Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku was standing by himself, wringing his hands together nervously, waiting for his friends to show up. He knew they wouldn’t miss it for the world, not after everything they had gone through. He was currently wearing a black suit with a red vest underneath with matching red tie, finished off with some black dress shoes that were made specifically for him. His fiancée told him the red would match her dress and had requested him to wear it, and he wasn’t one to deny her requests.

“Green!” A voice called out through the gathering crowd, causing Izuku to turn around. He already knew who the voice belonged to, but seeing his two best friends push themselves through the crowd always brought a smile to his face. “Is everything alright? I could hear your heartbeat from across the room.” Kyouka questioned as she stopped in front of him, Ochako standing right beside her.

Kyouka was never one for dresses, but his fiancée had specifically picked out a dress and asked her to wear it, and Kyouka had agreed to it. She was wearing a darker purple dress that ended right above her knees. It covered her shoulders and went all the way down her arms, ending right before her hands. She was still wearing her combat boots, absolutely refusing to wear heels, saying that the weight of them was similar to her hero boots.

Ochako was dressed in a light pink dress, another one picked out by his fiancee. Ochako had argued with her until the sun came up before she had finally agreed. Her dress was similar to Kyouka’s, but instead of going all the way down to her hands, it ended at her shoulders. The outfit was finished off with black flats. Izuku had to admit, his best friends looked really good, thanks to his fiancée’s choices.

“Hey, Kyouka, Ochako!” Izuku greeted, slipping one hand to his other wrist to test for his heartbeat. “I’m glad you two are here. Was my heartbeat really that loud?” Izuku could feel that his heartbeat was elevated currently, but it still surprised him that Kyouka could hear it across the room.

“It’s beating like you just ran a marathon before getting here.” Kyouka stated, putting her hands on her hips, while jutting a hip out. “What the deal, man?”

“Are you okay, Izuku?” Ochako questioned worriedly. “You haven't been like this since our last big mission.”

“Yeah! Yeah, everything is okay…” Izuku scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking away. He didn’t want to make his friends worry, but he also knew they would see right through his act.

“Green…” Kyouka trailed off quietly, in a voice that said she knew Izuku was everything but okay. Kyouka had gotten good at reading him and his heartbeat, especially after what happened during their second year. She made it her mission to make sure her friend was okay, and Izuku would be forever grateful for her concern.

Izuku slumped his shoulders, not even attempting to put up a fight when he knew it wasn’t worth it, continuing to look away. “Okay… I might be just a bit nervous.”

“Why?” Ochako questioned. “I remember when you came to ask me for advice on proposing, and you weren’t anywhere near this nervous. You looked more excited than anything.”

“Well…” Izuku let out a sigh, before turning towards his two best friends. Izuku knew that his two best friends understood more than most; the only one who understood him better was his fiancée. “Okay, you remember when she dressed up for our graduation after party? How drop dead gorgeous she looked in that dress?”

Kyouka and Ochako shared a look, remembering the dress quite well. Almost everyone’s eyes were on the couple that night, with the party being hosted by them. They both turned back towards Izuku and nodded towards him, encouraging him to continue.

“And you also know that her family is known quite well throughout Japan, both within the hero community and support community.” Both girls nodded, knowing that her family owned one of the biggest support companies that Japan offered. She was well known for her achievements throughout the hero community, only coming in second to Izuku himself. “Well, I’m kind of nervous about embarrassing her.” Izuku looked away again, scratching the back of his head again.

“You are nervous about embarrassing her?” Kyouka questioned, and Izuku nodded as he continued to look away. “In what way?”

Izuku ran his hand through his hair, indicating that he was trying to get his thoughts in order. Both girls waited until he turned towards them. “I’ve been coming to these parties with her since we were kids, but back then, that’s all we were. Kids.” Izuku sighed, closing his eyes and hanging his head back, face pointed towards the ceiling. “But as we’ve gotten older, and started school at UA, the parties that we attended were far and few in between.”

“Izuku.” Ochako stated, causing him to open his eyes and look towards her. “I don’t think you could embarrass her, even if you tried.”

“How could I not?” Izuku questioned, bringing his hands back up to his hair and giving it a little tug. “I mean, just look at me!” Izuku waved towards himself a bit frantically. “I’m just me, I can’t even begin to compare to how amazing she is.”

Kyouka snorted, causing Izuku and Ochako to look at her, before she forced the laugh that was trying to spill out at her friend’s worries. “I don’t think comparing yourself to her is ever going to be an issue, Mr. ‘I Save the World before Breakfast’.”

Izuku raised both hands up to his hair again, running his hands through it and flattening it out a bit, before it popped back up to its original style. “I mean, come on, how can I compare to someone like her? She’s magnificent, beautiful, hardworking, always helping out as many people as she can, putting other people’s needs before her own, and absolutely the smartest person I know, bar none! I wouldn’t be half the hero, nor half the person I am today if not for her.” Izuku lowered his hands, closing his eyes and allowing his shoulders to slump, letting out another sigh. “But I’m still just me…”

Kyouka put her hand on Izuku’s shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze, forcing him to open his eyes and look towards her. “Dude, stop saying it’s ‘just me’, because that’s what she loves about you. She’s loved you since you were both kids, before either of you ever realized it.” Kyouka gave him another squeeze, a rare genuine smile gracing her face. “I know it’s asking a lot of you, but you need to stop worrying so much.”

Izuku looked away again, slumping his shoulders. “It’s hard not to, Kyouka. No matter what everyone else sees in me, I still feel like the same quirkless kid I once was, so I just don’t see how she could love someone like me…”

“Do you regret it?” Ochako questioned suddenly, causing Izuku and Kyouka to snap their heads towards her. “All those years you were friends? Spending time with her? Asking her out? What about dating her? Proposing to her?” Ochako knew that she was hitting sensitive points, but she knew before she asked them what Izuku’s answer would be to each question.

“No! How could you even ask that?” Izuku responded immediately, getting a little annoyed with what Ochako was questioning him with. “I could never regret anything when it comes to her! She’s been my best friend since I was six, and the best thing to ever happen to me!”

“Better than when All Might offered you OFA?” Ochako questioned.

“Yes!” Izuku answered immediately, and Kyouka could tell he wasn’t lying with his answer. He really thought that she was more important than him accomplishing his dream of being a hero. “She was there before I had OFA, believing in me that I could be a hero without a quirk. She was there when I received OFA, helping me train and figure out so that I didn’t injure myself. She never stopped loving me just because I didn’t have a quirk, and her love didn’t change after I received OFA.”

“Right there. You just said she loves you, for you.” Ochako said a little more quietly. “Izuku, she told us that you were the first person to see her for herself, not for her family name. You recognized how hard she worked, how hard she trained, on both her quirk and weapon skills. You recognized how much she studied, not just assumed she was naturally gifted like everyone else did. You knew how much she loved to read, going out of your way to find books you thought she would love, both the ones she studied and the ones she read for enjoyment.”

“Really?” Izuku questioned quietly. “I thought I was just being a good friend…”

“Seriously, Dude?” Kyouka questioned. “You're over here wondering why she loves you, but yet, you don't realize all the small things you've done for her?”

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, before the lights in the room dimmed, leaving only a spotlight that was racing around the room in anticipation, until it landed on the top of the staircase close to them.

“I present to you, Lady Momo Yaoyorozu!” Izuku felt like he recognized the voice, but he couldn’t remember where. His only explanation was that it was one of the many servants that the Yaoyorozu family had. It didn’t matter once Momo had stepped into view of the room, causing a current of gasps and whispers to flow through the room.

“Holy…” Ochako started.

“…Shit.” Kyouka finished.

“Yeah…” Izuku responded quietly. Momo looked around the room, before her eyes landed on Izuku, causing her to smile. She gracefully descended the steps, looking as beautiful as an angel that was slowly descending from the heavens above.

Gliding across the short space between the staircase and their friend group, Momo stopped directly in front of Izuku, Ochako, and Kyouka, allowing them to get a full view of what she was wearing. Izuku looked her up and down a few times, her beauty literally forcing him into speechlessness.

The elegant red dress flowed from just below her collar bone with the straps along her biceps, draping all the way down to the floor, some of the material flowing along behind her in a train. There was a slit in the front of the dress, her porcelain toned legs peeking through as she walked. Her arms were bare, showcasing her scarred but strong arms. She had her hair up in her signature ponytail, the one that Izuku loved to help her with, tied with a perfectly matched piece of red ribbon.

“It would appear to me that I have broken Izu.” Momo giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, before smiling towards him.

“I can’t really blame him.” Kyouka said honestly, looking at the dress up and down like Izuku did a moment before. “Holy shit, Yaomomo. I didn’t think you’d be able to top the graduation dress, but wow…” Ochako was similarly awestruck beside them, nodding along as she looked at the dress.

“Do you think it’s too much?” Momo questioned, twirling around in a little circle to showcase the dress from all angles. She stopped and looked back at Izuku, seeing him slowly shake his head.

“Beautiful…” Izuku whispered out, never taking his eyes off Momo’s as he spoke.

“You back with us, Izuku?” Ochako questioned, poking him in the arm a few times.

“Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming.” Izuku said quietly, causing Momo to giggle again. He shook his head a few times, before looking back towards Momo. “Are you an Angel? You’re as beautiful as one…”

Momo blushed, still not used to how Izuku had become since she had agreed to marry him, but smiled nevertheless. She took a step towards Izuku, raising her hand to cup his cheek lightly, before guiding them together and engaging in a kiss. It wasn’t a very long kiss, just enough to convey their feelings for each other, but it left them both breathless just the same.

“Still think you’re dreaming, Izu?” Momo questioned with a smile on her face, not removing her hand from Izuku’s cheek. She could see the love and affection in his eyes. The room around them fell away for a second as they got lost in each other’s eyes.

“How did I ever get so lucky?” Izuku questioned a bit dreamily, causing Momo to giggle at him again. “Thank the Gods above that led me to you, my own Angel.”

Momo moved forward, engaging in another kiss. It lasted a second longer this time, until Momo pulled back. She lowered her hand to find Izuku’s linking their arms together. “Come, Izu. You remember how to make the rounds, right?” At Izuku’s nod, she turned back towards their two best friends. “We’re gonna thank everyone for coming, but don’t go anywhere, please? I would like to catch up with you both.” Kyouka and Ochako nodded, allowing Izuku and Momo to walk through the crowd, already talking to an older couple that was mingling in the party.

“I don’t think they could have found anybody more perfect for themselves…” Ochako said dreamily, remembering her partner that was currently on their own mission and wouldn’t be making the party tonight.

“You can definitely say that again.” Kyouka responded, watching as they both gracefully walked throughout the room. “Come on, Ochako, let’s see what they have to drink.”

Izuku couldn’t remember much before his fifth birthday. The few things he could remember were having a best friend that he spent almost every waking moment with, a father who loved him, and a mother who always played heroes and villains with him.

When his fifth birthday arrived, and Izuku was still showing no signs of manifesting a quirk like his parents, Inko had decided to take him to the local quirk doctor. Ever since his fourth birthday, Izuku had tried to use Fire Breath or Telekinesis like his parents without any success, going to bed disappointed.

“Quirkless.”

When Izuku had heard the word, his dreams had been shattered in front of him. All he wanted was to be a hero like All Might, calling out to the world ‘I Am Here’. It would ring inside their head for years to come, but that was only the beginning of what was to come.

Izuku remembered that his father loved him, but when he had been diagnosed as quirkless, his father had left one day and never returned. His mother had told him that he was moving to America to better provide for his family, but the only thing that Izuku understood at the time was that he had left him behind because he didn’t have a quirk.

It wasn’t long before his classmates found out about his status. He had shown up to school the following week, and his teacher had announced it to the class without a care in the world, causing all his classmates to look at him like being quirkless was a disease. Most of them had avoided him after that, while others would pick on him.

Aldera became hell for Izuku, a constant reminder that his dreams weren’t possible anymore. None other than Katsuki Bakugo, his childhood best friend, would continuously pester him about him not having a quirk. At the beginning, Katsuki seemed kind of sad that Izuku wasn’t going to summon a quirk at all, but it wasn’t long before he had completely changed. As time went on, Katsuki’s pestering got worse to the point of him using his quirk, Explosion, around Izuku to try and ‘stress test’ his quirk out.

When Inko had questioned how his days were going, Izuku had completely broken down in her arms, revealing everything that was happening at school and questioning his mother why he didn’t have a quirk. It broke Inko’s heart to see her baby cry, receiving bad news after bad news, but going to Aldera solved nothing for them. The teachers that Inko had talked to would always lie and tell her that Izuku was the one picking fights, and the results were the consequences of his own actions. Inko knew the teachers were lying to her, fabricating stories, but with no proof and their word against Izuku’s, there was nothing she could have done.

Eventually, Katsuki’s pestering got worse, to the point that Izuku was being used as a quirk test dummy. Katsuki would constantly release Explosions around Izuku, or slam his desk with his hands. The teachers had paid them no mind, often blaming Izuku for starting the fight in the first place, and sending him to detention. The class would always laugh with Katsuki, encouraging him to put the diseased quirkless kid in his place.

‘You’ll always be a useless, worthless, quirkless, Deku!’

‘Worthless Deku! With no quirk, you can’t fight back!’

‘You can be our quirk practice dummy from now on! That’s the only thing a useless Deku like you is good for!’

When Izuku had started coming home with his uniform ruined, Inko had questioned him if the bullying was getting worse. Izuku had never hidden anything from her, telling his mother everything Katsuki and his goonies had done. Just as she suspected, Katsuki’s pestering had turned into physical abuse, and started leaving cuts, bruises, and burns all over his body. It had broken Inko’s heart when she helped apply the medical bandages that he needed, promising herself that she would take care of it as soon as possible.

“Bakugo is an honorable student, and only attacks in retaliation. Maybe Midoriya needs to stop picking fights he can't win.” Inko had just about lost it when hearing the principal state such false things about the two boys. She knew that Katsuki was the one beating up his son, the burns had proven it. She also knew that Izuku wasn’t one to pick fights, wanting to be a hero himself and protect others. She just about pulled him out of Aldera then and there but with no backup plan for his education, and the fact that the income she had plus what little Hisashi sent over mostly went towards their small apartment, she couldn’t afford anything else.

“I’m not sure what to do, Yoshida.” Inko started off in their breakroom, running her hands through her hair to try and calm her worries. “Ever since Izuku was diagnosed, the bullying has gotten worse.”

“You’ve tried going to the school?” Haru Yoshida questioned in return, already knowing the answer. Haru and Inko have worked side by side for many years, and while Haru didn’t know the Midoriya family personally, she had painted a pretty decent picture from the times Inko would talk about them.

“Multiple times.” Inko let out a sigh, dropping her hands to the table. “They keep saying that Izuku is the one causing the fights.”

“That doesn’t sound like Izuku.” Haru responded, taking a sip of her tea.

“That’s because it isn’t. Izuku wants to be a hero, he wouldn’t go around just picking fights.” Inko took a sip of her own tea, holding it in both hands as she looked down into it. “If I could pull him out of Aldera and send him somewhere else, I would. Ever since Hisashi left, I’ve just been scraping by.”

“I thought he moved to America to better provide for you both?” Haru questioned, looking at Inko in concern. She could remember the day when Hisashi had packed up and moved to America, Inko had come in looking like a wreck and was sent home by their big boss. Yaoyorozu was a family man, and he always tried to take care of his employees as if they were one of his own.

“That’s what he told me, but the numbers say otherwise.” Inko responded, closing her eyes and hanging her head. “It seems like he is sending the absolute minimum that he can, and I haven’t heard from him in months.” Inko clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles going white. “The only contact I received was when his lawyer showed up with divorce proceedings, already signed.”

Haru was frustrated on Inko’s behalf. Her father had suddenly passed away due to sickness when she was younger and it had only been her and her mother. Even though her mother never had to work after he passed, it was still a struggle for both of them to move on. Haru could relate with Izuku in certain ways, knowing that Hisashi leaving the family must have broken them completely, especially after how much Inko talked about him loving his family.

“I had to purchase two uniforms this week, because the last ones were destroyed beyond repair…” Inko sniffled, remembering when Izuku had come home with many more burns that day. “Oh, my poor baby. I don’t think there was skin visible when I finished bandaging him this time.”

Haru felt her heart break at how Inko was breaking down in front of her. She wished there was more that she could do for Inko, but beyond giving her money to help send Izuku to another school, she couldn’t do much. Inko had refused the first time Haru had offered, knowing that Haru was saving up for a family of her own one day.

Haru reached out and grabbed Inko’s hand in comfort. “Have you tried to contact the education board? This amount of bullying shouldn’t be allowed.”

Inko nodded, allowing a few tears to fall. “Every time I get into contact with them, they refer me to contacting the school themselves. I’ve tried going to my lawyer, and with the school saying that Izuku is causing the fights, there is nothing that he can do. I tried going to the police, but they just informed me that they had more important matters to deal with.” Haru felt when Inko squeezed her hand tighter, the woman looking up at Haru. “I don’t know what to do, and I’m worried about my poor baby. What if he doesn’t come home one day?”

“Do you think that’s a possibility?” Haru asked seriously. If neither the education board or the police were stepping in, there had to be a bigger power at play, and that was setting off red alarms in Haru’s head. Everyone had heard the rumors about kids getting pushed around enough before they finally snapped. Knowing how kind and loving that Inko was, she could only imagine how much Izuku would take after his mother. The world would become a darker place if something were to happen to him.

“It’s getting so bad.” Inko sniffled again, raising up her other hand to clear away the tears. “Some days, Izuku doesn’t seem to register at home. No matter if I put his favorite All Might video on or not, he just seems like he isn’t there.”

There was a knock at the door to the breakroom, causing both women to look towards the newcomer. Yuukichi Yaoyorozu stood in the doorway, looking directly at Inko. She wiped some more tears away, before straightening up her posture.

“Yaoyorozu.” Inko greeted, bowing as best she could in her seat, trying to act like she wasn’t just bawling her eyes out a few moments before. “I wasn’t expecting you back until later today. I hope the meeting went well?”

“Yes, it did. Thank you for asking, Midoriya.” Yuukichi looked at Haru, and could see that she was shooting her pleading eyes towards Inko, requesting him to talk with her. He didn’t hear the full conversation, but he had heard enough to where he understood why Inko was crying. “Can you meet me in my office once you've finished your break, Midoriya? I would like to have a word with you.”

Inko straightened up, worry and concern filling her gut, after hearing those words. “O-Of course, Sir.”

Hearing a knock, Yuukichi looked up from his desk to see Inko standing in the doorway, cleaned up and looking professional again. If he was being honest with himself, he would consider Inko one of his best employees, and would have promoted her long ago if she would have accepted. When her son was born she had reduced her hours to take care of him, which he understood well, having a daughter of similar age.

“Please come in and close the door behind you, Midoriya.” Yuukichi smiled to reassure Inko, but it only seemed to cause her more worry. Inko did as she was requested, before moving over to stand across from Yuukichi, bowing her head in greeting. Yuukichi would wait until Inko raised her head, so there was nothing but silence between them for a few moments.

Finally, when Inko raised her head to look at Yuukichi, he could see tears starting to brim in her eyes again. “Please, have a seat, Midoriya.” He said quietly, holding his hand out towards the seat.

Inko nodded, finding the seat and sitting on the edge, as if knowing not to get comfortable. “Did I do something wrong, Sir?” Inko questioned quietly.

Yuukichi sat back in his chair, bringing his hands up in front of him, connecting the ends of his fingers together. “Why would you think you did something wrong, Midoriya?” He questioned, wanting to see what her answer was.

“You’ve never requested to have a ‘word’ with me before, and never when I was on break.” Inko responded simply, looking down towards her own hands. Yuukichi knew that Inko was telling the truth, because he always made it clear what he wanted to talk about with his employees, and would never request them during their breaks. That was their time, and he understood that many of his employees taking that time for breaks needed that time for themselves.

“I heard part of your conversation during your break.” Yuukichi stated, causing Inko to snap her head towards him. He could see more fear creep into her eyes, and the tears start falling before he could even continue. “Midoriya, please stop worrying so much. You’re not in trouble, neither is anything going to happen.” Inko seemed to relax a bit more, reaching up and wiping her eyes to clear them of the tears. “Deep breaths.” Inko responded well to his words, taking a few deep breaths as she wiped her eyes again.

“The reason why I requested to have a word with you is because I didn’t want the rest of the office to know.” Yuukichi explained, leaning forward on his desk. “I know you’re a very private person, Midoriya, only opening up to Yoshida on occasion.” Inko nodded, a bit of surprise behind her eyes. “Tell me, how is little Izuku?”

“Not good.” Inko said, looking down towards the ground again. “He’s getting bullied to the point of needing medical attention when coming home.” Yuukichi clenched his fist tightly causing his knuckles to go white. While he never experienced what it was like to be bullied, being homeschooled most of his life, his wife had experienced it throughout her childhood. “This past week has been the worst.”

“And the school board, education board, and the police will do nothing about it?” Yuukichi questioned, getting a nod from Inko in response. He let out an angry sigh, causing Inko to look up towards him. “Very well.” Yuukichi opened up his desk, pulling out one of his personal business cards, before turning it over. “I want to help you and Izuku, Midoriya.” He said simply, writing down his own personal name and number followed by his wife’s name and number, before writing an address below it.

“You said Izuku goes to Aldera, correct?” Yuukichi looked up to see Inko watching him, giving him a nod. He reached over and hit a sequence of numbers, before pulling up the phone to his ear. “Do you know how to get to Aldera Elementary in Musutafu?” He heard his driver confirm that he did. “I am sending Inko Midoriya down to you. I want you to take her to Aldera and pick up her son and bring them back to the estate.” Yuukichi watched as Inko’s eyes went wide as his driver responded again. “Please make sure you treat them well.” Yuukichi ended the call by putting the phone back into the receiver.

“Sir?” Inko questioned with wide eyes.

“Please, Midoriya.” Yuukichi said, reaching over and holding out the card. “I told you I want to help Izuku and yourself, and this is the first step in doing so.” Inko took the card, looking down at the information on it. “Of course, you don’t have to accept, but I would like you to meet my wife and daughter regardless. On that card, you will find mine and my wife’s personal numbers, as well as the address to our home.” Inko looked back up towards Yuukichi with even wider eyes than before. “My driver downstairs is waiting, so I will meet you at our estate after you pick up your son.”

Chapter Text

“Mom? Where are we going?” Izuku questioned as they rode in the backseat of the black limousine. Izuku was worried when he was called into the principal's office today, knowing that Katsuki was planning on using him as a quirk test dummy after school. He thought that the principal had somehow caught word of what was going to happen, and decided to pre-punish him, something that had happened in the past.

Izuku was surprised when he got to the office to find his mother standing there, holding out her hand. She explained that she was taking Izuku out of school for the day, and they were going to meet some very special people. He hadn’t been pulled out of school before, so it must have been some really important people for his mother to do so.

“I don’t think you remember him, but my boss, Yaoyorozu, has requested us to meet him at his home.” Inko explained as they drove further away from their home. “He told me he has a daughter the same age as you.”

“Oh.” Izuku said a little sadly, still looking out the window at the scenery going by. “Okay, Mom.” Inko’s heart cracked a bit more when Izuku responded, already expecting the worst to come, but agreeing with it nonetheless.

To be perfectly honest, Inko didn’t know why her boss wanted them to meet his family. Yuukichi was a private person when it came to his family, keeping them away from the office, and never talking about them much. Inko looked at the card in her hand, finding the personal numbers and their address written down in his hand writing, wondering about how he would help them. Inko had never accepted help in the past, but with her boss asking her, it was hard to refuse his requests.

They both sat in silence the rest of the way to the Yaoyorozu home, the driver speaking up every once in a while to ask if they were okay, if they wanted to stop for any reason, if they were hungry or thirsty, and many other questions. Enough to show that he was paying attention to them, but not enough to be overbearing in his questions.

When they had finally reached the street that the address was on, Inko was surprised to see no other houses around, just a steel fence that bordered the sidewalk and seemed to go on forever. After a few moments of driving, they had finally reached the gate of the Yaoyorozu home. The driver entered his passcode, the gates swinging open and granting them access. It was another few moments before they arrived in front of the main entrance way, standing taller than any house that Inko or Izuku had ever seen before.

“Midoriya!” Yuukichi greeted with a smile as he walked out of the doors that could seemingly accommodate their whole apartment passing through, a few servants either falling behind him or standing off to the side. Yuukichi stopped in front of the two Midoriya’s before crouching down to Izuku’s height. “And you must be Izuku.” The man smiled, holding out his hand.

Izuku looked at it a second, before looking up towards his mother and getting a nod in response. He reached out his hand and gave the taller man’s hand a shake. “It’s nice to meet you.” Izuku said quietly.

“So well mannered!” Yuukichi said excitedly. “It’s nice to meet you too, Izuku. Your mother has told me so much about you.” Izuku nodded, dropping the man’s hand and taking a step back towards his mother. Standing back up, he looked towards Inko. “Come, my wife and daughter are waiting to meet us in the dining hall.” Yuukichi was still smiling as he turned around. “I hope you’re both hungry. I requested our chefs to make an assortment of sushi.”

Yuukichi had walked a distance that felt like three times the size of their apartment, until finally reaching the dining hall. Just inside the doorways stood a woman that was a little shorter than Yuukichi, and standing similarly beside her, was who Inko suspected was their daughter. “Miyuki, this is the employee I was telling you about.” Yuukichi informed his wife. “This is Inko Midoriya and Izuku. Midoriya, this is my wife Miyuki Yaoyorozu and my daughter, Momo.”

Inko stepped forward and bowed towards the other woman. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Yaoyorozu.”

“Oh please, Midoriya, call me Miyuki!” Miyuki exclaimed, taking a few steps forward before stopping. “Do you mind if I hug you? I’m a hugger, but my husband likes to make sure I ask beforehand.” Inko stood back up with shock on her face, before nodding, allowing Miyuki to hug Inko tightly. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Midoriya, Yuukichi has told me so much about you, and when he called me today to see if you could come over, I immediately agreed.”

Inko cleared her throat after they had separated, trying to push away the surprise that she was feeling in the difference of character between Yuukichi and Miyuki. “Please, call me Inko, in that case.” Inko coughed once again, before looking over towards Yuukichi. “I didn’t realize that Mr. Yaoyorozu talked about me so much.”

Yuukichi chuckled, looking away a bit awkwardly. “Please, Inko, call me Yuukichi in my own home.” Yuukichi gave her a genuine smile as he looked back. “And it’s been nothing but good things, I assure you. Miyuki enjoys listening to how my days normally go, so you normally come up more often than most.”

“And this is little Izuku?” Miyuki said, crouching down in front of him. “Hello, Izuku, my name is Miyuki.”

“Hello.” Izuku responded simply, looking up at the woman with curious eyes.

“Oh he is just adorable!” Miyuki exclaimed, before waving behind her. “Come here, Momo. I want you to meet Izuku.” The little girl that was a spitting image of her mother walked around Miyuki and stopped in front of Izuku. “This is my daughter, Momo. I hope you two can be great friends.”

“Hello, Izuku.” Momo greeted, bowing politely in greeting.

Izuku's eyes were wide as he looked at the girl in front of him. She was slightly taller than him, but she was dressed in a cute red outfit that looked similar to her mothers. “Pretty…” Izuku said quietly, before continuing. “Hello.” Izuku followed her actions and bowed politely towards her.

Inko was watching the interaction, and had heard when Izuku had called Momo pretty. Momo seemed to know what the word meant, because her cheeks got a little rosy as a small genuine smile graced her face. Izuku was none the wiser that he spoke at all, a habit he picked up when watching other heroes on TV.

“Momo, why don’t you show Izuku your room? Your father and I would like to speak with Inko.” Miyuki requested, getting a nod from Momo in return, allowing her to stand up. “If one of you doesn't mind shadowing them, we’ll call once dinner is served.” Miyuki said to one of the servants, getting a nod in return.

“Come, Izuku. I’ll show you some of my books.” Momo said, reaching forward and grabbing Izuku’s hand.

“Do you have any hero books?” Izuku questioned as Momo guided him out of the hall, the servant following along behind them.

“I hope they get along…” Inko said quietly, before turning back towards her hosts.

“Come, Inko.” Yuukichi said, gesturing towards the small family sized table in the room. It allowed a family to sit much closer compared to the huge dining hall table that sat in the middle of the room. “Now I’ve told Miyuki a bit of what I overheard, and before we ask for you to let us help you, I want you to know why I requested you here.”

“Yuukichi told me he overheard you telling another employee that Izuku is getting bullied at school because of his quirklessness.” Miyuki started off, getting a nod in confirmation from Inko. “To the point where he needs medical attention and the school board won’t do anything about it.” Another nod. “It seems like things never change…” Miyuki said quietly, she waved at another servant, and he brought over tea for the three of them. “Before we ask you anything more, just know that I understand, and I would like to tell you my story.”

They all accepted the tea, sipping it for a moment, before Miyuki continued. “You see, my family grew up on the outskirts of Japan, which means we were poor.” Inko’s eyes went wide at that declaration. “That’s the reaction most people have when I tell them.” Miyuki smiled, before continuing. “Because of that, I was bullied relentlessly for what I had or didn’t have. My quirk was considered weak because it only allowed me to understand how items were created, but I had no way of doing anything with that information, so I was viewed similarly as someone who was quirkless.”

“My family tried their hardest to put me through school, and there were times when I came very close to giving up.” Miyuki said quietly. “I don’t think I had it as bad as Izuku does, because I never needed medical treatment, but I do understand how ruthless kids can be.” Miyuki took another sip of her tea, before she let out a sigh. “I remember this one girl that used to constantly pick on me, put me down and call me every name in the book. She was one of the popular kids, and everyone loved her because her quirk was seen as ‘powerful’ and perfect for heroics.”

“That sounds exactly like what Izuku is going through…” Inko said quietly.

Miyuki nodded. “When I finally finished school, I moved into the city with little yen to my name. I wanted to do something that would provide for my family, and I went through many different job applications before finally landing something that could actually support me.” Miyuki found Yuukichi’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “It was Yuukichi’s grandfather that saw the potential in what I could do, and found an amazing use for my quirk, working side by side with Yuukichi. You see, Yuukichi has a quirk that allows him to assemble anything while fixing the flaws. With my quirk being able to see how items were created, I was tasked with putting those items into blueprints, while Yuukichi was tasked with bettering those items.”

“Did you know…?” Inko trailed off.

Miyuki smiled, looking towards Yuukichi. “Did I know that Yuukichi was the grandson of the owner of the company? No, I never suspected a thing until he asked me to meet his family, and I saw my boss sitting at the head of the table.” Miyuki looked back towards Inko, to see the amazed look in her eyes. “By then, we were already dating.”

“But… Why tell me all of this?” Inko questioned, looking between Yuukichi and Miyuki. “Not that I didn’t enjoy listening! I just, I don’t know how this will help my little Izuku.”

“We’re in a position where we can pay forward the kindness that Yuukichi’s grandfather showed me all those years ago.” Miyuki stated simply. “I know what it’s like to be bullied, and I hate to hear about other kids getting bullied over having no quirk or a weak quirk.” Miyuki smiled. “You should know what charities that Yaoyorozu Co. donates to the most, being one of our main accountants.”

“The Quirkless or Hard to Control Quirk Foundation…” Inko said, the information finally clicking.

“Momo has a wonderful mutation of our quirks.” Yuukichi explained. “She can create anything she knows the molecular construction of, by converting the lipids in her body to what she wants to create. A very hard quirk to control and master, but with the proper knowledge, she could create anything she sets her mind to.”

“And to get her the proper knowledge in how she can use her quirk, and to get her the proper education that would update the official records, we needed a teacher that could teach her.” Miyuki smiled as Inko’s eyes went wide. “So we hired the best teacher we could find as a private tutor for Momo, one that can help her with perfecting her quirk and with expanding her knowledge. I think we were lucky to have a daughter that just loves to constantly learn.”

“You can’t mean…” Inko started off, her mouth hanging open as she looked between the two Yaoyorozus.

“We would like to extend an offer to Izuku to take part in the private lessons that Momo takes, right here in our home.” Yuukichi offered.

“But I can’t afford that!” Inko said suddenly, looking a bit worried between them.

“Who asked you to pay anything?” Miyuki questioned with a raised eyebrow, allowing a smile to grace her face when the shock appeared on Inko’s face. “Yuukichi and I both know how lonely Momo gets when she’s by herself. She tells us she is fine, saying that she enjoys getting lost in her books that she reads, but there are times when I just know she wished she had a friend to talk with.”

“So not only would you be helping my little Izuku, you would be helping out Momo in turn…” Inko started to put the puzzle pieces together. “What if they don’t get along?” Inko questioned.

“I don’t think we have to worry about that.” Miyuki smiled towards Inko. “I heard what Izuku said before Momo grabbed his hand, something that she has never done to anybody close to her age before.”

“You and your romance novels.” Yuukichi said, shaking his head. “You know Momo has been requesting more of those since the first one you gave her.”

“Oh come on, they’re not that bad!” Miyuki said, smiling towards her husband. “Oh, it would be just like one of my favorite books! Momo and Izuku meeting as kids, growing up and falling in love, facing the struggles of the world together, before living happily ever after.” Miyuki looked back towards Inko. “Wouldn’t that just be a fairy tail waiting to happen?!”

Inko smiled at Miyuki’s explanation. “It would be nice to see Izuku have at least one friend, and if all that happens along the way? You won’t hear me complaining.” Inko looked towards the door where the kids had left. “Izuku hasn’t had a friend in years, and to see Momo so willingly guide him away, it’s almost a dream come true.”

“You two are hopeless.” Yuukichi smiled as he shook his head. “I can see you two are already gonna be great friends.”

“Yes, I do have some hero books.” Momo responded to Izuku as they left the dinner hall. Momo didn’t understand why Izuku had called her pretty, it’s not like she hadn't heard the word from other boys at her parents' parties before. She looked back towards Izuku, seeing he kept his head down as she guided him throughout her home. It was different when it came from the timid boy, maybe because he didn’t mean to say it, or because he really meant the words he was speaking.

“Do you have any on All Might?” Izuku asked quietly, still looking away. “He’s my favorite hero.”

“I should have some on All Might, both in his early days as a hero, and his most recent accomplishments.” Momo responded, still looking at the boy beside her. He had looked towards her when she mentioned the books on All Might, and she could see the sparkle behind his eyes, causing her to smile back at him. “I don’t have a favorite hero, but All Might is pretty cool.”

“You don’t have a favorite hero?” Izuku questioned, now more engaged in the conversation. “I’ve wanted to be a hero ever since I saw All Might’s debut video, the one where he saved all those people!”

“Well, my quirk is unique, and I don’t have any heroes that I can look up to in reference.” Momo explained. “So I often look up many different heroes and their fighting styles to allow me to adapt it to my own.”

“A unique quirk?” Izuku questioned excitedly. “What is it?”

Momo giggled, before raising up her other hand and producing a matryoshka doll exactly how Izuku currently looked. Momo held it in front of him, and if Izuku’s eyes weren’t full of stars before, they were shining brightly now. Izuku reached forward and picked up the doll, and inspected it. “My quirk is called Creation. As long as I know the molecular structure of something, I can create it using the lipids in my body.” Momo explained. “The hardest part of creating matryoshka dolls is getting the design on them. It took me so long just to create one, and much longer to learn how to do the designs.”

“This is amazing!” Izuku exclaimed, looking at the doll more closely. “This looks exactly like me!” Izuku looked back towards Momo to find her smiling, while Izuku smiled towards her. “That is such an amazing quirk!”

“Thank you, Izuku.” Momo responded kindly. “Do you mind if I ask what your quirk is?” Momo knew she asked the wrong question with how Izuku froze in place, pulling his hand out of hers, and looking away. “Izuku?” Momo questioned, moving back towards him. Izuku turned around even more, before Momo heard a sniffle. She circled around him to find tears falling down his cheeks. “What’s wrong?” Momo asked worriedly.

Izuku let out a sigh, looking away from Momo again. “I’m…” He started out, before taking another deep breath. “…Quirkless.” Izuku responded quietly. “I’m diseased, broken, useless…” Izuku said quietly. “I’m just a worthless Deku.”

Momo's worry was replaced with shock, seeing how much her question had affected him. She couldn’t believe that the same boy who was so excited to talk about heroes had just broken down in front of her, revealing that he was quirkless. She could see that Izuku really believed he was diseased, or broken, just because he didn’t have a quirk. “Why do you think you’re a worthless Deku?” Momo asked quietly, putting a hand onto his shoulder.

“Because that’s what everyone tells me!” Izuku responded, looking back at Momo, allowing her to see all the hurt and pain behind his eyes. “Ever since the doctor told me I was quirkless, everyone always called me diseased, or broken. I’m just a worthless, useless, Deku.” Izuku grabbed his sleeve and pulled it up, showing Momo the bandages. “Every single day, I’m used as a quirk testing dummy, no matter how much I try to run away.” He took another deep breath, before looking away and closing his eyes, allowing more tears to escape. “I’ll never be a hero like All Might…”

“Izuku…” Momo said quietly, looking down at the bandages that were circling his arm. Her mother had taught her that when someone was feeling down, that a hug would fix everything. While Momo knew that a hug couldn’t fix what Izuku was feeling, it didn’t stop her from moving forward and circling her arms around him. Izuku froze in her grip, and when Momo hugged a bit tighter, Izuku circled his arms around Momo. “You aren’t diseased, or broken, Izuku.” Momo said quietly, feeling his arms tighten on her back. “And I doubt you’re worthless or useless.”

“But…” Izuku started out, and Momo just tightened the hug.

“No buts, Izuku.” Momo stated firmly. “Did you know that Midnight fights quirkless?”

“Yeah…” Izuku responded quietly. “She uses fans and a whip to fight villains, and her quirk allows her to put villains to sleep. She has to be careful when using her quirk in villain encounters because it could easily affect the civilians around her, only relying on it as a last resort.”

“So if Midnight fights quirkless most of the time, who's to say you cannot become a hero?” Momo asked quietly. “It might not be like All Might, but I think you could still become a hero.” Momo felt Izuku freeze in her grip again, causing her to hug tighter again.

“Do you really think I could be a hero without a quirk?” Izuku asked with so much hope in his voice, Momo was willing to give him anything if she could.

“With enough training, I believe you could.” Momo reassured, feeling Izuku tighten his hug on her.

“You’re the first person to ever tell me that, beside Mom.” Izuku whispered out so quietly, Momo almost thought she imagined it. “Thank you, Momo.”

Izuku pulled back out of the hug, Momo releasing her grip on him as he went. “You’re welcome, Izuku.” Momo smiled down at Izuku, while he wiped away some stray tears, before he smiled back up at her.

“Come on, let me show you some of my favorite books!” Momo said with a bit more energy. She reached down and grabbed Izuku’s hand again, giving it a squeeze to which he returned. She started moving back towards her room, excited to show her new friend some of her books.

“Did you enjoy spending time with Momo, Izuku?” Inko questioned after dinner was finished. He had come back in a better mood, and requested to sit beside Momo as they ate dinner. They were continuously talking, the topics often changing. Inko had tried to keep up with the two kids for a bit, going from talking about Momo’s quirk, to training, to school work, to heroes and books. Inko was surprised when Izuku had mentioned training to become a quirkless hero, and Momo didn’t even hesitate, offering him some advice on weapons that he could use.

“Momo is really nice!” Izuku responded as he nodded excitedly. “Mom, you should see the books that Momo has on heroes! She has some limited edition All Might ones that I haven’t seen before! But that’s not all, she has these books that have heroes before quirks!”

“Oh?” Inko questioned, looking towards Momo sitting beside Izuku still. “I didn’t know there were heroes before quirks.”

“There were plenty of heroes before the dawn of quirks, one most notably was one by the name of ‘Spiderman’. He had powers similar to a spider and would swing around saving people in New York City.” Momo responded, smiling at Inko before looking back to Izuku. “Izuku found some of them, and asked to borrow them.”

Izuku nodded excitedly with a smile on his face. “I told Momo I would take very good care of them! I can’t wait to read them!”

“So does that mean you want to come back?” Inko asked, a smile forming on her face at the excitement that was coming off Izuku in waves.

“Can we? Please? I really want to see Momo again!” Izuku exclaimed. “Momo said she’d help me train to become a hero without a quirk!”

“So you told Momo?” Inko asked carefully, already knowing that her son would pick up on the question.

“Yes, I told Momo I was quirkless, and she didn’t treat me anything like my classmates at Aldera.” Izuku responded, looking back at Momo and giving her a smile. “She told me that I could become a quirkless hero, but I would need to train really hard! She showed me some of her skills with her staff, and I think I’d like to learn!”

Inko couldn’t keep the smile off her face, and giving a quick glance to Yuukichi and Miyuki, could see they were just as happy with the outcome. “So I have a serious question for you, Izuku.” Inko said, causing Izuku to look back towards her. He knew that tone of voice, and while it shot some worry through him, he nodded to encourage her to continue.

“When you were hanging out with Momo in her room, Yuukichi, Miyuki, and I had a serious conversation.” Izuku nodded again. “What are your thoughts on getting pulled out of Aldera, and instead coming to the Yaoyorozu’s home to learn beside Momo instead?” Izuku's eyes went wide, looking between the three adults before looking at Momo and seeing the shock evident on her face as well. “It would be difficult, as Momo learns a lot harder material, but it would allow you to train after, and spend more time with Momo.”

Izuku whipped around to look at Momo. “What do you think, Momo?” He questioned with a smile on his face.

Momo looked taken aback from his quick reaction. “You’re asking… me?” Momo questioned in return, and Izuku nodded his head quickly, causing Momo to giggle at him, before smiling. “I would like that, Izuku.”

Izuku looked back towards his Mom, giving her a smile and nodding excitedly. “Yes! I promise to try my absolute hardest!” Izuku whipped his head back to Momo, and Inko was surprised he wasn’t giving himself whiplash as he did so. “Can you help me if I start to struggle, Momo?”

“Of course, Izuku.” Momo responded with a smile. “I can lend you some of my notes before you leave, that way you know what we are working on when you start.”

“Okay! Let’s go get them!” Izuku said excitedly, standing up. Momo giggled, standing up beside him as well, before grabbing his hand and guiding him back towards her room. “Be right back, Mom!”

“Take your time, Dear!” Inko called back as they disappeared behind the door again.

“That went exactly like you said it would, Inko.” Yuukichi said, smiling towards her.

“Oh, my goodness!” Miyuki said, holding her hands up to her chin in excitement. “Did you see how cute they looked together?! Momo even held his hand again! They both look so excited!”

“I haven’t seen Izuku this excited ever.” Inko commented, still looking towards the door. “I wonder what happened.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Yuukichi said, pulling out his phone. Clicking a few buttons, he placed it in front of them. “I have cameras throughout the estate, because you can never be too safe.” They all looked down at the video, seeing them walking towards Momo’s room the first time, until they suddenly stopped and Izuku looked away. Not even a few moments later, Izuku and Momo were hugging in the hallway.

“No! Way!” Miyuki said excitedly.

“Well, you did tell her hugs would fix anything.” Yuukichi said with a smile, before he pointed towards the video. “She gets that from you.”

“And I’m damn proud about it too!” Miyuki responded, sticking out her tongue at her husband, causing him to chuckle. “Look at how the mood completely changed after Izuku pulled out of the hug! Momo grabbed his hand again!”

Inko chuckled at the antics of the Yaoyorozus. She never would have expected Yuukichi to be so open considering how professional he is at work, nor could she have imagined that Miyuki would be so invested in what their kids were doing. It brought a genuine smile to Inko’s face as she thought about how Izuku’s future was changed for the better, just because of one small act of kindness from someone she barely even knew before today.

If someone had told Inko a year ago that she would be pulling Izuku out of Aldera and sending him off to private tutoring, she would have claimed they’d gone mad. Yet, here she was at Aldera on Monday morning, doing exactly that. The principal and the teachers had looked at her as if she had gone crazy, but when she officially signed off on the paperwork to release Izuku from Aldera, she felt like a humongous weight had lifted off her shoulders.

Within a few months, Inko’s quality of work increased, getting more done in a shorter amount of time. Yuukichi had noticed and brought her into his office, offering her a promotion. Without having to worry about Izuku’s schooling, nor about how he was being treated at school, she gladly accepted. Yuukichi had made it clear about the clause he put into the description, allowing her to take as much time off as she needed in terms of Izuku’s schooling, which wouldn’t be much considering how much he wanted to spend time at the Yaoyorozu’s Estate.

Izuku was ecstatic when Inko had finally pulled him out of Aldera. When he had walked out of the school for the last time, he didn’t even spare the school or his previous classmates a final look, instead walking directly to the black limousine. From that day forward, he started taking his classes with Momo at the Yaoyorozu’s Estate, and while the material was much harder than what he was used to at Aldera, he loved having the challenge. Izuku and Momo both worked their hardest, challenging each other in their schoolwork, and constantly pushing each other to do better.

It wasn’t long after Izuku had started when he told Inko that he would be getting picked up earlier and dropped off later on the days he went to the Yaoyorozu’s Estate. She had questioned Yuukichi and Miyuki about it during one of their weekly dinner nights, and they had told her that Izuku and Momo were spending a lot more time either training by themselves or just spending time together somewhere in the home.

Months went by, and Inko started noticing a lot more changes within Izuku, and after confirming her findings with the Yaoyorozus, they had agreed. Izuku and Momo were both pushing themselves beyond what most students their ages did, and Inko had noticed how much more muscle Izuku had put on in such a short little time, constantly having to buy him new clothes. Maybe it was because he was finally eating better, or he enjoyed learning now, or he had a friend that he enjoyed spending time with. Inko couldn’t be sure what the reason was for the cause, but she was happy that Izuku was happy nonetheless.

Miyuki had mentioned that she’d been noticing changes in Momo as well, most noticeably how close she had become with Izuku, and how much time the two spent together. Even when the two kids didn’t have schooling or training that day, Izuku would come over to the Yaoyorozu’s Estate just to spend time with Momo. They were most often found working on quirk analysis together, or reading their own copies of matching books and/or discussing them.

Miyuki had constantly been sending pictures of the two of them, either reading side by side or when they were training. Inko was overjoyed that her baby found such a great friend in Momo, and she couldn’t help but hope that it expanded beyond just friendship. Miyuki had agreed with her, already saying how cute of a couple they made together. When Miyuki had shown her the photo of them sitting side by side, their legs just barely touching as they both read matching books in hand, Inko had to save the photo of them.

When Yuukichi and Miyuki realized that the Midoriyas were spending more time at the Yaoyorozu Estate compared to their own home, they decided to sit down and consider a few options. Yuukichi eventually called Inko into his personal home office, requesting her to sit across from him, while Miyuki sat on the desk beside her husband. It wasn’t uncommon for Yuukichi to call Inko into his personal office after hours, especially when working on a big project with a deadline.

Yuukichi had placed a folder on the desk, indicating that what was in the folder could very well change Inko’s and Izuku’s lives forever, if she so chose to accept. Inko was skeptical at first, reaching forward and picking up the folder to read what was inside. Her eyes went wide as she continued to read through the folder, before she lowered it down and looked in shock towards the Yaoyorozus across from her.

Inside the folder contained information about Inko and Izuku moving into the Yaoyorozu’s Estate permanently. It detailed how Yuukichi would buy out their lease on their old apartment, and help them move into the Yaoyorozu’s Estate, giving them their own ‘apartment’ within the Estate. Inko looked at the space they had set aside for her, realizing that her current apartment was only half the size of the space they were offering. In the end, it wasn’t a hard decision for Inko and once she asked Izuku, he wholeheartedly agreed after he found out he could spend even more time with his friend.

Chapter Text

A couple of years later…

“Momo? Do you even know where we are?” Izuku questioned as he followed Momo through the dense woods behind their home. They had finished their schooling for the day and training was cut short after the teacher was called out for an emergency. Momo had suggested going for an adventure through the woods behind their home; having done it so many times in the past, Momo could remember her favorite paths like the back of her hand.

“Of course I do, Izuku.” Momo slowed down to walk beside Izuku as he looked at the map. She giggled as she realized Izuku's mistake. “You’re holding the map upside down again.”

“Again?” Izuku exclaimed a little frustratedly. He grumbled to himself quietly, turning the map rightside up again, before slumping his shoulders. “I don’t know how I keep flipping it upside down.”

“Reading a map isn’t as easy as it looks.” Momo explained before pointing to a section on the map, showing a hidden path through the woods. “We’re right about here.” They were close enough to brush shoulders, but neither minded, enjoying the closeness.

“You weren’t even looking at the map!” Izuku exclaimed, holding the map out in front of him before looking up towards where the hidden path apparently lay ahead of them. “How do you even know where we are?”

“See this tree here?” Momo pointed to the map, indicating a tree that had a symbol on it. At Izuku’s nod, she turned around and pointed towards the tree behind them. “That’s the same tree that’s on the map.”

Izuku turned around and looked towards the tree. He was about to ask Momo how she knew which trees were which before he noticed the red ribbon that was tied to the branches above their heads. “So the trees are marked, similarly to the trees on the map.” Izuku looked down at the map to find that the tree Momo had pointed at showed red ribbons wrapped around the trunk.

Looking towards the next tree on the map, he found that it should have blue ribbons. Looking back towards where they were walking, Izuku looked at all the taller trees along the path, spotting a larger tree in the distance with blue ribbons. “That should be where we head next, right?”

Momo followed where he was pointing, seeing that the tree with blue ribbons was in front of them. She smiled and nodded. “That’s the next landmark on the path.”

“Landmark? But it’s in a tree?” Izuku questioned, looking towards his friend.

Momo giggled. “Sayuri explained that landmarks are meant to stand out from each other, helping with finding our way.” Momo looked ahead of them, seemingly searching for something before she spotted it. “See that bridge up there?” Momo questioned as she pointed towards the custom bridge that Father had built for them to cross the stream that ran through their property.

Izuku stood on the tips of his toes, moving his head back and forth, looking for the bridge that Momo was pointing towards. Momo giggled beside him, causing him to look over and see her watching him, resulting in him glaring back at her. “It’s not funny! You’re taller than me!” Momo continued to giggle as Izuku stopped looking for the bridge. “I can’t wait until we get older and I’m taller than you!”

“If you get taller than me.” Momo responded, still smiling towards Izuku, causing him to let out a frustrated sigh. “Come on, once we move closer to the next landmark, we should be able to see the bridge!” Momo reached out and grabbed Izuku’s hand, pulling him along behind her.

“Whoa!” Izuku exclaimed, as he tried to keep up with Momo. “You’re too fast, Momo! I’m going to fall!”

“Well hurry up, slowpoke!” Momo responded, letting go of Izuku’s hand and slowing down a bit to dance in front of him. “I can’t wait to show you my bridge!”

“Be careful, Momo! You’re getting too close to the stream!” Izuku exclaimed, a worried look on his face as he continued to watch Momo dance in front of him gracefully.

“You worry too much, Izuku!” Momo responded with a smile still dancing on her lips. “I know these paths like the back of my-” Momo cut off suddenly as she stepped too close to the stream, the ground beginning to let go below her foot.

“MOMO!” Izuku called out, rushing forward to grab her hand.

Momo reached out to grab Izuku’s hand before her foot fell further into the mud, causing her to lose her balance and fall over. She tumbled down the short bank, landing in the shallow water below, rubbing her head and wincing.

“MOMO!” Izuku called out as he slid down the stream bank, coming to a stop right in front of her. “Are you alright?” He questioned, holding out his hand before freezing in place.

“Whoa!” The boy called out in front of him, losing his balance on the log and slipping over the edge. Izuku watched his best friend fall and splash in the water, and he reacted without even thinking about it, worried about his friend.

“Kacchan fell in.” The red-winged boy said, looking into the water below.

“Hey. You okay?” The one that could extend their fingers questioned next from the top of the log, not moving from their spot.

“I bet he’s fine. Kacchan’s so strong.” The first one continued, kneeling down on the log to get a better look.

“Get back up here, man!” The second one called out, seeing Katsuki’s head pop up from the water.

“Oh. Yeah, I’m okay…” Katsuki started as he looked up and found Izuku standing in front of him, holding out his hand, offering his help.

“Need help? Can you stand?” He remembered himself asking, hand still outstretched in front of him. “Hope you didn’t hit your head!”

“Izuku?!” Momo called out as she grabbed Izuku’s hand. “Izuku, can you hear me?”

“Momo?” Izuku questioned, looking down at their joined hands. “Where are we?” He questioned quietly, looking at Momo who was still sitting in the water in front of him.

“We’re at home, in the woods.” Momo explained, pulling herself up with Izuku’s help. “What happened? You held out your hand and then you froze.”

“I…” Izuku started as he tried to think about what actually happened. He remembered his friend falling, and he remembered jumping down the stream bank to help them. He remembered holding out his hand, but it was knocked away before his vision was full of an Explosion. “I don’t know. All I remember is trying to help a friend and he got really mad at me.” Izuku said quietly, looking up to Momo to see concern in her eyes.

“Oh, Izuku.” Momo said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. “Was this one of those people that used to bully you?”

“I think so.” Izuku responded, hugging Momo back tighter as the memory floated around his head. “I don’t remember…” He felt Momo hug him tighter until he felt something along his arm, causing him to pull back from the hug. Izuku gasped as he saw the blood on Momo’s elbow. “Momo! You’re bleeding!”

“Am I?” Momo questioned, moving her arms around and seeing the blood that was dripping down her elbow. “Oh, I guess I am.”

“We need to get back to the house so you can get looked at!” Izuku exclaimed, grabbing Momo’s other hand and pulling her back up the stream bank. Momo allowed Izuku to help her up the slippery sides before he threw Momo’s arm over his smaller shoulders, half carrying her back towards the house.

“Thank you, Izuku.” Momo said fondly as they walked back towards the house. They took longer to get back, Momo feeling the pain of her fall after the adrenaline wore off, and starting to lean on Izuku for more support.

“You’re welcome, Momo.” Izuku responded, feeling Momo's weight shift and noticing her starting to limp. Not willing to let his friend down, he hoisted more of her weight on him and pushed forward, allowing Momo to guide them back out of the forest. It took them much longer to get out of the woods, not realizing how far they had actually got.

When they finally reached the treeline, Izuku called out for the servants, causing them to come running. One of them picked up Momo and carried her the rest of the way to the house, while another guided Izuku back, questioning him if they were okay. He watched her go as long as he could. He sighed in relief when she turned to wave just before going inside, then finally went with the servant that was helping him.

After getting up early, putting on a fresh change of clothes and getting something in their stomachs, the group of four set out at the crack of dawn towards Tokyo. Izuku had come up to their parents the week before, telling them about a convention coming up. He'd seen on the forums that it was rumored All Might would be making an appearance. Knowing how hard Izuku and Momo had worked on their studies and training, they splurged and bought tickets for the family. What the kids didn’t know was that they would be able to meet several top heroes if they appeared, their Gold-level tickets granting them VIP access.

Inko and Miyuki could only smile at how excited their two children were to go to the hero convention. Miyuki had mentioned that Momo wasn’t too interested in heroes in the past, but ever since Izuku had come into her life, it was as if Momo had completely changed her outlook. Inko had smiled and said that Izuku was infectious like that, having done the same thing to her when he was younger; she proudly proclaimed that she could list off facts about All Might almost as well as Izuku could.

Once the limousine had hit the highway towards Tokyo, Izuku and Momo quickly found themselves falling asleep while leaning into each other. Inko and Miyuki were squealing with joy on the inside, both of them taking out their phones and taking pictures, sending them in the group chat that included Yuukichi. Both mothers talked about how Izuku and Momo had changed over the past few years. Their little ones were ten years old now, and everyone could see how much they'd started sprouting up in size, with Momo still towering over Izuku (much to his chagrin).

After reaching their destination, Inko was tasked with waking up their children while Miyuki went to verify their tickets. When Miyuki shut the car door, it caused Izuku and Momo to stir in their sleep, curling up into each other even more. Inko just couldn’t resist taking out her phone again and taking a picture, sending it off into the group chat quickly, before waking up both children.

Once they had entered the convention itself, Izuku had grabbed Momo’s hand and pulled her along with him, causing her to giggle at his excitement as the parents followed closely behind. They stopped at every booth possible, with Izuku pointing out everything he knew about the hero, while Momo listened intently. When they had come across the biggest booth at the convention, Izuku pulled Momo along into the booth, stopping in the middle and admiring how big the All Might display was.

“Momo! Momo! Look!” Izuku pulled on Momo’s hand again, getting her attention and pointing at the object currently winning the battle for his attention. “They have a life sized version of All Might! Let’s go look at it!”

“Okay, okay! Just don’t pull my arm out of my socket!” Momo exclaimed, causing Izuku to stop instantly and let go of her hand.

“Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?” Izuku questioned, looking at Momo in concern. “I know I get a little excited when it comes to heroes, I didn’t even think about how I was dragging you along.”

“A little?” Momo questioned, handing her smile behind her hand, her eyes giving away her playfulness.

“Okay! I get carried away a lot!” Izuku exclaimed, as he gestured with his hands. He took a step closer to Momo, looking between her shoulder and her face, concern back in his eyes. “But did I hurt you? Please tell me I didn’t.”

“I’m okay, Izuku.” Momo dropped her hand that was hiding her smile, allowing Izuku to finally see it. “You didn’t hurt me.”

“Oh, thank the Gods.” Izuku sighed in relief as he closed his eyes. After relaxing a bit, he opened his eyes to find Momo watching him still with a smile, causing him to smile back. He reached down, and much lighter than before, grabbed Momo’s hand again. “I still want to see how big All Might really is.”

“Lead the way, Izuku.” Momo responded, allowing herself to be dragged along behind Izuku again.

Unbeknownst to the kids, Inko and Miyuki were constantly taking photos of them, making sure to keep Yuukichi updated on what was happening. They both commented about how their two children looked to be dating already, with Izuku and Momo holding hands all the time. After getting their pictures taken with the lifesize All Might figure that stood tall and proud inside the All Might booth, the parents asked the kids if they were hungry.

“After getting dragged around by Izuku all day, I would like to have something to eat before we return home.” Momo said, sitting beside Izuku on a bench while their parents stood in front of them. They were still in the hero convention, having just finished the marathon of all the different hero booths that Izuku had dragged them to, and were planning on heading home soon.

“I said I was sorry!” Izuku exclaimed, covering his face with his hands in embarrassment.

Momo poked him in the side, causing him to squeal a bit. “I told you it was fine, Izuku. I had fun today.” Momo smiled at her friend, allowing his blush to slowly disappear, as he smiled back towards her. “I knew All Might was huge, but goodness, I didn’t expect him to be that big!”

“He stands at two hundred and twenty centimeters! He’s one of the tallest heroes without a mutant quirk!” Izuku replied, excited to be talking about his favorite hero again. “Did you know-”

Izuku was about to continue when he was cut off from a grumble from Momo’s stomach, causing her eyes to go wide before she brought her hands up to her face. “Oh, my goodness. That is so embarrassing.” She said quietly, her face flushed with chagrin.

“Why?” Izuku questioned, titling his head slightly as Momo looked back up towards him. “You told me before that your quirk uses body fat to create stuff, which would only mean that your diet is going to be higher than normal.” Izuku brought up his finger to his chin, thinking back throughout the day. “If I remember correctly, we haven’t had anything to eat since before we left the house early this morning. Which means you’re probably starving right about now.” As if on cue, Momo’s stomach grumbled again.

Izuku looked from Momo’s protesting stomach up towards Momo again to see that her cheeks were still glowing scarlet. “Mom?” Izuku questioned as he looked towards Inko. “Do they have the famous Might Burger here?”

“I believe we passed the restaurant on the way in, which means it’s on the way back to the limousine.” Inko questioned with a smile on her face. “Is that where you wanted to stop?”

Izuku turned back to Momo, seeing her looking between Inko and Izuku. “Have you ever had a cheeseburger? I know the chefs usually only cook healthier foods.”

Momo thought about it for a moment, looking towards Miyuki. “I don’t think I have?”

“What?!” Miyuki exclaimed. “We’ve never had cheeseburgers at home?!”

“Not since we moved in.” Inko commented, causing Miyuki to look at her in shock.

“We gotta change that instantly! Come on, kids! Let’s go get ourselves a Might Burger!” Miyuki exclaimed, grabbing the kids’ hands and dragging them up, pulling them along back to the entrance. “Come on, Inko! I haven’t had a Might Burger in years!” Inko giggled behind the three of them, following along closely behind.

Miyuki had enthusiastically dragged the four of them over towards the Might Restaurant, commenting about how All Might didn’t know how to name any of his businesses or other merchandise. She even listed the few things she knew off the top of her head just by listening to Izuku talk about his favorite hero. “‘Might Tower’, ‘Might Restaurant’, ‘Might Energy’, even ‘Might Clothing’! Does everything have to be related to ‘Might something’?”

“Actually, it’s been proven an effective marketing strategy setup by All Might’s promotional department. By having ‘Might’ in all of his brands and businesses, people from around the world would be able to recognize it.” Izuku responded cheerfully.

Miyuki deadpanned at him. “He could have changed a few things. Look at this!” Miyuki gestured towards the food that was being dropped in front of them. “‘Might Burger’, ‘Might Fries’, ‘Might Drink’. I think it would sound better if he called them the ‘Mighty Burger’, or ‘Mighty Fries’, or ‘Mighty Drink’...”

“You realized after you said those, they didn’t sound as good.” Inko smiled towards her friend, nodded and looked away.

“This is the ‘Might Burger’?” Momo questioned as she picked up the massive burger that was on the plate. It was covered in cheese, but also piled high with other toppings like tomato, onions, lettuce, and various condiments which threatened to escape containment. “This is huge!”

Izuku chuckled from beside her, also grabbing the massive burger and holding it up. “It’s as big as my head!” Izuku looked over at Momo seeing that she was still eyeing the size of the burger in her hands. “I bet you can’t eat it all, Momo.”

Momo closed her mouth, turning her head to look at Izuku with a raised eyebrow. “Is that a challenge, Mini Might?”

He pulled back in surprise before setting his shoulders. “Do you accept, or are you chicken?” Izuku smirked back.

“Oh, you’re on, Izuku!” Momo exclaimed.

Izuku and Momo both dived in head first, trying to eat around the rim of the massive burger before working their way to the center. Miyuki and Inko looked on in amazement as both kids started devouring the burger like it was nothing, constantly taking pictures just so they can remember how messy they were getting in the process. By the time that Momo was done and licking her fingers, Izuku had forfeited the challenge, claiming Momo as the winner.

“You only won because of your quirk.” Izuku groaned, forehead resting on the cool table below, as the waiter came back with to-go boxes for the rest of their food.

“Is that complaining I hear?” Momo held up her hand to her ear, leaning towards Izuku with a smile on her face. “It sounds like you bite off more than you could chew.”

“I want a rematch!” Izuku said, lifting his head off the table, instantly regretting his actions. “But maybe some other day…” He groaned out again, placing his head back on the table. "It feels like I’ve eaten three times my stomach size.”

Momo reached over and started rubbing his back, causing him to sigh in content with how good it felt. “You shouldn’t have challenged me. You knew what happened last time.”

“I thought I could beat you this time.” Izuku admitted, closing his eyes. “I’ve been doing the same training as you for years now.”

“Are you kids ready to go?” Miyuki questioned after she came back from paying the bill.

“We might have to carry Izuku out.” Inko commented with a smile as she stood beside Miyuki.

“I’ll be fine…” Izuku groaned, pushing himself to his feet, stumbling a few steps.

“I got you, Izuku.” Momo said, throwing her arm around him to keep him steady. “Nice and easy now.”

“Thanks, Momo.” Izuku responded, putting more weight onto Momo and leaning his head against her shoulder.

The walk back to the car wasn’t very long, but the plethora of pictures that Miyuki and Inko had taken of the two could easily go on for kilometers. When the two kids had gotten into the limousine, Izuku stayed leaning up against Momo, instantly falling asleep against her shoulder. Momo didn’t mind, sinking back into the seat of the car a bit, leaning her head against Izuku and following him into dreamland not long after.

“Come on, Izuku!” Momo called out as they ran through the house in search of the massive entertainment room that was located within the Yaoyorozu Estate. They’d only been there a few times in the last few months, usually watching a movie together when they had some free time off school work or when training was canceled. They were given the day off today when their teacher had been granted leave to see their son off on a trip to London, and Momo had wanted to take full advantage of the situation.

“I’m coming, Momo!” Izuku called out from behind, chasing her through the hallways and slipping by servants. When he was searching for movies for one of their scheduled movie nights, he had found multiple sets of movies from the pre-quirk days that sounded like they both would enjoy.

When they entered the entertainment room, they were greeted with a massive repository of pillows and blankets spread throughout the room. Knowing they had the day off, Momo had requested the servants to bring all the pillows and blankets they could spare because she had wanted to build a pillow fort, having read about it in one of her books. Izuku had wholeheartedly agreed (having read the same book), and was looking forward to spending time with his best friend outside of classes and training.

“Whoa!” Momo called out, echoed by Izuku right beside her. She turned towards Izuku with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open. “We can build a mansion with all these!” Momo reached over, grabbing Izuku’s hand and jumping into the massive ocean of pillows, sinking almost out of sight. Picking up one pillow each, and simultaneously having the same idea, Momo and Izuku started whacking each other with their pillows. Joyous laughter could be heard from both of them as they started picking up other pillow-shaped ammunition and throwing them towards the other, all while trying to block the incoming fluffy projectiles.

“Time out, time out!” Izuku called, having just thrown his last pillow towards Momo, as he collapsed into the still impressive mass of pillows that surrounded him. Momo walked towards him, finding him panting hard as he looked up towards the ceiling.

Smiling down towards Izuku, Momo turned around and fell into the pillows right beside him. “That was much harder than a training exercise.” Momo admitted, also trying to catch her breath.

“No kidding.” Izuku responded. “We were supposed to be building a pillow mansion, not having a massive pillow fight.” Izuku looked over towards Momo to find her watching him with a smile. “It was fun though.”

Momo nodded in agreement. “What movies did you end up finding? You were really excited to show me, but wouldn’t even give me a hint as to what they were!” Momo exclaimed, gesturing in the air with her hands, something she picked up from Izuku over the years.

Izuku laughed as Momo finished gesturing, turning her pout towards him. “Okay, okay!” Izuku said, causing Momo’s pout to turn back into a smile. “When I was searching for movies, I happened to come across this production studio that looked like it had amazing animation. They were from pre-quirk days, but they were recently found on the HeroNet, having been uploaded years ago but lost in time.” Izuku dug out his phone before showing Momo. “They were called Dreamworks Animation, and the movies they produced seemed really interesting!”

Momo was feeding off the energy that Izuku was emitting, getting her excited for the movies that Izuku had found. “What were they about?”

“One of the series was called ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ while the other one was called ‘Kung Fu Panda’.” Izuku scrunched up his nose in seemingly disgust, pulling his phone back to change what he was showing. “They also had one called Shrek, but after reading about it and seeing a short clip, it doesn’t look like something we'd be interested in.”

When Izuku showed Momo his phone again, she could see this big green creature that looked nothing like a human, even with a mutant quirk. “What is it?” Momo questioned, looking at the short video that was playing.

“They called it an ogre, but it appeared to be something of myth back before pre-quirks.” Izuku commented as he pulled the phone away. “If you want to watch it, I have them downloaded.”

“I don’t think I’m interested in watching something like that.” Momo said, causing Izuku to nod in agreement. “Let’s watch the other two movies you found first, and if we have time, we can try out the first few minutes of Shrek.” Momo moved to get up and found she was sucked in by the pillows, watching as Izuku easily pushed himself up to his feet. “A little help, please?” Momo questioned quietly, embarrassment dusting her cheeks.

Izuku turned back around to find Momo trapped within the pillows, causing him to double over laughing at her. “Oh my goodness, Momo! You look like you’re being devoured by pillows!” Momo pouted back up towards Izuku, causing him to double down on his laughter as he pulled out his phone. Taking a quick picture before reaching in and pulling Momo out of the pillow.

“It’s not funny.” Momo said annoyedly, pouting and crossing her arms.

Izuku stopped laughing, looking towards his friend. “I’m sorry, Momo.” He responded, taking a step towards her and giving her a hug. Momo continued to pout, but couldn’t find a reason to stay mad at her friend, instead throwing her arms back around him and hugging him back.

“It’s okay, Izuku.” Momo responded, pulling out of the hug in the process. “At least let me see the photo you took.”

Izuku nodded, opening up his photo app and handing the phone to Momo. She clicked on the most recent photo that he had taken, showing herself being devoured by pillows. She raised her hand and covered her mouth, hiding the smile behind it. Izuku noticed her telltale sign of her smiling to herself, causing him to pout towards her. “So now that you see the photo, it’s funny?”

“I’ll admit, it’s a bit funny.” Momo responded, giving the phone back to Izuku. She watched as Izuku put the phone away before looking behind him and seeing the hole she was just pulled out of. She smirked, a plan already forming in her head. “Izuku?” Momo questioned, causing him to look at her in question. As soon as he noticed her smirk, he knew something was up but before he had time to react Momo had pushed him into the same crevasse she had just been rescued from.

“Whoa!” Izuku called out as he landed in the hole. “Momo!” Izuku called out in surprise, causing Momo to laugh at his dilemma. Izuku tried to pull himself out of the massive mound of pillows that surrounded him, but couldn’t get a good enough grab. Momo doubled down in laughter, seeing Izuku in the same predicament she was just in. Izuku looked up towards Momo and grinned, enjoying the sound of her cheerful laughter.

After Momo had recovered and caught her breath, she decided to take a picture similar to his, but Izuku decided to smile in his portrait. Momo looked at the photo for a moment, cherishing her luck in finding a friend like Izuku, before pulling him out of the pillow trap. They both cleaned up the pillows they had thrown around the room before getting started on making a pillow mansion.

“A beautiful castle for a king and queen.” Izuku said after they were done, admiring the work they put into it. “Go get comfortable Momo, I’ll get the movie started.”

Momo nodded, moving into a spot that she had made specifically for herself, located right beside the spot Izuku had made for himself. Looking over her shoulder and seeing that Izuku was distracted, she quickly scooted their spots closer together, knowing they would be more comfortable.

Smiling down at her quick work, she slowly sunk into the pillows and waited for Izuku to join her. Once the movie actually started, Izuku moved over towards where Momo was sitting. He took a quick glance at how close their spots were but shrugged his shoulders and sat down.

It wasn’t long until the two of them were leaning against each other, lost in the story of a boy learning how to train a dragon, befriending it and saving his village along the way. Momo had commented how she loved how the boy’s love interest was portrayed, someone who was strong and rugged in all the right ways, who also enjoyed the softness and smarts of the main character. By the time they had finished the third movie, both Izuku and Momo were heartbroken, watching the main characters send their dragons off to protect them.

Izuku looked over to see Momo tearing up a little. In an effort to cheer her up he said, "today was really fun. Next time we've got a day off together, you want a rematch?"

She wiped away the moisture and grinned, a spark lighting her eyes from within. "You're on!" All sadness was forgotten as she grabbed a handy nearby pillow and shoved it into his face, muffling the "Hey! Not yet!" Izuku squeaked out.

Chapter Text

“Nervous?” Momo questioned Izuku as she did his tie. The two of them were approaching the middle of their teenage years, a year away from applying to UA together, and Momo had asked if Izuku wanted to come to one of their family parties. Inko was going to be there with her parents, having already agreed well in advance.

“A bit, yeah.” Izuku answered honestly. He had learned how to tie his own tie years ago from Yuukichi, but Momo had always insisted on tying it for him, and he would never turn down someone else tying his tie. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a party like this. I still don’t know how to act or anything.”

“Just be yourself, Izu.” Momo smiled as she finished the tie, raising it up and choking him a bit, before she pulled it back down. Izuku glared at her, while Momo just giggled at his reaction. “You don’t have to impress anybody, it’s a party that we’re meant to enjoy, just like any other.”

“But it's a party with all your parents' rich friends! It’s not just a normal party, Mo.” Izuku responded, smiling up at her. They had shortened each other’s names years ago during sparring one day, and it felt so comfortable that they continued to use them throughout the years.

“You worry too much.” Momo responded, stepping back from him. “How do you like my dress?”

“Beautiful.” Izuku responded honestly. “I don’t think a dress could look bad on you, Mo.”

“Well, you clean up well yourself, Izu.” Momo responded just as honestly. “That tie works really well with your eyes and hair.”

“You think so?” Izuku questioned, looking at the floor to ceiling mirror that Momo had in her room. “I still don’t like wearing a suit much, no matter how many times people say I look good in it. Just feels so constraining.”

“That’s because you’re used to wearing your workout clothes everyday.” Momo responded, moving to stand beside Izuku so they could look at each other in the mirror. “I think it looks really good on you.”

“Thanks, Mo.” Izuku smiled towards her reflection, causing Momo to smile back.

“You kids ready?” Inko questioned, poking her head into the room. “You two look fabulous!” Inko had pushed the door open a bit more, revealing Yuukichi and Miyuki standing with her.

“They’re all grown up!” Miyuki cried out dramatically, throwing herself in her husband’s arms, forcing him to catch her. “Just yesterday, they were meeting for the first time!”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Mother.” Momo giggled at her antics. “Father, is the party starting soon?”

“The party doesn't start until we walk in.” Yuukichi said simply, receiving a groan in response from Momo and Izuku, not realizing what he just said. “What’d I say?”

“Just a prequirk song that was recently remastered, Dear.” Miyuki stated, standing back up straight again. Yuukichi looked at her in confusion. “Don’t worry about it. Anyways!” Miyuki said, turning back around to look at the teenagers. “What your Father meant to say was that the party has started, and the guests are just waiting for our entrance.”

“I guess we’re ready?” Izuku questioned, looking towards Momo and getting a nod in response. “Lead the way!”

Yuukichi and Miyuki started walking towards the ballroom they normally hosted their parties in, with Inko following right behind them, and Izuku and Momo coming up behind Inko.

Izuku reached over and put his hand on Momo’s lower back, causing her to look over at him. “Do you mind if I walk you in?” He questioned with a smile.

Momo knew exactly why Izuku was asking to walk her in, considering how the last party had gone. She had walked in by herself with her parents, while Inko had walked in with Izuku. Before she even reached the main floor of the ballroom, Momo had been surrounded by teenagers their age, looking to get in the Yaoyorozus’ good graces through her. Izuku still remembered seeing Momo leave the party in a flash, Izuku had followed not long behind.

She had told him later that all those boys were just trying to get on her parents’ good side through her, and she was just fed up with it. When their parents had come looking for them later, they found them leaning against each other, books in hand, sleeping.

“I’d love it if you did.” Momo responded, a dusting of a blush on her cheeks as she smiled back towards him.

Izuku and Momo had mingled within the party by themselves, both noticing the looks they were getting from the other kids their age. There were only two kids that looked like they didn’t want to be there, and when Izuku had asked if Momo wanted to go see them, she recognized them and dragged him over.

“It’s good to see you again, Todoroki, Iida.” Momo greeted.

“Likewise, Yaoyorozu!” Tenya greeted in response, chopping a few times in the air, confusing Izuku a bit.

“Hello, Yaoyorozu.” Shoto responded simply, not looking towards them. He seemed to have his eyes on something, and when Izuku had followed his line of sight, only saw Endeavor standing by himself.

“I don’t think you’ve met my friend?” Momo questioned, getting a head shake from Tenya, and a look and a shrug from Shoto. “Izu, this is Shoto Todoroki, and Tenya Iida. Todoroki, Iida, this is Izuku Midoriya.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Midoriya!” Tenya responded by holding out his hand, which Izuku took and shook, giving him a small smile.

Shoto just humphed, not looking away from Endeavor as he walked throughout the ballroom.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Iida.” Izuku responded. “I take it you’re a relative of Ingenium?”

Tenya nodded. “Yes, Tensei is my older brother.” He looked around the ballroom a second, before looking back at Izuku. “He’s around here somewhere. The last time I saw him, he was talking with Midnight.”

“Midnight’s here too?” Izuku questioned, looking around.

“Izu, you just saw her not long ago.” Momo smiled at her friend's antics.

“Yeah, but if Iida is saying that Ingenium was spotted with Midnight, she would be much easier to spot in the crowd.” Izuku responded, before he stopped looking around.

“Point taken.” Momo responded simply. “I know you haven’t met Ingenium yet.”

“Have you two known each other long?” Iida questioned. “I don’t think I’ve seen you at any of the other parties, Midoriya.”

“I’ve known Mo since we were kids.” Izuku responded, Momo nodding along beside him. “I’m not one for parties, and my Mother doesn’t have the same friend circles that Yuukichi and Miyuki do. Mo asked if I wanted to come, and I agreed.” Izuku stated simply.

“I see.” Tenya responded. Shoto just let out another grunt, not responding but seemingly listening. “There’s a few others that I would like to meet with before the night is over. It was nice talking with you, Yaoyorozu, Midoriya.”

“Likewise, Iida.” Momo responded. Tenya gave them both a curt nod, before he slipped back into the crowd. “It was nice seeing you again, Todoroki.”

“Likewise, Yaoyorozu.” Shoto responded simply, before pushing off the wall he was against and moving away from them.

“They seem like an interesting bunch.” Izuku commented after they were out of hearing range.

Momo let out a sigh. “Iida is a stickler for rules from what his older brother says. He’s normally a lot more firm and stuck up than he was tonight. As for Todoroki, I’m not sure why he even comes to these parties.”

“Yeah, he kept his eyes on Endeavor through the whole conversation.” Izuku responded, shrugging his shoulders.

“You noticed that too?” Momo questioned, getting a nod from Izuku. “It’s the same at every party. It’s like he’s watching for Endeavor to slip up or something. I’m not really sure.” Momo pouted a bit as she looked at Izuku. “I didn’t like how he barely responded to you.”

“No need to worry yourself over it, Mo.” Izuku responded, putting his hand on her lower back again and guiding her through the party once more. “It hurts, yes, but I think Todoroki is going through his own things, ones that we shouldn’t worry ourselves over.”

Momo sighed, shaking her head slightly. “You’re probably right.”

“No, I’m always right.” Izuku teased, looking at Momo.

“Yeah, okay, Mr. Second Place.” Momo teased back.

Izuku humphed. “I still think you cheated. We got the same answer, I don’t know how you got one point ahead of me.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m just smarter.” Momo teased again, dancing away from him. Izuku watched her for a few steps, before she turned back around. “Would you like to get some dinner?”

“Hungry?” Izuku questioned, smiling towards her. Momo let out a huff, before smiling back towards him. “I could go for some dinner. Training really took a lot out of us.”

“Well, come on, Mr. Second Place. Let’s see what the chefs cooked up for today.” Izuku let out another huff, before following along behind Momo.

“What’s on the agenda today, Mo?” Izuku questioned after their schooling was finished for the day. Their teacher had given them homework to do before the next day, but working together they had finished it and handed it in before the teacher had even left for the day, leaving the rest of the afternoon free.

“Well, is there anything you would like to do?” Momo questioned. They were both walking back towards Momo’s room to drop their bags off. “We don’t have training today, and we finished our recent book last night.” Momo looked over at Izuku, seeing him deep in thought. “We could analyze some recent hero fights?”

Izuku looked over at Momo and smiled. “I’d like that.” Izuku responded, before looking straight ahead again. “But, what if we do something we haven’t done together before?” Izuku questioned.

“What did you have in mind?” Momo responded. It was very rare for them to not have done something together, at least once.

Izuku turned around and started walking backwards, allowing him to look at Momo better. She giggled at his antics, but she also knew he would know exactly where he was going, having walked in these hallways since they were kids. “So here’s what I was thinking. There’s a new bookstore that opened up in Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall that I would like to check out. Supposedly it’s all about reprinting books from prequirk days, and it's been getting more popular recently.”

Izuku watched how Momo’s eyes lit up at the mentions of more books to read, bringing a smile to his face. “There’s also a music store I want to check out. I know you’ve been learning piano since before I met you, but I was thinking of learning something too. Maybe guitar?”

Momo hummed to herself, imagining Izuku trying to play guitar. “I don’t know…” Momo hummed to herself again, trying to think up of an instrument her friend could play. “I think you’d be good at the triangle.” Izuku stuttered in his step, before falling backwards and landing on his back, causing Momo to gasp in surprise. “Izuku?!”

“A triangle?” Izuku questioned, looking up at Momo with a glare. “Really?”

Momo giggled, reaching out her hand. Izuku grabbed it and pulled himself up, before they continued to walk side by side. “What about drums?” Momo questioned. “I heard all the girls like drums.”

Izuku let out a huff of annoyance. “As if I want all the girls falling for me.” Izuku responded, causing Momo to giggle again. “Plus, I don’t want to learn drums. Bad memories.” Momo nodded, knowing that Izuku was talking about the time before they had met. She had asked him once about it, and he wasn’t the same for a few days, so she never brought it up again. “What about bass?”

“Isn’t that the same as guitar?” Momo questioned, tilting her head a bit.

“It’s similar but not exactly the same. In short, guitar plays higher notes, while bass plays lower notes.” Izuku explained.

“Oh, definitely guitar then.” Momo stated, nodding a bit. “It sounds like bass doesn’t work well without a guitar, but if you learn guitar, you can probably learn bass just as easily.”

“Correct.” Izuku confirmed.

“Is that all you wanted to do? It doesn’t seem like it would take up the afternoon.” Momo questioned, looking at Izuku.

“I don’t know, you and the bookstore are a few hours by itself.” Izuku smiled back at her.

“I’m not that bad.” Momo grumbled, looking away from him. When she looked back towards Izuku, she could see he had raised his eyebrow suspiciously. “Okay, it was one time! I got lost in the book I was reading.”

“Sure, we’ll go with that.” Izuku deadpanned, but smiled nonetheless. “Well, there’s a cafe close by that I’ve been told carries Golden Tips Imperial.” Momo’s eyes went wide as she looked to see if Izuku was joking or not, and just saw honesty behind them. “But if we go there, we can’t spend as long as the book store.”

“Deal!” Momo answered immediately, causing Izuku to chuckle. “Why don’t we go get the tea first?”

“Because I know you, Mo. If you get the tea before getting the books, we’ll be drinking tea for the rest of the afternoon. Don’t say that we won’t, because we’ve done it before!” Izuku quickly spoke up before Momo could respond. “While I don’t mind spending the afternoon drinking tea and reading with you, you asked what I wanted to do.”

“Point taken.” Momo agreed, nodding a bit.

“Dress in something comfortable, we might be walking a bit.” Izuku stated as they reached Momo’s room. “I’m going to go get changed into something more comfortable, and I’ll come get you?” Izuku questioned as he continued to walk.

“Sure. See you in a bit.” Momo responded, opening the door to her room.

Izuku kept the smile on his face, turning around and continuing to walk towards his own room. Ever since Izuku and Inko had moved into the Yaoyorozu Estate, Izuku had slowly improved his room over the years. Hero merchandise exclusively lined one wall, most of it being All Might related or themed, with a small section dedicated to other heroes that Izuku liked. Another wall was lined with books, similar to that of Momo’s, just much smaller in size. In one corner of the room held a desk with a computer, used mostly for school work, but Izuku sometimes found himself browsing hero forums late into the night. Pinned on the wall around the computer were sketches that Izuku had done over the years, many of them with heroes in action, while a few were of Inko, Momo, Yuukichi, and Miyuki. He looked at one of his most detailed pictures of Momo and himself when they were younger, one taken by one of their parents and given to them, and smiled at the happy memory.

Not wanting to keep Momo waiting long, he placed his school work in its normal spot on his desk. Throwing the clothes he was wearing into the laundry basket, Izuku quickly changed into something more comfortable and grabbed his wallet, before leaving the room and hurrying back towards Momo’s. He couldn’t wait to spend time with his best friend, no matter how much time he spent with her, it never felt like enough.

“How did you find this place?” Momo questioned as they walked into the back alley cafe. Hearing the bell ring above them, the cafe owner looked over towards them, before returning to his newspaper. The smell of coffee beans hit them like a truck, and looking behind the counter, they could see why. The wall was covered in any type of coffee bean you could imagine, and on one side of the wall, Momo could see a huge assortment of teas, including her Golden Tips Imperial.

“So I knew that you liked Golden Tips Imperial from when we would celebrate passing another semester or finishing a hard test. You would normally leave it for special occasions or if you're having a bad day.” Izuku explained as he guided them to their own booth in the corner.

“You’ve been keeping track of the tea I drink?” Momo was a bit surprised, she didn’t think Izuku did things like that.

“A bit, yeah.” Izuku admitted, sheepishly smiling. “It’s a good tea.” He shrugged as they sat down.

“Why?” Momo questioned.

“Just in case you ever ran out.” Izuku stated simply. “I know your chefs can get almost anything you want, whenever you want, but I know how rare that tea is. So I ended up researching to see who carried it around here and found this little hole in the wall that stocks it for their customers.”

Momo was shocked at the revelation, not knowing exactly what to say. When the owner had come over to ask for their order, Izuku ordered for them both. She eventually shook herself out of her daze, before wearing a genuine smile. “Thank you, Izu. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“It’s nothing compared to what you and your parents have done for me, Mo.” Izuku smiled back, leaning back when the tea was placed in front of them. Izuku ordered them curry, giving the owner specific instructions on what each of them liked, but requested that he surprise them.

“Curry?” Momo questioned, raising her eyebrow towards Izuku.

“I’ve been informed that it’s the best curry on this side of Japan, but also when you order your drinks, the owner makes it specifically tied into what you are drinking.”

“I didn’t know that was possible.” Momo responded truthfully.

“Me neither, but since it’s our first time, why not give it a try?” Izuku smirked towards Momo. “Plus, I know you’re hungry.”

Momo let out a huff, blowing her signature hair strand away from her face a bit. “Should I be worried that you know when I am hungry?”

“Are you worried?” Izuku questioned in return, the smirk never falling from his face.

“No…” Momo pouted a bit, causing Izuku to chuckle at her, Momo following not long behind him. “What books did you find?” Momo questioned after a moment.

“Oh, I think you’ll like this series.” Izuku said, bringing out the two sets of books that he bought. Momo huffed, knowing that he paid for them, when she could have put them on her family’s card. “This is called ‘The Mortal Instrument’ series.” Izuku slid over a set of six books, allowing Momo to inspect them. “Supposedly the main character is a girl around our age, and she’s what they call a ‘Shadowhunter’ and she takes care of ‘Demons’ with other ‘Shadowhunters’.” Izuku explained. “It has a lot of fighting in it, but it also has a bunch of romance parts throughout the main characters and side characters.”

“Romance…” Momo said quietly, looking up to catch Izuku looking at her, causing her to blush. She cleared her throat. “It sounds interesting…”

“Just interesting?” Izuku teased.

“Okay!” Momo said, pouting a bit. “It sounds exactly like a series I would love.” Momo admitted, looking back towards the books. “And you bought yourself copies?”

“Of course I did!” Izuku responded excitedly. “I figured we could read it together. Plus, I heard it has vampires, werewolves, and warlocks, on top of the demons, so I thought it would be a really good read.” Izuku shrugged, looking at his copies. “The reviews seemed like it would be something both of us liked.”

“Since when do you like romance novels?” Momo questioned, raising her eyebrow in suspicion.

“Since you got me into them.” Izuku deadpanned back, before looking away. “I mean, when I first started to read them, it was so that we had something to talk about.” Izuku shrugged and smiled, before looking back towards Momo, finding a surprised look. “But I started to enjoy them as well.” Izuku looked over to see the owner still cooking the curry before he looked back towards Momo. “What did you end up getting?”

“There’s a few books that seemed interesting, but the reviews said some of them get fairly dark.” Momo admitted, bringing up her purchases and putting them on the table. “The Embers in the Ashes series is listed as a romance novel, but with the description, I don’t know if it’d be for me.” Momo let out a sigh, passing the book over and allowing Izuku to read the description.

“Yeah, this doesn’t seem like a book you would like.” Izuku stated, passing the book back. “I don’t think I’d be interested in reading something like that either. It sounds like it touches on the darkest corners of the past.”

Momo nodded, putting the book away. “I agree, so I might try it out, but if it becomes too much to handle, I’ll just stop reading.”

“Find anything else interesting?” Izuku questioned, looking at the big stack of books that Momo had bought.

“Oh!” Momo stated, before pulling out a set of three books and placing it on the table. “I found something called ‘The Night World Series’.” Momo slid them over to Izuku for him to read the short summaries. “These sound similar to what you found, the only difference is that it also has shapeshifters, and focuses on a secret society called ‘The Night World’, while also focusing heavily on the soulmates between them. There’s three books in total, with three different romances in each book.”

“These do sound interesting.” Izuku said, sliding the books back over to Momo. “Did you only get one set?”

“Yes.” Momo admitted a bit sadly. “I didn’t know you’d want to read these books together.” Momo looked back up to find an understanding look on his face. “But I can request one of the servants to pick up another set?” Momo asked a bit hopefully, seeing Izuku’s face turn from understanding into one of happiness.

“I’d like that, Mo.” Izuku responded, right before their curry was placed in front of them.

Clangs rang throughout the room as the two teenagers went back and forth with their staves. Momo would rush forward and attack Izuku, allowing him to block every single attack, and in turn he would return the favor. It was one of their training days, using their weapon of choice: the bo staff.

“Come on, Mo. Is that all you got?” Izuku teased, twirling his staff in front of him before slamming it into the mats they were training on.

“Just warming up, Izu.” Momo responded, rushing forward again. She unleashed another fury of blows, continuously pushing Izuku back, before revealing a new move to him. Izuku had successfully fallen for her feint, allowing her to put her staff behind his ankle. She pushed him back softly, causing him to stumble and land on his back. He laid there for a long moment, collecting himself.

“Damn.” Izuku said, still looking up towards the ceiling. “I should have seen that coming.”

Momo giggled, before making her way over towards him. She held out her hand for him to grab, but instead of pulling himself up, he decided to pull her down, causing her to gasp in surprise. “Izu!”

“Ha! Sneak attack!” Izuku responded after Momo had landed beside him on the mats, both panting and looking towards the ceiling. “Break time?” Izuku questioned, looking over towards her.

She looked back towards Izuku, and nodded, a smile on her face. “Break time.”

“Thank the Gods.” Izuku let his arms rest beside him, looking back up towards the ceiling. “You are relentless with that staff.”

“I have been training with it since before you could even pick one up.” Momo responded, teasing him back a little bit.

Izuku let out a huff of annoyance. “I could always pick up the staff!”

“Maybe the kids' one. I’ve been using the adult one since we started training together.” Momo responded.

“Oh come on, I wasn’t that bad!” Izuku responded, looking back over towards Momo to find her smiling towards him. “You’re teasing me.” Izuku let out a sigh, looking back up towards the ceiling. “Of course you’re teasing me.”

“Oh, come on, Izu.” Momo responded, pushing herself up into a sitting position and looking down towards Izuku. “Of course I’m teasing you. You’ve gotten a lot better with the staff recently, and you’re able to go toe to toe with me. I can only win by pulling a cheap move.”

“It’s not cheap if it works.” Izuku responded, smiling up towards her. “I don’t think I’ll ever become as good as you with the staff.”

“Hey!” Momo said, kicking his leg softly. “Don’t talk bad about my best friend like that. He’s amazing with the staff.”

Izuku's smile got wider, causing him to push himself into a sitting position beside her. “Thanks, Mo. You always know how to cheer me up.”

“What are friends for?” Momo questioned, bumping her shoulder against Izuku’s. “Can you believe that we’re only a year away from applying to UA?”

“Time sure does fly.” Izuku admitted. “I remember the first time we met. You told me that I could be a hero, even without a quirk.”

Momo nodded, before looking away. “I remember the day clearly. You called me pretty for the first time.”

“Wait, I did?!” Izuku asked surprised, causing Momo to look back towards him. “I don’t remember saying that.”

“It was right before you said hello to me.” Momo stated, tilting her head a bit. “It was very quiet at the time, but I was sure you said it.”

“Damn muttering.” Izuku groaned out, flopping back on the mats and covering his eyes with his arm. “How come you never told me?”

“It sounded genuine.” Momo said quietly, looking at Izuku covering his eyes. “It was the first time someone other than my parents said something that sounded so genuine. Did you not mean it?”

Izuku pulled his arm down from his eyes. “I might not have meant to say it out loud, but it wasn’t anything less than true.” Izuku explained. “I thought you were pretty back then, and I think you're beautiful now. Nothing has changed.”

Momo’s cheeks heated up, hearing Izuku call her beautiful. “You think I’m… Beautiful?” Momo questioned quietly, still looking at Izuku and finding honesty behind his eyes.

“I mean, yeah?” Izuku questioned, pushing himself back up to sit beside her. “I called you beautiful during the last party, and you called me handsome. I thought that’s what friends said to each other?”

Momo cleared her throat, looking away awkwardly. “I thought you were talking about the dress, and I was talking about the suit you were wearing.”

“Huh?” Izuku questioned, before it clicked. “Oh… I see.” Izuku responded, pushing himself up to his feet and walking away. Momo was worried she said something wrong, so she quickly pushed herself up to her feet to follow him, but was stopped dead in her tracks when Izuku held a water bottle in front of her. “We still got a bit more training to do today, so make sure to drink up.”

Momo nodded, taking a swing of her water, before looking back at Izuku. “Are you mad at me?” She questioned quietly.

“Why would I be mad at you?” Izuku questioned in return, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I called your suit handsome, while you called me beautiful.” Momo responded.

Izuku shook his head, a smile appearing on his face. “I don’t think I could ever be mad at you, Mo.” Izuku said honestly. “I thought you’d be more upset with me calling you beautiful.”

“Izu…” Momo whined a bit, looking at Izuku to find honesty behind his eyes once more. “How can you say that so casually?”

“Say what?” Izuku questioned, a smirk on his face. “That you’re beautiful?” Momo groaned in her hands, causing Izuku to chuckle. “I’m only calling it as I see it, Mo. It’s not my fault you’re beautiful.”

“I hate you.” Momo whispered out, looking through her fingers at Izuku.

“No, you don’t.” Izuku responded back, picking up his staff, looking back towards Momo. “You’re just mad that I keep calling you beautiful.” Izuku chuckled when Momo groaned again. “Let’s get back to training, oh Goddess of Beauty.”

“Izu!” Momo called out, a blush still dusting her cheeks as Izuku chuckled and danced away with his staff. “You’re gonna pay for that!”

Chapter Text

“What are you reading, Mo?” Izuku questioned as he sat down on her bed beside her. “It better not be ‘The Mortal Instruments’. We’re supposed to be reading those together.”

“Of course not, Izu.” Momo responded, looking over towards him and showing him the cover of the book. “You know I enjoy our talks about those books.”

Izuku nodded. “But I also know we left it on a cliffhanger, and I’ve been itching to pick it back up ever since.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have convinced me to read until the early morning.” Momo smiled back.

Izuku looked taken aback, leaning away from Momo with a hurt look on his face. “Excuse me, Missy, you convinced me to read one more chapter.”

“But it was you, Mister, that kept reading after that one chapter.” Momo glared back at him.

They both looked at each other for a second, seeing who would crack first, before they both started laughing. “Oh my gosh, Izu, you looked so offended that I blamed you!”

“What can I say? I learned it from the best!” Izuku exclaimed, puffing his chest out, hitting his hand against it. Momo giggled again, bringing a smile to Izuku’s face. “So what’s the book about?”

“It’s about this female hero that was constantly looked down on just because she was female.” Momo saw Izuku frown, knowing that a lot of those books with a female main character had similar stories. “Her best friend was the only one to encourage her to keep going. He was always by her side, through the ups and downs. When he was taken by the main villain, she realized that she couldn’t live without him, and promised to do everything within her power to save him.”

“And let me guess, they lived happily ever after?” Izuku questioned with a smile.

Momo let out a sigh. “I don’t know, I haven’t reached that part yet. I only had the opportunity to get to the first part of the confrontation.” She picked up her bookmark, marking her page, before putting the book aside. “What’s yours about?”

Izuku smiled, showing Momo the cover of the book he was reading. “It’s about a Thief that would constantly steal from royalty throughout the lands.” Momo raised her eyebrow at him in question. “No, it’s not Robin Hood.” Izuku grumbled out, causing Momo to giggle, bringing a smile to his face. “This Thief was hired to steal from royalty in return for protection of his family.”

“His family was in danger?” Momo questioned, interested in the book.

“It’s mentioned how his family could never bring in enough customers, and would often go to bed hungry. It talked a bit about how they were constantly getting robbed, and when the son went to confront the thieves, his family was threatened unless he worked for them. He had no option but to agree.”

“What ended up happening?” Momo was lost in how Izuku talked about the books he read. She knew that she wasn’t as good at talking about the books she read, but Izuku always told her he enjoyed listening to her regardless.

“You see, the Thief was robbing from this one castle, and ended up running into the Princess.” Izuku looked down to see Momo's eyes locked on him, lost in his explanation, causing his smile to grow wider. “She knew who he was, considering he was famous for the jobs he pulled off. Instead of calling for the guards, she made him a deal.”

“What did she offer him?” Momo questioned.

“You see, she was a very lonely Princess, her parents didn’t allow her to leave the castle unless accompanied by some guards. So she offered him anything he could want from her family, in exchange for getting her away from the castle.”

“She just wanted to leave her parents? Just like that?”

“Something like that. She was engaged to be married, against her will.” When Momo gasped, Izuku nodded in agreement. “The Thief agreed, and successfully snuck her out of the castle.”

“What happened next?”

“Well, the Princess spent some time with the Thief, more to conceal herself than to deal with the Thief, but there was one thing neither the Thief nor the Princess realized when traveling together.” Izuku paused, seeing Momo nodding along excitedly, causing him to chuckle. “They had stolen each other’s hearts.”

Momo let out a content sigh, leaning back against her headboard beside Izuku, with a smile on her face. “Of course they did.”

“I finished reading it, if you’d like to start it.” Izuku offered, holding the book towards her.

Momo looked at the book in Izuku’s hand, before biting her lip a bit in thought. “I mean, I really want to know what happened to the hero I was reading about, but yours sounds so much more interesting.”

“Well, you’ll just have to hurry up and finish that one before you start on this one.” Izuku smiled, getting up and moving towards Momo’s massive bookcase that bordered her walls, putting it in a missing slot. “I’ll leave it here until you finish yours.”

“You’re the best, Izu.” Momo commented.

“I know.” Izuku smirked back towards Momo, causing her to blow her signature hair strand out of the way and smile towards him. “Ready to continue ‘The Mortal Instruments’?”

“Am I ever!” Momo exclaimed, pulling out her copy as Izuku sat back down on the bed beside her. “I can’t wait to see what Clary and Jace will do now!” Izuku chuckled, pushing himself beside Momo, allowing their shoulders to touch.

Once they had started reading, the only sound that either of them could hear was the rain that was hitting Momo’s window, and the soft sounds of their breathing. They enjoyed the days they didn’t have training, often indulging in reading together. With the rain hitting the windows and casting that perfect reading atmosphere, both of them got lost in their shared book, the sounds of turning pages happening every so often.

“I would love to go on a date on a flying motorcycle…” Momo said quietly, before turning another page.

“I don’t have a flying motorcycle…” Izuku responded quietly. “Where would we even go?”

They were silent as they read another page, until Momo put her book down and slowly turned towards Izuku. “Izu?!” Momo questioned in surprise.

Izuku looked up from his book, to find Momo just staring at him in shock. “What?” He questioned in return.

“Did you just ask me where’d we go on a date, if you had a flying motorcycle?” Momo questioned a bit loudly, her cheeks dusted red with a blush.

Izuku paused, thinking back to what they had talked about, until it clicked in what he had said. A blush that matched Momo’s appeared on his face, as he brought the book up to his face to hide himself. “Well- You see- I meant- Uhhh-” Izuku stuttered out, something he hadn’t done in years, before he groaned in embarrassment. “Maybe?” He whispered out, with his face still hidden.

Silence fell over them both, until Izuku decided to lower the book he was covering his face with, to find Momo still looking at him in shock. When Momo finally met his eyes again, she seemed to have found her voice again. “What if you didn’t have a flying motorcycle?”

“Anywhere you want?” Izuku questioned quietly.

“You sound unsure.” Momo said a little sadly, slumping her shoulders and looking away.

Seeing Momo sad, Izuku started to panic. “That’s not what I meant!” Izuku said a little louder, causing Momo to look back towards him. “I meant I would love to take you on a date, anywhere you like!” Izuku raised the book to hide his face again. “Gods, you probably hate me now.” He whispered out quietly.

“Izu?” Momo questioned, and when she didn’t get a response, reached out to pull the book down from his face, causing him to look away. “Izu, look at me, please?” She asked. Izuku let out a sigh, before looking towards her. “Why would I hate you?”

“Well… I’m just me.” Izuku responded quietly. Momo could see the sadness in his eyes, and she didn’t understand why.

“And you think I’d hate you… for being you?” Momo questioned.

“That’s not-” Izuku let out a huff of annoyance, looking away. “How is that when we talk about the characters in the books we read, it’s so easy, but when I want to tell you how I am feeling, it’s difficult?” Izuku looked back towards Momo. “What I mean is that I don’t compare to how amazing you are, Mo.” Momo was taken aback at the honesty that was behind Izuku’s eyes. “You have an amazing quirk, and with your training, there’s no question you’ll go pro. You’re a master with multiple weapons, especially the staff. I’ve seen how hard you’ve worked and studied, and I know how smart you are.”

Izuku looked away again, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. “I’m just a quirkless nobody. I can barely keep up with you with any weapon other than the staff. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for you and your family giving me this opportunity. That’s what I mean when I say, I’m just me.”

“Izu…” Momo said quietly, reaching forward and placing her hand on his cheek, guiding him to look at her again. “Do you remember when we first met, back when we were kids?” Momo questioned quietly. “How broken you believed you were? How you really believed you were worthless and useless?” Izuku nodded, letting a tear escape. “Do you remember what I told you that day?”

“I don’t think I could ever forget it, Mo.” Izuku answered honestly, closing his eyes again. “You told me that I wasn’t diseased, or broken, and you believed I wasn’t worthless, nor useless. You honestly believed I could become a hero.” Izuku opened his eyes, allowing another tear to escape. “I repeated those words to myself for years, and seeing you actually wanting to be my friend convinced me that I should try.”

“I know you’re going to be a great hero, Izu.” Momo said quietly. “With or without a quirk, you’ll be the best hero, better than All Might.”

Izuku wetly chuckled, bringing up his hand to place over Momo’s that was against his cheek, leaning a bit into it. “Nobody is better than All Might.”

Momo slowly shook her head. “You are, Izu.” Momo smiled, as Izuku mirrored her. “I don’t think you realize how amazing you are. When Father and Mother offered you a chance to succeed, you jumped at it without a moment’s hesitation. You improved your grades from where they were, to rival mine in a few short months. You went from barely being able to hold a kid's staff with absolutely no training, to being able to go toe to toe with one of the best weapons teachers this side of Japan.”

Momo looked away as a blush appeared on her cheeks again. “You never cared that I was a Yaoyorozu unlike those other boys, and sometimes girls, at our parties. When I left that one party, you were the one to come find me, and make sure I was okay. Every party that we went to after that, you made sure people left me alone, because you knew how much it upset me.” Momo looked back towards Izuku. “You saw me as a friend, instead of using me to get to my parents. You bought me books that you knew I would enjoy, never asking for me to pay for them. You went out of your way to figure out my favorite tea, and showed me my new favorite cafe. How could I even imagine comparing myself to you?” Momo questioned finally, watching as Izuku’s eyes went wider and wider.

They both closed their eyes, leaning forward so their foreheads were touching. Momo still had her hand on Izuku’s face, while his hand was covering hers. She could feel the rough calluses on Izuku's hand brushing up against hers, and in turn, she could feel how Izuku was slowly moving his face against her calloused hand.

“Gods, I love you, Mo.” Izuku whispered out. “I don’t know when it happened, but I can’t deny that I do.”

“I love you too, Izu.” Momo responded just as quietly. “I think I’ve known for a long time, but I kept telling myself that I was imagining it.”

Momo opened her eyes, seeing that Izuku still had his eyes closed, before she closed the distance and kissed him. She saw his eyes open up in surprise, but slowly close again as he started to return the kiss. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of their lips together, something she realized she wanted for a long time, the pressure and the sensation thrilling her. Momo was the first one to pull back, resting her forehead against Izuku’s as they both tried to catch their breath.

When she opened her eyes, she found Izuku watching her carefully, but noticed the smile on his face. When she giggled, Izuku responded with his own giggles before they were both laughing so hard, they fell towards the bed. When they had finally stopped laughing, they both found each other’s eyes once again, lying side by side on the bed. “I still want my date.”

Izuku chuckled, closing his eyes, and wearing the most genuine smile she had ever seen him with. “I may not have a flying vampire motorcycle, but I think I have an idea on where I can take you.”

“As long as it’s with you, I would love anywhere we went.” Momo responded, leaning forward and catching his lips again quickly, before pulling back.

“Where are we going, Izu?” Momo questioned. She and Izuku had opted not to take her family limousine today, instead walking hand in hand towards the train station. She had surprised Izuku when she grabbed his hand, but as they walked for a few minutes, he eventually got more comfortable and intertwined their arms and fingers.

“It’s a secret!” Izuku responded back, looking over towards Momo and smiling.

“Do I at least get a hint?” Momo questioned in return, tilting her head slightly.

Izuku hummed in thought for a moment, trying to figure out what he could give away without straight up telling her. “It’s something that neither of us have done before.” Izuku responded.

“Do you have even the slightest idea on how little that narrows it down?” Momo questioned with a glare.

“That’s the point, Mo.” Izuku responded, smirking back at her. She huffed out, blowing her hair strand away, causing Izuku to chuckle at her antics. He had noticed that she started blowing her hair strand away more often, either knowing that he enjoyed watching her do so, or she was just frustrated and didn’t realize what she was doing. “You’re so cute when you’re frustrated.”

“Cute?” Momo squeaked out, bringing up her free hand to cover her eyes. “When did you become such a romantic?”

“When we agreed to start dating.” Izuku shrugged, even though Momo couldn’t see it. “You were the one who got me started on romance novels.”

“Not on purpose!” Momo dropped her hand down, and glared at Izuku as her cheeks burned hotter with a blush. “I thought I had put that book away.”

“You know you couldn’t hide something like that from me forever, right?” Izuku teased, before he got serious. “I really do enjoy reading the books with you. I’m happy I found that book, because it allowed us to start our own private book club.”

Momo let out a sigh, nodding along. “I’m happy you found it too. I was always embarrassed about reading them, but when you started enjoying them, I didn’t feel like I had to hide myself anymore.” Momo moved a step closer to Izuku, leaning her head on his shoulder.

They walked in silence like that until the train station, only splitting up when they found their seats. Momo didn’t recognize the stop Izuku had gotten tickets for, but she was excited to just spend time with him. During the train ride, they were quiet to be respectful for other riders, which meant that Momo’s mind wandered. She thought about all the times they had hung out together throughout the years, from doing school work, to training together, to spending an afternoon drinking tea and reading.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized the small things that Izuku would do for her, and the small things she found herself doing for him. It shocked her to think about how much they were acting like a couple already, but never realizing it.

“Izu?” Momo questioned as they exited the train. Izuku hummed in acknowledgement, letting her know he was listening. “Did you ever think about how much we looked like a couple, even before we started dating?”

Izuku tilted his head a bit to take a better look at Momo. “No, I don’t think I have. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was just thinking about our trip to Leblanc.” Momo responded, bringing up her free hand to her cheek. “Two teenagers, hanging out in a small cafe, having tea and curry together while talking about books they purchased for each other.”

“Huh.” Izuku said, looking forward again. “I never looked at it that way.” Izuku hummed, seemingly lost in thought for a few moments, as Momo could almost see the gears turning in his head. “I guess it would have looked like we were a couple. I could see how that would be a nice date spot.” Momo hummed in agreement, before they both fell silent, thinking about all the times they did hang out.

“Hold on a second.” Momo said, causing Izuku to stop, while Momo faced him. “Do you think our parents know?”

“I don’t know…” Izuku responded honestly, before something seemed to click. “Dammit.” Izuku whispered out, causing Momo to raise her eyebrow in question. “I was wondering why Mom was talking about date spots, when she hasn’t seen anybody since he left.” Momo knew exactly who Izuku was talking about, and knew he didn’t like bringing him up in conversation. He had compared Hisashi to a sperm donor before, and Momo had never questioned him about it again. “She kept saying she was asking hypothetically when asking about date spots, or recommending some.” Izuku groaned, bringing up his hand to his eyes, wiping them aggressively. “It’s almost certain our parents know.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Momo questioned, tilting her head slightly.

“Not that it would be a bad thing.” Izuku confirmed, dropping his hand. “It ruins the surprise of telling them.” He leaned down and gave Momo a quick kiss, and when he pulled back she had tried to follow, causing him to chuckle. “Not yet, Mo. We’re almost there.” Izuku smiled, while Momo pouted in return.

“You still haven’t told me where we were going.” Momo said, looking around trying to find a hint, and not seeing anything. “And I told you to let me pay for our date.”

“It would have ruined the surprise, Mo.” Izuku said quietly, moving to start walking again. “If I had given you a chance to research where we’re going, I have no doubt in my mind that you would have figured it out.” Momo followed along, never allowing their hands to leave each other.

As they approached a cafe, Momo looked towards Izuku. “A cafe? All the way out here?”

Izuku chuckled. “That’ll be the last spot we hit.” He looked towards Momo, seeing that she was still looking at him curiously. “Yes, they have Golden Tips Imperial. It’s one of the reasons I chose this.”

“Oh! Can we stop before we continue?” Momo asked, her excitement levels already increasing. “I haven’t had any since the last time we went to Leblanc!”

Izuku chuckled. “No, because if we stop, we’ll be there the rest of the day.”

Momo pouted. “No we wouldn’t.”

“Mo, the last time we stopped for tea, we went through multiple cups each, and almost finished a book.” Izuku looked towards Momo. “I thought our first official date could be something more, you know, special.”

Momo glared at Izuku for a second, pout still on her face, before she let out a sigh. “Okay, you’re right. Plus, I didn’t bring a book with me.”

“That was on purpose. I couldn’t imagine ruining one of our books.” Izuku responded, before coming up to a sign in the path. “This way.”

Momo looked up at the sign, giving it a quick read, and becoming even more confused. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this place.”

Izuku nodded, as they started to ascend on the trail in front of them. “I didn’t think you would have. It was discovered by a local tourist not long ago.”

“Really?” Momo questioned. She was glad Izuku told her to wear something comfortable for walking, otherwise her feet would have been killing her already. “How did they find it?”

“I’m not exactly sure.” Izuku shrugged. “From what I found out, it was known by the locals, but they kept quiet to preserve it.”

“So how did you find out about it?”

“By accident.” Izuku shrugged and smiled. “I wanted something that neither of us had done before, while also having the option to get some tea after. Once I found that little cafe, a little more digging and I found out about this place.” Izuku looked up the path again, before squeezing Momo’s hand. “Not far now.”

Momo was getting excited, and started pulling Izuku along with her, causing Izuku to laugh as they both hurried up the path. As they reached the top of the path, it opened up into a lake, spanning across the top of the mountain. There were no trees that circled around the lake, allowing them to look over the forest for kilometers. At one end of the lake stood a small hut, with a few boats parked at the dock.

She felt Izuku walk up behind her and circle his arms around her, resting his hands on her midsection, while his chin rested on her shoulder. “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful…” Momo said quietly, worried that if she spoke any louder that the scene would disappear. “How is this even possible?”

“Nobody knows for sure.” Izuku responded. “There’s rumors that it drains during the fall, and snows enough through the winter to fill it back up. I suspected there’s something else that is forcing the water up here, like a natural geyser underneath the lake. Because of how hidden this place is, nobody has researched it long enough to figure out how it happens.”

Momo nodded, before looking towards the hut. Pointing towards it, and looking over her shoulder at Izuku, she questioned. “Can we rent one of those?”

“Actually, they’re free to use, as long as we promise to keep this place a secret.” Izuku confirmed. “The hut is somewhere we can put our names, something similar to a geocache. They want to preserve this place as long as possible.”

“I can see why.” Momo responded, enjoying the embrace that Izuku had her in. “Let’s go see if we can get a two seater!” Izuku laughed, as Momo grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the hut.

When Momo and Izuku had returned back to the Yaoyorozu’s Estate, they weren’t expecting her parents to be home, considering it was already past dinner time. They had both lost track of time in the small cafe, drinking tea and talking about what more they wanted to train before the UA entrance exam. When Momo had mentioned that she wanted to get something to eat before heading to her room, Izuku had agreed.

As Momo and Izuku walked hand in hand through the doors of the dining hall, they were stopped in their tracks when they spotted both of their parents sitting at the table. Inko was the first one to notice them, and smiled as they walked in. When she looked down towards their joined hands, her eyes went wide, before she looked back up towards them with an even wider smile. Miyuki was the next to notice them, after seeing the reaction on Inko’s face, she looked to see who had entered. Her reaction was similar, looking at their joined hands, before reaching up and rubbing her eyes and looking at their joined hands again as a smile graced her face.

“What are you two smiling… about?” Yuukichi trailed off as he looked towards the two teenagers in the doorway. Yuukichi looked towards their joined hands, before glaring right at Izuku and humming. “Care to explain yourselves?” He questioned menacingly.

“Stop it, Yuukichi.” Miyuki turned towards him, slapped his shoulder, and glared. “Do you want your daughter to be scared of you?”

“No…” Yuukichi said quietly, looking away. “Some of the other Dads said it would be fun if I ever had the chance.”

“And you believed them?” Miyuki questioned. “Izuku already knows how much of a teddy bear you are.”

“Honey…” Yuukichi looked towards her pleadingly.

Inko got up and rushed towards Izuku. “How did this happen? When did this happen? Have you gone on any dates yet? Did you buy her flowers?” Inko questioned in quick succession, not even giving Izuku a chance to respond.

“Mom, you know I can’t keep up when you question me like that!” Izuku exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Miyuki did something similar, rushing up towards Momo. “Did you ask him, or did he ask you? Where did it happen? Have you two kissed yet?” Miyuki smirked and wiggled her eyebrows at Momo.

“Mother!” Momo exclaimed, a light dusting of a blush on her cheeks.

“Ladies, why don’t we let them explain themselves?” Yuukichi reasoned, gesturing towards the seats.

The Mothers looked between themselves and nodded, before pulling Momo and Izuku back towards the table, sitting them down, and taking a seat on either side of them. “Well?” Miyuki questioned excitedly, leaning towards Momo.

“Mother, please.” Momo pleaded. Izuku could hear how agitated this was making Momo, giving her a hand a squeeze in return.

“It was during one of our nightly reading sessions.” Izuku started off, causing everyone to look towards him. “Momo made a comment about one of the characters, about how she would like to be taken on a date on a flying motorcycle.” Izuku watched as Miyuki mouthed ‘A flying motorcycle?’ towards Inko, who just shrugged in return. “I responded that I didn’t have one, but asked where we would even go.”

“Neither of us realized it until a few minutes later when it clicked exactly what Izu had said.” Momo responded, smiling towards Izuku, who returned his own smile. “From there, I asked if he was serious. We talked and agreed to start dating.”

“Boring!” Miyuki responded, before smirking. “How was the kiss?”

“Mother!” Momo responded, looking at her in shock.

“I’m not hearing a denial.” Miyuki teased as her smirk got wider. “I remember when I wanted to confess to your Father. I went right up to him after work one day and kissed him!” Momo groaned in embarrassment, as Yuukichi coughed and looked away.

Izuku smiled in response. “Mo was the one that kissed me.”

“Izu!” Momo looked at him in betrayal, her cheeks dusted in a blush.

“What?” Izuku smirked at her, causing her to cover her face with her hand, while Izuku held the other one. “I really enjoyed that kiss.”

“Ha! Just like her Mother!” Miyuki responded triumphally.

“Have you gone on any dates?” Inko questioned after a moment.

Momo leaned around Izuku to look at Inko. “Izu took me to this secret mountain lake, where we enjoyed some time paddling in this small boat.” Momo smiled as she leaned back. “Because of how high up we were, you could see for kilometers.” Momo looked towards Miyuki to find her wearing a genuine smile. “He also found another cafe with Golden Tips.”

“Of course he did.” Miyuki responded, looking towards Izuku. “Went all out, didn’t you?”

“Anything for Mo. She deserves it.” Izuku responded, leaning over and giving her cheek a kiss. Inko and Miyuki both cooed at the action.

“Izu!” Momo exclaimed, attempting to hide her face in her hand, but failing to conceal the smile behind it. When Momo had finally dropped her hand, she looked over towards Izuku. “It was wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for a better first date.”

“Better than a flying vampire motorcycle date?” Izuku raised his eyebrow in question.

“As long as it’s with you, yes.” Momo responded, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. She pulled back when Inko and Miyuki cooed again, causing her blush to come back and Izuku to chuckle at her.

Yuukichi cleared his throat, getting everyone to look at him, while he looked directly at Izuku. “Do I need to have ‘the talk’ with you, young man?”

Izuku chuckled. “Yuukichi, I give you full permission to do whatever you see fit if I ever hurt Momo.”

“Good.” Yuukichi responded, before he deflated a bit. “I wasn’t sure what to say during ‘the talk’ regardless, so that makes things simpler.” He perked back up. “But you better not hurt Momo, or… or… or else!”

Izuku chuckled again. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Yuukichi.”

Miyuki nudged Inko conspiratorially. "Momo, remember last year when you went to the Todoroki Estate for a function and the only thing you said about your evening was that you'd much rather have spent it reading with Izuku? We should have known then."

Inko rose to the occasion, telling her friend, "Of course we knew then! It was obvious! A mother always knows."

Chapter Text

It wasn’t often that Izuku found himself walking alone, especially when he was heading towards Leblanc. Over the past few days, Izuku found himself researching small gifts that he could get Momo, ones that money couldn’t buy. He knew he was taking a big leap of faith with the gift he had found and created, but once he had finished making it, he knew Momo would love it.

As he turned onto the back alley that was home to Leblanc, he heard a whimper come from beside him. Looking to where he had heard the noise, he noticed three men disappear into a hidden alleyway. He knew the three men didn’t make the noise that he heard, but as he was about to brush it off and continue onto Leblanc, he heard something that froze him to his spot.

“Stay away from me!” A female voice called out in fear.

“No, I don’t think we will.” The first man spoke.

“There’s a reward for your arrest.” The second one added.

“And we just spent our last dollar.” The third one chimed in.

Izuku didn’t have a chance to think before his body moved. He approached the alleyway, seeing the three men approach a girl that was curling in on herself, trying to make herself as small as possible. He instantly noticed how dirty and ruined her school uniform looked. Her hair looked to be hastily put into two buns on top of her head, but looked damaged and dirty in certain spots.

“Hey!” Izuku called out, causing the three men to turn towards him. “She said to stay away from her!”

“Buzz off, kid.” The third one spoke, turning around. “We saw her first.”

“I won’t let you touch her!” Izuku responded, holding up his fists. ‘Damn, I wish I had my staff.’ Izuku knew he wasn’t as good at straight up boxing, but Momo and him had practiced a few times just in case they were disarmed.

“I told you to buzz off!” The third spoke again, lunging forward with his right fist.

Izuku quickly dodged under the hit, before punching the guy in the gut, causing him to clutch his stomach. Seeing his opportunity, he kicked the man in the back of his knee, causing him to collapse towards the ground. “Fucking kid!” As he dropped to one knee, he swung his fist around around and tried to punch Izuku, who quickly leaned out of the attack. As the man tried to recollect himself, Izuku swung himself around, bringing his foot up in a wide arch before landing it against the man’s jaw. The man’s head swiveled around as his body fell forward, landing face-down and unconscious.

“You’re gonna pay for that, kid!” Izuku was tackled from behind, the second man using his larger weight against him, as he pulled Izuku’s hands together. As Izuku was hauled upwards, he looked towards the first man just in time to notice a fist flying towards his face. Izuku’s head was knocked backwards as he saw stars.

“Leave him alone!” The girl said, jumping onto the back of the first guy. Izuku looked up towards her, just in time to see her sink her fangs into his neck.

“Fucking bitch!” The first one yelled, grabbing the girl by her neck and flinging her across the alleyway. Izuku watched as she hit the wall, falling towards the ground and lying still. He really hoped she was alright.

Thinking quickly, Izuku brought up his foot behind him, hitting the man that was holding him in his precious jewels. “Fuck!” The second man yelled out, loosening his grip enough to allow Izuku to slip free.

Moving quickly, Izuku swung his fist around and cracked it across the second man's jaw, knocking him to the ground beside his friend. Izuku could see that the second man was still moving, but with how he wasn’t getting back up, Izuku knew that he had successfully dazed him enough to buy him some time.

Izuku turned around to see the first man approaching the girl lying on the ground. He rushed towards the man, bringing up his leg and slamming it on the back of the man’s kneecap, causing his leg to buckle out from underneath him and slam into the ground. “I told you to leave her alone!” Izuku yelled out, bringing his leg down in a wide arc and landing it against his face. The first man’s head snapped to the side as he fell unconscious against the ground.

Izuku looked back towards the second one to see he was still lying on the ground, but was now not moving. Hearing a groan, he rushed over towards the girl that was thrown against the wall, kneeling down in front of her. “Are you alright?”

“Huh?” She mumbled out. The first thing Izuku noticed when she looked in his direction were her yellow catlike eyes that seemed to be looking right at him, but struggling to see him. She looked to be about the same age as him, and the tattered uniform she wore indicated that she went to a middle school, but it was one he didn’t recognize. Her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time, pieces of her hair sticking up in every possible angle. Izuku noticed that she looked malnourished and very frail. “Saito?” She questioned quietly.

“No, I’m not Saito.” Izuku responded. “You hit your head hard, so I think you might have a concussion. I need to get you to a hospital.”

That seemed to get her attention, as her eyes went wide. “No! No hospital! They’ll send me back to them!” She cried out, digging her nails into Izuku’s arm, causing him to bleed and grunt in pain. The girl froze once she realized what she had just done. “No. No no no no no no.” She said, pushing herself away from Izuku. “Stay away from me! I’m a monster!” Her eyes flickered down to Izuku’s arm, seeing the blood trickling down, as she continued to push herself away.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Izuku spoke softly, moving closer to her. “I’m a friend. I’m trying to help you.”

“You don’t understand! I’m a monster! I don’t deserve help!” The girl backed up until she hit the wall, still looking at Izuku’s arm.

Izuku looked down at his arm and saw the bleeding, before he put two and two together. “You have a blood quirk.” Izuku said quietly, looking back up at the girl. As her eyes went wide, and her breathing got faster, Izuku was worried she was gonna pass out from hyperventilating. He moved forward and stuck his wrist towards her. “If you’re thirsty, take some.” He stated simply.

“I’m a monster!” She tried to push his arm away, and Izuku could feel how weak she actually was. Izuku stayed where he was, keeping his arm in front of her, as she continued to try to push it away. “Leave me alone! I’m a monster! I don’t deserve help!”

“But I want to help you.” Izuku said softly. “Please? I can see how malnourished you are.” Izuku could see that she was fighting herself away. “Let me help you.” He said once more, pushing his wrist a little closer. Within a blink of an eye, she had moved and latched onto his wrist. Izuku had grunted in pain when she finally bit down, but he stayed calm and let her drink as much as she needed. He noticed that she had closed her eyes as she drank, a look of bliss overcoming her.

He moved his hand up to her hair and moved some out of her face so that he could better see her. The action must have shocked her, because she let go of his arm and threw it away from her. “No no no no no no.” She said quietly. “I’m a monster, I’m not supposed to drink blood. I don’t want to go to jail.” Izuku noticed how her eyelids seemed to be getting heavier by the second, as her head drooped lower.

“Are you two alright?” A voice spoke from above them. Izuku looked up to see a skeleton of a man standing above them, with sunken blue eyes and messy blonde hair. “I saw what happened, and I’ve already called the police.”

“No!” The girl yelled out, seemingly a little more awake, dragging her head up. “They’ll send me back to them! I don’t want to go back to them!”

The tall man crouched down. “Don’t worry, young one. Nobody will be sending you back. I’ll make sure of it.” Izuku looked at the man, feeling like he was familiar, but couldn’t place where he had seen him. “My name is Toshinori Yagi, and I work for Might Tower. I saw and heard everything.” Izuku's eyes went wide when he said that, causing Toshinori to look towards him. “You handled yourself well, young man.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Izuku responded. He would have to put it out of his mind for the time being, the injured girl in front of him taking priority. “I need to call an ambulance for her.”

“No need to worry, young man. One should be here momentarily.” Toshinori responded. He stood back up as he noticed a man at the entrance of the alleyway. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t let them take me back, please.” The girl pleaded desperately.

“I’ll make sure you aren’t, I promise.” Izuku confirmed.

“Thank you…” She trailed off as her head fully drooped now. Izuku checked her pulse and noticed that it was slowly down, but still steady and strong.

“Is she alright?” Toshinori questioned from above them.

Izuku nodded, pushing himself to his feet. “She’s passed out. I don’t know if she has a concussion, but I did notice that she was extremely malnourished, and she was also blood starved.” Izuku hummed in thought as he looked down at the unconscious girl. “I think by giving her some blood, it caused her to pass out, her body finally giving out on her once that thirst was satisfied.”

Toshinori hummed. “What about you, young man? How are you feeling?”

Izuku raised his hand up to where he had been punched. “I feel a bit sore from the punch, but nothing worth worrying about.”

Toshinori nodded in understanding. “I think it’s best if you get checked out as well. Best to make sure you don’t have a concussion, plus you made a promise after all.”

“I understand. Thank you for coming to check on us.” Izuku bowed a bit.

“You’re welcome, young man.” Toshinori responded. “I will meet you both at the hospital. There is something that I would like to discuss with you after you’ve been checked out.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Izuku was currently sitting in one of the chairs along the wall in the blonde girl’s hospital room. He had been checked over and given the all clear. One of the doctors had a healing quirk that worked to take away the pain he was feeling from the punch, but was told that it would be a while before it was actually healed.

He had pulled out his phone right after, noticing a bunch of texts and calls from Momo. The first one was wondering how far out he was from Leblanc, followed by a few frantic texts about the police and ambulance, finished off with texts asking if he was okay. The calls came after the texts, the first few right after the other, and the next couple were spread out every few minutes. Izuku had texted her to let her know that he was okay, but was currently sitting in the hospital, and that he couldn’t call her where he was. Her response was only a question asking where he was, and when he had told her, she messaged back about being on her way.

Izuku stayed in the chair after that, watching the girl hooked up with multiple IVs in the bed. The doctors had confirmed that she suffered a concussion, on top of how malnourished she was, letting him know that it could be a while until she woke up. Izuku said that he understood, and opted to stay with her until she did.

The door cracked open, and Momo poked her head in quickly. Izuku smiled towards her, and she quickly entered the room and moved towards him. Izuku stood up at the same time that Momo threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “I was so worried about you.” Momo said quietly. She buried her face into his shoulder, and Izuku could feel her tremble as he ran his hands along her back. “When you didn’t answer your texts, and then all the sirens... They wouldn’t let me anywhere close to the scene.”

“I’m sorry, Mo.” Izuku responded quietly, hugging her tightly. “I was so caught up in saving the girl that I couldn’t do anything until I was checked over.”

Momo pulled back, hands on his shoulders, while Izuku put his hands on her sides. “Were you injured?” She questioned, looking over him as if to look for some bandages or some other indication he was hurt.

“A bit.” Izuku admitted. “One of them got a good hit on my cheek.” Momo leaned forward and kissed his cheek, causing him to chuckle and embrace her in a tight hug again. “Thanks, Mo.” Izuku said quietly against her shoulder. “I love you, Mo.”

“I love you too, Izu.” Momo responded. They stood there in each other’s embrace, leaning their heads against the other’s shoulder. Izuku had started swaying a bit to his own beat, causing Momo to relax in his grip.

“You two are cute together.” A female voice said. Izuku and Momo slowly split apart to look towards the girl that had pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Izuku let go of Momo, walking over towards the bed. “How are you feeling? The doctors mentioned you suffered a concussion, and were extremely malnourished.”

“Better.” She said quietly, and Izuku could see the honesty behind her eyes. “Why did you help me? Why did you let me drink your blood? Everything’s a little fuzzy.”

“The doctors said that might be a side effect from what happened.” Izuku confirmed. “I helped you because you needed help.” He held up his arm towards her, showcasing the two scarred over puncture wounds. “When your nails cut into my skin, you were transfixed on the blood. I could see it in your eyes how much you needed it.”

“But…” She trailed off as she looked away. “I’m not supposed to need blood. They told me I was a monster for liking blood…”

“They were wrong.” Izuku said firmly, causing the girl to look back towards him in shock. “You’re not a monster because you like blood. You like blood because your quirk requires it.” Izuku watched as her eyes went wide, before she looked down at her open hands. “They ran some tests here at the hospital, and compared it with what they had on record for you. There was nothing on record that says you have a blood quirk.”

“You keep saying I have a blood quirk. What does that mean?” She tilted her head back up towards him. “They told me I only had a slight cat mutation.”

“Well, you do have a slight cat mutation.” Izuku confirmed. “Your eyes are very catlike, and your fangs resemble those of a cat. You probably feel more comfortable with your hair in buns, because that’s where cat’s ears normally are, and the weight of the hair buns probably feels more natural. What I mean about you having a blood quirk, is that it requires blood to activate, but you also need blood as part of your dietary needs. The doctors weren't sure on what your quirk did, but they said they found traces of my blood within your system, as well as the man who you attacked.”

“How did you…?” She questioned.

“Izu knows quirks. He’s been studying them ever since we were kids.” Momo spoke up from beside Izuku. “My name is Momo Yaoyorozu, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh! My name is Izuku Midoriya. Sorry for not introducing myself or my girlfriend earlier, she was a bit worried about what happened.” Izuku felt Momo reach for his hand and grab it, giving it a squeeze and bringing a small smile to his face.

“Himiko.” Himiko responded quietly. “No last name. I want nothing to do with those people.”

“I understand.” Izuku responded. “It’s nice to meet you, Himiko.”

“Did you mean what you said?” Himiko asked quietly, twiddling her thumbs together as she looked away from him. “About not letting them send me back?”

“I did.” Izuku confirmed.

“How?” Himiko questioned as she looked back towards Izuku, allowing him to notice the hope behind her eyes. “How will you stop them? Nobody has been able to stop them before.”

“Do you remember the man that approached us before you passed out?” Izuku questioned, she shook her head no.

“I remember a voice, but I never saw the man.” Himiko admitted. “I could only see you.”

“I suspected as such.” Izuku confirmed. “He talked to you and you responded to him. Toshinori Yagi is his name, he said he works for Might Tower, and he also promised that nobody would be sending you back. If he didn’t, I would have figured out something.”

“Might Tower?” Momo questioned, looking at Izuku in shock.

Izuku chuckled. “About the same reaction I had, but I had to focus on making sure Himiko was okay so I didn’t have a chance to geek out.” Izuku hummed, looking away a bit. “He said he would be here, but I haven’t seen him since we left the scene.”

“Did he give you any way to contact him?” Momo questioned. “Maybe he left something with the nurses?”

“Not that I know of.” Izuku responded, looking back towards Momo. “The nurses haven’t mentioned anything.”

“I’m sure he just got caught up in paperwork or something.” Momo responded. “I overheard him at the scene talking to a police officer, but that was after the ambulance had left.”

When the door opened a crack, the three teenagers looked towards it, to see the blonde-haired skeleton man peeking his head in. “Oh good, you’re awake.” Pushing the door open, Toshinori stepped into the room, followed by someone in a trench coat. “I want to introduce you to my detective friend from the police force, Toga.”

“Himiko, please.” Himiko whispered out, looking at the police detective. “Are you here to take me back?” Himiko slumped her shoulders, already accepting her fate.

“The opposite, actually.” Himiko’s head snapped up towards the police detective, hope returning to her eyes. “My name is Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, and I am here because Mr. Yagi has contacted me in regards to your case. I’ve managed to pull your files in regards to why you were wanted.”

Himiko nodded, looking down towards her hands. “So you understand why I was running.” She stated simply.

“Himiko, can I ask why your quirk registry says you only have a cat mutation?” Naomasa questioned. “The doctors here have determined that you have a blood quirk, and a dietary requirement to survive.”

“That’s what they made me believe.” Himiko admitted, not seeing the motion that Naomasa did behind his back. “They wanted a normal daughter. Normal girls don’t like blood. They called my smile creepy, and said I looked like a deviant.” Himiko was crying now, clenching her fingers tightly. “‘Why can’t you just be normal?’ and ‘Act like a normal little girl!’ were all I ever heard, and I tried so hard to make them happy.” Himiko hiccuped as the tears continued to flow. “But the hunger never went away. Whenever someone bled, it was so much worse.”

Izuku made his way to the opposite side of the bed to Naomasa, reaching out and grabbing Himiko’s hands, causing her to release her death grip and look up towards him. “You don’t need to try to make them happy anymore.” Izuku said softly. “And now you know why you need blood. Is that hunger still there?”

“Yes.” Himiko said softly, looking down towards Izuku’s wrist and seeing the puncture marks. “But it’s manageable. I couldn’t think straight before, but now everything doesn’t feel so fuzzy.” Himiko reached out towards Izuku’s wrist with the puncture marks, running her hand over the rough scars. “Are they permanent?” She questioned quietly.

“The doctors informed me that they would eventually fade, but not disappear.” Izuku said, allowing Himiko to continue running her hands over them.

“I’m sorry…” Himiko whispered out.

“Don’t be.” Izuku responded, causing Himiko to look up towards him smiling. “It’ll be a mark that I’ll proudly wear, if it means I saved you.”

Himiko blinked a few times, looking at Izuku to see if there was any dishonesty behind his words, but kept coming up empty. She moved forward off the bed, wrapping her arms around Izuku, pulling him into a hug. “Thank you, Izuku.” Himiko sniffled again as she felt Izuku wrap his arms around her and hugged back. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, Himiko.” Izuku responded.

“That solves that mystery.” Naomasa commented towards Toshinori, causing Izuku and Himiko to pull apart.

“What mystery?” Izuku questioned.

“Himiko was wanted for attacking her fellow classmate.” Himiko looked towards her hands again, feeling regret for her actions. “Because of what happened, and because Himiko disappeared afterwards, the Togas disowned her. The doctors informed us that Himiko was blood starved when they were running their tests, and that was after taking blood from Midoriya.” Naomasa pointed his pen towards Izuku as he said that. “They suspected Himiko must have been starving herself for years to get to the point of needing to rely on blood as heavily as she does now.” Himiko raised her eyes back up to the detective. “They considered that when you attacked Saito, you were likely under the effects of your quirk, not able to think clearly.”

“What does that mean?” Himiko questioned, looking towards Izuku, who looked to be deep in thought.

“If she wasn’t able to think clearly, and was driven by the needs of her quirk, then she can’t be blamed for what happened with her classmate.” Momo pondered out loud, causing everyone to look towards her, as she looked towards Himiko without seeing her. “If that was the case, the fault would trace back to the quirk counselor that last updated her quirk in the registry, and the Togas for knowing and still forcing Himiko to suppress her quirk.” Momo looked back over to Naomasa and Toshinori. “Which means that Himiko should be free of all charges and free of the Togas completely.”

“Which also means, since Himiko is considered to be a minor still, she would need a family to adopt her.” Izuku spoke next, looking at Momo. “Throwing her back into the foster care system would be tragic and the same results are likely to happen again. Not only that, nobody would adopt someone so close to being an adult.” Izuku looked back towards Naomasa and Toshinori. “Which means that it's highly likely that Himiko wouldn’t get the blood she needed.”

“You kids know your stuff.” Naomasa clicked his pen, before pocketing both his pen and notebook. “You’re both correct. Himiko would be surrendered to the foster care system, with no guarantee of ever being adopted, nor having her dietary needs fulfilled.”

“What if someone offered to adopt her?” Momo questioned silently, looking down towards the floor in thought.

“Mo?” Izuku questioned. Momo looked towards Izuku, and he could see the conviction behind her eyes. They didn’t exchange words, but Izuku knew exactly what Momo was thinking.

“It would have to be before she’s surrendered to the foster care system.” Naomasa explained.

“Please, allow me to make a quick phone call.” Momo spoke, before disappearing out of the room.

“Detective?” Izuku questioned, getting the man to focus on him. “Can I ask you something?” At the detective’s nod, Izuku continued. “You were holding your fingers out behind you every time Himiko answered a question, or spoke about something.” Naomasa and Toshinori shared a look, before the detective looked back towards Izuku. “Does your quirk work similar to a lie detector?”

“Good catch, Midoriya.” Naomasa praised. “I call my quirk Detector. It works similarly to a lie detector where I can feel if someone is genuine or not with their answers.”

“So by holding up a single finger, you were letting Mr. Yagi know that Himiko was being honest with her answers.” Izuku said. “It must come in handy as a detective. My only other question is, does it hold up in court?”

“It depends on the judge, and if they want to bring quirks into play.” Naomasa explained. “Some judges still believe quirks should be kept out of the justice system, while others rely too heavily on quirks similar to mine. They aren’t fail-proof by any means, so there are times when I might know the truth, but I would still need to have facts or evidence to back up my reasoning.”

“That’s interesting.” Izuku commented, bringing up a hand to his chin. “That’s why you didn’t indicate what quirk you had when you walked in, because if the person being questioned knew what your quirk was, it’s possible they could trick you.” Izuku rubbed his chin in thought. “What if they give you a half-truth?”

“Detector would inform me what would be a truth and what would be a lie.”

“So what would ‘I have the double jointed pinky toes in my feet, which is the reason why I’m quirkless’ tell you?”

Naomasa looked taken aback as he looked towards Toshinori before looking back towards Izuku. “Well, Detector informs me that the first part is true, but the second part is half truth.” Naomasa thought for a moment. “Based on what you said, I would suspect that you being quirkless is the truth, but the double jointed pinky toes is not the reason you believe you are.”

“Correct!” Izuku responded excitedly. “It was proven that the correlation between the double jointed pinky toes and having a quirk is an old practice that doesn’t hold up in today’s society of quirks. There are many quirked individuals out there that prove the theory doesn’t hold up anymore.”

“You’re… Quirkless?” Himiko asked quietly, causing Izuku to look back towards her.

“Since the day I was born.” Izuku responded, nodding a bit. “Well, since the day the doctor diagnosed me as quirkless, I guess.” Izuku chuckled.

“And you still attacked those men without a quirk?” Himiko asked quietly, amazement in her eyes. “That’s so cool…”

“Thank you, Himiko.” Izuku responded. "You needed help, and I wasn't going to stand by!"

The door opened again, and Momo walked back into the room. She walked towards Izuku, before leaning beside his head and whispering into his ear, causing Izuku’s eyes to go wide. “Miyuki said that?” Momo pulled back and nodded, a smile on her face. “Detective? Do you know the paperwork required for Himiko’s adoption?”

Himiko’s eyes went wide, looking at Izuku and Momo. “Huh?!”

Izuku smiled, grabbing Momo’s hand and pulling her towards the bed, standing beside Himiko. “We will leave the final decision up to you, Himiko, but Miyuki, Mo’s Mother, has offered to adopt you.”

“But why?” Himiko whispered out, looking down towards her hands. “I’m a monster…”

“You’re not a monster, Himiko.” Momo said firmly, causing Himiko to look towards her. “If anyone is the monster, it’s the Togas.” Momo reached forward and grabbed Himiko’s hand, smiling. “Izu made you a promise that he wouldn’t allow you to be sent back, and I am helping him keep that promise.”

“I don’t understand…” Himiko responded quietly.

“How does Himiko Yaoyorozu sound?” Momo questioned.

Himiko’s mouth opened slightly in shock. “You mean…?” Himiko whispered out as Momo nodded. “But…”

“No buts.” Momo responded. “This will keep you from going into the foster care system, and possibly ending up in the same situation. Izu helped you by saving you from those men. I want to extend that offer, allowing you to get the help you need, and by allowing you to be yourself instead of what the Togas believed was normal. What do you say?”

Himiko looked at them both as tears trailed down her face. “Yes!” Himiko whispered out excitedly as she moved forward to hug Izuku and Momo around the neck, pulling them into a tight hug.

“I’ll get the paperwork sent over.” Naomasa told Toshinori, before leaving the room.

“Young Midoriya?” Toshinori questioned, causing the three teenagers to split, and look towards him. “Can I have a word with you? In private?”

Chapter Text

“Welcome to your new home, Himiko!” Miyuki called out as they walked into the Yaoyorozu Estate. Izuku and Momo followed behind them, holding hands.

“It’s massive…” Himiko said in wonder, spinning around in place and taking in the entryway.

“That’s usually the reaction of most people when they first enter.” Miyuki explained with a giggle. “I’ll give you a small tour of the place, but if you need anything else, feel free to ask one of the servants.” Miyuki explained, pointing to the multiple servants that were standing around. “If you happen to get lost, just ask one of them for directions. For the time being, I’ll make sure someone is assigned to you just until you get used to the place.”

Himiko nodded, giving Miyuki a smile. “Thank you for everything, Miyuki.” Himiko bowed towards Miyuki as she finished speaking.

“None of that, Himiko!” Miyuki said energetically, wrapping her arm around Himiko’s midsection and pulling her towards the kitchen. “Plus, it was Momo who did all the work, I just signed the paperwork.”

“Mother…” Momo said with a smile.

Miyuki paused and turned herself and Himiko around, looking towards Momo and Izuku. “You kids can get ready for bed, if you like. I’ve already called Inko and explained what happened.” Miyuki said, and was about to turn around before she paused. “Izuku, I’m going to be giving Himiko your room for the night, until I can get one of the other rooms set up for her. I’m sure you don’t mind.” Miyuki finished with a smile.

Izuku smiled. “Of course not, Miyuki. I’ll grab some pajamas and I’ll just stay in Momo’s room tonight.”

“No funny business, Mister.” Miyuki teased with a wider smile. Himiko looked at Miyuki in surprise, before she wore a more genuine smile. Izuku and Momo wore matching blushes as they started to scurry away.

“Mother!” Momo yelled out as Izuku guided her away.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Miyuki!” Izuku responded, hearing laughter from behind them.

“Izu?” Momo questioned as they laid down in her bed together. She had noticed that Izuku had been deep in thought ever since talking with Toshinori at the hospital, and while he was responsive, he wasn’t initiating conversations like he normally did. Izuku hummed in acknowledgement, still looking off into space. “You’ve been thinking about something ever since talking with Mr. Yagi. What’s on your mind?”

“This is going to sound ridiculous, because I can’t seem to manage wrapping my head around it.” Izuku started off, slowly turning towards Momo, and she could see the contemplating look in his eyes. “What if I told you that Mr. Yagi offered me a quirk?”

Momo thought for a minute. “I would say that it was impossible.”

“That’s my thought process too.” Izuku responded, looking back up towards the ceiling. “But Mr. Yagi had a reliable source to back up his offer.”

“What kind of reliable source?” Momo questioned. “Even reliable sources can be inadequate.”

“Nezu.” Izuku responded simply.

“That’s definitely a reliable source…” Momo agreed.

“Remember how I said Mr. Yagi works for Might Tower?” Izuku questioned, getting a hum in affirmative. “What if I were to tell you that Mr. Yagi doesn’t just work for Might Tower, but owns it.”

“But I thought that All Might owned Might Tower?” Momo questioned. Izuku just looked towards Momo, which made her think harder on the question she just asked. “Are you trying to say that Mr. Yagi is All Might?” Izuku nodded. “How?”

“He showed me the injury he suffered in a battle with a supervillain over five years ago, one that was successfully covered up because I’ve never heard of it.” Izuku responded. “Toshinori Yagi is the form that he’s been reverted to normally, and he buffs up into All Might for hero work. He even showed me how he did it.”

“All Might offered you his quirk?” Momo questioned, getting a nod in response. “And what was your answer?”

“I told him that I’d have to think about it.” Izuku answered honestly, letting out a sigh and looking away. “I never expected something like this to ever be offered to me, especially not from my favorite hero.”

They both sat in silence, looking up towards the ceiling, deep in thought over the information. Momo reached her hand out and grabbed Izuku’s, getting a squeeze in return. “I think you should take it.” Momo said quietly.

Izuku let out a sigh before looking back over towards Momo. “It would be kind of nonsense if I don’t accept it, but how would I explain it to Mom, or Miyuki and Yuuichi? What about Himiko? I told her I was quirkless back at the hospital.”

“Why not just explain it to them like you’ve explained it to me?” Momo questioned.

“Because Mr. Yagi told me I wasn’t even supposed to tell you.” Izuku responded a bit sadly. “He said that he only told a handful of people in his life, and it took him years to reveal it.” Izuku looked away. “I don’t even have it yet, and I’ve told you everything.”

“I see…” Momo said quietly, and Izuku could hear the hurt in her voice. “So you think that Mr. Yagi would retract the offer now that you told me?”

“No.” Izuku said firmly, looking back towards Momo. She could see the determination behind his eyes as he spoke. “I told Mr. Yagi that I wouldn’t accept the quirk if I wasn’t allowed to tell you.”

“Izu…” Momo said quietly.

“I want no secrets between us, and it’s not like you wouldn’t have figured it out somehow.” Izuku responded, with a small smile. “You’re more important to me than some quirk. I can always be a quirkless hero, but I would never have another Momo.”

Momo reached up and pulled Izuku down for a kiss. “I love you.” Momo said quietly.

“I love you too.” Izuku responded before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tight.

Momo started playing with Izuku’s hair, causing him to relax in her grip. They were silent as they thought about what they just talked about, each listening to the soft breathing of the other. “When did you tell Mr. Yagi you would give him an answer?” Momo questioned.

“He told me to meet him early in the morning at Dagobah Beach in a few days.” Izuku responded. “He informed me that I can give him an answer then, and he will also have everything ready to get started on training.”

“It sounds like he is sure you’re going to accept.” Momo responded.

Izuku let out another sigh, hugging Momo closer to him. “I really want to, Mo. It would give me the opportunity to be the hero I always wanted to be.”

“You’re already a hero, Izu.” Momo responded with a smile. “You should accept it. We can always figure out how to tell everyone else later.”

“Thank you, Mo.” Izuku responded quietly, hugging Momo tighter as he spoke, bringing a smile to Momo’s face.

It was early morning when Izuku and Momo arrived at Dagobah Beach. Getting out of the limousine, walking hand in hand towards the stairs that led down towards the beach itself, they found themselves overlooking the massive piles of garbage that littered the beach. They could see a massive figure at the bottom of the stairs, looking away from them. Knowing instantly that it was All Might, they both made their way down the stairs.

“Young Midoriya!” All Might exclaimed, turning around as he spoke. “It’s good to see…you.”

“Good Morning, All Might.” Izuku responded. “I’m sure you remember my girlfriend from the hospital, Momo Yaoyorozu.”

“It’s nice to meet you, All Might.” Momo responded.

“Young Midoriya, did you… umm…” All Might said awkwardly, looking between Izuku and Momo.

“Yes.” Izuku responded. “I’ve told Mo everything you’ve told me.”

“I see.” All Might responded, before steam started to billow out around him. “No sense in keeping up appearances.”

“My goodness.” Momo said, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. “I know you said that Mr. Yagi was All Might, but it was still so hard to imagine.”

Izuku chuckled. “It was pretty ridiculous to imagine. I had a similar reaction when I first saw it.”

Toshinori coughed, getting both teenagers' attention on him again. “I take it that you’ve made up your mind, Young Midoriya?” Toshinori questioned.

“I have.” Izuku confirmed. “But I have some requests before I accept it.” Izuku held up one finger. “I want to tell my Mother everything about accepting the quirk.” He held up another finger. “I also want to be able to tell Momo’s parents. They have been my parents for as long as I can remember, besides my Mother.” Izuku raised another finger. “I also want to tell Himiko, now that she is a part of the family.” He raised his last finger. “I want to know everything related to the quirk, from its name to its history.”

Toshinori hummed in thought for a moment, looking between Izuku and Momo. “You do realize that by telling all those people, you are doubling the amount of people who know about it.”

“I do.” Izuku responded. “But these are people I would trust with my life, even Himiko. I know she might be new to the family, but she has been beyond grateful for the opportunity that Mo has provided her. You said it yourself, Sir, that you only told people that you trusted. These are the people I trust.”

“And the danger it puts them in?” Toshinori questioned.

“Accepting the quirk is already putting them in danger.” Izuku confirmed. “If anybody was to find out about a transferable quirk, they would use any means necessary to get it from me, including hurting my family.”

Toshinori hummed again. “Very well, Young Midoriya.” He turned around and looked towards the mess of the beach. “To prepare you for my power, I have decided to have you… clean the beach!”

“Huh?” Izuku questioned.

“You can’t be serious.” Momo said from beside him.

“I am very serious, Young Yaoyorozu.” Toshinori responded. “My quirk, One For All, binds the physical strength of many people into one. If Young Midoriya’s body isn’t ready to accept it, it’s possible that his limbs would explode from his body.”

“WHAT?!” Izuku and Momo responded at the same time.

“This is why I want you to clean the beach. By removing all this trash, you’ll be using muscle groups that you normally wouldn’t, helping you mold your body into a proper vessel.” Toshinori explained.

“Mr. Yagi?” Momo questioned. “My family has everything possible for training all types of muscle groups at home. It would prevent Izuku from having to deal with the trash here, and possibly getting injured or picking up a disease from the rusty metal.” Momo explained. “Not only that, but we have our own personal trainer that we’ve been using for the past eight years or so. We have both put on a reasonable amount of muscle in that time.”

Toshinori looked at Izuku and Momo again, inspecting them up and down. “It would appear you have.” Toshinori hummed again. “That does give us a head start in preparing your body to handle OFA.” Toshinori looked back over the trash once more. “My original thought process was that by having you train on the beach, not only does it help restore the beach to its original glory, but you’re also learning about how hero work is essentially volunteer work at its core.” Toshinori looked back towards Izuku. “But I watched you jump into a one-versus-three fight without any hesitation, which already proves to me that you understand the basics of being a hero.”

“Yes, Sir.” Izuku responded. “I’ve wanted to be a hero like yourself since before I was diagnosed.”

Toshinori thought for a moment, looking back over the beach. “Very well, Young Midoriya.” He said after a moment, turning back towards the two teenagers. “I will allow you to train with Young Yaoyorozu here within your home, but I would like to see what training equipment that your family has so that I can revise the training regimen.”

“Thank you for having me, Mrs. Yaoyorozu.” Toshinori said as he took a seat at the dining table.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Yagi, but please, call me Miyuki.” Miyuki smiled back towards the skeleton-looking man. Izuku and Momo had just finished showing Toshinori all the training equipment they have available, and while Toshinori mentioned a few other ones that would be more effective, Momo reassured him that her parents would get them ordered as soon as possible. “Momo has informed me that you’re helping them train for UA?”

“That would be correct, Miyuki, and please, call me Toshinori.” Toshinori responded, taking a sip of the tea that was in front of him. He wasn’t expecting to meet the whole family today, but it would appear that he had little say in the matter. Yuukichi sat at the head of the table, while Miyuki and Inko sat on one side, and Izuku, Momo, and Himiko sat on the other.

“Can I inquire what is wrong with their current trainer?” Yuukichi asked suspiciously. “I made sure to have the best personal trainer on this side of Japan.”

“There is nothing wrong with the personal trainer, per se.” Toshinori responded before looking towards Izuku and getting a nod in confirmation. “With the proposal I have for Young Midoriya, it would require much more intensive training to prepare him.”

“What kind of proposal?” Inko questioned, looking at Izuku.

“Miyuki, Yuukichi, do you mind if we have some privacy? I know that the servants are under an NDA with anything mentioned while in our presence, but you can never be too careful.” Izuku questioned. Both parents looked at one another, before looking towards Momo and getting a nod. Yuukichi signaled for the servants to wait outside until they were ready to be called back in.

“Thank you, Young Midoriya.” Toshinori spoke before standing up. “The simplest way to explain is to show you.” Toshinori activated his All Might form, astonishing most of the people sitting around him. “I Am Here! With a proposal!”

“All Might?!” Four voices called out at once, looking between All Might and the two teenagers. “What is the meaning of this?” Inko questioned, looking at Izuku.

“Please let Mr. Yagi explain.” Izuku responded.

Toshinori allowed his buff form to drop, coughing up some blood in the process, before taking a seat back at the table. “This form is the result of an injury I sustained five years ago fighting one of the last supervillains of Japan.” Toshinori explained. “Currently, I can only be All Might for a few hours per day. In short, when my body cannot handle my quirk anymore, All Might will be no more.”

“All Might… will be gone?” Yuukichi questioned, looking at the other adults. “What will happen then?” He asked towards Toshinori.

“This is where my proposal for Young Midoriya comes in.” Toshinori explained. “I would like to make Young Midoriya my successor!”

“Successor?” Inko questioned.

“You see, my quirk is very special.” Toshinori started explaining. “My quirk is officially called One For All, and has been passed down for generations since the Dawn of Quirks.”

“A transferable quirk?” Miyuki questioned. “It’s unheard of.”

“Imagine if people knew about a transferable quirk, one that is proven to give unimaginable strength like All Might. What would heroes or villains do to get their hands on it?” Toshinori questioned in return.

“Oh…” Inko said quietly as she looked towards Izuku. “And you want to give my son this quirk?” Inko questioned as she looked back at Toshinori.

The skeleton man nodded in confirmation. “That would be correct. After watching how he saved Young Himiko without any hesitation, I knew he would make the perfect successor for OFA.” Toshinori explained.

“Izuku?” Inko questioned, getting her son to look towards her. “Is this what you really want?”

“Yes it is, Mom.” Izuku replied, giving Momo’s hand a squeeze for encouragement beside him, and getting one in return. “Momo and I have talked about it the last few nights, and I’ve come to the decision that I want to accept it, to become the hero I’ve always wanted to be.” Izuku explained. “This is my chance.”

Inko hummed in thought for a moment. She could see the desire and want behind Izuku’s eyes, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Inko didn’t see fourteen year old Izuku in front of her, no she saw five year old Izuku asking if he could still be a hero and how she had broken both their hearts that day. Izuku must have seen the question in her eyes, because he closed his own and gave a small nod. Inko released a breath she didn’t know she was holding before looking towards Toshinori. “Then I won’t stop you.” Inko responded quietly.

“Are you sure, Inko?” Miyuki asked, reaching over and grabbing Inko’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I’ve already failed Izuku once.” Inko said quietly, allowing a few tears to escape. “Back when he asked me if he could be a hero, I told him I was sorry. It broke both of our hearts that day.” Inko reached up and wiped away a few tears before looking towards Izuku. “If it wasn’t for Momo, I don’t know what would have happened.” She took a deep breath. “I won’t fail you again. If this is what you really want, I will support your decision.”

“Thanks, Mom…” Izuku said quietly. Momo reached over and pulled Izuku into a hug, who instantly relaxed in her grip.

“What is this intensive training that you mentioned earlier, Toshinori?” Yuukichi questioned.

“OFA binds all the previous users' strength into one person, and increases in power during the transfer.” Toshinori explained, causing Izuku, Momo, and Inko to listen in once more. “If the body is not prepared for the strength, it’s very possible that when Young Midoriya attempts to use OFA, he could easily blow his limbs off.” Inko paled at that imagery. “The intensive training is to make sure that doesn’t happen, which is why I want to monitor everything that Young Midoriya will be doing over the next ten or so months.”

“And what about Momo?” Miyuki questioned next, glaring at the man. “Will you be putting her through this intensive training?”

“I had no plans on putting Young Yaoyorozu through the intensive training that Young Midoriya will be doing.” Toshinori sweatdropped at the intense glare coming from Miyuki. “But if Young Yaoyorozu wants to participate with Young Midoriya, I don’t have an issue with it! I can also create a training regimen for her as well!”

“Mother…” Momo said quietly, glaring at Miyuki.

“I just wanted to make sure you were offered the same thing. We know how much you and Izuku like training together.” Miyuki responded, smiling towards her daughter. “Plus I think Izuku would love it if you were working alongside him, both encouraging each other.”

Momo nodded, before looking at Izuku and seeing his questionable look in his eyes. She gave him a small smile, which he returned. Momo looked towards Toshinori, who seemed to be waiting for her answer. “I would like to be included in the training that Izuku will be participating in.”

“Very well.” Toshinori said. “I will make both Young Midoriya and Young Yayorozu both new training regimens, and contact Young Midoriya when I am finished so we can meet up and get started.”

“Have you decided on what you would like to do, Himiko?” Izuku questioned after training one day.

“I haven’t really thought about it…” Himiko admitted, walking beside Izuku. “I always thought I would have my future decided for me, so I never gave much thought into what I wanted to do.”

“You don’t have to make a choice right away, Himiko.” Momo said from the other side of Izuku, holding his hand as they walked towards their rooms. “Mother doesn’t want you to rush into something you don’t want. You’re welcome to stay with us for as long as you like.”

“Thank you, Momo…” Himiko trailed off. The three of them went silent as they continued to walk through the hallways. “Why do you two want to be heroes?” Himiko questioned quietly, still looking towards the ground.

“I don’t think there is a simple answer to that question.” Izuku responded, thinking about it for a second. “I believe my reason has changed since I first decided, but at the core, I still want to help people. I believe the first reason was I just wanted to be like All Might, saving people with a smile.”

“And now?” Himiko questioned, looking up towards Izuku.

“After saving you, and realizing how much of an impact I can directly have on someone, I want to continue doing that.” Izuku answered with a smile, throwing his arm around Himiko’s shoulder and pulling her into a side hug. “I still want to save people and be like All Might, but now I have more reasons to do so.”

“My reasons are a bit more selfish.” Momo admitted quietly. “It started out that I wanted to make a name for myself outside of the Yaoyorozu name. It eventually changed into wanting to become a hero because of how much Izu talked about becoming one, how we both could be heroes and save so many people.” Momo blushed when Izuku squeezed her hand. “I could have taken the safer route and just did what my parents did. I could have continued to donate to organizations that helped people in need, but I felt like I was wasting my potential. Izu has told me how great of a hero I could become, so now I want to prove him right. I want to help protect and save people and use my quirk for good.”

“I don’t think those reasons are selfish.” Izuku said quietly, pulling Momo close and giving her cheek a kiss. “You still wanted to help people, but now you get to see the people you are helping.”

“Thanks Izu.” Momo leaned down and kissed Izuku’s cheek in return.

Himiko pulled away from Izuku after the exchange. “Gods, you two are so cute, it makes me envious.”

“You’ll find your special boy someday.” Izuku said, and when he noticed Himiko shaking her head slightly, he fixed his statement. “Sorry, special girl someday. Someone who likes you for you.”

“You really think so?” Himiko asked with hope in her eyes as she looked at Izuku and Momo.

“I know so, Himiko.” Izuku responded, Momo nodded along beside him. “Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

“Thank you, Izuku.” Himiko responded quietly, giving both Izuku and Momo a full fanged smile.

“You’re welcome, Himiko.” Izuku responded.

“You said you were applying to UA High?” Himiko questioned after a moment.

“That’s correct.” Izuku responded. “It’s considered one of the best hero schools in Japan, and possibly the world. It’s where All Might and tons of other amazing heroes have graduated from.”

“And you’re both applying for the hero course?” Himiko questioned, looking at them and getting a nod from both of them in response. “Do you think if I pass the entrance exam, that we can be in the same class?”

“I don’t really know.” Izuku said, looking at Momo, who shrugged in response. “I guess we could ask Mr. Yagi to ask Nezu?”

“I could always ask Mother about contacting Nezu.” Momo responded. “The Yaoyorozu Company is one of the biggest donors to UA. I believe Mother and Father have both met Nezu personally a few times, getting thanked for their continuous support.” Momo looked towards Himiko. “But is being a hero what you really want, Himiko?”

“Well… I don’t know.” Himiko responded, looking back down at her feet. “It would give me the opportunity to prevent another situation like mine. I could help people with strange quirks, or hard to control quirks, or even quirks that are considered villainous.” Himiko looked back up to Izuku and Momo with a bit more conviction in her tone. “I can show people that quirks aren’t villainous.”

Izuku and Momo smiled at her. “I think that would be a perfect reason to become a hero, Himiko.” Izuku reassured her. “But if you want to have a chance at the entrance exam, you’re gonna have to train a lot harder.”

“I can do that!” Himiko said determinedly. “I need to ask Toshinori if I can have a customized training regimen made up!” Himiko smiled and dashed forward, ready to run towards her room, before she stopped and turned back around. “Can I have some blood tonight?” Himiko questioned quietly.

“Of course you can, Himiko! Would you prefer mine or Mo’s tonight?” Izuku questioned, giving Himiko a small smile.

“Yours, please.” Himiko responded, wearing a more genuine smile.

“I’ll be in Mo’s room whenever you’re ready.” Izuku responded. Himiko gave him a nod before sprinting away towards her room. “I’m so happy that Miyuki agreed to adopt her.” He said quietly.

“I am too.” Momo responded, leaning her head against Izuku’s shoulder. “It’s nice to see her opening up to us too. She wouldn’t even ask for blood before, and now it’s a nightly occurrence.”

“She’s gonna be an amazing hero.” Izuku said, leaning his head against Momo’s.

“You say that about everyone who wants to become a hero.” Momo giggled.

It was a few days later when Toshinori delivered their training regimens, and the three teenagers finally got started on their intensive training. Izuku and Momo were used to getting up early in the morning for their training already, but Himiko still had to adjust. They often found Himiko sleeping in one of the machines and continuously had to wake her up. There were some mornings when the sun was just peeking into the training room that Izuku or Momo had found Himiko curled up into a ball, lying in the sun. They couldn’t resist taking a picture and sending it to Miyuki for her records, knowing that she had plenty of them that they weren’t allowed to see.

Izuku and Momo’s dates were put on hold as they trained, spending the extra time recuperating after training. They still kept up their small book club, even encouraging Himiko to join them every once in a while. Himiko didn’t get attached to the romance novels that Momo and Izuku read, but she had picked up some horror books that Momo had been given, or had bought to read and decided she didn’t like them.

Toshinori was kind enough to give them rest days, where the trio would go shopping for whatever they needed for the week. Izuku and Momo often found themselves in the bookstore until Himiko dragged them along with her to find something cute. It wasn’t long until Himiko’s bed and the rest of her room was covered in plushies, her two favorites sitting on her bed. A green rabbit that looked oddly similar to Izuku’s hair, and a red crane that she explained reminded her of Momo.

It was during training one day, where Izuku and Momo were sharing a machine, that Izuku felt Momo’s eyes linger on him a bit longer than normal. Izuku looked up to find Momo watching him, and when she met his eyes, looked away quickly with a blush. “You were drooling, Mo.” Izuku teased.

“Like you’re any better!” Momo responded, still looking away with a blush. “I’ve caught you staring more than a few times!”

“Can I not appreciate my girlfriend?” Izuku questioned, standing up from the machine and circling his arms around her midsection, pulling her back into his chest. “I’ve been noticing how much muscle you’ve put on.”

“Like you’re any better, Mister.” Momo responded, leaning back into the hug. “I can feel the difference in your arms.” Momo said, running a few fingers along his arms, causing him to shiver from the feeling. “We better get back to our training before Himiko or Toshinori walk in on us.” Momo teased before she stepped out of his arms, turning around and leaning up beside his ear. “You’re welcome to watch all you want, Izu.”

Izuku froze as Momo returned to the machine in front of him, a blush rushing up his face. When Himiko came back into the training room, she noticed Izuku standing there with a blank look on his face. “Momo! Stop breaking Izuku when we’re training!”

Chapter Text

After some intensive months full of nearly non-stop training, Izuku, Momo, and Himiko found they were quickly approaching the entrance exam. Toshinori has been constantly checking on their progress throughout the weeks, having them run certain tests to judge their progress and he was pleased with the results. It was after one of these evaluations that Izuku decided to question Toshinori.

“Toshi?” Izuku questioned, getting his mentor's attention while he finished packing the equipment up.

“Yes, Young Midoriya?” Toshinori responded.

“When do you plan on giving me OFA?” Izuku questioned, pulling out his training regimen. “According to this, you have us training until the day before the entrance exam.”

Toshinori hummed in thought. “Actually, I based these training regimens off of how fast you would have cleaned the beach. That would mean I’d give you OFA either the night before, or the day of the entrance exam.”

“You can’t be serious…” Momo groaned out. “You were going to let Izu go into the entrance exam without any way of training with OFA?”

“Ummm…” Toshinori looked away awkwardly.

“You totally were.” Himiko responded. “Please remind me how you’re the number one hero again?”

“Himiko…” Izuku said quietly.

“Sorry.” Himiko apologized.

“That’s alright, Young Himiko.” Toshinori responded. “It’s my fault that I overlooked such a simple thing. You see, when I received OFA from my master, I could use the quirk without any issues right from the start.”

“But from what you explained to us, OFA will be much stronger than what it was when you received it.” Momo pointed out. “So what happens if Izu ends up using it and breaks his arms or something during the entrance exam? Wouldn’t that be an automatic failure?”

“I… I never looked at it that way.” Toshinori admitted, slumping his shoulders. “It would be wise to give Young Midoriya time to practice, wouldn’t it?”

“I’d say so.” Himiko responded, lying on the ground beside Momo.

“The entrance exam is on the… twenty sixth.” Toshinori hummed in thought. “Giving us roughly two weeks.”

“It’s been ten months already?” Izuku exclaimed, looking towards Momo and getting a nod. “Holy crap.”

Toshinori hummed in thought for a moment, looking down at the results from Izuku’s last progress test. Technically, Izuku had already passed what Toshinori wanted him to achieve, by a reasonable amount. When he had first considered these training regimens, he'd considered that he would be starting with Izuku from scratch, but he had proven to blow the progress test out of the water every single time. If Toshinori was being honest with himself, Izuku was more than ready to accept OFA.

“Young Midoriya.” Toshinori called out. “I think Young Yaoyorozu and Young Himiko were correct. I think it’s time to give you OFA.”

“Really?” Izuku questioned, getting to his feet.

“Yes.” Toshinori said, before buffing up to his All Might form. “The way OFA is transferred from user to user is through DNA.” All Might stated as he plucked a hair off the top of his head, and held it in front of Izuku. “So… EAT THIS!”

“What?” Izuku questioned, looking at the hair.

“You can’t be serious.” Momo stated at the same time.

Himiko was just dying from laughter, unable to even respond.

“I am not eating that, Toshi. There are other ways of transferring DNA that don't involve me eating one of your hairs.” Izuku explained, taking a step back as he held out his hands.

“But… This is how my master did it.” All Might explained, looking at the hair in his hand.

“And you actually ate the hair?” Izuku questioned. All Might nodded, and Himiko fell into another fit of laughter. “Toshi…”

“What? It’s how she said her mentor passed her OFA!” All Might exclaimed. “It’s a tradition!”

“And traditions are meant to be broken.” Izuku deadpanned. “I’ll just take some blood from you and mix it in some water.”

Toshinori deflated into his normal form again, pouting a bit as he did so. He looked at the hair in his hand, before shoving it into his pocket, wanting to make sure that there was no chance of anybody else getting OFA. “Alright, Young Midoriya. We’ll do it your way.”

“Mo? Can you make me a syringe?” Izuku questioned.

Momo nodded, pushing herself to her feet and moving over beside Izuku and Toshinori. Opening her palm, she created a small syringe as well as some medical equipment to stop the bleeding afterwards. “Would you like me or Izu to draw the blood, or would you prefer to do it yourself, Toshinori?” Momo questioned, holding up the syringe.

“You’re welcome to do it, Young Yaoyorozu.” Toshinori confirmed.

Momo nodded, before cleaning the area in Toshinori arms, and sticking the syringe in. Taking a small amount of blood, she removed the syringe and handed it to Izuku. Taking the other medical equipment she made, she carefully cleaned the wound of blood, before applying the bandaid.

“Thank you, Young Yaoyorozu.” Toshinori said, flexing his arm a bit, as he smiled towards the two teenagers in front of him. “Now, Young Midoriya. Please make sure you don’t share that with anybody else. I don’t know what would happen if it ended up in the wrong hands.”

“Of course, Toshi.” Izuku responded. “I planned on drinking it right now.” Izuku picked up an unused water bottle, cracked open the top, and squirted the syringe full of blood into the bottle. “Well… Here goes nothing.” Izuku said, before bringing the water bottle up to his lips and downing it in one go. Once Izuku was finished, he shivered a bit. “Okay, that was still disgusting.”

“You think blood is disgusting, Izuku?” Himiko questioned from where she was now sitting.

“Of course not, Himiko.” Izuku responded instantly as he turned around. “But imagine that any blood you drank was watered down fifty to one.” Izuku explained, causing Himiko to almost gag on reflex. “Exactly my point.” Izuku turned towards Toshinori. “When do you think OFA will take effect?”

Toshinori hummed in thought. “I’m not sure. When I ate my master’s hair, it took a few hours. With you taking my blood and mixing it with water, my guess would be how fast the water processes through you.”

“So anywhere between thirty minutes and two hours.” Izuku nodded. “Do you want us to get back to training?”

“No.” Toshinori responded. “I think you three deserve the rest of the afternoon off.”

“Awesome!” Himiko jumped up to her feet, already running to grab her stuff. “Can’t wait to read my new book!”

Izuku shook his head with a small smile. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Because we already know what to expect from Himiko.” Momo responded. “Let’s get cleaned up so we can read a bit.” Momo leaned in and gave Izuku a quick kiss, lingering for a moment, before pulling away from him on her way to the changerooms.

Toshinori shook his head with a small smile. “As soon as you feel OFA, please give me a call. Do not attempt to use it without me being here.”

“How will I know what OFA feels like?” Izuku questioned.

“Trust me, you’ll know.”

“What are we reading today?” Izuku questioned as he moved into the bed beside Momo. They were both wearing their pajamas, not having any plans on going out for the rest of the day, wanting to spend their time reading instead.

“I was thinking of starting a new series.” Momo said, before covering her mouth with a yawn. “But I just felt a wave of tiredness hit me.”

Izuku responded with his own yawn, covering his mouth. “I didn’t think training was that intense today.” Izuku responded, before chuckling. “How about a nap first?”

“I could totally-” Momo had to cover her mouth again as a yawn passed through her. “-go for a nap.”

“Me too.” Izuku responded, shuffling down a bit on the bed, Momo mirroring him. He threw his arm around Momo’s midsection and pulled her close to his chest. “Just a quick nap before dinner.” Izuku said sleepily. He heard Momo humming in affirmative before completely passing out.

Izuku blinked a few times before looking around to see where he was. It felt like a dream, but at the same time, nothing like a dream. He could see a big yellow glowing orb in the sky, similar to a sun that was much too close to the earth. He saw multiple smaller orbs circling around and passing through the larger orb in the sky, but one of them was much bigger than the others. He focused on the orb, being deep red in color, as it circled around the larger orb without ever passing through it.

“What is this place?” Izuku questioned quietly as he looked around again before landing on another person in his dream. “Momo?” Izuku questioned.

“Izuku?” Momo called out, turning around at the sound of his voice. They quickly closed the distance between each other, grabbing the other in a hug. “Where are we, Izu?” Momo questioned as she looked up into the sky. “And what are those?”

“I don’t know.” Izuku responded, following her line of sight to the orbs again.

“This is unexpected.” Another voice called out from behind them, causing them both to whip their heads around. “We didn’t think we’d reach this stage so quickly.”

“Who are you?” Izuku questioned.

“I go by En, or Sixth.” En responded simply.

“Sixth?” Izuku questioned while racking his brain for information before he snapped his fingers. “You’re a previous user!”

“Correct.” En replied.

“But where are we?” Izuku questioned, looking around again. “And why is Momo here?”

“You’re inside One for All. It has successfully transferred to you.” En replied before pointing towards Momo. “We’re unsure why she is here, but that’s not the strangest part.” En pointed towards the orb in the sky, causing Izuku and Momo to look up towards it. “The big orb represents the Stockpile, or the strength of One for All as Toshinori referred to it. The smaller orbs are the quirks that are located within One for All, except for one.” En pointed towards the deep red orb. “It would appear that orb is Creation.”

“My quirk?” Momo questioned, looking up at the orb again. “But why is my quirk here?”

“We are unsure, but our theory is that OFA has successfully transferred to both of you, which is why she is here and why her quirk is mingling with the Stockpile.” En explained.

“Wait, if it successfully transferred to both of us, does that mean we’ll both be able to use it?” Izuku questioned.

“It’s just a theory, but yes. It would appear that you’ll both be able to use OFA in some capacity.” En responded. “And not only that, but because Creation is successfully mingling with OFA, there’s a chance you’ll be able to use Creation as well.”

“I don’t understand.” Izuku responded, looking confusedly at En.

“Neither do we.” En responded. “We’ll need some more time to look into this.” The ground they were standing on suddenly shook violently. “We don’t have much time.” En explained. “We’re unsure of the reason, but during the transfer, there’s been a mental block put on the Stockpile.” The ground shook violently once more. “We’re out of time.” En explained. “You’ll be able to use my quirk, Smokescreen, but it’s been strengthened by OFA since I’ve had it. We don’t know what is different about it, just that it appears more powerful. Good luck, Ninth. We’ll be waiting for you to visit us again.”

“But I have more questions!” Izuku yelled out before the ground seemingly vanished from beneath them.

“IZUKU!” Momo yelled out, hugging tightly to Izuku as they fell through the void.

“HOLD ON, MOMO!” Izuku responded.

Both of them squeezed their eyes shut as they hugged the other close, quickly approaching the white light at the bottom of their fall, expecting an impact that never came.

Izuku and Momo both bolted up in bed, holding each other tightly and panting as if they’d been falling towards their death. “What happened?” Momo questioned quietly, looking towards Izuku.

“I don’t know.” Izuku responded. “Did you see En?”

“Yes.” Momo responded. “And I was inside OFA with you, where he explained the orbs in the sky, how Creation is mingling with OFA, and how you’ll be unlocking Smokescreen.”

“So it wasn’t a dream…” Izuku said quietly.

“Izu…” Momo said, pulling away from Izuku and looking down towards her chest. “I can feel… something… inside my chest.”

“I feel it too.” Izuku admitted, looking at his chest and rubbing where he thought it was. “I’ve never felt something like this before.” Izuku looked back up towards Momo. “It has to be OFA. I need to call Toshi.”

“What time is it?” Momo questioned, looking at her side table where a digital clock sat, seeing the time. “Izu, it’s early morning.” Momo stated.

“What?” Izuku questioned, looking at Momo’s clock, confirming it was early morning. “We missed dinner…” Izuku said sadly.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Momo asked with a small smile. “Not what just happened?”

“I mean, yeah?” Izuku responded a bit sheepishly. “You can’t tell me you aren’t hungry.”

“I’m not-” Momo started off before she was interrupted by her stomach growling in hunger, causing Izuku to look down towards it. Momo brought her hands up to her face, falling back into the bed, whining. “That is so embarrassing!”

Izuku chuckled at her antics before climbing up to her and moving her hands away, leaning down and kissing her. “Let’s go get some food. I know I’m starving.”

Momo looked up into Izuku’s shining eyes, smiling back at him. “Only if you’re cooking.”

“Are the chefs not awake this early?” Izuku questioned seriously. Momo shook her head, indicating that they weren’t. “Well, I have no problem cooking, but you’ll have to help me.”

“Sounds like a deal.” Momo responded.

“Good morning, Young Midoriya!” Toshinori answered over the phone. Izuku and Momo had waited until later in the morning to give Toshinori a call. The feeling they had in their chests have been slowly decreasing, but if one searched for it, one could easily find it.

“Good morning, Toshi.” Izuku responded. “Something happened with OFA. When’s the soonest you can get here?”

“Is it serious?” Toshinori questioned with some worry in his voice. “Did something happen with the transfer? I felt OFA leave me after I left.”

“It’s not serious, per se?” Izuku questioned, looking at Momo, who shrugged in response. “Just something… different happened. It’s hard to explain over the phone.”

“Very well, Young Midoriya. I’ll start making my way over now.” Toshinori responded, before hanging up the phone, not allowing Izuku to respond.

“Did he mention when he would be here?” Momo questioned as Izuku hung up the phone. They were both sitting in Momo’s room again after having an early breakfast. Training wasn’t scheduled to start for another hour at the earliest, so they figured calling Toshinori would be the wisest course of action to take.

“No.” Izuku responded. “He never mentioned a time. It could be anywhere between now and when training starts.” Izuku put his phone down, lying back down on the bed. “Let’s go over what we remember from what En told us last night.”

Momo laid down beside him. “Do you think OFA pulled us into that dream-like state last night? The timing would line up almost perfectly, and we both fell asleep around the same time.”

“It's as good an explanation as any.” Izuku confirmed. “We both felt a sudden tiredness overwhelm us at the same time, and we both fell asleep not long after, waking up in that place together.”

“But does that explain why I would have been transferred OFA too?” Momo questioned. “I thought it could only be transferred between one person to the next.”

“I would suspect that’s what Toshi thought, and based on what En said last night, what the previous holders thought as well.” Izuku hummed in thought. “But you never had any of the water that had Toshi’s blood in it. I downed it completely to make sure.”

“I kissed you…” Momo said quietly with wide eyes, causing Izuku to look towards her. “Right after you finished it, I kissed you.” Momo explained.

“Do you think it’s possible that’s how you got traces of Toshi’s DNA?” Izuku questioned.

“It’s the only explanation to how I could have OFA, and how we saw my quirk mingling with the Stockpile.” Momo responded. “What was the quirk that En said you’d be able to use?” Momo questioned, pulling up one of her tablets.

“I believe En said it was called Smokescreen.” Izuku answered, moving to sit beside Momo.

Momo pulled up the public hero database that listed all current and past heroes and their quirks, typing in the words Smokescreen, and letting the results populate the screen. “Here we go.” Momo stated, clicking on one of the links. “En was a pro hero that wasn’t largely known in Japan, as his quirk was considered somewhat on the weaker side of quirks.” Momo explained. “It’s said that Smokescreen was mostly used for obstructing views and distracting criminals or villains during confrontations. It’s stated that En suffered a fatal injury, in which he was pronounced dead on the battlefield after facing a stronger villain. No information has been released about the villain he faced.”

“En said that Smokescreen has been strengthened by OFA.” Izuku spoke, holding out his hand and looking at it as if he could summon the smoke himself. “I wonder what changed?”

Both teenagers paused in what they were doing as they heard a knock on Momo’s door. Momo indicated that the door was open, and a moment later, Toshinori walked through the door and stood at the foot of the bed, looking towards the two teenagers.

“Hello Young Midoriya, Young Yaoyorozu.” Toshinori greeted. “I'm sorry I took so long to make it here.”

“Nonsense, Toshi.” Izuku responded. “I told you it wasn’t serious.”

“If it’s not serious, can you explain what happened?” Toshinori questioned.

Izuku looked over towards Momo, getting a nod in encouragement, before Izuku let out a sigh. “The transfer was successful, and I can feel something sitting right here.” Izuku motioned towards his chest.

“That would appear to be OFA. I remember a similar feeling when I first received it.” Toshinori confirmed. “Is that what you were worried about?”

“Well, no.” Izuku responded. “You see, OFA was successfully transferred to me, but it was also successfully transferred to Momo.”

Toshinori looked confused for a second, looking towards Momo. “Are you saying that you have a similar feeling of power within your chest, Young Yaoyorozu?”

“Yes.” Momo answered honestly.

“How is this possible?” Toshinori questioned, bringing his hand up to his chin in thought. “As far as I know, OFA can only be transferred from one person to the next.”

“That’s what we suspected you thought as well.” Momo clarified. “So we did some thinking on the matter. After Izuku added your blood to the water bottle yesterday, we think that some of the DNA could have possibly transferred to me when…” Momo blushed and looked away. “When I kissed him after.”

Toshinori looked at Momo with wide eyes who continued to look away, before looking towards Izuku and receiving a nod. “I… didn’t think that was possible.” Toshinori said quietly, before finding a chair to sit on.

“Neither did the previous users.” Izuku mentioned, causing Toshinori to whip his head towards him.

“You met the previous users? Was Nana there?” Toshinori questioned quickly.

Izuku shook his head a bit sadly. “No, we only met one previous user, by the name of En.”

“Oh…” Toshinori responded a bit sadly. “En was Nana’s master, I believe.”

“So that’s not the strange part.” Izuku explained, getting Toshinori to look up towards him. “En informed us that, during the transfer, there’s been a mental block put on the Stockpile.”

“So you won’t be able to use One for All?” Toshinori asked a bit worriedly.

“Not exactly.” Izuku responded. “En didn’t have time to explain what happened, but informed us that I’d be able to use Smokescreen, En’s quirk.” Izuku explained. “But that’s not all. Because OFA has transferred to Momo as well, her quirk, Creation, is also mingling with OFA, which is why En believes I should be able to use Creation too.”

Toshinori looked at the two teenagers in shock, before shaking his head and putting it into his hands. “Is it too early to have a drink?”

“Toshinori, the sun isn’t even in the sky yet.” Momo responded.

“So I can still consider it yesterday’s drink.” Toshinori stated. He raised his head up from his hand, seeing the looks the teenagers were giving him. “I’m joking, I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since my injury. My body doesn’t react well to not having a stomach.” With two sets of ‘Oh’ ringing out within the room, Toshinori smiled before getting to his feet. “Well, let’s see what this Smokescreen is all about, and how OFA is affecting Young Yaoyorozu.”

“Alright, so I’m not sure how to activate Smokescreen as I’ve never used it or seen it used myself.” Toshinori explained. “I would suspect that you just imagine pushing smoke out of your hand, so why don’t we try there?”

“I can do that.” Izuku responded. Izuku, Momo, Himiko, and Toshinori were standing outside the Yaoyorozu Estate in one of the training rings that were built on the property. Momo, Himiko, and Toshinori were standing to the side, while Izuku was standing in the middle facing away from them. Taking a deep breath, Izuku closed his eyes and imagined shooting smoke out of his hands. He concentrated for a few moments, trying everything and anything to summon Smokescreen without any luck. Slumping his shoulders, he dropped his arms and turned around. “It’s not working.”

Momo walked forward, taking Izuku’s hand and turning him back around, facing the back of the property. “How about I explain how I summon Creation, and you can try adapting it to Smokescreen?” Momo questioned. Izuku nodded, smiling up at Momo. “We’ve already been over how Creation works, so I’m just going to explain how I summon the objects.” Momo explained, holding out her hand palm up. “Plus, if you are eventually able to use Creation, it might come in handy regardless.” Izuku nodded, encouraging her to continue.

“When I want to create from a certain section of my body, I have to focus on that specific part, and imagine that I am pushing the Creation from within.” Momo demonstrated by activating her quirk in her palm and pushing a matryoshka doll that looked exactly like Izuku looked currently. “With enough practice, I was able to create from anywhere on my body without having to think about it.” Momo demonstrated by holding up her other hand and creating another matryoshka doll that looked exactly like her.

“Okay.” Izuku said excitedly. “Let me try that.” Momo was about to step back when Izuku grabbed her hand, keeping her beside him. “Stay here with me?” Izuku questioned, to which Momo smiled and nodded in response, standing beside him. “Okay, imagine the smoke coming out of my hand.” Izuku concentrated again, thinking about how he wanted to push Smokescreen out of his hand. He focused on his palm facing away from him, and imagined pushing Smokescreen out from his palm and into the air in front of him. Hearing a sharp intake of breath caused Izuku to open his eyes to see a cloud of purple smoke in front of him. “I did it?” Izuku questioned, before looking at Momo and getting a nod in response. “I did it!” He moved forward and hugged Momo, picking her off the ground and twirling her a second, before placing her back down. “Thanks, Mo.” Izuku reached up and gave Momo a kiss, causing her to giggle against his lips.

“You’re welcome, Izu.” Momo reached down and kissed him again.

Hearing a cough from behind them, Izuku and Momo split up and turned around, finding Toshinori looking away awkwardly while Himiko was watching them with a genuine smile. “Dammit, Toshinori!” Himiko exclaimed, looking up at the skeleton man beside her. “You ruined the show!” Izuku and Momo blushed, taking a step away from each other.

“Anyways.” Toshinori cleared his throat again, looking towards Izuku. “It’s good you’ve managed to summon Smokescreen. Now you just have to practice using it for the entrance exam in two weeks.”

Izuku nodded, looking back over towards Momo. “Do you think you’ll be able to use Smokescreen too?”

“I don’t know…” Momo answered honestly. “But I’m willing to try.”

“Okay!” Izuku said a bit excitedly, causing Momo to giggle at him again. “Let me explain how I did it.” Izuku took a few moments explaining how he finally managed to summon Smokescreen, demonstrating by doing it again, and within a few moments, Momo was pushing out a similar colored smoke. “Yes!”

Momo looked down at her hand in amazement. “It feels so similar, but yet so different from Creation.” Momo exclaimed before looking up at Izuku. “If I can use Smokescreen, do you think you’ll be able to use Creation?”

“Only one way to find out!” Izuku said excitedly. “Can I hold one of the matryoshka dolls that you created?” Momo nodded, handing him the one of her and causing him to smile. Holding the Momo-matryoshka doll in one hand, he held out his other hand and imagined creating the doll.

“It might take a few tries for you to figure out.” Momo explained. “When I first started using Creation, it took me quite a while before I knew how to make a matryoshka doll from scratch, and even longer to create one with designs on it.”

“Okay.” Izuku responded, before concentrating on the matryoshka doll in his hand. He closed his eyes, imagining what the molecular structure of the doll was, before he imagined pushing the doll out of his other hand. His plan was to create one that looked similar to the one Momo made, but instead of what the design was now, it was Momo in her pajamas from earlier. Hearing a sharp intake of breath, Izuku opened his eyes and found the Momo-matryoshka doll in his hand wearing the same pajamas from this morning. “That seemed a lot easier than what you explained.” Izuku commented.

“It did seem a lot easier.” Momo mused, looking at the matryoshka doll of her in her pajamas as she picked it up. “It would appear the one you made is the exact copy of what I made, but with a different design.” Momo looked back towards Izuku in question, finding him watching her. “How did you imagine creating it?”

“I saw how you created the first one, and just imagined creating the exact same thing but with your pajamas instead.” Izuku admitted. “It would appear Creation did the rest.”

“Do you feel any amount of tiredness from Creation?” Momo questioned. “Similar to how I do when I over-create?”

“Nothing.” Izuku responded honestly. “When I was creating, it felt like I was pulling the power directly from OFA.”

Momo hummed, inspecting the doll. “Can you try creating a staff, like one I normally use?”

Izuku nodded, holding out his hand and imagined creating a staff similar to what Momo normally used. He felt Creation take hold in his hand, pushing out the staff from his hand, grabbing it before it could fall. He handed the staff to Momo, taking the matryoshka dolls from her in return.

“Interesting.” Momo commented as she looked over the staff. “It would appear that OFA is powering Creation somehow. Not only that, but it would appear that if I understand how to make something, it allows you to make it as well.” Momo placed the staff beside her, before turning back to Izuku. “I want you to try something a bit more complex, and a bit larger.” Izuku nodded, excited to see what Momo had in mind. “I want you to create a net gun, one they use for hunting smaller animals. You might have to create it from your stomach or leg to be able to finish the creation.”

Izuku nodded, and instantly pulled off his shirt. He noticed Momo look down towards his toned stomach and bite her lip a bit, causing him to smile. “You’re drooling, Mo.” Izuku teased again, causing Momo to blush and look up towards Izuku’s eyes. “Alright, attempting to make the net gun.” Izuku winked towards Momo, causing her blush to intensify.

He closed his eyes and imagined creating the net gun, the handle coming out first. He felt the quirk take hold, and when he felt the handle pop out of his stomach, reached down to grab it. He slowly guided the net gun out like he’s seen Momo do thousands of times throughout the years, successfully pulling out the net gun and opening his eyes. Izuku smiled at the net gun, inspecting it by turning it over, before handing it to Momo.

Momo hummed in thought, inspecting the net gun like Izuku just had. She looked at one of the training dummies at the other end of the arena. With the net gun raised up to her eye taking aim, Momo attempted to shoot the net gun, successfully shooting a net towards the dummy and trapping it. “And you aren’t tired from creating this, Izu?” Momo asked, while Izuku shook his head. “So my theory of Creation being powered by OFA is correct, and you’re able to create anything that I know the molecular structure of. I wonder if it works both ways?”

“We got two weeks to practice!” Izuku said excitedly. “Why don’t we get started?” He looked back towards Toshinori and Himiko who were still watching them. “Any objections?” Himiko shook her head no, already knowing that Izuku and Momo would be practicing anyway.

“None from me, Young Midoriya. My only request is that you both take it slow when learning how OFA is affecting both of you, with Smokescreen and Creation.” Toshinori stated. “I will be dropping by in the afternoons to see how progress is coming along for the next two weeks. I’m sure you both can figure out ways to use your quirks beyond even my comprehension.”

“Thank you, Toshi.” Izuku said. “We’ll call you if anything else important happens.”

Chapter Text

Two weeks seemed to fly by in an instant for the three teenagers. Izuku and Momo had focused on perfecting their new quirks, while Himiko had continuously trained with, against, or beside them. With training taking up most of their time, it felt like only a day had passed before they were getting ready to take the UA entrance exam.

Not long after Izuku had started practicing with Smokescreen, he realized what En meant about how his quirk may have changed during their visit to the vestige realm. Toshinori had provided them with official Hero Commission records for En, and Izuku and Momo had studied them thoroughly, trying to figure out how En had used Smokescreen when he was a pro hero. They found out how much Smokescreen was actually enhanced, and because of their findings, Izuku had dubbed his new quirk ‘Smoke’.

After much trial and error, Izuku and Momo quickly found out that Smoke not only produced smoke, but also allowed them to manipulate it in a multitude of ways. Izuku had successfully changed the color of the smoke from purple to multiple different colors, but always returned to green, one of his favorite colors. He also found out he could change the properties of the Smoke, allowing him to manipulate it into different types of gas as long as he knew what the molecular structure of said gas was. He named this Smoke Modification, or Smoke Mod for short.

One of the many ways he thought of using Smoke was compressing it within his hands, allowing him to release it where he wanted and propel him forward. He found this worked very well to increase his movement, once he got the timing down correctly. He could also use it somewhat like a secondary jump, releasing a huge burst of Smoke below him, propelling him upwards or forwards either faster or further. He named these new moves Smoke Thrusters and Smoke Jump.

It wasn’t long after that Momo had figured out they could use Smoke like a smoke grenade, compressing a considerable amount of Smoke into an orb, throwing it and releasing the hold of the orb. She also considered changing the density of the smoke, and when Izuku had tried to attack through the smoke it felt like he was fighting in water or tar, limiting his movements while in the smoke. Momo brainstormed about using Smoke to make a staff, but no matter how many times they tried, the Smoke Staff wouldn’t hold up longer than a few hits. Izuku thought that with more training, he could create Smoke constructs, allowing him to make weapons and other solid items that he could use. He called these two moves Smoke Grenade and Solid Smoke.

When Izuku had been training with Smoke against Himiko, he found that he could detect her movements within the smoke, allowing him to predict her movements the closer she was to him. He also figured out during their fights that he could move very quickly through the smoke, seemingly almost teleporting without disrupting the smoke around him. Momo had mentioned that he could have been changing into Smoke as he moved, but it didn’t feel like he was. After Momo had tried it a few times herself, she agreed. It was good for landing sneak attacks against his opponents, and allowed him to win more than a few fights against Himiko. He named these two new moves Smoke Sensory and Smoke Dash.

Izuku felt he needed something for close range attacks, and his first thought instantly went into coating his arms and legs with Smoke, giving him something akin to a second skin. He found that with Smoke activated as a second skin, his punches were more powerful and he felt less strain from attacks against him. Momo and Himiko had both tried to attack or grab him with his Smoke second skin activated, and quickly found out how slippery his arms actually were, allowing their attacks to slide right off or miss completely. Momo had managed to catch his arm one time during one of their fights, confirming that it wasn't full protection from outside attacks. He had considered how Smoke felt along his body during this, and named this move Smoke Cowl.

One of the last things that Izuku and Momo had tried with Smoke were long range attacks. Compressing Smoke into a tight orb and throwing it like a ball or beanbag allowed the Smoke to impact something or someone and cause minimal damage while also releasing the smoke around the impact point. It was good for distracting enemies at long range until he could get in close and take them down directly. The smaller shots would damage similarly to being hit by a BB, while the larger shots would be similar to being hit by a beanbag. The larger the shots got, the slower they moved, meaning they became ineffective after a certain size. Considering how he shot these smoke pellets forward, he called this move Smoke Shot.

Over the two weeks of practice, both Izuku and Momo had trained these moves with the help of Himiko. It got to the point where both of them could do almost everything flawlessly, with the only difference being the usual color of their smoke. Izuku would continuously use green colored smoke, while Momo preferred to keep hers red colored.

Outside of training with Smoke, Izuku and Momo worked on how Creation was improved. They found out Izuku could create anything that Momo knew the molecular structure of, similar to what they discovered on the first day, but it also worked vice versa. If Izuku knew the molecular structure of something, and Momo didn’t, Momo could also create it. One of the coolest features they had discovered about Creation was that it would keep a ‘snapshot’ of what either one had created before, allowing them to re-create the items faster and without thought of what the molecular structures were.

Izuku also figured out that Creation could now ‘copy’ whatever he was holding, even if he didn’t know the molecular structure. It wouldn’t allow him to recreate the item later on, but he could make an exact replica if he was holding or touching the item itself. After a full day of training with Creation, Momo had realized that Creation wasn’t using as many lipids as it was before, instead using OFA as a power source. Momo had commented about how she was able to use Creation throughout the day without having to replenish her lipids through calorie intake.

When fighting against Momo with Creation one day, Izuku had accidentally stopped whatever he was creating halfway through, and ended up pulling the creation back into himself. Momo was amazed and mentioned that she hadn’t been able to do that before. The next few hours were spent just experimenting on creating items and pulling them back within themselves. They found out early on that if the item was fully created that they wouldn’t be able to pull it back within themselves. It still presented the opportunity of creating something like a net gun that stayed attached and fired, before pulling the remaining matter back into themselves.

Outside of training with Smoke and Creation, Izuku and Momo both helped Himiko with her quirk. Her need for blood drastically dropped over the months of training, and while she didn’t need it as often, she still enjoyed taking blood from Izuku or Momo every night.

When Izuku had asked Himiko about using her quirk, she mentioned that she didn’t know what it did. After some thinking and asking Himiko to attempt a few things that were similar to other blood quirks, they figured out she could transform into a perfect replica of a person minus their memories. Over the two weeks, they had tested different limits of how much blood Himiko would need for the transformations, how long they would last, and how long the blood she drank lingered within her.

The first time Himiko had transformed into Izuku, she had stayed as him until the transformation ran out, saying it felt like she was closer to the person she loved. It was a similar experience when she transformed into Momo. The three of them had fallen into laughter when Toshinori or one of their parents had seen two Izukus or two Momos standing around or fighting among themselves.

The three of them had quickly found out the downside of Himiko transforming into one of them when she had first transformed back into herself. Izuku had to look away in embarrassment when Himiko had come out of the transformation in nothing but her birthday suit. They determined that if Himiko was going to use Transform often to either keep a change of clothes on or around her at all times, or have some clothes made with her DNA so that they weren’t destroyed every single time.

At the end of the ten hellish months, the three teenagers were happy with the results of their training. While Izuku had focused more on muscle, Momo had focused on something between more muscle and flexibility, while Himiko had focused strictly on mobility and flexibility. As the three of them went to sleep the night before the entrance exam, they were all confident that they’d do well during the practical.

“We’re finally here…” Izuku said in wonder as the trio stood outside the gate of UA. They had arrived early to make sure they had enough time to find where they were supposed to go, considering Momo would be taking the recommendation exam while Izuku and Himiko were taking the general hero exam.

“We can’t stand out here all day, Izu.” Momo smiled at her boyfriend. “Or else we’ll never take the entrance exam.”

Izuku shook himself out of it before looking towards Momo and returning her smile. “I know, but it’s just so amazing to finally be here.” Izuku commented as he pulled Momo along with him into UA.

“It’s just a school to me.” Himiko shrugged in response. “I don’t see the- Whoa!” Instead of watching where she was going, Himiko was looking at the couple and tripped over a loose stone in the path.

“Himiko!” Izuku and Momo yelled at the same time as they took a step forward, but paused when Himiko started floating a few centimeters from the ground.

“I’m sorry!” A brown-haired girl called out standing right beside Himiko. “I didn’t mean to use my quirk on you without asking, but it’s a bad omen to trip and fall!” The girl rotated Himiko, who was too stunned to speak, so that she was floating the proper way up. “Release!” The girl called out before Himiko felt her gravity being returned to her, landing on her feet.

“Thank you for helping my sister.” Momo responded, smiling towards the girl.

“It was no problem!” The brown-haired girl responded with her own smile. “This sure is nerve wracking.” The girl giggled before waving to them. “I need to find my testing center, so best of luck to all of us!”

“Good luck! See you on the other side!” Izuku called out as the girl walked away from them. Izuku walked up to a stunned Himiko watching the brown-haired girl leave. “You didn’t ask for her name.”

“Wha-?” Himiko responded before looking towards Izuku. “Dammit…”

“Maybe we’ll see her after the exam finishes?” Izuku questioned, seeing the hope return to Himiko’s eyes.

“I hope so!” Himiko said with a genuine smile before turning towards the two teenagers. “Did you see how cute she was? She left me speechless!”

“She was.” Izuku admitted honestly, hearing Momo clear her throat beside him, causing him to look towards her. “What? You can’t deny that she wasn’t.”

Momo glared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes and smiling at Izuku. “I’ll admit, she was cute.” She looked towards Himiko. “I don’t think we’ve seen you speechless since you came home.”

“I just…” Himiko blushed and looked towards the entrance of the building in front of them. “I’ve been thinking more about trying to find someone, especially after seeing how happy you two are.” Himiko admitted quietly.

Izuku gave a quick look to Momo, who nodded in response. They split from their hand holding, moving up behind Himiko and each circling an arm around her. “Maybe if we hurry, we’ll be able to catch her before the exam starts?”

“Okay!” Himiko said excitedly, circling her arms around Izuku and Momo, guiding them forwards. “Let’s goooooooo!” Izuku and Momo laughed as they were dragged along by Himiko.

Izuku stood at the starting line for the practical exam. He was hoping to have seen Momo or Himiko to wish them good luck on the practical, but it would appear that they were all in different testing areas for the written exam. Izuku looked over at the other students he was standing with, noticing that the amount of people around him appeared to be on the lower side compared to what he had read on the internet. He thought nothing of it, considering he had been guided to this testing area by one of Ectoplasm’s clones, and told to wait until his name was called to perform the obstacle course in front of him.

Ectoplasm had explained the obstacle course to the examinees in detail, answering any questions in which they had. The course itself seemed pretty straight forward, testing both agility and responsiveness to the obstacles laid out before them. The final test in the obstacle course was to save one of Ectoplasm’s clones from whatever danger they were in, and if the clone had melted, the test would be considered an automatic failure. Izuku thought it was kind of harsh for the general exam, but when he considered how UA was the best hero school in all of Japan, it seemed to make sense.

When it was finally Izuku’s turn to run the course, the Ectoplasm clone counted down from three and started the timer, allowing Izuku to shoot forward with Smoke Thrusters. He quickly found the first obstacle to be a piece of cake, skipping around a few cars and vaulting over others. Over the course of the first obstacle, Izuku came into contact with a bunch of robots, which were easily taken care of using a Smoke Shot or a Smoke Grenade. For the robots that were close enough to hinder his path, Izuku activated Smoke Cowl and punched them in critical parts of their legs, essentially shutting them down due to critical injury.

Continuing through to the second, Izuku could spot multiple different terrains throughout the obstacle. One appeared to be a river flowing through the area, with what appeared to be unstable footholds along the surface of the water. Another appeared to be some sort of rockpile that would appear at the bottom of a rockslide, full of unstable footholds and other grabholds to increase the difficulty in getting across. Finally, the last appeared to be a dense forest terrain where Izuku knew that he would definitely get injured if he didn’t take his time through it. Large trees, fallen logs, and other obstacles throughout the area made him exercise caution through the final terrain obstacle. Smoke Thrusters and Smoke Jump came in quite handy throughout the second obstacle, allowing him to clear it quite quickly.

Reaching the third and final obstacle, Izuku took a second to plan out his course of action. He spotted multiple robots closing in on an Ectoplasm clone that appeared to be trapped under some rubble. Thinking quickly as he approached, and taking aim with multiple Smoke Shots within his hands, he fired them towards critical parts of the robots. Most would pause in their approach, being blinded by the Smoke Grenades that were released around them. The larger ones would continue pushing through the Smoke, seemingly unaffected, causing Izuku to think of another plan.

Using Creation, Izuku summoned a staff out of his hand, grabbing it and rushing towards the bigger robots. Slamming the staff into the joints quickly caused the robots to shut down, simulating critical injuries. As the smoke started to disperse from the smaller robots, Izuku released a massive blast of Smoke around him, leaving the area around the clone itself clear of all smoke. This confused the smaller robots, and allowed Izuku to carefully remove the rubble from the clone, putting it over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and successfully removing him from the area.

As Izuku crossed the finish line, the clone congratulated Izuku, giving him his time from his starting point to when he crossed the finish line with the clone. Even though Izuku was impressed with the time he was given, he knew that it could possibly be beaten by the other students, lowering his chances of getting accepted into UA’s Heroic Course. The clone informed him that he would learn his placing when all the other students had run the course, and escorted him towards the next area where other students who had finished the obstacle course waited.

“Momo?” Izuku questioned, noticing Momo sitting in one of the chairs talking with someone beside her. Momo looked over towards Izuku, giving him a smile and waving him over. As Izuku approached, he realized that Momo was talking with a familiar face. “Hello Iida, it’s good to see you again.”

“Midoriya! I didn’t realize you were taking the recommendation exam!” Iida exclaimed with a few chops.

“But…” Izuku looked towards Momo, finding her looking away in embarrassment. “I was supposed to take the general exam.” Momo took a quick look at him before looking away again. “Mo…”

“I’m sorry, Izu.” Momo admitted, slumping her shoulders and looking back towards him. “When I signed up for the exams, I put your name under the recommendation exam, with Midnight as the hero who recommended you.”

“Why?” Izuku questioned, still looking at Momo.

“Because I knew you would pass it.” Momo explained before looking down. “Are you mad at me?”

Izuku took a seat beside Momo, putting his arm around her and pulling her into a hug. “I’ve told you before that I could never be mad at you, Mo.” Izuku explained. “But I didn’t want to take the recommendation exam because I wanted other students that were more deserving to have a chance.”

“You deserve it more than most.” Momo said quietly so that only the two of them could hear. “You’ve wanted to be a hero since we were kids, and look how you saved Himiko.” Momo pulled out of the hug, looking Izuku in the eyes. “I wanted to make sure you had every chance possible to get into UA, and if you don’t pass the recommendation exam within the top six, you’ll still have the opportunity to take the general hero exam.”

Izuku nodded, closing his eyes tightly to dispel the Midoriya tears, before allowing a small smile to grace his face. “Thanks, Mo.” Izuku said quietly before feeling Momo kiss him. After the quick kiss, they were silent for a few moments until Izuku opened his eyes and found they were alone, Iida having left them. “How did you get Midnight to recommend me?” He questioned.

“It wasn’t hard.” Momo giggled, leaning into Izuku more as he wrapped an arm around her. “Midnight is actually somehow related to Mother, either second or third cousins, and often visits us during the holidays.”

“She does?” Izuku questioned curiously.

“Yeah. Remember Auntie Nem?” Momo questioned in return.

“Auntie Nem, as in Nemuri Kayama.” Izuku closed his eyes, releasing a sigh. “How did I not notice before?”

“Because Auntie Nem tries to keep her hero persona away from her personal life.” Momo explained. “She claims that people pass her on the street all the time when she’s not in costume.”

Izuku hummed in thought for a moment, processing the information Momo just told him. “If Midnight recommended me, who recommended you?”

“Best Jeanist.” Momo responded. “Father is in partnership with Best Jeanist on his clothing brand. When Best Jeanist was setting up his brand years ago, Father was one of the first investors, bringing in quality fibers for him to use. Eventually one thing led to another, and Best Jeanist made an offer of partnership, and Father accepted.” Momo explained. “So when I found out that Auntie Nem couldn’t recommend me because she’s family, Father asked Best Jeanist, and he happily agreed.”

“Examinees, please report to the testing building for your results. I repeat. Examinees, please report to the testing building for your results.”

“That’s us.” Momo said, pulling out of Izuku’s hug, standing up and holding out her hand. “Let’s go see where we placed.”

Walking hand in hand, Izuku and Momo walked towards the testing building where they had written their exams. They both had spotted Tenya making his way towards the testing building looking stiff as ever, as well as Shoto who didn’t look any indifferent to being at UA. When they had arrived at the end of the pack, Izuku and Momo noticed some students running out of the building, following the signs that indicated where the general exam would be taking place.

“Izu…” Momo said quietly, looking up towards the screen above all the other students. Izuku followed her look, finding the top of the list and reading down.

“Inasa Yoarashi, declined. Shoto Todoroki, accepted. Setsuna Tokage, accepted. Momo Yaoyorozu, awaiting response. Izuku Midoriya, awaiting response. Juzo Honenuki, accepted. Jurota Shishida, accepted.” Izuku read out before the two of them looked at each other with wide eyes and smiles growing. “Come on!” Izuku called out, pulling Momo forward with him.

“Izuku Midoriya.” Ectoplasm spoke up as they approached before looking towards Momo beside him. “Momo Yaoyorozu. Would you like to accept the recommendation placement?”

“Yes!” Izuku and Momo responded, nodding their heads quickly.

“Thank you for your response. You’ll receive all the information regarding your class placements within the next week. Welcome to UA High.” Ectoplasm stated before clicking a button on a remote.

Izuku and Momo both looked up at the screen above them, showing the six students that had accepted their recommendation placements. Juzo, Setsuna, and Jurota were along the top, while Shoto, Momo, and Izuku were along the bottom. There was a small message indicating that any recommendation examinees would still be given the opportunity to take the general exam, and to follow the provided signs.

“I understand that Himiko Yaoyorozu is taking the general hero exam.” Ectoplasm said, causing both Izuku and Momo to look down towards him. “Accepted recommendation students are allowed to watch the general hero exam if they so please. Would you like to watch from the monitor room?”

Izuku looked at Momo, getting a nod in response, before turning back to Ectoplasm. “Please, if it’s no trouble.”

“There is no trouble in allowing you to watch.” Ectoplasm responded. “Please, follow me.”

Himiko paced back and forth in the starting area of the general exam. She had noticed the brown-haired girl from earlier, and even though the other girl had waved at her, Himiko could not find the courage to go talk with her. Present Mic had announced they were waiting on a few stragglers that had missed the bus, and the exam would start momentarily.

Himiko mentally went over the transformations she had available to her, which weren’t much considering who she interacted with most. Both Izuku and Momo had offered her blood the night before, allowing her to bring two vials with her the day of the exam. She had downed them on the bus ride over, feeling their blood become available for use with Transform.

Himiko considered using Izuku for the whole exam, his muscles allowing him to power through almost anything, but she also had to consider that Momo had carried a few weapons on her when she had donated her blood. Himiko found herself thanking Momo again for looking up the regulations on support items for the general hero exam, feeling the knives sheath around her leg as she paced.

“AND BEGIN!” Himiko heard Present Mic yell as the doors to the mock city opened. Slipping by a few examinees who were looking towards where they thought Present Mic was shouting from, she ran into the city at a full sprint. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THERE’S NO COUNTDOWNS IN REAL LIFE! GO GO GO!”

Himiko blocked out the noises around her, including Present Mic who was still yelling at confused examinees, as she ran through the mock city. She could see robots further into the city, preparing to charge towards the examinees.

Taking out one of her longer knives, she held it in reverse dagger hold. As she passed some of the smaller robots, she would slice where she thought that the joints were in their legs, successfully disabling a few due to critical injury. Himiko smiled as she ran, finally feeling free to let loose. Pulling out another knife she flung it with deadly precision right into the glowing red orbs that appeared to be eyes on one of the larger robots, successfully disabling it, before jumping up and pulling her knife out.

She quickly found herself getting surrounded by robots, and allowing transformation to take effect, Momo appeared where Himiko once stood. Taking the staff off her back Himiko swung it around in practiced movements, hitting the joints of the robots or the red orb-like eyes, quickly disabling them. ‘I gotta ask Momo how she fights like this.’ Himiko thought to herself, before giving her head a shake and focusing on the robots approaching her.

She could hear the other students finally catching up to her, allowing her to stick the staff into the ground and use Transform to change into Izuku. Picking up the staff, she used Izuku’s smaller but stronger body to vault over the remaining robots, hitting a few of them where she suspected the face to be. She smiled back at the carnage she had left before disappearing further into the city.

Himiko noticed out of the corner of her eye, the brown-haired girl was space jumping in a different direction, while tapping robots and removing their gravity. She watched for a moment before shaking herself out of it, deciding to focus on the exam first. As she turned to continue running into the mock city, something in her gut told her that following the brown-haired girl would be a smarter idea. Changing her course, Himiko ran down an alleyway that ran parallel with the street that the other girl had jumped down.

She quickly found the alleyway was infested with robots, causing her to slow her movements a bit as she dealt with them. After demolishing the robots, she continued running down the alleyway. As she ran, she would peek over in the direction she last saw the brown-haired girl and see robots crashing down from the sky, letting her know that she was close.

“TWO MINUTES LEFT!” Present Mic called out from above.

Himiko increased her movements through the alleyway until the rumbling started. She knew something was wrong the instant that the rumbling had lessened, and instead ran towards the street she last saw the brown-haired girl. Getting to the street she found other examinees running in one direction, and when Himiko had looked the other way, she felt her blood run cold.

Quickly approaching the examinees was what Himiko remembered as the Zero Pointer, more an obstacle than something to be destroyed. She quickly looked around the area for the brown-haired girl she followed before, and when Himiko thought she saw the brown-haired girl jumping away with the other examinees, figured that it was time to run.

“Help… Me…” A voice called out, causing Himiko to freeze in her spot, as she recognized who it belonged to. She turned around and tried to locate where the voice had come from before spotting a hand reaching skyward underneath some rubble.

Himiko didn’t have time to think about the best course of action, running forward towards the rubble as the Zero Pointer approached them. “I’ll get you out, just stay still.” Himiko stated in Izuku’s voice, before forcing the staff under the rubble. Himiko knew how strong Momo’s staff was, she just hoped that transform would be able to sustain the pressure and weight of the rubble long enough to get the girl out. “As soon as I lift the rubble, I need you to pull yourself out, can you do that?”

“I think so…” The girl responded. “But I can’t feel my ankle.”

“Okay.” Himiko responded. “Ready?” Hearing a grunt in affirmative, Himiko forced the staff up and lifted the rubble slightly. “GO!”

Hearing a few more grunts, the girl successfully pulled herself out of the rubble. “I’m free!” She called out, causing Himiko to release the staff as it dissolved into sludge in her hands.

“I’m going to pick you up and carry you.” Himiko stated, placing her hands under the brown-haired girl's legs and along her back. Using Izuku’s strong muscles, she pushed them to the absolute limit in getting them out of there. She could feel the burning of her muscles and of Izuku’s muscles through transformation, but no matter how much it hurt, Himiko continued to push through the pain.

“I’m going to remove my gravity!” The brown-haired girl called out before tapping herself with all five fingers. Himiko instantly felt the girl in her arms get much lighter, allowing her to move much quicker. She heard a crash behind her, and forced Izuku’s legs into overdrive. She could feel the eyes of the other examinees watching her as she ran, while also noticing the girl in her arms looking up at her in wonder. “We’re almost out of range!” She quickly said as she took a peak over Himiko’s shoulder.

“AND THAT’S TIME!” Present Mic called out as a buzzer rang throughout the mock city, disabling all the robots around them.

“Thank the Gods.” Himiko said quietly, allowing herself to slow down before dropping to her knees. She placed the brown-haired girl on the ground before allowing transformation to drop. Himiko registered that the girl in front of her said something, but with how hard her heart was pumping and with how her legs felt like they were on fire, she couldn’t focus on the words. “I’m glad you’re okay…” Himiko responded quietly as she closed her eyes and slumped forward, the world around her going black.

Chapter Text

“Himiko?” Izuku questioned as he opened the door that Recovery Girl had directed him to. She told Izuku and Momo that she was notified that they were on their way, and was already waiting by the only door that was closed. Recovery Girl had given them a quick rundown on what happened and why Himiko passed out before telling them to take all the time they needed.

“Hello?” A strange voice called out as Izuku finished opening the door. “Oh! It’s you!” The brown-haired girl greeted them, giving them a small wave from where she sat beside the bed that Himiko was lying in.

Izuku smiled at the girl, followed by Momo who walked into the room behind him. “It’s good to see you again.” Izuku responded. “How is she?” He questioned as they sat down in chairs on the opposite of the bed.

“She hasn’t woken up yet.” The other girl said, looking towards the bed. “I’ve been here since I was cleared. I wanted to thank her.” She looked up towards Izuku. “And thank you? It was you that saved me, but she appeared after some sludge dripped off of her?”

“That would be her quirk.” Momo said, looking towards Himiko. “She’s able to Transform into people under special conditions. She questioned us if she could use our transformations today, and we were more than happy to oblige.” Momo finally looked towards the girl, before she realized something. “My apologies, where are my manners? I’m Momo Yaoyorozu, and this is my boyfriend, Izuku Midoriya.”

“I’m Ochako Uraraka.” Ochako responded. “And you called her your sister, so she must be Himiko Yaoyorozu?” Momo nodded. “She saved me from being crushed today. I owe her my life.”

“We held our breath through the whole situation. We thought for sure that robot wasn’t going to stop.” Izuku admitted quietly, looking towards Himiko still. He reached out and grabbed her hand, running his thumb along the back of her hand.

Momo didn’t miss the confused look that Ochako gave to Izuku. “What Izu meant is we witnessed the whole situation from the monitor room.” When Ochako gave her a curious look, she giggled with how cute she looked, before recomposing herself. “My apologies. Izu and I are recommendation students, and since we passed the recommendation entrance exam, we were offered the opportunity to watch the general exam.”

“Oh.” Ochako responded. “I didn’t realize there was another exam taking place today.” She looked back towards Himiko. “Did Recovery Girl tell you what happened?”

“She overused her quirk, resulting in quirk exhaustion.” Izuku confirmed, still not removing his eyes from Himiko. “We suspected something like this would happen if she forced herself to use her quirk longer than absolutely necessary, but we thought she would have enough time.” Izuku sighed, sitting back in his chair as he let Himiko’s hand go. “I knew I should have given her more.”

“You didn’t know that would happen, Izu.” Momo said quietly, reaching towards his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Don’t blame yourself.”

“I was just so worried, Mo.” Izuku admitted quietly, squeezing Momo’s hand back. “I saw the transformation dropping, and she continued to push herself. What if something had happened?”

“But nothing happened.” Momo reassured him. “She wasn't injured. A little rest and she’ll be back to her normal self.” Izuku nodded, closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair. Momo looked towards Ochako, finding her watching them.

“You three seem really close.” Ochako commented.

“We’ve spent the better part of the year training and learning together.” Momo admitted. “Before that, it was only Izu and I.” Ochako’s eyes went wide for a second looking towards Himiko, before she seemed to realize something and nodded.

They were silent for a few moments before a ding ringed out from Ochako’s side of the bed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a flip phone, missing the look that Izuku and Momo shared. “It’s my parents.” Ochako admitted as she stood up. “They’re wondering why I haven’t called them.” Ochako looked to Izuku and Momo to find them watching her. “They’re worried something happened, so I’m going to start heading home.” Ochako looked back towards Himiko, giving her a thankful look. “I wish I could have thanked her.”

“I can always have Himiko call you when she wakes up?” Momo questioned, holding out her hand and summoning a pen and a piece of paper, offering it to Ochako.

Ochako looked at the pen and paper before looking down towards her phone. She shook her head, pocketing her phone, and accepting the items. She quickly wrote down the number of her phone before hesitating to give it to Momo. “If she wants to call, can it be after eight tonight?”

Momo smiled up at the girl. “Of course, Uraraka.” Ochako smiled back before handing the pen and paper back to Momo. “It was nice meeting you, and I hope we see you again in a few weeks.” Momo glanced over towards Himiko. “Or maybe sooner.”

Ochako glanced at the bed as well. “I hope so as well.” She admitted, letting out a quiet sigh. “It was nice meeting you, Yaoyorozu and Midoriya.” Ochako slightly bowed, before walking towards the door. With a small pause at the door looking back in, she continued and disappeared.

“You saw that?” Izuku whispered to Momo, getting a nod in response. “I do hope we see her again, if only for Himiko to meet her officially.” Momo nodded, leaning her head on Izuku’s shoulder.

They sat in silence, either with their eyes closed and thinking about everything that happened, or watching Himiko sleeping peacefully. They didn’t know how much time had passed until they received a message to both their phones. Izuku pulled out his phone, seeing a message within the family group chat asking how the exam was and when they were coming home.

Izuku quickly typed out a few messages, letting their parents know they were still at UA waiting for Himiko to wake up. He had to reassure Miyuki and Yuukichi multiple times that Himiko was okay, going as far as sending them a picture of Himiko sleeping in the bed. They questioned if they should come and pick her up, but Izuku reassured them that Himiko just overused her quirk and should be waking up soon.

Izuku was just finishing his last message when they both heard a groan coming from the bed, seeing Himiko grab the covers and pull them over her head. They both giggled at the girl's antics, making her freeze in what she was doing, and open her eyes. Himiko blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust, until they landed on the couple sitting beside her bed. “What happened? Where am I?” Himiko questioned.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Izuku questioned.

“I was taking the entrance exam, and I saw the very cute girl trapped under some rubble…” Himiko quickly sat up in her bed, looking around frantically. “What happened to her? The last thing I remember is saving her before passing out.”

“She’s safe, thanks to you.” Momo confirmed, smiling at her sister. “She was waiting for you to wake up, but her parents asked where she was.”

“Dammit…” Himiko said quietly, slumping her shoulders. “I missed seeing her again?”

“Unfortunately.” Momo responded before she held out her hand. “But maybe it’s not forever?”

Himiko looked at Momo’s hand, seeing a piece of paper. She reached forward and grabbed it, looking over it. “Ochako Uraraka…” Himiko said quietly before her eyes went wide as she read further down. “Is this her number?” Himiko questioned with hope in her eyes, looking back towards the couple.

“Yes.” Izuku confirmed. “But she has requested you call her after eight tonight.” He informed Himiko.

“Why?” Himiko questioned as she tilted her head curiously.

“I believe it’s because the smaller cell phone companies offer free calls after eight at night.” Izuku admitted sadly. “Based on the phone she was using, it didn’t look very up to date.”

“Oh.” Himiko said sadly, looking at the number on the paper again. “Do you think she’ll make it into UA?”

“I hope so.” Momo responded quietly. “It was nice talking to her, and I wouldn’t mind seeing her again.” Himiko looked up to find Momo smiling. “But even if she doesn’t, maybe we can go visit her?”

“Really?!” Himiko questioned with hope in her eyes.

“Of course, Himiko.” Momo responded, smiling towards her sister.

“Oh my goodness!” Miyuki exclaimed as the three teenagers walked into the Yaoyorozu estate. “Himiko!” Miyuki instantly hugged Himiko tightly before looking over her. “Izuku and Momo told me what happened. Are you feeling okay? Should I call the doctor to check you out?”

“I’m okay, Mom.” Himiko responded, pulling Miyuki back into a hug. Miyuki mouthed a few words towards Izuku and Momo, confirming that she was really okay, while they nodded back.

“I was so worried when Izuku told us what happened.” Miyuki tightened the hug on Himiko a bit before releasing her and leaving her arm around her shoulder. “Let’s go see what the chefs made for dinner. I want to hear everything about the entrance exam!”

“Oh! Mom! You should have seen the cute girl I met at the entrance exam!” Himiko excitedly explained as Miyuki guided her towards the dining hall. “She prevented me from tripping and falling before the written exam by using her quirk on me! It caused me to float and I felt so free!”

“Oh?” Miyuki said excitedly. “You’ll have to tell me all about it! Did you get her name?”

“Izuku and Momo did!” Himiko said excitedly. “Her name was Ochako! I saved her from being crushed by a Zero Pointer during the practical exam! The robot was as big as a building!” Miyuki was watching how animated Himiko was with her hands as she explained, something that she most likely picked up from Izuku as he talked about quirks, causing her to smile.

“Mother?” Momo questioned Miyuki and Himiko, causing them to stop and look back towards them. “Izu and I are going to celebrate by going on a date.”

“We are?” Izuku questioned, looking towards Momo curiously.

“Are you sure, Dear?” Miyuki questioned in return, ignoring Izuku’s question.

“Yes.” Momo confirmed, answering them both. “We’ll be out until late tonight, but I promise we’ll tell you everything tomorrow during breakfast?”

Miyuki smiled. “Breakfast it is. Enjoy yourselves.” Miyuki turned back around, guiding Himiko towards the dining hall once more. The couple could hear Miyuki asking questions and Himiko excitedly telling her as they disappeared into the dining room.

“We’re going on a date?” Izuku questioned curiously.

“Yes.” Momo responded, pulling Izuku back towards the entrance. “I want to celebrate with just the two of us. That way Himiko can enjoy telling Mother and Father everything that happened.”

“Oh!” Izuku exclaimed as he realized what Momo meant. “Where did you want to go?”

“I think I have a place in mind.” Momo smiled as she looked at Izuku. “It should be fairly quiet tonight.”

“Do you mind if I grab something before we go?” Izuku questioned. “I’ll be quick!”

“Of course, Izu.” Momo smiled back at him. Izuku reached forward and gave Momo’s cheek a kiss before turning around and running towards his room.

“It feels like forever since we’ve last been here.” Izuku commented as they walked through the doors of Leblanc. “Still smells just as I remember it.” The cafe owner waved towards his newcomers before returning back to his newspaper.

“It’s been almost a year.” Momo responded, pulling Izuku towards the booth they preferred in the corner. Just like Momo said earlier, Leblanc was quiet, only one customer drinking coffee along the bar itself. “I believe the last time I was here was when you saved Himiko.” Momo let out a small sigh. “I was so worried that something happened to you.”

Izuku pulled Momo into a quick hug. He was about to apologize again, but remembered Momo told him to stop apologizing for something that had a happy ending. “It was the starting line for the amazing situation we find ourselves in today.” Izuku responded quietly, pulling Momo down into the booth beside him.

“Want to sit close today?” Momo questioned, smiling towards her boyfriend.

“I always want to be close to you, Mo.” Izuku responded, never taking his arm from around Momo, giving her cheek a quick kiss. Izuku waved the cafe owner over, requesting their usual drinks with matching curry.

“You won’t find me complaining.” Momo responded, leaning her head against Izuku’s shoulder. They sat in silence, just embracing each other until their order showed up. They reluctantly pulled out of the embrace, both keeping their legs touching under the table, as they enjoyed their drinks and curry. When they were finished with their curry, the cafe owner came and collected their plates while dropping off fresh drinks.

“I have something for you, Mo.” Izuku said quietly, reaching into his pocket, causing Momo to perk up in excitement. It’s been a while since they’ve both gotten small gifts for the other, having put training before their dates for the past year.

“When did you have time to get me something?” Momo questioned curiously.

“Before I saved Himiko.” Izuku admitted quietly, pulling out the small wooden box and placing it on the table. “I was planning on giving it to you the day I saved Himiko, but with everything that happened and everything that followed, it completely slipped my mind until today.”

“What is it?” Momo questioned, looking at the same box, before looking at Izuku. He smiled and encouraged her to open it. Momo carefully picked up the small wooden box, and opened the latch on the front. Slowly opening the box, Momo’s eyes went wide and her mouth slightly parted as she looked at the contents. “Are these…?”

“From what I’ve researched, they’re called Couple Rings.” Izuku explained. “The Americans have something similar by the name of Promise Rings.”

“Promise Rings…” Momo said fondly, taking out one of the rings. “They’re meant to show that you’re taken, or that you belong to someone.” Izuku fell silent, allowing Momo to inspect the ring she was holding.

Izuku had the rings custom made to look like they were a never ending stream of colors that constantly mixed together, red and green crashing into each other throughout the perimeter of the ring. Looking inside the ring, Momo found one of her favourite quotes on the inside. ‘I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then.’ On the outside of the ring she was holding, she could see a name that looked almost hidden within the colors. ‘Izuku Midoriya’ was only visible at certain angles, shining brighter than the rest of the ring.

After inspecting her own ring, she placed it back into the box and pulled out the other, seeing almost the exact same details. On the inside of the ring was the quote from Momo’s ring, but on the outside of the ring it showed ‘Momo Yaoyorozu’ in the same spot as hers. Momo inspected the rings together to find the colors were the same between them, with a similar design to each other, but the streams that flowed seemed to be random and not exact replicas.

“Everything about the rings can be changed.” Izuku reassured Momo as he picked up her ring and inspected it. “I wasn’t sure which quote to use inside the rings, because we both have so many favorite quotes out of ‘The Mortal Instruments’ that I couldn’t just choose one.”

“I love them.” Momo said quietly, leaning over and catching Izuku’s lips with her own. They held the kiss for a moment before Momo pulled back, leaving them both breathless. “Hand?” Izuku obliged, holding out his left hand, allowing Momo to slide the ring onto his ring finger. She held his hand and inspected the ring closely, seeing that her name was sitting straight up. Anybody looking would see the ring, but only a handful of people would be able to see the name sparkle.

“Your turn.” Izuku whispered out. Momo dropped his hand, allowing him to grab her left hand. He brought Momo’s hand up to his lips and gave it a light kiss. Izuku smiled up at Momo as she blushed, until he slid the other ring over her finger, making sure that his name was facing up as well. “It looks perfect on you, Mo.” Izuku held her hand for a second more before pulling it close to him, causing Momo to lean forward into his kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Momo responded, leaning into Izuku again, allowing him to circle his arms around and pull her close. They sat like that for a few moments, both enjoying the embrace, and holding their hands out to view the rings in the darker cafe.

“Do you think we’ll be in the same class at UA?” Momo questioned.

“I hope so.” Izuku responded. “Do you think Himiko passed?”

“I don’t see how she couldn’t.” Momo admitted. “What kind of hero school would UA be if they denied someone joining after they risked their life to save another examinee?”

Izuku hummed. “But couldn’t they consider that she put herself at risk to save someone?” Izuku thought for a moment. “It didn’t look like the Zero Pointer was going to stop.”

“Nezu wouldn’t have allowed someone to get seriously injured during the entrance exam.” Momo reassured him. “Not only would it put UA in a bad light, but it would spread like wildfire if it happened, and we’ve never heard of something like that happening before.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Izuku responded. “It would have broken me if Himiko would have gotten injured after I helped convince her to try and become a hero.” Izuku let out a sigh. “I’m not sure why it’s stuck on my mind so much. Himiko is fine, she’s alive and happy with the outcome of meeting Uraraka.”

“It’s because you couldn’t do anything to help prevent it.” Momo reassured him quietly. “I feel the same way. I felt so powerless in the monitor room, wishing I could have done something to help.”

They fell silent for a few moments, pondering what they just discussed, until another idea struck Izuku. “Did you see Uraraka’s reaction before she left?”

“You noticed it too?” Momo questioned. “She paused at the door before leaving.”

Izuku hummed. “It’s almost like she didn’t want to leave without talking to Himiko. We already know how Himiko feels about her, do you think the feelings are mutual?”

“I really hope so.” Momo let out her own sigh, snuggling into Izuku a bit more. “Himiko deserves so much more than what we can give her. I just hope it’s not a crush just because Himiko saved her.”

“I think that would break Himiko.” Izuku admitted quietly, hugging Momo closer to him. “Do you think we should warn Himiko?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Momo admitted. “What if we warn Himiko and she turns on us, not believing us? Or Uraraka does have feelings for her, and we just ruined both their chances?” Momo questioned before letting out a sigh. “I think we just have to let it play out for the time being, but keep an eye on them. Ask Himiko how it’s going, or maybe try and become friends with Uraraka.”

Izuku hummed in thought for a moment. “I think we can work with that.” He admitted. “And who knows? Maybe we’ll get a new friend out of it.”

“I’d like that.” Momo responded with a small smile.

Izuku and Momo had just gotten back from their date, changed into their pajamas and were lying in Momo’s bed, when the door was practically kicked open.

“ZuMo!” Himiko said excitedly, rushing over and jumping on the end of the bed, scrambling to get closer to Izuku and Momo.

“ZuMo?” Izuku questioned, looking at Momo and getting a shrug in response.

“Yeah! ZuMo!” Himiko said, finally sitting close enough to the couple. “That’s what I’m calling you two now. Zu is short for Izuku, and Mo is short for Momo!” Himiko responded before pulling out her phone. “That doesn’t matter! What matters is that I finally talked to Ochako!”

“Oh?” Momo questioned curiously. “How did that go?”

“Oh my god, she is so cute!” Himiko responded. “Even over the phone, her voice sounded so nice and she was so happy to hear from me! We talked from eight until just before you two got home!”

“That’s fantastic, Himiko!” Izuku exclaimed, feeding off her energy a bit. “What did you two end up talking about?”

“Well, after we made sure that the other was okay, we talked about what happened at UA. Ochako said she struggled a bit on the written exam, but was confident that she passed. She didn’t remember how many points she got, but she’s confident that she got more than thirty before the Zero Pointer attacked.” Himiko looked away in thought. “I don’t actually remember how many I got either. I was so focused on saving Ochako that I forgot how many points I gained beforehand.”

“I’m sure you both passed.” Momo reassured her. “There’s no way that UA wouldn’t allow someone who risked their life to save another examinee.”

“That’s what Ochako said!” Himiko responded excitedly, looking back towards Izuku and Momo. “Oh! Ochako said she lives in the Mie prefecture! She mentioned she wouldn’t be able to come out towards Aichi, but she would totally be down to hang out! Can we go see her? Please, please, please?”

Momo giggled at her sister's antics. “I don’t see why we couldn’t, but you don’t need to ask Izu and I for permission.”

Himiko slumped her shoulders a bit, looking away. “I know, but I want you two to come with me. I don’t want to go alone.”

Izuku shot Momo a quick look and a nod before reaching out and grabbing Himiko’s hand, causing her to look back towards them. “We would love to come with you.” Izuku reassured her with a small smile, causing her eyes to light up with hope again. “But!” Himiko deflated a bit, waiting until Izuku finished. “You have to remember that Uraraka might not be as comfortable with the closeness as we are.” Izuku pointed between the three of them. “If you want to hug her or do anything outside of just talking to her, you have to promise us that you’ll ask her.”

“I can promise that.” Himiko responded with a nod. “No hugging or touching unless I ask Ochako before, and only after she agrees, then I can.”

Izuku nodded. “When did you want to go see her?”

“Tomorrow!” Himiko said excitedly, causing Izuku and Momo to giggle again.

“We have school tomorrow, Himiko.” Momo reminded her sister. “Which means that Uraraka probably has school as well.” Momo watched as Himiko deflated a bit, looking down towards her hands. “But why don’t you ask her if we can come visit this weekend? We can plan a whole day of just hanging out as friends, maybe grab a bite to eat.”

“Oh! I would love that!” Himiko said excitedly, rolling off the bed and landing on her feet as she looked back towards Izuku and Momo. “I’m going to go text her right away!” Himiko was about to sprint out of the room before Izuku cleared his throat, stopping her.

“Maybe wait until morning to send Uraraka a message?” Izuku suggested before pointing towards the clock. “She might be sleeping already.” Himiko looked towards the clock and saw the time, slumping her shoulders a bit, but nodding nonetheless. “Why don’t you create a group chat with her, and invite us?”

“Okay!” Himiko said excitedly. “But, I will wait until morning to do so.” Himiko held her hand up to her mouth as a yawn raked through her. “I think Recovery Girl’s quirk is finally catching up to me.” Himiko put her phone back into her pocket before reaching for the door. “Good night, ZuMo.”

“Good night, Himi.” Izuku and Momo responded, causing Himiko to pause a second, a wide fang-full smile gracing her face. She hugged herself a second before walking out of the room and closing the door.

“I better get to bed too.” Izuku said quietly, going to pull himself out of Momo’s bed. He felt Momo grab his hand, stopping him from moving away. “Mo?”

“Stay here tonight?” Momo questioned. “It’s been a while since we fell asleep with each other, and I think we earned ourselves a little reward.”

Izuku looked at Momo for a second before smiling and moving back towards her. “Only if I can be the little spoon.”

“You have yourself a deal, Izu.” Momo said, wrapping her arms around Izuku’s midsection and bringing him towards her. They both let out a content sigh. “Good night, Izu. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mo. Sweet dreams.” Izuku responded. It wasn’t long until both of them were asleep.

The rest of the week continued to be uneventful for the trio of teenagers, between going to school and training, they spent most of their free time just waiting for their results from UA to come in. Himiko had created a group chat with Ochako the very next morning, and they spent some time exchanging texts back and forth.

Ochako seemed to warm up quickly to the trio, opening up more about herself to them, while Himiko did the same. It brought a smile to Izuku’s and Momo’s faces to see Himiko opening up to someone else other than the few people she considered family.

When Himiko had questioned Ochako about spending the day together on the weekend, Izuku and Momo noticed the reply took longer to come. Ochako had denied being able to hang out, due to personal reasons. Himiko wasn’t happy about the outcome, and had questioned Ochako about it. Ochako eventually broke down and said she wouldn’t be able to afford anything after spending so much of her savings to take the entrance exam.

Momo had tried to reassure that Ochako wouldn’t have to pay for anything, saying that it would be Momo’s treat to spending time with their new friend. Ochako had still tried to decline, but when Himiko practically begged Ochako to hang out, she had eventually cracked and accepted it. Himiko rode on the high of seeing their new friend for the rest of the week.

When Friday finally came around, the trio had received a text from Miyuki indicating they had mail from UA. Izuku and Momo had left Momo’s room hand in hand to start walking towards the dining hall, when they heard a bunch of crashing and watched as Himiko flew past them.

“It’s almost like she has the zoomies.” Izuku commented with a smile.

“Izu!” Momo exclaimed, hitting his shoulder lightly, and laughing.

“What?” Izuku questioned, a smile never leaving his face. “She has other cat mutations, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets the zoomies too. You’ve seen how excited she gets.”

Momo’s smile never left her face as they watched Himiko bounce off the wall at the end of the hallway, disappearing around the corner. “Now that I think about it, it makes sense.” They had continued walking towards the dining hall, reaching it not long after seeing Himiko disappear inside.

“Finally!” Himiko exclaimed. “Mom wouldn’t let me open my envelope without waiting for you! So hurry up and sit down so we can open them!”

Izuku chuckled. “Okay, okay!” He exclaimed, taking a seat beside Himiko while Momo sat beside him. Izuku bumped his shoulder against Himiko’s lightly, causing her to look towards him. “I want you to remember that we will support you in whatever decision you decide, regardless of what’s in the envelope.”

“Thanks, Izuku.” Himiko responded, throwing her arms around Izuku and pulling him into a hug. “And thank you, Momo.” Himiko said over his shoulders. Momo reached over and scratched Himiko’s head, causing her to let out a purr. Himiko froze up as she realized what just happened, quickly pulling out of the hug, hiding her face behind her hands. “Oh my god, that is so embarrassing!”

“Why?” Izuku questioned, causing Himiko to spread her fingers open and look towards him. “It’s part of who you are, Himiko.” Izuku reached out, and copying what Momo had just done, scratched Himiko’s head and caused her to purr on instinct. “It’s cute.”

“You think so?” Himiko asked as she dropped her hands and leaned into Izuku’s hand, purring the whole time. “I thought something was wrong when I first purred.”

“Purring is usually an indication that a cat feels safe or loved.” Momo answered for Izuku, smiling at the interaction. “It fills us with warmth that you feel safe and loved enough to purr in front of us.”

“Thank you.” Himiko whispered out before jumping at Izuku and pulling him into a very tight full body hug. She reached out for Momo, wanting her to embrace the hug; Momo happily obliged and hugged both Izuku and Himiko tightly against her. “I love you. You’re the best family I could have ever asked for.”

“And we love you, Himi.” Izuku responded, tightening his hug a bit. “You’re the best sister that Mo and I could have ever asked for.”

They felt arms snake around them. “You three are the best children we could have asked for.” Miyuki responded. “Yuukichi and Inko would agree with me if they were here. I don’t know how we got so lucky.”

“I blame Mom.” Izuku chuckled, rumbling the whole hug and causing the girls to giggle. “If she wasn’t complaining that day for Yuukichi to hear her, we might not even be here today.”

“That’s funny, because Inko said the same thing about you, Izuku.” Miyuki responded, tightening the hug for a second before releasing it and stepping back. “Now let’s open these letters! The results of the entrance exam had me on the edge of my seat the whole week!”

The trio of teenagers all giggled, before releasing the hug. “I think you should go first, Himi.” Izuku said after they were all sitting in their own chairs again. “Mo and I already know we passed, just not what class we’ll be in.”

“Okay!” Himiko said, taking one of her nails and slicing the end of the envelope open, pulling out the contents. She found some papers inside and a small metal disc, which she dropped in surprise. When the disc landed on the table, it activated with All Might standing in front of them in a hologram.

They all watched in bated breath as All Might talked about Himiko’s written exam, explaining that with her score, she would have easily made it into the General Education course. The video continued, showing some video clips from the practical exam, empathizing on how Himiko had saved another examinee. “Welcome Young Himiko, this will be your Hero Academia!” All Might announced at the end, showing where Himiko had placed on the leaderboard.

Izuku looked at the names on the list before recognizing one at the top, causing him to slump his shoulders. “I should have known…”

“Izu?” Momo worriedly questioned.

Izuku seemed to shake his head. “Nothing to worry about, Mo. Just some old memories resurfacing.” Momo continued to look at him in worry, until he looked back towards Himiko. “Which class did you get?”

“Umm…” Himiko said, grabbing some of the papers before placing some to the side. “Here we go! Class 1-A with Oboro Shirakumo.”

Izuku nodded before turning back to Momo with a smile. “Want to open ours together?” Momo smiled back, still watching Izuku’s eyes and seeing some pain behind them. She made a mental note to ask him about it later, but if it was from before they had met, she knew Izuku might not want to talk about it.

“I’d love to, Izu.” Momo said, holding her envelope up. “Ready?” Momo questioned, and getting a nod from Izuku, they both opened their UA letters and pulled out the contents.

The recommendation letters were different from the general letters, being that the recommendation students have already accepted their spots, so there was no hologram message device within them. Instead, they received their badges, showcasing their recommendation student status, while the papers told them what class they would be in. With a short countdown from three, Izuku and Momo both flipped up the last page with their class information on it, and quickly realized they were the same.

“Class 1-A with Oboro Shirakumo!” Izuku said excitedly, pulling Momo into a hug. “We’re all in the same class!” Himiko joined in the hug, circling her arms around Izuku and Momo, and purring against them happily.

Miyuki watched them all celebrate with a smile, silently thanking Nezu for the favor of getting them all in the same class. Having met Oboro during past events that UA had hosted, she knew that her three kids would be in good hands.

“This calls for celebration!” Miyuki said excitedly. “I better tell Inko and Yuukichi!”

Chapter Text

“Today’s the day!” Himiko announced excitedly as she jumped onto Momo’s bed, landing right on top of Izuku and forcing him to wake up. “Come on, come on, come on! The faster we get going, the sooner we can see Ochako!”

“Himiko!” Izuku yelled out, circling his arms around Himiko and pulling her into a hug, causing her to squirm within his welcoming arms.

“Let go! We have to get ready! I can’t wait to see Ochako!” Himiko complained, trying to wiggle out of the hug that Izuku had around her.

“Do you even know if Uraraka is awake yet?” Izuku questioned, causing Himiko to pause in her squirming.

“Well, no…” Himiko admitted quietly, allowing herself to go limp in Izuku’s hold, a blush of embarrassment rushing up her face. “I was just so excited to see her.”

Momo yawned, before smiling towards her sister tangled together with Izuku. “We know how excited you are to see Uraraka, Himi.” She reached over and scratched Himiko behind one of her buns, causing the other girl to purr loudly. “We’re pretty excited to see her too. Why don’t you send her a message asking what time works best for her? The trains don’t start running for at least another hour.”

“I can do that!” Himiko responded, before she stretched a bit and curled up on Izuku’s chest. “But maybe in a few moments… Izuku is just so warm…”

“Hey!” Momo said in mock offense. “You know Izu is my boyfriend right?” She questioned while poking Himiko.

Himiko hissed, turning her head and nipping her fangs towards Momo’s fingers, just missing by a few millimeters. “But currently, he’s my warm bed.” Himiko responded, sticking out her tongue towards Momo.

“Himiko.” Izuku said firmly, causing Himiko to look towards him. He tapped her lightly on the head, causing her to glare at him in return. “Don’t you be hissing or nipping at Momo, or else.”

“Or else what?” Himiko glare intensified, while Izuku just smirked towards her as he tightened his hands around her. Himiko realized what Izuku meant, causing her eyes to go wide. “Okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“That’s better.” Izuku responded, his smirk falling into a more genuine smile before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. “Five more minutes, okay? Then we can start getting ready to go see Uraraka.”

“Okay…” Himiko said quietly, letting out a yawn, before curling up a bit more on Izuku’s chest. She was seemingly asleep within a moment, causing Izuku and Momo to giggle.

“She’s so cute.” Momo said quietly, moving her hand up to run through Himiko’s messy hair, causing her to purr within her sleep and lean into Momo’s hand. “I don’t know how those monsters tried to prevent this.”

“It doesn’t matter now or ever again.” Izuku responded, tightening the hug a bit on Himiko to convey his feelings, as he smiled towards the girl on his chest. “She’s where she needs to be now, and I won’t let anybody hurt her like that again.”

“We won’t let anybody hurt her like that again.” Momo responded with her own smile, moving her hand into Izuku’s hair and playing with it. “She’s legally my sister, which means I have the responsibility to take care of her.”

“Isn’t Himi older than us?” Izuku questioned, looking towards Momo with a small smile.

“Yes.” Momo responded, letting out a sigh. “But you know as well as I do that Himi was never allowed to be herself, and I want to make sure she has that opportunity now. She deserves the world and so much more.” Izuku nodded in agreement, looking back up to Himiko on his chest, feeling her curl into herself more and trying to get more comfortable. “Plus, I think she loves her savior more.” Momo replied quietly with a smile.

“I don’t believe that.” Izuku responded, looking back towards Momo. “While I might have saved her from some men that wanted to hurt her and return her to those monsters, you and your parents were the one that saved her from going into the foster system or worse, ending back up on the streets.”

“You both are the best thing to ever happen to me.” Himiko responded quietly before letting out a breath of air, rolling over and landing between them as they looked towards her. “I love you both for everything you’ve done, and what you both continue to do.”

“And we love you, Himi.” Momo responded, putting her hand back on Himiko’s head and giving it a small scratch, causing Himiko to purr in content. “Did we wake you up?”

“No…” Himiko admitted quietly as she closed her eyes. “I wasn’t really sleeping.” Himiko snaked her arms underneath Izuku and Momo, pulling them all into a close hug. “I will be forever grateful for the opportunity you two provided me. I don’t think I ever would have been able to be who I wanted to be if Zu didn’t save me, and if Mo didn’t convince our parents to adopt me.” Himiko let out a sigh, allowing a few tears to escape. “I love you both so much.” Himiko tightened the hug on Izuku and Momo, who responded in earnest and hugged back just as tight.

“We love you too, Himi.” Izuku would say it as many times as he had to.

They embraced in silence for a long moment, allowing their emotions and feelings to run the course, until Himiko slowly released the hug and pushed herself into a seating position. “Can we get some breakfast? I want to message Ochako to see if she’s awake yet.” Himiko questioned, looking between Izuku and Momo.

Izuku and Momo both pushed themselves up into seating positions beside Himiko. “Of course we can, Himi.” Izuku responded. As Momo swung her feet off the bed to stand up, Izuku was about to follow before he felt some cold fingers grab his wrist. Stopping his movements, he looked back up to Himiko. “Himi?”

“Can I have some blood before we go?” Himiko questioned, looking down at Izuku’s wrist and biting her lip, a hint of a fang peeking through. “I don’t think I want Ochako to know about it yet.”

“Of course, Himi.” Izuku responded automatically. “Whenever you’re ready.” Himiko nodded, before bringing up Izuku’s wrist, giving it a lick, and sinking her teeth into the soft flesh beside his original scars. Izuku didn’t even feel the pinch anymore, having given Himiko blood so many times in the past. The doctors were correct in saying that Izuku’s scars on his wrist would fade, but not disappear completely, but that wasn’t the case for the others. Himiko’s saliva had anesthetic properties and would numb the area, while also increasing the healing process after she was done, which meant that Izuku or Momo never got any more scars.

After getting dressed for the day, breakfast went by quickly for the three teenagers. They had seen their parents on the way out, informing them they’d be back around dinner time, and set out towards the train station. Momo had pre-purchased tickets on the way to the train station, opting for first class tickets so they could request food or drinks on their trip, while also giving them access to their own private bathroom. Izuku and Momo had fallen asleep together not long after the train had started moving, while Himiko continued to watch the landscape go by, too excited to finally see and talk to her new friend in person.

When they had finally arrived in the small township of Meiwa in Mie prefecture, Himiko was bouncing up and down in her seat, shaking Izuku and Momo awake from their nap. Izuku and Momo yawned, before giggling at Himiko’s antics. When the train had finally come to a complete stop, Himiko practically bounced out of the train car into the train station, looking all around for their new friend.

“Heeey!” A familiar voice called out, causing the trio to look in the direction it came from. “Sorry I’m late! I didn’t realize the train was scheduled to arrive a bit early this morning!” Ochako yelled out as she approached the trio.

“Ochako!” Himiko exclaimed, looking ready to pounce into the other girl’s arms.

“Himiko.” Izuku said firmly, causing Himiko to stop in her advance. “Remember what you promised.”

“Right.” Himiko said quietly, straightening up and waiting for Ochako to reach them. “It’s good to see you, Ochako!” Himiko said excitedly as Ochako stopped in front of them. “Do you mind if I give you a hug?” Himiko questioned with her hands behind her back, her natural blush deepening.

Ochako blinked, looking between the trio, before she looked back towards Himiko. “I guess I could spare one, as thanks for saving me from the Zero Pointer.” Ochako opened up her arms, and Himiko reacted instantly, pouncing into the hug and squeezing Ochako tightly enough to lift her off the ground.

“Whoa!” Ochako exclaimed in surprise.

“Sorry!” Himiko said quickly, releasing the hug and moving back from Ochako, putting her hands behind her again. “I didn’t mean to pick you up!”

“Sorry about Himi.” Momo apologized with a smile, causing Ochako and Himiko to look towards her. “She loves to steal hugs any chance she gets, and sometimes gets too excited and forgets her own strength.”

“We had to make sure she didn’t pounce on you as soon as she saw you.” Izuku commented right after, smirking towards Himiko.

“ZuMo!” Himiko exclaimed in embarrassment, bringing her hands up to cover her face, causing Izuku and Momo to giggle at her.

Ochako looked between the trio before giggling, causing Himiko to lower her hands and giggle with the rest of them. “I just wasn’t expecting you to lift me up so easily, Himiko!” Ochako explained excitedly. “I didn’t realize how strong you are. You must have trained really hard before UA’s entrance exam!”

“Yeah…” Himiko said, reaching up and scratching the back of her head awkwardly. “It’s thanks to ZuMo that I trained so hard.” Himiko looked over towards Izuku and Momo with a glare, causing them to break out in giggles again. “Muscles are so not cute!”

“Really?” Ochako questioned, causing Himiko to look back towards her. “I always thought having muscles was so cool!”

“You really think so?” Himiko questioned quietly, looking towards Ochako with hope in her eyes and a dusting of a blush still on her cheeks.

“I mean, yeah!” Ochako responded excitedly. “My parents work in construction, and if they didn’t encourage me to pursue my dreams of becoming a hero, that’s where I would have been working. My Mama is super strong! Much stronger than my Papa!” Ochako explained excitedly, missing the look of wonder in Himiko’s eyes as she watched Ochako.

“Based on what we saw in the monitor room, your quirk would be perfect for construction.” Izuku said as he brought up a finger to his chin in thought. “It appears to remove gravity from whatever you touch, including yourself and other people.”

“Yep!” Ochako exclaimed. “I call it Zero Gravity! It allows me to nullify the effects of gravity from any solid objects, including myself and other people!” Ochako looked away a bit. “I kept telling my parents that my quirk would be perfect for the family business, and I could easily get my quirk usage license, but they wouldn’t let me.” Ochako let out a huff of annoyance. “They wanted me to pursue my dreams of becoming a rescue hero.”

“Being a rescue hero is a very high honor.” Momo commented, causing Ochako to look towards her. “They’re specifically tasked with saving people from natural and man-made disasters.” Momo hummed in thought for a moment. “Your quirk would be perfect for helping trapped civilians, getting them to safety, or even holding up rubble and/or buildings depending on your weight limit.”

“I think I would need a lot more training before I can do all that.” Ochako admitted, slumping her shoulders a bit. “I haven’t been able to train my quirk as much as I would have liked, which means my limit is about three tons before I become nauseous.”

“Three tons is still more than enough to become a rescue hero. That's plenty to lift a car!” Izuku confirmed. “But I believe with some specific training, you could easily double or even triple your weight limit.”

“You think so?” Ochako asked a bit excitedly, looking at Izuku.

“Yes, I believe so.” Izuku confirmed. “But I could be underselling your quirk a bit. It’s possible that you could increase your weight limit indefinitely with enough training.”

“Nerds.” Himiko said off to the side, causing everyone to look towards her. “What? They are!”

Ochako giggled. “How about we get started exploring Meiwa? There’s a craft market that is happening, and I think the local family-owned restaurant is holding a special today on their mochi. There’s also a few other places that I wouldn’t mind showing you three!”

“Lead the way, Uraraka.” Momo commented while smiling, grabbing Izuku’s hand with her own, ready to follow Ochako. “You’ll be our tour guide today.”

“Okay!” Ochako responded excitedly, reaching for Himiko’s hand and dragging her along, causing Himiko’s blush to deepen. “Follow me! I can’t wait to show you my hometown!”

“Thanks for coming today.” Ochako said contently as they walked back towards the train station. Ochako and Himiko were walking close enough to brush their hands and shoulders together every few steps, while Izuku and Momo walked behind them hand in hand. “I really enjoyed spending time with you guys.”

“I had so much fun today!” Himiko exclaimed. She twirled around, walking backwards beside Ochako so that she could look towards Izuku and Momo walking behind them. “ZuMo! Can we come back next weekend?! Please?!”

“You haven’t even left yet, Himiko!” Ochako exclaimed, giggling at her friend's antics.

“But I’m already excited to see you again!” Himiko responded with a full fanged smile, missing the blush that rushed up Ochako’s face. “Today was the most fun I’ve ever had!” Izuku and Momo smiled as they watched Himiko reveal herself fully, opening up and blooming to the fullest extent they'd yet seen.. Her genuine smile shone like polished metal in the sun amid the crowds of Meiwa, the strangers passing by without notice of the revelation unfolding in their midst.

“Of course we can, Himi.” Momo responded, as they continued to walk behind the duo in front of them. Izuku and Momo hadn’t missed the blush that Ochako had, nor had they missed her take a deep breath to try and force down the said blush. “Izu and I enjoyed spending time with Uraraka as well, and I think Izu and I would like to explore Mie a bit more. It's a very charming place.”

“Most definitely.” Izuku responded with a nod. “We didn’t have much time to explore the craft market thoroughly, and I saw a few things that I wouldn’t mind getting a closer look at.”

“You just want that wood burned and engraved notebook.” Momo teased, smiling at Izuku.

“You know me too well.” Izuku responded with his own smile, leaning over and giving Momo a quick kiss. “I was hoping to get a new notebook for when we started at UA. I already know there are going to be so many interesting quirks that I can’t wait to analyze!”

“Oh!” Himiko exclaimed, turning back around and looking towards Ochako. “Speaking of UA, did you get your letter yet, Ochako?”

“I did!” Ochako responded excitedly. “It’s why I was late coming to greet you guys this morning! My parents got the mail this morning, and once they saw the letter, insisted that we open the letter together. Once they saw that I was accepted into UA, they grasped me in a hug and wouldn’t let me go!” Ochako giggled a bit at what happened this morning. “I’m in Class 1-A with Oboro Shirakumo!”

“Oh! Us too, us too!” Himiko responded excitedly by jumping up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Really?!” Ochako questioned in return, and when Himiko nodded her head excitedly, Ochako threw her arms around Himiko and caused her to stiffen up a moment before she returned the hug. “We’ll be able to hang out more once we get into the dorms! I can’t wait!”

“I think Himi might have met her match when it comes to stolen hugs.” Momo whispered to Izuku, causing him to nod with a smile. “I don’t think we have much to worry about with those two.”

“You know that’s not true.” Izuku responded. “We’ll always worry about Himi, especially after everything she’s been through. I do think Uraraka's caught some feelings, based on what we saw today.”

“You saw it too?” Momo questioned, getting a nod in response. “I hope so. Himi deserves a little bit of happiness that we can’t give her.”

“ZuMo! ZuMo!” Himiko said excitedly, pulling out of the hug with Ochako and bouncing over towards them. “We’re gonna be in the same class as Ochako!”

“That’s awesome, Himi!” Izuku responded, matching her energy and smiling towards Ochako, who was watching the scene unfold in front of her. “We’ll have to show Uraraka around Musutafu once we get settled into our dorms.

“Oh!” Himiko suddenly exclaimed, turning around and pouncing back towards Ochako. “They have this massive plushie store in Kiyashi Mall that I can’t wait to show you! ZuMo took me there one time, and we almost left with half the store! They have so many cute plushies!” Ochako was giggling at Himiko as she continued to explain the plushies she had bought, before she dived into the other cute things or places that Himiko had seen back home. Izuku and Momo were watching how Ochako listened fondly, her eyes showcasing what her real feelings were.

“I hate to break up the retelling of the cutest places that Himi has ever found back home.” Izuku smirked as Himiko let out a huff of annoyance, knowing that Izuku was teasing her. “But we need to hurry if we’re going to make the last train home.”

Himiko pulled out her phone and looked at the time, causing her eyes to go wide. “I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.” She said sadly, pocketing her phone and looking towards Ochako. “Are you free next weekend? I would love to come see you again before we start UA.”

Ochako’s natural blush marks got slightly more pink, before she released a cough to force the blush back down. “I would have to double check with my parents to make sure they don’t have anything planned. Papa mentioned about celebrating me getting into the hero course.”

Momo hummed in thought for a second. “Uraraka?” Momo questioned, causing the girl to look over towards her. “You said your parents work in construction, correct?”

“I did.” Ochako confirmed. “Why?”

“I was just curious what the name of their company was.” Momo responded, looking towards Ochako.

“Oh! It’s Uraraka Construction. It’s a smaller construction company based right here in Meiwa. Papa only has a few employees hired. It was just him and Mom at first, and they've had a few jobs outside the city, but we're mostly working in the city these days. They actually met while demolishing a building together!” Ochako responded as Momo hummed to herself in thought.

“What are you thinking, Mo?” Izuku questioned, looking at his girlfriend curiously. “I know that look.”

“Just a small idea I had, but I would need to speak with Father about it.” Momo responded to Izuku, watching as his eyes went wide in recognition, before he smiled. Ochako looked over towards Himiko in question, getting a shrug in response.

As Ochako was about to question what idea Momo had, they heard the announcement come from the train station not too far ahead of them. Stopping and listening, they all realized that it was announcing the last train heading back towards Aichi Prefecture.

“That’s us!” Izuku exclaimed, pulling Momo along with him as they passed Himiko and Ochako. “It was nice seeing you today, Uraraka, but we better hurry so we don’t miss our train! Let’s go, Himi!”

Himiko nodded, turning back around towards Ochako and pulling her in for a tight hug. “Text me later?”

“Of course, Himiko.” Ochako responded with her own tight hug. Both of their natural blush marks deepened slightly before they pulled out of the hug. “Thank you for coming today.”

“I loved seeing you, and actually having a chance to talk with you this time.” Himiko admitted, giggling slightly. “I can’t wait to see you again!”

“Himi!” Izuku called out as he opened the door for Momo, looking back towards Himiko and Ochako.

“Coming, Zu!” Himiko responded, turning and sprinting towards the door that Izuku was holding open, missing the blush that rushed up Ochako’s cheeks after her last comment.

“I loved seeing you again too…” Ochako responded quietly, waving towards the trio as they disappeared into the train station.

The train ride back was uneventful. Having spent most of the day in the sun, Izuku and Momo had decided to take a nap on the way back, while Himiko cuddled up beside Izuku, stealing his body heat and napping with them. Sayuri was waiting for them at the train station when they arrived, driving them back towards their home.

As the trio arrived back at the estate, they decided to see if their parents were still around and began by heading towards the dining hall, a likely spot to begin any such investigation. Sitting at the table and conversing between themselves were Yuukichi, Miyuki, and Inko.

When Himiko had seen Miyuki, she instantly got a burst of energy, running towards her mother and launching into a full retelling of how their day was. Miyuki was more than willing to listen and encourage Himiko to tell her everything that had happened, and Himiko didn’t feel like she had to hold back, not like she used to, prim and proper, the perfect little doll. It got to the point where Yuukichi almost got hit multiple times by Himiko’s flailing arms, after which he decided to move down one seat and let Himiko sit down.

Izuku and Momo smiled at Himiko’s antics, before steering clear of that conversation, instead taking a seat beside Inko on the opposite side of the table.

“Did you two enjoy your trip?” Inko questioned, looking between Izuku, Momo, and Himiko. “It sounds like Himiko enjoyed herself.”

“We did.” Izuku responded, watching the interaction across from them with a small smile. “Mo and I are planning on going back sometime before UA starts up.”

“Izu just wants to get himself a new notebook.” Momo teased her boyfriend, leaning in and giving his cheek a kiss, causing him to let out a huff. Inko giggled at their interactions, more than used to how much affection they showed each other.

“It was a nice notebook!” Izuku exclaimed, gesturing a bit with his hands in front of him, before looking towards Inko. “Meiwa has a weekly craft market they host, allowing anybody to sell items they created. One of the sellers had these custom wood burned and engraved notebooks that looked really nice!” Izuku explained, before slumping his shoulders a bit. “When I went to inquire about having one made, Mo told me that Himi and Uraraka were already gone, I guess they wanted to see the rest of the craft market.”

“You should have seen how upset Izu was.” Momo teased, causing Izuku to slump his shoulders a bit more.

“Oh, I think I could imagine.” Inko responded, smiling at her son’s dejected look. “I remember the time we went to buy a new All Might figure, and we missed the last one by that much.” Inko held her fingers closely together, indicating that if they were seconds earlier, they would have been able to buy it. “I think Izu was upset for a week.”

“Moooom!” Izuku whined while he smiled, causing Inko and Momo to giggle at his reaction.

“How was Himiko around Uraraka?” Inko questioned, looking back towards the active conversation across from them. “Miyuki and I were worried she wouldn’t open up to anyone outside of us.”

“I think it went well.” Izuku responded. “Himi is excited to go back and see Uraraka again, and she was asking if we could go back before we even left.”

Inko giggled, knowing that Himiko would ask something like that. “It’s good to hear she’s feeling more comfortable around others after everything she went through. It’s leaps and bounds better than when she first came home.”

“It is.” Momo agreed. “But we also believe it’s because of her feelings towards Uraraka.” Momo explained, unable to keep her smile out of her voice, causing Inko to look towards her. “After meeting her before the entrance exam, and saving her from the Zero Pointer, it was clear that Himi had developed a crush.”

“And Uraraka?” Inko questioned worriedly.

“We believe that Uraraka might feel the same way, based on how they acted with each other today.” Izuku responded, before slumping his shoulders a bit. “We just hope it’s not because Himi saved her from the Zero Pointer.”

“You saw how Uraraka acted today, Izu.” Momo stated, reaching out and grabbing Izuku’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “By the time we were leaving, Uraraka was the one pulling Himi in for hugs.”

Izuku smiled, giving Momo’s hand a squeeze back. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be worried.” Izuku responded. “Look at how many times the victim falls for the hero in the stories we read, and sometimes the outcome isn’t as positive.”

Momo released a sigh. “I believe you have a point, but do you think Uraraka would really do something like that?”

“I don’t know.” Izuku admitted honestly, shrugging his shoulders a bit. “We don’t know Uraraka well enough to make a prediction on what could happen.”

The trio fell silent, listening to the conversation that was still happening. They were surprised that Himiko didn’t faint from talking so much, seemingly not even stopping for a breath. They'd all giggled when Himiko had accidentally hit Yuukichi on the head, causing him to pull her into a hug and squeeze her a second, hearing Himiko call out for help from Miyuki.

“Does Uraraka know about…?” Inko left the question hanging in the air, knowing that Izuku and Momo would pick up on its meaning.

“I don’t believe so.” Izuku responded, while Momo shook her head beside him. “Himi requested blood from me this morning, taking enough to last her the day. She did tell us that she wasn’t ready to tell Uraraka, but we don’t really know all they talked about. We tried to give them a bit of privacy as we hung out.”

“It really felt like we were interrupting their first date.” Momo admitted. “There were multiple times we thought Himiko or Uraraka was ready to just grab and kiss the other.”

“I remember when you two were like that.” Inko giggled, looking at Izuku and Momo. “Miyuki almost forced you two to confess your feelings towards each other.”

“Mother would have done that?” Momo questioned, looking between Inko and Miyuki.

“Most definitely.” Inko giggled again. “Yuukichi and I barely stopped her from marching into your room a few times.”

“What are you three chatting about?” Yuukichi questioned as he came and sat down beside Momo.

“Just talking about how our day went, and how close Himi and Uraraka were.” Izuku responded, looking back towards Miyuki and Himiko.

“Father?” Momo questioned, causing the trio to look towards her as she looked at Yuukichi. “Do you have any projects that would require a construction company?”

Yuukichi hummed to himself in thought for a second, before looking around to Inko. “Inko?”

“We have two projects that are in the final stages that might require construction.” Inko confirmed, looking between Izuku and Momo curiously. “Why do you ask?”

“Uraraka’s parents own Uraraka Construction, and I believe they’re struggling to find work.” Momo admitted. “Not only did Uraraka have an outdated phone, requesting that Himi call her after a certain time, she also mentioned that she had spent all her savings to take the UA entrance exam. She also tried to order nothing when we stopped for lunch today, and Himi had to practically beg her to order something.”

“I see.” Yuukichi said, looking towards the conversation that was still happening on the other side of the table. “And you want us to hire Uraraka Construction to help them out? Did you tell Uraraka anything?”

“I didn’t mention anything about giving her parents work.” Momo responded. “All I asked was what her parents' company name was.”

“Inko.” Yuukichi said, causing the woman to look around the kids towards him. “Can you see about finding more information about Uraraka Construction? If what Momo said is correct, I wouldn’t mind helping their friends’ parents out, but we need to make sure they have the proper certifications.”

“I’ll start on it right away.” Inko responded, taking out her phone and typing on it for a few moments. “I’ve sent a message to the team, and I’ll see what I can come up with myself.”

“Thank you, Inko.” Yuukichi responded, before looking back towards Momo. “Is there anything else you wanted to ask?”

“Nothing I can think of currently, Father.” Momo smiled towards her father. “Thank you for considering them. I know they might be a bit further out compared to the companies you normally work with, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

“You’re welcome, Honey.” Yuukichi responded, reaching around Momo and giving her a hug. “You know you just need to ask.”

“I do. Thank you, Father.” Momo responded, pulling out of the hug.

After Momo had asked Yuukichi about future projects for Yaoyorozu Company, Yuukichi, Inko, and their team researched Uraraka Construction the following week. They quickly found that Uraraka Construction was one of the best rated construction companies in all of Mie. Their certifications were up to date, and previous inspectors had nothing but positive statements to say about the company. The most notable statement about Uraraka Construction was how they went above and beyond what was required, following or exceeding code during their projects. While previous customers were happy with the quality of their work, they mentioned that Uraraka Construction time frames were too large for bigger projects, resulting in the company only being used for smaller projects.

The following week had Yuukichi and Inko on a train to Meiwa to meet with the owners of Uraraka Construction. Both had wanted to inspect the quality of work that Uraraka Construction produced, and to meet Kizuna and Riksuki in person. Once the Urarakas learned about who Yuukichi was, and the company they worked for, they were more than happy to showcase their impressive portfolio, which was full of happy customers and glowing reviews. They'd already checked, of course, and found them all to be legitimate.

Yuukichi went as far as offering Uraraka Construction a smaller scale project to see their work first hand, which Kizuna and Riksuki happily accepted. After the successful meeting with Uraraka Construction, Yuukichi had requested Inko to add Uraraka Construction to their preferred construction companies, making sure to place them on the top of the list for companies to use next.

Inko had one final question as they walked out the door. "Excuse me, but my son told me that you two met while having a competition about who could knock down a wall faster. I just have to know… who won?"

The couple laughed, and Mrs. Uraraka grinned proudly and flexed her arm like a bodybuilder. "This scrawny young fellow showed up to a site I'd been demo-ing for three days and thought he could handle a sledge like any old pro. I handed him my little 5kg hammer and told him to get to work, and he had a good enough swing. Then I went to my truck and got my 9kg hammer out, and challenged him to a race."

She looked at her husband, who held his hands up in defeat, but seemed quite proud of his wife. "She beat me by a nose. I've always said I was the brains and she was the brawn!"

Inko and Yuukichi left with smiles on their faces, for more than one reason.

Chapter Text

“ZuMo!” Himiko called out as she barged into Momo’s room without a care in the world. She had just finished talking with Miyuki about their upcoming celebration party for them passing the UA entrance exam, and because of her past experiences with these types of parties, Himiko had asked if she really had to go. Miyuki had reassured Himiko that if she didn’t want to go, nobody was going to force her. Even though Himiko was grateful for Miyuki’s answer, the experience of talking about the parties had brought up some bad memories, and Himiko decided to search for comfort in Momo and Izuku.

“Over here, Himi.” Momo responded, causing Himiko to follow the sound of her voice. She paused in the doorway, finding Momo in front of her makeup vanity with Izuku standing behind her. She could see Izuku running his hands through Momo’s hair, while Momo did her own makeup. Himiko slowly made her way over towards them, taking a seat in a spare chair beside Momo, watching how Izuku carefully took care of Momo’s hair. “Is something wrong, Himi? You seem quiet.” Momo stated, looking in the mirror towards her adoptive sister.

“Mom asked me if I was going to the party.” Himiko said quietly, looking towards the mirror on the vanity to find Momo watching her. Momo didn’t respond but continued to watch Himiko to see her emotions following the response. Himiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “It brought up some bad memories.”

“Oh, Himi.” Momo responded, carefully moving out of Izuku’s handiwork on her hair, wrapping her arms around Himiko. “You know you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Momo said quietly, feeling Himiko snake her arms around her.

“Mo’s right, Himi.” Izuku said, wrapping his arms around the two girls and giving them a squeeze. “There’s many times where Mo or I didn’t go to the parties for one reason or another. Sometimes we just made an appearance and disappeared not long after.”

“If you want to talk about it, just know that Izu and I will always listen.” Momo encouraged quietly, not releasing the hug she had around her sister. Himiko tightened the hug after a moment before she pulled out of it slowly.

Himiko took a deep breath again, closing her eyes. “When I was growing up with the Togas-” Himiko spat out her old family name as if it would poison her just saying it. “-they would host all these parties. They always made sure I had the perfect hair, the perfect dress, the perfect makeup, that I was their perfect daughter.” Himiko continued to spit out venomous memories, letting the anger flow through her. Momo and Izuku could hear the hissing around her words, and knew that she was getting really worked up about it. “I had to be on my best behavior or else I would be punished. I hated it!”

Izuku and Momo quickly wrapped Himiko in another tight hug, feeling her shake as tears stained her cheeks. Time stretched on as the trio embraced in the hug with Himiko crying quietly. When Himiko had finally stopped crying, her shaking disappearing soon after, she slowly pulled out of the hug. “Thank you, Izuku, Momo.” Himiko wiped her tears from her eyes, taking another few deep breaths.

“You’re welcome, Himiko.” Momo responded, still not taking her hand from Himiko’s shoulder, giving it a firm reassuring squeeze. “You know you can always come to Izu or I if you ever need to talk. We’ll always be here for you, and will always support you, no matter what happens.” Himiko nodded as she took a few more deep breaths. Momo sat back into her seat, allowing Izuku to walk behind her again.

Himiko watched as Izuku continued doing Momo’s hair, taking the utmost care of styling it properly. She even found him sticking his tongue out of his lips in concentration, making her giggle. Momo noticed what Himiko was looking at, quickly bringing a smile to Momo’s face as well. “Why is Izuku doing your hair?” Himiko questioned after a few more moments of watching.

“Izu offered to help me get ready for the party.” Momo responded, looking up to see Izuku still concentrating on getting her hair perfect. “He claims it’s to help me get ready faster, but I know how much he loves doing my hair.”

Izuku hummed in thought, grabbing the hair tie off the vanity in front of them, and tying Momo’s hair up in her signature ponytail. “While it does help Mo get ready faster, it’s another way to show her how much I love her.” Izuku responded with a small smile, leaning down and giving Momo’s crown a kiss.

Himiko closed her eyes and nodded slowly. “Can you do my hair?” Himiko questioned so quietly that she didn’t think the other two would hear her. When she opened her eyes, she found Momo and Izuku looking at her. “Please?”

“Are you sure you want me to do your hair, and not Mom or Miyuki?” Izuku questioned carefully.

Himiko nodded slowly, looking away. “Momo looked so peaceful when you were doing her hair.” She looked back at Izuku with determination behind her eyes. “There’s nobody I would trust more than you, Izuku.”

Izuku looked taken aback for a moment before he allowed a genuine smile to grace his face. “I would love to, Himi.” Izuku stayed behind the chair that Momo was sitting in, allowing Momo to move over to the seat beside her. Izuku gestured to the chair in front of him, causing Himiko to pounce into the chair, already wiggling back and forth in excitement. “I’m not sure if I can make your buns like you do.” Izuku started. “Is there anything else you might want me to try, or do you want to show me how you make your buns?”

“I can show you how I do them later.” Himiko responded as she looked into Izuku’s face in the mirror, seeing him smiling back. “But I was also thinking of trying a ponytail similar to Momo.”

Izuku nodded and quickly got to work. Carefully taking out Himiko’s buns, he gently started running his fingers through her hair, allowing it to cascade along her back. Izuku looked up into the mirror to find Himiko had closed her eyes and was practically melting into the chair between them, bringing a smile to his face. Creating a hairbrush matching Momo’s, he carefully started running it through the ends of her long hair and working his way towards her roots. It was soothing for Izuku almost as much as it was for Himiko.

When Himiko started purring, Izuku looked over at Momo to find her smiling towards her sister. Izuku could tell how much Himiko was loving the feeling and continued to run the hairbrush through her hair much longer than strictly necessary. When he finally placed the hairbrush down, he found Himiko watching his every move, as he created another hair tie out of his hand. "That's nifty." She whispered to herself. "I was always losing those." Carefully gathering her hair behind her head, Izuku ran his fingers through it a few more times to get it more uniform, before wrapping the hair tie around the ponytail and pushing it up towards the back of Himiko’s head.

“How does it look?” Izuku questioned, looking at Himiko in the mirror as she slowly turned her head from side to side. After seeing Himiko’s buns for so long, the girl sitting in front of them appeared to be a completely different person. If it wasn’t for the blonde hair, Izuku would be fully convinced that Himiko was related to Momo or Miyuki in some way.

“It feels… different.” Himiko admitted honestly as she tilted her head to the side curiously. She grabbed her phone and held it out, taking a quick selfie with her new ponytail. “I’m gonna send Ochako a quick picture and see what she thinks.” Himiko typed a few things on her phone before she quickly put it back into her pocket. She reached up and scratched where she normally had her buns, feeling lost without them there. “Izuku?”

“Yes, Himi?” Izuku questioned as he took a seat beside Himiko, finding her watching him.

“If I were to keep the ponytail, how would I get the uncomfortable feeling that something is… missing?” Himiko questioned.

“That would be fairly easy to test.” Izuku explained, lifting up his hand and creating a plastic headband with ears on top of it. “If you were to have ‘ears’ where a cat normally would, or where you wore your normal buns, it might feel more natural.” Izuku stood up and moved behind Himiko again. “Do you mind if I put these on?”

Himiko’s cheeks were dusted with a blush of embarrassment. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly. “Go ahead.” She spoke softly, keeping her eyes closed. She could feel Izuku taking the utmost care in putting the band around her head, carefully adjusting it so the cat ears were exactly where her buns would have been. She instantly felt more comfortable with the headband on her head, and decided to slowly open her eyes. As soon as she looked up towards the ears, Himiko snorted, falling into a fit of giggles. “They look so ridiculous!”

Izuku looked towards Momo, and as soon as they caught each other’s eyes, fell into a fit of giggles beside Himiko. When the trio had finally calmed down enough where only a few giggles were escaping them every few moments, Izuku looked at Himiko through the mirror, finding her smiling again. “How do they feel, Himi?”

“Like they always should have been there.” She responded, twisting her head back and forth, smiling at how funny they looked. “Momo! Can you take a quick picture of me? I wanna send a picture to Ochako to show her how ridiculous I look!” Momo giggled, nodding her head and accepting Himiko’s phone. Himiko held up her hands, pretending to extend her claws as she smiled at the camera, allowing Momo to take a photo. “Ochako’s gonna die of laughter once she sees this!” Himiko exclaimed, taking the phone back and quickly sending the new picture to Ochako.

“Would you like me to try your buns next, Himi?” Izuku questioned, still standing behind her and watching her through the mirror.

Himiko nodded, reaching up and taking the headband off. “Yes, please, Izuku.” Himiko put the headband on the vanity in front of them before leaning back in the chair and catching Izuku’s eyes.

Izuku nodded back, carefully pulling out the hair tie that was keeping Himiko’s hair into a ponytail, allowing it to cascade along her back. “Can you walk me through it, Himi?” Himiko nodded, carefully gathering her hair and twisting it into her signature bun, taking the hair tie that Izuku was holding up, and wrapping it around the bun in a specific way. “Alright, I think I got it.” Izuku exclaimed before attempting to do the other one. Concentrating and working carefully, Izuku replicated exactly what Himiko had shown him on the other bun, getting it absolutely perfect.

Himiko had closed her eyes again, leaning back against Izuku as he worked on the other bun. She was quietly purring and enjoying the sensation of Izuku taking the utmost care. When Izuku had finished, Himiko opened her eyes and looked at the bun that Izuku had just completed, gasping in shock at how perfect it was. “How…?”

“I did everything that you showed me.” Izuku tilted his head to the side as if inspecting the bun itself. “But I don’t think I did it right. Yours looks a little different. I'm not exactly sure how…” Izuku reached forward to undo his bun, but Himiko reached up and stopped him from undoing it. “Himi?”

“Can you try the other one?” Himiko questioned quietly, looking up at Izuku through the mirror as she covered the one he just finished. “I think the one you did is perfect, better than I’ve ever done.”

“Really?” Izuku questioned, looking at Himiko through the mirror and seeing her nod. “Alright.” Izuku responded, smiling towards Himiko before taking out the other bun that Himiko had finished. Himiko lowered her hands, leaning back against Izuku once more, allowing him to work his magic. Himiko released a sigh as Izuku finished, opening her eyes and looking at the two perfect buns on the top of her head. “How’s that?” Izuku questioned, finding Himiko’s eyes in the mirror.

“Perfect.” Himiko said quietly, tilting her head slightly and watching as they didn’t move. She allowed a full fanged smile to grace her face before she spun around on the chair and jumped into Izuku, giving him a tight squeeze. “Thank you so much, Izuku!”

“You’re welcome, Himi.” Izuku responded, catching Himiko in the process. “Are you feeling better now?” Izuku questioned as he released Himiko.

“Yes.” Himiko nodded with her answer, smiling up at Izuku. “Thank you, Izuku.” Himiko quickly turned around, throwing her arms around Momo. “And thank you, Momo.”

“You’re welcome, Himi.” Momo responded.

As Himiko pulled out of the hug with Momo, she heard her phone chime in her pocket. Taking it out, she opened up the text message chat with Ochako. She read the text once, her blush slowly increasing, before reading it again. “C-c-cute?!” Himiko exclaimed before looking up towards Momo. “Ochako called me cute!” She looked back down in disbelief at the text messages again, reading and rereading them, her blush reaching up towards her ears.

“Earth to Himi.” Izuku snapped his fingers in front of her face a few times, not getting a response. “Come in mission control, it appears we’ve lost her.” Izuku looked up towards Momo to find her trying to hide a giggle behind her hand, causing Izuku to chuckle in response.

“It’s a good thing that Himi decided to sit out of this party.” Izuku spoke quietly to Momo standing beside him, his arm wrapped around her midsection as they glided around people. “I’ve been receiving dirty looks since I walked in.”

Momo hummed in acknowledgement, looking around the room and finding the glares that were directed towards them. “You think they would have gotten the idea by now, considering this isn’t the first party that we’ve been joined at the hip.”

“They’re probably just waiting for me to disappear from your side before they approach you.” Izuku replied, guiding them to the side of the room to get a breather. “Remember last time? I wasn’t even out of your sight before the last one tried.”

Momo let out a frustrated sigh, and was about to respond until she was interrupted. “Yaoyorozu, Midoriya!” Both Momo and Izuku looked in the direction they were called as Tenya walked up to them, followed by someone they weren’t familiar with. “It’s good to see you two! Congratulations on passing the recommendation exam!” Tenya chopped a few times to emphasize his point, the person beside him expertly dodging all of them within a few centimeters.

“Thank you, Iida.” Momo responded with a small smile and a bow, Izuku following her lead. “Did you end up taking the general exam after the recommendation? We lost you in the crowd before we could accept our placements.”

“I did!” Tenya responded, chopping a few more times. “I ended up placing sixth in the general exam.” Hearing a throat being cleared beside them, Tenya turned towards the person he was standing beside before realizing his mistake. “My apologies, Sekigai!” Turning back towards Izuku and Momo, Tenya held out his hand in indication beside him. “Allow me to introduce Kashiko Sekigai. We’ve been classmates and class representatives for the last few years of middle school. She also made it into UA, coming in fifteenth!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Yaoyorozu, Midoriya.” Kashiko gave a small bow towards Momo and Izuku, who responded with their own. “Thank you for having me tonight.”

“You’re very welcome, Sekigai.” Momo responded with a small smile. “A friend of Iida’s is a friend of ours.”

“It’s good to hear you two made it into UA! Do you mind if I question which class you two were placed in?” Izuku questioned, his hand still on the center of Momo’s back. “Momo, Himi, and I were all placed in Class 1-A with Oboro Shirakumo.”

“We were also placed in Class 1-A.” Kashiko replied, stopping Tenya from chopping as she responded. “I’ve researched Shirakumo on the HeroNet and there is little information about him. Supposedly, he used to be an underground hero before returning to the limelight.”

“That is what I’ve also come across in my research.” Izuku confirmed. “His quirk, Cloud, is mostly used for increased mobility while also being able to restrain villains with ease.”

“It’s been theorized that Cloud can completely immobilize others by surrounding their limbs and forcing them against their body or the ground.” Kashiko responded, pulling out a notebook. Izuku’s eyes went wide as he looked towards Momo, finding her shaking her head and smiling at the interaction. “Otherwise he’s a very energetic individual but a strict teacher nonetheless.”

Izuku pulled out his own notebook, causing Kashiko’s eyes to flash in turn, which he did not see as he was busy flipping it open to a previous written page. “Based on the information I’ve found, Loud Cloud is often found hanging out or patrolling with Midnight and Present Mic. They’re mostly based out of Musutafu now, but have been spotted patrolling bordering neighborhoods, and once or twice in Tokyo.”

“It appears that Sekigai and Midoriya have become quick friends!” Tenya commented as Izuku and Kashiko continued to exchange information between them.

“It would appear so.” Momo commented as well, smiling at Izuku being able to nerd out with someone that wasn’t her. She turned towards Tenya, finding him watching Kashiko with an odd look in his eye, and a conflicted look on his face. “Is something the matter, Iida? You seem to be conflicted about something.”

“Oh!” Tenya responded, turning back towards Momo. “I was just thinking about how well Sekigai is getting along with Midoriya. I can never keep up with her when she gets into analyzing a quirk, but Midoriya seems to have no trouble in doing so.”

“Izu has been analyzing quirks since we were kids.” Momo explained, looking back towards Izuku and Kashiko. “It took me a while before I could understand what he was saying and explaining, but once I started to understand, it’s amazing how far he can break down quirks.”

“Sekigai has been known to break down quirks as well.” Tenya responded quietly. “And her own quirk makes it a walk in the park.”

Momo was about to question what Kashiko’s quirk was before she spotted a figure retreating out of the room not far from them. Looking around Tenya, she noticed that Endeavor was walking in the opposite direction. “Izuku.” Momo said quietly, causing him to snap his head up towards her, cutting off what he was saying mid sentence. Momo pointed in the direction that she saw the figure retreating. “Was that Todoroki?”

Izuku looked around Kashiko and Tenya, even standing on his tiptoes as he watched the retreating figure turn the corner, seeing the distinctive white and red hair before it completely disappeared. Looking around the room, he saw Endeavor stalking away to the far end, his flames appearing larger than normal causing people to step away from him. “Looks like it.. Endeavor doesn’t look happy.” Izuku responded, looking back towards Momo. “That’s also the exit to the backyard.”

“Is something the matter, Yaoyorozu?” Tenya questioned, looking between Momo and Izuku.

“Nothing to worry about, Iida.” Momo responded, looking back towards her future classmates. “Can you please excuse us? People can easily get lost in our backyard if they don’t know where they’re going, especially when the sun has gone down.”

“Of course, Yaoyorozu!” Tenya responded instantly, missing the look that Kashiko gave him. “Sekigai and I still need to make the rounds. I would like to introduce her to a few more people before the night is over.”

“Thank you, Iida. Sorry about cutting this conversation short.” Momo responded. “If we don’t see you before you leave, please enjoy the rest of the night! We’ll have to catch up more when UA finally starts.”

Izuku walked over beside Momo, putting his hand on the center of her back again, guiding them towards the corridor where they saw Shoto leave. “You’re not worried about Todoroki getting lost.” Izuku commented quietly, seeing Momo shake her head.

“Call it a gut feeling, but I think something is wrong.” Momo responded.

They glided around the guests again, avoiding conversation as much as they could, before reaching the corridor that led into the backyard. As they turned the corner, they saw the door at the far end swing shut, indicating that Shoto had gone outside. Izuku shared a look with Momo. “In for a penny, in for a pound?” Izuku questioned, receiving a nod from Momo. They continued down the corridor, pushing their way out the exit to find Shoto standing by himself and looking towards the sky.

“All he ever cared about is surpassing All Might.” Izuku and Momo heard Shoto mumble to himself, causing them to freeze in their approach. “I’m nothing but a tool that he can live vicariously through.” They watched as Shoto clenched his fist tightly, smoke appearing from between his fingers.

“Todoroki?” Momo questioned from behind him. They watched as Shoto went stiff in front of them, the smoke disappearing into the night air, but he continued to look towards the sky. “Is everything okay?”

Shoto turned around slowly, his face still emotionless, but Izuku and Momo could spot the conflict behind his eyes. Shoto opened his mouth as if he was about to say something before shaking his head and looking off to the side. “It’s nothing.” Shoto plainly responded, turning back around. “Just needed some fresh air.”

Izuku and Momo shared another look before Izuku nodded, both of them walking forward to stand beside Shoto. “It’s a beautiful night to enjoy some fresh air.” Izuku commented, looking up towards the stars that could be seen. With the Yaoyorozus property being so large and shielded by steeply sloping hills for several kilometers around, there was barely any light pollution from the city, giving them a clear view of the sparkling sky above. “There’s some nights where Momo and I will just come out here and watch for shooting stars.”

Shoto continued to be silent as the three of them looked into the sky. As the silence dragged on, Shoto finally turned towards Izuku and Momo. “You followed me out here. Why?”

“I saw you leave the party, with Endeavor walking the other way.” Momo admitted honestly, watching Shoto’s face to see if any emotions played across it, but he stayed as emotionless as before. “We were worried something happened, and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Shoto humphed as he turned around, walking back towards the door they came through. Placing his hand on the door handle, he opened the door and was about to walk through. “If you ever need someone to talk to, you’re welcome to talk with Momo or I.” Izuku commented, causing Shoto to pause, as Izuku walked up beside him.

Using Creation, he created a slip of paper with their names and numbers already on it, holding it out for Shoto. “These are our numbers, if you do decide you wanna talk with one, or both, of us.” Shoto looked towards the piece of paper for a moment, and Izuku could see him debating with himself. “We won’t make a mention of this to anybody outside of us.”

Shoto looked up into Izuku’s eyes at that moment, and Izuku could see the different emotions playing behind Shoto’s eyes, before he looked back down towards the piece of paper. He slowly reached up and took the paper, looking over the names and numbers on it, before shoving it into his pocket. “I’ll think about it.” Shoto finally responded as he continued into the house, letting the door shut behind him.

Izuku let out a sigh as Momo walked up beside him. “You were right, Mo. Something is wrong.”

Momo circled her arm around his back, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Do you think he’ll actually contact us?”

Izuku circled his arm around Momo in return, pulling her closer towards him. “I don’t know.” Izuku responded honestly. “But I watched the different emotions play behind his eyes when I mentioned I wouldn’t tell anybody. He seemed conflicted about telling someone about what he’s going through, but I don’t think he realized we heard what he mumbled.”

“Do you think we should try and be friends with him?” Momo questioned, looking towards Izuku to find him thinking about the question. “Maybe he doesn’t want to open up to us because we’re still strangers to each other.”

“That’s a good possibility, especially based on how he treated us at the last party.” Izuku let out a huff of air in annoyance. “Like seriously, how hard is it to hold a conversation?”

“To be fair, Izu, he could be homeschooled.” Momo replied. “We weren’t very sociable ourselves.”

Izuku let out a breath in acceptance. “That’s a very good possibility.” Izuku admitted before looking back towards Momo. “Would you like to return to the party?”

“I don’t think so.” Momo responded honestly. “I know we didn’t stay long, but I’m already drained from the conversations.” Momo scrunched up her nose a bit in frustration. “Plus the glares in our direction were getting old.”

Izuku chuckled, putting his arm on the center of Momo’s back again before guiding them forward and opening the door back into their home. “How about we go get changed and try to get a chapter or two in before bed? We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“You know me too well.” Momo responded with a smile.

The next day brought a whirlwind of activities, and with it, some disagreements between the soon-to-be UA students.

“Himiko! You can’t bring your entire plushie collection!” Momo was saying as Izuku stood by the door, both having finished their packing earlier in the week.

“Why not?” Himiko questioned as she continued to pack her plushie collection, leaving the best for last. The rest of her packing had been done earlier in the week, but she couldn’t sleep without her plushie collection, which is why she was packing it on the day they were supposed to be leaving.

“Because your dorm room would be nothing but plushies!” Momo exclaimed, looking at all the boxes that littered the floor of Himiko’s room. “You could barely walk in your room here!”

“Himi, the dorm rooms at UA are much smaller than your actual room. If you took all of your plushies, you wouldn’t have enough room for your bed.” Izuku tried to reason, causing Himiko to stop packing the box she was currently working on to pout towards Izuku.

“But that’s the point! I’ll be able to drown in them!” Himiko tried to reason. “I won’t even need a bed!” Himiko turned back to the box she was previously working on. “Why aren’t you giving Momo any grief? She’s bringing her bed.”

Izuku’s eyes went wide as he snapped them towards Momo, watching as she went stiff. “She’s what?”

Momo slowly turned towards Izuku, walking over towards him with her best innocent eyes on full display. “Izu, Love, it’s too comfortable not to bring. Imagine after a long day of training to be a hero and being able to come back and read in bed?”

Izuku brought his hand up to his chin, appearing to think about it for a moment. “You’re right, that bed is pretty comfortable…” Izuku thinned his eyes in suspicion towards Momo, dropping his hand from his chin, finding her smiling sheepishly towards him. “Hey! Don’t change the subject! Do you even know if your bed will fit in the dorms?”

“Well…” Momo trailed off, looking away.

“If Momo gets to bring that massive bed, then I get to bring my massive plushie collection!” Himiko interrupted, causing Izuku and Momo to look over towards her, finding Himiko smirking towards them in triumph.

“I’m not going to be able to talk either of you out of this, am I?” Izuku questioned, shaking his head slowly with a smile.

“Nope!” / “Not a chance!” Himiko and Momo responded at the same time.

When Himiko finally finished packing her massive collection of plushies, with help from Izuku and Momo, the movers that were helping them transport their stuff into the UA dorms came and collected the boxes. The teenager trio were watching the movers placing the last few boxes of plushies into the trucks, closing the doors and locking them, when a pair of arms embraced the kids from behind.

“Our babies!” Miyuki cried out, attempting to bring Izuku, Momo, and Himiko into a tight hug. Himiko successfully slipped out of Miyuki’s grasp at the last second, just for Inko to come up behind her and embrace her in a matching hug.

“You’ve all grown up so quickly!” Inko cried out. “It feels like just yesterday that you started training, and now we’re sending you off to become heroes!”

“Mother! You’re acting like we’re moving away permanently!” Momo responded with a smile, turning around and embracing Miyuki, Izuku following Momo’s lead a moment later. The three of them melted into the hug, always enjoying the hugs they shared throughout the years.

“Mama Inko! You’re crushing me!” Himiko complained. “And please don’t start crying! You know how much I hate water!” Inko wetly chuckled, holding off on the waterworks for the time being, loosening the hug ever so slightly. Himiko relaxed in her grip as she turned around, returning one of the hugs she'd come to love.

When Miyuki finally released the hug containing Izuku and Momo, she moved over towards Inko, winking at the shorter woman. Inko understood immediately, releasing Himiko and pushing her towards Miyuki, causing the woman to embrace Himiko in a bone crushing hug. “Moooooom!” Himiko complained with a smile, hugging Miyuki back tightly. Inko came over towards Izuku and Momo, holding her arms out in question, allowing the two teenagers to embrace Inko in a tight hug.

They heard chuckling from behind them, causing the two hugs to split apart, finding Yuukichi exiting their home. “If you kids don’t get going soon, you won’t have any time to set up your dorm rooms.” Yuukichi commented as he waved towards the moving trucks, indicating to the drivers they were clear to start heading towards UA. “Musutafu is only a short drive away and we’ll be able to visit them on the weekend to see how they’ve moved in.”

Miyuki let out a sad sigh, giving Himiko one final squeeze before letting her go completely. “Yuukichi is right. We could stand here all day and you kids won’t have any time to get set up before classes start tomorrow.”

Inko gave Izuku and Momo one final squeeze before separating from the hug, moving to stand beside Miyuki. The trio of teenagers watched as Inko finally allowed herself to release her tears, the two streams landing on the ground beside her, causing Miyuki and Yuukichi to chuckle as they moved away from her. “Come on, Inko! They’re only going to be a phone call away!”

“At least we won’t have to water the flowers today.” Yuukichi commented, smirking towards the shorter green-haired woman. “The servants will be pleased.”

“Oh, stop it, Yuukichi.” Inko commented, reaching into her pocket for her handkerchief and wiping her eyes. “I was just thinking about how much things have changed since you called me into your office that day.”

“One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Yuukichi responded, smiling towards the shorter woman.

Izuku coughed into a fist, causing everyone to focus on him. “I hate to cut this conversation short, but we better get going if we plan to show the movers where to put our stuff.” Izuku commented, opening the door to the limousine behind him, gesturing for Momo and Himiko to enter before him.

“Make sure to call us once you three get settled!” Miyuki called out.

“Of course, Miyuki!” Izuku commented back with a smile, allowing Himiko to enter the limousine, Momo following not long after. “I’ll make sure to drag these two into one of our rooms to call. Talk soon!” When Izuku finally entered the limousine and closed the door, it was only a moment later when it was leaving the Yaoyorozu’s Estate.

“Why do I have a gut feeling that something bad is going to happen?” Inko questioned quietly.

“I thought I was the only one.” Miyuki responded, watching as the gate at the end of their driveway closed after the limousine exited.

“It’s because we haven’t been separated from them for any amount of time.” Yuukichi commented, wrapping his arm around Miyuki’s back and pulling her into a side hug. “Even when we went on business trips, it was never longer than a day or two at most, and never all three of us. With them moving into the dorms, we’ll be separated from them more than we’ve ever been.”

Inko and Miyuki nodded, accepting the explanation, the feeling in their guts never lessening throughout the day until Izuku video called them later that night. Hearing their voices and seeing their excitement after moving into the dorms helped ease the feelings, but they never disappeared completely.

Chapter Text

Izuku trundled down the stairs on the boys' side of the dorms during the early morning hours of their first day of classes, still tired from setting up their dorm rooms the day before. He had woken up early, a habit he picked up over the past year, and got dressed in the UA uniform, grabbed his school materials and got as ready as he could be for classes before he decided to grab a small bite to eat. As he reached the ground floor that housed the common room and kitchen, he noticed someone familiar coming down from the stairs across from him, bringing a smile to his face.

Meeting at the kitchen door, Izuku lifted himself to his tiptoes to give Momo a kiss, both of them melting into the moment. “Did you sleep well?” Izuku quietly questioned when they separated, finding Momo smiling down towards him. She was also prepared for the day and dressed in her uniform.

“As well as I could,” Momo admitted. “I found myself wishing you were beside me when I woke up this morning.”

Izuku nodded, knowing he missed the comfort as well. “We’ll have to question our teacher if we’re allowed to share a dorm. We don’t know if it’s against policy or not.” Momo nodded as she threw her arm around Izuku’s back and guided them into the kitchen.

“I’ll start on the tea if you start on the breakfast?” Momo questioned.

Izuku nodded, separating to get started on their respective tasks. It wasn’t long until Momo was standing beside him and helping him cook, both connected at the hip and enjoying the closeness they missed. By the time breakfast was done, they sat at the table and enjoyed their food in silence, their legs touching under the table.

“Do you think we should make something for Himi?” Izuku questioned as he walked over to the sink and deposited their plates and teacups, starting to clean them.

“She had her snack last night,” Momo responded as she came up and stood beside Izuku, a drying towel already in her hand. Izuku understood the double meaning of what Momo had said, indicating that Himiko had taken enough blood to last her through the day, not wanting to share her dietary needs with their classmates yet. “And she normally doesn’t have time to eat breakfast when she gets up,” Izuku and Momo chuckled quietly, knowing Himiko normally got up five minutes before classes started and had to rush to make it on time.

“I’ll make sure to bring something small for her, just in case.” Izuku responded, still smiling as they finished the dishes.

When they were finished cleaning up their mess from breakfast, grabbing a few small snacks for Himiko, Izuku and Momo left the dorms and walked towards the main UA building. With Momo not attending a regular school, and Izuku not attending one since he was six, both wanted to make sure they knew their way around the massive building so they didn’t get lost.

Arriving at Classroom 1-A, they found they were the first ones to arrive. Looking over their class schedule and seating arrangement that was sent to their phones, they found their seats at the back of the room. Izuku and Momo noticed that Himiko was sitting beside Izuku with Ochako sitting on the other side of Himiko. They thought the seating arrangement was strange, considering that it didn’t seem to have a set layout to how placements were picked, but chalked it up to hearing rumors that teachers had more free reign to do as they pleased and that they were seated beside each other by luck.

As they continued to look over the seating arrangements, they recognized quite a few names. Either from the parties they had attended in the past, or the last names stood out as legacy hero names. Izuku looked towards seat seventeen and sighed when he recognized the name from his past, bringing some unpleasant memories to the surface. Momo was about to ask what Izuku had noticed when the door to the classroom opened again, revealing Tenya and Kashiko strolling into the room, Shoto following only a few steps behind.

“Yaoyorozu! Midoriya!” Tenya called out as he made his way over towards them, Kashiko following only a few steps behind. “I must have missed you two coming into the dorms yesterday. I briefly saw Todoroki before he disappeared upstairs carrying his moving boxes.”

“Hello, Iida, Sekigai.” Izuku responded with a smile, Momo following suit. “We were focused on getting our rooms set up for the year.” Izuku looked over towards Momo with a smirk. “Well, mostly Mo’s room.”

“Are you complaining, Mister?” Momo questioned with a light dusting of a blush, knowing that Izuku was talking about her massive bed that barely fit into her room, leaving little space for anything else.

“Of course not, Missy.” Izuku responded, his smirk turning into a genuine smile.

As the four students continued to converse, more students started showing up and filling the rest of the seats. Most of the students were silent, except for a few that had shown up together and were quietly conversing. Izuku and Momo missed when the one blonde-haired boy froze in the doorway, his eyes trailing along the rest of the students that were already sitting, before his eyes landed on the green-haired boy. Before the blonde-haired boy could say anything, another student pushed him through the doorway from behind.

“Get out of the way, Runt!” Rumi Usagiyama spoke loudly as she pushed the blonde into the room. “Either get in the classroom or fuck off. The rest of us don’t have time for you to be standing in the doorway.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” Katsuki Bakugo swung around to face the shorter girl. “Do you know who the hell you are talking to, Extra?”

“Why would I know who the hell you are, Runt?” Rumi responded, pushing herself forwards to get right into Katsuki’s face. “You don’t look that impressive to me.”

The rest of the class went silent as the argument happened at the front of the classroom. Tenya immediately broke off from conversing with Izuku and Momo and walked directly in between Rumi and Katsuki, pushing them both back. “Fighting before classes have even started is insulting to UA! You two need to find your seats and stop this argument immediately!”

Kashiko shook her head tiredly, looking towards the three students having a yelling match near the front of the classroom. “I better make sure Iida doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.” Kashiko turned back towards Izuku and Momo, finding Izuku unwaveringly watching the front of the classroom. “I believe our conversation will have to wait until classes are over for the day.” Momo nodded her head in agreement while Izuku continued to watch the front.

"She looks like she's already tired. I wonder how many people actually slept well?" The thought was interrupted by a clatter of noise as a red-haired boy shook up a protein shake in a mixing bottle at his desk.

“Whew!” Himiko said from beside Izuku and Momo, causing Izuku to jump slightly while Momo looked over towards her. “Made it just in time!” The two of them noticed how messy Himiko’s buns were this morning, an indication she slept in a lot longer than she was expecting to.

A moment later, another person stopped beside Himiko panting heavily. “I don’t know-” Ochako cut herself off as she continued to try and catch her breath. “-how you aren’t tired.”

“How are you tired?” Himiko questioned, looking back at Ochako to see she was still panting heavily while her blush marks were a shade darker than normal. “That was barely a warm up!”

“You’re crazy,” Ochako finally said, taking a seat beside Himiko and lying her head on the cool desk. Letting out a relieved sigh, Ochako closed her eyes, her face in the direction of Himiko. “I would have been here earlier if I didn’t have to wake you up.”

“Himiko…” Izuku said, causing both Himiko and Ochako to look over towards him. “Making yourself late is one thing, but making Uraraka late as well?” 'Oh no, the disapproving pout! It's my only weakness! ZuMo were probably the first ones up, as usual' she thought.

“I didn’t make her late!” Himiko tried to explain, waving her hands towards Ochako. “She’s the one who thought we were going to be late! We’re here before the bell, aren’t we?”

Izuku shook his head. “Here,” Izuku said, passing over a snack he packed earlier. Himiko grabbed the snack, thankful for Izuku and Momo for thinking about her. When Izuku looked over at Ochako, he found she was looking at the snack that Himiko had in her hand with a wanting look. Thinking back to the days they had spent together in Mie, he reached into his bag and pulled out another small snack. “Give this one to Uraraka.”

“Oh! No, no, no.” Ochako responded, looking towards the snack Izuku was holding while waving her hands in front of her. “I’m okay.” Izuku raised an eyebrow in question, challenging her statement. Ochako looked away from Izuku to find Momo and Himiko watching her as well. Letting out a sigh, Ochako nodded her head. “Thank you, Midoriya.” Himiko grabbed the snack and passed it along to Ochako, who instantly opened it up and started eating it slowly. Himiko smiled at Ochako with a full fanged smile, causing the other girl to respond with her own smile as she continued eating, feeling a bit more comfortable.

Izuku looked towards the other students in the class, noticing the girl with earphone jacks on the ends of her ears was focusing on the door, her jacks pointed in the same direction. Not even a moment later, the argument at the front of the class came to a halt when a light sky-blue cloud started pouring into the classroom around the entrance door. A few of the students started to look around in panic moments before the last bell rang, indicating that classes had officially started.

The door opened, allowing more of the light sky-blue cloud to pour into the classroom, staying closer to the floor. As the cloud started to dissipate, it revealed a hero walking into the classroom, smiling towards the students.

The hero stood taller than the class, light sky-blue wavy hair decorating his head, with matching light sky-blue eyes. His costume consisted of a darker blue martial arts Gi, secured with a black knot-tied obi around his waist. He was wearing a dark brown aviator jacket over his Gi, with white fur lining sticking out in places, with the kanji for Cloud across his back. He also wore a blue aviator hat that matched his hair, seemingly blending in, with yellow goggles along his forehead. Along his back was a sheath that stored his quarterstaff. He also appeared to have some kind of thick cloth wrapped around each of his arms, just visible outside of his jacket.

“The final bell has rung, which means class has started!” Oboro Shirakumo called out, focusing on the students still standing at the front of the class. “Please find your seats so we can get started!” The group of students near the front of the class scurried away to find their seats, while Oboro walked across the room to stand beside the podium. “As many of you may have guessed, I’m your homeroom teacher. My name is Oboro Shirakumo, but if you prefer, you can call me Loud Cloud.”

Reaching down beside the podium, he picked up a bag that nobody had noticed before, placing it on the podium itself and taking out a new gym uniform. “These are your gym clothes. You each have a set located within your desk with the sizes you submitted with your hero costumes. Quickly get changed and meet me outside at the P.E. Grounds.” After making sure everyone understood what he meant, he placed the bag back beside the podium and started walking towards the door again. “Please don’t keep me waiting long!”

“As many of you may have heard, UA is known for its freeform education system,” Oboro started as he confirmed that all his students were in attendance. “Because of this, I will be skipping the entrance ceremonies.” Oboro held up his hand to cut off the students from interrupting him. “I will make sure you have all the information from the entrance ceremonies, without having to sit through Nezu talking about how wonderful UA is for its students.”

Oboro looked over his students, many still skeptical of his decision, but most appeared to agree with him. “Instead, I’ll be running a Quirk Apprehension Test.” Oboro paced in front of his students, gauging their reactions. “Softball throwing, standing long jump, fifty-meter dash, grip strength, side-to-side stepping, upper body training, and seated toe touch. These are standard tests that every student has to perform yearly in middle school. Most of the schools still follow the old ways where quirks can’t be used, while a few have converted to a new style of teaching.” Oboro stopped in the center, looking back over his students. “I’ve had the chance to read through everyones’ quirk records, and this test will allow me to observe where you all stand with the quirks you have.

Izuku felt Oboro look directly at him before he trailed his eyes towards Momo who was standing beside him. Toshinori had updated their records after Izuku had accepted OFA, and informed them their records would show Creation and Smoke. He mentioned that he didn’t give an explanation on how they both had similar quirks so it was their job to create a story that was believable. If Izuku had to guess, Oboro was probably questioning why their records showed two quirks, both having been recently updated.

“Bakugo!” Oboro called out, trailing his eyes over towards the blonde boy, allowing Izuku to release a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He felt Momo reach for his hand and give it a tight squeeze, and when he looked over, he saw the same worried look behind her eyes. “You placed first in the entrance exam.” Katsuki puffed out his chest in pride, feeling like he was on top of the world. “How far could you throw in middle school?”

“About sixty-seven meters, give or take,” Katsuki responded.

“Impressive!” Oboro fed into Katsuki’s pride before tossing him a ball. Izuku watched as Katsuki caught the ball, quickly realizing what was about to happen. Looking around the students surrounding him, he noticed the girl with earphone jacks standing a few steps beside him, a boy with yellow hair standing to the side of her. He let go of Momo’s hand and walked over towards the girl, feeling Momo’s presence following closely behind him, as he stepped to her side. She gave him a quick look before focusing back on the teacher and student standing in front of them. “Now try it with your quirk! Do whatever you like, but don’t leave the circle you’re standing in!”

Izuku watched as a sinister smile crossed Katsuki’s face as he looked down to the ball in his hand. “Awesome,” Katsuki said, bringing his arm back in preparation to throw at the same time Izuku put his hands on either side of the girl’s head.

“Hey! What are-” The girl exclaimed, startled by Izuku’s actions, trying to move out of his grip.

“DIE!” Katsuki yelled as he threw the ball, followed by a huge Explosion that had people taking a reactive step backwards.

Izuku felt a hand circle his wrist, causing him to let go of the girl’s head quickly. “What are you doing to Kyouka?” The boy questioned, looking at him in anger while tightening his grip.

“Denki,” Kyouka said firmly, causing the boy to let go of Izuku’s wrist. “It’s okay.” Kyouka explained, watching as Denki released a breath, before she focused back on Izuku. “You knew I had sensitive hearing, which is why you covered up my ears to block out the sound.”

Izuku nodded. “I noticed back in the classroom that you heard Shirakumo before he made his entrance, so when I saw what was about to happen, I wanted to make sure you didn’t go deaf from Bakugo’s Explosion.” Izuku gave a small bow and apologized. “I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Izuku watched as a jack snaked out towards him and poked him in the forehead, pushing him back into a stand position. “Dude, I should be thanking you, not forgiving you.” Kyouka responded with a small smile. “Other than Denki here, I’ve never had someone go out of their way to protect my quirk, so thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome.” Izuku responded with a small smile.

“Here.” Momo commented from beside Izuku, holding up a pair of purple headphones and offering them to Kyouka. “These are sound canceling and I made sure to add some ports on the inside for your jacks, just in case the sound canceling isn’t enough.” Kyouka reached out and grabbed the headphones, inspecting them over and seeing the ports on the inside. “It might be best to wear them to protect your quirk, especially if the rest of the tests are as loud as Bakugo’s quirk.”

“Seven hundred and five point two meters!” Oboro called out as he held up a device to show the rest of the class, having noticed the commotion that happened before Katsuki had thrown his ball, and during the time they awaited the results.

“Whoa! This is awesome!” Mina Ashido commented.

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Toru Hagakure continued.

The talking between the students picked up and Oboro waited until they calmed down again, looking towards him for answers. He picked up another ball, tossing it up and down. “Awesome? Fun?” Oboro questioned, causing all the students to shrink back a bit at the tone of his voice. “Heroics isn’t about fun and games.” Oboro commented darkly as he caught the ball in his hand, looking over each of his students.

“I’m going to tell you a story, one that doesn’t have a happy ending for the hero.” Oboro said quietly as he started to pace again, remembering the very day one of his best friends died. “It was our second year of work studies when it happened. The four of us were patrolling in Tokyo when we got called to assist civilians from a collapsing building. I used my quirk to stabilize the building while my three friends and fellow heroes started rescuing the civilians.” Oboro paused, looking down at the ball in his hand.

“Shota Aizawa was saving the last kid from the building when something shifted within. I tried my hardest to support the building but I could only do so much. The kid was saved from the building but my best friend was crushed in the process.” Oboro took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from falling. “I had to bury my best friend a few days later. The four of us had plans to open our own agency when we graduated, but his death destroyed all of us in different ways.”

Oboro turned back towards his students to find them all listening intently to the story he was telling, some with sad or worried looks on their faces. “You’re all hoping to become heroes after three years here, and while it will be fun and games throughout training, not everyone will have a happy ending.” Oboro took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. “It’s my job to prepare you for the worst, and to do that, I will be putting you through hell and back. I don’t want to read any of my students' obituaries during their years here or after they graduate. If this doesn’t sound like something for you, I have transfer request forms on my desk. You are welcome to drop out of my class or transfer to another course within UA.”

Oboro waited as the talking picked back up, students looking back and forth between each other. It lasted a few minutes with some students looking ready to pack their bags and leave then and there, until he noticed Izuku with a thoughtful look on his face. Izuku must have felt someone looking at him because he looked up to find Oboro looking directly at him.

Izuku took a step forward, causing the rest of the students to quiet down. “I’ve come to UA to learn how to become a hero. I know the path I walk will be dangerous, but I will do everything within my power to make sure other people are safe.”

Momo took a step forward, standing beside Izuku. “Train us, Shirakumo. Make sure we are ready for the dangers the world holds.” Slowly but surely, students followed Izuku’s and Momo’s lead, standing beside the first two with determined looks on their faces.

“Very well,” Oboro responded with a small smile. “Izuku Midoriya. Since you spoke up first, how about you throw the ball next?” Izuku caught the ball with ease, giving a small nod towards their teacher, and missing the realization crossing Katsuki’s face.

“Deku?” Katsuki said loud enough for the rest of the class to hear. "How the fuck did a loser like you get in here?"

Momo’s head snapped so fast towards Katsuki, it was surprising she didn’t get whiplash from the movement. Izuku looked over towards Katsuki, seeing the realization on his face, before he noticed Momo moving towards him. “Momo! Wait!”

“He called you ‘Deku’, Izu.” Momo responded, not stopping her slow but steady advance towards Katsuki, causing him to square his shoulders and allow some pops to release from his palms. “He’s the one you recognized on Himi’s acceptance forms, and whose desk you were looking at this morning.”

“Momo! Please, wait!” Izuku tried to stop Momo and failed to stop her advance. “It’s been years since then, he could have changed.” Momo continued advancing forward, forgetting about everything else around her, seeing red upon hearing Katsuki call her Izuku by that nickname.

“The fuck you want, Ponytail?” Katsuki questioned, the popping getting louder as Momo and Izuku approached. "If Deku has a problem, it's between him and me."

Momo didn’t respond, continuing forward until she was a few steps away from Katsuki, goading him into action and causing him to throw out an Explosion towards Momo. She easily sidestepped the Explosion, pushing his hand away from her before she was right in his face.

“You will not call Izuku by that name ever again,” Momo said quietly but threateningly. “I know you were one of the kids that used to bully Izuku, and for Izuku’s sake, I am giving you one chance to correct your wrongs.” Momo stopped another arm from rising up towards her, grabbing Katsuki’s wrist so tight that the popping stopped instantly. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Or what, Ponytail?” Katsuki responded, attempting to bring up his remaining free hand, but was stopped by Momo again. “You don’t scare me.”

“Really?” Momo questioned as a gleam appeared in her eyes. “Let me make it clear just how scary I can be,” Momo’s glare intensified towards Katsuki. She could feel Katsuki struggling to get his hands free, causing Momo to tighten her grip and force him to stop. Most of the class was frozen in place, staring with hesitant faces and bulging eyes. “You just attempted to attack one of six recommended students outside of a training exercise, which is against UA’s policy. Not only that, but you also attempted to attack the daughter of one of the most successful support companies in the world.” Momo watched as Katsuki’s eyes widened in realization, bringing a smirk to her face. “All I have to do is whisper your name to the right people, and you can kiss your chances goodbye of ever getting a support item in your lifetime.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Katsuki spat out between clenched teeth.

“Call Izuku by that name again, and you’ll find out how serious I am.” Momo responded.

“Enough!” Oboro finally intervened, causing both students to break apart, with Katsuki reaching out and rubbing his wrists. “What is the meaning of this?” Oboro questioned as he looked towards Momo for an answer.

“My apologies, Shirakumo,” Momo responded and bowed in apology. “I didn’t mean to interrupt the class. I promise to do better in the future.” Momo stood back up straighter, looking directly towards Oboro. “When I heard Bakugo call Izuku by an old nickname that was considered to mean ‘Useless’, ‘Worthless’, ‘Broken’, and ‘Diseased’, I instinctively reacted to make sure that Bakugo wouldn’t call Izuku by that name again.”

“Midoriya?” Oboro questioned, causing Izuku to look towards him. “Is what Yaoyorozu saying true?”

Izuku looked at Katsuki, finding the glare that was directed towards him, before he looked towards Momo to find her with a determined look. Izuku gave her a small nod before turning around and facing Oboro again. “Yes, Shirakumo, everything Momo said is true. If you rearranged the kanji in ‘Izuku’, it could be read as ‘Deku’ and my previous classmates from when I was six years old changed the meaning of ‘Deku’ into ‘Useless’, ‘Worthless’, ‘Broken’, and ‘Diseased’ because they believed I was quirkless.”

“Why you little-” Katsuki said as he rushed forward, an Explosion priming in his hand, throwing it towards Izuku and Momo.

Once Izuku noticed what Katsuki was doing, it felt as if time slowed down for him. Jumping in front of Momo and summoning Smoke, he contained the Explosion within a Smoke Ball as best as he could before forcing it skywards. The resulting blast was massive, aided by Smoke, forcing Izuku, Momo, and the rest of the class to take a step backwards.

“I SAID ENOUGH!” Oboro yelled out, summoning Cloud and surrounding Katsuki with it, trapping his arms to his sides. “Katsuki Bakugo. For attacking a classmate with your quirk outside of a training activity, I am sending you to the principal's office, where you will wait for me to finish class so we can have a nice chat with Nezu. Do I make myself clear?”

“What about them?!” Katsuki pointed his chin towards Momo and Izuku, still not being able to move his arms. “Ponytail attacked me first, and De-” Katsuki didn’t even finish the word as three glares were directed towards him, the hold of Cloud tightening ever so slightly. “-Broccoli used his quirk against me!”

“Yaoyorozu,” Oboro started, causing Momo to look towards him. “Did you use your quirk to attack Bakugo when you first confronted him?”

“I did not.”

“Midoriya,” Oboro continued, looking towards Izuku next. “Why did you use your quirk?”

“I used my quirk to defend myself and Momo from Bakugo’s Explosion. I specifically tried to contain the blast within a Smoke Ball, but I wasn’t able to keep a safe handle on it, which is why I forced it skywards. I was hoping to reduce injury as much as possible from myself, Momo, and the rest of our classmates.” Izuku turned around, looking towards Momo with worried eyes. “Are you hurt at all, Momo?”

“No, I was not hurt from Bakugo’s attacks.” Momo responded as she smiled down at Izuku, hearing the muttered ‘Thank God’ from under his breath.

Oboro nodded towards them before he focused back on Katsuki, “In that case, please wait for me in Nezu’s office, Bakugo.” Oboro walked up to him, already filling out a slip of what happened. “And make sure to give this to Nezu. There are cameras all over the place, so Nezu will know you are coming.” Oboro released Cloud from around Katsuki, handing him the note and pointing in the direction of the office. The rest of the class could hear Katsuki grumble to himself but obeyed the directions without even bothering to look back.

Oboro turned back to the class now that the situation was taken care of, focusing directly on Izuku and Momo again. “Yaoyorozu and Midoriya. Make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. I give everyone one warning and get-out-of-jail free card, and you both just burned your one chance. Do I make myself clear?” Izuku and Momo nodded again, giving a small apologetic bow in response. “Good. Let’s get back to the evaluation so I can meet Bakugo in Nezu’s office.”

The rest of the tests went off without any more problems between the students. Everyone was surprised when Momo used Creation to make a cannon and fire her ball into the sky, blowing everyone else’s results out of the water and only coming in second to Ochako’s infinity score. Izuku was tempted to use Creation to do something similar, but they had agreed not to use their secondary quirks for the time being. When all the tests were complete, most of the students were tired and ready to pass out where they stood. Some were sitting on the ground, while others were swaying on their feet. Oboro quickly dismissed them, giving them information on where to pick up their entrance ceremony packages, and to take the rest of the afternoon off to rest and recover.

“Yaoyorozu and Midoriya,” Oboro started after he dismissed everyone. “I would like to have a word with you.” Momo and Izuku looked between each other, thinking Oboro wanted to talk more about what happened earlier. Oboro waited until most of the students were out of their sight before he spoke. “I read on your records that your quirks are listed as the same: Creation and Smoke.” Oboro stated, seeing Momo and Izuku share a look once more. “Can you explain that to me?”

“We believe it has something to do with my quirk,” Izuku started, sticking to the truth as close as possible without giving too much away.

“My quirk, Creation, awakened when I was four years old. Creation allowed me to create anything I knew the molecule structure of.” Momo explained. “I never showed any signs of having a secondary quirk factor like Todoroki showcases with his half-hot, half-cold quirk.” Oboro nodded at the explanation. He kept his expression carefully tailored to not give away his thoughts, so neither Momo nor Izuku could tell if he believed them so far.

“My quirk, Smoke, came in late, and not until after I met Momo. It allows me to use Smoke in multiple different ways. I do have a full explanation of what Momo and I have tried in the past if you’re interested.” Izuku explained, knowing that he sucked at lying but knew sticking to the semi-truth was better, so he didn’t get caught in a lie. “When my quirk came in, somehow our quirk factors mixed and mingled together where we can both use the other’s quirk.”

Izuku showcased this by holding up both his hands, releasing a green colored smoke from one hand and creating a matryoshka doll that looked exactly like Momo in her gym uniform with his other hand. Momo repeated the process, showcasing a red smoke and creating a matryoshka doll that looked exactly like Izuku in his gym uniform. “We are unsure of why our quirks mingled and mixed together, and our family doctor was confused as well.”

Oboro hummed as he looked between the two matryoshka dolls in their hands and looked at the smoke they were both creating. “I noticed that you two only used your original quirks today. Are you still unsure about revealing your additional quirk factors?”

Izuku and Momo looked between each other for a moment, having a silent communication with their eyes, before Momo gave a nod and a small smile towards Izuku. Izuku released a breath as he turned back towards Oboro. “We’re worried about what other people will think, especially once they learn we’re dating.” Izuku watched to see if Oboro gave a reaction to the information but he stayed as straight faced as ever. “And it’s difficult to explain whatever it is that happened and how it works. We seem to have some kind of mental link as part of the blending, as well. It's subconscious on both of our parts.”

Oboro hummed in thought for a moment, looking between the two students in front of him. “Why don’t we talk to Nezu about it? Doesn’t have to be today, as I still need to deal with Bakugo, but hopefully sometime soon. Either we can figure out why your quirk factors mingled and mixed, or we can think up something about how you two share the other’s quirks.” Oboro hummed in thought for another moment before shaking his head. “That will be all. Head back to the locker rooms and get changed. Let the other students know that I will be dropping by the dorms in a little bit to talk about dorm policies and answering any questions you may have.”

Izuku and Momo nodded, turning around and walking together back towards the main UA building, while Oboro watched them leave. ‘Their quirks mingled and mixed together…’ Oboro thought to himself. ‘It doesn’t sound possible, and there’s never been a case like that before. Dual quirk factors sure, but those were similar in nature, but nothing about being able to use the other’s quirks…’ Oboro watched as the two disappeared into the building, something panging in his heart, an echo reverberating from the past. He shook his head and started walking in the direction of Principal Nezu’s office. ‘Maybe I need to talk with Recovery Girl about it and get them checked out to make sure nothing strange is going on…’

Chapter Text

As Izuku and Momo walked back towards the locker rooms, the only noise they heard was the thudding of their footfalls and the gentle hum of the air conditioning, working hard already even this early in the year. When Oboro had requested to speak with them privately, he had waited until the rest of their classmates were out of sight (and hearing range) before beginning the conversation. Meeting nobody in the halls, they suspected their classmates had all retreated back to the locker rooms.

Momo was unsettled by the tense silence between, far different than the comfortable silence they normally enjoyed when reading or working on schoolwork separately. Momo kept wringing her hands together as she debated with herself if she wanted to interrupt, to be the one to breach the barrier that had sprung up unexpectedly between them.

Looking towards Izuku, Momo noticed that her boyfriend appeared to be silently mumbling to himself, realizing that he must have been deep in thought when they were released. She also noticed that he had a conflicted look on his face, and she felt a pit form in her stomach, knowing it was partly due to her actions during the QAT.

“Yen for your thoughts, Izu?” Momo asked quietly, startling him out of his silent mutterstorm.

Izuku remained silent for a minute, looking directly ahead of them, as he thought about what he wanted to say. Momo’s worries increased when Izuku didn’t respond right away. “I didn’t like how you responded to Bakugo when he called me ‘Deku’,” Izuku finally responded, looking up at Momo. “And you didn’t listen when I tried to stop you from going after him.”

Momo’s heart rate jumped, and the pit in her stomach began to increase in size. When she didn’t respond right away, Izuku looked into her eyes and could see the worry and conflict churning inside her. He reached out and grabbed Momo’s hand, pulling them to a stop in the hallway, forcing them to face each other. Momo had tried to look away from Izuku, to the side, towards the ground, over his head, anywhere but his face before she landed on their joined hands. She didn’t think she could handle the disappointment within his eyes.

Izuku raised his hand up to Momo’s cheek, feeling her leaning into his soft touch, slowly rubbing her cheek against his calloused hands. He watched as Momo closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and enjoying his touch, before opening her eyes and finally looking into his shining emerald orbs. “Are you mad at me?” Momo questioned in such a small voice, she wasn’t sure if Izuku had heard her at all.

“I could never be mad at you, Momo,” Izuku responded as he gently ran his thumb along her cheek. “I love you, and I always will.” Momo released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, slumping her shoulders in relief, after hearing those words. “I know you only wanted to stand up for me, making sure he never called me that name again, but I think there were better ways of handling it.”

Momo nodded, closing her eyes again, raising her own hand and placing it against Izuku’s. “I still remember the day we first met,” Momo admitted quietly, “When he called you Deku, that day is all I could think about.”

“And that’s partially my fault,” Izuku admitted, causing Momo to open her eyes and find a faraway look in Izuku’s. He might have been looking right at her but he couldn’t see her at that moment. She had seen the look on his face before, only a handful of times, but she knew he was remembering a past before they had entered each others’ lives. “I never told you about what happened. I tried to bury it in the past, hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore.”

“But you did tell me that day. All those kids used to call you ‘Deku’, and continuously made you feel worthless.” Momo tried to counter.

Izuku just shook his head softly, finally focusing back on Momo in front of him. “‘Deku’ was the name that Bakugo gave me when we were kids. The kids at Aldera were the ones that twisted it into meaning worthless. I don’t know if Bakugo was too young to understand, or just liked the attention he received, but he never stopped them.” Izuku released a sigh, looking away and dropping his hand. “We used to be best friends…”

“Izu…”

“While my life might have had a rough beginning,” Izuku explained as he looked back towards Momo with a smile, “the outcome was worth what I had to go through. I met this wonderful person who continuously pushed me to do better, who helped me train and picked me up when I fell, who always took their time when I struggled with our schoolwork.” Izuku watched as Momo started smiling, noticing the small tears in her eyes, knowing it was about her. “So while my story doesn’t have a happy beginning, by the Gods, it has a beautiful looking future.”

Momo reached up, grabbing Izuku’s head softly, and pulled them together. She captured his lips with a kiss, one that left them both breathless, even if it didn’t last very long. In one simple act, Izuku and Momo understood everything the other was trying to convey. “I love you, Izu.” Momo spoke softly, her forehead resting against Izuku’s as their breath intermingled between them.

“I love you, Mo.” Izuku responded just as softly. They both had closed their eyes, their foreheads connected and enjoying the closeness and comfort of the other, something they had missed last night. When they had both opened their eyes, they had found themselves instantly lost in the other's, shining emerald matching sparkling onyx.

Izuku pulled back with a sad sigh, not wanting to break the connection, but knowing they needed to get changed and head back to the dorms. “We need to talk more about what happened today,” Izuku started off, seeing Momo nod in agreement. “We can’t just attack everyone that might treat the other differently.”

Momo raised her eyebrow. “Were you planning on attacking someone?”

“Of course not,” Izuku responded with a chuckle, “But you know damn well that I would if the situation arose.”

Momo responded with a chuckle, shaking her head softly, knowing that Izuku wasn’t kidding. They had promised each other long ago they’d have the other's back, no matter what happened. Momo looked down the hall, noticing the locker rooms were only a few steps away, before looking back at Izuku doing the same thing.

“Tonight?” Momo questioned in reference to their promised talk.

“Tonight,” Izuku nodded in response, “After we deal with the aftermath of our classmates seeing that.”

Momo could hear the conversation on the other side of the door but couldn’t make out what they were talking about. Taking a deep breath, and looking towards Izuku and seeing him do the same, she pushed open the door into the girl’s locker room. Taking a few steps in, the conversation came to a sudden halt, every single one of her classmates looking towards her.

Clearing her throat, she walked towards Himiko, having claimed her locker beside her sister before the QAT. Himiko watched her carefully, and Momo could see the question in her eyes. Momo shook her head softly, indicating she didn’t want to talk about it at that moment, receiving a nod from Himiko in return. She started changing silently, hearing the rest of her classmates return to changing.

“Well, if nobody is going to say anything,” Kyouka started off, moving beside Momo and leaning up against the locker. “I think standing up for your boyfriend was badass, Yaomomo.”

Momo paused in her changing, looking towards Kyouka, finding her smirking in her direction. “Yaomomo?” Momo asked.

“Yeah, rolls off the tongue better than Yaoyorozu, don’t you think?” Kyouka questioned. “Unless you don’t like it?”

Momo looked back into her locker for a moment, thinking about the nickname. “I’ve only been given nicknames by Izuku before,” Momo started off as she looked back at Kyouka. “I like it. Thank you, Jirou.”

Kyouka waved her off, her smirk never falling off her face. “Don’t mention it, Yaomomo.”

“So how long have you two been dating?” Mina questioned as she bounced over beside Kyouka, looking at Momo. “You were ready to protect him at the drop of a hat!”

Momo continued changing, an involuntary smile forming on her face. “A little over a year now.”

“Only a year?!” Toru questioned, waving her hands in front of her, based on how her sleeves were moving. “You two acted like you’ve been a married couple for years!”

Himiko poked her elbow in Ochako beside her, causing Ochako to look towards Himiko. “Only a year, she says. They practically did everything together since they were six.”

Ochako looked at Momo, finding her glaring towards Himiko, causing Ochako to giggle in response. “I never would have guessed you two have only been dating for a year. Hakagure’s right, when I first met you two, I thought you were dating for a lot longer!”

“Kero.” Tsuyu croaked, coming up beside Mina and Toru. “Did I hear that right? Bakugo used to bully Midoriya?”

Momo nodded slowly, her fist clenching tightly. “Izuku never told me outright, but I do believe so.” Momo released her fist, taking a deep breath. “His quirk matches up with the burns that Izuku had when I first met him.”

There was the sound of a fist connecting with a locker, causing the girls to look over in alarm. They noticed Rumi had just punched one of the lockers, giving it a sizable dent. “I fucking hate bullies. I would have beat his fucking ass this morning had I known.”

“And risk the wrath of Shirakumo or Nezu? No thanks.” Moe Kamiji responded, running her hands through her flaming hair. “There’s rumors that Nezu has a lot of pull, and makes no exceptions for anybody, so I say we just let him deal with it.”

“Kamiji is correct,” Kashiko admitted, “Letting Shirakumo and Nezu deal with it would be our best option. Having done my research, I found out Nezu has expelled students that were children of heroes previously in the top ten.”

“No shit?” Kyouka questioned, receiving a head shake from Kashiko in return. “Damn, that’s hardcore. I better let Denks know he can’t be fucking around.”

“Hey, High Class!” Rumi called out as she approached Momo from behind, causing her to turn around. “If you ever need any help pounding that guy into the pavement, you just let me know!”

Momo was taken back by Rumi’s comment, but let a small smile grace her face, giving the shorter girl a curt nod. “Thank you, Usagiyama, I will keep that in mind.”

“Kero. I’m going back to the dorms. I still have a bunch of stuff to unpack.” Tsuyu commented.

“Oh, before you go,” Momo started off, causing everyone to look in her direction again. “Shirakumo wants to talk to us about dorm policies and answer any questions we may have when we get back.”

“Thank you for letting us know, Yaoyorozu.” Kashiko responded, nodding towards her.

Momo continued changing, putting her school uniform back on and finally fixing her tie, as the rest of her classmates left. She looked over towards Himiko, catching her eyes for a moment, finding a question behind them. Momo nodded with a small smile, informing her she was okay. Himiko nodded with her own smile before she turned around and pulled Ochako out of the locker room, hearing complaints that Ochako still needed to do her tie. Momo could only smile at her sister's antics as they left.

Closing her locker, Momo turned to leave, finding Kyouka still standing there. “Thought you might have wanted someone to walk back to the dorms with.”

“And Kaminari?” Momo questioned curiously as she followed the other girl out of the locker room.

“Talked to Denks before,” Kyouka shrugged. “Told him I was gonna wait for you, and he was gonna wait for Green. Figured we’d all walk back together.”

Momo gave the other girl a small smile. “That was kind of you two. Thank you, Jirou.”

Izuku took a deep breath, giving Momo one last look, before pushing open the door into the boy’s locker room. The conversation never stalled for a moment, and Izuku could hear Eijiro, Hanta, Tenya, and Denki all talking back and forth about what happened. They didn’t even attempt to hide it as Izuku got to his locker, but he tried to block them out as best as he could.

Hearing the locker beside him close, he looked over to find Denki just buttoning up the last of his school uniform buttons. “Yo man, everything good with Teach?” The conversations around them calmed down, everyone listening to what Izuku had to say.

“Yeah. He wanted to talk with Momo and I about something on our official records.”

“You got a black mark or something?” Hanta questioned, causing Izuku to look around as he buttoned up his own shirt.

Izuku shook his head. “No, nothing of the sort, but it is a personal matter.”

“Sorry man, didn’t mean to cross a line.” Hanta responded, holding up his hands in apology.

“No worries, Sero, you didn’t cross any lines.” Izuku responded with a small smile. “I get the curiosity, especially after what happened during the QAT.”

“Bro, that was so manly how you redirected that blast!” Eijiro commented, pushing a fist into his open palm. “No hesitation either! You gotta teach me how to do that sometime!”

Izuku chuckled as he shrugged. “I don’t know what I could teach, honestly. I was just worried about Momo getting hurt and I reacted.”

“Did Yaoyorozu get hurt at all?” Tenya questioned and Izuku could hear the concern in his voice.

“No, she was okay,” Izuku responded, turning and smiling towards Tenya. “Thank you for asking Iida.”

“I’m sorry for asking, but did Yaoyorozu mention that Bakugo used to bully you, Midoriya?” Mezo questioned from one of the mouths on his limbs.

Izuku released a sigh. “Yes, she did say that.”

“Dude, what the hell?” Denki questioned, and Izuku could hear the frustration in his voice. “Why did they allow a bully into UA? I thought someone mentioned they were very strict about stuff like that.”

Izuku was about to respond before he was interrupted. “Correct, Kaminari! According to UA Policy, bullying of any kind towards another is strictly prohibited!” Tenya said, chopping one arm as he attempted to put his other arm through a sleeve. “Sekigai informed me that Nezu has expelled children of heroes previously in the top ten for that exact reason!” Izuku nodded in agreement to Tenya’s explanation.

“It’s possible they looked past the darkness for the little light that shines within his soul.” Fumikage commented, causing everyone to look towards him. “Fumi means that it’s possible they overlooked his previous record for the small amount of potential he has.” Dark Shadow said, while Fumikage nodded towards the shadow in thanks.

“That’s a load of crap if they did!” Eijiro said. “Just because you have a powerful quirk, doesn’t mean you deserve to be a hero!”

Izuku could have sworn he heard Hitoshi Shinso whisper out ‘Of course they did’ as he continued changing. Izuku gave him a curious look, having not seen the indigo-haired boy use his quirk once during the QAT. Hitoshi must have felt Izuku looking at him because he looked directly towards Izuku at that moment before scoffing and turning around. Izuku thought nothing better of it, instead turning back around to finish changing as well.

A locker clanged closed beside Izuku, causing him to look over towards Shoto, seeing he had finished changing. “I’m going back to the dorms.” Shoto said simply, moving around Izuku towards the door.

“Before you go, Todoroki,” Izuku called out, causing him to stop. “Shirakumo mentioned wanting to talk with all of us back at the dorms about the policies and such. He mentioned answering any questions we may have.”

Shoto looked back for a moment before giving Izuku a curt nod, disappearing out of the locker room. Izuku had been trying to think up something to break Shoto out of whatever he was dealing with Endeavor, but the more he thought about it with the limited info he had, the less he thought he could help.

As he finished tying his red shoes, he turned back around to close his locker, noticing Denki still standing against the lockers. “Sup, dude,” Denki said as he pushed himself to stand up straighter. “You done?”

Izuku nodded. “I am, but is there a reason you waited for me? I know where the dorms are located, if you were worried.”

“Nah, dude,” Denki responded with a shrug. “Ky and I talked before you guys came back, and we agreed that we wanted to walk back to the dorms with you.” Denki said as he started making his way towards the door, Izuku following behind him. “They should be just finishing up, or waiting for us.” Denki stopped before pushing the door open, turning back towards Izuku, who raised his eyebrow in question. “I just wanted to thank you again for worrying about Ky. That loud explosion would have caused her a headache and she would have taken it out on me.” Denki chuckled, causing Izuku to chuckle along. “And you don’t want to know how much those jacks hurt. They could easily pierce concrete if she wanted to.”

“I can imagine,” Izuku responded. “And you’re welcome. I know that if Mo had a similar issue, I would have loved for someone to be looking out for her.”

“See, you get it.” Denki responded with a smile. “Sorry for how I responded before, but I wanted to make sure you weren’t actually hurting her.”

“All is forgiven,” Izuku responded, holding out his hand towards the other boy. Denki smiled at Izuku, clutching his hand tightly and giving it a firm handshake.

Katsuki was currently sitting on one of the couches in front of Nezu’s desk, watching the video of what happened earlier on the screen behind Nezu. Oboro was standing off to one side, leaning up against the wall, with his arms crossed on his chest. He had guided Katsuki into the office once he arrived, pointing towards the couch, before asking Nezu to pull up the video from the P.E. Grounds.

The video showcased Katsuki questioning Izuku about his entry into UA, and how Momo reacted and stormed directly towards him. Izuku had attempted to stop her, calling out and telling her to stop, as she continued to advance towards Katsuki. He could hear every utterance that had been exchanged between the two, almost as if the microphone was right between their faces. He watched and listened as Izuku explained what he remembered ‘Deku’ meaning, and the reaction that Katsuki had.

Nezu paused the video right after Katsuki started returning to the main building on campus, turning around and steepling his paws together on his desk. “Not even forty eight hours into the semester and you’re already in my office, Katsuki Bakugo. Normally, when a student is sitting in front of me, it’s for better reasons.” Nezu reached out, picking up his tea cup and taking a sip, never taking his eyes off Katsuki. “Tell me, Bakugo, what was your thought process that resulted in your actions?”

Katsuki was silent for a minute, keeping a glare on his face, as he looked between Nezu and Oboro. “Ponytail was about to attack me, and I just reacted to protect myself.” Katsuki turned back to Nezu as he started to explain, hoping to convince the small mammal as best as he could. “You saw the video for yourself. Even Deku tried and couldn’t stop her.”

Nezu growled a bit, causing Katsuki to raise his eyebrow in question, before Nezu recomposed himself and turned towards his computer. “Katsuki Bakugo, son of Mitsuki and Marasu Bakugo. Applied from Aldera Middle School, where your grades and mock exams showcased scores above the ninety-fifth percentile. Scored first place on the entrance exam practical portion, beating out thousands of other examinees.”

Nezu hummed in thought. “Only a few points from reaching All Might’s personal record for villain points.” Katsuki puffed up his chest, trying to make himself look proud of the results, before Nezu continued. “Zero rescue points, with comments of ‘Save yourself, Extras’ or similar throughout the exam; nothing compared to All Might’s sixty six rescue points.” Katsuki deflated as Nezu turned to look at him, an unreadable expression on his mammalian face. “Which is a rare occurrence in the records of UA’s entrance exams. Even students focused strictly on taking out the faux villains normally happen to earn themselves at least a couple of rescue points during the exam.”

“Who the fuck even judges an exam on rescue points?” Katsuki questioned, residual anger from earlier seeping into his voice. “Why the fuck would I care about rescue points? The point of being a hero is beating the villain!” Katsuki stood up abruptly, causing Oboro to kick off the wall but stopping when Nezu held up a paw. “Why the fuck am I here getting in trouble when it was fucking Ponytail who attacked me first? Is it because Deku lied about what his name fucking meant? He used to call me fucking Kacchan! I didn’t even do anything wrong! I just reacted to what they were doing!”

“Sit down, Katsuki Bakugo.” Nezu said quietly, sending a shiver down Katsuki’s spine. He had heard the rumors of Nezu escaping captivity from a group of scientists, but nobody ever said what happened to them. Katsuki glared towards Nezu for a moment longer while the mammal stared back unblinking, waiting for him to respond. Katsuki finally huffed in frustration and sat down on the couch, continuing to glare at Nezu.

“As I was saying, because of this rare occurrence that happened during the entrance exam and your actions today, I went ahead and pulled your records from Aldera Middle School.” Nezu watched as Katsuki went white in the face.

“I’m seeing nothing but positive remarks about your studies and previous teachers. ‘Grades top of his class’ and ‘always answering questions correctly’ among a few.” Nezu clicked his mouse, typing a few things as he hummed in thought. “But there’s a few here like ‘perfect quirk for heroics’ and ‘high chance of becoming a hero’ mixed in with the rest. Other than a few concerning comments, there are absolutely no remarks about anything negative throughout your school years. Even the best of students had remarks about something during their middle school years. Do you have any comments on this, Bakugo?” Nezu finished.

Katsuki stayed silent, cursing his previous teachers for falsifying his record, knowing that his classmates took the fall for anything he had caused during his middle school years. He knew he had been aggressive before UA, and there were more times than he could count that he found himself in the principal’s office in middle school, but he had never been in trouble, not even once.

Nezu nodded once, seeing that Katsuki decided to keep quiet. “To answer your earlier questions, Momo Yaoyorozu and Izuku Midoriya didn’t get off scot free, and have faced repercussions for their actions. It was you who decided to use your quirk first, not only attempting to attack Momo Yaoyorozu, but also attempting to attack Izuku Midoriya.” Nezu reached for his tea cup, picking it up and pointing it towards Katsuki. “You’re lucky they stopped your attacks, otherwise we would be having a very different conversation right now.”

Nezu took a drink from his tea cup, finishing it off and placing it back on the desk. Oboro responded to the empty tea cup by moving towards the teapot in the corner, picking it up and filling the cup back up for Nezu, receiving a thanks in response from the mammal. “Tell me, Bakugo, do you know who the Yaoyorozu Company is?

“Of course I fucking do,” Katsuki responded. “They’re the biggest support company in all of Japan. The only people who don’t know who they are must be living under a rock.”

“Correct! Yaoyorozu Company is the biggest support company in Japan, with many UA Alumni working for them.” Nezu picked up his tea again, taking a sip, a smile crossing his face. “They’re also one of the biggest shareholders of UA. They’re also ranked first in donations for UA, beating out second place by almost twenty-one percent.” Nezu kept his eyes on Katsuki, not getting any reaction from him. “Did you know that the Yaoyorozu Company provided the funds for your hero costume and support items?”

Katsuki’s eyes went wide in realization, but before he could say anything, Nezu continued. “So not only did you decide to attack a student, but one that was recommended by a pro hero and alumnus of UA, the daughter of the family who runs the biggest support company in Japan.” Nezu took another sip of his tea before placing it back down on the desk, steepling his paws together once more. “But not only did you attempt to attack the daughter and heir of the Yaoyorozu Company, but you also doubled down and tried to attack her mate, Izuku Midoriya.” If Katsuki’s eyes could go any wider, they would have looked like dinner plates. “Who was also recommended by a pro hero and alumnus of UA.”

Katsuki deflated even more, leaning more into the couch. He was silent, only hearing the quiet sound of Nezu and Oboro breathing in the same room, and the muted conversations coming through Nezu’s door. Nezu reached across his desk, picking up a piece of paper and reading it over a moment, before placing it in front of Katsuki on his desk. “Usually, when something of this caliber happens, students are expelled without a second thought.” Katsuki looked up at Nezu, spying the paper on the desk for a quick second. “So what will it be, Bakugo? Will this happen again, or will you be signing the paper in front of you?”

As Nezu typed away on his computer, privately listening to the conversation that Izuku and Momo had before entering the locker rooms, he paused in what he was doing. He heard Izuku explain where ‘Deku’ had come from, and how the kids at Aldera twisted the meaning. He thought it sounded strange in hindsight, so he decided to open up his backdoor into Aldera’s private servers once more. He had known kids to be cruel from a very young age but their actions were usually fed on by the adults in their lives, most noticeably the teachers they saw everyday.

Making up his mind, Nezu dived back into the servers, searching for records or any mention of Izuku Midoriya within. Coming up empty handed, and noticing more and more required files deleted, set off alarm bells within. Even if Izuku hadn’t been to Aldera, or one of their connecting schools, in over eight years, they were still required to keep his record until adulthood. As he dove deeper into the servers, the alarms continued to go off when he didn’t find any of the required files, finding traces of them being deleted years ago.

Cracking his neck in preparation, Nezu began typing on his keyboard once more, diving even further into the files that Aldera had. His intention was clear, recover the deleted files and inspect the contents, and figure out the next course of action. Based on what he learned today, he knew something was seriously wrong with Aldera, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Chapter Text

A man was sitting at the bar, something he found himself doing often over the past few years, tapping four fingers along the top. He had a drink in his hand, the contents of the amber liquid only a few sips from being finished. Every time he drank, he was reminded of what happened all those years, of who he lost, and what happened after. Finishing off his drink, he slammed it against the bar, connecting the last of his fingers against it. Within a couple of seconds the glass that was once full of this evening's liquid solace had turned to dust before his very eyes.

“Tomura Shigaraki, I ask that you not dust the glasses of my bar.” The person, if he could be called that, said from the other side of the bar. “We’ve spoken about this many times in the past, and you continue to destroy my glasses.”

“I can do what I want, Kurogiri.” Tomura responded, slapping his hand on the bar. “Give me another! I don’t want to remember tonight by the time I’m done!”

Kurogiri, the bartender that consisted of yellow mist and red eyes, sighed in frustration. Summoning a yellow portal underneath the dust that Tomura had created, he cleaned the bar the best he could before giving it a quick wipe. With another portal placed centimeters above the bar, a new glass fell through, landing directly in the spot the old one was previously. Kurogiri grabbed an aged bottle of whiskey, cracking open the top and filling Tomura’s drink once more.

Tomura was about to begin sipping his fresh drink when the TV above the bar crackled on, showcasing ‘Audio Only’ in big bold red letters. “Shigaraki,” the voice spoke through the crackle of the television. “I have some news for you.”

“Well?” Tomura responded, placing his glass back on the bar and looking towards the screen, “Spit it out!”

“There’s been a rumor of All Might taking up a teaching position at UA High this semester.” The television crackled back out.

“What the fuck are we waiting for? Give me some Nomu and let’s go kill him!” Tomura responded, slamming his fist against the bar, making the glass beside him jump and spill some of its contents.

“Patience, Shigaraki.” The television crackled again. “We need to figure out the perfect time to strike, when we can guarantee the end result of All Might dying by our hands.” The voice paused for a second, the crackling stopping. “Our eye on the inside should be able to get their hands on a teacher’s schedule, but they will need a distraction.”

“So just send a Nomu to attack UA,” Tomura waved off, picking up his glass and taking a big drink, the liquid burning as it went down his throat.

“No,” The voice said, causing Tomura to pause once more and look back towards the television. “I have a better idea, but it will require your assistance.” Tomura placed his drink back on the table, intrigued by what the voice was saying. “Here’s what you’re going to do…”

Izuku and Momo were tranquilly sitting together on one of the couches with Kyouka and Denki beside them. Knowing that Oboro had wanted to talk with them about dorm policies and answer their questions, they decided it was best to wait for their teacher in the common room. They were surrounded by the rest of their classmates, some of them chatting quietly, while others just sat around by themselves waiting for their teacher to show up. Izuku and Momo hadn't questioned where they would sit, knowing innately that this place was right, instinctively together and side by side even with their recent disagreement.

As the door opened, everyone in the class paused their conversations to see who had entered the dorms. Oboro walked through the doors first, Katsuki following him in, before he closed the door behind him. Izuku noticed how Katsuki looked defeated, shoulders slumped and looking towards the floor, something Izuku never thought he would see on his former friend. “Go find a seat with the class,” Oboro commented, receiving a curt nod in return.

Katsuki looked up, locking eyes with Izuku for a brief second, before continuing towards an empty seat. Izuku had noticed Momo's glare towards Katsuki, so he reached out and intertwined their fingers, grabbing Momo's attention and forcing her to look towards him. Izuku shook his head softly, seeing Momo release a huff in response, before she leaned against his shoulder. Izuku's eyes trailed Katsuki as he made his way across the room, sitting in the only spot left beside Tsuyu.

Oboro walked towards the front of the common room, turning off the TV as he did, before turning around and looking over the class. Doing a quick headcount of everyone present, he gave them a curt nod before beginning. “I see that everyone got the message I sent with Yaoyorozu and Midoriya. Thank you for staying in the common room.”

“There’s a few things that I want to go over in terms of dorm policies,” Oboro began, pulling out his phone and tapping on it a few times. The screen that he had just turned off came back on with a set of rules, streamed directly from his phone. Izuku and Momo noticed that there weren't many rules, but giving each other a look, they still wanted to confirm before breaking any they didn’t know of.

“First things first,” Oboro continued. “As you can see from the first floor, you’ve probably noticed and possibly used the kitchen, dining area, and common room already.” Oboro pointed towards the kitchen and dining room that was separated by a few doors along the wall. “The kitchen is restocked nightly. If you have any requests or dietary requirements, I ask that you fill out the official form located within the UA App that you should have downloaded to your phone. If you cannot access the app, there will be physical sheets that you can fill out, but it may take longer to fulfill the requests.”

“You will be required to clean up the kitchen, dining room, and common room area.” Oboro explained. “Previous classes have made up a schedule on who will be doing what on each day of the week. Other classes have dedicated a few people to certain jobs daily. Some would cook every night, others would clean, etc. How you create the schedule will be up to you, but if you end up struggling, I am willing to help out.” Oboro pointed towards a door in the corner, labeled ‘Garbage Room’. “That is the garbage room. Any garbage from within the dorms will need to be separated into the bins within that room. It will also be emptied once a week, but if you require it to be emptied earlier, there will be a number that you’ll call and make a request.”

“Your rooms have been set up to be the most efficient in terms of space. If you require changes, you can always contact me or Cementoss with a request. One of us will need to approve the request for the change, otherwise the change won’t be made.” Oboro pointed towards the wall that split the common room and kitchen/dining area. “We can also make changes to the structures down here, but we would need a majority vote from the students for the change, and it will still need to go through a final approval from myself or Cementoss.”

“On the wall near the entrance, you will find a list of numbers.” Oboro pointed towards the lamented papers pinned up to a wall beside a whiteboard. “The first few numbers will be emergency contact numbers, following my own personal number, and other important numbers that you may require. You will see open slots for Class Representative and Vice Class Representative, which I will fill out when the representatives are picked. Underneath those, you will find open slots for your classmates. These will also be filled out with information about dorm rooms, but it will be up to the student if they want their contact information shared.”

“Is everyone keeping up with me so far?” Oboro questioned, looking around his students, and receiving nods from most, or verbal responses from the rest. “Good. Now that’s mostly everything I needed to talk about, but you’ll find the full list of policies posted on the UA App, as well as posted beside the whiteboard in the common room. I suggest everyone go over them carefully.” Oboro paused, making sure everyone understood, before continuing. “Any questions?”

Momo put her hand up, waiting until Oboro called on her. “I was wondering what the policy is on sleeping with our significant others?” Momo questioned as a blush dusted her cheeks, matching Izuku beside her. “I’m sure I’m not the only one curious, but I wanted to make sure we weren’t going to break any policies if we decided to sleep together.”

“Very good question, Yaoyorozu.” Oboro started with a smile. “It’s not often we have two people in a relationship from the beginning of the semester, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all.” Momo and Izuku nodded in understanding, noticing Kyouka and Denki nodding beside them. “If your partner is living inside the same dorm, you’re welcome to spend the night with them, as long as you aren’t disrupting your fellow classmates. The problem comes when your partner, or partners, are in two different dorms. For safety reasons, you need to inform your teacher, class reps, or mark on the UA App what dorm you’ll be staying in.”

“Thank you, Shirakumo.” Momo responded.

“Is there a curfew in place?” Ochako questioned next. “I’m used to looking up at the stars before bed most nights.”

“Another good question!” Oboro responded, turning around. Tapping on his phone a few times, he broadcasted a Heights Alliance map to the TV behind him, one that showcased who was in each dorm. Everyone had already seen the map, as it was posted near the entrance to the dorms, but this one appeared to be extended.

“As you can see, there is access to the roof of the dorms,” Oboro pointed out to a staircase near the back of the dorms that continued to lead upwards. “On top of the dorms, you’ll find a gated off area that you are welcome to use for whatever you please. There is a telescope located up there, but also a gazebo and a sitting area. You’re allowed to use it any time of day you like, and curfew doesn’t apply up there.” Oboro turned back around, looking at Ochako and finding her eyes sparkling, causing his smile to grow. “But to answer your original question, curfew starts at ten at night and goes until five in the morning. If you are going to be outside the dorms outside the posted times, you need to inform your teacher, class reps, or mark it on the UA App.”

“How soundproof are the rooms?” Kyouka questioned, twirling one of her jacks with her finger. “My quirk gives me enhanced hearing, and it’s been an issue sleeping in the past if I didn’t have soundproof rooms.”

“The rooms should be soundproofed enough where you shouldn’t be able to hear your neighbors, if you even have any.” Oboro explained. “Nezu and I went over your quirks and everything you had listed on them before the semester officially started. Based on some quirks, we shuffled people around so that the enhanced hearing quirks wouldn’t be affected. This is why Shoji and Jirou have been placed on the fourth floor.” Oboro watched as Kyouka and Mezo nodded in thanks. “If anybody would like to move dorm rooms, you will have to come find me for approval.”

“What type of food can we request for the kitchen?” Katsuki questioned quietly, not looking up at their teacher.

“UA will be able to get almost anything, from anywhere in the world,” Oboro explained. “Depending on where it has to be acquired, it might take a while for the request to be fulfilled. If it’s native to Japan, and easily accessible, the request will be fulfilled the next day.” Katsuki gave Oboro a curt nod, still not looking up at their teacher.

“Any other questions?” Oboro asked, looking around the room and seeing nobody with their hand up. “If there are no other questions, I’m going to release you for the day. If you manage to think of any other questions that aren’t answered in the policies, please feel free to ask me. You can either send me a message to my personal number or through the UA App itself, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!” Oboro turned off what he was broadcasting to the TV behind him, making his way to the exit near the front of the dorms.

“Oh!” Oboro said, turning around and facing the class before they all scrambled off. “Make sure you’re not late for class! We’re going to hit the ground running tomorrow, and I don’t like my students missing anything important! See you in the morning!” With that said, Oboro opened the door and disappeared out of the dorms.

Momo turned to Izuku, finding him distracted by someone moving away from them in the crowd of their classmates. “Izu?” Momo questioned, getting an acknowledging hum in return. “Would you like to go back up to my room for a bit before dinner?”

Izuku finally turned around and nodded, his mind momentarily taken off whatever he was looking for a moment before. “I would like that, Mo.” Izuku responded with a smile.

Telling their new friends Kyouka and Denki that they would meet them in the kitchen in a few hours for dinner, Izuku and Momo ended up retreating up the steps on the girl’s side of the dorm. They had wanted to inform Himiko and Ochako of their plans, knowing that Himiko couldn’t cook at all, but they had already disappeared from the common room before Izuku and Momo could catch them.

As they arrived in Momo’s room, Izuku instantly made his way towards Momo’s bed, climbing onto it and lying down in his accustomed place, on the left side of the mattress. Momo smiled as Izuku sunk into the comfortable covers, a small peaceful smile gracing his face. It almost made her want to forget about the talk they promised to have. Shaking her head softly, she made her way to her attached bathroom, grabbing a pair of comfortable pajamas on the way. Once she was finished changing, she reentered her bedroom to find Izuku watching her with the smile still plastered on his face, but she could tell he was battling his inner thoughts just by looking into his eyes.

Making her way towards the bed, she sat on the edge and swung her feet up, just to be grabbed by Izuku and pulled into a hug. She giggled a bit, making him laugh as well, before they both got comfortable laying beside each other.

As they lay comfortably beside each other, Momo kept quiet, waiting for Izuku to start. She turned in his grip, finding him looking at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on his face. She reached up, cradling his cheek lightly, causing him to look towards her. “Take your time, Love.” Momo whispered out quietly.

Izuku nodded, looking back up towards the ceiling, pulling Momo closer to him. He was quiet for another few minutes as he rearranged his thoughts. “I don’t know where to start, if I’m being honest.” Izuku admitted.

“Why not the beginning?” Momo questioned, still watching him carefully. “I know you mentioned you don’t remember much from before meeting me, but you do seem to remember something if you recognized Bakugo.”

Izuku nodded, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. “It’s true there’s not much I remember from before I met you,” Izuku started, closing his eyes in thought. “Before I was diagnosed, Katsuki Bakugo, nicknamed Kacchan by two year old Izuku, was my best friend. We did everything together, from watching All Might on TV and HeroTube to playing outside with our All Might figures, to playing Heroes and Villains.” Momo listened intently, leaning her head against his shoulder and squeezing Izuku close to show her support. “He even gave me the nickname ‘Deku’ because it was easier to say than Izuku was, before it was twisted by Aldera into what it eventually meant.”

“When Bakugo’s quirk came in, we both knew it would be perfect for heroics, and with the help of our parents, we brainstormed on everything that his quirk could possibly achieve.” Izuku opened his eyes, looking towards the ceiling. “I actually might still have those notes, even though most of it was in crayon and four year old Izuku’s writing.” Momo giggled, bringing a small smile to Izuku’s face. “We made promises to each other that we’d become the world’s greatest heroes back then, side by side, surpassing even All Might.”

Izuku's smile fell as he thought about what he wanted to talk about next. “By the time my fifth birthday came around and my quirk still didn’t come in, Mom took me to our local doctor, where I ended up getting the worst news of my life.” Momo squeezed Izuku tighter, already seeing the tears of sadness briming in his eyes. “And life seemed to just love to kick me when I was down. Somehow, my official diagnosis was released to my classmates, and that’s when I started getting bullied.”

Momo felt Izuku hug her tighter, a few shakes going through him as he attempted to remember the years before they had met. “Bakugo was upset that I never got a quirk, but he wasn’t like the rest of Aldera; he didn’t bully me, not at first.” Izuku took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to try and keep calm. “It was around the same time that Dad had left. Mom told me he was going to work in America to better support us, but he had never once called or sent a card. Mom had to start working longer hours to support us, which meant she couldn’t pick me up from school, which led to the bullying getting worse.”

“Izu…” Momo said quietly, hugging him even tighter, trying to hold him close. He accepted the embrace, hugging back just as tightly, as the quiet sobs racked through him.

“Mom always tried her best back then,” Izuku continued after a minute to compose himself. “Looking back, I know now how much we were struggling without Dad being around. I still haven’t heard from him, and Mom never made a mention of him either, so I can only think he abandoned us all those years ago.” Izuku buried his face into Momo’s shoulder before continuing. “I can only remember him loving us before I was diagnosed, but anytime I think about him, all I can think about is that he abandoned us because I was diagnosed as a ‘Deku’.”

Momo felt Izuku shake against her shoulder as his voice broke, and she pulled him towards her, holding him against her chest as he let out the feelings he was bottling up. She held his head, running her hands through his fluffy hair, while giving the side of his head light kisses, showcasing how much he was loved. Her tender expressions of care lasted a few minutes before Izuku calmed down, and they just laid there together. “You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to, Love.” Momo whispered beside his ear.

Izuku shook his head, pushing himself up to look towards Momo. She could see the hurt behind his eyes, but there was love buried underneath all that hurt, a passionate and desperate love for her. He leaned down and captured Momo’s lips with his own, getting lost in the kiss for the moment, as Momo continued to run her hands through his hair. When they finally pulled back, they were both breathless. “No, I need to continue, I need to finish telling you everything. You deserve to know about what I’ve been bottling up since before I met you.” Momo nodded in understanding, pulling Izuku back down towards her, so they could embrace each other once more.

“Eventually the bullying continued to get worse. Mom had gone to the school to complain and tried everything within her power to get the bullying to stop, but nothing ever worked.” Izuku explained, his voice just above a whisper. “Bakugo continued to get more aggressive in his actions, changing from destroying my homework and desk, to using me as a quirk test dummy.” Izuku shivered as he remembered, and Momo tightened her embrace on him again. She felt him let out a quiet sigh as he embraced her back. “He was never reprimanded for his actions either. The teachers claimed that I was the one instigating the fights, and that I had to learn my lesson one way or another. I think they just didn’t care because I was quirkless.”

“Mom had tried to call Auntie Mitsuki and Uncle Marasu to resolve the issue, but they believed that Bakugo would never do something like that to me, since we were best friends before going to Aldera.” Izuku explained, closing his eyes. “No matter how much Mom tried to convince them, they never believed her, and she cut contact with them not long after. I haven’t seen them since I was five or six years old.”

Izuku fell quiet after that, and Momo felt that he calmed down significantly since they first started. She continued to run her hands through his hair, calming him down and feeling him melt into the embrace. He raised his head from her shoulder, looking towards Momo with a small smile, which still made her heart flutter even after dating him for over a year. “But then I met you, and my world completely changed.”

Momo smiled back, pulling him down and capturing his lips with a kiss. As they separated, they just laid together in the quiet embrace of each other. “You have always been the best thing to ever happen to me, Momo.” Izuku whispered after a few minutes. “I know I wouldn’t be who I am today without you.”

Momo giggled softly, causing Izuku to chuckle in response. “Your world wasn’t the only one that was flipped upside down in a blink of an eye,” Momo responded with a smile, causing Izuku to look towards her. “Father invited you into our lives, and you were the first friend I’ve ever had that felt genuine. You became the sunshine in my life, making everything warmer and brighter around you.” Momo reached up, cradling his cheek softly. “You’ve been the best thing to ever happen to me, and I know just as well that I wouldn’t have been who I am today without you by my side, Izuku.”

“I love you, Momo.” / “I love you, Izuku.”

Hearing a knock at the door, Izuku and Momo exchanged looks as they wondered who it could be. As Momo was about to respond, the door was thrown open and someone was flying through the air directly towards them, causing Izuku and Momo’s eyes to go wide.

“ZuMo!” Himiko yelled out as she soared through the air, tackling them both back into the bed, and wrapping them in a tight embrace. “Are you two okay? Mo said you two were back in the locker room, but I wanted to make sure, but you two left the common room before I could ask!”

“Himiko!” Ochako yelled out as she rounded the corner behind Himiko a second later, stopping on the doorframe to inspect the room. Her eyes were blown wide as she looked at the massive bed in the room, taking up almost the whole floor. “That’s a big bed…”

Momo looked away, giggling awkwardly to herself. “It didn’t seem that big in my old room. I had almost three times the space.”

“Three times?!” Ochako yelled out as she started to fall backwards.

“Uraraka!” Izuku called out, already summoning Smoke and throwing it behind Ochako, attempting to guide her down softly.

“Ochako!” Himiko yelled out as she reached out towards Ochako, even though she knew she wouldn’t have been able to reach her.

They all expected the crash of her hitting the ground, but one never came. Izuku still had his hand out, controlling the Smoke that he had summoned, slowly forcing it to dissipate. The three teenagers on the bed moved towards the footboard, looking over it to find Ochako on the ground, looking towards the ceiling. They noticed the green smoke that Izuku had summoned was disappearing as they looked down towards Ochako. “Three times?” Ochako questioned, seeing Momo nod. “I knew the Yaoyorozus were rich, but that’s bigger than my house!”

Himiko giggled as she threw herself over the footboard before she helped Ochako back up to her feet. “I couldn’t believe the size of my room when Mom showed me. It was massive compared to what I had before!” Himiko responded. Izuku and Momo noticed her face fall for half a second before she brightened back up, bouncing on the balls of her feet beside Ochako. “Oh! You should come over and see all the plushies I have at home!”

Ochako whipped her head towards Himiko. “You have more?!” Ochako asked in surprise, “But your room is full!”

Himiko nodded excitedly. “Those were only the ones that ZuMo let me bring!” Himiko glared towards Izuku and Momo, causing them to giggle. “Even though Momo got to bring her massive bed!” Himiko continued looking towards Izuku and Momo, when she finally remembered the main reason she came to Momo’s room in the first place. “But are you two okay?” Himiko questioned with worry in her eyes. “Everything happened so fast during the QAT, I didn’t have a chance to react!”

Izuku nodded, smiling towards Himiko. “We’re okay, Himi.” Himiko looked towards Momo, seeing her nod in agreement. “Smoke was able to absorb most of it and deflect the rest.”

They watched as Himiko’s shoulders slumped in relief, before she moved back towards the bed and hugged them. “I was so worried,” Himiko whispered between them, feeling them hug her back. “I’m glad you two are okay. I don’t know what I would have done if you got hurt.”

“Don’t worry about us, we’re okay,” Izuku whispered back beside her ear. “We’re gonna spend some alone time together before making our way down for dinner.” Izuku smirked as he looked back at Ochako, watching them hug. Izuku noticed the wanting and envious look in her eyes before she started looking around the room once more. “Go spend some time with your girlfriend, Mo and I will text you once we start on dinner.”

When Himiko pulled back, Izuku and Momo noticed her natural blush marks were a lot deeper red but she was smiling, showcasing her fangs. “I think I might do just that,” Himiko responded before turning around to a curious Ochako. Himiko reached out and grabbed Ochako’s hand before starting to drag her out of the room. “Let’s go, Ochako! I wanna see your room next!”

“Himiko!” Ochako yelled out, but Izuku and Momo noticed the smile on her face.

“Don’t drag her everywhere, Himi!” Momo called out as they stepped out of the door. Himiko waved her off as she closed the door behind her. “What will we ever do with her?” Momo questioned as she looked back at Izuku.

“Nothing, honestly,” Izuku responded with a shrug. “You saw the smile on Uraraka’s face. I think she’s enjoying it just as much as Himi is.” Momo shook her head softly, wrapping her arm around Izuku and pulling him back towards the bed, laying down beside each other once more in a routine that hardly felt changed since moving in. Sharing a quick kiss, they both closed their eyes and relaxed, planning to rest until it was dinner time.

After cuddling in bed for a bit, just embracing each other and reveling in the still-amazing fact that Momo Yaoyorozu loved him just as much as he loved her, Izuku got himself cleaned up in Momo’s attached bathroom. Momo wanted to get cleaned up too, making herself presentable for seeing her classmates once more, after laying in her pajamas most of the afternoon.

Knowing that Momo was going to take a few minutes, Izuku decided to make his way down to the kitchen to start on dinner for Momo and himself. His mind was elsewhere as he approached the kitchen so he didn’t see the hand that reached out and grabbed him, pushing him into the wall. Izuku was about to react to the attack when he noticed who exactly it was that had grabbed him.

Katsuki was standing in front of him, his hands clenched beside him, as he looked towards the ground. Izuku could see the mixed emotions on his face, but he didn’t say anything for a minute. Izuku knew better than to walk away from Katsuki, having been on the receiving end of his attacks before, but that was before he had a quirk that could counter him. Momo had come down the stairs at that moment, finding Katsuki standing in front of Izuku against the wall. She was about to intervene when Katsuki started talking.

“Where the fuck did you go, Deku?” Katsuki asked quietly. “One day you were at Aldera, and the next, there was no trace of you. Now you’re here at UA with a quirk, and got in on recommendation?” Katsuki looked up, and Izuku could see the mixed emotions behind his eyes. “Do you know how upset the Old Hag was when Auntie wouldn’t return her calls?”

“Why should I tell you, Bakugo?” Izuku asked and watched as Katsuki flinched at the tone and the name Izuku had used. “Don’t you remember that you used to bully me when we were kids?”

“I didn’t-”

“Yes, you did.” Izuku interrupted him. “You may not have started it, but you sure as well continued it. Do you know how many uniforms Mom had to replace because of the burn marks that you caused? On top of her struggling to support us after Dad left? Do you know how many times she called Auntie and Uncle to stop the bullying? How many times she had gone to Aldera?”

Katsuki unclenched his hands, letting pops and crackles sound around them. Izuku already had a Smoke Ball forming in his hand, planning to stop him before he could attack. As the pops and crackles began getting louder, they instantly cut back out when Katsuki clenched his hands together once more.

“You and I remember our childhood a lot differently, it seems,” Izuku continued, causing Katsuki to look back up towards Izuku. “We might have been best friends before your quirk came in, but that all changed when you started treating me like a ‘Deku’.” Izuku watched as Katsuki flinched back at the nickname and how it was spoken. “I came to UA to learn how to become a hero, and I’m not going to let you stand in my way, not anymore.” Izuku pushed off the wall, walking around Katsuki and heading towards where Momo was standing. “And you’ve been warned once. Don’t call me ‘Deku’ anymore. My name is Izuku Midoriya, either remember my name or don’t talk to me.”

Katsuki looked up towards Izuku’s retreating form, finding him walking towards Momo. She gave him a glare but never said anything as the two turned around and walked into the kitchen. Katsuki reacted by throwing his fist against the wall beside him, hurting his knuckles in the process. He stormed out of Heights Alliance with no real destination in mind, as his thoughts and memories of his previous best friend battled for dominance.

As he walked into the forest that was behind the dorms, he started throwing out blast after blast against the trees in his way, sending splitters flying in every direction. It was something he had always done in the forest by Aldera, to help release his frustrations and anger at everything he was dealing with after Izuku had left. He didn’t know how long he was out there, but by the time he was tired, every tree around him had scorch marks from his attacks. Reaching up, he grabbed his hair, closed his eyes, and fell back against a tree behind him, sliding down to the ground.

“Kero,” A voice said from above him, causing him to open his eyes and look towards the frog-like girl. “Are you okay? I heard the explosions from my dorm room.”

“Why the fuck would you care, Frogface?” Katsuki responded without any heat, the results of his outburst.

Tsuyu shrugged her shoulders, moving to sit at a tree across from Katsuki. “You appear upset about something, Kero, so I figured you might want someone to talk with.” Tsuyu brought her finger up to her chin in thought, tilting her head slightly, as she looked around the forest. “My younger siblings used to do something similar when they were upset, until I told them they could come talk with me.”

“So you’re treating me like your fucking siblings?” Katsuki questioned, looking up at her. “I don’t need your fucking help, Frogface.”

“Kero,” Tsuyu responded, dropping her hand down. “You may not think you need help, but I can see that something is eating you up inside. I’m willing to listen if you want to talk.”

Katsuki continued to look at Tsuyu sitting across from him, seemingly having a staring contest with the girl. When he finally had enough, he looked away and closed his eyes once more. He was silent for a while, and he expected Tsuyu would leave him once she realized he wasn’t willing to talk, but when he opened his eyes, he found she was still sitting there watching him.

Katsuki released a tired sigh, looking towards his hands, already done with the day. “I just found out my childhood best friend is alive, has a quirk, and got into UA through a recommendation. Not only that, but because of Ponytail’s reaction to me calling him ‘Deku’, I’ve been threatened with expulsion.”

“Was it true that you bullied him, Kero?” Tsuyu questioned.

Katsuki snapped his eyes towards the girl, anger seeping back into his emotions. “I didn’t bully him! We were fucking best friends!” Tsuyu continued to look at him without saying anything, and he could feel the girl’s judging stare boring into him, silently questioning if he believed that. “I didn’t fucking bully him! ‘Deku’ was the name I created for him, but it was fucking Aldera that twisted the meaning into what he believes it means! We used to play Heroes and Villains together! We would always hang out at each other’s houses! We made fucking promises to each other to become heroes together!”

As Katsuki breathed deeply, his anger slowly fading, memories started to piece themselves back together in his mind. He began to remember how Izuku was treated at Aldera, how his official records were leaked to the student body, and how he eventually joined in, thinking it was fun. He remembered using his quirk against his best friend, telling himself that he was only helping him get stronger, while the other kids around him laughed. As more memories came to the forefront of his mind, ones he thought he had forgotten years ago, he started to realize that his actions were not what best friends did for each other.

With his eyes going wide in realization, Katsuki looked down towards his hands, seeing them all in a new light. “I bullied him,” Katsuki said quietly, clenching his hands together. “He was my best friend and I fucking bullied him. It's no wonder he fucking hates my guts with a passion, and why Ponytail reacted the way she did during the QAT.”

“Kero,” Tsuyu said quietly, causing Katsuki to look up towards her. “If Midoriya told Yaoyorozu about your past treatment of him when you were younger, do you think she had a valid reason to react?” Tsuyu questioned. “Everyone heard what Midoriya believed ‘Deku’ meant during the QAT.”

Katsuki looked back down to his hands, seeing his knuckles all white from how hard he was clenching his hands. “It was never supposed to mean that.” Katsuki said quietly, unclenching his hands and putting them on the ground beside him. “But if that is what he believes it means, it’s no wonder Ponytail threatened me the way she did.”

Tsuyu nodded. “You may not realize it, Kero, but those two are bonded on a deeper level than most. If someone would have told me they were married, I would have believed them, Kero.”

“Fuck…” Katsuki drawled out, slamming his head against the tree behind him. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now. Midoriya wants nothing to do with me.”

“Kero,” Tsuyu responded, causing him to look towards her again. “Prove to him that you’ve changed since the last time you’ve seen each other.”

“How?”

Tsuyu shrugged. “I don’t know, Kero. You’ll have to figure out how to do that yourself.”

Chapter Text

With the sun shining into her room, Momo squeezed her eyes tight and rolled over, attempting to go back to sleep. She knew that it was too early for her to get up, enjoying the comfort of her bed and the familiar feeling of Izuku curled into her. She felt like she was floating through space, but she couldn’t place why she felt like that. Putting the feeling of floating aside, her thoughts drifted to the day before and everything that had happened.

She remembered retreating back to her room for the night, Izuku laying beside her but seemingly distressed about something, tossing and turning as he attempted to fall asleep. Momo had tried to comfort him, worried that what happened that day had brought up painful memories, before he finally went still and entered dreamland with a content sigh. Momo had smiled, pulling him closer and snuggling up with him, running her hand through his fluffy locks before following him into dreamland.

Turning back over because it felt like the sun had followed her, the familiar feeling of Izuku in her arms was nowhere to be found. Even in her tired state, she could feel that something was wrong, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t force herself to wake up. When the feeling of floating slowly turned into the feeling of falling, Momo finally forced her eyes open and looked at the quickly approaching ground. Just as she was about to scream, her free falling reduced in speed, turning into a gentle fall instead. The scream died in her throat as she felt her feet finally touch the ground below her.

Not understanding where she was, she tried to take stock, looking around the area. She noticed the big orange orb in the sky, seeing a bunch of smaller ones circling and passing through the orb. She tilted her head in confusion, knowing that the orb in the sky was OFA, but it appeared to be a different color from the last time Izuku and her were there.

“We believe it’s because Creation has successfully merged with OFA,” A voice said from beside her, startling her and causing her to whip her head towards the sound. She noticed a thin and sickly looking figure standing beside her, his white hair falling into his eyes, looking up towards the orb in the sky. If she was being honest with herself, the man reminded her of her Izuku, but more sickly looking. The figure chuckled, turning towards her at that moment, showcasing his shining emerald eyes. “You probably have a bunch of questions about who I am, but why don’t we go somewhere a little more comfortable?”

Momo didn’t even have a second to respond before the area around her changed. The orange orb in the sky appeared to grow smaller by the second, looking like they were moving backwards at a million kilometers per second without the feeling of moving at all. When the scene had stopped changing, she turned around to find a small cafe at the base of a mountain, one that reminded her of the one Izuku had taken her on their first date.

“Izuku is already waiting for us inside,” The figure beside her said as he walked towards the cafe, indicating for Momo to follow him. She didn’t respond to the figure, trusting him to be one of the vestiges, as they walked towards the cafe. The man in front of her didn’t even reach for the door handle as the door opened automatically, granting them access.

As she walked through the door, the man in front of her stood still, letting her pass by him. She stopped about a meter into the cafe, inspecting the interior for herself. It was everything she'd ever dreamed about in a cafe: tons of coffee and tea variety, a few places to sit and enjoy said beverages and whatever food they offered, and a reading nook in one corner.

Standing behind the bar was a large bald man, looking to be enjoying himself as he made coffee or tea. There was another man sitting in front of him with dirty white hair, seemingly waiting for the drink the bald man was making. Looking around, she noticed two figures standing on a balcony, one with ginger hair and the other with cadet gray, overlooking the vast landscape. Not far from them appeared to be a woman laying in a hammock attached to the ceiling. Looking towards the balcony and the hammock, she noticed there was no obvious way to access either of them.

When she finally landed on the reading nook in the corner, a warm feeling spread through her chest, noticing Izuku talking with En. He must have felt her presence because he turned towards her at the same time, smiling in her direction and lighting up the whole corner of the cafe. She began making her way over towards him and he got up and ran forward to embrace her. “I was worried you weren’t going to show up,” Izuku admitted.

Momo hugged him back tightly. “For you, I’ll always show up, no matter where you go.” When they finally pulled away, Momo looked around the cozy cafe once more, seeing the people she noticed earlier in the same spots, most casually observing the newcomers. “Where exactly are we?”

“We’re inside OFA,” Izuku explained, grabbing her hand and guiding her to a seat beside him. “At least, that’s how En explained it to me.” Momo looked towards En, seeing him nod in confirmation. “I arrived a short time ago, but it seems it took you longer to fall asleep.”

Momo nodded, still holding onto Izuku’s hand. “I was waiting for you to fall asleep. You were tossing and turning a bunch before you finally relaxed.” Izuku nodded, both knowing why he was restless before bed. “But why does OFA look like this?” Momo questioned, gesturing with her hand to the small cafe. “It looks similar to the cafe we visited for our first date, nothing like the blank landscape we were in before.”

“This is a common happy memory for both of you,” En started, causing the two to look towards him. “We can shape and mold the dreamscape to be anything we like, but this is what you two subconsciously requested.”

They both nodded in understanding. “So why are we here? Did you summon us here?” Izuku questioned curiously.

“Yes and No,” The figure from before said, sitting beside En. “I didn’t introduce myself earlier because I wanted to wait until both of you were here.” Izuku and Momo nodded in understanding, encouraging the man to continue. “My name is Yoichi Shigaraki, you may better know me as First. I was the original holder and creator of OFA after my brother passed me a stockpiling quirk.” Izuku and Momo nodded once more, having heard the story of the two brothers from Toshinori before Izuku accepted the quirk.

“To answer your other question, we did summon you here, though it was unintentional,” Yoichi continued. “You see, we thought that we could speak with you, like En did before, now that Creation has fully merged with OFA. We were just trying to figure out how to summon you two here when you both showed up.” Yoichi turned towards Izuku. “I apologize for making you restless before you fell asleep. We believe it was a side effect of unintentionally summoning you.”

“I thought it was strange,” Momo commented, looking towards Izuku. “Not once have I ever seen Izuku restless, but I thought it was because of the day we had.”

Izuku shook his head. “No, I was fine after dinner, right up until I tried to fall asleep with you. It was like I was fighting to fall asleep.” Izuku turned back to Yoichi. “Do you know if that will happen again? And will we have to go through the same process to get here again?”

Yoichi hummed in thought, looking towards the ceiling for a minute, seeing something that nobody else could see. “No, I don’t believe so. We should be able to summon either one of you, or both of you, directly to this place.” Yoichi looked back towards the two teenagers, seeing them sigh in relief. “Again, I apologize for summoning you in such a strange way. Going forward should be a much smoother process.”

Izuku nodded. “Is there something you wanted to talk to us about? Is that why you summoned us?”

“I believe we have figured out why Smokescreen was the first quirk to manifest instead of the original Stockpile,” Yoichi began. “It appears that OFA believed it was too powerful for a single user to handle, which is why it split between both of you. It also appears the mental block on the Stockpile is because it’s still too powerful for you to use.”

“So we won’t be able to use the Stockpile at all?” Momo questioned, looking between Izuku and Yoichi. “Just the upgraded Smokescreen we received and the upgrade it did to Creation?”

“Not exactly,” Yoichi responded. “When Sixth informed you that you would be receiving Smokescreen, he could tell it was different from when he originally had it. This is because OFA has upgraded it with a portion of the stockpiled power. We suspect that as you receive more quirks from the previous users, the Stockpile will slowly deplete until you both are safe enough to use it.”

“We’re going to be receiving more quirks?” Izuku questioned with wide eyes, looking between Momo, Yoichi, and En.

“Correct,” Yoichi responded. “We don’t know whose quirk you’ll be receiving next, just that it will happen. We also don’t have a timeline in place for when you’ll be receiving them.” Yoichi looked up in thought, seemingly looking at something once more. “I wish that I could tell you what quirk you’ll be receiving next, but it appears that all of them have changed since OFA was split between you two. It could be any of them, or multiple of them, at any time.” Yoichi looked down towards the duo, finding them both wide eyed. “The more we find out, the more we’ll be able to tell you.”

Izuku and Momo nodded, still surprised with the information they were given. “I think I need some time to process this…” Izuku said quietly, a faraway look in his eyes.

“I completely understand,” Yoichi continued. “Take all the time you need.” Yoichi stood up, about to make his way to the balcony where the ginger-haired and cadet gray-haired men were standing.

“Yoichi?” Momo questioned, causing the man to stop. “You mentioned that you could summon us to this place,” Momo said, looking towards Yoichi. “But can we come back ourselves?”

“Of course you can!” Yoichi responded with a smile that rivaled Izuku, even if he looked sickly. “If both, or one of you, would like to return, you just have to think about returning. We’re a part of you now, so we can see and hear everything you two experience.” Izuku and Momo shared a look, a dusting of a blush on their cheeks. “You don’t have to worry about us watching or listening while you two are being intimate. Most of us aren’t interested, and decide not to watch or listen.”

“Most?” Izuku questioned with a squeak.

Yoichi let out a sigh, pointing towards the woman in the hammock above them. “Seventh enjoys how romantic you two are. She’s the only one that really watches and listens.”

“They’re just so cute together!” The woman said from above them, giving them a wide smile in their direction.

“Not the time, Seventh!” The bald man behind the counter called.

“You’re no fun, Fifth!” The woman pouted before laying back down in the hammock. “Just wait until they unlock my quirk first!”

“Never gonna happen, Seventh! Blackwhip is just too badass of a quirk to leave locked up! It’ll break out before the rest of them!” The bald man pointed a teacup at the woman in the hammock.

Izuku and Momo watched and listened to the exchange, giggling at the friendly banter between the two vestiges. Izuku tapped Momo on her hand, giving her a knowing look and a smirk. “Excuse me, Barmaid!” Izuku called out.

“Don’t you dare start with me, Kid!” The bald man responded, pointing a different teacup at the two teenagers. “I may look like one of those vikings, but we’re nothing alike!”

“The first step is denial,” The dirty white-haired man responded. He quickly dodged out of the way of a black tendril that went flying towards his head multiple times in a row, each time just missing him by a few centimeters. Izuku and Momo giggled again as the vestiges bantered between them some more.

“It’s time to wake up,” En said suddenly, causing both Izuku and Momo to turn towards him at the same time he put his palms on their foreheads. Giving them a push, Izuku and Momo fell backwards off the chairs they were sitting on, the small cafe disappearing from around them.

When the sun shone into the room, Momo stirred awake, at the same time she felt something moving in her arms. Opening her eyes without any struggle, she found Izuku looking up towards her, a small smile on his face and a question behind his eyes.

Momo leaned down, capturing his lips for a quick second, before pulling him closer to snuggle. Izuku released a content sigh, wiggling just a little to get more comfortable, before melting into the embrace. Momo started running her hand through Izuku’s fluffy locks, feeling him melt even further into the embrace, releasing another content sigh and tickling her neck from his warm breath.

Izuku giggled, feeling the shiver that went through Momo. “Morning, Mo.” Izuku said quietly, giving her cheek a kiss.

“Morning, Izu,” Momo responded quietly, letting Izuku pull slightly out of the hug so they could look at each other. “Six other quirks?”

“It would appear so,” Izuku said, looking off to the side in thought. “We’ll have to tell Toshi the next chance we get.” Izuku looked back towards Momo, finding her also in thought. “But at least we know why we unlocked Smokescreen first, and why you’re able to access OFA too.”

Momo hummed in thought. “Do we know what the other quirks are, so we can be prepared for them?” Momo questioned as she looked up towards Izuku.

“Fifth mentioned Blackwhip during our visit last night,” Izuku confirmed, putting a hand up to his chin in thought. “Toshi might be able to tell us more about Seventh’s quirks. I think her name was Nana?” Izuku questioned, looking up at Momo and receiving a shrug in response.

Izuku was about to continue until both of their phones went off, their matching alarms ringing throughout the room. “We’ll have to put a pin in that conversation for now,” Momo said, reaching over and grabbing both HeroPhones, giving Izuku his, before they disabled the alarms. “Considering what happened yesterday morning, I think it’s best if we get up and start on some breakfast for Himi and Uraraka.”

Izuku shook his head with a smile. “We should have known that Himi’s late starts would have followed her to UA. Do you think we should attempt to wake her?” Izuku questioned, looking over towards Momo as she started getting up from the bed.

“You’re welcome to try,” Momo said with a smile as she made her way around the bed. “The last time I did, she hit me directly in the face with one of her plushies without even moving from bed.” Momo shook her head fondly, stopping at the foot of the bed and looking at Izuku as he continued to lay in bed. “Thankfully she didn’t have anything more dangerous to throw at me.”

“Good thing,” Izuku responded with a mischievous smile. “I love your beautiful face.”

“Izu!” Momo squeaked out, causing Izuku to laugh. She created a small pillow out of her arm with Creation, throwing it towards him and smacking him in the face.

With a quiet ‘oof’, Izuku spread his limbs out in every direction, pretending as if the hit was a lot more serious. “Here lies Izuku Midoriya, pillowed by his beautiful girlfriend.” Izuku muffled out, the pillow still against his face.

“Dork,” Momo responded, shaking her head with a fond smile.

Izuku placed the pillow aside, swinging his feet off the side of the bed, and walking around to where Momo was standing. He embraced her waist, pulling her closer, and giving her a chaste kiss. “I’m going to get ready for the day. Meet you downstairs in a few?” Momo nodded, releasing him from the embrace, as she went into her attached bathroom and Izuku left her room.

With their morning full of regular classes, the day seemed to drag by for Izuku and Momo, having learned most of the current material from their private tutor. They had been so far ahead in the coming months before UA that their private tutor decided to continue into the high school courses, and Izuku and Momo continued to ace the tests they were given. Still, Izuku and Momo continued to take notes, making small comments here and there and greedily absorbing the new information.

Once the bell rang for lunch, they decided to try out the cafeteria, hearing rumors that Lunch Rush, The Cook Hero, was the chef for the students. Momo could only smile as Izuku started listing off all the accomplishments that Lunch Rush had achieved, including feeding ten thousand victims of a typhoon on his own. Once it was their turn to order food, Izuku and Momo both ordered two plates each, knowing that they needed the energy (and lipids) for their afternoon heroics course.

When Himiko and Ochako had joined them, Ochako went wide-eyed at the vast amount of food that Izuku and Momo had in front of them, almost falling off her chair before Himiko caught her. Before Ochako could question them about why they had so much food, Himiko made a comment of ‘not even close to their normal portions’ which actually sent Ochako to the floor. Himiko looked down towards her friend, giggling at her shocked expression, before helping her friend up.

Before Himiko had dug into her meal, she leaned over towards Momo, whispering in her ear about how Lunch Rush caters to all dietary needs. Momo’s eyes went wide as she looked down towards the meal that Himiko had, noticing the red sauce that looked a little too red, and realizing it was likely blood based. When Momo looked towards Himiko, she had stars in her eyes with a full fanged smile, nodding her head excitedly. Momo could only smile and nod in return before looking back at Izuku, noticing he had distracted Ochako for the moment.

As they continued conversing amongst themselves about their morning classes, two more trays were put down on the table, surprising the small group. Looking up, they found Kyouka and Denki sitting with them, easily joining in the conversation about their morning classes. Izuku and Momo shared a look, silently communicating, happy they had made some friends so quickly into the semester, especially after what happened during the QAT.

When the bell finally rang for their afternoon heroics class, the excitement could be felt throughout the students. Some of their classmates were bouncing in their seats, others were still debating on who their teacher would be, and some were just quietly watching the door near the front of the room. Even Izuku, Momo, and Himiko were excited for their first heroics course, even if they knew who the teacher was. Izuku watched closely as Kyouka aimed her jacks towards the door, straightening her body posture, as she realized who it could possibly be.

“I have…” Everyone that wasn’t paying attention whipped around in their seats to focus on the door, just as it slammed opened revealing who was standing on the other side. “…come through the door like a normal person!”

All Might started walking towards the podium, looking excited to be teaching the class. “That’s not how a normal person comes through the door.” Himiko commented, making All Might freeze midstep. Everyone turned around to look at her, disbelief across their faces over what Himiko had said. “What? It’s true. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone come through the door like they’re wearing clown shoes.”

“Clown shoes?” All Might put his foot down, turning towards the class and looking directly at Himiko. “I’ll have you know, Young Himiko, these were specifically made for me!”

“Clown shoes made specifically for the Number One Hero?” Himiko looked around Sekigai in front of her, looking at All Might’s shoes a little better. “They definitely seem to fit well.”

It was so quiet in the classroom that you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was looking between All Might and Himiko, not believing what they had just heard. It lasted only a few seconds before Izuku chuckled, causing everyone to look towards him. “She got you there, All Might. You were walking pretty funny.” Even Momo joined in giggling with Izuku, causing the whole class to look at them as if they were mad.

All Might threw his head back and laughed, causing the rest of the class to look towards the Number One Hero. “In all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone be so direct with me before!” All Might posed at the front of the class, looking around the confused faces of the students. “At the end of the day, I’m just another person! I like jokes just as much as the next! Thank you, Young Himiko, for the laugh of the day!”

“On a more serious note,” All Might continued, looking over the class quickly and locking eyes with Izuku and Momo for half a second. “Welcome to Hero Basic Training!” All Might pulled out a card, holding it out for the class to see, showcasing the word ‘BATTLE’ on a card in big bold blue letters. “We’re starting off the year with some Battle Training!” Making the card disappear, he pulled out a remote and clicked on a button, causing sections of the wall to start moving out. “And for that, you’ll need these! After you change, please meet me out at Ground Beta! Don’t keep me waiting too long!”

“They say that clothes make the pros, and young ladies and gentlemen, you are the proof!” All Might said when everyone had finally come out to the training grounds.

Izuku looked down at his costume, the smile never leaving his face even after he finished changing, as he noticed all the small details he had requested. He was worried about the support company getting all the small details the way he wanted them, but Yuukichi and Miyuki informed them that Yaoyorozu Company would be making their costumes, after confirming with Nezu that it was okay. Izuku, Momo, and Himiko had all sat down with Yuukichi and Miyuki, plus one of their professional costume designers, before coming up with what they were wearing.

Izuku had requested an all black with dark green accents DNA costume, tying into the theme of being more of a stealth looking hero with Smoke compared to a bright colored costume a limelight hero might use. His signature red shoes were traded out for black boots with green accents, reinforced metal bracing over the top of the boots that trailed up partially up his leg, protecting his feet and shins.

Moving up to his pants, they were colored all black to match, with green accents trailing from his waist and around his leg. He had reinforced knee pads built into the fabric, providing him with protection for his knees while also giving him a viable attack method. He had originally requested a black belt to better hide it on his person, but seeing that he was going to be an all around hero, he decided to change it to a green that better matched his green accents.

His long sleeve shirt was similar to his pants, with green accents running up his sides, over his chest and back, and finishing off over his shoulders. His elbows were reinforced similarly to his knee pads, providing protection and a viable attack method. On his hands were a pair of black gloves that trailed halfway up his arm, with reinforced knuckles, with green accents running around the collar of the gloves.

For his head, he had requested a hood that could easily be pulled over his face, hiding his hair and face in the shadows if required. The eyes were made a dark green to match the rest of his accents, and when he tried it out in the locker room, had no issues seeing through them perfectly. He also wanted ‘ears’ along the top that would remind him of All Might, even if Momo and Himiko had made fun of him for them. Around his neck he wore a rebreather/purifier. Even though his Smoke didn’t affect him, he didn’t want to run into a situation where he accidentally breathed in gas or other smoke that could have negative effects on him. It also helped cover his face and give him more of a stealth look.

When Izuku was finished inspecting his costume, he looked over towards Momo who had come up beside him, his breath getting taken away with how good she looked. It was similar to his in design, but instead of the dark green accents he had requested, Momo had decided to go with dark red. He noticed that it also covered her from head to toe, providing her with the same padding throughout, with reinforced knee pads, elbow pads, and gloves.

Momo’s hood was completely different compared to his. While he had requested the ears as a homage to All Might, Momo had decided to forgo covering her face at all. He noticed that she had a similar rebreather/purifier around her neck, and noticed it could easily click into place to cover half of her face when needed. She had originally wanted to carry a book on her person with a bunch of molecular structures for Creation, but Izuku had convinced her that glasses with a heads up display would provide her more resources, faster lookup time, plus all the added benefits of having safety glasses.

Looking just past Momo, he noticed Himiko standing beside Ochako, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. She had decided to go with Fire Rescue Red for her costume, wanting to stand out compared to Izuku and Momo. When Izuku had questioned her about the color, she claimed that it reminded her of blood, but it was also a beautifully bright color. Her argument was when she actually became a hero, the red would be more approachable on patrol, and easier to see during a rescue mission.

Looking over her costume, he knew that it was made out of DNA material just like Izuku’s and Momo’s, allowing her to use Transform freely without ruining the clothes underneath. He also noticed how padded it was, rivaling Izuku’s and Momo’s costume in protection. He could also see most of the spots where she had knives hidden, but knew that she had requested so many that he was sure he missed quite a few. He noticed her special gauntlets that adorned her wrists, housing a retractable needle inside with a removable vial for when she needed to extract blood during a mission. She might not be going into underground heroics, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t come across missions for stealth.

As Izuku looked towards Ochako, he frowned as he noticed how unprotected she was, with minimal padding. He continued looking over his classmates, noticing Kyouka and Denki in a similar position compared to Ochako. When he finally landed on Toru, all he could see was a pair of boots and gloves, and instantly knew he had to talk with his classmates.

“All Might?” Izuku questioned, putting his hand up and interrupting the hero and the class, taking a step forward.

“Yes, Young Midoriya?” All Might responded, looking towards him with a smile.

“I was looking at some of our classmates' costumes, and I just wanted to make a mention of how unprotected they are.” Izuku pointed towards him, Momo, and Himiko, causing their classmates to look towards them. “We have padding throughout, with reinforced sections to better protect us in the field while also providing us with strike points for combat.” Izuku gestured to the rest of his classmates, landing on Toru for half a second, before continuing. “I’m just noticing a huge lack of protection with everyone else’s costumes.”

All Might looked over the classmates, landing on Toru for a second and causing her to squirm in place, before he continued. “Young Midoriya is correct,” All Might started out, his smile fading ever so slightly. “Not everyone has the durability that some heroes have, but having extra protection is always welcome. After class, I want every single one of you to consider your costumes and how safe you feel in them, and go to the support department if you would like any changes. I will also be sending Young Shirakumo a message about it, making sure he knows to have a class dedicated to costumes and costume design. Thank you for pointing it out, Young Midoriya.” Izuku nodded, falling back in step with Momo.

All Might continued to explain how the battle trials would go after that, telling them it would be a ‘Indoor Antipersonal Battle Training’ objective. He explained the rules, the win and loss conditions, and what each team would be striving for. He answered a few questions, reassuring the students that he was just testing to see where they currently ranked in terms of skill level, and would be adjusting their planners moving forwards depending on what was shown today.

“Your battle partners will be decided by drawing lots!” All Might exclaimed. “Each of you will be picking a ball out of this box, and the matching letters will be paired up!” All Might placed the box down on the table he was working behind before pulling out another box. “And I will be picking out your team and who you will be going against out of this box!”

Group A

Izuku Midoriya & Kyouka Jirou

Versus

Group G

Mezo Shoji & Moe Kamiji

Group B

Kashiko Sekigai & Fumikage Tokoyami

Versus

Group I

Denki Kaminari & Ochako Uraraka

Group C

Toru Hagakure & Eijiro Kirishima

Versus

Group H

Hanta Sero & Himiko Yaoyorozu

Group F

Shoto Todoroki & Tenya Iida

Versus

Group D

Tsuyu Asui & Katsuki Bakugo

Group E

Hitoshi Shinso & Rumi Usagiyama

Versus

Group J

Momo Yaoyorozu & Mina Ashido

Chapter Text

“What’s the plan, Green?” Kyouka questioned as they walked towards their assigned building. The villain team had departed a few minutes before, entering the building with the paper mache bomb. Izuku was going over what he had seen during the QAT the day before, trying to figure out the best way to tackle the quirks they were up against.

“I have a few ideas, based on what we’ve seen of our classmates’ quirks yesterday” Izuku responded after a few seconds, “but nothing solid yet.” Izuku turned towards Kyouka, finding her watching him with her jacks facing in his direction. “What were you thinking?”

They paused just outside the building, both of them looking up at the looming five stories above them. “You already know my quirk gives me enhanced hearing,” Kyouka began, turning back to face Izuku. She noticed that he had produced a notebook from somewhere, just like he did during the QAT, but she wasn’t going to question it yet. “But I can also plug my jacks into the walls or floor and enhance the sounds and distance I can hear. It takes a few seconds to filter out the excess sound, but on a building this size? I should be able to hear every single floor.”

Kyouka raised her eyebrow as Izuku continued to write in his notebook for another moment before he closed it and placed it in a back pocket. “Shoji appears to have a recon quirk, including enhanced hearing and vision, but with his additional limbs, he’s also one of the strongest in raw physical ability.” Izuku hummed in thought as he looked back up at the building. “We saw Kamiji use her quirk for flight during some of the tests, but that’s all I recall seeing her do. She most likely has an aspect of her quirk that we just don’t know yet.”

“Do you think Shoji will be able to hear us, even from out here?” Kyouka questioned, looking back up at the building beside Izuku.

“Most definitely,” Izuku responded. “Which means any plan we come up with, he will most likely be able to plan accordingly for it.” Izuku turned to look back at Kyouka, catching her look. “That means we’ll have to catch them by surprise,” Izuku smiled as a plan started to form, while Kyouka could only smirk in response to the excitement across his face.

Izuku reached up and removed his rebreather, holding it out for Kyouka. “You’re gonna need this. My Smoke doesn’t affect me like it will anybody else.” Kyouka raised an eyebrow but accepted the support item, placing it on her face. Izuku didn’t say anything, instead raising his hand and tapping his ear right where Kyouka’s quirk emerged, before pointing towards the building. Kyouka understood the meaning, nodding in response.

“Hero Team, you may begin!” All Might’s voice came through their earpieces, signaling the start of the match.

Izuku and Kyouka shared another look, nodding towards each other, as they walked right through the front doors of the building. Izuku paused, holding his hand out, signaling Kyouka to jack into the wall beside them. He watched her carefully as she crouched down and plugged in, holding her hand up to one side of her headphones, concentration clear on her face. After a few seconds, Kyouka looked back up at Izuku, shaking her head. Izuku nodded in understanding, holding up his finger to his lips, before turning back around.

Holding his hands out in front of him, Kyouka watched as he started producing a green smoke through his costume, slowly flooding the first floor in front of them. “Make sure the rebreather is in place,” Izuku whispered as he looked back at Kyouka. Izuku watched as she nodded and made a small adjustment before he turned back around. “It’s time for the Smoke Show!” Kyouka didn’t have a chance to blink before Izuku’s smoke started pouring into the building faster, leaving them surrounded by a bubble of air, quickly flooding the rest of the building.

Closing her eyes, Kyouka began focusing on any little sound that could be heard throughout the building, when she heard a stutter step on one of the upper floors. She could tell they were trying to be quiet, most likely because of her quirk, but were also attempting to avoid the smoke that was flooding the building. She heard a few coughs from both of them before hearing a door close. Kyouka smirked behind Izuku’s rebreather, finding him looking towards her once more. Holding up her hand, Kyouka stuck up four fingers, indicating that both villains were on the fourth floor. He mouthed to her, asking "both?" and she nodded in confirmation.

Izuku gave her a curt nod, before waving her forward into the building, indicating he wanted her to follow him. Unplugging her jacks from the wall and floor, Kyouka stood back up to follow Izuku, noticing the bubble of air continued to surround them as they progressed. Smoke continued to pour out of Izuku, but as soon as it left him, it would move outside of the bubble of air they were currently in.

Izuku didn’t even stop to check the other floors, quicking making his way up the staircase to the fourth floor, placing his full trust in the information that Kyouka had given him. He paused just inside the doorway to the fourth floor, holding his hand out beside him to stop Kyouka’s advance. Kyouka watched as Izuku closed his eyes, focusing on something, before he opened them up and signaled them to keep moving.

Reaching a door, Izuku signaled Kyouka to stand on the other side of the door frame, placing a finger to his lips to inform her to keep quiet. He pointed towards one corner of the room before pointing towards the other, indicating where the villain team was currently holding up. Kyouka plugged her jacks into the wall and floor to confirm, giving Izuku a nod in confirmation.

Mouthing out ‘Follow my lead’, Kyouka watched as Izuku moved in front of the door before taking a deep breath. Raising his foot up and swinging himself around, Izuku kicked the door right where the handle was, breaking the wooden door and cracking the wall beside it, before it shot open.

Surrounding himself with Smoke, Izuku used his Smoke Dash and vanished from in front of Kyouka, surprising her. Hearing a yelp from one of her classmates, Kyouka was knocked back into action, charging through the door. She could hear Izuku attacking Mezo in one corner, while Moe was attempting to move to help her teammate. Slamming her jacks into her boot amps, Kyouka released a heartbeat pulse towards Moe, pushing her off balance. Kyouka’s eyes went wide and she let out an involuntary yelp as she watched Moe reach up and grab some of her flaming hair, molding it into flaming spears, before throwing them towards her. Kyouka had to duck and roll to dodge the flaming spears before she sent another heartbeat pulse towards Moe, knocking her off her feet with a grunt.

“Mezo Shoji has been captured! One villain remains!” All Might called out over their earpieces.

Following the announcement from their teacher, Izuku cleared all the smoke out of the room, leaving Kyouka and himself looking towards Moe. The Blazing Hair user pushed herself to her feet, facing down both heroes, as she stood in front of the paper mache bomb they were required to ‘defuse’.

“Well?! What are you waiting for?!” Moe yelled out, reaching up and grabbing two more flaming spears from her hair, preparing herself for a two-versus-one fight. “Bring it on! I ain’t going down without a fight!”

Kyouka shared a quick look with Izuku, finding him smirking in her direction, before they both focused on Moe. From her angle, Kyouka could see Izuku creating a Smoke Ball in his hand, condensing it as much as he could. Waiting for his signal, they continued to stare down Moe to see how she would react. With a yell, Moe rushed towards Izuku, bringing up both flaming spears in pose to attack him.

Izuku reacted immediately, lifting up his hand and shooting the Smoke Ball towards Moe, striking her right in her chest and staggering her. Kyouka saw her opportunity and launched another heartbeat pulse towards the last villain, knocking her off her feet once more. Izuku rushed forward, capture tape already in hand, and wrapped Moe’s hands together before she could get up. At the same time, Kyouka rushed forward and touched the bomb, the requirement for ‘defusing’ the bomb for the exercise.

“Hero Team Wins! Please retrieve the bomb and return back to the observation area!” All Might called out over their earpieces, signaling the end of the match.

Kyouka walked over towards Izuku, seeing him untangle Moe from the capture tape and help her to her feet. “Damn, Green,” Kyouka commented, watching as they both faced her. “How did you move so fast after you kicked the door down? It’s like you just vanished!”

Izuku chuckled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I call it Smoke Dash. It allows me to move very quickly through the smoke that I create. When I first started training with it, Mo mentioned it looked like I was teleporting through the smoke since I wasn’t disrupting it.”

“It took me by surprise,” Mezo commented as he moved beside them, having already broken the capture tape that was around his limbs, the bomb being cradled in his arms since he had the easiest time moving it. “At one moment, you were in front of me. In the next, you were all around me and I couldn’t land a hit on you.”

“Sorry,” Izuku responded sheepishly, “I knew I stood no chance against your strength, so I resorted to hit and run tactics.”

“No need to apologize, Midoriya,” Mezo responded with a mouth on one of his arms. “You determined the best way to counter our quirks and took full advantage of that. I cannot complain about the outcome of the match.”

“Yeah man!” Moe said, slapping him on the shoulder. “I thought it was badass how you flooded the building with smoke!”

“Thanks,” Izuku responded, “but we better get back to the observation room. I don’t think All Might likes to be kept waiting.”

The four of them nodded, Moe taking the lead with Izuku and Kyouka following behind, and Mezo taking up the rear with the bomb. They continued to make small talk about the match until they were back in the observation room, standing near the front beside All Might.

“Congratulations to the hero team for winning their match!” All Might began, his hands on his hips as he posed in front of Class 1-A. “Who can tell me who the MVP of the previous match was?”

Momo was the first one to put her hand up, but didn’t wait to be called on before she started talking. “I believe the MVP should be given to Izuku. He determined the best way to counter the villain team, and proceeded to make a plan that utilized both his own and Jirou’s quirk. He quickly ascended the building with Jirou by his side, and engaged the villains first, successfully taking down Shoji before taking down Kamiji.”

“I believe Jirou should be MVP for this match,” Kashiko started out, the class focusing on her. “Based on what we saw, Midoriya determined the best way to engage the villain team, but it was Jirou’s quirk that helped locate where they were. Without Midoriya flooding the building with smoke, I believe Jirou would have been the first to detect, and possibly engage, the villain team.”

“Very good points from both of you! Does anybody else want to comment?” All Might responded before looking over the rest of the class. Seeing that nobody else wanted to comment, All Might placed a massive hand on Izuku’s and Kyouka’s shoulder, his signature smile never leaving his face. “While Young Yaoyorozu was correct in saying Young Midoriya deserved MVP, the plan could have easily fallen apart without the help of Young Jirou. Working together and utilizing their strengths, the hero team was able to quickly achieve victory! Moving on, Group B and Group I, you’re next!”

Izuku walked over towards Momo and Himiko, placing his back against the wall and sliding down to sit beside his girlfriend. Hearing footsteps beside him, he looked up to see Kyouka mirror his previous action, taking a seat beside him. “Well deserved MVP, Green,” Kyouka commented, twirling one of her ear jacks with her hand.

“Couldn’t have done it without you, Jirou,” Izuku smiled in return. “Your quirk is amazing, and I would love to ask you some questions about it!”

Just as Izuku was pulling out his notebook, he felt another hand cover his own, stopping his movements. Izuku looked over towards Momo, giving her a curious look, finding her smiling in his direction. “I think we should wait until after class. Jirou might want to focus on Kaminari’s match.”

“Sorry, Jirou,” Izuku responded, reaching up and scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Kyouka smirked in response. “Thanks, Yaomomo,” Kyouka responded, turning back towards the monitor a second later. “Though, I have a feeling on how this match will play out.”

Izuku and Momo turned towards the monitors when the match started, seeing Fumikage and Kashiko enter the building together. “Why do you say that, Jirou?” Momo questioned.

“Denki still has issues controlling his quirk,” Kyouka responded, letting out a sigh. “If he overdoes it, which he often does, he ends up frying his brain.”

“Frying his brain?” Izuku questioned in concern, looking towards Kyouka.

“Not literally,” Kyouka responded, turning back towards the couple. “He calls it frying his brain, but I don’t think it does any lasting damage. He normally gets this dopey look on his face and can’t think straight for a while, but he returns to normal after a little bit.”

“Still,” Momo responded with worry in her voice as well, “it doesn’t sound healthy. Do you know if he’s been checked out by a doctor that specializes in Electricity quirks?”

“Nah,” Kyouka responded, focusing on the monitors once more. “Told me he had a bad experience when he was younger so he doesn’t trust doctors too much. I’m going to see if I can get him to see Recovery Girl sometime soon; she should know what is happening when he fries himself.”

“Kashiko Sekigai has been captured!” All Might announced, followed by “Denki Kaminari is unable to continue!”

Kyouka let out a sigh, realizing what happened. “That’s exactly what happens when he goes all out.” Izuku and Momo looked towards the monitors, seeing Denki standing there with his thumbs up and a dopey look on his face. “I really don’t like seeing him like that.” Kyouka huffed out, crossing her arms and her jacks.

“Come on, Ochako!” Himiko called out from the other side of Momo, having been focused on the match since it started. “You got this!” Izuku, Momo, and Kyouka looked over towards her, finding her watching the screens intensively as Fumikage and Ochako were fighting not far from their teammates. “Float him! Float him!”

They all watched as the match unfolded. Ochako was successfully dodging Dark Shadow, but she was getting pushed back down the hall. Ducking under the next attack from Dark Shadow, Ochako rushed forward and slammed her hand against Fumikage, successfully floating him. “Yes! You got this, Ochako!” Himiko yelled out again, her excitement pouring off her. In a quick move from Dark Shadow, Ochako was knocked aside into a wall, sliding down and going limp. “Ochako!”

“Ochako Uraraka is unable to continue! Hero team wins! Medic bots are on the way for Young Uraraka, Young Kaminari, and Young Sekigai. Young Tokoyami, please retrieve the bomb and make your way back to the observation room.” All Might announced into his earpiece, seeing Fumikage nod on the monitors.

Izuku and Momo turned towards Himiko, watching her carefully as her eyes were glued to the screen. “I hope she’s okay,” Himiko whispered out. They could see the medic bots had already loaded Ochako on a stretcher, carefully moving her to the medical rooms that Recovery Girl used.

Momo reached out and grabbed Himiko’s hand, causing Himiko to look towards her sister. “I’m sure she is, and if not, Recovery Girl will make sure she is.” Momo gave Himiko a reassuring smile, trying to calm her nerves as best as she could, and giving her hand a squeeze. “I’m sure All Might will allow you to go see her once your match is done, if she hasn’t returned by then.”

Himiko nodded, releasing a shuddering breath and slumping her shoulders, returning the squeeze on Momo’s hand. “Thanks, Momo,” Himiko whispered out, “I know that there are risks about getting hurt during training, but I didn’t expect it to happen so early in the semester. I don’t want to see my family and friends get hurt.”

“We completely understand, Himi,” Izuku responded, looking around Momo. “You should have seen how worried we were during your entrance exam.” Himiko nodded, giving Izuku a small smile, before leaning her head against Momo’s shoulder. “These things happen, and will continue to happen, because most of us don’t know what we’re capable of. That’s why we’re training in a safe environment where help is only a few seconds away.” Himiko nodded against Momo’s shoulder, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

When Fumikage had returned to the observation room, All Might turned towards the class. “Congratulations to the hero team for successfully taking out the villains! Young Tokoyami holds the title of MVP for his match! Group C and Group H, you’re up next!”

“Well, wish me luck,” Himiko said quietly as she pushed herself up to her feet.

“Good luck!” Izuku, Momo, and Kyouka responded in kind. Himiko looked back with a small smile before following her teammate out of the observation room and towards their assigned building.

“So what’s your quirk?” Hanta questioned Himiko when they approached their building.

Himiko took a deep breath, counting to ten, and releasing it slowly. “My quirk is called Transform, and it has special requirements to activate. I’m not sure how useful it will be during our match,” Himiko explained. “As of right now, I can only transform into Izuku or Momo.”

“Even if it’s not useful during our match, that’s wicked!” Hanta responded, surprising Himiko, causing her to look over at the taller boy. “My quirk is called Tape,” Hanta explained as he held up one of his arms. “It allows me to create tape that I can use to capture people, build traps, or swing around with.”

Himiko nodded in understanding. “What’s our plan of attack?”

Hanta looked away, sheepishly. “I was kinda hoping you had an idea?”

Himiko looked at him for a moment, watching him glance back towards her, before releasing a sigh. “Just because I’m the sister of the smartest person in the class, doesn’t mean I have the same smarts…” Himiko said quietly as she looked back up towards the building.

“Did you say something, Yaoyorozu?” Hanta questioned, taking a step closer to where she was standing.

“Nothing,” Himiko responded before turning towards him. “I think our best plan of attack is to try and locate where the bomb is as fast as possible, which might be better if we split up.” Hanta nodded along to what she was saying, trusting in her every word, causing Himiko to release another sigh internally “If you can make your way to the top floor and start working your way down, I can start from the bottom floor and work my way up. We should be able to meet in the middle, or wherever they have decided to hide the bomb if we happen to find them.”

“What happens if one of us encounters the villains?” Hanta questioned.

“Stay out of sight unless you’re spotted, and wait until the other makes their way to your location,” Himiko explained. “Toru and Eijiro are both close quarters fighters who don't really have a ranged attack, which means your best advantage is using your mobility while I attack them. I'll keep them busy and you can try and sneak past, or yank the bomb away. Or wrap them up from a distance and I can use the capture tape.”

“Got it!” Hanta responded, beginning to stretch out his arms a bit, looking towards the roof of the building. “I shouldn’t have any issues getting to the roof.” Himiko nodded, looking towards the building as well, trying to spot anything that might have been out of the ordinary.

“Hero Team, you may begin!” All Might’s voice came through their earpieces, signaling the start of the match.

Just like in the entrance exam, Himiko didn’t waste a breath before she was bolting through the front doors of the building, completely bypassing the first floor. She didn’t make a sound as she entered the second floor, keeping her movements quick and light, as she inspected everything. She didn’t bother touching any of the doors, knowing as soon as she entered the floor that it was unoccupied.

Racing back towards the staircase, she bounced up the next flight of stairs, repeating the process on the third floor. By the time she was finishing the third floor, Hanta had informed her over their communicators that he had cleared the fifth floor with no signs of the villains. Himiko informed him to meet on the fourth floor, suspecting that’s where they were hiding, and quickly made her way up another flight of stairs.

Meeting up with Hanta, Himiko stopped and looked through the hallway of the fourth floor, seeing nothing out of place at first glance. “Follow my lead, but keep it quiet.” Himiko whispered towards her partner, seeing him nod. As they began making their way through the fourth floor, Himiko heard something like bare feet against the floor at the far end of the hall. Not giving them a chance to get away, Himiko pounced forwards, kicking off a wall in the process, and jumping towards the sound she was hearing.

As she collided with her classmate, Toru released a yelp of surprise, as they both crashed into the floor. As Himiko fished out her capture tape, she felt around until she found Toru’s arm, quickly pulling it back towards her and wrapping it in capture tape. She heard Toru release another groan in pain when she grabbed her arm, but finished wrapping the capture tape around her arm, before finally moving off the other girl. “Sorry, Toru.”

“It’s okay,” Toru responded breathlessly, and Himiko could hear the strain and pain in her voice. Himiko realized she must have twisted the other girl’s arm when she attempted to wrap the capture tape around her arm.

“Toru Hagakure has been captured!” All Might announced over their earpieces.

“Yaoyorozu, I need-” Hanta started before getting cut off. Himiko realized what must have happened after she left Hanta’s side, causing her to rush back down the hallway towards where she left her teammate. Just as she turned a corner, Himiko spotted Eijiro crouching over Hanta on the floor, wrapping his arm in capture tape.

“Hanta Sero has been captured!” All Might announced once more, “Five minutes left!”

Himiko watched as Eijiro stood back up and turned in her direction, pausing when he spotted her. They both stood there for a breath, staring each other down, but Himiko was the first to react. Pulling out a throwing knife from one of her hidden compartments, she flung it towards her classmate, watching as he hardened his skin just in time. The throwing knife clunked against his hardened thigh, falling towards the ground uselessly, causing Eijiro’s eyes to go wide.

Pulling out two of her longer knives, Himiko held them in a reverse dagger hold as she rushed towards Eijiro, watching as he hardened the rest of his body. As she entered striking distance, Eijiro attempted to throw a few punches towards his attacker, allowing Himiko to easily dodge the sloppy technique while she tagged him with her knives. Himiko continued to dance around Eijiro, continuously scoring hits with her knives, but never breaking through his hardened skin.

This continued for a few beats before Himiko saw her opening. As Eijiro overextended, Himiko danced around his attack before slamming a foot against his back, forcing him to stumble forward into a wall. As Eijiro lost his footing and fell towards the floor, Himiko was already running back down the hall in search of the bomb. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to outlast his Hardening quirk, and with the timer getting closer to zero, determined her best bet of winning the match was to ‘defuse’ the bomb.

As she was running down the hallway that Eijiro had seemingly come from, she passed a room with an open door. Planting her foot to slow her advance, Himiko spun around and bounced back towards the open door. There, standing in the middle of the room, was the paper mache bomb. She could hear Eijiro attempting to catch up to her, knowing she only had a few seconds, she ran through the door to ‘defuse’ the bomb before the timer was up.

As Himiko crossed the door frame into the room, getting ready to jump towards it, the wall beside her suddenly exploded in chunks of drywall. Chancing a look towards the wall, she watched as Eijiro continued rushing in her direction, his hand already outstretched. Knowing that she only had a minute or two before the match was finished, Himiko took the chance and pounced towards the bomb, successfully grazing her fingertips against it.

Just as her fingertips grazed the bomb, Eijiro slammed into her side, knocking her away from the bomb. The air was knocked from her lungs as she flew across the room, hitting the ground hard and rolling a few times, before pushing herself into a crouch. Her hand instantly went to her side, holding the spot where Eijiro had slammed into her, as she looked up at her approaching classmate. Just as she was about to react, All Might spoke over their earpieces.

“The bomb has been defused! Hero Team wins!” All Might announced, causing both students to pause.

Himiko released a sigh, still clutching her side, as she let herself fall to the ground. Noticing this, Eijiro dropped his quirk and rushed over towards her, kneeling down beside her. “Are you okay, Yaoyorozu?”

“Y-Yeah,” Himiko responded after a breath, closing her eyes attempting to regain her breath. When she opened her eyes, she looked back up at Eijiro, giving him a shaky smile. “Didn’t expect you to come through the wall. You knocked the air out of me.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Eijiro responded, sitting back on his haunches. “I thought I hit you too hard,” Eijiro chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, “It wouldn’t be the first time. I don’t know my own strength when Hardening is activated.”

“I get it,” Himiko responded, pushing herself to a sitting position. Eijiro moved forward, throwing an arm around her and helping her to her feet. “Thanks, Eijiro.”

“You’re welcome, Yaoyorozu,” Eijiro responded, letting Himiko rest more of her weight on him, “would you like some help going to the medical rooms?”

Himiko shook her head, indicating she didn’t want to go to the medical rooms, “I should be okay after a few minutes. Just need to catch my breath.”

“If you’re sure,” Eijiro responded, looking towards her to make sure she wasn’t more seriously injured, seeing her nod in return. “Alright, at least let me help you back to the observation room.” Himiko nodded in thanks.

With the match being called, Hanta and Toru were able to rip the capture tape off, allowing them to get back up. All Might informed Hanta to grab the bomb before the four of them all returned to the observation room.

As they entered the observation room, Himiko felt another arm circle around her, finding Ochako taking the weight off Eijiro. Himiko could only smile as she transferred her weight from Eijiro over to Ochako, leaning her head against the other girl’s shoulder. Ochako guided them back towards Momo, Izuku, Kyouka, and Denki, sliding down the wall and sitting beside Momo once more. Himiko curled her arm around Ochako and pulled her close, placing her head back on the other girl’s shoulder. Ochako blushed but didn’t refuse the closeness that Himiko wanted, releasing a breath in the process and leaning her own head against Himiko’s.

“Congratulations to the hero team for winning their match!” All Might said at the front of the class, keeping his eyes on Himiko for a breath, before looking over to the rest of the students. “Would anybody like to guess who was the MVP of the last match?”

“I believe Himiko was the MVP of the last match,” Izuku started, not even waiting to be called on. “She successfully made a plan that played into the strengths of both herself and her partner. She was also able to quickly clear three floors of the building before coming across the villains on the fourth floor. When she began sneaking through the fourth floor, expecting Hagakure to try and catch them by surprise, Himiko was able to turn the sneak attack into her own, resulting in Hagakure’s capture.”

“Kirishima should also be nominated for MVP,” Tenya began, chopping as he spoke. “He was able to protect the bomb and take out Sero while Hagakure and Yaoyorozu were engaged in their own fight, before holding Yaoyorozu back in a one-versus-one fight. If he had been a second earlier, I believe Kirishima would have been able to stop Yaoyorozu from touching the bomb and possibly winning the match before the timer ran out.”

All Might looked around to see if anybody else wanted to comment on the match before nodding. “I couldn’t have said it any better myself, Young Midoriya! Young Yaoyorozu will take the MVP title for this match!” All Might nodded in Izuku’s direction, receiving a curt nod in return. “Young Iida is also correct in saying Kirishima could have been MVP had he been a few seconds earlier.” All Might nodded towards Eijiro, seeing the boy nod and smile in return, punching a fist into a palm in his excitement. “Group F and Group D, you’re up!”

Chapter Text

“Kero,” Tsuyu ribbited as she followed Katsuki into a mostly empty office room with the bomb. “How do we want to defend the bomb, Bakugo?” Katsuki grabbed the bomb from Tsuyu as he looked around the room they found themselves in.

“You’re going to defend the bomb, Frogface, while I go find Ice Princess and Four Eyes and beat the shit out of them.” Katsuki responded as he walked to the corner of the room, placing the bomb behind an empty cubicle, making sure it was partially hidden from the doorway.

“That’s not a good idea or a viable strategy,” Tsuyu responded as she watched Katsuki return to her side and began pacing. “Kero, you didn’t see what Todoroki could do with his ice during the QAT.”

“You think I’m scared of a little ice, Frogface?” Katsuki questioned as he swung around to face Tsuyu, finding her with a finger on her chin in thought. “There’s a reason why I got first in the entrance exam!”

“But we aren’t going up against robots this time, Kero.” Tsuyu responded simply, watching as Katsuki let out a huff and returned to pacing in front of her. “If Todoroki decides to freeze the whole building, that could mean-”

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Katsuki cut Tsuyu off as he continued to pace, attempting to build up as much sweat as possible. “You just need to stay here and defend the bomb. I’ll take care of Ice Princess and Four Eyes by myself.”

Tsuyu could only shake her head in disappointment, realizing that no matter how much she tried to convince Katsuki, it would have fallen on deaf ears. Making sure her bodysuit’s internal heater worked, she moved back towards the bomb, preparing for the onslaught of ice and colder temperatures that were bound to come.

“Hero Team, you may begin!” All Might’s voice came through their earpieces, signaling the start of the match.

After watching how his classmates responded to the start of the previous matches, not wanting to be shown up by them, Katsuki blasted out of the room. Using Explosion, he forced himself through the hallways, easily kicking off the walls as he turned the corners, before approaching the stairs that descended towards the bottom floors. He could feel the sweat already building along his hands and arms, while his bracers were storing all the access sweat that his arms produced. He felt a feral smile appear on his face as he realized the support items he requested were working exactly as Izuku he designed them.

Katsuki first realized something was wrong when a cold burst of air slammed into him from the staircase, forcing him to stop his quick advance. The temperature of the building was beginning to fall significantly when he noticed the ice creeping up the staircase and surrounding walls. Realizing what was about to happen, Katsuki used some explosions to keep the ice from surrounding him, keeping a space clear of ice. Just as fast as the ice approached, the advancing glacier halted. Katsuki felt the sweat dripping down his neck go cold, realizing that Shoto must have frozen the whole building in just a couple of seconds, showcasing the amount of power behind his classmate’s attack.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up to find Shoto coming around the corner of the staircase, his breath making a frosty cloud that mirrored Katsuki’s own in the colder temperature. “I’m surprised you were able to avoid my attack,” Shoto began as he stopped just inside the doorway of the floor they were on. “Most people aren’t able to react before it’s too late.”

“Ha!” Katsuki responded back, pops and crackles coming from his palms, “you think a little ice is enough to stop me?!”

“Considering how easily Yaoyorozu and Midoriya stopped you during the QAT, yes.” Shoto responded evenly.

“Fuck you, Ice Princess!” Katsuki responded as he rushed forward and started throwing as many explosions as he could towards his classmate. Each time he threw an explosion, Shoto easily countered it with an ice wall. “You won’t be able to last forever, Bastard!”

“I’ll last just as long as I need to,” Shoto responded by throwing his own wave of ice towards Katsuki, who used an explosion to shatter it into millions of pieces.

“Tsuyu Asui is unable to continue!” All Might announced over their earpieces a few seconds after their fight started, causing Katsuki to stutter in his step and miss his next explosion.

“HOW?!” Katsuki questioned, anger evident in his voice. “There’s no fucking way Four Eyes was able to make it up through all that ice!”

“He didn’t have to,” Shoto responded calmly, his expression never changing, as he continued staring down Katsuki. “Did you even consider what Asui’s quirk is?”

“She’s a fucking frog! What the hell does that have anything to do with it?” Katsuki questioned back in anger, throwing another explosion towards his foe, shattering another ice wall. He could tell his explosions were getting weaker as the temperature around them continued to drop, the sweat taking longer to build up.

“When the temperature drops low enough, frogs are known to hibernate,” Shoto explained easily in another break between the two. “If my hunch is correct, Asui is unable to fight because she’s entering hibernation. It’s why I decided to freeze the whole building, rendering my teammate useless at the same time.”

“I guess that just means I need to finish this fight quickly!” Katsuki responded, throwing another explosion towards his foe, which resulted in the fight returning to full intensity. As they continued to exchange blows, both of them realized the other was slowing down significantly as the fight went on, Shoto throwing out smaller and less frequent ice waves, and Katsuki’s explosions being diminished in comparison to his earlier haymakers.

Regardless, the back and forth continued undeterred between them. When Shoto would throw an ice wave towards Katsuki, it was met with an explosion, shattering it into a million pieces and stopping the attack. As Katsuki tried to respond in kind, throwing explosion after explosion towards Shoto, he was met with ice wall after ice wall, stopping his advance. A couple more minutes passed before both of them stopped and stood there panting heavily, one covered in ice on the only visible side of his costume, while the other’s arms were shaking from overuse.

As Katsuki panted heavily, he raised up one of his gauntlets, pointing it directly towards Shoto. “Didn’t think I’d have to use these so early,” he began. Ignoring the yells from his earpiece, Katsuki pulled the pin on his gauntlet, giving him access to all the sweat he had accumulated so far. “But it’s time to finish this match!” He'd become so focused on taking down the opponent in front him that he forgot the rest of the world. His incapacitated teammate, Shoto's teammate, what was happening in the observation room… nothing mattered but victory.

Shoto had just enough time for his eyes to go wide as he created a massive ice wall between them, bracing it as much as he could between the floor and the ceiling. The resulting explosion was massive, easily shattering the ice wall that had appeared and shaking the building, pushing Shoto against the wall behind him while Katsuki was pushed back a couple meters. Katsuki could feel his earpiece going crazy, indicating that someone was speaking, but he could only hear the high pitched whine from the explosion.

As the smoke from the explosion settled, Katsuki found Shoto heavily panting on one knee, his hand the only thing keeping him from falling towards the ground. Katsuki could see the amount of ice that had built up on Shoto’s side, realizing his classmate must have pushed himself beyond his limits to protect himself. He took a step towards his classmate, seeing Shoto look up towards him and give him a death glare, before his arm gave out and he fell on his side.

“The timer expired before the hero team could defuse the bomb! Villain Team wins!” All Might announced in their earpieces, but Katsuki could tell it was more muted than normal. “Young Bakugo, please return to the room where the bomb is located and retrieve Young Asui. She is unable to move from her position, and the medical bots are not able to enter the building due to the ice. Young Iida, please make your way up and retrieve Young Todoroki, he-”

“I’ll be fine,” Shoto responded, and Katsuki could see the steam rising off his classmate as the ice retreated. Shoto pushed himself to a standing position as if nothing had ever happened, glaring towards Katsuki one final time before turning on his heel and descending back down the stairs. Katsuki felt his eyebrow twitch as he realized that Shoto wasn’t even using his full quirk, while he had released everything he had to try and take him down.

“Young Bakugo-”

“I’m fucking going,” Katsuki responded as he made his way back to his teammate. He had to tread carefully because the floors were still covered in ice, making the process that more difficult. As he arrived in the bomb room, Katsuki quickly searched the room for his teammate, finding her laying on top of the desk in the cubicle. His heart dropped when he didn’t see her moving right away, ice surrounding her and slowly starting to creep along various parts of her body.

He carefully broke the ice that was surrounding her before looking for anything that could have helped warm her up, but coming up empty handed. He carefully reached down and surrounded the smaller girl’s form with his arms, picking her up and hugging her close.

He could feel how cold Tsuyu was as it seeped into him, shaking from the fresh chill coursing through him, as she barely moved or breathed in his arms. Remembering that she was the only one to come check on him the previous day, Katsuki gritted his teeth and surrounded her as best as he could, attempting to transfer as much of his body heat as he could, before beginning to walk carefully out of the building.

“Ba-Ba-Bakugo?” Tsuyu stuttered out through chattering teeth, opening her eyes and finding Katsuki above her.

“Shut it, Frogface,” Katsuki responded quietly without any heat, “conserve as much energy as you can to help warm you up. I’m taking you to see the old lady.” Tsuyu nodded as best as she could before she curled into Katsuki’s chest more, making her look even smaller in his arms. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Asui,” Katsuki said quietly after a few seconds, making sure that Tsuyu had seemingly fallen back asleep as he walked out of the building. “I didn’t listen to you, and now you’re in this state because of me, even after everything you did yesterday. What kind of fucking hero does that make me?”

All Might spoke quietly into the phone beside the monitors, confirming that Katsuki and Tsuyu made it to the medical rooms and were getting taken care of, before turning back towards the rest of the class.

“Everything in battle can change in the blink of an eye,” All Might began as he walked back in front of the class, looking over all of them. “Sometimes there are variables we don’t consider, like support items. Young Shirakumo will be having a class going over each and every support item in the near future, and students will be required to make changes if he deems it necessary.”

As he looked over the class, his eyes trailed over Shoto and Tenya a second longer, before continuing. “Because of the results of the last match, I will not be picking an MVP.” Class 1-A nodded in understanding. “Instead, we will be moving onto the final match of the day! Group E and Group J, you’re up!”

“Good luck, Mo,” Izuku said as he leaned over and gave Momo a quick kiss before she could get up. “Don’t go too hard on them.”

Momo giggled after returning the kiss. “Thank you, Izu,” Momo responded as she pulled back, a smile dancing on her lips and a twinkle in her eye, as she started getting up, “I make no promises.” Izuku watched as she left the room beside an energetic Mina, a smile still dancing on his own lips, as he turned his eyes towards the monitor to follow her movements.

“You think Yaomomo is going to destroy them, don’t you?” Kyouka questioned beside him, looking up at the same monitors.

“It depends,” Izuku responded. “During the QAT yesterday, Usagiyama showcased how aggressive she could be, and Mo told me what she said in the locker room before we returned back to the dorms.” Izuku looked towards Kyouka, seeing her nod in understanding. “We didn’t see Shinso use a quirk yesterday, so we have no idea what it could be, if he even has one.” Izuku shrugged as he turned back around to watch Hitoshi and Rumi exit the observation room. “My guess is that his quirk needs to have the element of surprise to work, but until we see it in action for ourselves, we may never know.”

“What are your predictions, Midoriya?” Denki questioned from around Kyouka, having recovered and come back with Ochako before the last match.

“My yen is definitely on Momo,” Izuku responded instantly, not even taking the time to think about it. “I know what she’s capable of. If she doesn’t want anybody getting even close to the bomb, they never will.”

“Seriously?” Ochako questioned from his other side, Himiko still leaning into her side.

“Seriously,” Himiko confirmed, “Momo’s quirk allows her to create physically anything she so chooses, as long as she knows how it’s made. Putting her on the villain team and allowing her time to set up? It’s practically giving her the win.” Izuku nodded in agreement with a smile, keeping his eyes on the monitors.

“So what’s the plan, Yaomomo?” Mina questioned as she danced around in front of Momo who was currently carrying the paper mache bomb.

“I was actually wondering what you wanted to do,” Momo responded simply as they entered the building. “I have a few ideas, but which one we do depends on what you would like to do. Would you like to engage the hero team or would you like to run out the timer?”

“Shouldn’t we engage the other team?” Mina questioned as she walked backwards in front of Momo. “That’s what all the other teams did.”

“While it is true that the other teams directly engaged each other in their matches, we’re not required to do so as the villains,” Momo explained. “Our objective is to run out the time, essentially allowing the bomb to ‘explode’ or to capture the heroes.” Momo stopped on the second floor landing, causing Mina to pause on the way up to the third. “I also think we should use a lower floor compared to our classmates.”

“Why?” Mina questioned, “Wouldn’t it take longer for the hero team to arrive on the upper floors, allowing us to run out more of the time?”

“While you would be correct, I believe the hero team will be thinking the same,” Momo explained. “If the heroes think we are setting up on the top floor, it’s unlikely for them to check the second floor first. If they do decide to check the second floor, it will most likely be Shinso we will have to engage, because Usagiyama will offer to check the upper floors first because of her mobility.”

“Huh,” Mina responded as she made her way back down to the second landing, following Momo to the second floor. “I never considered that.” Momo nodded as she entered a larger room with a bunch of doors leading off into other smaller rooms. “Do you think we should engage the other team?”

Momo hummed in thought for a moment as she made her way to one of the other doors, opening it up and placing the bomb inside. “I believe we could, just to make it a bit more interesting for ourselves. I can make it so they’ll never be able to find the bomb.”

Mina was about to question Momo on how she could do that when a replica bomb popped out of her back, landing on the floor behind her. Momo turned around and inspected the bomb before making her way across the room to another door, sticking it inside. “Ohhhhhhh,” Mina exclaimed excitedly as she bounced over towards Momo, watching as she made another bomb out of her back and repeated the process. “We’ll trick them with decoys!”

“Precisely!” Momo responded as another bomb popped out of her back, hiding it behind another door. “By making decoys, the hero team will run out the timer before finding the ‘real’ bomb.” Momo continued walking around the room, creating more bombs out of her back and placing them within the room this time. By the time she had reached the entrance of the room, she must have created over ten bomb decoys, placing the last one directly in the entrance way of the room and closing the door behind her. “There, even if they find the room, they will spend time looking for the bomb before ever finding the real one.”

“This is going to be a blast!” Mina exclaimed, still dancing around in front of Momo, causing Momo to smile at the energetic girl.

“I do believe it will be,” Momo responded.

“Hero Team, you may begin!” All Might’s voice came through their earpieces, signaling the start of the match.

“And not a moment too soon,” Momo said as she created a staff out of her hand, “we should hide to catch them by surprise.” Mina nodded, quickly taking a corner for herself near the entrance of the staircase while Momo took one further back and across from her, her costume helping hide her in the shadows.

As the two waited, they heard the thumping of Rumi bouncing up the staircase, bypassing the second floor completely. Momo let a small smile dance across her lips as her earlier predictions came true, but didn’t move from her hiding spot, waiting to see if Hitoshi would make himself known. They only had to wait another minute before Hitoshi came walking into the hallway of the second floor, walking directly towards their hiding spots.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” Hitoshi taunted quietly, not expecting anyone to hear him, as his eyes darted all around the hallway he was walking down.

“Halt, hero! You will go no further!” Mina yelled out as she jumped out from her hiding spot, landing directly in the path of Hitoshi, causing him to pause in his advance. Momo felt the small smile continue to dance along her lips when she realized how much her teammate was getting into the role of the villain. “No matter how hard you try, you’ll never find the bomb!”

“If that’s what you want to believe,” Hitoshi droned out as he reached for his belt, pulling out a replica police baton. With a flick of his wrist, the baton extended out to its full length as he shifted into a sloppy battle stance. Mina responded in kind, already producing acid along her hands and arms in preparation for a fight. “Then I’ll just have to go through you, villain.”

“I would love to see you try!” Mina responded as she began throwing acid towards Hitoshi, while simultaneously producing acid from her feet and dancing around the hallway.

To Hitoshi’s credit, he could dodge fairly well out of Mina’s attacks, rolling out of the first few as he attempted to get close to his foe. After his next roll, he jumped over Mina’s next attack, swinging his baton towards the other girl and landing a hit on her arm. Momo watched as Mina cried out in pain before going completely still, her quirk cutting off and returning to a standing position, looking unnatural.

“Point me in the direction of the bomb,” Hitoshi commanded, causing Momo to peek her head further out, trying to figure out what happened. She could see Mina standing there with a blank look on her face before she turned and pointed towards the door where they had created the decoy room. “Thanks,” Hitoshi responded as he took out his capture tape and wrapped it around Mina’s arm.

“Mina Ashido has been captured! One villain remains!” All Might called out over their earpieces.

“The bomb is on the second floor,” Hitoshi said into his earpiece, standing up straighter and looking towards Mina. He snapped his fingers and Mina blinked a few times, looking around as if she’d just come out of a daze. “You’ve been captured. I suggested you start making your way towards the entrance.”

Mina looked towards Hitoshi in confusion before she held up her arm, finding capture tape wrapped around it. “Aw man! How did you manage to catch me off guard?” Mina complained before she began walking back towards the staircase. “I didn’t even get to show off!”

‘So it appears to be some kind of mind control,’ Momo thought to herself as she watched Hitoshi begin walking towards the decoy room, hiding herself further in the shadows. ‘But what kind of activation does it require? Ashido seemed to cry out in pain before she went quiet. Could it be related to contact, or is it just response based?’ Knowing that Rumi could appear at any second, Momo continued to hide in the shadows, her eyes glued to where the decoy room was.

As Hitoshi approached the door of the decoy room, Rumi thumbed onto the second floor landing, stopping beside Hitoshi a second later. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Rumi questioned, looking towards Hitoshi in question as one of her ears twitched.

“We don’t know where Yaoyorozu is,” Hitoshi informed her. “We could very easily be walking into a trap. You saw what she was able to create during the QAT yesterday.” Momo smiled to herself as she began creating a net gun along her thigh, letting the handle poke just outside her thigh, ready to grasp. She carefully leaned the staff she was holding against the wall behind her, making sure it didn’t make a noise.

“If we were really walking into a trap, don’t you think Ashido would have been guarding it instead of being sent out by herself?” Rumi countered. “Even with what Yaomomo is able to create, they both should have been guarding the bomb. We’ll just have to overpower her!” Rumi raised her foot up, swinging herself around and slamming it on the door right beside the handle. The door shot open, barely staying attached to the hinges, as it slammed against the wall and sent cracks throughout the drywall. “See? Easy as that!”

The door opened to reveal the bomb on the other side of the door, just outside the swing of the door. Rumi walked forward and placed her hand on the bomb, expecting them to win the match. “Well, All Might?” Rumi questioned in annoyance.

“The bomb hasn’t been defused.” All Might simply responded over their earpieces, causing Rumi and Hitoshi to share a look between them. “Three minutes remain.”

“What?” Rumi questioned as she pushed her hand further on the bomb, successfully tipping it over in the process, revealing the rest of the room. “You got to be fucking kidding me,” Rumi said as she looked over the rest of the bombs in the room.

“I’m afraid not,” Momo responded as she moved out of the shadows behind them, pulling the net gun out of her thigh at the same time. “But you won’t have the opportunity to find the real bomb either,” Momo said as she began advancing towards them. Aiming her net gun towards the hero team, she fired off the first shot, watching as Rumi quickly dodged out of the way as the net covered Hitoshi, sending him to the ground.

“You think this net is enough to stop me, villain?” Hitoshi yelled out as he attempted to move the net off himself, finding that it was weighed down with lead weights. Momo kept quiet as she continued to advance, making Hitoshi’s eyes widen as he realized that he couldn’t move the net off himself and Momo hadn’t responded to his taunt. “Fuck!”

As Rumi jumped over her teammate towards Momo, Momo sidestepped away from the advance, aiming her net gun towards her foe. Firing another shot, Rumi dodged out of the way, kicking off the one wall before the other before attempting to bring her foot down in a vicious axe kick. Having seen the attack coming, Momo took a step backwards, creating a staff out of her hand while she discarded the net gun to the side. Rumi’s foot slammed into the ground, sending hairline cracks throughout the floor.

“You’re fast, Usagiyama, I’ll give you that,” Momo responded as she fell into a battle stance with her staff.

“Have to be,” Rumi responded as she steadied herself for a breath, “It’s the only advantage I got.” Rumi twisted her foot before pushing off the floor towards Momo again, attempting to catch the other girl by surprise.

Momo responded in kind, holding up her staff in such a way that Rumi’s foot slid down it towards the ground, before she pushed forward and knocked the girl off balance. “But you are predictable,” Momo continued as the girl stumbled backwards before catching herself, “If you want to be fast, you cannot be predictable,” Momo said as she threw her staff at her classmate, already creating another one in her hand, “otherwise I’ll be able to stop each and every attack you throw at me.”

Rumi’s eyes went wide as the staff flew towards her, dodging out of the way by ducking forward, before standing back up. Momo didn’t give Rumi a chance to recover, swinging out her staff and striking Rumi on her leg with a low sweep, causing the girl to stumble once more. Pressing her advantage relentlessly, Momo didn’t allow Rumi a second to respond, striking down with her staff towards Rumi’s leg, slamming into the same spot she had just hit. Rumi cried out in pain as Momo took a step backwards, turning her head slightly to see if Hitoshi was still trapped under her net.

“The bomb has successfully been defended! The villain team wins!” All Might announced over their earpieces, signaling the end of the match.

Momo released her stance, throwing her staff to the side of the hallway before walking towards Rumi. She held out a hand towards the smaller girl, watching as Rumi accepted it and pulled herself up. “My apologies for hitting the same spot twice, but I had to make sure you didn’t get back up.”

Rumi groaned as she stepped on her leg, quickly using Momo’s hand as a support. “You got a fucking nasty swing on you, Yaomomo.” Rumi said as she attempted to put more weight on her leg once more, releasing Momo’s hand this time. “Damn, I’ve never had someone predict my movements so easily before.”

Momo could only smile, remembering the training she did with Izuku and Himiko before the entrance exam. “I had some great sparring partners who relied on speed over everything else, which is how I was able to predict your movements.”

“No shit?” Rumi responded, walking with a slight limp beside Momo back towards Hitoshi. Momo responded with a nod and a small smile. “Damn, maybe I could learn a few things from you and Midoriya.”

“We’re always looking for new and exciting sparring partners,” Momo responded as they stopped above an annoyed looking Hitoshi still trapped by a net. “Sorry, Shinso. I thought you would have dodged the net.”

“I didn’t have a chance to react,” Hitoshi grumbled as Momo removed the net, accepting the helping hand up. “How come you didn’t respond to my earlier taunt?”

“I was watching from the shadows as you engaged Ashido,” Momo confirmed, watching as Hitoshi's scowl fell slightly, “and I knew your quirk was either contact based or response based. Using the capture net, I knew that I could disable you and remove the contact based portion, leaving only the response portion.”

“Impressive that you figured that out so quickly,” Hitoshi admitted, moving over towards Rumi, letting the other girl brace herself on him.

“Hanging out with Izu does that,” Momo responded with a smile, “I’ve picked up a few things about quirk analysis from him over the years. He is the one who helped me advance my quirk to where it is today.”

“Please return to the observation room,” All Might announced over their earpieces, “If Young Usagiyama needs medical attention, please let me know and I can send the medical robots.”

“Congratulations, Students, on completing your first Heroics lesson!” All Might said as everyone, except Katsuki and Tsuyu, had returned to the observation room. “Young Shirakumo and I will be going over the footage from today’s matches and grade you accordingly. We will be making comments on what each student will need to work on going forward, and I’m sure Young Shirakumo will have some comments for you tomorrow in regards to costumes and support items.”

All Might looked over the class once more, landing on Izuku and Momo listening to him intently. “Young Midoriya and Young Yaoyorozu,” All Might called on the couple, seeing them nod in acknowledgement, “Young Shirakumo has requested you to visit Recovery Girl after class in accordance with what you three talked about yesterday.” Izuku and Momo nodded again, pushing themselves up into a standing position. “She will be expecting you, so don’t keep her waiting!”

“As for the rest of you,” All Might turned back to the rest of the class, seeing most of them listening intently, “please return your costumes to their rightful places within your homeroom before handing back to the dorms. Class is dismissed!”

All Might lifted up his leg and twisted his body in preparation for take off, giving the students one more smile, “Until we meet again!” In a blur, All Might disappeared from his spot, easily running past all the students that were standing in his way, leaving a gust of wind in his wake. Most of their classmates fell into small chatter about All Might’s exit while Izuku and Momo began making their way out of the observation room.

“What was that all about?” Himiko inquired from behind them, still leaning against Ochako for support, even though Izuku and Momo knew she didn’t need it. Ochako’s blush marks were darker than normal but she didn’t complain once about the closeness, and seemed to rather enjoy the closeness with Himiko.

Izuku turned around and began walking backwards, staying beside Momo as he did so, looking towards his friends. Himiko and Ochako were walking side by side, and Kyouka and Denki were behind them, hands intertwined between them. “I think I have an idea,” Izuku responded, “Mo’s and my quirk registries were both recently updated, and I believe Shirakumo just had some concerns about why. He wants to make sure we've got a handle on the changes.”

“Why were they updated?” Denki questioned.

“It’s somewhat of a personal matter,” Momo responded as she looked over her shoulder directly towards Denki.

“Denks!” Kyouka jabbed his side with an ear jack, causing him to wince and take a step away from her, but never released their intertwined hands.

“Sorry,” Denki responded instantly, reaching up as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“No need to apologize, Kaminari,” Izuku responded as a smile played along his lips in reaction to the other couple. “It’s nothing serious, but we are unsure if we should share it with others.”

“See, Ky?” Denki responded as he looked back towards Kyouka, sending a little jolt of electricity into her hand, causing her to jump to the side and glare at him. “I was just asking because I was curious, and I thought they wouldn’t mind.”

Izuku turned back around, reaching out and grabbing Momo’s hand, intertwining their fingers. Momo looked down towards Izuku and could see a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his face, causing her to return one of her own. Izuku squeezed Momo’s hand, having a silent conversation with her, before receiving a squeeze in return. They both agreed that it was nice having some friends that looked out for them.

Chapter Text

Even though he didn’t need to stay in the medical rooms, Katsuki found that he was still sitting in a chair beside a hospital bed, running his hands over one another. He recognized the action as a tick he picked up when he was younger, having started it not long after Izuku and Inko had disappeared. He was grateful that the shaking had finally stopped, after taking some gummies imbued with Recovery Girl’s quirk. When she had noticed the shaking, she had roughly grabbed his hands, inspecting them for damage, before explaining it was from quirk overuse.

Looking up from his hands to the hospital bed in front of him, Katsuki watched as Tsuyu’s breathing slowly began to get smoother as she warmed up, but her small body still showed no signs of movement. The more he thought about what happened during their match, the more he realized how much he screwed up. He should have known what was about to happen to his partner when the ice started covering the building, but he was too blinded by the need to prove himself the strongest to even consider the girl.

He cursed himself again, looking towards his hands again. His mind kept replaying the conversation he had with Tsuyu from the day before, as if it was trying to tell him something. She was the only one to come find him, offering to listen to what was wrong, offering advice on how to fix it, even after everything that happened.

Katsuki took a deep breath, allowing it to release slowly, as he realized that was the first time someone had checked on him since Izuku disappeared. Neither his teachers nor his classmates ever bothered to ask him what was wrong, and his parents were always working so much to even notice something was wrong. But Tsuyu had figured it out instantly, cracking that fragile shell and tearing down his walls, without even trying to. He cursed once more, leaning further back into the chair, running a hand through his hair and giving it a small painful tug.

“You shouldn’t beat yourself up so bad,” Tsuyu said quietly in front of him, causing him to whip his head up towards her. He found Tsuyu staring towards him with her big wide eyes, the same blank expression on her face, but her expressive eyes spoke volumes on what she was thinking. Katsuki found himself lost in those eyes for the moment, finding the worry and curiosity behind them, forgetting to respond to Tsuyu’s earlier comment. “Did you know you mumble when you’re deep in thought, Kero?”

Katsuki blinked before scoffing and looking away. “I do not mumble, Frogface.” Katsuki responded as a flash of anger crossed his face before it disappeared. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Kero,” Tsuyu ribbited, causing Katsuki to look back towards her. He could see the doubt behind her eyes, but her face never changed from the blank expression. “If you say so.”

Katsuki scoffed again, looking away. “I don’t fucking mumble, okay?” He could feel the anger boiling over into his speech, but that didn’t stop him from continuing. “You’re just waking up so you must be hearing things.”

“So you weren’t mumbling about our conversation yesterday?” Tsuyu questioned, causing Katsuki to look back towards her. He could see the question behind her eyes, and he could imagine her putting her finger up to her chin in thought. Tsuyu watched as his eyes went wide when she caught him red handed, causing her lips to twitch ever so slightly, while Katsuki read the smirk behind her eyes. “Kero, Frogs have excellent hearing,” Tsuyu responded as she laid her head back down onto the pillow, looking back up towards the ceiling. Silence fell over the two of them for a moment, Tsuyu looking towards the ceiling with slow blinking eyes, while Katsuki watched her from the chair beside the bed. “Thank you, Bakugo,” Tsuyu said quietly, looking back over towards him.

Katsuki released a breath, looking away from her. “You shouldn’t be thanking me,” Katsuki responded just as quietly, slumping his shoulders. Tsuyu could hear how defeated he sounded in that moment, but she kept quiet, suspecting he wasn’t finished speaking. He began running his hands over one another again, trying to get his thoughts straight. “I should be apologizing to you for not listening, for not taking your quirk into account. I was blinded by the want, the need to win, to show everyone how much better I am, how I didn’t need help to defeat the other team.” Katsuki released another breath, looking back towards Tsuyu, finding the smaller but somehow less-frail looking girl watching him carefully. “I didn’t even consider you, and even when you tried to tell me, I didn’t listen.”

“I forgive you,” Tsuyu responded quietly. Katsuki felt a warm feeling blossom and spread throughout his chest, something he had never experienced before, as his eyes went wide at Tsuyu’s response. Tsuyu blinked and broke eye contact with Katsuki, instead looking towards the ceiling. “Everyone deserves a second chance, even if they don’t realize it, Kero. We are bound to make mistakes, but as long as we learn from those mistakes, we can grow as people.”

“Why are you doing this?” Katsuki questioned, causing Tsuyu to look back towards him, a question in her eyes. “Why did you come find me yesterday? Why did you offer to listen, to give me advice? How can you forgive me so easily when I caused this,” Katsuki gestured towards the mountain of blankets on top of Tsuyu. “Why?” Katsuki finished off quietly, looking for answers behind Tsuyu’s eyes.

Tsuyu closed her eyes, cutting off eye contact with Katsuki again, as she rested her head back on the pillow. “I wanted to, Kero,” Tsuyu simply responded, “It looked like you needed a friend, and based on what everyone else was saying about you, nobody else was going to step forward.” Tsuyu paused, letting out a breath. “Did I make the wrong choice giving you a second chance?” Tsuyu questioned, keeping her eyes closed.

Katsuki shook his head, dropping it into his hands, before giving his hair another small painful tug. “I don’t know,” Katsuki responded quietly after a beat of silence.

“I don’t think I did, Kero,” Tsuyu responded, causing Katsuki to look back up towards her, finding she still had her eyes closed. “I think you might be a little misguided, but that’s why we’re at UA in the first place: to learn how to become heroes.” Tsuyu opened her eyes, looking directly at Katsuki, and he could see the honesty behind them. “Kero, not because we’re already heroes. How can you know what kind of hero you are, when you haven’t had a chance to be a hero?” Tsuyu closed her eyes, letting her head rest back.

Katsuki could just look at the girl on the hospital bed as the words slowly registered in his mind. He knew Tsuyu meant every word she said, he had seen the honesty in her eyes, and it brought another warm feeling to his chest. Throughout his years at Aldera, teachers and students alike told him his quirk was perfect for heroics, perfect for taking down the villain, and he believed them. Nobody had ever stopped and asked him what kind of hero he wanted to be; they just continued to build his ego with their comments, saying he would become the number one hero. He would make them proud. He'd be the greatest. What did that really mean? He'd never asked.

But one conversation was all it took for someone to flip the world upside down for him, someone he would have considered an ‘extra’ before coming to UA. He began to realize that maybe being like All Might didn’t just mean defeating the villain, but trying his best to save people instead. He knew the stats of All Might’s career, of how many villains he had defeated and how many people he had saved, and his rescues always greatly surpassed his captures. That debut video, the one that made him famous… it was for how many people he rescued.

Katsuki suddenly froze in his seat, his eyes going distant, as memories long thought forgotten came rushing to the forefront of his mind. He was younger, maybe four or five, and walking along a log in the forest near Aldera. He remembered slipping on the log, tumbling down into the small stream below. He remembered hearing his goonies saying something about him falling in, and his response back to them.

But what really stood out to him at that moment was his former best friend sliding down the riverbank in front of him, asking concernedly if he was alright. He didn’t have a quirk at the time, and all he wanted to do was check on his best friend, offering a helping hand. Katsuki had to shake his head to try and dispel the vision, but no matter how hard he tried, the memory continued to play. He watched as his younger self threw an explosion in his former best friend’s face, knocking him back against the riverbank unconscious. “Fuck…” Katsuki whispered out so quietly that he wasn’t even sure if he had said it.

Looking back up, he found Tsuyu’s breathing had returned to normal, but she had attempted to cover herself back up with the warm blankets. “I have a long way to go, if I’m ever going to make it up to Midoriya, and if I’m going to become a hero…” Katsuki whispered out quietly. Making up his mind, Katsuki stood up and moved towards the hospital bed. He looked down at how easily Tsuyu was breathing for a moment before grabbing the end of the blankets and pulled them further up on the girl, making sure she was completely tucked in.

Katsuki heard Tsuyu release a content sigh in her sleep, snuggling further into the warmth the blankets provided. Katsuki’s lips twitched ever so slightly, a small warm feeling returning to his chest and holding steady. Taking a step back, he fell back into the chair and continued watching the hospital bed. “But you’re right,” Katsuki continued quietly, not focusing on his surroundings as he focused on Tsuyu’s steady breathing. “We’re here to learn how to become heroes.” He realized that he wasn’t going to ruin the second chance that Tsuyu had gratefully given him, even if he didn’t believe he deserved it after everything he’s done.

As Izuku opened the door to the medical rooms, allowing Momo to step in before him, they both paused in the door frame as they took in the sight of Katsuki sitting in a chair beside a bed where Tsuyu was lying. Katsuki didn’t appear to hear the door open, too focused on the hospital bed in front of him, frozen as a statue. Izuku reached out and grabbed Momo’s hand, taking her focus off of the scene in front of them, giving her a small shake of the head. Momo released a breath and nodded, pulling on Izuku’s hand as they continued on their way through the medical bay.

Approaching the office, they could faintly make out a quiet conversation happening within. Izuku and Momo shared a look before Momo approached the door and knocked a handful of times. They heard the conversation pause before Recovery Girl called through the door, informing the two students that it was open. Momo opened the door, allowing Izuku to walk in before her, finding Recovery Girl and Oboro sitting across from each other.

“Ah, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, I wasn’t expecting you two here for another few minutes,” Oboro started as he stood up, moving behind the chair he had been occupying. “I take it that battle trials went well?” Oboro held out his hands to the two chairs, indicating the students to have a seat.

“I believe so,” Momo responded as she made her way towards the chairs, taking the one that wasn’t previously occupied, while Izuku took the one in front of Oboro. “There were no concerning injuries between students, but we did have a few comments about costumes.”

“All Might informed me at the beginning of class,” Oboro responded as he moved beside Recovery Girl’s desk, leaning against the wall. “Rest assured, I will be having a class about costumes and support items in the near future.”

“Thank you, Shirakumo,” Momo responded with a bow of her head.

“Shirakumo and I were just discussing your recent quirk record changes,” Recovery Girl started, causing the two teenagers to look towards her as she spread two files out on her desk. They noticed that each file had one of their names on it, their quirk records on top for easier viewing. “Shirakumo brought up some concerns about potential dangers of having multiple quirks, or sharing quirks between two people, and wanted to confirm that you were safe to use them.”

Izuku and Momo both nodded in understanding. “Mother, Father, and Inko had us checked over by our family doctor when we first realized we could use the others’ quirk,” Momo explained. “I believe all our tests came back clear except for the quirk test, which showcased results of us sharing the same quirks.”

Recovery Girl nodded as she picked up some notes, reading through both students’ files quickly. “I can see where they ran all the tests, and you’re correct in saying the quirk test showed both quirks. Based on these results, it looks like Creation and Smoke were merging together, but hadn’t completed the process.”

“We believe it’s because I was a late bloomer,” Izuku explained. “Smoke didn’t come in until two weeks before the entrance exam, which is when our quirks started mingling together, and when the tests were last performed.” If Oboro or Recovery Girl were surprised at the information, neither showed it. “We also have a partial mental connection between us, but it's mostly related to Creation.”

Recovery Girl nodded once more, placing the notes back in their rightful places and closing both files. “I would like to perform the quirk test on you again, to see if there has been any changes since the last one,” Recovery Girl said as she looked back up at the teenagers. “We’ve never heard of anybody sharing quirks, not in the aspect you two are. There have been copy quirks, which in hindsight, would be similar, but that doesn’t explain the mental connection.”

“Can you explain the mental connection for us?” Oboro questioned, “You mentioned it after the QAT yesterday and I’ve been curious about it.”

“The mental connection is mostly related to my quirk,” Momo began explaining. “As you may know from my file, Creation requires me to know the molecular structures of something before I can create it.” Oboro and Recovery Girl nodded, encouraging Momo to continue. “The mental connection allows Izuku to create something that I know the molecular structure of, even if he hadn’t known about it previously. We’ve also tested and confirmed it works both ways.”

“That is fascinating,” Recovery Girl commented with a thoughtful hum.

“Do you believe it’s safe for them to use both quirks, Shuzenji?” Oboro questioned.

“I believe they should be fine using both quirks,” Recovery Girl responded, “but I will know for sure once I run the quirk test again so I can compare how it’s changed.” Recovery Girl looked between the two teenagers, giving them a look that said there was no room for arguments. “If anything else happens beyond what you two have now, I want you to report it immediately with Shirakumo, myself, or another faculty member.” Izuku and Momo both nodded in understanding.

“Please keep me updated on their status, Shuzenji,” Oboro said as he kicked off the wall before looking towards the couple. “Going forward, I want to see you two using both quirks when possible. You never know when you might be in a situation where you might need to utilize both quirks. If your classmates ask you, just tell them Midoriya’s quirk allows you to share quirks.” Izuku and Momo nodded in understanding, knowing that Oboro didn’t know how close he was with that explanation. “Once Shuzenji is done with your tests, please return your costumes to your cases and place them back in the classroom.” Izuku and Momo nodded once more before Oboro left the office, closing the door behind him.

“It’s interesting to see how OFA has evolved since I first learned about it,” Recovery Girl said, leaning back in her chair as she watched the reactions between the teenagers. Izuku and Momo shared a quick look, surprise on both of their faces, before Recovery Girl continued. “Not only is there a mental block on the Stockpile and you unlocked Smokescreen first, but it's been split between two users.” Recovery Girl hummed, tapping on the files on the desk. “The sharing of Creation is what baffles me though, and how it’s merging with OFA.”

“We actually spoke with the vestiges last night,” Izuku started explaining, “Yoichi, the original user and creator of OFA, explained that the Stockpile has become too powerful for a single person to handle. As a result, it was split between the two of us.”

“But there is a mental block on the Stockpile because it’s still too powerful for us to handle, which is why Smokescreen was unlocked first,” Momo continued for Izuku. “Supposedly, OFA has used a portion of the Stockpile to upgrade Smokescreen into what Izuku is calling Smoke. Smokescreen only allowed the user to create massive purple clouds, but after the upgrade, we’re able to control almost all the properties of Smoke.”

“We’re also going to be receiving all the previous user quirks sometime in the future,” Izuku continued. “Neither we, nor the vestiges, are sure why Creation was merged with OFA. They informed us they would continue looking into it.”

“Do you have any plans on letting Shirakumo know about the real reason?” Recovery Girl questioned, looking between the students.

Izuku and Momo shared a look. “We weren’t planning on it,” Izuku confirmed as he looked back at Recovery Girl. “Toshi told us we already doubled the amount of people who knew about OFA, and the more people who know about it will only put more people at risk, including us.”

Recovery Girl let out a sigh. “The Big Oaf was used to doing everything by himself, which is why his injury happened in the first place.” Recovery Girl shook her head before focusing back on the teenagers. “If he had listened to us, especially after his injury, he wouldn’t have found himself in his current situation.”

Recovery Girl shook her head once more, letting out another sigh, as she stood up from her chair. “Nevermind that, let’s get this quirk test done so I can see how the quirks have merged together.” Recovery Girl paused by the door, looking back at the two teenagers. “In all my years, I’ve never had a drop of alcohol, but after everything that’s happened recently, I might need one after all this.” Izuku and Momo both apologized before Recovery Girl waved them off, assuring the duo that it wasn’t their fault this happened. As the Youthful Heroine opened the door, their conversation was cut off, following her into one of the private medical rooms to begin the required tests.

“Hey, Mo?” Izuku questioned, causing Momo to look down towards him, finding him deep in thought. “Do you think we should tell Shirakumo about our situation?” Izuku wondered as he looked back up towards Momo. They were currently walking hand in hand back towards Height Alliance, having finished all the tests Recovery Girl wanted to take and returned their costumes back to the classroom.

Momo slowed their walk, noticing they were only a few steps from Heights Alliance’s front entrance, allowing her to think about the question. “I don’t know,” she responded honestly, “while he has shown he cares about his students, we’ve only known him for a couple of days. We don’t really know if he’s trustworthy or not.”

Izuku nodded in understanding as he looked away from Momo. “It’s just…” Izuku started off before Momo noticed him slumping his shoulders, “he’s the first teacher to actually show he cares.”

“Izu…” Momo said quietly, pulling them to a stop. She reached around Izuku, pulling him into a hug, feeling him melt into the embrace.

Izuku released a breath, enjoying how safe he felt in Momo’s arms. “Other than our tutor at home, I’ve never had a teacher care as much as he’s shown.” Momo hugged Izuku tighter, feeling him return the embrace, as they slowly began swaying in the late evening sun. When Izuku pulled back, Momo noticed the smile on his face. “Thanks, Mo.”

“Always, Izu.” Momo responded.

Finding each other’s hands once more, the couple walked the last few steps to Heights Alliance, climbing the stairs at the front and opening the door. “ZuMo!” Himiko called out from somewhere in the room, causing them both to brace for impact. Himiko crashed into them, causing them to take a step back in response, as they felt Himiko wrap her arms around the couple. “Is everything okay? Why did you have to see Recovery Girl? Is it about your quirk?”

Izuku shushed Himiko quickly, noticing that some of their classmates were looking in their direction. “We’re okay, Himi,” Izuku responded as he returned the hug, hearing the small purring coming from the smaller girl in response. “Shirakumo had some concerns about our quirks, and wanted Recovery Girl to run some tests.”

Himiko tightened the hug for a second before releasing them both, stepping back and giving them a smile. “Okay,” she said as if she understood everything they weren’t saying. “Can we start on dinner soon? Ochako and I are getting hungry.”

“Himi!” Ochako whisper-shouted from the couch, bringing her hands up to her cheeks in embarrassment, activating her quirk.

“Whelp, there she goes,” Himiko said fondly with a smirk.

The trio watched as Ochako floated towards the ceiling before lightly bouncing off. Taking her hands away from her face, she looked around at her surroundings, her cheeks getting even darker red in embarrassment. They watched as she took a deep breath before kicking off the ceiling, righting herself before releasing her quirk, landing on her feet. Ochako took another breath before looking directly towards Himiko with a pout.

“Uh oh,” Himiko said quietly, her smirk falling from her face as Ochako marched right up to her.

“We talked about this, Himiko!” Ochako whisper-shouted. “I told you I was okay!”

Momo cleared her throat, causing Ochako to look towards Momo, finding the couple watching and listening to them. Ochako’s anger vanished from her face as she realized what she had just said in front of them, before looking away in embarrassment. “You know we don’t mind cooking for you, Uraraka, and UA provides us with the food as part of our scholarships.”

Ochako released a breath as she turned back around, keeping her eyes on her feet as she dug her foot into the ground. “Sorry,” Ochako said quietly, “I’ve been trying to break the habit since Mama and Papa got a new contract, but it’s been hard.”

“That’s why you have me!” Himiko responded, throwing her arm around Ochako, startling the other girl. “And that means you also have ZuMo too! You kept raving yesterday about how great dinner was even after we were done!”

“Himi…” Ochako said quietly, looking up at the other girl, but they all noticed the smile on her face. “Thank you,” Ochako said as she looked back towards the couple, “but I don’t want you two to do all the work. I want to help out too!”

“Of course, Uraraka,” Izuku responded easily, “we would greatly appreciate the extra set of hands.”

Momo felt something tap her on the shoulder, turning to find Kyouka and Denki standing beside them. Kyouka was twirling her other jack around her finger as she looked between the four of them. “I couldn’t help but overhear-”

“That was corny, even for you,” Denki interrupted Kyouka, causing the other girl to turn towards him and stab him in the side with a jack. “Come on, even you have to admit it!”

Kyouka rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning back towards the four of them. “As I was saying, I was wondering if we could help too?” Kyouka wrapped a jack around Denki, dragging him towards her in the process. “Denks here needs all the help in learning how to cook.”

“You're one to talk!” Denki responded, poking Kyouka in the side and sending a small jolt of electricity through his finger, causing Kyouka to jump away from him. She turned towards him and angrily pouted, causing him to chuckle at her reaction. “We both could use some help in the cooking department,” Denki admitted as he turned back towards the four of them, “and we were wondering if you could teach us?”

Izuku and Momo shared a look, a smile crossing both their faces, before looking back towards the other couple. “We would love to,” Izuku responded, “how about we get started tonight?” Kyouka and Denki nodded towards them before they turned towards Ochako, getting another nod in agreement.

By the time the couple had retreated back to Momo’s room, Izuku fell backwards onto the bed, closing his eyes, allowing Momo to get changed before him. After the day they had, they were ready to crash for the night, and maybe visit their small dream cafe. Izuku smiled to himself, realizing that he got to spend even more time with Momo, now that they could visit the vestige realm in their sleep.

“What’s got you smiling like that?” Momo questioned from above him.

Izuku kept the smile on his face, opening his eyes to find Momo standing above him, drying her hair as it fell past her shoulders. “Just thinking about our cafe,” Izuku responded, “and how much more time I get to spend with you.”

Momo smiled in return, pausing in drying her hair for the moment, leaning down and capturing Izuku’s lips with her own. “Do you think the vestiges will mind if we visit every night?” Momo questioned as she pulled away, helping Izuku up to his feet.

“I’m sure they won’t,” Izuku responded as he got to his feet, watching as Momo walked around him and climbed into bed. “And too bad if they do, because I want to spend every moment possible with you.”

Momo smiled as a blush dusted her cheeks. Grabbing the pillow she had created that morning, she lightly tossed it at Izuku, watching as he caught it. “Go get cleaned up so we can visit our cafe.”

Izuku smiled in response, letting the pillow fall back to the bed. He grabbed his pajamas before walking into Momo’s attached bathroom, taking a quick shower and getting changed. As he looked in the mirror, he noticed that his shirt didn’t cover his stomach like it did before, causing him to turn and look at it from the side. Scratching his head in question, he walked out of the room and paused at the bathroom door frame, causing Momo to look up towards him. “My shirt appears to have shrunk somehow?”

“That’s strange,” Momo commented as she stood up and walked towards him. She walked around him, inspecting how the shirt appeared to be much tighter on him. “Did your uniform shirt feel the same?”

“Now that you mention it,” Izuku said after thinking for a moment, “I thought it was a little tighter this afternoon when we changed out of our costumes, but I thought it was just because I was used to how my costume fit.”

Momo hummed in thought, walking around and inspecting Izuku once more, seeing all the changes throughout his body. The most noticeable part was his stomach, now showing a little belly instead of the six-pack of abs he had previously, while the rest of his body showcased signs of being different. “When I first entered the vestige realm, I noticed the OFA orb of power had changed from yellow to orange, and Yoichi explained it happened when Creation successfully merged with OFA.”

Momo stopped in front of Izuku, looking down towards him, as he looked up towards her. They could almost see the gears working as they looked towards the other, both deep in thought about what could have happened. Izuku was the first one to break eye contact as he pulled out a notebook, one that was dedicated to their OFA and Creation research, coded in such a way that only Izuku and Momo could read it.

“If Creation has successfully merged with OFA,” Izuku began, writing in the notebook faster than what he could speak, “it’s possible that OFA and Creation are adapting my physique to better optimize Creation. If that’s the case, it would explain why I was hungrier today compared to our training days previously, especially before heroics.” Izuku looked up at Momo, finding her deep in thought, as he tapped the pen against his chin. “I was already eating more because I had to fuel OFA, but if my physique is changing to better adapt to Creation, it could be reasoned that my body is building up lipids.”

“Our Doctor did mention that Creation adapted my physique to optimize my usage,” Momo confirmed as she brought her hand up to her chin in thought, “it’s why, even after all our training, my physique stayed similar even though I was much stronger than before.” Momo looked at Izuku, who was listening intently. “And because we are sharing a quirk, it would make sense for OFA and Creation to optimize our physique to better use them.”

Izuku nodded in agreement as he returned to his notebook, writing a few more notes down. “I think we should ask Yoichi or En to confirm, as they might already be looking into what the merging of the quirks is doing to us.” Momo nodded in agreement, watching Izuku put the notebook back, before he grabbed her hand and led her to the bed. “For now, I’m looking forward to visiting our cafe.” Momo smiled as she wrapped Izuku in a hug, both of them falling onto the comfortable bed, quickly getting under the covers and embracing each other again. It wasn’t long before both of them had fallen asleep, just for them to wake up in the Vestige Realm inside their little cafe.

Chapter Text

Sitting at their desks, having been the first students to arrive, Izuku and Momo were patiently waiting for the bell to ring. Most of the class was already seated and chatting quietly, either continuing their conversations from their walk towards the main campus, or chatting about the battle trials the day before. Just as they looked over towards the empty desks beside them, Himiko and Ochako came barrelling into the room, with Himiko dragging Ochako along to the back of the room and taking their seats. Izuku and Momo had just enough time to give Himiko a disapproving pout before the bell rang, signaling the start of homeroom.

“Good morning students, and welcome to homeroom!” Oboro announced as he walked in the classroom, making his way to the podium. “We have a few things to discuss before I can unleash you to the rest of your classes,” Oboro started, looking around the classroom before landing on Himiko and Ochako.

“Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, UA does have a policy about running in the hallways,” Himiko and Ochako both went red in embarrassment, looking away from their teacher. “While I understand getting as much sleep when you can, especially as heroes, I suggest you leave the dorms earlier to make homeroom on time.” Izuku and Momo smirked in Himiko’s direction, watching as she slumped her shoulders and nodded, while Ochako apologized.

Oboro picked up some papers, straightening them out by lightly tapping the bottom of the sheaf on the podium, before placing them back down. “All Might and I have reviewed and marked your battle trials from yesterday. You’ll be receiving detailed marks and information on what we believe you need to work on going forward, but I wanted to make a few comments before going forward.” Oboro looked over the class, finding most of them listening intently.

“Midoriya and Jirou,” both students straightened up, paying close attention after being called. “You recognized the strengths and weaknesses of the villain team and worked together to overcome them. Congratulations on winning your match!” Izuku and Kyouka nodded in thanks, relaxing a bit into their chairs. “Shoji and Kamiji, you both showcased excellent skills in setting up defenses against the hero team. The strategy you two used could very well have won the match, if you weren’t overwhelmed by the hero team. Good job.” Mezo and Moe nodded in understanding.

“Kaminari,” Oboro started, looking towards the electrification user. “Even though you took out someone on the other team, releasing a massive attack like you did left you defenseless, leaving your teammate scrambling to protect you. I’ve read your student file, and I would like to set up an appointment with Recovery Girl as soon as we can.” Denki stiffened up for the moment as he looked down, before he felt a jack wrap around his wrist in comfort, allowing him to relax and nod towards their teacher. “Jirou will be able to accompany you, and I can also be there if you like.” Denki looked up, nodding once more in thanks.

“Sekigai and Tokoyami showcased a good strategy, but if you held back instead of encountering the villain team so soon, I believe you two would have been able to overwhelm them.” Kashiko and Fumikage nodded in understanding, allowing Oboro to continue. “Uraraka, you attempted to protect your teammate, even if he was taken out of the match. Going up against Tokoyami put you at the disadvantage, but you continued pushing forward and attempted to defeat the remaining hero. That is exactly what I like to see! Good job!” Ochako smiled softly, giving Oboro a nod in return.

“Hagakure and Kirishima,” Oboro continued, looking towards the next students. “You both showcased a good strategy in protecting the bomb, successfully distracting the hero team from the objective and capturing one of them. If Hagakure would have played more into her quirk, keeping silent, I believe the villain team would have successfully overwhelmed the hero team.” Both students nodded in understanding.

“Sero and Yaoyorozu showcased a good strategy for finding the villain team, splitting up and covering as much ground as possible in a short amount of time, allowing them more time to engage the villain team. Yaoyorozu, leaving your teammate behind left him prone to being captured.” Himiko nodded in understanding. “I would also like to touch base with you on your support items. I know you are proficient in using knives, according to your student file, but going against anybody except Kirishima could have left your foe with serious injuries.” Himiko nodded once more, looking away sheepishly.

“Todoroki,” Oboro started off, giving the other student a hard look. “You showcased immense power by freezing the building, rendering your teammate unable to help you with the villain team. You also put your classmate at risk by not taking their quirk into account when unleashing your attack. I would like to speak with you after classes today.” Todoroki didn’t respond, instead looking towards his desk. Oboro internally sighed, already recognizing the problems he was going to have with the half-and-half user, before he looked towards the other student.

“Bakugo, you believed you could handle the enemy team by yourself, not listening or strategizing with your teammate, telling her to defend the bomb.” Katsuki sighed, nodding and looking away. “You also disobeyed a direct order from All Might, releasing a massive explosion that could have easily knocked that building down. I will be confiscating your gauntlets until you submit a redesign that prevents you from releasing an explosion like that again. Come see me in my office during your lunch.” Katsuki nodded, already accepting his fate. “Asui and Iida, you will be marked accordingly based on what happened.” Both students nodded in understanding.

“Last but not least,” Oboro continued, looking towards the last four students. “Shinso, I would like to have a word with you on your support equipment. An extendable police baton is a useful weapon, but I believe there are better options for you.” Hitoshi nodded in agreement. “Usagiyama, running in head first is useful in some situations, but you need to determine the best time to do so. Catching your foes by surprise will always give you the upper hand in a fight, but it also leaves you wide open for an easy counter.” Rumi nodded, letting out a huff, as she lightly tapped her foot.

“Ashido,” Oboro continued, causing the other girl to stiffen up at being called on. “Based on your student file, ranged attacks will almost always be your friend. Just like I mentioned before the QAT, as much as I want to see you have fun during exercises, there are times when you need to take things seriously.” Mina nodded in understanding, relaxing her shoulders. “As for Yaoyorozu,” Oboro turned towards Momo, “You had an excellent strategy by making replica decoys, buying you enough time to distract and take out the enemy team. Good job.”

Oboro shuffled his papers once more before placing them back down on the podium. “I believe that is everything I wanted to touch base on in regards to the battle trials,” Oboro started as he walked around the podium, leaning against the board at the front of the class. “We have some official homeroom business to attend to,” Oboro glanced over his class once more, a smile forming on his face. “Picking class representatives.”

Oboro held up his hand, stopping the onslaught of questions that were sure to come his way. “Before you ask your questions, I will confirm that picking class representatives this early in the year wasn’t my choice. I would have liked to have waited until you were all better acquainted with each other before making you choose, but I digress.” Oboro dropped his hand, looking over the class. “Many of the other teachers allow their class to pick the class representatives by themselves, but I would like to offer my help, if you so choose.”

“How do other classes normally pick the representatives?” Tenya questioned at the same time he raised his hand, not even waiting to be called upon.

“There have been many ways a class picks their representatives,” Oboro responded, standing up straighter. “I’ve seen everything from quirk fights, to arm wrestles, to rock-paper-scissors, to voting for who they want.” Oboro shrugged, a smile still on his face. “Honestly, I like to keep it simple and suggest a vote, but it’s up to what the class wants to do.”

“But wouldn’t everyone just vote for themselves?” Himiko questioned.

“We could restrict it so we can’t vote for ourselves,” Momo responded to Himiko, looking around Izuku.

“What if we don’t want to run for representative?” Hitoshi questioned next.

“Those who don’t want to run for representative can withdraw their name,” Izuku said, seeing a few people nod in agreement. “Or we could have the people who want to run add their names to a list of candidates.”

Oboro watched as Class 1-A discussed between themselves for a couple of minutes before he cleared his throat, getting the attention back on him. “So we all agree on doing a vote, with the restriction on not being able to vote for themselves?” Oboro questioned, seeing most of his students nod in agreement.

“First off, how many people want to run for class representative? We have two spots: representative and vice representative.” Oboro watched as quite a few people put their hands up, nodding in confirmation, before turning around and beginning to write names on the board. “Here are the choices for representatives. I want everyone to come up one or two at a time, following your seat numbers, and place their vote beside who they think should win.”

Two students at a time started getting up from their seats, approaching the front of the class, and writing their votes on the board. Some students refused to vote, seeing the whole representative thing as a waste of time, instead staying seated at their desks. By the time Izuku got up to vote, they could already tell who was going to win the representative and vice representative roles, adding his own vote beside Momo’s name. When Momo got up to vote, she could only smile to herself as she added a vote beside Izuku’s name, before quietly returning to her seat. Himiko and Ochako rolled their eyes good-naturedly.

“I think this has been the biggest landslide since I began teaching,” Oboro commented as he added up the votes, writing the number beside them. “Momo Yaoyorozu will be your representative with Izuku Midoriya being the vice representative.”

• Momo Yaoyorozu - 5
• Izuku Midoriya - 4
• Tenya Iida - 2
• Eijiro Kirishima - 2
• Kashiko Segikai - 1
• Mina Ashido - 1
• Moe Kamiji - 1
• Toru Hagakure - 0
• Katsuki Bakugo - 0

As their little group walked towards the cafeteria later that day, Momo enjoyed teasing Izuku a little about beating him by just one vote. Izuku chuckled along with the rest of their little group, accepting the teasing wholeheartedly. In hindsight, they knew their positions didn’t matter, both knowing they would work hard together in whatever they were required to do for their class. They were going to be a team no matter what.

After realizing how much hungrier they were compared to yesterday, Izuku and Momo both ordered extra food today, just in case they needed the extra fuel for their heroics class or training later in the day. When they had sat down at the table with fully loaded trays, their friends had surrounded them, looking wide-eyed at the food before the couple.

“I know we’ve seen how much you two normally eat,” Denki started off as he looked at the mountains of food, “but why do you two eat so much?”

“Denks!” Kyouka whispered-shouted, poking Denki in his side with a jack and causing him to wince.

“What?” Denki responded, looking towards his girlfriend, “You can’t tell me you aren’t curious!”

“It’s just their quirk,” Himiko replied like it was no big deal, taking another bite of her food.

“You said ‘their quirk’,” Kyouka pointed out with a jack facing Himiko, causing the other girl to pause mid bite. “What do you mean by ‘their quirk’?”

Izuku and Momo shared a quick look, while Himiko’s eyes went wide in realization. Himiko swallowed the food she was chewing before attempting to correct herself. “I just meant their quirks both require a bunch of fuel to function, and if they don’t have that fuel, they can’t perform at their best, and-” Himiko cut herself off when she felt a hand grab her shoulder, causing her to look towards the couple beside her.

“It’s okay, Himi,” Momo said quietly. Himiko relaxed her shoulders before leaning against her sister, allowing Momo to throw her arm around Himiko and pull her into a side hug. Himiko apologized again as she accepted the hug, closing her eyes and enjoying the embrace.

Izuku looked around to make sure there was nobody within earshot before he turned back towards the table. “It would be easier to show you,” Izuku explained as he held up his hand on the table. “You’ve seen me use Smoke the last few days,” Izuku started by showcasing a small amount of green smoke appearing out of his hand, trailing in between his fingers. Kyouka, Denki, and Ochako nodded, waiting for him to continue. “But I can also do this,” Izuku continued as he made the smoke dissipate before a multitude of colors appeared on his hand, a matryoshka nesting doll appearing out of his palm a moment later, looking exactly like Himiko did in her uniform.

Ochako’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the nesting doll in Izuku’s hand before he offered it towards her. She glanced up at Izuku before reaching out and taking the nesting doll, closely inspecting it. It was almost a perfect replica of Himiko, right down to her messy hair buns she always wore. Unbeknownst to Ochako, Himiko was watching Ochako as she inspected the doll, a dusting of a blush on her cheeks and a small smile dancing on her lips. “That light in your hand,” Ochako started as she looked back up at Izuku, “it almost looked like Creation when Yaomomo used it.”

“Wait a second, back up,” Kyouka said quickly, looking between Izuku and Momo. “How did you use Smoke and Creation?” Kyouka questioned in surprise before her eyes landed on Momo. “Can you also use both?” Momo nodded, holding out her free hand and showcasing a red smoke appearing from her hand, dancing around her fingers and trailing up her arm before it dissipated. “How?”

“We’re not exactly sure on how it happened,” Izuku explained, getting Kyouka, Denki, and Ochako to focus on him. “But we believe it has something to do with my quirk.” The three people across from them nodded in understanding, accepting the explanation. “But to answer your earlier question, both of our quirks require a substantial amount of fuel to function. As a result, you’ll see Mo and I eating much more food than a normal person would require. We, uh, kind of have to be ready to use both quirks, I guess.”

“Is that why you’ve both offered to cook for us?” Ochako questioned curiously.

“That is partially the reason we offer,” Momo smiled in response, looking over at Izuku and finding him smiling in her direction. Their friends were taking it quite well. “We’ve never really had to cook for ourselves at home, so Izu and I love the experience of working together to make a delicious tasting meal. Being able to share that meal with our friends just makes the experience that much more worth it.”

“You’ve never cooked at home?” Denki questioned, looking between the three students opposite of them.

“Occasionally,” Izuku responded, “whenever Mo wanted a midnight snack.” Kyouka snorted, quickly bringing a hand up to her mouth to cover the smile, as she looked between the other couple.

“Excuse me, Mister,” Momo responded, giving Izuku a glare in return and causing him to chuckle. “It was you who wanted a midnight snack, and I just couldn’t say no to your cooking.” Izuku chuckled again, causing Momo and Himiko to respond in kind. “Mother and Father hired the best personal chefs Japan had to offer,” Momo explained as she looked towards their friends. “We’ve never really had the opportunity to cook for ourselves, so it’s a wonderful experience that I get to share with Izu.” Izuku nodded in agreement, a smile on his face.

SECURITY LEVEL THREE HAS BEEN BROKEN! ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!

The alarm began blaring throughout the cafeteria, making everyone react instantaneously. Himiko and Kyouka both cried out in pain, with Momo quickly hugging and covering Himiko’s ears, while Denki did the same for Kyouka.

Izuku looked around at the panicking students, knowing that their table was seconds from being overwhelmed. Reacting as fast as he could to prevent it, he summoned Smoke all around them, using his Solid Smoke to thicken the smoke and prevent anybody from crashing into them.

As he continued looking around the cafeteria, he could hear multiple students cry out in pain, either being pushed or stepped on by other students as they attempted to rush out of the cafeteria. Thinking quickly, Izuku jumped onto the table they were seated at, quickly looking around for anything that could help him. He noticed Tenya pushed up against the window, and Izuku could just barely hear him say something about the press. Looking above the students' heads, Izuku could see out the massive windows towards the entrance gate, noticing a bunch of news reporters scrambling onto campus in front of teachers that attempted to hold them back.

Creating a megaphone out of his arm, he silently apologized to Himiko and Kyouka that were directly below him before he took a deep breath. “Attention Students of UA!” Izuku yelled out as loud as he could, making sure the sound of the megaphone traveled over the racket of the cafeteria. He noticed quite a few people stop and look towards him, finding him standing above most of the other students. “We need everyone to calm down! You are putting your fellow classmates at risk of injury by pushing them aside or by stepping on those who have fallen!”

Izuku watched as people started listening to him, looking around and down towards their feet, some even helping other students that had fallen, while others elbowed the panicking students to get them to focus. “We are students of UA! This is NOT how we should be acting in an emergency! Someone who can see the entrance gate, can you tell me what you can see?”

“It’s the press!” A few people yelled out at once, all trying to talk over one another, “They’ve broken onto campus!”

“It’s only the press!” Izuku responded, turning on the spot as he looked towards the rest of the students, noticing most have stopped to listen to him now. “You’ve put your fellow students at risk over the press!” Izuku took a deep breath as people started scratching their heads or turning red in embarrassment. “Everyone needs to calm down and take a deep breath! We are supposed to be evacuating in an orderly fashion, not in a panic like you were!” Izuku watched as most students nodded before they started leaving the cafeteria much calmer than before, allowing Izuku to nod towards them. He jumped off the table, landing beside Himiko. “Are you okay, Himi?”

Himiko nodded but Izuku could see the tears in her eyes, knowing that the loud alarm probably hurt her sensitive ears. He stood up and embraced both Momo and Himiko in a tight hug, keeping his Solid Smoke summoned around their table. Izuku and Momo shared a look before nodding towards each other, tightening the embrace.

Izuku looked over towards his friends, seeing Denki was holding Kyouka in a much similar way, tears in her eyes. Her jacks were retracted all the way up her ears while she silently cried in the embrace. He could only imagine how painful it was for his friend, knowing she was probably focusing on listening to their quiet conversation before the alarm started blaring.

Ochako was worriedly looking between their friend beside her and her crush in the Izuku and Momo embrace, knowing she couldn’t do anything immediately to help them. Izuku smiled in her direction, catching her eyes and conveying that Himiko would be okay, seeing her relax her shoulders in relief.

As the noise began to die down in the cafeteria, Izuku looked around to find that most of the students had already left. As Izuku stood up, he also brought Momo and Himiko along with him. Izuku looked over towards their friends, noticing they were also getting up with them. “We’re going to go see Recovery Girl,” Izuku said towards them, seeing Denki and Ochako nod in response. “I want to make sure Himi is okay, and Jirou could probably use some of her gummies.” Denki nodded again as he looked towards Kyouka, carefully guiding his girlfriend behind the other couple, with Ochako taking up the rear.

Hearing a knock at the door, Oboro called out that the door was unlocked, already knowing who was on the other side. Katsuki opened the door, taking a step inside the room and looking around a second, before closing the door behind him. Oboro gestured towards the chair across the desk from him, prompting Katsuki to sit down. Once Katsuki was seated, he looked down towards his hands, running them over one another.

“Do you know why I wanted to talk with you, Bakugo?” Oboro questioned, leaning back in his chair and watching his student.

Katsuki was silent for a moment, running his hands over one another, before releasing a sigh. Leaning back into his own chair, Katsuki looked up towards Oboro, giving him a nod. “It’s about what happened in the battle trials,” Katsuki responded quietly.

Oboro nodded in return, “That is part of the reason, yes.” Oboro leaned back towards the desk, typing a few things on his computer before turning the monitor towards Katsuki. “But there are a few other reasons too.” Katsuki looked up to the monitor, seeing him confronting Izuku in the dorms right after his talk with Nezu and Oboro. Oboro clicked another button, switching the video to cameras that showcased the forest behind the dorms, explosions sounding from within with flashes in different areas. Oboro clicked another button, showcasing the battle trials the day previous. It showed Katsuki not listening to Tsuyu and waving her off before rushing out of the room immediately, and him not listening once more to All Might’s commands about his gauntlets.

Oboro leaned back in his chair, waiting until the video completely finished, watching as Katsuki hung his head once more. “After talking with Nezu and myself after the QAT, I really hoped you would take our advice and smarten up.” Oboro watched as Katsuki stiffened up, his hands pausing their looping nervous tic.. “Can you explain to me why you decided not to listen?” Katsuki stayed silent, as he resumed passing his hands over one another again, prompting Oboro to release a sigh. “You know you’re already on thin ice, and based on these few incidents, I should be expelling you.” Katsuki stiffened up again but still didn’t respond. “The only reason you are sitting here today is because Midoriya didn’t report the dorm incident.”

“I fucked up,” Katsuki finally said after another beat of silence, looking up at Oboro for the first time since taking a step into the room. “Is that what you wanted to hear? I fucked up.” Katsuki released a huff before looking away, going silent once more. Oboro knew he wasn’t done speaking so he decided to keep quiet for the moment, letting Katsuki get his thoughts straight.

“I confronted Deku because I wanted to know where he went after leaving Aldera. I haven’t heard from him in almost nine years, and he suddenly shows up at UA with a quirk!” Katsuki continued as he looked back up at Oboro. “And the fucking nerd wouldn’t say where he went! The Old Hag was worried something happened to them when Auntie wouldn’t return her calls!” Katsuki was taking deep breaths now, his anger getting the better of him. “Deku said I fucking bullied him when he was at Aldera.”

“Did you?” Oboro inquired, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair as Katsuki revealed information about his past. He was opening up, and Oboro was hopeful that they could make some real progress.

“I don’t know!” Katsuki responded and Oboro could hear a few pops coming from his hands before he clenched them tight. “Asui found me after I released some of my anger in the forest, and she asked me the same thing. Back then, I didn’t think it was bullying, it was helping a friend get stronger.” Katsuki slumped his shoulders as he released a sigh, his anger dissipating. “We were best friends when we were kids, and now Deku wants nothing to do with me.”

Oboro hummed in acknowledgement, taking a few notes down on the computer in front of him, before turning back to Katsuki. “What happened during the battle trials?”

“I wanted to prove that I was better than everyone else, that I didn’t need help defeating the enemy team,” Katsuki responded quietly, running his hands over one another again. “All through Aldera, I was told that my quirk was perfect for heroics.” Katsuki released a sigh, slumping his shoulders once more. “I realized I fucked up yesterday, and I put Asui and the Ice Princess in danger.” Katsuki looked up, and Oboro could see the decision behind his eyes. “Keep the gauntlets, I won’t be submitting a redesign.”

Oboro nodded, making another note about the gauntlets. He believed that Katsuki would change his mind in the future, so instead of ordering the support department to destroy them, he made a note to put them in storage for the time being. Once Oboro was done typing, he looked back up at Katsuki. “What does this mean for us going forward?” Oboro questioned, causing Katsuki to look up towards him in confusion.

“Are you going to leave Midoriya alone? Will you start listening to your teachers? Because if you end up in this office again, you will be expelled. Do you understand me?” Katsuki nodded, looking back down towards his hands. “I see a lot of potential in you kid, but if you’re not willing to listen to All Might, myself, or the other faculty, there is no future for you here at UA. You will do well in remembering that.” Katsuki nodded again, not looking up towards his teacher.

“We’re done here for now, Bakugo. Please enjoy the rest of your lunch.” Katsuki nodded once more, quickly getting up and moving out of the room, closing the door behind him. Oboro shook his head and released a sigh, slumping back in his chair, looking towards the old photograph on his desk. It was a picture of himself during his second year at UA, standing beside Nemuri, Hizashi, and Shota. “I bet you would’ve expelled him already, had you become a teacher,” Oboro said quietly, “Ain’t that right, Sho?”

SECURITY LEVEL THREE HAS BEEN BROKEN! ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!

Oboro was out of his chair in a flash, years of training in both the limelight and underground leading him to react immediately. Opening a window in his office, Oboro hurled himself out and summoned Cloud beneath him, softening his landing and allowing him to sprint towards the news reporters.

Seeing how spread out the news reporters were, he summoned a massive amount of Cloud, throwing it around the news reporters and preventing them from advancing further onto the campus. He was quickly flanked by other teachers on campus, Nemuri being directly to his right and Hizashi being directly to his left, before they started shuffling people back towards the entrance gate.

Within a few minutes of the alarm going off, locking down the campus in a level three security threat, all of the news reporters were escorted back through the destroyed entrance gate. Oboro combined all his Cloud, layering it up and replicating the entrance gate, preventing any more news reporters from entering the campus.

Oboro walked over towards the now-destroyed entrance gate, kneeling down to inspect it. He noticed that Nemuri was standing beside him, also inspecting the ruins of the gate, reminding him of all the times they had teamed up in the past. “Someone had managed to destroy the entrance gate and let them in,” Nemuri commented quietly, stating a fact more than asking a question.

“It would appear so,” Oboro responded. Reaching out, he picked up some pieces of the destroyed gate, watching it disintegrate even further as he rubbed it between his index finger and thumb.

“Oboro, Nemuri,” Nezu called out as he approached on top of Sekijiro’s shoulder. Oboro stood up and turned around to face the principal, Nemuri following suit, both of them already in hero mode and ready to report. “Report.”

“The news reporters that you informed us about this morning appeared to have destroyed the entrance gate and swarmed onto campus,” Nemuri commented.

“There is no doubt a quirk is involved,” Oboro continued as he gestured to the destroyed gate behind him. “The gate has been completely disintegrated, but it appears to have been a controlled hit to destroy just the gate. The surrounding walls and the machinery to raise and lower the gate haven’t been affected.”

“Hmmm,” Nezu hummed to himself as Sekijiro kneeled down and allowed the principal to jump off his shoulder. The mammal approached the destroyed gate to better inspect it himself. “I scanned the news reporters this morning to confirm how big of a threat they were, cross referencing them with the quirk registry, and none of them had a quirk registered that could have done something like this.”

“This reeks like a coordinated attack,” Higari commented as he inspected the gate and security sensors himself. “This gate was crafted to rival the level of security that Tartarus boasts about, and to be destroyed as easily as this, it's troubling.”

“I suspect there is some foul play going on,” Nezu said.

“Foul play?” Hizashi questioned.

Nezu nodded. “I believe the gate being destroyed was a distraction.” Nezu walked a few steps before looking down one of the massive walls that bordered UA and protected them from most major threats. “But I am unsure as to why they would need a distraction. No other alarms were triggered throughout campus, which means the person was already inside the gates of UA, or their mission was unsuccessful.”

“Are you thinking that it was a distraction for one of the students?” Oboro questioned. “I know you’ve put in stricter protocols in the last couple of years, after you invited All Might to teach here.”

“It’s very possible a student slipped through the cracks,” Nezu responded as he walked back towards the teachers, standing in the middle of them. “But it could also be another case of Himiko’s quirk, Transform. When she passed the entrance exam, I had to adjust the security measures for her quirk, and it’s possible that someone with a similar quirk was able to pose as a student.” The teachers all nodded in understanding.

“Higari,” Nezu said as he turned towards the support course teacher, “I want this gate rebuilt as soon as possible, with extra security measures in place. I also want you to figure out how to counter a quirk like the one that was used here. I don’t care what it takes or how much it costs, just that it gets done.”

“Understood, Sir.” Higari responded, already making his way back towards campus.

“As for the rest of you,” Nezu continued, looking over the rest of the teachers, “I want you all to return to your classes and inform them it was just the press. Don’t mention anything else until I have some concrete evidence. We don’t need anything leaking out to the press by mistake.” All the other teachers nodded in agreement or gave verbal confirmations. Nezu turned back towards the gate, looking over the damage once more. “What are you after, I wonder?” Nezu mused quietly to himself.

After visiting the medical bay and getting checked over by Recovery Girl, and being dismissed from their classes for the afternoon, the small friend group was walking back towards their dorms. Once Izuku and Momo had confirmed that Himiko was alright, Himiko had practically pounced on Ochako, allowing the other girl to practically carry her when they left the medical bays. Izuku and Momo knew they were exchanging quiet conversation as they walked, with the occasional laugh from both girls.

Kyouka and Denki were walking in the middle of their small little group, both whispering sweet nothings to each other, as Denki practically carried Kyouka back towards the dorms. Kyouka had tried to put up a small fight but had eventually given in and melted into the hug that Denki had provided. Kyouka had explained to them that the alarms had instantly caused her a massive migraine when they began because she had been so focused on the conversation they were having. Recovery Girl said nothing was damaged, but had given the girl some gummies to help with the pain and the migraine.

As the six of them entered the dorms, Himiko and Ochako had peeled off to head up to Himiko’s room, wanting to drown in the plushies she had before dinner. Kyouka and Denki had also departed to head up to Kyouka’s room, mentioning they would be back down for dinner if Kyouka was feeling up for it. Izuku and Momo let them know they would make extra and put it in the fridge if they ended up missing dinner and came down later. Kyouka and Denki thanked them profusely before they retreated up the dorm stairs.

Just as Izuku and Momo were about to retreat up to Momo’s room for a few hours, they noticed Shoto get off one of the couches in the common room, making his way towards them. “Midoriya, Yaoyorozu,” Shoto monotoned out, his face staying expressionless, “is the offer to talk still available? The one where you wouldn’t tell anybody?”

Izuku and Momo shared a quick look before looking back towards their classmate. “Of course, Todoroki,” Izuku responded, “is there somewhere you wanted to talk?” Shoto looked around the common room, seeing some of their classmates hanging around, before looking back towards the couple and shaking his head. “Would the rooftop work?” Izuku questioned, watching as Shoto shrugged and turned on his heel.

They followed Shoto up to the rooftop, watching as he looked around the small area that was available to them and finding it empty, before he made his way towards the seating area. Izuku and Momo followed behind him, watching as he took a seat on one of the couches, allowing them to take a seat across from him. Shoto didn’t say anything for a few minutes, looking over the horizon, before he let out a sigh and looked at the couple.

“Shirakumo pulled me aside when he dismissed classes earlier,” Shoto began, keeping his face blank, “and he asked me why I wouldn’t use my fire side in the battle trials.”

“I thought it was strange that you were hindering yourself during the fight against Bakugo,” Izuku commented, watching as Shoto’s eyes returned a hard glare back towards him.

“My Mother’s ice should have been enough to defeat Bakugo,” Shoto commented a bit bitterly, “but I wasn’t expecting Bakugo to become such a troublesome opponent.” Shoto closed his eyes, letting out a frosty breath as he dispelled his anger, schooling his emotions once more. “Endeavor wants nothing more for me to use my fire to surpass All Might, and I refuse to allow him to live vicariously through me, not since he sent my Mother away.” Shoto opened his eyes, looking back towards the couple. “This is why I only use my Mother’s ice.”

Izuku and Momo shared a quick look, communicating silently between themselves, wondering why Shoto had worded it the way he did. “Do you not realize that you’re only hurting yourself by limiting yourself to only one aspect of your quirk?” Momo questioned. “By not using your fire side, you are putting yourself at risk of freezing over like in the battle trials, which could prevent you from helping people in the future.”

“I will NOT use Endeavor’s fire!” Shoto shot up to his feet, anger flashing across his face, before returning to the emotionless stare. “I will prove to Endeavor, to everyone, that I don’t need his fire to become a hero, to surpass All Might and claim the number one spot.” Shoto turned around on his heel, beginning to walk away from the couple. “I will prove to everyone that my Mother’s ice is enough.” Shoto exited the rooftop, allowing the door to slam behind him, leaving the couple worriedly looking after him.

“This is much deeper than we originally thought,” Izuku commented as he turned back around, Momo following suit. Izuku reached out and grabbed Momo’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and getting one in return. “Did you notice how he kept referring to parts of his quirk as ‘Endeavor’s’ and his ‘Mother’s’ quirk?”

Momo nodded, leaning against Izuku as they watched the sun fall slowly in the sky. “Do you think we made it worse?” Momo questioned quietly after a few moments.

“I don’t know,” Izuku responded, lightly tapping a finger along the back of Momo’s hand, bringing comfort to both of them. “But if Todoroki doesn’t soon realize the dangers overusing his cold side will bring,” Izuku looked towards Momo, catching her eyes and seeing his worry reflected in her own, “I’m afraid of what could happen when he gets out into the field.”

Momo nodded in agreement. “We’re going to help him, somehow.” Momo stated, seeing Izuku nod in confirmation. “Hopefully he doesn’t shut us out after this talk.”

“If he does, there’s not much else we can really do,” Izuku responded. “We promised we wouldn’t mention it to anybody.” They both fell back against each other, both feeling the other take a deep breath, before melting into the embrace. “I just hope we can reach out to him before something bad happens.” Momo nodded against Izuku as they both fell silent, thinking about the conversation they just had.

Chapter Text

“Good afternoon students and welcome to heroics!” Oboro announced as he entered the classroom, crossing the front of the classroom to stand behind the podium. The students watched in silence as he picked up some papers and shuffled them for dramatic effect before placing them back down. Looking over all his students, he could see some of them were still on edge because of the events the day prior. Rumors must have made it around UA about what happened to the entrance gate, but that was to be expected. His objective today was to proceed with business as usual. “Over the past few days, we’ve tested you on a few different aspects about being a hero. From testing your quirks the first day, to going up against your classmates in a mock battle.”

As Oboro looked over his class, he found he had caught the attention of more students. “For today’s training, All Might, myself, and another faculty member will be testing you on…” Oboro brought his hand up before snapping his wrist, a card appearing between his fingers with a simple magic trick, before flipping it around to show the rest of the class. ‘RESCUE’ was printed on the card in big, bold, blue letters. “Rescue training! Preparing you for disaster relief, from fires to floods, and everything in between!”

Oboro allowed the class to chat between themselves for a few seconds before he held up his remote and clicked a button. When the wall began opening, the class fell silent, allowing Oboro to continue. “Other than a few students I have spoken with previously, I highly recommend you wear your costumes, but you are not required to do so. Today’s training will be putting you through what every hero has to experience on the job, and you’ll be able to determine what does and doesn’t work for your costume.” Oboro looked at a few students, seeing them nod in understanding.

“The training site is located on the other side of campus, which means we’ll be taking a bus to get there.” Oboro looked up at Izuku and Momo, catching their attention. “Class reps, you’ll be responsible for making sure everyone is accounted for and loaded on the bus in fifteen minutes. Please don't keep me waiting!” With that, Oboro turned on his heel and began walking out of the room, leaving the class to get up and grab their costume cases or gym uniforms and follow him out.

Even though Izuku’s and Momo’s costumes were somewhat complicated to get changed into, they still managed to finish changing before everyone else, making their way out to the waiting bus. Oboro was standing by the door to the bus, giving the couple a nod in approval, but making no moves to speak with them.

Their small friend group was the next to arrive, with a few others who had decided to wear their gym uniforms instead of their costumes. They stopped in front of the couple, chatting amongst themselves, waiting for the rest of their classmates to finish changing. When Tenya and Kashiko walked up to the waiting students, Izuku and Momo saw that Tenya wanted to say something and attempted to approach them before Kashiko stopped him. Izuku and Momo shared a look, Izuku shrugging in response, before they went back to looking over their classmates.

They only had to wait a few more minutes before the rest of their classmates had approached the waiting group, allowing Izuku and Momo to take a final headcount before they started shuffling their classmates onto the bus. “All students accounted for, Shirakumo.” Momo said as the last student stepped onto the bus. Oboro nodded in approval once more, allowing Izuku and Momo to enter the bus before him.

Ochako and Himiko were sitting beside each other with two open seats beside them, while Hitoshi, Tsuyu, Kyouka, and Denki sat across from them. Taking the seats that were saved for them by Himiko and the rest of their friend group, Izuku and Momo reached out and grabbed the other’s hand out of habit, enjoying the comfort and closeness the other provided. As their classmates chatted quietly amongst themselves, Oboro programmed the route to their training location in the navigation, allowing the AI to take over and drive the bus to the desired location.

As the bus began moving, conversations between the students resumed. Izuku and Momo were content to just listen and watch their classmates, knowing that most were excited to be working alongside Toshinori and Oboro for their training.

“Midoriya, Kero,” Tsuyu started out after a few moments, causing the small conversations their small friend group was having to pause. “I generally say what’s on my mind,” Tsuyu continued as more people started focusing on what she was saying, watching as Izuku nodded in understanding. “When the alarm happened in the cafeteria yesterday, Kero, where did you get the megaphone? Did Yaomomo create it for you?”

As more people focused on the conversation, hearing the question that Tsuyu had asked, the rest of the bus suddenly went quiet. Even Oboro was listening to the conversation as he sat in one of the seats near the front of the bus. Izuku and Momo looked around the bus, finding everyone had paused their conversations to listen to their response (or to whisper a repetition of Tsuyu's question to those who had been paying less attention), before they looked between themselves. Silently communicating between themselves, Izuku and Momo gave the other’s hand a squeeze in confirmation and reassurance, knowing that Oboro had wanted them to use both quirks going forward.

Izuku nodded towards Momo before turning back towards Tsuyu, finding her watching him blankly as she waited for his answer. “Not exactly, Asui-” Izuku paused as he was interrupted by the other girl with a quiet ‘Call me Tsu’.

"Not exactly, Tsu,” Izuku began again. “As you may have heard during the QAT, my previous classmates believed I was quirkless,” Izuku explained, seeing Tsuyu and a few of their other classmates nod in acknowledgement. “It wasn’t until after I met Momo that I awakened my quirk.”

Before anybody could ask what Izuku had meant, Momo had continued for him. “We believe our meeting, and my use of Creation, is what forced Izuku to have a quirk awakening,” Momo explained. “As a result, our quirks ended up mingling and merging together.”

“So what exactly does that mean, Kero?”

“I think it would be easier to show you,” Izuku continued as he held out his free hand. The class was quiet as he showcased Smoke appearing from his hand, dancing around his fingers. “You’ve all seen me use Smoke the last few days,” Izuku explained as many of his classmates, including Katsuki, were focused on the display that Izuku was putting on. “But I can also do something like this.” Izuku compiled all the green smoke into his hand, allowing it to rest there for a moment before a matryoshka nesting doll appeared through the smoke, looking exactly like Tsuyu did in her hero costume. He forced the smoke to dissipate, leaving the nesting doll sitting on his hand, before he held it out towards Tsuyu and allowed her to take it.

“That was Creation,” Hitoshi said plainly, the look of realization crossing his features as he looked at the nesting doll Tsuyu was inspecting. Looking back towards the couple, Hitoshi watched as Izuku nodded in confirmation, which resulted in many questions being thrown at the couple.

“That’s wicked cool!” Hanta commented with wide eyes.

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have said that was impossible,” Mezo said from a mouth on one of his arms.

“I wonder if other people can do that?” Mina questioned as she sat beside Eijiro, looking towards him and getting a shrug in response.

“How?” Hitoshi finally questioned when the questions and comments had died down, focusing on the couple in front of him.

“We’re not exactly sure on how it happened,” Momo explained, “but we believe it’s related to the uniqueness of Izuku’s quirk.” Momo looked towards Mina, seeing her looking excitedly at the couple. “Recovery Girl believes that our situation of sharing quirks is the only known such intermingling in existence, and doesn’t believe that anybody else can achieve something that we have without one person having a quirk that specifically allows it, in which case they might not even know they have a quirk at all.” Mina dimmed a little at the information, slumping her shoulders slightly.

“It makes sense,” Mina responded, “if Midori’s quirk is unique in a way that allows you two to share quirks, I doubt anybody else would be able to replicate it.”

“Kero,” Tsuyu started off again, getting everyone to focus on her once more. “You mentioned that Creation and Smoke mingled and merged together. Does that mean you can also use Smoke, Yaomomo?” Tsuyu questioned as she looked towards the taller girl. Momo nodded, lifting up her free hand and showcasing a red smoke appearing from her hand, snaking around her fingers like Izuku had done before it trailed up her arm and dissipated. She wore a satisfied smile as her new friends looked on in wonder, approval, and excitement.

“So that’s why Chart was showing you two with both quirks!” Kashiko said excitedly, causing everyone to focus on her, as she lifted up her wrist and summoned her quirk. “I thought there was something wrong when I first used Chart to show me your stats!” Kashiko appeared to go through multiple different menus on her quirk before landing on Izuku and Momo, pulling them up side by side in comparison. “But that’s not the strange part,” Kashiko commented as she looked back up towards the couple, “Chart shows six other quirks slots beside Creation and Smoke that are currently unknown.”

Izuku and Momo shared a quick look, knowing exactly why it was showing six other slots, before Momo squeezed Izuku’s hand in reassurance. Clearing her throat, Momo looked back towards Kashiko, causing everyone to focus on her instead of Izuku. “That is strange, indeed,” Momo responded. “Does Chart show anything else about us?”

Kashiko scrunched her eyebrows together, going through a few different options with her quirk, before shaking her head. “Other than how Midoriya’s physique has changed dramatically over the last few days, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“We’re not sure on why it’s changing now, but we believe Creation is adapting my physique to better store lipids, raising my limits to better match Momo’s.” Izuku explained, glad you have slightly changed topics. “As far as I know, it’s not hindering my abilities or movement, just optimizing my physique.”

“So not only does he have a fucking quirk, but now he has access to fucking two?” Katsuki commented quietly, but it was loud enough to be heard throughout the quiet bus. It went over a slight bump in the road, jolting everyone slightly.

Other than giving each other’s hand a squeeze, Izuku and Momo ignored the comment, but Tsuyu beside them looked directly at Katsuki. Katsuki felt a chill go down his neck, the feeling of someone watching him washing over him, forcing him to look around. He caught Tsuyu’s eyes a moment later, seeing the disappointment in them, causing him to huff and look away as he slumped in his seat.

“Kero,” Tsuyu started once more, causing the couple to focus on her once more. “So during the panic in the cafeteria yesterday, you used Creation to make the megaphone?” Izuku nodded in confirmation. “Why haven’t you two used the other’s quirk before? I’m sure they would have come in useful during the battle trial yesterday, Kero.”

Izuku glanced towards their teacher for a quick second, seeing him nod in response. “Shirakumo wanted Recovery Girl to make sure we were safe to use the other quirk, and once she confirmed we were, he informed us that he wanted us using both quirks in the future.” Izuku explained before shrugging. “We were also unsure on how everyone would react to us sharing quirks, especially once everyone discovered we were dating.”

Momo nodded in agreement. “We didn’t want people to think we were dating because we share quirks, or we share quirks because we’re dating. Quirk or not, I would have loved Izuku, and nothing would have changed my mind.” Izuku smiled towards Momo, whispering his own ‘I love you too’, before leaning up and capturing her lips for a chaste kiss. There were a few people oohing and awwing which they chose to ignore.

“I wish Hardening was as flashy as Creation and Smoke,” Eijiro commented, bringing his arm forward and activating his quirk. “It’s good in a fight, but it’s really boring.”

“Great, now you’ve done it,” Katsuki huffed out, still focusing on looking out the window and studiously ignoring everyone.

“Not every quirk has to be flashy to be effective,” Izuku explained, ignoring Katsuki’s comment. “Take Crimson Riot for example,” Izuku continued, watching as Eijiro’s eyes sparkled in recognition, causing him to smile. “He’s able to harden his hair, and he’s one of the oldest and most respected pro heroes still active today.”

“You’re right, Midobro!” Eijiro commented, slamming his hardened fist together and causing a few sparks. “Crimson Riot was actually my inspiration to become a hero!” Izuku smiled at how enthusiastic his classmate was, not even worrying about the nickname he was suddenly bestowed with.

With the bus coming to a stop, Oboro stood up from his seat, catching everyone’s attention. “We’ve arrived at our destination. Make sure you don’t leave anything on the bus that you might need during training, as the bus will return to campus once we start.” Oboro announced as the automatic doors of the bus opened, the system announcing their arrival. Oboro nodded and was the first one to walk off the bus, prompting the rest of Class 1-A to follow.

“Holy shit, that’s huge!” Denki exclaimed as he stepped off the bus, taking in the massive domed building in front of them.

“No kidding,” Kyouka responded as she stepped up beside him. “How could we have missed this?”

“Based on how long and fast we were traveling, it’s no surprise that we missed a building of this size,” Tenya commented as he stepped off the bus. “If my calculations are correct, we’re a few kilometers out from the main campus, which means it would take about thirty to forty minutes to get back to campus if we were to walk.”

“Technically,” Kashiko said from beside him, Chart displaying a map of the campus, “we’re still on campus.”

“Just how big is UA?!” Toru exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s big enough to have everyone in the Greater Tokyo Area stand within its walls and still have room to spare,” Oboro commented as he walked to the front of class, catching his students’ attention once more. As they looked towards Oboro, they found another hero standing beside him, one that everyone must have missed as they were inspecting the size of the building.

Ochako gasped, causing most of the class to turn towards her, but her eyes were focused on the rescue hero. “Himiko! Himiko!” Ochako yelled out, grabbing the other girl’s shoulder and shaking her wildly, causing Himiko to laugh at how enthusiastic Ochako was. “It’s Thirteen! Oh my goodness! I love Thirteen!”

Thirteen chuckled at Ochako’s reaction before focusing on the rest of the class. “Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!” Thirteen announced as she gestured to the building behind her. “Please, follow us inside and I can start explaining what you will be working on today.”

The students all started following the two teachers into the USJ, with Izuku and Momo taking up the rear. “I have a bad feeling about this,” Izuku whispered to Momo, “All Might hasn’t shown up yet.”

“I thought it was just me,” Momo confirmed. Kyouka looked back towards them, giving them a questioning look, causing the two of them to nod towards her. “It’s probably just our nerves acting up,” Momo said quietly, directing her comment towards Kyouka this time. Kyouka nodded in response, quickly whispering something to Denki beside her, before they fully entered the USJ and the doors closed behind them.

“This looks like Universal Studios Japan!” Mina exclaimed as everyone took in the sights of all the different zones.

“While it may be similar in nature to Universal Studios Japan, there are many key features that set it apart,” Thirteen began as she stopped in front of the class, standing beside Oboro. “The flood zone, landslide zone, conflagration zone, downpour zone, mountain zone, and collapse zone. Each and every disaster or accident you can imagine, all stuffed into the same building. I built this faculty to test students on everything related to rescue training!” Thirteen named off each zone as she pointed towards them.

“Before we get started, I would like to go over one or two points,” Thirteen started before quietly trailing off. “Maybe three? No, four points,” Thirteen continued after a second. “As some of you may know, my quirk is called Black Hole, and has been essential in rescuing people from all sorts of disasters across Japan.” Thirteen let that sink in as she looked around at the other students, seeing most of them captivated by her words. “As much as it helped me rescue people, it could very easily be used to kill people.” Most of the students of Class 1-A felt a shudder go down their spines, not used to hearing about quirks being able to kill others.

As Thirteen continued explaining the dangers that quirks posed when it was in the hands of the wrong people, Izuku felt a chill go down his spine. Quickly sharing a look with Momo made him realize that she had felt the same thing. Taking a quick look around the USJ for anything out of the ordinary, they spotted yellow mist appearing in the plaza, slowly expanding out to cover a larger area. “Loud Cloud,” Izuku firmly said their teacher’s hero name, getting Oboro to snap his eyes towards Izuku, before noticing where he was looking.

As Oboro turned around, he noticed the yellow mist that was expanding to cover more area. The lights in the USJ flickered once before completely shutting off, the emergency shutters opening in response to allow sunlight into the dome. “Stay back, students,” Oboro commanded, causing the rest of the class to look towards the plaza.

“What’s that?” Eijiro asked curiously, looking down into the plaza and noticing the yellow mist. “Has training started already?”

It was at that moment that a hand reached out from the yellow mist, quickly followed by the rest of a body, covered completely in severed hands. “Those are villains!” Oboro responded, holding his hand out beside to indicate to the students to stay behind him. “Thirteen, trigger the alarms!”

“They’re offline, Cloud!” Thirteen responded as she attempted to trigger the alarms with her tablet. No matter what she tried, nothing appeared to be responding to her inputs, showing a disconnected symbol over everything. “Everything is offline! I have no access to the USJ controls nor UA servers!”

Oboro quietly cursed, pulling his quarterstaff off his back, never taking his eyes off the plaza below. “Get the kids out of here, Thirteen, I’ll hold them off as long as I can.” The yellow mist appeared to grow in size, more villains coming out of the portal, crowding the plaza below and looking up towards them.

“We can help you, Cloud,” Izuku said, stepping up beside his teacher.

“No,” Oboro responded immediately, not removing his eyes from the multitude of villains that continued coming out of the yellow mist, including a massive monster with dark colored skin and an exposed brain. “This is not a drill, kid,” Oboro continued as he finally took his eyes off the villains to look towards his student. “Those villains could easily kill you. You need to protect your classmates and figure out a way to get in contact with UA.”

“And what about you, Cloud?” Momo questioned next, stepping up beside Izuku, standing side by side with their teacher. “There are too many villains down there for you to handle yourself, and that’s not including the monster with the exposed brain. They will overwhelm you.”

“My job is to protect the students, and that includes you two,” Oboro said firmly. He glanced between Izuku and Momo, meeting their looks of worry with determination. “I’ll hold them off as long as possible, giving you a chance to get everyone to safety.”

“I can’t let my teacher face the danger alone,” Izuku responded firmly in return, his look of worry turning to one of determination. “We were voted class representatives for a reason, which means we want to protect our classmates just as much as you want to protect us. We can handle ourselves.” Momo nodded her head beside him in agreement, her look matching Izuku’s.

“No,” Oboro said once more, looking back down towards the plaza. “This is a command, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu. You will help your class escape while I-” Oboro was cut off as yelling was heard from below.

“WHERE. IS. ALL MIGHT?!” The hand villain yelled out, clearly heard over the small chatter happening at the top of the staircase, causing everyone to go silent. “HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! WHERE IS HE?! KUROGIRI!”

Oboro’s eyes went wide as he realized what was about to happen. “You kids need to leave, NOW!” Oboro yelled out as he threw himself down the staircase, gliding down on a Cloud to increase his speed, knocking down multiple villains as they attempted to ascend the staircase.

Izuku and Momo watched as Oboro rode his cloud into the mass of villains below, ready to follow their teacher at a moment's notice if he couldn’t handle himself. They watched as Oboro rapidly knocked a ring of villains unconscious, granting him some temporary breathing room, before more villains rushed him. Feeling another chill go down their backs, Izuku and Momo swung around to look behind their classmates, seeing the yellow mist begin appearing between them and the exit.

“Greetings, Students,” the one they suspected was named Kurogiri spoke as he formed into a humanoid shape in front of them. Class 1-A whipped their heads towards the villain, all of them taking a collective step backwards on reflex. Izuku and Momo shared a quick look and a nod before splitting up, slowly walking around the outside edge of their classmates as the villain began monologuing. “We are the League of Villains,” Kurogiri continued, focusing on the majority of the class and the teacher that was in front of them. “As you may have guessed, we are looking for All Might, The Symbol of Peace. Is he not here today, or was there an error on the schedule we acquired?”

“We’re sorry to disappoint,” Izuku finally announced his presence, having successfully walked around his crowded classmates. Class 1-A and Kurogiri were forced to focus on him, finding him standing in a battle stance position as green smoke began pouring out of him, looking ready to attack. “All Might decided he needed a day off. I hope you understand, he is a fairly busy man.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Kurogiri responded. Izuku and Momo heard Thirteen’s fingertips pop open, a clear indicator that she was ready to use her quirk, but the couple ignored her quiet warnings. “My role remains unchanged. Begone!” Kurogiri sent out a large wave of yellow mist, attempting to surround the students and teleport them somewhere else.

“We won’t let you hurt our classmates!” Izuku yelled out, throwing green smoke into the mist.

“Iida!” Momo yelled out a second later, causing Tenya and a couple other classmates to look towards her. They found her summoning red smoke, mirroring Izuku’s attack on the other side. “You’re our fastest runner! You need to escape and get help from the main campus!”

“But-”

“NOW!” Izuku yelled out, throwing an even larger amount of green smoke towards the villain. Momo continued to mirror his attack with red smoke, allowing both smokes to mix together and cover the top of the staircase. With the villain completely surrounded by their smoke, Tenya activated his Engines, the roaring sound of his quirk vibrating throughout the area, as he ran through the mixture of smoke and mist.

“No!” Kurogiri yelled out, projecting his voice across the area. “I won’t let him escape!”

“We won’t let you stop him!” Izuku yelled out. In tandem, Izuku and Momo used Smoke Dash to blast through the smoke and mist, landing hits against Kurogiri and dancing around each other. Hit after hit, they distracted Kurogiri just long enough for a loud crash to vibrate through the smoke, indicating that Tenya had successfully made it out of the USJ.

“ENOUGH!” Kurogiri yelled out, sending out a massive wave of yellow mist, dispelling all the smoke. Izuku and Momo were knocked out of the smoke and mist, both landing and rolling towards their classmates. As they attempted to recover with the help of their classmates and friends beside them, Kurogiri continued to release mist that made him appear humongous, towering over everyone on the top of the staircase.

“Get behind me, Kids!” Thirteen yelled out, more finger caps popping up as she activated her quirk. Kurogiri’s mist was sucked into the Black Hole quirk, making quick work of the villain’s size, but wasn’t able to move him from where he stood. “I won’t let you hurt our students!”

“You speak as if you have a decision in the manner,” Kurogiri responded. “You’re primarily a rescue hero, Thirteen, and while you may be troublesome for my quirk, you cannot compare to my abilities.” Izuku and Momo felt another chill go down their spine, both their eyes going wide as they realized what it meant but unable to do anything about it. Kurogiri summoned a portal directly in front of Thirteen’s Black Hole, summoning another one behind the rescue hero.

Thirteen cried out in pain as her own quirk started tearing apart her costume, including her helmet, before it began tearing apart her back. “Thirteen!” Ochako yelled out in panic, watching as Thirteen deactivated her quirk, falling face forward towards the ground and landing hard. After witnessing what happened, the students of Class 1-A were too stunned to move, with only Ochako and Himiko rushing forward to help their fallen teacher.

“Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” Kurogiri continued, causing most of Class 1-A to snap their eyes back to the villain still in front of them. They watched as he raised both of his yellow misty arms, summoning a large amount of yellow mist and sending it out towards the students, easily blanketing them all in the cloying cloud. “BEGONE!” Izuku and Momo attempted to summon more smoke to stop the mist, but only succeeded in pushing some of their classmates out of the way, before falling through two different portals.

As the mist settled, Kurogiri spared one last look at the fallen rescue hero, before focusing on the students that were left on the staircase. Realizing that one had managed to successfully escape, he had more important matters to attend to, opting to leave the students to help mend their teacher. With a bit more yellow mist, the portal villain disappeared from the staircase.

With the yellow mist villain disappearing from the top of the stairs, Kashiko was able to release the breath she had been holding, relaxing her shoulders ever so slightly. She looked around to find most of her classmates missing from the top of the stairs before her eyes landed on their injured teacher. Toru and Hanta rushed forward and knelt beside her, beginning to do the limited first aid they knew. Kashiko offered all the medical supplies that were on her person, Fumikage beside her doing the same, allowing their two classmates to get to work without being crowded.

Knowing she couldn’t be of any help in regards to their teacher, Kashiko decided to check on how their homeroom teacher was doing. Preparing herself in case other villains were approaching, Kashiko walked over towards the staircase, looking towards the plaza below. Fumikage had walked up beside her, Dark Shadow hovering just above his shoulder, as the two of them watched Oboro hold off the horde of villains below.

Knowing she couldn’t be of any help in the plaza either, she activated Chart, allowing it to give her an overview of the USJ. Thanking her curiosity for tagging the whole class earlier with Chart, including her teachers, she quickly found out that her classmates were scattered throughout the USJ.

Focusing on her teachers first, she could see Thirteen’s status flashing red, indicating she was in critical condition but not yet in a life threatening condition. The makeshift patch job Toru and Hanta had performed had stabilized her condition for the time being. Switching to their homeroom teacher, Oboro’s status was showing a light green, indicating that he was pushing himself to the limit to hold off the villains. Kashiko and Fumikage watched as Oboro switched between using his quarterstaff, Cloud, and the thick cloths that had been wrapped around his arms.

Hoping their teacher could take care of himself for the time being, Kashiko looked back down towards Chart, expanding the map further out to encompass the whole USJ in her quirk. She could see the three main villains in the plaza below as bigger red dots, indicating their threat level to be higher than the horde of villains that Oboro was currently fighting. Looking over the rest of her classmates throughout the USJ, Kashiko found that most of their status’ were between green and light green, indicating they were free of injury for the time being. She could also see the multitude of small red dots in each zone, most of them beginning to converge on her classmates.

“Our classmates have been spread throughout the USJ,” Kashiko said towards Fumikage beside her, before showing him what Chart was currently displaying.

“So the darkness has come to attempt to diminish our light, threatening to extinguish the flame of life we all carry” Fumikage responded, looking back towards the plaza. “We may have been told to step aside, but that will not stop the darkness that threatens us all.” Kashiko blinked towards her classmate, attempting to figure out exactly what he had said. Dark Shadow seemingly rolled her eyes as she crossed her shadowy arms, “Fumi means the villains are trying to kill us, and even though we were told to leave, the villains won't allow us.” Fumikage glanced back towards Kashiko, giving her a curt nod in confirmation, before focusing back on the fight below.

Kashiko nodded in understanding, turning back towards her quirk. Zooming in on the downpour zone, she found Katsuki and Denki had been dropped together. After observing how their quirks worked the past couple of days, she could already tell the two boys were going to have an issue with their group of villains. Tenya had privately informed her of Denki’s opinion towards the explosive boy after the QAT, expecting there to be more friction than normal between the two of them. She found herself hoping it didn’t come before the well-being of the other.

Just as Kashiko was about to move onto the other zones in the USJ, a loud crack sounded throughout the dome, causing the fighting in the plaza to pause for half a breath. Kashiko whipped her head towards the flood zone; where there was nothing but water and a boat floating when they entered, it was now home to a massive glacier. Returning to her quirk, Kashiko scrolled over towards the flood zone, finding Shoto and Tsuyu had been dropped there.

Knowing what happened during the battle trials, Kashiko’s worry for her fellow classmate increased when she noticed Tsuyu’s status was changing from green, to light green, before finally landing on yellow. It was the same thing that Chart showed before, indicating Tsuyu was falling into a hibernation because of the decreased temperature in the area. She was thankful that Shoto’s glacier took care of all the villains in the area, leaving them in a mostly safe location until help arrived.

Kashiko’s attention was drawn from the flood zone towards the mountain zone, where a massive cloud of purple smoke had covered the peak. Knowing that none of her classmates had a purple smoke quirk, Kashiko adjusted Chart to show the mountain zone, finding Izuku and Ochako had been dropped into the same location. Ochako’s status had changed from green to yellow, showing she had been injured somehow, while Izuku’s status was constantly flashing between green and yellow in quick succession.

Having not seen Chart react like that in the past, Kashiko focused on Izuku’s information, knowing he was one of the two that could have produced the smoke that was still covering the mountain’s peak. She found that Izuku’s quirk status was only showing Smokescreen now, instead of the Smoke and Creation with the other quirk slots she had seen earlier. Just as she was about to dive into why it was happening, Izuku’s name was replaced with Momo's, the quirk selection switching from Smokescreen to Creation.

Looking back up to the mountain zone, she remembered that Himiko and Ochako had been together before the mist villain separated them. Kashiko could only surmise that Himiko was using Transform to change into Izuku and Momo, and was able to use their respective quirks. She was left confused at why Izuku’s transformation showed Smokescreen instead of Smoke, but decided to tuck the information away for later, going back to focusing on the rest of her classmates.

Scrolling back towards the conflagration zone, having skipped it when Shoto had summoned the glacier followed by Himiko summoning the massive smoke cloud, she noticed more of her classmates getting surrounded. Hitoshi, Eijiro, and Mezo appeared to be huddled together in an intersection, slowly getting herded by villains. She looked up towards the conflagration zone in worry, but being a self-contained zone, she couldn’t see anything through the darkened walls.

When she looked back down towards Chart’s heads up display, she watched as her classmates split up from each other, each of them attacking their own group of approaching villains. She knew that Eijiro and Mezo would be able to hold their own, but Hitoshi had been quickly overwhelmed in the battle trials, causing Kashiko to hope the villains didn’t do the same.

Knowing she couldn’t help if she wanted to, Kashiko continued looking through the USJ, landing on the landslide zone next, having skipped it previously. She found Izuku, Moe, and Kyouka huddled near the top of the zone. Their statuses were still showing green, and she found herself worrying about the amount of villains in the zone. The villains were slowly converging on their location from every direction, surrounding them and preventing them from leaving, essentially trapping them at the top.

If it was anybody else in the landslide zone, Kashiko probably would have been worried, but after seeing Izuku’s performance in the battle trials, she had faith they would be okay. She watched as the villains began rushing towards the trio, causing them to split apart and engage the villains in turn, red dots blinking out in quick succession as the villains were defeated.

Scrolling to the last location in the USJ, Kashiko found the remaining members of their class. Momo, Mina, and Rumi had been dropped inside one of the remaining standing buildings in the collapse zone. Adjusting Chart to better showcase the building from a different angle, Kashiko found the floors below her classmates were filled to the brim with villains. She could see her classmates making quick work of the villains as they descended the building, red dots continuing to blink out in quick succession.

“Chart is showing most of our classmates handling the villains by themselves,” Kashiko told Fumikage, noticing him give her a quick glance. “Only Asui and Uraraka appear to be in worse condition than when they were teleported.”

“Do they require assistance?” Fumikage asked.

Kashiko looked back down at Chart, quickly scrolling over Tsuyu’s and Ochako’s names, seeing that their statuses haven’t changed since she last checked. “Not as of yet,” Kashiko responded, “but I don’t think we’d be able to reach them if we wanted to. All the zones are on the other side of the plaza.” Fumikage nodded in understanding, agreeing with her, allowing Kashiko to return to her quirk.

Knowing she couldn’t help, but still trusting in her classmates to take care of themselves, Kashiko zoomed out with Chart, showcasing the full USJ once more. Switching to a favorites menu, Kashiko clicked on Tenya’s name, watching and waiting as Chart adjusted itself to her best friend’s location. She found Tenya was pushing himself to his absolute limit, running close to his max speed, as he approached UA. Kashiko found herself worrying for her friend, hoping he would be safe, having previously heard the risks of prolonged use of Engines, or if he happened to lose his footing at the speed he was running.

Hearing Fumikage take a quick intake of breath, with Dark Shadow making a strange noise beside her, Kashiko whipped her head up. Focusing on the plaza below, she found that Oboro had successfully defeated all the lowly villains, leaving them littered in groups around the plaza. Most of them were lying unconscious while a few of them were trying to crawl away from the pro hero.

Her eyes caught one of the villains crawling towards the hand villain, grasping at his pant leg as he attempted to say something. The hand villain kicked him off his pant leg before reaching down and grabbing his face, roughly dragging him up to be eye level. Being on the staircase, Kashiko couldn’t hear the words that were exchanged between the two, before the hand villain placed his last finger against the man’s head. Before their very eyes, the man began turning to dust, blowing away on the slight breeze that was flowing through the USJ.

Kashiko could feel she was about to be sick, and hearing Fumikage and Dark Shadow beside her, knew they felt the same way. She knew that villains were cruel and would easily kill if it benefited them, but to watch the hand villain kill someone without a second thought continued to turn her stomach. She noticed the hand villain had begun monologuing towards their teacher before he tilted his head towards the monster with the exposed brain.

With a movement that was too quick for the human eye to follow, the monster had seemingly disappeared from the villain’s side, reappearing directly in front of their teacher. They could only watch in horror as Oboro summoned a wall of Cloud in front of him, holding his quarterstaff up in the process, as the monster delivered a devastating punch. Oboro was sent flying backwards through the air, summoning just enough Cloud to cushion his fall, landing on his back across the plaza.

Kashiko looked back at Chart, forcing it to focus on Oboro once more. His status information showcased he was alive, but his condition had changed from the light green to a mix of yellow and red. He wasn’t as bad off as Thirteen, but Chart was still showing he had been injured. She instantly knew if Oboro hadn’t summoned his quirk when he did, there was a high chance he wouldn’t be alive.

Kashiko held back a gasp as Oboro attempted to push himself back up to a standing position, leaning heavily against his quarterstaff. They couldn't hear what Oboro said from their location, but they could see he was yelling towards the hand villain again, while the monster with the exposed brain didn't react.

Whatever Oboro had said caused the hand villain to throw his head back and cackle, being heard throughout the USJ. It was almost as if time had slowed down when the hand villain glared back at Oboro, raising his hand and pointing towards their teacher. “No…” Kashiko whispered out quietly, feeling her heart sink when the monster disappeared again.

Chapter Text

After teaming up to handily defeat the villains in their zone, Momo, Mina, and Rumi descended their zone and reached the edge of the plaza, taking in the sight before them. Oboro was single-handedly holding off and gradually knocking out the remaining villains that had appeared earlier, leaving most of the horde unconscious and laying around the plaza. After noticing that Oboro was slowing down in his movements, Momo had wanted to jump in and help him finish off the villains, but held back when she noticed the other villains hadn’t moved from their spots.

“We should be helping him!” Rumi whisper-shouted from beside Momo, tapping her foot anxiously as they watched Oboro fight from their hiding spot.

“And what if those other villains decide to attack us?” Momo questioned in return, pointing towards the hand, exposed brain, and mist villain. “We still have no idea what those others are capable of, except for the teleporter.” Rumi huffed out in anger and annoyance but didn’t argue the point. “We should try sneaking around to the staircase, or split off and try to find our classmates in the other zones.”

“Momo!” Hearing her name whisper-shouted in a voice she could recognize anywhere, Momo spun around just in time to feel a pair of familiar arms embrace her in a tight hug. Momo circled her arms around Izuku, lifting him slightly off his feet, as she returned the tight hug. They didn’t say anything as they buried their faces in each others’ neck, letting everything around them fade away for the moment.

“I was so worried about you,” Momo whispered as she tightened the embrace ever so slightly, feeling Izuku respond in kind. Cognizant of the danger that still threatened them, Momo placed Izuku back down and held him at arm's length, allowing both of them to inspect the other for any injuries they may have received. When they caught each others’ eyes, they silently communicated, imparting the reassurance that they weren’t injured after being separated, only worried about the other and the situation they found themselves in.

“I was just as worried,” Izuku finally responded as he pulled out of the embrace. Momo had understood immediately why he had done so, turning back around to face the plaza beside Izuku. “We need to figure out what to do next,” Izuku said from beside Momo, Kyouka and Moe crouched down beside him. “Even though I’m worried about our other classmates, I’m also worried about Shirakumo. He has been fighting hard since the villains appeared, and that one with the exposed brain hasn’t moved since they arrived.”

“Shirakumo doesn’t want us to get involved,” Kyouka said from beside Izuku, her jacks pointed in the direction of the villains.

“It’s too late for that,” Moe said from beside Kyouka, her eyes snapping between Oboro fighting the last few villains and the other villains just watching the fight. “We had no choice but to get involved when we were separated.”

“But what can we do?” Mina asked from beside Momo. “There’s no way we can compete with that portal villain again.”

“I say we just overwhelm them!” Rumi whisper-shouted once more, her foot still tapping anxiously. “It would be seven against three!”

“No,” Izuku said firmly, causing everyone to focus on him. “Remember what the hand villain said when they first appeared? They’re here to kill All Might, which means that they have something that could potentially compare to and/or exceed All Might’s strength.”

Momo looked towards the villain with the exposed brain, standing stock still beside the other villains. “Based on the build of that exposed brain villain, I could only suspect that it was brought along to match All Might’s strength. It must be waiting for All Might to show up.”

“Those were my thoughts as well,” Izuku responded. “I’ve never seen nor heard of a villain like that before, and even the suggestion that it could match All Might’s strength sounds impossible.” Izuku shared a look with Momo, both of them conveying their worries about their injured mentor. “I believe our only course of action is to let Shirakumo handle the villains while we find our classmates, sneak around to the staircase and hope we don’t get caught, or stay where we are until All Might arrives.”

“Do you think All Might is coming?” Mina questioned, and the students around her could hear the fear in her voice. “I thought he was supposed to be here when we started?”

“He’s coming,” Izuku responded firmly, getting everyone to focus back on him. “Iida should be arriving at the main campus shortly, and All Might won’t take long to respond once he finds out what happened.”

When the students heard the last villain cry out in pain, getting knocked out by Oboro a second later, they were forced to focus on the plaza once more. “You went through all the trouble of attacking UA, and you brought a bunch of D-listers?” Oboro questioned the hand villain, straightening up as he attempted to catch his breath. “I’d even trust my first years to handle these mooks.” Oboro kicked his foot out, catching a villain in the head that was attempting to crawl away, knocking him unconscious instantly.

The hand villain didn’t respond to their teacher, instead looking down as one of the villains grabbed his pant leg and attempted to pull himself up. “Shigaraki! There’s no way we can defeat him! You need to help us!”

The hand-covered villain, evidently named Shigaraki, kicked the lowly villain off his leg. Reaching down, Shigaraki grabbed the villain’s head with four fingers, showcasing off his strength as he brought him up to his eye level. “You were never meant to defeat him,” Shigaraki responded quietly, “He’s a mini-boss while you were a bunch of NPCs only meant to distract and tired him out.” The students watched as the villain’s eyes went wide in realization before attempting to release himself from Shigaraki’s grip. “You never stood a chance from the beginning. You’re useless to me now. Get out of my face.”

Everyone around the plaza and beyond watched as Shigaraki placed his fifth finger down on the villain’s face, causing him to scream out in pain for a brief second as his face started to disintegrate before their very eyes. When his scream was cut off, the plaza was silent except for the fighting in the distance and the small breeze that was blowing through the emergency shutters. They all watched as the villain was turned to dust and blown throughout the plaza, slowly disappearing into thin air.

Shigaraki widely smiled behind his mask as he focused back on Oboro, finding the teacher staring with wide eyes at the spot the other villain had disappeared from. Oboro may have spent many years as an underground hero after graduating from UA, seeing more death and injury to last him a lifetime, it still never failed to send shivers down his spine when witnessing it happening before him. “It was you who destroyed the front gate…” Oboro realized slowly, looking back up towards Shigaraki.

“You see, Loud Cloud,” Shigaraki started out as he scratched his neck, ignoring what Oboro had said. “I knew the NPCs I brought were nothing but pawns, only smart enough to take orders,” Shigaraki shrugged as he casually put more weight onto one leg. “I knew they’d never stand a chance against you or the students. They were only meant to give us an opening to kill All Might.” Shigaraki stood back up straight as he scratched his neck again. “But with All Might not being here, I don’t see why I can’t leave a message for when he shows up, starting with killing you and some of the students.”

“I won’t let you hurt my students!” Oboro yelled in return.

Shigaraki chuckled, sending a chill down Oboro’s and the students’ backs. “You really think you have a choice?”

With a movement that was too quick for any normal human eye to follow, the exposed brain villain disappeared from Shigaraki’s side, reappearing a moment later directly in front of Oboro. Their teacher only had time to summon a small wall of Cloud before the villain lashed out with a massive fist, punching right through the cloud wall and slamming into Oboro’s quarterstaff. Izuku, Momo, and the other students beside them gasped as they watched their teacher fly through the air backwards, just barely summoning a cloud below him before crash landing against the ground on the other side of the plaza.

“Allow me to introduce Nomu, the Anti-Symbol of Peace!” Shigaraki yelled out as he held his hands wide, beginning to laugh maniacally. “Bioengineered with multiple enhancements and quirks, all in favor of killing All Might!” Oboro forced himself to a standing position, leaning heavily on his quarterstaff. The students could tell their teacher was hurt before, but after receiving the punch from the Nomu, they suspected that he wouldn’t be able to survive another hit intact. Still, Oboro pushed himself straighter, holding his quarterstaff in front of him, not willing to back down on protecting them.

“Momo,” Izuku said quietly. Momo could instantly tell from the tone of his voice that he planned to jump in and help their teacher.

“I’m with you,” Momo responded, ready to follow him in whatever he had planned.

“You’ll never be able to stand against my Nomu!” Shigaraki yelled out, his red eyes shining behind his mask as his smile grew wide enough to crack his dry skin along his face. Oboro spit out a glob of blood beside him, never taking his eyes off the Nomu. “But the least I can do is grant you a swift death! Nomu!”

All within a blink of an eye, the plaza erupted into chaos. The Nomu disappeared once more, moving at speeds that were comparable to All Might, reappearing in front of Oboro. At the same time, a massive cloud of green and red Smoke was thrown over the plaza, obstructing the villains’ view. Izuku and Momo used Smoke Dash, dancing around each other in perfect symmetry, as they quickly approached Oboro. Izuku slammed both feet into the Nomu’s arm, pushing the punch that was heading towards their teacher off course, while Momo reached Oboro and pulled him out of the way.

“What the hell is this?!” Shigaraki yelled out. “Who created this smokescreen?! Nomu! Get rid of the smoke!”

Hearing Shigaraki's command, Momo and Oboro came to a stop at the edge of the plaza, Izuku appearing in front of them a second later. Nomu brought their hands back and slammed their palms together, creating a massive shockwave that dissipated all the smoke in the plaza. At the same time, Izuku used Creation and created a two meter tall angled shield before slamming it into the ground, attempting to hold it steady as the shockwave washed over them, moving him back half a meter in the process.

“Yaoyorozu,” Oboro said in realization, seeing Momo holding him steady beside her. He looked up towards the person in front of him, finding Izuku holding the shield that had blocked them from the shockwave. “Midoriya,” Oboro spoke again before he attempted to push himself up to a standing position. “You two shouldn’t be here…”

“Little late for that, Cloud,” Izuku responded as he tossed the shield aside. “After you left the top of the staircase, the mist villain teleported us all around the USJ, directly into our own hordes of waiting villains.”

“We were able to get Iida out the front entrance before that happened,” Momo continued as she helped Oboro to his feet, “He should be getting help from the main campus soon.”

Oboro shook his head as he leaned half against his quarterstaff and half against Momo beside him. “You two should have helped the other students escape. I told you I would have handled the villains myself.”

“No,” Izuku responded firmly, looking over his shoulder at Oboro to show him the determination behind his eyes. “Had we left you alone with that monster, you wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“Well well well, what do we have here?” Shigaraki called out, interrupting their talk. “Getting so desperate that you have to call in reinforcements from your students? I expected better from you, Loud Cloud! Too bad it’ll all be for naught! Nomu!”

“You kids need to get out of here!” Oboro yelled out as he forced himself off Momo's shoulder to stand in front of Izuku, summoning a cloud of Smoke once more in an attempt to block the Nomu. Izuku and Momo reacted similarly, moving beside Oboro on either side and creating as much smoke as possible, weaving it into the wall of Cloud in front of them. When the Nomu slammed into the wall, it pushed the trio back with the force and resulting shockwave, but it didn’t dissipate like before. “I will make sure it doesn’t get by me!”

“No!” Momo responded as she continued to weave more Smoke into the Cloud wall that was in front of her, Izuku mirroring her actions on Oboro’s other side. “We will stand with you until All Might arrives!”

“You won’t be able to hold him back by yourself!” Izuku continued. “We won’t let you die here, Cloud!”

Shigaraki started laughing maniacally once more, listening to the hero and hero students bicker between themselves. “It doesn’t matter what you attempt to do! You’ll never be able to stop my Nomu!” Shigaraki didn’t stop laughing as the Nomu started slamming his fists into the Smoke and Cloud wall, the only thing that was separating the trio from certain death. “Kill them, Nomu! Kill them all!” The Nomu pulled its arm back before slamming into the wall with as much force as possible, dissipating it and slamming into Oboro, knocking the trio apart in the process.

“Cloud!” Izuku and Momo yelled out in unison. The Nomu moved toward Oboro once more, who had been knocked onto his back and was attempting to push himself up again. Izuku and Momo were already summoning another massive cloud of Smoke, covering the plaza and the occupants once more.

Izuku used Smoke Dash, pushing himself to the absolute limit to try and outpace the Nomu, before grabbing Oboro and moving him away from certain death. At the same time, Momo used Smoke Dash and Creation, matching Izuku’s speed within the smoke, as she created a katana out of her palm and grasped it before it could fall.

When the Nomu attempted to slam their hands where Oboro was once laying, Momo brought the katana up in a perfect arc. Having used Creation, Momo made sure to create the katana as sharp as humanly possible. When the katana made contact with the Nomu’s wrist, it was successful in slicing through the muscle and bone, disjointing the hands from the creature’s arms.

When Momo felt the katana slice through the Nomu’s wrist, she jumped backwards as fast as she could, predicting the villain would attempt to lash out in retaliation. Her predictions were correct when the Nomu screeched out in pain, swinging its arms wildly in an attempt to hit Momo, and dispelling the rest of the smoke in the process. Momo took a few more steps backwards, standing beside Izuku and Oboro again, holding the katana in a protective stance. The trio could see the darkened blood that stained the katana, looking completely unhuman-like.

Shigaraki began laughing once more as he realized what they did to the Nomu. “You think slicing off its hands is going to be enough to stop him?” Izuku, Momo, and Oboro watched with wide eyes as the Nomu swung his arms wildly a few more times before facing the trio, its hand regenerating right before their eyes. “Super Regeneration. It has the ability to heal through any damage that it’s been dealt.”

As the Nomu’s hand regenerated, Izuku created a simple cannon out of his back, hearing a thump on the ground behind him once it was done. Hoping that the Nomu stood still, Izuku moved to the side of the already lit cannon, adjusting the aim towards the monster. When the cannon fired, sending a cannonball directly towards the Nomu, the villain held up its newly regenerated hand and caught it, not even flinching from the impact.

“A cannon? Really?” Shigaraki questioned in disbelief, “where the hell did you even get a cannon?” Izuku created another cannonball, fuse, and charge, loading the cannon as quickly as possible, before lighting the short fuse once more. The trio watched as the Nomu raised up its other hand and caught the other cannonball, seemingly unaffected by the attack that should have blown its arms off. “Shock Absorption. You could fire cannonballs at my Nomu all day and it won’t do anything!” Shigaraki continued to laugh maniacally.

“Any ideas?” Izuku asked as he stepped back beside Momo, standing protectively in front of Oboro.

“None that won’t take time to create,” Momo responded as she brandished her katana.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Oboro pulled Momo behind him before stepping in front of Izuku, crouching down slightly into a rough looking battle stance. “You kids need to get out of here now.” Oboro demanded quietly. “If that creature has multiple quirks and was bioengineered to kill All Might, there’s no chance that we’ll be able to take it down.” Oboro spit another glob of blood to the side, raising his quarterstaff in a protective manner. “I will defend you long enough to get away.”

“You think I’m going to let those brats get away?” Shigaraki questioned as he started scratching his neck again. “They’ve joined the match late and interfered with our fight when they shouldn’t have, and now they must face the consequences!” Shigaraki lifted up his hand and pointed directly towards the trio, “don’t let them escape-”

Hearing a loud crash from the top of the staircase, a shockwave washing over them and forcing them to take a step back, the trio watched as the doors of the entrance were blown into the building, landing on either side of the staircase. “FEAR NOT…” A booming voice called out from within the dust atop of the staircase. The silhouette reached up and grabbed their tie, ripping it off and throwing it towards the ground, dispersing the dust to reveal themselves. “… FOR I AM HERE.” Many of the people that were located within the USJ, students, villains, and teachers alike, all recognized All Might instantly, realizing that he was not smiling for once.

Even though it wasn’t spoken very loud, All Might’s voice carried throughout the USJ. The villains that were still conscious in the plaza attempted to run or crawl in the other direction, trying to get as far away from the number one hero as they could manage. Shigaraki smiled wide at the new arrival, his red eyes barely visible through the mask but shining with manic glee. “FINALLY!” Shigaraki yelled out, raising his arms up in praise as if a miracle had just occurred. “WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO SHOW UP ALL MIGHT! IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO MEET YOUR DEMISE!”

All Might took stock of who was standing in the plaza, noticing Shigaraki and Kurogiri still standing together. He looked further across the plaza and noticed the Nomu standing in front of Izuku, Momo, and Oboro, unmoving for the moment as it awaited a command. All Might’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at the realization that Oboro was barely standing, leaning heavily on his successors, having discarded his staff upon his arrival.

Within a blink of an eye, All Might moved forward and knocked the rest of the villains in the plaza unconscious, before grabbing hold of the trio and the rest of the students surrounding the plaza and moving them to the top of the staircase. “You’re all safe now,” All Might began as he finally took in their injuries up close. His fellow teacher was barely standing, having taken the worst damage out of everyone. “I will handle it from here.”

“FATHER!” Shigaraki yelled out as he scrambled for the hand that was knocked off his face, ignoring the people on top of the staircase for the moment.

“All Might,” Izuku called out, causing All Might to pause in moving back towards the plaza. All Might turned back towards his successor, knowing that he would only stop him if it was something serious. “Don’t let the villain with the hands all over him touch you. He’s the one that destroyed the entrance gate. The yellow mist villain can teleport people, and the exposed brain villain has multiple quirks in an attempt to counter you.” All Might’s eyes widened slightly at the last warning, knowing there were very few villains out there that could counter him, and even less with multiple quirks.

“YOU’RE GOING TO PAY FOR DISRESPECTING MY FATHER, ALL MIGHT!” Shigaraki yelled up towards the staircase. “AND FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO SENSEI! NOMU!”

All Might nodded in response as he turned around, facing the plaza and watching as the Nomu turned towards them. “Thank you, Young Midoriya. Now get your classmates to safety while I deal with these villains.” With a loud ‘BOOM’, All Might disappeared from the top of the staircase, clashing directly with the Nomu half way, sending another shockwave throughout the plaza.

As the dust settled in the plaza, it revealed All Might and the Nomu hand-to-hand grappling, evenly matched for power as they attempted to push the other back. All Might realized exactly what Izuku had meant when he said the exposed brain villain was meant to counter him. Pushing the creature back a bit, All Might could taste blood in his mouth, a stark reminder that he was currently running on fumes thanks to his journey into UA this morning. With very little time left of his true form, he needed to finish this fight quickly.

Releasing the grapple against the Nomu, All Might dodged under the fist that was swung towards his head, before uppercutting the villain in the gut. All Might’s eyes widened slightly when he realized the villain barely moved from one of his most powerful punches, forcing the hero to dodge out of the way once more as a fist came barreling straight for him. “Seriously?” All Might wondered out loud as the Nomu continued to advance towards him, forcing him to dodge out of the way and slam another fist into the side of the villain.

Shigaraki started chuckling as he raised a hand up and scratched his neck, watching as the Nomu met All Might’s strength perfectly. “Meet my Anti-Symbol of Peace!” Shigaraki called out as he gestured towards the exposed brain villain. “Bioengineered with multiple enhancements and quirks, specifically created to match your power and end your life, All Might!” Shigaraki spit out the hero’s name as if trying to remove a bad taste from his mouth. “No matter what you throw at it, you’ll never be able to defeat my Nomu!”

“Thanks for the info,” All Might responded as he dodged around the Nomu and grabbed his midsection, lifting it above his head and suplexing the villain into the ground behind him. Feeling a chill go down his spine and remembering what Izuku had said about a portal villain, All Might quickly released the Nomu and moved out of the hold. When the dust finally settled again, All Might noticed the yellow mist portals where he once was, the Nomu split perfectly in half through each of them. “That was a close one,” All Might said as he looked towards the other two villains.

“WHAT?!” Shigaraki yelled out as he began scratching his neck more aggressively forcing it to bleed before turning towards the portal villain beside him. “HOW THE HELL DID HE DODGE THAT?! YOU SAID HE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO!”

“I’m sorry, Tomura Shigaraki. He must have been warned about my portals ahead of time.” Kurogiri responded in a monotone voice, watching as the Nomu pulled itself back out of the portals before he made them disappear.

“I swear, if you weren’t our way out of here, Kurogiri, I would have dusted you on the spot!” Shigaraki continued to scratch his neck as he turned back towards All Might, stomping his foot in anger like a child that didn’t get their way. “No matter, I’ll make sure Nomu takes care of you before I kill the rest of the kids here!”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do that,” All Might responded as he blasted forward and punched the Nomu, successfully pushing the villain back half a meter. “You said this creature has Shock Absorption? That means this creature must have a limit! Why don’t we find out what it is, shall we?” All Might moved forward once more, his speed blurring as a result, as he began swinging punch after punch into the massive mutated villain.

“WHAT?!” Shigaraki yelled out as he watched the Nomu get forced back from the punches. “NO! I WON’T ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE THIS PLACE ALIVE!” Shigaraki continued as he attempted to move towards the fight, his hand raised up in preparation to use his quirk. As each punch from All Might landed against the Nomu, the shockwaves from the punches were stopping Shigaraki in his tracks, forcing him to cover his face from the dust and debris that was flying through the USJ. “KUROGIRI!”

“I’m sorry, Tomura Shigaraki, but I cannot summon my portals with the shockwaves happening,” Kurogiri explained, trying his best to avoid blowing away as his metal collar was revealed.

“You said this villain was created to perfectly match my power? I guess that means I’ll just have to go beyond!” All Might continued to throw punch after punch into the Nomu, not giving it even the slightest chance to react. “Allow me to show you what it means to go…”

Pulling his fist back in preparation for the final punch, All Might called upon his embers of One For All, before slamming his fist into the Nomu’s gut once more, “…PLUS ULTRA!” With a massive shockwave washing over the USJ, the Nomu was sent flying through the air, slamming straight through the dome of the USJ and into the sky above.

“WHAT?! HOW?! YOU CHEATED!” Shigaraki yelled out, looking at All Might standing in a cloud of dust, blood dripping from his mouth. “HE TOLD ME YOU WERE WEAKENED! YOU’RE NOT WEAK AT ALL! HE LIED TO ME!” Shigaraki yelled out as he kept compulsively scratching his neck, causing it to bleed more.

“I’ll admit, back in my prime, I could have taken care of that creature in a few hits,” All Might responded, taking a step out of the dust, appearing before the two villains again. “But that was a little over three hundred hits just now.” All Might coughed up more blood, signaling his time limit was up, as he barely held onto his true form. “Well? What are you waiting for? Let’s finish this!”

“No! No, no, no, no, no,” Shigaraki started saying over and over again. “You were supposed to die here! You weren’t supposed to defeat my Nomu!”

“Tomura Shigaraki, please calm yourself,” Kurogiri said, “it appears that Nomu was successful in weakening All Might. If we were to tag team him, we still have a chance to kill him before the other faculty arrive.”

“Yes…” Shigaraki said in realization, pausing in his scratching as he glared towards the unmoving hero. “You’re right, Kurogiri. The Final Boss is standing right there, weakened and easy pickings, his health bar close to zero. We just have to sweep in and finish the job.”

Shigaraki began laughing maniacally once more, taking a step towards All Might. “All I have to do is touch him, and Decay will take care of the rest!” Shigaraki moved forward, showcasing his impressive speed, holding his hand out towards All Might. “This is revenge for my Nomu, and what you did to Sensei!”

All Might’s eyes widened in realization as fear began creeping into his chest. Shigaraki was approaching at speeds that would have been child’s play had it not been for his time limit. He could already feel the steam pouring off his body in waves, using all of his willpower to stay standing in his true form. The sound of his heartbeat was loud in his ears, almost deafening him. He mentally apologized to his successors, praying they found someone that could mentor them going forward, someone who could train them better than he could. Accepting his fate, All Might closed his eyes, taking one final deep breath before releasing it slowly.

Hearing a gunshot from the entrance of the USJ, All Might’s eyes snapped open just in time to see a bullet pierce the hand that was reaching out for him. Shigaraki hissed in pain as he recoiled back, holding his hand against his chest, as his head swiveled towards the entrance. Standing on top of the staircase was Snipe, holding his very own custom pistol in the direction of the plaza, the end of the barrel smoking. Before either villain could react to more faculty members appearing on the staircase, more gunshots were heard, each one landing true in one of Shigaraki’s limbs, making him stagger back a few steps.

“No!” Shigaraki yelled out, glaring towards the faculty that had arrived atop of the staircase. If he had been a few seconds quicker, All Might would have been dust before him, but he had missed his chance. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this! Stop interfering with my mission! All Might is the final boss that I’m supposed to defeat!” Kurogiri summoned portals beside them, attempting to block any more bullets from raining down on the two villains in the plaza.

“We must leave while we still have a chance, Tomura Shigaraki,” Kurogiri informed the hand villain. “Allow us to escape so we may try again another day.”

“You’re right, Kurogiri,” Shigaraki responded as he reached up and scratched his neck with his good hand, holding his wounded hand against his chest. “We may have failed our mission today, but we can always restart the level.” Hearing a final gunshot ring out, Shigaraki staggered back as the bullet hit him, having snuck through a small hole in between the portals that Kurogiri had summoned. “Kurogiri…” Shigaraki said quietly as he looked down, seeing a gunshot wound in the right side of his chest. Kurogiri summoned a massive amount of mist, covering the two of them, before they completely disappeared from the plaza.

“All Might!” Denki called out as he approached the plaza in the direction of the downpour zone, Katsuki running a few steps ahead of him. When Katsuki came to a sudden stop in front of Denki, causing the electrification user to run into him, they both took an unsteady step forward. “What the hell, man?” Denki questioned as he moved around Katsuki, who appeared to be frozen on the spot, “why’d you stop?”

As Denki looked towards where they had last witnessed All Might standing, he found himself pausing, watching as the dust slowly dissipated and revealed a skeleton-looking man standing where All Might once stood. Denki looked towards what the man was wearing, finding him in the same beat up pants and shirt that All Might was wearing a few moments before. “All Might…?” Denki asked quietly from beside Katsuki, not believing that the man before them was the same All Might that had defeated the villains.

Toshinori swayed on his feet before taking a staggering step backwards, coughing up more blood and sending it out in front of him. “Shit,” Toshinori said quietly as he looked up towards the students standing in and around the plaza, noticing them all looking towards him with wide eyes. “This wasn’t supposed to happen…” Toshinori realized quietly as the pain and quirk exhaustion finally registered through his body. He felt himself beginning to fall backwards, with no energy to stop himself, before he was surrounded and held up in a cloud of green Smoke. “Young Midoriya…” Toshinori said quietly as he felt his successors’ arms carefully wrap around his torso.

Izuku quietly shushed his mentor as he laid him down gently on his cloud of Solid Smoke, keeping him hovering slightly off the ground for more comfort. “Recovery Girl is coming in a minute, right after she checks over Thirteen. The other faculty are sweeping the USJ, finding the rest of the students and making sure all the villains are taken care of.” Izuku informed Toshinori, seeing him nod slowly in response, hissing in pain when he moved too much.

Momo appeared beside Izuku, summoning her own red smoke and weaving it within Izuku’s Solid Smoke, creating a makeshift stretcher of sorts. Toshinori felt the added support from both Solid Smokes, allowing himself to close his eyes and relax further into the comfortable embrace that it provided. The three of them were silent as they listened to the commotion that was happening around them, watching as Toshinori struggled to breathe, as they waited for Recovery Girl to show up. “Thank you for saving us, Toshi,” Izuku said quietly, causing him to open his eyes and look towards his two successors. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did…” Izuku trailed off as he felt Momo’s arms circle around his waist, her head placed on his shoulder, holding him tightly before he returned the embrace.

“I should have been here sooner,” Toshinori responded softly, looking away from his successors. “If I had just been here from the start, I could have prevented all this from happening.” Toshinori took a deep, painful breath before releasing it slowly. “You shouldn’t be thanking me. I should be apologizing to you.”

“And those other people you saved this morning?” Momo questioned quietly, causing Toshinori to look towards her. “What would have happened if you didn’t show up?” Toshinori looked towards Izuku, finding him nodding in agreement with his other successor. “All that matters now is that you showed up and saved us, Toshinori,” Momo finished off quietly.

Toshinori genuinely smiled towards his successors as he closed his eyes and rested against the cloud of Smoke again. “I think it’s going to be interesting explaining to your classmates why I look the way I do,” Toshinori commented quietly, “If they haven’t all seen it yet, I've no doubt it’ll spread like wildfire.” Toshinori shook his head softly, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly again. “I hope it doesn’t get released to the public…”

“You shouldn’t be worrying about that right now, you Big Oaf,” Recovery Girl commented as she walked up beside Izuku. “We told you years ago that this would happen if you continued pushing yourself.” Toshinori looked up at the Youthful Heroine, seeing the scowl on her face but the worry behind her eyes. “You were lucky you had enough time to save these kids. How far did you push past your limits?”

“I don’t know,” Toshinori responded, “I was already at my limit before I arrived.”

Recovery Girl shook her head before looking towards Izuku and Momo. “Are you kids hurt at all?” When they both responded they were fine, just tired from everything that had happened, Recovery Girl nodded before looking back towards Toshinori. “Do you mind accompanying this Big Oaf back to the main campus? I need to confirm that the other students aren’t in life-threatening situations before I can deal with him.”

Izuku and Momo nodded, using their Smoke as a makeshift stretcher, they began making their way towards the entrance. They could feel the eyes of their classmates on them, or more specifically, on Toshinori lying on their makeshift stretcher. They knew their classmates were going to have plenty of questions for them once they were given the all clear, but for now, Izuku and Momo had to worry about their mentor first and foremost.

“Doctor,” Kurogiri said as he appeared in the Doctor’s hidden lab, teleporting a struggling-to-breathe Tomura on the examination table in the center of the room. “Tomura Shigaraki has suffered a critical wound that needs to be treated immediately or I fear he may not survive.”

Doctor Garaki quickly stood up from his chair and moved towards the examination table, looking over the gunshot wounds the manchild had acquired, before landing on the one that appeared to have pierced his lung. “Kurogiri, I need you to find some more clean bandages to help pack the wound.”

Garaki placed an oxygen mask on Tomura’s face before taking out a small package of clean bandages. He began cleaning the wound as best as he could before he noticed that Kurogiri was carefully watching him. “Quickly now, Kurogiri! I don’t know how much longer he has!” Kurogiri looked about to respond before he activated his quirk and disappeared from the lab.

“Even though Kurogiri is your guardian, given to you from Master, there are still ways to work around his programming,” Garaki explained when the two of them were alone. The doctor stopped cleaning the wound, putting his clean bandages away before turning off the oxygen mask. “I knew something like this would happen eventually,” Garaki explained as he sat back down in his chair. “That’s why I sent you on that suicide mission to kill All Might. Even with the injury that Master had dealt to him, I knew there was a very miniscule chance that you would overcome him, even with my greatest creation.”

Tomura’s eyes went as wide as they could as the doctor turned around to face his wall of monitors, clicking a few buttons on his keyboard before two massive vats lowered themselves to the floor. “I never understood what Master saw in you, the brat that killed his family when his quirk awakened, but he truly believed you could be his successor.” Garaki scoffed as he stood up, moving towards one of the vats. “He wouldn’t listen to me when I said you weren’t even suitable as a vessel, based on how Decay adapted to your body over the years.”

Garaki stopped in front of one of the vats, looking towards the occupant inside. The body was connected to a multitude of wires and pipes, holding him suspended in the liquid, barely keeping it alive. The occupant was dressed in a fancy black suit, with a white undershirt and green tie, one similar to what they would always wear when they were alive. It didn’t matter if they were controlling the underworld from the shadows, attempting to overthrow Japan, or meeting with potential business partners, the occupant always dressed well for any occasion.

“Of course, I couldn’t just remove you from the equation myself,” Garaki explained as he moved back to the examination table. Standing over Tomura, Garaki could see the life leaving his eyes as they began to droop closed. “Kurogiri’s programming would have seen me as a threat, and he would have removed me before I had the chance to do anything.”

Garaki brought up a mask and placed it around Tomura’s head, before placing a harness around his body. He was carefully avoiding the hands that were sprawled out on the table, knowing that Tomura could still use his quirk even in his dying state. “I can’t even turn you into a Nomu. Your body would end up failing if I tried to give you any more quirks, even after I remove that wretched quirk you have.”

Garaki moved back as the final signs of life left Tomura, causing him to slump on the table. He grabbed the controller, clicking a button and lifting the body of Tomura Shigaraki off the table, before placing him into the empty vat. Pressing another button, it began filling with liquid, submerging Tomura completely, before he released and removed the harness around him.

Kurogiri appeared back in the doctor’s lab, depositing a bunch of clean bandages beside the examination table. “Doctor, I brought the required bandages.” As Kurogiri’s body fully formed in the lab once more, he found that Tomura was missing from the examination table. “Doctor?”

“I tried my best to stop the bleeding,” Garaki responded sadly as he looked towards the freshly filled vat, watching as Tomura’s body floated similarly to the occupant in the vat beside him. “His wounds were too great and his body too weak. There was nothing I could have done to save his life.”

Kurogiri seemingly blinked, looking towards the vats. “Excuse me, Doctor.” Kurogiri spoke as he summoned more mist and left the lab once more, leaving Garaki alone with the vats.

“Don’t worry, Master,” Garaki said as he approached the vat beside Tomura’s gently placing his hand against the glass. “I will look into our other avenues of finding you a suitable vessel,” Garaki smiled as he removed his hand, turning back towards his computer setup. “Just give me a couple more months, and Japan will have its greatest ruler back.” Garaki started chuckling to himself as he sat back down in his chair, raising the vats back up into storage before returning to work.

Chapter Text

After Izuku and Momo had accompanied Toshinori back to UA, helping usher him into a reserved medical room, they were quickly checked over for injuries by the assistants before they were directed to the waiting chairs outside.

Recovery Girl had shown up not long after, following a horde of medical assistants that were transferring Oboro into a separate room, planning on attending to his clearly severe injuries as soon as possible.

The couple found themselves leaning against each other, their exhaustion from the USJ events quickly becoming evident, before they heard the rapid clacking of approaching high heels. The two of them looked up just in time to see Nemuri barrel around the corner, her face of concern quickly turning to one of relief as she approached them. “Oh thank goodness you kids are alright,” Nemuri breathed quietly as she sank down to her knees in front of them, wrapping her arms around the two and pulling them into a tight embrace. “I saw Shuzenji approach you two before I noticed Yagi. I didn’t have a chance to check on you before Nezu was directing us to different sections of the USJ.” Izuku and Momo were quick to return the embrace, feeling how worried their aunt was from the embrace.

Nemuri pulled out of the embrace, holding both teenagers at arm’s length, as she inspected them for injuries herself. “I’ve already updated your parents, and they are on the way back to the Estate. I’ve been tasked with getting you two and Himiko back home.” Izuku and Momo nodded, realizing they didn’t even have a chance to call their parents, nor check on Himiko, as they were sent back to UA. “What were you two thinking going against that monster?” Nemuri demanded, and they could hear the concern underlining the anger in her voice. “I happened to catch a view of him before the police hauled him away, and your classmates said it matched All Might in power and speed.”

“We weren’t planning on going up against it,” Momo admitted quietly as she looked towards Izuku, noticing he had dropped his gaze towards the floor. “Not until it punched Shirakumo across the plaza, and that was with a Cloud wall for protection.”

“You should have let him handle it,” Nemuri responded softly, the anger in her voice completely gone. “There’s a reason why he’s a pro hero. He’s handled villains much stronger than him in the past.”

Momo looked back towards Nemuri, shaking her head slowly. “You didn’t see how much that punch hurt Shirakumo, Auntie. He could barely stand afterwards.” Momo continued to shake her head before she focused back on Izuku, noticing he hadn't moved since he looked down.

“But-” Nemuri started, just to be cut off by Izuku.

“No, Auntie,” Izuku said firmly, looking up towards Nemuri with unshed tears in his eyes. “Shirakumo would have died in front of us if we didn’t step in, and the students would have been next.” Nemuri’s eyes went wide as she processed what Izuku was saying. “Thirteen was almost killed in front of us, and we couldn’t do anything to help her. We weren’t going to let the same thing happen to Shirakumo, not if we could help it.”

Momo nodded beside him, confirming his story. “Shigaraki, the villain with the hands, was planning on killing Shirakumo and the students as a message for Toshinori, for All Might.”

“We had no idea if Toshi was coming,” Izuku continued quietly as he looked back towards the floor. Momo reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze and feeling him return it in kind. “I saw the HeroNews this morning, and the amount of people he saved. He was out of time before he ever arrived at UA.” Izuku took a deep breath before he looked back up at Nemuri, finding her watching the couple with wide eyes still. “If he hadn’t shown up when he did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”

Nemuri reached forward and brought the couple back into a tight embrace, conveying that she was grateful for them surviving the encounter and for saving their teacher, one they returned. “Thank you,” Nemuri said quietly, “for saving Oboro. After losing Shota during our second year at UA, losing Oboro would have destroyed Hizashi and I.” Nemuri tightened the hug once more before she pulled out, sitting back on her haunches as she looked between the two. “Even if you two put yourselves at risk, I’m proud of you for thinking quickly and reacting when you did.” Nemuri chuckled as she rubbed her eyes, “Your parents are going to kill us,” she said quietly as she attempted to put on a smile for the teenagers. Izuku and Momo softly smiled in return, nodding in agreement.

Hearing the door open to their side, the trio looked towards the sound, finding Recovery Girl poking her head around the corner. “I was wondering what was taking you so long, Kayama,” Recovery Girl said knowingly. “Shirakumo must have noticed you two when we brought him in,” Recovery Girl informed the couple when she looked towards them. “He’s been refusing my quirk, knowing that it will knock him out as it fixes his injuries. He wanted a chance to speak with you before Nezu released you to your parents and/or guardians.”

“Thanks for letting us know, Shuzenji,” Nemuri responded as she pushed herself into a standing position, “I just wanted to have a word with these two before I checked on him.” Recovery Girl nodded in understanding before disappearing back into the medical bay, the door closing softly behind her. “Come on, let’s not keep Oboro waiting. It doesn’t matter how adamant Oboro is, if Recovery Girl decides she wants to use her quirk to heal him, he won’t have a choice except to comply.” The couple shared a look with each other before looking back towards Nemuri, both giving her a nod as they stood up. Nemuri opened the door and allowed the couple to follow her in, looking towards Recovery Girl for direction, before she pointed her cane towards one of the doors on the far wall that was closed.

When Nemuri opened the door, she allowed the teenagers to walk in before her, and they both noticed Oboro turn slowly towards the open door. “Midoriya, Yaoyorozu,” Oboro greeted quietly as he attempted to push himself up into a seating position, grunting out in pain a few times. When Oboro got more comfortable, he looked back towards the couple, finding Nemuri standing behind them and watching in concern. “Nem…” Oboro said quietly in realization, allowing himself to sink further into the pillows behind him. “I didn’t know you were coming…”

“Someone’s gotta keep an eye on you, making sure you’re getting the healing you need,” Nemuri responded with a small smile. “Zashi wanted to be here, but Nezu currently has him taking care of the students.” Oboro nodded in understanding, releasing a breath and allowing the tension in his shoulders to reduce somewhat. Nemuri watched in concern as she stepped past the couple and walked around the bed, pulling up a chair and taking a seat. She reached out and grabbed his hand, subconsciously running her thumb along his knuckles in comfort. “How bad was it this time?” Nemuri questioned quietly.

“Nothing the Great Doc couldn’t take care of,” Oboro responded as he tried to smile towards Nemuri. Feeling how tightly Oboro was clutching her hand in return, something he usually did when he was attempting to hide the pain, Nemuri tilted her head in disbelief. Oboro shook his head with a small chuckle before hissing in pain, letting himself relax further into the pillows behind him. “You could always read me so well, even when we were teenagers,” Oboro continued with a small smile. “Shuzenji said three broken and two cracked ribs, and my arm was fractured.”

“Oboro…” Nemuri said softly, her voice conveying all her worry and concern.

“I know, Nem,” Oboro responded as he took a slow breath, letting it out between clenched teeth. “Doc said that one more hit like that would have killed me, no questions asked.” Nemuri gasped quietly, giving his hand a tight squeeze, one he returned. “I don’t think I’d be here right now if Midoriya and Yaoyorozu didn’t step in when they did.”

Nemuri reached up and wiped away the tears that had threatened to fall before looking back towards Oboro. As Oboro softly smiled towards Nemuri, he found himself easily getting lost in Nemuri’s sky blue eyes, bringing back memories from another time, causing him to look away. His eyes trailed over the room before landing on his two students, finding them watching the scene with soft smiles. “Come here, you two,” Oboro said quietly, grabbing the attention of his students and gesturing with his head for the couple to approach. Izuku and Momo took a few steps towards their teacher, standing on the opposite side of the bed from where Nemuri was currently sitting.

“I’m happy to see you’re doing well, Shirakumo,” Izuku started before looking towards the bandages that were covering his arm, “all things considered.”

“I’ve survived worse,” Oboro attempted to brush off, as if his injury didn’t matter. He felt Nemuri squeeze his hand tightly but he ignored it for the moment. “How are you two fairing? Were you injured at all?” Izuku and Momo both shook their heads, informing their teacher they weren’t injured. “I heard what happened to Thirteen, but what about the rest of the class? You mentioned they were separated by the portal villain?”

“After Toshinori placed us at the top of the staircase, we didn’t have a chance to check on our classmates before rushing towards Toshinori after he defeated the Nomu,” Momo explained, Izuku nodding beside her. “According to Recovery Girl and Auntie Nem, the rest of Class 1-A wasn’t seriously injured enough to prompt a visit to the medical bays.”

The trio watched as Oboro released another breath, the tension disappearing from his shoulders, as he closed his eyes. “Thank goodness,” he said quietly. As he opened his eyes and blinked a few times, the couple noticed that his mood changed as he looked towards them again. “Why didn’t you two listen when I told you to leave?” Oboro questioned seriously, “you disobeyed a direct order, and you two could have been seriously injured, or killed, as a result. That hand villain disintegrated a person right in front of me.”

“Oboro…” Nemuri said quietly, squeezing his hand to try and get him to stop.

“Don’t ‘Oboro’ me, Nem,” Oboro said firmly as he looked towards his friend. “You were there when Sho was crushed, all because he didn’t listen to our mentor.” Nemuri nodded before she looked down towards their intertwined hands. “I can’t allow my students to end up with the same fate. I need to correct them now before they think they can survive anything. No one is indestructible, not even All Might.” Nemuri nodded in understanding, giving his hand a squeeze, allowing him to look back towards the couple. “Well?”

“Even if we listened to your order,” Momo started, “and attempted to save our classmates, the Nomu would have killed us before we could escape.”

“We saw how strong that villain was,” Izuku continued, “and what Shigaraki did to that other villain. We watched as you were punched across the plaza by the Nomu. If we didn’t show up when we did, you would have been crushed.” Izuku looked down towards the ground, feeling Momo slip her hand into his.

“We watched as that villain obliterated your Cloud wall as if it was nothing,” Momo explained, “before slamming its fist into you.”

“You’re the first teacher I’ve had that actually cared about my wellbeing,” Izuku explained as he looked up towards Oboro. Their teacher could see the honesty behind Izuku’s eyes before looking towards Momo and seeing a mirror image in her eyes. “We didn’t want to lose that,” Izuku finished quietly.

The room fell silent as Izuku looked back towards the ground, Momo looking towards him in worry, and both adults looking towards the couple with soft expressions. Oboro released a sigh as he closed his eyes before shaking his head softly. “It’s done and over with now,” Oboro started, causing the two teenagers to look back towards him. “As much as I am upset for you two disobeying an order and putting yourself at risk with that monster, I must thank you both for stepping in when you did. You two saved my life today, and in extension, the lives of your classmates.”

“You’re welcome, Shirakumo,” Momo responded for the couple, knowing that Izuku wasn’t ready to respond.

“When classes start back up,” Oboro continued, “I would like to speak with both of you.” Knowing exactly what Oboro wanted to speak with them about, Izuku and Momo shared a look before nodding towards their teacher, seeing him give them a curt nod in response.

Hearing the door open behind them, the four of them turned to find Recovery Girl entering the room. She looked between them before landing and focusing on Oboro, her scowl deepening slightly as she approached the bed. “I told you to take it easy, and here I find you sitting up in bed!” Recovery Girl turned towards Nemuri, pointing her cane towards the other teacher. “You shouldn’t have allowed him to sit up! He could easily make his injuries worse this way!”

“I couldn’t have stopped him even if I tried!” Nemuri tried to reason.

Recovery Girl gave Nemuri a look that told her she didn’t believe that, before shaking her head. “You’ve put off being healed long enough,” Recovery Girl explained to Oboro before she focused on the couple. “Nezu and the Big Oaf want a word with you two before you head back to class,” Recovery Girl told them, watching as they nodded in understanding. “Now everyone out! I need to make sure his ribs are set properly before using my quirk.” The couple turned on their heels and walked out of the room, hearing Nemuri get up and follow right behind them, before she softly closed the door behind them.

Nemuri sighed and she shook her head softly before looking back up at the couple in front of her. She didn't see hero students, try as she might. She saw two teenagers, small children growing up into a world they hadn't fully seen and lived in, not frail by any means but not wise enough yet to understand the ups and downs of life. If only she could keep them that way. “I’ll be waiting outside for you two to finish up. Nezu and I will be escorting you two back to your classroom so we can explain the situation and what’s going to happen going forward.” Izuku and Momo nodded, receiving the same gesture in return, before Nemuri left the medical bay.

The couple could hear a faint conversation across the medical bay, from the room they had left Toshinori in when they first returned to UA, and decided to make their way towards it. They passed a bunch of empty hospital beds that were most likely used for non-serious injuries before they found themselves standing outside Toshinori’s room. Momo reached up and knocked on the doorframe, causing the quiet conversation between principal and their mentor to cease, before they were welcomed in by Toshinori.

“I’m relieved to see you two unharmed, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu,” Nezu greeted as he stood on a chair beside Toshinori’s bed. “Chiyo informed us you were visiting Oboro, and I wanted to have a chat before leading you two back to Class 1-A.” Izuku and Momo nodded in understanding as they walked further into the room, standing on the opposite side of Toshinori’s bed compared to Nezu. “Please have a seat,” Nezu gestured towards the two chairs that were already beside the bed, “we won’t take long.”

Izuku and Momo sat in the offered seats, looking up towards their mentor covered in bandages. “I can see you want to ask me something, Young Midoriya.” Toshinori said quietly as he watched his two successors assess his injuries up close.

Izuku looked towards his twiddling thumbs, the questions he wanted to ask rushing through his head at a quickening pace. He paused for a moment as one question stood out to him, allowing him to look back up towards his mentor, before clearing his throat. “Did you…?” Izuku trailed off as he looked down again, the question dying on the tip of his tongue.

“No,” Toshinori responded quietly, “I didn’t burn through all my embers.” Izuku felt the tension drain from his shoulders, allowing them to slump forward. “But Chiyo believes I’ve shortened my time limit as All Might once more.” Izuku and Momo looked up towards Toshinori, the worry in both of their eyes evident, causing Toshinori to chuckle softly. “Oh, it hurts to laugh,” Toshinori said as he closed his eyes and reached for his bad side. Softly shaking his head a few times, Toshinori opened his eyes and looked towards the couple. “You kids shouldn’t be worrying about me. I still have plenty of time left to teach you two how to be heroes, and more importantly, the next Symbols of Japan.”

“But what about All Might?” Momo questioned seriously, “how will he continue to protect Japan and teach us with your reduced time limit?”

“That is what we were discussing before you two arrived,” Nezu started, causing the trio of OFA users to look towards him. “Most of Class 1-A witnessed Toshinori transforming into his current state moments after the villains disappeared. I had tasked Ken with hiding his current state, but it appears we were a few moments too late and Toshinori could not hold his true form long enough.” Nezu hummed in thought for a moment before giving himself a curt nod. “Whoever didn’t see his current form, will surely have heard of it by now.”

“Which means I’ll have some explaining to do to the students of 1-A,” Toshinori continued as he attempted to push himself into a seated position. Izuku stood up quickly, snaking his arm around his mentor and carefully lifting him up so he could lie against the pillows behind him. “Thank you, Young Midoriya,” Toshinori said before Izuku sat back down. “Nezu already has a non-disclosure agreement written up for Class 1-A, and all the students will be required to sign it before they leave today.”

“What about Class 1-B?” Izuku questioned, “don’t you also teach them heroics?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Toshinori responded as he looked towards Nezu, who seemed to fall into a deep thought at that moment. “It might be best to reveal myself to 1-B and have them sign a NDA as well, but I don’t think it would be required.”

“It’s something we can discuss when classes resume next week,” Nezu said as he looked up towards the trio. “But I also believe Toshinori should announce All Might’s partial retirement when classes resume.”

“I don’t believe I’ve heard of a partial retirement before,” Momo commented as she placed her hand against her cheek in thought, Izuku looking towards his hands beside her. “As far as I’ve researched, a retirement from active duty usually doesn’t happen willingly, and All Might would be removed from the billboards and his hero license would be modified to showcase he’s only supposed to respond in emergencies.”

“In most cases, you would be correct, Yaoyorozu,” Nezu responded. “You see, a partial retirement is similar to a full retirement in most ways. The only thing that doesn’t change is his hero license. All Might would still be fully licensed to respond as he needs to, compared to a full retirement that wouldn’t allow him to respond unless deemed necessary,” Nezu explained. “After today’s events, Chiyo believes Toshinori’s time limit has been reduced to somewhere between one to two hours a day, down from his five hours previously, if he’s lucky.”

“But All Might’s presence alone is a villain determent in Japan,” Izuku responded as he looked between his mentor and his principal. “If Toshi was to announce the retirement of All Might, it’s highly likely we’ll see a huge influx of villains, possibly even supervillains that have been in hiding.”

“Correct,” Nezu responded. “Even with Toshinori announcing his partial retirement, I’ve predicted that more of the dangerous villains will continue to hide, worried that All Might will respond if they step too far out of line.” Nezu hummed in thought for a second before giving himself another curt nod. “With Toshinori announcing wanting to focus more on teaching the next generation of heroes, the other licensed heroes will have to pick up the slack from his retirement. I’ve predicted that we would see a huge influx of lower tier villains, easily handled by the heroes that are active today, while the higher tier villains continue to operate from the shadows, as they do now.”

“No matter what,” Toshinori started, causing the couple to look towards him. “I plan on teaching you two and the rest of Class 1-A to be the next heroes of Japan. My current state being revealed doesn’t change that fact.” Izuku and Momo nodded in understanding, accepting their mentor’s words. “But I won’t be able to teach you two everything.”

“Why is that?” Momo questioned.

“I don’t believe anything I teach you in the way of using your quirk would be beneficial for either of you,” Toshinori explained. “When I transferred OFA to Young Midoriya, I was expecting him to receive the Stockpiled Strength as I did. Smoke and Creation are two quirks I have no experience with, and I wouldn’t know the best way to improve either of them. I could teach you the best way to handle villains and rescue missions, but quirk training would be completely out of my league.”

“So what are you suggesting?” Izuku questioned.

“Nezu was showing me some of the footage of the USJ before I arrived,” Toshinori continued, “and how you two helped Young Shirakumo hold back that powerful villain. He pointed out how well Smoke and Cloud synergized together, and how much Young Shirakumo has improved his quirk since he was a student.”

Izuku and Momo shared a quick glance before looking back towards their mentor. “Are you suggesting we tell Shirakumo about OFA?” Momo questioned, “I thought you said we should try and keep it a secret.”

“While I did say something along those lines,” Toshinori admitted, “who you tell isn’t my decision anymore, as OFA is your quirk. But I believe telling Young Shirakumo would be beneficial to your training,” Toshinori explained, “not only is he your homeroom teacher, but Cloud is very similar to Smoke. He would be able to teach you the best ways to improve Smoke, and you deserve the best instruction available. It is imperative that you learn your quirk to the best of your ability, and this is the best way I can think of to do that.”

Izuku hummed in thought for a second before he looked towards Momo, seeing the question behind her eyes. “Did you tell your homeroom teacher?” Izuku questioned as he looked back towards Toshinori.

“While my homeroom teacher knew about OFA, it wasn’t because I told him,” Toshinori responded. “My homeroom teacher was good friends with my mentor, and she trusted him enough to tell him about OFA and requested for him to train me.” Toshinori let a small smile grace his face before a shiver went through him. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without his teachings.”

“This is not something we expect you to decide today,” Nezu began, causing the trio of OFA users to look towards him. “Oboro will be bedridden for the next couple of days, and I will be giving the students of UA the next few days off, with plans to resume classes on Monday. I believe it’s best if you think about it for the next few days, and if you decide you want to tell him, that choice would be left up to you.” Nezu hummed in thought as he looked towards the door leaving the room before focusing back on the couple. “While he’s not a registered quirk counselor, I believe he would be the best person to teach you. Him and Nemuri.”

“Auntie Nem?” Momo questioned.

“Correct!” Nezu responded. “Nemuri is a registered quirk counselor, and has helped many students think outside the box when it comes to their quirks.”

Izuku and Momo shared another look, having a silent conversation between them, before Momo nodded her head. “We’d like to think about it for a few days,” Izuku responded as he looked back towards the two adults. “I would like to talk with Shirakumo when we return before we make our decision.”

“Very well,” Nezu responded as he jumped off the chair, moving around the bed. “Let’s get you two back to class so I can have the students sign the NDA and release them to their parents.”

Toshinori watched as Izuku and Momo stood up before they looked towards him. “I hope you recover soon, Toshi,” Izuku said quietly, reaching out and grabbing his boney hand. “Thank you again for saving us.”

Toshinori squeezed it lightly in return, knowing that even in his current form, his strength was more than a normal person. “You’re welcome, Young Midoriya,” Toshinori responded quietly with a small smile, “I’ll contact you two once Chiyo releases me.” Toshinori looked past the couple towards the door leading into the medical bay, hearing a quiet conversation between Recovery Girl and Nezu that appeared to be slightly heated. “If she ever releases me, that is.”

“I heard that, you Big Oaf!” Recovery Girl called out from the medical bay. Toshinori lightly chuckled before he pulled his hand from Izuku’s and clutched his side once more. “I told you not to move much!” Recovery Girl said as she entered the room. “You two need to get a move on. You’ve kept your class waiting long enough, and I need to take care of this Big Oaf before he does anything else.” Izuku and Momo nodded before quickly leaving the room.

The classroom was silent except for the odd person that moved in their seat, adjusting themselves from sitting so long in the same spot. Some of the students were looking towards Present Mic at the front of the room, others were looking towards their hands on the desk, while a few were looking towards their classmates in worry or concern.

Hearing the door open, most of the students of Class 1-A looked towards the front of the classroom, watching as Nemuri walked in with Nezu riding atop of her shoulder. Izuku and Momo were quick to follow, passing the two adults and moving to take their respective seats at the back of the classroom. Present Mic nodded towards the two newcomers before taking his leave, closing the door behind him.

“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Nezu began as Nemuri stopped at the front of the class, holding a stack of papers beside her. “I would like to apologize on behalf of UA and myself for the villain attack that transpired at the USJ this afternoon,” Nezu spoke firmly and clearly as he looked over the students, noticing how each of them were taking the event differently.

“Even though I could never have predicted that a villain attack would happen on campus, I still feel responsible for what happened,” Nezu continued. “Higari, you may know him as Power Loader, and I will be going over our security measures and strengthening them even further. We will be putting multiple failsafes into our systems to prevent something like this happening again in the future.”

Nezu tapped Nemuri on the shoulder, pointing towards the podium at the front of the classroom, allowing her to lean down and let Nezu jump onto the podium. “Detective Tsukauchi has informed me that the police have finished taking statements from the students that were involved in the attack, but will need the next few days to complete their investigation. As a result, UA will be closed for the next few days and classes will resume on Monday.” Nezu looked over the students, seeing some of them nod in response, while others just blankly stared off into space.

“Recovery Girl has also informed me about the injuries that the students suffered during the attack,” Nezu continued. Recovery Girl had looked over all the students before they were released from the USJ, treating the ones on the spot that needed immediate tending to, while letting her assistants take care of the rest. “While I am not pleased to hear that any of my students were injured, I am relieved to know only a few suffered more than a minor injury.” Nezu looked towards a few of the students that Recovery Girl had made notes about, assessing the injuries from afar for himself.

Tsuyu was currently wrapped in multiple layers of heated blankets. Her eyes were open but the teachers could see the tiredness behind them, as if the Frog user just woke up from a long nap. Ochako’s head was currently wrapped in bandages, having been thrown against a rock when Himiko had tried to save her from a villain. She was also currently wrapped in a tight hug from Himiko, who looked just as tired from quirk exhaustion as Ochako did from Recovery Girl’s quirk. Nezu had been informed that Himiko was constantly transforming into Izuku and Momo during the fight, using their quirks after awakening her own. Tenya had some ice packs wrapped around his legs above and below his engines, having overheated them slightly from pushing his quirks to the limits. Hitoshi’s right arm was wrapped in bandages, having been stabbed by a villain before he could dispatch him. Most of the other students were showing signs of how tired they were, but otherwise looked uninjured.

“I would also like to apologize for not releasing you to your awaiting parents and/or guardians sooner, but there is still an important matter we must discuss,” Nezu continued after a few moments. “I understand that many of you may have questions for us, especially those that witnessed what happened with All Might in the plaza.” Nezu watched as some students sat up straighter when he mentioned All Might, patiently waiting for more information. “Before I go any further, Nemuri will be handing out non-disclosure agreements that everyone is required to sign before they can be released.”

Nemuri walked towards Hitoshi’s desk, placing the stack of papers under her arm on top of his desk. “Take one and pass the rest back,” Nemuri explained as she split five packets off and handed them to Hitoshi, before moving towards the desk beside him. “Nezu will be going over what is included in the NDAs, but you are welcome to request a copy to read for yourself.”

Once Nemuri had collected all the NDAs, confirming that everyone had filled them out correctly, she walked back beside Nezu with the two stacks of NDAs under her arm. “The NDA you all signed was in relation to All Might and what you may have witnessed. It clearly states you are not to discuss what you saw, outside your classmates and teachers, about what you may have seen or heard about after All Might defeated the villains.” Nezu looked over the students, seeing many of them nod in understanding, some with fear on their faces, having heard what happens if you go against Nezu.

“I will not be going too in-depth about what happened to All Might, nor will I explain why he looks the way he does,” Nezu explained. “When classes resume on Monday, and if All Might is recovered enough, he will be going into further detail about his situation and answer any questions you may have.”

“I understand that not everyone will have a parent and/or guardian picking them up today,” Nezu began. “As a result, you are welcome to stay in the dorms until they arrive. I will have a teacher and/or pro hero posted in the common room of your dorms until all students are picked up.” Nezu noticed a few of the students slump their shoulders at the news, already knowing their parents and/or guardians wouldn’t be able to make it tonight. “You are welcome to stay within the common room, or spend time in your own dorm during that time. For those of you who don’t have someone coming to pick you up, please let one of the faculty or myself know as soon as possible.”

“I apologize once more for what happened,” Nezu said as he bowed towards the students of 1-A. “First year students should not be experiencing something like this so soon into their studies, if at all during their stay here,” Nezu explained as he stood back up straighter. “I will be doing everything within my power to correct this, but if you or your parents and/or guardians would like for you to transfer or pull out of UA, I will make sure you have no issues in doing so.” Nemuri crouched down beside Nezu allowing him to jump back onto her shoulder. “I hope to see everyone back on Monday. You are dismissed.” With those final words, Nemuri and Nezu walked out of the classroom, allowing Present Mic to walk back in to watch over the students.

As Present Mic entered, most of their classmates were quick to get up and leave in search of their parents and/or guardians, many of them just wanting the day to end. Himiko was still clutching Ochako tightly, purring quietly, while Ochako hugged her back. “Uraraka?” Momo questioned quietly as she approached, with Izuku only a step behind, causing the purring to stop and allowing the two girls to focus on them. “I’ve talked with Auntie Nem, and I understand that your parents aren’t able to make it to UA tonight.”

Ochako didn’t respond verbally, just nodded in understanding as she released Himiko and looked down. Himiko hugged her friend tighter as she looked back up towards Izuku and Momo, her eyes pleading with them to do something.

“That’s why you’ll be coming to our Estate with us,” Izuku continued quietly.

Ochako whipped her head up, her eyes going wide, as she processed what exactly Izuku had just said. “No, no, no, I can’t do that!” Ochako tried to reason, attempting to wave her hands in front of her face but was being held back by Himiko. “I don’t mind waiting in the dorms for my parents to show up…” Ochako trailed off, feeling Himiko hug her tighter in response.

“It wasn’t an offer,” Momo responded, causing Ochako to look up towards her in question. “Your parents are being picked up by one of our servants and will be driven back to our home. Auntie Nem already set everything up, and wanted to make sure we let you know.”

“But…”

“Please, Chako?” Himiko asked quietly, watching as Ochako looked back towards her. “I don’t want to leave you at the dorms by yourself, and I want to show you the rest of my plushie collection.” Himiko pleaded with Ochako, using her special attack, pleading cat eyes, something that nobody is able to resist. “I don’t want to be alone tonight either, and I already know I’m going to have nightmares about what happened.”

Something inside Ochako cracked as she looked back towards Himiko, throwing her arms around the other girl and pulling her into a tight hug. “Okay,” Ochako said quietly, burying her face in the other girl’s shoulder. “I don’t want to be alone either.”

Izuku and Momo subconsciously reached out and intertwined their hands, pulling the other close, as they watched the two girls in front of them embrace. Himiko had begun purring again, causing Ochako to laugh, as Himiko rubbed her head up against Ochako. By the time Nemuri had returned to inform them their limousine had arrived, the four teenagers were in a better mood than they’d been since the USJ began.

As the limousine left campus, Himiko listened to the soft muttering that was happening between Izuku and Momo across from her, a soothing sound that allowed her to relax into the seat beside Ochako. When Himiko kept hearing the names of their classmates, she decided to ask what they were muttering about. “What are you two talking about?”

Momo explained, “We felt bad about not speaking to the whole class before everyone started to leave, so we’re putting together a message to send in the class group chat. We want to make sure they all know we’re glad to have them as friends and classmates and we hope to see them all return on Monday.”

Izuku took over, placing his phone face down on his leg for the moment. “Auntie Nem informed us that some other folks weren’t going to be able to get home tonight, and possibly this weekend,” he gestured towards Ochako to further prove his point, “so we also wanted to invite them over to the Estate tomorrow.”

“We were going to invite them tonight,” Momo continued, “but we suspected that many would want to spend time with their families after what we went through.” Himiko nodded in understanding, hugging Ochako closer as she slept against her shoulder, knowing how scared she was when Ochako was grabbed by villains. Izuku and Momo watched as Himiko cuddled more against the girl beside her before promptly falling asleep, causing the couple to smile in their direction.

Feeling their phones buzz, Izuku and Momo returned to the conversation in the class group chat, seeing the messages that were occasionally coming in. Most of their classmates returned their thanks with a confirmation they would be returning Monday. A few were merely emojis: they got a thumbs-up from Mezo, and a cascade of pink hearts from Mina. Tsuyu politely declined, and they knew she probably wanted to be with her family, having mentioned them in passing over the past couple of days. Shoto appeared to read the message but never replied.

Kyouka and Denki responded almost immediately, as Izuku and Momo had expected, both promising they would see them tomorrow. Tenya and Kashiko were polite and promised to be back in class on Monday, but they wanted to spend some time with their families for the night, but would contact the couple tomorrow about their offer. Mina eventually responded with another text saying she talked it over with her parents, and she got the okay to come over after promising that she really was fine. Eijiro and Toru responded a few moments later, claiming they would be coming with Mina.

As Izuku responded to their family group chat, Momo continued to respond to their class group chat, but she could see the messages coming in from their parents. After Izuku had reassured them(again) they weren’t seriously injured, Miyuki was ecstatic to have guests, saying it would certainly be a nice change of pace from the usual visiting dignitaries and C-suite executives. Yuukichi was already planning breakfast, his favorite meal of the day. Inko claimed she would be cooking some special desserts for their friends, and the couple knew how delicious her desserts were, even compared to their top rated chefs.

Izuku and Momo could only shake their heads in amusement as their parents continued to text in the family group chat, all three of them excited to meet their classmates. Once the messages died down a little, the couple pocketed their phones, their hands quickly finding the others as they leaned into each other. Both of them taking a deep breath, they were thankful they were alive.

Tomorrow would be for looking forward. For the moment, the couple allowed their eyes to finally close, lulled by the road noise and soft snores, they were quick to follow the others into dreamland.

Chapter Text

“No…”

Hearing a whisper close by, Ochako stirred and began blinking her eyes open, trying to dispel the tiredness that appeared to surround her. Once her vision was clear enough, she began taking in the unfamiliar ceiling above her, a recurring theme since moving into the dorms. As she blinked a few more times, she realized that the ceiling above her appeared to be much further away than usual, and her glow in the dark galaxy that had been stuck to the ceiling was missing.

Feeling the unease that was beginning to bubble in her chest, Ochako closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly through her nose as she counted backwards from ten. As she had reached zero and her breathing evened out, she continued to keep her eyes closed as she attempted to recall how exactly she ended up in the unfamiliar place.

She remembered waking up the previous morning and making her way to her crush’s friend’s room to wake her up, almost being late to class again. Her lips unconsciously twitched upwards at her friend’s antics, remembering getting in trouble for running in the halls and almost missing the start of class the day previous. The rest of the day was filled with their regular classes, with little excitement during lunch, before their heroics class started in the afternoon.

Ochako recalled being extremely excited for their heroics class once she found out they'd be learning rescue procedures. It was the main reason she had become a hero, idolizing rescue heroes throughout Japan since she was a little girl. The bus ride away from the main campus had been informative, learning that her friends, Izuku and Momo, actually shared quirks, going as far as to demonstrate using both. The commotion that followed was understandably loud, most of their classmates wondering if they could replicate how they shared quirks.

As they arrived at the USJ, Ochako had been extremely excited to learn they'd be training under her favorite rescue hero, Thirteen. Not being able to contain her excitement at meeting her idol, she grabbed hold of Himiko and began shaking her. Ochako's lips subconsciously twitched up into a small smile at the memory, knowing deep down that Himiko didn't mind her excitement.

As her thoughts drifted to the USJ, she immediately squeezed her eyes tighter, holding to dispel the vivid scenes that were flashing behind her eyelids. They had followed their teachers into the USJ before the villains had appeared, attacking and eventually separating the students throughout the different zones. Ochako felt a tear escape as the vivid scene of her favorite heroine's injured back flashed behind her eyelids, causing her to shudder in place.

She had to stop herself from panicking again by taking a deep breath, holding it in for a couple of seconds, before releasing it slowly and counting backwards from ten once more. She recalled the fear that plunged through her when she had been lifted out of her hiding spot by a villain. Himiko had reacted instantly, worried about her well being, by throwing a knife into the villain’s bicep. She remembered the villain throwing her backwards before she collided with something and everything went black.

The next thing she remembered was waking up in Himiko’s arms, those beautiful golden cat-like eyes looking down upon her with worry, concern, and relief battling for dominance behind them, while her cheeks were deeply stained with tears. Even though she could feel the pain throughout her body, Ochako remembered how safe she felt in Himiko’s arms in that moment, curling up further into Himiko’s chest as she was carried through the USJ.

Everything beyond that appeared to be a blur. She faintly recalled Recovery Girl using her quirk, bits and pieces of Himiko holding her tightly as they traveled back to the main campus, and sitting in the classroom as they waited for the principal. Ochako recalled Izuku and Momo approaching them, telling her that she would be coming to their estate with them, and that her parents would be there as soon as possible.

Ochako blinked her eyes open as the realization dawned on her. She remembered entering the limousine, curling up beside Himiko, but she must have fallen asleep not long after. She began taking in the room at large, noticing a lot of plushies spread throughout the room. There were photographs along most of the walls, spread out in such a way to make it feel more homey, most of them containing Himiko, Izuku, and Momo. There were also other photographs that contained people she didn’t recognize, but could presumed they were their parents. As she continued looking around, she took in how everything appeared to be very bright, to put it simply, reminding her of her own bedroom back home in Meiwa.

As she continued to look around, Ochako was surprised when her eyes landed on the bedside table, finding a photo that was discretely taken of Himiko and herself. She felt the heat rise into her cheeks as she noticed the expression on her face, realizing exactly when the photo was taken. It was the first day the two had officially met in person after Himiko had saved her from the Zero Pointer. Her lips twitched into a small smile as she recalled how excited she had been to see her new friend, and based on what Izuku and Momo had said that day, Himiko had been just as excited to see her. It was the moments following Himiko’s departure that she realized her growing feelings for Himiko, already missing her friend but excited for the next time they could spend time together.

As Ochako attempted to move from her position, she felt a pair of arms tighten around her midsection, causing her to freeze in her thoughts and movements. Caught up in the unfamiliar place and remembering what happened the day previous, Ochako completely forgot the voice she had heard earlier. She hadn’t realized that someone had been embracing her when she first woke up, but now that she felt the arms around her midsection, she became very aware that she wasn’t alone.

Just as her breathing was about to increase, beginning her panic anew, Ochako trailed her eyes down towards the person that was embracing her. She was met with blonde hair that was half tied up in a messy bun, the other one having come out sometime throughout the night. Ochako’s increasing panic was quickly replaced with embarrassment, realization hitting her that she must be in Himiko’s bed, and that her crush friend was the one embracing her.

“Don’t take my Ochako away from me!” Himiko whispered out as she buried her face in Ochako’s side, startling Ochako as she attempted to process the words she had just heard. ‘Did she just say her Ochako?’ Even though her face was buried in Ochako’s side, she was rapidly shaking her head back and forth in her sleep, and Ochako could see Himiko's tear stained cheeks and the crown of sweat that adorned the sides of her head and forehead. “Please!” Himiko cried out louder, the begging in her voice making it evident that she was currently living through a nightmare.

“Himi?” Ochako questioned quietly, her embarrassment quickly being replaced with concern as she reached out and started to softly shake Himiko. Himiko didn’t respond to Ochako’s voice, instead clutching Ochako’s midsection tighter as she began shuddering, attempting to pull herself even closer to Ochako. “Himiko, you’re having a nightmare, please wake up,” Ochako tried once more as she attempted to run soothing circles with her hand on Himiko’s back.

“No!” Himiko suddenly yelled, “no no no no no!” Himiko attempted to curl into herself more, never letting go of Ochako throughout the process. “OCHAKO!” Himiko yelled again, waking herself up in the process. Himiko released Ochako as she attempted to curl herself into a small ball, her tears leaking freely and staining more of her cheeks, as sobbing was heard throughout the bedroom.

“Himi?” Ochako questioned quietly once more, causing Himiko to stiffen up from the sound. Ochako reached out and circled her arms around Himiko, pulling the other girl to her chest in a tight embrace. “I’m right here, Himi,” Ochako whispered, causing Himiko to lift her head towards her friend’s voice. She could see the pain and fear behind Himiko’s golden cat-like eyes, surrounded by redness that indicated she had been crying in her sleep for some time. “I’m safe, Himi, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Ochako…” Himiko said quietly and she loosened herself up and circled her arms around Ochako, returning the tight embrace. She buried her face in Ochako’s chest as the trembling started to subside. “I-I-I-” Himiko tried to speak just to stop when she began sobbing again.

“Shhhh,” Ochako said quietly as she continued rubbing soothing circles in Himiko’s back, feeling the tension that was built up slowly begin to release from her friend. “Deep breaths, Himi,” Ochako instructed, feeling relieved when Himiko did as she said.

It took a few minutes for Himiko to completely stop trembling, allowing her to take a few deep breaths and her breathing to return to an even pace. During this time, Ochako never released the embrace they found themselves in, continuing to rub soothing circles into Himiko’s back to help her calm down. “When that villain grabbed you yesterday,” Himiko quietly started out when she had calmed down enough, “I thought for sure I was going to lose you…” Ochako nodded in understanding, tightening the embrace once more. “But when he threw you against that rock and you went still, I thought… I thought he…” Himiko choked up again, tightening the embrace around Ochako.

“But he didn’t,” Ochako comforted, "you saved us, you saved me, from those villains, Himi.” Himiko nodded against Ochako as she continued to hide her face in her friend’s chest, enjoying the comfort and reassurance the embrace provided. They were quiet as they continued to embrace each other, everything that happened the previous day playing through their minds.

It took a while for Himiko to finally pull out of the embrace, pushing herself off Ochako and sitting on her haunches. Ochako followed suit, pushing herself up into a seating position, leaving the blankets still covering her lower half. The two looked between each other for a few moments, instinctively leaning towards each other, before Himiko looked away with a conflicted look on her face. Ochako leaned back as she realized how far she had leaned forward, holding her hands in her lap as she waited for Himiko's reaction. “I was so worried when you didn’t wake up right away,” Himiko explained quietly, “all I could think about was losing you in the time it took me to fight off the villains.”

“Is that what you were dreaming about?” Ochako questioned quietly, seeing Himiko nod in confirmation. “Himi…”

Himiko took a deep breath, closing her eyes and letting a shudder run through her. “After I defeated the villains, I quickly checked you over before picking you up and trying to find someone to help you.” Himiko opened her eyes and looked towards her friend, allowing Ochako to see the emotions that constantly danced behind her eyes, never stopping on one emotion for too long. “I was relieved to run into Recovery Girl as soon as we left our zone. She looked you over right then and there, confirming you weren’t seriously injured, before using her quirk on you.” Himiko’s lips twitched into a small smile as she softly shook her head. “You tried to fight the effects of her quirk, but it didn’t take you long to pass out again.”

Ochako nodded in understanding, thankful for her friend saving her life again. Ochako let a small smile grace her face as she continued looking towards Himiko before realizing what she was doing. To distract herself, Ochako looked around the room once more, taking in the bright colors, plushies, and photographs that littered the room. “Recovery Girl’s quirk must have taken a lot out of me,” Ochako said as she continued to look, landing on the photograph on the bedside table again, “I don’t even remember coming to your room last night.”

Himiko looked towards where Ochako was looking, her eyes going wide, before she looked away as a blush rushed up her face. “That would be my fault,” she admitted as she snuck a few glances at Ochako. “When ZuMo told you that you’d be coming back to the Estate, I mentioned not wanting to be alone last night, knowing that I would have nightmares from what happened.” Himiko took a quick deep breath, causing Ochako to look back towards her. “You mentioned not wanting to be alone as well, so I concluded that you wouldn’t mind sleeping in my room with me. I’m sorry if I overstepped any boundaries…” Himiko trailed off as she continued to look away.

They both fell quiet, Himiko twiddling her thumbs in nervousness about the situation, occasionally stealing glances at Ochako. Ochako watched Himiko’s twiddling thumbs as she attempted to process everything that happened and what it meant for their relationship.

Making up her mind, Ochako reached out and grabbed Himiko’s hand, causing the other girl to look towards her. Ochako pulled on her arm, gently drawing Himiko towards her, before she wrapped her friend in a tight embrace. “Thank you,” Ochako said quietly beside Himiko’s ear, “for saving my life again.” Himiko trailed her arms around Ochako, returning the tight embrace, both of them staying like that for a minute or two.

“You’re important to me,” Himiko said quietly as she pulled back, holding their hands together between them. Ochako and Himiko realized how close they were to each other, but it felt natural for them, so the two didn’t comment nor pull away. “I would do it all again in a heartbeat if it meant saving you.”

Ochako’s breath caught in her throat as she processed what Himiko had said. Both of their blushes deepened when they finally realized what Himiko had meant. “You’re important to me too…” Ochako responded quietly, surprising Himiko more than she expected. “Ever since the entrance exam, you’ve been a big part of my life, and I couldn’t imagine losing you.”

“Ochako… I…” Himiko started out, just to fumble over her words.

Ochako didn’t hear her friend, instead closing her eyes and leaning forward, capturing the other girl’s lips with her own. Himiko was startled for a second before she also closed her eyes and returned the kiss. The kiss wasn’t one to rave about, but in the moment, the two believed it was the best thing to ever happen to either of them.

When Ochako finally pulled back, she blinked her eyes open, realizing what had just happened between them. Himiko took a moment to savor the memory before looking, finding Ochako staring at her with wide eyes. “I’m so sorry, Himiko, I don’t know what overcame me,” Ochako started to explain as she released their hands and started waving them in front of her face. “It’s just, after everything you’ve done, and the way we’ve been hanging out for the past few weeks, and what happened when we finally got into UA, and when we moved into the dorms, and…”

Himiko reached forward and brought Ochako’s arms down, holding them in one hand as she leaned forward once more, capturing Ochako’s lips with her own. Ochako didn’t protest the action as she let her arms hang loosely in front of her. Himiko pushed Ochako back into a lying position, straddling her stomach and continuing to kiss her. It wasn't a hungry kiss, devouring the taste of her…it was slow, simmering, exploratory. This time, it was Himiko that pulled back, her eyes full of love for the girl beneath her, a look that was easily returned by Ochako.

When Himiko processed what had just happened between them, her eyes went wide in realization, causing Ochako's look to turn into confusion. “I shouldn’t have done that,” Himiko whispered out, quickly scrambling off Ochako before jumping off the bed.

“Himi?!” Ochako questioned with a bit of panic in her voice, not knowing why Himiko had reacted the way she did.

“I shouldn't have done that,” Himiko repeated as she started to scramble towards a door at the far side of the room. “You don't know the real me, what I've done, what I am,” Himiko began talking faster as she approached the door, the words becoming a jumbled mess. “I'm so sorry, Ochako, but I need to go.”

“Himi!” Ochako called out as she attempted to scramble off the bed after her friend, getting tangled in the bedsheets and falling towards the floor instead. With a quiet ‘Oof’, Ochako kicked off the bedsheets and untangled herself before pushing herself to her feet. “Please, wait!” Ochako called out as Himiko disappeared out the door, leaving it wide open. Ochako moved to follow her, rushing out the open door, before pausing on the other side of the door frame.

Ochako found herself in a massive hallway that appeared to stretch on in either direction. She noticed a handful of doors, almost evenly spaced, littered along both walls; any one of them easily hiding Himiko behind them. Not wanting Himiko to get too far away from her, Ochako picked a direction and began running, hoping that she would be able to find her friend before getting lost.

Himiko rushed through the hallways of the massive Estate, following a route that she had walked many times in the past year. Her mind kept drifting to the thought of Ochako and the kiss they shared, how natural it had felt for her. She could still feel and taste Ochako's lips on her own, causing Himiko to increase the pace she was running at through the estate, the panic rising in her chest over what happened.

Coming around one final corner, she found the exact door she was looking for. Knowing the door was always kept unlocked, she didn’t bother to knock as she barged into the room, closing the door behind her with a hard shove as she rushed through. The two people that were in the bed looked up towards her just in time before she jumped onto the bed, quickly moving to lay between them. The two didn't question what had happened before they wrapped her into a tight embrace, conveying they were there for her.

It took a few minutes in the embrace for her breathing to calm down and her panic to subside. She embraced the warmth the two provided, knowing they would always help her when she needed it, no matter how big or small her problem might be. When she finally felt calm enough to talk, she rolled over and looked towards the ceiling, the two people pulling slightly away to look towards her.

“I fucked up,” Himiko said quietly. Not waiting for an answer from either of them, she went into an explanation of what had just happened before she barged into the room. The two people beside her listened to what she had to say without interruption. “I don’t know what to do,” Himiko finally said as she squeezed her eyes shut, “Ochako doesn’t know the real me! She doesn’t know what I’ve done, or why I was adopted by Mom, or that I need to drink blood because of my quirk.”

“So why don’t you tell her?” Izuku questioned quietly as he glanced up towards their door, an action that was mirrored by Momo on the other side of Himiko, both of their actions being missed by Himiko as her eyes were closed.

“But how do I do that?” Himiko questioned in response, reaching her hands up into her hair and giving it a small tug. “What if I tell her and she responds like the Togas? What if she thinks I’m a monster or some kind of freak? What if she finds out how I attacked someone and left them seriously injured because of my quirk? What if she finds out that I need blood to survive and use my quirk? What if she finds out that the person she’s been spending time with isn’t the person she says she is?” Himiko shuddered as she dropped her hands to her stomach, feeling the knot in her stomach slowly getting tighter. “What if…” Himiko continued quietly, “What if she finds out that I love her…”

“Himi,” Momo said quietly, causing Himiko to look up towards her. “Do you really think Uraraka would respond badly to finding out about your quirk?” Himiko looked to be in thought for a moment before shaking her head. “Do you really think she would consider you a monster or a freak because of your quirk-related needs?” Momo questioned, getting Himiko to shake her head again. “And how do you think she would react when she finds out that your quirk forced you to attack someone that was bleeding, after suppressing it for over ten years?”

“She would be absolutely shocked and angry on my behalf,” Himiko responded automatically, her lips twitching into a small smile at the thought. “She would probably question how I lasted so long before offering her blood then and there, just like Izuku did when we first met.”

“And don’t even get us started on knowing the real you,” Izuku continued, causing Himiko to look over towards him. As she looked towards Izuku, she missed Momo waving someone over towards them. “Ever since you’ve moved in with us, we’ve always allowed you to be who you wanted to be, and every single one of us accepted you.” Himiko appeared to think about it again before agreeing. “Why do you think that Uraraka would be any different?”

“I don’t know,” Himiko responded as she took another deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I’m just worried about her not accepting the real me…” She trailed off as she replayed what happened in her bedroom a few moments before.

“Have you ever had to put on a mask or hide who you are around Uraraka?” Himiko shook her head once more before raising her hand. “No, hiding your quirk requirements doesn’t count,” Izuku said softly, “you’re still Himiko, and you always will be.”

“And if she finds out I love her?” Himiko questioned.

“I’d tell you I love you back,” a new voice entered the conversation behind her, one that Himiko instantly recognized. She slowly turned her head back in Momo’s direction, finding Ochako standing beside the bed, her friend's eyes focused directly on her.

“O-Ochako?” Himiko questioned in a very small voice, “how much did you hear?” Himiko felt her panic begin to increase again as she thought about everything she had said.

“Everything after Midoriya asked why you didn’t tell me,” Ochako responded as she looked away.

"After you ran away, I was looking all over, and this place is huge and I worried I would never find you, and I ran into one of the servants and they led me here, so… here I am. And I am so glad to be here, with you, Himiko."

Ochako looked back towards Himiko, showcasing the look behind her eyes. “I would never think you’re a monster or a freak because of your past or your quirk needs.” Himiko could see the honesty behind her friend’s eyes, knowing she meant every word. “And if anyone was to say that about you, I would be tempted to throw them into the sun,” Ochako smiled in determination as Himiko giggled in response.

“You’ve always been Himiko Yaoyorozu to me, ever since I met you during the entrance exam. I knew you were special when I stopped you from tripping, and you proved that to me when you saved me from the Zero Pointer.” Ochako looked away as her blush marks deepened in color. “When we first hung out in Meiwa, I realized how quickly I developed feelings for you, and could only hope that you returned them.”

Himiko’s breath hitched in her throat as Ochako turned back towards her before she continued. “Hearing all those things about you didn’t change those feelings,” Ochako confirmed. “If anything, I’m looking forward to learning more about you, so that I can love you for exactly who you are.”

“But…” Himiko started before Ochako interrupted her again.

“No buts,” Ochako responded with a soft smile. “So what if your quirk needs blood to function, or if your dietary needs require blood? Yaomomo and Midoriya need three times the amount of food compared to other people but that doesn’t change who they are. Why would you needing blood change who you are?”

“I’ve hurt people in the past,” Himiko responded quietly as she looked towards her hands again, “are you not worried about me hurting you?”

“No,” Ochako responded instantly, causing Himiko to look back up at her. “I don’t think you would hurt someone unless you had a valid reason.” As Ochako paused, Himiko tried to get in a word, before Ochako cut her off again. “I’ve read up on what happens to someone when they suppress their dietary needs for only a few days, and how they snapped and couldn’t control themselves. You lasted ten years before you finally snapped, and I can tell you still feel guilty about it.” Himiko nodded in agreement, knowing that even if she’s moved past what happened, she’s still worried it might happen again. “So no, I’m not worried about you hurting me because I know that’s not who you are.”

“I’ve always known you were strong, Himiko,” Ochako continued. “Ever since you saved me from the Zero Pointer, I knew you were a strong person, but hearing what you had to go through before you met Yaomomo and Midoriya just proves to me just how strong you really are.”

Ochako smirked in her direction, her mood completely changing as she brought up her wrist, rolling up her sleeve in the process. “And damn right I would offer my blood! You’ve been nothing but a great friend that makes me laugh and makes me look forward to being by your side, no matter what might happen. If giving you blood helps you, I would offer it again and again, as much as I could.”

“Really?” Himiko questioned in disbelief, seeing Ochako nod in confirmation before she held her wrist forward. Himiko looked between the wrist and Ochako’s eyes, finding nothing but love and honesty behind them, causing the knot in her stomach to untangle. Himiko felt tears welling up in her eyes, reaching up and wiping them away, as she wore a fang-filled smile.

“This is the moment when you hug her and tell her how much you love her,” Izuku whispered in her ear, just loud enough for Momo and Ochako to hear him. Momo reached over and smacked the back of Izuku’s head, causing the couple to chuckle, while Ochako giggled at their antics.

Himiko looked back towards Ochako, questioning with her eyes. Ochako smiled before she held her arms wide, nodding in confirmation. She didn’t waste a single second as she quickly climbed over Momo and scrambled off the bed, wrapping Ochako into a tight embrace and lifting her off the ground. “I love you, Ochako!” Himiko exclaimed as she began twirling them around, causing Ochako to giggle at her antics. “I love you, I love you, I love you…” Himiko repeated as she twirled a few more times before stopping, looking up towards Ochako with all the love she could muster in her eyes.

Ochako looked down with a wide smile on her face as she reached forward and placed a hand on Himiko’s cheek. She guided them together, capturing Himiko’s lips in another kiss, both of them enjoying the moment together as everything around them faded away. “I love you too, Himiko,” Ochako responded when she pulled back for a breath before going in for another kiss, wrapping her arms around Himiko’s neck.

“When do you think they’ll realize they’re floating?” Izuku questioned Momo quietly. Izuku and Momo giggled as they watched Himiko and Ochako continue to steal kisses from each other, not caring about floating upside down in the process.

“I don’t know,” Momo responded honestly as she scooted closer to Izuku, feeling his arm wrap around her and pull her close. “But my guess would be as long as Uraraka's quirk allows them to.” Momo cuddled into Izuku's side, wrapping him in a loose embrace, as the two watched the new couple float around their room. “They both deserve this, and so much more, after what they've gone through.” Izuku could only nod in agreement as Himiko and Ochako lightly bounced off the ceiling and walls every so often.

Chapter Text

Once Ochako and Himiko had come down from the emotional high and realized they were still floating around Momo’s room, Ochako quickly descended them both before releasing her quirk, landing a few steps away from Momo’s bed. “I’m so sorry, Yaomomo, Midoriya!” Ochako exclaimed as she bowed in apology. “We got so caught up in the moment that we didn’t realize we were still in your room!”

Hearing the couple's mirthful giggles towards them, Ochako’s blush marks deepened even more in embarrassment, causing her to stay in a bowing position. Himiko was focusing completely on Ochako’s actions while wearing a full-fanged smile and an affectionate look. Izuku and Momo couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces even if they tried, happy for the new couple.

“Please stand up, Uraraka,” Momo responded quietly as she continued to lie against Izuku’s chest, letting Izuku unconsciously run his fingers through her hair. Ochako stood back up and looked towards the couple with a curious look, wondering why they were smiling towards her. “First off, please call us Momo and Izuku,” Momo continued as Izuku nodded in agreement, causing Ochako’s eyes to go wide. “You’re officially dating my sister, which I believe warrants us to use our first names.”

Ochako stole a quick glance at Himiko, seeing her nod in agreement, before she focused back on the other couple. “In that case, please call me Ochako!” Izuku and Momo gave her a curt nod, accepting the offer.

“And please don’t apologize or be embarrassed about getting lost in the moment,” Izuku continued, “Mo and I understand how everything fades away when you’re with the person you love.” Momo nodded and smiled in agreement, recalling the many occasions she'd found herself staring at Izuku and daydreaming about their future together, only to face the harsh reality of having to focus on her responsibilities. “We didn’t want to interrupt the moment that you two were having, and we really don’t mind, knowing how happy you two are with each other.”

Ochako and Himiko shared a look before Himiko went in for another quick peck, leaving Ochako wanting more as she pulled back. “You both deserve happiness, especially after everything you’ve two have gone through, separately and together.” Momo explained, causing Ochako to focus back on her. “We’re ecstatic that you two finally confessed, even if it was through untraditional ways.”

“As if we’re any better,” Izuku responded as he looked down towards Momo, causing her to look up and smile at him. “We didn’t even mean to confess to each other at the time. We were so caught up in the book we were reading that neither of us realized what the other said until a few minutes later.”

“I still want my date on a flying motorcycle,” Momo responded with a cheeky smile.

Izuku leaned down and shared a chaste kiss with Momo, looking into her eyes lovingly. “I’ll see what I can come up with,” Izuku responded with his best attempt at a roguish grin, seeing Momo return it with cheer in her eyes and that look she got sometimes, the way she looked at him just like that. It melted him every time.

“Is that how we looked to them?” Ochako whispered towards Himiko.

“Oh, no,” Himiko responded with a smirk, causing Ochako to sigh in relief. “We were sooo much worse.” Himiko couldn’t hold in her laughter when Ochako’s blush returned tenfold while the trio could have sworn they saw steam coming out of her ears. Himiko wrapped her arm around Ochako’s waist, pulling her towards her and capturing her lips again, causing Ochako to return her affection in kind.

When Izuku cleared his throat, the new couple were quick to separate, with a blush appearing on Himiko’s face to match the intensifying blush on Ochako’s face, both realizing they were about to get lost in the moment again. “We know how much you want to enjoy your new relationship, but I believe it would be best if Ochako sees her parents beforehand.”

“Are they here?” Ochako perked up as she questioned hopefully, having completely forgotten why she was at the Yaoyorozu Estate in the first place.

Izuku nodded in confirmation. “They arrived not long after we did, but at that point, you were already sleeping peacefully in Himiko’s bed.” Ochako’s blush came back as she looked back towards Himiko, finding the other girl still looking at her with an affectionate look. “They may have seen that you were okay last night, but I just know they want to hear from you themselves.” Ochako nodded in understanding before Izuku looked towards Himiko. “Mom, Miyuki, and Yuukichi also want to see you, Himi. They wanted to talk with you last night, but Mo and I talked with them and convinced them to leave the conversation until morning.”

“Thank you, ZuMo,” Himiko responded gratefully as she looked towards the other couple, the full-fanged smile on her face never flattering for a second. “Let's go, Chako!” Himiko exclaimed as she began dragging Ochako out of Momo’s room. “Let’s go see our parents! I can’t wait to tell Mom, Dad, and Mama Inko about our relationship!” Ochako allowed herself to be dragged along as she shook her head fondly, just barely grabbing the door handle at the last second to close the door, before the new couple was gone.

Momo rolled over, giving a quick glance towards the clock on her bedside table before looking up towards Izuku, resting her chin on his chest. “It’s still early, but after that excitement, I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to sleep,” Momo commented with a small smile, one that Izuku returned as he nodded in agreement. He continued running his hands through Momo’s hair, allowing her to lean into the comforting touch and close her eyes. “As much as I want to stay here with you as long as possible, I believe it would be best if we got up now.”

“Can’t argue with you there,” Izuku responded. “I know we talked with our parents last night, but did you want to go see them before our friends show up later this morning?”

Momo hummed in thought, keeping her eyes closed, getting lost in the feeling of Izuku running his hands through her hair. After they had arrived home last night, they had spent the better part of an hour explaining exactly what happened at the USJ while also confirming they were uninjured. Once they had made it back to Momo’s room, they had both collapsed on the bed and fell asleep instantly, the events of the day finally catching up with them.

Momo blinked her eyes open, finding Izuku watching her affectionately, waiting for her answer. “I think it’s best if we allow them to talk with Himi and Ochako this morning,” Momo responded. “Mother and Inko are definitely going to be fussing over them, especially once they learn about their new relationship, and that’s not including the Urarakas.” Izuku hummed in response as he looked towards the door the new couple had left through, remembering exactly how their parents reacted when they revealed their own relationship.

“I would like to get some training in this morning,” Izuku commented after a few moments, looking down to Momo to find her watching him still.

“After everything that happened yesterday?” Momo questioned seriously, receiving a small nod in return as their smiles fell. Momo pushed herself up into a seating position on the bed, looking down towards the thoughtful expression on his face. “Still thinking about yesterday?” Izuku nodded as he looked up towards Momo, and she could see the conflicting emotions dancing behind his eyes, matching her own. Reaching forward, Momo grabbed Izuku's arms and dragged him up into a seating position beside her.

“I think training would help take our minds off what happened,” Izuku admitted as he looked away, “and what is bound to come.”

“I understand,” Momo said quietly as she reached out and grabbed his hand, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles in comfort. “It's been on my mind too.” Leaning forward, Momo kissed his cheek softly, causing him to turn his head and return the small kiss. “Let's go,” Momo said after they separated, “I could use a distraction myself.”

“Thanks, Mo.”

It wasn’t long before Izuku and Momo found themselves in the training room, both wearing training outfits that were embedded with their DNA, allowing Smoke and Creation to work through them. Himiko and Ochako had joined the couple in the sparring room not long after, having escaped the onslaught of questions from their parents, opting to watch the two spar from the sidelines. They appeared to be well into the spar when the two had shown up, Himiko knowing there was no stopping the two once they started, as Ochako watched them trade blows in amazement.

“They seem to be holding nothing back,” Ochako commented as she watched Izuku disappear into a cloud of green smoke, reappearing in front of Momo and attempting to slam a staff into her, just for Momo to counter and parry the attack with her own staff. “Is this how they normally spar?”

“No,” Himiko responded quietly, her eyes trained on the two people who were constantly disappearing and reappearing in the smoke filled room. Himiko had sat beside Ochako, wrapping her arm around her new girlfriend and pulling her close while resting her head on her shoulder. “Anytime we trained in the past, we were focused on technique over all else. They normally didn't spar with their quirks either, and when they did, it was only focused on one at a time.”

“So they’re being really aggressive compared to normal?” Ochako questioned, leaning her head on Himiko's while she wrapped her arm around the other girl. "Letting off some steam? Or, I guess, Smoke?" Her feeble attempt at humor didn't seem to register with her girlfriend. Her girlfriend. Wow.

“I think it’s because of what happened during the USJ yesterday,” Himiko responded quietly, causing Ochako to look at her in concern. “They attempted to save everyone before we were separated, and they failed. Not only that, our classmates and teachers suffered injuries, which they’re likely blaming themselves for.”

“But it’s not their fault,” Ochako responded as she looked back towards the power couple. “We had no way of knowing we'd be attacked on campus.”

“I think deep down, they understand that,” Himiko responded with a sigh, “but that's not going to stop them from training harder to prevent it from happening again.”

Ochako went quiet as she continued watching the spar, remembering how quickly she was taken out during her battle trial, and what happened at the USJ. Turning towards Himiko, she found her new girlfriend watching the fight closely, concern etched across her face for the other couple. “Can you show me how to fight?” Ochako questioned suddenly, causing Himiko to look towards her in question. “After what happened yesterday, when I realized that I couldn't do anything…”

Himiko tightened the embrace, leaning over and kissing her cheek, before pulling back and smiling at Ochako. “Of course I can show you,” Himiko responded, “but is there anything specific you would like to focus on? I may not be as skillful as those two,” Himiko gestured towards the spar happening, “but I've trained with them long enough to know the basics.”

Ochako looked back towards the spar as she hummed in thought, watching as neither one of them was giving up any ground for the other. “Any training would be better than what I have now,” Ochako admitted as she looked back towards Himiko. “I never thought of training like this,” Ochako gestured towards the spar, “because I want to be a rescue hero. But after seeing what happened to Thirteen, I think I would like to have a way to protect myself.”

Himiko nodded in agreement as she looked back towards the spar, considering their options. “I can show you some of the stealth training I've practiced, as I believe it will be beneficial to any combat training you may learn in the future,” Himiko explained as she looked back at Ochako nodding in agreement. “But I think you should talk with ZuMo when you have a chance. When it comes to quirk and weapons training, there's no one else I would trust more.”

Ochako let go of Himiko, jumping up excitedly, as she reached out and pulled Himiko up beside her. “In the meantime, can you teach me what you know?” Himiko could only smile as she nodded, the excitement of her partner pouring off her in waves. “Awesome! How do we get started?”

“When it comes to stealth, hiding your presence is the best skill you can learn,” Himiko explained as she guided Ochako to the other side of the room, far enough away from the spar that was happening. “With a few distraction tactics, you'll be able to catch anybody off guard, even those with enhanced hearing quirks.” Ochako nodded determinedly, ready to get started, as they came to a stop on the other side of the training room. “To learn how to hide your presence, you first need to learn how to control your breathing…”

As the small group of UA students walked behind the servant that was guiding them, most of them couldn't help but look around the massive hallways in wonder. Kyouka and Denki were the first ones behind the servant, their eyes looking at all the different expensive art that lined the walls. Mina, Eijiro, and Toru were only a few steps behind, their eyes snapping in every direction, having never been in a house this large before. Tenya and Kashiko were the last to follow, and the most reserved compared to their classmates, having visited the Yaoyorozu Estate many times in the past for parties.

“I've known they were rich from the first time we met them,” Denki started out as they turned a corner, finding themselves in another massive hallway, “but I didn't know they were this rich.” Kyouka was silent as she nodded beside him, causing Denki to look towards her in confusion. “No ear jack stab this time?”

“No,” Kyouka responded and they could hear the amazement in her voice, “no, I totally agree with you. I remember Yaomomo saying during the QAT that she was the daughter of the most successful support company in the world, but I never would have guessed the Yaoyorozus’ wealth was on par with UA's.”

“It is true that the Yaoyorozu Co. is the largest support company in Japan, who are continuously expanding throughout the world,” Kashiko explained as she kept her eyes focused on where they were going. “They also run the Quirkless and Hard to Control Quirk Foundation, known to be one of the biggest charities in Japan. They're also known to hold the spot of the largest shareholder of UA High, while simultaneously being one of the biggest donors by over twenty percent.”

“I never would have guessed,” Toru exclaimed as they continued walking. “Other than talking a little funny, they’re probably some of the nicest people I’ve met!”

“It’s so manly!” Eijiro said excitedly. “The few wealthy people I met through my moms were never as nice as Yaomomo and Midobro!”

“Not everyone that comes from wealth is disrespectful,” Tenya chopped a few times as he looked at their classmates in front of them.

“But it is true they all talk in a strange way,” Mina responded as she turned around to walk backwards, looking towards Tenya and Kashiko. “Now that I mention it, you two also talk in a similar way, and you aren't even reacting to this massive place,” Mina waved her arms around to indicate the hallway they were walking in. “Do you two also come from money?” Mina questioned with a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows knowingly.

“It is true that we've been inside the Yaoyorozu Estate in the past,” Tenya confirmed as he took off his glasses to give them a polish. “Sekigai and I have attended parties the Yaoyorozus have hosted, being invited because we come from Legacy families.” Kashiko nodded curtly beside Tenya in confirmation.

Before the students could continue bickering between themselves, the servant announced they had arrived. Walking forward, the servant grabbed the door handles in front of him before pushing the doors open, allowing the group to peer into the training room. They instantly noticed the large clouds of red and green smoke spread throughout the room, the sounds of weapons clanging together in the background, indicating their friends were currently in a sparring session.

As the group took a cautious step into the training room, Kyouka and Denki had to take a quick step backwards when Ochako slid backwards on her feet in front of them, a staff held up in a protective stance. When they looked towards her attacker, they found Himiko holding her own staff outwards, having just struck Ochako and forced her backwards. As Ochako attempted to catch her breath for a few seconds, she glanced towards the entrance, finding the group watching her with amazement in their eyes. “Hey guys!” Ochako happily greeted as she relaxed her stance, wiping her forehead of sweat, “I didn't know you were coming!”

As Himiko moved beside Ochako to explain, she also relaxed her battle stance, putting more weight on one leg. “ZuMo mentioned inviting everyone on the ride home last night,” Himiko explained, “you had already fallen asleep when they were discussing it.” Ochako nodded in understanding, knowing Recovery Girl's quirk took a lot out of her. Hearing the loud clash of weapons in a different part of the training room, Himiko lightly elbowed Ochako and whispered ‘Go!’ when everyone else focused on the sound.

When Kyouka turned around to ask Himiko about why Izuku and Momo were sparring, she instantly noticed that Ochako was missing. “Where did Uraraka go?” She questioned as she looked around a bit, thinking it was weird she didn’t hear the other girl move. As everyone else turned back towards Himiko, they found her smiling while Ochako was nowhere in sight.

“Himi has been teaching me some stealth techniques,” Ochako responded casually from beside Kyouka, still holding her staff as she smiled back towards Himiko.

“Holy shit!” Kyouka jumped away in surprise, causing Denki to unsteadily catch her. “How the hell did you do that?” She asked as she held one hand against her chest, willing her heart rate to go back down. “You scared the jacks right off my ears! I didn’t even hear you move!”

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Ochako responded sheepishly as she walked forward to stand beside Himiko again, scratching the back of her head in the process. The newcomers didn’t miss the affectionate look Himiko was giving Ochako the whole time, knowing something happened between them since they last saw each other yesterday. “Himi told me that I would be able to sneak up on people, even those with enhanced hearing quirks, but I wasn’t sure if it would actually work.”

“It definitely worked…” Kyouka grumbled out as she separated herself from Denki.

“That’s my girl!” Himiko said excitedly, not being able to hold it in anymore. They watched as Himiko dropped the staff to the floor, letting it clang a few times before coming to a stop, as she proceeded to pounce on an unsuspecting Ochako. Ochako gasped in surprise as she dropped her staff, wrapping her arms around Himiko as they were knocked to the ground. “That was perfect! I knew you could do it!” Himiko continued once they had landed before she leaned down and started peppering Ochako’s face with kisses, causing Ochako to giggle as she hugged Himiko close.

“Yaoyorozu!” Tenya called out, taking a step forward and beginning to chop his arms towards the two girls on the floor. “It is unbecoming of a UA student and a hero in training to attack another!”

“Iida,” Kashiko interrupted Tenya before he could continue, causing him to focus on her. “If my suspicions are correct, I believe Yaoyorozu and Uraraka have entered a romantic relationship since the last time we’ve seen them, and what Yaoyorozu is doing is showcasing her affection for Uraraka.” She held back a wry smile, not wanting to embarrass her old friend.

Tenya looked towards the two girls on the floor again, seeing how Himiko was still peppering Ochako’s face with kisses as Ochako hugged her back while laughing. It appeared to be an untraditional way to showcase affection, but Tenya knew he had no experience in the ways of affection, and could only compare them to how his parents acted. “My apologies,” Tenya said as he bowed before taking a step back, “it seems I have a lot to learn…”

“You also have to consider that we are guests of the Yaoyorozus,” Kashiko continued explaining to Tenya, causing him to focus on her again. “We should not be worrying about what they do in their own household.” Tenya nodded in agreement as he looked back towards Himiko and Ochako, realizing they didn’t even hear him when he spoke.

After listening to what Kashiko said, and processing what the other girl actually meant, Mina and Toru both squealed in excitement as they moved beside Himiko and Ochako. The two girls on the floor were startled out of their embrace, surprise evident on their faces when Mina and Toru began bombarding them with a bunch of questions. Himiko was all too happy to answer their questions while Ochako’s blush marks deepened in color as she attempted to hide her face behind her hands. She barely remembered to keep her pinky fingers up this time, not needing another floating incident so soon after the last one.

As another loud clang rang throughout the room, the small group near the entrance was startled into focusing on the spar that was still happening. They watched as the mixture of red and green smoke began dissipating, revealing Izuku and Momo clashing in the middle of the room in a stalemate. They could see the power couple sporting wide smiles as they tried to force the other back, neither of them willing to give up the advantage.

When the servant that led them to the sparring room approached the couple, clearing his throat, Izuku and Momo split apart from each other and relaxed their weapons. “Master Momo and Master Izuku,” the servant began as he gestured towards the group of students near the entrance. “The guests that were invited have arrived, and I’ve brought them here based on your request.”

Izuku and Momo looked around the servant, noticing that their friends were watching them with different levels of shock and amazement on their faces. Izuku and Momo waved towards them, watching as most of them returned it in kind. They both thanked the servant, watching as he bowed in response before going to stand by the doors that led back into the hallways of the Estate.

“It appears we have lost track of time yet again,” Momo said knowingly as she smiled towards Izuku, who chuckled in response. They both walked over to where they had placed their towels, water bottles, and phones earlier. Picking everything up, they gave their foreheads a quick wipe down before taking a sip of their waters. When Momo checked her phone, she noticed all the missed notifications from their friends, as well as the current time. “It’s almost time for Father’s breakfast,” Momo commented, “they’re going to be wondering where we are.”

Izuku’s eyes widened slightly as he checked his own phone, confirming for himself how late it was. “I didn't think we had been at it for that long,” Izuku responded as he pocketed his phone, “it feels like we’ve only just started.” As Izuku and Momo turned back towards their friends, they noticed Himiko and Ochako sitting on the ground beside them, dressed in similar work out clothes. “Huh,” Izuku exclaimed as he reached out and grabbed Momo’s hand unconsciously, beginning to walk towards their friends. “I didn’t even realize Himi and Ochako were training with us.”

Momo looked up towards the couple, humming in thought. “Now that you mention it, I don’t believe I heard them come in.” She tilted her head slightly in thought, “but I also didn’t hear the rest of our friends come in either.”

“We must have really gotten lost in ourselves,” Izuku responded as he half shrugged. Momo nodded in agreement beside him as they finally approached their friends. “We apologize for missing your messages,” Izuku started, getting the attention of their friends, “we didn’t realize how late it had gotten.”

“Don’t sweat it, dude,” Denki responded, “we figured you might have gotten distracted.”

“We just never expected to find you two sparring after everything we went through yesterday,” Kyouka continued, looking at them curiously.

“Yeah,” Mina exclaimed as she made herself known, bouncing in front of the couple, “I thought with everything you two did yesterday, you would have taken it easy today!”

“You two went up against real villains with Shirakumo!” Toru exclaimed as she bounced beside Mina. “It wasn’t hard to notice that you two were exhausted after everything you did!”

Izuku shared a quick look with Momo, not going unnoticed, before he shrugged and focused back on their friends. “We wanted to take our minds off everything that happened yesterday, and we thought that sparring together would help,” Izuku explained simply. Momo knew what was going unsaid, nodding in agreement beside her partner. They noticed Himiko giving them an unreadable look while Ochako beside her gave them a concerned one, but they ignored both looks for the moment.

“I think it’s manly that you two are back to work so soon after everything you went through!” Eijiro commented excitedly, pushing one hardened fist into another. “Especially after what Mina told us about what happened in the plaza!”

“It is not uncommon for heroes to dive back into intense training after a villain attack,” Tenya commented as everyone focused on him, while he looked directly towards the couple. “I’ve witnessed Tensei throw himself into training after a particularly difficult mission, or when civilians were hurt during a villain attack. Are you sure you two are alright?”

Momo squeezed Izuku’s hand in reassurance, signaling that she would talk for the two of them, receiving an acknowledging squeeze in return. “Thank you for your concern, Iida,” Momo started out, causing everyone to focus on them, “but Izu and I were just sparring to keep our minds off what happened.” Kyouka’s ear jack twitched as Momo was talking, resulting in Kyouka partially raising an eyebrow curiously, but didn’t question the couple.

“I believe breakfast will be served soon,” Izuku told their friends, attempting to change the subject. “Mo and I are going to have a shower and get changed into something a little more comfortable before we head to the dining room.” Izuku explained as he waved at the servant near the door, signaling for him to come towards them. “Our servant will guide you all to the dining room, and we’ll meet up with you in a few minutes.”

Himiko stood up, turning around and pulling Ochako up with ease, causing the other girl to blush at the action. “Chako and I are also going to get cleaned up!” Himiko exclaimed as she grabbed Ochako’s hand, already dragging her out of the sparring room. “We’ll see you in a few minutes!” Ochako was blushing up a storm at the implications, attempting to restart from the blue screen she just suffered, as Himiko and Ochako disappeared around the corner. Izuku and Momo could only shake their heads fondly at their antics, remembering how they were at the beginning of their relationship, even if they knew each other for years prior.

As the servant guided their friends out of the sparring room and in the direction of the dining room, Izuku and Momo turned in the direction that Himiko and Ochako just left in, opting to shower in Momo’s room. “Thanks, Mo,” Izuku said quietly after a few seconds of walking, making sure Kyouka was out of hearing range before he began.

Momo hummed in response, intertwining their arms together. They were silent as they walked towards Momo’s room before Momo decided to break the silence. “Himi saw right through our excuse,” Momo said quietly, receiving a hum of acknowledgement from Izuku. Himiko was always good at reading people, and after spending close to a year with them, Izuku and Momo knew that Himiko could practically hear their thoughts. “Ochako appeared to know as well.” Another hum of acceptance, knowing that Himiko would have told Ochako. “I also think Jirou picked up that I was lying, or at least, dodging around the truth.”

Izuku shook his head as he let out a sigh. “We should have known Jirou would be able to do that,” Izuku responded finally, “we’ve been able to play around the truth so far, which is probably why she hasn’t suspected anything.”

“It might be easier to just tell them the truth,” Momo commented, causing Izuku to look towards her. “Toshinori did have his small circle of trust, and while we have our small circle, I wouldn’t mind having a few more trusted friends.”

Izuku looked back towards where they were walking, noticing they were nearing Momo’s room. “We haven’t known them for long,” Izuku commented, getting a hum of agreement from his partner. “What about Sekigai? Chart has already shown the other quirk slots. She’s going to start asking questions when we unlock another quirk.”

“We don’t know Sekigai that well,” Momo responded in thought, “she’s only been coming to the parties in the last year or two.” Momo released a breath as she realized the predicament they found themselves in. “I think it’s going to take some careful consideration on who we can trust and who we can tell.” Izuku nodded in agreement beside her as they finally reached Momo’s room.

“No point in thinking about it now,” Momo commented as she released Izuku’s arm as they entered her room before turning back towards Izuku, “but it is something we need to think about soon. Who knows when the next quirk will be unlocked.” Izuku nodded again, looking down towards the ground in thought. “I’ll take a quick shower first since it takes longer for my hair to dry,” Momo commented as she stepped into the bathroom, leaving Izuku stewing in his own thoughts for the moment.

Chapter Text

“ZuMo!” Himiko called out, releasing Ochako's hand and pouncing towards the unsuspecting couple. Letting go of Momo's hand, Izuku turned, caught and hugged Himiko tightly to his chest. “Heeey!” Himiko pouted as she complained weakly before realizing just how warm Izuku was after his shower. “So warm…” Himiko said quietly as she snuggled into Izuku's embrace. Ochako closed the distance between the trio, giggling and smiling at her girlfriend’s antics.

Izuku scratched behind Himiko's hair bun, causing the girl to melt into the hug as she began purring. “I'm surprised you're still pouncing on us,” Izuku commented with a smile, causing Himiko to look at him in question. “I would have thought you'd be climbing all over Ochako instead.”

“She has been,” Ochako responded, a smile never leaving her face. “But she's been really worried about you two,” Ochako continued as she looked between the other couple in concern, knowing why they were sparring earlier.

Himiko nodded as she moved out of Izuku's embrace. “You two have never sparred that aggressively before,” Himiko explained, causing Izuku and Momo to share a look, “and I know you were lying to the others.” Himiko reached out and grabbed both of their hands, causing them to look down towards them for a second before focusing on Himiko again. “Can you tell me what's wrong? Please?” Himiko begged, not wanting to see her new family in pain. “Are you two really okay?”

Izuku and Momo shared a quick look, a silent tide of conversation flowing between them in a matter of seconds. “No,” Momo finally responded honestly, causing Himiko to focus on her while Izuku looked away. “Izu and I… we’ve had a lot on our minds since yesterday. We thought that sparring would prevent us from getting lost in our thoughts, but that wasn't the case today.”

“The more we exchanged blows,” Izuku started quietly, causing the other three to look at him, “the more we thought about what we could have done differently.” Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, the events of yesterday playing through his mind's eye.

Himiko released their hands, taking the step forward and wrapping her arms around the couple, bringing them into a tight embrace. “You saved us all yesterday,” Himiko said quietly, feeling Izuku and Momo stiffen up in response. “You know that, right? If you two didn't act when you did, so many more of our classmates would have been hurt.”

“But they did get hurt!” Izuku suddenly said, causing Himiko to hold him tighter as he tried to break from the embrace. “Tsuyu was almost frozen again by Todoroki. Iida overused his quirk to the point of almost damaging it. Shinso was stabbed.” Izuku pointed towards Ochako the best he could as Himiko kept them locked together. “Ochako was given a concussion after being thrown against a rock! You thought she died!”

“And that's only the students,” Momo continued quietly as she looked towards Izuku, knowing he was taking it the worst between them. “Thirteen was almost killed by her own quirk after we failed to stop the mist villain. Shirakumo was seriously injured by the Nomu because we didn't jump in sooner.” Izuku looked away again, letting his arms hang by his sides.

“Stop it,” Ochako said firmly as she moved beside Himiko, causing the three of them to look in her direction. “Stop blaming yourselves for what the villains did,” Ochako exclaimed, “you two did everything you could to protect us!” Ochako moved forward, wrapping her arms around the trio as best as she could, pulling them all into a tight embrace. “We survived because of what you two did,” Ochako continued quietly, “and I will be forever grateful for it.”

As Izuku and Momo nodded their heads slowly, sharing a look between themselves as they attempted to process what Himiko and Ochako just said, they could see the tears that threatened to cascade down between them. Deep down, they understood they did everything they could during the USJ, from trying to prevent their classmates from getting separated, to saving their teachers, there wasn't much more they could have possibly done. As they finished processing what the two had said, Izuku and Momo could see the clarity in the other’s eyes, the negative thoughts quieting down for the first time since leaving the USJ.

Izuku tightened the embrace, followed by Momo mimicking the action, as they looked between Himiko and Ochako. “Thank you,” Izuku said quietly, “both of you. I think we really need to hear that.” Himiko and Ochako smiled in return as they returned the embrace.

The four of them didn't know how long they stood in the embrace, but Himiko had started rubbing her cheeks against the three of them, her purring getting louder as the seconds ticked by. As the purring continued, the four of them could feel the tension melt away, replaced with soft smiles.

The sound of a rumbling stomach caused Himiko to pause in her purring, the three of them looking towards Izuku, finding him smiling sheepishly. Just as Himiko was about to say something, another rumbling stomach caused everyone to look towards Momo, who attempted to hide her face in Izuku's shoulder, even though she was smiling. Himiko and Ochako shared a look before falling into a fit of giggles, causing the four of them to break from the embrace, as Izuku and Momo chuckled along with them.

When another stomach interrupted them, they all looked towards Ochako, finding her blushing as she raised her hands up to her face, activating her quirk and beginning to float off. Himiko reached out and grabbed her foot before she could float too far, bringing her back down to the ground and hugging her tightly.

“I think that's our cue that we've put off breakfast long enough,” Izuku commented with more emotion in his voice than he had all morning, causing the three others to nod in agreement.

Momo reached out and grabbed Izuku's hand, quickly intertwining their arms together as she stepped closer. After Ochako had deactivated her quirk, Himiko wrapped an arm around the other girl's waist, pulling her into a side hug.

“Are you two feeling better now?” Himiko questioned, looking between Izuku and Momo, noticing how much livelier they looked. Izuku and Momo nodded as they smiled towards the other couple, thankful for what the other two had done. “Mom tells me hugs can fix anything,” Himiko continued as she smiled in return, tightening the embrace on Ochako slightly in emphasis.

“Miyuki has been telling us that since we were kids,” Izuku responded with a smile, “but yes, I think we’re both feeling much better.” Momo nodded in agreement beside him. Steady smiles were adorning their faces, indicating that they were feeling better after the hug.

“Purrfect!” Himiko responded excitedly, purring to emphasize her point, causing the other three to giggle. “We better hurry before Mom, Dad, and Mama Inko wonder where we are!” Himiko began pulling a giggling Ochako, knowing the other couple would follow them. “Plus, Chako's hungry!”

“Himi!” Ochako whisper-shouted in embarrassment, reaching the hand that wasn't wrapped around Himiko’s waist up to her face, attempting to cover it while holding her pinky up. When Himiko began chuckling at her embarrassment, the four of them came to a halt when Himiko's stomach protested the loudest of all of them. “Ha!” Ochako said triumphantly as Himiko lightly blushed in return, before the two broke down into another fit of giggles before they continued walking. Izuku and Momo could only smile at the antics of the new couple, seeing how the two were perfect for each other time and time again.

As Himiko and Ochako entered the dining room, conversations quieted down to the bare minimum, as they noticed the two seats left open beside their parents. As the two sat down, their parents began asking them questions once again, which embarrassed Ochako while Himiko was all too happy to answer them. Directly to Himiko’s right sat Inko, followed by Miyuki with Yuukichi at the head of the table. Directly to Ochako’s left was Kizuna, followed by Ritzuki and Nemuri.

When Izuku and Momo finally arrived, all conversations were halted as everyone looked in their direction. Their friends were looking at them curiously, while the adults were looking towards them in concern, as if knowing something was up even before they sat down. Noticing that there were two spots left for them, Izuku and Momo made their way towards them, directly across from Miyuki and Inko. Izuku took the seat right beside Yuukichi, while Momo followed suit and sat beside him. Directly to Momo’s right was Kyouka, followed by Denki, Tenya, Kashiko, Mina, Toru, and Eijiro.

As Izuku sat down, he could feel multiple pairs of eyes on him, causing him to look up. Inko and Miyuki were looking towards the couple, but Izuku could see the concern behind their eyes, the questions going unasked. He gave the two a small smile and a curt nod to ease their worries, but he knew they’d be asking him questions later when they had a chance to pull them aside.

Momo reached under the table, her hand quickly finding her partner's, before intertwining their fingers together. When Izuku looked towards Momo, he found her giving him a small smile, conveying that everything would be okay. Izuku smiled in return, indicating that he believed her, before moving his chair closer to his partner and lying his head on her shoulder. Knowing everything the two went through, nobody at the table said anything towards the couple.

“Now that everyone is here,” Yuukichi started, getting everyone’s attention, “why don’t we start on the first part of breakfast?” There was whispering further down the table, a few of the kids asking what Yuukichi meant about the first part of breakfast. “To our newcomers, we have three different parts of breakfast for this occasion. The first part is a traditional Japanese breakfast, including but not limited to: Gohan, Miso Shiru, Natto, Yakizakana, Tsukemono, Nori, and Kobachi. Of course, if there are any special requirements or dietary needs, please let the chefs know as they come around and they will make sure to take care of you!”

“The second part is a traditional American style breakfast, and one of my favorite meals,” Yuukichi explained with an excited look on his face. “Eggs made any way you like, bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns, home fries, grits, multiple different breads made the way you like, pancakes and waffles that can be stuffed with anything you can imagine!” Everyone at the table could tell how excited Yuukichi was for the second part of breakfast, practically drooling as he thought about it, causing a few of the people sitting at the table to giggle.

When Yuukichi cleared his throat, the giggling stopped, allowing him to continue. “As for the third part of breakfast, we have tea and snacks to finish off. If you have any requests, please feel free to ask the chefs and they’ll be happy to supply.” Some of the teenagers were excited at all the offerings, some talking about what they wanted to try and what they wanted to order, while the others just listened in amusement. Yuukichi clapped his hands twice, a signal for the chefs to begin bringing breakfast out. “I think we’ve waited long enough! Thank you for joining us, and I hope you all enjoy it!”

As the chefs began to bring out food, Izuku and Momo were content with just listening to the conversations that were happening between their family and friends, both softly smiling at the amazement some of their friends were expressing at the extravagant meal and the suitably impressive mansion they were sharing it in, and paying close attention to the questions that were getting thrown around by the adults. Himiko couldn’t keep her eyes off Ochako the whole time they were being questioned by their parents, while Ochako looked about ready to pass out from embarrassment even if she couldn’t keep the wide smile off her face.

Denki and Kyouka beside them were trying every single food dish that was brought out, encouraging the other to try from one before they dived into another. Mina, Eijiro, and Toru were speechless at all the food coming out before they shook themselves out of it, all three of them forgetting their manners and diving into the food in front of them. The three Urarakas were looking at the food as if they’ve never seen that much before, with Ochako clearing her throat first before beginning to dive in, thanking the Yaoyorozus over and over again for the food.

Miyuki and Inko were throwing rapid fire questions at Himiko across from them, and Himiko was barely breaking a sweat as she answered all of them just as fast. They noticed she had kept one hand under the table, most likely intertwined with Ochako’s hand, or holding the other girl’s thigh lightly, the couple couldn’t tell. Nemuri was staying quiet as she watched over all the students, barely taking any of the food that was presented to her. Yuukichi was too engrossed in the food in front of him, but the couple knew he was keeping an eye on everyone at the table, an ear to each and every conversation.

As the breakfast wound down from the excitement of the different foods coming out, Izuku and Momo had excused themselves from the table, claiming they wanted to spend some time with their friends in the Yaoyorozus’ library. Their parents gave them a look that informed the couple they wanted to talk later, but they weren’t going to bring it up in front of their friends, both of them knowing something was bothering them. Izuku and Momo gave them quick nods, going unnoticed by the rest of their friends, indicating they would speak later about it.

The small group of friends also excused themselves from the table, opting to follow Izuku and Momo out of the dining hall and towards the Yaoyorozus’ library. As the group of friends entered the library, many of them could only marvel at the size, the many books lining the shelves ranging from centuries old copies of foundational works to unreleased handwritten manuscripts. Izuku and Momo could hear the sounds of amazement from their friends as they moved towards one of the couches that surrounded a table, a servant already placing tea and snacks for their guests and gently requesting that the refreshments stay confined to the table and seating areas.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been surrounded by this many books!” Mina exclaimed in amazement as she walked slowly around the room, Eijiro and Toru following her and looking all the same. “I feel smarter already!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Kyouka deadpanned at the other girl before pointing her thumb beside her, “otherwise Denks here wouldn’t be just scraping by in grades.”

“Hey!” Denki responded in offense, looking at Kyouka smirking in his direction. “I’ve been getting better…” Denki said quietly as he looked away. Kyouka extended her jack out and pulled Denki closer, giving him a quick peck on the lips, causing him to smile towards her again.

“This has to be bigger than the one in Tokyo!” Toru exclaimed as she moved her arms through the air to emphasize her point, “and I think that’s the biggest one in Japan!”

“Based on some rough calculations,” Kashiko began as she looked up the largest bookstore in Tokyo for comparison on her phone,” Yaoyorozu’s library is home to twice as many books as Tokyo's bookstore.”

“It’s no comparison to the library we have in the Idaten agency,” Tenya explained, “and that library has been passed down from generation to generation since the dawn of quirks.”

“Have you read all these books?” Eijiro questioned the couple as they moved towards the couches.

“Goodness, no,” Momo responded with a giggle, “I have my own personal library in my room that Izu and I normally read from and add to.”

“You have more books?!” Mina and Toru exclaimed in disbelief at the same time.

“Mo was already an avid reader when I first met her, showing me books that I could only dream of finding,” Izuku explained. “She’s the one to blame for my love of romance and fantasy novels.” Momo giggled at Izuku, knowing how much her love of reading had influenced his own. “Oh, and Hagakure? I’ve done the calculations on how large this library is, and I can say that it blows out every public library and bookstore located in the world. I’m not sure how it compares to private libraries, as I’ve heard rumors there are some extravagant private libraries out there.”

“Holy crap!” Toru responded, shaking her arms again in surprise.

Izuku was the first one to take a seat on one of the couches, sinking back into the comfortable cushions, as Momo sat on the edge of the couch and prepared two teacups for them. Izuku couldn’t help but watch as Momo took great care in making their teas to how each liked them before she picked up both cups and sank back beside Izuku. He was quick to reach out and wrap an arm around Momo’s waist, carefully guiding her into his side to not spill the hot tea, before accepting his own cup.

The couple watched as Himiko carried Ochako over towards the couches, noticing the other girl was completely speechless at the size of the library, whispering a few things out about how much bigger it was compared to her house. Izuku and Momo could only giggle at the reaction, watching as Himiko laid Ochako down on the couch before climbing in beside her, cuddling up to her affectionately. Ochako seemed to snap out of her daze at that moment, reaching one hand up and scratching Himiko behind one of her buns, causing the other girl to begin purring.

Tenya and Kashiko were the first of their friends to make their way towards the couches, taking a seat on a couch directly across from Izuku and Momo, sitting formally as they each made their own teas. Kyouka and Denki were the next to make their way over, with Denki sitting down on the couch opposite of Himiko and Ochako, pulling Kyouka down into his lap and receiving an ear jack stab into his side in the process. Kyouka poked him a few more times as she moved herself to sit against the armrest, leaving her legs lying across Denki’s lap, using her ear jack to pull some snacks towards them. Izuku and Momo grinned widely in amusement at the other couple, internally thankful they still acted the same as they always did in their presence.

“I must thank you for inviting us,” Tenya began as he sat back on the couch, holding his tea in front of him. Kashiko mirrored Tenya almost perfectly, holding a teacup in one hand and a small biscuit in the other, nodding in agreement with Tenya. “Breakfast was wonderful, and this tea is fantastic.”

“You’re welcome, Iida,” Momo responded as she leaned against Izuku, getting more comfortable in his embrace. “Izu and I appreciate everyone for showing up, especially after everything that happened.” Mina, Eijiro, and Toru finally made their way over and joined the rest, Eijiro opting to take a seat beside Kyouka and Denki, while Mina and Toru sat beside Tenya and Kashiko.

“Speaking of the USJ,” Kashiko began, missing the small reaction from Izuku and Momo at the mention, focusing on the new couple. “When we were separated at the beginning, I was using Chart to scan where everyone was dropped and monitoring their statuses. During this time, I noticed a cloud of purple smoke appear on the mountain zone,” Kashiko explained, “and Chart was displaying Midoriya with Smokescreen as his quirk.” She was looking right at Himiko, smiling politely but faintly, like she had forced it onto her face to hold back what she really felt.

Izuku and Momo shared a quick look, knowing why it was showing Smokescreen, with concern evident in the other’s eyes. Himiko went completely still as she processed what Kashiko was saying, making Ochako notice her reaction and focus on her curiously, as Himiko went over exactly what happened during the USJ in her head once again. Ochako could see the different emotions playing behind Himiko’s eyes, always switching back to distress for a moment before changing again. Ochako hugged her new girlfriend in reassurance, showing that she was there to support her in whatever she needed.

“I didn’t know Transform allowed you to use other people’s quirks,” Kashiko continued, not noticing the mood change between the few people in the room, “but we haven’t seen you use it in class yet. Do you know why Chart would show Smokescreen instead of Smoke when you were transformed into Midoriya? It was displaying Creation properly when you transformed into Yaomomo. My readings have never been wrong before, that I know of.”

As Himiko looked over towards Izuku and Momo, the couple could see the worry and distress behind her eyes, completely understanding why she was feeling that way. Himiko shook her head slightly towards the couple, receiving an encouraging nod in return. “I don’t feel comfortable talking about it right now,” Himiko responded quietly as she moved to hide herself behind Ochako.

“Did I say something wrong?” Kashiko questioned curiously as she looked around the room, finally noticing the looks on everyone else’s faces.

“No,” Izuku responded to Kashiko, getting everyone to focus on him, “it was a perfectly valid question.” Izuku looked over towards Himiko, finding her curling into Ochako’s side while the other girl whispered reassurances. “After what we experienced yesterday, some of us may not be willing to talk about what happened, especially when we thought we lost someone important to us.” Izuku explained as he looked back towards Kashiko, seeing realization cross her face.

“I apologize for bringing it up,” Kashiko responded and bowed in her seat as best she could, “I realize that it affects everyone differently, but with the way Yaoyorozu and Uraraka were acting, I thought it was a safe question to ask.”

“It’s okay,” Ochako responded kindly as she looked towards Kashiko with a soft smile, indicating that Ochako knew Kashiko made an honest mistake. “From the little that Himi has told me, she thought I died when I was thrown against a rock by a villain.” There were a few gasps throughout the room, with Himiko hugging Ochako tighter as the events replayed in her mind. “I’m sure she won’t mind answering your questions another day, but I think it’s best if you drop it for now.”

“Of course,” Kashiko responded as she sat back up, “I apologize again for bringing it up.” Ochako nodded in thanks, turning her head back to Himiko and whispering in the other girl’s ear. Izuku and Momo watched them for a few seconds, seeing Himiko relax tremendously in Ochako’s embrace, something only the two of them could do before. Kashiko looked at Tenya with troubled eyes, and he just smiled at her and suggested she sip her tea to relax. ‘A cup of tea is always a soothing balm when one is troubled’, or so he'd told her once upon a time. Tenya was always full of proverbs and adages and aphorisms. It was one thing she always appreciated about him.

The silence that fell between the friend group was almost deafening, with Himiko and Ochako making soft conversation between them, and the sounds of tea and snacks being consumed ringing throughout the room. Izuku moved his head down towards his partner, giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head, and feeling her melt into the embrace. Izuku reached out with his free hand, intertwining Momo’s fingers with his own, and holding her closer in the process.

“Yaoyorozu, Midoriya?” Tenya broke the silence, causing everyone to look towards him curiously, wondering what he wanted to ask the couple. “What did happen after I left the USJ? Sekigai told me a little bit about what she witnessed, and I’ve overheard a few things from our other classmates, but I still don’t have a clear picture.”

Giving Momo’s hand a squeeze, Izuku began explaining. “Once we heard you leave through the entrance, the mist villain countered our attack almost immediately, knocking us out of our smoke.” Izuku felt a shiver go down his spine as he remembered what happened to Thirteen. “Thirteen attempted to protect us, but the villain created a portal in front of her quirk and behind her back, causing Thirteen's quirk to rip her costume and part of her back apart.”

“I’ve heard she had been gravely injured, but I didn’t realize it was by her own quirk,” Tenya said quietly, placing his teacup down on the table in front of him.

“We attempted to stop the villain from separating us,” Momo began as she squeezed Izuku’s hand, pulling strength from her partner to help her explain. “But we froze up after Thirteen was hurt, and didn’t react fast enough to stop them.”

Izuku leaned forward and placed his teacup down before adjusting himself to better embrace Momo, lifting one hand up to run his hands up through Momo’s ponytail, the familiar gesture bringing comfort to the both of them. “After we fell through the portal, we all landed in the other zones throughout the USJ, with villains waiting to ambush and kill us.”

“If Green even gave them a chance,” Kyouka said as she leaned more into Denki, pulling comfort from her partner as the memory of what they witnessed ran through all their heads. “By the time Kamiji and I took down our first villains, Green had taken down the other twenty or so.”

“Yaomomo did the same in our zone,” Mina jumped into the conversation, “after she saved us from plummeting to the ground. She released a massive red smoke cloud throughout the landslide zone before knocking out all the villains on the way down, leaving Usagiyama and I to follow along behind her.”

Kashiko leaned forward, placing her teacup on the table between them. She shuddered as she leaned back, the image of what that hand villain did running through her mind’s eye. “I watched that villain disintegrate another,” Kashiko said quietly, “and I don’t think I’ll ever get that image out of my head.” A few of the others nodded in agreement.

“I thought Shirakumo died when that monster villain disappeared,” Toru continued, “one second he was standing there doing nothing, and the next Shirakuno was punched across the plaza. How did you two know that you could save him?” Toru questioned as she appeared to look towards Izuku and Momo.

“We didn’t,” Momo responded quietly, “but we couldn’t let Shirakumo just die in front of us when we could have prevented it.”

“We weren’t planning on engaging them,” Izuku continued, “but when I heard they were going to kill the students after killing Shirakumo, we knew we needed to act.” Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he remembered everything that happened. It came in flashes, a stop-motion playback that jerked from scene to scene behind his eyelids.

“It was so sudden too,” Kyouka pointed out, “Teach was knocked back by that villain and it didn’t even have a chance to continue before you two saved him.”

“We only wanted to distract it long enough for All Might to show up,” Izuku explained, “and make sure Shirakumo survived.” Momo nodded in agreement beside him, knowing what that hulking villain was capable of, recovering from damage that would have killed a normal person in seconds.

“What happened to All Might?” Denki questioned, looking towards the other couple. “I was able to return to the plaza just in time to see All Might punch the villain through the roof and watch the villains portal away, but when I turned around, All Might was all skinny?” Denki questioned as if he didn’t believe what he had seen. “You two helped him back to the main campus, but you didn’t look bothered by his condition?”

Everyone was looking towards Izuku and Momo now, waiting to see what they would say. The two were having a silent conversation between themselves, tapping the other’s hand a few times with their fingers, before Izuku released a sigh. “It is true we knew about All Might’s small form,” Izuku confirmed, “but we’re not going to go into why he looks like that. It’s not our story to tell.”

“But why did you know about it?” Kyouka questioned curiously, her jacks twitching slightly in their direction. “It appeared you three were a lot closer to All Might than anybody else. You were joking around with him when the rest of us were still getting over the fact that he's our teacher! Which, honestly, he is kind of a goofball. Not what I expected.” Denki nodded in agreement, and Toru pivoted her body towards Izuku and Momo to show her interest in the answer.

“We met All Might about a year before applying for UA,” Momo explained, “but we didn’t know he was All Might when we first met him.” Izuku noticed Kyouka’s jack twitch ever so slightly, an indication that would have been missed by anybody else had he not been watching for it, causing him to tap Momo’s hand a few more times. “It’s a private matter on how we met him, one that we don’t feel comfortable talking about yet.”

“My bad,” Kyouka responded as she looked away, her jacks lightly tapping together in front of her. “I didn’t mean to cross any lines.”

“Don’t apologize for being curious,” Izuku said, causing Kyouka to look back towards him, finding the couple with soft smiles. “We don’t mind questions, and we’re happy to answer most of them, but we request you respect our wishes on what we don’t want to answer.” Kyouka gave a curt nod in understanding, while the rest of their friends were quick to follow.

“Well,” Denki said, grabbing Kyouka’s legs and pulling them closer to himself. “I don’t know about anybody else, but I cannot wait to return to classes.”

Kyouka chortled in response as she looked towards Denki. “Never in my life did I think those words would come out of your mouth,” Kyouka commented as she lightly poked his side teasingly with her ear jack. “You hate class.”

Denki couldn’t help but laugh too, easing the tension out of the room from the topic change. “Me neither! But I’m looking forward to learning about how to become a better hero,” Denki explained, “I wanna be able to respond like Midoriya and Yaomomo did during the USJ, and how they fought during the battle trials!” Many others nodded in agreement, the excitement coming back to the room about what they’d be learning at UA. “Watching them in the battle trials was so badass!”

“Oh crap,” Eijiro exclaimed suddenly after being quiet for a bit, looking towards his phone. “I didn’t realize how late it was!” He got up as everyone else started checking their phones, seeing that it was late afternoon now. “Mom wanted me to be home for dinner since Ma is coming home tonight. She heard about the attack and ended up finishing whatever she was doing and took the first train home.”

“My parents didn’t want me gone long either,” Toru explained as she also got up, “It took me a while to convince them to let me come today.”

“I suppose I should be getting back home as well,” Tenya commented as he stood up, Kashiko following beside him. “Thank you for having us, and I will see everyone in classes on Monday.” Kashiko nodded her thanks beside him, saying something along similar lines.

“We have cars waiting at the entrance to drive you home,” Momo explained as she waved the servant over, “please feel free to use them, or you are welcome to wait until someone picks you up.” Everyone voiced their thanks as they followed the servant through the labyrinth of hallways back to the entrance. Momo looked over to see Kyouka and Denki having a quiet conversation between themselves, just unable to make out what they were saying. “You two are welcome to stay the night if you like, Jirou, Kaminari,” Momo interrupted them, causing the two to look towards her.

“Really?” Denki questioned excitedly.

“Denks!” Kyouka whisper-shouted at him, “Don’t you think we’ve accepted enough of their hospitality? It feels like we’re taking advantage of our friends!”

“Yaomomo was the one who offered!” Denki reasoned back, “You know my Dad had to go back to work, and you said your parents aren’t able to make it back in time to make a difference, traveling out of the country and all.”

“You should have told us,” Izuku interrupted them again, causing the two to look towards them. “We sent out the invite for people to come over today because we didn’t want to pull you all away from your families. You’re definitely welcome to stay with us if that is what you prefer, we can even set you up in a private room located in the Estate or a small cottage located on the property.”

Denki looked towards Kyouka, giving her a look. Kyouka glared at him for a few seconds before releasing a sigh, looking back towards the other couple. “Are you really sure it’s alright?” Kyouka questioned seriously, “because if it’s not, we have no problem going back to my place tonight.”

“We want you to stay,” Momo responded with a smile, shocking the other two teenagers. “You’re our friends, and we always take care of the people we care about.”

Kyouka looked like she was about to protest before Izuku gestured towards Ochako and Himiko on the other couch, who both appeared to be napping. “We’re housing the Urarakas up in one of the cottages on the property while Ochako is staying with Himi. We would love for you two to join us, but only if you want to.”

Kyouka debated with herself once more, looking back at Denki to see him waiting for her answer. She let out another sigh before looking at the other couple again. “Are you sure it won’t be a bother for you?” Kyouka questioned again, seeing Izuku and Momo shake their heads, “okay. We’ll take you up on your offer. Thank you two so much for this.” Kyouka snuggled more into Denki’s chest, an electrifying smile on his face at his girlfriend accepting the offer.

“Yes!” Denki fistpumped with one hand while holding Kyouka’s legs with the other. “After the breakfast we had, I can’t wait to see what we have for dinner!”

Kyouka could only roll her eyes at her boyfriend’s antics. “Boys,” Kyouka said simply, “always thinking about food.” Kyouka smirked in Momo’s direction, causing the other girl to giggle, while the boys looked mock offended. “Gotta love them though,” Kyouka turned back to Denki, snaking a ear jack around his neck and pulling them into a quick kiss.

Text message chat opened with Katsuki Bakugo and Tsuyu Asui.

Katsuki Bakugo

Frogface.

Tsuyu Asui

Good afternoon, Bakugo. I wasn’t expecting to see you texting me after what you said in the 1-A’s group chat. Did you need help with something?

Katsuki Bakugo

Those extras were being fucking annoying, and I don’t want to hear about everyone else’s fucking problems. If they are so worried about what happened at the USJ, maybe they aren’t cut out to be fucking heroes and they need to drop out.

Tsuyu Asui

I would say it’s a valid reaction to UA being attacked by villains, when there have been claims that UA’s security is on par with Tartarus, wouldn’t you say?

Katsuki Bakugo is typing…

Katsuki Bakugo has stopped typing.

Tsuyu Asui

I have no problem admitting that I was scared when we were attacked. Those were real villains, and they were planning on killing us.

Katsuki Bakugo

Whatever… They were a bunch of mooks.

Tsuyu Asui

Is that all you wanted to talk about, Bakugo? I’m spending time with my siblings right now. They were worried about me and what happened.

Katsuki Bakugo

No.

Katsuki Bakugo is typing…

Katsuki Bakugo has stopped typing.

Katsuki Bakugo is typing…

Katsuki Bakugo has stopped typing.

Katsuki Bakugo is typing…

Katsuki Bakugo has stopped typing.

Tsuyu Asui

If you are messaging me to ask me how I’m doing after the USJ, I will confirm that I am doing well. A heated blanket and some rest was what I needed. Thank you for checking up on me.

Katsuki Bakugo

I wasn’t checking up on you.

Tsuyu Asui

I see… I must be getting back to my siblings. It was nice chatting with you, Bakugo.

Katsuki Bakugo

Fuck. Wait.

Katsuki Bakugo

I noticed the medics carrying you out of the flood zone, and I saw you wrapped in heated blankets again, just like after the battle trials. But you seemed to be awake when we left UA, and I didn’t want to bother you when your parents were there.

Tsuyu Asui

So you were checking on me.

Katsuki Bakugo is typing…

Katsuki Bakugo has stopped typing

Katsuki Bakugo

Yes…

Katsuki Bakugo

I saw the glacier in the flood zone. The IcyHot Bastard didn’t bother helping you again? That fucking prick. I swear to fuck that I’m going to kick his ass the next time I see him. He’s gonna learn how to use his fire even if I have to beat it into his dense fucking head.

Tsuyu Asui

No, you won’t.

Katsuki Bakugo

Fucking watch me!

Tsuyu Asui

I’ll be watching you get expelled. You said it yourself that you’re on thin ice with Nezu after what you did during the QAT.

Katsuki Bakugo is typing…

Katsuki Bakugo has stopped typing

Tsuyu Asui

Todoroki didn’t know I was in the flood zone with him when we got separated. He used a glacier because he was being rushed by a villain before I happened to stop the villain. He still released a massive glacier because of all the other villains in the water, and that’s why my body began hibernating.

Katsuki Bakugo

That’s still no excuse for him not helping you.

Tsuyu Asui

Maybe it isn’t, but we don’t know why he won’t use his fire.

Tsuyu Asui

As much as I would like to continue messaging you, my siblings are insistent on spending time with me, and my parents just got home. I will see you back in class on Monday. Have a good weekend, Bakugo.

Katsuki Bakugo

Yeah, you too, Asui.

Tsuyu Asui

Call me Tsuyu.

Tsuyu Asui has logged off.

Chapter Text

After showing their friends, Kyouka and Denki, where they would be staying, Izuku and Momo did a final check in with Himiko and Ochako before retreating back to their own room. They spent some quiet time just embracing each other for a while before Momo brought up their ZuMo Journal. They didn't have a chance to write the previous day's journal entry after the exhaustion of the USJ and aftermath caught up to them, both falling asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

Knowing Momo was reading his entry over his shoulder, writing it just below her own, Izuku placed the notebook on their side table once he was finished. As they began settling in for the night, the two were hit with a wave of exhaustion at the same time. Sharing a quick look, and confirming that both had felt it, the couple knew they were being summoned. Momo was quick to wrap an arm around Izuku's waist, bringing him closer and feeling him melt into the embrace, as the warmth and smells of the other were quick to invade their senses. Placing her face against Izuku’s back, Momo felt her partner take a deep breath, allowing her to follow suit with her own, before the weariness of deep and consuming sleep was quick to overtake them.

As the real world drifted away, the couple found themselves awakening in their small cafe in the vestige realm. They instantly recognized the cafe, but there were some few key changes that set it apart from their last visit. The most noticeable was the long table in the center of the cafe, replacing the bar and the booths that once lined the walls, with ten chairs surrounding it. Eight of the chairs were occupied by the previous vestiges, most of them appearing to be waiting for something, while the rest were looking towards the newcomers.

“Please,” Yoichi began as he held his hand out, gesturing towards the chairs across from him, “have a seat. We have much to discuss and only a short time to do so.” Izuku and Momo were quick to find the empty seats, Toshinori's flaming vestige on one side and En on the other, patiently waiting for their arrival.

“I understand that you two have a lot of questions for us,” Yoichi began, getting a confirmation nod from the couple, “but first, allow me to explain as it may answer some of the questions that you must have.”

“As you have guessed, we blocked you from accessing the vestige realm yesterday,” Yoichi explained. “While most of us don't mind you joining us here normally, the seven of us were having an important meeting about the information we learned from the villain attack. Some of us wanted to hold back on informing you until we could confirm our suspicions, but considering the nature of this information, it's best that you two know now.”

“If the information is related to us in a way, either through OFA or other means, why would any of you want to hold information back from us?” Izuku questioned as he looked around the table before landing on Yoichi once more. Something was scratching at the back of his head, something important that he should be remembering.

“You're a Shigaraki,” Momo said quietly, causing the couple's eyes to go wide at the realization.

“Correct,” Yoichi responded calmly, “and since I already introduced myself to the two of you, I knew it was a matter of time before you connected the dots.”

“So you believe the villain at the USJ has some kind of relation to your brother?” Izuku questioned.

“My brother would never take a partner or have kids,” Yoichi explained, “he would be too worried that his quirk would be passed onto the child, or a stronger version of his quirk would be created.” Some of the other vestiges nodded in silent agreement.

“Is it possible he was training a successor?” Momo questioned as she exchanged a glance with Izuku, “similar to how Toshinori is training us?”

“That is a possibility, and wouldn't be too out of the question for him,” Yoichi responded. “But I still don't think that's the case. I believe he was trying to play the long game with that child, but we're unsure of what game he was playing.” He sighed. "It's hard to know, and the only new information we have access to is from you."

Yoichi looked towards the table in thought for a moment before shaking his head softly and looking back up to the current OFA holders. “Regardless, it's definitely not a coincidence that the villain's name was Shigaraki, and he was yelling about what Eighth did to his ‘Sensei’,” Yoichi said. “As far as my brother and I knew, we were the only Shigarakis in Japan during the Dawn of Quirks after our mother passed during childbirth.”

“Which means the Shigaraki name would be non-existent now if it was that rare back then,” Izuku stated.

“Correct,” Yoichi nodded, “but that wasn't the only piece of information we were discussing.”

“The Nomu,” Momo said in realization, “the Shigaraki villain mentioned it being bioengineered with multiple quirks and enhancements to counter All Might.” The couple shared a quick look, remembering how it felt to fight the monster, and how even All Might struggled with it. “Which could indicate someone has a quirk that can give and take quirks, or someone has figured out how to extract and implant them medically.” Yoichi nodded slowly in confirmation, causing Izuku’s and Momo's stomachs to sink.

“But if Toshi killed AFO, then we should be able to eliminate him completely,” Izuku tried to reason.

“Not exactly-” Yoichi was cut off as he tried to explain.

“There’s no way that man could have survived!” Second slammed his hands on the table, pushing himself into a standing position as he looked towards Yoichi. “We watched the Big Buffoon force his fingers through that man's eye sockets, crushing his skull and splattering his brain all over the ground in the process!”

“Second!” Seventh yelled as she also stood up abruptly, looking towards the Second OFA user, “they are children! They don’t need to hear what happened!”

Third slammed his hands against the table, standing up in the process, before pointing towards Izuku and Momo. “If that monster is back, we need to prepare those two now so they don’t end up like the flaming clown!” Third looked directly at Seventh with a glare that could sour milk. “You know how powerful that man is, and they don’t even have access to the Stockpile! The big buffoon was barely able to take him down and look at the injury he suffered! He’s in constant pain!”

“Do you think I don’t know that?!” Seventh yelled back, and the other vestiges could see the tears in her eyes. “He was practically my son when I was alive! It hurts me to know he’s in constant pain!”

“Those two need to be ready to kill that man if he re-emerges again!” Second continued as he looked between all the vestiges before landing on Yoichi. “If those two aren’t ready, a great many people are going to die, and Japan is going to fall!”

“But we have no concrete evidence that monster is still alive,” Fourth said quietly, playing with a coin in his hand by twirling it back and forth over his fingers. “There is not a healing quirk in the world that could bring back a man after what Eighth did to him. There’s not even a quirk that could heal what happened to Eighth, otherwise he would have found it previously and never passed on OFA to begin with.” Some of the others narrowed their eyes. The man they knew as Fifth began to lean forward, but he was cut off.

“But we cannot disregard the possibility that he didn’t survive,” En spoke up from his spot, holding one leg against his chest. “It’s as First said, it’s not a coincidence that the villain had the same family name.”

“We’ve all seen what these two will do to protect their family and friends,” Fifth began with a grin as he looked around, his two massive hands placed on the table in front of him. “The newbies will be getting upgraded versions of our quirks, and there are two of them this time, which means they’ll have the best chance out of all of us!” Fifth laughed as he picked up a tankard in front of him, taking a long swing of whatever was inside, before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “Even if that bastard is alive, I trust these two to be able to take him down and rid Japan of his ruling from the shadows.”

Izuku and Momo listened to the vestiges go back and forth in their argument, with Second and Third attempting to take a solid stance about AFO being alive. The couple were so focused on the conversation happening that they were startled when a hand was placed on each of their shoulders. Looking towards the owner of the hands, they found the flaming vestige of Toshinori in his small form, giving them a reassuring and comforting smile. Izuku and Momo each took a deep breath, allowing the comfort of their mentor's hands to calm their racing minds and beating hearts.

When the couple focused back on the table in front of them, they found Yoichi watching them carefully, as the other vestiges continued to argue. Breaking eye contact, he looked towards the other vestiges before releasing a sigh.

“Enough,” Yoichi commanded, his quiet voice carrying through the small cafe, causing the whole table to go silent. The vestiges were quick to return to their seats once they saw Yoichi's expression. “We all know what Eighth did to my brother,” Yoichi explained. His steepled hands came apart, then rested flat on the table.

“And we all know that Eighth will do everything he can with his remaining embers to make sure these two don't face my brother, if he is even alive.” Yoichi looked around the table, seeing the other vestiges nod in agreement. Second and Third held his eyes in silence for a moment before adding their grudging assent.

Focusing back on the couple, Yoichi continued. “That said, we have no idea if my brother is still alive, but you two deserve to know the situation we find ourselves in.” Izuku and Momo nodded in understanding, relaxing a bit as they pulled comfort from their mentor's vestige.

“If my brother is still alive,” Yoichi continued, “we suggest you two get to work improving your quirks as much and as quickly as possible.” Izuku and Momo shared a look, a silent conversation happening, before focusing back on Yoichi.” If this means telling your teachers about OFA to better learn control over Smoke and Creation, and the quirks you unlock next, then so be it.”

Yoichi held up his hand, stopping the onslaught of complaints from the other vestiges. “We've attempted to keep OFA a secret ever since I transferred it to Second, and look at where it got all of us.” Yoichi gestured towards the man behind the couple, “even Eighth would have benefited from having someone by his side during their last confrontation.”

Toshinori seemed to look towards the ground at that, knowing Yoichi was correct, but not being able to respond. “No, if these two believe telling others will be beneficial for them, then we will follow them.” Yoichi looked between Second and Third beside him, giving them a harsh glare to make sure they didn’t argue back. “We are dead, and have been for a very long time. We are here to act as guides for the Ninths and nothing else. If they require our help or our opinions, they are to come ask us.”

“Very well,” Second said as he stood up, “we’re done here.” With a curt nod of his head, Second disappeared from where he was standing, appearing on the balcony above. Third also stood up before taking a step forward, disappearing and reappearing on the balcony. The other vestiges were quick to follow, standing up and disappearing before reappearing around the cafe. First and Seventh were the only two that didn’t disappear, with Seventh approaching them.

“Toshi doesn’t tell anybody he’s in constant pain,” Seventh began as she looked up at the towering flaming vestige, holding her hand against his cheek in comfort. Izuku and Momo watched as the flaming vestige closed his eyes and leaned into the hold, smiling softly at the other vestige. “His reasoning is that he’s the ‘Symbol of Peace’ and that people shouldn’t be worrying about him. You big dummy.”

The flickering incandescent shadow of a man opened his eyes and looked towards the ground in regret once more, causing Seventh to shake her head fondly as she dropped her hand. “You should learn to let people worry and care for you, Toshi, like these kids. We can see how much they look up to you,” Seventh sideyed Izuku at that moment, smirking towards him, “even if they try to hide how much they do.” She tapped one finger on her temple with a wink.

Izuku could only look away with a smile while Momo giggled at his reaction. “He’s been my favorite hero since I was a young,” Izuku explained as he scratched the back of his head, looking back towards Seventh, “Momo could tell you how much I’ve admired him, and how much I still do.”

“He just bought the new limited edition All Might figure the other day,” Momo responded with a smirk, causing Izuku to blush slightly as he smiled in return.

“God, you two are so cute together,” Seventh said as she smiled down at the pair, “I can’t help myself from giggling in joy when I see you two interact with each other, while knowing how you two feel.” This time, it was Izuku’s and Momo’s turn to blush in response, smiling up at the previous user. “And now Himiko and Ochako! Watching them bouncing around your room like they were using Float was something I’ve always wished I could have done!” Seventh sighed again, a small smile on her face as she remembered the past. “Never got the chance to experience it though, my husband was scared of heights.”

“You were married?” Momo questioned, causing Izuku to focus on Seventh again.

“I was,” Seventh responded before a sad look overcame her features, “but I fear that’s a story for another time. It’s almost time for you two to wake up.”

“You said Toshi was like a son to you,” Izuku began, causing Seventh to look towards him in question. “Is there anything you want to say to him? We can pass along the message.”

Seventh smiled fondly, reaching out and messing up Izuku’s hair more than it ever was. “Just tell him that Nana is proud of him.” Seventh looked towards Yoichi at that moment, seeing him give her a curt nod, before she focused back on the couple. “But that’s all the time we have,” Seventh put her hand against Izuku’s forehead before putting her other hand on Momo’s forehead.

With a small push from Seventh, Izuku and Momo watched as the cafe disappeared from around them as they fell backwards, feeling the bottom drop out of the world for just a moment, gravity reasserting its hold on them in the instant before they blinked a few times and found themselves back in Momo’s room. “We have a lot to tell Toshinori once classes start back up,” Izuku said quietly as he rolled over, seeing Momo nod in agreement. Half of her face was in shadow, the lamp on the table being the only illumination in the room. He hadn't had a chance to turn it off after closing the journal.

Momo closed her eyes again, enjoying the warmth and comfort her partner provided in the embrace they were in, not wanting to get out of bed just yet. She didn't know how long they laid in bed, and she honestly didn't care to check, but she could feel Izuku watching her, a small smile playing on her lips in response.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” Izuku questioned in a whisper, causing Momo’s heart to skip a beat as a dusting of a blush appeared on her face.

Without opening her eyes, her smile grew wider, pulling Izuku closer to her. “I wouldn’t mind hearing it some more, Handsome.” Izuku sucked in a quick breath, making Momo feel accomplished in returning the favor.

“You’re beautiful,” Izuku whispered beside her ear, sending a shiver through her spine, “and I’m the luckiest person in the world to be able to call you mine.”

Finally opening her eyes, Momo looked towards Izuku’s sparkling emerald eyes, finding nothing but love for her behind them. “I don’t know about that,” Momo teased, “I think I’m the luckiest person in the world to be able to call you mine, Handsome.” She leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss, making it last as long as their breath would allow. “What brought this on?” Momo questioned after they separated.

“As we listened to the vestiges argue back and forth, it made me realize that our training schedule is about to get a whole lot busier,” Izuku explained. “Especially if we’re planning on fast track learning and improving our quirks.” Izuku leaned forward slightly, kissing Momo’s forehead and feeling her melt into his embrace some more.

Momo nodded in understanding, cuddling further into Izuku. “So enjoy all the small moments we do have, as they might become further and fewer between?” Momo asked, feeling Izuku nod against her head before kissing the top of her head. “I love you,” Momo whispered.

“I love you too,” Izuku responded just as quietly, tightening the embrace they were in as they continued to lay in bed. They'd have to get up eventually, knowing their friends were also early raisers. But until the two were needed, they relished in the comfort of the embrace and the bed they were in, both thinking about what the future might hold for them.

“I know I probably sound like a broken record,” Kyouka began, tapping her jacks lightly together in front of her as Denki snorted behind her in amusement. She let out a huff, turning to send a glare towards Denki who shrunk back slightly, before focusing on Momo again. “Denks and I really appreciate your family allowing us to stay the night.”

The small friend group found themselves walking through the hallways of the Yaoyorozu Estate, giving their friends an impromptu tour as suggested by Yuukichi and Miyuki. They had just finished another massive breakfast, where the two couples definitely ate their fill with all the different foods the chefs offered.

“You don’t know how much that meant to the both of us,” Kyouka finished. Denki was slowly nodding in agreement from beside Izuku, keeping watch on his partner in front of him. He patted his stomach, either in anguish or amazement; even he wasn't sure which. The group had slowed to a stop in the center of an intersection, three hallways leading to different places of the Estate, while the hallway behind led them back towards the main entrance and dining hall.

“I don’t think Ky or I got any sleep that night,” Denki admitted as he looked off to the side, his mind wandering back to what they experienced at the USJ and the constant nightmares that plagued their minds that night. “It didn’t help that my house was empty either,” Denki admitted as he slumped his shoulders, “I wish Dad would have just taken the night off.” Denki didn’t have to look as he felt the familiar feeling of Kyouka’s ear jack snaking up his arm, guiding his hand to her own and pulling him closer.

“I wish you two would have told us sooner,” Momo responded quietly. Kyouka and Denki looked back up towards the other couple, noticing Izuku had left Denki’s side to stand beside Momo, intertwining their fingers as if it was second nature for them. It probably was, she realized.

“It’s like we said yesterday,” Izuku began, causing the other couple to look towards him, “you’re our friends.” Kyouka and Denki shared a quick look, both nodding in understanding and acceptance, before they turned back towards the other couple. “No matter how big or small the issue is, we would have wanted to help you in any way we could.” Momo nodded from beside him, the two giving them soft smiles. “Please don’t hesitate to ask us for anything in the future.”

Kyouka looked down towards the ground, causing Denki to look towards her in concern. Izuku and Momo noticed the mood change instantly, hoping they didn’t say something wrong, but before they could try and correct themselves, Kyouka spoke. “Do you really mean that?” She questioned so quietly that the small group almost missed it over the soft hum of the air conditioner in the hallway. “Being friends, that is,” Kyouka clarified, her ear jack had unwrapped from around Denki’s arms and they were softly tapping together in front of her.

“Yes.” / “Yes.” Izuku and Momo responded together without any hesitation.

When Kyouka was growing up, she learned quickly how to tell when someone was lying, listening for the irregular heartbeat or the slight difference in their voice. As Kyouka looked up towards Izuku and Momo, she could see the honesty behind their eyes, and hear their steady heartbeats and voices as they answered, telling Kyouka they answered truthfully.

Momo gave Izuku’s hand a squeeze, informing him silently that she wanted to explain. “We understand that we haven’t known each other long,” Momo admitted, “but you two have been marvelous friends from the very first day. Izu and I could not have asked for better friends, and we’re grateful to have you both in our lives, and hope that you continue to be so in the future.”

Kyouka nodded slowly, first in understanding as she processed what Momo was saying, then in gratitude when she accepted that Momo and Izuku were sincere. “I never really had many friends growing up,” Kyouka admitted honestly, “most didn’t want anything to do with me because of my quirk. Not only because it was classified as a mutant type, but they knew I could hear everything, and didn’t hold back in their opinions and thoughts when they knew the teacher couldn’t hear.”

Denki wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into a tight embrace, one that she melted into instantly. “It wasn’t until Denks came along that I finally had a true friend, one that was honest and sincere from the beginning.” Kyouka turned slightly in the embrace, placing her head against Denki’s shoulder. He knew instantly what she was doing, feeling an ear jack snake up towards his chest, placing it right against where his heart was.

“I bounced around with my Dad a lot, moving from city to city as he moved from job to job, so I never really had a chance to actually make friends,” Denki explained. “The friends that I did make, never lasted long once they learned I struggled to control my quirk. They were always so worried that I would end up hurting them or losing control.” Denki looked down towards Kyouka, running his hand along her back in comfort for both her and himself. “It wasn’t until Dad moved us to Musutafu and I met Ky that I told him I was tired of moving around. Thankfully, he found a steady job in Musutafu which allowed us to stay in the area.”

Izuku and Momo nodded in understanding. “You already know that I was bullied,” Izuku began, causing Kyouka to pull slightly away from Denki as they focused on Izuku. “All because I was quirkless,” Izuku said quietly. Momo moved her arm around Izuku’s waist, pulling him into a side embrace, one that he was grateful for. “It wasn’t until Yuukichi heard my Mom crying during her lunch break one day, complaining about what was happening to me at Aldera, that everything changed for the better. At the time, I was coming home in destroyed uniforms because my classmates decided to practice their quirks on me.”

“I was never bullied while growing up,” Momo admitted, “but I was alone in a different way. From a very young age, my parents decided to hire a private tutor that would teach me within my home. The main reason was that I learned at a quicker pace compared to other students, but also because of the Yaoyorozu name, so I never had any genuine friends. A lot of people tried to use me to get through to my parents, either themselves, or through their children.” Izuku tightened the embrace, bringing a soft smile to Momo’s face. “I knew from the first moment I met Izu that my life would change, that I would finally have a genuine friend for the first time in my life.”

Kyouka let out a sigh, causing the group to focus on her, feeling Denki tighten his embrace around her. “We’re all a little broken, aren’t we?”

“No, we’re not broken,” Momo responded instantly, looking firmly between Kyouka and Denki. “Just because we’re unique, doesn’t mean we’re broken.”

“Mo’s right,” Izuku continued. “She helped me realize that a long time ago, when I actually believed I was a Deku, that I wasn’t broken. Think of us like kintsugi: we may have been broken, but we found people that helped us in repairing ourselves, while simultaneously bringing out the best in us, to create something more unique and beautiful.” Izuku looked towards Momo, giving her a small smirk. “More literal in Mo’s case.” Momo gasped softly before she smiled brightly, leaning down and capturing Izuku’s lips with her own.

“Damn,” Denki responded with a soft whistle, causing the other couple to break apart with small blushes. “That was smooth.”

Kyouka shook her head, lightly poking Denki in the side with her jack, causing him to laugh and hold her closer. “You could learn a few things from Green here,” Kyouka smirked up at Denki, causing him to smile back. “Maybe you can finally replace all those cheesy and flirty pickup lines you have.”

“As if! They brought us together, didn't they? You love them!” Denki stated before leaning down and capturing Kyouka’s lips with his own, surprising her and forcing her jacks to go a little haywire. When Denki finally pulled back, Kyouka pouted towards him with a dusting of a blush, lightly stabbing him in the side again, causing him to laugh harder. Izuku and Momo smiled at the antics of the other couple, happy the subject had changed quickly.

“Oh!” Denki said suddenly, causing the trio to focus on him. “Did you really mean that you’d help us with anything?” Denki asked as he looked towards Izuku and Momo. Kyouka looked at him in suspicion, knowing somewhat where his trail of thought was going. Izuku and Momo nodded in response, causing his eyes to light up in excitement. “There’s this new guitar that Ky was looking at, and I-” Denki was interrupted when an ear jack jabbed painfully into his side, causing him to move slightly away from Kyouka, never removing his arm completely from around her. “The hell was that for?”

“I don’t think Green meant anything like that, Denks!” Kyouka responded in annoyance, retracting her ear jack as she glared towards her partner.

“He said anything!” Denki tried to reason as he gestured towards the other couple, finding them smiling at their friend’s antics. Kyouka was about to jab Denki once more before Izuku and Momo chuckled a bit louder, causing the other couple to pause in what they were doing.

“Izu did say anything,” Momo responded, “and material items are something we both have easy access to.” Izuku shrugged.

“Don’t entertain the idea, Yaomomo!” Kyouka responded, shooting her ear jack out in front of Momo. “Once you start, Denks won’t be able to stop himself from asking!”

“I would too!” Denki tried to defend himself, causing the ear jack to switch towards him again, while Kyouka just glared at him. “I know how long you’ve been looking at that guitar, and I think you deserve it more than anybody in the world!”

“Denks!” Kyouka responded angrily as her blush deepened on her face.

“You play guitar?” Momo interjected their small argument, causing them both to pause.

Kyouka stiffened up in response, her ear jacks retracting back in front of her, lightly tapping them together once more. “I’m not very good,” Kyouka said quietly, looking away awkwardly.

“She’s a liar!” Denki accused her, causing her to glare back at him. “She doesn’t just play guitar! She can play almost any instrument, and she’s absolutely fantastic at them!” Kyouka’s cheeks were fully flushed now, her jacks going slightly haywire as they poised to attack Denki. “She just doesn’t like to admit it! It took months for her to finally play in front of me!”

“Denks!” Kyouka yelled out once more, sending a jack towards him and jabbing him in the side.

“What brand was it?” Izuku questioned, causing Kyouka to look between them again, finding Izuku deep in thought.

“I believe it was a Gibson. Or no, an Ibanez? They make so many different kinds, I really leave that stuff to her,” Denki responded quickly, looking between Kyouka and the other couple.

“I believe we have both of those in our studio,” Momo brought her hand up to her face in thought, thinking about the instrument collection they had.

“We definitely have a few Gibsons,” Izuku responded, “as that’s what I was practicing the last time we played.”

Kyouka’s embarrassment and anger washed away, looking between Izuku and Momo, disbelief on her face. “You two play? Wait, hang on, studio?”

“We’re amateurs at best,” Izuku responded, “but it was something we both got really into at one point.” Izuku chuckled, shaking his head softly. “Yuukichi and Miyuki kinda went overboard and bought all different types of high end instruments and amplifiers when we mentioned we were interested in playing.” Izuku focused back on the couple, finding Kyouka with her mouth slightly open in disbelief, while Denki looked excited at the idea. “You’re welcome to check them out, if you like. We do have some time before dinner.”

“Please!” Denki responded instantly. “You’re the best, Yaomomo, Midoriya!”

Kyouka looked between Denki and the other couple, shaking her head in acceptance, but couldn’t hide the excitement behind her eyes or the smile off her face. "Okay, I seriously doubt you have a seven string Ibanez JEM, and I know for a fact that only ten were made in Metallic Violet, as gifts to company shareholders. But honestly, just showing me the cool toys will be the best gift ever!"

Izuku and Momo looked at each other, squinted in concentration, and tried to recall if Ibanez was part of the family portfolio. Neither could remember, but it did sound familiar…

In the meantime, they decided to proceed with another thing they'd been considering. “If you're comfortable with it,” Momo responded with a soft smile, looking between Kyouka and Denki and finding questioning looks, “you’re welcome to call us by our first names.”

“Seriously?” Kyouka responded in surprise, looking between Izuku and Momo, finding the two nodding. “In that case, please call us by our first names too,” Kyouka looked towards Denki, seeing him nod in agreement, “we would like that.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to drop Yaomomo,” Denki said with a smile, “I just think it fits you so well, but I’m so down to use Izuku.”

“Whatever you feel comfortable with, Denki,” Izuku responded with a smile.

“Okay, that’s going to take some time to get used to,” Denki admitted with a chuckle.

“Doofus,” Kyouka said towards him, smirking in his direction. “I think I’ll stick with the nicknames,” Kyouka admitted as she looked back towards the other couple, “they're kinda my thing.”

“Whatever you prefer works for us, Kyouka,” Momo responded.

“Yep,” Kyouka responded instantly, “definitely gonna take some time to get used to hearing my name from someone other than Denks or my parents.”

“Onwards to the studio?” Momo questioned after a beat of silence. Kyouka and Denki nodded, quickly falling in step behind Izuku and Momo. The four of them fell into a comfortable silence, thinking about what the future held for the four of them, and excited to have genuine friends.

“Denks is looking at the new Nintendo console,” Kyouka said suddenly, causing the group to pause again.

“Couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Denki responded with a smirk.

“If you’re gonna ask about a guitar for me, I’m gonna ask for a game console for you,” Kyouka responded with her own smirk.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Momo responded with her own smile, surprising Kyouka and Denki. Izuku nodded beside her, his phone already in his hand and looking something up on the HeroNet. Kyouka and Denki shared a quick look again, not believing what they were hearing, and not expecting them to respond so casually, knowing those items were in the hundreds of thousands of yen range.

Chapter Text

A new dawn rose, and brought with it twenty new heroes.

After spending the long weekend resting and recovering with their family and friends, the group of six students were anxious to get back to class. They arrived early at UA Monday morning, thanks to hitching a ride with Nemuri, who informed the students that she wanted to check on Oboro before classes resumed. Izuku and Momo were the first to enter the empty classroom of 1-A, with Kyouka and Denki only a few steps behind. The other couple had opted to stay at the Yaoyorozu Estate the extra day, knowing Denki's father was going to be working that night.

Izuku and Momo had learned what to expect from Himiko and Ochako who didn't disappoint, both dragging their feet in behind their friends, attempting to help the other to stay standing. The couple knew Himiko wasn't a morning person, and even though Ochako claimed she was, the two still struggled to get out of the warm bed and the embrace the other provided. Even Momo struggled to get them up for breakfast the previous day, the two cuddling under the warm blankets, content with their position and not willing to get up.

As the six of them huddled around Izuku's desk, filling up the empty seats around them, they made idle conversation about what awaited them when classes officially began. They did their best to make it feel natural, normal as if they hadn't all spent the weekend recovering from what was, in most cases, the most traumatic event of their lives. It even worked a little bit. Izuku and Momo knew that seeing the room fill up like a normal day would be essential to getting back in the swing of things.

Having been the first ones in class, they watched the rest of their classmates trickle in one or two at a time as the warning bell drew near. They could easily see the concern on some of their classmates’ faces, some appearing like they didn't want to be there while others were relieved to get back to normal. A few of the students acknowledged the small group near the back, while others were too deep in their own conversations or lost in their own heads to greet them.

With the final bell ringing, the students were quick to find their original assigned seats, most waiting patiently for who would be their substitute teacher. Izuku and Momo had informed their classmates that Oboro was still resting per Recovery Girl's instructions, information they learned from Nemuri only that morning.

All of the students were surprised when the door opened and Oboro slowly shuffled into the classroom, his arm still in a sling and his head wrapped in bandages. Based on the lumps under the shirt he was wearing, the students could tell he was sporting bandages under it as well. Even as he was clearly still recovering, Oboro was wearing a bright smile as he waved towards the class with his good arm.

Nemuri entered the classroom only a step or two behind Oboro, concern evident on her face, but it was accompanied by a small fond smile at Oboro's enthusiasm and excitement of seeing his students. Nemuri had known that Oboro wouldn't miss seeing his entire class as early as possible, confirming for his own peace of mind that his students were alive and well. She could only shake her head fondly as she stepped beside him, ready to catch him if he stumbled or fell suddenly, knowing he was still drained from Recovery Girl's treatments.

As Oboro looked over his class, he was quick to notice a few had faraway looks in some of their eyes, suspecting they were remembering what they experienced or what they saw happen to him. Hitoshi was rubbing his arm where he was stabbed, a fresh scar hidden under his uniform. Himiko was looking over towards Ochako in concern but the other girl noticed and smiled back, confirming she was okay. Tenya was calf-raising under his desk, the phantom feeling of overusing his quirk making itself known. Tsuyu shivered slightly in her seat, even raising up both hands to rub against her arms, as if experiencing being cold again.

“Good morning, Students!” Oboro greeted with high energy, attempting to get his students’ thoughts away from what happened for the moment. He watched a couple of the students stiffen up suddenly, looking around quickly, before realizing where they were and relaxing once more. “I'm happy to see everyone has returned to classes this week, especially after what we experienced last week.”

“I understand that some of you are questioning if you should be here, in the hero course, or at UA itself,” Oboro continued, “and I would completely understand if you decided you wanted to transfer out of the hero course, or even transfer to a different hero school completely. To help ease your concerns, Nezu has offered his express approval for transfers, including writing a recommendation letter for anybody who wants to transfer out of UA.” He looked over the students, hovering over a few that appeared to be deep in thought about the revelation, before continuing onto the next.

“I know some of you have been worried about my wellbeing,” Oboro said, causing the students to focus back on him, “which is why I'm here today. As you may have noticed, I'm still a little bandaged up, and that's because Recovery Girl is doing everything she can to make sure I make a full recovery. She allowed me to escape this morning so that I could talk with you, but she still recommends a day or two more of bedrest before I can return to teaching.” Most of the students nodded in understanding, the tension leaving their shoulders as they learned their teacher was going to make a full recovery.

“I do have a few announcements to make before I hand you all over to Nemuri,” Oboro smiled as he pointed towards his fellow teacher, “the first being, Nemuri will be covering 1-A's homeroom for the foreseeable future.”

“Don't worry kids,” Nemuri began as she smirked toward the students, tapping her whip that was on her hip, “I'll make sure to whip you hooligans into shape for when Oboro finally returns.”

“Just make sure I have a class to return to, Nemuri,” Oboro said knowingly, smiling towards his old friend.

“No promises,” Nemuri chuckled evilly, sending a shiver down some of the students’ backs as a result.

Oboro shook his head, knowing Nemuri would never do something like that to the students, but knew she had to keep up appearances. Under her persona of The R-Rated Hero: Midnight, Nemuri was a gentle and kind soul, going the extra distance for her students in anything they may need.

“Continuing on,” Oboro began, getting the attention of the class back on him. “We understand that many of you may be shaken up over what happened, and I have no doubt that many of you will have questions about what is going to happen going forward. I want to make it clear that Nezu, All Might, Nemuri, myself, and the other faculty members are here for any questions or concerns you may have. Hound Dog, UA's guidance counselor, is also here to talk if you would prefer something more private, or if you just want to talk about what happened at the USJ. Anything you discuss with Hound Dog will be confidential, and he will only escalate the situation if he believes you need more medical help than he can provide. We're here to help, so please don't hesitate to talk to us or ask questions.” Most of the students nodded in understanding, with only a few still appearing deep in thought.

“I will also be pulling a few students out of class throughout the day,” Oboro announced, causing 1-A to focus on him again. “Izuku Midoriya and Momo Yaoyorozu. I would like you to meet me in my office in the teachers lounge once homeroom is finished. I've requested Nezu to excuse you from your classes this morning and I let the other faculty members know you'd be coming.” Izuku and Momo shared a quick look, knowing exactly why Oboro wanted to talk with them, before both giving him a curt nod.

“Once I am done with those two, I would like to speak with Denki Kaminari after lunch. Kyouka Jirou, you're welcome to accompany Kaminari. You two have been excused from classes this afternoon.” Kyouka looked over towards Denki, seeing he had stiffened up, before she snaked a ear jack towards him and wrapped it around his arm in comfort. He relaxed immensely before looking up at Oboro and giving him a curt nod as well. “None of you are in any sort of trouble, but there are some things that have been brought to my attention that I would like to touch base on.”

“Before I leave, I would like to mention that All Might will be coming in to speak with you for the rest of homeroom. I was informed that he was talking with 1-B this morning and making them sign the same NDAs that you all signed last week,” Oboro explained as he looked around the classroom. “Furthermore, he'll be explaining his situation and answering any questions you may have for him.”

“Like I mentioned earlier,” Oboro began, “I'm happy to see everyone has returned today, and I do hope that I’ll see you all when I’m able to return to teaching.” Oboro gave the students a smile, giving them one final wave with his good hand. “But that'll be all from me! Make sure to go easy on them, Nemuri!” Many of the students wished Oboro a speedy recovery or thanked him for checking up on them before he finally left Class 1-A with Nemuri.

Just as Oboro had informed them, All Might slid open the door a few minutes later. Taking a few funny steps towards the front of the classroom, making it feel like it was their first heroics class again, caused more than a few students to smile at his antics.

“Welcome back to UA, Zygotes!” All Might said as he placed his hands on his hips, looking over the students of 1-A. He hovered over Izuku and Momo a second longer than others, seeing the worry behind their eyes about his decision. “I'm happy to see everyone has returned and in such good spirits after what happened last week!”

“I understand that many of you may have witnessed my true form after the villains retreated at the USJ,” All Might continued, getting nods from a handful of students, while the rest looked towards him curiously. “Nezu has confirmed that everyone has signed an NDA in regards to what you saw, so I'm here to explain why I look the way I do.”

“But first, allow me to get a little more comfortable.” Steam started billowing off All Might's huge form, completely covering him for a moment, before a skinny hand waved the smoke away. Standing exactly where All Might was a moment before, Toshinori Yagi had taken his place, still wearing All Might's costume that appeared massive on the frail man. “That's better,” Toshinori released a sigh after finally releasing the strain from holding his muscle form. “My name is Toshinori Yagi, better known as All Might.” Toshinori gave a small wave and a smile towards the students, the high energy of All Might just barely leaking through in his true form.

“So it is true,” Hitoshi whispered out, “holy shit.” Just as Hitoshi finished speaking, the class collectively broke out of the trance they were in, beginning to throw questions after questions towards their teacher.

“Was that a transformation quirk we just saw?” Moe questioned.

“There's no way!” Eijiro exclaimed, never taking his eyes off of Toshinori. “We've seen how strong All Might is! He has to have some kind of super strength quirk!”

“Unless he has two quirks,” Shoto said quietly, looking towards his hands to see one was covered in light frost while the other one appeared to have a reddish-yellow glow.

“Have you always been able to bulk up like that?” Hanta questioned curiously.

“Is this why Chart shows you’re injured?” Kashiko asked as she activated Chart, bringing up Toshinori’s information.

“Is that why HeroNews can never find you, Kero?” Tsuyu questioned with a finger on her chin in thought.

“Please,” Toshinori spoke, raising his hand to stop the onslaught of questions, “I can only answer one question at a time.” Toshinori looked around the students, seeing them nodding in understanding as they fell silent.

Toshinori took a breath as he began pointing between students, answering their questions in a rapid fire succession in the order he received them. “No, my quirk is not a transformation quirk,” Toshinori explained as he pointed towards Moe before swapping to Hanta. “To some degree, I’ve always been able to bulk up. My quirk allows me to stockpile strength until I need to use it, and that allows me to bulk up when I need the extra strength. My stockpile used to grow at a far faster rate than I could ever use it.”

Toshinori looked towards Kashiko, “your quirk is probably detecting that I am, in fact, injured, but it’s an older wound that can never be fully healed.” Toshinori looked towards Tsuyu, giving her a knowing smile, “I’ve had years of training to escape the HeroNews, and even before my injury, they could barely stop me long enough to get a single question out of me.”

Toshinori took a deep breath as he straightened himself up again. “Allow me to explain why I look the way I do before you continue your bombardment of questions.” Toshinori looked over the students, noticing most had relaxed back into their seats while others nodded in understanding, their attention focused solely on him as they awaited his explanation.

“Roughly six years ago, I was fighting one of the last supervillains of Japan when I suffered my injury. I ended up defeating him but at the cost of losing my stomach and most of my respiratory system.” Toshinori watched as horror, concern, and surprise appeared on many of the students’ faces after that revelation. “Yes, even one as strong as All Might is prone to suffering injuries. This is why you see my true form before you.” Toshinori held his side through the costume, his hand hovering just above his scar. “I am willing to show you what I suffered, but a fair warning, it's a gnarly scar, and I suggest looking away if you have a weak stomach.”

When none of the students looked away or closed their eyes, focused intently on where Toshinori was holding his side, Toshinori let out a sigh of acceptance. Carefully grabbing his costume by the hem, he slowly began pulling it up as he revealed more and more of the scar. Gasps rang throughout the room, with some people rubbing their eyes in disbelief at what they were seeing, while others looked away with their hands covering their mouths before looking at it again.

“Due to this injury, and how my quirk works, my quirk factor was damaged and I was limited in how long I could be All Might.” Toshinori let his costume fall back down, dropping the trance that most of the students appeared to be in, causing them to focus on him again. “Over the last six years, the strain of using my quirk has been increasingly getting worse. Before my injury, I was able to bulk up for days at a time without any strain, but now I can feel the strain as soon as I activate my quirk and I'm limited to a couple of hours before it becomes too much to handle.”

“My injury is the main contributing factor to becoming a teacher here at UA. I want to help guide the next generation of students so they can become the heroes of tomorrow, the next pillars of Japan. With my wide variety of rescues and villain takedowns over my career as All Might, in both the USA and Japan, I plan on teaching each and every single one of you how to handle anything you may experience out in the field. This is my promise to you.” Toshinori finished, looking towards Izuku and Momo, a message clearly meant for them but wording in a way to make it seem like it was for the class as a whole. Izuku and Momo gave a single nod each, indicating they understood the message.

“You said your time as All Might is decreasing,” Katsuki spoke quietly, but with the silence in the room, he could be heard clearly by everyone. Izuku looked towards his former friend, attempting to decipher his reaction, knowing that Katsuki was just as big of a fanboy of All Might as Izuku himself was. “Does that mean there will be a time when All Might is finished?” From his position, Izuku couldn't get a good read on Katsuki as he looked towards the desk he was sitting at.

“Unfortunately, it is inevitable,” Toshinori responded with a nod. He could see the reactions of all the students in front of him, most worried about the future, having never experienced life without All Might being Japan's Symbol of Peace. Neither had Nemuri or Oboro, for that matter. “There will come a time when the strain becomes too much for me to handle holding my All Might form, resulting in the end of my hero career. I know it may sound scary for all of you, having never experienced Japan before the Era of Peace I brought forth, but that is the reality of the situation. I'm planning on teaching you all how to be the pillars of Japan before my time is up, so that you all can continue the Era of Peace when I'm gone.”

“Why are you telling us all of this?” Toru asked the question on everyone's mind. “Are you not worried about the public finding out and creating a mass panic?”

“It is true that I am worried about the public finding out, but it's not over creating a mass panic,” Toshinori explained. “The public panic would be unavoidable, but I believe the other heroes of Japan would be able to prevent it from getting out of hand.” Toshinori shook his head slightly, “No, I'm more worried about what would happen if villains came to know of the information, and what would happen to Japan, including the students here at UA, after they know All Might won't be there to stop them.”

“But that is not the only reason I’m telling you,” Toshinori continued explaining. “I have decided to announce my partial retirement to the public within the next couple of days.” Toshinori let the class whisper between themselves for a few seconds, hearing the same question being passed around by many of the students.

“What is a partial retirement?” Mezo asked from a mouth on the end of one of his limbs, the same question that was being passed around the classroom.

“It’s a term that is not often heard within the hero society,” Toshinori began explaining, “but what it entitles is that I will be stepping down from being an active hero and moving into a hero reserve role. I will be removed from the hero billboard as a result, and not be required to make public appearances or do hero patrols in the future. Most heroes never get the opportunity to take a partial retirement, opting to work until they cannot anymore and taking a full retirement instead.” Toshinori saw the understanding in the students’ faces and eyes as he finished explaining.

“The other reason is for teaching purposes,” Toshinori continued. “Without having to worry about my time limit as All Might, I’m able to teach heroics longer and actually take the time to explain what you did right and wrong during each exercise, with the help of Young Shirakumo and the other faculty members. This allows me to save my time limit as All Might for when it’s required, or when I’m called upon to help outside of UA.”

Toshinori waited a beat to make sure everyone understood before speaking again. “Any other questions?” When no one raised their hand or threw questions in his direction, he surmised that everyone was still accepting the new information he had told them. “If anybody does have questions for me, please feel free to find me. I have no problem answering any questions that my students may have. I plan to keep regular office hours here at UA starting next week.”

“Now that Yagi is done explaining,” Nemuri began as she stepped beside Toshinori, looking comically shorter than him even in his true form, “for the rest of homeroom, I'll be here to answer any questions or concerns you may have about the school or the actions we're taking to make sure something like the USJ doesn't happen again. As for Momo and Izuku, you know where you have to be.” Izuku and Momo gave a nod, getting up out of their seats and making their way out of the classroom, Toshinori following a few steps behind.

Izuku and Momo looked back at Toshinori following them, noticing he was about to talk, before Izuku tapped his ear lightly, indicating that people could hear him. Toshinori nodded, waiting for them to walk a few steps away from the classroom, before he finally spoke. “Is this talk with Young Shirakumo about what we talked about previously?” Toshinori questioned.

“No,” Izuku admitted, “while we have decided that we want to tell Shirakumo about our situation, we think it’s best if Nezu and yourself are there with us.” Toshinori nodded in understanding. “We also have to wait until Auntie Nem is done with homeroom at the earliest to make sure she’s included in the talks.”

“She must have so many questions,” Momo realized at that moment, causing Izuku to look towards her. “She’s known you since you and Inko moved into the Estate, and she’s also known you were quirkless and shooting for the heroic course.” Izuku’s eyes widened as she explained, releasing that Nemuri had never seen him with a quirk before.

“Especially after Nezu and the other teachers reviewed the footage at the USJ,” Toshinori chipped in from behind them. Izuku and Momo slowed to a stop, looking back at Toshinori in question. “While communication was cut off from the USJ from when the attack started, the cameras inside the facility were still recording. Nezu showed all the teachers what happened between Young Shirakumo and the Nomu, and that included when you two intervened.” Toshinori let a smile grace his face as he placed his hands on their shoulders, reminding them of a similar action from his vestige in the Vestige Realm. “I’m proud of you two.”

“Thank you, Toshi.” / “Thank you, Toshinori.” Izuku and Momo responded with smiles.

“We also need to talk with you privately,” Momo told their mentor as they resumed walking. “We met with the vestiges over the weekend, and they revealed some important information.”

Toshinori nodded, somewhat knowing where the conversation was headed if the vestiges were involved. “Nezu wants us to sit down and talk about what happened as well,” Toshinori explained, “and since this involved that supervillain from six years ago, I may need to call my old mentor and sidekick.” Noticing they had reached the teachers’ lounge, Toshinori waved them off. “We’ll talk about it later, when I can set up a time with everyone. You two shouldn’t keep Young Shirakumo waiting any longer than necessary. Recovery Girl is already not happy he is returning to work so soon.” He exaggeratedly winced in sympathy for his young colleague, eliciting a small smile from his protégés.

'The day I can't get them to smile is the day I hang it up.' The scarecrow-looking man thought to himself. 'Now, paperwork. A teacher's work never ends!'

Izuku and Momo nodded, bidding their mentor farewell as they went their separate ways. Izuku and Momo shared a look, taking a deep breath to try and release the tension they were feeling over the questions that could be asked, before they pushed the door open to Oboro’s office. They found the office had a desk in the corner with a computer set up on top, a bunch of paperwork sprawled over the desktop. Off to the side was a glass cabinet, showing off a few pictures and other important pieces that Oboro owned. On the other side of the room was a pair of couches, finding Oboro sitting in one, while the coffee table between them was filled with more paperwork.

“Ah, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu,” Oboro greeted as he looked up from whatever paperwork he was working on, “I was expecting Yagi’s explanation to take much longer. Please come in and have a seat.” He gestured towards the couch across from his own, prompting the two to take a seat across from him. “Don’t mind the mess. Even though I’m not teaching, I’m not able to escape the paperwork unfortunately.”

Oboro watched as Izuku and Momo approached the couch across from him, both taking a seat close enough to each other that their legs and shoulders were slightly touching, something he often noticed from the two of them ever since they joined his class. Moving the paperwork off to the side, he carefully poured two cups of tea for his new guests, offering it to them to help them get comfortable. “I suspect that you two already know why I called you in here.” Izuku and Momo nodded, with Izuku quickly finding Momo’s hand for comfort, something not gone unnoticed by Oboro. “Would you prefer to start, or would you like me to?”

“I think it would be best if you started, sir,” Momo responded.

“Very well,” Oboro nodded in acceptance. “First, I want to make it clear that you two aren’t in any trouble for what happened. I understand that you two were doing what you thought was best at the time, and I cannot punish someone for their inexperience.” The couple nodded in understanding. “Second, I want to thank you again for everything you two did during the USJ. I know I said it before when we first talked, but the more I think about it, the luckier I think I am that you two intervened. I have no doubt in my mind that you two saved my life last week, and for that, I will be forever grateful.”

“You’re welcome, Shirakumo,” Izuku responded quietly with Momo nodding beside him.

“Now,” Oboro began again, sitting further into the couch behind him, taking a sip of his tea before he continued. “I want to apologize for how I reacted back in the medical bay.”

“You don’t-” Izuku began.

“Yes,” Oboro interrupted Izuku, “I do have to apologize, Midoriya.” Oboro was looking towards Izuku to gauge his reaction, finding him surprised at how quickly he interrupted him. Looking towards Momo, Oboro could tell she was surprised too. “I shouldn’t have said what I did, and I want to apologize for it. I stepped out of line in my reaction, especially after what you two had just experienced and what you had done for me.”

Oboro allowed that to sink in for the teenagers in front of him, taking another sip of his tea before placing it on the coffee table between them. “I’ve already told you how Shota Aizawa died in the line of duty, and you probably remember what I said to Nem in the medical bay.” Izuku and Momo nodded, waiting for their teacher to continue.

“Back then, the four of us thought we were invincible, that we could survive anything the world threw at us, as long as we had each others’ backs. When we were called to that falling building, Shota didn’t listen to our mentor’s orders at the time, rushing back into the building to save that child. He was always kind of reckless like that, trying to save everyone he could.” Oboro let out a sigh as he closed his eyes, slumping his shoulders in the process. “I guess what you two did during the USJ reminded me of him, and of the four of us back then.”

Oboro opened his eyes, and Izuku and Momo could see the honesty and hurt behind them. “You two remind me of Nem and myself, way more than you would actually believe. Even the other two, Kaminari and Jirou, remind me of Zashi and Sho in a way. Seeing you four interacting and becoming quick friends brings back memories of when I walked these very halls with my friends years ago.” Oboro shook his head softly, a small smile on his face at the memories that he awakened. “And while it’s no excuse, I stepped out of line because I don’t want to see another Shota happening, not now or ever again.”

Izuku and Momo looked towards each other, having a silent conversation with nothing but their eyes and a few taps of their fingers on each others’ hand. Izuku gave Momo a nod before the two focused back on Oboro. “Thank you, Shirakumo,” Momo began, “for looking out for us. We could not imagine how losing someone as close as Aizawa must have been for you. I know Izu and I would be devastated if we lost each other, or even one of our close friends.” Oboro nodded with a sad smile on his face, taking a slow deep breath as he did so.

“There is one more thing I want to speak about,” Oboro began as he focused on Izuku completely, “and that’s something you said in the medical bay, Midoriya.” Izuku stiffened up a little bit but Momo helped calm him down instantly with her closeness and a squeeze on his hand. “You mentioned that I was the first teacher to actually care about your wellbeing. Do you mind expanding on that a little bit? I know from your records that you had a private tutor for most of your life.”

Momo released Izuku’s hand, snaking her arm around his waist and pulling him close, allowing him to lay his head on her shoulder. Using her other hand, she grasped Izuku’s hand she had just let go, rubbing her thumb along his knuckles in support, a clear indication that he should only talk about what he felt comfortable in sharing.

“There’s not much I remember,” Izuku began quietly, pulling comfort from Momo. “You’ve already witnessed Bakugo’s actions and the ‘Deku’ nickname, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you or Nezu figured out that I used to be bullied,” Izuku explained while Oboro nodded, remembering back to the first day in Nezu’s office with Katsuki.

“The teachers at Aldera never did anything to stop the bullying, nor did they do anything when Mom went in to try and get it resolved. The education board wouldn’t investigate the issue, referring Mom to talk with the school. Mom’s lawyer couldn’t do anything because Aldera was saying I was the one instigating the fights. Even the police said they had more important matters to attend to.” Izuku leaned more into Momo as the memories he could remember played through his head. “Quirks were used on me daily with no repercussions, and there was nothing Mom or I could have done to stop them. Mom had to buy so many uniforms over the course of the two years I went to Aldera,” Izuku finished off quietly.

Knowing from Izuku’s tone of voice, Momo knew he wasn’t going to continue as he curled into her side some more, allowing Momo to pick up where he left off as best as she could. “It was during his second year at Aldera that Father heard Inko break down in the employee break room when talking with another employee. After pulling Inko into his personal office and hearing the full story, Father wanted to help Inko and Izuku in any way he could, especially since it was similar to how Mother was treated when she was younger.”

Momo had a flash of anger cross her face before she tightened the embrace on Izuku, feeling him start to shake as she continued. “Father invited Inko and Izuku to our home, where I met Izuku for the first time, and where he told me how he was treated, how he thought of himself, and showed me the bandages that covered his arm. It didn’t matter to me that Izu didn’t have a quirk, just that he was someone who needed a friend and who could support him.” Momo looked towards Izuku curled into her side, feeling the shaking subside a little. “We understood each other on a different level, one that our parents couldn’t even fathom. One of the best days of my life is when I first met Izu, amongst all the other wonderful memories we’ve made together.”

Oboro could only smile at what Momo had declared, leaning back into the couch. He had noticed when Izuku had started shaking but with a few soothing words from Momo, he quickly returned back to normal. He still had questions for Izuku and what he remembered from his time at Aldera, but the most important questions he had were answered by the couple, so he decided to drop the topic for the time being. As he watched the couple embrace in front of him, something struck a chord in him, memories of Nemuri and himself doing something similar in the past for each other.

Over the course of his teaching career, Oboro had dealt with a wide variety of students, all coming from unique situations. He tried to think back to any of his previous students if they could even relate to what Izuku went through, knowing he had never dealt with someone who was quirkless most of their life nor heard what they had experienced first hand. Based on the statistics year to year, he knew how bad quirkless people were treated, especially with how rare quirklessness was becoming. Most of the kids that were born quirkless never made it to high school, while the others that made it past high school barely lasted a few years into adulthood. The most ‘successful’ were usually people who worked from home, alone, and rarely ventured out.

Knowing that Izuku was quirkless for most of his life, Nezu had gone ahead and pulled the records of the boys from Aldera. Oboro was surprised to learn that Izuku technically didn’t exist in the Aldera school system, something that set off red flags for both adults, knowing that schools had to keep records of all their students until at least adulthood. For the records to just not exist told the teachers how much they actually cared about Izuku Midoriya at the time and the shady practices in place, even if it was over eight years ago.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Izuku said quietly, knocking Oboro out of his musings, as Izuku slightly pulled out of Momo’s embrace to look towards him. “I would prefer if we didn't have to talk about what happened back then any more today.”

“I completely understand, Midoriya,” Oboro responded softly, looking back at Izuku in concern. “You’ve answered most of the questions that I had for you today, so I won’t have to ask about it anymore.” Izuku nodded as he curled back into Momo’s side. He watched them for a few seconds before he continued. “I just want you two to know that my door is always open,” Oboro explained, seeing the couple look over towards him again. “No matter what you need help with, regardless if it’s something minor or major, I will always be here.”

“Thank you, Shirakumo,” Momo responded for the two of them, feeling Izuku tighten the embrace a bit, “you don’t understand how much that means to us.” Oboro nodded as he picked up his tea again, taking another sip. They allowed the silence to hang over them, not knowing where to go from there. Once Oboro placed his teacup back down, he was about to allow the couple to return to class when the intercom near the door clicked on.

“Oboro,” Nezu said over the intercom, getting the teacher’s attention and causing him to look up towards the camera in the corner. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but once you are finished with your talk with Midoriya and Yaoyorozu, can you send them to my office?”

“Of course, Boss,” Oboro responded, giving the camera a nod. “I can send them now, if you’re ready?”

“That would be perfect,” Nezu responded, “I would like you to join them in my office, as this involves you as well. I've sent a message to Nemuri and she will also be meeting us once Class 1-A homeroom is done.” Oboro raised his eyebrow curiously, looking between the couple and the camera, but before he could ask, Nezu disconnected the intercom.

“We should get going,” Oboro said as he carefully stood up. “Don't want to keep Boss waiting any longer than he has to.” Izuku and Momo nodded, separated and got up themselves, before following Oboro out of his office.

Chapter Text

After being summoned via text message, Nemuri found herself walking towards the principal’s office, having released Class 1-A for lunch only a few minutes prior. She knew better than to reach for the door knob. The door automatically swung open as she approached, granting her access to the large office and the small benevolent tyrant within. “You wanted to see me, Boss?” Nemuri questioned as she stepped into the room. Pausing on the other side of the door frame, Nemuri took in all the other occupants in the large office, hearing the door she had just walked through automatically click shut behind her.

Directly in the center of the room sat two sofas, with a pair of armchairs between them on one side, surrounding a fairly large coffee table in the middle. To one side of the room sat a few display cases that Nezu had stored artifacts he had collected over the years. On the other side of the room sat a massive computer desk, one that looked comically big for the person behind it, holding up a pair of computer monitors and a tea set.

Momo and Izuku were sitting on one of the sofas, sitting close enough for their legs and shoulders to touch, each holding their own steaming teacup in their hands. In one of the armchairs beside them sat Toshinori, or All Might in his small form, also drinking from a steaming teacup held daintily in one gigantic hand. Across from the teenage couple sat Nemuri’s longtime friend, Oboro, who was currently smiling softly at her arrival, having moved over a bit to make some space for her to sit. She frowned at his wince as he resettled his weight onto the comfy couch. Behind the computer desk was the principal himself, Nezu, pouring a new teacup for her arrival.

“There is something that we must discuss that involves Oboro and yourself,” Nezu responded simply as he finished pouring Nemuri’s teacup and pushed it to the edge of his computer desk. Over the years, the UA faculty had heard stories of what happened to people who didn’t accept Nezu’s offer of tea, and Nemuri wasn’t going to be the one to find out if they were true, quickly accepting the tea and taking a seat beside her longtime friend. “Now that we’re all here, please allow me to take some precautions before we can officially start.”

The three other adults in the room knew what Nezu meant about precautions, having been in this exact office many times in the past discussing important topics that they couldn’t risk outside ears listening in on. Toshinori continued sipping his tea, while Oboro and Nemuri had put their teacups down, all three of them watching Nezu inputting a sequence of key presses into a keypad on his desk or watching the reactions of the two teenagers on the sofa. They smiled at the confusion on the couple’s faces, knowing they had all worn similar looks in the past when they first learned about the distance Nezu would take in his precautions.

As Nezu was finishing inputting a password into his keypad, another button was revealed from under the desktop, letting Nezu reach forward and firmly press the button. Everything around them seemed to begin moving all at once, causing the couple to look around in amazement. Thick metal shutters descended from the ceiling, quickly covering every section of the walls, windows, and doors of the room. Lights that were built into the shutters quickly illuminated, replacing all the natural light that had been blocked out, bringing a certain brightness back to the room.

Just as Izuku was about to say something, Nezu held up his paw to stop him, informing them to give the room another few seconds. Izuku and Momo both listened, hearing a few final clicks as everything finally settled into place around the room, before a soft hum could be heard. It slowly increased in volume, blanketing the occupants inside the room, before stopping at a tone that was loud enough to be noticeable but not annoyingly so. When Nezu dropped his paw and smiled towards the teenage couple, they suspected that the room was finally secured and it was safe to talk.

“I’ve read rumors over the years about UA having a security system that was on par with Tartarus, including having a special lockdown mode they use for containing the strongest villains,” Izuku said quietly in amazement as he looked around once more. “I never once thought I would have the chance to experience it myself. This is amazing and well thought out. I would love to meet the person who designed and programmed it.”

“It’s not limited to a single room either,” Oboro explained to the students. “UA has procedures in place that can lockdown the whole school in a similar fashion, making sure threats cannot get in or out, in case of an emergency.” The adults in the room watched in amusement as the teengers’ eyes sparkled in wonder at the concept. “As far as I know, there’s never been a threat large enough that warranted the full use of the system.”

“The full lockdown system is not something that is used often,” Nezu explained. “We do a yearly testing during the summer and winter months to make sure all systems are fully operational, but there has only been one situation during my time at UA that warranted the full use of the lockdown system.” Nezu’s eyes twinkled in the light, sending a few chills down the other occupants’ backs. “As for my personal lockdown system, it’s more of a precaution than anything, but it’s used more often than you’d think.”

“The hum that we can hear,” Momo started as she looked towards Nezu, “that’s an anti-listening device, is it not? I’ve heard that even the most advanced technology and any sort of listening or enhanced hearing quirk are not able to decrypt the sound the device produces.”

“That’s correct, Yaoyorozu,” Nezu responded in an amused tone. “It’s a patented technology that hasn’t been released to the public, one that I helped design and perfect with Yaoyorozu Co. I’ve been working with the Yaoyorozus for many years now, and plan to continue for many more to come.” The people in the room noticed a twinkle in the mammal’s eyes as he continued, “and someone had to design and program the Tartarus’ security systems.” The group waited for Nezu to expand on what he meant, but as he took another sip of his tea, the mammal appeared to be content with the extent of his revelations, as well as the responses they elicited.

“This conversation must be a serious one if you're using the lockdown system,” Nemuri commented as she looked towards Momo and Izuku. “The last time we used it was for Yagi’s condition before the term started.”

The clink of a teacup being placed on the desktop in front of Nezu caused the room’s occupants to look towards him, finding the mammal giving a serious and firm look at his two employees sitting on the couch. The occupants could feel a slight chill in the air as the mood changed, indicating how serious this conversation really was. “What Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are about to tell you will greatly influence the future of Japan, and possibly the world, over the next few years,” Nezu explained firmly. “This discussion was requested by the two you see in front of you, based on a recommendation from Toshinori and I. I trust you understand how serious this is?” Nezu questioned, seeing Oboro and Nemuri quickly nod in return, before he turned towards the teenagers. “Would you two like to begin, or would you prefer Toshinori and I?

Izuku and Momo looked between each other, catching the other's eyes while simultaneously tapping their fingers against the other’s hand, communicating between themselves without ever saying a word. “I believe it would be best if we begin,” Momo told Nezu when she had turned back towards him, “but Toshinori and yourself are welcome to join in at any time to help explain further.”

“Very well,” Nezu responded as he sat back in his chair, a fresh steaming teacup in one hand, as he held his paw out towards the other teachers. “You two have the floor.”

“Before we begin explaining why we’ve requested you two here,” Izuku began as he looked towards the two teachers across from him before focusing solely on Nemuri. “We would like to apologize to Auntie Nem for not telling you sooner. Knowing you’re a quirk counselor, we know you must have a bunch of questions about our situation.” Nemuri nodded, looking like she wanted to ask a question before Izuku stopped her. “Please allow us to explain first as some of those questions you have may be answered.” Nemuri nodded again before settling back into the couch a bit beside Oboro.

“What we’re about to tell you,” Momo began once Izuku was done, “is something that only a handful of people know. It’s a secret that has been well-guarded all its life, one that has been passed down from generation to generation. You cannot share this secret with anybody unless you ask us first. Nezu and Toshinori know about it, as well as Recovery Girl.”

“Does this have something to do with how you two share a quirk?” Oboro questioned as he leaned forward a bit, careful of his arm that was still in a sling. Izuku and Momo nodded in confirmation as a response. “I’m guessing Shuzenji helped keep this secret when I was questioning about it last week?” Another nod from the teenagers. “I knew I was missing some context.”

“That was intentional,” Momo continued explaining, “but we never lied about our situation.” Oboro appeared to accept that, sinking back into the couch beside Nemuri.

“If you were to share what we’re about to tell you with the wrong people,” Izuku began, “it would no doubt put a target on our backs. Not only will the HPSC and the Government do whatever means necessary to get their hands on this information, villains and even other heroes would stop at nothing to do the same.” Oboro and Nemuri didn’t even try to hide the shock at the revelation, realizing at that moment just how serious the secret was, and how much these two must trust them to finally tell them.

“To offer some clarifications before we start explaining why we share quirks,” Momo began, “you must understand what happened before we found ourselves in this situation. To begin, I was born with a quirk factor and awakened Creation not long after my fourth birthday.”

“But I was born without a quirk factor,” Izuku continued. “When I turned five years old, Mom was worried that I wouldn’t be awakening a quirk, and took me to multiple doctors for testing. The results all came back negative, proving that I didn’t have a quirk factor from either of my parents. It wasn’t until two weeks before the entrance exam that a quirk was transferred to me.”

“Now hold on a second,” Oboro held up his hand to stop the explanation. “There’s never been a quirk in recorded history that could be transferred, otherwise we would have heard about it,” Oboro pointed out. “The only thing I can think about that even comes close…” Oboro’s eyes went wide as he looked between the two teenagers in front of him, remembering the rumors that were passed around underground heroes. “…the quirk boogeyman. He would offer powerful quirks in exchange for their sworn loyalty.”

“His name was All For One,” Toshinori commented darkly from his spot between his fellow teachers and his mentees. “And he ruled the underworld of Japan for close to two centuries.” Oboro’s and Nemuri’s eyes were wide as they looked towards Toshinori. “He was the same supervillain that gave me my injury before I killed him six years ago.”

“So the rumors were true…” Oboro said quietly as he leaned back into the couch.

“How come we’ve never heard of this?” Nemuri asked Toshinori.

“What would have happened to Japan if people heard of a supervillain that could give and take quirks?” Toshinori questioned in response, watching as the gears started working in the younger teachers’ heads. “What would have happened if they found out that a supervillain could seriously injure, or even kill, All Might?”

“Complete and utter panic throughout Japan, and possibly the world,” Oboro responded quietly, realization dawning on his face as he also looked towards Toshinori.

Toshinori nodded, “which is why only a handful of people knew of his existence. Look at how the public reacted when All Might wasn’t seen for a few weeks six years ago. They had already started asking too many questions.”

“Because of Toshinori’s injury, he began looking for someone to succeed him,” Momo began explaining again, getting the two teachers’ attention on the couple again. “Someone who was worthy of accepting his quirk and becoming the next Symbol of Japan, to hopefully keep the Era of Peace that All Might had ushered in.”

“Are you saying that All Might’s quirk was the one transferred to you?” Oboro questioned in disbelief, looking between Toshinori and the teenagers, before realizing something odd about that statement. “But your quirks, this shared quirk, is nothing like All Might’s. You’ve never shown any enhanced physical capabilities, and we’ve only witnessed you using Smoke and Creation.”

“This is where my quirk gets tricky, now that it’s been transferred from Toshinori to both Momo and myself,” Izuku admitted honestly, “and may take a while to explain exactly how we found ourselves in this situation.” Izuku took a deep breath before releasing it out slowly, feeling Momo’s hand intertwine with his own at the same time. “Before my quirk was transferred to me…”

Izuku went on to tell the origins of OFA and AFO, with Toshinori, Nezu, and Momo jumping in every so often to add in some important points. He told the story of how he was going to meet Momo for lunch when he heard Himiko’s cry for help, and everything that had followed after that. From saving Himiko, to being told about OFA from Toshinori and the chance to receive a quirk, to the training the both of them had gone through expecting Izuku to receive the same strength that All Might had, to actually accepting the quirk after ten months of training.

They described how the transfer happened, and how they believe it was transferred to both parties through a shared kiss during the transfer. (Nemuri in particular had a twinkle in her eye at this, and Izuku had to focus on enjoying his tea to get through it as Momo explained.)

They detailed the first meeting of the vestige En, and how he informed them that they would be unlocking an upgraded Smokescreen first, but also how Creation had begun merging with OFA. They clarified that Smoke was unlocked first because the stockpile was too powerful for a single body to handle, and even when it was transferred between the two teenagers, it was still too powerful for them to handle.

They repeated what the vestiges had told them about Creation merging with OFA, eventually becoming one one quirk that was shared between the two of them. They also informed them how OFA had upgraded Creation, similarly to how it upgraded Smokescreen, and the partial mental connection they now shared. They pointed out how Izuku’s body had gone through physical changes over the last week after Creation had fully merged, using Momo’s physique as a base and adapting his own to be on par.

As a demonstration, they both made their distinctly colored smoke, then small matryoshka dolls appeared out of their palms. Nemuri barely suppressed a giggle at seeing the designs: the figurine in Izuku's hand wearing Momo's hero costume and vice versa. Oboro nodded thoughtfully, and both he and Nemuri were clearly impressed and already thinking of plans to help.

As they finished telling their teachers everything about OFA, the vestiges, the sharing of quirks, and the knowledge of more quirks to come, they went on to explain why they had decided to tell Oboro and Nemuri. They clarified that it was their choice to bring them into their inner circle of trust, and greatly took into consideration the recommendation from both Nezu and Toshinori in making their decision. They believed that Cloud and Somnambulist were similar enough to Smoke that they were justified in telling them their secret, with hopes of learning how to better perfect their own quirk.

“…and that's what leads us to today,” Momo finished explaining.

Oboro was leaning forward, his elbow on one knee as his casted arm laid gently in front of his other knee. He appeared deep in thought for a moment, even catching the attention of Nemuri beside him. “How long did Himiko suppress her quirk?” Oboro questioned darkly.

“Ever since she was young, possibly since the day her quirk came in,” Momo responded with a sad look on her face, one that was mirrored by Izuku beside her. “We were told her biological parents forced her to suppress her quirk to make her more normal.” Momo spat out the word ‘normal’ as if it was poison.

Oboro slammed his good hand into the couch, a bit of Cloud being involuntarily summoned in the process. Nemuri looked over towards her friend in concern, reaching out and rubbing circles along his back. “I know what suppressing a quirk can do to someone,” Oboro said darkly, “and I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”

“The Togas have been handled,” Nezu responded in a flat voice, his lip curling up ever so slightly before he cleared his throat, as everyone in the room looked over towards him. “Detective Naomasa contacted me directly once he finished taking Himiko’s statement. I made sure the judge threw the book at the Togas, and expedited the adoption papers through the system for Miyuki and Yuukichi. Himiko will never have to worry about those monsters ever again.”

“Thank you, Nezu,” Izuku said quietly, “you don’t know how much that means to both of us, and especially Himiko. It took some time for her to feel comfortable enough to break out of her shell, but she's been able to be more of herself ever since.” Izuku shared a look with Momo, soft smiles on both of their faces. “She’s been the best sister that Mo and I ever could have asked for, and we’re so grateful for having her in our lives.”

“You’re welcome, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu,” Nezu responded, pouring another cup of tea to calm his anger. “Ever since I escaped captivity, it’s been one of my missions to make sure people don’t suffer in any way, shape, or form as I once did.” Everyone in the room had heard rumors of the time Nezu had escaped from a group of scientists, but nobody had ever been told the full story. As the silence grew throughout the room, Nezu walked around the room with a fresh pot of tea, either filling up the empty cups or replacing the ones that had gone cold.

“You mentioned that you’re going to be unlocking more quirks?” Nemuri questioned, breaking the silence after a handful of minutes, attempting to process everything that was revealed. Momo and Izuku both nodded in confirmation. “Do you know what kind of quirks you’ll be unlocking?”

“The only one we’ve witnessed in the vestige realm so far was Blackwhip. It appeared to be a black tendril-like quirk, allowing us to summon it out of our hands and command it at will,” Izuku explained.

“You’ll also be receiving my mentor’s quirk,” Toshinori chipped in, “Her quirk was called Float before she received OFA, and it originally allowed her to levitate off the ground and little else. When she received OFA, it enhanced Float into something akin to Flight.”

“We don’t know the other three quirks that we’ll be receiving,” Momo admitted, “Second and Third don’t appear to like us and our way of thinking, and we haven’t had the opportunity to question Fourth on what his quirk is.”

“Izuku, not asking about a quirk?” Nemuri smirked in his direction, “absolutely unheard of. Who are you and what have you done with Izuku Midoriya?”

Izuku could only smile with a light dusting of a blush on his cheek. “I’m usually spending time with Mo when we’re there, and we often get so lost in what we’re doing together that I don’t remember to ask.” Nemuri could only coo at that response, smiling towards her honorary niece and nephew.

“Just so we’re on the same page,” Oboro began, looking towards the teenagers, “you decided to tell us about OFA because of how similar Smoke is to Cloud and Somnambulist, and you believe we are the best people to train you in mastering your quirks.” Izuku and Momo nodded in confirmation. “You would also like our help in keeping OFA a secret from your peers for the time being.” Another nod. “On top of all of that, you’ll also be unlocking six other quirks?”

“Five other quirks,” Momo corrected. “Yoichi’s original quirk was Bestow before it merged with Stockpile, creating OFA and allowing it to be transferred. Toshinori was quirkless before receiving OFA which means there was no quirk to add into the stockpile itself. Smoke was En’s or Sixth’s quirk. This leaves us with Second’s, Third’s, Fourth’s, Fifth’s Blackwhip, and Seven’s Float to unlock in the future.”

“You mentioned a mental block on the Stockpile,” Oboro recalled, “will you not be unlocking that as well?”

“We’re unsure,” Izuku responded, “Yoichi believes that the Stockpile will continue to enhance the other quirks as we receive them, slowly depleting the Stockpile until it’s safe for the two of us to use.”

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming,” Nemuri looked between the couple, seeing them nod in confirmation.

“But there’s now two people increasing the Stockpile simultaneously,” Momo continued, “and depending on the rate it increases and how quickly we unlock the other quirks, Izu and I suspect that we may never be able to use the Stockpile portion of OFA safely.”

“But you’ll also have six quirks from the previous users of OFA, all enhanced beyond what they originally were, plus Creation and the enhancements OFA has provided,” Oboro pointed out.

“Correct,” Izuku responded, Momo and himself nodding in confirmation.

“If I hadn’t worked for Nezu all these years,” Oboro began quietly as he looked towards the teacup in front of him, “I would have suspected he drugged my tea with something.”

“Nonsense,” Nezu responded simply, “there’s much easier ways to drug someone without ruining a good cup of tea.” The five other occupants in the room blinked once, looking up towards Nezu as he happily sipped from his own cup of tea, feeling a chill go down their spines at the mischievous smile that Nezu wore.

As Oboro turned back towards the couple in front of him, he watched as they slowly returned to their original positions. He attempted to process everything they had discussed, from the very quirk that Izuku was gifted, to the sharing of One For All and Creation, to the quirks they had yet to unlock, to their requests of training them to prepare for an evil they didn’t even know was alive.

Looking towards Nemuri, he found her watching him carefully, a hopeful look in her eye. He knew her well enough to know she’s already made up her mind on helping them with their quirks, regardless if they were family or not. She had always enjoyed helping people figure out additional aspects of their quirks before helping them improve them even further than they ever expected. It was why she had quickly become a quirk counselor early in her career. He would know. He was one of the first people that Nemuri helped when they were teenagers. Cloud wouldn’t be anywhere close to where it was without her help.

Looking back towards the teenagers, he recalled how they had used Smoke during the USJ and could easily see the resemblances to Cloud. He remembered how they were able to weave their Smoke within his Cloud against the Nomu, showing a fine control to a degree that many others took years to get to. But even if they had shown how well they could use Smoke, Oboro knew they still had much to learn. With his years of experience with Cloud, even if it was more limited compared to Smoke's versatility (and he was absolutely giving them extra training with all the ideas Izuku had piped up with. There was not a chance in hell that Oboro was letting them practice Skyfall unsupervised), he knew all the perfect tricks and techniques to mastering his quirk.

Looking back towards Nemuri and noticing the look in her eye again, he was transferred back to when they were teenagers, when they barely had a care in the world other than training their quirks. He remembered the four of them promising to train, to help each other push beyond their limits and become heroes together. The young couple in his class had already passed the stage of training and pushing each other beyond their limits, but they were still inexperienced when it came to using both their quirks, and he knew they could learn a lot from the experienced pros.

Releasing a sigh, Oboro gave Nemuri a single curt nod, watching as she smiled in response. He looked back towards the couple still waiting for their answer before he nodded towards them as well. “Okay,” Oboro said, watching as the couple relaxed and thankful smiles appeared on their faces. “Nezu, Nemuri, Yagi, and I will go over everything we know about Smoke and Creation and create a training regimen for the two of you. We’ll also pull you aside after school on certain days to see your progress, answering any questions you may have and offering you pointers on what you can improve.”

“We won’t be able to help you directly most days,” Nemuri continued, “because we don’t want to seem like we’re favoring you over the rest. We will be offering the same extra training to anybody within Class 1-A and 1-B, that way people can join if they like, but they will be informed that it’s strictly extra training for those that feel like they need it and won’t be marked. We may also ask you two to help in training your classmates. I know how good you two are at analyzing quirks and that could be a tremendous help in helping your classmates. Does this seem fair?”

Izuku and Momo shared a look, having a silent conversation with just a few taps on the other’s hand, before they turned back towards their new mentors. “We were actually planning on helping our friends train after what happened at the USJ, and Mo and I don’t mind helping the others if they ask,” Izuku informed their teachers. “But…” Izuku trailed off, looking away as Momo looked towards him in concern.

“We won’t ask you to help with Bakugo,” Oboro answered the unasked question, watching as Izuku turned back towards him. “Nem, Yagi, or I will deal with him directly if he decides he wants extra training.” Izuku and Momo both nodded gratefully, knowing they would eventually have to clash with their troublesome classmate again in the future, but the two of them would prefer to avoid it if possible. “Now, is there anything else that needs to be discussed before we finish this meeting?”

“Yes,” Momo began, “there is one more important piece of information that we must share, and it has to do with the villain that attacked the USJ.” The teenagers watched as the four adults in the room stilled, turning and giving the couple their full undivided attention.

“We were summoned to the vestige realm over the weekend, the day after the attack,” Izuku continued. “We ended up talking with all of the vestiges, even Second and Third. Honestly, it was more of a heated debate between the previous users as we listened.” Izuku shrugged as Momo nodded beside him, confirming his story.

“As we explained earlier, Yoichi was the original holder and creator of OFA. He was also the twin brother to the person we know as AFO,” Momo reiterated. “What we learned before and remembered over the weekend is that Yoichi’s family name is Shigaraki, the same family name the primary villain who gave the orders at the USJ used.” The three teachers looked shocked at the information while Nezu began typing rapidly on his computer.

“According to my findings, there hasn’t been a family name of Shigaraki since the dawn of quirks,” Nezu reported his findings, “and even then, it appears someone has tried to remove all forms of evidence that it even existed in the first place. It was one of the first things I researched when I looked at the footage of the attack.”

“But if that villain has the same family name as the First user,” Toshinori said quietly as he looked towards his teacup, “that means he had some relation to AFO.”

“Not exactly,” Izuku responded, causing Toshinori to look up towards him while Nezu stopped typing. “Yoichi believes AFO would never take a partner or have kids, not wanting to risk creating a quirk even more powerful than his own. The only possibility we concluded was that AFO was raising a successor.”

“He was playing the long game,” Nezu surmised as he turned back to his computer, looking at whatever was still pulled up on the monitors.

“That is what Yoichi thinks as well,” Momo responded to the principal, “but they are unsure what game AFO was playing.”

“But that’s not the only thing they were worried about,” Izuku continued. “The villain said the Nomu was bioengineered with multiple quirks and enhancements, all to counter All Might. If that is the case, someone was able to give and take quirks, or had figured out how to extract and implant them medically.”

“Which raises the concern of AFO still being alive,” Toshinori realized where the couple’s train of thought was going, seeing them nod in confirmation. “There’s no way he survived. We saw his lifeless body.”

“Even if he didn’t survive,” Nezu continued as he began typing on his keyboard again, “the idea that someone has figured out how to medically extract and implant quirks raises the cause for concern. I will need to do more research on the matter.” Pausing his typing, Nezu reached over and pushed the lockdown button again, releasing the room from the lockdown. The mammal was quick to continue typing, the reflection of his eyes showing multiple program windows opening and closing in rapid succession, even before the room was fully reverted back to a normal office.

“Lunch is almost over,” Oboro told the teenagers, “you two better get some food in you before afternoon classes.” Izuku and Momo nodded, helping each other up into a standing position. “Can you remind Kaminari that I’d still like to talk with him after lunch is over? Jirou is welcome to come along with him if he wants her to.” Izuku and Momo nodded in confirmation before leaving the room, hoping to get some food in their stomachs before they had to return to class.

Chapter Text

“I am aware you have an impending meeting with Kaminari and Jirou,” Nezu began once everyone else had left the office, leaving Oboro and the principal alone for the moment. Nezu reached over and hit the button for the door, waiting until it swung shut before he continued. “I wanted to discuss some information I uncovered in relation to the events of last week.”

“With Bakugo?” Oboro questioned as he moved back towards the desk, “I know you mentioned pulling his record from Aldera and some of your findings.”

Nezu nodded as he reached towards a drawer that was hidden under his desk, taking out a folder and placing it on top. “As you know, I was suspicious about why his file showed nothing but positive remarks,” Nezu explained. “Katsuki Bakugo is the first student to pass the entrance exam from Aldera in many years, and I vaguely remember the last student that passed the entrance exam had both positive and negative remarks on their record.”

His Boss had many backdoors into different school boards across Japan, most noticeably to check the records of potential students that were entering his school. Was it illegal? Highly. Did Nezu care? Not particularly.

Nezu slid the folder in front of Oboro, tapping it with his paw twice as he continued. “You’ll find some important information regarding the Aldera School Board, most in relation to Aldera Elementary and Middle School.”

Oboro nodded in understanding as he opened the folder with his good hand, looking at the pile of files that Nezu had provided him. The office was quiet except for Nezu’s typing as Oboro began looking through the folder, finding information about Aldera’s principals, vice principals, and teachers. At first glance, nothing instantly stood out to him, so he continued flipping through the different files.

Closer to the bottom of the folder, he came across his student’s file labeled ‘Katsuki Bakugo’. It was similar to the file that Nezu provided him before the beginning of term, one that Aldera had sent to them directly, but this one appeared to include more information. He found all the positive remarks that Nezu mentioned before, including all the teachers’ names beside them, something that was hidden in the file he read previously. He knew Nezu wasn’t lying about the file showing no negative remarks, especially after dealing with his student over the last week, but it was still intriguing to see it for himself.

Noting that he hadn't finished the folder’s contents, Oboro flipped past Katsuki’s file, finding a fairly blank sheet with a name at the top. The file was labeled ‘Izuku Midoriya’ and had a picture of his student when he was four or five years old, smiling with hope behind his eyes. Beside Izuku’s younger photo, he found basic information about him, including his old address, parent contact information, blood type, and allergies, the bare minimum that schools were required to have. The only other piece of information on the page was ‘QUIRKLESS’ in big, bold, red lettering directly under all the other information, meant to stand out to whoever was reading the file.

“Midoriya’s file is dated close to ten years ago,” Oboro pointed out the date beside Izuku’s information. “This appears to be right after his diagnosis,” he moved his finger down towards the red lettering, tapping it once with his finger, “and this is meant to capture attention when looking at the file.”

“That is correct,” Nezu confirmed. “It’s the last official file from the Aldera School Board for Izuku Midoriya.”

“But Midoriya and Yaoyorozu mentioned he went to Aldera for two years before he was taken in by the Yaoyorozus,” Oboro recalled the conversation from earlier. “There should be another file from his last year at Aldera, one with updated information.”

“It appears that Aldera wrote him off as soon as they learned about his diagnosis,” Nezu commented with a small growl before straightening himself back up. “I found evidence that files were deleted, but no matter how much I tried to recover them, it appears that someone was an expert at making them disappear. What you see in front of you is the only file I was able to recover, and it was deleted not long after Midoriya was removed from Aldera.”

“School boards are required to keep student files until adulthood, at the very least. Some even keep the files indefinitely.” Oboro hummed in thought as he looked back down towards the photo of Izuku, seeing the hope behind his eyes once more, realizing that it must have been taken before his diagnosis. “But it doesn’t explain why his quirkless status is bolded like this.”

“It definitely raises more questions,” Nezu confirmed. “I’ve researched other quirkless students throughout different school boards in Japan, and none of them have files like Aldera’s.”

“If I didn’t know better, I would say Aldera’s School Board is Quirkist.” Oboro commented. Not hearing a response, Oboro looked back up towards Nezu, finding his Boss deep in thought for a moment. “Boss?”

“A student with a powerful quirk is given free reign throughout his years, while a student without a quirk is treated like the bottom of the barrel and is forced to leave, one way or another.” Nezu hummed in deep thought, looking up towards his monitor and ignoring the other teacher for the moment. “Even when I pulled other students’ files from Aldera, their files are a fraction of the size of Katsuki Bakugo’s. They may have a few comments, mostly centered on their quirks, but nothing related to their studies as befits a proper educational system.”

“That’s not the only concerning connection that I’ve found,” Nezu commented as he leaned forward, typing on his keyboard again. “The principals, VPs, and most of the teachers are apparently ghosts in the system. Similarly to how Midoriya’s files have been deleted, the teachers’ files have as well, hidden behind some kind of firewall that I haven’t been able to crack yet.” Nezu paused in his typing and Oboro could almost see the steam coming from the top of the mammal’s head as he thought.

“The other oddity I found is most of the teachers currently in practice at Aldera, in both Elementary and Middle School, all moved to Musutafu from the same place.” Nezu typed a few times on his keyboard before reaching up and angling his monitor, showing Oboro a city landscape that was surrounded by forest in Aichi prefecture. “Deika City. It first started out with the principals in each school, and they appeared to force the previous teachers out before hiring their own. Most that had left quoted a toxic work environment, but they wouldn’t expand further on their reasonings.”

“What could it mean?” Oboro questioned rhetorically.

“I’m not sure yet,” Nezu responded as he turned the monitor back around, “but I cannot access anything more on their servers to try and confirm my suspicions. Every path I take leads me to a dead end, all pinging different locations throughout Japan.”

Oboro sighed, knowing his Boss well enough to read between the lines, before giving him a curt nod and getting one in return. “Am I going as Oboro or Cloud?” Oboro questioned.

“You could try going as Oboro,” Nezu responded, “but I don’t believe you’ll find anything useful. I’m able to disable the security cameras at Aldera giving you access after hours, but I’m unable to do anything about Deika City. I will also be assigning Nemuri to go with you once Chiyo allows you to return to hero work.”

Oboro looked down towards his arm in the sling, wiggling the fingers ever so slightly and only feeling a slight pain. “I should be cleared within the next few days,” Oboro responded as he looked back up towards his Boss, seeing him nod in acceptance.

“I want Aldera investigated before the Sports Festival,” Nezu said as he turned back towards his computer. “We will wait to move on Deika City for the time being, or until I can confirm my suspicions myself. I’m removing all my tracks as I investigate but I can only hope they haven’t caught wind of my research yet.”

“Anything else?” Oboro questioned as he closed the folder and held it in his hand, knowing Nezu had copies of everything inside for himself.

“That will be everything for right now,” Nezu confirmed, “and you have a meeting to attend to. The lunch period is about to end, and I can already see how nervous Kaminari is with a concerned Jirou beside him.” Nezu looked up at Oboro, a serious look across the mammal’s face. “I’ll be listening to the conversation between you three, as I’m curious about what his record doesn’t show.”

Oboro gave Nezu a curt nod in return, knowing he listened to most conversations that happened within UA’s walls. Tucking the folder under his arm, Oboro turned and began making his way out of the room, watching as the door opened automatically. He sighed as he walked through the door. It had already been a long and revelatory day and it appeared it wasn’t going to end anytime soon.

As Oboro returned to his office, he noticed the amount of paperwork that was still covering the coffee table. Letting out a sigh, he moved towards his desk that was also covered in paperwork, before dropping the folder he was carrying into one of the drawers under the desk. Knowing he only had a short amount of time before Denki and Kyouka showed up, he moved towards his coffee table and started tidying up the scattered paperwork, sorting them into respective piles and placing them aside.

Keeping his hands occupied worked to take his mind off the conversations he had earlier, including the investigation that Nezu had trusted him with, making the time pass quickly. Once the coffee table was clean, he moved towards the desk and did the same, before making his way towards the tea set in the corner. Knowing that Denki was nervous about the meeting thanks to Nezu, Oboro opted to make some calming tea for his students. Even if his students didn’t drink the tea, Oboro knew he could use some after everything that happened that morning.

As the tea finished boiling, Oboro picked up the teapot and moved it towards the coffee table, placing it beside the three empty teacups. Hearing a knock on the door, Oboro sat down on the couch before calling out to his guests. “Door’s unlocked!” He looked up as the door opened, watching as Kyouka walked into the office first, holding Denki’s hand with her own while her ear jack was wrapped around their intertwined hands. “Please, come in!” Oboro said with as much of his friendly excitement that he could muster, instantly seeing a small amount of tension release from the teenagers’ shoulders. “Would you two like some tea? It’s meant to help calm you down.”

“That would be great,” Kyouka responded as she guided Denki towards the couch, making sure he sat down with enough room left for her beside him. During their entrance, Oboro leaned forward and filled the two empty cups in front of his students, before moving to do the same to his own. “Thank you, Shirakumo,” Kyouka said as she picked up Denki’s and handed it to him.

Denki looked towards the teacup for a moment, allowing the aroma that was steaming off the top to enter his lungs, before taking a small sip. Oboro watched as Denki let the warmth of the tea wash over him, allowing him to relax and the tension to leave his shoulders. Kyouka’s lips twitched ever so slightly as she picked up her own teacup and leaned into Denki’s side, her ear jack circling around his arm and beginning to run soft circles in his forearm.

“I’m sure you two understand why I called Kaminari here,” Oboro began, watching as Denki stiffened up slightly and Kyouka looked towards him in concern. “I want to make it clear that I won’t ask you to talk about anything you’re uncomfortable sharing. If you prefer that we don’t talk about something, please let me know and I’ll stop asking. I’m not here to force you to talk, but if there is a way that I can help with anything, I would like to offer my assistance.”

Denki nodded slowly as he looked towards his teacup. “Thank you, Shirakumo,” Denki responded quietly, feeling Kyouka lean more into his side. Closing his eyes for a second, he took another sip of tea, before looking directly at Oboro. “Izuku and Yaomomo told us they trusted you, and said that you only wanted to help when they noticed how nervous I was.” Oboro nodded in understanding, knowing how close the four had gotten thanks to Nemuri updating him this morning before classes. “I’ve had bad experiences in the past, but I think I want to try again. Not just for me, but for Ky as well.”

“I completely understand,” Oboro responded kindly, “and we can stop at any time.” Oboro reached forward, glad to feel no pain from the motion, and picked up his own teacup, taking a sip from it before he leaned back into the couch. “Before we jump into what I originally called you here for, why don’t we start with something a little more casual? How was your weekend?”

“The first night after the attack was rough,” Denki responded, transferring his teacup to his other hand before snaking his arm around Kyouka, pulling her closer to him in comfort. “Dad picked us up from UA but he had to work that night, and Ky’s parents went out of town when we moved into the dorms. I don’t think either of us got any sleep that night.”

Kyouka nodded beside him. “Anytime I fell asleep, I kept seeing that monster hit you over and over again,” Kyouka admitted quietly, “and Yaomomo and Green couldn’t make it in time. Once it was done with you, it came after us…” Kyouka shuddered in Denki’s embrace, feeling him hold her closer.

“I kept seeing the villains attacking us and I couldn’t do anything to stop them,” Denki said quietly. “Even if Bakugo and I got out of our zone mostly unharmed, I kept seeing the villains kill him or one of our other classmates, before they came after me.”

“The first villain attack that one experiences is one that will plague even the strongest hero’s mind for years to come,” Oboro explained quietly as he nodded, noticing Denki and Kyouka looking towards him. “I still remember my first villain encounter in my second year almost as if it happened yesterday. It’s the main reason why I have my own personal counselor outside of UA.” Denki and Kyouka nodded slowly, their faces morphing into one of realization and understanding. “Hound Dog is the students’ guidance counselor here at UA, and being a pro himself, he understands what students go through in the hero course. He is open to talk with any of the students about anything they may need help on,” Oboro finished.

After a beat of silence, and realizing that Denki wasn’t going to continue for the moment, Kyouka began talking about the rest of their weekend. “Yaomomo and Green invited us over the day after and we spent some time just hanging out in their home.” Kyouka looked towards Denki as she continued talking. “I think it was exactly what the two of us needed. Neither of us wanted to be alone, and being surrounded by friends that genuinely cared for us, really helped.”

“Nemuri informed me you two came with Midoriya and Yaoyorozu this morning, having spent the rest of the weekend with the Yaoyorozus,” Oboro commented, seeing both students nod in response. “I’m happy you two found some comfort with them. They both appear to have a need to help everyone and anyone they can.”

Denki cracked a small smile, not going unnoticed by Kyouka or Oboro, as he remembered the gifts the two had received. “They’re amazing,” Denki said quietly, “and I’m so thankful for them wanting to be our friends.”

“We’re thankful,” Kyouka quickly corrected as she smiled towards Denki. “They went out of their way to offer us a place for the night, knowing we didn’t want to be alone, and spend most of the weekend with us. I don’t think either of us would have gotten any sleep this past weekend if not for them.”

Oboro softly smiled towards the teenagers, not wanting to ruin the moment, but knowing he must begin delving into the real reason they were there. Clearing his throat, Oboro moved Denki’s file from the side of the coffee table to the middle between them, making sure they could see the name on the file but not the contents. “Do you mind if we begin talking about what I found in your file, Kaminari?”

Denki looked towards the coffee table, to the file that had his name on it, before looking back up at his teacher. He could see the concern and caring look on his teacher’s face, something he hadn’t experienced from a teacher before. Denki closed his eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he nodded.

Oboro nodded in return, knowing that Denki couldn’t see him for the moment, before he reached over and picked up the file. Opening it up, he found it was very similar to Katsuki’s file but instead of positive remarks, he found a concerning amount of remarks in relation to Denki’s quirk and his discharging, dating back to when he was a kid. He also read that Denki had transferred to a large number of different schools over his lifetime, moving from place to place and never appearing to stay longer than a term or two at a time until recently.

“Before we begin, considering this is confidential information that we will be talking about,” Oboro began as Denki and Kyouka looked towards him, “I want to make sure I have your permission to talk about this with Jirou here.”

“Yeah,” Denki said roughly before clearing his throat, noticing Kyouka looking towards him in concern. “Yeah,” Denki repeated, “I want Ky here with me. She knows almost everything in that folder, including what happened when I was younger.”

Oboro looked towards Kyouka, wanting to confirm that she did know, and watched as she nodded in response. “Very well,” Oboro continued, “I do want to remind you that if at any time you would like to stop, please just let me know. Anything we talk about today will not affect you or your education in any way, shape, or form during your time at UA.” Denki nodded in understanding, allowing Oboro to continue.

“The first thing I would like to talk about is your quirk,” Oboro began, watching as Denki stiffened up a bit. “Many of the notes in this file mention you having issues with controlling your quirk, including discharging yourself accidentally.”

Denki nodded, adjusting Kyouka slightly so he could sit up straighter. “Just after my fourth birthday is when my quirk came in, and I remember having no issues in controlling my electricity. From what Dad has told me, I could cover my body with my electricity and shoot it away from me. It wasn’t very powerful at the time, but it was enough that I could stun my Mom and Dad, similar to how my Dad’s quirk was when he was younger.”

Oboro nodded, looking back down towards the file. “The earliest report I’m seeing is from after your fifth birthday.” Oboro quickly reread the report, stating that Denki had discharged his quirk and hurt another child. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Denki nodded slowly, his eyes taking over a faraway look as he tried to remember the past. “I don’t remember the incident happening,” Denki began, “but I was told after that my quirk began charging electricity over my whole body before suddenly discharging, hurting a classmate and shutting down the school’s electrical grid in the process. I was informed after the fact that I blacked out from the large discharge and it was ruled an accident.”

“And you never had this happen to you before?” Oboro questioned.

“No,” Denki responded quietly, “not until after that week I couldn’t access my quirk.”

Oboro snapped his head up towards Denki, finding he had closed his eyes again while Kyouka was looking at him in concern, both teenagers missing his reaction. “You couldn’t access your quirk for a week?” Oboro questioned suspiciously, causing Kyouka to look towards him curiously, seeing his shocked look.

“Mom took me to see Dr. Inaba, our local quirk doctor, before my fifth birthday to get a proper quirk test done and to reclassify my quirk to be similar to my Dad's,” Denki opened his eyes as he explained to his teacher. “According to Inaba, it was a rare occurrence for a child to lose access to their quirk after a quirk test and we were reassured it would return in a few days. When it didn’t return, Mom ended up taking me back to Inaba and after another quirk test, I was able to access my quirk again.”

“Do you remember what the quirk test was like?” Oboro questioned seriously.

“No,” Denki responded honestly, “I only remember going with Dr. Inaba and returning to my Mom. I don’t remember what the quirk test entitled. The following week is when Dad said my quirk appeared to be much more powerful. It was also the same time I began having issues in controlling my quirk and when my first discharge happened.”

Oboro hummed in thought for a moment, his mind attempting to process what exactly that had meant. He had never heard of someone losing access to their quirk at such a young age before. He knew that some of the older heroes could lose access to their quirk but that was because of injury.

“Is something the matter, Teach?” Kyouka questioned.

“I don’t know,” Oboro responded honestly, “but I’ve never heard of someone losing access to their quirk unless it was due to injury. I’m not a medical professional so I would need to research the matter further.” Denki and Kyouka nodded in response, as Oboro looked up towards the camera in the corner and noticed it zoom in and out once, before giving it a curt nod and returning his look to his students. “I’m guessing that experience is why you don’t like doctors?”

“Yeah,” Denki responded, “that is the main reason. After I lost access to my quirk, I’ve been hesitant to see another doctor unless absolutely required to. Dr. Inaba was very persistent in trying to get my Mom to bring me back after I discharged, but Dad didn’t want to risk me losing access to my quirk again.”

Oboro nodded, understanding why the Kaminaris would be afraid of taking their son back to a doctor that seemingly made their son’s quirk disappear. As the silence stretched on, Oboro looked back down to the file, noticing another concerning piece of information that stuck out to him. “I noticed that you and your dad moved around Japan a lot, never staying more than one term in a single place, before finally settling down in Musutafu recently. I doubt it would be related to the discharges you were having as the reports were less frequent as you got older. Was there another reason?” Oboro was careful not to make too many assumptions or speak over his student, opening up in a vulnerable time. Listening was key.

“When I was younger, Dad explained to me that it was because of work. He claimed that he was always chasing better paying jobs to better support us,” Denki explained quietly but clearly, and Oboro could see how drained Denki was already. “After I met Ky, I told him that I didn’t want to move anymore, which resulted in a heated argument between us. There were a lot of things said that neither of us really meant, but Dad did reveal that we originally moved to get away from Dr. Inaba. Dad said that Inaba kept finding us and pestering us, so we kept moving.” Denki took a deep breath, feeling Kyouka wrap her jack around his arm in comfort.

“Dad was still skeptical about staying in one place for too long, but after our argument and we both apologized, he revealed that Dr. Inaba hadn’t contacted him in the last few years of moving,” Denki explained. “He made it clear that if Inaba began contacting them again, he wouldn’t hesitate to pack up and move once more, leaving behind Musutafu. He claimed it was to keep me safe, but he never revealed what he was trying to keep me safe from.”

Oboro nodded in understanding, closing the file for the moment as he allowed the two teenagers to whisper between themselves. Standing up, Oboro picked up the cold teapot and teacups on his way back across the room. He dumped out the cold tea before making a fresh pot, getting some clean teacups in the process.

As he continued to make tea with the teenagers whispering behind him, Oboro tried to process everything he was just told. Before today, what Denki had said about losing access to his quirk, Oboro would have believed it was impossible. But after what he learned earlier in the day, his mind instantly came to the conclusion that Denki didn’t lose access to his quirk, but he actually got his quirk taken from him.

He also considered that his mind was still trying to process what Izuku and Momo had told him earlier and his brain was trying to fill in the gaps that didn’t seem believable. Was it possible that Denki was quirkless for that week he couldn’t access his quirk? Yes. Did AFO end up giving Denki a quirk that was too powerful for him to handle, which resulted in him discharging? Possibly. Was there a reason why Denki would have had his quirk taken from him and a more powerful one given to him? He didn't think he'd ever find an answer for that.

When the teapot was done boiling, Oboro picked up the fresh pot and moved it towards the coffee table, before doing the same with the teacups. He noticed that Kyouka began hugging Denki, reassuring him that everything would be alright, that they would enjoy some alone time together after the meeting. Denki seemed to be responsive still, but Oboro could tell that his mind was lost in the past. Taking his seat across from them, he began pouring fresh teacups for the couple, hoping the calming tea would help them relax once more.

“I would completely understand if you’re done talking, Kaminari,” Oboro began as he looked towards his student, seeing him nod slowly in response. “And I’m not here to force you to continue if you don’t want to, but I do have one more question that I want to ask before I send you two back to the dorms.” Denki closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, appearing to prepare himself for what Oboro was about to ask. When Denki opened his eyes, Oboro watched as his eyes focused again before giving Oboro a curt nod. “I noticed your file only listed your Father’s contact information. Did something happen to your Mother?”

Instantly the mood had changed within the room, the feeling of static electricity in the air appearing. Oboro noticed how stiff Denki had gotten, looking directly at Oboro but not seeing anything in the moment. Kyouka noticed the change instantly, looking towards Denki in worry and concern. She had continued making small comforting circles in Denki’s forearm with her jack, while also using her hand to run it up and down his back. Oboro watched as Denki was slowly forced backwards by Kyouka to sit further in the couch, seemingly closing himself off to the world for the moment.

When Denki didn’t appear like he was going to speak, and the static electricity in the room had seemingly decreased, Kyouka looked towards Oboro and gave him a sad look. “Denks doesn’t talk about his Mom much. I’ve heard bits and pieces from his Dad and Denks throughout the years, but I’ve never been told the full story. Supposedly she disappeared without a trace not long after his quirk began discharging.”

“I’m sorry,” Oboro responded as he closed the file, thinking that the conversation was done. “We don’t have to-” Oboro was cut off as he attempted to backpedal.

“No,” Denki said quietly, focusing back on the teacher in front of him. “I… I need to tell someone what happened, or at least what I remember.” Denki closed his eyes, sinking further into the couch while taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. He reached around Kyouka and pulled her into a tight embrace, pulling strength from his partner as he began explaining.

“Not long after my first discharge is when my Mom disappeared,” Denki explained. “Mom and Dad got into a small argument about taking me back to the doctor. They were worried that something had happened with my quirk, causing it to be more powerful but highly uncontrollable compared to my Dad’s. Mom mentioned taking me back to see Dr. Inaba but Dad was strongly against it, which is what caused an argument.” Denki took another deep breath, feeling Kyouka wrap her jacks around him and attempt to hug him tighter.

“I remember when my Mom dropped me off at school, she promised that she would take me to see a different doctor, that they would figure out what was happening with my quirk. I… I…” Denki had to pause again and Oboro could see the tears that were staining his cheeks as he tightly squeezed his eyes shut. “I remember her saying ‘I love you, Denki’ before she left, and that was the last thing I ever heard her say,” Denki finished off quietly, pushing his face into Kyouka’s shoulder as he began shaking with sobs.

The room was quiet as Oboro watched the teenagers embrace, hearing Kyouka softly comforting her partner, while Denki was sobbing quietly into her shoulder. Oboro didn’t want to force Denki to continue, but he wanted to get as much information as possible, hoping to learn something that could help his student.

Denki took another deep breath, never opening his eyes but raising his head from Kyouka’s shoulder. “My Mom was called after I had another discharge that day, and I was told she was coming to pick me up and take me home. I waited and waited but she never showed up. The school attempted to call her again but it kept going to voicemail. They had to call my Dad to come pick me up.”

Denki took another shuddering deep breath, releasing it slowly once more. “We never saw or heard from her again. Eventually Dad got a call from the police and he had to go down to the station. According to Dad, they had found her HeroPhone and a few other possessions she always carried on her, but there was no trace of where she had gone.”

“Denks,” Kyouka said quietly in concern, embracing her partner tightly as he began shuddering against her again, holding her tightly in return.

“Where did she go, Ky? Why did she have to leave?” Denki asked in a voice that sounded so broken that it broke Oboro’s heart. “I miss her so much…” Kyouka didn’t respond, just hugging Denki tighter and trying to get him to calm down. After his intense shaking reduced, Oboro could hear Kyouka whispering quietly in his ear, calming him down as much as she could. “Thank you, Kyouka,” Denki said, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Denki,” Kyouka responded. “I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.” Oboro watched as his student broke down in front of him, the only thing seemingly holding him together being his partner. Denki put his face back in Kyouka’s shoulder, holding her tightly around her waist.

Oboro made a mental note to follow up on everything that Denki had told him. The first point being Denki not being able to access his quirk for that week when he was younger and why his quirk became so much more powerful.

The second point being Doctor Inaba, and why he was so persistent on seeing Denki again. It wasn’t normal for a doctor to chase after a client, and that alone was setting off alarms in Oboro’s mind.

The third was Denki’s mother’s disappearance. Dating back ten years ago, during his underground investigations, he should have heard something about a woman going missing. He wanted to follow up on what the police and/or heroes found after her disappearance. Knowing Nezu was listening, Oboro could already see Nezu researching what they had talked about, trying to figure out what had happened back then.

“Teach,” Kyouka asked quietly, knocking Oboro out of his inner musings. “I think Denks has had enough for today. Can we go back to the dorms?”

When Oboro looked back up towards Denki, he found his student looked completely broken and drained from their conversation, making Oboro regret even asking the questions. He could only guess how hard it was for Denki to talk about his past, including the disappearance of his mother, and knew that he wouldn’t have got as much information as he did if Kyouka wasn’t there.

“Of course,” Oboro responded kindly, “would you like to be escorted back to the dorms?”

Kyouka looked towards Denki in question, seeing him close his eyes and nod his head slowly. “Can you ask Yaomomo and Green to come, please? They're the only people Denks and I trust right now.”

“Of course,” Oboro repeated instantly as he stood up. He moved back towards his desk where a phone sat, plugging in the extension for Class 1-A, hearing it connect in a few seconds. “Zashi, can you send Midoriya and Yaoyorozu to my office, please? I'll be excusing them out of classes for the rest of the afternoon.”

“I'll send them right away,” Present Mic responded as two chairs were scraped along the ground. He heard the door of the classroom slide open and close through the phone before he hung up.

“They're on their way,” Oboro repeated what Present Mic had said, moving back towards the couches, taking his seat across from the couple once more. Kyouka and Denki had loosened the embrace slightly, but Denki was still leaning against Kyouka, putting most of his weight against her. “I promise to look into everything you’ve told me, Kaminari,” Oboro continued, seeing Denki nod against Kyouka’s shoulder. “But considering what happened with your quirk, and what happens when you discharge, I do believe seeing Recovery Girl would be beneficial for you.”

“Thanks, Teach,” Kyouka responded for Denki, moving back to hug him tightly again. “I’ve been trying to get him to see her. I don’t like what happens to him when he fully discharges, and I want to make sure it’s not hurting him.” Oboro nodded, agreeing with Kyouka's words.

After a few bears of silence, they heard a knock on the door. “Door's unlocked!” Oboro called out, watching as Izuku and Momo entered, their eyes locking on Denki and Kyouka and instantly rushing over towards them. “Kaminari and Jirou asked for someone to escort them back to the dorms, and they requested you two. I hope that's alright?”

“Of course it is,” Izuku instantly responded, moving around the couch and kneeling in front of Denki.

“We told them we'd be there for them any time they needed,” Momo confirmed, causing Oboro to nod in response.

“Hey, Denki,” Izuku said softly, watching as his friend lifted up his head and looked towards him with bloodshot eyes. “Mo and I are here to take you and Kyouka back to the dorms.” Denki nodded slowly, moving away from Kyouka as he attempted to push himself up.

Izuku was quick to notice that Denki didn’t have any strength to stand, quickly moving to throw Denki’s arm over his shoulders and hoisting his friend to his feet. Kyouka was quick to move to the other side, throwing Denki’s other arm over her own shoulders and supporting any weight that Izuku wasn’t.

“Classes won't be out for another period, so you shouldn't meet too many people on the way back to the dorms,” Oboro told them. “If anybody questions you, show them this and tell them to come talk with Nezu or myself.” Oboro handed Momo a note that explained the situation. “If any of you need anything, please feel free to contact me.”

Izuku, Momo, and Kyouka nodded in thanks before leaving the room, Denki starting to walk without support as he came into the hallway. Oboro watched them go, memories of the past coming to the forefront of his mind once more, as Momo softly closed the door behind them. The more he interacted with that small group, the more he was reminded of the four friends that walked these same hallways over fifteen years ago.

Chapter Text

“BREAKING NEWS!”

As Izuku and Momo came down to begin breakfast for themselves and their friends and family, the flatscreen TV in the common room was on and showing the news. The couple paused on their way to their destination, looking towards the main couch in the common room, finding Nemuri sitting on it with a TV remote in hand.

“HeroNews Japan is live on location at UA High, Japan’s number one rated hero school, for a special announcement this morning!” The news anchor could be seen on the TV talking into a microphone while looking directly at the camera, the UA entrance gate in the background with a podium and small stage set up just outside the campus.

“We were contacted early this morning by Nezu, the principal of UA High, about the announcement. When we questioned the reason behind the announcement, Nezu mentioned that All Might himself would be making the announcement this morning!” The man on screen was shaking with excitement, being one of the first stories that he was able to live broadcast since joining HeroNews recently. “While All Might has talked with HeroNews multiple times since his debut almost forty years ago, including Japan and other HeroNews stations around the world, not once has he requested to make a special announcement before!”

As Izuku and Momo moved over towards the couches, Nemuri must have heard them approaching, turning around and wishing them a good morning. She was dressed in her casual wear that morning, including a lilac colored turtleneck with tight fitted jeans, with plain black flats. She was wearing her fake glasses while her hair was tied back in a ponytail. It was an outfit that fooled a lot of people over the years, including Izuku and Momo when they were younger until Nemuri revealed that she was also Midnight.

Nemuri informed them that All Might would be making the announcement in a few minutes, right before classes started, and requested the couple tell their classmates. Izuku was quick to send a message in the Class 1-A Group Chat, receiving a few messages back from the early risers, before more messages started to trickle in as more people became active. It wasn’t long before their classmates started entering the common room, some still dressed in their pajamas, looking like they were sleepwalking, while the rest appeared to be ready for the day, dressed in their uniforms.

Even though the students could easily predict what the announcement was, the common room found itself brimming with all twenty students scattered around the couches, with some sitting down while the rest stood around them. Most of their classmates appeared to be watching the TV in anticipation, while the rest looked like they would rather be sleeping. Once the timer on the broadcast got closer to zero, more of their classmates seemed to focus on the screen intensely, waiting for All Might’s arrival.

The microphones that crowded every possible space on the podium began picking up All Might’s signature laugh as he descended from the sky, landing behind the small stage and podium in a superhero pose, just soft enough to not crack the ground beneath his feet. Standing up to his full height, the cameras in front of the stage started taking as many pictures as possible, as All Might posed with his signature smile.

The cameras continued to flash as All Might walked towards the stage, ascending a couple of steps that were hidden behind it, before stopping in front of the podium littered with microphones. He placed his hands on his hips, posing once more behind the podium, as he waited for the camera flashes to die down. “I Am Here,” All Might began with his signature line, “with a special announcement for Japan!”

The reporters and journalists started taking as many pictures as they could once more, with some even throwing out questions towards him, either related to the announcement itself, his teaching at UA, or the attack that happened at the USJ the week before. All Might didn’t acknowledge any of the questions, instead moving his hands from his hips to the podium in front of him.

“Please,” All Might started, raising up one hand to stop the onslaught of questions, knowing from experience the flashes from the cameras would never stop. “I have an important announcement to make and little time to do so. I am already holding up classes starting this morning, and I would rather not keep my students from missing a valuable lesson if I can help it.”

All Might lowered his hand, waiting to see if anybody was going to throw anymore questions towards him, and found himself satisfied when everyone had gone quiet. He gave all the reporters and journalists a curt nod before he looked directly into the cameras, beginning his announcement.

“As Japan surely knows by now,” All Might started again, “I have decided to take up a teaching position at UA High, specializing in Heroics. While this decision may have appeared to be sudden, I assure you it took many hours of consideration to come to this conclusion. From the moment I had become the Symbol of Peace over thirty years ago, I had a dream to teach the next generation of students on how to become heroes. Over thirty years later, I finally had the chance to make that dream come true, with the help of the wonderful Nezu and his wonderful school, where I myself learned as a young man.”

All Might paused in his speech, and only those with the keenest of eyes could see that his smile faltered slightly. “But since the term has started this year, I’ve come to realize how much my teaching position would overlap with my hero work,” All Might admitted. “When I signed that paperwork and got my teacher’s license, I made a promise to my current and future students that I would help guide them, teaching them everything that I know about being a hero.” All Might looked down towards his hands and the cameras picked up him clenching them together tightly. “And I’ve already broken that promise and failed them.”

There were a few gasps from the reporters and journalists, easily heard over the quietness that had followed All Might’s statement, even the camera flashes slowed down. When All Might looked back up, they noticed he was still wearing his smile, but it appeared to be forced at the moment.

“As you may have seen circulating the new stations, the USJ on UA High’s campus was attacked by villains,” All Might continued. “The class that was supposed to be learning how to rescue civilians in natural and man-made disasters ended up having to fight for their lives. That same class was one that I should have been in attendance for but I had prioritized my hero duties over my teaching duties, resulting in Loud Cloud and Thirteen getting injured.”

All Might paused in his speech as he allowed the implications of his statement to sink in, knowing that some were hearing it for the first time that morning. He could see some of the reporters and journalists sharing looks with each other before looking back up towards him in question. He could only guess that many heroes, villains, and civilians across Japan, and possibly the world, were having similar reactions.

“Because of what happened, and the promise I made when I took the teaching position here at UA High, I’ve finally come to a decision that was a long time in the making.” All Might watched as the cameras started flashing more rapidly, the photographers knowing that his main announcement was coming. “I, All Might, current Number One hero of Japan and the Symbol of Peace, am announcing my partial retirement.” Quickly holding up his hand, he stopped the onslaught of questions once more, while the cameras continued to take pictures. “This means that I will be stepping down from being a full time hero, removing my rank from the hero billboards, and moving into a hero reserve role. My public appearances will be reduced to a minimum and I will no longer do hero patrols in the future.”

“All Might! What are your thoughts on Endeavor holding the Number One spot now that you are removing yourself from the hero billboards? Do you believe he will be able to continue the Era of Peace that you ushered in so many years ago? Does he have what it takes to become a Symbol for the people?” A reporter yelled out in the lull of the announcement.

All Might’s blinding smile returned, loving the opportunity to talk about his fellow heroes, even if they haven’t seen eye to eye in the past. “I believe Endeavor and his Flaming Sidekicks are tremendous heroes! It’s no secret that the Endeavor Agency solves more cases in a single day compared to what I could solve in a week! It was thanks to Endeavor, his Flaming Sidekicks, and the other heroes of Japan that I was able to continue the Era of Peace for so many years! I believe the heroes of Japan will be able to work together and continue the Era of Peace for many years to come, even without me interfering!” All Might posed with his hands on his hips again, giving the microphones and cameras a hearty laugh.

“I look forward to training the next generation of hero hopefuls,” All Might continued, “and based on what I’ve seen of them so far, I believe the future will be in good hands!”

“But I also have one more small announcement to make, specifically for the new heroes of Japan looking to make their break,” All Might said. “Because of my partial retirement and my duty to UA High, I will be offering Might Tower for other heroes to use! If there are any heroes or groups out there that are interested in using Might Tower, please get in contact with Might Tower and they’ll get in contact with me!”

All Might took a few steps back, just before he fell off the stage, looking back towards the cameras. “It’s your turn, Japan!” All Might announced as he pointed directly at the HeroNews camera, making it appear that he was pointing to all the heroes and potential heroes. “You Are Here!”

With quick and practiced movements that he had perfected over the years, All Might jumped off the stage. He turned back towards the cameras and saluted them, giving them his signature smile one last time. “Until we meet again!” All Might called out as he crouched down and jumped, sending a sudden shockwave over the reporters and journalists, making most hold onto their hats or other clothes from flying off. One moment he was there on camera, and the next he was gone, allowing the HeroNews anchor to return and begin repeating what the announcement was about.

Nemuri reached up with the remote, turning off the TV. The trance that had befallen Class 1-A in the common room seemingly broke, leaving a few students blinking while others looked around, trying to figure out who had turned off the TV. Most appeared to have questions, including Nemuri herself, and she even knew the real reason he was retiring!

“During a normal day, classes would be starting shortly,” Nemuri spoke up, causing all the students to look towards her. “But because of the announcement, Nezu has decided to modify the schedule to compensate and give you extra time to get ready.” Nemuri placed the TV remote on the coffee table in front of her before standing up, looking over all the students. “There are some announcements I would like to make this morning in homeroom, so I suggest you skedaddle as you don’t want to miss them.”

“Ummm,” Hanta began as he looked at Nemuri. He was wearing a look of confusion, appearing like he was trying to figure out who Nemuri was, while wondering why Nemuri was talking about announcements and homeroom. “Who are you?”

Nemuri could only giggle in response, her disguise working perfectly. “I’m surprised you don’t recognize me, Hanta Sero. You couldn’t keep your eyes from wandering during class yesterday~.” Nemuri reached up and took off her glasses, quickly replacing them with her hero mask.

“This would be Nemuri Kayama,” Momo responded with an amused smile at the surprised looks from their classmates, “or better known as ‘The R-Rated Hero: Midnight’.” Izuku could only chuckle beside Momo, listening to the reactions and realizations of their classmates. They both watched Hanta turn completely red in embarrassment, not only at being caught looking, but also being called out on it. “She normally wears casual clothing to better disguise herself and escape the people who only know her by her Midnight Persona.”

“We will be going over personas and ways to separate your hero identity from your personal identity later this year,” Nemuri continued after Momo had finished explaining who she was. “Now skedaddle or else you’ll be late for homeroom and miss the announcements.” It didn’t take long for students to begin retreating back up to their rooms to get ready, allowing Nemuri to bid Izuku and Momo a ‘See you soon’ before Nemrui left the dorms to head back to the main campus.

The students were quick to scatter once Nemuri had left, using the extra time they have been given to get prepared for the day. Some of the students went into the kitchen to get a quick breakfast while others were quick to head back up to their rooms to get dressed. Izuku and Momo opted to make their way towards the kitchen to get a quick breakfast, knowing they wouldn’t have a chance to eat until lunch, before making their way back to Momo’s room to get ready. They'd missed the chance to make their preferred hearty spread, so today was already off to a different start, even in the mundanity of the breakfast table.

As Izuku stood in front of the full length mirror, one that was taller than Momo and himself, he began putting on his uniform shirt. He noticed that Momo was approaching from behind him, holding his tie in her hand, giving him a small smile, one that he quickly returned. As Izuku turned around to face Momo she threw his tie around his neck, as he began buttoning up his uniform shirt. Momo’s expert hands were quick but careful in tying his tie, making sure it was snug up against his neck but not tight enough to choke him. Just as Izuku was finishing the last button on his uniform shirt, he noticed the twinkle in Momo’s eyes. With her hand still wrapped around his tie, Momo gave it a small tug, pulling them closer together, before she stole a quick kiss from him.

As they separated from the kiss, they couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces, during which Momo allowed Izuku’s tie to fall back to his chest. Following their morning routine, Izuku followed Momo towards her small makeup vanity in the corner, watching as she took a seat on the small stool. He admired how Momo’s hair cascaded down her back for a moment, knowing it was due for a trim soon, before carefully gathering it up in his hands. As Momo felt her hair being lifted from her back, she snaked her own tie around her neck, beginning to work on her own tie. As Momo finished her own tie, she found herself leaning into Izuku’s careful, gentle, loving hands as he took his time on perfecting her signature ponytail. She always loved the feeling of Izuku styling her hair, bringing her a certain peace she couldn’t replicate herself.

When they had officially started dating, the two had fallen into the routine without realizing it. Any time Izuku needed help with getting ready in formal clothing, Momo was there to help him, usually picking out colors that would match her while helping him with his tie. When Momo needed help with her hair, Izuku was right there every single time, carefully perfecting her signature ponytail over the years. Even after dating for so long, the two couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces as they went through the routine, both knowing how domestic it was but loving every moment nonetheless.

As they finished getting ready, Momo turned around and stole another kiss from Izuku, one that he greedily returned before they separated into giggles. Knowing that Nemuri’s leeway for homeroom would be ending soon, Momo sent a quick message to Himiko, letting her sister (and her sister’s girlfriend) know they were heading to class. Momo never got a response back, hoping the other girl didn’t fall back asleep after the announcement this morning. Upon realizing that Himiko (and Ochako) had probably fallen back asleep, the couple swung through the kitchen on the way out, getting a few snacks for the girls, knowing they would opt to skip breakfast to make it to class on time.

As Izuku and Momo left the dorms, walking hand in hand towards the main campus building, they could hear their names being called out behind them. “Izuku! Yaomomo!” Denki yelled, causing them to pause and turn towards their much livelier friend. “Ow! Ky!” The couple attempted to hide their giggles behind smiles, but failed to do so when they noticed how annoyed Kyouka appeared as she attempted to stab her partner with her ear jacks. “I’m sorry!” Denki yelled out once more, still dodging the expertly thrown ear jacks.

“And you two!” Kyouka yelled towards them, startling them out of their giggles. “I can hear you giggling from here!” Izuku and Momo shared a look, one that caused them to break out in giggling again. “This is your fault, Denks!” Kyouka yelled again as she turned her attack back on Denki, successfully jabbing him in the side and causing him to yell out again, questioning how it was his fault the other couple was giggling.

As Kyouka stopped attempting to attack her partner, they could see that Kyouka was grumbling something out to him, unable to hear what she was saying due to the distance between them. Denki looked to be apologizing again, holding one of her jacks ever so carefully in his fingers and rubbing them back and forth softly. The action didn’t go unnoticed by Izuku and Momo, watching as Kyouka slowly eased back into a relaxed stance as they approached.

“Good morning, Denki, Kyouka,” Izuku greeted warmly with a soft smile. Kyouka huffed out, crossing her jacks in front of her, but never removing her hand from Denki’s. Izuku and Momo could only giggle softly once more, causing the other girl to glare towards them. “How are you two feeling? You both appear a lot more lively this morning.”

“Better,” Denki responded honestly, giving the other couple a smile in return. “Ky and I spent the afternoon listening to music and it really helped us reset.” Kyouka nodded in agreement as she looked towards the other couple, a soft smile replacing her annoyed look. Her ear jacks uncrossed themselves, one moving back to dangle below her ear while the other snaked around their intertwined hands. She flicked a quick loving glance at Denki then looked away at something else, not wanting to be too brash in public. She knew Izuku and Momo probably saw it anyway. Those two never missed much. Like the fact that she was biting her bottom lip and couldn't stop smiling. Crap.

“Izu and I do something similar,” Momo responded, smiling down at Izuku. “We usually end up reading together. Getting lost in a story usually helps us move on from whatever we dealt with that day.” Izuku nodded in agreement, smiling up at Momo.

“Listen,” Denki started out quietly, causing Izuku and Momo to look towards the couple again. Denki was currently looking off to the side and they noticed a blush of embarrassment dusted his cheeks. “I wanted to apologize for making you miss class yesterday, and for practically having to carry me back to the dorms.” Denki said quietly, hoping nobody else was within earshot. “Yesterday was a lot, and I…”

Izuku reached forward, placing his hand on Denki’s shoulder, causing his friend to look towards him. “You don’t have to apologize, Denki,” Izuku told the other boy, “and you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. We’re here for you if you ever need it.” Momo nodded beside Izuku, giving a soft smile towards Denki. “Just say the word.”

Denki nodded slowly, closing his eyes and releasing a small sigh. “Thank you,” he said quietly. As he opened his eyes, he felt Izuku remove his hand from his shoulder. “You don’t know how much that means to me,” Denki continued before feeling a small poke from Kyouka, “to us,” he quickly corrected. Izuku and Momo couldn’t help but chuckle, causing the other couple to chuckle with them.

“You’re welcome,” Momo responded after their chuckles had quieted into soft smiles. “We should continue making our way to class. Even though Auntie Nem is giving us some leeway this morning, she doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Kyouka and Denki nodded in understanding. “Would you two like to walk with us?”

“Hell yeah, we would!” Denki exclaimed, his earlier energy returning.

Kyouka let out another huff, but couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Lead the way,” Kyouka told them, holding out her jack towards the main campus building. Izuku and Momo nodded, allowing Kyouka and Denki to fall into step beside them. As they walked, they chatted idly about All Might’s announcement that morning and what it would mean for the future of Japan, allowing the trip to Class 1-A to pass in a flash.

As the students slowly trickled into Class 1-A later that morning, they found Nemuri was leaning up against the desk near the front, still dressed in her casual clothes. She talked with a few students, making idle conversation before homeroom started, mostly about her appearance and why her Midnight persona was so different compared to her civilian one.

As the clock ticked closer to the start of homeroom, Nemuri informed the students to take their seats, doing a quick headcount to make sure everyone was present. Two desks at the back of the classroom were still empty, yet homeroom was about to start within a couple of minutes. Looking back up to the clock on the wall, she watched as the second arm ticked closer to the bell, wondering if she really had to mark two students late even after the extra leeway she had given them. She'd have to discuss the matter with Oboro tonight.

Just as the bell rang, the door slid open at the same time, revealing Himiko and Ochako on the other side. The couple looked towards Nemuri, wondering if they were in trouble, before Nemuri just tilted her head towards their desks. Himiko gave Nemuri a full-fanged smile before she dragged Ochako along behind her, who was mouthing apologies to their teacher. Nemuri could only shake her head fondly, pushing herself off the desk at the front and walking towards the whiteboard at the front.

“Now that everyone is here, we can finally get started,” Nemuri commented as she picked up a marker, beginning to write on the board. She had written down her name on the board before turning around, smiling towards her temporary students. “Good morning, Students, and welcome back to homeroom!”

“As Momo mentioned this morning, my name is Nemuri Kayama, better known as the R-Rated Hero: Midnight. When I am dressed in my civilian clothing, I request that you call me by Kayama unless you feel more comfortable addressing me as Midnight.” She looked over her students, seeing most of them nodding, while ignoring Himiko and Ochako having a few snacks that Izuku and Momo had passed to them.

“There’s a few important announcements that I need to make before I can release you to your normal classes,” Nemuri told them before turning around. Writing on the board once more, she wrote ‘SPORTS FESTIVAL’ in big letters under her name. “The first announcement is the Sports Festival.”

As Nemuri finished writing on the board, she placed the marker down and turned back around to view the reactions of the students. She could see mixed opinions across all of their faces, most looking skeptical at the idea of participating in the Sports Festival so soon after a villain attack. “Over the weekend and into yesterday afternoon, the UA faculty have held meetings to discuss the upcoming Sports Festivals, not only for the First Years but also for the Second and Third Years.”

“Does UA think it’s wise to host an event like the Sports Festival so soon after a villain attack?” Tenya questioned as he began chopping his arms in his seat. “I would believe that UA would be more prone to villain attacks so soon after the last one.”

Nemuri walked back over towards the desk, leaning against it once more, as she looked towards Tenya. “In my personal opinion, I don’t think it’s wise for UA to host the Sports Festivals so soon, but I was outvoted by the other faculty.” Tenya nodded, lowering his arms towards his desk as he went back to listening. “Many of them argued that the Sports Festival was the only time for students to show potential employees and other heroes who they are before graduating UA. Others argued that the Sports Festival was a worldwide broadcasted event, replacing the Olympics in viewership many years ago.”

“Because the Sports Festival is still happening, Nezu has requested five to ten times the police and hero presence, including most of the top ten. He made it clear that this was a requirement to the shareholders for them to continue the Sports Festival,” Nemuri explained. “As such, most of the top ten heroes, and plenty of the top fifty heroes will be in attendance, with All Might standing by in case of an emergency. This is on top of all the added security features Nezu and the Support Course have added to UA over the last few days, with many more getting implemented as we speak.”

Nemuri watched as many of the students appeared to relax at that, knowing that Nezu and the other UA faculty were doing everything within their power to protect the students from a potential villain attack. Taking out her phone, she unlocked it and opened up the UA App, quickly sharing her phone screen to the projector above the class. She watched as the projector activated, mirroring her phone on the whiteboard at the front.

“The Sports Festival will happen in two weeks time,” Nemuri explained as she walked back over to the whiteboard, pointing at when the First Years’ Sports Festival would be happening. “Over the next two weeks, you will have more free time in Heroics to prepare yourselves.” She moved her hand down a few lines, pinpointing out another section. “Yagi, Oboro, and myself will be free most afternoons for extra training, either one on one or with a group of students. You will have to request a timeslot if you would like to participate. I will also mention that Izuku and Momo will be helping with the extra training, so please let us know if that will be an issue for you.”

Nemuri looked back towards the students, seeing most of them nod in understanding, while Izuku and Momo gave her firm but determined looks. “You are not limited to training with Yagi, Oboro, or myself. Other faculty members will be able to help you if they are free and you have scheduled a time with them. You will also be able to ask students from different classes and grades for help, but it will be up to them if they want to help you or not.”

“Any questions so far?” Nemuri asked as she removed her hand from the whiteboard, looking over the students.

“Are we allowed to bring support items to the Sports Festival?” Kashiko questioned, raising her hand at the same time.

“Unless they are pre-approved by the faculty or Nezu himself,” Nemuri began, “I’m afraid you’re not allowed. This is to make it more fair for students in other classes outside of the heroics course. If the support item is absolutely required by a person, then you will have to come see Oboro, myself, or Nezu to discuss your participation in the Sports Festival.” Nemuri noticed a few of the students nod in understanding, some looking disappointed while others looked perplexed.

Nemuri clicked on her phone, changing the screen on the projector on the whiteboard. The screen had changed to show two uniforms side by side. On the left hand side, their standard gym uniforms they had received before their QAT. On the right hand side, appeared to be a modified gym uniform, with more red borders along the ‘UA’ across the top and bottom, but the blue also appeared to be a shade or two lighter as well.

“We have an oddly high number of students that require DNA costumes this year,” Nemuri began, pointing towards the light blue uniform. “Because of this, Nezu has decided that investing into DNA uniforms would be most beneficial, to students in and outside of heroics.” Nemuri turned back to the students, landing on a few that already had DNA costumes.

“As such, Nezu has requested that anybody who does want a DNA-coded uniform to talk with Oboro, Yagi, Nezu, or myself before next week, so that the support course has time to make you a uniform.” Most of the students looked excited at being able to use a DNA gym uniform, while others looked relieved, having heard the story of the student that flashed national TV the previous years. “Any questions?”

Seeing nobody raising their hands or hearing anyone shouting out questions, Nemuri looked up at the clock on the wall, noticing how close it was to the students’ next period. “If there are no questions,” Nemuri started, “I will finish up homeroom for today and you can speak quietly towards each other or use the rest of the time as a free study period. If you would like to ask me any questions privately, feel free to come see me up at the front and I will try to answer them for you.”

As the bell rang to signal lunch period would begin shortly, Present Mic quickly finished up his English lesson, giving the students a few minutes to pack their bags. Walking towards the main entrance door to Class 1-A, Mic opened the door to find a sea of people in the hallway, peering into the classroom and the occupants inside.

“Well, hello there, Little Listeners!” Mic greeted loudly, watching as a few students winced from the loud noise. Luckily, Kyouka was already wearing her headphones, having to wear them through the whole period that Mic was teaching because of how often he would accidentally activate his quirk. Even Mezo, who wasn’t as sensitive to Mic’s outbursts, had no extra ears on his appendages, instead having a single mouth to speak from, two eyes, and the rest being hands. “You all shouldn’t be crowding up the hallway during the lunch period! It creates a safety hazard for other students who would like to enjoy their lunch!”

“We’re here to see the students that survived a villain attack!” Someone within the crowd yelled out. There were a bunch of agreements within the students throughout the crowd, many chattering about what had happened or throwing out random questions.

Present Mic’s face changed ever so slightly, his smile fading and his eyes looking down towards the ground, creating a shine on his glasses that hid his eyes. “Is that so?” Mic questioned quietly. The students at the front froze in their spots, hearing the coldness that was behind Mic’s voice. It quickly spread throughout the hallway, many of the students going completely silent.

When Mic looked back up, his smile had completely disappeared, his eyes still hidden behind the glare on his glasses, but they could tell their friendly English teacher was not happy. “If you haven’t realized, Oboro Shirakumo, Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher and one of my best friends, almost died at the hands of a villain.” There were a few quiet gasps throughout the hallway, with a few students taking a step back. “Thirteen was gravely injured and won’t be able to return to teaching for a few weeks while she recovers. Students were injured and nearly killed before All Might could deal with the villains. That could have happened to your class. It didn't, only by random chance.”

Present Mic looked over all the students in the hallway, making many of them shrink back into themselves, while a few scurried away into the adjacent hallways. “So allow me to make a suggestion to anybody who wants to see the students that barely survived a villain attack. Back off and leave them alone, or else you will have to answer to Nezu.”

The silence stretched on for a moment that lingered like the last flecks of snow in a dying wind that refused to stop blowing, for fear of dissolution at the terminus of the limited and surreal reality that vortex of ice crystals and air molecules interacting ultimately must bring. The students of Class 1-A were in shock at what Present Mic had said, not moving from their seats. The students that were filling the hallway were dead silent as well, looking at Present Mic as if they had heard him say something like "You're all expelled", or maybe "Nezu decided to start drinking Sumatra coffee this week." Nobody moved, and some didn’t even dare breathe through the silence. When the bell that dismissed all classes for lunch rang, it knocked every single student out of the trance. Present Mic watched as all the students began scattering out of the heroics’ hallways as quickly as they could, before the hallway was left empty.

Present Mic turned back towards the students, some of his friendly demeanor returning at seeing the looks on his students' faces. “If anybody bothers you kids about what happened, don’t be afraid to let the faculty know, and we will handle them. I’ll be speaking with Nezu, Oboro, and Nemuri over lunch about making sure the faculty know, or to make a schoolwide announcement, informing what would happen if you are bothered.” Present Mic watched as many of the students relaxed in their seats, thankful for what he said. “Hurry up and get to lunch! Don’t want to miss all the good stuff Lunch Rush makes!” Present Mic said with his usual energy, putting his head back up and walking out of the classroom.

“That… was badass,” Kyouka said quietly as Present Mic left, looking towards Denki beside her with a smile on her face. “Damn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mic like that, even against villains.”

“Even the nicest heroes,” Izuku began as he stood up and walked over towards them, Momo following a step behind him, “have a no nonsense attitude. Based on what Auntie Nem and Shirakumo have told us, Mic is a good friend of the two and was just as worried about Shirakumo as Auntie Nem was.”

“ZuMo!” Himiko called out, jumping on Izuku’s back, causing him to take a small step forward to brace himself. “I’m hungrrrrrrry! Hurry up! I wanna get some lunch!” Izuku could only chuckle at Himiko’s antics. Momo, Kyouka, Denki, and even Ochako who had come up beside them, couldn’t help but laugh at the other girl’s actions. “Lets goooooooo!” Himiko cried again, forcing Izuku out the door, knowing their friends would follow them.

Chapter Text

The two men walked through the hallways of UA High in silence, with a particular destination in mind. The two of them had unexpectedly met outside the rebuilt UA Barrier, and both had come to the same conclusion about the reason they were there. When the UA Barrier suddenly dropped, granting the two entry without either scanning their UA pass, they could easily surmise that Nezu knew why they were there too.

“He didn’t tell you in advance either?” The taller man questioned as they walked, teenagers quickly scattering out of their way. Even though the school day was finished for the day, there were still some students littering the halls, leaving after school programs, clubs, or just finishing up homework from the day.

“Kid,” the shorter man replied as his cane tapped along beside them, echoing throughout the hallway. “The last time I heard from him was a couple of years ago, when he realized his time was decreasing.” The shorter man huffed out in response, his gruffly voice full of annoyance. “You know as well as I do that this should have happened years ago.”

“He would not listen,” the taller man replied blankly, adjusting his glasses as they continued to walk. “You know how stubborn he is.” When the taller man finished fixing his glasses, he let out a sigh as he shook his head lightly. “My intern told me about the attack on the USJ. Supposedly it wasn’t as good of an outcome as they made it seem in the media.”

“They always downplay the actual outcome,” the shorter one replied, “you’ve been a hero long enough, you should know this. Something happened that made him change his mind so suddenly. Either he’s getting worse faster than Chiyo predicted, or he’s found a successor and wants to dedicate his time to mentoring them.”

“He made it very clear during our last conversation that he wouldn’t even consider my intern,” the taller one responded, “and I haven’t heard from him since. That was almost two years ago now.”

The shorter man gruffly scoffed. “You still believe he’s going to consider a successor that you found?” The taller man looked down towards the shorter one in annoyance as they continued walking, knowing exactly what he was about to say, having this conversation of song and dance before. “I told you back when you requested my help that it was for naught. Either he would find a successor on his own or he wouldn’t find one.”

“My visions have never been wrong,” the taller one continued, a tinge of annoyance seeping into his voice. “I know what I saw, and it will come to pass.”

“I’ve told you before that you put too much trust in your quirk, boy,” the shorter one replied. “Precognition quirks are not a fool-proof way to tell the future. There will always be factors that quirks cannot account for.”

They knew if they continued the conversation in the direction it was going, the two would end up in an argument once more. Both silently agreed to disagree, dropping the conversation where it was, as they continued walking through UA’s hallways. The sound of their footfalls and tapping of a cane every few seconds echoed throughout the hallways, making it clear to anybody who heard that the two were on a mission. Most of the students were already gone for the day, but the teachers that were just leaving their classrooms were quick to move aside for the two heroes.

As they reached the door to the teachers’ lounge, the shorter man didn’t even bother knocking, entering the lounge as if he was meant to be there. Some of the teachers inside looked up at the newcomers, instantly recognizing who they were, before they pointed towards the office at the end. The two gave the other teachers curt nods before they walked to the end of the lounge.

Not caring about the damage, the shorter man kicked the door open, making it slam against the wall and sending hairline cracks throughout. The action startled Toshinori, who was sitting behind his desk, forcing him to transform into his All Might form reactively. “What is-” All Might was cut off suddenly when a boot landed on his face, kicking him back down into the chair he'd just stood up from, flipping it over and sending the gigantic man sprawling ass over teakettle.

All Might looked up towards his attacker, his eyes widening at the old man standing on his desk and looking down towards him. “Torino…” All Might said quietly before looking past his old mentor and finding the taller hero standing in the doorway. “Sasaki,” All Might said plainly, his eyes narrowing as he recognized his old sidekick.

“Still as slow as ever, Zygote!” Gran Torino exclaimed.

“So you do remember who we are,” Nighteye ignored the look Toshinori was giving him as he strolled into the room, looking towards the door and the damage it had done to the wall. Shaking his head, he grabbed the door handle and pulled the door out of the wall, closing the door behind the two newcomers. He moved over towards the desk, sitting down in one of the armchairs across from All Might, while Torino jumped back down to the ground and did the same. “Considering we haven’t heard from you in years, we considered you had forgotten us.”

“I don’t think I could ever forget you two,” All Might grumbled as he allowed his hero form to drop, revealing his true form once more. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors today or else I would have prepared tea.” Toshinori got up, attempting to move towards his tea set in the corner of the room, “I can put some on right now.”

“Don’t bother,” Torino responded, tapping his cane a few times on the ground beside him and stopping Toshinori in his place. “We’ve come to talk about your announcement this morning, and what this means going forward.”

Toshinori moved back towards his chair, taking a seat and pulling himself in, before resting his elbows on his desk. “I should have predicted the two of you would see the announcement,” Toshinori said plainly as he looked between Torino and Nighteye. “What would you like to discuss?”

Torino looked about to talk before Nighteye interrupted him. “Because of how sudden the announcement was this morning, you must finally be considering transferring OFA.” Toshinori shared a look with Torino, noticing his mentor was thoroughly annoyed with his previous sidekick. “I’ve already picked out a perfect successor for you, but you refused to meet him and haven’t returned any of my calls since. Are you finally willing to listen to reason?”

“Kid,” Torino spoke up, “how many times do I have to tell you that OFA is not your quirk to decide on who it gets transferred to?”

Nighteye, seemingly ignoring Torino, continued to look at Toshinori. Toshinori had removed his elbows from his desk and leaned back in his chair, preparing himself to witness a Torino versus Nighteye argument in person, one he hadn’t seen in years. “Mirio Togata is the perfect person to transfer OFA to. He’s been personally trained by me, knows exactly how to act like a Symbol, and is part of the ‘Big Three’ here at UA. He’s ready to take over for All Might now.”

“So that’s what you’re trying to do?” Torino spoke up, causing Toshinori and Nighteye to look towards him. “You’re creating a replica of All Might? Are you making him the same kind of self-sacrificing idiot that Toshinori was too?”

“Of course not!” Nighteye finally responded as he looked towards Torino, a scowl on his face matching the older hero’s. “Togata’s quirk, Permeation, allows him to phase through anything. Combined with the power of OFA, he would be able to remove threats before they even have a chance to react!”

“And if I can’t transfer it to Togata?” Toshinori questioned, causing Nighteye to face him again. Torino also looked towards Toshinori, raising his eyebrow curiously at the way Toshinori worded the question.

“Togata is ready now to take over the Symbol of Peace role,” Nighteye tried to reason again. “With your teachings on how to use OFA, and him graduating this year, it’s no doubt that he will quickly climb the ranks and become the hero Japan needs after All Might’s retirement.” Nighteye paused in his speech, looking directly at Toshinori, finding him unflinching from the look.

“I’ve told you before,” Toshinori began quietly as he leaned up against the desk once more, “and I’ll tell you again. Who I transfer OFA to has never, and will never, be your choice.”

“But-”

“Enough,” Toshinori spoke up firmly, putting the power of All Might, Japan’s Symbol of Peace, the previous Number One hero, behind his words. Nighteye snapped his mouth shut, his eyes widening slightly at the tone that Toshinori had used. Even Torino looked taken aback at the tone, knowing that Toshinori rarely used his substantial gravitas like that.

“This is the exact reason why I never returned your calls, Sasaki,” Toshinori explained, “OFA has never been your quirk, and will never be your choice in who receives it. I’m sure Togata is going to be a wonderful hero some day, but he will never be the next All Might.” The way that Nighteye flinched back at the tone, and with how Toshinori used his last name, made it appear like he’d been slapped.

“You’ve already transferred it,” Torino said in realization. Toshinori and Nighteye both looked towards the older pro hero, seeing the realization across his face. “That’s why you can’t transfer it. It’s already been transferred.”

“That is one reason,” Toshinori confirmed, causing Nighteye’s eyes to go wide at the confirmation. “I’ve already transferred it to my successors, and I already know they will be better heroes than I ever was.”

“Successors?” Torino repeated, seeing Toshinori nod. “Explain.”

“You may want to get comfortable,” Toshinori responded, leaning back in his chair once more. Once Torino and Nighteye were ready, he began telling them the story of meeting Izuku. “About a year ago is when I first met the boy…”

Toshinori explained the fateful date of first meeting with Izuku, when the young boy jumped into a fight he had no chances of seemingly winning, to protect someone he didn’t even know. He told the story of how Izuku had figured out what Himiko’s quirk was, and how he didn’t hesitate to help her. He explained how Izuku reminded Toshinori of himself, back when he was quirkless, before he met Nana.

“Sounds like he’s the same kind of knucklehead that you were,” Torino grumbled, causing Toshinori to chuckle softly, careful of his injury.

Toshinori went on to explain how Izuku straight up refused OFA the first time because Toshinori mentioned he couldn’t tell anybody. He told them of how close Izuku and Momo were, how they had grown up together, and how they didn’t have any secrets between them. Izuku reasoned that Momo would figure out something was up within a few days, if not the very same day, that Izuku began training to accept the quirk. Toshinori agreed with him, eventually agreeing to let Izuku tell his partner.

“Does he realize what kind of target that would put on her head, let alone his?” Nighteye asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Toshinori responded, “he knew of all the dangers it would bring, but he was firm on telling her.” Torino just nodded in understanding, realizing that if these two were as close as Toshinori was saying, it was only sensible to bring her into the secret. “Not only that, but he wanted to tell his family, his partner’s family, and wanted to know everything about OFA before he accepted.”

“So he doubled the risk of people finding out about OFA,” Torino commented, leaning a bit on his cane in thought. “Did you tell him about AFO?”

“I told them everything,” Toshinori confirmed. “From the origins, to when I received it from Nana, to my fight against AFO six years ago.” Torino nodded in understanding, while Nighteye had a thoughtful look on his face.

Toshinori continued with the story, telling the two in front of him of what he had Izuku and Momo do for training for close to a year, to help prepare Izuku for the Stockpile. He revealed about how the transfer went, and everything that happened right after, including the kiss Izuku and Momo shared.

“How is that important to the story?” Nighteye asked in annoyance.

“Because that’s how OFA is transferred, Kid,” Torino responded for Toshinori, making sure Nighteye didn’t interrupt anymore. “Continue, Toshinori.”

“During the transfer, the kiss that Young Yaoyorozu gave to Young Midoriya must have had some of my DNA mixed in, causing OFA to transfer to both of them.” Toshinori paused, looking between Torino and Nighteye, watching as his previous sidekick leaned further back into the chair. “After the transfer was successful, they explained waking up inside OFA, meeting with the Sixth user of OFA.”

“What do you mean ‘met with the Sixth user’?” Torino asked in suspicion. “Nana never mentioned anything like that happening, and you never mentioned something like that happening to you.”

“That’s because it never did,” Toshinori confirmed. “The two explained that when OFA was transferred, it became so powerful that it hit quirk singularity.”

“Isn’t that an old myth?” Nighteye questioned.

“Possibly,” Toshinori responded simply, “but it does explain why they can’t access the Stockpile.”

“What?” Torino asked in disbelief, while Nighteye snapped his eyes towards Toshinori. “They can’t access the Stockpile? Are you trying to say the transfer happened, but they can’t even use the quirk now?”

“Not exactly,” Toshinori replied. “When they met Sixth inside OFA, he explained that the Stockpile had a mental block on it, but they would be able to use his quirk, Smokescreen. Not only that, but Young Yaoyorozu’s quirk, Creation, has also merged with OFA, granting them the ability to use both quirks. The quirks have been enhanced by OFA itself, making them both much more powerful than they originally were, as well as unlocking abilities otherwise thought impossible.”

“Let me get this straight,” Torino said. Toshinori could tell his old mentor was struggling to wrap his head around the situation that Izuku and Momo had found themselves in. “These two are sharing OFA, can’t access the Stockpile itself, but have quirks that were enhanced by OFA. What’s next? Are they going to be getting the other users’ quirks too? Float from Nana?” Toshinori was silent, giving Torino a look that confirmed that they were. “Christ, I need a drink.”

Toshinori tried to hide his laugh, resulting in a chortle. “I said the exact same thing when I first learned of their situation.”

“How do you plan on training them?” Torino asked.

Toshinori leaned back into his chair, his face making it look like he was deep in thought. “I’ll admit, I don’t have any experience with either of their quirks, so I’m not sure how much help I’ll actually be.” Toshinori looked up towards Torino, catching his eye. “So based on a recommendation from Nezu, I admitted to them that I didn’t think I would be the best teacher, that I believe Young Shirakumo and Young Kayama would better train them.”

“So more people know about the secret of OFA,” Torino huffed out, looking towards his cane in thought once more. “At least that Bastard is dead.”

Toshinori coughed once, catching Torino’s and Nighteye’s attention, both looking up towards him curiously. “AFO might not be as dead as we thought,” Toshinori revealed, watching as his mentor’s and sidekick’s eyes went wide again. “The villains that attacked the USJ last week had a monster they called ‘Nomu’, and it was claimed to have multiple quirks and enhancements. Tsukauchi informed me they had run tests and confirmed multiple different quirk factors within the beast, including multiple strands of DNA. Someone created that thing.” Torino and Nighteye looked to be in total disbelief at the news, both slowly swallowing, knowing that if AFO was still around, Japan would be at risk now that All Might was retiring.

“That’s not the only concerning piece of information,” Toshinori continued, tapping the arm on his chair a few times. “One of the key villains that attacked the USJ had a family name of Shigaraki, and based on what Young Midoriya and Young Yaoyorozu tell me, Shigaraki is the family name of Yoichi, the first OFA user and twin brother of AFO.” Toshinori had a serious look on his face, looking between his old mentor and sidekick. “The only positive piece of information about the whole ordeal would be this: the Shigaraki villain that was attacking the USJ seemed pissed about what I did to a ‘Sensei’, which we can only surmise that he meant AFO. It’s possible that I did kill AFO, or I have severely injured him.”

“So there’s a chance that the Bastard is still alive?” Torino asked after a few minutes of silence, seeing Toshinori nod in response. “I knew we should have burned it until there was nothing left!” Torino exclaimed a little frustrated before looking back up at Toshinori, another question coming to the forefront of his mind. “What happened to the villain at the USJ?”

“We’re unsure,” Toshinori responded. “Tsukauchi and his team found a bunch of blood soaked into the ground where I last saw him. His DNA, identity, and quirk were never registered, so we can only suspect that it was his blood. There is a possibility that he is still alive, and if he is, there's a higher chance he will plan to attack again. Unfortunately, with him having access to a teleporter, there's no way to predict when or where that will happen.”

“So what’s the plan moving forward?” Torino asked.

“I have a few ideas, but none of them are set in stone,” Toshinori explained as he leaned on his desk again, a more serious expression on his face. “How do you feel about dusting off your licenses? I know you haven’t used either of them in a while.” Torino looked down in thought, holding his cane between his legs, allowing Toshinori to look towards Nighteye. “And what about you, Sasaki? Are you willing to help my successors, or is this where we cut ties?” Nighteye looked towards Toshinori, his eyes showing the confusion behind them. “My successors come first, and if you are going to hinder their progression, I will make sure you never see them again.”

Nighteye didn’t respond for a moment, instead pushing himself up to standing position, causing Toshinori to look up towards him curiously. “I will have to consider your offer, Toshinori. I can’t say I’m entirely pleased with your choice, but it’s as you said, the choice was never mine.” Toshinori nodded, watching as Nighteye turned on his heel and left the room.

“When can I meet these successors of yours?” Torino asked, causing Toshinori to look back towards him. “I want to see how their quirks are and how much training the two have before I make my decision.”

“I’ll get in contact with them and ask when they are free,” Toshinori responded. “I think you’ll like them, Torino,” Toshinori told him as he fished out his phone, “they often remind me of Nana when I see them together, whether it’s training or just acting like a couple.”

Torino hummed in thought, nodding his head in understanding, remembering his friend long since passed. “That’ll be up to me to decide.”

The Doctor found himself in his favorite computer chair in his secret lab, inspecting all the monitors that covered the wall, most tasked with following specific test subjects located throughout Japan. The main monitor on his desk was constantly replaying the interview that happened earlier that morning, confirming his suspicions about the insidious weakness of the hero being interviewed.

For any normal observer watching the interview, they wouldn't have seen the small differences, but for the Doctor, who had been constantly comparing the different TV appearances, it was clear as day. The announcement of his partial retirement only confirmed the hero was weakening faster than he expected, which opened a great many doors and opportunities for the Doctor himself.

Ever since the fateful day that Tomura had died in front of him, the Doctor had been going over all the files he had on his subjects. He knew all the information by heart, but it still brought a warm feeling to his chest to reread about all his successes over the years. He had to find the perfect subject for his Master's ultimate project, one that he knew was possible, but he would need time to complete.

Looking over some of his discarded subjects from the previous years, the Doctor could only scoff at the wasted opportunities, or the powerful quirks gone to waste. Most of the cases were just bad luck, with the subjects getting caught in the crossfire of other villains. Others were lost because they had changed locations, or somehow escaped the programs Master had set up to keep track of them. The Doctor scoffed again as his mind went to the battle from six years ago, to when his Master had been severely injured by that Monster, causing him to lose even more test subjects and opportunities.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he looked towards the monitor that was showing a camera located inside their secret bar. After learning that Tomura had died in the Doctor's care, Kurogiri had retreated back to ‘his’ bar, continuously polishing glasses, never moving from that one spot. The Doctor sighed to himself as he realized he would have reprogram his greatest Nomu creation, remembering the struggle it was to force the Nomu to obey commands previously. He didn't have quirks like his Master did, ones that could modify how the brain operated and thought. Even if he created Nomus with those quirks, he knew the Nomus would be too braindead to be of any use, even if they knew how to follow commands.

Moving away from the monitor that was viewing the bar, the Doctor instead decided to review the files he had opened on each separate monitor. Previous and current test subjects littered the monitors, some being followed by cameras throughout Japan, constantly changing angles using AI, while others just showed the file themselves.

As he inspected his test subjects, there were a few that instantly stood out to him, mostly based on the quirks they processed or their locations in relevance to himself.

As he landed on a specific test subject's file, one from many years ago and that was still active recently, the Doctor felt a dark smile growing across his face. As he browsed through the file, he even found the subject's most recent burner phone contact information, something one of his Master's contacts kept up to date for him. Reading up his test subject's quirk, he realized right away that it would be much too difficult for a Nomu to use, but he couldn't help but chuckle darkly to himself once he realized how useful it would be in the hands of the right person.

Picking up his encrypted phone, he dialed the number that was included in the file, listening to it ring a few times. “Who the fuck are you, and how do you have this number?” The person on the other end answered, a young man to be exact, causing the Doctor to smile darkly.

“Is that how you answer the phone to your old Doctor Kannush?” The Doctor asked, using the alias that was included in the file, having gone by many over the years.

“I have no idea who Doctor Kannush is,” the man responded in annoyance, “how the fuck did you get this number?”

The Doctor chuckled darkly, angering the man at the other end of the call. “Come now, you must remember me. I'm the first Doctor that had ever taken care of you, who helped you control your quirk, and made sure you were a healthy lad all those years ago.”

“You still haven't answered my question,” the man said quietly, attempting to be intimidating. The Doctor could only smile wider, knowing that his Master could be more intimidating without even trying. “How did you get this number?”

“I have my ways, young one,” the Doctor responded simply, hearing the other man huff out in annoyance. He looked up at the monitor with his subject's information on it, finding the other aliases that were used during the time when they interacted all those years ago.

“I swear, old man, if I found out who you really are, you will not-”

“Now, now, young one, I believe Master Shinsei taught you better manners than that,” the Doctor interrupted, his smile growing at the silence that followed, knowing he stopped the other man as he was about to hang up.

The line stayed silent for a few moments but didn’t disconnect, and the Doctor could only imagine the shock and confusion on the young man’s face, making the dark smile on the Doctor’s face grow even more. He could hear a few commands being yelled out in the background before the sound of a soft click of a door was heard over the call.

Shinsei was one of his Master’s aliases that he used within the underground and when dealing with test subjects throughout the years. It was one of those names that would strike fear into those that heard it, one that was lost to the world of names in Japan for many centuries. Most would read the kanji related to the name and have chills sent down their spines, with it meaning ‘god, deity’ as well as ‘to become, to accomplish, to succeed’.” Master had lived up to the name tenfold over the years, and the alias was still whispered in the underground even years after his Master became inactive.

“How do you know that name?” The man asked carefully, and the Doctor could hear the fear in his voice.

“I’m one of Master Shinsei’s loyal servants, of course,” the Doctor responded, his smile never faltering. “You see, Master Shinsei has requested that I get in contact with you for a special mission, and he would be very upset if he learned that you declined.”

“I haven't heard from him in years, and he believes he can just contact me out of the blue and demand that I do something for him?” The young man scoffed. “The world doesn’t work that way. Not anymore.”

The Doctor hummed in response. “Are you not even willing to listen to the proposed offer?” The Doctor questioned, “it would be beneficial to both parties once you succeed.” The Doctor looked up at the file again, having recently been updated by one of Master’s old contacts, revealing information that nobody else should know. “Of course, if you don't want to listen, I can always take your precious ‘daughter’ off your hands.”

“You wouldn’t dare…” The man said dangerously.

“You know as well as I do who Master Shinsei is, and how cruel he can be when he wants to. Do you really want to take that chance?” The Doctor asked. He could just envision the steam coming out of the young man's ears, his frustration evident even over the phone. The Doctor waited as the young man seemingly paced, if the sound of footsteps through the call was any indication. He suddenly heard a crash through the call, sounding like a flower vase hit the wall and shattered, before raining to the ground below.

“Tick-rock, Tick-tock…” The Doctor said into the phone, reminding the young man that he was still there, listening and waiting. He heard the young man huff out in annoyance again before he took a seat either in a chair or on a couch, the phone line going silent once more. He could just barely hear the breathing through the call, knowing he hadn't hung up but was debating on his next course of action before answering.

“What would he have me do?” The young man questioned quietly after a few moments, and the Doctor could only guess he was trying to make sure nobody else overheard him. “I’m a very busy man these days.”

“Master Shinsei has requested that I meet up with you and explain the details,” the Doctor responded simply, “I believe you know how easy it is to tap a phone. One of yours did just get caught recently by a bug that was planted on their phone.”

“Fine,” the young man responded with annoyance and frustration seeping into his voice again, before grumbling quietly to himself. It was something the Doctor couldn't make out, causing him his own frustration. “Where would you have us meet? I'll be out of town for a couple of days for a business venture, so it will have to wait until I return.”

“I will have the location sent to you when you return,” the Doctor responded, “and don't try to skip town. I'll know when you leave and when you get back, and I suggest you remember that. Expect a meeting not long after you return.”

“Very well,” the young man answered through gritted teeth, “we’ll be in touch.”

With a very soft and subtle ‘click’, the phone line was disconnected, a dial tone quickly replacing the silence from the other end. The Doctor smiled darkly as he also hung up his phone, feeling accomplished. He was one step closer to restoring his Master to his former glory.

Standing up from his chair, the Doctor walked over to the vat that was currently sitting in the center of the room, one that held his Master’s form in his signature suit and green tie. “It won’t be long now, Master,” the Doctor said as he walked around and inspected the vat, before placing his hand on it carefully in front of his Master’s face. “Once I restore you to your former glory, we will take over Japan together.” The Doctor couldn’t help but begin to chuckle darkly, excited for what was to come.

The person in the vat didn't respond, but that didn't dull the mood the Doctor was in. Not once since the body was recovered had it shown a sign of life, except for a very faint and weak pulse, after the Doctor recovered the almost lifeless body six years ago.

After he returns his Master to his former glory, there will be nothing able to stand in his way of his life's work. He will have unlimited resources for his Nomu project once more, able to create his very own children that he'll be able to command freely. The Doctor had waited this long for his life's project, and with his quirk, Life Force, he could spare a few more years to make sure his goals came to fruition.

Releasing his hand from the vat, the Doctor moved back over towards his desk full of monitors. He noticed that Kurogiri was still standing in the same spot as before, continuing to polish the same glass as he was earlier. He looked towards the monitors showing his Nomu project, inspecting the data that was being sent over to make sure everything was going according to plan. Finally, he looked at the quirks and enhancements he had on hand, and the test subjects that were currently awaiting their transfusions.

Once all his plans finally came to the final stage, Japan, no, the World wouldn't be prepared for what hit them. The Doctor found himself chuckling darkly, before it turned into a full blown laugh, echoing throughout his secret lab. He could not wait to see what happened.

Chapter Text

“Good afternoon, students!” Nemuri greeted as she walked through the open classroom door a few seconds after the bell had rung. Class 1-A had instantly recognized their substitute teacher thanks to the hero costume she was currently wearing, having changed from her casual wear sometime after homeroom. “Welcome to Heroics!” She walked across the front of the classroom, pausing beside the podium before doing a quick head count. “Oboro has informed me of a discussion he was meant to have with the students, but considering everything that happened, he never had a chance to do so.”

“Many of you may be wondering why you are wearing your hero costumes right now,” Nemuri continued, “especially since I mentioned the other day that most of your heroic classes would be free periods to prepare for the Sports Festival.” As she turned around, she began writing on the board as she continued, “and that’s because we’re going to be going over hero costumes and support items.” The students waited for Nemuri to finish writing on the board before she took a step to the side. ‘HERO COSTUMES’ and ‘SUPPORT ITEMS’ were written in big, bold letters and were underlined twice.

“In the information packets you received before joining UA, you were asked to submit a form containing details of your hero costume and support items,” Nemuri went on to explain. “But many students, if not most, don’t know all the options that are available when requesting their first costume and/or support items.” Nemuri looked over a few students, landing on desk sixteen and only seeing hovering gloves and boots, sighing internally in disapproval, before continuing on to the rest of the students.

“Many of the companies that make your hero costumes know you’ll add to, remove from, or modify your original designs based on what works and what doesn’t. This causes many of these companies to provide the absolute bare minimum based on your requests.” Many of the students nodded in understanding, while others looked annoyed that these companies would cheap out on their costume making.

“Before we begin, I would like to demonstrate exactly what you should be considering when submitting a redesign or when requesting support items,” Nemuri continued as she looked towards Izuku, Momo, and Himiko sitting at the back of the classroom. “Izuku, Momo, and Himiko, do you mind giving me a hand with this demonstration?” The trio shared a look with each other before shrugging and getting up, walking towards the front of the classroom, standing beside Nemuri as they looked towards their classmates.

“With help from their parents,” Nemuri began, “these three costumes were made precisely as requested, to custom specifications. Each costume is made out of DNA material, allowing the use of their quirks without the worry of destroying them.” Nemuri gestured towards Izuku and Momo, allowing the two to demonstrate how Smoke and Creation were able to be used through their costumes, before gesturing towards Himiko. Everyone watched in amazement as Himiko transformed into Ochako directly in front of their eyes, looking between Himiko at the front of the class and Ochako still sitting in her seat. Himiko gave herself a quick hug before allowing Transform to drop, revealing herself once more in her own costume. Her fanged grin made Ochako smile in return.

“You don’t want to end up in a situation where you’re required to use your quirk, and it ends up destroying your costume, and you are left unprotected or even exposed in the eye of the public,” Nemuri continued. “There are rules and regulations that every hero must follow anytime we wear a hero costume in public, whether it’s for hero work or presentation.”

“This directly leads into my next point: protection,” Nemuri gestured towards the three students beside her, pointing out a few different points in their costumes where extra padding was added or other means of protection. “In short, there will never be a time where you have too much protection, unless it directly hinders your movement or ability to use your quirk or support items.” Nemuri looked towards the red-haired student, causing him to look towards himself, realizing he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. “Not everyone has durability comparable to All Might. There are many options for protection, and I suggest everyone reviews what is available before submitting your redesign.”

“And finally: support items,” Nemuri continued, “they can be as simple or complex as you can imagine. In tandem with my own quirk, I use a whip for added range in taking down villains and a fan to better control my quirk once it leaves my body. Oboro uses his quarterstaff as well as capture scarves to take down villains quickly and efficiently. Hizashi uses a voice guidance support item to help direct his quirk when out in the field, but to also help limit his quirk output outside of hero work.”

“Many of the support items are meant to help you in the field with or without your quirk. Other times, they’re meant to help the people around you in tandem with your quirk,” Nemuri explained as she stood up, walking in between Izuku and Momo and pointing to their rebreathers/purifiers sitting loosely around their necks. “You all personally witnessed this during Izuku’s and Jirou’s battle trial against Shoji and Kamiji, when Izuku shared his face mask with Jirou to prevent her from inhaling his Smoke accidentally.” Many of the students nodded, remembering how Izuku had smoked the whole building and Kyouka was able to walk beside him without any issues while wearing his rebreather.

Nemuri finally moved over towards Himiko, noticing her look up towards her pleadingly, attempting to communicate that she didn’t want her classmates to know about her needles and vials. “Other support items are meant to stay hidden until they are absolutely necessary,” Nemuri explained as she gestured towards Himiko. The Transform user took a deep breath before pulling out two hidden knives, showing them off to the class. “And those are only two of the many different knives Himiko carries on her, plus a few other support items.” Himiko smirked at their classmates' sweatdropped expressions before she made the knives disappear once more, sheathing them back in their proper positions.

“With internships coming up after the Sports Festival,” Nemuri continued as she moved back to stand by the podium, sending the trio of students back to their seats in the process, “and because you’ll be out in the field with licensed heroes, if you need to submit a redesign, I suggest doing so as soon as possible. The support students only have a limited amount of time outside of preparing for the Sports Festival themselves, so the faster you can submit a redesign, the higher chance of receiving your new costume before internships.”

“If you have any questions in regards to what’s available, or the rules and regulations in place, or even want some suggestions on what to focus on, please feel free to come find me. You can also ask your fellow classmates and peers about their costumes to get some ideas that might work for your own.” Nemuri looked around the classroom, seeing a few students finishing up their notes, while others appeared to be deep in thought about their costumes or support items, while others looked satisfied with what they had. “I’ve already taken up enough of your time. I will stick around here until class is officially over, otherwise you’re dismissed!”

After the students had all returned their costumes to their respective cases, about half the class had decided to go back to their heroics class, wanting to discuss their hero costumes or support items with their substitute teacher. The rest of the students decided to get a jump start on their training, wanting to be ready for the Sports Festival that was quickly approaching.

After the small friend group had returned their hero costumes to their homeroom, they found themselves walking towards one of the massive empty gyms that were located around campus. Wanting to use the resources that were available to them, Izuku and Momo had requested the use of the gym for the rest of their heroic class and into the late afternoon. Knowing that they didn’t need the whole gym to themselves, the two class representatives had offered the use of the gym to their classmates, but most had turned it down to train by themselves, wanting to keep a few secrets up their sleeves for the Sports Festival.

Kyouka and Denki were walking beside the other couple, having accepted the offer to use the gym with their classmates, both hoping to learn a few things from their more knowledgeable friends. Himiko and Ochako had tagged along behind the others, discussing quietly amongst themselves about their homework from one of their morning classes. Izuku and Momo had noticed how excited Ochako was to train alongside them, having been told by Himiko how she wanted to train with the staff.

“Soooo,” Denki began as they followed their friends into the gym, looking around and inspecting the massive interior and everything it had to offer. “What’s the plan for training today? I’ve been raring to learn since Kayama mentioned heroics would be free periods for training.”

“He’s not kidding,” Kyouka continued as she pointed a thumb in her boyfriend’s direction, “since we finished dinner last night, he hasn’t been able to shut up. He’s been excited to learn how you two were able to respond so quickly to the situations we found ourselves in.”

“Hey!” Denki responded exasperated, “I wasn’t that bad!” Kyouka looked towards him and raised an eyebrow, showing her boyfriend a look of disbelief, knowing full well how excited he’s been. “I wasn’t the only one going on and on about training with Izuku and Yaomomo! You can’t say you weren’t excited to learn from them!” He gestured towards Izuku and Momo as he talked to Kyouka, hearing them giggle quietly to themselves.

“Well,” Kyouka responded, reaching up and playing with one of her ear jacks as she stole a glance towards the giggling couple. “I won’t deny that I was a little excited,” Denki coughed, causing Kyouka to release a sigh, “okay! I was very excited to learn from them! Are you happy, Denks?” Kyouka glared towards Denki, watching as he nodded and smirked in success.

“Izu and I have discussed a few ideas over the past few days,” Momo told their friends as they stood in a small circle near the entrance, “but based on what Auntie said earlier, I believe it’s best if we go over our costumes first and foremost before talking about support items and quirks. Any objections?” Momo looked around her friends, finding them all shaking their heads.

“We’ll start with Ochako’s costume,” Izuku began as he focused on Ochako, causing her to straighten up at the mention of her name, “because Mo and I believe it only needs a few small adjustments. Our biggest recommendation is more protection all around, but we were also curious as to why you decided to go with the boots you did.”

“Oh!” Ochako exclaimed as she began explaining, “the heels have a small reinforced spring and the soles are made with shock absorption material. They’re meant to help reduce the shock when I release Zero Gravity.”

Izuku and Momo nodded at the explanation before Izuku continued, “you may want to reconsider heels for hero work. I would mostly be worried about landing wrong and twisting your ankle. If they work for now, I would continue using them until you find something that may work better.” Ochako nodded in understanding. “Is there anything else you were considering adding to your costume?”

Ochako looked towards Himiko in thought, attempting to remember if there was anything that stood out since the beginning of the term, before remembering the sparring match she had with her girlfriend back at the Estate. “During the battle trials, and the USJ, I realized that I didn’t have any way to protect myself except for my quirk,” Ochako explained as she turned back towards Izuku and Momo, finding them listening intently, “and I asked Himi to show me how to use a few weapons and I found myself gravitating towards the staff.”

Momo hummed in thought, causing everyone to look towards her. “A staff could work well with your quirk, especially if it had added weight to it,” she mused to herself, “but that means you would either have to carry the added weight all the time or keep your quirk activated on it.” Momo looked up towards Ochako, tilting her head in thought. “Have you considered a collapsible staff? It would be a weapon that would only be used when necessary, but easy to carry around and not get in the way during rescue work.”

Ochako brought her hand up to her chin in thought, looking back towards Himiko. “A collapsible staff sounds like it would be perfect,” Ochako finally said as she looked back towards Momo, “but I would like to have more practice using a staff before committing to adding it to my costume.”

“Understandable,” Izuku responded. “Mo and I have no issues in helping you train with the staff, but I believe you should add it to your costume regardless. Even if you don’t use it as a staff, you could use it during rescue work.” Izuku gestured towards Himiko, “just like Himi did during the entrance exam.” Ochako nodded in agreement. “I’ll work on drawing up your redesign later tonight and you should be able to hand it in to the support department tomorrow.”

“Moving on to Kyouka,” Izuku began as he focused on his friend, watching as she straightened up at the mention of her name. “Other than adding more protection to your costume, is there anything you have been considering?”

Kyouka hummed in thought for a moment, playing with her ear jack as she did. “Other than having some way to protect myself outside of using my ear jacks, there’s nothing I can think of right now. I’ve been warned that my ear jacks won’t grow back if they happen to be forcefully removed during hero work.” Kyouka shivered slightly, the thought of losing a piece of herself and her quirk causing her distress. Denki took a step closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into a quick side hug, allowing her to relax.

Momo hummed in understanding, causing everyone to look towards her. “That means they work similar to other limbs, just that you’re able to use your quirk through them. We’ve seen the precise control you have over them as well, which means they could easily turn a fight in your favor, but you’d have to be extremely careful when dealing with villains and such.”

Momo thought back to how Kyouka used her quirk in the battle trials, realizing how much she depended on her ear jacks. “During the battle trials, we witnessed you plug your ear jacks directly into your boot amplifiers when facing Kamiji, leaving them directly in the open for anybody to attack and counter.” Kyouka nodded in confirmation, knowing herself that she relied on her ear jacks to be able to plug into her boot amps. “Have you considered adding multiple connection points to your costume? It would allow you to plug into your boot amplifiers without extending your ear jacks out in the open. You could even put the ports into your headphones or into the collar of the jacket you were wearing.”

Kyouka shared a look with Denki, seeing the same realization on his face. “I’ve never considered that,” she admitted as she turned back towards the other couple. “For some reason, I didn’t think that would work, considering how much power I channel through my ear jacks.”

“You’d be surprised at how durable support equipment is,” Izuku told her, seeing her nod in return. “Have you thought about adding amplifiers to your hands?”

“No,” Kyouka responded as she shook her head, thinking her boot amplifiers would be enough when she first designed her costume, “I’ve never considered adding more amps to my costume. I thought my boot amps would be enough.”

Izuku hummed in thought as he read over his notebook again before looking back up at Kyouka. “The problem I see with your boot amplifiers is that you’re limited to the direction you're facing. If you were to add amplifiers to your wrists, it could give you a wider range of attack.” Izuku tapped his pencil against his chin a few times in thought. “I think adding them into weapons would also be beneficial to you. It would offer you multiple ways to attack, and if you add amplifiers into a pair of tonfas, you would have added protection in close combat too.”

“But aren’t tonfas bulky in size?” Kyouka asked in return.

“They can be,” Momo confirmed, “but I do believe there is technology out there that can remedy that problem. Father and Mother have been in talks with a couple of scientists on I-Island that have created a sort of shapeshifting technology, allowing something as bulky as a tonfa to be transformed into a wristband. I’m sure I can ask Father about acquiring the rights to use the technology in our costumes.”

“Oh,” Kyouka said as she waved her hands and ear jacks in front of her, “you don’t have to do that for me. I’m sure I can use the support course here to create something that would work.”

“You’re correct in saying I don’t have to,” Momo responded with a smile, “but I want to do that for you. For all of us.” Momo gestured towards everyone in the gym. “You’ve already seen our costumes and how they were designed, but we can always use improvements. I’m sure Father would be willing to help out our friends and classmates if we asked.” Izuku nodded, confirming that Yuukichi definitely would. Kyouka and Denki shared a look, excitement clear on their faces, before they nodded back towards the other couple.

“There’s one more thing I would like to go over,” Izuku spoke up, causing everyone to focus back on him as he looked towards Kyouka. “Based on what I’ve seen of your quirk so far, you have enhanced hearing, can channel sound through your ear jacks, and are able to use them in combat.” Kyouka nodded. “And I believe you are channeling your heartbeat when you channel sound through your ear jacks?” Another nod. “Have you attempted to channel any other sound?”

Kyouka looked at Izuku as if he had grown two heads. “I’m not sure what you mean. How would I be able to channel sounds other than my heartbeat?”

Izuku tapped his pencil on his chin a few times as he hummed in thought, thinking of the best way to explain his theory. “I think the best way to explain my theory would be listening through one ear jack and channeling what you are hearing out the other.”

Kyouka looked away in thought, attempting to remember if she ever tried what Izuku had asked her, or if she remembered her mother ever mentioning doing something similar. As far as she knew, and as far as her mother knew, they could only enhance their hearing and channel the sound of their heartbeat through their quirks. She had also proven how much stronger her quirk is compared to her mother’s, so it’s possible that her mother wasn’t able to do it regardless.

With her curiosity piqued, Kyouka snaked her ear jack into her pocket and connected it to her phone, pulling it out and holding it in front of her, before opening up her music app. Looking towards Denki in question, she watched as he nodded with a soft smile, allowing her to snake out her other ear jack and place it in front of his ear, knowing the exact spot needed for bone conduction.

Playing a track by Deep Dope, one of her favorite bands, Kyouka closed her eyes as she concentrated on channeling the song from one ear jack to the other. She imagined that she was disconnecting the sound from her heartbeat and connecting her other ear jack instead, the connection flowing seamlessly through one part of her quirk and into the other.

Hearing Denki gasp lightly, Kyouka opened her eyes to find her boyfriend with stars in his eyes and a wide smile on his face. She watched as he closed his eyes as he listened before he began quietly singing in tune with the song, causing Kyouka’s eyes to go wide in amazement. She looked back towards the other couple, finding them both smiling in her direction, happy that her friend was able to do something that Izuku had suggested.

“How have I never thought about this before?” Kyouka asked rhetorically. She looked back towards Denki, seeing him shrug in response, keeping his smile on his face. “This opens up so many doors for my quirk going forward.” Kyouka looked back towards the other couple, giving them a beaming smile, before retracting her ear jacks and stepping towards the two, pulling them into a hug. “Thank you so much for your help, Green, Yaomomo!”

“You’re welcome, Kyouka,” Izuku responded as he returned the hug. When they broke from the hug, Kyouka bounced over towards Denki and hugged him in return, excitement pouring off her. They waited until she had calmed down a bit before she turned back towards the other couple, her ear jacks tapping lightly in front of her as a blush dusted her cheeks because of her reaction. “Just like Ochako’s, I’ll work on your costume redesign tonight so you’ll be able to submit it tomorrow.” Kyouka nodded in thanks, a small smile on her face. Then she looked around.

"Um… where'd they go?" She extended her jacks, swiveling her head. "Himiko? Ochako?" Denki looked puzzled, started to say they were next to him, then noticed they were nowhere in sight. "How did they do that?"

Izuku and Momo chuckled. "Practicing stealth training. Try looking up." They both pointed in unison, leading Denki and Kyouka to crane their necks. Sure enough, both girls were flitting along the roof lights, apparently playing tag.

"Back to Kyouka's costume, I have some ideas." Momo tilted her head in thought. "It's likely that we could use wireless conduction instead of a physical wire harness, to prevent damage. That might even let Kyouka set up other remote speakers around her, so she could play sounds from any direction. Using special drones, she might even be able to surround someone all by herself!"

Izuku raised an eyebrow, loving his partner's enthusiasm. Denki and Kyouka looked like they had stars in their eyes at the possibilities, and Izuku wondered just how much this would cost before dismissing the thought. They could afford it. Hopefully, seeing the new gear and how well it worked would allow them to assist the rest of the class more easily in the future as well.

“And last but not least,” Izuku continued as he looked towards Denki, causing the other boy to straighten up as he was focused on. “Once again, we would like to see more protection in your hero costume, but also made with a material that will allow full use of your quirk.” Denki nodded in agreement, allowing Izuku to continue. “I do have a few ideas for your quirk, Denki, and please let me know if it makes you uncomfortable, but I would like to learn more about how your quirk functions outside of what we witnessed.”

Everyone present turned to look at Denki, finding him standing stock still after Izuku mentioned he wanted to learn more about his quirk. For as long as possible, he had told only Kyouka about his quirk, more as a precaution in not wanting to lose her friendship. Recently he told Oboro because the teacher appeared to be worried about his history and wanted to make sure he was okay. Now his friends, ones that he would trust with his life, were asking about it.

Kyouka took a step closer to her boyfriend, reaching out with her hand and intertwining their fingers before wrapping one of her ear jacks around his arm, running soothing circles just below his wrist. They all watched as Denki appeared to relax his shoulders, giving Kyouka’s hand a squeeze, before he focused back on Izuku and Momo in front of him. “What would you like to know?” Denki asked quietly.

“Denki,” Izuku said softly as he took a step forward, reaching up and placing a hand on his shoulder before giving it a soft reassuring squeeze, “if you are uncomfortable talking about it, we completely understand. The last thing any of us want to do is force you to tell us something you don’t want to share.”

“Thank you, Izuku,” Denki responded as his lips twitched ever so slightly upwards at how considerate his friend was being. “But if what you can suggest helps me learn better control of my quirk or helps me become a better hero, then I’ll try to answer whatever questions you may have.” Denki closed his eyes as he released a small breath, “I trust you guys,” he finished off quietly.

Izuku gave his shoulder another squeeze, causing him to open his eyes, finding Izuku softly smiling at him in front of him, and Momo mirroring her partner’s smile behind him. “Okay,” Izuku responded as he released his friend's shoulder and took a step backwards, holding his notebook in front of him again.

“We all witnessed what happened during your battle trial,” Izuku explained, “and Kyouka mentioned that you still have issues controlling your quirk.” Denki nodded slowly, knowing that Kyouka wouldn’t have mentioned it to someone else unless she was truly worried about him. “Have you had a chance to talk with Recovery Girl yet? I know Shirakumo mentioned setting up an appointment.”

Denki nodded in response. “After class finished yesterday, Ky and I went to see Recovery Girl. She performed a quirk test, as well as a few others.” Denki looked away from everything, remembering what Recovery Girl had said. “She explained that all my results appeared normal, except that my quirk was too powerful, was somehow still adapting to my body, and was causing a quirk backlash. Thankfully, she didn’t find any lasting damage from discharging my quirk, but she recommended that I try to prevent doing so in the future as much as possible, never knowing when it could start causing lasting damage.”

Izuku nodded in understanding as he focused on his notebook as he took down a few notes, thankful his friend’s quirk wasn’t causing any permanent damage. “I think we can work with that,” he explained. “Unfortunately, all the ideas I have are going to be trial and error. I haven’t had a chance to see you use your quirk outside of the battle trials.”

Denki nodded in understanding as he relaxed, thankful his friend didn’t push him any further on the topic. He felt Kyouka’s ear jack untangle from his arm, causing him to look over towards her, finding her with a soft loving smile on her face and a proud look behind her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile in return before turning back to their friends, ready for whatever ideas Izuku and Momo had for him.

“So based on what we witnessed during the battle trials,” Izuku began, “you can cover yourself with electricity from your quirk and release it in a field that surrounds you for a short radius, or shocks things that come too close to you. Releasing too much electricity causes you to enter a ‘dopey’ state where you can’t think straight for a while.” Denki nodded, confirming everything Izuku had said so far. “Have you attempted to extend your electricity to other objects, or are you limited in using your quirk on yourself? Are you able to shoot out electricity, and how much control do you have over it when you do?”

Denki looked over to Kyouka again, seeing her shrug in response, before he looked back towards Izuku. “I’ve never tried to extend it to other things, and I don’t really have any control over my electricity once it leaves my body. I can attempt to ‘guide’ it, but it’s more of a suggestion and can be highly unpredictable.”

Izuku hummed in thought before looking towards Momo. As if knowing exactly what her boyfriend was thinking, she created a staff out of her hand before catching it with the other, giving it a once over before walking towards Denki and holding it out for him. “The base material is made out of steel, but I have also added more copper into the metal itself, so it should conduct electricity perfectly. It might be a bit heavy and not hold up in the long term, but it will work for testing purposes.”

Denki accepted the staff, almost dropping it once Momo had let go, only realizing then how heavy it actually was. “You weren’t kidding, Yaomomo,” he exclaimed as he picked the staff up in both hands, “this staff has some serious weight to it. How the hell were you holding it up so easily?” Momo smiled in response as she took a step backwards, amazing their friends with her natural strength.

“Considering this is just a trial run to see what your quirk can do,” Izuku continued, “the weight won’t matter. We can work on what weapons you would prefer to use once we confirm this idea will work.” Izuku pointed his pencil towards the line of training dummies along the wall, causing everyone to look towards them. “I would like you to attempt using your quirk and channeling it into the staff before hitting one of the dummies. If my theory is correct, you should be able to ‘extend’ your quirk using the staff, giving you more control and range.”

Denki shared an excited look with Kyouka, having witnessed one of Izuku’s theories come true right in front of their eyes with his partner’s quirk, realizing what it could mean for his future quirk use if it worked. He turned around and walked towards a training dummy, holding the heavy staff in both hands. Activating Electrification at a lower percentage, he channeled it into the staff in his hands, watching in awe as his electricity surrounded it and began sparking off of it. Taking a quick breath with a smile on his face, Denki sloppily lashed out with the staff, successfully slamming it against the training dummy’s chest causing it to rock back from the blow.

Denki gasped as the hit connected, instinctively dropping his quirk in the process, causing the small group to rush over towards him in concern. He continued looking towards the training dummy dumbfoundedly, trying to figure out exactly what happened, seeing the noticeable black mark along the chest where the staff connected. “Izuku,” Denki began quietly, turning towards his friend beside him, “is it possible that the staff will feel like it’s part of me, in a way? I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“As in an extension of yourself?” Izuku questioned in return, watching as Denki thought about it carefully before nodding. “It’s possible,” Izuku mused to himself as he tapped his pencil against his chin, reading over his notes once more. “Thoughts, Mo?” Izuku questioned as he looked towards his partner, finding her deep in thought with a hand against her cheek.

“Based on how Denki activated his quirk,” Momo began, “it would make sense that he could feel the weapon as if it was an extension of himself.” She looked down towards Izuku, finding him deep in thought in return, looking towards her but not really seeing her. “We could possibly compare it to how Smoke Cowl feels like an extension of our body and quirk, one that we can control to a certain degree, but it’s not physically us.”

“You’re gonna have to explain it in ways we can understand,” Kyouka teased light-heartedly, attempting to piece together what their two brainiacs were explaining.

“In theory,” Izuku continued as he focused back on the other couple, “if Denki is making the weapon, or whatever he might be holding, an extension of himself with his quirk, it’s possible that he may be able to control it to a certain degree. With a solid weapon like a staff, there’s nothing to really ‘control’, but with a weapon similar to a whip, he might be able to better maneuver it when using his quirk.”

“But that is something that would require more testing,” Momo continued, “and a good amount of more training on Denki’s part. That test did confirm that your quirk works through objects, including weapons. The next step in training should be figuring out what weapon works best with your quirk and training to use it with and without your quirk.”

“Man, this is badass!” Denki exclaimed as he nodded excitedly, already thinking of the many different weapons he could use in extension with his quirk. “I can’t thank you two enough!” Denki took a step towards his friends, surrounding them in a hug and causing them to giggle as they returned it, the couple were quickly learning how open the others were to hugs.

As Denki released his hug around the couple, before he moved back towards his own partner, picking her up and twirling her around in a circle and causing her to laugh. Everyone in the gym could see and feel the excitement pouring off Denki from learning an aspect of his quirk he never considered, opening a door that could potentially help him in controlling it in the long term. He brought Kyouka down towards him, giving her a loving kiss, before placing her back down on the ground. She poked him slightly in the side, a blush dusting her cheeks but a smile never leaving her face at her partner’s reaction.

Once Denki had calmed down, he turned back around to Izuku and Momo, finding them smiling at the antics of the other couple, causing him to smile in return. “You mentioned that I might be able to control a whip with my quirk?” Izuku and Momo both nodded in confirmation. “Do you think-”

Denki was cut off as Izuku raised his shirt, the different colors of Creation lighting up his stomach, before he pulled a bullwhip-style whip out of it. “You’ll have to get one made by the support course or a support company, but this one should work for proof of concept. I made it out of paracord but it’s laced with copper throughout to better conduct your electricity.”

“Man,” Denki exclaimed as he walked forward and accepted the whip, “have I ever told you two how awesome you are? Because I don’t think I’ve said it enough.” Izuku and Momo chuckled at how his excitement was still pouring off him, watching as he whipped around on his heel, heading directly towards one of the training dummies. “I cannot wait to try this out!”

Kyoka smiled, then frowned and hurried after. "Do not try and crack that thing like that old movie with the guy in the hat! Denki! Be careful!"

Chapter Text

As Denki rushed towards the training dummies deeper inside the gym, Izuku and Momo couldn't miss the thankful look that Kyouka gave them, her eyes expressing more than words ever could. She was quick to turn on her heel, chasing after her partner while yelling at him to be careful, concern evident in her voice at him using his new whip. The two watched in amusement as the other couple bickered back and forth between themselves for a few moments before Denki attempted to use his new weapon, his quirk successfully enveloping the whip while electricity arced off, landing true on the dummies and leaving some black scorch marks.

“ZuMo?” Himiko asked quietly from behind the couple, having been released from Ochako’s quirk and stealthily landed behind them. The two could instantly tell that something was bothering Himiko when they turned around, especially when Ochako was looking towards her girlfriend in concern. Ochako took a step closer to Himiko, wrapping her arm around her partner’s waist and lightly pulling her into a side hug. Himiko softly smiled towards her partner before she returned the hug. “Can I talk with Izuku about my quirk?” Himiko asked as she focused back on her family, “and what happened at the USJ?”

“Of course, Himi,” Izuku instantly responded as Momo nodded beside him. “Would you like Ochako here with you?”

Himiko glanced towards Ochako, a small conversation happening between them, before Ochako pulled out of the hug with a nod. “Hey Momo,” Ochako began as she stepped towards the raven-haired girl, “do you think you can show me a few pointers with the staff? Himi said over the weekend that you were an expert.”

Momo looked up toward Himiko in question, wanting to make sure that’s what her sister wanted, seeing Himiko slowly nod in confirmation. “Of course, Ochako,” Momo responded as she began leading the other girl further into the gym. Izuku and Himiko could hear the two conversing between them as they walked away, watching as Momo created two of her signature staves out of her hands before handing one to Ochako.

Once they were deeper inside the gym, Ochako stole one more glance towards Himiko, giving her a loving look and a soft smile. Himiko returned the look and smile before watching as Ochako took a battle ready stance with her staff, similar to what she had shown her over the weekend. Ochako's face transformed into a mask of fierce determination, and Momo nodded to show she was ready to begin. Himiko glanced further into the gym, finding Kyouka and Denki still occupied, allowing the tension to slightly relax from her shoulders, knowing they wouldn’t be able to hear the coming conversation.

Himiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the memories of what happened at the USJ vividly flashing behind her eyelids once more, causing her to shiver. Just as she began to shake, she felt a pair of strong, loving, familiar arms pull her into a tight hug, stopping the memories in their tracks. She allowed herself to melt into the warmth, feeling safe and protected within the embrace. “Take your time, Himi,” Izuku said quietly, beginning to rub circles into her back.

Himiko snuggled further into the embrace, unconsciously purring quietly, knowing that Izuku would do anything to make sure she felt comfortable, and she could never thank him enough for doing so. She felt herself rubbing her hair buns against the bottom of his chin before she remembered the reason she wanted to talk with him, ceasing both her rubbing and purring. “Do you remember what Kashiko said back home?” Himiko started off quietly, “about seeing the purple smoke cloud on the mountain zone?”

Izuku nodded against Himiko, encouraging her to continue. “I don’t know why it happened, but when I thought Chako died, something inside me snapped.” Himiko shivered slightly, barely remembering what happened after her quirk force activated. She could only remember one need, and that was to save Ochako, no matter the costs. Izuku tightened the hug, allowing her to relax further into the embrace once more. “Before I could even think about what was happening, I was using your transformation and purple Smoke was pouring out in waves.”

“Smokescreen,” Izuku confirmed quietly, no shock evident in his voice, “the base quirk of what Smoke was before… everything that happened.” Himiko nodded against Izuku in understanding, remembering him mentioning something in the past about using other people’s quirks with Transform. “It sounds like you were using my quirk after transforming into me, but I don’t recall you ever doing that when we trained before.” He felt her shake her head against him, confirming that she hadn’t been able to, causing him to hum in thought.

“Your quirk wasn’t the only one I used either,” Himiko continued quietly. “I was able to use Creation when I transformed into Momo, but when I tried to create something, it would come out disfigured and completely unusable.”

Izuku hummed in understanding, having witnessed the same thing when Momo was learning the more difficult creations. “When you experienced Ochako getting hurt, I think Transform went through an awakening. It’s something that doesn’t happen often unless the person experiences extreme stress, distress, or during a life-or-death situation,” he explained, remembering reading up on the rare occurrence. He'd researched it, of course. Chasing down internet forum leads and wild hares. He'd wanted to know, needed to know, on certain days. Momo knew, and she had always held him tighter when he needed it.

Izuku looked down at Himiko after she hummed, finding her curling further into him but keeping a steady look on Ochako in the distance. Izuku tightened his arms around his sister, feeling her melt further into the warm embrace he was providing, quietly beginning to purr again. The two were quiet for a few minutes, watching as their respective partners clashed with their staves, pausing only for a second so Momo could correct Ochako’s stance. “Have you tried using our quirks again?” Izuku asked quietly as he focused back on Himiko, “or Ochako’s?”

“No,” Himiko responded as she shook her head, “this morning was the first time I used Transform since the USJ. I used up all the transformations I had when I was defeating the villains and trying to protect Chako.”

“I would be interested in seeing your quirk awakening for myself,” Izuku told her, “if you’d like to show me.” He felt the smaller girl stiffen up in his embrace, her eyes darting towards the other side of the gym. He followed where she was looking, seeing Kyouka and Denki still in the same spot, chatting happily as Denki took a small break. Izuku could see the excitement rolling off Denki in waves, even from the distance that separated them. “We can always try some other time,” Izuku continued as he looked back down at Himiko, “when they aren’t around, if that makes you more comfortable?”

Himiko was silent as her eyes continued to dart around the room, switching between Kyouka and Denki further inside the gym to Ochako and Momo sparring not far away. She felt one of her fangs pinch her bottom lip, a sign that her anxiety was at an all time high because of the chance of other people finding out about her quirk. “You trust them, right?” Himiko asked quietly as she looked back up towards Izuku, finding him looking towards her fondly. “I’ve noticed you’ve gotten pretty close with them. You and Momo.”

“They’ve been marvelous friends,” Izuku responded as he looked up towards the other couple, keeping his soft smile on his face, “and some of the most genuine people we’ve met. They’re not afraid to be themselves around us, and they’ve never tried to impress us in any way, shape, or form.” Izuku looked back down towards Himiko, noticing that she was watching the couple too. “We trust them enough that we’ve considered telling them.”

Himiko blinked before her eyes widened in surprise, looking at Izuku and finding nothing but honesty behind his eyes. She watched as he looked back towards the couple, and saw the fond look he got on his face, something she had noticed Momo also doing when looking towards Kyouka and Denki. “If you’re thinking about telling more people, those two would be the perfect place to start. I don’t think they would judge you whatsoever, and I believe they would even offer to help, similar to how Ochako did when she found out.”

Himiko nodded as she looked back down towards Kyouka and Denki, watching as Denki laughed at something as Kyouka stabbed him in the side with one of her ear jacks, bringing a smile to her face. She focused back on the girls sparring, watching as Ochako and Momo clashed over and over again with their staves, already noticing Ochako’s improvement. “What about Chako?” Himiko asked as she looked back up towards Izuku, watching as he looked down at her curiously, “do you plan on telling her too?”

Izuku nodded with a soft smile. “Even if it’s unofficial for now, we’ve already welcomed her and consider her a part of the family.” Himiko’s eyes widened slightly again, realizing Izuku was telling the truth, knowing that he would never lie to her. “We’ve witnessed first hand the love you two share,” Izuku told her with a smirk, watching as she blushed and smiled in return. Izuku’s smirk fell into a more serious look, “but we’ve also witnessed how good of a partner she’s been for you. She was able to calm you down before you broke down, something that only Mo and I were able to do before.”

Himiko nodded in agreement before they turned back towards the spar that was happening. She stole a glance towards Kyouka and Denki further in the gym, seeing that Denki had returned to training, attempting to hit the training dummies with his electrified whip. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling Izuku tighten the hug on her for a moment, before releasing her breath slowly. “Okay.”

Izuku hummed as he focused on Himiko again, seeing the determined look in her eyes. “Okay,” she repeated as she lightly pulled herself out from Izuku’s embrace, already missing the warmth and protection it had provided. “If you trust them, I’m willing to show them my quirk.” Izuku gave her a proud look, causing her to smile in response. “Can you call them over?”

“Of course, Himi,” Izuku responded as he looked towards the other people in the gym. “Denki! Kyouka!” Izuku waited until the two were looking towards him before he waved them over, watching as the couple walked side by side back towards the entrance of the gym. He looked over towards the spar, having heard it stop when he called out, finding Momo and Ochako looking towards him, before he waved the two over as well.

“What’s up, Green?” Kyouka asked as they returned to the entrance, falling back into the small circle they were in earlier. Momo had instantly walked back beside Izuku, reaching out and intertwining their hands. Ochako also moved to stand beside Himiko, both having a silent conversation once more, before they also reached out and intertwined their hands. Izuku looked towards Himiko, a question behind his eyes, wondering if she wanted him to begin. Himiko returned a curt nod before focusing back on Kyouka and Denki, finding the two looking towards her curiously, having seen the small exchange.

Himiko looked down as she shuffled her feet before feeling a soft squeeze on her hand, allowing her to softly smile at the support from her girlfriend. “Izuku and I were just talking about what happened at the USJ,” Himiko began as she looked back up towards Kyouka and Denki, “and what happened with my quirk. While I am uncomfortable sharing anything about the inner workings of my quirk, Izuku has informed me of how much they trust you,” Himiko gestured towards Izuku and Momo.

They watched as Kyouka’s and Denki’s eyes widened slightly, looking towards the other couple and seeing them nod in confirmation with soft smiles. “And beyond anything you can imagine,” Himiko continued, “I trust them with my life, and always will.” Kyouka and Denki looked back towards Himiko, having witnessed the bond she shared with the other couple, giving her a nod in understanding.

Himiko took a quick breath, the realization of what she was about to say finally hitting her. She felt Ochako release their intertwined hands, something that caused her to look towards her partner in question, before she felt an arm wrap around her waist in support. Himiko nodded thankfully before she focused on the couple across from them again. “I’ve been wanting to open up to more people about my quirk, but have been scared of what some would think, and Izuku believes you two would be the perfect place to start. I haven’t even told anybody about my quirk outside of my family and Ochako.”

“I think I understand the feeling,” Denki responded quietly as he continued looking at Himiko, watching as she focused on him. “My quirk has always been hard to control, and I’ve unintentionally hurt people in the past. When people found out about my quirk accidents, they would begin to avoid me at all costs, worried that it would happen again.” Denki felt an ear jack wrap around his arm before Kyouka’s fingers were intertwined with his own, showing her partner the support he needed. “We promise not to say anything you may share with us today and in the future,” Denki told her firmly as Kyouka nodded in agreement beside him.

Himiko slowly nodded, beginning to realize why Izuku and Momo trusted the other couple so much. The small amount of tension that was still in her shoulders finally released, allowing her to relax further into the side hug that Ochako was providing.

“My quirk is called Transform, as you witnessed this morning,” Himiko began quietly, “and it allows me to transform into a perfect replica of someone minus their memories. It has a special activation requirement to allow me to transform,” she continued, pulling strength from her partner and trusting in what Izuku had told her earlier, “and that requirement is blood. Not only do I need blood to activate Transform, but it’s a dietary requirement for my survival.”

Himiko watched the other couple’s reaction, waiting for anything that would make her regret telling them, but she found nothing but surprise and curiosity on their faces and behind their eyes. The couple shared a quick look with each other, finishing it off with a curt nod, before focusing on Himiko once more. “Thank you for telling us, Himiko,” Kyouka began quietly, giving Himiko a small smile, one that was matched by Denki beside her. “Knowing how hard it is for Denks to share anything about his quirk, I think I know how it felt for you to share with us. We’re grateful that you decided to trust us.”

“I am curious though,” Denki began, causing everyone to look towards him as he looked towards Himiko. “What brought up the idea of wanting to tell us?” Feeling an ear jack lightly stab him in the side, Denki looked towards his partner, finding Kyouka glaring up towards him. He reached up with his free hand and scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he looked back towards Himiko. “Of course, you don’t have to explain your reasoning. I just found myself curious to know what made you want to tell us.”

Himiko couldn’t stop the full-fanged smile from spreading across her face, a giggle escaping between her lips at the actions of the other couple, watching as they looked towards her with smiles of their own. “As I mentioned earlier,” she began, “Izuku and I were going over what happened with my quirk at the USJ. He believes Transform experienced a quirk awakening.”

“Is that why Sekigai was asking about your quirk on the weekend?” Kyouka asked curiously. “What did she mean about it showing Smokescreen instead of Smoke for Green?”

“We believe that Sekigai’s quirk was showing the base quirk of what Smoke used to be,” Izuku explained as he danced around the truth, getting curious looks from Kyouka and Denki, “before Mo and I began sharing quirks.” Kyouka and Denki thought about it for a moment before both nodding, accepting the answer. “But that also means that Himi was able to use someone else’s quirk, something she hadn’t been able to do in training before.”

“So instead of just transforming into a perfect replica of someone,” Denki began quietly as he looked towards Himiko, “you’re able to also perfectly replicate their quirks, at least in the base form.” Himiko nodded in confirmation. “And you wanted to tell us about your quirk because you wanted to confirm it worked with other people, outside of Izuku and Yaomomo.” Another nod.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Denki?” Kyouka asked seriously, looking towards Denki in question. Denki was taken aback, looking towards Kyouka with hurt clear on his face, before he noticed the smirk growing on her lips. Realizing that his partner was teasing him, he sent a small amount of electricity through their joined hands, causing Kyouka to jump slightly. “I was only kidding! If only you picked up school work as easy as picking up something like that,” she finished off as she gestured towards the group. Izuku and Momo shared a look between themselves, curious about why.

“Anyway,” Denki continued as if his partner hadn’t said anything, looking back towards Himiko, “you were planning on asking us for some of our blood, yeah? How do you normally take it?”

“Really?” Himiko asked, the usual hope and excitement returning to her voice as she focused on Kyouka and Denki, “just like that?”

“Just like that,” Kyouka nodded in confirmation beside Denki, giving Himiko a small smile. “You’re family to Green and Yaomomo, which means you’re friends to us. Just like we’ve told them,” Kyouka gestured between Izuku and Momo, “if you ever need anything from us, all you have to do is ask.” She didn't really anticipate that, but she found herself sure that Himiko deserved this. Giving blood wasn't that hard compared to what some people had to do, and from what she'd said Himiko needed it to survive.

Himiko nodded as a few tears came to her eyes, releasing from Ochako’s embrace before pouncing forward, wrapping Denki and Kyouka in a hug and surprising them. Izuku was about to tell Himiko to not pounce on their friends like that before he noticed Denki and Kyouka had returned the hug, giggling at her antics. “Thank you, so, so much. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“You’re welcome, Himiko,” Kyouka said as they broke out of the embrace, Himiko taking a step back beside Ochako and feeling her arm wrap around her waist, a full-fanged smile back on her face.

“To answer Denki’s earlier question,” Himiko began again, “I normally take blood from ZuMo from their wrists.” She looked towards Ochako, already seeing the blush on her partner’s face and her free hand reaching up and rubbing the side of her neck, exactly where Himiko had bit her during their last kissing session. She couldn't help but blush when she remembered what Ochako had said after they had finished.

“Wait,” Denki said suddenly, looking towards Izuku, “is that why you have two small scars on your wrist? I noticed them a few times when we were hanging out and I couldn’t figure out how you got them.”

Izuku nodded, holding up his wrist in front of him, scars clearly visible to the group. “These were before we discovered that Himi’s saliva prevents us from scarring,” he explained, noticing Himiko relax once again, knowing she didn't want to bring up her past just yet. “She’s taken blood from us many times in the past this way, and never once have we received any scars.”

Denki and Kyouka nodded in understanding, letting Izuku drop his wrist back to his side, before they focused back on Himiko. “Will this do?” Denki asked as he raised up his wrist towards Himiko, a question behind his eyes.

Himiko nodded slowly as she broke out of Ochako’s embrace, taking a step towards the couple. She carefully grasped Denki’s arm, giving him one more look to confirm that it was okay, watching as he firmly nodded once. She looked back towards the wrist again before bringing it closer to her face. Her tongue lashed out and quickly licked the area before she placed Denki’s wrist in her mouth, hearing a small gasp from their friend once her fangs pierced his skin.

She didn't take a significant amount of blood, knowing Denki wanted to train the rest of the day. As she released his wrist, he watched as the two small puncture marks slowly healed themselves before his very eyes. He couldn’t help but feel his wrist with his other hand, finding his skin just as smooth as it was before, causing him to look up towards Himiko in amazement.

Looking over towards Kyouka, she squirmed on the spot for a second, before releasing a sigh. Her ear jacks came up in front of her and began tapping. “I’ve never been one for needles,” she admitted quietly, before taking a deep breath and holding up her wrist, “but I am curious on how it compares to one.” Himiko nodded slowly before reaching down and taking Kyouka’s wrist, giving her one last look to confirm this is what she wanted, before Himiko repeated the process. “That… wasn’t too bad,” Kyouka commented once Himiko had pulled back, “I only felt a slight pinch when you bit down.”

Himiko nodded. “Izuku explained that my saliva has anesthetic properties that help numb the area, and other than a small pinch when I first bite down, it makes the process painless.” She looked towards Izuku, specifically towards his wrist that held the small scars. “It’s not so painless without it,” she admitted quietly.

“But they’re scars that I will wear with pride,” Izuku told her, having noticed her looking towards his wrist. Himiko looked up towards him, finding him softly smiling, “and I would do it all again if I had to.”

“I feel like there’s a story that we’re missing,” Denki commented as he squinted his eyes, looking between Himiko and Izuku, before getting an ear jack stab from Kyouka beside him. “Ow! Ky!”

“It’s okay,” Himiko quickly said, placating Kyouka for the moment, watching as the couple focused back towards her. “It’s a story I’m not comfortable sharing yet,” she admitted quietly before she perked up again, “but I want to! Soon!” Kyouka and Denki gave her both nods in understanding, accepting the answer.

Himiko nodded once before closing her eyes, taking a step away from everyone. She was glad she wore the DNA training uniform that UA had provided, knowing that any other clothes would have been destroyed when she used her quirk. “Okay,” she said quietly before focusing on the blood she had taken from Ochako the night before, allowing the feeling of her quirk to wash over her.

The small group of five couldn’t help but take a step back, watching in amazement as Himiko’s quirk activated directly in front of them, something that Izuku and Momo hadn’t been able to fully appreciate since they trained together before UA. They marveled at the beautiful mix of pinks, purples, and blues as they surrounded her, quickly covering her from head to toe in her transformation sludge. Just like all the times previous, the transformation process only took a couple of seconds before all the colors combined and melted into a perfect replica of Ochako, standing stock still with her eyes closed where Himiko once was.

Himiko had once explained to Izuku and Momo how much she loved the feeling of transforming into the people she loved, the feeling of becoming close to them in ways she couldn’t describe, making her feel loved in ways that seemed impossible. They watched as the transformed Himiko’s face spread into a wide smile before she began blinking her eyes open and focusing on the people around her. Even though Himiko’s quirk transformed her into a perfect replica, Izuku and Momo could notice the small signs and differences that were distinctively Himiko with Ochako’s features, allowing her to stand out ever so slightly from the real person.

“Okay,” Himiko said in Ochako’s voice, the sound making Himiko smile wider, “I’m ready to test it!”

The small group of friends could feel the excitement pouring from Himiko, adding on top of the wide smile she was wearing in her transformed state, they couldn’t help but smile in response. Holding up one of his hands, they watched as the colors of Creation appeared in Izuku’s palm, a ball similar to the one used during the QAT appearing a second later. Inspecting it once over, Izuku held it out towards Himiko, allowing her to pick it up with four fingers, careful not to activate Zero Gravity.

Himiko took a deep breath as she focused on the transformation, feeling Ochako’s quirk brew within her stomach, before she placed the last finger on the ball. The group watched in amazement as a soft pink glow surrounded the ball, the telltale signs of Zero Gravity taking effect, before Himiko slowly lowered her hand from the ball. As they watched the ball float between them, Himiko couldn’t help but notice the proud look behind Izuku’s eyes, causing them both to share an even wider smile.

Izuku reached out and lightly tapped the ball, watching as it slowly floated towards Himiko, who stopped it with her own hand before lightly tapping it back towards Izuku. Stopping the ball, Izuku held his hand underneath it, signaling Himiko to deactivate Zero Gravity. He watched as Himiko raised up both hands and placed them together, and with a quiet ‘Release!’, the ball’s gravity was returned and fell back into Izuku’s waiting hands.

“My goodness,” Momo said quietly, looking towards her sister with a proud smile, “that was wonderful, Himi.”

“Do you realize how many opportunities this creates for your quirk?” Izuku began, causing the transformed Himiko to nod in excitement, a smile never leaving her face, before Izuku dropped into a small mutterstorm. “I wonder if you have the same limitations as the person’s quirk you are copying? Are you able to use any quirk as long as you are transformed into them? Are you limited to using the quirks you know? There’s so many questions and things we have to test!” Izuku looked back up towards Himiko, an excited look behind his eyes. “Can you try Denki’s or Kyouka’s quirk next?”

Himiko nodded as she closed her eyes, experiencing the feeling of Transform once more, before focusing on Denki’s blood. She felt the telltale signs of Transform melting around her, the beautiful mix of blues, pinks, and purples returning for a brief moment before they combined into a perfect replica of Denki.

She blinked her eyes open again, finding the small group of friends carefully watching her. She focused on where Ochako’s quirk was in her stomach before, feeling empty, as if there was no quirk there. Confused at the absence of Denki’s quirk, Himiko closed her eyes once more, focusing everywhere in her body, only finding the familiar feeling of Transform under her current transformation. “Its…” the transformed Himiko began as she opened her eyes, “…not here. I can’t feel Denki’s quirk, only Transform.”

Izuku nodded as he raised his free hand up to his chin in thought. “You were able to use Smoke’s base quirk, as well as Creation and Zero Gravity,” Izuku began, “but you weren’t able to use Electrification.” Izuku hummed in thought for a second, his eyes locked on the transformed Himiko but not really seeing her. “I wonder if it’s based on the bond you share with someone or something else?” He focused back on Himiko, a curious look behind his eyes. “Can you try transforming into Kyouka?”

Himiko quickly nodded before focusing on Transform once more. They watched as the same process as earlier happened, her current replica of Denki melted to reveal Kyouka standing in the same place. “This feels weird,” the transformed Himiko commented as she opened her eyes, before moving her head to look towards the ear jacks. “While I cannot feel Kyouka’s quirk, I can feel these,” she exclaimed as she finally figured out how to use the ear jacks, extending them out and holding them out in front of her. “And I’ve noticed my hearing is much more sensitive than before.” Himiko looked towards Kyouka, giving her a curious look, “how do you deal with all these extra sounds? I can hear everyone’s heartbeat!”

“It took some practice,” Kyouka admitted as she reached up, twirling one of her ear jacks as she explained her quirk. “I had to learn how to filter out and ignore all the sounds around me, and any new sounds take a few seconds for adjustments. Loud noises are still extremely sensitive.” Himiko nodded, remembering what happened in the cafeteria the week prior.

“So you are unable to use Kyouka’s quirk as well,” Izuku mused, “but you’re able to use the passive mutations that she has, including her ear jacks and enhanced hearing. It must have something to do with the bond you share with us compared to Denki and Kyouka. The only way to confirm that is the case is to build stronger bonds with Denki and Kyouka moving forward.”

Himiko nodded in understanding, letting Transform drop, before she took a step back towards Ochako. Her girlfriend wrapped her arms around her, causing Himiko to giggle as she hugged her partner back. “That was still amazing, Himi! Not only do you have access to perfectly replicate someone, but you’re able to use our quirks!”

“Thanks, Chako,” Himiko responded quietly before they shared a kiss.

“Mo and I have a meeting in about an hour,” Izuku told the small group of friends, noticing Denki and Kyouka nod towards them, while Himiko gave a thumbs up without stopping the kiss. Izuku shook his head as he looked towards Denki and Kyouka. “We’re unsure on how long we’re going to be, so we’ll likely see you back at the dorms.”

“Looks like it’s our turn to cook, Denks,” Kyouka told her partner, watching him nod in return. “I don’t think we can promise anything extravagant,” she shrugged as she looked back towards her friends, “especially not compared to what you two can cook, but we’ll try our best.”

“Izu and I look forward to seeing what you two can come up with,” Momo responded with a smile as Izuku nodded beside her.

“Welcome, Young Midoriya, Young Yaoyorozu!” Toshinori greeted them as they walked into the smaller gym located on a different part of campus. The couple took a brief look around the gym, finding a small obstacle course set up around the inside perimeter of the gym, most likely used for mobility training. “Thank you for coming on such short notice!”

“It’s nice to see you, Toshinori, Nezu,” Momo greeted in response, receiving curt nods from both. She looked towards the only other person in the gym, finding a scowl that looked permanently etched on his face behind his domino mask, having noticed he hadn’t taken his eyes off the couple since they entered. “You must be Toshinori’s previous mentor and teacher, Gran Torino. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person.” Momo and Izuku both bowed politely in greeting.

“You told them who I was,” Gran Torino stated as he looked up at Toshinori.

“They asked,” Toshinori countered, “so I told them.”

Gran Torino humphed before focusing back on the couple, his eyes hard as he inspected them up and down. “So you two are the Ninth holders of OFA,” Gran Torino began, “and neither of you have access to the Stockpile.” Izuku and Momo both nodded in confirmation. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“Toshi mentioned that you were his old mentor and homeroom teacher from when he received OFA,” Izuku responded, “and that you wanted to test us, with the possibility of helping train us.”

Gran Torino humphed again before glaring towards Toshinori. Their mentor must have realized what the old pro meant because he was quick to guide Nezu away from the center of the gym and into a control room located on the side. “No sense beating around the bush,” he said, “let’s see what you zygotes are made of!”

Gran Torino didn’t even give them a second to prepare, disappearing from in front of them in a yellow and white blur, beginning to bounce around different sections of the compacted gym. Izuku and Momo instantly fell into a battle ready stance, both of them using Creation Snapshot to create staves for protection, preparing themselves for what lay ahead.

After learning about their match against Gran Torino a few days prior, Izuku and Momo had done as much research as they could on the old pro, but the information that was readily available was even more limited than some of the previous OFA users. All of the information they had found was second-hand, with seemingly no official documents of the pro or his accomplishments anywhere on the HeroNet. Knowing that he worked alongside All Might in the past to take down AFO, they suspected that was completely intentional.

“He’s moving much slower than we anticipated,” Izuku commented after a few seconds, having analyzed his movements to try and figure out a way to counter the old pro. “He must be holding himself back.”

“It would appear so,” Momo responded.

“Out in the field, you won’t have time to stand around and analyze your opponents!” Gran Torino called out from around them before launching an attack towards Momo, his foot successfully connecting with the back of her head and causing her to stumble forward a step before she caught herself.

“Every second matters! You need to be able to think quickly and analyze as you engage!” An attack launched towards Izuku connected with his chest, forcing him to stumble back a couple of steps before he caught himself. “If you are unable to think quickly, you’ll never be able to take down villains or even save civilians!”

“He’s not just bouncing off the walls,” Momo told her partner as they began standing back to back, their eyes trailing the yellow and white blur. “His quirk is allowing him to make small adjustments in the air without touching any of the walls.”

“Good analyzing,” Gran Torino commented as he continued to be a blur around the room, “but that won’t be enough to counter me, and you’re still not moving!” He bounced once more before launching an attack against them, attempting to hit both of their heads at the same time, missing by centimeters as they ducked together.

“If he’s making small adjustments as he bounces around the room,” Izuku continued analyzing in tandem with Momo, seemingly ignoring what the old pro hero had said, “that would mean he’s either manipulating the air continuously and in quick succession, or he’s producing large amounts of it somehow, similar to how Smoke Jump does.”

“Using Smoke Dash would be risky, but we could match his speed,” Momo continued, “but we run the chance that his quirk would counter it. Creating anything to slow him down would take time, something we don’t have right now.”

“You two are still talking too much!” Gran Torino called out once more, launching another attack towards the couple’s legs. The two reacted quickly by slamming their staves into the ground to protect their legs, causing Gran Torino to use them as a springboard before attempting to attack them from the opposite direction. The two were quick to swing their staves towards him, one above and one below, just barely missing the old pro and each other.

“I have an idea,” Izuku told his partner as they stood back to back again, watching as Gran Torino bounced all around them. “Surround us with a see-through Solid Smoke wall and spread Smoke throughout the gym, use Smoke Mod to thin out the oxygen just enough so it’s a struggle to breathe,” Izuku explained quietly, knowing Gran Torino wouldn’t be able to hear him. “On my mark.”

“I’m with you,” Momo told him, already preparing herself to release a massive plume of clear Smoke.

Izuku watched as Gran Torino followed a similar pattern to one he used earlier. He waited as the old pro darted around them a few more times, knowing that he was preparing to launch an attack towards their heads again, hoping to catch them by surprise. “Now!” Izuku yelled out as Gran Torino launched his attack, causing the old pro’s eyes to go wide as a shimmer appeared around the teenagers, before coming into contact with a seemingly invisible wall.

Gran Torino realized what happened when he suddenly found it hard to breathe within the shimmering air, watching as Izuku and Momo both turned towards him with successful smiles on their faces. He also realized that if he attempted to use his quirk to get away from the teenagers that he would risk passing out, not having the needed oxygen to breath and power his quirk at the same time. “You figured out how my quirk worked?” The old pro asked as he gasped for a full breath.

Izuku and Momo nodded before they both raised a hand and turned them slightly, forcing all the see-through Smoke to thicken in oxygen once more, allowing Gran Torino to take a few deep breaths. “When you used our staves as a springboard, Mo and I were able to feel the amount of air that was pushed in our direction, but the air around us wasn’t changed,” Izuku began explaining. The couple dropped their hands and their control on the Smoke, allowing the gym’s ventilation system to clear the rest of it away.

“Which ruled out the idea that you were manipulating the air to move around like we originally thought,” Momo continued the explanation, “but instead expelling it from your feet in large amounts. This is why you were only able to make small but quick adjustments while in midair, using the walls and other means as springboards to push off from.”

“We also realized that you weren’t able to stop or quickly change directions in midair, otherwise you wouldn’t have needed to use the walls as often as you were,” Izuku said. “But we also noticed the very small pause when you bounced off the walls, using them as a quick opportunity to manage your breathing before disappearing into a blur once more. It happened so quickly that it was hard to pinpoint, but Mo and I have learned to spot the small differences because of Smoke Dash.”

“Which allowed the two of us to come to the conclusion that you were using your breathing as the fuel for your quirk,” Momo explained. “By covering the whole gym in Smoke and thinning out the oxygen, we were able to completely disable the fuel for your quirk without the risk of hurting you, giving us the opportunity to take you out of the fight.”

“What are your thoughts, Sorahiko?” Nezu asked as he rode on Toshinori’s shoulder, stopping in the small circle the others were in.

Gran Torino humphed once more, his breathing finally under control. “They still have plenty to learn,” he reported, “but that is to be expected from a pair of newbies. They work well together and are quick to analyze their opponents and their quirks, while playing into the strengths of their quirks.”

Gran Torino looked towards the two teenagers, seeing that they were listening intently instead of celebrating what he said. Good, they’re always looking to improve themselves. “But I would like to see the full extent of their quirks and how well they work individually. They don’t need anywhere near the amount of training that Toshinori did when he received OFA, so I’m unsure on how much more I’d be able to teach them outside of their current teachers.”

Toshinori nodded in agreement, remembering with a grimace all the training he had gone through with Gran Torino both during his time at UA and during his time in America. He knew that Izuku and Momo were already kilometers ahead of where he was back when he received OFA. He mentally patted himself on the back for that, at least.

“Completely understandable, Sorahiko,” Nezu responded. “I do believe that Oboro Shirakumo and Nemuri Kayama will be able to give them the education they will need, in both academics and their quirk progression.” Nezu looked towards the teenagers, finding them still listening intently. “Besides, based on the education they have currently, they are much further than their peers in academics.”

“Loud Cloud?” Gran Torino asked, getting a nod from Nezu. “Good kid. Worked with him a few times when he was underground.” He twisted his neck a bit, a solid crack sounding within the gym, before he shook out his arms. “Alright, Zygotes,” he said as he turned back to the teenagers, “Let’s go over the full extent of your quirks and I’ll make some training notes for Toshinori and Nezu.”

Chapter Text

As lunch was slowly coming to an end, the students of Class 1-A found themselves sitting in their homeroom waiting patiently for heroics to start. Nemuri had informed them of a special announcement regarding their heroic class that day, which had the students curious throughout the entire morning. With the bell signaling the start of their class and no teacher in sight, many of the students began exchanging glances and murmurs with each other. Some of the students even looked towards Izuku and Momo in question, wondering if the class representatives had heard anything about any changes since homeroom that morning.

From the back of the classroom, Momo was keeping her eyes on Kyouka, knowing that if anybody would hear anything, it would be their friend first and foremost. When her ear jacks started to hover slightly in front of her, Momo knew something had caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, Momo spotted Mezo transforming his additional limbs into extra ears before pointing them towards the entrance of the classroom. The final sign was seeing Rumi’s ear twitch in front of her, the other girl's leg slowing the thumping she unconsciously did before coming to a complete stop.

The students were quick to fall quiet when they noticed a sky-blue cloud seeping through the cracks around the entry door, slowly pouring into the classroom and completely concealing the entrance from view. Many of the students were excited to see the cloud, remembering how their homeroom teacher had first introduced himself with a grand entrance of a true showman during their first day. The cloud itself was only slightly disturbed when the door slid open, a massive amount of cloud poured into the classroom and began flowing past the students’ legs, showing the precise control their homeroom teacher had over his quirk.

“Welcome, Students of Class 1-A, to Heroics!” A familiar voice said, the sound perfectly reverberating throughout the classroom and making it appear as if the voice was coming from all directions. The students couldn’t help but watch in amazement as their homeroom teacher, Oboro, walked through the wall of cloud before being followed by Nemuri and Toshinori in his true form. As the three teachers paused near the front of the classroom, the sky-blue cloud slowly began to disperse, allowing Oboro to take a quick headcount before they began their class.

“Man, does it feel good to be back!” Oboro exclaimed as he noticed a few of his students smiling in his direction, while others appeared to be relieved to see him out of his bandages. “As you’ve probably already noticed,” Oboro continued, “Recovery Girl has completed her treatments, allowing me to remove all my bandages, return to teaching you rascals, and giving me the all clear on using my quirk again!”

“Instead of boring you all with the technical details,” Oboro waved off with a smile, “I will say this: Recovery Girl has confirmed that I’ve made a full recovery.” Oboro saw many of the teenagers nod in understanding, the tension slowly disappearing from their shoulders. “With that out of the way, I believe it’s time to hit the ground running with what we have planned for today.”

“First and foremost,” Nemuri began as she stepped up beside Oboro, getting the attention of the class on her, “hero names.” She paused to let that settle with the students before she continued. “With internships coming up after the Sports Festival, everyone will be required to pick a hero name to use while out in the field. Anything you pick now can always be changed, but be warned, changing your hero name too many times can possibly have a negative effect on your image. You'll be required to submit your hero name before internships officially start, leaving you with just under three weeks to figure out what you would like to be called.”

“Secondly, as Young Kayama mentioned a few days ago,” Toshinori began once Nemuri had finished, taking a step forward to stand beside Oboro. “Many of your heroic classes will be dedicated to free periods for individual training for the upcoming Sports Festival, but we will also be offering extra training for those that would like it.” He gestured towards Oboro beside him, “which leads us to today. Because he was released and is able to return to teaching, Young Shirakumo wanted to offer the students the opportunity of extra training today, going as far as reserving Gym Eta for your heroics class and the afternoon thereafter.”

“During this period, Yagi, Nemuri, and myself will be going around and offering advice to those that would like it,” Oboro continued after Toshinori was done. “We’ll be able to answer questions, address your concerns, or even help you with the more specific parts of training, including improving your quirk and/or weapons training.”

Oboro looked around the classroom, landing on Izuku and Momo for a second and receiving curt nods in return, before looking towards a couple more students. “I will also be touching base with a handful of individuals, including those that I wanted to talk with after the Battle Trials. This can be anything in regards to your quirk, your current hero costume and support items, or even your combat skills that I’ve witnessed so far.”

“Alright, you hooligans!” Oboro called out over the class, seeing the excitement and anticipation pouring off his students, causing him to smile. “With all those announcements out of the way, go get changed into your gym uniforms and meet us over at Gym Eta! The quicker you arrive, the more time you’ll have to train!”

The students were quick to rise from their seats, moving out the entry door as quick and orderly as possible, heading towards the locker rooms. Oboro watched them go, noticing some of the students giving him relieved looks, before they followed the rest of the students. As the last student left the classroom, the three teachers began making their way towards Gym Eta, exchanging small talk between them.

“Alright, Students,” Oboro called out as he stood beside Nemuri and Toshinori, having just finished a quick headcount to make sure all of Class 1-A was present. “Welcome to Gym Eta. This gym was specifically built so that anybody and everyone can train, either with or without quirks.” He pointed towards one side of the gym, a line of training dummies along the wall. “Those training dummies are able to survive a hit from All Might himself, so feel free to go wild on them!”

He pointed towards another section of the gym. “You’ll find basic support equipment and weapons over there. They’re meant to help you train for the support equipment that is included in your hero costume. If there is anything specific you need, please feel free to let one of us know.”

He pulled out a remote before pressing a button causing all the Students to look around in amazement. An obstacle course started appearing along the wall of the gym, starting from one corner near the entrance and increasing in height until you were close to the roof before making its way back to the ground. “That obstacle course is meant to train your mobility and reaction times. If you look at the control panel before you start, you’ll be able to pick which difficulty you want. Fair warning, I suggest you start on easy before increasing the difficulty. I’ve seen many students get hurt because they believe their skills are better than what they really are.”

Oboro looked over the students, finding many of them looking around the gym in different directions, excitement clear on their faces. “Before I release you, I would like to talk with Hitoshi Shinso first. Nemuri and Yagi will be coming around in the meantime while I deal with students one on one.” He looked over his students, seeing many of them nod in understanding. “All I ask is that you be safe while training. Recovery Girl is on standby, but trust me, you don’t want to visit her if you don’t need to.” Some more nods. “And last but not least, have fun! Training starts now!”

As Oboro watched, he noticed a few students breaking off into groups, some going towards the training dummies, others going towards the equipment room, while a few broke off towards the obstacle course. He noticed that Izuku and Momo were walking towards the sparring ring on the far side of the gym, Kyouka, Denki, Himiko, and Ochako following the couple. Tsuyu looked to be saying something to Katsuki before they broke apart, with Tsuyu following Tenya and Kashiko towards the sparring ring behind the first group. The rest of the students scattered throughout the gym, some using the training dummies, while others heading towards the support equipment and training weapons.

“You wanted to talk with me, Sir?” Hitoshi said as he approached Oboro, causing the teacher to focus on him.

“Oh please, don’t call me ‘Sir’,” Oboro said as he turned to face the student with a smile, “it makes me feel old. Either call me Shirakumo, Loud Cloud, or even just Cloud if you prefer.” Hitoshi nodded in understanding, crossing his arms as he waited for what Oboro wanted to talk with him about. “Do you remember what I said after the Battle Trails?”

“You believed there are better weapons for me compared to the extendable police baton I was using,” Hitoshi recalled.

Oboro nodded as he rolled up his sleeves a bit, showing off the scarves that were wrapped around them. Flicking his wrists like he's done a million times before, the scarves unraveled themselves from his arms before he caught them. Letting them hang loosely for a moment, he threw both capture scarves out and wrapped them around a dummy off to the side, allowing him to pull it towards him. As the dummy flew through the air, Oboro lifted up his foot and slammed it on the chest of the dummy, forcing it towards the ground at the same time he unwrapped his capture scarves.

“These are called capture scarves,” Oboro explained as he held them loosely in his hands and showed them to Hitoshi. “They were given to me as a gift from Shota Aizawa before his passing,” he explained, looking towards them with a sad expression, before softly shaking himself out of his memories and focusing on Hitoshi. “His quirk allowed him to temporarily Erase other quirks just by looking at someone. This caused confusion in many villains, allowing him to use his capture scarves to secure or restrain the villain. They were also a wonderful tool for mobility when on patrol or when training, granting him movement otherwise unavailable to him.”

“And you believe that these will work better than an extendable police baton, or any other weapon?” Hitoshi questioned as he looked from the scarves to his teacher. “They looked difficult to use and even more challenging to master.”

“It’s true that it will take some time to master,” Oboro agreed as he began wrapping the scarves around his arms once more, “especially without a teacher. Since Shota was the first one to use these scarves, it took him almost two years before he got the basics down. When he taught me how to use them, it took only a few months.” He finished wrapping them around his arms before lowering his sleeves and focusing on Hitoshi again. “But I’ve been using them for close to fifteen years now. With my teachings, I believe you’ll be able to get the basics down before Internships.”

Hitoshi nodded in understanding, looking towards the dummy that Oboro had ‘captured’ and performed a take down on. “But why capture scarves specifically?”

“The simple answer is because of your quirk,” Oboro explained, causing Hitoshi to look up towards him curiously, “Brainwashing is best used when your opponent is least expecting it.” Hitoshi nodded in agreement. “So consider this situation: you’re in the process of witnessing a crime and you need the villain to respond to you for your quirk to work. You happened to say something towards the villain before wrapping him up in your capture scarves, giving you the opportunity to use your quirk.”

Hitoshi nodded slowly, understanding what Oboro was explaining. “Although, I believe you’re not considering my quirk's biggest weakness: people under the effect of Brainwashing can be knocked out of the effects if they experience pain or if they are simply knocked out of it.”

“I believe you’ll be able to overcome that,” Oboro said simply, “and Nemuri would be able to help you in doing so. But that wasn’t the point I was trying to make. You don’t need to keep people under the effects of Brainwashing, you just need to catch them by surprise until you can capture or restrain them. By surprising your victims, you’ll be able to use your quirk before quickly restraining them with your capture scarves. If you end up not being able to capture or restrain them, you'll have another opportunity for your quirk.”

“I think I understand what you’re getting at,” Hitoshi responded as he looked back towards Oboro. “Catch my victims by surprise, use my quirk to stop them from reacting, and restrain or capture them as quickly as possible. The capture scarves would give me the range I’m missing and would possibly prevent me from knocking them out of the effect of Brainwashing.” Hitoshi looked towards the scarves on Oboro’s arms once more before looking up towards his teacher. “What about people being able to break out of the capture scarves? They don’t look very strong.”

“Unlikely,” Oboro responded as he flicked his wrist again, unraveling only a small amount of scarf before holding it out towards Hitoshi. “They’re made out of a special mixture of carbon fiber and metal alloy, allowing them to be almost unbreakable and uncuttable, while also being flexible enough to easily wrap around your opponents.” Hitoshi reached out and grabbed the scarf, feeling the special cloth-like material and realizing how strong it actually was. “In all my years of using them, I’ve only had them cut by two villains and they had quirks that were extremely sharp.”

Hitoshi let go of the scarf, allowing Oboro to rewrap it around his arm. “So,” he began unsure, “do you want me to learn on yours, or do you have another pair that I can use?”

“You should be able to find a pair in the equipment room that you can practice using today,” Oboro responded, “but if you do decide to add them to your costume, I suggest getting the support department to make some for you.” Hearing a long clash, Oboro looked up towards the current spar that was happening, noticing Izuku and Momo standing on the sidelines as Himiko and Ochako sparred. He remembered during their talk how Creation had been upgraded by OFA, allowing them to make an exact replica of something they held, even when they didn't know the molecular structure of said item. “Actually, what’s your favorite color? I believe I can have some made for you right now.”

“Wait, how?” Hitoshi asked as he began following his teacher towards the other side of the gym before shaking his head. Better not to ask questions and just follow along. “I plan on becoming an underground hero, so I believe a darker color would work best. Black would work, but I'd prefer dark purple.”

Oboro nodded as he continued walking, Hitoshi only a step behind him. “Midoriya,” Oboro said as he got close, causing Izuku and Momo to look back towards their teacher, noticing Hitoshi beside him. “Can I ask for a favor?”

“Of course, Shirakumo,” Izuku responded right away, “what can I do for you?”

Oboro flicked his wrist once more, causing the capture scarf on that arm to fall into his hand, before holding it out for Izuku. “Are you able to make a pair of these in dark purple?”

Izuku looked at the scarf curiously before looking towards Hitoshi, noticing the confusion but curiosity behind his eyes, before he nodded towards Oboro. “How dark would you like them? I should be able to make them any color you like.”

“Dark enough to be used as an underground hero,” Hitoshi responded for their teacher.

Izuku nodded in understanding before he reached out and grabbed the capture scarf. Focusing on the scarf itself, he summoned Creation in his other palm, imagining himself replicating the scarf in a dark purple color. Oboro and Hitoshi both watched in amazement as the dark purple cloth started pouring out of Izuku’s palm and into Oboro's awaiting hands. They waited until Izuku had created two capture scarves in dark purple before Oboro tested them out, repeating what he did on the training dummy earlier with a new one.

“They appear to be perfect replicas,” Oboro commented before he handed the dark purple capture scarves to Hitoshi, allowing him to inspect them for himself. “Shota used to wear them loosely around his neck when he was in costume, but I preferred to wear them around my arms. How you decide to wear them is completely up to you. I suggest trying a few different ways until you find something that's comfortable. If you like, I can show you how I wrapped them around my arms so that they're always ready for use.” Hitoshi nodded in thanks before Oboro looked back at Izuku still holding his capture scarf, a question behind his emerald eyes.

“Do you mind if I replicate some of this scarf for myself, Shirakumo?” Izuku asked as he looked up at his teacher. “I believe I could use it in a different application in the future.”

“Of course, Midoriya,” Oboro responded automatically, “and if you’d like to know the full molecular structure, I suggest asking Power Loader in the Support Course. He keeps these ones in tip top shape for me, and has been able to repair them in the past.” Izuku nodded as he created a small piece of capture scarf, looking it over for a second, before handing back Oboro’s scarf and thanking him. “Alright, you're good to return back to training, Midoriya. I'll be dropping by to see your progress in a bit, after I set up Shinso on using his scarves.”

“Good luck, Shinso,” Izuku said to their classmate, having witnessed how Oboro used them during the USJ. “The capture scarves look extremely hard to use, but would definitely work great in tandem with your quirk.” Hitoshi released a sigh before nodding towards Izuku and Momo, accepting the well wishes.

“Hey, Asparagus, High Class!” Rumi called out as she approached the small group of friends, causing everyone to look towards her. Moe was walking beside Rumi, shaking her head at the ridiculous nickname that she had used but smiling nonetheless.

“Asparagus?” Izuku questioned as he shared a look with Momo, both shrugging before they turned back towards their approaching classmates, “that’s a new one.” Tenya and Kashiko were currently in the sparring ring while Tsuyu was talking quietly with Himiko and Ochako off to the side.

Kyouka snorted quietly as she elbowed Denki beside her, standing not far from Izuku and Momo, “could have been better though. Green's not skinny enough to even look anything like Asparagus.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Rumi waved off as she stopped in front of Izuku and Momo, “we’re going to spar, right now.”

“Usagiyama!” Tenya called out as he walked toward the edge of the sparring ring, Kashiko only a step behind, both having finished up their spar. “You cannot just walk around demanding that people spar you! It's unbecoming of a student of UA!”

“What’re you going to do about it, Mr. Roboto?” Rumi responded as she turned to look towards Tenya, thumping her foot on the ground impatiently. “We’re supposed to be training. Kayama said those two would be helping out. Sparring is a form of training. So what’s the issue? Unless you’re volunteering to get your ass kicked instead?”

Tenya looked taken aback before he attempted to respond, only to stop when Momo held up her hand. “Very well, Usagiyama. Would you like to spar against Izu or against me?” Momo asked seriously.

“High Class said during the Battle Trials that her sparring partners relied on speed over everything else,” Rumi recalled as she looked over towards Izuku, her foot continuing to thump on the ground. She had gone up against Momo during the Battle Trials, but the taller girl was limited to only using Creation at the time. “I wanna test my skills against Moptop here. But he’s only allowed to use his Smoke quirk, and none of that ‘disappearing within the smoke’ bullshit you pulled during the USJ.”

“Not bad,” Kyouka responded before Izuku and Momo could, “that’s probably a nickname I’d use if I didn’t know Green.” Denki chuckled beside her, nodding his head in agreement, causing Izuku to let out a small sigh but smile nevertheless.

“So just Smoke? No weapons allowed?” Izuku asked in return, wanting to confirm, his lips twitching upwards ever so slightly.

“Nope!” Rumi responded, bouncing on her toes a few times, warming up and getting excited for the impending spar. “Just you, me, and our quirks! Let’s see how you compare!”

“Very well,” Izuku responded, stretching his arms and legs a few times before shaking them out. “Standard rules. No below the belt. Three taps for a pin, or a ring out.” Rumi nodded excitedly, a wicked smile gracing her face, as she moved into the sparring ring. “Call the match, Mo?” He asked as he turned towards his partner.

“Of course, Izu,” Momo responded before leaning down and kissing his cheek. “She’s quick,” Momo whispered beside his ear, “but I know you’re faster. Don’t beat her too badly.”

“I fucking heard that! He won't have the chance to beat me!” Rumi responded, having heard the quiet exchange between the couple, causing the two to giggle as Momo pulled away. “Hurry up, Broccoli Head! We don’t have all day!”

“Broccoli Head?” Denki asked as he looked towards Kyouka, both of them chuckling together, “she's quickly running out of nicknames.”

“I have a feeling she’s about to get her ass kicked,” Moe said, standing beside Momo at the side of the sparring ring, “isn’t she?”

“We’ll see,” Momo responded with a small smirk, watching as Izuku entered the sparring ring behind Rumi, continuing to stretch before the match started, “but I know who I’m placing my Yen against.” Momo waited until Izuku had finished stretching, shaking his limbs out one more time, before turning towards her and giving her a curt nod and a smirk. “Ready?” Momo asked Rumi, getting an excited nod in return, “begin!”

As soon as the match began, Rumi had kicked off the training mats and soared directly towards Izuku, showing speed that could easily rival a speedster. Izuku had predicted her first move, standing completely still and summoning Smoke Cowl around his arms, holding them up to block the downwards kick that Rumi had sent his way.

“That’s a dangerous kick,” Izuku commented after the attack had connected, falling down to one knee in the process to better absorb the attack, his arms going slightly numb. Rumi was quick to continue, pushing off Izuku’s arms and swinging her other leg towards him, hoping to catch him off guard. Izuku responded by holding his Smoke Cowl covered arms in the direction of the leg once more, successfully blocking it before pushing it back. “And Mo was correct: you’re fast.”

“Quit talking and fight back!” Rumi yelled out as she bounced back on her feet, keeping herself light on her toes, waiting to see what Izuku would do.

“Analyzing your opponent and what they’re capable of can be a form of fighting back,” Izuku responded as he summoned more Smoke out of his hand, forming it into a Smoke Staff construct. “Of course, it won’t always work in the field, but that’s something Mo and I are working on.”

Izuku summoned a Smoke Shot in his free hand, condensing it tightly as he waited for Rumi to respond once again. With a Smoke Shot in one hand and a Smoke Staff construct in the other, he began circling Rumi slowly. “Fight back!” His opponent yelled out as she kicked off the ground again, preparing to hit him with another axe kick.

“As you wish,” Izuku said quietly with a smirk. Throwing the highly condensed Smoke Ball directly towards Rumi’s chest knocked her off balance, causing her axe kick to completely miss Izuku and slam into the ground beside him. At the same time, Izuku swung his Smoke Staff towards Rumi, the strike landing true on her arm and causing the staff to dissipate, forcing Rumi to stumble to the side and grit her teeth in pain.

“I hope you’re ready,” Izuku taunted in return before he started summoning a large amount of Smoke, easily covering Rumi and parts of the sparring ring. The students watched and waited as Izuku focused on the Smoke in front of him, wisps of Smoke still pouring out of different parts of his body. With Smoke Sensory active, he could just barely sense Rumi straighten herself back up before she crouched low to the ground, preparing to launch herself in Izuku's direction from within the Smoke.

As Rumi finally launched her attack out of the Smoke, Izuku responded by pushing himself off the ground with a Smoke Jump, sailing over the other girl's head, causing her foot to slam against the training mats where Izuku had once stood. Noticing that Izuku was gone, Rumi's ear twitched and caused her to look up, finding Izuku in the air above her. Her eyes widened slightly as she found a massive Smoke Hammer being constructed above her, before it slammed her into the training mats below, sending Smoke in all directions as the weapon dissipated.

Izuku didn't give her any time to react, instead dancing backwards as he kept his eyes on his opponent, watching as she slowly pushed herself up from the training mats. “That was a cheap shot! I didn't know you could jump like that!” Rumi yelled towards him with a glare, causing him to shrug in response. “You're gonna pay for that!” She yelled out as she kicked off the training mats once more, aiming directly for Izuku again.

As Smoke continued to pour off him and surround the sparring ring, Izuku couldn't stop himself from smirking, watching almost in slow motion as Rumi began getting closer. Pulling his Smoke back towards him, Izuku covered himself from head to toe in a thick layer of Smoke Cowl, before dropping into a battle stance with his fist in front of him.

As Rumi allowed her anger to overcome her, Izuku noticed her smile grow even more crazed, appearing as if she was going feral. She kicked off the ground with increased speed compared to before, launching every type of kick she could towards him, while attempting to mix in a few punches. Izuku was kept on his toes as he used Smoke Cowl to block the hits to let them slide off him, causing his opponent to become unstable in her stance. As Rumi kicked off the ground for an axe kick, Izuku quickly moved his arms to block the hit, before twisting his hands around to grab ahold of her foot.

Once Rumi had realized what happened, her eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. Izuku used his natural strength to lift her completely over his head, swinging her in an arch, before slamming her into the training mats behind him.

As Izuku let go of Rumi's foot, he danced a couple of steps towards the other side of the sparring ring, continuing to pour Smoke out of his body. He waited a couple of breaths to see if Rumi was able to get up before he relaxed his stance, knowing his opponent was done. “That's a match, Mo!” Izuku called out before waving his hands, making all the Smoke quickly dissipate before moving towards Rumi, still lying on the floor.

As he stood above the shorter girl, Izuku found Rumi staring towards the ceiling with a look of defeat on her face. He couldn't help the small chuckle from escaping, causing her to look towards him with a glare, as he held his hand out to help her up. “What the fuck, dude?” Rumi asked quietly, “did I even stand a chance?”

“I wouldn’t say you never stood a chance,” Izuku responded with another small chuckle, causing Rumi to punch him lightly on his shoulder as she continued to glare towards him. “What did Mo say when you fought her in the Battle Trials?”

“High Class said I was fast but predictable,” Rumi responded as she stood beside Izuku, crossing her arms and beginning to thump her foot again. “She said that’s how she was able to stop each and every attack that was thrown at her.”

Izuku nodded in agreement, “I can see why she said that.” Rumi let out a huff, but didn't counter his point. “It’s to be expected when we’re all new to learning how to be heroes,” he tried to reason, “what kind of training did you do before getting accepted into UA?”

“I worked mostly on my leg strength, stamina, and speed,” Rumi admitted before she looked away, “and sometimes fought in an underground fighting ring to test my abilities against real people.”

“I didn’t hear that,” Izuku responded instantly, causing Rumi to look towards him in question, “not only is that highly illegal, but also something that potential heroes shouldn’t participate in.” Rumi nodded in understanding, having known how illegal it was at the time, and glad that she had never been caught before getting accepted into UA.

“But your speed and stamina is remarkable,” Izuku continued as if that small piece of information had never been discussed, causing Rumi to look back towards him, “it’s just the technique you need to work on. Your quirk is called Rabbit, and gives you the abilities and attributes of a rabbit, correct?” Rumi nodded. “That means your legs are always going to be your primary way of attacking, which is why many of your attacks were focused on them throughout the fight. I think you should also consider working on increasing the power behind your punches. While it’s good that you were trying to mix it up during our fight, you left yourself open too often when not using your legs.”

“So you were holding back on me?” Rumi angrily asked as she squinted her eyes towards the boy in front of her.

“In a way, I was,” Izuku responded honestly, “but that’s because I wanted to know what you were capable of so that I could offer you advice on what I think you need to improve on.” He gave her a smile as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Today is meant for helping everyone train for the Sports Festival, and I don’t think you’d learn anything if I took you out of the fight within a few moments. I’m sorry if that offends you in any way, but I want to make sure we are constantly improving, especially with All Might’s retirement.”

Rumi huffed as she uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips, looking away from Izuku and continuing to thump her foot against the ground. She thought about what Izuku had said, how their fight had gone, and her own weaknesses that she knew of. Releasing a sigh, she looked back towards Izuku, finding him watching her curiously. “You’re right,” she admitted, “and based on our fights, I have a ways to go.” She perked back up, giving Izuku a wicked smile once again. “I want to spar both you and High Class again, and this time, no holding back!”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Izuku responded with a smile as they finally moved towards the edge of the sparring ring, letting Momo and Moe walk in after them. “Mo and I are here to help any and all of our classmates, anytime they like.” Rumi nodded in thanks, lightly punching Izuku's shoulder again, before walking towards the group that wasn't currently sparring, taking her place beside Tsuyu.

As Izuku shook his head and smiled at his classmate's behavior, he turned back towards the sparring ring behind him, finding Momo holding her signature staff and Moe holding two flaming staves she pulled from her hair of fire, both waiting for the match to be called. He continued smiling as he walked to where Momo was standing before, looking between the two opponents. “Ready?” Izuku asked as he looked between Momo and Moe, watching as they returned curt nods, “begin!”

Chapter Text

As the sun dipped below the horizon and the quarter moon and stars above began making their appearance, the already quiet city was thrown into complete darkness. Street lamps that bordered the roadways were turned on, bringing some light back into the world. The families who were already home also began turning their own lights on, letting the warm lighting seep into the world outside. There were few people out this time of night, many of them having returned home before the sun disappeared, while others trickled in from their late shifts. Only a few stragglers were spotted heading to work for their night shift, most with a coffee cup in their hand as they prepared for a long night ahead.

In the recently darkened city, two figures clad in black costumes were swiftly moving across rooftops, completely hidden to the unsuspecting eyes below. With one on either side of the street, the two ran parallel to one another, jumping from building to building, approaching their destination in the heart of the city. The sound of their quiet footsteps connecting with the rooftops echoed throughout the silence, with the occasional grunt heard when they jumped or landed, showing precise movements from their years of experience.

“It feels good to be back in the field with you again,” a feminine voice called over his earpiece, the sound of a smile dancing on her lips, causing him to smile in turn. Taking a quick glance across the street, he watched as his partner-in-crime continued to run before jumping off their current building. He watched as she snapped her wrist, sending the bullwhip-style whip towards the next building before pulling herself forward, allowing her to cross the larger gap before she landed and continued running. “I can't remember the last time I've seen you this excited.”

He chuckled quietly, wanting to avoid the possibility of someone hearing him and looking up. “It's been a while since I was able to go wild. I had to pause my patrols before the term started,” Oboro responded, continuing to jump across his own set of rooftops, his years of experience in both limelight and underground preventing him from even breaking a sweat. Summoning a Cloud between two taller ones, he used his quirk as a stepping stone across a larger gap, before continuing towards their destination. “I knew once I started reading the student files that I would be busy this year, especially your two.”

Nemuri chortled quietly over his earpiece, bringing a wider smile to his face. For as long as he could remember, he had always loved hearing her true voice, not the one she used for her Midnight persona in her limelight career, or even the one she used when teaching students back at UA. The two haven't had a chance to work together in the last few months, something that Oboro would admit to himself that he missed, and hoped they could work together more in the future. He missed spending time with his old friend, even if it was on a professional level.

He also suspected that she missed working with him, but that wasn't the main reason she was tagging along. It was his first mission since he was cleared by Chiyo, and he suspected that Nemuri wanted to shadow him in case something happened, even with the mission being very low risk. He knew she'd never stopped caring about his well being ever since they were teenagers, and would keep a close eye on him throughout the mission, not that he minded. He would do the same for her in a heartbeat given the chance. It was a promise they'd made years ago to each other, and the rest of their small friend group.

But her tagging along wasn't going to stop him from taking full advantage of being cleared for hero work and quirk use. He jumped from building to building, slid under pipes and air conditioners, leaping over ledges that separated two different buildings, letting the adrenaline constantly push him forward. Was he taking more risks than necessary? Definitely. Would he stop? Eventually.

Nemuri herself was no slouch either, matching his speed and movements almost beat for beat, showing how much experience she had outside of her limelight patrols. Running like this was something the two always enjoyed, letting themselves go wild and feel free. There were nights where that's all they did on their patrols, especially their underground patrols.

Underground patrols required underground hero costumes, and Oboro was currently wearing the one he used back when he graduated UA. It was one that was similar to his limelight costume, with the exception of the darker colors to allow him to blend into the surrounding darkness. He also had an additional hood on his underground costume, allowing him to keep his face hidden in the shadows. It had been a while since he last wore it and he was required to visit Higari early morning to have it adjusted and ready for their current mission.

As he looked towards Nemuri, he noticed that she was also wearing her underground hero costume, one that had matched his when they used to patrol together. It reminded him of all the times they had patrolled the underground together, always having each other's back no matter what happened.

Her costume was black from head to toe, with the only exception being a dark violet color throughout, breaking up the black with a unique design. Unlike her limelight costume, her underground costume had extra padding throughout, providing her much more protection, with the exception of her arms. The sleeves were made of the same healing material her limelight costume was, allowing her to rip and tear them when needed to use her quirk. Instead of the high heels Midnight wore, her underground costume consisted of combat boots, allowing her more mobility without the worry of breaking an ankle, and providing ample protection. She also wore a hood similar to his, hiding all the recognizable features that Midnight had, while simultaneously allowing her to hide within the shadows.

“Can I ask you something, Cloud?” Nemuri asked after a few beats of silence, causing Oboro to look towards her. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was genuinely curious, albeit a bit serious, about something bugging her. He hummed in response, letting her know he was listening and waiting for her to continue. “What are your honest thoughts on those two? Izuku and Momo, that is,” she clarified quickly.

Oboro hummed in thought, the two continuing to run across rooftops without skipping a beat, thinking about how he wanted to respond as the silence dragged on. “They remind me of what we used to be,” he finally responded as he slowed down on his current building before coming to a stop, “and not only them.”

“I thought it was only me,” Nemuri responded quietly, coming to a stop across from Oboro. The two were lost in the past, remembering the small group of friends that had once made a promise to open an agency together after they graduated. They all had high hopes for the future, believing that nothing could stop them from achieving their goals, until their second year happened.

Oboro shook his head softly before looking in the direction of their destination. “What happened to us won't happen to them,” he continued as he looked back towards Nemuri, the feeling of her watching him even if he couldn't see her eyes. “I'm going to make sure they're ready for whatever the world throws at them, even with their unique situation. They’re already stronger and smarter than we were, and they’re already more informed of what awaits them in the future. All that's left is to train them.”

“As much as I don't mind the chatter,” a third voice spoke, coming through their earpieces, “I suggest you hurry along. While I'm not overly concerned about anybody being within the building, I'd rather it be a quick, easy, get in and get out job. You two still have classes in the morning.”

“Understood, Boss,” Oboro responded as he took a few steps backwards, falling into a running stances on the backside of the building he was on. The already wide smile on his face began straining his cheeks as the adrenaline rushed through his veins.

As he looked back at Nemuri, he realized that she must have guessed what he was about to do. She was standing on the edge of her building with her bullwhip-style whip in one hand, ready to catch him if his quirk happened to fail. Giving her a curt nod, he decided to try a new technique he learned from his students recently.

Pushing himself forwards with a burst of cloud behind him, he began running towards the edge of the roof at full speed. Firmly planting his foot on the edge, he used another burst of cloud behind and below him, pushing himself off his current building and sending him flying over the much wider gap than he was used to.

As he soared through the darkness, his eyes widened slightly as he finally realized the speed he was traveling and distance he was able to cover with the new technique. Having not anticipated the increases, he found himself overshooting the building by a small margin.

Just as he was about to summon a cloud to prevent him from soaring past the building, he felt some wrap around his waist before he was pulled backwards. Reacting as fast as he possibly could, he summoned a cloud below him, allowing him to land on the soft surface instead of the hard roof just below it. It didn't stop the air from being knocked out of his lungs, causing him to roll off his cloud and onto his feet, taking a few deep breaths.

“I see you’ve learned a new technique,” Nemuri said in a serious tone as she approached, and Oboro knew he was in trouble. He nodded slowly as he took a reactive step backwards, knowing better than to turn around and run from his longtime friend. She stopped in front of him, removing her hood to show the angry glare on her face. “You should be more careful, Jackass,” she said quietly, and he could hear the worry underlying her anger as her eyes caught his own in the darkness, “what would have happened if I wasn't here to catch you?”

“I’m sorry, Nem,” Oboro responded as he reached out to apologize, only to stop when Nemuri put a hand on his chest.

“Don’t,” Nemuri whispered out, just loud enough for Oboro to hear, before she pushed him away from her and turned around. “You’ve worried me enough recently,” she continued as she started walking across the rooftop in the direction of their destination. “Let’s just continue with the mission.”

He watched as Nemuri started running to pick up speed before jumping to the next building. ‘Fuck…’ Oboro thought to himself as he began chasing after his longtime friend, knowing he had seriously messed up. He shook his head, trying and failing to dispel the memory of the look she wore, the concern and worry behind her eyes, as he slowly began gaining ground on his partner. ‘And here I thought we were slowly repairing our relationship, and I just had to go and pull a stupid stunt like that.’

Oboro eventually caught up to Nemuri, both of the heroes running side by side once more, quickly approaching their target location. “You should be approaching Aldera School Board momentarily,” Nezu told them over their earpieces. True to their boss’ word, they jumped across a few more rooftops before landing on a building directly in front of Aldera School Board.

“I’ve checked all the cameras and recordings to confirm that nobody has entered or exited the building since the end of the school day,” Nezu told them as they crouched down on the ledge, taking in the massive building in front of them. It had appeared to have been expanded recently, with the upper floors a slightly different color than the lower ones.

“The cleaners mysteriously had their schedules changed and won’t be in the area tonight. The alarms have been disabled, while the camera’s broadcasting feeds were programmed to loop.” Nezu paused for a moment. “The rooftop will be your access point, and your point of interest is located on the first floor of the north side of the building.”

“Anything specific we should be looking for?” Nemuri questioned.

“Anything that may look out of the ordinary for an elementary or middle school,” Nezu informed them. “But more specifically, anything that might be related to quirkless kids attending their school. When I was finally able to pull Midoriya’s file after the Bakugo situation happened, the information located inside raised more questions and concerns instead of providing answers.” Nezu paused for a moment, seemingly pulling up more files on his computer in front of him. “Oboro and I went over the files together, and we believe that Aldera School Board is quirkist to a certain degree. They're have been reports against the practices of the school, including praising kids with strong quirks, allowing them to get away with anything, while completely disregarding and ignoring students with weaker or no quirk.

“I thought I recognized the name of the school,” Nemuri whispered out, an angry undertone in her voice that was rarely heard from her. Her hands had gripped the ledge they were crouched on, her visible knuckles going white from strain, as she stared at the building in front of her. “This is where Izuku went to school originally. If it's as bad as you say, thank goodness Inko was able to pull him out when she did.”

“While I agree, you are only somewhat correct,” Nezu told them, confusing Oboro and Nemuri. “Midoriya went to Aldera Elementary School before it was combined with Aldera Middle School sometime within the last decade. Now they run both schools out of the same building, under the name of Aldera School Board.”

The two teachers nodded in understanding, realizing why the building had looked expanded. “You’ll be searching for any physical files that were possibly deleted from Aldera’s servers,” Nezu continued. “This includes files on all the teachers currently on payroll, the principal and VP, and more specifically, anything related to Midoriya and Bakugo. There’s a possibility of other quirkless kids going to Aldera, and finding anything related to those would be helpful in our investigation.”

“Understood, Boss,” Oboro responded as Nemuri nodded beside him.

“Be quick and discreet,” Nezu told them, “I’ll be following your movements with the cameras on the inside, while keeping a lookout on the surrounding areas for any unexpected visitors.” The two heroes nodded, knowing Nezu was probably watching them currently, before they pushed themselves up and began looking for the easiest access to the roof.

“There,” Oboro said as he pointed to a building across the way, rivaling the school in height and being much closer than the other ones. Nemuri looked towards the building he had found, nodding in agreement, before the two found themselves running across nearby rooftops. It only took a few moments before the two were standing on the rooftop Oboro had pointed out, looking down towards the gap that separated the two buildings.

“Just like old times,” Nemuri said quietly as she shook her head, already accepting what the two had to do.

Oboro couldn’t help but smile in agreement, looking towards his own friend, “just like old times.” Nemuri shook her head once more when she noticed Oboro’s smile, causing her to smile softly in return. “It’s just a hop, skip, and jump away.” Nemuri couldn’t stop the quiet snort from escaping as she turned around, causing Oboro to celebrate internally about making her snort.

The two walked towards the back of the building, wanting to give themselves as much of a run as they could, before they turned back towards the direction of Aldera and they fell into runner’s stances beside each other. Nemuri took a deep breath, allowing it to release slowly, before taking another. Oboro waited until she turned towards him and gave him a curt nod, allowing him to return it in kind.

Having done the same maneuver so many times in the past, neither of them needed a countdown, allowing the shared adrenaline to determine when they were started. With another small breath, the two pushed off from the opposite wall, running towards the opposite edge of the building, before both planted a foot on the edge and pushed themselves off.

Wasting no time after their jump, Oboro summoned a cloud where he suspected they would need it, adjusting it so it was perfect for both of them, once more showing his precise quirk control. The two landed on the solid cloud in between the two buildings, taking an extra step before pushing themselves off once more. As they cleared the gap between the two buildings, Oboro summoned another cloud on the rooftop of the school, cushioning both of their falls before they gracefully tucked and rolled before landing on their feet.

“Never gets old,” Oboro smiled to himself as he looked around the rooftop.

“Maybe for you,” Nemuri grumbled without any heat, having enjoyed the risk they both took, something she rarely experienced during her limelight patrols. She began walking towards the door that would grant them entrance to the school, having spotted it not long after they landed.

“Yume,” Oboro called out, stopping Nemuri in her tracks. She turned around and watched as Oboro approached one of the air conditioners on the building.

“What is it, Nimbus?” Nemuri responded as she walked up behind her partner. The two had automatically fallen back into using their old underground hero names, ones they had chosen for each other years ago, protecting their limelight hero identities from the villains they dealt with in the underground. It was something that was implemented before they had finished school, after multiple underground heroes were attacked outside of their patrol and disappeared without a trace.

Nemuri paused beside Oboro, inspecting the air conditioner in front of them, feeling her eyes widen at what he had found. The unit was covered in permanent marker, everything from slurs to phrases, in many different skill levels of handwriting. ‘Useless’ and ‘Deku’ were the most common amongst the graffiti, with multiple different variations of ‘Kill Yourself’ littered throughout. As they continued to look over the air conditioner, even walking around the unit itself, they started finding more and more variations of ‘Quirkless’ matched up with other slurs and phrases.

“Overwatch,” Oboro said as Nemuri walked up beside him again, his phone already in his hand and taking pictures, “are there any cameras on the roof?”

“Not that I can see,” Nezu responded over their earpieces, “even the hallway leading up to the roof doesn’t have a camera.”

“I’m uploading some photos that I believe will interest you,” Oboro responded.

There were a few beats of silence as the photos uploaded, causing Nezu to hum in thought as he looked them over. “This is troubling indeed, and confirms some of my suspicions. If this is happening on the rooftop, I can only imagine what is happening within the school itself. Keep your eyes peeled for any more, and take as many pictures as you can.”

“Understood, Boss,” Nemuri responded as Oboro finished taking and uploading the pictures before they continued moving.

Nemuri walked towards the only entrance to the rooftop, finding the doorknob had been broken off and a piece of cardboard jammed between the door and the frame to keep the door shut. Oboro moved to take a quick picture of the door’s condition before Nemuri opened it, granting them access to the building. The stairs leading up to the roof appeared to be in relatively good condition, with no writing or odd marks on the walls or floor. Only the stairs appeared to be worn from years of use, either from teachers or students alike.

Once they reached the top floor, Oboro and Nemuri looked around, knowing that there were no cameras to be spotted. Most of the lockers in the hallway appeared to be in pristine condition, as if they weren’t even used by the students, except for a few. The two heroes crept through the hallway, neither one making a sound other than their shallow breaths, approaching the line of lockers. One particularly caught their eye, looking different from the test in the darkness of the building, causing them to investigate and find out why.

The lockers they had approached looked damaged beyond repair, nowhere near the pristine condition of the other ones beside it. Similar to the air conditioner, the lockers were completely covered in permanent marker, dented, wide open, with the door hanging on by only one of the hinges. More slurs and phrases were found inside and out, while damaged notebooks, textbooks, pencils, and pens were found lying inside the open lockers. Oboro didn't waste any time taking his phone out, snapping and uploading pictures as fast as he took them.

“Nimbus,” Nemuri whispered as she opened up one of the lockers, her heart dropped at what she found. Inside were a bunch of names listed on the door itself, each one scratched out except for the bottom of the list, where one was clearly written recently. Oboro continued taking pictures of the locker, making sure to get clear pictures of the names located inside, before uploading them to Nezu. The two continued the same routine with all the damaged lockers, attempting to get as much evidence as humanly possible.

“Let’s keep moving, Yume,” Oboro said quietly after they were done, pointing towards the staircase leading down. Nemuri nodded in agreement, allowing him to take the lead as they began making their way down towards the principal’s office.

As they stepped out onto the first floor, they both paused as they noticed another locker that was completely destroyed beyond repair, in full view of one of the cameras in the hallway. Something in Nemuri's gut told her she wouldn't like what she found in the locker, but yet, she proceeded forward and opened it. Similar to the one on the top floor, it was littered with slurs and phrases, with the most common being ‘Deku’ in writing that would match younger kids.

Slowly opening the door of the locker, Nemuri's heart dropped when she noticed another list inside, many more names than the others, with only a handful matching the destroyed lockers on the top floor.

Her eyes scanned the list of names until coming across the one name she hoped not to find, closer to the middle of the list. ‘Izuku “Deku” Midoriya’ was written clearly, almost as if it was sketched into the locker with a knife or quirk, unlike the permanent marker found in the others. Seeing the name of the person she considered her nephew, Nemuri felt her knees go weak and her eyes to moist up.

Before she knew it, Oboro was beside her, his hand firmly but carefully holding onto her elbow as he realized what was happening. Seeing the same list Nemuri did, he looked it over himself before seeing the same name, causing his face to darken in anger. Repeating the same process, Oboro took pictures and uploaded them, making sure to include everything located inside and out of the locker. “This shouldn’t be allowed to happen,” Nemuri whispered as she straightened herself back up, quietly closing the locker once Oboro was done.

“We’ll make sure nobody else has to suffer,” Oboro responded darkly. “Based on what Midoriya and Yaoyorozu told me about what he suffered, I can’t imagine what others would have had to go through if they stayed here.” Nemuri nodded in agreement, giving the locker one last look, before continuing to their final destination.

“You are approaching the main office,” Nezu informed them as they quietly moved towards one of the doors, seeing the label on the window that read ‘Main Office’. As they approached, they heard the mechanism unlock remotely. “The office should be unlocked. While I can see what’s in the main office, I’m afraid the other rooms are void of any recording devices. I am unsure where the mainframe computer could be located, if there even is one. If you do happen to find it, install the USB drive that I've given each of you and it should transfer a copy of the files while granting me access to their servers directly.”

The two heroes nodded before Oboro pushed the door open for the main office. There were a few desks located within, most likely for secretaries for the school, with a bunch of seating along the one wall. The wall near the back of the room held three different rooms, with the labels ‘Principal’, ‘Vice Principal’, and ‘Nurse's Office’. The wall furthest from them held a singular door, the label reading ‘Teachers’ Lounge’ with ‘No Unauthorized Access’ located just underneath.

Nemuri looked towards Oboro for direction, considering this was his mission after all, waiting to see what he wanted to do. Realizing that Nemuri was waiting for his call, he pointed towards himself and the principal's office, before doing the same with her only with the vice principal's office. They gave each other curt nods before they both made their way towards their respective rooms, both entering to see if they could find anything of note.

As Oboro entered the principal's office, he was stunned with what he had found. Behind the computer and lined perfectly on the wall, were pictures of students that apparently went to Aldera. Many of them appeared to be wearing a wicked smile, shaking the hand of the principal before the picture was captured. Others appeared to be photos taken during school picture day. Katsuki Bakugo's picture was the last one in the row, having graduated from Aldera within the last year. Oboro could see the egotistical smile he wore, letting off an explosion with his quirk, while the principal was smiling behind him.

He began making his way around the room, looking at everything and anything within, including the shelving, going through the drawers, the files that were left lying around. He made sure not to move too many things, not wanting anyone to suspect that he had been there.

He eventually woke up the computer on the principal's desk, but was unable to find anything left open or anything in their history. He still plugged Nezu's USB drive into the computer, allowing him to download a copy everything, included deleted files, before he finally removed it.

Once he was finished and about to leave the room, his eye caught a book located in the bookcase that didn't have a title or design on the spline. Believing it was strange, considering all the other books beside it appeared to be academic textbooks or similar, he decided to investigate. Carefully reaching out, he slowly slid the book out, finding that the book itself had a book protector on it, which is why nothing was on the spline.

Taking great care in opening the book, making sure not to bend any pages or overextend the spine, he began flipping through the beginning pages as he looked for a name. As he flipped to the title page, he found himself pausing as he read the title. ‘Meta Liberation War by Chikara Yotsubashi’ was written in bold letters on the page, with a small description below informing the reader that it was an official reprint of the original book.

The book was an autobiography written by Chikara Yotsubashi himself, otherwise known as Destro when he was alive. It featured strong opinionated and political content from the time around the Dawn of Quirks, when the governments were trying to control and repress those with these new unique abilities. Destro believed that people with these meta abilities should be granted freedom to use them. He believes that since people were born with these abilities, they should fall under a basic human right. Many disagreed with him, and the government themselves called him a terrorist before they had finally captured him and locked him up.

Taking out his phone, he snapped a picture of the title before uploading in the same way he did earlier. Once he was finished, Oboro closed the book and carefully returned it to its home on the shelf, making sure it was returned to the way he found it. On the way out, he took one last look around the principal's room before leaving, closing the door softly behind him.

He only waited a few moments before Nemuri was exiting the vice principal's office, the two meeting up beside the secretary's desk. “Find anything?” Nemuri asked, slipping her own Nezu USB drive into her pocket. Oboro nodded in confirmation, showing the picture he took of the MLA book. Nemuri showed a photo in return, of a similar book with the same title, with the exception of the reprint edition. “This can’t be coincidence,” she continued, noticing Oboro shaking his head.

“We still have two more rooms to investigate,” Oboro said. He pointed her towards the nurse's room, before he tilted his head towards the teachers' lounge. Nemuri nodded in understanding, already moving towards the nurse's room and letting herself in. Oboro wasn’t far behind in making his way towards the teacher’s lounge, quickly entering and closing the door behind him.

Nemuri spent little time in the nurse's office, finding nothing of interest or anything out of place. She even tried to find another MLA book without any luck. Before she left, she plugged in Nezu's USB drive, allowing her boss to transfer all the files, before she unplugged it and left.

As she finished in the nurse's office, she moved towards the teachers’ lounge, knowing Oboro was still inside. She tapped her finger three times on the doorknob itself, using an old code that informed him that she was coming in, before she quietly entered. As she closed the door and turned around, she was surprised at the sight along the wall.

“This is more than enough evidence to shut this school down,” Oboro said quietly from across the room.

Similar to the principal's and vice principal's office, a wall was dedicated to posters with previous students. They were the exact same pictures, just blown up and hung on the wall, with names and their quirks below.

“They're the same as what I found in the principal's office,” Oboro commented from behind a desk, his USB drive already inserted in the computer, “though these ones are much bigger.”

“I found the same in the vice principal’s office,” Nemuri responded.

“That's not even the worst thing in this room,” Oboro continued, pointing towards the wall opposite of where Nemuri was looking.

Nemuri turned around, already dreading what she would find based on the tone of Oboro's voice. Along the opposite wall were more posters, but these appeared different from the others. Each poster had a name listed, but instead of a section for their quirk, ‘Quirkless’ was stamped in big, bold, red lettering.

As she moved closer to the posters, she realized why they had bothered Oboro so much. Each poster had three to six darts within them, most of the darts in the center of the face, with hundreds of holes all over the poster. The number varied between each poster, depending on how long they've been hung up. She read each and every single name as she walked down the line, trying to see if she remembered any of the times, but none stood out.

As she approached the last of the posters, her heart dropped when she found the third to last one. The face she had watched grow up alongside her niece, the boy who worked harder than anybody she had ever known (including her niece), the one she instantly considered her nephew the moment she saw him, was hung up on the wall. Even with the thousands of holes in the poster, she was able to recognize the forest green hair and emerald eyes anywhere.

“Overwatch,” Nemuri said quietly, her voice carrying an edge, causing Oboro to snap his head up towards her. She didn't wait for a response before she continued, knowing he had been listening the entire time. “I want this school demolished, I want all the teachers and everyone involved to suffer for what they have done to these students. I know what my nephew has gone through, and I don't even want to think about what happened to the rest of these students.”

“Don’t worry, Yume,” Nezu responded seriously, a tone of voice she recognized when he was attempting to control his own anger, “I will make sure they suffer the same way those students have. As a teacher previously, and as a principal now, their actions towards students are disrespectful to all of us. We’re supposed to help students, not do… that.” Nemuri nodded as she looked away from the makeshift dartboards, not wanting to see what they'd done to her nephew’s face anymore.

“We’re almost done here,” Oboro said to Nemuri (and Nezu over comms) as she walked towards him, seeing the anger still flashing behind her eyes. “Once this finishes, and we go over the files on that shelf, we can get out of here.”

Nemuri took a deep breath, attempting to push her anger back down, before she moved towards the shelf Oboro had pointed to. Looking at the names of the files, she pulled out a file that read ‘Katsuki Bakugo’, deciding their current student was the best place to start.

Opening the overloaded file, she found sheets beyond sheets of paper. They contained comments about the Explosion user, most of them classified as positive in a way that caused Nemuri to clench her fist. One comment mentioned Katsuki using his quirk on someone with a weaker quirk, praising the boy for showing the weaker student who was in charge. Another comment mentioned how Katsuki was at the top of his class, not only in academics, but also in quirk status.

As Nemuri flipped through the pile of sheets located in the folder, she began taking pictures and uploading them for Nezu. As she continued, she found herself taking continuous deep breaths, realizing just how much Katsuki had gotten away with when he went to Aldera. The very last comment she read mentioned Izuku taking the blame for anything Katsuki did, having been diagnosed and classified as quirkless (and useless), dated a few months before Izuku was pulled from Aldera. She had to take the photo quickly before slamming the file shut, knowing that her anger was at a point where it was threatening to bubble over.

“Yume,” Oboro whispered, reaching out and grabbing her hand slowly. It was only when he started running circles in the back of her hand that she realized how tightly she was clenching her hand, the feeling of her nails digging into her palm.

“We’re leaving,” he continued after she had unclenched, watching as she nodded before taking a deep breath. “We’ve got what we came for. Now it's up to Overwatch to expose it.”

“Okay,” Nemuri responded quietly, letting Oboro release her hand and place it in the center of her back, guiding the two out of the teachers’ lounge. They exited the school the same way they entered, using the same technique as earlier to leave the school rooftop.

“Mission accomplished,” Nezu congratulated over their earpieces, following their movements as they began running across the rooftops once more. “Would you like to hear what I’ve found so far, or would you prefer to wait until you two return?”

“Lay it on us,” Nemuri answered before Oboro could, the tone behind her voice indicating she was still upset over what they've found.

“Very well,” Nezu responded before clearing his voice. “Based on the uploaded pictures, and what I've found in the transferred files, ninety-three-point-seven percent sure the Meta Liberation Army is making a comeback. I've found a few repeating codenames located within deleted emails, and I believe they are directly related to who is running this reformed MLA.”

“I've also found multiple emails and forms in relation to one Katsuki Bakugo. Many of them made mentions of his powerful quirk, including ways on how they would recruit him for their cause once he graduated. There were also mentions of him being groomed at Aldera for their cause, making him more likely to accept.” Nezu paused for a moment, and the two heroes knew their boss was speed reading some more information. “I also found one concerning comment about how Izuku Midoriya was a serious lost to their cause, and needed to find others that could easily replace his role.”

“That’s concerning,” Oboro responded as they continued to run, “especially with what we witnessed so far.” Nemuri looked over towards him curiously, having not been told Katsuki had already been a problem. She had known that Katsuki was Izuku's tormentor when they were kids, but she didn't know how far it ran until that night. “But I don’t think this reformed MLA ever considered Bakugo meeting Midoriya again, nor did they consider what would happen if someone challenged his mindset.”

“It does appear that Tsuyu Asui has been helping him in that regard,” Nezu responded, finishing off with a hum. “I’ve found a concerning amount of deleted files with connections to Deika City within what you two have transferred. I would like to say this confirms my suspicions of the MLA using Deika City as their homebase, but I would like to be absolutely certain. There's been no mention of how many are directly or indirectly involved either.”

“Unfortunately, the further I dug into the files, the less information I was able to find,” Nezu informed them. “When Oboro was connected to the main computer within the teachers’ lounge, I was able to track their connection back to Deika City, more specifically, the Detnerat Tower located within the heart.” Nezu sighed, clearly heard over their earpieces. “But as I was trying to set up a backdoor into Detnerat itself, I detected that someone was trying to prevent me from doing so, while also counter tracing my connection. Once they realized they couldn't counter trace me, I was completely locked out of their servers, and no matter how many different connections I make, the end results are the same.”

“So we’re back at square one?” Oboro questioned once he landed on another building, Nemuri nipping at his heels.

“Not exactly,” Nezu responded, and the two could just imagine that he was shaking his head while also typing. “With everything we’ve found today, we confirmed that Aldera is a direct connection to the reforming MLA, attempting to train students with strong quirks for their cause, while not caring about weaker quirks or quirkless students.”

“You've also provided evidence that Aldera had withheld information about their students to potential hero schools, more specifically, Katsuki Bakugo's flawless profile. You've also provided evidence on how quirkless students were treated within their schools.” Nezu paused for a moment, letting the two continue running in relative silence for a moment. “I'm also running a program with all those names found inside those lockers to see if I can cross reference on their current statuses, or what happened to them.”

“So what next?” Nemuri asked.

“I believe our next course of action will be Deika City,” Nezu continued, “but as of right now, I’m not sure on how we’ll tackle it. They are a non-threat currently, which means I can begin planning for that later. My main focus is Aldera School Board, and any other schools that might have similar connections. We’ll speak more in the coming weeks about our next moves, but I might need to gather a few more trusted heroes.”

“Regardless,” Nezu's chipper tone finally returned, letting the two heroes know that he fell out of ‘Overwatch’ mode and returned to ‘Principal’ mode. “You're welcome to return to campus or enjoy the rest of the night between yourselves.”

“Understood, Boss,” Oboro and Nemuri responded. As the two stopped on a building, they were just barely able to see UA in the distance, standing on a hill taller than any around Musutafu.

Oboro released a breath as he started stretching his arm, allowing his underground hero persona to fall, and with it, some of the anger he felt since first landing on Aldera's rooftop. He heard Nemuri doing something similar beside him, causing him to look over towards her. She had flipped her hood back, closed her eyes, and tilted her head, her face looking towards the stars in the night sky. He watched her take a breath and release it slowly, the tension in her shoulders finally relaxing.

“If you're going to ask,” Nemuri started, having not moved since tilting her head back, “you better hurry up before I decide to head back.”

Oboro chuckled quietly, shaking his head at being caught. “Well, since you've twisted my arm,” he said with a smile. Nemuri opened one eye to peek towards him, her lips twitching upwards. “Coffee? I know a place.”

Nemuri chuckled quietly, tilting her head back down and shaking it softly, turning to look towards her longtime friend. “Never change, Bobo,” she told him, using a nickname she had once created for him, causing his heart to skip a beat. “Same place?”

“Hasn't changed,” Oboro responded, continuing to smile towards her and receiving a small one in response.

“You're buying,” Nemuri told him as she flipped her good back up, her smile still visible in the shadows. “And you better keep up!”

“Hey!” Oboro yelled out as Nemuri began running in the direction of the Jasmine Dragon, “I'll show you who's gonna need to keep up!” He quickly followed his longtime friend, hearing the soft giggles coming from her as they ran.

He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as multiple thoughts went through his head. ‘It’s just like old times, when we used to run underground missions and patrols together and finish it off with the best coffee in town.’ His smile faltered slightly, remembering what happened earlier that night. ‘I know I messed up earlier, but it doesn’t appear like she holds it against me. Does this mean we can continue repairing our relationship? I guess only time will tell.”

Chapter Text

After two long, exhausting weeks of training, the day of the First Years’ Sports Festival was finally upon the students of Class 1-A. With the events of the USJ still fresh in their minds, the students had trained religiously throughout the last two weeks, continuously pushing themselves beyond their previous limits. Many of them had worked in pairs or small groups with only a select few deciding to work independently from everyone else.

With training wrapping up much later than usual the night before, Izuku and Momo had noticed a few students still held some self-doubt, while many shared the nervous excitement for what possibly awaited them. Knowing that many of their classmates would opt to get as much rest as they could, possibly skipping breakfast in the process, Izuku and Momo decided to wake up early and cook breakfast for their classmates. Once they had informed Denki and Kyouka of their plans, the two were quick to jump on board, agreeing to wake up early with them and help them prepare.

When the sun broke the horizon the next morning, casting Heights Alliance in a warm morning glow, four students were already awake and cooking in the dorm’s kitchen. Taking their classmates’ dietary requirements and preferences into consideration as noted on the UA App, ingredients were pulled out and spread across the massive counter in preparation. With Izuku’s and Momo’s focus on cooking the main dishes, Denki and Kyouka were focused on preparing the ingredients and handing them to the couple beside them, knowing they were much more experienced in the cooking department.

When the four of them had started cooking together in the mornings a couple of weeks ago, it had taken them a few days to learn where everyone worked best. The first time they had all cooked together resulted in multiple messes, mostly due to Denki getting too excited and Kyouka reacting to his excitement. This caused Izuku and Momo to begin giggling at their friends’ antics before the other couple joined in. It’s safe to say the kitchen had never been messier (or cleaner) once they had finished cooking that day.

Two weeks later, anybody who witnessed the four of them cooking believed they were putting on a show, working together like a well-oiled machine. With some background music provided by Kyouka’s bluetooth speaker, the four had fallen into a perfect rhythm, continuously dancing around each other as they cooked and prepared breakfast.

As the mouth-watering smell of breakfast began flowing into the rest of the dorms, rising through the many floors like a fog slowly overcoming a building, a handful of their early-riser classmates began trickling into the common or dining room. A few peeked into the dorm’s shared kitchen, greeting the four cooking students a good morning, before opting to take a seat and watch the show.

Just before the food was finished cooking, Momo had broken away from the stove to wash her hands. Pulling out her HeroPhone, she sent a text message to the Class 1-A group chat before sending an invite to their teachers. A few of the students had responded instantly, claiming they could smell the food in their dorm rooms, before they began making their way down into the dining room. Momo was happy to see Oboro and Nemuri accept their invite, telling her they would be over in a moment, while simultaneously understanding why Toshinori had declined her offer.

Once Momo had finished sending off the text messages, she had turned around at the same time Izuku had turned off the stove. With all the cooking done, the four had begun bringing the food into the dining room, placing the plates in a neat row down the center of the table. Just as they were placing the last plate, the rest of their classmates walked through the door, sitting down in any free seat that was still available. Izuku and Momo thanked their friends for their help, telling them to sit and enjoy, informing them they wanted to say a few things before they began themselves.

Izuku and Momo looked over the table, unable to keep the small smiles off their faces as they watched their classmates enjoy the food, hearing the praise of how good it tasted and thanking the four of them for cooking. Even Oboro and Nemuri were surprised at how good the food tasted, both teachers knowing the Yaoyorozus had their own personal chefs and never had to cook for themselves.

“As you all enjoy the food that we have prepared,” Izuku interrupted the meal, his voice carrying clearly throughout the dining room, causing their classmates to look towards the two. “Mo and I would like to say a few things before the Sports Festival later this morning.” Momo nodded in agreement beside Izuku, looking over the rest of the table to make sure everyone was paying attention.

“Over the last two weeks,” Momo began, her voice carrying similarly to Izuku’s, “we’ve had the pleasure of witnessing how hard everyone worked in their training for the Sports Festival.”

“We watched as many of you pushed yourselves beyond your limits, the desire to improve fueling your motivation,” Izuku continued, “but you didn’t stop there. Throughout the last two weeks, we witnessed many of you helping your fellow classmates when they faltered, encouraging them to not give up and push past their own limits.”

“Because of how hard everyone worked, and knowing some of you would have preferred to skip breakfast altogether,” Momo explained with a smirk, looking towards Himiko and Ochako, one smiling with a full-fanged smile, while the other blushed, smiled, and looked away. “Kyouka, Denki, Izuku, and I decided to cook everyone this wonderful breakfast.”

“We’ve tried to keep everyone’s dietary requirements and preferences in mind,” Izuku continued, “and we apologize if we happened to miss yours. Please let one of us know and we can make you something that fits your dietary needs.”

“With the Sports Festival in mind,” Momo explained, “we cooked as many high-energy foods as we could while simultaneously keeping them on the lighter side, with hopes that everyone would feel prepared for the day ahead without feeling bloated.” Momo watched as many of their classmates nodded in understanding, looking over all the different plates of food along the table.

“That is everything we wanted to say,” Izuku told them as he looked over the table himself, “and we hope you enjoy the food!”

“Thank you for the food!” The class chorused before they began digging into their plates once more, a satisfied smile on many of their faces, indicating they were loving the meal.

As Izuku and Momo sat down in their saved seats beside their friends, beginning to fill their plates as they chatted quietly with those around them, Katsuki could only huff and cross his arms from his spot across the table. He had looked over all the delicious smelling and perfectly made food as he sat down, something in the back of his mind telling him he should have been the one cooking. He wasn't sure if he was even allowed to have any of the food, considering the relation he had with Class 1-A, especially the four that had cooked that morning.

“The more you look at it, Kero, the colder it’s going to get,” Tsuyu pointed out in the seat beside him, her plate already full with a little bit of everything.

Katsuki huffed as he looked away, taking his eyes off the food and the people around him. “Ain’t spicy enough,” he said, the excuse rolling off his tongue easily. Hearing a soft clink, like glass being placed on a plate, Katsuki looked toward the source of the sound. Directly in the center of his plate, which wasn't there when he sat down, was a familiar bottle he recognized but couldn't recall from where. It appeared to be a bottle full of spices, with a custom label that read ‘Bakugo's Spices. Extremely Hot! DO NOT TOUCH!’. “Where the fuck did this come from?” Katsuki asked quietly as he picked up the bottle.

“Kero,” Tsuyu ribbited happily as she swallowed before looking towards Katsuki. “I don't know. It was sitting in front of my plate when I sat down. Kero, did you not bring it with you?”

“No,” Katsuki responded simply as he grabbed the closest plate of food, putting a small portion onto his own plate. He sprinkled a small amount of ‘Bakugo Spices’ on top before picking up the food with some chopsticks and taking a bite. As soon as the taste registered in his mouth, he was instantly transported back into the past, his eyes blown wide in recognition. He looked across the table towards the only person who would know the combination, watching as Izuku began filling his plate with a second filling, continuing to chat with his friends around him.

The mixture of spices was something that Auntie Inko had created years ago, back when the two boys were still young and were still friends. Ever since he first tried the mixture, it automatically became his favorite, and he tried for years to recreate it without any success. After he had run out of his last bottle years ago, not long after the Midoriyas had disappeared, he accepted he'd never be able to experience it again.

Looking towards the bottle once more, he recognized the almost perfect replica of four-year-old Izuku's handwriting, realizing why it had looked familiar when he first read it. “Auntie…” Katsuki whispered breathlessly, thinking about all the dinners Inko had cooked, and that he had shared with Izuku.

“Did you say something, Bakugo?” Tsuyu asked curiously, knocking Katsuki out of his memories. He turned to the girl beside him, seeing the question behind her eyes.

“I…” he began but stopped himself, shaking his head lightly as he looked back towards Tsuyu, “it's not important right now. Just something else I have to live with.” Tsuyu nodded in understanding, knowing he had been realizing that a lot recently. “Can you pass that plate?” Katsuki asked as he pointed towards something just out of reach, “it’s been forever since I had it.” Tsuyu grabbed the plate for Katsuki before passing it along to him. “Thanks,” he whispered before taking a large amount of what was on the plate before dumping a good amount of his spices on top.

As Katsuki began eating, closing his eyes and enjoying the flavor of food combined with the perfect mixture of spices, he missed the sidelong glance from Izuku before he returned to his own food.

Once everyone had finished their breakfast, a few of the students volunteered to clean up, giving the four friends a break after cooking. After everything was cleaned up and everyone was changed into their provided DNA gym uniforms, Class 1-A started making their way towards the Sports Festival Stadium on the other side of campus. Oboro and Nemuri had broken off from Class 1-A when they left Heights Alliance, claiming they needed to take care of a few more things before the festival started in earnest.

As they passed the entrance gate, they noticed the massive amount of people beyond, waiting to join the ever-growing crowd of people already on campus. Down the main pathway towards the stadium was a long line of stalls put together by Gen Ed and Business Course students, some offering food while others offered merchandise.

Leading Class 1-A towards their designated waiting room, Izuku and Momo couldn't hold back their excitement about finally participating in their own Sports Festival. Throughout the years, the two had watched each class compete in the Sports Festivals year after year, watching and analyzing all the different students and quirks. When they were younger, they had spent three consecutive days camped in their pillow fort in the Yaoyorozu Home Theatre. As they grew older, Miyuki and Inko got VIP tickets for the four of them, giving them their own section within the stadium to watch the Sports Festival live.

With all their experience watching the Sports Festivals throughout the years, the two class reps began informing their classmates of what they should be expecting from each round. They explained they should be prepared for anything as UA changed the events year to year to keep it interesting, never repeating the same event more than two years in a row.

The first round would consist of a ‘free-for-all’ event, where students would compete against each other in some kind of race to the finish. They mentioned the points system, explaining that the higher you placed throughout the first round, the more points you were able to use in the second, keeping the first-place penalty to themselves. They informed their peers to listen to the rules carefully, explaining there was usually a loophole that didn’t stop students from working together in the first round if they so choose.

The second round was always team-based, regardless of what the event might be. It was to show how students were able to quickly adapt and make teams, even with people and quirks they didn't know well, so they could work towards a common goal. The size of the teams varied from year to year, with the limits ranging from two-person teams up to eight-person teams. They explained that even a smaller number of students were able to pass this round, usually seeing eight or sixteen but have seen thirty-two in previous Sports Festivals.

Which led to an explanation of the third and final round of the Sports Festival. Izuku and Momo told their classmates that the third round would always be a tournament of some kind, going on to tell them what they had witnessed in the past. Many of the tournaments featured one-on-one fights switching between different rules, with one year even doing one-on-one spars without the use of quirks. A handful of the years showed two-on-two fights, with similar rules to the one-on-one fights just with twice as many people. Another year had competitors use foam swords against one another, but both claimed it had only happened the one year, and the rules were finicky at the time.

Just as the class reps finished telling their peers of their knowledge of previous Sports Festivals, Class 1-A found themselves arriving at their waiting room, allowing the students to enter and begin preparing themselves for the event ahead. Many of their classmates split into their own little groups, either talking strategies with the new information they were given or guessing which events might await them during the Sports Festival. Others had decided to either sit by themselves or with a few others, but they opted to keep quiet and close their eyes, calming their nerves as they waited for their class to be called.

Momo had guided their small friend group to one of the corners with enough seats for the six of them. Taking a seat, she wrapped her arms around Izuku's waist before pulling him into her lap. He chuckled softly, a dusting of a blush on his cheeks before he leaned down and captured Momo's lips with his own. Hearing a squeal from beside them, Izuku and Momo turned towards the couple beside them. They watched as Himiko pulled Ochako into her lap before tackling the girl with soft kisses all over her face and on his neck, causing Ochako to laugh in delight.

Denki looked towards Kyouka with a smile, watching as she raised an eyebrow in question. He reached out to wrap his arms around her waist before she stopped him by wrapping her ear jacks around his wrists. Kyouka intertwined their hands instead, pulling them closer to each other. “Not in public,” Kyouka whispered, “I don't mind in front of Yaomomo, Green, Himiko, or Ochako, but not in front of everyone else.”

“Sorry, Ky.”

“Don't apologize,” Kyouka responded with a soft smile, looking into Denki's yellow eyes. “I enjoy it just as much as you, but I don't have the confidence to enjoy it openly like the others do.” Kyouka bit her lip softly, before giving Denki a chaste kiss. “Not yet, at least.” She guided them into seats beside Izuku and Momo, making sure Denki sat first so she could throw her legs on top of his. He pulled her legs closer to himself before beginning to draw small circles into her calves, causing them both to smile softly at one another.

“Midoriya, Yaoyorozu,” Shoto said in front of them, knocking the small friend group out of their little bubble. The once lively room had fallen silent when Shoto spoke, many turning to focus on the conversion, intrigued by what the normally quiet boy had to say. “Even with you two sharing quirks, you cannot compete with my strength. I will win the Sports Festival today using only my Mother's ice. I suggest you two stay out of my way.”

With only the gentle hum of the air conditioner above them to break the silence, Class 1-A waited with bated breath to see how the couple would react, their eyes continuously swapping between Shoto and the class reps. With the tension between the three thick enough you could cut it with a knife, nobody wanted to interfere with the trio. Izuku and Momo looked directly into Shoto's mismatched eyes, past the boy's stoic exterior to the many emotions dancing behind his eyes.

“It's very possible that you may be stronger than either of us,” Momo broke the silence, “but we aren't the only people you will be competing against. Everyone here,” she gestured towards their classmates listening to them, “has a chance of winning today. I would suggest you don't overlook them. Izu and I, nor will our classmates, just step aside because you ask us to.”

Shoto didn’t respond, instead turning on his heel and walking towards the door that left the room.

“We all have something to prove out there today, either to ourselves or the people we care about, or even the heroes that may be interested in us,” Izuku began. Shoto stopped in his tracks, tilting his head sideways to glare at the couple again, anger easily visible behind the eye with the scar. His hands clenched tightly beside him, one producing an icy mist while the other produced a black smoke, both noticeable seeping through his fingers. “Everyone in this room will be trying their hardest to win, including Mo and I,” he continued, “except for you. You’re limiting yourself by only using half your quirk.”

“I won’t use his fire,” Shoto responded firmly before he continued towards the door leading out of the waiting room. Class 1-A watched as he opened the door and left, leaving the door hanging wide open.

“What the hell was that all about?” Denki asked as he looked from the door back towards the other couple.

Izuku and Momo looked toward their friends, seeing the confused looks on their faces. Looking around the room, they found the entirety of Class 1-A was looking towards them for answers, looking between the open door and the class reps.

“It’s nothing that anybody has to worry about,” Momo responded, “Shirakumo already knows the situation and it’s not our place to say anything more.” Their classmates nodded, accepting it was a private matter and understanding why the class reps weren't going to expand on it further.

“Regardless of what just happened,” Izuku continued as he locked eyes with many different students of Class 1-A, “we cannot let it bother us with the Sports Festival happening today. What Todoroki decides to do is his own choice.”

Momo nodded in agreement. “The only thing you all should be worrying about is going out there and trying your hardest to win. This is your first opportunity to get your name out there, and I want each of you to take full advantage of it.”

“But you'll have to work for it,” Izuku continued with a smile, “Mo and I will not be holding back, and we expect nothing less out of any of you.” The couple looked around the waiting room again, seeing the looks of determination on their classmates’ faces. “Good luck everyone, and remember, Go Beyond!” Izuku raised his fist with a smile on his face as he had seen All Might do many times in the past.

“PLUS ULTRA!” Class 1-A responded instantly, the excitement beginning to pour off them as they hyped each other up for the Sports Festival.

“Fanboy,” Momo lightly poked Izuku in the side, causing him to lean towards her in response as they both began chuckling. “My fanboy,” Momo smiled as Izuku leaned down and kissed her, a smile dancing on both their lips, putting the conversation they just had behind them.

“And always will be, my Library Mouse.”

“Good morning, beautiful people!” Nemuri’s voice floated over the speaker system throughout the stadium, signaling the start of the event. “Welcome to UA’s First Years’ Sports Festival! I’m one of your hosts, the R-Rated Heroine: Midnight!”

“And I’m her co-host,” Oboro continued where Nemuri had left off, speaking into his own microphone from within the announcers’ booth, “the Cloud Hero: Loud Cloud! And on the stage down below is the Voice Hero: Present Mic! He will be announcing all the events and explaining the rules to the fledgling heroes that will soon take the stage!”

“YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!” Present Mic yelled out, his voice carrying throughout the stadium and then some thanks to his quirk. “ARE YOU READY, LISTENERS?!” The crowd in the stands went absolutely wild, yelling in response to Present Mic. “YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH! THAT'S WHAT I LOVE TO SEE! LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!”

“Coming out onto the field now,” Nemuri announced as the tunnels holding the hero students both green-lit, informing both classes to begin making their way out onto the field, “are the First Year Hero Courses! Class 1-A and 1-B! Let me tell you something folks, I've had the pleasure of personally overlooking the training these students went through over the last two weeks, and I couldn't help but be impressed! These are the best of the best, people! I cannot wait to see them become full-fledged heroes in the future!”

“But the hero courses aren't the only students that UA teaches,” Oboro continued after Nemuri, green-lighting the general studies tunnels, informing the students to start making their way out. “Coming onto the field now are the General Studies courses, including Class 1-C, 1-D, and 1-E! While the hero course students are training to fight battles on the front lines, these students will be fighting those battles behind the scenes! Many of the General Studies graduates end up working within hero agencies across the country, making sure everything is running smoothly behind the scenes so the heroes can do their jobs on the front lines!”

“Next up are some of the smartest, albeit craziest, people you'll ever see!” Nemuri announced, green-lighting the support course tunnels so they could begin walking out. “Coming onto the field are Class 1-F, 1-G, and 1-H of the Support Course! Students from the support course are allowed to bring in any inventions they've built themselves, simultaneously allowing them to compete as well as show off what they're capable of! These are the people making sure heroes are kitted out with the latest and greatest technology, including their hero costumes and support items. Without these behind-the-scenes heroes, many of the heroes working the front lines wouldn’t be able to accomplish what they do now!”

“And Last but not least,” Oboro started, green-lighting the business course students, “we have Classes 1-I, 1-J, and 1-K of the Business Course! These students are the ones who will be crunching the numbers behind the scenes, taking care of everything that involves running a business or hero agency! Without the help of these students, many heroes today would have gone bankrupt before they could even begin!”

“All of the students you see on the field today will be the faces you see out in the field and running businesses tomorrow,” Nemuri continued as they all began settling in front of the stage, waiting for Present Mic to start telling them what the events would consist of. “From the heroes on the front lines, to the heroes behind the scenes, to the people who are continuously keeping operations running smoothly, everyone has an important role to play for the future of heroes! Make sure to give each of them a warm welcome!” The crowd roared in excitement, causing many students to smile as they looked over the stadium, some students waving to the audience with smiles on their faces.

“We’ll now go down to the stage below, passing the microphone to Present Mic so he can begin announcing the first round!” Oboro said once the roaring audience had quieted down some, the cameras all focused on Present Mic or the students on the field.

“YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH! Before we jump into the main event, we have the Athlete’s Oath, presented by the person who scored the highest on the hero course entrance exam,” Present Mic announced as he looked over the students below him. “Please give it up to Katsuki Bakugo of Class 1-A!”

As everyone turned to look at Katsuki, he grunted in annoyance before sticking his hands in his pockets and beginning to walk up to the stage. Once he stood on the stage, he looked over the stadium of people, noticing many recognizable heroes scattered throughout the crowd. When he finished looking over the audience, he turned back to the students. He locked eyes with Izuku for a moment, his previous friend looking towards him with an unreadable expression, before he continued. His eyes trailed over Tsuyu for a second, watching as she gave him a curt nod.

“The Athlete’s Oath,” Katsuki started, making sure the microphone in front of him worked before looking over the stadium again. He took a deep breath, already knowing the response he would receive with what he said next. “I’m planning on winning the whole event,” he continued, ignoring the shouts from people in the audience and the students behind him. “Everyone here today better be ready to bring everything they got and give me a challenge because I will not hold back.”

“How arrogant can he honestly be?” Momo mumbled before releasing a sigh, cocking her hip to the side and placing her hand on it. “At least Todoroki kept it within the waiting room and not in front of thousands of spectators and millions of viewers.”

Izuku shook his head slowly in disagreement, keeping his eyes on Katsuki leaving the stage. He could hear everyone shouting in the audience, and even some of the students in the other classes, but Katsuki didn't let anything get to him. But Izuku knew that wasn't the case. Something happened, something that had turned his whole worldview upside down.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Izuku responded quietly before he looked toward Momo, finding a questioning look behind her eyes. “If he had been as arrogant as we witnessed at the start of term, I believe he would have said something along the lines of ‘I will win’ and ‘don’t even try’ instead of ‘I plan on winning’ and ‘give me a challenge’. It sounded like he was almost worried about what was going to happen today.”

“Do you think he’s trying to be a better person, Izuku?” Ochako asked from beside Izuku, Himiko hanging off her opposite shoulder.

“I…” Izuku trailed off unsurely. He looked up as Katsuki walked past their group, his head still pointed towards the ground. He watched as Katsuki continued walking until he stopped beside Tsuyu, the rest of Class 1-A giving the two a wide berth of space. “I’m not sure,” Izuku responded finally as he looked back towards his small friend group, giving them an unsure and contemplating look. “I would like to believe he is, but I haven't seen him since we were kids, so I don't know.”

“I know when I asked Tsuyu why she hung out with him,” Ochako continued, “she explained that nobody else was willing to and that Bakugo just needed some help to find the right path.” She glanced over her shoulder, watching as Katsuki and Tsuyu exchanged a few words before focusing back on the stage in front of them. “She seems to believe he can be a better person, but knows it's going to take some time.”

“We’ll have to wait and see if he changes,” Momo responded with an underlying annoyance in her voice. Izuku reached out and grabbed her hand reactively, using his thumb to run circles into the back of her hand. “Sorry, Izu,” Momo apologized as she squeezed his hand, “I just can’t forgive him after what he did to you.”

“I know, Mo,” Izuku responded, “and I’m not asking you to. I still don’t know how I feel about it myself.”

“Alright! Thanks to Katsuki Bakugo for that Athlete’s Oath!” Present Mic continued once everyone was settled again. “Now, without further ado, let’s see what these students will be doing for the first event!”

“Spin that wheel! Spin that wheel! Spin that wheel!” The crowd within the stadium all chorused together, causing Present Mic to smile as he held up his hand to his ear. The crowd began getting louder, screaming at the top of their lungs as they began stomping their feet, shaking the stadium like every event. “Spin that wheel! Spin that wheel! Spin that wheel!”

“YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!” Present Mic yelled out as he removed his hand from his ear, “that’s what I’m talking about Listeners! That’s the type of energy we want to see from everyone today!” Present Mic held up his pointer fingers and thumbs, forming them into finger guns before pretending to shoot the massive wheel that held all the different events. “So let’s Spin! That! Wheel!”

Everyone within the stadium, students and viewers alike, watched as the wheel began spinning at a ridiculous speed. The events continued passing by in a blur, unable to be read by the average human eye, before the wheel began slowing down. “And the event we’ve all been waiting for, the one where many students will be sent packing after being eliminated, will be…” The wheel slowed down until coming to a stop on ‘Obstacle Course Race’. “It’s the Obstacle Course Race we all love to watch!”

“For those that haven’t watched an Obstacle Course Race before, allow me to explain the rules of the game,” Present Mic announced as he pointed towards another screen, the details of the game able to be read by the students, the same screen being broadcasted on the TVs at home. “It’s a four-kilometer race around the stadium itself, starting in the tunnel behind me!” As Present Mic explained the tunnel, the gate behind him began shifting before moving out of the way, showing a fairly long tunnel with a light at the end.

“The rules are simple! As long as you don’t go off the course, anything is fair game! Of course, seriously hurting your fellow classmates will be met with a disqualification from further events and Sports Festivals in the future! Racers to your positions! Once that final light turns green, the race has begun! Good luck, students!” Present Mic finished as the students started making their way to the entrance gate.

Izuku and Momo lined up beside their friends, looking towards the end of the tunnel. “The first obstacle is the tunnel itself,” Izuku mused quietly to himself, Momo nodding beside him in agreement, as they noticed how the tunnel got smaller the closer to the end it was. He turned towards his friends, knowing they all had heard him. “I believe Todoroki is going to try and freeze us all, similar to how he did the building in the battle trials. Do you think you’ll be able to dodge it, or would you like our help?”

Denki looked towards the tunnel, seeing Shoto’s right hand already misting with frost as he held it against the wall of the tunnel. “We need to show the heroes what we’re capable of as soon as we can,” Denki responded as he looked back between their small friend group, “but we won’t be able to show anybody anything unless we escape this tunnel first. Ky?”

“What did you two have in mind?” Kyouka responded, her ear jacks hanging loosely by her face as she crossed her arms in front of her.

“Remember how Mo and I saved Shirakumo during the USJ?” Izuku countered.

Kyouka groaned, realizing what he meant. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Probably not,” Momo responded with a soft smile.

“What about us?” Himiko asked from beside Ochako.

“What transformations do you have currently?” Momo asked her sister.

“I have plenty of Chako’s, but only a little bit of time for the rest of you,” Himiko responded.

“That should be enough,” Izuku responded, turning to look towards their starting line. The small friend group watched as the first light turned green, causing many of the students to begin preparing their quirks. “Here's what we're going to do,” he continued as he looked back towards the group, huddling closely around him.

Izuku and Momo began explaining what their plans were, while simultaneously listening for the second green light to activate.

Once everything was explained to their small friend group, the six of them began taking deep breaths, attempting to calm their nerves as they did so. When the second green light lit up, more students began preparing their quirks, with the small friend group readying themselves.

The six friends watched for the last green light to activate, seemingly dragging on forever, and making the students wait in anticipation. When the third green light finally activated, hearing Present Mic yelling out ‘START!’ from somewhere behind them, all hell broke loose. People were being shoved this way and that, quirks were flying everywhere, and support items could be heard being activated. Just as the first person took a step past the starting line, the temperature within the tunnel plummeted below freezing.