire resistance!” Midoriya called out desperately. That stopped Todoroki in his tracks, right next to the blonde kid who had pulled out… a meal? He had a fine steak and what looked like wine on his table, set up with a tablecloth and a fancy candle. 

What was this class?

Todoroki turned to face Midoriya again. 

“What do you mean.” His voice was still ice, but there was something in his voice. A chance . 

“I-I'm building a device that should be able to create a small field that neutralizes any kind of fire or excess heat in its area but to do that I need DNA from someone who has fire resistance!” Midoriya all but shouted, speaking in one long breath. Todoroki blinked. Mei blinked. The blonde kid took a bite of steak, molten cheese dripping off the meat. 

“Neutralize… fire?” all at once, Todoroki’s voice took on a sort of dreamy quality, a far-off look in his eyes. Then he snapped back. 

“How.” It wasn't a question as much as a demand. 

Mei cleared her throat. 

“I got this!” 

Midoriya very much hoped she did because he felt like he was going to pass out. 

“Basically, Midoriya’s baby is a modified holographic projector! It has an increased range and an open flame should be smothered when it enters the field! To do that we need to infuse the hologram with the DNA of someone with fire resistance! Enter Todoroki!” 

Todoroki seemed to mull it over for a moment before taking a deep breath. With a sigh, he settled into a seat. Well, he more flopped into a seat with a dejected sigh. The other two took this as an opportunity to push further. They both took seats from desks and settled on the opposite side of the table from Todoroki. 

“A modified Hologram that can put out a fire? That sounds ridiculous.” His voice was still flat, but he hadn’t left yet, so Midoriya considered it a win. 

“I needed something that created a small, contained field. Something like a flashlight or speaker would be either too direct or too spread out. I needed something contained, so…” Midoriya made a kind of so-so motion with his hands. “Hologram.”

“But a hologram is just… light? Isn't it?” Todoroki spoke again. 

“Well, yes and no!” Mei chimed in. “Hologram technology isn't new , but it's new enough to not be well understood.” It seemed Mei was shifting back into professor mode, a name Midoriya had coined after noticing her almost possessed teaching sessions. She would be her normal, crazy self for a few moments, then, as if possessed, explain a concept so rapidly and so in-depth that Midoriya would struggle to keep up. Then she would shift right back again like nothing ever happened. 

“Holograms are made of a handful of different wavelengths of light that are kinda combined, then converted to be able to display without a medium. In the old days, they would just shoot light at like… water or something to act as a screen or shoot lights through lasers to make a hologram. Admittedly, I don't understand it 100% because I'm more of a machine girl, but the basis is that, for holograms, light can create its own shape without reflecting off of anything, creating a small electromagnetic field that we see. Add that in with some basic three-dimensional imaging and you’ve got the basis of a really, really basic hologram. They’re still stupid expensive though…” She trailed off allowing Midoriya to continue. 

“Basically, before the light is converted into a three-dimensional image it has to pass through a prism. The prism superimposes a handful of wavelengths on the core wavelength that then passes through the machinery to be displayed without a medium!” Midoriya was getting excited now, his speech speeding up. 

“The idea was that if you can somehow infuse one of the wavelengths with the genetic information from someone's quirk, it should act as an extension of the quirk, allowing you to activate it on a second field. They did that before! So I'm just taking the technology to a new extreme!” 

Mei picked it back up again. 

“He thinks he has a way to only select a portion of the genetic code related to the passive aspects of someone's quirk, he can make it always active!” She paused as Midoriya continued. 

“So if I find someone who is resistant to fire, I can essentially take that heat resistance, cram it into a beam of light and turn it into a hologram.” Midoriya mimed out stuffing… something into another something. He was starting to get really animated. 

“That's where you come in! We only know a handful of people with the proper quirks for this! One is a pro hero-”

“Endeavour” Todoroki cut in. Midoriya nodded. 

“I also know two other people but they… can't help.” his tone suddenly lost all its excitement, causing Todoroki to shift his gaze to the boy. Mei continued, oblivious to the change in tone. 

“But then I overheard some first years talking about you! And here we are!” 

Mei and Midoriya both took deep breaths as Todoroki seemed to think it over. 

“It's. interesting, to say the least.” He spoke carefully, but the two still perked up. 

“So the idea is eventually to create a hologram that can… do what again?” Todoroki looked a little confused.

“Well, that depends on the quirk we use for it. It could snuff out flame, enhance thermoregulation, enhance heat tolerance or do nothing at all!” Mei seemed excited at the prospect. 

Todoroki sat, deep in thought for a moment as the pair held their breath. The blonde boy took a loud slurp of his… wine? Was he actually drinking wine on campus? 

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Todoroki spoke. 

“So, how could I help with this?” There was something almost akin to a smile on his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. In fact, he looked almost spiteful. 

“o-Oh?” Midoriya stuttered out as Mei cheered next to him. 

“Well, let's start with what your quirk is?” Todoroki’s face flatlined again. 

“You… don't know what my quirk is?” 

“Well,” Midoriya sputtered. Mei stepped in. 

“I knew it was something related to temperature, given who you are. Midoriya here didn't even know we were coming to see you” She pinched his cheek with a little laugh. Todoroki just blinked as Midoriya slapped her hand away, blush on his face. 

“My quirk is half hot, half cold. From my left side, I can make heat, from the right I can make ice.” He spoke clinically, voice tight. 

Midoriya had literal stars in his eyes. 

“ You can make both?!” he all but yelled, shooting out of his chair. Todoroki’s eyes shot open, surprised at his outburst. 

“Yes…?” 

Midoriya pumped his fist in triumph, letting out his own cheer. Mei had the biggest smile on her face, watching as Midoriya celebrated. 

“Todoroki!” Midoriya whirled around, eyes slightly crazed. He slammed his hands on the desk separating him from the other boy. 

“The only thing that would work better than a Fire quirk for this would have been an Ice quirk. And you’re telling me you have both?!” it was shocking how much Midoriya looked like Mei in that moment. Mei, for her part, looked like a proud mother hen. 

“Y-yes.” Had Todoroki just stuttered??? Todoroki had never stuttered in his life! 

The manic smile fell from Midoriya’s face as fast as it came as he dropped to his knees, chest even with the table. Reaching out he snatched Todoroki’s hands, fast as lightning. 

“Marry me.” the stars in his eyes grew wider as he stared at Todoroki more. 

Todoroki was so surprised he almost forgot to pull his hands away. Then, realizing what had just happened, he tried to reel back only to be stopped as Midoriya’s grip tightened.

“Mei-” Midoriya had a far-off look in his eyes, dreamy quality to his voice. Todoroki pulled again, but Midoriya’s grip was iron-tight.

“ Mei his hands are different temperatures .”

Mei held back her laughter as much as she could, but it was a losing battle. The blonde kid was just… staring at them, flabbergasted. 

“Midoriya” She got out between a repressed chuckle. “Midoriya let him go.” 

The stars in his eyes seemed to fade as he remembered where he was. 

“O-oh my god! I'm so sorry!” He turned a dark shade of red, resembling Todoroki's hair. 

Todoroki thought he looked like a strawberry. 

“Please forgive me! We need your help!” Midoriya bowed so low, so fast. Too low in fact, slamming his head on the desk between them with a loud thunk . 

Todoroki could only watch as this boy fell apart. 

And then his words finally digested. 

Use his ice and his fire resistance to… put out fire?

And Todoroki laughed . 

A big, hearty, gut-busting laugh. The kind that almost seemed painful. 

They only wanted him for his mother’s quirk . They didn't care about Endeavour at all . 

It was a spiteful, painful kind of laugh. But it was one that felt oh so good . 

Midoriya leaned back up, rubbing where he had smacked his forehead as Todoroki composed himself. When they were both back, they looked each other in the eye. Todoroki had a sharp look to him, a smirk on his face. 

“What do you need from me.” His smirk grew into a smile that should not be on a teenager’s face. 

Mei answered, thankfully. 

“DNA. Honestly, it seems like we will need a few different kinds, considering.” That wiped the smile off Todoroki's face, suddenly looking far more apprehensive. 

“What kind of DNA?” if Midoriya wasn't wrong, he almost looked… worried?

Midoriya tried to clear his throat, trying to move past whatever that had been. 

“Honestly, I think we just need specific DNA from your left side, DNA from your right, and then DNA that should have a mixture. To be honest, that's not really how DNA works, it should all be in there in one long strand, but I want to be safe.” 

Mei nodded.

“That's totally not how DNA works Midoriya.” Midoriya frowned at her. 

“Well, we don't know! We’re not scientists . For all we know, between the heterochromia and his quirk, it could be completely different!” 

Mei glowered at him. Midoriya pointedly looked away. The blonde began to pack up his tablecloth. 

Mei broke first with a sigh. 

“I think the easiest indicator would be for us to have hair from either side of your body, and then something like your spit or blood. That way we can double-check if there is any difference.”

“Just… hair?” Todoroki watched as the two refused to look at each other, seemingly in pettiness. They seemed like good friends. He wondered how long they had known each other. 

“Well, live DNA lives in the follicle, so we can't just cut your hair. We would have to pull at least a few strands.” Midoriya spoke softly, looking away from the pink-haired girl. The blonde boy in the classroom caught his eye and winked. Midoriya blushed. 

Without warning, Todoroki reached up to his head and began plucking hairs from his head. As soon as he had a handful of each color, he put them on the table. 

“Do you have something sterile I can spit in?” 

Wordlessly, Mei pulled a small plastic bag out of her pocket. In it was a long, clear tube with a single swab in it. Todoroki held out his hand, and Mei gave it to him. 

In one swift movement, Todoroki opened the bag and retrieved the swab. In a moment, he swabbed his own cheek and put the swab back in the tube. He then put the tube back in the bag and handed it back over. 

To be honest, neither Mei nor Midoriya expected him to just… do it. They were left unsure of where to go after this. Luckily, it seemed like Todoroki had plans.

The duel-haired boy stood up. 

“Let me know when it's done.” It seems all that personality they had had the pleasure of getting to learn drained from his body all at once. Todoroki once again put on his mask of ice.

And just like that, he left. 

The two were left just sitting there, alone in the room with the blonde boy. 

“ Merde. That boy sure is a strange one, no?” The blonde spoke, still facing the door Todoroki had just exited from. 

Midoriya nodded. Mei was too busy scooping loose hair into a bag to pay attention.

All in all, an eventful day. 

Unfortunately, after setting the DNA to sequence all there was left to do right now was wait. Well, that was a lie, there was a ton of work to do regarding the hologram, but the main chunk of work would have to take place after the DNA was sequenced. Midoriya, unfortunately, had to get back to class.

The day passed like normal until its end. As Midoriya was leaving the school he saw a vaguely blonde speck at the gate to the school. In an instant, Midoriya knew it was Bakugou. 

Midoriya noped the fuck right out of that, turning on his heel and strolling right back into the school. 

He was very clearly not addressing either of the issues he had today, but of the issues he was having, Bakugou was the most dangerous one. Well, most dangerous to his physical health. Gravity would probably break his head again. 

Just thinking about it was enough to make his heart rate pick up, so he shifted mental gears as hard as he could. Before he knew it, he had wandered back to the development studio. Strangely, this was one of the few places he didn't have any kind of anxiety going into. Maybe it was just familiarity, maybe it was that Power Loader liked him.

It was weird, having a teacher like him. The closest he had ever come to that before was resigned tolerance of having the quirkless kid in class. Power Loader acted genuinely happy to see him.

With no hesitation, Midoriya threw open the door and walked inside. 

As always, Power Loader sat at his desk, doing some kind of paperwork. Maybe he was grading those papers that Mei had complained so much about when they were working on the metal casing for the hologram machine. Power Loader raised his head at the sound, smiling when he saw Midoriya. Midoriya stode over to the hero. 

“Hey Midoriya, I didn't think you had a study session today.” Power Loader spoke cheerfully, making a checkmark on a paper before moving it to another pile. 

“A-Ah. N-No sir.” Midoriya stuttered out. He took a deep breath. No matter how hard he tried, the frustrating stutter never seemed to want to leave him. 

“I was hoping I could stay late today? Get some extra work done?” Midoriya couldn't help but cringe as he spoke. He knew it was asking a lot, making the teacher look after him after hours. Honestly, he was just surprised he managed to get the words out. 

Power Loader nodded. 

“Of course Midoriya, the shop is always open to you.” The man leaned his head back, seemingly in thought. “Within reason of course.”

Midoriya was floored . 

“I-I… Really?” as much as he tried to hide it, he knew there were tears in his eyes. Power Loader’s smile got a little sadder.

“Of course. Mei is still here too, if you wanted to talk to her. She was just out 

‘collecting data’,” Power Loader made air quotes with his fingers. “Whatever that means.”

As if summoned via demonic ritual, the walking pink hurricane burst through the door. 

“It did Not work!” she called out in a cheery tone before her eyesight narrowed in on Midoriya. 

“Oh! Midoriya! Did we have a class today?” her reticles spun again, implying she was zooming in on his face. 

“No! I just wanted to stay after school today, if that's alright?” He looked again to Power Loader, who nodded. 

“Perfect! After school buddies! We can finish up the casing for the projector!” Mei turned and began going to her workstation. 

“We don't have to today…” Midoriya followed after her, hesitant. “You look like you were working on something.” on the table was a… net?

Mei’s ever-present smile grew even wider. 

“You want to help me with my baby?” her eyes spun again, excitement clear. 

“Y-yeah, if that's okay…”

“That's more than okay! What are friends for!” Midoriya felt his heart stop, but Mei continued. “A collaboration baby! A Hatsume-Midoriya special! A Hatsudoria!” 

They were… friends?

They had spent around two weeks together at this point, but… Midoriya had never had friends before Gravity. And Gravity was online, it was different. 

Mei was his friend?

He was Mei’s friend?

He and Mei were friends.

He and Mei were friends!

“Hey, Midoriya.” Her voice had that soft tone again, and Midoriya couldn't help smiling. 

“Are you okay buddy?” she didn't look up from her work but kept her tone gentle. 

“Y-Yeah!” 

She finally looked up. 

“You’re crying though…” She sounded almost… sad. Midoriya realized that, yes, he was crying. He started furiously wiping at his eyes.

“I-I'm sorry! I’ve always been a bit of a cry baby…” 

Mei smiled. Not her creation-crazed manic smile but something small, soft. 

“It's alright.” Her tone was still soft before shifting to something more joking. “Just don't get your tears in my gears and we will be alright!”

Midoriya let out a wet laugh. 

“I can do that!” Midoriya’s smile could light up a city, and Mei’s could warm the coldest heart. 

“So! My baby!”

Uraraka sat in her apartment. It was always times like this that she lamented having to move to go to school. She so desperately wanted company, someone to talk to, someone to laugh with. A hug. Mochi. 

Maybe she was just hungry. 

(she wasn't hungry)

With a dejected sigh, she flopped back onto her bare mattress and pulled out her phone. Almost on instinct, she opened her text chain with Deku. This marked day two of silence. Day like, ten of weirdness. Maybe she pushed too hard. Or maybe he just didn't need her. Didn't want her. 

It wouldn't be the first time a friend had just up and dumped her. But that didn't make it feel any better. 

What also didn't make her feel better was Tsu. She sent a text that morning but had yet to get a response. As per her orders, she didn't want to spam Tsu while she was recovering, but she also missed her friend. Tsu hadn't even read it yet. 

Unfortunately, there was nothing to do with Tsu except wait. She didn't know what hospital she was in, or if she was even still in the hospital. She didn't know where she lived or how to contact her family. Nothing. Just a number that didn't respond. 

Just like Deku. 

With a slightly wounded pride, Uraraka wrote one more message. Making for the fourth in a row that would be ignored if he didn't respond. 

Gravity - 

Hey deku.

I Miss you.

Was it a little desperate? Yes. Did she miss Deku? Wholeheartedly. With an upset huff, she closed her flip phone with a snap . 

It almost felt pathetic, having to beg for attention. It somehow made her feel… less. Though, she didn't think she could feel much less right now. 

Rolling over in frustration, she grabbed for her pillow. 

It was just so frustrating! Her friends are both just… gone. She didn't blame Tsu, but Deku? Where was he? 

She hoped he was okay. 

The only thing worse than the frustration and loneliness was the worry. Both her friends were hurt in their own ways and she couldn't even talk to them. 

No wonder she didn't feel like a hero. 

She didn't feel the tears until they left a wet spot on her pillow. She knew it was normal to be upset, but even the fact that she was crying made her feel worse. Not only was she being ditched, but she was just sitting here wallowing in it! She felt so weak , so useless .

This is what Deku feels like every day .

And god if that wasn't a sobering thought. 

She just wanted to help! She just wanted her friends back. She just wanted to not be alone. And all she could do was sit here and cry.

She turned her face into her pillow, trying to slow the stem of tears to little effect. She tried to take a breath, but it came out in hiccuping sobs. 

She just felt alone . 

She didn't know what hurt more, the thought that Deku might be hurt and unable to talk to her, or the thought that he was perfectly capable of talking to her and choosing not to. 

Maybe it would be better not to know.

Chapter Text

Midoriya was… frustrated. 

It didn't make sense. There was nothing to be frustrated about, really. It was like he had just woken up one morning and had no more patience. He did his best to hold it in, but every once in a while everything would just ramp up and he would just… snap. 

It happened the first time when he was helping Mei with one of her devices, tightening a screw of all things. For some god-forsaken reason he couldn't get the two plates to line up, and the damned screw kept sliding in sideways, making it impossible to tighten fully. With every attempt he felt a little more of his ever-waning patience whittle away.

Taking a deep breath, Midorya removed the screw and placed the screwdriver on the workshop table. Closing his eyes, he tried to rid himself of the frustration. 

It was just a screw. 

Literally just a screw. 

There was nothing difficult about this. He had done it hundreds of times in the last few weeks. Vice the two plates together, line the screw up with the pilot hole and screw it in fully. There was literally nothing difficult about this but it wasn't working. As if in spite of his attempt to calm himself he felt his frustration grow as he continued to dwell on the singular fucking screw.

With a gritting of his teeth, Midoriya snapped his eyes open and grabbed the screwdriver. Lining the plates up, he held them together as tight as he could and applied the vice. Visually, it looked fine, the two holes in the plates were lined up and all he should need to do is apply the screw. Letting go of the vice, he grabbed and did his best to line up the screw. With a few clockwise motions, the screw was slightly inset. Then, he grabbed his screwdriver. 

It lasted three twists before the screw got stuck. 

“God FUCKING-” Midoriya threw the screwdriver across the room, crouching down and covering his eyes. 

Almost instantly the rage left his body as he squeezed his eyes shut. 

“Hey there bud-” Mei’s voice crept in his ear.

“You okay?” 

Midoriya took a deep breath. 

“I wanna go home.”

There was the sound of metal hitting the counter as Mei stepped away. 

“Then go home! As much as I love your company, you need to be rested up for Monday!” 

Midoriya took another deep breath steadying himself. With a grunt, he righted himself, blinking the bleary pressure from his eyes. He didn't feel better per se, but the frustration was abated. 

Monday. The sports festival. 

Three days. 

An inkling of frustration wormed its way back through his core. 

“I… Don't want to go home but I don't want to be here but I want to keep working.” He set his eyes back on the frame he was working on in the vice. 

“Your baby is functional and you keep throwing tools across the room. I'm happy to keep teaching you, but there's nothing big we can get done in two days! Not if you want sleep at least-” She turned away from the workshop table, reticles in her eyes whirling. 

Midoriya narrowed his eyes. 

“You don't sleep. You’re not gonna sleep”

Mei scoffed. 

“I am gonna sleep! I’ve gotta be in top shape to market my baby to the masses!” She puffed up her chest in seeming pride while Midoriya continued to glare at her.

“You’ve gotta be in top shape too! And you-” She whirled around and poked an accusing finger into Midoriya’s chest “-are very far from top shape!” Her eyes whirled as she zoomed in, eyes searching his face. 

“You look like you sleep less than me.” 

Midoriya dropped his faux glare, looking off to the side. As much time as he had spent with Mei in the last weeks, he still found it hard to look her in the eye. Noticing his discomfort, Mei also looked away, refocusing on her task. 

“Go home. Get rest. I’ll see you at the festival.”

Frustration spiked again, heating Midoriya’s core like he had swallowed a mouthful of lava. There were so many things he wanted to say to the clear dismissal; rude things, angry things, desperate things. 

Midoriya held his tongue. 

School had ended hours ago. All he had to do was make it through Friday and the weekend and he would be at the sports festival. 

Three days. He could last three days.

Midoriya left through the door to the development studio and went home. 

*

Uraraka shifted awkwardly in front of the door, shuffling from foot to foot. She really should have done this days ago, weeks ago, but she had hesitated. It had been really helpful before, but something felt different now. Walking in felt like admitting failure. It stung, and she hadn't even done it yet. 

She looked down at the slip in her hands, Aizawa’s sloppy signature scribbled on a slip of paper. It's not like she could back out now, she already had the pass. If she were to walk back into class Aizawa would know something was wrong. She just… had to go through with it. 

The more logical part of her mind knew that this wasn't failure in any way, but rather a normal step for someone in her situation. Hell, she had already done it before. She was simply asking for help. 

The emotional part of her didn't care. It felt like failure. 

Uraraka screwed up her courage and knocked on Hound Dog’s door. There was some shuffling around inside before a gruff voice called out. 

“Come on in.” 

Uraraka opened the door and entered. 

“Uraraka. I was hoping to see you again.” Hound dog sat behind his desk, giving a degree of separation from Uraraka as she sat on the couch she had been on before. She sat in the same spot as before. For some reason, sitting in the same seat gave her a tiny sense of comfort. 

“To be honest, if you hadn't come in on your own I was going to call you in tomorrow.” The hero spoke casually, muzzle around his neck. 

“W-What? Why?” 

Hound Dog shifted his eyes from his computer to Uraraka. 

“Between Deku and the recent USJ attack, I felt it was necessary. To be honest, I was pushing to have your entire class see me after the incursion. Nezu decided that forcing children into a meeting might plant a negative association with mental health services. In his words-” Hound dog made air quotes with his fingers, “‘For those with a negative connotation with therapy, it would feel like they were being further punished for being victims.’” Hound dog grimaced as Uraraka blinked. 

“Punished? That's dumb.” 

“I think so as well, but I find it interesting that you agree. Don't think I didn't hear you hesitate outside my door.” Hound Dog had a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. Uraraka blushed. 

“I-I. hm” Uraraka cleared her throat. 

“Having my class come in should be good. I think Nedzu is right that some people wouldn't like it, but it's more important to make sure they’re okay, right?”

Hound Dog nodded.

“But if that's the case, why were you so hesitant to come in? What brought you here?” The Hero decided to cut right to the chase, rolling his chair to the edge of his desk to get a clear line of sight of the girl quickly shrinking into the couch. 

“Ah. I'm sorry.” The dog-man quickly shook his head. “I didn't mean to put pressure on you like that. Let me start again.”

“How are you doing, especially with everything that's been going on recently?” 

There was a pregnant pause. 

Uraraka… didn't know how to feel. She liked Hound Dog, she really did! It's just. That was a lot. She felt… chastised. 

She started to feel like this was a mistake. 

Hound Dog sat in his chair patiently, reaching onto his desk and grabbing a simple composition notebook. 

It was too late to back out now, Uraraka reasoned. She was here. She needed help. Swallowing heavily, she spoke. 

“I… I’ve been better.” she managed to speak out after a moment.

Hound Dog looked up from his notebook and quirked an eyebrow. 

“Okay. Is there anything in particular bothering you at the moment?” Hound Dog’s voice was simple, as if discussing the weather. 

“Um… yeah. I guess.” Uraraka uncurled from her position on the couch a little. The Hero looked at her expectantly. 

“I-Its just…” Uraraka trailed off before throwing her hands up in frustration.

“There's just a lot right now I guess! It's just… nothing is going right! It was fine and then it's not and I just. I don't know…” As quickly as her voice had picked up it trailed off again. Hound Dog nodded. 

“Okay. So things were going well and then they changed. When did this happen? The USJ?” 

“I mean I guess? That's when it started at least…” 

Hound Dog hummed. 

“It was a traumatic event. It makes sense that your position on things would change so soon after something like that.” 

Uraraka shook her head violently. 

“It's just that! I didn't change! I stayed the same and everything just got worse! Tsu got hurt and disappeared and Araki and Mineta dropped out and Deku just stopped talking to me and the festival is right here and everything’s falling apart!” She was speaking so fast that her sentences turned into one big blurb. When she finished her… explosion of words, she put her head in her hands. 

Hound Dog gave her a moment to collect herself before speaking. 

“I’ll be frank. What you are going through should never have happened. Not to anyone and especially not to children.” A bit of anger crept into his voice as Uraraka looked up at him. 

“Tsuyu Asui is still hospitalized, and as for Araki and Mineta? The fact that they are even alive is due to her heroism. We are a hero school, the best in fact. That does not mean our students are heroes. She should have never had to fight for not only her own life but those of her classmates as well.” His voice was cold, such a different kind of anger from what he had expressed the first time they had spoken. There was pure hatred in his voice, a sort of righteous indignation at what Tsu had gone through. It struck a chord with Uraraka. 

She felt just the same. 

“The fact that she had to is a failure on U.A as a whole, and even moreso a failure of us, as her teachers.” his voice was ice. 

“What it is not, is the fault of you or your classmates.” 

There was a pregnant pause. 

“W-What?” 

“You are a student, the same as Asui.” His voice had softened to an extreme, almost coddling in any other situation. 

“You should never have been in that scenario, scared for your life. Asui and Araki and Mineta should never have had to fight for their life. Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shoto should not have had to help the number one hero to save the lives of a class of fifteen-year-olds. The injustice is equal for you all-” 

“But it's not!” Uraraka spoke before she even knew what was happening, tears in her eyes.

“I-I” She swallowed as a sob overcame her. 

“I stood at the entrance and just watched ! I did nothing but watch everyone almost die! Don't tell me I'm the same as Tsu! Or even Bakugou or Momo! They fought and helped each other and were Heroes!” She couldn't stop the tears running down her face. 

“I… I watched Tsu get taken out on a stretcher! Thirteen was torn to shreds ! Aizawa almost died! I am not the same as them! I am not a hero like them-”

“No. You’re not.” 

Uraraka sobbed, and Hound Dog let her. 

When she had calmed down enough to hear him, he spoke. 

“You are not a hero, not like Thirteen or Aizawa. They are heroes and they risked their lives for you and your classmates. You weren't foolhardy as Todoroki or Bakugou to throw yourself in danger, nor were you thrown into the same danger as Tsu. You are not them. ”

“But I need you to hear this.” Hound Dog stressed his words as much as he could, waiting until she could meet his eyes. 

“It does not make you lesser.” 

It… hurt to hear. It was… wrong. Hound Dog was wrong! She just… watched. She was a victim ! Her classmates were Heroes!

She couldn't help it, she shook her head. Hound Dog made a disapproving sound in the back of his throat. 

“I'm serious Uraraka. You are not less because you were not in danger. You were just… lucky.” His voice was low again. 

“What you are feeling is similar to what’s called survivor's guilt. You were lucky enough to not be in danger, your friends weren't as lucky.” Hound Dog sighed. 

Uraraka sniffled, desperately trying to get her emotions back under control. Hound Dog waited a moment before speaking again. 

“I want you to consider something. This helps some people in situations like this. It's not going to fix everything, but it can bring some comfort. If you were in the same situation as your friends, would you not have given your all? If you were in the water where Asui had been, would you have acted as heroic as she did?” 

That… that was a hard one. Hound Dog only gave her a moment to think about it before continuing. 

“Because I wholeheartedly believed that you would have done all that you could have to keep everyone safe. You would have pushed yourself as hard as Asui had if you were in that water instead of her.”

Uraraka… her head was still fuzzy after crying like that. Hound Dog’s words washed over her like a cooling salve over an open wound. 

“And think if you had been injured like Asui had, If you had been hurt like Thirteen or Aizawa, would you want your friends and classmates to feel incompentent for not being hurt like you?” Hound Dog had folded in his chair, leaning towards her while staying in his chair as best he could. 

“Or would you be happy that your friends were okay?” Uraraka couldn't help the tears from spilling out again. 

“If Asui were right here now, do you think she would think less of you because you weren't in the water with her? Or would she be happy that you got out unhurt? That her actions led to everyone getting out alive?”

Uraraka let out a shaky breath.

“I have an idea.” Hound Dog leaned back in his chair. “When Asui gets out of the hospital, when she responds to you, you are not allowed to apologize.”

Uraraka couldn't help but tilt her head at the Dog Hero. 

“Instead, you thank her.”

And it hit her like a wave. 

It was the same thing she had told Deku. You take something dark and evil and you twist it until it's something good. Instead of focusing on the fact that she just… sat there, she could focus on her friend. Tsu was okay . She lived. 

They all lived. 

It didn't make it better, but it was… something. 

Uraraka couldn't help the wry smile that pulled on her features. 

“I told Deku something similar. Instead of focusing on the bad, you can try to twist it into something positive.”

Hound Dog smiled, full and true. 

“That's because you are smart. Sometimes you just have to hear it from someone else.”

Uraka cleared her throat. 

“Instead of focusing on the fact that I was… a victim, I can focus on the fact that my friend was a hero. I can focus on the fact that we all came out alive and almost okay. Instead of apologizing to Tsu that I couldn't help her, I can thank her for saving our classmates.”

Hound Dog leaned back. 

“Got it in one.” His smile was wide, but still didn't reach his eyes properly. 

The best Uraraka could do was a small, sad smile. She wiped at her eyes with her sleeves. Hound Dog passed her a box of tissues.

“You also mentioned something about Deku, if you feel up to that.”

Uraraka’s small smile faded. 

“I… I don't think I am up to it. It's not like it's much anyways…”

Hound Dog smiled slightly.

“If it's not much we can drop it, but it does matter to you.”

Uraraka groaned, putting her head in her hands. 

“He just… stopped responding to me. After the USJ we talked a lot for a week or so but he just started… pulling away.”

Hound Dog hummed.

“That's a tough situation to be in, but it was always a part of your relationship.”

Uraraka blinked in surprise. “What?”

Hound Dog hummed. 

“The nature of your relationship is that it is anonymous. If either one of you wanted to stop you could at any time, with very little issue. Of course, it's very, very worrying… but a part of your relationship.”

Oh . 

“It was… anonymous…”

Well, I might as well rip the bandaid off now. 

I go to U.A.

Ah. 

Hound Dog seemed to reach the same realization at the same time. 

“You told him about the USJ.”

“I told him about the USJ.”

They sat in awkward silence for a few moments. 

“I… scared him off, didn't I.”

Hound Dog shrugged.

“You know him better than me. He might come back, he might have been scared off. It's hard to tell. Unfortunately, unless you want me to track him down you are gonna have to just give him time.”

“I… yeah. I understand.”

“Just make sure you don't take it too personally. Deku is quirkless and apparently slow to trust. Give him time and he may come back.”

“Hmmm.”

Uraraka looked unhappy with it, but unfortunately, she agreed with Hound Dog. There wasn't much more she could do. 

That sat in comfortable silence, both mulling over the issue of Deku. Finally, the hero decided to speak.

“So. are you excited for the sports festival?” Hound Dog shifted the topic. 

Uraraka smiled.

“Yeah!”

*

Midoriya was trying his best to not continually sigh today, but it was getting increasingly difficult. Without the constant pressure of making time to work in the development studio, his classes felt… simple. Understimulating. 

They were doing a poor job of distracting him from his problems.

Especially with the Sports Festival in the upcoming week. While the general courses didn't have the same week of pure training that the hero students had, they still had a drastically decreased workload. It was mind-numbingly underwhelming.

After what felt like a year of sitting and listening to his homeroom teacher talk about the sports festival, Midoriya’s class was released for lunch. 

Mei had effectively kicked him out of the studio, and Midoriya was trying really hard to not take it personally. To an extent, he knew it was out of a place of kindness, but knowing she kicked him out for good reasons didn't really help with the deep-set frustration that was roiling in his core. He… needed something. Something was wrong and Mei had unintentionally taken the only thing keeping him from just… losing it. It felt like she had built a net under him, finally letting him stop free falling only for her to just pull it away at a moment’s notice. It was… well any other day it would be heartbreaking. He thought they were friends! His first in-person friend! And she just threw him away like that. 

Normally he would be in tears. But today? Today he just felt angry. It was just… frustrating. 

Everything had been frustrating lately. He didn't understand it. 

He felt like Kacchan. 

The thought made him nauseous. 

Not to say that this anger was all bad. It could occasionally make the most amazing distraction.

Midoriya walked into the lunchroom for the first time since he had started at U.A. He had always been too nervous that he might run into Kacchan to go in here. But now that he knew Kacchan knew? Midoriya didn't care anymore. Honestly, if Kacchan tried to talk to him he might get punched. 

The thought made Midoriya falter for a moment. Did… did he want to hit Kacchan? He shook his head. 

Violence isn't the answer. It wouldn't make him feel better, and it definitely wouldn't help Kacchan. 

It would be cathartic though. 

Midoriya stopped at the table he had been looking for. At his arrival four sets of eyes narrowed in on him. A boy with a bird head, a boy with a mess of tentacles for arms, a boy made of rock, and Midoriya’s target. 

Two tones of hair violently clashing together opposed by a stoic face. Heterochromatic eyes glaring at anything that happened to pass in his way. 

Todoroki Shoto. 

Midorya spoke.

“You told me to get you when it's done.” It was incredible to speak without the nervousness that usually permeated his body. He was just… done. It was almost freeing. 

Almost. 

Todoroki nodded, setting down his chopsticks.  The other boys at the table looked inquisitively at the two, but thankfully said nothing. Todoroki stood, leaving his tray of food on the table, forgotten. 

Midoriya nodded before heading off, going to the development studio. Mei had kicked him out, but she couldn't stop him from displaying his work. It was an essential part of development.

She wouldn't kick him out, he was pretty sure.

The walk from the lunch room to the development studio was silent, neither boy really caring to break the quiet. Without a word, the two stepped into the studio. 

Power Loader was sitting at his desk, strangely. A handful of students were scattered around the studio, glancing over blueprints and tinkering with different mechanical pieces. The hero looked up, unsurprised to see Midoriya waddle his way into the development studio. 

“Ah. Midoriya. Good.” The hero’s voice was completely neutral. “Are you here to finish up on your projector?” 

Midoriya could feel the shift of a certain pink-haired girl’s gaze at the calling of his name. He tried to ignore it. 

“No. Mei and I finished it a handful of days ago-” Midoriya shifted his gaze off to the side, thinking. “-well, as finished as we can get it before the festival.” 

The hero nodded at that. 

“Over-engineering crushes the most brilliant of inventions. I’m glad Mei forced you to take a step back, even if she lacks the self-control for that herself most of the time.” The hero stood from his desk. As he stood, he seemed to finally notice Todoroki standing behind Midoriya.. 

“So what are you here for Midoriya? You should be resting before the festival.”

“That's what I said!” Mei finally decided to make her approach, patience seemingly worn as thin as it would go. 

“I told one Midoriya Izuku that he was not allowed in the studio until he was rested!” Mei pointed a finger accusatorially at Midoriya. 

“You are not rested! Out!” she declared. 

Something in Midoriya stirred, upset. The feeling was so new that he didn't even know what it was. Was he angry at being kicked out? At Mei telling him what to do?

Whatever the reason, he didn't like this. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the indignation at Mei ordering him around like that. He wouldn't normally be annoyed by that. In fact, he had asked her multiple times to just tell him what to do. He really didn't know why he was bothered right now. 

He stuffed the feeling down. 

“We promised Todoroki a demonstration when it was completed.” As much as Midoriya was trying to ignore his annoyance, he still spoke in a snappy manner. Something not lost on Mei. 

The girl blinked, surprised at his curt response. 

Ah. They had told Todoroki he could see the baby when it worked. It was only fair after all, as he was basically the secret ingredient. 

Now that was a conundrum. On one hand, Midoriya still looked like he needed to sleep for a week. On the other, they could show off and possibly get Todoroki to donate more genetic material for more babies. It was… a situation. 

Well, a quick demonstration wouldn't hurt, would it?

Mei cleared her throat. 

“Ah! Right! Todoroki!” She whirled away from where she had been crowding Midoriya, changing targets to Todoroki. The boy barely blinked as she rapidly switched and invaded his personal space. Thankfully, before she could speak, Power Loader cut in. 

“If you are planning to make a demonstration, may I join?” The usually stoic hero was s openly curious. Both Mei and Midoriya blinked at that. 

“Not only would it serve to uphold your agreement to Todoroki, but it would let me mark the progress made with the tutoring program.” The hero walked over to the trio. “I’ve been monitoring your progress, and am happy with the division of labor and range of skills you have cultivated Midoriya. If you are having a live demonstration, it would be nice to see the end result.” 

“Of course!” Mei cheered out as Midoriya nodded. 

“Perfect. Let's get it set up.” 

Power Loader looked over at Todoroki. He was a strange boy, son of the second top hero, yet had no love of the limelight. He was unsociable and more than happy to stand in silence. That being said, Power Loader still supposed he should explain what was happening. 

“So, Mei and Midoriya are setting up in what we call the ‘range’. For the majority of our devices, we can’t just use them in the studio, so having a designated area built for devices is necessary.” Todoroki hummed, showing he was listening. Power Loader began to lead the boy to the range. 

“We have many ranges on campus. This one here is the smallest and was built for smaller and less destructive devices. Perfect for what Midoriya and Mei developed.” He led the boy to a door attached to the back corner of the development studio. What was held behind the door surprised Todoroki. It was a solid white room, walls a familiar kind of plush. Todoroki had a room like this in his house, the walls made of a material that can withstand the heat from Endeavor. They used it for a training room.

A shot of disgust ran through Todoroki at the comparison. 

The inside of the range was burned and singed, old oil stains and bits of ash clung to near every surface. It almost smelled like a garage. On one wall was what seemed like a large mirror. Mei and Midoriya had set a few tools on a simple folding table set in the center of the room. 

“We are going into here.” Power Loader pointed to a door labeled ‘observation.’ Todoroki nodded. The observation room was shockingly simple, a one-way glass wall set to the interior of the range, an intercom built into the wall. Power Loader took the initiative to press the button and speak. 

“We are set up in observation whenever you want to start.”  Though the pair in the range didn't respond, Power Loader stepped back from the intercom and leaned up against a wall. 

After a few moments, the pair stepped away from the table and seemed to nod at each other. 

“So! Welcome to the first official demonstration of the Unnamed Hatsudoriya Mark one!” Todoroki blinked at the name as Mei began speaking. She nodded to Midoriya, who began to explain. 

“The basic concept behind the…” The boy sighed before a little smile graced his face. “Hatsudoriya…”  

He cleared his throat. 

“The basic concept was to use a combination of non-media based hologram technology and combine it with the passive quirk factor of one with enhanced temperature resistance.” Midoriya turned to the table, clicking a button on a strange box in the center of the table. 

The observation wasn’t too far away to watch what happened next. As Midoriya pressed the button, five sides of the box opened up and glass lenses extended out of each face, save for the face of the cube that was on the table. The lenses extended a few inches before stopping. 

“There were many issues with that premise, however.” Mei began speaking again as Midoriya went to the box, apparently the “Hatsudoriya.” 

“First, the nature of holograms is the overlaying of multiple wavelengths of light over a given point, giving the impression of a three-dimensional image. A hologram is not made to cover a wide area- rather the exact opposite. So, the base technology of the hologram projector had to be extremely modified.”

As she finished, both she and Midoriya stepped away from the table. After stepping a few meters away, Midoriya began again. 

“We needed a way to cover a large area while continuing to interweave multiple different wavelengths of light at once. The solution was to build our own projector from scratch, adopting the technology of hologram projectors, while making them serve our purposes. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the device, the best range we could get on a singular projector was an angular projection of 223 degrees. For perfect coverage, we would need a full 360 degrees, which was seemingly impossible.” 

Midoriya clicked a button on a remote in his hand, and the projector whirred to life. From the lens at the top of the box, a hologram was emitted. It was just a few simple black lines, but Todoroki could see the issue immediately. The hologram only went in one direction, away from the box. It couldn't cover the box itself, or behind it. The black lines simply went out in a rough arc. 

“So, the solution we found was to add more projectors.” 

Midoriya clicked another button and Todoroki’s eyes widened in surprise. 

Every lens projected at the same time, creating a sphere of black lines, stretching out from the box in every direction. While the hologram didn't go through the table, it created a sphere of black lines in every other direction. 

“As you can see, multiple projectors create a full sphere of coverage by the light!” Mei cheered out as Midoriya clicked the button, turning the hologram off. 

“While it doesn't go through solid objects, it creates a field around the projector! But at that point, all we had created what a spherical hologram! While that’s nothing to scoff at, it’s still not even close to the end point!” 

Mei was visibly vibrating with excitement as she continued to explain. 

“This is where the -doriya part of the Hatsudoriya comes in! My partner, mister Izuku Midoriya, was able to implement an ingenious way of adapting genetic code into the hologram!” Mei once again segwayed to Midoriya. 

“The science behind this bit is both extremely complicated and difficult to explain, so I will do my best to be brief.” Midoriya didn't have near the amount of excitement as Mei, but he visibly perked up at this point in the presentation.

“Basically, there is a way to imbue a field of light to hold a minuscule amount of information. That's not to say the photons themselves hold the information, but-” Midoriya cut himself off, shaking his head. 

“Sorry. Basically, we can combine different particles into waves of electromagnetic energy. Unfortunately, each wavelength of light could only hold tiny amounts of information. But we found a way around that-” Midoriya opened his mouth to continue, but Mei cut him off. 

“By tying the information into the electromagnetic waves, we could then pass them through the focusing prisms used by standard hologram technology to create a mesh of waves that contained more information than one specific wavelength could hold at once!” Midoriya frowned at being cut off but continued regardless. 

“What we did was took the specific genetic information of Todoroki Shouto, and selected specifically the couple thousand lines of genetic information that codes for a small section of his quirk. We then deconstructed his genetic code even further and stored small segments onto different wavelengths. Once all the wavelengths mesh together through the prism, the genetic code comes together just enough to create an effect.” 

“Now! At first, we simply thought we had adopted his enhanced resistance to high temperature, as we had planned! But, in our first experiment, we found something even better!” 

“Todoroki Shouto’s quirk is unique in the way that it has two extremely opposed effects that come together in harmony. He controls both ice and fire, giving him a unique dichotomy that is perfect for this purpose. By combining the resistance to ignition with enhanced resistance to temperatures both high and low, we created something far stronger than we had intended to.” 

“The Hatsudoriya can completely extinguish flame altogether!” 

Midoriya and Mei paused for a moment, allowing that to set in. 

Todoroki was… skeptical. The science sounded suspicious, to say the least. He wasn't too proud to say that he understood an impressively little amount of what they were talking about, not quite understanding hologram technology at all. But the idea that they had basically created a hologram that could… put out a fire? 

It just sounded wrong. Not even just wrong. Stupid almost. Like he felt gullible for even considering it as a possibility. How could light put out a fire? It was light! 

This was dumb. 

Before he could say anything, however, Power Loader pressed the button over the intercom. 

“I am going to be completely truthful with you both here. That presentation was great, but I'm still unconvinced. It's a prospect just strange enough to be unbelievable.” 

It was… nicer than what Todoroki would have said. 

Mei grew a massive, face-splitting smile. 

“Our presentation isn’t done yet! Midoriya! Time for exhibit 1!” 

Midoriya nodded at this, stepping closer to the box. As he began to poke at it, he narrated what was happening. 

“Electromagnetic waves are potentially very deadly. Thankfully, generally the more deadly the wave, the more energy it requires to make. So, in the name of safety and size conservation, the battery is unable to sustain a wavelength up to that of ultraviolet light for more than a couple of minutes. For convenience, we set it to infrared, so the average person will not be able to see the light.” He stepped away from the projector, bringing a box of matches out of his pocket. 

“The range of the projector has been set to half a meter. Now that I am out of its range, I can light this match.” To show his point, Midoriya struck the match against the matchboard. After a few tries, the match lit. 

“But if I walk into the range…” Midoriya walked over, and the match went out. 

…

That was it?  

Todoroki was underwhelmed. 

Midoriya seemed to know what they were feeling as he continued. 

“Now that I'm in range, I will be unable to light a match.” He then pulled out another match and tried to light it. As he said, it didn't light. After a few failed strikes, the match snapped in half. With a sigh, Midoriya shoved the matchbox into his pocket. 

“So, the next step is to step up the flame.” 

Mei brought out a piece of paper, holding it carefully so that Midoriya could light the corner. As expected, the paper quickly took to flame, fire reaching up across the side of the paper and curling the blackened material. Mei then quickly stepped closer to the projector, and the paper just… stopped. Smoke came up from the paper, but the actual reaction stopped. 

“And even more.” 

Okay, this one was a little more concerning. Midoriya grabbed a container of lighter fluid, splashing a rag with it. Bringing a lighter over, the rag ignited violently. Flame reached close to a foot in the air. As soon as it lit, Midoriya tossed it to the projector. 

It was as if the rag was dropped into water, the fire simply… extinguished. 

“We have tried many different types of flame, and the Hatsudoriya has won every match! The most exciting was thermite! We have it documented, but we lit the thermite and then turned on the device. Once it was on, the thermite just stopped heating up!”

Now that got Power Loader’s attention. Thermite was a whole other thing entirely. Thermite was the combination of two chemicals that reacted together extremely violently. Even relatively weak thermite reactions still spewed molten metal like a volcano. It was incredibly difficult to extinguish termite reactions through traditional means. The device stopped a thermite reaction?!

“But, just to be sure you get it, we had an idea for an experiment. Of course, this has been done before. But, to prove the effectiveness of the Hatsudoriya, we wanted a drastic example.” 

“So we have this!”

To Todoroki’s shock and Power Loader’s horror, Mei pulled out a flamethrower . To make it worse, Midoriya stepped to the other side of the table. 

“Hatsume. No.” Power Loader’s voice was iron as he jammed his hand violently into the intercom. 

“It's okay Power Loader, we have already done this before. It's perfectly safe.” Midoriya almost sounded bored. 

“Mei is about to shoot a flame thrower at you!” 

“It's fine.”

“NO!” 

Midoriya sighed. 

“Look, you need to see this. It's amazing. Mei, go.”

Mei cackled as she pressed down on the trigger. 

For Power Loader, the next few seconds passed in slow motion. The pilot light on the flamethrower ignited a concentrated spray of fuel. The ignited fuel exploded into a bright orange flame, propelling at Midoriya faster than the hero could even blink. Then, as the flame reached across the room it just… stopped. 

The flame was instantly extinguished in mid-air as it reached roughly a meter away from the projector. As the flame went out, the fuel remained flying through the air. Mei let off the trigger, and the fuel splashed on the table, made inert. 

Power Loader launched through the door into the range.

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!”

“The Hasudoriya functionally makes any and all chemicals inert. Even those that are already on fire.” Midoriya’s voice was… bored. 

Power Loader whirled around to Midoriya. 

“There were at least a hundred thousand less dangerous ways to express that! In fact, here's a simple one!” The hero whirled around to Mei. 

“Just shoot at the box! Why was Midoriya there?!” 

“To prove confidence!” 

“WHY!” 

“It was completely safe.” Midoriya still sounded bored. 

“Yeah! The fuel didn't even get close to him this time!”

“THIS TIME?” 

*

Both Mei and Midoriya were kicked out of the studio. Apparently, the purpose of the non-support internship was to “kindle creativity,” not “use students as kindling.” Mei thought Power Loader was overreacting. Midoriya was trying not to smile that he wasn't the only one kicked out of the studio for the foreseeable future. 

Todoroki was… happy. It was a strange feeling, but all he could imagine was sticking one of those under his dad’s bed. Maybe one that could go through walls. 

It was a good demonstration. 

*

“Hey”

The one word screamed out into the world, souring Uraraka’s mood. 

She didn't know why she felt upset. She had been waiting for this for over a week. 

Gravity

Hi yourself.

Deku

.-. 

Uraraka waited patiently. She… had so many feelings. But more than just about anything else she felt embarrassed. And annoyed. Not angry, not yet. Worried was definitely up there on a list of how she felt.

She was conflicted. 

Deku 

I'm sorry I disappeared like that. 

A good start, as far as Uraraka was concerned. But only a start. Luckily, Deku continued. 

Deku

Im going to be honest. I dont know how to apologize here. 

Well, at least he was being honest. 

Deku

I know you needed help but I freaked out. When you told me who you were.

Gravity

I guessed as much

For what its worth id like to apologize for springing that on you

In hindsight that was uncool

Deku

No! 

Dont apologize. 

I would have put it together anyways. 

I just.

Uraraka could almost feel him hesitate through the phone. 

Deku

I go to U.A too.

What. 

What?

Uraraka

What?

Deku

Im in the general course. Class 1-C

Having you so close to me freaked me out! I’ve never had a friend and you knew so much about me and I was scared im so sorry

What???

Deku

And then I was trying really hard with the support department and I made a friend and then things got even worse and I just buried myself in work and im sorry

Midoriya jumped as his phone vibrated in his hand. An incoming call.

Oh boy. 

“Hi gravity…”

“YOU WHAT” 

Midoriya had to pull the phone away from his ear at the screech. 

“I was so worried and it turns out you go to my school?!”

Midoriya couldn't find it in himself to answer.

There was a clattering sound on the other end of the line before a woosh . 

“YOU GO TO MY SCHOOL”

“I’m sorry?”

There was the muffled sound of a scream on the other end. Gravity was not taking this as well as Midoriya had hoped. He waited for her to come back. For the first time in what felt like ever, he felt something other than annoyance or frustration. This… stung. Why it stung he had no idea, but it did. He was too sleep-deprived to figure it out. 

After what felt like an eternity, Gravity spoke through the phone again. 

“Okay. I got that out of my system.” She took a deep breath. “You go to my school.”

“Yes.”

“So were you just… freaked out?” 

Midoriya flopped back onto his bed.

“I don't know! I freaked out!” 

Gravity couldn't help but laugh. 

“I bet you did!” 

Midoriya couldn't help but laugh at that too. 

“Think of how bad I panicked when I realized I would meet you at the Sports Festival…” 

That made the other side of the line go silent.

“Gravity?”

Uraraka suddenly felt as though all the wind in her chest had been sucked out by a vacuum.

They would meet at the sports festival. The U.A sports festival. The Sports Festival was in one (1) day. The next morning, in fact. They would meet the next morning. They would meet in less than twelve hours. 

They would meet in less than twelve hours. 

Suddenly, Uraraka understood why Deku had freaked out as hard as he did. 

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

There was a pregnant pause as the two of them sifted through countless emotions. After a few moments, Deku was the one to break the silence. 

“I guess I’ll see you in the morning then…”

That roused Uraraka out of her stupor. 

“But I don't even know what you look like! I don't know your name!” 

To that, Deku laughed. 

He laughed . 

It had been so long since she had heard him laugh, something full and genuine. 

It sounded like music. 

“Well… about that…” Deku managed to choke out through chuckles. 

“I uh… I visited you in your class.” 

“YOU WHAT” 

Uraraka quickly ran through people who visited the class. Honestly, the last few weeks had been going by so fast that it was hard to remember anything. Deku let out an uncomfortable chuckle before speaking again. 

“I uh…” he cleared his throat. “I needed to talk to Todoroki and my friend dragged me in…”

Todoroki? Friend?

Wait.

FRIEND?

“DEKU YOU MADE A FRIEND???” Uraraka couldn't help her excitement. As far as she was concerned this was akin to saying the sky had fallen. Deku made a friend ? On his own ? That might as well have been pure magic. 

“Ah-” Deku made a strange choking sound. 

“I-I did?” his voice careened up, nearly hitting a falsetto. Uraraka couldn't help but laugh. 

“That's great! Wait you said you talked to Todoroki?” Uraraka’s mind was running a million miles a minute. This was so much information about Deku making friends and talking to strangers and going to her school . If her heart wasn't beating out of her chest she would be convinced she was dreaming. 

“Y-Yeah! He's um… he's a little quiet but he helped me with my project and was actually nice when he saw it.”

“You finished your project?!?”

Deku let out an “eep” on the other side of the phone. 

“It's been like three weeks Deku! Next, you’ll tell me you got your hero license!” She let out a huff, trying to recollect herself. 

“You did so much! I'm so proud, honestly! It sounds amazing!” 

Deku was silent on the other end of the line, allowing time for Uraraka’s thoughts to start to spiral downward. 

“I… I just wish you had kept me updated… or at least let me know you were okay? You know?” 

Deku was still silent. Uraraka spoke in a whisper.

“I… missed you.”

she couldn't help but sniffle. 

“I-” Deku’s voice broke. “I didn't mean to.”

Uraraka sniffled again, letting Deku speak. 

“I'm sorry. I just…” he broke off again. 

“I was doing really bad. I am doing really bad. I can't get better, I was too scared to talk to you and was just… Rotting.” His voice sounded raw, as if talking physically hurt him. 

“Then I threw myself at the support course and it was something to focus on that wasn't me. And I met Mei and she was actually nice and I just let myself sink away for a while. But it hurt. Not talking to you hurt, not being able to be okay hurt. I just. I'm sorry.”

There was a silence as Deku recollected himself and Uraraka let that all sink in. After thinking for a moment, she found the right thing to say. 

“Deku, you don't need to be sorry for not being okay. It's how it is, and you don't need to apologize for needing help. What you do need to apologize for is not talking to me, and I forgive you for that on one condition.” Uraraka paused to let that sink in, giving him time to speak. When he didn't, she continued. 

“Just… don't leave me again.” She sounded so small and vulnerable. Almost as soon as she said it, she reeled back. 

“I mean!” Embarrassment flared as she scrambled for the right words. 

“Obviously if you need time take it! But make sure I know you’re alive right? I don't know if I can deal with you ghosting me constantly.” Her voice petered off as the embarrassment faded. 

“I…” Deku paused.

“I’ll do my best.” His voice was quiet, but strong with resolve. Uraraka smiled. 

“Good.”

They sat in comfortable silence, only the hiss of the phone keeping them company. That and the knowledge of the presence on the other side of the phone. Just knowing the other was there was enough for the moment. Suddenly, a thought struck Uraraka. 

“So how are we going to find each other at the festival?!”

Deku laughed. 

“I have green hair and you have brown right? You’re in 1-A, that’ll be enough for me to find you.” his voice was soft, fond. 

Uraraka pouted. “But what if I wanna find you huh? What will I do!”

There was a pause before Deku spoke again. 

“Izuku Midoriya.” His voice was a whisper.

“My name is Izuku Midoriya”